Valley Water CEO Rick Callender is on “voluntary leave” after one of his employees filed a misconduct complaint against him, according to agency leaders. The region’s largest water supplier is searching for an interim leader in Callender’s absence through April 1. Richard Santos, a Valley Water board member and one of Callender’s elected bosses, confirmed...
San Jose tenant illegally ran an unlicensed independent living home
A San Jose landlord has filed a complaint to evict a tenant operating an unlicensed business at her property without her knowledge. Nelson Muan signed a lease agreement with Angela To in 2013. He then, unbeknownst to her, illegally converted the property on 659 N. 13th St. into an unlicensed independent living home. Muan converted...
Fight over San Jose Vietnamese museum puts future in limbo
Charges of nepotism and suspicious bank withdrawals surround a fight for control of San Jose’s Viet Museum in History Park – a crown jewel for Little Saigon. The 147-year-old farmhouse, which stores hundreds of precious artifacts, photographs and art of Vietnam War refugees, now hangs in limbo over a dispute between the museum’s visionary, Loc...
San Jose police recruit died by suicide with city gun
A San Jose police academy recruit died by suicide using a city-issued handgun in late September — secretly rattling the department and highlighting the risk of arming cadets. The unusual tragedy has also prompted questions about whether higher-ups missed any warning signs. It’s unclear why the recruit decided to take their own life. But multiple...
Disgraced San Jose official’s partner not under investigation
After disgraced San Jose Councilmember Omar Torres admitted to molesting a child and sending lewd texts about minors, there are questions about whether he met some of Silicon Valley’s most vulnerable youth through his romantic partner — a court-appointed child advocate. Torres’ longtime boyfriend, Nicholas Aguilar, has spent more than five years working in Santa...
Santa Clara County ex-officers boast about jail beatings
Santa Clara County deputies bragged in online groups about beating incarcerated people “between floors” and partaking in brutal behavior at the county’s embattled jail, according to screenshots shared with San José Spotlight. In a private Facebook group that includes 270 former correctional officers and deputies, the members banter about the jail’s elevators making suspicious stops...
San Jose vice mayor warned about Omar Torres — and did nothing
Another top San Jose political leader was contacted about Councilmember Omar Torres — now facing charges of molestation and child sex crimes — more than a year before his downfall. Screenshots obtained by San José Spotlight shows a tipster — who had been in a sexual relationship with Torres — sent Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei...
San Jose’s new congressman tried to kill story to protect state speaker
In an anxious 30-second voicemail, Sam Liccardo urged a friend to kill a critical article related to California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas — warning it would “blow up in a really bad way” for himself and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. The voicemail from the former San Jose mayor and congressman-elect — left three days...
Santa Clara County homeless shelter model displaces seniors
Alma stared at her phone, rattled. She had just received a text from her case manager on Sept. 30 that she’d been evicted from the Sunnyvale homeless shelter while on the way back from work. With nowhere to go, she reverted to sleeping underneath the stairwell of a school. That week, temperatures reached a scorching...
San Jose allegedly tried to interrogate cops investigating city official
In a frenzied attempt to uncover who’s “leaking” details about a councilman accused of child sex crimes to the media, San Jose’s top administrators allegedly tried to question more than two dozen police officers — without informing them of their rights or following an investigatory process. A legal demand letter sent by the San Jose...