Music lovers, if you’re free on Thursday, May 1, you might want to take in the last concert of the 2024-2025 season at the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies in San José. These free noon concerts are just one example of how the Beethoven Center, part of San José State University and located … Read more
Another ethnic minority group is accusing the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) of creating a hostile environment. Earlier this month, StandWithUs, a Jewish advocacy group, filed a complaint (Jewish Advocacy complaint Santa Clara Title VI Complaint) with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The complaint alleges the district has fostered … Read more
The Bay Area Air District (BAAD) has fined subsidiaries of Kinder Morgan, Inc. $226,990 for air quality violations at fuel terminals in Richmond and San Jose. According to a news release from April 23, the fine addresses eight violations issued to the company in 2022 and 2023. Fuel terminals are large storage and distribution facilities … Read more
After her book discussion group on March 25, Santa Clara resident Carol Buchser stopped off for the first time at TOUS les JOURS, a French Asian bakery at Homestead Road and Lawrence Expressway, to meet up with a friend. She paused at a glass-enclosed food display case, deliberating but a moment before selecting a sugar-sprinkled … Read more
Bay Area artist Nathan Oliveira (1928-2010) described himself as an abstract artist whose work had to be “about something.” For the prolific Oliveira, the “something” is a point of departure for the viewer, not the point of arrival — “evocative” and “intangible” are often used in describing his work. Solitary figures in vague and open … Read more
The California Highway Patrol’s so-called “surge” operations in Oakland have netted nearly 400 arrests so far this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said earlier this month. In addition to the arrests, CHP officers recovered 614 stolen cars and seized 30 guns during that time period. Newsom announced he was providing Oakland and other parts of … Read more
James Williams wasn’t just Santa Clara’s first African American citizen and one of the first African Americans to settle in Santa Clara County. He was also a “first citizen” as a community leader in the city, and is honored for his role as a leader in Santa Clara’s Volunteer Fire Department. Today, an SCFD plaque … Read more
Can you spell deja vu? The battle over the best way to teach children how to read has re-erupted in the California Legislature, as dueling factions haggle over a bill that would mandate a phonics-based style of reading curriculum. The new bill, AB 1121, would require all schools to use a method based on the … Read more
Former city council member and long-time active member of the Santa Clara community, Debi Davis, passed away over Easter weekend. Davis served on the Santa Clara City Council for eight years between 2012 and 2020 and had several projects that she was especially dedicated to. Teresa O’Neill, who served on the city council with Davis, called … Read more
Californians’ confidence in their public schools and approval of how Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are handling public education have fallen sharply since the COVID pandemic, according to an annual survey on K-12 education released Thursday, April 17 by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Half believe that the public school system is … Read more