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...

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...

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...

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...

“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....

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...

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...

The pandemic has exposed the deep cracks in our society—overcrowded housing, too few good jobs and a lack of quality, affordable childcare—that left our families and neighbors so vulnerable. These cracks are the consequence of decades of policy decisions that put corporate profits before human needs. Now, with San José set to receive $223 million...

A lot has changed over the past several years regarding the vacant 27 acres at Evergreen Valley College. The San Jose Evergreen Community College District (SJECCD) is hosting a Zoom community meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday and it’s an opportunity for residents to discuss a reset of the SJECCD’s educational policies for the future uses...

What if I told you San Jose has the opportunity to preserve and create workforce housing using no new taxes or taxpayer dollars? No, it’s not too good to be true—it’s a relatively new concept that California established to allow for joint powers authorities (JPAs) to raise money from private investors to help finance low...