Los Gatan 10-19-2022

TOWN SETTLES ON SITES TO TARGET FOR RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

State now evaluating Los Gatos’ vision

Drew Penner, Reporter

Just days after Los Gatos submitted its draft Housing El ement to the California Depart ment of Housing and Commu nity Development for review, the Town will hold a meeting to get the public up to speed on what’s in it.

On Oct. 20, the Housing Element Advisory Board is set to hear a report from Joel Paul son, Los Gatos’ director of com munity development, about the granular residential plan.

It’s the first time the board is convening since Sept. 15, since the Oct. 6 meeting was can celed. Staff wanted more time to go over public comments on the plan, which has become a central point of debate in the Council election race that’s un derway.

While the Housing Element approach to urban planning has been with California for decades, only recently has Sac ramento started turning the screws to make sure affluent,

BUSINESS TAX HIKE ON BALLOT

Voters’ decision would affect companies such as Netflix

Eli Walsh, Bay City News

Los Gatos voters will decide this fall whether to raise the lo cal business tax rate for the first time in more than 30 years in an effort to shore up the town's forecasted budget deficit.

Measure J would increase the town's base business tax rate by 30 percent for businesses with more than $50,000 in annual gross receipts. Taxes for licensed businesses have not increased in the town since 1991.

The tax rate for retail busi nesses with more than $50,000 in gross receipts would also be

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KNITTING FOR A CAUSE More than 320 volunteers took part in the first local workshop hosted by the Magic Yarn Project in Saratoga on Oct. 8, which seeks to provide wigs for children dealing with cancer and other conditions. For the full story, turn to page 4.

Stunning Tuscan style home was built circa 2011 and offers an abundance of amenities.

Formal entry with a living room and a dining room. Great kitchen/family room with a large center island, stainless steel appliances, breakfast bar, and informal eat-in area. Throughout are barrel, cathedral, and volume ceilings, Knotty Alder Wood cabinets & doors, skylights, and custom wood floors & trim. 5 suites with private baths. Primary suite on the main level is quite spacious with a glorious bathroom and walk-in closet. Lower level offers a 2nd kitchen with a large entertaining bar & cooktop, half bath, walk-in wine cellar, huge great room, and theater room. Full bedroom with full bath on the lower level. Stone floors and high-end carpeting. Beautiful in-ground pool/spa with waterfall & slide. Outdoor enclosed Loggia with outdoor kitchen & gas fireplace.

car garage and beautiful landscaping!

WEEKLYS

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OPINIONS

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Email your submissions to editor@losgatan.com

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Submissions may be edited, and will be published as space permits. Letters are limited to 250 words, commentaries to 500 words.

CORRECTIONS

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WHO WE ARE

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Contents copyright ©2022. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form prohibited without written permission.

HUNDREDS LEND THEIR HANDS TO FANTASTIC FAUX HAIR

Magic Yarn Project deemed a success

Staff Report

More than 320 volunteers took part in the first local workshop hosted by the Magic Yarn Project, which seeks to provide cool wigs for children dealing with cancer and other conditions.

From cotton candy colors to prin cess styles, the resulting creations were nothing short of spectacular.

“The Magic Yarn Project was a great success,” said organizer Lorraine Hep worth. “Making yarn wigs styled after beloved Disney characters for children battling cancer and other medical hair loss proved to be heart-warming and fun.”

The workshops were held Oct. 8 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat ter-day Saints, on Allendale Avenue in Saratoga.

People of all ages took part in the three sessions, including Girl Scout troops, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters and community knitting groups.

“Each team of two made a wig, had a Polaroid picture taken, a card filled out, then packaged with a ribbon to match,” she said. “The organizers trained volunteers to be wig stylists the night before.”

In total, 160 wigs were spun up and will now be delivered to hospitals and cancer clinics.

Organizers said they had a bigger turnout than they had even initially anticipated.

The drive was held in partnership with Just Serve, a web resource run by the Mormon church that connects helpers with volunteer op portunities.

Its advisory council features repre sentatives from the Salvation Army, Latter-day Saint Charities, Rotary International, IsraAid and Doblin Group, among others.

Holly Christensen, the co-founder of The Magic Yarn Project, said the wigs aren’t just whimsical and won derful—they’re also utilitarian.

“Traditional wigs are often too scratchy and uncomfortable for tender post-chemo skin, but Magic Yarn wigs are soft, cozy, warm and styled after beloved fairytale characters that em body inspiring traits such as bravery, kindness and integrity,” she said. “This workshop is designed to accommo date volunteers from all backgrounds and abilities.”

The Magic Yarn Project is the larg est, volunteer-run 501c3 charity that produces yarn wigs and character beanies to children experiencing med ical hair loss.

The nonprofit seeks to inspire peo ple to take on a life of volunteering.

So far, it’s recruited 50,000 people to help with the cause—pumping out 40,000 wigs in the process.

