Declining enrollment rates are forcing school districts across San Jose to stare down campus closures and sharp budget cuts. California education data shows almost every school district in the city has faced enrollment declines over the past decade. Families are being priced out of San Jose because of increasing costs of living — and as...
San Jose mayor opposes rent control expansion measure
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has come out against a November ballot initiative that could vastly expand rent control to cover any type of housing in California. State law has for decades barred cities from limiting rent hikes on single-family homes and apartments built after 1995. Proposition 33 would repeal that law and also let...
Santana Row parking no longer free
Max Shandeh has been frequenting Santana Row since it opened more than two decades ago to enjoy a cup of coffee or a delectable meal. When he came for his late afternoon run to a French-style bakery, he was surprised to find parking would no longer be free. “I’m not happy with it. We come...
UPDATE: San Jose drops parks maintenance tax measure
San Jose city officials have delayed plans to put a measure to fund parks maintenance on the November ballot after multiple surveys showed it would likely fail to gain support from residents. The San Jose City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to reconsider the idea for the 2026 election, or possibly later. The proposed ballot...
San Jose mayor’s staffer sues over communist label
A worker in the San Jose mayor’s office is caught in a political storm surging through Little Saigon’s war refugee generation over claims of communist sympathies. Tara Dang, who conducts neighborhood outreach for Mayor Matt Mahan in a city with the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam, sued 8 people in May for defamation. The list ranges...
San Jose cultural leader’s death shocks community
Chris Esparza always wanted to run a nightclub in his hometown of San Jose, friends and business partners told San José Spotlight — and not only did he make it happen, he went on to shape the city’s cultural image through decades of event organizing within the growing Mexican American community. Esparza, 57, died unexpectedly...
Health advocates want to pause San Jose hospital expansion
A San Jose hospital wants to construct two new hospital wings in a more than 1 million-square-foot expansion to satisfy California earthquake mandates — but health care equity concerns are also rising to the surface. Patient advocates and leaders gathered outside Good Samaritan Hospital last month to protest what they said were health care inequities...
San Jose allows sale of backyard homes as condos
With the average house in San Jose costing more than $1 million, the city has jumped at implementing a new state law that could bring more homes to market. San Jose is the first city in California to opt into a law passed by the state Legislature last year that allows residents to sell their...
Popular Willow Glen restaurant to close
A beloved New American style restaurant in the heart of Willow Glen is closing after being unable to keep up with inflation and rising food costs. Braise, located on Lincoln Avenue in San Jose, is shutting its doors on Aug. 5, despite soldiering on through COVID lockdowns and the economic downturn during the pandemic. Partner...
Dozens of San Jose murals define its heritage
San Jose may be widely known as a tech hub, but it’s also a city defined by its public art. With a city of nearly 1 million people, San Jose is also home to hundreds of murals. In a multi-year effort to revitalize public spaces, beautify the city and make it more pedestrian-friendly, officials have focused arts...