New Year Predictions for 2013

2012 has been a good year for San Jose. The San Pedro Square Market has exploded, showing everyone that it is possible to have a successful new project in Downtown San Jose. The 49ers stadium and Earthquakes stadiums broke ground, both of which will contribute heavily to expanding our entertainment options and attract more tourism dollars into Silicon Valley. A flagship retailer, Muji, announced plans to come Downtown. The overall economy improved, unemployment fell, and millions of square feet of new office space are in the pipeline.

So what will 2013 bring? I think it's only going to get better, regardless of what happens with the fiscal cliff. Specifically, here are my predictions for the new year:

1.) More than two high-rise buildings will break ground in Downtown San Jose. We know about the Carlyle and One South Market, but I think we will see at least one more.

2.) A major transportation project will be greenlit: be it a BRT line, a Lightrail Expansion, or funding for the subway portion of the BART expansion to San Jose. The number of transit riders and bicyclists will rise.

3.) San Jose will have a stronger brand and identity by the end of the year. Many new cultural and art projects will happen Downtown, helping San Jose feel and look like the Capital of Silicon Valley.

4.) The Sharks will be back with a vengeance for the 2013-2014 Season.

5.) Downtown San Jose Office Vacancies will fall below 10%.

6.) The number of restaurants in Downtown San Jose will break 250 for the first time in history.

7.) We still have no decision on the A's stadium. However, you can expect a decision in 2014 before Bud Selig retires.

8.) San Jose will continue to dominate national rankings in salaries and quality of life.

9.) We will maintain our status as the safest US city with over 500,000 residents.

10.) The Golden Triangle and North First Street developments will accelerate, and we will attract at least one massive tech company to relocate to San Jose to compliment what is the largest cluster of tech companies in the world by a huge margin.

San Jose Marketing Consultant Launches Online Reality Show

15 "solopreneurs" are about to compete for $10,000 in an online reality show lead by Tea Silvestre, a San Jose Marketing Consultant. They will have to compete in weekly marketing challenges and are being mentored by a dozen industry experts. To learn more, have a look at the press release below or click here. The show premiers at the end of January.

BIGSTOCK signs on as Presenting Sponsor for Local Business Woman's Online Reality Show

If you've seen "The Amazing Race" or "Hell's Kitchen" then you're aware of how popular these reality TV competitions have become.

Welcome to "Prosperity’s Kitchen" -- a 12-week online marketing course structured like a reality TV show. Fifteen contestants will compete to win a $10,000 prize package. And BIGSTOCK, one of the world's leading royalty-free image companies, is the presenting sponsor.

PROSPERITY’S KITCHEN premieres this January and will feature 15 solopreneurs learning and competing for a $10,000 prize package. The contestants will be taught by 

Tea Silvestre, aka The Word Chef, a San Jose-based Marketing Consultant who will also be joined by 12 guest mentors including several authors and other influencers.

It is the first reality web sponsorship for BIGSTOCK, one of the leading royalty-free stock image companies serving the small biz community online.

“To have BIGSTOCK choose Prosperity’s Kitchen as their first reality web series sponsorship is an incredible tribute to our program,” said executive producer Tea Silvestre. “Their support will help us maintain the high quality mix of instruction and entertainment for the small biz audience that drew them to PROSPERITY’S KITCHEN in the first place."

“The PROSPERITY’S KITCHEN audience of solopreneurs and freelancers makes up a significant portion of the BIGSTOCK community – from the person who submits images to the designer or blogger who uses them,” says BIGSTOCK General Manager Ben Pfeifer. “Sponsoring this innovative program allows us to support both sides of this model, and encourage independent creativity through licensed visual media.”

As part of the partnership, BIGSTOCK will provide stock images to Prosperity’s Kitchen for their use in developing the series as well as prize packages of image assets for the program’s winners.

BIGSTOCK’s first “on-air” web sponsorship messages will begin on January 21st, with the broadcast of the first episode of “Prosperity’s Kitchen.” The company will also be part of an episode mid-season that talks about content creation and how to best-use stock images in marketing materials.

Funding for the Prosperity’s Kitchen series also is provided by Play-at-Home viewers, with additional support from BLUE HOST web hosting and ANYMEETING web meeting services.

