The Silicon Valley Democratic Club is not endorsing a candidate in the race for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor’s District 1 seat — at least for the time being. The club held a vote for its members following a forum where the three candidates—Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine, Los Gatos Vice Mayor Rob...
Santa Clara County labor leaders demand apology from councilmember
Labor leaders demand a San Jose councilmember apologize for criticizing county officials who gave workers a COVID bonus. Silicon Valley Rising and members of several local unions gathered in front of City Hall on Monday and asked Councilmember Matt Mahan to retract statements he made last week about Santa Clara County workers getting hazard pay....
Tracking COVID-19 outbreaks, cases and vaccination rates in San Jose
COVID-19 has killed 1,821 people in Santa Clara County and infected more than 143,000 others since March 2020. The numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths declined earlier this year when vaccines became available to the majority of the population. The numbers climbed again as the contagious Delta variant ravaged the country in summer, prompting the...
San Jose redistricting angers downtown residents
The redrawing of city lines has some residents in an affluent downtown neighborhood fired up. And the county’s redistricting process — happening simultaneously — is raising questions in a highly-contested supervisorial race. In the city’s process, a redistricting map being floated by the city’s consulting group would move residents from the historic Naglee Park neighborhood...
VTA expands transit access to south Santa Clara County
In one of its first major expansions of 2021, VTA launched a new bus route that offers residents of southern Santa Clara County speedier access to downtown San Jose. Local politicians and VTA officials this week announced the launch of the Rapid 568 bus route in Gilroy. The 568, which replaces the 168 Express, offers...
Residents speak out against new Santa Clara County jail
Some Santa Clara County residents overwhelmingly oppose a new jail, calling on the county to shift from punitive practices that criminalize poverty and mental illness. After numerous reports about inhumane conditions behind bars, Santa Clara County wrestled with the idea of building a new jail. But now officials are looking to the public for alternative...
San Jose councilmember rebukes county for dishing out hazard pay
San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan is raking Santa Clara County officials over the coals for what he alleges is a gross misuse of public funds to give county workers hazard pay for working through the COVID-19 pandemic. On Wednesday, Mahan publicly criticized the Board of Supervisors in an op-ed and on Twitter for approving $76...
Santa Clara County keeps people out of jail but under supervision
Santa Clara County has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of people under pretrial supervision in recent years—a trend sparked by COVID-19 and likely to continue after the pandemic has ended. Between early 2019 and 2020, the population of people under pretrial supervision in the county doubled, according to a report from the Office...
California students must take ethnic studies—some in San Jose already do
California high school students will have a better understanding of the state’s history, diversity and culture under a new policy. Some Santa Clara County schools are ahead of the curve, offering ethnic studies as an elective. Local elementary school districts—such as Oak Grove, Alum Rock and Mount Pleasant—already have ethnic studies as part of the curriculum....
Prosecutor officially challenges Santa Clara County DA
Deputy district attorney Daniel Chung has officially announced his candidacy to lead the Santa Clara County DA’s Office. Chung confirmed on Tuesday he filed his papers to run for DA in the 2022 election. He told San José Spotlight the theme of his campaign is restoring justice and that it focuses on three pillars: integrity, competence...