The San Jose Blog

5th Annual SubZERO Festival This Friday @ SoFA!!!

2012-05-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

The ultimate South First Friday is happening this week on June 1st from 6pm to midnight... SubZERO ! In addition to all of the art venues in SoFA being open late, there is live music on 3 different stages, an epic number of street artists and vendors, 10 food trucks, a craft beer tasting garden, and tons of surprises at every corner. If you only come out to a single South First Friday a year, this is the one.

ANNO DOMINI's STAGE with Emcee "Mighty" Mike McGee
(South First St. btwn San Carlos & San Salvador Streets)

6:30-7:10pm FIERCE CREATURES
7:30-8:15pm SAN FRANCESCA
8:45-9:30pm MONSTERS CALLING HOME
10:00-10:45pm FORREST DAY
11:15-11:45 STREET DRUM CORPS

WILLIAM STREET STAGE hosted by Grand Fanali
(South First St. btwn Williams & Reed Streets)

Justin Morales (aka Seabright) is a deejay from KSCU. He will be filling in the gaps with good sounds all night.

6:00-6:45pm COMFORT SLACKS
7:10-8:10pm MINIBOSSES
8:30-9:15pm CURIOUS QUAIL
9:45-10:20 FLESH WEAPON
10:50-11:30 DRU

SECRET GARDEN STAGE
(San Salvador St. btwn South First & Market Streets)

7:00-7:45pm TBA
8:00-8:45pm DREAM HOUSE
9:00-9:45pm VIDA KILLZ
10:00-10:45pm DIRTY PILLOWS

FOOD TRUCKS + MORE

Barefoot Coffee
Bill's Hot Dogs
Mini Yums
MoBowl
MoGo BBQ
Soulnese
Treatbot
O Mi Ninja
Quick Dog
The WOW Truck

Better Brew Tasting Garden

Lagunitas presents Better Brew Tasting hosted by BetterBeerBlog

Participating Breweries:

Bay Brewers Guild
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Rock Bottom Brewing
Strike Brewing Co.
Tied House Brewery & Café / Hermitage Brewing
Uncommon Brewers
Peter B's Brewpub
Seabright Brewery*
Stone Brewing Company
Campbell Brewing Company*
Santa Cruz Ale Works*
Rabbit's Foot Meadery*
Gordon Biersch Brewing Company*
Cedar Street Brewing*
Bay Brewers Guild
more to be announced ...

Improvements to The Alameda Kicking off Soon

2012-05-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Alameda near Downtown San Jose is about to get $3.9M worth of renovations. There will be new median strips, LED lighting, and safer crosswalks. Most of this will be paid for by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission with about 20% coming from the city of San Jose. The renovations kick off in September and will be capped off with a repaving of the entire street from the HP Pavilion to 880.

If the business owners along the strip are willing to pay for maintenance in the future, they may at some point also add flowing plants, new benches, and extensive landscaping across the sidewalks. After all this is completed, the Alameda could become a very nice walkable district. It's already home to many great retails spots, including The Usuals, Crema, La Dolce Velo, Wine Affairs, and The Arsenal.

Source: The Merc

"A Day in the Park" Event Today @ St. James Park

2012-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

There is a new grassroots organizations in town called IAMSANJOSE whose mission is to bring people together and revitalize San Jose. Their first focus area is St. James park, which has been a homeless refuge for years. They are planning on several events that will not only improve perception of the area, but raise money to clean up the park. All the proceeds from today's event are going to the Salvation Army in order to get the homeless around St. James park the help they need.

Today's event entitled "A Day in the Park" will feature 8 food trucks, live music, and raffles. For all the info keep on reading or have a peek at the IAMSANJOSE website over here.

DATE: May 27th, 2012
TIME: 12pm-5pm PT – 5 hours
LOCATION: St James Park, San Jose (2nd St and St James St, San Jose, CA 95113)

SAN JOSE, CA – New charitable organization, IAMSANJOSE, will launch
on Sunday, May 27th with a benefit event “A Day in the Park” at St. James Park.
IAMSANJOSE’s goal is to revitalize the City of San Jose, focusing first on the
city’s oldest park, St. James Park.

Sunday’s event will bring eight gourmet food trucks and live music to the park
and proceeds will benefit Salvation Army’s homeless services.

