Last Friday, Joint Venture Silicon Valley (JVSV) hosted its annual State of the Valley. I was one of the 1,000 people in attendance at the convention center. JVSV started in 1993, during a recession, to promote economic growth through public-private partnerships. Several interesting demographic statistics were pointed out during the presentation.
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Ending Youth and Family Homelessness
Today I am headed to Los Angeles to attend a national conference focused on ending youth and family homelessness by 2020. The National Alliance to End Homelessness has worked hard to draw attention to not only ending chronic homelessness, but addressing the different approaches in working with youth and families.
Juvenile Justice Cut Would be a Mistake
One of Governor Brown’s budget trigger cuts for California is the $72 million spent on the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ, formerly the California Youth Authority). The governor is proposing to shut down the state juvenile justice detention system and send the youth back to the counties for rehabilitation. On the surface, this seems like a good move—DJJ has a horrible reputation for punishing wards and providing little rehabilitative services.
RDA Coffin Not Yet Closed
With the passage of Senate Bill 654 (SB654), authored by Senate President Pro tem Darrell Steinberg, cities in California would retain Redevelopment Agency’s (RDA) tax increment financing to build more affordable housing. The entire Legislature is set to vote on the bill.
Scared Straight Programs Are All Talk
“Scared Straight”, the popular 1978 documentary by Arnold Shapiro, has been brought to television as “Beyond Scared Straight.” I avoided watching the new reality television series because all the research shows the scare tactics of taking kids to jail for a day does not work. I was hoping that after one season the show would die and just go away. Unfortunately, it is back for a new season.
Next Steps for RDA
As you may have heard, last month the California Supreme Court terminated all Redevelopment Agencies (RDA) in California. As a result, they will be dissolved by Feb. 1, 2012. The first step is for each RDA to form a “Successor Agency.” This agency will enforce any and all obligations and agreements that are currently in place.
Court Gives RDAs Death Sentence
A ruling Thursday by the California Supreme Court is more or less the nail in the coffin for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. It’s also a critical victory for Gov. Jerry Brown, whose budget has been under scrutiny for major shortfalls compared to rosy projections regarding revenue. The state’s high court decided $1.7 billion can be legally taken from RDAs across the state, and the ruling also denies agencies the ability to “pay to play” by giving money over to the state to remain in existence.
Suspending Fees for Improvements
Last week, the City Council made a change to suspend two construction taxes for a limited time in an attempt to encourage commercial property owners to provide improvements for their existing buildings. The hope is that if owners can improve their buildings at a lower cost, they may find tenants—which is a win for them and for San Jose.
Chipping Away at the Tax Base
In a quest for even more affordable housing in San Jose, the City Council voted 10-1 to amend the North San Jose Area Development Policy. I voted no. Remember that San Jose has been the leader in providing affordable housing in the state of California, while other cities have done very little. As I wrote about on a prior blog, affordable housing must be a shared goal and not just in San Jose.
Police Chief Breaks Silence
The day San Jose Inside readers have been patiently waiting for has arrived. The busiest guy in town finally turned in his answers to reader questions that were submitted back in October. After detailing how a Q&A with the chief went wrong, Moore sprang into action with a 4,501-word email. Below are the questions and answers, preceded by Moore’s apology to readers for the delay. We’re sure all of you will understand.
Juvenile Hall Only Creates More Convicts
I have been working most of my adult life to reduce the number of kids locked up in jails. It has been an uphill battle in most communities, especially in the last decade when we have passed legislation allowing juveniles to be tried as adults. A new report is out by the reputable Annie E. Casey Foundation that supports my belief that juvenile hall is not rehabilitative and is ineffective in preventing future criminal behavior.
City to Decide on Selling Land to A’s
The City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday to decide whether or not it should sell land to owners of the Oakland A’s. The plan is to sell the property for $6.975,227, which is 36.5 percent of the total ballpark site’s current value. The theory, according to ballpark advocates, is the economic benefit of a ballpark would outweigh some combination of corporate, retail offices and housing.
In the Year 2040
Tomorrow, the City Council will adopt the 2040 General Plan (GP2040), which charts the growth of San Jose for the next 30 years. The Task Force, of which I am a member, met for over four years and held over 60 public meetings. In hindsight, the GP2040 could have been done sooner, however, the scope was too broad at the start and it should have been focused solely on land use.
Field Trips for Homeless Youth?
Last week, during a tour of our downtown Drop-In Center for homeless youth, a donor watched as all our kids piled into a van for a trip to the beach. The donor questioned why we would take youth on an outing, rather than focus on the immediate needs of housing, employment, and education. The tone of the question said more than the words – the donor thought it was frivolous. It occurred to me that he may not be the only one who feels this way.
Legislation Will Help Foster Youth
Editor’s Note: Sparky Harlan, Executive Director/CEO at Bill Wilson Center, is a new columnist for San Jose Inside. She is a nationally recognized advocate for youth in foster care and in the juvenile justice system, as well as homeless and runaway youth.
Last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed a flurry of bills. One that missed the media’s attention was AB 194, authored by our own assemblyman, Jim Beall. As legislation goes, this was a simple bill—youth aging out of foster care (ages 18-24) will now have priority to register for classes in state community colleges and universities. There was no opposition to the bill.
San Jose’s Incubators Had Unanimous Council Support from 1994 to 2010
At the Rules Committee last week, we voted 4-0 not to pursue an audit of the incubator program that was started in 1994. Instead, we decided to stay with the current work plan that includes an audit of the Environmental Services Department. The fact is there was a shared belief by the entire San Jose City Council past and present, up until recently, that incubators were a worthwhile investment.
