Councilmember Kansen Chu |
San Jose City Hall |
200 East Santa Clara Street 18th Floor |
San Jose, CA 95113
tel. (408) 535-4904 | fax (408) 292-6459 | district4@sanjoseca.gov | www.sanjoseca.gov/district4
October/November Newsletter Now Available!
City and Community Contacts: City Hall Call Center |
Dear District 4 Neighbors,
I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you of two very important community meetings taking place in the next two weeks.
PG&E Community Meeting – Wednesday, October 20, 2010
In response to the recent disaster in San Bruno, my office has been working closely with PG&E to closely monitor the situation and continue to provide you with updates.
While I am relieved that there is no immediate danger to District 4, I am inviting the Maintenance and Construction Superintendent of PG&E and the City’s Public Work’s Department to a community meeting regarding the PG&E gas pipeline safety on Wednesday, October 20th, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Novellus, located at 4000 North First Street in North San Jose.
The City of San Jose continues to work with PG&E to make sure our pipes are safe and are in good working condition to ensure the safety of our residents. This meeting will ensure that you will become an informed community member. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Deputy Director of Public Works, Timm Borden, at (408) 535-8300 or via email at Timm.Borden@sanjoseca.gov.
** PG&E Representatives will be also be available from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to answer your questions about the SmartMeter Program. **
BART Berryessa Extension Community Meeting – Wednesday, October 27, 2010
A separate community meeting will take place the following week on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Berryessa Branch Library to present the latest information regarding the BART to San Jose project.
Come to hear a project overview, schedule, and funding update in addition to visiting display stations of project route and updated station areas. This will also be an opportunity for community members to provide feedback to VTA regarding the BART Berryessa extension project. For more information about the BART to San Jose project, please visit: http://www.vta.org/bart/.
If you have any questions regarding any of these meetings, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 535-4904.
FREE Neighborhood Clean-Up Sponsored by NVCA
North Valley Community Association will be sponsoring a FREE Neighborhood Clean-Up this Saturday, October 23, 2010, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
This event is made possible through a generous grant from the City of San Jose Community Action & Pride (CAP) Grant Department.
For dumpster locations and more information about the clean-up event, please click here.
Coyote Creek is in Second Place in the Bay Trash Hot Spots Campaign - SPREAD THE WORD AND DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!
Get Save The Bay to clean up a creek in OUR community! This year, as part of their 5th annual Bay Trash Hot Spots campaign, Save The Bay is launching an "Adopt-a-Site" contest and they need YOU to vote for one of seven selected Bay Trash Hot Spots that you'd like to see them clean up with the help of volunteers. Coyote Creek is one of the 7 hot spots that you can vote for. Vote for District 4's Coyote Creek today!
The latest results are out, and Coyote Creek is no longer in the lead—Redwood Creek is way ahead with 637 votes compared to Coyote’s 250! Whichever site wins the most votes will be adopted by Save The Bay in 2011 and be the site of 4 community clean-ups over the next year.It’s not too late to make up the difference—our contest ends this Friday, October 22, 2010.
Bay trash is accumulating in massive amounts -- choking wetlands, poisoning and entangling Bay animals, harming water quality and threatening public health and our quality of life. Last year on Coastal Cleanup Day over 250,000 pounds of trash and recyclables were pulled from the Bay according to data collected by over 22,000 volunteers.
Together with Save The Bay, YOU can make a difference by voting for the Bay Trash Hot Spot that you would most like to see cleaned up! Check it out and vote today!
SAVE THE DATE! Fire Station #19 Grand Opening on November 20th
I am pleased to announce that construction of Fire Station #19 has been completed. Please
join me, along with Mayor Reed and the San Jose Fire Department, on Saturday,
November 20, 2010 from 10:00AM-11:30AM for the grand opening of our newest fire
station. Fire Station 19 is a two-story, 6,049 square feet, single company fire station with
two apparatus bays. Construction started in September 2008 and was completed over the
summer.
Fire Station 19 has relocated from their existing address at the corner of Piedmont Road
and Penitencia Creek Road to the southwest corner of Piedmont Road and Sierra Road. In
March 2002, the City of San Jose voters passed the Neighborhood Security Bond Act that
approved the issuance of the $159M in General Obligation bonds to fund the construction
of public safety facilities. Fire Station 19 is one of the stations being relocated as part of the
public safety bond program to improve service delivery.
