School:
Music for Community Club partnered with Rythconnections, a nonprofit organization of young musicians, to host a cultural music and arts event at the Calabazas Library on Jan. 16. The program featured a presentation on Chinese New Year traditions, complete with trivia questions and a bookmark-making activity for children. Members also performed pieces such as Frédéric Chopin’s “Fantaisie-Impromptu” and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5, showcasing instruments like the piano, guzheng and violin. The event concluded with Chinese paper cutting and origami, allowing young attendees to create their own festive crafts.
Community:
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority opened its first transit-oriented apartment complex in 20 years on Jan. 23 near the Tamien light rail station. The development includes 135 affordable housing units, a childcare center and an improved transit plaza. It is part of a broader countywide effort to build housing near public transit stations to boost ridership. VTA plans to break ground later this year with two additional apartment complexes near the Berryessa Bay Area Rapid Transit station and the Capitol light rail station. Developments are open to those earning less than 60% of the area median income.
National:
About 15,000 New York City nurses went on strike the morning of Jan. 12 after contract negotiations stalled between the New York State Nurses Association and three private, nonprofit hospital systems: Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian. Nurses say they seek to protect their healthcare benefits and address concerns over staffing levels and workplace safety. Negotiations broke down amid complex, hospital-specific disputes, with staffing emerging as a key point of contention. As of Jan. 26, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian have agreed to maintain the nurses’ health benefits plan.
International:
On Jan. 3, the United States carried out a special forces raid on Venezuela, capturing former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Transported to New York, the two faced charges of federal drug trafficking and narco-terrorism. U.S. officials said the mission was a culmination of months of planning and aimed to suppress narco-trafficking and corruption by targeting Maduro’s leadership. In the weeks since, the Department of State has appointed veteran diplomat Laura Dogu as chargé d’affaires to the Venezuela Affairs Unit, based in Bogotá, Colombia, to stabilize regional relations with the U.S.
