Monthly Archives : March 2014

Music Video Exposes Economic Disparity Issues in Silicon Valley


In a unique gathering of civic leaders, civil rights advocates and cultural artists — Silicon Valley De-Bug  held a forum on the growing economic disparities facing Silicon Valley. The event, packed shoulder to shoulder, took on an innovative approach by premiering a music video at Camera 12 Movie Theater to engage the community around an urgent economic, social, and political…

The Chuck Reed Anti-Pension Road Show Cancelled, For Now


Mayor Chuck Reed has suspended efforts to qualify a statewide ballot initiative to attack the retirement security of public workers in California.  The measure would have changed the California Constitution to eliminate the constitutional protections for public workers, who have a vested right to their pensions. Tweet

Irony: Deputy Sheriffs Association Breaking the Law?


The Santa Clara County Deputy Sheriffs Association could be on its way into some hot water after having failed to file campaign contribution report for two years, and possibly longer.  According to a complaint filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission, the DSA has not filed form 460 reports for contributions made to political candidates from 2010 through the end…

Step It Up, San Jose: Great Cities Have Great Parks


Listening to the Mayor’s State of the City Address recently, I noticed two words that did not trip off Mayor Reed’s tongue: parks and trails. For years now I have watched City leadership bypass, reduce, and exempt parks, trails and public recreation both in terms of vision and budget dollars. This has to change. Great cities have great parks and…

The Next Big Fight for Young Progressives


In the last seventy years, every decade or so, a new social movement emerged in the progressive community before heading to center stage in American politics. Those movements were often driven by young progressives. Now, we must gear up for the next progressive battle, the one that will define young progressives such as me and potentially our nation for decades.…

A View From the Neighborhood: Library Parcel Tax is Critical


Have you read a book today? Waiting to the last minute, the San Jose City Council approved a resolution to place on the June ballot a Measure to extend the Library Parcel Tax.  Surprisingly, the vote was unanimous.  Perhaps that should be the headline from our partisan, divided, “I wanna be Mayor” City Council.  Regardless, it’s good to see the…

Rocketship’s Rich Patron, Reed Hastings, Drops a Bombshell: “You should get rid of School Boards”


On March 4th, 2014, Billionaire Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings delivered the keynote speech to the California Charter School Association’s annual conference.  In that keynote speech, Mr. Hastings made a shocking statement:  Democratically elected school board members are the problem with education, and they must be replaced by privately held corporations in the next 20-30 years. Tweet

Republican Approach to “Immigration Reform” is Wrong


As an active member of the Movement for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, I firmly believe that only comprehensive reform is the right solution to the human problem represented by the nearly 11 million undocumented workers living in our country. Therefore, I categorically condemn and disapprove the approach and strategy of the “principles for immigration reform” issued by the House Republicans on…

In a Sizzling Economy, Many are Getting Burned


While the Silicon Valley economy is sizzling hot with corporate profits in the billions, middle-class families are hurting from stagnant wages and a rising cost of living.  Between 2000 and 2012, Apple profits grew by a whopping 5,209 percent to more than $41 billion. Meanwhile, median worker income in Silicon Valley actually shrank by 12 percent. In Silicon Valley there…

Whopper of the Week: Advice To The Washington Post


 On February 25th, the Washington Post decided to wade into San Jose’s pension wars with a major article by Michael K. Fletcher. Alas, the venerable Post apparently did not even do minimal research or fact-checking before putting pen to paper. The result is a disappointing mega-whopper. Tweet

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