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"title": "'This Is Our City': San José's Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Fight to Stay",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#clarify\">This story contains a clarification and correction.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maggie Castellon, 44, manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayfresh_pinateria/\">BayFresh Piñateria\u003c/a> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11951100/san-joses-flea-market-la-pulga-has-new-vendor-group-voicing-its-future\">Berryessa Flea Market\u003c/a> with confident ease. She keeps an eye on the people passing by her stand, searching for potential customers while instructing her brother and her kids to keep the stall clean and organized. The brightly colored piñatas and Mexican candy they sell are lined up in cheerful rows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the candy we have, we work with distributors that import from Mexico,” she said. “Then our piñatas — each style you see is a different family that works on the style.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her family has had a stall at this market since 1974, a little more than a decade after the flea market first opened in 1960 when George Bumb decided to turn an old meat processing plant into a 120-acre outdoor market. It became a hub for thousands of immigrants to start small businesses and build their lives in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the vendors immigrated from Latin America, but there are business people from many other places, too: Vietnam, China, India and Korea, among others. Castellon grew up helping her parents in their stall and recalled how important it was for her to be exposed to many different cultures, languages and religions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of the best pieces of all these different cultures [come] together and [clash] together [in the market],” Castellon said. “It’s beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957363\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957363\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing earrings in a pink top smiles at the camera in a busy outdoor setting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie Castellon stands in front of her business, the BayFresh Piñateria, at the Berryessa Flea Market in San José on July 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Raphaël Timmons/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But this vibrant place, an intersection of so many people and cultures that now call San José home, could soon cease to exist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early 2000s, BART selected the Berryessa neighborhood as the ideal place for its southernmost stop. As a result, city officials started rezoning the land surrounding the station — including where the market operates — \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/citywide-planning/urban-villages/berryessa-bart\">to make way for thousands of housing units\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, a little over 20 years later, the Berryessa BART station is open and the 120-acre market site could be a perfect location for transit-friendly housing. City officials say when the development they plan to build is complete, it will include 4,000 houses and apartments, acres of public parks, and could create 22,000 jobs in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José, like many California cities, is facing pressure from the state to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11938267/to-meet-state-housing-goals-one-bay-area-city-had-to-overcome-its-nimby-past\">meet housing and climate goals\u003c/a>. For city planners, dense housing developments near regional transit stations appear to be the perfect solution.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Maggie Castellon, manager, BayFresh Piñateria\"]‘The funds that come from the flea market are able to supply food and additional payments. Having a second income seems to be the way a lot of residents in San José are having to go.’[/pullquote]“From a good development standpoint, [the Berryessa Flea Market] would have to be put into other economic uses,” said San José Councilmember David Cohen. “At that time, the council did not take any action to determine what would happen to the flea market.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of planning for their future has infuriated some vendors. The market is their livelihood. Maggie Castellon’s family is lucky; she has a full-time job as a courtroom clerk that anchors them. But, they still depend on proceeds from the stall to cover expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The funds that come from the flea market are able to supply food and additional payments,” she said. “Having a second income seems to be the way a lot of residents in San José are having to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957361\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957361\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two large white piñata unicorns in front of a stall full of wares.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wares for sale at the Berryessa Flea Market. \u003ccite>(Raphaël Timmons/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In late 2020, a small group of vendors formed the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thebfva.org/\">Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878548/san-jose-flea-market-leaders-end-hunger-strike-but-future-of-la-pulga-still-hangs-in-the-balance\">led protests and hunger strikes\u003c/a> to petition the city to include the vendors in conversations about the flea market’s future. This year, the city created an advisory committee tasked with drafting a transition plan for the vendors as the market closes. Maggie is a member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their advocacy efforts have made an impact. The city council recently set aside 5 acres in the new development plan for an outdoor market. Cohen and other city officials say they will do everything they can to encourage whoever builds the housing to continue the flea market. But there’s no guarantee the developer will follow the city’s advice. No matter what happens, the market would be significantly smaller.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957367\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957367\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Vendors stalls with people walking by are seen in front of a large public transit station.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Berryessa Flea Market and BART station. \u003ccite>(Raphaël Timmons/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some vendors, including Castellon, see the 5-acre plan as a paltry commitment. They don’t want to wait for a spot in a market that may not have space for them. Instead, they’re working with the city to find an alternative spot in San José where all the vendors can move together to start a new flea market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re considering the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, the Reid-Hillview Airport and the Singleton Road disposal site. The city promised to investigate each option, but officials haven’t committed to any particular site yet. Meanwhile, the Berryessa Flea Market’s owners announced in July that they expect to start issuing eviction notices in January 2024. The vendors will then have a year to move out from whenever they receive an eviction notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='More on San José' tag='san-jose']Castellon hopes the city will step in and find a solution for the vendors, but is willing to leave the city and start a market elsewhere if she has to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s good to have hope, but you also have to have initiative and motivation,” she said. “And that’s what we’re going to do. [We’re] just going to make it happen, whether it’s in San José or in another city, with the goal being for us to stay here. But if we’re not going to be welcomed in San José, then we’ll make it happen elsewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Castellon and the other vendors may get a temporary reprieve. Fears of a recession have developers canceling and stalling housing projects. Subsequently, the owners of the flea market still haven’t found a developer to take on the project, partially because of its size and the current economic climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The environment isn’t ideal now,” Cohen said. “Chances are the market’s going to be open even longer than people thought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca id=\"clarify\">\u003c/a>This story has been updated to reflect that flea market vendors can expect to begin receiving eviction notices in January, 2024, and not October, 2023 as the story previously stated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 13: An earlier version of this story stated Reid Hillview Airport is closed when it is still open for business. This story has been edited to correct the inaccuracy.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "San José city leaders want to build housing where the Berryessa Flea Market, La Pulga, currently sits. Vendors are unsure when they will be forced to leave.",
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"title": "'This Is Our City': San José's Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Fight to Stay | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#clarify\">This story contains a clarification and correction.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maggie Castellon, 44, manages the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/bayfresh_pinateria/\">BayFresh Piñateria\u003c/a> at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11951100/san-joses-flea-market-la-pulga-has-new-vendor-group-voicing-its-future\">Berryessa Flea Market\u003c/a> with confident ease. She keeps an eye on the people passing by her stand, searching for potential customers while instructing her brother and her kids to keep the stall clean and organized. The brightly colored piñatas and Mexican candy they sell are lined up in cheerful rows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All the candy we have, we work with distributors that import from Mexico,” she said. “Then our piñatas — each style you see is a different family that works on the style.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her family has had a stall at this market since 1974, a little more than a decade after the flea market first opened in 1960 when George Bumb decided to turn an old meat processing plant into a 120-acre outdoor market. It became a hub for thousands of immigrants to start small businesses and build their lives in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of the vendors immigrated from Latin America, but there are business people from many other places, too: Vietnam, China, India and Korea, among others. Castellon grew up helping her parents in their stall and recalled how important it was for her to be exposed to many different cultures, languages and religions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of the best pieces of all these different cultures [come] together and [clash] together [in the market],” Castellon said. “It’s beautiful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957363\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957363\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing earrings in a pink top smiles at the camera in a busy outdoor setting.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67671_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-12-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maggie Castellon stands in front of her business, the BayFresh Piñateria, at the Berryessa Flea Market in San José on July 29, 2023. \u003ccite>(Raphaël Timmons/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But this vibrant place, an intersection of so many people and cultures that now call San José home, could soon cease to exist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early 2000s, BART selected the Berryessa neighborhood as the ideal place for its southernmost stop. As a result, city officials started rezoning the land surrounding the station — including where the market operates — \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/planning-building-code-enforcement/planning-division/citywide-planning/urban-villages/berryessa-bart\">to make way for thousands of housing units\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, a little over 20 years later, the Berryessa BART station is open and the 120-acre market site could be a perfect location for transit-friendly housing. City officials say when the development they plan to build is complete, it will include 4,000 houses and apartments, acres of public parks, and could create 22,000 jobs in the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José, like many California cities, is facing pressure from the state to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11938267/to-meet-state-housing-goals-one-bay-area-city-had-to-overcome-its-nimby-past\">meet housing and climate goals\u003c/a>. For city planners, dense housing developments near regional transit stations appear to be the perfect solution.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The funds that come from the flea market are able to supply food and additional payments. Having a second income seems to be the way a lot of residents in San José are having to go.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“From a good development standpoint, [the Berryessa Flea Market] would have to be put into other economic uses,” said San José Councilmember David Cohen. “At that time, the council did not take any action to determine what would happen to the flea market.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lack of planning for their future has infuriated some vendors. The market is their livelihood. Maggie Castellon’s family is lucky; she has a full-time job as a courtroom clerk that anchors them. But, they still depend on proceeds from the stall to cover expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The funds that come from the flea market are able to supply food and additional payments,” she said. “Having a second income seems to be the way a lot of residents in San José are having to go.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957361\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957361\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Two large white piñata unicorns in front of a stall full of wares.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67669_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-09-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wares for sale at the Berryessa Flea Market. \u003ccite>(Raphaël Timmons/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In late 2020, a small group of vendors formed the \u003ca href=\"https://www.thebfva.org/\">Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11878548/san-jose-flea-market-leaders-end-hunger-strike-but-future-of-la-pulga-still-hangs-in-the-balance\">led protests and hunger strikes\u003c/a> to petition the city to include the vendors in conversations about the flea market’s future. This year, the city created an advisory committee tasked with drafting a transition plan for the vendors as the market closes. Maggie is a member.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their advocacy efforts have made an impact. The city council recently set aside 5 acres in the new development plan for an outdoor market. Cohen and other city officials say they will do everything they can to encourage whoever builds the housing to continue the flea market. But there’s no guarantee the developer will follow the city’s advice. No matter what happens, the market would be significantly smaller.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957367\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957367\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Vendors stalls with people walking by are seen in front of a large public transit station.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/RS67679_230729-BERRYESSA-FLEA-MARKET-RT-18-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Berryessa Flea Market and BART station. \u003ccite>(Raphaël Timmons/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some vendors, including Castellon, see the 5-acre plan as a paltry commitment. They don’t want to wait for a spot in a market that may not have space for them. Instead, they’re working with the city to find an alternative spot in San José where all the vendors can move together to start a new flea market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re considering the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, the Reid-Hillview Airport and the Singleton Road disposal site. The city promised to investigate each option, but officials haven’t committed to any particular site yet. Meanwhile, the Berryessa Flea Market’s owners announced in July that they expect to start issuing eviction notices in January 2024. The vendors will then have a year to move out from whenever they receive an eviction notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Castellon hopes the city will step in and find a solution for the vendors, but is willing to leave the city and start a market elsewhere if she has to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s good to have hope, but you also have to have initiative and motivation,” she said. “And that’s what we’re going to do. [We’re] just going to make it happen, whether it’s in San José or in another city, with the goal being for us to stay here. But if we’re not going to be welcomed in San José, then we’ll make it happen elsewhere.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Castellon and the other vendors may get a temporary reprieve. Fears of a recession have developers canceling and stalling housing projects. Subsequently, the owners of the flea market still haven’t found a developer to take on the project, partially because of its size and the current economic climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The environment isn’t ideal now,” Cohen said. “Chances are the market’s going to be open even longer than people thought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca id=\"clarify\">\u003c/a>This story has been updated to reflect that flea market vendors can expect to begin receiving eviction notices in January, 2024, and not October, 2023 as the story previously stated.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Aug. 13: An earlier version of this story stated Reid Hillview Airport is closed when it is still open for business. This story has been edited to correct the inaccuracy.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "from-fruit-picker-to-political-trailblazer-the-92-year-old-madrina-of-east-san-jose",
"title": "From Fruit Picker to Political Trailblazer: The 92-Year-Old 'Madrina' of East San José",
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"content": "\u003cp>She was San José’s first Latina city council member, and the first Latina on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Today, she goes by many honorifics, but Blanca Alvarado’s favorite is “La Madrina” — the godmother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At 92 years old, her body has slowed down, and her hair has gone gray, but she remembers with absolute clarity the way her life tracked the rise of Chicana power in what we now call Silicon Valley. \u003ca href=\"https://digitalcollections.sjsu.edu/islandora/object/islandora%3A7875\">Born in Colorado\u003c/a>, Alvarado came to San José with her family in 1948, when she was just 16 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San José had a population of 70,000 people,” she recalled. “So it was a small burg, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During that time, the region was called the Valley of Heart’s Delight, famous across the country for its stone fruit and vegetables. People from all over North America arrived in successive waves to pick and process the crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fragrance that wafted in the air — to this day, I will never, never forget it,” said Alvarado. “The valley was just replete with blossoms. All of the orchards were fruit orchards primarily.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957882\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957882\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage photo of a man sitting on stairs with five small children, including on on his lap.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blanca Alvarado, shown here in the 1930s with her father and four of her siblings, spent her childhood in Cokedale, Colorado, a mining town where her father was a miner and union activist. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She remembers her father telling her that she was the best fruit picker in the family, but it was an incredibly difficult job. “Being on your knees, on clods of dirt. It was very uncomfortable, to say the least,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado’s life closely parallels the South Bay’s most famous Chicano export. César Chávez also moved here with his family in 1948. At one point, as a young man, he would work in an apricot orchard like Alvarado, making less than a dollar an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We lived in tents for two years. We lived in tin shacks for two years. Until finally, we were able to rent a house up in the foothills of Evergreen,” she said, referring to the neighborhood in East San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Successive waves of migration\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Given the name, it’s obvious San José was founded by Latinos; on Nov. 29, 1777, as the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, to be specific. But it wasn’t until after the Civil War, when railroads crisscrossed North America, linking farmers and ranchers to millions of hungry consumers, that Mexicans began traveling north of the border to work on farms and ranches in the Western U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The railroads are definitely a sign of industrialization, and they’re used not only to bring fruit out to markets, but bring labor in,” said Dr. Margo McBane, history professor and co-director of an extensive oral history project based at San José State called \u003ca href=\"https://library.sjsu.edu/b4sv\">Before Silicon Valley: A History of Mexican Agricultural and Cannery Workers of Santa Clara County, 1920–1960\u003c/a>.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Blanca Alvarado\"]‘I have maintained throughout my political career that there is nothing that I can do by myself. We live in a tumultuous political time now. And one of the sad parts of our political institutions is the inability to collaborate and to work together for a joint common purpose.’[/pullquote]“Mexican workers were referred to as traqueros,” said co-director Suzanne Guerra. For Guerra, like many on her team, this history is personal. “My grandfather was one of those who came in [to the Western U.S.] at 14 years old on a railroad car all the way up to Chicago to work,” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the beginning, Guerra says, the people like her grandfather who picked the crops were at the bottom of the economic and social hierarchy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were subject to the whims of the weather, just as the farmers were. So if the crop got wiped out, you didn’t have a job. And also, you were subject to the seasonality of things,” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as the decades wore on, many Mexican Americans moved into better-paying cannery jobs, and into the middle class. Blanca Alvarado’s generation — born in the 1930s — was poised to flex its political muscle and advocate for change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957884\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957884\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-800x1201.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage headshot of a Latina woman. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1201\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-800x1201.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-1020x1531.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Even as a teenager in this San José High School headshot from the late 1940s, you can see the self-possession and steely determination that would mark Blanca Alvarado’s political career in the decades to follow. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A golden age for culture and politics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Alvarado met her first husband, local radio host and activist Jose Alvarado, when she was a senior at San José High. Jose was decades older than her. He owned a record shop and a broadcasting studio for his show on the local radio station KLOK on Post Street in downtown San José. She would come in after school to listen to the jukebox and play games like ping pong and Chinese checkers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He had a huge following on KLOK. He was the most prominent bilingual radio broadcaster in Northern California,” she recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They married in 1953. Five children soon followed. The marriage provided Blanca Alvarado with a golden ticket of sorts, access to the backstages of San José’s music scene. Thanks to her husband, Alvarado even got to host her own bilingual radio talk show at KLOK called “Merienda Musical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957883\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957883\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage photo of a woman wearing a dark dress and a man wearing a suit hold children with two other children sitting next to them on a couch.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blanca and Jose Alvarado are shown here with four of their 5 children (from left, Tisha, Monica, Michael and Jaime) in this photo from the early 1950s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"pop_102633,arts_12616712,news_11668265\" label=\"Related Stories\"]However, there’s little recorded evidence left from the Alvarados’ radio days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve searched high and low for any sort of Spanish language jingles, clips. There’s nothing there,” said Juan Antonio Cuellar, curator of the \u003ca href=\"https://arhoolie.org/category/the-frontera-collection/\">Frontera Collection\u003c/a> for the Arhoolie Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to preserving American roots music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[The Mexican American community in East San José] was such a huge community. Such a huge pool of talent,” Cuellar added. “You’re rubbing shoulders with people with the same experience. You’re listening to the same music. You’re going to work in the canneries with the same people you just spent the weekend dancing with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 1950s and 1960s were, by all accounts, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/12/17/richard-diaz-photographer-of-the-stars-captured-latino-social-life-in-san-jose-2/\">a golden age\u003c/a> for both Mexican music and cinema. Fortunately, we can still hear some recordings of the really big acts from San José, like the Montoya Sisters. They recorded some of their music, like this song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH-rfD3fBAM&list=PLJv1UYhNlyyAkKc2T8hMHXYscYzeE7K2Y&index=7\">Bomboncito\u003c/a>” in Mexico City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957946\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957946\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-800x571.png\" alt=\"A vintage, black and white photo of three women wearing dresses with a man playing piano in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"571\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-800x571.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-1020x727.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-160x114.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM.png 1234w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ofelia, Emilia, and Esther Montoya of Las Hermanas Montoya. The San José locals were good friends with Alvarado’s first husband, Jose. As a promoter, he presented them and other popular artists in local venues in San José. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Las Hermanas Montoya were one of a few homegrown acts that made it big. They toured in the 1950s with a steady stream of hits, like the million-selling single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAnGLXab8J0\">Mucho Mucho Mucho\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I remember them well,” Alvarado said of the glamorous singers. “They needed a larger audience, and where could they get it but in Mexico? Then they hit it big in Mexico City. And so they never came back until years later.