To many of its approximately 2 million residents, Santa Clara County’s nickname “Valley of the Heart’s Delight” might seem like less of a nod to its agricultural roots and more tragically ironic. High rents and low wages have forced about 169,300 people in the county — including 2,850 children enrolled in CalFresh — into a...

South Bay lawmakers and advocates are reacting with mixed feelings after one Bay Area Senator’s attempt to tackle the housing crisis was evicted from the Senate floor this week. Sen. Scott Wiener’s Senate Bill 50 is officially dead, as the debate between regulating city housing requirements, maintaining local control and ensuring tenant protections proved to...

Last year, 161 homeless people died on Santa Clara County streets but some immediate solutions might be on the horizon. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved creating a new task force to help alleviate homelessness countywide by focusing on providing shelter and transitional housing options. In 2015, a similar task...

Housing returned as a priority – in many forms – during the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors first meeting of 2020. The board this week voiced support for building permanent supportive housing on the county’s government campus in San Jose for survivors of domestic violence. The project would be near the old San Jose...

In its 118-year history, the U.S. Census Bureau has struggled to get a complete and accurate count of the people living in this country. And from Alviso to Gilroy, Santa Clara County is chock-full of some of the most difficult-to-count populations — including recent immigrants, homeless and low-income individuals, and students and seniors. Add to...

San Jose Assemblymember Kansen Chu kicked off 2020 with a topic that counts: the census. A few dozen community members gathered Saturday afternoon for a town hall at Berryessa’s Summerdale Elementary School to hear details about the upcoming 2020 Census, which is set to begin in March, from census officials. The informational event included PowerPoint presentations...

It’s been nearly five years since Katherine Decker’s son was shot to death by a suicidal man during a routine police call in East San Jose. Now, Decker is joining a political fight with Silicon Valley lawmakers and advocates to push for a controversial law that allows authorities to order psychiatric treatment for people with...

It was a momentous year for Santa Clara County lawmakers as they made major decisions on a wide array of policy issues, including immigration, homelessness, women’s health and foster children’s safety. Here is a look at the top votes and policy discussions of 2019. Sanctuary and ICE notification policy Santa Clara County’s sanctuary city policy took...

Santa Clara County is being sued over its plans to close an East San Jose airport to build much-needed housing — but the complaint alleges federal officials say the county can’t do that, and shutting down Reid-Hillview Airport would be a disaster for the Bay Area, which relies on the airport for emergency operations and...

Santa Clara County and the union representing its service workers agreed to resolve a prolonged labor dispute by mediation in November — now it seems those negotiations have fallen apart as workers walked away from the bargaining table Thursday afternoon. In a letter to Santa Clara County Chief Operating Officer Miguel Marquez, the bargaining team...