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Santa Clara County Business, Economy & Jobs Articles



Image caption: Disney’s planned community of Celebration in Florida is far from Walt Disney’s earlier vision of a utopian city.
Solano County Planned City Latest in a California Tradition

Silicon Valley billionaires want to create a new city in Solano County. How have planned cities fared in California? From Lakewood to Irvine to Disney’s new Cotino, there have been many.

Image caption: One of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River targeted for demolition.
Dam Demolition Gets Going. Can Klamath River be Saved?

As four aging hydroelectric dams are demolished, tribes and communities along the Klamath River wait anxiously to see what the future holds. “Once a river is dammed, is it damned forever?” experts ask.

Image caption: About 52,000 acres land in Solano County, southwest of Sacramento and east of the Napa Valley, will become a new “megacity” if a group of tech titans get their way.
Tech Titans Revealed as Buyers of $1 Billion of Land in Solano County

The mysterious buyers of $1 billion worth of Solano County land have been revealed as a consortium of Silicon Valley billionaires who want to build a new city from scratch.

Image caption: Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside is set to receive $33.2 million in state interest-free loans.
State to Bail Out 3 Bankrupt Hospitals With No-Interest Loans

Some independent California community hospitals have struggled with rising costs since the COVID-19 pandemic. Three declared bankruptcy this year, prompting the state to distribute interest-free loans.

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Why a Colorado Company Funds a California Tax-Limiting Initiative

American Medical Response has poured more than $3 million into a November 2024 initiative to raise requirements for levying taxes and fees. The company says it’s looking out for patients, but local officials say it’s about the money.

Morgan Hill Times logo LOCAL NEWS
Chick-fil-A requests delay of Morgan Hill permit approval hearing

The Morgan Hill Planning Commission is scheduled to consider permits at the Sept. 26 meeting for a new Chick-fil-A restaurant at the corner of Cochrane Road and Sutter Boulevard. Plans include a new 5,028-square-foot “quick-service restaurant building” on the 1.82-acre …

Los Gatan logo LOCAL NEWS
New Chamber director promises to put ‘fastidious’ nature to work for local businesses

The current mayor of Monte Sereno hails from the Greater Toronto Area. And now, adding to the ranks of Canucks turned Silicon Valley leaders is the new executive director of the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce—as she is also from …

Image caption: California generates 70 percent more toxic waste than in 2010, but storage sites have declined by 80 percent over 40 years.
California’s Hazardous Waste Disposal System Is in Tatters

Neighbors to one of California’s biggest hazardous waste recyclers say they’re unfairly exposed to pollution, but can California afford to lose one of the few facilities that still takes toxic waste?

Image caption: A recent farmworker death highlights the need for additional heat safety measures.
Farmworker Dies in 100-Degree Heat Amid Calls for New Protections

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and the United Farm Workers union say a recent death in a tomatillo field was due to heat, but a coroner’s report doesn’t back that up.

Image caption: Loud noise created by other people is a form of pollution that can put a stop to housing projects, a court has ruled.
Housing Advocates ‘Infuriated’ as Human Noise Pollution Blocks Projects

Two different state courts have ruled recently that the human noise created by future tenants in housing projects are a form of pollution that cities must address. Lawmakers and the governor are working to reverse that novel interpretation of environmental …

Image caption: How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland

California has used reclamation districts to turn millions of acres of unusable swamps into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush. Here’s how it happened.

Image caption: The AES Alamitos Generating Station in Long Beach, and natural gas plants in Huntington Beach and Oxnard, will remain operational.
Southern California Natural Gas Plants Will Stay Open Through 2026

Three fossil fuel plants will stand by to provide emergency power for three more years despite California's mandate to switch to clean energy by 2045.

Metro Silicon Valley logo LOCAL NEWS
Workplace Drama

A mere few days before TheatreWorks Silicon Valley would launch their 20th New Works Festival, a dire announcement was released about the institution’s multi-million-dollar campaign to keep their doors open. “[August 9] TheatreWorks announced it must raise $3 million by …

Image caption: The fate of three community hospitals may lie in the hands of California's largest health care chains.
Health Chains May Keep 3 Bankrupt California Hospitals Alive

Two of the three troubled California hospitals are especially vital to their communities because they’re the only emergency providers in their rural counties. Health care chains could keep them afloat.

