This story is a collaboration between San José Spotlight and Open Campus. Genesis Smith is spread thin. There aren’t enough social workers in Silicon Valley, leaving her to juggle tense encounters with parents whose children have been placed in protective custody with hour-long drives as far as Merced to check on foster placements. “If you...
San Jose to cut older adult wellness program from budget
A San Jose grant program aimed at reducing social isolation among the city’s older adult population is on the chopping block amid a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. The city’s Older Adult Health and Wellness Grant Program funds nonprofits focused on educating San Jose’s older adult community on health, social and nutrition programs — but $526,434 in...
San Jose domestic violence report comes up short
Despite San Jose spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to explore ways to assist domestic violence survivors without involving law enforcement, the group who conducted the study came back empty-handed with no solutions. The city released its “Community-Led Solutions to Domestic Violence” study May 20, conducted by Minnesota-based Battered Women’s Justice Project. The nonprofit directed...
San Jose parks face budget cuts amid ongoing work backlog
San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services continues to wrestle with budget cuts and backlogs, and the upcoming year isn’t going to be easy. The city is facing a projected 2025-26 budget deficit of $35.6 million — and the parks department won’t go unscathed. The budget is expected to decrease park funding by $2.8 million...
San Jose streamlines social media policy for politicians
San Jose leaders are updating the city’s social media policy to ensure elected officials relinquish their online communication channels once their term ends. City officials began drafting the “Transition of Elected Officials” policy after San José Spotlight reported in 2023 that former Councilmember Maya Esparza refused to turn over social media pages affiliated with District...
San Jose officials push for South Vietnam flag emoji
As emojis become a widespread form of global messaging, San Jose leaders are calling on the world’s leading text encoders to add a symbol for the Flag of South Vietnam. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to urge the Unicode Consortium — the Mountain View-based organization overseeing the digitized use of text in all of the...
San Jose to dress buildings in large ads for major sports events
City officials want San Jose to reap the economic benefits from the World Cup and Super Bowl when they come to the region next year, and large-scale advertisements attached to buildings is part of the plan. The San Jose City Council has unanimously approved bringing back “supergraphic” signs to broadcast ads on buildings in downtown...
San Jose relaxes drinking rules in entertainment zones
San Jose economic officials want to allow the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks outside downtown’s most popular plazas and public streets during next year’s major sports events. With the economic impact from the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Super Bowl 60 in nearby Santa Clara, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to...
San José Spotlight wins 5 awards in annual state journalism contest
San José Spotlight has won five California Journalism Awards — including two first place wins. The annual competition, sponsored by the California News Publishers Association, showcases the best print and digital reporting and photography statewide. Both print and digital news organizations compete in divisions based on size and circulation. San José Spotlight competed in a...
San Jose extends housing developer tax breaks
San Jose leaders are signing off on additional tax breaks available to new builders this year in an effort to attract housing developers. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously May 13 to increase the number of new homes qualifying for a 50% reduction in commercial, residential, mobile home park taxes and building and structure taxes...