Columns

Columns

Op-ed: Matt Mahan’s performative allyship

It’s time for San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan to put his money where his mouth is. Supporting reproductive rights includes making decisions in your life that align with your values. Saying that you support a person’s right to choose while having founded and led a company to abstain from taking a stand on abortion is performative...

Dewan: Schools respond to increasing fentanyl overdose deaths

Last May, I wrote about the need to raise awareness and prevent fentanyl related deaths, especially among our youth. At that time, the first ever National Fentanyl Awareness Day was launched. An important goal of that campaign was to ensure communities knew about fentanyl and the dangers of illegally made counterfeit pills and other drugs...

Silver Taube: The restaurant industry wants to halt a law giving fast-food workers a seat at the table

On Labor Day, Gov. Gavin Newson signed the landmark bill, AB 257, the FAST Recovery Act, into law. The law will establish a 10-member council with four seats held by fast-food franchisor and franchisee representatives, four seats held by fast-food worker representatives and advocates and two seats held by representatives of the Department of Industrial Relations...

Op-ed: When will Cindy Chavez tell the truth?

These are ominous times in America for those who have lost their fundamental right to make decisions about their own body in many states—although thankfully not here in California where our rights will remain protected—and because of the threats to our democracy. In these serious times, we need our leaders to take our issues seriously,...

Bramson: When the market gives you a recession, make some affordable housing

Recessions usually mean bad tidings for everyone. Jobs are lost, savings are depleted, and the poor get poorer. Generally the most vulnerable people feel the pinch the worst, struggling to make ends meet while shivering under the shadow of a bleak economic outlook. That’s why with major market indicators once again pointing to the strong...

Rodríguez: Partnering to build an innovative campus in Milpitas

Since opening its doors to students in early 2017, the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD) Milpitas Extension has served thousands of students and community members, bringing higher education classes and services to Escuela Parkway in Milpitas and creating one of the first locations anywhere in the United States where a kindergarten-to-college pipelines exists within...

Staedler: AB 2011 opens up commercial corridors to housing development

California passed several housing bills before the end of the current legislative session. Assembly Bill 2011 enacts a streamlined ministerial approval by cities comparable to Senate Bill 35, for multi-family projects on commercial zoned land that meet certain provisions. Those include prevailing wages and affordable housing requirements. The bill would allow housing projects to be...