For 250 years, democracy in the United States has endured because each generation has accepted a shared responsibility to solve public problems, strengthen communities and contribute to the common good. From those who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, to college students who volunteer to support literacy initiatives in local schools and libraries, the...
Sneed: The water industry might be the best career you’ve never considered
In an era obsessed with artificial intelligence startups and tech giants, one of the most stable, rewarding and interesting career paths is hiding in plain sight. Technology has long been at the center of the workforce universe here in Silicon Valley. It certainly was for me back in the days of the dot-com bubble. I...
Melillo: San Jose school district’s move to buy condos is betrayal of voter trust
A school district exists for one reason — its students. Every decision it makes should be measured by a single question: does it benefit the children in our classrooms? San Jose Unified School District’s recent move toward buying condos in downtown San Jose fails that test. Right now, students across our district are learning in...
Santos: Cleaner creeks, safer waterways — protecting our resources is working
In November 2024, the Valley Water board of directors approved the Water Resources Protection Zones Ordinance to address the environmental and safety issues from encampments along Valley Water waterways and facilities. We understood that there wouldn’t be an easy fix, but our progress over the past year shows that a coordinated approach can bring real...
Hakhamaneshi: Why I walked away from a $4,000 water heater rebate
I recently looked seriously at replacing my 2014 natural gas water heater with a heat pump water heater. At first, the decision looked easy. Silicon Valley Clean Energy was offering a large rebate, and with stacked incentives the total could be about $4,000. A contractor estimated that a 65-gallon heat pump water heater could cost...
Op-ed: AAHPI month is over, but the work is not
In May, we celebrated Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to honor the contributions, cultures and resilience of our communities. Now that the month has passed, we find ourselves thinking less about celebration and more about responsibility. The responsibility to protect what belonging truly means for every person in Mountain View, Santa...
Bell: Santa Clara County budget cuts threaten future for foster youth
Education is often called the great equalizer. But for young people in foster care, education is too often disrupted by instability, interrupted schooling, trauma and a lack of consistent support systems. At the very moment these students need more guidance, more advocacy and more opportunity, proposed budget cuts in Santa Clara County threaten to remove...
Brammer: Civic Circus — The myth of scarcity in San Jose’s budget
It’s budget season in Santa Clara County, and once again the powers that be are ringing the familiar bells of control and fear. San Jose is facing a deficit. Are you surprised? I’m not. Here’s the playbook: Elected officials keep the public locked in a scarcity mindset of “never having enough” to distract from their...
Genzel: We must take action to honor local hero Clarence B. Jones
Bay Area civil rights hero Clarence B. Jones died last month at 95 in an assisted living facility in Cupertino. Most coverage rightly focused on how he helped draft Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. But reducing Jones to that single moment misses what his life represented. Yes, he was a witness...
Khamis: Bay Area air district’s gas appliance ban is wrong
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is charging ahead with a natural gas appliance ban that is as impractical as it is punitive. Despite legitimate concerns over implementation, costs and confusing exemptions, the board’s recent meeting on May 13 proved that the voices of 7.7 million residents are falling on deaf ears. This looming...