San Jose has been rebuffed by Major League Baseball once again. Commissioner Rob Manfred issued a terse response this week to Mayor Matt Mahan and four former San Jose mayors who called on MLB to remove the San Francisco Giants’ South Bay territorial rights to clear a path for a possible expansion team in the city....
15 inspiring leaders in Silicon Valley’s LGBTQ community
A poll in 2015 found San Jose had one of the smallest LGBTQ+ populations of any metropolitan area. And in 2013, a county health assessment reported about 4% of Santa Clara County’s population was estimated to be a part of the LGBTQ community. Across the country, LGBTQ people have struggled to gain recognition in leadership positions...
San Jose chooses new interim police watchdog
San Jose leaders have chosen a new acting independent police auditor. The San Jose City Council unanimously voted in closed session Tuesday to appoint Karyn Sinunu-Towery, a former 30-year Santa Clara County prosecutor, to helm the oversight role while a search for the next permanent auditor is underway. The city announced earlier this month that...
School run by San Jose mayor’s wife scores city grant
A San Jose private school run by none other than the mayor’s wife is receiving a six-figure grant. The $862,000 city grant is raising questions about favoritism due to the school’s close connections to the former mayor and other city hires, with some officials questioning whether taxpayer dollars should be awarded to a private religious...
Hundreds of apartments planned near downtown San Jose
More than 200 apartments could be coming to San Jose’s Buena Vista neighborhood as city planning officials consider a proposal that would require demolition of several buildings. Cupertino-based Urban Villas LLC is pitching a slightly bigger version of a previously approved project just outside of downtown San Jose that includes 237 apartments and nearly 17,000 square feet of...
San Jose wants to help renters fight evictions
Following a tsunami of evictions, San Jose is looking at ways to help residents from losing their homes, and heading off the problem before it reaches the courts. The eviction issue has skyrocketed in San Jose, especially after the expiration of COVID-19 pandemic-era tenant protections. Toward the end of 2022, hundreds of San Jose residents...
Longtime San Jose employee rises to public works director
A San Jose employee of more than two decades is taking the helm to oversee the city’s public infrastructure. Matt Loesch fought back tears standing before the San Jose City Council as he accepted his promotion on June 13 to lead the city’s public works department. Since January, he served as acting director after his...
San Jose residents are obsessed with pickleball
Pop, shuffle, whoops of victory. Those are the sounds of San Jose’s latest sport on the rise: pickleball. Pickleball, a combination of tennis, table tennis and badminton, ranks as the fastest growing sport nationwide for the last three years by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association—and San Jose has thousands of fans. With 58 courts...
San Jose mayors blast MLB for excluding city
San Jose officials are making a renewed push to clear a path for a future professional baseball team in the city. A group of former San Jose mayors and current Mayor Matt Mahan sent a sharply worded letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred calling for an end to the San Francisco Giants’ claim...
San Jose finds interim head for critical department
As San Jose works to fill the vacant director role of its housing department, a seasoned city leader with a history of smashing barriers will take over in the interim. Deputy City Manager Rosalynn Hughey will temporarily lead the housing department as San Jose conducts a nationwide search to fill the role permanently. In three weeks, current...