Sure, California can swear off fossil fuels and shut down its nuclear plants, powering itself entirely with wind, water, and sun. 

Recently, U.S. and local housing and government leaders traveled overseas through the Global Policy Leadership Academy’s Social Housing Field Study to Austria to witness Vienna’s housing model at work.

It has been reported that the Trump administration is ready to allow drilling off the California coast.

“Writing is the social act of the solitary man.” Tobias Wolff shared this reflection on Faulkner at IAVA’s inaugural Beyond the Uniform speaker series which launched this month in Atherton, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump rarely agree on anything. Their feud has played out for years on immigration raids, wildfire relief and the moral direction of American democracy. 

In San Mateo County, we proudly celebrate our natural beauty, diversity and innovation. Behind our scenic shoreline, bustling downtowns and tree-lined neighborhoods lies a quieter and even more essential force: the small, locally owned businesses that give our communities their character, re…

In San Mateo County, we pride ourselves on being a place of innovation. We build companies that change the world. We cultivate creativity, invest in early learning and celebrate diversity. Yet when you look closely at how our students are learning to read, you see a story that does not match…

Silicon Valley is known worldwide for innovation, talent and economic strength. It is a region where bold ideas take shape and industries are born. Yet it is also a region where far too many of our neighbors struggle to meet their most basic needs.

A few days ago a friend said to me: “You’re an architect. What do you think about this whole East Wing flap?”

I live in a small town in Northern California. I’ve given back to my community as a volunteer, planning commissioner and councilmember, currently serving as Brisbane’s mayor.

With deep admiration and respect for the fantastic staff at Peninsula Clean Energy and for my fellow dedicated members of PCE’s Community Advisory Committee, I am disappointed: the PCE Board of Directors will soon consider “sunsetting” the CAC.

Certain buildings reveal more than bricks and mortar. They show who we believe deserves investment. In San Mateo, the Martin Luther King Community Center tells that story. 

The hum of an electric motor is becoming as common as the rattle of a skateboard in Foster City, as children and teens increasingly embrace the speed and convenience of e-bikes. They zip along the Levee Pedway, cruise to school and meet friends across town with a new, powerful independence.

As a former councilmember and mayor of the city of San Mateo, I advocated strenuously — and successfully — for an increase in the minimum wage. This was done in an effort to uphold the dignity and improve the lives of many worthy members of our local community who were struggling to just get by.

Our sacred responsibility of living in a democracy is demanding a great deal of us these days.

When Congress failed to fund the government at the beginning of October, students seeking federal financial aid were plunged into a bureaucratic nightmare. As political leaders bicker over a spending bill, California students and families are left to navigate a financial aid process made eve…

During my recent hectic week in London, I managed to attend a delightful program at The Royal Albert Hall. The Scottish Philharmonic Orchestra performed Brahms Symphony No. 2, conducted by Ilan Volkov.

The people of our country built the White House shortly after our Revolutionary War with England, and in 1792, the cornerstone of the White House was laid.

San Mateo is on the verge of one of the largest redevelopment projects in its history. The longtime owner of the Hillsdale Mall, Bohannon Development Company, has brought in Northwood Investors, an out-of-state private equity firm. Together, they are big developers with big pockets, looking …

In an era saturated with data, opinions and noise, it’s easy to question your inner voice. We’re taught to defer to experts, wait for consensus and downplay our instincts in the name of objectivity. But history shows that meaningful change often begins with a quiet sense that something isn’t…

Indigenous peoples are believed to have migrated from Asia across the Bering Sea becoming the earliest Native Americans in what we now call North America.  Since the Europeans colonized the early states, we have been a nation of multi-cultural immigrants. Immigration has been the cornerstone…

In my vision of a perfect future in San Mateo, Samaritan House is out of business. Sounds harsh, right? 

Is mental health care considered “care” in the first place? One in five U.S. adults struggle with mental illness and, for many individuals, receiving care begins in crisis state events.

I recently attended a community event sponsored by our Foster City Chamber of Commerce and several local visionary investor partners, titled “State of the Peninsula.” The event promised open dialogue about housing, workforce development, tourism, regional messaging and the long-term vitality…

Right now, as you read this, there’s likely a lithium-ion battery within three feet of you. In your pocket. On your desk. Charging nearby.

The government shutdown isn’t just some abstract fight in Washington. It’s happening right here in San Mateo County in our homes, our hospitals and our paychecks.

