nominated by Alma Taylor
nomination: Having grown up in the Los Altos hills, (it wasn't Hills then) I discovered when going by my old homestead over 25 years ago, that new roads in the Los Altos Hills were being named after the original orchardists. So I contacted the Los Altos Hills Historian and asked to be put on the agenda for one of the Town Hall meetings. My father was the original orchardist on the 6-1/2 acres that was our apricot ranch on top of what is now known as Altamont. (before Altamont was extended it was Elizabeth Ave, from the end of Taffee to Page Mill Road.) We lived at 787 Elizabeth Ave. We had a view from San Jose to San Francisco, and on a clear day we could see the Bay Bridge. I went to the Town Hall meeting on September 9th of l985 and was able to have the cul de sac with 4 driveways named after my family. So this is the first street named after my family in Santa Clara County. The Los Altos paper had a big article entitled STREET NAME HONORS CARRINGTON FAMILY, on September 9, 1985. It makes me proud to have my family name be part of the Valley's history.

nominated by Monica Holm
nomination: The building of the first Highway 9 in 1915. The Cupertino Store is at right.

nominated by Erica Yew
nomination: I was appointed as the first Asian American female judge to sit on the Superior Court in this County in October 2001. I was appointed by Gray Davis who appointed many firsts including the first Korean female judge in the state (Tammy Ryu), the first Vietnamese female judge in the state (Jacqueline Nguyen), and the first African American female (Terri Jackson) in San Francisco. The day I was appointed, I was named with Judge Randolf Rice, the first openly gay male on the Superior Court in this county. As a San Jose native, it is particularly meaningful for me to sit as a judge in San Jose. When I graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 1985, there were very few female litigators and a relatively small number of Asian American attorneys -- male and female. There were days that I was the only female in the courtroom when I appeared for my clients and many days when I was the only Asian American. I appeared as an attorney in depositions and my male opposing counsel would assume that I was the court reporter. A senior partner in my firm told me that I would have to be better than everyone else to compete because I was a female. Now there are days when the majority of the court staff and attorneys are female. I've spoken with countless young Asian Americans who are interested in a career in the law and, in particular, in becoming a judge. In the seven years since I was appointed, we now have four other Asian American females (Judges Carrie Zepeda, Jacqui Duong, Jackie Arroyo, Lucy Koh) on the Superior Court. The court also has two Asian American males (Judge Thang Barrett and Commissioner Steven Yep). Judge Barrett, who because a judge in 1997, was the first Vietnamese American judge of general jurisdiction in the State of California. He has mentored many of us who have been appointed to this bench, as has Justice Nathan Mihara who sits on the Court of Appeals in this county and retired Superior Court Judge James Chang:

nominated by Joshua DeVincenzi Melander
nomination: San Jose State University is the oldest public institute of higher education on the West Coast, founded in 1857. Originally it was a normal school for teachers in the western frontier of the United States.

nominated by Joshua DeVincenzi Melander
nomination: San Jose was the first civilian settlement in California.

nominated by Gil Villagran
nomination: Dr. Ernesto Galarza was the first Mexican American (born in Mexico, raised in Sacramento) to earn a PhD, the first to organize farm workers (in the 1940-50 era), the first educator who developed and wrote books on the concept of bilingual education for teaching non-English speaking children to read in Spanish and gradually switch into English, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first to publicize how City of San Jose water policy contributed to the periodic flooding of Alviso, creating the political pressure to annex that city to prevent a lawsuit. Dr. Galarza was the first Mexican American resident of San Jose to understand the critical need for community organizing to achieve social justice.

nominated by Barbara Johnson
nomination: In 1972, following graduation from high school, Rusty Hammer was elected to Campbell City Council, becoming the youngest elected official in US history at the age of 18. In 1975, Rusty became the Mayor of Campbell, the youngest Mayor in the US. Rusty continued his community/political career serving as CEO of the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce and President & CEO of the LA Area Chamber of Commerce. On January 28, 2008 Rusty lost his battle and died from a rare form of leukemia.

nominated by Marianne Dean
nomination: The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library is an innovative collaboration between the City of San José and San José State University. It is the FIRST in the United States to integrate the services and collections of a city and major university, making them available to everyone in the entire community. For the FIRST time, Silicon Valley residents can utilize a single learning center from earliest childhood through formal years of study and throughout the rest of their lives.

It was an innovative concept, befitting Silicon Valley.

nominated by Fred Najjar
nomination: Founded in 1857, San José State University is the oldest public institution of higher education on the West Coast. From its beginnings as a normal school to train teachers, SJSU has matured into a comprehensive university offering 134 bachelors and master's degree programs. One of the largest schools in the California State University system, SJSU has 32,000 students and 5,700 faculty and staff members. SJSU is the number one supplier of education, engineering, computer science and business graduates to Silicon Valley. Nearly 6,500 students graduate from SJSU annually, 70 percent of whom settle in the Bay Area.

nominated by Joshua Russell
nomination: Dr. David Sharpe was the first podiatrist to perform a foot surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in 1977

nominated by: Jeanne Lazzarini
nomination: Our home was the first in San Jose to be awarded a National Trust for Historic Preservation "Home Improvements Award" in 1992 --- a national contest with only 15 winners per year. We won 2nd place for interior restoration against an architectural firm that came in first place in the same category. This later lead to Mayor Susan Hammer announcing the first recognized San Jose "National Historic Preservation Week".

resolution: To encourage people to see the value in understanding math, historic preservation, and how every moment and every action we take on every day is precious to us all.

nominated by Jim Reed
nomination: 1777: Santa Clara de Asis Mission, the first Spanish mission in the Santa Clara Valley is founded

nominated by Beth Wyman
nomination: How about twenty-five "firsts"?
Those very first women elected to fifteen city councils, county supervisor, sheriff, district attorney and state senate. When the Santa Clara Valley was "The Feminist Capital of the World."

A booklet commemorating this accomplishment is being published by the National Women's Political Caucus and San Jose State University's Sourisseau Foundation.

Today's young women would be hard pressed to understand the pre-1970's environment when most woman had no bank or credit accounts in their own name, when candidates for political office were referred to as "Mrs." and their occupation listed as "housewife."