Leilany Huerta-Hernandez remembers her throbbing headaches in the late afternoons because she couldn’t afford to purchase food as a West Valley College student. Her hunger was ever-present, but she felt ashamed to ask for help. Students like Huerta-Hernandez will soon be able to cross this one worry off their list. West Valley-Mission Community College District...
VTA finalizes contracts with three unions, excludes frontline workers
Three of VTA’s four unions ratified new contracts for the next four years, leaving the transit agency’s frontline workers hanging. Service Employees International Union Local 521, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local 1101 and Transportation Authority Engineers and Architects Local 21, which represent about 575 workers combined, reached agreements with VTA as...
Santa Clara County Office of Education appoints new superintendent
The Santa Clara County Office of Education’s embattled elected board has found a new superintendent. Board of Education Trustees appointed David M. Toston on Wednesday after five months of political instability and division following the controversial firing of former superintendent Mary Ann Dewan in October. He will begin his new role May 1. Toston was...
San Jose officials weigh ballot measure for maintaining parks
San Jose’s most passionate parks advocates say city leaders need to create a new stream of funding to address the multimillion-dollar maintenance backlog and ongoing disparity in park quality for residents who live in areas like East San Jose. On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council revisited the idea of a 2026 ballot measure that...
License to Kill
The California DMV routinely allows dangerous drivers with horrifying histories to continue to operate on our roadways. Too often they go on to kill. Many keep driving even after they kill. Some go on to kill again. By Robert Lewis, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Court research...
San Jose parents upset over special ed program consolidation
Special education students and their families will have to leave their neighborhood schools as San Jose’s largest school district consolidates classes. San Jose Unified School District is closing Special Day Class (SDC) programs at Graystone, Schallenberger and Empire Gardens elementary schools next school year due to low enrollment. The program helps students with a specific...
Ruling to end VTA strike upheld by appeals court
An appellate court judge has denied an appeal from a union representing bus drivers and light rail operators with VTA — doubling down on the decision to end a historic worker strike. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265 filed the appeal after Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya ruled March 26 the union had...
Democrats accuse Trump and his allies of profiting from tariff flip
Democrats want to know whether President Donald Trump and his GOP allies financially benefited from implementing and then pausing recent tariffs — a move some said was effectively insider trading. “It happened in front of our eyes,” Sen. Ruben Gallego told NOTUS. “This hurt the economy in the end. People on Main Street are going...
‘We can fight this,’ San Jose congressman says about eliminating DEI
California Democrats in Congress say they don’t want state leaders to cave to the Trump administration’s attempts to attach strings to federal support and its most recent demand to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs at schools — even if that means the state could lose out on millions or billions of dollars in federal funding. “The...
Freshman Silicon Valley lawmaker makes his mark
Silicon Valley’s newest assemblymember has hit the ground running in his first four months, with a hefty bill package supporting economically disadvantaged Californians. District 26 Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens was sworn into office Dec. 8, and since then he’s met with thousands of residents, community leaders and local officials. The freshman state lawmaker is carrying 17...