DURING SCHOOL BUS SAFETY WEEK, CHP URGE RESIDENTS TO TAKE CAUTION

Staff Report

With National School Bus Safe ty Week underway, the California Highway Patrol is reminding drivers to stop for the carriers of the most precious cargo.

Running Oct. 17-21, the week is meant to bring awareness to the per sonal responsibility involved in en suring students make it to and from school safely.

“School bus safety is part of the CHP’s mission,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said. “This week is a re minder that everyone should do their part each day to remain alert behind the wheel, particularly when you see a school bus or children at bus stops.”

Motorists in California are re quired to stop when a school bus turns its flashing red lights on.

And bus drivers are supposed to keep those lights blinking until the kids have made it out of the roadway.

Across the state, 50,000 certified school bus drivers transport more than a million students about 244 million miles a year.

Meanwhile the CHP is in charge of inspecting more than 20,000 school buses annually and has ramped up enforcement of drivers who flaunt the law and pass busses when they aren’t supposed to.

Last year, 218 motorists were written up during the Vehicles Ille gally Passing a School Bus (VIPS) operation.

For non-emergency complaints, contact your local CHP Area office at chp.ca.gov/find-an-office or call 1-800-TELL-CHP.

CREATIVE KINDNESS Magic Yarn Project volunteers created 160 wigs on Oct. 8 that will now be delivered to hospitals and cancer clinics.

COURT OF APPEAL AGAIN CONSIDERS WHETHER TO FREE ‘PARTY MOM’

Justices mull clarifying California bail laws

Drew Penner, Reporter

California’s 6th District Court of Ap peal heard arguments Oct. 13 about whether a Los Gatos woman charged with throwing alcohol-fuelled parties for teens should be released from jail.

A Superior Court judge denied bail for Shannon O’Connor earlier this year, but the State Supreme Court told the appellete justices to reconsider the deci sion, since O’Connor wasn’t technically charged with felony violence or felony sexual assault.

“Let’s just concede that this is not the usual case,” said Presiding Justice Mary Greenwood, kicking off the Thursday hearing. “This one has obvious signifi cance, and I think the justices are likely to have quite a few questions.”

The People noted it had come to be known as the “the Los Gatos party mom” case in the media, contending O’Connor set the stage for fractured limbs, concussions and sexual vio lence through her actions.

Her lawyer, George Schraer, did his best to paint the injuries sustained by the children as a series of accidents his client just happened to be involved with.

But it wasn’t just the facts of the case that made it so unique, the court heard.

It also provided the justices the oppor tunity to look at setting precedent about pre-trial release law.

That’s because much of the afternoon session took cues from the story of a 15-year-old Encinitas surfer, who was nearly kidnapped and raped in 2017.

In that situation, a 27-year-old man named Christopher Lee White had served as a lookout while his roommate attacked the teenage girl.

She broke free before the worst could happen, and both men ended up in jail, charged with a series of offenses. White’s bail appeal request was rejected, and the California Supreme Court mulled an unclear area of case law.

The thing is, people in the state have an “absolute right to bail,” thanks to Sec tion 12 of the California Constitution’s first article.

However, a pair of measures ap proved by voters (with overwhelming support) in the 1980s and ‘90s opened

the door to keeping the bars slammed shut on some arrestees.

These amendments allowed judges to refuse bail to those accused of some crimes when the court finds “clear and convincing evidence” there’s a “substantial likelihood” a defendant's release would “result in great bodily harm to others.”

“Decades later and well into a new century, we review for the first time a trial court’s denial of bail under one of these exceptions,” Supreme Court Jus tice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar wrote in a May 21, 2020 opinion in that case.

But in the end, though they affirmed White’s no-bail, California’s top judicial minds had opted not to rule on how dif ferent pretrial detention provisions in its Constitution interact.

“The Supreme Court has not touched it,” O’Connor’s lawyer noted, Thursday. “They sent it back to this court to take the first shot.”

So, with O’Connor’s case, the justices weighed what lessons they should im plement from the case of that San Diego County surfer who narrowly escaped more dire harm.

Pablo Wudka-Robles, for the People, pointed out White had been the “aider and abetter,” drawing a comparison to events where teenagers got seriously hurt on O’Connor’s watch.

But Justice Greenwood noted White—unlike O’Connor—had admit ted he’d been charged with crimes that qualified for a no-bail ruling.

“I recognize that White was charged with certain enumerated offenses,” she said. “The Supreme Court went into substantial details."

Schraer argued that while the crimes White was facilitating—kidnapping and rape—O’Connor isn’t technically charged with anything nearly as bad.

“If you look at the pleadings… it’s charged as injury to the person or health—that’s not violence,” he said. “There’s a way of injuring the child’s health without violence.”

Justice Charles Wilson reminded ev eryone the charges against O’Connor are still accusations yet to be tested; but he said they do seem to draw her as the driv ing force behind an environment that resulted in broken bones, concussions

SUPPORTING BUSINESS

Los Gatos resident

Mike Shaner says he’d be OK with residential development at the Ace Hardware site along Los Gatos Boulevard, as long as the store could remain.

MEETING SET FOR OCT. 20

Town, from page 1

homogeneous communities like Bev erly Hills, Redondo Beach, Hunting ton Beach, Scotts Valley and Los Gatos actually build the housing they’re sup posed to.

The State wants to make sure people of all racial backgrounds can thrive in the state—including having a place to live that doesn’t break the bank—and in some cases that now includes taking ac tion to help reverse concerning trends.

For example, as noted in Los Gatos’ draft Housing Element, Bay Area cities continue to be more segregated than other areas of California.

A 2018 Berkeley publication titled “Racial Segregation in the San Francisco Bay Area,” describes Los Gatos as being among the “most segregated, heavily white cities in the county” with Santa Clara County containing “no truly inte grated city.”

And racial segregation between neighborhoods in Los Gatos actual ly increased between 2010 and 2020, the draft Housing Element reports, al though the situation did improve in the above-moderate-income category.

However, many local residents ve hemently oppose efforts to densify the town. Some suggest the Town’s ap proach to housing will simply pave the way for more upscale units, not afford able housing.

The HEAB held 11 meetings over Zoom between October 2021 and the end of September 2022. This was in ad

dition to additional community meet ings and study sessions—not to mention the countless times the issue became an inflection point at Planning Commis sion and Council.

The Town says a mix of housing types in the community would create more opportunities for everyone.

Los Gatos’ recent history shows very different outcomes for people who’ve owned homes, versus those who’ve been renters.

Since 2010 home prices here have doubled on average, with the largest proportion of homes now worth more than $2 million.

Meanwhile, rents in Los Gatos in creased 61% from 2009 to 2019, mean ing you’d have to make $90,960 a year to rent a typical apartment without a cost burden.

Many jobs currently advertised on Indeed.com for the Los Gatos area pay around $20 an hour—less than half of what you’d need to make to afford to live in the community.

The Draft Housing Element identi fies a series of vacant, partially-vacant or underutilized sites it believes will be sufficient to accommodate Los Ga tos’ Regional Housing Needs Allocation (that’s the residential-production figure the Housing Element is supposed to help the community reach: Los Gatos is required to plan for 1,993 units and has decided to include a 15% buffer on top of that).

The sites written up in the Housing Element are not a prescription of what will be built, nor are they an exact pre diction. Plus, HCD may come back at Los Gatos and say it hasn’t included enough—or not enough of a particular type—when its officials go through the document.

Land identified for possible residen tial development in the Downtown Area include 50 Park Ave. and 61 Montebello Way—a triangular-shaped wooded parcel in an area of very-high fire risk—the post office at 101 S. Santa Cruz Ave., and the Hercules Draft House and Cantina prop erty at 165 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road.

Just across Highway 17, the Los Ga tos Lodge site (50 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road) has been selected as a place where upwards of 317 units of housing could sprout.

In the Los Gatos Boulevard area, the Ace Hardware at 15,300 Los Gatos Blvd. could accommodate 58 residential units, Town staff says.

After hoisting himself and his wheel chair into his Honda Odyssey minivan, Tuesday, at the conclusion of a shopping outing there, Mike Shaner, 65, said he hopes the Housing Element won’t mean the business will be forced out.

“I’ve lived in this neighborhood for over 25 years,” he said. “I really like the convenience of this store.”

But he says he can see how housing might fit on the lot; and he says he’d be OK with new housing on the property, too—as long as Ace gets to stay.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” he said. “This place is huge.”

For the Los Gatan reader, who has lived in a wheelchair for 46 years, it’s a

good thing the Housing Element spe cifically sets out how future residential development must proceed with acces sibility in mind.

“The disabled population, in general, is an underserved population,” he said, pointing to the heightened challenges in Los Gatos. “It’s a very expensive place.”

Along the west side of Los Gatos Bou levard, south of Garden Lane, planners figure 103 housing units could be built between three addresses (15349, 15367 and 15405).

Over on the east side of Garden Lane, the Housing Element Advisory board sees the possibility for 39 units to go in at 15425 Los Gatos Blvd.

The draft element suggests 23 homes could be developed at the Affordable Treasures party supply location, at the northwest corner of Los Gatos Boule vard and Farley Lane—although the current building would have to be de molished.

The other addresses included in the inventory along the boulevard are 16203 (possible 28 units) and 16492 (possible 11 units).

Phase II of the North 40 could be come home to 582 new residential units over seven different parcels, according to the official analysis.

The Lark Avenue area has been se lected for several sites: the east side of Oka Road north of Lark (151 possible units), Oka Lane west of Oka Road north of Lark (26 possible units), and the Caltrans Right-of-Way south and west of the Highway 17/85 interchange (88 possible units—Los Gatos has yet to ask for Caltrans’ input).

