Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County

Silicon Valley law to end unruly behavior on Newsom’s desk

A California bill that would allow public officials to remove disruptive individuals from meetings is poised to become law after gaining bipartisan support. State Sen. Dave Cortese and Assemblymember Evan Low introduced a bill earlier this year to update and strengthen the 69-year-old Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open meeting law. The state legislators say...

Silicon Valley sees slight uptick in unemployment

The Silicon Valley unemployment rate went up in June—but experts say it’s not a cause for concern. A report by Joint Venture Silicon Valley shows unemployment rates increased by 0.4% in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties between May and June. Unemployment is currently at 2.2%, or approximately 32,300 people—9,200 in San Mateo County and 23,100 in...

Looking to rent in Silicon Valley? Get in line

Silicon Valley remains one of the most sought after rental markets in California, despite being one of the most costly. In a new study by apartment search site RentCafe, Silicon Valley ranked 8 out of 11 top rental markets in the state. The study looked at the number of renters competing for an apartment, occupancy and vacancy...

Silicon Valley’s new crisis center a game changer

The national mental health hotline is in full swing in the South Bay, and officials hope it will get those in crisis the help they need faster. Modeled after 911, the new three-digit 988 number is designed for those who need mental health crisis services. The program became law in October 2020 and launched nationwide last month. Santa Clara County officials...

Santa Clara County leader under fire over ‘tone-deaf’ letter

Local doctors say they’ve lost confidence in Santa Clara County leadership after seeing the head executive downplay the death of their colleague. San José Spotlight obtained an email sent from County Executive Jeff Smith to county health care workers after Dr. Amul Jobalia died by suicide in his office in May. Jobalia was a nephrologist at Santa Clara Valley Medical...

San Jose LGBTQ leaders: Monkeypox ‘not a gay disease’

The Silicon Valley LGBTQ+ community is livid another virus is being referred to as a gay disease. Concerned about stigmatization, local LGBTQ+ leaders are reacting to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent declaration of monkeypox as a global emergency. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 98% of cases are among gay men. Although anyone can...

How many jobs does it take to pay rent in San Jose?

In the heart of Silicon Valley, an individual making minimum wage needs to work nearly four hourly jobs to pay the rent. A new report, conducted by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, finds housing costs in the nation are rising to unreachable levels for many—especially those working minimum wage jobs. Across the nation, full-time minimum wage workers...