Former Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO Carl Guardino is pictured in this file photo.
Two weeks before San Jose passed a landmark ban on natural gas for new commercial buildings, city officials introduced an exemption that benefited a local energy company, Bloom Energy, whose vice president is a personal friend to the mayor.
And the way they did it shows the stark difference in access granted to political insiders as well as the extent to which city policy is swayed by special interests.
“It’s politics… We want everybody to have an opportunity to chime in, especially if you’re going to be directly impacted,” said San Jose Councilmember Raul Peralez, who voted against the exemption. “In theory, it makes sense… in real practice, it’s not very fair.”
Activists protest sweep of San Jose homeless camp, call it a photo-op
February 24, 2021
A group of activists for the homeless held a protest at an encampment near Felipe Avenue Monday. Photo by Eugene Luu.
Advocates for the homeless gathered Monday to protest an upcoming sweep this week of an encampment, comparing the action to former President Donald Trump’s church photo-op and calling it cruel and out of touch.
“We have open buildings, we have the space. There’s no need for these people to be on the street in inclement weather or under any other circumstances,” said the Rev. Jeff Moore, president of the local NAACP. “I’m here to today to tell you, ‘No more sweeps.’ We must have some place for them to go, somewhere to take their belongings.”
Tenants mount courthouse protest to end evictions in Santa Clara County
January 29, 2021
Derrick Sanderlin, a tenant organizer with Sacred Heart Community Service, joined tenants protesting evictions at the Santa Clara County Superior Court on Jan. 27. Photo by Eugene Luu.
Dozens of tenants and their advocates blocked the entrance to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in downtown San Jose this morning to protest ongoing evictions during the pandemic.
Nine protesters were arrested after sheriff’s deputies declared the demonstration unlawful. The demonstrators successfully shut down the courts in the morning but judges resumed hearing cases in the afternoon. There were no injuries to protesters or law enforcement, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Sj: Tombstones Honor 196 Homeless People Who Died In Silicon Valley
Bay City News Service
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San Jose Spotlight
Row after row of makeshift tombstones filled a plaza outside a county building in San Jose, each with the name of a homeless person who died on the streets of Silicon Valley this past year. If we don t do this, then people just don t recognize the enormity of the problem and how many people are dying, said Shaunn Cartwright, a longtime homeless advocate who helped create the tombstones.
On each one of the 196 tombstones, a flower was painted above each name and age, signifying the person s ethnicity based on the color of the flower.
Tombstones honor 196 homeless people who died in Silicon Valley
December 24, 2020
Assemblymember Ash Kalra paying his respect for the homeless people who have died. Photo by Eugene Luu.
Row after row of makeshift tombstones filled a plaza outside a county building in San Jose, each with the name of a homeless person who died on the streets of Silicon Valley this past year.
“If we don’t do this, then people just don’t recognize the enormity of the problem and how many people are dying,” said Shaunn Cartwright, a longtime homeless advocate who helped create the tombstones.
On each one of the 196 tombstones, a flower was painted above each name and age, signifying the person’s ethnicity based on the color of the flower.