San José Spotlight co-founder Ramona Giwargis has been selected to serve on Knight Foundation’s first national Journalism Advisory Committee, joining newsroom leaders from across the country to help shape the foundation’s future investments in local journalism. The newly created committee includes representatives from Knight Foundation communities, including San Jose, Miami, Philadelphia, Detroit, Charlotte, Boulder and...
San Jose food lines grow longer as more people seek help
Across San Jose, nonprofits running food distributions are seeing their lines explode. Martha’s Kitchen, which provides hot meals and has a weekly food pantry, has seen its numbers nearly triple since June, serving between 150 to 300 people each week. Hunger at Home, another nonprofit group fighting food insecurity, has seen a 30% increase of...
San Jose mobile home residents shunned from rent increase talks
Mobile home residents say San Jose is shutting them out of discussions regarding a proposed increase on space rent that could affect one of the city’s last affordable housing options. In January, the San Jose City Council voted to delay a 10% space rent increase whenever a mobile home is sold after it was revealed...
San Jose Japantown stages ICE facility protest
Grassroots organizers and South Bay political leaders drew together for a rally in San Jose’s Japantown Wednesday in a show of unified opposition against a planned ICE facility taking shape in South County. The rally held in front of the historic Issei Memorial Building took place as state and local leaders wage a legal battle...
San Jose homeless residents without stable housing, one year later
When San Jose dismantled its largest homeless encampment last summer, Mayor Matt Mahan praised moving hundreds of people out of Columbus Park into housing. However, residents said their experience in temporary housing has pulled them backward, not forward. One year after the city swept the 370 RVs that had congregated in Columbus Park, many people...
San Jose to develop regulations for delivery robots
San Jose is drawing up the rules of the road for automated food delivery robots, as the industry eyes local expansion. New draft regulations, unveiled this week, could pave the way for a larger rollout of the delivery bots, which first hit San Jose’s sidewalks in April. That may include the introduction of larger and...
San Jose school district weighs workforce housing options
A local school district is finding itself in choppy waters as it weighs the best way to provide teachers and other employees with affordable housing. In 2024, the San Jose Unified School District issued a general obligation bond, Measure R, to fund the renovation of classrooms and facilities, as well as provide affordable housing for...
San Jose District 9 candidate deletes mistaken endorsement
One endorsement that has raised eyebrows in the District 9 San Jose City Council race turns out to never have taken place. Genny Altwer finished the June 2 primary election in a commanding position, leading second-place candidate Gordon Chester by more than 10 percentage points. Fresh off the momentum from election night, Altwer’s campaign announced a raft...
Historic trestle halts San Jose trail plans
Facing potential delays stemming from a historic railroad trestle marked for preservation, San Jose parks officials have paused plans for the southernmost portion of the planned Five Wounds Trail in East San Jose. Work on the project — originally envisioned as a 2.2-mile bicycle and pedestrian corridor linking Story Road and Highway 101 — will...
San Jose paramedicine pilot could provide timely intervention
The San Jose Fire Department is rethinking how it responds to emergency medical calls. Under a new pilot program, greenlit by the City Council as part of the recently completed annual budget process, the city is preparing to launch a “community paramedicine” team of firefighter paramedics trained to help patients with complex needs that can’t be...