Valley Water Board elects chair, vice chair for 2025
The Valley Water Board of Directors elected Tony Estremera as the Chair for 2025, and Richard P. Santos as Vice Chair. The board voted on their new officers at the Dec. 10 meeting.
Estremera has been on the Valley Water Board since 1996, and is...
Conservation groups buy 668 acres of South Valley farmland
Three connected agricultural properties straddling the border of San Benito and Santa Clara counties were recently purchased by conservation organizations, ensuring the lands totaling more than 600 acres will remain an active link in a vital regional ecosystem.
The Peninsula Open Space Trust on Oct....
Valley Water celebrates $727M in EPA loans for Anderson Dam, other projects
With a cold winter storm bearing down on Morgan Hill, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrators joined local and regional representatives Feb. 23 at the top of Anderson Dam to announce the availability of $727 million in low-cost loans that will fund the rebuilding of...
Study: Employers fail to keep farmworkers safe from Covid
Although farm and food production workers were considered essential workers during the pandemic, many of California's food employers endangered those workers, violating Cal/OSHA's Covid-19 guidelines more often than most industries, a new report said.
The California Institute for Rural Studies’ report said farm and food...
After public outcry, Santa Clara County supervisors order revisions to rural zoning proposal
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 18 unanimously approved a change of course for proposed rural zoning amendments after hundreds of farmers, ranchers and equestrian business owners raised concerns the changes would devastate their operations.
Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who represents much of...
Anderson Dam retrofit construction to start in early 2027
Valley Water officials shared progress updates and timeline revisions for the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project during a community meeting Feb. 20, announcing the release of the final Environmental Impact Report for the project, as well as giving a general update on the project...
First West Nile death reported in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County health officials on Aug. 14 reported the first local death attributed to West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne illness.
The death this month of an immunocompromised adult at a local hospital “after experiencing West Nile virus symptoms” is the second reported human case...
San Martin ‘treasure’ Kenneth Ludewig dies
Lifelong San Martin resident Kenneth Ludewig, a local “treasure” who brought joy to countless South Valley residents as the creator and operator of the former San Martin Country Park & Pumpkin Patch, died unexpectedly on Nov. 7, according to family members. He was 74...
Field day fosters agricultural education
The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds hosted a Purina Honor Show Field Day, sponsored by Gilroy Farmers Supply. The free educational event attracted youth participants aged 9-19 from 4-H, Future Farmers of America and The Grange who are eager to enhance their livestock care and...
March 23 panel focuses on women in the Santa Clara Valley wine industry
One could not celebrate Women’s History Month without acknowledging the tremendous impact women have had on the local wine industry here in the Santa Clara Valley.
One of the most famous names in Silicon Valley lore, Paul Masson, might never have made a big splash...























