AAA offering free tows for St. Patricks

From the Mercury News:

To help curb drunken driving following St. Patrick's Day celebrations, AAA Northern California is offering free tows to AAA members and non-members alike.

"Many people enjoy getting in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day, which tends to involve plenty of celebrating," AAA Northern California spokeswoman Cynthia Harris said.

Those who have had too much to drink can call AAA for a free ride home through the organization's "Tipsy Tow" program between 6 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday.

Supervisor Ken Yeager's Mar. 15 newsletter

Topics for this newsletter include:

• VTA secures funding for BART to Santa Clara County
• CalTrain dedicates local station improvements
• Volunteer to serve on a county commission
• County offers free composting classes
• Calendar of Events

The newsletter should be online soon.

If you would like to receive this newsletter by email, write to jim.weston@bos.sccgov.org with the subject line "add me to your list."

18th Annual Spring Garden Market

From The Santa Clara County Master Gardeners:

The Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County invite you to the 18th Annual Spring Garden Market, Saturday, March 31, 9 am-2 pm, at beautiful History San Jose, 1650 Senter Rd., San Jose.

PLANT SALE AND MORE
Summer veggies on sale! Loyal fans have been coming for years for the 75+ varieties of tomatoes and 100+ varieties of peppers, but now you can pick up beans, eggplant, collards, Chinese broccoli, amaranthus and kohlrabi - and strawberries. We've also expanded our offerings to include herbs and flowers.

Also for sale: Gently pre-used gardening items at the Green Elephant Sale ("From our garden shed to yours!"), and our favorite tools and books. Also: Gardening items of every sort are on sale in the Vendor Fair, with 40+ booths of plants, tools, clothing, garden structures, t-shirts and jewelry, bee-keeping equipment, soil amendments and fertilizer, raised beds ...

LEARN ABOUT GARDENING We will be offering 50+ talks, Sustainable Gardening Tables, Plant Clinic, Hotline Table, and staffing other booths. Dozens of Master Gardeners will be on hand and happy to talk with you about any gardening questions - or to help you choose which tomato or pepper would work best for you. Look for us in our blue aprons!

FOR MORE INFORMATION
See http://mastergarden ers.org/sgm for plant lists, descriptions of talks, and list of vendors -- and full details on this gala event.

Hold the date for our North Willow Glen Garage Sale

When: Saturday, May 5th (9:00-2:00, but times will vary)
Where: Area between Bird Ave & Prevost and Fuller & Willow
 

Attention North Willow Glen neighbors! If you want to participate in the neighborhood garage sale, all you need to do is set up shop in your front yard or driveway on Saturday, May 5th. Neighborhood volunteers will place ads in news media, Craig’s List and other publications or social media. Garage sale signs and balloons will be placed at each of the neighborhood’s entry points in the early morning the day of the sale. We will also be preparing an online garage sale location map.  If you want to have your home included on the map or have any other questions, please send Bill an email at bill@networds.com

Spring Maintenance Day II

Last month the good neighbors of North Willow Glen struck down upon west Fuller Park's weeds with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to crowd and shade our flowers.

Now it's time for the weeds of west Fuller Park to receive that wrath. We will meet at the horse shoe pit on Fuller between Delmas and Prevost on Sunday, March 25 at 9:30am for some weed pulling, fence painting, and pole painting which would otherwise go undone. Please join our friendly atmosphere for some light toil in the park.

And the weeds will know our name is the NWGNA when we lay our vengeance upon thee.

Councilmember Oliverio's Spring Newsletter

Councilmember Oliverio's latest newsletter for District 6 includes articles, updates and events.

Supervisor Ken Yeager's Feb. 23 newsletter

Topics for this newsletter include:

• VTA explores use of the bus rapid transit
• CalTrain station improvements completed
• Yeager visits hydrogen fuel station
• Campbell library to open six days a week
• MTC offers paid summer internships for high school students
• Supplies to Succeed
• Calendar of Events

The newsletter should be online soon.

Learn about transportation initiatives

Learn more about Bus Rapid Transit and the Grand Boulevard Initiative in a video featuring Supervisor Yeager and other local transit leaders:

Operation Prom Dress

Dresses can be donated at various San José Community Centers and Libraries, as well as Comerica Banking Centers. The 2012 Dress Distribution date is scheduled for Sunday, April 15, at the Seven Trees Community Center, 3590 Cas Drive, San José, CA 95111, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. For more information, please see attached flyer or contact Noelle Vergara at noelle.vergara@sanjoseca.gov or 535-4961.

