Hundreds of apartments for people earning lower incomes or who are homeless are set to be constructed in San Jose, a move by city leaders to help alleviate the affordable housing crunch. The San Jose City Council unanimously approved a plan Tuesday for the city to issue roughly $120 million in housing revenue bonds that...
Palo Alto mayor launches bid for state Assembly seat
Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou stumbled into politics accidentally as an active member of her community—now she wants to run for higher office. Kou declared her candidacy for state Assembly on Monday. She will run against incumbent Marc Berman who represents District 23, which includes Mountain View, Palo Alto, most of Menlo Park, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Saratoga and Campbell. Her focus is...
UPDATE: Silicon Valley special ed teachers demand safer classrooms
Santa Clara County special educators are continuing to push for safer classrooms amid serious injuries. Dozens of special education teachers gathered in front of the Santa Clara County Office of Education Wednesday afternoon to protest before a board meeting. They chanted, “What do we want? Safe schools!” and held signs that said, “Stand up for...
Who loses in San Jose mayor’s housing plan?
An already contentious debate on where to allocate funds for housing is growing more divisive, as San Jose leaders weigh diverting funding for hundreds of affordable homes. The San Jose City Council is considering cutting Measure E spending on affordable housing by half and reallocating those dollars to homelessness services and temporary shelters. Housing advocates said...
‘We’re tired of this life’: San Jose sweeps another homeless camp
A small army of backhoes, earthmovers, garbage trucks, pickups and police cars rolled out of Corie Court in Central San Jose Monday afternoon, after crews spent hours working to clear out a major homeless encampment along Coyote Creek. The city-led effort focused on moving out hundreds of homeless people who live near the creek bed....
San Jose’s forgotten Midtown is reborn with night-time flair
A new idea in an underutilized part of San Jose could turn into a win for a variety of businesses and the residents living in the area. Midtown Immersive Night Party, created by event planners Jonathan and Linnea Gomez, is a night-time venue waiting to be discovered and an opportunity to boost a forgotten part...
UPDATE: San Jose mayor pushes more dollars for short-term housing
San Jose’s mayor wants to up the ante and divert millions more from Measure E funds toward homeless solutions. The City Council — at the direction of Mayor Matt Mahan — is considering whether to upend its original plans for Measure E spending. Last year, council voted to spend 75% of Measure E dollars on...
Does San Jose need a military-grade arsenal?
The San Jose Police Department must annually account for all the military-grade equipment in its arsenal, and advocates are asking for more information on how and why this equipment is used. Although the city council unanimously approved the department’s annual report summarized by San Jose Police Lt. Justin Moro at last week’s meeting, residents questioned...
Santa Clara County fairgrounds plans plod ahead
Plans to revamp the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds into a sports and recreation facility have been progressing for more than a year, but it’s unclear when shovels will hit the ground. After more than a year of exclusive negotiations with the San Jose Earthquakes, Major League Cricket and San Jose State University—all of which are eyeing...
Why bother buying a home in San Jose?
A recent national report is putting San Jose on the map for all the wrong reasons. The city is the toughest place to buy a home with the worst price-to-rent ratio, according to an analysis by real estate data company Clever. The company ranked 50 of the most populous U.S. metros with the goal of...