To buy more time for SF’s flagging MUNI system, a November ballot measure will ask San Franciscans for yet another lifeline from ride-hail services. But even the so-called ComMUNIty Transit Act’s proponents admit that it’s a tourniquet for the SFMTA, the agency that runs MUNI. After two massive infusions of cash from state and local governments, SFMTA still faces a fiscal cliff in less than a year. SF Chronicle’s Ricardo Cano reports.
Read MoreThe potential new bond indebtedness appearing on the November ballot may surpass $80bn --will CA voters say "enough is enough"? Ben Christopher at CalMatters explores why voters may say no to RM4 and other super expensive new tax measures.
Read MoreIf nine Bay Area counties borrow $20 billion together, shouldn’t they each get their fair share back? Turns out the regional housing bond will make smaller counties pay out far more than they get in return. With a local tax, Napa could fulfill its housing need in 16 years. Instead, RM4 would make North Bay taxpayers spend the next half century paying other peoples’ debt. Will Sherman reports in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreOn the heels of a savage state audit finding San Jose's Housing Dept had negligent oversight of fund disbursement to local non profits, comes a new city audit which finds more of the same dating back to 2021. And in SF, the never-ending parade of non profits discovered to have been fleecing the city continues. Info below from SJ Housing Dept memo and reporting from SF Standard.
Read MoreWhile some CA cities have dawdled since the Grant's Pass decision to change their flawed strategies toward addressing inhumane homeless encampments, Newsom appears ready to pressure those cities into greater action. NYT reports.
Read MoreSometimes, coming in behind the fair suburb to the north is an advantage. Like when SF gets noted as the country's most dysfunctional city government. KTVU reports.
Read MoreThe reason we can live on the Peninsula is because we have water. We buy it from San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC) as part of a consortium of 26 agencies (BAWSCA); and the sustainability of our civilization here, on the coast, is under threat—not just from the potential ~56% cutbacks in the 3rd year of the next drought, but from a lack of FISCAL sustainability. Opp Now exclusive op/ed by Gregg Dieguez, Vice Chair of the Midcoast Community Council, here expressing his own opinions.
Read MoreIn response to SCOTUS' recent Grant's Pass ruling, an appeals court has overturned an injunction that has prevented San Francisco from enforcing or threatening to enforce laws that prohibit sitting, lying or lodging on public property. Gabe Grechler reports for the always impressive SF Standard.
Read MoreThe Supreme Court decided last month that cities could cite homeless campers. Some cities say ‘clear them all.’ Some vow 'no change.' Others are ramping up outreach. Shawn Hubler and Mike Baker explore for NYT.
Read MoreAccording to the California Apartment Ass'n, economists and housing experts from Stanford and UC Berkeley warn that Proposition 33 would worsen California’s housing crisis by hindering new affordable housing construction and overturning state laws mandating more affordable housing. Additionally, Proposition 33 would remove protections for homeowners, allowing regulators to control rental prices for single-family homes and accessory dwelling units. From CAA newsletter.
Read MoreWhen free marketeers daylight the massive subsidies needed to operate public transit, transit advocates often retort that private automobile driving receives gov't subsidies, too. The fearless Mark Joffe explores the question in the Cato at Liberty blog, and finds the transit advocates have a legit point.
Read MoreBillions of redevelopment dollars squandered. The mayor's security detail accosted. Crime, blight, and chronic homelessness. Maybe it's time to just move on from the naive dreams of a mini-Manhattan on the Guadalupe. Joel Kotkin explains in the New Atlantis how SJ's failure to build a vibrant downtown isn't simply a local failure--rather, it's evidence of inexorable changes in how modern people want to live.
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