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...
Santa Clara County schools leader talks transition, barriers to online learning
California’s nearly 6.3 million students and 300,000 teachers officially learned April 1 they wouldn’t return to physical classrooms this year, due to shelter in place orders mitigating the spread of the contagious coronavirus. “The decision to close schools is a painful one,” said Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, Santa Clara County’s Office of Education Superintendent, who...
Major San Jose State University employer furloughs hundreds of students
Hundreds of San Jose State University students lost their on-campus jobs amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic that’s shuttered schools, businesses and forced Silicon Valley residents to stay indoors since mid-March. San Jose State became one of countless campuses across the nation to shut down following government directives to shelter-in-place. Then one of the largest private...
In Santa Clara County, school is out for the rest of the year — sort of
Parents grappling with distance learning and homeschooling across Silicon Valley have waited weeks to hear whether local classrooms will reopen before summer. On Wednesday they got an answer: no. Superintendents across Santa Clara County sent out an email to parents around the region to formally announce that school districts would not reconvene physically this school...
San Jose parks, light rail routes close as agencies respond to fast-spreading coronavirus
Two of San Jose’s city parks will be temporarily closed starting Friday as local officials try to thin the record crowds parks saw last weekend following a statewide “stay at home” order. Alum Rock Park on the city’s east side and the staircase and trail on Communications Hill will close, according to a news release...
Bay Area transit measure delayed as business sector focuses on COVID-19
The novel coronavirus has set back a transit measure that local leaders were pushing to get on the November ballot. A measure, known as FASTER Bay Area, to raise an estimated $100 billion for transit investment over the next 40 years, was expected to appear on the ballot near the end of the year, but...
San Jose teachers’ union calls for resignation of Evergreen trustee Jim Zito
A local teachers’ union stormed a school board meeting Thursday calling for Evergreen School Board trustee Jim Zito’s resignation on claims he’s been “controlling and inappropriate” toward female colleagues and community members. More than a dozen teachers and supporters from the Evergreen Teachers Association (ETA) held a news conference before the meeting, where several women...
VTA adopts enhanced cleaning practices in response to coronavirus concerns
The Valley Transportation Authority is taking new steps to disinfect buses, light rail cars and stations to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus in Santa Clara County. The agency’s response to concerns about surface transmission of coronavirus drew praise from regular riders and advocates alike. “They are doing everything they can,” said transit activist...