Sal Pizarro: Protecting Silicon Valley women from domestic abuse

San Jose Mercury News - 9/29/2018

Sept. 29--Wealthier communities like Silicon Valley aren't immune to domestic violence, according to WomenSV Executive Director Ruth Patrick. "The truth is we're just better at hiding it," she said.

That was the message to more than 200 guests who gathered at Women of Silicon Valley's third annual Gilded Cage fundraiser. Los Altos Mayor Jean Mordo was there, along with philanthropists Pamela and Ed Taft, who underwrote Thursday night's event.

The nonprofit, formed with the help of the Los Altos Community Foundation to support women in relationships with powerful, wealthy abusers -- has gained national attention this year, with Patrick making appearances on "Megyn Kelly Today" and "Good Morning America" and receiving the Jefferson Award for Public Service from KPIX.

Patrick says women in these abusive relationships are often trapped financially, isolated from family and friends, monitored with technology and subjected to manipulative mind games that cause them to doubt their own sanity. "This is control and gaslighting taken to a whole new level," Patrick said.

The keynote speech was delivered by Jennie Willoughby, the ex-wife for former White House staffer Rob Porter, who stepped down after allegations about a history of domestic violence were exposed. Porter denied the accounts of former partners. Willoughby said she flew out from New York to appear at the event on her own dime because she believes in the cause and wants its programs to expand. You can find out more about them at www.womensv.org.

'BELOVED' ACQUISITION: A first edition score of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 is the newest gem in the collection of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San Jose State. What makes this particular score so special is that it is inscribed by the composer himself to Antonie Brentano, a 19th century Austrian arts patron believed by some to be Beethoven's "immortal beloved."

To celebrate the acquisition, the San Jose State Symphony Orchestra, led by Fred Cohen, will perform the Seventh Symphony at 2:30 p.m.Oct. 6 at the Hammer Theatre Center. Admission is free, and a pre-concert lecture will be delivered at 2 p.m. by Beethoven scholar Erica Buurman, who will join the Beethoven Center as its new director in January. She's currently on the faculty of Canterbury Christ Church University in England and will be flying in for the event.

The score will be on display for the celebration at the Hammer and will be available for viewing at the Beethoven Center in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library from Oct. 8 through Dec. 15.

BUILDING A BRIDGE TO COLLEGE: Mike Welch, a board member East Side Union High School District Education Foundation and former principal at Santa Teresa High in San Jose, marvels at the connection between the East Side Union district and San Jose State. About 1,000 district students enroll at their hometown university each year, including many who are the first in their families to attend college. And that, Welch says, is where the Spartan Promise comes in.

The program, now in its third year, guarantees eligible East Side Union students admission to SJSU if they stay on track with certain requirements like completing college prep classes and taking entrance exams like the SAT or ACT. It also provides a three-day summer program after high school graduation that provides information about starting college life at San Jose State, including a full day on campus and help with the class registration process.

About 220 students took part this summer in the seminar, led East Side Union counselors and San Jose State staff. A fundraising reception will be held for the program on Oct. 10 at the Silicon Valley Education Foundation offices in San Jose. It's free to attend, but a donation will be requested. Go to spreception.eventbrite.com for more details.

STERLING BREWS: Two San Jose craft breweries came back from the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado last weekend with a little extra bling. Santa Clara Valley Brewing Company and Hermitage Brewing Company were both awarded silver medals in the prestigious beer competition.

Hermitage was recognized in the Wood and Barrel Aged Fruited Sour category for its Sour Cherry Sour, which uses more than 5,000 pounds of sour cherries in its production. Santa Clara Valley earned its medal in the German-Style Wheat Ale category for its Alviso Mills Hefeweizen, a Bavarian-style wheat beer with flavors of cloves and banana. I would have given it extra credit just for the name, which comes from a flour mill in the North San Jose area that was founded in 1853.

PARTING THOUGHTS: The South Bay lost two big institutions this week: C.J. Olson's Cherries in Sunnyvale and the Orchard Supply Hardware store off West San Carlos Street in San Jose. The cherry stand's last day is Sept. 30, and the Olson family's contributions to Sunnyvale was celebrated at an event there Thursday night.

However, the Orchard Supply closing Thursday night caught many people off guard since the store still had remaining stock that was in the process of liquidation. Orchard Supply first opened a store on that site in the late 1940s, and the parcel was sold to Google this year. The remaining stock is going to other stores, and the only question that remains is what happens to the historic arrow sign on the property.

The Preservation Action Council of San Jose has been working on that issue and say that all parties involved -- OSH parent company Lowe's, property owner Google and the liquidation company -- are aware of the sign's significance and the desire to preserve it. Stay tuned.

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