I have some bold -- but achievable -- New Year's Resolutions. I say this because I believe that together, through mutual respect and communication, we can truly make a difference. I would like to remind and assure you that my team and I are here to serve you. I hope that you will share your ideas and concerns with me, and that you will encourage others to do the same.
These are some of my goals as I envision a successful 2018 for District 2.
- Continue to strengthen our sense of community and mobilize residents through D2 Neighborhood Associations (N.A.'s). N.A.'s are groups of community members who meet and collaborate to work towards common goals such as: beautification/clean-up efforts, safety enhancements, and social events. N.A.'s serve as a connection between the community and City Hall. We are here to support N.A.'s by providing direction, resources, grants, help with outreach, models for success, and more.
- Engage the community through education and conversation. My team wants to provide you with comprehensive details, full background information, behind-the-scenes processes, and more about topics that affect your life. We will keep you up to date about our D2 Town Halls (the first one will be on Park Trends and Funding on Thursday, February 1), my "Know Your City Services" section of each Newsletter (this month's featured City Service is the Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services Department), and more coming soon!
- Advance conversations this Budget season to fight for resources to support the opening of the San José Police Department South Substation as soon as possible. Please join me as Police Chief Eddie Garcia delivers a State of the Police Department at our Coffee with the Chief event on Saturday, February 10!
- Strive to do everything in my power to work with other groups and organizations, such as the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, to advocate for and protect Coyote Valley in District 2. We will keep you informed about our progress.
- Continue to invest in housing solutions for all of San José.
Last year was a productive and memorable one. I am dedicated to making this year even better, and I hope you will join me. I look forward to partnering with you in our District and City.
In community,
Sergio Jimenez
CONNECT, ENGAGE AND BE INFORMED.
#SJD2SJ
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D2 News: Updates & Accomplishments
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Minimum wage, immigration, workplace restrictions, and more: New state and local laws that could affect you starting 2018
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(Click on the titles, underlined in
gray below, for more information).
San José
, San Mateo, Los Altos, Cupertino and Palo Alto are increasing minimum wage rates from $12.00 to $13.50 per hour — part of plans to bring the minimum wage to $15 by January 1, 2019. Other Bay Area cities, like Sunnyvale and Mountain View, have already established the $15 minimum wage as of 2018. The
state minimum wage
rises to $10.50 per hour for employers with 25 or fewer employees and to $11 per hour for businesses with 26 or more workers.
California becomes a “sanctuary state” under Senate Bill 54. [From the
San Jose Mercury News
:] It limits the ability of state and local police to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Officers cannot inquire about someone’s immigration status or detain them on a hold request from the federal government, unless they have been convicted of certain crimes.
Workers are protected from immigration enforcement while on the job. Under
Assembly Bill 450, employers in California may not give federal immigration enforcement agents access to non-public areas of a business without a warrant, and they cannot provide enforcement agents access to employee records without a subpoena or warrant, except when a federal Notice of Inspection has been given to the employer to check I-9 documents or others.
The legislative “resistance” to Trump continued with more policies to assist immigrants, including Assembly Bill 291, which prohibits landlords from reporting their undocumented renters; Senate Bill 257, which allows students whose parents are deported to continue attending California schools; and Assembly Bill 450, which bans employers from cooperating with or allowing immigration enforcement raids at their work sites without a court order.
Proposition 64 legalizes the recreational use of marijuana in California for those aged 21 and older.
The state of California
has some broad rules. For example, pot shops have to be at least 600 feet away from schools and must close by 10 p.m. It is
illegal to use cannabis in public. This includes smoking, vaping, ingesting edibles, etc.
The limits are 28.5 grams of non-concentrated cannabis (such as dried flower) or 8 grams of concentrated cannabis products or 6 plants.
You may read about Prop 64 and see
San Jose’s local regulations, prohibitions, and more on the City's website
.
