San Jose Mercury News

Questions were raised about the hiring of Robert Longwell because unlike every other investigator the office has hired, he has never been a full-time police officer. More »Brother-in-law of DA's top aide forced to resign after county finds he doesn't meet minimum qualifications

Two East San Jose homes caught fire near Mt. Hamilton shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday, but fire officials said about an hour later that they believe they have the conflagration contained. More »East San Jose: Tree fire spreads to two homes near Mt. Hamilton

Days before interment ceremony, Bay Area family learns great-grandmother's remains among at least 16 washed away or mixed up after Colma crematory fire. More »Remains of 16 people washed away in Colma crematory fire, family says

For kids raising money for projects, teams and social causes, selling candy bars door to door is, like, so yesterday! Silicon Valley startup Piggybackr teaches them how online More »Eastside/Westside: Silicon Valley website helps kids use 'crowd funding'

The San Jose City Council ratified the appointment Tuesday of Vijay Sammeta of San Jose as Information Technology director and Julie Edmonds-Mares as parks director. More »San Jose names two insiders to lead parks, IT

The Latino-themed arts group plans to use a $750,000 grant from ArtPlace America to complete the purchase of its downtown San Jose building and begin the process of transforming it into a permanent urban … More »Pizarro: MACLA awarded $750,000 grant from ArtPlace America

The family of Sandra Cruzes, killed in broad daylight March 22, continues to hold vigil over her as they await an arrest in the case. More »San Jose: Suspect in vicious March slaying of young mother still sought

When it comes to distracted driving, teenagers aren't the only culprits -- and other drivers aren't the only victims. More »McDonald's hamburger in hands of sheriff's deputy leads to $5 million settlement in distracted-driving crash

A statewide firefighter nonprofit has started a fund to support the family of a firefighter who lives in San Jose who had the horrifying experience of finding his mother-in-law and infant nephew dead and … More »Firefighters' nonprofit starts additional fund for victims in vicious East San Jose stabbing

NFL owners today selected the San Francisco 49ers' new Santa Clara stadium to host the 50th Super Bowl in 2016, sending the nation's biggest sporting event back to the Bay Area for the first time since … More »Super Bowl 50 to be hosted by San Francisco 49ers' new Santa Clara stadium

SAN CARLOS600 block of Laurel Street, May 8 Two suspicious men, including a 26-year-old Belmont resident and a 29-year-old San Carlos man, were in possession of more than 400 Oxycodone pills, several pounds … More »Police Blotter: Campbell police arrest man for DUI after he drives on railroad tracks

Eminem's song publisher is suing Facebook and an ad agency, saying they copied music from one of the rapper's songs. More »Eminem's publisher sues Facebook over song usage

His death near James Lick High School marked the city’s 15th traffic fatality of the year and the 10th involving a pedestrian or bicyclist, according to police. More »Coroner: Pedestrian hit and killed Monday night was 81-year-old San Jose man

With 'California Apricots: The Los Orchards of Silicon Valley,' Los Altos resident Robin Chapman has written a well-researched tribute to Santa Clara Valley's fruitful history. More »Pizarro: 'California Apricots' is an ode to the valley's agricultural heritage

After a 28-year drought, the Bay Area will learn this morning whether it will finally play host to another Super Bowl. An announcement on the location of the 50th and 51st Super Bowls is expected at 11 … More »NFL votes this morning on likely Bay Area Super Bowl

Variation in surgery rates may indicate patients don't participate enough in decision-making, researchers say. More »California study: Treatments for prostate, breast cancer vary widely, depending on where people live

A motorcyclist who was called out by name in the Roadshow column fires back. The last word? Don't bet on it. More »Roadshow: Lane-splitter tells who gets kicked, who gets a peace sign

A pedestrian was hit and killed by a vehicle while crossing a street Monday night near James Lick High School in East San Jose, authorities said. More »San Jose: Pedestrian hit, killed crossing street near James Lick High School

Elementary school teacher Michael Howey appeared in court Monday to be arraigned on 17 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and 23 counts of annoying and molesting a child. Police say … More »Union City: Teacher accused of molesting students had 'cutiest girl list,' child tells police

Tens of thousands of homeowners will see their property taxes go up significantly this year as rising home values restore some or all of their homes’ lost equity, Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone … More »Tax break disappears as housing values rise

The purchase of the 506-room hotel in downtown San Jose by CBRE Global Investors underscores the rebound in the Silicon Valley hotel market that's underpinned by a sturdy technology sector More »San Jose Marriott Hotel, a downtown icon, is bought for $83 million

Police discovered 50 M-80-type explosives in a Belmont home they searched after allegedly catching a man who lived there with several pounds of pot and hundreds of pain pills, authorities said Monday More »50 explosive devices found in Belmont home, police say

Columnist Scott Herhold updates stories he has recently written about. More »Herhold: Whatever happened to Zuckerberg, Umunhum, Tony West and the Golden Spigot?