The story of the San José Downtown Association’s origin has been shared with me numerous times.  In 1986, while the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) was expanding light rail through the heart of downtown San José, the impact on the local business community was so horrific that business owners banded together and gave birth to the Downtown Association, demanding relief from the onslaught of construction impacts shuttering doors on mom-and-pop businesses.

Read our ballot statement for the June 5, 2018 Primary Election

San José city officials and community leaders came together Wednesday at City Hall to emphasize their support for the immigrant community in Santa Clara County in response to recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid threats.

In a bold rebuke to President Donald Trump’s tough talk on sanctuary cities and widespread rumors that federal raids are imminent, city and community leaders on Wednesday said they are ready to unleash hundreds of volunteers to aid undocumented immigrants targeted with deportation.

The office of the Independent Police Auditor (IPA) has existed since 1933, but its ability to review documents and review panels looking into officer-involved shootings did not exist until an ordinance was passed in 1999. Tuesday night, the entire San José City Council will conduct a study session with the IPA, the chief of police and the public to explore whether the IPA's role should be expanded. It currently cannot look into officer-involved shootings unless a member of the public files a complaint.

A plan to build “tiny homes” for San José’s homeless residents passed its first major test Tuesday, and now the city must answer the most difficult question — where to put these micro sleeping cabins.

The Thanksgiving holiday was made a little brighter for some of San Jose’s neediest residents, who were invited to a sit-down dinner Tuesday at Forager Tasting Room & Eatery in the SoFA District. It was a hope-inspiring scene to see about 100 people, most from the homeless encampments around downtown, eating a restaurant-caliber meal at Forager’s long dining tables, engaging in conversation, listening to music and having a brief respite from the challenges of surviving on the fringe.

Sandra Robles clutched a sign with the words “Housing Justice is Racial Justice” as she waited to speak out against rent hikes that could force her out of San José. A row away from her, Tom Fleissner, a longtime property owner, told city lawmakers that they’re treating landlords like they’re “evil.”

Firefighting efforts at Mineta San José International Airport just took a giant leap forward. Two new firefighting trucks were added its fleet Monday, retiring equipment that's nearly 20 years old.

City of San José leaders gathered Nov. 13, at Mineta San José International Airport (SJC) Fire Station 20 to dedicate two new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) vehicles and demonstrate the continued and elevated safety focus for airplanes and onboard passengers.

Commuters rejoice! Bicycling and air travel have a connection as Ford GoBike and Alaska Airlines launched the ‘Miles for Miles’ member rewards program this past October 26 in San José.

It's been 11 weeks since a fire swept through a mobile home in San José, killing a man and two young girls. Today, the families of those victims were presented with a brand new home, thanks to the generosity of others.

San José's City Council is expected to approve an initiative first proposed two years ago by Council Member Raul Peralez to require landlords to register vacant downtown storefronts.

City lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a policy that requires contractors to hire at least some union workers on public projects valued at $6 million or more, including new libraries, fire stations and airport improvements.

San José city leaders passed a new gun measure at Tuesday’s City Council meeting requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms when they leave the house and even when they're at home.

Peralez is behind the proposal. It would require people to store their firearms in a lock box at home or disable the gun with a trigger lock at all times unless the firearms are in their immediate presence. It’s a measure he and gun safety advocates said is long overdue.

Starting in December, gun owners in San José will have to put their guns in a locked box when they leave the house. San José’s new gun storage law aims to keep guns out of the hands of children and criminals, but critics say it targets the wrong people: law-abiding gun owners.

City Councilman Raul Peralez says it’s a commonsense law which he believes will make the community safer. “We know that these guns are highly sought after. They’re stolen all the time. We don’t want to see these guns end up in the wrong hands, out in the street, committing a crime,” Peralez said.

City residents who own guns will have to to lock them up when they leave home under a new law set to take effect in December.

Working as an aide to a county supervisor, Mario Lopez launched an internship program for undocumented youth. Jose Salazar Mendoza as an intern for San José’s city manager organized a first-of-its-kind support group at San José State. And Lucila Ortiz, as a San José City Council aide, began a citizenship drive for City Hall employees and their families.

They are just three words. But Councilman Raul Peralez hasn’t heard them in nearly a decade.

“Congratulations, Officer Peralez.”

Those words, uttered by San José Police Chief Eddie Garcia on Monday, stirred deep emotions and marked the start of a new journey for the downtown councilman and ex-cop. Peralez on Monday rejoined the police force as a reserve, three years after resigning to serve as a councilman.

One-by-one they rappelled off a landmark Adobe building downtown Saturday, carefully descending 16 floors as onlookers cheered and snapped photos from below.