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Joanna Torres is on a mission to popularize Venezuelan food with her Willow Glen restaurant, Arepas. And if her recent catering job of serving 1,400 arepa sandwiches for Intuit is any indication, she is succeeding. Founded less than two years ago, Arepas in San Jose has a loyal customer base that stretches to Modesto. The...
‘Your own employees are struggling,’ homeless San Jose worker says
San Jose city zookeeper Amanda Maulding never thought securing her dream job would lead to her being homeless, but within two years of starting her job it became clear she was never going to make enough to pay rent. Now Maulding, 43, who has worked for the city since 2018, is living in a van...
Silicon Valley congressman tours computer chip facility
Silicon Valley has long been at the forefront of next generation technology from microprocessors and integrated circuits, to cutting-edge software and internet companies that have changed the global landscape. One Silicon Valley congressmember doesn’t want his region to lose that edge. Rep. Ro Khanna stopped in Sunnyvale on Tuesday to tour Applied Materials, a semiconductor...
The Biz Beat: San Jose restaurant’s secret is in its tortillas
If you are hungry for enchiladas and burritos, Acopio in San Jose might not be the Mexican restaurant for you—they are not on the menu. But tacos? Owner Lorena Vidrio says everything can be a taco. “I’m not going to speak badly about those things,” she told San José Spotlight. “But we feature our tortillas...
San Jose sets workplace guardrails for using AI
As more people integrate artificial intelligence into their everyday lives—from students using ChatGPT for homework to adults using AI for art—San Jose leaders are adapting it into their daily work. The city released its first set of employee guidelines on Monday for generative AI, a technology that has the ability to generate text, images and...
Silicon Valley’s AI boom could widen disparities
Silicon Valley has long been recognized as the center of tech innovation. Now artificial intelligence is pushing the region into its next iteration. The outcome could end up driving a greater wedge between the haves and have nots. San Jose and the Bay Area have become the nationwide hub for the AI industry, according to...
The Biz Beat: Grandmother’s finest Italian dishes in San Jose
There is something remarkable about Italian food. Even in as elegant a setting as Vito’s Trattoria in San Jose, there is an honest heartiness to the cuisine that gives it comfort food status. With recipes handed down from owner George Nobile’s Sicilian grandmother and personalized touches like engraved name plaques displayed at the tables of...
East San Jose cultural district close to funding goal
An organization dedicated to revitalizing a segment of East San Jose is close to securing its multi-million dollar goal. The plan, dubbed La Avenida, has been in the works for a year and a half and aims to establish a cultural district next to the School of Arts and Culture. The project aims to fuel...
East San Jose free food market targets hunger crisis
Free food distribution is still essential for East San Jose residents. That’s evident by the line of people wrapped around the block of Mexican Heritage Plaza twice a month waiting to fill their wagons with produce and other food products. Even post-pandemic there’s been a noticeable uptick in the number of residents needing food, and organizers...
The Biz Beat: San Jose deli serves up more than just cold cuts
It’s easy to drive by Sandwich Mill Deli and Catering in San Jose without noticing its small side street location off Kooser Road—but once you find it, the odds are good that you’re going to remember it. “It is all in the taste,” co-owner Albert Rodriquez told San José Spotlight. “People who grew up eating...