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...

Music in the Park is back for 2018!

One of the largest outdoor music events in the South Bay is returning this summer. Music in the Park 2018 features four different bands: Tony! Toni! Toné! (R&B) on June 22nd, Toots & the Maytals (Reggae) on July 12th, Third World with Jordan T. (Reggae) on August 3rd, and Malo (Latin rock and soul) on August 24th.

Super early bird tickets are available now for $10 per person and once those sell out, general admission tickets will sell for $15 in advance or $20 the day of the show. VIP passes with a drink ticket, free water, and private seating are available for $35. You can order them over here.

Tony! Toni! Toné! Bring back the '90s - it ‘Feels Good’ with R&B hits from Tony! Toni! Toné! Come on, let’s get down, let’s get down, let’s get down (on June 22). Buy Tickets Toots & the Maytals  From '54-46 what’s my number' to 'Pressure Drop', Toots & the Maytals have been performing reggae since reggae’s earliest days. Experience the beats on July 12. Buy Tickets

Third World with Jordan T.Classic roots reggae meets island reggae fusion. Get your groove in your festival best with Third World and Jordan T. on Aug. 3. Buy Tickets Malo Malo brings Latin rock, soul and oldies center stage with hits including “Suavecito.” Grab a friend and jam out on Aug. 24. Buy Tickets

Southwest launching new flights from SJC to Hawaii

The good news continues to roll in for our airport. Southwest announced last week that they are going to add flights from San Jose to Hawaii. This is already one of the most popular destinations from SJC and is currently serviced by both Hawaiian airlines and Alaska Airlines. Competition means more departure options, lower fares, and more tax dollars for San Jose (both directly and indirectly). Southwest already implied that they will have the lowest rates for the route, great news for us.

Southwest is planning to fly to four different islands, Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii-"The Big Island" (Kona). Tickets sales will begin later this year and service could begin as soon as this winter using long-range versions of Boeing 737s.

As an added bonus, Southwest is also planning to add inter-island flights. That means lower fares for those that want to travel to multiple islands on one trip.

Source: SVBJ

Cinco de Mayo celebration

Olla Cocina is throwing an all-day Cinco de Mayo party tomorrow with live music, tacos, and margaritas. Admission tickets are $15 and food and drink tickets are $10 each on-site. This one is only for those 21 and over, so leave the kiddies at home.

Greater Rose Garden Certified Farmers Market

A new farmer's market near the Rose Garden will take place every Saturday from 10am to 2pm starting this weekend. There is no official end date, it will continue as long as the community is willing to support it.

The exact location is 577 Dana Avenue (a Lincoln High School parking lot). The official Grand Opening Celebration of the new market is on May 12th at 11am.

Thanks to Alex Shoor for sending this in!

Veggielution's 1st Saturday

This Saturday, May 5th, Veggielution is co-hosting their 1st Saturday event with the Open Space Authority. Veggielution is a great organization that is taking us back to the roots of the Valley of Heart's Delight by farming right here in San Jose. The event is kid-friendly and free.

You can find the schedule below. For more info head over to the Veggielution FB page.

Schedule:

9:00am - 10:00am YOGA by Jovanna at Vida Lifestyle Yoga in collaboration with Be The Change Yoga & Wellness (Bilingual English & Spanish/donation based)

10:00am - 11:00am Gardening 101 Workshops by La Mesa Verde (English & Spanish)

10:00am - 2:00pm Farm Stand

10:00am - 12:30pm Farm Volunteering

10:00am - 12:30pm Neighborhood Harvest (fruit gleaning off site)

10:00am - 12:30pm Youth Garden Volunteering & Activities

10:00am - 12:30pm Our Community Kitchen Food Truck will be serving FREE samples prepared by a Community Chef alongside the volunteer food truck team

10:00am - 12:30pm Cocina Cooking Class - Spanish Language Cooking Class - Contact Rosa Contreras at 408-753-6705 ext 7 to sign up (25 max capacity)

12:30pm - 1:30pm Community Lunch (food offered and potluck encouraged)

12:30pm - 3:30pm Live Music

1:30pm - 3:30pm Art in the Garden

New 19-story hotel proposed for Downtown San Jose

KT Urban, perhaps Downtown's most prolific developer, is proposing yet another high-rise tower. This time around it is a 19-story hotel with 220 rooms next to the Hotel DeAnza on Santa Clara Street. The tower would be an angular 209-foot-tall glass structure, somewhat similar to Silvery Towers a few blocks away.

My favorite part of the project is the giant indoor/outdoor restaurant and bar on the penthouse floor featuring amazing views of Downtown San Jose and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Unlike the Capital Club, this would be open to the public. It's also a sign of the times, this latest generation of projects is bring more to the table than cookie-cutter buildings and is offering amenities new to Silicon Valley (I'm still waiting for a completed project with a rooftop pool).

The ground floor will also feature some retail, likely a restaurant. One thing that is missing from this project is onsite parking, and that is likely a good thing if you are an urbanist. They will partner with a nearby garage to offer at least 77 parking spaces for guests. This really shouldn't be a big deal, most hotel guests are already using Uber/Lyft to get around instead of renting cars--a trend that will only continue until autonomous cars take over.

Overall, this looks like another big win for Downtown!

Source: SVBJ

AT&T installing 200 "small cells" in San Jose

We live in the middle of Silicon Valley, yet it often feels like infrastructure is slow to keep up with the times and our population growth. My family on a tiny island in the Azores with a population of 4,200 people (not a typo) got fiber optic internet four years ago. I still don't have fiber in my home, and Cisco's headquarters is practically next door. I was finally able to get a gigabit connection through Comcast last year, albeit with the same copper wires we've been using for decades.

Some relief is coming soon for our choked networks thanks to a partnership between the city of San Jose and AT&T. "Small cells" are miniature towers that can provide high speed 4G LTE and eventually 5G internet to a small neighborhood. They are small enough to be hung on lightpoles or the sides of buildings. AT&T is planning to install 200 of these throughout San Jose, improving both coverage and internet speeds.

San Jose will collect $5 million over 15 years in exchange for letting AT&T use the poles. These funds are currently earmarked for digital inclusion projects that will extend broadband to San Joseans that cannot afford internet access.

San Jose will also get a $1 million grant to help accelerate internal permitting processes related to small cell deployments. 5G internet is coming within a couple years, and it relies heavily on small cell sites that provide gigabit speeds, but only to a small area. Speeding up permitting means we are less likely to be left out of the next major infrastructure improvement for the internet. It's great to see AT&T investing in the community and helping San Jose realize its vision for becoming a "smart city." It will be great if other telco's join in as well.

For more information on the project, click here.