The State homelessness audit which found shocking levels of ineffectiveness and unaccountability in SJ's homelessness programs was the direct result of the governance direction of State Senator Dave Cortese, who championed the audit, beginning in 2022. SJ CM's Doan and Batra, who are calling to extend the audit to city programs and spend, acknowledged Cortese's leadership in their call for a city of SJ audit.

Even though SJ's City Manager and staff tried to wave away the blistering, devastating critique of the city's hugely expensive and ineffective homelessness programs by the State Auditor, SJ CM's Doan and Batra follow the path of fiscal responsibility by demanding an audit of the city's homelessness spend. Their press release excerpted below. 

National Review suggests that the clock is running out for far-left politicos, as the City of Roses joins SF and LA (and perhaps Oakland?) in bidding adieu to soft-on-crime prosecutors.

Local pols always say they're in favor of small business--that is, until their insatiable yen for new tax monies reveals their true leanings. National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) comes out in favor of CA's Taxpayer Protection Act (TPA), contra SJ City Council (save Doan) and Gov. Newsom. Their formal statement below.

Gavin Newsom states he’s not seeing the results he wants from homeless spending. In the May Revise budget, he cut over 25% statewide from the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program. These funds helped San Jose build nearly 500 interim housing units, a crucial tool to reduce homeless encampments in the city. From Andrew Sheeler in California Political Review.

Has stack and pack zoning in the name of climate change strangled CA’s housing market? Outdated sustainability dogma belongs with the dinosaurs, says California Policy Center’s Edward Ring. He recommends CA expand suburban growth—it’s better for the environment than corralling us all into concrete jungles. Reform CEQA too, which is abused by private litigators. In San Jose, CEQA delays building permits by 40 weeks or more.

Rather than flush $30 billion down the Delta Tunnel, why don’t Californians pump that money into big yield water projects? California Policy Center’s Edward Ring argues that with one project alone, half the Delta money could return twice as much water, with the rest of the cash spilling into reservoirs that produce hydroelectric energy.

There were 437 homelessness families tallied across the city, marking an alarming 94% jump since 2022. The data highlights the daunting challenge of tackling the crisis in an expensive city amid a lack of affordable housing, a surge in migrant families and a fentanyl crisis.

An exclusive investigation by the Westside Current has uncovered more than 1,200 vacant City-owned apartments and motel rooms that are supposed to be providing interim or permanent supportive housing to homeless people in LA have never been occupied.  N.E.V.E.R.