San Jose Inside

When Jose Antonio Vargas turned 16 years old, he did what almost every kid his age does. He applied for a driver’s permit. But when he went to the DMV, he got something unexpected: the truth about his immigration status.

Apparently it’s illegal to fire slingshots, crossbows, BB guns and other projectile weapons in San Jose. But a club of model ship makers hopes the city will make an exception.

It’s come to this: Labor blasting city of San Jose officials via poetry. Bad poetry. Like really, really awful poetry. The missive at hand is a 12-line poem written in couplets by police union head Jim Unland.

Last week, Santa Clara County Judge Patricia Lucas issued a final Measure B verdict. A reader wondered in an email why we didn’t write about it. Fair point, which brings us to this update. The final decision in the landmark pension reform case that forced employees to contribute 16 percent more of their pay to retirement costs is similar to the tentative ruling trotted out in December, except for a couple details.

Santa Clara County jails have seen a sharp uptick in assaults over the past few years, partly because of state prison reforms that pushed more dangerous inmates to local correctional facilities.

City leaders on Tuesday will consider placing a measure to extend an about-to-expire library parcel tax on the June ballot.

The people behind a poll should be a critical factor in analyzing the results.

The mayor’s race is on, so of course there are going to be fireworks. But the latest tiff in San Jose’s quadrennial contest actually involves fireworks.

Mayoral candidate Madison Nguyen lays out her plan to create a Mayor’s Business Advocate (MBA) position.

In a poll commissioned by his backers, 17th Congressional District Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) holds a solid lead in his bid for re-election. But a closer look at the numbers shows Honda’s early advantage might not be as strong as he’d like.

The first poll for the San Jose mayor’s race came out this week, and county Supervisor Dave Cortese sits atop the pack. This really isn’t surprising. What’s interesting is the fight for second.

State Assemblyman Paul Fong has owed $100,000 to one of Sacramento’s most notorious lobbyists throughout his five-plus years in the State Assembly. A review of Fong’s voting record shows the favor has not gone unreturned.