The Silicon Valley Democratic Club is not endorsing a candidate in the race for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor’s District 1 seat — at least for the time being. The club held a vote for its members following a forum where the three candidates—Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine, Los Gatos Vice Mayor Rob...
Post
‘A historic moment’: Santa Clara County unveils landmark Vietnamese service center
After nearly a decade of planning, the $33-million Vietnamese American Service Center near the heart of San Jose’s Little Saigon will welcome residents in for the first time Saturday. “This is such a huge moment for our community to get a service center that is dedicated to us, especially coming out of COVID,” Christina Johnson,...
Post
Santa Clara County labor leaders demand apology from councilmember
Labor leaders demand a San Jose councilmember apologize for criticizing county officials who gave workers a COVID bonus. Silicon Valley Rising and members of several local unions gathered in front of City Hall on Monday and asked Councilmember Matt Mahan to retract statements he made last week about Santa Clara County workers getting hazard pay....
Tracking COVID-19 outbreaks, cases and vaccination rates in San Jose
COVID-19 has killed 1,821 people in Santa Clara County and infected more than 143,000 others since March 2020. The numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths declined earlier this year when vaccines became available to the majority of the population. The numbers climbed again as the contagious Delta variant ravaged the country in summer, prompting the...
Post
Fed up with ‘serial’ ADA lawsuits, San Jose business owners seek legislative help
Cesar Pascal, owner of San Jose Mexican restaurant Plaza Garibaldi, got hit with a disability lawsuit six years ago. Attorney expenses piled up. Pascal says his landlord didn’t help with any of the bills. Pascal had to pay $17,000 to settle the lawsuit. “These attorneys group around our small businesses that know they can’t afford...
Post
San Jose redistricting angers downtown residents
The redrawing of city lines has some residents in an affluent downtown neighborhood fired up. And the county’s redistricting process — happening simultaneously — is raising questions in a highly-contested supervisorial race. In the city’s process, a redistricting map being floated by the city’s consulting group would move residents from the historic Naglee Park neighborhood...
San Jose lawmaker who criticized county bonuses approved them for city employees
A San Jose councilmember who criticized county officials for awarding government workers COVID bonuses approved similar payments for city employees. The San Jose City Council earlier this summer approved a one-time pandemic bonus of $1,000 for each full-time employee in Unit 99—a category of city workers that includes department heads and senior staff, such as...
VTA expands transit access to south Santa Clara County
In one of its first major expansions of 2021, VTA launched a new bus route that offers residents of southern Santa Clara County speedier access to downtown San Jose. Local politicians and VTA officials this week announced the launch of the Rapid 568 bus route in Gilroy. The 568, which replaces the 168 Express, offers...
Residents speak out against new Santa Clara County jail
Some Santa Clara County residents overwhelmingly oppose a new jail, calling on the county to shift from punitive practices that criminalize poverty and mental illness. After numerous reports about inhumane conditions behind bars, Santa Clara County wrestled with the idea of building a new jail. But now officials are looking to the public for alternative...
San Jose business leader floats big ideas about homelessness
One of San Jose’s largest business groups wants homeless people off its streets, and here’s it’s pitch to make that happen. San Jose Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies floated the idea of creating a social services team to focus on the homeless population. “What is clear to all of us in the trenches is...