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For John McKay, owning a pub is in his Scottish blood. For Englishman Michael North, it’s his calling. Together, the two former owners of Britannia Arms of Almaden Valley built a business that focused on giving back and treating every customer like family. For North, 60, who grew up poor in England, doing things for...
Lawsuit alleges Santa Clara County violated disability law
A Northern California man is suing Santa Clara County’s legal system, claiming he was denied proper hearing accommodations to help him communicate during jail time and in court proceedings. Howard Herships, 79, alleges in a federal lawsuit that the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and a judge in county court...
San Jose State University statue defaced
One of the most iconic statues in San Jose and the racial justice movement was defaced over the weekend. The “Victory Salute” statue at San Jose State University—which depicts alumni and African American Olympic athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos—was found defaced on Saturday, university officials said in a campus-wide email. The statue, which has...
Silicon Valley community college district could offer free tuition
Free community college is the ultimate goal for one newly-introduced state bill. California Senate Bill 629, introduced by state Sen. Dave Cortese, would allow the West Valley-Mission Community College District to stop charging its students tuition and cover other costs such as transportation and books. The bill, if approved, would expand access to higher education and...
Security contract gives San Jose labor majority the upper hand
Early signs point to a shift toward pro-labor politics in San Jose after the actions of several city councilmembers resulted in a contractor reversing position to earn a multi-million-dollar agreement. In a unanimous vote earlier this week, the San Jose City Council approved a $9 million agreement to hire a new contractor, Good Guard, to...
San Jose mayor’s chief of staff accused of conflict of interest
While working in the top offices of San Jose government, Jim Reed helped raise six figures to elect Mayor Matt Mahan. Then he went to work for him. Many say that could be considered a conflict of interest. And some in political circles are even considering a call to demand Reed step down as Mahan’s...
Sunnyvale charter schools lack funding to stay afloat
An imminent shutdown of a Sunnyvale charter school could be the result of longtime financial issues and lack of transparency. Officials with Summit Public Schools, which runs charter schools in Washington and California, provided information to the Santa Clara County Board of Education on Wednesday about the dire financial state of its Summit Denali middle...
State law may overshadow San Jose affordable housing policy
A controversial policy that could make affordable housing more attainable is coming back to the San Jose City Council—but it might be a moot point if a similar policy is passed at the state level. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, is a policy that would give qualified nonprofits first rights to make an offer...
How San Jose plans to tackle its worst problems
The San Jose mayor’s transition committees have finally made their private discussions public. Mayor Matt Mahan created five closed-door committees to meet and advise him on the city’s most pressing problems ahead of this year’s budget process—a move highly criticized because it lacked transparency and potentially flouted the law. The now-dissolved committees were tasked to...
Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office sorry for ‘heartless’ tweet
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is under fire this week after sending out a Valentine’s Day tweet considered insensitive and unprofessional. The now-deleted tweet appeared to make a joke about the department providing a free ride to jail for people with outstanding warrants who forgot to buy a Valentine’s Day gift. The social media...