What is business? At its core, business is possibility in action. From the lemonade stand on the corner to the global boardroom, from Etsy stores to Amazon’s vast marketplace, business is everywhere. It transcends geography, politics, religion and everything in between. Business builds commu…

My mom is no stranger to hardship. She raised me as a single mother working long hours, living paycheck to paycheck, while facing the loss of three sons — one to drowning, one to an aneurysm and one to an epileptic seizure. 

Little did Larry Kistler know that a yard sale find in Oregon would lead to a lifelong journey that is now about building community connections right here in San Mateo.

In the mid-1950s, the Broadway show “Peter Pan” was broadcast on national TV. I enjoyed musicals as a child, and this one happily encircled my wintery end-of-the-year life for the two years it was televised. It had characters who gloriously flew about the stage — on our black and white TV th…

One-hundred-and-seventy-five years ago, our state was the prize in an unjust war thats aim was to extend slavery beyond the plantations of the South to the valleys of California. Fifty years later, those valleys were dominated by corporate agriculture (wheat, cattle, cotton and oranges) and …

When my siblings and I sat down to dinner as kids, Mom would say, “Take what you want, but eat what you take.” 

The state Legislature delivered a historic win for San Mateo County by passing Senate Bill 63 this past weekend.

I don’t love to admit this, but in fifth grade, my parent-teacher conference was met with concern about my lack of communication in the classroom.

How do Americans find a way to unite around the belief that violence is not an acceptable form of disagreement?

I can’t think of a greater civic treasure in our community than the San Mateo Public Library — or as we call it in my house, “that magical place where the WiFi never runs out and someone else picks up all the books I leave lying around.” I’d like to offer reflections about a subject that is …

California runs a revolutionary cap-and-trade program in which a limit is set on total emissions for major sectors, permits to produce those emissions are auctioned off, and the auction revenues are invested in climate-related projects through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

Labor Day is often seen as the unofficial end of summer — a long weekend of barbecues, family gatherings and time to recharge. But for those of us in the labor movement, Labor Day is a reminder of what working people have built together: protections that make life better for millions of families.

As longtime community organizers, we are frequently asked why we bother to keep organizing protests, and why should people bother attending. “Standing on a corner for two hours with a clever sign, especially in a blue area, means nothing. This isn’t doing a thing to create change!” We wholeh…

When District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe seeks the death penalty against Chunli Zhao, he will do so in all of our names in People v. Chunli Zhao. Mr. Zhao, a farmworker, is accused of the fatal shooting of seven co-workers and the attempted murder of another at a mushroom farm in Half Moon Bay…

As a grandmother of an active 4-year-old grandson, I have a unique perspective on the challenges of securing adequate child care. Navigating a complicated, restrictive and expensive child care system can be overwhelming, creating barriers for families that want to participate in the Innovati…

The Americans with Disabilities Act was meant to open doors — not bankrupt small businesses. Yet, in California, a handful of opportunistic lawyers and serial litigants have twisted the law into a weapon, targeting shops over razor-thin technicalities.

Higher education is failing us because being a degree holder is no longer a guarantee of success. Postsecondary education is shifting in the coming years — a long-awaited change toward building a financially secure future for adults and their families.

The United States was founded on the principle of religious freedom for everyone. Alarmingly, the San Mateo County jail system has made it difficult for incarcerated individuals to practice their faith.

I have lived within 60 feet of a raucous railroad crossing in the city of San Mateo for 36 years. I experienced years of daily horn blasts and the grinding sounds of steel wheels on steel rails. So, in 2023, when I heard the city planned to initiate a Train Quiet Zone Program — I was all ear…

Coming into the second Donald J. Trump administration, the president called the U.S. a weak, failed nation, and proclaimed in his inaugural speech: “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the…

Jill Wakeman Goodman isn’t just my hero — she belongs to all of San Mateo. While hers is not a household name, her work is unforgettable.

Deeply concerned, as millions are, about governmental threats to what makes America great — things like judicial review and separation of powers and the right to dissent — it might seem rather inconsequential for me to recall when, decades ago, as a birthday present, my mother bought season …

As a teen in the ’90s, I spent my summers in San Diego on the beach, going to swim practice and roaming my neighborhood with friends. Sometimes I was bored. It wasn’t a problem — it was just part of life. 

In the 1960s, a time of deep political division and social unrest, the United States set an ambitious goal: to land a person on the moon.