One local lawmaker wants to put high fire risk communities at the forefront of wildfire prevention and mitigation, with federal help. Congressman Sam Liccardo is launching a regional partnership between the federal government and local cities to support wildfire prevention efforts. The partnership aims to strengthen multi-jurisdictional communication in the face of climate change, while...
Palo Alto considers RV parking restrictions as complaints rise
Palo Alto is considering banning inoperable vehicles from parking on public streets as part of a multi-pronged response to a recent wave of complaints from various neighborhoods about the growing number of RVs in residential areas. If Palo Alto takes action to limit RV parking, it would join Mountain View, which bans RVs from parking on the vast...
San Jose cuts fees for its two card rooms
San Jose leaders are reducing card room fees and slashing police staff that monitor gambling, marking a turn in the city’s long — at times tense — relationship with casinos. The City Council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to lower regulatory fees for the city’s two licensed card rooms — Bay 101 and Casino M8trix —...
San Jose group targets small businesses to uplift neighborhood
As East San Jose’s Mayfair neighborhood struggles with poverty, gentrification and divestment, one group is creating a plan to uplift people economically. Last year, workers with nonprofit Amigos de Guadalupe knocked on doors in Mayfair to learn about what residents need most. Residents said they want a way to make more income and have more...
Can Silicon Valley express lanes end traffic congestion?
Silicon Valley’s transportation agency wants to increase revenues from its highway express lanes, but advocates say they could save more money by strengthening public transit. VTA serves as Santa Clara County’s public transit operator and congestion management agency, overseeing the county’s highways as well as its buses and light rail. As the agency grapples with...
Cupertino housing development could replace business center
Another commercial space in Cupertino could become townhomes. San Ramon-based SummerHill Homes recently submitted a preliminary application for a 27-townhome project on 1.55 acres at 10268 Bandley Drive. Plans for the three-story development also include five moderately-affordable homes and 59 parking spaces, primarily in each home’s two-car garage. The development could replace the existing Bandley...
San Jose starts sweeping homeless camp in Columbus Park
As San Jose begins sweeping its largest homeless encampment in Columbus Park, people who have accepted offers of shelter will be safe from having their vehicles towed until space opens up. City workers on Monday began clearing Irene Street along Columbus Park, home to a camp of roughly 370 people and 120 lived-in vehicles, per...
Hernandez: Alum Rock Union School District needs state oversight
Every kid deserves a strong, stable public school, but I learned early on that not every kid gets one. I grew up in East San Jose, a resilient community that cherishes education and faces impossible choices. Like many families, my family faced either sending me to a failing neighborhood school or seek better. That led...
Who are Santa Clara County’s homeless service contractors?
Santa Clara County is poised to spend more than $122 million on homelessness this fiscal year, and most of the money is going to one nonprofit. A San José Spotlight review of documents from the county’s Office of Supportive Housing (OSH) shows Abode Services is the county’s largest homeless support service provider. The nonprofit has 15...
Silicon Valley leaders discuss how federal cuts will hurt region
Santa Clara County officials want their largest city’s support in hiking sales taxes to keep their public hospital system alive against federal cuts. But San Jose leaders have conditions. Congressman and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo suggested the city could tie its support for the sales tax measure — now known as “Measure A”...