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San Jose, California (CA)

San Jose, California  (meaning St. Joseph in Spanish) or San José is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth largest in the United States. San Jose, California is located at the southern end of the Bay Area, a region commonly referred to as Silicon Valley. It is the county seat of Santa Clara County. Once a small farming city, San Jose, California became a magnet for suburban newcomers in new housing developments between the 1960s and 1990s, and is now the largest city in Northern California. The United States Census Bureau estimates the city's population to be 939,899 and the Metropolitan area to contain approximately 1.8 million residents.

El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe, San Jose, California was founded on November 29, 1777 as the first town in the Spanish colony of Nueva California, which later became Alta California. The city served as a farming community to support Spanish military installations at San Francisco and Monterey. When California gained statehood in 1850, San Jose served as its first capital. After more than 150 years as an agricultural center, San Jose, California experienced increased demand for housing from soldiers and other veterans returning from World War II, as well as aggressive expansion during the 1950s and 1960s by annexing more land area. By the 1990s, San Jose's location within the booming local technology industry earned the city the nickname Capital of Silicon Valley.

NAME

On April 3rd, 1979, the San José City Council adopted San José as the spelling of the city name on the city seal, official stationery, office titles and department names. Also, by city council convention, the spelling of San José is used when the name is stated in both uppercase and lowercase letters, but not when the name is stated only in uppercase letters. The name is still more commonly spelled without the diacritical mark as San Jose. The official name of the city remains City of San Jose with no diacritical mark, according to the City Charter.

HISTORY

Prior to western settlement, the area was inhabited by several groups of Ohlone Native Americans. The first lasting European presence began with a series of Franciscan missions established from 1769 by Father Junípero Serra. On orders from Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish Viceroy of New Spain, San Jose, California was founded by Lieutenant José Joaquín Moraga as Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe (in honor of Saint Joseph) on November 29, 1777, to establish a farming community. The town was the first civil settlement in Alta California.

In 1797, the pueblo was moved from its original location, near the present-day intersection of Guadalupe Parkway and Taylor Street, to a location in what is now Downtown San Jose. San Jose came under Mexican rule in 1825 after Mexico broke with the Spanish crown. It then became part of the United States, after it capitulated without bloodshed in 1846 and California was annexed. Soon afterwards, on March 27th, 1850, San Jose, California became the second incorporated city in the state (after Sacramento), with Josiah Belden as its first mayor. The town was the state's first capital, as well as host of the first and second sessions (1850-1851) of the California Legislature. Today the Circle of Palms Plaza in downtown is the historical marker for the first state capital.

Though not impacted as severely as San Francisco, San Jose, California suffered damage from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Over 100 people died at the Agnews Asylum (later Agnews State Hospital) after its walls and roof collapsed, and the San Jose High School's three-story stone was also destroyed. During World War II many Japanese were sent to internment camps and, following the Los Angeles riots, anti-Mexican violence took place in the summer of 1943.

As World War II started, the city's economy shifted from agriculture (the Del Monte cannery was the largest employer) to industrial manufacturing with the contracting of the Food Machinery Corporation (FMC) by the United States War Department to build 1000 Landing Vehicle Tracked. After World War II, FMC (later United Defense, and currently BAE Systems) continued as a defense contractor, with the San Jose facilities designing and manufacturing military platforms such as the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and various subsystems of the M1 Abrams. IBM established its West Coast headquarters in San Jose in 1943 and opened a downtown research and development facility in 1952. Both would prove to be harbingers for the economy of San Jose, as Reynold Johnson and his team would later invent RAMAC, as well as the disc drive, and the technological side of San Jose's economy grew.

 Downtown San Jose looking over the Tech Museum towards Mount Hamilton; hills in the background show their winter green color. During the 1950s and 1960s, city manager Dutch Hamann led the city in a major growth campaign. The city annexed adjacent areas, such as Alviso and Cambrian Park, providing large areas for suburbs. An anti-growth reaction to the effects of rapid development emerged in the 1970s championed by mayors Norman Mineta and Janet Gray Hayes. Despite establishing an urban growth boundary, development fees, and incorporations of Campbell and Cupertino, development was not slowed, but rather directed into already incorporated areas. San Jose's position in Silicon Valley triggered more economic and population growth, which led to the highest housing costs increase in the nation, 936% between 1976 and 2001. Efforts to increase density continued into 1990s when an update of the 1974 urban plan kept the urban growth boundaries intact and voters rejected a ballot measure to ease development restrictions in the foothills. Sixty percent of the housing built in San Jose, California since 1980 and over three-quarters of the housing built since 2000 have been multifamily structures, reflecting a political propensity toward Smart Growth planning principles.

LAW AND GOVERNMENT
 
Local
San Jose, California is a charter city under California law, giving it the power to enact local ordinances that may conflict with state law, within the limits provided by the charter. The city has a mayor council government with a city manager nominated by the mayor and elected by the city council.

The San José City Council is made up of ten council members elected by districts, and a mayor elected in an at-large election. During city council meetings, the mayor presides, and all eleven members can vote on any issue. The mayor has no veto powers. Council members and the mayor are elected to four-year terms; the even-numbered district council members beginning in 1994; the mayor and the odd-numbered district council members beginning in 1996. Council members and the mayor are limited to two successive terms in office, although a council member that has reached the term limit can be elected mayor, and vice versa. The council elects a vice-mayor from the members of the council at the second meeting of the year following a council election. This council member acts as mayor during the temporary absence of the mayor, but does not succeed to the mayor's office upon a vacancy.

