Massive plans to redevelop CityView Plaza in downtown San Jose are a step closer to reality. The San Jose Planning Commission on Wednesday voted unanimously to send Jay Paul Co.’s 3.8 million-square-foot office development proposal to the City Council with a recommendation to approve the project, which would rise on about 8.1 acres in the...
Santa Clara County poll places public health over the economy
When forced to choose between public health or the economy, the majority of Santa Clara County residents surveyed in a new poll said they’re more concerned about public health — despite the county’s shelter-in-place order ravaging local businesses. The poll, conducted from May 14 to May 18, surveyed 1,000 randomly selected county residents by telephone,...
San Jose record stores can open under new health order, but will it be too late?
Owners and managers of record stores in Santa Clara County are relieved that curbside pickup is now an option for retail businesses after the county updated its stay-at-home order last week. However, some said curbside pickup can’t replace browsing in person, an experience that won’t be fully restored until quarantine is over. On Friday, Santa...
Amid ‘unprecedented’ unemployment numbers, Silicon Valley feels blow slightly softer
California is seeing record unemployment numbers, with the largest single month of job losses ever recorded and a 15.5 percent unemployment rate in mid-April, about a month after the state began sheltering-in-place due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. But the blow has been a little softer overall in Silicon Valley, local experts say. The unemployment...
Small businesses feel the brunt of shutdown in Silicon Valley and beyond
Hospitality, cafe and restaurant businesses and workers are being hit the hardest by the shelter-in-place orders, according to a new survey and report of more than 86,000 people across the country. Legislators and chambers of commerce have sounded the alarm about the impact of the pandemic-related shutdowns across the country on small businesses, but the...
Contactless tech helps some Bay Area businesses thrive during pandemic
Food-delivery robots and mobile gas-filling stations are among the technologies that have found a niche in Santa Clara County during pandemic
UPDATE: San Jose leaders approve allowing businesses to operate outdoors
Proposal authored by Mayor Sam Liccardo and Councilmember Dev Davis would allow restaurants, cafes and other retailers set up shop in public spaces.
Santa Clara County retailers to reopen for curbside pickup, but there’s a catch
After growing pressure from Silicon Valley businesses desperate to get back to work, Santa Clara County health officials on Monday made the highly-anticipated decision to allow certain retailers to open for curbside pick-up. The announcement Monday aligns Santa Clara County — along with four Bay Area counties and Berkeley — with the state’s revised shelter-in-place...
Major layoffs in Silicon Valley hit Team San Jose, Goodwill and car dealers
Coronavirus-linked layoffs have soared in Silicon Valley in recent months, affecting more than 21,000 employees across 26 companies in March alone, according to a San José Spotlight analysis of data from the state’s Employment Development Department. Industries with the most layoffs were retailers, restaurants, hotels, the arts and entertainment sector, personal care services and gyms....
Working remotely comes with risks in Silicon Valley
The coronavirus pandemic has also spurred an outbreak in malware and phishing attacks targeting employees who are now working from home