Starlight Cinema - free outdoor screening of To Wong Foo Aug 17th

Starlight Cinema is a beloved Downtown San Jose tradition featuring popular movies along with accompanying activities in Saint James Park. This weekend the movie is To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar starting at dusk (~8:20pm) on Saturday, August 17th. This will be the last Starlight Cinema for 2024.

The pre-movie activities start at 7pm and include:

• Beats from Splash DJs
• Red carpet drag performances and photo ops
• Tie-dye creations with Guadalupe River Park Conservancy
• Bocce ball
• Luv's Brownies Dessert Truck featuring decadent brownies and sundaes

There will also be a contest with San Jose Earthquake game vouchers and Music in the Park tickets for Cuco. The afterparty is being hosted at Splash with drink specials.

New laws in 2024 impacting San Jose

Another year, another round of revised legislation. San Jose Spotlight has put together a list of new changes for 2024. Included are updated worker protections for recreational cannabis users, increased fast-food minimum wages to $20/hr, and decreased water consumption for new buildings.

One significant change is Senate Bill 43, which expands the people eligible for conservatorship to include those that are unable to provide for their personal safety, medical care, food, clothing, or shelter due to serious mental illness or substance abuse. I'm speculating that would apply to a significant percentage of the homeless population in San Jose, giving leaders more flexibility in getting people the care they need.

For the full list, click the source link below.

Source: San Jose Spotlight

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan's 2023 holiday message

Our mayor's end-of-year newsletter featured several highlights in 2023. You can read the full thing in the source link below, but the items that really stood out for me as big wins were:

• Lower homelessness by 10% and we have 788 additional interim housing units in the pipeline
• Lower crime by 5%, Automatic License Plate Readers have helped solve hundreds of crimes in San Jose
• 300% increase in volunteerism, 500,000 lbs. of trash removed from streets and creeks
• San Jose residents and companies were granted the most AI patents in the country, San Jose also hosted an innovation summit to help the city leverage AI solutions
• Improved San Jose permitting times on both big and small projects

Overall, it seemed like 2023 was a very positive year for San Jose. I hope everyone has an amazing New Year's Eve and hopefully we'll have an even better 2024! 🎊🥳

Source: San Jose Inside

San Jose Spotlight - Our first nonprofit news organization for politics & business

For those looking for news and insight about San Jose and surrounding areas, there are a few existing publications. The most commonly known of these is The Mercury News, which covers all topics. Then there are more specialized sites like Silicon Valley Business Journal, which focuses on--you guessed it--business and development. Then there is San Jose Inside, which provides deep dives into political topics. The rest is covered by Bay Area regional news sites such as SF Chronicle, The Registry, KRON4, CBS Local, etc.

Enter San Jose Spotlight, the first nonprofit news organization focusing on politics and business in San Jose. As it is donation-driven, the organization may be in a unique position to tackle controversial topics within San Jose. As newspaper circulation and ad revenue declines (print and digital) across the world, it is exciting to see a local organization try a new model to survive and to take destiny into their own hands.

Their mission can be found on their website:

"Our community needs another voice, an alternate source for high-quality, independent local news. Our stories will search for truth, shed light on wrongdoing and hold the powerful accountable. We are the community’s newsroom and we’re powered by your support and donations."

San Jose Spotlight is co-founded by former Mercury News political reporter Ramona Giwargis, who leads a still growing but active team of journalists. You can subscribe to the newsletter, donate to the site, or explore all published content without a paywall on the website.

What Up! Silicon Valley Podcast

I just found out about a killer weekly podcast that is mostly focused on San Jose and the South Bay. Sam Kabert and Sergio Oliveri started the podcast at the beginning of this year and they just released their 32nd episode. Topics include local businesses, networking, events, and sports. Most of the episodes are 30-40 minutes long and feature interviews with the movers and shakers of Silicon Valley. I would recommend starting with "Podcast 25: Top 10 Moments!" to get a feel for the podcast (embedded below).

You can learn more about What Up! Silicon Valley at the official website over here. Subscription options include iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or Soundcloud. I also added a permalink under San Jose culture to the right.

Awesome job Sam and Sergio, thanks for putting this together for the Silicon Valley community!

