Rose Garden Resident

Letters & Opinions

The Rose Garden Resident starts 5th year

By Linda Taaffe

My first introduction to the Rose Garden Resident happened accidentally online while I was researching the neighborhood during my hunt for a new house in 2005. I typed in "Rose Garden" to see what I could find out about the area, and much to my surprise, the search engine pulled up article after article from the Rose Garden Resident. Those articles introduced me to an amazing cross-section of people with a deep sense of community who volunteer to plant trees, trim roses, clean up litter, host ice cream socials and create parks. I discovered that the Rose Garden is a diverse area with strong neighborhood activism, a rich history and changing business face. I also discovered it was a place I wanted to be a part of.

I am happy to be celebrating the Rose Garden Resident's fifth anniversary as editor of the paper and as a resident in the Garden Alameda neighborhood of the Rose Garden.

The Resident hit neighborhood doorsteps on May 8, 2003, and has since become an integral part of the community, providing residents a place to express themselves, learn about their neighbors and celebrate their community.

Silicon Valley Community Newspapers--which at the time already published the Los Gatos-Weekly Times, Saratoga News, Willow Glen Resident, Campbell Reporter, The Cupertino Courier and Sunnyvale Sun--had been pondering starting a paper in the Rose Garden for quite some time, but it wasn't until the company moved its headquarters to The Alameda that the idea took off. Staff soon learned that the neighborhood had stories to tell, but no place to tell them.

Since then, we've uncovered stories in the streets, in the cafes and at the library. There's the 70-year-old man who still does his banking where he opened his first account through a savings program in elementary school. Two doors down, there is Rosalena's, which can put together 3,000 sandwiches in one weekend. There is Leonard, who hauls his cart to The Alameda nearly every workday to sell hotdogs from the sidewalk.

Over the past five years, the Resident has continued to cover "fiercely local" stories in the area bordered by Highway 880, San Carlos Street, Stockton Avenue and Winchester Boulevard.

The Rose Garden Resident has witnessed the closing and reopening of the Rose Garden Library; and the closing of Hester School and the first graduating class from Downtown College Prep. It bid District 6 Councilman Ken Yeager farewell when he moved on to fill a county supervisor's seat. It kicked off its first issue with a front-page story about the Municipal Rose Garden and today celebrates its fifth anniversary with a update on the garden. It also welcomed the addition of the Almaden Resident, Branham Resident, Cambrian Resident, Winchester Resident and West San Jose Resident.

There are more stories to tell, and the Rose Garden Resident will continue to provide a place to tell them.

--Linda Taafe is the editor of the Rose Garden Resident.