Courtrooms are overcrowded. The increasing demand for public services is skyrocketing at an astronomical rate. The situation is dire: Countless vacancies, longer processing times and avalanching workloads are being thrust onto staff, the demand for more people to physically be present at their assignments continues to rise. Enforcement for social distancing and mask wearing depends...
Op-ed
Op-ed
Op-ed: Safety for all means finding alternatives to incarceration
On March 17, the Silicon Valley Law Foundation submitted a demand letter to the County of Santa Clara chronicling inhumane treatment of those incarcerated in the jails. The letter laid out survey results, personal testimonies and observations from inside which told a horrific story of the jails “failing to provide even minimally adequate procedures to...
Op-ed: Downtown West sets new standard for addressing displacement and community voice
Google’s San José Downtown West mixed-use plan will transform our city. With the City Council set to vote today on the development, much of the conversation has been around shiny renderings of taller buildings and new plazas. But the lasting legacy of this project will be more about our people than our skyline: will San...
Kaufman and Kleinhaus: San Jose should require Diridon plan to do more for urban green space
If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear, it’s that people need parks and nature. During the past year, as we have all taken more and more to the outdoors for our exercising, relaxing and even (socially-distant) socializing, the inequity between those who have access to nature close to home and those who...
Gere: The case for investing in our water infrastructure
Infrastructure is rightly enjoying its spot in the national limelight these days, with the Biden Administration busily unveiling its plans. However, being well intentioned is as important as being pragmatic. After all, the warning signs have been there for all to see when it comes to lack of investment in infrastructure—impacting communities from Los Gatos...
Peralez: Santa Clara County needs Laura’s Law
In San José’s latest homeless census, over 40% of our unhoused residents reported suffering from a form of mental illness. Within that population, those with severe mental illness are often shuffled in and out of jails and hospital beds. Our most vulnerable are criminalized or left to languish on the street, sometimes causing harm to...
Bui, Schultz and Tapia: Respect Us!
At the start of the pandemic, we asked for help immediately for fear of spreading COVID-19 to our loved ones at home. People were getting sick, and management was still not supporting us. PPE (personal protective equipment) was not being offered while the department’s public health policy was unclear and changed constantly, making it difficult...
Nguyen: My Asian last name translates to workplace discrimination
“Yes, he knows English,” a paralegal I worked with at a small law firm answered resentfully. At least once a week, a client would ask the paralegal if I knew English once they learned “Richard Nguyen” was their assigned attorney. Unbeknownst to these clients, the paralegal was also Vietnamese American. They assumed he was white....
Sanchez, Krey and Oberhelman: Crisis intervention training for law enforcement
Recently, several law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara County have unveiled specialized units designed to de-escalate interactions with citizens who may be in mental health crisis. San Jose PD launched a one-year pilot program in October 2020 that links specially trained officers with clinicians from the County’s Behavioral Health Services (BHS). BHS has been active...
Waite: Abandon the Eastridge light rail extension project
This scathing commentary on Valley Transportation Authority’s light rail system comes from the report “Inquiry into Governance of the Valley Transportation Authority,” issued by the Civil Grand Jury of Santa Clara County in June 2019: “The (Eastridge extension) project makes no financial sense and survives only because powerful political forces continue to support it. VTA...