English
Spanish
Vietnamese
Despite decades of robust efforts and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, San Jose’s homelessness crisis continues to grow—leaving residents, officials and advocates frustrated. For some unhoused residents in Columbus Park, the largest encampment in San Jose, the solution to their problem is simple: Give them housing. “Everybody out here wants to live in a home,” said...
State laws upend single-family zoning in Santa Clara County
With a pen stroke, Gov. Gavin Newsom has set the stage for potentially massive changes to how housing is built in Silicon Valley. Newsom signed into law Senate Bills 9 and 10 on Thursday. SB 9 allows for the development of up to four dwelling units on single-family lots throughout California, while SB 10 allows...
San Jose mayor expands trash-picking program for homeless
Some San Jose homeless residents could soon have a job that pays nearly $25 an hour. That’s the announcement that came from Mayor Sam Liccardo Thursday after he expanded the San Jose Bridge program, an initiative that employs homeless residents to pick up trash. The expansion will make room for up to 100 unhoused workers across...
San Jose tourist attractions struggle through COVID pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic hit San Jose tourist attractions hard, but some have found creative ways to bring back visitors. The Children’s Discovery Museum, Tech Interactive and Winchester Mystery House all closed during last year’s shelter in place, and have yet to fully recover. But through rainy day funds, donors and online programming, they stayed afloat despite...
South San Jose liquor store shut down after 36 years
Faisal Gowani still can’t believe his family business has shut down. Owned by Gowani’s parents, Southgate Liquors was a fixture in South San Jose that provided one of the largest selections of craft beer and liquor in the area for the last 36 years. The shop went out of business on Labor Day after being...
UPDATE: San Jose approves high-rise office towers
Woz Way is getting a makeover in the form of a pair of high-rise office towers—and the project is right at the city’s height limit. The Almaden Office Project, led by developer Boston Properties, will be built on a 3.57-acre parking lot on the corner of South Almaden Boulevard and Woz Way. The San Jose...
UPDATE: San Jose activists oppose limiting police reform oversight
San Jose activists Monday pushed back against top city administrators who want to squeeze them out of a process to reform police. In a letter sent Friday to Fred Ferrer, chair of the Charter Review Commission, City Manager Jennifer Maguire advised leaving policing issues to the city’s Reimagining Public Safety Community Advisory Committee, a 46-member...
San Jose firefighter, police unions oppose COVID vax mandate
San Jose firefighter and police unions are pushing back on the plan to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for city employees by the end of the month, warning the policy might lead to worker shortages. “Our message has been consistent through all of this process,” Matt Tuttle, president of San Jose Firefighters Local 230, told San José Spotlight. “While...
San Jose Chamber of Commerce is diversifying—slowly
The newly-minted San Jose Chamber of Commerce has big plans for diversifying its mostly white executive board and attracting more minority-owned businesses as members. But some stakeholders are skeptical whether the chamber can match rhetoric with action following last year’s scandal over a racist advertisement that nearly tanked the organization. Derrick Seaver, who took over...
San Jose businesses struggle as state safety net unravels
California’s safety net is unraveling and San Jose residents and small business owners are at risk. That’s because San Joseans are part of the 2.2 million people in California who have or will completely lose unemployment benefits this week. The federal government ended four pandemic-related benefit programs to help Americans get through unemployment last week. That...