English
Spanish
Vietnamese
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...
Housing program for South Bay veterans marks milestone
During the past five years, Destination: Home and its partners have housed 1,940 homeless veterans, making strides towards eliminating veteran homelessness in Santa Clara County. By partnering with San Jose, Santa Clara County and nonprofit organizations, Destination: Home said it reached a milestone this year: for the first time, it housed more veterans — 341...
San Jose looks at ways to increase housing for middle-income workers
Middle-income wage earners, such as firefighters and teachers who often are left out San Jose’s housing equation, are the focus of a new effort being discussed at City Hall. Councilmember Johnny Khamis said the city becoming a member of the California Community Housing Agency (CalCHA), which issues government purpose bonds to finance affordable housing, might...
‘The time is now’: Leaders urge Newsom to appoint Latino lawmaker to Senate
Across the state, Latino leaders united in urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint a Latina or Latino lawmaker to the U.S. Senate, replacing Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Seeking representation and a voice in government, politicians have banded together, speaking at news conferences in Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Jose this month. San Jose...
A look inside San Jose’s Office of Racial Equity
Five months ago at the height of Black Lives Matter protests, San Jose leaders created a racial equity office, a proposal that was shot down just two years earlier. Some critics, including civil rights leaders from Silicon Valley De-Bug, said lawmakers created the office to pacify protesters demanding the city defund the police. They said...
South Bay Latinx community starts push for immigration reform in Biden administration
While President-elect Joe Biden plans how to meet the challenges facing the nation, San Jose’s Latinx community is creating a strategy for immigration reform. The Si Se Puede Collective will be asking local officials to sign a list of demands, which include a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, ending...