Some Alviso residents are shaking their heads over a proposed fencing structure on the Alviso County Marina Park, raising concerns that they were not notified about the project after the framework for the structure went up earlier this week. And now county officials have put that work on hold to solicit community input — something...
San Jose
San Jose
Historic downtown San Jose church hit with Satanic graffiti
A historic Catholic Church in the heart of downtown San Jose was vandalized Sunday morning, hours before congregants gathered to participate in Sunday mass. Satanic and anti-semitic graffiti spray were sprawled against the church’s outside walls, alongside taunting drawings of a ghoulishly painted smile below two windows and a two-toned colored pentagram. Church officials from...
Two years after flood, Japanese Friendship Garden awaits repairs
More than two years after catastrophic floods ravaged the Japanese Friendship Garden, the beloved garden has yet to be fully rebuilt. “We’ve been working as hard as we can and working through the process to do what needs to be done,” said Shannon Heimer, general manager for Happy Hollow and Kelley Park — which houses the...
The future of Coyote Valley a hot topic during San Jose forum
The fate of Coyote Valley has been looming over San Jose residents’ heads for more than 40 years, dividing the city on whether to preserve or develop the 7,000 acre plot of mostly undeveloped land out on the fringes of south San Jose. Thursday night, that debate sparked to life as experts and policymakers gathered...
Update: San Jose lawmakers decline to rebid Catholic school contract, move ahead with Planned Parenthood funding
Amid a wave of scrutiny over awarding a six-figure public contract to a private Catholic school, Mayor Sam Liccardo suggested reopening the contract to other schools — but his council colleagues didn’t agree. On Wednesday, City Manager Dave Sykes recommended keeping the current contract with Cristo Rey intact and instead, perform better outreach to schools...
Was San Jose’s massage parlor crackdown a success?
Nearly four years after San Jose prioritized combating illegal massage parlors, statistics paint an unclear picture of compliance despite the controversial measure’s success in closing a vast number of businesses. According to Lt. Paul Messier, of the San Jose Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit, there are currently 80 massage businesses remaining in San Jose. That’s...
San Jose’s general plan task force announced, set to meet this fall
A task force to review San Jose’s general plan is gearing up to come back together again to assess the land-use bible, which will guide how and where the South Bay city will grow in the coming years. Mayor Sam Liccardo announced last week a group of 42 community, business, city and nonprofit leaders that will...
San Jose lawmakers drop decision on top retirement officials’ plan
San Jose lawmakers on Tuesday dropped a proposal to boot executive employees working in the city’s Office of Retirement Services from the retirement plan that they directly work on. City Manager Dave Sykes said some questions about the proposal need to be revisited and asked lawmakers to drop the item until a later date. It’s...
Downtown San Jose rally celebrates women’s history, push for equality
San Jose leaders on Monday paid homage to the suffragette movement, and more importantly, white women’s right to vote in a rally on National Women’s Equality Day. The event served as a kickoff for a year’s worth of activities celebrating women’s history and activism, to be led by the Women’s Equality 2020 Leadership Council. Nearly...
San Jose takes proactive stance to prevent corruption among decision makers
An audit of how San Jose analyzes personal financial disclosures from its key decision makers has begun to change how the city looks for corruption — drawing accolades from a statewide good government group that says San Jose could set an example for other cities with its newly proactive approach. California’s Political Reform Act specifically...