A San Jose entrepreneur wants the city to expand its horizons and allow special events at museums, concerts and comedy clubs where adults can smoke, drink or eat cannabis products. Fernando Alvarez, founder of VaporTent Lounges, said the city is missing out on an economic policy he’s helped other California cities craft. One that allows organizers...
Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna’s campaign to pay $16K to FEC
A San Jose congressman’s campaign will pay $16,000 to a federal watchdog for using software that divulged donor history for fundraising purposes. The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) reached a settlement with Rep. Ro Khanna‘s campaign to pay for using information from the commission’s database to send people emails during his 2014 and 2016 runs for...
Businesses in San Jose airport seek COVID relief funds
Vendors at Mineta San Jose International Airport are not seeing revenues return to pre-pandemic levels, and local lawmakers want to offer financial help. The San Jose City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to let city officials continue negotiations with airport businesses about how to dole out COVID-related relief funds. A city commission will also take a...
San Jose business owners fear displacement from historic district
Dozens of Spanish-speaking businesses in the bullseye of rezoning on Willow Street rallied to force the city to rethink its position. Other business districts may not be so lucky. San Jose officials are exploring land-use changes to four business districts: Willow Street, North 13th Street, Willow Glen and Taylor Street in Japantown. The city wants...
Airlines shrug at costs from San Jose building policy
Airlines hardly notice the financial losses caused by a San Jose policy to raise building height limits in the flight path of some planes. Multiple airlines told San José Spotlight that their operations have not been affected by a 2019 city policy that raised the height limits for buildings downtown and in the Diridon Station...
Downtown San Jose pizza shop under new ownership after abuse allegations
A popular vegan pizza shop in downtown San Jose is under new ownership following accusations of sexual assault against the previous owner. San Jose couple Ruth Baker and Wesley Tonascia dipped into their “hard earned savings” to acquire Pizza Flora last month, replacing Ryan Summers, who put the restaurant up for sale after allegations of...
Santa Clara residents want to reclaim their once vibrant downtown
Santa Clara residents want to rebuild their downtown after tearing it down more than 50 years ago. Members of Reclaiming Our Downtown, a Santa Clara grassroots group, has led the push to revitalize the once-bustling six-block downtown. They want to return the city’s downtown to its original street grid of mixed-use businesses in the downtown area...
San Jose retailers won’t risk stopping shoplifters
While shopping at TJ Maxx, San Jose resident Ann Wang watched as a shoplifter walked brazenly out of the store. No one tried to stop him. “This guy walked up to a shelf with purses for sale and grabbed 4 or 5 and walked out of TJ Maxx and hopped into the car and he...
San Jose high school student raises $15,000 for Chromebooks
One year and 10,000 macarons later, an idea Shrobana Sengupta cooked up in a kitchen turned her into a social entrepreneur. The Presentation High School senior raised $15,000 for 72 Chromebooks through a GoFundMe account for the nonprofit Sunday Friends. The laptops were donated to low-income families helped by the nonprofit. In exchange, donors received...
Silicon Valley Restaurant Association launches in San Jose
After being battered by COVID-19 and business closures, Silicon Valley eateries have an advocacy group—a local restaurant association. The Silicon Valley Restaurant Association, formed by San Jose consultant Sean Kali-rai and former Silicon Valley Organization (SVO) government relations director Eddie Truong, launches Tuesday. Kali-rai is a longtime policy analyst and cannabis lobbyist, while Truong rose...