Three young lives were cut short last week in South San Jose, gunned down by someone they knew.

The victims were not immediately identified when the suspect was arrested on Sept. 17, the day after the triple murder. On Sept. 19, court documents identified the victims as Tarrah Lynn Taylor, Jeannessa Lurie and Max Chavez Ryan, all in their 20s, all from San Jose.

Authorities and family as of Monday provided no information, except age,  residence, date of deaths, and cause of death. Additional information about the victims has come from friends, employers and social media.

Taylor, 26, Lurie, 24, and Ryan, 26, were killed by multiple gunshots shortly after midnight on Sept. 16.

Taylor, who police said was the primary target of the attacker, filled her social media posts with photos of herself with friends, dogs and cats.

She reposted content about National Parks and pro-environment causes. She had attended Foothill College.

Ryan had worked as an outreach worker with the San Jose Housing Department since February, assisting homeless people moving from Columbus Park campsites to more temporary housing.

He is survived by his parents, Joe and Carla Ryan, and two younger brothers.

Ryan graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2022 and in addition to his work helping the homeless, was a writer, musician and painter.

“He had helped hundreds of people move from the Columbus Park homeless encampment,” the housing department said in a statement. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to his friends, colleagues, and loved ones. Max served his community on our Homelessness Response Outreach Team. His commitment to the people of San José, and in particular the most vulnerable among us, exemplified the thoughtful, caring human he was. He will be remembered not only for his professional contributions, but also for his kindness, compassion, and spirit.”

Lurie, a graduate of Mid-Peninsula High School in Menlo Park who attended CSU Monterey Bay, was pursuing a career in animal behavior science. Lurie had begun work as a security dog trainer for Bite Club K9 in Monterey. In addition to her work as a dog trainer, she worked part-time at BluePearl Pet Hospital in Monterey.

She lived in San Jose at the house near Martial Cottle Park where the fatal attack occurred.

The three victims were reportedly at the house when Taylor was strangled and beaten by her ex-boyfriend last Sunday and again on Monday. The 24-year-old reported the attacks to San Jose police, which detectives said prompted an alleged return by the killer to silence Taylor and her friends.

Authorities said police were searching for the ex-boyfriend when the fatal attack occurred.

Shortly after midnight the next day, Sept. 17, police said in court documents filed Sept. 19, that Taylor’s 27-year-old ex-boyfriend, Joseph Vicencio, returned to the apartment and shot Taylor, Lurie and Ryan, then fled into the night.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen presented the charges against Vicencio at his Sept. 19 arraignment in Santa Clara County Superior Court: three counts of murder and three related felony weapons crimes.

The suspect remains in the Santa Clara County Main Jail, without bail. He is to return to court Oct. 24.

The weekend attacks on Taylor weren’t the only time Vicencio had appeared on the radar of San Jose detectives.

The district attorney’s frustration with one particular incident during his tenure as the county’s top prosecutor—when Vicencio was convicted in 2020 of 11 felony counts, based on a September 2019 incident in which he emptied an automatic pistol into the front window of the Martin Luther King Jr. library and never served time in prison—figured in Vicencio’s arraignment.

“We charged him with 11 felony counts and asked for him to be sent to prison for nine years. We recognized that he was a dangerous person,” Rosen told reporters. “The judge granted probation in that case over our extremely strong objection.”

The judge in 2020 placed Vicencio in mandatory confinement for mental health treatment, under the supervision of Santa Clara County’s Mental Health Treatment Court. He was later able to get the conviction completely expunged from his record.

Though his record was expunged, Vicencio was still legally prohibited from owning a firearm. Investigators reported they are still working to determine the origin of the suspected weapon, which police have declined to identify.

“Gun violence is a huge scourge in our community and our state and in our country. Just a few days ago, we put out a public service announcement about gun violence restraining orders, red flag laws,” Rosen told reporters. “We use these restraining orders more than any other county in the Bay Area, by far, and they save lives. We did not have an opportunity to get such a gun violence restraining order in this case.”

Vicente Vera contributed to this report.

Santa Clara County is considering sweeping changes to its rural zoning ordinances that would impose new building limits and require mitigation when farmland is converted to non-agricultural uses.

If approved by county supervisors, the new rules could significantly affect wineries and other agricultural operations that conduct a variety of on-site business. 

The proposed Rural Zoning Amendments, presented to the Planning Commission Aug. 28, would establish a maximum building coverage parameter for non-ag uses across all four rural zoning districts in Santa Clara County. The exact value of the parameter is still a matter of discussion, but staff are considering possible values ranging from 7,500 to 12,500 square feet.

