Author: Mauricio La Plante (Mauricio La Plante)

San Jose Republicans say Trump was what their party needed, despite second impeachment

Being a Donald Trump supporter in Silicon Valley was never easy. In 2019 after the president announced his reelection bid, Justin Aguilera, a 33-year-old GOP candidate for Congress, told San José Spotlight many conservatives in the South Bay were scared to express their political views publicly for fear of social shunning and professional retaliation. To...

Santa Clara County lifts stay-at-home order — here’s what can open

Santa Clara County joined California in lifting a stay-at-home order Monday, allowing businesses to reopen under previous purple-tier restrictions. Effective immediately, outdoor dining and personal care services can get back to business, and professional, collegiate, adult and youth sports can also resume. “Santa Clara County continues to experience very high rates of COVID-19 transmission,” said...

Santa Clara County blames COVID-19 for not fulfilling public records requests

Santa Clara County is refusing to release records related to COVID-19 because “it is not in the public interest” for county employees to divert their time from the pandemic to collect and review public documents. But government watchdog groups say that excuse is unacceptable. County officials have a legal obligation to fulfill requests under the...

Santa Clara County has yet to post data on the demographics of people vaccinated

Despite a pledge to ensure equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Santa Clara County has not posted data on the race or ethnicity of the people it inoculates. Advocates say after COVID-19 took a disproportionate toll on communities of color — including those in Santa Clara County — local health officials should be recording the race of...

Amid rising COVID-19 deaths, why isn’t Santa Clara County shutting down like it did in March?

Morgues are on the brink of overflowing. Hospitals have fewer beds for patients by the day. More than 1,100 people have died. Yet, in Santa Clara County, people can still shop for perfumes, phones and clothes at the mall. It’s a stark difference from nearly a year ago when officials closed everything down — all nonessential...

‘It’s kind of nuts’: Hours of waiting, inaccurate information about COVID-19 vaccines in Santa Clara County

A day after local health officials expanded COVID-19 vaccine access to elderly people, Santa Clara County residents faced hours of delays, long waits and inaccurate information about getting vaccinated. It took three separate phone calls and more than five hours of waiting for Alyssa Galvan to schedule a COVID-19 vaccination for her 66-year-old dad. “I was...