Prosperity’s Kitchen is a Word Chef Enterprises production.

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ABOUT PROSPERITY’S KITCHEN

Prosperity’s Kitchen is a 12-week reality web edutainment series that aims to teach solopreneurs and micro business owners how to market themselves effectively online. Structured like a reality TV competition, 15 contestants will tackle weekly marketing missions in order to showcase what they’ve learned. The contestants are divided into teams of three and will be advised and mentored by Tea Silvestre, aka The Word Chef, as well as 12 other high profile marketing experts. The contestant who outperforms their cohorts will take home the $10,000 prize package (a mix of cash and prizes). Learn more at prosperityskitchen.com

ABOUT WORD CHEF ENTERPRISES

WCE is wholly owned and operated by Tea Silvestre of San Jose, CA. Tea is widely regarded as one of the top marketers in the world of small business. She’s the author of “Attract and Feed a Hungry Crowd: How Thinking Like a Chef Can Help You Build a Solid Business,” as well as the founding producer of the ground-breaking web series, “Prosperity’s Kitchen.”

Tea’s writing is often seen on some of the biggest blogs on the Internet, including Copyblogger, Problogger and MarketingProfs. She’s also a frequent speaker at entrepreneurial events across the globe. Learn more at thewordchef.com

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the 2nd Best City for Men

San Jose has been ranked the 2nd best city for men by Men's Health Magazine. Over 38 different criteria were used such as air quality, unemployment, cost of living, death rates, commute hours, property crime, and even the ratio of single men to women (which we did not do well in). After all was said and done, we got the silver medal with SF a step below at 3rd place. One other notable comment, out of all 100 cities evaluated San Jose had the lowest percentage of smokers.

Top 10 List

1 Boise, ID 
2 San Jose, CA 
3 San Francisco, CA 
4 Plano, TX 
5 Seattle, WA 
6 Burlington, VT 
7 Austin, TX 
8 Salt Lake City, UT 
9 Madison, WI 
10 Portland, OR

Read more at Men's Health: http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/best-cities-men/page/3#ixzz2Fp7z0mtI

Samsung Expanding New San Jose HQ to 1,100,000 SQFT?

Unless there is a typo in Samsung's press release below, it sounds like they have expanded their plans for a flagship campus in North San Jose! Instead of clocking in at 650,000 sqft, they are now aiming for over a million square feet. I'm not sure if all of that will arrive in the first phase or if they are planning to do another building in the future, but reading this sure was a nice surprise today.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media, digital convergence technologies and advanced semiconductor solutions, continues to expand its operations in Silicon Valley by investing more resources in its existing R&D centers and establishing new innovation centers.

Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. (SSI) announced plans to build a 1.1 million square foot sales and R&D headquarters on the current site of its semiconductor and display panel businesses, north of downtown San Jose. The building, designed by global architecture firm NBBJ, will be comprised of a 10-story tower, an amenity pavilion and parking garage. The design seeks to encourage interaction among staff, foster connections with the community and provide a space to attract employment in the highly competitive tech market, which is growing at a faster pace than overall employment.

Source: Engadget

Trumark is Building 94 Townhomes in East San Jose

Trumark and Resmark are building out 4.4 acres of land at 1328 North Capital Avenue. The project is called Centered on Capital and will feature 94 townhomes. The overall density is 21 homes per acre, which is pretty high. The project sits right between the North Capital and Berryessa Lightrail stations, both of which are less than a 5min walk away. The Berryessa Corners Shopping Center is also within walking distance.

Source: SJBJ

Joint Venture Index of Silicon Valley 2012

It turns out I never posted stats from the 2012 Joint Venture report evaluating the current status of our region. Here are a few of my favorite bits from the report:

• 42,000 jobs were added in the past year (2011)
• Silicon Valley employment increased 3.8% in 2011, versus 1.1% nationwide
• All major areas of economic activity experienced growth from 2010-2011, except for the "Other Manufacturing" category which includes space and defense manufacturing
• Patent registrations increased by 30%. Silicon Valley accounts for 49% of statewide patents and 12% of all patents in the country
• Venture investment in cleantech doubled over the previous year. Silicon Valley has 34% of the total California investment in cleantech
• 46% of 2011 IPOs were from Silicon Valley
• Half of the SV population speaks a language other than English at home.
• Between 2010 and 2011, Silicon Valley population increased by 1% (it was 0.7% for California)
• High school graduation rates increased by 1% to 88% (versus 81% in California)
• 43% of all Silicon Valley households now have household income over $100k (compared to 26% in California and 20% in the US)
• The regions solar capacity increased by 41% from 2010 to 2011 (versus 21% statewide)
• Transit ridership per capita increased 4.9% in 2011

Click here to read the entire report (Warning: PDF link).