The changes would also require property owners to preserve farmland elsewhere when converting five or more acres of important local farmland to other uses through mitigation strategies such as the creation of a conservation easement, an in-lieu fee or other equivalent. A specific mitigation plan will be developed in Phase Two of the project.

“We’re trying to facilitate the development of new agricultural uses and clarify where non-agriculture projects can be built in the rural areas, and at what scale,” Charu Ahluwalia, senior planner for Santa Clara County, said in her presentation to the Planning Commission. “This is to benefit applicants as well as the surrounding community by setting clear expectations for development in the rural areas.”

The amendments stem in part from recent California Environmental Quality Act court cases that brought attention to farmland being converted to non-agricultural development. Previously, projects such as construction of an estate home on an existing farmland parcel could be exempt from environmental review, resulting in unmitigated losses of viable farmland.

The county aims to replace subjective “local-serving” provisions with objective development standards, including the cumulative building site coverage limits that would apply to all non-agricultural uses in rural zones.

“The purpose of ‘local-serving’ provisions, which are a part of our general plan and zoning ordinance, is to make the size, scale and intensity of development compatible with the rural setting,” Ahluwalia said. “However, the subjectivity related to these provisions has led to varying interpretations and criticism that the county has not been applying them equitably.”

No More ‘Winery’ Zoning?

The four zones affected by the ordinance amendments are Agricultural Ranchlands, Hillsides, Rural Residential and Exclusive Agriculture. The proposed amendments would also simplify the number of agricultural use classifications down to two, with all ag-supportive uses falling under either “Ag Processing” or “Ag Sales and Events.” This removes the “Winery” use classification entirely, replacing its operations with individual use classifications.

“Currently, wineries contain several ag-related activities,” Ahluwalia explained. “For instance, a project could be producing grapes, could have a tasting room, onsite wine sales, ag processing, tours and events. Staff is proposing to parse out these as independent uses. 

“Specifically, pulling out the sales and events component as a stand-alone use would extend activities that currently are permitted as ancillary to wineries to other types of agriculture operation.”

In Exclusive Agriculture zoning districts, only agricultural uses and activities that “clearly enhance long-term agricultural viability” would be permitted. Non-agricultural uses currently allowed in those areas would be restricted. It is not clear whether non-agricultural uses currently operating in the affected zones would be grandfathered in.

Local winery operators expressed significant concerns about the proposed changes and perceived lack of transparency during the public feedback period. Kim Engelhardt, president of Wineries of Santa Clara Valley, said the industry attracts more than 500,000 visitors annually and employs nearly 600 residents.

“We’re concerned about the lack of transparency of the proposed zoning ordinance amendments and how they may impact our winery businesses,” Engelhardt said. “If we’re required to pay tens of thousands of dollars in new permits, there are many wineries that would be forced to close.”

Paul and Vicki Kermoyan, who own a small winery where they live on-site and produce about 400 gallons of wine annually, submitted extensive written comments to the commission in which they warn that the new rules could force businesses to close if they require existing wineries to make extensive retrofits.

“Most wineries will not be able to financially provide such improvements,” they wrote. “If the project’s goal is to reduce the number of wineries in Santa Clara Valley, the proposal will succeed.”

Stacy Giannini, executive director of the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley Association, questioned whether existing wineries would be grandfathered under current zoning or face costly compliance requirements, and urged commissioners and county staff to conduct public outreach to settle burning questions in the winery community.

“Has the county assessed the economic consequences of new rules for small family wineries?” she asked commissioners.

Concerns Raised Over ‘Takings’

Religious organizations have also objected to the proposed changes. More than 500 comments submitted by supporters of the Hindu American Foundation urged commissioners to consider the impacts to religious organizations operating on agricultural land in Santa Clara County.

“Currently, religious non-profits have the most applications pending with the planning commission to expand their developed spaces,” they wrote. “If the land surrounding these facilities are limited by the proposed zoning amendments, religious organizations and faith-based community centers will be unable to expand their community-oriented services, including food relief, youth programs, cultural education, senior support and spaces for prayer, reflection and community service.”

Planning Commissioner Marc Rauser also raised concerns about potential impacts on property rights, particularly for owners of exclusively agricultural land who might lose development options that are currently permitted.

“If I owned [property on] Exclusive Agriculture, I would feel this is a taking,” he warned. “There are so many things that on my property I can currently do now, it sounds like a lot of those options are going to be taken away.”

The 45-day public comment period for the draft environmental impact report ended Sept. 4. The draft zoning ordinance will be released and then followed by public outreach meetings through October.

Amendments are expected to reach the Board of Supervisors for approval by December 2025.

A day after a fire of mysterious origin destroyed large parts of the former San Jose Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA) youth center, the local school board voted to take steps to demolish the site.

