For homeless people in San Jose, sweeps are a fixed part of their lived experience — the stress of packing up their belongings, the fear of losing their valuables and the hunt to secure another corner to camp until they are kicked out and forced to start all over again. But for residents such as...
Gilroy enacts detention center moratorium after ICE fears
With a federal immigration enforcement facility planned just beyond city borders, Gilroy officials are following the path taken by other Bay Area cities in attempting to restrict more projects from being built. The Gilroy City Council on Monday unanimously approved a temporary, 45-day ban on new detention facilities on public- or private-owned property, with the...
San Jose tells food pantry it must shut down
A popular San Jose neighborhood food pantry is at risk of closing again after being hit with more zoning violations. Lighthouse Food Rescue & Distribution was cited by San Jose on Sept. 25 for hosting its food distribution on the sidewalk and for not following zoning rules, as a food distribution center is no longer...
Data center company to acquire former South San Jose IBM site
The former IBM Almaden Research Center in the rolling hills of Coyote Valley has a buyer. Blackstart Digital — a data center development and investment firm focused on sustainable redevelopment — has entered into an agreement to acquire the historic campus in South San Jose, according to land use consultant Erik Schoennauer, a representative of...
Santa Clara County funds independent living home upgrades
Last year, Santa Clara County created a grant to improve conditions at independent living homes. But advocates said there needs to be more oversight on who gets awarded these grants. Independent living homes house some of the most vulnerable populations in the county, including people with mental health issues. Some residents have suffered in these...
New methodology reveals drop in San Jose street homelessness
Walking trail use is up. Wildlife is returning. Large homeless camps have been dismantled. San Jose officials said the city has reached the end of the “era of encampments,” and is steaming ahead into its next era of slashing down street homelessness. San Jose has reduced unsheltered homelessness by 32% over the past 18 months, using...
Santa Clara County sees challenges for 5-year homelessness plan
Santa Clara County is charting how it plans to tackle homelessness over the next five years in one of its most challenging periods. The county’s next iteration of its Community Plan to End Homelessness, a template to guide its priorities through 2030, will focus on four key strategies: homelessness prevention, housing retention, increasing services for people on...
San Jose to create guidelines to prevent detention centers
San Jose is placing stronger controls on the development of private detention facilities within its borders in response to fears that the federal government may establish new immigration centers in the region. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place a 45-day moratorium on any proposal to create or expand detention facilities on private land...
Amazon data center project in Gilroy upsets locals
An Amazon data center under construction in Gilroy is frustrating a local transparency group and residents who are voicing concerns about the city’s lack of openness in allowing the project to move forward. Americans for Transparency, a grassroots initiative led by Gilroy resident Georgine Scott-Codiga, filed a formal demand of violations with Gilroy asking for an...
Housing planned for former San Jose school campus
A former South San Jose elementary school is poised to become housing. True Life Companies purchased Glider Elementary School, a 9.5-acre site, from Oak Grove School District to redevelop it with 80 homes — a combination of townhomes and single-family houses. The San Jose Planning Commission on Aug. 26 voted unanimously to recommend the project,...