The stabbing death of Anthony Santa Cruz, a teenage student, occurred on North 21st Street in February, a half-dozen blocks from my home. Of course, the tragedy shook Anthony‘s family and friends profoundly, but painful emotions rippled throughout our community — parents, teachers, and neighbors. At a recent session of my community office hours at [...]
Yesterday, several residents heard local radio news account claiming that the City Council was considering exempting airport operators from the curfew. This false alarm brought home just how badly misleading assertions have swirled around this issue. To be blunt, the City has failed to get timely and accurate information out to the public and [...]
In light of the flurry of emails and phone calls that we’ve received in recent days, I’d like to ensure that everyone is well-armed with the facts about our long-planned expansion of general aviation at the airport, and its impact on the curfew. In social media-driven landscape of instant conspiracy theories, rumors, and innuendo, as Justice [...]
Nearly every civic official in San José agrees that promoting a stronger local economy is our highest priority. Regardless of our political perspectives, we all understand that supporting vibrant small businesses and high-wage jobs are key to putting our friends and neighbors back to work. To the extent there is a debate, it is not [...]
We all know too well the blighting impact of empty storefronts. Dark windows make pedestrians nervous, and stark, quiet streetscapes encourage the proliferation of crime, vagrancy, and graffiti. Fortunately, there’s evidence of the converse effect as well. The arrival of Roy’s Station on a then-struggling Jackson Street a few years has led a renaissance in [...]
For years, authorities ranging from the Knight Foundation to Richard Florida have urged city halls across the country to wake up and smell the coffee: bolstering a growing economy requires much more than a series of tax and employment policies. I often hear that our residents tell us that they seek walkable, safe, and vibrant neighborhoods. They [...]
As we begin 2013, recent news has given San José some uplifting momentum for this new year: Making College a Reality for Students in Poverty This month, we announced the launch of a unique high school near the Five Wounds Church on East Santa Clara Street, offering an innovative approach to giving struggling students a [...]
The Silicon Valley Business Journal’s new Editor-in-Chief, Greg Baumann, has hit the ground running this last week’s issue with a provocative editorial calling out what we all fear: that Silicon Valley is increasingly losing its top talent and fastest-growing companies to San Francisco. While Silicon Valley’s job growth has outpaced nearly every other American metropolitan [...]
The following op-ed appears in this morning’s edition of the Mercury News: By Sam Liccardo and Carl Guardino Our focus on The Important cannot succumb to the tyranny of The Urgent. For the next several weeks, Congress and the White House will become consumed by The Urgent: a self-inflicted wound known as the “Fiscal Cliff.” While [...]
In every election cycle, I shudder to consider the increasingly ponderous list of local and state initiatives that fill my ballot. All too often, these measures paper over very complex and nuanced issues–the same kinds of issues that scared the legislature away—with a barrage of ads that offer voters simplistic, knee-jerk solutions. The results often [...]