Five years ago, San Jose created Measure G, a tax to make businesses pay for the increasingly expensive costs of living and inflation. Businesses have seen a tax hike this year because of the measure, but city officials say they’re also seeing positive effects. Measure G updated the city’s 30-year-old tax code to better address...
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These San Jose nonprofits received the most PPP loan money
The federal Paycheck Protection Program awarded roughly $122 million to more than 360 nonprofits in San Jose this past year to weather the pandemic, according to recent data from the Small Business Administration. As COVID-19 shuttered social gatherings and in-person services, local nonprofit leaders said the loans were vital to prevent layoffs and cuts to programming. “Getting...
Some San Jose bar owners requiring proof of vaccination
If you want to grab a drink in San Jose, you might soon have to show you got a COVID-19 shot — just like San Francisco. Haberdasher, a speakeasy-themed bar in downtown San Jose, announced a day after the state reopened it would require proof of vaccination to enter. A banner on the bar’s website...
Santa Clara County nail salons still reeling from pandemic shutdown
When Santa Clara County lifted some COVID-19 restrictions on nail salons and barber shops in late summer of last year, Louie Pham thought she could finally get back to work. Pham, the owner of Orchid Nail Lounge, said she was eager to come back after months of no work. The industry is a cornerstone of the Vietnamese community...
San Jose airport receives more federal funding for COVID-19 recovery
After facing one of the highest drops in passenger traffic in the country, San Jose’s airport is getting a big break — nearly $55.5 million from the federal government to help it recover from COVID-19. The grant funding, which comes from the American Rescue Plan, was announced by Silicon Valley Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. “For more than a...
Santa Clara County leads in job losses as unemployment rate rises
The unemployment rate in Silicon Valley saw a slight increase in June, signaling that the region still has a way to go before returning to pre-pandemic levels. The regional unemployment rate increased from 4.6% to 5.1% between mid-May and mid-June, according to a study released this month by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit that analyzes...
Which San Jose industries received the most PPP money?
San Jose businesses received more than $2.3 billion in federal funding to keep workers on the job during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Small Business Administration (SBA) approved more than 11.8 million loans through three rounds of Paycheck Protection Program applications, with California having the most loan money approved out of any state, according to federal data....
San Jose restaurants have tough time hiring workers
Some San Jose restaurants are having a difficult time hiring employees, despite the state easing coronavirus restrictions. Ronald DeVries, owner of Pizza Bocca Lupo in San Pedro Square Market, said he’s noticed fewer applicants applying for jobs at the restaurant. Rather than seeing 20 applicants a month as in pre-pandemic times, the owner says he now sees...
San Jose, school districts push for digital equity
Students are resuming in-person instruction this school year, but some will be returning with significantly different experiences from their months of virtual learning. Erendia Diaz, who has sons in the Alum Rock Union School District and East Side Union School District, experienced this gap firsthand. When her sons switched to virtual learning last year due...
San Jose to study creating cannabis equity program
After months of discussion, San Jose officials have a timeline for conducting a report which will document residents’ experiences with cannabis-related crimes and barriers to entering the legal market. The findings could determine how the city will use more than $550,000 from the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control to create a cannabis equity program. Equity programs can...