There may not be any doctors working at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in a few weeks. Health care workers at county-run facilities are ready to strike, following two years of stalled negotiations with the county, increased workloads and decreased staffing. Valley Physicians Group, a union representing 450 doctors, authorized the right to strike this...
UPDATE: Silicon Valley water officials want misconduct report before election
After several delays, it’s unclear if the investigation into a leader of Silicon Valley’s largest water supplier will be made public in time for the upcoming election. Gary Kremen, a Valley Water board member running for another term in November, is the subject of an independent investigation following a series of complaints accusing him of...
Santa Clara County doctors ready to quit, survey shows
Santa Clara County’s health care system could face a mass exodus of doctors due to poor working conditions and lack of respect from management. More than 200 out of 288 county-employed doctors don’t plan to stay at Santa Clara Valley Medical Care (VMC)—nearly 69% of whom plan to exit the system in the next three...
Santa Clara County families lack critical child care, report says
Universal child care in Santa Clara County could be a game changer for families trying to improve their quality of life and help level wealth disparity for thousands. A report released by Joint Venture Silicon Valley today shows free, public child care from birth through age 5 equals money in families’ pockets. The report estimates...
Santa Clara County called out for jail project
As Santa Clara County remains undecided on whether to push forward with a controversial new jail, residents continue to demand local leaders ditch the project. More than 20 callers asked the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to redirect $747 million currently earmarked for a new jail project toward the county’s understaffed and underfunded mental...
Why one Silicon Valley city is paying for gas and groceries
Mountain View might be the perfect place to test out a guaranteed income program, which aims to raise the quality of life for its struggling residents. So when the city begins sending monthly $500 checks to low-income families at the end of this year, officials are hoping to not only help people just getting by, but...
New laws coming from Silicon Valley lawmakers
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...