Air Medical Transport Conference

Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) 2011

2011-05-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

October 17-19 in St. Louis, Missouri at the America's Center Complex. Follow AAMS at www.facebook.com/AAMSAAMS or www.facebook.com/TheAMTC

www.twitter.com/AAMS or www.twitter.com/AMTC

Intracoastal Waterway

2010-03-03T14:19:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic Ocean grabs all the attention, but most residents of the Gold Coast see far more of the Intracoastal Waterway, whether they're strolling along the banks or boating through it. In Fort Lauderdale, the Jungle Queen cruises the Intracoastal and the New River, while the Water Taxi offers barhopping and even a trip to South Beach. Take a cruise on the Jungle Queen from Fort Lauderdale. In West Palm Beach, new docks in the Intracoastal offer a spot to fish, and the Diva Duck tours in amphibious vehicles splash into the estuary.

Harrison's Wine Gallery

2010-03-03T13:51:00.000-08:00

Local Nightlife Details

Don't Guess Just Ask Priscilla

2010-02-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

What to do and where to go in Fort Lauderdale.

Cafe Sharaku (Ft. Lauderdale)

2010-02-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

Cafe Sharaku (Ft. Lauderdale)

Dining on Las Olas Boulevard.

2010-02-01T12:18:00.000-08:00

Dining on Las Olas Boulevard.: "Las Olas Dining

There can't be many streets which can rival Las Olas Boulevard for dining out. Whatever your tastes - or your budget - you'll find the perfect restaurant, café or bar on the Boulevard."

GALLERIA :: FORT LAUDERDALE :: Premier Shopping, First Class Dining in Florida

2010-01-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

GALLERIA :: FORT LAUDERDALE :: Premier Shopping, First Class Dining in Florida

Quarterdeck Seafood Bar in Fort Lauderdale, FL - AOL Local Yellow Pages

2010-01-28T13:45:00.000-08:00

Quarterdeck Seafood Bar in Fort Lauderdale, FL - AOL Local Yellow Pages

The Payson Roundup / Fun and sun in Florida

2010-01-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

The Payson Roundup / Fun and sun in Florida: "We recognize Florida for its sun-filled beaches, warm climate, world famous theme parks and great resorts. It is also the location to board a ship for most of the Caribbean cruises. If you are booking a cruise that departs from either Miami or Fort Lauderdale, why not extend your stay in Florida for a few days? Rent a car and see the state.
Florida offers large cities and small towns with a unique mixture of cultures. Parts of Miami remain entrenched with Cuban culture. You hear Spanish language in many locations. Cuban food can be found in many restaurants. Miami Beach has become, in recent years, a vacation spot for the fashionable rich and famous."

The Fort Lauderdale 10

2009-12-16T08:28:00.000-08:00

Low-cost carrier Virgin America lands in Fort Lauderdale

2009-11-18T14:31:00.000-08:00

JetBlue begins service San Francisco – Fort Lauderdale

2009-11-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

Thank You for Attending!

2009-11-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

Thank you for attending the 2009 Air Medical Transport Conference in San Jose California!

AMTC Speaker Submission Deadline December 15, 2009

2009-11-13T08:44:00.001-08:00

Lessons Learned from Aviation Accidents: The NTSB Family Assistance Model

2009-10-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

An accident is a tragedy that all members of the air medical community dread. Responding effectively in the chaotic environment following an accident seems like a monumental challenge for even the most prepared and capable team. This session will show you how to integrate proven aviation accident response strategies into your emergency and accident planning process while providing lessons learned from past aviation and transportation disasters. Since the passage of the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996, the NTSB has developed a comprehensive and effective model for disaster response following accidents. The Act places the NTSB in a coordination role in order to ensure that accident victims and their families receive information and access to services. Learn how the NTSB works with support groups to coordinate an effective response following an accident. This presentation will review the requirements under the Act and examine the application of the model to other aircraft operations and modes of transportation. This session will also highlight the MedEvac Foundation’s new Family Grant Fund, a grant program designed to help programs and operators respond to the needs of crew and patient families following a serious or fatal accident.

Sponsored by the MedEvac Foundation International, held on Tuesday, October 27th 1600-1700h.

Broadway San Jose

2009-10-09T07:47:00.000-07:00

Star Trek Exhibit In San Jose at the Tech Museum

2009-09-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

STAR TREK®:THE EXHIBITION, Where Science Meets Science Fiction will be coming to The Tech Museum for a limited engagement this fall. The exhibition will open to the public Friday, October 23.

You will be able to connect with iconic Star Trek moments and characters and celebrate the creative spirit of science fiction that gave rise to many of today's modern marvels.This exhibition will be spread across more than 15,000-square-feet and features all five television series and eleven films that span over 40 years. STAR TREK: THE EXHIBITION features:
An authentic replica of the bridge from the U.S.S Enterprise NCC-1701 as featured in the original Star Trek television series
The trifecta of the Star Trek universe: a tricorder; a phaser, and a communicator - all from the original series
A chance to ride through a Star Trek adventure in a full-motion flight simulator (extra fee)
The actual shooting model for the Borg Cube, that impending vision of doom as seen on Star Trek:The Next Generation, Voyager, and in the movie Star Trek: First Contact
Here are the hours and pricing. The best ticket price is for our members. This exhibition comes with curriculum guides for Grades 4-12 and the links are found on the website.

Special Exhibit HoursMonday - Wednesday: 9:00am - 5:00pmThursday - Sunday: 9:00am - 8:00pm Prices Adults: $25.00Seniors (65+) / College Students with ID: $22.00Children (ages 3-17): $19.00 Includes admission to STAR TREK: THE EXHIBITION AND admission to all the galleries of The Tech Museum. Pricing does not include IMAX and simulators.

Group Pricing - Groups save over 20%Adult Groups: $20.00Children / School Field Trips: $15.00Seniors (65+) / College Students: $18.00Groups of 10 or more. Groups must book in advance for discounted rates.

Members - Members save up to 40%Adults: $15Children (ages 3-17): $13.00Seniors (65+) / College Student Rates $13.00

It’s not too late!

2009-09-30T07:51:00.000-07:00

AMTC09 is a month away, but you haven’t missed the boat!

You can STILL get the complete AMTC09 Conference Compiliation for ONLY $125* simply select the Best Value Package when registering for the meeting.

Virtual Attendees will pay $1,299 for this same access!

The 2009 Air Medical Transport Conference is PACKED with valuable educational programming, but busy conference participants can’t be in two places at once. The burning question has always been “Which sessions do I attend, and which ones do I miss?”

The solution is the AAMS Live Learning Center!

NEW THIS YEAR - As a special Pre-Conference Bonus, AAMS is offering the “Best Value Package” with registration, which INCLUDES access to the Complete Conference Recordings via the AAMS Live Learning Center. You’ll be able to re-experience the 2009 Air Medical Transport Conference (as released for inclusion) as it happened in San Jose, wherever and whenever you want - captured as true multimedia recreations with synchronized slides, handouts and much more, or for download in Mp3 format to your iPod for easy listening. So, you won’t miss a thing!!!

Welcome to the AAMS Live Learning Center. Be Everywhere. www.softconference.com/aams

San Jose Closer to Banning All Bags, Both Paper and Plastic

2009-09-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

San Jose and San Francisco are two cities in constant battle to one-up the other on sustainability. That is one competition we don't mind sitting back and watching unfurl. From electric cars to waste diversion, the two cities are always working to top one another. Now, the battle moves to bags. San Francisco has worked to ban plastic bags from stores. But now San Jose has decided to look into banning not only plastic, but most paper bags too.

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Driving from Grand Prairie Texas to San Jose, CA

2009-09-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

Looking for another way to get to the AMTC. Trying driving and splitting the cost with colleagues!

Alaska Airlines to begin daily service between San Jose and Austin

2009-09-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

Jun 23, 2009 (AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION via COMTEX) -- ALK Quote Chart News PowerRating -- Alaska Airlines (NYSE:ALK) said on Monday that a daily service between San Jose, California and Austin, Texas will start on 2 September 2009.

Operated on Boeing 737-800s and accommodating 16 passengers in first class and 141 in the main cabin, the new flight will depart San Jose at 08:55PST, arriving at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 14:15CST. The return flight will depart Austin at 15.00CST and arrive in San Jose at 16:40PST.

Flights will be available for purchase from Thursday 25 June at http://www.alaskaair.com.

San Francisco designers, artists, cyclists: ARTCRANK headed to Bay Area for Bike Poster Art Show

2009-09-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

If you’re an entrepreneur (or ever had daydreams during death-by-boredom conference meetings of becoming one) you’re familiar with the process of trying to come up with “the big idea.” It ain’t easy, to say the least: researching, brainstorming, sleepless nights, feeling like your banging your head against a brick wall, headaches (from actually banging your head against a brick wall), more sleepless nights (from uncomfortable bandages wrapped around now bruised head). Then, finally, at 4:23am as you lay in bed ready to strangle the 1,099th sheep you’ve counted – the idea finally comes!

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Eco-Friendly Restaurants - San Jose, CA

2009-09-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

Bella Mia in downtown San Jose, is a Certified Green Business and participates in Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) ‘Save Energy Program’, which uses local, seasonal products, energy efficient lighting and recycles all possible products.

Tanglewood, a newly opened restaurant on Santana Row, maintains the ‘Green’ theme with presenting diners with the motto of “Dining in the Season”. This restaurant, the newest concept from Left Bank Restaurant Group, presents a menu that celebrates the day’s best seasonal ingredients, grown and raised on small, local sustainable farms, ranches and fisheries. Staff invites guests to reconnect with the rhythm of nature’s seasons while you enjoy the harvest of this unique American cuisine.

Manresa is the showcase for the inventive cuisine of Executive Chef David Kinch. Influenced by French and modern Catalan cooking, Chef Kinch finds inspiration from American ingenuity and the vast bounty that California has to offer. Manresa's biodynamic vegetables are grown exclusively for Manresa at Cynthia Sandberg's Love Apple Farm in the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains and harvested in the morning for the evening menu. Love Apple Farm originally became known for growing 100 varieties of heirloom tomatoes each year but the farm is now the exclusive kitchen garden for this restaurant. Join Manresa for the ultimate farm-to-table experience.

