San Jose District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager is lending a hand to people in need.

Yeager has been appointed to represent San Jose on the Santa Clara County Task Force to End Homelessness in 10 Years. The 40-member task force is composed of city and county representatives and homelessness experts.

At the first meeting of the task force, Yeager was appointed chairman of the Permanent Supportive Housing Working Group, which aims to find stable shelter for people who have lost their homes.

"Homelessness is of particular concern for the Willow Glen and Rose Garden neighborhoods because of the homeless encampments along the Guadalupe River," Yeager said. "I hope that we can finally resolve these issues."

--Meghan O'Hare

San Jose trustees need
lots of pocket change

The language of educational politics can sometimes seem like alphabet soup--just ask San Jose Unified School District trustee Pam Foley, who represents Willow Glen area schools.

Foley has declared the district board room "an acronym-free zone." To ensure that trustees and administrators--at least during the Feb. 17 board meeting--spelled out what they were talking about, she imposed a 25 cent penalty for each offense. The money went into a piggy bank and will be used to benefit local schools. Only time will tell whether the trustees stick to this nonbinding agreement and the piggy bank spills over from subsequent meetings.

"This is not a substitute for a parcel tax," San Jose Unified School District trustee Jorge Gonzalez joked.

--Meghan O'Hare

Night out benefits the school's parents club

Willow Glen residents looking for a night out on the town can join the Willow Glen High School Parents Club for Friday Night Out.

On March 18 from 7 to 10:30 p.m., the club will sponsor a fundraising event at Sonoma Chicken Coop in Campbell. Participants can have an evening of fun playing poker and enjoying drinks and food, all for a good cause. All the money raised will benefit the high school.

Reserved tickets are $40, or $50 at the door. The event is for adults only. For more information, contact Claire Owens at 408.977.0364 or claireowens2000@ yahoo.com. To help with a donation, contact Sue Berry at sueberry55@aol.com or 408.264.9641.

--Meghan O'Hare

Federal grant will aid
SJUSD in emergency

San Jose schools just got a little bit safer.

Schools throughout the city will benefit from a $472,658 federal emergency response and crisis management grant that will fund prevention, preparation, response and recovery strategies for various emergency situations such as natural disasters and violent incidents.

The San Jose Unified School District will coordinate the grant on behalf of other school districts and private schools in the city. More than 300 schools are involved.

For more information, contact San Jose Unified School District Auxiliary Services Director Rose Bedard at 408.535.4727.

CCOC open house is a
window into 30 careers

Central County Occupational Center opens its doors to the community for its 36th Open House.

On March 10, prospective students, parents and community members will have the opportunity to tour the campus, observe student demonstrations and meet teachers. The program will run from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Interior Design class will present "A Blockbuster Movie Event," in which 12 design teams will create miniature furnished rooms based on films.

The center offers more than 30 different technical training courses in various career areas, including cosmetology, automotive technology, law enforcement and visual arts. Students who attend the center spend a half day at their home high school and a half day taking classes in the career area of their choice.

For more information, contact Michelle Alaimo at 408.723.6464.

Accreditation warning
issued to local colleges

San Jose and Evergreen community colleges were recently issued warnings by the state Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges following evaluations by the commission last October, but the interim chancellor of the district said that she expects both colleges will improve enough to satisfy the commission that accredits it later this year.

If the colleges do not fix the problems the commission found within two years, they could lose their accreditation.

Interim Chancellor Sylvia Rubin said she was "disappointed" by the warning letter and added that the problems the commission found dealt mainly with the way the colleges were administered and predate her arrival last fall. She is committed to fixing the problems, she said.

"As soon as I came we made this our top priority," Rubin said.

The district will send the commission a written response to the warning by March 15, and Rubin said she believes all of the issues identified by the commission will be resolved before October.

"I am very optimistic that they are going to see significant improvement," Rubin said.