In the wake of the suicide of a worker who survived the mass shooting in May, VTA’s biggest employee union is laying blame at the feet of the agency. The transit agency confirmed Tuesday that Henry Gonzales, a veteran paint and body worker at VTA’s Guadalupe Light Rail Yard, died in an apparent suicide. He served...
The new census data released this month paints a clear picture of the rapidly growing diversity in Santa Clara County, and those numbers could signal a rise in progressive politics. With the white population plummeting for the first time in the nation, the Asian population is now the largest ethnic group the county. Asians represent 38.9%...
After a decades-long fight by activists to shutter a small airport in East San Jose, county supervisors made a historic decision to eliminate leaded fuel by any means—including closing the airport. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously early Wednesday morning to eliminate lead exposure from operations at Reid-Hillview Airport. County lawmakers want to explore prohibiting the...
VTA’s largest union is demanding back hazard pay for bus drivers, light rail operators and other essential transit workers who have worked throughout the pandemic. “If it wasn’t a dangerous situation… then you have to ask yourself, why was the majority of VTA management working from the comforts of their home?” asked John Courtney, president...
Facing calls to resign and numerous investigations, Sheriff Laurie Smith is pushing back against claims that her office squandered hundreds of millions of dollars by unsuccessfully trying to improve jail conditions. “That is absolutely incorrect,” Smith said, adding that she hopes County Counsel does a thorough examination of her office’s progress in meeting goals set...
East San Jose residents, who face disproportionately higher rates of poverty compared to other parts of the city, will soon have a center to help them battle evictions. San Jose’s housing department plans to open an eviction help center in East San Jose in the Franklin McKinley School District, which is close to lower-income families...
Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging local residents to vote no on the recall effort taking place in less than a month. “We thought the last election, we all said it: this is the most important election in our lifetime,” Newsom said at a Monday news conference in San Jose. “Well, we defeated Trump, we did not...
Amid a contentious fight to close an East San Jose airport, officials announced Monday it will switch to unleaded fuel — but the move might not quell opponents’ concerns. The announcement came Monday from the Community and Airport Partnership for Safe Operation. The organization, which has fought to keep the airport open, reportedly received the...
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith is firing back after San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo called for her resignation Monday, citing severe problems in her management of the county jail. Smith told San José Spotlight exclusively that she won’t make any decisions on resigning. “When the investigations are complete and I hope they are done quickly,...
Complaints about the behavior of a supervisor in VTA’s information technology department started appearing just months after he began working there, according to internal records. Records obtained by San José Spotlight show that in 2019, three employees complained about a supervisor, Kenneth Blackwell, shortly after he joined the department. The complaints alleged his behavior was...