The City Manager is the chief administrative officer of the city, and must present an annual budget for approval by the city council. When the office is vacant, the Mayor proposes a candidate for City Manager, subject to council approval. The council appoints the Manager for an indefinite term, and may at any time remove the manager, or the electorate may remove the manager through a recall election. Other city officers appointed by the council are the City Attorney, City Auditor, City Clerk, and Independent Police Auditor.

Like all California cities except San Francisco, both the levels and the boundaries of what the city government controls is determined by the local county Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). The goal of a LAFCO is to try to avoid uncontrolled urban sprawl. The Santa Clara County LAFCO has set boundaries of San Jose's "Sphere of Influence" as a superset of the actual city limits, plus parts of the surrounding unincorporated county land, where San Jose can, for example, prevent development of fringe areas to concentrate city growth closer to the city's core. The LAFCO also defines a subset of the Sphere as an 'Urban Service Area' (indicated by the red line in the map), effectively limiting development to areas where urban infrastructure (sewers, electrical service, etc.) already exists.

San Jose, California is the county seat of Santa Clara County. Accordingly, many county government facilities are located in the city, including the office of the County Executive, the Board of Supervisors, the District Attorney's Office, eight courthouses of the Superior Court, the Sheriff's Office, and the County Clerk.

State and federal
In the state legislature San Jose, California is located in the 10th, 11th, 13th, and 15th Senate Districts. And in the 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 27th, and 28th Assembly Districts. Federally, San Jose, California is located in California's 14th, 15th, and 16th congressional districts.

Several state and federal agencies maintain offices in San Jose, California. The city is the location of the Sixth District of the California Courts of Appeal. It is also home to one of the courthouses of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

GEOGRAPHY
 
San Jose, California is located at 37°18′15″N 121°52′22″W ((37.304051, −121.872734).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 178.2 square miles (461.5 km²), of which 3.3 square miles (8.6 km²; 1.86%) is water.

San Jose, California lies near the San Andreas Fault; a major source of earthquake activity in California. The most serious earthquake, in 1906, damaged many buildings in San Jose, California as described earlier. Earlier significant quakes rocked the city in 1839, 1851, 1858, 1864, 1865, 1868, and 1891.The Daly City Earthquake of 1957 caused some damage. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989 also did some damage to parts of the city. The other faults near San Jose, California are the Monte Vista Fault, South Hayward Fault, Northern Calaveras Fault, and Central Calaveras Fault.

The Guadalupe River runs from the Santa Cruz Mountains (which separate the South Bay from the Pacific Coast) flowing north through San Jose, California, ending in the San Francisco Bay at Alviso. Along the southern part of the river is the neighborhood of Almaden Valley, originally named for the mercury mines which produced mercury needed for gold extraction from quartz during the California Gold Rush as well as mercury fulminate blasting caps and detonators for the U.S. military from 1870 to 1945.

The lowest point in San Jose, California is 13 feet (4 m) below sea level at the San Francisco Bay in Alviso; the highest is 4,372 feet (1,333 m) at Copernicus Peak, Mount Hamilton, which is technically outside the city limit. Due to the proximity to Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton, San Jose, California has taken several steps to reduce light pollution, including replacing all street lamps and outdoor lighting in private developments with low pressure sodium lamps. To recognize the city's efforts, the asteroid 6216 San Jose was named after the city.

CLIMATE
 
San Jose, California, like most of the Bay Area, has a Mediterranean climate. Unlike San Francisco, California, which is exposed to the ocean or Bay on three sides and whose temperature therefore varies relatively little year-round and overnight, San Jose, California lies farther inland, protected on three sides by mountains. This shelters the city from rain and makes it more of a semiarid, near-desert area, with a mean annual rainfall of 14.4 inches (366 mm), compared to some other parts of the Bay Area, which can get up to four times that amount. It also avoids San Francisco's omnipresent fog most of the year.

However, temperatures are generally moderate. January's average high is 61 °F (16 °C) and average low is 44 °F (6 °C), with overnight freezes several nights each year; July's average high is 86 °F (29 °C) and average low is 59 °F (14 °C), with heat exceeding 100 °F (38 °C) several days each year. The highest temperature ever recorded in San Jose was 109 °F (42.8 °C) on June 14, 2000; the lowest was 17 °F (-8.3 °C) on January 9, 1920 and January 10, 1920. Temperatures between night and day can vary by 30 or 40 °F (17 to 22 °C). Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) on an average of 18.3 days annually, and drop to 32 °F (0 °C) or lower on an average of 1.6 days annually. Temperatures drop below 40°F on average of 4.6 days annually. Soil temperatures in Silicon Valley always rise above 60 °F (16 °C) year round, making warm-season crops available to grow all year round, especially in San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, Saratoga, and Milpitas, California.

With the light rainfall, San Jose, California and its suburbs experience over 300 days a year of full or significant sunshine. Rain occurs primarily in the months from October through April or May, with hardly any rainfall from June through September. During the winter, hillsides and fields turn green with grasses and vegetation, although deciduous trees are bare; with the coming of the annual summer dry period, the vegetation dies and dries, giving the hills a golden cover, which also provides fuel for frequent grass fires.

