On the heels of a tumultuous year for San Jose police, advocates are renewing calls to give the city’s independent police watchdog more power. More than two dozen people gathered outside San Jose City Hall this week to demand the independent police auditor (IPA) have full independent investigatory powers over the San Jose Police Department. Organizers...
Silicon Valley leaders want to deliver faster internet services
Local governments are looking to create public-private partnerships to ensure high-speed internet is a central service to all South Bay residents. At a technology innovation forum hosted by Comcast, government and tech leaders gathered to discuss how large companies can work with cities to create faster internet services and ensure more equitable and accessible coverage. Elad Nafshi,...
Longtime San Jose sports club could become housing
A beloved tennis and swimming club that’s operated for nearly seven decades appears likely to be sold, demolished and redeveloped with dozens of townhomes. The San Jose Swim & Racquet Club is “under contract” to be sold to a developer, Dion Campisi, a real estate agent with Colliers International representing the seller, told San José Spotlight....
San Jose Fallon statue is heading to storage
After two years, work has finally started on removing a controversial San Jose monument. On Tuesday, construction workers started jackhammering the three-foot concrete pedestal of the Thomas Fallon statue, crumbling concrete and sending dust flying. The statue, located at the intersection of St. James and Julian streets, has caused public uproar for more than three...
San Jose lawmaker seeks changes to state towing practices
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...