During a rare Saturday emergency meeting—announced less than 24 hours after a fire engulfed the one-time youth center on Aug. 29—Alum Rock Union School Board trustees took the unanimous action.

In the weeks preceding the fire, the site had garnered attention from cultural advocates and elected leaders who have sought to reopen the youth center, closed since MACSA collapsed in 2016 in the wake of scandals and fund diversions from employee pension accounts.

Established advocacy organizations like Silicon Valley De-Bug and the Mexican Heritage Plaza wonder why trustees appeared more focused on demolition rather than revival—or investigating the fire’s cause.

San Jose Fire Battalion Chief Chris Fabiny said the initial emergency call early on the morning of Aug. 29 described an “outside fire” in the area of Renaissance Academy at Mathson.

He affirmed the trustees’ unanimous and sole position to explore demolition and protect nearby students from toxic debris.

East San Jose community advocates with SOMOS Mayfair and the “Si Se Puede” collective initially scheduled a public meeting with the board of trustees Sept. 4 to discuss a potential revival of the youth center—though the meeting was delayed to Sept. 11.

Hours after advocates staged a protest outside the Alum Rock Union School District headquarters to call for the trustees’ attention, neighbors of the MACSA site reported a fire.

While Fabiny said initial reports described the blaze as an “outside fire,” video obtained from neighbors showed the flames were contained within the MACSA building.

SOMOS Mayfair co-executive director Victor Vasquez and San Jose State Chicana and Chicano Studies associate professor Jonathan Gomez say the board of trustees is considering listing the district-owned site as “surplus land” so they can profitably lease it.

Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor has served as the district’s land use consultant through Public Property Advisors, a real estate and consulting business that focuses on school district properties.

“The issues have not changed since last night, 60% of our kids in Alum Rock live in poverty, a lot of them are lagging behind preschool enrollment,” Vasquez told trustees. “I want to ask you three things; that you recommit to working with us, that you commit to renovating and reconstructing the center with us and that we explore all the ways to preserve whatever’s left.”

“We’re here to remind you that you’re not alone. Let’s go ask the city, the county, the state and whoever is here to work with you.”

Board of Trustees President Linda Chavez grew frustrated by the concerns raised among community members and cut public comment short after only a fraction of attendants were allowed to speak.

When community members called for Chavez to continue public comment—she instead called a 30-minute recess. The board was quick to remind Chavez that she needed to call a vote before ordering a recess, which she promptly did. She received no support from her colleagues for the proposed 30-minute recess.

Board Vice President Andres Quinteros described the community’s calls for continued public comment as “militant activism” and was visibly in tears when approached for comment following the meeting.

Trustee Corina Loera-Herrera attempted to ask the board if the district’s insurance policy can cover the financial damages of the MACSA site fire—but Quinteros shut her down and said the topic was an “offline conversation” because “we’re going to invite every lawyer to start coming out here.”

Despite his knowledge surrounding the potential optics of publicly discussing the district’s insurance claims, Quinteros said he had no personal knowledge of the district’s financial arrangements.

“Do you think I’m keeping track of all the district’s finances? Do you think I know everything they’re doing? I don’t know about the insurance,” he said. “I feel like I’m being confronted and attacked right now.”

Chavez declined multiple requests for comment and locked herself in a public conference room before ordering the building to be closed to the public so trustees and legal counsel can meet in private.

Trustee Minh Pham said the school district superintendent, currently interim Sandra Garcia, still has to approve the board’s unanimous vote. Despite the vote to explore demolition, Pham said district-contracted workers will assess the site to determine if any aspect of the MACSA building can be saved.

“Structural engineers will do an assessment of the site to declare what’s safe, what’s unsafe, and if found to be unsafe by the structural engineers—they will take that part down under the state building code for schools,” he said.

Tearful testimony from the victim of convicted child sex abuser Omar Torres moved Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Sevely to hand the former downtown San Jose council member an 18-year prison sentence on Aug. 29.

The cousin of 43-year-old Torres, identified only as John Doe, said he was far from the only victim of his cousin’s reign of terror, as revelations of the disgraced councilmember’s crimes divided the family. One side believed Torres should be held accountable by the criminal justice system—and the other felt the politician’s life in public service and sobriety provided evidence of his resolve.

Despite the defense’s attempts to cast Torres as a child sex abuse victim who acted upon what he experienced in his childhood, the prosecution countered by pointing to Doe, who underwent trauma without abusing others.

A calm, head-shaved Torres sat next to his attorney, one-time Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors candidate Nelson McElmurry, as he delivered a somber apology with his face buried in the piece of paper he held.

“Fuck your forgiveness,” Doe said as he staggered out of the San Jose Hall of Justice courtroom during Torres’ final remarks before sentencing.

