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Los Gatos names Katy Nomura as assistant town manager

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

Los Gatos hired a new assistant town manager after a three-month search.Katy Nomura’s first day is June 5, and she brings more than 10 years of experience with her to the role. She is replacing Arn Andrews, who resigned earlier this year for a position as assistant city manager in Mountain View.Nomura most recently worked as a deputy city manager in Long Beach, where she focused on special projects related to homeless emergency efforts, sidewalk vending and food truck regulations.“The town attracted many qualified candidates, and Ms. Nomura clearly demonstrated a track record of completing complex policy items for council consideration, working with other agencies on challenging issues and understanding the high customer service expectations for Los Gatos,” town manager Laurel Prevetti said in a statement. “Her technical and soft skills will serve the town well.”Nomura is no stranger to the Bay Area. She worked for the city of Cupertino for 10 years, rising to the role of deputy cit...

Los Gatans help create memorable days for kids with special needs

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

Los Gatos Kiwanis helped give 900 special kids a very special day at the 43rd annual Kiwanis Special Games on May 19. Kindergarteners through high school students with special needs came with their families from over 70 Santa Clara County schools to join in the competitions at West Valley College in Saratoga as part of the Adaptive P.E. Program. The young athletes competed and won ribbons for their achievements, becoming superstars for the day.“The Special Games were founded by a Kiwanian and two A.P.E. teachers, one being Sue Car Katra from Los Gatos,” Los Gatos Kiwanian Nancy Pearson said. “It has grown to encompass the whole of Silicon Valley, including hundreds of volunteers from Morgan Hill to San Francisco. The Los Gatos Kiwanis Club is one of over 20 local clubs participating. It’s the kind of event that keeps you smiling for days.”Another very special day for 300 kids with cancer and their families was held Mother’s Day at California’s Great America. Courageous Kids Day offe...

Saratoga works to approve its Housing Element to add 1,700 housing units

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

In a year that has seen California cities hit with aggressive state mandates for new housing construction, Saratoga has seen its plan to add 1,700 new units rejected twice.City officials are working to get the latest round of edits approved before May 31, after which Saratoga could see penalties that include delays or even ineligibility for state funding, and a shorter window of time to rezone.If cities fail to have a compliant plan, they can be subject to consequences like “builder’s remedy” housing developments, which can bypass local zoning rules like density, height restrictions and parking space minimums. If they refuse to comply with the new mandates, they could be sued by the state.Mayor Kookie Fitzsimmons remains upbeat that Saratoga will avoid those scenarios.“I know the conversations haven’t always been easy and we have heard a lot of frustration with state housing mandates, but I am optimistic we are near the end of the Housing Element update,” she said in a written state...

Paul & Eddie’s celebrates 80 years in Cupertino

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

Since its founding in 1943, Paul & Eddie’s Monta Vista Inn has been “bringing friends together, one drink at a time.” The Cupertino watering hole celebrated its 80th anniversary on May 17 with presentations from descendants of the original owners, the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum and longtime regulars. Museum artifacts depicting the bar’s history were on display, and stories were flowing along with libations.Former mayor Richard Lowenthal presented a proclamation on behalf Mayor Hung Wei to Brittany Barnes. Barnes is the great-granddaughter of Paul Gaviglio and granddaughter of Eddie Gaviglio, the father and son who founded the bar. Lowenthal read the proclamation to the crowd, eliciting applause for its recognition of the bar’s “exceptional staff.”“I appreciate everyone who works here,” Barnes concurred. “It’s so amazing that it’s still standing. It’s so cool to come in and say, ‘This was my grandparents’ bar.”The historical society used the occasion to hold it...

Saratoga holds 94th annual Memorial Day Observance

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

Memorial Day ObservanceThe Saratoga Foothill Club and the City of Saratoga are hosting the 94th annual Memorial Day Observance May 29, beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Blaney Plaza in the Saratoga Village. After a ceremony at the plaza’s Memorial Arch honoring veterans and current members of the U.S. Armed Forces, a procession will head to Madronia Cemetery for a service honoring fallen veterans.Youth in GovernmentHigh school students who live in Saratoga are invited to learn about local government during the Youth in Government Program, a weeklong summer internship that gives students hands-on experience is worth 34 hours of community service credits. Registration is $75 per student, and space is limited. Register by July 9 at www.saratoga.ca.us/yig.Saratoga Safety FairMeet with representatives of Saratoga’s public safety organizations during the Saratoga Safety Fair on Saturday, June 24, 9-11 a.m., at the Saratoga Senior Center, 19655 Allendale Ave. Attendees will have the chance t...

