Vehicles won’t be towed or have their registration denied due to a few parking tickets if a proposed state bill passes. For low-income families, this could prevent the loss of livelihood and housing instability. Assembly Bill 1082, authored by San Jose Assemblymember Ash Kalra, would prohibit towing or immobilizing vehicles due to unpaid parking tickets. If approved,...
San Jose says goodbye to its neighborhoods commission
The San Jose Neighborhoods Commission is on pause, for now. The City Council voted unanimously to suspend the neighborhoods commission until it can come up with a better model to attract and retain commissioners. The 20-member committee—which allows residents and neighborhood groups to weigh in on critical votes and bring concerns to elected officials—has not met...
San Jose opens homeless housing site in police parking lot
Dozens of homeless residents will be able to get off the streets, as new interim housing opens near the doorstep of the San Jose Police Department. The Guadalupe Emergency Interim Housing site, located on a former SJPD parking lot, opened Wednesday. Housing advocates and elected officials said it’s the latest project in the city’s attempt to...
San Jose approves seven-story apartment building in Willow Glen
More than 200 apartments are set to be built in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, after getting the green light during the city’s planning director hearing Wednesday. Cupertino-based KCR Development plans to demolish a nearly 30,000 square-foot vacant building that most recently served as a senior assisted living facility, and put up a seven-story apartment...
San Jose home sales are slumping, report says
San Jose has seen the steepest decline in home buying among major California cities during the last two years, and the slide hasn’t let up yet. A recent Insurify report reveals San Jose had a 31% drop in home buying between 2021-22, which local real estate experts said is due to a combination of factors—high interest rates, lack...
UPDATE: San Jose council wants iconic landmark in the heart of downtown
San Jose officials are considering bringing a towering landmark to a downtown park. The promoters of the “The Breeze of Innovation”—a design that would use hundreds of swaying rods powered by wind to light up at night atop a viewing platform and cafe—want to build the landmark at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. The San Jose...
San Jose college administrator dies on vacation in Mexico
A top official and longtime leader of the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District has died. Vice Chancellor Jorge Escobar died recently while vacationing in Mexico, according to a Tuesday statement from the district. Escobar, 55, was in the running to take over as chancellor from Interim Chancellor and San José Spotlight columnist Raúl Rodríguez, according...
How one group is working to revitalize downtown San Jose
A longtime goal of revitalizing San Jose’s downtown will require input and energy from a broad group of politicians, residents, advocates and businesses. One venture capitalist hopes a series of meetings will accelerate and complement existing efforts to make the downtown cleaner, safer and bring in more visitors to support local businesses still reeling after...
San Jose an uphill battle for small businesses
California is ranked as the 25th least expensive state to start a business, but local business leaders say entrepreneurs in San Jose face significant challenges in launching a company. A recent study by SimplifyLLC analyzed a variety of factors to rank each state, including business filing fees, labor costs, utility costs, lending rates and start...
Is San Jose’s progressive housing policy dead?
A contentious affordable housing policy coming to the San Jose City Council appears to be dead on arrival. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, is coming to the city council in late April, but it seems the long-debated policy will not have enough votes to pass. Councilmember Peter Ortiz tried and failed to defer the policy...