Rants and Raves

Here is the weekly open forum. You can be funny if you want.

26 Comments

  1. Jack:

    the recycling book and web page I linked to clealy state the legal times are 6a-6p. Is there a number we can call to report pickups outside of those times?

  2. What you don’t like living is a 24 hour downtown – activity and noise is what you get in a big city downtown

    – Ops sorry forgot you Old Guy REALLY want is San Jose’s small town sleepy downtown so you can get your sleep after 10 pm

  3. I have to laugh at you people who move downtown and then complain about noise. What’s next, backlash against walkable neighborhoods and tall buildings?

  4. Stop The Violence Peace March, Sunday, June 29, 2008
    Contact Person:  Casandra Hosseini (408) 206-2881

    Please Join The Hosseini Family For The Stop The Violence Peace March Being Held In Loving Memory of Vahid Hosseini

    When: This Sunday, June 29, at Noon. We will be meeting at Sacred Heart Church in San Jose (325 Willow Street, in front of the Church.) The following speakers will kick off the march promptly at noon:

    Assembly Member Beall, Supervisor McHugh, Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Karr, Council Member Liccardo, Dr. Marquita Byrd from the Martin Luther King Association, and Jim Cogan President of the Crime Stoppers Board of Directors.

    Route of the march:
    The march will begin promptly at 12:30 pm. We will march down Willow Street, making a left on First Street, a right on Santa Clara Street, down to City Hall (200 East Santa Clara Street). We will gather at the right side of the Rotunda.

    The following speakers at City Hall will begin promptly at 1:30 pm:

    Mayor Reed

    Vice Mayor Cortese

    Chief Rob Davis

    Dr. Nabi Raza Abidi

    Dr. Marquita Byrd of the Martin Luther King Association

    Clarissa Moore of Silicon Valley Faces

    Bud LoMonico Board Member of Crime Stoppers

  5. I just received this and thought some of you might be interested in participating, or may need the help yourself, or know someone who might.

    Second Harvest Food Bank is launching a major outreach of 250,000 tri-lingual flyers to distribute throughout Santa Clara County about food resources! 

    If you have already received this email, we apologize.  We are trying to make sure word gets out well and you may be on several of our team’s email lists.

    We plan on doing this outreach campaign through July.  We really need everyone’s help to make sure community members know about food resources available to help them eat nutritiously and make ends meet.

    The flyers also provide information about 2-1-1 on the other side for additional resource support.  The flyers were distributed to school children throughout the County before summer vacation started.  Now we need help from community members and service agencies in spreading the word that there are available food services. 

    Can you distribute to clients your agency serves? 
    Do you go to meetings where other agencies are that might have clients?
    Do you have a newsletter you could include this information in?

    Nearly 80,000 children in Santa Clara County rely on the free or reduced-price breakfasts and lunches they receive at school to provide a major share of their daily nutrition.  That’s 33% of the children ages 5-18 in our County.  When school lets out for the summer, parents are often left struggling to make up the lost meals, putting a strain on their already limited resources.  The Food Bank has a number of programs that can meet food needs of our community members.  The English/Spanish/Vietnamese flyer briefly describes the programs.  To access food programs nearby, anyone can call 1-800-984-3663 (Food Connection) to get a referral.

    Attached is a pdf of the flyer.  You may duplicate this flyer as you like, you may pick flyers up from our warehouse or you may contact Second Harvest Food Bank for copies of the flyer.  We will be happy to mail or deliver as many flyers to you as you need.  For more flyers, please contact Luz Ayala at

    ex*******@sh********.com











    or call her at 408-266-8866 x267.  Please let Luz know how many flyers you need, organization, address to send to and to whose attention the package should be delivered. 

    Thank you!

    Anna Olsen, MSW
    Associate Director of Programs and Services
    Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
    1051 Bing Street
    San Carlos, CA 94070



    ao****@sh********.com











    (650) 610-0800 or (408) 266-8866 extension 424

  6. It takes a village to raise a child, here is your chance to help keep a child from taking the wrong path.

    Court Appointed Special Advocate—Core Advocate

    Type of Assistance Needed: Child Advocates of Silicon Valley is seeking volunteers for their Court Appointed Special Advocate Program to become an Advocate for a child in the Santa Clara County Juvenile Dependency System. The mission of Child Advocates of Silicon Valley is to provide stability and hope to abused and neglected children by being a powerful voice in their lives. We fulfill our mission by matching trained community volunteers (Advocates) with children in the Juvenile Dependency system. Volunteers will serve as a friend and mentor to the child and present critical information to the Court on the child’s behalf to ensure that the child’s needs – social, emotional, academic – are being met. As stated by the Honorable Katherine Lucero, “I want an Advocate for every child. The consistent, stable presence of an Advocate can make the entire difference in a child’s ability to thrive.”

