After growing pressure from Silicon Valley businesses desperate to get back to work, Santa Clara County health officials on Monday made the highly-anticipated decision to allow certain retailers to open for curbside pick-up. The announcement Monday aligns Santa Clara County — along with four Bay Area counties and Berkeley — with the state’s revised shelter-in-place...
Santa Clara County jails face challenges curbing spread of coronavirus
With physical contact often inevitable inside their walls, county jails have become battlegrounds against the coronavirus pandemic. As the public health crisis continues, Santa Clara County has implemented various measures to prevent local jails from becoming the epicenters of the coronavirus. Nonetheless, infections are bound to occur, according to Roberto Potter, a professor of criminal...
Officials defend plan to close San Jose hospital’s maternity ward
Citing a declining birth rate in San Jose, Regional Medical Center plans to close its obstetrics department at the end of this month — redirecting patients about to give birth to its sister facility, Good Samaritan, or to county-owned hospitals such as O’Connor Hospital and Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. The move, which hospital officials...
Vietnamese restaurants donate thousands of meals to Silicon Valley hospitals
Most days, Tiêủ-Vân Phan’s car carries the tantalizing scents of Vietnamese shaking beef or Hainanese chicken rice, lingering from her meal deliveries to hospitals across the county. Vietnamese-owned restaurants in Silicon Valley have mobilized together to donate thousands of meals to frontline workers over the last two months during the region’s shelter-in-place orders. Phan, a San...
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...
From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, ‘unprecedented’ deficits caused by COVID-19 pandemic
Governments from Sacramento to San Jose City Hall are facing historic budget deficits caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, often having to solve these crises in virtual meetings as the region nears its eighth week in quarantine. “We are at a time that’s simply unprecedented,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday in announcing his revised budget proposal...
Major layoffs in Silicon Valley hit Team San Jose, Goodwill and car dealers
Coronavirus-linked layoffs have soared in Silicon Valley in recent months, affecting more than 21,000 employees across 26 companies in March alone, according to a San José Spotlight analysis of data from the state’s Employment Development Department. Industries with the most layoffs were retailers, restaurants, hotels, the arts and entertainment sector, personal care services and gyms....
Child custody cases in Santa Clara County complicated by coronavirus
Sheltering in place hasn’t been easy on anyone. But for those who share custody of their children, the problem is exacerbated. Social distancing has made banal tasks like grocery shopping more arduous. Everything except essential businesses have shuttered their doors, so social endeavors like getting a drink with a friend or Sunday dinner at your...
San Jose approves a new coronavirus relief fund
With public dollars stretched thin and the need for food and shelter growing, San Jose leaders on Tuesday unanimously approved a plan to create a coronavirus relief fund that will help the city receive federal resources for those affected by the pandemic. The fund will allow the city to continue operating its temporary emergency shelters,...
Coronavirus: San Jose legislator introduces bill to provide job-protected leaves
San Jose Assemblymember Ash Kalra introduced legislation Wednesday to allow Californians who are affected by COVID-19 to take a state-protected leave from their jobs, in addition to extending the leave by 12 additional weeks. The bill, AB 3216, would also allow employees to take a job-protected leave to care for a family member whose school...