 Latest 49er News: 49ers Stadium Going to the BallotAfter several months of lingering discussions, hours upon hours of City Council hearings and meetings and a bevy of public input, Santa Clara City Council voted unanimously, 7-0 in favor of placing the San Francisco 49ers stadium proposal on the November 2008 ballot.
Due to CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) restrictions... Click Here for Complete Story |
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SaveBAREC Says Defeat of Measures A&B Will Launch New Discussion of BAREC Future
If Measures A & B pass (namely, if the "Yes on A & B" side prevails), then the land will be developed with 110 single-family homes and 162 senior units)...Click Here for Complete Story
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State Favors Plan for BAREC
In February, Santa Clara voters are going to decide whether or not to go forward with the proposed Santa Clara Gardens development project for the for former UC Agricultural Research Station (BAREC) on Winchester Blvd. Click Here for Complete Story
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 Changing the Tune About WrestlingBy Carolyn Schuk
Last Saturday's Troopslam wrestling show – a benefit supporting VFW veteran services -- offered an unusual opportunity to experience this performance art and its practitioners close-up in the relaxed venue of the Santa Clara VFW Hall.
Wrestling an art? Let's face it; if you ask people who aren't fans their opinion of professional wrestling, you can count on a dismissive answer. Like Rodney Dangerfield, wrestling gets no respect from those who don't follow the sport – unlike, say, baseball -- and when it gets the attention of the mainstream press – which is rarely – it's usually sneering or apologetic.
For example, here's journalist Joe Queenan writing in the New York Times in 2004: "…professional wrestling, a long-running national joke that has never been professional and has rarely involved wrestling." Lawrie Mifflin, also of the Times, wrote this in 1999: "To…gussy up wrestling's rather unsavory image… the TNT network took its World Championship Wrestling show on the road to four universities."
All this snobbery misses the point. In the words of retired wrestling champ and former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura, “Wrestling is ballet with violence.” The key word is ballet. Does anyone ask if Swan Lake is "true" or call MacBeth "phoney" because Shakespeare wrote the ending five centuries ago? Click Here for Complete Story
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 The Race Against Time for Friedreich’s Ataxia—A true test of endurance
Last year the Santa Clara Weekly published a series of articles on local teenager, Matt Rupel, and his battle against a rare, life-threatening disease called Friedreich’s ataxia that causes progressive damage to the nerves and muscles. Matt is now 17 years old.
A year ago, his ataxia caused him to “walk like a drunken sailor,” but he was still optimistic he could make it through high school without using a wheelchair. Unfortunately, his ataxia has worsened significantly, and recently he made the tough decision to switch to wheels for most of his daily activities. (Watch for an upcoming article on Matt’s ups and downs over the course of the last year.) Click Here for Complete Story
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 New American Bistro Opens on El Camino
Forget about Denny’s. Santa Clara residents are flocking to Café Amilia, the new American café and bistro on 3590 El Camino Real at Lawrence Expressway at the location of the extinguished Flames Coffee Shop. Café Amilia serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with tasty eats such as its signature hazelnut French toast with grilled bananas, the satisfying “Angus” flat iron steak salad, and the creamy and light scallop and prawn fettuccini.
“While planning the restaurant’s theme and menu, I took into consideration that from Lawrence Expressway to Lafayette Street to El Camino, there are a variety of nice ethnic restaurants, but few real American restaurants. So I wanted to open up an American restaurant,” owner Yong Choi says. Click Here for Complete Story
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 Book by SCU Professor Plumbs the Catholic History of Women's Ordination
You might expect the author of a new book titled The Hidden History of Women's Ordination: Female Clergy in the Medieval West to be a radical and an iconoclast.But Dr. Gary Macy, John Nobili S.J. Professor of Theology in Santa Clara University's Religious Studies Department, is anything but the provocateur suggested by that title. In fact, in the book's introduction the genial Macy writes, "This is not a book I ever intended to write." Click Here for Complete Story
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 Chief of Police Presents Reward in Graffiti Apprehension Case
On May 2, 2008, Santa Clara Chief of Police Chief Steve Lodge presented Santa Clara residents John and Lupe Woodworth with a $250 check as part of the City’s Graffiti Watch Reward Program. The reward program is part of the City’s comprehensive graffiti eradication efforts.
