A San Jose lawmaker failed to read the room when she set up a branch office in a local library, upsetting some residents who felt blindsided by the move. East side residents fumed on social media after learning Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, who represents District 5, is setting up a second office at the Dr. Roberto...
Alum Rock school trustee running for East San Jose council seat
The race for a City Council seat in East San Jose is shaping up to be a stacked contest. The latest political heavyweight to declare for the seat is educator Andres Quintero. The Alum Rock Union School District trustee is the latest candidate running for the open District 5 seat, having filed papers this week....
Danny Sanchez wants to change the lives of East San Jose youth
East San Jose native Danny Sanchez grew up surrounded by violence, absent parents and broken dreams. He spent his adolescence and young adult years in and out of prison, tangling up in gang activities and staring down a path of self-destruction. At age 29, on the verge of death in his mom’s bathroom after taking...
UPDATE: East San Jose community farm receives 25-year extension
Residents relying on fresh food from an East San Jose community farm won’t have to worry about produce anytime soon thanks to a 25-year extension from the city. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a 25-year contract Tuesday with Veggielution, a local nonprofit that runs an urban garden at Emma Prusch Farm Park. Veggielution...
New affordable housing project coming to East San Jose
The overly-concentrated affordable housing market in East San Jose could be getting more than 150 additional units. New plans recommended Wednesday by a city panel call for an estimated 164 low-income apartments spanning a 1.3-acre site in Alum Rock, a neighborhood in East San Jose’s District 5. As part of the project, a vacant 8,200...
Nora Campos is back: East San Jose leader running for council
More than two dozen supporters cheered Wednesday as veteran San Jose politician Nora Campos launched a run for her former East San Jose council seat. Campos, 56, jumped back into the political fray standing in front of a small Mexican bakery against the backdrop of impending rain. She hasn’t been in elected office since leaving...
Affordable housing at East San Jose airport? Experts say it’s in the soil
Eighty-two years after Reid-Hillview Airport opened, Santa Clara County supervisors want to shut it down and consider converting it into affordable housing. For decades, advocates and elected officials have pushed to close the airport and rezone the property for housing. But whether that happens depends on the soil’s lead levels. A study commissioned by the...
Parking permits could come to East San Jose
Parking in some East San Jose neighborhoods is so difficult that residents place traffic cones along the curbs just to reserve a spot. A fed-up planning commissioner has a solution: parking permits. Planning Commission Chair Rolando Bonilla, who represents East San Jose, is proposing a pilot parking permit program for some residents. The pilot program proposes two to four permits per household at...
East San Jose nonprofit welcomes new leadership
Two inside hires will head up a major East San Jose nonprofit following the departure of its longtime leader—who leaves big shoes to fill in a part of the city hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. After 11 years at the helm, SOMOS Mayfair Executive Director Camille Llanes-Fontanilla is leaving to join Sobrato Philanthropies as vice president...
East San Jose airport switches to unleaded fuel as demands for closure escalate
Amid a contentious fight to close an East San Jose airport, officials announced Monday it will switch to unleaded fuel — but the move might not quell opponents’ concerns. The announcement came Monday from the Community and Airport Partnership for Safe Operation. The organization, which has fought to keep the airport open, reportedly received the...