Achieving the American Dream is the goal for many: Get a stable job, have a house in a nice neighborhood, raise a family and hopefully, the cycle continues. Phước Thắng, a 40-year-old San Jose native, is on his way to the dream. He’s a cable wirer, a husband and father of two daughters, ages 5...
Organizers rally to boost Latino turnout in San Jose elections
With California’s primary election less than a month away, Latinos Unidos por una Nueva America — or Latinos United for a New America (LUNA) — hosted a conference this weekend to mobilize Silicon Valley’s Latino voters this election season. Latinos in Action 2020, an organized civic engagement project, seeks to build political power in the...
San Jose: Census officials work to gain trust in Vietnamese community
Census officials are determined to count each and every member of San Jose’s substantial Vietnamese community, pulling out all the stops through local partnerships and widespread publicity. Yet, an extensive outreach plan may not fully reach a group that’s held on to a distrust of government and faced deportations. A priority in this year’s U.S....
Groundbreaking for Vietnamese service center in San Jose kicks off with a bang
The Vietnamese American Service Center in San Jose kicked off construction in a groundbreaking ceremony Saturday morning, marking a milestone in Vietnamese American history after the first wave of immigrants came to the U.S. nearly half a century ago. The 30,000 square-foot center, located on Senter Road, is slated to open its doors in late...
East San Jose leaders discuss how housing crisis impacts Latino community
A panel discussion on the housing crisis brought dozens of Spanish-speaking residents out to the heart of East San Jose Thursday night to talk about solutions to a problem affecting more than half of the city’s Latino community. Prominent voices from the city and Santa Clara County, as well as local leaders from community organizations, spoke...
Identity politics in San Jose: How powerful is the Vietnamese vote?
The power of the Vietnamese vote has stood out for decades in San Jose politics as voters have rushed to the polls in droves to support their candidates — usually those with similar last names. But as the population continues to grow and new generations enter the mix, the question of whether identity politics still...
San Jose denounces Trump’s plan to deport Vietnamese immigrants
San Jose is taking a stand against President Donald Trump’s push to deport thousands of Vietnamese immigrants. The City Council’s Rules and Open Government Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt a resolution, proposed by Republican Councilmember Lan Diep, to denounce Trump’s plan to deport thousands of Vietnamese immigrants who entered the country before 1995, when the...
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...