San Jose city leaders approved a citywide rent freeze after an hours-long debate that ended in a 7-4 vote Tuesday night. The vote comes after last week’s attempt to implement a rent suspension for San Jose families financially affected by COVID-19 was quickly struck down over concerns the proposal violated the Constitution. Councilmembers Raul Peralez...
California governor outlines new ‘milestones’ before loosening stay-home order
Californians will remain sheltered in place for weeks and when those restrictions are gradually loosened, life will not likely return entirely to “normal” until there is a vaccine, Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a sobering news conference Tuesday. State officials are watching multiple “indicators” and are aiming to hit several key milestones that will help...
Developer KT Urban submits plans for 20-story towers in downtown San Jose
Development in the Bay Area has slowed or halted entirely in recent weeks, but that hasn’t stopped developers from forging ahead. KT Urban on Monday unveiled plans for a nearly 3-acre site at 280 Woz Way that could bring 1.8 million square feet of office and retail space across a pair of 20-story towers near...
Unsung heroes of Silicon Valley: Lizzie Nolan
When Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Nolan heard about school closures in mid-March because of the coronavirus crisis, her first thought was to create a reading program for homebound students. Nolan, a senior librarian at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library, created ‘Spring into Reading,’ an initiative that encourages kids and adults alike to read, log their minutes...
Reports detail Silicon Valley’s housing crisis pre-coronavirus
As the stock market plunges, so may the real estate market. The coronavirus pandemic will shatter San Jose’s ambitious plans for housing growth over the next two years, some officials said. “We absolutely need to build more housing and we’re not going to make our target (of) 25,000 homes by 2022,” San Jose Councilmember Pam...
As courts largely close to the public, advocates fear power abuses and deaths
A judge’s decision to limit public attendance to court hearings because of the COVID-19 crisis has advocates and others worried about potential abuse of power and harmful consequences for defendants. “We don’t do secret judicial proceedings in the United States,” said David Snyder, executive director for the First Amendment Coalition. “When courts or any other...
Bramson: When a virus needs a home
What would it be like if we responded to homelessness like a disaster? I’ve heard this question many times over the years. The implication being that while the word “crisis” is thrown around pretty liberally these days when we talk about the conditions for people on our streets, we rarely act with the same mobilized...
‘There’s no escape’: Domestic violence fears in San Jose escalated by COVID-19
A San Jose mother of four was 41 years old when she was sure she would die. Pinned up against the wall, Rose Martinez laid motionless as her husband repeatedly kicked her all over her body after knocking her to the floor from a swift punch to the head. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God,...
How will Santa Clara County enforce non-medical cannabis sales ban? The honor system.
A little more than a week ago, top Santa Clara County officials banned all recreational cannabis sales at dispensaries as part of a widespread shelter-in-place order meant to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Now, those administrators are saying they have no way to enforce the new rules. Their solution? The honor system. “There...
San Jose ranks in top 25 cities for women in tech, but the gaps remain wide
Being a woman working in tech in Silicon Valley is still not as lucrative as being a man doing the same work, but the gaps are shrinking, new data show. A report by New York-based personal finance technology company, SmartAsset, which asks which cities are best for women in tech, looks at four factors to...