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the oral histories Guerra and her colleagues collected over more than 15 years, local elders speak of a time when San José drew Mexican Americans from farming regions far and wide, looking for fun and community on the weekends. “When you went to the big city, you know, you didn’t go to San Francisco,” said Guerra. “You went to San José.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because San José had everything. It had the shops. It had the movie theaters. It had the dances, the ballrooms, the clubs, the bookstores. It had all these Spanish-speaking services,” she said. If you couldn’t find it in Gilroy or you couldn’t find it in Alviso, then you would come to the city, and the city was San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>From ‘Sal si puede’ to ‘Sí se puede’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The 1950s and 60s were also ripe for political organizing. Guerra says many of Alvarado’s neighbors in East San José — including César Chávez — were Mexican American veterans of World War II, angry and frustrated by all sorts of systemic inequities in housing, infrastructure and schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had sacrificed so much, and contributed to the American, the Allied victory. And what obligations [did] the country [fulfill] to its citizens? These were things that, by law, we’re entitled to!” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as the rest of the region boomed with new suburban development in the decades following World War II, East San José struggled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were no sidewalks. There were no streetlights,” Alvarado recalled. Things were so bad back then, locals nicknamed their neighborhood “Sal si puede,” or “Get out if you can.” Alvarado said the nickname stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“During the rainy season, the storms would be so bad and the mud would be so thick that it was difficult to get out,” she said. “So from ‘Sal si puede,’ we went to ‘Sí se puede.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Si se puede” translates to “Yes, we can,” and it’s a slogan \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156066250300256\">credited to Dolores Huerta\u003c/a>, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later called the United Farm Workers union) with César Chávez. In the decades since, the slogan has been adopted by activists all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado remembers meetings Chávez held in her garage. “We saw our movement beginning to pick up steam and presence with César Chávez, CSO and the farmworker call for action as well. So today, when we talk about César Chávez, I think we do it with nostalgia for the man. But [also]for the time that we experienced with him. There was so much excitement. There was so much energy. There was so much goodwill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chávez didn’t come out of nowhere,” said Margo McBane of San José State. “He came out of the shoulders of all these other people working for labor and community civil rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In San José, in Los Angeles, and in other urban communities, we, the Mexican American people, were dominated by a majority that was Anglo,” Chávez said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB1jwR1h9qo\">Commonwealth Club address\u003c/a> in 1984. “I began to realize that the only answer, the only hope, was in organizing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the 1970s wore on, the Chicano Movement made steady gains: improving conditions for migrant farmworkers, establishing Chicano studies in California schools and universities, and getting Mexican Americans elected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Alvarado said it was slow going “because we were not allowed to be part of the establishment, of the rulers of the time. We had to form our own institutions and we had to form our own protest organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado became the president of the Santa Clara County chapter of the Mexican American Political Association. She got into commission and committee work where she and other members learned the rules about how to confront, petition, and be a voice in government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado helped push for San José to switch from at-large to district elections, making it much easier for political newcomers to win elections, especially in under-represented areas. In 1980, she ran to represent her district, and won. That’s when she became the first Latina member of the San José City Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957885\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957885\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-800x640.jpg\" alt='A vintage photo a party with a banner that reads \"Blanca Alvarado our 1st\" with a woman in a blue dress standing next to a man in a white suit holding a microphone facing a group of men playing instruments.' width=\"800\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In 1980, Blanca Alvarado ran for a seat on the San José City Council. Her win made Alvarado San José’s first Latina council member. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over her roughly 30-year \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVgnShSKA0\">political career\u003c/a>, Alvarado focused on health insurance and literacy programs for children; expanding access to public green space; and starting the fight to close down a small airport in East San José because of the noise and air pollution. She played a key role in launching the Mexican Heritage Plaza, and getting San José’s premier downtown park, known for hosting parties and protests, renamed the Plaza de César Chávez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But these are the kinds of battles against systemic racism that take years to wage, the kinds of wins that typically fade fast from public view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s saying, ‘My community deserves a seat at the table. I deserve a seat at the table,’” Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said of Alvarado. Chavez got involved with local politics in the late 1980s, in large part, she says, because of Alvarado’s example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Generations of Latinas in the South Bay have sought public office in Alvarado’s wake, often seeking her endorsement. Chavez says she feels a sense of responsibility to finish what Alvarado started, on behalf of a community that has long felt unseen and unheard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957880\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957880\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-800x533.jpg\" alt='A woman wearing a hat with her arms outstretched stand behind students in a graduation gowns under a tent that reads \"Public Schools Alpha Blanca Alvarado.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blanca Alvarado celebrates at the Alpha Blanca Alvarado Middle School Promotion Ceremony on June 1, 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rita Duarte Herrera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Historian Suzanne Guerra says understanding the impact of Mexican Americans on this region deepens our connection to history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, when I was a kid, I learned my American history, my California history like everybody else, but folks like me and my family, we disappeared,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google it. This history is hard to find unless you already know what you’re looking for. And even then, “We’re still considered ‘other history,’ not American history. When the truth is, American history is everyone’s history,” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years ago, Alvarado got a special thrill when a local elementary school was named after her: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.alphapublicschools.org/school/blanca-alvarado/\">Alpha Blanca Alvarado School\u003c/a> in East San José. There’s also a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/celebrating-hispanic-heritage/new-east-san-jose-community-and-health-center-named-after-la-madrina-blanca-alvarado/2659902/\">community health center\u003c/a> named after her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado says she hopes younger generations of Latino activists take strength from her example. Many of the issues she fought for including health care, representation and housing are still fights today in San José. She says it’s time for the youngsters to start making their mark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A coal miner’s daughter, Alvarado became a political force in Santa Clara County, organizing with César Chavez and later becoming the first Latina to serve on the San José City Council.",
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"title": "From Fruit Picker to Political Trailblazer: The 92-Year-Old 'Madrina' of East San José | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>She was San José’s first Latina city council member, and the first Latina on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Today, she goes by many honorifics, but Blanca Alvarado’s favorite is “La Madrina” — the godmother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At 92 years old, her body has slowed down, and her hair has gone gray, but she remembers with absolute clarity the way her life tracked the rise of Chicana power in what we now call Silicon Valley. \u003ca href=\"https://digitalcollections.sjsu.edu/islandora/object/islandora%3A7875\">Born in Colorado\u003c/a>, Alvarado came to San José with her family in 1948, when she was just 16 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San José had a population of 70,000 people,” she recalled. “So it was a small burg, you know?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During that time, the region was called the Valley of Heart’s Delight, famous across the country for its stone fruit and vegetables. People from all over North America arrived in successive waves to pick and process the crops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fragrance that wafted in the air — to this day, I will never, never forget it,” said Alvarado. “The valley was just replete with blossoms. All of the orchards were fruit orchards primarily.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957882\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957882\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage photo of a man sitting on stairs with five small children, including on on his lap.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5283-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blanca Alvarado, shown here in the 1930s with her father and four of her siblings, spent her childhood in Cokedale, Colorado, a mining town where her father was a miner and union activist. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She remembers her father telling her that she was the best fruit picker in the family, but it was an incredibly difficult job. “Being on your knees, on clods of dirt. It was very uncomfortable, to say the least,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado’s life closely parallels the South Bay’s most famous Chicano export. César Chávez also moved here with his family in 1948. At one point, as a young man, he would work in an apricot orchard like Alvarado, making less than a dollar an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We lived in tents for two years. We lived in tin shacks for two years. Until finally, we were able to rent a house up in the foothills of Evergreen,” she said, referring to the neighborhood in East San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Successive waves of migration\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Given the name, it’s obvious San José was founded by Latinos; on Nov. 29, 1777, as the Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, to be specific. But it wasn’t until after the Civil War, when railroads crisscrossed North America, linking farmers and ranchers to millions of hungry consumers, that Mexicans began traveling north of the border to work on farms and ranches in the Western U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The railroads are definitely a sign of industrialization, and they’re used not only to bring fruit out to markets, but bring labor in,” said Dr. Margo McBane, history professor and co-director of an extensive oral history project based at San José State called \u003ca href=\"https://library.sjsu.edu/b4sv\">Before Silicon Valley: A History of Mexican Agricultural and Cannery Workers of Santa Clara County, 1920–1960\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I have maintained throughout my political career that there is nothing that I can do by myself. We live in a tumultuous political time now. And one of the sad parts of our political institutions is the inability to collaborate and to work together for a joint common purpose.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Mexican workers were referred to as traqueros,” said co-director Suzanne Guerra. For Guerra, like many on her team, this history is personal. “My grandfather was one of those who came in [to the Western U.S.] at 14 years old on a railroad car all the way up to Chicago to work,” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From the beginning, Guerra says, the people like her grandfather who picked the crops were at the bottom of the economic and social hierarchy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They were subject to the whims of the weather, just as the farmers were. So if the crop got wiped out, you didn’t have a job. And also, you were subject to the seasonality of things,” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as the decades wore on, many Mexican Americans moved into better-paying cannery jobs, and into the middle class. Blanca Alvarado’s generation — born in the 1930s — was poised to flex its political muscle and advocate for change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957884\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957884\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-800x1201.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage headshot of a Latina woman. \" width=\"800\" height=\"1201\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-800x1201.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-1020x1531.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-160x240.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5295.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Even as a teenager in this San José High School headshot from the late 1940s, you can see the self-possession and steely determination that would mark Blanca Alvarado’s political career in the decades to follow. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>A golden age for culture and politics\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Alvarado met her first husband, local radio host and activist Jose Alvarado, when she was a senior at San José High. Jose was decades older than her. He owned a record shop and a broadcasting studio for his show on the local radio station KLOK on Post Street in downtown San José. She would come in after school to listen to the jukebox and play games like ping pong and Chinese checkers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He had a huge following on KLOK. He was the most prominent bilingual radio broadcaster in Northern California,” she recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They married in 1953. Five children soon followed. The marriage provided Blanca Alvarado with a golden ticket of sorts, access to the backstages of San José’s music scene. Thanks to her husband, Alvarado even got to host her own bilingual radio talk show at KLOK called “Merienda Musical.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957883\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957883\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A vintage photo of a woman wearing a dark dress and a man wearing a suit hold children with two other children sitting next to them on a couch.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5292-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blanca and Jose Alvarado are shown here with four of their 5 children (from left, Tisha, Monica, Michael and Jaime) in this photo from the early 1950s. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>However, there’s little recorded evidence left from the Alvarados’ radio days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve searched high and low for any sort of Spanish language jingles, clips. There’s nothing there,” said Juan Antonio Cuellar, curator of the \u003ca href=\"https://arhoolie.org/category/the-frontera-collection/\">Frontera Collection\u003c/a> for the Arhoolie Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to preserving American roots music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[The Mexican American community in East San José] was such a huge community. Such a huge pool of talent,” Cuellar added. “You’re rubbing shoulders with people with the same experience. You’re listening to the same music. You’re going to work in the canneries with the same people you just spent the weekend dancing with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 1950s and 1960s were, by all accounts, \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/12/17/richard-diaz-photographer-of-the-stars-captured-latino-social-life-in-san-jose-2/\">a golden age\u003c/a> for both Mexican music and cinema. Fortunately, we can still hear some recordings of the really big acts from San José, like the Montoya Sisters. They recorded some of their music, like this song, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH-rfD3fBAM&list=PLJv1UYhNlyyAkKc2T8hMHXYscYzeE7K2Y&index=7\">Bomboncito\u003c/a>” in Mexico City.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957946\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957946\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-800x571.png\" alt=\"A vintage, black and white photo of three women wearing dresses with a man playing piano in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"571\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-800x571.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-1020x727.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM-160x114.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/Screenshot-2023-08-10-at-3.44.25-PM.png 1234w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ofelia, Emilia, and Esther Montoya of Las Hermanas Montoya. The San José locals were good friends with Alvarado’s first husband, Jose. As a promoter, he presented them and other popular artists in local venues in San José. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Las Hermanas Montoya were one of a few homegrown acts that made it big. They toured in the 1950s with a steady stream of hits, like the million-selling single, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAnGLXab8J0\">Mucho Mucho Mucho\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I remember them well,” Alvarado said of the glamorous singers. “They needed a larger audience, and where could they get it but in Mexico? Then they hit it big in Mexico City. And so they never came back until years later.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the oral histories Guerra and her colleagues collected over more than 15 years, local elders speak of a time when San José drew Mexican Americans from farming regions far and wide, looking for fun and community on the weekends. “When you went to the big city, you know, you didn’t go to San Francisco,” said Guerra. “You went to San José.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because San José had everything. It had the shops. It had the movie theaters. It had the dances, the ballrooms, the clubs, the bookstores. It had all these Spanish-speaking services,” she said. If you couldn’t find it in Gilroy or you couldn’t find it in Alviso, then you would come to the city, and the city was San José.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>From ‘Sal si puede’ to ‘Sí se puede’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The 1950s and 60s were also ripe for political organizing. Guerra says many of Alvarado’s neighbors in East San José — including César Chávez — were Mexican American veterans of World War II, angry and frustrated by all sorts of systemic inequities in housing, infrastructure and schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had sacrificed so much, and contributed to the American, the Allied victory. And what obligations [did] the country [fulfill] to its citizens? These were things that, by law, we’re entitled to!” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as the rest of the region boomed with new suburban development in the decades following World War II, East San José struggled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were no sidewalks. There were no streetlights,” Alvarado recalled. Things were so bad back then, locals nicknamed their neighborhood “Sal si puede,” or “Get out if you can.” Alvarado said the nickname stuck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“During the rainy season, the storms would be so bad and the mud would be so thick that it was difficult to get out,” she said. “So from ‘Sal si puede,’ we went to ‘Sí se puede.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Si se puede” translates to “Yes, we can,” and it’s a slogan \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10156066250300256\">credited to Dolores Huerta\u003c/a>, who co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (later called the United Farm Workers union) with César Chávez. In the decades since, the slogan has been adopted by activists all over the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado remembers meetings Chávez held in her garage. “We saw our movement beginning to pick up steam and presence with César Chávez, CSO and the farmworker call for action as well. So today, when we talk about César Chávez, I think we do it with nostalgia for the man. But [also]for the time that we experienced with him. There was so much excitement. There was so much energy. There was so much goodwill.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Chávez didn’t come out of nowhere,” said Margo McBane of San José State. “He came out of the shoulders of all these other people working for labor and community civil rights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In San José, in Los Angeles, and in other urban communities, we, the Mexican American people, were dominated by a majority that was Anglo,” Chávez said in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB1jwR1h9qo\">Commonwealth Club address\u003c/a> in 1984. “I began to realize that the only answer, the only hope, was in organizing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the 1970s wore on, the Chicano Movement made steady gains: improving conditions for migrant farmworkers, establishing Chicano studies in California schools and universities, and getting Mexican Americans elected.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Alvarado said it was slow going “because we were not allowed to be part of the establishment, of the rulers of the time. We had to form our own institutions and we had to form our own protest organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado became the president of the Santa Clara County chapter of the Mexican American Political Association. She got into commission and committee work where she and other members learned the rules about how to confront, petition, and be a voice in government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado helped push for San José to switch from at-large to district elections, making it much easier for political newcomers to win elections, especially in under-represented areas. In 1980, she ran to represent her district, and won. That’s when she became the first Latina member of the San José City Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957885\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957885\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-800x640.jpg\" alt='A vintage photo a party with a banner that reads \"Blanca Alvarado our 1st\" with a woman in a blue dress standing next to a man in a white suit holding a microphone facing a group of men playing instruments.' width=\"800\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-1536x1229.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_5302-1920x1536.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In 1980, Blanca Alvarado ran for a seat on the San José City Council. Her win made Alvarado San José’s first Latina council member. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Blanca Alvarado)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Over her roughly 30-year \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVgnShSKA0\">political career\u003c/a>, Alvarado focused on health insurance and literacy programs for children; expanding access to public green space; and starting the fight to close down a small airport in East San José because of the noise and air pollution. She played a key role in launching the Mexican Heritage Plaza, and getting San José’s premier downtown park, known for hosting parties and protests, renamed the Plaza de César Chávez.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But these are the kinds of battles against systemic racism that take years to wage, the kinds of wins that typically fade fast from public view.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She’s saying, ‘My community deserves a seat at the table. I deserve a seat at the table,’” Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said of Alvarado. Chavez got involved with local politics in the late 1980s, in large part, she says, because of Alvarado’s example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Generations of Latinas in the South Bay have sought public office in Alvarado’s wake, often seeking her endorsement. Chavez says she feels a sense of responsibility to finish what Alvarado started, on behalf of a community that has long felt unseen and unheard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957880\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11957880\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-800x533.jpg\" alt='A woman wearing a hat with her arms outstretched stand behind students in a graduation gowns under a tent that reads \"Public Schools Alpha Blanca Alvarado.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/IMG_0290-1920x1279.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blanca Alvarado celebrates at the Alpha Blanca Alvarado Middle School Promotion Ceremony on June 1, 2022. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Rita Duarte Herrera)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Historian Suzanne Guerra says understanding the impact of Mexican Americans on this region deepens our connection to history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, when I was a kid, I learned my American history, my California history like everybody else, but folks like me and my family, we disappeared,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google it. This history is hard to find unless you already know what you’re looking for. And even then, “We’re still considered ‘other history,’ not American history. When the truth is, American history is everyone’s history,” Guerra said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few years ago, Alvarado got a special thrill when a local elementary school was named after her: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.alphapublicschools.org/school/blanca-alvarado/\">Alpha Blanca Alvarado School\u003c/a> in East San José. There’s also a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/celebrating-hispanic-heritage/new-east-san-jose-community-and-health-center-named-after-la-madrina-blanca-alvarado/2659902/\">community health center\u003c/a> named after her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alvarado says she hopes younger generations of Latino activists take strength from her example. Many of the issues she fought for including health care, representation and housing are still fights today in San José. She says it’s time for the youngsters to start making their mark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>After three years of economic growth and historic federal pandemic relief, local budgets in the Bay Area are looking a little different this year. Much of that federal aid has been spent, and cities are grappling with the economic fallout of turmoil in Silicon Valley and changing commuter habits. Elected officials often say that budgets are “statements of values.” So KQED is checking the receipts of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/city-budgets\">spending plans recently passed in San Francisco, San José and Oakland\u003c/a> to see how leaders in the region’s three largest cities are prioritizing taxpayer dollars.