Yet the total net assessed value of all real estate and personal property – known as the assessment roll – reached a new height of nearly $726 billion, County Assessor Larry Stone announced Wednesday. Home sales increased by 3% and accounted for 86% of roll growth.

This year marks Stone’s final assessment roll before he steps down on July 7 – marking an end to one of the county’s longest serving public officials.

“Just a few years ago, office buildings were the darling of commercial real estate investment. That’s not the case anymore,” Stone told San Jose Spotlight. “Foreclosures are almost weekly — hotels, office, some industrial. They’re just throwing the keys and giving them back to lenders.”

Stone said several significant commercial development projects have stalled due to high interest rates, surging construction cost and sinking demand for office space. Google’s “Downtown West” project in San Jose was slated to begin in 2023, but remains in limbo. Stone also pointed to “The Rise” development at the former Vallco Mall in Cupertino, a planned mixed-use development that required a redesign and cutbacks before it could move forward. The 240-acre mixed-use development, known as “Related Santa Clara,” is another significant project facing construction delays.

Surging vacancies, dropping rental rates, a shortage of big leasing deals, and the continuation of hybrid and remote work have kept the office vacancy rate in Silicon Valley at roughly 20%  for the past two years, according to the assessor’s office.

Stone said office buildings are being sold at major discounts. He points to VTA’s purchase of Sobrato Office Tower at 488 Almaden Blvd this year. Stone said VTA paid 61% of the assessed value. He said he doesn’t expect the commercial market to turn around for another few years.

Elsewhere, Stone said Silicon Valley is experiencing different trends compared to the rest of the nation.

“Job growth throughout the country is pretty good. Around here it’s not. The high tech companies have jettisoned about 11,000 jobs this year,” Stone said. “Silicon Valley and Santa Clara County are experiencing a different level of trends related to property values than you’re finding in other parts of the state or country.”

The assessment shows that while home sales are slow, the residential market is still strong.

Brett Caviness, a local realtor and former president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, said the current market has opened new opportunities for potential buyers who felt priced out due to more aggressive competition in prior years.

“We’re seeing more people able to access homeownership than they were to before. That’s a bright point,” Caviness told San Jose Spotlight. “The takeaways for me are: it’s still a good time to be selling and an even better time to be buying.”

Changes in ownership and new construction added $16.1 billion and $3.8 billion to the total increase, respectively. Business and personal property values added $1.8 billion. Nearly 8,700 properties remain in declining value status due to Prop. 8, which allowed temporary reductions in assessed value in cases where real property suffered a decline in value.

Prop. 13, which restricts property taxes, added $14.4 billion to the assessment roll. But Stone said it continues to come at a cost to schools and local governments who depend on property tax revenue to support essential services.

Slow home sales and stalled construction will likely continue to lag assessment roll growth in the years ahead, Stone said. But he’s optimistic about the region’s long-term outlook, as some of the world’s largest tech companies – Apple, Microsoft and NVIDIA – are still concentrated in Silicon Valley.

“We still lead the country in the amount of venture capital investment and a lot of it is based on Artificial Intelligence,” Stone said. “It doesn’t mean we aren’t facing trends that are pretty discouraging right now. But I think the future is bright.”

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

The post Santa Clara County property values up while growth slows appeared first on San José Spotlight.

The Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, along with Campbell resident David Wolen, is suing Campbell over Measure K, a half-cent sales tax hike. The measure raises the sales tax to 9.875%, after more than 70% of voters approved it last November. But with the lawsuit ongoing, the city can’t access the roughly $7 million the tax is slated to bring in annually.

It’s unclear when the lawsuit will be resolve — forcing the city to leave roughly $8.7 million the measure has already collected in escrow and saddling it with future fiscal year deficit projections ranging from $2.3 million to $3.8 million.

The lawsuit, filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court last January, claims Measure K is invalid because it’s based on Assembly Bill 3259. The lawsuit alleges AB 3259 violates California’s constitutional code that calls for uniform policies. Campbell broke that code by raising its sales tax above the county’s previous cap at 9.375%, even though the bill granted it that power. It also claims materials sent out about the measure misled voters, and more. The suit asks the courts to invalidate Measure K and refund taxpayers appropriately. The city has challenged the suit, with its next hearing scheduled for Aug. 1.

Jason Bezis, an attorney representing the taxpayers association and Wolen, said there wasn’t enough time given for opponents to file an informed rebuttal for voters to read. He said Campbell should look to other jurisdictions to see how they addressed their fiscal uncertainty rather than making its sales tax the highest in the county.

