San Jose is off to a slow start staffing up the police department since Mayor Matt Mahan took office in January. Filling dozens of empty vacancies at the San Jose Police Department has been a long term goal for Mahan dating back to his time on the campaign trail. But so far it’s been an uphill...
Silicon Valley governments rank high in state lobby spending
Three local governments in Silicon Valley spent more than $1.9 million lobbying for local causes this year. Santa Clara County spent about $630,807 lobbying the state Legislature and agencies as of June, according to a CalMatters report. The county trailed behind the city of Santa Clara but was ahead of San Jose. All three landed...
DoorDash Kitchens in San Jose offers dine-in options
DoorDash Kitchens’ new San Jose location has evolved to become a fast-food restaurant as well as a delivery service. Although it initially resembled a ghost kitchen, DoorDash Kitchens now offers dine-in services at the Plant Shopping Center on Curtner Avenue. The location, which had its soft opening in May and officially opened on July 31,...
San Jose animal shelter, city services brace for strike threat
If a deal is not struck between San Jose and thousands of its employees this week, its services will be in jeopardy, including the care of hundreds of animals. Mayor Matt Mahan floated the possibility of shutting down the San Jose Animal Care Center, a landing spot for hundreds of household pets looking for a...
San Jose officials struggle to protect street vendors
A street vendor is back selling strawberries outside of a San Jose Home Depot two and a half weeks after being harassed by private security. Jahir Hernández Reyes is one of multiple street vendors who have experienced harassment or violence this year in San Jose as city officials continue to call for policy reforms to protect...
The Biz Beat: San Jose restaurant unlocks beauty and depth of Venezuelan cuisine
Joanna Torres is on a mission to popularize Venezuelan food with her Willow Glen restaurant, Arepas. And if her recent catering job of serving 1,400 arepa sandwiches for Intuit is any indication, she is succeeding. Founded less than two years ago, Arepas in San Jose has a loyal customer base that stretches to Modesto. The...
‘Your own employees are struggling,’ homeless San Jose worker says
San Jose city zookeeper Amanda Maulding never thought securing her dream job would lead to her being homeless, but within two years of starting her job it became clear she was never going to make enough to pay rent. Now Maulding, 43, who has worked for the city since 2018, is living in a van...
Silicon Valley congressman tours computer chip facility
Silicon Valley has long been at the forefront of next generation technology from microprocessors and integrated circuits, to cutting-edge software and internet companies that have changed the global landscape. One Silicon Valley congressmember doesn’t want his region to lose that edge. Rep. Ro Khanna stopped in Sunnyvale on Tuesday to tour Applied Materials, a semiconductor...
The Biz Beat: San Jose restaurant’s secret is in its tortillas
If you are hungry for enchiladas and burritos, Acopio in San Jose might not be the Mexican restaurant for you—they are not on the menu. But tacos? Owner Lorena Vidrio says everything can be a taco. “I’m not going to speak badly about those things,” she told San José Spotlight. “But we feature our tortillas...
San Jose sets workplace guardrails for using AI
As more people integrate artificial intelligence into their everyday lives—from students using ChatGPT for homework to adults using AI for art—San Jose leaders are adapting it into their daily work. The city released its first set of employee guidelines on Monday for generative AI, a technology that has the ability to generate text, images and...