The San José City Council met on Tuesday to discuss data centers in the city of San José as well as youth violence prevention.
One of the most time-consuming items on the agenda of the meeting was about the future of data centers in San José and how to manage its resources effectively.
Manuel Pineda, the deputy city manager for the City of San José, attended the meeting to present the finished work and report on the PG&E status over the last year.
“As you know, electricity is a key factor in developing in California, and we have done a lot of work to try and set San José as a good location for future development consideration,” Pineda said.
Lisa Charpentier, a District 3 resident and a member of the California Doughnut Economics Coalition, said it is important to involve the community that is concerned about bringing in data centers to the city.
“This is going to affect our quality of life in a large way,” Charpentier said. “We need to develop a process by which we can find them acceptable – not just acceptable by bringing in money to the city, but to the residents’ quality of life.”
The action item discussed environmental review processes for data centers, as well as thresholds and assessments for water consumption by the centers, according to the presentation.
At the beginning of the meeting, the city council proclaimed National Youth Violence Prevention Week to be honored from April 18 to April 25, to highlight efforts of the community in supporting the youth through community-based violence prevention strategies.
National Youth Violence Prevention Week is the time of the year when specific organizations focus on aiming to ensure that no young lives are lost in acts of violence, according to a National Today webpage.
The proclamation was introduced and presented by District 8 Councilmember Domingo Candelas and Mayor Matt Mahan during the city hall meeting.
Candelas said the week is symbolic, emphasizing that it reflects ongoing work across the city.
“This is a coordinated citywide initiative designed to support our youth, strengthen partnerships and advance community-based violence prevention strategies,” Candelas said.
The San José Youth Empowerment Alliance is the city’s long-standing strategy to reduce youth violence, bringing together a wide coalition of community members, organizations and government leaders, according to the City of San José webpage.
For over 30 years, the strategy has used a coordinated collective approach to address the needs of young people and prevent violence, according to the same source.
Candelas also pointed out the regional partnerships as part of a broader strategy.
Representatives from Oakland Ceasefire Strategy and local violence prevention communities came to the city hall to discuss public strategies to reduce violence and strengthen relationships with the community police.
Oakland’s Ceasefire Strategy focuses on a small group of individuals most likely to be involved in gun violence, coordinated policing and community outreach to prevent shootings and save lives, according to a City of Oakland webpage.
Candelas said the issue is both policy-driven and personal, especially for the community.
“Violence prevention is a weekly, monthly and daily commitment in our families,” Candelas said. “I’m proud our city initiatives go beyond recreation in building trust and confidence and showing that the city is invested in their youth.”
Candelas also highlighted programs such as “Saturday Night Lights,” which helps expand to eight sites citywide, offering youth safe spaces through community engagements and sports team sponsorships.
“This makes me proud because sports has also been a big impact in my life,” Candelas said.
A part of the item discussing violence prevention included the recognition of long-time advocate, Corazon Tomalinas, for her several works dedicated to youth violence prevention.
Tomalinas is a Filipino immigrant and a longtime community activist who led the San José Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task force for over 20 years, according to an Obama White House Archives blog post.
She has served on several community boards and has been recognized with the California Peace Prize for her work, according to the same source.
During the meeting, Tomalinas spoke on her history with the City of San José and her continued commitment to her work.
“Coming back here feels like I’m coming back home,” Tomalinas said. “I’ve haunted these halls for our children.”
Tomalinas also praised the youth’s role and engagement in the community to the young people in attendance.
“Let me tell the youth that are here how very proud we are of you,” Tomalinas said. “If you are here, you can pat yourselves (on the back) because you are engaged and a vital part of this community.”
Proactive policing strategies like hot spots and problem-oriented policing targeted enforcement and analysis reduce violence with research showing they can achieve meaningful decreases in crime, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.
She said that prevention requires more than enforcement.
“Violence cannot be prevented by just arresting everybody … you need a whole amount of programs from intervention to enforcement but also aftercare,” Tomalinas said.
Candelas said the violence prevention week discussed by Tomalinas plays an important role in bringing attention to ongoing efforts through encouraging community participation.
He said that events throughout the week hope to connect the San José community, organizations and the youth through shared programming and outreach.
The recognition reinforces a long-term strategy by preventing violence, requiring sustained collaboration and investment to support young people beyond the moment of crisis.
Tomalinas closed her speech with a direct message to the city leaders and community of San José.
“Please let us remember that hate is only defeated by love and that love is for everyone, but especially for the children,” Tomalinas said. “So when you go home tonight, don’t let the pain that’s happening nowadays, leave them out and do not let the children feel the pain for too long.”
