Feb 14, 2018
In December of 2017, Santa Clara County Board of Education Member Michael Chang stepped down from his post on the Board. His sudden resignation left the Board in a challenging position, often tying on critical issues it faced and being divided between members who rubber stamp charter school petitions and those who take a more balanced approach. Yesterday, the Board…
Feb 12, 2018
City of San Jose Memos from Liccardo / Carrasco / Arenas / Jimenez / Peralez & Rules Committee recommend an opposing City-sponsored ballot measure to the Evergreen Senior Homes Initiative UPDATES: Liccardo, Carrasco, Arenas, Jimenez and Peralez recommend: Approve recommendation (a) and (c) as outlined in the staff report dated February 2, 2018 related to the petition initiative amending the…
Feb 9, 2018
Santa Clara County officials are alarmed. Trump Administration actions could cost the County $200-$400 million per year, decimating the County’s social safety net. Among the gravest threats are: Increased cost of healthcare to those no longer insured by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and once more uninsured. This alone would impact the County healthcare system by approximately $150 million per…
Jan 24, 2018
This morning, nearly a hundred San Jose residents demonstrated at Google’s Mountain View headquarters over the tech giant’s plans to build a new mega-campus in San Jose. Google is negotiating with San Jose City Council to buy valuable public land near Diridon Station for its proposed 6-8 million square foot campus that will be home to up to 20,000 Google…
Jan 22, 2018
The signs at Saturday’s Women’s March in San Jose did not disappoint. They were witty, clever, poignant, and downright hilarious. Thank you to all who joined the march and brought us these, and many more, catchy and meaningful words of wisdom: 80% Pay = 100% Wrong No one says “grab em by the weenie” We are not ovary acting I…
Jan 22, 2018
County of Santa Clara Update & direction on Child Care Services, plus approving $50,000 increase for 4Cs The board is consider approving a funding increase for the Community Child Care Council and receive a report on the state and budget of the Child Care Services department. The recommended actions will have the following fiscal impact Recommended Action (a) The CalWORKs…
Jan 18, 2018
Last week, labor organizations and local residents filed a lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court to prevent the City of San Jose from planning development of a site, contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals, without evaluating the public and worker health risks and safety and environmental impacts. The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health found that the project site, located in downtown…
Jan 17, 2018
In 2016, my union, the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers-West (SEIU-UHW) saw that we had a gap in our leadership. At SEIU-UHW, young workers are twenty-eight percent of our union’s membership, and it is growing every day. At that time there were less than five leaders under 35 on our 300 seat executive board. So we hosted…
Jan 15, 2018
Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We reflect and honor his commitment to improving the lives of thousands of Americans, while continuously putting his own life at risk. We respect his non-violent approach, we are grateful for his courage and wisdom. He was a man of action and his unyielding desire for equality…
Jan 15, 2018
Santa Clara County Discussion on possible ballot measure to extend County’s 1/8-cent sales tax The current County 1/8 cent sales tax (2012 Measure A) is set to expire on March 31, 2023. The Board directed the Administration to provide information to the Board regarding the County’s one-eighth cent tax, including: Workplan or decision matrix for the Board to examine the…