    Start Date:
    03/20/2008

    End Date:
    12/31/2010

    Time:
    This program is ongoing

    Projected Hours:
    12 hours per month, one year commitment required

    Skills/Experience Required: Advocates do not have to be attorneys, but a background in the law is helpful

    Special Training Required: A comprehensive, 30- hour training program will provide you with the knowledge and resources needed to make a difference in the life of a child! Additionally, a variety of Advocate discussion groups, films, books, speakers, and training sessions are made available throughout each year to provide Advocates with continuing training opportunities and to help them fulfill the annual 12-hour continuing training requirement.

    Comments: Background checks are required. Volunteers must also have a valid California Driver’s license, auto liability insurance, and three references. They also must complete a three hour visit to Santa Clara County Juvenile Dependency Court. 

    Practice Areas: Children’s Issues, Domestic Violence, Education, Family Law, Juvenile Delinquencies, Youth Issues

    Administration of Justice: NONE

    Contact Information

    * NOTE: If you wish to find out more about this opportunity please click on the email address below!

    Contact Name:
    Samantha Hamilton

    Contact Phone:
    (408) 573-5665

    Contact Email: *


    sa******@ca********.org











    Agency Website:
    http://www.BeMyAdvocate.org

  7. Jack,

    I have to agree with you on aircraft noise.  There is no acceptable reason for it to either exist, or to continue.  Although, I have seen this addressed in the past on this blog, it bears repeating.

    San Jose International needs to be moved to Hollister, or some other non-to-low populated area, and the 1000 acres used by the airport needs to be used in a manner than enhances downtown, increases tax revenue, and benefits society.  Notice that the airport in its current location ruins downtown, reduces tax revenue, and degrades society.

    Very few, if any, travelers come here because we have an airport.  They come here for other reasons, and will still come here whether they land in San Francisco, or Hollister.

    For some reason, anti-social, irresponsible behavior, is condoned when it occurs on an airport, or by a pilot.  This has to stop.  Airports, and pilots, are members of the community just like everyone else, and they need to act accordingly.  The current attitude is “I have an airplane, and I can do whatever I want, regardless of its effect on others.”  Not a very endearing attitude to win friends, yet that is the attitude in the aviation community.

    Of course, as long as we have incompetent, and/or corrupt, politicians who buy (or is it bought?) the pro-airport nonsense, there is little we as a society can do.

    Also, people who think that “noise” has a right to exist due its location, or because the noise was “there first”, need to be ignored.  No rational person supports noise.  Noise is the side effect of irresponsible, anti-social behavior, and it needs to be stopped.

    When anyone hears unwanted noise, they are being assaulted.  They are being physically assaulted by the noise, and it is time to start penalizing the noise makers.

    Just Google “noise health” and count how many hits state noise is a good thing.  The number will be approximately zero.

  8. @Hugh Jardonn
    me too. I live on bassett street, at the villa Torino, that’s probably why garbage trucks pops up 3 times a week.
    Sometimes at 5.30am sometimes 6am rarely after 6.45am and i have been woke up at 6am on Saturday before.

    I am actually quite scared by the amount of garbage that we produce.
    Not really sustainable and it’s going to cost more and more to process our waste.

    @Old Guy’s small town downtown
    @Nam Turk
    On the funny side i would love restaurant closing after 11pm~midnight in the downtown area, san jose is worth it.
    Dinner at 7pm(if it’s not 5pm) san jose “CowboysCops” at 10pm wake up at 6am by the garbage truck … even my grand father thinks it’s too early.

  9. John you are slipping!!!

    You should have done a parody on the Wimbledon pigeons and Music in the park.

    Would have read:

    “police shoot annoying patrons in the park; animal rights groups vary angry”.

    Get back on the caffein boy.

  10. According to this page:

    http://www.sjrecycles.org/residents/custservice.asp#magnet

    garbage “Collection times are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on your collection day.” I can verify this because 4 days per week, there’s a noisy garbage or recycling pickup on my street at 6AM that saves wear and tear on my alarm clock.

    Why the *#)& does the legal garbage pickup begin on quiet residential streets at %#$*&ing; AM??!!?? Even the airport curfew doesn’t lift until 0630. Why can’t the city, in it’s infinite wisdom shift the hours from 6a-6p to 7a-7p, at least in residential areas? It shouldn’t be that difficult. And why can’t the schedules of the trucks be staggered to that we don’t get more than one early morning pickup per week on any given street?

