The former San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation has been reborn. It’s new name and vision: The Tech Interactive. “The world was calling us,” Tim Ritchie, President and CEO of The Tech Interactive, told San José Spotlight. After 20 years in operation, the beloved downtown technology museum is being rebranded and reopened to offer expanded...
Say goodbye to San Jose Joe’s and The Brit at San Jose’s airport
San Jose Joe’s and The Brit are officially taking off from the Mineta San Jose International Airport – and they won’t be coming back. On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council voted unanimously to award contracts – or “packages” – to three concessions groups that would bring 14 new restaurants to the airport. The city received...
Google in San Jose: Dozens of East San Jose residents ask ‘What’s next?’
More than 100 residents gathered at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in East San Jose on Wednesday to ask one burning question: “What’s next?” for Google’s new mega-campus headed for downtown San Jose. The meeting focused on demands for the tech giant and a candid conversation about what’s best for the city as it embarks on...
Two iconic San Jose restaurants forced out of airport
In an effort to freshen up the look and feel of San Jose’s airport, airport leaders are proposing drastic changes to its restaurants — but the move will push out two of San Jose’s most iconic and beloved establishments. If San Jose elected leaders approve the changes at the City Council next week, travelers will have to say goodbye to...
San Jose’s Camera 12 still dark as development plans stall
Nearly three years after announcing plans to get Downtown San Jose’s Camera 12 Cinemas back up and running, developers are still stuck in limbo. And now the beloved theater remains dark — it’s anyone’s guess for how much longer. Development plans have stalled in part because of the building’s incredibly expensive maintenance needs. “I think...
Ex-Silicon Valley Community Foundation employees appeal to George Lucas over Emmett Carson hiring
Twenty-three former Silicon Valley Community Foundation employees and allies on Monday sent a letter to famed filmmaker George Lucas and the board of his prestigious Los Angeles museum expressing “dismay” over the museum’s hiring of the foundation’s ousted CEO Emmett Carson. “We, the undersigned former employees of Silicon Valley Community Foundation as well as local...
Google withdraws from affordable housing fee exemption
As Google planned its downtown San Jose mega-campus, the tech giant promised it wouldn’t take tax breaks or subsidies from the city. Google’s real estate team held up their end of that bargain, according to a new letter obtained by San José Spotlight. Google’s Delmas Park project, which could potentially include 1.04 million square feet of...
More delays for Tropicana development in East San Jose
It’s been four years since Dennis Fong, a Chinese-American businessman with a strained relationship with City Hall, proposed a three-story office and retail building in the heart of East San Jose. But the nearly $10 million project, planned for Story and King roads, has yet to break ground. Instead, it’s been riddled with red tape...
San Jose lawmakers protest San Jose Water Company rate hikes
San Jose councilmembers are fighting back against “unfair” water rate hikes, voting unanimously to send a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission protesting San Jose Water Company’s proposed rate increases and calling for an investigation into a potential merger with Connecticut Water. San Jose residents who conserved water in California’s long-standing drought may now...
Silicon Valley Community Foundation employees ‘stunned’ by Emmett Carson’s new gig
Current and former Silicon Valley Community Foundation employees on Thursday reacted with shock, awe and disgust at the news that Emmett Carson, the foundation’s disgraced ex-CEO, landed a top job at one of the country’s most prestigious museums. “I’m very, very surprised that a museum of that caliber and with that caliber of leadership on...