Mountain View’s mobile home park tenants scored a big win Tuesday evening, following a yearslong effort to get the city to offer more rent control protections and cap annual rent increases below the rate of inflation. In a split 4-3 vote, the City Council approved limiting rent increases to 60% of the Consumer Price Index, with a...
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The next Santana Row? Council has big plans for California Avenue
A new proposal to enhance car-free California Avenue with planters, road improvements and a playful “modern optimism” aesthetic won a warm reception on Monday night from Palo Alto’s elected leaders, whose chief regret was that the work hadn’t been done sooner. The street, which closed to cars in 2020, is up for a refresh starting...
San Jose wants to retrieve thousands of abandoned shopping carts
San Jose wants to “piggyback” off a partnership with Milpitas and a private company to tackle thousands of abandoned shopping carts. The San Jose City Council voted 10-1, with Councilmember Pamela Campos voting no, to find an abandoned shopping cart retrieval service to recover about 2,000 carts citywide per year. Not only would a private company potentially help...
San Jose State could help manage Google journalism investment
A coalition of California colleges including San Jose State University could manage a landmark investment by Google and the state to fund local newsrooms. The director of San Jose State’s journalism school signed onto an informal proposal submitted last month by department leaders across several other CSU campuses. The idea could place the Cal State...
Another San Jose district plans to close schools
Another San Jose school district is set to close several campuses due to an extensive budget deficit. A consolidation advisory committee in the Franklin-McKinley School District is recommending closing three of the district’s 16 schools because of declining student enrollment, the depletion of one-time COVID funding and an almost $23 million budget shortfall. The schools...
Meet the candidates running for District 3 San Jose City Council
San Jose voters living downtown will decide in April who they want to represent them on the City Council for the next two years. Seven candidates are running for the District 3 seat, including San Jose Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos, Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez, mayoral staffer Matthew Quevedo, pro...
San Jose police to retest hundreds of rape kits
The San Jose Police Department is hoping to generate new leads in sexual assault cold cases by resubmitting hundreds of rape kits for testing. The department has approximately 900 partially-tested rape kits from victims used to obtain DNA evidence to identity suspects. These kits have been previously tested under an outdated system. To get more...
Cupertino council majority shifts commission appointments
The political tides in Cupertino are shifting again, exciting some residents while worrying others. The Cupertino City Council appointed more than 20 commissioners out of more than 50 applicants on Jan. 27-28, many of whom support the council’s new, less development-friendly majority. The appointments reflect a continued political shift in a city often divided on...
Sunnyvale eyes former hardware store for housing
Sunnyvale wants to replace a vacant Orchard Supply Hardware site with hundreds of new homes. The Sunnyvale Planning Commission heard proposed plans on Jan. 27 for a 5.24-acre development at 777 Sunnyvale Saratoga Road, which would include one 7-story building with 162 apartments and close to a dozen 3-story buildings with 80 condos. The project...
San Jose council appointment helps mayor’s agenda
The mayor of the Bay Area’s largest city may have scored a limited window to push through his agenda with the temporary appointment of District 3 Councilmember Carl Salas. Salas — San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s pick during last month’s appointment process — potentially secures the business-backed mayor a six-vote majority amid the City Council’s...