With charter schools increasingly under scrutiny in Sacramento, hundreds of charter school families, dressed in purple, orange and green, rallied in downtown San Jose Friday to stand up for their rights. The state Legislature is considering two bills, AB 1505 and AB 1507, which would further regulate charter schools. AB 1505 would repeal provisions allowing the state...
Top takeaways from blistering state audit of Alum Rock School District
Another chapter in the long history of mismanagement and financial woes in the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District was written this week in the form of an audit from state officials. The story was a familiar one for those following the troubled East San Jose district: ARUSD officials’ mismanagement of contracts cost the district...
San Jose could be exempt from CEQA for homeless housing under proposed bill
In what could be another tool to address homelessness in San Jose, state representatives for the city are hoping to pass an amended bill that will exempt certain regulations for building homeless shelters. Assembly Bill 143 amends existing laws to grant cities and counties an exemption from certain building regulations and environmental analysis under the...
Assemblyman Evan Low’s Election Day holiday bill moves ahead
Should California voters have the day off to get to the polls and fulfill their civic duty? One Silicon Valley lawmaker thinks so, and his landmark bill is one step closer to becoming law. Assemblyman Evan Low’s Assembly Bill 177, which could establish a statewide Election Day holiday, is moving ahead in the legislative process....
March for Our Lives draws hundreds to downtown San Jose
A few hundred residents flocked to Downtown San Jose Saturday to rally against gun violence and engage Silicon Valley lawmakers in discussion about gun reform. The focus of the event was galvanizing young voices in the fight against gun-related deaths. “I’m fed up with people saying ‘a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a...
Assemblymember Ash Kalra introduces bill to protect Coyote Valley
Assemblymember Ash Kalra on Tuesday jumped into the fight to protect Coyote Valley by introducing legislation to create a conservation program to oversee the area. Located in South San Jose and parts of unincorporated Santa Clara County, Coyote Valley is a 15,000 acre piece of mostly undeveloped land that’s home to hundreds of species of wildlife. For decades the land has...
San Jose lawmakers send letter to end SJSU homelessness
Five San Jose city lawmakers have now publicly declared their support to help end the student homelessness crisis at San Jose State University. In a letter released today, Vice Mayor Chappie Jones and Councilmembers Raul Peralez, Magdalena Carrasco and Maya Esparza pledged their commitment to work with SJSU President Mary Papazian to help find housing...
Ash Kalra proposes law to put vote centers on college campuses
A new bill from San Jose Assemblyman Ash Kalra would prioritize putting vote centers on college campuses, a push to improve youth voter turnout and eliminate barriers to voting. Kalra’s Assembly Bill 59 would amend California Voter’s Choice Act to require college campuses with 10,000 or more students be considered for vote centers. The proposed legislation includes...
Silicon Valley lawmakers applaud Newsom order halting death penalty
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday halting the executions of 737 death row prisoners in the state, repealed California’s lethal injection protocols and shuttered the San Quentin State Prison execution chamber. Of the 737 condemned inmates, who now have stays of execution, 25 of them had their trial in Santa Clara County. Silicon Valley lawmakers...