Our intent is to revitalize and reactivate the downtown area with initial
emphasis on St James Park. We plan to coordinate a series of events year round
that will bring not only an economic boost but a social rejuvenation to an area of
the city that has long needed it, said IAMSANJOSE co-founder Tin Le.

The estimated 2,000 attendees can expect a variety of food trucks to choose
from, live entertainment, vendors and raffles.

In recent months, we’ve worked with the community to see how we can revive
the park by suppressing criminality, addressing homelessness, and injecting
more family-friendly activity into the park. I’m thrilled that IAMSANJOSE co-
founders Tin Le, Sam Pak and Cary Inayoshi have brought their enthusiasm and
creativity to St. James Park, said Councilmember Sam Liccardo.

About IAMSANJOSE
IAMSANJOSE Mission Statement. IAMSANJOSE’s mission is a
community development movement that focuses in bringing people together
to benefit the city. Working together with various local business owners and
entrepreneurs, our goal is to revitalize the city of San Jose through large, fun,
social and creative fundraising events for local entities and charities.

About St. James Park
The City of San Jose’s St. James Park has a unique place in history as the city’s
oldest park. The park is surrounded by unique structures the Scottish Rite
Temple, the post office, state courthouse, and the St. Claire Club, all adjacent
to the oldest urban park in California’s oldest civil settlement. The park was
designed by America’s foremost landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead.
St. James Park is also home to many extraordinary events including marches and
rallies, Bobby Kennedy’s 1968 speech, the grisly lynchings, and performances
by presidents, poets and musicians.

Saturday Stats: Start-up Funding

2012-05-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Start-ups are the lifeblood of Silicon Valley, but historically start-up companies have not really flocked to San Jose. Usually they "graduate" to San Jose when they start needing substantial amounts of office space and resources. However, it looks like that is starting to change based on where the VC money is going.

In terms of Venture Capital invested in start-up companies regionally, San Jose did miserably in 2009. In the bay area they ranked 11th, behind Palo Alto and even San Carlos (!).

In 2011, San Jose clawed its way to 4th place with three quarters of a billion dollars invested between 43 companies:

1.) San Francisco - $2.87 billion
2.) Palo Alto - $1.3 billion
3.) Mountain View - $1.03 billion
4.) San Jose - $784.2 million

This is a trend that I think will continue for multiple reasons, but I think the top one is start-ups looking more for urbanized locations. That's why they are flocking to downtown Palo Alto, Mountain View, Campbell, SF, etc. Start-ups require a high-energy environment and employees working 80+ hour weeks expect instant access to the conveniences urban areas offer.

The good news is San Jose is urbanizing faster than any other city in Silicon Valley right now, and has ambitions plans to build future urban villages pretty much everywhere. Downtown is becoming a legitimate destination for incubators and startups, North First is going to explode over the next 2 decades, midtown is being built up, the area around the HP Pavilion is slated to become an "innovation district," and Santana Row is building mass amounts of office space. All of these areas have the potential to attract hot start-ups, especially as the perception of San Jose only being suburban dies off. To boot, we have the lowest housing costs (besides Gilroy) and best transportation infrastructure in the South Bay. I think we have a winning recipe and I'm really looking forward to seeing how the 2012 funding number stack up.

Source: SiliconBeat

San Jose Expands Smoking Ban

2012-05-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today new smoking laws go into effect that will make it even more difficult to light up in San Jose. Already there is a ban on smoking inside restaurants, bars, public buildings, city parks, within 25 feet to the entrance of a city library or community center, and in outdoor seating areas of sports centers.

Today's expansion also bans smoking in outdoor areas of restaurants and bars (pretty much most of Santana Row), in outdoor areas where people wait for services (Bus stops, ticket lines, ATMs, Food Trucks, etc.), and in outdoor common areas of condos, apartments, and mobile home parks.

Usually, I am against the government over-reaching on people's right to choose how they live their lives, but the exception is when those choices hurt others. Every time someone lights up a cigarette around other people, they are taking away their right to breath in clear air and are instead forcing cancer-causing pollutants into their lungs whether they like it or not. I see nothing wrong with smoking at home or with your friends, but I never got smoking in public. When I went to London and Paris last year, I have to say the the crazy amount of cigarette smoke everywhere really killed the ambiance on some of the most beautiful streets and cafes I have seen.

I think it's a smart move for San Jose and will hopefully make Downtown more attractive to families by removing smoking from a huge chunk of the streets.

