A South Bay lawmaker wants to help small businesses become accessible to people with disabilities by extending a program that funds inspections and building grants. Assembly Bill 2164, authored by San Jose Assemblyman Alex Lee, would allow local governments to continue collecting a $4 fee attached to permits and licenses to fund disability compliance programs....
Who’s running for San Jose mayor and council in 2022?
More than 30 candidates have jumped into contests for San Jose mayor and City Council, with at least one frontrunner dropping out following Friday’s deadline to compete in the June primary election. In about three months, San Jose residents will narrow the fields for a new mayor and five city councilmembers. Districts 1, 3 and...
San Jose libraries want funds to return to pre-pandemic service
San Jose’s budget process has begun, and libraries are hoping to get enough funding to return to pre-pandemic service levels. With an expected surplus this coming fiscal year and an easing of COVID restrictions, the San Jose Public Library Foundation sees it as an opportunity to return to normalcy—at least in terms of budget and operations....
San Jose is scrambling to fill job vacancies
In an effort to fill hundreds of job vacancies at San Jose City Hall, city employees will soon see a threefold boost in their job referral bonuses. Elected leaders last week unanimously increased the city’s hiring referral bonus from $500 to $1,500. The increase will be in effect from Feb. 20 to June 30. The...
Which San Jose council candidates lead in campaign contributions?
With half of the San Jose City Council’s seats up for grabs, this election season will be contested and costly. Candidates are required to disclose campaign contributions—the most recent deadline being Monday for funds raised between Dec. 9-31. While not every candidate has their numbers in, here’s a look at what we do know for the...
Business PAC announces San Jose mayor, City Council endorsements
The 2022 races for San Jose City Council are heating up, with seven candidates scoring endorsements from a local business-backed political action committee. On Wednesday, the Silicon Valley Biz PAC, one of several local PACs representing business interests, announced its support for both Councilmembers Dev Davis and Matt Mahan in the contested San Jose mayoral race. It also...
UPDATE: Developer drops proposal for 6-story hotel on Winchester Boulevard
A controversial plan for a 6-story hotel on Winchester Boulevard in San Jose will not move forward after strong opposition from nearby residents. On Tuesday, councilmembers unanimously approved rezoning a 0.69-acre parcel at 1212 S. Winchester Blvd. from residential to commercial development, but rejected a plan to build a 119-room hotel on the plot. The...
Longtime political figure joins race for San Jose City Council seat
Rosemary Kamei, who’s represented Silicon Valley in a variety of public roles, is throwing her hat into the District 1 San Jose City Council race. Kamei brings 30 years of experience in local politics from having served on Morgan Hill’s Planning Commission and Valley Water board to most recently sitting on the Santa Clara County...
Spike in employee complaints at Santa Clara County transit agency
Amid a surge in civil rights complaints, VTA is taking applications from consultants to study how to transform the agency’s workplace culture. Data received by San José Spotlight shows 129 complaints have been filed with VTA’s Office of Civil Rights as of Dec. 9. That is significantly higher compared to last year, when employees filed 76...
San Jose’s VTA light rail trains are increasingly empty and slow
The VTA light rail system is much like the famed song “Rock Island Line”: if you want to ride it, you gotta ride it like you find it. Light rail riders find the commute to be clean, comfortable, easy to use, handicap accessible and on schedule. It can also be time-consumingly slow, with a cross-town...