Costco wants to grow its San Jose footprint—this time in the Westgate West shopping center off Prospect Road. But the proposal isn’t sitting well with local residents. “Nobody likes seeing empty buildings for long periods of time, so it is important to fill it in with viable businesses or dense housing. But let’s get creative,”...
State lawmakers demand action following attacks on Los Gatos mayor
Two state legislators want to know what is being done to protect the Los Gatos mayor, councilmembers and their families, following reports of racially-charged “bullying, harassment and intimidation” at town meetings. Assemblymember Evan Low and Sen. Dave Cortese sent a letter to Town Manager Laurel Prevetti denouncing the disruption of government meetings and asking the town...
UPDATE: No fence around San Jose homeless camp — for now
Faced with the tough choice of building a giant fence to keep homeless people out of a public park, San Jose lawmakers took no action — despite an upcoming deadline to clear the encampment. The controversy centers around a 40-acre encampment at the Guadalupe River Park in downtown San Jose where nearly 200 homeless people...
Fed up with ‘serial’ ADA lawsuits, San Jose business owners seek legislative help
Cesar Pascal, owner of San Jose Mexican restaurant Plaza Garibaldi, got hit with a disability lawsuit six years ago. Attorney expenses piled up. Pascal says his landlord didn’t help with any of the bills. Pascal had to pay $17,000 to settle the lawsuit. “These attorneys group around our small businesses that know they can’t afford...
San Jose squashes proposal for prefab homeless housing
The week started with San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan announcing an ambitious proposal for housing up to 5,000 homeless residents on public land by the end of next year. His colleagues killed the plan before the week was out. Mahan told San José Spotlight he’s disappointed by the outcome of Wednesday’s Rules and Open Government Committee meeting,...
San Jose councilmember proposes ‘seamless’ public transportation
Public transit riders in Silicon Valley have a lot of agencies to keep up with: VTA, BART, Caltrain—and that’s if you take public transit at all. And if you plan on traveling to places like the North and East Bay you’ll have to wade through 27 different public transit agencies. San Jose Councilmember and VTA...
San Jose still in negotiations for purified water project
San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley Water District pumped the brakes earlier this year on a plan to purify and recycle more water in the city. Since then, progress has slowed to a trickle. On Wednesday, members of the city’s Rules and Open Government Committee decided to select a third party to facilitate negotiations between the...
San Jose State offers beds on campus for homeless students
After several years of grappling with student homelessness, San Jose State is finally offering beds on campus for students living outdoors or in their cars. The 12-bed pilot program launched last month, provides on-campus beds for SJSU students seeking emergency housing. The beds are located in University Housing. Students facing housing insecurity can apply for...
Report shows enforcement is curbing illegal fireworks in San Jose
Firework activity over Fourth of July significantly decreased compared to last year, and city leaders are taking this as a sign that recent enforcement campaigns are working. Earlier this month, members of San Jose’s Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee heard highlights from a report on illegal firework activity leading up to Fourth of July weekend. Between...
San Jose mayoral candidate opposes state housing legislation
San Jose Councilmember and mayoral candidate Dev Davis is taking a stance against two controversial state housing bills. “Adding density in an area of the city where infrastructure improvements are not made is a recipe for disaster,” Davis wrote in a memo. “These bills could dramatically affect our neighborhoods and our ability to deliver critical...