Village California Bistro and Wine Bar features California inspired cuisine focusing on the bounty of artisan quality seasonal ingredients right here in their backyard from the Wine Country to the Central Valley and the Pacific waters surrounding the Northern California coast and Monterey Bay. Emphasizing freshness, quality of ingredients and classic cooking techniques our chef, David Starr, creates ever changing seasonal menus.

2009 Air Medical Transport Conference Sessions of Note!

2009-08-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

2009 AMTC General Sessions

Monday, October 26 - Lee Woodruff
Tuesday, October 27 - Dr. Mark Rosekind

Fahrenheit Ultralounge & Restaurant in San Jose

2009-08-10T11:37:00.000-07:00

What the AMTC offers!

2009-08-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

About the Conference

The Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) is specifically designed to provide leadership, to educate, to inform, to cultivate friendships and to supply up to the minute information on the latest techniques and innovative approaches to emergency medical transport practice from the experts in your field.

The conference offers 150+ education sessions covering topics in a variety of disciplines including:
Safety
Core and Specialty Clinical
Aviation
Management /Outreach
Marketing
Case Studies

Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel Visits San Jose

2009-08-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

They highlighted 3 low-key restaurants with good food:

Iguanas Taqueria - great burritos
SmokeEaters Hot Wings - super hot along with the usual milder types
Henry’s Hi Life – authentic wood grill with great steaks, but they are really known for their baby back ribs

Some places to remember to try in Oct!

Post AMTC Tour Options

2009-08-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

San Jose Museum Exhibits Chuck Close

2009-07-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

San Jose Museum of Art will run an exhibition of works by Chuck Close from Tuesday, October 6, 2009 through Sunday, January 10, 2010.

Chuck Close has revolutionized both contemporary portraiture and printmaking. Close made his first print as a professional artist in 1972 and printmaking soon became an important and most fruitful, experimental aspect of his artistic endeavor. His innovation in printmaking is now legend.

Close was particularly concerned that his prints not simply be smaller versions of his paintings, but rather that printmaking open up an additional arena of investigation that would require him to engage in image-making in completely different ways.

In addition to including finished prints, this exhibition features full suites of Close’s preliminary proofs and various states of editions. Also on view will be the woodblocks and etching plates for several of the more complex images he has created.

The exhibition is no less than a stellar investigation into the mechanics of perception and virtuoso artistic process. It premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York: the San Jose Museum of Art is the only northern California venue.

The picture shows Phil Spitbite, 1995 Spitbite etching 28 x 20" Edition 60 ?Spring Street Workshop, New York, printer (Bill Hall, Julia D’Amario, Ruth Lingen, Pam Cooper) Pace Editions, Inc., New York, publisher. -- www.sjmusart.org

San Jose Museum Exhibits 'Variations On Theme'

2009-07-21T07:09:00.000-07:00

San Jose Museum of Art runs an exhibition named 'Variations on a Theme' through Sunday, February 7, 2010.

Variations on a Theme is an expansive presentation of works by ca. 30-40 contemporary artists, (most based in California), organized in thematic groupings, which tentatively include the environment and sustainability; the urban landscape; stories of people and the body politic; labor-intensive artistic techniques; and faith and spirituality.

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Alfred Hitchcok and Silicon Valley

2009-07-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

The most famous resident of Scott's Valley, located between San Jose and Santa Cruz, was film director Alfred Hitchcock,who lived there from 1940 to 1972 in a mountaintop estate. In the early morning hours of August 18, 1961, Santa Cruz residents awoke to the macabre sight of a massive flock of birds slamming themselves against coastside buildings, an eerie event said to have inspired Hitchcock's movie thriller, "The Birds."

Price goes up after Friday July 17!

2009-07-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Last chance to SAVE $100 on your AMTC Registration!
Initial discount deadline is midnight tomorrow, Friday, July 17th!
With the current economic climate, why not take full advantage of this year's discount?
NOTE: Registration is always transferable to another individual from within your organization if you find that you are unable to attend. Take advantage of the lowest rate now!
REGISTER ONLINE!

Safety. Synergy. Success.

About the ConferenceThe Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC) is specifically designed to provide leadership, to educate, to inform, to cultivate friendships and to supply up to the minute information on the latest techniques and innovative approaches to emergency medical transport practice from the experts in your field.
The conference offers 150+ education sessions covering topics in a variety of disciplines including:
Safety
Core and Specialty Clinical
Aviation
Business/Management
Aviation
Outreach/Marketing
Case Studies

We also offer an exposition featuring over 140 companies displaying products and services directly applicable to air and critical care ground medicine. Network and learn with more than 2,500 colleagues from across the nation and around the world at the largest air medical convention and exposition available!
Full conference registration is available for just $505 per member registration/$605 per non-member registration IF received by midnight on Friday. Are you aware that you qualify for the member rate if you are a member of AAMS, AACN, AMPA, ASTNA, IAFP, NAACS, or NEMSPA?

Your full registration will include:
2 Keynote Sessions
3-days of education sessions
Access to the Exhibit Hall
Attendee breakfast/coffee
2 Attendee Lunches
AMTC Community Awards Banquet
MASH BASH - the AMTC's traditional closing night party
It's the best deal around!

Full information about the 2009 AMTC is available on our website - click here!
Ready to register? REGISTER ONLINE!
We look forward to seeing you in San Jose, California in late October. If you have any questions about the conference, please feel free to call us at (703) 836-8732.

Britannia Arms Downtown

2009-07-14T06:54:00.000-07:00

Live Music Sports Bar and British Pub in Downtown San Jose
Ahhh… the ineffable greatness of British pubs. Between fish & chips and pints of ale, there’s something about a good pub that puts a smile on people’s faces – and it’s not just the pints that do it. Obviously in on this secret of greatness, The Brit floats a bit of the Isles across the sea and transplants it in San Jose, offering a killer hangout and gathering spot in the British pub tradition.

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Pearl Nightclub in San Jose

2009-07-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

Possible Tourist Destination - Post AMTC

2009-07-06T12:05:00.000-07:00

Alcatraz considering sleepovers

By: John UptonExaminer Staff Writer July 6, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO — The weather-worn doors to former guards’ barracks on Alcatraz Island could be swung open to allow visitors to sleep overnight at the world-famous outcrop.

But delicate or aging tourists might be disappointed. In keeping with the island’s rugged past, overnight visitors will need to sweat for their board through physical labor to help spruce up the famous landmark, under recommendations being drafted by officials.

Last year, the federal agency that oversees Alcatraz solicited public feedback on the island’s future. The task was part of an effort to create a 20-year master plan for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes Alcatraz Island and some other Bay Area coastal regions.

The GGNRA outlined three alternatives for the future of the island, which is a popular tourist destination that was formerly home to a military fortress, a maximum-security penitentiary and a Native American settlement.

The alternatives raised the prospect that hotel or hostel accommodations might open on the island, as first reported by The Examiner.

They included increasing visitor access to the island, preserving and enhancing its natural environment, and restoring and celebrating its “national treasures” — features relating to Alcatraz’s checkered cultural past.

More than 1,500 people and organizations submitted feedback, according to GGNRA project manager Brian Aviles.

“We’ve selected the preferred alternative,” Aviles said. “It’s going to be alternative number three —‘Focusing on National Treasures.’”

No new buildings are planned on the island, but aging buildings will be refurbished and some ecological restoration will be undertaken, he said.

“We want to focus the accommodations on providing a better place for our volunteer and educational programs — so it’s going to be modest in scale, and it’s going to be dorm-like,” Aviles said.

The dormitories will be built in future years into the cold, gray Barracks Building, which is the island’s largest building and the first structure visitors encounter when they reach the island by ferry.

“That was historically a barracks, and we think we can reconfigure it. We’re not going to restore all of it — it’s a five story building — but portions of it would be opened up to the public,” Aviles said.

The recommendations are due to be finalized next year, and it’s too early to say how many beds or rooms will open, but Aviles said he imagined dorm rooms containing 20 beds each.

A small fee might need to be paid by volunteer workers staying on the island.

Many older tourists on the island Sunday turned up their noses at the prospect of sleeping in the Barracks Building — especially if labor was required.
But younger visitors sounded enthusiastic.

“I would definitely be interested,” said Alex Cordery, a 15-year-old Englishman vacationing with pals in California. “It’d be good to be able to say that you stayed at Alcatraz.”

The duties of the island’s newest inhabitants will be based loosely on an existing program, in which nonprofits enter a lottery to send groups to the island, where they sleep on cots in prison hallways and garden and paint during the day.

Access to those programs is severely limited because the island lacks basic amenities like running water. The GGNRA is considering undertaking rainwater harvesting and water recycling initiatives on site, as well as building an underwater cable to import power from the mainland and installing solar panels on the island, according to Aviles.

Residents of the Rock
A history of the Barracks Building on Alcatraz Island

1860s: Construction of the Barracks Building begins. The building is designed to provide a “bombproof” fortress to help protect San Francisco from Confederate forces and sympathizers.

1890s: The Barracks Building is used to house a growing number of guards brought onto the island to oversee soldier prisoners who were punished for committing crimes during the Spanish-American War.

1930s: After the island was turned into a federal penitentiary in 1934, military living quarters inside the building were carved up to provide apartment housing for guards and their families.

1969-1979: Hundreds of Native American activists, who claimed ownership of the island, lived inside the Barracks Building.Present: The building houses a tourist gift shop, theater and historical artifacts, but most of it is locked up for safety reasons.

Source: Cultural Resources and Museum Management Division, Golden Gate National Recreation Area
jupton@sfexaminer.com

California chain restaurants must post calorie counts starting today

2009-07-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

Herhold: The 'Hands' artwork gets a few captions

2009-07-02T07:01:00.000-07:00

The results are tallied. The jokes are told. The puns have surfaced. And maybe we have a keeper or two.
After getting more than 300 nominations for my caption contest for the "Hands'' artwork at Mineta San Jose International Airport, I'm smiling as I recite the best of the bunch.

