I read Dean Hotop’s op-ed (“Where is the accountability over Silicon Valley’s housing crisis?”) with great interest. There are few issues of more significance in our region than housing. Unfortunately, the piece included factual inaccuracies that may misinform rather inform your readers. Mr. Hotop misinterpreted the City’s budget book. The Housing Department’s FY 2018-19 personnel...
San Jose school district unveils plan to hire special education teachers
The number of special education students across the country is rising, but teachers qualified to teach those students aren’t — especially in the South Bay where soaring rents and cost-of-living are squeezing educators out. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that the number of public school students that required special education services rose 14...
Philbrick: New mega measure for transportation can succeed
Surrounded by cars with only a sea of brake lights in the distance, minutes ticking by as anxiety levels rise and feelings of frustration intensify – a situation Bay Area commuters know all too well. Congestion here is pervasive and worsening, and in 2017 the average Bay Area driver spent 79 hours stuck in traffic....
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Meet San Jose’s new City Hall watchdog
San Jose City Hall has a new watchdog and he vows to hold government officials accountable — including himself. The city auditor, one of the most important jobs at City Hall, was recently filled by a veteran of the department, Joe Rois, who joined the City Auditor’s office in 2008. Rois earned a couple of...
Report: Bay Area developers see headwinds in housing market
A new report forecasting the real estate market in California shows a fairly sunny outlook for the Bay Area, though it notes the region may be facing some headwinds where it matters most: housing. The report, called the Commercial Real Estate Survey, is released semi-annually by prominent California law firm Allen Matkins and the UCLA...
Youngest contender emerges in San Jose Council race
Marshall Woodmansee is expected to become the youngest candidate in the 2020 local elections after he filed papers on Wednesday to run for San Jose City Council. In an interview with San José Spotlight, Woodmansee said he wants to inspire the youth in his community to know they hold the power in deciding their future....
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San Jose council approves more workforce protections, new billboards
San Jose lawmakers are cracking down on enforcing stricter workforce protections for construction workers almost two years after the shocking discovery of an unlicensed contractor harboring undocumented immigrants in slave-like conditions at the former Silvery Towers site. On Tuesday, the City Council passed a law that requires contractors to pay workers a prevailing wage while...
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New South Bay Community Land Trust asks water district for land
A nonprofit group dedicated to securing land for affordable housing is asking the Santa Clara Valley Water District to donate some of its public land for low-income housing — beginning with San Jose’s Mayfair district. The South Bay Community Land Trust, the region’s first land trust for affordable housing, launched in late April and its leaders...
San Jose’s Councilman Captain America meets Bernie Sanders
Too bad San Jose Councilman Lan Diep couldn’t hide behind his Captain America shield. The eccentric lawmaker, who’s the lone Republican on the San Jose City Council, was spotted at a Bernie Sanders event this summer. But Diep didn’t want to be seen at the far-left Vermont Independent’s rally. “I don’t really want people knowing...
Denise Belisle sells Evergreen Coffee Company, mulls what’s next
Longtime business owner and City Council hopeful Denise Belisle sold Evergreen Coffee Company — her beloved mom-and-pop coffee shop in Evergreen — fueling speculation about what’s next and whether she’s gearing up for another council run. “I’ve certainly thought about it,” said Belisle, who finished third in a five-way primary race for the District 8...