Santa Clara County will receive more than $21 million in federal grant funding for homeless housing programs, county officials announced Friday. The funding is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Competition. The award includes more than $1 million in new federal funding for housing assistance and supportive services...
Silicon Valley advocates talk about discussing homelessness with kids
Scary. Dirty. Drunk. Those are some of the words that a classroom full of children used to describe homelessness, said Andrea Urton, who leads the nonprofit HomeFirst, which runs the largest shelters in Silicon Valley. “One child said ‘AIDS’ once,” Urton said. Urton says it’s critical for communities to change the conversation around homelessness to...
Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office requesting $8M for overtime
Citing much-needed jail reforms implemented over the past four years, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is asking county lawmakers for more than $8 million to cover growing overtime costs. The request, which will be considered at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, would allocate $8.1 million from the Special Programs Labor Reserve. With little discussion, a county supervisors’ committee last week accepted a report from...
After City Hall fight, California Waste Solutions wins another year in San Jose
After a yearlong battle with its largest recycling hauler over money and contamination, San Jose agreed to allow California Waste Solutions to service 166,000 homes for another year. It’s a decision that means nearly one hundred CWS employees get to keep their jobs. CWS employees in January showed up in strength at City Hall in bright yellow vests to protest a staff...
Six years later, Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park closure continues
Six years after receiving word that the Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park is closing to make way for luxury housing, the park’s residents are still uncertain about what’s next or when they’ll need to move out of the 111-unit senior community. “It came as a major shock to us when we woke up and we heard that the park...
Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is moving to Colorado
After three decades in San Jose and leading the city through some of its most pressing fiscal challenges, former Mayor Chuck Reed is saying goodbye to San Jose — sort of. Reed confirmed to San José Spotlight that he’s moving to Monument, Colorado, where his daughter, son-in-law and two grandkids live. “My wife wants to...
Ahi: Living and working in the same city is harder than it seems
Many cities aspire to create a thriving community in which residents will not only choose to live, but to work within as well. However, current statistics may reveal how and why some cities are thriving in this aspect, while others face a steeper challenge. The current national average of individuals residing and working within the...
Mayor Sam Liccardo unveils plan to strengthen local gun laws
California is home to some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation, but San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo says they don’t go far enough. The mayor on Tuesday announced a plan to strengthen the city’s decades-old gun safety law to fight straw purchases and stop black-market gun sales. “A significant percentage of guns are entering our community from legal gun...
Santa Clara to appeal court decision forcing district elections
After a lengthy legal battle costing more than $3 million in fees, Santa Clara is appealing a court decision forcing district elections after it was sued for allegedly violating the California Voting Rights Act, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. City officials are appealing despite previous unsuccessful efforts from other cities in similar California Voting Rights Act cases. “The city is appealing...
New survey: Quality of life has ‘fallen’ in San Jose
A new city survey shows San Joseans say their overall quality of life has dropped to record lows and only 44 percent would recommend San Jose as a place to live. “While two thirds of residents expected to remain in San José over the next five years,” the report said, “ratings for the overall quality...