As he takes the reins of Supervisor Dave Cortese’s office, former San Jose Councilman Don Rocha says he’ll focus on bolstering Santa Clara County finances in the face of potential cuts in federal funding to a county that’s boldly led the resistance against Donald Trump. “No one knows what the White House or Congress is...
Author: Ramona Giwargis (Ramona Giwargis)
San Jose defends its cardrooms from Blackjack ban
San Jose’s longstanding war with its cardrooms has turned into… love? As state gaming regulators mulled a controversial proposal to ban Blackjack in California cardrooms, San Jose officials loudly stood up for Casino M8trix and Bay 101 by opposing the change and sending a top city leader to Antioch to speak out against the plan....
Activists plan a San Jose community land trust for affordable housing
Fed up with astronomical rents that are squeezing out families, San Jose housing advocates are taking matters into their own hands. A trio of community groups have teamed up to form the first-ever community land trust in San Jose — an innovative strategy that would allow them to buy scarce land as a community and...
Who is behind the anti-Google protests?
The chaos inside a recent San Jose City Council meeting was like nothing seen before: Eight people chained themselves to chairs to protest the city selling public land to Google for a massive tech campus. SWAT officers paced the room. Authorities blanketed the hallways all night, tense and ready for an uprising after monitoring social...
Johnny Khamis jumps into state Senate race
Several prominent politicians are lining up to replace termed-out state Sen. Jim Beall in an election that’s more than a year away. San Jose Councilman Johnny Khamis, a former Republican who fled the party in June over Donald Trump’s immigration policies, confirmed that he’ll run for the seat. Khamis discussed the idea with political consultant...
Introducing San José Spotlight
San José is many things to many people. For me, it’s the cramped apartment in Hoffman-Via Monte that was ripe with graffiti and gang activity, but welcomed my refugee parents who came to this country with one suitcase. It’s the old Thrifty’s (now Whole Foods) where my sister and I snuck out to buy candy....
Retired? Yeah, right. East Side’s Blanca Alvarado launches two new campaigns
Ten years after East Side matriarch Blanca Alvarado “retired” from politics, the trailblazer shows no signs of slowing down.