Showing posts with label the san jose blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the san jose blog. Show all posts

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Accidental Posts 🤦‍♂️

I'm sorry about the duplicate posts. I was trying to connect X (Twitter) with Blogger and unintentionally created an endless loop!

I fixed it, so that: 
  • Any post on the blog will also get a headline and image sent to X and Facebook (this was already mostly working before)
  • Any post to Instagram will also send the photo to X, Facebook, and the Blog. These will be rare and only when I'm out-and-about which is tough with a 4 month old. (This is new)
  • Any post or commentary on X, will unfortunately be stuck just there. This is a shame since there is a lot of great interaction on X right around transportation and development topics. Once and a while people involved in those projects jump in.
Thanks for your patience as these issues get addressed!



Monday, August 28, 2023

The San Jose Blog's posting schedule

As a new dad it's been a challenge finding the balance between family, my day job, and The San Jose Blog. However, after slowly ramping things up over the past three months I'm happy to say that the blog will officially go back to daily posts for the first time since 2015. That's seven days a week, 365 days a year. By default posts will be scheduled at 6am PT. 

In rare cases where there is a 2nd post in the same day it'll be scheduled for noon. If you see a different posting time, there is either an Easter egg hidden in the time or I got zero sleep the night before... one of those two.

Social media is also back from life support. I'll check and respond to comments posted on Facebook regularly. Most social media activity will be on X/Twitter

Why X? The velocity at which real-time information and news is shared beats other platforms and the user interface and performance are excellent. Also, a core part of San Jose's brand is innovation and most social media platforms have remained pretty stagnant. While I don't agree with all the changes made by X or even the name, I have to respect that it's a platform that is rapidly evolving and in many cases getting better over time. I'll do 3-5 short posts or reposts on X/Twitter a day to relay anything interesting related to San Jose faster than I normally would on the blog. A link to the longer daily posts will be there too.

Last but not least is Instagram. I'll use this sparingly at big events when I'm able to leave the house more often... which I hear is around the 6-month mark. Fingers crossed. Other parents can correct me here.

*Not my actual wall, Gregory Savage did this who is a UX Researcher and Volunteer at Code for San Jose







Tuesday, June 27, 2023

The San Jose Blog Housekeeping

Today I started a long overdue cleanup of the links to other San Jose blogs and sites over on the right-hand side. Unfortunately, so many of them are now long gone. In fact, here's a list:

  • Live & Local SJ: Music Spotlight
  • What Up! Silicon Valley
  • San Jose Silicon Valley Tours
  • DTSJ.Events
  • LiveSV
  • San Jose Metblogs
  • SoFASloane
  • San Jose Food Blog
  • Think Bigger San Jose

Rest in peace old friends🪦 

I did add a few new links and am looking for more. SJ Today has excellent content, especially around food. The San Jose History FB page is frequently updated and has many unique photos of Silicon Valley's past (including the one below). For Pro Sports, I added the San Jose Barracuda. 

If you can think of any others that should be added, please email me or post in the comments. Thanks to spammers I have to manually approve each comment, so it may take some time for comments to show up. Thanks for your patience as we get this blog rolling again.

Blum's Dept Store.
South First Street. San Jose.
Posted by Bob Emerson on the San Jose History Facebook Group


Friday, May 12, 2023

The San Jose Blog's 14th Anniversary

Time for a personal post! The past several years have been a rollercoaster ride. Both the ups and downs have made it challenging to post on the blog regularly. Fortunately the last two and a half years have been mostly ups. I travelled all around the world, met the love of my life (our first date was in Downtown San Jose), we got married, and as of literally a couple weeks ago we have a new addition to our family named Ava. 

After I get used to the sleep depravation, I promise that I will go back to posting more regularly. However, the lens with which I view San Jose will change to be a bit more family oriented. I'll be more likely to highlight the newest playground versus the hottest craft cocktail bar. 

I just want everyone to know that my heart is still in San Jose and I'll be committed to help promote our city even as my life circumstances change. Hopefully my daughter will appreciate San Jose as much as I do!

