Posts by Take Back San Jose

Dear Neighbor, After 3.5 hours of debate at the VTA board meeting last night, we took an important step forward on the long road to ending homelessness. I want to thank my colleagues and the dozens of residents who came out to speak in support of placing 200 units of interim housing on the Cerone…

Overly broad, antiquated fire egress regulations drive up home costs in San Jose. Meanwhile, many European countries don’t even bother with multiple staircase requirements, given modern-day fire risk mitigation strategies. It’s time for reform, says Market Urbanist’s Scott Beyer. An Opp Now exclusive. Overregulation is the main culprit behind high home prices in San Jose.…

A converted hotel is creating a home and hope for unhoused foster youth transitioning out of the system, families and individuals. Unlike other hotels that have been redeveloped as short-term supportive housing, the Crestview Hotel in Mountain View will provide permanent, supportive affordable housing to youth aging out of foster care and small families experiencing homelessness when it opens…

The Cato Institute team parses outcomes from California’s and Utah’s Housing First policies, and wonders why pols keep pouring taxpayer funds into initiatives that have only seen elevated homelessness rates. Between 2016 and 2022, for instance, CA’s rose by 93%—so really, what’s stopping us from moving on to alternate, data-evidenced approaches like requiring sobriety? Unfortunately,…

San Jose is planning cuts to a beloved parks program to compensate for raises for its unionized workers—a move that leaders warned would happen in the wake of contentious contract negotiations. Viva Calle returns for the final installment of the year Sunday. The event will shut down about six miles of streets to traffic through…

Joe Dehn and Brian Holtz—respectively the Santa Clara County Libertarian Party’s chair and secretary—parse last Tuesday’s vote by the SJ City Council to boost city workers’ paychecks by 14.5% over three years. Raising salaries that are, by and large, already competitive creates short-term goodwill between pols/Labor, but needlessly shifts funds away from core services. An…

Arizona’s public colleges just bid adieu to requiring DEI statements in the application process; and two CA lawsuits could change things up for local professors. SJSU Anthropology prof and National Association of Scholars board member Elizabeth Weiss breaks down these developments—and what’s turning people off the once-universally lauded DEI statements. An Opp Now exclusive. Opportunity…

The OC Register’s Steven Greenhut places, side by side, local gov’t budget deficits and continued accommodation of union’s demands for salary increases—even when unprecedentedly high. Greenhut critiques how both Parties in CA are succumbing to union influence, rather than prioritizing sensible spending. If you wonder why there’s never enough money and why lawmakers always look…

Dear Neighbor, Last November, the San Jose Police Department issued over 700 citations to people who chose to put their own lives and the lives of their neighbors on the line for the sake of likes, clicks and shares. This was the largest “sideshow” bust to date in our city – and though our officers are working…

Valley Water is introducing two new approaches to combating pollution created by homeless encampments near creeks—portable toilets and debit cards. The water district announced earlier this week that it will place portable toilets and wash stations at 20 key sites near homeless encampments along the creeks through an initiative called the Portable Toilet Facilities Program. It also…