“You could call me a survivor. You could call me a victim. What I really am, is my own childhood hero to the little kid who suffered so much,” Doe told the court. “The kid inside me can finally start letting go—but not without letting everyone know about the monster who hid among us, among the community.”

An overweight man in his mid-30s who used a cane to walk because of injuries from a drunken brawl years ago, Doe said his life fell apart even before it started.

He described in graphic detail the abuse he endured from Torres between the ages of 4 and 13 years old—including dozens of rapes that only ceased after Torres turned 18 in 1999.

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky said Torres’ conscious decision to end his abuse of Doe once he became an adult is evidence the former councilman’s appreciation of the legal consequences of his offenses as an adult.

Doe described his childhood and home life as dealing with one family sexual abuse crisis after another. He told the court he hoped Torres would stop abusing him and apologize after an uncle was caught abusing another family member close to Torres—but he said his hopes were dashed when Torres raped him one more time.

The shame, confusion and threat of further turmoil in his family sent Doe on a downward spiral of overeating and wrestling with depression, along with methamphetamine and alcohol abuse, Malinsky said.

Housing insecurity forced Doe back into the home of his childhood abuser, and he said the last thing he wanted to do was to give Torres and his family a reason to put Doe back on the street.

Members of the Torres family audibly scoffed, grunted and whispered during Malinsky and Doe’s testimony, indicating that animosity between family members exists despite months to reckon with the child sex abuse conviction.

When an uncle of the two walked up to take the stand in defense of Torres’ character, Doe shook his head in silence as his wife massaged his scalp—Doe said even with his wife, he still feels discomfort having his back rubbed or touched.

The character testimony failed to sway Sevely, who sentenced Torres to the full 18 years in prison that Doe and Santa Clara County prosecutors sought. Torres must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life and has no possibility of parole from his almost two-decade prison sentence.

“You’re not a victim. You are a plague that needed to be stopped,” Doe said.

“You’re a wolf that represented himself as a shepherd or some kind of savior to fulfill some sick fantasy among the community you were sworn to help.”

Even in progressive strongholds like California, signs of a nationwide retreat from Pride visibility are surfacing. In early June, Target stores in the Bay Area noticeably reduced their Pride-themed displays compared to previous years, echoing a company-wide decision to limit merchandise placements after facing backlash in 2023, according to The Mercury News. A similar quieting is happening online; many national brands with a local footprint, including Levi’s and The North Face, opted for toned-down Pride messaging this year or skipped it altogether.

As corporations retreat from Pride, “rainbow capitalism” is fading, leaving queer-owned businesses and grassroots organizers to carry the visibility.

South Bay baker Rachel Turkal also isn’t backing down. At her pop-up bakery booth, a colorful sign advertising a rainbow-swirled Rice Krispy treat called “The Gay Agenda” draws both chuckles and raised eyebrows.

“It’s fruity and a bit salty,” Turkal says with a smile. “It lets people know we’re here, we’re queer, and there’s nothing you can do.’”

Turkal, owner of Browned Butter Babe Co., launched her San Jose-based cottage bakery in 2022 after rediscovering her love of baking during the pandemic. She first started selling publicly at the Lynbrook High School craft fair and now maintains a steady rotation of pop-ups through SJ Made, the Italian Family Festa at History Park, and custom orders—all while proudly flying Pride flags at her booth.

Originally from California but raised on the East Coast, Turkal said her journey from PTA bake sales to full-time business owner was gradual but organic.

 “When my son was in elementary school, I’d bring baked goods to parent meetings and people came just for that,” she said.

What sets her apart is not just the browned butter flavor profiles or playful marketing, it’s the unapologetically queer identity infused into the business. Turkal named her signature rainbow treat “The Gay Agenda” as a way to “acknowledge people for who they are.” Although it was meant to be a seasonal item, she kept it year-round due to its popularity and symbolism.

“It’s nice to see people come up to the booth and laugh because they feel seen,” she said. “Humor is a great icebreaker.”

Still, visibility comes with risks. Turkal recalls a tense encounter with an anti-LGBTQ+ group at a food festival and said some passersby refuse to approach her booth because of the Pride symbols. Aside from the occasional disinterested passerby or pushback from a few religious groups, Turkal says the response to her business has been overwhelmingly positive: something she credits to living in a region with a long-standing reputation for LGBTQ+ inclusion.

“Honestly, it’s scary,” she said. “I feel insulated and lucky to live here, but the way things have gone in mainstream culture is reminiscent of Nazi Germany. We see how the current administration is othering trans people, and it’s abhorrent.”

Despite this, Turkal finds encouragement in her connections through the Silicon Valley Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, which has helped generate orders and year-round catering partnerships. “You come for Pride Month, then you stay,” she said of corporate clients who discovered her through the chamber’s LGBTQ+ business directory.

