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...

A Santa Clara University project that would house hundreds of teachers and staff from local Jesuit schools is one step closer to breaking ground after Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting. Councilors voted 9-1-1 for city officials to bring back amendments to the general plan, which helps guide future development in the city, to allow...

On the same day Gov. Gavin Newsom called the homeless crisis a “stain on the state of California,” San José Spotlight hosted a homeless prevention panel discussion at Forager in downtown San Jose, with prominent local public policy officials and homeless housing advocates featured as panelists. Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, Erin Stanton, director of...

As California’s housing crisis rages on, two San Jose housing commissioners are looking for ways to put residents back into the thousands of vacant homes sitting in the city’s housing stock. Commissioners Alex Shoor and Huy Tran on Thursday will propose that city officials consider a tax on vacant properties to penalize homeowners for keeping...

A new poll found that Bay Area voters are receptive to taxing themselves — again — to make a dent in the region’s affordable housing crisis. A survey conducted by EMC Research found that most Bay Area voters support regional tax measures to invest in affordable housing, particularly in general obligation bonds or sales tax...