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, when San José’s City Council passed its budget for the 2023–24 fiscal year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">debate largely centered on how the city should spend\u003c/a> $87 million in earmarked funds left over from previous years to reduce homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan led a controversial push to prioritize funding temporary shelter, while other Council members urged a continued focus on paying for more permanent affordable housing. The compromise reached will shift a quarter of the unspent money toward temporary housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elsewhere in the budget, the Council broadly agreed on increasing police staffing and setting aside the city’s modest budget surplus to deal with potential shortfalls in future years.\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957433\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-800x210.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-1020x267.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-160x42.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-1536x403.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike San Francisco and Oakland — which have both suffered from a steep decline in downtown commuters — San José is less reliant on a surge in daytime population, helping to land the city in a projected budget surplus of $35.2 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its proposed operating budget, the city manager’s office wrote that “key economic areas remain strong, including robust employment figures, rebounding hotel occupancy and room rates, and growing sales tax activity levels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan said the city’s diversified economy also helped shield the budget from the fallout of tech layoffs that began surging at the end of 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost one in five jobs in the city are in manufacturing, so when you see these big top-line layoff numbers, they aren’t actually impacting San José as much,” Mahan told KQED. “We’re also a very residential-heavy city, which gives you a bit more stability in terms of revenues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957434\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"898\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-800x438.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-1020x559.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-160x88.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-1536x841.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city is not planning a spending spree with its $35 million surplus. Again, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a pretty modest windfall — just 2% of the entire general fund — and city leaders are opting to use it conservatively, putting the majority of it, $19 million, into a reserve to prepare for an anticipated $18.8 million \u003cem>deficit \u003c/em>next fiscal year (more on that below).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are setting dollars aside, and have consistently, in rainy day funds,” Mahan said. “We have not overextended ourselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next largest surplus expenditure, $8 million, is for the BeautifySJ program. That initiative, launched in 2017, funds neighborhood clean-ups and staffing to respond to graffiti and illegal dumping complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957437\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-800x242.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-1020x308.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-160x48.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-1536x465.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José budget officials aren’t expecting the good times to last for long. The City Manager’s office is projecting this year’s surplus to be followed by a $18.8 million deficit next year, followed by roughly balanced books in the fiscal year beginning in July of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current projections, according to the city’s operating budget document, are “built on the assumption of a moderate recession beginning in summer 2023, which impacts several economically sensitive categories.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clearly, things can (and have) changed. Despite a long-feared recession, the national and local economy has continued to motor along. On the flip side, the city’s ongoing labor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11956630/thousands-of-san-jose-city-workers-to-vote-next-week-on-strike-authorization\">tensions with its largest employee unions\u003c/a> could add some unforeseen costs in future budgets. Unlike the federal government, cities and states are not allowed to pass budgets with deficits, so if San José faces a shortfall, the books will need to be balanced with cuts or taxes — or as bureaucrats lovingly refer to them: savings and revenues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957387\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"1194\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-800x582.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-1020x743.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-160x116.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-1536x1118.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To address economic uncertainty during the pandemic, San José city services were bolstered by an unprecedented level of aid from the federal government — most notably, the American Rescue Plan Act, signed by President Joe Biden in March of 2021, which delivered some $213 million to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the last two years, those funds have allowed the city to maintain its staff, while expanding waste pickup, rental assistance, housing for people experiencing homelessness and food distribution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, those federal dollars are running out, with: only $38 million remaining in the pot.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11957602,news_11952913\"]In budget terms, the sunsetting of funds like these is not technically a cut. But it feels that way for organizations like Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen, a nonprofit meal provider that relied on that money to ramp up its delivery service to residents in need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That contract that we were asked to create meals for, it represents about 500,000 meals,” said David Hott, the group’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hott said that infusion of funding allowed his organization to deliver meals to a variety of service providers, including the Alum Rock School District, churches and local housing groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pandemic activities have lessened and the funding has ceased,” Hott said. “That does not mean the need has ceased, and that’s the struggle that we face now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with no more federal relief coming in, Hott said they could be forced to scale back, and stop these expanded services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Unlike Oakland and San Francisco, San José relies less on a surge in daytime population, helping to land the city in a projected budget surplus of $35.2 million for this fiscal year.",
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"title": "Budget Deep Dive: 'Setting Dollars Aside' in San José | KQED",
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"headline": "Budget Deep Dive: 'Setting Dollars Aside' in San José",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>After three years of economic growth and historic federal pandemic relief, local budgets in the Bay Area are looking a little different this year. Much of that federal aid has been spent, and cities are grappling with the economic fallout of turmoil in Silicon Valley and changing commuter habits. Elected officials often say that budgets are “statements of values.” So KQED is checking the receipts of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/city-budgets\">spending plans recently passed in San Francisco, San José and Oakland\u003c/a> to see how leaders in the region’s three largest cities are prioritizing taxpayer dollars.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In June, when San José’s City Council passed its budget for the 2023–24 fiscal year, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">debate largely centered on how the city should spend\u003c/a> $87 million in earmarked funds left over from previous years to reduce homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan led a controversial push to prioritize funding temporary shelter, while other Council members urged a continued focus on paying for more permanent affordable housing. The compromise reached will shift a quarter of the unspent money toward temporary housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elsewhere in the budget, the Council broadly agreed on increasing police staffing and setting aside the city’s modest budget surplus to deal with potential shortfalls in future years.\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957433\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"430\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-800x210.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-1020x267.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-160x42.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Uon0q-san-jos-2023-2024-budget-1-1536x403.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike San Francisco and Oakland — which have both suffered from a steep decline in downtown commuters — San José is less reliant on a surge in daytime population, helping to land the city in a projected budget surplus of $35.2 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its proposed operating budget, the city manager’s office wrote that “key economic areas remain strong, including robust employment figures, rebounding hotel occupancy and room rates, and growing sales tax activity levels.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan said the city’s diversified economy also helped shield the budget from the fallout of tech layoffs that began surging at the end of 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Almost one in five jobs in the city are in manufacturing, so when you see these big top-line layoff numbers, they aren’t actually impacting San José as much,” Mahan told KQED. “We’re also a very residential-heavy city, which gives you a bit more stability in terms of revenues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957434\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"898\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-800x438.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-1020x559.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-160x88.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ghwys-where-is-san-jos-s-surplus-going-1-1536x841.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city is not planning a spending spree with its $35 million surplus. Again, in the grand scheme of things, it’s a pretty modest windfall — just 2% of the entire general fund — and city leaders are opting to use it conservatively, putting the majority of it, $19 million, into a reserve to prepare for an anticipated $18.8 million \u003cem>deficit \u003c/em>next fiscal year (more on that below).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are setting dollars aside, and have consistently, in rainy day funds,” Mahan said. “We have not overextended ourselves.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next largest surplus expenditure, $8 million, is for the BeautifySJ program. That initiative, launched in 2017, funds neighborhood clean-ups and staffing to respond to graffiti and illegal dumping complaints.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957437\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-800x242.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-1020x308.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-160x48.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/Pn8ak-san-jos-s-projected-surplus-deficit-in-upcoming-fiscal-years-1-1536x465.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José budget officials aren’t expecting the good times to last for long. The City Manager’s office is projecting this year’s surplus to be followed by a $18.8 million deficit next year, followed by roughly balanced books in the fiscal year beginning in July of 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current projections, according to the city’s operating budget document, are “built on the assumption of a moderate recession beginning in summer 2023, which impacts several economically sensitive categories.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Clearly, things can (and have) changed. Despite a long-feared recession, the national and local economy has continued to motor along. On the flip side, the city’s ongoing labor \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11956630/thousands-of-san-jose-city-workers-to-vote-next-week-on-strike-authorization\">tensions with its largest employee unions\u003c/a> could add some unforeseen costs in future budgets. Unlike the federal government, cities and states are not allowed to pass budgets with deficits, so if San José faces a shortfall, the books will need to be balanced with cuts or taxes — or as bureaucrats lovingly refer to them: savings and revenues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11957387\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1640\" height=\"1194\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2.png 1640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-800x582.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-1020x743.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-160x116.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/0q52a-how-san-jos-spent-its-american-rescue-plan-arpa-money-nbsp-nbsp-2-1536x1118.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1640px) 100vw, 1640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To address economic uncertainty during the pandemic, San José city services were bolstered by an unprecedented level of aid from the federal government — most notably, the American Rescue Plan Act, signed by President Joe Biden in March of 2021, which delivered some $213 million to the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the last two years, those funds have allowed the city to maintain its staff, while expanding waste pickup, rental assistance, housing for people experiencing homelessness and food distribution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, those federal dollars are running out, with: only $38 million remaining in the pot.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In budget terms, the sunsetting of funds like these is not technically a cut. But it feels that way for organizations like Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen, a nonprofit meal provider that relied on that money to ramp up its delivery service to residents in need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That contract that we were asked to create meals for, it represents about 500,000 meals,” said David Hott, the group’s CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hott said that infusion of funding allowed his organization to deliver meals to a variety of service providers, including the Alum Rock School District, churches and local housing groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pandemic activities have lessened and the funding has ceased,” Hott said. “That does not mean the need has ceased, and that’s the struggle that we face now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But with no more federal relief coming in, Hott said they could be forced to scale back, and stop these expanded services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "San José City Workers Are About to Go on Strike",
"headTitle": "San José City Workers Are About to Go on Strike | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">View the full episode transcript.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Next Tuesday, nearly 4,500 San José city workers are planning to walk off the job for three days. Garbage, fire, and police won’t be affected, but many critical services like the airport, libraries, and housing construction will be. KQED’s Guy Marzorati explains how we got here, and what could happen next. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC4929729158&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. And welcome to The Bay. Local news to Keep You Rooted. Nearly 4500 employees with the city of San Jose are about to go on a three day strike starting next week after contract negotiations over higher pay fell through. Workers from the housing department to the zoo say they plan to walk off the job until the city agrees to pay up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>I’m in a little bit of a daze. I’m happy it’s where we need to go. But I’m thinking it’s a shame it had to come to this. I would really prefer not to strike. I had a lot of nervous nights around it. I was on the negotiating team, but there’s this aura here. There’s this aura about good things are going to happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>But 4500 people whose literal job is to keep the city running, there’s a lot of people. So what do all these employees say they want from the city that they aren’t getting? And what’s a strike going to mean for all the crucial services they provide? That’s coming up right after this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>We’re talking about a lot of workers. I mean, this is nearly 4500 employees in jobs all across the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Guy Marzorati is a politics and government correspondent for KQED, who’s based in San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Literally from A to Z, you have airport employees at San Jose Mineta. You have the zoo workers at Happy Hollow. In between that, you have, you know, code inspectors, people managing city parks, librarians, city planners, all of these employees had their contract expire on June 30th and are now, you know, potentially going to be striking next week. And the plan is a work stoppage that’s set to begin six in the morning on Tuesday, August 15th, and last until six in the morning on Friday, August 18th. That does not include, however, police and fire. They’re not allowed to strike in California. And besides that, they are separate unions that have their own existing contracts with the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Why is this happening? Like, how did we get here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yeah, well, one huge piece of this is San Jose’s tax base. I mean, historically, it’s been the only major city in the U.S. that has a smaller daytime population than a nighttime population. And what that basically means is there’s not a lot of jobs here. Historically, people live in this city, but go to work for companies that are located elsewhere in the bay. And that’s led to a lot of challenges with the tax base. So on a per capita basis, San Jose is getting, you know, lower property tax revenue, lower sales tax revenue than its neighbors. And then what that translates to is a lack of funding for city services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Michael Jun: \u003c/strong>I think it’s kind of well understood that we are underpaid compared to other municipalities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>So Michael Jun:works on residential development in the city’s housing department. He talks a lot about making up the gap between what he’s paid and kind of what he thinks he deserves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Michael Jun: \u003c/strong>What we’re hoping for is a little bit of kind of just trying to make up the gap between what we feel we deserve and what we feel is required to provide the level of services our residents deserve and what the city right now is willing to give.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He mentioned anecdotally at least he sees colleagues leaving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Michael Jun: \u003c/strong>I don’t know. Just like last month, we had several closings and new construction groundbreaking. But if we had more people, we could have built more affordable housing and quicker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>So I also talked to a city employee named David Nerhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>I’m a 22-year veteran of the city of San Jose. I work the first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He’s a financial analyst with the Department of Transportation. Before that, he worked with the Department of Public Works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>I’m in a little bit of a daze. I’m happy It’s where we need to go. But I’m thinking it’s a shame it had to come to this. I would really prefer not to strike. I had a lot of nervous nights around it. I was on the negotiating team. So I know that we weren’t where we needed to be. So I’m fully in favor of it. And I think the nervousness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He used this word. Training ground. He that’s how he described San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>So you get these kids coming out of college, and I’ve worked with so many of them, and they’re some of the most capable young kids that I meet. And I’m getting excited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>You talked about all these experiences he’s had with young planners or young engineers that he’s helped train in his department who have then, you know, in a year or maybe two years, they call him, say, you know, David, thanks for everything, but I’ve got a better job offer in Fremont, in Santa Clara, somewhere else. And he loses that kind of budding talent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>They’ll get paid better with probably a less complicated workload. I don’t know the word to use for doing the same exact work at that other place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The unions want a pay increase over the next three fiscal years. In their most recent offer. Workers would get a 7% increase this year, 6% the following, and 5% after that. The city is offered a 5%, 4% and 3% raise over that same period. And the city says that’s because they can’t really afford to go any higher. I know you talked with Mayor Matt Mehan. How has he responded to these demands to pay workers more?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yes. I’ll start by noting that the unions are actually negotiating with officials in the city manager’s office, not the mayor’s office. So in this setup, may hands just one vote on the council. The council can meet with the city manager and give direction on what can be offered. But all that said, Mahen has been kind of the de facto spokesperson for the city side of bargaining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Matt Mahan: \u003c/strong>So we have limited resources. We’re always trying to strike a fair balance for both residents and city workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He’s basically made the argument that the fiscal year already started. The council, if they offer more than 5%, they’re going to go back into the budget that they approved in June and find cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Matt Mahan: \u003c/strong>The math is very clear, and I certainly don’t want to see and won’t support cuts to police or fire staffing, library hours, any other essential services. At the margins, there may be ways to be creative, but we have to find ongoing funding for wage increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>So far, Macon’s kind of stuck to that argument. That being said, he hasn’t really gone on the offensive against the unions, and that’s something I’m going to be watching in the days to come. Now that we’re edging towards this massive work stoppage, does he like kind of heat up his rhetoric and even go as far as like attacking the unions, attacking city workers?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, what do we make of that idea guy that, like there isn’t enough money to raise wages by the amount that the union wants? I mean, they feel like that’s sort of something we hear often. Like what do we make of that idea that it would require cuts to other things that people probably won’t be happy about?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yeah. So I think, you know, that all of that remains to be seen. Like it’s impossible to know until the council would be pressed in that situation if they had to go above whatever they allocated for raises in this fiscal year to go back and amend the budget. And, you know, you often do get into kind of accounting tricks where you budget something based on excess funds that you think you might have at the end of the year. Mehan wants to avoid that. Union leaders have made the argument that the city often ends up with this kind of excess funds and that that might be a place to look in the unions opinions for ways to get the existing city employees higher wages in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, I mean, 4500 city workers going on strike. That’s pretty significant. Is the city prepared?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>No. I mean, you can prepare, but there is no way you can completely mitigate the effects. I mean, San Jose has about 7000 employees. We’re talking about unions representing 4500 people. Now, it would be a huge impact. And the city acknowledges that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati:\u003c/strong>Well, there are likely to be disruptions and a lot of that will depend on how many people adhere to the strike itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>But I talked with Kip Harkness. He’s a deputy city manager. He said with the caveat that, you know, it’s impossible to know the full effect of a strike until we see how many people wake up that morning and hit the picket lines. But he expects libraries, community centers to be among the places that residents would really notice a drop off in service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati:\u003c/strong>Where there would be service difficulties. We have plans for workers, contractors to continue the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Got it. So it’d be bringing in contractors to maybe fill some of those positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Perhaps contractors to fill some of those positions, as well as for certain positions that are critical to public health and safety. Those can be prohibited from striking garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Recycling services are contracted out, so they’re not going to be affected by a strike. But outside of that, union officials have warned of really broad impacts. I mentioned the airport. They say there could be flight delays, youth summer camps getting canceled. So starting next week, over the course of those three days, residents could notice, you know, a lot of changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>There is still time between now and the start of the strike, right, guys? So does that mean that things could take a turn before the strike even happens?