“Welcome home, Norm,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said as friends and family of Norm Mineta, former U.S. secretary of transportation and the city’s first Asian American mayor, gathered Wednesday at City Hall to celebrate and memorialize his life. Mineta died on May 3. Mineta is a local legend known for his advocacy during the September...
Author: Jana Kadah (Jana Kadah)
San Jose budget tackles homelessness and public safety
San Jose has more money to spend this fiscal year and officials are prioritizing homelessness, public safety, fighting blight, environmental sustainability and equitable economic recovery. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the $5.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2022-23. The city has $212 million more dollars to fund its 20 departments and various programs than...
San Jose’s free meals feed students during summer
The school year may have ended, but hunger never takes a break. San Jose is covering the food gap for low-income youth up to age 18 through the Summer Food Service Program, a federally-funded, state-administered program that allows the city to distribute meals. Outside of school, food insecurity is a harsh reality for low-income youth. The...
Take a peek inside the new Eataly in San Jose
The tastes, smells and experiences of Italy are coming to San Jose in a three-story, all-in-one artisanal market and restaurant space. Eataly Silicon Valley opens at the Westfield Valley Fair mall on June 16. The latest opening is part of 41 locations across the world, and Raffaele Piarulli, chief operating officer of Eataly, is thrilled to be...
San Jose’s decades-long pension problems level out
For the first time in years, San Jose’s mayor is working with a balanced budget, which means more funding for city services. The city’s pension and retirement costs are declining for the first time in two decades due to double-digit investment returns. The rate of return reached a record high in 2021. “This is pretty historic,” Jim Shannon,...
San Jose residents see water rate hikes once again
Water rates are increasing in July for San Jose residents in several neighborhoods. This week, the City Council unanimously approved increasing drinking and recycled water rates for the next fiscal year. The increase impacts customers of San Jose Municipal Water System, which serves about 136,000 residents in the North San Jose, Alviso, Evergreen, Edenvale and Coyote...
San Jose AAPI community thrilled with apparent winner in District 1
Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Rosemary Kamei’s resounding lead in the San Jose City Council District 1 race is also a win for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, AAPI leaders said. As of 5 p.m. Friday, Kamei has more than 60% of the vote, and assuming nothing changes, that nixes the...
San Jose council nixes Liccardo’s Qatar travel plans
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s travel plans to Qatar got axed by the City Council after they cited human rights concerns. Liccardo was invited by the foreign ministry of Qatar to attend the country’s Environment and Energy Research Institute from June 11-13 and learn about their water conservation efforts. All travel accommodations and meals would...
Rosemary Kamei appears to win West San Jose council seat
Last updated 5 p.m. on Monday. The next update will be 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Rosemary Kamei appears to be winning outright in the San Jose City Council District 1 race with 65.79% of the vote, or 9,426 votes. With 94% of the ballots counted, Kamei still holds...
Omar Torres lead remains steady in San Jose District 3 race
Last updated 5 p.m. on Monday. The next update will be 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Omar Torres and Irene Smith remain ahead of the other three challengers — Joanna Rauh, Ivan Torres and Elizabeth Chien-Hale — in the open seat for District 3, replacing Councilmember Raul Peralez who terms out in December. With 94% of...