In the Winchester Boulevard area, 110 Knowles Drive (north and west of the aforementioned interchange) was identified for a possible 264 homes, with 206 Knowles Drive described as a site where 87 units could go.

The 440 Los Gatos Almaden Road property was the sole site included from the Union Avenue area of town and could feature 14 housing units.

Likewise, the Valero site at 14000 Blossom Hill Road was the single entry from the Harwood Road part of town, with the possibility for 12 housing units identified.

The Alberto Way area bookends the Sites Inventory List, with planners sug gesting 54 residences could be built at 401-409 Alberto Way.

The Zoom link for the Housing Element Advisory Board meeting Oct. 20 at 7pm is: zoom.us/join, Meeting ID: 879 4868 5115; Passcode: 445036.

Drew Penner/Los Gatan

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HEALTH OFFICER URGES RESIDENTS TO GET NEW COVID BOOSTER

Eli Walsh, Bay City News

Santa Clara County's top health official urged residents Monday to get an updated Covid-19 booster vaccine if they are eligible to do so as the hol iday season approaches.

According to Health Officer and Public Health Director Dr. Sara Cody, just 11 percent of Santa Clara Coun ty residents have received the new est booster vaccine, which protects against the original Covid strain as well as two subvariants of the omi cron variant.

Federal officials expanded eligibil ity last week for the new booster to children ages 5-11, making everyone age 5 and up eligible if it has been at least two months since their last vaccine dose.

“Now that just about everyone is eligible, I want to address a question head on, and that question is ‘do I really need it?’,” Cody said Monday during a briefing at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. “To cut to the conclusion, yes you do. You do need your bivalent booster, and especially if you're 50 years or older.”

Cody acknowledged that the slow uptake of the new booster may be due in part to fatigue around the pan demic, but argued that the risk of a serious Covid infection or developing long Covid can be easily mitigated by getting vaccinated.

The vaccine will also help protect others during the winter holidays, she argued, when large groups of people will gather indoors in close proximity.

“People are fatigued from man aging the pandemic and that's com pletely understandable,” she said.

“But what I want to emphasize is that this needs to be a habit that we get into of incorporating these Covid protections into our lives.”

Cody also reiterated a point she made earlier in October, that while the county’s case count is at a nadir compared to where it was in the spring and early summer, the amount of virus particles circulating in the county's sewersheds and, by exten sion, the risk of the virus spreading remains elevated.

Countywide, uptake of the new booster is higher among older age groups, but Cody said the county continues to work with local schools and community groups to urge en tire families to get the booster when eligible.

“Some members of your family are going to find having Covid an incon venience and some members of your family are going to find having Covid very serious and a risk of death,” she said. “But everyone can benefit from a bivalent booster.”

As of Monday, 87.4 percent of all county residents have complet ed their initial vaccination series.

Among booster-eligible residents aged 5 and up, 69 percent have re ceived at least one booster dose.

Covid vaccines are available to ev eryone ages 6 months and up.

Copyright © 2022 Bay City News, Inc.

MEASURE NEEDS MAJORITY VOTE

Tax, from page 1

increased by 40 percent, while e-com merce businesses would be added to the town's “manufacturing, wholesaling and jobbing” tax category.

That category's tax rate would also be increased by 120 percent, and the change would chiefly affect the subscrip tion video streaming and production company Netflix, which is headquar tered in Los Gatos.

Town officials estimate the tax in crease would generate roughly $1.2 million per year and would make the town's tax structure more progressive, with larger businesses paying a higher tax rate.

Under the city's current regressive structure, a business with more than $1 million in gross receipts has a lower tax rate than a business with roughly $50,000 in gross receipts.

Measure J is one effort by the town to shore up an annual forecasted budget deficit of roughly $4 million per year over the next five fiscal years.

“We're looking for some way of this to be self-sustaining so we don't have to put a budget initiative (on the ballot) every couple of years, particularly if we're in an inflationary time,” Town Coun cilmember Matthew Hudes said during a discussion on the ballot measure at the council's Aug. 2 meeting.

Town officials did not rule out poten tially placing a local sales tax hike on the 2024 ballot, but argued the business tax increase was more pressing as the local tax rates have not increased with inflation.

Local business owners and business groups have expressed theoretical sup port for the measure, but warned against penalizing businesses for their success, particularly the town's largest businesses including Netflix.

“All people that I've spoken to do understand the fact that we have not changed the flat rates since 1991 and would ... consider maybe incrementally increasing that, but not so much that it really hurts the business,” Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce Executive Direc tor Catherine Somers said.

According to Assistant Town Manager Arn Andrews, roughly 75 percent of the town's licensed businesses are currently taxed under the flat rate tax structure.

Measure J will require a simple ma jority vote on the Nov. 8 ballot to be adopted. If approved, the revenue will be placed in the town's general fund to be used for local services like law en forcement.