P.S. The San Jose Blog just got it's 5 millionth visit! Thank you to everyone that has supported the Blog over the years. Hat tip to Jennifer Bullock who sent Ava the onesie below!



Monday, June 25, 2018

The San Jose Blog ranked #1 for San Jose blogs

Well this is pretty neat. The San Jose Blog was ranked as the top San Jose blog by Feedspot. Blogs were ranked based on Google reputation, Google search rankings, influence and popularity on social media, quality and consistency of posts, and Feedspot's editorial team. Lots of other great blogs such as San Jose Inside, SJEconomy, and Grateful Hubby also made the cut. Check out the full list over here!


Thursday, May 10, 2018

The San Jose Blog's 9th Anniversary!

It is hard for me to believe that the blog has been running for 9 years. I still remember writing the initial post fueled by the desire to prove San Jose is worthy of being the 10th largest city in the county and the capital of Silicon Valley (I re-posted it below, just for fun). Since then, there have been 3,406 additional posts and 3.34 million visitors to The San Jose Blog.

There is still much we can improve as a city, but it is no longer a challenge to argue San Jose is a world-class city. Rarely does a week go by without San Jose being in the national news. We are getting new development proposals weekly and across all sectors (office, housing, hotel, etc.), major infrastructure improvements such as BART and an airport expansion are moving forward, new landmarks such are a modern Light Tower are now an actual possibility--and most importantly--we have a culture that revolves around innovation. That means a willingness to grow, recognize where we can do better, take risks, and try things that push the world forward. As long as we keep innovation as a core value in our culture, the future will always be just a little bit brighter.

Thank you all for supporting this blog over the years. Special shout out to Jennifer Bullock and Kimberly Vacca who have moved out of San Jose for their next adventures. We appreciate all of their contributions to the blog and wish them the best on their future adventures--hopefully they will find their way back to SJ in the future ;) 

Now for a quick step back in time...

Monday, July 17, 2017

Introducting Andrew Rivlin

We are going to start the week off right with an epic development post from our newest blogger, Andrew Rivlin. This will be the first in a new series of "Embracing Urbanism" posts.

Andrew Rivlin is an Urban Designer and Landscape Architect with LPA, Inc. He has an interest in mass transit, urbanism, sustainable design and is excited to witness San Jose’s transformation. Based in the South Bay, he brings a unique perspective from prior experiences in Southern California, Singapore, and Vancouver. Andrew is a member of SPUR and a Planning Commissioner in the City of Campbell. He enjoys cycling, exploring the local brewery scene, and traveling with his family.

Andrew's first post for The San Jose Blog will go live in an hour!


Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Introducing Noe Sacoco

Today I have the pleasure to introduce a blogger who has given us several scoops in the past.

Noe Sacoco Jr is a "Downtown dweller" and hails from Hawai’i, but has called San Jose home the last 8+ years. Noe works in tech, is a college sports junkie (go Duke!), loves traveling, working out, and enjoys hanging out in San Jose’s best kept secrets. Noe is fascinated with Silicon Valley’s innovation and how the Valley fosters creativity where new paradigms triumph over yesterday’s failures. He believes greatness is born here daily. To pitch him story ideas, you can reach him at noesacoco@yahoo.com.

Noe's first post for The San Jose Blog will go live in an hour!

x


Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Introducing John Huân Vũ

You have probably noticed a lot of new contributors and we still have a few more introductions to go. The new team is phenomenal--we are extremely lucky and grateful! Today, I am happy to introduce a Silicon Valley local.

Born and raised in Santa Clara, John Huân Vũ is no stranger to the South Bay. Before living in San Jose, John graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo with a master's degree in computer science and a double bachelor's degree in computer science and mathematics. Thanks to his spouse, John became a huge fan of The San Jose Blog and has also become extremely interested in city, regional, and transportation planning alongside the day-to-day local and national politics. John currently resides in the ever-changing Midtown neighborhood in District 6 between the Rose Garden and Willow Glen. John is also an Airbnb host renting out a room and recommending places to eat, visit, and live like a local (bit.ly/SVBungalow). You can always find John enjoying his time with friends, being involved with his church, taking photographs, eating delicious food (he loves sushi and a great steak), enjoying coffee and tea, drinking great wine, watching musicals and plays, and meeting new people. In addition to writing future articles for The San Jose Blog, John is also a freelance writer for The Valley Catholic, the newspaper for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose. John looks forward to writing articles and becoming a better informed San Jose citizen.

