This afternoon, 8/10/08, there was more Emergency Services activity at the illegal homeless encampment located under the Bascom Avenue Bridge when a fire erupted from that encampment. Both San Jose Fire and County Fire responded when 911 was called by witnesses. Black smoke could be seen billowing out from under the bridge structure and burning plastic could be smelled throughout the neighborhood area. It was fortunate the emergency response was quick and prevented the fire from spreading to the other trash and dry brush located outside the encampment along the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

The investigation of illegal homeless encampments are done by the San Jose Police Department Metro Unit. They can be reached at 277-4044. If the activity is of potential threat to safety of persons or property, call 911 and an uniformed officer will respond to the encampment.

Last night there was extreme police activity by the homeless encampment located under the Bascom Ave Bridge which is along the Los Gatos Creek Trail. The activity involved marked SJPD cars, unmarked undercover SJPD cars, a County fire engine, and the sealing off of the creek trail and sidewalk. It was communicated that there was a shooting and also a car fire was set.

As this was occurring, “a resident” of our “backyard” homeless encampment became aggressive and threatened physical harm as we were walking down the public sidewalk by the encampment. He was very territorial of this area by the homeless encampment. Fortunately for us and others the police that were present responded in full force to protect those walking down the public sidewalk.

Both of these events are pretty scary considering that this element is in our “backyard”.

The Pamlar Neighborhood Association invites you to come out and meet, greet, socialize, and have some fun with your neighbors! Most of us lead busy lives, and as such, sometimes forget to take the time out to get to know our neighbors.

25 years ago, the National Association of Town Watch, started what has become an annual Night Our Against Crime. The idea being that if neighbors come out and meet each other, and keep an eye out for each other and their neighborhood, then it makes the neighborhood an uninviting target for crime and drugs.

This year, the Pamlar Neighborhood Association will be holding a National Night Out event on Tuesday August 5th, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. There will be representatives from the San Jose Police Department, and hopefully other agencies of the City of San Jose. There will also be a kids craft table.  The Association will be serving hot dogs, and ice cream. Also, feel free (but not obligated) to bring a dessert to share. This event will be held on Spruance Avenue between Pamlar And Whitethorne.

See You There!!

( For more information on National Night Out check out the official National Night Out web site: http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/)

One of the key benefits of a neighborhood association such as ours, is communication. Finding out what is going on in our neighborhood, and in our city. On Thursday June 26th, we will have the first of two general meetings this year.

Last November, we had Councilmember Oliverio drop by, as well as a representative of the San Jose Redevelopment agency to talk about Dicks Center.

Since the issue of code enforcement has come up lately, the Board decided to bring someone in from the San Jose Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement department to give a presentation. Code Enforcement issues are things like abandoned and inoperable cars, parking on the lawn, building code violations, swimming pool fences, and unsightly yards among many other things. This talk will cover topics like how San Jose handles code enforcement, how to report violations, and how to track code violation reports. Additionally, we will hear presentations of San Jose’s Anti-Graffiti program, and from Our City Forest about the availability of free street trees.

Agenda for this General Membership Meeting:

• 6:00 – 6:30 Sign-in and Social half-hour
• 6:30 – 6:40 Introductions and announcements
• 6:40 – 6:50 SJPD Beat Officer
• 6:50 – 7:20 Code Enforcement presentation
• 7:20 – 7:40 Anti-Graffiti presentation
• 7:40 – 8:00 Our City Forest presentation
• 8:00 – 8:15 Open Forum

Dessert/Snack Pot-Luck:
You are encouraged (but not obligated) to bring a dessert/snack to share.
Plates, napkins, and water will be provided.

Location: Bess Court

This is a reprint of this article from the current issue of The Neighborhood Update. It was truncated for space in the newsletter, but the entire article is included here. If you read it in the newsletter, you can skip down to the paragraph that begins with “Dave and Mary Figone.”

