Huge Pro-Development Changes

Just last week San Jose officials passed several pro-development changes to encourage more companies to move here. These policies are a complete 180 from the previous proposal to raise business taxes in San Jose. Here is a list of the changes:

• Lower construction taxes on tenant improvements citywide from 4.5% to 1% for office and R&D space
• Temporarily lower traffic impact fees on new construction in North San Jose from $12.69 per sqft to $5
• Create 21 new permanent positions related to processing planning and building permits (!!!)
• Easing the requirement of new development in North San Jose being at least 14 stories tall

Already one new developer has contacted the city to take advantage of these changes and this will no doubt create a lot of buzz around those looking to expand or locate in the valley. This is definitely the right direction to encourage more businesses to locate here, pump more dollars into our economy, and eventually balance our budget without reducing city services.

Click here for more info.

5th Annual Open Your Heart Pajama Drive

SAVE THE DATE

The San Jose will be hosting its 5th Annual Open Your Heart Pajama Drive. 

The drive will be held on Friday, February 10, from 6 am-10 am.  Please consider donating new pajamas and books for the children in need.  The Fairmont will host a milk and cookie reception for any school children that participate during the drive on Friday morning.

ABOUT THE PAJAMA PROGRAM

The Pajama Program is a national non-profit organization providing comfort and love in the way of new pajamas to children-in-need and children waiting for a permanent home. They are youngsters who do not know the comforts of a mother or father to tuck them into a cozy bed and read them a bedtime story. Many have been abandoned or abused, most deprived of any love at all. “By providing pajamas we help to create a warm and nurturing bedtime environment for vulnerable youngsters living under difficult circumstances” says Pallie Zambrano, attorney-at-law and co-president of Northern California chapter. For more information, please contact pallie@pajamaprogram.org or visitwww.pajamaprogram.org.

ABOUT FAIRMONT HOTELS & RESORTS

Located in world-class destinations around the globe, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is a celebrated collection of hotels that includes landmark locations like London’s The Savoy, New York’s The Plaza, and Shanghai’s Fairmont Peace Hotel. With more than 60 hotels, Fairmont is known as much for its warm, engaging service and culturally rich experiences, as its classic hotels that imbue a sense of heritage, sophistication and social importance and are often considered destinations in their own right. A community and environmental leader, Fairmont is also regarded for its responsible tourism practices and award-winning Green Partnership program. Fairmont is owned by FRHI Holdings Limited, a leading global hotel company with over 100 hotels under the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel brands. The company also manages Fairmont and Raffles branded estates and luxury private residence club properties. For more information or reservations, please call 1-800-441-1414 or visit www.fairmont.com.
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Pallie Zambrano
Northern California Chapter

Pajama Program

www.pajamaprogram.org

www.facebook.com/PajamaProgramCA

Downtown Hyatt Place Now Open

The very first Hyatt Place Hotel in San Jose has just opened up it's doors across the street from the convention center. Some of the amenities are free breakfast, free WiFi, 42 inch HDTVs in all 234 rooms, a 24/7 guest kitchen, and a new bakery cafe with a bar.

For more info, click here.

Saturday Stats: Colleges That Will Make You Rich

Recently, Forbes put out a list of the 20 colleges whose graduates had the highest average salaries 10-19 years after graduation. All 3 South Bay colleges made the list (San Jose was the only CSU on the list):

#3.) Stanford University - Average Graduate Salary: $116,954
#4.) Santa Clara University - Average Graduate Salary: $110,351
#14.) San Jose State University - Average Graduate Salary: $90,546

Other Bay Area Colleges on the List:

#5.) St. Mary's - Average Graduate Salary: $97,415
#12.) UC Berkeley - Average Graduate Salary: $103,554
#13.) USF - Average Graduate Salary: $93,430

Source: Forbes

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk Today!

from Phantom Galleries by Cherri Lakey

February 3rd is the 7th Anniversary of the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk in downtown
San Jose! Come help us celebrate!

Phantom Galleries has two new exhibitions:

Blessed Are the Beasts, For They Shall Inherit the Earth by Katrina Marie Loera at Good Karma Vegan Cafe


and Catchwork in Rhythm paintings by Ricky Gumbrecht at Pho69.



