ABC medical drama “The Good Doctor” is set in San Jose, but doesn’t actually film here. One city official jokingly said City Hall should capitalize on that. The television show stars an autistic savant aspiring surgeon played by English actor Freddie Highmore who does his residency at the prestigious—but fictional—San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. The...
Golf experiencing resurgence on San Jose courses
After draining city coffers for decades, San Jose’s three city-owned golf courses are back in full swing—bringing in more green for City Hall. The sport has experienced a resurgence during the pandemic as people seek recreation in the great outdoors. From May 2020 to April 2021, San Jose Municipal Golf Course saw a 44% increase...
San Jose’s big gamble with Measure H might be illegal
Seventy-three percent of San Jose voters went all-in for more card room tables last November. But state officials say that increasing that number might be illegal. At the end of last year, San Jose voters overwhelmingly approved Measure H, which allows local casinos to increase the number of tables if they agreed to pay the...
Residents ponder what San Jose college should do with 27 acres
After negotiations with a major developer fell through and a lawsuit followed, the 27 acres of open land along Evergreen Valley College remained untouched for years. And now it’s back to the drawing board for what should happen to the college-owned land. The once promising development opportunity sits in limbo as the San Jose Evergreen...
San Jose leans on ADUs to meet housing goals
San Jose is lagging behind its 2017 promise to build 25,000 units of new housing—10,000 of them affordable—by 2022. Now, officials are looking for solutions to the shortfall and hoping to jumpstart construction of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). To meet its goal of 25,000 new units in five years, the city needed to build about...
Indoor dining brings normalcy back to San Jose restaurants
Restaurants returning to indoor dining can breathe easier as customers come back inside and some normalcy takes shape. Before the pandemic, Anabel Nguyen and Alex Huynh’s family restaurant hadn’t taken a break in 25 years. But in March 2020, they closed for one month. “It was really stressful for all of us,” Nguyen said. Since...
San Jose Planning Commission OKs Berryessa public market plan
Vendors worried about the future of the San Jose Flea Market were dealt a blow Wednesday night. The San Jose Planning Commission voted 5-1 to recommend a revised development plan for the Berryessa BART Urban Village Plan, a 61.5-acre portion of the flea market site located on Berryessa Road near Highway 101. The site is...
San Jose’s Happy Hollow hangs on during the pandemic
The theater and rides at San Jose’s Happy Hollow Park & Zoo might be closed, but that didn’t dampen 4-year-old Zayden’s enthusiasm for his first time at the zoo. “I’m so excited!” said Zayden as he made his way from the ticket booth to the exhibits. Happy Hollow is owned and operated by San Jose’s Parks,...
San Jose police officers are getting a raise
Despite a year of tireless demands to defund the police, San Jose lawmakers voted unanimously to approve salary raises for officers in an updated labor agreement. The new agreement between San Jose and its police department takes effect July 1. The updated contract gives full-time officers a 3.85% raise – starting May 16. They’ll receive...
San Jose mayor, housing advocates talk post-pandemic housing
The region’s housing crisis isn’t going away even after the pandemic does, but advocates are searching for solutions. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and affordable housing executives joined together Friday for a roundtable discussion. The five-person panel talked about topics such as the state of the housing market, how employees can contribute to affordable housing, how to...