English
Spanish
Vietnamese
Bay Area transit officials this month will decide how to allocate $975 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds to local transit agencies, including the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). “In the lens of the pandemic, it allows essential workers to keep their jobs and save money,” said Daniel Huynh, a member of Silicon Valley...
A San Jose tobacco shop and LGBTQ center form unlikely partnership
Seated next to each other, they look like an odd couple. But two community leaders have forged an unlikely partnership — and it’s helping LGBTQ youth in unexpected ways. When the popular Crema Coffee on The Alameda closed one of stores, most San Joseans expected the space to be filled by another cafe or restaurant....
Will a $300K consultant fix Santa Clara’s tourism woes?
Santa Clara is mulling whether to pay a consultant $300,000 to create a tourism strategy for the city, a move scrutinized by several city councilmembers given the city’s questionable history of hiring expensive consultants. “It’s starting to look more like wasteful spending,” said Santa Clara Councilmember Anthony Becker. “I’d rather see available funds spent on...
Bay Area living out of reach for some VTA transit workers who sleep in their cars
After a long day of driving a transit bus all over Silicon Valley, Bernard Glinton curls up for a night of rest — in his SUV. The longtime bus driver has slept in his SUV for the last two years to save costs and give himself some much-needed rest. “There’s tons of people who are commuting because...
Death of San Jose man spurs questions about homeless shelter capacity
On a cold and rain-soaked December night, Ruben Eldridge Hill slept beneath the entrance of an empty office building in downtown San Jose. And by 11:40 a.m. the next morning, the 55-year-old man, who’d lived on the streets for years, was dead. No one knows yet what caused Hill’s death. But many agree that his...
Members of San Jose’s Diridon advisory group say the city isn’t listening to them anymore
When San Jose first convened a community advisory group to weigh the massive redevelopment of Diridon Station, members were hopeful they’d have a voice in setting expectations for new construction around the city’s transit hub. The Diridon Station Area Advisory Group — or SAAG, as it’s commonly called — was formed in 2018 and has 38 members, ranging from...
Look back: Google’s San Jose project endured rocky road in 2020
This past year has been stressful for everyone, even Google. As the tech giant’s real estate development team tried to push forward plans for its 80-acre megacampus near downtown San Jose, it was hit with bureaucratic snags and opposition from many quarters, including the Bay Area’s beloved hockey team. Still, the project passed some significant...
Airport panel rejects San Jose’s Diridon, Google project plans
A critical airport commission unanimously voted against San Jose’s Diridon plan and Google’s downtown megacampus, taking issue with proposed building heights that would disrupt the city’s international airport. Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commissioner Glenn Hendricks admonished San Jose for failing to answer commissioner’s questions. “I’m extremely disappointed in the city of San Jose...
South Bay Vietnamese Americans wrestle with COVID-19, lack of information
On a clear December day, the glowing sun hit a scant array of faces walking toward the Grand Century Mall in San Jose. In a plaza once teeming with visitors, particularly Vietnamese Americans, there were mostly shop owners and workers tending to business: distributing supplies, cleaning facilities and fulfilling to-go orders for loyal customers. San...
Santa Clara County starts free COVID-19 workplace testing for transit employees
About 175 bus drivers, train operators, mechanics and administrators lined up to take COVID-19 tests at the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s Guadalupe rail yard on Dec. 10. “Some of our folks weren’t getting tested for whatever reason,” said John Courtney, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265. “But when we bring it to...