Speak Out

Disappointed with Lincoln Ave. meeting

I attended the March 21 meeting about Lincoln avenue hoping to hear fresh new ideas for the avenue. Boy, was I disappointed.

First about traffic. Yes, traffic is a problem on the avenue, but suggesting Meridian or worse, Bird avenue, as alternatives for getting people to and from downtown San Jose are both ludicrous and ridiculous.

I guess the consultant doesn't realize Bird is mostly residential and includes a school and a ball field/park at the corner of Bird and Pine. Wonder how the folks on Malone would like all the extra traffic diverting to Bird? And Meridian is already heavily congested at rush hour and doesn't need more traffic.

Then comes parking, the problem that continues to be studied but not solved. Since as long as I can remember, at least 10 years, people have been complaining about parking on the avenue, yet nothing has been done. It's time to stop studying and start doing, or we will all be gone by the time a solution is found and implemented.

The third thing at the meeting that irritated me was mention of public art and beautification on the avenue. Come on. Isn't that what the Willow Glen Beautification Project is for? Have we forgotten it does exist and did place three pieces of sculpture on the avenue? Have we forgotten that there were once hanging baskets on the avenue, put there by the Willow Glen Beautification Project?

I've never felt comfortable with the city's use of outside consultants for things like seeing what can be done about Lincoln avenue and how to best rebuild our libraries. It's time the city stopped wasting money on outside consultants who don't have the knowledge of longtime residents that is essential for solving problems in a city.

June E. Cooley
Almaden Road

Worried about traffic on Glen Eyrie Avenue

I share the same concerns expressed by San Jose Assistant Chief of Police Thomas Wheatley in a letter to the editor published in the March 6 edition of the Willow Glen Resident.

As a new resident of Willow Glen, I'm worried about the amount of traffic traveling at speeds that exceed 25 mph. I'm worried about the damage it can inflict on a human being, especially on a child, or a pet.

Most of the traffic is from motorists using Glen Eyrie avenue as a cut-through to get to other neighborhoods or streets with the least resistance. Thus, this becomes a heavily traveled area aside from the apartment building traffic.

Wheatley stated in his letter that he's willing to discuss efforts to control traffic. I hope that his invitation would be extended to the Glen Eyrie avenue residents of Willow Glen. I feel that this is an area in need of review.

I haven't seen one patrol officer since I moved into the area three months ago and I am home at different hours of the day as are my neighbors. Perhaps there is a lack of manpower or it would be too costly an operation. Another option I suggest would be the installation of permanent speed bumps. Then, maybe, the annoyance of their existence would detour the undesirable traffic through another route.

Carlos Alvarez
Glen Eyrie avenue

Desegregation efforts have failed for SJUSD

It should come as no surprise that school choice and bussing of students to Willow Glen schools has not worked well. The judge who ordered the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) to bus students from other areas to Willow Glen schools made a serious mistake. Moving students from one area to another for racial or ethnic balance has always been an unsuccessful policy. Parents have purchased homes in a nice area like Willow Glen thinking that they would have better schools for their children. They were tricked and double-crossed by the courts and the SJUSD. Parents who pulled a few strings moved around these failed policies by various means. Those with sufficient means have always placed their children in private schools, especially to avoid middle and high schools in Willow Glen. Parents without the financial means or those who couldn't pull strings were stuck with what was left in Willow Glen schools.

As a lifelong resident of San Jose, I attended mixed ethnic Evergreen Grammar School and James Lick High School in the '40s and '50s. English was the required language in these schools, regardless of whether you were born here or not. The schools produced exceptional Hispanic, Asian and Anglo graduates because of school district requirements of English only. Most schools in East San Jose are in serious difficulty now because of uncontrolled legal and illegal immigration of families and students. There is too much wasted time and effort to teach English to these students and the result has been lower academic standards for all. The SJUSD moved some of these students from the northern and eastern areas of San Jose to Willow Glen schools because of overcrowding. The result of this failed policy: lower academic standards for some Willow Glen primary grades and most middle and high schools.

