VTA has a new proposal for its frontline workers months after a historic strike halted public transit across Santa Clara County. Members of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 265, which represents more than 1,500 frontline VTA workers, will vote on a new contract offer Tuesday, ending the months-long labor dispute. The offer mirrors similar proposals approved...
County says San Jose fire may have violated federal law
Santa Clara County’s emergency medical services chief is denouncing the San Jose Fire Department for potential violations of federal law, after this news outlet exclusively reported that Chief Robert Sapien knew about firefighter narcotics thefts — which led to patients receiving drugs from tampered vials — for longer than the city has let on. In...
Santa Clara County takes over managed health care program
Facing dramatic federal funding cuts, Santa Clara County leaders want to lessen the taxpayer dollars needed to support its massive public hospital system. That means reining in an institution the county created decades ago — which officials warn risks putting its own survival over health services. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously May 20 to...
Santa Clara County works to save services amid federal cuts
A massive structural budget deficit is forcing Santa Clara County leaders to get creative in finding ways to avoid hits to critical social safety net services. A San José Spotlight review of County Executive James Williams’ budget recommendations for fiscal year 2025-26 shows four main takeaways about what services could be eliminated, reduced, saved and...
Need for Santa Clara County senior meals outgrows budget
Amy and George Hsu look forward to an affordable lunch five days a week at Sunnyvale United Methodist Church. It’s where they socialize with dozens of older adults, listen to a lively jazz band play “Blueberry Hill” and get a meal with fresh fruit and vegetables they wouldn’t be able to budget for on a...
Santa Clara County critical of plan to arrest homeless people
Despite San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s claim his policy to arrest homeless people for refusing shelter is meant to connect them to treatment, there isn’t a plan for how it’s supposed to work. Since Mahan rolled out his “Responsibility to Shelter” policy in March, Santa Clara County officials and a former judge have pushed back on the...
Silicon Valley transit agency expects multiyear budget deficit
As the economy teeters at the edge of a recession, Silicon Valley’s public transit agency is weighing its options on how to weather the storm. VTA is facing a large budget shortfall over the next two years, with a roughly $868,000 deficit in 2026 that’s expected to balloon to $14.9 million in 2027. Without tightening...
San José Spotlight wins 5 awards in annual state journalism contest
San José Spotlight has won five California Journalism Awards — including two first place wins. The annual competition, sponsored by the California News Publishers Association, showcases the best print and digital reporting and photography statewide. Both print and digital news organizations compete in divisions based on size and circulation. San José Spotlight competed in a...
Silicon Valley cities hit with request for residents’ emails to train AI
Bay Area residents who emailed their officials in the past few years may be surprised to learn their correspondence could train a company’s AI for future use. Mountain View-based company GovernmentGPT filed 90 California Public Records Act requests with multiple cities across the Bay Area for emails from residents addressed to mayors, councilmembers and city...
Silicon Valley paratransit operator cries foul over VTA decision
VTA has a new shuttle service operator for people with disabilities and the previous contractor is raising concerns about why it was ousted. The public transit agency’s board of directors unanimously and begrudgingly awarded a three-year, $110 million contract to Transdev Services as the new VTA Access paratransit shuttle program operator. The contract includes four...