Santa Clara County leaders are asserting stronger authority over key services and public land in the region. While the proposed changes have come with explanations, they haven’t gone through without friction. The county has moved to take direct control of various agencies under independent boards over the past two years. Officials want to replace the...
Santa Clara County uses federal funds to house homeless people
Santa Clara County is using its latest round of federal funding for homelessness to rapidly house people in apartments. The county received nearly $600,000 from the Emergency Solutions Grants Program, which can be used to fund shelter operations, outreach, homelessness prevention or rapid rehousing. Over the past five years, the county has received $2.5 million in these...
Santa Clara County buys site of future health clinic
Don’t lease — buy. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors adopted that maxim with a unanimous vote Tuesday, opting to purchase the property where the county’s new 10-story Valley Health Center campus is set to open this year on Bascom Avenue in San Jose. The health center will expand California’s second largest public hospital system with...
Wildlife corridors planned in South County’s Coyote Valley
A land preservation nonprofit and a public transit agency in Santa Clara County are creating wildlife crossings to protect animals and motorists along Coyote Valley’s busiest corridor. In response to wildlife-vehicle collisions, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), in partnership with VTA, is constructing underpasses for animals at key points along Highway 101, Monterey Road and...
Santa Clara County fights Trump in court
Santa Clara County has taken a stand against President Donald Trump in court over the last year, challenging efforts to end birthright citizenship, disrupt federal funding for not complying with Trump’s agenda and more. The county sued the federal administration nine times in 2025 — and has won favorable rulings in five cases. During Trump’s first...
Santa Clara County prioritizes children amid budget issues
Santa Clara County is working to provide safety net programs to children and their families despite budget issues stemming from federal funding cuts. The county’s children’s budget for fiscal year 2025-26 includes $1.3 billion to support the welfare of children and youth, up 2.8% from the previous fiscal year. The budget is targeted at foster care...
Santa Clara County considers safe parking site for women
Homeless women face exacerbated safety risks on the streets, and Santa Clara County officials are considering a safe parking site for women who become homeless to escape intimate partner violence. Santa Clara University researchers raised the idea in a report to county leaders last year. The study found that women and children fleeing domestic violence face...
Federal child care funding freeze could devastate Silicon Valley
California and four other democratic-led states are challenging the federal government’s abrupt decision to freeze billions of dollars that allow low-income families access to child care and other social services. The freeze could have a major effect on the financial health of child day care centers across Silicon Valley, with the region already struggling with...
Santa Clara County immigration advocates speak against ICE violence
Santa Clara County immigration advocates are calling for more local protections amid the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis by a federal agent. Volunteers with the county Rapid Response Network on Thursday spoke about violence they have experienced locally with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The network documents ICE activity, puts...
Heart care expands to South Santa Clara County
South Santa Clara County residents with heart issues just got a better shot at lifesaving care. Officials on Wednesday announced the rollout of cardiology care at Saint Louise Hospital in Gilroy and Valley Health Center in Morgan Hill, in a region that’s historically lacked medical access across South County’s huge swaths of farmland and open...