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Santa Clara County is easing local COVID-19 restrictions weeks before the state is set to fully reopen. County health officials Tuesday announced the move to the least-restrictive yellow tier of the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The change, effective Wednesday, will allow most businesses to operate indoors with minimal modifications, including bars that don’t...
Silicon Valley advocates of Reid-Hillview Airport closure face opposition
Disagreements over the danger lead airplane fuel poses to East San Jose neighborhoods came to a head at a virtual forum about the closure of Reid-Hillview Airport. The Silicon Valley chapter of environmental justice organization Mothers Out Front invited Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez to its monthly meeting Wednesday for a presentation detailing the...
Is San Jose ready to go maskless?
New guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says fully vaccinated people can ditch their masks when indoors and outdoors. But local guidelines aren’t as open yet. Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday he will end the state’s mask mandate on June 15, nearly a year after he first required masks in all public...
South Bay parents hesitant about COVID-19 vaccine for kids
Most parents in a new survey said no to immediately getting their kids vaccinated against COVID-19. The survey by Invisibly found 74% of parents will either wait or not vaccinate their kids against the coronavirus. Only 26% of parents said they will have their children inoculated right away, 41% will wait a few months and 33%...
Do grand jury reports influence change in Silicon Valley?
Santa Clara County’s Civil Grand Jury for decades has attempted to improve government and investigate corruption, but whether it’s meeting those goals isn’t so clear. And most of the people lining up to serve on it are older white people. The Civil Grand Jury investigates complaints made by county residents, but not all complaints are...
UPDATE: Valley Water OKs 9% rate hikes; faces opposition from San Jose mayor
The Santa Clara Valley Water District, the wholesale water provider for the county, approved water rate hikes in a unanimous vote by its directors Tuesday. Valley Water provides water to the San Jose Water Company, the San Jose Municipal Water System and the Great Oaks Water Company, who then sell the water to residents. It...
Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine running for county supervisor
Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine has joined the contest for Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman’s seat. Constantine joins former councilmember Johnny Khamis, County Board of Education President Claudia Rossi and Los Gatos Vice Mayor Rob Rennie in vying for the District 1 seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Wasserman’s term will...
Mansion proposal obstructs Santa Clara Valley ridgeline
A proposed Morgan Hill mansion is the target of a complaint claiming its construction will obstruct ridgeline views—something the county’s decades-old General Plan says should be avoided. “The whole idea is that ridgelines are the most aesthetically sensitive parts of the county, because everyone can see it,” said Brian Schmidt, advocacy director for environmental organization Green...
Santa Clara County seeks redistricting advisory commission members
Fifteen county residents will soon help reshape Santa Clara County government’s political power. Santa Clara County supervisors are creating a new advisory commission to complete redistricting obligations by the end of the year, in light of census data delays. Every county is required to redraw its supervisorial boundaries in 2021 according to federal, state and...
Garbage rates to increase in East Santa Clara County
Residents and businesses in East Santa Clara County will see their garbage rates go up this summer. Officials say that’s largely due to the rapidly changing international recyclables market. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved the 5.5% increase, effective July 1. The increase will affect about 5,000 customers in eastern unincorporated Santa Clara County,...