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San Jose Inches Closer to Reaching Goal of 100 Percent Energy Independence

2009-06-18T11:30:00.000-07:00

San Jose, CA - Achieving a goal of 100 percent energy independence is a little closer for San Jose thanks to a momentous move by the City Council today. The City Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop potential lease terms and guidelines for developing an organics-to energy bio-gas facility.

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Club Caribe

2009-06-10T06:45:00.001-07:00

1001 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95110
phone: +1 408 297 7272

This Latino joint has been a favorite San Jose meeting spot for quite a while and once you step inside, you will quickly see why. You can listen to salsa music every Thursday or dance to live bands performing high-energy Hispanic music other nights. The signature libation is Jarritos, a tropical Cuban mixture of fruits and liquors that is sweet and potent (watch out how many you down). A very spacious, elegant establishment, it does not allow sportswear, so dress sharp.

Broadway shows coming back to San Jose

2009-06-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

By Karen D'Souza
Mercury News

AAMS Newsletter

2009-05-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Check out the Association of Air Medical Services May News and Views.

Highlights -- AMTC 2009 in San Jose, CA education sessions.

Club Havana Nights

2009-05-29T12:19:00.000-07:00

San Jose is very popular for its nightlife joints, come down to Club Havana Nights and you would know, why? At this energy-packed club, you would find yourself immersed in fantastic music spun by the in house DJs or the live concerts that take place here. Spread over two floors this place houses three bars and multi-level dance floors. Besides this place is also available for private parties.

SAN JOSE PLANTS ITS ROOTS IN GREEN MEETINGS AND TRAVEL

2009-05-22T07:15:00.000-07:00

SAN JOSE, CA – San Jose, voted in 2009 as the greenest of 12 cities by Green Tech Media, is grounding itself in the wide world of responsible travel and meetings. Going beyond the standard programs, initiatives all throughout San Jose are forcefully changing the way business is done. From hotels, to the Convention Center, to City organizations and Mineta International Airport -- all are making strides to ensure that San Jose puts its best carbon footprint forward. The vision is to make this kind of environmental responsibility the standard so visitors can “stay to play!” for years to come. Initiatives include:

Green Hotels

One of the few hotels in Northern California to utilize an Ozone Laundry Plan, Hotel Valencia on Santana Row debuted this program in February to save water, gas and electricity, as the cycles run a shorter time and use cold water to conserve. Also unique to Hotel Valencia is a Heatsvr, a liquid pool blanket technology that reduces temperature and expected to save 15-40 percent of natural gas usage for the pool and spa. Low flow toilets and shower heads along with biodegradable key cards, no use of Styrofoam products and electronic mailings all contribute to keeping one of the most popular hotels in San Jose seeing green. Calculated by energystar.com, as of May 23, 2008 the hotel has reduced its carbon footprint by 47,739.57 pounds.

The “Green Team” at Dolce Hayes Mansion monitors environmental practices and maintaining new standards sustainability. The ‘Green Team’ also researches and coordinates property and staff involvement in local environmental projects or programs. In addition, Hayes Mansion provides biodegradable food to-go containers, uses local and sustainable food and beverage products and energy efficient appliances and lights bulbs.

The San Jose City Council recently recognized the Hilton San Jose has a Green Business. The staff uses energy saving printers, faxes etc, sensored lighting and offers a linen re-use program to each guest. Cups, lids and straws are made from 100 percent U.S. grown corn, also known as PLA plastic. Use of PLA plastic saves 10 gallons of gasoline for every case of 20 oz cups.

The Clarion Hotel in San Jose saves approximately $15,000 a year with a PG&E initiative that provides air conditioning motion sensors to save energy and water conservation systems for their sprinklers, showers and faucets. They use a paperless reporting program and a guest linen program, where guests can reuse their own towels and sheets.

The DoubleTree Hotel partners with many green organizations, including the Arbor Day Foundation, to plant new trees in the area. They are proud members of the California Green Lodging Program and the Green Meeting Industry Council. The hotel is a member of the Earthcare program, which allows a 100-guestroom hotel to save 72,000 gallons of water through linen and towel reuse. Eco-friendly materials are used for renovations and remodels, and energy efficient appliances are purchased. Staff also focuses on avoiding printing brochures and correspondence whenever possible.

The San Jose Marriott stands out by offering a “Green Meeting Planner Package” that includes environmentally friendly meeting room writing pads. For every 4 pads consumed, the equivalent of one mature tree is saved, 733 gallons of water are saved, 144 pounds of air emissions and 29 pounds of solid waste is reduced. Marriott San Jose also uses ‘Green Works’ cleaners, Brita filters, corn starch drinking cups that are 100 percent recyclable and is building toward linen-less tables in all meeting spaces for 2009. The hotel also recently launched a beta test partnership with the Clorox Company utilizing their environmentally friendly “Green Works” product line for cleaning guest rooms.

Initiated by Fairmont San Jose and adopted by all the Fairmont hotels across the state, this San Jose hotel offers complimentary parking to the overnight guests who drive Hybrid cars. The Fairmont San Jose also implements several green programs pioneered by Fairmont headquarters, such as the Green Partnership Program— a comprehensive commitment to minimizing hotels’ impact on the planet, accompanied by a guidebook on sustainable best practices in the lodging industry. The program emphasizes sustainable and responsible practices such as recycling, kitchen-waste diversion, retrofitting energy-efficient lighting, conducting community-outreach programs and buying green power. The Fairmont’s Eco-Meet program helps meeting planners by providing a meeting structure that encourages maximum waste diversion and environmental awareness for conference delegates.

Airport Check-in: San Jose gets street-level ticketing lobby

2009-05-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

San Jose leads as America’s top tech center

2009-05-15T06:30:00.000-07:00

By G. Scott Thomas
updated 5:38 p.m. ET, Thurs., May 14, 2009

San Jose and Stockton, Calif., are just 78 miles from each other, yet they’re worlds apart in high-tech expertise.

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Silicon Alleys Music Matters

2009-05-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

By Gary Singh

AS YOU READ this, downtown San Jose is in the throngs of a new enterprise called Left Coast Live. This is, perhaps, the purest example of what happens when a bunch of people, instead of sitting around and complaining, actually stand up and do something.

The entire scenario is exciting for several reasons. The timing rocks, especially since San Jose just passed up the 1 million mark and still doesn't have a reasonable nightlife comparable to other cities with half its population.

Also, because of another enterprise called San Jose Rocks, there is an ever-growing interest in local rock history from the '60s and '70s, and according to local legend Gordon Stevens, there was a serious, equally important, Latin scene out on the East Side during the '60s as well—something hardly anyone talks about or even remembers.

Furthermore, festivals are something San Jose usually does well, especially the Jazz Festival, which just a few years ago began incorporating a club crawl so attendees could check out some live bands in the clubs, as opposed to immediately returning back home after the day's events.
Lastly, many people from my era who grew up driving to San Francisco or the East Bay to see shows, since there was absolutely nothing to do in San Jose for those under 21 until the Cactus Club opened. Remember how bloody fun it was when that club, along with Marsugi's, Ajax and F/X, started a live-music scene on South First Street? You had businessmen in suits hanging out right next to people with Mohawks.

The folks behind Left Coast Live keep using phrases like "Bring live music back to San Jose" or "Rebirth live music in San Jose," so they definitely know that live music at least used to be on a lot of people's radar. With luck, such a mind-set will return, and someday we might actually see club owners who want to contribute to the cultural landscape and/or landlords who actually care about the community rather than knowingly renting to troublesome clubs just to make a quick buck.

But getting back to the concept of a Latin scene in the '60s, last week a press conference was held for the San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival. It took place in the Fairmont. Linda Ronstadt still holds court as the festival's artistic director, and for this year's incarnation, she brought in Carlos Santana, who will perform in a huge tribute gig for Cesar Chavez this coming Sept. 20–27, so he himself actually showed up to the press conference and had quite a bit of inspiring and provocative things to say.

When asked how or why he originally migrated from mariachi to rock music, he said that when attending a picnic in San Jose in 1962, he heard mariachi music coming from one part of the landscape and rock music from another part. "When taking in the aerial view, I just grabbed all of it," he recalled. He added that San Jose has the capacity for being grand central for Latin rock & roll, and that "We should celebrate Cesar Chavez day nationally, not just in California."

And this one: "Everybody is born an angel with wings of imagination and willingness. Some people may even be chickens or turkeys—especially if you wake up automatically thinking someone's going to mess with you. I choose to wake up, and wake everyone up with vibration and sound."

Santana then went on to repeatedly bash Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, calling them the "exterminators of education, while referring to Ronstadt and himself as the "weapons of mass compassion."

Finally, he philosophized that for musicians, the goal is to be eternally relevant. "Someone can be ahead of his time, but a month later, he could be passé," said Santana. "I invite all musicians to wake up and be eternally relevant."

Contact Gary Singh or send a letter to the editor about this story.

PinkSlipMixers.com and Local San Jose Business in Redevelopment Zone Wants to Revitalize Silicon Valley Job Market

2009-05-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

PinkSlipMixers and South First Billiards of San Jose will host a series of pink slip parties to help professionals find jobs. The events will be held every second Monday of the month. The pink slip party format will also include a 'career circuit' that will give job seekers tips to improve their job search.

Caravan Lounge (The)

2009-05-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

98 South Almaden Avenue
San Jose, CA 95113
phone: +1 408 995 6220

This local dive is frequented by the blue-collar crowd, younger refugees from the club scene, and the occasional stray from the Greyhound station next door. It's not the most chic place you can choose for a drink, but it does have a distinct character all its own. You can play pool or drop a few dollars in the jukebox while you swill drinks from the better-than-average booze selection. You can even buy six packs to go.

