Stay Connected
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Dear Neighbor,
As part of the budget process for the City of San Jose, I submitted budget requests for numerous programs in East San Jose and the entire City that were all supported and passed as part of the 2018-19 budget. First I submitted a request to
fund a Domestic Violence Response Team that would provide an on-site response with our trained advocates at the YWCA for the most dangerous domestic violence cases in our community. Last year San Jose received the highest number of domestic violence calls in the past ten years. In addition, we are allocating $150,000 this year to a more flexible housing fund to ensure that families are able to stay in their home further reducing the trauma to children and families. I thank all of my colleagues that supported this proposal because the goal is to save lives. You can review the memo by clicking the link below.
We also received funding to provide our youth with scholarships for swim lessons at the Mayfair Community Center for the summer. The funding would provide 400 low-income youth the ability to learn how to swim to be healthy and recreate while being safe and utilize one of of our community resources for the summer. To learn more about how to enroll in the program to go to
SWIM.
I will also be providing funding to fund any unmet needs for summer camp scholarships at Mayfair to ensure that every child who wants to go to camp but cannot afford it has the opportunity. If you have a child that meets these criteria, please let my office know and we will connect you with one of the great city programs.
For the second year in a row I am opening the
Alum Rock Youth Center for night basketball, games, food and fellowship to keep your youth out of the street and working with our parks and recreation leaders to build leadership skills. We will have flyers soon for the open gym nights.
I am supporting the Hispanic Foundations
Family College Success Center which served over 2,000 of our youth who are seeking help with their courses, entrance tests and the application process to get into college. This year our Hillview and Alum Rock Library will have a brand new 3-D Printer to engage our youth in STEAM education. I look forward to see the amazing projects that will be coming out of our libraries.
If you have any questions on any of these events or policies, please contact my office at 408-535-4905.
Many thanks,
Vice Mayor /
Vicealcalde
Magdalena Carrasco
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VTA's Summer Youth Pass offers unlimited rides on VTA bus and light rail all summer long for a discounted price of only $60. VTA's Summer Youth Pass is the perfect way for youth to get to summer jobs, the movies, the mall, and all their favorite places.
For questions about VTA services and programs, please direct interested individuals to VTA Customer Service (408) 321-2300,
[email protected]
, or
www.vta.org
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Mayfair Community Center
12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
"Our Senior Nutrition program will have a free band (Bad Boys-SJPD officers band ), as well as a folkloric group including our senior participants. Our preschool program will create paper plate tambourines and if time permits will present a song for our senior participants. Our teen programs have a sing off and rap battle within our teen program. Lastly, our Therapeutic program will create maracas within program and play along with music." Contact: Leticia Espino ([email protected])
Dr. Roberto Cruz - Alum Rock Library Branch
4:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Performance by Los Panaderos
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Los Panaderos are a traditional Mexican folk music and dance collaboration based in the South Bay, pride themselves in educating their community through song and dance. Their repertory features "Son Jarocho" music and dance from the state of Veracruz; "Son Huasteco" music and dance from the states of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, and Veracruz; "Son Mariachero" music and dance from the states of Jalisco y Nayarit; and "Bay Area Fusion" that is a blend of contemporary, bilingual music performed on contemporary, traditional, and Mexican instruments."
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| San Jose Public Library Kicks-Off the Free Summer Food Program |
For the fifth consecutive year, San José Public Library will provide children with a nine-week summer meal program in collaboration with YMCA, California Summer Meal Coalition, Revolution Foods, and Second Harvest Food Bank to help fuel children's futures through healthy meals and fun activities. To kick-off the Free Summer Food Program, a special public celebration was held on May 31 at the Educational Park Branch Library. The event began with a story time presented by the San Jose Earthquakes and followed by opening remarks from Councilmember Lan Diep, City Librarian Jill Bourne and representatives from YMCA Silicon Valley and Second Harvest Food Bank. The guest speakers served lunch to children, teens and their families, and the celebration featured a variety of activities including STEAM-related programs and a book giveaway. Educational Park Branch Library is one of seven branch libraries hosting lunch for children and teens this summer from June 11 to August 10, 2018. For a complete list of participating locations and details, visit: www.sjpl.org/summerfood, or contact Nancy Macias, SJPL Public Information Representative, at 408-808-2092.
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Diridon Station Area Planning Meeting
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Learn about transit improvements, previous planning goals, and possible development happening in the Diridon Station Area, including a potential Google project. You can join the conversation in your neighborhood on
Saturday, June 23, 10:00-12:00 PM, Mayfair Community Center
The purpose of the forums is to share information and gather input from the general public on their hopes, fears, and ideas related to transit improvements, a potential Google development, and the future of the Diridon area. The forums will supplement feedback gathered at other public events and from the Station Area Advisory Group (SAAG). Each forum will offer snacks, beverages, and childcare. The June 23 forum at Mayfair will be held in Spanish, with live translation into English using headsets. At the other three events, translation services from English to Spanish, Mandarin, Vietnamese, or American Sign Language will also be available, upon request. See the project website for more information on the forums and community engagement process:
www.diridonsj.org/forums.
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Read to Learn and Win Prizes at your Library
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The San José Public Library has kicked off its Summer Learning at all library locations. The annual summer program provides an opportunity for participants to win prizes by simply tracking their reading, and helps people of all ages improve their literacy skills with just 20-minutes of reading a day. All 24 library locations will offer free, fun, educational events for all to enjoy and learn something new over the summer. Register today, as the two-month literacy program concludes on July 3. For more information, visit www.sjpl.org/summer or contact Nancy Macias, SJPL Public Information Representative, at 408-808-2092.
