Aug 7, 2014
Now that campaign finance reports are out for the end of the Primary season, we can see just what kinds of games candidates are playing to make themselves look successful. Take the case of San Jose City Council District One candidate Charles “Chappie” Jones. Campaign reports show that Jones loaned his campaign $19,356 last spring. At the time, his opponent…
Aug 6, 2014
Given that they share a conservative voting record on the City Council, Madison Nguyen’s endorsement of Sam Liccardo for Mayor comes as no surprise. They are both to blame for the current public safety crisis and endorsing Dave Cortese would be a tacit admission that the city has crumbled under their leadership. But if Liccardo is counting on Nguyen’s coattails consider this: The San…
Aug 5, 2014
UPDATE: It looks like there will be NO public safety tax proposal on the November ballot, and NO general sales tax proposal. The good guys on the council were able to thwart the sham of a “public safety” tax proposal and the Mayor and his allies defeated the general sales tax plan which actually could have done some good. Back…
Aug 4, 2014
Santa Clara County Unaccompanied Minor Immigrants Now that we’re out of July vacations, we have a lot more to talk about on Policy Watch. Let’s start with the most dramatic, controversial and needed: Santa Clara County Supervisors developing a “host family” program to provide temporary housing for unaccompanied immigrant children. Thousands of children have been streaming across the southern U.S.…
Jul 31, 2014
The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board ruled on Tuesday that McDonald’s could be held jointly liable for labor and wage violations by its franchise operators — a decision that, if upheld, would disrupt longtime practices in the fast-food industry and ease the way for unionizing nationwide. Business groups called the decision outrageous. Some legal experts described it…
Jul 29, 2014
Right about now, dozens of children and their families who made a risky and frightening journey across the Southern U.S. border are getting a small bit of comfort from people like you. Your donations of clothes, blankets, diapers, women’s feminine care products and other necessities collected by San Jose’s Working Partnerships USA were sent to the Interfaith Center for Worker Justice…
Jul 28, 2014
San Jose Potential measures for November Ballot San Jose City Council has a lot on its plate when Council Members come back from their July break. Polling results show support for a City sales tax increase and for a 20% Marijuana Business Tax. The Council may decide whether or not to put either or both items on the November ballot.…
Jul 24, 2014
I’m remembering the morning after Brazil´s devastating loss to Germany in the World Cup. It´s 7 a.m. and I’m taking my usual walk through the center of Caucaia. The city of 200,000 is already bustling with people catching buses to work or opening their small shops. Tears were shed last night but today it´s back to work. It´s also back…
Jul 23, 2014
Apple, Google and other tech giants in the Silicon Valley are booming. Those companies are filled with brilliant people, many getting rich from the fruits of their labor. And they deserve it. Engineers and designers and other professionals who bring us the devices that make so many lives easier and more productive, work hard at what they do. But there…
Jul 22, 2014
When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country,” he expressed a view shared by many business leaders. In today’s business climate it seems incredible, but through much of the 20th century business leaders supported workers’ rights. Why did leading…