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For 36 years San Jose has prohibited new billboards, but soon we may see new super-sized billboards at Mineta San Jose International Airport near Highway 101 and the Guadalupe River Trail, as well as on other city properties. While the Airport Commission often approves proposals suggested by staff, its value is in exercising independent judgment...
Sandoval: Back to school brings new challenges, hopes for unhoused students
With the return of in-person learning, familiar challenges emerge for families experiencing homelessness. School registration can be complicated due to the loss of critical documents that may have been lost upon becoming homeless. Youth may be reassigned from their former schools (and friend groups) if their address changed while their family temporarily relocated in order...
Maciel: Moving forward in one of America’s most welcoming cities—our own
Last year, San Jose was named among the country’s top 10 most welcoming and inclusive cities in the New American Economy Cities Index, which examines the relationship between welcoming immigration policies and municipal economic health. As the index found, proactive welcoming plans make cities more competitive for business and economic investment. While we take great pride in being...
Robinson: The heroes of our youth
Judy Rickard and Karin Bogliolo are reluctant local heroes. They just wanted to be married and live their lives in blissful happiness. For most of us, it seems like a fairly simple principle. But like Rosa Parks, who refused to give her seat up on a bus—they had to endure the unreasoned bigotry of our...
Dewan: Why we need wellness centers for schools
The last 18 plus months have been challenging for students, families and all school personnel due to pandemic-related circumstances. There was a crisis of youth mental health looming and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people having thoughts of suicide and experiencing depression has...
Ortiz: We need police-free schools
Safety is the top concern of any parent with children in our community. When I became a mom I finally understood that protective “mama bear” instinct that everyone kept talking about. When you have a child, you grow to love that little human more than you ever thought was possible, and of course, you want...
Zimmerman: What the findings of the U.N. climate report mean for San Jose
The Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was released last month. Since its release, the report has been lauded and derided, but its significance cannot be dismissed. The intergovernmental panel is not a political body and the report is not a political document. Rather, it is an amalgamation of the...
Rennie: Telecommuting—good for the environment and good for Santa Clara County
As Santa Clara County emerges from COVID-19, workers are returning to their jobs, which means drive-time traffic jams are returning, too. And that means air pollution is also returning to normal levels. Steep declines in air pollution were noticed early on in the pandemic, with the Environmental Protection Agency reporting in March 2020 that Bay...
Low and Newman: Gov. Newsom recall puts California’s future in peril
Eighteen years have passed since California first recalled an elected governor. That 2003 Republican coup, culminating in a global movie star without administrative experience ascending into the state’s highest official position, was somehow less extraordinary than the GOP takeover attempt we face today. The current recall election looms large as the deadline to vote in...
Bramson: Wasting our breath in times of need
With tens of thousands of people on sleeping our streets every night, I’m amazed at how much energy we expend either fighting common sense solutions or pushing for or against issues that won’t really move the needle in the end. Take the new safe parking site in North San Jose for instance. The city provided...