Local News

A Los Gatos couple who said they needed their six-foot fence in part to protect themselves against antisemitic violence has been told they must tear it down. The Planning Commission unanimously refused to allow an exception to the three-foot-max rule for the property on Blossom...

On Friday morning, Rebecca Dmytryk, CEO of Humane Wildlife Control, got sad news from Santa Cruz County officials. A cougar had been reported dead in the Santa Cruz Mountains near a creek, and they wondered if she could look into it. “I’m dealing with a dead...

Last night, Los Gatos Town Council greenlit Phase 2 of the North 40 mixed-use project, from Grosvenor Americas, which features 450 units of housing, including 77 affordable units—16 of which will be reserved for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The approval, which allows the...

The hard-won consensus achieved by the Planning Commission about what housing should be built in Los Gatos was shattered by multiple stones as Council took up the General Plan Monday. It included a broadside by Mayor Rob Rennie, who proposed introducing an entirely new zoning...

In high school swimming and diving, success is ultimately measured in improvement. By that metric, the Los Gatos High swimming team—though it lost both of its Santa Clara Valley League De Anza Division meets this season—has already accomplished something worthwhile.  In the season-opening league dual...

From the files of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department for the week of Feb. 6-12, 2022. Feb. 6 • A drunk, “mumbling” man reportedly walked into a store on N. Santa Cruz Avenue a couple of times at 1:26am. • A man smoking on a campus...

The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit that evaluates nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide for its quality and safety, is facing intense scrutiny following a March 6 court ruling that labeled its methodology “deceptive” for penalizing non-participating hospitals.  Leapfrog publishes hospital safety report cards twice a year, grading...

While it wasn’t as scathing as it could have been, the long-awaited review from California's top housing agency found Los Gatos’ Draft Housing Element does not pass muster, as its strides toward addressing the income and racial disparities don’t go far enough. The Housing and...

The criminal case against a man who ran an artisianal bakery in Los Gatos and is accused of several child sex offenses has been paused as the court decides if he’s mentally fit to stand trial. Ali Asghar Shemirani has been charged with three felonies...

Wearing his trademark Stetson hat, George Shannon grabs a doughnut in the Billy Jones “Wildcat” Railroad workroom, jawing with the many volunteers who keep the Oak Meadow Park attraction safe for children. Shannon says he’s been a railroad volunteer for 20 years but people who...