Mar 25, 2015
Last night it was announced that Rocketship Education would not being using any of the 20 charters the Santa Clara County Office of Education authorized in December 2011 in the Franklin-McKinley school district. A statement read at the school board meeting explained that the Franklin-McKinley Union School District and Rocketship Education had reached a settlement on lawsuit filed in February,…
Mar 24, 2015
Just a few weeks ago, we watched President Obama march along the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; his feet walking the very same path taken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and fellow civil rights activists fifty years ago to the day. As tear gas seared their eyes and clubs broke their bones in 1965, their spirits persevered and…
Mar 23, 2015
San Jose Expansion of Disadvantage Business Enterprise goals Date/time/location item will be heard: March 25, 2015, 1:30 pm Memo from Liccardo, Herrera, Kalra & Peralez to approve the proposed overall Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) participation goal as a minimum, while making every effort to surpass the goal; Work with community stakeholders, such as the Minority Business Consortium, ethnic/minority Chambers of Commerce,…
Mar 20, 2015
Affordable housing advocates won another battle on the local level with the passage of a housing impact fee in one of the valley’s fastest growing cities. Earlier this week the Sunnyvale City Council voted to support staff’s recommended level of $17/sf. It was a good discussion that had only one member line up against the fee at all (Jim Davis).…
Mar 19, 2015
He couldn’t bear to watch Levi’s stadium host it’s first Superbowl now that the 49’rs don’t have a chance. So he’s moving to Seattle to root for the Seahawks as a 12th man. (Even though he’s really a Pat’s fan, being from Boston and all.) The Mercury News should be announcing the replacement of its San Jose City Hall reporter…
Mar 19, 2015
Former Congressman Ernie Konnyu dashed the hopes of sexist, old white guys by announcing that he will not be running for the U.S. Senate next year. You may remember that Konnyu faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment during his one term in Congress. Fortunately, for old guard Republicans, Konnyu is thinking about the next generation of conservative leaders. Tweet
Mar 18, 2015
In perhaps the first sign of a fissure in the strong Vietnamese American voting block , Viet Voters has come out with its endorsement in the San Jose City Council District 4 race. Tweet
Mar 16, 2015
Cupertino: General Plan Amendment hearing pushed back The General Plan Amendment (GPA) public hearing to consider changes to city-wide development allocations for office, commercial and hotel uses, height limits and building planes, and adoption of a Community Benefits Program Policy was changed to the April 21 City Council meeting. Tweet
Mar 13, 2015
City unions are on their way back to the negotiating table with the City Administration, after reaching a compromise on how to approach Measure B. In a public announcement from the San Jose Police Officers Association, the union states: “In response to our pleas we received the attached letter from Mayor Liccardo that details a clear new direction from the City…
Mar 12, 2015
This week marks the two-year anniversary of implementing a $2 increase in San Jose’s minimum wage. At the time, this 25 percent increase was one of the largest jumps in minimum wage in the nation’s history. Proponents said it would help low-wage workers pay for the basics with little harm to the economy, while opponents warned of economic catastrophe. As…