San Jose business leaders have high hopes for a digital food hall to spice up the heart of downtown. City Storage Systems, a real estate company owned by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, is constructing a new location for several delivery-oriented restaurants in downtown San Jose. The historic building at East Santa Clara and South Third...
UPDATE: San Jose’s Thomas Fallon statue to be removed
The Thomas Fallon statue in downtown San Jose is riding off into the sunset and into storage. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to remove the bronze sculpture, which sits atop a three-foot concrete pedestal at the downtown intersection of Julian and St. James streets. It depicts Capt. Thomas Fallon raising the U.S....
UPDATE: East San Jose community farm receives 25-year extension
Residents relying on fresh food from an East San Jose community farm won’t have to worry about produce anytime soon thanks to a 25-year extension from the city. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a 25-year contract Tuesday with Veggielution, a local nonprofit that runs an urban garden at Emma Prusch Farm Park. Veggielution...
Legal woes still halt San Jose park revitalization
A lawsuit continues to obstruct plans to breathe life into a troubled park in downtown San Jose. Local residents approached a national foundation nearly a decade ago with an idea to build an outdoor music venue at St. James Park, with the hopes it would turn the space into an iconic downtown destination. But as...
The Dragon Mountain still closed after Santa Clara County shutdown
Santa Clara County shut down a local, privately-owned park in 2019 over a number of land use and permit violations. The property owner is now claiming county officials are delaying and stonewalling his efforts to fix these issues. For several years, South Bay resident Keith (Kiet) Ngo watched thousands of people from all over the...
San Jose mayor taps local organizer to serve as Asian community liaison
Tri Nguyen started work as a community liaison in San Jose City Hall with a clear purpose: To get city services to his community. Since his family immigrated to San Jose from Vietnam more than 17 years ago, Nguyen has grown to love his second home in the South Bay. “I have built my roots here,” Nguyen told...
Downtown San Jose pizza shop under new ownership after abuse allegations
A popular vegan pizza shop in downtown San Jose is under new ownership following accusations of sexual assault against the previous owner. San Jose couple Ruth Baker and Wesley Tonascia dipped into their “hard earned savings” to acquire Pizza Flora last month, replacing Ryan Summers, who put the restaurant up for sale after allegations of...
New affordable housing project coming to East San Jose
The overly-concentrated affordable housing market in East San Jose could be getting more than 150 additional units. New plans recommended Wednesday by a city panel call for an estimated 164 low-income apartments spanning a 1.3-acre site in Alum Rock, a neighborhood in East San Jose’s District 5. As part of the project, a vacant 8,200...
Hundreds celebrate the opening of Vietnamese service center in San Jose
Donning traditional áo dài dresses and Vietnamese heritage flag face masks, hundreds of South Bay residents joined county officials Saturday to celebrate the opening of the first-ever Vietnamese American Service Center. Ai Duong Truong came to the event with her friends from the Hội Người Việt Cao Niên San Jose (Vietnamese Senior Group in San...
San Jose business owners, nonprofit help provide COVID relief in Vietnam
As COVID-19 infections engulfed Vietnam and killed 10,000 people in September, two local Vietnamese-American brothers and a nonprofit sprung into action. David Duong, CEO of California Waste Solutions and a community leader in San Jose, has split his time doing business between the South Bay and the Southeast Asian country. A refugee who fled Vietnam as a...