For Turkal and her wife, who helps run the business, Browned Butter Babe is a vehicle for community, visibility, and joy.

The air is full of sounds competing for your attention. While your Spotify plays your favorite songs from the 1980s, a call comes in; you touch your ear, and it’s your buddy telling you about a block party happening in San Jose.

On Aug. 30, outside and inside the Poor House Bistro in Little Italy, is Little Village’s Big Easy Block Party & Beer Fest. Nine hours of dancing to bands on two stages. Come celebrate with Rick Estrin and the Night Cats, Marina Crouse, Mighty Mike Schermer and much more.

This is all in celebration of the record label Little Village Foundation. Continually searching for undiscovered gems, like musical miners, Little Village gives opportunities to artists just under the radar. Always expanding the conversation of what exactly American music is, Little Village is cultivating the roots.

Maria Crouse is a San Jose singer extraordinaire, who recently performed at the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest. “I had only recorded an EP demo before, which is not really available to the public anymore,” says Crouse from her home in San Jose.

Now with two albums on the Little Village imprint, Crouse is clear on the importance of Little Village’s work. “I honestly don’t think big labels would ever be interested in me. But that’s Little Village’s mission. To find musicians who would be overlooked, or might not be able to get a big record deal.”

Little Village also helps promote and develop artists to reach their potential. “They have a multicultural approach to record making. It’s one of the most diverse record labels there is,” Crouse says.

Crouse’s second album, Canto de mi corazón, is sung in Spanish. With more than 300,000 Hispanic citizens in San Jose, this is an album that celebrates roots. Crouse grew up listening to Spanish-language albums, like those put out by Eydie Gormé, who recorded several albums with renowned Mexican trio Los Panchos, at her grandmother’s house.

When you think of diversity, you might not think of somebody from Denmark (he moved to the US in 2001) who plays the blues. But Kid Anderson (who will be playing with Rick Estrin) is just that: a Scandinavian blues prodigy who found a family at Little Village. “Ten years ago I was recording with Willie Walker and that became the model for what we ended up doing at Little Village,” Anderson says.

Anderson moved to San Jose in 2005. “I was living with Bob Welsh, the great piano player and guitar player. He’s now with Elvin Bishop and with the Fabulous Thunderbirds. It was a studio but we had enough room for a drummer. We lived cheap and looked for opportunities,” Anderson says as he packs for the night’s gig.

If you get granular on what a musician is supposed to do to make a living, it’s daunting. Recording, producing, distributing, promoting, booking shows and tours—it’s relentless, never-ending and oftentimes takes up energy a musician would rather use to make music.

“Little Village has been hugely important to me. They believed in me and what my goals were. To be able to bring an idea to an audience, and have everyone get paid? For a musician, that’s a big deal. I’ve been doing this long enough that I want to have fun, or get paid. Or hopefully both. And because of Little Village, I’m in a lot more situations where that happens,” Anderson says.

Anderson takes the lessons he learned from the Little Village family and pays it forward. Always looking for new, unrepresented, talent, Anderson senses a movement afoot. “There’s been a real surge, a real movement, post-Kingfish, of young Black artists from the South who are getting into the blues. The old-school blues. The idea that white folks kept the blues alive is tired. And there is currently an explosion of young talents who are proud of their heritage,” Anderson concludes.

All proceeds from the beer garden will benefit Little Village Foundation, which is a nonprofit record company, so feel good about tipping those brews—you’re keeping the music of mariachi, folk, blues, gospel, roots, soul and more alive with each sip.

And it’s worth noting that LVF gives all proceeds from CD sales back to the artist. And the musician owns their music. This is the kind of American ingenuity that fuels creative expression.

And nothing says American ingenuity like a free block party. So put down the playlist and engage with the music of your city and world.

Little Village’s Big Easy Block Party & Beer Fest, takes place on Saturday, Aug. 30, 11am–8pm. The main location is Poor House Bistro, 317 W. Saint John St. Admission is free; reserve tickets on eventbrite.com.

Santa Clara County supervisors voted unanimously last week to ask voters to approve new sales taxes that would place half the county in the double-digits.

The sales tax increase will be on the Nov. 4 ballot. If approved by voters, the countywide rate would rise to 9.75%. Under the plan, purchases made in San Jose and Milpitas, which impose additional city sales taxes, would be taxed at 10%. Campbell businesses would collect 10.5%—the county’s highest rate—while Los Gatos consumers would pay 9.875%.

The increase would add $187.50 to the price of a $30,000 car and $1.25 to a $200 non-exempt retail purchase.

Aug. 7 was the final day to add measures to that ballot, which will also include a special election for County Assessor. The measure requires only a simple majority of county voters to pass.

