Dear Neighbors,

The holiday season is in full swing here in District 3! Holiday lights are twinkling across the district, families are flocking to Skate Under the Palms, and the snowman hot chocolate from Christmas in the Park is taking over my Instagram feed.

If you're looking for the perfect gift for your loved ones, we have no shortage of great small businesses to support here in our district. Check out the shopping guides for Alum Rock, Calle Willow, Downtown, East Village, Luna Park, and Japantown for gift ideas.

You can also get rewarded for shopping local! The San Jose Downtown Association is offering a $50 dollar gift card if you spend $150 or more with eligible downtown businesses. Check out their website for more details.

However you celebrate this time of year, I hope your holiday season is full of friends, family, and festive cheer.

Yours in community, 

From 5am to 10pm on Saturday, December 13, Caltrans crews will perform lane closures on the southbound Interstate 280 (I-280) Bird Avenue off-ramp and the State Route 87 (SR-87) connector ramp in San Jose, Santa Clara County. The closures are needed for Caltrans crews to safely perform construction activities which include pump installations at the Bird Avenue pump station. Traffic will be detoured to 10th/11th Street exit and re-route to northbound I-280. Commuters should follow the detour signs during closures to ensure a safe alternative route.

The Santa Run is happening this Sunday, December 14! For a detailed list of when streets are expected to be closed, click here.

Don't want to worry about parking your car if you're participating in the race? We have so many alternatives to driving downtown!

Transit

Caltrain and BART and VTA trains and buses serve San José. Plan your transit trip in Google Maps, Apple Maps or TransitApp to see when the next train or bus on any system runs near you.

Biking & Scooters

Ride your bike to the start and lock it up. Borrow a bike from Lyft Bay Wheels Bike Share, or a shared e-scooter from Veo. 

Get a Clipper Card to pay the fare when you ride transit and bike/scooter share. Get your Senior or Youth Clipper Card to receive the reduced fares automatically.

Looking for more ways to volunteer in District 3? We'll send opportunities right to your inbox if you sign up at bit.ly/TordillosVolunteer.

We had a blast at our holiday tree giveaway at the Roosevelt Community Center last weekend! Thank you so much to our sponsors and community partners — including Arteaga's Food Center, Bizzy Fit Meals, Garden City Sanitation, Green Team of San José, Kaiser Permanente, Last Round Tavern, Mezcal Restaurant, PRNS, the San José Sharks, San José Firefighters Local 230, UA Local 393, and WAR Fitness — our volunteers, and the amazing staff at the Roosevelt Community Center who worked with my office to spread some holiday cheer for our D3 families.

Last week, my office collaborated with the County, SJPD, and several of my Council colleagues to host a gun buyback event. Gun buybacks don’t just take guns off our streets. Paired with outreach and education efforts, they’re an effective policy to make our neighborhoods safer. Through our efforts, we were able to collect 350 guns, including nearly two dozen assault weapons. That’s 350 fewer guns that can be stolen, misused, or accidentally fired. Each gun taken off our streets is one less chance for a moment of temporary conflict to result in permanent loss.

Last week. Vice Mayor Foley and I joined Silicon Valley PRIDE and the Billy DeFrank LGBTQ Community Center to commemorate World AIDS Day with a candlelight vigil and flag raising. For the first time in nearly 40 years, the federal government decided not to recognize this day, which made it all the more important to me that San José continues to honor those we’ve lost, stand with those living with HIV/AIDS, and recommit to raising awareness and supporting our community.

I spent last Saturday morning planting trees in Orchard Park with Our City Forest! Expanding our urban canopy doesn’t just provide shade — trees help address the urban heat island effect and can even improve safety by helping to slow down traffic. Thank you to everyone who joined us to help make our city a little greener.

Welcomed to downtown, Entre Comales! They've taken over the old Iguanas space I’ve already become a regular customer during their soft opening. While I’m still exploring their full menu, so far my favorites are the bean and calabazas pupusas. Congratulations to Jonathan and Oxiel on this milestone, and thank you for investing in our downtown.

I hope you make the time to check out MACLA’s latest exhibit: From Their Hands to Ours. In a time where the federal government is trying to erase or silence many of our cultural histories, this exhibit tells the story of how art — through the mediums of painting, sculpture, and textiles — can preserve our culture while providing hope and connection.

We celebrated community pride and the work of our neighbors with the Guadalupe Washington Neighborhood Association at their holiday party this week. Little did I know that I’d be honored during the awards ceremony for my participation at their litter pickups! I hope you join us all next year to help keep the neighborhood clean.