San Jose firefighters raised internal alarms in 2023 about addictive painkillers that went missing from their paramedic drug inventories, and gave morphine from tampered vials to patients with traumatic injuries, according to email records obtained by San José Spotlight. The emails indicate Fire Chief Robert Sapien and city leaders knew about a firefighter drug theft...
Feds cut millions for San Jose community projects
The federal government has eliminated millions in potential funding meant for community projects in San Jose involving the Alum Rock business corridor, Happy Hollow Zoo and more. Sarah Zárate, director of intergovernmental relations for the city, told councilmembers Tuesday that even though Congressmembers Ro Khanna, Jimmy Panetta and Zoe Lofgren requested $5.5 million in federal...
San Jose park to replace historical Japanese farmhouse
San Jose has finalized the removal of a farmhouse once home to World War II Japanese internment camp survivors to make way for a huge housing development — and one official isn’t happy about it. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a parkland agreement with Hanover Company, the developer of a 1,472-multi-family housing...
San Jose hockey arenas to get security upgrades
San Jose’s premier hockey arenas are receiving security upgrades to improve fan safety as attendance steadily increases. The City Council unanimously approved $1 million in improvements Tuesday for SAP Center and Sharks Ice at San Jose — including vehicle barriers and access controls, as well as key card access and detection systems. Of the $1 million being allocated from the...
Beloved San Jose Chinese restaurant forced to close after 28 years
Eric Diec calls every customer who walks through the doors of Chef Li a friend. He bustles around the small Chinese restaurant in West San Jose carrying pots of colorful orchids and steaming plates of garlicky string beans, stopping to chat with customers. Diec owns one of the few remaining small, family-owned restaurants in Camden...
Report: San Jose festival was behind-the-scenes nightmare
San Jose’s Vietnamese Catholic Lunar New Year festival appeared to be all smiles this year. But a recently-obtained report alleges verbal abuse, property damage, safety concerns and political weight-throwing caused misery behind the scenes. The report — submitted by History San Jose to multiple City Hall officials in February — was kept hush for months...
San Jose fire chief in hot seat over drug oversight failures
To save money, San Jose leaders cut a critical fire department program last year that tracked the storage of addictive painkillers for cross-trained firefighter paramedics. Nine months later, the theft of opioids from nearly two dozen fire stations has raised concerns that patients in serious pain received tampered drugs. San Jose Fire Fighters Local 230, the...
San Jose public library fights to maintain funding amid budget woes
Library advocates say they expect to ride out the upcoming San Jose budget cycle without any major cuts. But trouble could be on the horizon, with the city projecting an ongoing shortfall over the next few years. San Jose’s Library and Education Commission learned April 16 of three anticipated public library budget cuts, which include...
San Jose’s first tiny home village on private land already half full
San Jose’s newest temporary housing site will be a litmus test as to whether using private land to build shelter will be a good model for reducing homelessness. The Via Del Oro tiny home site, which can house up to 150 people and allows pets, opened Thursday. San Francisco-based nonprofit DignityMoves built the homes on...
San Jose’s homelessness plan is game of musical chairs
San Jose has been doubling down on clearing homeless encampments and constructing temporary shelter, though the breakneck speed of the sweeps has left many people displaced. The San Jose City Council received a midyear report on the city’s efforts to address homelessness Tuesday. Officials have been aggressive with plans to clear homeless camps along the...