Along with the many great privileges that Willow Glen residents receive each year, your neighbors also get to endure frequent WG-bashing from people who don’t live here.

But the latest barrage actually comes from within, in the form of a Yelp “review” by Nancy “agogo” M., a self-proclaimed resident of WG … who also hates her neighbors.

To prove her point, she created a fictional business to review on Yelp:

Willow Glen Schmuck & Yuppy

So I live in Willow Glen. I am a young professional who lives in the area with a wonderful hubby. We love this neighborhood, but we hate our neighbors (and we aint leavin!!!) [sic]. I have never been anywhere where the people have felt so privileged and will gladly walk ALL OVER the balls of the “lower class” which happen to be the people serving them coffee or making them a sandwich.

They eagerly flaunt the “We heart Willow Glen” signs on their lawns, license plate frame, dog collars, coffee mugs, etc… as if its a secret society of having a good gardener and a license to coast up and down Lincoln Ave at 6 mph in their stupid yellow Lamborghini. OR stop in the middle of the street and back up traffic so they can search their kids as they leave school.

She goes on to propose a pledge for local citizens. Since it quickly ran afoul of the WGx Commenting Policy, you’ll have to jump to Yelp to administer it to your family.

To further belabor her point, Nancy then posted a discussion board to provoke further conversation. Over the space of three days, the site forum has generated lots of response, but most of it portrays our neighbors quite nicely. Sorry, Nancy …

Congratulations to WGHS freshman softball pitcher Kelsee Graves. She’s been honored as the SJ mercury’s female high school athlete of the week:

Kelsee Graves, Willow Glen
Sport: Softball — Position: Pitcher — Class: Freshman

Accomplishment: Graves started the season as a third baseman but became a starting pitcher for the Rams. Last week, she threw back-to-back no-hitters and went 4 for 6 with four RBIs against San Jose Academy and Yerba Buena as Willow Glen clinched a tie for the West Valley Division title. Graves is 19-2 with a 1.80 ERA. “Kelsee has power and finesse, she knows how to hit her spots,” Rams Coach Scott McCollum said. “She has a full complement of pitches and uses all of them effectively.”

Of course, Kelsee’s exploits were originally uncovered by the WG Resident, with articles about the WGHS Softball team’s victory over James Lick in March, her 11th win of the year (a shutout win over Andrew Hill on April 5), and yet another victory on April 8.

Congratulations, Kelsee!

Just a quick WGx reminder … if you see a public school student this week, wish them well on their STAR tests. California students from second grade through high school are taking the state-mandated tests this week.

Another unique-to-WG business opens this weekend, Shelley Ballard’s Cucina Bambini, located on Lincoln Avenue, north of Willow Street.

Cooking School for Kids and Families

• Classes • Summer Camps • Parties • Special Events • Much More •

Grand Opening Celebration:
Saturday, April 26 … 11am-3pm

Enter our drawing for free and discounted classes and parties!

Imagine Iron Chef meets Gymboree meets Lecture Hall meets Sports Bar. Actually, you’re forced to imagine it … because WGx took a bunch of great pictures inside Cucina Bambini earlier today … and then catastrophically deleted them all during the download process.

Kid-sized tables and sparkling clean aprons welcome kids, along with brightly-colored counters and walls. The adorable little chef logo — he’s still searching for an official name — adorns the classroom above the teaching station, on a widescreen TV, and also on a big clock. There’s even a giant chef’s hat mural on one wall … suitable for those undeleted Kodak moments.

Classes are offered for kids, adults, and various parent-kid combinations, with some of their upcoming activities focusing on Mothers Day, naturally. And the big screen TV might be good for some Sharks playoff viewing, if you’re looking for a fun venue.

Cucina Bambini opens next door to Art House Kids (where Black Eyed Pete’s used to be), providing a one-stop shopping opportunity for parents looking to book unique summer camp experiences for their kids.

