Noisy leaf blowers and blaring late-night trains. San Jose legislators will take them both on during a meeting this week. A San Jose City Council committee on Wednesday will accept a report from city officials about funding a buy-back program for gasoline-powered lawn equipment, which environmentalists say create air pollution and health risks. The council twice...
March for Our Lives draws hundreds to downtown San Jose
A few hundred residents flocked to Downtown San Jose Saturday to rally against gun violence and engage Silicon Valley lawmakers in discussion about gun reform. The focus of the event was galvanizing young voices in the fight against gun-related deaths. “I’m fed up with people saying ‘a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a...
Who earned the highest salary in San Jose last year?
Which San Jose public official earned the biggest bucks last year? It wasn’t Mayor Sam Liccardo. It wasn’t the city’s powerful department directors or its City Manager Dave Sykes. It was a police officer. Police officers are among the highest paid government officials in San Jose, earning almost $400,000 a year with at least 60 percent of...
Google in San Jose: Two more public agencies signed NDAs
More non-disclosure agreements signed with Google are surfacing as the tech giant pushes forward with its downtown San Jose campus. Google came under fire earlier this year after San José Spotlight revealed 18 San Jose city officials signed NDAs with the corporation. Advocates and government watchdogs have called the number of NDAs demanded by the tech giant unprecedented. But records requested by...
Assemblymember Ash Kalra introduces bill to protect Coyote Valley
Assemblymember Ash Kalra on Tuesday jumped into the fight to protect Coyote Valley by introducing legislation to create a conservation program to oversee the area. Located in South San Jose and parts of unincorporated Santa Clara County, Coyote Valley is a 15,000 acre piece of mostly undeveloped land that’s home to hundreds of species of wildlife. For decades the land has...
Amid criticism, San Jose lawmakers expand safe parking program
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday expanded a safe parking pilot program to two more locations despite deep concerns about the program’s half-million dollar price tag and fierce opposition from residents. Last November, San Jose launched a safe parking pilot program for those living in their vehicles. LifeMoves, a nonprofit that provides services to the homeless,...
Report: Santa Clara County ranks third statewide in public health
Santa Clara County ranks third overall in public health in California, beating San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego counties on the list of 58, according to annual county health rankings released last week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Santa Clara County has been ranked third since 2013, with Marin and San Mateo counties...
Cannabis equity and safe parking top San Jose council agenda
One of the San Jose City Council’s recently-adopted priorities could get fast-tracked this Tuesday in order to meet a state deadline. Earlier this month, councilors added the creation of a cannabis equity program to a list of priorities for the upcoming year, intended to guide city officials in managing their workload. The program aims to reduce...
Native tribe opposes Sargent Ranch quarry project on sacred land
For thousands of years, indigenous tribes near San Jose have hosted ceremonial practices, prayer and festivities on the land they refer to as Juristac — more commonly known as Sargent Ranch — that they consider as their most sacred spiritual site. But that might soon be coming to an end, as developers who own the...
Should San Jose move up its public comment period?
At the end of a recent San Jose City Council meeting, Andrew Boone stepped up the podium to address the councilors. He had to wait seven hours to speak his mind on an issue not on the agenda that evening. Compared to other marathon council meetings, this one ended early — adjourning around 8:30 p.m. But it isn’t the first time...