The rallying chants broke through the quiet morning: “Up up with public housing, down down with Google.” Vas Kumar, a supporter of the #Google8, the eight people arrested for chaining themselves to chairs to protest Google’s planned development in San Jose, called out the tech titan through a megaphone in front of the Santa Clara County building early...
Magdalena Carrasco jumps into crowded supervisorial race
Magdalena Carrasco, the dynamic lawmaker who broke the mold as San Jose’s vice mayor, is running for county supervisor in what’s shaping up to be a crowded field of high-profile candidates. “This feels like a very natural step for me,” Carrasco said in an interview Monday. “It really feels like the next step in the...
Staedler: The world is watching downtown San Jose
Downtown San Jose for the last decade or so has been an event-driven downtown. A glimpse of its potential came out with events like the Jazz Festival, business and technology conventions and Sharks games. When asked what kind of downtown San Jose needs to have, the word that gets used often is “vibrant.” Urban vibrancy...
San Jose City Council agenda packed with housing proposals
At the beginning of the year, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo called housing one of the most “daunting” challenges facing the city. On Tuesday, Liccardo and his council colleagues will tackle the crisis once again as they review a host of affordable housing projects. If the lengthy list is approved, San Jose could add hundreds of new...
San Jose automation firm leads in venture capital megafunding
Venture capital funding in the South Bay last year reached the highest levels in nearly a decade with a San Jose firm that invests in AI landing some of the biggest deals. Last November, San Jose-based software developer Automation Anywhere announced that the company had raised $300 million from the Saudi-backed SoftBank Vision Fund. CEO...
San Jose: No criminal charges filed against Google protesters
Prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against eight people jailed in December for chaining themselves to chairs to protest Google’s expansion into San Jose. The news comes days before the group planned a protest to urge the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office not to pursue charges against them. District Attorney Jeff Rosen said Friday that...
Amid PG&E bankruptcy, San Jose rolls out community choice energy program
Days after the state’s largest utility provider filed bankruptcy, the capital of Silicon Valley turned the lights on San Jose Clean Energy, a new community choice plan that environmentalist Ruth Merino has been fighting for the last three years. “No one has to change anything,” Merino said. “You just pay your bill just like you...
Federal contractors in San Jose remain unpaid after government shutdown
Some Bay Area federal workers say they won’t get a penny of back pay after being forced off the job during the longest government shutdown in history. “It’s a big impact on us, I was delayed on my rent. I asked my landlord to just give me a delay,” said Angelina Mariano, one of 43...
Life inside a cramped van: A look at San Jose’s safe parking program
Joe Castro has been homeless on and off his entire life. Now, Castro, his wife, Donna Slaughter, and their three children are living inside a cramped van, using the backseat to sleep five people and the front seat as a “kitchen” while they get back on their feet. “It’s hard because our kids go to...
Santa Clara County pegs $25 million for first-time homebuyers
Owning a home in Silicon Valley might seem like an impossible goal for most working families. With average home prices in San Jose now exceeding $1 million, according to Zillow, elected leaders fear the dream of home ownership might be out of reach for nurses, teachers and public safety officers. But a new program, presented...