Olson: AI is getting dangerously good at political persuasion
The latest models are becoming even better at changing people's minds at the expense of the truth.
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Fligor: Ensuring the Assessor’s Office keeps working for taxpayers and residents
'The role of assessor is not showy or political. Instead ... (it) is to fairly...
Opinion: Current Santa Clara County holiday season election wasteful and avoidable
Ranked choice voting could have saved taxpayers the $13 million cost of the Dec. 30...
Opinion: Is Marin Clean Energy the right choice for Contra Costa County?
'We traded a regulated monopoly in PG&E for an unregulated government bureaucracy in MCE.'
Opinion: Afghan refugees and President Trump’s art of a broken deal
Future Americans will wonder how we barred desperate, law-abiding immigrants from the safe haven of...
Opinion: California’s schools can’t afford to cut counselors who keep kids alive
They notice when a student stops being themselves, grades slip, friendships change or a child...
Opinion: The life-and-death stakes of the debate over Affordable Care Act subsidies
A substantial body of research shows a clear relationship between lack of comprehensive coverage and...
Chemerinsky: Supreme Court’s terrible reasons allowing Texas’ racially rigged map
Staggering implication that states can avoid legal challenge if they wait until the last minute...
San Jose’s vast surveillance network is watching you. Be afraid.
The city's license plate cameras are collecting revealing data that police elsewhere are searching —...
Newsom could have made electricity more affordable, climate-friendly. Here’s how.
Governor's bragging at COP30 contradicts his recent veto of solutions to make energy cleaner and...
Opinion: Do U.S. military leaders have the backbone to disobey illegal orders?
Officers trained on principles like proportionality and restraint have outsourced their conscience to legal process.
Opinion: Trump’s 50-year mortgage won’t fix the housing affordability crisis
It would incentivize would-be homeowners to borrow more than they should while putting upward pressure...
Opinion: Trump’s immigration policies resemble the 1920s. MAGA wants him to go further.
The president's already-draconian limits on new migrants aren't enough for his insular, xenophobic base.
Grief, glitter and Ghost Ship — a victim’s mother finds solace in the small things
Nine years after her daughter's death in the Oakland fire, Colleen Dolan shares how incidental...
Opinion: In these divisive times, giving thanks can be an act of unity
The true character of America is found in our capacity to find reasons for hope...
Opinion: Bay Area local leaders need protection against threats of violence
A correction to an earlier version of this article has been appended to the end...
Opinion: After Prop. 50, we need to ask: Can’t we create a better democracy?
Redrawing districts won't save us. Proportional representation offers the best solution for an out-of-touch government.
Opinion: Bishops’ immigration warning is a wakeup call. Will politicians answer?
'In America, moral awakenings come before political ones. We are in such an awakening now.'
Opinion: San Mateo County shows why we shouldn’t be electing sheriffs
The fatal flaw in our current elect-the-sheriff model assumes voters have the same access to...
Belal Aftab: Saratoga’s story is one of steadiness, vigilance
Aftab reflects on his year in the mayor’s chair.
The Trump administration’s H-1B visa price hike will stifle innovation
Dramatically raising the cost of skilled immigrants disregards the critical role they play in US...
Opinion: California universities broke the silence of ALS with federal funds — now at risk
The national government grants, which advanced medical breakthroughs at state's academic centers, are under threat.
Opinion: Keeping streams ready for winter storms takes ongoing maintenance
Waterways in Valley Water's District 5 are no exception.
Opinion: Safer streets in Saratoga build stronger community
Traffic from new San Jose Costco is due to affect neighboring cities.
Opinion: Apple’s translating AirPods won’t work without state’s language grads
Higher education must not retreat from language instruction under the illusion that “the machines can...
Opinion: Immigration enforcement shouldn’t be an entry-level job
'ICE’s lower standards are alarming, given that agents have the power to make decisions with...
PRO/CON: Measure A would increase Santa Clara County sales tax. Is it worth it?
Adding another five-eighths cent levy to purchases would push the rate to at least 9.75%...
Opinion: Measure A is a taxpayer bailout for poor planning, fiscal mismanagement
Before entrusting our hard-earned income, county must use existing resources responsibly, efficiently and effectively.
Opinion: Measure A would help keep Santa Clara County hospitals open
Sales tax increase needed to offset federal budget cuts, which are projected to reach $1.3...
Opinion: Data centers must disclose how much water they’re consuming
As AI infrastructure rapidly expands across the US, the public needs to understand its environmental...
Taves: ‘Capitulation wrought by fear,’ top Silicon Valley executives mum to Trump’s extortion
Intel, Nvidia, AMD, Apple, Meta and Alphabet CEOs silent as president forces companies to share...
Opinion: Careful, thoughtful approval of housing lets Saratoga endure
City needs more types of housing for more types of people.
Opinion: American dream? For millennials, that’s a cruel joke.
A generation saddled with student debt, unaffordable housing and gig work asks, 'Where's our promised...
Opinion: Our kids deserve more than ‘run, hide, defend’
The frequency of school shootings is the consequence of treating the 2nd Amendment as more...
Opinion: Why AI is our best defense against invasive species
New technologies help scientists detect and contain invasive species before they cause irreversible ecosystem damage.
Opinion: California salmon runs in danger of extinction if Newsom fails to act
Trump administration and California's governor are pursuing policies threatening the survival of the once-mighty species
Opinion: Silicon Valley played a role in Kirk’s shooting. We need to admit it.
The alleged killer was deeply immersed in an online world that the Bay Area's economy created...
Opinion: We can’t argue our way out of political conflict, but we have options
The author of 'Don't Talk About Politics' says debates aren't moving minds. But bonding outside...
