Santa Clara County Local News

Sandwich shop by day and pizza parlor by night, The Last Round Tavern in San Jose manages its split personality exceptionally well.
Owner Caleb Orozco uses his homemade sourdough bread and thin-crust pizza dough as a base for identical ingredients, such as in-house braised brisket and pulled pork, to create two distinct and delicious menus that mix the traditional and the original.
“The menus are kept small, and that's intentional,” Orozco told San José Spotlight. “We want to hold it down to the things we do right. When you run slim, you just become more resourceful.”
The variations on the Cubano are a case in point. As a sandwich, the Black Forest ham, salami and 14-hour braised pulled pork are served with Swiss cheese and pickles on a chewy, fresh-baked sourdough roll. The pizza version has the same meat, but adds garlic sauce, pepperoncini and spinach. It hits all the notes and might be the best all-meat combo you’ve ever had.
A pizza from The Last Round Tavern: half Margherita, half Cubano. Photo by Robert Eliason.
Orozco, 31, graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in city planning. After five years of matching vacant properties to investors, his contract was up — and he was looking for something new.
He opened sandwich shop Genuine Heroes with his father, an amateur chef, on Silver Creek Valley Road. While Orozco handled the business end of the shop, he also absorbed his father's cooking techniques. They later moved to the current location — the former Nick's Pizza — on East Santa Clara Street and opened as The Last Round Tavern in 2019.

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Caltrans this week reminded motorists to expect an increase in traffic on the Central Coast during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Caltrans this week reminded motorists to expect an increase in traffic on the Central Coast during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

For many, the holiday season is a time of giving and generosity—a spirit that is alive and well in Morgan Hill as the community plans to step up to help their neighbors.

A new family farmworker residential development celebrated its grand opening in Morgan Hill on Nov. 20, adding 73 more homes to the city’s stock of affordable housing.

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A wood framing company is accused of stiffing workers and the state $2.6 million, including work sites in Santa Clara County. Two employees could face penalties and jail if convicted.

A critical city report highlighting deteriorating conditions at the San Jose animal shelter echoes concerns advocates and former volunteers have raised for years.

Santa Clara has been bulking up housing in its northern neighborhoods and officials just approved plans for thousands more homes.

In recent months, reports have been coming in from across the country, including locally in Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, regarding an alarming rise in vacant land property scams.
This crime wave has become so prevalent that the California Department of Real Estate has issued a formal warning, urging all real estate licensees to stay vigilant. Even the legal experts at the California Association of Realtors have shared reports of suspicious claims of property ownership. These fraudulent schemes primarily target vacant land, a form of real estate that can be particularly vulnerable to scammers.
At its core, the vacant land property scam is an identity theft scheme. Criminals pose as the legitimate owners of vacant properties, often using email, text and phone communications to push the sale of land they do not actually own. The scam typically follows a set pattern:

Commuters pause and stare when the doors open along downtown San Jose’s light rail train stops. Before them isn't the sleek white transit car they're used to — but a time machine.
VTA officials are reviving their most unique, 96-year-old holiday trolley car after a yearslong absence to run a brief stretch — free of charge — between Civic Center and Diridon stations. For the first time since 2018, residents can step into this carpeted and curtained tram into the early 20th century and admire the interior wood craftsmanship and passing city views.
The transit agency expects to run the 32-seat trolley on weekends before and after Christmas on Dec. 21-22 and Dec. 28-29. The schedule is not published yet and is dependent on the weather, as the trolley can't go out in the rain.
The trolley car originally served the tramways of Italy until its donation to California for restoration in 1986. Built in 1928 and painted two shades of green, the vintage callback to a golden age of transit brings immense pride to an agency tested many times in its mission to expand transportation access in the car-dominated South Bay.
The 96-year-old trolley car will operate free of charge during the holidays between Civic Center and Diridon stations. Photo by Brandon Pho.
Ornate wooden cars may have vanished in favor of more advanced, minimalist vehicles, yet debates over public transit service levels — and funding — have lived on. Proposals to cut VTA bus and light rail frequency met heavy pushback in 2021. Proponents saw a glimmer of hope when the proposal to extend BART through Santa Clara County won federal funding. But its ballooning price tag has made the project a punching bag for public transit opponents — and political penny pinchers — who question whether the service is worth the public investment.
The historic trolley represents public transit's potential over adversity in Silicon Valley, according to Rod Diridon Sr., a legendary transit leader and former county supervisor.
"If you save the best of the past, you’re bound to make a better future," Diridon told San José Spotlight. "Those trolleys are the best of the past."

Dozens of people crowd around hundreds of trees wearing Santa hats and reindeer antlers, hanging ornaments and laughing. San Jose’s beloved Christmas in the Park is about to enchant Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
This year, the nonprofit that brings the holiday joy is asking people to pull out their wallets to fill a six-figure gap and keep the tradition alive. Christmas in the Park needs about $100,000 going forward after three key sponsors pulled out because of the poor economy. The funding gap won’t affect the more than 44-year-old tradition this year, but could affect next year’s festivities. The fun begins with the Nov. 29 tree lighting ceremony in downtown San Jose.
Debbie Degutis, Christmas in the Park managing director, said the nonprofit is relying on some of the 700,000 visitors to consider donating to keep the tradition alive. Photo by Annalise Freimarck.
Debbie Degutis, Christmas in the Park managing director, said without the money, staff won’t be able to invest in new interactive activities and upgrades to the older displays to keep things fresh. Degutis said the event will be back next year and isn’t going away, but she’s relying on the expected 700,000 visitors to come up with the $100,000 to avoid pinching pennies.
She added the best way the community can show support is by buying a ticket to the nonprofit’s other event: History Park’s drive-thru light show. The light show is open Nov. 21 through Jan. 1 and offers more than a mile of twinkling lights. Tickets range from $25 to $30 per car, depending on the day.
“More than ever, we really need the community to step up and support the largest community event in the city,” Degutis told San José Spotlight.

Plans for a San Jose urban village have shifted, after developers agreed to pay millions to offset their decision to build more affordable homes.

After the recent presidential election results, Kerry Gudjohnsen, director of Pear Theatre’s production of The Agitators, says she feels like the country has taken one step forward, and two steps back. But she takes comfort from the play’s protagonists, Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.

As the sweeping promises of a new behavioral health court take shape slower than expected across California, Santa Clara County is one of the last to roll it out.

The Nutcracker, A Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas and Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! are staples of seasonal entertainment, festive, fun-filled live shows where everyone in the end learns the true meaning of Christmas.

From the perspective of a Quakes fan, nothing would be more fun than destroying the LA Galaxy with that team’s former coach.

ARIES (March 21-April 19)