Copyright © 2022 Bay City News, Inc.

DECISION EXPECTED IN 90 DAYS

Court, from page 5

and “non-consensual” touching.

“This is her being involved with felony acts of violence,” he said.

But Schraer highlighted the fact that all four of the sexual crimes were charged as misdemeanors.

“There’s no pleaded felony sexual as sault,” he said. “There’s no indication here that my client used physical force against a child.”

He said the District Attorney’s Office had painted a “one-sided picture” of O’Connor.

But Wudka-Robles suggested the over all thrust of the complaint against O’Con nor shows the offenses were violent.

“This was not an accidental situation,” he said, adding O’Connor would harass teenagers she thought would rat her out.

“We can’t be confident at all that she’s going to stop.”

And Wudka-Robles noted O’Connor left the state during the investigation into her activities and appeared to be trying to hide money from authorities, from behind bars.

Greenwood pushed back, noting nei ther of those things seem related to caus ing “great bodily harm.”

Wudka-Robles replied he sees it as evidence O’Connor might return to doing the sorts of things she’s charged with, if released.

“It shows an utter disregard for the sever ity of the consequence she’s facing,” he said. “She’s still continuing to flaunt the law.”

The court has 90 days from last week’s hearing to make up its mind about whether O’Connor should be let out.

People are fatigued from managing the pandemic and that's completely understandable. But what I want to emphasize is that this needs to be a habit that we get into of incorporating these Covid protections into our lives. Sara Cody

SPORTS

WILDCATS LOOK TO ACE THE COMPETITION

Los Gatos girls tennis has league title in view

Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor

After a solid 2021 season, the Los Gatos High girls tennis team has upped its game this year with the goal to win a league championship.

The Wildcats are in contention to capture at least a share of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League El Cami no Division title a year after going 8-6 in division play. Los Gatos entered the week 7-1 in the El Camino and trails only Lynbrook, which it lost to 4-3 in the teams’ first matchup.

Los Gatos hosts Lynbrook in the re match on Oct. 25. Senior captain Alex Varivoda is confident the result will be different the second time around.

“We lost to Lynbrook the first time, but we didn’t have our full team,” said Varivoda, who usually plays No. 2 doubles with Nitya Jhamb. “I was out and another starter was out. When we play them again, I think we can do it and win.”

The Wildcats have been buoyed by an influx of talent this year, starting at the No. 1 singles position with fresh man sensation Kayla Mitchell.

“We definitely had more players come out,” Varivoda said. “Last year was our first season after Covid so we had a lot of people who left and didn’t play. But this year we definitely have a stronger team and that’s shown in our matches.”

With the exception of Lynbrook, the Wildcats have been smashing teams in the El Camino, which isn’t a surprise given the program’s tennis tradition. Coach Pablo Cueto said Mitchell is a five-star player and the highest-ranked incoming freshman in the Bay Area.

If Mitchell decides to play in the Central Coast Section individual tour nament, she has the potential to make a deep run if not win it.

“Kayla is great and an amazing play er,” Varivoda said. “She’s super con sistent and hits really powerful shots. It’s been really good to have our No. 1 singles who always plays well and is

consistent. She doesn’t have bad days.”

Yasmina Ikkawi is the team’s No. 2 singles player and another tour de force besides Mitchell. Ikkawi possesses heavy, topspin-laden groundstrokes off both wings to go along with a powerful serve. Rosa Sahandi and Valeriya Ma rinicheva have also excelled and round out the singles lineup.

Some of the top doubles players

include Maya and Zoe Swanson, the aforementioned Varivoda and Jhamb, Yilin Fang, Anya Chauhan, and Ka ley Do. However, the team’s lineup is constantly in flux because Cueto likes to give players on the back end of the lineup an opportunity to compete.

Additionally, Zoe Swanson has played in several matches at singles, including the No. 4 spot against Milpi

tas on Oct. 11. Varivoda said the team gained confidence after beating Gunn which plays in the upper De Anza Divi sion earlier in the season.

“We were a little scared going into it because we knew they were a strong team, but we ended up winning,” she said. “Everyone played really well and it was a really great match for everyone in terms of the quality in which we played. So that was definitely a morale boost.”

Even though tennis is an individual sport, at the high school level it can still be team-oriented. As the team captain, Varivoda is responsible for a variety of things, including organizing team-bonding activities which have helped in the players getting to know each other a little better.

“It feels like we’re a family and we’re all really close,” she said. “Regardless of our position on the team, we definitely feel that bond. It doesn’t feel like we’re separated by our ranks.”

Varivoda is also one of the few play ers who can drive and is responsible for getting the players to the proper location when they have away games. So, some of her teammates gave her a ribbing after Varivoda took the wrong exit going to Milpitas High.

“I took the wrong exit so it was a little stressful,” she said. “I’m the team driver but I will admit I’m not the best at directions.”

