The dynamic leader of a nonprofit focused on revitalizing downtown San Jose has stepped down. After three years at the helm of the San Jose Downtown Association, CEO Alex Stettinski has left “to pursue his next professional chapter,” according to the organization. The association represents more than 2,000 businesses, nonprofits and property owners. It aids...
San Jose starts work on safe sleeping site
San Jose is breaking ground on its first sanctioned homeless encampment, which will allow 56 people to sleep in tents without fear of being swept this summer. The vacant lot at 1157 E. Taylor St. will serve as a navigation center, where participants will be given three daily meals and have access to showers, laundry facilities...
San Jose gives more equity to first-time homebuyers
Hundreds of first-time San Jose homeowners who took out loans with the city to make down payments are set to get back tens of thousands of dollars in home equity. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously April 8 to restore home equity shares for residents who bought homes under the city’s defunct First-Time Homebuyer...
Bramson: When the market crashes, the safety net tears
The stock market’s recent volatility and the looming threat of a recession aren’t just numbers on a screen — they’re harbingers of a deeper crisis unfolding in Santa Clara County. As economic uncertainty intensifies, the fragile balance keeping thousands of families housed is tipping dangerously toward disaster. In 2024, more than 4,000 Santa Clara County...
Santa Clara approves another 1,000+ housing project
North Santa Clara is slated for more than a thousand new homes over the next few years, with whole neighborhoods under construction. The Santa Clara City Council gave its final approval March 25 on a 25.7-acre development at 2518 Mission College Blvd. The project will bring in 1,792 apartments, 268 of which will be affordable...
License to Kill
The California DMV routinely allows dangerous drivers with horrifying histories to continue to operate on our roadways. Too often they go on to kill. Many keep driving even after they kill. Some go on to kill again. By Robert Lewis, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Court research...
San Jose parents upset over special ed program consolidation
Special education students and their families will have to leave their neighborhood schools as San Jose’s largest school district consolidates classes. San Jose Unified School District is closing Special Day Class (SDC) programs at Graystone, Schallenberger and Empire Gardens elementary schools next school year due to low enrollment. The program helps students with a specific...
Op-ed: Santa Clara County residents favor ranked choice voting
It was 1998, the year of the Ask Jeeves search engine, Titanic and the Spice Girls. California elected Gray Davis to succeed Pete Wilson as governor, and Santa Clara County voters adopted ranked choice voting (RCV) for local elections. More than 25 years later, the Spice Girls have had a reunion tour and no one...
Ruling to end VTA strike upheld by appeals court
An appellate court judge has denied an appeal from a union representing bus drivers and light rail operators with VTA — doubling down on the decision to end a historic worker strike. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 filed the appeal after Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya ruled March 26 the union had...
UPDATE: San Jose special election likely headed to June runoff
Gabby Chavez-Lopez continues to maintain her lead in updated results for the San Jose City Council District 3 special election, but it’s not enough of the vote to secure a win outright. As of 4:15 p.m. Friday, Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, still holds a solid 29% of the vote....