The San Jose City Council passed a $5.5 billion budget Tuesday, balancing a $50 million deficit by tapping into reserve funds and making wide ranging service cuts — but no layoffs. Over the course of the four-month-long budgeting process, San Jose leaders have warned the city may need to resort to painful fiscal trimming. However, in...
Santa Clara’s special event zone helps businesses, not vendors
Soccer fans from around the world are expected to flood Santa Clara this weekend for the FIFA World Cup, bringing team chants, fan marches and crowds to Levi’s Stadium — but outdoor merchants and food vendors may not benefit from the event at all. Santa Clara has created a “special event zone” to temporarily restrict sidewalk...
Super Bowl 60 pumps $195M into Santa Clara County
South Bay officials are touting a new economic analysis of Super Bowl 60, which found the game drove $720 million in total economic activity throughout the Bay Area, $195 million of which went to Santa Clara County. The report, released Friday by the Bay Area Host Committee, may bolster the case from leaders in San...
The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Sourdough Eatery offers art on the side
Nestled in a 100-year-old former residence, Sourdough Eatery in San Jose feels like a roadside attraction on Route 66. Part delicatessen, part art gallery and part living history museum, it is a tribute to owner Barbara Lenhart. Every visible wall is covered with Lenhart’s oil portraits of celebrities, politicians and glamor girls. Lenhart sits at...
San Jose State at top of class when it comes to AI
San Jose State University has smoked the competition in a national computer science and technical skills assessment, beating out Stanford, CalTech and UC Berkeley. Since 2021, SJSU has jumped 47 spots to become No. 2 in the nation for data-driven programming and software engineering skills, just behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The university offers...
San Jose hotel tax on track for victory
A measure to increase taxes on San Jose hotels appears to be on an easy path to victory. More than 65.6% of votes tallied so far are in favor of Measure A, which would increase the city tax levied on hotel guests from 10% to 12%, according to election returns released Wednesday evening. Officials with the...
Will the World Cup be a boon to Silicon Valley businesses?
The FIFA World Cup is the last of the sports trifecta to bring an economic boost into Santa Clara County following the Super Bowl in February and NCAA March Madness. An international crowd is expected to descend on Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, increasing sales and foot traffic in neighboring cities between June 13 through...
San Jose poised to restore virtual public comment
San Jose is poised to bring back virtual public comments during its meetings, two years after the city cut the option due to hate speech concerns. The reintroduction of remote participation, which could come as soon as the June 8 budget hearing, is a response to a new state law mandating digital access for a...
Silicon Valley lawmaker favors AI tech partnerships over regulations
With artificial intelligence threatening to upend workplaces throughout Silicon Valley, the area’s representative in Congress has an idea he hopes will reduce anxieties about the revolutionary technology: nudge tech companies to take a central role in educating the workforce of the future. The tense relationship between recent college graduates and AI has been on display...
The Biz Beat: San Jose brunch spot serves Cali-Mexico fusion
There is a distinct therapeutic magic to be discovered in a plate of Chunky Monkey Pancakes from Mix Huevos in San Jose, according to owner Ray Hernandez. Layered with warm banana slices, dark chocolate chips, glazed walnuts and a bourbon butterscotch glaze, it’s his favorite dish and, he said, nothing less than a tonic for...