Santa Clara County has now moved into the Orange Tier! The following changes are effective, Wednesday, March 24: -Indoor dining at maximum 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer; -Retail stores indoors with modifications; -Gyms and fitness centers indoors at maximum 25% capacity, with indoor pools open -Movie theaters at maximum 50% capacity or 200 people, whichever is fewer -Family entertainment centers indoors at maximum 25% capacity with modifications for areas of increased risk of proximity; and -Zoos, museums, and aquariums at 50% maximum indoor capacity.
While we wait for enough people to receive their vaccines, we all need to work together to keep our risk of COVID-19 low in the meantime. Wear a mask, keep your distance, and get vaccinated when it’s your turn.
Anthony Mata Confirmed as Chief of Police by the San José City Council
Chief Mata aims to improve relations with San José’s diverse community while leading a lean workforce in the 21st century
SAN JOSE, Calif. (March 16, 2021) – After a nationwide recruitment, the San José City Council confirmed Anthony Mata as San José’s new chief of police. Chief Mata brings 30 years of broad and progressive law enforcement experience to the role he will fill on March 22, 2021.
“The challenges faced by police departments across the nation require courageous leadership and collaboration with the communities they serve. Through the very rigorous recruitment and selection process, Chief Mata demonstrated his ability to lead policing in the 21st century for the City of San José, to build trust with our community, and manage the leanest police force of any big city in the nation,” said City Manager David Sykes.
“Although we had many excellent candidates, Chief Mata’s extensive experience, genuine passion for public service, and his dedication to SJPD will serve him and our city well in his new leadership role. I look forward to working with Chief Mata to reimagine policing, reduce criminal activity in our neighborhoods, and build critical bridges between our officers and the community they serve,” said Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Chief Mata is a native of the City of Chicago. He moved to San José to join the San José Police Department (SJPD) as a police officer in March 1996. He served in all ranks of the SJPD and ascended to deputy chief. Currently, he serves as the SJPD executive officer and has been a deputy chief for over four years. He manages the chief’s office and oversees several regulatory units, and the crime data center. As a deputy chief, Mata managed patrol operations for over two years before his executive officer role. As a captain, he spent time running a patrol division and a unit within the bureau of investigations. As a lieutenant, he worked in patrol, administration, and research and development.
“It is the greatest honor of my professional career to lead this great department at this time of needed social and organizational change. I humbly but enthusiastically approach the challenge of guiding and supporting our dedicated workforce while also advocating for our community as we re-imagine community safety together,” expressed Chief Mata.
The confirmation of Chief Mata comes after a rigorous and highly visible recruitment process. Community engagement is essential to transformational change and to help decipher what it would take to get there. The community engagement process began with a series of meetings with the community and stakeholders to request feedback on what qualities, skills and abilities an SJPD chief should embody. That community feedback informed the recruitment brochure. Once final candidates were selected, a multi-lingual community survey was distributed via diverse channels to ensure residents and the SJPD workforce could submit questions to be asked during a candidate forum. The forum was followed by community interview panels that included members of community and faith-based organizations, neighborhood associations, racial equity/civil rights organizations, SJPD employees, the San José Police Officers Association, and partner law enforcement agencies.
“I am ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead and to lead our great workforce in positive changes for the betterment of department members and the community. I will improve our police services through community partnerships and will engage in inter-departmental efforts to ensure that together we provide the best services to our entire community,” said Chief Mata.
The chief of police position plays an important role in the leadership of the City. Chief Mata will continue working with the community, city leaders, and stakeholders to co-create a new vision for public safety in San José. He will lead one of the leanest and most efficient major city police agencies in the country with 1,157 sworn officers and 558 civilian employees.
Mata lives in San José. He is bilingual (Spanish) and holds a Master of Public Administration from San José State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois, Chicago.
About the City of San José With more than one million residents, San José is one of the most diverse large cities in the United States and is Northern California’s largest city and the 10th largest city in the nation. San José’s transformation into a global innovation center has resulted in one of the largest concentrations of technology companies and expertise in the world. In 2011, the City adopted Envision San José 2040, a long-term growth plan that sets forth a vision and a comprehensive road map to guide the City’s anticipated growth through the year 2040.
