This past weekend, the Gilroy Garlic Festival returned for the first time since 2019. For many, it’s a cause for celebration — a beloved tradition revived, a symbol of community strength and resilience. But for families like ours, it’s not a celebration. It’s a painful reminder of what we lost. The last time the festival...

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) training programs were developed to promote a varied, vibrant workforce prepared to innovate solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems, from cancer treatment and drug discovery, to fire management and renewable resources. Scientists studying such problems not only need to follow specific procedures to...

When I was in my 30s, I went to Lincoln Law School in San Jose part-time and earned my Juris Doctor degree. I was able to pass the Bar Exam and become a practicing attorney all while raising a family and working a full-time job — furthering my education at a pace and price I...

I walked the picket lines a few months ago speaking to VTA drivers on strike.  These proud members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 had overwhelmingly voted in favor of going on strike, but the impression I got was they were not eager to do so. They felt compelled to strike after many of...

This year, the water outlook for Santa Clara County is encouraging. After three wet winters, local and state reservoirs are in good shape and our groundwater basins are healthy. Valley Water expects to run a full groundwater recharge program this year, which means many percolation ponds will likely stay full through summer and fall. This...

The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 specifically “prohibits the use of an at-large election in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a protected class, as defined, to elect candidates of its choice.” Protected class is defined in the act as voters who are members of a race, color or language...

We’ve lived in the neighborhood near the Bristol Hotel for nearly a decade, raising our children and investing in our community. Like many, we watched in sadness the recent meeting where community members shared their opposition to the planned conversion of the hotel into transitional housing for women and children. What stood out most was...

Politics is a sector fraught with unsavory decisions, hypocrisy and many actors who make us all at some point say: How the hell did that person get into office? On this last point, we had a moment just recently in San Jose where a group of councilmembers and political staffers were caught venerating Tammany Hall,...

Silicon Valley has earned its reputation as the epicenter of global innovation. This region has consistently pushed boundaries and opened doors, from artificial intelligence breakthroughs to world-changing startups. As president of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley, I’ve seen firsthand how access to technology and opportunity can transform lives, especially for our youth pursuing high-demand...

Californians are paying a steep price — not just in courtrooms, but at the cash register — because of a broken civil justice system that allows systemic abuse of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Small businesses, the backbone of our neighborhoods, are under siege from waves of lawsuits often filed over minor, technical violations....