Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, after months of negotiation, refuses to sign an agreement allowing a civilian law enforcement watchdog access to critical records. Now, county officials are stepping in and subpoenas might be on the way. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Nov. 3 to direct the county’s attorney to draft a policy...
How will David Cohen shake up the San Jose City Council?
As the newly-elected David Cohen gears up to represent San Jose’s District 4, political observers look to the past to see where local policymaking is headed. The council for years has been divided across business and labor lines, leading to a handful of 6-5 split decisions in favor of Mayor Sam Liccardo’s voting bloc, which...
Public webinars coming up on status of iconic landmark in downtown San Jose
Three years ago, a group of San Jose philanthropists aspiring to build a world-class landmark downtown and donate it to the city began with the idea of erecting a light tower at Plaza de Cesar Chavez — a 21st century update on San Jose’s original icon, a 237-foot structure adorned with newfangled electric light bulbs,...
Future of San Jose’s Reid-Hillview airport back on the drawing board next week
The long-simmering debate over closing Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose and replacing it with a neighborhood development is expected to heat up again next week as Santa Clara County supervisors consider potential uses for the land. The Reid-Hillview airport, built more than 80 years ago, occupies nearly 200 acres that advocates say could be...
Voting rate in Silicon Valley reaches historic levels
Voters came out in droves for the 2020 general election as voting rates reached historic levels in Silicon Valley, where the majority cast ballots for Joe Biden. According to Rachel Massaro, vice president and director of research at Joint Venture Silicon Valley, which authored a recent report along with Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies,...
Sharks warn San Jose downtown development may force them out
The Sharks fear the impacts of a massive redevelopment of Diridon Station — which includes Google’s megacampus — could force them out of San Jose. The NHL team says its concerns have fallen on deaf ears for more than a year. Now, they’re pleading with the public to help save the SAP Center, home to...
San Jose takes steps to improve access to police videos
Following a season of protests against police use of force, city leaders unanimously passed a policy Nov. 10 to thrust officer body worn camera footage, helicopter video and security tapes into the public eye. Videos from the San Jose Police Department will appear on the SJPD or city website at the request of the police...
What the failure of Prop. 16 means for the future of affirmative action in San Jose
On Election Day, California voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot proposition which would have reversed the state’s 24-year ban on affirmative action programs that use race or gender to decide who deserves a leg up in public employment, contracting and college admissions. Fewer than 44 percent of voters in the state voted to approve Prop. 16...
San Jose considers gas ban for new commercial buildings
In its next phase toward a gas-free future, San Jose will soon consider whether to require all new commercial buildings to be powered entirely by electricity. “We need to move all of our energy to renewable energy,” said Kerrie Romanow, San Jose’s chief sustainability officer. “We want to stop the problem.” Expanding the gas prohibition...
Amid deep political divides, how can the nation move forward?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For just a few minutes on Saturday night, the massive crowd celebrating the election results at Black Lives Matter Plaza quieted down and turned their attention to the loudspeakers in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. Joe Biden was addressing the nation for the first time as the president-elect. “It’s time to...