Spoking My Mind: Cycle Saluting and Supporting
Welcome to July! Enjoy those summer rides! Remember to slather on the sunscreen and sport the sun sleeves. Consider packing more water than usual, and try to ride in the cooler parts of the day.
Oh, and take the family out for an Independence Day...
State weakens plan for mandatory water cuts
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...
Cat declawing, book censorship among new 2026 laws
Every year, lawmakers in Sacramento introduce a flurry of bills, most of which are eviscerated during the legislative process and end up on the Assembly or Senate trash heap. A select few make it to the governor’s desk, and assuming they dodge the veto...
Nurses rally for safer staffing at Santa Clara County hospitals
Hundreds of registered nurses gathered Dec. 16 outside four Santa Clara County hospitals to protest what they describe as dangerous staffing cuts that threaten patient safety across the countywide hospital system.
The rally, organized by the Registered Nurses Professional Association, brought together nurses from multiple...
Local mother on a mission to prevent child drownings
After Morgan Hill resident Kristina Andrews lost her daughter, Kourtney, to a drowning accident about six years ago, the local mother knew she wanted to do something to help prevent other families from suffering similar tragedies.
The desire to make a difference continued to grow...
Valley Water to expand creek cleanup program
On Aug. 22, the Valley Water Board of Directors allocated additional resources to support greater service and coordination toward cleaning up trash, debris and hazardous pollutants produced by encampments along waterways in Santa Clara County.
The board approved two new staff positions, adding to Valley...
Santa Clara County hospitals investigated for illegal medical, hazardous waste disposal
Three hospitals in the Santa Clara County healthcare system have been repeatedly illegally dumping medical and hazardous waste—as well as confidential patient records—over the past year or more, according to authorities.
Violations observed at the county-owned hospitals—including Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy—include the improper...
County makes Narcan available at all public libraries
Santa Clara County will begin providing the opioid overdose-reversing medicine naloxone in all county library branches in an effort to make the treatment more widely available.
The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously April 4 to make naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, available at all...
What you need to know about flu, RSV, Covid
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,...
County sales tax, Prop 50 win big in Nov. 4 election
With 100% of precinct ballots counted, Santa Clara County voters on Nov. 4 overwhelmingly supported adding 0.625% to the county sales tax rate for five years.
As of 10am, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office reported 200,430 YES votes and 152,850 NO votes,...























