For the first time in years, San Jose’s mayor is working with a balanced budget, which means more funding for city services. The city’s pension and retirement costs are declining for the first time in two decades due to double-digit investment returns. The rate of return reached a record high in 2021. “This is pretty historic,” Jim Shannon,...
San Jose residents see water rate hikes once again
Water rates are increasing in July for San Jose residents in several neighborhoods. This week, the City Council unanimously approved increasing drinking and recycled water rates for the next fiscal year. The increase impacts customers of San Jose Municipal Water System, which serves about 136,000 residents in the North San Jose, Alviso, Evergreen, Edenvale and Coyote...
San Jose AAPI community thrilled with apparent winner in District 1
Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Rosemary Kamei’s resounding lead in the San Jose City Council District 1 race is also a win for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, AAPI leaders said. As of 5 p.m. Friday, Kamei has more than 60% of the vote, and assuming nothing changes, that nixes the...
San Jose ends food program supporting homeless people
San Jose is winding down a hot meals program that started during the COVID-19 pandemic, and homeless advocates worry people will go hungry. The hot meals program, funded by the federal CARES Act, has helped feed homeless residents at encampments and motels throughout the pandemic that upended the lives of many in Silicon Valley. Nonprofits, food banks and...
San Jose council nixes Liccardo’s Qatar travel plans
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s travel plans to Qatar got axed by the City Council after they cited human rights concerns. Liccardo was invited by the foreign ministry of Qatar to attend the country’s Environment and Energy Research Institute from June 11-13 and learn about their water conservation efforts. All travel accommodations and meals would...
San Jose voters overwhelmingly decide to move mayoral elections
In a historic move, San Jose voters overwhelmingly decided June 7 to move the city’s mayoral elections in an effort to boost voter turnout—particularly among communities of color. Election results show 55.50% of voters said yes to Measure B, an initiative that will align the city’s mayoral elections to coincide with presidential election years. The citywide...
Rosemary Kamei appears to win West San Jose council seat
Last updated 5 p.m. on Monday. The next update will be 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Rosemary Kamei appears to be winning outright in the San Jose City Council District 1 race with 65.79% of the vote, or 9,426 votes. With 94% of the ballots counted, Kamei still holds...
Esparza continues to outpace her two San Jose District 7 challengers
Last updated 5 p.m. on Monday. The next update will be 5 p.m. on Tuesday. San Jose Councilmember Maya Esparza continues to remain well ahead of her challengers, who had hoped to unseat the progressive incumbent. With 94% of the vote tallied, Esparza still holds a commanding the lead with 47.77% of the vote or...
Cindy Chavez, Matt Mahan lead in San Jose mayor’s race
Last updated 5 p.m. on Monday. The next update will be 5 p.m. on Tuesday. In the highly-anticipated race for San Jose mayor, two contenders emerged as front-runners once polls closed Tuesday — county Supervisor Cindy Chavez and San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan. As of 5 p.m. Monday, election results show Chavez has received 39.24%...
UPDATE: San Jose residents will pay more for garbage services
San Jose residents aren’t just paying more for gas—they’ll soon pay more to take out the trash too. The City Council unanimously approved rate increases for garbage collection at Tuesday’s meeting. In July, rates will increase 8% for single-family homes and 4% for multi-family homes. Officials attribute the need to increase rates to rising costs...