February 2006 editor: Larry Ames
Call for Board Nominations
--see the article by Jim Gardner, chair of the Nominating Committee
Save the date:
Mayoral Candidate Forum, May
10th.
WGNA was honored by Councilmember Ken Yeager at the 2006 "State of the City" address with District 6's "Good Neighbor Award". As Councilmember Yeager said, "[WGNA is] an example for other neighborhood associations on how to be effective."
We are proud of the City's recognition of our volunteer work, which builds on decades of work by past Board and Association members, resulting in the outstanding improvements to the Willow Glen community.
WGNA's success is a result of working collaboratively with Willow Glen residents, businesses, schools and community organizations, as well as other neighborhood associations and our City and County governments.
The Willow Glen Resident ran an excellent cover story article: "Can't fight City Hall? Says who?" (February 8, 2006: http://www.community-newspapers.com/archives/wgresident /20060208/index.html). The article describes WGNA's effective "grassroots" efforts to give neighbors a say in our community's character and quality of life.
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We are working with the Business Association to develop another round of opinion poll questions for our April 2006 newsletter, which will gather suggestions and will help both Boards to understand your concerns. If there is consensus on issues and community needs, this will assist us on where we should focus our future efforts with our limited volunteer resources.
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Our Spring General Membership Meeting will be on Wednesday, May 10, 6:30 – 9 pm. You will have an opportunity to personally to meet the candidates for Mayor, District Attorney and County Supervisor (Dist. 4) between 6:30 –7:00 pm, followed at 7-9 pm by our Candidates Forum for San Jose Mayor.
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The Willow Glen Business and Professional Association is sponsoring and organizing the following events with assistance from WGNA and other community organizations to continue and expand upon our community's tradition of working together on important issues, community activities and events:
· Dancin' on the Avenue will be June 17th - WGNA will provide volunteers to staff booth activities, and
· Founders Day will be September 24th - WGNA will sponsor and staff the Willow Glen Historic Walking Tour.
We continue our focus on neighborhood enhancement and preservation issues, taking appropriate actions, many times in cooperation with other neighborhood and community groups, to improve neighborhood quality of life.
We encourage our members and all Willow Glen residents to become more involved in WGNA activities, preserve and/or improve our Willow Glen community. We look forward to seeing you and your neighbors at any of WGNA's monthly Board Meetings, generally 7 - 9 pm on the second Wednesday of the month (check the wgna.net website to be sure) at our new meeting location – Willow Glen Baptist Church, 1292 Minnesota Ave. at Hicks.
Ed Rast, WGNA President
The neighborhoods to the north of Interstate 280 between Highway 87 and the CalTrain line / Bird Avenue will undergo very substantial change in their character in the coming years due to the approved extension of the downtown core. Approved and proposed high density infill development projects, if completed as proposed, will equal or surpass the amount of existing downtown office, hotel, retail and residential units.
The downtown extension plans, as well as the continued substantial approved and proposed high density infill development of the Midtown area and the adjacent areas (south to Interstate 280 and east to the Caltrain line), are of potential concern to WGNA and the other eight neighborhood associations in or near these areas, since the resulting development impacts (especially traffic) have the potential to change the character of Willow Glen, the Lincoln Avenue business district, and most surrounding neighborhoods.
Our Planning and Land Use Committee (comprised of Harvey Darnell, Hugh Graham, Joan Bohnett, Larry Ames, and me) is widely recognized as very well qualified, aware, and involved. In cooperation with the eight other area neighborhood associations, we are studying the approved and proposed plans for the area and also the recently proposed Diridon South baseball stadium and surrounding high density development area. We will be presenting our findings, concerns and recommendations for development mitigations in the next couple months, as well as making recommendations for improvements in public participation, public records, public outreach and public meetings.
WGNA will help our members and the Willow Glen community to understand the public policies, the approved and proposed developments, and the development process itself, as we have previously done, with newsletter articles, presentations, and workshops
We routinely work on two dozen or more projects at a time: Willow Glen in-fill housing and commercial construction proposals, as well as the revised proposal for a local dog park and a revised tree preservation ordinance to address the illegal removal of street and large trees throughout Willow Glen and San Jose. Check out wgna.net, and click on the "New Development and Policy Proposals" tab.
