For years, children in need of acute psychiatric care in Santa Clara County were being shipped hours away to get treatment. That is about to change as the county opens a new inpatient behavioral health facility for youth. The Behavioral Health Pavilion, located on the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Campus (VMC), will give 35...
Santa Clara County fends off legal challenge to sales tax increase
A court ruling invalidates a lawsuit that claimed Santa Clara County incorrectly applied an emergency clause to Measure A that allowed the county to put the sales tax increase on the ballot as a general tax. California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal on Sept. 23 affirmed the county Board of Supervisors’ declaration that the county...
Santa Clara County approves blueprint for childcare
Santa Clara County has a new strategy for helping local families access childcare. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the county’s Childcare Blueprint, which aims to expand childcare by addressing cost, access, workforce and facilities, especially in vulnerable communities. The plan, developed by the Santa Clara County Office of Children and Families Policy,...
Santa Clara County sees challenges for 5-year homelessness plan
Santa Clara County is charting how it plans to tackle homelessness over the next five years in one of its most challenging periods. The county’s next iteration of its Community Plan to End Homelessness, a template to guide its priorities through 2030, will focus on four key strategies: homelessness prevention, housing retention, increasing services for people on...
Santa Clara County aims to protect voting rights
As voting rights become diminished, Santa Clara County officials and advocates are pushing back. The Board of Supervisors is working with Black community leaders to encourage residents to participate in local elections, after officials recently approved a plan to draft a resolution to protect voting rights, which will go before supervisors on Sept. 15. Supervisors...
Santa Clara County home aid workers see pay increase
After years of meager wage increases, thousands of home aid workers in Santa Clara County will receive a bump in their hourly pay amid a tight budget cycle — a move advocates said is necessary but falls short to cover rapidly rising costs of living. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a new two-year...
Santa Clara County moves forward with jail transformation
Santa Clara County’s efforts to construct new jail facilities have repeatedly stalled due to rising costs and ongoing disagreements among officials and residents, but the deteriorating infrastructure is propelling the county to finally move forward. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to proceed with a multistep plan to overhaul and...
Rod Diridon memorial recalls Santa Clara County transit legend
Friends, family, politicians and members of the community remembered a pioneer who never gave up his dream for mass transit in Santa Clara County. Rod Diridon, Sr.’s wife Gloria Duffy said the event was a celebration of community and collaboration, because that’s who her husband was. His life was inspired by his upbringing at the...
Santa Clara County balances budget without severe service cuts
Santa Clara County has closed its multimillion-dollar deficit while preserving essential services amid one of its most challenging budget years in decades. The Board of Supervisors on June 18 unanimously voted to adopt the $14.7 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1. Despite previously facing a $787 million deficit, the county’s budget...
Santa Clara County funds suicide prevention despite budget cuts
Santa Clara County leaders are walking back a portion of proposed budget cuts to keep a pioneering suicide prevention program that’s contributed to one of the lowest death rates in all of California. At a Monday budget hearing, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to save two positions from being cut from the county program...