The homeless encampment across the street from downtown San Jose’s Children’s Discovery Museum was swept out and cleared Tuesday morning, and less than a dozen homeless people moved or surrendered many of their belongings while crews from the California Department of Transportation loaded up trucks and hauled it all away. The encampment is affectionately called...

Lack of affordable housing in the state’s urban areas is a well-documented phenomenon. However, Assemblyman Robert Rivas — who represents a central California district extending south from Morgan Hill — wants to see housing concerns addressed in the state’s rural pockets as well. “Housing is probably the most important issue of the moment,” Rivas said...

Two months ago Kiabet Vivanco found refuge at San Jose’s New Haven Inn — a county-funded supportive home that’s now the nation’s second shelter for homeless and at-risk LGBTQ+ residents. Now, safe and sober, the 34-year-old landed a job and she’s able to see her three kids. “My plan is to keep my life like that,”...

As California lawmakers shelve legislation restricting evictions statewide, San Jose passed a similar “just cause” ordinance two years ago which requires landlords to cite a legitimate reason for terminating a lease. But is the law working here? Since the local law’s adoption in April 2017, San Jose City Hall has received more than 12,800 notices...

As San Jose State University’s school year comes to an end and the Martin Luther King Jr. library – where countless homeless students sleep – closes for the night, university administrators have yet to come up with a plan to house the school’s homeless population. The end of the school year also means students living...

Nearly three months ago, Silicon Valley officials thought they dismantled ‘Hope Village’ — an encampment of mostly homeless women — for good. But a few of those residents have returned to Hope Village, San José Spotlight has learned, and some are back out on the streets. “This is my only place of sanctuary,” said Michael...

San Jose officials vow to make it quicker, easier and cheaper to build ‘granny units’ to alleviate Silicon Valley’s housing crisis, but tell that to Terry Christensen. The longtime political scientist and Naglee Park resident has spent $30,000 since Oct. 2017 — and will fork over upwards of a quarter million dollars — to build...

After saying “yes” to hundreds of millions of dollars in general obligation bonds in recent years, new polling shows San Jose voters aren’t so keen on supporting another tax – even if it’s to address homelessness. San Jose administrators this month studied three potential tax measures for the 2020 ballot. Only one of the three...

With the shrinking supply of land in Silicon Valley driving up housing costs, some Bay Area leaders are banking on secondary units to save the region from its agonizing housing crisis. The so-called “granny units” could be a gamechanger for beefing up the Bay Area’s housing supply, officials say, offering elderly or low-income residents an...

Despite pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into ending homelessness in Silicon Valley, the problem is getting worse — and the 2019 homeless count numbers prove it. According to details released Thursday, the county’s homeless count in 2019 has jumped to 9,706 people countywide. That’s up 31 percent from 7,394 individuals two years ago. And...