San Jose touts its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic fatalities. But instead of preserving safe commuter routes, airport and city officials are pushing forward with a permanent closure that will force cyclists into dangerous, high-speed traffic. Early this year in April, San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) posted 30-day notices announcing the permanent closure...
Op-ed
Op-ed
Brennan: San Jose should look beyond internal candidates for its next park director
When San Jose selects its next director of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, it should conduct an open, competitive national recruitment — not presume the position will be filled from within the department. Qualified internal candidates who have demonstrated success in change management and possess relevant operational skills should be encouraged to apply and be...
Li: Baby Boomers changed how we live — it’s time to change how we age
Baby Boomers have spent their lives challenging the status quo. They reshaped our workplaces, families, culture and expectations for how we live. Now, as this generation ages, we face a question we have spent far less time considering: Have we built a system that allows people to grow older the way they actually want to?...
Iton: Draconian federal policies are changing the physiology of Silicon Valley’s most vulnerable
Cancer is on the rise in young people in the Bay Area. Data from the Greater Bay Area Cancer Registry shows that the rates of cancer in people under the age of 50 in the Bay Area has been on the upswing since 2018, increasing about 12% between 2018 and 2023. This alarming trend mirrors...
Op-ed: The fight for the future of work is here
Every Labor Day, we remember the fights that built the modern workplace: the eight-hour day, the weekend, the right to organize. This year, we’re writing the next chapter: to establish workers’ rights to shape how emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, gets deployed on the job. Technology has always been part of work. At its best,...
Niestroj: We need smarter AI data center development
AI data center backlash is growing, fueled by community concerns about local grids, electricity prices, water use and the environment. Meanwhile, AI technology is being integrated into every industry imaginable, which drives more AI data center demand. According to one recent real estate investment report, “nearly 100 gigawatts of new data centers will be added between 2026 and 2030,...
Jayadev: Santa Clara County shouldn’t invest billions of dollars in its jail facilities
In the midst of an unprecedented budget crisis which has caused devastating cuts in healthcare, housing, education and employment needs, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is considering investing billions of public dollars into the worst possible response to a community in need — incarceration. The proposal from the County Executive’s Office to be...
Op-ed: Public transit is a public health solution
For anyone navigating Silicon Valley, traffic can seem like just a backdrop to daily life. It’s easy to accept long lines of cars on Highway 101 during rush hours, idling buses at crowded stops and students waiting beside busy intersections as part of the price we pay for living here. But that normalization masks a...
Herman: A layoff shouldn’t uproot a Silicon Valley family
For a Silicon Valley worker on an H-1B visa, losing a job can threaten far more than a paycheck. It can place a family’s ability to remain in the United States at risk, even when that family has spent years building a life here. That is why a newly proposed federal rule deserves the Bay...
Aguilar: Flock asks agencies to own the narrative, San Jose should own the analysis
Eric Nelson’s concern for Willow Glen merchants is legitimate. Broken glass, repeated theft and fear deserve a serious response. But his proposed solution does not fit his opening example. A person riding a bicycle and throwing rocks through storefronts would not ordinarily be identified by automated license plate readers. At least, that is what communities...









