Santa Clara County

The California Assembly chamber
WhatMatters
Legislative bloodbath as big bills die
Good morning, California. It’s Friday, May 21. Goodbye to all that Thursday was a brutal day in the state Legislature. Hundreds of bills met their demise or were watered down as lawmakers raced through an opaque process called the “suspense file,” a tool often used to euthanize proposals without having to cast a politically precarious […]
By • May 21, 2021
WhatMatters
Counties face choice about forcing more mentally ill Californians into treatment
Time is running out for California counties to decide whether they want to develop programs that would give families a legal tool to get severely mentally ill relatives into treatment. After years of resistance, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to implement Laura’s Law, becoming the 21st county to do so. The […]
By • May 20, 2021
Parents and students gather for a quiet protest and sit-in at Thousand Oaks Elementary School in Berkeley on Jan. 13, 2021. Berkeley Unified School District parents are calling for schools to reopen for in-person learning in accordance with public health guidelines. Photo by Anda Chu, Bay Area News Group
Education
Lawmakers blitz governor on school reopenings
Members of the Legislature put forward a bill to require schools to reopen by mid-April and guarantee that teachers get offered a COVID-19 vaccine beforehand. The lawmakers have said they’ll vote on the bill next week without hearings and Gov. Gavin Newsom has signaled that he'll veto it if it reaches him.
By • February 18, 2021
Parents and students mill around the McGaugh Elementary School parking lot during morning and afternoon changeover on Sept. 17, 2020. Photo by Tash Kimmell for CalMatters
WhatMatters
Will new school plan get kids back on campus?
Good morning, California. It’s Wednesday, February 10. Local control likely preserved Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are primed to unveil this week an elementary school reopening plan — one that seems likely to preserve the current model of local school districts negotiating agreements with teachers unions, raising questions as to whether the deal will […]
By • February 10, 2021
Guillermo Hernandez sits in his van in Richmond on Jan. 28, 2021. Hernandez, who uses his van for his businesses buying and selling second hand goods, lost work after having his license suspended in 2013 for failure to pay a ticket. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
Justice
State lifts suspensions of half a million driver’s licenses
Legal advocates are trying to roll back California’s hefty traffic ticket fines and fees, which are among the highest in the nation. One attorney called them a “blunt instrument” punishing people “when in reality, for many Californians, traffic tickets are simply too expensive to take care of.”
By • January 29, 2021
Poll workers use tongs to collect ballots and hand out stickers at a curbside voting location at Alameda County courthouse on Nov. 3, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters
Elections
Which California county voted the most? The least? Let’s compare
California voters are as diverse as its geography, from mountain ranges to valley farmland to forests and beaches. So a look at official voting results released this month shows notable differences in who turned out, how we voted, and where we voted. More than half of California’s record 17.8 million ballots cast came from just […]
By • December 21, 2020

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