Santa Clara councilmembers are grappling with a slew of technical, long-term planning issues, including raising fees for home developers to bridge a park funding gap and the future of the city’s north side. The council meeting Tuesday evening ended with requests for more information so lawmakers could make informed decisions on hot-button topics, but the...
Just before Labor Day, Santa Clara County service workers poised to strike
A dispute between workers and management over pay, benefits and working conditions could grind services in Santa Clara County to a halt — just as the nation is set to celebrate the labor movement’s contribution to American society. County workers are threatening to strike less than a week before Labor Day. The employees run the...
Update: San Jose lawmakers decline to rebid Catholic school contract, move ahead with Planned Parenthood funding
Amid a wave of scrutiny over awarding a six-figure public contract to a private Catholic school, Mayor Sam Liccardo suggested reopening the contract to other schools — but his council colleagues didn’t agree. On Wednesday, City Manager Dave Sykes recommended keeping the current contract with Cristo Rey intact and instead, perform better outreach to schools...
Was San Jose’s massage parlor crackdown a success?
Nearly four years after San Jose prioritized combating illegal massage parlors, statistics paint an unclear picture of compliance despite the controversial measure’s success in closing a vast number of businesses. According to Lt. Paul Messier, of the San Jose Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, there are currently 80 massage businesses remaining in San Jose. That’s...
San Jose’s general plan task force announced, set to meet this fall
A task force to review San Jose’s general plan is gearing up to come back together again to assess the land-use bible, which will guide how and where the South Bay city will grow in the coming years. Mayor Sam Liccardo announced last week a group of 42 community, business, city and nonprofit leaders that will...
San Jose lawmakers drop decision on top retirement officials’ plan
San Jose lawmakers on Tuesday dropped a proposal to boot executive employees working in the city’s Office of Retirement Services from the retirement plan that they directly work on. City Manager Dave Sykes said some questions about the proposal need to be revisited and asked lawmakers to drop the item until a later date. It’s...
Downtown San Jose rally celebrates women’s history, push for equality
San Jose leaders on Monday paid homage to the suffragette movement, and more importantly, white women’s right to vote in a rally on National Women’s Equality Day. The event served as a kickoff for a year’s worth of activities celebrating women’s history and activism, to be led by the Women’s Equality 2020 Leadership Council. Nearly...
San Jose takes proactive stance to prevent corruption among decision makers
An audit of how San Jose analyzes personal financial disclosures from its key decision makers has begun to change how the city looks for corruption — drawing accolades from a statewide good government group that says San Jose could set an example for other cities with its newly proactive approach. California’s Political Reform Act specifically...
Santa Clara County supervisors push for new sales tax measure
A new sales tax could bring additional funding to Santa Clara County, amid predictions of future revenue losses and budget threats. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday advanced a proposal from Supervisor Cindy Chavez for a 5/8-cent sales tax increase to provide funding for prioritized services such as health care, child care,...
Silicon Valley lawmakers announce proposals for action against hate crimes
Proposals to address local hate crimes at both city and county levels were announced at San Jose City Hall Wednesday afternoon. Led by San Jose Councilmember Maya Esparza and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, the proposals call for implementing a regional Hate Crimes Task Force to address local hate crime and hate speech, especially...