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As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the South Bay, hospitals are struggling to keep up with the demand for resources. San Jose-based Valley Medical Center Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center hospital system, is pleading with charities across the valley for donations to help deal with the pandemic. Foundation...
VTA postpones Santa Clara County cuts to service for next year
The Santa Clara Valley Transit Authority postponed voting on its proposed service cuts for next year, bringing transit advocates a sense of cautious relief. “This isn’t over,” said public transit advocate Monica Mallon. “We’re going to be needing to fight the cuts next year.” VTA announced Nov. 17 it would delay committee and board votes...
Homicides, school burglaries spike during San Jose shelter in place
San Jose has seen a significant spike in crime during the pandemic. The frequency of homicides, school burglaries, commercial robberies, reports of domestic violence and auto theft has increased since the onslaught of COVID-19, according to the San Jose Police Department. Homicides Lieutenant Steve Donohue told the San Jose City Council Nov. 17 that out...
Santa Clara County moves forward with airport closure, plans to repurpose land
Santa Clara County is moving forward with closing the Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose, county lawmakers decided Tuesday after hundreds of pleas from the community to use the land for affordable housing and other community needs. The supervisors voted 4-1 to begin preparing for a potential airport closure and begin the planning process for...
Santa Clara County grapples with how to build mental health facility in place of jail
Santa Clara County supervisors doubled down on their commitment to eliminate jail beds and create a new mental health facility to replace the recently-demolished Main Jail South in San Jose. But they are discovering moving forward with the idea is complicated. In October, supervisors decided to halt a decade-long plan to replace failing jail facilities and instead...
Santa Clara County eyes subpoena for Sheriff’s Office conduct reports
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, after months of negotiation, refuses to sign an agreement allowing a civilian law enforcement watchdog access to critical records. Now, county officials are stepping in and subpoenas might be on the way. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Nov. 3 to direct the county’s attorney to draft a policy...
How will David Cohen shake up the San Jose City Council?
As the newly-elected David Cohen gears up to represent San Jose’s District 4, political observers look to the past to see where local policymaking is headed. The council for years has been divided across business and labor lines, leading to a handful of 6-5 split decisions in favor of Mayor Sam Liccardo’s voting bloc, which...
Public webinars coming up on status of iconic landmark in downtown San Jose
Three years ago, a group of San Jose philanthropists aspiring to build a world-class landmark downtown and donate it to the city began with the idea of erecting a light tower at Plaza de Cesar Chavez — a 21st century update on San Jose’s original icon, a 237-foot structure adorned with newfangled electric light bulbs,...
Future of San Jose’s Reid-Hillview airport back on the drawing board next week
The long-simmering debate over closing Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose and replacing it with a neighborhood development is expected to heat up again next week as Santa Clara County supervisors consider potential uses for the land. The Reid-Hillview airport, built more than 80 years ago, occupies nearly 200 acres that advocates say could be...
Voting rate in Silicon Valley reaches historic levels
Voters came out in droves for the 2020 general election as voting rates reached historic levels in Silicon Valley, where the majority cast ballots for Joe Biden. According to Rachel Massaro, vice president and director of research at Joint Venture Silicon Valley, which authored a recent report along with Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies,...