Palo Alto officials deferred a controversial pilot program on Monday that would have concentrated occupied RVs on certain streets in south Palo Alto, following significant uproar from residents. The City Council unanimously approved the other half of the two-pronged approach and will create a pilot parking permit program for RVs on Coyote Hill Road in...
Kayak tours highlight San Jose river’s restoration
Years of neglect and festering pollution problems have left San Jose’s Guadalupe River with a toxic reputation among locals. But one former councilmember says the best days are still to come for the long-benighted waterway — and he’s leading by example. Local entrepreneur Carl Salas has been waging a quiet crusade over the past decade...
Immigration, tech discussed at annual San José Spotlight festival
There is no shortage of challenges — and solutions — facing Silicon Valley, according to community leaders and elected officials who spoke at San Jose Spotlight’s fourth annual political festival known as PolitiBeat. The day-long series of panel discussions on Aug. 7 at the Hammer Theatre in downtown San Jose explored knotty topics ranging from...
Utility project forces Palo Alto mobile home residents to move
María Martínez is packing up her life into boxes — well, most of it. Not all of her plants will fit, and by her conservative count, she has more than 65 of them. She, her partner and her two English bulldogs will be moving from their mobile home in Palo Alto, where they have lived...
San Jose neighborhood improvement program is back
A popular San Jose neighborhood improvement initiative that strengthens tenant rights and encourages better relationships with landlords has returned. The Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI) took a two-year hiatus after funds for the program ran out. The city is providing $250,000 for one year to fund the program, which is hosted under the umbrella of...
Sunnyvale restaurant celebrates 40 years of feeding the community
For Julia Blom, being hired a year after Country Gourmet opened in Sunnyvale became the “summer job that never stopped.” Now, as owner, she is celebrating the eatery’s 40th anniversary and the customers who have loyally supported the business all these years. “I realized a long time ago that the job was more than serving...
Eight candidates compete for Cupertino council seats
Cupertino voters are facing another high-stakes City Council election between the community’s pro-growth and slow-growth factions. Eight candidates have qualified for three council seats on the Nov. 3 ballot, with seven newcomers and one councilmember — J.R. Fruen — seeking a second term. Vice Mayor Liang Chao terms out in December and Councilmember Sheila Mohan...
Santa Clara ditches idea to hold council meetings at libraries
Santa Clara has shelved plans to explore holding City Council meetings at locations outside City Hall after staff estimated it could cost up to $260,000 to install the audiovisual equipment needed at two libraries. Councilmembers unanimously voted Tuesday to maintain its current practice of holding meetings in the council chambers. The discussion stemmed from a...
Jayadev: Santa Clara County shouldn’t invest billions of dollars in its jail facilities
In the midst of an unprecedented budget crisis which has caused devastating cuts in healthcare, housing, education and employment needs, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is considering investing billions of public dollars into the worst possible response to a community in need — incarceration. The proposal from the County Executive’s Office to be...
San Jose’s Circle of Palms is losing its iconic trees
Ice skating in downtown San Jose won’t be the same this holiday season, after losing its iconic namesake. Crews began removing all 32 palm trees from the Circle of Palms on Thursday, after a city arborist found none of them were healthy enough to keep. Work is expected to continue for the next several days....