San Jose faces a wide array of disaster risks — everything from wildfires to floods and mass shootings — each of which poses its own difficult questions for emergency management officials tasked with leading the city’s evacuation efforts. But those emergency planners will soon get a high-tech assist in these life-or-death calls from a cutting-edge,...
2025 in review: Silicon Valley’s biggest stories
It was a transformational year for Silicon Valley. A county assessor’s 30-year reign came to an end. Two city leaders were sentenced in court. Superintendent firings and mass layoffs rocked a host of local schools. And a judge brought an end to a historic transit labor strike. But for each chapter that was closed this...
Earning $250K? Mountain View wants to help residents buy a home
The price of housing in Mountain View has gotten so high that the City Council is now looking for ways to help people earning up to nearly $275,000 a year afford a home, with the limit going higher for couples and families. Last week, the City Council reviewed a plan that staff has been developing...
Santa Clara County new public defender is a familiar face
Damon Silver has for months led Santa Clara County’s public defender office in an acting role. Now his title is permanent — and he’s stepping into a watershed moment for Silicon Valley’s criminal justice landscape. The tech region’s crime-fueling wealth divide has deepened to “instability and revolt” levels, according to economists. The mayor of the...
Santa Clara County sheriff won’t release Taser body-cam footage
Santa Clara County leaders promised full transparency when they approved the deployment of Tasers in the jails. Now sheriff’s deputies are using them — and county leaders don’t want the public to see the videos. The county has repeatedly denied California Public Records Act requests by civil rights advocates seeking the body-worn camera footage of...
Developer for Los Gatos project warns of legal costs
The developer of a proposed 13-story apartment building in Los Gatos warned the Town Council last week of potential legal costs for blocking the project, even though the council says the developer’s application is moving forward. “I respectfully want to tell you the town’s multiple lawsuits (related to housing construction), including attempting to block this...
Federal judge pauses changes to Santa Clara County housing grants
A federal judge has temporarily blocked efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to upend federal funding for permanent housing. U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy on Friday granted a temporary injunction halting the upheaval of Continuum of Care grants, which have historically been used to fund permanent housing programs and are the federal government’s main response to...
Mountain View backs plan for more housing south of El Camino Real
Amid objections from some community members, the Mountain View City Council has backed a plan to allow for more housing in select areas south of El Camino Real, a part of the city that is currently made up of mostly single-family homes. In a 6-1 vote, the city council approved a motion to update land use...
‘A charming little place’: Willow Glen dog boutique is closing
Willow Glen’s main drag is about to lose its bark, and dog lovers are devastated. Gussied Up Dog Boutique, at 1310 Lincoln Ave., will be closing once the store’s inventory is gone. The store’s landlord declined to renew the lease, citing major plumbing repairs. “Hearing all the stories, how much this store means to people,...
San Jose shopping cart crackdown could be costly
As part of a year-long effort to rein in San Jose’s problem with abandoned shopping carts, the city has been reviewing proposals to hire a company to retrieve and return carts to grocery stores. A three-month pilot program shows such a retrieval service could easily recoup its costs through fees charged to grocers. However, the hundreds of...