Drivers will need to start pumping the brakes because speed limits are coming to some busy San Jose streets. The City Council this week approved speed reductions on smaller roads in specific San Jose business districts. The locations, which include Evergreen Village Square, portions of Almaden Avenue, Jackson, Post, Santa Clara and Willow streets, will...
Say goodbye to flavored tobacco in San Jose
San Jose has put the kibosh on flavored tobacco to reduce teen vaping. Starting Friday, San Jose’s 600-plus smoke shops can no longer sell flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes, including menthol flavored products. The ban, which the San Jose City Council unanimously passed last September, will apply to any tobacco products with an artificial or natural flavor,...
A $9,000 mortgage in San Jose? That’s ‘reasonable,’ realtors say
For 15 years, Matthew Quevedo and his wife, A’Dreana, moved from apartment-to-apartment in San Jose. They started with a $900 a month one-bedroom in the Seven Trees neighborhood when they were both 18 years old, making $12 an hour at Home Depot. But in October 2020, after years of saving up, they got a piece...
Silicon Valley doctors decry plan to pay bonuses for seeing more patients
Local doctors are outraged over a proposal from Santa Clara County to tie some of their pay to the number of patients they see. The physicians from three county-owned hospitals say the model will hurt patients and quality of treatment. Nine doctors from Santa Clara Valley Medical Center gathered in front of the county offices...
Should your child get a COVID vaccine? Santa Clara County officials answer FAQs
After years of anxiously awaiting their turn, parents can now give their infants the COVID-19 vaccine — but many questions remain about getting the jab. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week approved vaccinations for children ages six months to 5 years old, but some parents remain unsure. Questions range from side effects to...
Latest effort to help homeless Silicon Valley students: Guaranteed income
Homeless high school students in Santa Clara County may soon receive an income lifeline. State Sen. Dave Cortese is working to bring guaranteed income to local homeless high school seniors through a pilot program, after a similar bill, SB 1341, failed in the state Legislature. He’s asked Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg to help...
New leadership coming to this powerful San Jose commission
One of San Jose’s most important legislative bodies will begin its next term with new leadership. The San Jose Planning Commission, a powerful panel that oversees development and advises lawmakers on the city’s planning policies, will add two new members. The City Council is expected to approve the appointments on Tuesday. Chair Rolando Bonilla is terming...
Tiny homes are coming, whether San Jose lawmakers like it or not
Tiny homes in San Jose are being hailed as a fix to a growing homelessness crisis. But two policymakers are saying the sites in their districts won’t work. The City Council this week voted 8-2 to approve a plan that would add 400 transitional homes, as the region’s housing crisis continues to push more people...
A San Jose temple’s latest adversary? A former planning commissioner
A former city commissioner is behind a new push to stop a Sikh temple from expanding in a suburban San Jose neighborhood — but his attempts, like many before it, have failed. Jim Zito, who sat on the San Jose Planning Commission and unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2020, filed an appeal in April to...
What the overturning of Roe v. Wade means for Silicon Valley
The outrage is palpable with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but women in Santa Clara County will not be impacted. “Absolutely nothing is changing,” Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez told San José Spotlight. “In fact, not only are we continuing services, but we’re going to be expanding them.” On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court...