Sake San Jose Today!

2012-05-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

A great event is happening tonight in Japantown for all the Sake lovers out there. The best part is that it's for a great cause! All the details are below:

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Sake San Jose combines sake tasting with a walk through Historic Japantown San Jose.

WHEN:	May 24, 2012 Registration – 4:30PM Opening Ceremony – 5:00PM Sake Tasting - 5:30PM-8:30PM
WHERE:	Japantown San Jose On Jackson Street Between 3rd and 7th Streets
TICKETS:	Early Bird – $40 General Admission (Day of Event) – $50

Join us for the 7th Annual Sake San Jose event on Thursday, May 24, 2012 from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Meet up with friends and family as you leisurely walk through historic Japantown San Jose (on Jackson Street, between 3rd and 7th Streets) alive with music to visit the many shops and businesses for a tasting of an assortment of both domestic and international sakes, all for a great cause. Kampai!

Registration opens at 4:30 PM with Opening Ceremony beginning at 5:00 PM.

Proceeds from Sake San Jose benefit Yu-Ai Kai Senior Service, a nonprofit senior center, in Japantown.

Wednesday Wishlist: Guadalupe River Lit With LEDs

2012-05-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

In central Tokyo, Panasonic kicked off the inaugural Tokyo Hataru (firefly) festival by sending 100,000 solar powered LED light spheres down the Sumida River. This is also pays homage to the tradition in Japan of floating candles on the water. After seeing this, I couldn't help to think of how cool it would be to see something like this in San Jose--perhaps along the Guadalupe river or one of the lakes in San Jose. After all, we are sister cities with Okayama and have one of the three remaining Japantowns in the US.

Source: Engadget

Sama Zama is Coming to the San Pedro Square Market!

2012-05-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yet another innovative concept is coming to the San Pedro Square Market. Shawn Mckenna--who has worked at 5 different Michelin Star rated restaurants--is opening up an eatery focused on healthy salads, soups, and sandwiches on freshly baked bread. His real specialty is going to be the soups, which sound phenomenal in the video below. All of the vegetables and proteins in the soups will be cooked to order and any pasta used in the soup will be made from scratch daily.

For dinner, he's going to put those 12 years of michelin-rated experience to use with innovative tapas-style small plates that will change regularly.

Sama Zama will be located across from Pizza Bocca Lupo in the El Dorado building. Along with Loteria Taco Bar, they will bring this building to full occupancy. The Lusardi building behind the Peralta Adobe has a lot of things coming as well, and i'll provide some more details about that in a separate post later on.

1 Million Square Foot Office Campus Coming to North First

2012-05-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ellis Partners is planning to build a massive Class A office campus on Orchard Parkway called 101 Tech. Currently Atmel is headquartered here in a two story building, which they are vacating in June. The plan is the renovate that building and then build 3 new 6 story buildings and a 1500 space parking garage. The total size of usable space is 956,000 sqft, making it one of the largest office developments in the Bay Area.

This location has immediate access to Light-rail, SJC, 101, and 87 and is surrounded by flagship offices for some of the largest tech companies in the world.

Source: SJBJ

Tyson Johnston at Empire Seven

2012-05-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Back in 2009, Tyson Johnston was part of the group show at E7S called "Eaten by Wolves". His new body of work is intense and his bold illustrations layered on top of Jackson Pollock's type backgrounds are just a preview of what's to come. Tyson's current body of work incorporates alot more animals and symbolic weapons from different regions of the world. He refers to his passion for old films like Clash of the Titans. This is just one of the classics he enjoys 'til this day since it's something he watched as a kid. "The title of the show really doesn't have anything to do with the actual paintings " Tyson says. "It's just a catchy title because of the movie. However there will be some Greek mythical influences through some just to make it more fun".

Wrath of Andromeda by Tyson Johnston is on view Wednesday & Fridays noon-6pm and by appointment, May 11–25.

Empire Seven Studio
525 No. 7th Street
San Jose, CA
www.empiresevenstudios.blogspot.com/

Asian American Heritage Month at History Park Sunday, May 20 from 11 AM to 4 PM

2012-05-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

San Jose Taiko’s Junior Taiko Performing Ensemble

to Perform at 2 PM

San José, CA – April 30, 2012 – May is Asian American Heritage Month and History San José will host a spectrum of activities at History Park on Sunday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

To celebrate May as Asian American Heritage, and in partnership with HSJ, San Jose Taiko’s youth program, the Junior Taiko Performing Ensemble, will perform at 2 PM. There also will be Samarai hat-making, Vietnamese lanterns, Chinese drums and more.

