A California legislator fighting to change VTA’s leadership is shifting tactics in the wake of public pushback. Assemblymember Marc Berman announced Monday he is not advancing Assembly Bill 2181 this year, which would eliminate VTA’s board of directors on or after July 2023 and shrink the board from 18 to 12 members, at least six...
San Jose councilmembers want to cut parking requirements
San Jose officials are green lighting a plan to reduce parking in new developments, but some are concerned about how it’ll impact residents. San Jose councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to create a policy to eliminate the city’s minimum parking requirements for new developments. The policy would incentivize alternative modes of transportation, like biking and public transit. The...
San Jose officials memorialize former Mayor Norm Mineta
“Welcome home, Norm,” San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said as friends and family of Norm Mineta, former U.S. secretary of transportation and the city’s first Asian American mayor, gathered Wednesday at City Hall to celebrate and memorialize his life. Mineta died on May 3. Mineta is a local legend known for his advocacy during the September...
San Jose could cut parking requirements for new developments
San Jose planning officials are split on a proposal to eliminate minimum parking requirements for new building projects and what it could mean for the future of the city. The San Jose Planning Commission voted 6-2-3 Wednesday to receive a report with several alternatives for reducing parking spaces. Commissioners Rolando Bonilla and Jorge Garcia voted against...
San Jose transit workers raise alarm over spitting and assaults
If you drive a VTA bus, sooner or later someone is going to spit on you. “It happens to everybody,” a VTA operator told San José Spotlight. The worker requested anonymity to avoid retaliation. “If you’re there long enough, you’re guaranteed it’s going to happen to you—it’s absolutely horrible.” Spit, threats, punches and sexual harassment...
San Jose council nixes Liccardo’s Qatar travel plans
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s travel plans to Qatar got axed by the City Council after they cited human rights concerns. Liccardo was invited by the foreign ministry of Qatar to attend the country’s Environment and Energy Research Institute from June 11-13 and learn about their water conservation efforts. All travel accommodations and meals would...
San Jose transit board fights bill that would reorganize leadership
Silicon Valley transit officials are standing firm against a legislative proposal that would dramatically change VTA’s governing body. The VTA board of directors voted unanimously Thursday to oppose Assembly Bill 2181, introduced in February by Assemblymember Marc Berman. The bill would eliminate the current board of directors on or after July 2023 and shrink the...
Never forgotten: VTA commemorates fallen San Jose workers
The VTA community gathered Thursday to mourn workers killed in a mass shooting one year ago—and to find a path toward healing. Speaking at the Guadalupe light rail yard in downtown San Jose shortly after dawn, General Manager and CEO Carolyn Gonot addressed a group of workers and families who lost their loved ones in...
San Jose VTA faces lawsuit from family of shooting victim
One year after a disgruntled worker killed nine colleagues at the VTA rail yard in downtown San Jose, the family of one victim is suing for negligence. The family of Lars Kepler Lane filed a lawsuit Thursday against VTA, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and Universal Protection Service, VTA’s private security contractor. The suit, filed in...
Can San Jose’s VTA fix its broken work culture?
In the wake of the mass shooting at a train yard in downtown San Jose last May, VTA officials promised to improve work culture to make life easier for employees. But after a year, workers say little has changed and they’re not hopeful about the future. VTA employees started publicly complaining about a toxic work culture...