Measure A - Bait and Switch
Game Changers Silicon Valley
Measure A is being sold to Santa Clara County voters as a hospital funding initiative — but the fine print tells another story. In this episode of Game Changers Silicon Valley, host Jim Connor talks with David Johnson, chairman of the Santa Clara County Republican Party, about the widening gap between the county’s public message and its fiscal reality. Johnson reveals how the county’s healthcare budget has nearly tripled despite a shrinking population and explains why Measure A — a general tax increase with no spending guarantees — may do little to fix the system’s inefficiencies....
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When Does a Tax Assessor Candidate Oppose a Tax Increase?
Game Changers Silicon Valley
Every election cycle, there’s one race that flies under the radar. In Santa Clara County, CA, we have an election that affects every homeowner, every taxpayer, and every senior ... that race is for County Assessor. This election has a special twist that one candidate, Rishi Kumar, who has taken a strong position against a sales tax increase referred to as Measure A. Join us to learn why a candidate of County Assessor is agains an increase in taxes.
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Disruption Isn't Random
Game Changers Silicon Valley
Disruption isn’t random — it follows patterns that can be seen, interpreted, and even anticipated. Yet most companies only recognize those signals after the market has already shifted. The organizations that thrive are the ones that develop the discipline to study weak signals — small but telling changes that reveal how markets or industries are about to evolve. These signals may come from unexpected places: a change in consumer behavior, a breakthrough in technology, or an overlooked data trend that quietly rewrites what’s possible. Aaron Bradley and his team at the University of...
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The Edge in Education!
Game Changers Silicon Valley
Virginia Cheung brings to the table not just policy ideas but personal stories that underscore the urgency of investing in the first five years of a child’s life. With California spending billions on education and still falling behind, she asks a provocative question: Are we missing the most crucial years of a child's development? Cheung delves deep into the connection between a child's early environment and their long-term academic success. She argues that when children are exposed to stable family routines and communication tools—whether through language, art, or even sign language—it...
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The Crisis at Big City School Districts
Game Changers Silicon Valley
I just sat down with Ann Hsu, a bold and fearless candidate for the San Francisco School Board, and let me tell you – this interview is unlike anything you've seen before. Ann doesn’t mince words about the deep-rooted dysfunction plaguing our school district. From exposing how political ambitions have hijacked our children's education to sharing her no-nonsense strategies for restoring fiscal sanity and accountability, Ann delivers a candid, unfiltered take on the mess our public schools have allowed to become the norm. What makes Ann's journey even more compelling is her personal story as...
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Financial Meltdown at the San Francisco Unified School District
Game Changers Silicon Valley
The San Francisco school district is in the middle of a financial reckoning, forced to reconcile a significant drop in student enrollment with years of delayed responses to the growing operational costs. This isn’t just a San Francisco problem—it's a glaring example of the challenges facing large school districts nationwide. Today’s conversation centers on the hard truth: there simply aren't enough students to support the district’s bloated infrastructure, and drastic measures are needed to avoid insolvency. In this episode, we dive into the heart of the matter with Supryia Ray, a...
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From Honor Rolls to Racial Roles: California's Educational Transformation
Game Changers Silicon Valley
California, once renowned for its high-performing public schools, is experiencing significant changes that raise concerns about the future of academic excellence. Notably, many high schools have eliminated honors and Advanced Placement classes, while some middle schools have stopped teaching Algebra in the 8th grade. A new state law mandates that all high school students must complete an ethnic studies course to graduate, aimed at enhancing cultural awareness and respect among diverse populations. However, the lack of a standardized curriculum has allowed for the introduction of "Liberated...
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The Oppressor Class
Game Changers Silicon Valley
Eli Steele's documentary, "Killing America," emerges from a profound silence into a loud, defining statement about the currents sweeping through American education. Born deaf, Steele transcends the boundaries of sound to explore the ideological framework shaping the narratives within schools across the nation. Through his lens, Steele investigates the dilution of meritocracy, the ascent of indoctrination, and the looming shadow of censorship, crafting a narrative that questions whether we are on the verge of educational decay or the brink of an academic renaissance. "Killing America" is not...
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Breaking the cycle, Crime, Drug Addiction, Recidivism
Game Changers Silicon Valley
We share a highly visible, universal concern: the persistent cycle of crime, drug addiction, and recidivism. My interview with former San Jose Mayor and current Congressional candidate Sam Liccardo, provides a deeper insight into the pernicious nature of this cycle. Sam underscores the deep-seated connection between these elements, painting a picture of a cycle that perpetuates itself but believes it can be dismantled with strategic intervention. His insights, drawn from years in public service, propose a pivot from punitive to rehabilitative justice. At the core of Liccardo’s argument is...
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Guns, Border, and Immigration Reform
Game Changers Silicon Valley
Everyone agrees: We are witnessing unprecedented political polarization and deep divides tearing our country's fabric. Since the current leadership in Congress cannot come to terms, the voters have little option but to send a message by electing new representatives and senators to Congress. I had an opportunity to interview a newcomer in the upcoming primary elections in California. Peter Dixon has impressive international accomplishments, entrepreneurial experience, served as a marine in combat, and a common sense approach to addressing big issues. He believes in finding creative...
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On Monday of last week, Capital One announced a data breach affecting an estimated 106 million Credit card customers and applicants. This is one of the largest Data breaches experienced by a large bank. One noteworthy point is that this cyber theft was conducted against data stored in the cloud-hosted by Amazon Web Services. In the past, most cyber intrusions have been conducted against a corporate data center.
Capital One is just one of the many companies that have migrated to cloud services technology to improve performance, deliver software enhancements, and reduce costs by closing down dedicated data centers. But, the heightened complexity and interdependency of applications deployed in the cloud has also introduced some new exposures and vulnerabilities.
While attending the RSA conference in San Francisco this year, I had an opportunity to meet with John Dickson of the Denim Group. John explained how the migration to the cloud-based infrastructure is a completely new concept verses, how apps were developed five years ago. He also discusses the approach used to create cloud applications known as continuous integration, continuous deployment, or CICD. The sheer complexity of the many moving parts in this technology can lead to simple missteps in security, leading to a data breach.