Deputy Opinion Editor

Max Taves

Max Taves received a bachelor's degree in international economics from Georgetown University and a master's degree in politics from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. He previously wrote for The Wall Street Journal, CNET.com, Village Voice's LA Weekly and the Sacramento Bee, among other publications; received awards from the Western Publishing Association, the Foundation for Biomedical Research and the California Newspaper Publishers Association; and worked as a media adviser and ghostwriter for Silicon Valley investors and founders. Taves is a recreational drone pilot and photographer.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, speaks alongside Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., during a news conference on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

Taves: To win Epstein files, Rep. Ro Khanna befriended Republicans, ignored fellow Democrats

November 22, 2025 at 7:40 a.m.

The Silicon Valley congressman says some from his party rolled their eyes when he originally pushed his transparency bill.

Protesters face off against police outside Turning Point USA's on-campus event at UC Berkeley on Monday.

Taves: Turning Point set a trap. UC Berkeley fell in deep.

November 17, 2025 at 2:19 a.m.

Cal's protesters became unwitting accomplices in conservatives' content strategy aimed at undermining universities — and academic freedom.

San Jose State University, pictured in May, has played a key role supplying Silicon Valley startups with engineering graduates. However, the school's graduate programs have seen a drop in foreign students this fall, and the university has lost millions due to the Trump administration's punitive cuts.

Taves: Suicidal policies jeopardize Silicon Valley’s AI dreams

November 4, 2025 at 11:15 a.m.

President Trump’s attacks on universities and immigrants sabotage the Bay Area's — and America's — tech ambitions.

From left, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai.

Taves: ‘Capitulation wrought by fear,’ top Silicon Valley executives mum to Trump’s extortion

October 10, 2025 at 2:49 p.m.

Intel, Nvidia, AMD, Apple, Meta and Alphabet CEOs silent as president forces companies to share equity and profits.

Silicon Valley's biggest leaders — Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, left, Apple’s Tim Cook, Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg — have acted like high-paid hostages of President Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

Taves: Silicon Valley tech CEOs becoming Trump’s hostages. Be afraid.

July 11, 2025 at 1:35 p.m.

A year after he threatened to jail Zuckerberg for life, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Meta reveal alarming signs of submission.

Protesters against President Trump's immigration policies demonstrated Monday outside San Francisco City Hall. Violent protests over the weekend in Los Angeles have played into Trump's playbook to justify using military force to override California's Democratic local and state leaders.

Taves: L.A. took Trump’s bait. Will the Bay Area bite, too?

June 11, 2025 at 4:37 a.m.

Violent protesters play into the president's power-grab playbook to use military power to quell his domestic enemies.

Gov. Gavin Newsom along with Caltrans crew members clean up an encampment site in Los Angeles last August. In the absence of clear, enforceable state mandates and reliable funding, local governments have haphazardly tackled homelessness, pushing their unhoused out of their cities --and into their neighbors'.

Taves: No one’s in charge. Newsom must fill California’s homelessness leadership vacuum

June 18, 2025 at 1:37 p.m.

Cities, counties, state keep shifting responsibility for encampments and shelters. Governor should impose accountability.

Ophthalmology doctor and UC San Francisco professor Nisha Acharya's grant to study the effects of a vaccine against shingles has been cut by the Trump administration, which has launched multiple investigations of other Bay Area universities, cut their research budgets and gutted STEM education programs.

Taves: Trump’s higher education attacks endanger Silicon Valley’s secret sauce

May 4, 2025 at 2:04 p.m.

Bay Area universities used their academic freedom and federal funding to make America great. Now, that’s all at risk.

Some 1,600 insurance policies for Pacific Palisades homes were dropped by State Farm in July, six months before fires wiped out much of the community. Above, Pacific Palisades, on Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Taves: Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is paving California’s road to hell

April 28, 2025 at 12:31 p.m.

A new state insurance regulation, expanding homeowners' coverage in the most flammable areas, greases the wheels of California's suicidal building machine