Santa Clara County Public Safety Digest

San Francisco police officers have been operating for more than a year with guidance from their chief that California’s vehicle code doesn’t provide authority for them to ticket driverless cars for infractions like speeding or running red lights. Officers are still encouraged to report relevant information about incidents.

A law passed by the California legislature in 2023 has gone into effect banning licensed gun holders from bringing their firearms to places like playgrounds, churches and casinos. The law faces an ongoing challenge in the federal court system.

A new law, sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta, will create a fund designed to fully compensate victims of false advertising or unfair competition.

Under new state laws, five cities will test cameras to catch speeding drivers and cruising bans will be lifted statewide. The first is supposed to improve road safety, but critics of the second say it will endanger the public.

Prescribed burns, used to limit destructive wildfires, are growing in frequency at California State Parks. But as the smoke drifts into residential areas, it’s easy to see why many Californians are concerned about the health impacts.

Some firefighters and police officers who worked long enough in California to earn pensions are heading to more conservative destinations like Idaho in retirement. Some of these people even run for political office in these places.

An effort spearheaded by the Newsom administration and congressional leaders resulted in Congress authorizing and accelerating the transfer of seven C-130 aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard to CalFire, expanding California’s firefighting fleet.

Residents from the Bella Castello and Corde Terra Senior tenants associations protested in front of ROEM Corporation’s offices in Santa Clara, calling for CEO Robert Emami to meet with them.

San Jose will use $12.9 million from the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program to add safety features to four transit corridors.

Mountain View mail carriers are facing more than just the usual perils of bad weather, heavy loads and aggressive dogs. They now also have to contend with armed robbers stealing their postal keys.

A gas leak halted construction at a Church Street residence, leading to the evacuation of workers and residents but no reported injuries, according to the Mountain View Fire Department.

The fentanyl epidemic has pushed San Francisco to a grim milestone: a new record for overdoses. A total 752 people overdosed in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing 2020’s record number of 726.

The greatest challenge for someone experiencing a mental health crisis is finding immediate access to care that doesn’t involve the police. A Santa Clara County program offers this option, but it's difficult to reach.

The Santa Clara City Council has voted to release a full investigative report into an incident during a closed session of the council in August 2022.

A group of protesters sat down with interlocked arms on the 110 Freeway near downtown LA on Dec. 13, halting southbound traffic for more than an hour. Multiple people were arrested according to the CHP.

A new select committee in the California Assembly dedicated to retail theft will hold its first hearing on Dec. 19. This allows the committee to get to work before the next legislative session on an issue that’s drawn much press for California in recent years.

Californians have said they experienced added difficulty over the past year in getting car insurance. Insurer rates have gone up more than usual.

A large gathering of protesters sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people is expected outside a fundraiser Dec. 8 in Westwood for President Biden. Police have warned that any violence won’t be tolerated.

Mountain View is pushing forward with plans to build a new public safety building that aims to serve the community for the next 50 years, with the council approving a $200 million design.

Three separate car crashes have taken place across Alma Street in less than a month, resulting in multiple injuries, damaged vehicles and temporary road closures.

The majority of the Los Altos City Council agreed that going further in the process to determine the feasibility of such a partnership would involve too much staff time and perhaps cause more headaches when having to answer to a community with different priorities.

A proposed Sunnyvale housing development may be put on hold over concerns about exposure to cancerous chemicals.

Students and teachers alike are decrying the actions of the Temecula Valley Unified School District board, which became conservative in majority following the recent elections of three members. The board’s actions include banning critical race theory and mandating parental notification if their child is transgender.

Hackers stole data this week from Blue Shield of California. Historically, this type of data has sometimes wound up for sale on what’s known as the dark web, the part of the internet not typically included in search engine results.

Two miles of public beach were closed in Laguna Beach following a spill of 94,500 gallons of sewage. Orange County is testing water to determine when the beach will be safe to reopen.

San Jose officials have approved a $500,000 payout to San José Spotlight and the First Amendment Coalition following a public records lawsuit involving former Mayor Sam Liccardo.

Residents in the West San Jose Starbird neighborhood are wondering why parties with loud music and strobe lights aren't shut down.

Seven times as many patients have been admitted to the trauma unit at UC San Diego Health since the Trump administration raised the height of the border wall to 30 feet in California. The hospital also notes that 23 people have died in falls from the wall since 2019.

As the Palo Alto City Council voted to advance the city's rental registry, members left one critical question outstanding: What should the city do with the data once it has been collected?

Lacking power at the state level, conservatives are leaning into local governance to protest California’s progressive politics. The fight in Huntington Beach could be a harbinger of what’s to come.

Millions of people across the state struggle to pay electric bills as California regulators decide on proposed rate increases. PG&E wants a rate hike to bolster the safety and reliability of its services.

One year after a consultant said San Jose should expand the powers of the city’s police watchdog, city leaders have shot down the recommendation.