Posts by Take Back San Jose
CAA: Prop 33 is “extremist” rent control
Image by H. Michael Karshis According 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…
Read MoreUpcoming local tax tsunami may be prompting updated tax revolt, says expert
Regional housing tax. Parks tax. Measure E extension. Prop 5. SJ Unified parcel tax. The list could go on, but the threatening tide keeps rising: politicos are coming at Silicon Valley taxpayers with a tidal wave of new taxes–surging over Silicon Valley’s already super high tax rates. But analysts suggest that residents may have had…
Read MoreStatewide rent control initiative continues to split SF liberals
Yesterday’s rent control advocates are suddenly getting cold feet regarding statewide caps on rental prices, as they realize belatedly that their market-busting schemes have constrained new housing development, exacerbating cost of living and homelessness. The usually liberal SF Grow Report says No to Prop 33. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors endorsed Prop 33. That…
Read MoreValley Water releases draft Environmental Impact Report on the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project
On July 12, 2024, Valley Water released the Coyote Creek Flood Protection Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). This document identifies environmental impacts associated with Valley Water’s plan to build and maintain a series of flood risk reduction improvements along approximately nine miles of Coyote Creek in San José. The improvements would be implemented along…
Read MoreMoney flees CA onerous taxation, regulations, and ridiculous cost of living
Image by Vincepal on Flickr The pandemic lockdowns accelerated flight from states with onerous taxes and a high cost of living. The latest data from the Internal Revenue Service shows that the exodus has continued after life got back to quasi-normal. And CA’s revenue drain–led by Silicon Valley–is the hardest hit. The WSJ reports. The…
Read MoreValley Water Board of Directors postpones decision on proposed ordinance to reduce encampments along creeks, waterways and water supply facilities
SAN JOSE — At its meeting on July 9, 2024, Valley Water’s Board of Directors postponed a decision on a proposed ordinance to reduce encampments, prevent re-encampments and prohibit related activities along creeks, waterways, water supply facilities and other lands where Valley Water holds land rights. The Board of Directors sent the ordinance back to…
Read MoreNo excuses #5: “No more passing the buck.” Cities now have tools to clean up inhumane encampments–immediately
Image by Wikimedia Commons As tent cities filled with homeless people proliferated in West Coast communities in recent years, elected politicians dealt with the problem by passing the buck, saying they were tied by a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that prohibitions on homeless encampments amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.” In City of…
Read MoreNot surprising: California’s $2B transit bailout will “exacerbate operating losses”
Image by Ken Lund Public transit experts warn that investing in struggling transit systems’ expansion while ridership remains low could be a recipe for financial disaster, as these expansions may lack the future ridership to cover the cost of their growth in the future. Kenneth Schrupp explains in The Center Square. SB 125 in 2023…
Read MoreCase study Denver: small basic income pilot shows promise for housing the homeless–way more cost-effective than brutally expensive new, subsidized apartments
Denver gave homeless people cash and now half of them live in their own place. While humanitarian middlemen like SNAP and Medicaid impose severe spending restrictions, basic income relies on trust. Denver’s pilot suggests that people who know what they need can spend it rather efficiently—and housing is a popular choice, as 45% of recipients…
Read MoreValley Water begins annual maintenance work in creeks for flood protection
Every year, Valley Water performs work in creeks across Santa Clara County to ensure that flood protection projects continue to provide their designed levels of protection and keep our communities safe. This critical work includes managing vegetation to reduce the intensity and harmful impacts of fires, particularly important when conditions are dry. Valley Water primarily…
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