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In what could be another tool to address homelessness in San Jose, state representatives for the city are hoping to pass an amended bill that will exempt certain regulations for building homeless shelters. Assembly Bill 143 amends existing laws to grant cities and counties an exemption from certain building regulations and environmental analysis under the...
South Bay residents and elected officials respond after New Zealand massacre
The reverberations of a well-planned “terrorist attack,” in the words of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand yesterday have left Muslim communities in the South Bay reeling. Prayers for the 49 dead and scores who were injured could be heard in Friday sermons across the Bay Area, as...
Ann Ravel witnessed wage disparity working in fruit orchards
Working in a fruit orchard cannery in San Jose as a school girl gave Former Federal Election Commission chair Ann Ravel a startling glimpse at income inequality, gender and racial disparities. White men were treated and paid better than white women, Latinos and Latina workers, she said. “I was a member of the union for the workers...
Federal contractors in San Jose remain unpaid after government shutdown
Some Bay Area federal workers say they won’t get a penny of back pay after being forced off the job during the longest government shutdown in history. “It’s a big impact on us, I was delayed on my rent. I asked my landlord to just give me a delay,” said Angelina Mariano, one of 43...
Liccardo not worried about Newsom’s threat to withhold funding
Mayor Sam Liccardo isn’t rattled by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s threat to withhold money from cities that fail to build enough housing — despite San Jose falling short of its housing production goals. Liccardo said he was “all in” to support the governor’s ambitious housing development goals. “We’ve been begging for these kinds of carrots and...
Outgoing San Jose Councilman Tam Nguyen to keep working on housing issues
Ousted San Jose City Councilman Tam Nguyen isn’t planning to disappear now that his one term on the council is over. In a recent interview with San José Spotlight, Nguyen said he plans to continue working on finding solutions to issues like affordable housing and homelessness as a community member. Nguyen, 62, lost his bid...
Work with HomeFirst brings CEO Andrea Urton “full circle”
Andrea Urton has faced many challenges in her life such as losing her mother, living in a violently abusive home and ending up on the streets — all before she graduated high school. Now Urton is the CEO of HomeFirst, one of the South Bay’s leading nonprofits working to end homelessness. And she’s working toward...