In an effort to keep readers better informed about and involved with community issues, San Jose Inside will unveil several new features in the coming weeks.The first new weekly feature will allow readers to become reporters and ask questions. If you’ve ever wondered why a certain question wasn’t posed, this will be your opportunity to step forward and ask. To begin the Q&A series, Mayor Chuck Reed has agreed to answer your questions.

Racial equality in our schools and communities is elusive, but a work in progress. The achievement gap is real and it has not budged significantly for the half century since Dr. King delivered his famous speech. On Sunday, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial will be dedicated to the American people in Washington D. C. The facts are stark and our work to “Build the Dream” must be re-energized. This new national monument to MLK is a great opportunity for us to do just that.

When I read or hear an economic report about building permits, housing prices, consumer spending, jobless claims, GDP, inflation, stock prices, etc., it always leaves me wondering: What does this data mean to a city? Well, based on current numbers, San Jose shouldn’t expect any significant increase of our No. 1 revenue source, property tax, for several years.

“It’s hard to improve public education—that’s clear,” Warren Buffet says. “If you’re picking stocks, you wouldn’t pick this one.” Even Bill and Melinda Gates must question whether their $5 billion multi-year investment in public school reform has been worth it.

Increasing the tax base helps government provide services at levels that meet most residents’ expectations. At the national level it’s clearly impossible to grow the economy to pay off the national debt. At the state level, the current rate of economic growth is unlikely to keep the budget balanced this year. However, at the local level where budget deficits are not allowed, an increased tax base could go towards providing services to residents and thus restoring key positions.

As we begin a new school year in a week or so we should be very concerned about the absence of equity and social justice in our classrooms, schools, and cities. In addition, after this latest debt ceiling debacle it is evident that we have become a nation that has lost its moral compass.

Downtown San Jose will be celebrating 22 years of the San Jose Jazz Festival over three days beginning this Friday. Music festivals are held all over the world and provide the unique experience of bringing musicians from across the globe to perform in one city. The San Jose Jazz Festival is one of the best outdoor events showcasing the Downtown.

America has resolved the raising of the national debt ceiling through bipartisan legislation and averted catastrophic economic consequences, or so we are told.  However, like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, is it once again government smoke and mirrors?

About twice a month, I get an inquiry from someone who is considering purchasing a home in my council district. I think it is good idea as it shows they are doing their due diligence.

Councilmembers are often the conduit in which information flows about neighborhoods. We are on the receiving end of emails, phone calls and conversations at the grocery store where residents share information and perspectives that they often do not want to vent in a public forum amongst their neighbors. Thus councilmembers are able to have both a top-level and detail-oriented perspective of the neighborhoods in their districts.

A stranger attempting to lure a three year old away from the child’s older sister with candy is odd, not to mention, bold. For the stranger to then follow the two children into their home and try to pry the younger child from her mother’s arms is unbelievable.  Although this might sound like a nightmare, this scenario actually took place last week in San Jose. The stranger is a woman whom suffers from mental illness and was subsequently arrested.

A study released this week by The Daily Beast revealed that San Jose has the longest life expectancy of any major American city. The study examined lifespan data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention going back ten years, and found that local men live to be 79.2, on average, while women live to be 82.9.

In 1996, The Compassionate Use Act, Proposition 215, passed with 66 percent of the vote,allowing for the launch of medical marijuana clubs in the state. The Act itself dictates that “governments implement a plan to provide the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need.” Oakland, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco were the first local cities to provide safe access to medical marijuana for those in need.

Rocketship’s Silicon Valley expansion is becoming more and more a compelling story. The Wall Street Journal’s Vauhini Vaha for the Bay Area edition wrote on July 14, “While the organization’s initial efforts are yielding strong test results among elementary students, the expansion plan is drawing opposition from the superintendent and teachers’ union in the county’s biggest district, who say the Palo Alto nonprofit is cutting out local officials who were elected by voters to oversee education. They also say the charter’s rapid growth might come at the expense of the region’s tradition public schools.” UPDATED: July 21, 1:20pm

Last week, “the Feds” visited Pioneer High School to present an initiative collaborating with cities to prevent a terrorist action. They distributed a brochure titled “Building Communities of Trust.” The Feds included the Department of Justice and the FBI. I attended to hear first-hand the details and the comments from attendees that were assembled.

A recent NBC Bay Area report on the increase in prostitution downtown—and the disbanding of the city’s vice squad—has gone viral, and spawned a Twitter debate over the cause. Protect San Jose, a blog run by the police union, Tweeted that city manager Deb Figone was to blame for the downtown hookers, drawing a response from Daily Fetch, an anonymous political blog.

Unfortunately, there is more evidence that the “audacity of hope” is a bust and “fierce urgency of now” is just rhetorical flourish without meaning. I say that as one of the millions who stood on the U.S. Capitol lawn proudly cheering with teary eyes at the inauguration of our 44th President. The Obama administration has proposed a 20 percent reduction in its fiscal 2012 budget for career and technical education. Just as we were beginning to make significant headway in raising the stature of vocation education for the 21st Century we cut the proverbial legs out from underneath the effort.