Standard Blog

San Jose won’t meet homeless housing goal

One of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s main goals is to finish his predecessor’s promise and complete 1,000 interim homes for the unhoused by the end of this year—but city staff said that’s impossible. Interim homes are quick-build temporary shelters designed to be a fast and cheap solution to getting homeless residents off the streets and on the path to permanent...

Rawson: Where is downtown San Jose going?

Cities across the country are deep into reinventing their downtowns in light of changed work-from-home and business travel realities. Sadly, San Jose’s downtown continues to rank near the bottom of numerous proxy metrics of “vibrancy” such as return-to-office rates, sales taxes receipts, retail leasing rates and cell phone usage. Our City Council needs to stop...

49ers bid for Bay Area to host 2026 Super Bowl

The 49ers want another run at hosting the Super Bowl less than a decade after bringing the championship game to Santa Clara. San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York said the team is hoping to host the 2026 Super Bowl at the NFL annual meeting Tuesday. This would mark a decade after Levi’s Stadium first hosted...

Senior high-rise coming to downtown San Jose

A historic two-story building in downtown San Jose will be converted into a high-rise apartment tower for hundreds of older adults, following a green light from city leaders. On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved plans from Roygbiv Real Estate Development to gut the Realty Building at 19 N. 2nd St. while maintaining...

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...

Robinson: Gun violence is here to stay

Over 129 mass shootings so far this year. Three nine-year olds died yesterday. The usual hand wringing in the media was in full force. Parents are outraged that no new gun safety laws are forthcoming. As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s de ja vu all over again.” Yet national polls show about 45% of the...

San Jose says yes to controversial Buddhist temple

Controversial plans for a Buddhist temple years in the making are moving forward in San Jose’s Evergreen neighborhood. Following a three-hour discussion Tuesday, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved the development of the nearly 14,000 square-foot Wat Khmer Kampuchea Krom Temple on a 1.86-acre corner lot at the intersection of Ruby and Norwood avenues....

From the CEO: San Jose turns a blind eye to transparency

More than a year ago, San José Spotlight and the First Amendment Coalition sued San Jose and its former mayor for blatant violations of public records laws. A quick refresher: former Mayor Sam Liccardo deleted a government email and persuaded a resident to contact his private account to skirt disclosure. The city claimed no emails from...