Braving the chilly weather on an early Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of San Jose residents filtered through the Sacred Heart community center on South First Street to receive food boxes for Thanksgiving dinners. “This is our 57th year giving out food boxes to the community,” Demone Carter, community engagement director at Sacred Heart, told San José...
San José Spotlight wins award for coverage of VTA mass shooting
San José Spotlight this month won a national award for its breaking news coverage of a mass shooting in May at a VTA light rail yard that killed nine transit workers. The award from the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers recognizes our nonprofit newsroom among the top news publications in the country. LION Publishers is...
San Jose prepares to settle litigation with injured cop watcher
San Jose appears to be settling litigation with a resident injured while trying to film police officers. Last week in closed session, the San Jose City Council discussed a lawsuit brought by Nicholas Robinson, a security guard who records police interactions. Robinson was arrested while monitoring police conducting an arrest near Highway 101 in November 2018. He...
San Jose’s downtown Willow Glen springs back to life as holidays arrive
The quaint character of downtown Willow Glen stores and eateries is re-emerging, even though the COVID-19 pandemic hit businesses hard. Last week, tree-lined Lincoln Avenue, between Minnesota Avenue and Willow Street, saw foot traffic increase as customers wandered into retail boutiques like Bella James, to paint pottery at Petroglyph or shop for gifts and lunch...
Different hiring experiences for San Jose coffee shops, eateries
The solution to the ongoing labor shortage might seem as simple as paying employees more, but “more” isn’t always available. In the restaurant industry, budgets are straining to cover the increased costs of ingredients due to widespread shortages. That doesn’t necessarily translate to passing costs onto customers. For some businesses the answer isn’t that simple. “You...
CSU head names interim San Jose State University president
The interim president of San Jose State University has been named and will take on the role early next year. On Monday, California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro appointed Stephen Perez to take on the interim position. Perez is provost and vice president of academic affairs and a professor of economics at Sacramento State. He...
San Jose mayoral candidate wants to upend state housing law
A San Jose mayoral candidate is campaigning against a controversial state law to alter zoning in single-family neighborhoods. Councilmember Dev Davis has repeatedly hammered SB 9 on social media and in a recent op-ed for opening residential neighborhoods to higher-density development. She became the first person in the state to sign an initiative for a 2022...
How San Jose plans to be carbon neutral in nine years
San Jose pledged to go carbon neutral by 2030, but the feasibility of this ambitious goal is still up in the air. The City Council voted unanimously to approve the pledge on Nov. 9. To be carbon neutral, the city needs to either offset all carbon emissions to reach a net-zero, or eliminate carbon emissions...
Silicon Valley lawmaker’s committee removal sparks outrage
An Asian American lawmaker from the South Bay has been booted from a key California committee, and LGBTQ and Asian American advocacy groups are crying foul. Speaker Anthony Rendon stripped Assemblymember Evan Low of his chairmanship and membership on the Business and Professions Committee this week without explanation. Rendon appointed Assemblymember Marc Berman of Palo...
San Jose settles flood claims, but Valley Water litigation continues
San Jose residents affected by a devastating flood in 2017 are finally getting a settlement from the city, but litigation over the natural catastrophe isn’t over. The San Jose City Council approved a $750,000 settlement Tuesday for more than 250 plaintiffs suing the city for allegedly failing to warn them about flood dangers following heavy rainfall...