Three of San Jose’s largest school districts received a total of more than $155 million in federal funding to tackle COVID-19. Those dollars have served as a lifeline to schools throughout the pandemic and since, but after 2024 that well of money will dry up. The federal funds have been allocated in three rounds throughout...
Laurie Smith is out as Santa Clara County sheriff
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith is stepping down as the top law enforcement officer as her trial for corruption charges comes to a close. Undersheriff Ken Binder will replace Smith as acting sheriff until the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors chooses one, or until a new one is elected, according to a Monday...
San Jose doctors delay strike amid agreement
After more than two years of negotiating, Santa Clara County and its doctors have reached a pending agreement on a new contract, averting a strike scheduled to start in November. County Executive Jeff Smith said the county and Valley Physicians Group, a union representing more than 450 doctors in the Santa Clara County health system, met for three...
Sandoval: Outreach to our unhoused neighbors takes time, trust and tenacity
There are a lot of misconceptions about people experiencing homelessness. A pervasive one is that unhoused people don’t want help, shelter or housing. From mine and my team’s years of experience, we have found that to be patently false. Quite the opposite: PATH’s 2021 client feedback survey showed 87% of our unhoused participants actively want...
Silicon Valley teachers burned out by unruly behavior
As Silicon Valley teachers stress over the lack of affordable housing and high cost of living, unruly student behavior is now part of the mix. The end result is teacher burnout. Nearly one-third of teachers cite student discipline as the worst part of the job, according to a recent UCLA study. The problem is being...
Money in San Jose mayor’s race tops $8M
The costs of this year’s high-profile San Jose mayoral race is one for the record books, at $8.5 million—with special interest groups making up 51% of spending in an effort to sway voters. With roughly two weeks until the Nov. 8 election, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan are...
San Jose mural honors life lost in mass shooting
Keyla Salazar had her whole life in front of her when she was shot at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in 2019, just days before her 14th birthday. Salazar loved creating art and cared deeply for the humans and animals in her life. Her family wanted to honor Salazar’s memory with a mural, and two years...
San Jose mom slapped with restraining order after police kill son
Cindy Chavez was standing outside her apartment complex last week when a Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputy approached her clutching paperwork. She was being served a restraining order, the deputy explained, to protect the officer who killed her son. Chavez is not related to Supervisor Cindy Chavez, a San Jose mayoral candidate. The temporary restraining...
Silicon Valley schools score average on LGBTQ inclusiveness
Two Santa Clara County school districts are creating safe school environments for LGBTQ students, but a new report shows more progress needs to be made. Both Santa Clara Unified and San Jose Unified school districts received middle-tier scores according to the 2022 Equality California Safe and Supportive Schools Report Card, which rates districts on LGBTQ...
Follow the money: Silicon Valley’s 2022 general election
Silicon Valley voters this year will have their say on several key county positions, four San Jose City Council seats and three Santa Clara City Council posts as the November election draws close. The race to replace Mayor Sam Liccardo, who terms out at the end of the year, continues to be the most heated...