Also Dig Into San José’s Past with Stanford Archaeology Center students at History Park. The students will assist visitors by conducting a mock excavation, screening, artifact identification and artifact reconstruction.

This family educational program will allow individuals to collect stickers for each activity to place in Archaeology Passports and become ‘certified’ as a Junior Archaeologist. The trolley will be available for a ride around the park, as well as handcar rides. Other activities will include visits to the Print Shop and live music by Fiddle Road throughout the afternoon.

Making fish kites will help celebrate Japanese Children’s Day, and Chinese dragon hats will coincide with the reading of Chinese folk tales, such as Tales of a Chinese Grandmother.

Coincidentally, this year on May 4^th marks the 125^th anniversary of the fire that destroyed downtown San José’s Chinatown, where today’s Fairmont Hotel stands on Market Street. John Heinlen, a local businessman, braved death threats to lease property to the displaced Chinese people at Taylor and Sixth Streets. It then became known as Heinlenville, in what is today’s Japantown in San Jose.

As affiliates of History San José, the Ng Ching Gung of the Chinese Heritage Cultural Project (CHCP) and the Immigrant Resettlement & Cultural Center (IRCC), the Museum of the Boat People & Republic of Vietnam , located inside History Park, will be open.

For more information call 408 918-1047 or visit www.historysanjose.org

# # #

About History San José:

History San José is a non-profit organization that collects, preserves and celebrates the stories of diversity and innovation in San José and the Santa Clara Valley. HSJ manages one of the largest and most comprehensive regional history collections in the State of California, from 1784 Spanish governmental records to twenty-first century Silicon Valley technology.

History San José 1650 Senter Road San José, CA 95112 408.287.2290

www.historysanjose.org

Downtown San Jose Event: Arts and Crafts Fair!

2012-05-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

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The forecast is Sunny and just in time too because we are happy to announce that from 10 am- 4pm on May 20^th, at San Pedro Square Market you can come and enjoy the arts and crafts fair put on by TFM Endeavors. It is a way for local artists to show off their talent! Come enjoy original handmade arts and crafts and even get a chance to purchase these unique items for yourselves or give them as gifts! It is for all ages so bring the family and there is no cost at all! We look forward to seeing you here rain or shine!

May 2012 Downtown Dimension Highlights

2012-05-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded the Downtown Doors program a $25,000 grant. Zero1 and MACLA also received funding.
Lots of great events are happening downtown this summer:

Starlight Cinemas
Dine Downtown
Family Day at the San Jose Museum of Art

Starting May 15th, the Downtwown PBID is bringing 2 off-duty police officers to patrol down time 4 hours a days, 4-5 times per week. The main goal is to reduce "quality-of-life" crimes, respond to calls from business/property owners, and work with Growndwerx to assist Downtown patrons.
1stACT has developed a Small Wonders Innovation Fund for projects to activate Downtown streets such as new events, exhibits, interactive projectsions, art projects, and live performances.
The SJDA and San Jose Jazz are joining forces to expand the 32nd annual Blues Festival on July 14th at St. James Park.
The Friday Farmer's Market is back for it's 20th Season! It is located along San Pedro Square. (There is also a new Saturday Market, you have 2 to choose from!)
Back A Yard Caribbean American Grill is now open and features authentic Jerk Chicken.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

New High-Rise Construction Update

2012-05-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

I just received some info from the SJ Downtown Residents Association Newsletter that I think you are all going to enjoy. It looks like we'll finally have a crane back in Downtown San Jose this year. A new 22-story Barry Swenson apartment building that is going to be between Axis and the San Pedro Square Market has been approved and sounds like it is moving forward. More info below (sign up for this newsletter here) along with renderings of the building.

Hat-tip to Jeff for sending in the info!

CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

Single digit vacancy rate for rentals always leads to new construction in densely populated areas and downtown San Jose is no exception. A recent discussion with Councilmember Sam Liccardo shed new light on projects in the works...and the truth about others that, until now, were just rumors. First, while there is definite interest in the lot between The 88 and The Rep, as well as the SW corner of Santa Clara and Market Street, nothing, according to Liccardo, will happen until the market improves.

