Local News

The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival (PJIFF) on Feb. 27 announced its full film lineup for its 2023 edition.  This year’s festival—which will screen at venues in Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista—will take place April 12-19.  The complete PJIFF program includes features, documentaries,...

Starting next week, Caltrain will offer free train rides to and from COVID-19 vaccination sites for people living or working in San Francisco, Santa Clara or San Mateo counties. The agency said that fare payment to vaccination sites will not be required until further notice,...

Housing costs and inflation are the top concerns for California's 9 million Latino registered voters, according to a report issued Sept. 10 by the Latino Community Foundation, a national nonprofit dedicated to Latino voter engagement.  Although some blame political candidates for high costs, most blame...

The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band last week announced that it has filed a lawsuit against San Benito County to halt development of a new commercial project on Betabel Road, which sits on property that “holds significant historical, cultural and religious value” to the tribe.  The...

Santa Clara County has experienced a sharp decrease in the number of known Covid-19 cases since January that have led to loosening restrictions. But those numbers have flatlined in recent weeks, and with new variants circulating in the county, cases could be on the...

A newly completed bridge over Llagas Creek at Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve in Morgan Hill extends the park’s existing wheelchair-friendly trail and leads visitors to a grassland day use area surrounded by riparian woodlands.  The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority will...

Four San Jose non-citizen permanent residents received Santa Clara County 2022 election ballots even though they are not U.S. citizens, according to a concerned family friend and copies of documents reviewed by this newspaper. The four were sponsored by their brother to live in the...

By Grace Hase Santa Clara County health officials announced Monday morning that the county has conducted one million Covid-19 tests since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. “Our ability to test has increased tremendously since earlier in the year,” Santa Clara County Covid-19 Testing Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib...

Gilroy resident Alan Viarengo, who taught math at Gavilan College for nearly 20 years, was arrested last week on suspicion of stalking and threatening Santa Clara County’s public health officer, and police say he has ties to the anti-government domestic terrorist group known as “Boogaloo.”

Update: On Oct. 4, the California DMV sent an updated press release stating that the reopening date for the Gilroy DMV office has been tentatively rescheduled to Nov. 12 "due to unforeseen circumstances." The story below has been updated to reflect the new reopening...