Is Cal Fire’s forest management undermining California’s climate goals?
State's fire agency is greenwashing its industrial logging side hustle, while raising carbon emissions —...
Opinion: Newsom must protect California’s drinking water from microplastics
Bill on Newsom's desk is based on a simple premise: If plastic isn’t necessary in...
Opinion: Removing Sheriff Christina Corpus isn’t oversight. It’s a coup.
If San Mateo County's model stands, other counties could copy it, giving supervisors power to...
What Trump’s rebrand of the Pentagon as ‘Department of War’ reveals
The president is making it clear: he views the military as America's sword, not its...
Opinion: California schools must not enshrine Trump’s weaponization of antisemitism
In the guise of protecting Jewish students, legislators are pushing a bill, AB 715, that...
Opinion: Masquerading as green, state bill would unleash toxins into poor neighborhoods
SB 404 lets metal recyclers effectively regulate themselves despite damning evidence of their past pollution.
Opinion: As D.C. retreats, California must lead on affordable clean energy
Three pending bills in state Legislature pose to lower utility costs, stabilize demand and invest...
Opinion: A pending state bill would hide police misconduct records. It must die.
A California legislator's amendments will, if passed, shield law enforcement officers' abuses from the public...
Why is the California Teachers Association fighting an antisemitism bill?
Jewish students face unprecedented hatred. Yet the state's largest public employee union opposes helpful legislation.
Opinion: Take action to slow California’s out-of-control energy costs
Good news? The Legislature has drafted the best pro-affordability bills in decades. The bad? The...
Opinion: California’s redistricting plan faces three major headwinds
The man who wrote the book on California politics argues Prop. 50 must overcome bad...
Opinion: Trump wants to disable NASA satellites measuring C02. Congress must not let him.
White House pressure to defund climate research jeopardizes data critical for agriculture, defense, energy and...
Opinion: Bashing the bloodlines of migrants is an American presidential pastime
Trump's obsession with genes fits into long, ugly tradition of presidents who consider immigrants inherently...
Cohn: Trump is building ‘one interface to rule them all.’ It’s terrifying.
A single searchable database of all Americans' sensitive information is the goal of the president...
Opinion: The steep cost of tariffs is finally coming into focus
'The new levies have boosted government revenue by about $65 billion, but overall prices on...
Opinion: Devastating health cuts are coming. To avert crisis, state must compel data sharing.
California needs to require hospitals and community organizations, among others, standardize, protect and exchange patient...
Ishii: Public financing opened the door for me. A state Senate bill can do that for others.
'If we (Californians) want a government that truly reflects the people it serves ... then...
Florez: The heat-safety law isn’t enough. Farmworkers are still dying every summer.
Workers in California die to feed us and desperately require more protection from a cruel...
Opinion: D.C. dysfunction means Bay Area must work together, dream big to solve its problems
There was a time when our region could rely on Washington to provide leadership and...
Opinion: I overcame homelessness, addiction. Now I help others make the journey
A drug and alcohol abuse counselor shares his trip from despair to hope.
Opinion: San Jose must ditch its high-density rules to get more housing built
If the city doesn't revise its General Plan, dreams of increasing home construction here are...
Opinion: Richmond is reimagining public safety. Will other cities follow?
As a family doctor, I can bandage wounds, but I worry about the well-being of...
Lopez: ICE is redefining detention as an open-ended threat
Trump administration's new tactic punishes immigrants who are complying with the law and stand the...
Opinion: Maternity ward closures in California strain more than women’s health
The state's labor and delivery units are closing at a rate three times faster than the U.S....
Opinion: Big Oil’s recycling lies are well documented. We need accountability.
The plastics industry is trying to protect profits not the planet. It knows 'advanced recycling'...
Opinion: Bay Area doctors warn of danger from RFK Jr. assault on vaccines
Secretary's placing of political ideology above science and public health threatens the safety of our...
Opinion: Deporting the parents of young citizens kills their dreams and our future
School CEO Silvia Scandar Mahan and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan say immigration policies are...
Miley: Jerry Brown’s changes in 1998 led to Oakland’s broken government today. Here’s how to fix it.
As a City Council member back then, I supported Measure X and the notion of...
Opinion: This California loophole makes passing new local taxes easier
A court-created opening enables approval with a simple majority rather than the two-thirds in the...
Liccardo: Democrats need an innovation agenda to win back Silicon Valley tech leaders
If China wins the race to artificial general intelligence or quantum computing, Beijing will dominate...
Opinion: California’s small businesses need protection — not legal shakedowns
One of the most troubling tools in the trial-attorney toolkit is the misuse of the...
Garamendi: Insurance companies should sue Big Oil for climate change damage
Former Insurance Commissioner Garamendi, Sen. McNerney argue rate hikes unjustified while Chevron, BP earn trillions.
Tax Silicon Valley Big Tech to rescue BART and other Bay Area transit?
BART director says Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia, Intel, Cisco, HP, Meta gave back little to communities...
Opinion: VTA should abandon $12.8 billion San Jose BART extension that’s already out of date
It's hard to justify ballooning costs when newer technologies offer faster, cleaner and more flexible...
Opinion: Supreme Court’s unitary executive theory threatens our balance of power
The Constitution and precedent make clear presidential authority is limited, but justices are ignoring these...
Bay Area DA didn’t appeal mass murderer’s death penalty ruling. Was it all politics?
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, who fervently sought Richard Farley’s sentence reduction, just...
Opinion: As July 4 approaches, Supreme Court signs away American democracy
Stanford law professor says pivotal rulings last week removed the last defense against a lawless...