Agenda Lounge

2009-05-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

399 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
phone: +1 408 287 3991
email: info@agendalounge.com

This spectacular establishment has an elegant, upscale restaurant at the ground level, a nightclub upstairs, and a subdued retro dance place in the cellar. Located in a refurbished historical landmark, Agenda Lounge caters to many walks of life, from businessmen to jazz hipsters. In the Agenda restaurant, relax amidst the simple decor and go for the House Made Pork Pot stickers or the Chicken Satay. Sample the extensive selection of wines and single-malt scotches. Head up to the lounge and watch live jazz, swing, salsa or roots music.

Ambassador's Lounge

2009-05-06T06:29:00.000-07:00

175 North San Pedro Street
San Jose, CA 95110
phone: +1 408 298 2529

At Ambassador's Lounge let your hair down at the large dance and party space. Spread over 7,000 sq.ft, this is a very lively and fun-filled venue. It features three bars, up-to-date sound and lighting system, pool tables, outdoor smoking patio and two VIP areas. Weekends are fun with Celebrity Friday and Saucy Saturdays when many celebrities like Young Gunz, Trick Daddy, Golden State Warriors, San Jose Saber Cats and many more, entertain with their performances.

Pizarro: San Jose Museum of Art celebrating 40th anniversary

2009-05-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

By Sal Pizarro
Mercury News

The San Jose Museum of Art is celebrating its 40th birthday this year and is inviting everyone else to join in on the fun, too.

The museum — which sits at the corner of Market and San Fernando streets downtown — is holding a community day next Sunday with free admission and lots of family-friendly activities including art making, storytelling, gallery tours, face painting and dance performances.

The festivities will continue later this month with a brunch May 31. This event will be more focused on the evolution of the museum, which started as a small civic art gallery in 1969 that was created in part to save the old city library (which now houses a museum gallery and cafe) from destruction.

Marjorie Schwarzer, chair of the department of museum studies at John F. Kennedy University in Berkeley, will be sharing stories of the museum's history.

Tickets to the 10 a.m. May 31 brunch are $75. You can find out more at www.sanjosemuseumofart.org.

Contact Sal Pizarro at spizarro@mercurynews.com or 408-627-0940.

San Jose's population hits 1 million; Mayor Reed says 'size does matter'

2009-05-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

By Mike Swift
Mercury News

San Jose has hit another major population milestone — becoming the first West Coast city north of Los Angeles to notch its one millionth resident.

Actually, it's 1,006,892 residents, according to figures released Thursday by the California Department of Finance that had city leaders pleased.

"Size does matter," said a proud Mayor Chuck Reed. While not the only important thing, the mayor explained, "it does matter when I'm in Washington or Sacramento trying to get state or national policy changed on a Silicon Valley issue. I don't know if the absolute number counts, but being the 10th largest city in the country and over a million puts us in a category that people will pay attention to, even though they've never been to San Jose."

No longer does it matter that San Jose lacks the skyline of the biggest American cities, and that it continues to be the geek living next door to the Angelina Jolie of urban centers. Long the Bay Area's biggest city, it is now the 10th U.S. city with a seven-digit population, a threshold that may urge it to leave behind its long rivalry with the cultural Parthenon to the north. ....more....

Pat Tillman run brings out thousands of friends, veterans in San Jose

2009-04-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Public Street Lighting in San Jose

2009-04-24T06:37:00.000-07:00

You may notice when you arrive in San Jose that all of San Jose's public street lighting is yellow. The city was one of the first in the country to convert its lights to energy-efficient, low pressure sodium lamps to save electricity as well as reduce light pollution, which interfered with the nearby Lick Observatory's views of the night sky. In return for the favor, the Lick Observatory christened a newly discovered asteroid 6216 San Jose.

Something People On the East Coast Don't Realize

2009-04-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

You know the song, ubiquitous in the late 60s, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" I was just in the shower, where it occurred to me -- with the penetrating insight that only comes to people in the shower -- that the song makes sense to everybody in the country, except people familiar with California.

The narrator is from San Jose and lives in Los Angeles. And he keeps asking directions to get back to San Jose. Directions? You go North! What person from San Jose would need directions to get there from Los Angeles?

Is the song really made for non-Californian sensibilities? The lyricist, Hal David, is from New York, after all. Or was the song a subtle but blistering (and rather unfair) commentary on the brain-atrophying effects of long term Los Angeles exposure? If the latter, then the song is actually . . . FUNNY. It's about a person who went to Los Angeles and lost his (or her -- it's usually her, as in Dionne Warwick) mind, and now can only babble incoherently to a stranger while asking for unnecessary directions.

I like that.

Posted By: Mick LaSalle (Email) April 21 2009 at 04:08 PM
Listed Under: American Life

All the world's a-twitter

2009-04-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Follow AAMS on Twitter! http://twitter.com/AAMS

We will be rehauling our AMTC twitter page, and will be updating live from AMTC '09 in San Jose. Check back here for more details.

Sharks start over after record-setting season

2009-04-14T06:44:00.000-07:00

By GREG BEACHAM

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — And just like that, the greatest regular season in San Jose Sharks history is an unspoken memory.

When the Sharks showed up at work Monday for their first postseason practice, nobody talked about the Presidents' Trophy they earned over the weekend by finishing with the NHL's best regular-season record. Nobody soaked in the glory of their unmatched 32-5-4 record in the Shark Tank, or the yawning 26-point margin by which they won the Pacific Division title over Anaheim.

The Sharks are thinking about the Ducks, all right — but only as their opponents in a first-round playoff series that could be the NHL's best opening matchup. The series pits two sometimes-bitter rivals against each other in the postseason for the first time.

click on link for more...

Green Flies High at California Airport

2009-04-12T18:13:00.001-07:00

Sharks Lose To Kings But Claim Presidents' Trophy

2009-04-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles, CA -- (Sports Network) - Peter Harrold's third period goal proved to be the game-winner, as the Los Angeles Kings ended their season with a 4-3 victory over the Presidents' Trophy-winning San Jose Sharks.

Rosicrucian Museum

2009-03-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

Visit the Rosicrucian Museum to the see the largest public collection of Egyptian artifacts west of the Mississippi. The only museum in the United States of authentic Egyptian design houses a fascinating collection of 3,000-plus artifacts, objects and ritual items. Marvel at the perservation of mummies thousands of years old, and descend into a full-scale underground rock tomb replica, complete with intricate hieroglyphics painted on the walls. The planetarium offers 35-minute shows on the ancient Roman Mithraic mystery religion. Also take time to enjoy the Peace Garden with its temple, pond, viewing dais and medicinal plants.
Mon-Fri, 9 am-5pm; Sat-Sun, 11 am-6 pm; Thurs, 'til 8 pm. (San Jose: Naglee & Park Avens., San Jose; 408/947-3636)

Monopoly

2009-03-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

San Jose's sprawling Guadalupe River Park is home to the world's only outdoor Monopoly board, an exact granite replica that measures 930 square feet.
http://www.sjbeautiful.org/monopoly_in_the_park.html

Billy Berk's Restaurant

2009-03-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Santana Row

2009-03-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

Imagine yourself strolling along a wide boulevard shaded by an unusual mixture of tall palm trees and stately oaks. A flower-filled park runs down the boulevard's center, where shoppers rest on shaded benches listening to a classical guitaristwhile watching a game of chess played with two-foot-tall pieces on an oversize board. The street-level storefronts carry luxury names like Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo. AVove them, overlooking the scene, townhomes done in Mediterranean pastels feature turrets, columns, arches and wrought-iron balconies.

Are you in southern Italy or France? Actually, you're at Santana Row, just a few miles downtown from San Jose.

Often described as an urban village, Santana Row offers a lively collage of chic boutiques and luxury stores, along with a medley of eateries, bustling nightspots, a day spa and fitness club, a cinema and even an elegant four-star hotel.

Notable for its wealth of big-name brands, the list of cosmopolitan shops includes Burberry, Tourneau, Furla, Brooks Brothers, Diesel, and Anthropologie, along with other chains like Tommy Bahma, Chico's and Urban Outfitters. Locally owned boutiques also provide a nice homegrown touch to the mix.

Local Attractions in San Jose

2009-02-17T06:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some local attractions.

Mountain Winery www.mountainwinery.com
Santana Row www.santanarow.com
Lick Observatory http://mthamilton.ucolick.org
Hiller Aviation Museum www.hiller.org
Tech Museum www.thetech.org
San Jose Museum of Art www.sjmusart.org
J. Lohr Vineyards Tasting Room www.jlohr.com
Wine Tours www.lighthouse-tours.com/localwinetours.html

Best Happy Hour Spots in Downtown San Jose

2009-02-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Ten Motels for a Budget-Friendly Wine Country tour in Northern California

2009-02-13T13:39:00.000-08:00

Take a Wine Country Tour pre/post AMTC on a budget.

San Francisco Walking Tours

2009-02-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

San Francisco is one hour away from San Jose, CA. Before/after the Air Medical Transport Conference consider a walking tour!

http://www.sfcityguides.org/index.html

San Jose bike festival kicks off Amgen Tour of California weekend

2009-02-11T07:24:00.000-08:00

The VELOVE Winter Bicycle Festival is about to transform downtown Santa Rosa into a bicycle wonderland during Valentines Day weekend, February 14-15. Held in conjunction with the 2009 Amgen Tour of California, VELOVE is packed with events for everyone, including bike competitions, race viewing parties, non-profit fundraising events, a pro race team signing and plenty more. It is a joint production between Bike Monkey, the City of Santa Rosa, Mainstreet and West Coast GoldSprints. To learn more and register for events, visit http://www.velovefestival.com/ .

Saturday, February 14

Cyclocross Championship: 11am-5pm – Cyclists of all ages and levels are invited to compete in a friendly cyclocross competition featuring food, drinks and live music by the Hubbub Club Marching Band.

Prologue Watch Party: 5-7pm – Watch the 2009 Amgen Tour of California prologue on the bigscreen at the Sweet Spot Pub, the official afterparty for the cyclocross championship.

