Despite howling protests from hard-left mayors and non profit advocates, the SCOTUS Grant's Pass decision is indisputable: Cities have clear rights to enforce camping bans to relieve inhumane and dangerous conditions caused by unhoused camping. The only question: will the cities have the will to act? The inestimable Evan Symons at CA Globe explains.
Read MoreDid you know that SJ Council often takes positions on statewide ballot initiatives--even if those initiatives have zero to do with the city's finances? District 10's Batra thinks it's time to daylight this odd, if poorly understood, council practice. Batra's 6.14.24 comments to Intergovernmental Review team, edited for brevity. below.
Read MoreTo nobody’s surprise, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, an outgrowth of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, agreed on Wednesday morning to put a $20 billion regional bond on the November ballot in nine counties. But opponents of the mammoth tax offered a serious, compelling critique. Will Sherman reports in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreRejecting the argument that preventing homeless from appropriating public parks and spaces violated the 8th Amendment, SCOTUS empowers cities like SJ to enforce anti-camping ordinances. Legal Insurrection unpacks the decisions logic and issues.
Read MoreIn fairness, it only took nine years to complete one of the bullet train’s first structures, which appears to be floating in space. Even a cryptocurrency creator marvels at the impracticality. Critics wonder if the SF-LA line will come barreling through Santa Clara County by 2400, and perhaps being outpaced by a Maglev on the Moon. Daily Mail’s Isabelle Stanley summarizes the online reaction.
Read MoreIt’s too bad bank accounts don’t come with surge protectors. After a yearly $400 rate spike, PG&E customers in San José and much of CA now scramble to make their household budgets work—one San Francisco resident saw her energy bill jump by $100 in a single month. SF Chronicle’s Julie Johnson reports.
Read MoreFollowing Gov. Newsom's blistering critiques of housing and homelessness spends, so-called affordable housing programs got cut substantially in the state budget. Lynn La reports for Cal Matters about which programs came out on the short end in the budget negotiations.
Read MoreThe list lengthens. To review: SJ Housing Dept. VTA board. Sta Clara City Council. SJ Unified. And now Oakland--all torched by independent entities for crummy governance. Natalie Hansen from Courthouse News surveys the safety critiques in the East Bay.
Read MoreThis November, Marin County voters will face at least a dozen different local measures all seeking to raise revenue at a local level either through bonds or sales tax hikes. Sarah Nagle at the Marin Independent-Journal, argues that these increases could backfire on municipalities and drive business away.
Read MoreCharter cities are obliged to prioritize spending on core services, as identified in their charter. So why, Tobin Gilman wonders on Medium, is the city asking residents to cough up extra for yet another parcel tax to take care of a core service--the city's parks?
Read MoreDespite ranking last in opportunity, CA policymakers keep making it even harder just to get by. San Jose’s gasoline and energy prices are leaded with taxes, and regulations severely inflate housing costs—most peoples’ biggest expense. Funny thing is, CA ranked ok in economic opportunity, and equality. It’s the high cost that drags us into last place. Kenneth Schrupp writes for The Center Square.
Read MoreVTA helped thwart a state legislative initiative to bail out BART this Spring, while moving forward with a costly plan to extend BART service through SJ. This inconsistency raises the possibility that future SJ residents will be walking atop a white elephant running under East Santa Clara Street. The unstoppable Marc Joffe explores in another Opp Now exclusive.
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