San Jose - Politics & Govt

Just over two months after becoming Mayor of San Jose, Matt Mahan has put forward his first budget plan that has a major focus on public safety, homelessness, housing, and blight.

A partly plagiarized history book that was being written about local governments and Native Americans in Silicon Valley, the subject of a mini-scandal last year, has now been canceled.

Santa Cruz County civic leaders have been voting to appoint nominees to the California Coastal Commission behind closed doors, violating a state law that requires such proceedings be public, according to the Santa Cruz Lookout.

Santa Clara County just conducted its federally mandated "point-in-time" homeless census, which is typically conducted every two years, out of sync with every other Bay Area county.

In an effort to save space and reduce its dependability on cars, San Jose has become the biggest city in the U.S. to eliminate minimum parking requirements for new developments.

The San Jose Mayor’s race has finally been decided, a week and change after Election Day, with rookie City Councilmember Matt Mahan barely edging out a veteran politician in the South Bay and current Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez.

San Jose is one of several big cities in California — including Oakland and Los Angeles — voting for brand new mayors on Tuesday, with their incumbents termed out. And spending in the San Jose mayor's race is reaching record levels for the two top candidates seeking to replace Mayor Sam Liccardo.

After a month-long civil corruption trial, a grand jury has found Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith guilty of all six corruption and willful misconduct counts that she had been facing.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has voted to confirm a new county CEO, but the closed-door vote and the way it was announced is raising concerns — and has a lot of people upset.

Sheriff Laurie Smith has left the building at the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, having suddenly submitted her resignation Monday effective immediately. Smith remains on trial over corruption charges relating to concealed-carry gun permits that she reportedly issued in exchange for campaign donations, as well as other charges.

The city of San Jose is trying a new tactic to help clear out a large homeless encampment near Mineta San Jose International Airport that is filled with old RVs, trailers, and cars.

The 49ers and the city of Santa Clara have settled their lawsuits stemming from management issues at Levi’s Stadium, including fraud allegations and a disagreement about concert noise levels. But it was not without drama.

Calvary Chapel in San Jose has scored a legal victory in its battle to fend off massive fines levied during the coronavirus pandemic.

Plans for a tiny home village for the homeless in North San Jose may get scrapped because the area where it is proposed could turn out to be land only meant for parks.

The investigation into a history book written about the Santa Clara County government, much of which was apparently plagiarized from Wikipedia and other sources, has become even more of a debacle after details about the sky-high cost of the book have been revealed.

Cruising was originally banned as a way to deter crime and traffic-related infractions from gatherings of cars slowly rolling down an urban street, but the Latino community looks at the ban as highly discriminatory, since cruising lowriders on city roads has been a part of the culture since the 1940s. 

It’s been more than two years since cars have been able to drive down San Pedro Street in downtown San Jose and it appears that trend may last forever.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, who has held that position for 24-years, says she will not run for re-election and that she will be retiring when her term ends in January.

The city of Santa Clara is now operating without its top two administrators after city council members voted to fire City Manager Deanna Santana.

For 35 years, the city of San Jose had extremely strict rules banning the erection of new billboards. Now, city officials are easing up and cashing out.

About 100 unhoused people have been living in a 40-acre encampment near San Jose’s airport, and the area has been ordered cleared by the FAA.

If you have court business to take care of in the South Bay you may have to put it off.

The city of Sunnyvale has added a new task to its to-do list: Get rid of hundreds of noisy, messy crows, and officials will apparently use lasers to do it.

San Jose could become the first city in California to approve a mandate that would require vaccine booster shots for visitors and workers at all city-owned venues.

Santa Clara County’s political districts are about to undergo some major changes after a key Board of Supervisors vote Tuesday.