As local leaders and doctors rally behind Santa Clara County’s proposed sales tax measure, sheriff’s deputies and county prosecutors are urging voters to think twice. Dozens of health care workers and elected officials gathered at Valley Medical Center in San Jose on Wednesday in a show of public support for the five-eighth cent general sales...
Sunnyvale development proposes condo, rental combo
A new housing development is one step closer to transforming the corner of a major Sunnyvale road that’s home to car sales lot. The Sunnyvale Planning Commission unanimously voted Monday to allow De Anza Properties and property owners to change their 111-home project to a mix of roughly 85 owned condos and 25 apartments for...
Cupertino’s RV permit policy could affect homeless residents
Fanny never expected she’d uproot her four children from their Santa Clara apartment to a small RV parked on a side street off Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino. When her landlord kicked her out due to a minor dispute about two months ago, she began renting the RV for $900 a month to stay off the...
Silicon Valley street cleaning crew is swept away
A flagship program that employed homeless people to clean the streets of San Jose and connect them to housing is abruptly ending. Nonprofit Downtown Streets Team is ending operations Oct. 31, citing financial and political pressures that make it difficult to sustain the organization. The nonprofit formed 20 years ago in Palo Alto and expanded to 15...
Mountain View inspires Liccardo to introduce federal housing bill
It’s not often that Mountain View gets the chance to shape housing legislation that could have an impact far beyond its borders. But the city recently inspired the introduction of a bipartisan bill that could make it easier for municipalities to use federal funds for affordable housing. Last week, U.S. Reps. Sam Liccardo (D-California) and Mike Flood...
East San Jose school district mismanages health insurance payments
The board vice president of an East San Jose school district will give back thousands of dollars in health care premiums after the district overpaid him, due to an administrative error. Andres Quintero, board vice president of the Alum Rock Union School District, will be required to reimburse the district $4,527.90 in insurance premiums. The...
Silicon Valley tool alerts homeless residents to available housing
One nonprofit has a unique web tool to help homeless people connect to resources, with the goal of becoming the go-to site for that population. MyConnectSV, a web-based portal spearheaded by Destination: Home, allows homeless residents to directly message case managers, receive alerts on available housing and more. The nonprofit wants to hit 2,000 users...
Bramson: We’re triaging homelessness, but not treating its root causes
Walk into any emergency room and you’ll see it: triage. Doctors and nurses move fast to stabilize, assess and keep patients alive. It’s lifesaving work — but no one would confuse it with treatment. That comes later, when the root causes are addressed, not just the symptoms. Right now, our homelessness response is looking more...
Silicon Valley could see more affordable housing under Trump bill
Amid a tsunami of cuts to the nation’s social safety nets, a golden nugget in the congressional budget bill will allow developers to create more affordable housing. H.R. 1 provides an increase to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, the primary source of federal funding for affordable housing. Starting next year, states will be...
Silicon Valley bus honors local LGBTQ+ leaders
VTA’s support for the local LGBTQ+ community is going beyond celebrating Pride. The Silicon Valley public transit agency drove its decorated Pride bus during last weekend’s 50th anniversary parade. The celebration’s theme was “50 years of Love, Legacy & Liberation,” with portraits of LGBTQ+ community leaders from across the nation and San Jose’s own backyard...