New Downtown San Jose site for events (including NYE options)

It is difficult finding a one-stop shop for all of the great events in Downtown San Jose. Matt Spergel has taken a shot with a new site called DTSJ.Events. The website currently pulls from the 70 different Facebook pages of Downtown venues and is still a work in progress.

The Site lists several New Years Eve options that cater towards all budgets. Now is a great time to go check out the site and make plans!

Google Fiber Considering Deployment in San Jose!

Google has just announced several new cities that are candidates for Fiber internet deployment, and guess what... San Jose is on the list! While Comcast and AT&T Uverse internet speeds average 15-30 Mbps, Google Fiber can hit a staggering 1,000 Mbps with future plans to go up to 10,000 Mbps. The difference is night and day. Imagine no load times for any page on the web and the ability to stream 4K (Ultra HD) video to every room in your house simultaneously. The best part is that all this performance does not come at a premium. Google's prices are competitive with what we pay today for average speeds.

Internet is becoming an absolute infrastructure necessity like electricity, water, and a sever system. As far as internet providers go, Google Fiber is the best option in the US. If we can bring this to San Jose, then it will be a huge competitive advantage over other cities--both for companies wanting to locate here and residents wanting to live here. Hopefully the city council will do whatever it takes to make this a reality. How can you help? Email you Councilmember and let them know we need this!

San Jose: The Smartest City In America (as seen on The TODAY Show)

In case you missed it - San Jose was featured on The TODAY Show this morning. In their "Healthy, Wealthy, Wise" segment, they showed a video about the innovative and awesome place we call home - San Jose.

Check out the video:

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

October 2009 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are some juicy morsels from the latest Downtown Dimension:

• Several Downtown businesses are offering special discounts and improving customer service to help weather the recession.
• The Hotel Montgomery will be converted into a Four Points Sheraton, which will make it the first Starwood Hotel in San Jose (this chain includes Sheraton, Westin, W Hotels, St. Regis, etc.).
• San Jose Museum of Art will celebrate its 40th anniversary on Oct. 17th, and now attracts over 200,000 visitors each year.
• The Tech is getting a new Star Trek themed exhibit which opens on Oct. 23rd.  They have also opened a "Hall of Fame" exhibit.
• San Pedro Square now features 515 new LED bulbs, making them much less likely to burn out and 10 times more energy efficient.
• The San Pedro Farmer's Market is open for business every Friday from 10am-2pm on San Pedro between Santa Clara and St. John streets.
• Downtown parking validation will soon be simplified.  Instead of using 20min stickers, you will receive either a 1hr or 2hr magnetic ticket that will be accepted at all of the automated parking payment machines.  There will also be a 3.5hr ticket for Camera 12 validations.
• More airport food is becoming available at the new SJC airport terminal.  The Brit, Le Boulanger, and Sora's Japanese are now open.  Sonoma Chicken Coup and Schurra's Candies are coming soon.
• Silicon Valley Restaurant Week is going to be from Oct. 14-21.  Downtown San Jose restaurants represent one fourth of the participants.  More info at http://www.siliconvalleyrestaurantweek.com.
• An Irish Innovation Center is coming to 177 W. Santa Clara near San Pedro Square and will house up to 35 Irish companies hoping to establish a US presence.

September 2009 Downtown Dimension Highlights

It's that time again, the latest issue of Downtown Dimension has arrived and here are the cliff notes:

