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...
UPDATE: San Jose lawmakers OK plan for paid sick leave during COVID-19 pandemic
While the U.S. aims to “flatten the curve,” low-wage employees without paid time off continue to show up to work — even if they’re feeling sick. But the threat of contagion has San Jose leaders worried these workers will continue to spread the coronavirus. On Wednesday, a San Jose City Council committee voted 4-1 to...
Coronavirus: Fears, misinformation spreads in San Jose over police enforcement of orders
In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, rumors and misinformation can spread just as quickly as the disease. In San Jose, social media posts proliferated alleging police officers were stopping people in low-income neighborhoods for violating the state’s “shelter-in-place” order, which asks residents to stay inside unless they need to do essential tasks. The claims alarmed police...
Amid criticism, San Jose eases some ‘sunshine’ rules in the wake of coronavirus
Among the emergency laws signed in the wake of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded health care for California residents, eased restrictions to qualify for unemployment and issued a statewide stay-at-home order. But tucked inside the slew of measures was an order to loosen the state’s sunshine laws, including the Brown Act, which ensures greater...
San Jose officials asks residents to report ‘stay at home’ violations
If you see your neighbor or a business violating the “stay at home” order that now applies to all of California, the San Jose Police Department wants you to call 311. On Friday, San Jose Chief of Police Eddie Garcia along with Mayor Sam Liccardo said the police department saw 56 violations of the order...
San Jose officials push efforts to eliminate empty downtown storefronts
San Jose has long had dozens of boarded-up businesses lining the main drags of the city’s downtown core, giving way to unsightly scenes of blight, drug use and crime. As residents gripe about empty storefronts plaguing downtown’s streetscapes, Councilmember Raul Peralez, who represents downtown, has vowed to put an end to the drab storefronts by...