news

Man dies on corner of Fourth and San Fernando Streets

A man fell to his death on the corner of Fourth and San Fernando Streets on May 6 around 1:15 p.m., according to Sgt. John Laws of the University Police Department. 

"All we know now is that about 1:18 p.m. an unknown male suffered fatal injuries at the city's Fourth Street garage," Laws said.

The San Jose Police Department received a call about the incident from a UPD officer at 1:21 p.m., said Albert Morales, the SJPD public information officer.

"It's still early in the investigation," Morales said, "As of now we don't suspect foul play."

He said it is still unclear whether the death was accidental or a suicide, but the police are treating it as a suicide until further word from the coroner's office.

San Jose resident David Alvarez, 53, said he knew the man and was across the street near the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Library when he heard the impact of the fall. 

"I heard the crash and I thought it was a car," Alvarez said. 

He said when he crossed the street to find out what happened, he saw the man and realized that he had known him for about 10 years.

Alvarez said the man was a Latino homeless man in his early to mid 40s, who was living in a tent near Coyote Creek in San Jose.

Now living in a rehabilitation facility in San Jose, Alvarez said he used to live on the homeless campsite on the creek with the man and about 50 other homeless people.

He said the man struggled with mental health issues, used methamphetamine and was often in and out of jail for drug related charges.

"I think he jumped," Alvarez said. "He was having a lot of problems."

The last time Alvarez said he saw the man was in December and he remembered the man as kindhearted and respectful, despite his circumstances.

"He was just struggling," Alvarez said. "He was always struggling, but he was a real good guy." 

Arthur Martinez, a San Jose-based homeless man and friend of Alvarez, said he saw the man fall to his death and did not know him personally.

Martinez said he saw the man fall from about the third story of the parking garage, but couldn't tell whether it was a suicide or accident.

"I don't know if he jumped, (or if) he just fell," he said. "I didn't see what floor he came off of, he just came down hard. It was horrible."

Morales said he was unsure if the man died instantly, but Martinez said he did not see him move after he fell to the ground.

Martinez said that a lack of resources for the homeless in the area may have led to the man's death.

"It's sad. Homeless people (have) got nowhere to go ... He might have jumped," he said. "I really feel for him. He did a lot of meth and had a lot of psychological problems."

Alvarez said the only living family member the man ever mentioned to him was his mother, but Alvarez never met her or any of the man's family.

"I took care of him," he said. "I bought him a tent, and I bought him some clothes."

San Jose resident Christina Garcia, 26, walked by the scene with her husband, Ben Garcia, 34, after leaving the King Library, and said she was shocked and saddened by the incident.

"It's just really unfortunate to see this happen," she said.

Ben said it was an unexpected scene.

"I think it's sad that someone would take their own life like that," he said as he held his wife's hand.

Morales said the coroner's office would continue the investigation and would work to discover the man's identity and official time of death.

Alvarez said he would remember his friend as a kind man who was stricken with unfortunate circumstances.

"He wasn't a violent person," Alvarez said. "He was a real good guy."

news

Gov. Brown proposes $125 million to CSU

Gov. Jerry Brown released his 2013-2014 state budget proposal earlier this month that, if approved, would invest $125.1 million in funding to the California State University system.

Brown’s budget, proposed Jan. 10, would also reinstate the $125 million that was cut from the 2011-2012 budget last year and was meant to be repaid this year after Proposition 30 was passed in the November election, stated a CSU news release.

“I want to thank you (Brown) for your courageous budget this year,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White at a conference Jan. 15. “We applaud the governor for his forward thinking.”

White said the CSU system will still face many fiscal challenges even if the proposed budget is passed.

However, he said the extra state funding would provide a step in the right direction for progress in the higher education system.

Liz Chapin, CSU spokesperson, said Brown’s budget proposal may change after deliberation with the state legislators and the amount of money granted to the CSU may change come the revised budget in May.

“There’s no way to predict whether the proposed budget will or will not pass,” Chapin said. “Chances are it will have some changes made to it by the time it is finalized.”

Brown’s budget will go through revision in May and will need to be finalized by July 1 for the start of the 2013-2014 fiscal year, she said.

The California State Student Association (CSSA) also praised Brown’s fiscal support of the CSU system in a news release and stated that the potential money could provide a temporary tuition freeze throughout the CSU.

Yet, the news release noted that the proposed budget does nothing to support the growing need of college access, which is a long-term problem according to the CSSA.

“Gov. Brown’s budget provides much needed relief to the CSU system, which was forced to cut thousands of jobs, increase class sizes and raise tuition due to the drastic cuts in its budget the last five years,” said Pedro Ramirez, vice president of legislative affairs for the CSSA.

“CSSA will adopt an official position on the Governor’s budget at its Jan. 20 plenary (session) and I am hopeful that the Governor and the legislature will include student input during the budget negotiation process," he said.

Despite the possible increase in funding, the CSSA release states that current state funding still remains at 2000-2001 levels, which is low compared to the increase of students within the past decade.

There are now more than 90,000 students attending CSU schools since 2000-2001 and funding has not grown to accommodate the increase of students, according to the CSSA.

Collectively, the potential support in state funding for the CSU system for the 2013-2014 fiscal year is $2.2 billion, according to the CSU news release.

Though, the $2.2 billion worth of funding is less than previous years and is a result of more than 30 percent of state funding cuts since 2007, Chapin said.

“In 2007-2008, the state funding for the CSU was $2.97 billion,” she said. “In 2012-2013 the CSU was given $2.6 billion, which was about $1 billion worth of cuts.”

In addition to the $125.1 million in the proposed budget, the news release stated the governor sectioned off $10 million to fund online strategies and programs that will help students through “bottleneck” courses.

According to the release, “bottleneck” courses are often over-crowded lower-division general education requirements, high demand classes or prerequisites for popular majors.

Chapin said the CSU Board of Trustees met to discuss the budget and how to disperse the $10 million sanctioned for “bottleneck” courses on Tuesday.

The state funding for the CSU is 7 percent of the entire 2013-2014 state budget and is subject to change by May, stated the release.

"The CSU has certainly been challenged over the past several years with the drop in state support due to the state's lingering recession," said White.  "However, with finances more stable in the near term now that Proposition 30 has passed, we are cautiously optimistic that the CSU's budget will begin to turn around. We look forward to working with the Governor and legislature during the upcoming budget hearings."