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Blum: Student absences have exploded
The familiar hum of a well-oiled machine is a comforting sound. It suggests efficiency, precision, and a harmonious system. This is an analogy I provided to Town Council at a council meeting on Aug. 6, as I, along with Chair Eleanor Yick, presented the...
Suzuki: No, game theory hasn’t infected Town planning
This article serves as a refutation of Jeffrey Blum’s article, “Community, not theory, should be at the heart of Town’s Planning,” which ran in last week’s edition.
Jeffrey Suzuki is a former Planning Commissioner, the current Vice Chair of the Complete Streets and Transportation Commission,...
Utility: Just the ‘hard water’ facts
In nature, water always contains dissolved minerals and nutrients. Water “hardness” is determined by the concentrations of minerals present in a particular water source—specifically calcium and magnesium. Simply put, hard water is mineral water that comes from your tap.
Water containing high amounts of calcium...
Community, not theory, should be at the heart of Town’s planning
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...
The paradox of progress
News cycles spin with relentless negativity, bombarding us with stories of conflict, division and environmental woes. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the volume of problems the world faces. Sometimes, the most tempting response is to bury our heads in the sand, hoping the...
Introverts and social anxiety: what’s the difference?
Being an introvert and social anxiety are often confused, but they’re not the same. An introvert is a personality trait. Social anxiety is a mental health condition.
An introvert might resist going to a party because they get drained from loud music and too much...
A transformative mediation approach to homelessness in Los Gatos
Homelessness is a complex issue plaguing communities across the globe, and Los Gatos is no exception. While Los Gatos boasts prosperity and scenic beauty, it also faces individuals and families struggling with housing insecurity. Transformative Mediation (TM) can be applied to bridge the divide...
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....
Banks of Lexington Reservoir scoured by volunteers on National River Cleanup Day
As avid rowers of the Los Gatos Rowing Club, we frequently encounter trash floating in the Lexington Reservoir during our practices. The scope of this problem is alarming. Every year, the San Francisco Bay is overwhelmed by a staggering 7 trillion pieces of microplastics,...
Doug Brent: Self-driving ‘hype’ becoming reality
Back in 2015, Elon Musk made this pronouncement about the future of self-driving cars, “We’re going to end up with complete autonomy, and I think we’ll have complete autonomy in about two years.” At that time, I was a technology leader at Trimble, a...