It’s been almost 20 years since Laura Wilcox, a 19-year-old volunteer at a mental health clinic in Northern California, was shot and killed by a mentally ill man who refused treatment. A year later in 2002, California passed “Laura’s Law,” an assisted outpatient treatment program that gives counties the ability to mandate that severely mentally...
Meet the woman who’s fighting to save San Jose’s history
After leaving the job vacant for nearly a decade, San Jose City Hall has hired someone to protect the city’s historical assets or — at the very least — remind the city’s lawmakers that they’re there, especially as the city’s growth explodes amid an economic boom. Juliet Arroyo is the city’s new historic preservation officer....
San Jose lawmakers want to fund nearly 100 new ideas. Here’s a look at some of them.
Nearly 100 ideas are vying for funding in Mayor Sam Liccardo’s new budget, and they include everything from cleaning blight, to installing metal detectors at City Hall and mounting license plate readers on parking enforcement vehicles. Liccardo is scheduled to release his final budget message on May 31, which could include some of the councilmembers’...
San Jose spent nearly $120K on ethics complaints – some of them ‘frivolous’
San Jose last year shelled out more than $117,000 to an outside attorney to investigate ethics complaints against local politicians, a process some lawmakers say is driven by political motives and wastes taxpayer dollars. “The complaints filed against me have been frivolous and politically-motivated, filed by someone who is abusing the process,” said San Jose Councilmember Magdalena...
San Jose activists push back against metal detectors in City Hall
Silicon Valley advocates pushed back Thursday on a controversial proposal to increase security at City Hall by installing metal detectors, calling the move “undemocratic” and “hostile to the public.” In a memo to San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Councilmember Johnny Khamis proposed that his colleagues consider safety measures at City Hall by implementing metal detectors...
Rose Herrera enters Santa Clara County supervisorial race
Former San Jose Vice Mayor Rose Herrera pulled papers to run for Santa Clara County Supervisor, a move that shakes up the local supervisorial race and could send it into a November runoff. The longtime Evergreen Valley leader joins a crowded race that includes Assemblymember Kansen Chu, San Jose Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, San Jose Planning...
Three San Jose airport commissioners leave, citing lack of influence
Three San Jose airport commissioners won’t reapply for their positions, claiming that top airport and city officials shunned their feedback on a high-profile policy decision to raise building heights near Silicon Valley’s downtown airport. The terms of Commissioners Raymond Greenlee, Tom Cruz and Mark Schmidt are expiring in June. Commissioners typically get re-appointed with little...
Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran enters California Assembly race
Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran is dropping out of a local supervisorial race to run for state Assembly in an effort to replace Kansen Chu, who announced earlier this month that he’ll run for Santa Clara County Supervisor. Tran broke the big news on Facebook early Wednesday morning. The young mayor said he decided in December...
Santa Clara County approves $5M for sexual assault services
While women’s healthcare services are being threatened nationally, Santa Clara County leaders are fighting to preserve and invest in securing those rights at the local level. In two monumental moves for women, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Tuesday to reserve $5 million to support services for victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence...
South Bay Senate candidates differ on controversial housing bill
Three of the five candidates running for Jim Beall’s state Senate seat drew a crowd of eager voters on Monday night at a meet-and-greet forum in Campbell, discussing crucial issues such as housing, transportation, climate change and education. The hours-long event hosted by the Silicon Valley Democratic Club did little to sway Silicon Valley Democratic...