• 360 Residences is now open! The sales office has been moved from the Fairmont Annex to the 5th floor of the 360 Residences building, freeing up a key retail space in the process. Owners will start moving in towards the end of the year.
• High-rise condo sales updates:
• Axis: ~25% occupied (~80 units), sounds like they are selling about 4 homes a month.
• The 88: selling an average of 4 condos per week
• City Heights: over 50% occupied (over 62 units sold)
• There will be a San Jose Open House from Sep. 26-27 where all 4 condo high-rises will be open and offer refreshments from downtown restaurants and pedicab rides between each tower.
• 3 Downtown buildings are receiving Facade improvements:
• Anaconda Building
• 150 year old building at the entrance of San Pedro Square.
• Ground floor anchored by Starbucks and La Victoria, which is finishing its expansion.
• U Food Grill, featuring healthy dishes, will be moving into the remaining ground floor space.
• Hackett building
• Currently houses Pizza Chicago which will get new outdoor seating after the remodel.
• Looking for a new tenant adjacent to Pizza Chicago.
• Bo Town Restaurant
• Getting a new roof, tiles, doors, lighting, and landscaping.
• Decision to lower building heights by 2 floors on new development to accommodate airport complaints, has been postponed (hopefully indefinitely). Developers and urban advocates continue to push for taller buildings while SJC is fighting for the opposite.
• First Street Improvements continue! Beautification projects between Santa Clara <> San Fernando and San Carlos <> Reed (SoFA) have been completed over the past couple of months. Later this year, Groundworks will "Beautify" the section of First Street that connects these 2 corridors... making one contiguous, walkable district between Santa Clara St. and SoFA.
• Eleven new on-street parking spaces have been added in various Downtown San Jose locations.
• The Center for the Performing Arts is getting a new 5,000 sqft lounge with a bar and seating for 350 people.
• ZeroOne received almost $1 million for their next event (Sep. 15-19, 2010), check out 01sj.org for more information.

August 2009 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The latest issue of Downtown Dimension has arived! Here are the highlights:

• The Market (Safeway) opens it's first Downtown San Jose store on August 28th!  There are some concerns that it might put Zanotto's out of business.
• SJSU will have to cut enrollment by about 10% due to budget cuts.
• Silk Road Cafe has opened at 185 Park Ave. (same owners as Silk Road Bistro on San Fernando).
• The Art Glass Center of San Jose has set up shop at 465 S. First. St.
• D'Town Express offers dry cleaning and alterations at 15 Fountain Alley.
• Headcase Salon is now providing hair and tanning services at 151 W. St. James St.
• Legacy Partner's Riverpark Tower 2 is now leasing 316,000 sqft of Class A office space.
• The Civic Auditorium was lit July 24rd with a new high-tech LED lighting system (as reported here earlier).
• Downtown hotel occupancy is down from 67.04% last year to 55.65% this year.

July 2009 Downtown Dimension Highlights

The latest issue of Downtown Dimension is now available! Here are the the items that stood out for me:

• Dine Downtown was a huge success! Restaurant week will certainly be back next year and there are even talks about having it twice per year.
• Broadway San Jose will occupy the San Jose Center of the Performing Arts and already has a dozen Broadway-caliber performances booked.
• The Civic Auditorium is receiving a $13mil upgrade.
• Ross is spending $1mil to prepare their 27 S. First Street store for opening this fall.
• $6.8mil has been approved for converting St. James and Julian from one-way streets to two-way streets. This will slow down traffic and should provide for a more "walkable" experience.
• La Vic's expansion at the Santa Clara St. location is on track.
• There is a new hot dog stand at the corner of Market & Santa Clara.

June 2009 Downtown Dimension Highlights

I have just received the latest issue of Downtown Dimension, a great newsletter put out by the San Jose Downtown Association that covers what's happening in downtown San Jose. Here are some highlights from June's issue: 

• SoFA is becoming more pedestrian-friendly with 3 new sidewalk extensions for outdoor seating and 200 new planters.
• Later this summer SoFA will receive two new murals, bike racks, and illuminated tree lighting (nice!).
• Music in the Park schedule (Thursdays from 5:30-9:15pm):
• June 11: Sierra Leone's Refugee Allstars (world/reggae)
• June 18: Third Eye Blind (allternative rock)
• June 25: Pete Escovedo (Latin jazz)
• July 2: The Tubes (classic rock)
• July 9: Eek-A-Mouse (reggae)
• The City is asking over 30 downtown nightclubs to help pay for policing costs.  Annual charges to club owners would range from $1,200 to $33,000 depending on club size.
• 25 downtown utility doors have be converted into art projects for aspiring local talent.
• The Old Wagon Saloon & Grill has opened up on 73 N. San Pedro St. and features buffalo, free-range turkey, and calamari fries.
• Agave Viejo is open on 151 W Santa Clara and boasts over 93 brands of tequila.
• Pearl Nigh Club has opened up in what used to be Vivid Night Club, 8 S. First St.
• Groundwerx will be emphasizing work with the downtown homeless population, connecting them with housing services that will hopefully get them off the streets.

To subscribe to this free newsletter, click here.