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Around The Glen
The Glen goes to bat one last time for late-night hours
In a final attempt to keep its doors open till 2 a.m. and add live entertainment, the Glen will appeal the Planning Commission's decision at the Oct. 5 City Council meeting.
On July 14, the Planning Commission voted to close the restaurant's doors at midnight, following planning staff's reasoning that a late-night establishment doesn't have a place in Willow Glen's neighborhood business district.
The Glen's owners and their attorney say the Glen is a restaurant with an incidental bar and entertainment. But when the kitchen closes at midnight and the bar stays open till 2 .m., city planners say this sounds more like a nightclub. the City Council will have the final say.
The Glen's appeal is open to the public, and will be held Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers.
--Jessica Lyons
No Wells Fargo ATM at new Safeway
The Safeway Food and Drug that opened August 25 at the corner of Hamilton and Meridian avenues in Willow Glen does not house a Wells Fargo Bank branch, or even a Wells Fargo ATM machine, like many other Safeways do.
Although the new market can boast a pharmacy, bakery, seafood department and customer service center, the familiar horse-and-stagecoach logo will not greet patrons waiting for their cash at this Safeway's ATMs.
According to Lance Berg, a spokesperson for Wells Fargo, Safeway does not want to maintain a full-service branch in the store. Wells Fargo's response was full service or nothing. He mentioned that there are Wells Fargo branches at 3195 Meridian and 1250 Lincoln, both within a mile of the Safeway store.
"We still feel our customers will receive the service they have received in the past," he says.
--Kara Chalmers
Corporate volunteers help make senior festival a success
One of the highlights of United Way's Week of Caring, Sept. 13-18, was a festival for developmentally disabled seniors from Hope Rehabilitation Services that took place at St. Francis Episcopal Church at 1205 Pine St. last Thursday. The event included a barbecue picnic lunch cooked and served by volunteers, karaoke, a fortune teller and games for the 70 adults there.
During the Week of Caring, 53 United Way agencies staffed about 300 projects, such as painting, cleaning or hosting social events, with teams of corporate volunteers from Hewlett-Packard and IBM.
"They [the seniors] were a wonderful group of clients," says Nicole Levine, Hewlett-Packard's Week of Caring coordinator. "They were easy to please and enjoyed everything we did with them."
Besides organizing the 3,500 H-P employees who volunteered throughout the week, Levine dressed up as a clown and entertained at the Seniors Festival.
"It was a terrific day for both volunteers and seniors," she says. "One of the best things is that we got as much out of it as the seniors did. It was a really good opportunity for us to get away from our desks and see what's going on in the community and feel like we were able to make a difference a little bit."
--Kara Chalmers
Tea shop closes doors so owners can spend time with family
The Tea Totaler, the quaint teahouse with the bamboo garden at 1389 Lincoln Avenue, has closed. Co-owners Doreen and Don Araki decided to close their shop due to illnesses in the family. They also want to spend more time with their children.
--Kara Chalmers
County fairgrounds will have a brand new look by 2003
Santa Clara County has embarked upon a major revitalization project for the county fairgrounds in San Jose, which should be complete by 2003, according to project director Patrick Love.
Part of the plan is a brand-new indoor performing arts center, with seating for 8,000, that will be available for community uses such as graduations, community dances and concerts. Universal Concerts Inc., which is owned by the House of Blues club chain, will partner with the county in this endeavor.
County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado attended the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association Meeting on Sept. 8 to update residents on the project's recent developments and answer questions.
"This is the first public and private project of this magnitude the county has ever undertaken," says Alvarado of the performing arts center.
The revitalization project as a whole also includes an exhibition hall and, down the road, a sports recreation facility. It is not definite whether the county will partner with a company or develop these facilities on its own.
Sylvia Gallegos, Alvarado's chief of staff, says that preserving one of the last open spaces in San Jose is important to Alvarado and the board of supervisors, and that this project will ensure that the land be kept in the public domain for years to come.
Although the county will continue operating the annual fair, the sprint car racing on the fairgrounds will end. Other changes include the closing of the permanent livestock facility and the opening of new parking lots on the grounds.
The county will be releasing a draft environmental impact report to the public for comments in October. After 45 days the plans will go back to the board of supervisors for final certification. At that point the county and Universal Concerts Inc. will execute a ground lease.
--Kara Chalmers
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
