October 2013 Downtown Dimension Highlights

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

• SJDA Creates a Strategic Action Plan to improve Downtown over the next 15 months including the following recommendations:
• Increase use of retired and reserve officers Downtown through PBID funding
• Create a one-time global headquarters incentive package for Downtown
• Extend the High-Rise incentive program
• Dedicate a share of future parking meter revenues to promoting Downtown
• Streamline regulations and reduce fees to encourage more festivals and events
• Have the city hire a senior urban designer with a Downtown focus
• Map Downtown's potential development sites along with allowable height and proximity to transit
• Advocate for the A's stadium and an underground high-speed rail alignment
• Centralize homeless resources
• After a decade of planning, the $130 million expansion of the Convention Center is ready! 125,000 SQFT of space has been added, increasing the total size to 550,000 SQFT. The community is invited to an opening celebration on Oct 10th from 4:30-9:00pm.
• Little Italy received $360,000 in donations to acquire two dilapidated homes and turn them into the future Italian American Cultural Facility and Museum.
• Bel Bacio Imported Italian Coffee is coming soon to 350 W. Julian in Little Italay
• Groundwerx are installing RGB pixel light strings on the 32 palm trees that make up the Circle of Palms that could even be programmed for light shows and synchronized with music
• Downtown Ice returns Nov 15th.
• Willow Glen Yogurt and Ice Cream Co. has opened a concession in Camera 12 Cinema
• Da Kine Island Grill opens at 23 N. Market with Hawaiian and Island-style recipes

To read the full newsletter, click here!

Content 5.4 Pick Up Party!

The latest edition of Content is going to be released this Thursday, and per tradition they will be throwing a party at a cool local venue to celebrate. This time, it will take place at ICA and include a free drink and appetizer courtesy of Cafe Stritch for subscribers (I love both these places). This also happens to be the same day as the opening celebration for the Convention Center Expansion, just a short walk away. So much going on!

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Our Pick Up Party is NEXT WEEK!
We hope you can make it!

Come celebrate the release of another great issue at San Jose's ICA. Subscribers enjoy a free drink with appetizers by Cafe Stritch, pick up your magazine and meet other Content subscribers and contributors.  You can also pick up a few tips and tricks about buying and collecting art.  Starting at 7pm ICA curators will take you on a tour of the 33rd Annual Art Auction Exhibition that presents 200 original works in a range of mediums by California’s rising and established contemporary art stars.  You’ll also get the inside scoop on navigating the upcoming Silent and Live Auction events and of course, you can bid on and buy artwork in the Silent Auction gallery.  View the auction works now and listen to the artists describe their work through a free audio tour that you can access from the online gallery. 

RSVP: Email / Facebook

Guest Post on Off-site Alcohol Sales Permits

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I wanted to thank Josh for allowing me to bring to light what may seem like a very technical and inconsequential issue in San Jose that is actually a very important problem that impacts the lives of many owners and employees of small businesses and residents who live in neighborhoods that are saturated with stores that sell off-site hard alcohol and other spirits.

Specifically, the City of San Jose’s troubling policy of approving essentially all off-site alcohol sales permit requests in areas that have been deemed "over-concentrated" by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) as long as the applicant is a big "full service" grocery store like Walmart. Case in point, the city recently approved a liquor license for a Walmart neighborhood market at 4080 Stevens Creek Boulevard even though ABC deemed the area over-concentrated with liquor licenses. And now, the City is looking to rubber stamp yet another request by Walmart to obtain an off-site alcohol sales permit at their location in the Westgate Shopping Center; again, this area is also deemed over-concentrated with liquor licenses by ABC and experiences a fair amount of crime.

Residents, neighbors and merchants have come out in big numbers opposing these alcohol permits in their neighborhoods because they are rightfully worried about the increase in crime and decrease in property values that typically occurs in neighborhoods that are over-saturated with off-site hard alcohol sales. In fact, the San Jose Police Department has stated at public hearings for these permits that an increase in hard alcohol sales in a community results in an increase in crime; which in turn results in decreased property values and other various problems.

Despite this fact, the planning commission and city council consistently continues to approve off-site alcohol sales permits for stores like Walmart regardless if the area is in a high crime area and/or is over-concentrated with liquor licenses. However, if the store requesting an off-site permit is a convenience store or stand-alone liquor store, the commission and council have decided that these small mom and pop businesses are not worthy of the same treatment. In fact, the City's policy is to deny any off-site alcohol sales permits for small businesses that are not "full service grocery" as they are all grouped together as attracting crime and mischief which may be the case for some but certainly not all. Such a blanket policy is both unfair and reeks of greedy tax revenue favoritism of big businesses like Walmart over our small mom and pop businesses that are often run and owned by real people and employees who actually live in San Jose.

Furthermore, when asked what actually constitutes "full service grocery" the city apparently does not even have a working definition or required sales percentage of what that means. So if only 4% of Walmart’s floor space is "grocery" they are still considered full service grocery by the City even if 20% of their floor space is alcohol sales and the rest, other goods. However, if a convenience store has the same percentages they are "a liquor store" and under the city's policy will not be given any new off-site alcohol sales permits because they aren't Walmart essentially and don't generate as much tax revenue for the City.