  11. Oops, my mileage was off there by about 10 miles. Still, considering the current trends, it will be an expensive proposition to drive down there and back.

  12. #16

    That is why, as #14 pointed out, a high-speed, non-stop, rail line needs to be built between SJ and the new airport in Hollister.  Park at the SJ terminal, and ride to the airport in quiet, fast, stress free luxury.

    Sounds like just the thing for the “Capitol of Silicon Valley”.  Technology to make life better.  Of course, our backward “leaders” insist on throwing money away on our obsolete airport.

  13. Jack and Stop Noise,
    Yes!!  Move SJC to the area between Gilroy and Hollister (or at least start studying the idea).  The current SJC location ruins our downtown and can’t even attract foreign air carriers from Asia (see Mercury News 6/27).  The current 1000 acres has so much urban potential, and our downtown could have real high-rises akin to Frisco.  Connect San Jose proper to remote Hollister SJC by high-speed rail line.  Turn current terminal expansion into shopping/housing.  The possibilities are endless.

  14. To the powers that be at our cities: please adjust the timing of traffic lights so we don’t waste gas by having to stop for a red light, sit for at least 30 seconds idling, and then accelerate when there is absolutely no other traffic and no reason to come to a stop. It is a waste of gas and causes excess wear and tear on our vehicles.

  15. All this talk about living downtown reminded me of my aunt’s first visit to our suburban home. She lived in an apartment house on a busy street in Brooklyn. You can imagine the steady noise from garbage trucks, buses and honking horns. This was before cell phones so people just yelled out the window when they wanted to talk to someone. Lacking parks kids played in the street. You get the picture. Back to suburbia – when she work up the following morning I asked her how she slept and she said terrible – the crickets kept me up all night!

  16. Before getting too giddy about high speed rail to the airport, remember that the chairman of HSRA (Quentin Kopp) is the same man who brought us the convoluted SFO extension. 

    To reach SFO in “quiet fast stress free luxury”:

    1) drive to Caltrain. 
    2) take Caltrain to Millbrae. 
    3) lug your bags onto BART. 
    4) take BART to San Bruno. 
    5) lug your bags onto another BART train.  6) take BART to the international terminal.
    7) take a people mover (or walk) to your terminal.

    In all, you have to take 4 different trains, and transfer your luggage five times.  It’s considerably more difficult than the old shuttle it replaced.

  17. Okay Jack, you said, “ Here is the weekly open forum. You can be funny if you want.” I am assuming that means we can poke fun at ridiculous people. I read these this morning and had to ask myself, how do idiotic people like this actually survive on a day-to-day basis given their level of intellect, or should I say the lack of it?

    The winning SJI blogger’s post with the best explanation for people like this, will win an all expense paid vacation to a Bed and Breakfast in Oak Hills owned by “Linda.”  They will also win, a tour of the famous site where the “Killer Bee Attack” occurred, three tons of honey, (Disclaimer: Honey can not be guaranteed pure!), a manual on, “How To Protect Your Pets From Stupid People”, a list of “Bee Experts” and their cell numbers, one Craftsman hammer to remove those pesky bee hives, and a brand new cell phone by Verizon. (Sorry headset not included.)  Miss Maddy Calafiore, who guarantees their prompt arrival, will chauffeur them in her parent’s newly acquired Lexus. (Disclaimer: Chauffeur does not guarantee their safety, and will require them to sign a waiver of Liability form to participate.)

    http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9729274?source=most_viewed

    http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9727961

    “This message was submitted to “Native”, for approval!”  wink

  18. #21, Kathleen –

    I heard come corporations were making donations to the aformentioned prize you speak about, including:

    – a donation by Johnson and Johnson of 50 boxes of no-stick band-aids to cover any bee-stings suffered from using the ‘Craftsman Hammer’ Bee Hive Removal System;

    – Kaiser Permanente has graciously agreed to donate 100 “epinephrin” pens.

    – Paris Hilton just announced a partnerhip with the Humane Society of the US, and announced a line of perfume that doubles as bee-repellent.  She is graciously offering Linda a lifetime supply.   

    – Gucci as announced a line of sequined, gold Lamet bee protection suits for pets, that are stylish, and will soon make your pet the envy of the neighborhood. 

