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Alaska is such a vast and varied place that any trip there can only superficially touch the few sites that a traveler might choose to visit. It is hard to imagine that even a lifelong Alaska resident can truly “know” such an immense and wild place.

San Martin residents and businesses are mostly pleased with safety and aesthetic enhancements on a recently completed road project on one of the unincorporated town’s main thoroughfares.The San Martin Avenue “pedestrian improvement project” was completed by the Santa Clara County Roads and Airports department earlier this summer at a cost of $623,307, according to County Associate Civil Engineer Bernardine Caceres. The project included new sidewalks for the first time on the stretch of San Martin Avenue between Depot Street and Llagas Avenue. It also included new curbs and gutters, driveway approaches to private properties, new drainage facilities, fire hydrants, street signs, pavement resurfacing and other improvements, Caceres said. Completed in parallel with the roadway improvements, one block south, the county also improved the stormwater drainage system on Spring Avenue between Lincoln and Llagas avenues. “The county selected the San Martin project for guaranteed sales tax funds, which are distributed to all jurisdictions on a formula basis,” Caceres said. “The funds are limited to pedestrian and bicycle improvements. This location had particular appeal because of the combination of destinations and adjacent land uses, with San Martin being the county’s most village-like community center in the unincorporated area.”San Martin Planning Advisory Committee member Bob Cerruti said he personally called the county’s roads and airports crew to “congratulate” them on the improvements. “They did an outstanding job,” Cerruti said. “In the 28 years I’ve lived here, this is the most wonderful thing that has happened to our town. It’s nice, beautiful and well done.”Cerruti and other residents contacted on a recent brief tour of the project couldn’t remember the last time the county worked on that stretch of San Martin Avenue. Fellow SMPAC member Diane Dean added that the two new stops on San Martin Avenue at Llagas Avenue, controlling eastbound and westbound traffic, were badly needed to slow down speeding motorists.“I come through here several times a day,” said Dean, who has lived in San Martin for 23 years. “They worked on it continuously, and got it done.”Two business owners on the stretch of improvements had mixed reviews of the project. Gordon Bentley, owner of Pacific Security and Fence Supply, said the project improved access to his business, which will allow his company to grow. He noted that county staff were refreshingly responsive to the needs and concerns of himself and other property owners along the project area. Bentley said that as a “thank you” to the county he is going to maintain landscaping between the new sidewalk and curb in front of his business. “Deliveries are easier, and we’re not stopping traffic,” Bentley said. “I couldn’t have been happier. Every single request we had down here was met.”Jeffrey Moore, owner of San Martin Specialty Shop on San Martin Avenue, said he’s glad the county responded to his request to avoid building sidewalks in front of his welding and trailer repair shop. Doing so would have eliminated part of his work space, and likely forced him to move his business off the strip. But he still had reservations about the project, which disrupted his shop for about 2 1/2 months. “I was appreciative they allowed all the businesses to remain here, but nobody around here actually wanted the project done,” Moore said. “Curbs and sidewalks (for example) would be much more useful in the area where (San Martin/Gwinn Elementary) school would be using it. Very few people walk up and down San Martin Avenue.” 

Residents were given a glimpse into the future of the county road system Aug. 26 in San Martin, and an opportunity to put their own two cents in to help shape the Santa Clara County Circulation and Mobility Planning Project.Approximately 30 residents attended the first of four community forums being held in different locations throughout the county. The initial meeting was conducted at the San Martin Lions Hall.The series of meetings is part of a proactive and extensive community outreach process “to ensure public input into the Circulation and Mobility Planning Project and Roads Master Plan recommendations,” according to the County Roads and Airports Department fact sheet.There are three additional meetings scheduled, including a Sept. 9 community outreach forum at Guglielmo Winery (1480 E. Main Ave.) and a Sept. 15 forum at Gilroy Unified School District (7810 Arroyo Circle). Both meetings begin at 6 p.m. County officials will give a brief presentation followed by opportunities to give feedback on the proposed road system and road-related policies for each area.Among the plans outlined were improvements to the major corridors through San Martin, including Masten, Church, San Martin, Middle, Center and New avenues as well as Santa Teresa Boulevard, according to the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance.Proposed improvements on Center Avenue include a two-way, third lane for turns, paved shoulders/bikeways on both sides and a pedestrian/horse trail on one side.“I think that the infrastructure upgrades for San Martin’s streets and roads are long overdue,” San Martin resident Swanee Edwards said. “For too many years, the county has used San Martin as a dump.”The draft plan and environmental impact report are due to be released by November 2014, according to county staff.For more information or to provide input, call (408) 573-2417, e-mail at [email protected] or visit circulationplan.countyroads.org.

Like many parents in South Valley, I have spent the last few weeks preparing for back to school. Only this time, I was preparing to send the kid off to the brave new world of adulthood known as college. Yeah. I’m not handling it well, if you want to know the truth. In fact, I spent most of the summer insisting we all do things together for the “last time.” Visit grandparents. Go on vacation. Eat at Five Guys. (What? It’s a special place for us.)

