Friday, August 26, 2011

Produce share on Sunday

Don't forget the produce share on Sunday, in Hummingbird Park, corner of Fisk and Bird, from 1:00 to 3:00. If you have something to share (plants, veggies, fruits, goodies made from your garden, etc.), come on by and drop it off. You don't need to offer anything to receive something great -- the goal is to keep great food from going to waste.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

This week's Produce Share: Lots of goodies

At this week's Produce Share in Hummingbird Park, we will be giving away free tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, potatoes and a variety of greens. Plus whatever you bring over to share with your neighbors! We always have more than we can give away, so please don't be shy -- there's lots of goodies for everyone.

Also: From 1:00-2:00, Roy Nordblum will be giving a free demonstration and class on greywater, how you can simply and inexpensively use your washing machine water in your yard. No need for a building permit or any changes to your plumbing. He will tell you how you can even do it yourself.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Produce share on Sunday

Don't forget the produce share on Sunday, in Hummingbird Park, corner of Fisk and Bird, from 1:00 to 3:00. If you have something to share (plants, veggies, fruits, goodies made from your garden, etc.), come on by and drop it off. You don't need to offer anything to receive something great -- the goal is to keep great food from going to waste.

We look forward to seeing you on Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

NWGNA Anti-Graffiti Update

If you have a phone and you regularly walk one of our neighborhood streets, you have everything you need to keep graffiti at bay in North Willow Glen. We've been adding to the task force at a good clip since our last update. With the commitments of a couple additional households, we've managed to cover the entire stretch of Delmas. There are still many opportunities, particularly in the northeast and southwest corners of North Willow Glen.

The adoption of a street does not mean a lot of work for anyone. The most effective tool in fighting graffiti is your telephone. Simply calling the graffiti hotline will usually get the problem corrected within 24 hours by the city. We can also make sure you get the right cleaners and paints if you're the sort that's into doing it yourself. Contact us at board@nwgna.org and we'll get you set up and added to the list of graffiti busters. The brightly colored-in streets on the map have been claimed and you can see there are many still up for grabs.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Thank you, Treat Ice Cream!

Big, big thanks to Treat Ice Cream of San Jose for donating the ice cream for yesterday's Party In The Park. The vanilla and mango ice cream was a delicious treat for kids of all ages. Thanks so much, Treat Ice Cream!

If you're not already familiar with Treat, they've been in business since 1951 and produce gourmet ice cream, sherbets, and sorbets. You can either buy from their location downtown, through local grocery stores, or enjoy their products at Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt.

Treat Ice Cream Company
11 S 19th St
San Jose, CA 95116
(408) 292-9321
Mon-Fri 7:30 am - 4 pm

The share is on!

The share is on! Come join us -- there's always plenty of vegetables and fruits plus other goodies, so feel free to come by and pick something up even if you don't have something to share this week.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Supervisor Ken Yeager's August 11 newsletter


Topics for this newsletter include:

  • California Shapes U.S. Environmental Policies
  • Restaurant Industry Responds to County Actions
  • County Expands Broadcasting of Public Meetings
  • VTA Light Rail First in the World to Offer Free 4G WiFi
  • Public Health Department offers Free Whooping Cough Vaccines
  • Great Race for Clean Air
  • Calendar of Events
  • Featured Event: Join Supervisor Yeager in the Breathe Extreme Challenge

Party In The Park - Saturday

Get ready to celebrate our neighborhood by joining us for our party on Saturday, August 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. in Hummingbird Park, corner of Fisk and Bird. We will have music, a kids craft table, and hot dogs and drinks – feel free to bring a side dish to share. The Produce Share table will be also available during this fun gathering.

Monday, August 08, 2011

NWGNA Anti-Graffiti Task Force

With city services on the decline, neighborhoods are becoming more reliant on residents to step in and pick up the slack. On the anti-blight front we're recruiting neighbors to join our growing anti-graffiti team. Together we can keep our neighborhood looking good and have a positive affect on our property values. We're making it as easy as possible on everyone and the more people we can get to join in, the easier for all of us. Contact us at board@nwgna.org and we'll provide you with the proper cleaners, paints, and tools so you too can help stamp out blight in North Willow Glen. The map shows the streets that have been adopted with a colored overlay for each volunteer. Click it for a larger view. There are still many available. Don't let your street get left out!

