In a region that speaks roughly 100 languages, non-English speakers often find themselves unable to follow Santa Clara County government meetings. That might finally change. The problem was on painful display last week, when the $11 billion agency had no one on hand to simultaneously interpret the April 16 Board of Supervisors discussion about the...
Domestic violence cases overwhelm Silicon Valley prosecutors
Santa Clara County is experiencing a surge of domestic violence cases, spreading county prosecutors thin and holding up court hearings at a time when a looming budget deficit will cut District Attorney resources. The DA’s office has pulled prosecutors from other teams to handle a 142% increase in family violence cases over the last five...
Santa Clara County wants state to stop trauma center closure
Santa Clara County leaders are calling on state officials to stop a for-profit hospital from closing one of the county’s only trauma centers. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to send a report to the state on the impact of closing Regional Medical Center’s trauma center in East San Jose. County hospitals have...
Santa Clara County to study ban on artificial turf
Santa Clara County may need an abundance of lawn mowers if artificial turf is banned on public playing fields. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 3-2 to study the ramifications of artificial turf on county land, with Board President Susan Ellenberg and Supervisor Cindy Chavez voting no. The proposal came from...
Silicon Valley water supplier plans rate hikes
Santa Clara County residents could see higher water bills in the upcoming year, as one water agency looks for ways to cover costs. Valley Water, the region’s main water supplier, is proposing raising groundwater production charges on cities and private water retailers. The increase will be passed on to household ratepayers through local water companies such...
Santa Clara County nurses threaten a second walkout
Thousands of nurses across Santa Clara County’s strained and overburdened public hospital system may go on strike again — just weeks after taking to the picket line. Contract negotiations between county management and leaders with the Registered Nurses Professional Association have stalled, with a Thursday bargaining session lasting just 17 minutes. A looming $250 million...
Silicon Valley realtors brace for commission revamp
Nationwide changes in the way real estate agents are compensated might not make a difference in Silicon Valley. A pending settlement from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) could be an industry game changer that upends the commissions homebuyers pay real estate agents. The key changes could come as soon as July. This includes real estate...
Santa Clara County to eradicate aggressive mosquito species
Santa Clara County officials are prepping to remove a foreign, invasive and aggressive yellow fever mosquito species that’s returned to the region just in time for peak mosquito season. It was easy to eradicate the species after it first arrived in the county in 2022, when vector officials trapped and removed two mosquitoes in a...
Santa Clara County gives few contracts to minority-owned businesses
A study of Santa Clara County’s public contracts shows only a fraction goes to small, local businesses. The county launched a vendor disparity study in 2022 to examine the number of minority-owned businesses that won public contracts between July 2016 and June 2021. The study’s final draft was released last week, finding that local, minority-owned...
Santa Clara County looks for missing Medi-Cal members
Low-income residents in Santa Clara County are losing their state-sponsored health care at a time when the public hospital system is experiencing unprecedented demand for services. Medi-Cal members dropped from 458,000 to 425,000 in the county between June 2023 to January, according to a report released last month. Yet the Social Security Administration said these...