Party with Paul Sherwen: 6-9pm – Support Bicycles for Humanity-Santa Rosa by visiting the Cellars of Sonomo in Railroad Square for an evening of wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres and a live auction with legendary cyclist and infamous Tour de France commentator, Paul Sherwen. Proceeds will help send our first shipment of bicycles from Santa Rosa to healthcare workers in Namibia, Africa. Tickets available online at http://www.velovefestival.com/ only 100 spaces so don't wait!

Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition Celebration: 6:30pm – Watch the Tour of California prologue and party with the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition at the Hunter Global Legacy Center. A suggested donation of $5-10 includes a night of music, New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber Ale, wine, hors d'oeuvres, a scavenger hunt, indoor cycling contests, prizes, dancing and great people.

Sunday, February 15

West Coast Gold Sprints: 12pm-7pm – Local teams will face off in stationary bike races at the Historic Railroad Square as the Tour of California stage finish is shown in the beer garden. After 4pm, bike races open to riders of all abilities.

Team Rabobank at the Sonoma Bicycle Company: Shortly after the Stage 1 finish – Visit the Sonoma Bicycle Company at their new 4th street location immediately after the Tour of California finish to meet and greet the riders of Team Rabobank. Free valet bike parking is available.

Diridon Station to Be Focus of Harvard Design Group

2009-02-11T07:22:00.000-08:00

The City of San Jose has entered into an agreement with the Harvard University Graduate School of Design for an Urban Design Studio Project to begin identifying possibilities for the future of San Jose's Diridon Station and its adjacent surroundings.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29128414/from/ET/

The Tech Museum

2009-02-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

San Jose, California

2009-02-09T11:47:00.000-08:00

From its official designation as California's first capital in 1849 to today's informal title as the "Capital of Silicon Valley" San Jose has always played a starring role in the state's history.

Originally founded by Spanish pioneers back in 1777 as El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe, two centuries later California's first civilian settelment has grown into America's 10th largest city and Northern California's biggest-surpassing even San Francisco, that "other city" just an hour to the north.

Passengers who happen to glance out the windo as they land at San Jose International Airport may notice that the city's growth has been more horizontal than vertical, as it lacks the usual big-city downtwon cluster of glittering steel skyscrapers. In fact a stroll downtown almost feels more suburban than urban. But don't let that deceive you; all the elements you'd expect from a big city are here: ethnic diversity, world-class performing arts and museums, cutting-edge art exhibits, national pro sports teams, a trhiving dining scene, pulsing nightlife, and, yes, headache-worthy rush-hour traffic.

Tour of California: Hincapie relegated to shadows amidst 2009 tour's drama

2009-02-08T08:30:00.000-08:00

By Elliott Almond - San Jose Mercury News
Posted: 02/07/2009

Cycling's most loyal teammate understands why he won't generate much pre-race buzz at this year's Amgen Tour of California.

"I just haven't gone away, I haven't had any scandals and nobody hates me," George Hincapie says.

That's not the case for three of his friends who will bring more than enough drama to the nine-stage tour that starts Feb. 14 in Sacramento. With cycling icon Lance Armstrong joining Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton in a return to the scene, there's hardly room to focus on anyone else. The cancer-surviving Armstrong is the sport's biggest draw. Landis and Hamilton are returning after serving drug suspensions in highly publicized cases.

And the unassuming domestique who helped Armstrong win a record seven consecutive titles at the Tour de France?

Hincapie, 35, will probably blend into the background while the big names cast long and sometimes dark shadows. It has been that way most of his 16-year career, even as he "created history together" with Armstrong.

"George maybe gets overlooked in the press but he is definitely respected in the peloton for the work that he does," said Bobby Julich, a former pro rider who has known Hincapie since they were 12. "He doesn't have to be that guy who stands out. But he sacrifices for other guys."
Hincapie also has buffered himself from drug suspicions that have dogged some of cycling's marquee athletes by never publicly testing positive and parsing his words when scandals exploded among friends and former teammates.

"I am very loyal," said Hincapie, who will pedal in the Breakaway From Cancer charity ride Sunday in San Francisco. "That is part of the reason many teams want me."

Hincapie, who rides for Team Columbia High Road, is one of Armstrong's closest friends and he has firmly defended the champion against drug suspicions that have never been proven. He also is close with Landis and Hamilton, and like many who followed their cases still isn't sure what to make of it.

"I don't know if they got caught or not," said Hincapie, a New Yorker who has settled in Greenville, S.C. "Somebody was right and somebody was wrong. I don't know who to believe. They definitely went through a hard period. They had two years taken away from their lives. I'm happy they are back."

But in the end, their presence makes the 750-mile tour that stops in San Jose on Feb. 17 that much more challenging.

"Nobody can deny they are extremely talented cyclists," said Hincapie, who finished fourth in the initial tour in 2006. "I've heard Floyd is motivated."

So is Hincapie, who has been part of teams that won eight consecutive titles at the Tour de France, finished second at the famous one-day classic Paris-Roubaix and is a five-time Olympian.

With probably only two more years of racing ahead, Hincapie wants to win a second stage at the Tour de France, win the Tour of Flanders and finally finish first at Paris-Roubaix.

But a repeat of 2005 wouldn't be bad. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound cyclist scored the highest finish of any American at Paris-Roubaix second and also won a Tour de France mountain stage.

In the Pyrenees, Hincapie was part of a breakaway that gained 18 minutes on the main group of Tour riders.

"It was a chance of a lifetime," Hincapie recalled. "I just didn't want to screw it up. I tried to stay calm. If you get excited too early you could definitely blow up."

Hincapie won by seven seconds, the consummate teammate crossing the line first.

S.J. RESTAURANT JOINS TREND OF GOING UPSCALE

2009-01-28T07:54:00.000-08:00

A twist on traditional Indian cuisine at Rangoli

By Aleta WatsonMercury News

The first promising sign when you walk through the front door of Rangoli at lunch is the tantalizing aromas of cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and ginger drifting on the air.

The second is the warm greeting from the host, who guides you to a table draped in white linen and invites you to explore a double row of gleaming chafing dishes crowned with silver domes.

It's clear from the start this is no ordinary Indian buffet.

Rangoli, tucked into a shopping center in the less-than-fashionable Cambrian Park district of San Jose, is part of a new generation of Indian restaurants. After years of catering primarily to expat engineers and culinary adventurers, local South Asian restaurateurs are going upscale.

They're dressing up their dining rooms, introducing wine lists or cocktails, and reaching out to a wider audience. The most sophisticated and expensive take a cosmopolitan approach, applying Indian flavors and cooking techniques to more typically Californian ingredients.

Rangoli is a neighborhood place that sticks closer to tradition than some of this new generation with a small menu focused on North Indian standards and a handful of intriguing variations, such as lobster samosas. The 90-seat dining room, decorated in pale pistachio and shades of violet with more imagination than money, is appealing.

The food is fresh and lively, prepared with care from excellent ingredients. Prices, although higher than those at many old-style Indian restaurants, are generally moderate. Servers are eager to please.

"We can adjust spices for you," the hostess offered as she seated us one evening. "If you want a curry, we can change around the meats. We play with our food."

At lunch, the restaurant bustles with high-tech workers from the nearby eBay, Qualcomm and Xilinx campuses, all making the rounds of the well-stocked buffet. When owner Sukhpal Singh and son Sonu Singh opened in July, in the space formerly occupied by Host India, they did not plan to serve a lunch buffet. But customers balked, and the buffet was born.

"With Indian food, it's really what everyone wants," says the younger Singh, noting that even ritzy Amber India in Santana Row offers a buffet at lunch.

From the crispy samosas filled with a spicy mix of warm potatoes and peas to the light and creamy rice pudding sprinkled with pistachios, the buffet dishes were consistently good at my lunch. One row of chafing dishes offered chicken and lamb options. The other presented vegetarian choices. The dishes, made in small batches, were replenished regularly.

Among the highlights were a saute of zucchini and multi-colored bell peppers with whole cloves of garlic and an exemplary chicken tikka masala, the chunks of tandoori-roasted chicken breast swimming in a zippy tomato sauce, spiked with fenugreek and softened with cream and ground cashews.

A basket of buttery hot naan, which arrived at the table soon after we returned from the buffet, is included in the $9.99 price. Tangy mango lassi ($4) is not.

Sukhpal Singh, who also owns Rangoli Sweets, an Indian bakery in Santa Clara, is the executive chef. The food reflects his roots in New Delhi, although the free-range lamb is from Australia.

Sonu Singh who runs the front of the house and assisted with the design, is also the sommelier. His list of nearly 60 wines ranges the world, with selections from California, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and India, most running less than $50. They include sancerre from the Loire Valley of France, gruner veltliner from Austria and tempranillo from Spain.

More than a dozen wines, available by the glass at $6 to $9, are served from a temperature-controlled Cruvinet system to preserve freshness.

At dinner, the menu shifts to small plates, classic entrees, creative fish dishes and a variety of lamb dishes. Business was slow when my companion and I arrived in midweek, but that did not diminish the enthusiasm of the staff, who greeted us warmly and took pains to ensure we enjoyed ourselves.

Rangoli's ambitions are apparent in its stylish design. Long, filmy curtains screen the view of the parking lot outside, and half walls pierced with the distinctive ogee arches of India divide the cavernous dining room. A sculpture of the elephant-headed Ganesh, the god of success, graces the reception desk alongside an impressionistic mural of the Hindu god Krishna and his beloved Rada. Sanskrit verses from the Bahagavad Gita decorate the walls, although Sonu Singh confesses he's not certain what they say. Fusion music featuring tabla and sitar plays in the background.

Among the starters, a pair of luscious trumpet mushrooms ($9) marinated in spices and roasted in the tandoor was most successful, their flesh as delicate as scallops. The trio of lobster samosas ($11), presented in a porcelain cup, were hot and flavorful, but it was difficult to find the lobster. Vivid mango, coriander-mint and tamarind chutneys, bright as jewels, came with them.

