A band of top labor leaders Thursday signed onto a resolution condemning Mayor Sam Liccardo’s push to revise the county’s sanctuary city policy in the wake of the murder of a San Jose woman by an undocumented immigrant. In the resolution, the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council executive board, Latinos United for a New America, Human Agenda and...
Santa Clara County law enforcement have taken 6,000 guns off streets
More assault weapons were received in 2016 and 2018 than years prior. Last year, LaCap said her department capped buybacks at $400 maximum because “we had these people that would bring in like 40 guns, and they would wipe out all of our funds on one person.” “A lot of it was gun dealers who...
East San Jose leaders decry San Jose planning commission appointment
When Ada Márquez stepped down from San Jose’s most powerful city commission last year, community leaders were hopeful that lawmakers would appoint another person of color from East Side to fill her spot. But that’s not what happened. “The council had a chance to embrace diversity and instead they chose to replace a seat that...
Santa Clara County to explore changes to sanctuary city policy
Amid a brewing battle on immigration, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday that it will explore changes to the county’s sanctuary city policy following immense backlash from the community. After an emotional meeting that included three hours of public testimony, county lawmakers voted 4-1 in favor of requesting county staff to come...
San Jose denies contract extension for Chick-fil-A, invests in housing for poor
City Attorney Rick Doyle cautioned the council on rejecting the contract extension on the grounds of religious or political beliefs, which could be considered a First Amendment violation. Instead, they opted to reject the extension since Chick-Fil-A is not open on Sundays – one of the airport’s busiest travel days. At the suggestion of Yeager...
Kyra Kazantzis will lead Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
Kyra Kazantzis, a senior policy advisor to Mayor Sam Liccardo and a longtime attorney, is the new CEO of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits following Patricia Gardner’s retirement, officials announced Tuesday. “I am thrilled to be joining Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and am ready to hit the ground running as CEO of this...
Providing food and child care: Ideas to boost civic engagement in San Jose
How effective is San Jose at public outreach and community engagement? One Silicon Valley organization says the city could do more, partly by providing food and child care at public governmental meetings. “We’re Silicon Valley. It’s 2019,” said Alex Shoor, co-founder of Catalyze SV, a nonprofit that focuses on sustainable development and growth. “How is...
San Jose City Council to mull new affordable housing funding
In an effort to spur San Jose’s dwindling housing supply, lawmakers on Tuesday will consider investing $10 million to flip market-rate apartments into affordable ones and peg 30 percent of any new housing dollars for extremely low-income housing. Housing officials this week will ask the City Council to add those two new priorities to the city’s affordable housing investment plan....
Iola Williams, first African-American councilwoman in San Jose, dies
Iola Williams, the first African-American to serve on the San Jose City Council, died Thursday night surrounded by her family in Texas. Williams, who lost a battle with Parkinson’s disease, was 83 years old. In 1979, Williams became the first African-American lawmaker appointed to the City Council after serving on the Franklin-McKinley School Board. Williams served...
Norm Kline drops bid for San Jose Planning Commission
After a blunder left Norm Kline off a list of applicants for the Planning Commission, he dropped out of the competitive process and cleared the field for three others. “Since applying and not being selected, I have volunteered for other public service projects,” Kline wrote in a letter. “This combined with knowing the council has...