San Jose and proponents of a downtown pavilion have been in a battle with a men’s social club over St. James Park. Now it may be coming to an end. On April 4, the Superior Court of Santa Clara County upheld an environmental impact report and historic preservation permit for St. James Park, denying a petition...
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Community
Downtown San Jose special property district up for renewal
A special district that provides extra cleaning and security to downtown San Jose property owners may be extended for another decade. San Jose’s downtown property-based improvement district (PBID) tax, which expires in December, has renewal support from more than 50% of the residents and businesses who pay for these services, according to Chloe Shipp, director...
San Jose makes slow progress on most dangerous streets
Joe Herrera was waiting for his friend, Maria, to return from a 7-Eleven at the intersection of Tully and Senter roads last May. She never made it back. Maria, an unhoused person living on Quinn Avenue, was hit by a car crossing Senter Road around 11 p.m. last year. Herrera, another unhoused person, said by...
Silicon Valley officials share solutions to growing homelessness
Downtown San Jose residents and business owners are growing frustrated and concerned at what they see as an increase of homeless people who need immediate crisis intervention and mental health help. The issue came to a boiling point this week after an unhoused person assaulted a San Jose Downtown Association worker while cleaning graffiti. “Our groundwork staff...
San Jose’s Cesar Chavez school shifts focus to early learning
For some East San Jose elementary students, next year will mean moving to another nearby school. The Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees voted unanimously on Thursday to turn Cesar Chavez Elementary School into an early learning center for children in preschool through kindergarten next year. Students in grades 1-5 will have to...
Google invests in San Jose homeless services, Black cultural center
Google executives joined elected officials in San Jose Thursday to announce a $500,000 grant to aid homeless services and help build a new African American cultural center. The grant will be split evenly between nonprofit People Assisting The Homeless (PATH), and a service and cultural center project for the city’s African American community, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren...
San Jose Democrats want candidate to end City Council campaign
Local Democratic groups are calling on San Jose Planning Commission Chair Rolando Bonilla to end his campaign for City Council amid decades-old domestic abuse allegations. Last week, the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee voted 36-7-6 to ask Bonilla to stop his bid for San Jose’s District 5 council seat and step down from the...
Santa Clara County opens Vietnamese-speaking health clinic
After years of planning and months of delay, the service center dedicated to the Vietnamese community has opened its clinic to help address the health care gap among the underserved population in the South Bay. The 37,000-square-foot, three-story building at 2410 Senter Rd. in San Jose aims to serve as a one-stop shop in providing...
East San Jose school district to repurpose elementary campus
Students from a neighborhood elementary school in Alum Rock Union School District may have to relocate. The Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees will vote on April 14 whether to turn Cesar Chavez Elementary School into the Cesar Chavez Early Learning Center for children in preschool through kindergarten. Students in grades 1-5 would...
Landmark status for San Jose church is not that simple
Downtown San Jose’s nearly century-old Grace Baptist Church may receive historical landmark recognition, but not everyone in the church is onboard. Grace Baptist, located at 484 E. San Fernando St., is one of the few religious centers still standing from the early 1900s—and its claims for landmark status have merit, historical landmark commissioners said at their Wednesday meeting....