Longtime Silicon Valley labor leader Cindy Chavez may be leaving the Bay Area for an executive role down south—a shocking move for the local powerhouse. Chavez, who represents District 2 on the Board of Supervisors, is being considered for the San Diego County chief administrative officer position which oversees day-to-day operations of the county. The prospect of her...
What’s next for blighted San Jose theater?
A dilapidated theater is ready to be annexed into San Jose. How it will be used is up in the air. The San Jose City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to annex nearly an acre of land that’s home to the 74-year-old Burbank Theater at the intersection of South Bascom and Parkmoor avenues. The annexation enables a developer to...
San Jose adopts mayor’s budget plan amid calls for more funding
In his first major test as mayor, Matt Mahan won unanimous support for his budget plan — but not before his critics had their say. Mahan and the city council dug into his March budget message on Tuesday — a roadmap that will shape the city’s budget for the next fiscal year. The document is...
San Jose officials lambasted for honoring mayor’s opponent
A move to honor Cindy Chavez for International Women’s Day is ruffling feathers at San Jose City Hall, with some saying it was politically motivated. Vice Mayor Rosemary Kamei and Councilmembers Dev Davis and Pam Foley gave a commendation to the Santa Clara County supervisor for her 20-plus years of public service at the San...
End of an era: San Jose antique shops could disappear
Walking past the palm trees that line San Carlos Street, it’s hard to miss the string of antique shops that have survived in an area once known as “Antiques Row.” These nostalgic shops may become a distant memory after the San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to annex a portion of West San Carlos...
Future of San Jose theater unclear amid annexation
San Jose is setting the stage to annex the Burbank Theater, but plans for the space are unclear. Last week, the San Jose City Council unanimously voted to move forward with annexing nearly an acre of land that’s home to the 74-year-old theater at the intersection of South Bascom and Parkmoor avenues. The plans listed...
Google could delay millions in San Jose community funds
Time is money, and in Silicon Valley, that saying is exceedingly true. So when news got out that Google could postpone construction on its highly-anticipated San Jose megacampus, it raised eyebrows and concerns. At stake is roughly 25,000 jobs and $155 million for a community fund that will be used to pay for education, job...
Security contract gives San Jose labor majority the upper hand
Early signs point to a shift toward pro-labor politics in San Jose after the actions of several city councilmembers resulted in a contractor reversing position to earn a multi-million-dollar agreement. In a unanimous vote earlier this week, the San Jose City Council approved a $9 million agreement to hire a new contractor, Good Guard, to...
How San Jose plans to tackle its worst problems
The San Jose mayor’s transition committees have finally made their private discussions public. Mayor Matt Mahan created five closed-door committees to meet and advise him on the city’s most pressing problems ahead of this year’s budget process—a move highly criticized because it lacked transparency and potentially flouted the law. The now-dissolved committees were tasked to...
San Jose expands police patrol on walking trails
San Jose police officers will soon routinely patrol an area that once was the city’s largest homeless camp in an effort to help revitalize the region. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to spend $400,000 to expand the successful police bike patrol program to cover the Guadalupe River Trail in addition to the...