Measurable precipitation falls in downtown San Jose, California on an average of 50 days a year, many times only for part of the day. Annual precipitation has ranged from 6.12 inches (155 mm) in 1953 to 32.57 inches (827 mm) in 1983. The most precipitation in one month was 10.23 inches (260 mm) in February 1998. The maximum 24-hour rainfall was 3.60 inches (91 mm) on January 30, 1968. Although the summer is normally quite dry in San Jose, California, a very heavy thunderstorm on August 21, 1968, brought 1.92 inch of rain, causing some localized flooding.

The snow level drops as low as 2,000-ft (610 m) above sea level, or lower, occasionally each winter, coating nearby Mount Hamilton, and less frequently the Santa Cruz Mountains, with snow that normally lasts a few days. This sometimes snarls traffic traveling on State Route 17 towards Santa Cruz. Snow occasionally falls in San Jose, California, but until recently, the most recent snow to remain on the ground was on February 5, 1976, when many residents around the city saw as much as 3 inches (7.6 cm) on car and roof tops. The official observation station measured only 0.5-inch (13 mm) of snow. However, in March 2006, a smaller amount, up to one-inch (2.5 cm) of snow fell in downtown San Jose, California as well as other areas around the city at elevations of only 90 feet (27 m) to 200 feet (61 m) above sea level.

Like most of the Bay Area, San Jose, California is made up of dozens of microclimates. Downtown San Jose experiences the lightest rainfall in the city, while South San Jose, only 10 miles (16 km) distant, experiences more rainfall and slightly more extreme temperatures.

ECONOMY
 
The large concentration of high-technology engineering, computer, and microprocessor companies around San Jose, California has led the area to be known as Silicon Valley. As the largest city in the valley, San Jose, California has billed itself "the capital of Silicon Valley." Area schools such as the University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Santa Cruz, San José State University, San Francisco State University, California State University, East Bay, Santa Clara University, and Stanford University pump thousands of engineering and computer science graduates into the local economy every year.

High economic growth during the tech bubble caused employment, housing prices, and traffic congestion to peak in the late 1990s. As the economy slowed in the early 2000s, employment and traffic congestion diminished somewhat. In the mid-2000s, traffic along major highways again began to worsen as the economy improved. San Jose, California had 405,000 jobs within its city limits in 2006, and an unemployment rate of 4.6%. In 2000, San Jose residents had the highest median household income of any city with a population over 300,000, and currently have the highest median income of any city with over 280,000 people.

San Jose, California lists 25 companies with 1,000 employees or more, including the headquarters of Adobe Systems, BEA Systems, Cisco, SunPower and eBay, as well as major facilities for Flextronics, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Hitachi and Lockheed Martin. Sizable government employers include the city government, Santa Clara County, and San José State University.

The cost of living in San Jose, California and the surrounding areas is among the highest in California and the nation. Housing costs are the primary reason for the high cost of living, although the costs in all areas tracked by ACCRA are above the national average. Despite the high cost of living in San Jose, California, households in city limits have the highest disposable income of any city in the U.S. with over 500,000 residents.

San Jose residents produce more U.S. patents than any other city. Thirty-five percent of all venture capital funds in the U.S. are invested in San Jose and Silicon Valley companies.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Historical populations
Census Pop.   %±
1900 21,500  —
1910 28,946  34.6%
1920 39,642  37.0%
1930 57,651  45.4%
1940 68,457  18.7%
1950 95,280  39.2%
1960 204,196  114.3%
1970 459,913  125.2%
1980 629,442  36.9%
1990 782,248  24.3%
2000 894,943  14.4%
Est. 2007 973,672  8.8%

As of the census of 2000, there were 894,943 people, 276,598 households, and 203,576 families residing in the city of San Jose, California. The population density was 5,117.9 people per square mile (1,976.1/km²). There were 281,841 housing units at an average density of 1,611.8 per square mile (622.3/km²). Of the 276,598 households, 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.4% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.62.

Age distribution in the city the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 35.4% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.5 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was the highest in the US for any city with more than a quarter million residents with $76,354 annually. The median income for a family was $85,816. Males had a median income of $49,347 versus $36,936 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,697. About 6.0% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

At the 2007 U.S. Census estimates, the city's population was:

51.9% White (31.7% non-Hispanic-White alone)
3.8% Black or African American
1.1% American Indian and Alaska Native,
32.5% Asian
0.6% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
13.5% from some other race
3.2% from two or more races
31.3% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
 
According to California Department of Finance estimates, San Jose's population on January 1, 2007 was 973,672, third in the state behind Los Angeles and San Diego. The estimate indicated a growth of 1.6 percent from the previous year. According to United States Census Bureau estimates, as of July 1, 2005, San Jose, California had a population of 912,332, making it the tenth most populous city in the United States.

San Jose, California has a very diverse religious life with thousands of churches, mosques, temples, and religious centers. San Jose, California and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area is home to many Christian congregations (including large, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses) alongside centers of Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Sikh faiths among numerous other religious communities.