Varivoda played No. 1 and 2 singles last year, but is enjoying her experience competing in doubles this season. Of course, she’s had to make some major adjustments after playing singles in her first three years of prep competition.

“Playing doubles has been new for me and it’s been out of my comfort zone because I'm not used to playing with someone,” she said. “I always liked having all the responsibility by myself in singles, but doubles has been nice and I’ve learned to be at the net a lot more and hit volleys. This year is (also) a bit different because I had a hand injury that I’m still recovering from, so I’ve had to kind of adjust to that. But it’s been fun playing with a new technique and a partner in Nitya.”

Varivoda said the team has some big goals for the rest of the season.

“We obviously want to win league and CCS, and consequently we want to get back up to the upper division next year,” she said.

STANDING TALL Los Gatos High No. 2 singles player Yasmina Ikkawi possesses powerful strokes off both wings along with a heavy serve. She’s been key to the Wildcats’ quest for a league championship.

Jonathan Natividad

LOS GATOS GOES THE DISTANCE

Wildcats thrive in five-set matches

Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor

Given the number of heart-stopping five-set matches that the Los Gatos High girls volleyball team has already played in this season, Wildcats coach Brynja Thompson and a reporter joked that going through all of the riveting and sus penseful moments have taken years off of Thompson’s life expectancy.

When asked if her hair was turning gray, Thompson said, “100%, absolute ly.” Teams are no strangers to going the distance, but what Los Gatos is doing stokes the realm of imagination. To wit: the Wildcats went the full five sets in seven of their first eight Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division matches, going 5-2 in the process.

A handful of their fourth sets have resembled mini marathons. On Sept. 15, they won the fourth set 28-26 against Mountain View. On Sept. 26, they won Game 4 26-24 against Los Altos but lost

the match in five. On Oct. 4, they won the fourth set 26-24 against Gunn.

On Oct. 10, Los Gatos won the fourth set 27-25 en route to a five-game victory over Monta Vista. Thompson has mar veled at what the team has done in match es that have gone the distance, knowing going through the meat grinder that is the De Anza Division—which is arguably the best in the Central Coast Section—will serve the team well in the playoffs.

“We will be the best team in the league if not the region or section at five-set matches for sure,” she said. “We are weathered, we are used to it, and it’s defi nitely not by design but it’s better to win in five than to lose any other way.”

The Wildcats, who are in a second-place tie with Los Altos and just a half-game back of league-leader Mountain View, of ten play their best in the close sets, a testament to their resilience and determi nation. However, as thrilling and riveting as five-set matches are for fans of the pro gram, they’ve taken a toll on the players.

As young and spry as the players are, their bodies take a pounding from the

relentless jumping and arm swings they unleash in long matches.

“I’m scared we’re living on borrowed sets,” Thompson said. “We are tired, we are fatigued, our jumpers are really close to the end of their gas tank. But they’re also so driven they’re not going to let fatigue hold them back.

“I’ve never really seen anything like this. We just have to keep on trucking and we have to practice smart because we’re exerting so much energy in these five-set matches. And if we’re not prac ticing smart or taking care of ourselves on our off days, that can wreck us.”

That’s why Thompson wouldn’t mind seeing the team close a team out in three or four sets when the opportunity pres ents itself.

“I mean if we’re that good, we’ve got to take care of business right away,” she said.

Hannah Slover and Nicole Steiner have been getting things done all season. Slover, a UC Santa Barbara-commit and the reigning state girls high jump cham pion, has been terminating the ball with her usual proficiency.

At times, Slover delivers swings where the ball can’t be blocked or dug. Stein er, a sophomore who also advanced to last spring’s CIF State Track and Field Championships in the shot put, has pro vided a tremendous net presence.

“Hannah and Nicole have done a fan tastic job in the front and back, and they’ll continue to do so,” Thompson said.

Sophomore Maya Walker and junior Kate Vanderbosch both entered the sea son with limited setting experience at the varsity level, but they’ve taken to the task well.

“Mia and Kate have been doing an incredible job,” Thompson said. “They’ve been extremely reliable and have not been injured all season.”

The last part of Thompson’s statement means a lot because the team has had several players sustain injuries through out the season.

“We’ve probably had more injuries than other teams,” Thompson said. “But we are deep and when somebody does get injured or has to sit out, we’re able to put somebody into a new place in the lineup without it be ing too disruptive to our game because our players are so good at being flexible and playing in different places, which is one of the things I’m excited about.”

Thompson has had to juggle her line up to the point where “it’s always a mystery and sometimes I never know the lineup until three minutes before a match and neither do they,” she said. Because of injuries and various ailments brought on by the long season, there are always a handful of players who are day to day, according to Thompson.

Thankfully for the Wildcats, their best libero and defensive specialist—junior Sarah Herman and senior Molly Van derbosch—have been healthy all season.

“They’re always ready to compete,” Thompson said.

