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11.20.2007

san jose's "saigon business district"?

Orange County's Little Saigon usually gets most of the attention... but San Jose, California's other Vietnamese enclave, home to more than 78,000 Vietnamese Americans, has also got a little somethin' somethin' going on: San Jose's Vietnamese district building a name for itself. San Jose officials are pushing to designate the city's Vietnamese business district with a name that reflects the contributions of Vietnamese Americans to the community's identity. This, however, has sparked fierce debate over what to name the district. Little Saigon? New Saigon? Vietnamtown? Vietnamese Business District? Each proposed name has had its set of supporters and detractors. The city council is scheduled to decide today whether to adopt the name "Saigon Business District." Kind of weak, not too flashy, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Whatever the name, however, I have a hard time seeing San Jose ever overtaking Orange County's Little Saigon as the capital of Vietnamese America.