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...
San Jose considers security cameras for small businesses
To keep small businesses safe from crime, San Jose officials are considering a slew of measures to offer them assistance—including use of security cameras. On Wednesday the city’s Rules and Open Governance Committee referred a package of anti-crime proposals, including several items addressing small businesses, to the Public Safety, Finance & Strategic Support Committee for further discussion....
Strict rules at San Jose Flea Market drive out vendors
Behind the colorful booths, lively music and tantalizing smells of local Mexican foods at the San Jose Flea Market are tears and heartache. Vendors greet patrons with a smile, but mask a world of pain and anxiety many are feeling regarding future development. A 2021 San Jose City Council vote allowed flea market operators to...
Signia by Hilton San Jose pumps new energy in the downtown
The doors are open again at the South Bay’s largest hotel. The Signia by Hilton San Jose, which opened this week, replaces the iconic 805-room Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose that went bankrupt in 2020 due to the pandemic. The 34-year old hotel’s closure was a blow to the heart of downtown, the city’s...
The Biz Beat: Fox Tale Fermentation Project brings unique brews to San Jose
Having spent the past five years homebrewing in their garage, San Jose residents and domestic partners Wendy Neff and Felipe Bravo have approached every beer as a learning opportunity. Adding unorthodox ingredients and changing the brewing process slightly to see how it came out, their passion project quickly outgrew the space. Now, in an exciting...
San Jose may close San Pedro Square, Post Street to traffic
Traffic in San Pedro Square may become a distant memory. On Wednesday, San Jose’s Rules and Open Government Committee unanimously voted to move forward with plans to close off streets from cars permanently in San Pedro Square and temporarily on Post Street. The City Council is expected to consider the closures next week. The San Pedro and...
San Jose nonprofit cooks up job training for the homeless
One San Jose nonprofit may have discovered a way to lower food insecurity and increase the culinary workforce simultaneously—and the timing couldn’t be better. Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen is building a culinary jobs training program to help low-income and homeless people develop employment skills to lift them out of poverty. The nonprofit will hire...
Downtown San Jose special property district up for renewal
A special district that provides extra cleaning and security to downtown San Jose property owners may be extended for another decade. San Jose’s downtown property-based improvement district (PBID) tax, which expires in December, has renewal support from more than 50% of the residents and businesses who pay for these services, according to Chloe Shipp, director...
Silicon Valley unemployment drops as hospitality sees slow recovery
Unemployment continues to plummet in Silicon Valley, but it’s anyone’s guess when the leisure and hospitality sector will fully recover. The unemployment rate in Silicon Valley dropped to 2.4% in March—less than half the rate recorded the same time last year—according to a recent report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies. Employers...
Google invests in San Jose homeless services, Black cultural center
Google executives joined elected officials in San Jose Thursday to announce a $500,000 grant to aid homeless services and help build a new African American cultural center. The grant will be split evenly between nonprofit People Assisting The Homeless (PATH), and a service and cultural center project for the city’s African American community, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren...