March 25, 2005

NEWS BRIEFS

2005 Exito Escolar Scholarship Awards
Deadline to apply is April 1

The Exito Escolar Scholarship Awards were established to motivate and support Bay Area Latino youth as they pursue higher education. Last year Bay Area Latino students were awarded a total of $20,000 in college scholarships.

To apply, students must be a Bay Area resident enrolled in the 11th or 12th grade or must be a first or second year college student enrolled in an accredited community college or four-year university.

Completed scholarship award applications must be received by April 1 in the Univision 14 offices located at 50 Fremont St., 41st Floor, San Francisco, 94105. Applications that are not fully completed will be automatically disqualified.

To learn more about the 2005 Exito Escolar Scholarship Awards and to download the application, please visit http:www.univision.com and enter the uniclave: Exito Escolar. If you have any questions regarding the scholarship application process, contact the Univision 14 Public Affairs Department at (415) 538-6476.

Reminder: Carry the Vision peace conference April 2

You’re invited to join a community conference to engage in learning about vital resources for building a culture of peace in family life, and local and global communities.

As part of an international movement, “A Season for Nonviolence,” this day will draw on the wisdom and inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cesar Chavez, three great leaders who brought about socially beneficial change through nonviolent means.

In support of this vision for an empowered, nonviolent world, District 8 Councilmember Dave Cortese, Resources for Families and Communities and the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment are collaborating to bring the conference to the Evergreen community on Saturday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 800 participants are expected to attend.

The keynote speaker is Dolores Huerta, who is the most prominent Mexican-American civil rights activist in our country today. Huerta is co-founder and first vice president emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO (UFW) and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for youth. Price includes lunch and parking. The conference will take place at Evergreen Valley College, 3095 Yerba Buena Road, San Jose. The lunch is provided by the San Jose Sikh Community.

For more information or to register, go to the Web site: http://www.carrythevision.net or contact Adrianna Cota at (408) 277-5242 or email adrianna.cota@sanjoseca.gov. For more information about the Season of Nonviolence go to www.interfaithspace.org/snv.

Humane Society Silicon Valley seeks volunteers for foster care program

Need cat-lovers to help save kittens

Humane Society Silicon Valley is actively recruiting volunteers for its foster care program.

Cat-lovers who would like to help save kittens are in particular demand as the HSSV staff prepares for kitten season, when thousands of kittens are brought to the shelter in the spring, summer and early fall months, typically from April- October.

During these months in 2004, the Santa Clara shelter cared for more than 10,200 cats and kittens, sometimes receiving as many as 100 kittens a day.

Foster care provides quality care for animals that are too young to be placed for adoption. Foster parents are trained to care for the animals in their homes, providing them with social and medical attention so that they can eventually be adopted into permanent, loving homes. The Humane Society provides food, cat litter, fostering advice and veterinary care. Last year, foster parents cared for more than more than 700 animals in need.

Individuals interested in becoming a foster parent, can visit the Humane Society’s Web site at: http://www.hssv.org/ you_can_help/volunteer/positions/foster.htm, or they may contact Kris Gunderson by phone at 408.727.3383 ext. 872, or via e-mail at kris.gunderson@hssv.org.

People who would like to help but cannot foster kittens can donate Royal Canin kitten food, cat litter, towels or make a monetary donation. It costs about $25 a day to foster a mother cat and her five kittens.

Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County host 11th Annual Spring Garden Market

On Saturday, April 2, the University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County will have their 11th Annual Spring Garden Market from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Emma Prusch Farm Park, 647 S. King Road, in San Jose. Admission is free.

Featured at this year’s market are 80 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, 70 varieties of hot, mild and sweet chiles peppers from around the world, six varieties of eggplant, and 15 varieties of basil. Other herbs, annuals, perennials and ornamental plants will also be for sale.

The market will also host 30 garden-related vendors, garden-related societies and clubs, nurseries, new and used tools and tool sharpening. Bring your tools to the market for sharpening. Gates to Prusch Park open at 8:30 a.m.

New to the market are two distinguished guest speakers. David Winsberg of Happy Quail Farms will talk about the Pimiento de Padron and its arrival to the United States through his farm. The second speaker, Joe Carrasco, will discuss the Rocoto chile pepper and its delicious cousin the Aji chile pepper of South America.

Also new to the market will be mini-seminars held every half hour, all day long.

This event is co-sponsored by the Prusch Farm Park Foundation, the city of San Jose and the U.C. Cooperative Extension. For information call Master Gardener Hotline at (408) 282-3105 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or visit the Web site at www.mastergardeners.org. Click on Santa Clara.

San Jose Rotary Club celebrates a century of membership

In honor of the first meeting held in Chicago 100 years ago, the San Jose Rotary Club celebrated a century of membership on March 5 during its 22nd annual fund-raising gala, “Chicago … and all that jazz!”

Amid zoot suits and boas, dinner and dancing, the successful evening netted an estimated $150,000, with live and silent auctions adding to the evening’s excitement.

The money raised will go into the Rotary Endowment, which funds 40 Rotary committees and makes up to 5,000 contributions to dozens of local charitable, nonprofit and government organizations each year.

Inside San Jose politics

Want to get a unique perspective on San Jose politics? Check out www.sanjoseinside.com.

Launched by former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery and several local political consultants like Jude Barry and Kevin Bayley, the Web site is “designed to encourage political debate, discussion and change in our city, started by people who value San Jose and are interested in her future and in this valley’s place in the state and nation.”

In addition to regular columns by the Web site’s founders, San Jose Inside expects to feature guest bloggers such as actor Alec Baldin, former U.S. Senator Gary Hart and Joe Trippi, the presidential campaign manager for former Vermont Governor Howard Dean.

Gonzales delivers San Jose’s proposal for stem-cell research headquarters

San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales and Councilmember Forrest Williams recently traveled to Sacramento to personally deliver the San Jose proposal to land the headquarters for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine—commonly referred to as the Stem Cell Institute.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine was established after California voters approved Proposition 71 in November 2004. In the next 10 years, CIRM will guide $3 billion in public investment in stem cell research and development to create treatments and cures of disease.

CIRM is conducting a competitive process to locate its new headquarters in a California city. Deadline for proposals is March 16.

San Jose’s proposal focuses on the city’s advantages to help CIRM succeed in achieving its mission, including access to academic and business resources, office space, and the long San Jose and Silicon Valley record for successful technology innovation.