South Bay leaders on Thursday applauded the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowly upheld the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), providing relief to hundreds of thousands of people brought to the country illegally or lost their legal status as children. With conservative Chief Justice John Roberts providing the majority opinion alongside the liberal minority...
In Your Backyard: How police treat you when you’re homeless
Two weeks ago we watched in horror the ugly side of the San Jose Police Department. For many of us, the aggression and cruelty was a surprise. For the writers of the In Your Backyard column, this was the police force they’d known for decades. Below are three accounts of what it meant to face...
San Jose lawmakers approve new fee caps for developments
If developers have one nemesis, it’s uncertainty, and San Jose lawmakers this week tried to battle that foe by capping some development fees. The 8-3 vote Tuesday did not raise or lower fees for developers, but it froze infrastructure fees in most parts of the city and set a maximum for fee increases in the...
Nonprofit bike shop that helps San Jose’s homeless residents burglarized again
A nonprofit bike shop in San Jose has been targeted by burglars dozens of times over the past decade — including Tuesday morning, when thieves took merchandise worth approximately $20,000. A police report was filed and the San Jose Police Department’s burglary unit is investigating, according to city officials. But the owner says the city...
Johnny Khamis apologizes for ‘lower-income’ remark, clarifies his intent
San Jose Councilmember Johnny Khamis raised eyebrows — and garnered a chuckle from Mayor Sam Liccardo — when he complained that his WiFi is spotty even though he doesn’t live in a low-income neighborhood. The comment came during Tuesday’s virtual City Council meeting after Khamis experienced technical problems. Liccardo asked him to turn off his...
‘It’s about time’: Ethnic studies coming to Alum Rock school district
An East San Jose public school district is set to explore bringing ethnic studies to its diverse students, a move lauded by some as being a lifeline for struggling students of color. For Adan Perez, seeing himself in the curriculum during ethnic studies courses he took made the difference between dropping out of school and going...
San Jose approves CityView project, says goodbye to former courthouse
Downtown San Jose’s CityView Plaza is set to turn from a 1970s mixed-use campus to a modern glass-lined, three-tower, 3.8 million-square-foot office park after locking in the final vote of approval Tuesday. Councilmembers on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve the project by San Francisco developer Jay Paul Co., which is already working on a 1...
Coronavirus LIVE BLOG: June 4 to June 17
Catch up on our current Coronavirus LIVE BLOG here. 5:35 p.m. June 17: Most San Jose park restrooms open, Communications Hill staircase still closed Most San Jose park restrooms reopened Monday, according to a city news release. While the news release said park restrooms will be cleaned according to their use, the most frequented restrooms will...
San Jose lawmakers approve a new office to address racial inequities
San Jose lawmakers took a major step Tuesday in addressing systemic racism in the nation’s 10th largest city by approving the creation of a new office to address racial inequities. But now the questions linger: how much will the cash-strapped city devote to the new office and how will it foot the bill? City councilmembers...
San Jose homeless trailer park residents forced out after three weeks
Homeless residents living inside trailers at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo set up for those with COVID-19 or at risk of contracting the deadly virus were evicted after three weeks when the trailer park was suddenly shut down on Monday. The residents were moved into hotels instead. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve...