Santa Clara County is proposing sweeping reforms to how it treats children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse and neglect. If implemented, the reforms would result in a major expansion and overhaul of the county’s foster care system and concentrate efforts to reunite children with family members. The proposed reform package,...

As the underutilized Santa Clara County Fairgrounds tries to balance its fate with a challenging financial budget, one longtime family business might have to get out because of a proposed rent hike. Santa Clara Paintball, which boasts 12 fields for paintball and outdoor activities, paid $9,630 a month for its 9 acres in 2019. But a new amended...

In the wake of a mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival last summer, Santa Clara County leaders this week approved a new gun control law that requires firearm owners to safely lock their weapons when not in arm’s reach. The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance requiring the safe storage of firearms within...

Nearly a quarter of Santa Clara County’s population is under the age of 18, but until recently, the county didn’t have a way to measure the full span of services it provides to support its youngest 450,000 residents. Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and Cindy Chavez, who announced Monday the inaugural Children’s Budget, also proposed allocating $3...

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider a complete overhaul of services the county provides to children who have been removed from their homes — often because of abuse or neglect — before they are placed with responsible family members or foster parents. Supervisors are expected to vote to phase out the...

When Santa Clara County bought three financially-struggling medical facilities last year, county officials promised nearly 1,700 workers at O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and DePaul Medical Center in Morgan Hill they could keep their jobs. But employees at O’Connor say the county reneged on that pledge as soon as...

In just six weeks, Santa Clara County could adopt Laura’s Law, more than 17 years after the assisted outpatient treatment program was passed into state law. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a referral for administration to consider options for adoption, which will come back to the dais Dec. 17. The law would...

After years of discussions, Stanford has withdrawn its application to build a massive expansion to its campus in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County by Palo Alto, surprising some county elected officials who are facing blame from the university for the shift. Stanford and county leaders for more than a year have been hotly discussing...

Carla Collins has been a “lifelong feminist.” From listening to stories of her grandmother — a Mexican migrant worker who single-handedly raised five children — to engaging in the political process with her mother as a child, Collins said she attributes much of her success to her family. Now, after nearly two decades working within...

Santa Clara County service workers, on strike since Oct. 2, are expected to vote overwhelmingly today to reject an offer the Board of Supervisors made last week for a new contract — the county’s latest attempt to end workers’ protests and a six-month stand-off over working conditions, pay and benefits. Workers will reject the deal,...