San Jose Flood Victim Resources

Our heart goes out to all that were impacted by the flooding last week. Below is a list of resources that might be helpful.

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation has setup a special fund for San Jose flood victims. It just takes 60 seconds to make a donation and I'm sure it will go a long way for neighbors whose lives have been turned upside-down by the unprecedented flood. You can access the San Jose Flood Victims Relief Fund over here.

The City and its partners have provided the resources below for flood victims

Flood debris removal locations
See where dumpsters will be around the city at the maps, which the City provided in three languages:

• English
• Spanish
• Vietnamese

Returning to your flooded home checklistWe request all residents who return home look at the following checklists in three languages:

• English
• Spanish
• Vietnamese

Food safety checklistPlease be careful with any foods that went unrefrigerated, and, when in doubt throw it out. See our infographics for more details in three languages:

• English
• Spanish
• Vietnamese 

Free rides for flood victims
The ride-hailing app Lyft will provide $20 off rides for flood victims who need to go to work, get their medications or engage in other critical-need activities. Please contact Alex Wilson for the codes.

The City will pay for Yellow Cabs for San José flood victims who need transportation to and from the Local Assistance Center. Call 408-777-7777 account #1421. 
Free pumps for flooded housesThe City has 15 pumps for public use. Please contact Paul Pereira for more information and to access the pumps.

Towing and Parking EnforcementThe SJPD will suspend parking enforcement for the duration of the emergency. Vehicle owners will not be charged for any towing related the to Coyote Creek flood. Owners can contact the Police Station Auto Desk by calling 408-277-4263 to determine where their vehicle is located.

Vehicle flood damage
Was your vehicle damaged in the flood? Please contact the San José Police Department's Auto Desk at 408-277-4263.
Donation of goods
Contact Mollie Tobias
(408) 535-3588 or mollie.tobias@sanjoseca.gov
 *Emergency Operations Center is asking people who would like to donate goods to work with the Salvation Army or Goodwill.

Local assistance center
This is a multi-agency support center to provide help and resources to residents and businesses affected by flooding. We'll help you connect with:

• Social services, including food assistance
• Housing services and tenant/landlord questions and concerns
• Replacing DMV documents
• Filing for losses
• And more—agencies including:
  
  • County Department of Eligibility and Benefits Services
  • County Department of Aging and Adult Services
  • San Jose Office of Economic Development
  • San Jose Housing Department
  • State Contractors Licensing Board
  • Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
  • Franchise Tax Board

This is a safe place for affected residents, regardless of immigration status, to receive resources. Read more here.

This information is available as a flyer in:

• English
• Spanish
• Vietnamese

Sunday, February 26	9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Monday, February 27 to Friday, March 3	8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 4	9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Shirakawa/Vietnamese American Community Center
2072 Lucretia Avenue, San José

The City of San José is paying for Yellow Cab service for those affected by the flood needing transportation to/from Local Assistance Center ONLY. Call 408-777-7777, mention account number 1421.

Servicio gratuito: caro de sitio al centro de asistencia local para afectados por inundación #sanjosefloods llame al 408-777-7777 cuenta1421

Temporary storageU-Haul Company of South Bay is offering 30 days of free self-storage to those impacted by the floods.

Here’s a list of the 11 U-Haul locations participating:

U-Haul of Campbell
1266 White Oaks Road
Campbell, CA 95008
(408) 371-5183
U-Haul Moving & Storage of Fremont
44511 S. Grimmer Blvd.
Fremont, CA 94538
(510) 656-2200
U-Haul Moving & Storage of Thornton
4833 Thornton Ave.
Fremont, CA 94536
(510) 796-3151
U-Haul of Mountain View
62 W. El Camino Real
Mountain View, CA 94040
(650) 965-3151
U-Haul Moving & Storage of Redwood City
2200 El Camino Real
Redwood City, CA 94063
(650) 365-6233
U-Haul at Curtner Ave.
705 Curtner Ave.
San Jose, CA 95125
(408) 267-7000
U-Haul at Tully Road
2395 Senter Road
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 295-9234
U-Haul of Milpitas
2395 Oakland Road
San Jose, CA 95131
(408) 943-9191
U-Haul Moving & Storage at The Alameda
1027 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126
(408) 295-4884U-Haul Moving & Storage of Santa Clara
2121 Laurelwood Road
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408) 660-3108
U-Haul of Sunnyvale
939 E. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
(408) 735-7060

