Free food distribution is still essential for East San Jose residents. That’s evident by the line of people wrapped around the block of Mexican Heritage Plaza twice a month waiting to fill their wagons with produce and other food products. Even post-pandemic there’s been a noticeable uptick in the number of residents needing food, and organizers...
East San Jose lake finally receives funding for restoration
After failed attempts to restore the much-neglected Lake Cunningham, San Jose has found a way to kickstart the lake’s revival. The state budget allocated $1.5 million to improving the East San Jose lake last week, which for years has suffered under the weight of faulty infrastructure and poor water quality. San Jose Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who...
East San Jose residents demand environmental justice
Contamination clean-up efforts have been slow going at an abandoned East San Jose building that was the site of a large fuel spill in 2015. Residents and leaders gathered at the site Friday demanding the city expedite the process amid growing air quality threats. Nearly a dozen community members, including Councilmember Peter Ortiz, said the contamination situation...
The first six months: San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a San José Spotlight series examining the newest San Jose councilmembers and their first six months in office. San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz is a fighter—and has been his entire life. He beat the odds to turn his life around and now fights to keep the odds in favor...
‘Not enough representation’: Silicon Valley Latinas struggle to enter tech industry
Despite being raised in the shadow of tech giants like Apple and Google, Stephanie Valenzuela struggled to see how she fit into the industry. As a Latina, Valenzuela said she rarely saw herself represented. Valenzuela has worked as a tech recruiter as part of a small cohort of Latinas in the sector. She wants to...
What’s next for empty Safeway in downtown San Jose
A prominent commercial space in downtown San Jose is being taken over by a new business, following more than four years of vacancy. OneMedAll, an oral wellness and health consulting company based in San Jose, is planning to open its first customer-facing location at 100 S. Second St., the same space where a Safeway shuttered...
Will San Jose’s St. James Park revamp be a gamechanger?
One of San Jose’s oldest parks that laid the ground for presidential speeches, memorials and even lynchings wants to remake history again after more than 150 years. St. James Park, located on nearly seven acres in the downtown core, is getting a complete makeover through a partnership between Levitt Foundation, Friends of Levitt Pavilion San...
San Jose pilot program to tackle blight
San Jose streets are blighted with trash, broken windows and graffiti—and instead of waiting for residents to point it out, the city wants to find and fix it first. The city is launching a pilot program where its employees will conduct blight inspections and enforcement in downtown and other areas for six months, starting in...
Dilapidated San Jose church repairs put on hold
A plan by San Jose officials to protect a historic former church that has been all but ignored by its owner is now in limbo. The roughly 120-year-old former First Church of Christ Scientist near St. James Park in downtown may continue to be allowed to wither, as a proposal to spend $200,000 of city money...
The first six months: San Jose Councilmember Bien Doan
Editor’s Note: This article is part of a San José Spotlight series examining the newest San Jose councilmembers and their first six months in office. If you have lived as many lives as San Jose Councilmember Bien Doan, it gives you a unique perspective on life. For Doan, he believes more than anything that people...