SEPTEMBER 2008
VOLUME1I/ ISSUE 9
| DISTRICT 3 | SEPTEMBER 2008 |
VOLUME1I/ ISSUE 9 |
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Local Measures with Measurable Impact This November, we face many important decisions that alter the direction of our country, and of our community. Although you’ll hear and read plenty about the presidential candidates, the din makes it difficult to learn much about several ballot measures that quietly will have major impacts here in Santa Clara County. Those consequences make it important to take the time to move down the ballot to consider these local measures. Although I cannot utilize this newsletter to advocate for or against any particular measure, I’d like to help familiarize you with a few of the many local ballot measures you’ll face, so that you’ll fully engage in the public conversation around these measures:
Sam Liccardo | |
Contact Us D3 Staff |
Beating Fords into Bike Share: Downtown Commuter Bicycle Demonstration Project
Community Response to Gangs Gangs and violence affect the entire community. In June, the Council approved over $1.5 million in gang prevention and intervention programs. The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF) serves as the main catalyst for engaging a wide cross section of community partners to reduce gang violence throughout the City. The task force is comprised of parents, city, county, state, community based organizations, police, churches, schools and other stakeholders. This group has comprised a strategic work plan addressing gang violence in the City for the next four years. This plan was approved by the Council on September 23rd. It’s more than a document but a call to action for the entire community. To view the plan click here. According to Mario Maciel, Superintendent responsible for MGPTF, the best way for the community to fight gang violence is to get involved in the lives of young people in their own neighborhoods. Volunteer at a school or mentor a youth. Here’s a list of local nonprofits if you’re interested in learning more about mentoring or working with youth; Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County or call (408)468-0100 Yahoo! An End to BigTents
Fewer Butts on the Streets Groundwerx crews are not just focused on cleaning, but on preventing liter as well. After obtaining a grant from Keep America Beautiful in June, Groundwerx acquired five ashtrays and put them in strategic locations along Second Street between Santa Clara and San Fernando Streets. The objective wasn’t to prevent smoking; rather, to keep cigarette butts from being tossed along Second Street. That block is home to six restaurants, a club, three light-rail platforms and Fountain Alley. The weatherproof aluminum ash urns on the street curbed littering of the butts by more than 50 percent over the first weeks of the program. An extra facet of the program involves distribution by ambassadors of 1,000 pocket ashtrays, for individual use. Ambassadors continue to hand them out to smokers on the street.Sports Field Renovation in the Works Watson Park Update Progress is moving swiftly as City staff works to complete construction documents for the Watson Park site remediation and Phase One improvements. These documents are required by the Federal and State permit approval process and is on schedule for completion in January. The Phase One improvements are scheduled to begin in April 2009 with completion in Fall 2010. For more information, click here. Keep Apprised of New Land Use Developments The City of San Jose is committed keeping residents informed on development activity in their neighborhood and encouraging participation in the land use process. The Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement has a subscription email notification system for residents to receive emails when new zoning/permit applications are requested in their area. Through the email and links sent, residents can also submit comments on the proposed development electronically. It’s easy to subscribe, just visit the City Planning website by clicking here. |
District 3 Welcomes New Team Members District 3 is happy to welcome two new team members to the office, Fred Buzo and Sharon Ngo Tran. Fred graduated from Loyola Marymount with a degree in Theology and taught school for a year before going to Santa Clara University School of Law. After graduating from Santa Clara, he worked as a judicial law clerk for the District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada. He then returned to San Jose to begin his law practice. Over the last 13 years, he has worked as an attorney handling primarily juvenile dependency, family law and employment matters. He’ll be responsible for the 13th St. NAC, Historic Hensley, Horace Mann, Northside, Julian St. James, Hyde Park and Japantown neighborhoods. Sharon graduated from University of California Los Angeles with a degree in International Development Studies and received a Masters of Public Policy from Georgetown University. Recently, she worked in the health care setting as a Project Manager and Internal Auditor. Her community experience includes an internship with Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, conflict mediation at UCLA and a scout advisor and troop development manager with the Girl Scouts of Santa Clara County and Boy Scouts of America. She and her husband Kai and their two kids reside in San Jose. District 3 is grateful to have two people of such high caliber joining the team and welcome their great energy and talent. Downtown Welcomes New Restaurants
Billy Berk’s opened in the historic building commonly known as “Crescent Jewelers,” located at S. First Street and San Fernando. It’s a Max’s Café concept restaurant and the menu is filled with upscale American comfort food with many ethnic touches with a tradition of sharing dishes “family style.” For more information or to see a menu, click here. Also in this same historic structure and soon to open is Mezcal, a privately owned Oaxacan-style Mexican restaurant. Both Billy Berk’s and Mezcal will split the open air patio located in the middle of the historic landmark structure. A Community Transportation Plan for East San Jose
