Cute Two-Car Garage for Sale!

Now THIS is a garage sale fer sure. From Whole House Salvage: Cute, free-standing two-car garage available now -- slated for imminent demolition. Gabled roof, wooden siding. Size: approx. 18' x 20'; 12' 6" tall at peak. Pictures on our website soon: Price of materials: $5,000 Price to deliver (within 10-mile radius) and erect on new site with new composite roof: $5,000 (does not include foundation) Call immediately: (650) 856-0634

Feb 15: Climate Change

It's on our minds these days, threatening as it does our water supply and our regional economy and environment. Our City Forest & Eco-Silicon Valley are hosting a presentation on climate change and how we can work to stop it. The event is FREE and will be held at Our City Forest's office, 595 Park Ave, in San José on Thursday, February 15th at 6:15 PM. More info at 998-7337 or www.ecosiliconvalley.org.

Tree Fines Meeting Sunday Jan 21

A community meeting this Sunday will discuss ways to prevent illegal tree cutting, in light of the very visible flouting of the law last Saturday at the corner of Camino Ricardo and Willow Street. It's likely that many Councilpeople will be present, including both candidates for District 6, and the Mayor may also attend. Mayor Reed has declared support for the Cool Cities initiative, and an urban forest plays a key role. The meeting's in the basement of the Willow Glen Baptist Church, on Minnesota at Hicks, from 3 to 4:30 pm. NWGNA residents: come out and show your support for tree preservation.

Safe Night on Feb 2

"Safe Night USA offers a fun, safe opportunity for young people, ages 11-15, to socialize with peers. Children's Discovery Museum hosts 3 Safe Night events each year. Safe Night is free, fun and attended by a very diverse mix of kids. Next Safe Night: Friday, February 2, 2007 from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm! Flyer pdf is here." - Brian Hames, Youth Educator, Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, 298-5437 x243

Holiday Lights contest winners!

BEST IN SHOW: 1st, 546 Atlanta; 2nd, 982 Delmas. MOST LIGHTS: 1st, 1072 Warren; 2nd, 549 Snyder. MOST ELEGANT: 1st, 562 Fuller; 2nd, 477 Marshall; 3rd, 580 Hull. MOST CREATIVE: 1st, 550 Snyder; 2nd, 440 Atlanta; 3rd, 391 Hull. Each winner received a portion of over $600 worth of gift certificates and prizes donated by local businesses. Congratulations to all! - Dan Erceg with Marci Hildt

(Photo: Dan Erceg delivering prizes in a 1923 Marmon. Click for larger view. Photo by Bruce Victorine)

Mayor's N'hood Priorities Jan 20

Via Pete Constant's office: an invitation to a meeting that the Mayor is holding later this month to identify 3-5 budget priorities, to then be discussed by the Council. Express your concerns in this public forum... help shape the budget priorities of our City.

Neighborhood Association Budget Priority Session, January 20, 2007, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., San Jose City Hall, Committee Rooms W 118-120. Lunch will be provided post-session at 1:00 p.m.

Candidate Forum Feb 27

The DeFrank Center will host a neighborhood forum with the District 6 City Council Candidates Pierluigi Oliverio and Steve Tedesco on February 27th at 7:30pm. They will share their visions for the district and take questions from the community. To RSVP, go here. Thanks! -The DeFrank Center at 938 Alameda.

Sunny Days are Bocce Days

Thanks go out to the crew that took down the holiday wreaths and garlands last Sunday. Some of the crew ended up at the Fuller Park bocce court, to make the most of a beautiful warm day, and to practice up for our eventual rematch with the Northside neighborhood. Those tiny people in the photo? Debbie Palmer, Dan Erceg, Chuck Hudson, Matt Thompson.

Holiday Lights 2006

I'm not sure what happened with the contest, but I do have a few photos to share. The houses pictured are 546 Atlanta and 562 Fuller. I'm really sorry that some other pictures didn't come out - especially the ones of Surfin' Santa at 550 Snyder! Congrats to all who brightened up the holidays.

Holiday Lights - Vote Tonight

Just a reminder that we're all voting tomorrow night for our favorite NWG lights display. Come by my house, 532 Coe, for a nibble and some hot apple cider and to pick up your ballot. We have over $600 in prizes this year from local merchants, so BIG thanks to them.

Details on the boundaries and neighborhood maps are on the website: http://site357.mysite4now.com/mrlunch/boundary/default.htm

Happy holidays! - Marci

Free Electronics Recycling

When: Sat, Dec 16, from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Where: Dave & Busters Parking Lot - Milpitas
(940 Great Mall Drive, near Century 20 Theaters)
Contact: Steve Ramona (408) 573-8573. Event sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley and District 4 Neighborhood Associations.

Support July 4! Sponsor a Wreath!

Hi folks, can you sponsor one of the holiday wreaths on Delmas Avenue? It's for a really good cause -- due to changes in City grant procedures, we find our funding for the 2007 NWG July 4 celebration in doubt. If you can sponsor one of our 18 decorated vintage streetlights for $50 or more, we'll get what we need to fund the neighborhood celebration. To sponsor a wreath, email hello@northwillowglen.org or call me at 288-9469. I will put up a sponsor list here on the blog as we go. Thanks, and happy holidays!

N'hood Holiday Decorations!

Volunteers put the n'hood in a holiday mood today: volunteers hung wreaths on the vintage streetlights and decorated our signature fences with festive garland, and distributed 'Christmas Tree Lane' yard trees to neighborhood folks. Thanks to Bob Stefani, Cindy Cooper, Chris Wagner, Dan Erceg, Cindy Erceg, Chuck Hudson, Stephanie Hudson, Debbie Palmer and Ken Eklund for the holiday decorations, and special thanks to Karen and Jay Kreshel and their flyer distribution crews for Christmas Tree Lane 2006.

See all the holiday photos here.

Holiday Hood Decorating - Sunday the 3rd

Join your neighbors in decorating the accent fences and the antique light posts.

We will meet at the Delmas Fences at 9:00 a.m.

Hot drinks and snacks will be provided.

Trouble in Tamien Town

Last night VTA (and a battery of consultants) hosted a community meeting regarding the disposition of their significant land holdings around the Tamien Light Rail Station. The point of the presentation was to tell the community that the agreement hammered out over the controversial Barry Swenson Tamien Towers project had quietly failed and that the community would have to accept a smaller park, or much higher density, or 11-story towers (pick any two), in order to overcome a $1.5 million shortfall and build the parking structure that would enable the promised park. The organizers seemed unprepared for the overwhelmingly negative reaction that followed. Jonathan Noble of Cindy Chavez's office, architects of the Tamien Towers agreement, was quick to distance Cindy from the concepts proposed by VTA. So the attendees rejected the concepts, and urged VTA to return with new concepts more in line with the Tamien Towers agreement, which included funding ideas for the parking garage that did not require more sacrifice by the community. NWG was well represented at the meeting, and I urge attendees to add a comment.