Taxpayer advocate Susan Shelley shines a light on California's Proposition 19, which nullifies existing protections for parent–child property transfer, thereby treating a gift of property like a sale. Shelley wonders if many Californians—who voted against one-time estate taxes in 1982—truly want their yearly property tax payments hiked up. From the OC Register.
Read MoreLast week, San Francisco taxpayers were horrified to clue in that local org SF Safe—which receives millions annually from the Police Dept—has been forging invoices, stiffing vendors, and reimbursing lavish staff expenses (Tahoe vacations and limo rides, anyone?). SF Standard rounds up the fiasco, and asks why cities aren't doing the work to, you know, properly oversee affiliated nonprofits.
Read More2023 was inundated with headline after headline about the latest overdose death on the BART system; countless more riders regularly abuse illicit substances on the trains, creating unhygienic and dangerous situations for others. In this Opp Now exclusive, Debora Allen—BART director since 2016—analyzes the alarming overdose spike, and what it'll take to eliminate drug use on BART (hint: actually enforce laws for fare payment/code of conduct, and recruit officers like crazy).
Read MoreAs the age-old political adage goes: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em cancel the fight entirely. Household Stories magazine unpacks Newsom & Co.'s ongoing lawsuit against the Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA). The suit aims to disqualify TPA from our ballot as an “illegal” constitutional revision—though, as Household Stories discusses, it'd actually protect taxpayers' preexisting Prop 13 rights from sneaky workarounds.
Read MoreColumnist Doug McIntyre isn't alone in positing that DEI's oppressor/oppressed labels cultivate racial, ethnic, and religious division (recently sounded in threatening antisemitic rhetoric against District Attorney Jeff Rosen, a flyer that's been widely slated by Jewish leaders, a language expert, and Palo Alto CM). Since October 7, McIntyre discusses in L.A. Daily News, locals on the Left have been forced to address the—hitherto neglected—radicals in their party.
Read MoreHoward Jarvis Taxpayers Association says it's about time Prop 19's “Death Tax” (which spikes up taxes on inherited/transferred property by reassessing at market value) shuffles off its mortal coil, instead of swiping more of residents' hard-earned money. In the Globe, HJTA breaks down Prop 19 and how it wrote over valuable protections in Props 58 & 193.
Read MoreHSD employee Joshua Diemert tried suing the City of Seattle for promoting a discriminatory hostile-work environment through its Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI). Cities like SJ have similar internal programs. The Court ruled that equity-based programs are allowed to treat employees differently based on skin color, a problematic precedent unpacked by Reason magazine.
Read MoreEverybody knows that building new housing to solve local affordability crises is brutally expensive, and requires vast, ongoing, unsustainable subsidies. Former D10 Councilmember Johnny Khamis posits that taxpayer money would go a lot further—and our homeless and needy neighbors would get housing relief a lot faster—if the City simply purchased existing properties on the open market. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreCal and Stanford aren't the only prestigious colleges driving off folks who oppose Hamas and support Israel's right to exist. In December 2023, MIT lecturer Mauricio Karchmer stepped down from his dream job after observing his administration affirm antisemitic hate, while keeping mum on explicit terrorism. In a moving Free Press op-ed, Karchmer recounts MIT's history of opposing different viewpoints, and mourns his preventable exit from an institution that's pushing out ideological/ethnic/religious “others.”
Read MoreUntil recently, it appeared virtually certain that VTA staff would control the information flow and scope of the six-mile BART extension through SJ to Santa Clara. But recent stories in the Merc and the tone of a January 19 oversight committee meeting suggest that alternative outcomes are now possible: the project will certainly receive more external scrutiny, which could yield a much-needed downsizing of the $12.2 bn (!) extension. Cato Institute's Marc Joffe explains in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreHalf a year ago, Dr. Tabia Lee—who happens to be a Black woman—was fired from De Anza College because her approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion was too “white” (read: she didn't reduce students to their check box identities). In an exclusive chat with Opp Now, Lee analyzes DEI's impact on local institutions, her preference for the classical (not critical) DEI approach, and why she sustains hope for colleges' DEI programs.
Read MoreOn Friday, SF Mayor Breed decided neither to approve nor veto Supervisors' Gaza resolution: rather, she let it become codified without intervening. Some vocal advocates are celebrating, but other residents question the efficacy of letting slide a resolution that effectively validates terrorist organizations. SF Standard surveys the impact of Breed's choice.
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