Archive for August 2023

Valley Water is introducing two new approaches to combating pollution created by homeless encampments near creeks—portable toilets and debit cards. The water district announced earlier this week that it will place portable toilets and wash stations at 20 key sites near homeless encampments along the creeks through an initiative called the Portable Toilet Facilities Program. It also…

Santa Clara County officials are inching closer to creating a new health clinic in the West Valley that will help underserved community members and offer college students a lens into the field of medicine. The Board of Supervisors is currently in discussion with the Foothill-De Anza Community College District to establish a neighborhood clinic, the…

A long-standing homeless shelter north of downtown San Jose is planning an expansion and Santa Clara County officials are hoping to coordinate support for the project. The Salvation Army’s Emmanuel House shelter at its 359 N. Fourth St. campus is set to grow from 70 beds to 112 during a 10-month renovation project slated for…

A South Bay senator is hoping to speed up affordable housing production statewide with a new bill aimed at trimming back red tape in California’s main environmental law. State Sen. Dave Cortese’s bill, SB 406, would grant local agencies who help fund affordable housing an exemption from a provision of California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that…

San Jose officials are considering banning homeless encampments and RVs around schools even as homeless advocates decry the move, saying it further criminalizes an already marginalized group of people. A proposal to prohibit homeless people and their vehicle dwellings within 150 feet of most city preschools, day cares and K-12 schools will go before the San Jose City Council in coming weeks after it…