Sunday, May 20, 2012
Los Gatos' future Congressional leader calls House Republican version of the law ‘unacceptable.’
U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, who will begin representing Los Gatos next January, decried this week a GOP plan to renew the Violence Against Women Act as undoing many of the protections enshrined in the original law. The Act is up for reauthorization in Congress, and House Republican Sandy Adams (R-Fla) introduced a bill, H.R. 4970, to that end. But the proposal is a big step back for women's safety, said Eshoo in a statement. “Since 1994, the Violence Against Women Act has been an essential tool in protecting victims of domestic and sexual violence, and it has always been bipartisan,” Rep. Eshoo said. “The House Republican’s version of VAWA unwinds the long-standing commitment to lifesaving assistance for the most vulnerable victims. It …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Los Gatos Town Council leans toward approval of a shared bookstore run by the Friends of the Library organization and the two Museums of Los Gatos facilities.
An arts and cultural center seemed to be the favored use for the former Los Gatos Library facility Monday evening after members of the Los Gatos Town Council heard proposals from four agencies with an interest on the site. The agencies included the Friends of the Los Gatos Public Library, the Museums of Los Gatos, the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District and the town itself. The building was vacated when Los Gatos opened a new library on Feb. 11 next door at 100 Villa Ave. After hearing presentations from each one about their desires and wishes for the facility, Council members indicated they leaned toward the merging of an arts and culture center by getting Friends and Museums' representatives to work together to come up …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Barack Obama is the first sitting American president to publicly and officially support gay marriage.
After years of pressure from the American public, civil rights groups and the media, President Barack Obama gave a definitive answer on his stance on gay marriage Wednesday morning in an interview with ABC's Robin Roberts. In the video, which you can watch to the right, Obama says the following: "I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Courts order Kenneth Jack Eitzen to repair damage caused by abandoned construction project that caused December 2010 devastation.
A Saratoga landowner blamed for the 2010 mudslides in Bear Creek has been ordered by the courts to remedy an abandoned construction project that allegedly brought on the devastation. On April 23, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottiola issued an order imposing a mandatory injunction against the landowner. The order forces him to remove large rocks and boulders intentionally placed on a slope on his property, implement important erosion control measures and complete the original grading plan for the property, according to a news release. “This is a huge win for the Bear Creek community," said Nicole Gilmore, general manager of Bear Creek Master Association. The court-ordered actions must be taken prior to August. The landowner …
Cities throughout Santa Clara County are evaluating the environmental impacts of banning single-use bags at retail stores.
It’s been the topic of many contentious discussions. The question of whether or not to ban single-use plastic bags came to a head with the enacting of bag bans in the nearby cities of Sunnyvale and San Jose. “We are changing behavior and that’s very difficult to do,” said Dean Peterson, County of San Mateo director of environmental health services division at a May 2 meeting in Campbell to learn the process of preparing an environmental impact report on the subject. “Convenience is king.” Peterson, along with Matthew Maddox, a Rincon Consultants environmental planner came out to the Campbell Library to hold one of seven scoping meetings where residents could ask questions and weigh in on the issue. “This is the best turnout we’ve had in …
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Residents are encouraged to leave one bag of non-perishable food at their mailboxes on Saturday for their mail carriers to pick up and donate to a local food pantry.
- GOVERNMENT
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Saturday, May 12
Letter carriers all over the United States will be looking to pick up more than just mail this weekend. Saturday is the official day of the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, an initiative of the U.S. Postal Service and the National Association of Letter Carriers. Residents can do their part by leaving at least one bag of non-perishable food at their mailboxes or wherever their mail is normally left. Look for your friendly mail carriers collecting non-perishable food items while they work their route around town and in the mountains, said Cathy Williams, supervisor with the Los Gatos U.S. Post Office at 101 So. Santa Cruz Ave. About 16 letter carriers in Los Gatos and nine more in the Los Gatos mountains will collect the food items, Williams …
Friday, May 11, 2012
Rep. Anna Eshoo’s legislation boosting safety of children’s medication clears key committee.
Two reauthorization bills written by Rep. Anna Eshoo that would make medication safer for kids cleared a key committee vote Thursday. The Best Pharmaceutical for Children Act (BPCA) and the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) were approved unanimously by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and are now on their way to the House floor for consideration. The two bills were first passed by Congress in 1997 and 2003, respectively. “I’m thrilled by the Committee’s vote today,” Rep. Eshoo said in a press statement. The congresswoman's district will include Los Gatos beginning next year due to redistricting. “Doctors should not have to play a guessing game when it comes to prescribing medication to children. That’s why I’ve been working for …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
She joins Los Gatos Planning Commission Chairwoman Marcia Jensen in her bid for the Los Gatos Town Council this upcoming November.
Vice Mayor Barbara Spector announced this morning that she will be seeking re-election to the Los Gatos Town Council in the upcoming Nov. 6 election. She joins Los Gatos Planning Commission Chairwoman Marcia Jensen in her bid for the two seats that are up for re-election this year. The other slot is held by Los Gatos Mayor Steve Rice, whose four-year term expires this year. Spector has served Los Gatos for nearly 20 years as mayor, vice mayor, councilmember and planning Commissioner. In those roles she helped establish the Town's ordinances, standards and General Plan, all of which created the vision that has preserved Los Gatos' beauty, she said. “However,” Spector explained, “in the past several years that vision has been challenged. …
With the OK of the Los Gatos Planning Commission and Town Council, national burrito chain restaurant could open this fall.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is coming to the former Hollywood Video location at the corner of Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road. Now that town officials have approved its conditional-use permit, the restaurant could open as early as October at 640 Blossom Hill Rd., according to Chipotle spokesman Alex Pong. The national burrito chain restaurant will be close to Una Mas, Baja Fresh and Taco Bell on Los Gatos Boulevard and High Tech Burrito on Blossom Hill Road. There's also Two Pesos Taqueria on Pollard Road. Colorado-based Chipotle Mexican Grill spokesman Chris Arnold declined to discuss specifics about the Los Gatos location saying the company doesn't usually comment until a lease is signed and a construction schedule has been approved…
Heavy vehicular and foot traffic at busy downtown junction has created the necessity to install a traffic signal, residents say.
- GOVERNMENT
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Tuesday, May 8
Several residents who live up College Hill are complaining that the three-way intersection at the corner of College Avenue and E. Main Street badly needs the installation of a signal light. The intersection is a real problem for nearby residents because of the heavy vehicular traffic on East Main Street as well as the pedestrian traffic passing through. The problem is compounded by events at the Los Gatos Civic Center, which cause a high volume of pedestrian traffic, they said. "It is not uncommon to sit and wait for five minutes before a break occurs that allows egress from College Avenue onto East Main Street," one resident wrote Los Gatos Patch in nominating the intersection for this week's spotlight. Besides the pedestrians, twice …
Gary Ashford
1:53 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
This is just one of many leftist wedge issues to distract the electorate from the abysmal failure of this administration's economic and healthcare schemes. Enough already. more ›