This coming Saturday! Join local readers and bloggers of Daily Kos for an evening of great food and conversation
Saturday, August 15
Silicon Valley Kos Meet-Up
CA-17, CA-18 & CA-19
TIME: 5pm
LOCATION: Habana Cuba
238 Race St.
San Jose, CA 95126
Map
ORGANIZER: Send Glen The Plumber a KosMail or tweet to attend.
RSVPs:
1. TheLittleOne
2. remembrance
3. Glen The Plumber
4. slowbutsure
5. Joe D.
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Maybees:
1.
2.
3.
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Silicon Valley News and Views
Officials Provide Update On Efforts Against $32 Billion Human Trafficking Industry
U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, joined Santa Clara County officials to report back on what’s being done at the federal and local levels to deter human trafficking.
“Human trafficking is a crisis inside and outside of the United States that too many people have been willing to overlook,” Honda said during a news conference at the sheriff’s office in San Jose Monday afternoon.
Honda authored the Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act, signed into law in May by the President, which creates an advisory council comprised of human trafficking survivors and nongovernmental experts to advise President Barack Obama, the President’s Cabinet and Congress on federal practices on the crime.
“This legislation values survivors beyond just their story,” he said. The goal of the council is to hear from human trafficking survivors and determine the best practices to help victims, Honda said.
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California Dems support Iran nuke deal
Californians are adding their voices to the growing chorus of Democratic support for the P5+1 multilateral agreement on Iran's nuclear activity.
[...] Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, voiced her own support in a statement explaining "one of the most consequential foreign policy votes I will cast during my tenure in Congress.
"In the face of a legitimate threat of immense magnitude from a nuclear-capable Iran, I believe this agreement is the right path forward," Eshoo said. "My decision is not based on trusting Iran. To the contrary, the regime has a long list of offenses that I deeply object to, but there must be a mechanism in place to keep them from becoming a nuclear power. Nor would I suggest the agreement is perfect. But, in my view, to reject it would be a grave mistake for the United States, a repudiation of our allies in the effort, a danger to Israel and further deterioration in the Middle East."
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Detained immigrant mothers and children trapped in legal limbo
Hundreds of immigrant families remained locked up and in limbo this week after attorneys for the Obama administration resisted a judge's order concerning the increasingly controversial family detention system the attorneys appear determined to defend.
The administration's latest response came after U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles in late July in effect ordered the release of all children from family detention centers, as well as mothers not deemed flight or national security risks.
In her ruling, Gee found that detaining children who immigrated illegally with or without a parent at the centers violated standards set out in the Flores vs. Meese settlement in 1997. She called conditions at the centers “deplorable.”
“It's disappointing that the administration continues to push to jail women and children seeking asylum,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), one of the most outspoken congressional opponents of the detentions, wrote in response to the government's filing.
“The writing is on the wall — family detention is unacceptable, un-American, and will end. Rather than fight the court's ruling, the right and moral response is to swiftly take the necessary steps to bring our nation's detention policy in line with the Flores settlement agreement,” she wrote.
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VTA, Caltrans, City of San Jose Cut the Ribbon on Major Congestion Relief Project in Santa Clara County
VTA, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the City of San Jose partnered to deliver the congestion relief, access and safety improvements in one of the most heavily traveled corridors in Santa Clara County.
“When we broke ground on this project in late 2012, I dubbed the interchange ‘The Nightmare before Christmas’,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, “because of its notorious reputation for major traffic backups during peak commute travel times, especially during the holiday shopping season. Today, as we cut the ribbon to symbolize the completion of these improvements, I think it’s safe to say that Christmas has come early this year.”
The project reconfigured the existing I-880/Stevens Creek Boulevard cloverleaf interchange (originally constructed in 1959) which included widening and realigning ramps, improving intersections, and widening Stevens Creek Boulevard over I-880.
In 2007, the project received funding from various sources for the environmental and design work and to acquire right of way for the project including: a $19 million Federal earmark; a $1 million Federal grant from Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC); and approximately $3 million in local funds from VTA and the City of San Jose.
In 2011, VTA applied to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) for construction funding and in May 2012, VTA received the $39.3 million state allocation. The VTA Board of Directors awarded the construction contract to DeSilva Gates Construction in September 2012.
Congressman Mike Honda (D-17) successfully advocated for the $19 million in federal funding for the project. "This project is a perfect example of what can be done when all levels of government come together and pool their resources to improve commute conditions so that Silicon Valley may continue to thrive,” said Honda.
“This project took an outdated interchange and gave it new life, not just for freeway commuters but for those traveling on local streets by car, bus, bike or on foot,” said MTC Chair and Santa Clara County Board President Dave Cortese.
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