Currently, all parties are "simply too far apart," he says.

New apartment construction however, has already been approved to move forward, including three residential high rises: 1. A six-story affordable housing facility for up to 135 residents will be built on Bassett Street, on the east side of the Market Street overpass and west of N San Pedro. The First Community Housing project will be Leed Certified; 2. A six-story Barry Swenson project will be built just on the other side of the Market Street overpass, north of Julian; 3. The largest of the three-also a Barry Swenson project-will include market rate, high-end units and top off at 22 stories near Axis and Andy's Pet Shop. This construction project is expected to also trigger the long awaited Julian Street renovation.

"Look for cranes in the air by year's end," said Liccardo.

Two Buck Tuesday Today!

2012-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Join us at KALEID Gallery for this upcoming Two Buck Tuesday!
Come enjoy an inspired evening of art demos, performances, live painting, $2 art & quirky people get together!
Here's some of what you have to look forward to this time:

Two Buck regular Nicolas Caesar invites the public to his Monster Mash-up. Mad Scientists of all ages get a chance to illustrate, invent or remix a monster with the encouragement of Nik’s demented eye. Most people may know Nik from TV20’s Creepy Kofy Movie Time, as the artist and curator of Scream 4, as well as Fearnet’s Holiday Fear Finds. Also on display will be several remixes Nik did from Arroyo High School students monsters.

Brande Barrett will demonstrate how to make art into glass pendants.

The San Jose Yarnbombers will show you how to make a simple yarn flower with a loom. Supplies will be provided.

Fun stencil making workshop with Michele Guieu: make a stencil (or more!) and compose a cool page using different acrylic colors applied with a foam stencil brush. Kids welcome. All material provided.

David Mejia will draw your portrait on the spot for a small fee.
LIVE ART BY: Matthew McHan,  Jean Davis,  John Hageman
Live acoustic set by Mr. Philthy and Friends

Also enjoy Live Improvisational Belly Dance by Nour EL Ain!
Tuesday, May 15th, 7-10pm  It's free and open to all ages!

88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)
San Jose, CA
info@KALEIDGallery.com
408-947-1785
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, noon -7pm, free admission

Chick-fil-A Officially Coming to San Jose! PART 2

2012-05-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

I have some additional updates from an event today regarding the Chick-fil-A coming to @First on July 26th. It's going to be the first restaurant in San Jose to be LEED certified (extremely energy efficient). They also are already planning another restaurant this year in Walnut Creek and are shooting for 3-5 new Bay Area restaurants a year.

Lastly, they have an interesting event tied to the launch where 100 people will get a year's supply of Chick-fil-A. Details below:

Chick-fil-A will celebrate the grand opening of the new San Jose restaurant by giving away a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A meals (52 certificates) to the first 100 adults in line on opening day. The “First 100” celebration draws Chick-fil-A raving fans up to 24 hours in advance. They arrive with tents, air beds, TVs, lap top computers, gaming systems and other activities to pass the time while camping out overnight. Since the event began in October 2003, Chick-fil-A has given away more than $16 million in free food.

The new restaurant is one of 92 locations the chain plans to open across the country in 2012, creating nearly 7,000 new jobs. Despite the challenging economy, Chick-fil-A continued to grow in 2011, reporting record-setting annual sales of more than $4 billion, representing a 13 percent increase over 2010 and the 44^th consecutive year of sales growth since the company began in 1967.

Chick-fil-A topped large chain category in Zagat’s 2011 National Fast Food Restaurant Survey that measured the opinions of 6,000 consumers covering 103 chains. With each chain being rated on its quality of food, service and facilities, the survey scored Chick-fil-A first in service and the chargrilled sandwich categories; and second in the areas of food, best drive-thru, most child friendly, and facilities. In 2011, Chick-fil-A also received Consumer Reports Top Chicken Chain for food and service.

Chick-fil-A Officially Coming to San Jose!

2012-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

The most eagerly awaited restaurant at the @First development (North First and 237) would have to be Chick-fil-A. There have been many discussions back and forth on whether this restaurant was even going to make it to the South Bay, but today I'm happy to confirm that it's going to happen. I even have a launch date for everyone: July 26th. ~~This will be the very first Chick-fil-A in the Bay Area~~ Correction: This will be the first stand-alone Chick-fil-A (non-mall) within 60 miles of San Jose. There is one in Fairfield, which is technically part of the Bay Area.