It is time for our association to begin the annual process of identifying volunteers for the next WGNA Board, which will be elected in May. In accordance with our by-laws, a five-member nominating committee solicits members who are interested in serving on the Board of Directors. The 2006 Nominating Committee was elected in last May's election and includes Jim Gardner (Chair), Kris Cunningham, Sharon Fierro, Vern Ladd, and Lynn Repetsky.
Our By-laws stipulate that officers of the Association (President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer) must be members of WGNA for at least one year prior to the May election date, and can serve for only two consecutive years in any one office. Besides the officers, four Directors and next year's Nominating Committee are elected. The Directors and Nominating Committee do not have term limits, but typically there is a good mix between new and experienced members on the Board.
Here's your chance to make a difference. The Nominating Committee is actively soliciting WGNA members who would like to become more involved. You may have helped organize your street concerning traffic problems or land use considerations. You may have volunteered to work on the local trails or community events. Or maybe you just want to help keep Willow Glen a special place to live. And there are new issues, such as the proposed baseball stadium. WGNA is involved in all of these activities and issues. It's community involvement that has helped make Willow Glen one of the most popular places to live in the South Bay.
Board members attend the monthly WGNA Board meeting and work to preserve and enhance our neighborhood by responding to residents' concerns, attending appropriate meetings, and participating in neighborhood projects. Please submit your nominations by March 16th to the Nominating Committee by mail (PO Box 7706, San Jose, CA 95150-7706), by phone (408/294-WGNA), or by email (nominations@wgna.net). Contact us if you have any questions.
The Nominating Committee will present to our membership a specific slate of recommended officers and directors for possible election. Any qualified candidate that submits their name to the Nominating Committee by the March 15th deadline can request that their name appear on the ballot. The ballots will be mailed to all WGNA members in good standing in a newsletter several weeks before the May General Meeting. The membership then votes by mail or in person at the General Meeting. The ballots are tallied about a week later,and the results announced on the wgna.net website, the media, and in the next newsletter.
On the same day that the City Council unanimously approved my proposals to remove the Mayor from his committees and to give the Council more power over the budget, the Council voted to give a $4 million subsidy to the San Jose Grand Prix.
At a time when the Council was reprimanding the Mayor for making a secret garbage deal, it was discouraging that the $4 million subsidy was brought up suddenly with little notification.
Most people did not know the item was even on the agenda because it was not put on the City's webpage until the day before the vote. Council offices did not get the staff memo until Monday morning because it was distributed late Friday afternoon.
The amount of money involved was too high to rush through. Moreover, when I asked staff if the vote on the subsidy could be delayed, I was told it could without causing hardship, although staff preferred it be passed that day.
When a motion was made at the meeting to delay the vote for two weeks, I seconded it. I felt it was important that the subsidy be fully understood and that the public be given time to comment. Unfortunately, the vote to delay was defeated.
The next vote was on the $4 million subsidy. I had too many questions about the subsidy to support it. I was concerned that the City may not have made the best deal possible with Grand Prix operators.
I also did not know how the subsidy fit with other City priorities, such as libraries, parks, and street maintenance. With San Jose facing an estimated $76 million budget shortfall, I felt it was important to know how the subsidy would affect all City programs.
For these reasons, I voted against the $4 million subsidy. I was in the minority, with the majority of the Council supporting it.
All of this occurred at the Council meeting on January 10. Although I was pleased that the Council approved my proposals in response to the Mayor's unethical behavior in the Norcal garbage contract, it was disheartening that they supported the Grand Prix subsidy with virtually no public input. For me, both issues involved openness in government.
Before being elected to the City Council, I taught Political Science at SJSU. I still teach one class most semesters. I always try to instill in my students the importance of being involved in local government. Because they are young, my students are idealistic but also cynical. For me, the best way to overcome cynicism is to demonstrate that local elected officials value public input.
I will continue to push for openness in government at City Hall. At our January 10 meeting, the Council took one step forward and one step backward. I hope in the future that all our steps are forward.
The growing problem of methamphetamine dealers in some of our neighborhoods has been getting worse. A few of my District Four constituents have been complaining about the quality of life in their otherwise comfortable neighborhoods. The influx of the drugs on our quaint streets deserves the undivided attention of the County Sheriff and my office. On December 12, 2005, we were out to shut them down.
For several months, residents of the Burbank/Buena Vista area expressed concerns about the increase in drug dealing out of the homes and apartments on their neighborhood streets. These major drug dealers had moved their operations into this otherwise peaceful and pleasant neighborhood. I knew we needed to help.
