European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 27, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Part of the $1.4 billion redevelopment area in san Jose the City once a sleepy agricultural town is about to pass san Francisco in population. San Jose s second City syndrome by Jane Gross new York times rom san Francisco 50 Miles to the Northwest and separated by cultural and historical Light years san Jose seems an unlikely challenger. It is sprawling and without maritime vistas a Bland landscape of freeways shopping malls and two car garages. Three decades ago a sleepy agricultural town san Jose just about disappeared in the High technology revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, when prune Orchards gave Way to semiconductor plants and tract houses when the City and the towns to the North became one vast suburb and gained the nickname Silicon Valley. But things Are changing. San Jose is about to pass san Francisco in population. A new pastel Granite Skyline rises incongruously from the Valley floor. The derelict downtown is getting a face lift. In the daytime the streets Bustle with office workers and some Young professionals Are moving into town. Local Ballet opera and theater companies Are Selling tickets. And mayor Tom Mcenery a native son is making bold some would say grandiose assertions that his City is ready to assume a new role As the Urban Center of Silicon Valley. Will it work it is far too Early to say. But Urban planners and sociologists note that a City needs a soul As Well As a Skeleton that it is easier to build a new downtown than it is to change the habits of people who have spent the last 30 years perfecting a relentlessly suburban Way of life. San Jose s leaders insist they Are not trying to compete with san Francisco which has More in common with the major cities of the East coast and Europe than it does with he population centers of the Sun Belt. But a second City syndrome lurks just beneath the surface and can emerge quickly particularly when smug san franciscans Reserve for san Jose their most profound insult that it reminds them of los Angeles. They remember san Jose As a hinterland said Mcenery. They find it hard to accept that we Are now the major economic Power in the Bay area leading the Way into the 21 St  the Experiment there now a $1.4-billion redevelopment that combines Public financing and private investment is the Centrepiece of Mcenery s administration. The mayor 43, was born and reared in san Francisco. His Grandfather and father were both local politicians. He mourned for the san Jose of his childhood before the department stores newspaper and government bailed out for outlying locations leaving behind the sad Husk of downtown. When the Valley s High technology Industry boomed no one Ever paused to consider a Core commercial and cultural District. Some of the new entrepreneurs were too consumed with work to care about building a cohesive Community. Others were Content to get their fix of City life in san Francisco. Others burrowed into expensive Homes Content to have the world Flicker by on their videocassette recorders. I m not sure How Many people in this Valley Are Urban Folk said Peter Haas who teaches political science at san Jose state University and recently quit a rented House in suburban Cupertino for a downtown condominium. They live like they re in Orange  but a More mature Region needs a capital City some say. In the beginning the Valley sucked resources from san Francisco said William e. Claggett san Jose s director of economic development. Now there s a need for services closer at hand More specialized and in greater  san Jose has some selfish reasons for carving out for itself this capital City role. Downtown Means two things Mcenery said. It s a source of Pride and a tax  Pride is difficult to measure but the tax base has already grown tremendously. Frank m. Taylor executive director of the redevelopment Agency said the City collected $7,000 in sales Utility and hotel taxes in the downtown neighbourhood in fiscal 1978. This year he said san Jose will collect $4 million. In the Boom years All of the South Bay communities grew but none As rapidly As san Jose. From 1950 to 1988, the population mushroomed to 732,800 from 95,280, making it by far the largest City in the Valley and one of the fastest growing in the nation. By 1990, if not sooner san Jose s population will pass san Francisco a which was 741,300 last year according to the California department of finance and the association of Bay area governments. In addition to its size san Jose boasts an expanding Airport just minutes from the downtown area which was recently designated As its West coast Hub by american airlines. It is also the Only Community in the Valley that qualifies under state Law As blighted and is thus entitled to use tax Revenue for redevelopment. To pay for its transformed downtown san Jose merged 10 redevelopment districts scattered through the 172-Square-mile City and funnelled All tax Revenue from new development into the 60-Block Core area. In Mcenery s seven year tenure the projects completed include the Fairmont hotel a match in luxury to its dowager sister atop san Francisco s Nob Hill and a half dozen office towers that Are slowly filling with lawyers accountants and venture capitalists. Several other projects Are under Way among them a convention Center scheduled to open this Spring which is struggling with bookings because the two hotels that were planned to flank it Are still without financing. I have always fought Progress change and vision. This is because Progress change and vision always come with a manual. On my husband s last birthday i presented him with a microwave oven so he could heat up the milk for his Coffee without scorching every pan in the House. It came with a manual that could have been made into an eight hour miniseries. Leafing through the Book of instructions i came across the chapter on How to replace the Light bulb in your microwave. It gave new meaning to the old joke How Many fill in your own group does it take to replace a Light bulb in this Case the answer came to two nuclear physicists one Man with Asbestos hands and an authorized service representative who would determine the bulb s availability. There was an entire chapter devoted to probe  i had never probe cooked before. Or is it cooked probe before there was a series of graphics Page 16 the stars and stripes that outlined the control panel and a few words leapt off the pages Burn risk electric Shock injury to persons and excessive microwave Energy " Cher in Silkwood came to mind. Even if i had had the patience to read the entire manual i knew i d be so intimidated i d just use the oven to store bread and crackers. The decision was made to fake it. Using a microwave without directions is like parallel parking a tank without a License. I have paid an exorbitant Price for my stubbornness. Did you know that a Bagel left in a microwave a Mere two seconds longer than it should can pull out the entire top Row of your Teeth when you bite into it or that a whole egg left to hard boil will detonate after a while when All the water boils out of a Coffee Mug the Mug will likewise explode like a land mine. And Here s an interesting phenomenon if you keep cooking Bacon until it gets real crispy it will monday february 27,1989   eventually melt Down and you will have to suck the flavor out of the paper Towel. It is ludicrous to read microwave instructions on the boxes of food you buy As each one will have a disclaimer this will vary with your  loosely translated this Means you re  i guess i m inspired by the millions of children in this country who can operate a microwave before they know How to read. They eventually Rise above a warmed Over pizza that comes out like a Ping Pong paddle with Pepperoni. A child was visiting the other Day and asked mrs. Bombeck the clock on your microwave is blinking. Want me to set it for you i lifted him off the floor so he could reach it. He was Small for 4. C 1989 Erma Bombeck