Reading is going to get better at the Willow Glen Public Library branch.

The original plans to renovate the branch in 2010 were moved forward by two years to 2008 by the city of San Jose.

The newly renovated branch will grow from its present 5,330-square feet to approximately 13,000-square feet. This expansion will enable the library to hold a collection of between 61,800 to 75,600 volumes. The rebuilt library will also include group study, storytelling and meeting areas. Funds for the improvements come from general obligation bonds that were approved by the voters in 2000.

Prior to any construction there will be a community outreach process that will include public meetings throughout the summer of 2005.

According to San Jose District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager's office, the city anticipates five community meetings over a 5-month period to help decide on the library's design. This should enable the community plenty of opportunities to offer ideas and suggestions.

Construction on the branch is anticipated to begin in fall 2006, with completion slated for spring 2008.

For more information regarding the library bond projects, please visit the website at www.newsanjoselibraries.com or contact Yeager's office at 408.277.5166.

--Moryt Milo

Association appreciates
Delta Sigma Pi efforts

At its annual meeting on Jan. 31, the Willow Glen Business and Professional Association honored Delta Sigma Pi of San Jose with an award for the organization's efforts to beautify the downtown Willow Glen area.

Since April 2003, the fraternity has collaborated with San Jose, working with its Adopt-A-Street program. On the first Saturday of every month, members gather to pick up loose debris, garbage and cigarette butts along Lincoln Avenue between Kragen's Auto Parts, just north of Willow Street to Minnesota Avenue.

Delta Sigma Pi is a professional fraternity organized to foster the study of business in universities, to promote closer affiliation between the commercial world and students of commerce and to further a higher standard of commercial ethics.

For more information about the fraternity, visit www.dspsjsu.org.

-- Meghan O'Hare

Neighborhood funding
deadline is Feb. 28

For residents looking for neighborhood funding, the San Jose Community Action and Pride Grant program might be a solution.

The city is now accepting Community Action and Pride program applications for the 2005-06 year. This program, also known as CAP, was developed to promote the continuing growth of healthy and self-reliant neighborhoods.

The CAP program provides financial support to help resident-based groups build and strengthen neighborhood organizations, improve neighborhood conditions or address issues important to a neighborhood's quality of life. Funded projects will operate from May 2005 through April 2006.

Completed hardcopy applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Feb. 28, at the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, 4 N. Second St., Ste. 600, Large Conference Room, San Jose, 95113.

A technical assistance workshops is scheduled for Feb. 14 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, 4 N. Second St. on the Sixth Floor. Call in advance to RSVP at 408.277.4693.

The application packet is available at the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, 4 N. Second St., Ste 600, or can be downloaded from the Internet at www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/nsinfo.htm#cap.

Go Red For Women
month in February

A recent American Heart Association study indicated only 27 percent of American women say their health is a top priority. The Go Red For Women campaign seeks to reverse this lack of urgency.

Go Red for Women is the theme for American Heart Month in February and the goal is to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease.

"We believe Go Red For Women will raise women's awareness of heart disease being the number one killer of women," said Dr. Valerie Kwai Ben, a Kaiser Permanente cardiologist and longtime volunteer for the American Heart Association in San Jose. "A lack of urgency about such a serious health threat contributes to the deaths of more than 500,000 American women every year."

"Red symbolizes women's power to take control of their health and passion for the women whose lives have been affected," she noted.

The Go Red For Women campaign provides women tips and information on healthy eating, exercise and risk factor reduction, such as smoking cessation, weight maintenance, blood pressure control and blood cholesterol management.

Anyone can join Go Red For Women by calling 888.MY.HEART (888.694.3278) or visiting americanheart.org.