For those in the valley who do not have the luxury of air-conditioning, relief may be as simple as an afternoon at the movies or a mall.

For others it may be more relaxing or practical to spend the day at a local community cooling center.

Keeping cool is critical for the elderly, infants and young children. At risk are people who are physically or mentally ill; especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure.

Cooling Centers: Open until 9:00PM

Wednesday through Friday — May 14-16

Note: A bag lunch or dinner from home may be required.

Cooling Centers

Richard Hassett with his dad Larry Hassett

When traveling north on Interstate 5, people often take Highway 45 into the little town of Colusa to play at the casino. Me? I detour there to shop at the Ace Hardware store. Yes, I do have a thing for hardware.

Today I paid a visit to a new hardware store closer to home. I loved it the moment I walked in. A rack of sun hats to the left, keys hanging to the right and garden tools straight ahead - lovely. I give Larry Hassett and his sons credit for starting up a new ’small’ business in this new age of big-box chains. The Ace at the corner of Lincoln and Curtner will be so handy.

Mr. Hassett is very happy with the number of neighbors who have come to visit his Willow Glen store. When I asked what products were selling the best, he mentioned garden supplies and that he was pleased with the popularity of the Weber Barbecue Grills. It should smell good in ‘The Glen’ this summer!!!

The Grand Opening is a Big 3-Day Event
May 16, 17, and 18
Doors Open 8am

Free Refreshments - and more.
Spin-to-Win
Grand Prize Drawings

Saturday 9am Ribbon Cutting - San Jose City Council member Mr. Oliverio

2253 Lincoln Ave
San Jose, Ca 95125
(Willow Glen)
408 - 267 - 0223

The Hassett family is not new to the hardware business. Together they have years of experience and the product knowledge to resolve a variety of household problems. They tell their story here.

If you’re in your 20’s and eagerly anticipating the upcoming Starcraft 2 game:

If you’re under 12 and can’t spell (or if you were born in the 80’s and can’t spell):

If you don’t know what either of the above pictures refer to:

Then, you’ll probably want to visit Koi Sushi in Union City.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is an event held at cities across the country, including the Bay Area this summer, to promote awareness and raise funds for breast cancer programs including, research, screening and diagnosis, treatment, and various services.

Locally, Team Willow Glen was organized so its members could train together in preparation for the Avon Foundation’s walk in San Francisco July 12 and 13. They have scheduled training walks up to the last week before the event.

The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer starts at Chrissy Field in San Francisco, crosses the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin, then back to Chrissy Field to camp for the night. The second day is through San Francisco ending at Golden Gate Park.

You may have a personal reason for taking part in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, a sister, mother, best friend, or even yourself. Men are encouraged to join and participate for someone they know or themselves. Janet Fouts, team captain of Team Willow Glen, pointed out to me that it is important to remember that men get breast cancer too.

Team Willow Glen has local fundraising events from yard/garage sales to a wine pairing dinner. The wine pairing dinner will be held at Fusion restaurant May 18 with 50% of the proceeds going to the Avon Foundation on the behalf of Team Willow Glen. Information about the dinner here.

Even though the walk is not until July, you my want to consider joining Team Willow Glen now so you can participate in those training walks. Training walks begin (carpool) and meetings are held at Elva’s Coffee Stop, 2206 Lincoln Ave. Willow Glen.

You need not live nor work in Willow Glen to join the team.

For more information about Team Willow Glen, joining, donating, upcoming events, and training walks, check here.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
San Francisco
Saturday and Sunday, July 12 - 13

Update: The Avon Walk re-cap

Join thousands of Bay Area residents by leaving that smog inducing car at home. Strap that helmet on and get on your bike!

Why? Because May 15 is Bike to Work Day!

As part of this exciting event, there will be a over 190 Engergizer Stations strategically placed throughout the Bay Area where volunteers will be handing out treats, tote bags and bicycling commute-related information.

It’s healthy! It’s economical! It’s environmentally friendly!

I’m taking part! You should too!

This weekend May 10 – 11 and next weekend May 17 – 18 more than 300 Silicon Valley artists will welcome visitors to their studios and workspaces.

During this free event, you will view diverse one-of-a-kind works of art, including painting, mixed media, photography, sculpture, jewelry, calligraphy, ceramics, fiber arts, pottery, mosaics, metal work, glass, drawing, printmaking, watercolor, woodworking and more. You will be able to meet with the artists and purchase artworks directly.

This weekend May 10 – 11 visit artist in these locations: East Palo Alto, Ladera, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Loyola, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale.

Then next weekend May 17 – 18 visit artist in these locations: Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, San Jose, and Saratoga.

Silicon Valley Open Studios
Saturday and Sunday
11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Please visit the artists/locations on the appropriate weekend listed above.

A list of all artists with icons depicting their specialty here.

A crude search of artist and locations here.

Locations to pick up a free copy of the Artist Directory and Map Guide here.

It’s that time of year again, postal increase month.

Every May the Postal Service adjusts prices due to inflation. This will be a penny increase to 42 cents for First-Class Mail on May 12. If you have some leftover 2¢ stamps you can use those if you cringe at the thought of having to go to the post office for 1¢ stamps.

There is some good news, head on over to the post office and stock up on the Forever Stamps. You can continue to use the Liberty Bell Forever Stamps that are purchased prior to May 12 at 41¢ regardless of how many postage increases there are in the future. You can also purchase the stamps at postal vending machines, online, and some stores may carry the Forever Stamps.

More info here.

The June edition of Bicycle Magazine identified San Jose as the 3rd runner-up for the Most Improved city for riding your bike. They stated that the weather and 200+ miles of bike routes and trails makes San Jose bike friendly. To add to the compliments, the author mentioned that if San Jose were on the East Coast, not competing with the likes of San Francisco, it could be considered a cycling mecca!

I can attest that most of San Jose is bike friendly. Riding 100+ miles a week, many areas of San Jose are a dream. However, there are still many areas that are less than desirable, mostly due to the deterioration of the bike routes, the roads, or simply the lack of a “safe space” for cyclists, particularly on overpasses and freeway entrances/exits.

Quite frankly, the article was a pleasant surprise! Hopefully our city government moves us from 3rd runner of of Most Improved to either the top 3, or runner up for best place to cycle!

…but there is still work to be done.

As the world becomes a small place, we get exposed to different cultures. But unfortunately, that also leads to clashes. The need of the hour is to resolve our differences and get together as one world. One effort in this direction is Pangea Day, which puts films to use. [Pangea, if you didn't know, is the single piece of land mass that existed before the continents were formed.]

24 short films will be screened over 4 hours across the world simultaneously. There will be live music and some speakers too.

For our area, the date and time are May 10, 11 a.m. In addition to 6 live venues, Internet and television, we can also watch it locally. Here are some locations, one of which might be close to you.

San Jose: JJ’s Blues
Stanford: Stanford University Memorial Auditorium
Berkeley: Wheeler, 2600 Ridge Rd.
Santa Cruz: McHenry Library
Monterey: MPC / Punky Lil Kid Independent Film Festival

You can browse for more venues or even search using a map. There are some “private events” too; but I’m not sure whether we can go there.

In addition to the noble cause and watching movies, I am looking forward to a unique worldwide event. How about you?