Fresh & Easy parent company is leaving U.S. market

From Reuters:

Britain's biggest retailer, Tesco, wrote down the value of its global operations by $3.5 billion and announced plans to exit the United States, as it tries to rebuild after a year when profit fell for the first time in two decades.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/17/us-tesco-results-idUSBRE93G06O20130417

Please note: PG&E Flex Alert

A message from a nearby neighborhood:

The California Independent System Operator, who manages the electric grid, has issued a Flex Alert today, urging residents and businesses in the San Jose area to conserve electricity NOW following heavy damage to the Metcalf Transmission Substation.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company is reporting heavy damage to transformers at the substation following gunshots heard during an apparent vandalism in the early morning hours. The Santa Clara County Sheriff's office law enforcement is working closely with PG&E to investigate.

http://www.caiso.com/Documents/Flex-Alert-UrgentConservationNeededNow-SantaClara-SiliconValleyApr16_2013.pdf

http://www.pgecurrents.com/2013/04/16/25991/

As load around the Valley is shared, efforts made in our neighborhood can help keep the lights on across town and avoid rolling outages as the equipment is restored.

Guadalupe River Park celebrates opening of new paved trail

On April 20, the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy and San Jose's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Department are celebrating the opening of the newly paved Guadalupe River Trail, a 6½-mile path that links downtown San Jose to Gold Street in Alviso.

Festivities include a 5K/10K and 1K kids' run, plant sales, live music, healthy living information, and trail ribbon cutting.

Get details and register at www.grpg.org.

San Jose to get bike sharing system

Image Credit: Stephen Reese via Flickr

From the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD):

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District is announcing that it has signed a contract with Alta Bicycle Share to deploy and operate a regional bike-sharing system pilot program that is expected to launch by August 2013. The regional bike-sharing system will run along the Peninsula transportation corridor in the cities of San Francisco, Redwood City, Mountain View, Palo Alto and San Jose.

The first phase of the program will deploy a fleet of approximately 700 bicycles and 70 kiosk stations and is anticipated launch in August 2013. The San Jose program will center around CalTrain stations. 

Read more at the BAAQMD web site:
http://www.baaqmd.gov/Divisions/Strategic-Incentives/Alternative-Transportation/Bike-Share-Pilot.aspx

Coyote Valley Family Farm Feast, May 11

From the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority:

Join us for a fun, outdoor festival with plenty of food, entertainment and activities in the beautiful 348-acre Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve. It is a green, zero-waste event with free admission and parking.

The Family Farm Feast will feature the bounty of local agriculture paired with farm-to-table restaurants including The Table (San Jose) and Michelin star Chef Salvatore Calisi's restaurant Odeum (Morgan Hill). As a special treat, we are working with acclaimed author and green cuisine consultant, Chef Laura Stec, who is pairing chefs and local growers to develop delicious, healthy dishes for the feast! Small, medium and large plates of food will be available at reasonable cost.

Register for this free event at http://familyfarmfeast.eventbrite.com/

Sponsored by the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, The Museums of Los Gatos Sponsored by Bay Area Parent

Help find a home for the Orchard Supply cats

As you probably know, the OSH on San Carlos is closing and rebuilding a new store on the same site. Because of these changes, the employees have received word that they must get rid of their nursery cats. These cats have been roaming the garden nursery for about ten years and they are loved by employees and customers. If you know of resources for trapping and finding homes for these four semi-feral cats, please contact Valerie Jackson at the San Carlos OSH, evenings and Saturdays at 408-297-7173.

Schedule set for Whole Foods on The Alameda

Read about the beginning of construction for the new Whole Foods store on The Alameda.