Many folks affected by local gov't decisions aren't giving public comment at City Council—or feel shut down when they try. So how can cities like SJ reach them? The Toronto Star recaps Calgary's highly successful community engagement program, in which a public bus gave free rides on its regular routes (over several months) in exchange for feedback.
Read MoreThere is a recurring debate in California about the effectiveness of regional governments when compared to the existing local government structure. Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass'n explores the pros and cons in the Orange County Register (with a shout-out to Daniel Borenstein at the Merc).
Read MoreBy taking advantage of the flexibility provided by SCOTUS' Grants Pass decision (which SJ has yet to do), SF's most troubled neighborhoods are experiencing signs of recovery. KQED reports.
Read MoreAfter Collective Impact’s director slept in the same house as a city official, was it proper that he ended up with six-figure government contracts? Two SF agencies have now canceled five deals, worth millions of dollars—in fact, his org was the second biggest recipient of Dream Keeper Initiative funds. The SF Standard’s Jonah Owen Lamb, Gabe Greschler, and Noah Baustin report.
Read MoreSan Jose's reputation for economic health took a big hit last week, as the widely-respected Milken Institute's index of Best Performing Cities had SJ going off a cliff: from a #44 ranking in 2024 to a #108 ranking in 2025. The SF Chronicle reports.
Read MoreMore than 3,000 newspapers have closed over the past 20 years, which has created a local information vacuum. But Howard Husock at the National Review worries that filling it with quasi-journalistic propaganda funded by big foundations is no substitute for news.
Read MoreAs late as 2018, California topped the list for Allied Van Lines’s inbound movers. But in 2020, the company noticed a reversal in the trend. Now, more people are fleeing from this state than from any other. Fueling the exodus are taxes, a high cost of living, and stringent regulations. California Globe’s Katy Grimes reports.
Read MoreSan Francisco's curfew on Tenderloin stores hasn’t stopped late-night drug scenes, but it has been successful in frustrating business owners, who say they’ve lost sales. SF Standard reports.
Read MoreOffering a different angle than folks thinking about antisocial implications, Noema mag's Shannon Vallor believes Silicon Valley's AI boom poses a cogent opportunity for us: to “reclaim” our own humanity. To better carve out what distinguishes real, human intelligence (and creativity) from flat, conventional, unfeeling artificiality. Vallor's essay is excerpted, below.
Read MoreWe've noticed that a lot of literature depicts free enterprise in caricature, from Dickens' cartoonishly greedy businessmen to American Psycho's thesis that capitalism makes men into crazed murderers (!). But the reality of how business plays into society—as Bay Area English professors explore, with seven book rec's—is much more complex. And fascinating. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreSome cities have surveys. Or focus groups. San Jose has 2-min public comment slots. But Edinburgh, Scotland uses a randomly chosen 12–24 person “Citizen's Jury” to debate and deliberate ideas for policymakers—and the methodology looks quite promising. The Social Science & Medicine journal analyzes, below.
Read MoreNow-outgoing General Manager Michael Hursh of AC Transit has been earning an exorbitant $400k+ salary for several years now—and will earn about $400k more before November, all while doing... no work. Below, Contra Costa Taxpayers Ass'n unpacks what's going on with AC Transit's controversial “sweetheart agreement,” and how Bay Area transit could better allocate its taxpayers' money.
