Bay Area residents overwhelmingly think their lives are headed in the right direction, even as they see the region moving down the wrong track. That’s one of the key takeaways from the annual Silicon Valley Poll, released last week by local think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley, with 81% of the 1,800 adults surveyed in...
Santa Clara wants better water, air standards for data centers
Santa Clara officials are moving forward with plans to update the city’s policies governing data center development, but have stopped short of considering a moratorium on new projects coming through the pipeline. The City Council on Oct. 6 unanimously approved a plan to prioritize new water and air quality standards for data centers and directed...
After strike threat, tentative deal reached with San Jose public unions
San Jose has reached a tentative contract agreement with its public sector union workers, likely averting a strike and ending a monthslong standoff over demands for higher wages and workforce protections. The tentative agreement struck Thursday breaks a negotiation deadlock between city leaders and two major public sector unions, IFPTE Local 21 and MEF-AFSCME Local...
San Jose sets rules for delivery robots
San Jose’s experiment with autonomous food delivery robots is entering a new phase as the city prepares to roll out rules governing their use, including operating fees as well as fines for companies that run afoul of the new standards. The City Council greenlit a regulatory package Tuesday that will not only set the rules...
Judge hands San Jose win in license plate reader case
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging San Jose’s network of license plate reader cameras, dealing a legal setback to opponents of a technology used to fight crime that has divided the city’s residents over fears of dragnet surveillance. In a ruling delivered Friday, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey El-Hajj rejected arguments that...
Data center developers share plans at San Jose town hall
While San Jose is developing uniform data center standards to mitigate environmental impacts and support economic growth, two developers with projects in the pipeline said they will adhere to the guidelines once set. At a Tuesday community town hall organized by the District 2 Neighborhood Leadership Council, representatives from major data center developers Prologis and...
San Jose residents want city to stop using Flock cameras after misuse
Residents are calling for San Jose’s police chief to step down, after revelations that a police officer used license plate tracking technology to help his cousin stalk a woman she alleges abused her. In addition, a coalition of groups — including Safety over Surveillance, Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN), Working Partnerships USA, Electronic...
Data center company to acquire former South San Jose IBM site
The former IBM Almaden Research Center in the rolling hills of Coyote Valley has a buyer. Blackstart Digital — a data center development and investment firm focused on sustainable redevelopment — has entered into an agreement to acquire the historic campus in South San Jose, according to land use consultant Erik Schoennauer, a representative of...
Santa Clara mayoral candidate claims Levi’s Stadium financials fall short
Former Santa Clara Councilmember Kathy Watanabe is calling for an independent analysis of the economic benefit Levi’s Stadium provides to the city, saying residents deserve a clearer accounting of the stadium’s costs, revenues and contributions to city coffers. Watanabe, a mayoral candidate in the upcoming Nov. 3 election, held a news conference Thursday in front...
San Jose again tries to tighten controls on license plate readers
Facing public outcry over alleged misuse of San Jose’s automated license plate reader data, a group of elected leaders has unveiled new safeguards for the controversial technology. The safeguards, announced Wednesday, aim to make it harder for city employees to use personal devices to access sensitive law enforcement data, including that gathered by license plate...