Despite San Jose’s lofty goal to reduce its carbon footprint, City Hall is eliminating a program that incentivizes people to drive electric vehicles. The city’s clean air parking permit program that provides free parking for electric vehicles at city-owned parking lots and on-street parking meters, is sunsetting at the end of June. The program began in 2001. But...
San Jose opens cooling centers amid extreme heat
On Friday, San Jose and Santa Clara County opened cooling centers as a major heat wave hit the region. With temperatures reaching highs of 95 degrees, San Jose made three air-conditioned spaces available in its Roosevelt, Mayfair and Camden Community centers. Santa Clara County also opened five cooling centers. In addition to air conditioning, these...
Experts advise South Bay residents remove lawns to fight drought
Santa Clara County residents are being asked to reduce water usage and local water authorities are offering incentives to help homeowners and businesses achieve this goal. In mid-May, Valley Water officials said county residents are going in the wrong direction in their use of water. Valley Water reported residents reduced water by 15% last October...
Valley Water settles with San Jose residents over 2017 flood
Valley Water has agreed to pay $8.25 million to the victims of a devastating 2017 flood in San Jose, marking the conclusion of a four-year lawsuit. The water district recently announced the settlement in a joint statement with the plaintiffs on its website, noting all parties are pleased to have reached a resolution. “From the onset, both sides sought...
Decade of violations documented at Silicon Valley cement plant
A controversial Santa Clara County cement plant has accumulated more than 2,100 violations from different regulatory agencies over the past decade, according to a new report. Supervisor Joe Simitian recently announced the county has compiled the first comprehensive list of all local, state and federal violations that took place at the Lehigh Southwest Cement property between...
San Jose animal shelter struggling with cat overflow
Spring is here and cats are birthing kittens throughout San Jose. It’s a source of stress for Jenna Skinner, who says the city’s main animal shelter is understaffed and ill-equipped to take care of the growing number of kittens. “This is nothing like I’ve seen in 12 years I’ve been in animal rescue,” Skinner told...
Silicon Valley fire officials gear up for future blazes
For George Huang, the fire chief for Cal Fire’s Santa Clara Unit, the term “fire season” is no longer in his vocabulary. It’s now simply “the fire year.” “We are facing another terrible, terrible fire year,” Huang told San José Spotlight. As of last week, 95% of California—including Santa Clara County—was in either severe or extreme...
Silicon Valley residents could face fines for wasting water
Although Valley Water aims to educate the public on conservation, it might start issuing fines for water wasters. Residents could see water enforcers in their neighborhoods this summer, and offenders being slapped with fines up to $500 after repeated warnings. Valley Water board member John Varela said in a statement that if the statewide drought...
San Jose officials tighten water restrictions for new developments
San Jose officials are restricting water use for new developments, but conservationists want to see the city take more aggressive steps. San Jose councilmembers voted Tuesday to amend the city’s water efficient landscape ordinance—a 1993 rule which is periodically updated. City officials said there’s an urgent need for new developments to only install drought-tolerant landscapes, citing...
Earth Day protesters want San Jose to do more for the planet
With a severe drought and the potential for early wildfires affecting Santa Clara County, Earth Day has protesters rallying to change the way people interact with the planet. Shouting “Carbon change is not a lie, do not let our planet die,” members of Sunrise Movement Silicon Valley marched from San Jose City Hall to rally...