San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan wants Santa Clara County to scale up shelter and health treatment options in response to the city’s renewed crackdown on homelessness. During Tuesday’s City Council discussion on Mayor Matt Mahan’s 2025-26 March budget message, Councilmembers David Cohen and Domingo Candelas sought to involve county officials in the mayor’s “Responsibility to...
Cupertino to install license plate reader cameras
Criminals driving through Cupertino could be caught by just their license plate as the tech hub becomes one of the last in Santa Clara County to install detection technology. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to allow the County Sheriff’s Office to implement 15 cameras that automatically read license plates throughout...
Santa Clara County to weigh potential budget cuts
Santa Clara County officials say critical safety-net services could abruptly end as early as next month, as congressional lawmakers prepare to vote on a plan to trim trillions in spending over the next decade — and cut off billions of federal dollars flowing west to Silicon Valley. The Board of Supervisors is weighing the “devastating...
Santa Clara County creates office to prevent violence
Santa Clara County wants to be proactive instead of reactive when it comes to addressing community violence. To accomplish this, county leaders plan to sink millions of dollars into a new initiative. The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Feb. 4 to create the Office of Community Violence Prevention and put aside $5 million, spread out...
Santa Clara County to limit speakers at public meetings
Santa Clara County officials could further restrict residents’ already limited opportunity to make their voices heard at meetings. Otto Lee, president of the Board of Supervisors, plans to implement a new rule for public comment, a portion of government meetings where residents can speak directly to supervisors at a podium. Comments on issues that aren’t on the agenda...
Silicon Valley officials limit public expression
Audiences at Silicon Valley government meetings are running into an increasingly common rule: no applause. Local governing bodies like the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and San Jose City Council are telling people to avoid cheering or booing other speakers during public comments before major votes. The rule comes up when large crowds show up to...
What happens to South County firefighters as district dissolves?
A fight over fire response in South County has sparked threats of service disruptions and put firefighter jobs in flux. Citing years of financial struggle and fragmented emergency response, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Jan. 14 to begin dissolving the fiscally insolvent South County Fire District. The decision will end an...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County artificial turf ban fails to move forward
A potential artificial turf ban in Santa Clara County is in stasis as officials have failed to come to a consensus. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors was unable to agree on how to limit artificial turf on county fields at its Tuesday meeting. The board rejected a total ban with a 2-3 vote,...
Santa Clara County housing plans approved by state
Santa Clara County’s state-mandated housing plans have been approved — nearly two years after the deadline. The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted Tuesday to approve the county’s housing element, which details how officials plan to meet state housing goals over the next eight years to account for population growth and other community needs. The California...
Santa Clara County weighs raising campaign donation limits
Santa Clara County supervisors could relax restrictions on how much they can raise for their reelection campaigns. The issue sparked a 30-minute debate at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday about whether a higher ceiling for candidate fundraising would help or hurt poorer people’s chances of winning elected county office. For 30 years, county supervisor...