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.
I'll let food writer Michael Pollan more eloquently describe how the US food system has changed, and how we are one of the most vulnerable countries on the planet. I do think this vulnerability makes us ripe for change, and finally poised to see the necessity of localizing our food system, and developing local relationships.
As for my small piece of the puzzle, I'm thinking more and more about how the entire food system is connected, and really can be simple - it starts in the soil, and ends on my plate. At work, for our Food Recovery Council, the food that we recover will pop up on farms, with distributors, or at the end of the chain with restaurants and groceries. We need to be flexible and quick to react to changes. At home, I feel more connected to the food system than I have in years. At the beginning of the shelter-in-place order, we picked up things for elderly neighbors and shared stories about where to find different staples. We put in a garden. Our Italian neighbor spent an entire day on some of the best tomato sauce I have ever had. The kids are learning to cook.
In the future I think these connections with our neighbors, and with our neighbor organizations in our working lives, will strengthen our resiliency in the face of an unknown future. Our food system will be stronger, more community-focused, and more transparent. And lucky for us, I think it will taste better, too!
About the Author
Robin Martin is the executive director of Joint Venture's Silicon Valley Food Recovery Initiative. You can learn more about Robin on her bio page.
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