“Others are able to make it work without the special (tax and law),” Bezis told San José Spotlight. “So the question is, you know, what’s so unique about Campbell?”

City Manager Brian Loventhal said to his knowledge, the city hasn’t seen a lawsuit like this before, and it’s already causing budget problems. The city faced a $3.75 million deficit in its $69 million budget for fiscal year 2025-26, largely caused by significant dips in sales tax revenue and rising costs. Officials balanced the budget by enacting a temporary hiring freeze and drawing from reserves, but Campbell wouldn’t have had a deficit with access to Measure K funds.

Loventhal said with Measure K money, the city would have surpluses ranging from $3.4 million to $12.2 million beginning in fiscal year 2026-27. He said the tax hike isn’t the silver bullet to Campbell’s budget issues, but the majority of voters supported it to help the city’s finances.

“That’s the frustrating part,” he told San José Spotlight. “The majority can speak, yet be held in abeyance because one person or a small group of people decide they don’t like those results.”

The business community, whose customers are affected by the tax increase, are divided on the issue.

Dan Orloff, past board president of the Campbell Chamber of Commerce, fully supports Measure K. He said it helps maintain the city’s quality of life and a safe business environment.

“Despite whatever good intentions the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association has, it’s ill-placed,” Orloff told San José Spotlight. “Campbell has a reputation (for a) high quality of life as a safe and sane community, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It requires an investment.”

Amy Taylor, board president of the Downtown Campbell Business Association and owner of Cloud City Supply, didn’t support Measure K because of the effects it would have on small businesses like hers. Despite that, she said Campbell should be able to access Measure K’s funds because the majority of voters approved it. She wants the city to explore other options for revenue that don’t hike taxes.

“Even if they eventually get access to those funds, the city should still be held accountable (for) looking at new and progressive ways to fund the city,” Taylor told San José Spotlight. “I just don’t see that happening.”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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Among proposed cuts is the planned elimination of the $3.3 billion Community Development Block Grant program tied to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. San Jose distributes millions of dollars annually through the program to nonprofits implementing services that benefit low- and moderate-income residents with community development needs. Nonprofits facing potential negative impacts include the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, The Health Trust and SOMOS Mayfair.

“The future of Community Development Block Grant funds for local nonprofits is unclear,” Jeff Scott, spokesperson for the housing department, told San José Spotlight. “The city of San Jose is monitoring the evolving nature of the situation and other matters regarding our relationship with the federal government.”

San Jose received almost $13 million in block grant funding for the 2024-25 fiscal year and $7.8 million for 2025-26. As of May 12, the remaining fund balance sits at $4.3 million. Scott said the city is focused on spending the already approved funds.

“As new restrictions and procedures are proposed, we are working across departments to understand the impact and implementation,” he said.

Law Foundation of Silicon Valley Chief Program Officer Cynthia Chagolla said they have relied on the block grant funds for more than a decade to support legal services provided to residents, including low-income renters. Organizations under the nonprofit’s umbrella including Asian Law Alliance, Project Sentinel and Senior Adult Legal Assistance will be hurt by a loss of funding.

“In terms of the funding that we get directly from the city of San Jose for housing work and legal services for low-income tenants — this (funding) is it,” Chagolla told San José Spotlight. “It’s really a safety net service for individuals who are either at risk of losing their housing or are experiencing some sort of discrimination, like for their disabilities, and are prevented from even getting housing.”

Kyra Kazantzis, CEO of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, said the federal administration is targeting cuts toward organizations providing services counter to President Donald Trump’s policies. This includes nonprofits focused on gender, culture and topics deemed “culture war” issues.

“The administration is hitting nonprofits in particular ways,” Kazantzis told San José Spotlight. “It’s impacting nonprofits that are serving folks without federal funding, as well as nonprofits that are funded by the federal government.”

Alexandra Urbanowski, CEO of SVCreates and a San José Spotlight columnist, said federal funding cuts have a cumulative impact that trickles down to state and local governments.
In a recent column, Urbanowski said the range of local organizations impacted by the federal retraction of existing grants includes Opera San Jose, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, San Jose Jazz, Opera Cultura, CreaTV, San Jose Museum of Art, MACLA, San Jose Taiko and more.

“The policy changes create substantial turmoil and financial uncertainty —threatening the stability of a sector already traumatized by the effects of a range of presidential executive orders and current economic pressures,” she said.

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“She was always saying, ‘Try this, try this,'” Lai told San José Spotlight. “I told her, ‘I’ve had enough sandwiches, you should go start a food truck.’ About three days later, a small trailer from Craigslist pops up in the driveway.”