Mother's Day Dining Ideas

2012-05-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

For some great Mother's Day food options, check out EatDrinkPlaySanJose.com. The Fairmont in Downtown San Jose has a great brunch as does LB Steak and Village California Bistro in Santana Row. There's also a Champagne Buffet over at Il Fornaoio. For all the details, click here!

Village California Bistro, Credits: EatDrinkPlaySanJose.com

Double Carpool Lanes Coming to the South Bay

2012-05-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

The first double carpool lanes in Northern California are going to be built in a 3 mile stretch on 101 between 85 and Embarcadero in Palo Alto. These are extremely rare (had a real hard time finding a photo) and exist on just a few freeways in SoCal.

Eventually these will become double toll lanes, which is part of a much larger project to create double toll lanes stretching from Morgan Hill through San Jose and up to San Mateo. Toll lanes allow single drivers in the carpool lane for a fee that increases with higher congestion. So far the only toll lane in San Jose proper is along 237.

Highway 85 is also going to get the double toll lane treatment as soon as 2015 and 880 is going get it's first carpool lane in each direction between 101 and 237.

Source: Marin Independent Journal

Downtown San Jose Murals

2012-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

From the SJDA website:

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Keep an eye out for a collection of murals covering the walls and adding color to the downtown landscape. The murals celebrate the people and places that make San Jose, Silicon Valley and California great. A walk along First Street will reveal most of these murals. See how many you can find.

	Artist: Location: Corner of E San Salvador and S First St. Behind Studio Theater building. 2009

Artist: Location: Corner of E San Salvador and S First St. Behind Studio Theater building‎. 2009

	Homage Artist: Chris Duncan & Paul Urich Location: Corner of E Santa Clara & Fourth Street 2005

Artist: Anno Domini Location: Anno Domini Corner of W San Carlos and S First St. Opposite California Theatre San Jose.

	Artist: Location: Fountain Alley Parking Lot, off Second Street between Santa Clara and San Fernando. On wall of San Jose Bar and Grill. 2008

Artist: Morocco's Location: At the corner of W St John St. & N Market St.

	Artist: Lorna Sulgit Location: St. John and Notre Dame streets, on the wall of the former Rosicrucian Press building 2011

Artist: Lorna Sulgit Location: St. John and Notre Dame streets, on the wall of the former Rosicrucian Press building 2011

	Artist: Lorna Sulgit Location: St. John and Notre Dame streets, on the wall of the former Rosicrucian Press building 2011

Artist: Lorna Sulgit Location: St. John and Notre Dame streets, on the wall of the former Rosicrucian Press building 2011

	Artist: Lorna Sulgit Location: St. John and Notre Dame streets, on the wall of the former Rosicrucian Press building 2011

Artist: Paul Gonzalez Location: On the fence of the former Porter Stock Building

	Artist: Paul Gonzalez Location: On the fence of the former Porter Stock Building

Artist: Jet Martinez Location: Parking lot of the Robert F. Peckman Federal Building, South First St.

	A Place in Mind Artist: Jose Arenas Location: On the wall of Miami Beach club, Corner of E San Salvador and S First St. 2009

A Place in Mind Artist: Jose Arenas Location: On the wall of Miami Beach club, Corner of E San Salvador and S First St. 2009

	A Place in Mind Artist: Jose Arenas Location: On the wall of Miami Beach club, Corner of E San Salvador and S First St. 2009

A Place in Mind Artist: Jose Arenas Location: On the wall of Miami Beach club, corner of E San Salvador and S First St. 2009

	Shades of San Jose Artist: Joey Piziali Location: SoFA Parking lot 2010

Shades of San Jose Artist: Joey Piziali Location: SoFA Parking lot 2010

5 Strawberry Tips Courtesy of the Veggie Box

2012-05-10T15:52:00.001-07:00

Did you know that strawberries had shoulders? I had no idea that's what the top of the strawberry was called, let alone that a strawberry is considered ripe when the red color reaches all the way to the top of the shoulders near the sepals (leafy bits) ... Just throwing down some of the knowledge I learned by watching this video from our friends over at the Veggie Box, located at the San Pedro Market Square in Downtown San Jose.

