It's that time again, time for the Annual Rosemary Gardens Neighborhood Picnic. A day of fun in the sun, food, music, games, exhibits and information. A day for you to meet your neighbors and make new friends. The picnic, which is set for Sunday, September 15th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. will be held at the Bachrodt Elementary School playground.
But, we need your help! With several of our regular volunteers having moved out of the area, we are in dire need of your assistance. If you have ever considered volunteering in your neighborhood, now is the perfect time! We are critically short on the amount of volunteers that it takes to have successful events.
Currently, we need volunteers for the neighborhood picnic. We need help with set-up, clean- up, welcome table, donation drawing table, food servers, and barbecuers. If you can spare 30 minutes or an hour, please contact us. All volunteers will receive an RGNA t-shirt. You can send us e-mail at rgnaweb@hotmail.com or call the Message Center at (408) 441-RGNA (7462).
- Joseph Fota
GreenWaste Recovery is our new service provider for street sweeping and yard trimming collections. According to GreenWaste Recovery, they will be sweeping our streets bi-monthly, meaning twice a month, on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. For additional information, GreenWaste Recovery's direct number is (408) 283-4800.
Hmmm, the RGNA hands out a newsletter bi-monthly, which is every other month. What is the correct usage? Any English majors out there?
On Tuesday, August 6th, neighborhoods throughout San Jose are being invited to join together with communities and police departments nationwide for the 19th Annual National Night Out. National Night Out will involve over 10,000 communities from all 50 states.
From 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 6th, residents across the nation are asked to lock their doors, turn on their outside lights, and spend the evening outside with neighbors and police. The RGNA will be hosting an Ice Cream Social at Bachrodt Elementary School. This year's event will include sugar-free ice cream and dairy free ice cream for those with special dietary needs. Also, members from the San Jose Police Department and the San Jose Crime Prevention Unit will be visiting the neighborhood throughout the event.
Congratulations to the Newest member of the Oakland Raiderettes! Our own Anjelah Johnson!
Anjelah decided to try out just for fun (she is a natural performer). She has been performing in competition cheer since the age of eight. After competing with 500 women in dance, evening gown and personality. She made it!
The group recently returned from Hawaii where they were photographed for the Raiderette calendar. Anjelah does not know at this time whether her photos will be chosen, but she did consider it quite a blessing to be flown to beautiful Hawaii! A few of her photos were displayed as Pics-of-the-day on the Raiderette website.
She also had the honor of being filmed by ESPN. The ESPN crew came to her home and filmed and interviewed her preparing for her evening out and continued filming her throughout the evening. ESPN will be doing a documentry on the making of a Raiderette.
Anjelah continues to study acting and communications at a local college. Good Luck to you Anjelah and have fun!
Congratulations to Kenia and Nelson McElmurry of N. San Pedro, who were married on July 6th. Nelson, who grew up in the neighborhood, is persuing a law degree. When they find some free time, they enjoy salsa dancing, latin music, and their two dogs, Kiko and Babalou ("Lou").
The RGNA has been contacted by the San Jose Fire Department Arson Unit about a series of fires set in and around the Rosemary Gardens neighborhood. Currently, there have been several suspicious fires reported at Bachrodt Elementary School and at Equity Office construction sites. During one such incident, an individual was video taped by a security camera. The individual is described as a Caucasian male, teenager or early 20's, dark hair, and was wearing tan shorts. He was seen leaving the scene on a motorized scooter.
If you have any information about the recent rash of fires around the neighborhood, please call the Arson Hotline at (408) 27-ARSON (408-277-7766). All calls are anonymous.
If you see any suspicious activity at the Bachrodt Elementary School or at the Equity Office construction sites, do not confront the individual or individuals, but call 9-1-1 immediately. Be prepared to give a location and a description.
August 10
Melanie Maruca
1312 Forrestal Ave.
September 14
Ingrid Krantz
1251 Keoncrest Ave.
A new publication has arrived in San Jose, Downtown Magazine. Downtown Magazine is the brainchild of Publisher Joel Cruz and Editor Jose Posadas. The magazine was conceived as a vehicle that would help promote downtown San Jose as a destination. The goal for this magazine is to foster a sense of community and pride for all of downtown's stakeholders.
