#8- ESUHSD Board Meeting

Board members from left to right: Magdalena Carrasco (Board Member), Frank Biehl (Board President), Chris D. Funk (Superintendent), and Lan Nguyen (Board Member)

The last place I went to on my scavenger hunt was an East Side Union High School District Board Meeting on December 12, 2013.  The meeting started at 6:30 but I didn't get there until a little after it started because I was eating dinner.  This was a huge mistake on my part.  I was hoping to meet and take some pictures with the board members after the meeting.  Little did I know that the meetings last FOREVER.  I'm not even exaggerating.  When I left, at about 8:30, the meeting wasn't even half way over, and ya girl needs her sleep. There was no way I was going to stay until the end.  So, instead, I decided to selfie with the board members during the meeting.

Selfie with the board members!

Close up selfie! Left to right: Magdalena Carrasco (Board Member), Frank Biehl (Board President), Chris D. Funk (Superintendent), and J. Manuel Herrera (Board Vice President)

I know I didn't technically get to meet them, but it's better than nothing.  Plus, I actually payed attention during the meeting.  There was an organization mentioned called Beautiful Day who helped to clean up and turn around the campus at James Lick High School.  Also, the President and Vice President from Andrew Hill High School gave a presentation on eliminating common dress at their school.  Common dress  means that they are only allowed to wear black pants, along with black, gray, white, and yellow tops.  I thought that it was very strange that our schools are in the same district, and yet we could have such widely different dress code policies. Although the two boys gave a pretty terrible presentation, there was one point that really stood out to me.  They placed two pictures next to each other, one of their campus with common dress, and another of a different school with a typical dress code, and asked, "Which campus looks more inviting?" The Andrew Hill campus looked so dull and boring in comparison, and it was surprising how much of a difference a little thing like dress code can make.  After that, Superintendent Chris Funk gave an extremely long presentation about a whole bunch of stuff that I didn't understand.  I took this time to take a look around the board room, and I noticed that there were a bunch of pictures on the walls of all the different high schools' valedictorians.  It was really interesting to me how some schools only had one or two people, while Evergreen Valley had two whole frames filled with all the different people's pictures.  Kind of makes you a little proud to go to Evergreen, where so many successful students emerge.  And that was pretty much everything that I took out from the meeting, and a nice ending to this local government scavenger hunt.

Phone Number: (408) 347-5000

#7- Robert F. Peckham Courthouse and Federal Building

Robert Francis Peckham was a federal judge on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California who lived from 1920 to 1993.  The courthouse serves Santa Clara, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties.  Next to the courthouse is the Federal Building and Social Security Administration.  Outside of the building is a monument which commemorates the thousands of Japanese and Japanese Americans who suffered in internment camps during WWII.  The monument is actually very beautiful.

Me trying to blend in by sitting next to my fellow Asians, lol

Unfortunately, the Social Security Administration was closed when I went.  The security guard wouldn't even let me take a picture inside the building, so he made me hold the door open and take a picture with it facing outside.

I'm not sure why that was, because right across the way at the United States District Court they let me take pictures inside, and also gave me a piece of paper stamped with 'Inspected by US Marshals'.

#6- Office of Nora Campos

Inside the Alfred E. Alquist building is the office of Nora Campos.  Nora Campos is the Speaker pro Tempore of the California Assembly.  She represents the 27th Assembly District, which is the district that I live in.  Unfortunately, she was not at her office at the time that I went.  We were able to go inside and take a couple pictures though.

I also received a couple pamphlets and a paper with "The Life Cycle of Legislation: From Idea into Law".  

#5- Alfred E. Alquist Building

This bulding was named after Alfred E. Alquist, who was a California politician who lived from 1908 to 2006.  This building is home to the Alcohol Beverage Control Board, Board of Equalization, California Department of Public Health, Department of Consumer Affairs, Department of Housing & Community Welfare, Department of Industrial Relations, and the Department of Rehabilitation. 

#4- Santa Clara County Superior Court

The fourth place I visited was Superior Court.  The building was extremely big and impressive, with fancy and intricate architecture.  I didn't go farther than just inside the front doors.  Inside, there was extreme security, with those things you have to walk through like at an airport, and a bunch of guards that stared at you.  A few of the places actually had security just like this.  I wasn't really sure if we could go in there, so I just got a glimpse of the inside of the building.

Hours: 

Monday - Friday: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm

Satuday, Sunday: Closed

#3- Office of Rose Herrera

Rose Herrera is the San Jose council member for District 8.  Since I live in District 8, she is my representative.  I went to visit her office, which is located on the 2nd floor of City Hall.  We first walked in, and the lady at the desk was really nice and gave us all little name tags.

Then, this girl named Jennifer Gonzalez, who is her assistant, gave us a tour of the office.  Mostly there were just people standing around and talking, and even a couple ladies decorating for Christmas.  I don't really understand what their job entails, but it was interesting to see.  Unfortunately, Rose Herrera was in a meeting at the time, so I was unable to meet her.  I just took a picture by her sign and got a couple business cards.

#2- San Jose City Hall

The next place that I decided to go to was City Hall.  I had never seen City Hall before, and the building was really impressive.  Here is a view from the top floor: 

When I walked inside the lobby, there was this really interesting thing inside called an "Organograph Scale Model".  I guess it is a working scale model of a San Jose "Climate Clock".  Unfortunately, it only goes into action at 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm every day, and since I was there at 3:30 pm I was unable to see it work.

Honestly I was actually pretty sad that I didn't get to see what it does, but here is a picture:

Overall, City Hall was a very interesting and cool building to visit, and probably worth a trip to go and see at least once if you are a resident here. 

Hours: 

Monday - Friday: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday, Sunday: Closed