December 30, 2005

Evergreen in 2005: A Year in Review

By Bea Baechle
Editor

Before you set forth on fulfilling your personal goals or resolutions for 2006, take a moment to review some of the local highlights covered by the Evergreen Times in 2005.

It was a year of triumphs and challenges for Evergreen—celebrating park, theater and restaurant openings on the one hand and grappling with efforts to intelligently manage future development on the other.
As the Evergreen Heritage Room celebrated its grand opening in March, La Rochelle Winery closed its doors in August, marking the end of a 150-year era of winemaking in Evergreen.

It was a year of school districts skating on thin financial ice and developing creative solutions to return to solid ground. Superintendent changes, due to a resignation and a retirement, brought leadership changes to both the East Side Union High School District and the Evergreen School District.

It was also a year of tragic losses due to car accidents, a plane crash and a brutal domestic violence murder that shook Evergreen to its core. Yet with each loss, a community came together like a family to support and to heal those most deeply affected. And when the losses extended far beyond our California borders, the community responded again to help victims of the natural disasters that plagued our nation in 2005.

It was a year of seeing local students excel in international math, science and art contests and young athletes win national championships in soccer, baseball and track.

And it was your local newspaper’s first full year of bi-weekly distribution since its inception in 1982, capturing as many of these highlights as possible. Here’s a month by month synopsis of some of the ET headlines of 2005:

January 2005
- The Tremblay family returns to Evergreen unharmed and recounts their story of a holiday vacation in Thailand cut short by the tsunami that ultimately killed more than 200,000 people in Thailand, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka.

- A group of Evergreen community members, motivated to close the academic performance gap that occurs between the elementary and high school level, explores the potential of creating a charter school in southeast Evergreen or a unified Evergreen School District that encompasses high school grades 9 to 12.

- Mexicali Grill opened its doors for business at Silver Creek Plaza, more than two years after Pedro’s closed on the same site.

- Silver Creek alumnus David Dirkmaat helped the University of Utah trounce the University of Pittsburgh 35-7 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day.

- The Tully Community Branch Library, a 24,300-square-foot facility that serves as Evergreen’s temporary branch location, opened its doors on Jan. 22.

- Marie Sinatra is appointed the new president of the Evergreen Business and Professional Assn.

- The Evergreen Visioning Project Task Force continues to meet monthly, and to speed the process, elects a seven-person negotiation team to meet with developers to discuss the overall number of units on approximately 500 acres of land to be developed in Evergreen.

- Evergreen residents meet with the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services and receive milestones for the construction of Fowler Creek Park in Evergreen Hills, including plans to bid and award contracts in September.

- The San Jose Stars were crowned 13U national champions in the Super Series Baseball National Championship in Arizona. Many of the coaches and players hail from Evergreen.

February 2005
- Dave Cortese, San Jose District 8 councilman, officially announces his candidacy for mayor of San Jose in the 2006 election and shares his vision of a more collaborative approach in government, better two-way communication between City Hall and the people of San Jose and more effectively positioning San Jose as an international city.

- Mayor Ron Gonzales delivers his annual state of the city address, calling the state of the city strong, yet alerting attendees of painful budget choices ahead. He shares a vision of an education foundation and Major League Baseball coming to San Jose.

- Evergreen School District superintendent Tom Andrade announces his plans to retire in July, and the ESD board of trustees appoints longtime Evergreen resident and deputy superintendent Clif Black as the new superintendent upon Andrade’s retirement.

- The EVP Task Force recommends a range of 3,800 to 4,600 new housing units for the remaining 500 acres of land in Evergreen, whereas developers recommend 5,675 units, placing Councilman Dave Cortese in the role as final negotiator to settle the disputes.

- The Friends of Evergreen Library leadership group earns the 2005 San Jose Good Neighbor Award and Evergreen resident Cecil Lawson earns a “Pride of San Jose” award.

- Evergreen resident Frank Salamanca opens first Cartridge World franchise in the Save Mart shopping center of Evergreen.

- The East Side Union High School District board of trustees approves resolutions that explore financial solutions to generate a one-time infusion of cash to ease budget woes and provide adequate notice of potential certificated staff reductions to balance the 2005-06 budget.

- An ESUHSD Budget Task Force comprised of students, parents, board members and school representatives begins the process of listening to presentations from district stakeholders to help in the decision-making process to balance the 2005-06 budget by June.

- A rash of burglaries mobilizes an Evergreen Hills community to meet with District 8 Councilman Dave Cortese and members of the San Jose Police Department.

- ESD students and teachers contribute nearly $40,000 for tsunami relief.

- The Evergreen Community Center unveils a new 2,400-square-foot building consisting of two preschool rooms with restrooms and an adjoining patio.

- The Silver Oak Educational Partnership raises more than $93,000.

March 2005
- ESUHSD’s Budget Task Force begins the third step of the budget process, exploring possible scenarios that could close the budget gap by discussing ideas, proposing strategies and identifying any obstacles.

- Both ESUHSD and ESD struggle with cuts in education funding at the state level, failed parcel tax efforts in 2004 and rising medical insurance costs.

- All About the Kids Foundation hosts Education in Evergreen panel discussion with San Jose City councilmembers, superintendents, school board members and charter school advocates.

- ESD’s board of trustees adopt a resolution supporting a feasibility application to consider building a $50 million community center in a vacant lot near LeyVa Middle School, funded by the Ray and Joan Kroc Foundation and run by the Salvation Army. [Editor’s note: San Jose did not make it to Phase 2 of the grant process, but the Salvation Army may press forward to get a center in San Jose and at the same site, based on the potential sale of its building in downtown San Jose.]

- Evergreen’s history collection finds a permanent home in the Evergreen Heritage Room, located in Evergreen Valley College’s new library and educational/ technology center, and residents attend the grand opening celebration.

April 2005
- The San Jose City Council votes to dissolve District 8’s community-based land use project—the Evergreen Visioning Project—and replace it with a brand new task force with appointees recommended by Mayor Ron Gonzales.

- District 8 Councilman Dave Cortese co-sponsors a “Carry the Vision” Community Conference at Evergreen Valley College, where attendees could learn how to build a culture of peace in their families, their community and their world.

- The Mirassou family removes local vines and auctions off excess equipment used when the winery was producing much higher volumes of wine.

- Teachers, parents and students storm an ESUHSD board meeting to vent about the district distributing more than 900 pink slips out when approximately 120 people could be laid off.

- The ESUHSD Budget Task Force announces millions in reductions to projected deficit for 2005-06, dropping the projected deficit from $9.5 million to about $4 million. The most significant factor impacting the reduction was the addition of three more students per classroom.

- ESUHSD’s Chief Financial Officer Jack Mahrt resigns.

- Barnes and Noble, Inc., signs a lease agreement to open up a new bookstore at the Eastridge Shopping Center in Evergreen.

- Most Holy Trinity School celebrates its 40th anniversary.

- Chaboya girls’ soccer wins back-to-back championships.

May 2005
- Mayor Ron Gonzales revises his recommendations for restructuring the EVP based on public outcry and several negotiation attempts to find common ground.

- The city council voted 7-2 to support Mayor Ron Gonzales’ proposal to create a new 30-member Evergreen Visioning Project Task Force, with broader city representation.

- The Evergreen Business and Professional Association and Pacific Fine Arts presented the first Evergreen Fine Arts Festival at Evergreen Village over Memorial Day weekend.

- La Rochelle Winery announces plans to close its operations by Sept. 1.

- The Evergreen School District hosted the dedication of Carolyn Clark Elementary School, honoring long-time board trustee Carolyn Clark, for whom the school was named.

- Evergreen families flocked to Canyon Creek Park, located at San Felipe Road and Larkspur Canyon Drive, for a grand opening celebration.

- The San Jose City Council passed a resolution to recognize the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag as the official symbol for the Vietnamese-American community.

- District 8 Councilman Dave Cortese hosts his annual bus trip to Sacramento to give local residents an opportunity to voice their concerns to state legislators about the education of California’s children.

June 2005
- City employees begin moving into the new San Jose City Hall, a 530,000-square- foot, $345.6 million complex located at 200 E. Santa Clara St.

- Evergreen Valley High School graduates its first class of seniors.

- Silver Creek valedictorian and National Merit Scholarship recipient Steven Hao wins a place on the U.S. biology team to compete in the 2005 International Biology Olympiad in Beijing, China.

- The EVHS girls swim team is named 2005 Santa Teresa League Co-Champion.

- Evergreen resident Khrystal Carter became a state champion in the 200-meter dash in Sacramento.

- Calpine Corporation’s Metcalf Energy Center comes online, delivering up to 600 megawatts of electrical power to the Northern California power market.

- Evergreen resident Corey White becomes the Junior National Javelin Champion at the USA Junior Track and Field Championships and later in the summer earns a silver medal in the men’s javelin at the 2005 Pan American Junior Championships in July.

July 2005
- Evergreen teens Tristine and Torrienne Hunt lose their lives in severe car accident.

