Posts by Take Back San Jose

Image by Daniel Foster For millennia, humans have interacted with elephants without noticing their communications with each other. In 218 B.C., Hannibal famously led an army over the Alps with elephants in its ranks. South Asians have long harnessed them for labor. In 1883, P.T. Barnum marched them across the Brooklyn Bridge. And as Jacob…

  Help us shape our water future   Valley Water’s draft Water Supply Master Plan 2050 is now open for public review. The plan outlines strategies to secure a safe, reliable water supply amid climate challenges.   Share your feedback by July 15.   Where does your money go?   Valley Water’s new budget funds…

Image by James Abbott There were an estimated 363 homeless people per 100,000 residents in San Jose last year, according to insidermonkey.com. The only U.S. cities with higher homelessness rates were: NY; LA; and Eugene, OR. In 2022, there were an estimated 582,000 homeless Americans. A report published by Homebay sheds light on the correlation between expensive…

Image by Wikimedia Commons In a free-flowing Substack essay, Samridhi Ranjan pays homage to all the things that don’t have a formula. That don’t turn out the same way every time. The joys of life that (like the Valley’s market itself) get tousled by the wind, molded by human touch, and transformed into something unique…

San Francisco Embarcadero SAFE Navigation Center. Image by Spring Structures SF’s overhaul of its homelessness strategy is centered on adding 1,500 new shelter beds in the next six months and restructuring outreach teams and supportive service programs. SJ hopes to add 1,400 new beds over the next year. Planetizen reports. A new plan from San…

Image by Wikimedia Commons First, DA Rosen slow-walks Prop 36 prosecutions. Now, Newsom defunds it. So much for the popular will expressing itself. CBS Sacramento reports. One item not mentioned at all in the state budget is causing a stir for some conservative lawmakers and law enforcement advocates. There is no funding allocated for Proposition…

Image by Wikimedia Commons According to a report by WalletHub, multiple cities in the Bay Area are considered among the worst large cities to start a business (ranked 1, best to 100, worst). SJ ranks 99th out of 100. The reason? Sky-high labor costs. KTVU reports. The personal finance company compared the relative startup opportunities…

The agency’s been aware of its structural and sustainability issues for decades now. And it continues shooting down innovative new ideas like autonomous vehicle integration. Gregg Dieguez of SHIFT-Bay Area analyzes, just in time for BART’s looming $868k deficit. The saying goes, “You learn more from your mistakes than your successes.” In the case of…

Image by SoundTransit In a recent Reddit thread titled “If you could improve anything about VTA what would it be?,” users in r/SanJose dig into the Valley Transportation Authority’s rampant shortcomings re: spending, politics, and practicality. Their suggestions are pragmatic, common-sense, and—we can’t help but notice—long overdue. dont_frek_out: I remember an article a few years…