White roses adorned a newly unveiled monument at the San Jose Police Department this past week, dedicated to officers who died in the line of duty. City leaders, including Mayor Matt Mahan, and police officers attended an Oct. 4 memorial service debuting the monument. It honors the 13 SJPD officers who have died from 1924...
Silicon Valley meetings disrupted by virtual hate speech
The South Bay is being invaded by racist and hateful Zoom bombing in its government meetings, causing uncertainty among public officials on how to contain the problem. At the Sunnyvale City Council meeting on Tuesday, residents were subjected to racist and antisemitic rhetoric during the remote portions of public comment. Last week the San Jose...
San Jose could allow homeless residents to sleep outdoors
San Jose is considering adding safe sleeping sites to its long-running list of homelessness responses—an idea officials have shot down before. Amid the city declaring homelessness an emergency last week, local leaders want supervised outdoor living spaces with supportive services for the city’s unhoused residents. Safe sleeping sites are already in place in San Diego and...
Retired Marine wants to serve San Jose District 6
A decorated former Marine is eyeing a new battle—winning the District 6 San Jose City Council seat. Amatangelo (Angelo) Pasciuti, 39, recently moved to San Jose after 21 years of military service took him to 35 countries. He wants to continue serving locally by securing the District 6 council seat, which represents Willow Glen, The...
Free meals in San Jose lose pandemic relief funding
Funding for food insecurity programs in San Jose has been severely cut, after losing COVID-19-era dollars. Martha’s Kitchen and Loaves and Fishes Family Kitchen — two of San Jose’s largest food distributors serving tens of thousands of meals to residents each week — are being forced to rollback services, after millions in pandemic relief grants...
Santa Clara County pilot program to up bail for repeat offenders
Local law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara County want higher bail for repeat offenders, in what they say is a move to reduce recidivism. A pilot program developed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney, county office of pretrial services, sheriff’s department and the San Jose Police Department will amend a form officers use when...
San Jose foster youth hub ready for construction
An affordable housing development centered on homeless foster youth will break ground in San Jose next month. The San Jose City Council approved nearly $40 million in state bonds on Tuesday to construct 81 affordable apartments—with half reserved for foster youth ages 15-24—on Parkmoor Avenue near San Jose City College. The remaining apartments will be...
A win for San Jose: VTA approves homeless housing site
After a monthslong debate between local leaders, North San Jose is set to receive 200 temporary homes for homeless residents. The VTA board of directors unanimously approved building the homes at its Cerone bus yard on Thursday. The consensus by the 12-person board comes as a surprise after deep political divides and ongoing disputes threatened...
San Jose wants to stop bad police behavior before it happens
San Jose is spending half a million dollars to identify potentially problematic police officer behavior sooner—and work to swiftly correct it. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a three-year, $479,000 contract with Chicago-based Benchmark Analytics for its Police Early Intervention Solution system. Councilmembers also approved a $50,000 contingency for any possible change orders, bringing...
San Jose will grow urban canopy with federal funds
San Jose is about to get greener thanks to a federal grant to help expand its urban tree canopy. The U.S. Forest Service awarded San Jose $6.6 million on Sept. 22 to plant, maintain and restore trees across the city. It’s part of a $1 billion program funded by the U.S. Inflation and Reduction Act giving...