San Jose placed people swept from its largest homeless encampment in motels earlier this year, but neighbors near one location are raising safety concerns. Residents near the Bristol Hotel at 3341 S. Bascom Ave. on the border of San Jose and Campbell said RVs have appeared near the motel since homeless people began living there...
Agreement lets San Jose clean up Caltrans property
San Jose is cleaning up state-owned land in an attempt to keep freeway underpasses free of homeless encampments. San Jose and Caltrans have an agreement that allows the city to clean up trash and sweep encampments on 13 sites owned by the state. California will partially reimburse the costs up to $400,000, and the city is in...
Downtown San Jose Planning Commission seat still vacant
Not long after Anthony Tordillos won the June special election for the District 3 San Jose City Council seat, he had to vacate his role on the Planning Commission. His commission seat has been vacant for nearly three months, leaving downtown without a voice on an influential government body that helps steer the city’s land-use...
Santa Clara County provides free resources to veterans
With Veterans Day approaching, Santa Clara County is offering free health and social services to local vets this weekend. The annual Stand Down offers housing and employment assistance, medical and dental screenings, mental health resources, legal aid, groceries, clothing, showers, haircuts and hot lunches. The event kicked off Thursday at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds...
Santa Clara project would upend Asian American shopping center
The future of a Santa Clara shopping center that’s a mainstay of the city’s Asian American community may be in jeopardy as a national developer pushes for housing to replace it. Georgia-based PulteGroup wants to transform the Homestead Shopping Center into a 147-townhome development, complete with about 20 affordable homes and 341 parking spaces. The...
State bill could displace Sunnyvale mobile home residents
Sunnyvale resident Gail Rubino first moved into the El Dorado Mobile Home Park 15 years ago because it was the only way she could afford home ownership in Silicon Valley. She settled into the park and formed a community she could call her own. Now, she’s fighting to change a statewide bill that would make...
California’s Prop. 50 has a rocky road ahead
California has overwhelmingly approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to gerrymander congressional seats in favor of Democrats for the next several election cycles. His most powerful allies in Silicon Valley are tempering their zeal. Though Proposition 50 does little to local political boundaries, a whopping 71% of Santa Clara County voters went in favor of the...
San Jose affordable apartment tower nears construction
After more than a decade of planning and delays, a 15-story, 100% affordable apartment building known as The Gateway Tower is set to break ground in downtown San Jose’s SoFA District early next year. The breakthrough comes after developer The Core Companies announced it had secured all necessary funding to move forward with the $197-million construction...
Top Silicon Valley PG&E executive is out
PG&E has parted ways with a top executive representing Silicon Valley, following this news organization’s reporting on the executive’s involvement in a City Council campaign that received money from the energy giant. Teresa Alvarado announced her separation from the Bay Area’s $40 billion investor-owned power utility on LinkedIn last month. For the past four years,...
San Jose homeless hotel gets new management
A San Jose hotel converted to homeless housing is switching operators, and residents are welcoming the change. Nonprofit service provider WeHope will take over the Arena Hotel at 817 The Alameda starting Dec. 1 and replace HomeFirst. It will provide case management and temporarily manage the property, security and food until San Jose hires another...