The Silicon Valley Organization’s newly-hired chief executive officer says the powerful business lobby should no longer endorse candidates. In the latest episode of The Podlight, CEO Derrick Seaver told host Bob Staedler that he’s looking to ending the organization’s tradition of political endorsements and changing SVO’s name back to a variation of its previous name,...
Do San Jose’s wage theft policies lack teeth?
San Jose has a long history of wage theft on construction projects throughout the city—what are officials doing to prevent it? A recent San José Spotlight investigation revealed numerous allegations of wage theft and unsafe working conditions on a public works project built last year intended to provide emergency shelter to the city’s homeless. Days after...
Will Topgolf revitalize San Jose’s ‘forgotten stepchild’ of Alviso?
Alviso, despite its quaint small-town charm, isn’t primed as a go-to destination as much as neighboring Willow Glen or downtown San Jose. One San Jose councilmember even called it the “forgotten stepchild” of the city. Topgolf San Jose, a gleaming multi-story golf entertainment center, looks to change that. “This is historic,” said Richard Santos, a longtime Alviso resident...
Santa Clara County to redistribute COVID-19 fines to small businesses
Santa Clara County will begin the process of returning thousands of dollars in COVID-19 safety violation fines back to small businesses. Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to create a grant program that redistributes money collected from pandemic-related health and safety violations back to local businesses. Once developed, the county is expected to partner with local financial...
San Jose business group may have violated rules in CEO hiring
Silicon Valley’s powerful chamber of commerce announced its new CEO a week before its Board of Directors could vote to approve it—an apparent violation of its bylaws. And now some of the group’s top leaders are questioning the hiring process and calling it flawed. The Silicon Valley Organization, plagued by months of scandal over a...
Silicon Valley unemployment rate drops during slow recovery
A new jobs analysis from a regional nonprofit think tank suggests Silicon Valley is slowly recovering from the economy’s tumble last year. But the region has a long way to go before getting to pre-pandemic levels. The data analysis comes from Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies, the nonprofit’s research arm that publishes the Silicon...
San Jose’s micro-retail center could shape future public spaces
A downtown San Jose business incubator and shopping center could be a blueprint for local lawmakers to develop future successful public spaces. A recent Knight Foundation study found widely applicable lessons learned from Moment, a micro-retail space in San Pedro Square, including how to build community engagement around public spaces, reimagining old and neglected spaces...
Silicon Valley’s largest business group names new CEO
Silicon Valley’s embattled chamber of commerce chose its new CEO on Tuesday, and it’s a familiar face—Derrick Seaver. As San José Spotlight reported last week, Seaver was one of three finalists for the top job at the Silicon Valley Organization. He previously served as SVO’s executive vice president for more than four years before leaving...
Who will lead San Jose’s chamber of commerce?
Six months after losing its CEO amid a widespread scandal, Silicon Valley’s largest chamber of commerce is close to naming its new leader. Several front runners have emerged in the hunt for the Silicon Valley Organization’s new top boss, but the business group is keeping the process under wraps. After the resignation of CEO Matt...
Santa Clara County leaders to consider eliminating more business fees
Santa Clara County lawmakers want to give 1,000 small businesses a break on more fees just a month after nixing health permit fees. The proposal, introduced by Supervisors Cindy Chavez and Susan Ellenberg, would eliminate weights and measures device registration fees for the rest of the calendar year. The plan will be considered at Tuesday’s Board...