John's first post for The San Jose Blog will go live in one hour!


Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Introducing Josh Hunter

The San Jose Blog will no longer be a one-Josh town! Josh Hunter is a longtime South Bay resident, having grown up in Morgan Hill before escaping to San Jose after grad school. He currently lives downtown and regularly bikes to his office in North San Jose. As a cyclist, he’s interested in transportation planning and the Bay Area trail systems. As a downtown resident he applauds the progress the city has made in the last couple of decades, and the influx of a critical-mass of residents that has elevated the restaurant and bar scene to more appropriate levels for a city our size. One can find him at San Pedro square often, or sampling one of the local breweries (Hapa being the current favorite). He has a master’s in Public Policy and an MBA from Pepperdine, and is currently the Senior Manager for Technology at Blach Construction Company.

Josh Hunter's first post for The San Jose Blog will go live in one hour!


Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Introducing Lawrence Lui

Today we get to introduce a new blogger who has been involved in the San Jose Development Forum for quite some time. This was the first true online hangout for San Jose enthusiasts.

Lawrence Lui grew up in the South Bay suburbs, watching Silicon Valley evolve over the years. After graduating from UC Davis with a background in managerial economics, he became fascinated with the growth and development of San Jose. That's when he moved Downtown to be closer to the action (and the rapidly expanding craft cocktail scene!). Lawrence is a fan of live music, local artists, business news, and every cuisine imaginable.

Lawrence's first post for The San Jose Blog will go live in one hour!


Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Introducing Kimberly Vacca

Today we have some amazing news. After our 8th Anniversary post, several awesome people volunteered to contribute to The San Jose Blog! This means positive changes are in store starting with an increase in the number of weekly posts. We are going back to a daily post Monday through Friday and will work towards having posts on the weekends as well by the end of this year.

Our mission of making our community a better place is the same, but the story will now get told from different perspectives as each blogger has a different background, interests, and writing style. I think this will provide a far more holistic view of where San Jose is today and where we would like it to go in the future.

Without further adieu, we are very excited to introduce our first new contributor. Kimberly Vacca is a recent San Jose resident having moved here from Florida in 2015. She was drawn to San Jose for work, but made the final plunge thanks to San Jose's great weather, outdoor exploration opportunities, high quality of life, and diverse people and food. She works as a city planner for the City of San Jose and is immensely inspired by her progressive, forward-thinking peers who strive to positively impact our growing city. As a city planner she works on creating land use policies that will facilitate the high-quality built environment that San Jose is passionately trying to achieve. In her spare time, you'll find Kim bicycling through both urban and natural landscapes, having a beer at a local brewery, hiking the Santa Cruz mountains, or stuck with her nose in a book.

Kim's first post for The San Jose Blog will go live in one hour!


Wednesday, May 10, 2017

The San Jose Blog's 8th Anniversary!

Where does the time go, has it really been 8 years already? I feel like San Jose has really turned the corner and is getting a lot more love than it did when this blog was first started. There is still a long way to go and plenty of challenges to contend with, but the city is moving in the right direction.

You might have noticed the posting frequency has gone down over the last year or so. Unfortunately some priorities had to be shifted around and I have a lot less time than I used to. My goal is still to do at least three posts a week, but I would be thrilled if any out there wants to contribute as well. We get tons of offers to cover restaurant openings, events, and concerts (usually with free passes). Most of those posts never get written because there just aren't enough hours in the day. If you are interested in stepping up to the podium, just drop me a line.

Now for a bit of nostalgia. Below is our very first post:


Tuesday, May 10, 2016

The San Jose Blog's 7th Anniversary!

Today marks a very special milestone for The San Jose Blog. Seven years ago today this site started as a personal project to highlight all of the great things happening in San Jose. I love this city, and wanted as many other people as possible to love it as well.

