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For thousands of years, indigenous tribes near San Jose have hosted ceremonial practices, prayer and festivities on the land they refer to as Juristac — more commonly known as Sargent Ranch — that they consider as their most sacred spiritual site. But that might soon be coming to an end, as developers who own the...
San Jose firefighters call on county to open ambulance contract
After failing to meet response times amid a spike in 911 call volume, San Jose firefighters are asking the county to consider opening an ambulance contract to competitive bidders. The county contract, which was extended for three years in December, follows a model in which the county works with a private, for-profit ambulance company to provide services...
State of the County: 2019 is the year of health
The vital need for healthcare dominated this year’s State of the County address with Board of Supervisors President Joe Simitian stressing the need for quality mental health and homelessness services. His address called for creating a better system where the many facets of healthcare — lack of insurance coverage, homelessness, mental illness and texting while driving —...
Santa Clara County approves refugee funding, $8M for Sheriff’s Office
Santa Clara County lawmakers on Tuesday voted to approve a transfer of $8 million to cover overtime in the Sheriff’s Office, agreed to allocate money for refugee programs and discussed moving the Hope Village homeless encampment. The board approved a one-time transfer of roughly $3 million to cover overtime payments in the Sheriff’s Office, while...
Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office requesting $8M for overtime
Citing much-needed jail reforms implemented over the past four years, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is asking county lawmakers for more than $8 million to cover growing overtime costs. The request, which will be considered at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, would allocate $8.1 million from the Special Programs Labor Reserve. With little discussion, a county supervisors’ committee last week accepted a report from...
Santa Clara County makes major investment to fight wage theft
Santa Clara County officials on Tuesday voted to add an additional half million in funding to the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, a move that was applauded by all across the political aisle. Labor activists and former victims of wage theft, sexual harassment and human trafficking were among those in the crowd advocating for the...
Santa Clara County sees spike in whistleblower complaints, expands office
Improper hiring, employee or employer misconduct, corruption, favoritism and misuse of public resources. These are just some of the cases the Santa Clara County Whistleblower Program has taken on since it was established in 2010. But now the county’s watchdog office is expanding by adding new staff and updating the intake system for complaints, many of which are filed anonymously by county employees...
The ‘Year of the Woman’ makes its mark in Silicon Valley
A record number of women across the nation ran for political office last year – many first-time candidates – and despite some gender discrimination, the “pink wave” swept four women into top elected offices here in Silicon Valley. Newly-elected county Supervisor Susan Ellenberg remembers how empowered she felt watching Hillary Clinton’s concession speech after the 2016 election....
Don Rocha outlines vision for Dave Cortese’s office
As he takes the reins of Supervisor Dave Cortese’s office, former San Jose Councilman Don Rocha says he’ll focus on bolstering Santa Clara County finances in the face of potential cuts in federal funding to a county that’s boldly led the resistance against Donald Trump. “No one knows what the White House or Congress is...