Saturday, April 7, 2012

Saturday Stats: San Jose Stat is the Most Common University for Apple Employees

The Huffington Post recently posted an article on which colleges most Google and Apple employees have attended. San Jose State University ranked #2 overall and #1 for Apple employees. Not too shabby. I guess this helps explain why San Jose Stated ranked so high in the "Colleges that will make you rich" list. For the full article, click here.

Thanks to Dan for the tip.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Easter 2012 At the Fairmont

If you are still looking for a place to enjoy Easter brunch (or get take out for your own feast at home), I have a recommendation below:

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EASTER 2012

With your family and The Fairmont San Jose

So many great ways to celebrate with family: the grand Champagne Brunch in the Imperial Ballroom, the classic Fountain Restaurant Brunch and even a Fairmont catered meal at home, available for pick-up from 10am to 2pm. Treat your entire family to a great Fairmont memory. For Menus and Details:Easter with Fairmont . Menu items are subject to change, kindly call 408-998-1900 for any questions or to have the most current menu emailed to you.


The Fairmont San Jose is your holiday destination with events for the entire family, all season long.
Sunday, April 8, 2012

Imperial Ballroom

Champagne Buffet Brunch (bottomless glass)
Seatings from 10am to 130pm, every half hour
$62 plus tax and service for adults, $29 for children 5-12 years old
Under 5 years old, complimentary
Entertainment:
Single pianist and children’s entertainment (special kids buffet available)
Fountain Restaurant
Open at 8am for breakfast, until 10am then brunch only, hotel guests may order from menu all day
Seatings from 10am to 230pm, every half hour
$52 plus tax and service for adults, $24 for children 5-12 years old
Under 5 years old complimentary
Easter To-Go
Complete Easter Meal in the comfort of your home
Pick up times from 10am-2pm, every half hour
Complete Roast Boneless Rib Eye of Beef $229 plus tax
Complete Boneless Leg of Lamb $229 plus tax
Easter Egg Hunt in The Lobby Lounge
Every hour from 1130am to 230pm, our resident holiday bunny will stash eggs filled with candy and even a golden egg with a very special surprise
No cost to participate

For Reservations or More Information, kindly call 408-998-3960
Afternoon Tea is still available for this day

South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk April 6th


Two new feature exhibitions open at KALEID Gallery this Friday, April 6th, 7pm!
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Of War and Peace, The Truth Just Twists, It’s Curfew Gull Just Glides
a collection of paintings by André Hart


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Selcouth
new work by Shannon Amidon


Artist's Reception 7-11pm
KALEID Gallery
88 South Fourth Street (@ San Fernando)

New exhibition opens at PHO69
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Phantom Galleries presents A World of Colors and Whim by Florence de Bretagne at Pho69.
Artist's Reception 7-11pm
321 South First Street


New exhibits at MACLA, Anno Domini, WORKS, SLG ArtBoutiki, Art Ark Gallery and more! Visit the South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk web site for full lineup here.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

DS2 Raises $12.7M

DS2 is a company that specializes in computational design platforms and electrical equipment. They were founded in 2007 and are currently in West San Jose. They raised $12.7M in a Series C round. Perhaps in a couple of years we'll see them IPO.

Source: SJBJ

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Wednesday Wishlist: Free WiFi for the City of San Jose

Wherever people go, more and more they are expecting access to all of their data whether it is work or play. Speaking of work, most of the innovation happening today in Silicon Valley is focused around the internet, whether it is software as a service, mobile apps, or underlying infrastructure. It just makes sense to make the internet ubiquitous here. Mountain View already has city-wide WiFi courtesy of Google, and Santa Clara will be next (via Silicon Valley Power). To stay on the cutting edge, we really need to make this standard infrastructure as accessible as possible.

A huge step in the right direction is the $100k upgrade of our free WiFi system Downtown. The current system was built in 2004, is slow, and drops frequently in many areas. The new system being provided by Ruckus Wireless will be substantially faster and have far better coverage. The next step will be expanding it beyond Downtown!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Veggielution Expansion!