County officials said the higher taxes are needed to close a projected billion-dollar budget shortfall they attribute to the federal government’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

The Board of Supervisors held a special meeting Aug. 7 after Metro Silicon Valley reported that about 30% of the county’s budget faces cuts to federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

County Executive James Williams projected that county revenue will decline by $1.3 billion by the 2029-30 fiscal year. He said the county could collect more than $330 million over five years from the proposed five-eighths-cent sales tax.

About 70% of the county’s public healthcare system, which has expanded rapidly in recent years, is funded by Medicare and Medicaid. The county’s 2025-26 budget grew by $1 billion over the FY 2024-25 budget, largely because of the County’s $150 million acquisition in April of the 1000-employee Regional Medical Center in East San Jose from HCA Healthcare. 

In 2019, the county purchased San Jose’s O’Connor Hospital, along with St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy and De Paul Health Center in Morgan Hill, for a combined $235 million in a bankruptcy sale.

“HR1 has punched a huge hole in our safety net,” Board President Otto Lee said. “Our county operates four hospitals and dozens of clinics in addition to supporting community clinics.”

‘Three-Pronged Approach’

Williams said his office developed a three-pronged strategy to address the budget shortfall that includes expanding partnerships with state leaders, reorganizing services within the hospital system and securing voter approval of the sales tax measure

Williams said the approach is necessary to sustain service levels at the Valley Healthcare System, which operates 15 hospitals and clinics.

“These federal cuts could force the county to eliminate essential programs across every area that helps stabilize individuals and prevent homelessness—even before it starts. We urge you to move forward with the proposed sales tax,” said Destination: Home community outreach and education officer Esmeralda Virelas.

“We must explore any avenue for protecting these critical services,” Virelas said.

“This is very important to me that we make some kind of commitment today to our voters that we are going to make changes—significant changes to how we do our finances,” said District 5 Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga.

Williams said the supervisors would not discuss specific spending plans Aug. 7 but will begin budget deliberations for the 2026-27 fiscal year in October.

In the Bay Area, current sales tax rates range from a low of 8.625% in San Francisco to a high of 10.25% in Alameda County, where consumers in four cities—Alameda, Albany, Newark, and San Leandro—pay 10.75%.

Across California, 65 cities currently have sales tax rates of 10% or higher—47 of them in Los Angeles County. If approved, the new Santa Clara County rate would match the current Los Angeles County rate.

Statewide, the city of Lancaster in Los Angeles County has the highest local sales tax rate at 11.25%, according to the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

It remains to be seen whether other counties, facing the same Trump budget cuts, will also be increasing taxes to avoid drastic cuts in services.

Barry Holtzclaw contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has defunded San Jose nonprofits assisting low-income residents facing eviction. Service providers have been put on notice that continued funding is not assured.

San Jose nonprofits like the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley and its partner organizations will lose as much as $8.9 million as a direct consequence of cuts to two US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs: Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnership. 

Those programs fund legal services and education for renters, as well as eligible homeowners incurring renovation expenses. San Jose Housing Department spokesperson Jeff Scott confirmed that nonprofits received a letter indicating program funding has not yet been received—and impacts are imminent.

“Nonprofits that continue such programs do so without the guarantee of future payment. Alternatively, they may pause programs,” he said.

“A select set of agreements based on imminent and direct community needs, such as outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness and feeding extremely low-income seniors, will continue with the City assuming costs should federal funds not be made available.”

Mayor Matt Mahan confirmed that uncertainty at the federal level has forced the city to delay signing agreements with nonprofits.

“We’re still prioritizing urgent needs, such as outreach in homeless encampments and meal programs for extremely low-income seniors. Despite these challenges, we remain focused on building over 1,000 new shelter beds this year and strengthening outreach to bring more people indoors,” he said. “We will save money and lives in the long run by ending unsheltered homelessness.”

The threat of federal funding cuts also affected the city’s 2025-2026 Annual Action Plan on housing, and the use of $23 million in previously awarded funds depends on HUD’s approval, according to budget director Jim Shannon.

The State of California’s 2025-26 budget also eliminates close to $30 million in annual Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention program funding.

Scott said it is always difficult to predict the future impact of policy decisions with full confidence. The city is budgeting around the evolving landscape of federal government funding, he said.

In addition to the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, nonprofits servicing San Jose tenants with legal and health services face budget challenges due to the federal funding cuts. Impacted organizations include the Health Trust and SOMOS Mayfair.

Law Foundation of Silicon Valley chief program officer Cynthia Chagolla described the funding cuts as an elimination of the first line of legal defense for San Jose residents at risk of homelessness.