Entrees include a terrific baingan bhartha ($12), an incendiary blend of tomatoes, onions and eggplant, soft and smoky from the high-temperature tandoor. Even the paneer saag-wala ($12), a nicely textured puree of spinach with cubes of mild cheese, packs a lot of heat. As our waiter warned when we told him we liked spicy food, "It's Indian hot. You probably want regular heat - medium."

Ahi tuna ($20), roasted in the tandoor, was tender and moist with an unusual velvety texture. Fragrant coconut milk tempered the slowly unfolding heat of fork-tender lamb madras ($17), served in a copper bowl.

There are few choices for dessert, even though the elder Singh specializes in sweets at his Santa Clara shop. Still, it's hard to beat the gulab jamun ($5). The golden fried balls of milk dough batter are served hot in a light syrup with just a whisper of rose water and saffron to add interest.

The classics get the attention they deserve at Rangoli.

Rangoli
3695 Union Ave., at Camden, San Jose
(408) 377-2222 www.rangolica.com.

***
The Dish: Colorful modern style, fresh renditions of classic dishes and an approachable wine list lift this neighborhood Indian restaurant out of the ordinary.

Price range: Lunch buffet $9.99. Dinner appetizers $5-$11, entrees $10-$22. Corkage fee: $15.
Details: Indian beer and wine.

Pluses: Memorable tandoori trumpet mushrooms and praiseworthy chicken tikka masala.
Minuses: Lobster samosas are short on shellfish.

Hours: Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays- Fridays. Dinner 5-9:30 p.m. Sundays- Thursdays, till 10 Fridays and Saturdays.

Restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously. The Mercury News pays for all meals.
To read more restaurant reviews, go to www.mercury news.com/aletawatson. Contact Aleta Watson at awatson@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5032.

Historic San Jose home to be restored

2009-01-28T07:39:00.000-08:00

By Sandra Gonzales
Mercury News
Posted: 01/27/2009 06:31:50 PM PST

Casa Grande, a sprawling house built in 1855 in San Jose's New Almaden mining settlement, is about to be restored to its full grandeur.

The $5 million rehabilitation of the red brick Federalist-revival building will include seismic upgrades and restoration of the interior and exterior.

"When we have historic treasures like Casa Grande, we have an obligation to preserve them for the community and future generations," said Santa Clara County Board of Supervisor of Don Gage in a statement.

At one time, Almaden was the most valuable single mine in California and played a key role before and during the Gold Rush of 1849.

Casa Grande sits within the Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Between 1927 and the county's acquisition of Casa Grande in 1997, the 7,756-square foot building has served as a resort, saloon, restaurant, house, post office, dance hall, theater and office space.

The funding is provided by a variety of sources including the Santa Clara County Historical Heritage Grant Program, the California Heritage Grant and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Grant.

Bevilacqua and Sons, a general contracting firm in San Francisco will oversee the project.

The San Jose Nightlife, California Style After Hours

2008-12-17T07:15:00.000-08:00

By: Juble.com

The ideal vacation getaway is one where there are thousands of activities from every aspect imaginable, including the ethnicity. No one wants a vacation full of meals at the same types of restaurants. The same holds true with activities. While the beach may be fun, no one wants to sit on the beach for two weeks straight without a break. They want variety. Finally, who would look forward to the same sports bar every night for after hour’s entertainment? People want variety, and that is what they get in the San Jose California nightlife.

With over forty clubs, bars, and dance spots to choose from, one could not possibly experience them all within a one or two week vacation time. Although the majority of San Jose nightlife locations are on a par of excellence that is unparalleled, there are a few that stand out in their originality, service, and interest.

The Voodoo Lounge: One of the most original and intriguing night sites in the Silicon Valley is that of The Voodoo lounge. The Voodoo lounge gives a dark and romantic atmosphere, while maintaining a defined high-energy mood. The word “vampire” comes to mind. The Voodoo Lounge always has some new DJ or band to keep the energy and music flowing. There are also the occasional big music names in the industry, such as Deep Rooted and Soul Star. As a bonus, another area of this building serves as a grill diner while another is a hotel. You can literally get the entire vacation package at The Voodoo Lounge.

J.J.’s Blues Lounge: If a more traditional older American scene is your venue of choice, give J.J.’s Blues Lounge a shot. This hot spot of the San Jose lifestyle is highly reminiscent of the Chicago nightlife in the late 1950’s era. Here you will find walls covered with photographs and memorabilia from some of the world’s most famous Jazz music artisans. This spot was voted the Best Blues Club in California three times over the past decade. The service here is also themed with a jazz edge to it. The drinks are stout as the music. This is a guaranteed good time if you are a jazzy night lifer!

The Avalon: If elegance, flash, loud music and a fast pace is your theme of choice, then you will be right at home at the Avalon. This is considered to be Silicon Valley’s most elegant nightclub. You won’t find a bunch of young punks with screaming unintelligible excuses for music here. The patrons of this high-class party joint are the cutting edge of the definition of style in this generation. There is dancing, a variety of local popular DJ’s, an excellent and romantic lounge, and occasional live bands. If you want to hold a private party, the Avalon can be rented for a special catered event, complete with drinks!

These are the top three hot nightspots that San Jose has to offer, but you have to go in with the understanding that these are so high on the ladder of excellence that others can’t compare. The forty something other clubs in the area are also a truly wild experience. Shop around and give them all a try when you visit San Jose California.

Live, work, shop

2008-12-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

http://xinkaishi.typepad.com/a_new_start/2008/12/ft-live-work-shop.html

San Jose Salsa Night Clubs

2008-12-01T07:21:00.000-08:00

http://www.2-travel.org/salsa-night-clubs/

Quick Bite: Caffe Trieste, downtown San Jose

2008-11-13T06:59:00.000-08:00

By Amy Pizarro for the Mercury News

One detail says all you need to know about Caffe Trieste: champagne flutes.

When was the last time you saw those at a neighborhood coffeehouse?

The downtown San Jose newcomer, latest link in a Bay Area chain that originated in San Francisco's North Beach, gets the basics right with a full menu of the usual coffeehouse suspects. But sipping a glass of crisp prosecco in a flute makes it feel far classier than your ordinary mom-and-pop joint.

The 60-seat cafe, which opened in August, is a few doors down from the California Theatre near First and San Carlos streets.

Order at the counter, then find a seat either on the first floor or in the upstairs loft, which has couches as well as tables and chairs. The decor is simple but pleasant, with low-hanging fans and yellow walls framed by dusky blue trim. There's a counter at the window if you wish to people-watch, or keep to yourself at the wooden bar set against a mirrored panel, a cool piece picked up from San Jose's historic Almaden Feed and Fuel.

The menu's best bet is fresh-off-the-press panini, a kind of sandwich I'm crazy about. In fact, I like panini so much I even enjoy those that aren't so good — overloaded with oily filling or so bready you can barely stuff them down. That's not a problem at Caffe Trieste, where the market-fresh ingredients and quality Le Boulanger breads are in perfect balance, at bargain prices.

The ham and cheese panini ($5.95) comes grilled in a ciabatta loaf. Its crisp golden crust gave way to a soft center, with generous portions of smoky ham and Swiss cheese. It was a bit cool in the middle, but that was easy to forgive once I tasted the tangy sun-dried tomato pesto.

Even better is the vegetarian panini ($6.95). Grilled portobello mushrooms mingle with Roma tomato and red onion atop arugula leaves and roasted red pepper pesto. The filling is topped with a layer of creamy goat cheese so thick it burst out the back of the sandwich as I chomped down. It might be a tad rich for some palates, but I was in heaven.

My companion's favorite was the grilled chicken panini ($5.95). This hearty sandwich is layered with fresh tomato and arugula, plus two thin filets of tender, flavorful chicken. Basil pesto finishes the dish.

Also satisfying is the baguette sandwich, served in a sturdy 10-inch roll with a dense crust and a soft, chewy interior. Shaved ham and romaine are laid across a fat strip of creamy Brie in the ham-and-cheese ($5.95). Dijon mustard and a spread of butter give this sandwich a rich European flavor.

There are several varieties of quiche, and I opted for a slice of the savory quiche Lorraine ($5.95). The rich, flaky crust holds fluffy egg and thin folds of ham and Swiss cheese to create a dish that is light but still hearty. It is served alongside a sizable salad of mixed baby greens, balsamic vinegar, shredded Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

I highly recommend finishing your meal with a treat from the pastry case. At the suggestion of our cashier, who thoughtfully remembered we were drinking wine, we sampled an exquisite fruit tart ($3.65) filled with a mound of glazed kiwis, mango and assorted berries. Another strong choice is the creamy cannoli, one of the traditional Italian desserts imported daily from Dianda's Italian American Pastry in San Francisco.

Buying from a local pastry store might be cheaper, but it's that kind of refined detail that sets Caffe Trieste apart.

CAFFE TRIESTE
315 S. First St., San Jose(408) 287-0400, www.caffetrieste.com
Hours: 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-midnight Friday, 8 a.m.-midnight Saturday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday

Types of food: Pastries, sandwiches and panini, salads
Average price: $6
Good choices: Vegetarian panini, ham-and-brie sandwich
Attitude: Casual
Amenities: Free Wi-Fi, outdoor seating; live music on weekends and open-mic night on Tuesdays
Vegetarian options: Salads, quiche and several sandwiches
Drinks: Full coffeehouse menu, plus wine, beer, sparkling water, juice, soda and tea
Eat in car: The baguette sandwich would be an easy commuter meal.
Next-day edibility: A panini and a baguette sandwich were both lovely after rejuvenation in the microwave.
Who goes there: Families, theatergoers, neighborhood office workers.
Credit cards: Accepted
Parking: On-street parking is metered; otherwise, there are several nearby garages.

Restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously. The Mercury News pays for all meals.

San Jose Police to Ride Segways

2008-11-03T07:47:00.000-08:00

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) -- San Jose police are adopting a new strategy Monday for patrolling the downtown area. Some of them will be hopping on a modern-day "chariot" to fight crime. It is called a Segway, a two-wheeled electronic personal transporter that allows the user to navigate busy streets with relative ease.

