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As COVID-19 infections engulfed Vietnam and killed 10,000 people in September, two local Vietnamese-American brothers and a nonprofit sprung into action. David Duong, CEO of California Waste Solutions and a community leader in San Jose, has split his time doing business between the South Bay and the Southeast Asian country. A refugee who fled Vietnam as a...
San Jose Flea Market vendors upset with long-term rent option
San Jose Flea Market vendors are upset by a new agreement that requires six months of rent in advance to get a better long-term rental option. Vendors asked the market owners for something akin to long-term leases for protection against immediate displacement. But it appears they misinterpreted the flea market’s license offer as a lease. A...
San Jose’s overtime cost highlights shortage of skilled trade workers
Overtime is the only way to keep certain key services afloat in San Jose, with the search for skilled labor a constant struggle. The city relies on some employees working longer hours and picking up extra shifts to keep operations running, a practice officials and experts say is fueled by persistent vacancies and uncompetitive compensation....
Proposed Costco fires up some San Jose residents
Costco wants to grow its San Jose footprint—this time in the Westgate West shopping center off Prospect Road. But the proposal isn’t sitting well with local residents. “Nobody likes seeing empty buildings for long periods of time, so it is important to fill it in with viable businesses or dense housing. But let’s get creative,”...
Redistricting is firing up small business owners in San Jose
Small businesses are riled up over proposed maps from the San Jose Redistricting Commission that they say create a divide and hamper COVID recovery efforts. Groups representing small businesses across the city say maps being considered by the redistricting commission could split their neighborhoods. That could spell trouble for many small and minority-owned businesses. By...
San Jose leaders eager to renew special downtown commercial district
A special district that provides extra cleaning and security to downtown San Jose property owners is up for renewal next year, and local stakeholders are eager to keep it running for another decade. San Jose’s downtown property-based improvement district (PBID) expires in December 2022, and the San Jose Downtown Association and local businesses are making...
Fed up with ‘serial’ ADA lawsuits, San Jose business owners seek legislative help
Cesar Pascal, owner of San Jose Mexican restaurant Plaza Garibaldi, got hit with a disability lawsuit six years ago. Attorney expenses piled up. Pascal says his landlord didn’t help with any of the bills. Pascal had to pay $17,000 to settle the lawsuit. “These attorneys group around our small businesses that know they can’t afford...
Two San Jose economies: Downtown tanked, Santana Row thrived
With a lack of tech workers and foot traffic, downtown San Jose became a ghost town during the pandemic, but five miles away high-end Santana Row flourished. These two destinations linked by San Carlos and Stevens Creek boulevards and Interstate 280 are worlds apart socioeconomically and the COVID-19 pandemic made that schism wider. Downtown was hit...
Reviving downtown San Jose remains an elusive goal
Downtown San Jose looks like a ghost town. Boosters claim an economic revival is within reach for the heart of Silicon Valley. But those who live and work in the city’s core are skeptical. John Seol, owner of a small cellphone repair shop just blocks from City Hall, told San José Spotlight he hears about...
The Capital of Silicon Valley struggles with email system
Despite complaints and frustration from the mayor about San Jose’s email platform, the city can’t afford to switch its operating system. “That kind of migration and transition would be a huge project for (roughly) 7,000 city employees,” Chief Information Officer Rob Lloyd told San José Spotlight. San José Spotlight last week revealed that Mayor Sam Liccardo...