Santa Clara County voters will be asked to approve a five-eighths cent sales tax increase to protect the public hospital system from shattering under federal spending cuts. The Board of Supervisors on Thursday voted unanimously to add the proposed tax to the Nov. 4 special election ballot, which will also ask voters to decide on a...
Santa Clara County assessor candidates raise more than $600K
A growing field of candidates has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the four-month sprint to the November special election for Santa Clara County assessor. The official list of candidates to become the county’s chief property taxer — affecting everything from housing development to public school funding — won’t be finalized until the nomination...
Q&A: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters has new leadership
Matt Moreles has a fierce desire to serve the region’s diverse community as the new head of the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Born and raised in San Jose, Moreles, 44, attended UCLA majoring in philosophy. He embarked on his career with the county elections office in 2004, was promoted to assistant registrar in...
Santa Clara County polluted creek cleanup near cement plant starts
A Santa Clara County hillside polluted for decades by a controversial cement plant and quarry is on the path to restoration. Heidelberg Materials, which owns the Lehigh Permanente Quarry and Cement Plant, detailed its restoration plans for a roughly 1.7-mile stretch of Permanente Creek at an annual community meeting Thursday. Company representatives also gave updates...
San Jose medical rehab ranks among top 10 in U.S.
Public investments in Santa Clara County’s hospital system are proving being uninsured doesn’t have to mean poor health care. The region’s poorest patients actually have access to one of the nation’s top-rated rehabilitation centers. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s Rehabilitation Center is ranked seventh best in the nation, according to the 2025-26 U.S. News &...
Santa Clara County considers sales tax to pay for health care costs
Santa Clara County officials are preparing to ask voters for higher taxes to protect their poorest public hospital patients from devastating federal revenue cuts. The Board of Supervisors is expected to hold a special meeting around Aug. 7 to consider putting a five-eighths cent sales tax increase proposal before voters, according to county officials who...
San Jose Planned Parenthood workers laid off as other clinics close
The ripple effect of President Donald Trump’s budget bill has cascaded into Planned Parenthood closing five clinics in California and laying off staff in other locations. Although Planned Parenthood Mar Monte announced July 24 it was closing clinics in Gilroy, South San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz and Madera, San Jose’s four locations will remain...
Santa Clara County conviction overturned for prejudiced actions
A San Jose man was released from jail last week after state judges lambasted Santa Clara County prosecutors for using rap lyrics in an attempt to put him behind bars for more than a century. A December state appellate ruling found prosecutors in District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office prejudiced a jury during a retrial and...
Silicon Valley transit advocates want VTA to join regional tax proposal
The deadline for Santa Clara County’s public transportation agency to join a regional funding measure is approaching, and transit advocates want to see the South Bay take action. The VTA board of directors is weighing whether to opt into Senate Bill 63, which would allow transit agencies or voter initiatives to put a regional half-cent sales...
Santa Clara County has 1 shelter bed for every 3 homeless people
The math says it all. Santa Clara County can’t build temporary or permanent housing fast enough to address its growing homeless population. There are 10,711 homeless people in Santa Clara County, according to a point-in-time count conducted in January. But there are only 3,454 beds across 38 temporary shelters and programs countywide to help homeless...