With a pen stroke, Gov. Gavin Newsom has set the stage for potentially massive changes to how housing is built in Silicon Valley. Newsom signed into law Senate Bills 9 and 10 on Thursday. SB 9 allows for the development of up to four dwelling units on single-family lots throughout California, while SB 10 allows...
San Jose mayor expands trash-picking program for homeless
Some San Jose homeless residents could soon have a job that pays nearly $25 an hour. That’s the announcement that came from Mayor Sam Liccardo Thursday after he expanded the San Jose Bridge program, an initiative that employs homeless residents to pick up trash. The expansion will make room for up to 100 unhoused workers across...
Santa Clara County prepares for potential COVID boosters
Santa Clara County is ready to offer all eligible residents COVID-19 booster shots within 24 hours of federal approval, but whether the plan is needed—and to what extent—remains unknown. After intense debate Friday, vaccine advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rejected Pfizer’s request to add a third shot to its two-doses regimen for the general...
State opens more funding for Santa Clara County supportive housing
When Charlotte Burris first called the Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing to get out of the van she uses for shelter, there were only spaces for unhoused residents with COVID-19. Burris said she tested positive shortly after calling and received temporary housing, describing it as a gift in disguise. “I’ve been homeless for...
San Jose tourist attractions struggle through COVID pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic hit San Jose tourist attractions hard, but some have found creative ways to bring back visitors. The Children’s Discovery Museum, Tech Interactive and Winchester Mystery House all closed during last year’s shelter in place, and have yet to fully recover. But through rainy day funds, donors and online programming, they stayed afloat despite...
How did Latinos vote in the statewide recall election?
Gov. Gavin Newsom walloped opponents looking to oust him in Tuesday’s recall election, both statewide and in Santa Clara County. For Latinos, the no-recall effort still won, though not as big as other demographics. Some experts say that’s in part to a changing, younger and more diverse electorate. ‘There is a feeling they are being taken for...
Santa Clara County paratransit riders want service improvements
Zsa Zsa Taylor has been doing everything possible to keep her joy alive after a diagnosis of MS and cancer. But her commute makes that tough. Like other Santa Clara County residents with disabilities and mobility issues, Taylor travels around the region using VTA Access, a paratransit program that normally services more than 500,000 riders...
Santa Clara County proceeds with controversial mental health treatment law
Santa Clara County is moving forward with implementing a controversial law that allows authorities to order psychiatric treatment for people with serious mental illness. The county Board of Supervisors gave the Behavioral Health Services Department the go-ahead at the end of August to begin hiring staff who will work in a Laura’s Law assisted outpatient...
Latino leaders urge San Jose residents to take part in redistricting
Latinos are now the largest ethnic minority in California according to the 2020 Census, but political districts don’t reflect that fact. A legal advocacy group wants to change that at the state and county level. Mayra Valadez, a coordinator for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, gave a presentation at a virtual meeting Monday...
Santa Clara County approves affordable housing for ag workers
South Santa Clara County is home to mushroom farms and fields of garlic. Now the area will house the workers who tend them. On Thursday, Robert Van Tassle, operations manager of Countryside Mushrooms in Gilroy, picked up some personal items from the site of what was once Royal Oaks Mushrooms in Morgan Hill. He worked there for...