With the incoming presidential administration threatening mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, Santa Clara County is stepping up to protect them. Santa Clara County has created policies and provided funding to defend immigrants against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but is facing pushback. America First Legal Foundation, a conservative group led by President-elect Donald Trump’s...
Santa Clara County weighs raising campaign donation limits
Santa Clara County supervisors could relax restrictions on how much they can raise for their reelection campaigns. The issue sparked a 30-minute debate at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday about whether a higher ceiling for candidate fundraising would help or hurt poorer people’s chances of winning elected county office. For 30 years, county supervisor...
San Jose ‘responsible landlord’ initiative could return
San Jose residents want a neighborhood improvement initiative to restart after it sunsetted last June due to lack of funding. Community organizer Jaime Angulo created the Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI) in 2010 to help neighbors resolve issues they faced on their block — whether it was an unruly tenant, a group home where neighbors...
San Jose officials rally to fund immigrant protection groups
Latino members of the San Jose City Council are calling for more funding for undocumented immigrant protections as the incoming presidential administration threatens to ramp up deportations. Councilmembers Pamela Campos, Domingo Candelas, David Cohen and Peter Ortiz want the city to follow up on past funding from Santa Clara County officials and give more financial support...
Builders vie to construct housing on downtown Palo Alto lot
Palo Alto’s effort to transform downtown parking lots into affordable housing sites could reach a milestone later this month, when the City Council considers a new plan from the nonprofit Alta Housing to build more than 50 apartments on a Lytton Avenue lot. Alta, which three years ago completed construction of the Wilton Court, a...
Palo Alto treads lightly on artificial turf as health concerns surface
Concerned about the health and environmental impacts of synthetic turf, Palo Alto has halted its plans to resurface the playing fields at El Camino Park as it weighs the costs and benefits of plastic and grass. The turf-versus-grass debate came up last May, as the council’s Finance Committee reviewed its annual capital budget, which included...
Complaint claims former Milpitas mayor obstructed pretrial process
An ousted Milpitas city manager wants the former mayor to be penalized for failing to show up for a deposition prior to a court hearing. Former City Manager Steve McHarris filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Milpitas in December 2023, accusing city officials of intimidation and unethical behavior — including from former Mayor Rich Tran...
Campbell makes building duplexes easier on single-family lots
Campbell is making it easier for residents to create a wide array of housing options in their own backyards. The Campbell City Council unanimously voted Monday to implement a temporary policy to make the city compliant with Senate Bill 450. The law, enacted Jan. 1 after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it last year, makes it simpler for homeowners to...
San Jose State transgender athletes in jeopardy after federal ruling
The Biden administration’s efforts to expand Title IX policies have been struck down, resulting in a loss of protections for LGBTQ+ students. The court ruling made by U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves in State of Tennessee v. Cardona erases the Department of Education’s attempt to increase protections for sex discrimination in schools as it applies...
VTA BART expansion work to include minority-owned businesses
VTA has pledged to increase contracting opportunities for minority-owned businesses in its ongoing BART expansion into San Jose. Sergio Lopez, mayor of Campbell and chair of VTA’s board of directors, signed the Equity in Infrastructure Project pledge on behalf of the agency Monday, alongside more than a dozen local government agencies. The VTA board unanimously...