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As Debbie Guzman got out of the hospital, she received a call from her only neighbor—police officers were trying to get into Guzman’s RV. By the time she got back to her vehicle on Will Wool Drive in San Jose, she said officers told her the vehicle would be impounded for unpaid registration, forcing Guzman...
San Jose names new park in honor of Filipino farmworkers
The thousands of Filipinos who have lived and worked in San Jose for generations will get a park named after their ancestors—the first such park in the city. A soon-to-be-completed park in East San Jose on Gimelli Way will be named after a Filipino-American group following a unanimous City Council vote Tuesday. The approved name, Delano Manongs...
How to watch and participate in Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meetings
In our 2021 survey, San José Spotlight readers told us they want to be more civically engaged and involved in local policymaking. Many readers said our coverage of local government has motivated them to get more involved in the decision-making process, but some don’t quite know where to start. One of the simplest ways to make...
The Podlight: How Carl Guardino helped Bloom Energy skirt a natural gas ban
The Podlight is a podcast collaboration by San José Spotlight and Silicon Valley Synergy. The Podlight features a weekly look at the top headlines and in-depth conversations with San José Spotlight reporters about South Bay policy, politics and government, delving into critical issues such as housing, technology, business, homelessness, land use and development. In this...
East San Jose housing group looks to hold developers accountable
As a prolific housing developer unveils plans in East San Jose, a new coalition is holding it accountable for maintaining acceptable living conditions. Peter Ortiz, a community organizer and policy advisor for the Alum Rock Santa Clara Street Business Association, founded the East San Jose Tenants Coalition in early April after a San José Spotlight...
How to help San Jose students return to the classroom
After a year of distance learning, students returning to the classroom may experience anxiety and insecurity. What can parents do to help? According to Dane Caldwell-Holden, director of student services for San Jose Unified School District, being back at school is going to look and feel different during the coronavirus pandemic. “This is not typical...
San Jose’s micro-retail center could shape future public spaces
A downtown San Jose business incubator and shopping center could be a blueprint for local lawmakers to develop future successful public spaces. A recent Knight Foundation study found widely applicable lessons learned from Moment, a micro-retail space in San Pedro Square, including how to build community engagement around public spaces, reimagining old and neglected spaces...
San Jose Sharks oppose Google development agreement
The San Jose Sharks are taking a bite out of Google’s plan to build a massive downtown campus. The NHL team voiced deep concern with the city’s development agreement with Google for its proposed campus, saying efforts to preserve parking near SAP Center are inadequate. “The city and Google are heading down a path that...
How San Jose mayor’s ally helped Bloom Energy skirt a natural gas ban
Two weeks before San Jose passed a landmark ban on natural gas for new commercial buildings, city officials introduced an exemption that benefited a local energy company, Bloom Energy, whose vice president is a personal friend to the mayor. And the way they did it shows the stark difference in access granted to political insiders...
San Jose trash rates expected to increase due to household waste, improper recycling
San Jose residents will likely pay more to get their garbage and recycling picked up from the curb next year. Thanks to increased single-family household waste and contaminated recyclables during the pandemic, the San Jose City Council accepted a report Monday that higher garbage rates are likely unavoidable, despite the financial strains residents are feeling....
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