Caltrain, VTA and BART are all big winners with the passage of the federal infrastructure bill on Monday, with billions of dollars flowing into Silicon Valley. Some of the funding from the $1.2 trillion bill will be spent on local public transportation. Coming to the Bay Area is $66 billion which will enable the $7...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County supervisors delay jail decision
Santa Clara County lawmakers have deferred a decision on management of the jail system following calls to delay from one supervisor. Supervisor Susan Ellenberg requested the deferral Monday afternoon. She said a report on the jail does not include specific information the board requested about alternatives to incarceration for people with mental illness and uses...
Santa Clara County supervisor uses private emails for public business
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo isn’t the only Silicon Valley lawmaker who uses private emails to conduct public business. Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, one of the frontrunners in the mayoral race to succeed Liccardo next year, also appears to communicate with other elected officials—and lobbyists—using a private email account, records obtained by San José...
Santa Clara County foster youth to help design new facility
Foster youth are getting a brand new community center with permanent housing in San Jose—and will have a say in its design. The Parkmoor Hub, being developed by Allied Housing, will include 81 units of affordable and supportive housing, with half for transitional-age foster youth and their children. It’s conveniently located near light rail, buses,...
Silicon Valley veteran homelessness reaches new milestone
Flags fly at half-mast each Nov. 11 to honor Veterans Day across the country. In Silicon Valley, fewer veterans will look at those flags while living on the streets. All the Way Home, a campaign launched in 2015 to help end the homeless veterans crisis, has housed 2,201 veterans during the past seven years. The...
Only one San Jose VTA board member uses public transit
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is dealing with tight budgets, low ridership and out-of-touch officials, even as they discuss expanding to new technologies. A San José Spotlight survey found that just one of the 18 lawmakers who oversee and govern the troubled transit agency—of those who responded—actually ride its buses and trains. San José...
Proposed mine near Gilroy a human rights issue, says commission
A Santa Clara County commission wants to halt plans to build a mine near Gilroy, calling it a critical human rights issue. The Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission voted unanimously last week to support the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in its opposition to a proposed sand and gravel mine on land they consider sacred. The commission—a volunteer...
Santa Clara County sergeant steps into sheriff’s race
Sean Allen has been fighting for change in the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office for years, and he’s about to take that fight to the county’s top cop. Allen told San José Spotlight on Friday he intends to file papers to run for sheriff in 2022. Allen is a sergeant who’s worked for the department...
Santa Clara County administers first kid COVID vaccines
After months of anticipation from lawmakers and parents, Santa Clara County on Wednesday gave its first COVID-19 shots to some of its youngest residents. Hand-in-hand with their parents, a few hundred kids flocked to clinics across the South Bay to get the first jabs of the kid-size COVID-19 vaccine. The line for the clinic at...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County lawmakers narrow redistricting proposals
Santa Clara County lawmakers will focus on three possible maps for changing local political boundaries. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to advance three maps for further consideration at a meeting later this month. The maps being advanced are titled Yellow, Purple and Equal and Equitable (EE) 2.0. The final boundaries must be adopted...