In the wee hours of the morning, I met with the Sheriff's office to receive a law enforcement briefing regarding Operation Roundup. Operation Roundup is a joint collaborative between County Office of the Sheriff, Santa Clara District Attorney's Community Prosecution Unit and the Office of Supervisor Jim Beall. During the second phase, which consisted of directed patrol enforcement and drug raids in the Burbank area, 68 arrests were made: 43 for drug possession or being under the influence of drugs, 3 for auto theft, 3 for sex offender registrant violation, 3 for weapons violations and 17 for drunk in public or alcohol sales violations.
Of the three houses and seven apartments we raided that morning, all were within one mile of the Burbank Elementary School. As the raids were wrapping up, school children were walking by on their way to school. The need to raid these drug houses was abundantly clear.
I was impressed with the precision of the Sheriff's operation. It was dangerous, yet the deputies safely proceeded with their plan. The County seized methamphetamine, rock cocaine, marijuana and $10,000 in cash. A dependent adult and three juvenile children were taken into protective custody. Some of the living conditions were disgusting. I could again see, first hand, how drugs can destroy homes, neighborhoods and human lives.
Our County Sheriff and I plan do everything possible to run these drug dealers out of town. If they continue, we will shut them down, prosecute them and lock them up for their crimes.
Tree-lined streets are one of the most attractive characteristics of Willow Glen. Sadly, many of these trees have become sick, damaged or removed over the years. In the past, sometimes the wrong kind of tree was planted along our streets. Planting of new trees to fill these gaps in our community can be of tremendous benefit to all of us.
Trees are nature's air conditioners. In these times of high energy costs, trees soothe both our pocketbooks and our souls. They give a lot and ask very little in return. Trees - whether planting young ones or caring for mature ones - are one of the wisest investments we can make for the future.
City trees are the only capital improvements that increase in value over time. Healthy trees can increase property values up to 20%. Careful species selection and proper planting techniques will prevent sidewalk damage and lawsuits and avoid unnecessary maintenance costs.
City trees are fourteen times more valuable than their rural counterparts due to benefits that address urban conditions. A study of arid Tucson, AZ, showed that for every $1 spent to maintain trees, $2.62 worth of benefits was returned in the form of air-conditioning energy savings, dust reduction, and the slowing of storm water runoff.
Our City Forest (OCF) is a non-profit created in San Jose to help remedy the deficit in city trees. Our City Forest provides an array of tree related services ranging from tree planting to tree care to educational workshops. Since 1994, Our City Forest has donated over 35,000 15-gallon shade trees and facilitated their planting in hundreds of neighborhoods, schools and parks.
A City audit determined that OCF, using its volunteer-based strategies for planting and stewardship, is able to plant trees at less than half normal city costs while resulting in considerably higher tree survival rates. OCF works with residents to track each tree for 3 years after planting. This model public-private partnership has been duplicated in other cities looking for creative ways to fill service voids cost-effectively and wisely.
OCF has free 15-gallon shade trees available now for planting along the streets and on public school grounds of Willow Glen. Neighborhood and school plantings of 15 or more trees are especially encouraged. OCF will obtain necessary permits and clearances as well as provide stakes and supervise plantings with trained volunteers.
If you wish to initiate the planting of additional trees in your neighborhood or simply want to plant a tree along your home's street frontage, contact Our City Forest online at www.OurCityForest.org/, or by phone at (408) 99TREES or (408) 998-7337.
"Sassy Seats", a bus bench painting project for Lincoln Avenue, is the latest project of the Willow Glen Beautification Project (WGBP). Examples of a similar project can be seen on Keyes Street between Third and Senter Rd. In March the community public arts group will solicit applications to prepare and paint the 11 bus benches on Lincoln, Coe and Minnesota. Application details will appear in March (check wgna.net), with the selection of approved the designs announced in late April. The project will be a group two-weekend activity in June, one for preparation of the benches, and the next for the artistic painting. More news about the project will appear on the WGNA and the Willow Glen Business & Professional Association (WGBPA) websites. For suggestions and information, please send your e-mail message to kittymason@sbcglobal.net or marvin@mba-architects.net.
