Santa Clara Valley Water is boiling. Dozens of water district employees showed up at Tuesday’s board of directors meeting to protest a separation agreement allowing former CEO Rick Callender to keep his $700,000 total pay and benefits, despite investigators finding he sexually harassed employees. Some workers demanded all directors who approved the agreement resign. The...
State grant opens door to housing for South Bay farmworkers
Farmworkers who have grappled to make ends meet while doing backbreaking labor to feed Bay Area communities will have a pathway to home ownership. Santa Clara County will use a $2.2 million grant from the state’s Farmworker Housing Grant program to provide loans for mortgage assistance so low-income, first time homebuyers can purchase manufactured homes....
UPDATE: San Jose restricts use of license plate readers
San Jose is tightening controls over its automated license plate reader program, as the city faces mounting public pressure over surveillance concerns and a lawsuit. The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a range of new safeguards for San Jose’s network of 474 cameras, including limits on where the devices may be installed and...
Palo Alto approves ‘mission critical’ objectives for coming year
Palo Alto leaders set themselves up for a busy year on Monday when they approved a list of 42 measurable goals to carry out for the next year — an agenda that includes adopting a new area plan for neighborhoods around San Antonio Road, crafting a policy for managing consultants, completing a new bike master...
Mountain View joins lawsuit over federal grant restrictions
Along with several other jurisdictions across the state, Mountain View has joined a lawsuit against the federal government that is challenging new conditions imposed on recipients of federal grants. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development added regulations to certain grant programs last September, restricting money from being used to “promote gender ideology, elective abortions...
San Jose skips housing offers for some homeless residents
In San Jose, how you get treated as a homeless person depends on where you end up on the streets. The city appears to be giving preferential treatment to homeless residents living in large encampments like Columbus Park and the reestablished Jungle in East San Jose, when it comes to outreach and offers of temporary...
Bramson: Stopping the fall before it begins
Every day, thousands of Americans lose their homes. But the moment we notice the crisis is almost never the moment it begins. We see the tent on the sidewalk. The car parked overnight on a quiet street. The person waiting outside a shelter door. By then, the fall has already happened. What we rarely see...
Santa Clara County studies impact of possible rural hospital closure
Santa Clara County is forecasting additional stress on its public health care system — the second largest in the state — if the only rural hospital in neighboring San Benito County closes. A January report from Santa Clara Valley Healthcare estimates the closure of Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital — a 25-bed facility in Hollister — would...
The Biz Beat: Black & Brown brings vintage stylings to San Jose
A native of San Jose, Monisha Murray’s journey in the buy-and-sell world of vintage clothing began long before she opened her own storefront, Black & Brown. Over the last 21 years, the business has grown from a 2,000-square-foot startup to two side-by-side stores showcasing women’s and men’s classic clothing stretching back to the 1940s. “I...
Santa Clara County miffed at Newsom’s CARE Court criticism
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Santa Clara County needs to step up its game in treating people with severe mental health issues. County leaders and advocates disagree. At a news conference Monday, Newsom singled out the county as one of 10 that are not bringing enough people through the state-mandated CARE Court system — designed to...