The promenade at San Pedro Square has a stunning new look after more than 1,000 volunteers picked up a paint roller. A new mural called “Threads Woven” has dramatically changed San Pedro Square. The brainchild of the San Jose Downtown Association and arts nonprofit Local Color, the mural was funded through the Adobe Hometown Grant....
San Jose war monument marks milestone for Vietnamese community
A long delayed monument to fallen Vietnam War fighters will finally be unveiled at San Jose’s Vietnamese Heritage Garden, a planned cultural gathering space waylaid by community divide. The life-size statue of two armed soldiers — one American and one South Vietnamese — could be ready for public viewing this month or early July. It...
San Jose Latino leaders criticize Biden for border policy
Latino leaders across San Jose are saying President Joe Biden’s recent executive order closing the border to migrants is a step in the wrong direction for the nation’s immigration policy and immigrant communities. Those who work with asylum seekers fleeing violence such as San Jose nonprofit Amigos de Guadalupe said migrants can’t wait years for...
Silicon Valley Latino icon Victor Garza leaves a lasting legacy
Victor Garza, founder of La Raza RoundTable and a Santa Clara County Latino community icon, died this morning, multiple community leaders confirmed to San José Spotlight. He was 86 years old according to his personal Facebook page. Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley executive director Gabriela Chavez-Lopez said she learned of Garza’s death during a Race...
East San Jose homeowners struggle with homeless neighbors
In the heart of East San Jose, eight cars line a popular street — some with boxes stacked on top or attached wagons — filled with the belongings of homeless people such as Francisco Pulido. The constant clashes he had with his mom and stepdad compelled him to leave home. The 37-year-old has lived in...
State AG asked to intervene in East San Jose trauma center closure
Vulnerable patients and community health advocates are calling on California’s top cop to stop a private health corporation from cutting one of Santa Clara County’s only trauma centers. The financially-driven closure of Regional Medical Center’s life-saving services in East San Jose is discriminatory, argues a letter sent Thursday to Attorney General Rob Bonta, since it mostly...
San Jose cannabis dispensary opens in downtown
San Jose has opened its first ever retail storefront for cannabis in the heart of downtown. For years the city had strict rules on where dispensaries could operate, relegating them to industrial areas. Last year the City Council revised regulations on where dispensaries rent space and allowing one operator to have more than one location. Mark Ritchie, president...
San Jose food hall has rocky start
People driving by San Jose’s Downtown Food Hall might be forgiven for thinking it’s closed. The dark interior seems to be housing abandoned equipment. Next to a locked door directly under the building’s marquee, an “open” sign is turned off. The real entrance is three windows down, under an incongruous green and white striped awning....
Santa Clara County recognizes need for Latino health center
Santa Clara County leaders are moving forward with the idea of building a Latino health and wellness center. After an emotional budget debate on Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved having county employees come back in June with options for how to proceed with a facility and whether there should be multiple locations. Supervisors...
East San Jose teachers demand raises to meet cost of living
Teachers in one San Jose high school district are calling for higher wages to keep up with the increasing cost of living — as the district struggles with an anticipated multimillion-dollar budget deficit. The East Side Union High School District, which serves more than 24,000 students, is offering its teachers a 1.1% raise for the...