This month’s column falls on the first day of Kwanzaa, the day of Umoja — unity, which calls us to stand together to solve problems that threaten our very existence. In Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, there is no clearer example of the heightened risk to Black life than what is happening to Black...
San Jose adds AI tools to its disaster tactics
San Jose faces a wide array of disaster risks — everything from wildfires to floods and mass shootings — each of which poses its own difficult questions for emergency management officials tasked with leading the city’s evacuation efforts. But those emergency planners will soon get a high-tech assist in these life-or-death calls from a cutting-edge,...
2025 in review: Silicon Valley’s biggest stories
It was a transformational year for Silicon Valley. A county assessor’s 30-year reign came to an end. Two city leaders were sentenced in court. Superintendent firings and mass layoffs rocked a host of local schools. And a judge brought an end to a historic transit labor strike. But for each chapter that was closed this...
Earning $250K? Mountain View wants to help residents buy a home
The price of housing in Mountain View has gotten so high that the City Council is now looking for ways to help people earning up to nearly $275,000 a year afford a home, with the limit going higher for couples and families. Last week, the City Council reviewed a plan that staff has been developing...
Santa Clara County new public defender is a familiar face
Damon Silver has for months led Santa Clara County’s public defender office in an acting role. Now his title is permanent — and he’s stepping into a watershed moment for Silicon Valley’s criminal justice landscape. The tech region’s crime-fueling wealth divide has deepened to “instability and revolt” levels, according to economists. The mayor of the...
Study shows food insecurity highest in East San Jose
During the last 10 days of every month, Julia pulls together whatever scant meals she can with produce from food banks and canned items until her food benefits renew. The 28-year-old, who didn’t provide her last name for privacy reasons, receives about $600 a month in food stamps to feed herself and three children. She...
Santa Clara County sheriff won’t release Taser body-cam footage
Santa Clara County leaders promised full transparency when they approved the deployment of Tasers in the jails. Now sheriff’s deputies are using them — and county leaders don’t want the public to see the videos. The county has repeatedly denied California Public Records Act requests by civil rights advocates seeking the body-worn camera footage of...
Kumar: Rebuttal to Larry Stone’s ‘The assessor is not a political position’
For decades, residents of Santa Clara County have endured inconsistent assessments, a broken appeals process and unprocessed refunds — all from an Assessor’s Office that has refused to modernize, standing in stark contrast to Silicon Valley’s cutting-edge innovation while maintaining a laser focus on extracting higher tax revenues from the very people who elected the...
Developer for Los Gatos project warns of legal costs
The developer of a proposed 13-story apartment building in Los Gatos warned the Town Council last week of potential legal costs for blocking the project, even though the council says the developer’s application is moving forward. “I respectfully want to tell you the town’s multiple lawsuits (related to housing construction), including attempting to block this...