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Starting June 4 through August 30 (dates and locations vary) Viva Parks Neighborhood Activation Series - Weekday evenings just became a bit more active for 17 San José parks. The 13-week series operates Monday-Thursday, June 4 through August 30 from 6:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., and is extended to 10:30 p.m. on movie nights. The popular park activation series, led by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, activates parks in Districts 2, 3, 5, 7, and 8. Get to know your city and neighbors and enjoy a family-fun night out. For a full list of dates and locations, visit sanjoseca.gov/placemaking.
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Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Dumpster Day
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On May 19th my office and I worked with the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Association to clean up the neighborhood around Robert Sanders and Mount Pleasant Elementary School. We worked closely with Melissa Got-Lopez, Cindy Aviles, Trudy Ellerbeck, Jose Ortiz, and other neighbors to fill up seven dumpsters. With the help of your neighbors we were roaming around the community with several trucks to pick up illegally dumped items and trash in the streets. We were even able to knock on a few doors to ask if people wanted their furniture or scrap metal sitting outside to be hauled away for free! It was great to see how much junk we were able to keep off streets but please be mindful that we should all aim to consume less.
Every single thing that we buy can someday end up the landfill so use your wallet wisely! We can help save the Earth with each decision we make at the store.
It was truly a pleasure to work with the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood on this dumpster day and my office is focused on cleaning up East San José. I fought for the city's free and unlimited junk pick-up program. Yes! You can have your large and bulky items picked up for free at your home all year. Call California Waste Solutions at (408) 213-7800 and stay on the line to set up an appointment. If you have any questions, contact our office at (408) 535-4905
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Capitol Expressway Light Rail Project Meeting
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VTA is moving forward with plans to extend the light rail by 2.4 miles along Capitol Expressway from the current station at Alum Rock to Eastridge Mall.
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| Safe Parking Program - Amigos de Guadalupe |
The housing crisis in Silicon Valley forces families and individuals to make the difficult decision every day and night of where to find a safe place to stay and access services.
Call (408) 509 9221 to learn more about overnight parking for residents living in their vehicles,
and get linked to housing support and wrap around basic need services @
Amigos de Guadalupe: 1897 Alum Rock Ave #35 San Jose CA 95116
La crisis de la vivienda en Silicon Valley obliga a las familias e individuos a tomar la difícil decisión todos los días y noches de encontrar un lugar seguro donde quedarse y obtener a los servicios necesarios para sobrevivir. Llame al (408) 509 9221 para obtener más información sobre el estacionamiento durante la noche para los residentes que viven en sus vehículos, y conectarse con el apoyo de vivienda y los servicios básicos para sobrevivir @ Amigos de Guadalupe: 1897 Alum Rock Ave # 35 San José CA 95116
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| Participatory Budgeting Update |
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Participatory Budgeting for 2018 is rolling right along and my office has received thirty-three ideas so far! I am so excited to see what our community has been focusing on and we are looking forward to getting the estimates for these ideas and formatting them into concrete proposals to be voted on. We have received projects to make our parks livelier, to light up the gloomier areas of our district, to improve the streets, and to increase the quality of life in San José.
My team is also looking for budget delegates who will be tasked with taking these ideas and packaging them into polished proposals to be placed on a ballot. They will work with city departments to get project estimates and work with other members of the community to make a final list of proposals. If you would like to be a budget delegate, please call Sachin Radhakrishnan at 408-768-2039. You can email him at
[email protected]
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On Saturday June 2nd we had over 50 volunteers picking up litter on the corner of McKee and Capitol Expressway. In partnership with Trash Punx, Echo Church and the Downtown Streets Team we were able to pick up over 150 bags of trash. To view the short video on the day and some great photos go to The Trash Punx.
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| Business Improvement District - Alum Rock |
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In case you missed it, I have set aside $175,000 for a consultant to work with the Alum Rock Santa Clara Street Business Association to begin the feasibility phase of creating a Business Improvement District. Also known as a PBID, these projects are meant to both enhance and improve the services and make for a more enjoyable experience for business owners and visitors alike. The services provided through a PBID are in addition and not in replacement of City services. Services include but are not limited to maintenance, safety, nuisance abatement, business development, capital improvements, parking, marketing, and special events. These projects are also good for attracting new businesses and revenue.
The exploratory and feasibility phase are officially under way and the consultants have started to draw out preliminary outlines of the businesses and properties. My office, the consultants, as well as the Alum Rock Santa Clara Street Business Association will begin outreaching to inform and educate the businesses and properties that would benefit and encourage them to come on board. We are excited to continue this progress and we hope that you are too!
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On May 17th my office joined business owners and/or their representatives from the Alum Rock Santa Clara Business Association, as well as the San Jose Police Department and their Crime Prevention Unit in a Business Watch meeting at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Topics discussed included crime, theft, loitering, and ways to prevent these issues, also discussed were safety, police response times and updates from Captain Randy Schriefer. Captain Schriefer informed us that police officers have made significant progress in preventing crime along the Alum Rock Corridor as well as increase in police officers on duty. Businesses were reminded of city services available to help make the business corridor more safe and enjoyable including downloading the My San Jose App to report abandoned vehicles, graffiti, illegal dumping, potholes, streetlight outages, as well as general request.
Businesses were encouraged to use Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), the concept of using our physical surroundings to deter and discourage criminal activity which in turn can help improve the quality of life for the surrounding community. Examples include adequate lighting, cameras, securing proper locks on doors and windows, chimers for doors to indicate entry, one-way tint for privacy and safety on windows as well as proper fencing and signage. Businesses were also introduced to SJPD's STOP program, which permits officers to enter the property and request for assistance to enforce trespassing laws. Remember to call the police to report a crime or any suspicious activity.
To host a Business Watch meeting, to schedule a CPTED assessment, or for more tips, contact the Crime Prevention Unit at (408) 277-4133
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