Under Assembly Bill 424, no California school employee can carry a concealed weapon onto campus. Under Assembly Bill 725, people convicted of hate crimes will lose their right to possess a gun for 10 years. And while background checks will not be required until next year, customers must now purchase their ammunition through a licensed vendor. Read more
here
and
here
.
The
California Fair Chance Act, AB 1008
, prohibits employers, state agencies, and public utilities from requesting information about an applicant’s criminal history on job applications and from asking about or considering criminal history before making a conditional offer of employment.
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Care about your local parks?
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My team is hosting a
District 2 Town Hall on Park Trends and Funding to inform and engage our neighbors about topics that matter to you. We invite you to join us to talk about funding, budget, initiatives, projects & how you can use this knowledge to improve your local park! Please find the details in the flyer above. Hope to see you February 1!
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VTA Project Update: State Route 85 Guideway Study
Last November, we invited you to the "State Route 85 Transit Guideway Study: San José Community Workshop" to learn about and discuss the estimated $350 million included in the 2016 Measure B for improvements to the State Route (SR) 85 corridor.
Eligible uses are noise reduction, a new transit lane, and a study that will give some definition to what the “new transit lane” could be. The measure requires that the study evaluate designs including light rail and bus rapid transit as well as any future transportation technologies that may be applicable.
What's next?
- The SR-85 Policy Advisory Board (PAB) will develop project design alternatives in the spring of 2018.
- Once the alternatives are selected, VTA will undertake a detailed analysis for designing and building the projects as well as annual operating cost projections.
- When the analysis is completed, VTA will conduct another round of community outreach focused on preferred alternatives. After receiving community input, the SR-85 PAB will make a recommendation to VTA Board of Directors about how to proceed with the project.
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The City needs your help reporting trash & graffiti to address the issue of the notoriously blighted Monterey Road
Like many residents, I am frustrated by the amount of garbage and graffiti along Monterey Highway.
Much of the area along Monterey Highway is under the jurisdiction of the Union Pacific Railroad (UP).
I want you to know I am taking steps to address your concerns. Our office is working directly with the Mayor’s office and the City's Code Enforcement Department to put pressure on UP to clean up the mess you see along the Monterey Road fence.
I encourage you to
contact UP
and express your concerns over the graffiti and blight that has plagued our community. UP needs to hear that they have not been good neighbors and that we are not going to tolerate the neglected and blighted condition of the tracks. Our office has been told that UP prioritizes areas that receive the greatest amount of complaints, so your calls matter!
You may also
report graffiti (1-866-249-0543) and
report illegal dumping (408) 794-1900 to the City.
Please copy my office,
District2@sanjoseca.gov, in your complaints so we may ensure that your report is in the City's files. Your emails and phone calls help City’s Code Enforcement Department, which needs the community’s help reporting blight because they rely heavily on constituent reports to identify the main problem areas and to make their case to UP. The more reports they receive, the stronger case they have.
Thank you to those community members who continue to be our eyes and ears on the ground. My staff and I are committed to listening to and addressing your concerns.
To report homeless encampments, illegal dumping, or other hazards on Union Pacific property:
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D2 Overnight Warming Location provides refuge for individuals through cold weather season
Due to low temperatures, rain, and wind this cold weather season, the City of San José will activate four Overnight Warming Location (OWL) sites to provide a place where people can go to stay warm and dry.
At the Southside Community and Senior Center, the OWL program will operate in Rooms 8 and 9.
Though the OWL program is not the solution to our housing crisis, it does bring temporary relief to the imminent and ever growing danger of deaths on our streets.
OWL Statistics from HomeFirst:
- From December 20, 2017 through January 10, 2018
- There were 11 total active OWL days
- There were 55 total people served at Southside Community Center
- There was an average of 5-13 people per night at Southside Community Center
Please feel free to help the City spread the word to individuals who may benefit from nights at our OWL's. This will also help our local OWL to be well utilized.
