Author: Adam F. Hutton (Adam F. Hutton)

San Jose tenants and landlords in limbo as rent relief is delayed

San Jose and Santa Clara County will rely on a coalition of grassroots charity organizations led by Destination: Home and Sacred Heart Community Service to disburse $57 million in federal rent relief to landlords and tenants suffering the financial consequences of COVID-19 in Silicon Valley. But not one penny can move until the U.S. Treasury...

San Jose mayor renews six-figure contract with Washington PR guru

After spending $145,000 on a Washington communications consultant to boost his national profile over two years, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo extended her contract again for four months to the tune of $30,000. Stephanie Craig’s Apeiron Strategies Group was first hired by Liccardo’s office in 2018 and bills the city for placing opinion pieces in...

Tenants mount courthouse protest to end evictions in Santa Clara County

Dozens of tenants and their advocates blocked the entrance to the Santa Clara County Superior Court in downtown San Jose this morning to protest ongoing evictions during the pandemic. Nine protesters were arrested after sheriff’s deputies declared the demonstration unlawful. The demonstrators successfully shut down the courts in the morning but judges resumed hearing cases...

South Bay tenants, landlords anxious as evictions loom, debt piles up

Silicon Valley residents who have struggled to pay rent during the pandemic are up against a wall, hoping Sacramento lawmakers will extend an eviction ban for those hit with financial hardship. At the same time, South Bay landlords waiting on months of overdue payments are looking to state and local governments to quickly distribute $2.6...

What the failure of Prop. 16 means for the future of affirmative action in San Jose

On Election Day, California voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot proposition which would have reversed the state’s 24-year ban on affirmative action programs that use race or gender to decide who deserves a leg up in public employment, contracting and college admissions. Fewer than 44 percent of voters in the state voted to approve Prop. 16...

From policy wonk to politician, Ann Ravel eyes state Senate

Ann Ravel is not a politician. And, although she’s running her first campaign for elected office, she’s not a novice either. Ravel has served as an appointed government official at every level. She was Santa Clara County counsel for nearly a decade and worked in that office for years prior to her appointment by the...