Health

Santa Clara County on Dec. 2 launched its new “CARE Court” process, a 24-month program that offers support for people facing mental health challenges and are at risk of becoming embroiled in the criminal court system.   Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court provides an...

Hundreds of nurses who work at Saint Louise Regional Hospital are on strike, joining the picket line with their colleagues represented by the Registered Nurses Professional Association. The healthcare workers are protesting alleged unfair labor practices exhibited by their employer, Santa Clara County.  More than...

Three mothers from California's South Valley have turned their grief into advocacy after losing their teenage sons to fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills. Gilroy residents Geralyn Vasquez, Lisa Marquez and Stephanie Carrasco each lost sons between ages 17 and 21 to what the young men believed were...

With election day approaching, voters have several state propositions from which to choose. Below is a brief description of each of them. For a deeper dive, visit voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions. Proposition 2 Public School and Community College Facilities Under Prop. 2, the state would sell a $10 billion bond...

More than two years after the Covid-19 pandemic started, hospitals and medical facilities throughout the region are still “desperate” for blood supplies for their patients, according to an American Red Cross representative. One way that many people, organizations and venues are committed to helping...

To ensure students get basic nutrition, Gavilan College opened a food pantry with a ceremonial ribbon cutting Feb. 25 on its Hollister campus. The well-stocked room is a collaboration between the college and the Community FoodBank of San Benito. Annette Gutierrez, Gavilan’s director of basic...

Don't call it a tripledemic—yet.  Influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and Covid-19 are circulating this fall, but not yet at the rate that worried public health agencies a year ago.  As we approach the time of winter when these diseases usually peak, around December to February,...

Santa Clara County is steering $15 million into expanding childcare services in the county, officially launching last week a grant program that was approved in February.  Funds can be used by recipients for facility improvements and operating costs, including rent and wages.  The county Board of...

California lawmakers are crafting an end-of-session package of proposed laws that could streamline the building of solar and offshore wind energy projects, according to people familiar with the discussions. Democratic legislators, who have shared drafts with environmental groups, industry, lobbyists and other interested parties, are...