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San Jose’s Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department is streamlining its permitting process to generate faster turnaround times. The online process is two-fold. One feature—Best Prepared Designer—is aimed at design professionals and contractors who have a good track record with the city on small projects like single-family remodels and commercial projects. The program aims to...
San Jose officials declare a homelessness emergency
San Jose leaders say homelessness is a crisis, and they intend to jumpstart their stalled progress in meeting ambitious housing goals. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei and Councilmembers David Cohen and Omar Torres jointly unveiled plans today to declare a shelter crisis and homelessness emergency. They want to bypass the bureaucracy they say is...
San Jose spent $58M on police overtime last year
Scores of San Jose police are making six-figures from overtime pay due to a shortage of sworn officers, and it’s straining the city’s tight budget. The city paid out $58 million in overtime to San Jose Police Department officers last fiscal year, according to City Auditor Joe Rois—a 19% spike compared to the $47 million...
Report: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara has $2B economic impact
Events at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara have generated $2 billion in total economic impact for the region in the last decade, according to a report commissioned by the San Francisco 49ers. The report was prepared by Daniel Rascher, a professor of sports economics at University of San Francisco and head of consulting firm SportsEconomics....
San Jose homeless motel changes hands—again
When it comes to caring for San Jose’s most vulnerable homeless residents at a motel-turned-housing site, it seems no one can get it right. The SureStay Motel, which offers temporary housing and services to homeless seniors, is changing service providers for the third time in two years. HomeFirst will start providing food, case management and...
San Jose officials to crack down on social media rules
After a myriad of messy transitions including former San Jose officials impersonating their successors, holding social media accounts hostage and preventing access to mailing lists, the city is looking to create rules to ensure it doesn’t happen in the next election. District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan wants council-related websites and social media accounts to be...
San Jose government videos are ditching ads
People tuning in to a San Jose City Council meeting on YouTube might be interrupted by advertisements—something city officials said goes against the video platform’s own guidelines. Ads for website builders, grocery delivery, hotel booking sites and other products and services are dotted into the city’s public video recordings uploaded to the platform, including council, commission...
San Jose homeless hotel full on first day
The newly renovated Arena Hotel in San Jose has reopened to help some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, and it’s already turned on the no vacancy sign. The 90-room hotel on The Alameda about two miles from Santa Clara University is one of five Project Homekey sites designed to provide interim housing for homeless...
Will larger trash bins fix San Jose’s recycling woes?
After grappling with years of people dumping trash in the recycling, San Jose is doubling the number of larger trash bins across the city at no extra cost. It’s part of a pilot program launched in July 2022 to provide bigger trash cans to nearly 4,200 residents in key areas with high recycling contamination rates....
Conservative group bombards San Jose school board meeting
Supporters of a censured Franklin-McKinley School District trustee showed up in force at a recent board meeting, but some say they are outsiders pushing an agenda. Informed Parents of Silicon Valley members spoke out at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, following Trustee Marc Cooper’s colleagues asking him to denounce the organization and resign earlier this...