San Jose’s newest elected representative took office at the City Council meeting Tuesday — marking a new chapter for District 3 whose prior leader is behind bars. Councilmember Anthony Tordillos took the oath of office — and his seat on the dais alongside his 10 colleagues — following applause from an audience celebrating the former...
San Jose lags on state homeless audit recommendations
It’s been over a year since the state ordered San Jose to improve the way it collects and displays data on its homeless services, but the city still has work to do. A 2024 state audit released last April gave the city seven recommendations to improve how it tracks expenses and measures effectiveness for its...
San Jose to add more multifamily affordable housing
The construction of nearly 200 affordable apartments will break ground next month in South San Jose. San Jose City Council unanimously approved a $73.7 million multifamily housing revenue bond on June 10 to close the remaining gap needed to finance the $160-million affordable housing development with developer Affirmed Housing. The 191-apartment complex will be 100% affordable...
San Jose loans $72M for affordable housing project
San Jose officials are loaning a multifamily housing developer tens of millions of dollars in an effort to create more affordable housing. The City Council voted unanimously June 17 to approve loans totaling $72.5 million to nonprofit Community Development Partners to build an affordable housing 160-apartment complex at 525 N. Capitol Ave., of which a...
San Jose officials acknowledge racist texts amid public support
Two San Jose councilmembers appear to have acknowledged their involvement in an inflammatory group text that allegedly used racial slurs — while their supporters say law enforcement is using the texts to turn residents of color against progressive leaders. At a brief Tuesday news conference outside City Hall, a coalition of activists — led by...
San Jose homeowners on the hook for fixing sidewalks
San Jose finance officials have hit more than 100 property owners with debt claims for failing to pay thousands of dollars for sidewalk repairs outside their homes. The City Council earlier this month approved potential penalties for 111 properties that owe a total $307,000 in mandatory sidewalk repairs as of May 8 — the number...
San Jose advocates demand release of alleged racist texts
A growing coalition of social justice leaders is demanding San Jose City Hall release text messages between councilmembers that allegedly include racist and derogatory remarks, two weeks after San José Spotlight broke a story about the inflammatory conversation. The Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet of Silicon Valley and AFRO-Upris joined the NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley...
San Jose bans homeless people renting RVs
A new San Jose policy intended to target individuals who rent RVs to homeless residents is being extended to penalize people sleeping in their vehicles. The San Jose City Council voted 9-1 on Tuesday to approve the “vanlording” policy, as it was written last week, to ban the advertising and renting out of RVs to...
UPDATE: San Jose leaders say “No” to stronger police oversight
San Jose’s independent police auditor wants to review every use-of-force case — a level of oversight the county sheriff already accepts. But city officials unanimously rejected the idea at Police Chief Paul Joseph’s request. Out of 400 total incidents where San Jose police used their weapons or hands on people in 2024, 13 resulted in...
San Jose allocates money for immigrant defense
San Jose officials have squeezed funding out of the 2025-26 budget to support education and legal services in defense of the city’s immigrant community. The San Jose City Council on June 10 unanimously approved $1 million going to immigrant defense organizations like Amigos de Guadalupe and the Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN) —...