It started out as a challenge to show the world that San Jose is cool, has culture, and is worthy of world-class development. Fast forward seven years, and it is much less of a challenge than it was before. San Jose has come a very long way, especially Downtown San Jose which is thriving far beyond my expectations for 2016.

Over seven years the San Jose Blog has put out over 2,800 posts and welcomed 2,350,000 visitors. It has not been easy keeping things running for so long (as many other local bloggers can attest), but I would like to thank all of our contributors over the years for helping keep this special project going. I would especially like to thank Jen Bullock who manages all of our social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) in addition to her super-busy day job.

If you are interested in contributing--whether you would like to write posts, send in photography/artwork, or have unreported news, please feel free to email me any time at josh@thesanjoseblog.com. Last but not least, thank you to all of the readers for giving us the motivation to keep on going!


Friday, January 1, 2016

Welcome to 2016 San Jose!

Happy New Year everyone! 2015 was a phenomenal year for San Jose and I'm optimistic that 2016 is going to be even better. Here is a look back on how we did on 2015 predictions as well as a look to the future.

2015 PREDICTIONS
  • 2nd Generation Residential High-Rises - It has been a long time since a high-rise residential project opened up in San Jose. This year both One South and Centerra will start leasing and will bring a thousand new residents to our city's urban core. Success. One South has filled up nicely and Centerra has just started leasing. Both of these should be completely full in early 2016. 
  • Half-a-Dozen More Cranes Downtown - 2014 is the first year I can remember since the early 2000s where we had three cranes in the air Downtown. 2015 will have many more. Silvery Towers, the AC Hotel, Marshall Squares, the Post & San Pedro Tower, Park View Towers, Symphony Towers, and Mill Creek are all expected to start construction this year. We get partial credit for this one. Silvery Towers, the AC Hotel, and Symphony Towers are all well under construction. Marshall Squares and Mill Creek will definitely get going this year. The rest are still up in the air but have good chances along with new 2015 proposals for the North San Pedro Tower, Museum Place, SJSC Towers, Sobrato Block 3, the Greyhound Towers, and #Diridon. 2016 could have more cranes than at any other time in San Jose's history.
  • Retail and Office will Thrive Downtown - We are finally building enough critical mass Downtown to make retail succeed, and just about every project mentioned above will have a retail component to help fill gaps between retail centers. Office vacancies will likely fall below 10% as more tech startups realize what a great value and experience Downtown San Jose provides. Fail. Office vacancies did not fall below 10% and we still have key retail gaps, but this is one I'm still optimistic we can hit in 2016.
  • Stadiums Galore - Last year we have the grand opening of Levi's Stadium, which is bringing multiple world-class events a stones-throw away from North San Jose. Our hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities are also benefactors here. The new Earthquakes Stadium also goes live in 2015, bringing even more events and quality professional sports to San Jose (along with the largest outdoor bar in North America). Success. Avaya Stadium and Levi's Stadium have both proven to be enormously beneficial and boosted our local economy. 2016 will bring the Super Bowl to Silicon Valley and San Jose is already shaping up to be a key benefactor from the event.  
  • More Great Restaurants - Last year we got First to Market, Taurinus Brazilian Steakhouse, Spuds, Garlic Bread, Seven Seas Sushi, Nick the Greek, and a lot of other great places. 2015 is going to be the year of the Urban Markets with the SoFA Market realizing its potential and a new Market going up by SJSU. Success. The restaurant scene blossomed in 2015 with major additions such as Lou's Beach Shack, Konjoe-Tei, Hawaiian Poke Bowl, Deluxe, Voltaire, Aura, HOM. The SoFA Market is nearly full, and the new SJSU market should be ready by the end of 2016. With Centerra nearly complete and Silvery Towers under construction, the amount of eateries in the San Pedro Square Market area should double by 2017. We also have some great additions slated for 2016 such as Sushi Confidential, Uproar Brewery, and Social Policy.
  • More flights at SJC - We got Tokyo in 2013 and we're about due for at least one new international route this year. You can also expect more routes and flights and the economy continues to thrive. Success. We could not have nailed this any better! Instead of closing one new international route, we are getting four! San Jose will have direct flights to Beijing, London, Frankfurt, and Vancouver in 2016. Seoul and Shanghai are rumored to be in the works as well.
  • BRT Launches - We will have our first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line this year, which will run between Downtown and Eastridge. BRT combines the convenience of Light Rail with low construction costs, and may be key to dramatically improving public transit in the short term. More BRT lines and the BART extension area also on their way. Fail. The Alum Rock BRT line was delayed by a whole year and the construction caused a lot of damage to the community. Hopefully we will get this one back on track.
  • The Completion of Santana Row - The last major development projects to complete the original vision for Santana Row should be under construction this year. Not to worry, Federal Realty will soon start working on a brand new project across next to the Winchester Mystery House. Success. Santana Row construction is in full swing. An entire building has been leased to Splunk, and there are plans to build a major office campus across the street.
That's a wrap, hope you all have an amazing first day of 2016!


