English
Spanish
Vietnamese
San Jose has led on many of the region’s coronavirus response efforts, but officials are still figuring out how to track the related costs so the city doesn’t foot the entire bill while facing a major budget shortfall. Now San Jose officials are about to hire an outside consultant to monitor and help guide how...
Santa Clara: Retired CHP lieutenant Bob O’Keefe running for City Council
Retired lieutenant Robert “Bob” O’Keefe hopes he can continue to serve and protect the people of Santa Clara — this time from a seat on the City Council. Born and raised in the Mission City, the 60-year-old retired California Highway Patrol lieutenant has joined the race for the District 5 seat, which was vacated by...
Petition to fire San Jose police officer for actions during protests gains traction
More than 134,000 signatures have been added to an online petition calling for the firing of San Jose Police Officer Jared Yuen, after he was recorded licking his lips while holding his rubber round gun and shouting expletives at protesters May 29. Citing multiple videos of Yuen taken by bystanders on the first day of...
Leaders push to name new BART station after ex-San Jose mayor
A coalition of powerful Silicon Valley leaders want to name the new BART station in San Jose after ex-Mayor Ron Gonzales. After all, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown gave Gonzales the nickname “Mayor BART.” Pete Carrillo, principal of consultancy Silicon Valley Advisors, this month launched an email campaign, gaining support from political leaders, activists...
San Jose gets grant to look deeper at local cannabis industry equity
When San Jose opened its doors to the recreational cannabis industry in 2018, officials hoped those most hurt by its criminalization for decades would make up a big portion of the entrepreneurs that would benefit from its legalization. But data shows that though people of color were most likely to be cited, fined and jailed...
Vargas: Pride month has always been about liberation
I attended my first Pride Parade in 2004 when I was 18 years old and working for OutFront Minnesota, an LGBTQ political advocacy organization in Minneapolis. We were still celebrating the 2002 election of Scott Dibble to the Minnesota State Senate, the only LGBTQ member of that body at the time. But we were also...
San Jose musician shot in the eye while playing music during protests
Armed with his Ibanez guitar and a harmonica around his neck, Joseph Cañas happily strummed protest songs on May 29, boosting morale and lifting spirits amid a chorus of Black Lives Matter chants. The 25-year-old was one of hundreds of demonstrators marching on the first day of weeklong protests in San Jose over the police...
Kline: Innovation is key to solving South Bay transportation woes
Traffic congestion will return. When it does, we need a better plan. What could that possibly be? Spending billions of dollars and decades of delays, to get only minor improvements, should no longer be acceptable. How about a little innovation? Can we make it faster, easier and cheaper? Let’s be frank, we’re not going to...
Team San Jose pivots from conferences to coronavirus aid
Team San Jose – once the marketing giant for the city and the managing force behind its conventions – has pivoted its in-house catering to provide meals to shelters housing people impacted by COVID-19. The city of San Jose converted Parkside Hall and South Hall, both part of the McEnery Convention Center which is operated by...
Celso Batalha gets low-income San Jose students excited about science
When he’s not instructing students at Evergreen Valley College, physics and astronomy professor Celso Batalha is working with a much younger set — teaching children as young as elementary school-aged that no matter what their background, they, too, can reach for the stars. Batalha came to the Evergreen campus in 2003 just as the San...