Eighty-two years after Reid-Hillview Airport opened, Santa Clara County supervisors want to shut it down and consider converting it into affordable housing. For decades, advocates and elected officials have pushed to close the airport and rezone the property for housing. But whether that happens depends on the soil’s lead levels. A study commissioned by the...
Reviving downtown San Jose remains an elusive goal
Downtown San Jose looks like a ghost town. Boosters claim an economic revival is within reach for the heart of Silicon Valley. But those who live and work in the city’s core are skeptical. John Seol, owner of a small cellphone repair shop just blocks from City Hall, told San José Spotlight he hears about...
Parking permits could come to East San Jose
Parking in some East San Jose neighborhoods is so difficult that residents place traffic cones along the curbs just to reserve a spot. A fed-up planning commissioner has a solution: parking permits. Planning Commission Chair Rolando Bonilla, who represents East San Jose, is proposing a pilot parking permit program for some residents. The pilot program proposes two to four permits per household at...
How did Latinos vote in the statewide recall election?
Gov. Gavin Newsom walloped opponents looking to oust him in Tuesday’s recall election, both statewide and in Santa Clara County. For Latinos, the no-recall effort still won, though not as big as other demographics. Some experts say that’s in part to a changing, younger and more diverse electorate. ‘There is a feeling they are being taken for...
Latino leaders urge San Jose residents to take part in redistricting
Latinos are now the largest ethnic minority in California according to the 2020 Census, but political districts don’t reflect that fact. A legal advocacy group wants to change that at the state and county level. Mayra Valadez, a coordinator for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, gave a presentation at a virtual meeting Monday...
‘Helping people is satisfying for me’: Gabriela Chavez-Lopez takes back the power
Gabriela Chavez-Lopez learned about the power of organizing from an early age. Born and raised in the Central Valley, the birthplace of the farmworker movement, Chavez-Lopez grew up hearing stories about Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. She was inspired by their ability to mobilize the community to aid farmworkers and create policy change. “Here are these...
East San Jose nonprofit welcomes new leadership
Two inside hires will head up a major East San Jose nonprofit following the departure of its longtime leader—who leaves big shoes to fill in a part of the city hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. After 11 years at the helm, SOMOS Mayfair Executive Director Camille Llanes-Fontanilla is leaving to join Sobrato Philanthropies as vice president...
East San Jose airport switches to unleaded fuel as demands for closure escalate
Amid a contentious fight to close an East San Jose airport, officials announced Monday it will switch to unleaded fuel — but the move might not quell opponents’ concerns. The announcement came Monday from the Community and Airport Partnership for Safe Operation. The organization, which has fought to keep the airport open, reportedly received the...
East San Jose airport switching to unleaded fuel after years of demands
Representatives from the local aviation community will announce Monday that planes at Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose will run on unleaded fuel, marking a victory for environmental and community groups that have complained for years about the dangers of leaded fuel. Officials from the Community and Airport Partnership for Safe Operation, a nonprofit committed to...
Mentor program sows seeds for San Jose Vietnamese youth
Alexander Nguyen was asked at the first session of a summer mentorship program why he was there. Seven weeks later, standing in the backyard of the Viet Museum on a blazing hot Saturday, he said he finally found an answer. “For 10 years, I have shut out my community,” he told a crowd of about 20 people. “This...