Peninsula Moves!

By Will Reisman, @WillReisman

Golden Gate Bridge To Close This Weekend:  Folks gearing up for a trip to wine country or Muir Woods this weekend might want to rethink their plans. Starting at midnight on Saturday, January 10, the Golden Gate Bridge will be shuttered to allow for the installation of a long-awaited moveable median barrier.  The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which manages the span, has issued a no-travel advisory to the North Bay for the weekend, but if residents need to get to Marin and Sonoma, there are still options available. In talks for decades, the moveable median barrier will provide the bridge with a sturdy lane divider than can be adjusted to meet differing traffic levels during the morning and evening commutes. The weekend closure for the installation of the barrier is expected to be completed by 4 a.m. on Monday morning.

Last weekend to Skate at San Jose: With the Holiday season coming to an end, the opportunities to go ice skating in San Jose are quickly dwindling. This Sunday will mark the final day of the annual open rink festivities, but until then, residents will have the chance to enjoy skating one more time in downtown San Jose. Located at the Circle of Palms Plaza between the Fairmont Hotel and the San Jose Museum of Art, the South Bay’s largest seasonal ice rink will be open between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. from Monday through Thursday. On Friday, it will be open from 5 p.m. until midnight, on Saturday, hours are noon to midnight, and on Sunday it will be open from noon until 9 p.m. Rent a Bay Area Bike Share cycle at Diridon and bike it.

Harlem Globetrotters in Oakland and San Jose: Word to the wise—don’t bet on the Washington Generals this weekend. The historically hapless basketball squad will be in the Bay Area to take on their longtime rivals, the Harlem Globetrotters. The Globetrotters’ brand of half-basketball, half-comedy, all-entertainment will take center stage at the SAP Center in San Jose on Friday at 7 p.m. The team will return for a double-header at the Oracle Arena in Oakland for 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. games on Saturday. The SAP Center is just a short walk from Caltrain’s San Jose Diridon station, and the Oracle Arena is directly accessible from BART.

New Mayor in San Jose: San Jose will welcome in new mayor Sam Liccardo with an inauguration event on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Originally, the swearing-in was scheduled to take place at the California Theater, but unexpectedly high demand for the inauguration prompted the event to be moved to the larger Center for Performing Arts. Along with the introduction of Liccardo, the inauguration will include the swearing-in of new Councilmembers Chappie Jones, Raul Peralez, Magdalena Carrasco and Tam Nguyen. Liccardo, who will succeed two-term mayor Chuck Reed, won a tight contest in November against fellow Democrat Dave Cortese. Residents can attend the inauguration by RSVPing here.