Opinion

On a recent car trip, I drove across a set of railroad tracks and noticed a large white sign in bold black letters: “Do Not Stop on Railroad Tracks.” Of course, the sign has a serious purpose. Sadly, there are people in crisis who have...

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,...

Many thanks, Los Gatos, for inspiring us for 15 years and counting. Thank you for being our creative sanctuary when the world, writing, life and our dreams needed the kind of grounding and encouragement that could only come from the kind of solace we’ve...

In 1950, Rotary International adopted two mottoes. One was “He Profits Most Who Serves Best” (Rotary did not officially welcome women until 1989), and the other was “Service Above Self.” To this day, Rotary continues to use the latter motto. After being a member of...

The recent article on Sahr Fania by Drew Penner (Los Gatan, Nov. 2-8) was wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing the story of a Los Gatan who does not fill the profile that is often told about “important” people in other Los Gatos publications. Please...

“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...

The acronym “SOS” stands for save our ship. It can also stand for sorting, othering, and siloing, which is how the acronym is used in “I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times,” written by...

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...

Last year, the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA), legislation that recognized the important role played by the state’s local news outlets, passed the California Assembly by 55-6. It also cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, but never came to a...

Reading “Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World” by Peter S. Goodman left me despairing the power and greediness of a select group of billionaires until I neared the book’s end. One of the final chapters, titled “The Money is Right There in...