Two quick notes before I begin. A reader informed me ahi poke, the subject of my last article, was not available at the Gilroy Costco. Upon contacting Costco, I discovered my error; the San Jose and Santa Clara locations carry ahi poke, where I made my purchase. I shop three Costco stores and inadvertently confused where I saw ahi poke. If enough people request a product at Costco, they may stock it. I apologize for any confusion. If you head to the north valley to purchase ahi poke, call ahead to make sure the store has it in stock.

“Water By The Spoonful” is the second part of a trilogy by Quiara Alegria Hudes that won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for drama. It straddles and intertwines two story lines: one about a wounded Iraq war veteran struggling mentally with what happened during his tour of duty, the loss of a loved one and his interactions with family and drugs. The second thread of the plot involves a group of deeply flawed characters, each with a load of personal baggage, involved in an online chatroom where they try and help each other over the difficult road to staying off crack.

A cool breeze buffeted the ancient trees on the grounds of San Juan Bautista Mission, a welcome respite from the hot South Valley temperatures.

HONORS: Nina Singh: Morgan Hill high school student Nina Singh is working on cutting-edge evolutionary biology research at UCLA this summer. At UCLA, Singh will work with Dr. Pamela Yeh to research the evolution of drug resistance in bacteria. They are interested in understanding how we can use drug combinations to slow down the evolution of increased antibiotic resistance and to decrease the likelihood of future evolution of resistance.

South County is a premier international wine region and has been for more than a century, and those behind the newly labeled Santa Clara Valley Wine Trail want everyone to know it.The SCV Wine Trail celebrated a grand opening and ribbon cutting Aug. 22, followed by a full weekend of festivities commemorating the new guided path to more than 20 local wineries. The celebration included tastings, barrel samplings, live music, barbecues and special offers at more than a dozen wineries in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy Aug. 23 and 24. Greg Richtarek, President of the Wineries of SCV Association and Director of Marketing for Guglielmo Winery, said more than 50 people purchased a $40 ticket for the two-day Wine Trail Celebration Weekend event. He was more impressed by the makeup of the crowd than the numbers.“All but two people were brand new to the area,” Richtarek said. “And that's exactly what we want to have happen.”Earlier this year, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously supported the installation of 70 signs along the Wine Trail, directing wine tasting visitors and residents along the route that extends from north Morgan Hill through San Martin to south Gilroy. This summer, the county’s roads and airports department began installing the simply designed signs that feature the word “Winery” and an arrow with approximate mileage pointing to the nearest vineyard. Placards pointing to the 20-plus wineries in the WSCV Association also include the association’s logo. At an Aug. 22 press conference at Guglielmo Winery in east Morgan Hill, public officials from the county as well as the cities of Morgan Hill and Gilroy, vintners and chamber of commerce representatives touted the new SCV Wine Trail as a victory for tourism, the business community as a whole and a lasting recognition of the region’s winemaking heritage. “The wineries here are internationally award-winning wineries,” said Mike Wasserman, president of the county Board of Supervisors and the representative for South County.“Our wineries are one of the best kept secrets in the South Bay, but it won’t be a secret much longer,” Wasserman continued. “There is no need for anyone to go outside of Santa Clara County if you want to enjoy wine.”Gilroy Mayor Don Gage quipped at the press conference, “If you aren’t living down in South County, you’re suffering.” The SCV Wine Trail is a “collaborative effort” by the public and private sector to install permanent signs on the shoulders of county roads directing motorists to the more than 20 wineries and vineyards in the WSCV association, Richtarek added. At the Friday morning press conference and an evening reception at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center, Richtarek specifically called out Morgan Hill resident Jon Hatakeyama and Morgan Hill Cellars winery owner Mike Sampognaro for coming up with the Wine Trail idea more than a year ago.Sampognaro said at his tasting room on San Pedro Avenue, he saw a “steady flow” of Wine Trail revelers but not the crowds he sees during semi-annual Wine Passport weekends. He also gave credit to Hatakeyama and Morgan Hill resident Bruce Knopf for helping to create the Wine Trail, which will continue to grow with the local wine industry. “This is an ongoing and long-lasting kind of thing,” Sampognaro said. “People will start to recognize we do have wineries here, and this will help get them out here.”While the Wine Trail Celebration Weekend ticket only included wineries in the WSCV Association, South County vintners who are not part of the organization expect to benefit from new signage as well. “This is a great first step in the right direction, but I think getting awareness out beyond the (Santa Clara Valley) area is the next step,” said Jason Goelz, winemaker at Jason Stephens Winery in Gilroy. Santa Clara Valley's winemaking history dates back to the late 18th century, and the industry now occupies more than 300,000 acres of county territory, according to a county staff report.Guglielmo Winery, which was founded in 1925, is the oldest continuously family owned and operated winery in the region. Guglielmo brothers Gene, George and Gary shared this history and offered tours at the Aug. 22 Wine Trail press conference. “Many other wine regions already enjoy the significant boost in tourism enhanced by a clear, attractive signage,” Richtarek said. “It’s gratifying to have long overdue and proper recognition for the Santa Clara Valley.”