KCBS’ Dave Padilla Reports

San Jose mayor Chuck Reed says the police department has just received three Segways that will be used by officers to patrol downtown.

"We think the Segways are going to be a great way to get police officers down with the people on the streets and still give them plenty of mobility,” said Reed. “Our methods of handling large numbers of people in the downtown are constantly evolving and we think the Segways are a nice addition to the portfolio of things that we can use.”

San Jose will become the first major city in Northern California to use the personal transporters. Police Lt. Ruben Chavez says officers on Segways will be more approachable, allowing for a better personal connection between police and residents.

(MGO)

Copyright 2008, KCBS. All Rights Reserved.

2009 Air Medical Transport Conference

2008-11-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Air Medical Transport Conference will be held in San Jose, California October 26-28. Please check back regularly for further information and more updates about the AMTC.

Thank You to all who attended the 2008 Air Medical Tranport Conference

2008-10-26T14:04:00.001-07:00

The Call for Submissions link will be available through www.aams.org shortly. The deadline is December 15, 2008.

The 2009 Air Medical Transport Conference will be in October 2009 in San Jose, California see you there!

Minnesota Timberwolves Preseason Basketball

2008-10-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

The Minnesota Timberwolves have a couple of preseason NBA Games while the AMTC is in Minneapolis. Check it out.

Skyways

2008-10-09T12:19:00.000-07:00

Doing Uptown a Big Favor

2008-10-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

The Favor Cafe (913 W. Lake St., Minneapolis) is now cooking in the former Restaurant Miami.

The Crockett-and-Tubbs interior remains the same, but the made-from-scratch food is a world apart: catfish po' boys, fried chicken with collard greens, shrimp-crawfish gumbo, fried okra and peach cobbler.

RICK NELSON

Pass the Nutella: Fast-food, French-style, returns to Nicollet Mall

2008-10-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

Rick Nelson, Star Tribune

This weekend marks the opening of La Belle Crêpe (825 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 612-333-1100). Owner Alain Lesse can't wait.

"Every day for the past few weeks, we've had 80 to 100 people a day poke their head in and ask, 'When are you opening?' " he said. "Even the mayor came in."

That's the bonus of doing business at a high-profile location. The slip of a space is just off the glorious lobby of the Medical Arts Building, a few steps from the last crêperie to grace downtown (the former Magic Pan) and fronting the city's busiest pedestrian thoroughfare.

Lesse hopes to capture more attention with a pair of crêpe griddles in the window, where he'll be cooking breakfast, lunch and an unfashionably early weeknight dinner (to 7 p.m.), offering both sweet and savory options: buckwheat crêpes filled with eggs, Gruyère and ham; a lightly sugared flour crêpe filled with berries and crème fraîche; and a design-your-own option taking advantage of a long list of ingredients.

Prices will range from $3.50 (for a classic cream-and-sugar combo) to $8.50 (smoked salmon, asparagus and Havarti). "With today's economy, everyone wants to spend $10 or less," said Lesse. "I'll be giving them affordable fast food." Lesse will also stock Izzy's ice cream as well as popular Italian and French sodas. No seating -- there's no room, given that the space was once home to what seemed to be the World's Smallest Fannie Farmer Store -- but Lesse has added a standing-room-only counter that's roomy enough to fit a dozen eat-and-run diners (that's probably eight or so shy Minnesotans with personal space issues).

Lesse, a native Frenchman who has been in Minnesota for 19 years ("I count them as 19 winters," he said), will be a familiar face to many local diners, with a long tenure as a server in a number of Twin Cities restaurants, including Meritage and the former cafe un deux trois. "I've been around the block," said Lesse with a laugh. "It's time for me to be out on my own."

A Chance to Glimpse the Rare State Flower

2008-10-02T08:03:00.000-07:00

AIMEE BLANCHETTE, Star Tribune

Did you know that Lady's Slippers are members of the orchid family? Learn more about the state flower during the second annual Lady's Slipper Day, Saturday at the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary in Minneapolis.

"The lady's slipper is a pretty special flower. It's rare, it's an orchid, and it's difficult to grow. They like particular environments," said Lauren Borer, garden program coordinator.

"They really are something to see. The yellow ones are blooming. The state flower, the Showy Lady's Slipper, is a pink-and-white blossom, and it's just that -- showy. It takes your breath away. It's fun to celebrate something that represents our state."

The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary is celebrating a time of change in the garden with a month-long schedule of programs, tours and activities.

"June is a really great time to come out to the garden, because spring flowers are nearing the end and we're getting more into our summer blooms," Borer said.

The second annual Showy Lady's Slipper Day starts with a discussion on gardening with native orchids and a sale of the orchids from Winsome Orchids. There will be family activities including storytelling and tours. The tours will focus on the garden's own collection of native orchids, including the yellow lady's slipper and the showy lady's slipper.

Lady's Slipper Day will also include a tour of the Quaking Bog, located across the road from the garden. There are wetland plants growing and blooming in this wetland. Some of the plants that grow there are insectivorous, meaning that they feed on insects.

"It's always a treat to visit the bog, and there's a lot to learn from our naturalists," Borer said.

The garden is open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to half-an-hour before sunset, and is free to the public.

Hip Hotel Bars to just hang out in

2008-09-18T07:55:00.002-07:00

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/dining/28605809.html?elr=KArksD:aDyaEP:kD:aUt:aDyaEP:kD:aUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

New interstate bridge in Minneapolis opens

2008-09-18T07:55:00.001-07:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26771120/from/ET/

New I-35W bridge in Minneapolis opens - By STEVE KARNOWSKI

2008-09-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

New I-35W bridge in Minneapolis opens - By STEVE KARNOWSKI

The Finn who shaped modern America

2008-09-15T12:05:00.000-07:00

MARY ABBE, Star Tribune

In the United States throughout the 1950s, it was a Finnish-born architect, Eero Saarinen, who shaped American dreams and ambitions with innovative buildings and imaginative furniture.

For 11 short years, Saarinen was a creative dynamo, spinning out designs of extraordinary originality -- the swooping, birdlike TWA terminal at New York's Kennedy Airport and St. Louis' Gateway Arch; buildings for Yale University, General Motors, Bell Labs, IBM and John Deere; homes, churches, embassies, and those icons of modernism, the pedestal chair and table.

He was a household name and magazine cover boy, his face on the front of Time in 1956 and his "womb chair" satirized by Norman Rockwell in a 1959 Saturday Evening Post cover.

And then it ended. In 1961, Saarinen died from complications after surgery for a brain tumor. He was 51. In the next four years, his firm finished nine of his major buildings, including the TWA terminal, Dulles Airport, New York's CBS building and St. Louis' arch. But in successive decades, his fame faded as architecture rejected innovative form in favor of boxy, orthodox modernism followed by postmodern pastiche and irony.

Now an exhibition at Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, running through Jan. 4, redresses that neglect. With hundreds of intimate photos, architectural drawings, huge models and samples of furniture, the show puts Saarinen's work at center stage in all its breathtaking inventiveness, elegant serenity and technological brio.

The architect's daughter, Susan Saarinen, and architectural archivist Mark Coir will discuss his family and work at 2 p.m. today at the institute.

"My father's work was not easy to categorize, and some critics said each building is so different that he doesn't have any consistent style," said Susan Saarinen recently by phone from Golden, Colo., where she is a landscape architect. "He was kind of an oddball in that respect, and he fell out of favor."

That began to change in 2002 after Saarinen's archives were given to Yale University by his successor firm, Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates. With the passage of time and the opportunity to put all of his work in perspective, scholars saw repeated design concepts that clarified his intentions.

"If you look at a Mies [van der Rohe] building, you see the same themes all the way through, but there is not a singular look to my father's work," Saarinen said. "He said each program for a building has to be different, and a New York City skyscraper shouldn't look like an airport and an airport shouldn't look like a chapel. He wanted to express whatever that building should express in its own form."

The Yale archives became the basis of the current show, which opened in Helsinki, Finland, in 2006 before embarking on a four-year tour to Oslo, Norway; Brussels, Belgium; Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. It was organized by the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York; the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki, and the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., with help from the Yale University School of Architecture.

American modernist

At the epicenter of what has been called the American Century, Saarinen's designs epitomized the country's brash confidence, expansive wealth and technological skills. He applied industrial know-how to corporate buildings, using automotive window seals to fix glass in the General Motors headquarters, surrounding the John Deere building with new Cor-Ten steel that looked like rusted plowshares but didn't corrode, and molding chairs from fiberglass.

Saarinen literally inherited his design prowess. His father, Eliel, was an internationally famous architect, his mother, Loja, a textile designer and sculptor, his sister Pipsan a designer and interior decorator. He was 13 when the family emigrated to the United States, soon settling in suburban Detroit, where his father began designing an educational complex that includes the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Eero worked in his father's office through high school, then studied sculpture in Paris for two years and graduated from Yale's architecture school in 1934.

The 1930s and '40s saw Eero winning competitions, doing high-profile projects at the New York World's Fair and the Museum of Modern Art, and collaborating with his father and Cranbrook grads Charles Eames and Ralph Rapson, among others. After his father's death in 1950, Eero took over the family firm and embarked on a decade of award-winning commissions.

Showboater extraordinaire

"He was arguably the most famous architect in America when he died, the architect of big business, known for his embassies and furniture design," said historian Coir, former director of the Cranbrook Academy archives. "But by the end of the 1960s and early '70s, he wasn't even taught in architecture schools. He had dropped off the face of design. He was considered theatrical, a showboater. ... It wasn't until the resurgence of midcentury modernism in furniture -- the womb chair, the pedestal chair -- that he was looked at again."

The show documents more than 50 of Saarinen's projects, including some unbuilt designs. His staff photographer, Balthazar Korab, who took many of the images, was a lens wizard who invented ways to photograph models so they looked like finished buildings -- a very persuasive sales technique in that precomputer era. The show is rich in marvelous pictures of bold structures under construction, designers debating the merits of huge walk-in models and dramatically lit finished projects. Prototypes show the famous chairs evolving from clunky molded plywood to sleek production numbers.