This unfair treatment of our small businesses over big box stores like Walmart and the approval of off-site alcohol licenses in areas that are already over-concentrated with off-site sales permits and/or are in high crime areas has to stop. This short sighted and greed influenced planning on the City's part will have the long term effect of pushing out mom and pop businesses that have been around for decades while also continuing to increase crime and decrease property values as more and more off-site alcohol permits are granted above and well beyond what should be allowed. The city can start to rectify this problem by denying Walmart’s request for an off-site alcohol sales permit as the Westgate Shopping Center which is already “over-concentrated” with off-site alcohol permits.

If you are interested in more information or updates on this issue or would simply like to comment, please send an email to keepwestgateshoppingcentersafe@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Resident

Downtown San Jose Cameo

Check out the locations used in the TouchPal X app video below. Notice any familiar places?


TouchPal X from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

One South Market Rises Above Ground-Level!

Just a quick post to let you all know that One South Market is now rising up beyond street level. It won't be long until we see a crane in the sky! Thanks Jeff Arko for sending this in.

Saturday Stats: San Jose Draws the Greatest Influx of New Residents in the US

It looks like there is more to all the Silicon Valley traffic this year than just a larger number of people having jobs post-recession. San Jose has taken the top spot in terms of inbound moves in the nation. There were 51% more inbound moves than outbound moves in San Jose. That means that for every 100 families that move out of the city, 151 are moving in.

Second place went to Portland, which was followed by Houston in third, San Francisco in fourth, and Charlotte rounding out the top five. The five cities with the largest moving deficits were Chicago (25.9% more moving out than in), New York City, St. Louis, Boston, and Norfolk-Virginia Beach.

What does this mean? Well, our population is going to continue to grow. We're going to have to continue to look at how we can increase density and infrastructure to accommodate what could become quite a large city. Some are estimating 1.4 million San Jose residents by 2040. This also will likely mean more "big-city" amenities that would be expected of a larger city and accelerated growth of the burgeoning culture scene in San Jose.

Source: SVBJ

The Sharks Be Nuckin' on Vancouver's Door

In a classic rivalry match-up, the San Jose Sharks faced the Vancouver Canucks at home, and in usual (recent) fashion, skated away with a victory (by a nice three goal lead: 4-1).  The Sharks did not start scoring until the middle of the second period, but until then, their dominant puck control and shots on net only foreshadowed  that goals would soon come.  Fans, of course, were not disappointed.

The Canucks are now operating with John Tortorella, their new head coach, replacing Alain Vigneault, who was fired shortly after being swept by the Sharks in the first round of the playoff series last year.  (Interestingly enough, John Tortorella was fired by the New York Rangers in the same fashion last year, and was replaced by none other than Alain Vigneault.)  With Tortorella at the helm of the Canucks' bench, they are likely going to go through some growing pains, and the Sharks may have some interesting games against the Canucks this year as the team adopts to their new head coach's style.

While most NHL teams have had some major transformations, the Sharks' bench has remained relatively familiar, with the notable additions of Tyler Kennedy (previously of the Pittsburgh Penguins) and rookie Tomas Hertl.  Most impressive about the Sharks' return is in addition to seeing the familiar aggressive style, it is great to see players normally hesitant to shoot to start getting the pucks to the net.  Infamously, Joe Thornton and Brent Burns are both known for their penchant to either hold on to the puck or pass to a teammate rather than shoot the puck when their opportunities to score arise.  Burns put his bad habit to rest when he buried the Sharks' first goal of the season with a laser wrist shot zooming past goaltender Roberto Luongo.  This was followed up with a wrist shot from the point by Justin Braun, who notched his first of the year as well.

Despite the Sharks turning it up in the latter half of the game, scoring all of their goals on even strength play, they were 0 for 8 on the power play, including failing to score on a two minute 5 on 3 power play, only getting off a few shots, with most turned away or blocked by the Canucks' well-placed defenders.  Although it is early in the season, the Sharks must step up their special teams (e.g. power play 'man advantage' strategy) play by improving the ability to shoot the puck quickly and effectively.  Any viewer can see the passes are fast and accurate, but shooting the puck may still be a problem.  (I understand it is easy for me to say, but look at many other effective power play teams, where team snipers - those who are known primarily for their shooting ability - are placed in lethal scoring positions.)

Overall, the fans got what they came for: a win, exciting play, and the typical chippiness (i.e. lots of penalties) expected when the Sharks play the Canucks.

While many fans have complained about the lack of moves made by the Sharks in the off-season, it is evident the skill and ability to take it all the way is still there.  The leadership and support is also still there.

It is also easy to see, once our boys get scoring, the momentum the SAP Center provides is there in full force.

Goals for the Sharks were scored by Brent Burns, Justin Braun, Patrick Marleau, and Tommy Wingels.  Great to see our boys back!

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk Today!

