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The newly renovated Arena Hotel in San Jose has reopened to help some of the city’s most vulnerable residents, and it’s already turned on the no vacancy sign. The 90-room hotel on The Alameda about two miles from Santa Clara University is one of five Project Homekey sites designed to provide interim housing for homeless...
Will larger trash bins fix San Jose’s recycling woes?
After grappling with years of people dumping trash in the recycling, San Jose is doubling the number of larger trash bins across the city at no extra cost. It’s part of a pilot program launched in July 2022 to provide bigger trash cans to nearly 4,200 residents in key areas with high recycling contamination rates....
Conservative group bombards San Jose school board meeting
Supporters of a censured Franklin-McKinley School District trustee showed up in force at a recent board meeting, but some say they are outsiders pushing an agenda. Informed Parents of Silicon Valley members spoke out at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, following Trustee Marc Cooper’s colleagues asking him to denounce the organization and resign earlier this...
Sunnyvale leaders criticize homeless provider spending
Sunnyvale’s contract with its homeless service provider is on thin ice and officials are demanding more answers. The Sunnyvale City Council voted 4-3 to not renew the city’s $407,430 contract with HomeFirst at last night’s council meeting. The contract under fire, a one-year pilot program approved in 2022, funds five shelter beds in San Jose—since...
San Jose hospital is losing critical workers
The workers charged with keeping critical medical equipment online at a Santa Clara County-owned hospital are about to be out of the job—and hospital staff fear patients could pay the price. The 17 engineers at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose are members of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 39. But last month,...
Santa Clara County DA’s embattled investigator will retire
A high-ranking official in the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office under fire for alleged discriminatory remarks against coworkers is set to retire in December. Moises Reyes, chief of the DA’s Bureau of Investigations, will retire on Dec. 19, a spokesperson for the DA’s office told San José Spotlight. This follows more than a dozen claims...
UPDATE: Is San Jose spending too much on homeless outreach?
San Jose leaders are questioning if spending millions on homeless outreach is worth the investment, with efforts producing single-digit success rates last year. San Jose spent $24 million in federal grants last year aimed at addressing homelessness. Of the more than 1,000 people experiencing homelessness that two city-funded nonprofits reportedly connected with, less than 10%...
San Jose employees spent millions on travel, entertainment and dinners
From Disney resorts to animal funeral services, San Jose City Hall employees spent millions with city credit cards this past year. About a quarter of San Jose employees have city-funded credit cards, known as purchase cards or P-cards. The cards are typically issued to specific department representatives with intent to streamline small dollar purchases—mostly office...
Another warehouse planned for South San Jose
A freestanding home on a large plot of land in the South San Jose foothills is set to be demolished to make way for a warehouse. Gretchen Kendrick, chief executive officer of Xebec, a Dallas-based real estate development and investment firm, is proposing the project for nearly six acres at 469 Piercy Road near the corner...
Silicon Valley female officials face violence and family threats
A woman who runs for office in today’s political climate can find herself navigating a minefield of hostile, threatening public behavior, and she will face higher levels of harassment and danger than her male counterparts. In a first of its kind survey, the California Women’s List collected more than 100 responses from various gender identities...