San Jose is updating language in its rent control policy due to mobile home park landlords illegally raising prices on tenants living in RVs. The city’s decades-old mobile home rent policy states property owners cannot raise rents more than 7% without city approval — but Western Trailer Park disregarded it on the grounds that recreational...
Santa Clara County growers unclear about ICE policy
South County growers are walking a tightrope between trusting the Trump administration to support them while hoping their workers aren’t caught in ICE raids. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in East San Jose have led to concerns about whether immigrant farmworkers will feel safe enough to work during the approaching harvest season, namely...
San Jose loans $72M for affordable housing project
San Jose officials are loaning a multifamily housing developer tens of millions of dollars in an effort to create more affordable housing. The City Council voted unanimously June 17 to approve loans totaling $72.5 million to nonprofit Community Development Partners to build an affordable housing 160-apartment complex at 525 N. Capitol Ave., of which a...
García: East Side — Do the right thing for fair election reform
The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 specifically “prohibits the use of an at-large election in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a protected class, as defined, to elect candidates of its choice.” Protected class is defined in the act as voters who are members of a race, color or language...
Silicon Valley BART tunnel launches construction
The whir and thunks of heavy equipment hauling clay and soil from underground could be heard throughout the Newhall Maintenance Yard on Monday, as VTA begins construction on the BART expansion through Silicon Valley. Contractors have been working in the yard 22 hours a day since June 9 pulling bentonite — a clay-like material —...
UPDATE: Anthony Tordillos maintains lead in San Jose special election
The next election results update is expected Thursday, June 26 at 5 p.m. Early election night results show San Jose Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos, 33, leading by double digits in the race to represent downtown San Jose and replace disgraced former District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres. As of 4:17 p.m. Wednesday, Tordillos holds 64.3%...
San Jose homeless advocates create support network
As San Jose turns up the heat on abolishing homeless encampments, advocates have organized to prevent unhoused residents from losing what little they have. The Rapid Engagement Support Team (REST) works to assist homeless residents caught up in sweeps. REST aids with recovering a person’s property after a sweep, providing information on how to get...
Silicon Valley lawmaker may punt bipartisan Iran war powers resolution
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie are taking a “wait-and-see approach” on their bipartisan resolution aimed at limiting President Donald Trump’s ability to further involve the U.S. in Iran without congressional approval. But as a tenuous ceasefire agreement appears to be in place between Israel and Iran, Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley,...
San Jose officials acknowledge racist texts amid public support
Two San Jose councilmembers appear to have acknowledged their involvement in an inflammatory group text that allegedly used racial slurs — while their supporters say law enforcement is using the texts to turn residents of color against progressive leaders. At a brief Tuesday news conference outside City Hall, a coalition of activists — led by...
Op-ed: Veteran family welcomes new neighbors to Bristol Hotel
We’ve lived in the neighborhood near the Bristol Hotel for nearly a decade, raising our children and investing in our community. Like many, we watched in sadness the recent meeting where community members shared their opposition to the planned conversion of the hotel into transitional housing for women and children. What stood out most was...