As I reflect on our last meeting of the fiscal year, I am concerned about our contradictory actions when it comes to solving our housing crisis. In the same meeting where we talked about ways to reduce fees, regulations and even provide forgivable loans for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) — sometimes called ‘granny’ or ‘mother-in-law’...
Staedler: Let’s keep it simple when it comes to ‘granny units’
One of the most commonly discussed housing items in the Bay Area involves Accessory Dwelling Units — or ADUs — also called ‘granny units.’ If you talk to someone who’s gone through the process, particularly in San Jose, they will tell you their tales of woe. San Jose has been making piecemeal process improvements on...
Funk: How to ensure students don’t fall behind this summer
I had the extraordinary opportunity to attend six of our East Side Union High School District graduation ceremonies last month. In fact, I also had the opportunity to attend my niece’s high school graduation. It is an amazing time for our graduating seniors, their families and friends. However, for an educator who oversees a large...
Montoya and Patron: A case for transparency, autonomy and community in San Jose
The work of dismantling oppressive structures and dreaming up new, more just futures is crucial on both global and local scales, and San Jose is no exception. What does it take to imagine, nurture, and sustain this kind of work, and who is doing it? What role should institutions and nonprofits play, and where does...
Soriano: Team San Jose CEO should resign over ‘San Jose Song’
Local arts leaders recently crafted an open letter to Team San Jose expressing their dismay at the San Jose song. But an even-toned letter exemplifying seething and undeserved restraint is not enough this time. You cannot resolve yet another modern day example of ingrained institutional racism and ignorance with a few words. The head of...
Vargas: Lessons of Stonewall Riots and LGBTQ struggles 50 years later
On June 28, 1969, officers of the NYPD raided a small dive bar in Greenwich Village, NY. According to the police, they were there as part of a crack down on the mafia crime family that owned the nightclub. But this façade faded quickly as the police forced occupants into the restrooms and searched their...
Roberts: Homeless services must become more inclusive
I was shocked to read that the United States federal government is proposing to institute a policy allowing homeless shelters to ban transgender people from entering their facilities. This is not just bad policy. It’s discrimination and it’s wrong. More than a decade ago, we learned how to design our facilities and how to utilize...
Buchanan: Here’s how Google can develop without displacement
Since Google first announced plans to build a new mega-campus in San Jose, the top concern raised by residents has been how the project will impact rising rents and displacement. Over the past decade, the tech boom has brought nearly 200,000 new workers to Santa Clara County, but fewer than 50,000 new homes have been...
Kline: VTA light rail extension to Eastridge was a bad decision
The Valley Transit Agency (VTA) Board last week approved a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (EIR) paving the way for extending light rail from Alum Rock to Eastridge Shopping Center along Capitol Expressway. It was a bad decision, but like a transportation version of a Greek tragedy, it was the only decision they could make. According...
Bramson: What really counts when it comes to homelessness?
Back in 2005, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development decided that communities across the country needed to start regularly counting the number of people on the streets and in shelters. The government argued that a standardized process to enumerate and survey those without a permanent home would help us all measure the severity...