More information:
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D2 Participatory Budgeting Round 2 Updates
Residents and neighbors, thank you for participating in District 2's Bernal to Bailey Participatory Budgeting Round 2, which is now complete.
Congratulations to all the projects that won!
We are excited to share that two projects have been completed. 1. The Paseos Lighting project and 2. Money for our local schools: $40,000 has been awarded to renovate our local Home & School Clubs at Los Paseos Elementary School and Martin Murphy Middle School.
To learn more about the D2 PB Round 2 ongoing projects and their implementation timelines
, please visit
bit.ly/D2PBROUND2
.
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A Look at More Community Stories
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San
José
Women's March 2018: My kids and I walked alongside thousands of people as we united in support of human rights, immigrant rights, civil liberties, workplace equality, and social justice for all. This year, as we marched from City Hall to Arena Green East near the SAP Center, one of our goals was to get more women to the polls and in political offices.
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Our Faith Leaders Breakfast was a collaboration between our City, D2 Faith Leaders, and community members. Thank you Winter Faith Collaborative for partnering with us to create a dialogue with our Faith Leaders -- from local churches and other faith-based organizations -- about how we can work together to serve others in need.
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I spent a refreshing Saturday morning at the Community Tree Planting along Santa Teresa Boulevard with Our City Forest as well of dozens of kids and adults! Together, we added 36 trees to District 2. What a great sight to see neighbors uniting to make our City green and #BeautifySJ.
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At the December community discussion about the
US 101/Blossom Hill Road Interchange Improvement Project, the City's Department of Transportation shared project plans and renderings. This project will improve traffic operations as well as accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists along Blossom Hill Road. Find details about the project overview and more on the
website.
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D2 and You: Upcoming Events
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Please click on the photos/flyers below for more information:
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Every Saturday from February 6, 2018 - March 2018
9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Hellyer County Park - 985 Hellyer Ave., San José, CA 95111
Volunteer to keep your park beautiful, get outside, and connect with new people right in your backyard. The Maintenance Crew and the native plants will appreciate you! Locations include Hellyer Park's Velodrome, Dog Park, and east side of Cottonwood Lake. RSVP and find
more info on Eventbrite.
February 1 – May 24, 2018 on Tuesdays & Thursdays
12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
MLK Jr. Library - 150 E. San Fernando St., San José, CA 95112
Improve your English Conversation! Basic Requirements: Must be at least 18 years old, Live or work in San José, Complete registration and assessment process, Commit to class schedule. To register,
email Partners in Reading or call (408) 808-2361.
February 1 – May 24, 2018 on Tuesdays & Thursdays
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
MLK Jr. Library - 150 E. San Fernando St., San José, CA 95112
Improve your English Conversation! Basic Requirements: Must be at least 18 years old, Live or work in San José, Complete registration and assessment process, Commit to class schedule. To register,
email Partners in Reading or call (408) 808-2361.
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Need to report abandoned vehicles, street light outages, and more? Use
MySanJose: Our quick & easy tool to request City services
Want to get that pothole or street light fixed? Need to report graffiti, illegal dumping or an abandoned vehicle? Have a different question for the City? With the new state-of-the-art MySanJose
app
and
website
, it is now a breeze to file and track a City service request or reach one of our customer representatives. It is super easy to use – see our zippy
tutorial
.
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D2 Neighborhood Commissioner Report:
Human Trafficking, Census Outreach, Women’s Bill of Rights, and Ad Hoc Committees!
Jessica Dickinson Goodman is the District 2 representative who recently was appointed to the City of San José
Human Services Commission. She is documenting Commission meetings on her
blog to help inform others about relevant topics and progress.
About the Human Services Commission
The Human Services Commission (formerly the Human Rights Commission) was established to implement the San José Human Rights Policy and to develop programs promoting the fulfillment of human rights in the City. The commission studies, reviews, evaluates and makes recommendations to the City Council relative to all matters affecting human rights including discrimination, equal employment opportunity policies and practices, and recommends courses of action regarding the City’s equal opportunity and equal access efforts and its programs relating to City employment.