Downtown San Jose is Getting Illuminated!

Here is a nice little Christmas present for all those that live, work, or play in Downtown San Jose. Two highway underpasses are about to get painted in LED artwork, which you can see below. The first is the main gateway to the Downtown San Jose core--where 87 passes over Santa Clara Street. This important area connects the HP Pavilion and Diridon Station with the rest of Downtown. Right now, it's pretty gloomy and can feel less than inviting if you are walking by yourself. However, that is about to change. Tons of LED lights donated by San Jose-based Philips Lumileds are going under the overpass along with colorful paint that will pop when hit by the lights.

The second underpass is the where 87 passes over San Fernando Street. This project is a bit more modest but the effect is the same. Artists are taking a gloomy overpass and turning it into an attraction. The photo shows blue and green lights, but with LEDs there is always a possibility of making the lighting dynamic.

All of this is made possible by a program called Illuminating Downtown, which received a $600k grant from ArtPlace America and other contributions from the SJDA. These first two lighting projects should be complete by fall 2013. I believe there will be two other areas that are getting lit as well, but am not 100% certain about that. In addition, they are also talking to high-rise residential apartment owners that are looking to illuminate their buildings (The 88 did a GREAT job with this and Axis isn't too shabby either).

I think this is a big step towards making San Jose look like the capital of Silicon Valley. Personally, I can't wait to see these two projects completed. This is showing that Downtown San Jose is moving in the right direction when it comes to public art and creating a more inviting atmosphere. Growdwerx is also doing a great job when it comes to lighting up parts of Downtown.

2013 is going to be a great year!

Source: SVBJ

Highway 87 & Santa Clara Street


Highway 87 & San Fernando Street

Merry Christmas!

Everyone at The San Jose Blog warmly wishes you and your family a great Holiday Season! Don't forget to check out our tree at Christmas in the Park =)

The VTA Holly Trolly is Back!

From the VTA Website

Feel it all over again on VTA's Holly Trolley! VTA will roll-out its Holly Trolley uniting the nostalgia of the past with the young and young at heart! Whether your plan is to visit Christmas in the Park, ice skate under the palms or dine in downtown San Jose's many restaurants, the Trolley will get you there and...the ride is FREE!

Operating between the Civic Center and San Jose Diridon light rail stations, the Trolley will surely get you and your family into the spirit of the season. The Holly Trolley will make its magical journey only during the holiday season, so be sure to Hop Onboard Today!

You can catch VTA's Free Holly Trolley every weekend*, from November 30 through December 30; Fridays from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. and weekends from 2:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

To get on board, stop by a Holly Trolley light rail station nearest you!  The Holly Trolley will travel through downtown San Jose with stops at the Civic Center Station through the San Jose Dirdon Transit Center. For a complete schedule, click on Schedule Information or call 408-321-2300.

VTA Holly Trolley Service Hours*

Fridays                             6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Saturdays & Sundays       2:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Look for more details on VTA's Facebook page and celebrate the season with VTA!

*Weather permitting.

Top San Jose Christmas Decorations 2012

This holiday season, be sure to check out Lights of the Valley to see the most decked out homes in San Jose. These are really something to visit in person and many even have light shows synchronized to music. The website has a handy map that lets you check which ones you want to see and prints out directions hitting all of those spots. Again, the Lights of the Valley website is right over here.

Happy Holidays!

