Santa Clara voters will decide in November whether to give the city roughly $400 million for various infrastructure fixes around the city. The Santa Clara City Council approved the bond measure on Tuesday 6-1, with Councilmember Kevin Park dissenting. City employees originally proposed a $598 million bond, but councilmembers could only agree on a lower...
San Jose official denied restraining order against business owner
San Jose Councilmember Bien Doan’s request for a restraining order against a well-connected Vietnamese American businessman has been denied — capping a trial that laid bare the political rancor within Little Saigon’s older generation. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Eric Geffon ruled on Wednesday there is insufficient evidence that Hai Huynh — a bail...
Santa Clara County bond brings thousands of affordable homes
Eight years ago, Santa Clara County had less than 300 affordable apartments that served homeless individuals with disabilities. Thousands of homes have been built since then due to an affordable housing bond measure. The county is set to exceed its affordable housing goals with 4,777 deeply affordable apartments constructed or in the pipeline across 10 cities from Gilroy...
Cupertino weighs moving location of aging City Hall
Cupertino City Hall could move from its decades-old location — but it may not be long term. The Cupertino City Council voted 4-1 last month, with Councilmember Kitty Moore as the sole no vote, to open negotiations on moving city departments into an empty office building while the nearly 60-year-old City Hall is renovated or...
San Jose official’s restraining order hearing nets notable witnesses
What started as one San Jose councilmember taking out a restraining order against a well-connected Vietnamese American businessman is morphing into a trial that has brought some of Little Saigon’s most well-known figures out to testify. Councilmember Bien Doan has requested a restraining order against business owner Hai Huynh, which set the stage for Tuesday’s...
UPDATE: Silicon Valley water agency delays decision to fine homeless people
The penalization of homeless people living along regional waterways appears to be less imminent after leaders of Santa Clara County’s largest water agency delayed a policy on penalties and fines for later this year. The Valley Water board of directors on Tuesday postponed voting on a policy that poses $500 fines or up to 30...
Silicon Valley homeless nonprofit CEO steps down amid turmoil
HomeFirst CEO Andrea Urton is stepping down, leaving questions about the future of one of Santa Clara County’s largest homeless support service providers. The group’s board of directors said today Urton’s departure is effective immediately. She led the nonprofit through expansions and setbacks during her nine-year tenure. In recent years, HomeFirst has come under intense...
49ers dole out millions in Santa Clara community benefits
For a decade, the 49ers have worked to help uplift the community surrounding the city the team calls home. In an effort to recognize that work, they’re celebrating Levi’s Stadium’s 10th anniversary by launching “49ers Cares About Santa Clara,” an initiative to publicly show how the 49ers Foundation, team and stadium have affected the surrounding...
San Jose officials support retail theft crackdown reform
San Jose’s top political leader supports harsher penalties for drug dealers as voters consider new measures to hold thieves and drug suppliers accountable. California voters passed the criminal justice proposition in 2014 and established a $950 threshold for determining whether a theft would be considered a misdemeanor or a felony. But opponents of Proposition 47...
The Biz Beat: Campbell Cambodian restaurant is a hidden gem
When Vila Pho emigrated from the Banteay Meanchey province in Cambodia to the U.S. in 2003, she knew no one and took a job as a computer technician. It wasn’t her ideal job, but it paid the bills. She took English classes while she dreamed of opening a Cambodian restaurant with dishes steeped in lemongrass...