Because the show is so vast, the two museums have divided it thematically. The Walker features his designs for furniture, residences, churches and academic and corporate campuses. The institute will house his biggest models along with designs for airports, memorials, embassies and early modernist projects. Local highlights include plans for Christ Church Lutheran in Minneapolis (on which father and son both worked) and the IBM building in Rochester.

"He was a man of his place and time, but then he does go a step beyond in creating these dynamic forms," said Jennifer Komar Olivarez, the institute's associate curator who is overseeing the Minneapolis presentation with Andrew Blauvelt, Walker's design curator. "He learned to look at each problem individually and each building looks different because it fit the job.

"The TWA terminal was about motion and monumentality, but the Yale dormitories are a modern medieval village. ... It's all about exploring tradition and new materials in different ways."

Mary Abbe • 612-673-4431

Tale of 2 cities: Minneapolis, St. Paul's club scenes are night & day

2008-09-03T08:42:00.000-07:00

BY JO PIAZZA

Republicans in Minnesota for the party's National Convention this week are getting a pretty sweet two-for-one deal when it comes to nightlife. The two cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul, each have a very distinct brand of after-dark fun.

AMTC is now a Facebook Group!

2008-08-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

Check Out the AMTC on Facebook.

Beer flows at the Blue Nile

2008-08-25T12:44:00.000-07:00

TOM HORGEN, Star Tribune

As the beer gods would have it, the Twin Cities are now home to quite a few boutique beer bars -- places where a good brew is as coveted as a fine wine. While these spots stand out among metro bars, one destination sticks out even more.

It's not everywhere you can order a premium Belgian beer with a plate of Ethiopian food, but the Blue Nile isn't your average bar. After more than a decade on East Franklin Avenue, it still looks like an Ethiopian restaurant hiding behind a Mexican facade, and it still offers great live music, from African and Caribbean to hip-hop and spoken word.

But how did an Ethiopian restaurant end up with one of the best beer selections in town? Owner Fahmi Katabay points to one man: His bartender, Al.

Al McCarty came looking for a job in the late '90s, intrigued by the restaurant's East African cuisine and worldly music. When Katabay put him in charge of the restaurant's bar, McCarty felt like a kid in a candy shop -- or in this case, a beer lover in charge of drinks.

The craft-beer revolution was just catching steam here. There was no Bulldog, Happy Gnome or Muddy Pig yet. McCarty points to only the Bryant-Lake Bowl and a couple of other bars as craft-beer havens. Regardless, he started asking the local beer distributors for the good stuff: Belgians and boutique American brands.

He only had 10 taps and a couple of big coolers under the bar, but McCarty worked with what he had. Today, he changes the tap selection regularly and has about 50 bottled beers, many of them imports. He does carry Miller and other mass-market beers -- club nights demand it -- but he stacks those bottles on their sides, packing them in to save room for the good stuff. He dreams of installing another 20 or so taps to compete with other beer bars, many of which have 25-plus.

One of his proudest moments was in 2002, when he took a perennial mainstream beer off the tap line: "I dropped Budweiser and replaced it with Maredsous, a Belgian Abbey beer. We got rid of the most ubiquitous beer in the world for a family-owned brewery."

Katabay said McCarty is like family and he supports his bartender's ambition. Plus, the range of beers matches nicely with the restaurant's mix of spicy meat dishes.

However, Katabay joked, "I did not think he would take it to this extent." McCarty will even age certain bottles, allowing the beer to develop more flavor (this works best with darker beers, he said).

He's had release parties for local breweries such as Surly. Lately, he's been trying to introduce a Sri Lankan beer called Lion Stout to the large African-Caribbean crowd that comes in on Thursdays for reggae night. They drink primarily Guinness Extra Stout, which is similar.

McCarty also pushes the importance of serving beers in their proper glassware to amplify the taste and aroma. Of course, some people would rather chug straight from the bottle. But sometimes, he'll get a novice beer drinker who wants to experiment with taste and presentation. And that makes this beer crusader feel good, as if world peace were next on his checklist.

"Every once in a while, you make a little difference," he said.

thorgen@startribune.com • 612-673-7909

Mary Tyler Moore

2008-08-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

From the LA Times....

What to do in Minneapolis/Twin Cities while you’re waiting for the Republican National Convention

2008-08-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds gives an entertaining and informative guide to the Twin Cities for John McCain. For those who struggle to tear themselves away from political news updates on TV, here are some simple suggestions for what to do and where to eat and drink in the Twin Cities while you wait for the GOP convention to begin.

Five Popular attractions in Minneapolis-St. Paul:

1. Walker Art Center

2. Frank Gehry’s Weisman Museum

3. Midtown Global Market

4. Cathedral of Saint Paul

5. Mall of America

Music during the Republican National Convention:
The Twin Cities Daily Planet has the lowdown on all the music events going on in the area during the convention. Read: Music to ripple through Twin Cities during RNC

Where to eat and drink: Gayot’s Hot 10 Restaurants in Minneapolis list includes Alma, Chambers Kitchen, Good Day Café, Heidi’s, Meritage, Modern Café, 112 Eatery, Red Stag Supperclub, Saffron Restaurant & Lounge and Town Talk Diner. Meanwhile the Mpls. St. Paul Magazine has an extensive dining guide and bars + nightclubs guide to get the locals’ dish on where to go.

Skyway art celebrates new immigrants

2008-08-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

MINNEAPOLIS - A busy downtown Minneapolis skyway has been transformed into a celebration of Minnesota's newest immigrants.

The "Speaking of Home" public art project features 23 family photographs of immigrants and other new Minnesotans. The photos are printed on 10-by-13-foot sheets of white transparent fabric and installed consecutively in the skyway window frames.

Artist Nancy Ann Coyne collaborated with the latest Twin Cities residents to create the project. It's one of the official events celebrating Minnesota's 150th birthday.

The project is installed inside the 150-foot skyway connecting the IDS Center and Macy's department store. It's visible to pedestrians passing below on Nicollet Mall.

The display runs through October 31st.

Metromix Twin Cities

2008-08-06T11:59:00.001-07:00

Another interesting link for finding entertainment, restaurants and other fun things do along with the educational, networking and relationship building that you do while at the Air Medical Transport Conference in Minneapolis, October 20-22, 2008

http://twincities.metromix.com/

Spa at the Airport

2008-08-06T11:57:00.001-07:00

We'll all want to linger a while longer in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport if plans materialize for a spa for travelers. The airport could have a 5,000-square-foot wellness center in time for September's Republican National Convention. The center is to be part spa--including hair and nail care, plus massage--part medical clinic, with a health practitioner available to diagnoze and treat basic illnesses. Visit http://www.mspairport.com/ for more information.

Start scheduling those October 2008 pre-AMTC manicures now and post AMTC massages before you return home!

AMTC now a Facebook Group!

2008-07-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Check Out the AMTC on Facebook. www.facebook.com

Minneapolis Fountains Poised to Make a Splash

2008-07-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

STEVE BRANDT, Star Tribune

Water will shoot up from marsh grass, from the shells of river mussels, from a cleft in a giant boulder. Sculpted fountains will represent city water as ice and as a cloud of gas.

And if the designs for Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak's 10 controversial drinking fountains capture the public's fancy like he hopes, you'll hardly be able to take a walk in the City of Lakes without running into a fountain offering city water.

The designs for $50,000 artist-designed bubblers were unveiled with ceremony Tuesday at the Guthrie Theater, which overlooks the site of the city's original water intake -- before a typhoid outbreak forced it upstream.

"The good news is people are talking about water in Minneapolis again," Rybak said before the unveiling, a reference to the criticism he's taken for the cost of the fountains.

Arts advocates say the project -- half from property taxes, half from water charges -- is a continuation of the city's ongoing public arts program, which has brought the city projects ranging from an oversized bunny sculpture at E. Minnehaha Parkway and Portland Av. S. to artist-designed manhole covers.

The program has its roots in a perennially broken water fountain at Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, a onetime porn palace on Lake Street. That got the theater's artistic director Sandy Spieler musing on the world's water supply, quality and ownership.

"We forget when we bow to take a drink where it is coming from and where it is going," she said. Her watery explorations led to a theatrical work and eventually got the ear of the city's First Spouse, Megan O'Hara, and through her, Rybak.

Spieler worked with a team to design one fountain, to be installed on the plaza next to the Guthrie. On Saturday at 3 p.m., Heart of the Beast also will dedicate a replacement of its own fountain.

Other artists and locations chosen by a selection panel include Mayumi Amada, Northeast Community Library; Lisa Elias, two designs on Marquette and 2nd Avenues; Douglas Freeman, Plymouth and Penn avenues; Gita Ghei, Sara Hanson and Jan Louise Kusske, Midtown YWCA; Seitu Jones, Dinkytown; Andrew MacGuffie, Mozaic development in Uptown; Peter Morales, Ancient Traders Market on Franklin Avenue; and Marjorie Pitz, Nicollet Mall.

None of the designs is ready for installation. Five still need sponsors who will agree to clean them daily and pay for the costs of fall draining and spring pressuring, a restriction set by the City Council. Billed as lasting for 25 years, the designs are getting a rigorous examination for sustainability from sculpture conservator Kristin Cheronis. She looks at factors that undercut durability, such as incompatible materials, and watches for unsafe features such as projecting points.

"Sometimes she has hard questions," said Jones. "She sees things that sometimes we don't see. She sees art in a whole different way from an artist."

Some City Council members initially questioned the initiative, with issues ranging from cost to maintenance. But Rybak eventually got his way, arguing that the project will promote city water at a time when public consumption of it is shrinking, leading to higher water rates.

Rybak said he's hoping that the city's investment in public fountains will stimulate a public demand for like investment by private developers and landowners.

And if they're looking for designs, Spieler, who sat on the selection panel, said she could refer them to "so many beautiful designs" that didn't make the cut.

Steve Brandt • 612-673-4438