The state will give Santa Clara County more than $1 million to help increase COVID-19 vaccine equity efforts, but South Bay leaders say that doesn’t alleviate the source of the region’s vaccination bottleneck—a lack of supply. The funding for the county is part of a larger $7.6 million package reserved for Bay Area counties that...
Black leaders address vaccination efforts in Silicon Valley
James Brown’s “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud” played as a nonprofit founded by local Black leaders opened its second Bay Area town hall to discuss a virus that continues to disproportionately devastate Black Americans. The panel included Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019 as the...
San Jose slow to respond to AAPI attacks, advocates say
Despite being home to an estimated 380,000 Asian residents, advocates say San Jose’s response to a rise in violence against AAPI has been alarmingly slow. For example, Oakland and San Francisco saw dozens of organizations step up in the wake of the violence to provide financial resources and help. San Jose has just three. Those...
South Bay health leaders skeptical about Newsom expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility
Santa Clara County health officials greeted the announcement that all Californians will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by mid-April with caution and skepticism. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday all residents 50 years and older can get the shot starting April 1.Two weeks later, anyone over age 16 can get a COVID-19 vaccine beginning April...
Santa Clara County faces legal threat over jail conditions
Santa Clara County’s crumbling jail conditions, which have been described as a “hellhole” and led to hunger strikes, could land the county in court The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley on March 17 sent the county a letter demanding conditions be addressed before the end of the month — or else it will sue. “We are deeply...
Santa Clara County moving into orange tier, expanding indoor dining and retail
Santa Clara County on Wednesday will move into the less-restrictive orange tier of the state’s reopening plan, removing capacity limits for retailers and doubling capacity for indoor dining and other businesses. The county is currently in the red tier since March 2. Local health officials say COVID-19 cases are steadily falling, which means restaurants, movie...
How Santa Clara County is vaccinating homeless people
A group of outreach workers roamed Guadalupe River Park this month, looking to give the park’s houseless residents food, clothing – and COVID-19 vaccine appointments. Along a narrow trail, they found Tony McCann, who lives in the park in a community stashed amongst the trees and surrounding tanbark. He received the vaccine last week at...
When will tourists return to downtown San Jose?
Those seeking stillness and quiet can find refuge in downtown San Jose on Tuesday mornings. The city’s sidewalks—where visitors, students and workers once competed for space—now offer an abundance of empty concrete where desperate birds scavenge for rare crumbs. “There was a certain traffic on First Street,” said Bertrand “Patrón” Paule, a visual artist and...
San Jose sued over hazard pay ordinance; is Santa Clara County next target?
San Jose is facing a lawsuit over its decision last month to give grocery store workers a hazard pay bump of $3 per hour. The California Grocers’ Association on Friday announced that it had filed a federal lawsuit over the pay mandate in both San Jose and Daly City. The two suits follow similar fillings...
San Jose business owners brace for end of eviction moratorium
In just a few weeks, San Jose businesses could be on the hook for rent they couldn’t pay during the pandemic when an eviction ban expires. Unlike an eviction ban for renters that’s been extended until June, a similar safety net for small businesses, many badly impacted by COVID, is still set to expire March 31....