Former three-term state California Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, whose 21st Assembly District included wealthy communities on the Peninsula as well as Los Gatos and the Almaden Valley, died Thursday evening at the age of 70.

After six years without a single spark, the Rotary Club will bring the fireworks back to downtown San Jose’s annual Independence Day celebration. If that doesn't sound enticing, we've compiled 15 other 4th of July events.

UPDATE: What looked like a promising compromise on pension reform between the city and its police/fire unions has once again dissolved into a dispute on what really happened during negotiations.

Mosquitoes found in Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and San Jose tested positive for West Nile Virus, county officials warned Monday.

The intake center for children entering foster care in Santa Clara County remains unsafe, even after two years of scathing reports calling for change, according to a new audit.

Silicon Valley properties have never been worth more, according to Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone.

Though Oakland A's owner Lew Wolff has long wanted to move his team to San Jose, he has reached a tentative lease agreement to stay put for another decade. But a vote Friday to approve the deal was delayed after four of eight Coliseum Joint Powers Authority board members did not show.

The food truck impresario behind Moveable Feast burns over San Jose Fire Department’s red tape.

A bill created in response to a Saratoga teen’s sexual assault and suicide was amended Tuesday to remove mandatory sentencing for juvenile sex offenders. The modified “Audrie’s Law,” named after 15-year-old Audrie Pott and introduced by Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) as SB 838, received unanimous support from the Assembly Public Safety Committee in a 4-0 vote. But the vote, postponed from last week, came only after Beall agreed to nix the part that would have required mandatory two-year-minimum sentencing for youth who sexually assault an unconscious, intoxicated or mentally disabled victim.

The Santa Clara County Office of Education announced Tuesday that Jon Gundry is the lone finalist to take over as superintendent of schools. A recent report, however, suggests Gundry does not have the strongest track record for improving the results of low-income students.

Economic recovery coupled with Silicon Valley’s increasingly international population has translated to a rush for passports.

Cannabis clubs, already banned from every local jurisdiction except for some slim pickings of real estate in San Jose, may get outlawed from unincorporated Santa Clara County, too.

San Jose police officer Huan Nguyen’s generosity has exceeded even his own expectations. The officer set up an online fundraising page, which has now raised more than $100,000 for a road rage victim's family.

Internal emails for top Santa Clara County Office of Education administrators provide a rare glimpse into an insulated power structure that attempts to control the message at all times, delays the delivery of information when possible and spins uncomfortable facts into purple public relations prose.

While the budget approved Tuesday by the City Council avoided cuts, it fell short of enough money to restore and ramp up services, like repaving streets and hiring more cops.

While litigious councilman's "trip and fall" case got dismissed, the back and forth racked up a hefty legal tab for the city of Sunnyvale.