The retired judge, who served for more than a decade as police auditor and spent a dozen years on the bench, died in her home Sunday.

David Vossbrink, the city of San Jose’s longtime airport and City Hall communications director, called it a career after four decades.

A recent column in the Mercury News listed the best and worst local decisions in the last 50 years. Here’s a few more to add to the pile.

Local leaders in transportation, education, housing and equity convened last week in Mountain View’s Computer History Museum for the 2015 Silicon Valley Regional Economic Forum.

Without question Matthews is a brilliant choice to be an interim councilmember. She is smart, experienced and understands San Jose. Adding to her credentials, she has previously served as the District 4 council member.

Chuck Reed’s about to sunset his final term as mayor of San Jose, and he’s inviting the public to a farewell celebration. What’s that? You have plans? Oh, come on.

The November election will either shift the body politic in San Jose toward change or provide a continuation of the status quo. With the problems facing the city, change should be in the air.

This Saturday at 10am the county Board of Education will co-sponsor a mayoral forum on public education. When you examine the list of critical issues San Jose’s next mayor will have to confront—public safety, transportation, affordable housing, libraries, etc.—nearly all relate to our children’s education.

Politics can make for strange bedfellows, but there was something surreal about last week’s re-election kickoff party for Sheriff Laurie Smith.

Chuck Reed spent much of his eighth and final State of the City speech thanking his predecessors while noting that a mayor’s work goes on long after he or she leaves office. Noting that he and past elected officials in San Jose have stood “on the shoulders of giants,” Reed said the work he and the council have carried out in recent years must be viewed outside the prism of four-year term limits. “We have to think in much longer timeframes,” he said.