Holiday yard trees - orders due Nov. 12

It’s time to start ordering yard trees for the holidays! Many thanks to Pam Shukait for heading this effort again this year.

Please see this flier. For everyone’s safety, we will only be accepting online orders at willowglentrees.com. Trees are $21 and you will need to provide your own lights and mounting rebar or tree stand. If you have extenuating circumstances, please reach out to your block coordinator:

Pam Shukait at 1023 Bird Avenue
Email pshukait@me.com or call/text 408-781-1186

All orders are due on or before Thursday, November 12th.

Trees will be distributed on Saturday, December 5th.

BART's 15-step plan to welcome back riders as region reopens

BART began new passenger service within Santa Clara County with the opening of new stations in Milpitas and Berryessa. Kerry Hillis, BART’s new Government and Community Relations Representative for Santa Clara County, wanted to share BART’s plan for welcoming back riders as the region starts to reopen from the shelter in place.

Device Donation Day: Wednesday May 27

From the mayor's office:

During COVID-19, over 14,000 students in San José have been trying to learn from home but an already tough situation has been made even more difficult because they lack the tools to do it. To help address this need, the San José Digital Inclusion Partnership–an initiative started by Mayor Liccardo to close the digital divide in San José–is teaming up with the Tech Exchange, Councilmember Dev Davis (D-6)and Councilmember Sylvia Arenas (D-8) to host two Drive-Thru Device Donation Days in San José. If you have a functional spare tablet or laptop you no longer use, help us put it to use in a student’s hands!

 Wednesday, May 27, 2020 

Evergreen Valley High School3300 Quimby Road, San José, CA 95148DROP OFF TIMES: 4:00pm to 7:00pm

What devices are accepted?Any functional laptop, tablet, or smartphone is accepted, but the Santa Clara County Office of Education has specified a particular need for the following devices:

Chromebooks with camera and microphone10-inch 7th Generation iPads with or without LTE13-inch MacBook AirLaptops running Windows 10

Receipts for tax returns are available upon request. 

You can find more information below about the types of devices that are most in need. Don’t have a device, you can still donate. Have a wealth of 20 or more? Please contact us.  

Please share this information with friends who may be interested in donating a used device. Supporting the students in our community benefits us all. 

For more ways to find help and give help, visit www.SiliconValleyStrong.org.

Tomorrow: NWGNA Holiday Party

Reminder for tomorrow night: NWGNA Holiday Party and Lila Joel's house, 562 Fisk Avenue. Come join in the fun, starting at 5:30 pm! There will be holiday refreshments and cheer to share. Snacks and desserts are welcome, but not necessary.

Holiday decorating, 3:00 pm tomorrow!

We are meeting at 3:00 pm Saturday in Fuller Park, corner of Delmas and Fuller, to start decorating our neighborhood for the holidays with garlands and wreaths. Come lend a hand if you can!

Holiday decorating, 3:00 pm Saturday!

We will be decorating the neighborhood again this Saturday and we would love to have your help. It doesn't take very long and it's a fun way to kick off the holiday season by brightening the neighborhood for everyone. Join us at 3 pm on Dec. 7 in Fuller Park at the corner of Delmas and Fuller!

Save the date: NWGNA holiday party Dec. 15

Celebrate the holidays with your neighbors! You and your family are invited to an open house with holiday refreshments and cheer at Lila and Joel's house at 562 Fisk Ave. on Sunday, December 15 from 5:30-8:00pm. Snacks and desserts are welcome, but not necessary.

Yard tree orders are due *Wednesday*

Ordering - two methods

• Place your tree order online at willowglentrees.com OR get a check made to Willow Glen Tree Account to Pam at 1023 Bird Avenue. 
• Trees are $21 each if you order online or via check. 
• Online orders are preferred by the tree farm since checks require them to spend a great deal of time processing.

Payment is due *early* - Wednesday, November 13 at 11:59 pm.

Delivery

• Your tree will be delivered to your front yard on Saturday, Dec 7. There will be no opportunity to pick up trees, delivery only.

Read more about this tradition at http://willowglencharm.com/news/history/willow-glen-yard-trees-2/
Read information about mounting your tree: https://www.willowglentrees.com/faq.html

Order your holiday yard trees *now*

The Shukait family is being awesome yet again by organizing the ordering of holiday yard trees for our area. Many thanks to them!

Ordering

• Informational fliers are being distributed to the neighborhood in the next few days. 
• Even without the flier, you can place your tree order online at willowglentrees.com 
• An alternative to ordering online is to get a check made to Willow Glen Tree Account to Pam at 1023 Bird Avenue. Trees are $21 each if you order online or via check. Online orders are preferred by the tree farm since checks require them to spend a great deal of time processing.
• Payment is due *early* - Wednesday, November 13 at 11:59 pm.

Delivery

• Your tree will be delivered to your front yard on Saturday, Dec 7. There will be no opportunity to pick up trees, delivery only. 

