The process of creating policy — the work that helps shape a community — can seem opaque and frustrating, but it doesn’t have to be. Most of us intuitively understand many of these concepts. For example, as our cities and towns debate whether to close streets to cars to allow outdoor dining, it’s sparked a...

We had an impressive showing at this year’s California Coastal Cleanup. Congratulations to the 862 outstanding volunteers who picked up a total of 22,215 pounds of trash and cleaned over 336 miles during socially distanced neighborhood cleanup events, held each Saturday in September. These dedicated community members hit the streets, parks and creeks equipped with...

Weeks into the fall semester, instead of catching the bus or train to campus, we are learning from home. Both COVID-19 and the recent California wildfires have kept us indoors and amplified the ongoing struggles that our families and communities face. As the smoke fades and our region recovers from COVID-19, returning to “normal” is...

Reasonable people can disagree on San Jose’s Opportunity Housing proposal, which would allow up to four residential units on lots zoned for single-family homes. While I support Opportunity Housing as one of many tools in the toolbox to address housing affordability in San Jose, I can of course respect opinions to the contrary. San Jose...

With COVID-19, uncertainty in the political landscape and smoke hanging over our valley’s landscape, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority (OSA) and its Measure T is just what the doctor ordered to keep us healthy now and to bring us brighter days ahead. The OSA is a special district protecting open space in most...

On behalf of HomeFirst Services, we’d like to thank Jerome Shaw, a leader in the Sunnyvale Clients Collaborative — a union of homeless shelter residents in the region — for providing a frank assessment in his San José Spotlight In Your Backyard column. To prevent and end homelessness, it’s imperative we hear from voices like...

In the coming months, our city will undertake the once-a-decade process of redistricting our City Council districts. This process is critical to ensuring that all of our communities and neighborhoods have a fair and equitable voice in local government, and can have a significant impact on the power of a vote. We must ensure our...

There is no way around it — California’s Assembly Bill 5 has been a disaster for our state. The so-called “gig economy” legislation passed last year has been a short-sighted and dangerous attack on nearly 10 percent of our state’s workforce. What’s worse, businesses continue to be attacked on all sides from attorneys looking to...

For 10 years, I have been privileged to bring diverse groups of residents together on a sunny autumn day to connect with vital resources, enjoy local entertainment and fun activities, ride in kayaks, pick out pumpkins and savor free food at Alviso Marina County Park. As with many traditional and annual events, the Day on...

This year’s extreme heat waves and unprecedented fire season should shred any remaining doubt that climate change is here. If carbon emissions and the attendant temperature increases continue to increase unchecked, extreme weather will become more frequent and intense. Reducing California’s carbon output will be challenging because most of it now comes from transportation. According...