Lai’s mother, Natalie Le, surprised him even more when she tried to convince him to quit his job at Apple and help with her fledgling business. Barely knowing how to cook rice or eggs, he helped for a couple of months. Then, when the food truck became too time-consuming, they abandoned it.

Two years later, his uncle wanted to restart the business, and Lai offered to help cater sandwiches for his 300 teammates at Apple. Their enthusiastic response provided him with his lightbulb moment.

“They all enjoyed them,” he said, “and wanted to order more. I thought, ‘Oh, there’s that food trailer.'”

Lai decide to quit and give it another go. He signed up for the farmers market at the San Jose Rose Garden. On the first day, he began working at 5 a.m. and finished at 4 p.m., selling only 29 sandwiches. He was not discouraged.

“I worked seven days a week and kept learning, learning, learning,” he said. “I was on a quest to share this sandwich. And I was on a mission to elevate Vietnamese food.”

The sandwiches lean heavily on two culturally different aspects of Vietnamese cuisine. The first is the bánh mì bread itself, a variation on the baguette, and chicken pâté, both of which were introduced to the country by the French during their occupation.

The second is a mix of the country’s staple foods: a protein, usually pork in Vietnam, and a healthy serving of vegetables common in the country including cucumbers, sweet pickled carrots, daikon and cilantro. Done right, it’s a colorful, chewy and complex complete meal.

“I realized we were selling to workers who enjoyed a quick lunch,” Lai said. “I kept the idea of always trying to connect with my customers, which was what allowed me to keep moving forward and develop the business.”

He expanded into a ghost kitchen, then a commercial kitchen inside Fuse nightclub in downtown San Jose and finally to The Rec Room before settling into his current location at 86 N. Market St. in 2023.

The menu at Mommy’s is short but flexible. There are six proteins: pork lemongrass patties, grilled lemongrass chicken, shredded chicken, fried chicken, slow-roasted porchetta and a vegetarian or vegan mix that includes tofu, yams and taro. Each protein can be matched with bánh mì as a sandwich, with sheets of vermicelli noodles or rice in a bowl. All come with sweet pickled carrots, daikons, cucumbers, jalapeños and crispy fried onions.

“Most Vietnamese restaurants have a thousand things on the menu,” Lai said. “I just want to try to be the best at this menu, and I’m always finding new ways to improve it. But every few months there’s going to be something different.”

Lai bakes the bread in-house, another journey of his that began with an attempt, which only yielded half a loaf. Since then, he said, he’s developed a bánh mì that is lighter in texture than the Vietnamese version and tones down its almost razor-sharp crust. The result is a sandwich that you can bite into without all the ingredients squishing out.

One departure from the traditional version is that all the meats are served hot and fresh off the grill, which provides a great contrast to the cool, crisp vegetables. But the secret weapon is the cilantro sauce, which takes the flavor in a surprisingly rich direction.

“My mom created that sauce,” Lai said. “It was just a bunch of leftover pieces of vegetables. She thought, ‘We can’t waste this food. We’ve got to figure out how to do something with it.’ It sets us apart from many places.”

The sauce is available for sale and is worth taking home. It also accompanies the two side dishes on the menu,  both of which are exceptional. The Vietnamese Chicken Wings are prepared in a crispy, Korean-based batter and tossed in a vegan fish sauce that adds sweet, sour and savory notes. The Twirly Fries, short and thick with an unusual curve, are topped with scallion oil and fried onions.

First-time customer Denise Wyl came to Mommy’s on the recommendation of her daughters and was impressed enough to say she’d be coming back.

“They know I love Vietnamese food,” she told San José Spotlight. “I had the lemongrass chicken bowl and it was absolutely delicious. And the service was quick and very friendly.”

Mommy’s has never had an official grand opening, Lai said, because he’s been working first on becoming a better business owner.

“I’m concentrating on the food and my people and people in front of us,” he said. “That’s the fun part about this journey, and that’s all that matters. People will find good food if we provide good food.”

Contact Robert Eliason at robt@lostinthestars.com.

Editor’s note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at info@sanjosespotlight.com.

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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in East San Jose have led to concerns about whether immigrant farmworkers will feel safe enough to work during the approaching harvest season, namely across South County’s swaths of arable land. Until the summer harvest is in full swing, the impact of ICE raids on workers, growers and the community is still unclear.

Santa Clara County Division of Agriculture officials, who help combat invasive species and enforce regulations around the accuracy of produce pricing, said they haven’t yet seen any impacts because the summer harvest season is still early. Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Helena Roberts said her office should have a clearer idea by September or October when the produce is at its picking peak.

