Author Archives : The Left Hook

New Beginnings For An Old Friend


Steve Preminger is leaving Working Partnerships USA, where he served as the Director of Union Community Resources for nearly two decades, to continue a career in public service as Special Assistant to Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith. “Over the years Steve has helped countless families through difficult times with genuine compassion and understanding” said Ben Field, Executive Officer of…

Policy Watch: Your weekly tip sheet for what’s going on in your community


It’s a light week with most municipalities on summer recess, so we’re padding Policy Watch with some Neil deGrasse Tyson. If you wish to write a blog post from scratch, first you must make the universe. Sunnyvale Public Hearing on regulating short-term rental units The Sunnyvale Housing & Human Services Commission is holding a public hearing on regulating short-term residential…

Policy Watch: Your weekly tip sheet for what’s going on in your community


  Happy almost 4th of July readers.  City of Santa Clara Public surveys on proposed Minimum Wage Ordinance The steady roll out of municipal minimum wage ordinances continues in Santa Clara with outreach for public opinion on their recent prioritization of a local wage ordinance. The ordinance includes increasing the minimum wage to $11 on January 1, 2016 and linking…

El Camino Hospital

El Camino Hospital: Springboard for Political Ambitions


Something strange happened at El Camino Hospital last week.  The publicly elected board that oversees the hospital appointed 36-year-old Lanhee Chen to the corporate board of directors for the hospital.  The appointment raised some eyebrows because, unlike other applicants for the job, Mr. Chen has almost no experience in healthcare and hospitals.  Two unsuccessful candidates for the board position had…

Free Postage for Mail-in Ballots


In a move designed to address the problem of abysmally low voter turnout, yesterday the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to pay postage for vote-by-mail ballots.  The change will go into effect in the November 2015 elections, at a cost of $31,000.  For the two elections scheduled in 2016 the estimated cost to the County is $198,000, about…