Statewide cleanup effort includes inaugural ‘Trashure Hunt’
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...
Resource center brings more healthcare options to South County
After more than three years of dedicated planning, listening and partnership, Santa Clara Family Health Plan has opened the South County Community Resource Center at 150 Leavesley Road in Gilroy.
This marks the second CRC opened by the local health plan, as it also operates...
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...
Gun buyback is ‘one tool’ to prevent deaths, injuries by firearm
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 postpones decision on homeless encampment ban
The Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors on July 9 held off on a decision regarding an ordinance that would prohibit homeless encampments along waterways in the water district’s jurisdiction.
After hours’ worth of public testimony from speakers on both sides of the...
Hopes raised for promised pay increase
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...
State grants Open Space Authority $1.2M for Coyote Valley preservation plan
The Board of the State Coastal Conservancy recently authorized funding totaling $84 million for projects throughout California to protect and restore coastal lands, increase coastal resilience to climate change, improve public access to the coast and reduce the impact of wildfire on coastal lands.
Locally,...
Doctors issue advisory over mushroom poisonings
Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were included in a list of areas statewide where people have been severely sickened by Amanita phalloides—commonly known as the death cap mushroom.
A group of doctors from across California warned Jan. 14 that foraging for wild mushrooms can be...
New state law keeps medical debt off credit report
‘Everyday people across the country skip medical care because of cost. Those who do seek medical help may end up with a balance they can’t pay off. That debt can hurt people’s credit scores, resulting in long-term financial burdens.
Starting Jan. 1, a new state...
Saint Louise announces first baby of 2026
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...























