Kathy Creswell of the housing and community development department presented the city council with the plaque for coming up with a solution to provide more affordable housing to seniors and for mixed-use purposes. To achieve this, the city is working on plans to install a small kitchen and bathroom in each room of an existing retirement home, thus turning each room into a single-unit dwelling.


Sacred Heart will be collecting food

Sacred Heart Community Service (SHCS) is calling on the community to donate food and toys to help families in need of assistance this holiday season.

SHCS will be providing holiday food boxes to almost 1,500 families on Dec. 19 and 20. Included in each box will be a turkey, ham or chicken. Similarly, the group will provide a box to families on Dec. 23 that will include toys and a book and possibly a stocking stuffer if enough donations are received.

Donations can be dropped off at the SHCS donation station at the corner of First and Alma in San Jose. For more information, call 408.278.2179 or visit www.shcstheheart.org.


Russian voices at St. Michael's

The members of the St. Petersburg Vocal Ensemble will lend their voices to the choir at St. Michael the Archangel Serbian Orthodox Church on Dec. 1. The ensemble will sing the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church during a service from 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Afterwards, the church will open the doors of its social hall for refreshments and a concert featuring a cappella choral music from the Russian Orthodox Church as well as Russian folk songs.

Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to help offset travel expenses for the performers. St. Michael's is located at 18870 Allendale Ave. More information on the performers can be found at www.bezplatny.cz.