After residents at Foxdale Village Apartments complained about their water being shut off without notice, KDF Communities offered tenants a three-day rent credit and reimbursement for hotels. This might be too little, too late. If history is any indicator, KDF and its property manager, VPM Management, may soon have lawsuits on its hands. KDF Communities,...
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San Jose Speaks: A conversation with Congressman Ro Khanna
San José Spotlight hosted an exclusive conversation with Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna in the latest San Jose Speaks series, which features interactive conversations with South Bay leaders, influencers and decision makers. Khanna discussed federal gun control policy in the wake of a mass shooting at a VTA rail yard, universal health care, the housing crisis,...
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Silicon Valley transit agency offers buses while light rail is down
VTA is launching a temporary bus service next week, offering some relief to South Bay commuters frustrated by two months without light rail. The buses will start Monday and run every half hour on weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m, and hourly on weekends from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. These “bus bridges” or modified...
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Some San Jose bar owners requiring proof of vaccination
If you want to grab a drink in San Jose, you might soon have to show you got a COVID-19 shot — just like San Francisco. Haberdasher, a speakeasy-themed bar in downtown San Jose, announced a day after the state reopened it would require proof of vaccination to enter. A banner on the bar’s website...
UPDATE: San Jose continues talks on stripping felons of retirement benefits
A proposal by San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo to shut felonious city workers out of their retirement benefits will move to a future “closed session” meeting, a San Jose committee decided Wednesday. The city’s Rules and Open Government Committee ultimately decided with a 4-1 vote to move the proposal to a closed-door meeting with the...
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San Jose police evaluators vying for public trust
San Jose residents already have a tough time trusting cops, but now they must also work on trusting consultants reviewing the police department’s behavior and policies. More than 40 people came together virtually on Tuesday to meet for the first time with CNA Institute for Public Research, a Virginia-based nonprofit recently brought in by the...
San Jose proposes digital billboards at airport
Despite opposition, San Joseans driving down Highway 101 could soon see more billboards in the coming months. San Jose released a draft plan Monday to build two digital billboards at the Mineta San Jose International Airport. The billboards will be located just south of Highway 101, with each sign measuring approximately 1,000 square feet. According to the...
Families of San Jose VTA shooting victims pursue workers’ comp claims
Families who lost loved ones in the VTA rail yard shooting earlier this year are trying to obtain workers’ compensation payments—and lawsuits may be on the horizon. In closed session at a board meeting earlier this month, VTA officials discussed existing and anticipated litigation related to the May 26 shooting at the Guadalupe Light Rail Facility...
Will San Jose move its mayoral election to 2024?
San Jose could soon change the date of its mayoral elections to coincide with presidential election years. Residents overwhelmingly spoke in favor of moving San Jose’s mayoral elections at the Charter Review Commission meeting last night. “The current system results in low voter turnout in mayoral elections and gives undue power to corporate special interests...
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Santa Clara County DACA applicants dropped after federal ruling
A federal judge in Texas recently struck down a program keeping approximately 800,000 undocumented children and young adults in the country. This leaves thousands of Santa Clara County residents without federal protection from deportation. For the more than 8,780 San Jose residents benefitting from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the July 16 decision offers no resolution. The...