Silicon Valley Houserockers Rock Franklin Square
By Melissa McKenzie
Face painting, kettle corn, free balloons, games, and drinks; the scene was unmistakable. The roads surrounding Franklin Square were blocked off as families and friends came together for the annual Franklin Square Street Dance on Friday, August 12.
This year, the Santa Clara Cultural Advisory Commission bypassed last year's act, The Sun Kings, and went with KFOX's Battle of the Bands winner, The Silicon Valley Houserockers. The Houserockers are a 10-piece rock and soul band from Los Gatos that plays a variety of music; including Stevie Wonder's Superstition, Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer, Rob Thomas featuring Santana's Smooth, and even Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools.
The Houserockers combined a mix of fast-paced beats with slower melodies and managed to keep concertgoers dancing from the moment they took the stage until the very last song. And while most attendees were meeting up with old friends, or spending time with their families, others used the event as an opportunity to make new friends, like Ananda Dancing Heart of Santa Clara and Donna Sadler of Sunnyvale. "I came to dance; to have fun," said Sadler. "We just met tonight," added Dancing Heart.
It was Sadler's first Santa Clara Street Dance and she felt that the concert was "very good," but thought there weren't enough people dancing.
Santa Clara Cub Scouts from Pack 43 Provide Service to Santa Clara School
Scouts paint picnic tables at Sutter Elementary School
Cub Scouts from Santa Clara's Pack 43 converged on Sutter Elementary School to refinish picnic tables and benches.
"Sutter Elementary graciously lets us use their multipurpose room every month for our Pack meetings.
Getting to Know Bobbie Plough: Santa Clara Unified School District's New Superintendent
By Cynthia Cheng
Bobbie Plough credits her parents for teaching her about the value of education.
"My parents revered education and talked about how being a teacher is one of the most wonderful things you can do," Plough says. "Their respect for education was one of the reasons I became interested in getting into education."
Driven by her parents' support, Plough's career in education has spanned 35 years. She spent 13 years teaching middle school and high school social sciences.
Sclavo Joseph Di Vita
(May 23, 1920 - July 29, 2011)
Born in Tuscany, Italy to Benigno and Quinta Di Vita, Brother to the late Mero and Meri Di Vita, Father to the late Silvia Marie and Evelyn Di Vita. He was married to the late Silvia Pasquinelli Di Vita. 1947 - 1977 He is survived by his loving wife of 33 years, Elizabeth "Betty" Caramucci Di Vita, Brother in law Joseph Caramucci (Margaret) San Rafael, Cousin Raymond Hilken (Barbara) Huntington Beach, And many cousins, nieces and nephews. In 1922, he traveled from Italy with his Mother, First Class on the Italian Liner "Julius Ceasare", to meet his Father in San Francisco.
5th Annual Pasta Bowl Serves up Fun and Raises Money for Local Charities
By Robert Haugh
Prior to putting their game faces on and stepping onto the rough-and-tumble Gridiron, San Francisco 49ers players, along with Owner Dr. John York, President/CEO Jed York, Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, General Manager Trent Baalke and Silicon Valley executives were donning aprons, serving as celebrity waiters for nearly 1,000 guests at the fifth annual Pasta Bowl at the Santa Clara Convention Center on August 9 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.
Laughing, mingling and smiling widely with attendees, players seemed to be having as much fun as event patrons, getting a well-deserved break from the practice fields
SCPD Lt. Dan Winters pours water for customers during the Tip-A-Cop fund raiser for Special Olympics at The Fish Market restaurant.
A Budget Tale of Three Bay Area Cities
By Carolyn Schuk
We know how severe our operating budget problems have been in Santa Clara. But how are neighboring cities faring?
Owens Corning Invests Big in Santa Clara Manufacturing Operation
By Carolyn Schuk
In the Feb 1, 1950 Toledo Blade, Darr Construction Company advertised new two-bedroom bungalows for $450 down.
SCPD Police Explorers
Girl Scout Troops 60118 and 61445 along with SCPD Police Explorers met at the American Leigon on Homestead on August 10 to fill 720 backpacks for needy children in Santa Clara.
Outing Cosmetics Companies by Creating a Pure Product
By Melissa McKenzie
For years cosmetics companies have been capitalizing off our youth-obsessed society by selling products, mostly to women, containing anti-aging, moisturizing, drying or acne-fixing chemical compounds. Many of them work, but what most women don't realize is that each time they apply
Getting Plenty of Kicks in Santa Clara: 11th Annual Santa Clara Cup
By Robert Haugh
Featuring over 1,100 young athletes and over 1,500 spectators 60 teams battling it out, all vying to claim gold, there was undoubtedly no shortage of exciting soccer action, proving that the Santa Clara Cup is one of the premier soccer tournaments in the state.
Mayor Jamie Matthews cuts the ribbon at the ScuttleBugs Grand Opening celebration on August 9
Sports Briefs
By Melissa McKenzie and Robert Haugh
Umoja Track Club Youth Represent Santa Clara in 45th USATF Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
Umoja Track Club, founded in 2001 and located in Santa Clara, entered 33 athletes July 26 through 31, returning with 19 medals, concluding a very successful year.
One of Umoja's athletes is 7-year-old Estevan Osuna, a Santa Clara resident who is a second grader at St. Justin School, the grandson of Frank and Bernadette DeSousa, long time Santa Clara residents - Bernadette worked over 30 years with the city of Santa Clara.
In Osuna's first year competing in track and field, he competed in the 100M, 200M, 400M, 800M, 1500M, long jump and the javelin, qualifying to the Olympics by throwing the javelin 31 feet, which placed him in the top five in the 7-8 year old age group at the Regional 14 Championships.
The Harris-Lass Family Fun Day
