May 19, 2023 - New efficiencies at Silicon Valley companies are resulting in additional space available for sublease, according to the First Quarter Commercial Space Report from the Institute for Regional Studies. With the backdrop of inflation, higher interest rates, and other economic woes, have made sweeping adjustments toward a more remote/hybrid work culture. Landlords appear to understand this shift as companies require smaller footprints. Overall, the number of construction completions were moderate in the first quarter and asking rents across most space categories have remained remarkably stable, considering persistently high vacancy rates.
May 19, 2023 – The unemployment rate in Silicon Valley decreased to 2.8% in April for the first time in 2023, according to analysis by Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies. The unemployment rate in the region is at its lowest since December of 2022, when it sat at 2.3%. Overall employment in the region decreased by more than 16,300 workers, while the number of unemployed persons decreased by more than 4,000. “The unemployment rate in Silicon Valley has declined for the first time since late last year, stopping the steady increases that were experienced over the first quarter of 2023,” said Ryan Young, an affiliated researcher at the Institute.
May 30, 2023 - Joint Venture formed a partnership with Seamless Bay Area (SBA) to transform the Bay Area’s fragmented public transit into a unified system that is more efficient, affordable, and sustainable. The Bay Area is currently in the midst of a major fiscal crisis and the prospect of devastating service cuts if no additional public funding is identified from the state. SBA is advocating for immediate funding that can help avert service cuts that would be devastating for transit and help implement changes to regrow transit ridership. 
May 30, 2023 - When Comcast wanted to announce network improvements in Silicon Valley, they called on David Witkowski, Executive Director of Joint Venture’s Civic Technologies Initiative, to help deliver the message. City managers and mayors met at Joint Venture’s headquarters to learn about a planned 10G broadband network that will expand fast and equitable services to businesses by the end of 2023 and to homes by the end of 2025. "It was an honor to host this panel discussion at Joint Venture, and to engage in thoughtful and lively discussion with the panelists and the audience on this important topic,” said Witkowski. 
May 30, 2023 - One glance at the CV of Robin Franz Martin inspires with a story of someone who has devoted her career to making the world a better place. And she is currently in the process of laying a foundation for seminal work that could have a favorable impact for generations. Robin, the Executive Director of the Food Recovery Initiative at Joint Venture, has launched several programs, from a summer camp in Vermont to a Medical Reserve Corps that is still succeeding. She likes working with food because “…it brings people together.” And now, with her current project, she has an opportunity to bring many people together around a solution that transforms lives by confronting hunger in one of the richest places on earth.
Consider the difference between our current pandemic and the Spanish Flu of 1918. To be sure, being stuck at home stinks, but for most of us the internet is making this pandemic much more tolerable - and far less deadly. More tolerable because we have access to nearly unlimited sources of entertainment. Less deadly because we have access to rich sources of information in real time, and we can order food and essentials online versus risking community transmission in a restaurant or store. We’ve become experts on which video calling services are easiest to use, which HD cameras are best, how to set up lighting and a decent backdrop. And while there have been reports of slowdowns due to increased online usage, the internet - based on a concept designed to withstand a nuclear holocaust - has performed admirably and appears well able to be able to handle the added load we’re placing on it.
All of this is courtesy of people like Vint Cerf, Bob Kahn, Claude Shannon, Paul Baran, Tim Berners-Lee, and Marc Andreessen who led the way in creating the internet. Without them, we’d be sitting at home waiting for the evening news to tell us what’s happening, wondering which stores have food, and able to speak with but not see our colleagues, friends, and loved ones. Tonight, at dinner, before we settle in for an evening of streaming video, let’s all raise a glass and give thanks to the inventors of the internet.
About the Author
David Witkowski is the Executive Director of Joint Venture's Civic Technology Initiatives. You can learn more about David on his bio page.
Comments powered by CComment