Santa Clara County will be the first in the region to fund efforts to release every Bay Area resident unlawfully detained by ICE. County leaders are signing a roughly $200,000 agreement with La Raza Centro Legal, a nonprofit legal clinic based in San Francisco, to expand the Bay Area Habeas Network, whose attorneys work to...
Santa Clara County funds suicide prevention despite budget cuts
Santa Clara County leaders are walking back a portion of proposed budget cuts to keep a pioneering suicide prevention program that’s contributed to one of the lowest death rates in all of California. At a Monday budget hearing, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to save two positions from being cut from the county program...
Santa Clara County LGBTQ+ office hits 10 years of service
Santa Clara County is celebrating a decade of providing services to LGBTQ+ residents through an official department. The Office of LGBTQ Affairs on Friday celebrated its 10-year anniversary amid a Pride Month flag raising ceremony, resource fair and inclusive “lavender” graduation for LGBTQ+ high school and college students. The county department hosted the event in partnership...
Santa Clara County jail worker who exploited women gets light sentence
A Santa Clara County jail worker who sexually exploited incarcerated women by smuggling in drugs faces just one year behind bars. Marcos Pina Mejia, 56, pleaded guilty June 8 to two felony counts of bringing methamphetamine into Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas and two misdemeanor counts of having sex with a detained person. The civilian, non-sworn...
Bay Area immigrants struggle with housing and healthcare
Lack of affordable housing and dwindling access to healthcare are the top issues plaguing the lives of both Bay Area immigrants and citizens, according to a recent report. Services, Immigration Rights and Education Network (SIREN) and the San Jose State University Human Rights Institute conducted a recent survey of about 300 immigrants and those in the...
State budget shortchanges Santa Clara County homeless response
At a time when the U.S. is reeling from social safety net cuts, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget makes it even more challenging for groups to effectively address homelessness in Santa Clara County, nonprofit leaders and advocates said. The governor’s proposed budget includes $500 million for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) statewide for the...
Santa Clara County sues to stop planned ICE facility
Santa Clara County leaders and California Attorney General Rob Bonta are suing to stop the construction of an ICE facility near Gilroy, after this news outlet first reported on the federal government’s plans and obtained blueprints showing the building would hold and process detainees. Officials announced the lawsuit Wednesday, naming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
Super Bowl 60 pumps $195M into Santa Clara County
South Bay officials are touting a new economic analysis of Super Bowl 60, which found the game drove $720 million in total economic activity throughout the Bay Area, $195 million of which went to Santa Clara County. The report, released Friday by the Bay Area Host Committee, may bolster the case from leaders in San...
South County families create their own livestock fair
Santa Clara County fairgrounds leaders caused an uproar this year for pushing the annual fair date to keep vendors happy and – as a consequence – some youth farmers out of contention for junior livestock shows. The parents’ response: Fine, we’ll organize our own. Preparations for an alternative fair are now underway among farmers in...
Santa Clara County expands protections to include more renters
Santa Clara County is expanding the types of renters covered under its eviction protection laws — and the amount landlords will pay to help displaced tenants relocate. The Board of Supervisors on June 2 voted 4-1 — with District 5 Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga voting no — to revise the county’s 1993 tenant protection law, which...