Adobe Codebreaking Contest v2.0

Do you enjoy cryptography as a pastime? If so, this is the contest for you. Adobe has reset their "San Jose Semaphore" art project with a brand new contest. There are 4 rotating discs with LEDs on top of one of the Adobe towers. Every 7.2 seconds they spin to a specific orientation representing a piece of the code. In the 2006 contest, each rotation was a letter from the 1966 novel: "The Crying of Lot 49." For 2012, I imagine this may be an even greater challenge. They also have an online version of what is being displayed on the tower over here.

The winner gets a one-year subscription to the Adobe Creative Cloud. However, after seeing what was involved in cracking the 2006 code, I think a lifetime subscription and a job offer at Adobe would be more appropriate.

Source: Adobe

Saturday Stats: 2012 Meta Edition

I recently started a new Google doc to track Saturday Stats posts. I did not get all of them in there yet, but will be using this spreadsheet going forward. I thought it might be nice at the end of each year to look back and see what has been achieved. For 2012, I can tell you that reading all of the stats below back to back sounds pretty darn impressive.

You can either click on the image below to enlarge or access the Google doc directly over here.

The Civic Gets Branded

Remember when sports stadiums started selling naming rights? That same revenue stream is coming to an entertainment venue near you. City National Bank (CNB) is offering $1.2 million to add their name to the historic Civic auditorium across the street from the convention center. Most of this money would be used to continue to develop San Jose's key entertainment venues, which also include the Performing Arts Center.

A new name and logo will have to be crafted, and there are even plans to put that logo on the roof of the building for the overhead planes and Google Maps satellites. The names of the California Theater, the Montgomery Theater, and the Center for the Performing Arts may also be up for sale.

Source: SJBJ

Santana Row December 2012 Happenings And A Look Ahead to Early 2013

 

San Jose, CA – Holiday happiness and the spirit of giving can be found at Santana Row in December with events and celebrations that include the Menorah lighting ceremony and shopping specials that benefit local charities. 49ers star Vernon Davis opens Gallery 85, an art gallery, with a fundraising event on Dec. 10.

 

Shop, Enjoy and Give: Holiday Wine & Dine Around

A Benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank, Dec. 4, 11 and 18

Help those in need while you complete your holiday shopping during Santana Row’s “Shop, Enjoy & Give” event that benefits Second Harvest Food Bank. Purchase a $10 ticket on SantanaRow.com or at the Concierge center and receive complimentary food and wine tastings in Santana Row shops and restaurants between 6 and 8 p.m. Also included: a signature Santana Row wine glass and exclusive holiday shopping discounts. Bring a donation of canned food when you purchase your ticket and receive $2 off the ticket. (Customers must be 21 years or older.)

 

Santa Paws, a Benefit for Humane Society Silicon Valley, Dec. 9

Bring your canine and feline friends to Santana Row's Park Valencia for a keepsake photo with Santa Claus. Photos are $20 and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Humane Society Silicon Valley. Registration begins at 10:30 a.m. in Park Valencia. Photos are taken from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

Menorah Lighting at Santana Row Park, Dec. 9

Santana Row celebrates the first night of the Jewish Festival of Lights with Kosher treats, entertainment and activities that include decorating dreidels, Jewish story time, arts & crafts, giveaways and the lighting of the Menorah. The evening is co-hosted with the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley and The PJ Library. The celebration will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Santana Row Park.

Musical performances by Congregation Shir Hadash's Cantor Felder Levy and youth, Temple Emanu-El's children with Rabbi Magat and Cantor Simerley, Yavneh Day School choir, Congregation Beth David Religious School and Rabbi Ohriner, Congregation Sinai's children and Rabbi Berkenwald.

Grand opening of Gallery 85, 49ers Vernon Davis’ art gallery, Dec. 10

Top-ranked 49ers football player Vernon Davis introduces his new gallery with a private, grand opening event on Dec. 10. Gallery 85 will feature work by Davis as well as work by emerging visual artists. The grand opening party is a benefit for The Vernon Davis Foundation for the Arts (http://www.vernondavis.com/foundation/) which promotes arts education and art appreciation for at-risk youth and awards college art school scholarships to inner-city youth.

Best known as one of the NFLʼs elite pass-catching tight ends, Davis is also a talented, trained visual artist who majored in studio art at the University of Maryland.

Gallery 85 is located at 377 Santana Row, Suite 1180, San Jose.

