Despite Mayor Sam Liccardo denouncing President Donald Trump’s threat of ICE raids in sanctuary cities, local activists say San Jose lawmakers and police must do more to build trust with the undocumented community. Immigrant rights advocates say Liccardo and San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia’s comments on Santa Clara County’s proposal to amend its ICE detainer policy stirred...
Author: Mauricio La Plante (Mauricio La Plante)
San Jose lawmakers discuss combatting rise in rapes
After examining a report by the San Jose Police Department on a spike in rapes across the city, lawmakers serving on a public safety committee Thursday wanted to know why victims avoid law enforcement and other hurdles with solving cases. Mayor Sam Liccardo also devoted $750,000 to help police leaders increase resources to address the rise...
Silicon Valley has no women in state Capitol. This group is changing that.
While the Bay Area is known for its diversity in language and ethnicity, the state legislators representing districts from San Francisco to San Jose have at least one thing in common. They’re all men. As elections for the California State Legislature approach next year, Close The Gap, a group that scouts and grooms women to run...
San Jose art studio squeezed out amid downtown growth
Moving was inevitable. That’s what Exhibition District executive director Erin Salazar kept in mind when securing a vacant building space for Local Color, a spot for budding artists to produce their work. After city officials in February approved the demolition of the building on 27 South First Street to make way for a mixed-use residential and...
San Jose committee pushes to designate murals as historic landmarks
Decades old art can be painted over in a matter of hours. This is what an emergency committee, assembled after the covering of the historic “Mural de la Raza” in East San Jose last year, is trying to avoid. Neighbors were outraged after the beloved mural on Story Road, which was more than three decades old,...
Two years later: Is San Jose’s eviction law working?
As California lawmakers shelve legislation restricting evictions statewide, San Jose passed a similar “just cause” ordinance two years ago which requires landlords to cite a legitimate reason for terminating a lease. But is the law working here? Since the local law’s adoption in April 2017, San Jose City Hall has received more than 12,800 notices...
Rapes in San Jose tripled in ten years; lawmakers want answers
San Jose elected leaders on Thursday called for a series of public hearings to address an alarming rise of reported rapes and sexual assaults in San Jose. All five female members of the San Jose City Council — Magdalena Carrasco, Sylvia Arenas, Dev Davis, Maya Esparza and Pam Foley — gathered in front of San...