Santa Clara County Business, Economy & Jobs Digest

Gov. Newsom just bought a $9 million house in Marin County, but his sources of income haven’t been made public recently. He had pledged to release his tax returns.

Voters in California’s farm belt, stretching more than 400 miles from Kern County on the south to Tehama County on the north, delivered solid majorities for Donald Trump in this month’s presidential election.

Between the summer session of the California Legislature featuring hot topics like AI regulation and money for journalism, and a special one focusing on gas prices, powerful corporations poured in record-setting money to influence lawmakers.

Read on for details about how the City of San Jose, PG&E and a top developer are coming together with plans for a green energy downtown featuring new data centers and housing high rises.

The City of Palo Alto is preparing to update zoning laws to encourage more retail chain stores. Read on to learn why.

Trump has threatened new, higher tariffs on two of California’s biggest trade partners, China and Mexico. The state’s workers and economy could feel the most impact.

Learn more about a large solar renewable energy, storage and agriculture project is under development in Santa Clara County.

Immigration advocates are sounding the alarm over the prospect of mass deportations upending California immigrant communities, which Donald Trump has vowed to initiate when he returns to the White House in January.

California wants to protect witnesses in workplace investigations from deportation, but the Biden administration program for undocumented employees is at risk with Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

You are invited to the newly completed Gourmet Alley public pedestrian plaza served by bars and restaurants in downtown Gilroy.

Get the latest details about a planned industrial and manufacturing center slated to be built on a 32 acre parcel in north San Jose.

Learn more about the Los Alto City Council approval of updated ordinances banning single-use plastic in restaurants and stores.

Elon Musk, the tech mogul who runs Tesla, said in December that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts “must die.” Now, two civil rights groups are calling for the nation’s largest public pension fund to divest from the electric vehicle maker.

Tens of thousands of California ride-hailing drivers, and possibly more, could eventually get back pay after a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that clears the way for the state and some cities to proceed with their lawsuits against Uber and Lyft.

A new business improvement district is being considered for the Monterey corridor between the between Capitol Expressway and Alma Avenue in San Jose.

The state Labor Commissioner sometimes struggles to get back pay to workers when it reaches wage theft settlements. It tries social media, TV and hotlines. But money owed to employees is still sitting in state accounts.

Following the defeat of their lawsuit over images in a Black Lives Matter mural, a group of Palo Alto Police officers is taking their suit to the California Sixth District Court of Appeals.

The Assembly approves Gov. Newsom’s bill on oil refineries on a 44-17 vote. But the state Senate will have its say during the special session.

A California minimum wage law that was delayed amid budget troubles is now set to go into effect Oct. 16. It’s expected to benefit hundreds of thousands of workers.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to combat gasoline price spikes appears headed to a long-awaited Assembly floor vote next week after passing out of committee on September 26.

The governor wants new gas reserves to dampen seasonal price spikes. Refiners say the move would raise prices and require new storage tanks.

Many California farmworkers have long lacked safe and affordable places to sleep — an issue thrown into sharp relief after last year’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, which left seven agricultural workers dead.

About 4 in 10 Californians are believed to be carrying medical debt, which can harm their chances of landing a mortgage or an apartment if it shows up on credit reports.

Jessica Alvarez Castañeda was sick of low-paying jobs. For years, the 39-year-old mother of four had been “breaking her back for almost nothing” as a cashier, nursing assistant, babysitter, house cleaner and cook.

San Jose is considering the creation of a new business improvement district advocated by the Tully Road-Eastridge Business Association.

A proposal has been floated to develop the Charleston Plaza shopping center in Mountain View into a community of offices, retail and housing.

California voters passed Proposition 22 four years ago. The ballot initiative, backed by Uber, Lyft and other gig companies, promised the state’s more than 1 million gig workers new benefits, such as guaranteed minimum earnings, health care stipends, occupational accident insurance and accidental death insurance.

California’s unemployment rate, 5.2% of its labor force in July, is no longer the nation’s highest after months of having that dubious distinction.

The City of Palo Alto is considering how best to manage the abundance of shopping areas mixed with the abundance of empty store fronts, especially on California and University Avenues.

The Palo Alto City Council is showing increased interest in a commercial vacancy tax to stimulate landlords in downtown Palo Alto to find tenants for vacant properties.

Proposition 32 to increase the minimum wage from $16 isn’t as far-reaching as when it was first proposed. Fast food workers are already making more, and health care employees are on track. But worker groups are already pushing for more.

The Palo Alto City Council approved neighborhood parking permits for employees of some El Camino Real businesses.