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Alliance: Leaders need to do better job on housing plan
I mentioned in the article, “Group says Town needs to add more sites to housing list” (Los Gatan, Aug. 30-Sept. 5, 2023), that I thought the leadership, two mayors and the Town Manager have failed us for the past two years. They had to...
Lessons I’ve learned from ‘How Big Things Get Done’
I did not inherit my father’s handyperson skills, although I remember observing him install central air conditioning and successfully accomplishing other large projects at our house in Kings Point, New York. Perhaps seeing a booklet lying around his workroom describing how to build a...
Blum: The dilemma facing caregivers of older adults
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...
The quirky wisdom of funny sayings
Every town has its sayings, little nuggets of wisdom, humor or caution, passed down through generations. In Los Gatos, a town with a personality as distinctive as its name, the sayings we use can reveal a lot about our culture, our humor, and even...
Our firefighters are facing a silent threat: PFAS
Gearing up every morning for a job built on danger just comes with being a firefighter. Yet for thousands who hold this job in the Bay Area, the greatest risk may come not from flames or collapsing walls, but from the gear meant to...
Cawing crows and community service
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...
Help us craft a community center that rocks
Ever feel like Los Gatos is missing a certain...spark? Do you observe, as I and many others have, that our town revolves around adorable boutiques, great restaurants, and cozy coffee houses but lacks a central hub for community gatherings and connections? Fret no more....
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...
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...
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...

