“The crops are still growing, but we may begin to see labor shortages or a delay on harvests and critical agricultural practices,” Roberts told San José Spotlight. “We may see the cost of labor increasing because the pool of labor might not be as large, which could lead to higher prices. If the situation gets more critical and we have less workers able to work in the fields, we may have extreme cases of growers unable to harvest their crops.”

The gross value of agricultural production in Santa Clara County for 2023 was more than $371 million — an increase of 3.5% from 2022, which was nearly $359 million, according to the 2023 Santa Clara County Crop Report. A 2021 report showed there are roughly 8,000 agricultural workers in the county.

“The United States is dependent on immigrant labor — and when you take away that immigrant labor, it is going to affect every level of society,” Darlene Tenes, an immigrant farmworker advocate, told San José Spotlight. “Some people are just not going to care until it affects them — when the price of food goes up, when there’s no one around to take care of their kid, when construction is impossible to do.”

Growers, meanwhile, are balancing their optimism about President Donald Trump’s farmers-first policy stances with fears about how immigration policies might impact their workforce.

Bill Christopher, managing partner of the famed Christopher Ranch in Gilroy — often referred to as the nation’s largest Garlic producer — said workers are still showing up across the ranch’s thousands of acres. The company counts about 500 full-time employees, and close to 2,000 people in the fields during the summer.

“There’s a little bit of nervousness. That’s what I’ve heard from around the area as well — no one’s not working,” Christopher told San José Spotlight. “I think it’s on everybody’s mind and they’re not quite sure what’s going to happen. And neither are we.”

It’s the same for Chiala Farms, which specializes in peppers and garlic in Morgan Hill.

Tim Chiala, son of founder George Chiala, said he hasn’t felt any effects yet either. Nonetheless, he said the ICE crackdowns are on everyone’s minds.

“My employees are nervous in general. What’s happening is more psychological at this point for them,” Tim Chiala told San Jose Spotlight.

He added his farm relies especially on human hands because his crops are more niche.

“There’s not a mechanical harvest yet for a lot of our products, so we rely a lot on the labor force to come in and harvest,” he said. “And if you miss your windows — a day in the middle of the season — you never get it back. It’s always on our minds.”

Chiala is an officer with the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, a network of approximately 300 farmers advocating for agricultural interests on the county, state and national level. Chiala said he hasn’t yet seen any farmers reach out to the bureau for help with labor concerns.

He said his and other reputable farms’ workers tend to come from the federal H-2A program, which allows U.S. employers to bring people from Mexico to the United States to fill temporary agricultural jobs. Those workers are viewed as safer or more insulated from immigration enforcement, though still unprotected in other ways.

“A lot of us did turn to H-2A because there was a time when labor was tight and we didn’t want to risk not having crews,” Tim Chiala said. “But I can’t speak for everyone. It’s more expensive and frustrating.”

Christopher said he’d like to see Trump make good on his recent remarks to protect farmworkers. Trump acknowledged earlier this month that ICE operations took “very good, longtime workers away.”

Trump reportedly indicated the administration would pause raids on farms, hotels and other leisure businesses, but the industries have not seen a formal plan from the president.

“Something will have to happen. I don’t know if they’re going to do any kind of amnesty or work program if you’re already employed — a path to get your green card,” Christopher said. “Trump just came out and said they’ve halted all raids on farmworker activity. So that’s good. Especially during the harvest season right now. I’m sure the administration will get something done that’s not going to be adverse to the farmers. Trump’s been a big backer of farms and having a safe food supply in the United States of America.”

Chiala said his farm bureau is confident they can have a dialogue with the Trump administration.

“Most of the agricultural people feel they can work with someone like (Trump) because he is a business person. But who knows what can happen,” he said. “A lot of the reason some of us supported him was to get government out of our lives — not having it be part of our lives every single second.”

The majority of America’s farmworkers are foreign born, and the majority of foreign-born farmworkers are unauthorized, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. More often than not, they are paid less than workers in mining and logging, manufacturing, construction and service industry employees.

Roberts, whose office holds regular training for fieldworkers, said she’s encouraged by last month’s “well attended” session.

“That means people feel safe to come to us,” she said. “I see in other venues, the participation has been really poor. I think it depends on how you engage with them — and if they trust you. Right now, people are afraid.”
Roberts is calling on farmworker employers to prepare their personnel with resources and facts around their rights, such as state guidelines on what employers should do if an immigration enforcement agent seeks to enter their place of business. Santa Clara County also offers online resources such as information about the local Rapid Response Network for ICE encounters.