Community feedback is critical to help identify transportation needs in the East San Jose community and find potential projects to address those needs! The success of the East San Jose Community Based Transportation Plan depends on input from East San Jose community members. For more information about this study, to request a survey, or sign up for a focus group meeting, please contact Jody Littlehales, Transportation Planner, at 408-321-5769 or email Jody Littlehales. |
District 3 Annual Barbeque A Success The annual District 3 barbeque was a success with about 100 friends and neighbors attending. Sam presented commendations to deserving community activists; Dorothy Roller for organizing the event, Scott Owens for his work on the traffic calming committee, Aurelia Sanchez for her years of service as president of the Spartan Keyes Neighborhood Action Coalition, Francisco Santoyo for his work in the Bonita neighborhood removing blight and Mariane Jenson for volunteering numerous years with the Goodyear-Mastic neighborhood. (photos by Dana Grover of Horace Mann Neighborhood Association)
Finally, thanks to these local organizations for their help and contributions; Gecko Grill, Mercado Suvianda, Mi Pueblo, Cuatro Con Tres, San Jose Mounted Unit and San Jose Downtown Association. Mariachi Festival in Full Swing
Leonardo da Vinci's Exclusive U.S. Showing at The Tech
The exhibition features more than 200 exhibits, including life-size working models, hands-on interactive machines and displays, multimedia presentations and priceless works of art. There will also be hands-on design challenges in the museum’s galleries based on Leonardo’s engineering, scientific and art principles. The entire exhibition required 17 freight containers to be shipped to from Italy to San Jose. Admission to the exhibit is $25 for adults; $15 for children and youth and $20 for college students with ID and seniors ages 62+. The exhibition is open seven days a week and is produced by Opera laboratory Fiorentini in collaboration with Polo Museale Fiornetino and the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy. If you would like more information please contact The Tech at (408) 297-TECH (8324) or click here. Downtown Youth Commissioner Wanted
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Chalk Art Tradition Comes to Northside Japantown Community Spirit
Tour Historic Downtown Homes
For further information about the tour email, Gloria Flores-Cerul or call her (408) 291-5041.
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Luis Gutierrez’s Paintings The ArtObjectGallery in Japantown announces an upcoming exhibit of social realist, abstract expressionistic painter Luis Gutierrez’s newest painting themed “Current Events.” The show will also highlight Northern California photographers, a retrospective to present. Padre Mateo Sheedy Public Art Dedication Join in the dedication of a community public art project commemorating a beloved community figure Padre Mateo Sheedy. The artwork concept was developed several years ago by a group of SJSU students under the direction of professor Tony May, working closely with the community. Let the Children Play Come celebrate at the feel good event of the year at “Let the Children Play.” Interactive games, activities, live entertainment, food and beverages will be enjoyed by all. It’s an event for the entire family. Share the Magic The Third Street Community Center is celebrating its 9th Annual Share the Magic fundraiser. On this delightful evening, the whole community comes together to recognize the Center’s collective impact inspiring, transforming, and bringing hope, particularly to children, in the downtown.
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In an effort to entice more commuters to use bikes and leave cars at home, Councilmember Liccardo joined by Mayor Reed and Councilmember Williams, introduced a plan to alter some major downtown thoroughfares to make biking safer and more convenient. The threefold plan includes; segregated bike lanes that separate bicyclists from traffic using physical barriers such as curbs or shrubbery, making more bike racks available at large public events and hiring a private company to pilot a “bike share program,” similar to those in European cities such as Paris. The plan calls to use segregated bike lanes on major streets to connect San Jose State University with City Hall, Diridon train station and major downtown businesses. The pilot plan focuses on the downtown for now and the cost will depend on how many corridors are identified, however, it’s expected funding will come from federal dollars and Valley Transportation Authority. With commuters paying $4 a gallon for gas, this could be a real opportunity to change commuting habits, increase bicycle safety and help realize the City’s Green Vision of achieving alternative transportation and connected trails. 
The District 3 office has heard the overwhelming requests to discontinue use of BigTents in favor of a more user friendly means of online communication. The office is transitioning to a Yahoo! user group to communicate neighborhood events, news from the Councilmember, host online discussions and communicate downtown and citywide information. It’s open to all and promises to be a helpful (and user friendly) way to communicate amongst the downtown community. To sign up please visit 
The Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services department has scheduled sport field renovations at the Roosevelt and Bernal Park sports fields. The work will include shutting down and fencing the sports fields off for 3- 6 months in order to conduct the work and rest the turf areas. Specific work includes repairing the irrigation systems as needed, aerating and top dressing the soil, seeding and fertilizing the entire sports area of both parks. The fence was installed at Roosevelt sports field last week and the work started on September 19. The fence for Bernal sports field is scheduled to be placed up by September 26. The fences will remain up until the turf has rebounded adequately, however, the fences will not be up longer than 6 months. 
