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The national baby formula shortage is hitting the South Bay, prompting some stores to limit purchases as parents scramble to stock up on supply. The months-long crisis has reached new heights in the last few weeks—with the national out-of-stock rate hitting 43% as of last week, according to retail data service Datasembly. California is seeing a better rate...
Rent burden growing worse in Santa Clara County
The rent burden grew heavier in Santa Clara County during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and there’s no sign it will get any lighter this year. Rents in Santa Clara County increased 6.3% between the end of 2020 and end of 2021, according to a recent report from California Housing Partnership, which provides housing...
Employer headcount tax could be Santa Clara’s deficit solution
The city of Santa Clara is bleeding red, and big business may be at the center of its new strategy for economic recovery. Santa Clara is facing a nearly $20 million budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year and needs to find new revenue streams. Under a newly proposed business license tax structure, the city...
The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Con Azucar Café serves specialty coffee
The first thing you see entering Con Azucar Café is a swing hanging from the ceiling and a neon sign reading “Siente el Pedorro” framed by artificial flowers and foliage. Don’t pay attention to Google’s translation of the phrase, warns co-owner Alejandra Gonzalez—the literal translation is different than what the slang term means: “sit your...
Loss of Gilroy Garlic Festival is a financial hit for youth groups
The loss of the Gilroy Garlic Festival brings an end to essential funding for local nonprofits and youth organizations. High insurance premiums forced the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association to discontinue the festival, leaving local groups without the once-reliable source of funding and searching for new revenue streams. Since 1979, the annual food festival has raised...
San Jose business tourism takes major hit
Business travel is down across the United States due to COVID-19, but San Jose is suffering worse than other major cities. Business leaders laid out the city’s rough situation at a news conference held at the San Jose Chamber of Commerce on Thursday. According to a report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), revenue from...
San Jose throws a lifeline to struggling small businesses
San Jose launched a new grant program this week to help small business owners with their back rent as a commercial eviction ban winds down over the summer. About $2.6 million in federal funds will be allocated to provide up to $15,000 in grants to small businesses or companies still reeling from the economic impacts...
San Jose May Day marchers upset by city’s conflicting schedule
Labor organizers upset with San Jose for scheduling an event that conflicted with a May Day celebration want guarantees from the city it won’t happen again. On Sunday, labor advocates and workers gathered in San Jose to celebrate May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day. The holiday is celebrated every May 1, and over...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County expands its home kitchen industry
Santa Clara County residents running food businesses out of their kitchens will be able to come out of the shadows, following a Tuesday Board of Supervisors vote. The board authorized a three-year pilot program for microenterprise home kitchen operations that will apply to all 15 cities and unincorporated areas within the county. California established a...
San Jose spends federal funds on resident relief, business support
San Jose is getting ready to spend the balance of its multi-million dollar allocation of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan, giving out the last round of dollars to a variety of programs this summer. The remaining $78 million of the city’s total $212 million allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will be...