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For our tribe, the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, Betabel is much, much more than a vacant lot conveniently located by a Highway 101 offramp. Positioned at the confluence of the San Benito and Pajaro Rivers, where earthquake faults also meet, the Betabel area is a place of power where, for countless generations, our people came together for healing and renewal.

A fundamental foundation for Christian believers is commemorated on Easter Sunday (John 11:24-26). Jesus Christ’s resurrection follows 40 days of reflection, atonement, sacrifices and fasting that began on Ash Wednesday.  As I mentioned in the first “From My Perspective” column, I was raised Jewish, so...

In California’s fight against homelessness, the Governor just announced a $12 billion plan to end homelessness in five years. Combine that with Santa Clara County’s 5-Year Plan to End Homelessness and one might think we are making progress. But it seems the more money...

With my support, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority held two community meetings in Gilroy to introduce the possibility of and receive feedback on an affordable housing project at the Gilroy Transit Center. However, the project described in their request for approval to authorize...

The end of a semester is a stressed time for all our students. From tests to essays to presentations and projects, Gilroy students are being put through their paces.  My student interns who go to Gavilan College regale me with stories of all their end-of-semester...

Gilroy has made strides to plan and promote housing opportunities for our workforce that are typically more affordable. This is needed more now than ever before.  The State recently released new income guidelines: a Santa Clara County household of one whose income is $92,250 is...

Since Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first State of the State address six years ago, California has stopped pursuing a high-speed rail system that actually connects the Bay Area to Southern California, as was promised to voters in 2008. And in that void, politicians, pundits and...

Growing up in San Jose, public transportation was not as widespread and commonly used as other cities. While many use and rely on the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), this system is not as efficient or as popular as it should be.  The main choice of...

President Joe Biden is right. The massive tax cuts under the Trump administration turned out to be nothing more than a giant giveaway to the world’s largest corporations.  Mega corporations like FedEx, Nike, General Motors, Ford, Chevron and dozens of others have paid nothing or...

Whenever I think of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, two things come to mind: sales and whitewashing. As a capitalist nation, we will frequently throw any social and moral awareness behind a paywall regardless of the original person’s message. The irony of an MLK sale...