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A state bill to increase public access to the communication of government officials died on the desks of lawmakers without consideration — a sign of the uphill battle transparency measures face in Sacramento. Senate Bill 908 — introduced in January by State Sen. Dave Cortese — would have required public officials to forward messages about government business...
Voters could decide future Bay Area public transit funding
Future funding for Bay Area public transit agencies could be left up to voters as part of a massive system overhaul. State Sens. Aisha Wahab, whose district covers Sunnyvale and Milpitas, and Scott Wiener of San Francisco have introduced Senate Bill 1031, calling for a 2026 ballot measure to provide more financial support to Bay...
Patrick Ahrens leads in early results for California’s 26th Assembly District
Local college trustee and political aide Patrick Ahrens is leading a field of six in a race to fill the open seat in California’s 26th Assembly District. As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, Ahrens is ahead with 34.4% of the vote. Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Tara Sreekrishnan is in second with 26.9% and...
Fact check: Did Omar Din create 200 homeless shelters?
Residents are questioning claims in a recent campaign ad from state Assembly candidate Omar Din that he helped create homeless shelters in San Jose. The advertisement asserts Din — Sunnyvale’s vice mayor and a candidate for Assembly District 26 — will prioritize public safety and includes examples of his past work, ranging from increasing funding for...
Silicon Valley senator wants to consolidate 27 transit agencies
Transit agencies across the Bay Area are suffering from low ridership and fiscal strain. One lawmaker thinks combining them may be a solution. State Sen. Aisha Wahab, whose district covers Sunnyvale and Milpitas, has submitted a bill asking the California State Transportation Agency to create a plan that would consolidate the Bay Area’s 27 transit...
Silicon Valley lawmaker targets AI political misinformation
Before election season heats up, one state lawmaker wants to eliminate potential threats from artificial intelligence spreading misinformation in political advertising. Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, who represents District 28, plans to introduce a bill in the coming weeks to ban political advertising materials deceptively altered through AI. District 28 includes Santa Cruz, Los Gatos and parts of San Jose,...
San Jose lawsuit sparks legislation to bolster government transparency
From Stockton to Anaheim and San Jose, government officials across California use personal email accounts and texts to do the public’s business—and those messages often never see the light of day because public agencies can’t access them. Now, a San Jose legislator is working to change that. State Sen. Dave Cortese on Monday introduced a...
New laws that affect Silicon Valley in 2024
California residents can expect a variety of new laws to take effect in 2024, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed hundreds of bills to tackle the state’s most pressing issues. These bills range from updates to mental health services and housing to worker protections to safe drinking water, and Silicon Valley lawmakers championed many of them....
Three Silicon Valley candidates compete for state seat
A myriad of South Bay seats are set to open up with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s retirement—and one of the most contested may be the race for Assembly District 26. Three politicos have already hopped into the race for Assemblymember Evan Low’s seat, with the incumbent eying Eshoo’s congressional seat. Low could not yet confirm he’s running, but...
San Jose schools to teach media literacy in misinformation fight
California passed a bill last month to help students tell fact from fiction, especially regarding social media. Now it’s up to school districts to incorporate media literacy into the curriculum. The bill, AB 873, was authored by local Assemblymember Marc Berman and signed into law on Oct. 13. Its purpose is to integrate media literacy...