Journalist James Fallows to speak at State of the Valley

James Fallows, longtime national correspondent for The Atlantic and highly respected voice on national competitiveness issues, will deliver keynote remarks at Joint Venture’s State of the Valley conference on February 8..

As a White House speech writer at age 26, Fallows remains the youngest person ever to hold that job. He went on to become editor of US News & World Report, and his books--including most recently China Airborne--receive widespread praise. "He represents the best of American journalism," writes Jonathan Spence in the New York Times. "Honest, fearless, hard-hitting."

Click here to learn more about Fallows.

Click here to register for State of the Valley.

Joint Venture study: No impact on home values by wireless sites

Cell phone towers have no discernible impact on home prices in Silicon Valley, according to a new study by Joint Venture’s Wireless Communications Initiative in partnership with the Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley Associations of Realtors. The findings were presented in early November at the Silicon Valley Wireless Symposium.

The data was compiled using more than 1600 single-family home transactions from January to September 2012 and 70 wireless sites in Palo Alto, Redwood City, Saratoga and San Jose. The survey compared the list and sale price for transactions based on the distance from the wireless facility.

Click here to read the report.

Click here to learn more about the Wireless Communications Initiative.

Our DECEMBER Spotlight

GAUTAM SRIVASTAVA
LSI Corporation

Migrating from India to San Francisco as a young boy might have been daunting for most kids from a foreign country, but it opened a new world for Gautam Srivastava.

“I loved growing up in San Francisco!” he says of his early years in the city in the 1970s. “I would ride the Muni bus all over by myself when I was seven. I had an incredible childhood. The city was a playground for me.”

Click here to read Gautam’s profile.

Joint Venture welcomes new Webmaster

Joint Venture is pleased to welcome Jill Minnick Jennings to our team as Webmaster. An accomplished designer and photographer, Jill oversees our dynamic online presence, including the design and development of our website and companion sites, our monthly newsletter and other projects.

Click here to learn more about Jill.

Energy Management Systems workshop set for Dec. 11

Joint Venture, C/CAG and San Mateo County Energy Watch are conducting a workshop in Redwood City on December 11 for local government and educational institutions to learn more about the cost savings and benefits of Energy Management Systems.

Attendees at the event will also talk with peers who have implemented EMS and meet some of the key service providers in Silicon Valley. The workshop, at the Sobrato Center for Nonprofits from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes lunch.

Click here to register.

Briefing on Bay Area Council Economic Assessment Dec. 17

Joint Venture and Silicon Valley Community Foundation are co-hosting a briefing on December 17 in Mountain View for the Bay Area Council Economic Institute’s recent report, “The Bay Area: A Regional Economic Assessment.”

BACEI Chief Economist Jon Haveman will conduct the briefing and answer questions. Experts from the City of San Jose, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the South Bay Labor Council will be on hand to discuss the regional trends.

Click here for more information and to register.

Article of the Month

“Facebook launches ‘Facebucks’ to get employees to like Menlo Park merchants”

- Chris O’Brien, San Jose Mercury News

In his final column for the Mercury News on November 17, tech business writer Chris O’Brien touches on an important issue for Joint Venture and our region: the disconnect between tech companies that are booming and local communities and governments that are battling cutbacks and fiscal shortfalls.

Although O’Brien has moved on to the Los Angeles Times, he will remain here to report on Silicon Valley trends and companies.

Click here to read the column.

December on “Inside Silicon Valley”

December guests on “Inside Silicon Valley,” Joint Venture’s weekly public affairs radio program, include Rex Northen, executive director of the Cleantech Open (Dec. 7 & 9), and former San Jose vice-mayor Cindy Chavez, executive director of the South Bay Labor Council (Dec. 14 & 16). Over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays we will present encore presentations of earlier programs with Chris Wilder of the Valley Medical Center Foundation (Dec. 21 & 23) and Ron Gonzales of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley (Dec. 28 & 30).

Joint Venture CEO Russell Hancock hosts the hour-long program, which airs every Friday at 7 p.m. and again on Sunday at noon on 1590 KLIV.

Click here to listen to previous programs.

Click here to listen to our podcasts on iTunes.