A VTA bus line dubbed ‘Hotel 22’ that provides shelter to countless Silicon Valley homeless residents is safe — at least for now. Transportation officials on Friday recommended saving Route 22, a bus line that travels from Palo Alto to East San Jose. Earlier this year, officials recommended eliminating the route from 1 a.m. to...
Norm Kline drops bid for San Jose Planning Commission
After a blunder left Norm Kline off a list of applicants for the Planning Commission, he dropped out of the competitive process and cleared the field for three others. “Since applying and not being selected, I have volunteered for other public service projects,” Kline wrote in a letter. “This combined with knowing the council has...
VTA Board allocates Measure B funds to controversial San Jose project
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board on Thursday approved $25 million in transit Measure B funds for a controversial traffic calming project in San Jose. Critics say the Charcot Avenue Extension project, which would cross over highway I-880 from Paragon Drive to Oakland Road, would endanger the safety of children at nearby Orchard Elementary School....
Assemblyman Evan Low’s Election Day holiday bill moves ahead
Should California voters have the day off to get to the polls and fulfill their civic duty? One Silicon Valley lawmaker thinks so, and his landmark bill is one step closer to becoming law. Assemblyman Evan Low’s Assembly Bill 177, which could establish a statewide Election Day holiday, is moving ahead in the legislative process....
San Jose lawmakers debate “bond secrecy” on ballot measures
With 2020 elections making headlines across the country, San Jose legislators recently debated disclosing the costs of bond measures as prompted by a controversial state bill. Assembly Bill 195, a bill approved in 2017 by former Gov. Jerry Brown, requires all ballot measures to have 75-word blurbs describing the amount of money to be raised annually, the tax...
San Jose grapples with growing park maintenance backlog
San Jose’s parks are crumbling to a tune of roughly $452 million dollars – $40 million more than they were last year. The perennial issue of the maintenance backlog resurfaced at last week’s City Council meeting. Councilors approved $4.7 million from the sale of a Coleman Avenue property to go back to parks. Funds from the November 2000...
Sam Liccardo won’t support measure to extend his mayoral term
“It’s one of those areas of reform that is fairly easy to make, but can have a pretty big difference in the level of civic participation in our local elections,” said San Jose State political science professor Garrick Percival. The initiative has garnered support from notable local groups and figures, including former Federal Elections Commission...
Silicon Valley leaders push for participation in 2020 census
In a year, Silicon Valley officials will hit the streets to begin counting people for the 2020 U.S. Census, which happens every 10 years. Beginning on April 1, 2020, census officials, volunteers and a multitude of Silicon Valley-area organizations will begin counting the region’s residents. They gathered Tuesday morning at San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza to begin...
San Jose Unified School District approves layoffs in 37 positions
The San Jose Unified School District will lay off employees in 37 classified positions — ranging from administrative aides to secretaries and student services techs — a reduction in force administrators say will fund raises to existing employees. The school board last week unanimously approved a resolution to eliminate the positions, a decision board leaders...
San Jose to tackle noisy trains and gas leaf blowers
Noisy leaf blowers and blaring late-night trains. San Jose legislators will take them both on during a meeting this week. A San Jose City Council committee on Wednesday will accept a report from city officials about funding a buy-back program for gasoline-powered lawn equipment, which environmentalists say create air pollution and health risks. The council twice...
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