Bike Party this Friday

The theme for this Friday's bike party is the 70s! Route information will be posted on Thursday right over here. Even if you don't plan on riding, it is a pretty neat event to watch.

June 2011 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• Parking rates are going up but the validation program is being enhanced so that Downtown patrons can receive free parking after 6pm any day of the week with validation and free parking all day on weekends with validation.
• Tons of Downtown events this summer, such as Music in the Park, Starlight Cinemas, the Downtown Farmers' Market, Dine Downtown, and First Fridays with the Street Market.
• A new Spanish innovation center is coming downtown to 10 S. Third Street. Similar to the Irish Innovation Center, their goals will be to innovate and find collaborators to develop business internationally, especially in IT and cleantech.
• The Kebab Shack is open at 312 S. Third St.
• A new section of the Guadalupe River Park trail is now open and extends almost a half mile from Woz Way to Virginia Street.

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Vote For Your Favorite Earthquakes Players!

The Official Major League Soccer All-Star Ballot is now live and you can vote for all of your favorite Earthquakes players right over here. The All-Star game will be against Manchester United on July 27th, so it's guaranteed to be a great game!

Great Idea!

I saw this posted on Facebook by Sam Liccardo a couple days ago:

"Sam Liccardo
We DID IT!!! We've just secured the EPA grant to begin our "homeless creek cleanup" pilot project on July 1st-- we'll employ 50 homeless individuals living in Coyote Creek to engage in environmental cleanup while earning stable housing and board. Special thanks to our partners at Destination:Home, Downtown Streets Team, EPA, the Water District, EBay, ESD, and Friends of Coyote Creek for making this happen!!"

This is a phenomenal idea that benefits everyone. Those in dire need get a roof over their head and Coyote Creek will become cleaner and safer. I hope this is a sign that we will be seeing similar programs in the future.

Saturday Stats - San Jose is the #2 Best City for Public Transportation?

As one of the most adamant supporters of San Jose, even I find this bit hard to believe. Click here for the full article.

Next SJ Eats is Coming to San Pedro Square on June 18th!

Come feast on an army of food trucks on Saturday, June 18th, from 5-9pm!  This is easily the best food truck event in the Bay Area.  Plenty of seating, great atmosphere, and you might even get a preview of the San Pedro Square Market. Same as last time, the trucks will be lined up on St. John Street and there should be plenty of free parking after 6pm around City Heights.

Dia de Portugal Celebration this Saturday in History Park!

Last weekend San Jose had a terrific celebration of Greek culture, and this weekend it's Portugal's turn. We're really lucky to live in such an ethnically diverse city and to be able to emerse ourselves in so many different cultures!

This is an event that is dear to my heart since both of my parents emigrated from the Azores to San Jose about 35 years ago. Dia de Portugal will be filled with tons of great Portuguese food (you must try authentic linguica if you've never had it before), Portuguese wines, beers, art, music, dancing, and some really interesting cultural events. They will also be featuring a new exhibit in the Portuguese Heritage Museum that documents the migration of Portuguese people to California and Hawaii. Admission is free and children of all ages are welcome.

For more information, click here for the Dia de Portugal website.

This video is almost all in Portuguese but shows some of the cultural booths and events.

Trans Am Cruise - without the bootleg beer

I don't know how many people here remember the movie "Smokey & the Bandit", I myself didn't until Steve Natale sent me a link about the Trans Am Cruise event.

The Second Annual Trans Am Cruise kicks off in San Jose this Saturday, June 11.  The event is organized by Lisa Dalisa, who purchased her first Trans Am in 1983, and has been collecting and restoring them ever since.   A group of 20-30 Firebird and Trans Am cars are scheduled to descend on GM Sports in San Jose at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning

To read the rest head over to Steve's article on the Examiner here