The garage sale map is building!

The map of houses hosting garage sales at the upcoming North Willow Glen Garage Sale Day on May 5 is building, with six houses signed up already. If you would like your house to be featured on the map, let us know by sending a note to bill@networds.com. We can also help feature your sale items with a short description on our blog. Check out the current map at the top of http://northwillowglen.blogspot.com/.

City Council signs off on road repairs, improvements

From today's Mercury News:
Facing a $293 million backlog of street maintenance and little money, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday took a stab at designating at least 400 miles of San Jose streets it believes should receive limited funding for improvements starting next fiscal year.

Have your say in the city's budgeting process

The Mayor, Council, and City Manager are developing the City budget for the next year. To encourage public participation, they are holding public meetings in each council district. You are invited to attend any and all meetings. The District 6/Willow Glen area meeting is on May 24, but there are others earlier that are nearby. This is your opportunity to tell the city how you want the budget prioritized.

2012-2013 City of San Jose Community Budget Meeting Schedule
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
District 9 Community Budget Meeting
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Cambrian Branch Library
Community Room
1780 Hillsdale Avenue

Monday, April 23, 2012
District 3 Community Budget Meeting
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Roosevelt Community Center
901 E. Santa Clara Street

Wednesday, April 25, 2012
District 7 Community Budget Meeting
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Tully Community Branch Library
880 Tully Road

Thursday, May 24, 2012
District 6 Community Budget Meeting
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Willow Glen Community Center
2175 Lincoln Avenue

For more information about the meetings and the City’s budget process, please call Ernest Azevedo at (408) 535-8119 or visit the City’s website at www.sanjoseca.gov.

San Jose Parks Foundation needs your help

The city has ended funding for dog waste bags in local parks, and the San Jose Parks Foundation is continuing the effort to supply these bags to the public in as many parks as possible. Properly disposing of dog waste is a serious public health issue, so this is an important feature in our parks where children play and people enjoy recreational activities.

Currently, bags are being provided through of donors and volunteers. If you would like to donate to this cause, you can read more about it online. If you are interested in volunteering to stock the bags in neighborhood parks, contact the San Jose Parks Foundation.

New format to this year's Dancin' On The Avenue

This year's Dancin' On The Avenue is being modified to address concerns about a need for a more family-friendly environment. Read about the changes in the Mercury News.

NWGNA Friends & Neighbors Meeting March 27

If you've got stuff to grow or stuff you want to get rid of, our next meeting is for you, and it's not far off.

We are excited that Master Gardener Nancy Garrison will be our featured presenter. Nancy will have a presentation for us about what we should be doing with our gardens this time of year. Afterwards we will have a Q&A period, so if you've got some burning questions and need some expert advice you won't want to miss this. You'll also want to know about our plans to kick off the 2012 Produce Share which we'll also discuss.

Next on the agenda will be info about the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Garage Sale. We are holding it on May 5 this year and we're planning on doing it up big. If you've got any suggestions or simply want to learn about our plans, this is your chance. This will be our last general meeting before the event is held and we'd like your input.

Expert gardening advice, free produce, less clutter and a little extra coin in your pocket: brought to you by NWGNA.

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.