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...
New proposal calls for investment in East San Jose businesses
Community leaders are calling for San Jose to invest in economic development of the east side, which they say the city has neglected for years. Rolando Bonilla, chair of the San Jose Planning Commission, spearheaded a proposal in June that asked the City Council to purchase vacant retail buildings in East San Jose and then give them...
No plans yet for first Google-San Jose funds
Google recently paid San Jose its first installment of funds as part of the tech giant’s deal to flood city coffers in exchange for a downtown campus. The tech giant agreed to pay $3 million for “immediate community stabilization” within 30 days of the City Council’s May 25 approval of its Downtown West project. Payment...
UPDATE: San Jose lawmakers approve Berryessa urban village, shrink flea market
Months of negotiations, rallies and proposals ended Tuesday with the San Jose City Council voting unanimously to approve a multi-million square foot development at the site of the San Jose Flea Market. Councilmembers approved the Berryessa BART Urban Village project, a plan to rezone a 61.5-acre portion of the flea market site to include up...
San Jose councilmember proposes improvement district for Alum Rock
When Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco envisions the future of Alum Rock Avenue, she sees a vibrant corridor of people enjoying the sights and sounds, visitors stopping at small businesses and families walking to and from events at Mexican Heritage Plaza. “We want people to walk, to experience the east side,” Carrasco said. “To nurture the talent...
Beloved San Jose comedy club reopens its doors post-pandemic
One of San Jose’s most beloved downtown venues is reopening after almost a year and a half. The San Jose Improv reopens today with comedians Sammy Obeid, Phil Griffiths, Sam Marcoux and Chai Sharma performing. D.L. Hughley headlining this weekend. The neighborhood staple, located at 62 South Second Street, survived earthquakes, fires and now the...
‘Bad to horrific’: Racial discrimination and wealth inequality grew under COVID-19
Inequality in Silicon Valley has gone from “bad to horrific” over the pandemic, as indicators such as hunger, homelessness, income inequality and the wealth gap have all increased since last June, new research shows. “While our community was shocked at the incredibly high levels of racial discrimination and income and wealth inequality detailed in the...
UPDATE: San Jose flea market decision delayed another week
The future of the San Jose Flea Market is up in the air following two days of deliberation but no decision on a proposed mixed-use development that would shrink the market by two-thirds of its current size. The San Jose City Council met Tuesday to consider plans for the Berryessa BART Urban Village, but continued...