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yeah, there’s still definitely the possibility that a deal gets reached. The city council met Tuesday with the city manager in closed session. Again, they could kind of give direction to raise the offer. There’s also this possibility that Megan floated when I talked with him about the second and third years of the contract. So maybe there’s ways to increase those raises based on how much tax revenue comes in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Matt Mahan: \u003c/strong>If our revenue comes in higher than expected, I think it would be appropriate for us to have a modest increase that’s automatically triggered if there’s more money. If we have the money there, I would be perfectly happy with increasing wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Or even just build those raises in. And then you go into the next budget process knowing that you have to account for those. I think what the what Mehan and like minded city officials are really concerned about is this current fiscal year where they’ve already passed the budget. That process is done. They’re worried about having to go revisit those numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>How would you maybe sum up this moment in San Jose? Like, why do you think this is happening now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Well, I’d say the mood is probably, you know, a bit uncertain. There hasn’t been a major strike in the city like this since 1981. So this whole experience is going to be new for a lot of residents, even a lot of city officials. I mean, they’ve never experienced something like that. As to why this is happening now, I mean, we are in the hot Labor Summer, I guess, and we’re seeing this kind of extend to the municipal sector, not just in San Jose, L.A., too. There was a one day strike on Tuesday by thousands of city employees there. And it’s the same story you hear in the private sector, right? The cost of living has skyrocketed with inflation. And again, when you’re only able to bargain or negotiate these wages on a set timetable over the span of this contract that expired on June 30th, that’s when we’ve seen this major inflation occur in the country. So there hasn’t been an opportunity for a lot of workers to go to the table and in their mind, kind of catch up to all the rising prices that have been baked in over the last few years. You may only get this one chance every few years to secure a boost like this. The stakes are magnified by inflation, and I think that’s why you’re seeing this standoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Guy, thanks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Guy Marzorati, a politics and government correspondent for KQED, who’s based in San Jose. Guy’s also the producer of the Political Breakdown podcast, which you can find wherever you found the Bay. This episode was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. Maria Esquinca is our producer. She scored this episode and added of the tape extra production support from me. If you like this episode, consider sharing it with a friend. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Hot Labor Summer. Did you make that up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>No, I did not. Okay. But on top of hot Labor Summer, it’s also just a hot summer. Can I say that, too? This is all, you know, taking place in just a hot South Bay summer as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. And welcome to The Bay. Local news to Keep You Rooted. Nearly 4500 employees with the city of San Jose are about to go on a three day strike starting next week after contract negotiations over higher pay fell through. Workers from the housing department to the zoo say they plan to walk off the job until the city agrees to pay up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>I’m in a little bit of a daze. I’m happy it’s where we need to go. But I’m thinking it’s a shame it had to come to this. I would really prefer not to strike. I had a lot of nervous nights around it. I was on the negotiating team, but there’s this aura here. There’s this aura about good things are going to happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>But 4500 people whose literal job is to keep the city running, there’s a lot of people. So what do all these employees say they want from the city that they aren’t getting? And what’s a strike going to mean for all the crucial services they provide? That’s coming up right after this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>We’re talking about a lot of workers. I mean, this is nearly 4500 employees in jobs all across the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Guy Marzorati is a politics and government correspondent for KQED, who’s based in San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Literally from A to Z, you have airport employees at San Jose Mineta. You have the zoo workers at Happy Hollow. In between that, you have, you know, code inspectors, people managing city parks, librarians, city planners, all of these employees had their contract expire on June 30th and are now, you know, potentially going to be striking next week. And the plan is a work stoppage that’s set to begin six in the morning on Tuesday, August 15th, and last until six in the morning on Friday, August 18th. That does not include, however, police and fire. They’re not allowed to strike in California. And besides that, they are separate unions that have their own existing contracts with the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Why is this happening? Like, how did we get here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yeah, well, one huge piece of this is San Jose’s tax base. I mean, historically, it’s been the only major city in the U.S. that has a smaller daytime population than a nighttime population. And what that basically means is there’s not a lot of jobs here. Historically, people live in this city, but go to work for companies that are located elsewhere in the bay. And that’s led to a lot of challenges with the tax base. So on a per capita basis, San Jose is getting, you know, lower property tax revenue, lower sales tax revenue than its neighbors. And then what that translates to is a lack of funding for city services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Michael Jun: \u003c/strong>I think it’s kind of well understood that we are underpaid compared to other municipalities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>So Michael Jun:works on residential development in the city’s housing department. He talks a lot about making up the gap between what he’s paid and kind of what he thinks he deserves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Michael Jun: \u003c/strong>What we’re hoping for is a little bit of kind of just trying to make up the gap between what we feel we deserve and what we feel is required to provide the level of services our residents deserve and what the city right now is willing to give.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He mentioned anecdotally at least he sees colleagues leaving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Michael Jun: \u003c/strong>I don’t know. Just like last month, we had several closings and new construction groundbreaking. But if we had more people, we could have built more affordable housing and quicker.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>So I also talked to a city employee named David Nerhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>I’m a 22-year veteran of the city of San Jose. I work the first.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He’s a financial analyst with the Department of Transportation. Before that, he worked with the Department of Public Works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>I’m in a little bit of a daze. I’m happy It’s where we need to go. But I’m thinking it’s a shame it had to come to this. I would really prefer not to strike. I had a lot of nervous nights around it. I was on the negotiating team. So I know that we weren’t where we needed to be. So I’m fully in favor of it. And I think the nervousness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He used this word. Training ground. He that’s how he described San Jose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>So you get these kids coming out of college, and I’ve worked with so many of them, and they’re some of the most capable young kids that I meet. And I’m getting excited.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>You talked about all these experiences he’s had with young planners or young engineers that he’s helped train in his department who have then, you know, in a year or maybe two years, they call him, say, you know, David, thanks for everything, but I’ve got a better job offer in Fremont, in Santa Clara, somewhere else. And he loses that kind of budding talent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>David Nerhood: \u003c/strong>They’ll get paid better with probably a less complicated workload. I don’t know the word to use for doing the same exact work at that other place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The unions want a pay increase over the next three fiscal years. In their most recent offer. Workers would get a 7% increase this year, 6% the following, and 5% after that. The city is offered a 5%, 4% and 3% raise over that same period. And the city says that’s because they can’t really afford to go any higher. I know you talked with Mayor Matt Mehan. How has he responded to these demands to pay workers more?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yes. I’ll start by noting that the unions are actually negotiating with officials in the city manager’s office, not the mayor’s office. So in this setup, may hands just one vote on the council. The council can meet with the city manager and give direction on what can be offered. But all that said, Mahen has been kind of the de facto spokesperson for the city side of bargaining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Matt Mahan: \u003c/strong>So we have limited resources. We’re always trying to strike a fair balance for both residents and city workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>He’s basically made the argument that the fiscal year already started. The council, if they offer more than 5%, they’re going to go back into the budget that they approved in June and find cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Matt Mahan: \u003c/strong>The math is very clear, and I certainly don’t want to see and won’t support cuts to police or fire staffing, library hours, any other essential services. At the margins, there may be ways to be creative, but we have to find ongoing funding for wage increases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>So far, Macon’s kind of stuck to that argument. That being said, he hasn’t really gone on the offensive against the unions, and that’s something I’m going to be watching in the days to come. Now that we’re edging towards this massive work stoppage, does he like kind of heat up his rhetoric and even go as far as like attacking the unions, attacking city workers?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, what do we make of that idea guy that, like there isn’t enough money to raise wages by the amount that the union wants? I mean, they feel like that’s sort of something we hear often. Like what do we make of that idea that it would require cuts to other things that people probably won’t be happy about?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yeah. So I think, you know, that all of that remains to be seen. Like it’s impossible to know until the council would be pressed in that situation if they had to go above whatever they allocated for raises in this fiscal year to go back and amend the budget. And, you know, you often do get into kind of accounting tricks where you budget something based on excess funds that you think you might have at the end of the year. Mehan wants to avoid that. Union leaders have made the argument that the city often ends up with this kind of excess funds and that that might be a place to look in the unions opinions for ways to get the existing city employees higher wages in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, I mean, 4500 city workers going on strike. That’s pretty significant. Is the city prepared?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>No. I mean, you can prepare, but there is no way you can completely mitigate the effects. I mean, San Jose has about 7000 employees. We’re talking about unions representing 4500 people. Now, it would be a huge impact. And the city acknowledges that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati:\u003c/strong>Well, there are likely to be disruptions and a lot of that will depend on how many people adhere to the strike itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>But I talked with Kip Harkness. He’s a deputy city manager. He said with the caveat that, you know, it’s impossible to know the full effect of a strike until we see how many people wake up that morning and hit the picket lines. But he expects libraries, community centers to be among the places that residents would really notice a drop off in service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati:\u003c/strong>Where there would be service difficulties. We have plans for workers, contractors to continue the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Got it. So it’d be bringing in contractors to maybe fill some of those positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Perhaps contractors to fill some of those positions, as well as for certain positions that are critical to public health and safety. Those can be prohibited from striking garbage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Recycling services are contracted out, so they’re not going to be affected by a strike. But outside of that, union officials have warned of really broad impacts. I mentioned the airport. They say there could be flight delays, youth summer camps getting canceled. So starting next week, over the course of those three days, residents could notice, you know, a lot of changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>There is still time between now and the start of the strike, right, guys? So does that mean that things could take a turn before the strike even happens?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Yeah, there’s still definitely the possibility that a deal gets reached. The city council met Tuesday with the city manager in closed session. Again, they could kind of give direction to raise the offer. There’s also this possibility that Megan floated when I talked with him about the second and third years of the contract. So maybe there’s ways to increase those raises based on how much tax revenue comes in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Matt Mahan: \u003c/strong>If our revenue comes in higher than expected, I think it would be appropriate for us to have a modest increase that’s automatically triggered if there’s more money. If we have the money there, I would be perfectly happy with increasing wages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Or even just build those raises in. And then you go into the next budget process knowing that you have to account for those. I think what the what Mehan and like minded city officials are really concerned about is this current fiscal year where they’ve already passed the budget. That process is done. They’re worried about having to go revisit those numbers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>How would you maybe sum up this moment in San Jose? Like, why do you think this is happening now?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Well, I’d say the mood is probably, you know, a bit uncertain. There hasn’t been a major strike in the city like this since 1981. So this whole experience is going to be new for a lot of residents, even a lot of city officials. I mean, they’ve never experienced something like that. As to why this is happening now, I mean, we are in the hot Labor Summer, I guess, and we’re seeing this kind of extend to the municipal sector, not just in San Jose, L.A., too. There was a one day strike on Tuesday by thousands of city employees there. And it’s the same story you hear in the private sector, right? The cost of living has skyrocketed with inflation. And again, when you’re only able to bargain or negotiate these wages on a set timetable over the span of this contract that expired on June 30th, that’s when we’ve seen this major inflation occur in the country. So there hasn’t been an opportunity for a lot of workers to go to the table and in their mind, kind of catch up to all the rising prices that have been baked in over the last few years. You may only get this one chance every few years to secure a boost like this. The stakes are magnified by inflation, and I think that’s why you’re seeing this standoff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Guy, thanks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Guy Marzorati, a politics and government correspondent for KQED, who’s based in San Jose. Guy’s also the producer of the Political Breakdown podcast, which you can find wherever you found the Bay. This episode was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. Maria Esquinca is our producer. She scored this episode and added of the tape extra production support from me. If you like this episode, consider sharing it with a friend. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Hot Labor Summer. Did you make that up?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Guy Marzorati: \u003c/strong>No, I did not. Okay. But on top of hot Labor Summer, it’s also just a hot summer. Can I say that, too? This is all, you know, taking place in just a hot South Bay summer as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"font-weight: 400\">\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"content": "\u003cp>Thousands of San José city employees voted to strike next week, union leaders announced Monday, moving the city closer to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11957086/san-jose-city-workers-strike-what-residents-can-expect-if-municipal-employees-walk-out\">historic work stoppage over municipal employee pay\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an overwhelming vote, workers in four bargaining units represented by unions MEF-AFSCME Local 101 and IFPTE Local 21 authorized a three-day strike beginning Aug. 15. The move ratchets up the pressure on union leaders and the City Council to avoid a work stoppage that could limit service at libraries, community centers and even San José Mineta International Airport.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Striking is a last resort,” said Kyle Wong, a transportation specialist. “Our hope is that city councilmembers and Mayor Mahan will finally listen to us and address the understaffing crises impacting libraries, the airport, affordable housing, response times and more.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Matt Mahan and officials in the City Manager’s office, which leads negotiations with employee unions, counter that San José’s vacancy rate is in line with cities like Oakland and Fremont — and that the city can’t afford the wage increases that workers demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest public ask from the bargaining units, which represent roughly 4,500 employees, amounts to a 7% wage increase in the current fiscal year and raises of 6% and 5% in the following two years. The city offered a 5% pay bump, followed by 4% and 3% increases.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Kyle Wong, transportation specialist, San José\"]‘Our hope is that city councilmembers and Mayor Mahan will finally listen to us and address the understaffing crises impacting libraries, the airport, affordable housing, response times and more.’[/pullquote]David Nerhood, a financial analyst with the Department of Transportation, said colleagues can often find better pay in neighboring cities for jobs with the same or lighter workload.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San José has become what we call a training ground,” Nerhood said. “What inevitably happens is we train people in doing whatever they’re doing for this particular city, and it’s great training … it’s complicated work and we’re not getting benefits or pay commensurate with these other positions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, the City Council returned from summer recess earlier than expected to hear an update on the negotiations from City Manager Jennifer Maguire, who has led bargaining with the unions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan said San José is constrained by its tax base, which is smaller on a per-capita basis than most neighboring cities. A 7% wage increase in the current fiscal year would require changes to the budget passed by the council in June, Mahan told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If any of my colleagues want to go higher than a 5% raise in this fiscal year, they’re going to have to point in the budget to what they want to cut,” Mahan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mayor left the door open to one-time bonuses or higher raises for union members tied to the city’s revenue in 2024–25 and 2025–26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In years two and three, if our revenue comes in higher than expected, I think it would be appropriate for us to have a modest increase that’s automatically triggered if there’s more money,” Mahan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the council could authorize the city manager to increase or amend the city’s offer. Attorneys working for the city estimate that the cost of a 1% wage increase to the four bargaining units is $3.56 million. [aside label='More on San José' tag='san-jose'] “It’s my hope that the offer does increase,” said Councilmember Peter Ortiz. “It’s my hope that we are able to provide staff members here at the city of San José a wage increase and a contract that honors their commitment to the residents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If no agreement is reached, the unions have scheduled the strike to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 6 a.m. and last until Friday, Aug. 18 at 5:59 a.m., with picket lines planned for City Hall, the airport and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The work stoppage would be the city’s largest since 1981 when AFSCME workers hit the picket lines for nine days to advocate for equal pay for women workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders say striking workers could result in flight delays, building permit holdups and the cancellation of city summer camps for kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Manager’s office has acknowledged that service interruptions could be felt at libraries and community centers, but cautioned that the strike impact would depend on the number of workers participating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>David Nerhood, a financial analyst with the Department of Transportation, said colleagues can often find better pay in neighboring cities for jobs with the same or lighter workload.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“San José has become what we call a training ground,” Nerhood said. “What inevitably happens is we train people in doing whatever they’re doing for this particular city, and it’s great training … it’s complicated work and we’re not getting benefits or pay commensurate with these other positions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last week, the City Council returned from summer recess earlier than expected to hear an update on the negotiations from City Manager Jennifer Maguire, who has led bargaining with the unions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan said San José is constrained by its tax base, which is smaller on a per-capita basis than most neighboring cities. A 7% wage increase in the current fiscal year would require changes to the budget passed by the council in June, Mahan told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If any of my colleagues want to go higher than a 5% raise in this fiscal year, they’re going to have to point in the budget to what they want to cut,” Mahan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mayor left the door open to one-time bonuses or higher raises for union members tied to the city’s revenue in 2024–25 and 2025–26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In years two and three, if our revenue comes in higher than expected, I think it would be appropriate for us to have a modest increase that’s automatically triggered if there’s more money,” Mahan said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the council could authorize the city manager to increase or amend the city’s offer. Attorneys working for the city estimate that the cost of a 1% wage increase to the four bargaining units is $3.56 million. \u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> “It’s my hope that the offer does increase,” said Councilmember Peter Ortiz. “It’s my hope that we are able to provide staff members here at the city of San José a wage increase and a contract that honors their commitment to the residents.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If no agreement is reached, the unions have scheduled the strike to begin on Tuesday, Aug. 15 at 6 a.m. and last until Friday, Aug. 18 at 5:59 a.m., with picket lines planned for City Hall, the airport and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The work stoppage would be the city’s largest since 1981 when AFSCME workers hit the picket lines for nine days to advocate for equal pay for women workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders say striking workers could result in flight delays, building permit holdups and the cancellation of city summer camps for kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The City Manager’s office has acknowledged that service interruptions could be felt at libraries and community centers, but cautioned that the strike impact would depend on the number of workers participating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>On May 3, a mob rushed into a tribal area in the Indian state of Manipur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They started screaming ‘Kill Kuki, Kill Kuki’ and started burning our church,” Niang Hangzo, a San José resident who immigrated to the United States in 1990, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hangzo was born and raised in Manipur. Nestled in the mountains of northeast India, Manipur, which borders Myanmar, is about the size of New Hampshire and has a population of 3.7 million people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twenty of Hangzo’s family members used to live in this region, which is currently engulfed in violent conflict. At least 150 people have died as a result and more than 60,000 were displaced, according to the International Crisis Group. Those displaced include Hangzo’s 86-year-old mother, six of Hangzo’s siblings and several cousins who are now in Delhi, more than 1,500 miles from their homes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The violence erupted after a local court ruling awarded government benefits to the Meitei, a mostly Hindu community that maintains a majority in the area. The Kuki tribal community, who are mostly Christian and represent the minority faction, protested. That prompted the waves of armed Meitei mobs that are unofficially supported by the state government, according to activists and human rights groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, which is in charge of India’s central government, has stoked politically motivated policies promoting Hindu majoritarianism, according to Human Rights Watch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bloodshed is resonating within the large Indian diaspora in the Bay Area. Rallies, hunger strikes and educational Zoom meetings were held to raise awareness of the persecution of the Kuki community in Manipur.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Niang Hangzo, co-founder, North American Manipur Tribal Association\"]‘They had to run for their lives with just the clothes on their back.’[/pullquote]Hangzo, like most of her family in India, is a member of the Kuki, which is sometimes referred to as Kuki-Zomi or Kuki-Zo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the mob burned the church, Hangzo’s family hid in a local hotel. They watched the growing mob outside on the security camera before escaping to an army camp. Hangzo and others convinced them to leave the region by plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had to run for their lives with just the clothes on their back,” said Hangzo, who works as an engineer in the tech industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With luck and help from people Hangzo describes as “angels,” the family made it safely out of the region. Images from the local news channel showed their homes looted and burned. Eleven members are now crowded in a three-bedroom apartment in New Delhi, India’s capital. Despite leaving all their possessions behind, Hangzo said they feel fortunate to have made it out alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the violence broke out in Manipur, Hangzo has dedicated her time to informing people about the conflict.