San Jose residents could soon see affordable housing crop up in unexpected neighborhoods, thanks to a new policy that will spread out multi-unit developments in the city. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of a plan that distributes affordable housing development in places near public transit and with upward mobility. City...
A Gallup poll found in 2015 that San Jose had one of the lowest LGBTQ+ populations of any large metropolitan area. Six years later, it’s tough to know if that’s changed—such basic information on the local LGBTQ+ population is missing because the U.S. census didn’t ask for it. In a major first, the 2020 census allowed U.S. residents to...
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo four years ago proposed an ambitious 15-point plan to address the city’s housing crisis. And while the city has checked off many of those points over the years, it’s still shy of reaching one major housing goal. One of the plan’s most important metrics is to build 25,000 homes by...
San Jose has relied on a decades-old parking space policy that has contributed to gridlock and a car-centric culture: Three out of four commuter trips in San Jose are made by one person occupying a single car. City officials are looking for ways around that. The San Jose City Council held a meeting Friday to discuss cutting...
Group chants and black masks: that was the scene Friday outside the Santa Clara County Jail as more than two dozen residents and advocates protested for alternatives and reforms to the current system. Led by Silicon Valley De-Bug, protesters gathered at the corner of West Hedding Street and North San Pedro Street to amplify a...
To keep up with growing demand, Silicon Valley’s largest food bank is moving to a new home in the Alviso area of North San Jose. The new location for Second Harvest of Silicon Valley will consist of three connected single-story buildings covering approximately 250,000 square feet. The space will consolidate the food bank’s three locations to reduce costs and...
Firework activity over Fourth of July significantly decreased compared to last year, and city leaders are taking this as a sign that recent enforcement campaigns are working. Earlier this month, members of San Jose’s Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee heard highlights from a report on illegal firework activity leading up to Fourth of July weekend. Between...
Some activists claim the county is no longer providing them water to take to homeless encampments—a service offered over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gail Osmer, an advocate for houseless communities, said throughout the pandemic she’s gotten multiple cases of water from the county Office of Supportive Housing to distribute. But earlier this month, she says the...
San Jose’s newly-passed vaccination mandate on large events leaves out two groups people: Performers and athletes. According to the city’s new mandate, attendees and workers at events with 50 or more people at city-owned facilities need to show proof of vaccination—a CDC vaccination card, a photo of the card, a note from a doctor or...
San Jose business and political leaders hope holdouts in the city will finally get vaccinated following the FDA’s approval of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine earlier this week. On Monday, the FDA officially endorsed Pfizer’s vaccine. Some businesses were waiting for full FDA approval to feel comfortable mandating vaccinations for their employees, said Dr. Jennifer Tong,...