When it comes to dealing with such a diverse demographic, San Jose, California has a relatively easy situation with race relations. A high percentage of foreign-born live in the city, including many high-tech workers from East and South Asia. The people from these countries have settled in the city and across the Santa Clara Valley during the last three decades. Many Central American, Southeast Asian and Eastern European immigrants have lived in San Jose, California since the late 1970s and early 1980s. A large, multi-generational Hispanic barrio is in the Alum Rock district. Many Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans thrive downtown on the streets of Guadalupe and Almaden.

San Jose, California has the distinction of being the U.S. City with the largest Vietnamese American population, with about 9% of the city population identifying as Vietnamese according to the 2000 census. Municipal signs and brochures are sometimes displayed in Vietnamese language in addition to English and Spanish. In an effort to cater to this demographic, the San Jose Mercury News published a Vietnamese-language newspaper from 1999–2005 called Viet Mercury.

ARTS & ARCHITECTURE

Because the downtown area is in the flight path to nearby Mineta San Jose International Airport, there is a permanent height limit for all buildings. The height limit is dictated by Federal Aviation Administration guidelines known as advisory circulars. The height limit is driven by the distance from the runway and a slope defined by the FAA in the previously mentioned guidelines. Core downtown buildings are limited to approximately 300 feet (91 m) but can get taller the farther from the airport. There has been broad criticism over the past few decades of the city's architecture. Citizens have complained that San Jose, California is lacking in aesthetically pleasing architectural styles. Blame for this lack of architectural "beauty" can be assigned to the re-development of the downtown area from the 1950s onward, in which whole blocks of historic commercial and residential structures were demolished. Exceptions to this include the Downtown Historic District, the De Anza Hotel, and the Hotel Sainte Claire, all of which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places for their architectural significance.

Municipal building projects have experimented more with architectural styles than have most private enterprises. The Children's Discovery Museum, Tech Museum of Innovation, and the San Jose Repertory Theater building have experimented with bold colors and unusual exteriors. The new City Hall designed by Richard Meier & Partners opened in 2005 and is a notable addition to the growing collection of municipal building projects.

Public art is an evolving attraction in the city. The city was one of the first to adopt a public art ordinance at 2% of capital improvement building project budgets, and the results of this commitment are beginning to have an impact on the visual landscape of the city. There are a considerable number of public art projects throughout the downtown area, and a growing collection in the newer civic locations in neighborhoods including libraries, parks, and fire stations. Of particular note, the Mineta Airport expansion is incorporating a program of Art & Technology into its development.

Within the early efforts at public art, there are notable controversies. Two examples include the statue of Quetzalcoatl (the plumed serpent) in downtown which was controversial in its planning because some religious groups felt that it was pagan, and controversial in its implementation because many felt that the final statue by Robert Graham did not closely resemble a winged serpent, and was more noted for its expense than its aesthetics. This has resulted in a common inside joke among locals, who insist it closely resembles a pile of feces.

The statue of Thomas Fallon also met strong resistance from those who felt that people like him were largely responsible for the decimation of early native populations and Chicano/Latino activists protested he captured San Jose by violent force in the Mexican-American war (1846) as well "repressed" historic documents of Fallon ordered the expulsion of most of the city's Californio (early Spanish or Mexican) residents. In October 1991 after protests in part of Columbus Day and Dia de la Raza celebrations, the Fallon statue plan was scrapped and the statue was stored in a warehouse in Oakland for more than a decade. The statue was returned to public display in 2002, albeit in a less conspicuous location: Pellier Park, a small triangular patched formed by the merge of West Julian and West St. James streets.

In 2001, the city sponsored SharkByte, an exhibit of decorated sharks, based on the mascot of the hockey team, the San Jose Sharks, and modeled after Chicago's display of decorated cows. Large models of sharks were decorated in a variety of clever, colorful, or creative ways by local artists and were then displayed for months at dozens of locations around the city. Many displays were removed early because of vandalism. After the exhibition, the sharks were auctioned off and the proceeds donated to charity. The sharks can still be found in their new owners' homes and businesses.

In 2006, Adobe Systems in commissioned an art installation titled San Jose Semaphore by Ben Rubin, which is located at the top of its headquarters building. Semaphore is composed of four LED discs which "rotate" to transmit a message. The content of the San Jose Semaphore’s message remained a mystery until it was deciphered in August 2007. The visual art installation is supplemented with an audio track, transmitted from the building on a low-power AM station. The audio track provides clues to decode the message being transmitted.

The city of San Jose, California, is home to many performance arts, including Opera San Jose, Symphony Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley, Children's Musical Theater of San Jose (recognized as the largest and most talented youth theatre company in the nation), the San Jose Repertory Theatre, and American Musical Theatre of San Jose. San Jose also is home to the San Jose Museum of Art, one of the nation's premiere Modern Art museums. In addition, the annual Cinequest Film Festival in downtown has grown to over 60,000 attendees per year, becoming an important festival for independent films.

The HP Pavilion at San José is one of the most active venues for events in the world. According to Billboard Magazine and Pollstar, the arena sold the most tickets to non-sporting events of any venue in the United States, and third in the world after the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester, England, and the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, for the period from January 1st – September 30th, 2004. Including sporting events, the HP Pavilion averages 184 events a year, or roughly one event for every two days, which is significantly higher than the average for NHL arenas.

