For more than half a century, the people of Alviso have waited for something so ordinary it should never have become a struggle — a decent neighborhood park. Generations of children have grown up while San Jose produced plans, commissioned studies, held meetings and made promises. Year after year, the blueprints grew more ambitious, but...

I love Cupertino. I loved serving as a school board trustee, councilwoman and then as mayor of this beautiful city. Yes, there were contentious debates and divided votes. But we rolled up our sleeves, worked through our differences and came together to build a better city for residents. Today, the city I love has lost...

I have built my career in the building trades, first on the job and then leading the council that speaks for the men and women who build this region. One of the first lessons an apprentice learns is that, on job sites and in the homes of people who work for a living, a person’s...

We are days away from one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime and what many may not realize is that the federal government has tried to control the outcomes of the 2026 elections for more than a year. For California, this effort began on Sept. 25, 2025 when the U.S. Department of Justice...

I’m often asked “What’s going on in Cupertino?” That question is prompted by two phenomena — fierce political fighting and a general degradation of our businesses. As someone who has been here a long time, I have lived through it. When I first ran for City Council in 1999, we didn’t have political parties or...

While typical political campaigns are filled with hollow promises and polished fluff, Santa Clara Councilmember Karen Hardy delivers concrete action. As Santa Clara faces a critical juncture, she stands alone as the only mayoral candidate willing to immediately back up her commitment to residents with bold legislative solutions. On day one of her administration, Hardy...

As Santa Clara County enters the rainy season, Valley Water is preparing for an El Niño that may bring heavy, prolonged rainfall, increasing the risk of flooding along streets, low-lying areas and local waterways. No seasonal outlook can predict exactly when, where or how intensely storms will arrive. But effective flood preparedness begins well before...

A slate of candidates for Cupertino City Council — two San Jose employees and a planning commissioner who proposed rezoning neighborhood corner lots from R-1 (single-family) to R-3 (multifamily) — portrays Cupertino as a city in decline. Whose interests would they put first, those of Cupertino residents or someone else’s?  The facts do not support...

Imagine graduating from high school and hearing, “We’ll pay you to continue your education and have steady work building tech campuses, hospitals, schools, data centers and clean-energy projects. You’ll earn enough to buy a house in the San Francisco Bay Area, raise a family and retire with dignity.” It may sound like a pipe dream...

The democratic process starts with respecting the public. The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District board just voted to remove that as a requirement for its elected officials. Think about the last time you spoke up about something you wanted elected officials to address. Maybe you never have. Most people don’t, because it can be nerve-wracking...