Wednesday Wishlist: Mass Transit Upgrades From London

While it was just recently that I posted about the planned upgrades to BART that will come just in time for BART's expansion to San Jose, there are already some other great ideas out there that would be nice to have in our mass transit system. London is going to start getting next generation trains for several of its lines in 2022, and there are three great ideas that I would love to see incorporated into BART.

1.) Autonomous Trains - Improved safety, reliability, and a permanent end to BART strikes.
2.) Continuous Trains - Instead of having a series of connected cars, the new tube trains will be one single super-long cabin that can bend. This substantially increases capacity and access.
3.) Safety Doors - There will be no chance of falling onto the tracks since there will be a second set of door that are synced with the trains and only open when there is a train parked at the station.

See the video below for a sneak peak at what is coming next decade to London. Note several elements of the new London trains are incorporated into the new BART trains like more doors and digital signage.

Beer-and-Food Pairing Dinner at Scott's Seafood in Downtown San Jose

I'm spreading the word on an upcoming five-course dinner featuring tasty brews from Lagunitas Brewing Company because it's going to be a good one.

The beer dinner will take place on Thursday, Oct. 23, at Scott's Seafood and promises to be a great treat for those both experienced with beer dinners already and those new to the delights of such events.

The dinner will take also place on the sixth-floor rooftop, providing a unique setting with great views of downtown.

Here's the menu:

Check-In: Smoked salmon crostini and calamari with lemongrass beurre blanc. Paired with Lagunitas Daytime Session IPA.

Getting Started: Marscapone stuffed dates. Paired with Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Double IPA.

Round Two: Spinach salad with Mandarin oranges, toasted almonds, goat cheese tossed with a poppy seed dressing. Paired with Lagunitas Censored Copper Ale.

Main Course: Mahi Mahi with pineapple relish served with coconut rice and bok choy. Paired with Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Pale Wheat Ale.

Sweet Finale: Pumpkin cheesecake. Paired with Lagunitas Imperial Red Ale.

The dinner is $45, and tickets are available for purchase online.

I've written a bit more about the dinner on Examiner.com.

Axis Residents Helping to Clean Up the Neighborhood

A bunch of Axis residents have gotten together to help clean a vacant lot next to the newly restored 7up sign between Notre Dame Ave and North Almaden. They cleared out most of the weeds and added some nice landscaping on the perimeter of the lot. It's really nice to see Downtown residents taking pride in where they live!

ITU Growing Into North First Street

San Jose's International Technological University (ITU) has been a relatively small graduate school offering a variety of Master's Degrees in Business (MBAs), Software Engineering, Digital Arts, Electrical Engineering, and Computer Engineering. They even have a handful of Doctoral programs for Business Administration, Electrical Engineering, and Interdisciplinary Science. Their enrollment before last year was 700 students. Then in 2013 they became accredited from the Western Association of Schools & Colleges, and their enrollment shot up to 2,000.

At that level of enrollment, they have completely outgrown their Downtown San Jose digs and are upgrading to a 76,500 SQFT building at 2711 North First Street. This will provide them with triple the space as their former headquarters on San Fernando Street.

The move will also allow for a variety of other upgrades:

• A gym and yoga studio
• Health and wellness services
• Collaborative lounge spaces
• Enhancing research programs in embedded systems, robotics, digital arts, and AI

And yet, there is still more. ITU would like to add undergraduate programs in the future targeted towards international students. This may include building a ground-up residential campus in the future to complement their new educational facilities. We could have a new world class university in the making here right in the middle of Silicon Valley.

Source: SVBJ

Kickstarter: Monopoly in the Park Picnic Tables

The largest Monopoly board in the world needs your help! There are four tables with checkerboard centerpieces that have to be replaced due to wear and tear over the last 10 years and some vandalism. Since Monopoly in the Park does not receive any funding from the city, they are looking to the community to help fund these new tables that will be available for all to enjoy (and this time they will be coated with anti-graffiti sealer to protect and preserve this investment).

To contribute, please head over to the Kickstarter page over here. Hat tip to Karl Schramm for alerting me to this.

Saturday Stats: Best Cities to Trick or Treat 2014

San Jose has again made the list of Best Cities to Trick or Treat! Zillow creates this list using four equally weighted variables: the Zillow Home Value Index, population density, Walk Score, and local crime data. This should theoretically provide the cities that provide "the most candy, in the least amount of time, with the fewest safety risks."

For 2014, San Jose ranked #5 on the list. This is one slot below last year; however, I could see us easily moving up again next year based on the criteria. Within San Jose the top neighborhoods for trick-or-treating were Willow Glen, Cambrian, Almaden Valley, Rose Garden, and Blossom Valley--in that order.

To see the other cities that made the list, just scroll down or hit the source link.

Source: Zillow

SJ Music Fest @ Plaza de Cesar Chavez Tomorrow

The SJ Music Fest is coming to Plaza de Cesar Chavez tomorrow between noon and 9pm. The event will be headlined by grammy winning R&B band Tony! Toni! Tone'! In addition, you'll have Jingo Santana's Roar (A Santana Tribute), Dakilla, Lumbre, RJae Haas Band, Willie Joe, Darling Bonnie, Jay Lozoya, Myscotto, Bugga Maroo & Tyson. To complement the music, there will be gourmet food trucks, BBQ, beer, and wine.

At 11pm, there is also an after party at Liquid Restaurant & Lounge. The proceeds for the SJ Music Fest will benefit SJ Pulse tech, arts, music, and sports programs in San Jose. More info here.

Sourisseau News: "Our Japanese Neighbors"

The latest edition of Sourisseau News features a more somber story on what happened to Japanese Americans in San Jose during World War II. The video is less than three minutes long and as always is well worth your time. Watch it through the end for a surprisingly ironic ending to the story.


Our Japanese Neighbors from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.