Milpitas and San Jose BART Station Renderings

$156M of Freeway Improvements Approved

The VTA just received $156M to do some substantial work on South Bay freeways. $71M will be used to widen 880 from 6 lanes to 8 lanes all the way from 237 to 101. The 2 new lanes will both be HOV lanes (carpool lanes). $85M will be used to add new HOV and exit lanes on 101 between 85 and Embarcadero in Palo Alto. These upgrades are planned to be completed in 2014.

Winchester Mystery House Fright Nights!!!

It might be a little bit early to start promoting Halloween events, but I think this one is extraordinary and worth booking as soon as possible before tickets sell out. Each October I usually go to every haunted attraction within 50 miles of Silicon Valley, and I can tell you that I have never been more excited about a Halloween event than when I found out about this one.

The Winchester Mystery House is San Jose's top tourist attraction and is regarded as one of the spookiest places in the world. For a while now they have been turning off the lights and doing flashlight tours of the mansion during the weekends in October, but this year they are taking it up a substantial notch. For the first time ever, they are adding a full blown 15min interactive haunted maze called the Curse of Sarah Winchester!

I'm excited not only because I think it is the best location anywhere in the Bay Area for a haunted maze, but also because of the people working on the project. The producer is Brett Tomberlin, who has worked on various movie and TV productions, as well as on multiple Disneyland attractions (and is also producing a feature film based on the Winchester Mystery House). The show director has performed roles at both Disney and Universal Studios. The production designer has 15 years of experience of building well-reviewed haunted attractions. This his is going to be very professionally done with a seasoned team and I can't wait to see the results.

Fore more information and tickets, click here!

Wednesday Wishlist: Transit Innovation

This summer I spent quite a bit of time in London and Paris, cities that are known to have some of the best public transportation systems in the world (definitely the best in Europe). You can get pretty much anywhere in either of this cities by subway. For several years, I have fantasized of one day (many decades from now) having a similar system in San Jose. After extensively using underground, overground, and light rail systems this summer... I'm actually going to have to retract this fantasy. I think we can and should build something much better that reflects Silicon Valley's innovative capacity.

The subway concept is actually 150 years old and has evolved at a snail's pace. Key improvements include electrification, escalators, and better tunneling... no dramatic recent innovations. The London tube system today (pictured way below) and the technology behind it, shockingly isn't that much different than it was 60 years ago in 1950. Think about what this means. This is a systems that was mostly built long before personal computers, the internet, even before microwaves became commonplace. If you really think about it, it's archaic tech. Here are some negatives that really stood out during my trip (and can also apply to public transit in general):

• It's not that fast. The underground trains' max speeds are around 40mph and if you factor in stops your average speed is 20mph. If you also factor in the time takes to walk down into the station and wait for a train, then it's actually faster to walk in many instances if your stop is only 2 to 3 stations away.
• It's not that efficient. London has a system that specifically tries to minimize transfers, and sometimes you still have to do 2 transfers to get where you want to go.
• It's not that comfortable. I would say 90% of the time in London it was standing room only when boarding the trains. In Paris it was a little bit better in terms of seating, but the constant bad smell in the trains made it equal or surpass the uncomfort level in London.
• Zero privacy

Now let's circle back to San Jose. We're in an interesting position thanks to the lack of transit development and in the end it might even be a good thing. It's almost like we have a blank page to work with and have to luxury to ask "SHOULD WE MIMICS SYSTEMS THAT ARE CONCEPTUALLY 150 YEARS OLD OR IS THERE A BETTER WAY?"

I think the answer is that there is a much better way, and that it will eventually be some form of high speed personal rapid transit. This is pretty much a hybrid between a car and public transit. You walk into a station, get into a private pod, tell it where you want to go... and that's it. There are no lines, no stops, no transfers, the comfort level is equal to a car, and you have total privacy (including peace of mind to use a tablet or laptop without thinking twice). The tracks and stations would also be smaller and dramatically less expensive than traditional transit and could be placed in many more locations (if underground, you could literally have a stop at every block). The real trick is developing the computing brains behind the system that will manage all of the pods, and that my friends is familiar territory for Silicon Valley.

To summarize the longest Wednesday Wishlist ever, we should be devoting most of our transit efforts to a contemporary system that will create a new paradigm for other cities to follow instead of going with a traditional and infrequently questioned model. This is a geographic area that has spurred innovation across a dozen different industries, perhaps transportation could be our next one?

Nothing Bundt Cakes Comes to Willow Glen!

Fresh from the Oven,

Nothing Bundt Cakes Debuts in San Jose

Local bakery brings unique dessert concept to Willow Glen area

San Jose, Calif., Aug. 22, 2011– One-of-a-kind Nothing Bundt Cakes − purveyors of nostalgic yet refreshingly modern Bundt cakes − is spreading its wholesome goodness to San Jose and the Willow Glen community. The newest bakery is located in Dry Creek Center at 1702 Meridian Ave. and will host several grand opening activities beginning August 24 and continuing for several days.

