Breathing the hazardous air from the Paradise fire has put a spotlight on the fact that climate change is impacting our daily lives and the effects must be proactively addressed now. It has also brought back the trauma we experienced during the Coyote Creek flood in our neighborhoods (Rock Springs, Olinder and mobile home...
Diridon: God, forgive us for squandering your gifts
Please forgive us God, Jehovah, Allah, Yahweh, or whatever we each respectfully choose to call the Universe’s guiding spirit. We’ve ignored the multiple warnings that you’ve shared and are destroying our wonderful blue haven for warm blooded creatures. You created the nurturing environment in which we evolved and thrived. You’ve tried to guide us during...
Bramson: Where do we go from here?
When I was a boy, my mom took me to a homeless shelter to serve a meal during the holidays. The first time we went I was probably 10 and I remember being pretty scared when we arrived. Everyone was nice, there were decorations and lights up, even some Christmas music playing. But I could...
Staedler: We need action — not plans — to solve Silicon Valley’s housing crisis
The Bay Area has been in the midst of a housing crisis for the last ten years. Regional leaders have spent the last 18 months on a ten-point plan. Basically, it’s a plan to have a plan and it’s being sold as an emergency policy package that could create another government agency along with employer/property...
Roberts: When your rent increases so does homelessness
When I sat in my high school economics class, years ago, I struggled with conflicting numbers, lofty principles, and difficult equations. How would macro or micro economics impact a teenager who was more worried about sports and weekend activities? But one high school economics principle stuck with me to this day — the law of...
Introducing San José Spotlight
San José is many things to many people. For me, it’s the cramped apartment in Hoffman-Via Monte that was ripe with graffiti and gang activity, but welcomed my refugee parents who came to this country with one suitcase. It’s the old Thrifty’s (now Whole Foods) where my sister and I snuck out to buy candy....