Health

Health

Santa Clara County ambulance service scrutinized

Santa Clara County will soon solicit a new contract for ambulance services, and one local fire chief is pushing to change the model. In a letter sent to the county’s Health and Hospital Committee last November, San Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien lambasted the county’s current structure, where a private company is contracted for ambulance...

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...

Santa Clara County has low rates of COVID, flu

Santa Clara County experienced a triple health threat this winter—flu, a respiratory virus and COVID-19—but county officials and medical experts said overall infections remain low and are subsiding. The county’s seven-day rolling average of COVID cases is 238 as of Wednesday compared to 5,308 this same time last year, according to the county dashboard. Roger...

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...

UPDATE: Santa Clara County sinks millions into mental health crisis

Santa Clara County is investing millions in mental health programs and workers to address an ongoing crisis. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved roughly $9.5 million to continue several mental health programs, such as residential treatment services, at its Tuesday meeting. Local officials also voted to spend more than $14 million to create 38 full-time...

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,...