San Jose is facing its most challenging budget environment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Matt Mahan wrote in his June budget message Tuesday — with funding meant for affordable housing construction on the line. Mahan’s recent budget message updates his earlier March version, including new proposals from councilmembers for funding projects that enhance...
NBC Bay Area: Uber and Lyft drivers frequently refuse service dogs
A legally blind San Jose teacher keeps getting left at the curb when ride share drivers see her service dog and say they don’t allow “pets.”
San Jose school district fails to honor teacher pay agreement
San Jose teachers are protesting a broken promise made by the largest school district in the city. Waving signs saying, “Honor Your Commitment,” “Support Us Like We Support Our Students” and “The D.O. needs to Do Right,” hundreds of San Jose Teachers Association and community members marched in solidarity to the San Jose Unified School...
San Jose mobile home park sits next to health hazard
A community of 40 mobile homes in South San Jose sits next to one of the city’s staging grounds for trash collection, which is creating health hazards for residents. The Walnut Mobile Home Park, which houses more than 100 residents, butts up against the city’s South Yard on Monterey Road. Beautify San Jose, a city...
San Jose officials criticized amid calls for homeless services audit
Homeless advocates holding signs that said “Karen” and “Sweep Baby Sweep” disrupted two San Jose officials at a news conference calling for the city to audit its spending on homeless services. Councilmembers Bien Doan and Arjun Batra on Thursday called for an audit of how much San Jose is spending on supportive services, removing encampments,...
John Kouretas invites San Jose to be Greek for a day
If John Kouretas could wave a magic wand, he’d transport any San Jose resident in love with Greece back to his beloved ancestral country for a visit. But since he can’t, Kouretas brings the food, music and culture to San Jose. Kouretas said the joy of having the community come together to celebrate the three-day...
San Jose motel residents move to other housing options
A San Jose program that put homeless people up in motels is ending, and participants aren’t thrilled with their options for where to go next. The city created the Temporary Housing Access Program in summer 2022 to provide rooms to unhoused residents enrolled in its employment program while the city was building emergency temporary housing in the parking lot of...
San Jose officials demand audit of homeless services
Spurred by a state audit that found San Jose spent more than $300 million on homelessness response, two officials want the city to conduct its own audit of how much is being spent on homeless services and programs. Councilmembers Bien Doan and Arjun Batra are hoping the information will give them a clearer picture of...
‘Where do I go?’: San Jose homeless residents living along creeks dread future
Butch Larson has been homeless for more than a decade. He’s set up camp across from Hampton Inn on Cherry Avenue near the Guadalupe River in San Jose, a spot he’s called home for three years that will be swept sooner than later. His makeshift home is a large tarp held up by sticks, his floor...
San Jose residents want city to revisit community center spending
While San Jose works to divvy up a hefty donation from Google, residents want to make sure that money goes back to supporting their communities. Part of Google’s $200 million donation to San Jose was $1 million to support the Gardner Community Center, with the goal of reopening the center with more programs for residents....