Ever since Rick Lombardo took the reigns and imprinted his vision on the San Jose Repertory Theatre, the performance center has had excellent seasons. But until recently, a behind-the-scenes drama was playing out—one that would test Lombardo, Managing Director Nick Nichols and the Rep’s Board.

What was once known as “Armistice Day” has become a day to honor American veterans of all wars. I suggest we honor veterans by spending a few moments at one or both of the veterans’ memorials in San Jose’s Guadalupe River Park.

Election season is almost here. There is a large group of mayoral candidates and a number of City Council races that will determine the direction of San Jose’s city government for years to come. One important issue I hope every candidate addresses is the future of San Jose’s parks and trails.

While it may not seem this way now, St. James Park has a truly bright future. There are several reasons for my optimism, but it starts with the people who are coming together for a common purpose. After that, the park’s history and design will be key components in reshaping what was once a key landmark in San Jose.

St. James Park sits in downtown San Jose, just north and a few blocks west of San Jose City Hall. For more than a century, this majestic piece of land has left visitors with a positive first impression.

This week’s column is a tribute to one of San Jose’s most amazing and accomplished people: Miss Irene Dalis, founder of Opera San Jose and a world-class international opera star. I consider myself fortunate to have known Miss Dalis for more than three decades and even more fortunate to have witnessed the growth and development of the company she created.

Steve Holmes represents the kind of citizen leader that we need in the years ahead, as the new paradigm of limited government requires more involvement from private sector volunteers, donors and visionaries. Mr. Holmes is all three and the group he launched, Friends of Los Gatos Creek, has already had a significant and positive impact on one of San Jose’s key environmental challenges.

In a sight to behold, Obed Rivera stood in front of a crowd of 300 volunteers, city of San Jose staff, elected officials, family and neighbors, as he accepted the Anti-Litter Program Volunteer of the Year Award. The award was one of several presented at the annual volunteer appreciation event hosted earlier this month by Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services (PRNS).

Last week, Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember Sam Liccardo submitted a proposal to bolster our public safety capacity by focusing on San Jose’s inability to retain police officers. The gist of the Reed-Liccardo proposal was to hire 200 police officers by restoring wages by 10 percent within the next four years. On the surface, this sounds like a reasonable idea. However, because this proposal was more about timely politics than about meaningful policy, I could not support the plan.

We tend to live our lives according to the seasons, as defined by popular opinion and advertising. Though it is technically still summer, autumn is nearly upon us. As such, it is appropriate to look through the lens of our future periscope. I see a handful of issues and challenges that lie ahead for San Jose.

We previously talked about the need for an active, empowered role for citizens in the stewardship of San Jose’s parks and trails. The significant cutbacks in budget and personnel have left city staff to do more work with less people and less money. The solution is to create multi-partnerships with citizens, neighborhood associations, businesses and community groups to provide a collective stewardship for the future.

The concept of stewardship is one that has become much more prominent in our environmental discussions in recent years, especially as it pertains to our parks, trails and urban open spaces. Webster defines stewardship as: the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

My journey through the new paradigm of San Jose’s parks and trails received another boost in the last month. Part of it came from a vacation to Montana, which always opens my eyes a bit and makes me reflect. But the biggest boost I received was from a tour of Los Angeles and Orange County parks.

In the height of the Great Recession, the Los Angeles Recreation & Parks Department started a new program that proves progress can be made despite heavy budget cuts. San Jose would be wise to follow a similar path.

Thanks to the work of the staff of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, and under the recent leadership of trails manager Yves Zsutty, San Jose’s entire trail system has undergone an amazing transformation.

In the spring of 2012, I received notice of a conference in New York City called “Greater & Greener” that was to take place in July. The conference, which is wrapping up this year’s annual event today, covered a wide variety of topics all related to urban parks and trails.