Tenes said the crackdowns are affecting people who “just want to work.”

“As much as people complain about immigrants, you need them,” she told San José Spotlight. “Our agriculture industry benefits off the back of undocumented labor.”

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

The post Santa Clara County growers unclear about ICE policy appeared first on San José Spotlight.

After weeks of workshops and hearings, supervisors tried to close their budget talks on a high note. But their unanimous vote Thursday – with the final one expected June 17 – comes as Congress advances budget proposals that could cost the county up to $70 million.

Supervisors couldn’t avoid mentioning how the deployment of U.S. military to crack down on escalating nationwide immigration protests, and the handcuffing of a U.S. Senator, have cast a pall over their efforts to protect the region’s social safety net. Supervisor Susan Ellenberg described this year’s budget process as “difficult and at times just deeply depressing.”

“I remember in past years feeling a little bit more elated and energized when we approved the budget. This is really a tough year. Part of the reason today it’s so hard is that I feel we are not providing the safety, stability and healing at the full level that I … want to,” Ellenberg said.

The approved budget would cut nearly 273 full time positions, 51 of which were filled in May. But now only 37 are filled and could be laid off to absorb the federal cuts and county budget shortfall, which is estimated to swell to $476 million over the next five year

A majority of the cuts will happen in the health and hospital system, which is 30% of the county’s budget. Supervisors didn’t stray too far from Williams’ formal recommendations in May – aside from a few changes. Those changes include $18 million in one-time fund transfers for capital improvement projects, as well as a $2.5 million increase for gender-based violence services.

The budget doesn’t reflect what county leaders fear to be “potentially devastating” cuts by federal and state officials to a range of social services, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The board of supervisors will likely tackle those cuts over the next fiscal year once state and federal budget processes are finished.

The county’s $175 million purchase of Regional Medical Center largely drove up this year’s budget increase. The county purchased the hospital after its previous for-profit owner, HCA Healthcare, slashed life-saving trauma, heart attack  and stroke services serving East San Jose residents who are largely on public health plans.

Supervisors also approved a total of $7 million in one-time community grants and sponsorships  – known as “inventory items” –  to 376 local nonprofits and community organizations. Over the years, supervisors have decreased individual grant amounts in favor of expanding the number of awardees. The recipients range from immigration legal defense groups to homelessness resource networks.

“Let’s not confuse it – it’s definitely Latinos and Mexicans, specifically, that are targeted in this country as scapegoats,” Supervisor Sylvia Arenas said at the meeting.

The county’s financial worries didn’t just come from Trump.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed additional state cuts to Medi-Cal in a mid-May budget revision for fiscal year 2025-26 — independent of the cuts the Trump administration might make. One of Newsom’s most striking proposals was to end Medi-Cal for undocumented residents and re-establish an asset cap of $2,000 to quality. The asset cap was eliminated  in 2024. But state lawmakers in Sacramento have pushed back in a recent legislative proposal.

The county will propose using taxpayer dollars out of the general fund, its largest source of discretionary spending, to keep its most critical but federally reliant services running at a baseline level.

Most of the backfilling will go to supportive housing services, which will see the steepest federal reduction hit at $24 million in losses, followed by the Public Health Department at $19 million. The Social Services Agency,  Behavioral Health Services and District Attorney office will also see hits to their budgets and rely on general fund support.

“This was a hard budget to cut into. After a decade of unprecedented growth at the county organization, we find ourselves passing a balanced budget with shallow cuts across the board, focused on the north star of adhering to our values and the mission of this county,” Supervisor Betty Duong said at what was her – and Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga’s – first ever budget vote. “It is not a normal time.”

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

The post Santa Clara County approves budget amid Trump cuts appeared first on San José Spotlight.

The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a $1.9 billion operating budget for fiscal year 2025-26 and $1.4 billion for fiscal year 2026-27. The city anticipates ending it’s current year with a surplus, restoring its reserves to $80 million after becoming dangerous low during the COVID -19 pandemic. In order to maintain the city’s financial stability, councilmembers also approved putting aside $500,000 to hire a consultant to review its finances including revenue sources, infrastructure needs and various reserve funds.

City Finance Director Ken Lee said the consultant would then propose an action plan to tighten the budget going forward, which would enable the city to fund more services.

“The goal is to create additional capacity to fund services, infrastructure and other needs that aren’t included in this budget,” Lee said at the meeting.

Councilmembers supported plans to analyze the budget, as the city’s inability to fund public infrastructure maintenance has been a paint point during the past year. The city has a estimated backlog of $624 million in public infrastructure repairs. Voters passed a $400 million general obligation bond in November 2024 to begin fixing crumbling infrastructure, including the George F. Haines International Swim Center, which has been closed since January 2023 due to unsafe conditions.