“It’s really a safety net service for individuals who are either at risk of losing their housing or are experiencing some sort of discrimination and are prevented from even getting housing,” she said. “There’s a real need and demand for these services for the community.”

San Jose city officials have provided the Law Foundation $800,000 annually in federal Community Development Block Grant funding for more than a decade. The money also benefited organizations under the nonprofit’s umbrella—including Asian Law Alliance, Project Sentinel and Senior Adult Legal Assistance.

“A true concern is to what extent smaller partners and organizations that serve a real need in the community will be impacted,” Chagolla said. “We help ensure that in the city of San Jose, no one is prevented from obtaining housing or removed from their housing on the basis of one of those protected categories.”

About $2.3 million in rental assistance for low-income residents living with HIV/AIDS is dependent on HOME Investment Partnership funding, as well as $2.2 million for emergency and minor repairs to low and moderate-income homeowners with the goal of preventing housing instability.

City officials said additional projects dependent on the Community Development Block Grants included $1.5 million for preservation of affordable housing units by replacing deteriorating roofs and upgrading lighting for 12 residential units and two community facilities.

Planning, Building and Code Enforcement staff say they need $1.3 million in grants to fund inspection of about 500 homes—and another $1.3 million to house its staff.

As another $350,000 earmarked to fund meals for homebound seniors is at risk, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley CEO Lesie Bacho described the new federal cuts as the largest carveout ever to food assistance programs.

“It’s the equivalent at the national level of about 9.5 billion meals a year, and that cut alone is more than the entire charitable food system provides today,” she said.

Kyra Kazantzis, Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits CEO, recently joined housing advocates in characterizing the effects of the “Big Beautiful Bill” as an attack on the housing needs of low-income residents.

She said the federal administration has targeted funding cuts toward organizations providing services unaligned with the Trump administration’s public policy agenda. This includes nonprofits focused on gender, culture and other specializations categorized as “culture war” issues.

“The administration is hitting nonprofits in particular ways,” Kazantzis said. “It’s impacting nonprofits that are serving vulnerable folks without federal funding, as well as nonprofits that are funded by the federal government.”

When a few thousand vintage computer freaks and their grandchildren congregate for a few days, enlightenment ensues. The past merges with the present and the future.

This weekend, the annual Vintage Computer Festival returns to the Computer History Museum. Over two days, historians will give tours and talks. People will sell a vast array of stuff on consignment. There will be panel sessions, parties and plenty of insider stories, with both nerds and newbies arriving en masse. Specific events will celebrate landmark anniversaries—from the Homebrew Computer Club in 1975 to the original Commodore Amiga launch in 1985.

These guys are not messing around. One previous festival featured more than ten different original Apple 1 machines, or pieces of machines, all on display.

“We had to hire a security guy,” said Dag Spicer, a Computer History Museum senior curator and member of the Vintage Computer Federation board. “That’s just under $10 million worth of computers in a little space.”

RR Auctions even showed up with a broken Apple 1 prototype hand-soldered by Steve Wozniak. It later ended up selling for nearly $700,000.

Another magical aspect of the Vintage Computer Festival is the sheer joy from watching all the kids. People don’t bring just sons and daughters. Plenty of third-generation folks are now showing up.

“One of my favorite things is the interaction between the parents and their kids,” said Erik Klein, president of the Vintage Computer Federation. To kids, Klein continued, computers are ubiquitous. They’ve got their phones, they’ve got their video games. “Their watches are probably more powerful than most IBM systems from the ’70s,” he said.

“It’s quite endearing in many ways,” Spicer added. “It’s wonderful to see these people, some of whom came from across the country, even around the world. So yeah, hands-on demos of historical systems from probably the ’60s to the ’90s, and you can learn preservation tips from other people who are preserving their own systems. They come to learn from the masters, so to speak.”

Yet perhaps the most mind-blowing machine currently on display at the Computer History Museum just might be the RAMAC 305, part of IBM’s groundbreaking 1956 computer system developed at 99 Notre Dame Ave. in downtown San Jose, IBM’s original West Coast R&D lab. The RAMAC was the prototype for all hard drives that we still use today. Without exaggeration, almost everything we do in terms of hard drive storage originated in that lab, in that building, which has sat empty and ignored for years because nobody in San Jose seems to care.

“In history, we talk about the importance of place. Or the magic of place,” Spicer said. It isn’t exactly the Grand Canyon or the Louvre, but 99 Notre Dame is important, even if for only a few. “You can take scientific tours of Paris that will take you through the buildings where Lavoisier and Pascal and Descartes and all these characters worked,” Spicer added. “And it’s a wonderful way to see Paris, but it’s really of interest only to science nerds. And that’s, in a way, I guess, what’s going on here.”

Everyone who ever saved anything to a hard drive has that building to thank, at least partly. It’s just overwhelming to contemplate.

