The VTA light rail system is much like the famed song “Rock Island Line”: if you want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it. Light rail riders find the commute to be clean, comfortable, easy to use, handicap accessible and on schedule. It can also be time-consumingly slow, with a cross-town...
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Top ten Santa Clara County political stories of 2021
This year was a tumultuous one for Santa Clara County politics. Records revealed San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo hiding emails, Sheriff Laurie Smith is battling multiple political scandals and a prosecutor is simultaneously suing District Attorney Jeff Rosen and gunning for his job. Here’s a look at some major political developments that happened in Santa Clara...
Final congressional map splits San Jose into four districts
In a surprising upset, the state commission charged with redrawing California’s political boundaries drew San Jose into four districts after briefly considering an option that would have limited it to three. The California Citizens Redistricting Commission voted Monday night to approve a map that places San Jose in four congressional districts: 16, 17, 18 and...
Full transcript: San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s 2021 State of the City
Editor’s Note: This is a transcript of Mayor Sam Liccardo’s full 2021 State of the City address. Good evening. As I fulfill the mandate of our city charter to articulate an annual state of the city address, I reflect on the pain that so many in our city have experienced over the last year. The...
In annual speech, San Jose mayor says homelessness is city’s ‘biggest failure’
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo painted a realistic picture of the city’s failures while highlighting a hopeful future at his State of the City address on Thursday. In his seventh annual address, and second virtual speech, Liccardo discussed the city’s biggest issues. He focused on homelessness, public safety, community resiliency and environmental improvements. The city’s biggest failure...
‘Miserable’: San Jose homeless brace for cold, wet winter ahead of Christmas
Standing near her tent in San Jose’s Columbus Park with two dogs in her arms, Carole Roberts said the holiday season is not a joyful time of year. “It’s the worst time of the year, with the cold and the wind,” Roberts, who has been homeless for 13 years, told San José Spotlight. “Christmas is...
FAA to investigate Santa Clara County leaded fuel ban at airports
The Federal Aviation Administration has started a formal investigation into Santa Clara County’s policy to ban the sale of leaded fuel at its airports starting Jan. 1. In a letter sent to the county on Thursday, the FAA said it will investigate to determine whether the policy is a violation of the United States Constitution and...
Evans Lane gives San Jose homeless a reason to celebrate the holidays
Christmas came a few days early at Evans Lane. The roughly 15 families staying at the interim housing site in West San Jose were invited to a Christmas celebration on Wednesday by the site’s provider, PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) services, and Councilmember Dev Davis. They were met with festive decorations, a masked-up COVID conscious...
Smaller construction projects covered under San Jose labor agreement
San Jose is expanding a labor agreement to smaller public works projects, raising questions about how the city measures worker protections against business interests. The City Council voted last week 8-3 to approve amendments to San Jose’s Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which applies rules about working conditions and the type of labor that can be...
Here’s where San Jose lawmakers traveled during the pandemic
Three San Jose officials spent at least $8,000 in tax dollars on trips this past year—a fraction of what the city used to spend on business travel prior to the pandemic. Lawmakers traveled to Washington, D.C., Ohio and nearby cities like Sacramento for conferences and White House events—with taxpayers footing the bills, according to city documents. These...