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is one of the founding members of the North American Manipur Tribal Association, a national organization formed to promote awareness of the hill tribes of Manipur in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group wrote letters to President Joe Biden, asking him to raise the issue when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. at the end of June. NAMTA also coordinated efforts with the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, as well as Indian Christian organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s not much we can do on our own, but I think the atrocities and the stories from Manipur have shaken people and shaken the conscience of other people,” Hangzo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indian communities in the Bay Area held rallies in Oakland, Palo Alto and Fremont after a video showing two Kuki women being assaulted in public went viral in India. Members of the Muslim, Sikh and Dalit communities in the Bay Area also combined efforts to pressure congressional leaders to take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1620px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957326\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people stands outdoors in front of a building holding signs while one person speaks into a megaphone.\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED.jpg 1620w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shan Sankaran (left) stands alongside Niang Hangzo (right) at a rally outside of Oakland City Hall on July 23, 2023. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of North American Manipur Tribal Association.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pieter Friedrich and Shan Sankaran protested the treatment of the Kuki with a hunger strike. Friedrich, a human rights advocate, ended his fast after nine days at the request of NAMTA and the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, Sankaran, a Sunnyvale resident, ended his hunger strike after 10 days. Sankaran said if the central government wanted the crisis under control, they would’ve taken action earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not the first incident under this administration,” said Sankaran, recalling how Modi was denied a visa to the U.S. for several years for “severe violations of religious freedom.”[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Niang Hangzo, co-founder, North American Manipur Tribal Association\"]‘It’s very difficult living in sort of limbo for them and for us. We have become so embroiled in what’s happening out there that that’s become our reality more than what’s going on here.’[/pullquote] Friedrich, who has written extensively on Hindu nationalism, said “what is happening in Manipur is being driven by the Hindutva movement in India,” which is the political ideology that believes in Hindu supremacy and that India’s identity is inseparable from the Hindu religion. Friedrich wants Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) to publicly condemn the violence in Manipur on the House floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve consistently used my position in Congress to defend human rights and admire the activists who work to drive change on these important issues,” Khanna told KQED in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that he “condemns all violence against civilians or places of worship in Manipur and speaks out on those issues whenever I can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hangzo wants to see politicians “raise the humanitarian issue of the ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zomi and the genocide that is in progress.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their lands are being seized,” she said of the Kuki.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hangzo gets up every morning and routinely checks news and messages to see what happened the night before. Her mother wants to return to Manipur and be among familiar surroundings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very difficult living in sort of limbo for them and for us,” said Hangzo, who plans to go to India in December. “We have become so embroiled in what’s happening out there that that’s become our reality more than what’s going on here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Hangzo, like most of her family in India, is a member of the Kuki, which is sometimes referred to as Kuki-Zomi or Kuki-Zo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After the mob burned the church, Hangzo’s family hid in a local hotel. They watched the growing mob outside on the security camera before escaping to an army camp. Hangzo and others convinced them to leave the region by plane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They had to run for their lives with just the clothes on their back,” said Hangzo, who works as an engineer in the tech industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With luck and help from people Hangzo describes as “angels,” the family made it safely out of the region. Images from the local news channel showed their homes looted and burned. Eleven members are now crowded in a three-bedroom apartment in New Delhi, India’s capital. Despite leaving all their possessions behind, Hangzo said they feel fortunate to have made it out alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the violence broke out in Manipur, Hangzo has dedicated her time to informing people about the conflict.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is one of the founding members of the North American Manipur Tribal Association, a national organization formed to promote awareness of the hill tribes of Manipur in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group wrote letters to President Joe Biden, asking him to raise the issue when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the U.S. at the end of June. NAMTA also coordinated efforts with the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, as well as Indian Christian organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s not much we can do on our own, but I think the atrocities and the stories from Manipur have shaken people and shaken the conscience of other people,” Hangzo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indian communities in the Bay Area held rallies in Oakland, Palo Alto and Fremont after a video showing two Kuki women being assaulted in public went viral in India. Members of the Muslim, Sikh and Dalit communities in the Bay Area also combined efforts to pressure congressional leaders to take action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11957326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1620px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11957326\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"A group of people stands outdoors in front of a building holding signs while one person speaks into a megaphone.\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED.jpg 1620w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/08/230803-Manipur-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shan Sankaran (left) stands alongside Niang Hangzo (right) at a rally outside of Oakland City Hall on July 23, 2023. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of North American Manipur Tribal Association.)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Pieter Friedrich and Shan Sankaran protested the treatment of the Kuki with a hunger strike. Friedrich, a human rights advocate, ended his fast after nine days at the request of NAMTA and the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, Sankaran, a Sunnyvale resident, ended his hunger strike after 10 days. Sankaran said if the central government wanted the crisis under control, they would’ve taken action earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is not the first incident under this administration,” said Sankaran, recalling how Modi was denied a visa to the U.S. for several years for “severe violations of religious freedom.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> Friedrich, who has written extensively on Hindu nationalism, said “what is happening in Manipur is being driven by the Hindutva movement in India,” which is the political ideology that believes in Hindu supremacy and that India’s identity is inseparable from the Hindu religion. Friedrich wants Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) to publicly condemn the violence in Manipur on the House floor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve consistently used my position in Congress to defend human rights and admire the activists who work to drive change on these important issues,” Khanna told KQED in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He added that he “condemns all violence against civilians or places of worship in Manipur and speaks out on those issues whenever I can.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hangzo wants to see politicians “raise the humanitarian issue of the ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zomi and the genocide that is in progress.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Their lands are being seized,” she said of the Kuki.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hangzo gets up every morning and routinely checks news and messages to see what happened the night before. Her mother wants to return to Manipur and be among familiar surroundings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very difficult living in sort of limbo for them and for us,” said Hangzo, who plans to go to India in December. “We have become so embroiled in what’s happening out there that that’s become our reality more than what’s going on here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>More than 4,000 San José city employees plan to vote next week on whether to authorize a three-day strike for as soon as mid-August, labor organizers announced Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike would be the largest the city has seen in decades, potentially hobbling numerous daily operations, with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/office-of-the-city-manager/employee-relations/labor-relations-information/bargaining-units-labor-contract-info/mef\">broad swath of crucial workers\u003c/a> walking off the job, including some airport operations personnel, librarians and park managers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certain union-represented employees, including public safety radio dispatchers and wastewater treatment workers, would likely be deemed “essential, and prohibited from striking. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote comes some four months after the unions representing the workers began negotiating with the city over a new three-year contract, demanding significant pay hikes — including a 7% wage increase next year — along with more family leave and other expanded benefits. But negotiations reached an impasse in June, when the city’s latest offer fell short of the unions’ demands.[aside label=\"More on San José labor issues\" postID=\"news_11955897,news_11955267\"]More than 2,500 full-time employees have already signed a petition indicating they plan to vote next week in favor of the walkout, an organizer with \u003ca href=\"https://www.staffupsanjose.org/\">Staff Up San Jose\u003c/a>, a coalition of four unions involved in negotiations, told KQED. Voting concludes next Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Tucker, of the Municipal Employees’ Federation (MEF-AFSCME) Local 101, the largest union at the table, said that if workers vote to strike, they wouldn’t walk off the job until after the City Council returns from its summer recess, on Aug. 8, to give the city “every possibility to come to an agreement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions adjusted their demands significantly during mediation this month, he said, but the city has yet to make any meaningful change to its existing proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they come to the middle, I think that they’ll find that we will be pragmatic and willing to reach an agreement that’s going to achieve our goals of getting back to service delivery,” Tucker said. “But so far, the city hasn’t shown signs of meeting us in the middle. They’re dug in their position. That’s the point of the strike vote: to get them to meet us in the middle and get a deal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failing that, Tucker added, a three-day walkout will hopefully be enough to move the needle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Should we have to talk about a further strike afterwards, we’re willing to do so,” he said. “But we believe that that’s enough to show them that we’re serious about getting the city staffed up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written request, obtained by KQED, two members of the City Council on Tuesday asked the City Attorney’s Office to schedule a “special” Council meeting for next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe that the council has a lot of questions and being able to start the discussion next week will help us better prepare for the next step in negotiations and also would exhibit a level of urgency that our employees believe the process deserves,” Councilmembers David Cohen and Pam Foley wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the special meeting is called next week, the Council could begin the process of drafting an updated offer for unions organizers to consider before directing workers to walk off the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José Mayor Matt Mahan, however, told KQED earlier this month that the 7% wage increase the unions are asking for is simply “unrealistic,” pointing to a poor economic forecast in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The context in which we’re operating is one in which large employers in Silicon Valley are laying people off,” Mahan said. “We’re not seeing signs of economic, and therefore tax base, growth when we look out over the next couple of years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But leaders of Staff Up San Jose argue that city workers have long been undervalued, making markedly less than their counterparts in neighboring jurisdictions, and that significant wage and benefit increases are needed to address the city’s staffing and retention crisis. As of May, the city reported 860 municipal job openings, marking more than a 13% vacancy rate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City employees told KQED that their departments are chronically understaffed, leading to burnout and high turnover. Many referred to the city as a “training ground” where workers acquire skills, then leave for other employers who offer better pay and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several other Council members, including Peter Ortiz and Omar Torres, are voicing their strong support for the workers, and urging the city to offer them a more generous contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am a strong ally of our bargaining units, and I do hope we, as a city, end the impasse and offer them a fair contract,” Torres said in a statement. “Too many of them are leaving our city. Now is not the time to have an understaffed and underpaid workforce, as too much is at stake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Guy Marzorati contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than 4,000 San José city employees plan to vote next week on whether to authorize a three-day strike for as soon as mid-August, labor organizers announced Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike would be the largest the city has seen in decades, potentially hobbling numerous daily operations, with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/office-of-the-city-manager/employee-relations/labor-relations-information/bargaining-units-labor-contract-info/mef\">broad swath of crucial workers\u003c/a> walking off the job, including some airport operations personnel, librarians and park managers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Certain union-represented employees, including public safety radio dispatchers and wastewater treatment workers, would likely be deemed “essential, and prohibited from striking. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote comes some four months after the unions representing the workers began negotiating with the city over a new three-year contract, demanding significant pay hikes — including a 7% wage increase next year — along with more family leave and other expanded benefits. But negotiations reached an impasse in June, when the city’s latest offer fell short of the unions’ demands.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>More than 2,500 full-time employees have already signed a petition indicating they plan to vote next week in favor of the walkout, an organizer with \u003ca href=\"https://www.staffupsanjose.org/\">Staff Up San Jose\u003c/a>, a coalition of four unions involved in negotiations, told KQED. Voting concludes next Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John Tucker, of the Municipal Employees’ Federation (MEF-AFSCME) Local 101, the largest union at the table, said that if workers vote to strike, they wouldn’t walk off the job until after the City Council returns from its summer recess, on Aug. 8, to give the city “every possibility to come to an agreement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions adjusted their demands significantly during mediation this month, he said, but the city has yet to make any meaningful change to its existing proposal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they come to the middle, I think that they’ll find that we will be pragmatic and willing to reach an agreement that’s going to achieve our goals of getting back to service delivery,” Tucker said. “But so far, the city hasn’t shown signs of meeting us in the middle. They’re dug in their position. That’s the point of the strike vote: to get them to meet us in the middle and get a deal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Failing that, Tucker added, a three-day walkout will hopefully be enough to move the needle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Should we have to talk about a further strike afterwards, we’re willing to do so,” he said. “But we believe that that’s enough to show them that we’re serious about getting the city staffed up.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a written request, obtained by KQED, two members of the City Council on Tuesday asked the City Attorney’s Office to schedule a “special” Council meeting for next week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe that the council has a lot of questions and being able to start the discussion next week will help us better prepare for the next step in negotiations and also would exhibit a level of urgency that our employees believe the process deserves,” Councilmembers David Cohen and Pam Foley wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the special meeting is called next week, the Council could begin the process of drafting an updated offer for unions organizers to consider before directing workers to walk off the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José Mayor Matt Mahan, however, told KQED earlier this month that the 7% wage increase the unions are asking for is simply “unrealistic,” pointing to a poor economic forecast in Silicon Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The context in which we’re operating is one in which large employers in Silicon Valley are laying people off,” Mahan said. “We’re not seeing signs of economic, and therefore tax base, growth when we look out over the next couple of years.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But leaders of Staff Up San Jose argue that city workers have long been undervalued, making markedly less than their counterparts in neighboring jurisdictions, and that significant wage and benefit increases are needed to address the city’s staffing and retention crisis. As of May, the city reported 860 municipal job openings, marking more than a 13% vacancy rate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>City employees told KQED that their departments are chronically understaffed, leading to burnout and high turnover. Many referred to the city as a “training ground” where workers acquire skills, then leave for other employers who offer better pay and benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several other Council members, including Peter Ortiz and Omar Torres, are voicing their strong support for the workers, and urging the city to offer them a more generous contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am a strong ally of our bargaining units, and I do hope we, as a city, end the impasse and offer them a fair contract,” Torres said in a statement. “Too many of them are leaving our city. Now is not the time to have an understaffed and underpaid workforce, as too much is at stake.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Guy Marzorati contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>More than 4,000 San José city workers are one step closer to walking off the job after mediated contract negotiations with the city broke down last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are no other legal steps that need to be met. The next step is authorizing a strike vote,” said John Tucker, a union representative for the Municipal Employees’ Federation \u003ca href=\"https://www.mef101.org/\">(MEF-AFSCME) Local 101\u003c/a>, one of the two unions that has been negotiating with the city since mid-March. “We’re looking at taking that vote later on this month for a potential strike to occur in early August.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11955267/san-jose-city-workers-threaten-strike-as-negotiations-head-to-mediation#correction\">demanding significant wage increases over the next three years\u003c/a>, including a 7% pay bump in the next fiscal year, as well as eight weeks of paid family leave and other benefits. Such increases, they argue, are necessary to address the city’s ongoing staffing and retention crisis. As of May, the city reported 860 job vacancies, a rate of more than 13%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s most recent offer falls far short of those demands, organizers said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 1,500 union members have so far signed a petition in support of a strike, and organizers have begun educating workers on their legal rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A strike could hamstring basic services in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it’s our parks and recreation system, our libraries or day-to-day operations of the city … these are the workers that do all that,” said Jean Cohen, executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shelsy Bass, a development officer with the city’s housing department, and a member of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21 — the other union involved in negotiations with the city, which represents three individual union chapters — said San José is considered a “training ground” for other municipalities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"san-jose\"]“I’ve lost coworkers to [Santa Clara] County or other cities, and it always comes down to, ‘I can go there and I can make more money and I don’t do as much work,’” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bass said her team, which approves affordable housing projects in the city, is consistently understaffed, and turnover remains high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re [each] doing one-and-a-half if not two jobs” she said. “In the past six months, we closed four new construction deals, and it was extremely difficult. We had people who felt extremely burnt out afterwards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bass said such high rates of turnover leaves a dearth of historical knowledge on her team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels like we’re reinventing the wheel every once in a while,” she said. “Not having someone who’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, you do it this way,’ because that person just doesn’t exist anymore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tucker, from \u003ca href=\"https://www.mef101.org/\">MEF-AFSCME\u003c/a>, is now calling on the City Council to return early from its July recess for an emergency closed session to get the city to adjust its latest offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His union, he said, offered a “significantly reduced package” to the city last week in an effort to avert a walkout, and says it’s now the city’s turn to respond to that, which the council has to authorize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do want to give them every possibility to come to an agreement. So, we are willing to wait until they’ve had at least their first session back, which is August 8,” Tucker said. “After [that], anything’s on the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But San José Mayor Matt Mahan said an emergency council meeting won’t change much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fact that we’re at an impasse is not something that the council is going to be able to resolve,” Mahan told KQED. “The City Council met a few weeks ago and gave unanimous or near unanimous direction to the city manager to continue with the process that we’re in, which included our last, best and final offer, and then, if necessary, the process of mediation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan also said the city made additional concessions during the latest negotiations, including on some non-wage-related demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the unions’ wage-increase demands, he argued, are simply untenable, particularly in light of recent widespread tech layoffs and declining commercial real estate investments, both of which are expected to lower the city’s tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I certainly wouldn’t support us moving closer to 7% wage increase in Year One of this contract because it’s not fair to residents and taxpayers who rely on city services,” Mahan said. “We never want to be in a situation of overpromising, giving larger raises than we can sustain and then being in the terrible position of needing to lay people off and reduce service levels for residents a few years later.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Bass, from the housing department, said that while she and her co-workers certainly do not want to go on strike, they’re prepared to do so if the city doesn’t come back with a better offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bass, who commutes to her job from Hayward — which often takes well over an hour in each direction, said she remains committed to working for the city, but is ready to fight for more sustainable conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love serving the residents of the city of San José, and I want to continue to do that, so I stay,” she said. “It’s a city that I feel that I can make a huge impact in with the work that we do, and I can’t necessarily do that in a different municipality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Correction (July 20): The original version of this story stated the city reported 860 municipal job vacancies as of July 2023. In fact, those figures, while announced by the city in a July press release, represent the number of vacancies as of May 2023.\u003c/i> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than 4,000 San José city workers are one step closer to walking off the job after mediated contract negotiations with the city broke down last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are no other legal steps that need to be met. The next step is authorizing a strike vote,” said John Tucker, a union representative for the Municipal Employees’ Federation \u003ca href=\"https://www.mef101.org/\">(MEF-AFSCME) Local 101\u003c/a>, one of the two unions that has been negotiating with the city since mid-March. “We’re looking at taking that vote later on this month for a potential strike to occur in early August.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions are \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11955267/san-jose-city-workers-threaten-strike-as-negotiations-head-to-mediation#correction\">demanding significant wage increases over the next three years\u003c/a>, including a 7% pay bump in the next fiscal year, as well as eight weeks of paid family leave and other benefits. Such increases, they argue, are necessary to address the city’s ongoing staffing and retention crisis. As of May, the city reported 860 job vacancies, a rate of more than 13%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city’s most recent offer falls far short of those demands, organizers said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 1,500 union members have so far signed a petition in support of a strike, and organizers have begun educating workers on their legal rights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A strike could hamstring basic services in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it’s our parks and recreation system, our libraries or day-to-day operations of the city … these are the workers that do all that,” said Jean Cohen, executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shelsy Bass, a development officer with the city’s housing department, and a member of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21 — the other union involved in negotiations with the city, which represents three individual union chapters — said San José is considered a “training ground” for other municipalities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I’ve lost coworkers to [Santa Clara] County or other cities, and it always comes down to, ‘I can go there and I can make more money and I don’t do as much work,’” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bass said her team, which approves affordable housing projects in the city, is consistently understaffed, and turnover remains high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re [each] doing one-and-a-half if not two jobs” she said. “In the past six months, we closed four new construction deals, and it was extremely difficult. We had people who felt extremely burnt out afterwards.