The San Jose City Council will decide whether to oppose a state ballot initiative Tuesday, which officials say would hobble the city’s ability to provide basic services. The initiative, dubbed the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act, would make it more difficult for state and local governments to pass new taxes and fees. If passed, local governments...
Economy
Economy
San Jose officials call for street vendor protections
San Jose officials have a message for street vendors: report any attacks, because the city is listening. San Jose’s Latino councilmembers and a coalition of a dozen local advocates gathered Thursday to reassert their commitment to protect street vendors and highlighted services available to them following recent attacks on two vendors near downtown. “Street vendors...
San Jose’s low-budget airline could boost tourism
San Jose Mineta International Airport is adding Spirit Airlines to its carriers—and some say that’s not necessarily the best news. “I’ve flown on Spirit a couple times, and it wasn’t a good experience,” said Christian Hoang, a San Jose resident going to school out of state. “If you’re looking for the best price, they have...
Downtown San Jose theater faces final curtain call
A San Jose art institution in downtown is closing its curtains later this year. The Tabard Theatre is closing indefinitely on April 2, according to Jonathan Rhys Williams, executive artistic director of the Tabard Theatre Company. “After three years of battling increasing costs, decreasing ticket sales and the ongoing effects of a global pandemic, we are...
Booms and busts: Silicon Valley economy divided
Silicon Valley’s economy is waiting to see how recent changes like remote work culture and the slowdown of pandemic-driven booms in the tech sector play out, according to a new regional report. Even with that in play, the most consistent indicators show Silicon Valley is still a place of drastic divides, with gaps between the haves...
San Jose franchisees applaud delay in controversial law
Fast-food restaurant owners are breathing easy now that a state law meant to address working conditions among workers is on hold. Efforts to halt AB 257, also known as the FAST Recovery Act, succeeded this month after restaurant and business trade groups submitted more than 712,000 valid voter signatures for a referendum, state officials announced last week. The effort to...
Silicon Valley’s outdoor dining an obstacle for disabled community
For lifelong San Jose resident Michelle Mashburn, there are parts of the city where she can never go. That includes streets like San Pedro Square or Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen, where sidewalks and parking spots have been converted for outdoor dining which isn’t wheelchair friendly. “I just avoid it altogether,” Mashburn told San José...
Business leader sees vibrant future for downtown San Jose
From Germany, to the City of Angels, to the Biggest Little City in the World and now to the Heart of Silicon Valley, Alex Stettinski has seen a lot of downtowns, and he thinks he can help fix San Jose’s. The new head of the San Jose Downtown Association has about four months under his...
Tech layoffs won’t hurt downtown San Jose
Recent tech layoffs likely won’t prevent downtown San Jose from becoming a thriving commercial and residential hub. But uncertainty around remote work culture and lengthy timelines for completing major transit and development projects could spell years more struggle for the area and its businesses. Three regional experts said while tech company layoffs have captured big...
San Jose businesses frustrated by homelessness
Reza Farahani immigrated from Iran more than 20 years ago and opened his Lincoln Glass & Mirror business on Kruse Drive in North San Jose. He moved down the block a decade ago when his company expanded, but said in the last two years the surrounding neighborhood has become untenable because of rampant homelessness. Dozens of...