An East San Jose hospital continues to increase services under Santa Clara County’s ownership — including the latest expansion of its emergency department. This comes after the hospital faced years of divestment under a previous corporate owner. The county has increased emergency beds at Regional Medical Center from 34 to 54 at a time when...
Santa Clara County moves forward with jail transformation
Santa Clara County’s efforts to construct new jail facilities have repeatedly stalled due to rising costs and ongoing disagreements among officials and residents, but the deteriorating infrastructure is propelling the county to finally move forward. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to proceed with a multistep plan to overhaul and...
Rezoning of San Jose IBM site raises environmental concerns
Residents are voicing concern about the rezoning of the former 35-acre IBM Almaden Research Center nestled in the rolling hills of South San Jose. They fear it will attract more data centers to the region. The San Jose City Council sees it differently and voted 9-2 to approve the industrial park rezoning on Aug. 18....
Kayak tours highlight San Jose river’s restoration
Years of neglect and festering pollution problems have left San Jose’s Guadalupe River with a toxic reputation among locals. But one former councilmember says the best days are still to come for the long-benighted waterway — and he’s leading by example. Local entrepreneur Carl Salas has been waging a quiet crusade over the past half-decade...
San Jose’s Circle of Palms is losing its iconic trees
Ice skating in downtown San Jose won’t be the same this holiday season, after losing its iconic namesake. Crews began removing all 32 palm trees from the Circle of Palms on Thursday, after a city arborist found none of them were healthy enough to keep. Work is expected to continue for the next several days....
San Jose wants to stop its shrinking tree canopy
San Jose’s tree canopy is disappearing. The city is working to reverse the trend, but advocates say in order to meet its goals, more investments are needed in low-income neighborhoods where coverage is sparsest. San Jose has one of the thinnest tree canopies in the Bay Area, with about 13.2% of coverage across the city as...
Civil Grand Jury raises concerns over Silicon Valley BART extension
VTA officials will provide more clarity about the finances and long-term costs of the massive Silicon Valley BART extension in response to a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report that criticized the agency’s management and oversight of the project. The June 17 report raised concerns about VTA’s financial planning and oversight of the roughly $13...
State bill could speed up San Jose Diridon Station rebuild
A new state bill could cut a year off the redevelopment of Diridon Station in San Jose by exempting it from California’s landmark environmental law — and the state lawmaker at the forefront of the effort is determined to keep it on track. Senate Bill 1375, introduced by state Sen. Dave Cortese, whose district covers...
West Valley-Mission community colleges offer 4-year degrees
A local community college is providing bachelor’s degrees for students — for free. West Valley-Mission Community College District is offering bachelor’s degrees in land stewardship and sustainability, as well as emergency services administration. As tuition is free for students living within the district’s service areas, this means they’re able to earn a four-year degree close...
State dollars ease Santa Clara County public hospital cuts
Public hospitals in California have been thrown a lifeline thanks to the advocacy work of Silicon Valley lawmakers, but more is needed to save the bleeding caused by federal budget cuts. State Assemblymembers Patrick Ahrens, who represents North San Jose, Sunnyvale and Cupertino, and Ash Kalra, whose district includes East San Jose and South County,...