Four months after threatening litigation, a prominent San Jose developer has sued a major community college district after negotiations over a swath of land stalled and a high-profile development deal fell apart. “I think this case will raise important issues about the relationship between developers and public entities and how they go about getting property...
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo raises eyebrows with Mike Bloomberg endorsement
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s announcement Tuesday that he’s endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg, just one week after his last pick, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., dropped out of the race is raising eyebrows from critics. Some are questioning the Silicon Valley mayor for backing a billionaire after Harris dropped out because she didn’t have enough capital...
Silicon Valley congressmembers may soon vote to impeach the president
WASHINGTON. D.C. — Democratic leaders in the House announced two articles of impeachment Tuesday morning, charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. “It is an impeachable offense for the president to exercise powers of his public office to obtain an improper personal benefit while ignoring or injuring the national interest,”...
San Jose lawmakers to discuss transforming BART stations into transit communities
The Valley Transportation Authority has spent years developing a plan to create new, vibrant communities around transit hubs, especially at a time when BART is expanding its reach in Silicon Valley. On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council will hear a report highlighting VTA’s major goals for Phase II of BART’s Silicon Valley expansion project, just...
Environmental activists urge VTA to shift funds from highway projects to mass transit
Dozens of young environmental activists implored the Valley Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors to declare a climate crisis during its last meeting of the year this week. The group — including many local high school students — asked the board to commit to a zero carbon emission bus fleet, forswear future cuts to bus service...
The competition is on for policing new BART stations, including San Jose
As Bay Area mass transit services struggle to protect public safety, Silicon Valley law enforcement agencies are competing for a chance to police the new Valley Transportation Authority transit centers in Milpitas and San Jose when BART trains start rolling into Santa Clara County for the first time in 2020. An Alameda County Grand Jury...
San Jose Water Company shut off wells contaminated with PFAS chemicals
WASHINGTON. D.C. — As a famous actor took center stage during a Capitol Hill hearing last month to demand stricter regulations of ‘forever chemicals’ in water, a longtime San Jose water company revealed that it has tested positive for those contaminants. The news comes as California water officials this year began a statewide assessment of any...
Trump may not be ready to ban flavored e-cigarettes, but Anna Eshoo is
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump last week met with vape industry executives to discuss the youth e-cigarette epidemic, two months after he sat next to the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and watched him tell reporters that the Food and Drug Administration was preparing to remove almost all flavored e-cigarettes off...
VTA charges ahead with new service plan, despite BART delays
The Valley Transportation Authority spent most of 2019 making decisions about how to deploy public transit resources based on the assumption that Bay Area Rapid Transit would open two new train stations in the South Bay before the end of the year. But despite months of promises from BART, that’s not going to happen. Last week,...
San Jose airport receives $10 million to kickstart plans for expansion
It’s Christmas in November for airports across the country. On Friday morning, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren announced the Department of Transportation is awarding San Jose’s Mineta International Airport $10 million to revamp its Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting building. “That’s really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of new stuff coming right behind it,”...