San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales announced his intention March 20 to bring a Major League Baseball team to Silicon Valley.

The announcement was made outside the gates of Sunday's spring training game between the Oakland A's and the San Francisco Giants in Phoenix, Ariz., according to the mayor's office.

"A major league team in San Jose just makes sense, both for our community and for baseball," Gonzales said in a statement. The mayor noted that San Jose has a bigger population than 19 cities with major league teams already. More than 6 million residents live within the city's 50 miles, Gonzales claimed, hinting at a large attendance at games and high revenues.

Gonzales promised that if a team arrived in San Jose, it would be greeted with a large number of fans, safe streets, and a friendly business environment.

The mayor announced his goal for a major league team in his February state of the city address. The city is now preparing a proposal for Major League Baseball.

More information about the city's efforts can be found at www.baseballsanjose.com.

Junior League gives
$25,000 to charity

Thanks to the Junior League of San Jose, the holiday season came early this year for some local nonprofits.

On March 2, the organization awarded $25,000 in grant funds to seven charitable agencies--Campbell Parent Participation Preschool, Estrella Family Services, the Emergency Housing Consortium, San Jose Family Shelter, Learning and Loving Education Center, Resource Area for Teachers and HOPE Services.

The Junior League of San Jose is a nonprofit organization of women committed to improving the community through voluntarism. Each year, the league sets aside money from fundraising efforts to help other nonprofits in the area.

YMCA campaign nets
$1.5 million in funds

The Village People may not have had a hit for decades, but the YMCA of Santa Clara Valley is alive and well.

The nonprofit raised close to $1.5 million in its recent fundraising campaign, marking a 6-percent increase over last year's efforts and the largest amount of money ever raised by the organization. All the money raised in the campaign goes directly back into YMCA programs.

"This year, in spite of the enormous tsunami relief efforts in Asia, and other economic challenges our community continues to face here locally, the YMCA continues to be encouraged by the remarkable show of support and participation from its many donors and volunteers," said Robb Hermanson, YMCA of Santa Clara Valley Vice President of Financial Development.

'Funny in Farsi' author to take part in 'California Stories Uncovered'

Firoozeh Dumas, author of Funny in Farsi: a Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America, will speak as part of the San José Public Library's "California Stories Uncovered" lecture series.

The "California Stories Uncovered" arises out of two premises that set it apart from other California anthologies: First, that all Californians have their own uniquely flavored stories about how they fit into our state; and second, is that sharing these stories is of great importance, especially in post­9-11 America.

Dumas will be at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 150 E. San Fernando St. on March 29 and the Calabazas Branch Library, 1230 Blaney Ave., on March 30. Both talks begin at 7 p.m.

Cisco grants $7,500 to Healthy Kids

Cisco Systems Foundation is helping local children stay healthy.

The foundation gave a $7,500 grant to Healthy Kids, a locally funded health insurance program that provides coverage to low- and moderate-income children, and children who do not qualify for public insurance programs because of immigration status. The program is a part of Campbell-based Santa Clara Family Health Foundation.

Money from the grant will provide funding for insurance, as well as community outreach and enrollment efforts.

"We are grateful to the Cisco Systems Foundation for their generous contribution to our efforts," Santa Clara Family Health Plan Chief Executive Officer Leona Butler said. "Through community-based commitments such as these, we can continue toward our goal of universal health coverage for all our children."