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Los Gatos’ goal to densify its housing is too ambitious, residents say, but they can’t agree on how the town should address the issue. Democracy Tent, a group of Los Gatos residents, invited officials to a virtual meeting Monday to talk about the town’s goal to include more housing in its 2040 General Plan. Los...
Santa Clara County DACA applicants dropped after federal ruling
A federal judge in Texas recently struck down a program keeping approximately 800,000 undocumented children and young adults in the country. This leaves thousands of Santa Clara County residents without federal protection from deportation. For the more than 8,780 San Jose residents benefitting from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the July 16 decision offers no resolution. The...
Former congressional candidate runs for San Jose council seat
Health care professional and political organizer Ivan Torres faced an uphill battle when he ran against Rep. Zoe Lofgren in 2020. This year, he’s setting his sights on a more local goal: winning a seat on San Jose City Council. He says the only way he knows how to deal with adversity is to confront it head-on. “In order...
San Jose tenants forced from condemned homes get some help
After being kicked out of their homes by San Jose, a group of tenants is receiving relocation payments from their former landlord, as well as temporary housing from the county. The owners of a cluster of un-permitted mobile homes near Spina Farms in South San Jose paid $30,000 to two households made homeless on July 15 after San...
Will San Jose’s Vietnamese Heritage Garden ever blossom?
When a group of Vietnamese leaders came up with the idea of a heritage garden almost 40 years ago, the vision was grand. The Viet Heritage Garden in San Jose was supposed to be a cultural oasis featuring mini-replicas of different historical Vietnamese landmarks, a reflection pond and a pathway to a community center. Today, the garden...
Can San Jose’s segregated housing be fixed?
Housing in San Jose is racially segregated, and it’s not going to be easy figuring out how to integrate it. “The challenge is how do we integrate these spaces, and not whether or not they should be integrated,” said Mathew Reed, policy manager at housing advocacy nonprofit [email protected] “We have a moral foundation and a...
Powerful developers, lobbyist helped hire San Jose planning director
San Jose’s new planning director was chosen by powerful developers and lobbyists—many of whom have projects pending at City Hall. San José Spotlight has learned that developers, real estate companies and land use lobbyists comprised a large portion of a committee that interviewed and recommended hiring Chris Burton, the city’s new planning director. The interviews took...
San Jose neighborhood bus stops struggle with upkeep
Spartan-Keyes neighborhood resident Aurelia Sanchez won San Jose’s Litter Volunteer of the Year award in 2012. But despite her best efforts, Sanchez says the neighborhood’s litter has only gotten worse. The latest complaint among locals is dirty bus stops. “As a longtime park volunteer and litter volunteer, it’s overwhelming, it’s very discouraging,” Sanchez told San...
San Jose mayor uses private email to skirt public records law
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo appears to have skirted public records laws by directing a resident to contact him on his private Gmail and deleting their correspondence from his public government account. The email thread, obtained by San José Spotlight, shows the mayor promising to delete the conversation from his official email. None of the messages in question—which...
San Jose fire captain looks to unseat progressive councilmember
San Jose firefighter Bien Doan says his 21 years as a firefighter taught him to never back down from a challenge. Now he’s embarking on his biggest one: knocking Councilmember Maya Esparza off her council seat. Doan, a captain with the department, confirmed he will challenge District 7 incumbent Esparza, who is up for re-election...