Families and community members are invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony to
celebrate the completion of our newest public safety facility in our community. There will be
guest speakers, children activities, and refreshments. I hope to see many of you there!
District 4 Outstanding Citizen Award Honorees
We are truly fortunate to have so many outstanding individuals in our community who dedicate their
time to make District 4 a better place to live. I know there are so many remarkable volunteers who
have positively contributed to the success of our community and want to make sure they are recognized
for all their hard work and dedication. I made a call for nominations for your help in nominating an outstanding
individual, group of individuals, company, or organization that live, work, or volunteer in our
community. Nominations were closed on September 30, 2010, and I received an overwhelming response.
I wish to congratulate the following for their efforts to make our District 4 a true community.
Please keep an eye out for my announcement on the recognition event to honor the recipients.
| CHUCK BUCHANAN | “Chuck started donating time at the Berryessa Community Center more than a year ago by sorting bakery goods and other goods that are donated from various stores for distribution. He now picks up bakery goods early mornings 2-3 times a week on his own. Last year he began volunteering to teach an ESL class at the center. This year he continues to teach the ESL class in addition to a new beginning class as a result of the popularity of the first class. He is outstanding in his never ending support to the community.” |
| BRENDA ENEVOLDSEN | “Brenda Enevoldsen is an active animal advocate for the neighborhood and has
been for many years. She reduces the feral cat population in the most humane way by taking advantage of the
TNR (trap, neuter, and return) and other agency programs. Her dedication to the animals goes beyond what the
programs provide. She also trains, socializes and when necessary pays for spay/neutering and vaccinations herself for feral kittens. The end result is a healthier more compassionate world for all of us. Brenda serves as a role model for a more involved and caring community.” |
| KIM GOMEZ | “Kim Gomez has been an active volunteer at Northwood Elementary School, in the North
Valley Homeowners Association and in the local and district levels of the PTA. She also organizes and
participates in a monthly school and park clean up effort and volunteers by organizing the “Christmas in
Berryessa” event. Kim is an outstanding role model for children and for her peers. She has served and worked in
leadership positions and “worker bee” positions too. Kim’s energy and spirit seem limitless and her positive attitude endears her to many.” |
| LISA KOBAYASHI | ”Lisa has set up National Night Out functions in the neighborhood for the last three years. Lisa made up a flyer each year and went to each of the 75 homes to invite people to attend. She made up information for every house and posted it at the function. She tracked who came and identified new people in the neighborhood. She set up games which got the people attending talking to each other and helped them to get to know each other. She set up a Yahoo Group and maintains it. She forwards information that is of interest to the neighborhood and tracks concerns. She is also involved with her children's school and is helping a person to run for the School Board. All in all a she is a great asset to the neighborhood and District 4.” |
| DEAN MCCULLY | ”Dean works tirelessly both as an engineer for Cisco and as a community
supporter. Dean works to support many non-profit groups in our community, helping them get grants from
Cisco Employee Foundation and Community Grants programs. He also volunteers his time to help support
many different organizations. Most recently, Dean has spent hundreds of hours creating a great community
festival called Take Flight for Kids was held on Sept 25 at Reid Hillview Airport. The goal of the festival is to show the children in the community that the sky is the limit for what they can achieve if they work hard. Dean has found so many community resources, non-profit and for-profit organizations, to come out and share with the community. He believe that together we can make a pot of soup that will feed us all, even with the current scarcity of assets and the Take Flight Festival proves that.” |
Home Repair Assistance
The City of San Jose’s Department of Housing offers several programs to allow qualified applicants to make repairs to their homes or rental property. Grant opportunities and loan programs are made available by the City of San Jose. Click here to see a description of each program.
To determine if you may be eligible for one of the City’s home repair programs, please refer to the Eligibility Criteria.
AlertSCC
Santa Clara County is encouraging residents to sign up for AlertSCC, the County's emergency notification system, to receive free emergency messages during a disaster. This is a county-wide effort aimed at protecting county residents during and after a disaster such as an earthquake, flood or fire.
