San Jose Spotlight Articles

Santa Clara’s housing plans are still out of compliance with the state, but the city hopes its newest draft will be the final effort.
The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to rezone more than 27 acres along …

San Jose housing commissioners had blistering words for a proposal to divert affordable housing money to shelters and sweeps.
The Housing and Community Development Commission on Thursday voted 6-2 to reject two spending proposals that would divert funds meant for …

Two long-tenured Sunnyvale officials are moving up the ranks of local government.
The Sunnyvale City Council permanently appointed Rebecca Moon as city attorney at its Tuesday meeting. Councilmembers also appointed Finance Director Tim Kirby as interim city manager, to take …

Santa Clara has more than half a billion dollars in needed infrastructure improvements and officials hope residents will pay to get those projects done.
The city is considering a bond measure for the November ballot to help tackle a more …

A former Santa Clara County sheriff candidate has been convicted for lying about her credentials during her campaign.
A jury verdict has found Anh Colton — the 51-year-old former candidate from Cupertino who came in last place in the 2022 …

The police chief at Foothill-De Anza Community College District is proposing to arm campus police with Tasers.
Tasers put faculty, staff, workers and students at risk. These weapons have caused serious physical injury and death, the manufacturer warnings make Tasers …

A West Valley school district is on its way to boosting teacher salaries.
Voters in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District stepped up to support Measure A, a parcel tax, with roughly 67.5% of the vote as of 5 …

As we see the first distressed office building sale transactions of what is romantically called The Great Reset — also known as the greatest single asset class value extinction event in commercial real estate history — a few observations about …

Santa Clara County officials are bridging a massive deficit through an infusion of new revenue and realigned costs to balance the upcoming fiscal year's $12.4 billion budget. But it will still require painful cuts.
The county’s May 1 budget proposal …

Teachers in one San Jose high school district are calling for higher wages to keep up with the increasing cost of living — as the district struggles with an anticipated multimillion-dollar budget deficit.
The East Side Union High School District, …

After decades of residents requesting historic status, San Jose is starting the process to create a new city landmark district — the first since 2007.
The San Jose City Council earlier this month voted unanimously to nominate Alameda Park/Schiele Avenue …

San Jose needs millions of dollars it doesn't have to clear homeless residents from city waterways and place them into temporary shelter. Officials are considering raiding an affordable housing fund to make it happen.
The city manager is proposing two …

After months of contentious debate among residents and town officials, Los Gatos has received state approval to build nearly 2,000 homes more than a year past the deadline.
Los Gatos received a letter from the state on Friday stating it …

Valley Water is suing one of its directors for removing confidential documents from its district offices.
The water district sued Director Rebecca Eisenberg on April 22 for removing a confidential report out of offices, which also got her censured by …

The unsuccessful March primary challenger to Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is facing a federal election complaint for connections to a fake newspaper that appeared on the doorsteps of South Bay residents earlier this year.
A political action committee known as Defend …

Regional leaders are brainstorming ways to keep affordable housing production up and eyeing a hefty funding source.
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) wants to put a multibillion-dollar bond measure on the November ballot, with the funds going to …

Burger Bar in San Jose might have been what musician Chuck Berry was thinking about when he rhapsodized in “Back in the U.S.A.”about a place where “hamburgers sizzle on an open grill night and day.”
The restaurant, founded in 1953 …

One driverless taxi service plans to stretch its presence into the South Bay, after years of testing its autonomous technology.
Robotaxi company Waymo is expanding its coverage area down the peninsula into Sunnyvale. The self-driving San Francisco fixture will roll …

The Santa Clara County Democratic Party has joined retiring Congresswoman Anna Eshoo in demanding transparency behind a controversial recount in the race for her seat.
The party’s Central Committee on Thursday voted unanimously for a resolution demanding the identities of …

If this column were one of my many recent conversations about the war in Gaza, I would not need to start with the usual prefaces. But unlike those conversations, this column reaches people who are not close professional acquaintances in …