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San Jose supporting hundreds of affordable apartments

Hundreds of apartments for people earning lower incomes or who are homeless are set to be constructed in San Jose, a move by city leaders to help alleviate the affordable housing crunch. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a plan Tuesday for the city to issue roughly $120 million in housing revenue bonds that...

Palo Alto mayor launches bid for state Assembly seat

Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou stumbled into politics accidentally as an active member of her community—now she wants to run for higher office. Kou declared her candidacy for state Assembly on Monday. She will run against incumbent Marc Berman who represents District 23, which includes Mountain View, Palo Alto, most of Menlo Park, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Saratoga and Campbell. Her focus is...

Who loses in San Jose mayor’s housing plan?

An already contentious debate on where to allocate funds for housing is growing more divisive, as San Jose leaders weigh diverting funding for hundreds of affordable homes. The San Jose City Council is considering cutting Measure E spending on affordable housing by half and reallocating those dollars to homelessness services and temporary shelters. Housing advocates said...

Does San Jose need a military-grade arsenal?

The San Jose Police Department must annually account for all the military-grade equipment in its arsenal, and advocates are asking for more information on how and why this equipment is used. Although the city council unanimously approved the department’s annual report summarized by San Jose Police Lt. Justin Moro at last week’s meeting, residents questioned...

Santa Clara County fairgrounds plans plod ahead

Plans to revamp the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds into a sports and recreation facility have been progressing for more than a year, but it’s unclear when shovels will hit the ground. After more than a year of exclusive negotiations with the San Jose Earthquakes, Major League Cricket and San Jose State University—all of which are eyeing...

Why bother buying a home in San Jose?

A recent national report is putting San Jose on the map for all the wrong reasons. The city is the toughest place to buy a home with the worst price-to-rent ratio, according to an analysis by real estate data company Clever. The company ranked 50 of the most populous U.S. metros with the goal of...