If developers have one nemesis, it’s uncertainty, and San Jose lawmakers this week tried to battle that foe by capping some development fees. The 8-3 vote Tuesday did not raise or lower fees for developers, but it froze infrastructure fees in most parts of the city and set a maximum for fee increases in the...
Nonprofit bike shop that helps San Jose’s homeless residents burglarized again
A nonprofit bike shop in San Jose has been targeted by burglars dozens of times over the past decade — including Tuesday morning, when thieves took merchandise worth approximately $20,000. A police report was filed and the San Jose Police Department’s burglary unit is investigating, according to city officials. But the owner says the city...
San Jose approves CityView project, says goodbye to former courthouse
Downtown San Jose’s CityView Plaza is set to turn from a 1970s mixed-use campus to a modern glass-lined, three-tower, 3.8 million-square-foot office park after locking in the final vote of approval Tuesday. Councilmembers on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve the project by San Francisco developer Jay Paul Co., which is already working on a 1...
‘It feels like Christmas’: Santa Clara County malls finally reopen
After three months of closure during the coronavirus pandemic, Westfield shopping centers in Santa Clara County, including Oakridge and Valley Fair, reopened for business Monday. “Westfield is excited to open our doors again … as we begin our initial recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Leah Heil, vice president of shopping center management. Anticipation ran...
South Bay nail salons struggle amid shutdown, despite new state order
When Tina Le first arrived in America in 2003, she took up doing nails as a part-time job. Two years later, she opened a shop in San Jose that she adoringly calls her “second child.” “I love my job, and I’m very proud of my work,” Le said in an interview. “We are here to take...
Silicon Valley trade school that trains essential workers at risk of closure
A longtime Silicon Valley trade school that trains essential workers such as electricians, mechanics and nurses could soon close its doors, the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic that’s swept the world. But its leaders are fighting for a chance to survive another year. Officials from the Metropolitan Education District (MetroED) are asking the city of San Jose and...
Downtown San Jose restaurants struggle to survive amid pandemic, protests
Adolfo Gomez had driven just five minutes away from his downtown San Jose restaurant, Mezcal, when he got a call from a friend that the doors to the business had been broken and people were looting. His friend’s daughter had recorded and shared the action on her phone after what started as a peaceful protest...
Manufacturing is big business in San Jose, and it’s ready to get back to work
Virag Saksena’s whisky, which he makes at 10th Street Distillery in San Jose, is sitting in barrels ready to bottle, but his hands have been tied for months due to the shelter-in-place order that prohibited nonessential manufacturers from operating starting in mid-March. He set aside whisky making for producing hand sanitizer, but now Saksena is...
Silicon Valley economic slowdown brings positive news for environment, safety
With more than 2,800 cases of COVID-19 in Santa Clara County resulting in 144 deaths, and unemployment at almost 12 percent, a source of positive news can be found in the effects of quarantine on the environment and traffic safety. Significant decreases in travel by car should prove advantageous for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in...
Hapless thieves target San Jose dispensaries for brazen burglaries after curfew
Two San Jose cannabis dispensaries were burglarized early Tuesday morning by groups of thieves hoping for a big score — the latest crime spree in a trend of looters, burglars and robbers targeting dispensaries in the Bay Area and nationwide. The pattern emerged as major cities, including San Jose, enforced curfews to control protests against...