San Jose

San Jose

UPDATE: San Jose officials sign off on higher union pay

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan was the lone official to downvote a new contract for unionized city workers, after months of contentious discussions over how the city will afford pay raises for thousands of its employees. The San Jose City Council today ratified labor contracts after coming to a deal with two of the city’s...

San Jose seeks collaboration with Indigenous community

San Jose leaders want to dive deeper into the history of the local Indigenous community in an effort understand the past and recommit to more inclusion in the future. San Jose Councilmembers Peter Ortiz, Dev Davis, David Cohen, Domingo Candelas and Bien Doan are proposing a study session to learn more about the relation of...

San Jose’s Viva Calle faces chopping block

San Jose is planning cuts to a beloved parks program to compensate for raises for its unionized workers—a move that leaders warned would happen in the wake of contentious contract negotiations. Viva Calle returns for the final installment of the year Sunday. The event will shut down about six miles of streets to traffic through...

‘Without real power’: Another San Jose police watchdog leaves

San Jose’s assistant independent police watchdog quit months after the top police auditor stepped down, according to a letter obtained by San José Spotlight today. Eva Roa, the city’s assistant independent police auditor since 2020, sent a scathing letter to city officials on Friday sharing her frustrations with city management for consistently ignoring the IPA...

San Jose short-term housing development could fall through

A controversial plan to house homeless people on vacant VTA land in North San Jose could fall flat as officials consider other options. The VTA Board of Directors, composed of 12 officials from across Santa Clara County, voted 10-1-1 Thursday night to bring back a draft agreement for San Jose to build 200 homes with...

Raging Waters in San Jose goes under

Surf rock echoed from the gates of Raging Waters amusement park in San Jose today, but no one was around to hear it. The water park in East San Jose has shut down after 38 years. The 23-acre theme park originally opened its doors in 1985 and housed 14 water slides and a 350,000-gallon wave...

Restrictions keep San Jose safe parking site mostly empty

San Jose has spent years and millions of dollars to open its safe parking site at the Santa Teresa VTA light rail station—but it is practically empty. The city’s only safe parking site, which opened in July, has 42 spots, but the city is struggling to fill them despite having hundreds of people living in their...

San Jose commissioner competes for District 10 council seat

San Jose Planning Commissioner George Casey, who views himself as an independent moderate, is jumping into the District 10 City Council race. Casey, 52, is the third candidate to enter the South San Jose race in an effort to unseat incumbent Arjun Batra, who plans to run next year. The others vying for the job...

The fallout from San Jose’s failed housing plan

San Jose has failed to get state approval on its housing plan, leaving the door open for developers to bypass city housing rules. This is the second time the city has failed to fulfill its obligation to the state in providing a detailed plan for how it intends to add 62,000 homes by 2031. The pitfalls could...

West San Jose condo development to reflect historic roots

A vacant West San Jose lot littered with broken-down cars and tagged fences will be the future site of more than a dozen condominiums, after city leaders gave a developer’s proposal a thumbs-up. The San Jose City Council last week unanimously approved the vision of Los Altos-based Edge Development Group to build 14 “townhome-style” condos at...