Santa Clara County representatives are seeing their work turn into reality following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signing of a flurry of bills at the end of September. These new laws stem from both the state Senate and Assembly, and deal with addressing housing displacement, more stringent screening of potential police officers and helping small businesses upgrade...
South County candidate loses endorsements over party lines
The Santa Clara County Democratic Party is pulling support from longtime members for crossing the political divide. One Gilroy councilmember and decades-long Democrat lost his endorsement. A longtime party member was kicked out, and several other candidates have received threats of endorsements being rescinded. The rub: they endorsed Santa Clara County supervisor-hopeful Johnny Khamis, who’s running...
Report raises questions about integrating Bay Area public transit
Bay Area transit agencies are making slow but steady progress toward a seamless system that puts users first. That’s according to a recent report—authored by Seamless Bay Area, SPUR, Bay Area Council, TransForm, Silicon Valley Leadership Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley—that examines factors like cost and accessibility for transit agencies including VTA, BART and Caltrain....
Santa Clara County residents will pay less for meds
Santa Clara County is expanding resident access to life-saving prescription drugs—and helping cover the cost. County officials rallied in front of the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare Pharmacy in Mountain View Wednesday to encourage local city officials, school board members and hospital representatives to spread the word about the program. Santa Clara County launched the effort, called...
Santa Clara County sheriff corruption trial begins
The trial of Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith, who faces several charges of misconduct and perjury, began on Wednesday as the beleaguered sheriff made her way into the courtroom. In what will be the first public testimony regarding the charges, a civil grand jury charged Smith with five counts. She is accused of awarding concealed carry licenses...
‘It’s just horrendous’: Thousands of San Jose seniors face homelessness
After a year of bouncing around different homeless shelters, Ellen Rollins is getting ready to move out of interim housing and into a one-bedroom apartment in San Jose. But the move has her anxious and uncertain about managing her future. Her prospective apartment is market rate and will be covered for 10 months by Santa Clara...
San Jose housing shortage is the worst in the U.S.
San Jose’s housing crisis is the worst of any major U.S. city due to its limited supply of homes. That’s according to a recent study from Angi which says the San Jose metro area, which includes San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara is faring worse than other major metro cities like Washington D.C., San Francisco...
State funding rains on Silicon Valley cities
Three cities in Santa Clara County are receiving a windfall in state funding for a number of community projects. Assemblymember Alex Lee secured nearly $32 million for the five cities in his district—the largest allocation the area has seen, according to the elected official. San Jose received the lion’s share with $10 million to build...
Silicon Valley officials call for gun violence prevention in schools
Silicon Valley school districts and officials are pushing for new approaches to preventing gun violence, while experts question whether police on campuses add to school safety. At an event hosted as part of the House Democrats’ Gun Violence Prevention Day of Action, a number of officials including San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Congressmember Zoe Lofgren and...
Santa Clara County to study lead levels near airport—again
Santa Clara County is planning another study of airborne lead levels around Reid-Hillview Airport after banning the sale of leaded plane fuel at the facility a year ago. Deputy County Executive David Campos told a group of East San Jose residents about the new study at a community meeting this week. This is the third study on lead levels around the the...