    – Verizon Wireless has offered Ms. Calafiore a free Bluetooth Wireless headphone for use in her car while driving, complete with step-by-step instructions on setup and use.  Verizon reports that their offer was refused by Ms. Calafiore, because “it’s not cool – none of my friends are using it!”

  19. Speaking of saving gas and moving the airport, Hollister is 57 miles from San Jose. By the time a new airport could be built, what do you suppose gas will cost? Right now a round trip from SJ to Hollister costs in the neighborhood of $20. Maybe everybody will be driving electric cars by then, eh?

  20. Greg Perry:

    I agree with your comments about the BART to SFO extension. It’s truly horrible, and not a subsititue for the old van shuttle.

    I would use the SanTrans KX (former 7F) bus, which runs from Palo Alto to Belmont via El Camino, then via 101 to SFO. Fare’s cheaper that BART and the bus stops at all of the terminals.

  21. I have known the Hosseini family for 22 years. Vahid was a very loving compassionate man who shared his success with our community. Vahid was known for his compassion. Often times he would give bags of food to families who could not afford to feed their children, and retained his alcohol license, but refused to sell alcohol to minimize the sale of liquor in his neighborhood.

    He was an immigrant to this country, and worked very hard to make a better life for himself and his family. He gave back to this country by helping its poor and by being a good example of what a proud American citizen should look like. He and his wife raised two beautiful, loving, caring daughters, Casandra, and Alexandra, both of whom did his memory proud yesterday.

    I want to thank Assembly Member Beall, Supervisor Pete McHugh, Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Cortese, Chief Rob Davis, Captain Richard Calderon, Council Member Liccardo, District Attorney Carr, Dr. Nabi Raza Abidi, Jim Cogan of Crime Stoppers, Dr. Marquita Byrd President of MLK, Clarissa Moore of Silicon Valley Faces, Raji Baines of the Santa Clara County’s Youth Task Force, and Bud LoMonico of Crime Stoppers, for attending yesterday’s peace march, and for supporting this family during this very difficult time. Your visible support of this family is greatly appreciated.

    I want to thank Press Information Officer Enrique Garcia #2936, for helping Casandra Hosseini and I in getting the march set up, and for helping us get the word out to the press. His kindness, and compassion will never be forgotten. It is these kinds of Police Officers who make citizens of San Jose, and leaders of our City proud. 

    I want to thank the Police for making sure we could safely march through the streets, and I want to thank all of you marched with us, and who came out of your homes and spurred us on with cheers. One of the most beautiful aspects of this peace march was evidenced by the great cultural diversity of the people who attended and who gathered together, regardless of race, religion, financial status, or immigration status, or gender, to say enough is enough we’re taking our neighborhoods back!

    This family, and others like it need our support. Victims of crimes need to know they are not alone. We as a community must do the right thing and report crimes when we see them. If you are afraid then PLEASE call the Police Hot Line, or Crime Stoppers and report anything you know anonymously.

    This is our City, these are our neighborhoods, and we are in this together. We must help the Police by being an extra pair of eyes and ears because they cannot do this alone. Someone out there knows something, saw something, heard something, and your help is needed to give this beautiful man, and his family the justice they deserve.

    There is a reward of 30 THOUSAND Dollars, for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of these murderous thugs. The reward is growing daily, so please if you know something, any thing, please call and report it because you could be saving another person’s life. These thugs won’t stop at killing Vahid. Next time it could be your husband, your daughter, your wife, your mother, your father, or you.

  22. Peace march?

    Instead of a peace march I’d like to see 2,000 miles of loving, caring 20 foot walls in triplicate on our border with Mexico topped with rolls and rolls of compassionate, heart warming concentina wire all backed by beautiful, loving hightech security and survelliance infrastructure.

    I’d then like to see all loving, deeply warm, business owners given heartfelt mandatory prison sentences for hiring caring, deeply compassionate illegal aliens.

    And then I’d like to see all loving, caring illegal Latino criminals deported back to their loving, compassionate, heart warming countries of origin.

    Then and only then will we begin to drain the warm, caring, deeply loving latino crime swamp that we currently find ourselves mired in.

  23. Novice –

    In case you did not know, Vahid Hosseini and his entire family emigrated to the US LEGALLY.  He was a successful businessman, and a respected member of this community. 

    I don’t know what your post is trying to say. Are you trying to say that Vahid was killed by an illegal immigrant?  Your post comes off as very insensitive and cruel.  Please clarify.

    News stories on the Peace March –

    Mercury News:

    http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_9741927?nclick_check=1

    CBS Channel 5:

    http://cbs5.com/local/san.jose.peace.2.759747.html

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