Café Trieste is now open downtown and featuring great music and art. The Café is also pleased to be part of Phantom Galleries' First Friday Art Walk along S. First Street. Local artists are displaying their work on the Café mezzanine level. Each artist will show their work for one month. Gianfranco Paolozzi's exhibit 'now is already past' is currently on display, for more information on his work 
In April 2008, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) initiated a Community Based Transportation Plan (CBTP) focused on East San Jose transportation needs. Projects included in the final plan could address important issues such as: connections to buses and trains; more bicycle or walking paths; safer streets and intersections.
In addition, the District 3 office would like to thank the following neighbors for their help with the event; Dorothy Roller, Darlene Gomez, Steve Gordy, Ashvin Joshi, Albert Kadis, Estelle Kadis, Imelda Rodriguez, Bob Roller, Patti Phillips, Bill Barrett, Pat Joshi, Walt Phillips, Dana Grover, Caitlin (Cait) Scoles, Keye Luke, Melissa Barrett, Mike Scoles, Debbie Wade, Louise Wood, Bob VanCleef, Tina Morrill, Nat Robinson, Debbie Bybee, Paul Pereira and Mike Will. 
There's still time to catch the 17th Annual Festival celebrating Mexico’s music, culture, cuisine and exceptional artists. The Festival ends September 27th. It's the largest in the country featuring top starts such as Linda Ronstadt, Aida Cuevas, Mariachi Los Camperos, Pepe Aguilar, Mariachi Cobre, Lila Downs, Mariachi International de Guadalajara and Los Tigers Del Norte. It’s is a great way for families and music lovers to experience the culture that makes San José one of the most diverse cities in America. Now the largest festival of its kind in the nation, San José serves as its headquarters (the nation’s tenth largest city) which is the fourth largest US Latino consumer market. The festival is known to present a collection of educational workshops, indoor concert events, and outdoor music and cultural family activities in downtown San José. For more information 
Leonardo: 500 is the world premiere and exclusive U.S showing of the most comprehensive exhibition of the innovative art, science ad engineering works of legendary Italian artist, inventor, engineer, mathematician and writer Leonardo da Vinci and his contemporaries. The City of San Jose and Tech Museum are proud to present an exhibit of such high caliber for one of the world’s most innovative thinkers. The exhibit is a rare opportunity to see how this genius of the Renaissance influenced and inspired much of the technology we use today. The show offers an exciting and educational glimpse of Leonardo da Vinci. 
The City of San Jose Youth Commission is currently seeking an energetic and enthusiastic youth eager to make a difference in their City by representing Council District 3 on the Commission. The Youth Commission is the official youth advisory group to the City Council, Police Chief Rob Davis and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services. As a Commissioner, youth have the opportunity to educate the community on current youth issues, make recommendations to City Council and assist in developing new youth programs and services within the City. To be eligible, the Commissioner must be between the ages of 14-20, live in downtown District 3, be able to attend monthly meetings and commit at least 20 hours a month. To request an application, contact youth commission staff at (408) 793-5559 or for the application 
Celebrate the first annual Luna Park Chalk Art Festival Saturday, October 4, 2008 from 9:00a.m-3:00p.m in Backesto Park (on N.13th and Jackson Streets). “Chalk Art” is of Italian heritage and tradition consisting of art murals “painted” with chalk on the ground. Come to the festival and be a Modonnari for a day - recreate a famous artwork or create a temporary pavement canvas of your own! Stroll the sidewalk art gallery and let your bambini try their hand. There are also opportunities to sponsor an artist and or advertise your business. For more information, email 
Japantown Community Congress of San Jose presents Spirit of Japantown Festival Saturday, October 4, 2008 from 10:00a.m-6:00p.m. The Festival brings together local Japantown merchants, restaurants, professional organizations, churches and others for a day of arts, crafts, food entertainment and much more in the heart of San Jose’s Japantown at 5th and Jackson. Enjoy a special performance by three time Grammy award winner Randy Drake and Steve Billman. Ride VTA Light Rail to the Japantown/Ayer Station for easy access an no hassle with parking. For more information 
On Sunday, October 5th, visit some of the Northside neighborhood’s most beautifully preserved Bungalow and Victorian homes on the annual Northside Home Tour. Advance tickets are $15 either online at the