In October, 1999, the new entrance to the airport, via Skyport Drive, will be opened. By the year 2000 the light-rail system will be connected to downtown Mountain View and the Great Mall. Also in the year 2000, Spieker Properties will begin to develop the property next to Sonora Avenue. This will include a park, a tree lined pathway for bikes and pedestrians, commercial and retail businesses, and a community of apartments or condominiums.
Along with these changes come challenges. Our neighborhood continues to be burdened by hazardous traffic conditions, reckless airport growth, and more than our fair share of graffiti. We also need more neighborhood-serving businesses in our immediate vicinity and we need to know that our neighborhood will continue to be safe and secure.
One of the RGNA's goals is to make your voice heard. But, the RGNA can only accomplish its goals if we have substantial volunteer help from you, our neighbors. If you would like to work on any of our projects, or if you have an idea for a project you'd like to champion, please do not hesitate to call the Message Center at 441-RGNA or e-mail me at rgna_pres@hotmail.com.
- Joseph Fota
All RGNA Block Leaders and those of you that would like to be Block Leaders, are invited to attend the RGNA Get Acquainted Meeting for Block Leaders. Our first meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 22nd at Spieker Properties' Concourse Building, 1735 Technology Drive at 6:30 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there!
If you want to be a Block Leader but are unable to attend, please call the Message Center at 441-RGNA and leave your name and number. We will get back to you.
Mark your calendar, on Tuesday, June 22nd, at 7:00 p.m., Rob Boyles from the City of San Jose's Anti-Graffiti Program will be speaking to our neighborhood about the Adopt-A-Block Program at Spieker Properties, Concourse Building, 1735 Technology Drive.
What is Adopt-A-Block?
Adopt-A-Block is for volunteers of San Jose who have the drive and desire to
live in a clean and safe community free of graffiti. Adoptions are for a
minimum of six months, but may continue for as long as you wish. Anyone can
Adopt-A-Block. All you need is a couple of hours per month and an "I CAN DO
IT" attitude. The Anti-Graffiti Program provides all of the paint and
equipment to get the job done in exchange for your valuable time.
How does it work?
The first step you take is deciding on the location you wish to adopt. Select
from the mailbox on the corner, to a fence, to a block in the neighborhood.
You choose a location that is managable to you.
Once your adoption has begun, your role is to remove the graffiti in your adopted area within 48 hours of occurrence.
Attention high school students! This is a great way to fill those community service hours required for graduation.
-Reprinted with permission of Rob Boyles, San Jose's Anti-Graffiti Program
On March 13, 1999, District 3 held its first Neighborhood Summit at City Hall. The Rosemary Gardens neighborhood had four representatives present. Topics of discussion included: Graffiti, Code Enforcement, Youth Services, Streets and Traffic, Quality of Life, and Public Safety.
Special guests included Mayor Ron Gonzales and County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado. Councilmember Cindy Chavez hosted the event. Twenty downtown neighborhood Associations and 21 community groups attended the summit. A follow up meeting was scheduled for Saturday, May 22nd. We will let you know the outcome as soon as it is available.
- Holly Lewerenz
An airport update was presented on March 13, 1999 (following the Neighborhood Summit). Ralph Tonseth, Dan Zank, and Gary Stoll touched on such topics as the Airport Masterplan, the Act Program (Acoustical Treatment Program) and noise abatement. The acoustical program is scheduling testing on every home in our neighborhood between the Fall of 1999 and January 2000. If you have any questions or concerns about the ACT Program or traffic studies, call Cathy Gaskell, Sr. Marketing Representative for the San Jose Airport at (408) 501-7786.
- Holly Lewerenz
Our first annual Easter Egg Hunt was a great success. An estimated 75 children were greeted by the Easter Bunny then went on to the hunt. Special activities included a jelly bean guessing contest, free coloring sheets, bags of candy, and three special hidden eggs redeemable for special prizes. This occasion turned out to be a wonderful community event.
