Archive for September 2025

Image by Picryl A 5/8 cent sales tax might not seem like much, but it’s part of a “death by a thousand cuts” for small and medium-sized businesses in Santa Clara County. So says SVBA Board Member and Treasurer Pat Waite, who argues Measure A will push prices up and hurt local businesses, forcing retailers…

Image by Picryl A 5/8 cent sales tax might not seem like much, but it’s part of a “death by a thousand cuts” for small and medium-sized businesses in Santa Clara County. So says SVBA Board Member and Treasurer Pat Waite, who argues Measure A will push prices up and hurt local businesses, forcing retailers…

Could CA’s skyrocketing costs to insure a home ever, you know, go down? According to United Housing Alliance’s Irene Smith and Manhattan Institute’s Tim Rosenberger, we need: proactive wildfire prevention, local gov’t championing older apartment buildings, + state-level advocacy. An Opp Now exclusive roundup. Irene Smith, United Housing Alliance president: California’s insurance challenges are driving…

“Tax Return – 1040” by 401(K) 2012, CC BY-SA 2.0 “It was prejudicial and misleading,” says long time Santa Clara County resident Dawn Davis of the Measure A ballot label. She and three other plaintiffs victoriously sued to remove some of the partisan language from the ballot summary. Although the hasty tax hike election will…

Here’s what you need to know this week — in 30 seconds or less: Keep scrolling for all the data and details. Dear Neighbor, I’ve been reflecting this week on a few things – violence, free speech, social media and the state of our democracy, among others.  It seems like every time I open my…

“Personal Income Taxes Ver3” by Chris Potter, CC BY 2.0 County residents are promised that Measure A sales tax is only “temporary” and will have plenty of oversight. But County Assessor candidate Rishi Kumar argues neither is the case. He says Measure A is a regressive sales tax that won’t go away, can be spent on anything,…

“Personal Income Taxes Ver8” by Chris Potter, CC BY 2.0 Santa Clara County’s public health system is poised to lose $3 billion yearly by 2030. So says County Assessor candidate Rishi Kumar, who argues the $330 million that Measure A is meant to raise each year will only pay a fraction of the shortfall. “Where’s…

“Personal Income Taxes Ver8” by Chris Potter, CC BY 2.0 Santa Clara County’s public health system is poised to lose $3 billion yearly by 2030. So says County Assessor candidate Rishi Kumar, who argues the $330 million that Measure A is meant to raise each year will only pay a fraction of the shortfall. “Where’s…

Despite a broad consensus among economists and overwhelming evidence that rent control actually makes housing more expensive, California state government passed a sweeping new rent control ordinance this month. John Phelan of the Foundation for Economic Education surveys the damage he thinks is likely to occur. Rent controls propose using government regulation to solve the…

Will Sherman reports on a recent Fairfax City Council public discussion on the possibility of repealing “extreme” rent control in 2024. Residents are concerned about investors gradatim pulling out of Fairfax, which feeds into a citywide revenue doom-loop. Facing down a 2024 ballot initiative to repeal what are among California’s strictest rent and eviction controls,…