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UPDATE: San Jose unveils $5 billion budget with surplus

San Jose’s final draft of its multi-billion dollar budget is out and Mayor Matt Mahan is sticking to his “back-to-basics” approach—prioritizing homelessness, crime and blight. Mahan released his June budget message today, outlining how he plans to allocate the city’s $5.2 billion purse. The monthslong budget process started smoothly, with unanimous approval of his first...

Santa Clara officials won’t kick out embattled colleague

Demands for Santa Clara Councilmember Anthony Becker to resign ultimately went unheeded Tuesday, the conclusion of a seven-hour meeting often stalled by procedural minutiae and recriminations. The Santa Clara City Council voted 4-2 not to schedule a future debate over whether to press Becker to resign, with Becker abstaining. He stands accused of leaking a...

Silicon Valley elected leader wages war with agency

New records show rising tensions, turmoil and dysfunction at the region’s largest water supplier — with one of its own directors now demanding the public agency pay her attorney fees in her fight against them. Valley Water Director Rebecca Eisenberg has ruffled feathers since taking office in January. But six months into her tenure, emails...

San Jose loses another beloved restaurant

The Evergreen community has lost a beloved restaurant after almost 20 years due to unplanned hardships caused by the pandemic and family health. In a letter taped to the restaurant’s door, Evergreen Inn & Pub owners Hector and Emily Lopez said they were closing their cherished restaurant with heavy hearts and thanked their loyal customers....

San Jose police say pointing a gun isn’t use of force

When a police officer points a gun at a person, it can be terrifying, induce trauma and anxiety and can quickly escalate a situation. Police watchdogs and community advocates say when a San Jose Police Department officer points a gun at someone, it should be recorded as use of force. But since summer of last year, SJPD’s internal affairs...

‘Homophobia is everywhere’: Rainbow flags stolen in San Jose

More than 75 rainbow flags have been stolen in Willow Glen as National Pride Month kicks off. It’s become a reoccurring issue. Local real estate agent Holly Barr buys and places the flags on Willow Glen’s main street, Lincoln Avenue, annually beginning in June. Every year she says they get stolen, but she’s not letting...

The Biz Beat: A San Jose bakery built on cinnamon bread and love

One year from its 100th anniversary, Greenlee’s Bakery in San Jose is still at its original location and producing its goods the old-fashioned way: hand-shaped, freshly-made dough created from quality ingredients. It’s a laborious process that starts in the early morning hours. “We have two bakers who go in at midnight,” co-owner Janette Geldner-Robertson told...

San Jose police complaints up three years in a row

In the years since George Floyd’s murder, San Jose has aimed to reform its police department, yet the number of complaints against officers has increased for the third year running, according to a new report. One out of every three of San Jose’s nearly 1,100 police officers received some type of complaint in 2022, a...

San Jose leader to spend night in homeless shelter

San Jose officials are being challenged by a formerly homeless resident to stay in a shelter before voting to open more—and one is up for the offer. Sketch Oppie, who sits on the San Jose’s Housing and Community Development Commission, recently asked the city council to experience what a homeless shelter is like before diverting funds...