While Santa Clara County is facing unprecedented revenue losses due to federal health care cuts, one newly opened clinic may survive. Santa Clara Valley Healthcare’s Compassionate Addiction Services and Support (COMPASS) Clinic opened Sept. 2, with federal grant and opioid settlement funds contributing between $2 million to $3 million. The substance use recovery facility is the...
Santa Clara County prosecutors, law enforcement not sold on sales tax
As local leaders and doctors rally behind Santa Clara County’s proposed sales tax measure, sheriff’s deputies and county prosecutors are urging voters to think twice. Dozens of health care workers and elected officials gathered at Valley Medical Center in San Jose on Wednesday in a show of public support for the five-eighth cent general sales...
Silicon Valley could see more affordable housing under Trump bill
Amid a tsunami of cuts to the nation’s social safety nets, a golden nugget in the congressional budget bill will allow developers to create more affordable housing. H.R. 1 provides an increase to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, the primary source of federal funding for affordable housing. Starting next year, states will be...
Santa Clara County hospital burn unit caught in fed cuts
Cramped within a tiny, aging section of Santa Clara County’s flagship public hospital, a team of people in cyan and navy scrubs treats the worst burn injuries in California. But a wave of massive federal spending cuts may complicate efforts to expand. The 55-year-old burn unit is one of only three centers of its kind...
Santa Clara County tax measure wins lawsuit, stays on ballot
Santa Clara County’s 11th hour sales tax measure is moving forward — but the fate of its public hospitals might come down to several words. A judge has ordered county officials to strike President Donald Trump’s name from the ballot language as a reason for approving a five-eighths cent sales tax hike for the county...
Silicon Valley child care program boosts businesses
At a time when Santa Clara County is grappling with a lack of child care and day care centers are struggling to stay afloat, one program is giving providers the support they need to prosper. Last August, San Jose gave $1 million to Upwards for its Boost program to help child care centers streamline their...
Santa Clara County scores millions for affordable housing project
Gov. Gavin Newsom has awarded three California communities millions of dollars for affordable housing — and Santa Clara County hit the jackpot. The Algarve Apartments received $40 million in state Project Homekey+ funding to begin construction on the $79 million project in San Jose. When completed in October 2027, the development will provide 90 apartments...
Controversial Santa Clara County dam expansion scrapped
One of Valley Water’s most controversial and costly projects has been shelved indefinitely. The water district’s board of directors unanimously voted Tuesday to suspend the Pacheco Dam expansion project after eight years, which would have brought the dam’s water capacity from 5,500 acre feet of water to 140,000 acre feet of water. Directors cited the...
BART voices frustrations about lack of transparency from VTA
The partnership between two Silicon Valley transit agencies is souring amid accusations of a lack of communication involving the region’s most significant expansion project. BART leaders say they’re frustrated that VTA failed to share critical updates about the Silicon Valley expansion project before announcing them publicly, according to recent letter obtained by San José Spotlight. The two agencies are...
Lawsuit challenges Santa Clara County sales tax measure
Santa Clara County leaders already face an uphill battle convincing voters to pay more taxes to keep their public hospitals afloat — but a fast-moving lawsuit and pushback from wealthier cities will steepen the climb. A judge next Wednesday could decide the fate of the county’s proposed five-eighths cent sales tax increase, known as Measure A, after local...