The newly formed Almaden Business Association, which is affiliated with the San Jose Chamber of Commerce in a partnership with the city of San Jose, elected officers for the year 2004 at its October meeting.

Doug Keller, who owns Y2 Marketing, was elected as the ABA's first chairman, while Bob Swan, of Mortgage Magic, was elected as co-chairman. The association's recording secretary will be Esther Quement, who owns Quement Travel.

The ABA was organized to assist businesses located in the Almaden area to aid in marketing, advocate for solutions to local issues, and identify resources to improve the area's economic vitality. The group meets regularly to develop plans for promoting business in the Almaden area and to seek ways to improve the local business environment.

Next meeting of the association will be Dec. 4 at 8 a.m. at Chevy's Restaurant, 5305 Almaden Expwy. For more information, contact Linda Edvensen from the chamber at lindae@sjchamber.com or 408.291.5296.


Art and Wine Fest raises $50,000

The 27th annual Almaden Art and Wine Festival—the one fundraising event held by the Almaden Valley Women's Club each year—raised approximately $50,000, which will be distributed in the form of college scholarships and other grants to nonprofit agencies.

This year's festival, which was held on Sept. 21 at Parma Park, drew nearly 20,000 people. The day of the event featured triple-digit temperatures, which may have kept the attendance down, said Maureen Harrington, the club parliamentarian and corporate sponsorship chair of the Art and Wine Festival.

The money was raised by wine, beer and water sales, the sale of commemorative wineglasses, ticket sales for children's rides, and corporate sponsorships.

The Almaden Valley Women's Club, which has a current membership of 60, will distribute the money in the form of college scholarships. Any high school student who lives in the 95120 ZIP code is eligible to apply. The club has also, in past years, donated funds to charitable organizations, such as the Special Olympics.

"All of the money goes back to the community," said Harrington.


Fire Station 22 to host open house

San Jose Fire Department's Station 22, located at 6461 Bose Lane, will be holding an open house on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2­5 p.m.

Capt. Gary Bogue from the station's "A" shift will be on hand, along with his fellow firefighters, to show off the station, their trucks and equipment, and to answer questions. Both an ambulance and a fire engine will be displayed for the community to view.

To give the community its full attention, the station will be out of service and not asked to respond to calls, according to Bogue.

Information on smoke detectors in the home, escape routes and other fire prevention-related material will be available at no charge.


Pick the 2004 Silicon Valley Reads book

Public voting is now open on the book to be selected for the 2004 Silicon Valley Reads program, designed to encourage everyone in the community to read and discuss the same book during the month of February.

Three well-known novels are on the ballot: Daughters of Fortune, by Isabel Allende; Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury; and Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.

The public may cast ballots in public libraries, local bookstores and online at http://www.siliconvalleyreads.org. Voting is open through Oct. 31 and the winning book will be announced in November.


Almaden Library's used-book sale

The Friends of the Almaden-Vineland Branch library are having their semiannual book sale on Oct. 25 from at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hardcover books will cost $1 and paperbacks will cost 50 cents. At 2 p.m. the remaining books will be sold by the bag—all you can get into a bag for $10. This will be the last sale at the Almaden location before the stacks and staff move into their new Vineland branch on Blossom Hill Road.


Discovery Shop moves to Branham

The American Cancer Society Discovery Shop recently moved to the corner of Branham Lane and Almaden Expressway. The shop—staffed by volunteers—sells quality resale items including clothing, furniture, household items, jewelry, books, toys and more. Proceeds support cancer research.

The shop will have a Holiday Tea Party on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.