Santa Clara County is almost done counting primary election ballots, with advocates hoping a neck-and-neck congressional race and historic county contest will get voters to the polls in November. Voter turnout as of Wednesday sits at 37.38% according to the county’s Registrar of Voters, with 382,958 ballots counted out of just more than 1 million registered...
Standard Blog
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...
Collins: California officials tackle affordable housing shortages
The housing crisis is real. While estimates vary on how bad the housing shortage is nationwide, Freddie Mac concluded that, as of late 2020, there was a housing shortage of 3.8 million homes. This tight supply has led to higher housing prices throughout the country, especially here in Santa Clara County. According to a Pew Research...
San Jose program to build backyard homes is thriving
Hundreds of granny units are popping up everywhere in San Jose due to a successful city program implemented five years ago. The city has issued nearly 3,000 permits and seen 1,451 granny units, also known as backyard homes or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), completed since launching its preapproved contractors program in 2019. In the first...
Sunnyvale city manager to retire after steering key changes
Sunnyvale’s top administrator is retiring after seven years on the job. City Manager Kent Steffens will step down in June, according to a Wednesday news release. He led the city in completing recent projects including the new City Hall and kickstarting plans to rebuild the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The city will begin looking for...
San Jose adopts landmark policy to stop displacement
A long-awaited landmark policy will preserve housing specifically for residents at risk of displacement in hopes of keeping them in San Jose. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the first policy in the city to give tenant preference based on geography. New or acquired affordable housing projects that are city funded or...
Robinson: One candidate will win, but voters can’t lose
Campaigns don’t always mean anything. A person could run a perfect campaign and still not beat a Zoe Lofgren, Nancy Pelosi, Ro Khanna or any number of current elected officials. But sometimes a campaign makes a huge difference. This was never more true than in the primary race for U.S. Senate and the congressional race...
49ers give Santa Clara ‘best and final offer’ in legal fight
The San Francisco 49ers are offering Santa Clara a deal that would pour millions of dollars in city coffers, a last ditch effort by the NFL team to end litigation that’s dragged on for more than two years. The effort is the team’s “best and final offer,” and would add $18 million to the city’s...
Knight: San Jose mayor’s budget plan prioritizes optics, not people
San Jose’s mayor recently released his 2024 budget message, emphasizing the city’s urgent need to address homelessness. As a member of the Lived Experience Advisory Board of Silicon Valley, I know firsthand the pain and hardship of this crisis. Yet, the mayor’s proposed plan reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the issue and a worrying emphasis...
Will there be a recount for Silicon Valley congressional race?
The race to replace Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is about as tight as it can get, and it will likely be weeks until it’s clear who’s going to the runoff. Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is in first place — securing his spot in the November general election — but there is a razor thin margin...
The Latest News
- Silicon Valley voter turnout in primary election inches up March 28, 2024
- Lawmakers pass the buck on San Jose transparency bill March 28, 2024
- Collins: California officials tackle affordable housing shortages March 28, 2024
- San Jose program to build backyard homes is thriving March 28, 2024
- Sunnyvale city manager to retire after steering key changes March 27, 2024
- San Jose adopts landmark policy to stop displacement March 27, 2024