Who earns a living pretending that smart phones don’t exist? Well, consider Orange Barrel Media, whose quintessential smartphone denial takes the form of so-called wayfinding signs — more accurately identified as commercial billboards — designed to be placed on public sidewalks. These up to eight-foot-tall kiosks ostensibly provide directions to restaurants, theaters, museums and other...

The headlines today — “Modern agriculture is collapsing under climate change” and “California’s snowpack is disappearing” — aren’t stories from a dystopian future. They reflect our current reality: a climate emergency. Locally, we face wildfires, drought, extreme heat, flooding and rising seas — which harm health, end lives and increase prices. This Earth Day, here...

In Santa Clara County, you might see a Valley Water volunteer picking up litter from a creek or helping neighbors understand local water issues. These actions add up. In 2025, our volunteers contributed more than 9,200 hours. They removed tens of thousands of pounds of trash and served their communities as water ambassadors. Volunteers are...

On paper, the latest Santa Clara County budget cuts may seem like another depressing day in modern American governance: County leaders have established preliminary budget reduction targets of $18.5 million for the District Attorney’s Office and $4.5 million for the Public Defender’s Office. Both offices have addressed their respective targets with a set of tiered,...

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....