As of Sept. 18, Santa Clara County reported 20,129 confirmed coronavirus cases and 295 deaths. The county’s COVID-19 drive-thru and walk-up testing sites will remain open as fires around the South Bay worsen air quality in the area. California had 769,831 positive cases and 14,812 deaths as of Sept. 18. However, health officials have warned...
Private hospitals in Santa Clara County to be slapped with fines if they don’t ramp up COVID-19 testing
Private hospitals in Santa Clara County that fail to provide COVID-19 testing could face a fine of up to $5,000 under a new order. The order, which goes into effect Sept. 25, requires hospitals to test all patients who report COVID-19 symptoms, asymptomatic patients who have been exposed to coronavirus and patients referred by the...
Santa Clara County to hire 50 contact tracers from hardest-hit communities
Recognizing COVID-19 takes a disproportionate toll on Latinx and Black communities in the South Bay, Santa Clara County is set to hire 50 contact tracers with African ancestry or fluency in Spanish. Contact tracing is a public health practice to trace back the root of an infection and deduct who infected whom, according to the...
Santa Clara County business owners push to open indoors
With smoke and ash making outdoor operations difficult, a coalition of business and community leaders are demanding Santa Clara County set guidelines to reopen indoors. Last week the county moved into the lower-risk red tier of state reopening guidelines, which paved the way for more businesses to start serving customers indoors. But in Santa Clara...
Too little, too late for some as Santa Clara County allows more businesses to reopen
California health officials announced Santa Clara County is now in the red tier reopening phase, which allows more businesses to operate indoors. The county is still under a substantial risk for COVID-19 spread, according to state guidelines, and local health officials urge people to wear masks and take social distancing precautions. Here’s a quick look...
San Jose activists turn to digital media to keep public engaged
After police violence in San Jose erupted during protests over Minneapolis cops killing George Floyd, hundreds of speakers poured into online government meetings to air their grievances. In the era of Zoom and COVID-19, Mary Jessie Celestin, a 21-year-old activist, is building a connective digital platform for budding activists she says is just as important...
San Jose mayor delivers harsh words but sees little action against PG&E
As thousands of people lost power in San Jose during a scorching August heat wave, Mayor Sam Liccardo condemned PG&E for having aging infrastructure and accused them of lying. “You are hearing messages from PG&E suggesting over the last several days we have been suffering from rolling blackouts prompted by decisions from the California Independent...
San Jose Google development faces another delay
Google’s sprawling proposed campus that will change the face of downtown San Jose hit a snag and is further delayed. The draft environmental impact report (EIR) for the Downtown West Project was not submitted to the San Jose City Council by the Aug. 25 deadline, according to Mayor Sam Liccardo and Director of Planning, Building...
Former San Jose city attorney Rick Doyle dies at 65
After celebrating a recent retirement and two decades of service to San Jose, former City Attorney Rick Doyle died Aug. 23 at age 65 from cancer. “San Jose has lost one of its greatest champions in Rick Doyle,” Mayor Sam Liccardo said. “Rick made a career out of fighting for our city, but through the...
Silicon Valley unemployment sees slight decline in July
People are starting to go back to work in Santa Clara County but unemployment is still alarmingly high. After unemployment reached a historic peak of 11.6% in April, it declined to 9.3% in July, according to a study released Aug. 21 by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a group that provides analysis on the Silicon Valley...
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