Councilmember Karen Hardy said the swim center is an example of what happens without funding for proper maintenance. But there are other public services that could be impacted, such as the city’s aging sewer system and old fire stations.

She wants the analysis to show whether the city’s spending serves residents well.

“In all cases with the budget, (we’re asking) why are we charging ourselves for this, is this a good choice,” Hardy told San José Spotlight. “You don’t have a lot of room in a city budget for fluff.”

The budget sets aside money to make headway on specific priority projects, including funding for an analyst to manage the city’s homelessness response plan and another analyst to support the city’s sustainability goals.

Councilmembers questioned if the city is setting aside enough money for public safety and other costs associated with hosting Super Bowl 60 and the FIFA World Cup next year. While the city isn’t spending on the stadium, the Santa Clara Police Department is expected to spearhead public safety.
Santa Clara University’s graduation is scheduled for the same day as the first World Cup game at Levi’s Stadium. Councilmember Kelly Cox and Mayor Lisa Gillmor raised concerns about a possible lack of police at graduation in light of the World Cup. City Manager Jovan Grogan said the city has already talked about the conflict with the university.

“There’s a lot on the work plan for the next year, we certainly recognize that,” Grogan said at the meeting. “Having the premier outdoor stadium venue in Northern California, where entities bid for events and we have a role in helping to execute them, certainly has an impact on Santa Clara.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X.

The post Santa Clara balances budget, restores rainy day funds appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Representatives from the Bay Area Host Committee and Santa Clara celebrated the one-year countdown to the World Cup Wednesday with speeches and a youth soccer clinic led by the San Jose Earthquakes. Levi’s Stadium will host six games in 2026, beginning June 13. City officials dedicated a plaque to commemorate the games and unveiled a one-year timer, which will be moved around the community and presented at various city events.

“Let’s make sure that when the world looks at Santa Clara, they’re not just seeing a host city, but a community that never stopped believing in its children’s future,” Mayor Lisa Gillmor said.

About 160 children from Santa Clara youth sports groups participated in the soccer clinic after the commemoration ceremony, according to Bay Area Host Committee CEO Zaileen Janmohamed.

She said the host committee is working on events to include Santa Clara and Bay Area residents in the World Cup festivities, such as more clinics and watch parties. She said the World Cup has historically had seismic impacts on the nation’s soccer communities, as the 1994 World Cup helped create Major League Soccer.

“Today is a really good example of what you can expect,” Janmohamed told San José Spotlight. “We want to make sure that we have … a way for people in the community to feel like they’re part of the World Cup, even if they’re not coming to a game. That’s what you should start to see.”

Santa Clara is gearing up for a busy 2026, as Levi’s Stadium will host Super Bowl 60 Feb. 8, only a few months before the World Cup matches in June, both facilitated by the Bay Area Host Committee. Preparations are underway for both events and Janmohamed said the largest lift — a roughly $25 million renovation of Levi’s Stadium’s field to fit FIFA requirements — is nearly complete.

“We’ve been in this planning phase, ‘what if we did it this way,'” Janmohamed said. “We’re moving from that ‘what if’ to a ‘let’s do this.'”

Santa Clara officials have been looking for ways to get residents involved and see more local economic benefits from these mega sporting events. When Santa Clara hosted Super Bowl 50 in 2016, the Bay Area collectively saw a $240 million boost, but only about 7% of that revenue went to Santa Clara.

Councilmember Karen Hardy said she wants to work with the host committee and FIFA to bring more benefits into the city. She suggested letting Santa Clara youths have a moment on the field during the games or letting residents purchase discounted tickets, but both are up in the air. The city is working on hosting a concert at Santa Clara University in the months between Super Bowl 60 and the World Cup games, to give residents more opportunities to celebrate.

“We’re working on getting that funding and doing that for the community … as a present to our residents,” Hardy told San José Spotlight.

Engaging the community will be key in this year’s run up to the events. Aly Wagner, founder of the local National Women’s Soccer League team Bay FC, said engaging with the larger soccer community as a youth during the 1994 World Cup inspired her to pursue the game. Wagner won two Olympic gold medals and two FIFA World Cup bronze medals during her 20 years playing internationally.
Wagner said she hopes the upcoming World Cup games similarly inspire Silicon Valley’s youngest generations of soccer players. FIFA is expected to announce the World Cup’s group stage teams on Dec. 5, which includes all teams in the various groups and who will play at which stadiums. She said it’ll be easier to rally the community around the games once it’s known who will play at Levi’s Stadium.

