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...
San Jose nurses say hospital leaders undermine patient care
Santa Clara County nurses who keep oxygen flowing to people with spinal cord and brain injuries already work in a tense environment, but some fear their jobs are about to get harder. Three nurses in the acute respiratory rehabilitation unit at Valley Medical Center — who spoke to San José Spotlight under condition of anonymity...
Advocates say San Jose is misusing opioid settlement funds
San Jose has received more than $1 million from opioid makers and distributors after major companies settled a lawsuit with cities and states wanting to hold them accountable for the opioid epidemic — but advocates are not happy with the proposed use of the funds. Criminal justice and mental health advocates said the ongoing funds...
Santa Clara project pairs hundreds of homes with golf course
The owners of the Pruneridge Golf Club are teeing up hundreds of homes to be built alongside the nine-hole course — but first they must reconfigure it. Demmon Family Partnership filed plans with Santa Clara in mid-May to build two apartment buildings on part of the Pruneridge Golf Club, adding 324 apartments, of which at...
Los Gatos struggles to solve beach traffic jam
It’s the most infamous time of year for Los Gatos residents — peak beach traffic season exacerbated by a scorching Fourth of July. The West Valley town is still trying to figure out how to calm traffic down. The Los Gatos Town Council unanimously decided not to place a 1/8-cent general sales tax on the November ballot...