In an interview with Bloomberg News earlier this week, San Francisco Mayor London Breed commented on the lack of remote workers returning to offices across the city, saying that the low office vacancy rates are prompting her to attempt to attract new types of businesses to the downtown area .

“Life as we knew it before the pandemic is not going to go back,” Breed told Bloomberg News. “This whole work-from-home thing is here to stay.”

The outlet noted that attitude represents a shift for breed, who tried a myriad of tactics to bring workers back. The report said office vacancies in San Francisco struck a record high of 25.5% in the third quarter, and return-to-office rates have hovered around 40% of pre-pandemic levels, representing one of the lowest rates among large metros areas in the U.S

Breed told Bloomberg News that the number of city employees who have returned to work is smaller than expected.

“We thought people would miss working around other people, but they do not,” she said.

The remote work policies of tech companies are part of the problem, Breed said. She pointed to Salesforce, the large software company headed in part by Marc Benioff, as an example. Salesforce is the city’s largest private employer, and its offices occupy San Francisco’s tallest office tower.

“[Marc is] very supportive of the city, continues to contribute that support to schools and to other great causes, but the building is empty, and that’s a real problem,” Breed said. “Ultimately I can’t force or mandate, right? These companies are making the decisions that they believe that are in their best interests.”

Breed’s point is that a lack of workers in the office hurts the city’s economy. Empty buildings depress property values, which affects the amount the city makes in property tax revenue. Workers are also using public transportation at lower rates, and are spending less on goods at local businesses since they spend more time inside their homes.

Without returning employees to in-person work at higher rates, Breed said she’ll be attempting to coax businesses in growing industries, such as biotechnology and green technology, to fill empty office space.

You can read the entire Bloomberg News article here.

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SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) – Rev. Jethroe Moore II, a celebrity and civil rights activist in Silicon Valley, left Silicon Valley to start a new life outside of a town he said does not care for people of color .

“We’re not capturing the essence of the blacks or the browns or the people of color culture, so people almost always say they don’t want us here,” said Moore.

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The pastor, who has lived in Silicon Valley for almost 50 years, packed his things and moved his family to Atlanta. This meant that Moore, a pillar of the community for civil rights, education, and the Church, was stepping down as president of the San Jose-Silicon Valley NAACP.

“It’s a sad day you know it was hard to go,” he said. “Housing is priceless, the education system is in order and the jobs are no longer as big as they used to be. I need to make sure my children are safe, have the education and the opportunity, and for me as a black person, I don’t see these opportunities to be a focal point for the city of San Jose. “

Moore said he was not only the victim of the Silicon Valley tech boom that praised him, but he also felt that San Jose has failed its black and colored communities to allow them to stay in the region thrive.

Rev. Jethroe Moore, past president of the San Jose / Silicon Valley NAACP. (CBS)

“We had clubs, we had restaurants, we had softball teams, we had a lot of things,” he said of life in San Jose when he moved to the city in the 1970s. “All of these things are gone. You can find us to arrest us, but you cannot find us to keep us busy. “

The pastor isn’t the only one who has seen the black population dwindle; make up 3% of the population today, compared to nearly 5% in 1990, according to the US Census Bureau.

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“Many of them have moved out over the years,” said Belinda Bush, owner of B-Pizazz Barbershop.

Bush has owned her shop for 30 years and first opened her business in Cupertino before moving to her location in Campbell. But Bush believes Silicon Valley has ousted all races that can’t afford to make it to the tech capital of the region.

“You just can’t afford to live here, that’s what this area is about,” Bush said. “It’s all about the money, it’s all about the money.”

Moore cited examples of San Jose’s failure to help its residents build housing, pay decent salaries, and take care of minorities, particularly the discussion about the development of land used by longtime flea market sellers.

The man of faith apparently lost some of that in San Jose.

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“It’s hard to say goodbye,” said Moore. “We work, we give our life and blood for this city and the community, but where is the love in return?”

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