Saturday, March 12, 2016

Saturday Stats: San Jose ranked as the #10 best place to live in the US

U.S. News & World Report has gone through the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States and ranked them in terms of best places to live. The study looked at factors such as affordability, job prospects, and quality of life. Thousands of surveys were factored into the study as well as statistics from the Census Bureau, the FBI, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

San Jose came in a respectable 10th place on the list. The obvious criteria that prevented our city from being higher is affordability. Hit the source link below for the full list as well as more details.

Source: U.S. News & World Report, hat tip to Barclay Livker for sending this in

2016 U.S. News Best Places to Live Rankings – Top 10
Denver, CO
Austin, TX
Fayetteville, AR
Raleigh-Durham, NC
Colorado Springs, CO
Boise, ID
Seattle, WA
Washington, DC
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA


Friday, March 11, 2016

Lively street art installed in SoFA

If you have driven past the intersection of South 1st Street and San Salvador Street, you already know about the vivacious street art that now covers most of the intersection. The work is called "Symphony of Style; Color, Light, and Sound" and was done by the artist Scape Martinez. The print is 25 feet by 20 feet and is reflective of the architecture, nightlife, and creative energy in Downtown San Jose's SoFA district. If you haven't seen it yet, it is worthy of a detour the next time you are in the area.

Source: Phantom Galleries


Thursday, March 10, 2016

San Jose's Signifyd raises $20 million

Signifyd is an e-commerce startup that specializes in fraud protection. They charge e-commerce companies a percentage fee in order to verify that purchases are coming from a legitimate source. Signifyd has protected $5.6 billion worth of transactions so far.

The company has just raised a $20 million Series B round, bringing their total amount of investment to $31 million. It's always great to see San Jose startups getting traction and the funding needed to continue to grow.

Signifyd is headquartered at 2590 North 1st Street.

Source: SVBJ


Wednesday, March 9, 2016

New 11-story hotel planned for "Uptown" San Jose

San Jose desperately needs more hotels, which increase our ability to host major events and bring more visitors into the area. Fortunately, a new hotel project has just been announced two blocks away from Santana Row and across the street from Valley Fair. The proposal is for 173 guest rooms in one 11-story building. The first floor would be the lobby and likely some retail or restaurant space, floors two through five would be parking, and floors 6 through 11 would have the rooms. One cool amenity is that there would be a restaurant and balcony on the 11th floor that overlooks the area.

While it would be nice if the building was taller and the parking was underground, you have to remember that this site currently has a gas station and we are well outside of Downtown. It sounds like a nice project for the area, especially since two possible brands are Hilton's Canopy and Choice Hotels' Cambria. Both are very contemporary high-end brands that feature nicely appointed rooms (think W Hotels). This has the potential of being really interesting inside.

Currently the project is in the city planning and approval process with a goal of starting construction in early 2017.

Source: SVBJ



Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Steve Wozniak plugged a San Jose event on Conan

I was really surprised to see Woz on last night's episode of Conan. He provided a few quick stories involving Steve Job, his famous pranks, and Apple's current situation with iPhone privacy. At the end, I was expecting him to plug a new book or movie--but instead he promoted a new comic-con in San Jose that premiers next weekend! It is called Silicon Valley Comic Con 2016 and runs from March 18th-20th at the San Jose Convention Center. To see Woz's plug along with his full segment, head over to the Team Coco website.




Sourisseau News: Smokestacks

The latest edition of Sourisseau News is all about the smokestacks found in San Jose's early factories. Just be glad we have moved away from coal and we no longer have soot raining from the sky! Check out the two minute video below.

Oh, and a huge congratulations to WMS Media for winning a CreaTV award for their outstanding documentary on one of San Jose's most famous photographers, DelCarlo.


Sourisseau News March 2016 Smokestacks from WMS media Inc. on Vimeo.



Monday, March 7, 2016

New renders of "DIRIDON" project

Trammell Crow's iconic mixed-use project at Diridon station has a slightly updated look and a name change. Now it is called "DIRIDON" instead of #Diridon. This is a critical project in Downtown San Jose as it is next to what will eventually become the busiest transit station on the West Coast. DIRIDON is of commensurate scale--it clocks in at a whopping 940,000 SQFT of office space, 325 apartments, and 35,000 SQFT of retail.

The office space will be built across two massive (wide not tall) towers with giant floor plates and tall ceilings. A tech company would be able to nab about 80,000 SQFT of contiguous floor space thanks to connectors between the towers. The ground floor of the towers will have the retail, restaurants, and gathering spaces. The historic Water Company building will probably be turned into a restaurant as well.

