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The rallying chants broke through the quiet morning: “Up up with public housing, down down with Google.” Vas Kumar, a supporter of the #Google8, the eight people arrested for chaining themselves to chairs to protest Google’s planned development in San Jose, called out the tech titan through a megaphone in front of the Santa Clara County building early...
San Jose City Council agenda packed with housing proposals
At the beginning of the year, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo called housing one of the most “daunting” challenges facing the city. On Tuesday, Liccardo and his council colleagues will tackle the crisis once again as they review a host of affordable housing projects. If the lengthy list is approved, San Jose could add hundreds of new...
Amid PG&E bankruptcy, San Jose rolls out community choice energy program
Days after the state’s largest utility provider filed bankruptcy, the capital of Silicon Valley turned the lights on San Jose Clean Energy, a new community choice plan that environmentalist Ruth Merino has been fighting for the last three years. “No one has to change anything,” Merino said. “You just pay your bill just like you...
Life inside a cramped van: A look at San Jose’s safe parking program
Joe Castro has been homeless on and off his entire life. Now, Castro, his wife, Donna Slaughter, and their three children are living inside a cramped van, using the backseat to sleep five people and the front seat as a “kitchen” while they get back on their feet. “It’s hard because our kids go to...
The ‘Year of the Woman’ makes its mark in Silicon Valley
A record number of women across the nation ran for political office last year – many first-time candidates – and despite some gender discrimination, the “pink wave” swept four women into top elected offices here in Silicon Valley. Newly-elected county Supervisor Susan Ellenberg remembers how empowered she felt watching Hillary Clinton’s concession speech after the 2016 election....
San Jose council debates Coyote Valley with developers, environmentalists
Coyote Valley – the 7,000 acres of mostly undeveloped land in south San Jose – has been a topic of contention for city planners for decades. And it was no different at Tuesday’s San Jose City Council study session. City Manager David Sykes called the issue a “balancing act” as councilmembers looked toward experts to...
Struggling seniors hit hard by Silicon Valley housing crisis
When Manny Escarega began caring for his ailing mother six years ago, the 57-year-old moved into her home and was forced to put his search for employment on hold. But when she died, his brother rented the house to strangers, leaving an unemployed Escarega to fend for himself on the streets. Six years later and...
Cannabis panel discusses removing barriers, ending the war on drugs
Councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco’s vision for cannabis businesses in San Jose focuses on righting the wrongs. For decades, residents in the east San Jose district have been victims of the country’s war on drugs. Now she wants to change that with an equity program. “The way that I see this is what a tragic point in...
San Jose State students explore legislation to combat homelessness
San Jose State University sophomore Bahati Burgess calls an old classroom at Grace Baptist Church his home. After being priced out of the dorms last year, the 19-year-old Oakland native became one of thousands of San Jose students experiencing homelessness while trying to earn their degrees. The downtown university has an alarmingly high number of...
Where is he now? San Jose’s former city manager helps Islanders recover from hurricanes
Former San José City Manager Norberto Dueñas is in what he likes to call his “second career.” The veteran civil servant, who got his start as an intern for then-councilmember Jim Beall, was employed by the city of San José for 33 years before he retired last fall. After a tumultuous two years as city...