In 2021, the Rogers family anxiously awaited the birth of their first child. For most new parents, this is an exciting period, but for the Rogers, anxiety started to creep in. They knew their daughter would be born with a heart defect, but they were unsure of just how serious it would be. After she was born, baby Meghan stayed in the NICU for one month. During the first four months of her life, she faced several challenges. Meghan underwent open-heart surgery and a PDA stent, and was diagnosed with heart failure. The Rogers brought Meghan to their Sunnyvale home warily, as doctors truly did no ..read more

Edward Hodges is on an unusual quest. The retired teacher and volunteer San Jose Unified School District historian has put together a display for Anne Darling Elementary School all about its namesake — a glass-ceiling-breaking administrator who served as deputy superintendent for the city’s schools a century ago. With a 29-year tenure in the office, Darling was so well-respected that a year following her death in 1928 at around age 58, the city decided to name a new school in her honor. The school opened in 1930 on North 33rd Street and McKee Road and in the late 1950s, a shopping center with ..read more

The Willow Glen Lifestyles Home Tour is celebrating its 40th year on May 4-5. As ever, the event benefits the San Jose Day Nursery (SJDN), a nonprofit early learning center founded in 1916 in downtown San Jose. Funds raised from the tour will enhance SJDN programs and provide scholarships for children of low-income working parents. Each of the five homes on the self-guided tour is no more than a five-minute drive from the next. Docents will be on site at each home to answer questions. Featured homes this year include the historic 110-plus-year-old former Wilcox Manor on Pine Avenue with seven ..read more

As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, Teatro Vision is bringing two of Francisco Jiménez’s books to the stage as a bilingual youth production next weekend at the Chicano theater company. “Producing these two shows is a dream come true for me,” Teatro Visión Artistic Director Rodrigo García said during an online conversation in late March with the Santa Clara University professor emeritus and playwright Leo Cortez, who adapted the stories. as part of Teatro’s “La Hora del Mitote” series. “With this year, particularly, when we are celebrating 40 years of making teatro,” he said, “I couldn ..read more

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BRENTWOOD — Hard at work on a recent Friday morning, Manuel Rodriguez meticulously wiped down the 12-foot-long, steel-framed wooden tables before mopping the floors at the Brentwood Craft Beer and Cider taproom. After checking to see that the silverware and napkins were stocked, and setting up the patio furniture, a shift leader took the 28-year-old aside to show him how to operate the cash register and take orders. When there’s time, he might show him how to make pizzas as well. It’s Rodriguez’s first job, but he doesn’t work for the downtown pub. Rather, he is a client of Working Wonder ..read more

Junior prom at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton is coming up next month, and Tais Roman wants to go big — literally. “I just want a poofy dress,” the 17-year-old said recently, holding an armful of ruffled prospects inside a downtown Santa Clara complex-turned-prom dress shop. “But maybe I can also try to get something under it, so it can be bigger.” Roman was one of dozens of Bay Area teens who showed up on March 13 to the Princess Project Silicon Valley’s annual giveaway, an event where students could pick dresses, shoes and accessories to wear on their special night for free. The insi ..read more

The Los Gatos-based nonprofit Plant-Based Advocates earned a certificate of commendation from Santa Clara County leaders and a community service award from the environmental nonprofit Acterra on March 21. Both awards recognized the work the organization does to educate the public on the advantages of a plant-based diet. Since its inception in 2022, Plant-Based Advocates has hosted cooking classes and speaker events in conjunction with the Los Gatos Library in addition to regular tabling and outreach to the community. Transitioning to a plant-based food system is vital to ensuring a sustainable ..read more

Using a firefighter ax, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan officially chopped the ribbon Thursday on the city’s new Fire Training Center and Emergency Operations Center. But in addition to providing invaluable training for first responders and a centralized headquarters for emergency response, the $90 million complex on Senter Road is also going to be home to a large collection of public art. The most visible of these is “The Resilient City,” a layered, cut metal mural by Oakland artist Johanna Poethig that’s installed on the street-facing wall of the Emergency Operations Center. Over the next month, a ..read more

Foster5K Registration is open for the eighth annual Foster5K & Kids Dash, a fundraiser for Child Advocates of Silicon Valley. The April 28 event supports the Milpitas-based nonprofit’s Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program for foster youth. Nearly 500 kids, teenagers and adults came out for last year’s event. “Seeing how far we’ve come since our first event in Los Altos in 2017, through all kinds of challenges, really shows how much people care about helping foster kids,” volunteer Debbie Crouse said in a statement. This year’s 5K starts at 9 a.m., followed by a Kids Dash at 10 a ..read more