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bass said such high rates of turnover leaves a dearth of historical knowledge on her team.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels like we’re reinventing the wheel every once in a while,” she said. “Not having someone who’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, you do it this way,’ because that person just doesn’t exist anymore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tucker, from \u003ca href=\"https://www.mef101.org/\">MEF-AFSCME\u003c/a>, is now calling on the City Council to return early from its July recess for an emergency closed session to get the city to adjust its latest offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His union, he said, offered a “significantly reduced package” to the city last week in an effort to avert a walkout, and says it’s now the city’s turn to respond to that, which the council has to authorize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do want to give them every possibility to come to an agreement. So, we are willing to wait until they’ve had at least their first session back, which is August 8,” Tucker said. “After [that], anything’s on the table.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But San José Mayor Matt Mahan said an emergency council meeting won’t change much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The fact that we’re at an impasse is not something that the council is going to be able to resolve,” Mahan told KQED. “The City Council met a few weeks ago and gave unanimous or near unanimous direction to the city manager to continue with the process that we’re in, which included our last, best and final offer, and then, if necessary, the process of mediation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan also said the city made additional concessions during the latest negotiations, including on some non-wage-related demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the unions’ wage-increase demands, he argued, are simply untenable, particularly in light of recent widespread tech layoffs and declining commercial real estate investments, both of which are expected to lower the city’s tax revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I certainly wouldn’t support us moving closer to 7% wage increase in Year One of this contract because it’s not fair to residents and taxpayers who rely on city services,” Mahan said. “We never want to be in a situation of overpromising, giving larger raises than we can sustain and then being in the terrible position of needing to lay people off and reduce service levels for residents a few years later.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Bass, from the housing department, said that while she and her co-workers certainly do not want to go on strike, they’re prepared to do so if the city doesn’t come back with a better offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bass, who commutes to her job from Hayward — which often takes well over an hour in each direction, said she remains committed to working for the city, but is ready to fight for more sustainable conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I love serving the residents of the city of San José, and I want to continue to do that, so I stay,” she said. “It’s a city that I feel that I can make a huge impact in with the work that we do, and I can’t necessarily do that in a different municipality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Correction (July 20): The original version of this story stated the city reported 860 municipal job vacancies as of July 2023. In fact, those figures, while announced by the city in a July press release, represent the number of vacancies as of May 2023.\u003c/i> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Probe Into 2022 Attack on Kern County PG&E Facility Hits Dead End",
"headTitle": "Probe Into 2022 Attack on Kern County PG&E Facility Hits Dead End | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Investigators have hit a dead end in their investigation of a July 2022 incident in which gunfire caused nearly $6 million in damage to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pge\">PG&E\u003c/a> substation near Bakersfield. It’s one of a string of unsolved acts of vandalism targeting the utility’s equipment in the past year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Documents KQED obtained under the California Public Records Act outline a probe by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office into the shooting at the Goose Lake substation, near the town of Wasco. The attack caused an outage that affected 1,100 customers, including gas stations and restaurants, at the busy interchange where State Route 46 crosses Interstate 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the sheriff’s investigation, those responsible for the incident cut a 4-inch hole in a chain-link fence surrounding the substation. Then, they fired 10 rounds from a shotgun and large-caliber handgun into two banks of transformers, puncturing a radiator and a tank filled with mineral oil used to insulate and cool the electrical equipment. The damaged tanks leaked about 5,000 gallons of oil onto the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hole in the fence lines up with the angles of the bullet holes in the equipment within the facility,” a sheriff’s deputy wrote in a department report. That discovery prompted the deputy to contact a colleague who works as the sheriff’s liaison with the FBI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Details of the shooting investigation are recounted in records released by the California Public Utilities Commission. In addition to a 29-page sheriff’s report, they include documents from the CPUC’s Safety and Enforcement Division and PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kern County investigators could not identify suspects in the case or determine a motive for the attack. But their report notes that deputies and a PG&E worker, who arrived at the substation shortly after problems at the substation were reported, noticed a car abandoned about a quarter-mile away on Highway 46.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11955153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11955153\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Hanging electrical equipment connected to power lines.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E’s Goose Lake substation, near Wasco in Kern County, was attacked last July. A spokesperson for PG&E said the company has spent $2 million so far on ongoing repairs. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California Public Utilities Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A deputy who inspected the car, which had been stolen the day before the attack in the Kern County town of Shafter, found footprints that headed in the direction of the substation. But the tracks vanished after a short distance. Sheriff’s investigators were unable to connect either the car or the tracks to the shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to questions about the case, a sheriff’s spokesperson said in an email late last month that the investigation “has been inactivated pending further leads.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Matt Nauman, spokesperson, PG&E\"]‘We have security measures in place, and we are constantly evaluating the security of all of our facilities. Our forecast is that the total cost will be approximately $5.9 million.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E emphasized in reply to KQED’s question that it takes its responsibility seriously to ensure safety around its electrical facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have security measures in place, and we are constantly evaluating the security of all of our facilities,” said company spokesperson Matt Nauman in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nauman added that so far PG&E has spent $2 million on ongoing repairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our forecast is that the total cost will be approximately $5.9 million,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident is one of several that have targeted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101891276/how-can-pge-navigate-rising-costs-extreme-weather-and-modernizing-the-grid\">PG&E’s electricity infrastructure\u003c/a> in the last year and comes amid an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101891525/how-vulnerable-is-our-power-grid-2\">increase in attacks on power sites\u003c/a> throughout California and the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to data from the U.S. Department of Energy, California utilities reported a total of 31 incidents of vandalism to their property from Jan. 1, 2022, through March 31 of this year. Another 14 incidents were classified as actual physical attacks on facilities or “suspicious activity” meant to degrade power operations. That compares with just three such incidents reported statewide in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal data indicates that only a handful of the reported incidents, like the one in Kern County, have resulted in power outages.[aside postID=news_11943157 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/Untitled_Artwork-1020x765.jpg']Two months after the Kern County incident, someone shot and damaged nine PG&E transformers in rural Butte County, south of Chico. In late February, PG&E told the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office that it had recently discovered a transformer damaged by gunfire near the Sutter Bypass, southwest of Yuba City. FBI officials have said the agency is aware of all three incidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most widely publicized recent attack on power facilities in Northern California came to light in March when San José police arrested a man they say set off bombs that damaged a pair of PG&E substations in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These incidents came nearly a decade after a sniper attack on a major PG&E transmission complex in South San José that caused serious damage. The April 2013 incident caused an estimated $15 million in damage, attracted national attention and prompted state legislation aimed at improving security for electricity infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "No suspects have been identified after gunfire caused $6 million in damage to a rural PG&E substation northwest of Bakersfield.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Investigators have hit a dead end in their investigation of a July 2022 incident in which gunfire caused nearly $6 million in damage to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pge\">PG&E\u003c/a> substation near Bakersfield. It’s one of a string of unsolved acts of vandalism targeting the utility’s equipment in the past year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Documents KQED obtained under the California Public Records Act outline a probe by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office into the shooting at the Goose Lake substation, near the town of Wasco. The attack caused an outage that affected 1,100 customers, including gas stations and restaurants, at the busy interchange where State Route 46 crosses Interstate 5.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the sheriff’s investigation, those responsible for the incident cut a 4-inch hole in a chain-link fence surrounding the substation. Then, they fired 10 rounds from a shotgun and large-caliber handgun into two banks of transformers, puncturing a radiator and a tank filled with mineral oil used to insulate and cool the electrical equipment. The damaged tanks leaked about 5,000 gallons of oil onto the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hole in the fence lines up with the angles of the bullet holes in the equipment within the facility,” a sheriff’s deputy wrote in a department report. That discovery prompted the deputy to contact a colleague who works as the sheriff’s liaison with the FBI.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Details of the shooting investigation are recounted in records released by the California Public Utilities Commission. In addition to a 29-page sheriff’s report, they include documents from the CPUC’s Safety and Enforcement Division and PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kern County investigators could not identify suspects in the case or determine a motive for the attack. But their report notes that deputies and a PG&E worker, who arrived at the substation shortly after problems at the substation were reported, noticed a car abandoned about a quarter-mile away on Highway 46.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11955153\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11955153\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"Hanging electrical equipment connected to power lines.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/230707-PGE-ATTACK-01-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E’s Goose Lake substation, near Wasco in Kern County, was attacked last July. A spokesperson for PG&E said the company has spent $2 million so far on ongoing repairs. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California Public Utilities Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A deputy who inspected the car, which had been stolen the day before the attack in the Kern County town of Shafter, found footprints that headed in the direction of the substation. But the tracks vanished after a short distance. Sheriff’s investigators were unable to connect either the car or the tracks to the shooting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to questions about the case, a sheriff’s spokesperson said in an email late last month that the investigation “has been inactivated pending further leads.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E emphasized in reply to KQED’s question that it takes its responsibility seriously to ensure safety around its electrical facilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have security measures in place, and we are constantly evaluating the security of all of our facilities,” said company spokesperson Matt Nauman in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nauman added that so far PG&E has spent $2 million on ongoing repairs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our forecast is that the total cost will be approximately $5.9 million,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The incident is one of several that have targeted \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101891276/how-can-pge-navigate-rising-costs-extreme-weather-and-modernizing-the-grid\">PG&E’s electricity infrastructure\u003c/a> in the last year and comes amid an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101891525/how-vulnerable-is-our-power-grid-2\">increase in attacks on power sites\u003c/a> throughout California and the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to data from the U.S. Department of Energy, California utilities reported a total of 31 incidents of vandalism to their property from Jan. 1, 2022, through March 31 of this year. Another 14 incidents were classified as actual physical attacks on facilities or “suspicious activity” meant to degrade power operations. That compares with just three such incidents reported statewide in 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal data indicates that only a handful of the reported incidents, like the one in Kern County, have resulted in power outages.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Two months after the Kern County incident, someone shot and damaged nine PG&E transformers in rural Butte County, south of Chico. In late February, PG&E told the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office that it had recently discovered a transformer damaged by gunfire near the Sutter Bypass, southwest of Yuba City. FBI officials have said the agency is aware of all three incidents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most widely publicized recent attack on power facilities in Northern California came to light in March when San José police arrested a man they say set off bombs that damaged a pair of PG&E substations in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These incidents came nearly a decade after a sniper attack on a major PG&E transmission complex in South San José that caused serious damage. The April 2013 incident caused an estimated $15 million in damage, attracted national attention and prompted state legislation aimed at improving security for electricity infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-jose-city-workers-threaten-strike-as-negotiations-head-to-mediation",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#correction\">This story contains a correction.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A coalition of over 4,000 workers for the city of San José are threatening to go on strike if the city does not meet their demands for higher wages, increased paid parental leave and other benefit enhancements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mef101.org/\">MEF-AFSCME Local 101\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ifpte21.org/\">IFPTE Local 21\u003c/a>, which represent a wide array of city workers from airport personnel to architects, have been in contract negotiations with the city since mid-March. But the unions declared an impasse late last month, after all parties made their last, best and final offers, and failed to come to an agreement. The unions’ contracts expired on June 30.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sticking points in the talks center on pay raises that the unions argue are needed to reverse what they call an “employee staffing and retention crisis.” San José reports it currently has a 13.3% vacancy rate with 860 positions unfilled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union officials refer to San José as a “training ground” where people gain skills working for the city and then quickly leave for neighboring municipalities that can pay more or offer better benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was contacted by three local agencies and was told, ‘Hey, our application process is opening soon, you should apply,’” said Nick Rovetto, referring to his time as a community service officer for the city. “If an employee is contacted by another agency, or if they see another agency is offering a significantly higher pay rate, lower workload or better work environment, it’s difficult to overlook that enticement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rovetto now works as a building code enforcement officer for the city. He’s also vice president of MEF-AFSCME Local 101. He says understaffing is severely affecting his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it be remodeling or just building a project in general, going through the building division … you’re looking at a process that’s going to take at least a year’s time, and that’s just to get a permit to initiate building,” said Rovetto. “When San José was not experiencing the severe recruitment and retention issues it’s currently experiencing, the entire process could be completed in approximately three to five months.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José Mayor Matt Mahan disputes that the city is not an “employer of choice.”[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Nick Rovetto, vice president, MEF-AFSCME Local 101\"]‘I know city of San José employees that are living in vehicles because they cannot afford rent in this immediate area and they can’t afford to commute hours to get to their homes.’[/pullquote]“It’s simply not true that San José is less competitive,” said Mahan. “If you look at the city of Santa Clara, which has very strong tax revenue and the ability to pay more than the city of San José for many roles, their current vacancy rate is nearly 17%. Ours is closer to 13%.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions are asking for wage increases over the next three years, including 7% in the first year, 6% in the second year and 5% in the third year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city is offering 2% less: 5% in the first year, 4% in the second year and 3% in the third year. The unions also want eight weeks of paid parental leave, while the city is offering four.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/99612/638233850042430000\">wage increase comparison survey\u003c/a> from the city of San José of 16 other comparable cities and counties shows that San José’s proposal would make MEF worker wage increases slightly above average for the first year and slightly below average for the second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar survey for proposed IFPTE wage increases shows the raises would be slightly above average for the first two years. Survey results for both unions for the third year are still largely incomplete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, in a statement on their website, MEF refutes the accuracy of the survey, saying “the City fails to point out what every staff person working for the City already knows, that in most cases, those agencies pay much more than San José to begin with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n\u003cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Urgent staffing crisis in San Jose! Vital public service positions remain vacant leaving crucial services unattended. The city can only recruit so many positions at once but has priority for a speech writer for \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MattMahanSJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MattMahanSJ\u003c/a> paying 129k. Sacrificing essential staff for this, Matt? \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/HfaeNIImSS\">pic.twitter.com/HfaeNIImSS\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— MEF-AFSCME (@sjmef101) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sjmef101/status/1677487044652838912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 8, 2023\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José has not seen a government employee strike since 2007, when city building inspectors staged a nearly two-week strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A strike could not only impact summer travel, it would impact the ability of 911 and fire response times, and the ability for parks to be cleaned up and libraries to operate,” said Jean Cohen, executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council. “It’s a big deal to go on strike, and we’d like to see the mayor take it equally as seriously so we can avoid one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MEF Vice President Rovetto admits that the 2% difference in wages currently stalling the contract negotiations likely won’t be enough to improve staffing and retention at the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do not believe that 2% is going to be the thing that stops employees from leaving, but I think it is going to be a huge step forward to addressing this problem,” said Rovetto, who adds that he has co-workers who sleep in their cars because they can neither afford to live in the city where they work nor commute back to their home on a daily basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next step in negotiations is for both unions to enter into mediation with the city, assisted by the Public Employment Relations Board. Mediation is scheduled for July 12 with MEF and July 14 with IFPTE members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I certainly hope that our labor partners are willing to come to mediation with an open mind, and that the city’s offer is fair and is balancing the needs of both our employees, our residents and our taxpayers,” said Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on the same day that MEF enters mediation, they are also planning a “strike school” to prepare members to strike if needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A union official says nearly 1,000 union members have signed a petition indicating they are ready to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do believe our members are at the point where that 2% is something they are more than willing to fight for,” said Rovetto. “I can only speak from my understanding of conversations that I’ve had with members, but I think [striking] is something that is a very realistic possibility if 2% is that sticking point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca id=\"correction\">\u003c/a>July 16: An earlier version of this story stated San José had not had a government employee strike in over two decades. This story has been corrected to reflect that there was a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/12/11/deal-ends-san-jose-inspectors-strike/?clearUserState=true?\">strike in 2007\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#correction\">This story contains a correction.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A coalition of over 4,000 workers for the city of San José are threatening to go on strike if the city does not meet their demands for higher wages, increased paid parental leave and other benefit enhancements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mef101.org/\">MEF-AFSCME Local 101\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://ifpte21.org/\">IFPTE Local 21\u003c/a>, which represent a wide array of city workers from airport personnel to architects, have been in contract negotiations with the city since mid-March. But the unions declared an impasse late last month, after all parties made their last, best and final offers, and failed to come to an agreement. The unions’ contracts expired on June 30.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sticking points in the talks center on pay raises that the unions argue are needed to reverse what they call an “employee staffing and retention crisis.” San José reports it currently has a 13.3% vacancy rate with 860 positions unfilled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union officials refer to San José as a “training ground” where people gain skills working for the city and then quickly leave for neighboring municipalities that can pay more or offer better benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was contacted by three local agencies and was told, ‘Hey, our application process is opening soon, you should apply,’” said Nick Rovetto, referring to his time as a community service officer for the city. “If an employee is contacted by another agency, or if they see another agency is offering a significantly higher pay rate, lower workload or better work environment, it’s difficult to overlook that enticement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rovetto now works as a building code enforcement officer for the city. He’s also vice president of MEF-AFSCME Local 101. He says understaffing is severely affecting his work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it be remodeling or just building a project in general, going through the building division … you’re looking at a process that’s going to take at least a year’s time, and that’s just to get a permit to initiate building,” said Rovetto. “When San José was not experiencing the severe recruitment and retention issues it’s currently experiencing, the entire process could be completed in approximately three to five months.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José Mayor Matt Mahan disputes that the city is not an “employer of choice.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I know city of San José employees that are living in vehicles because they cannot afford rent in this immediate area and they can’t afford to commute hours to get to their homes.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s simply not true that San José is less competitive,” said Mahan. “If you look at the city of Santa Clara, which has very strong tax revenue and the ability to pay more than the city of San José for many roles, their current vacancy rate is nearly 17%. Ours is closer to 13%.