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I recently had the distinct honor and pleasure of participating in Joint Venture Silicon Valley‘s State of the Valley Conference, which brings together leaders from across multiple sectors to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Silicon Valley. My participation included a panel discussion led by Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, during which I and...
Pandori: San Jose mayor shows budget politics should be about working together
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....
Staedler: Architects sponsor state bill that hide plans from public view
California enacted SB 1214 into law on Jan. 1, 2023. It uses copyright law to allow city planning departments to avoid sharing development plans with the public and news agencies. It was previously the practice of planning departments to post development plans online and send images to media outlets, who could then write stories about...
Rawson: Where is downtown San Jose going?
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...
Robinson: Gun violence is here to stay
Over 129 mass shootings so far this year. Three nine-year olds died yesterday. The usual hand wringing in the media was in full force. Parents are outraged that no new gun safety laws are forthcoming. As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s de ja vu all over again.” Yet national polls show about 45% of the...
From the CEO: San Jose turns a blind eye to transparency
More than a year ago, San José Spotlight and the First Amendment Coalition sued San Jose and its former mayor for blatant violations of public records laws. A quick refresher: former Mayor Sam Liccardo deleted a government email and persuaded a resident to contact his private account to skirt disclosure. The city claimed no emails from...
Sherman: An open letter to Dr. Sara Cody
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...
Collins: Reimagining home ownership
Over the last few years there have been many discussions about duplexes. This includes legislation around zoning changes driven by the state to encourage more duplex production, and more recently, a proposed local ordinance that would give corporate nonprofits a special priority in the purchasing of them and other multi-family properties. What I want to...
Brownstein: San Jose mayor’s impossible budget plan abdicates leadership
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....
Dewan: Santa Clara County schools are looking for educators
Schools throughout Santa Clara County are looking for candidates to fill important positions for the upcoming school year. Working in education is incredibly rewarding. School personnel make a difference in the lives of children each and every day. The Santa Clara County Office of Education partners with local schools to recruit credentialed educators to fill...