A state bill to increase public access to the communication of government officials died on the desks of lawmakers without consideration — a sign of the uphill battle transparency measures face in Sacramento. Senate Bill 908 — introduced in January by State Sen. Dave Cortese — would have required public officials to forward messages about government business...
San Jose program to build backyard homes is thriving
Hundreds of granny units are popping up everywhere in San Jose due to a successful city program implemented five years ago. The city has issued nearly 3,000 permits and seen 1,451 granny units, also known as backyard homes or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), completed since launching its preapproved contractors program in 2019. In the first...
Sunnyvale city manager to retire after steering key changes
Sunnyvale’s top administrator is retiring after seven years on the job. City Manager Kent Steffens will step down in June, according to a Wednesday news release. He led the city in completing recent projects including the new City Hall and kickstarting plans to rebuild the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The city will begin looking for...
San Jose adopts landmark policy to stop displacement
A long-awaited landmark policy will preserve housing specifically for residents at risk of displacement in hopes of keeping them in San Jose. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the first policy in the city to give tenant preference based on geography. New or acquired affordable housing projects that are city funded or...
49ers give Santa Clara ‘best and final offer’ in legal fight
The San Francisco 49ers are offering Santa Clara a deal that would pour millions of dollars in city coffers, a last ditch effort by the NFL team to end litigation that’s dragged on for more than two years. The effort is the team’s “best and final offer,” and would add $18 million to the city’s...
Will there be a recount for Silicon Valley congressional race?
The race to replace Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is about as tight as it can get, and it will likely be weeks until it’s clear who’s going to the runoff. Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is in first place — securing his spot in the November general election — but there is a razor thin margin...
Cupertino spent affordable housing funds on lawsuit
Cupertino is scrambling to fix what city officials are calling an “accounting error” after discovering more than $100,000 in affordable housing dollars went to pay off fees from a housing lawsuit, drawing backlash from residents in a time of fiscal uncertainty. The city used money from its below-market-rate housing fund to pay for a lawsuit filed last year by...
Santa Clara County nurses set to strike over working conditions
More than 3,000 Santa Clara County nurses are at an an impasse with county officials and are headed to the picket lines over pay increases and workplace conditions. The Registered Nurses Professional Association plans to strike from April 2-4, with members saying they’re struggling to live in the county, facing violence from patients and opposed...
San Jose not diverting 911 calls to mental crisis hotline
San Jose is struggling to divert 911 calls related to mental and emotional distress away from police, despite the county adopting the 988 mental crisis hotline two years ago to handle those situations. A recent report shows county mental health teams in 2023 responded to just 2% of nearly 60,000 San Jose 911 calls that...
The Biz Beat: Jun Bistro in Milpitas offers natural fusion of Chinese cuisine
The recently opened Jun Bistro in Milpitas has its improbable origins in co-owner Amy Duan’s “Chihuo” — slang for “foodie” in Mandarin — a Chinese-language food blog that currently boasts more than 1.8 million followers and a full-time staff. “I didn’t realize it at the time,” she told San José Spotlight, “but I was using...