One East San Jose school district is purchasing a vacant school after closing six campuses this year due to a multimillion-dollar deficit. Alum Rock Union School District is using $5 million from Measure S funds, a bond passed by voters in 2022 for school improvements, to purchase the former Downtown College Prep Alum Rock Charter...
Santa Clara County rolls out more affordable housing
More than 200 households have been given stability with the opening of two affordable housing developments near Diridon Station in San Jose. City and county officials on Wednesday celebrated the opening of Bellarmino Place and adjacent Alvarado Park, which will provide housing for older adults and people at risk of homelessness. The Santa Clara County...
Mountain View fines Google for cutting down 800-plus trees
After Google chopped down more than 800 trees in Mountain View to make way for an office project that it later abandoned, the tech behemoth has now agreed to pay up to $703,000 to plant hundreds of new trees throughout the city. The Mountain View City Council unanimously approved a tree mitigation agreement with Google on...
UPDATE: San Jose Little Italy street renaming stirs up controversy
San Jose’s Little Italy is getting a street renamed in its honor, but few in the neighborhood are happy — except the San Jose Sharks. The City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to rename a part of North Almaden Boulevard “Little Italy Way,” which is not the street the historic Italian American neighborhood originally wanted....
San Jose safe sleeping site temporarily closes
San Jose’s first safe sleeping site for homeless residents has temporarily shut down due to electrical issues just days after opening. A housing department spokesperson said the city closed the Taylor Street tent village on Friday and moved nearly a dozen homeless people living there to other temporary housing sites. The electrical issues stem from...
Santa Clara County declares public health crisis for Latino residents
Latinos in Santa Clara County suffer from higher rates of poverty, lower rates of high school graduation and more deaths from diabetes than other groups. Officials want to find ways to close that gap. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously declared a public health crisis for Latino residents, and is committing...
Silicon Valley lawmaker wants oversight for National Guard deployment
Responding to recent moves by the White House to deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo is leading an effort in Congress to require the president to submit a detailed report whenever such deployments occur. Liccardo has been a persistent critic of President Donald Trump’s decision in June...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County to coordinate response against ICE raids
Santa Clara County’s resistance to federal immigration crackdowns is about to get more organized. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to explore shifting county personnel and forming a county-coordinated regional response to ICE raids and residents facing deportation. It comes as county leaders have put $13 million since December into deportation legal defense and...
Cupertino could limit Bicycle Pedestrian Commission powers
The power of Cupertino’s Bicycle Pedestrian Commission is up in the air, leaving transit advocates worried about safety. The City Council on Tuesday will decide how much oversight should be given to those commissioners. Councilmembers will review four options, including splitting the commission’s responsibilities with the Planning Commission or expanding the planning commission’s role to...
Santa Clara County partnership gives surplus food to people in need
Santa Clara County is taking a unique approach to prevent food waste: bring it directly to the people who need it most. Last year, the county started a food recovery program to install commercial refrigerators in affordable housing developments and stock them with produce and ready-to-eat meals. It partnered with nonprofit Martha’s Kitchen to deliver...