The 325 apartments will reside in a 10-story tower next to the office buildings. There will be about 4,500 SQFT of retail on the ground floor of this tower. A cycling shop was mentioned in the article as a potential use of that space given the proximity of the Guadalupe River Trail. Parking for all three towers will primarily be underground.

Trammel Crow is planning to build this speculatively without a confirmed tenant and construction could happen as soon as the second half of 2016 (yup, this year!).

Source: SVBJ









Sunday, March 6, 2016

Rockage 5.0

Rockage 5.0 is a three-day celebration of retro gaming and indie music. The event was previously hosted at SJSU's Student Union; however, this year they are taking over Downtown San Jose. The event will be dispersed across several venues such as Cafe Stritch, The Ritz, SoFA Market, and of course the AFK Gamer Lounge. One admission gets you into all of the venues.

There will be over 100 classic arcades and pinball machines as well as classic console games. You'll have over 18 live bands and DJs as well as all sorts of events, food, drinks, tournaments, and vendors. All ages are welcome except for events at The Ritz (21+).

It all goes down this weekend from March 11-13th. Events run from 4pm-2am on Friday and Saturday and 4pm-midnight on Sunday.

For more information and to get tickets ($30 for a 3-day pass), head over here.


LINKS:
website: http://rockageSJ.com/
twitter: http://twitter.com/rockageSJ
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rockageSJ
FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/212253359119989/

LIVE MUSIC LINEUP (updated 2/24):
Super Soul Bros. Bit Brigade 
Kirby’s Dream Band
Druniverse 
Fartbarf
Hawk Jones
Vector Hold 
Cola
Nick Reinhart Of Tera Melos
Sweet Peaches
Super Videogame Remix Live w/ VJ Bildo
Viking Guitar
Continuum Kingdom
Survival Guide
Bonnie & The Bang Bang
DJ Cookye
Vic Viper
DJ Bit
Rayza House

SPECIAL EVENTS:
3/12 Rocket League Social at AFKgg Gamer Lounge
3/13 Ubsey Movies: Earthbound Film Fest at AFKgg Gamer Lounge

SCHEDULE:
Friday: Gaming starts at Cafe Stritch, SoFA Market and Metro Newspapers at 4pm. Music starts at 7pm at Cafe Stritch and SoFA Market.

Saturday: AFKgg Gamer Lounge opens at 11am for the Rockage Rocket League Social w/ Kirby's Dream Band and more. Gaming starts in Cafe Stritch, Metro Newspapers and The Ritz (21+ only) at 4pm, music starts at 7pm.

Sunday: AFKgg Gamer Lounge opens at 11am for the Ubsey Movies: Earthbound Film Fest w/ special guests and more. Gaming starts at Cafe Stritch, Metro Newspapers and The Ritz (21+ only) at 4pm, music starts at 7pm.

VENUE INFO:
Cafe Stritch (374 S. 1st St. 408-280-6161)
The Ritz (21+ only) (400 S. 1st St.)
Metro Newspapers (380 S. 1st St. 408-298-8000)
SoFA Market (387 S 1st St. 408-642-5270)
AFKgg Gamer Lounge (163 W. Santa Clara St. 408-766-0235)

Rockage 5.0 art by Other Life Art / David Canavese
CONTACT: Looking to help out with rockage 5.0? rockageSJ@gmail.com
Rockage 5.0 FAQs
Are there ID requirements or an age limit to enter the event?
This is an ALL AGES event. You need to have valid ID to enter The Ritz, 21+ only. 
What are my transport/parking options getting to the event?
Caltrain Diridon Station, VTA Light Rail, VTA Bus. Parking: $5 after 5pm on weekends in various garages (San Pedro, 2nd Street), FREE street parking after 6pm and on Sundays.
What can/can't I bring to the event?
Cosplay is great, but no weapons please.
Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?
RockageSJ@gmail.com
Is my wristband transferrable?
Wristbands are non-transferrable.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
No, just a valid ID. 
What is the refund policy? 
Sorry, no refunds.

Where can I eat?
SoFA District in Downtown San Jose has many amazing spots to eat. All of our venues will be serving food, except for Metro Newspapers and The Ritz.

Will single day passes be sold?
Cafe Stritch and The Ritz will have single day tickets at the door the day of each show. These tickets will get you into multiple venues for one day.
WHEN
WHERE
Cafe Stritch, The Ritz and more - 374 S 1st St San Jose, CA 95113 - View Map