Monthly Archives : November 2018

Nov 28, 2018

City’s Backroom Deal with Google Continues as Council Readies To Vote on Sale of Land for Google Mega Campus

Next week, December 4th, the City of San Jose will vote to sell Google public land for a 30,000 people campus in downtown San Jose. The City has been negotiating behind closed doors with Google regarding the mega campus, causing major concern among residents, non-profits, and neighborhood activists. The secretive nature of the negotiation has been said to violate the…

By | 0 Comments
Read More »
Nov 26, 2018

Policy Watch: Week of 11/26

City of San Jose Ethics Commission to give input on proposal to hold Mayoral Elections concurrent with Presidential Elections The Rules Commission voted to recommend to City Council to adopt a resolution calling for a ballot measure asking the voters of San Jose to move San Jose mayor elections to years concurrent with national Presidential elections (currently they are held…

By | 0 Comments
Read More »
Nov 19, 2018

Policy Watch: Week of 11/19

County of Santa Clara Consider Resolution to approve purchase of Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, CA On November 6, 2018, the Board approved the acquisition of Saint Louise Regional Hospital, currently owned by Verity Health System of California—a nonprofit public benefit corporation that has declared bankruptcy. Adhering to standard due diligence and public notification procedures for a purchase of…

By | 0 Comments
Read More »
Nov 15, 2018

Maya Esparza On Pace to Defeat Incumbent Councilmember Tam Nguyen

In the hotly contested race for the San Jose City Council District 7 seat, challenger Maya Esparza is on pace to oust current Councilmember Tam Nguyen. Election night saw Nguyen leading Esparza by 10 points, but as the Registrar continued to count votes, Nguyen’s lead shrank.  Five days after the election, Esparza surpassed Nguyen by more than 500 votes, and…

By | 0 Comments
Read More »
Nov 13, 2018

City of San Jose Sued Over Secretive Negotiations for Google Mega-Campus

Today, a community organization and government transparency advocates sued the City of San Jose over its handling of a deal to sell valuable public land to Google. Working Partnerships USA, a San Jose based community organization, and the First Amendment Coalition, a nonpartisan, non-profit dedicated to free speech and government transparency, filed suit at Santa Clara County Courthouse this morning.…

By | 0 Comments
Read More »
Nov 5, 2018

Business San Jose Chamber PAC Mailer Falsely Insinuates Support of Sacred Heart Executive Officer for Tam Nguyen

San Jose’s newest PAC, the Business San Jose Chamber PAC, just sent their first mailer, and the PAC is already embroiled in controversy. San Jose Chamber PAC, which broke off from the Silicon Valley Organization PAC (which confusingly enough is run by the real Chamber of Commerce), sent a mailer that features a quote implying that Sacred Heart Executive Officer…

By | 0 Comments
Read More »
Nov 1, 2018

School Board Candidate Compares Food Stamp Recipients to Animals, Attacks Media, Supports Islamophobia

Robert Varich, Republican candidate for Campbell Union High School has, for years, been promoting racist and hateful messages via his social media. Varich posted on his Facebook what appears to be a letter to the editor likening individuals who receive food assistance to animals who, if fed, will not learn to take care of themselves. The post is captioned, “Enough…

By | 0 Comments
Read More »