San Jose Inside

President Obama delivered a passionate, if not brief, speech about energy efficiency Friday at a Walmart in Mountain View.

A report going before the San Jose Ethics Commission is expected to clear Sam Liccardo’s mayoral campaign of breaking city fundraising laws, save for one count of improper disclosure.

Silly season is here. Negative and untrue messages are now hitting the mailboxes of unsuspecting voters. In the past, these messages would be devastating. But the rise of absentee ballots has changed all of that.

Supervisors found that Code Enforcement cases are woefully backlogged and databases are out of date.

Ex-City Manager Debra Figone, who fought for years to cut the sick leave payout employees claimed upon retiring, cashed out $109,166 in unused hours when she left last December.

Judge Diane Ritchie scored a shocking victory in 2008 when she won a seat on the Santa Clara County bench, but now she's running for re-election and has no shortage of critics.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to volunteer leaders and a few hundred citizens who have been cleaning our creeks, clearing our trails and preserving our parks while the City Council debates how to allocate its limited resources.

It’s May, which means Sunnyvale Councilman Pat Meyering is once again in the what’s-up-with-that-guy spotlight. A group that includes former elected officials is now trying to get him recalled.

Two new initiatives we’re working on at the Santa Clara County Office of Education have the potential to be a model for how public agencies cooperate together to streamline and improve the delivery of important services to students.

This week’s City Council meeting could be over in the time it takes the mayor to tell a meandering public commenter that his time is up. One of the few items not deferred to next week's meeting is a $12 million award to repave some of San Jose's streets.

This Saturday at 10am the county Board of Education will co-sponsor a mayoral forum on public education. When you examine the list of critical issues San Jose's next mayor will have to confront—public safety, transportation, affordable housing, libraries, etc.—nearly all relate to our children's education.

Three of the four white students accused of hate crimes against their black roommate have been expelled by San Jose State University, according to reports.

Santa Clara County shuffled around some of its top brass, promoting a pair of deputy executives two months after appointing a permanent chief financial officer.

The San Jose Police Department blotter for April 22-30 includes a pistol-whipping on Oakland Road, a kidnapping at gunpoint and a meth bust in downtown.

"Me," "myself" and "I" are the most over-used words in a political campaign. As we hear the endless platitudes, rhetoric and personal pronouns assaulting our senses, one is left with the perception that only narcissists run for public office.