Author: Lorraine Gabbert (Lorraine Gabbert)

Respiratory illnesses spiking in Santa Clara County

A dramatic increase in influenza-like illnesses and emergency room visits in Santa Clara County has prompted health officials to urge residents to get vaccinated. County data focused on local wastewater readings this month shows a rise in RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, as well as influenza and COVID-19. The concentration of RSV in wastewater has...

Student homelessness grows in San Jose school district

The number of homeless high school students and families in one East San Jose school district has increased threefold in just three years.  The East Side Union High School District has approximately 900 unhoused students, compared to 300 in 2020. Officials said the number continues to climb and cite inflation, cost of living increases and...

San Jose nonprofits are food lifeline for Thanksgiving

Each year, the lines are long at Sacred Heart Community Service in San Jose, as people and cars queue up for nutritious boxed holiday meals. From Monday to Wednesday, the nonprofit distributed approximately 3,500 free boxes of food. Each box, valued at $150, included a chicken, ham or turkey and all the fixings for the...

Silicon Valley labor leaders make 2024 election endorsements

The South Bay Labor Council’s endorsements for the November 2024 election reveal notable surprises and omissions. The Labor Council, which represents more than 100 unions in Santa Clara and San Benito counties, is throwing its weight behind a number of candidates running for open seats on the San Jose City Council. Babu Prasad, president of...

San Jose college district election: What you need to know

The San Jose-Evergreen Community College District will be adding a new trustee to its board after the Nov. 7  special election. The community college district, which is governed by a seven-member board, has five candidates vying for the District Area 7 seat: Diego Barragán, Lisanna Dominguez, Stephen Eckstone, Clay Hale and Anthony Macias. The seat...

‘A dedicated public servant’: former Santa Clara mayor dies

Former Santa Clara Mayor and Councilmember Patricia Mahan died Saturday. Mahan, age 71, died from liver, kidney and heart failure. She fought cancer five times, according to her sister, Jeannie Mahan. After becoming a lawyer in 1980, Mahan opened a private practice, specializing in tax and estate planning, later becoming a consistent presence on the...