Sunday, August 23, 2015

The San Jose Blog's Subtle Refresh

We have recently hit two major milestones on this blog: 2,500 posts and 2,000,000 visits! To celebrate, we made a few minor changes to make the blog easier to read and use:

  • The background color has been changed to white in order to make the content on the page pop out more, especially photos.
  • The top header has been completely eliminated as most of the links there were not relevant.
  • We added a new search (red arrow below) that is far more effective and lets you quickly filter results by The San Jose Blog, content we link to, or the San Jose Blogroll.
We hope you like the changes. If not, let us know in the comments and we'll see what else we can tweak. Thanks everyone for making this blog a big success!



Saturday, April 5, 2014

2,000th Post on The San Jose Blog!

It has been quite a journey so far. Honestly, I was not sure if we would ever hit this milestone and I am pretty sure that no other independent San Jose-oriented blog has reached 2,000 posts. We're still going strong and also just broke 1.2 million page views.

I have been travelling for the past week to visit family and had an opportunity to visit two great American cities: Denver, CO and Louisville, KY. I spent a great deal of time in the downtown areas of both cities and have to say that I had a lot of fun in both locations. The people in Louisville were incredible (friendliest city I have ever been to) and Denver's lively and walkable 16th street filled with shops and restaurants seemed to go on for miles.

The one thing I did not get a sense of in either city (or their downtown cores) was that there would be substantial changes in the future. They are already great cities with a lot to be proud of, but five years from now Denver will still be Denver and Louisville will still be Louisville. On the other hand, I think in five years San Jose will be a very different city than it is today... and while change is scary for most I think San Joseans have the ability to weather and welcome change better than anyone else in the country. That is what excites me the most about living here and working on this blog. We have a lot to look forward to and expect to see some big announcements in the coming months!

Cheers, and hope to see you all another 2,000 posts from now =)

Josh

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2014 is Going to be an Epic Year for San Jose!

Happy New Year everyone! 2013 was a great year for San Jose and I think 2014 is going to be even better. Just a little warning, this is going to be a very long post.  First off, what do we have to look forward to in 2014:

  • The 49ers Stadium - Not only will San Joseans have easy access to a world-class facility, but it will bring some big dollars into our economy. San Jose stands to gain as much as Santa Clara with this new project, and it may also lead to an inflection point with VTA Light Rail. You also have to love that the first major event there will be a San Jose Earthquakes game.
  • 10 New Cranes in the Air Downtown - The development boom in Downtown San Jose has just begun. While we already have cranes up for One South and Centerra, expect to see a sky filled with them by the end of 2014.
  • Major Events at the San Jose Convention Center - The remodeled convention center looks fantastic. The 2014 Silicon Valley International Auto Show will be the first event to take full advantage of the new space, and I'll look forward to many more events that use the new space.
  • More Great Restaurants - In 2013 we saw a huge list of significant openings Downtown: SP2, Cafe Stritch, Orchestria Palm Court, The Farmer's Union, Blackbird Tavern, Nemea, Ike's Vyne, Konjoe, Bray, Bel Bacio, and Whispers. Expect the trend to continue in 2014. I'm especially looking forward to ISO: Beers, Da Kine Grill, CREAM, and of course the SoFA Market.
  • More international flights at SJC - We got Tokyo in 2013 and I have a feeling we will land at least one other major international route in 2014.
  • Construction on Transit Projects - Both BART and BRT construction will be in full swing this year. Even though those systems will not be operational in 2014, it will be 
  • Seeing North First, Midtown, and Japantown Develop - These are the three areas of San Jose that are seeing major urbanization outside of Downtown. In 2014 North First will get millions of additional SQFT in office space, thousands of new homes, and improvements to Light Rail. Midtown will start seeing some new residential projects and retail as will Japantown.
  • The Completion of Santana Row - The last major development projects to complete the original vision for Santana Row should be in place or nearing completion by the end of this year. 

