Handfuls of VTA riders have unknowingly waited for buses that were never going to arrive. Dan Rouse waited for the 181: @vtaservice why is route 181 skipping the 8:38 warm springs departure? — ???? Dan Rouse ????️???? (@dsrouse) October 10, 2019 The same happened to Enrique Camacho and the 323: @VTA Please post when there...
Silicon Valley congressmembers return from recess tackling big issues
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Silicon Valley’s congressional leaders returned to Capitol Hill this week after a two-week recess and the local delegation jumped into a number of critical issues, including a push to bolster election security, lower prescription drug prices, reduce access to e-cigarettes and continue waging the war on President Donald Trump. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren a...
San Jose: Three Evergreen elementary schools could close due to deficit
Citing low enrollment across its 15 elementary schools in East San Jose, the Evergreen School District Board of Trustees voted 4-1 this week to embark on a plan that would potentially close or consolidate two schools next year and a third school the following year. After roughly 45 minutes of discussion during a meeting Thursday, Trustee...
Zoe Lofgren leads coalition to file Supreme Court brief to defend DACA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — San Jose Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin announced Friday they’d led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to file a brief with the Supreme Court in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. A coalition of 172 current and former lawmakers — 49 from the Senate and 123 from the...
Riders mourn the loss of a San Jose bus line relied on by vulnerable residents
Riders say they were heartbroken when Silicon Valley leaders recently voted to end a bus route that zig-zags through the city across a dozen neighborhoods serving seniors, people with disabilities and students at San Jose State University and San Jose City College. Linda MacLeod still rides the Route 65 bus. That route represented independence at...
Amid more BART delays, San Jose lawmakers call for a second downtown station entrance
Silicon Valley transit officials uncovered budgetary changes and a drastically revised timeline for the BART Silicon Valley Phase II project during a recent VTA Board of Directors meeting, potentially pushing passenger service back until 2030. But for San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Councilmember Raul Peralez, who both sit on the VTA board, the higher...
San Jose Unified School leaders vote to study sites for affordable teacher housing
At a funding rate just short of $12,000 per student per year, San Jose Unified School District officials say they struggle to pay teachers enough to stay in Silicon Valley, one of the nation’s costliest housing markets. Now, district leaders are exploring solutions that include building affordable teacher housing on district property — a concept...
Lawmakers, tech and nonprofit leaders discuss the plight of Silicon Valley teachers
In the heart of tech-fueled wealth in Silicon Valley, teachers are living in their cars, working side jobs or living in crowded apartments with multiple roommates. Cameron Clarno, a choir teacher at Fischer Middle School, has lived in an RV since the start of the school year after moving from his 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home in Redding....
Activists push for improvements to bus routes during VTA meeting
During an otherwise ordinary VTA Board of Directors meeting Thursday, a dozen activists rallied to urge the board to consider reallocating funds from the 2016 Measure B tax away from highway projects and toward the dwindling network of bus routes throughout the county. Speakers pointed to the county’s recent declaration of a climate emergency as a call to action for VTA...
What’s next for BART and VTA’s evolving Downtown San Jose extension?
With the addition of Google to the Downtown San Jose area looming, a reimagining of the Diridon station underway, and the extension of BART all the way from Berryessa to Santa Clara, there are a myriad of moving parts and pieces that could transform Downtown San Jose and finally tie together the Bay Area as...