An empty dirt lot just south of Downtown San Jose will now be one of two new sites for low-income and homeless housing funded by the latest round of revenue from Measure A, a $950 million affordable housing bond overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2016. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the...

With an ongoing labor strike interrupted by intentional PG&E blackouts across Santa Clara County, members of SEIU Local 521’s bargaining team spent the last two days preparing a contract proposal for the 12,000 county workers it represents, the union announced at a news conference Friday afternoon. Negotiators declined to discuss many of the specific details...

One week after hundreds of Santa Clara County service workers left their jobs for a massive strike, union leaders prepared a new offer for the Board of Supervisors to consider, potentially ending the standoff that began six months ago. That development comes after a week of work stoppages, pickets and other strike actions across county...

The first streak of planned power outages swept across California on Wednesday, prompting local leaders to act fast in declaring a state of emergency as both Santa Clara County and San Jose prepare for the looming blackouts — expected to hit tonight. In a fourth news conference this week, San Jose city officials confirmed that...

The Board of Supervisors is one step closer to figuring out the future of the underutilized Santa Clara County fairgrounds. The supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved a recommendation for the county’s attorney to negotiate a 20-year plan with the Fairgrounds Management Corporation (FMC) to create a “grand space for public events and recreation.” Led by Supervisor Cindy...

Money should not count as free speech, Santa Clara County lawmakers decided Tuesday. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to overturn Citizens United, a landmark 2010 Supreme Court decision which allowed unlimited election spending by corporations, labor unions and super PACs. Led by Supervisor Dave Cortese, in partnership with Santa Clara...

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department is grappling with how to safeguard inmates’ private information when they begin to use tablets behind bars for the first time next year. According to a recent report from Sheriff Laurie Smith to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors’ Public Safety and Justice Committee, officials are struggling to protect...

Black and white “prison stripes” have been donned by minimum security inmates at one Santa Clara County jail for more than a decade. Now, advocates from the Bill Wilson Center are trying to change that. Amanda Clifford, a policy and advocacy associate at the center, said switching from stripes to a solid colored uniform at the...

After months of negotiations with Santa Clara County, thousands of its workers, represented by Service Employees International Union Local 521, went on strike Wednesday — a protest that hasn’t happened in 40 years. “We are striking because there is a crisis in Santa Clara County when it comes to public services,” said Social Worker Supervisor...

Voting has never been a universal right throughout America’s history, some officials say, and the present is no exception. Political and community leaders discussed Thursday what can be done to encourage participation despite current forms of voter suppression in Santa Clara County. Secretary of State Alex Padilla joined Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Dave Cortese, County...