Daimler and Bosch will trial autonomous taxis in San Jose

All roads are headed towards robotaxis. Every major auto manufacturer is investing heavily in self-driving technology, and services are coming far sooner than you think. Waymo--which is owned by Google--will be the first to launch a paid service using autonomous vehicles. Arizona will be the first to get the service over the next couple months, followed by the Bay Area.

Right on the heels of Waymo, Daimler and Bosch are doing a pilot in San Jose during the second half of 2019. They will use a fully autonomous Mercedes Benz S Class to transport passengers between Downtown San Jose and the San Carlos/Stevens Creek corridor (Santana Row & Valley Fair). That is probably the route in San Jose in greatest need for a transit upgrade.

Unlike Waymo, who is already running some cars with no safety driver--they will have two safety drivers in each vehicle. You will be able to summon a car by using an app and presumably the service will be either very low cost or free during the trial period. Welcome to the future.

Source: Engadget, SVBJ

Coworking Foundation begins new chapter in Silicon Valley

All Good Work is a nonprofit foundation that connects "social impact organizations" (mostly nonprofits) to donated workspaces. The foundation has officially expanded to Silicon Valley and already has a network of 15 flexible workspace hosts. Veggielution is one of the first San Jose organizations that will benefit from their generosity.

The official launch of their Silicon Valley program took place a week ago at Common Grounds and featured a speech from San Jose Mayor, Sam Liccardo.

For more info on the launch and the organization, head over here and here.

Happy Thanksgiving 2018!

Hope you all have a wonderful time and lots of delicious eats today. Warm wishes to you and your family from your friends at The San Jose Blog!

VTA's Holly Trolley is back for the holidays!

VTA has a special historic train all decked out for the holidays that loops around Downtown San Jose. The train runs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from November 23rd to December 30th. It runs on the Light Rail tracks between the Civic Center and Diridon Station and is completely free. It is worth seeking out if you are visiting Christmas in the Park, Downtown Ice, or any other Downtown holiday attraction.

For a timetable, click here.

Epic San Jose promo video

OED just unleashed one of the best promotional videos I have ever seen for San Jose. It is well worth a minute of your time. They are also looking for more San Jose companies to highlight in future videos, so if you know one that should be featured, hit the link below.

Source: SJ Economy Blog

Google buys a North San Jose office building for $155M

Google's first campus in San Jose may not be what you expect. Yes, they have been working for ages on a transit-oriented urban campus centered around Diridon Station in Downtown San Jose. That campus will eventually house tens of thousands of employees across a staggering 8 million SQFT of office space. However, one of their first forays into San Jose is going to be a bit more modest than that.

Google has just acquired two office buildings in North San Jose at 4300 and 4400 North First Street. The buildings are just north of Highway 237, which I would consider to be Alviso.

The buildings are partially occupied by Harmonic and Compstak and have recently been renovated. The leases expire in 2020, which is only a little over a year away. Their intentions for the buildings are not yet clear, but this seems like an obvious extension of their Mountain View campus, which is only 8 miles away by car or a 45 minute bike ride away.

Source: SVBJ

Cinema Club Silicon Valley

One of San Jose's best kept secrets is Cinema Club Silicon Valley. Once per month, they screen a movie that you can't see anywhere else and follow it with a filmmaker Q&A. Each screening is a surprise and the club has been going strong for 22 years. The last movie they screened was PROSPECT, which just opened for a wide release this past weekend.

On November 18th, they will have their final screening for 2018 and they are opening it up for everyone. Tickets are $16 and it will screen at 3Below in Downtown San Jose.

To RSVP, click here and follow the ticket link.

Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice returns for 15th season under the Circle of Palms

Downtown Ice returns this weekend bigger and better than before. To celebrate 15 years, the rink is going to get a fresh look with new boards, rail caps, and mats. This season it will stay open all the way until January 27th for the NHL All-Star weekend, which is hosted at the SAP Center starting January 25th.

Local Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi is also hosting a grand opening celebration on November 20th at 6pm. All of the details, hours, and costs are below. 

SAN JOSE – Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice will be front and center during holiday, college football and hockey activities this extended skating season, which lasts from Nov. 16 through Jan. 27. The ice rink will be home to Downtown San Jose for the Holidays with partners Christmas in the Park and Winter Wonderland.  Combined, the three attractions attract more than 800,000 visitors.