SPORTS

Club, Sport, Founded, League, Venue  
San Jose Sharks, Hockey, 1991, National Hockey League: Western Conference, HP Pavilion at San José.
San Jose Earthquakes, Soccer, 1995, Major League Soccer: Western Conference, Buck Shaw Stadium.
Real San Jose, Soccer, 2006, National Premier Soccer League, Yerba Buena High School.
San Francisco Dragons, Lacrosse, 2006, Major League Lacrosse (field/outdoor), Spartan Stadium.
San Jose Giants, Baseball, 1988, California League San Jose Municipal Stadium.
San Jose Saber Cats Arena, Football, 1995, Arena Football League, HP Pavilion at San José.
San Jose Stealth, Lacrosse, 2003, National Lacrosse League (box/arena/indoor), HP Pavilion at San José.
No Club, Mixed Martial Arts, 2006, Strikeforce, HP Pavilion at San José.

The only "Big Four" team to play in San Jose is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Sharks began play as an expansion team in 1991. As of the 2007-08 NHL season, the Sharks have become extremely popular in San Jose and are one of the top draws in the NHL, selling out nearly all of their home games. However, the team still has yet to win the Stanley Cup. The closest it ever came was in 2004 when it lost in the Western Conference Final to the Calgary Flames. The Sharks play home games at the HP Pavilion at San Jose (also referred to as the Shark Tank or the Tank) and are a member of the NHL's Pacific Division in the Western Conference. The Sharks have won the Pacific Division three times, most recently in 2007-2008. They have intense rivalries with the Colorado Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Detroit Red Wings, and Dallas Stars, as well as geographic rivalries with the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.

San Jose has had previous attempts to draw teams from Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA by offering stadium deals or attracting relocating sports teams. In 1991 the San Francisco Giants baseball team nearly closed the deal to play in San Jose. In November 2007, MLB's Oakland Athletics (A's) submitted plans to the neighboring city of Fremont in Alameda County for a 32,000 seat stadium with a planned opening for the 2011 season. Since the mid-1990s, numerous attempts to move the team to San Jose or Santa Clara never materialized due to territorial restrictions that places San Jose into neighboring National League's San Francisco Giants territory. Nevertheless, the proposed Cisco Field (naming rights were purchased in 2006 by San Jose-based networking company Cisco Systems) will be five to eight miles (8 to 13 kilometers) north of San Jose's city limits via Interstate 880. This is possible because the A's own territorial rights for Alameda County, which borders much of San Jose to the north. Since the team will be located closer to San Jose than its current home in Oakland if the plan goes through, speculation on a name change to more closely identify with San Jose and its more affluent population and businesses is rife according to the San Jose Mercury-News.

San Jose has been home to the Earthquakes in the North American Soccer League (1974–1984), Western Soccer Alliance (1985–1988) and Major League Soccer (1996–2005; 2008– ). The players of the San Jose Earthquakes moved to Houston, Texas after the 2005 season to become the Houston Dynamo. In July 2007, it was announced that San Jose Earthquakes would rejoin MLS for the 2008 season in the Western Conference. Now back in the league, the team is officially a continuation of the one that went on hiatus in 2005 and has kept its 1996-2005 records and accomplishments, including its MLS Cup wins in 2001 and 2003 and its MLS Supporters' Shield win in 2005.

The Major League Lacrosse team, the San Francisco Dragons, play at Spartan Stadium. Though after moving from San Francisco's Kezar Stadium in 2008, the team decided to remain being called the San Francisco Dragons so to represent the Bay Area as a whole. They share the stadium with the San José State Spartans, who play football there.

In 1997, due to the renovation of the Oakland Arena, the Golden State Warriors basketball team played their entire season home games at the San Jose Arena. Neighboring Santa Clara recently announced (2006) a new stadium deal will break ground and be completed by 2009, as the new home of the San Francisco 49ers-football team. San Jose may also soon house the practice facilities for the Oakland Raiders.

Previously, San Jose was home to the San Jose Bees (1962-1976; 1983-1987) of the minor league baseball California League, the San Jose Missions (1977-1981) of the minor league baseball Pacific Coast League (from 1977-1978) and the California League (from 1979-1981), the San Jose Rhinos of Roller Hockey International (1994–1997; 1999), the San Jose Grizzlies (1993–1995) of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the San Jose Golddiggers (1987–1989) of Major League Volleyball (women's), the San Jose Jammers (1989–1991) of the Continental Basketball Association, the San Jose Lasers of the American Basketball League, the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (while Oakland Arena was being renovated, 1996–1997), the San Jose CyberRays of the Women's United Soccer Association (2001–2002), the San Jose Frogs of the United Soccer Leagues Premier Development League (2006-2008) and the San Jose Ballers of the International Basketball League, now the Tri City Ballers.

In addition to professional teams, San Jose hosts several sporting events. The SAP Open (formerly the Sybase Open) is an annual men's tennis tournament held at the HP Pavilion. San Jose was the host of ArenaBowl XVI on August 18, 2002 in which the San Jose SaberCats defeated the Arizona Rattlers, 52-14. The San Jose Grand Prix, first held in July 2005, brought Champ Car racing on a temporary road course on Downtown streets. Downtown San Jose hosted the finish for daily stages of the Amgen Tour of California in February 2006, 2007, and 2008, and hosted the individual time trial in 2006. The city is also one of five host cities for the Dew Action Sports Tour season; the San Jose event is held in September.

