As the Business San Jose Chamber PAC continues to advocate for the safe reopening of our local economy, let’s not forget the challenges that have existed for years for our local business owners: abusive lawsuits. Our community needs protection against what could be a wave of COVID-19 lawsuits aimed at shaking down mom-and-pop businesses, and...
Baker: Measure RR is the right move to rescue Caltrain
Our country is divided over a lot of issues these days. Without much to agree on, it’s nice to find an issue that has near universal support among our elected officials across the Bay Area. It seems that we can all agree that our community is better off with Caltrain than without it. It’s a...
Roemer: North San Jose plan needs help, and one candidate can do it
The Mercury News published an op-ed Oct. 1 by Matthew Mahood, CEO of the Silicon Valley Organization, about North San Jose in which he accuses me of demonstrating poor understanding of the problems the area faces, being oblivious to obstacles for development, unable to get facts straights or articulate any solution. Why these strong words?...
Gonzales: COVID-19 has made the digital divide a canyon for Latino students
I used to worry about the well-documented “summer learning loss” for Latino students who lost ground over the summer months between school years. With COVID-19 forcing the schools to conduct classes remotely to protect the health of students, school staff and families, they’re now relying on technology to teach and reach their students. As result,...
Irvin: What Valley Water doesn’t want you to know about Measure S
The Sierra Club sees two big problems with Measure S, which would replace the Safe, Clean Water parcel tax approved by voters in 2012. First, there is no sunset date, effectively taking away our right to vote. The Measure S parcel tax can only be reversed by a citizen’s initiative, requiring more han 30,000 valid...
Taube & Daquino: We join the Jesuit community in urging Newsom to sign AB 3216
As a labor rights advocate and a San Jose Mineta International Airport concessions worker, we urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign AB 3216, the worker recall and retention bill authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra. The bill will provide job security and protect the dignity of hospitality workers. We know how important it is that we...
Lawrence: Why Measure RR Caltrain tax is a bad deal
The CEO and board of directors of Caltrain are doing a major disservice to the residents of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and San Francisco counties. Their proposal to address and remedy the Caltrain loss of revenue problem is to place on the backs of the total population another tax initiative while only a limited few...
Kamei: Critical final weeks to get the census right
Santa Clara County has one last chance to make sure we all get counted in the 2020 Census. With less than two weeks left, there is still time for a final push. According to the Santa Clara County Office of the Census, all 15 cities within the county have surpassed 2010 response rates but we...
Dewan, Taylor, Hansen: Investing in a better future with Prop. 15
Every day we have the privilege of serving our region’s children, families and communities, whether they are in our schools, seeking care in our community health clinics, learning in public libraries or marching for civil rights. And it is based on our dedication to serving our community that we urge you to join us in...
Garst: Time has come for California’s biggest corporations to pay their fair share in taxes
Chief Justice John Roberts, in the now infamous Citizens United v FEC, asserted corporations are people. Many have made clear and convincing arguments for why Roberts got it wrong. Perhaps one of the more persuasive if less frequented arguments against the idea is that many corporations— including some of the largest, such as Amazon, Netflix and...