Last year I also took the liberty of making a few 2013 predictions. Let's see how I did:

1.) More than two high-rise buildings will break ground in Downtown San Jose. We know about the Carlyle and One South Market, but I think we will see at least one more. Close, but no cigar. Those two projects did break ground but we will not get the 3rd "high-rise" project until 2014. Many people thought these two would not happen, so I still consider this an overall success.

2.) A major transportation project will be greenlit: be it a BRT line, a Lightrail Expansion, or funding for the subway portion of the BART expansion to San Jose. The number of transit riders and bicyclists will rise. Yes. BRT moving forward.

3.) San Jose will have a stronger brand and identity by the end of the year. Many new cultural and art projects will happen Downtown, helping San Jose feel and look like the Capital of Silicon Valley. I think as a brand there was movement in the right direction, especially with Downtown. Most of the art projects were pushed back, but we will see them in 2014 (underpass illumination, high-rise lighting, etc.)

4.) The Sharks will be back with a vengeance for the 2013-2014 Season. Yes. They are doing quite well ;)

5.) Downtown San Jose Office Vacancies will fall below 10%. Not even close, we are still around 20% but did score some big wins over the year.

6.) The number of restaurants in Downtown San Jose will break 250 for the first time in history. Oh, so so close... @248.

7.) We still have no decision on the A's stadium. However, you can expect a decision in 2014 before Bud Selig retires. This one will depend on how you look at it. Was there an official permanent decision on the A's or just that specific proposal? Still a bit grey here.

8.) San Jose will continue to dominate national rankings in salaries and quality of life. Yes, I think we nailed this one.

9.) We will maintain our status as the safest US city with over 500,000 residents. Yes, believe it or not. In terms of murders and violent crimes we were still far and away the safest city above 500,000 residents in the US.

10.) The Golden Triangle and North First Street developments will accelerate, and we will attract at least one massive tech company to relocate to San Jose to compliment what is the largest cluster of tech companies in the world by a huge margin. Yes, millions of SQFT in planned new developments... several major tech companies moved their HQs to San Jose and we will see a Fortune 100 company move into a million SQFT of North San Jose space in 2014.

Okay one last section here.

Now for some items related to The San Jose Blog. As some of you may have noticed, there was a slight
redesign to the layout of the site. The main panel is now much wider, allowing us to post substantially larger photos and videos. There is also a new ad-block on the right, which I tried to make as subtle as possible. I hope it is not too annoying, but if it is feel free to email me about it (josh@thesanjoseblog.com). Also, for 2014, you will likely see several more days with two posts instead of one. There is so much going on that it is difficult not to get behind with only one post per day.

That's a wrap, hope you all have an amazing first day of 2014!

From Lastlightbender's Instagram Page


Saturday, December 28, 2013

Saturday Stats: 2013 META-Edition!

Every time I post a Saturday Stat, I also toss it in a Google Doc so we can look back on the year and see all of our top rankings listed in a single place. Since it is the last Saturday of 2013, the time to reflect is now.

The list is even longer than 2012. San Jose's achievements this year include #1 lowest housing vacancy, #1 in patent creation, #1 top job market, #1 happiest city for young professionals, #1 technical jobs per capita, #1 best city for STEM jobs, #1 best city to work in, #1 safest city above 500,000 residents, #1 richest city in America, and #1 happiest, healthiest city in the US. Pretty impressive, wouldn't you say?

Below you can find the full list of 2013 Saturday Stats, and if you want to check out 2012 the Google Doc is over here.