Clarrissa Cabansagan began riding a bicycle at seven years old. Fast forward 30 years and not only is biking part of her daily life, she has also spent her adult years finding ways for bike transit to be safer across the Bay Area. It’s that same commitment she carries with her as she takes charge of...
Former San Jose mayor must explain how he complied with records law
A superior court judge is ordering former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo to explain under penalty of perjury how he searched his private emails and texts for messages related to city business in response to a lawsuit from this news organization. In a ruling issued last week, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Kuhnle said Liccardo must...
Chung: DA Rosen needs to clean house in his Bureau of Investigation
On July 5, NBC published an investigation revealing that the District Attorney’s Chief Investigator Moises Reyes had “made discriminatory remarks towards and about women, transgender people and Black people” in formal settings and that the Santa Clara County Equal Opportunity Division (EOD) had sustained five allegations against him. Despite these sustained findings by EOD months...
‘Cockroaches, mold, fraying carpets’: San Jose tenants protest living conditions
A group of San Jose tenants are organizing to call out their corporate landlord for poor conditions and spiked rents across several low-income apartment complexes. The KDF Tenants Association represents more than 1,000 residents from four different affordable complexes in San Jose, which are owned by Newport Beach-based KDF Communities. Tenants picketed outside Orchard Glen Apartments...
San Jose lawmaker’s social housing bill advances
A bill to establish affordable housing in California is making its way through the state Senate after a successful committee vote—but not without revisions. Assembly Bill 309, also referred to as the Social Housing Act, is authored by San Jose Assemblymember Alex Lee. The bill proposes social housing, a technique brought to fame by countries...
Santa Clara County expands mental health navigator program
One of Santa Clara County’s newest mental health programs is expanding due to high demand. The Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Navigator Program launched last July in San Jose and Gilroy, connecting residents to county-contracted mental health services. Part of the program’s plan has been to increase its field services. As demand increased, the Santa...
Pham: Let’s collaborate instead of taking cheap shots at our neighborhood schools
As board president of the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District, I read the May 2 Mercury News op-ed “It’s code red for six of San Jose’s school districts” by County Board of Education Trustee Joseph Di Salvo and San Jose-Evergreen Community College Trustee Karen Martinez with dismay and disappointment. After not seeing my letter...
Urban farming development sprouts in Santa Clara
A first-of-its kind affordable housing development where residents can grow their own food is slated to begin welcoming tenants at the end of the month, sparking excitement among Santa Clara County community leaders. The development, Agrihood, offers 160 mixed-income apartments, 165 homes for low-income seniors and veterans and 36 townhomes on 5.8 acres. The property will...
Santa Clara County community college faces lawsuit from trustee
A South Bay college district board member is suing the district and his colleagues after they censured him for allegedly making racist remarks to an African American college president. Gilbert Wong, a board member of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District and former Cupertino councilmember, filed a complaint in Santa Clara County Superior Court Thursday....
East San Jose free food market targets hunger crisis
Free food distribution is still essential for East San Jose residents. That’s evident by the line of people wrapped around the block of Mexican Heritage Plaza twice a month waiting to fill their wagons with produce and other food products. Even post-pandemic there’s been a noticeable uptick in the number of residents needing food, and organizers...