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The conference room behind the San Jose City Council chambers is now named after a local giant—former City Attorney Rick Doyle. Doyle was a longtime public servant who spent more than 20 years in City Hall. He died at the age of 65 from cancer, just 10 days after retiring, on Aug. 23, 2020. He...
San Jose overuses consultants—and the mayor says enough
San Jose leans too heavily on pricey consultants in policymaking—at times like a stumbling drunk—and Mayor Sam Liccardo says it’s time to sober up. “We see a lot of use of consultants, and it’s not always productive,” Liccardo told San José Spotlight. The outgoing mayor said he’s fed up with San Jose hiring consultants—often costing...
Chinese developer with multiple San Jose projects arrested
The head of a China-based development firm with major land holdings in San Jose has been arrested on allegations of using bribery and kickbacks to gain development approvals in San Francisco. Zhang Li, whose Z&L Properties has two long-stalled development projects in San Jose, was detained in London on Nov. 30 on a warrant from the...
San Jose trails neighbors on minimum wage
Paychecks are increasing in San Jose come Jan. 1, but for some residents it’s barely enough to get by. The minimum wage in San Jose will go from $16.20 an hour to $17 an hour, but the hike isn’t keeping pace with the rising costs of living in the Bay Area, workers said. Ahtziri Hernandez, a...
UPDATE: San Jose sets stricter rules for future billboards
San Jose has new requirements to build billboards in the city, but it’s unclear when the advertisements will pop up. San Jose is looking to establish digital billboards at several city-owned properties like the San Pedro Street parking garage and another at Third and San Carlos streets, as well as the Hammer Theatre, Center for...
UPDATE: San Jose council votes to give police auditor more power
San Jose is moving forward with tentative plans to expand the city’s police oversight powers, despite claims by the police union that the changes may violate the city charter. In a unanimous vote, the San Jose City Council agreed Tuesday to accept Mayor Sam Liccardo’s call to add an investigative branch to the Independent Police...
UPDATE: Settlement paves way for more homes in North San Jose
San Jose has cleared the last legal obstacle facing the construction of thousands of homes in the north part of the city. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a settlement with Santa Clara County, ending a decade-long legal dispute that has blocked San Jose from pursuing housing developments in the northern...
VTA couldn’t stop San Jose mass shooting, report claims
An independent investigation into whether VTA could have done more to prevent the 2021 mass shooting in San Jose has found the organization did not have enough information to prevent the attack. At a last-minute Monday news conference at VTA headquarters, VTA Chief of External Affairs Jim Lawson said a 17-month investigation conducted by San...
How San Jose’s new policymakers prepare for City Hall
The incoming San Jose mayor and councilmembers have different political leanings, but they agree on one thing: they’re only as strong as their staff. With less than a month before the newly-elected leaders fill the San Jose City Council chambers, dozens of interviews are happening to hire staff for Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and...
VTA won’t let more workers sleep at San Jose yard
Adan Miranda used to fall asleep during his long commute. The VTA bus driver lives in Elk Grove, a four-hour drive in traffic, because he can’t afford a home in San Jose. After nodding off at the wheel several times on his way home in 2003, Miranda signed up for a permit program letting VTA...