San Jose is searching for a developer to build permanent affordable housing at Evans Lane—six years after city leaders first approved homeless housing on the site. Records obtained by San José Spotlight show the city rejected an offer by a prominent South Bay developer to build the homes in 2016. It could have happened faster and...
Judge won’t seal testimony in Santa Clara County sheriff case
A San Mateo County judge has refused to seal a portion of civil grand jury testimony in a public corruption case against Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. Judge Nancy Fineman denied a motion on Tuesday to seal testimony given by insurance broker Harpreet Chadha to a civil grand jury. The Santa Clara County District...
San Jose homeless wary of housing at police parking lot
After decades of criminalizing the homeless—often profiling and citing individuals—San Jose now wants to house them. The San Jose City Council announced last October that a parking lot at the San Jose Police Department headquarters along Guadalupe Parkway would serve as a site for temporary homeless housing. City officials broke ground on Feb. 9 and...
Democratic club chooses Chavez for San Jose mayor
The Silicon Valley Democratic Club has overwhelmingly endorsed Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez in her campaign for San Jose mayor, with an 85% vote. On Monday, the club held a mayoral forum where candidates San Jose Councilmembers Matt Mahan and Raul Peralez along with former congressional candidate Jonathan Royce Esteban and Chavez answered six questions...
State contest bound to divide Asian voters in Silicon Valley
In a contested California Assembly race where more than half of voters are Asian Americans, four Asian Democrats are vying for the job. Assemblymember Alex Lee, who won the Assembly District 25 seat in 2020, is running for the same job in a new district. His district, which used to encompass Santa Clara, Alviso, Northern San Jose and parts...
Nearly half of Silicon Valley children need supportive services to survive
Silicon Valley households with children are struggling to make ends meet, and the data is eye-opening. Joint Venture Silicon Valley recently released its 2022 Silicon Valley Index, shedding light on the stark challenges these families face. In Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, approximately 46% of children live in households that don’t earn enough money...
San Jose is scrambling to fill job vacancies
In an effort to fill hundreds of job vacancies at San Jose City Hall, city employees will soon see a threefold boost in their job referral bonuses. Elected leaders last week unanimously increased the city’s hiring referral bonus from $500 to $1,500. The increase will be in effect from Feb. 20 to June 30. The...
San Jose mall workers say new parking fees are wage theft
“Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Parking fees have got to go,” chanted workers protesting in front of the Westfield Valley Fair mall on Sunday. Employees of Westfield Valley Fair are fighting over newly-enacted parking fees at the high-end retail center announced by mall management in January. Employees are forced to pay $3 per day or $40...
Misleading notice scares San Jose homeless residents, may skew headcount
Homeless advocates worry that a misleading cleanup notice has prompted homeless residents along Guadalupe River to leave their camps—days ahead of an important census count. On early Friday morning, San Jose officials and contractors pulled up in trucks at the sprawling encampment along the Guadalupe River Creek near Columbus Park to haul away trash, tents...
Silicon Valley’s equity grade is below flunking
The state of Silicon Valley is grim when it comes to equity and equality. The 2022 Silicon Valley Index report found that while jobs are back to pre-pandemic levels in the region, income inequality widened, inflation skyrocketed and housing prices soared. Officials from Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a group that analyzes regional issues affecting the economy...