Health

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...

Facing criticism over their ambitious plan to curb urban water use, California’s regulators Tuesday weakened the proposed rules—giving water providers more years and flexibility to comply.   Cities and urban water districts welcome the changes to the state’s draft conservation rules, which they said would have...

This time of year, many of us think about going back to school, for ourselves or for our children or grandchildren. There are all sorts of questions: Who is taking children to school? Do we have the correct supplies? Who is making the lunches?...

California Coastal Cleanup Day will celebrate its 41st year this September with its first ever “Trashure Hunt,” offering participants the chance to win a variety of prizes by volunteering to pick up litter and garbage at hundreds of locations across the state, organizers announced...

Dr. Sara Cody—a nationally recognized public health official who was a leader and a pioneer in the Bay Area’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic—has announced her retirement from her position as Santa Clara County Health Officer.  Cody has served the county for more than 25...

Gun violence is a public health crisis in the United States, and an upcoming firearms buyback event in Morgan Hill aims to address the problem by keeping unwanted weapons out of the wrong hands, according to county law enforcement and government officials.  Some of that...

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...

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...

A non-native Aedes aegypti mosquito—an aggressive species that can spread certain diseases—has been discovered in a residential area of Gilroy, according to the Santa Clara County Vector Control District. A mosquito of the same species was also found recently in a neighborhood of east...

In a milestone for creating a major new source of drinking water, California has approved its first standards for turning sewage into potable water supplies delivered to homes and businesses. The State Water Resources Control Board, in a unanimous vote Dec. 19, outlined for the...