“The amount of data that we generate on a daily basis, on this planet, and it’s all getting stuffed on hard drives from that core, from that seed, still today,” Klein said.

Over the years, informal talks have ensued, with San Jose City Hall and retired IBM employees that worked on the RAMAC, as well as the landlord, but no serious civic interest in the history has ever come to fruition.

Regardless, the Vintage Computer Fest will only get bigger and more expansive, with or without San Jose. Next year, in addition to the existing West Coast and East Coast festivals, there will be one in Canada and a few others.

“We’re talking to folks in Europe and South America and elsewhere,” Klein said. “We’re looking to get these shows going wherever people want to do it. We want the federation to be an umbrella organization for the hobbyist community, much like the museum is an umbrella organization for the history of these machines.”

The Vintage Computer Festival West takes place Aug 1, 10am-6pm, and Aug 2, 10am-5pm, at the Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View. Tickets: connect.computerhistory.org.

Billion-dollar cuts to the Santa Clara Valley Healthcare system leaves county leaders with no choice but to slash more than 100 medical worker jobs and the essential services they provide.

County Executive James Williams confirmed to Metro Silicon Valley they are projecting a larger budget deficit for the 2026-27 fiscal year as healthcare funding cuts from the federal spending policy known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” take hold. About 30% of Santa Clara County’s $13.7 billion 2025-26 budget funding came from now-compromised programs like Medicare and Medicaid—distributed by the state as Medi-Cal.

“There’s a lot the state can do—they certainly should not be exacerbating the federal impacts,” Williams said. “The most recent budget adopted by the state layers its own medical cuts on top of federal cuts, and that is very concerning. The state needs to take care of its public hospital systems.”

Medicare is a federal health insurance program benefiting people older than 65 along with younger people with disabilities, while Medicaid provides benefits to low-income adults and children.

Medicaid is the single largest source of federal revenue for the County of Santa Clara, representing about $1.9 billion in funding. About 70% of the county’s public healthcare system is funded by Medicare and Medicaid.

Coupled with the financial burden of the county’s recent $150 million Regional Medical Center purchase, county leaders are desperate to find ways of addressing federal funding gaps.

County supervisor Otto Lee described the Big Beautiful Bill as a “reverse Robin Hood.”

“With the expansion of our health and hospital system after the acquisition of Regional Medical Center, we’re now serving more residents who are targeted by these cuts,” Lee told Metro Silicon Valley. “Medicaid cuts will impact our entire system of care and will be felt by everyone in our community—not just our Medicaid patients.”

Getting Ahead of the Ball

To offset the upcoming funding losses, county leaders recommended in the 2025-26 budget the elimination of 119.5 full-time Valley Healthcare jobs—negatively impacting patient care capacity.

County supervisors also replaced $59.6 million in federal funding for supportive housing, public health and behavioral health services with local sources of funding to “prevent the federal administration from dictating cuts to those essential services.”

Supervisor Susan Ellenberg told Metro Silicon Valley they are not in a place to make a statement on the potential impact of federal cuts on existing services.

“The loss of coverage does not mean we won’t provide care,” she said. “So we will not turn anyone away from an emergency room or urgent care, but we’re also aware that we will see far fewer reimbursements, either from the state or the federal government. We will have to reallocate money from our own finite budget to provide that care.”

Supervisor Betty Duong said she is worried the already anticipated $1 billion in federal cuts is just the tip of the iceberg, and the county will struggle to budget its way out of consistent blows to federal funding for local healthcare.

The county will lose federal healthcare cost reimbursements from 450,000 previously insured residents seeking treatment at facilities in Gilroy, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, San Jose and Sunnyvale as a result of the Big Beautiful Bill.

“We cannot shut down a billion dollars worth of services elsewhere in the county organization to backfill this—we’re not able to do that without causing irreparable harm for generations to come for our most vulnerable residents who rely on the county for a swath of services,” Duong told Metro Silicon Valley. “This is an existential crisis here at the County of Santa Clara and for all counties across the country.”

Darcie Green, CEO of the healthcare-focused nonprofit Latinas Contra Cancer, has lobbied county leaders throughout the year to call for more proactive identifications of alternative funding sources.

She told Metro Silicon Valley her organization along with local healthcare advocates are hosting a town hall Aug. 1 to discuss the upcoming impact.

“As a service provider and community-based organization, we know these federal and state cuts will hit hardest where people are already struggling to access care. We’re already seeing fear and confusion. People are unsure if they’ll still qualify, worried about new premiums, or facing impossible choices between paying for food, housing, or care” Green said. “Now is the time for the community to rally around our public healthcare system, to demand bold solutions from Sacramento, and to ensure that those most impacted are leading the way.”