Thank you to Holly Lewerenz who championed this event and to everyone who helped make this event such a success: Margie Cornehl, Joseph and Cindy Fota, Amado Hipol, Todd Lahaye, Alex Lewerenz, Marisa McElmurry, Judy McQuay, Liz Moscato, Vern Nellis, and Sue, Mike, Jennifer, Erika and Dan Valladao.
We look forward to seeing all of you at next year's hunt! Look for pictures on our website, https://members.tripod.com/rgna/Easter.html
With summer coming, more childern are playing, crossing, and running into our neighborhood streets. Please slow down.
3 cups quartered strawberries
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 (6-ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, undiluted
2 cups sparkling water, chilled
Combine the first 3 ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth. Combine strawberry puree and lemonade in a pitcher, and stir until lemonade dissolves. Add sparkling water; pour over ice. Yield: 6-1 cup servings. For an adult version of this drink, substitute champagne for sparkling water
3 cups sliced strawberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 cups whipping cream
Combine strawberries and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Cover and chill for 2 hours. Combine brown sugar and whipping cream in a large bowl and whip. Cover and chill for 2 hours. Gently fold the strawberry mixture into the whipped cream mixture until swirled. Yield: 4-3/4 cup servings
There is a full service UPS Office located at 165 Metro Drive, in San Jose. They are open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Property Tax Rebate Available
If you are a homeowner or renter age 62 or older, or blind or disabled and have less than $33,132 in total household income, you will qualify for a once a year refund from the State of California. A portion of the amount paid by property owners and renters for property taxes will be refunded. Volunteers trained by the State Franchise Tax Board will be at many Community and Senior Centers from May 15th through August 31st to help applicants fill out the necessary forms. For more information, call your nearest center or the State Franchise Tax Board at 1-(800) 852-5711. This rebate is not automatic. You must apply! So tell your friends, neighbors and relatives about this little-publicized rebate.
- Reprinted from the City's Senior Info Newspaper
Lifelong Learners Classes
The Metropolitan Adult Education Program (MAEP) offers classes for adults 50 years of age or older who would like to find new interests or renew old skills. Lifelong learning classes accommodate varied student backgrounds and skill levels and reflect a variety of interests such as physical fitness, music writing, computers, arts, genealogy, world affairs, and foreign languages. Classes include piano, calligraphy, fabric art, creative writing, sewing, Tai-Chi Chuan, and exploring history. Fees are $10.00 per class taken. Classes are usually held in San Jose Community and Senior Centers. For more information and to obtain a schedule of classes, call (408) 947-2311.
- Reprinted from the City's Senior Info Newspaper
50 Or Older And Looking For A Job?
The Senior Employment Resource Center can help you with your job search. This drop-in center is located at the Office on Aging, 1190 Bascom Ave., Suite 220 and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
What you will find at the Center:
o Listing of current jobs (over 4,000 listings)
o Job hunting resources
o Assistance from helpful staff (Mon, Tue, Thu, 10:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.)
and much, much more...
Call (408) 297-3245 for more information.
- Reprinted from the City's Senior Info Newspaper
San Jose Senior Games
The 4th Annual "Silicon Valley Classic" San Jose Senior Games will be held July 8-11 at various locations throughout San Jose. The SJ Senior Games is an event for men and women age 50 or over to promote lifelong health and physical fitness. Competition is not limited to "elite" athletes, but is open to all active and healthy older adults. Each athlete receives a "Silicon Valley Classic" T-shirt, an official games program, and an athlete's gift bag. Medals are awarded to first, second, and third place finishers in each event and age division. For more information about events, call Pat Maier at (408) 297-0247.
If you would like to volunteer to help out with the games, call the volunteer coordinator, Alan Briscoe, (408) 244-1353. Volunteers also receive a T-shirt.
