Grocery stores are bracing for how federal cuts to food stamps will affect their businesses. Grocers who accept food assistance payments through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for the majority of their sales are going to take the greatest hit with the federal passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The massive spending and tax...
Federal cuts affect future doctors trained in Santa Clara County
Sweeping federal spending cuts to Northern California’s largest public hospital system could ripple far beyond Silicon Valley — threatening communities statewide that rely on doctors trained in Santa Clara County. Public hospitals train 50% of new doctors across California, despite comprising only 6% of the state’s total hospitals, according to statewide data. Santa Clara County’s...
Santa Clara County could lose millions in food assistance
The federal government is abandoning its role in providing critical social safety nets, advocates and policy watchers warned. The Senate reconciliation bill would cut $186 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It would be the largest cut in the program’s history. SNAP, known...
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San Jose advocates rally against Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’
President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” will create staggering losses for America’s most vulnerable families, advocates say. About two dozen protesters from the Solidarity and Unity Network (SUN) rallied in front of Robert F. Peckham Federal Building in San Jose on Thursday to speak out against the bill, which has passed the House and is...
Cupertino all-inclusive playground welcomes everyone
Cupertino resident Alicia Schober got teary-eyed at the opening of a new, all-inclusive playground at Jollyman Park earlier this month. It would have provided another outlet for her son’s sensory needs if it had been available when he was growing up. As soon as the playground’s gate opened on June 13, children, adults and older...
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San Jose clinics push Black health to the forefront
For many, stepping through the doors of Ujima Adult & Family Services and Roots Community Health feels like a Black oasis. Portraits of important Black figures — Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass and Marcus Garvey — greet visitors when they walk through the halls. African symbols such as masks and the...
Santa Clara County opens new residential mental health facility
A new residential treatment facility in Santa Clara County will provide people with a safe place to heal and recover. County officials announced the opening of 1072-1082 Vermont St. in San Jose, known as Vermont House, at a Thursday news conference. The two houses can hold up to 15 people who have a mental illness...
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San Jose fire to resume drug oversight program after tampering
San Jose leaders are temporarily reinstating a drug oversight program they scrapped while firefighter medics internally flagged narcotics thefts and patient exposure to tampered morphine. The City Council on Tuesday approved the revival of San Jose’s paramedic coordinator program, known as Med 30, with new funding for seven months — starting in December — as...
Funding falls through for Santa Clara County mental health facilities
Santa Clara County received zero Proposition 1 help from Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand its mental health facilities, despite him turning up the pressure on counties to provide more treatment beds. Last month, Newsom announced $3.3 billion in Prop. 1 grants to 126 recipients across the state. Santa Clara County was left out. The county...
East San Jose leaders burned out on smoke shops
San Jose leaders say stores selling tobacco, liquor and other illicit products are over concentrated on the east side of the city — and they are looking to temporarily ban new ones. Councilmembers Peter Ortiz, Domingo Candelas, Pamela Campos, George Casey and David Cohen introduced a proposal Wednesday to pause new smoke shops from opening in...