A decision by Bay Area air regulators to delay a controversial ban on gas water heaters has divided South Bay advocates and leaders — with supporters of the pending mandate glad it’s still moving forward and opponents vowing to continue fighting it. The Bay Area Air District board voted Wednesday to delay the measure —...
Santa Clara County reverses course, bars ICE from jails
Santa Clara County is restricting access to Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas following recent violent incidents involving federal immigration agents outside the jail. The Sheriff’s Office has cordoned off the Elmwood parking lot, limiting access to people with scheduled visits, attorneys visiting clients, service providers and cleaning services. Visitors must present an identification card and...
Incoming Silicon Valley water district CEO donates to board candidates
Multiple candidates are vying to be on the board of directors for Santa Clara County’s largest water supplier. The outcome could chart a new course for the water district’s future. With three competitive seats up for grabs in Valley Water Districts 1, 6 and 7, patrons have poured money into preferred candidates in recent months leading...
Santa Clara County jails see influx of ICE agents
Santa Clara County officials are standing back while the presence of federal agents escalates around county jails, even after the county declared its properties off limits to immigration officers. On Wednesday at about 10 p.m., Rapid Response Network volunteers confirmed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had pursued a car leaving Elmwood Correctional Facility carrying two...
Dolores Huerta’s legacy will forever shape Silicon Valley
Dolores Huerta, the pioneering labor organizer who co-founded the United Farm Workers and spent decades fighting for farmworkers’ rights, has died at 96, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape San Jose and the South Bay. Huerta’s influence in the region lives on through generations of organizers who fought alongside her, community groups inspired...
Santa Clara County opens long overdue youth psychiatric hospital
For years, children in need of acute psychiatric care in Santa Clara County were being shipped hours away to get treatment. That is about to change as the county opens a new inpatient behavioral health facility for youth. The Behavioral Health Pavilion, located on the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Campus (VMC), will give 35...
Santa Clara County report shows increased property values
Santa Clara County property values have increased faster than last year, although overall growth has remained below 5% as economic uncertainty and changes in the real estate market continue to shape the region. The total net assessed value of all real estate and personal property — known as the assessment roll — reached a record...
Will new state laws reduce dangerous e-bike riding in Silicon Valley?
Los Gatos community leaders are optimistic that new state laws will help control unsafe behavior by riders of electric bicycles and get illegal e-bikes off the streets. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed four recent bills that crack down on selling so-called “e-motos” that can exceed the speed limit for legal e-bikes; require more safety gear on...
South Bay ICE concerns won’t stop Día de los Muertos events
Dozens of altars honoring loved ones who have died will return to Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose for Avenida de Altares, with an eye on safety for people celebrating. Organizers are moving forward with Día de los Muertos celebrations across the South Bay while taking steps to prepare for potential U.S. Immigration and...
South Bay socialist group’s membership swells
Mirroring the growth of an energized national socialist movement in the U.S., the South Bay chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America has been expanding rapidly — and the group is flexing its growing political muscle this election cycle as it organizes in support of progressive ballot measures. Just a few years ago, Silicon Valley...