Thursday, August 04, 2011

NWGNA July Friends & Neighbors Meeting

Your North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association held its most recent Friends & Neighbors Meeting on July 26th. If you missed it, you missed a great Powerpoint presentation by Master Gardener Debbie Rice. She spoke to attendees about the ins and outs of growing fall vegetables and how to plan your fall garden. It was great to learn about the incredible variety of vegetables we can grow in our climate and the best ways for doing so. There was a lively Q&A period after the presentation that yielded even more great tips.

Our councilman Pierluigi Oliverio attended the meeting and took the floor to discuss what's going on with city government. Of course it's not all rosy there these days with budget issues; a great reason to build a strong neighborhood association, right?

We discussed board elections which will be held at our next meeting on September 27th. All positions are open and we'd love to have some new participants on the board. Depending on the position, time commitment can be relatively small. The board meets monthly to discuss what we can do as an organization to help improve our neighborhood. Over our term we have initiated a number of events; The Produce Share, summer parties, garage sales, maintenance, etc. If you have any tips or suggestions, let us know. And if you'd like to spearhead an activity and need our support, we're here to help. We're a friendly bunch, trust me.

Speaking of summer parties, this year's Party in the Park will be August 13th from 5:00-8:00pm at Hummingbird Park. We'll be serving food and snacks and have lots of activities for kids and adults alike. We'll even have dance lessons! So come and hang out with your neighbors, get some food, cut a rug, and celebrate the waning days of summer before the kids head back to school. Or possibly celebrate the fact they're going back to school! Am I projecting here?

Our neighborhood maintenance day was July 31st. If you couldn't make it, that's okay, there will be three to four of them throughout the year. There's a lot that the city doesn't do for our neighborhood. It looks as good as it does largely due to the diligent work of a handful of our neighbors. The more of us that can pitch in, the faster it goes and the better our little area looks. The parks got a lot of attention from our crew last weekend. Check them out! We'll announce our next work party so you'll have plenty of time to plan for it. Any time you can contribute is a huge help. We can all spare an hour right?

As you may have read, the Produce Share has really taken off lately as we are experiencing a huge influx of homegrown goods: even baked goods and recipes get exchanged. Other neighborhoods in our area have taken notice and they're starting their own shares. How awesome is that?

Hopefully this gives you an idea of what you missed last week and what you'll be missing in September if you find yourself somewhere other than the Word of Faith Church on the 27th. See you there!

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

San Jose High Speed Rail Aerial Visual Design Guidelines


The city of San Jose and the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) have been working with people from around the city to establish the aesthetics of aerial structures for a high-speed rail system in our city. As part of the process, two Community Working Groups (CWG) have been appointed by the City Council to work together with the CHSRA.

In no way does this rule out the possibility of a tunnel structure. However in the event that an aerial alignment is chosen, these guidelines will provide the basis for the design. The guidelines will be incorporated into the Environmental Impact Report at the time it is written. The fourth and possibly final version of the document can be viewed or downloaded here: https://sites.google.com/site/nwillowglen/visual-design-guidelines-draft-4 [6.6Mb file]

The next steps will be for the CWG to finalize and approve the document on Sept 15 and present to City Council on the evening of Oct. 25.
The City indicated that they will do public outreach with the document between those two dates in community meetings (and then also discuss aerial versus tunnel).

Many members of your North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association have been attending meetings and a number of our proposals have been incorporated into this draft. The City and CHSRA are nearing the end of this process so if there is anything you would like to see added, subtracted, or changed please let us know in any of the forums we have made available: facebook, website, e-group, or directly via e-mail (board@nwgna.org). We will do our best to bring your comments and concerns before those responsible for the document. But please remember, this guideline is for visual purposes only and does not address alignment concerns.