Opinion

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 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...

In a recent Los Gatan article, titled “Town’s effort to acknowledge earliest residents fraught with challenges,” journalist Drew Penner was attempting to shed light on the efforts of the Town of Los Gatos to acknowledge its less-than-inclusive telling of its own history. But the...

I enjoyed reading Lisa Traylor Scott’s chronicle of her family in last week’s issue of the Los Gatan as well as the companion piece she wrote last year. As an amateur historian, I’m forever curious about the people whose mostly untold stories reveal how...

There’s something deeply unsettling about driving through the gates of La Rinconada Country Club these days. Where there was once a canopy of oaks and the hum of nature, there are now piles of downed logs—a haunting reminder of what’s been lost in the...

Saturation of the soil should be a rare problem within the local chaparral climates. Water is a limited resource. That is why plants that are not native or endemic to other chaparral or desert climates rely on supplemental irrigation. Many exotic species would not...

Recent commentary about the renovation at La Rinconada Country Club has raised understandable questions—and, unfortunately, some misconceptions—about what is actually taking place on our grounds. As stewards of a property with nearly a century of history and deep roots in the Los Gatos community, we...

Community Alliance: Appointment process was politically driven Leadership requires vision, competence, and integrity—qualities seemingly lacking in former mayor Maria Ristow and Vice Mayor Rob Moore. Their actions during the Planning Commission appointment process show a troubling pattern of prioritizing politics over the community’s needs. The Planning...

There are drought-tolerant, warm season turf grasses that are tougher, require less water/maintenance/fertilizer and, if maintained properly, will equal or exceed artificial grass in quality, safety and perhaps usability. Natural grass fields also have many other health and environmental benefits such as providing oxygen,...

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...