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This Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is like no other. The traditional parades, luncheons and celebrations have been replaced by tiny squares on a Zoom call. America is coming off a year of civil unrest and reckoning with systemic racism after the police killing of George Floyd. And many are still reeling from four years...
Ten new state laws Santa Clara County residents should care about
In 2020, California was blindsided by the coronavirus pandemic, unprecedented calls for racial equality and devastating wildfires. The year’s turbulence led to many new laws. Business-related laws include an increase in minimum wage, extended family leave and additional COVID-19 regulations. Others focus on equity, criminal justice and police reform. Of the hundreds of new laws...
New COVID-19 relief fund dedicated to East San Jose businesses
East San Jose businesses and nonprofits struggling to survive may have gained a new lease on life through a new community COVID-19 relief fund. San Jose Planning Commissioner Rolando Bonilla said the East San Jose business community, which has experienced difficulty accessing government aid, was left out of conversations about solutions to help them weather...
East San Jose’s political power is rising — a movement years in the making
East San Jose’s political power reached new heights in 2020 — and it keeps rising. Local leaders harnessed that power to fight for immigration reform, grow their base in local politics and convince Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill Kamala Harris’ Senate seat last month. Padilla is the...
South Bay Latinos cheer Padilla appointment to U.S. Senate
Gov. Gavin Newsom made history appointing California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ Senate seat — and South Bay Latinos acknowleged it was not by chance. Latinos throughout the state lobbied hard for the governor to appoint someone from their community, saying their time for representation was long overdue. They...
How a San Jose firm is opening doors for minority-owned businesses
When the San Francisco 49ers were building Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Walter Wilson noticed something. “They didn’t have a single Black contractor, not even sweeping the floors, which was a minority-owned business,” said Wilson, a partner with the San Jose-based firm Minority Business Consortium (MBC) . MBC worked with the city and suggested the...
COVID-19 has led to widespread food insecurity in Silicon Valley. Thousands of volunteers are helping fight it.
The South Bay’s staggering increase in demand for food assistance during the coronavirus pandemic is being met with help from a newly raised army of volunteers. Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, which has been coordinating much of the local effort to distribute food to needy residents, has faced the dual challenge of feeding more people than ever...
South Bay schools delay reopening, weigh requiring teachers to take vaccine
San Jose’s biggest school district has put its reopening plans on pause over the resurgent coronavirus pandemic. San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD), which intended to return thousands of students to campus on Jan. 5, informed parents last week via email it will delay that effort indefinitely. “The pandemic continues to rage around us, dimming...
Silicon Valley leaders ask for help solving the ‘poverty pandemic’
Santa Clara County elected officials, business and faith leaders are asking the community to help low-income people hit hardest by the pandemic. Through the new United Against the Poverty Pandemic coalition, formed during the pandemic by Brett Bymaster, executive director of Healing Grove Health Center, the group is working to find solutions for low-income families...
San Jose councilmember announces run for county supervisor
Nine months after losing a bid for higher office, San Jose Councilmember Johnny Khamis is running for Santa Clara County supervisor. Khamis, who terms out from the council this month, is running for the District 1 seat held by Supervisor Mike Wasserman, who is terming out. So far, Khamis has raised $32,000 for his supervisorial bid...