There is no housing market in the U.S. where someone who is disabled and living on Supplemental Security Income can afford an apartment without rental assistance. A disability-forward housing nonprofit wants to change that. The Kelsey is changing how housing developments are built for low and moderate-income households and people with disability needs, with its first project...
San Jose police to get $400K in military equipment
San Jose leaders have greenlit the purchase of more than $400,000 in military equipment for the city’s police department to replenish its existing inventory of weapons and devices. Approved purchases for San Jose police officers include 125 new .556 caliber patrol rifles for $112,132 and close to $100,000 in new rifles for use by the MERGE unit...
UPDATE: Legendary San Jose mayor’s name will grace city rotunda
Political leaders across San Jose say the time to honor Janet Gray Hayes, the city’s first woman mayor, is long overdue — and she will soon have a building to carry her name alongside Silicon Valley’s most influential changemakers. Hayes was the first woman mayor of a major American city when she was elected in...
Historic Japanese farmhouse in San Jose will be saved
San Jose officials want to save the historically significant residence once home to a Japanese community leader, farmer and survivor of World War II internment camps in California. Preservationists pledged last week to save the North San Jose farmhouse once owned by Eiichi “Ed” Sakauye after the San Jose City Council approved 1,472 apartments and townhomes on 23...
San Jose sees safe sleeping sites as option for homeless residents
As San Jose develops plans for sanctioned homeless encampments, Mayor Matt Mahan traveled to San Diego to see what he could glean. San Diego, at the forefront of safe sleeping sites for unhoused people in California, has two sanctioned locations that support a total of 533 insulated tents. The locations provide on-site case management and resource referrals, restrooms,...
San Jose officials juggle transit design with city disruption
Silicon Valley transportation leaders are closer than ever to turning San Jose’s doorstep into one of the West Coast’s largest mass transit hubs. They just have to come up with billions to pay for it and get residents on board with the ongoing effects of major construction over the next few decades. The San Jose...
San Jose ADU law brings back starter homes
With San Jose recently becoming the first California city to allow the sale of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) as condos, affordable housing advocates say it increases the supply of living spaces for residents once priced out. The state long restricted the sale of ADUs, also known as granny flats and backyard homes, as separate residences...
Ireland trip almost costs San Jose its ability to govern
The San Jose City Council has avoided voting against its own travel policy with two of six elected officials suddenly backing out of a trip to Ireland. The city clamped down on how many councilmembers can travel during council sessions back in 2018 when more than half of the city council took a trip to...
San Jose nonprofit faces worker complaint amid union bargaining
A well-known San Jose nonprofit is being accused of not doing enough to address claims of verbal and physical abuse in the workplace. A former employee of Sacred Heart Community Service alleges their manager verbally and physically “assaulted” them. The worker, who asked not to be named due to fear of retaliation, quit a week...
San Jose health foundation hands off services as CEO leaves
One of Silicon Valley’s premier nonprofit foundations will no longer provide direct community services as its leader steps down amid the sudden change in mission. Michele Lew, CEO of The Health Trust, first announced the foundation’s decision to hand off its community service programs, including Meals on Wheels and the Food Basket, through a news release in May. But her resignation...