The City Council is the final decision-making body and the Human Services Commission acts in an advisory capacity to the Council and works with staff members of the City Manager’s Office.
Commission Meetings
The commission meets on the third Thursday of the month at 6:00 p.m., City Hall, W-120.
Commission Work Plan
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California Local Rapid Response Hotlines
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From Ready California: Changing immigration enforcement tactics and targets have unnerved many California residents.
Visit Ready California's website for points of contact to report immigration enforcement actions.
Please ONLY use these numbers to report ICE activity and Enforcement Actions.
Please use websites to find out how to make informational inquiries.
Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network
Region Covered: Santa Clara County
408-290-1144
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Resources for DACA applicants and recipients
(Please click on the photos/flyers below for more information)
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From the
Dream Resource Center
: As of January 13, 2018 the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will be taking in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications. This means If you're a DACA recipient and your permit expired on or after September 5, 2016, you may send your renewal application. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (
USCIS
) will not accept any first-time DACA applications. This announcement come after the January 9 court-ordered injunction that ordered the Trump Administration to accept DACA renewals. USCIS will accept DACA renewal applications until further notice. The
National Law Immigration Center
recommends applicants to speak to an immigration attorney for renewals under the latest policy.
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Apply for a grant for your environmental education program or youth engagement project
- Natural Resources
- Water and watersheds
- Agriculture
- Nature's health benefits
The grants are open to Public Agencies, Schools and School Districts, and Nonprofits.
The Fiscal Year 2017-2018 grants range from $5,000 to $24,999 and applications are due March 16, 2018. For more information and application materials, visit
Open Space Authority's website.
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Beyond San José: Get the latest news from your other elected officials
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Know your City: Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services
ABOUT PARKS, RECREATION & NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES
The City of San José Department of
Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS)
has one of the most diverse service models of any agency of its type. The recreation, social services and outdoor spaces serve not only San José's
million plus residents, but individuals from surrounding cities and communities as well.
The mission of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) is to build healthy communities through people, parks and programs. PRNS provides a diverse variety of programs that impact the lives of children, youth, adults, seniors, and people with disabilities throughout the City. PRNS strives to build community through fun, and make and activate quality places in San José where people want to live, work, play, and learn.
THE PRNS VISION
To be a National leader of Parks and Recreation in cultivating healthy communities through quality programs and dynamic public spaces.
HELPFUL LINKS ON PRNS' WEBSITE
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Students, get involved! My District 2 Team is looking for interns!
Join our team and make a difference in the community! The Office of Councilmember Sergio Jimenez welcomes college or graduate school students interested community engagement, public service, policy research, and local government to apply for our District 2 Internship.
This unpaid internship provides students with an immersive experience in day-to-day operations of a city council office that serves almost 100,000 residents.
Student interns are expected to:
Communicate effectively with others
Adapt and work in a fast-paced environment
Have a willingness to learn and apply academic training to required job assignments
Commit a minimum of 15 hours per week
How to apply:
To be considered for the District 2 Internship, please:
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Sergio's Office Hours
Come meet your councilmember to ask questions, share concerns, or simply have a conversation. Together, let's make District 2 an even better place to live, work, and play.
Meetings are first come first serve, and time may be limited to 15 minutes per person depending on the number of attendees.
Edenvale Library, Study Room B
First Saturday of every month
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Santa Teresa Library, Study Room A
Last Saturday of every month
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
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City Resources
Speak with a live Customer Service Representative (408) 535-3500
Additional Resources:
(408) 975-1440
(408) 535-7770
(408) 534-2900
(408) 793-5510
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JOIN US IN THE COMMUNITY AND BEYOND TO
CONNECT, ENGAGE AND BE INFORMED.
#SJD2SJ
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San José District 2 | Office of Councilmember Sergio Jimenez
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