In college sports, the San José State Spartans are the local college team, however, many residents support the Cal Golden Bears or the Stanford Cardinal; local sports news coverage tends to focus more on these two schools. The Pac-10 Women's Basketball Championship is held at the HP Pavilion at San José as well as either the men's or women's West Regional tournament during the NCAA's March Madness.

In 2004, the San Jose Sports Authority hosted the U.S. Olympic team trials for judo, tae kwon do, trampolining and rhythmic gymnastics at the San Jose State Event Center. In August 2004, the Authority hosted the USA All-Star 7-Aside Rugby Championships at Watson Bowl, east of Downtown. San Jose is also home to the St Joseph's Hurling Club. In 2008, around 90 percent of the members of the United States Olympic team were processed at San Jose State prior to traveling to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The 2009 Junior Olympics will also be held here,

TRANSPORTATION
 
The San Jose area has a freeway system, including three Interstate freeways—I-280, I-880, and I-680—in addition to several state and one US Highway, US 101, SR 85, SR 87, SR 17, and SR 237. It is, however, the largest city in the country not served by a primary, "two-digit" interstate. Additionally, San Jose contains many expressways of the Santa Clara County Expressway System, including the Almaden Expressway, Capitol Expressway, San Tomas Expressway, and Lawrence Expressway.

Rail service to and within San Jose is provided by Amtrak (the Sacramento-San Jose Capitol Corridor and the Seattle-Los Angeles Coast Starlight), Caltrain (commuter rail service between San Francisco and Gilroy), ACE (commuter rail service to Pleasanton and Stockton), and a local light-rail system connecting downtown to Mountain View, Milpitas, Campbell, and Almaden Valley, operated by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Historic streetcars from the San Jose History Museum operate on the light rail lines in downtown during holidays. Long-term plans call for BART to be expanded into the San Jose area via the East Bay. Diridon Station (formerly Cahill Depot, 65 Cahill Street) is the meeting point of all regional commuter rail service in the area. It was built in 1935 by the Southern Pacific Railroad, and was refurbished in 1994.

VTA also operates many bus routes in San Jose and the surrounding communities, as well as offering paratransit services to local residents. Additionally, the Highway 17 Express bus line connects central San Jose with Santa Cruz.

San Jose is served by Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport, two miles (3 km) northwest of downtown, and by Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County. San Jose residents also use San Francisco International Airport, a major international hub located 35 miles (56 km) to the northwest, and Oakland International Airport, another major international airport located 35 miles (56 km) to the north.

UTILITIES

Potable water is provided primarily by the private-sector San Jose Water Company, with some by the Great Oaks Water Company, and ten percent by the public-sector San Jose Municipal Water System. Great Oaks provides exclusively well water, while the other two provide water from multiple sources, including well water, and surface water from the Los Gatos Creek watershed, Santa Clara Valley Water District, and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's Hetch Hetchy reservoir.

Garbage, wastewater treatment, and recycling services are overseen by the city of San Jose's Environmental Services Department. San Jose recycles 64% of its waste, an exceptionally high percentage that is attributed to the recycling program's accepting an unusually long list of recyclable items without requiring that materials be sorted. Among the items accepted are all types of plastic, aerosol cans and paint cans, foam packing materials, aluminum furniture, small metal appliances, pots and pans, and clean fabrics.

Wastewater treatment happens at the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant, which treats and cleans the wastewater of the more than 1,500,000 people that live and work in the 300 square mile (780 km²) area encompassing San Jose, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga, and Monte Sereno.

About ten percent of the treated wastewater is sold for irrigation ("water recycling") in San Jose, Santa Clara, and Milpitas, through local water providers San Jose Municipal Water System, City of Milpitas Municipal Services, City of Santa Clara Water & Sewer Utility, Santa Clara Valley Water District, San Jose Water Company, and Great Oaks Water Company.

Natural gas and electricity are provided by PG&E. Telephone service is provided primarily by AT&T. Cable television is provided by Comcast.

EDUCATION
 
Colleges and universities
San Jose is home to several colleges and universities. The largest and most well known is San José State University, which was founded by the California Legislature in 1862 as the California State Normal School and is the original campus of the California State University system. Located in downtown San Jose since 1870, the university's 30,000 students in bachelor's and master's degree programs are primarily commuters from many areas in the South Bay. National Hispanic University, with an enrollment of 600, offers associate and bachelor's degrees and teaching credentials to its students, focusing on Hispanic students. Lincoln Law School of San Jose offers law degrees, catering to working professionals. The San Jose campus of Golden Gate University offers business bachelor and MBA degrees. San Jose's community colleges, San Jose City College and Evergreen Valley College, offer associate degrees, general education units to transfer to CSU and UC schools, and adult and continuing education programs. The West campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic is also located in San Jose.

The University of California, Santa Cruz operates Lick Observatory atop Mount Hamilton. In addition, San Jose residents attend several other area universities, including Santa Clara University, Stanford University in Palo Alto, Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley in Mountain View and the University of California, Berkeley. Additionally, San Jose and South Bay residents also comprise large sections of the student population at the University of California, Santa Cruz and the University of California, Davis.