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The unions are asking for wage increases over the next three years, including 7% in the first year, 6% in the second year and 5% in the third year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The city is offering 2% less: 5% in the first year, 4% in the second year and 3% in the third year. The unions also want eight weeks of paid parental leave, while the city is offering four.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/99612/638233850042430000\">wage increase comparison survey\u003c/a> from the city of San José of 16 other comparable cities and counties shows that San José’s proposal would make MEF worker wage increases slightly above average for the first year and slightly below average for the second.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar survey for proposed IFPTE wage increases shows the raises would be slightly above average for the first two years. Survey results for both unions for the third year are still largely incomplete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, in a statement on their website, MEF refutes the accuracy of the survey, saying “the City fails to point out what every staff person working for the City already knows, that in most cases, those agencies pay much more than San José to begin with.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n\u003cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Urgent staffing crisis in San Jose! Vital public service positions remain vacant leaving crucial services unattended. The city can only recruit so many positions at once but has priority for a speech writer for \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MattMahanSJ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MattMahanSJ\u003c/a> paying 129k. Sacrificing essential staff for this, Matt? \u003ca href=\"https://t.co/HfaeNIImSS\">pic.twitter.com/HfaeNIImSS\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>— MEF-AFSCME (@sjmef101) \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/sjmef101/status/1677487044652838912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 8, 2023\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003c/script>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José has not seen a government employee strike since 2007, when city building inspectors staged a nearly two-week strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A strike could not only impact summer travel, it would impact the ability of 911 and fire response times, and the ability for parks to be cleaned up and libraries to operate,” said Jean Cohen, executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council. “It’s a big deal to go on strike, and we’d like to see the mayor take it equally as seriously so we can avoid one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>MEF Vice President Rovetto admits that the 2% difference in wages currently stalling the contract negotiations likely won’t be enough to improve staffing and retention at the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do not believe that 2% is going to be the thing that stops employees from leaving, but I think it is going to be a huge step forward to addressing this problem,” said Rovetto, who adds that he has co-workers who sleep in their cars because they can neither afford to live in the city where they work nor commute back to their home on a daily basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next step in negotiations is for both unions to enter into mediation with the city, assisted by the Public Employment Relations Board. Mediation is scheduled for July 12 with MEF and July 14 with IFPTE members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I certainly hope that our labor partners are willing to come to mediation with an open mind, and that the city’s offer is fair and is balancing the needs of both our employees, our residents and our taxpayers,” said Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on the same day that MEF enters mediation, they are also planning a “strike school” to prepare members to strike if needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A union official says nearly 1,000 union members have signed a petition indicating they are ready to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do believe our members are at the point where that 2% is something they are more than willing to fight for,” said Rovetto. “I can only speak from my understanding of conversations that I’ve had with members, but I think [striking] is something that is a very realistic possibility if 2% is that sticking point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca id=\"correction\">\u003c/a>July 16: An earlier version of this story stated San José had not had a government employee strike in over two decades. This story has been corrected to reflect that there was a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2007/12/11/deal-ends-san-jose-inspectors-strike/?clearUserState=true?\">strike in 2007\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "SF, San José Mayors Push to Fund Shelters as Pressure Builds on Encampments",
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"content": "\u003cp>A growing number of California mayors are pushing for a realignment of homelessness spending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">toward shelters and temporary housing\u003c/a> in the face of political pressure to clear encampments and deliver visible reductions of people experiencing homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that shift has a trade-off: In a world of limited and often dwindling local dollars, more money for short-term solutions means less funding for permanent housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This dynamic has led to pitched budget battles this month in the Bay Area’s two largest cities, with Mayors London Breed in San Francisco and Matt Mahan in San José pushing for more voter-approved homelessness dollars to go toward temporary housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[ad fullwidth]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mayors are grappling with the legal reality that making housing available is a prerequisite for clearing tents — and they are bolstered by advancements in the quality of temporary shelters they can offer residents living on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We certainly need housing at all levels of affordability that will require public subsidy — not disagreeing with any of that,” said Mahan, who was dealt a setback this week \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">when his homelessness spending plan was voted down\u003c/a> by the city council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"San Francisco Mayor London Breed\"]‘The goal is to shift it towards what the needs are. And so that includes housing, it includes shelter because we need to immediately get people into a place to help decide where they belong.’[/pullquote]\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But as long as we have thousands of people living and literally dying on our streets, I think we have to lean into the faster-to-deploy, more cost-effective solutions for getting people into a safe, managed environment with the privacy and stability that they need to take advantage of supportive services,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pressures driving this pivot are familiar to mayors across the state and the nation. Thousands of unsheltered residents are suffering and dying on city sidewalks, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/blog/homeless-populations-are-rising-around-california/\">homelessness in California has risen since the pandemic at a higher rate than elsewhere in the country\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Breed, the shift is a political response to worsening street conditions. In her budget reveal at the end of May, she proposed a controversial move to help fund temporary shelters for unhoused adults by reallocating funding meant to build housing for families and young adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The goal is to shift it towards what the needs are. And so that includes housing, it includes shelter because we need to immediately get people into a place to help decide where they belong,” Breed said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953071\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953071\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with brown hair and a light blue dress stands with her hands folded in front of her. She is looking toward the left. She is standing in front of San Francisco's City Hall building listening to a speech.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor London Breed at San Francisco City Hall on Dec. 1, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass defeated a more pro-shelter opponent in last year’s mayoral election. But she has turned to temporary units and hotels as a way to ameliorate street homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, city officials are scrambling to implement a voter-approved measure requiring a certain level of shelter capacity. And hours after San José’s vote, the city council in San Diego approved \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/homelessness/story/2023-06-13/study-shows-san-diego-falls-far-short-of-shelter-beds-needed-to-house-homeless-people\">an encampment ban that will necessitate an expansion of shelter beds\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeing interest in the quick-build, particularly, because I think to really address the dangerous encampments, to try to do it as quickly as possible, you need this kind of mid-term or interim approach,” said Michael Lane, state policy director at SPUR, a Bay Area think tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s why you’re seeing some of these fights at the local level, because that is a relatively new development over the past few years to really say, yes, we need all of this,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lane shares in the consensus that cities need investments in permanent as well as temporary housing. But debates in San José and San Francisco have centered on limited pools of tax dollars dedicated to reducing homelessness.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=news_11952870 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/02/RS41773_007_KQED_HousingSanFrancisco_02102020_2898-qut-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/span>In that context, a dollar spent paying for an affordable apartment complex can’t be used for a shelter bed. And then, there’s the politics: Both Mahan and Breed are up for reelection next year and face “tremendous pressure” to ensure their city streets are clear of homelessness, Lane said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, Mahan’s homelessness spending plan ran into heavy opposition from members of the city council, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">instead opted to approve a more modest reallocation toward temporary beds\u003c/a>. Nevertheless, Mahan said that conversations with fellow mayors have led him to believe a broader “rebalancing” of homelessness spending priorities is underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe this is a trend across the state,” he said. “I suspect that we will see federal, state and county sources shift toward the solutions that are faster and more cost-effective and help us scale solutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also informing the mayors’ moves: the changing nature of shelter beds and the length of time people can stay in them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José has opened six interim housing sites that bear little resemblance to traditional congregate shelters. Instead of a cot in a large room, residents of the city’s emergency interim housing units can stay for months — and sometimes longer — in a prefabricated apartment, often with a private bathroom and on-site supportive services. When Breed announced her homelessness funding plan in May, she did so at the site of a tiny-home village on Gough Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>San Francisco mayor looks to redirect money for youth\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, the permanent housing funds that Breed wants to tap come from a hard-fought pot of money intended for youth and families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2018 ballot measure known as Proposition C, the Our City, Our Home tax, got just under a two-thirds majority vote to pass, opening it up to legal challenge — even after the effort got major financial backing from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. The measure eventually won out, and it taxes businesses making more than $50 million to raise an expected $300 million annually, half of which was earmarked for permanent housing by voter mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Facing a $780 million budget shortfall over the next two years, however, Breed’s new budget proposes the city reallocate roughly $60 million of Proposition C funding over the next two years — money that was intended to build permanent homes for young people age 18–24 who are experiencing homelessness, or families with children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, that funding may pay for the expansion of hours at two city homeless shelters, add 350 slots for temporary rental assistance and 75 units of supportive housing for adults, maintain the operation of a program helping people who live in oversize RVs to repair their vehicles, and to help fund a Bayview small-cabin shelter site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services, a service provider focused on unhoused youth, said the city already under-spends on young people as well as “transitional age youth,” who are between 18 and 25.[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Sherilyn Adams, executive director, Larkin Street Youth Services\"]‘The reason there are people living outside is because we have insufficient housing stock for young people. That only gets worse if we don’t bring on any new interventions.’[/pullquote]There were roughly 1,100 people under 25 years old living on San Francisco’s streets during the last point-in-time count.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason there are people living outside is because we have insufficient housing stock for young people. That only gets worse if we don’t bring on any new interventions” like building more housing, Adams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101893348/s-f-mayor-london-breed-on-how-to-prevent-an-economic-doom-loop-and-her-new-budget\">KQED’s Forum in early June\u003c/a>, Breed defended her budget reallocation, saying there aren’t any sites in San Francisco that have been identified yet to build housing for transitional-age youth. But Adams said that’s an easily fixable problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not having a building identified for transition-aged youth, so that they could allocate or use the existing Prop. C funds, does not mean that there’s not young people sleeping outside. It means you didn’t find a building. Unallocated is not the same as unneeded,” Adams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Legal and national pressures on mayors \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Part of the push for California mayors to favor shelters over permanent housing is the result of legal constraints. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/23748522/tent-encampments-martin-boise-homelessness-housing\">2018 Martin v. City of Boise federal appeals court decision\u003c/a> bars locales from clearing out tent encampments if they don’t have enough shelter to offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco doesn’t have enough shelter placements for the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city, which in December prompted U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu to place an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950967/advocates-for-unhoused-san-franciscans-say-encampment-sweeps-continue-despite-court-order-call-on-judge-to-rein-city-in\">injunction against encampment sweeps\u003c/a>.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Eric Tars, legal director, National Homelessness Law Center\"]‘When you have that increased street homelessness, in particular, you get this pressure for increased short-term, quick-fix kind of solutions. People want folks out of sight, out of mind.’[/pullquote]\u003c/span>Building more temporary shelters, then, is a pathway to gain the legal go-ahead to conduct more encampment sweeps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So while California is home to 30% of the U.S. unhoused population, the shift in funding allocation to favor temporary shelter is a national one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eric Tars, legal director of the National Homelessness Law Center, said in addition to the push being seen in Democratic California cities, many red states are contemplating the adoption of model legislation to put more funding toward short-term housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you have that increased street homelessness, in particular, you get this pressure for increased short-term, quick-fix kind of solutions. People want folks out of sight, out of mind. And so our elected officials are under pressure to kind of get those quick results,” Tars said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While he doesn’t think shelters are unnecessary — far from it — he does think the budget reallocations are shortsighted, and will actually increase homelessness rates in the long term.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Budget challenges ahead sharpen the debate\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Advocates involved in homelessness policy expect the tug-of-war between permanent and temporary housing to intensify — infusing future debates over shrinking local budgets and any attempts to bolster city coffers with new tax or bond money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, long-term budget projections are far from rosy. The Mayor’s Office confirmed its budget proposal still has structural deficits that will remain in future years and has large amounts of deficits plugged by one-time funding sources. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to debate the budget with the mayor throughout June and put forward a compromise budget proposal by July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953073\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut.jpg\" alt='A man with a beard wearing a suit and tie stands behind a podium labeled, \"San José Capital of Silicon Valley.\" He is surrounded by people holding various signs. Some read, \"Protect our Democracy.\"' width=\"1920\" height=\"1182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-800x493.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-1020x628.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-1536x946.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan said that conversations with fellow mayors have led him to believe a broader ‘rebalancing’ of homelessness spending priorities is underway. ‘I believe this is a trend across the state,’ he said. ‘I suspect that we will see federal, state and county sources shift toward the solutions that are faster and more cost-effective and help us scale solutions.’ \u003ccite>(Guy Marzorati/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The debate over homelessness spending in San José hinged on money created by Measure E, a voter-approved tax on expensive home sales in the city. Mahan proposed spending $40 million in Measure E funds on short-term solutions such as prefabricated homes and parking lots for RV dwellers. When that plan was voted down, he joined a council majority to support putting $29 million toward those interim programs — leaving the largest share of city homelessness dollars for permanent housing.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside label='More Stories on the Unhoused Community' tag='unhoused']\u003c/span>David Low, director of policy and communications for the nonprofit Destination: Home, said those funds are vital for the half-dozen permanent affordable housing projects awaiting Measure E funding next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have affordable housing projects ready to go, and without that funding, we will see further delays, increased costs, at a time we can afford neither, or the very serious risk that some of these projects will all fall apart together,” said Low, a former senior adviser to San José’s previous mayor, Sam Liccardo. “So it’s that real-world trade-off and that real-world opportunity we have to build more affordable housing that we don’t want to lose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those trade-offs are likely to dominate future budget discussions across the region and state, particularly as cities grapple with diminished general fund resources, said Lane, with SPUR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The push and pull between permanent and temporary housing will animate discussions about state housing aid from the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom. And the fight could be a key factor in determining the shape of a regional housing bond that could go before Bay Area voters next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To show that we actually have a way that we can move people from off the streets ultimately into permanent affordable housing … interim and mid-term types of solutions have to be a key part of that,” Lane said. “And I think that the voters will expect to see that as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tomiquia Moss, CEO of the nonprofit All Home, sees the injection of new revenue as an opportunity to break the growing homelessness policy binary. Her organization works with elected officials, businesses and nonprofits across the Bay Area to promote regional strategies to reduce homelessness. At the core is a belief in concurrent investments in both temporary and permanent housing, in addition to aid for renters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tax and bond measures are no easy lift, particularly across a nine-county region. But Moss, who previously worked for Mayors Ed Lee in San Francisco and Libby Schaaf in Oakland, said such an initiative could unlock that full portfolio of solutions — and unite the factions of homelessness spending around a single cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That, to me, is where you are growing the pie,” Moss added. “You are not robbing Peter to pay Paul. You are increasing resources for the entire region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "San José Mayor Matt Mahan and San Francisco’s London Breed are pushing to divert money from permanent affordable housing plans to temporary ones to aid the unhoused.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A growing number of California mayors are pushing for a realignment of homelessness spending \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">toward shelters and temporary housing\u003c/a> in the face of political pressure to clear encampments and deliver visible reductions of people experiencing homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that shift has a trade-off: In a world of limited and often dwindling local dollars, more money for short-term solutions means less funding for permanent housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This dynamic has led to pitched budget battles this month in the Bay Area’s two largest cities, with Mayors London Breed in San Francisco and Matt Mahan in San José pushing for more voter-approved homelessness dollars to go toward temporary housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mayors are grappling with the legal reality that making housing available is a prerequisite for clearing tents — and they are bolstered by advancements in the quality of temporary shelters they can offer residents living on the street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We certainly need housing at all levels of affordability that will require public subsidy — not disagreeing with any of that,” said Mahan, who was dealt a setback this week \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">when his homelessness spending plan was voted down\u003c/a> by the city council.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The goal is to shift it towards what the needs are. And so that includes housing, it includes shelter because we need to immediately get people into a place to help decide where they belong.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But as long as we have thousands of people living and literally dying on our streets, I think we have to lean into the faster-to-deploy, more cost-effective solutions for getting people into a safe, managed environment with the privacy and stability that they need to take advantage of supportive services,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The pressures driving this pivot are familiar to mayors across the state and the nation. Thousands of unsheltered residents are suffering and dying on city sidewalks, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/blog/homeless-populations-are-rising-around-california/\">homelessness in California has risen since the pandemic at a higher rate than elsewhere in the country\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Breed, the shift is a political response to worsening street conditions. In her budget reveal at the end of May, she proposed a controversial move to help fund temporary shelters for unhoused adults by reallocating funding meant to build housing for families and young adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The goal is to shift it towards what the needs are. And so that includes housing, it includes shelter because we need to immediately get people into a place to help decide where they belong,” Breed said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953071\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953071\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with brown hair and a light blue dress stands with her hands folded in front of her. She is looking toward the left. She is standing in front of San Francisco's City Hall building listening to a speech.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS52736_023_SanFrancisco_OmicronPressConference_12012021-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mayor London Breed at San Francisco City Hall on Dec. 1, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass defeated a more pro-shelter opponent in last year’s mayoral election. But she has turned to temporary units and hotels as a way to ameliorate street homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, city officials are scrambling to implement a voter-approved measure requiring a certain level of shelter capacity. And hours after San José’s vote, the city council in San Diego approved \u003ca href=\"https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/homelessness/story/2023-06-13/study-shows-san-diego-falls-far-short-of-shelter-beds-needed-to-house-homeless-people\">an encampment ban that will necessitate an expansion of shelter beds\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are seeing interest in the quick-build, particularly, because I think to really address the dangerous encampments, to try to do it as quickly as possible, you need this kind of mid-term or interim approach,” said Michael Lane, state policy director at SPUR, a Bay Area think tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that’s why you’re seeing some of these fights at the local level, because that is a relatively new development over the past few years to really say, yes, we need all of this,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lane shares in the consensus that cities need investments in permanent as well as temporary housing. But debates in San José and San Francisco have centered on limited pools of tax dollars dedicated to reducing homelessness.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>In that context, a dollar spent paying for an affordable apartment complex can’t be used for a shelter bed. And then, there’s the politics: Both Mahan and Breed are up for reelection next year and face “tremendous pressure” to ensure their city streets are clear of homelessness, Lane said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, Mahan’s homelessness spending plan ran into heavy opposition from members of the city council, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11952913/san-jose-council-approves-modest-shift-toward-temporary-homeless-housing\">instead opted to approve a more modest reallocation toward temporary beds\u003c/a>. Nevertheless, Mahan said that conversations with fellow mayors have led him to believe a broader “rebalancing” of homelessness spending priorities is underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I believe this is a trend across the state,” he said. “I suspect that we will see federal, state and county sources shift toward the solutions that are faster and more cost-effective and help us scale solutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also informing the mayors’ moves: the changing nature of shelter beds and the length of time people can stay in them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José has opened six interim housing sites that bear little resemblance to traditional congregate shelters. Instead of a cot in a large room, residents of the city’s emergency interim housing units can stay for months — and sometimes longer — in a prefabricated apartment, often with a private bathroom and on-site supportive services. When Breed announced her homelessness funding plan in May, she did so at the site of a tiny-home village on Gough Street.