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Many residents around San Jose may know the sounds of illegal street racing all too well: cars revving, tires screeching and even worse, guns firing. On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved drafting a new law that seeks to put an end to the chaos before it even starts. Police data shows people...
San Jose hotel to expand capacity, housing for homeless young adults
Five years after converting the defunct Plaza Hotel into homeless housing, city leaders unanimously approved a plan to double its capacity. “The investment the facility needs is pretty significant to be able to house as many people as we want and we can,” said Councilmember Raul Peralez. “This is the first step to be able...
With nine deaths in 2021 so far, San Jose seeks to reduce traffic deaths
In just the first three months of 2021, nine people died on San Jose’s streets and city officials are scrambling to find solutions to make the roads of America’s 10th largest city safer. San Jose in 2015 launched Vision Zero, an initiative that aims to eliminate traffic deaths, after 60 people died in traffic accidents...
San Jose slow to respond to AAPI attacks, advocates say
Despite being home to an estimated 380,000 Asian residents, advocates say San Jose’s response to a rise in violence against AAPI has been alarmingly slow. For example, Oakland and San Francisco saw dozens of organizations step up in the wake of the violence to provide financial resources and help. San Jose has just three. Those...
UPDATE: San Jose leaders extend outdoor dining program
San Jose businesses can continue operating safely outdoors through December, city lawmakers decided unanimously Tuesday. The Al Fresco program has allowed many businesses such as gyms and cafes to move outdoors amid COVID-19 health restrictions. But rules that permit businesses to run on city-owned parking lots, streets and parks free of charge were set to...
San Jose launches program to help small businesses land contracts
San Jose City Hall is looking to diversify its contracts and prioritize local businesses. The city’s Public Works Department, which awards some $4 billion in public contracts each year, is hosting a free six-week seminar to help local businesses secure contracts. Participants in San Jose’s “Construction Academy” will learn how to bid on construction contracts, which include opportunities...
Will San Jose meet its affordable housing goals for the Diridon area?
San Jose wants 25% of homes in the Diridon Station Area — where Google aims to build an 80-acre campus for roughly 20,000 workers — to be designated as affordable. But how will it reach that goal? Housing policy thinktank Silicon Valley at Home and the San Jose Housing Department led a meeting this month...
Behind closed doors: These are San Jose’s top 10 lobbyists
In the heart of Silicon Valley, local policies and laws, especially on land use and the economy, shape our way of life. But key policy discussions don’t always happen in public. Despite a global pandemic shuttering in-person meetings for more than a year, a data analysis by San José Spotlight found lobbying remains to be...
Charles W. Davidson dies at 90 and leaves an altruistic legacy
Lifelong Silicon Valley philanthropist and legendary housing developer Charles W. Davidson died this week at age 90, but his legacy of giving lives. Friends and colleagues say Davidson, the city’s affordable housing champion, extended his unyielding generosity until his last moments. In addition to building low-income housing projects across the city, Davidson is perhaps most...
Historic or racist? San Jose lawmakers debate new designation
An effort to create a new historic district in an affluent part of San Jose is raising concerns the city is memorializing segregation and racism. Elected leaders voted 4-1 at a City Council committee meeting this week to nominate a new historic district near downtown called The Alameda Park/Schiele Avenue Historic District. Councilmember Dev Davis championed...