There is an alarming gulf between people thriving in the digital economy and those shut out of it. That gulf grew wider during the COVID-19 pandemic as tech workers enjoyed the ability to work from home while people in service jobs struggled with layoffs and housing insecurity. Rep. Ro Khanna has watched this crisis unfold in...
Silicon Valley water leaders want longer term limits
Directors of a Santa Clara County water district want to extend their term limits, even as some members cast doubts about the cost and necessity. Valley Water’s board of directors voted 4-3 last month to put a measure on the June primary election ballot asking voters to approve an extension of how long directors can serve on...
Santa Clara County slides into endemic stage of COVID
Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Bay appears to be at a turning point as restrictions are peeling back. Still, county officials and local health experts are wary of returning fully to pre-pandemic lives. “We anticipate that we will continue to see peaks and valleys (of infection) in the months and perhaps years ahead,” a...
Santa Clara County wants to make ghost guns vanish
Elected officials are taking steps to outlaw homemade guns in Santa Clara County. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors will consider creating an ordinance to prohibit the possession, manufacturing and assembly of ghost guns. Elected officials are taking steps to outlaw homemade guns in Santa Clara County. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously...
Santa Clara County to review how sex assault DNA is handled
Santa Clara County officials are asking the county’s top law enforcement agency to review how it uses DNA collected from survivors of sexual assault, following a scandal in San Francisco. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday for the Santa Clara County District Attorney to outline how the county crime lab handles DNA from sexual...
Silicon Valley day care closures sideline working mothers
A lack of affordable day care drove women out of the workforce when COVID-19 hit. Now they are stranded and can’t get back in. About 2 million women dropped out of the workforce in the U.S. since the beginning of the pandemic, compared to 1.6 million men, according to an economic study by the Bay...
Santa Clara County sheriff responds to corruption accusation
Months after being accused of corrupt misconduct by a civil grand jury, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith has finally issued a defiant response. According to court papers filed on Tuesday, Smith argues four of the seven counts in the accusation against her are legally insufficient and should be dismissed. “I am gratified that the...
California CARE Court could help get homeless, mentally ill off the streets
Gov. Gavin Newsom could change how the state handles its severe mentally ill—if he can persuade legislators to fund a proposal in the upcoming fiscal year budget. A Thursday morning event at Crossroads Village, a Momentum for Health mental health campus, brought together Silicon Valley advocates and politicians alike to learn about the new CARE...
Kremen temporarily steps down as Silicon Valley water board chair
Gary Kremen is temporarily stepping down as chair of the Valley Water board of directors, following an exclusive report by this news organization about allegations of inappropriate behavior made by a former campaign staffer. In an internal statement obtained by San José Spotlight, Kremen asks the water board’s ethics committee to conduct an independent investigation to...
Silicon Valley, state renters struggling to get relief
Barriers to COVID-related rent relief have placed thousands of renters in Santa Clara County and throughout California in desperate circumstances as they struggle to avoid eviction. A new survey documents common problems facing tenants in Santa Clara County and 26 other counties in California, using data provided by 58 organizations and partners that help tenants...