Good guys in high heels continue YWCA tradition in San Jose

Santa Clara County Assistant District Attorney James Gibbons-Shapiro is longtime supporter of “Walk a Mile in Their Shoes,” the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley’s annual event to raise awareness about domestic violence and sexual abuse. He thinks he might have missed one walk in the past 15 years.

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He was at Santana Row again Thursday, rolling up the pant legs of his suit to better show off the block-heel pumps he was wearing. With his hairy legs and black socks, it might not have made much of a fashion statement, but looking good isn’t the reason why the veteran prosecutor of child sex abuse cases is there year after year.

“The fight against child sexual abuse is so important for our community, and every community, and YWCA is an amazing partner with the DA’s office in that fight,” Gibbons-Shapiro said. “And if I can walk in these shoes one night to support them, I’m happy to do it.”

He was among around 600 people who registered, knowing sore toes and aching calves would surely follow after they slipped into their heels and took a lap around the swanky San Jose shopping center, carrying signs and buoyed by cheering onlookers. Lead sponsor Kaiser Permanente brought 120 walkers by itself and also led teams with more than $22,000 in fundraising. UA Local 393, Meriwest Credit Union and Palo Alto law firm Cooley also brought big groups.

There was a good showing of elected officials, too. Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas took advantage of the situation and wore flats, but San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan had on rope wedge sandals, San Jose Councilmember Bien Doan was in hot-pink, open-toed heels and Councilmember Anthony Tordillos wore a pair of candy-apple red stilettos that were on loan from the YWCA.

“I think events like this shine an important light on other aspects of safety that don’t always get the light of day that they should,” said Tordillos, who walked in the event for the first time. “So it’s good to be out here walking in support of domestic abuse awareness and sexual abuse awareness, rounding out what we think of when we think about safety in our community.”

SOCCER AROUND TOWN: Thousands of people showed up at San Pedro Square on Thursday to watch the Mexico-South Africa game that opened the FIFA World Cup tournament, but there was another watch party happening at Eastridge Center, too. That’s part of a strategy to correct a misstep during Super Bowl LX festivities, when some residents griped that too many events were concentrated downtown and left out other neighborhoods.

So the city, the San Jose Sports Authority, Santa Clara County and the Directors Alliance — a coalition of neighborhood business districts — announced “Kick Off in the Districts,” an effort to bring the World Cup frenzy to different parts of San Jose.

There are watch parties planned for the Mexican Heritage Plaza (Mexico vs. South Korea, June 18, 5 p.m.; Mexico vs. Czechia, June 24, 5 p.m.); Solar Row, 1245 S. Winchester Blvd. (Colombia vs. Congo, June 23, 7 p.m.); the Gordon Biersch Night Market in Japantown (Japan vs. Sweden, June 25, 4 p.m.; USA vs. Turkey, June 25, 7 p.m.); the Plant shopping center on Monterey Road (July 3); Alum Rock Village (July 11); and Little Saigon (July 18-19).

Of course, games will continue to be shown at San Pedro Square and at Santana Row, which also has an official FIFA World Cup merch shop. Go to sj26.org for a lineup of World Cup-related events.

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SPRING CLEANING — AND GIVING: If you’ve got old stuff that you’re thinking about getting rid of — probably just to get some new stuff — consider some people who could use it. Farmworker Caravan — the group San Jose resident Darlene Tenes started a few years back — is collecting toys, eyeglasses and bikes to deliver to migrant camps in Northern California.

Collections have been taking place since June 1 in San Jose, Gilroy and Saratoga, but you can also bring donations to the Taco Tuesday Toy Drive at History Park in San Jose on June 16. Between 5 and 8 p.m., you can drop off your donations, enjoy music by Latin Remix and have some tacos, of course.

Get more details at farmworkercaravan.com.

CREATIVE TRIBUTE: There’s some great news about the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Awards, the Rotary Club of San Jose program named for the longtime Mercury News columnist who championed Santa Clara County artists and arts groups. The unrestricted grant awards have increased from $5,000 to $7,500 this year, and the Oct. 21 awards ceremony at the Hammer Theatre Center in downtown San Jose will be held in the evening for the first time.

Artists who live or work in Santa Clara County can apply for the awards in the categories of music, literary, visual arts and performance at www.weimersawards.com through June 30.

CONGRESSIONAL OBSERVATIONS: U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren honored the 150th anniversary of Lick Observatory atop Mt. Hamilton on Monday with a Congressional resolution.

“Once housing the largest telescope on Earth, the Lick Observatory brings an immense amount of pride for Santa Clara County,” Lofgren, the lead Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, said in a statement. “Over the past 150 years, this has been the site of incredible astronomic discoveries, and it’s where thousands of visitors have discovered their love of science. I commend the University of California for its stewardship of this iconic facility.”

James Lick — an interesting character who was a piano-maker, horticulturalist and real-estate investor before he was a philanthropist and a high school namesake — established the observatory with a $700,000 contribution in 1874. An act of Congress authorized the use of federal lands on Mount Hamilton for the facility on June 7, 1876. Lick died at age 80 just a few months later and is entombed at the observatory.

It was the world’s first permanently staffed mountaintop observatory, and one of Jupiter’s moons, Amalthea, was discovered by the observatory in 1892. Its refracting telescope is still the third largest in the world.

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