San Jose City Councilwoman Nancy Pyle said on Feb. 24 that residents in The Villas of Almaden and city officials need to work together to combat the problem of coyotes that are menacing the neighborhood rather than fight over the issue in court.

Pyle was responding to a claim filed against the city by the Villas of Almaden Homeowners Association, which wants to use leg traps against the coyotes they say are killing their pets and threatening their children. In October, before Pyle took office, the city council refused to overturn the city ban on leg traps.

The association must file the claim before it can file a lawsuit, which Pyle says she believes would be counterproductive. "We need to focus more on working together and less on litigation," she said.

Since Pyle took office in January, the Santa Clara County Vector Control District has experienced some success with a different type of trap that captures the coyotes by neck snares, Pyle said.

"The alpha female was captured with the collar approach and euthanized," she said, adding that she wants to give the neck snares more time to work.

San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle said the association would be unlikely to prevail in a lawsuit because the area where the residents live is rural and at the edge of the coyote's natural habitat.

"It's sort of a burden that goes with living there," Doyle said.

The attorney for the association was not available for comment.

'Backpack' teens are
back at it this year

Alex and Ben Greer are back at it again. The Almaden teens are raising money to purchase backpacks and school supplies for underprivileged children in Santa Clara County. And this year they are getting some assistance from Armadillo Willy's restaurants.

On March 23, four Armadillo Willy's locations will donate 20 percent of the meal ticket from anyone who mentions the "Back to School Backpack" fundraiser or shows the server a flier promoting the fundraiser.

The four local Armadillo Willy's locations are: 878 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, 408.224.7427; 2071 Camden Ave., San Jose, 408.371.9033; 2624 Homestead Road, Santa Clara, 408.247.1100; and 10100 S. De Anza Blvd, Cupertino, 408.252.7427.