San Jose wants more cannabis dispensaries, so it’s looking to relax rules on where and how they can open in the city. Right now, existing dispensaries have the green light from the city to grow—but there are no eligible locations to do so. A new policy is making its way to the San Jose City Council that may allow them...
The Biz Beat: San Jose eatery renowned for its ravioli
If you’re planning to come to Bertucelli’s La Villa Deli in San Jose to grab lunch or dinner, you should arrive early—or be prepared to wait in a long line that can, at peak times, stretch out the door. A large, efficient staff keeps things moving, and the food is worth the wait. The crafted deli...
San Jose Starbucks the latest location to unionize
Starbucks employees at a downtown San Jose shop have won their fight to unionize after a 45-day effort. Employees at The Alameda and Julian Street Starbucks unanimously voted to unionize on May 19, despite the company’s historic opposition to unionization. The local shop is partnering with Starbucks Workers United to help complete the restructuring. Only...
Lawsuit doesn’t stop San Jose park concerts
A spring concert series kicked off last week in a downtown San Jose park, and despite an ongoing lawsuit, organizers will not be deterred. Friends of Levitt Pavilion San Jose, a nonprofit, hosted its first springtime concert in St. James Park last Sunday, the latest step in establishing a permanent outdoor performance venue. The shows will...
San Jose parents demand transparency after school gun threats
San Jose Unified School District parents are terrified after the arrest of several students who brought guns to school and made threats on social media to shoot classmates. At a Wednesday safety meeting at Herbert Hoover Middle School that went late into the night, distraught parents gathered to demand immediate action and transparency from the...
San Jose officials want to stop shady politics
San Jose is on a path to close an election loophole that former Mayor Sam Liccardo and his right-hand man used to raise more than $1.5 million to fill seats on the City Council. The city is looking to prohibit elected officials and their staff from working on political action committees (PACs) that raise money for local...
UPDATE: San Jose officials challenge mayor’s housing plan
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s controversial plan to divert millions of dollars away from affordable housing is being challenged—this time by his own colleagues. Now, the mayor is trying to get ahead of his plan being thwarted with a new spending plan. San José Spotlight obtained an early draft of a budget document being released...
San Jose youth art gallery needs new home
After years without a space of its own, a youth art studio finally found a gallery location. But at the end of May everything has to come down. And for now, there’s nowhere to go. Julie Stover founded the nonprofit ArtHouse Studio, originally known as ArtHouse Kids, more than 20 years ago as a way...
San Jose collects developer fees, but slow to replace trees
San Jose is set to receive a considerable amount of cash to replace several hundred trees that will be ripped up to make way for two industrial developments. Roughly $1.1 million in tree fees will be paid by two developers that will more than double the current amount in the city’s tree removal coffers. As the...
‘Did a gun go off?’: San Jose school district parents want answers
Livid parents want answers why students with loaded guns are showing up on the campuses of Willow Glen High and Hoover Middle schools in the San Jose Unified School District. Last Wednesday, two school resource officers arrested a Willow Glen High School student who walked onto campus armed with a loaded ghost gun and knife. The...