Read more about this tradition at http://willowglencharm.com/news/history/willow-glen-yard-trees-2/
Read information about mounting your tree: https://www.willowglentrees.com/faq.html

Potential Public Safety Power Outage by PG&E

While it appears unlikely to affect North Willow Glen, please note that PG&E has notified the public of a potential public safety power outage for fire prevention. This is due to “a potentially widespread, strong and dry wind event” starting Wednesday morning and lasting through Thursday afternoon.

Read more at these links:

https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/07/severe-winds-could-trigger-widespread-pge-deliberate-blackouts/

https://www.pge.com/en_US/safety/emergency-preparedness/natural-disaster/wildfires/public-safety-power-shutoff-faq.page

Important: Workshop for the Diridon Station Integrated Station Concept Plan

From Lori Severino, Diridon Program Manager for DISC (Diridon Integrated Station Concept), the station design project for Diridon:

Hello Community Members,

The fourth Community Meeting on the Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan is happening this Monday! 

What: Big Moves Workshop
When: Monday, September 23, 6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Where: Studio Space at Poor House Bistro (91 S Autumn Street)
Event flyer: English and Spanish 

At the third Community Meeting in June, the Partner Agencies collaborating on the Concept Plan (Caltrain, and California High-Speed Rail Authority, City of San José, and VTA) discussed three possible layouts for the future station. The Partner Agencies have since advanced the spatial layouts into an optimization process, with the intent of developing a single spatial layout that best achieves the project objectives. 

The purpose of this upcoming workshop is to explore the “big moves” for the station in more detail and share progress to date on the optimization process. The “big moves” include the vertical position of the station platforms, the location of the future station entrances, and the track approaches going into the future station. The workshop will feature an overview presentation and three-dimensional models of four possible layouts (including the three shown in June and a new “dual concourse” layout). A focus of discussion will be the potential community benefits and impacts of the various track alignments under consideration. Check out the project website for additional information, including this status update memo from August. 

The meeting will offer light refreshments and live interpretation in Spanish. Children are welcome to attend. We hope you can join us for this important conversation!

Dog found on Spencer Avenue this morning

This female dog was found on Spencer Avenue this morning and is not chipped. She is on her way to the SJ Animal Care Center on Monterey Road.

Urgent need for neighborhood input

From the office of Dev Davis:

High Speed Rail is requesting community feedback on the State’s Preferred Project Alternative. 

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

High Speed Rail is requesting community feedback on the State’s Preferred Project Alternative. We are supplying a sample letter for you which includes the recommendations from Mayor Liccardo, me, and three of my council colleagues submitted as a memo to council yesterday during hearings on High Speed Rail and other rail issues affecting San Jose and its residents. Please note: I do not support Alignment #4 for San Jose. Feel free to add your own input but we want our community to be heard by the High Speed Rail Authority Board! If you need more information, check out www.hsr.ca.gov. Feel free to share this information with your neighbors and friends! 

Please submit your comment letter/email to san.jose_merced@hsr.ca.gov by Thursday, August 22, 2019. You can also provide feedback by phone at 800-455-8166. 

You can also share feedback in person at the Authority Board meeting on September 17, 2019 in San Jose. Location to be announced soon. 

Sample letter/email: 

Dear High Speed Rail Authority Board members: 

As a resident of San Jose, I want to share my concerns for High Speed Rail’s willingness to integrate input from our City’s process during the Diridon Integrated Station Concept (DISC) Plan. If a high speed train is being designed to help people live better lives and get places quicker, it also must consider how construction and operation of the rail will affect the lives of the people and communities it will serve. 

The safety and livability of our neighborhoods should be a main priority of your planning process. That’s why we insist that High Speed Rail staff remains engaged in the DISC process and find funding and make the needed changes during HSR planning to accommodate the Diridon Station Plan and grade separations. 

With the amount of projected rail service to increase dramatically, I fully support grade separations that help keep all modes of transportation safe (walking, biking, driving). Please find ways to minimize negative impacts to the Gregory/Gardner/ North Willow Glen neighborhoods through alignment over 280/87 or separate train traffic at Auzerais and West Virginia south of Diridon Station. 

I appreciate your consideration of my input on making High Speed Rail a better project through public engagement.
Sincerely,

[resident name and neighborhood]

Thanks to everyone who came out for Party In The Park!

We had another great Party In The Park today! Thanks to Willow Glen Creamery for donating Treat Ice Cream, and a big shout out to Duke Mantee and the Gold Money Band for the great music.

 

Party In The Park - today!

Come join us for our eighth annual Party in the Park -- today!

We'll have live entertainment from Duke Mantee and the Gold Money Band from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. We'll have a barbecue fired up with hot dogs of all kinds on the grill, including veggie. We'll have snacks and provide beverages, but most importantly Treat Ice Cream, courtesy of Willow Glen Creamery. And because we all love variety, please bring a snack or side dish to share.

See you at Hummingbird Park, on the corner of Bird and Fisk, starting at 4:30!