And The Winner Is...

District 1 residents really love summer! I received dozens of great entries for my summer photo contest: colorful, creative and whimsical. Below are the three winning photos that caught the eye of my office team. Congratulations are in order for Andrea Van Deren, Laura Wrede, and Mark Grzan for their winning entries. These photos will be displayed in our office at 70 West Hedding Street in San Jose for all to view and enjoy. I want to thank everyone who took a break from the ordinary to submit a photo and help spread the word about the contest. To view the other honorable mentions, please visit my Flickr photo page

Please join me for the Martial Cottle Park Groundbreaking Ceremony on August 9th at 10am. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held near the corner of Chynoweth Avenue and Snell Avenue. Martial Cottle Park, Santa Clara County’s newest park, will include a multi-use trail system, a visitor center, and provide a glimpse into our agricultural past. Also, a portion of the Park is being developed for use by cooperative partners such as City Community Gardens, University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, 4-H and agricultural research programs, and an urban forestry program.

I had a great time at National Night Outlast night with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, Councilmember Johnny Khamis, and Police Chief Larry Esquivel at the Hoffman Via Monte Neighborhood Association. This annual event celebrated by 37 million residents across the country is dedicated to crime and drug prevention in neighborhoods. The goal is to bring neighborhoods together and strengthen relationships between residents and law enforcement. Learn more about the National Night Out program by visitingwww.natw.org

Last year the County received aFederal grant for over a million dollars to improve the lives of South Santa Clara County residents. This grant from the Centers for Disease Control will fund an initiative called “South County: United for Health”. The goal of the project is to implement long-term solutions to improve the health of this community. Part of the funding will support the Community Transformation Leadership Team, which I will be chairing. The Leadership Team will look for innovative preventive strategies for major problems affecting South County residents. I invite anyone who is interested in learning more to come to our meeting at the City of Gilroy Police Department, Community Room, 7301 Hanna Street, Gilroy on September 30, 2013 from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

Last month, Assemblymember Mark Stone and I cohosted a seminar to prevent Seniors from becoming victims of scams. I appreciate all the Seniors, service providers, and the District Attorney’s Office who took the time to attend and talk about the scams that target Seniors, and how to avoid them. Prior to the seminar, I had a wonderful opportunity to sit down and have lunch with 70 Seniors to discuss their concerns.

Every year the County’s department of Public Health scores each of the cities on how well they are doing at keeping tobacco out of the hands of minors. I am proud to announce that every city in the County received either an A or B letter grade and out of all the cities in Santa Clara County, Gilroy improved the most! For more information:http://www.sccgov.org/sites/TobaccoPrevention

Volunteers needed! Santa Clara County has over 60 volunteer boards and commissions that cover a broad range of issues including senior health, consumer affairs, youth, housing, mental health, watersheds, and more. Meetings are usually held one evening per month or less. Required qualifications for each position vary. Please visit my website for the current list of vacancies.

The Results are in. As you probably have already heard Cindy Chavez was elected as the District 2 Supervisor in the recent special election. I look forward to working with Cindy on the Board as we tackle important problems facing our County.

Local agriculture improved in 2012according to Santa Clara County’s Department of Agriculture and Environmental Management’s Annual Crop Report. This increase was due in part to increased demand of the region’s top crops and favorable weather. In total, the value of the region’s crops was nearly $260,778,800. The top selling crops in our County were nursery crops ($83,161,000), mushrooms ($63,496,000) and bell peppers ($14,055,000).

As always, you can reach my office at (408) 299-5010, or you can email me at mike.wasserman@bos.sccgov.org with your comments and concerns.

Mike Wasserman
Santa Clara County Supervisor, District 1
www.supervisorwasserman.com