Santa Clara County Public Safety Articles

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is conducting aerial patrols in areas of Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. Scheduled helicopter patrols are part of the company’s Vegetation Management Program to detect dead or dying trees that could …

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is conducting aerial patrols in areas of Santa Clara, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. Scheduled helicopter patrols are part of the company’s Vegetation Management Program to detect dead or dying trees that could …

Gov. Newsom just signed a tax on firearms and ammunition, among other new gun control laws. California’s remaining gun manufacturers wonder if they have a future.

In the Imperial County desert, a volunteer group routinely maintains large barrels filled with water to help migrants traversing the California desert. As rescues increase, the longstanding immigration policies that funneled migrants to such harsh terrain deserve scrutiny.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal recently established a statewide program to allow qualified applicants to support Cal Fire in its defensible space and home hardening assessment and education efforts, says a press release from the California Department of …

Legislators weren’t able to reach a compromise that helps insurers with wildfire risk while also protecting homeowners. Interest groups hope to find one in meetings this fall.

Town Attorney Gabrielle Whelan said Sept. 5 in her closed session report that the Town Council had met in private to discuss a legal threat from the gun lobby, which asked Los Gatos to delay enforcing its new concealed carry …

Hate crimes were up 20 percent in California in 2022, with those against transgender, Muslim and Black people increasing especially sharply. But the state is also spending more than any other to combat such crimes, including a hotline, state commission …

A bipartisan bill to prohibit TikTok on state phones is shelved until 2024. It had breezed through the state Legislature, but the authors want to tweak the measure. It's the latest social media regulation to get stalled in California.

California cities are struggling to hire police in a tight labor market after the COVID pandemic. Some are raising by double digits and offering eye-catching bonuses.

It’s a confusing time in the COVID pandemic. A new booster is on the way, but cases are rising and you might want more protection now.

More California police departments are deploying body cameras. A new court ruling restricts how prosecutors can use footage of witness accounts at trial.

California grants school boards much local control, but recent events have pushed the state to take steps to stop local school board meetings from turning into potentially dangerous culture war battlegrounds.

After Morgan Hill resident Kristina Andrews lost her daughter, Kourtney, to a drowning accident about six years ago, the local mother knew she wanted to do something to help prevent other families from suffering similar tragedies. The desire to make …

Climate change caused by human use of fossil fuels is the major reason California wildfires have burned 172 percent more land than they would have over the last five decades, according to new research.

A yearlong investigation shows that a $100 million-a-year rehabilitation program for former California prisoners grew with little oversight from the state corrections agency. It's unclear how many parolees wind up back in prison.

Marie Heilman of Winters, who is happy to be alive, wants people to guard against mosquitoes and the deadly virus they carry.

Gov. Gavin Newsom poured ‘unprecedented’ money into homelessness, but providers say his use of one-time grants does not allow for long-term solutions to the state’s biggest crisis. That's what happened in Grass Valley.

The Santa Clara County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) recently released a draft report for the Countywide Fire Service Review, and will host a series of upcoming public meetings to solicit input, answer questions and provide information. “The review includes …

You have to be 18 to get divorced in California, but there’s no minimum age to get married. Child marriage survivors protested at the state Capitol, but the Legislature likely won’t act until next year.