The Willow Glen Business and Professional Association is reviving Founders Day this year, and WGNA will be participating once again with our popular "Historic Walking Tour". We will be revising our book, "Historic Guide to the Homes of Willow Glen", to use with this years walk. We welcome you to be on the committee to prepare for, and to participate in, the event. We are also interested in any tidbits you might have about your home and local areas. Please contact us at history@wgna.net.
The community of Willow Glen is an eclectic mix of houses and people that reflect a unique blending of styles and cultures. Much of this is due to the fact that our area was the chosen home for many European immigrants who came to America during the great migration in the late 19th century and early 20th centuries. The different styles and backgrounds they brought from Europe grace our area with family heritage, pride and memories. Subsequent generations followed the traditions and heritage of their families while at the same times assimilating into the American/California culture.
For a time, from 1927 to 1936, our small community of Willow Glen was incorporated into a city of its own. The community was made prosperous by the area's fruit orchards, which, for the most part, were owned and operated by Italian immigrants. Willow Glen had its own business district, churches, schools and library. The residents rallied together and successfully kept the Southern Pacific railway from cutting through their land. Today, that same sense of quiet pride, determination and independence still prevails.
Like most of the country at the turn of the century, San Jose was the melting pot for numerous ethnic groups, in particular the Italian American whose children followed their parents dream, climbing out of poverty and searching for a better way of life. The little town of Tricarico, Italy, gave more of its young people to our community, per capita, than any other country in the world. Willow Glen was especially blessed with a mix of people and cultures. They opened businesses; sought education, and eventually became the new middle class.
Young enterprising men such as Amadeo Pietro Giannini, who revolutionized banking in California and founded the Bank of America, was a born in San Jose to a middle class family who also immigrated here from Italy.
Yesterday and Today
It was to this "middle class" that I was born. It is where I have spent the past 60 years of my life. Like most Italian American residents, I have a keen awareness and reverence for things past, as well as a feeling of pride in my present community. The neighborhood I grew up in has undergone many changes and upheavals. There have been some losses of our Old World ways and landmarks, and that causes me to cherish those that still remain.
My dad, Rocci Curci, was the proprietor of the Pronto Pup creamery, our community's most popular soda shop. For over 30 years dad operated the unique creamery that not only served hamburgers, sodas and fries, but also spaghetti, ravioli and meatballs as well. If those walls could talk they would tell how many local families' have past through the shop's familiar doorway, how many kids have grown up sitting at its counters, and the long leisurely afternoons spent visiting this haven for local foot traffic. Today, The Coffee Roasting Company is at that location, serving a new generation of satisfied customers.
Just down the street and across the way is the home of Vin Santo, a trendy Italian Ristorante that offers northern style Italian cuisine. Vin Santo may not be the biggest Italian restaurant in town, but it is gradually emerging as one of the best. Greg and Susan Russi have fashioned the restaurant's menu after the type of foods native to Lucca, Italy, a town in the Tuscan region and the home of Greg's ancestors. The couple went there to visit and get inspiration, which even led to the name of their restaurant. "Vin Santo," or "holy wine," is a sweet after-dinner drink that is native to Tuscany but served all over Italy. Among Vin Santo's most requested dishes is the Penne Bolognese: regular patrons swear this three-meat sauce is as good, and possibly better, than Mama used to make. Vin Santo, as other local shops, is part of the newer face of the business district. By holding on to the passions and pride of their predecessors they create a bond with the past that helps to keep our local traditions alive.
Among our community's distinguished features, and one that spans from past to the present, is the La Villa Deli. This aromatic, bustling shop has long been a part of Willow Glen's "Main Street" scenery. Long-time residents can remember the deli's original owners, Frank and Anna Giacomelli, who wanted to go into business for themselves after World War II. It was Anna's brother, Louis Pasquinelli, who suggested a delicatessen. Louis and his family had enjoyed fine Italian cuisine at the Giacomelli home, so it was only natural that they encouraged them to open a restaurant filled with their tasty recipes. In 1947, Frank and Anna took the big leap, picked out a vacant lot and built a shop, launching the La Villa Deli at 1319 Lincoln Ave. In 1967, the Giacomellis sold their business to Ed and Rita Palestro who ran the deli for 20 years. Today it is owned and operated by Patty and Dave Bertucelli, who continue to operate in small town fashion, preserving its rich ethic background and original recipes. The Deli's outstanding foods have been bringing customers to Lincoln Avenue for over 50 years. Many customers praise the foods: "They have the best ravioli you've ever tasted. It melts in your mouth". Older residents say La Villa Deli keeps Willow Glen feeling like the old Italian community that it once was. And it's one of the few stores they can remember from their youth.
