Fareless transit is a tool in the mobility toolkit that has the potential to address ridership and equity issues while fighting skyrocketing gas prices and climate change—but who will pay for it? Public transit provides a reliable, safe, climate-friendly and equitable method to get from point A to B. But as with so many other...
Rodríguez: Alternatives to paying for pricey textbooks
For first-time college students, the start of their first term is often a time of great excitement. Getting familiar with their campus and all it offers, meeting classmates, making new friends and learning from expert faculty in their chosen field of study all provide unique and stimulating experiences. One aspect of the college experience students...
Staedler: San Jose should be applauded for shelving vacant home tax
San Jose should be commended for shelving the ridiculous idea of taxing vacant homes. The housing crisis needs serious solutions and wasting staff time on such a frivolous item does not make any sense. San Jose voters passed Measure E on March 3, 2020. It enacted a real property transfer tax, which is imposed on...
Chandramouli: Leaded fuel is hurting East San Jose families
As a doctor, I know that lead is poison. Its effects are especially damaging to children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put it in stark terms: “Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement.” The effect can result in a permanent...
Collins: What’s really going on with the local housing market?
The headlines these days are quite ominous as they pertain to our current housing market. Residential sales are down substantially on a year-over-year basis, inventory is on the rise, and price reductions are becoming more common. What does this all mean for our local housing market here in Santa Clara County? There are a couple...
Robinson: Trump’s crimes revealed by Lofgren and the Jan. 6 committee
Many of us have been flabbergasted by the revelations of the January 6 committee, which includes our local Congressmember Zoe Lofgren. In recalling the days before the insurrection, most of us were counting the days the man-child still held power. We were hoping his damage would be limited to outrageous pardons and highly questionable Presidential...
Editorial: San Jose is a secret foodie hotspot
When is comes to dining out, you might think of Los Gatos and Saratoga or places further up the peninsula before San Jose comes to mind. Restaurants are not often clustered in San Jose as they are in San Pedro Square in the downtown core. That makes it difficult to scout places to eat in...
Tenes: East San Jose is the gem of the city
I’ve got a bone to pick that SJ Today didn’t even consider East San Jose as one of the best neighborhoods in San Jose. First of all, we have all of the best parks in San Jose — Emma Prusch Farm, Overfelt Chinese Cultural Gardens, Lake Cunningham, just a little further up is Grant Ranch...
Viramontes: We can’t build a better education system alone
This time last year I was weeks away from my daughter’s due date, and a few months into my new role as executive director of Teach For America (TFA) Bay Area. I was preparing for a new phase of my life that I could only conceptually understand would be uniquely challenging, and fulfilling. It wasn’t...
Shaw: Timing out—where do we go from here?
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, it exposed the flaws in the methods used to address the homelessness crisis. It left communities—local, state and national—scrambling to find food, shelter and safety for the most overlooked and most critiqued members of society. Organizations who specialize in the business of homelessness tout the metrics of how many unhoused...