A new lawsuit alleges Valley Water CEO Rick Callender pushed to have his agency sponsor the NAACP California-Hawaii State Conference — a private group he personally oversees — with public dollars. The conflict of interest claim comes from a civil complaint filed March 20 by Salena Pryor, an NAACP colleague who worked under Callender in his...
Investigation into Silicon Valley water CEO ramps up
Valley Water CEO Rick Callender’s leave of absence has been extended indefinitely as the region’s largest water supplier continues its investigation into an employee’s misconduct complaint against him. Callender was originally supposed to return to work between late March and early April. But the Valley Water board of directors voted Tuesday to place Callender on...
Interim Silicon Valley water CEO faces conflict of interest concerns
The temporary head of Silicon Valley’s largest water agency is facing questions over a potential conflict of interest as she oversees a contract with her husband’s consulting firm. Melanie Richardson, a former deputy administrator and assistant CEO at Santa Clara Valley Water, has come out of a recent retirement to lead the water agency as...
UPDATE: Silicon Valley water officials approve pay raises
The elected leaders of Silicon Valley’s largest water supplier granted themselves pay raises, arguing more compensation would entice younger people to run for elected office. Valley Water’s board of directors unanimously approved a 5% raise from $365.87 to $384.16 per meeting on Tuesday. The board members are paid per meeting and can only get paid...
Silicon Valley water agency flops on outreach ahead of sweeps
Santa Clara County’s largest water agency has begun banning homeless encampments on its property, reversing a commitment to let nonprofits and advocates do outreach prior to enforcing its new policy. Although Valley Water planned to start training nonprofit groups to provide information to homeless residents prior to enforcing an encampment ban on Jan. 2, that hasn’t...
Valley Water CEO accused of misconduct fights back
Valley Water CEO Rick Callender is lawyering up as the region’s largest water supplier investigates a misconduct complaint against him — and he’s filing his own claims of a hostile work environment. Lori Costanzo, an attorney representing Callender, is demanding Valley Water hand over Callender’s personnel file, including all records of background checks and investigations,...
Valley Water CEO on leave amid misconduct complaint
Valley Water CEO Rick Callender is on “voluntary leave” after one of his employees filed a misconduct complaint against him, according to agency leaders. The region’s largest water supplier is searching for an interim leader in Callender’s absence through April 1. Richard Santos, a Valley Water board member and one of Callender’s elected bosses, confirmed...
San Jose counts homeless people along creek ahead of sweep
San Jose officials have homed in on a stretch of waterway to clean up debris and ban homeless encampments. A 12-mile stretch along Coyote Creek is slated to be cleared of homeless people starting in January and an encampment ban will be reinforced following that. The areas include Tully Road to Capitol Expressway, O’Toole Lane...
Silicon Valley water district maintains hiring freeze
Silicon Valley’s main water supplier will maintain a hiring freeze in order to offset hundreds of millions of dollars in a budget shortfall. Valley Water officials instituted a hiring freeze in February for 72 job vacancies amid a $222 million budget deficit for the fiscal year ending in June. The skyrocketing price tags for projects...
San Jose plans tiny homes on Cherry Avenue
A long overdue agreement between San Jose and Santa Clara County’s largest water agency to build housing for homeless residents has been greenlit and is slated to break ground next month. The San Jose City Council unanimously voted on Dec. 3 to enter into an agreement with Valley Water to build a new tiny home...
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