After tallying the votes, San Jose lawmakers locked in six new policy priorities for next year at Tuesday’s San Jose City Council meeting. Prior to the meeting, councilors nominated over two dozen ideas to pave the way for city officials to manage their works load and put the council’s most important initiatives first. Tuesday’s vote to add six new items to the...
San Jose City Council to decide its newest priorities
The San Jose City Council is set to lay the groundwork for its goals over the next year. Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, councilors nominated 28 ideas for the process that will assist city officials with managing their work loads and prioritizing the council’s most important initiatives. Here are a few of the nominations: Streamline the...
Amid worry, San Jose Fire Department’s needs prioritized
Measure T, the astounding $650 million bond passed in November, has city officials fervidly making plans to expand Internet access to low-income households, contemplate the future of Coyote Valley and fund sustainable building projects. But firefighters, who have expected a station in Willow Glen for nearly two decades, have yet to get their turn. As the city plans...
San Jose council approves safe parking, co-living downtown
San Jose is taking the bold step of allowing homeless residents to park their vehicles overnight at certain churches, community centers and libraries. City lawmakers on Tuesday voted to expand San Jose’s safe parking beyond a single city-owned lot to allow parking in places of assembly. Last October, the City Council approved a $250,000 pilot program to allow...
Sam Liccardo beefs with NRA over new gun law proposals
Mayor Sam Liccardo caught heat on social media after Dana Loesch, a vocal and controversial spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, took aim via Twitter at his newly-unveiled gun laws overhaul proposal. “Think of the craziest gun control law out there, and I guarantee you that California lawmakers can come up with something more ridiculous,”...
San Jose City Council to consider ‘co-living’ housing in downtown
Big cities like San Francisco, New York City and Los Angeles have rolled out what some are calling “dorms for adults.” And now San Jose could be next to approve the trendy new living model that’s all the rage in other cities and is designed to help alleviate the growing housing crisis. The “co-living” concept revolves around the...
Pat Dando sculpture in the works to honor lawmaker’s memory
Pat Dando, a former San Jose vice mayor remembered for her advocacy and tireless work ethic, will be honored with a bronze sculpture at the Almaden Library and Community Center next year. The idea for the sculpture took shape at Dando’s memorial service held after the beloved politician and community advocate died from lung cancer in July 2017...
‘Spotlight Series’ features robust debate over height limits
Above a noisy jazz cafe in a small, packed room, a crowd sat attentively Thursday evening as a panel of experts –an advocate, a policymaker, and an industry professional — spoke on raising building height limits in downtown San Jose. The first-of-its kind educational forum, hosted by San José Spotlight, touched on the hot policy debate dividing...
Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is moving to Colorado
After three decades in San Jose and leading the city through some of its most pressing fiscal challenges, former Mayor Chuck Reed is saying goodbye to San Jose — sort of. Reed confirmed to San José Spotlight that he’s moving to Monument, Colorado, where his daughter, son-in-law and two grandkids live. “My wife wants to...
Mayor Sam Liccardo unveils plan to strengthen local gun laws
California is home to some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation, but San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo says they don’t go far enough. The mayor on Tuesday announced a plan to strengthen the city’s decades-old gun safety law to fight straw purchases and stop black-market gun sales. “A significant percentage of guns are entering our community from legal gun...