Public safety has been the number one issue on everyone’s mind during this critical election year. That myopic obsession has effectively forced other important issues off the radar. Luckily, we have a series of opportunities in the week ahead to shift the focus.

Election season is almost here. There is a large group of mayoral candidates and a number of City Council races that will determine the direction of San Jose’s city government for years to come. One important issue I hope every candidate addresses is the future of San Jose’s parks and trails.

Last week, Mayor Reed and the majority of the City Council attended the opening of the world’s largest material processing facility in San Jose. After the ceremonial acknowledgments, I stayed to tour of the facility, which is located on Dixon Landing Road, an area near Milpitas that was annexed to San Jose. I was amazed at the size and amount of material coming down several lines at the facility. The tour certainly gave me pause on what we collectively throw away and where it is processed.

San Jose’s Green Vision program may have hit a snag. Bob Garzee, one of the key players in the city’s push to create a network of public-private partnerships, has been sued by Union Bank of San Francisco. Garzee, the CEO of Synegry EV, Inc., had been planning to create a technology incubator in the city with which his company could develop electric vehicles. But when his line of credit came up for review late this June, it was denied

The International Economic Development Council had the highest praise for San Jose and Mayor Chuck Reed. At its annual conference in Reno, Nevada, it named the city’s Green Vision sustainable development program the best in the entire United States.