San Jose officials are being challenged by a formerly homeless resident to stay in a shelter before voting to open more—and one is up for the offer. Sketch Oppie, who sits on the San Jose’s Housing and Community Development Commission, recently asked the City Council to experience what a homeless shelter is like before diverting funds for affordable housing to short-term shelters. Oppie believes the dollars should remain for affordable housing because temporary shelters are only one part of the solution. “Housing is health care, security, hope and a human right. A shelter is limited ..read more

Manuel Huizar, a 24-year-old San Jose Safeway employee, was fatally shot by shoplifters last year. In April, Home Depot employee Blake Mohs, 26, was shot and killed while attempting to stop a robbery in Pleasanton. In May 2021, nine people were fatally shot by a transit worker at San Jose’s VTA rail yard. It was the deadliest mass shooting in the South Bay. As workplace violence has escalated, one California legislator wants to ensure workers are better protected and trained to handle these situations. State Sen. Dave Cortese authored Senate Bill 553 to establish workplace violence prevention ..read more

As a former Valley Water engineer and current board member, I have tremendous appreciation for people who build and maintain our infrastructure. Every day, Valley Water employees manage and operate our agency’s complex and integrated water supply system, including dams, reservoirs, pipelines, levees, pump stations, treatment plants and recycled water facilities. Much of this water supply infrastructure is close to 60 years old. That’s why Valley Water is working on several capital improvements projects to ensure each facility functions as intended. I’d like to highlight a few of the infra ..read more

An opportunity to try new restaurant menus beyond a brick and mortar location is a hot concept in Silicon Valley. DoorDash plans to operate a ghost kitchen at The Plant Shopping Center off Curtner Avenue in San Jose. This pickup- and delivery-only service model lets fledgling and out-of-area restaurants test new markets while avoiding the time and expense of opening their own storefronts. Previous restaurant partners have been located in San Francisco and Southern California. DoorDash Kitchens also creates jobs for cooking staff and supervisors who oversee delivery and pickup orders. “Our miss ..read more

San Jose is abandoning its commitment to transparency by adopting controversial protocols to limit public access to city records while also cutting out the only independent party that reviewed appeals to denied requests. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously last week without discussion to advance a proposal from former Mayor Sam Liccardo to “reduce the fiscal burden” of City Hall’s job of providing public records to anyone, including media organizations. He claimed the city spends $2 million a year fulfilling such requests and wants to avoid “fishing expeditions” from journali ..read more

San Jose officials are looking to make amends following what state officials have called a racist handling of the city’s annual Cinco de Mayo festivities. But some residents say it’s not that simple. San Jose councilmembers unanimously passed a memo in the Rules and Open Government Committee on May 24, asking the San Jose Police Department to open better lines of communication with residents about road closures that may impact car and foot traffic when large events are planned. SJPD, in coordination with Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol, closed several major on- and off-ramps le ..read more

Nearly 200 apartments are coming to San Jose’s Five Wounds neighborhood near a future planned expansion of a walking trail. A two-story commercial building at 70-80 N. 27th St. will be razed, and in its place a six-story, 198-apartment complex with a parking garage will be built, after getting the green light at a city planning director’s hearing Wednesday. The plans from developer H.C. Investment Associates call for 210 parking spaces, including mechanical lift parking stackers, city reports said. The project is located where the city is planning an urban village adjacent to the future 28th S ..read more

The San Jose Police Department has not hired a senior analyst to advance its racial equity goals, despite holding the position open for nearly five months. The role was created last year to help the police force advance its relationships with communities of color by analyzing use of force and traffic stop data, getting more resident feedback and ensuring diversity in hiring efforts, among other initiatives. While similar positions are already filled in other departments across the city, the police department said it has struggled to find qualified candidates and is now faced with potential fun ..read more

San Jose Berryessa Flea Market vendors will have to pay more rent for their stalls as part of ongoing changes in the massive redevelopment of the property. The property owners are asking for an additional 5.5% per location. Vendors learned about the rate hike days after the first meeting of the Berryessa Flea Market Advisory Group, which discussed several issues: the amount of funds available to help vendors relocate, how vendors can provide input at group meetings, advising city officials on the design of the new market area and how vendor spots will be determined. The group was formed to hel ..read more

A recent ranking of U.S. city parks places San Jose in the top half, and locals are torn on touting the city’s open spaces as needing a higher ranking—or more improvement. A new study by Trust for Public Land, a park and land conservation nonprofit, has San Jose’s park system in 32nd place, trailing behind Fremont in 21st and way behind San Francisco, which came in 7th. Washington D.C. took the No. 1 spot. The report reviewed parks across the nation’s most populous cities, analyzing factors such as resident proximity to parks, amenities and park sizes. Community leaders said the city shou ..read more