You are invited to join Assemblymember Evan Low this Friday, March 19th at 6:15PM – 7:00PM for a Virtual Conversation with CalCPA experts regarding financial literacy, tax tips, and relevant information pertaining to Unemployment Insurance and the tax aspects of the American Rescue Plan Act.
While there will not be a Q&A Portion to this event, we highly encourage you to send any outstanding questions that you may have after the event to Assemblymember.Low@assembly.ca.gov and our office will get back to you with more information.
During this difficult time, Vice Mayor of San Jose, Chappie Jones, is partnering with Qathena, a Silicon Valley startup, to proudly launch FUEL OUR FRONTLINE, a community campaign aimed at providing first responders and essential frontline workers with meals from local restaurants in the West San Jose Innovation Zone.
In short, it is a platform where verified frontline workers can purchase meals from local restaurants based on community donations.
There will be a community Q/A on Wednesday at 7pm if you are free to join. Please spread the word!
Here is the zoom: Time: Mar 10, 2021 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/94568351640 Meeting ID: 945 6835 1640 Dial by your location: +1 213 338 8477 US (Los Angeles) +1 669 219 2599 US (San Jose) +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Please join Assemblymember Evan Low this Saturday, March 13th at 11:00am – 12:00pm for a “Stop AAPI Hate” Rally at San Jose City Hall Rotunda.
With the recent rise in hate crimes against the Asian Pacific Islander community, Assemblymember Low and San Jose City Councilmember Pam Foley are partnering together to show their support and stand in solidarity against Asian violence and racism.
Next stop: Central Bikeway! VTA is moving ahead with the Central Bikeway Study — the Bay Area’s first “bicycle superhighway” — a safe, stress-free bicycle route that connects you to where you want to go. The study will produce conceptual design documents that VTA will use as a starting point to identify funding opportunities to move into a more detailed project design. The project area features alternatives in three areas moving from west to east: Santa Clara, around the Airport, and San José.
In the first round of outreach, SVBC worked with community partners at META, LLC and Guadalupe River Park Conservancy to gather public input on features they wish to see in a bicycle superhighway. Now in Round 2, it’s time to narrow down the bikeway alternatives. VTA is currently looking for your feedback! Please tell us where the Central Bikeway makes the most sense.
Here are two things you can do to ensure your voice is heard:
It’s super exciting to be working with VTA and many partners across multiple jurisdictions in building a bicycle superhighway! See how your input is helping us make it a reality — we look forward to seeing you on March 16th or March 17th!
About this Event: Mon, March 22, 2021 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM PDT
In recent years, cities across the country have begun passing reforms to zoning, changing policies that have been in place for decades.
San Jose, where 94% of residential land is zoned exclusively for single-family homes, is now considering a similar change through a concept called Opportunity Housing. The results could have a big impact – the New York Times cites research that if 10% of San Jose’s 5,000 square foot lots added a second unit, our community would have 15,000 new places for people to live.
Catalyze SV & Excite Credit Union invite you to join us for a dynamic panel bringing together government officials from across the U.S. who have evaluated & passed similar zoning changes.
We hope you’ll join us for this unique opportunity to engage with these experts as they share their insights and answer questions from you. Our confirmed panelists include:
Lisa Bender, Minneapolis City Council President from Minneapolis, MN
Love Jonson, Transportation Demand Specialist, Portland Department of Transportation from Portland, OR
Greg Sandlund, Acting Planning Director of the City of Sacramento from Sacramento, CA
Schedule:
Mon, March 22, 2021 at 5:00 – 5:05 pm: Panelists & participants call into Zoom; as participants enter the meeting, music plays
5:05 – 5:15 pm: Catalyze SV’s Executive Director offers welcome, requests questions in the “Chat” function & shares ground rules for discussion, introduces moderator
5:15 – 6:25 pm: Moderator asks panelists questions, including a couple from participants
6:25 – 6:30 pm: Wrap up & next steps
Do you have questions you’d like to ask the panel? Email them ahead of time to catalyzesv.intern@catalyzesv.org. The sooner you send in your questions, the more likely they will be answered!
Cory Neighborhood Association 