As big tech’s grip on Silicon Valley strengthens, the gap between the rich and the poor widens. A new report highlights the downsides of the region’s booming economy: Exacerbated inequality, rising housing and transportation woes, and a stifled market for competitors to break into. The 2019 Silicon Valley Index by Joint Venture Silicon Valley showcases why more people are leaving...
San Jose denies airport commission chair access to records
San Jose leaders on Tuesday denied the airport commission chair’s request to see documents that detail the impacts of raising height limits in downtown San Jose. One government watchdog says the denial could run afoul with California’s public records law. San Jose lawmakers this month will weigh raising building heights up to 35 feet above...
Hospital board approves sale of three bankrupt San Jose medical clinics
The El Camino Hospital Board of Directors unanimously approved the sale of five Verity Medical Foundation Clinics at its meeting Wednesday night, according to a release issued by Silicon Valley Medical Development on Thursday. A $1.27 million bid by SVMD includes the electronic medical records, furniture and equipment at three San Jose clinics located at...
The first Vietnamese small business center in U.S. opens in San Jose
For husband and wife Brian Ly and Minnie Uyen Thai, early February is a bustling time for their business, United Wholesale Flowers. But it wasn’t easy for the San Jose-based flower shop to get off the ground. “Starting a business, at the beginning you need a lot of money to invest in your business,” Ly...
Verity Health announces layoffs at six San Jose clinics
The future for eight Bay Area medical clinics — six of which are based in San Jose — is uncertain following an announcement from Verity Health that 180 positions will be eliminated beginning next month. The SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West announced Friday it will fight back by airing concerns at the El Camino Hospital Board...
Santa Clara Valley Water District unveils new logo, branding
One of Silicon Valley’s most iconic logos is getting a facelift. The Santa Clara Valley Water District on Friday unveiled a new logo, tagline and shortened moniker — Valley Water. After using the same logo for 40 years, the water district’s Board of Directors in December approved a new modernized name and visual brand. The...
No charges for Google protestors, but the fight will march on
The rallying chants broke through the quiet morning: “Up up with public housing, down down with Google.” Vas Kumar, a supporter of the #Google8, the eight people arrested for chaining themselves to chairs to protest Google’s planned development in San Jose, called out the tech titan through a megaphone in front of the Santa Clara County building early...
San Jose automation firm leads in venture capital megafunding
Venture capital funding in the South Bay last year reached the highest levels in nearly a decade with a San Jose firm that invests in AI landing some of the biggest deals. Last November, San Jose-based software developer Automation Anywhere announced that the company had raised $300 million from the Saudi-backed SoftBank Vision Fund. CEO...
Amid PG&E bankruptcy, San Jose rolls out community choice energy program
Days after the state’s largest utility provider filed bankruptcy, the capital of Silicon Valley turned the lights on San Jose Clean Energy, a new community choice plan that environmentalist Ruth Merino has been fighting for the last three years. “No one has to change anything,” Merino said. “You just pay your bill just like you...
San Jose puts off raising building heights — for now
In a unanimous decision, City Council leaders on Monday decided to postpone passing a measure that would increase building height limits in downtown San Jose until February. A study commissioned by the city included four options that would allow for building height increases without jeopardizing safety measures, with “Scenario 4” being the most supported by...