Bascom Homeless Camp
by Jim Roberts

I am sure many of you have noticed the homeless camp on the edge of our neighborhood – at the intersection of Bascom and the Los Gatos Creek Trail. The shelter is shelf that’s been carved out on one side of the creek underneath Bascom that one would never notice unless they were to crawl in. It’s a huge space that spans the full width of Bascom Ave. and measures 25 feet to 50 feet deep in some areas. It’s filled with bikes, ice chests, furniture, clothing and trash. It is well established and a very popular spot. In the last year, one homeless person died there. Read the rest of this entry »

PNA board member Dave Figone as well as his wife Mary and former PNA president Jim Roberts recently talked with NBC 11 News about the homeless camp that is under Bascom Ave Los Gatos Creek bridge.  Here is a link to that video:

http://video.nbc11.com/player/?fid=23061#videoid=251716 

Here are some pictures that we taken of that encampment.

Be sure to watch for more information in the June issue of The Neighborhood Update.

Many of our children walk this way to and from school. High school parents received this info from the principal last night:

One of our [Del Mar] students was stabbed yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon about ½ mile from school on his way home. He is OK but the attack could have been fatal. He was walking home with his girl friend, heading down the street to the catwalk over Highway 17, when a car with two older Nortenos “red” confronted him and asked if he was a Sureno “blue”. He was probably suspected of being so because he was wearing a blue Dallas Cowboys Jersey. These two Nortenos asked him to lift his shirt—they were looking to see if the belt color (red or blue) or symbol (13 or 14) indicated gang affiliation. He had no belt. Nevertheless they attacked him, stabbing him numerous times. We understand that the two assailants were brothers who attended Del Mar over three years ago and now live in Milpitas. The police were able to quickly apprehend them and they are likely to be charged with attempted murder. The odd thing is that the young man is not affiliated with gangs at all and told his assailants so. This was clearly a case of targeting someone suspected of being a Sureno simply because the young man was Hispanic and was wearing a blue jersey. This is truly a shocking occurrence. At any rate, the young man is recovering very well, returned home today and will likely be returning to Del Mar in a couple of weeks. We will keep you informed if there are any new developments in the case. Published: 5/7/08

Saturday May 10^th, 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

ADVERTISING – Will be placed in the “Penny Saver” and the San Jose Mercury News. Signs will be posted at several locations along Bascom and around the neighborhood to direct people to different areas. Individual signs, which are a good idea, should be posted by participants.

COST – A $5.00 donation from each participating house will be used to cover the cost of the advertising and other materials and services needed to put on this event. The $5.00 donation will be collected by a PNA representative on the day of the event. Any additional funds will be put toward future PNA events.

UNITED CANCER RESEARCH (Non-Profit) – United Cancer Research offers a service to pick up good, usable, unsold items after 2:00. They did it for us last year. They have the right to refuse any items. We have already contacted them and we will verify with them a week prior to the Sale.

CLEAN OUT YOUR GARAGE – This is a great opportunity to spring clean your home and your garage! Start gathering your items now and get rid of some of your “unwanted” treasures. But most importantly, it also gives you an opportunity to meet some of your neighbors and say hello to those you already know! A little extra money in your pocket doesn’t hurt either!

CONTACT – To get an approximate number of participants and to assist with determining where to place signs, contact Roger Miller, (Board of Directors member for PNA and Chair for this Event), if you are interested in participating. You can reach him at (408) 286-5487. Leave your name and address and please do it soon, before you forget! If you require a callback, please leave you phone number and request a callback.

Well, this past Saturday was our spring block party. It was a great event highlighted by great food and a great turn-out. We have Chimi-Gaucho to thank for those incredible Italian Sausage Sandwiches! I don’t know the fianl count, but hopefully someone will comment and let us know. Here are some pics that I took. If you took some and want to share them, just comment and let me know, and I will contact you to get them.

Read the rest of this entry »