Santa Clara County Local News

Sunnyvale is looking to offer safe parking for homeless residents living in their vehicles, and city officials are working on what that entails.
Sunnyvale wants feedback on a policy that would set parameters for potential safe parking programs, which the city has had on its docket since 2020. City employees want to discuss the possibility with the Sunnyvale City Council in late September, with the hopes of approving a plan in the winter.
Amanda Sztoltz, the city’s homeless services manager, hosted a meeting earlier this month to gather public input on the potential policy. Initial feedback and questions revolved around waste management, amenities for the programs and safety of the program members and neighbors.
“I just started in January, and this is the first thing I started working on,” Sztoltz told San José Spotlight. “It’s something that council and city staff, including myself, feel is very important, to especially get an ordinance passed so there can be an allowable program in our community.”
Sunnyvale has about 471 unhoused residents, according to a 2023 point-in-time count, though the tally is considered to be an undercount. Of that, roughly 146 people live in their vehicles. Stoltz said accurately counting people living in vehicles is especially difficult, as they’re able to move around and often have “a stronger desire to remain invisible.”

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Congresswoman Anna Eshoo said she learned President Joe Biden was giving up his campaign for reelection the same way everyone else did.

Carol Wang, the CEO and face of the entrepreneurial team behind Gardenia Los Gatos—a new café, bar and restaurant that will soon debut at the site that most recently was the Palms—long dreamed of having her own coffee house.

Democratic Party elites successfully executed a bloodless coup in getting President Joe Biden to step down as a candidate in November. We can hope the current euphoria expressed by those anointing Vice President Kamala Harris lasts long enough to get her elected. I am not here to bury our party, but to praise Joe Biden.
As a longtime Biden supporter — I was with him in 1987, 2008 and a delegate to the national convention in 2020 — we have been fortunate to have a steady, guiding hand for the last four years. The chaos caused by former President Donald Trump was massive, nationally and internationally. Biden restored some faith in American leadership.
Think about what the world would look like had Trump been reelected in 2020. We could be in a depression and possibly still in a pandemic. Biden rapidly distributed the COVID vaccine to help end the pandemic. Trump had no plan. Biden re-established relations with our allies and stood up to dictators. Biden stood up to China, expanded NATO, supported Ukraine and is trying to bring peace to the Middle East. Trump could give away Taiwan and surrender Ukraine.
Biden inherited a mess of an economy, but his policies including the Infrastructure Act, Inflation Reduction Act and CHIPS Act have led to the United States leading the world back. Trump couldn’t do any of that — the convicted felon has no plan, except for the 2025 Project which is a national betrayal of all of our values.
Now Harris inherits all of what Biden accomplished and the agenda he has already set forth. I have no doubt that Harris can be president. My worry is that all Biden's initiatives and significant achievements will be stalled, as well as the uncertainty of Harris' national campaign.
Many of us still believe Biden was the strongest candidate against Trump, despite his showing in the first debate. A greatly exaggerated, but admittedly bad performance. Pundits and our party elite reacted as if they were certified neurologists claiming him to be “too old” for the job. In short, they turned on their own. A jarring portrayal, especially if you juxtapose the leadership of Republicans who came to the defense of their candidate, a convicted felon.
Clearly, Biden knows more than his detractors about the job, but the American public must be entertained. It’s not enough that he does his job well, he must amuse us. His critics cite his drop in the polls, a self-fulfilling effect of the circular firing squad they created. Love to have seen the polls if the leadership had defended him.
Now we must rely on Harris to entertain us. We all hope she does well. But if we lose this election, the party elites can blame themselves for that loss. This election in now on their shoulders, not Biden’s. Given that Trump is a felon, sexual predator, fraud and liar, Harris should win handily. Some of us believe Biden would still have won in a landslide.
It is exciting for the Bay Area to have its first presidential candidate since John C. Fremont. We hope Harris can win. I know Biden would have won.
San José Spotlight columnist Rich Robinson is a political consultant, attorney and author of “The Shadow Candidate.” His columns appear every fourth Wednesday of the month.
The post Robinson: Joe Biden exits, Kamala Harris ascends appeared first on San José Spotlight.

As I sip a Gypsy Queen at Carmel’s Cypress Inn, I think about getting tossed and turned, hours earlier, by the crisp and nearly onshore emerald waves down the hill from this hotel once owned by Doris Day. I look up at the five framed CDs presented to Terry Melcher, Day’s son, by the Recording Industry Association of America for 500,000 sales of “Good Vibrations, 30 Years Of The Beach Boys,” hanging above.

The Beach Boys came on the scene in 1961, straight outta Hawthorne, California. The group’s songs embodied the myth of a youthful and carefree Southern California existence, one filled with surfboards, cars and pretty girls.

