Historically, civil rights issues have been a struggle. Yet solvable they are. My epiphany after last week’s unexpected tsunami of racist comments on SJI in response to my post was, sadly, that we have not come as far as I thought we had as an enlightened community. However, the bright rays of hope that we can still succeed in the goal of eliminating the achievement gap were built into the altruistic beliefs spoken by the students who are engaged in their quest to become teachers for the children in San Jose.
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LGBT Students Deserve Protection
The age of significant life events is trending downward and middle school educators need to pay it more attention. The average age that today’s LGBT teenagers come out to their friends and in some cases parents, according to the Massachusetts Commission on LGBT Youth, is 13.4 years old. As a middle school principal for 15 years I learned first hand that middle school LGBT students face extreme levels of harassment daily. Words can be very hurtful, leading in some instances to suicide. In fact, some data indicates that 30 percent of teen suicides are related to LGBT harassment.
English Only, Por Favor
Nine California school districts lost an appeal to have students who speak English as a second language undergo testing in their native languages for No Child Left Behind assessments. The school districts first sued for that right in 2005, claiming that it punished non-native English speakers, 85 percent of whom speak Spanish.
SBLC Hires Attorney with Legal Troubles
Santa Clara County Prosecutor Ben Field announced yesterday that he would be leaving the District Attorney’s Office to work for the South Bay Labor Council. The announcement comes after a State Bar judge issued a harshly worded report recommending that Field be suspended for four years for ethical misconduct. Charges included withholding evidence from defense attorneys and disobeying a judge’s orders.
Life on the Home Front
New History San Jose Exhibit Portrays Santa Clara County’s World War II
Those of us younger than 60 usually think of World War II in terms of our fathers or grandfathers battling enemies in far-off Pacific island jungles and snow-covered European fields, or through iconic images of Iwo Jima, D-Day and the atomic bomb. We often forget that the last formally declared U.S. war also absorbed the entire population of our country in a massive coordinated effort to defeat ideologically driven enemies that really did threaten our very existence as a nation. A fascinating new History San Jose (HSJ) exhibition in the Pacific Hotel Gallery at History Park in Kelley Park shows how Santa Clara County, on the western domestic front of the war, played a significant part in that effort and how the war affected the everyday lives of people in the valley.
Think Globally, Shop Locally
When I was mayor, I bought my cars locally at Lon Normandin’s or Don Lucas’s, I shopped at Ed Mosher’s in the Fairmont, Teel’s jewelry there too, Navelet’s, and Valley Fair, but never crossed the Maginot Line that separated San Jose and Santa Clara, and therefore consciously made my decisions to provide the most sales tax to our city, San Jose, which was trying to sustain services like libraries and parks. It seemed the sensible thing to do, and after all, I thought, if you can’t find it in San Jose, it isn’t worth having.
Props 7 & 8
SJI continues the pre-election discussion that began in this space last week, today offering a clear “no” to a muddled plan for promoting renewable energy, and a loud ‘no” to an effort to enshrine one definition of marriage in the California Constitution. Again: These endorsements were prepared by our colleagues on the the editorial staff at Metro Newspapers, and are presented to stimulate discussion of the issues.
Mayors and Blackouts on the Debate
Well although tonight is the last Presidential debate, I won’t pay much attention. This one is over except for the huffing and puffing of the talking heads, the excuses of the consultants, and the dearly needed change in this country. Even Tina Fey has had enough, vowing to go to outer space if Palin wins.
But there is one Presidential event worthy of comment that occurred 96 years ago yesterday: Teddy Roosevelt was shot.
Gangster’s Paradox
Law enforcement uses the state’s gang-enhancement law to crack down on violence, but a judge’s ruling in the Joshua Herrera case raises questions about its reach
THE moment before Rebecca Rivera entered the courtroom to hear whether or not her son Joshua Herrera was going to face a life sentence in prison, she gathered with 40 or so supporters, who were bustling around with nervous tension. “I talked to Joshua last night, and he wanted us all to know that whatever happens in there—he is coming home.” She began to weep, then collected herself and walked into court. The potentially devastating question that was left in her wake, the one no one dared ask, was: When? Rivera had already consoled the mother of another young man involved in the case, Alex Samarro, who had been given 23-to-life the day prior, and knew the pain she saw yesterday could be hers today.
The Viewing of Pornography in Public Libraries is a Problem
Over a year ago, an ABC 7 News I-Team report exposed San José’s failure to protect children from pornography and those who would openly view pornographic material in their presence. The investigation revealed that there have been a number of individuals arrested for viewing child pornography in libraries, and still others have been arrested for performing lewd acts such as masturbating in public while viewing pornographic material. Please take the time to see the reports here and here.
The Trojan Horse Worm Proposition
Probably like most of you, I have one of the popular antivirus programs on my computer. Every once in a while when I am online, I get a message that the antivirus has stopped a Trojan horse worm from secretly infiltrating my computer and killing off my data, leaving nothing but itself. If only we had a similar program to detect and foil political Trojan horse worms from squeaking through the vote and becoming law. One such worm, a classic of bait-and-switch techniques, is Proposition 90.
The Promise of San Jose
I do like give and take; it’s healthy, it’s in my nature, and I believe that is the tradition of San Jose—a hallowed one. But if our next mayor’s race becomes the traditional American election, one full of personalities but short of vision, replete with attacks, more thunder than light, then we all lose. Our city needs the next campaign to be about ideas and issues rather than platitudes and endorsements and who is the “nicest.” With that goal in mind, I’d like to speak about issues and an idea or two—those things that we need to be the focal points of the next mayoral election, namely growth, a big park, safety and ethics.
News Of The Week: This Is Your Captain Speaking
For those of you who rely on San Jose Inside as your primary news source (who doesn’t?), here’s some interesting stories from other publications.
Bill in Assembly Could Give New Housing Precedence over Environmental Rules
In the recurring legislative fight between affordable housing advocates and defenders of California’s signature environmental law, one bill could be a final legislative showdown.
Why the California Housing Market Is So Expensive in 2024
While it’s always been more expensive to be a homeowner in California, the gap between the rest of the country has widened into a chasm.
Rivas Leads Effort to Combat Growing Shoplifting and Retail Theft Problem
The Hollister Democrat unveiled the California Retail Theft Reduction Act, which he described as critical legislation to address a serious crime that’s hurting businesses and impacting communities.
