The Constitutional rights of criminal defendants in California are not outweighed by state laws protecting the confidentiality of police personnel records, the state Supreme Court ruled last week. In a way, the court’s opinion vindicates Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s approach to balancing the rights of law enforcement officers to keep their personnel...
Santa Clara leaves police chief decision to voters, disputes scathing grand jury report
It’s official: Santa Clara will have two police chief elections in 2020 after councilmembers on Wednesday night said they couldn’t agree on who to elect to the newly-vacant position between now and Dec. 2020. The decision comes after a contentious meeting where elected officials were set to decide what to do about the retirement of longtime Chief Mike...
Philbrick: Put the phone away and stop distracted driving in Silicon Valley
You are safely driving along when that incoming text notification demands your immediate attention. There doesn’t seem to be anything in the way ahead — why not take a quick look? It might be something important from work or maybe it’s a family member — surely something worth the quick diversion. This thought process is,...
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Alviso residents angry over fencing structure blocking the bay
Some Alviso residents are shaking their heads over a proposed fencing structure on the Alviso County Marina Park, raising concerns that they were not notified about the project after the framework for the structure went up earlier this week. And now county officials have put that work on hold to solicit community input — something...
Gilman: Mayor Liccardo, hold your fire
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is proposing a city ordinance that would require gun owners to purchase liability insurance or a pay a fee to mitigate the societal costs associated with gun-related violence and accidents. He presented his case in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post last week. The mayor’s proposal is based...
Santa Clara County has no count for homeless suicides in last two years
In 2016, a total of 132 unhoused people were reported dead in Santa Clara County, eight of which were ruled a suicide, according to a study by the Santa Clara County Medical-Examiner Coroner office. But county officials do not have an estimated count for suicide deaths among homeless residents for the last two years and...
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Historic downtown San Jose church hit with Satanic graffiti
A historic Catholic Church in the heart of downtown San Jose was vandalized Sunday morning, hours before congregants gathered to participate in Sunday mass. Satanic and anti-semitic graffiti spray were sprawled against the church’s outside walls, alongside taunting drawings of a ghoulishly painted smile below two windows and a two-toned colored pentagram. Church officials from...
Gerston: Census participation is more important than ever
Beginning next January, the Census Bureau will begin counting the estimated 330 million people living in the United States. More than just an exercise undertaken by thousands of temporary bean counters, the census is critical to every state for two important reasons. First, the census determines each state’s number of U.S. House of Representatives members....
What’s next for BART and VTA’s evolving Downtown San Jose extension?
With the addition of Google to the Downtown San Jose area looming, a reimagining of the Diridon station underway, and the extension of BART all the way from Berryessa to Santa Clara, there are a myriad of moving parts and pieces that could transform Downtown San Jose and finally tie together the Bay Area as...
Staedler: Housing is a human right and others need to step up like Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County has selected Mercy Housing Management Group for a teacher housing project that will serve five North County school districts in Palo Alto. The 60 to 120-unit project at 231 Grant Avenue will be constructed on county property, and the county has continued to show leadership in developing affordable and teacher housing. While we...