Santa Clara County supervisors are set Tuesday to pump another $350 million of affordable housing bond money to build more low-income housing. In 2016, Santa Clara County residents approved a $950 million housing bond, known as Measure A, to fund construction of 4,800 housing units across the Bay Area. The premise of Measure A has...
How much do Silicon Valley nonprofits pay their executives?
In Silicon Valley, leading a nonprofit fighting for a noble cause can be a profitable business. Many of these organizations receive millions of dollars in public funding to solve homelessness, feed the needy, build shelters, help troubled youth and alleviate other social problems. Earlier this year, San Jose authorized $11.3 million to pay for homeless...
San Jose RV dwellers fear displacement
As county leaders push plans to revitalize the barren Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, dozens of RV dwellers could soon be pushed out. Tenant Pam Eisenbarth said staff from the nonprofit running the RV park, Fairgrounds Management Corporation, told her and husband Joe Rodriguez in December 2019 that the park would soon close. The corporation was...
Silicon Valley trans community faces workplace discrimination, harassment
As the LGBTQ community mourns the murder of Natalia Smüt and pushes back on violence, some say transgender people face a more subtle form of violence and hostility—workplace discrimination. Roxanne built a decades-long career as an attorney and judge, then she went public with her identity as a transgender woman. “I haven’t even been able to...
Silicon Valley libraries slowly reopening. Here’s what you need to know
For patrons and staff alike, the reopening of the Santa Clara City Library feels like Christmas morning. The public institution recently expanded access to indoor services alongside the Santa Clara County Library District and some branches of the San Jose Public Library. At all three branches of the Santa Clara City Library—Central Park, Mission Branch and Northside Branch—patrons...
Johnson & Johnson vaccine back on in Santa Clara County
Bay Area health leaders, including Santa Clara County’s top health official, are lifting the pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The county halted administration of the one-shot vaccine after reports of extremely rare cases of blood clotting. The pause came a month after Santa Clara County received its first doses of the highly-anticipated shot...
Will South Bay keep expanded homeless housing post-pandemic?
Santa Clara County made strides in housing its unsheltered residents during the pandemic. Now county officials want to make sure it doesn’t backslide as the region prepares for a post-pandemic future. With the help of emergency federal and state funding, the county’s Office of Supportive Housing provided shelter to more than 5,500 households over the last year. COVID-19...
1 million South Bay residents received at least one COVID-19 shot
Santa Clara County announced Friday that it’s administered one million COVID-19 vaccines. “We need to take a moment and take a deep breath and really celebrate,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. “This is a really big deal.” The milestone comes just over four months after the county vaccinated its first person and one...
Santa Clara County considers overhauling ‘military-style’ weapons policy
Santa Clara County is considering overhauling and regulating the sheriff’s “military-style” weapons policy, heeding calls for the demilitarization of law enforcement. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to analyze how the Sheriff’s Office spends its budget on equipment. Supervisors hope to reform or get rid of what they believe is overboard spending on...
Santa Clara County to redistribute COVID-19 fines to small businesses
Santa Clara County will begin the process of returning thousands of dollars in COVID-19 safety violation fines back to small businesses. Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to create a grant program that redistributes money collected from pandemic-related health and safety violations back to local businesses. Once developed, the county is expected to partner with local financial...