Now, after the damage has been done to Willow Glen schools by bussing, the courts and the school district have finally come to the realization that they seriously damaged good middle and high schools in Willow Glen. Neighborhood schools should always take priority, but court and school district social engineering failed Willow Glen parents and students. How long will it take for Willow Glen parents and students to reclaim their previously good schools?

There are a number of options, most politically incorrect, but the first move is to park the busses back at the SJUSD parking lot and the second is to stop the bussing of students living outside of Willow Glen to Willow Glen schools by county transit.

Eugene A. Gimelli
La Mirada Drive

Against building new SJ city hall

At the March 12 San Jose City Council Rules Committee meeting, Councilman Chuck Reed presented a memo asking city staff to look at alternative plans for a new city hall. A second memo was advanced by San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales. I was at that meeting.

It's interesting to note that in the alternative memo presented by Mayor Gonzales, the first criteria listed was that the property or building considered as an alternative "must have a willing seller." Just a second! This administration has shown a willingness to exercise the power of eminent domain at the drop of a hat. Why, all of a sudden, is this option unavailable to us?

One of the alternatives listed in Chuck Reed's memo is to "build an office building next to the existing city hall or on the E lot at Mission and Guadalupe Parkway and renovate and continue to use our existing city hall." Now we're talking! To these potential cost savings add the revenues that the city could generate by selling the land dedicated to the project on Fourth and Santa Clara.

Gonzales' memo states, "Our purpose has been to deliver an efficient and striking civil landmark in which our community can have genuine pride." Utility is more important than pride. After all, the mark of a great city is not found in the opulence of its architecture; it's found in the quality of its schools. Chuck Reed has it exactly right. Gonzales has it wrong.

Pete Campbell
San Jose

Support your WG area neighborhood schools

As a parent of two preschool-aged children, I'm standing up for my neighborhood schools. Willow Glen is a unique neighborhood and has the feel of a small town. Residents have no problem rallying around a "chain store" coming to Lincoln avenue, confronting trash issues or even crying out regarding speeding on residential streets. Many would agree that our downtown thrives because we support local business.

What about our neighborhood schools? When I talk about Willow Glen schools, some parents get quiet and others even look the other way.

I grew up in a small town in rural Missouri and moved to California in 1990. Talk about a huge change. When my husband and I moved to Willow Glen in 1995, my desire to leave Silicon Valley diminished. Willow Glen is a slice of sanity in the hustle and bustle. Children and parents feel safe on our streets (except Lincoln during rush hour); kids play in front yards; we gather at our local parks; and neighbors even know each other!

Once our own children were born, schools became a discussion topic with friends and neighbors. I realized one thing about my beloved Willow Glen that was missing. Our neighborhood schools were here but no one wanted to say that their children attended. In fact, most were proud they managed to get into another school, truthfully or not.

My small rural town didn't provide a choice structure, and I'm glad my parents didn't have to agonize over a school decision. There was only one school to attend. Everyone rallied around the school and took pride in creating a place of learning. It didn't matter if you had a child in school or not. People helped out by belonging to the Booster Club, donating time and money, buying fundraiser items, and, perhaps the most fulfilling, wearing the school logo on shirts, hats and jackets. Schools are a great source of neighborhood and town pride.

My daughter will enter kindergarten in the fall of 2003 and her sister will in 2005. They will be attending Willow Glen Elementary because it is my neighborhood school. Don't talk to me about test scores or the fact that I could send them to a magnet or private school. I don't want the school campuses to be isolated from our community. They are an integral part of our thriving neighborhood.

I challenge all those Willow Glen parents who think their children deserve a better school. Wouldn't your children like to live next door to a classmate, run into their friends and families when out to dinner on Lincoln avenue or not have to commute to school? Your child will thrive in any school, if you, as the parent, are involved at school and at home. Our Willow Glen schools are what they are today because our neighborhood students went elsewhere. As for mine, we are staying put.

Shanon Westlake
Searles Avenue

Around The Glen

Mark Mayfield: Kooky for Girl Scout cookies

Sports Briefs

High school sports

Presentation High School sports