Big Picture

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
Construction crews work last week on the flood detention basin project at McKelvey Park in Mountain View. In a deal with the city, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is funding several park improvements, including new bleachers, sports fields and a mini-park with a playground, in exchange for permission to construct the 18-foot deep basin at the park site. The basin is designed to accommodate a 100-year flood, according to water district officials.

Santa Clara Valley Water District officials reported last week that the McKelvey Park Detention Basin Project is making “significant progress” despite the record year of rain delaying work.

According to Gary Kremen, a board member who represents District 7, which covers Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View, the work is targeted for completion by late July.

Eric Davidove/Special to The Town Crier
Jean Cronin, center, and Millie Garcia, second from right, speak with fellow protesters at the conclusion of last week’s El Camino Healthcare District board meeting.

El Camino Healthcare District’s wholly owned subsidiary Silicon Valley Medical Development claims the five clinics it purchased from now-bankrupt Verity Healthcare have been functional since they opened under new management April 1. But former employees of the clinics paid the district’s board of directors a visit last week to communicate other- wise.

According to a press release from SEIU-UHW – the union representing approximately 130 employees left in limbo when Verity Healthcare changed hands – dozens of health-care workers volunteered to protest the situation at the May 8 meeting “to urge (them) to safely staff its facilities and retain skilled caregivers.”