Thin Film Establishing an Innovation Center in San Jose

Thin Film Electronics ASA in a Norwegian company that specializes in "printing" electronics on rolls of flexible material. This technology could become very disruptive, lowering the cost of producing electronic components dramatically and also opening up new markets. One cool product they are working on that ships this year is an electronic piece of plastic that includes integrated sensors with the ability to track temperature. Imagine having this slapped on a bag of fish or meats to track the full temperature history of that product, ensuring the food is not compromised by the time it gets to the grocery store.

They are entering the San Jose area by purchasing Kovio, a company that supports NFC (near field communications) on these tiny printed electronics. The tech makes it so that you can use a smartphone or other electronic device to easily communicate with these printed devices wirelessly. Kovio is located on Zanker Road, where it also has a manufacturing facility.

Source: SVBJ

Content Magazine Pick Up Party @ SP2

The latest issue of Content Magazine is almost here, and as per tradition they are throwing a party to celebrate! The venue of choice this time around is SP2, one of the best new Downtown San Jose restaurants of last year. Subscribers (and their +1) get a free drink and appetizers. The event runs from 6-8pm on February 18th. All the details are below.

It's PICK UP PARTY Time!

Celebrate a new year of Content with our newest issue, "Discover." Think there’s nothing to do in San Jose? Think again. In this issue, we’ll feature people worth watching, places worth visiting, and businesses worth supporting. Discover something new (or new to you).

Start that spirit of discovery by visiting SP2, one of San Jose's newest restaurants.  Previously a horse stable, now a communal bar and restaurant with delicious, locally sourced American bistro cuisine.

Print Subscribers, Contributors and Featured Personalities (and their +1) are invited to enjoy a free drink and passed appetizers, and a night of connecting and picking up the latest issue of Content Magazine.
Not a subscriber? Make it your resolution to support local. Subscribe now to receive Content Magazine 6x a year--in Print & Digital ($42) or Digital Only ($23).

Stop on by. Meet new people. Learn new reasons to love your city.  RSVP (Facebook) //RSVP (email)

Tuesday, February 18th
6-8pm

Synaptics Expands San Jose Headquarters

Synaptics is one of the market leaders in touch-sensing technology, such as trackpads on laptops. The company moved its headquarters to Northeast San Jose in 2013, and they are already expanding. They just paid $10 million for an extra 80,000 SQFT of space at 1140 and 1150 Ringwood Court. These two buildings are right next to their current three-building campus.

Source: SVBJ

Cocoabella Chocolates Valentine's Day Collections

Valentine's Day is almost here and my favorite chocolate shop is featuring several collections to celebrate the occasion. Cocoabella is a curator of the best artisan chocolates from all over the world. The quality and uniqueness of each piece blows away the cookie-cutter stores. It has gotten to the point where my wife can't go to Valley Fair without picking up one of their boxes along with a chocolate drink.

The Valentine's Day Collections include chocolates from France, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, and across the US, all handmade and flown in last week. If your significant other hasn't tried these out yet, then you have the opportunity to score some big points this year.

Check out Cocoabella at Valley Fair on the first floor near the center court or online right over here.

Sat, Feb 15th: Cupid's Undie Run in Downtown San Jose

Admit it, you've dreamed of running around downtown San Jose in your unmentionables, haven't you?

Well it's not too late to let your dreams come true - and in a totally legal manner as well. This Saturday (February 15th) join the Cupid's Undie Run! It's a mile(ish) jaunt from Britannia Arms and down and around Plaza de César Chávez. Since we have fabulous weather (compared to everywhere else), you probably won't even feel the chill! (No guarantees, though.)

So what is the Cupid's Undie Run? Yes, it's another novelty-themed run, but for a fabulous cause. Funds raised will go to The Children's Tumor Foundation. Last year they raised $1.3 million for the cause. The run happens on the same day around the country; there's one in San Francisco, but this year they added San Jose to the mix. 

The Children's Tumor Foundation is the world's largest non-government organization dedicated to ending neurofibromatosis. From the website, a quick description is this:

There are children out there suffering from a debilitating genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis (NF). NF causes tumor to grow all over the nervous system and can cause blindness, deafness, learning disabilities and severe chronic pain. 

So, prepare your accessories to wear with your undies and register today before all the spots are taken up. This morning on Alice 97.3 (a sponsor of the run) they mentioned there was only 100 or so spots left; so you better hurry! Get your friends together and run!

Click here for the Cupid's Undie Run: Silicon Valley page
Registration cost: $50
Time: "The party starts at 12:00pm , run time is 2:00pm , then back for more fun until 4:00pm . Arrive early and stay late... and feel free to remain pants-less the entire time!"
Start location:
The Britannia Arms Downtown San Jose 
173 W. Santa Clara Street, San Jose, CA 95113

**Photo above is from the Cupid's Undie Run in Denver, Colorado.

Two New Hyatts Coming to North San Jose

Yet another duo of hotels is coming to the North First area. It seems like every hotel announced in this general area is coming in pairs. First we had SpringHill Suites (146 rooms) and Residence Inn (175 rooms) at Airport and North First which will share the same physical building and back of house operations. Then earlier this year we found out about Hampton Inn and Suites (145 rooms) and Home2 Suites (140 rooms), which will be housed in separate buildings at the old Piercey Toyota lot, but likely share operations and resources.

Now we have two Hyatts being announced: a Hyatt Place clocking in a 164 rooms and seven-stories, and an extended stay Hyatt House with 140 rooms (five-story building). This will all be located on six acres at North First and East Brokaw Road, very close to both the airport, the casinos, and a massive 2 million SQFT office project proposed for the area. I also have to mention that there is easy access to light rail here, making these hotels great options for people flying into town to catch an event at the new 49ers Stadium.

The project will cost $65 million and construction will begin in Q2 2015 with completion expected in late 2016.

Hyatt House: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/california/hyatt-house-san-jose-airport/sjcxa
Hyatt Place: https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/california/hyatt-place-san-jose-airport/sjcza

Source: SVBJ, Hat tip to Joseph Meduri

Sourisseau News 2014-02 Video

In the latest installment of the Sourisseau News, see what the Alameda Blvd looked like in 1880! Question for the historians out there...what happened to the electric railway on the Alameda?


Sourisseau News 2014-02 from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.

Saturday Stats: Car Ownership Highest in San Jose

This week's stat is kind of a two-parter. The Wall Street Journal posted an article stating that a larger share of US households do not own a car than in 2007. This is entirely true, but the change in American car ownership over those five years amounted to a measly half of a percentage point (0.5%). Some cities like San Diego, Austin, Ft. Worth, and Denver actually saw car ownership rise. San Jose takes the cake for the highest percentage of car ownership, with 94.2% of households owning a car. Over those five years, households with cars dropped in San Jose by 0.4%, close to the drop for the US Average.

Now part two is an article that bothers me by The Atlantic. They took the same data the Wall Street Journal used and asked the question, "why do the smartest cities have the smallest share of cars?" Let me remind everyone that San Jose was named the Smartest City in America by the TODAY Show a couple weeks ago, and we were at the very bottom of the data set for car ownership (lower means more households with cars in this case) along with cities like Austin and San Diego. Not only do I find this argument very weak, but the writer of this article completely corrupted his points by conveniently removing San Jose from his data set for "Cars and College" showing the correlation between education and car ownership (arguing that people with more education are less likely to own car). Check out the articles and lets us know what you think.

Sources: WSJ, The Atlantic, Hat tip to Tim Reed!