Disposing household hazardous wasteCall Santa Clara County Household Hazardous Program (408) 299-7300

Property assessment information
Any misfortune or calamity that was not the fault of the property owner or the party responsible for the taxes eligible for property tax relief under Section 170 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code under certain requirements.

Read more at the Santa Clara County Assessor's website.

Rebuilding inspection fees and permits
The City will waive all permit and inspection fees for victims of the flood. Call the Permit Center for more information 408-535-3555.

Map of cleared and evacuated areas
Most recent map of cleared and evacuated areas

• Map of North of 280 to South of 237

• Oakland Road
• Rock Springs

Updated 5:10 p.m. 2/24/2017

Cars towed in flooded areas
Was your car towed during the Coyote Creek Flood? Vehicle owners will not be charged tow fees, and will need to follow these simple steps to collect their vehicle:

Residents can visit the San Jose Police Department Auto Desk (201 West Mission Street) or call at (408) 277-4263.

• Provide the vehicle's license plate number and the registered owners identification.
• The Auto Desk will run the license plate number to determine where the vehicle was towed to: Alongi Tow, Century Tow, or Matos Tow.
• Owner will then be able to make contact with the specific tow company for release of their vehicle.

Medication lost in the flood
Medications exposed to flood water are considered contaminated, and should not be used. To assist the 2017 San Jose flood evacuees with filling their lost medications, the Santa Clara County Pharmacy will make every attempt to provide a one-time fill of their prescriptions.

• English
• Spanish (Reemplazo de medicamentos perdidos en inundaciones) 
• Vietnamese

Exposure to flood waterAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), outbreaks of infectious diseases after a flood in the U.S. are very unusual. Exposure to flood water alone is not a reason to give tetanus-containing vaccine or any other vaccine. Read more here. 

Click here for the most current information 

Playful People Productions Presents: Fiddler on the Roof

A gem from Broadway's Golden Age of musicals, Fiddler on the Roof  is set in the little village of Anatevka in 1905. The story centers on Tevye, a poor milkman, and his five daughters. We watch as Tevye attempts to preserve his family’s traditions in a changing world. Tevye’s daughter Tzeitel wants to marry a poor tailor instead of the middle-aged butcher her father has chosen for her in the tradition of arranged marriages. Tevye is forced to choose between his daughter’s happiness and his culture’s beloved traditions. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his daughters and instill them with traditional values in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia. Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler on the Roof's universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality and religion, leaving audiences crying tears of laughter, joy and sadness.

Fiddler on the Roof first appeared on Broadway in 1964 and swept the Tony's with nine "Best" awards including Best Musical for a score that features "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "If I were a Rich Man," "Sunrise, Sunset," and "Do You Love Me.”

New York-based theatre artists Gary De Mattei (Director/Choreographer) and Caryn Hartglass (Musical Director) will be recreating the original Jerome Robbins choreography. This show is a full length performance, so most appropriate for kids age 8 and up. The performance will feature live music along with our usual amazing actors on stage.

Our shows often sell out prior to the show weekend. Be sure to buy your tickets early, you won’t want to miss out on this fantastic production.

