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Year in Review 2000
Living in Interesting Times
A look back at the year's highs, lows and a glimpse of Godzilla
If there was some kind of soundtrack to lay down over the last 12 months of the history of Willow Glen, it might be something like a long drum roll.
Even for a neighborhood more engaged than most, this year had more suspense and tension than a planning commission hearing for a monster home.
First and foremost, residents were terrorized for days when a giant lizard was spotted prowling the area around Malaga Way. In the end, it wasn't the kind of Godzilla that would trample Tokyo, and the little critter was taken to a rescue group for reptiles.
There were more serious things, too.
The race to succeed District 6 Councilman Frank Fiscalini got ugly at some points. San Jose State political science teacher Ken Yeager and former Willow Glen Neighborhood Association President Kris Cunningham took the gloves off at times. Maybe that's what happens when there are two candidates so well suited for the job.
Willow Glen Business and Professional Association board members have had a hard time getting along this year. On top of that, they spent most of the year trying to follow the money that disappeared from their coffers. Longs Drugs now has approval to build away on Lincoln Avenue, despite the lingering misgivings of some neighbors. But after months of hearings, meetings, appeals, petitions and letters, no one can say the store won't be the product of a give-and-take process.
The list goes on. There was infighting over desegregation policy at the San Jose Unified School District. There was poor mail service in some areas. And as always, there was too much speeding, especially on the "quiet" part of Minnesota Avenue.
Another thing for the soundtrack would be the tires popping behind the Garden Theater after a one-way tire restrictor was installed. There's no messing around with parking and traffic in Willow Glen, and in this case that means severe tire damage.
Mayor Ron Gonzales also took on the feds this year, pushing to stop the FAA's proposal to re-route planes bound for San Francisco over the South Bay.
But while there may have been a few raised voices and some hurt feelings, it's generally a good sign.
Spirited debate is a healthy pulse for a neighborhood, even if it's in one of the biggest cities in the country. Maybe our place as a small town in a big city was one of the reasons both Bill Clinton and Al Gore dropped in for quick visits this year.
Other neighborhoods in San Jose and the South Bay would be lucky to have the citizen involvement and level of engagement that Willow Glen does.
So maybe politically-charged Willow Glen should consider itself lucky, too. Behind all the quiet, tree-lined streets, independent stores and sidewalk cafes, there's a kind of small-town politics that plays out in the meetings and hearings that perhaps more than anything else makes this place unique.
--Jeff Kearns, Editor
2000: The Year in Review
January - March 2000
April - June 2000
July - September 2000
October - December 2000
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
