Article: Optimism waning in Silicon Valley?; Santa Clara County loses 231,000 jobs in less than 4 years, report indicates

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Social worker Luisa Chavarin thought she had left unemployment and crime behind when she emigrated from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Silicon Valley, the epicenter of the global technology industry.

But a four-year economic slump, combined with draconian reductions in state and federal funding, shuttered her 13-year-old son's after- school program. Because of budget cuts, trash piles up at her local park and graffiti does not get painted over.

Everywhere around her are signs that her neighborhood is regressing, from abandoned cars to sidewalks blocked by rusty grocery carts.

"Nobody in our community is feeling optimistic," said Chavarin, 38, who coordinates youth programs at a ...

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