Primary and secondary education
Most San Jose students go to schools in the San Jose Unified School District. Prior to 1954, California law required cities and school districts to have the same boundaries. When San Jose began expanding, rural school districts became one of the major opponents, as their territory and tax base was taken by the city. The city's legislators pushed a bill through the California Legislature, removing that requirement, and ending much of the opposition. The result is a patchwork of local school districts in the areas annexed after 1954. Public education in the city is provided by four high school districts, fourteen elementary districts, and four unified school districts (which provide both elementary and high schools).

In addition to the main San Jose Unified School District, the unified school districts are Milpitas Unified School District, Morgan Hill Unified School District, and Santa Clara Unified School District.

The following districts use the "feeder" system:

Campbell Union High School District receives students from:
Cambrian
Campbell Union
Luther Burbank
Moreland
Union School District.
East Side Union High School District receives students from:
Alum Rock Union
Berryessa Union
Evergreen Elementary
Franklin-McKinley
Mount Pleasant Elementary
Oak Grove
Orchard Elementary
Fremont Union High School District receives students from:
Cupertino Union School District.
Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District receives students from
Los Gatos Union School District.
 
Religious groups primarily run private schools in San Jose. The Catholic Diocese of San Jose has the second largest student population in the Santa Clara County, behind only SJUSD; the diocese and its parishes operate several schools in the city, including four high schools: Archbishop Mitty High School, Bellarmine College Preparatory, Notre Dame High School, and Presentation High School. There are two Baptist high schools, Liberty Baptist School and White Road Baptist Academy. Valley Christian High School is a Protestant high school in the North Valley neighborhood. There is also the nonsectarian K-12 Harker School.

San Jose library system
The San Jose City Library system is unique in that the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library combines the collections of the city's system with the San Jose State University main library. The building of the library in 2003 was the largest single library construction project west of the Mississippi. It has more than 1.5 million items. The building has eight floors that result in more than 475,000 square feet (44,100 m2) of space with a capacity for 2 million volumes.

The city has 18 neighborhood branches including the Biblioteca Latinoamericana, which specializes in Spanish language works. The East San Jose Carnegie Branch Library, a Carnegie library opened in 1908, is the last Carnegie library in Santa Clara County still operating as a public library and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The San Jose system (along with the University system) was jointly named as "Library of the Year" by the Library Journal in 2004.

ATTRACTIONS
 
Parks, gardens, and other outdoors recreational sites
Almaden Quicksilver County Park, 4,147 acres (17 km²) of former mercury mines in South San Jose (operated and maintained by the County of Santa Clara, Parks and Recreation Department).
Alum Rock Park, 718 acres (2.9 km²) in East San Jose, the oldest municipal park in California
Emma Prusch Farm Park, 43.5 acres (176,000 m²) in East San Jose. Donated by Emma Prusch to demonstrate the valley's agricultural past, it includes a 4-H barn (the largest in San Jose), community gardens, a rare-fruit orchard, demonstration gardens, picnic areas, and expanses of lawn. 
California's Great America
Circle of Palms Plaza, a ring of palm trees surrounding a California state seal and historical landmark at the site of the first state capitol
Kelley Park, including diverse facilities such as Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (a child-centric amusement park), the Japanese Friendship Garden (Kelley Park), History Park at Kelley Park, and the Portuguese Historical Museum within the history park
Kirk Park, home to the San Jose Young People's Theater
Overfelt Gardens, including the Chinese Cultural Garden
Plaza de César Chávez, a small park in Downtown, hosts outdoor concerts and the Christmas in the Park display
Raging Waters, Water Park with water slides and other water attractions. This sits within Lake Cunningham Park
Rosicrucian Park, nearly an entire city block in the Rose Garden neighborhood; the Park offers a setting of Egyptian and Moorish architecture set among lawns, rose gardens, statuary, and fountains, and includes the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Planetarium, Research Library, Peace Garden and Visitors Center
San Jose Flea Market
San Jose Municipal Rose Garden, 5½ acre (22,000 m²) park in the Rose Garden neighborhood, featuring over 4,000 rose bushes
Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.

TRAILS

San Jose's trail network offers nearly 50 miles (80 km) of recreational and commute trails throughout the City. The major trails in the network include:
Coyote Creek Trail
Guadalupe River Trail
Los Gatos Creek Trail
Los Alamitos Creek Trail
Penitencia Creek Trail
Silver Creek Valley Trail
Additional information is available at the City of San Jose trail network website.

MUSEUMS, LIBRARIES AND OTHER CULTURAL COLLECTIONS

Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose.
History Park at Kelley Park.
Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, home of the largest Beethoven collection outside Europe.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, the largest U.S. public library west of Mississippi River.
Mexican Heritage Plaza, a museum and cultural center for Mexican Americans in the area.
Portuguese Historical Museum.
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on display in the western United States, located at Rosicrucian Park.
San Jose Museum of Art.
The Tech Museum of Innovation.
San Jose Steam Railroad Museum.

