Apr 3, 2015
“When any city or state in our union makes efforts to curtail the equal rights under the law that all people are entitled to, it is incumbent upon us to stand up and speak out.” And that’s what four members of the San Jose City Council, under the leadership of Councilmember Ash Kalra, are doing. Speaking out against Indiana’s cockamamie “Religious Freedom…
Mar 31, 2015
As a progressive Democratic woman my endorsement of Tim Orozco for San Jose District 4 City Council was a no-brainer. Tim has pledged to continue the fight for a living wage, pay equity and pension protection for the city’s workforce. Since many of the lower-paid workers within city government are women, decent pay and benefits are imperative to strengthen the…
Mar 30, 2015
Mountain View Minimum Wage Ordinance – Regional Update and Potential Work Plan Date/time/location item will be heard: March 31, 2015 Receive an update on minimum wage ordinance regional developments and provide direction to staff on whether or not to proceed on a proposed work plan to achieve Council’s adopted goal of reaching a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour…
Mar 27, 2015
It didn’t take long after Officer Michael Johnson was fatally gunned down for the platitudes to begin. The shooting reminds us, Scott Herhold intoned, the “the job is fundamentally different than other dangerous lines of work.” Reminds us, the columnist wrote. Implying something all of us always knew. An editorial quickly followed. It righteously observed, “For all of our political…
Mar 26, 2015
It is with the deepest of sympathy that I write this message today. Last night, our city lost a hero. San José Police Officer Michael Johnson was shot and killed while serving and protecting us all. My thoughts, love, and prayers go out to his family, friends and fellow officers, and to all those who have lost their lives to…
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 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