The San Jose Fire Department is rethinking how it responds to emergency medical calls. Under a new pilot program, greenlit by the City Council as part of the recently completed annual budget process, the city is preparing to launch a “community paramedicine” team of firefighter paramedics trained to help patients with complex needs that can’t be...
Saratoga residents and developer come to terms on project
Saratoga residents living next to a former vineyard that’s about to be transformed into homes have reached an uneasy truce over the project, clearing the way for the developer to reap a $79 million profit by selling the site to a nationwide homebuilder. When City Connect Companies of San Jose proposed 231 homes on the...
Silicon Valley residents support each other with mutual aid
When systems fail, people often turn toward each other. In Santa Clara County, groups have been meeting each other’s needs through mutual aid efforts. Free meals, community gardens, medical supplies and rental assistance — these are all ways various groups are uplifting each other as social safety nets erode and more people find themselves in...
Local ride-share shuttle expands into North Santa Clara
Santa Clara residents and workers now have access to an on-demand shuttle service in the northern part of the city thanks to a regional effort to reduce car trips and improve transit connections. Silicon Valley Hopper has expanded its service into North Santa Clara as of July 1, allowing riders to travel throughout the city...
Battle lines drawn in San Jose housing plan overhaul
San Jose housing advocates and neighborhood groups are getting organized as the City Council prepares to take up a raft of proposals that could determine the course of housing development in the city for years to come. The package of recommendations, part of the city’s once-every-four-year review of its general plan, makes changes to the city’s...
Bay Area public transit tax heads to November ballot
A highly touted Bay Area sales tax measure to fund public transit joins 14 other referendums that have qualified for the November election — and South Bay leaders said strong community support made it happen. The transit sales tax measure — which proposes a 0.5% increase in Santa Clara County — collected an estimated 241,964...
Mountain View plans to sell street for 7-story housing project
Mountain View is planning to vacate a residential street to make way for a seven-story condo project, marking the second time this year that the city has taken steps to relinquish rights to a public road for a housing development. In a unanimous vote last month, the City Council approved a city staff recommendation to...
San Jose nonprofit gives school supplies to 3,500 students
Inequity remains a growing issue in Santa Clara County, but one nonprofit is trying to help. For families struggling to make ends meet, backpacks and school supplies can be out of reach. Sacred Heart Community Service — which tackles the systemic roots of poverty by offering essential service safety net services such as food aid,...
Court ruling spares San Jose card rooms
San Jose’s two card rooms have been granted a reprieve after a judge overturned pending statewide regulations that could have crippled the local gambling industry, and in the process, eliminated millions of dollars in public funding the city relies on. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Darwin ruled last week that California’s Bureau of Gambling...
Builder looks to replace Palo Alto motel with housing
Taking advantage of a new housing law that went into effect last week, a developer is preparing to demolish the Coronet Motel on El Camino Real in Palo Alto and replace it with a six-story residential project. The San Francisco-based builder Bayhill Ventures just became the first developer in Palo Alto to take advantage of...