San Jose Code Enforcement is letting the Alano Club West stay open, pending a lawsuit the club has filed against its co-owner, Stringfellow Properties, according to San Jose Code Enforcement Deputy Director Mike Hannon.

Alano Club West, located at 1139 Minnesota Ave., has been a haven for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts for nearly 30 years. On Jan. 14, code enforcement ordered the club to close because it did not have the necessary permit to operate.

A dispute arose between the two owners over whether to apply for a conditional use permit--Stringfellow Properties is not interested in applying for a permit, while the club wants to maintain its presence in the community--so Hannon allowed the club to reopen on Jan. 20. And he extended the application deadline to Feb. 18, which has now been extended to June 21.

According to the Alano Club, the club wanted to buy out Stringfellow's half of the property so it could become the sole owner on the permit application. But when the Alano Club and Stringfellow failed to reach an agreement, the Alano Club filed a lawsuit against its co-owner in Santa Clara County Superior Court to compel Stringfellow to sell.

The lawsuit is scheduled for an initial hearing on June 21, Hannon said. Pending the outcome, the city has extended the Alano Club's conditional use permit application deadline until that date.

Additional safety to be added downtown

This summer, there will be more flashing on Lincoln Avenue. But residents need not be alarmed--this flashing is meant to protect rather than provoke.

At a recent Willow Glen Neighborhood Association meeting, Tony Filice, aide to San Jose District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager, informed residents that the San Jose Department of Transportation plans to install new signage at three crosswalks on Lincoln Avenue as part of its pedestrian safety program.

The signage will consist of four "beacons" or poles bearing a solar-powered light that is activated when a pedestrian presses a button. These buttons will flank the entrance to the crosswalk on both sides of Lincoln Avenue, similar to the buttons located at the crosswalk between Willow Glen Books and Le Boulanger.

Filice said the new beacons will be installed at the crosswalks between Peet's Coffee and Jamba Juice, Lincoln and Broadway avenues, and Lincoln and Brace avenues.

Department of Transportation division manager Laura Wells told the Willow Glen Resident in an email that the department hopes to install the beacons by July.

La Concha Spa gets ok to construct facility

After years of planning, La Concha Spa owner Gloria Maciel can finally move forward with her plans to build a new and larger facility.

On March 9, the San Jose Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit to allow Maciel to construct a three-story, 9,509-square-foot building with an underground parking garage on a vacant lot at 1030 Lincoln Ave.

The project will have a total of 37 spaces for off-street and street-level parking. La Concha Spa also plans to share parking with the Eagles Club, which is adjacent to the site and located at 1036 Lincoln Ave.

At the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association meeting on March 9, association member Ellen Santomauro told the group that she was pleased with the project.

"I felt comfortable at the community meetings that the developer would do what we were asking," she said.

Comerica Bank opens
doors to community

When Comerica Bank put out the welcome mat on March 7, the business entered the community with a commitment to making an impact in Willow Glen that would extend beyond its tellers' windows.

The bank immediately made good on its word by presenting San Jose Unified School District board trustee Pam Foley with a $1,000 check for Willow Glen High School.

Foley said this is a great beginning to what she hopes will be a business trend. "During my campaign [for school board] one of the items on my agenda was to get community businesses involved financially and in various mentoring roles," she said. "I hope this encourages other businesses to follow suit."

The bank also demonstrated its community support in another way.

It is displaying the work of 10 artists that are members of the Arts Guild of Willow Glen. There are 30 pieces on display in a variety of mediums, including oils, watercolors, pastels and photography. All the pieces are for sale and residents can stop by the bank and view the art until March 6.

Comerica Bank is located at 1191 Lincoln Ave.

Conference will focus on the health of women

The Women's Health Conference picked the right month for a checkup--March-- which is also Women's History Month.

The March 19 conference has a full slate of speakers, including John Gray, who authored Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus.

The primary focus of the event is to get women proactive about their health, said Willow Glen resident and conference chair women Sherry Simmons. It is an invitation to mothers, daughters, sisters and friends to learn more about their bodies and themselves.

The day includes five free optional screenings--blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and bone density testing along with body composition analysis. There will also be sessions on topics ranging from drug advertising to the value of journal writing as a healing tool. Participants can also learn about complementary medical therapies and stroke awareness.

The conference will be located in the East Wing of the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, 150 W. San Carlos St. For more information, call 408.559.5584. To register online go to www.healthtrust.org.

Two teens are charged
with school car fire

As Willow Glen High School students and teachers were in afternoon classes, a parked car blazed outside the campus.

On March 8 at 1:15 p.m., two 17-year-old males are suspected of igniting a Willow Glen High School student's 1999 Toyota Landcruiser in front of 1278 Roycott Way, San Jose Police Department spokeswoman Gina Teeporten said. The vehicle was unoccupied.

Willow Glen High School Vice Principal Al Gallegos said the fire occurred as students from the Central County Occupation Center--which is a unit of MetroEd's program--arrived at the school. Gallegos said they alerted the staff about the fire.

That same day at 5:30 p.m. officers arrested two San Jose teens on a charge of arson, Teeporten said. The two juveniles are in custody at Juvenile Hall, she said. According to Teeporten, investigators believe that the motivation for the fire was retaliation for an earlier argument.

Gallegos, who also counsels high students, spoke with people who knew the student whose car was burned. He said that he does not believe the incident was gang-related.

He said he informed teachers about the incident the following day so that the staff could help answer students' questions and quell rumors. Because the incident occurred during class time, Gallegos said many teachers and students did not know anything had happened.

White powder at the
post office harmless

After discovering a mysterious white powder in the main branch of Willow Glen Post Office at 1750 Meridian Ave., U.S. Postal Service officials evacuated the facility for approximately 1 ¹/2 hours.

On the morning of March 14, while doing maintenance near the equipment used to sort the mail, a machine technician found a "white powder residue," according to Postal Service spokesman Augustine Ruiz. Although no envelope was found, a packet containing the powder was located near the loose substance, Ruiz said. Following proper protocol, the technician alerted his manager who informed San Jose Postmaster Sammy Vasquez.

Vasquez shut down the entire facility at around 9:30 a.m., evacuating employees and customers while the San Jose Police Department, San Jose Fire Department Hazardous Materials Team and the postal inspection team investigated.

By 11 a.m., the investigators concluded the powder was harmless, Ruiz said, and reopened the post office.