Latest line: A good week for Santa Clara, a bad week for BART

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

Santa ClaraSouth Bay city is sitting pretty amid reports that NFL owners are likely next week to select Levi’s Stadium for the Super Bowl in 2026, the same year as it will host World Cup matches, bringing lots of tourism cash.    BARTAlready facing deficits, drops in ridership due to more people working at home and dwindling federal aid, Bay Area transit agencies do not get hoped-for bailouts in Gavin Newsom’s revised May budget.   San JoseThe Bay Area’s largest city saw its population fall 6% from 2017 to 2022, new census numbers show, dropping it from 10th to 12th biggest U.S. city. The Top 10 had prestige. But now it may be easier to find parking. 

Three years later, Bay Area home prices 28% higher than at start of pandemic

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

The Bay Area’s population is shrinking and more housing is being built, but local home prices remain sky-high in the latest report — about 28% above where they were when the pandemic first upended the local real estate market.How can that be? The short answer: The Bay Area still lacks anywhere near enough homes to meet demand, even as high mortgage rates squeeze out would-be homebuyers. Until the region can add significantly more housing, prices will likely remain far out of reach for most residents.While interest rates, tech layoffs, stock market fluctuations and recession fears have brought down the Bay Area’s median home price from a record peak of more than $1.5 million last spring, prices haven’t dropped as much as would be expected in a “normally functioning housing market,” said Matt Regan, a housing policy expert with the Bay Area Council, a pro-business group.“But we haven’t had a normally functioning housing market for quite some t...

They said it: A limit to trolling rights on social media

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

“He’s an American, so he has a right to troll; that’s his First Amendment right. But we’re in an environment right now, and I was at the Capitol on January 6, that when people intimate violence, I take them at their word.”— Rep. Eric Swalwell, an East Bay Democrat, on a Twitter post traced last week to former San Francisco 49ers fullback Bruce Miller, calling the congressman “traitor” and asking if he’d rather go to a notorious offshore prison or “just execution,” with laughing emojis. Miller replied it was “in no way a threat.”

Most popular hiking trail in Yosemite to receive a $5 million upgrade

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

At Yosemite National Park, a landscape defined by breathtaking views and stunning scenery, the Mist Trail stands out.The seven-mile round trip, which begins near Happy Isles in the eastern edges of Yosemite Valley, takes hikers up the Merced River as its pristine waters roar out of the park’s high country, cascading through granite boulders over two spectacular waterfalls, the 319-foot-tall Vernal Fall and the 594-foot-tall Nevada Fall.The trail, which is used by up to 4,000 people a day during summer weekends, is also slippery and steep, drawing dozens of rescues every year, and occasional deaths when people fall into the river. But now a $5 million project planned for the popular trail aims to make it safer and more enjoyable.“We’re excited about this,” said Frank Dean, a former Yosemite ranger and president of the Yosemite Conservancy. “The Mist Trail is the most popular trail in Yosemite and one of the most popular trails in the whole national park system. And ...

Top 5 things to monitor as 49ers start organized team activities

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 15:10:41 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Let the games begin. Or, actually, the practices, and definitely the quarterback competition between Trey Lance and Sam Darnold.Organized team activities, better known as the 49ers’ most complete practices of the offseason, begin Monday.They remain part of the voluntary offseason program, so some All-Pros likely will skip them. Defensive end Nick Bosa has stayed back, thus far, to work out like every offseason in his native Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, doing so now as the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year.Now is not the time for Bosa to report and sign a contract that could be the NFL’s largest ever for a non-quarterback, a deal that could land in the $30 million to $35 million annual range once training camp starts in about two months.Here is what’s worth watching, following and scrutinizing at the OTAs, which lead into the June 12-14 mandatory minicamp:5. SECOND-STRING STRENGTHThe 49ers’ reserves must maximize these reps, battle for jobs, and prove their wo...