A Supreme Court ruling last summer changed two words, starting a chain reaction across the nation for who can obtain a concealed carry weapons permit. In Santa Clara County, it means more residents will be able to carry concealed weapons on the streets. The June 23, 2022 ruling struck down previous regulations that gave the...
‘We will sue you’: VTA strong-arming San Jose property owners to sell
As the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority prepares to bring BART through downtown San Jose, some property owners claim the agency is refusing to negotiate terms. The second phase of the BART extension to San Jose brings the Bay Area rail line through downtown along Santa Clara Street, a stretch that will displace a number...
‘A very dark place’: Silicon Valley leader opens up about fatal crash
More than three years after Jenny Higgins fatally struck Santa Cruz resident Timothy Starkey with her car, she said not a day goes by when she doesn’t think about the pain her actions have caused his family. “I carry a burden of shame, of sadness,” Higgins told San José Spotlight. Higgins, the co-founder and former...
San Jose reveals homelessness data
San Jose is launching a tool to help the public better understand the city’s efforts to address growing homelessness. The Homelessness Program Dashboard lets residents browse different city-run programs and learn more about their results on the city website. The tool shows where funding comes from, which services are being prioritized and how many people are being served. “We can’t expect to solve our...
San Jose small businesses can still apply for COVID rent relief
San Jose has opened its next wave of grants for small businesses to pay off their rent debts accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Small business owners can now apply for grants of up to $15,000 to help pay off the back rent they owe to commercial landlords. San Jose opened applications for the grants last week,...
The last inhabitants of San Jose’s former ‘Jungle’ encampment
When Jose Pantín surveys the area of land formerly known as the Jungle—a wide embankment off of Story and Senter roads next to Coyote Creek—he finds it hard to picture a park in its place. The 70-year-old man moved to the former site of the Jungle about five years ago after living in the streets...
‘A concentration camp’: San Jose advocates protest inhumane detention centers
Tears fell from the eyes of a mother of a detained immigrant who has been on a hunger strike for 14 days. Eighty-four detained immigrants, including four from Santa Clara County, continue their hunger strike in protest of abhorrent treatment at the Mesa Verde Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center in Bakersfield and the Golden...
Out of work: Beloved San Jose reverend faces uphill climb
Just one year after leaving San Jose, a beloved civil rights leader is back—but he finds himself separated from family, ousted from a job where he reported inappropriate conduct and is now struggling to find work. The story of struggle is not unique to Rev. Jeff Moore II, the leader of Silicon Valley’s NAACP chapter....
RV dwellers in San Jose still in limbo
San Jose promised homeless people living in RVs a safe parking site by the end of January. Now, it’s unclear when it will open. Infrastructure work is still needed, pushing back the opening of the Santa Teresa VTA light rail site until at least March 31. But even that may not happen, housing department spokesperson Jeff Scott...
San Jose legislator wants to raise foster age
Foster youth could get an additional five years of county support under a newly-introduced state bill. Senate Bill 9, introduced by state Sen. Dave Cortese in December, would raise the age limit of young adults who are terming out of the foster care system from age 21 to 26. While the proposed five-year extension is...