\u201cEvents like PolitiBeat remind us that democracy is not a spectator sport,\u201d Michael Fox Jr., Goodwill of Silicon Valley CEO and chair of San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight\u2019s board of directors, said in his opening remarks. \u201cIt does not just happen at City Hall. It works best when we show up, when we ask the tough questions, challenge ideas and policies, listen, disagree and, in the tradition of former President Ronald Reagan and Speaker of the House Tip O\u2019Neill, enjoy a glass of Irish whiskey afterward.\u201d<\/p>\n
An Aug. 18 San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight podcast episode<\/a> highlights two of the panels on data centers<\/a> and the planned ICE facility near Gilroy<\/a>.<\/p>\n PolitiBeat 2026 kicked off with a discussion on San Jose\u2019s entertainment zones<\/a> \u2014 six parts of the city\u2019s downtown core where alcohol is allowed to be sold and consumed in public plazas and streets during special events. The City Council approved the zones to help San Jose capture revenue from visitors during the Super Bowl<\/a> and World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Panelists said entertainment zones can be more than just a few streets where alcohol can be legally consumed in public \u2014 they can be an opportunity to recreate cities.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see this as booze for everyone,\u201d District 6 Councilmember Michael Mulcahy said. \u201cThis is not about how much booze we can sell. This has to be organized in a way where it really is about branding the city, (showing) that we\u2019re open to this kind of activity. It\u2019s about engaging the businesses that are storefronted right in these zones, and it\u2019s about creating community.\u201d<\/p>\n The huge turnout this summer for World Cup watch parties<\/a> in downtown San Jose shows the demand for \u201cthe experience economy,\u201d Rachel Royer, vice president of development and construction at Jamestown LP, said.<\/p>\n \u201cThose kinds of experiences can\u2019t be replicated online,\u201d Royer said. \u201cThose are things you have to come and experience with other people in a place that has been created, with all of these other elements that we\u2019re talking about, music, art, parks and the live community around you. It doesn\u2019t need to revolve around alcohol.\u201d<\/p>\n The next panel focused on data centers and how Silicon Valley is planning for projects in the pipeline<\/a>. Some panelists said data centers are an unavoidable necessity for the future of AI, but there are no quick solutions to the huge demand they create for electricity and water.<\/p>\n \u201cThese solutions will take time,\u201d Will Chueh, director of Stanford University\u2019s Precourt Institute of Energy, said. \u201cThey will be expensive before they are not. \u2026 It\u2019s very important to make sure that investments are being made on the innovation aspect, so when the time comes to scale them, then we\u2019re ready to do so. And I think this is where California can really lead in a strong way.\u201d<\/p>\n Masheika Allgood, an AI ethicist and founder of AllAI Consulting, countered that optimism.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile there are innovations, there are always trade-offs,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fact of the matter is none of this stuff is free. \u2026 You have to recognize these solutions are not quick and easy and that it will take effort from a rulemaking process to make those solutions the day-to-day reality.\u201d<\/p>\n One example Allgood cited is backup power for data centers. Diesel generators create air pollution and noise, but replacing them with high-tech batteries introduces the risk of fires that are hard to extinguish.<\/p>\n A talk on the region\u2019s information needs followed the data center discussion. Santa Clara County residents value local news about their neighborhood and city above the nation or world, according to a survey by San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight and partner organizations \u2014 yet they have a hard time finding it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe further away (news is), the less important it is, the easier it is to get,\u201d Andrea Everett, principal researcher at Embold Research, which conducted the survey of 2,000 residents in July, said. \u201cWe have taken to calling this the proximity paradox. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve observed in surveys we fielded in other places recently as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The problem, panelists said, is a decline in mainstream local media and the distractions of \u201cclickbait\u201d news in social media feeds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe long game here is that we\u2019ve got to fix the distribution channels,\u201d Chandran Sankaran, founder and CEO of Gigafact<\/a>, said. \u201cIn the meantime, anyone who is a good journalist has got to be wildly effective in reaching audiences where they live on social media, and not to think of that as someone else\u2019s problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Artificial intelligence is drastically remaking the world of work, according to panelists speaking on the topic of AI in the workforce, with special challenges for newly minted college graduates looking for their first job.