PRNS Honored with Three Awards of Excellence

The Department of Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services was recognized with three awards of excellence by the California Parks and Recreation Society for three recent projects: Coyote Creek Trail Master Plan, Guadalupe River Trail Reach 6, and San José Family Camp. CPRS supports career development in the field of recreation and is an advocate for California’s park and recreation professionals. The Coyote Creek Trail Master Plan defines 4.1 miles of new development between Montague Expressway and Watson Park. The Guadalupe River Trail Reach 6 project was completed in April 2011, and extends the popular trail system by 0.5 mile to link the Washington and Greater Gardner Neighborhoods to the 250-acre Guadalupe River Park. San José Family Camp was recognized for their outstanding contribution to the community by providing health and wellness programming, while establishing Camp as a place for parents to educate their children in a natural environment, away from the urban life of cell phones, computers and televisions. Family Camp supports the “No-Kid Left Indoors Program” by providing an outdoor experience near the northern entrance to Yosemite National Park. More information on the trail awards can be found at: http://www.sjparks.org/trails/TrailsAwards.asp. For questions, please contact Matt Cano, Deputy Director, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, at 535-3580.

Family Camp at Yosemite to Open for 2012 Season

From the City of San Jose:
Celebrating 44 years of family-orientated camping, the popular Family Camp at Yosemite is gearing up for another season of connecting family and friends with nature’s gems. Formerly known as San José Family Camp, you’re promised the same, if not better, camping experience the whole family will enjoy. Family Camp at Yosemite will offer Summer Season and Pre/Post-Season camping for 2012. Family Camp will hold its Early Walk-in Registration for the 2012 Summer Season on Saturday, March 17, with the summer season opening on June 15. Camp extends through September 23, with its Post-Season programming. Campers will see a new rate structure to ensure operational expenses and capital infrastructure allocations are cost-recovery. The popular Fish Camp returns this season, taking place the weekend of April 27 – 29, 2012. For more information regarding this season’s registration procedure and information, please contact (408) 794-6208 or visit www.sanjoseca.gov/prns/familycamp. For questions, please contact Steve Hammack, Deputy Director, Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, at 793-5579.

Are you missing this dog?

This dog was found by a neighbor on Warren Avenue last weekend and was taken to San Jose Animal Care and Services. If you are missing him, that's where you can find him. He is un-neutered and was wearing no tags. Is he yours?

Online Petition to Save CAP Grants

CAP grants have enabled the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association to make great strides in the improvement of our neighborhood. With the modest funding we receive we have been able to pull our neighbors closer together to keep them involved and invested in their neighborhood. CAP grant funding has helped us to hold community meetings with guest speakers, advertise our Produce Share, hold neighborhood-wide garage sales, a summer's end Party in the Park, fight graffiti, and decorate our neighborhood for the holidays. In return NWGNA volunteers contribute hundreds of hours to the cause. CAP grants are a small outlay for such an amazing return on investment.

Please take just a few minutes to complete this online petition. It could make a significant difference in your neighborhood. The likely elimination of CAP grant funds are the greatest challenge NWGNA has faced in quite some time. If we are not able to secure funding we will need to spend time we would otherwise devote to neighborhood projects attempting to raise funds. We have a few strategies in mind to do this but it will be a formidable challenge. A reduction in capital will have its greatest impact on our outreach. We will simply not be able to reach as many neighbors because printing costs will be so high. We have been building our online audience over the years however those not connected will likely see a significant drop-off.

Please help us keep our community connected.

Chris Davis
President
NWGNA

Reminder: Signs on Posts and Trees

Throughout the neighborhood we often have some great garage or yard sales cropping up here and there and sometimes we have the unfortunate lost pet. In either circumstance, we often see signs affixed to poles or trees. Sometimes this is done properly and sometimes not so much. So if you're planning to have an event and would like to post signs to our neighborhood poles, please follow our tips, because the city does not maintain the look of our poles for us; our friendly neighborhood volunteers do that. So let's make it a bit easier on them and keep our neighborhood looking great. The number one rule is to take your sign down after your event is over. We know that after a long day, this can be the last thing anyone wants to do, but old expired signs can pile up and contribute greatly to blight. When you post your signs, please use zip ties, wire ties, or painters tape to attach signs to poles or trees. These methods are secure enough to do the job and they do not leave behind a sticky residue or remove paint from the poles. The same can not be said of duct tape or packing tape which are much too aggressive for this purpose. By all means, let's not use nails to attach signs to trees as this can be very damaging. We appreciate your help keeping North Willow Glen looking great and we wish you great success with your garage sale or the recovery of a pet.

Spring Maintenace Day

It's that time of year where things start growing again and weeds are no exception. We could watch them grow three feet high in the park and wait for the city to come take care of them. That would be pretty fun. Or, you know what would be even more fun than that? How about gathering together with fellow neighbors at the annual Spring Maintenance Day and plucking 'em out before they really take root?
Join us at Fuller Park this Sunday from 9:30-11:30a for a bagel and some good old fashioned weed tossin'. Bring your favorite hand fork if you like or just show up and we'll give you a tool and point you in the right direction. Giants fans get the north east corner and Patriots fans get the...more north east corner? I didn't really think that one through. Anyway, if we get enough people there could actually be a little pole or fence painting going on and who doesn't love that? We look forward to seeing you out there having a good time and keeping our Fuller Park looking good.