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As Santa Clara County’s high school students prepare to step into the role of active citizens, a crucial component of their civic education is voter preregistration. California is among the states leading the charge in encouraging youth participation in the democratic process. State law allows eligible 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote, ensuring they...
Licon: East San Jose families must fight to close county airport
My family has been distressed by Reid-Hillview Airport for decades. And it all stems from our East San Jose community being marginalized and our concerns over safety, lead and noise downplayed at every turn. The one constant: a dismissive, kick-the-can-down-the-road attitude toward preparing for Reid-Hillview’s closure and the harm the airport has done. The marginalization...
Silver Taube: Vote against the Taxpayer Deception Act this November
In a development that has alarmed Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Legislature, counties, cities and special districts across the state, the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act — more accurately dubbed the Taxpayer Deception Act by its opponents — has qualified for the November ballot. Placed on the ballot by the California Business Roundtable and California...
Ritchie: A treatise on real estate commissions
We lifers in the commercial real estate brokerage world have often looked upon our distant cousins in the residential world in a somewhat bemused fashion. No disrespect intended, my late great mother was a major pioneer in the San Francisco mansion selling business, where until the 1970s it was literally called “bedroom brokerage” in that...
Bramson: Some basic, universal truths about income
In February, Arizona Republicans supported a measure to ban guaranteed income programs throughout the state. Far from actually considering the terrifying economic currents in the United States that are making it impossible for half of all Americans to pay their rent, these legislators thought it best to take a page from the book of a...
Philbrick: It’s time to think differently about public transit fares
Commuters hustling to get to work, students trekking across the city to get to school and visitors touring colleges all must fumble through their wallets and purses for exact change, multiple transit cards for different systems and paper tickets just to get to their destination. Multi-use transit cards like the Clipper card work well, but...
Foley: The future of traffic safety in San Jose
As chair of the Vision Zero Task Force, I announced on Feb. 29 that the task force will be coming to a close at the end of this year. Understandably, this has left some community members and street safety advocates concerned about the future of Vision Zero in San Jose. I empathize with these concerns;...
Editorial: San Jose needs to direct more resources to 988
When 988 launched almost two years ago it had two specific goals: streamline suicide and mental health calls to a one-stop crisis hotline and take law enforcement out of the equation when possible. That’s not happening in San Jose. A recent city report shows Santa Clara County mental health teams in 2023 responded to just 2% of...
Collins: California officials tackle affordable housing shortages
The housing crisis is real. While estimates vary on how bad the housing shortage is nationwide, Freddie Mac concluded that, as of late 2020, there was a housing shortage of 3.8 million homes. This tight supply has led to higher housing prices throughout the country, especially here in Santa Clara County. According to a Pew Research...
Robinson: One candidate will win, but voters can’t lose
Campaigns don’t always mean anything. A person could run a perfect campaign and still not beat a Zoe Lofgren, Nancy Pelosi, Ro Khanna or any number of current elected officials. But sometimes a campaign makes a huge difference. This was never more true than in the primary race for U.S. Senate and the congressional race...