Signing up at www.AlertSCC.com is one of the easiest steps people can take to help prepare themselves and their loved ones for a disaster. AlertSCC is a free, easy, and confidential way for anyone who lives or works in Santa Clara County to get emergency warnings sent directly to their cell phone, mobile device, email, or landline. AlertSCC can reach you wherever you are to provide information and instructions in a variety of emergency situations, which may include:
- Flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, and subsequent evacuations
- Public safety incidents, including crimes, that immediately affect your neighborhood
- Post-disaster information about shelters, transportation, or supplies
It only takes a minute. Sign up today and tell someone you care about AlertSCC! www.AlertSCC.com.
Contacting the District 4 Office
My office is available to answer questions, receive ideas and suggestions, and solve problems and issues. If you have something that you would like to bring to my attention or something that you would like to discuss with me, please do not hesitate to contact my office or email me. You can also visit the District 4 website for more information. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Kansen
| RSVP by October 15, 2010 | Tuesday, October 19, 2010 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. |
| Filipino History Month Flag Raising | Tuesday, October 19, 2010 12:00 p.m.San Jose City Hall Plaza 200 E. Santa Clara St. San Jose, CA 95113 |
PG&E Community Meeting |
Wednesday, October 20, 2010 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. ** PG&E Representatives will be also be available from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to answer your questions about the SmartMeter Program. ** |
| Spooky Slough! | Friday, October 22, 2010 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. What types of creatures lurk about and fly around at night at the refuge? Find out at Spooky Slough and learn about nocturnal wildlife! Kids are encouraged to come in costume. Enjoy hands-on activities, live animals, a twilight trek, games, story time, and so much more! Be prepared for cold weather, and bring a reusable bag for trick-or-treating. Fun for all ages! For more information, visit http://www.fws.gov/desfbay/Tideline/Dates/Oct22.htm or call (408) 262-5513 ext. 102 for Debra or ext. 104 for Eric. |
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This event is made possible by North Valley Community Association (NVCA) through a generous grant from the City of San Jose's Community Action & Pride (CAP) Grant Department
|
Saturday, October 23, 2010 8:00 am -12:00 pm (or until bins are full) AND 1802 Montage Court (near Flickinger Road) |
Vietnamese American Parent/ Student Education Series: Substance Abuse |
Saturday, October 23, 2010 9:00 am -1:30 pm
|
| BART Berryessa Extension Project Public Meeting | Wednesday, October 27, 2010 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.Berryessa Branch Library 3355 Noble Avenue San Jose, CA 95132 |
Welcome to PodCar City San Jose! Hear presentations about Person Rapid Transit systems in other cities. Learn how these systems can expand your mobility while reducing traffic congestion and pollution. |
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. |
| Grand Opening of Valley Medical Center | Saturday, October 30, 2010 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.145 N. Main St. Milpitas, CA 95035 |
| Trick-or-Tree Tour | Saturday, October 30, 2010 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Join Our City Forest for a “spooky” stroll in downtown San Jose. With an Our City Forest arborist as you guide, learn about the City’s beautiful trees and view some gorgeous fall color! Please RSVP to education@ourcityforest.org or call (408) 99-TREES (87997) ext. 108 This is a FREE event. Costumes are encouraged. |
| Haunt the Hollow and History Park Too! | Sunday, October 31, 2010 |
Alviso Neighborhood Group Guest Speaker: Independent Police Auditor, Judge Cordell |
Thursday, November 4, 2010 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.Alviso Youth Center 5040 North First Street Alviso, CA 95002 |
Community Volunteer Opportunities
Recruitment for Retirement Board Public Members Deadline: November 8, 2010 |
The Office of the City Clerk has opened the recruitment and application process for the appointment of new public members to the Retirement Boards. Please click here for the recruitment brochure and application form. |
| Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen | Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen, a non-profit organization has been serving the working poor, families, homeless and seniors living in and around the downtown and East Side of San Jose for close to 30 years. Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen, a non-profit organization in North San Jose has been serving the working poor, families, homeless and seniors living in and around the downtown and East Side of San Jose for close to 30 years. Please visit http://www.loavesfishes.org/volunteer.html to check volunteer schedule or contact the Volunteer Manager at volunteer@loavesfishes.org. |
Please pass along this information to anyone who you think might be interested.
For the most up-to-date calendar of District 4 events, please visit:
http://www.sanJoséca.gov/district4/Events.asp
Councilmember Kansen Chu |
San Jose City Hall |
200 East Santa Clara Street 18th Floor |
San Jose, CA 95113 |