 

Mommy & Me invite children to “Celebrate the Season,” Dec. 11

The last Mommy & Me for the season includes live entertainment from Andy Z, story time with Mrs. Claus, sampling from Happy Baby Brands, mini manicures from Lavande nail salon, a raffle from The Container Store, arts and crafts with Action Day Primary Plus, Balloon Animals and Face Painting and more!

When: 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Dec. 11 in the lobby of CineArts Theatre. Mommy & Me is a free kids’ club held on the second Tuesday of every month from May through December. For more information, call 408.551.4611 or visit www.SantanaRow.com.

 

Rainy Day Rewards, now through March 31, 2013

When there’s a 70 percent or greater chance for rain, shoppers and diners braving bad weather will be rewarded with discounts that include 15 percent off purchases at participating shops and restaurants, a free signature Santana Row golf umbrella for customers who spend $150 anywhere on The Row and a $20 gift certificate to a participating shop or restaurant for customers who spend $300 on a designated Rainy Day.

No need to get wet: On all rainy days, customers can pick up a complimentary umbrella to use while shopping and dining and then return it before leaving. The yellow umbrellas are conveniently located throughout The Row - outside Concierge, Via between Village California Bistro and Lark Creek Blue and the valet parking lot in the Winchester Parking

Garage.  

 

“One Warm Coat” Drop-off at Santana Row Continues Through Dec. 31

Donate a new or gently used coat and it will be given to a needy family this winter.  Drop-off locations include CineArts Theatre, Crate & Barrel, Sur La Table and the Santana Row Concierge. The charity coat drive continues through Dec. 31.

For more information: call 408.551.4611 or visit www.santanarow.com.

 

Santana Row holiday hours:

Christmas Eve: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Christmas: Closed

New Year’s Eve: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

New Year’s Day: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

New Year’s Eve Overnight Package at Hotel Valencia, Dec. 31

Ring in the new year with elegance and style at Hotel Valencia with a package for two that includes Piper Heidsieck champagne upon arrival, the Valencia Gala party with a live band, DJ and party favors, champagne toast and dessert at midnight, a deluxe breakfast on the first day of 2013 and a late 2 p.m. checkout. Rates begin at $350. Call 408.423.5405 for more information. The New Year’s Eve package requires advance reservations, pre-payment and is non-refundable after December 28, 2012.

 

New Year's Eve: Savor the Night Dinner Package, Dec. 31

Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Citrus restaurant with a five-course experience created by Executive Chef Robert Sapirman.

Dinner package also includes admission to the New Year’s Eve Valencia party, which features a live band, DJ, party favors, champagne toast & midnight dessert. 

Price is $125 per person and non-refundable after Dec 21, 2012. Reservations required, call 408.423.5405.

 

Wine & Dine Around Benefit for the American Heart Association, Feb. 16

More than a dozen Santana Row shops and restaurants host exclusive in-store events with complimentary wine and food pairings and incredible one-time discounts available only to ticketholders, all to benefit the American Heart Association.  From 2-3 p.m. the Wine Stroll will begin on Olin Avenue Drive.  Tickets are $30 and include access to all in-store events, Heart Card shopping pass, wine bottle tote bag and a signature Santana Row wine glass.  Tickets available in person at the Santana Row Concierge or online at santanarow.com.

 

Chinese New Year Celebration, March 2

Santana Row welcomes the Year of the Snake with an afternoon of Chinese New Year festivities, including the exciting drumbeats and crashing cymbals of the Dragon and Lion dances, other traditional Chinese performances, Korean dance, martial arts, fashion shows and more. 

 

408K Race to the Row, a Benefit for the Pat Tillman Foundation,-- March 10 

The eight-kilometer road race that benefits the Pat Tillman Foundation and its Team Tillman initiative is winding through the streets of San Jose for the second year. It starts at HP Pavilion and ends at Santana Row. The inaugural event last year sold out with more than 3,000 runners, the country’s largest 8K run.

For information: www.run408k.com. Sponsors and volunteer groups can make inquiries at sponsors@the408k.com.