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Working Together: TTCF and California Local

A conversation with Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation

Image caption: Almost 4 of 10 California Black women work at least two jobs and 62 percent say the second job is "essential."
Poll: California's Black Women are Overworked, Underpaid

A recent state survey reveals 2 in 3 Black women are breadwinners; 8 in 10 worry about discrimination or mistreatment and more like Gov. Gavin Newsom than Vice President Kamala Harris.

Image caption: Has the state allowed substandard water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region?
Feds Investigate California Water Agency for Discrimination

A discrimination complaint filed by Native American tribes and environmental justice groups alleges that California has failed to protect water quality in the Bay-Delta. The EPA is investigating.

Gilroy Dispatch logo LOCAL NEWS
Gilroy’s sidewalk vending plan moves forward

The Gilroy City Council moved forward with an ordinance Aug. 7 that will regulate sidewalk vending within the city. Senate Bill 946, which went into effect in 2019, legalized sidewalk vending. Through the law, cities can require a permit or …

Image caption: In several test programs throughout the state, Medi-Cal recipients are receiving healthy meals by prescription at "food pharmacies."
Medi-Cal Reform Proposal: Prescriptions to Cover Healthy Foods

Medi-Cal and other programs are testing food prescriptions that advocates say could improve chronic conditions, lower health care costs and reduce hunger.

Image caption: Feud between the “blue” and “red” governors has been broiling for over a year.
Newsom Vs. DeSantis: Feuding Govs Agree to ‘Red vs. Blue’ Debate

Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis finally agreed to debate California Gov. Gavin Newsom after a feud hat has lasted for more than a year and included DeSantis dumping planeloads of immigrants in Sacramento.

Featured

Water is a human right under California law, but it doesn’t always work out that way.
Agriculture and Water Shortages in the State’s Breadbasket, Explained
There are many causes contributing to this crisis. And as you may already know, this situation really is nuts.
The cycle of crime and homelessness is escalating, but it doesn't have to be that way.
Homelessness and Crime in California: Even More Complex Than You Think
What causes the cycle of homelessness and crime, and how to stop it.
Thousands of homeowners have been kicked off their fire insurance policies.
California Fire Insurance Crisis: How the State Helps Homeowners
The state tries persuading insurance companies to cover homes in fire zones.
Moss Landing in Monterey Bay is the world’s largest battery storage facility for solar and other renewable energy.
Solar Power and California’s Clean Energy Goals
How the sun is helping push the state toward 100 percent renewable energy.
Owning homes is the primary way the middle class builds wealth, and an option no longer available to most Californians.
Is California’s Housing Crisis Making Inequality Worse?
California has some of the worst economic inequality in the United States. Is housing a cause? Could it be a cure?
Though life expectancy has declined in recent years, Californians still live longer than most Americans.
Want to Live a Long, Healthy Life? Move to California
Californians live longer than people in all but three states, but not all counties are equal.
They help feed the whole country, but life for California’s farm workers remains a struggle.
How California Feeds the Country
California, a state known for high-tech and show business glitz, is also America’s farming powerhouse.
Zoning laws tell you what you can and can't build on the property you own. How does government get away with that?
How Zoning Laws Shape California and Society
Zoning is everywhere, but is it a way to regulate development or a tool for social engineering?
How California reclamation districts turned millions of acres of wetlands into fertile agricultural land, starting in the earliest days of the Gold Rush.
Reclamation Districts: Turning ‘Swamps’ Into Farmland
From its earliest days as a state, California has been trying to turn marshes into productive land.
Long-duration energy storage, such as this thermal energy storage facility, allows renewable energy sources to operate at full capacity without overloading the power grid.
How California Leads the Race For Long Duration Energy Storage
For renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to be viable, ways to store the power they create are essential.
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