From Phantom Galleries: This Friday is the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk in downtown San Jose.  Oct. 4th, 7-11pm, all venues are free & open to the public. Here's just a few highlights to get you started Friday night: At KALEID Gallery: new feature exhibitions by Mariya Milovidova, and Michelle Waters The Journey new works by Mariya Milovidova This particular collection of new works by Milovidova is the reflection of a personal life journey. This journey describes her fascination with fashion, foreign cultures, architecture, and romance. It can be seen in every single artwork as it tells its own story, but it truely comes alive when the viewer reads their own story within the paintings and drawings. Mariya Milovidova was born in Odessa,the beautiful city in Ukraine by the Black Sea where she attended Greckov Art School studying the techniques of old school European masters. Currently she resides in Bay Area where she graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelors in Studio Art. We Are All Animals new works by Michelle Waters The art in this show gives voice to the billions of animals who live, suffer and die in factory farms and laboratories, and the wild animals whose world is being stolen by habitat destruction, overconsumption and poaching. It is not a question of Do animals have rights? But a question of What gives us the right, to take life? Where do we draw the line? These are the questions behind the paintings in this exhibition. Michelle Waters has been painting since the mid 1980s, and shows her work nationally. She is also an animal rights, environmental and social justice activist. Phantom Galleries presents Rocks, Waves & Clouds by Matthew Seigel at Pho69. Similar to traditional Asian scrolls, Matthew’s paintings capture the impermanence of an idea or location. His new paintings were inspired by the natural beauty of a low tide walk along Maine’s rocky coast. Overwhelmed with the colors, forms and relationships of rocks, the sea and sky, Matthew immediately set up an impromptu studio on his father’s farmhouse porch. The result are these modern, vibrant scrolls, acrylic on synthetic rice paper, hung on aluminum rods. Matthew invites you to experience Maine. Phantom Galleries presents Five Zero Five by Ashley Gulizia at Good Karma Vegan Café. Inspiration is drawn from bright colors, striking shapes, and nature. It is the random things and places that spark perspective. Beauty is all over the place – even the rarest of places. Using light to manipulate dramatic scenes, the world becomes surreal. Opening thought to where beauty lies. Phantom Galleries presents Heritage of Rural Life in India by Yasala Balaiah at 95 S. Market St. Yasala Balaiah an established senior artist was born in India in 1939 & now resides in Hyderabad. Balaiah is also known for his delightful paintings of “Telangana Women,” drawn from the beautiful rural backdrop of his native land. His colorful paintings of brightly attired, dark complexioned, straight nosed strong boned Telangana women, captured with a native candor brings a refreshing whiff of rural splendor. One can’t help but admire the artist’s attention to detail and the extensive work that has gone into not just portraying the expressions but their attire too. Use of bright orange, red, yellow and green has a captivating effect. Whether it is a group of women gossiping in the village or farmers with their cattle, each painting narrates a story of the rural life. Phantom Galleries presents Dysfunctional by Andrew Agutos at 376 S. 1st St. “My canvases are windows into an ideal world imagined in my head. Architectural, geometric structures are surrounded and covered in patterns referencing pop art, abstract expressionism and graffiti. Remixed Warhol-camouflage, iconic cartoon imagery and colors from the fashion world are presented in a synthetic space much like the internet. Organic forms are layered with angular shapes, creating environments that are comfortable, chaotic, inviting and unknown.” Seeing Things Gallery: Dave Dave Dave featuring the photography of Dave Carnie, Dave Schubert and Dave Franklin Everyone knows someone named Dave. Most know two, three maybe, even four or five Daves. I know a lot of Daves. I know a painter Dave, a few musician Daves, one of my oldest friends is named Dave, and the guy who lives next door to me is named Dave too. One thing I’ve figured out is all Daves are not created equal. Some are cool and some outright suck. The Daves in the Dave, Dave, Dave show, however, are what I like to call extraordinary Daves. All three of these Daves are photographers. These days the word “photographer” is thrown around too easily, but these Daves are not just good photographers, but great photographers. These Daves are Dave Carnie, Dave Schubert, and Dave Franklin. If you don’t know these Daves, look them up and be ready to see some things you’ve never seen before—and maybe add some more Daves to your life. Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design presents Suicide­ a new series by Barron Storey. The legendary illustrator and fine artist, Barron Storey, returns to Anno Domini for his fifth solo exhibition with the gallery. Having lost several people close to him to suicide: mother, her brother, ex-wife, and close friend, Storey began asking others: “Did you know anyone who committed suicide?” So many did. Storey made drawings of each one in his journals….pages and pages of them. The resulting art works on canvas are poignant, beautifully expressed moments of deep despair and the struggle to understand “why?”. An illustrator, graphic novelist, fine artist and noted educator, Barron Storey has created award-winning artworks for the covers and pages of Time, National Geographic, Saturday Review, and The Sandman: Endless Nights, among many others including the cover of the classic novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1980 edition.) His artworks are held in the collections of the National Air and Space Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Storey resides in San Francisco, CA and is a professor at California College of the Arts and San Jose State University. Special music performances throughout the evening by Freya Seeburger (cello) & Giovanna Hutchison (soprano). For full schedule of exhibitions and locations, please visit: www.SouthFIRSTFRIDAYS.comor you can keep informed through the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ArtWalkSJ