SJ CM David Cohen drew jeers when he stated—inaccurately to many—that his support for Prop 5 was about "democracy." The good folks at the California Policy Center disagree, and suggest it's a backdoor maneuver to boost union employee wages.
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Universities' Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs aren't as loud or aggressive today as in 2020, but they certainly haven't disappeared—yet. In an excellent NY Times article, Stanford University's Paul Brest and Emily J. Levine discuss a rising DEI alternative: “New Pluralism.” A pluralistic approach unites students of different identities/ideologies through open conversation (rather than pushing One Preferred Agenda).
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SJ CM David Cohen revealed a lack of understanding of the nature of democracy on 8.27 when he equated democracy with majority rule, as part of his misguided defense of Proposition 5 (which would lower the long-held threshold for new local taxes from 66% to 55%.). Majority rule does not equate to a democratic society—as historians and political scientists readily attest. Paul Woodruff at the Oxford University Press sets Cohen straight with the following essay.
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A decade after Proposition 47 was approved by Californians, many are questioning whether the crime-lenient bill has actually promoted “safe neighborhoods.” Below, algorithm analyst Ray Manning zooms in on Long Beach's publicly available data, finding that: no, crime of all kinds has spiked in LBC post Prop 47.
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With SCOTUS' Grants Pass decision, updates to SJ's homelessness strategies, and Gov. Newsom's call for cities to get more aggressive regarding encampments, we asked the SJ Housing Dept for updates on key, related data. They replied quickly with the info below. An Opp Now exclusive.
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Responding to pressure from residents and Gov. Newsom, Los Angeles (which has been slow to abandon its failed Housing First orthodoxy) is starting to move more aggressively to remediate longstanding, inhumane homeless encampments in the City of Angels. The LA Times reports.
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In a rare development, SJ City Council on August 27 couldn't achieve a unanimous vote on endorsing Prop 5 (it passed 8-2). Prop 5 aims to lower from 66% to 55% the majority needed for new local taxes, undoing Proposition 13's precedents. Prop 13 was passed by a large margin of Santa Clara County and San Jose voters. CM Doan, who voted against the Prop 5 endorsement, queried city staff as to why there hasn't been broad outreach by the city to residents regarding the endorsements. Staff responded by saying that the city's Intergovernmental Relations Group engages only with nonprofits and non-governmental organizations, and that they will continue with that limited outreach model. The Doan/staffer exchange below.
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Now it's official: school's back in session. Restarting our exclusive Opp Now series, three more econ professors (teaching in local cities including SJ) went all out to sell the Opp Now community on their discipline's best books—interesting, foundational, applicable, and, yep, no degree required.
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The more Sacramento forces rigid zoning requirements onto local communities, the less likely CA cities will be to help subsidize housing. In this Opp Now exclusive, former Los Altos Mayor Anita Enander also questions the need for state and regional control of housing solutions. After all, she says, several Bay Area cities have successfully raised money for affordable housing, a sign that local control is key to progress.
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The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression's Greg Lukianoff and Sean Stevens explain that 2023 was the worst year on record for colleges' deplatforming of speakers, and 2024 might just beat it (see: antisemitic mobs terrorizing SJSU and UC Berkeley). Putting an end to this ever-perpetuating cycle will require universities to dole out real punishments for offenders, says FIRE, not wrist slaps or cover-ups.
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Most locals nowadays wave away race- and religion-based property covenants (agreements not to sell property to racial and ethnic minorities) as a remnant of a long-ago Santa Clara County. But the truth is less sanguine: In November 1964, Californians passed Proposition 14, which allowed property sellers to openly discriminate on racial grounds. Opp Now looks back on this chilling reminder, via Wikipedia.
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In a letter to the SF Examiner, SJ Mayor Matt Mahan rewinds the clock on Proposition 47 and explains just how we got here today. Since it passed in 2014, Prop 47 has downgraded the penalties for many theft/drug crimes, and made it difficult to mandate treatment for repeat offenders. The consequences for cities like San Jose—detailed below—have been widespread and detrimental.
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