Latest news with #MattMahan
The Independent
10-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Homeless people could be arrested after refusing three offers of shelter in Silicon Valley city
Homeless people who reject three offers of shelter could be arrested under a controversial proposal before the city council of the most populous city in California 's Silicon Valley on Tuesday. The proposal being pushed by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahon is eye-opening because it comes from a liberal city headed by a Democrat in the left-leaning San Francisco Bay Area. It is among the stricter anti-encampment deterrents proposed by elected officials since the Supreme Court in 2023 made it easier to ban homeless people from camping on public property. And it's another sign of just how frustrated people have become with squalid tents lining sidewalks and riverbanks, and erratic behavior of those using drugs or in distress in a state with an estimated 187,000 homeless people. California is home to roughly a quarter of all homeless people in the country. Mahan says most people do accept offers of shelter. But he wants to make clear to the small percentage of people who refuse, that as the city builds more shelter and interim housing, they have a responsibility to move indoors. 'I think we need a cultural change, a culture of accountability for everyone involved,' said Mahan. 'I don't want to use the criminal justice system to make vulnerable people's lives harder. I want to use it as a last resort.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and former mayor of San Francisco, has repeatedly urged cities to ban encampments. Arrests for illegal lodging have soared in San Francisco, and its current mayor, Daniel Lurie, has reiterated that it is not appropriate for people to live outdoors. Advocates for homeless people say cracking down on encampments is traumatizing and even counterproductive. Forcing a person to clear out sets them back in their search for stability as they could lose important documents needed to apply for work and housing, they said. 'Pushing people with mental health needs or drug addiction into incarceration — without any crime committed — is both inhumane and ineffective,' said Otto Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, in a written statement emailed Monday to The Associated Press. Lee and other county leaders are opposed to the mayor's proposal. They say they need more housing, beds and services, and not punishment. The 'responsibility to shelter' proposal does not mandate an arrest after three rejected offers. After talking with the city attorney's office and police, Mahan said it made more sense to give front-line outreach workers and police officers discretion to decide when to escalate or prioritize a situation. The city will set up a new six-officer quality of life unit within the police department. 'We don't want to overly tie their hands and tell them this is the only way to do it,' the mayor said. People who repeatedly violate the city's encampment code of conduct — which also includes keeping tents free of trash and not blocking the public right of way — could be sent to a recovery center for detox or petitioned for court-mandated treatment to mental health and substance use disorder care, Mahan said. San Jose has nearly 1,400 shelter spots and hopes to add another 800 by the end of the year. Officials are aware they do not have enough beds, and Mahan said that people will not be punished if beds are unavailable or the only options are unsuitable.
Associated Press
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Homeless people could be arrested after refusing three offers of shelter in Silicon Valley city
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Homeless people who reject three offers of shelter could be arrested under a controversial proposal before the city council of the most populous city in California's Silicon Valley on Tuesday. The proposal being pushed by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahon is eye-opening because it comes from a liberal city headed by a Democrat in the left-leaning San Francisco Bay Area. It is among the stricter anti-encampment deterrents proposed by elected officials since the Supreme Court in 2023 made it easier to ban homeless people from camping on public property. And it's another sign of just how frustrated people have become with squalid tents lining sidewalks and riverbanks, and erratic behavior of those using drugs or in distress in a state with an estimated 187,000 homeless people. California is home to roughly a quarter of all homeless people in the country. Mahan says most people do accept offers of shelter. But he wants to make clear to the small percentage of people who refuse, that as the city builds more shelter and interim housing, they have a responsibility to move indoors. 'I think we need a cultural change, a culture of accountability for everyone involved,' said Mahan. 'I don't want to use the criminal justice system to make vulnerable people's lives harder. I want to use it as a last resort.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and former mayor of San Francisco, has repeatedly urged cities to ban encampments. Arrests for illegal lodging have soared in San Francisco, and its current mayor, Daniel Lurie, has reiterated that it is not appropriate for people to live outdoors. Advocates for homeless people say cracking down on encampments is traumatizing and even counterproductive. Forcing a person to clear out sets them back in their search for stability as they could lose important documents needed to apply for work and housing, they said. 'Pushing people with mental health needs or drug addiction into incarceration — without any crime committed — is both inhumane and ineffective,' said Otto Lee, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, in a written statement emailed Monday to The Associated Press. Lee and other county leaders are opposed to the mayor's proposal. They say they need more housing, beds and services, and not punishment. The 'responsibility to shelter' proposal does not mandate an arrest after three rejected offers. After talking with the city attorney's office and police, Mahan said it made more sense to give front-line outreach workers and police officers discretion to decide when to escalate or prioritize a situation. The city will set up a new six-officer quality of life unit within the police department. 'We don't want to overly tie their hands and tell them this is the only way to do it,' the mayor said. People who repeatedly violate the city's encampment code of conduct — which also includes keeping tents free of trash and not blocking the public right of way — could be sent to a recovery center for detox or petitioned for court-mandated treatment to mental health and substance use disorder care, Mahan said. San Jose has nearly 1,400 shelter spots and hopes to add another 800 by the end of the year. Officials are aware they do not have enough beds, and Mahan said that people will not be punished if beds are unavailable or the only options are unsuitable.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
SFUSD kills controversial grading proposal after backlash
