Some may be surprised at the early influence of the Chinese in this valley.

At the April 27 Gathering at the Crossroads potluck and lecture series, the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum presents Connie Young Yu to tell all about it.

Yu took part in the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project to recreate San Jose's Ng Shing Gung temple, now a museum of Chinese-American history in Kelly Park. She is also the author of San Jose, Chinatown USA, a book about the history of Heinlenville, San Jose's historic Chinatown.

Yu's interest in the Bay Area's Chinatown stems from her family's long history in California. Her maternal great-grandfather emigrated from Canton to the United States to work on the transcontinental railroad. He later moved from railroad labor to shopkeeping. Yu's paternal grandfather arrived in California in 1881 to work in the family store on Market Street in San Jose. After sending for his wife in China, he established his family in Heinlenville, where they lived until the community's demise in 1931.

Yu's presentation on April 27 will focus on the influence of the early Chinese pioneers on the Santa Clara Valley. She will show slides of historic photographs and be available to answer questions.

The lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Cupertino Room of the Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N. Stelling Road.

For more information, call 408.973.1495.

Learn the stories of
women at ground zero

Women firefighters, police officers and emergency workers tell their stories about the work at ground zero in the book Women at Ground Zero: stories of Courage and Compassion.

And authors Mary Carouba and Susan Hagan discuss their interviews with these women on April 17 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall at Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church, 728 Fremont Ave.

The program, sponsored by the American Association of University Women­Santa Clara County Branches, is open to the public and free.

People can make donations to the National Center for Women and Policing and the Greater New York Hospital EMS Fund.

Money available for switching to gas

Help clean the air and get a rebate for doing it.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is offering Santa Clara County homeowners up to $500 if they switch from wood-burning stoves or fireplaces to one that uses gas.

The offer is on a first-come, first-served basis.

To be eligible for the $500, residents must purchase their gas-burning stove at a participating retailer, install a new gas line and dispose of their pre-1990 woodstove at Pick Your Part in Milipitas.

A $300 rebate is also available for those who install a new gas line and gas-burning fireplace insert.

For information in Cupertino call Barbecues Galore 19785 Stevens Creek Blvd. 408.873.1644.

Mandarin Immersion extends its enrollment

The Cupertino Union School District has extended the Cupertino Language Immersion Program's registration period for the 2004­05 school year until April 16.

There are currently openings available in kindergarten and selected other grade levels from first through fifth grade.

The language immersion program is currently located at Collins Elementary School.

The goal of CLIP is to not only develop high levels of proficiency in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing English and Mandarin Chinese, but also to meet or exceed district guidelines in all academic subjects. By using both English and Mandarin Chinese for instruction of the standard curriculum, the immersion program delivers more than just the typical one-hour language class.

Started in the 1998­99 school year with one kindergarten class, the immersion program has since grown to include kindergarten through fifth grade. The current vision for the program is to include a middle school curriculum to include grades six through eight.

Now in its sixth year, the program will be moving to its new home at Meyerholz Elementary School beginning the next school year.

For information, contact Collins Elementary School at 408.252.6002. Additional information can also be found at www.cupertinoclip.org.