Nearly 20 school board trustees from across the South Bay are demanding San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo stop politicizing school re-openings. The trustees penned a letter, signed by leaders across nine school districts, criticizing Liccardo’s new advocacy group, Solutions San Jose, which launched a campaign with a petition to quickly reopen schools in the 19 districts across...
San Jose school district to monetize land to fund educational programs
After years of struggling to stay afloat financially, the Cambrian School District will now be able to monetize its excess land to bring in cash for education. Instead of selling the land outright, the Cambrian School District — long strapped for cash and hampered by budget cuts — opted to exchange 2.7 acres of its vacant...
Debate heats up over teaching ethnic studies in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County’s landmark resolution supporting ethnic studies is being challenged by some who claim it is un-American, prompting supporters to launch a petition to save the school board’s efforts to bring race-related education to classrooms. Eight months after the Board of Education passed the resolution, supporters believe it has come under fire from what...
East San Jose education leaders at odds with push to reopen schools
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s efforts through his new advocacy organization to reopen San Jose schools is sparking frustration for some — particularly communities of color. Liccardo launched a petition through Solutions San Jose — sending two emails within 24 hours — to gather signatures demanding COVID-19 vaccines be prioritized for teachers and to reopen...
County to reinvestigate Black student’s death, SJSU president says
San Jose State University President Mary Papazian announced this week the county coroner and district attorney will reexamine the suspicious death of student Gregory Johnson Jr., according to an email obtained by this news organization. “SJSU recognizes that for many members of our community, the circumstances surrounding Gregory’s death are emblematic of longstanding systemic racism...
State task force questions Silicon Valley tech companies about political ads
As politics and big tech increasingly collide, a new state task force is examining whether more regulation is needed to increase accountability for Silicon Valley companies who run digital political advertising. The Digital Transparency Task Force, a division within California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, recently questioned representatives from Google and Facebook about their political advertising...
South Bay bus drivers, VTA at odds over mask enforcement
In the wake of a new federal mask-wearing requirement, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority says it is going through hoops to ensure people cover up — but not to the satisfaction of drivers. “We don’t feel they have our backs out there,” said John Courtney, a former VTA bus driver and president of the...
Supervisors seek to protect Coyote Valley from development
Santa Clara County lawmakers this week moved to preserve open space, flood plains and wildlife corridors in the Coyote Valley but stopped short of adopting a development ban, despite pleas by environmentalists. Although more than 1,000 acres are protected from development in North Coyote Valley, the middle and southern sections remain threatened. Based on a...
Khanna questions DOJ official on ‘zero tolerance’ immigration policy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a recent congressional hearing, Rep. Ro Khanna asked Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz if the Trump administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy ultimately harmed national security. “That’s certainly what the marshals expressed concern about, precisely that issue,” Horowitz replied. The Inspector General’s office issued a report last month examining the Trump...
San Jose senator wants to end life without parole under California’s felony murder law
California’s felony murder law allows judges to send convicts to prison for life — and sentence them to death — even when that person is not directly responsible for the death of another. Sen. Dave Cortese wants to end that practice, and give thousands of inmates charged under the law a chance to apply for...