A few hundred residents flocked to Downtown San Jose Saturday to rally against gun violence and engage Silicon Valley lawmakers in discussion about gun reform. The focus of the event was galvanizing young voices in the fight against gun-related deaths. “I’m fed up with people saying ‘a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a...
Which San Jose public official earned the biggest bucks last year? It wasn’t Mayor Sam Liccardo. It wasn’t the city’s powerful department directors or its City Manager Dave Sykes. It was a police officer. Police officers are among the highest paid government officials in San Jose, earning almost $400,000 a year with at least 60 percent of...
More non-disclosure agreements signed with Google are surfacing as the tech giant pushes forward with its downtown San Jose campus. Google came under fire earlier this year after San José Spotlight revealed 18 San Jose city officials signed NDAs with the corporation. Advocates and government watchdogs have called the number of NDAs demanded by the tech giant unprecedented. But records requested by...
Assemblymember Ash Kalra on Tuesday jumped into the fight to protect Coyote Valley by introducing legislation to create a conservation program to oversee the area. Located in South San Jose and parts of unincorporated Santa Clara County, Coyote Valley is a 15,000 acre piece of mostly undeveloped land that’s home to hundreds of species of wildlife. For decades the land has...
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday expanded a safe parking pilot program to two more locations despite deep concerns about the program’s half-million dollar price tag and fierce opposition from residents. Last November, San Jose launched a safe parking pilot program for those living in their vehicles. LifeMoves, a nonprofit that provides services to the homeless,...
One of the San Jose City Council’s recently-adopted priorities could get fast-tracked this Tuesday in order to meet a state deadline. Earlier this month, councilors added the creation of a cannabis equity program to a list of priorities for the upcoming year, intended to guide city officials in managing their workload. The program aims to reduce...
At the end of a recent San Jose City Council meeting, Andrew Boone stepped up the podium to address the councilors. He had to wait seven hours to speak his mind on an issue not on the agenda that evening. Compared to other marathon council meetings, this one ended early — adjourning around 8:30 p.m. But it isn’t the first time...
The debate on sanctuary city policies intensified at a City Council meeting this week after an update on activities of a government office — implemented to help and protect undocumented immigrants — sparked controversy. The debate, spurred by the recent death of a San Jose woman who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant, continued at a...
A routine appointment to the San Jose Planning Commission became a somewhat contentious affair Monday after former commissioner Norm Kline was granted an interview under unusual circumstances. Kline applied for the appointment ahead of the deadline, said City Clerk Toni Taber, but his name didn’t appear alongside the nearly two dozen other applicants. Taber said...
“The revised numbers show that out of nearly 4,000 housing units permitted or approved last year, only 6 percent were affordable,” Auerhahn told San José Spotlight. “We need to be looking at solutions that add to affordable housing, not proposals to further subsidize luxury downtown homes while zeroing out their affordable housing contributions.” During Tuesday’s council...
