Despite the deadly coronavirus infecting more than a dozen fire officials, the San Jose Fire Department has filled its latest training academy with nearly twice as many firefighter recruits to help the COVID-19 response — albeit with face masks and physical distancing. The fire training academy, which began in late March, has 24 fire recruits...
San Jose strikes down proposal to suspend rent, citing constitutional concerns
A contentious proposal to suspend rent for three months for families who are struggling to make rent due to coronavirus was struck down by San Jose’s attorney at a virtual City Council meeting Tuesday, concerned the policy violated the Constitution. City Attorney Rick Doyle said the city would be on the hook for the forgiven rent...
San Jose struggles to clean up illegal dumpsites in wake of coronavirus
Despite a years-long effort to reduce blight, graffiti and trash, San Jose has been forced to scale back on its resources to clean the city’s streets, spurred by the COVID-19 quarantine. The city in recent years has beefed up its efforts to reduce blight, aided by a new app that allows residents to report where trash...
San Jose looks to increase emergency housing, discuss budget cuts due to COVID-19
With more than 1,200 COVID-19 positive cases countywide and counting, San Jose leaders are scrambling to stop the spread to homeless people and vulnerable residents living in shelters, encampments and overcrowded homes by building emergency housing. The City Council on Tuesday will discuss a proposal to allocate more than $17 million to build modular homes...
Coronavirus: San Jose lawmakers propose suspending rent
Cities across California are passing a slew of laws delaying rent and banning evictions for families who cannot pay during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order, but some lawmakers say the patchwork of bills don’t go far enough to protect renters. As unemployment rates across the country surge to all-time highs, San Jose Councilmembers Magdalena Carrasco and Raul...
San José Spotlight wins four California Journalism Awards
San José Spotlight has won four California Journalism Awards in an annual competition sponsored by the California News Publishers Association. “I’m very proud of our talented team and the fact that we placed in the top five in four categories in our first year of operation,” said Ramona Giwargis, San José Spotlight’s co-founder and editor....
San Jose: Lawsuit over violent Donald Trump rally settled
When they were ushered outside a campaign rally, supporters of then-candidate Donald Trump didn’t expect the rally to erupt into violence. They expected their police department to protect them. But they said that’s not what happened. And now four years later, the lawsuit, filed in July 2016, was quietly settled last week. The 20 plaintiffs...
San Jose lawmakers unanimously approve paid sick leave policy
Low-wage workers in San Jose employed during the coronavirus pandemic will soon receive paid sick leave if they start to feel ill on the job. Following a unanimous vote Wednesday, the San Jose City Council decided to move forward with the emergency ordinance, one week after Mayor Sam Liccardo introduced policy. “We believe that compliance is...
San Jose: How to talk to your kids about the coronavirus
In a TikTok video, toddlers wearing pajamas sing, “We’re in quarantine. Yes, we’re in quarantine. Germs go away! Germs go away!” Although adorable, the video exemplifies that even kids are processing the effects of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, especially as they’re cooped up at home with a barrage of information surrounding them. Some...
County disputes San Jose projections of 2,000 coronavirus deaths
Santa Clara County officials on Thursday disputed projections in a San Jose staff presentation earlier in the week that estimated the county could see up to 2,000 novel coronavirus-related deaths within 12 weeks. The projected numbers, deemed the “best-case scenario,” dwarf the county’s 19 deaths and 542 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by...