| Joint Venture tapped to lead food recovery program |
 |
The Implementation Committee of the Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission of Santa Clara County has awarded $250,000 to Joint Venture’s food recovery initiative to oversee the launch of the first County-Wide Food Recovery Program. Executive director Robin Martin and her team will guide county jurisdictions toward implementation of SB 1383, the first law in the nation mandating certain businesses to donate the maximum possible amounts of their surplus food.
An additional $50,000 of countywide funds has been awarded to Joint Venture to provide capacity analysis of the County’s existing food recovery process. "In addition to addressing hunger, recovering excess food is one of the most cost-effective ways to fight climate change,” says Martin.
|
| Read the news release |
| Institute awarded grant to study financial burden on families |
 |
Santa Clara County has granted $54,000 to Joint Venture’s Institute for Regional Studies to conduct a two-part project focused on Silicon Valley families. The undertaking, championed by Supervisor Susan Ellenberg and pursued in partnership with the University of Washington, will model the impact of universal preschool on family finances and the greater regional economy. The project will also explore other aspects of early childhood education.
“This analysis will provide a dynamic tool for local leaders who seek a more equitable future, and improved quality of life,” said Rachel Massaro, vice president and director of research for the Institute.
|
| Learn more about the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies |
| Institute: Latest reports on unemployment and commercial space |
 |
Joint Venture’s Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies has released two reports, on unemployment and commercial space activity.
August Unemployment Data Release:
Silicon Valley’s unemployment rate for July is back to 4.9% —the level it hit three months prior, according to the analysis. While Silicon Valley’s unemployment rate for July was the same as in April, the number of unemployed workers grew by nearly 2,000 people during that period.
|
| Read the unemployment release |
Commercial Space - Q2 Report:
Commercial leasing activity exceeds 2020 by 50 percent, according to the Institute in its second-quarter Silicon Valley Commercial Space report. The report projects the delivery of more than 12 million square feet to the market in 2021. The analysis also shows asking rents remaining stable, even while vacancy rates are on the rise.
|
| Read the commercial space report |
| Joint Venture champions full release of gasoline data |
 |
At the urging of Joint Venture and its board, the California Energy Commission (CEC) has agreed to publish data on gasoline consumption for 375 California cities.
The data reveals that Los Angeles and San Diego consume the most gasoline annually. Among Bay Area cities, San José ranks fifth statewide, San Francisco twelfth, and Oakland twenty-second.
“Giving the public access to city-level data allows residents to track their community’s progress on clean air and climate goals, and to hold themselves accountable,” said Janelle London, executive director of Joint Venture’s Beyond Gasoline initiative.
|
| Read the list |
| Institute adds new research talent |
 |
Joint Venture’s Institute for Regional Studies has added two new affiliate researchers to the team.
Alex Chen is a survey data analyst with Change Research, a Silicon Valley polling firm. He will manage the annual Silicon Valley poll and advise the Institute on survey research.
Ricky Manago is a senior financial analyst for the JLL Transactions Team. He will advise the Institute on research and analysis related to commercial real estate.
|
 |
Greg Kepferle, CEO of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, is utterly convincing when he says he loves the job he has held for nearly 20 years. “If this job didn’t already exist, I would have invented it,” he says with the soft-spoken warmth of a pastor.
Once on track to be a Jesuit priest, Kepferle met his future wife, Jean, at a softball game at the graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. He has remained devoted to social service. Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, a $41 million nonprofit, that works to build economic self-sufficiency for the poor and vulnerable in our community and has been a partner with Joint Venture in the new Building Back Better initiative.
|
| Read Greg's profile |
| White paper details solutions to address homework gap, barriers to distance learning |
 |
When the Bay Area implemented quarantines, school districts were faced with a massive challenge: how to support distance learning for students who lacked adequate broadband access. The pandemic didn’t cause the digital divide but it magnified a pre-existing condition.
The Santa Clara County Office of Education, in partnership with Joint Venture’s community broadband initiative, has published Broadband Networks for Addressing Distance Learning and Homework Gap Challenges. The paper examines the technology solutions available for rapid deployment, and makes recommendations.
|
| Read the white paper |
| |
 |
August 20, 2021 - (Washington Monthly) - Opinion: Let’s Redistribute Tax Incentives to Buy Electric Cars: According to our research, the drivers in the top 10 percent of gasoline consumption, whom we call “gasoline superusers,” each burn upward of 1,000 gallons of gasoline per year. Item penned by Jannelle London, Joint Venture.. More
August 17, 2021 - (Mecklenburg Times) - Study Shows Small Wireless Communication Facilities Do Not Depreciate Residential Real Estate: Joint Venture Silicon Valley today announced the publication of Economic Impacts to Residential Real Estate from Small Wireless Facilities. More
August 6, 2021 - (Silicon Valley Business Journal) - Silicon Valley has an 'unprecedented' 11M square feet of commercial space in the pipeline — even as its office vacancy rate has hit 13%: office vacancy rates in the region have risen to their highest level in seven years, Joint Venture Silicon Valley's Institute for Regional Studies said in the report. More
July 30, 2021 - (Microgrid Knowledge) - Sunnyvale, California, and Others in Silicon Valley Exploring Microgrid Projects: Moffett Park Business Group and Silicon Valley businesses signed a memorandum of understanding with Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit group, to explore building a microgrid in the Moffett Park area. More
July 29, 2021 - (KRON4) - Santa Clara County unemployment numbers rise: According to a recent analysis by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, the region’s unemployment rate increased from 4.6% in May to 5.1% for the month of June. More
July 28, 2021 - (Illinois News Live) - Biden-Harris needs to go all-in to mobile broadband to meet its fairness and connectivity goals: Treatise I Co-author Wireless expert David Witkowski compares the economic forecasts of wireless technology with the price and performance of spectrum allocations. More
July 23, 2021 - (Inside Towers) - Study Shows Small Cells Have “Zero” Negative Effect on Real Estate Values: A recent study conducted by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, found that small cell infrastructure had no negative effect on real estate values. More
July 22, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - ‘In love with San Jose’: Gary Dillabough’s vision for revitalizing downtown: “He’s not just a guy who’s trying to build units. He’s actually thinking more broadly,” said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, an economic think tank. More
July 21, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Santa Clara County leads in job losses as unemployment rate rises: The regional unemployment rate increased from 4.6% to 5.1% between mid-May and mid-June, according to a study released this month by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit that analyzes the economy and quality of life... More
|
|
|
