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The loud and obnoxious squawking of crows used to bother me. I am generally a quiet person who likes to grab a book, find an empty noise-free area to sit at and read for hours at a time. I still cherish times when my...

I am an old geezer who likes to stay informed. This means I am a news junkie and a voracious reader. Give me a good newspaper (electronic format is OK), a good magazine (paper form only), an interesting podcast, and a good audible book...

It’s easy to get caught up in the present, but sometimes looking back helps us understand where we’re going. So, let’s take a trip in the wayback machine to 1966. The Beatles were dominating the charts, “Star Trek” premiered on television, and the Vietnam...

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...

With anti-American sentiment rising in some places, it’s worth reviewing the US Department of State (DoS) Travel Advisory Levels when planning a trip abroad. Each country is rated at one of four levels (China is at Level 2; North Korea is Level 4). There are...

Every family deserves the peace of mind that comes with clean, lead-free drinking water. At San Jose Water, we are committed to developing a comprehensive inventory of service line materials in our system. Since 2017, we’ve worked alongside industry experts to inspect thousands of lines...

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...

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...

The Community Health and Senior Service Commission (CHSSC) is implementing year one of the road map to improve the lives of older adults in Los Gatos. As CHSSC’s chairperson, my position presumably affords me some latitude to “tongue in cheek,” think outside the box and...

Urban planning thrives on informed decision-making. However, the increasing influence of game theory—a branch of mathematics that studies strategic interactions—can be a recipe for disaster in the messy world of governance. While game theory offers insights in some areas, relying largely on its models...