One of the great benefits of the CCA email list is how easily neighbors can ask for recommendations. Someone needs a plumber, a handyman, a dentist, or a landscaper, and within hours helpful replies start rolling in. Just as often, neighbors proactively share great experiences with local businesses they’ve discovered. Those conversations are incredibly valuable…
Our trees are at risk of infestation and dying from the Invasive Shothole Borer (ISHB), a small beetle that when boring into a tree, introduces a fungus that can cause branch dieback and eventually death to the entire tree. There are many trees that are susceptible to infestation, but of particular interest to our neighborhood…
Looking for a stunning spring hike? Máyyan ‘Ooyákma – Coyote Ridge Open Space Preserve is an absolute must-see, especially the Bay Checkerspot trail. The Hike Bryan and I hiked the entire trail (about 5.4 miles) counter clockwise (steepest climb first, about 1000 feet). But the best part, which was absolutely stunning, was the Bay Checkerspot…
This morning I was looking at what felt like the millionth “You’re Pre-Approved!” credit card offer sent to Bryan in the last week. Then I remembered: last year I opted out. There’s an official program run by the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — that lets you stop prescreened credit and insurance offers. You can:…
Various international newspapers, including Reuters, recently announced the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of an education company that began in Naglee Park fifty years ago (1976). Dr. John G. Sperling, at one time a faculty member at San Jose State, founded the University of Phoenix (NYSE:PXED) to provide post-secondary education to working adults. It was a radical idea…
I recently returned from a trip to the Galápagos. As part of that trip, we spent a few days in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. That’s when I discovered that Quito has recently opened a brand-new subway system. The Metro de Quito became operational in December 2023, and I was curious enough to ride it….
Back in 2006 the City of San Jose, in conjunction with the 13th Street NAC and others, commissioned a substantial overview study of the many interesting neighborhoods north of Santa Clara Street. That area is known to local historians as the Second Ward, since it neatly covers the geography of San Jose’s early Fire District with the…
Spring is the season of Lent and Passover; these two important holidays always go hand-in-hand. As a practicing Catholic who was born in a Jewish hospital, this season of reflection and renewal is special to me. My neighborhood of Naglee Park had several members of the Jewish community who have made important contributions to my…
We live in an old house (1908) in an old neighborhood (Naglee Park) in an old town (San Jose). Christmas is a good time to be introspective and retrospective, to think about the past and what it means. It is also time to develop perspective, if possible, from what we see around us. What was…
Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful, interesting and historic residences in Naglee Park is the Maybeck House at 62 South 13th Street. Fifty years ago it nearly disappeared, a victim of a combination of bad zoning, greed and extreme abuse. In the early 1970s it was marked as condemned by San Jose Code Enforcement,…
