Columns

Columns

Philbrick: High-speed rail is a sustainable way to connect California

High-speed rail boasts the potential to connect Californians faster than any other mode of ground transport, create a multitude of jobs in high-cost cities and increase economic activity—all while expanding sustainable transportation choices and reducing emissions. Transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. According to the Environmental Protection Agency,...

Rodríguez: Addressing the climate crisis through education

I recently had the distinct pleasure of visiting the Lab for Nature-Based Living—the flagship garden of the California Native Garden Foundation. Located at 76 Race Street near downtown San Jose, the foundation is a nonprofit whose mission is to create a new land-use model in order to “leverage urban spaces for education, workforce development and...

Staedler: San Jose’s development policy is redlining 2.0

San Jose like other parts of the country is dealing with the harsh realities of past racial injustice. This has sparked “equity lens” and fairness conversations in the city’s budgeting of vital services. One of the undeniable wrongs that can’t be ignored is redlining. Redlining was a practice of creating racially segregated neighborhoods in every...

Robinson: For the sake of San Jose, an appointment please

Appointing new members to the San Jose City Council is in the best interest of the city, can provide unity of government and is more in line with the reasoning of our national founders than an expensive special election. The simple facts are these: A special election will cost around $10 million of taxpayer dollars...

Collins: How is today’s housing market different than 2008?

As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates in an attempt to reduce inflation, there is growing uncertainty in the economy. Some are worried about the increasing interest rate’s impact on “kitchen table issues” such as credit card bills and utilities.  However, this anticipated economic downturn looks different from the last major economic decline of 2008....

Op-ed: Speaker Pelosi is stepping down, but her legacy remains

Last week in the chamber of the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered magnificent remarks about our Constitution, our democracy and her decision to relinquish power, as great leaders do. As Bay Area members of the California delegation representing Santa Clara County, we celebrate her decades of consequential leadership and her unparalleled record of...

Robinson: A tale of two cities

First, congratulations to Matt Mahan for winning the San Jose mayor’s race. He wasn’t my choice, but I wish him the best of success. Mahan won the race for mayor, but his opponent Cindy Chavez did not lose. Electorally, San Jose is a tale of two cities. One, a voting majority made up of neighborhoods...