The magazine's mission is to promote the livability and vibrancy of downtown for residents, businesses, workers and visitors. Each issue of Downtown Magazine will consist of essays, reviews, creative statements, resource information, advertisements and dynamic graphic designs that will serve as a guide to downtown. Downtown Magazine will contain articles that celebrate the rich history of downtown, that will spotlight individual businesses and business owners and promote our diversity of people, places, products and services.
It is hoped that the premier issue is as enjoyable to the reader as it was for us in bringing it to life.
Welcome to the premier issue of the best magazine on downtown San Jose ever!
- Information provided by Joel Cruz, Publisher, Downtown Magazine
A new controversy has reached the ears of the RGNA. A multi-use facility is to be built on the northeast corner of N. First Street and Gish Rd. The facility will contain a 7-Eleven Convenience Store, a possible second retail unit, and 22 apartments.
As of the article deadline for this newsletter, the RGNA has not received one e-mail, phone call, or verbal endorsement of the 7-Eleven Convenience Store. However, RGNA has received numerous protests and complaints about the proposed store.
We would like to get a good sampling of the neighborhood with regards to this issue. Let us know what you think. Please contact the Message Center, (408) 441-RGNA, or via e-mail, rgnaweb@hotmail.com, with either a "yea" or "nay".
The next Route 87 projects will soon begin construction.
DeSilva Gates construction company will begin pile driving for the new Skyport Drive interchange and Airport Parkway overcrossing in August. Noisy operations may only be conducted between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays. Vibrations may be felt at the neighborhood's north end. Caltrans and the City of San Jose will deliver fliers to each house prior to pile driving.
Eventually, Skyport Drive will connect to Technology Drive. There will be a full interchange at Skyport Drive and Route 87 (new access to the airport) and an overcrossing at Airport Parkway.
Later this fall, pile driving will begin at Hedding Street and Interstate 880 to construct new over- crossings.The neighborhood's southern end may also feel vibrations. Hedding Street at the Guadalupe River will be closed for up to six months, but you can drive across the Taylor Street bridge. Fliers will be distributed.
Caltrans and City of San Jose representatives will attend the August 27 board meeting to provide further updates. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact: Lauren Wonder, Caltrans, 408-232-0228, lauren_wonder@dot.ca.gov; or Liza Gonzalez, City of San Jose, (408) 277-2889, liza.gonzalez@ci.sj.ca.us.
- Lauren Wonder, Community Outreach, Caltrans
The 9th Annual Rosemary Gardens Neighborhood Picnic is scheduled for Sunday, September 15th. We will have food, entertainment, BINGO, music and a donation drawing. Come out, relax, and enjoy a day in in the sun and fresh air with the entire neighborhood.
The RGNA provides the hamburgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, and drinks. Please bring a salad, appetizer, vegetable dish, side dish or dessert to share with your friends and neighbors.
The donation drawing is our biggest fund raiser for the year. Volunteers will be selling tickets for the drawing. The proceeds from the ticket sales go to pay for neighborhood events like the Annual Picnic, National Night Out, Easter Bunny Parade, "Here Comes Santa", Star Party, etc. Prizes will include gift certificates, tickets to sporting events, museum passes, theatre tickets and more! There will be a magician, clown and a D.J. running games to entertain the kids.
Mark your calendars today!
As tempting as it may be to toss dead batteries, pesticides, and oil based paints into the garbage, it is against the law. These items are considered household hazardous waste (HHW) which are not only bad for the environment, but carry stiff fines if a resident is caught disposing of them improperly.
But there is good news, the Santa Clara Countywide HHW Program provides the general public and small businesses with a safe, immediate solution to the problem of HHW disposal. All you have to do is call (408) 299-7300 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., M-F, and schedule an appointment. The HHW coordinator will give a date, time, and location as to where to drop off your hazardous waste.
For more information, you can contact the HHW Program by calling (408) 299-7300 for additional information or you can visit their web site at http://www.hhw.org.
