October 25, 2007

NEWS BRIEFS

Burglary suspects captured in stolen vehicle

On Oct.10, agents from the Regional Auto Theft Task Force (RATTF) were conducting surveillance on a stolen U-Haul truck in San Jose. During their surveillance the agents contacted a subject inside the truck. The subject was arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle.

Through the course of their investigation the agents learned that the suspect was connected to a series of burglaries in several nearby cities. Additionally, the agents were able to arrest a second suspect and recovered a large amount of stolen property from the burglaries. The burglaries in question occurred in the cities of Cupertino, San Jose, Santa Clara and Fremont.

Because of their diligence, the agents were able to return several of the stolen items to their rightful owners. The suspects were identified as Erwin Caraballo and Janette Broughton both from San Jose. Both suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail on several counts of burglary and related charges.

Halloween celebration at Palmia Park

A Halloween celebration will be held at Palmia Park on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 6:30 p.m. The first annual celebration will allow children, adults and pets to show off their costumes while taking part in a parade followed by trick or treating as a group throughout Palmia.

Bank of the West contributes $250,000 for YMCA camp scholarships

Bank of the West and YMCA of Santa Clara Valley today announced that the bank has committed $250,000 to the YMCA to fund scholarships for young people to attend camp. The YMCA will match the bank’s gift with $250,000 secured from other donors. The combined effort will establish the Bank of the West Campo Alegre Endowment Fund to support enrollment of children who reside in low-income households in underserved communities throughout San Jose and the surrounding area.

“For more than 140 years, both Bank of the West and the YMCA of Santa Clara Valley have shared an unwavering mutual interest in improving the economic and social health of our local communities,” said Fran Lopez, executive vice president of community and public relations for the bank. “This unique gift fosters a one-of-a-kind partnership that recognizes our parallel commitment to community.”

“By combining our resources with Bank of the West, the YMCA has increased its capacity to deliver life-enriching opportunities to hundreds of economically disadvantaged children, letting them experience resident camp at little or no cost to their families. We are thrilled to be able to make this happen.” Said Robb Hermanson , senior vice president of Development for the YMCA of Santa Clara Valley.

Campo Alegre is a weeklong resident camp held each spring at YMCA Camp Campbell in Boulder Creek, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Children participate in educational and traditional camp activities, including hiking, learning about science and nature, singing around campfires, enjoying outdoor activities, and making new friends.

Learn to manage pests at World Garden Workshop

Got pests? Learn about Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at Metropolitan Adult Education Program’s (MAEP) World Garden Workshop on Nov. 3 at the Erikson Adult Center located at 4849 Pearl Ave, San Jose.

Master gardener Lee Ann Ray will teach home gardeners about pest management including small and large mammals, beneficial and destructive insects, pathogens and weed control/abatement. Ray will also share practical cultural methods to prevent problems in the garden.

The free workshop is from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., rain or shine, in room 18, across from MetroED’s World Garden. The World Garden is located on the southwestern edge of the Erikson Adult Center campus. Look for the redwood trees and the greenhouse roof after entering the fenced parking lot on Minas Drive, off of Pearl Avenue.

To register, call (408) 723-6450 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday and ask to have your name added to the November World Garden Workshop list, or e-mail ritab@metroed.net. Sign-up early, space is limited.

San Jose Police Foundation holds fund-raising with canine squad

This Saturday, Oct. 27 from noon to 5 p.m., join the San Jose Police Foundation at the Petco Store at 886 Blossom Hill Road (across from Westfield Oakridge Mall) and have your picture taken with a police dog from the San Jose P.D. Canine Unit.

Donations to the San Jose Police Foundation are encouraged and will be used to purchase bulletproof vests for the police dogs in the canine unit and other needed equipment for the police department.
Please remember to bring your camera!

For more information contact: scottcornfield@gmail.com.

Pete Constant recommends council action to reduce porn at public libraries

City Councilmember Pete Constant is concerned about “second-hand porn” available online at city libraries and is taking action.

“We have spent countless hours working to protect our children from second-hand smoke in parks, but have done nothing to protect them from the dangers of viewing obscene material over the shoulder of adult porn-viewers,” Constant said.

Current library policy calls for library staff to intervene only when a complaint is registered and leaves the option of screening a monitor up to the discretion of the staff. In some cases, action is up to the complainants to avert their eyes to protect the porn-viewers rights. Constant disagrees and cites a violation of the 2000 Children’s Internet Protection Act, a federal law enacted by Congress in December of 2000. Known as the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CPIA), compliance is required by any school or library in order to receive funding from the “E-rate” program.

San Jose police records show arrest reports of a number of individuals viewing child pornography in libraries and a year-old ABC 7 I-Team investigation caught adult porn-viewers publicly masturbating and performing other lewd acts while viewing porn in public libraries. According to police reports, these are not isolated incidents.

Constant wants the violations to stop and calls on the city to develop policy that would require filtering programs and child-friendly Internet-use.