March 6, 2008

NEWS BRIEFS

Graystone Neighborhood Association against country club development

At a meeting of Santa Clara County’s Architecture and Site Approval committee, the board of directors of the Graystone Neighborhood Associ-ation persuaded the committee to postpone a decision on the proposed "event tent" at the Boulder Ridge Golf Course.

The group expressed concern that the committee hasn’t reviewed the relevant documents in making their determination. It also asked the Almaden Valley Community Association to help them get the county supervisors to vote against approval of the proposed development at the hearing on Thursday, March 13 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 157, First Floor, 70 West Hedding Street.

According to Art Boudreault, AVCA president, the Graystone association is asking as many people as possible to attend this next ASA Committee hearing. The more people who attend, the more the ASA Committee will understand the group’s concerns, according to Ron Mak a Graystone board member.

The application is to place a large tent near the existing clubhouse. This would allow the club to have two simultaneous events.

The current maximum number of guests that can be at the club is 350, according to Mak. The club has no restrictions as to the number of events per month in the clubhouse itself. It currently hosts about 10 to 12 events per month, Mak added.

Boudreault says the total number of guests would remain at, 350, so there is no need for a new CEQA document and there would be no need for additional parking.

The proposal is within the prior CEQA document. Noise would continue to be covered by existing noise ordinances. No noise is allowed after 10 p.m. There is an existing noise study available from county planning.

But because Boulder Ridge could have two smaller events simultaneously, the Graystone Association is concerned that noise may occur on those days when two smaller events equals one larger event. In addition, it is possible that the tent does not provide the same noise reduction as the current building does.

AVCA to host Nancy Pyle

The Almaden Valley Community Association will hold its monthly meeting on March 10 from 7- to 9 p.m. at the Almaden Community Center 6445 Camden Ave.

There will be a business meeting from 7- to 8 p.m. followed by District 10 Councilmemmber Nan-cy Pyle and a city Planning Depart-ment representative who will discuss the development of San Vi-cente and the South Almaden Valley urban reserve.

Representatives, host families needed

The Academic Foundation for International Cultural Ex-change (AFICE) is looking for individuals to work as community representatives who find host families and work with their students during the school year. Individuals must enjoy working with teenagers and have good communication skills.

AFICE is also looking for host families in the local area to host foreign Exchange students. These young ambassadors are between 15 and 18 years of age and speak English.

Student's profiles will start arriving for students from various communities. Students come with their own spending money and medical insurance.

Please call Anne Ring, 1-866-462-3423 if you are interested in getting more information about becoming a Community Represen-tative or if you're interested in opening your hearts and homes to one of these individuals.

South First Fridays begin March 7

San Jose art galleries will be open from 8 p.m. till late for a new free walking tour called South of First Fridays. The SoFA district is south First Street between San Carlos and East Reed.

The participating galleries include:

Anno Domini // the second coming of Art & Design - 366 South First Street

Artist’s Reception: Victoria Everlasting solo exhibit by Derek Weisberg. The sculptural work in this exhibit is a very personal endeavor for Weisberg to pay tribute to his mother whom he lost last year. Everlasting is here, within her son’s work, and shall remain everlasting through all who encounter it.

MACLA - 510 South First Street

Beyond Child’s Play: New work by Pilar Agüero-Esparza & Juan Carlos Quintana. This two-person exhibition features recent paintings and mixed media installations by two compelling mid-career Bay Area artists. Their artwork complements one another through layered artistic practices, sensitivity toward materials and shared iconography stemming from the world of children.

UnGrammar and MACLA host The Official After Party for the Cinequest screening of San Jose film maker Paul Encinas' "Glory Boy Days." Resident MACLA Selector Chatos 1013 with special guests DJ Cutso (Fingerbangerz), and Fake Public provide the entertainment.

San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art -560 South First Street

In the Main Gallery is The Space Between, a group exhibition that visually delights, disrupts and disorients. Featuring work by Freddy Chandra, Brent Hallard, Linn Meyers, Gay Outlaw, Mel Prest and Nancy White. In the Focus Gallery and Cardinale Project Room is Mapping Time by Doug Glovaski, a solo presentation of his large-scale, intensely colored abstract paintings and works on paper. Night Moves: A series featuring window installations visible only after dark at the ICA: Elaine Buckholtz: Yellow Descending.

San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles -520 South First Street

On view: Marian Clayden: A Dyer's Hand, a retrospective of the phenomenal career of Marian Clayden, master dyer, textile artist and fashion designer. This exhibition spans her textile art designed for the wall through to her later works designed for the body. Her eveningwear is worn by some of the most fascinating and accomplished women of our time, including Bridget Fonda, Patti LaBelle, Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Taylor, Sigourney Weaver and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Space47 - 47 E. William Street (between 1st & 2nd streets)

Closing reception: Horse Backs: Photographs by Mimi Plumb. Horse Backs marks Mimi Pumb's first solo exhibition in San Jose. Plumb's new photographic series poses questions in times of increasing uncertainty and disillusionment– times when, ironically, we remove ourselves from the outside, and retreat into our own private world. Plumb considers herself a deeply cynical person and asks, what is worth embracing? What is worth preserving?

Works San Jose - 451 South First Street

Please visit www.workssanjose.org for information on the organization and upcoming programming.

CCOC hosts 39th annual open house

Central County Occupational Center (CCOC) will open its doors to the community at its 39th annual open house on March 14.

CCOC's staff welcomes parents, other students, businesses and community members to tour and observe hands-on student demonstrations throughout the campus-Silicon Valley’s one-of-a-kind public career technical training facility.

CCOC-a unit of MetroED-offers more than 30 different technical training courses in the career clusters of Automotive Technology, Building Technology, Business Technology, Cosmetology, Engineering/Industrial Technology, Visual Arts, and Health and Community Services.

CCOC’s staff and student tour guides will be on hand to welcome parents, other students, businesses and community members to tour classes and observe hands-on student demonstrations throughout the campus on March 14 from 8-10 a.m., 1-3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.

CCOC's Interior Design class will hold its annual design show featuring cultures from around the World. Under Interior Design Instructor, Wendy Yegge, students work in small teams decorating small room settings to fit the theme on a shoestring budget. Rooms are decorated with furniture, lighting, accessories, sound, food, and any other personal touches to complete the room's theme.

Students who choose to attend CCOC spend half-a-day at their regular high school and the other half of the day at CCOC in the career course of their choice. CCOC serves students from 32 high schools within six school districts: Campbell Union High School District, East Side Union High School District, Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, Milpitas Unified School District, Santa Clara Unified School District, and San Jose Unified School District.

MetroED is the largest career-oriented educational organization in Santa Clara County, comprised of high school and adult career-technical, academic and community programs.

MetroED annually provides more than 30,000 diverse students with the skills to help them be productive, income-earning and tax-paying contributors to Santa Clara County.