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Take a moment to think back on your childhood. Did you ever have to worry about moving from place to place? Was there ever a moment when you did not have a room with a bed to sleep in every night? Could you count on breakfast, lunch and dinner at the table every day? For...
Paz-Cedillos and Shieh: A rough year for the creative sector
So far, 2020 has been a rough year for the creative sector. From the ongoing repercussions of a well-intentioned, but poorly informed policy meant to protect workers (AB 5) to the cancellations of events that support hundreds of local artists due to COVID-19, our community life is reeling. At the School of Arts & Culture...
Vargas: We need a plan to protect vulnerable communities from COVID-19
As COVID-19, colloquially known as the “coronavirus,” spreads around the world, people are starting to use words like “epidemic” and “pandemic” to describe it. While the risk to otherwise healthy people is limited, the virus presents a very real danger to those who have a compromised immune system such as seniors. In response, many countries...
Bramson: Poverty and homelessness in the time of Coronavirus
We’ve been in a crisis for a long time. One where families choose between paying rent and buying food, where kids triple and quadruple up in dingy rooms just to get by, where disabled people sleep and sometimes die on the streets. With tens of thousands of people impacted in California alone, we’re talking about...
Staedler: Boulevards or bust? All sensible housing ideas need to be implemented
More than 1,300 people packed the McEnery Convention Center earlier this month to hear from urban designers, economic historians, leading tech companies and news icon Dan Rather during Joint Venture’s 2020 State of the Valley Conference. The 2020 Index tells a story of economic good news: Silicon Valley continues a nine-year economic expansion and the...
Khamis: Recycling the once un-recyclable: My push for a dirty plastics recycling facility
On Tuesday, San Jose took a large step toward environmental sustainability when my colleagues on the City Council voted to include my recent proposal for attracting a Polypropylene Plastic Purification & Recycling Plant (PRP) to San Jose on the list of approved city priorities for the coming six months. I am especially grateful to my...
Roberts: Helping homeless people whether they’re naughty or nice
This is the second of a three-part series on Housing First. A few months ago, you lost your job at a local business because it was downsizing. Like most Americans, you don’t even have enough savings to cover a $1,000 emergency expense. When rent is due, you move out and spend a couple of weeks sleeping...
Lofgren: Sylvia Arenas is a clear choice for San Jose City Council
I hope Evergreen voters will re-elect Sylvia Arenas. I’ve found that District 8 residents and families can count on her at City Hall. Your choice will help shape the direction of our city. She is focused on the needs of families and neighborhoods. I’ve been impressed by Sylvia. She provides a strongly needed moral voice...
Barron: Vote for candidates who address root causes of homelessness
With the March elections on the horizon, City Council candidates are working hard to solicit votes by appealing to the chronic issues facing the residents of San Jose. Appropriately, a key talking point across the various districts is homelessness, which intensifies with each passing year. However, candidates continue to whitewash the root causes of homelessness....
Hogan: We need to ‘step up’ to support our foster youth
It is time we step up for our young people in foster care. We can no longer stand for small ideas and hope for incremental progress. It isn’t working, and our youth is falling farther and farther behind their non-foster peers. In true Silicon Valley fashion, we need to set big goals and shoot for...