Memories of Childhood
There is and always has been a rich ethnic mixing in our community. As children we all played together at the corner vacant lots, we raced our bikes along the sidewalks speeding past the tall maple trees that lined the avenues, we organized games, picked out our leaders and established our own rules… we appointed referees, and at the end of our long summer play day we laughed with our friends and cherished what we had done while looking forward to tomorrow.
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So many decades later, and I still treasure the memory of my old neighborhood and the tiny moments in time shared with these old friends and neighbors, the Herolds, Swansons, Minervas, Nelsons and Furdutos. Moments that left me with pleasant memories and an ongoing appreciation for the community I grew up in.
Over the years we've lost some of our landmarks and houses, but most of my family's ancestors who came here almost a century ago have remained in the area. They carry on traditions and replace those that have gone. New faces and new places will, in time, leave there own imprint on the passing generation.
It's my hope that our Willow Glen community will keep its unique balance of shops and traditions, as well as its historical blending, and that it will continue to thrive and endure, preserving the quaintness and ambiance of that little corner of the world we call home.
Spam is a wonderful product, a staple of Midwestern breakfasts and Hawaiian cuisine. Spam was immortalized in the famous Monty Python song, "Spam" (sample lyrics: "Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam! Spam!"), after which it came to mean "too much of a good thing", such as too many of those email offers for lost African riches or wonderful investment opportunities.
You shouldn't get spam from the eList because it is a "closed system" to which only subscribers can post. (Please keep your anti-virus software up-to-date, as if your machine becomes infected and starts annoying others, we will drop you from the eList as quickly as we can while things are straightened out.)
Lately I've noticed an upturn in the amount of spam from other sources, and so the spam-filter on my internet service provider (ISP) has been working overtime. Several fallouts of this:
· Sometimes the ISP accidentally filters out wanted messages in addition to the spam, so be sure to periodically check your spam-trap. Messages from the eList will all have "[WGNA]" in the subject line.
· Sometimes the ISP is overwhelmed (e.g., a "denial of service" attack) or just temporarily down for maintenance, and messages are rejected. The WGNA eList list-server software does not like to feel rejected, and so it sends out a follow-up message, sent from "elist-help@wgna.net" entitled "ezmlm warning". The cryptic message basically says "if you can read this, don't worry, I guess you're still around", and you can ignore the message. If your ISP returns that message unread, however, the eList software will assume that you've changed addresses and/or left town, and so, "to save postage", it will drop you from the list of subscribers without further notice. This can happen to anybody – it even happened to me last week, and I'm the moderator! We try to look over the logs every week or so to see the software has been doing, and to contact the automatically-dropped individuals to see if they truly have skipped town. However, if you notice an abrupt drop-off in the number of eList messages, please feel free to contact us (email to admin@wgna.net) to say you still want to be on the eList, and we'll try to set matters right as quickly as possible.
· And finally, sometimes messages sent to me, as moderator, also end up in the spam trap. As these messages often don't have the [WGNA] in the subject line, they are harder to find and fish out, and some are lost. If it seems like we're ignoring you, it may just be the message wound up in the trash, so please resend the message before getting upset. Many thanks!
And if you ever have a question as to the appropriateness of a post, please feel free to contact me at "Moderator@wgna.net"
[editor's note: our regular "quick-and-easy recipe contributor", Helen Solinski, is too overwhelmed with work and a toddler to contribute this time, so instead here's one of my favorites, something I've adapted from "Chocolate, the Consuming Passion", by Sandra Boynton, © 1982.]
1-2 chunks dark baking chocolate
1 generous handful chocolate chips (to taste)
~1 cup chilled whipping cream
~1 tsp flavorings (e.g., vanilla, almond extract, orange extract, rum, etc.)
Place all the chocolate in bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 20 seconds and stir. Repeat four or five times, until the chocolate is smoothly blended and lukewarm. Note: stirring is critical, or else some pieces of chocolate will charcoalize while other remain unmelted.
Add the flavoring(s) to the cream and whip using a food-processor or hand-held mixing baton.
Quickly spoon the melted chocolate into the whipped cream and stir to blend. Note: stir quickly, before the chocolate can harden. Distribute into ~6 small dishes and chill.
"Serves one" (!)