All Shows at the Historic Hoover Theater, 1635 Park Ave  San Jose, CA 95126

Show Times: (show will run approx 3 hrs with an intermission)
Thursday, March 2nd - 7:00pm
Friday, March 3rd - 7:00pm
Saturday, March 4th -  1:00pm and 7:00pm
Sunday, March 5th - 1:00pm and 6:00pm


Tickets available at www.playfulpeople.net
$15 attendees 12 and up, and  $10 children 11 and under

Tickets at the door (30 minutes prior to curtain)
$18 attendees 12 and up, and  $12 children 11 and under

For questions: barb@galiotto.com

Founded in 2010, Playful People Production’s mission is to provide a quality, caring environment where children, teens and their families can have positive theater experiences. We strive to involve all family members in the many aspects of on stage and backstage theater in a safe and fun environment and offer participation in theatrical productions, classes, summer stock and camps for ages 3-103

A look inside the AC Hotel in Downtown San Jose

The AC Hotel at Santa Clara Street and Highway 87 is the first major new hotel Downtown since the Marriott. The European-styled hotel has 210 guest rooms and six suites, all with king beds (including rooms with two beds). It even has a small swimming pool, something I did not expect given the location.

This looks like a terrific addition to Downtown San Jose. On the exterior it may not look like much, but they did a great job on the interior and it will help activate a key block--especially with a tapas restaurant and cocktail lounge on the ground floor.

Vicky Thompson from the SVBJ has a dozen photos for you to check out at the source link below. For another perspective, Nathon Donato-Weinstein also has a blog post about our newest hotel.

Source: SVBJ

Beautiful mural on the Alameda

This is a great example of the public street art we need more of in San Jose. You can find this leading down to the "subway" on the Alameda & Lenzen that lets you cross from one side of the street to the other. While you are in the area, you might as well visit one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Jose: Zona Rosa, and follow it up with a nightcap at Wine Affairs.

Source: Linda Na-guyen from Downtown Dwellers

DASH is on the chopping block

Part of the VTA's plans for their new transit network include cutting DASH, a convenient free shuttle that circles Downtown San Jose. Scott Knies from the San Jose Downtown Association wrote a thoughtful article on how this would impact the area, which you can find below. The proposal is strongly opposed by SJSU, SPUR, and the SJDA.

VTA wants to halt DASH

Blog post by Scott Knies, Executive Director, San Jose Downtown Association 

February 14, 2017 

The free Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) that averages more than 1,000 riders daily Monday–Friday between Diridon Station and San Jose State University (SJSU) is on the chopping block. 

Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) proposes curbing DASH and substituting a new bus route between Diridon Station and the Berryessa BART station. The new route would traverse downtown on Santa Clara Street and riders would pay regular VTA fares. 

San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA), SJSU and SPUR oppose the end of DASH and are registering concerns about the proposal to the VTA board. 

“Eliminating the DASH shuttle is another counter productive move which will affect SJSU students, senior citizens and our low-income residents who rely on this service to get around downtown,” said Ann Webb, a member of the San Jose Downtown Resident’s Association. 

DASH averaged 1,032 daily riders in 2016. Ridership peaked in September at 1,224 and dipped to 859 in June, corresponding to the SJSU semester calendar. DASH primarily operates on San Fernando Street, a route that will become increasingly important once BART subway construction starts under Santa Clara Street. 

“BART is a five-year construction project with major impacts near Diridon and First Street where stations will be built,” said Chloe Verrey, SJDA Operations Manager. “Now is definitely not the time to end DASH service.” 

SJDA helped initiate DASH in July 1996 when Adobe Systems, Inc. first moved downtown. Adobe was leasing space in Riverpark before its first office tower was completed and the free shuttle connected employees taking Caltrain to the downtown core. 

Adobe, SJDA, City of San Jose Dept. of Transportation, SJSU, VTA and regional air quality grants all contributed to fund DASH, which VTA contracted out to private shuttle vendors until taking it in-house in 2007. 

From July 2005 to January 2008 VTA changed the DASH route to Santa Clara Street, but ridership lagged as the shuttle took longer to negotiate traffic congestion. Since returning to San Fernando Street, ridership has rebounded, peaking at 1,046 average-daily riders in 2015. 

“It’s surprising VTA wants to eliminate DASH and put another bus route on Santa Clara Street again, especially with the BART construction looming,” Verrey said. 

Cutting DASH is just one of the many route and schedule changes proposed by VTA in their NextNetwork plan that aims to improve the agency’s overall fare box receipts and operations. See the plan at nextnetwork.vta.org.

