As board president of the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, I read the May 2 Mercury News op-ed “It’s code red for six of San Jose’s school districts” by County Board of Education Trustee Joseph Di Salvo and San Jose-Evergreen Community College Trustee Karen Martinez with dismay and disappointment. After not seeing my letter...
Silver Taube: We are facing a child labor crisis
Child labor violations have been on the rise in recent years. The U.S. Department of Labor has seen a 69% increase in child labor since 2018, with more than 3,800 children impacted in the 2022 fiscal year. A report from the New York Times revealed numerous instances of child labor law violations, with children—particularly migrant...
Ritchie: The Original Joe’s Index
No, this is not about the cholesterol, but a metaphor. Although I do hope my cardiologist does not subscribe to this column. I spend each week drifting between San Jose, San Francisco and Santa Cruz for my business life, as well as community, political and social events. It’s also a great cover for a surfing...
Bramson: The next San Jose housing director
“The city of San Jose offers a career capstone opportunity for leaders in housing and human services. With compelling financial resources, political, and organizational support, the selected candidate will have the opportunity to make generational impacts on the lives of many.” So reads the opening lines of the recruitment brochure for the new housing director...
Perry: Victory for tenants and unhoused people in San Jose
Tenants, unhoused and low-income people won a stunning victory on June 13 in San Jose. After hundreds turned out to testify about the dire need for affordable housing, the San Jose City Council voted 10-1 to reject Mayor Matt Mahan’s proposal to shift millions of dollars of Measure E funds away from permanent housing and...
Mallon: VTA has a vision for a better transit system
Last month, the VTA board unanimously approved the Visionary Network, a bold vision for transit service in Santa Clara County that aims to bring service levels up to what’s appropriate for today’s market. The vision includes 83% more service than what’s currently offered, including more frequent service on all routes, longer hours of operation and...
Editorial: Education equity is the answer to affirmative action in Silicon Valley
California scrapped affirmative action from its public university landscape, decades ago, making last week’s Supreme Court ruling a moot point. The state’s private colleges, however, were able to keep the program in place. Now that’s changed. The state’s private institutions may be looking to their public counterpoints for solutions, as they struggle to level the diversity playing...
Collins: Political discourse is out of control
On June 7, more than 30 protesters from LUNA, the Affordable Housing Network of Santa Clara County, Unhoused Response Group, Working Partnerships USA, South Bay Community Land Trust and other San Jose-based nonprofit organizations trespassed on private property, harassed, terrorized and even verbally assaulted an employee at the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors. What...
Robinson: Presidential scrutiny and false equivalence
Webb Hubbell, former assistant attorney general under President Bill Clinton, tells an interesting story about meeting with then Sen. Joe Biden, who chaired the Judiciary Committee, before his confirmation. Hubbell served prison time for the Rose Law billing scandal. He said Biden had warned him before he took the job that he would be investigated...
Sandoval: Reflections on homelessness, complex realities and simple truths
Over the last two years, it’s been an honor to connect with San José Spotlight readers on the critical issue of housing. This column has been a collective effort of many PATH colleagues equally committed to highlighting a diverse range of topics that intersect with homelessness—racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights and structural causes of this crisis, to...