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<DIV>
<DIV>In a message dated 2/7/06 12:30:57 AM Pacific Standard Time,
info@savebarec.org writes:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>Dear BAREC
Friends:<BR>It has been a number of months since you received BAREC
news. This note should bring you up to date on efforts to keep
BAREC as agricultural land, its current status, and what you can do to
help. The articles, programs, and details are on our website, <A
title=http://www.savebarec.org/
href="http://www.savebarec.org/">www.savebarec.org.</A> </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006>1. <STRONG>SAN JOSE MERCURY ARTICLE LAST
WEEK:</STRONG> Last week Connie Skipitares did a short article in
the "San Jose Mercury News" titled "Report Due on Housing at Old Research
Station" (<A
title=http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/13741297.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
href="http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/13741297.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp">http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/13741297.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp</A>).
In this article <STRONG>Santa Clara Mayor Mahan stated: "The
State's going to sell the property; there is no way we can prevent that.
We have to be reasonable in allowing rezoning; we cannot withhold entitlements
unreasonably, especially when we cannot offer a good alternative." Well,
Mayor Mahan, we do have a plan for environmental, growing healthy
food, and nutrition education </STRONG>which you can see on our website
(<A title=http://www.savebarec.org/docs/barec-land-use-option.pdf
href="http://www.savebarec.org/docs/barec-land-use-option.pdf">http://www.savebarec.org/docs/barec-land-use-option.pdf</A>).
The University of California at Santa Cruz has offered to help us. Our
county's environmental education has only one week in K - 12. Other Bay Area
counties have a much more comprehensive approach. We have
also made an offer to purchase BAREC at an agriculturally zoned price but
neither the State nor the City will talk or listen to anyone in the
community since before BAREC became available for sale. Please
write a Letter To the Editor regarding saving BAREC. Make sure you place
your address and phone number at the bottom of your letter. Following
are the ways to send your letter:</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3> </FONT>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><FONT face=Arial size=2>email:
</FONT><A title=mailto:letters@mercurynews.com
href="mailto:letters@mercurynews.com"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>letters@mercurynews.com</FONT></A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=343341320-01022006>mail: 750
Ridder Park Drive, San Jose 95190</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=343341320-01022006>fax:
408-271-3792</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=343341320-01022006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=343341320-01022006>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><FONT
face=Arial size=2>2. <STRONG>LIST BAREC AS A SANTA CLARA COUNTY PLACE
NEEDING PRESERVATION:</STRONG> Contact Sal Pizarro at the San Jose
Mercury News and tell him to add BAREC to the list of places which should be
preserved in Santa Clara County:</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT></SPAN></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><FONT
face=Arial size=2>email: <A title=mailto:spizarro@mercurynews.com
href="mailto:spizarro@mercurynews.com">spizarro@mercurynews.com</A></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><FONT
face=Arial size=2>phone:
408-920-5473</FONT></SPAN></SPAN></DIV></SPAN></FONT></DIV></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006></SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>3.
<STRONG>PRELIMINARY EIR DUE LATE FEBRUARY:</STRONG> In October the City
of Santa Clara had an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) scoping meeting and
announced that the Preliminary EIR would be coming out in early Spring.
However, they are now saying it will come out late this
month...February. The neighbors and active Save BAREC members wrote
their EIR concerns. After the Preliminary EIR comes out we
will have 45 days to respond and then they will incorporate these thoughts
into the final EIR for the City Council approval. <STRONG>One
important EIR alternative is "no project".</STRONG> If the City
Council approves a BAREC housing EIR which they currently appear to
want, they will then vote to change the BAREC zoning from agriculture to
medium density housing. <STRONG>A key component for the BAREC housing
proposal is 165 units of low income high rise senior housing. Since the
existing Santa Clara senior housing projects all have many vacancies,
should our historical agricultural land be taken for unneeded
housing?</STRONG></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006>4. <STRONG>BANNED CANCER CAUSING CHEMICAL
DIELDRIN IN BAREC SOIL:</STRONG> We have
recently uncovered information about the chemicals in the BAREC
soil. The most serious is Dieldrin which is an extremely long
lasting chemical banned from usage by EPA in 1989. There is
three times more Dieldrin on BAREC than is allowable by EPA
standards. Dieldrin is associated with cancers and
Parkinson. It could have been one of the chemicals the State sprayed by
helicopter from the 1950s through the 1970s. It may also be the
major reason why so many people living adjacent to BAREC have had or have
cancer. Dieldrin is extremely dangerous when airborne. It
appears that the State's plan to clean up the soil contamination is to
move the top two feet of soil off the site. Moving the soil
combined with construction will place Dieldrin in the air and
could make the cancer problem even more serious both for the community
and wherever the contaminated soil is placed. <STRONG>Our suggestion is
to clean up the soil biologically on site. We have a plan to do
this and a soil scientist willing to take on the job. This,
however, is not the way the State or any of our local governments clean up
soil. It would be a major paradigm shift for them. </STRONG> We
believe this is the reason the State and City have announced
a Preliminary EIR completion date three times in the past three
years. They didn't expect to be watched so closely. If you know
anyone who can give us detailed information about Dieldrin for the EIR,
please let us know. </SPAN></SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=+0><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=343341320-01022006></SPAN></FONT></DIV><SPAN
class=343341320-01022006><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006>5. <STRONG>COUNTY SUPERVISOR BEALL NEEDS
ENCOURAGEMENT TO SUPPORT BAREC:</STRONG> We gave a second BAREC
presentation to the Cory Neighborhood Association which is adjacent to
BAREC. County Supervisor Jim Beall's assistant, Jean Cohen, was at this
meeting. From her comments it is clear that Beall has not yet made a
decision about his BAREC support. Last September we gave him "the
best presentation of any community group in all of his years of public
service". Admittedly the BAREC issues are complicated and most of our
legislators appear to support developers more than meeting community
needs. Beall said he is is not beholden to developers. Let's
keep writing him to make sure he supports what the community wants and
needs. One important thought to add in your note: <STRONG>Beall's
District 4 is the only county district of five districts which has no
county park. However, District 4 has many county residents.
