Author: Special to San José Spotlight

The amount of pediatric emergency department visits for mental health reasons has doubled from 2011 to 2020, increasing 8% each year. The number of suicide-related visits has increased five-fold among youth. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently released a report sounding the alarm on mental health, particularly for children, adolescents and young adults....

“I believe you, because, well, you’re innocent looking.” Those were the words of my Palo Alto High School administrator when I reported sexual harassment at age 15. He told me that in 10 years, no one would remember the months I spent attending class fearing for my physical safety. More than 10 years later, I...

America is afraid, and so are we. In the United States, some of our most vulnerable minority groups are being targeted by politicians and public figures who crave power. This power struggle has created an environment where harmful narratives and hateful rhetoric are becoming more common. As two Asian American lawmakers, we cannot stand by...

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan put out a statement on April 16 claiming the emergency interim housing he’s promoting is “a real solution to the human suffering we see on our streets.” However, a closer examination of the figures shows he’s grossly exaggerating the impact. In his recent budget message, Mahan pushed for completion of...

Relocatable homes have a key role in solving homelessness in Santa Clara County – and all of California For over 40 years, Santa Clara County has failed to produce enough new homes to shelter our diverse residents. The resulting housing crisis is sadly obvious to all, and is felt heartbreakingly every day by our unhoused...

Do you want to visit Disneyland’s Tomorrowland without the expense and trouble of an airplane flight? Then visit Sunnyvale’s new City Hall. I was privileged to be invited to the initial pre-opening ceremony. The expansive entrance patio is composed of interlocking tiles of multiple colors. A raised garden area is fenced in with a granite...

Consistent with his campaign of common sense, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s recent budget message implements his goals of ending the era of homeless encampments, cleaning up trash and blight throughout the city and improving public safety. It’s a back to basics budget built through consensus and listening to good ideas, wherever they come from....

Cities across the country are deep into reinventing their downtowns in light of changed work-from-home and business travel realities. Sadly, San Jose’s downtown continues to rank near the bottom of numerous proxy metrics of “vibrancy” such as return-to-office rates, sales taxes receipts, retail leasing rates and cell phone usage. Our City Council needs to stop...

Dr. Sara Cody, I’m 32 years old. I have myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as “chronic fatigue syndrome.” It causes profound exhaustion which is triggered by normal, everyday activities. My quality of life has rapidly and deeply diminished over the last five years. If I were to contract COVID-19, my chronic fatigue would be much worse...

In his first budget message, Mayor Matt Mahan claims he is approaching the city’s financial map in a new way. That’s true—but not in the way Mayor Mahan suggests. Confronting a weak tax base, Mahan states he will be an agent of change—concentrating on the basics and being disciplined in focusing resources on top priorities....