Two leading superintendents from the three public high school districts in San Jose say the city failed to notify them of a six-figure grant proposal for a work-study program that was instead awarded to a private, Catholic school. Two weeks ago, the San Jose City Council unanimously voted to award a contract to the sole...
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San Jose
Community leaders plan to bring little free libraries to East San Jose
Little Free Libraries — those birdhouse-like structures used for sharing free books — are cropping up everywhere in San Jose. Everywhere, that is, except for East San Jose and Evergreen neighborhoods, some of the city’s most vulnerable communities. The newly-formed Evergreen Valley Rotary Club is looking to change that and its Community Service Chair Jeannette...
San Jose approves law to curb Section 8 housing discrimination
As part of a slew of sweeping measures aimed at strengthening tenant protections, San Jose lawmakers on Tuesday voted 9 to 2 in favor of adopting a law that bars landlords from discriminating against renters with housing subsidies such as Section 8 vouchers. After more than three hours of back and forth deliberations, the City Council...
Audit: San Jose needs to strengthen reimbursement policy
San Jose misspent $24,000 in taxpayer funds by paying mileage costs of employees who were ineligible to receive such payouts because they violated a city policy, according to a critical new audit of the city’s reimbursement processes. The reimbursement audit of city employees’ expenses detailed major flaws in the city’s reimbursement process, which led to...
San Jose mayor proposes mandatory gun liability insurance
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo unveiled a gun safety proposal Monday that he knows won’t “suddenly end gun violence” — but will ensure the nation’s 10th largest city will stop paying for it. Liccardo is suggesting San Jose require gun owners in the city to carry mandatory liability insurance for weapons or pay an in-lieu...
San Jose: Internal complaints against police officers spiked
While citizen complaints against the San Jose Police Department steadily decreased for the last five years, the number of internal complaints increased and allegations tied to excessive use of force spiked by 39 percent, according to an annual report conducted by the city’s police auditor. On Tuesday, San Jose lawmakers will hear the findings of...
San Jose among five cities splitting $3.75M to combat car break-ins
Five Bay Area cities, including San Jose, will split $3.75 million from the state to increase coordination among law enforcement agencies tackling the escalating scourge of smash-and-grab car burglaries in the region. Leaders in the Fremont, Milpitas, Newark, Santa Clara and San Jose police departments say their cities have each seen a significant uptick in...
Meet San Jose’s new City Hall watchdog
San Jose City Hall has a new watchdog and he vows to hold government officials accountable — including himself. The city auditor, one of the most important jobs at City Hall, was recently filled by a veteran of the department, Joe Rois, who joined the City Auditor’s office in 2008. Rois earned a couple of...
San Jose council approves more workforce protections, new billboards
San Jose lawmakers are cracking down on enforcing stricter workforce protections for construction workers almost two years after the shocking discovery of an unlicensed contractor harboring undocumented immigrants in slave-like conditions at the former Silvery Towers site. On Tuesday, the City Council passed a law that requires contractors to pay workers a prevailing wage while...
New South Bay Community Land Trust asks water district for land
A nonprofit group dedicated to securing land for affordable housing is asking the Santa Clara Valley Water District to donate some of its public land for low-income housing — beginning with San Jose’s Mayfair district. The South Bay Community Land Trust, the region’s first land trust for affordable housing, launched in late April and its leaders...