San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo unveiled a gun safety proposal Monday that he knows won’t “suddenly end gun violence” — but will ensure the nation’s 10th largest city will stop paying for it. Liccardo is suggesting San Jose require gun owners in the city to carry mandatory liability insurance for weapons or pay an in-lieu...
Remember the Sonic Runway at San Jose City Hall? It could be coming back.
For nearly four months, more than a million people flocked to San Jose City Hall to catch a glimpse of the jaw-dropping “Sonic Runway,” a light-art installation that converted music into light patterns on 25 giant arches that stretched an entire city block. The art installation was so wildly popular that city leaders are now...
San Jose police union cancels gun raffle after Gilroy shooting
After several years of raising money by raffling firearms, San Jose’s police union leaders have decided to cancel the raffle indefinitely in the wake of a mass shooting in Gilroy last weekend that killed three people and injured more than a dozen others. “This was planned well in advance of the tragedy in Gilroy,” said...
Santa Clara County supervisorial candidates release fundraising hauls
The newly-released fundraising totals in the Santa Clara County supervisor’s race show a few unexpected front-runners as the candidates bolster their war chests. Five candidates are vying to replace Supervisor Dave Cortese and represent a district that spans San Jose, Alviso, Sunnyvale and Milpitas. According to the latest county finance reports, former Sunnyvale Councilmember Otto...
How you can help Gilroy Garlic Festival’s youngest victims
A day after a gunman opened fire on a crowd enjoying the Gilroy Garlic Festival, tributes poured in for the rampage’s youngest victims — Stephen Romero, 6, and Keyla Salazar, 13. Katiuska Pimental Vargas, a community organizer with San Jose-based nonprofit Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN) posted on Facebook that her niece —...
NextSpace coworking office in downtown San Jose closing
Coworking is on the rise in Silicon Valley, but one popular coworking space in downtown San Jose will close its doors. After eight years, NextSpace on 97 S. 2nd Street will close on Aug. 31 after its lease was not renewed. At least 24 companies and individuals will be scrambling to find a new office...
San Jose seniors facing displacement reach agreement to stay housed
Hundreds of San Jose seniors at risk of being displaced will receive a new home when their mobile home park closes, ending a painful saga that ignited a citywide debate about preserving mobile home parks in pricey Silicon Valley. The announcement six years ago that Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park would close to make way...
San Jose political advisor Alex Lee jumps into Assembly race
Another candidate on Monday entered the race to replace Silicon Valley Assemblyman Kansen Chu, setting the stage for one of the region’s most closely-watched races next year. Alex Lee, 23, a policy advisor and former field representative for Assemblyman Evan Low, announced he’s jumping into the fray. He joins a slew of other candidates, including...
Bob Wieckowski jumps from Congress to supervisorial race
Three weeks after declaring his candidacy for Congress to succeed presidential hopeful Rep. Eric Swalwell, Fremont state Sen. Bob Wieckowski is shifting gears. Now he wants to run for Alameda County Supervisor to replace Supervisor Scott Haggerty, a position that would afford him no term limits. Wieckowski, a bankruptcy attorney who sat on the Senate...
San Jose lawmakers call on mayor to address inequity
Five progressive San Jose lawmakers on Monday criticized Mayor Sam Liccardo for not going far enough in his proposed budget to address inequities that plague Silicon Valley’s poorest neighborhoods. “San Jose’s working families face issues of poverty, blight, crime and neglect that sometimes go back generations,'” said Councilmember Sylvia Arenas during a news conference at...