Playful People Productions Presents: Willy Wonka Jr

This delicious musical is guaranteed to delight everyone's sweet tooth! Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka JR follows enigmatic candy manufacturer, Willy Wonka, as he stages a contest by hiding five golden tickets in five scrumptious candy bars.  The lucky winners will get a free tour of the Wonka factory, as well as a lifetime supply of candy. Four of the five winning children are brats: the fifth is a likeable young lad named Charlie, who takes the tour with his equally amiable Grandpa Joe. This scrumdidilyumptious musical is guaranteed to  take the audiences on a fantasy ride into the land of pure imagination!

Our shows often sell out prior to the show weekend. Be sure to buy your tickets early, you won’t want to miss out on this fantastic production.

All Shows at the Historic Hoover Theater, 1635 Park Ave  San Jose, CA 95126

Show Times:
Friday, February 24th at 7pm
Saturday, February 25th at 11am, 3pm and 7pm
Sunday, February 26th at 11am, and 3pm

Tickets available at www.playfulpeople.net
$12 attendees 12 and up, $8 children 11 and under,  and $6 Children’s floor seating

Tickets at the door (30 minutes prior to curtain)
$15 attendees 12 and up, $10 children 11 and under, and $6 Children’s floor seating

For questions: barb@galiotto.com

Founded in 2010, Playful People Production’s mission is to provide a quality, caring environment where children, teens and their families can have positive theater experiences. We strive to involve all family members in the many aspects of on stage and backstage theater in a safe and fun environment and offer participation in theatrical productions, classes, summer stock and camps for ages 3-103

Content Pick-Up Party tomorrow (Issue 9.1 - Find)

Content subscribers can enjoy a memorable night of food, drinks, music, and art at the AFKgg Gamer Lounge tomorrow to celebrate the release of Issue 9.1. This issue features: Russell Powell, Kyle Harter, AFKgg Gamer Lounge, Roads and Kingdoms, The Running Shop and Hops, Cat & Cloud Coffee, Good Karma Bikes, Bay Maples: Wild California Gardens, Park Station Hashery, Bylines, pangaean studios, Open Source, Airfield Supply Company, Anjee of MACLA / Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana and Eric Bausewell of SurfaceInk.

Content Magazine subscribers receive one complimentary beverage and appetizer. AFKgg Gamer Lounge has surprisingly good food for a gaming venue and were even listed as one of the top 25 cocktail bars in Silicon Valley.

The event goes down tomorrow (Feb 16th) from 7pm to 9pm at 163 W. Santa Clara Street in Downtown San Jose.

If you are not already a subscriber, you can find out more information over here.

San Jose Valentine's Day events

If you are still searching for ideas on what to do today (a bit last minute don't you think), there are still plenty of events available via Eventbrite including a few for singles. Head over here for the full list.

San Pedro Squared

At long last it looks like the San Pedro Square parking structure is getting retail along San Pedro Street. New boutique shops will take a small number of parking spaces on the first floor while "curb cafes" will extend the experience along the street itself. This should help make the area even more lively and pedestrian friendly.

In 2015, the SJDA was awarded a Knight Cities Challenge grant towards making this project a reality. Construction is scheduled to begin this July and will hopefully be done by September. For more info, check out the Downtown San Jose Construction Brief.

7th Annual "Feathers of Fury" pillow fight this weekend

In honor of Valentine's Day, the 7th Annual San Jose Pillow Fight is this Sunday at noon. This year, it will be located at the old Camera 12 Plaza at 201 South 2nd Street. The event is free and has always been a lot of fun in previous years. For more details and photos of past events, head over to one of the links below!