Over the weekend Veggielution announced that they are tripling their acreage over at Emma Prusch Farm! This will allow them to greatly increase production of their fresh San Jose-grown fruits and vegetables as well as create a fruit orchard, outdoor kitchen, and a permanent farm stand. For all the details, read the press release below.

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Veggielution was founded in 2008 to change the way we think about food and create a sustainable food system in San José. The nonprofit farm has expanded every year thanks to the energy of thousands of volunteers, extensive support from the City of San José, and generous funding from hundreds of donors and foundations.

The expansion to six acres, from just under two acres previously, will allow Veggielution to substantially increase its production of fresh vegetables and fruits in order to increase access to these healthy foods for all San José and Santa Clara County residents. Over the next several years, Veggielution will need three times as many volunteers and greatly expanded funding in order to expand the farm operations and Veggielution’s many educational community programs.

“This is an extremely exciting time for Veggielution,” said Amie Frisch, Veggielution co-founder and Executive Director. “We could not have reached this point without help from the strong and growing network in this community that cares about our local food system. We will be counting on that network and on our supporters’ help more than ever in the years to come. Together we can make a tremendous impact.”

In 2010 and 2011 alone, Veggielution grew more than 35,000 pounds of vegetables, following sustainable farming principles and without the use of synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. The produce is given for free to volunteers after their labor during the farm’s near-daily workdays, sold at low prices at the Saturday farm stand at Emma Prusch Park, donated to soup kitchens, and sold at local farmers markets and restaurants to support farm operations.

“Veggielution helps people connect with the food they eat, and helps foster a sense of community and environmental stewardship in those who participate,” said Mark Anthony Medeiros, Veggielution co-founder and Farm Director. “At the farm, anyone can come and get dirty growing veggies, make friends with cool new people from their community, and buy produce at affordable prices. We’re very excited that the City of San José is supporting us by allowing us to expand our farm to include even more people.”

Expansion Plans
The proposed design for the expanded farm, prepared by local landscape architect Bruce Hill in consultation with Veggielution staff, incorporates elements of Prusch Farm Park's original 1972 Master Plan and input that Veggielution gathered from the community. The plan includes fruit orchards, an outdoor kitchen for cooking and nutrition classes, a permanent farm stand, a packing and cooling shed, an expanded greenhouse and shadehouse complex, and a mobile office. Veggielution will work with City staff on every step of implementation.

The design preserves and deepens the volunteers’ and visitors’ educational experience with signage and nods to the agricultural history of the Valley of Heart’s Delight. The increase in farmed land dramatically increases the number of volunteer opportunities for people of all walks of life and skill levels, while also allowing Veggielution to add to its existing offering of cooking and nutrition classes, Dig Crew high school youth program, off-site school gardens, and workshops.

About Veggielution

Veggielution empowers youth and adults from diverse backgrounds to create a sustainable food system in San Jose. Our urban farm engages the community by providing access to healthy and local food, creating youth leadership opportunities, and developing creative solutions to social and environmental justice issues.

Veggielution is a 2 acre non-profit community farm dedicated to creating a more sustainable food system in San Jose. We empower people to change the way they think about food by getting their hands in the soil, connecting with the land, and tasting the fruits of their labor. For more information visitwww.veggielution.org.


Monday, April 2, 2012

Apple May Come to San Jose!

This is not an April fool's joke, although this just so happens to be the exact same parcel between Bay 101 and M8trix that was mentioned yesterday. Now that Apple has bought out or leased all available space in Cupertino and most of the remaining space in Sunnyvale, they are looking at North San Jose for expansion possibilities. This space could support at least one million square feet of office space. The owner, Peery-Arrillaga, is supposedly working with Apple on a build-to-suit development on this very site. It looks like the city's new strategy of cutting fees and reducing development barriers is already paying dividends!

Source: SJBJ

Apple, Peery Arrillaga

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Breaking News: The Bellagio is Coming to San Jose!

MGM Resorts International have announced plans to build a Bellagio-like card room in the vacant space between Bay 101 (red area below) and the brand new M8trix Casino (blue area). If approved, the $350-400M project will include a 35-floor hotel tower with over 500 rooms, several new restaurants, and a theater for entertainment acts. Could this be the start of a mini-Vegas in San Jose?

Source: Press Release