Nothing Bundt Cakes reintroduces an old family favorite – the Bundt cake - with a fresh, clean look that appeals to all ages. Each cake features custom concept cake decorations that are smart, contemporary and fun, customized to enhance any occasion. Nothing Bundt Cakes offers customers a wide range of cake selections, from Bundtlets – single serving cakes – to the larger Bundts that serve up to 18 people and tiered cakes, which serve up to 26 people.

Grand opening celebrations include:

·         Wednesday, Aug. 24

o   11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Ribbon cutting with the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce with Nothing Bundt Cakes local bakery owners, Angela and Rod Simas

·         Thursday, Aug. 25

o   4 to 7 p.m. – Wine tasting with Mommy Juice Wines. Delicious Bundt cake samples will be available for guests to pair with their wine, as well as an assortment of fine cheese and artisan crackers

·         Friday, Aug. 26

o   10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Child Advocates of Silicon Valley Day, 20 percent of all proceeds benefit the organization

·         Saturday, Aug. 27

o   10 a.m. – First 50 customers to make a purchase receive free cake for a year

“We are excited to further enrich San Jose, Willow Glen and surrounding communities around our bakery by bringing Nothing Bundt Cakes to the neighborhood,” said Angela Simas, Nothing Bundt Cakes local bakery owner.  “Partnering with meaningful organizations here, including Child Advocates of Silicon Valley, furthers our commitment and dedication to the city in which we live and work.”

--more—

Fresh from the Oven, Nothing Bundt Cakes Debuts in San Jose

-- add one --

Made fresh daily using only the finest ingredients available, Nothing Bundt Cakes combines great taste and creative merchandising to appeal not only to taste buds but to all five senses. Customers are greeted by the smell of freshly baked cakes the minute they cross the store threshold. A soothing yet warm color palette meets the eye with whimsical furniture and hand-painted signage reminiscent of yesteryear but with a clean, fresh approach. The Nothing Bundt Cakes staff instantly makes customers feel right at home with a friendly welcome.

“We’ve learned that Bundt cakes hold a special place in the heart of consumers across the nation, as many folks can remember a loved one baking a special Bundt cake just for them,” said Dena Tripp, co-founder of Nothing Bundt Cakes. “Our franchisees are not only an integral part our growth strategy, but they are also an integral part of connecting to the community through the love of the handmade Bundt cake. We look forward to a successful partnership and becoming part of this city.”

Nothing Bundt Cakes is one of the nation’s few bakery/retail locations committed to the baking of Bundt cakes. The bakery specializes in offering celebration solutions for moments that matter and always enhancing their customers’ celebrations. Currently, there are 40 signed franchise agreements, with 31 bakeries already open across nine states. Founded in 1997, Nothing Bundt Cakes is headquartered in Las Vegas, NV. For more information, please visit www.nothingbundtcakes.com.

August 2011 Downtown Dimension Highlights

Here are my notes from the latest edition of Downtown Dimension:

• The SJDA is celebrating their 25th anniversary on Oct 22nd at the US Armory (Second and Devine St.)
• 80% of the San Pedro Square Market is leased. There is a soft opening on Sep 10th!
• Hawaiian Airlines will once again be a key sponsor for Downtown Ice this year
• San Jose's Public Arts Program will receive a $250K grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that will enable a series of temporary and permanent art projects connecting SoFA with SJSU and the Convention Center.
• VTA will continue to operate the free DASH even without city funding.
• Groundwerx has a iPhone app that allows users to report any issues (graffiti, etc) as they arise (it can even capture your location and allows you to take a photo). Download it at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/groundwerx/id4348477 
• The Crown Plaza Hotel will be converted to a Hyatt Place hotel.
• Myth is open at 152 Post St.
• Crema Coffee has replaced Cafe 1850 at 50 W. San Fernando

To read the full newsletter, click here!

The Italian Family Festa is This Weekend!

The Italian Family Festa is returning to the Guadalupe River Park this year, right behind San Jose's Little Italy! This was a great event last year--perhaps the best Family Festa I can remember--and it will continue to grow this year with even more activities and events.

Guadalupe River Park will be overflowing with booths featuring all sorts of specialty Italian foods and arts & crafts, there will be bocce ball, a grape stomp, and of course lots of entertainment.  The fun goes from noon to 9pm on Saturday and noon to 6pm on Sunday, so there are lots of opportunities to stop by and enjoy Italian culture!

For more information, you can take a look at the Italian American Heritage Foundation website over here.

Norcal Laser Tag

Several of my friends have been getting into paintball lately and I have been trying to bring myself to try it, but have been discouraged by the thought of high velocity paint pellets coming at my face. I randomly stumbled upon a San Jose based option I didn't even know existed, outdoor laser tag. The games are very similar to paintball, except you don't have to worry about getting welts (yes, I know that will take out a lot of the fun for some people). I'll have to give this a go sometime this year. You can check out the Norcal Laser Tag website right over here.