<\/p>\n \u201cCareer ladders are getting broken,\u201d Anshul Sonak, Intel Corporation global director of digital readiness, said. \u201cI think we need to foster and create new opportunities. \u2026 Instead of just talking about this issue as extreme hype or extreme horror, you have to find a middle path of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n Colleges and universities are responding by incorporating AI in their curriculum<\/a> and by training students to be their own advocates.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important that students or recent graduates understand how to market and position themselves,\u201d San Jose State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson said. \u201cThe other piece is ensuring our graduates and all of our students have current internship opportunities and project-based learning opportunities in their classes that they\u2019re transmitting into the interview process. Our students are getting jobs across the board because they\u2019re ready for the workforce that\u2019s occurring here.\u201d<\/p>\n Local political and community leaders have been nearly unanimous<\/a> in condemning a proposed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility<\/a> near Gilroy, most recently through a lawsuit seeking to stop the project<\/a>. County leaders discussed their strategy during a panel on the proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the wrong place and the wrong process,\u201d County Counsel Toni LoPresti said. \u201c(The federal government is) running roughshod over the law and pretending that they don\u2019t have to comply with it. We were lucky to have the mandate from a board of supervisors that\u2019s willing to engage and fight back and to be able to hold them accountable in the courts. And we\u2019re confident in our chances of success.\u201d<\/p>\n Immediate concerns include an inadequate septic system at the site, which could cause water pollution, and toxic waste left over from the site\u2019s former use for agricultural research. The bigger concern is whether the facility signals a move toward broader immigration enforcement in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cAs news of this (facility) spread back in April, it felt like a wave of shock, a wave of grief and then panic,\u201d Working Partnerships USA Movement Building Director Rebecca Armendariz said, noting Gilroy\u2019s population is 59% Latino. \u201cFolks are staying home (and) uprooting their families out of our schools. \u2026 Some of them are moving, trying to figure out which community will keep them safest at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n The region\u2019s longstanding housing crisis took center stage in a panel with housing officials and policy experts.<\/p>\n Silicon Valley\u2019s stratospheric housing prices<\/a> are choking the local economy and contributing to homelessness, but housing advocates said they face entrenched resistance to new ideas.<\/p>\n \u201cThe concept of self-interest keeping the price (of housing) up because of scarcity is very real,\u201d DignityMoves founder and CEO Elizabeth Funk said. \u201cEven realtors have an incentive to make sure that not enough housing is produced because then it stays expensive and they get the higher commissions. The answer is to disempower the opposition, and we can only do that if we have zoning rules and so forth that are carefully and correctly written. The special interests have got to be silenced.\u201d<\/p>\n Panelists called for more public spending on housing, and pointed out that only 20% of Silicon Valley residents who qualify for housing vouchers<\/a> receive them. But changes are underway, such as the new California Housing and Homelessness Agency that is looking to accelerate construction of affordable housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re really excited about this,\u201d SV@Home Director of Policy Alison Cingolani said. \u201cThe pots of money that help to fund affordable housing are (now) sitting in all kinds of different state agencies, (which) adds time and adds cost for developers. Bringing everything together in one agency has a lot of promise (and) we could conceivably see a streamlined single application for all of these funding programs.\u201d<\/p>\n School districts in Santa Clara County are in turmoil because of inadequate funding, declining enrollment<\/a> and tug-of-war disputes for resources between parents and teachers. A panel of education experts dissected the issue.<\/p>\n \u201c(State leaders) claim that we\u2019re fully funding education and we aren\u2019t,\u201d said Don Rocha, a trustee with the Santa Clara County Board of Education. