| Article of the Month: The Declaration of Independence |
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| Philadelphia, July 4, 1776 — In this document the American colonies declare a political separation from Great Britain and catalog their reasons in an effort to garner international support. Thomas Jefferson serves as principal author, and inserts a preamble that elevates the statement to a sweeping assertion of rights and establishes the Revolution as a contest of the highest human principles. |
Read the document
Read Jefferson expert Clay Jenkinson's illuminating commentary on the Declaration |
| Silicon Valley unemployment falls to 4.6 percent |
| Uneven recovery as region reopens |
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Silicon Valley’s unemployment rate continued in a slow downward trend into May, reaching 4.6%. Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies released analysis that shows a significant improvement in the region’s unemployment rate since the pandemic-high of 12% in April 2020. Month-over-month declines have been small. Between April and May, the rate declined by three-tenths of a percentage point, which represents approximately 3,630 fewer unemployed workers throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.
“Nine out of eleven major industry sectors added jobs in May, with notable gains in leisure and hospitality,” said Rachel Massaro, the Institute’s Director of Research. “With the exception of Information, though, none of those sectors have recovered to pre-pandemic employment levels.” |
| Read the release |
| Joint Venture board welcomes new members |
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Joint Venture’s board of directors elected three new board members at its quarterly meeting in June. Katie Ferrick, Senior Director of Workplace Programs at LinkedIn; Claire Johnston, Managing Director of Google Real Estate Development at LendLease; and Hrishika Vuppala Partner at McKinsey & Company, were unanimously elected to the body of leaders.
“We are pleased to welcome this accomplished panel to the Joint Venture board,” said Russell Hancock, President & CEO of Joint Venture. “Their combined experience will bring strength and innovation to Joint Venture’s work.” |
| Read the news release |
| Drew Starbird named senior fellow at Institute |
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Joint Venture’s Institute for Regional Studies has named Drew Starbird as a senior fellow. A frequent contributor to the Institute’s research on hunger and food assistance projects, Starbird will provide continuing counsel and work on broader initiatives.
Starbird is executive director of the My Own Business Institute and a professor in the department of information systems & analytics at Santa Clara University. He started teaching at SCU in 1987 after completing his Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Cornell University. Starbird also holds a BS from the University of California, Davis and an MBA from Santa Clara University.
“Dean Starbird brings deep domain expertise and an analytical mind to our Institute,” said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture and president of the Institute for Regional Studies. “His research also has a practical bent, which makes him a tremendous asset to our work.” |
| Read the News Release |
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At the tender age of 12, Lily Mei was already coding software. But when her teacher accused her of not actually being the author of a particular program, he ignited in her a competitive edge that would forever burn brightly. She has no qualms about going against the grain, taking a firm stand, and inviting others to join her to work together.
Today, Fremont Mayor Mei is the first elected woman and Asian American mayor in the city’s 65-year history. It’s an important milestone considering that more than half the residents of Fremont are of Asian ancestry and Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group of eligible voters nationwide.
Referring to pictures of past council member on display in city hall, Mei says “If you walked down the hall of the city of Fremont, I am our eighth council woman. There is a 35-year period with no women. And I am honored to be the first woman and first minority mayor elected in our city's history.” |
| Read Lily's profile |
| EVENTS |
| Outsmart Disaster |
Virtual Training Workshop: Planning for the Unexpected
Resources and strategies for business resiliency
Wednesday, June 30 • 2:00 - 3:00 PM PDT |
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| Joint Venture and the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance are working with the Outsmart Disaster campaign to build community capacity to respond to and recover from disasters. Register now for a timely webinar on practical tips and strategies on disaster preparedness. The hour-long webinar includes an overview of the Outsmart Disaster Resilient Business Challenge and a walkthrough of core concepts on resiliency strategies for businesses. |
Learn more
Register |
| HayWired: |
Where is home after a large earthquake in the Bay Area?
