Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley

11/02/2026

The B-52s receive a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame & pay tribute to Ricky Wilson

The B-52s received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this week, 50 years after they first formed in Athens, Georgia.

The band—Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider, and Kate Pierson—received the 2,861st star on the iconic pathway. Their marker is located outside the famed Amoeba Music at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard.

“Honoring The B-52s with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a celebration of their unforgettable music, fearless spirit, and the nostalgia they’ve created for generations of fans,” Ana Martinez, Walk of Fame producer, said in a press statement. “Their unique sound and energy have truly become part of Hollywood’s musical history.”

https://www.q***rty.com/the-b-52s-receive-a-star-on-hollywood-walk-of-fame-pay-tribute-to-ricky-wilson-20261030/

11/02/2026

Rainbow Chamber Training, Thursday, November 5th, 6 - 7:30 PM

Know Yourself: How Your Personality Traits Can Help Lead and Grow Your Business.
Unlock your personal communication style to build a stronger business.

Join us for an interactive workshop designed specifically for small business owners, solopreneurs, and early-stage leaders. Instead of forcing yourself into a traditional business mold, you will discover how your natural personality traits can become your greatest competitive advantages in leadership, sales, and strategy. You’ll deepen your understanding of introvert/extrovert spectrum, discover how your own traits influence your leadership style, sales approach, decision-making, and more.

Presented by Dr. Bard Williams

Thursday Nov 5, 2026
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Hilton Garden Inn
30 Ranch Drive, Milpitas

https://business.rainbowchamber.org/events/details/know-yourself-communication-style-workshop-509?calendarMonth=2026-11-01

11/01/2026

Santa Clara County jails see influx of ICE agents

Santa Clara County officials are standing back while the presence of federal agents escalates around county jails, even after the county declared its properties off limits to immigration officers.

On Wednesday at about 10 p.m., Rapid Response Network volunteers confirmed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents had pursued a car leaving Elmwood Correctional Facility carrying two men just released from jail. Agents pursued the men on foot after they ran out of the car and used a Taser on one of them, according to an observer on the scene. Video from the incident shows the man slumped on the ground, with an agent holding him up by his upper body. He was transported to Regional Medical Center in East San Jose and was released later that morning, according to observers. He left without further incident.

ICE observers said this is the first local incident they’re aware of involving federal agents using a Taser.

“In San Jose, we haven’t seen the most aggressive behavior, the deadliest behavior, but this is an escalation,” Liz Gonzalez, an organizer with law enforcement watchdog Silicon Valley De-Bug who was present the night of the arrest, told San José Spotlight. “Anything could have happened that night, and honestly, I thought that person was dead.”

https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-jails-see-influx-of-ice-agents/

11/01/2026

LGBTQ+ people are everywhere. Trump is cutting the data that shows it

Federal surveys help researchers measure discrimination and disparities. Removing LGBTQ+ questions threatens that work long after Trump leaves office.

A new Human Rights Campaign report estimates that 12 percent of U.S. adults are LGBTQ+, a higher share than several widely cited estimates. But the federal government is removing the questions the HRC report and similar research relied on.

The consequences extend beyond knowing how many LGBTQ+ people there are.

Andrew Flores, a distinguished visiting scholar at UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, has used federal data to document that transgender people experience higher rates of crime victimization than cisgender people. Without questions that identify transgender respondents, researchers lose a way to measure that disparity.

https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/lgbtq-research-population-trump

10/31/2026

San Jose abandoned vehicle program frustrates residents

A new city audit has awarded high marks to San Jose’s program for clearing abandoned or inoperable vehicles from city streets. But the finding has met with skepticism and renewed calls for reform from residents and city leaders who say the longstanding problem is still far from being solved.

The report from the City Auditor’s Office found that out of the roughly 10,000 vehicle abatement cases handled by the Department of Transportation between July 2025 and March 2026, the agency managed to resolve 98% within two weeks, the city’s benchmark target for such cases. In addition, the program also hit its goal of resolving 80% of cases through voluntary compliance following a warning. In other cases, the complaint may result in a tow or citation.

But critics point out that often, even when a case has been closed, problematic vehicles remain on roadways, blocking up parking spaces and creating neighborhood blight. Many residents complain their reports of unused vehicles — which can be made through the city’s 311 website and app — seem to fall down a bureaucratic well, and seldom result in actual resolutions to the problem.