 

On The Horizon at The Row

Madewell, an iconic American retailer as well as a brand coveted by fashion conscious women and men, is scheduled to open in Spring, 2013. The 3,500 square-foot shop will occupy a portion of the space that was the former H&M store before its recent move to a larger building. Madewell, established in 1937 as a dry goods emporium, will offer a wide range of effortlessly cool pieces. Chic yet comfy apparel includes soft chambray shirts, broken-in tees, leather boots, accessories and bags..

Splendid, another label noted for its informal stylishness, is slated to open a 2,000 square-foot boutique next to Madewell in late spring. Known for its luxuriously soft tops and T-shirts, the offerings for men, women and children are a perfect fit for Silicon Valley: richly casual.

 

Renovations Coming to The Row

Gucci, the luxury brand which recently marked a decade at Santana Row, will undergo a complete interior remodel along with façade enhancement beginning in the summer 2013. The work will be completed in time for the 2013 holiday season.

 

Also undergoing a renovation next year is Tommy Bahama, purveyor of island lifestyles and maker of clothing and accessories that reflect island ambiance.

10 Almaden Pulls a Hat Trick

After PriceWaterhouseCoopers moved to the shiny blue Sobrato tower, it left a 160,000 sqft vacancy in the 10 Almaden building. While it was good news that the Sobrato tower finally got a tenant, I remember a few people commenting that they would rather have kept foot traffic in the central part of Downtown instead of having it relocate to the outskirts. Well, it looks like 10 Almaden is quickly filling back up again.

Over the last few weeks Equity Office signed 3 major tenants which will gobble up 70,000 sqft in the high-rise:

• Move Inc. (32,405 sqft) - operates Realtor.com and other real estate sites
• Malewarebytes (21,924 sqft) - anti-malware solutions provider for both businesses and consumers
• Rosetta (11,640 sqft) - a brand within the global ad group Publicis

With these leases, Downtown San Jose will likely close out 2012 with office vacancies below 20% (in 2011 they were 27%). If we can get down to about 10%, we may start seeing some speculative building of office space Downtown.

Source: SJBJ

Content Magazine's 4.5 "Ritual" Issue on Newsstands December 21st, Party on December 20th

The latest version of Content Magazine is going to be out this month and they are hosting another Pick up Party in a couple days. You can swing by, enjoy $5 Martinis and meet some of the people featured in the magazine. There aren't many publications of there that would consistently do events like this, so let's make sure to support Content and help promote San Jose culture!

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Pick Up Party for Subscribers and General Public at TANQ on December 20, 6-8PM

Content Magazine’s 4.5 “RITUAL” Issue of 2012 is hitting the newsstands on December 21, featuring interviews with local skateboarding legend Steve Caballero, SJ Earthquakes’ goalkeeper Jon Busch, NBC news anchor Laura Garcia Cannon, storyteller Nancy Duarte of Duarte Design, Ballet San Jose dancer Damir Emric, "the man behind Christmas in the Park" and more.

It’s become a tradition for Content Magazine to host a Pick Up Party for subscribers to collect the latest issue, and this one is no different. Issue 4.5’s Pick Up Party will be held at TANQ on December 20 from 6-8pm. Located on the corner of Market and San Carlos, TANQ is offering $5 martinis to all magazine subscribers. TANQ and the Pick Up Party are open to current subscribers as well as anyone interested in buying the latest copy, meeting the staff behind Content Magazine, or meeting the people featured in this issue. Members of the press are invited to RSVP and will receive a complimentary magazine.

Content Magazine can be found at Zanotto’s in Willow Glen and Rose Garden, Saint Clair Newsstand, La Lune Sucree, The Usuals, Satori Tea Company, Art Boutiki, and the San Pedro Square Market Gift Shop. Content Magazine can also be downloaded in electronic form from their website. Annual subscriptions are $42; available online.

Content Magazine is a bi-monthly publication devoted to the creative and innovative culture of San Jose. Started by fashion photographer Daniel Garcia in 2008, the magazine strives to showcase and promote individuals and businesses that are making San Jose a dynamic and vibrant place to live and play.  

For more information about Content Magazine, Issue 4.5, or to schedule an interview with Daniel Garcia, please email Flora Moreno de Thompson at flora@content-magazine.com or call Flora at 408.643.9975.