—–

Most Embarrassing Post: At the last minute, WGx has to award a coveted “Willow Glen Most” award to Cucina Bambini …. mostly because the effort to promote the Grand Opening was nearly thwarted. As mentioned above, the lost photos remind everyone that WGx is only deemed reliable.

Perhaps WGx’s surprisingly prescient prediction from the 2007 Neighborhood Wrap-Up has come true:

Did anyone else notice that the Rose Garden is starting to look a little more like WG? Or perhaps it’s the other way around. … For example, Linda Taffe is the new editor of the WG Resident, replacing Moryt Milo earlier this year; Linda also edits the RG Resident.

Since then, the Willow Glen Resident and the Rose Garden Resident have essentially become the same paper.

Maybe this WGx headline is only an April Fool’s joke …. or is it? Read the papers yourself; then decide.

The decline in the SJ Mercury News has been a recent topic of heated discussion on the WGNA eList, and has even garnered attention from newsrooms around the country as the traditional newspaper business model potentially collapses.

The reduction in SJMN quality seems to be impacting the SVCN group as well. Stories no longer belong to just one community, and the Residents’ reporters are regularly addressing topics that used to be more appropriate for the valley-wide parent paper. City-wide budget cuts aren’t the realm of a neighborhood weekly, but recently they don’t seem to be within the purview of the Mercury, either.

In a totally unscientific investigation, WGx has concluded that the only significant difference between the two papers — and many of the other five “San Jose Residents” — is the advertising mix. For the most part, this has been the case since January.

Their websites aren’t any different either, except for the URL and the banner artwork.

As added to the comments on a SanJoseInside post:

#12: Lost in the Merc’s obvious slide has been the similar decline in the SVCN Group papers, including the LG ‘Weekly’ Times, Campbell Reporter, and the seventy-three “Neighborhood Residents” … most of which look just like each other now, except for advertising.

Any word on their staffs?

Posted by Neighborhood Resident, Wednesday, March 12 at 08:06 PM

That comment from “Neighborhood Resident” — while SVCN staff were apparently spared the most-recent cuts — garnered further publication in this week’s Metro “Mash-Up” section and a response from another SJI commenter:

#18: #12—Yes, thank you David Cohen for destroying the valley’s competitive news landscape. The community newspapers, along with Metro,** used to be true competitors to the valley news monopoly. This probably should have warranted a DOJ monopoly investigation, but no one really noticed.

Posted by Independence Day in San Jose, Tuesday, March 18 at 11:34 AM

** WGx Note: You can argue whether Metro has or has not become less journalistic recently, but there is no argument about its status: It’s not affiliated with SVCN or David Cohen. Metro is published by Dan Pulcrano, who is under attack for different reasons.

It may be a stretch … even though today is Easter … And today’s headline isn’t one of the rhetorical questions looking for an obvious answer.

Last week, Burbed.com — the “SF Bay Area Home Price and Mortgage Insanity Blog” — highlighted a home for sale in Willow Glen. Or, perhaps on the outskirts of WG. Well, it’s almost right under Highway 87, so you decide.

Burbed gets all excited about the remodeled columns that add real character to the house. There are two columns on the front porch. And there are three in the entry way. There’s even one in the kitchen.

Happy Easter, everyone!

In its March 2008 edition**, the Silicon Valley version of media titan Bay Area Parent plugs WG favorite Gunther’s Restaurant as one of its preferred destinations for family-friendly “comfort food” restaurants, as reviewed by Cheryl Sternman Rule. Skip to Page 100:

It may be my personal bias, but a comfort-food restaurant worth its salt should offer unimpeachable rice pudding.

By that admittedly subjective criteria, Gunther’s is hands-down my new favorite, kid-friendly eatery. The rice pudding arrived warm with a mountain of whipped cream – the rice soft, the raisins plump, and the eggy custard base sweet and soothing. The four kids at my table had to fight me for the last spoonful.

The menu stretches far and wide, covering home-style classics anyone with an Italian, Jewish or German grandmother would recognize instantly.

