Google is coming into San Jose and bringing its own electrical grid. The tech behemoth is opening a massive complex in downtown San Jose and wants to construct its own electric distribution system, or microgrid, to power the 80-acre site. By the end of this year, San Jose will approve a business plan to make...
Bramson: Understanding the playbook on Measure A
It’s football season in America, and here in San Jose, while we punt the political pigskin of housing this year, some people are fumbling the ball when it comes to understanding what really works to create meaningful change for so many in our community. So in a Hail Mary pass, I’m going to give it...
San Jose releases withheld Liccardo emails
A new trove of Mayor Sam Liccardo’s private emails released by San Jose raises more questions about the city’s practice of improperly withholding public records. The city last week released 132 pages of previously withheld documents, prompted by a lawsuit by San José Spotlight and the First Amendment Coalition. The emails detail Liccardo’s conversations with city...
Do: Cindy Chavez is still trying to silence the Asian American community
Over the past four years, the Cindy Chavez political machine has worked to defeat two sitting Vietnamese American city council representatives in San Jose. Today, there are no Vietnamese Americans, or any Asian Americans, serving on the San Jose City Council. For a politician who claims to care about representation and diversity this is a...
East San Jose theater planned as community nexus
For East San Jose, introducing a performing arts space means more than theater. It’s a window into the community’s future. As part of a redevelopment project, a mostly vacant block of stores on Alum Rock Avenue is being reimagined. Part of the plan is a theater that will bring vibrancy to the neighborhood, provide jobs,...
James: MAGA school board candidates rightly called out
San Jose Spotlight’s recent article on MAGA school board candidates provided valuable help to voters in our community by identifying the local embodiment of the national, far-right movement to have candidates infiltrate local school boards, including those right here in Silicon Valley. Over the past two years, a local Republican group recruited candidates to run...
San Jose Democrats denounce mayoral candidate, supporter
Elections can get nasty, but Santa Clara County leaders are drawing the line when it comes to spreading racial tension in political discussions. The Santa Clara County Democratic Party voted unanimously Thursday to “condemn” San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan’s mayoral campaign, urging the candidate to address allegations of racially-motivated comments made by a supporter. The...
San Jose preps sweep of migrating homeless camp
San Jose spent September sweeping homeless people from a large encampment near Columbus Park—now it’s clearing out another growing camp nearby. More than 100 people living in a baseball field at the corner of Asbury and Irene streets—many who moved over from last month’s sweep—are finding themselves in a familiar situation. Dubbed the “field of...
‘Hatchet job’: 49ers rip Santa Clara County grand jury report on political influence
The San Francisco 49ers are lambasting a scathing new grand jury report that questions the team’s political influence and relationship with five Santa Clara councilmembers. The 61-page report, which will be publicly released Monday—the same day voters receive ballots in the mail—focuses on what it calls the “49 Five,” a politically-loaded term coined by opponents...
Zisser: Crime victims’ views on criminal justice reform are not monolothic
Victims and survivors of violent crime are not a monolith. Indeed, the very nature of crime makes every individual experience unique. Those of us who advocate for criminal justice reform often come under attack for supposedly being insensitive to or disconnected from victims and their families. These critics are of course right that victims and survivors...