The 'Guide Me Home to San Jose' Blog

Hold the date and plan to come by our office parking lot at 1124 Meridian (X Willow) on Saturday May 1.

From 10am to 2pm we will be holding a community recycling and eco-fair.

Earthcare Recycling will be there with a truck to collect all those keyboards, CD drives, cables, old computers, printers and the like that have been taking up space. Small appliances, as well as old TVs are welcome! Ace Hardware/Willow Glen will be collecting household batteries; please note, however, there will be no facilities for hazardous waste collection. Information will be available however, should this be a need.

Are you interested in green building, renovations, remodeling? We will have a builder for you to talk to (www.dcbuild.com), as well as Solmentum, providing home solar energy solutions. Ecoproach.com can provide information on home energy audits.

Are you a gardener? Come by and check out nature’s most efficient composter, presented by Monster Worms.

Got Bugs?! Killroy Pest Control can discuss natural, non-toxic alternatives.

Our office supports the services of InnVision. Please bring new or gently used items only.

Free re-usable shopping bags will be given to all visitors. Make May Day Green Day and get your Spring cleaning off to a great start. Please come by!

For more information and lists of participants and allowable donations, please go to our website, AlteraSV.com and click on the Go Green icon.

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

We all know that hunger takes no holidays. The needs of our area’s food banks have been growing relentlessly over the past few years. In the heady days of Silicon Valley’s exponential growth, area employers and employees struggled to meet the demand, but in most cases we were, as a community, able to keep up- if only barely. This year is different. More of us are out of work or underemployed, more companies are doing layoffs, and the needy are more so.

In August 2008, unemployment in Santa Clara County hovered around 6.5%; currently Santa Clara County’s unemployment is at a record 11.9% (source www.bls.gov) and in neighboring San Benito County, which is more agricultural, it is at 13.8%. Underemployment of skilled workers, part-time and temporary jobs, and layoffs bring hard-working individuals and families to the food banks. At no time of year does this strike home more poignantly than at Thanksgiving and Christmas. On the radio this morning, just as the rain started to fall during my drive to my office in Willow Glen, there was an announcement from Sacred Heart Community Services ( www.shcstheheart.org/donations), appealing for donations of food and money. Did you know just $18 will provide turkeys for two families? With less than a week to go before Thanksgiving, less than 200 turkeys were on hand. The projected need is for thousands. Follow the link to donate.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara County (www.2ndharvest.net) also welcomes your generosity. To donate, visit our website, www.AlteraSV.com and click on the Second Harvest logo.

Food donation barrels are also in each of our offices: Willow Glen, Silver Creek, and Morgan Hill. Stop by or give us a call and we will pick up your canned foods donation.

In addition, The United Way of Santa Clara County has a “help central” at www.search.211.SCC.org. There you will find information on the needs and special requests of many of our valley’s non-profits.

As children, most of us (myself included!), focused on what we were going to get during the holidays; as adults, it never hurts to be reminded that it is in giving that we get.

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

It is said that on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish. Well, during the Italian Family Festa in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, everyone is more than just a bit Italian! Sponsored by the Willow Glen Business Association and the Italian American Heritage Foundation, last year’s event drew about 25,000 people to our neighborhood’s “Main Street” - Lincoln Avenue.

Lincoln Avenue, between Minnesota and Willow, is the heart of the Willow Glen business district and for the two days of the Festa it is transformed into a slice of Italy. Whether your tastes run to food-spaghetti, calamari, cannoli and many other fabulous treats, wine, music or just people-watching, you will find something to make your time memorable. What is usually a busy thoroughfare becomes an Italian village, complete with bocce games.

There is a saying “La dolce far niente” that in Italian means, more or less, “the sweetness of doing nothing.” If that’s your idea of a perfect summer in the city pursuit, make your way to the San Jose neighborhood of Willow Glen August 29th and 30th. The Festa is Saturday, 11am to 9pm and Sunday, 11am to 6pm. Altera Real Estate is a sponsor and you will find our agents throughout the event, dishing spaghetti, helping set up bocce games, and just helping everyone have a wonderful time.

Ciao! and hope to see you there. The proceeds from this event benefit the IAHF Scholarship program and events at the IAHF Cultural Center.

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

Every time this year the neighborhoods around Altera Real Estate come alive with the beauty that is Spring in California. No wonder so much poetry has been written about Spring and flowers; after months of clouds, cold and rain the bright colors seem to get us all moving again.

