San Jose officials reluctantly approved a plan to demolish the remaining walls of the historic H.G. Wade Warehouse, but have lingering concerns about valuable bricks that disappeared from the partially burned building. The San Jose Historic Landmarks Commission on Wednesday voted 4-0-1 to recommend approval to demolish the remaining walls of the Wade Warehouse following...
San Jose mayor raises funds for Mahan, mum on endorsement
Outgoing San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has not endorsed a successor, but based on campaign donations a favorite has emerged. Election filings show Liccardo raised more than $24,000 for Councilmember Matt Mahan’s campaign for mayor from Dec. 18, 2021 to March 31. He personally called at least 20 people, asking them to donate to Mahan’s campaign, the...
UPDATE: San Jose to study changes to worker misconduct investigations
San Jose is exploring changes to how city employees accused of misconduct are investigated. The Rules and Open Government Committee on Wednesday approved Mayor Sam Liccardo’s memo asking the city manager and the independent police auditor (IPA) to break down what checks are in place to hold employees accountable and suggest new ones to protect...
Valley Water settles with San Jose residents over 2017 flood
Valley Water has agreed to pay $8.25 million to the victims of a devastating 2017 flood in San Jose, marking the conclusion of a four-year lawsuit. The water district recently announced the settlement in a joint statement with the plaintiffs on its website, noting all parties are pleased to have reached a resolution. “From the onset, both sides sought...
Santa Clara County leaders want office to track hate crimes
Santa Clara County officials want to create a department focused on hate crimes, but local leaders have questions about how it would work. The Board of Supervisors recently directed county workers to come up with a plan for implementing dozens of recommendations for addressing hate crimes. This would include developing a reporting system for hate-based...
San José Spotlight nets 8 wins in annual California Journalism Awards
San José Spotlight has won eight California Journalism Awards in the annual contest sponsored by the California News Publishers Association, including four first place honors. The yearly competition highlights the best print and digital news reporting and photography in the state. News organizations compete based on size and circulation. San José Spotlight took part in...
Who’s stealing San Jose election signs?
Campaign signs have been torn from lawns and cut from fences in this year’s San Jose elections. Candidates Rolando Bonilla, Van Le and Matt Mahan are dismayed by these acts of vandalism and theft, but said it won’t discourage them from running for office. Le is running for San Jose City Council in District 7...
How Silicon Valley gun rules changed after the VTA shooting
When a disgruntled employee fatally shot nine coworkers at a VTA rail yard last year, Silicon Valley officials vowed to take action. The May 26, 2021 VTA mass shooting is the deadliest gun massacre in the Bay Area’s history, where nine transit workers died from the attack. Another worker, haunted by the event, died by suicide months later. A...
San Jose church faces lawsuit over fatal 2020 stabbing
Two people are suing a local church and its associated homeless shelter in downtown San Jose over a 2020 stabbing that killed two residents and injured three others. The lawsuit, filed last week in Santa Clara County Superior Court, comes from a survivor and a widow of one of the deceased. The duo, represented by San...
San Jose permit process affected by job vacancies
One of San Jose’s fundamental departments that drives the city’s economy is filling job vacancies, but still has several open positions. Staffing vacancies remain numerous throughout the city. The problem has resulted in long delays in the permitting process and building approvals. Some employees say low wages and unmanageable workloads—exacerbated by the pandemic—are also to blame....