Though Californians are likely weeks away from seeing restrictions loosen around the statewide mandate to stay home due to the novel coronavirus, officials are making plans to jump-start the economy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday announced a new task force to “pave the way toward a fast, safe recovery of jobs.” The Task Force on...
Santa Clara County schools leader talks transition, barriers to online learning
California’s nearly 6.3 million students and 300,000 teachers officially learned April 1 they wouldn’t return to physical classrooms this year, due to shelter in place orders mitigating the spread of the contagious coronavirus. “The decision to close schools is a painful one,” said Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, Santa Clara County’s Office of Education Superintendent, who...
Major San Jose State University employer furloughs hundreds of students
Hundreds of San Jose State University students lost their on-campus jobs amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic that’s shuttered schools, businesses and forced Silicon Valley residents to stay indoors since mid-March. San Jose State became one of countless campuses across the nation to shut down following government directives to shelter-in-place. Then one of the largest private...
Planning for a ‘new normal,’ San Jose launches economic recovery council
San Jose has launched a new advisory council to help map out economic recovery in the tenth-largest U.S. city, as leaders begin mulling the region’s “new normal.” The five co-chairs of the council, announced by Mayor Sam Liccardo on Thursday, will aim to jump-start the region’s economy and help bring back the 200,000 Santa Clara...
Unsung heroes of Silicon Valley: Olympia Williams
Olympia Williams is proud to call San Jose home. As program manager of Beautify SJ in the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services (PRNS), she channels her pride and passion into keeping the city clean and beautiful through trash pickups, graffiti abatement, and the like — all services that continue during the coronavirus...
San Jose leaders, residents endure the rise of ‘Zoombombings’
San Jose Councilmember Raul Peralez fell victim to hackers twice in one week in a new, online harassment trend. The trend, known as “Zoombombing” is when videoconferences are interrupted by unwanted visitors, who often display pornography or slurs. It has become so pervasive, the FBI issued a warning about the harassment last month. While many...
Hunger at Home: Feeding those who fed others in Silicon Valley
A long line of cars waited at Hunger at Home’s headquarters Wednesday morning to receive a family meal and a bag of groceries, which can mean the difference between feeding their families and going hungry. Hundreds of cars have come each day to the food bank on Berger Drive in San Jose since the coronavirus...
How isolation exacerbates substance abuse in Silicon Valley
The minute Rosanna Jacome was introduced to Recovery Café in Downtown San Jose four years ago, she knew she found a place of respite from the addiction, trauma and abuse she had endured for the majority of her life. “It’s everything all in one: You get the friendships, the smiles, the support, information and classes,”...
California unveils new benefits for unemployed, undocumented
The state of California is fielding 2.7 million unemployment claims filed in the last four weeks alone, putting strain on phone lines and processing times as residents lose hours and pay due to the statewide stay at home order issued last month due to the coronavirus. But applying for unemployment is about to get easier,...
Surviving the pandemic: Make your own CDC-approved mask (plus how to store it)
Residents initially received mixed messages about wearing face coverings in public, but health officials now agree they may reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, particularly when the state starts loosening stay-at-home restrictions in the future. “Face coverings are likely to become common in public,” said Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public...