LGBTQ+ students in California will have legal protection against being outed at school starting next year, but not everyone’s on board — and a recent lawsuit could spell the bill’s end before it even begins. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Support Academic Futures and Educators for Today’s Youth, or SAFETY Act, into law last month...
Silicon Valley state candidates almost even in donations
Thousands of dollars are backing two longtime Sacramento insiders, who have stepped into the limelight in a race to represent Silicon Valley in the California Legislature. Patrick Ahrens and Tara Sreekrishnan are vying to represent State Assembly District 26. The candidates’ financials through June 30 show Sreekrishnan has more than $20,000 more cash on hand than...
Newsom says San Jose should take urgent action on homeless camps
Gov. Gavin Newsom is calling on local governments such as San Jose to use state funds for urgent action to address “dangerous” homeless encampments. Newsom’s executive order on Thursday suggests notifying homeless residents at least 48 hours before an incoming sweep. Locally, San Jose tends to give more notice, as officials want to enforce a...
State bill affecting Santa Clara County landlines pulled after backlash
A state bill that would have let AT&T off the hook for emergency landline service — circumventing state regulators and affecting remote pockets of Santa Clara County — is on hold after public backlash. Assembly Bill 2797 has been pulled from the California Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee meeting slated for Tuesday. It comes...
Silicon Valley voters won’t see anti-tax measure on November ballot
The California Supreme Court has blocked an anti-tax ballot measure that faced fierce opposition from local officials, unions and activists in Santa Clara County. The panel’s unanimous decision on Thursday orders Secretary of State Shirley Weber not to place the measure on the November ballot, which if approved would have brought all statewide tax increases...
San Jose lawmaker introduces bill requiring automatic recounts
After a controversial congressional recount spurred by dark money, one lawmaker is introducing a bill to mandate automatic recounts for statewide elections with tight margins. Assembly Bill 996, authored by Assemblymember Evan Low, calls for any statewide election with a margin of less than 25 votes or 0.25% of the cast ballots to be subjected...
Santa Clara County could lose millions if Newsom changes law
Santa Clara County may lose millions of property tax dollars to charter schools while teetering on the edge of a fiscal cliff. That could happen under a law change that Gov. Gavin Newsom wants approved to tackle the state’s own cash-strapped budget this year. It stems from a yearslong fight between the state and five...
Recall efforts to remove Bay Area senator fall flat
A recall campaign against Bay Area state Sen. Aisha Wahab died yesterday due to a petition flaw leading to thousands of invalid signatures, proponents said. The campaign needed at least 42,802 signatures by May 23 to be placed on the ballot, according to documents from the California Secretary of State — which campaign proponents said...
Fight to stop anti-tax measure comes to Silicon Valley
A November ballot measure could profoundly change how essential government services are funded in California. The statewide fight to stop it has reached Silicon Valley. Labor, community and city leaders from Mountain View, Los Altos and San Jose rallied with signs and horns on Wednesday against a business community-sponsored initiative known as the Taxpayer Protection...
Lawmakers pass the buck on San Jose transparency bill
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...