“Touching it and feeling it and being a part of it is very different from watching it on a broadcast,” Wagner told San José Spotlight. “We’ve always been a hotbed for talent in soccer, now we have an opportunity to grow that because more people are going to be exposed and fall in love with this game.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X.

The post Silicon Valley begins countdown to next year’s World Cup appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Hundreds of people converged on the Hammer Theatre in downtown San Jose last week to learn about how the region is dealing with critical issues at PolitiBeat. In addition to hearing from experts about a looming older adult population boom and transportation solutions, guests took part in an outdoor food and cultural festival showcasing a handful of local businesses highlighted in San José Spotlight’s The Biz Beat series.

Attendees also got up-close with two candidates for California governor — as well as San Jose’s District 3 City Council special election candidates for an audience Q&A.

During a discussion on homelessness solutions, Law Foundation of Silicon Valley Directing Attorney Trista Bauman told San Jose Housing Director Erik Soliván the “Responsibility to Shelter” initiative will fail to help homeless residents.

“It’s an example of a punitive approach to homelessness that has failed and will fail — and that is well documented. It is a poor public policy choice that is made for political reasons,” Bauman said. “It is harmful, expensive and ineffective.”

Soliván said the discussion around Mayor Matt Mahan’s proposal has evolved.

“We’re bringing on more and more investments into both shelter expansion as well as affordable housing,” he said.

Former state Controller Betty Yee tackled this same question in a fireside chat with San José Spotlight Editor Moryt Milo on her candidacy to become California’s “affordability governor.”

“If we’re actually able to help a family with a month’s rent if they fall behind than actually seeing them fall into the spiral of homelessness — just that basic kind of assistance at that point in time, you could really (affect) … the experience that they’re going to have.”

Mental health has become intrinsic with issues around homelessness and the cost of living. But Yee said the state’s various mental health care mandates — such as the CARE program — can’t be successful if local governments are left to seek out funding.

“These systems are already so stressed that the whole idea that we could do more with less is just impossible. We talked about the mental health provider shortage … but have not addressed that in any significant way,” Yee said.

Gubernatorial Candidate and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond also took the stage to share his vision for the Golden State if elected. He said schools can be part of the solution to California’s housing crisis — and that he’s working on a proposal to build millions of homes on surplus school properties throughout the state.

“Education is a great equalizer and we have to protect it,” Thurmond said. “That means we need senators to vote against any proposal to get rid of the Department of Education. You cannot (do that) through executive order, just get rid of the U.S. Department of Education. That act alone would mean the loss of $8 million for our programs in special education, which is a nonpartisan issue.”

Asked if he’ll drop out of the race if former Vice President Kamala Harris jumps in, Thurmond said he doesn’t make decisions based on who else is running.

“I’m all in … I’m not going to run for any down ballot office,” he said.

Yee also said she’ll stay in the race.

“I will be a candidate for governor regardless of who is in the race,” she said.

Massive federal immigration enforcement crackdowns punctuated a discussion about the Trump effect in Silicon Valley.

“We actually have families who are considering and actively talking about self-deportation because what they’re dealing with right now is just too intense,” Huy Tran, executive director for the Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network, said during the discussion.

Santa Clara County Executive James Williams emphasized the impact of federal cuts to critical health care and safety net programs in the county budget that is juggling a deficit.

“People will die,” he said. “We have to collectively do everything we can as a community to try to mitigate that impact.”

A conversation about transportation solutions introduced Silicon Valley to public transit equity experiments going on in Los Angeles.

One panelist, Rebel Managing Director Lily Shoup, hailed the rollout of “mobility wallets” in Southern California, where a sample of 2,000 low income residents received $150 per month to use on commuter rail, Uber and Lyft.

If the idea takes off, Shoup said mobility wallets could expand transit options for low-income residents in Silicon Valley.

“We can power people to have more choices on how they get around,” Shoup said.

Fewer births and longer life expectancies will have Americans age 65 and up outnumbering children by 2030, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But a panel on aging at the festival showed how Silicon Valley will feel the effects much sooner.

Even faster than the rise in older adults  is the rise in older adults experiencing homelessness, according to Margot Kushel, director of UCSF’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.

“In the early 1990s, about 11% of single adults experiencing homelessness … were 50 and older. By 2003, 32% were 50 and older. And now 48% are 50 and older,” Kushel said.

Sujatha Venkatraman, executive director of West Valley Community Services, shared how her organization tackles food insecurity among seniors.