So, tomorrow, during the Farmer's Market, check out the Veggie Box and buy yourself some juicy strawberries! (And if you use them in some kind of tasty-delicious recipe, share that with us!)

The San Jose Blog Turns 3!

2012-05-10T05:10:00.000-07:00

After 3 years, over 1100 posts, and half a million visits... I'm going to take a moment to go back to the original premise of this blog--to show that San Jose is a world-class city. But how the heck do you measure world-class? It seems like something that is completely subjective.

Well, it turns out that there is an organization called GaWC that objectively defines, categorizes, and ranks "global cities" based on multiple criteria. They are also based out of the UK, further increasing objectivity when it comes to US cities. Their criteria for global cities includes:

Economic characteristics: corporate headquarters, financial output, number of financial services companies, cost of living, etc.
Political characteristics: influence on and participation in international events and world affairs, hosting headquarters for international organizations, demographic diversity, etc.
Cultural characteristics: museums, galleries, film festivals, professional sports teams, educational institutions, tourism, historic features, etc.
Infrastructural characteristics: advanced transportation systems, mass transit, major international airports, communications, hospitals, prominent skylines, etc.

Their research is legitimate and well respected internationally. They have 4 different levels of global cities:

Alpha Cities - very important world cities that link major economic regions and states into the global economy
Beta Cities - important world cities that link their region or state into the world economy
Gamma Cities - world cities linking smaller regions or states into the world economy
Sufficiency Cities - There are NOT considered world cities, but have sufficient services so as to not be overtly dependent on world cities

Each "global city" category is further subdivided into normal, plus, or minus... similar to letter grades in school. Sufficient cities can either have a "sufficiency" or "high sufficiency" ranking.

Okay, now the real question... how has San Jose done based upon the research?

2000 Rankings: High Sufficiency

2004 Rankings: High Sufficiency

2008 Rankings: Sufficiency

2010 Rankings: Gamma+

There you have it folks. In the latest rankings, San Jose is now objectively considered to be a world-class city for the first time. I've said many times before that we're on a great trajectory, and now there is even scientific data to back it up. The future is only going to get brighter and there is so much to look forward to. Soon we'll have new teams to root for (Earthquakes, A's, and the South Bay 49ers), more transit options (BART, BRT, Zipcar), and tons of development projects Downtown, Midtown, and on North First.

Thanks for reading and for any and all contributions you make towards making our city a better place!

Wednesday Wishlist: 3D Street Art

2012-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

I think this is the level of street art we should be shooting for! These types of projects add character and get people to come check it out, interact with the art, and show the photos off to their friends. Check out the images below which are not photoshopped or doctored in any way as well as the "making of" video.

Dishwalk With Dishcrawl And Food Social

2012-05-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

Try 10 dishes in Downtown SJ on a Saturday, followed by a Food Social reception of foodpreneurs at 4pm! This is a self guided tour through 10 restaurants.

Saturday, May 12th from 2-5pm. Tickets are $29 online, $39 the day of.

Participating restaurants are: Little Chef Counter, Vino Vino, La Pinata, Sonoma Chicken Coop, Sabor, Myth, Firehouse, On a Roll, CreParis, Food Social's Halal.

Dishwalk drink specials for $2-4 from the restaurants while you're eating away.

Experience a self-guided tour of food littered with acoustic artist popups all afternoon in Downtown San Jose's San Pedro Square.

Artists confirmed: Paul Kimball (Careless Hearts), Kaila D'Sa, Vivienne Castillo, Nate Castillo We eat and drink rain or shine.

Email hi@dishcrawl.com with questions.

Please Note: The registration/meeting location will be revealed to all ticket-holders 48 hours before the event via email. Strictly vegetarian options will not be available for this event. We're sorry, but cancellations are only taken if given 48 hours in advance. Thanks for understanding!

Food is included, drinks are CASH, so make sure to bring some. :)

Click here for tickets!

San Jose Budget May See Surplus in 2012-2013 Fiscal Year

2012-05-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

After 10 years of budget deficits, service cuts, and layoffs... it looks like we may have finally turned a corner. In the budget year beginning July 1st, San Jose has a $9M budget surplus. This means that the city will be able to staff 4 new libraries, a community center, Lake Cunningham Skate Park, and maintain programs to suppress gang activity.

For all of the details, just check out the source link below!

Source: The Merc