With more than 2,800 cases of COVID-19 in Santa Clara County resulting in 144 deaths, and unemployment at almost 12 percent, a source of positive news can be found in the effects of quarantine on the environment and traffic safety. Significant decreases in travel by car should prove advantageous for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in...
San Jose produces less waste under COVID-19. But it’s not all good news.
COVID-19 has produced more complications for professionals in local waste and recycling collection. While the job has become all the more important with greater waste generation in residential areas of San Jose, waste hauling companies have felt the financial squeeze of suspended and terminated pickups by businesses plus a lapse in recycling etiquette from locals....
After years of delay, BART station is set to open in Silicon Valley
The whoosh of empty trains arriving and departing the Berryessa Transit Station was a welcome sound Tuesday morning, as transit leaders announced June 13 is the first day passengers will finally board VTA’s BART Silicon Valley extension. A feat 30 years in the making to connect San Jose to the rest of the Bay Area, the...
South Bay homeless residents feel the pain of VTA’s service cuts
Since the coronavirus pandemic first swept across Santa Clara County, the region’s top transit agency — the Valley Transportation Authority — has made massive cuts to its bus and light rail service as transit ridership has plummeted. But for many who don’t have cars and primarily rely on public transit to get around, adjusting to...
County to consider plan to offer WiFi, devices to neediest South Bay families
Santa Clara County officials on Tuesday will consider a proposal to purchase computing devices and provide internet access for the county’s 15,000 neediest families. The proposal, authored by Supervisor Dave Cortese, calls for partnering with the county’s Office of Education on an initiative that he estimated would cost the county “a little more than $1...
South Bay college faculty want more pay for more work during COVID-19 chaos
West Valley, Mission community college instructors say their workloads have increased significantly since the district switched to online learning because of the coronavirus pandemic
San Jose approves plan to expand internet access to all students
As part of an effort to expand broadband access across the city, San Jose lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously approved an update to a plan that will provide every student with digital tools and connectivity. Already struggling to close the digital divide, city leaders worry the coronavirus pandemic will exacerbate inequity among students at a time...
As Earth Day turns 50, Silicon Valley leaders celebrate virtually
Not even a pandemic can stop Silicon Valley from celebrating Earth Day, hundreds of residents and local leaders proved Wednesday. Nearly 700 attendees tuned in for an Earth Day Zoom call hosted by environmental advocacy group, Green Foothills, where speakers from youth activists to politicians talked about local environmental protection efforts and the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s...
After much debate, VTA and BART see eye-to-eye on Silicon Valley project
Bringing Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to Silicon Valley has proven difficult due to costs and because BART and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) officials haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but on Friday the agencies made a breakthrough. Officials have agreed to use what is known as a “single bore stacked platform configuration,” meaning...
Silicon Valley schools scramble to close enduring gaps during COVID-19
When Bay Area schools closed overnight in mid-March, Miyuki Takeda-Bajan’s daughter couldn’t afford to take time off from her studies — she had an upcoming SAT exam and AP courses. But direction from the school district was slow to arrive. The junior at Pioneer High School in San Jose’s Blossom Valley scoured the web for free testing materials...