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The San Jose Police Department is updating how it reviews its use of body cameras, but changes are not as extensive as some hoped. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a new audit policy on Tuesday, which calls for the hiring of a senior analyst to monitor if police officers are correctly using body...
Tuition is free at these San Jose community colleges—for now
The COVID-19 pandemic and decreasing enrollment enabled San Jose community colleges to stretch free tuition to part-time students, but all that may be in jeopardy by next summer. The federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund gave Evergreen Valley and San Jose City colleges millions in funding to help students stay enrolled. Evergreen Valley College received...
San Jose housing shortage is the worst in the U.S.
San Jose’s housing crisis is the worst of any major U.S. city due to its limited supply of homes. That’s according to a recent study from Angi which says the San Jose metro area, which includes San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara is faring worse than other major metro cities like Washington D.C., San Francisco...
31% of San Jose police officers faced complaints, report says
Nearly a third of San Jose police officers received complaints in 2021, concerning advocates who say the numbers show the wide swath of reform efforts happening in the city aren’t working. The number of complaints increased nearly 25% over 2020, when San Jose saw significant upheaval in response to the police killing of George Floyd,...
Santa Clara mayor highlights budget, city growth in annual speech
As Santa Clara faces ongoing economic struggles exacerbated by the pandemic, the city’s mayor on Saturday presented a brighter vision for the future. During Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s first in-person State of the City address, she highlighted her administration’s approach to worsening local issues, such as homelessness. The city this past year has helped fund programs like...
Homeless resident sues San Jose over sweep
A homeless person living at the sprawling camp near Columbus Park is suing San Jose over the monthlong sweep. Rudy Ortega filed a federal complaint this week against San Jose alleging city officials and the city’s partners breached their contracts and violated his constitutional rights—the city is sweeping where Ortega has been staying. The lawsuit,...
Downtown San Jose council candidates disagree on issues
San Jose’s downtown council seat is up for grabs, and the two candidates running for the District 3 spot couldn’t be more different. At a Friday debate hosted by the San Jose Downtown Association, candidates Omar Torres and Irene Smith shared their vision for the downtown core. Torres was the frontrunner after the June primary...
State complaint filed against San Jose mayoral candidate
San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan’s mayoral campaign is at the center of a complaint filed Friday with the state labor commissioner, three days after San José Spotlight reported potential labor law violations. The freshman councilmember is being accused of misclassifying campaign workers as independent contractors. A San José Spotlight investigation earlier this week revealed that...
State funding rains on Silicon Valley cities
Three cities in Santa Clara County are receiving a windfall in state funding for a number of community projects. Assemblymember Alex Lee secured nearly $32 million for the five cities in his district—the largest allocation the area has seen, according to the elected official. San Jose received the lion’s share with $10 million to build...
Silicon Valley officials call for gun violence prevention in schools
Silicon Valley school districts and officials are pushing for new approaches to preventing gun violence, while experts question whether police on campuses add to school safety. At an event hosted as part of the House Democrats’ Gun Violence Prevention Day of Action, a number of officials including San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Congressmember Zoe Lofgren and...