Economy

Driven by increasing residential values and despite a “troubled” commercial real estate market, Santa Clara County’s overall property assessment roll grew by $35.6 billion, or 5.4% in the last year, according to Assessor Larry Stone’s office. The growth includes an increase of around 5% in...

San Benito County Supervisors at a recent meeting approved a conditional use permit for the Betabel commercial project, after hearing two appeals against the proposal due to its likely impacts on the environment and tribal lands. The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Nov. 8 to...

In an effort to minimize impacts on wildlife and tribal resources, as well as to satisfy critics of the proposed Sargent Mine in southern Santa Clara County, the project’s applicant recently offered to scale back their original plans for the property. However, some of those...

Full CalFresh benefits have now been issued to all California recipients whose November payments had been delayed by the federal government shutdown, says a press release from Santa Clara County. The payments follow an order by the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island requiring...

The rain-weary Central Coast and Bay Area are being asked, again, to prepare for another round of soaking storms this week, as another atmospheric river system is expected to drench the region.  According to the National Weather Service, the atmospheric river is forecast to make...

A Bay Area nonprofit launched an emergency weekend meal program last weekend in partnership with the Gilroy Unified School District, and is planning to serve 500 children and their families every Saturday and Sunday in November.  The program, led by Community Seva, was launched in...

Cristina Cortez earns just $20.70 an hour running dialysis procedures for older patients suffering from kidney failure in the city of Gilroy. Because of her husband’s serious work injury in 2017 and their need to economize, her family of five moved an hour away...

Caltrain will use $43 million in federal funds to complete its fleet electrification project by fall 2024, officials announced Dec. 23. Officials expect President Joe Biden to sign off on the recently passed $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill, which will fund military and government agencies...

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...

Valley Water crews have dug about 160 feet into a giant tunnel that will be able to divert massive volumes of water out of Anderson Reservoir when the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project is completed.  The 20-foot diameter tunnel—which will be 1,750 feet long when...