A Santa Clara County commission wants to halt plans to build a mine near Gilroy, calling it a critical human rights issue. The Santa Clara County Human Rights Commission voted unanimously last week to support the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band in its opposition to a proposed sand and gravel mine on land they consider sacred. The commission—a volunteer...
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County sergeant steps into sheriff’s race
Sean Allen has been fighting for change in the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office for years, and he’s about to take that fight to the county’s top cop. Allen told San José Spotlight on Friday he intends to file papers to run for sheriff in 2022. Allen is a sergeant who’s worked for the department...
Santa Clara County administers first kid COVID vaccines
After months of anticipation from lawmakers and parents, Santa Clara County on Wednesday gave its first COVID-19 shots to some of its youngest residents. Hand-in-hand with their parents, a few hundred kids flocked to clinics across the South Bay to get the first jabs of the kid-size COVID-19 vaccine. The line for the clinic at...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County lawmakers narrow redistricting proposals
Santa Clara County lawmakers will focus on three possible maps for changing local political boundaries. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to advance three maps for further consideration at a meeting later this month. The maps being advanced are titled Yellow, Purple and Equal and Equitable (EE) 2.0. The final boundaries must be adopted...
San Jose kids could get COVID shots in a few days
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 shots for children ages 5 to 11, opening the way to vaccination for approximately 167,000 children in Santa Clara County. A CDC advisory committee voted Tuesday to recommend the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children. The agency’s director, Rochelle Walensky, has final approval, which experts...
Santa Clara County wants options for emergency housing sites
Local lawmakers are racing to build more emergency housing amid a growing homelessness crisis, but where these sites will go is still undecided. A pair of Santa Clara County officials want to use vacant or underutilized lots for a new temporary housing or safe parking site. The plan is to replicate the Casitas de Esperanza...
The Dragon Mountain still closed after Santa Clara County shutdown
Santa Clara County shut down a local, privately-owned park in 2019 over a number of land use and permit violations. The property owner is now claiming county officials are delaying and stonewalling his efforts to fix these issues. For several years, South Bay resident Keith (Kiet) Ngo watched thousands of people from all over the...
Santa Clara County preparing to roll out COVID kids vaccine
COVID-19 vaccines for young children are potentially days away from being rolled out in Santa Clara County, a critical step to ending the pandemic. On Tuesday, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee recommended a low dosage of the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, saying the benefits of the shot outweigh any...
A few high paid Santa Clara County officials give up COVID bonus
Thousands of Santa Clara County employees will receive a COVID-19 hazard pay bonus before the end of the year. Not everyone plans to keep the money. Assessor Larry Stone informed County Executive Jeff Smith earlier this month that he will donate his $2,500 bonus to charitable nonprofits, including affordable housing agencies and local art organizations....
Santa Clara County holds hearing on long COVID
Santa Clara County has led the way when it comes to managing COVID-19 infection. But now officials are grappling with a growing concern: long COVID. Long COVID is when symptoms continue for more than 12 weeks after infection. A recently published study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that one third of...