San Francisco school officials killed plans Wednesday to test out alternative ways to grade some high school students after politicians and parents panned the proposal in the wake of misinformation about it. An estimated 70 teachers in 14 high schools — about 10% of the educators in grades nine to 12 — were expected to participate in a voluntary program to align grades more closely to student learning rather than attendance, participation or other factors. Some of those factors included whether a student brings in cans for a food drive or whether their parents sign a permission slip, according to the background information provided by the district on the 'Grading for Equity' initiative. That could also mean giving students multiple chances to take tests or redo essays and reconfiguring the grading scale to address inherent problems with a 100-point grading scale — which disproportionately assigns an F for 0 to 59 points, but only 10 points each for the other grades. The issue was discussed at the Tuesday school board meeting after media accounts presented the plan as a done deal. The board, however, had yet to consider a $172,000 contract with a consultant, who developed the Grading for Equity initiative, to train teachers on how to implement a new grading system. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan took to social media Wednesday to criticize the proposal while parents slammed the plan on Facebook, reflecting how fraught debates about academic achievement and equity have become. In the wake of the pushback, the school district said it would not forward with it at this time. 'It's clear there are a lot of questions, concerns, and misinformation with this proposal,' said Superintendent Maria Su in a statement. 'We want to make sure any changes benefit our students. I have decided not to pursue this strategy for next year to ensure we have time to meaningfully engage the community.' 'We owe our young people an education that prepares them to succeed. The proposed changes to grading at SFUSD would not accomplish that,' he wrote. 'I have conveyed our view to SFUSD. We are optimistic that there is a better path forward for our kids and their future.' Mahan also weighed in on the proposal on social media, saying 'I try to stay in my San Jose lane, but as a former East Side public school teacher I have to say — this is a terrible disservice to our students. Lowering standards does not help children. It hurts them.' Rep. Ro Khanna posted on social media that his immigrant dad 'came to America for the chance to work hard & pursue excellence. Giving A's for 80% & no homework is not equity—it betrays the American Dream and every parent who wants more for their kids.' Khanna recently posted about Palo Alto Unified removing honors biology as an option for freshman year, a controversial move that also sparked parent backlash. Palo Alto has also been engaged in a debate about creating a fairer and more evidence-based grading system. Rumors and misinformation about the San Francisco plan circulated among parents and in media articles, which falsely stated that the Grading for Equity plan would remove homework and weekly tests from a student's grade and that a final exam, which could be taken multiple times, would be the only determining factor in the grade. Parents responded that such changes would dumb down San Francisco schools. 'I have two high schoolers in the SFUSD system,' said one parent who asked not to be identified. 'What possible message can they take from this plan other than to conclude that working hard and applying oneself is for suckers? Not a great way to prepare them for the challenges of adulthood.'
Economist
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Economist
Criminalising homelessness
A year after the Supreme Court permitted cities to ban public camping, local authorities are cracking down on street homelessness. At least 163 municipalities have enacted camping restrictions since the ruling. California, the epicentre of the problem in America, has seen its Democratic leaders rapidly shift their tone as the crisis worsens. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan tells us how he's trying to fix it. John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Adam O'Neal.
CBS News
21-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
San Jose creating downtown entertainment zones to boost business
It's been more than three years since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, but cities are still struggling to lure crowds back to their downtowns. So, the city of San Jose is considering a proposal that harkens back to the pandemic by opening public spaces for people to play. On one block of Post Street, there are no cars at all. The narrow road in downtown was closed during the pandemic, and Froylan Rodriquez, who owns Dream Jewelers on the block, said traffic never really returned. "I mean, everything was great," he said. "Pretty good traffic on the street. Now, it seems like after COVID, it went really slow. It's kind of quiet. You see, the street is, like, lonely." Now, the city has shut it down to cars permanently, but this time is giving it a special designation in the effort to bring life back to downtown. "By designating Post Street as one of our first entertainment zones, we're building on that momentum in allowing all the bars and restaurants here to take advantage of planned events in the future," said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. He said there are eight downtown areas named as "entertainment zones" where, like in New Orleans, people would be allowed to take the food and drinks they buy out into the public spaces. "You suddenly can actually leave the premises of the restaurant or bar and walk around throughout the zone," said Mahan. "And then, it's easier to integrate entertainment or art or actually have this more robust experience in a larger public space." That may seem like a simple idea, but it took a new state law to make it possible. Senate Bill 969, passed in September, allows cities to establish areas where consumption of alcohol on public streets would be legalized during special events. "It's going to increase business, 100 percent," said Cisco Mejia, a manager at the Splash Video Dance Bar on Post Street. "Just because that's something new that we haven't had before." Actually, they did have it before, during the pandemic. Post Street was closed during the lockdown for outdoor dining. But at the "Fifty Five South" bar, they didn't just put tables out, they actually constructed a large shipwreck in the middle of the street for customers to sit inside. Co-owner Eric Nielsen said it was just the kind of zany thing that cooped-up people were looking for. "It was insane that we did this, but we did, and it was hugely popular for over a year and a half," said Nielsen. "I think it was fantastic for the city. We had families walking down the street at all times of the day and even into the evening. And before we didn't see that, before the pandemic, we never saw that." Now, during special permitted events, businesses in the entertainment zones would be able to use the streets and sidewalks for outdoor events. Last week, they got a little taste of that, actually a big taste, when the city staged a block party for tens of thousands of people featuring star DJ Steve Aoki. Nielsen said it was just the boost he was hoping for. "We did better sales-wise, but most importantly, just walking around downtown, it felt alive. It felt like a normal downtown city again. We really missed that," he said. "So, yeah, anything that can help that and make people feel comfortable and give them an opportunity and an excuse to go out and see something different, do something different, and have a good time. That's kind of the key." During the pandemic, outdoor entertainment was meant to keep distance between people. Now, it's being used to bring them together again.