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why you see school districts having to go out for parcel taxes and bond measures. That\u2019s to fund the shortfalls that the state has continued to do year after year, decade after decade.\u201d<\/p>\n Declining enrollment, in part due to the high cost of housing in Silicon Valley pushing out young families, is causing school closures<\/a> that further fuel fights between parents, teachers and school boards.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen your board meetings feel like a WWE WrestleMania pay-per-view you aren\u2019t focused on the bigger issue,\u201d Rolando Bonilla, chief strategy officer for Voler Strategic Advisors, said. \u201cThe (fights) are the symptom of the disease. The disease is simply California is not funding its public schools. \u2026 We have to unify and have a collective conversation saying, \u2018Sacramento, pay us dollars.’\u201d<\/p>\n Open space in Santa Clara County, especially Coyote Valley in South San Jose, require constant vigilance to be maintained. That\u2019s according to two panelists who spoke about the work to preserve green areas in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce you make land use decisions, you can\u2019t take them back,\u201d Kathy Sutherland, chair of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, said. \u201cIt\u2019s very important that we preserve our natural lands now, because once they\u2019re gone for development, nobody else has that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PolitiBeat-Recap-1-1024x683.jpg\")
PolitiBeat 2026\u2019s first panel was on entertainment zones. From left to right: San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight reporter Maryanne Casas-Perez, San Jose Jazz Executive Director Brendan Rawson, Jamestown LP Vice President of Development and Construction Rachel Royer, District 6 San Jose Councilmember Michael Mulcahy, San Jose Chamber of Commerce President Leah Toeniskoetter and Ritchie Commercial President Mark Ritchie. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PolitiBeat-Recap-2-1024x683.jpg\")
Panelists discussed data centers and how the region is preparing for projects in the pipeline. From left to right: Palo Alto Mayor Vicki Veenker, Stanford University Precourt Institute of Energy Director Will Chueh, Masheika Allgood, an AI ethicist and founder of AllAI Consulting, SV MEPS Strategic Advisor Doug Block and San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight editor Nick Preciado. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PolitiBeat-Recap-3-1024x683.jpg\")
The third panel of the day discussed regional information needs. From left to right: San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight co-founder and co-CEO Ramona Giwargis, Embold Research Principal Researcher Andrea Everett, Civics News Company board member Kang-Xing Jin and Chandran Sankaran, founder and CEO of Gigafact. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PolitiBeat-Recap-4-1024x683.jpg\")
San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight editor Moryt Milo, left, moderated a panel on AI in the workforce featuring West Valley-Mission Community College District Chancellor Bradley Davis, San Jose State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson and Anshul Sonak, Intel Corporation global director of digital readiness. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PolitiBeat-Recap-5-1024x683.jpg\")
Local officials discussed how they aim to stop a planned ICE facility in South County outside of Gilroy. From left to right: Gilroy Mayor Greg Bozzo, Santa Clara County Counsel Toni LoPresti, San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight reporter Keith Menconi, Working Partnerships USA Movement Building Director Rebeca Armendariz and Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PolitiBeat-Recap-6-1024x683.jpg\")
A group of panelists discussed the region\u2019s housing and homelessness crisis. From left to right: SV@Home Director of Policy Alison Cingolani, DignityMoves founder and CEO Elizabeth Funk, San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight reporter Joyce Chu, Sandy Perry, board vice president of South Bay Community Land Trust, and San Jose Housing Commissioner Oscar Quiroz-Medrano. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/PolitiBeat-Recap-7-1024x683.jpg\")
The public education panel at PolitiBeat 2026. From left to right: San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight reporter Lorraine Gabbert, Alum Rock Union School District board member Corina Herrera-Loera, Voler Chief Strategy Officer Rolando Bonilla, San Jose Teachers Association President Renata Sanchez and Don Rocha, a trustee on the Santa Clara County Board of Education. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"Three](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1071-1024x768.jpeg\")
San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight Director of Development Thi Tran hosted a discussion on preserving open space in Santa Clara County with Alice Kaufman, policy and advocacy director for Green Foothills, and Kathy Sutherland, chair of the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n