June 30 • 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM PDT |
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| The HayWired earthquake scenario, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), anticipates the impacts of a hypothetical, highly detailed but scientifically plausible magnitude-7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault and its aftershock. This webinar focuses on post-disaster housing challenges and opportunities. A panel of experts in housing retrofit, affordable housing, housing policy, and regional housing plans provide their perspective on the study results and policy implications of the HayWired communities at risk analysis. |
| Register |
| Global Cities Team Challenge |
Smart Agriculture and Rural Broadband and Regional SuperCluster Workshop
July 21 - 23, 2021 |
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| The HayWired earthquake scenario, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), anticipates the impacts of a hypothetical, highly detailed but scientifically plausible magnitude-7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault and its aftershock. This webinar focuses on post-disaster housing challenges and opportunities. A panel of experts in housing retrofit, affordable housing, housing policy, and regional housing plans provide their perspective on the study results and policy implications of the HayWired communities at risk analysis. |
| Learn more |
| Joint Venture participates in AmazonSmile |
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| Joint Venture is now participating in the Amazon.com AmazonSmile program. Every time you shop at AmazonSmile.com, a portion of your sales (0.5) goes to support our work. AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support Joint Venture every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to support Joint Venture’s work in your community. |
| Support Joint Venture on AmazonSmile |
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June 22, 2021 - (Forbes) - Biden-Harris Should Be All-In On Mobile Broadband To Reach Equity And Connectivity Goals: A paper I co-authored with wireless expert David Witkowski compares economic projections of wireless technologies versus the price and performance of spectrum allocation. More
June 21, 2021 - (Patch) - Town Of Los Gatos: Virtual Training Workshop For Businesses: Planning For The Unexpected - June 30 At 2 P.M. - Together with the Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance, the Town invites all businesses to join the "Outsmart Disaster" webinar. More
June 20, 2021 - (Mountain View Voice) - From farms to families: ...food insecurity was about 17% in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties pre-pandemic, according to the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. More
June 20, 2021 - (Medium) - Can Singapore be Asia’s tech capital? The 2021 Silicon Valley Index, released by the nonprofit Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies, highlighted how the wealth became more concentrated among those already affluent. More
June 19, 2021 - (Palo Alto Weekly) - Opinion: Robust connectivity is critical to Palo Alto's future - Joint Venture CEO, Russell Hancock advocates for Palo Alto to deploy the best technology, allow science to play its central role, all while honoring the importance of aesthetics. More
June 19, 2021 - (Silicon Valley Business Journal) - Unemployment rate in Silicon Valley keeps falling, as most sectors gained jobs: “Nine out of eleven major industry sectors added jobs in May, with notable gains in leisure and hospitality,” Rachel Massaro, the Institute’s director of research, said in a release. More
June 14, 2021 - (KALW) - East Palo Alto Edition: June 14, 2021: ...the average rate of food insecurity was about 17% in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties pre-pandemic, according to the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies.. More
June 13, 2021 - (Palo Alto Online) - Federal program that helps farmers during the pandemic is changing the local food landscape: ...the average rate of food insecurity was about 17% in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties prepandemic, according to the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, which authored a report on regional food insecurity. More
June 6, 2021 - (Palo Alto Online) - Around Town: Children's Health Council prepares to search for new leader: Jeremy Weinstein [is] partnering with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Joint Venture Silicon Valley to bring faculty-led teams and higher education institutions together for "research-impact partnerships that investigate regional systemic inequities." More
June 4, 2021 - (Detroit Free Press) - Ford stock was cheaper than a sandwich. Now shareholders are gloating. "I love everything coming out of Ford lately. I’m finally hearing them talk like a Silicon Valley company instead of a stodgy old world company," said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More
June 4, 2021 - (Philadelphia Citizen) - JOBS, JOBS, JOBS: Silicon Valley was actually birthed by something called Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a type of task force that ushered in uniform permitting and licensing requirements throughout the burgeoning region. More
May 30, 2021 - (San Francisco Chronicle) - Seeing Silicon Valley’ book spotlights people lost in the shadows of the tech capital: According to the 2021 Silicon Valley Index, the region was down 61,000 jobs compared to the same period last year, and the unemployment rate within the “in-person” economy skyrocketed above 30% during the pandemic. More |
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