"One of the things that makes Santa Clara such a safe community is the willingness of our citizens to get involved. The police cannot be everywhere and we rely on such fine people as the Woodworth’s to be our eyes and ears so that those responsible for ... Click Here for Complete Story
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 City Council Roundup
Santa Clara City Council Meeting, May 6, 2008
Continuances/Exceptions
Continuance of the "Committee of the Whole" to Review the Proposed 49ers Stadium Design The 49ers had originally requested a "Committee of the Whole" meeting to review the proposed stadium design. However they contacted the City Manager’s office to request postponing the meeting as they are currently in the midst of “ongoing conversations with Cedar Fair to help address their concerns and refine the stadium site plan.” The 49ers requested postponing the presentation until after they have “developed additional clarity on the site layout and parking configuration.” A new date for the “Committee of the Whole” presentation will be scheduled in the future. Click Here for Complete Story
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Dance, Dance, Dance
The dancers performing in the Showtime Theater at California’s Great America Theme Park had the audience tapping their feet with dances running the gamut from the Charleston to Hip-Hop.
2008 marks the 21st annual four-day event, Dance Days Festival. Taking place on two consecutive weekends, April 19 and 20 and April 26 and 27, Dance Days allows dancers from studios and schools, in addition to parks and recreation programs, to participate in a non-competitive professional setting.
According to Stephanie Saenz, Coordinator of the event, “the dancers are between the ages of two and 18-years-old and are from a radius of 200 miles. There are different skill levels. “Great America is a fun place and we provide a user-friendly venue ... Click Here for Complete Story
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In Police Work, Like Life, Teamwork Makes the Difference
The Mark Achilli homicide in March has garnered plenty of headlines with its lurid, pulp fiction details. But what doesn't get any press is how teamwork between the Los Gatos PD and SCPD unraveled the steamy – and seamy -- case as smoothly as legendary hard-boiled detective Mike Hammer negotiating a buxom cutie's brassiere.
The former owner of Mountain Charley's and 180 Restaurant & Lounge (both in Los Gatos) 53 year-old Achilli was murdered gangland-style in front of his home on March 14. Click Here for Complete Story
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State of California Senior Legislature
Eminent Domain is a legal right of state and local governments to acquire private property for the public good so long as they pay fair market value. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that government can use eminent domain to take personal property and transfer it to a private developer for private use and profit. More than 40 states have reformed their eminent domain laws. California has not. Two propositions dealing with this issue will appear on the June Primary ballot.
Proposition 98 would amend the State Constitution to constrain state and local governments to take private property, cut certain mandatory housing programs, and phase out rent control. Click Here for Complete Story
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Triton Museum Hosts Mission College Art Faculty Show
Santa Clara's Triton Museum is known for its innovative exhibits of talented California artists. And Santa Clara-based Mission College is renowned for its gifted art faculty. So the museum's current exhibit of the work of Mission College art faculty, Mission to the Triton, is a match made in heaven.
Triton Senior Curator George Rivera played an instrumental role in this first-of-its-kind show; in the process drawing on his own experience, first as a student and now as a painting instructor, in California's community college system.
"The role of community colleges in forming an artistic community is a well-kept secret," Rivera says. "That's how I got into art -- I went to a community college. Click Here for Complete Story
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City Gearing Up for General Plan Update
You probably heard that Santa Clara is updating the City's General Plan. But how many of us know what a General Plan is or what's in it?
"It's the blueprint for the city and provides the foundation for all development and land use decisions within the city," explains Santa Clara City Planner Carol Anne Painter. "It shows where land uses should be – residential, commercial, schools, parks – what types of housing, density ranges."
The General Plan gets updated about every ten years – the first was developed in 1960. The last comprehensive General Plan was done in 1992.
This year's plan will cover the years 2010 to 2035. Click Here for Complete Story
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| Critics Corner- |
| | Razz on Wine: July 23, 2008
Tess and I thought we'd take a little trip to Bandon, on the Oregon coast. This little village has a few spectacular restaurants as well...
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| | The Dish Restaurant Review: Parcel 104
Ask Santa Clarans where to go for a celebration, and many will point you to Parcel 104, a gem of a restaurant located in a rather worn Marriott Hotel near Mission College.
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| Weekly Columns - |
| | Events: July 23, 2008
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| | Work Daze: July 23, 2008
Bad news, fellow worker-bees. Global warming may be raising temperatures at company branches in the North and South Pole, but back in here in headquarters, we're freezing our buns off.
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| | Milestones: July 23, 2009
We all know that a roller coaster goes up and goes down but is it possible that one might go sideways?
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| | No Guarantees: July 23, 2008
We met first in the Beacon, new employee orientation, in June of 1980 at the old Unionmutual.
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