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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...
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...
Guest View: How to teach kids about fiery realities
Parents want to shield their children from the dangers of the world—but fire is one thing they can’t sweep under the rug. Especially now, as our communities begin to realize fire season no longer has a beginning or end; it is a constant where...
Why Los Gatos needs a housing task force
For decades, development in Los Gatos was a collaborative, if sometimes slow, process of checks and balances. But as we move into the spring of 2026, that has changed.
We are navigating a landscape dominated by Senate Bill 330, the “Builder’s Remedy,” and a recent...
How should you respond when someone asks ‘the question’?
“Where are you from?”
It’s a common question, and one that can be quite loaded for people of diverse ethnicities.
On its face, it’s a plain question based on curiosity, filled with nostalgia, or awe.
But it could also carry covert racism and hatred, carrying the connotation...
Red tape and senior services
The Community Health and Senior Services Commission (CHSSC) has spent years building programs and resources to help residents thrive. As someone who serves on the commission, I’ve witnessed the positive impact of this work. Yet this year, new rules have made progress harder to...
Here’s how Los Gatos can keep its commissions active
During the past few years, I’ve served as a member of the Community Health and Senior Services Commission (CHSSC) in Los Gatos. For most of that time, our commission, which is supposed to have six adult members and one youth member, has had one...
The ‘perfect day’ in Los Gatos?
The Laurel and Hardy film “Perfect Day” is a masterclass in irony. In about twenty minutes, it captures the unraveling of a well-intentioned Sunday outing. The boys and their wives are dressed and ready for a relaxing picnic. But the car won’t start. Tempers...
Closing the gaps in mental health care
I learned from a panel discussion held on Dec. 14 at the Los Gatos Town Hall, that mental health care is riddled with gaps, leaving many individuals struggling to access the services they need.
From a shortage of qualified providers, to inadequate insurance coverage, to...
The Great Vanishing
If you drove down Los Gatos-Saratoga Road this morning and felt a strange, existential chill, as if a beloved landmark had been quietly snatched in the night, you aren't alone. The horizon is flatter, the colors are duller, and the “Gateway to the Mountains”...
















