On June 2, California voters will cast primary ballots to choose their top two candidates for governor. One of those two will become the next governor-elect in November. As a retired trustee on the Santa Clara County Board of Education, former teacher, principal and adjunct professor, I am weighing the candidate field on their education...

This year, thousands of Vietnam War veterans will cross into the 65+ population, a demographic shift that carries both honor and urgency. These men and women served our country decades ago. Today, many need us to serve them. In Mountain View, 12% of residents are age 65 and older, and more than 1,400 veterans call...

Nearly a decade has passed since the case now known as “Slavery Towers” exposed the human cost of San Jose’s failure to enforce basic worker protections. In 2016, city officials were alerted that construction workers on a high-rise project were being denied pay. A year later, the U.S. Department of Labor confirmed more than a...

April is Second Chance Month, a time for exploring how our community can reduce barriers for individuals coming home from jail or prison. Faith-based organizations have long been the safety net for the justice-involved, long before Santa Clara County opened the Reentry Resource Center in 2012. In 2011, Assembly Bill 109 or Public Safety Realignment...

This year marks 30 years since my mother brought our family to the United States. I was a child then, too young to fully understand what migration asks of a family, the sacrifice, the uncertainty and the faith that a different place might offer your children a safer and more dignified future. I have spent...

San José Spotlight’s recent coverage of potential health care closures in Santa Clara County should be a wake-up call. When hospitals like Hazel Hawkins close in rural communities like Hollister, the impact doesn’t stay contained. Patients are forced to travel farther, emergency rooms like St. Louise Regional in Gilroy become overcrowded and patient care suffers....

Mayor Matt Mahan is running for governor on a platform of fiscal responsibility. But what does fiscal responsibility look like here at home, in San Jose? The San Jose Unified School District is funded by one of the largest property tax bases in the country due to high property values. In November, voters approved Measure...

Last month, Super Bowl 60 put Santa Clara at the center of the sports and entertainment world. While we are still compiling the final economic impact data, two things are already clear: Super Bowl 60 generated meaningful economic and community benefits for the city of Santa Clara — and it did so while protecting the...

I am a San Jose Unified School District elementary school parent, and I am grateful for the excellent education my daughter is receiving. I am concerned the district’s school consolidation proposals by the Schools of Tomorrow Implementation Committee have not accounted for the negative impacts that closures have on all students. At the March 10...

Silicon Valley has reached a defining moment. We are generating record amounts of wealth, yet, most people who live here are still struggling to get by. That was the stark finding of the recently-released Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s 2026 Silicon Valley Index. It is a sobering look at our cities and confirms what many San...