San Jose Inside

Our public education system is a disaster. It is not the teachers, students or even the curriculum. It is the SYSTEM. We need a new innovative approach that utilizes 21st century tools to keep our students competitive.

The San Jose Police Department blotter for April 14-15 includes carjackings, a shooting and several robberies.

The city is making headway on a development that will flip the site of a defunct mental institution into a mix of public schools, trails and sports facilities.

Two San Jose cops had sex while on duty, lied about it and still kept their jobs, according to an audit out this week.

Elected officials in San Jose and Santa Clara County have expressed diplomatic, if not cautious, public support for a proposal that would have the Sheriff’s Office assist an undermanned San Jose Police Department. But behind the scenes, the two law enforcement agencies have been at odds for more than a year over services already contracted.

After two months of discussion, a task force formed in the wake of hate crimes that allegedly victimized a San Jose State University freshman completed a set of recommendations.

Under a regulatory proposal making its way through City Hall, all but a handful of local pot clubs would have to shutter or relocate.

San Jose Parks Foundations and similar organizations across the country all have public events to celebrate the wonder and beauty of our public parks. It occurred to us that we need something, too, so ordinary citizens can gather together.

A proposed ballot initiative—endorsed by former governors George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson and Gray Davis—would resume and expedite executions for the 700-plus people living on California’s death row. But would voters be on board?

Wading into the politics of San Jose’s Vietnamese community can be a hazardous endeavor. Several of the candidates running for mayor already knew that. Rose Herrera is now one of them.

Congressman Mike Honda (D-San Jose) has had a rough week. First, a social media snafu, then a revelation that could become fodder for opponents as the campaign heats up.

In unanimous vote Tuesday, the City Council OK'd a lease agreement with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

In the last two months I have had the privilege of participating in the search for a new provost for San Jose State University. While times are tough in higher education circles, I'm happy to report the school made the right hire in Dr. Andrew Feinstein.

Voters in downtown San Jose will have a chance Wednesday to hear candidates for District 3 discuss issues ranging from pubic safety and traffic congestion to homelessness and downtown development.

San Jose may join a host of other cities trying to cash in on subletting service Airbnb, a website that helps people rent out vans, whole homes, just the spare bedroom or anything in-between for extra income.