Another late night venue in downtown San Jose has temporarily closed its doors amid bureaucratic wrangling over operating permits. San Pedro Social, a Santa Clara Street establishment that opened in 2022, announced the closure in late June, citing a need to cut expenses amid a protracted effort to obtain permits that would allow the venue...
UPDATE: East San Jose school district delays controversial health contract
Leaders in an East San Jose school district have delayed approving a contract with a controversial healthcare provider to teach students relationship skills. At a special meeting Tuesday, the Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees voted 3-2 to postpone approving a two-year contract with RealOptions Obria to help give sixth grade students the...
Mountain View tech showcase amazes crowds
Lasers, self-driving cars and chess-playing robots were on prominent display at Mountain View’s 11th annual Technology Showcase on July 30, which gave residents a glimpse of the innovations being worked on throughout the city and exhibited resources they can use for their own purposes. More than 500 visitors flitted in and out of the free...
Op-ed: How can we trust a City Council that won’t explain its votes?
We recently ran an experiment to see whether our City Council would respond to questions from the public and explain its decisions. The result should concern anyone who cares about accountability in San Jose as they consider their choices in the upcoming election. Our group, No Digital Billboards in San Jose, is a coalition of...
San Jose artist preserves fading Mexican art form
The hummingbird hanging beside 13-year-old Autumn Medina isn’t just another painting. Its purple, blue and green feathers remind her of her grandmother, who loved hummingbirds and whose yard was filled with the tiny birds every summer. The painting is in the style of maque y la laca perfilada, a traditional lacquer art form from the Mexican state...
Stanford Terrace Inn owners sue Palo Alto to halt demolition
The owners of a dilapidated building that used to house the Stanford Terrace Inn are suing Palo Alto in federal court in an effort to overturn the city’s demolition order for the property. The lawsuit, filed July 16 in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, alleges city code inspectors “disproportionately singled out” the property...
Silicon Valley students housed through college partnership
West Valley-Mission Community College District provides students living within its service area with free tuition, childcare and healthcare. Now it’s ensuring they have a safe place to lay their heads at night. The community college district is partnering with San Jose State University to provide beds for students facing housing insecurity. The community college district’s...
Legal experts weigh in on South County ICE facility lawsuit
Santa Clara County and state leaders are gearing up for legal battle to block a planned ICE facility in South County. The lawsuit filed last month by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and county officials argues the federal government has illegally bypassed environmental laws, local zoning rules and other statutes in advancing the project just east...
Annual summer jazz fest returns to downtown San Jose
For years, thousands of music fans have packed the Latin Tropical Stage at San Jose Jazz Summer Fest, turning downtown into an open-air dance floor where salsa has long been one of the festival’s defining traditions. Christian Vela, associate artistic director with San Jose Jazz, the nonprofit group that hosts the annual festival, wants to keep...
Mountain View mayor reflects on busy first half of 2026
Seven months into the job, Mountain View Mayor Emily Ann Ramos is knee-deep in meetings and ribbon-cutting ceremonies while also working to stay on top of some of the city’s most pressing issues. Since taking the helm in January, Ramos has led the City Council through major upheavals, including revelations of unauthorized access to the...