Willow Glen Resident

News

News Briefs

Alano Club asked to
make improvements

Two appeals to impose further restrictions on Alano Club West will go before the San Jose City Council on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.

The two appeals challenge the Nov. 15 San Jose Planning Commission vote to reopen the Alano Club West, 1139 Minnesota Ave., and conditionally grant the club a long overdue conditional use permit. The planning commission required the club to increase use of the rear parking lot and reduce the deck from 815 to 300 square feet.

David Cayton, who has owned the commercial building at 1385 Lincoln Ave. for nearly 30 years, appealed to the city. He wants the permit to include the stipulation, "The on-site parking lot shall be used to the maximum extent possible at all times and only by people who are actually on-site." The planning staff, however, believes the permit sufficiently requires use of the lot, said a staff report, and no additional language is needed.

Resident Chris Piekarski also appealed, asking that the deck be eliminated and the hours of operation be shortened. Piekarski wanted the hours to start later and end earlier than the daily 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. meeting schedule. The staff is recommending a 6:30 a.m. opening to provide quieter mornings for neighbors.

The planning staff agrees with Piekarski on the deck. The space currently used as a deck should become parking spaces, and all other areas should be landscaped with shrubs and trees to minimize outdoor activity, the staff report said.

The planning commission voted to reopen the club quickly so people had a place to go during the holidays, but the club has been closed due to the appeals. Therefore, the staff recommended the club should complete on-site improvements, including a perimeter sound- wall, before the club's reopening.

To view the staff report, visit the Jan. 9 city council agenda at www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/agenda.asp. The meeting takes place in the city hall chambers, 200 E. Santa Clara St.

Rockwell Homes gets
OK for Paula project

Developer Rockwell Homes received the green light to begin the construction of a 15-unit planned development in Willow Glen.

The San Jose planning director approved the project at 1088 Paula St. between Fruitdale Avenue and Interstate 280 at the Dec. 13 meeting.

Rockwell will build 15 townhomes on the 0.7-acre site, replacing four existing single-family residences.

The townhomes will be attached and side by side, but not multi-layered. All the units will be designed as 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath homes. The height of the homes will not exceed 35 feet.

The project initially had 18 units with less open space, but after listening to community concerns about density, the developer reduced the number of units to 15.

Children's musician
LP ranked in top 10

Mr. David, children's musician, won two awards for his album, The Great Adventures of Mr. David, released this summer.

The LP was ranked in the top 10 albums on the Fids and Kamily poll, inspired by Village Voice's Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. The ranking combines the choices of critics, writers and others in the music industry. Children voted the album as one of the year's best recordings for children ages 5 to 8 in the Children's Music Web awards.

Mr. David is San Jose native David Alexandrou. Alexandrou began his work as a children's musician at a chance gig at Willow Glen Elementary School in 2002.

The Great Adventures of Mr. David is his second album. For more information, visit mrdavidmusicworks.com.

State of democracy
is for kids at library

The Southwest Santa Clara County League of Women Voters will host an educational storytime, Stories of Democracy, on Jan 3. at the Saratoga Library, 13650 Saratoga Ave., 3:30 p.m. The event will take place in the library's community room.

The program will coincide with the swearing in of the 110th Congress in Washington, D.C. The program features children's stories and a hands-on activity about democracy and voting rights. Children ages 5 to 12 will read and reply to postcards from Washington, D.C., children who would like the District of Columbia to have congressional representation.

The storytime is the first in a series of events in the DC Democracy Project for Kids Project. The local league developed the program to raise awareness about Washington, D.C.'s lack of voting representation in Congress, because the District of Columbia is not a state.

Future events include field trips to U.S. Rep. Mike Honda's office, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, San Jose City Hall and the Japanese-American Museum of San Jose. The project concludes with a child-led event in June, featuring local and Washington, D.C., children.

For more information, call 408.973.9030 or visit www.youngsuffragists.org/california.cfm.

Caltrain toy drive
was on right track

Caltrain's sixth annual Holiday Train collected 4,832 toys and books along with more than $1,600 in cash during its stops in early December.

An estimated 16,000 children and adults turned out to see the decorated train at nine stops Dec. 2-3.

The toys collected went to the Salvation Army and the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots campaign.

Since the first holiday train in 2001, more than 30,000 gifts have been donated.

The VTA also conducted a toy drive, inviting people to "Stuff the Bus." Since 1995, the VTA has asked the community to bring toys and fill up a bus. This year,
1 ¹/2 buses were filled.

Those toys were donated to the Toys for Tots campaign as well.

Action Day collects
shoes and clothing

Action Day Primary Plus Schools collected shoes and warm clothing for homeless children served by nonprofit EHC LifeBuilders.

The shoe drive kicked off with two second-grade classes at Action Day Primary Plus School's Amber Elementary School campus. The students collected 30 new pairs of shoes for homeless children. The students recruited their junior kindergarten classmates to collect new hats, gloves and socks as well.

The items were donated to individuals during a communitywide drive on Dec. 8 at First Christian Church in San Jose. The event features games, balloons, caroling and holiday treats. Community members also dropped off shoes and clothing in Campbell and Willow Glen.

MetroED appoints
new superintendent

Metropolitan Education District Assistant Superintendent Paul Hay was named superintendent following the retirement of Tim Hallett. Hallett has served as MetroED's superintendent since 2003.

In August, the MetroED governing board voted 4-1 to appoint Hay as interim superintendent for six months, with the condition that his performance be evaluated in March. The recent decision supersedes the August vote. Hay is now superintendent with a one-year contract.

Hay has served MetroED since 2003 as its chief business official and then as an assistant superintendent of business and operations. Under his leadership, the district obtained a $1 million bond to renovate facilities in the Law Careers Academy. Before MetroED, Hay was chief operating officer and general manager of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. He also served four years on the Milpitas Planning Commission.

MetroED provides vocational training to 50,000 students across the county.

Scholarships offered
for Latina students

The Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley has opened its college scholarship program to Latina candidates in Santa Clara County.

The program is designed to aid Latinas in higher education taking a nontraditional path to attain their degree.

Three $1,000 grants will be awarded in the county to Latinas attending, entering or re-entering a community college or a four-year college or university in the county and meet one of five criteria: The candidate had children prior to or while attending college, is pursuing teaching credentials, is more than 30 years old, and previously enrolled in higher education and has returned or is attempting to return after taking three or more years off from school.

The scholarship program was made possible with an $18,000 donation made by the Hispanic Women's Council of Northern California in 2004.

Applications are due Feb. 16. For more information or to download an application, visit www.hfsv.org.