English
Spanish
Vietnamese
San Jose leaders want to make sure that money spent on local elections comes from Americans — and they have passed a landmark campaign finance policy that seeks to do just that. The San Jose City Council yesterday unanimously approved prohibiting “foreign-influenced corporations” from making political contributions in city races in hopes that election results reflect...
UPDATE: Silicon Valley water board elects new chair
In an unexpected turn of events, Valley Water’s board of directors reelected Director Nai Hsueh to be its next chair. After a motion to elect Director Barbara Keegan failed, the board voted 5-2 to make Hsueh chair. Directors John Valera, Richard Santos, Tony Estremera, Rebecca Eisenberg and Hsueh voted yes, and Director Jim Beall and...
San Jose Police Chief Mata to retire
San Jose’s top cop is set to retire in a few months — and is moving on to lead investigations for the county. Police Chief Anthony Mata will retire in March as he steps into the role of investigations bureau chief for the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office the following month. Mata has served...
Another U.S. senator weighs in on Silicon Valley congressional race
The country’s top political leaders are weighing in on who should fill an open Silicon Valley congressional seat. California Sen. Laphonza Butler is the latest national leader to voice who should represent the state’s 16th congressional district — and her pick is Assemblymember Evan Low. Gov. Gavin Newsom selected Butler to fill the seat in...
San Jose lawsuit sparks legislation to bolster government transparency
From Stockton to Anaheim and San Jose, government officials across California use personal email accounts and texts to do the public’s business—and those messages often never see the light of day because public agencies can’t access them. Now, a San Jose legislator is working to change that. State Sen. Dave Cortese on Monday introduced a...
Silicon Valley Vietnamese community organizes its political voice
Democratic members of San Jose’s Vietnamese community are building a club to mobilize its political front. The Vietnamese American Democratic Club of Silicon Valley wants to be chartered within the Santa Clara County Democratic Party to organize and empower like-minded members within its community. The party’s executive board gave approval in December, sending the the...
Billboard giant wins lawsuit against San Jose
A billboard conglomerate alleged San Jose violated its own rules with an advertising contract—and a judge agreed. Outfront Media won its lawsuit against the city last month after contending that San Jose did not follow proper procedure and bid out the construction of two digital billboards south of Highway 101 on San Jose Mineta International...
Former San Jose mayor staffer sues for defamation
A former executive team member of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s office is suing the mayor, his chief of staff and the city for defamation nearly a year after she was fired. Stacey Katz Brown alleges that Mahan and his chief of staff, Jim Reed, damaged her reputation by wrongfully accusing her of leaking confidential...
Santa Clara County cautions against winter illness surge
Santa Clara County is seeing a surge of COVID-like illnesses this winter, as the weather cools and people travel and gather for the holidays. The county is experiencing a spike in respiratory illnesses, such as COVID, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The Santa Clara County Public Health Department tracks all three in wastewater and...
‘Disgraceful’: San Jose struggles with records law years after landmark case
In the six years since San Jose made national headlines for losing a pivotal lawsuit that changed state transparency laws, the city’s been sued over public records numerous times and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle. An analysis by San José Spotlight found the city faced at least six lawsuits—half from news organizations—accusing...