TWO BUCK Tuesday Dec. 18th!

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

Join us at KALEID Gallery for this upcoming TWO BUCK Tuesday, December 18th, 7pm-10pm!
Come enjoy an inspired evening of performances, live painting, $2 art, drop-in sketching table & quirky people get together! It’s open to all ages and free! While you're here, you can enjoy our annual Hark! exhibit of over 50 regional artists with small works priced for gift giving.


Here’s some of the great things to see and do this time:


Is there common iconography in the Kolam and Rangoli of India; Celticknots; universal ancient flower/tree of life; sandpainting of NativeAmericans, Tibetan and Buddhist monks? is it even appropriate for aborn in USA white guy to explore such traditions? Watch Matthew Bailey Seigel create art of luck and life paths. Finished works are then given away for free to those that visit, limited to those created on location. Ongoing examples, information, documentation and live posting of event: http://raccoon.zapd.com/art4luck


Lara Sophia's Costumed Live Models will be posing for us, so bring those pads and pencils and join in some figure drawing!


Question: last minute gifts/wrapping? answer: origami! by Maria. Come by the KALEID origami table to fold (or buy) away all your last minute holiday troubles.

LIVE ART BY:

Michelle Waters


Andre Hart


Force 129


Lydia Rae Black


Al Preciado & Friends


Nik Caesar


David Mejia will draw your portrait!


John Hageman


Brande Barrett


Carlos Lee Cruz


Emonic will have $2 sketch art / posters, and $20 original art works available


Live music by: Dan & Dorothy

TWO BUCK Tuesday is December 18th, 7pm-10pm! 
Free & open to all ages.




88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)
San Jose, CA 95112
info@KALEIDGallery.com
408-947-1785
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, noon -7pm, free admission

Samsung's New San Jose HQ Shoots for the Moon!

Right now there is a lot of good news circulating related to San Jose development, but once and a while I still find a real gem that surprises and excites me, and this is one of them. While Samsung is based in Korea, their subsidiary Samsung Semiconductor is headquartered right here in San Jose. They have decided to tear down their mostly 2 story campus, and build something larger in order to expand their headcount and presence in San jose. I knew there would be two 10 story towers totaling about 650,000 sqft, but I was expecting a pretty standard box like most buildings in the golden triangle (area bound by 101, 880, and 237). Instead, Samsung designed something that simply does not exist in Silicon Valley right now, a truly iconic office building.

It purposefully looks different and will raise eyebrows as people drive down North First or Tasman. There are at least two large outdoor spaces between the three 2-story pieces that protrude from the building. However, the really interesting element is a hollowed out core! There is a substantial courtyard in the middle of at least one of the buildings, complete with terraces of its own.

From the renderings it looks like there is a camouflaged parking structure topped with solar panels and an asymmetrical five-point building as well. I'm not sure where the second tower is going to be but I imagine it will be similar to the first. Lightrail is also across the street, the 49ers stadium and the Santa Clara Convention Center are down the street, and there are thousands of dense new homes being built in walking distance.

This building in and of itself is enough to get excited about, but I'm also stoked about the implications. Samsung is setting a new bar for office developments in North San Jose. This is going to stand out like crazy, so you can bet that future developments are more likely to be radical designs to compete with this building instead of being the same boring 2-5 story buildings the area is used to. More iconic and unique buildings means a stronger identity for San Jose and Silicon Valley as a whole. The only other company taking big risks with office design right now is Apple, with quite an impressive design of their own. Hopefully these two will encourage other companies to step it up and build something to be proud of.

Source: SJBJ

Ex'pression College Opens a San Jose Campus

Ex'pression College for Digital Arts specializes in teaching students about audio and visual art. Their original 650 student campus is in Emeryville, which can be quite a commute for those living in Silicon Valley. They have decided to open a second campus in North San Jose at 1751 Fox Drive in the Ridder Park Technology Center. The 65,000 sqft and the new campus will be able to accomodate up to 550 students. Since digital, interactive, and dynamic art is defining the art scene in San Jose, this location decision could not be more appropriate.



