The Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors unanimously approved Tuesday purchasing a pond aerator (called a “SolarBee“) to reduce the production of methyl mercury in Almaden Lake Park.

Water officials are trying to comply with recently adopted total-maximum-daily-loads for mercury in creeks and lakes impacted by mining waste, which require reduction of methyl mercury concentrations in water to reduce the concentration of the mineral in fish tissues.

According to water district officials, methyl mercury in the Guadalupe River Watershed is primarily produced in the district’s reservoirs and in shallow Lake Almaden. The solar-powered aerator is said to be the most economical and efficient way to introduce oxygen into Lake Almaden. Read more…

The San Jose Bird Mart is having their annual Bird Show on April 9th, 2006. Finches, Canaries, Cockatoos, Cockatiels, Parakeets, Parrotlets, Parrots, Lady Gouldians, Rosellas, Senegals, bird seed, treats, all colors/sizes of cages, custom-made aviaries, one-of-a-kind toys, perches, manzanita orchids - bonsai - specialty gifts and more!

Featuring: Kimmie Haworth, producer of Henry’s Garden and Columnist for National Gardening Association.

FREE PARKING - Fun for Everyone! Adults $5, children under 12 free!

April 30th, 2006. After its success in 2005, the 4.2 mile Pat’s Run is coming back to Tempe, Arizona and now expanding to San Jose, California. More than 6,000 participants and volunteers turned out for the inaugural event to honor scholar, athlete and soldier Pat Tillman.

This year, the Pat Tillman Foundation is preparing for 10,000 people at each event. The Pat Tillman Foundation seeks to carry forward his legacy by inspiring and supporting others striving to promote positive change in themselves and the world around them.

For more information, click here.

John Bisceglie presents ‘Wonderland Live!’ at the Gilroy High School Theater through Feb. 19. Performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm. For information, call 408.846.8836.

The Silicon Valley Fragfest (SVFrag) is BACK! They are ramping up to have another party on January 14th and 15th, and it is going to be many times bigger and better than their previous parties. They are planning on having 100+ gamers in attendance. The registration has only been open a few days and they already have 1/4th of that number registered, so go reserve your seat now!

This time around they will be holding the one and only California South Bay Gaming Championships! Go sign up for the tournament and if you win you will be declared the undisputed (at least until the next event) South Bay Champions for BattleField 2, Counter Strike: Source or Quake 4. They have a full gigabit network making it the fastest LAN in all of California! There will also be lots of other games and events going on throughout the day, as well as live music.

Don’t be stupid and miss out! Sign up today: www.svfrag.com

Google Map Link

Moms in Motion is a national women’s health and fitness community based on Fun, Fitness and Philanthropy. Women of all ages and abilities join a fitness team that meets their current needs. Led by qualified coaches, members follow a fitness program that ends with a culminating event to help support a charity in their local community.

The Moms in Motion Santa Cruz Run/Walk Team provides a fun, supportive and structured environment to help women from a variety of fitness backgrounds to improve their running/walking skills and overall physical health. This team will meet Saturday mornings from 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. for 14 weeks. This run/walk team will help motivate each member to take time for their personal health and provide a support network for achieving their fitness goals.

They will be training to run or walk the Santa Cruz Half Marathon or 10k on April 23rd.

For more information, please visit www.momsinmotion.com

The 2006 San Jose International Auto Show is this week from Wednesday, January 4th thru Sunday, January 8th at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center! Time to go check out all of the latest and greatest 2006 models and concept cars! Don’t forget to bring your camera!

If you have kids, or are a State Farm member, or you are in college, click here to discover ways of getting FREE Admission! Have Fun!

For parking information, check out this site: www.sjdowntownparking.com

Google Map Link

For the first time in 11 years, county engineers have completed a major retiming of traffic signals on eight South Bay expressways: Almaden, Capitol, Central, Foothill, Lawrence, Montague, Oregon-Page Mill, and San Tomas. To check if it worked, Mr. Roadshow enlisted the help of several commuters. Instead of seeing red, they found a sea of beautiful green.

The expressways have served as the backbone of Silicon Valley transportation for the past 40 years, with four of every five motorists using them several days a week. But the county roads department is often at the end of the money chain, and improvements, even low-cost ones, can take years to complete.

Read more…

Six months after the Metcalf Energy Center came on line in Coyote Valley, the city of San Jose has yet to provide land to install an air monitoring station to protect residents of South County.

“San Jose agreed to put in ? stations to monitor the air before and after it passed over the plant and that work has not yet been done,” said Tony Eulo, who heads up environmental programs for Morgan Hill. “The agreement didn’t specify a time but certainly one would think it should be done before the plant was open.”

San Jose is not violating any federal or state regulations, but it has not fulfilled its end of an agreement it made with Calpine Corp. to keep the project out of court. Under the agreement, Calpine has to install the monitoring stations, but the city is responsible for securing the land.

read more…

Faced with an 18 percent budget cut last season, Almaden Lake Park continues to attract fans, thanks to creative programs being implemented by Mike Will.

As parks facility supervisor, Will is reinventing the wheel to fund maintenance programs needed to make the 65-acre oasis one of San Jose’s premier recreation spots.

Read more…