- Information provided by Silicon Valley Pollution Prevention Center
Many San Jose Residents are unfamiliar with the City of San Jose's Paint Program. This is a great program to take advantage of! Many of you qualify even if you think you don't. Please get this information out to your neighbors. This is a great way to spruce up your home and revitalize the neighborhood.
In essence, the City gives you $5,000 to paint your house. This is money that you DO NOT have to pay back! You must qualify as a "medium" income family or below (which in the Santa Clara Valley is a family of four making less than $96,000 a year).
You must use Kelly Moore, Dunn Edwards, Sherwin Williams or other approved paint of the same quality. Most homes are allowed only two colors. If the owner wishes to have another color added, the owner will need to pay the extra cost. If you are interested, you can call the City of San Jose Housing Department, City Painting Grant Program at (408) 277-5273.
1. A person came to my door panhandling. They said they were trying to raise bail money for a relative of theirs. Can people go door-to-door panhandling?
According to the San Jose Police Department's Cyber Cop 874, the answer is no. People in that situation may not go door-to-door panhandling. Any door-to-door salesman must carry a permit given by the City. SJPD recommends that anytime someone is going door-to-door panhandling that residents call 3-1-1.
If the person at the door becomes insistant or you feel intimidated, lock your door and call 9-1-1 immediately. Be prepared to give a description of the indiviual.
2. I received an anonymous flyer regarding a community meeting about an unnamed menacing resident. They want my support and my name, phone number, and address. The flyers say that the authorities need my help. Is this for real?
The RGNA was contacted by several upset and curious residents asking about the validity of a flyer that was circulated around the neighborhood. The flyer was given to the San Jose Police Department Community Service Unit, who informed the RGNA that there is no known investigation of any such person in our neighborhood.
Be very careful about any mysterious flyers, mail, e-mail, or phone calls that scare you into giving out personal information. These types of "scams" are getting to be quite common because they prey upon people's fears.
3. There is a sign at the corner of Technology Drive and Sonora Ave. which says "No Trespassing". Can we no longer use Technology Drive to access the businesses in the new Skyport complex?
You can still walk, jog, and/or run from the neighborhood, along Techonology Drive, to Skyport Drive. Catherine Perrino, Property Manager for Equity Office Properties Trust (EO), says the signs were erected by the construction crew building the apartments to discourage people from entering their construction site. EO has informed their security that residents are allowed to use Technology Drive to pass between the neighborhood and Skyport Drive, but residents are not allowed to wander around the construction sites which border either side of Technology Drive and Sonora Ave.
Got a question or concern? Contact the RGNA. You can e-mail us at rgnaweb@hotmail.com or call the Message Center at (408) 441-RGNA (7462). The RGNA does it's best to answer all questions and to publish the answers to the most popular questions and concerns that were received.
We are pleased to announce that the grant staff at CSJ Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services has approved the RGNA for a $3000 Community Action and Pride (CAP) grant. The grant money is to be used for our neighborhood's National Night Out - Ice Cream Social, the Annual Neighborhood Picnic, the Battery Replacement Program which is offered to RGNA members, and to cover the cost of the Rosemary Gardens Bi-Monthly newsletter.
To ensure that our list of 2002-2003 activites and projects would continue, board member Melanie Maruca submitted a five page grant request to the CAP grant staff. In May, Joseph Fota, President of the RGNA, was interview by the CAP grant staff about the reasons for the request. Finally, in July, the RGNA received the good news that we were approved!
The RGNA would like to thank CSJ Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services for their support of our neighborhood's endeavors.
Welcome to the Joyce Ellington Branch, formerly the Empire Branch, at 491 East Empire St. We invite you to come in and see the many changes we have made. In addition to books, magazines, books on tape and audio CD's, the branch also has videos and DVD's. Joyce Ellington has many of these materials in Spanish and Vietnamese. We also have a large children's area which also has computer CD's and LeapPad books.
San Jose Public Library is a 24/7 library. Check out our web site at www.sjpl.lib.ca.us. You can access the catalog and order books to be sent to any branch of your choice. You can also check to see when your books are due, what you have out and renew items. San Jose Public has many userful databases for your use at home, including EBSCO for magazines articles, Reference USA for information about companies, Dow Jones Int'l. and Health and Wellness Resource Center just to name a few. Join us in the Summer Reading Celebration, Reading Road Trip USA to prizes and to enjoy good books. The Summer Reading Celebration is open to all ages. For the pre-schoolers we have storytime on Friday at 10:30 and bilingual storytime at 1:15 on Fridays.