Whether the Wildcats end up winning the league championship or not, they’ll be primed to make another deep run in the postseason. Last year, Los Gatos got bounced in the opening round of the CCS Open Division playoffs before reeling off four consecutive wins to reach the CIF NorCal State Regional Division semifinals.

“I’m still extremely confident this team has more ahead of them,” Thompson said. “Once we get to CCS and hopefully NorCals, it’s anybody’s ball game and our league has prepared us for that in a great way.”

DIGGING IT Los Gatos High senior Molly Vanderbosch has excelled as a defensive specialist this season. The Wildcats entered the week tied for second place in the SCVAL De Anza Division standings with a 7-2 record.

Jonathan Natividad

A Rich Cultural Heritage

Alan Feinberg, Contributor

Note: This article was originally intended for publication on Oct. 12 to coincide with Columbus Day and In digenous Peoples Day, but was delayed due to space constraints.

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” It’s a familiar refrain from the poem that schoolchildren like me recited at this time each year. Even though he never set foot on the part of North America that would become the continental United States, we were taught Christopher Columbus was the brave Italian ex plorer who “discovered” America. We studied his achievements in detail but didn’t learn anything about the impact of his voyages on the natives

he mistakenly labeled as “Indians.”

In the 19th century, Italian Amer icans began holding unofficial cel ebrations of Columbus Day on the anniversary of his landing as a show of pride in their heritage. It was pro claimed a national holiday in 1937. Since 1991, many cities and states, including California, have adopted Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a concur rent holiday to honor Native Amer ican culture. So let’s mark the occa sion with a look at the history of the Ohlone people, who thrived here for thousands of years before the Euro peans arrived.

Contrary to popular belief, the Ohlone were not one homogeneous tribe. There were approximately 50 separate communities between San

Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay when the Spanish began colonizing the area in the late 18th century. The tribes spoke a variety of related lan guages and had from a few dozen to several hundred people each. They interacted freely, using clam shells as currency to trade.

Tribes moved seasonally be tween hunting, fishing and forag ing grounds. They harvested tule grasses from local marshes to create everything from reed canoes and dome-shaped huts to floor mats and intricate baskets. Their diet consisted of game (rabbit, deer and water fowl), seafood (mussels, abalone and fish), and nuts (mostly acorns). They conscientiously modified and main tained their environment by pruning

and burning dense undergrowth to create foraging areas for the game they hunted. Given the abundance of food and land to share, the tribes were able to coexist peacefully.

Women developed sophisticated cooking techniques, including plac ing hot rocks in tightly woven bas kets to boil or steam their food. They removed the tannins from acorns by grinding them into a powder and soaking them to create acorn meal in order to make porridge and thick en soup. They also used smoking, salting and drying techniques to preserve food or to trade with other tribes.

The Ohlone worshiped nature gods with festivals, ceremonial dances, and rituals to ensure good health, bountiful harvests and fertil ity. Tribes had a shaman, a spiritual leader, to preside over events. Elab orate costumes were often worn in these ceremonies.

The arrival of Franciscan mis sionaries had a devastating effect on the Ohlone civilization. During the Spanish and Mexican colonial peri ods (1769-1846), the population of California natives fell from around 320,000 to less than 150,000. They fared even worse during the early days of American rule, plunging by an addi tional 90% to 16,277, according to the 1880 census. One UCLA researcher estimates at least 9,000 to 16,000 Californian Indigenous people were killed between 1846 and 1873.

Fortunately, the Ohlone were not driven to extinction. Many of those who remain, including the few hun dred members of the Muwekma Ohlone, are seeking federal recogni tion of their tribal status. This would restore their sovereignty and give them the same benefits as 110 other Californian tribes.

Christopher Columbus did not discover America. But his arrival in the Caribbean on Oct. 12, 1492 is one of the most consequential events in human history. It set in motion a chain of events—including the Span ish colonization of the Americas— that reverberate to this day.

As we observe Columbus Day, let’s also be sure to honor our local Indig enous people and their rich cultural heritage.

LOCAL PEOPLE Detail from the “Ohlone Village” mural under the Main Street Bridge.

Photo by Alan Feinberg

GUEST VIEW

California Indians don’t need more money to fuel division

By Charlene Nijmeh, Chairwoman, Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the SF Bay Area

Because of the questions the tribe continues to receive asking us where we stand on Proposition 26, we felt a need to weigh in and make our position public.

Prop. 26 would legalize in-person sports betting, and other table games in Indian Casinos and racetracks in California. This would give a monopoly to some of the already wealthiest tribes in California and allow them to gener ate even more money. These wealthy tribes oppose competing Proposition 27 which would allow outside corporations to offer online sports betting because, of course, enough is never enough when you become infected with greed and the need for possessions.

In an ABC interview, Chairman Greg Sarris of Graton Rancheria, one of the wealthiest tribes in California, stated “California Indians have worked so hard to create a business that helps sustain ourselves…We don’t want an outside group coming in.”

