Posts by Take Back San Jose

Rejecting the argument that preventing homeless from appropriating public parks and spaces violated the 8th Amendment, SCOTUS empowers cities like SJ to enforce anti-camping ordinances. Legal Insurrection unpacks the decisions logic and issues.  Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided whether cities should enforce anti-camping ordinances against the homeless in an Eighth Amendment challenge to an…

Image by 10 10 on Flickr In fairness, it only took nine years to complete one of the bullet train’s first structures, which appears to be floating in space. Even a cryptocurrency creator marvels at the impracticality. Critics wonder if the SF-LA line will come barreling through Santa Clara County by 2400, and perhaps being…

It’s too bad bank accounts don’t come with surge protectors. After a yearly $400 rate spike, PG&E customers in San José and much of CA now scramble to make their household budgets work—one San Francisco resident saw her energy bill jump by $100 in a single month. SF Chronicle’s Julie Johnson reports. North Beach resident Serena…

To nobody’s surprise, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, an outgrowth of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, agreed on Wednesday morning to put a $20 billion regional bond on the November ballot in nine counties. But opponents of the mammoth tax offered a serious, compelling critique. Will Sherman reports in this Opp Now exclusive. Although outnumbered,…

Image by World Bank Photo Collection Following Gov. Newsom’s blistering critiques of housing and homelessness spends, so-called affordable housing programs got cut substantially in the state budget. Lynn La reports for Cal Matters about which programs came out on the short end in the budget negotiations. • Affordable housing advocates: In a blow to efforts helping to…

The list lengthens. To review: SJ Housing Dept. VTA board. Sta Clara City Council. SJ Unified. And now Oakland–all torched by independent entities for crummy governance. Natalie Hansen from Courthouse News surveys the safety critiques in the East Bay. City leaders in Oakland, California, say they may soon dedicate millions to support an overwhelmed 911 call…

Image by Wikimedia Commons VTA helped thwart a state legislative initiative to bail out BART this Spring, while moving forward with a costly plan to extend BART service through SJ. This inconsistency raises the possibility that future SJ residents will be walking atop a white elephant running under East Santa Clara Street. The unstoppable Marc Joffe explores in another…

Turns out that many unhoused in the streets of cities like San José don’t need an elaborate suite of social services, but just enough to help with the rent. Housing perfectionists should be reminded that college kids do it, even working professionals do it, so why can’t most healthy homeless folks rent a room in…

Image by Seth Anderson The California legislature is trying to sabotage another initiative that would toughen penalties for theft and drug crimes. Why do state politicians fear voters? The Wall St. Journal reports. Law enforcement, businesses and local elected officials across the Golden State are campaigning to roll back parts of Prop. 47. That’s the…

At long last, on 6.11, San Jose City Council reallocated Measure E tax funds to prioritize interim housing and creekside clean-up. This move returned Measure E’s outlays to their original intent–addressing housing and homelessness issues in a balanced way. Just as important, it put an end to years of burning through 75% of the Measure’s annual…