I'm happy that two extremely nice and professional young men—Michael Levine and David Belardi—are the store's new owners.

I feel, however, that the cartoon in the Aug. 21 issue of The Willow Glen Resident is grossly unfair in its representation of Baskin-Robbins' flavors, operation and cleanliness.

I know that there is an odor problem in the sewer system of Willow Glen, but I don't feel that it justifies showing a specific business as having products identified as "vanilla septic swirl" and "cesspool double crunch."

I feel it's extremely unfair for a publication to take the liberty of mocking a well-known trademark, "31 flavors," as "31 sewer flavors."

Cartoonists have a certain liberty, but I don't feel that they should abuse that liberty by ruining the business of two hardworking young men.

—Frank Butterfield, Jansen Avenue


There were many founders of WG

I wanted to thank The Willow Glen Resident for an excellent editorial followup piece to Founders' Day! And I really appreciated the fact that you noted the correct use of the apostrophe at the end of "Founders."

As the event coordinator, I can't tell you how many discussions (and research on past Founders' Day material) I had with people about the correct use of the apostrophe. There were many founders, not just one!

And I thought the editorial very much captured the essence of the day, and what Founders' Day really means to the community. As a Los Gatos resident, I had the pleasure of getting to know the community and the many wonderful people of Willow Glen.

I should mention that without the commitment of WGNA—and especially John Gibbs and Helen Solinski—this very special annual event may not have happened this year.

Thank you!

—Susan Cooney, event planner, Songman Entertainment


WGNA volunteer shines during event

Many Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) volunteers worked hard to make Founders' Day happen this year, but one WGNA member deserves special recognition. If anyone embodied the spirit of Founders' Day 2002, it was Helen Solinski.

Typical of Helen's energy, she tenaciously insisted that we sponsor the 75th anniversary celebration, and she brought Susan Cooney, our excellent event coordinator, to us. For the past nine months Helen has tirelessly sought out sponsors, worked out problems, and kept our lines of communication going with numerous emails and phone calls. At the same time, Helen battled pain from a serious leg operation that limits her mobility. Nevertheless, Helen made virtually all the meetings and actually complained when she couldn't help us set up tables, chairs and tents on the day of the event!

Willow Glen is better because Helen Solinski is our neighbor, and I'm honored to have Helen as a friend.

—Kris Cunningham, member, WGNA


Add more parking by making Lincoln wider

As someone who has lived in San Jose my whole life, I'm surprised that Willow Glen has not done what so many other downtown "villages" have done—get rid of the four-way street, make it into a two-lane road, and put some much-needed parking where the extra lane used to be on each side of the street.

How annoying it is to love so many of the shops downtown but have to deal with remote parking.

With some nice diagonal parking spots, we could park in front of our favorite shops, and we might be more inclined to go down to Lincoln Avenue and spend money. And then we might not have to watch small businesses like the Willow Glen Kosher Market shut down for lack of customers.

—Michael Miyabara-McCaskey, Wren Drive


Remove 'no left turn' sign at Minnesota Ave.

The "no left turn" sign at the Minnesota Avenue/Hicks Avenue intersection prohibits westbound traffic on Minnesota turning left (south) onto Hicks between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. This sign should be removed.

Hicks Avenue is more than mile long from Minnesota to Curtner, and is one of the longest streets in Willow Glen. It's intended to be a main arterial street. Meridian Avenue, the busiest street in Willow Glen, is parallel with Hicks Avenue and west of Hicks by a half-mile. Meridian Avenue is also more than a mile long from Minnesota to Curtner, and they are similar in many other respects. Meridian and Hicks each have 18 streets that feed into them. Meridian has five traffic lights; Hicks has two traffic lights and three stop signs. Meridian Avenue has a traffic congestion problem that Hicks Avenue helped to remedy prior to this new sign.

What justification and with what authority has access been limited to Hicks Avenue? It seems contrary to common sense that traffic on Minnesota should be forced to Meridian Avenue during such high-volume traffic hours. Has this "no left turn" sign been installed because of political reasons rather than as a result of a decision based on facts?

Many residents in this area find it difficult to observe this four-hour window five days a week. Most of the day and on weekends, you are free to turn left. Forget the time of day or the day of the week and you are in trouble. So now we have more traffic dumped onto congested Meridian Avenue.

There is also a sign visibility problem. The sign is shaded by the tree located behind it, and this is in stark contrast with the setting sun shining in the eyes of the westbound driver on Minnesota who makes a left turn at Hicks Avenue.

Often a squad of city policemen waits one block south on Hicks between 3 and 7 p.m., havesting traffic tickets. It's easy revenue for the city but patently unfair to Willow Glen residents. Remove the sign!

—Louis T. "Al" Sereda, Dry Creek Road