“What happens if these seniors deciding to age in place are not able to come to us? There are mobility issues. Should we be looking into food delivery? We are trying to create a system where we are changing as the need in the community changes,” Venkatraman told the audience.

In a unique format, Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez and San Jose Planning Commissioner Anthony Tordillos each sat down with San José Spotlight Editor Nick Preciado — taking turns to field audience queries about their positions on District 3. Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos are running in a special election set for June 24.

Chavez-Lopez was questioned about a PG&E executive’s involvement with her campaign after San José Spotlight revealed the company’s regional vice president, Teresa Alvarado, was running campaign meetings.

The downtown candidate said Alvarado — who founded the Latina Coalition that Chavez-Lopez now leads — has been a professional mentor and friend.

“(I’ve) obviously gone to her for guidance, mentorship and leadership … Obviously there’s a lot of professional connection there,” Chavez-Lopez said.

But she argued that doesn’t mean PG&E as a corporation has been involved in her campaign.

“Although people have been trying to make those connections, there’s no truth to that,” she said.

Tordillos, who is openly gay, grappled with healing of the LGBTQ+ community after the arrest of disgraced former District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres.

“It was very disappointing and heartbreaking to see the damage to our community that was done with the recent scandal,” Tordillos said. “I even had members of the queer community in San Jose who cautioned me against running at all … but I decided to run anyway and that meant I placed a huge focus throughout this campaign on building trust and direct relationships with the people of District 3.”

A critical subject for both candidates was Mayor Mahan’s controversial proposal to arrest homeless people who repeatedly refuse shelter or services.

“I don’t think it should be criminal to be unhoused,” Chavez-Lopez told the audience.

Tordillos agreed.

“I do not support criminalization of homelessness. I do not support this policy in its current form,” he said.

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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The Los Gatos Town Council unanimously approved a fiscally sound budget for fiscal year 2025-26 June 3 after facing a $2 million budget deficit largely caused by expenses outpacing cash flow. Town officials balanced the roughly $60 million budget by pulling about $900,000 from its general fund reserve, along with roughly $1.1 million in cuts and savings. The town is still projecting revenues won’t keep up with expenses in the coming years, with a potential five-year structural deficit ranging from $5 million to $6.5 million.

Cuts for this fiscal year include $104,350 in library services, $138,000 in outside legal fees, $100,000 in tree pruning, $67,650 in decorative tree lighting and $8,700 in resources for homeless residents. Los Gatos also managed to save more than $423,000 in costs from its internal service operational funds and employee pension benefits.

Mayor Matthew Hudes is glad the town, which primarily relies on sales and property tax for revenue, will enter the fiscal year with a balanced budget. He said while future fiscal uncertainty is concerning, Los Gatos will work diligently to address impending shortfalls. Town officials are working to determine the accuracy of the five-year projections.

Hudes said the town has significantly improved its financial management over the past two years.

“The budget is tight, and therefore we have to watch things more closely, but at this point no significant cuts,” he told San José Spotlight.

The town’s financial management didn’t prevent cuts this year, including to the hotel program for homeless residents. The council reduced the program’s annual budget to $20,000. It allows unhoused people to stay the night in local hotels during cold or wet weather and bad air quality.

Los Gatos officials said the program’s funding will be enough to cover it through the winter unless the town experiences exceptional circumstances.

Tim O’Rorke, supporter of the hotel program and Vincentian at St. Vincent de Paul at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, said he’s worried about where the program will get extra money if it runs out of funding throughout the year. Santa Clara County has given the town thousands of dollars to supplement the program, but is facing its own multimillion-dollar shortfall.

Despite that, O’Rorke’s optimistic because the program will continue helping people for the third year in a row. He trusts town staff to allocate funding appropriately.

“We certainly don’t want to set our expectations so high that the programs aren’t in effect,” O’Rorke told San José Spotlight. “If they are in effect, that means a lot to me.”

Los Gatos was also considering cutting $500,000 from the $1 million previously allocated for hiring an emergency manager. The council chose not to cut that funding in the high fire risk town, allocating about $80,000 of that money toward removing five fire-prone eucalyptus trees near homes on Hilow Road.
Ed Lozowicki, who’s lived in the Hilow neighborhood for 42 years, said the trees have been a concern for years. PG&E is removing 15 trees there now that interfere with their power lines, but Lozowicki and his neighbors needed the town to step up for the five remaining. He’s glad the town is removing them because of how dangerous they are during fire season.

“The way they’re positioned on Hilow Road, they could easily spread embers to all of the houses in the neighborhood and block emergency vehicles from coming in,” Lozowicki told San José Spotlight.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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