A 50-acre piece of land along Coyote Creek sits deserted and is frequently home to encampments and blight, yet the city still hesitates to support a coalition’s pursuit to turn it into a park for community benefit. Coyote Meadows Coalition, a group comprised of more than a dozen local groups and hundreds of volunteers, has spent the...
FAA pauses investigation of Santa Clara County leaded fuel ban
The Federal Aviation Administration is temporary suspending its investigation into Santa Clara County’s ban on the sale of leaded fuel at its airports. The investigation is on hold for six months as part of an agreement signed this week between the FAA and county officials. The agreement also serves as an invitation for the two county...
How clean is Silicon Valley’s drinking water?
It’s been more than two decades since the movie “Erin Brockovich” brought the real-life issue of contaminated drinking water in a small Southern California town to a mass audience. But the harmful compound at the heart of the film, Chromium-6, is still present in much of the drinking water around the state, including in the...
Silicon Valley lawmakers lobby Biden for federal storm aid
Local leaders want federal aid for Santa Clara County residents who’ve been excluded from financial assistance after the recent storms. With more than $50 million in damages countywide, state Sen. Dave Cortese and Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, along with local Congressmembers Jimmy Panetta, Ro Khanna, Anna Eshoo and Zoe Lofgren, have written letters urging President Joe...
Biden excludes Santa Clara County from storm relief funds
President Joe Biden landed in Santa Clara County Thursday to assess the extent of federal aid needed following the devastating storms that pummeled the region. The president deplaned Air Force One at NASA Ames Moffett Federal Airfield around noon, following his announcement to expand federal aid to California counties impacted by severe weather conditions. Funds...
Storms hit farm that feeds East San Jose families
When Teresita Garcia was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer, everything around her fell apart. She felt hopeless and ugly as her bones weakened and hair fell out. But a small little farm in East San Jose offered her a respite, she said, until now. Veggielution is where Garcia, 54, turned to get produce to...
UPDATE: Milpitas officials ban natural gas in new buildings
Milpitas is the latest Silicon Valley city to ban natural gas in all new buildings, disregarding attempts from a local energy company to score an exemption. The Milpitas City Council approved two policies Tuesday to combat climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Councilmembers unanimously approved a policy requiring more electric vehicle charging stations around...
Santa Clara County preps for more rain
Santa Clara County is getting a brief break from the rain before storms return over the weekend, prompting officials to urge residents to prepare for emergencies. In a news conference today, county officials asked residents to sign up for the AlertSCC app, an alert and warning system for flooding, power outages, road closures and mudslides....
San Jose changes rules to replenish tree canopy
San Jose is changing how it manages its shrinking urban canopy after an audit found the city is ineffectively preventing tree loss. San Jose councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to change how the city collects and reviews permits to remove trees, develop procedures to enforce replanting requirements and identify large locations to replant trees. There are roughly...
San Jose storms still pose flood threat
The atmospheric river storm is reaching its end, but more rain is on the way. This means the threat of flooding is real for hundreds of homes in San Jose. San Jose saw one of the highest rainfalls in the recent storm from Sunday to Monday, with close to an inch of rain falling overnight,...