Bringing Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to Silicon Valley has proven difficult due to costs and because BART and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) officials haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, but on Friday the agencies made a breakthrough. Officials have agreed to use what is known as a “single bore stacked platform configuration,” meaning...
UPDATE: Lawmakers vote to expand WiFi to East San Jose
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved expanding the city’s community wireless network plan and prioritizing its distance learning strategy to provide every student with a computer, broadband access and digital literacy. In the wake of COVID-19, schools across the nation have shuttered until fall, forcing classes online. But with 1 in 10...
Unsung heroes of Silicon Valley: Dominique Pacolba
In the midst of a global pandemic, it’s a nerve-wracking time to be over 60. But Dominique Pacolba, recreational supervisor at Seven Trees Community Center in San Jose, is determined to bring a little positivity to seniors’ lives through her nutrition program. With a nifty drive-thru system, Seven Trees serves up to 60 meals for...
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...
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 San Jose supermarkets are keeping customers, employees safe
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, supermarkets have taken new steps to protect customers and employees, from installing plexiglass dividers at checkout counters to placing stickers on the floor reminding people to stand 6 feet apart and around-the-clock sanitizing. Although many businesses have been closed due to the pandemic, supermarkets are deemed essential and...
UPDATED: San Jose approves rent freeze, extends moratorium on evictions
San Jose city leaders approved a citywide rent freeze after an hours-long debate that ended in a 7-4 vote Tuesday night. The vote comes after last week’s attempt to implement a rent suspension for San Jose families financially affected by COVID-19 was quickly struck down over concerns the proposal violated the Constitution. Councilmembers Raul Peralez...
Developer KT Urban submits plans for 20-story towers in downtown San Jose
Development in the Bay Area has slowed or halted entirely in recent weeks, but that hasn’t stopped developers from forging ahead. KT Urban on Monday unveiled plans for a nearly 3-acre site at 280 Woz Way that could bring 1.8 million square feet of office and retail space across a pair of 20-story towers near...
‘There’s no escape’: Domestic violence fears in San Jose escalated by COVID-19
A San Jose mother of four was 41 years old when she was sure she would die. Pinned up against the wall, Rose Martinez laid motionless as her husband repeatedly kicked her all over her body after knocking her to the floor from a swift punch to the head. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God,...
San Jose ranks in top 25 cities for women in tech, but the gaps remain wide
Being a woman working in tech in Silicon Valley is still not as lucrative as being a man doing the same work, but the gaps are shrinking, new data show. A report by New York-based personal finance technology company, SmartAsset, which asks which cities are best for women in tech, looks at four factors to...