BAY AREA — Some truck “owner-operators” – who invest in their own vehicles and work as independent contractors to other trucking firms – say a new law taking effect on Jan. 1 will put them out of business. Supporters of the law say it will give protections to misclassified contract truck drivers.
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SAN JOSE — As training centers respond to a growing demand for skilled workers with more and larger classes, enrollment has not been able to make up for the talent gap created by the 2008 economic recession. At the Loyd E. Williams Pipe Trades Training Center, more than 500 apprentices train every week to become plumbers, steamfitters and refrigeration technicians — the most in 15 years.
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SONOMA COUNTY — Hotels in Sonoma County are experiencing a simultaneous increase in bookings and cancellations as the region’s week-long battle as the Kincade Fire burns.
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CALIFORNIA — For many homeowners in California where headline-making wildfires have burned homes, led to power outages and caused billions of dollars in damages, getting property and casualty insurance becomes a key challenge.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA — Autumn brought PG&E unprecedented power outages, wildfires, and massive forced evacuations, problems that would strain any utility. But for PG&E there was an additional challenge: it had to do so while undergoing the largest bankruptcy of a public utility in history.
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As an urban beekeeper, Terry Oxford has always grounded her beekeeping practices in what is best for the bees and our environment. While her primary intention of beekeeping has never been to harvest and sell honey from her hives, she gradually realized that bringing honeybees into the city is not the best way to protect our environment and save the pollinators.
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MOUNTAIN VIEW — There’s a labor shortage that’s showing on the facades of downtown Mountain View’s businesses. But shop owners and the city officials have come up with strategies to entice workers — by providing better employee benefits, passing an increase in the minimum wage and developing more affordable housing.
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BAY AREA — Unable to afford store leases, newcomers to the Bay Area fashion scene have turned to pop-up shopping experiences. These include vendor booths at local events and even the fashion equivalent of food trucks.
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REDWOOD CITY — The city council has cleared the way for the next phase in the development of businesses that will grow or deliver cannabis within city limits, approving a package of local regulations that in some areas are stricter than state standards.
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SILICON VALLEY — Happy cows supposedly come from California. Maybe it’s because they see into the future of food and agriculture technology in Silicon Valley.
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PALO ALTO — Pets in Need, a no-kill shelter that surpasses the industry standard of a 90 percent live release rate, is vying for the opportunity to take over the Palo Alto city shelter.
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CAMPBELL — While Future Farmers of America groups in Silicon Valley have fizzled, the chapter in Campbell continues to thrive on a two-acre farm in the middle of the suburbs, right across the street from a high school.
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