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When COVID-19 — and the panic of the pandemic — hit the South Bay, Milan Balinton was at the local Walmart buying grocery carts full of food and supplies nearly every day, but none of it was for him. The supplies were for the people he serves as the executive director at the African American...
Vulnerable Californians place coronavirus fears ahead of the economy: survey
As the region begins to reopen, the threat of the coronavirus remains firmly among the top three worries for many of the most vulnerable people in the Bay Area, according to a recent survey. The survey, commissioned by nonprofit health foundation, The California Endowment, polled 813 Californians who are people of color, Spanish speakers or...
Retail returns in Silicon Valley, but challenges and changes loom
Long before the coronavirus spread, retail was changing as big box stores’ popularity sank and experiences became the new must-have. But the pandemic flipped the industry on its head in a new way. Those changes are being felt across businesses in Silicon Valley, a region with several shining examples of retail hotspots that serve as...
Downtown task force pushes San Jose to help businesses survive post-coronavirus
Downtown San Jose community leaders this week gave city officials a to-do list to help the groups limping back to an economic equilibrium following the coronavirus shutdown. The nine recommendations, compiled by a 40-person coalition of downtown business, arts and community organizations, ask officials to create a new marketing program, extend free parking in the...
Despite outbreaks, officials say Silicon Valley construction sites are safe
Across Santa Clara County, restrictions on a wide-reaching shelter-in-place order are loosening, employees are getting back to work, residents are dining out again and new buildings are rising. But the slow reopening of the region — a constant balancing act between mitigating the damage of keeping the economy shuttered versus reducing the spread of the...
Bay Area cities must build nearly 450K homes, the state says
Ready or not, the Bay Area’s new state-mandated housing development goals have arrived, and the numbers are bigger than ever before. Bay Area municipalities are expected to be responsible for planning, zoning and approving a combined 441,176 new homes between 2023 and 2030, according to the state’s most recent Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) determination....
Habitat for Humanity to build 308 new shelter beds in San Jose
San Jose is about to get more than 300 new interim shelter beds in modular housing units, built by Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley, officials announced Thursday. The new modular homes will serve as emergency housing for homeless residents and allow those who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus to isolate during the...
San Jose lawmakers approve new fee caps for developments
If developers have one nemesis, it’s uncertainty, and San Jose lawmakers this week tried to battle that foe by capping some development fees. The 8-3 vote Tuesday did not raise or lower fees for developers, but it froze infrastructure fees in most parts of the city and set a maximum for fee increases in the...
San Jose approves CityView project, says goodbye to former courthouse
Downtown San Jose’s CityView Plaza is set to turn from a 1970s mixed-use campus to a modern glass-lined, three-tower, 3.8 million-square-foot office park after locking in the final vote of approval Tuesday. Councilmembers on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve the project by San Francisco developer Jay Paul Co., which is already working on a 1...
Coronavirus LIVE BLOG: June 4 to June 17
Catch up on our current Coronavirus LIVE BLOG here. 5:35 p.m. June 17: Most San Jose park restrooms open, Communications Hill staircase still closed Most San Jose park restrooms reopened Monday, according to a city news release. While the news release said park restrooms will be cleaned according to their use, the most frequented restrooms will...