San Jose is one step closer to getting financial relief to landlords and tenants who’ve struggled to pay their bills during the pandemic. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously accepted $30,379,739.90 in emergency rental assistance from the federal government. San Jose is divvying the funds between community-based organizations to reach residents that state...
San Jose responds to wage theft allegations, safety hazards at homeless housing site
San Jose leaders will withhold payment on a homeless housing project after a San José Spotlight article revealed widespread allegations of wage theft and safety violations. The city also launched an investigation. The project, located at Monterey and Bernal Roads in San Jose, is one of three emergency housing sites citywide created for homeless residents...
San Jose lawmaker looks to turn complaints about gas leaf blowers into policy
Gas-powered leaf blowers were driving San Jose resident Marty Stuczynski crazy. He had reached out to San Jose City Hall for years without success. While attending a video call with freshman Councilmember Matt Mahan, he mentioned the problem again. To his surprise, he was invited to start a working group with four or more residents...
San Jose to vote on sweeping homeless camps, creating sanctioned encampments
Some San Jose leaders want to clear homeless encampments immediately — despite health regulations cautioning not to do so during a pandemic — and move homeless residents to a government-approved camping site. The San Jose City Council could vote Tuesday to dismantle encampments — against COVID-19 health guidelines. Councilmember Raul Peralez and city officials proposed...
San Jose pumps the brakes on Valley Water water-recycling plan
In an effort to address drought and increase local groundwater supply, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is fast-tracking a plan to purify and recycle more water in San Jose. But city elected leaders — concerned for the environment and limited staff resources due to COVID-19 — are pumping the brakes and want more time...
40 years of fighting for LGBTQ rights in San Jose
It may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time when a majority of San Jose and Santa Clara County voters rejected an opportunity to ban discrimination against the LGBTQ people among them. “’Gay people are so disgusting they deserve no rights, and we don’t even want them in town.’ That was the...
San José Spotlight wins SPJ’s James Madison Freedom of Information Award
San José Spotlight has received the Northern California Chapter’s Society of Professional Journalists’ prestigious James Madison Freedom of Information Award for its “regular and inventive use” of public records in covering local government in Santa Clara County. “This honor is a testament to the great work produced by our talented team of journalists,” said Ramona...
Universal basic income in San Jose? Some say it could be a game changer
Could universal basic income work in San Jose? Cities across California have tried guaranteed income programs to bolster economic security, supplement social safety nets and achieve greater racial and gender equity. Some politicians and researchers believe the idea might be the perfect antidote to problems like homelessness and financial insecurity, while others worry about how such...
San Jose leaders push back against bill to change VTA governance
San Jose councilmembers are pushing against a new state bill that would keep them off the county’s transit board. AB 1091, introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman, would prohibit elected officials from serving on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) board. Instead, cities can appoint expert residents to represent their communities. San Jose would also...
Battle over billboards: San Jose faces lawsuit, pushback on proposed changes
San Jose faces allegations that its billboard ban—and proposed changes to its billboard policy—violate property owners’ constitutional rights. In a lawsuit, a group called Citizens for Free Speech and Equal Justice claims San Jose violates residents’ free-speech and equal protection rights through a decades-old ban on new billboards. The suit comes just as the City...