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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....
Legal legend acted with grace under pressure
The world of family law is often a battleground. Yet, even in such a demanding arena, some individuals rise above the fray. Bob Hoover, a Santa Clara County family law attorney who practiced for over 60 years before his passing at 93, was one...
Blum: How can I shape the future?
Is your current definition of “community center” a dusty gym with dodgeballs older than your grandma’s knitting needles? Fear not, fellow Los Gatos residents. We’re tossing out the tired old model and crafting a vibrant, all-encompassing space that would make Michelangelo himself ditch his...
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...
We’re moving from chips to charm
Santa Clara County has been carrying around the nickname Silicon Valley for half a century. However, the nickname is as one-dimensional as a microchip. The phrase summons images of hoodie-clad coders, driverless cars, and tech CEOs who think kombucha is a food group. Silicon...
Blum: It’s time for a funny column
I aim for humor in my Los Gatan columns. The kind that elicits a chuckle, maybe a snort, not the kind that has readers questioning my grip on reality (though, fair point, the jury is deliberating on that one). Of course, I also try...
Beware the Ides of March…for a blood drive!
Julius Caesar, a name synonymous with power, ambition and—ultimately—betrayal, met his fate on the Ides of March. While we remember this date for the fall of a Roman emperor, the Ides of March also offers us a chance to rise to a different kind...
Giving thanks on Thanksgiving
As we draw nearer to Thanksgiving, I am reminded of this holiday’s origins and significance.
There are some interesting and noteworthy parallels with today’s world, two years after Covid-19 began.
While Thanksgiving has only been a national holiday since it was established in 1863 by...
Move away from the ‘waterfall effect’
Volunteers know it is difficult to accomplish change. When I sought along with several others to get a Restorative Justice program implemented at a Los Gatos school, I initially encountered great enthusiasm for the idea. Unfortunately, this enthusiasm was followed by inaction on the...
Tackling emerging contaminants in drinking water
Emerging contaminants, also known as “contaminants of emerging concern,” are substances in the environment that may be detrimental to wildlife and/or human health.
Some emerging contaminants are chemicals and compounds entering bodies of water like lakes and rivers, which are identified, tracked, studied, and ultimately...
















