Just two weeks after she introduced it, San Jose Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren’s election interference bill passed in the House on Wednesday, the same day lawmakers continued an ongoing discussion about Facebook’s role in elections. A bill introduced by Lofgren, H.R. 4617, would require campaigns to report offers of illicit campaign assistance from foreign entities, create...
Bay Area companies and community groups push for $16B transportation investment
A group of 32 Bay Area organizations, from private tech companies to community groups, on Wednesday urged local lawmakers to take big, new strides to invest in transportation throughout the region. In a letter, signed by Alphabet-owned Waymo, San Francisco-based ridesharing and scooter companies Lyft and Lime alongside a slew of Bay Area bicycle coalitions,...
Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna says House will vote on impeachment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna says he’s going to be on the road over the next 100 days as campaign co-chair for Senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. But before he packs his bags for the campaign trail, San José Spotlight caught up with Khanna last Friday inside his Washington office for a...
San Jose lawmaker criticizes highway funds diverted to high-speed rail
Gov. Gavin Newsom has received backlash from both sides of the political aisle after signing an executive order last month that diverts funds away from highway repairs into high-speed rail projects — a move that has some San Jose lawmakers shaking their heads. The funds — up to $5 billion generated annually — stem from...
Frustrations mount over VTA’s no-show buses, lack of communication
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...