Casinos can now join the ranks of local businesses allowed to operate outdoors and have the potential to restore sorely-needed tax revenue to a struggling San Jose budget. San Jose’s two card rooms, Bay 101 and Casino M8trix, will now follow suit of other open California casinos by entertaining guests outside. The setup would give...
Protesters vandalize San Jose mayor’s house
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s home was vandalized Friday night by protesters who marched to the mayor’s house after spending the afternoon protesting the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Liccardo, along with a handful of his neighbors, scrubbed off the graffiti late Friday after protesters ran off. Earlier Friday, about 150 protesters marched near San...
San Jose Google development faces another delay
Google’s sprawling proposed campus that will change the face of downtown San Jose hit a snag and is further delayed. The draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Downtown West Project was not submitted to the San Jose City Council by the Aug. 25 deadline, according to Mayor Sam Liccardo and Director of Planning, Building...
East San Jose is safe from fire evacuations, fire chief says
Ten days into fighting the SCU Lightning Complex fires east of San Jose, the “arrows are going in the right direction,” but there’s still months left to go before the fires are fully quelled. The most recent public safety Q&A with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Fire Department Chief Robert Sapien and Deputy City Manager...
San Jose council throws support behind latest plan to address homelessness in county
More than 6,000 people last year were homeless in San Jose — a number that keeps rising amid the coronavirus outbreak— prompting city leaders to set a goal of housing 20,000 people and doubling the number of shelter beds within the next five years. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Aug. 25 to endorse...
San Jose rubber bullet ban heading back to council
At the height of Black Lives Matter protests this spring, Breanna Contreras was marching among the crowds in downtown San Jose when chaos suddenly broke out. People scattered and started running past her in the opposite direction, many with eyes streaming from tear gas. A moment later, Contreras heard “Pop! Pop! Pop!” and felt something...
UPDATE: San Jose endorses measure to bring back affirmative action
The San Jose City Council unanimously endorsed California Proposition 16, the divisive ballot measure that would repeal the state’s 24-year prohibition on race- and gender-based affirmative action. Assuming voters approve it in November, supporters on the City Council say Prop. 16 will allow the city to “revitalize” its affirmative action programs from the 1990s. “Eliminating...
UPDATE: San Jose extends ban on evictions during COVID-19
As the county’s shelter-in-place order shuttering the local economy puts more residents at risk of losing their homes, San Jose leaders voted unanimously to extend the city’s eviction to Oct. 17. The moratorium now coincides with the local emergency declaration, also set to end Oct. 17. Still, the debate about how to balance challenges faced...
UPDATE: San Jose advances high-tech ideas to connect transportation hubs
Driverless vehicles zooming through underground tunnels and electric mini trains could be in San Jose’s future. City leaders voted unanimously on Aug. 25 to advance projects connecting Diridon Station, Stevens Creek Corridor and the Mineta San Jose International Airport. Councilmember Maya Esparza was absent. Many of the proposals — including one from Elon Musk’s The...
San Jose hotels lower rates for fire evacuees
Residents near the outskirts of San Jose are advised to pack their bags as wildfires sparked by last weekend’s lightning storm continue to surround the valley. But while evacuation orders are still east of city limits, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced Aug. 23 more than a dozen local hotels are offering discounted “San Jose...