Santa Clara County officials have charged a law enforcement watchdog with finding answers to two questions: Who halted an internal affairs investigation into the injury of an inmate at the jail, and why. During Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Joe Simitian drilled the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring on the main objective...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County approves more funding for Afghan war refugees
Hundreds of Afghan war refugees are expected to settle in Santa Clara County in the next year. County officials want to help make that transition more comfortable. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $1 million of increased funding on Tuesday for organizations that help refugees resettle in the region. Much of the...
Second challenger joins race for Santa Clara County sheriff
A veteran and seasoned sergeant is joining the race to unseat Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. Last week, Christine Nagaye announced her candidacy for the 2022 election. A San Jose resident, Nagaye has worked at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office for 19 years, including six as a supervising sergeant. She previously worked for Southwest...
UPDATE: San Jose activists oppose limiting police reform oversight
San Jose activists Monday pushed back against top city administrators who want to squeeze them out of a process to reform police. In a letter sent Friday to Fred Ferrer, chair of the Charter Review Commission, City Manager Jennifer Maguire advised leaving policing issues to the city’s Reimagining Public Safety Community Advisory Committee, a 46-member...
Santa Clara city attorney firing opens new relationship with 49ers
The firing of Santa Clara city attorney Brian Doyle leaves the city poised for major political changes, including bridging its divisive relationship with the San Francisco 49ers. The City Council ousted Doyle two weeks ago in a closed door meeting. Councilmembers did not explain why he was terminated but he was the subject of a monthslong...
Local nonprofit helps house residents of North San Jose encampment
Getting dozens of homeless residents shelter and services isn’t easy, especially when it has to happen in a matter of weeks. But HomeFirst CEO Andrea Urton said it’s doable when you have the right resources. Residents last week were forced to leave a massive homeless encampment at Component Drive in North San Jose on land...
San Jose firefighter, police unions oppose COVID vax mandate
San Jose firefighter and police unions are pushing back on the plan to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for city employees by the end of the month, warning the policy might lead to worker shortages. “Our message has been consistent through all of this process,” Matt Tuttle, president of San Jose Firefighters Local 230, told San José Spotlight. “While...
San Jose councilmember proposes ‘seamless’ public transportation
Public transit riders in Silicon Valley have a lot of agencies to keep up with: VTA, BART, Caltrain—and that’s if you take public transit at all. And if you plan on traveling to places like the North and East Bay you’ll have to wade through 27 different public transit agencies. San Jose Councilmember and VTA...
San Jose Chamber of Commerce is diversifying—slowly
The newly-minted San Jose Chamber of Commerce has big plans for diversifying its mostly white executive board and attracting more minority-owned businesses as members. But some stakeholders are skeptical whether the chamber can match rhetoric with action following last year’s scandal over a racist advertisement that nearly tanked the organization. Derrick Seaver, who took over...
San Jose businesses struggle as state safety net unravels
California’s safety net is unraveling and San Jose residents and small business owners are at risk. That’s because San Joseans are part of the 2.2 million people in California who have or will completely lose unemployment benefits this week. The federal government ended four pandemic-related benefit programs to help Americans get through unemployment last week. That...