“On one level, the performance is excellent,” Mayor Matt Mahan said at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. “On the other hand, we’re getting pretty abysmal customer satisfaction ratings and people are frustrated. There’s this expectation mismatch.”

https://sanjosespotlight.com/san-jose-abandoned-vehicle-program-frustrates-residents/

10/31/2026

10/31/2026

Patrick Stewart was the straight best friend we all needed

Straight men are rarely depicted as being part of gay friend circles. The Star Trek and X-Men star was a beautiful exception.

It was impossible not to feel your heart warm when watching a video of actors Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen together. Their friendship was warm, with a level of camaraderie, candor and care, that any of us deserve, and that many coveted. But they weren’t just friends, they were also a model for something that is not always seen, appreciated or explored in q***r lore: the gay-straight male friendship.

Gay men are known to roam in gaggles. And, in usual depictions of gay groups, such as on Q***r as Folk or Looking, a group of q***r male friends might include other letters of the LGBTQ+ acronym, but is very rarely depicted as including our straight counterparts. That is, in part, understandable: being exclusively surrounded by g**s can feel like letting your hair down. You can speak in gay lingo, spew cultural references ad nauseum. There’s no need to code switch. And, of course, for many gay men, their experiences of straight men are not always pleasant, nor is that discomfort exactly abating. Many LGBTQ+ people, gay men included, have felt the chill of the uptick in homophobia in recent years.

https://www.advocate.com/news/people/patrick-stewart-ian-mckellen-ally

10/30/2026

Residents renew calls to close East San Jose airport after recent crashes

Two recent airplane crashes stemming from an East San Jose airport are prompting residents and elected officials to renew efforts to close it.

Residents living in the proximity of Reid-Hillview Airport shared their concerns during a Friday news conference at Hillview Park organized by community advocacy group SOMOS Mayfair. They pointed to a crash from a landing equipment issue at the airport Oct. 16 and a crash on Capitol Expressway Oct. 17 that injured three people aboard a small plane that had taken off from Reid-Hillview.

The incidents have renewed concerns in a neighborhood where residents have spent years pushing to close the county-owned airport. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted in 2020 to begin planning for its closure and repurposing of the property, but 2031 is the earliest possible closure date due to federal obligations.

“Our families are still waiting for an answer about what happens between now and then,” Dilza Gonzalez, an East San Jose resident and organizer with SOMOS Mayfair, said at the news conference.

https://sanjosespotlight.com/residents-renew-calls-to-close-east-san-jose-airport-after-recent-crashes/

Dolores Huerta, the pioneering labor organizer who co-founded the United Farm Workers and spent decades fighting for farmworkers’ rights, has died at 96, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape San Jose and the South Bay.

10/29/2026

Dolores Huerta’s legacy will forever shape Silicon Valley

Dolores Huerta, the pioneering labor organizer who co-founded the United Farm Workers and spent decades fighting for farmworkers’ rights, has died at 96, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape San Jose and the South Bay.

Huerta’s influence in the region lives on through generations of organizers who fought alongside her, community groups inspired by her rallying cry “¡Sí, se puede!” and local leaders who worked with her to advance farmworkers’ rights. Her death also comes as communities reckon with the legacy of the farmworker movement following her revelations earlier this year that César Chávez, her longtime colleague and United Farm Workers co-founder, sexually abused her.

Huerta was born Dolores Clara Fernández on April 10, 1930, in Dawson, a mining town in northern New Mexico. Her father, Juan Fernández, worked as a farmworker and miner and was a union activist. Her parents divorced when she was 3 years old, and her mother moved Huerta and her two brothers to Stockton, where she spent most of her childhood. Her mother’s compassion for working families and involvement in community affairs helped shape Huerta’s own commitment to activism.

“She never gave up working for the poor,” Ramon Martinez, secretary of the La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley, told San José Spotlight. “Even in her 90s, she was out making speeches and endorsements.”

Dolores Huerta, the pioneering labor organizer who co-founded the United Farm Workers and spent decades fighting for farmworkers’ rights, has died at 96, leaving behind a legacy that continues to shape San Jose and the South Bay.