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After more than three decades fighting for a public park, residents in a struggling San Jose neighborhood got one. But three weeks later, the grass withered and turned brown. The Tamien Park Soccer Field opened in early June in the city’s low-income Guadalupe-Washington neighborhood. Just three weeks later, the park had fallen into a state...
Residents feel stuck at massive San Jose homeless camp
The clearing of a major homeless encampment near San Jose’s Columbus Park has forced scores of unhoused residents to live together in squalid, cramped conditions. Over the last two months, the city has cleared about two-thirds of a 40-acre plot of city-owned land near Columbus Park. About 150 unhoused people, 200 vehicles—of which 53 are...
San Jose plan that limits development could be eliminated
A San Jose commission says it has the latest solution to traffic jams in the city’s east side: Stop development in the hills. The San Jose Planning Commission voted 9-1 this week to recommend eliminating an early-2000s era plan that limited homes and businesses in the city’s Evergreen and East Hills neighborhoods. Instead, future development...
San Jose commissioners blindsided by procedural attacks
Work on the San Jose Charter Review Commission turned frustrating for three commissioners who question if their voices are being heard. The latest round of recommendations pertaining to climate change and police reform has become contentious, as a subcommittee composed of Commissioner Magnolia Segol and fellow progressively-aligned Commissioners Veronica Amador and Maria Fuentes run into...
Electric leaf blower pilot program powers up in San Jose
Gas-powered leaf blowers could disappear from San Jose, two years before they stop being sold in California. An electric leaf blower pilot program launched on Friday aims to decrease the noise and air pollution generated by gas-powered blowers. The idea was developed in close partnership with San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan‘s office and residents of...
San Jose State University student coalition wants cops off campus
San Jose State University students are calling for the removal of university police officers from campus in the wake of last year’s Black Lives Matter protests. Several SJSU student organizations met over Zoom at the end of September to discuss the formation of a “Cops Off Campus” coalition for the purpose of “disarming, defunding and...
How one tiny home community gives San Jose families new life
Tucked behind the old San Jose City Hall, a tiny home community is lifting local families off the streets. A neighborhood of roughly 60 residents in 25 units, Casitas de Esperanza—or tiny homes of hope—is a model of how Santa Clara County can help some of the most vulnerable unhoused people, residents at the site...
San Jose schools need better tools for reporting child abuse
As children return to school, cases of reported child abuse have increased—and teachers need better ways to help their students. San Jose’s public safety committee, which includes numerous councilmembers and the county’s Children, Seniors and Families Committee, met Friday to discuss how child sexual abuse prevention measures can be handled more swiftly with cases on...
San Jose entrepreneur pushes city to allow cannabis events
A San Jose entrepreneur wants the city to expand its horizons and allow special events at museums, concerts and comedy clubs where adults can smoke, drink or eat cannabis products. Fernando Alvarez, founder of VaporTent Lounges, said the city is missing out on an economic policy he’s helped other California cities craft. One that allows organizers...
San Jose nonprofit grades mayor, councilmembers on key issues
In a first of its kind report card on housing, immigration and economic justice, a South Bay nonprofit is grading local lawmakers—starting with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Liccardo scored a C. The report cards come from Sacred Heart Community Service, which ranked elected leaders based upon their records during the past five years. “It’s basically...