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>San Francisco mayor looks to redirect money for youth\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, the permanent housing funds that Breed wants to tap come from a hard-fought pot of money intended for youth and families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 2018 ballot measure known as Proposition C, the Our City, Our Home tax, got just under a two-thirds majority vote to pass, opening it up to legal challenge — even after the effort got major financial backing from Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. The measure eventually won out, and it taxes businesses making more than $50 million to raise an expected $300 million annually, half of which was earmarked for permanent housing by voter mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Facing a $780 million budget shortfall over the next two years, however, Breed’s new budget proposes the city reallocate roughly $60 million of Proposition C funding over the next two years — money that was intended to build permanent homes for young people age 18–24 who are experiencing homelessness, or families with children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, that funding may pay for the expansion of hours at two city homeless shelters, add 350 slots for temporary rental assistance and 75 units of supportive housing for adults, maintain the operation of a program helping people who live in oversize RVs to repair their vehicles, and to help fund a Bayview small-cabin shelter site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sherilyn Adams, executive director of Larkin Street Youth Services, a service provider focused on unhoused youth, said the city already under-spends on young people as well as “transitional age youth,” who are between 18 and 25.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The reason there are people living outside is because we have insufficient housing stock for young people. That only gets worse if we don’t bring on any new interventions.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>There were roughly 1,100 people under 25 years old living on San Francisco’s streets during the last point-in-time count.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reason there are people living outside is because we have insufficient housing stock for young people. That only gets worse if we don’t bring on any new interventions” like building more housing, Adams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101893348/s-f-mayor-london-breed-on-how-to-prevent-an-economic-doom-loop-and-her-new-budget\">KQED’s Forum in early June\u003c/a>, Breed defended her budget reallocation, saying there aren’t any sites in San Francisco that have been identified yet to build housing for transitional-age youth. But Adams said that’s an easily fixable problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not having a building identified for transition-aged youth, so that they could allocate or use the existing Prop. C funds, does not mean that there’s not young people sleeping outside. It means you didn’t find a building. Unallocated is not the same as unneeded,” Adams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Legal and national pressures on mayors \u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Part of the push for California mayors to favor shelters over permanent housing is the result of legal constraints. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/23748522/tent-encampments-martin-boise-homelessness-housing\">2018 Martin v. City of Boise federal appeals court decision\u003c/a> bars locales from clearing out tent encampments if they don’t have enough shelter to offer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco doesn’t have enough shelter placements for the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city, which in December prompted U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna M. Ryu to place an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11950967/advocates-for-unhoused-san-franciscans-say-encampment-sweeps-continue-despite-court-order-call-on-judge-to-rein-city-in\">injunction against encampment sweeps\u003c/a>.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘When you have that increased street homelessness, in particular, you get this pressure for increased short-term, quick-fix kind of solutions. People want folks out of sight, out of mind.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>Building more temporary shelters, then, is a pathway to gain the legal go-ahead to conduct more encampment sweeps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So while California is home to 30% of the U.S. unhoused population, the shift in funding allocation to favor temporary shelter is a national one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eric Tars, legal director of the National Homelessness Law Center, said in addition to the push being seen in Democratic California cities, many red states are contemplating the adoption of model legislation to put more funding toward short-term housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you have that increased street homelessness, in particular, you get this pressure for increased short-term, quick-fix kind of solutions. People want folks out of sight, out of mind. And so our elected officials are under pressure to kind of get those quick results,” Tars said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While he doesn’t think shelters are unnecessary — far from it — he does think the budget reallocations are shortsighted, and will actually increase homelessness rates in the long term.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Budget challenges ahead sharpen the debate\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Advocates involved in homelessness policy expect the tug-of-war between permanent and temporary housing to intensify — infusing future debates over shrinking local budgets and any attempts to bolster city coffers with new tax or bond money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, long-term budget projections are far from rosy. The Mayor’s Office confirmed its budget proposal still has structural deficits that will remain in future years and has large amounts of deficits plugged by one-time funding sources. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is expected to debate the budget with the mayor throughout June and put forward a compromise budget proposal by July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11953073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11953073\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut.jpg\" alt='A man with a beard wearing a suit and tie stands behind a podium labeled, \"San José Capital of Silicon Valley.\" He is surrounded by people holding various signs. Some read, \"Protect our Democracy.\"' width=\"1920\" height=\"1182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-800x493.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-1020x628.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-160x99.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS61499_IMG_4613-qut-1536x946.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan said that conversations with fellow mayors have led him to believe a broader ‘rebalancing’ of homelessness spending priorities is underway. ‘I believe this is a trend across the state,’ he said. ‘I suspect that we will see federal, state and county sources shift toward the solutions that are faster and more cost-effective and help us scale solutions.’ \u003ccite>(Guy Marzorati/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The debate over homelessness spending in San José hinged on money created by Measure E, a voter-approved tax on expensive home sales in the city. Mahan proposed spending $40 million in Measure E funds on short-term solutions such as prefabricated homes and parking lots for RV dwellers. When that plan was voted down, he joined a council majority to support putting $29 million toward those interim programs — leaving the largest share of city homelessness dollars for permanent housing.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>David Low, director of policy and communications for the nonprofit Destination: Home, said those funds are vital for the half-dozen permanent affordable housing projects awaiting Measure E funding next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have affordable housing projects ready to go, and without that funding, we will see further delays, increased costs, at a time we can afford neither, or the very serious risk that some of these projects will all fall apart together,” said Low, a former senior adviser to San José’s previous mayor, Sam Liccardo. “So it’s that real-world trade-off and that real-world opportunity we have to build more affordable housing that we don’t want to lose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those trade-offs are likely to dominate future budget discussions across the region and state, particularly as cities grapple with diminished general fund resources, said Lane, with SPUR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The push and pull between permanent and temporary housing will animate discussions about state housing aid from the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom. And the fight could be a key factor in determining the shape of a regional housing bond that could go before Bay Area voters next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To show that we actually have a way that we can move people from off the streets ultimately into permanent affordable housing … interim and mid-term types of solutions have to be a key part of that,” Lane said. “And I think that the voters will expect to see that as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tomiquia Moss, CEO of the nonprofit All Home, sees the injection of new revenue as an opportunity to break the growing homelessness policy binary. Her organization works with elected officials, businesses and nonprofits across the Bay Area to promote regional strategies to reduce homelessness. At the core is a belief in concurrent investments in both temporary and permanent housing, in addition to aid for renters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tax and bond measures are no easy lift, particularly across a nine-county region. But Moss, who previously worked for Mayors Ed Lee in San Francisco and Libby Schaaf in Oakland, said such an initiative could unlock that full portfolio of solutions — and unite the factions of homelessness spending around a single cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That, to me, is where you are growing the pie,” Moss added. “You are not robbing Peter to pay Paul. You are increasing resources for the entire region.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San José’s city council approved a budget Tuesday that aims to reduce street homelessness by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11942734/emergency-calls-complaints-are-down-near-san-joses-temporary-housing-sites-so-why-are-they-still-so-politically-risky\">shifting millions of dollars from permanent to temporary housing\u003c/a> — though the council rejected a larger pivot toward shelter funding advocated by Mayor Matt Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final vote on the city’s $5.2 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949797/in-controversial-plan-san-jose-mayor-seeks-to-use-homelessness-dollars-to-build-more-temporary-shelters-instead-of-permanent-housing\">came after weeks of debate over homelessness spending\u003c/a>. Mahan, who campaigned on a promise of reducing encampments, used this budget to argue that more prefabricated housing was needed to move the city’s 4,411 unsheltered residents off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many of his colleagues on the council feared that pulling money away from the construction of permanent housing would lead to affordable apartment projects dying on the vine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"medium\" align=\"right\" citation=\"Dontae Lartigue, founder and CEO, Razing the Bar\"]‘The problem is we’re not investing in the people that call San José their home, that were born here in this city and they can’t afford to live here.’[/pullquote]At the heart of the debate was how to spend $87 million in dedicated homelessness dollars left over from the current and previous fiscal years. Those funds were created through the passage of Measure E, an initiative passed by voters in 2020 that levies a tax on home sales of $2 million or more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The compromise reached after hours of negotiation on the council dais will put one-quarter of the unspent homelessness dollars, roughly $22 million, toward developing and operating temporary housing and shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We still have the full commitment to the low-income affordable housing that I think the voters wanted us to have,” said Councilmember David Cohen, who brokered the final deal, in an interview after the vote. “But it’s clear also that the residents in San José want swift and meaningful action for people who are unsheltered on the streets, and supporting interim housing is going to help us get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, the spending approved Tuesday allocates $93.2 million to build permanent affordable housing across a variety of income levels, $29.1 million for temporary housing and $7.4 million on aid and assistance for renters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan’s plan, which would have put $33 million in unspent Measure E funds toward short-term housing, was voted down by the council. While the mayor was able to find consensus around the idea that unhoused residents need faster, cheaper exit ramps out of encampments and creek beds, he couldn’t build a coalition to support anything more than a modest redirection of funds toward temporary units.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11952937\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A white man with a maroon sweater smiles as he looks past the camera. He has salt and pepper hair and is standing outdoors with trees behind him.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan in San José on Nov. 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Certainly disappointed it wasn’t more and I think we’ll be back to this conversation next year,” Mahan said. “But I think it’s certainly a move in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11949797,news_11942734\" label=\"Related Posts\"]Fierce pushback from the council and housing advocates has forced Mahan to pare back his proposals throughout the spring. Earlier this month, the mayor jettisoned \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949797/in-controversial-plan-san-jose-mayor-seeks-to-use-homelessness-dollars-to-build-more-temporary-shelters-instead-of-permanent-housing\">a plan that would have eliminated future Measure E funding\u003c/a> for permanent housing. Tuesday’s agreement distributes homelessness dollars in the upcoming 2023–24 fiscal year under the existing formula, putting roughly three-quarters of the $50 million in expected revenue toward constructing affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who represents East San José, said the mayor’s shelter strategy was being driven by short-term politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should not be considering quick wins that lack the investment necessary to impact lasting change,” Ortiz said. “It’s not the city council’s job to complete campaign promises or to help officials get reelected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949856\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11949856\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A bunk bed with black frame and mattresses covered in navy sheets is inside a small shipping container that was converted into temporary housing. A yellow door and a sink are seen just behind the bunk bed.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of a family home at Evans Lane, an interim housing facility located on city-owned land in San José, on Jan. 30, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote doesn’t answer the longer-term question of how to pay for all the homeless housing San José leaders are hoping to build. The city currently operates six interim housing sites with 628 beds, and is planning for many more. An analysis from San José’s budget director found that costs for temporary housing will begin to outpace dedicated funding by the end of the decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over the long haul, we’re going to have to dip into the general fund, unless we have a good economy and money keeps on coming in or we find alternative sources of funding,” said Councilmember Rosemary Kamei.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thus far, the slowing economy has had less impact on San José’s budget compared to the Bay Area’s other large cities. San José is entering the new fiscal year with a modest projected surplus of $35 million. Most of that windfall — $18.8 million — will be socked away for the next fiscal year, when city analysts project a deficit of that amount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan has had no problem getting approval for his other top spending priority: hiring more officers in the San José Police Department, in hopes of lowering response times to 911 calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His request has created 31 new positions, including 17 officers, two sergeants and one lieutenant with a projected start date of February 2025. Six new community service officers, who typically respond to lower-priority calls such as petty theft and vandalism, will be assigned to downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents who turned out to Tuesday’s meeting largely focused their comments on homelessness spending. That followed more than five hours of public comment on Measure E plans on Monday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dontae Lartigue, who runs Razing the Bar, a nonprofit providing mentoring for transitional-age youth, told the council that he’s benefited from living in subsidized housing for the last 11 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem is we’re not investing in the people that call San José their home, that were born here in this city and they can’t afford to live here,” Lartigue said. “If we stop investing in permanent supportive housing and try to divert funds into interim housing, we’re going to run into big problems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José resident Jenice Condie urged the council to get behind Mahan’s reallocation and give him an opportunity to realize a top campaign promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If it doesn’t work, we can always vote him out next time,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The council rejected Mayor Matt Mahan's plan to move even more money from permanent housing to shelter funding in the city budget.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San José’s city council approved a budget Tuesday that aims to reduce street homelessness by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11942734/emergency-calls-complaints-are-down-near-san-joses-temporary-housing-sites-so-why-are-they-still-so-politically-risky\">shifting millions of dollars from permanent to temporary housing\u003c/a> — though the council rejected a larger pivot toward shelter funding advocated by Mayor Matt Mahan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final vote on the city’s $5.2 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1 \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949797/in-controversial-plan-san-jose-mayor-seeks-to-use-homelessness-dollars-to-build-more-temporary-shelters-instead-of-permanent-housing\">came after weeks of debate over homelessness spending\u003c/a>. Mahan, who campaigned on a promise of reducing encampments, used this budget to argue that more prefabricated housing was needed to move the city’s 4,411 unsheltered residents off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many of his colleagues on the council feared that pulling money away from the construction of permanent housing would lead to affordable apartment projects dying on the vine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At the heart of the debate was how to spend $87 million in dedicated homelessness dollars left over from the current and previous fiscal years. Those funds were created through the passage of Measure E, an initiative passed by voters in 2020 that levies a tax on home sales of $2 million or more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The compromise reached after hours of negotiation on the council dais will put one-quarter of the unspent homelessness dollars, roughly $22 million, toward developing and operating temporary housing and shelter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We still have the full commitment to the low-income affordable housing that I think the voters wanted us to have,” said Councilmember David Cohen, who brokered the final deal, in an interview after the vote. “But it’s clear also that the residents in San José want swift and meaningful action for people who are unsheltered on the streets, and supporting interim housing is going to help us get there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, the spending approved Tuesday allocates $93.2 million to build permanent affordable housing across a variety of income levels, $29.1 million for temporary housing and $7.4 million on aid and assistance for renters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan’s plan, which would have put $33 million in unspent Measure E funds toward short-term housing, was voted down by the council. While the mayor was able to find consensus around the idea that unhoused residents need faster, cheaper exit ramps out of encampments and creek beds, he couldn’t build a coalition to support anything more than a modest redirection of funds toward temporary units.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11952937\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11952937\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A white man with a maroon sweater smiles as he looks past the camera. He has salt and pepper hair and is standing outdoors with trees behind him.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/06/RS59960_025_KQED_MattMahanSanJose_11082022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">San José Mayor Matt Mahan in San José on Nov. 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Certainly disappointed it wasn’t more and I think we’ll be back to this conversation next year,” Mahan said. “But I think it’s certainly a move in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Fierce pushback from the council and housing advocates has forced Mahan to pare back his proposals throughout the spring. Earlier this month, the mayor jettisoned \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11949797/in-controversial-plan-san-jose-mayor-seeks-to-use-homelessness-dollars-to-build-more-temporary-shelters-instead-of-permanent-housing\">a plan that would have eliminated future Measure E funding\u003c/a> for permanent housing. Tuesday’s agreement distributes homelessness dollars in the upcoming 2023–24 fiscal year under the existing formula, putting roughly three-quarters of the $50 million in expected revenue toward constructing affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Councilmember Peter Ortiz, who represents East San José, said the mayor’s shelter strategy was being driven by short-term politics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should not be considering quick wins that lack the investment necessary to impact lasting change,” Ortiz said. “It’s not the city council’s job to complete campaign promises or to help officials get reelected.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11949856\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11949856\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A bunk bed with black frame and mattresses covered in navy sheets is inside a small shipping container that was converted into temporary housing. A yellow door and a sink are seen just behind the bunk bed.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/05/RS62452_022_KQED_SanJoseInterimHousing_01302023-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The interior of a family home at Evans Lane, an interim housing facility located on city-owned land in San José, on Jan. 30, 2023. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tuesday’s vote doesn’t answer the longer-term question of how to pay for all the homeless housing San José leaders are hoping to build. The city currently operates six interim housing sites with 628 beds, and is planning for many more. An analysis from San José’s budget director found that costs for temporary housing will begin to outpace dedicated funding by the end of the decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over the long haul, we’re going to have to dip into the general fund, unless we have a good economy and money keeps on coming in or we find alternative sources of funding,” said Councilmember Rosemary Kamei.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thus far, the slowing economy has had less impact on San José’s budget compared to the Bay Area’s other large cities. San José is entering the new fiscal year with a modest projected surplus of $35 million. Most of that windfall — $18.8 million — will be socked away for the next fiscal year, when city analysts project a deficit of that amount.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mahan has had no problem getting approval for his other top spending priority: hiring more officers in the San José Police Department, in hopes of lowering response times to 911 calls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His request has created 31 new positions, including 17 officers, two sergeants and one lieutenant with a projected start date of February 2025. Six new community service officers, who typically respond to lower-priority calls such as petty theft and vandalism, will be assigned to downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents who turned out to Tuesday’s meeting largely focused their comments on homelessness spending. That followed more than five hours of public comment on Measure E plans on Monday evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dontae Lartigue, who runs Razing the Bar, a nonprofit providing mentoring for transitional-age youth, told the council that he’s benefited from living in subsidized housing for the last 11 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The problem is we’re not investing in the people that call San José their home, that were born here in this city and they can’t afford to live here,” Lartigue said. “If we stop investing in permanent supportive housing and try to divert funds into interim housing, we’re going to run into big problems.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San José resident Jenice Condie urged the council to get behind Mahan’s reallocation and give him an opportunity to realize a top campaign promise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"order": 8
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},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
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"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
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"order": 9
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
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"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
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"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
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},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"masters-of-scale": {
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"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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