SPORTS AND EVENT VENUES

HP Pavilion at San José - home of the NHL's San Jose Sharks, the AFL's San Jose SaberCats and the NLL's San Jose Stealth.
San Jose Convention Center-home of the CBA's San Jose Sky Rockets until the team's departure in 2006 to North Dakota.
San Jose Jazz Festival, held annually in downtown San Jose.
San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the minor league San Jose Giants.
Spartan Stadium, home of San José State University football, MLL's San Francisco Dragons, and the previous home of Major League Soccer's San Jose Earthquakes.

OTHER ESTRUCTURES

Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, the oldest parish in California.
Lick Observatory, home of what was once the largest telescope in the world.
Sikh Gurdwara - San Jose, the largest Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) in the United States.
Peralta Adobe, a restored adobe home showing the lifestyle of Spanish and Mexican California.
Winchester Mystery House, a sprawling, 160-room Victorian mansion built by Sarah Winchester.
Raging Waters, the largest Water Park in Northern California with 23 acres (93,000 m2) and millions of gallons of water.

MEDIA

San Jose is served by local media as well as that of the Greater Bay Area and national media. Media outlets based in San Jose include the San Jose Mercury News and various smaller newspapers and magazines, five television stations, six AM radio stations, and sixteen FM radio stations.

In April 1909, Charles David Herrold, an electronics instructor in San Jose, constructed a radio station to broadcast the human voice. The station "San Jose Calling" (call letters FN, later FQW), was the world's first radio station with scheduled programming targeted at a general audience. The station became the first to broadcast music in 1910. Herrold's wife Sybil became the first female "disk jockey" in 1912. The station changed hands a number of times before eventually becoming today's KCBS in San Francisco.

Notes and references: Wikipedia website.

Landscaping services in San Jose

Artificial synthetic grass installation

Better Than Real Artificial Grass provides complete installation service of artificial synthetic grass turf at your home, business and other properties. Backyards, frontyards, sideyards, decks, around the pool, sidewalks... unlimited possibilities.

Artificial synthetic playgrounds installation

Artificial synthetic playgrounds are a safe environment for children of all ages. Artificial synthetic grass turf & sod is clean, color doesn't fade away, durable, easy to clean, low maintenance, non-toxic, safe, soft, unlimited play time, & uv resistant.

Artificial synthetic dog run installation

Artificial synthetic grass turf & sod for dog runs and other pets offers an environment that is easy to clean after, neat, non-toxic, safe, strong for all kinds of pets. Dogs in particular will run freely on this type of surface.

Artificial synthetic putting green installation

Perfect your golf game playing in your own artificial synthetic putting green field at home. Any size, any quantity of holes, any shape. You can even customize the design to your own needs. Play with your family or invite some friends over.

Dog runs in San Jose

Artificial Synthetic Grass for Dog Running Areas

Make your yard the ideal space for your pets at home with artificial grass. It provides a safe environment, easy to clean after your pet, lead-free, non-flammable, non-toxic, resistant to extreme traffic, wear and tear. No more mud or yellow spots!

For dog owners, a dog running area is absolutely necessary for your beloved dog. Artificial synthetic grass offers the perfect solution for your yard or lawn. Whether you share a lawn area with your pet or want to provide your dog or other pets with a beautiful and clean space to play outdoors, a dog run area with an artificial grass surface provides the ideal environment for dogs and other domestic pets in any weather condition or outdoors space.

Artificial synthetic grass for dog running areas have become more and more accepted in places such as commercial locations, dog kennels, dog day care facilities, pet kennels, public parks, residential locations, roof top buildings, veterinary clinics, and many more, especially in the state of California.

 

Putting greens in San Jose

Artificial Synthetic Putting Greens

Better Than Real Artificial Grass can install an artificial synthetic putting green at your home. Any shape, size or quantity of holes, with contours in the surface to make the game more challenging. Perfect your game at home from your backyard.

Golf as a sport has become popular in the last few years. Artificial synthetic putting greens for home have become popular too. Thanks to that popularity the installation of artificial synthetic putting greens have become more common and affordable for homes, especially in the backyards. For people who play golf, an artificial synthetic putting green is a must, to practice anytime at home and perfect your golf game. For people whom aren't golf players themselves, a backyard putting green is still the perfect way to entertain themselves playing in a minigolf surface with family and friends.

All the artificial synthetic putting greens installed by Better Than Real Artificial Grass are custom designed. We can install a backyard putting green in any shape, any size, any quantity of holes, with fringe finish, with contours in the surface to make the game more challenging. Artificial synthetic putting greens can be installed either indoors or outdoors. These backyard putting greens require very low maintenance, and help save lots of money in regular maintenance service, fertilizers and water bills over the years. We offer artificial synthetic grass products that are clean, lead-free, non-flammable, non-toxic, safe and low maintenance for backyard putting greens and minigolf applications.

Putting greens in San Jose

Artificial Synthetic Sport Fields

Artificial synthetic turf has been used in stadiums around the world for decades now. But fake grass has evolved considerably in the last decade. There are many sport teams and stadiums where people praised their artificial grass sport fields.

 

Artificial synthetic sport fields have become very popular in the last few years. Artificial synthetic turf has been used in stadiums around the world for decades now and fake grass has evolved considerably in the last ten years. There are many professional sport teams and stadiums where people praised their artificial grass fields. Fake turf offers the same advantages than natural sod, but without the fertilizing, mowing, watering and other maintenance needed in a regular basis.

 

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