KALEID Gallery has two featured solo exhibits:

Lunar Phases a new photography series by Centa Schumacher


and Brutal / Tender recent works by Al Preciado


with special performances by Cellist Freya Seeburger

Check out the full schedule of all 18 art venues and print out your own art walk map: www.southfirstfridays.com





Stop by the TOTEM booth during the SOUTH FIRST Friday Art Walk for your chance to win a free pair of tickets, pick-up a special limited time discount card and check out the local Cirque-inspired performer! TOTEM by Cirque du Soleil opens March 2nd at the Taylor Street Bridge.
For more information on TOTEM, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/TOTEM1stfriday

Amazing Valentine's Day Cirque du Soleil Promo

This is likely the best deal you are ever going to find on tickets to Cirque du Soleil's Totem in San Jose. For the next two days you can get two tickets for the price of one right over here. You can also get a $35 discount on VIP Rogue tickets, which are pricey but worth it (full dinner, free wine, parking, gifts, desserts during the intermission, and the best seats in the house). It's the perfect event for Valentine's day! More info below.



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This Valentine’s Day say “I love you” with a gift from Cirque du Soleil.

With exciting offers on show tickets and a wide selection of gift items in our boutique, Cirque du Soleil is where you’ll find spectacular ways to show how much you care.

Buy the one you love a show ticket for TOTEM in San Jose and get your ticket for free*! TOTEM opens on March 2 at the Taylor Street Bridge in San Jose.

DISCOVER THE OFFERS by heading to http://tinyurl.com/SJBlogTOTEMVday. Please note this offer is only valid for 72 hours and tickets must be purchased by 11:59pm EST on Saturday, February 4.
*Some restrictions apply. Must become a Cirque Club member, with free subscription, to take advantage of offer. Service and delivery fees apply to all tickets during the purchase process.

B2 Coffee

I just wanted to highlight a great little coffee stand tucked in an empty corner of the San Pedro Square Market. While it may not look like much from the photo, their mocha was the best I've ever had. They also have killer scones and muffins. If you're looking for something more substantial in terms of food, the other Market vendors are in the adjacent room. I highly recommend checking this place out. I'll even go so far to say it give Philz some solid competition (I love Philz too).

The plan is to build out a permanent space for B2 using a large chunk of the vast room it is in now, right at the corner of St. John and San Pedro. I can't wait to see what the final shop will be like.

The B2 coffee stand is currently open from 7:30am-7:00pm Monday through Saturday and 9:00am to 4:00pm on Sunday.

RE: San Jose Weighing Business Tax Increase

An article appeared in last week's San Jose Business Journal about San Jose considering a tax increase for businesses. Surprisingly, the city collects only $10-11 million of business tax revenue a year, much less than other cities in the bay area (Oakland collects $51.5M, SF collects $391.1M). The proposal currently being discussed is a way to double the amount of revenue that San Jose collects from the 54,800 businesses, the largest number of any city in the Bay Area.

I actually have to strongly disagree with this idea. Right now there are many regions of San Jose with office vacancies hovering around 25%, dramatically higher than many other Santa Clara County cities like Palo Alto and Mountain View. Raising business taxes in any way, will simply provide another reason for businesses to not come to San Jose. This isn't a possibility, this is an economic fact. You cannot raise taxes without a negative consequence.

The are two possible exceptions to what I said above:
1.) If San Jose is considered a luxury "product or service" where increasing the price makes it more attractive instead of less (think Bentley, Gucci, etc.). I don't think this is the case.
2.) If the money raised from businesses can be used to provide an improvement to those businesses greater than the additional cost they are paying (think Downtown's PBID)... this is unlikely since the money will likely go straight to the deficit.

Okay, now that I bashed this idea let me offer 2 suggestions:
1.) Use supply and demand to determine when to raise taxes. For example... when office vacancies hit 5%, then slowly increase the tax while lessening the negative impact. Don't do it when we desperately need these spaces to be filled.
2.) Sell additional services to businesses that companies would gladly pay a premium on. A great example is permitting, which has been a San Jose weakness for some time. Let a large company pay substantial extra fees to expedite the permitting process and move a project along faster (have nightshift and weekend employees if needed). The additional money those companies will get by opening the door faster will easily justify whatever extra amount they have to pay. We also want a brand image where San Jose is the best possible city for leading companies; enabling them to execute and build faster is perfectly inline with this image.

Source: SJBJ