Translate
Op-Ed: Town must seek proof before recognizing ‘Original Inhabitants’
In a recent Los Gatan article, titled “Town’s effort to acknowledge earliest residents fraught with challenges,” journalist Drew Penner was attempting to shed light on the efforts of the Town of Los Gatos to acknowledge its less-than-inclusive telling of its own history. But the...
The moral will to serve
Each week, when members of the Rotary Club of Los Gatos rise to say the Pledge of Allegiance, we reaffirm our commitment to the country and our community. It is a meaningful ritual, but I believe we have room—indeed, a responsibility—for something more. After...
Guest View: Protecting the newts of Alma Bridge Road
A week before the 2022 New Year, I received a text from a friend expressing his dismay at the great number of dead newts he saw on Alma Bridge Road while he was biking. This was right after one of the December winter storms....
Blum: A little local humor, inspired by a literary master
It’s time, once again, for a humorous column, dear reader. In that vein, I welcome Mark Twain to the conversation. Ron Chernow’s recently published biography of the famous author serves as the backdrop.
According to Chernow, before he was America’s most celebrated humorist, Mark Twain...
Thriving with Age: How Santa Clara County’s older adults are defying expectations
We live in a society that often views aging through a lens of decline. From advertisements promising to “reverse the aging process” to assumptions that older adults are disengaged or deteriorating, the cultural script is clear—and frequently wrong. But a growing body of research...
Guest View: Town should explore other ways to boost revenue
It strikes me that the major reason for allowing cannabis dispensaries in Los Gatos would be to generate more revenue. Assuming for argument’s sake that this is correct, there are options for generating revenue other than from allowing cannabis dispensaries in town. I often...
Why does it take so long to build?
A much-discussed course of action to bring housing affordability to our area is to create more housing. And if we are to build more housing, why does it take so long?
While serving on the San Jose City Council’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Building & Planning,...
Guest View: Prioritizing children over plastic
What were your favorite school memories as a child? Mine included counting roly-polies in the grass at recess, having mud-sliding contests after school, and picking wildflowers with my friends. Some of my least favorite memories were having to play soccer on plastic turf on...
Lung cancer can attack without a cigarette in sight
I walked out of a chemistry lab my freshman year of college, excited to call my family and update them on my newfound independence. What greeted me on the other line was not
exciting news, however, it was news that crushed my soul.
“Kaitlyn,” my grandmother...
Channeling Twain pt. 2: Voyaging beyond the 101
I’m still reading the biography of Mark Twain by Ron Chernow. The book is more than 1,000 pages long, so cut me some slack.
My last column channeled Twain’s propensity to write fake news stories when he was a journalist. Prior to picking up Chernow’s...

















