Maritza Maldonado was raised in East San Jose by parents who immigrated from Mexico. They worked in the fields before her father found employment as a custodian and her mother as a cannery worker. She grew up with parents who wanted a better life for their daughter and she didn’t let them down. “Our immigrant...
Author: Lorraine Gabbert (Lorraine Gabbert)
Meet San Jose State University’s new president
Cynthia Teniente-Matson is the first Latina and fourth woman to serve as San Jose State University president since the university was founded in 1857. Teniente-Matson, 58, the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, was born in Texas. Her father was a sheet metal worker and her mother worked in retail. She grew up inspired by her mother’s...
San Jose’s Asian community mourns shooting victims
San Jose residents held a candlelight vigil over the weekend to remember those killed in recent mass shootings across the state. About 40 people gathered at City Hall Sunday night to honor these individuals, many Asian Americans, killed in mass shootings last week in East Oakland, Half Moon Bay and Monterey Park, a community outside...
South Bay reentry program changes lives of formerly incarcerated
Mark Ashford has been in and out of the criminal justice system for 26 years, never staying out for more than five months at a time. A few years ago, everything changed with the help of a support program and reentry services. “It is possible for people to change,” Ashford, 46, told San José Spotlight....
San Jose remembers fearless social justice leader
Local activist and community leader Bea Robinson Mendez, 88, died from pneumonia on Jan. 13, but her legacy lives on. Robinson Mendez founded Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, the first bilingual shelter in the country and second domestic violence agency in the state. The organization, which started in a San Jose garage in 1971, provides...
Santa Clara County preps for more rain
Santa Clara County is getting a brief break from the rain before storms return over the weekend, prompting officials to urge residents to prepare for emergencies. In a news conference today, county officials asked residents to sign up for the AlertSCC app, an alert and warning system for flooding, power outages, road closures and mudslides....
East Palo Alto poet uses public office to uplift community
An East Palo Alto poet is using his elected office to fight for a better future for his community. Vice Mayor Antonio López, 28, is working to improve the quality of local schools and create a youth commission to give them a voice in politics. As a poet, López reflects on his culture and the...
With one election over, San Jose politicos look to the next
It’s deja vu in San Jose politics. As elected leaders on Monday settled a political fight over filling two upcoming vacancies on the San Jose City Council, some former politicos are eyeing a return to their old posts. The council voted just before midnight to appoint successors to two soon-to-be-vacant seats in Districts 8 and 10....
Downtown San Jose loses another major retailer
The closing of a neighborhood drugstore means the loss of much needed services for residents and business owners in downtown San Jose. The CVS on The Alameda, which closed about two weeks ago, offered a convenient one-stop shop for groceries, basic goods and pharmaceutical needs, but it also became a “magnet” for homeless residents who...
San Jose landowners stir up Coyote Valley concerns
About one year after the San Jose City Council took action to shield more than 300 acres of Coyote Valley land from development of massive distribution warehouses, several landowners are now proposing a major energy facility. Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed represents a group of three property owners pushing early plans to accommodate an electricity transmission...