Source: SJBJ

Saturday Stats: San Jose Has Highest % of White-Collar Jobs in California

White-collar jobs consist of management, business, and scientific occupations. If you're reading this, there is a good chance you fall into that classification since 48.49% of all jobs in the San Jose area are considered white-collar. This gives San Jose the highest percentage of white-collar jobs in California, and the 6th highest in the country. Nationally the average percentage of white collar positions is 35.3%.

Source: SJBJ

San Jose Now Has the World's Largest Recycling Plant

Republic Services has begun operations on a massive 342 acre recycling complex in Milpitas, which is actually sitting on land annexed to San Jose. The facility can process a staggering 110 tons of recyclables each hour across four different processing lines: residential single-stream materials, commercial single-stream materials, commercial dry recyclables, and commercial wet recyclables. The recovery rate is expected to be greater than 75% on the commercial lines and 95% on the residential lines.

The system is highly automated--although the video below does show people picking out specific items. There is also an area for composting and the recycling byproducts are being used to generate electricity for San Jose waste management facilities in the area. It all ties into an aggressive "Green Vision" for the city, and considering we have more greentech jobs than anywhere else, this seems entirely appropriate.

Bixby Spending $52.5M to Buy and Upgrade Office Complex

Bixby has purchased four buildings in San Jose for just under $30M. These are located off of Trimble Road at Trimble Technology Park and total nearly a quarter million square feet. They are planning to put $23M into renovations which include new lobbies, roofs, mechanical systems, exteriors, a 16,000sqft expansion, and an outdoor living room with fire pits, kitchen, and couches.

After the renovations are complete, this will become a nice spot for either a flagship tenant or four smaller companies that want to expand or relocate to San Jose.

Source: SJBJ

TurningWheels for Kids Annual Big Bike Build Produces Over 2k Bikes!

Last Saturday in downtown San Jose, many (MANY) volunteers got together for the annual TurningWheels for Kids Big Bike Build.

If you're not familiar with TurningWheels for Kids, it is an organization born from the mind of Susan Runsvold, a nurse at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. She wanted to make sure that every child had the opportunity to receive a cool, exciting gift at Christmas - an experience she wasn't always sure she'd have as a child growing up. She came to the realization that receiving a bike all your own, a brand new one, is one of those memories every child should have the opportunity to have.

You can read more about the history of TurningWheels, but the bottom line - their mission, is to continue to provide underprivileged children with bicycles year-round. So each year just before Christmas, volunteers and groups from all over the South Bay come together and assemble donated bikes.

At my previous job, I had the privilege to work with Sue and her team on promoting TWFK. I absolutely love what they do so I wanted to make sure to stop by the Big Bike Build to take some photos and see everyone. It's such an amazing scene! It's like watching a bunch of elves getting the toys ready for Santa!

Some facts from this year's work:

• 2,650 bikes were built on Saturday (plus 493 a week before in Livermore)
• Distributed over 300 bikes this year to two pediatric clinics
• 2012 has had the highest distribution yet - 3,443 bikes!
• TWFK provides bikes to organizations for distribution such as: City Team, EMQ, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, Bay Area Rescue Mission, Richmond Fire Department, Santa Cruz County sheriffs, Sacred Heart and many others!

The last few years, in the middle of the build, CEOs and local celebrities and supporters make their way to the main stage to participate in the Great Trike Race! They hop on adult-sized tricycles and race around a track in the middle of the convention center. It's great fun to watch and no doubt, fun to race! You need to watch out for Sharkie though, he's a sneaky one!

Sharkie and Valley Medical Center Foundation's Executive Director, Chris Wilder make the first turn during the Great Trike Race!

This year's winner was Barry Arata, a local fireman who won the title in 2010 but lost it to Josh Thomson of Strikeforce in 2011.

Many thanks to this year's title sponsor, DPR, for their generous donation of $60,000! Other wonderful sponsors like the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, Cisco, Therma and many more helped support TurningWheels for Kids.

If TurningWheels for Kids sounds interesting to you, they could use your help. This year, 4,700 bikes were requested (via organizations, groups, etc) but there were only 2,600+ to give. Donations are how they're able to purchase bikes and helmets for the kids. If you'd like to read more, please check out their website and their 'What You Do Matters' Campaign for more information.

~ Jennifer Bullock OwYoung