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In my nearly two decades as a restaurant franchise owner, I was always grateful for my community and the passion they had for supporting local family-owned businesses. Locally-owned businesses, whether franchises or independent, are the backbone of our local and statewide economies. Small business creates a majority of jobs in any local community and that...
Op-ed: San Jose’s new district map silences some communities of color
Last month, the San Jose City Council voted on a new electoral district map—carving out boundaries that will impact how our communities are represented for the next 10 years. While the district map adopted by the City Council attempts to address a legacy of racial segregation that continues to impact our region in areas like...
Bramson: The strong case for a successful affordable housing bond in Measure A
Having worked with and in the public sector for most of my career, I know that there are many facets in government that remain a mystery to most people on the outside. Whether it’s the nuances of land use authority, the purpose of a board resolution, or simply the role of the many commissions and...
Abare: No new jail—rising COVID cases call for decarceration
Last month, amid the largest outbreak in the jail since the start of the pandemic, a man being held in our county jail died from COVID-19. Now, as omicron surges, people in custody are more vulnerable than ever. The COVID pandemic has highlighted what epidemiologists have known for decades—correctional facilities concentrate disease and spread it to...
Ellenberg and Manley: Mental health and substance abuse as a public health crisis
We’ve seen the headlines and news reports, the social media posts and countless podcasts. COVID-19 has shined light on the existing gaps in our systems that have left us all exposed. But for decades before coronavirus was part of our lexicon, these gaps began to manifest on our streets, in our schools, in our neighborhoods...
Zisser: Flawed push for a new jail is a disability rights issue
New construction does not cure a broken jail culture. Outdated architecture didn’t kill Michael Tyree in 2015 and seriously injure Andrew Hogan in 2018; that abuse was the work of officers operating inside a culture of corruption and callousness accustomed to dehumanizing people who needed services, but instead received cruelty and neglect. Yet the County Executive’s...
Mallon: The bus—a simple solution to airport transit
The last time I went to the Mineta San Jose International Airport on public transit, I had to take the bus to the light rail before finally boarding another bus to the terminal. The trip from Cambrian took a little more than an hour and could have taken longer if I had missed a transfer....
Diridon: Petroleum causes inflation
The front page New York Times article on Nov. 11 graphs out the huge impact on the nation’s inflation caused by the 50% plus jump in fuel, oil and gasoline costs in the past year. Three of the top four inflation influencers are petroleum products. Each of those could be reduced or eliminated by the...
Staedler: Community Opportunity to Purchase Program doesn’t need to interfere with the market
The housing tragedy that our community faces continues to be a grave reality. I have been an advocate of buying existing rental units, and while the bureaucratic process has caused affordable housing units to cost approximately $800,000 per unit, it doesn’t need to be that way. If you look at the proformas for affordable housing, you...
Op-ed: City staff should not be in service to the billboard lobby
In San Jose’s enthusiasm to bring us digital billboards, city staff have ruthlessly dismissed one of the biggest accomplishments of the man for whom San Jose International Airport is named: Norman Y. Mineta. While mayor of San Jose in 1972, Mineta supported the ban on new billboards on public property and helped usher in policies...