To accommodate the College Football Playoff the first week of January, Christmas in the Park will close at midnight on Christmas; Winter Wonderland on Dec. 31 – while Plaza de Cesar Chavez transitions into the Championship Campus’ “Quad” area Dec. 26-Jan. 3.

The College Football Playoff Host Committee plans to utilize Downtown Ice and call it “Championship Ice” Jan. 4-7.  The rink will also have a different look for that week. The skating season stays open two weeks longer than normal – through Jan. 27 – for the NHL All-Star weekend starting Jan. 25, as the Sharks host the league’s best players at SAP Center.

With all the special events surrounding the rink, Downtown Ice has a bounty of new and national partners.  Say hello to new sponsors College Football Playoff Host Committee, Alaska Airlines, National Hockey League, San Jose Sports Authority, Google, Adobe and Amazon.

Swenson, PG&E, The Sobrato Organization, Wells Fargo, The Office of Cultural Affairs, the City of San Jose, Republic Services and Valley Transportation Authority return as loyal partners for this fun holiday family tradition.  Longtime media partners include Clear Channel Outdoor, Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, NBC Bay Area, Telemundo 48, El Observador, Mix and K-Bay and KQED.

Proceeds from the Dec. 16 Santa Run Silicon Valley also help support Downtown Ice and Christmas in the Park.  Sign up at santarunsv.com.

Also, as usual, the trees of the Circle of Palms will be lit with thousands of color-changing LED lights to delight skaters.

This will be Downtown Ice’s 15th year in the Circle of Palms.  To celebrate the milestone anniversary, the rink will have a fresh look this year, with new dasherboards, rail caps and ice mats, plus some new plumbing under the platform to provide a more efficient freeze.

Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic gold medal winner in women’s figure skating, will celebrate the opening of San Jose’s ice season with sponsors on Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.  Yamaguchi adds her name to support the rink for the eighth time, and her Always Dream Foundation will again be a rink beneficiary. Rink hours vary over the course of the season.  Events and Promotions Manager Amy Anderson has special events planned during the season.  Details are at downtownicesj.com, which has also been improved for mobile users.

More than 60,000 skaters and 120,000 of their friends are expected to visit the ice this season.  The rink generates more than $4 million in economic impact to San Jose.

During November, early December and after the holidays in January, Downtown Ice is open 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5 p.m.-midnight on Friday; noon-midnight on Saturday; and noon-9 p.m. on Sunday.  During the winter break, the rink is open 11 a.m.-midnight daily.  Special hours apply to the holidays and may change around the big events.

The rink phone number is (408) 291-0525.  Parking information is at http://parksj.org.            

Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice details

When:  Open daily Nov. 16, 2017 – Jan. 27, 2018 

                                    Nov. 16-17                  

Friday  5 p.m. - midnight
Saturday  noon - midnight

Nov. 18-25   

Sunday   noon - 9 p.m.

Monday - Tuesday 5 - 9 p.m.
Wednesday  2 p.m. - midnight

Thanksgiving  2 p.m. - midnight

Friday - Saturday 11 a.m. - midnight

Nov. 26–30
Monday - Thursday 5 - 9 p.m.
Friday   p.m. - midnight

                                    Dec. 1-19
                                    Saturday noon - midnight

Sunday noon - 10 p.m.

Monday - Thursday - 10 p.m.
Friday   p.m. - midnight

                                    Dec. 20–Jan. 7            
                                    Daily  11 a.m. - midnight

Christmas  2 p.m. - midnight
New Year’s Eve  11 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.

New Year’s Day  noon - midnight

Jan. 8–20 
Tuesday – Thursday  5 - 9 p.m.
Friday  5 p.m. - midnight
Saturday noon – midnight

Sunday  11 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Monday 5 - 9 p.m.

                                    Jan. 21–27                  
                                    Monday - MLK, Jr. Day 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Tuesday – Wednesday 5 - 9 p.m.
Thursday - Friday 5 p.m. - midnight
Saturday noon - midnight

Sunday . 11 a.m.-9 p.m.

Admission:

Children 10 & younger, Seniors and Military: $15

11 years & older: $17

Bring your own skates: $10

Cash, Paypal, Visa and Mastercard accepted. Admission includes ice time and rental skates (skate sizes range from toddler 8 to men's 15). 

Skate all you want (no in-and-out privileges)/ First-come, first-serve.

Address (starting November 16):  120 S. Market St., San Jose, CA 95113

Phone: (408) 279-1775 (SJDA); (408) 610-4055 (rink starting Nov. 16)