- Reprinted from the City's Senior Info Newspaper
Senior Lunch Programs
Do you know that many neighborhood senior centers offer low-cost lunches to seniors 60 years or older? Lunch costs $1.55 and usually includes a hot entree, vegetable, dessert, milk, and coffee or tea. Lunch is served at 12 noon, Monday through Friday. The nearest senior center is the Yu-Al-Kai Senior Center at 588 North Fourth St., (408) 294-2505. Some of the recent entree's served by Yu-Al-Kai: Beef and Broccoli, Roast Turkey, Meat Loaf, and Rock Cod. Get together with a neighbor or friend and check it out. So that the center can plan its meals, you need to call and make a reservation by 10:00 a.m., the day before you plan to attend. You can bring a guest under 60 years old, but his or her meal will cost $4.00.
Other nearby Senior Centers:
St. James Senior Center: (408) 277-4194
Northside Senior Center: (408) 271-7315
- Margie Cornehl
Lisa Puma moved back to the neighborhood! She grew up in Rosemary Gardens in a house on Arnold Avenue. She is now living on San Juan with her two children (Johnny, age 5 and Beverly, age 3). She is currently managing an Expressly Portraits studio. Welcome Lisa, Johnny and Beverly!
John Pope and Kristi Michael recently moved into a house on San Juan. They are very athletic and enjoy jet skiing, biking, snow boarding and jogging. They have two wonderful pets, a dog named Matty and a cat name Catty. Welcome to the neighborhood! We hope you enjoy Rosemary Gardens as much as we do!
A great big welcome to Paul Darin and Thomas Teeter, also of San Juan. They have many hobbies that include back-packing, hiking, wood-working, computers and guitar. They enjoy taking care of their pet fish and frogs! Please welcome Paul and Thomas to Rosemary Gardens!
Now that the weather is getting better, residents are taking to the streets for nightly walks.
A walk around the entire neighborhood (Keoncrest Ave. to Sonora Ave. to San Juan Ave. to Ferrari Ave.) is approximately 1.3 miles.
Late last year, Holly Lewerenz noticed that her home on San Juan would occasionally rumble and shake. It wasn't an earthquake. A machine called a vibratory-roller was being used to compact the earth for the Highway 87 Project. As the day's construction continued, so did the shaking. She immediately took the appropriate steps by calling CalTrans and the City of San Jose (CSJ).
By mid-February, Holly's constant calling to CalTrans and the CSJ resulted in a commitment to hold a meeting for San Juan residents to voice their concerns to representatives from CalTrans, the City, and Councilmember's Cindy Chavez's office. The meeting was held on March 5th.
The issues that were discussed were house vibrations, rodent problems, excessive dust, security issues (regarding gates being left open), off-hour construction, and graffiti. The complaints were noted and a response from CalTrans and CSJ was requested.
By late April, a plan of action from CalTrans and CSJ had not been received. To demonstrate to CalTrans and CSJ that the complaints were not isolated incidents, a flyer was created by Matt Staehs and Holly Lewerenz and distributed to the residents of San Juan. The flyer asked the RGNA residents to call CalTrans and CSJ if they were experiencing any problems caused by the Highway 87 Project. The response from the flyer was so overwhelming that CalTrans agreed to start an extermination plan, to monitor earth movement and to continue to monitor the movement during the paving and grading period of the project.
If you are experiencing any of the above problems or others you believe to be caused by the Highway 87 Project, please call the following:
CalTrans Project Engineer: Dvang Desai (408) 254-5879
CalTrans Public Information Officer: Lauren Wonder (408) 452-7160
CalTrans Graffiti Abatement Program: (650) 358-4133
City Council District 3 Office: Jose Posadas (408) 277-5231
Recycling is every second Saturday of the month. We collect newspapers (sorry, no telephone books or magazines), CRV aluminum cans, plastic soda bottles, and cardboard.
June 12: Michael and Brigette O'Connor
1374 Santa Paula Ave.
July 10: Ingrid Krantz
1251 Keoncrest Ave.
Want to help? Just leave your name and number on the Message Center, 441-RGNA.