Web: https://pillowfight.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pillowfightsj/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pillowfightsj
Craigslist:  https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/eve/5995110121.html
Bike Ride: https://www.facebook.com/events/172505129908607/

February 2017 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• The four new San Jose City Councilmembers answered questions about their goals and Downtown San Jose. Common themes were safety and jobs. When asked what they would change about Downtown San Jose, the items that came up were more retail, wider sidewalks, and more vibrancy.
• Black Arrow, a company on San Pedro Street in the former Tied House building, is moving to 75 E. Santa Clara St. later this month. The space will return to hosting a restaurant/bar and it will be called "District" [Josh: sweet!].
• Tac-oh! is now open for lunch and dinner at 399 S. First.
• The former South First Billiards at 420 S. First is being transformed into Forager Tasting Room and Eatery. It will have shareable kitchen spaces for chefs to test out food concepts along with craft brews and local arts and entertainment events.
• Local Color, an artist space at the former Ross space, will be open for an extra three months.
• Zoom Video (headquartered at 55 Almaden) announced a new $100 million round. This means even more tech jobs Downtown.

To read the newsletter, click here!

San Jose-themed Valentine's Day gift

This year, why not get a Valentine's Day gift that will directly benefit the local economy? The Guadalupe River Park Conservancy has created an "Adopt a Rose" package that includes a box of Schurra's Chocolates (made in San Jose, and they are awesome), a Cafe Too! gourmet cookie, one free red rose each month for a year from Citti's Florist, and a personal message on a plaque by the rose bush of your choice in the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden. Oh, and it is tax deductible as well (you don't have to tell your significant other that part).

For more details, head over here!

Latest SJSC renderings

News has been slow on Downtown San Jose towers actually breaking ground, but I did come across a new render for the SJSC mixed-use project across the street from city hall. The towers will have residential units, offices, and retail all in the same project. Completion is targeted for 2019.

Source: robertee and hillrise from the San Jose Development Forum

San Jose Airport Expansion

As a follow up to last week's post about SJC growing faster than any other major airport in the US, we now have more info on the physical expansion of the airport. The SVBJ article mentioned that the airport was adding two new gates, but provide no other information. Thanks to Brandon Stevens who posted in the comments, we now have a better idea of exactly what is going down.

Originally, I assumed that the airport was simply going to better incorporate the two awkward gates between Terminals A and B (also know as the international gates, located directly under SJC's only lounge and above border control and customs). Now we know for certain that the new gates are a true expansion of the airport on the South end.

Gates 29 and 30 will be very conveniently located to the left after going through the Terminal B security checkpoint. It will be a much shorter walk than most of the other Terminal B gates. In addition, there is plenty of room to continue expanding in that direction. The original plans for the SJC expansion called for 6 additional gates when demand permitted. Gate 31 is already referenced in some of the drawings. It looks like we may be getting many more new flights in the near future!

South First Fridays happening tomorrow in SoFA

Experience the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk tomorrow from 7-11pm in Downtown San Jose's SoFA District. 20 different venues will be open late and featuring a variety of local art and entertainment. To learn more about the participants before the walk, head over to the South FIRST FRIDAYS website over here!

SJC grew faster than any other airport last year

We may not have a very large airport, but I would argue it is one of the best in the country. San Jose International is convenient to get in and out of, the central Silicon Valley location is great, it's clean, security moves fast, and staff seems way friendlier than most airports. Thanks to all of the new international and domestic routes SJC nabbed, it has also become the fastest growing airport in terms of passenger count in the country (among the 50 largest airports). SJC grew passenger volume by a whopping 10.2% in 2016!

Delta was the top contributor of additional flights, followed by Alaska and Southwest. SJC is now up to 10.8 million passengers a year, adding one million new passengers last year in its fourth straight year of growth. The increased traffic means hundreds of million of dollars injected into the economy, more tax dollars, and the likelihood of even more international and domestic routes.

2017 already has some many new flights scheduled. JetBlue is adding four flights to Long Beach, United is adding two flights to Chicago O-Hare and one to Newark, Alaska is adding a Newark route of its own and three flights to Burbank, Delta is adding two more flights to Atlanta, Southwest will be adding a new Reno flight, and Air Canada will be adding a third nonstop to Vancouver. The SVBJ also mentions two new gates being added to Terminal B, but I can't find any additional details. I'm assuming they are annexing the two "international" gates between Terminal A and B, but would be thrilled if this is part of a 6-gate expansion originally slated for the very end of Terminal B.

Source: SVBJ