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Santa Clara County is considering establishing a $50 million to $100 million small business loan program, despite county executives insisting it’s a bad idea. The Board of Supervisors started entertaining the idea in October, with Supervisor Joe Simitian saying loan amounts should be distributed in increments of $50,000 to $100,000 per business to increase impact....
Cap on food delivery fees being considered in Santa Clara County
With a new shelter-in-place order in place until Jan. 4, Santa Clara County officials are hoping to help struggling restaurant owners by capping fees and commissions charged by food-delivery companies. Supervisors Joe Simitian and Cindy Chavez on Dec. 8 plan to ask county staff to look into drafting a proposal modeled after other Bay Area...
‘We don’t know what to do’: San Jose restaurants prepare to close in-person dining
Surrounded by patio heaters and tables filled with patrons dining on Mexican food, a three-person mariachi band played under the tent canopy outside Mendoza’s Taqueria in San Jose on Sunday – the last day of the year restaurants could seat people under Santa Clara County’s most recent health order. “I’m going to miss watching them...
Free parking and to-go alcohol among ideas to keep business alive in downtown San Jose
A coalition of more than 55 San Jose businesses is pushing local and state policy recommendations to help the once-thriving downtown core survive the pandemic. Lawmakers at the city’s Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously Dec. 2 to bring 15 new policy recommendations to the San Jose City Council for discussion and approval. “As...
Big business plans to cut more than 8,800 jobs in South Bay by end of the year
More than 8,800 employees at large Santa Clara County firms are expected to be out of work by the end of the year, according to data filed with the U.S. Labor Department. Some 103 county businesses filed a notice between July 1 and Nov. 18 of impending layoffs under WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification),...
New loan program offers lifeline to small businesses in Santa Clara County
As California’s small businesses face continued COVID-19 restrictions, a new small-business loan program aims to help keep the doors open a while longer. The California Rebuilding Fund supports small businesses in economically disadvantaged and historically under-banked areas. Businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees and $2.5 million or less in gross revenues in 2019...
Silicon Valley Organization’s new diversity panel struggles to get recruits
Three prominent community leaders continue to refuse to serve on the Silicon Valley Organization’s new racial equity working group unless the business group agrees to a set of conditions and full transparency, according to a letter obtained by San José Spotlight. The Nov. 9 letter outlined concerns with The SVO’s “hastily-assembled investigation” into a racist...
Businesses to face immediate fines for violating COVID-19 rules in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County businesses that violate COVID-19 safety protocols over Thanksgiving weekend will face immediate fines as health officials struggle to control the spread of COVID-19. Unlike before, businesses will have no grace period to fix the violation if they are cited Nov. 26 to Nov. 29. Individual fines range from $250 to more than...
Local artist partners with San Jose brewery amid COVID-19 pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic first swept through the Bay Area, San Jose native Justin Engel experienced a series of unexpected setbacks. Within a few weeks of the shelter in place order in March, the 42-year-old father of two took a 20% pay cut at his day job as a technical writer, was forced to leave...
Santa Clara County moves forward with job cuts in face of deficit
Despite calls from county employees and labor advocates to reconsider, Santa Clara County continued on its path to lay off employees in anticipation of balancing its 2021-22 budget. In a 3-2 vote Nov. 20, the Board of Supervisors pushed through the elimination of 170 county positions. Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Dave Cortese cast the dissenting...