A Bloomberg report found that according to economic infrastructure and demographic metrics, Silicon Valley ranks first among the top 100 U.S. metropolitan areas most likely to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic the quickest. “Known for their information technology, electronics manufacturing, venture-capital funding and research universities, the economies in the Bay Area boast industries that have...
Google project won’t improve San Jose’s jobs-housing imbalance much, officials say
Google’s massive downtown San Jose campus won’t make as big a dent in the city’s jobs-to-housing imbalance as city officials had hoped. That was one of the revelations from a Planning Commission meeting studying the proposed project on Dec. 9. “Even with the addition of these 20,000 jobs at full build-out, it makes a very small change...
Santa Clara County to offer small-business loans through state fund
Rather than create its own pot of money to help local businesses suffering through the pandemic, Santa Clara County will invest in a statewide fund that offers loans to small businesses. The Board of Supervisors on Dec. 8 voted unanimously to invest $6 million into the California Rebuilding Fund with the intent of offering loans...
Santa Clara County eyes small-business loan program
Santa Clara County is considering establishing a $50 million to $100 million small business loan program, despite county executives insisting it’s a bad idea. The Board of Supervisors started entertaining the idea in October, with Supervisor Joe Simitian saying loan amounts should be distributed in increments of $50,000 to $100,000 per business to increase impact....
‘We don’t know what to do’: San Jose restaurants prepare to close in-person dining
Surrounded by patio heaters and tables filled with patrons dining on Mexican food, a three-person mariachi band played under the tent canopy outside Mendoza’s Taqueria in San Jose on Sunday – the last day of the year restaurants could seat people under Santa Clara County’s most recent health order. “I’m going to miss watching them...
Free parking and to-go alcohol among ideas to keep business alive in downtown San Jose
A coalition of more than 55 San Jose businesses is pushing local and state policy recommendations to help the once-thriving downtown core survive the pandemic. Lawmakers at the city’s Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously Dec. 2 to bring 15 new policy recommendations to the San Jose City Council for discussion and approval. “As...
Big business plans to cut more than 8,800 jobs in South Bay by end of the year
More than 8,800 employees at large Santa Clara County firms are expected to be out of work by the end of the year, according to data filed with the U.S. Labor Department. Some 103 county businesses filed a notice between July 1 and Nov. 18 of impending layoffs under WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification),...
New loan program offers lifeline to small businesses in Santa Clara County
As California’s small businesses face continued COVID-19 restrictions, a new small-business loan program aims to help keep the doors open a while longer. The California Rebuilding Fund supports small businesses in economically disadvantaged and historically under-banked areas. Businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees and $2.5 million or less in gross revenues in 2019...
Santa Clara County moves forward with job cuts in face of deficit
Despite calls from county employees and labor advocates to reconsider, Santa Clara County continued on its path to lay off employees in anticipation of balancing its 2021-22 budget. In a 3-2 vote Nov. 20, the Board of Supervisors pushed through the elimination of 170 county positions. Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Dave Cortese cast the dissenting...
Santa Clara County eyeing more job cuts to balance next year’s budget
Santa Clara County supervisors are set to approve more layoffs across county government to prepare their 2021-22 budget for shortfalls due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Supervisors on Nov. 18 discussed eliminating about 170 county jobs. They will cast a final vote Nov. 20 on the layoffs, which are part of a broader plan to...