After months of delaying a decision, the San Jose Unified School District will consider later this month whether to keep police on school campuses. Students protested against officers at district middle schools and high schools at a board meeting this month. They said being under constant surveillance is intimidating and makes them feel uneasy and...
San Jose flea market vendors demand 5-year leases as battle over development heats up
San Jose Flea Market vendors are demanding its owners lock them into 5-year leases and provide at least three years of notice if the market will be closed or relocated. Those are just a few of the demands outlined in a new letter issued by the Berryessa Flea Market Vendors Association obtained by San José...
San Jose aims to be friendlier to small businesses
While some tech heavyweights are leaving the region citing unfriendly taxes and business practices, small businesses in San Jose are starting to see more support. Business owners still have to deal with complicated fee structures, differing tax rates and red tape. But San Jose’s small business incubators, pro-business mayor and its proximity to wealthy tech...
Some San Jose churches to keep COVID rules after state reopens
With the state set to lift COVID-19 restrictions next week, some San Jose church leaders say they will continue to require attendees to wear masks and social distance for in-person services. Lorianna Gardere, operations pastor at Bible Way Christian Center, said the center has held weekly virtual services since March 2020. The first in-person service will...
A year after George Floyd’s death, what’s changed in San Jose?
A little more than a year after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer —following massive protests and calls for reform of police departments across the country—San Jose police officers took the life of another Black man, Demetrius Stanley, on May 31. “It’s really heartbreaking to see so many families lose their loved...
After VTA shooting, San Jose library workers worry they’re next
Stopping fights, finding bloody clothes and calling the police: All in a day’s work for San Jose Public Library employees. Library workers are concerned for their safety following the May 26 mass shooting at a VTA light rail yard that left 10 dead including the gunman. One employee started a petition demanding library leaders and...
The cost of building affordable housing in San Jose
The high costs of building in San Jose, among the highest in the state, imperil the supply of a crucial source of financing for affordable housing: state tax credits. “Each year, these programs change their funding requirements,” Michael Lane, state policy director at urban planning think tank SPUR, told San José Spotlight. “It takes multiple years to put...
South Bay congressmembers push for gun control after San Jose VTA shooting
Washington, D.C.— America has a familiar routine when it comes to mass shootings: Vigils are held, thoughts and prayers offered, money is raised to support the victims’ families and heated arguments ensue over gun control. Then comes the eventual return to the status quo, until the next mass shooting, when the cycle repeats itself. The...
San Jose shooter’s work record shows insubordination, unexcused leave
The disgruntled VTA employee who killed nine of his coworkers before committing suicide was never written up, the transit agency said Thursday, despite one coworker saying he “scared” them and suspected he would “go postal.” He did, however, have a history of insubordination and verbal altercations with coworkers. VTA released these details Thursday on the...
Silicon Valley city limits public input at meetings
In one Bay Area city, public meetings are going to run a bit differently, with more or less transparency depending on who you ask. In a split 3-2 vote, the Los Gatos Town Council this month approved a change to the consent calendar—a list of items usually approved with a single vote of the council—that...