Community

Community

State suspension law creates conflict at East San Jose school

A state law created to protect vulnerable student populations from disproportionate levels of suspension and expulsion is complicating matters for an East San Jose high school. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Senate Bill 274 that bars willful defiance or low-level behavioral issues from suspending students in grades 6-12. The new law, which goes into effect...

San Jose leaders say downtown is entering ‘a new era of promise’

The tone of an annual meeting on the state of downtown San Jose was hopeful, despite the city core’s slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. San Jose Downtown Association members met today at the Hammer Theatre Center, along with city leaders who rallied support for a “vibrant, community-driven” downtown. The area is facing a number of setbacks, including the...

The Biz Beat: Try the grasshoppers at Mezcal in San Jose

Mezcal Restaurant in San Jose specializes in authentic Oaxacan cuisine, from the mole negro and mole coloradito—two of the seven famed Oaxacan chocolate sauces—to the chapulines, or grasshoppers sauteed in garlic, lime and salt. Umm… grasshoppers? “Why not?” owner Adolfo Gomez told San José Spotlight. “It’s a traditional item for us. People say we’re trying...

East San Jose school district to tackle violence

An East San Jose school district  is responding to community safety concerns after a string of violent campus incidents, but teachers and parents want long-term preventive measures. East Side Union High School District Superintendent Glenn Vander Zee has agreed to establish a school safety task force comprised of teachers, administrators, parents, students and board members...