Home and garden tours are as much a part of Spring as fresh flowers and seasonal allergies. Our Willow Glen neighborhood, one of San Jose’s oldest, boasts countless tour-worthy homes and gardens. This weekend, May 2nd and 3rd, the San Jose Day Nursery will be holding its 27th annual Willow Glen Lifestyles Home Tour from 10am to 4pm. Countless children have benefited from the services of the San Jose Day Nursery since its founding in 1916. The proceeds from this tour help provide scholarships for children of low-income working parents.

This year the tour includes a classic, single-story Spanish-style home with an up to the minute kitchen, a newly-built 2-story home with all the charm of a period home, and a Craftsman-style home. Truly a sampling of the many styles that make our area so sought-after. These homes aren’t for sale! Just come to visit and enjoy. Among the local businesses selling tickets are Domus and Able Printing.

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

Originally called Camino del la Puerta de la Laura, this now bustling street once made its way through an early Spanish rancho. The thoroughfare was renamed in honor of Abraham Lincoln following his tragic assassination. Although most of San Jose sprang into being after the 1960s, at least one property, the Roberto Adobe, or Lauraville as it is now called, dates from the Spanish era.

Today’s Lincoln Avenue is a busy mix of locally-owned shops featuring everything from wine to wedding bands. Many terrific restaurants and coffee shops line the route between Minnesota and Coe avenues. The best “fresh Mex” is my favorite, Aqui; you will not find more wonderful Chinese fare than at Taiwan or a better spot for a casual breakfast or lunch than Bill’s Café. Silicon Valley is known for its world-wide reach through technology; its diversity is well-represented by Willow Glen’s restaurants.

Watch for more about Willow Glen in future blogs!

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

When my family moved to San Jose several decades ago, we sought an area where “the trees were taller than the houses.” At that time, San Jose, once known as the Valley of Hearts Delight for its vast orchards blanketing the Santa Clara Valley, was fast replacing trees with tracts, and ranch-style homes with barely- planted trees were the order of the day.

Willow Glen quickly became our neighborhood of choice. Custom homes from many generations form the heart of the ZIP code 95125. The Willows, as it was once called, was one of the earliest settled areas of San Jose. Many homes date from the early 1900s and before. For a short time in the 1920s Willow Glen even incorporated itself as a town. The City of San Jose now protects the vast majority of its trees through a Tree Ordinance, but until recently Willow Glen was one of the few neighborhoods where the trees were actually taller than the homes they shaded.

Posted By: Colleen Badagliacco

When buying a home in San Jose, it can be surprising how family-friendly this high-tech city can be. But with attractions such as the Childrens Discovery Museum of San Jose, the Monterey Bay Aquarium (located about an hour away) and Raging Waters Water Park, San Jose is fun for people of all ages. So whether you want an afternoon outing with the kids, or a sophisticated night on the town with your spouse, San Jose will never disappoint you!

Beautiful San Jose, CA, located just 50 miles south of San Francisco, is internationally recognized as the Capital of Silicon Valley. The city boasts the headquarters and major offices of more than 6,600 technology companies, such as Adobe Systems, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, and Lockheed Martin. It is home to three major universities—San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, and Stanford University—all of which make major contributions to the city’s economy. San Jose’s wealth of intellectual resources, and its focus on progress and achievement, has made the city a “global center for innovation.”

But San Jose is not all about business and microchips; the city of over 930,000 residents is also highly regarded as one of the most fun and exciting places to live in the U.S. Those who relocate to San Jose soon find that the pride and joy of the city is its vibrant downtown, a place where a community comes together to have fun and enjoy life, whether it be for the annual Cinco de Mayo Parade, Christmas in the Park, or just an ordinary Saturday. From shopping Santana Row to soaking up the culture in San Pedro Square, there are a million unique things to do in downtown San Jose. The area is bustling with delectable restaurants and a dizzying variety of lively pubs, laid-back lounges, and chic nightclubs. The energetic San Jose Downtown Theatre District—comprised of the California Theatre, Center for the Performing Arts, Civic Auditorium, and Montgomery Theater—promises a year-round calendar of performances that range from Shakespearean tragedies to romping Broadway musicals. And for an afternoon diversion, there are more than 30 art galleries and museums in San Jose, including the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum/Planetarium, and the San Jose Museum of Art.