Despite the restaurant’s German heritage, Bay Area Parent even gives Gunther’s a plug for St. Patrick’s Day:

Portions are enormous and service is extremely friendly. Plus, since you order at the counter, you and your children can see most of the food on display before making your selections. The kids at my table enjoyed a huge portion of cheese lasagna, a messy but wonderful Reuben sandwich and a giant plate of corned beef and cabbage. With St. Patrick’s Day this month, why take the kids to a rowdy Irish pub when you can get your corned-beef fix at Gunther’s?

You can also find more thorough reviews at Gunther’s Yelp page.

** Bay Area Parent usually requires a login with email address to read the current edition, which is then only available in Flash format. Gotta read those ads …

The Skyline is now open. That’s the Skyline at Tamien Station sales center, of course, and it appears as though the eleven-story “high-rise” is aligning itself with the Downtown San Jose neighborhood it can see in the distance … rather than with the WG neighborhood it can look right down on.

Or at least, it seems to be turning its back on Willow Glen. Maybe because our skyline merely includes a bright neon theater sign and a renovated caboose. Or maybe because some WG neighbors tried to block the project altogether. Or maybe because our real estate market has collapsed (anyone know how many Glens have sold in 9 months?)

Anyway … WGx is subscribed to the Skyline VIP mailing list on your behalf. We’ve all been invited to the sales center, which opened this past Saturday:

Hello from the team that will be bringing to you new condominium homes at Skyline at Tamien Station!

Our Sales Center and Models will open on Saturday, March 1st and as one of our VIPs, you’ll get a sneak preview! You’ll have the chance to ask questions about Skyline, learn about financing, take a hard-hat tour of the models and experience with your own eyes the San Jose skyline like you’ve never seen it before.

Don’t miss this opportunity to take a closer look at Skyline at Tamien Station – the high-rise with down to earth pricing. For more information about Skyline or to schedule a private appointment, send us an email or call 408.287.VIEW (8439).

You can also grab yourself a copy of the official “Skyline Neighborhood Map,” which includes 40 nearby landmark attractions — only three of which are in nearby Willow Glen. Shopping destinations like Valley Fair, Santana Row, The Plant, SJ Market Center, and Oakridge each get their own spot on the list. Other than Arcadia and Seven (closer to the Rose Garden), everything else is downtown.

Oddly, the Walgreens at Meridian and San Carlos is on the “Retail & Specialty Services” portion of the map. How’d they pick that one (omitting the two closer Walgreens in WG, among others)?

The WG landmarks on the list? … Vin Santo, Goosetown, and Sugar Magnolia. Good for them, but the rest of us will have to make-do being labeled the “Willow Glen District,” featuring “Retail & Dining.” The as-yet-unnamed “Little Saigon Business District” is tragically fortunately too far east.

“What?” you say … “I’ve still got all day!” OK, but in case you are still not prepared, WGx will be adding tips for finalizing your St. Valentine’s Day gifts throughout the day, from the obvious to the makeshift …

Drive-By Love: Like cherry and strawberry vendors in the Spring (and persimmons in the Fall), there are always a few “spontaneous” street corner candy florists on February 14. So far, corner stands are open northwest of the corner of Lincoln & San Carlos and in a driveway on Meridian just south of Willow.

Elva’s Coffee Stop hosted “Valentines in September” for singles! If you were lucky enough to meet someone, maybe you two should drop by today to update Elva and the gang.

WGx’ll keep you posted …

It may not have been completely official, but WGx has determined that last week was in fact “Father-Daughter Week” in Willow Glen.

WGHS hosted its dad-daughter dance this past Wednesday night (Feb 6), and WG Elementary had a similar affair on Friday night (Feb 8). And this picture is from last night’s Girl Scouts Sweetheart Dance, the local service unit’s annual father-daughter event.

WGx doesn’t know how to explain the cosmic convergence, but it must be related to St. Valentine’s Day.

For those of you moms looking for equal time, WGHS hosts its Mother-Son Dance this week on Wednesday, February 13.