Saturday is the 16th Annual “Stamp Out Hunger” event. It’s national in scope, but the impact is very local: Your regular USPS letter carrier will pick up donated food items from your mailbox and arrange for them to be delivered directly to WG’s Second Harvest Food Bank.

They can’t really make it any easier!

16th Annual
Letter Carriers’ Food Drive
Saturday, May 10, 2008

Campbell Soup and the United States Postal Service are partnering once again to sponsor Stamp Out Hunger, the “nation’s largest single-day food drive.” Participation is easy! On the morning of May 10th simply place bags filled with nonperishable food items next to your mailbox. Your letter carrier will pick your food donations up and deliver them to your local food bank.

And for those of who don’t read WGx daily – you know who you are – you can request an email reminder for Friday!

Congratulations to WGHS freshman softball pitcher Kelsee Graves. She’s been honored as the SJ mercury’s female high school athlete of the week:

Kelsee Graves, Willow Glen
Sport: Softball — Position: Pitcher — Class: Freshman

Accomplishment: Graves started the season as a third baseman but became a starting pitcher for the Rams. Last week, she threw back-to-back no-hitters and went 4 for 6 with four RBIs against San Jose Academy and Yerba Buena as Willow Glen clinched a tie for the West Valley Division title. Graves is 19-2 with a 1.80 ERA. “Kelsee has power and finesse, she knows how to hit her spots,” Rams Coach Scott McCollum said. “She has a full complement of pitches and uses all of them effectively.”

Of course, Kelsee’s exploits were originally uncovered by the WG Resident, with articles about the WGHS Softball team’s victory over James Lick in March, her 11th win of the year (a shutout win over Andrew Hill on April 5), and yet another victory on April 8.

Congratulations, Kelsee!

The SJ Police Department has apparently made quick work of a rising tide of car burglaries that have been occurring across Willow Glen.

Increased reports of thefts from locked and unlocked cars in wide stretches of WG started a few weeks ago on the WGNA Elist. Neighbors from Lennon, Christina, Cherry, Bennet, Kotenberg, and Camino Ricardo, started reporting a series of car burglaries. In addition to the rise in eList conversation, Willow Glen 2.0 created a section inside its Neighborhood Watch forum for tracking trends in thefts and safety concerns.

While most victims admitted their cars had been left unlocked overnight, the crimes still seemed brazen enough to trouble many residents. Some of the cars had been locked, and in most cases, thieves had been stealing small electronic devices like GPS units, MP3 players, iPods, laptops, and cell phones.

Over the weekend, police apparently found a lot of the stolen items and began contacting victims to reunite them with their lost electronics. Tessa Miller was the first to tell of her newly-found fortune:

SJPD was just here. They “happened” upon a house in the vicinity and recovered some goodies. Among them was my brother in law’s ipod and nano(he is smart enough to have his name engraved on them). Empty wallets…also a really nice camcorder that the thieves stole then used to tape themselves, so if you are missing any items please contact them. They are working on getting the belongings back to the owners … cell phone … small gps unit … camcorder … watches …

And according to the officer they will fingerprint on a vehicle (I was told by dispatch that they do not because I have prints on my car from them trying to break in.)

Hey … maybe WGx is turning into a True Crime weblog …

Parents … Kids … check out this great concert on Saturday …

Explorer Coop Preschool Hosts: The Milkshake Concert

Mark your calendars for this exciting family event on Saturday, May 10th, 10:30AM at the Markham Little Theater (Willow Glen Middle School) on Cottle Ave. Regularly seen on Noggin, PBS and Discovery Kids, the Milkshake Band is an entertaining and fun band with lots of great musical themes perfect for kids 3-8 years of age. Their music shares the Explorer spirit of learning through play, fun and creative imagination. Mom and Dad will love to dance along to the fun rock and roll beat as well! …

Share the love of music with your kids and friends! Get your tickets now! Seats are limited so don’t be left out of this exciting event! Tickets are $16. Children 18 months and younger are free. Please invite your friends and family to this one time only event sponsored by Explorer Parent Coop Preschool.

Seating is limited, so you’ll want to get your tickets this week by emailing the parent volunteers at Explorer, or printing out the order form and dropping it in the mail.

Of course, the Milkshake Band is well-regarded, including a favorable preview in a recent edition of the SJ Mercury News. Don’t miss it!

Whether it’s a dog or a cat, no one wants their beloved pet to go missing. WGx supposes the same holds true for guinea pigs, hamsters, birds (including cockatiels!), and certainly snakes.

While there is no official word on the status of the recently lost shiba inu Bella, there is help for grieving pet owners.

The City of San Jose’s Animal Care & Services (located at the SJ Animal Care Center, located at 2750 Monterey Road, not far from WG) does provide some tips for helping you find a lost cat or dog.

Their website does include some search tips (both for the real world and for online queries) a few helpful phone numbers, and even a template for a lost pet flier.

Picture here is a posting about lost cat Freya, posted recently long Willow Glen Way. WGx sincerely hopes everyone returns home safely.

There are many easy ways to sign-up for the best recreational youth soccer league in Willow Glen … and WG PAL Soccer will be hosting their first “Walk-Up Registration” event this weekend:

Saturday, May 10
9:00 - 11:00 am at River Glen Park.

What’s a Film Festival without film? … since there’s very little ‘film’ involved these days, maybe we shouldn’t try to answer that question.

Regardless of the answer, the folks behind the WGHS & WGMS Music Boosters are looking for submissions for their annual festival, which will be held on Friday, May 9, with proceeds to benefit the Willow Glen Foundation:

Dear Amateur Film People,

The Willow Glen Middle and High School “Thursdays at the Theater” Series is looking for short films to show at its third Annual Film Festival On May 9th.

If you or your child has made a short (1m to 10min) film and would like to show it at the film Festival, please send it on a DVD …

Rick Guptill

Leave a comment to this post, and WGx will get you in touch with Rick.

Since the new San Jose Earthquakes aren’t playing at nearby Spartan Stadium anymore, Willow Glen residents attending home games at Buck Shaw Stadium might want to plan ahead.

Buck Shaw Stadium is located west of El Camino Real, on the campus of Santa Clara University. Traveling from WG, spectators have three primary choices: Read the rest of this entry »

As seems to be tradition for the first weekend in May … it’s a busy weekend out there!

There are so many options, it might be worth reviewing all of them: Read the rest of this entry »

Obviously, it’s Garage Sale season …

Next up on the ‘Willow Glen Garage Sale Tour’ itinerary are two sales hosted this weekend with neighbors and large groups participating: Read the rest of this entry »