BAREC is in the middle of District 4 and could become District 4's county
park especially since the State did not offer it to them as required by
law.</STRONG> Note also that Beall is running for State Assembly next
November. You may write him at:
</SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006></SPAN></FONT></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><FONT face=Arial size=2>email: </FONT><A
title=mailto:jim.beall@box.co.santa-clara.ca.us
href="mailto:jim.beall@box.co.santa-clara.ca.us"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>jim.beall@box.co.santa-clara.ca.us</FONT></A></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=343341320-01022006>phone:
408-356-7710</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=343341320-01022006>fax:
408-299-2038</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=343341320-01022006>mail:
CountyGovernment Building, East Wing, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA
951101</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><FONT face=Arial size=2>assistant's
name: Jean Cohen (408) 277-3924 </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>6.
<STRONG>FRONT COVER NEWS:</STRONG> In late November the "Metro" (<A
title=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/10.19.05/index.html
href="http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/10.19.05/index.html">http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/10.19.05/index.html</A>) and
the "Rose Garden Resident" both did front cover articles on BAREC. The
"Metro" was the first to cover the State and City's unethical and illegal
issues relating to the BAREC sale. On public television <STRONG>Mayor
Mahan stated: </STRONG><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><FONT
size=2><STRONG>"If the county will step forward and say we will join with the
City of Santa Clara and purchase some of that [land] or if the City of San
Jose wanted to contribute, it would be marvelous.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>To have 17 acres reserved as open
space would be magnificent." Yet, the "Metro" article states
that San Jose Councilman Ken Yeager</STRONG></FONT><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"><STRONG> </STRONG><FONT size=2><STRONG>met with
Mahan to offer San Jose parks money to help keep BAREC in open space and
Mahan never followed through. Note that Mahan and Yeager are running
against each other for Jim Beall's County Supervisor position next
November.</STRONG> BAREC is caught in the middle of politics.
Authors Vrinda Normand and Mary Gotttschalk did excellent pieces in these two
weekly newspapers. </FONT> </SPAN></SPAN>
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006> </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>7.
<STRONG>BAREC ON TELEVISION:</STRONG> In December ABC Channel 7 6
p.m. News did a BAREC special with wonderful aerials from its
helicopter. This special included an interview in front of BAREC and
adjacent to our Save BAREC Van. Each day this van is parked in
front of BAREC on Winchester. Thanks to Kirk Vartan for moving the
van every 72 hours and getting the van organized. Thanks to Brian
Everett for use of his van and thanks to Pat Fox and Kathryn Mathewson for
their sign contributions.</SPAN></FONT></DIV></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=343341320-01022006><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV></SPAN></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006>8. <STRONG>VIVA FILES FOR NON PROFIT
STATUS:</STRONG> In December VIVA (Valley Initiative for Values in Urban
Agriculture and Horticulture) filed papers for its federal non profit
status so <STRONG>in the near future those who donate to help BAREC will be
able to receive a tax write-off. </STRONG> VIVA is the foundation which
offered to purchase BAREC. We have found a donor to purchase all 17
acres at $10,000 per acre as is. This is the price that the UC Regents
quoted was its value at the time they voted to return it to the
State.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>We appreciate your
support and anything you can do to prepserve our State's agricultural history
by saving BAREC from housing. Given the State and City's agenda,
this next few months may determine BAREC's fate. Consequently, we will
need your help more than ever. </SPAN></FONT></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN class=050044601-07022006>Friends of
BAREC</SPAN></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<P><SPAN class=050044601-07022006></SPAN><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006>888-BAREC-80</SPAN><BR><SPAN
class=050044601-07022006><A title=mailto:info@savebarec.org
href="mailto:info@savebarec.org">info@savebarec.org</SPAN></FONT></FONT></A>
</P></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
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