There's been a changing of the guard at one of Lincoln Avenue's best-known shops.

On March 1, Casa Casa owners Ted and Nancy Biagini sold the store to Margie and Ernie Pyre.

"They heard through the grapevine that we were selling," Nancy said. "We had a mutual friend who put us together."

Nancy said she is confident that the Pyres will continue the shop's reputation for quality merchandise and excellent customer service.

"I think the new owners will do a really good job," she said.

Although the Biaginis will now spend their time traveling, tending the family's vineyard in Aptos and enjoying their 11 grandchildren, daughter Meg Yeargain will continue to do the purchasing for the store.

But saying goodbye won't be easy. Nancy said she will miss the many friends she has made since opening the store in 1992.

"The community has been so wonderful to us," she said. "It's hard to let go. We have seen many people get married and have children, and we have watched children grow up."

The couple plans to stay in Willow Glen, and Nancy said she will continue to frequent Lincoln Avenue--only now she will be a customer rather than a proprietor.

America West plans
to land after curfew

Starting April 2, America West flights to the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport will touch down at 1:40 a.m.--past the airport's curfew at 11:30 p.m., and District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager isn't happy about it.

"I'm very upset," Yeager said. "I really hope America West changes its mind."

Originally, the airport intended to use an Airbus 319 aircraft, which would have violated the city's curfew. Now the airline has switched to a 50-passenger regional jet with a noise level low enough to exempt it from curfew restrictions. But Yeager said the late-night flights are a "slap in the face" to nearby residents.

"Planes will be landing at 1:40 a.m. daily, and there will be times when planes will be delayed," he said. "I'm very worried about this setting a precedent."

Before he was elected to the San Jose City Council, Yeager served as the chairman of the Airport Curfew Monitoring Committee. Since he took a seat on the council, Yeager has made monitoring airport noise a priority.

"My position has always been to improve the airport and make it as modern as possible," he said. "But we have to ensure that nearby residents can get a good night's sleep."

Yeager said he would try to work with the airport to see if the late-night flight could be rescheduled to land before 11:30 p.m. He added that he encourages residents to contact America West directly and voice their concerns about the airline's decision to operate a flight past curfew.