In 2022, California suffered more than 20 states of emergency or major disaster declarations due to weather or natural disasters. The unprecedented series of winter storms that pummeled the state caused power outages ranging from 12 hours to two weeks for more than 7 million Californians and thousands of evacuation orders. We often think about...

On July 5, NBC published an investigation revealing that the District Attorney’s Chief Investigator Moises Reyes had “made discriminatory remarks towards and about women, transgender people and Black people” in formal settings and that the Santa Clara County Equal Opportunity Division (EOD) had sustained five allegations against him. Despite these sustained findings by EOD months...

As board president of the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, I read the May 2 Mercury News op-ed “It’s code red for six of San Jose’s school districts” by County Board of Education Trustee Joseph Di Salvo and San Jose-Evergreen Community College Trustee Karen Martinez with dismay and disappointment. After not seeing my letter...

Tenants, unhoused and low-income people won a stunning victory on June 13 in San Jose. After hundreds turned out to testify about the dire need for affordable housing, the San Jose City Council voted 10-1 to reject Mayor Matt Mahan’s proposal to shift millions of dollars of Measure E funds away from permanent housing and...

The county voter information guide aims to help registered voters pick candidates. For some races, it facilitates this. For others, however, it’s an impediment. The problem is the steep cost to appear in the guide for certain candidates, including candidates for Congress, the state Legislature and a plethora of local offices. Only the independently wealthy...

The number of older adults with mental health disorders is expected to nearly double by 2030. One factor exacerbating this is isolation, which more than doubles the risk of depression compared to those that do not or rarely feel lonely. The issue has become so prevalent that in May, the U.S. Surgeon General proclaimed a...

When a problem is sketched out on a piece of paper, it’s easy to feel as though it’s manageable. The housing crisis is not one of those problems. It’s complicated, with different problems that seem to exist in separate silos—each on their own piece of paper—and each with seemingly different solutions. Some of the solutions...

“Run it like a business.” It is true in a sense that localities need to be run like a business in multiple ways. Balanced budgets. Quality customer service. Good products. And a full staff to ensure everything runs smoothly. When asked, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s office replied, “The city has some business-like functions, he...

Can we have democracy without empty platitudes and hypocrisy? Two years ago I set out on an epic quest to see if such a thing was possible. The culmination of this journey arrived June 7, 2022, when I was on the ballot as a candidate for Santa Clara County assessor after running an innovative, grassroots campaign...

As a former Valley Water engineer and current board member, I have tremendous appreciation for people who build and maintain our infrastructure. Every day, Valley Water employees manage and operate our agency’s complex and integrated water supply system, including dams, reservoirs, pipelines, levees, pump stations, treatment plants and recycled water facilities. Much of this water...