A community meeting to discuss the approximately 324 attached and detached units proposed for 17.8 acres on Campbell Avenue in the Newhall Area is set for Feb. 23.

San Jose City Council members Ken Yeager and Cindy Chavez are hosting the meeting.

Pulte Homes and Robson Homes are the two builders seeking rezoning of the properties to allow for residential use.

The issue is expected to go before the San Jose Planning Commission on March 9.

The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Room 107 of the United Way Building, 1922 The Alameda. Those attending are asked to enter through the rear parking lot, off of McKendrie Street.

Eat spaghetti, for
school science's sake

St. Leo the Great School's sixth grade spaghetti dinner takes place from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 26 at the school gym.

The dinner includes salad, pasta, sausage, bread and dessert. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3.50 for children 3 to 10 and free for children under 3.

The money raised goes to offset the cost of science camp at Caritas Creek for a week, which all sixth-graders attend.

Tickets will be sold at the door or can be reserved in advance by calling St. Leo's at 408.293.4846. The gym is located behind the school at 1051 W. San Fernando St., off Race Street.

Railroad crossing is
closed for relocation

Caltrain closed the railroad crossing that intersects with Lenzen Avenue on Jan. 31 and plans to close the one that intersects Stockton Avenue within the next few weeks.

Both closures are part of the construction of the $140-million Centralized Equipment Maintenance and Operations Facility along Stockton near Lenzen. The Caltrain main line tracks will be relocated for the new facility.

The Lenzen closure had little effect on traffic as only one company regularly crossed the tracks there.

A positive side effect of the closures is a reduction in noise impacting nearby residents. Federal law requires trains to blow their horns at crossings and the crossing arms have clanging safety bells.

Once the Stockton crossing is closed, there will be no at-grade vehicular crossings for almost nine miles between San Jose and Sunnyvale.

Future lecture goes beyond pyramids

The Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum's lecture series continues on Feb. 19 with "The Valley of the Kings: When a Pyramid Wasn't Enough."

This lecture will discuss why, after 2,000 years of royal burials in pyramids, the Egyptians decided to place royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and why that location was chosen. The archaeology of the Valley of the Kings will be the focus of the lecture.

There is a $20 fee for the talk, which takes place at 6:15 p.m. at the Museum, 1342 Naglee Ave., at Park Avenue. For additional information, visit www.egyptianmuseum.org or call 408.947.3665.

Business owner has
a calligraphy show

Trieu Hai Dao, co-owner of Paradise Art & Garden, is showing his new Vietnamese-style calligraphy art there through Feb. 28.

Dao, an accomplished and recognized painter and sculptor, has two rooms of his work. One room features recent framed pieces and the other has his earlier calligraphy scrolls.

The work is on view during regular hours at the combination nursery, garden store and art gallery at 1490 Park Ave., at Magnolia Avenue. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except Tuesdays when it is closed.

Tour the historic
district on Feb. 23

A "River Street Historic District Tour and Presentation" takes place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Feb. 23.

The area, between Highway 87 and HP Pavilion, was home to Italian immigrants in the late 1800s. Now, nine of the homes have been restored and are in use as businesses.

The presentation and tour will start at Lowry's Irish Coffee Shop, 350 W. Julian St. Members of the Preservation Action Council will speak on the history of the district and Alrie Middlebrook, owner of Middlebrook Gardens, will discuss the gardens she designed for the area.

Sponsored by Friends of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, the presentation is free.

Nativity School has dinner, auction

Fiesta 2005, a fundraising dinner and auction for Sacred Heart Nativity School, is set for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Bellarmine College Preparatory.

This annual event attracts more than 300 people each year, helping to make the dream of the late Rev. Mateo Sheedy come true.

The former pastor at Sacred Heart believed in providing a quality education to those most in need. The Nativity School is dedicated to providing low-cost private education to at-risk youth in the sixth through the eighth grades in an academically challenging and highly structured environment. The student body is 96 percent Latino.

The evening will be emceed by KGO radio personality Bernie Ward. There will be a silent auction, dinner and an oral auction in the Liccardo Center on campus, 960 W. Hedding St., San Jose.

Tickets start at $100 per person and can be reserved by calling 408.993.1293 or emailing cshroeder@shnativity.org. Additional information on the school can be found at www.shnativity.org.