This past year has been stressful for everyone, even Google. As the tech giant’s real estate development team tried to push forward plans for its 80-acre megacampus near downtown San Jose, it was hit with bureaucratic snags and opposition from many quarters, including the Bay Area’s beloved hockey team. Still, the project passed some significant...
San José Spotlight’s top 10 stories of the year: COVID-19, homeless, hate crimes
To many people, 2020 felt like one of the longest years ever. South Bay residents contended with a deadly pandemic that got worse as the year wore on, the economic and social fallout of measures to contain the disease, civil unrest in the streets and wildfire smoke in the sky. There was no shortage of news....
South Bay nonprofits say they were victims of SiliconSage Builders
A Sunnyvale-based building and construction company that is at the center of a federal fraud investigation is also the focus of two San Jose nonprofits that say they, too, were victims. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against SiliconSage Builders and its principal executive, Sanjeev Acharya, on Dec. 21. According to its website,...
San Jose business owners hit hard by COVID-19 now have another worry — the end of an eviction moratorium
Businesses that barely survived 2020 have another tough blow ahead — the end of the county’s moratorium on evictions. The measure bars landlords from evicting commercial tenants who haven’t been paying their rent. It expires on March 31 and, when it does, businesses that haven’t paid rent are on the hook for paying all of...
San Jose restaurants still waiting for DoorDash grants — one month later
San Jose restaurant owner Jennifer Echeverri was promised a $5,000 grant to help her survive the winter amid tightening COVID-19 restrictions. One month passed. The money never came. As of Dec. 22, none of the 30 San Jose restaurants that were notified of a grant had received one. They also were not told when the...
How a San Jose firm is opening doors for minority-owned businesses
When the San Francisco 49ers were building Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Walter Wilson noticed something. “They didn’t have a single Black contractor, not even sweeping the floors, which was a minority-owned business,” said Wilson, a partner with the San Jose-based firm Minority Business Consortium (MBC) . MBC worked with the city and suggested the...
How the Silicon Valley Organization’s new leader plans to rebuild
It’s been more than a week since Bob Linscheid was named the Silicon Valley Organization’s interim CEO and he’s not wasting any time repairing the business organization’s stained reputation. “I’ve been pretty much 100% SVO. In fact, my hours are insane. My wife wonders if I’m ever gonna come out of this room,” Linscheid told...
Food delivery fees capped at 15% throughout Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County and San Jose officials voted separately but unanimously Dec. 15 to cap food delivery fees to help businesses retain income during the pandemic. Delivery service fees charged by third-party delivery companies such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates and others will be capped at 15% of the value of an order. San...
Silicon Valley’s share of tech jobs slips for second year in row, survey finds
For decades, Silicon Valley has been the center of tech jobs and innovation. But several companies have been uprooting their Bay Area digs over the past few weeks — Tesla and Hewlett-Packard to name a few — and relocating to cheaper pastures such as Austin, Texas and Seattle. Turns out workers themselves might be on...
San Jose business leaders see a thriving downtown — just not right now
With many businesses shuttered and trash mounting, it is hard to imagine how downtown San Jose will evolve into the metropolis city leaders are hoping for. But experts at a recent San José Spotlight panel were confident that with a little patience, a lot of housing and eager investment from local developers, a vibrant downtown core...