Santa Clara is brainstorming strategies to improve the city’s economic future while grappling with a budget crisis. The Santa Clara City Council unanimously voted last week to raise the transient occupancy tax from 11.5% to 12.5%, up to a maximum of 13.5% within the next two years, as a way to tackle the city’s deficit....
San Jose leaders say downtown is entering ‘a new era of promise’
The tone of an annual meeting on the state of downtown San Jose was hopeful, despite the city core’s slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. San Jose Downtown Association members met today at the Hammer Theatre Center, along with city leaders who rallied support for a “vibrant, community-driven” downtown. The area is facing a number of setbacks, including the...
The Biz Beat: Try the grasshoppers at Mezcal in San Jose
Mezcal Restaurant in San Jose specializes in authentic Oaxacan cuisine, from the mole negro and mole coloradito—two of the seven famed Oaxacan chocolate sauces—to the chapulines, or grasshoppers sauteed in garlic, lime and salt. Umm… grasshoppers? “Why not?” owner Adolfo Gomez told San José Spotlight. “It’s a traditional item for us. People say we’re trying...
San Jose workers are not returning to downtown
The San Jose metro area ranks in the top 10 among the lowest in the country for employees returning to the office. San Jose sits in the ninth spot at 40.7% for return-to-office rates, according to a recent study by Kastle, a facilities security firm that tracks office visits by analyzing keycard swipes at buildings...
UPDATE: Why is San Jose starting its own power utility?
As San Jose’s power needs increase with electrification and climate change solutions, the city will explore creating its own power utility. The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the creation of San Jose Power, a city-run electric utility touted as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide power at lower rates and bring in more...
Report: Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara has $2B economic impact
Events at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara have generated $2 billion in total economic impact for the region in the last decade, according to a report commissioned by the San Francisco 49ers. The report was prepared by Daniel Rascher, a professor of sports economics at University of San Francisco and head of consulting firm SportsEconomics....
The Biz Beat: Rollati Ristorante in San Jose serves one spicy pie
After two and a half years of planning, Rollati Ristorante has already established itself as a destination restaurant in the two weeks since its mid-September opening. Offering an elegant twist on classic Italian-American cuisine in downtown San Jose, it is the newest of the Vine Hospitality Group’s restaurants, which include Santana Row mainstays Left Bank,...
San Jose officials to crack down on social media rules
After a myriad of messy transitions including former San Jose officials impersonating their successors, holding social media accounts hostage and preventing access to mailing lists, the city is looking to create rules to ensure it doesn’t happen in the next election. District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan wants council-related websites and social media accounts to be...
San Jose government videos are ditching ads
People tuning in to a San Jose City Council meeting on YouTube might be interrupted by advertisements—something city officials said goes against the video platform’s own guidelines. Ads for website builders, grocery delivery, hotel booking sites and other products and services are dotted into the city’s public video recordings uploaded to the platform, including council, commission...
San Jose employees spent millions on travel, entertainment and dinners
From Disney resorts to animal funeral services, San Jose City Hall employees spent millions with city credit cards this past year. About a quarter of San Jose employees have city-funded credit cards, known as purchase cards or P-cards. The cards are typically issued to specific department representatives with intent to streamline small dollar purchases—mostly office...