1989
Berlin Wall falls – Loma Prieta Earthquake First text message sent – San Jose Convention Center opens – Nirvana plays Marsugi’s
Preservation Row
Haunting the edge of downtown, the De Anza Hotel looks like it belongs more in bombed out Beirut than in San Jose. The building is a shell of its former self, its blackened interior visible through broken windows and rough-edged holes in its concrete walls. But despite its appearance the De Anza is also a symbol of San Jose’s continuing downtown revival. With a financial boost from the city, the hotel’s owner plans to begin work this June on a major renovation—one that is supposed to restore the De Anza to its 1930s art deco splendor. Tracie L. Thompson, Feb. 23, 1989
Behind the Front
In the early 1980s, Vietnamese exiles began to put their faith in Hoang Co Minh and his National United Front for the Liberation of Vietnam. By late 1982, donations from San Jose’s Vietnamese community exceeded $3,000 a month. Pham Van Lieu, an ex-Saigon police chief, broke with the group in 1984 and accused Hoang Co Minh of using the refugee donations to purchase a chain of Vietnamese noodle soup restaurants. When asked if there is any substance to rumors about the international chain of Pho Hoa restaurants, now flourishing at 12 locations in the United States, Le Van Nam labels the claim fictitious: “Those restaurants are just normal Vietnamese restaurants.” However, according to records filed with the city of San Jose, the business tax for the two Pho Hoa restaurants in San Jose was paid by Aureflam Corporation, also located in San Jose. The telephone number of Aureflam is identical to that of the National United Front, except for the last digit, and a call to Aureflam is answered by a woman who has information regarding the whereabouts of National United Front executive committee member Le Van Nam. He has just left for Australia, she saysJohn Whalen, April 27, 1989
The Vinyl Goodbye
Local all-CD stores such as Compact Disc Warehouse, Circular Motions and Blue Angel have carved out a market segment of buyers who’ve kicked the vinyl habit. Major record chains, responding to consumer buying trends, have begun to dispense with the 12-inch disc altogether in some of their stores. Will the chains soon abandon the LP altogether? Leonard Niles, Aug. 17, 1989
Trends
In San Jose, the Bay Area’s most populous community, one of every four renters can afford to pay no more than $500 a month, based on 1987 figures, even though 85 percent of the stock rented for more than $500, according to a report by the Mayer’s Task Force on Housing. If trends follow the past decade, rents will nearly double by the turn of the century.Jonathan Vankin, Dec. 7, 1989
