WASHINGTON, D.C. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday declared a state of emergency, as the number of coronavirus cases in the state continues to rise, including in Santa Clara County — where health officials confirmed there are three new cases of the virus within county limits, bringing the total cases to 14. While the state of...
East San Jose school district OKs $23 million budget cut, staff layoffs
Citing a severe lack of funding, the East Side Union High School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously in a meeting last week to cut $23 million from its budget and eliminate 125 full-time equivalent positions across the district’s 16 schools. The board also vowed to hire a third party auditor to study the numbers again...
SJSU students look to Sacramento to help low-income students
With San Jose State having one of the largest homeless student populations in California, a group of students hope to address the problem by pushing for a bill that’s stalled in the state capitol. The Student Homeless Alliance (SHA) is backing Assembly Bill 1314, which would expand Cal Grant student aid to cover more college...
San Jose mayor leads municipal opposition of FCC mandate
WASHINGTON, D.C. — San Jose is among nearly two dozen cities that have opposed the Federal Communications Commission for orders it issued under the premise of facilitating the launch of 5G communication technology. In a call with reporters last week, officials from around the country said the FCC’s orders on small-cell deployment amount to federal...
San Jose council OKs $6.8 million to make city streets safer
It’s been five years since San Jose joined a national effort dedicated to reducing traffic fatalities, but the city’s pedestrian and cyclist death toll hit an all-time high last year. In an effort to reduce deaths, city lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously approved pumping $6.78 million over the next year into the Vision Zero plan, which...
San Jose program for free college gets $250K eBay donation
A program that provides free college to hundreds of underprivileged San Jose students on Monday has received a boost from a longtime local tech business. Through its foundation, San Jose-based eBay is donating $250,000 to the San José-Evergreen Community College District Foundation to support San José Promise, the program that offers up to two years...
VTA board approves resolution declaring climate emergency
Two months after a multitude of environmental activists implored Silicon Valley’s mass transit agency to address the global crisis, the VTA board of directors voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency — a resolution whose chief architect says will “force the board to be more mindful” of the environmental impacts of its actions. VTA is...
Silicon Valley lawmakers look to keep working in wake of rancorous impeachment process
WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a week in which San Jose lawmakers say President Donald Trump delivered a divisive speech and then watched the majority of the Senate vote to acquit him of impeachment charges, California U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna, Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren all say they hope Congress can move forward. “People, they’re desperate...
Leaders to weigh pros, cons of future train alignments at Diridon Station
As traffic and congestion plagues the Bay Area, regional transportation leaders are working on a redesign of the South Bay’s most critical transit hub: San Jose’s Diridon Station, abutting a potential new multi-million-square-foot Google campus. Some details of the new station have been ironed out. For instance, train tracks at Diridon Station will eventually sit...
San Jose lawmakers vote against supporting Measure B funds reallocation
Silicon Valley climate activists are urging the VTA to declare a climate emergency and reallocate funds from a 2016 half-cent sales tax to public transit projects in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But the San Jose City Council on Tuesday, which has five directors on the VTA board that includes Mayor Sam Liccardo...