Health

To call Keith Larson a superfan of “A Christmas Story” might be an understatement. The San Jose native still remembers that clear winter day as a 9-year-old in 1983, when the power tripped off in his neighborhood without a known reason. On a whim, the family...

Valley Water, the local water district that is in charge of rebuilding the dam at Anderson Reservoir in Morgan Hill, recently released a draft environmental study of the seismic retrofit project.  The district is now accepting public comment on the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project...

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...

The first baby of 2026 in South Santa Clara County is 5-pound, 10-ounce Brittany Sanchez.  Sanchez was born on Jan. 1 at Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy, according to county officials. Brittany was 18 inches long. Her parents are Antonia Lopez Sanchez and Bartolo...

Dr. Scott Benninghoven is hanging up his scalpel after 35 years of transforming lives in the operating rooms of Saint Louise Regional Hospital, leaving behind a legacy of healing that has touched thousands in South County and beyond. “It is strange to look back. It’s...

While transmission of respiratory syncytial virus has begun to plateau in Santa Clara County, the county's top health official said Tuesday that Covid-19 and flu transmission continue to rise. Covid virus concentration in each of the county's sewersheds in San Jose, Palo Alto, Gilroy and...

UC Santa Cruz recently acquired and established the Strathearn Ranch Natural Reserve, a 2,400-acre oak-studded grassland property in San Benito County that will be used for field research and outdoor education for the university’s students, staff and researchers.  The UC Board of Regents approved the...

Santa Clara County has earmarked more than $8 million in local funds for immigration related services in the recently adopted 2025-26 budget.  The funding builds on the county’s previous investments in services for the immigrant community that include an emergency $5 million allocation in 2024...

Santa Clara County supervisors —and the public—on Dec. 12 got their first public explanation from county officials on the explosive revelations a week earlier that county-run hospitals had for at least a year illegally dumped medical waste, drugs and patient data into dumpsters. Healthcare officials...

The County of Santa Clara Household Hazardous Waste program is expanding access to a service that helps small businesses dispose of hazardous waste in a safe and cost effective manner. The county’s Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG) disposal program is a dropoff service for businesses...