In an April 11 interview, Los Gatos Town Councilmember Rob Moore—who was seeking a delegate spot on the guest list at the Democratic National Convention—said unless something “drastic” shifted, he expected President Joe Biden to continue seeking reelection.

The cabbage rolls, or lahana sarmasi ($17), at the new Turkish restaurant Esnaf aren’t like the ones my grandmother used to make. The recipe she used was handed down from her mother-in-law, a Ukrainian émigré. She pan-fried golumpki until the skins blistered.

This year’s Fiesta del Mariachi, unfolding at the School of Arts and Culture at Mexican Heritage Plaza, can be understood as the latest iteration in a long history of musical programming.

Watching the Biden announcement on social media in real time, followed by the ascension of Kamala Harris to the top of the ticket, was a rather dizzying affair.

The ghost of Frida Kahlo has commandeered the fireplace at Flying Pig Pub and the veggie burritos are better than before.

Author Rob Brezsny offers insights for all signs of the horoscope in his weekly astrology column.

Assemblymember Evan Low is living outside his state legislative district in Campbell, raising questions about whether the lawmaker — and now congressional candidate — has turned his back on the people he was elected to serve.
Campaign finance and voter registration records reviewed by San José Spotlight link Low to a condo on Campisi Way in Campbell — which falls outside his current Assembly District 26. Low lived there before redistricting three years ago pushed him outside his Assembly district. He agreed not to run against Assemblymember Marc Berman in Assembly District 23 and said he'd move in with his dad in Sunnyvale to qualify for the redrawn Assembly District 26.
Low confirmed living in Campbell in a message to San José Spotlight, but did not say how long he's been there.
A source with knowledge of the situation said Low moved back to Campbell when he jumped into the Congressional District 16 race late last year. He will face off with former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo in November to replace retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo.
Political analysts said Low living outside his district sends a damaging message.
"It could be interpreted that he’s just moved on. That he’s focused on his new position and he must be pretty confident he will be elected. It also could signal to voters — the ones he’s currently supposed to be serving — that he’s already moved on from them," Mindy Romero, a political sociologist and founder of the Center for Inclusive Democracy, told San José Spotlight. "We don't know what’s in his head or heart, but those optics certainly aren't great."
A campaign spokesperson said Low is committed to Assembly District 26. The campaign added that Low lives in the congressional district he's vying for — a criticism he's made against his political opponent who does not.
"Evan is proud to live in the district he is running to represent, just as he did when he ran for the Assembly. From the launch of the campaign Evan was clear that his commitment to representing the communities of Assembly District 26 would never waiver," the spokesperson told San José Spotlight. "Sam Liccardo on the other hand doesn’t live in the district he is running to represent."

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Mike Recine’s material is dark without seeming like it’s trying to be dark. He’s got an East Coast everyman sensibility that includes a natural penchant for looking at what’s bleak head-on with an attitude landing somewhere between bravado and nonchalance. Whether discussing his brother’s disability or presenting a terrifying reimagining of Mrs. Doubtfire, the comedian isn’t daring anyone to be offended but rather inviting them to jump in and experience life—sharp corners and all. It’s refreshing to hear a New York accent that sounds like typical Brooklyn-born family members swapping stories without the cartoonish “I’m walkin’ here” caricature.

Five places in the South Bay and Peninsula to keep cool by communing with nature wetly.

Stray Cats were pioneers in the ’80s revival of roots rock ’n’ roll. With their pompadours, period instruments and production values recalling classic Sun Records sides, the rockabilly trio reintroduced a key part of the American musical experience to a new generation. But the group (guitarist Brian Setzer, bassist Lee Rocker and drummer Slim Jim Phantom) brought punk energy to the music, and that fresh approach kept Stray Cats from being tagged as mere revivalists. Live and onstage remains the best way to experience the rocking essence of Stray Cats fully.

San Francisco-based bassist Marcus Shelby has a deep and prestigious résumé. His work spans many genres, including jazz, blues, opera and scoring for the stage. His latest release, the soundtrack Harriet Tubman: Through the Eyes of Children, continues with a multidisciplinary approach, applying musical vision to a story connecting the celebrated hero and abolitionist with modern struggles for equality and justice. This live Stanford Jazz Workshop performance will feature new music from Shelby’s Variations on a Variant, his musical response to changes wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each year, the acclaimed Lick Observatory at the summit of San Jose’s Mount Hamilton hosts a series of musicians and scientists for its Music of the Spheres summer concert series. Besides a live concert, the show features a fascinating astronomy lecture and viewing opportunities through the 36-inch Great Refractor telescope and the 40-inch Nickel Telescope. This year’s theme/topic is “We Are Stardust: The Story of Cosmic Alchemy.” To pair with the theme, the observatory will host acclaimed musician Jimbo Scott and his band, best known for their sonic exploration of Americana, touching upon genres as diverse as bluegrass and soul.