By Robert Haugh
Yesterday was hot. Today will be too. It’s projected to be in the mid-90s.
Santa Clara has opened cooling centers for anyone who needs to escape the heat.
Santa Clara Cooling Center Hours for Friday:
Central Park Library
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mission Branch Library
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Northside Branch Library
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Santa Clara Senior Center
12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
For cooling center sites in other Santa Clara County cities, here’s a helpful website:
Fortunately, weather projections are for cooling down to start Saturday.

Now think about which of those sites makes sense for someone who must take public transportation. Should they walk a mile or more to a bus – or series of buses – at 3 pm? What sites would better serve that community? Maybe City Hall cafeteria after normal lunch hour? That would be convenient for many riders of the 22/522 bus, though not ideal in COVID times. City Council chambers?
Cooling centers closing at 2 pm and the senior center at 3pm, The heat of the day is between 3pm and 5 pm. Only in Santa Clara, “The Center of What’s Possible” would we kick the old and most vulnerable out into the hottest part of the day. Great plan by our part time Interim City Manager Batra and the rest of city management. Oh wait, most are still working from home or leaving early to start their weekend, enjoy while our seniors sweat!
My first thought. Batra sucked his first go round I can’t believe he’s back
I’m not sure if the ‘cooling centers’ had better hours before but it would be a good time to step up and change things. Do the libraries close at 2PM? Does the Sr Center close at 3? Pretty sure the answer is no and no. So why are these hours listed? Will they kick people out? Weird.