- ESUHSD superintendent Esperanza Zendejas resigns after a tumultuous two-year reign where she inherited and dealt with issues such as questionable business practices, lack of fiscal and academic accountability and ineffective personnel.

- The inaugural Taylor Woodrow Grand Prix of San Jose puts the city on the map during the first openwheel street race ever held in Northern California.

- San Jose passes Detroit to become the 10th largest city in the United States.

- Malia Bernal, a kung fu and aerobics instructor at the East Valley YMCA, was inducted into the Kajkenbo Black Belt Hall of Fame.

- Beshoff MotorCars hosted tryouts for the popular reality series, “The Amazing Race.”

- The City of San Jose begins the Small Business Ambassador Program to help cut red tape for small businesses.

- Four Mexican American Community Service Agency soccer league teams win national championships at the U.S. Futsal Soccer Championships.

- Evergreen Valley College hires David Wain Coon as its new president.

August 2005
- The new EVP Task Force holds its first meetings as the Evergreen/East Hills Vision Strategy Task Force in the new city hall. Councilmember Dave Cortese remains the chairman of the new task force.

- Eastridge Shopping Center gradually unveils a renovated interior, announcing the opening of almost 50 new retail, dining and entertainment options in the coming year—including popular restaurant chains like Chili’s and Macaroni Grill.

- Aug. 27 marks the end of 150 years of winemaking in Evergreen as La Rochelle Winery, located on the historic Mirassou family winery site, closes its doors.

- Evergreen residents join more than 70 neighborhoods hosting parties in San Jose for National Night Out, a national crime prevention celebration.

- Carlton Craighead seeks support to restore William Wehner Mansion at The Villages.

- Evergreen hosts its first Relay for Life event to fund cancer research companies and the American Cancer Society.

- Meadowfair Park celebrates its Phase II opening.

September 2005
- Former District 10 councilmember Pat Dando returns to San Jose as the president and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, the region’s largest, oldest and most representative business organization.
- La Rochelle Winery relocates to Livermore, where Steve and son Steven Mirassou will continue the legacy of La Rochelle.
- Several community fund-raisers benefit Hurricane Katrina victims, most notably the combined efforts of leaders in the United Vietnamese Americans organization and the Viet Heritage Society, which raises $150,000 in a Hurricane Katrina Relief Benefit.
- The controversial findings of a retail market study unveiled at an EEHVS Task Force meeting are viewed as over optimistic by many Evergreen-based business owners and task force members.

October 2005
- San Jose Council District 8’s eighth annual “Day in the Park” event drew thousands of attendees, and net proceeds benefit East Side Heroes.

- Hitachi Global Storage Technologies announces that original plans to relocate its worldwide headquarters to the former Dade Behring building in Evergreen have been delayed by more than one year, now targeting September 2006.

- Evergreen Valley College addresses festival noise problems by limiting crowds to 3,000, upgrading and dispersing amplification equipment, and not allowing festival organizers to use their own equipment.

- In one of the most serious domestic violence cases ever witnessed in Evergreen, Leticia Chavez and her two young daughters—and her unborn child in the womb—died at the hand of Chavez’s boyfriend and father of all three children.

- Regional Medical Center of San Jose breaks ground on a $155-million expansion just northwest of Evergreen.

November 2005
- Commissioners of the Historic Landmarks Commission vote unanimously to add the historic Mirassou family winery site to the Historic Resources Inventory.

- The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors appoint Evergreen resident Avtar Chahal to the Advisory Commission for Persons with Disabilities.

- Evergreen resident Cecil Lawson creates “Squirrel Alert” Web application as a map-based neighborhood proximity alert system that automates your ability to inform neighbors about important issues.

- San Jose City Council approves the building of 100 secondary units throughout the city in one year.

- AMC Eastridge 15 opens its doors to local theater-goers, exceeding opening day expectations by 300 tickets.

- Viet Heritage Society’s recent fundraisers bring in $110,000 to support the vision of a Vietnamese Cultural Garden at Kelly Park.

- Evergreen resident Dr. Zehra Attari disappears without a trace after leaving her Oakland clinic on her way to a medical conference.

December 2005
- J. Manuel Herrera, board president of the East Side Union High School District, announces his entry into the 2006 San Jose Mayor’s race.

- San Jose remains the “Safest Big City in America” among the 32 cities with populations of more than 500,000 people.

- The San Jose City Council unanimously censured Mayor Ron Gonzales for not sharing “material facts” related to a secret promise of $11.25 million in payments to Norcal Waste Systems and its subcontractor California Waste Solutions.

- The YMCA kicks off its annual fund-raiser and sets a goal to raise $325,000 for the 2006 campaign.