In the News

It’s not often that Mountain View gets the chance to shape housing legislation that could have an impact far beyond its borders. But the city recently inspired the introduction of a bipartisan bill that could make it easier for municipalities to use federal funds for affordable housing.

As Democrats and Republicans in Congress remain at odds over everything from vaccines to immigration, they may have found one issue they can actually agree on: building more housing.

U.S. Reps. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Mike Flood, R-Neb., introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at making it easier for cities to use federal money to build affordable housing.

The Unleashing Needed Local Options to Construct and Keep Housing (UNLOCK) Act would loosen restrictions on how municipalities spend Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
Efforts stem from feedback gathered by the House Subcommittee on Housing, which sought input from local governments on ways to reduce red tape in federal housing programs.

ICE raids, public health and the Israel-Hamas war dominated a recent town hall with Congressmember Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas.

The political leaders, who represent South San Jose, met with dozens of residents Thursday at John Muir Middle School to listen to their concerns. People questioned how the county was supporting immigrants, demanded action regarding the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and were anxious about the federal government limiting vaccination accessibility.

As temperatures rise this week, so do the concerns about wildfire risk.

To help cut these risks, Congressman Sam Liccardo announced the Wildfire Resilience Partnership, a new initiative aimed at fighting flames.

The South Bay congressman also introduced a critical part of the program: robots.

Burnbot, a company based in San Francisco, created a robot that can gobble up poison oak, brush and even small trees. The robot spits the back into the soil, helping reduce erosion and eliminate much of the fuel fires feed on.

One local lawmaker wants to put high fire risk communities at the forefront of wildfire prevention and mitigation, with federal help.

Santa Clara County officials want their largest city’s support in hiking sales taxes to keep their public hospital system alive against federal cuts. But San Jose leaders have conditions.