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Deal falls through at former San Jose Safeway

An empty commercial space in downtown San Jose where a Safeway was previously located is still vacant nearly five years later, after an oral wellness company backed out of a deal to move there last summer. Downtown advocates and residents remain hopeful another grocery store can fill the space, but officials say that could still...

What’s next for blighted former church in San Jose?

Months after work crews removed tattered tarps and worn wraps from a languishing, historic former church in downtown San Jose, preservationists are worried city officials have lost urgency around protecting the building for the long term. The former First Church of Christ Scientist near St. James Park has been exposed to public view since late...

Silicon Valley Vietnamese community organizes its political voice

Democratic members of San Jose’s Vietnamese community are building a club to mobilize its political front. The Vietnamese American Democratic Club of Silicon Valley wants to be chartered within the Santa Clara County Democratic Party to organize and empower like-minded members within its community. The party’s executive board gave approval in December, sending the the...

San Jose nonprofit boards lack Latino leadership

When it comes to sitting on a San Jose nonprofit board, Hispanics and Latinos are still being ignored—even though they are more than a third of the city’s population. Data collected by Latinos LEAD highlights this disparity, showing that Latinos make up only 12.5% of nonprofit board members in the San Jose metro area, which...

Private management of San Jose park sparks concerns

Two businessmen are working to take over management of one of San Jose’s most beloved parks—but concerns are mounting behind the scenes about how the pair will wrangle power over a popular public space. Dan Pulcrano—owner of the Weeklys media group which publishes a dozen newspapers including Metro Silicon Valley—has partnered with PR guru Dan...

Student homelessness grows in San Jose school district

The number of homeless high school students and families in one East San Jose school district has increased threefold in just three years.  The East Side Union High School District has approximately 900 unhoused students, compared to 300 in 2020. Officials said the number continues to climb and cite inflation, cost of living increases and...