When the shovels hit the ground Saturday for VTA’s Eastridge light-rail extension, it’ll be the fulfillment of a promise made more than 30 years ago — long before anyone dreamed the future station could one day provide a connection to BART.
In 1991, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors set the trolley wheels in motion, voting unanimously to add the proposed line to a 20-year master transit plan. The supervisors at the time consisted of future leaders: U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales, and two of the valley’s all-time biggest transit champions, Rod Diridon and Dianne McKenna. Another supporter? Blanca Alvarado, who was then a San Jose City Councilmember and would join the Board of Supervisors in 1994.
Buses line up waiting for passengers at the Eastridge Transit Center in San Jose on June 6, 2024. The station is planned to be the end point of a new light-rail extension that will connect to BART. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
The extension was considered a sign of recognition for the oft-neglected East Side. Gonzales told the Mercury News at the time, “It serves a neighborhood that is dependent on public transit and one where workers live.”
At the time of the vote, it was thought it might take as long as 15 years to get all the funding in line for construction (and cost for the total project ballooned over the years to $653 million). A dot-com bust, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help, and while transit projects were started and finished, Eastridge always seemed just out of reach.
At least that was true until now, with the extension expected to be completed in 2028. Saturday’s 10 a.m. groundbreaking will include a celebration with mariachis, food trucks, a resource fair, and a few speeches to mark the occasion. The East San Jose community should savor the moment; it’s been a long time coming.
CULTURAL CONNECTIONS: The summer of culture continues this weekend with Dia de Portugal at History Park in San Jose on Saturday. This year’s celebration includes an exhibit by the Portuguese Historical Society of California on the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution. In April 1974, a group of young captains — who became knowns as the “Capitães de Abril” — overthrew Portugal’s authoritarian government without bloodshed, transitioning the country to a democracy.
The festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., opens with a bilingual Mass celebrated by Fr. Prosper Molengi followed by a short parade, and will include live music performances, book readings and plenty of food and drinks. Go to diadeportugalca.org for more details.
SOFA’S COOLEST EVENT: The jacaranda trees in downtown San Jose’s SoFA district are in full violet bloom, and that means it’s time for SubZERO, the DIY tech-friendly music and art mashup taking place this weekend. The festival — “where street meets geek” as the slogan goes — runs 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights, with three stages of music, a beer garden and more than four dozens artists lining South First Street.
Of course, Friday night coincides with the monthly South First Fridays art walk, which includes exhibitions at galleries in and around the SoFA District that will be open late and free to visit. You can stop by the San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles for “Printed and Stitched,” with work from members of the California Society of Printmakers and Studio Art Quilt Associates, or check out MACLA’s new exhibition, “From Where I Stand,” which showcases the perspective of six photographers about issues that’ll be part of the debate this election year.
Personally, I’m planning to visit Kaleid Gallery at 320 S. First St. to see “Playing Dice With the Universe,” a solo exhibition of the art of Doug Edwards — who has the rare distinction of being both a former Mercury News guy and an early Googler. These days, he’s an artist and longtime arts patron, too. “Art is how I manage to maintain a grasp on sanity,” Edwards says, “though judging by what I’ve produced, it’s not clear how firm that grasp is.”
You can get a full lineup of the SubZERO and South First Fridays offerings, as well as a map to the locations, at www.southfirstfridays.com.
