Name the San José City Hall Falcon Chicks Contest

Deadline May 1st 

San José youth (ages 5 to 18) are invited to help name the four young falcons living atop City Hall! This year, the naming contest has extended to allow entries from both individuals and groups, so this could be done as a class or team project. The competition has also been broadened to include video, digital, and musical entries. Finalists will be selected by a panel of judges, with the winners selected through an online voting process. The City will announce the winning names in May before the fledglings fly. 

 

Nominations are due Saturday, May 1st to mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov or by mail to:

 

Falcon Naming c/o Mayor's Office

200 E. Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor

San Jose CA, 95113

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Chaboya Middle School Family Earthday

 

 

Councilmember Rose Herrera presented a commendation to the Garden Club at Chaboya Middle School's Family Earth Night on April 20th.

 

Chaboya Middle School started an Integrated Go-Green Program in January 2010 where a collaborative effort was initiated involving all 7th grade students, teachers, parents, community volunteers, School District maintenance staff, and the City of San José. This program incorporated with the 7th grade Science Curriculum and the City of San José's Environmental Services awarded the school an initial grant of $4,866 to construct their community garden.

 

Following the Integrated Go-Green Program, Chaboya Middle School started a Garden Club where all 7th and 8th grade students are welcomed to be a member. The Garden Club will continue the efforts of the Go Green Program with the philosophy of Planet, People, and Profits. The Garden Club hopes to be self sustaining through their sale of the garden harvest and worm castings. Additionally, as part of their educational goal, the Garden Club will schedule a field trip for its members to go to the Santa Clara Water facility and the Waste Recycling Facility, which is allocated in their budget.

 

The goal of the Integrated Go-Green Project at Chaboya Middle School and the Garden Club is to start and continue the grassroots community initiative that will be the roadmap for other schools in the Evergreen School District including 3 Middle Schools and 15 Elementary Schools.

 

For more information, please contact Eileen Ong-Osmond at eileenoo@hotmail.com or 531-9032. You may also contact Chaboya Middle School at 270-6900.

 

Evergreen Elementary School District Fourth Annual Reclassification Celebration

 

 

The Evergreen Elementary School District works hard to close the Achievement Gap in our schools and advocates for all students regardless of their background, condition, or circumstances. On March 31st, Councilmember Herrera presented a commendation to the Evergreen Elementary School District Fourth Annual Reclassification Celebration for their contributions in education and ensuring student academic achievement for all. They graduated approximately 500 students from the Evergreen Elementary School District English Learners Program on March 31st. The students were limited in English when they entered the English Learners Program and are now fully proficient in the English language and have met the State and District requirements for reclassification. Congratulations again students, parents, faculty, and staff for this wonderful accomplishment!

 

District 8 Community Budget Meeting

 

 

 

The District 8 Community Budget Meeting was held on March 29th at Quimby Oak Middle School and over 30 residents were present to learn about the City's budget and voice their concerns while offering ideas to help our City better serve our community. Thank you to all of you who came out. During these tough economic times it is important that we all work together to help find solutions and share thoughts on how to solve the City's budget constraints.

 

Grand Opening of the Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

 

 

Clean Slate Tattoo Removal  

Clean Slate Tattoo Removal is a free program within the City of San José Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, Community Services Division.  They are currently enrolling youth for the new cycle that will begin in April.  The program removes visible gang-related tattoos for youth between the ages of 14 and 25.  Youth must live in the City of San José, be gang-free, going to school, enrolled in a job-readiness program or already working in order to enroll.  Once enrolled, participants must complete a 10-week life skills group and complete 30 hours of community service before laser treatment begins. 

Clean Slate Tattoo Removal works in collaboration with Santa Clara County Health and Ambulatory Care (Valley Medical Center) to provide the laser treatment clinic.  Medical staff from SCCHAC volunteers their time to operate the clinic.   

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San José is Among the Top 10 Happiest and Healthiest Cities in the Nation

USA Today reported that San José is one of the top 10 happiest and healthiest cities in the nation. Rankings are based on findings from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which conducted interviews with more than 353,000 Americans in 2009. Interviewees were asked to assess their jobs, finances, physical health, emotional state of mind, and communities.  Those who reside in cities with a population of 1 million or more, like San José, showed higher levels of well-being and optimism.

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Destination of the Week: San José, California

San José was featured in Mother Nature Network as the "Destination of the Week," each week, the "Destination" article highlights green activities to enjoy in a particular city (in the U.S. and beyond).

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Volaris Airlines offers Flights from San José to Guadalajara

Volaris Airlines will launch service from San José to Guadalajara on Friday, April 30th. This represents the ongoing efforts over the past 14 months by many people, including Airport and City staff, the Mayor and City Councilmembers, our partners at the Convention and Visitors Bureau and Chambers of Commerce, leaders in our Hispanic community, and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.  

When Volaris first visited San José in early 2009, they were very impressed with the new airport, our community's commitment to support them, and the strong market here.  We're delighted that Volaris is expanding its network with San José, and in the coming weeks, they will be working to coordinate launch events, marketing support, and to enlist our community to welcome them here. Volaris is our first new carrier coming to SJC in five years, and we look forward to their success and expansion of service by Volaris in San José in the future.

2010 Pavement Maintenance Program

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is responsible for maintaining 2,365 miles of street pavements throughout the City of San José. Each year, an annual pavement maintenance plan is developed and implemented based on available resources, street and network conditions, and the City and department priorities. The following memorandum has been prepared to provide the City Council with a description of the current pavement conditions and funding needs and an overview of the major pavement maintenance projects planned for 2010.

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Learn About Housing in your Community by Planning a Housing Tour

In order to learn more about land use policy in your community and to make informed land use decisions, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group invites you to participate in planning a Housing Tour. Right now is a great time to get involved because San José is updating its General Plan. The updates to this document will guide all land use and transportation decisions for the next 20 years. This is the time to learn more, and be involved in shaping the future of your city.

On May 22nd the Silicon Valley Leadership Group will take between 50-60 citizens interested in seeing examples of well done -- and sometimes not well done -- infill development on a tour through the Bay Area. But before the tour can take place, it must be planned. It is crucial to involve the community in the tour planning efforts. After all we are working to make our communities more livable for everyone.

Planning the tour is a great way to meet other people interested in community building, and a great way to learn more about homes in your community. The time commitment is minimal; there will be 2 to 3 planning team meetings with a majority of communication taking place via email. For more information contact Nick Rajkovich at 408-501-7873 or nrajkovich@svlg.org.

California High-Speed Rail Authority Launches Online Survey

California High-Speed Rail Authority designed a survey asking for feedback about how they can design a website tailored to provide the information most important to you and your community, and how you prefer to receive such information. Your answers will help redesign the CHSRA website, making it convenient for you to learn more about California's high-speed rail system as well as help you get involved in shaping the project in your community.

Click here to give them your input.