Support your local library by joining the Friends of the Library. For more information about the Joyce Ellington Branch you may call 286-5726 or stop in and say hello.
- Sharon Snow
Saturday, October 5th
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Your driveway or yard
Here's a great chance to make some extra money and clean out the garage! A $2 fee will be collected from each participating house on the day of the sale to help defray the cost of advertising. The RGNA will advertise in the San Jose Mercury News and the PennySaver. We will also post signs outside of the neighborhood and advertise in other neighborhood newsletters to help bring in buyers.
Take a walk around the neighborhood. Maybe you'll find a great bargain and we'll see you on PBS's Antiques Road Show!
Need Senior Housing or Care?
There is a FREE community service with a local history since 1939 licensed by the Dept. of Health Services that can help: The California Registry (800) 777-7575. Counselors will work with you by phone, fax, e-mail or U.S. mail to determine your specific needs.
Another outstanding resource is just off the press: Senior Services Directory 2002 is now published by the Santa Clara County Council on Aging. Their CareAccess system can also answer questions and guide you at (800) 510-2020 (Santa Clara County) or (408) 296-8290 (other areas).
Are you a Grandparent Caregiver?
You have a community program especially for you run by Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County: Grandparent Caregiver Resource Center. Their goal is to keep children connected to their families and enhance collaboration with other local agencies for a comprehensive system of support services.
Contact Catholic Charities at (408) 325-5164 or www.ccsj.org/users/gcrc.
On October 27, 2002, the Silicon Valley Marathon will be returning to San Jose, but the marathon will not be returning to the N. First St. area. This year's marathon will begin at Park Ave. and Almaden Blvd. and wind it's way up and around Los Gatos High School and finish back at Park Ave. and Almaden Blvd. Previously, the marathon was run down N. First St, which was an incovience for the neighborhood because it blocked off our entrance and egress. Working with San Jose Police Department and the CSJ Office of Cultural Affairs over the years, the RGNA was able to secure better cooperation for helping residents to enter and exit the neighborhood.
No complaints were received by the RGNA last year.
Since our last correspondence there have been lots of "goings on" here at Skyport.
First, the Skyport interchange (located adjacent to highway 87, right beyond the Courtyard Marriot Hotel) construction work is scheduled to begin this week. In addition, the construction of the residential units will commence the last week in July.
The City of San Jose has finally approved our drawing for the park and we anticipate that we will begin construction in August.
Finally, we have signed two new retail leases, Wells Fargo ATM and Sangam Indian Cuisine.
Remember, you are all invited to attend our Grand Opening on August 1 at 1:00 p.m. If you haven't already, you should be receiving your formal invitation within a few days. We will be serving Baskin Robbins Ice Cream sundaes and beverages and raffling off some fabulous prizes! Hope to see you there!
- Jonel Porta, Assistant Property Manager, Equity Office Properties Trust
More street lights are coming to the neighborhood. The 1300 block of Keoncrest is scheduled for street light construction late this year or early next year.
The plans are still in the design phase. After the design has been completed and approved, the design will be circulated to residents of the 1300 block along with planned construction dates.
- Information provided by Jeff Lee, CSJ Department of Public Works
SWEET AND SPICY BBQ SAUCE
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper
Combine sugar, ketchup, molasses, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pour Sweet & Spicy BBQ Sauce over 1 pound beef, chicken or pork; marinate for at lest 2 hours overnight before cooking.
CHUNKEY PECAN PIE BARS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 (1 stick)cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 (11.5 oz. pkg.)cups NESTLÉ®
TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet
Chocolate Chunks
1 1/2 cups pecans
Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Beat flour, butter and brown sugar in small mixer bowl until crumbly. Press into prepared baking pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Beat eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar, butter and vanilla extract in medium bowl with wire whisk. Stir in chunks and nuts. Pour evenly over baked crust.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.