The issue we have with Chairman Sarris’s statement and with Prop. 26 in general is that Gaming has not been the cure-all that was promised for Indians in California. Since California legalized gambling for Indian tribes in 1989, the results have been to shower a few tribes with enormous wealth while leaving the rest to continue their struggles alone and without support.

These wealthy gaming tribes act in di rect oppression of their Native brothers and sisters by using their casino profits to lobby directly against the sovereignty of other tribes. By opposing “legitimate” unrecognized tribes’ efforts to become federally recognized, the Gaming tribes have lost their indigenous ways of com munity and solidarity and embraced the greedy ways of the colonists.

Recently Graton Rancheria and other Gaming tribes actively lobbied against a Muwekma Ohlone tribe State reso lution (SJR13) which supported our tribes’ efforts to restore our sovereignty.

Our state resolution had overwhelming support from Bay Area universities, en vironmental and conservation groups,

religious organizations, anthropologists, historians, local and state agencies, and local, state and national organizations, but these rich and powerful gaming tribes sent their lobbyists to kill the bill.

California Senator Bill Dodd, Chair man of the G.O. committee, refused to vote on our resolution and effectively killed our bill in his committee. No one in the media or watchdog groups both ered to pay attention or question how one politician who represents the terri tory of Graton Rancheria’s casino and has clearly been influenced is allowed to pervert our political process. This isn’t the way transparent government and democracy is supposed to work.

The No on Prop. 26 coalition claims, “Five California tribal casinos sponsor ing Prop. 26 have become some of the wealthiest and most powerful special interests in the state” and “…they pass out millions in campaign contributions every election to protect their winnings.”

This is not news to unrecognized tribes who have felt the negative impacts of casino money corrupting the politi cal process both in Washington and in California.

Indian Country Today, an indepen dent non-profit news enterprise report ed in 2011, reported “The number one donor in the last U.S. presidential elec tion cycle wasn’t a health-care lobbyist, a tobacco company, or a tech giant. It was a small group of tribes in California determined to protect their interests… tribes, especially those in the Golden State, are among the biggest donors to state and federal political campaigns.”

We absolutely respect all tribes’ sover eign rights of self-determination, and no one is suggesting that Native American Tribes shouldn’t have the same rights as any other corporate interest to engage in the political arena. However, when they weaponize their casino profits against oth er “legitimate” historic tribes, one must question whether handing them more money is in the best interest of all Califor nia Indians. We certainly don’t believe so.

Charlene Nijmeh is the chairwoman of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.

HORTICULTURE

Juniper cultivars deserve more consideration

Tony Tomeo, Contributor

Fads come and go. Many can be good, even if only briefly. A few might be bad enough to later stigmatize the object of the fad. For example, the formerly es teemed crape myrtle is now familiar as a mundanely common tree. Flashy bloom and complaisance contributed to its ex cessive popularity. Most sorts of juniper are similarly victims of their previous fad.

A few cultivars of juniper suddenly be came overly popular during suburbaniza tion of the 1950s. They were remarkably reliable and resilient. Most were shrubbery or low hedges. A few were groundcover. Hollywood juniper grew as a compact sculptural tree. However, most junipers grew too big. They became difficult to maintain, or impossible to renovate.

As many outgrew suburban gardens, few junipers outgrew their reputation. Even modern cultivars that were unavail able during the fad of the 1950s are per haps less popular than they should be. Realistically, many old and new cultivars of juniper are quite practical for refined home gardens. They merely need to be appropri ate to their particular application.

Many cultivars of several species of Ju niperus are commonly available. Straight species are very rare from nurseries, al though a few are native nearby. All juni pers are evergreen with tiny awl or scale leaves. Foliar color ranges from forest green to silvery gray. Bloom is unremark able. Some junipers produce pretty and aromatic blue, gray or black berries.

Junipers generally do not respond fa vorably to pruning that damages their natural forms. Those that grow as ground covers, with stems that sprawl over the surface of the soil, are not offended by pruning to contain their edges. However, most groundcover junipers are actually just low shrubbery. Pruning might leave holes within their dense foliar canopies.

Junipers that grow as small trees do not mind removal of lower limbs at their main trunks, but object to partial prun ing or “stubbing” of such limbs. Regard less of their natural forms, all junipers should be proportionate to their partic ular applications. With sufficient space, they can mature and develop their natu

POPULAR Evergreen juniper foliage has a distinctive texture.

rally distinguished forms with minimal altercation. Maintenance could really be quite minimal.

Highlight: Rocky Mountain juniper

Hollywood juniper had formerly been the only popular juniper of tree form. As it became less popular during the past few decades, cultivars of the once obscure Rocky Mountain juniper, Juniperus scopulorum, became more popular. Also, a few more modern cultivars became available. Now, the once overly common Hollywood juniper is quite uncommon.

Rocky Mountain juniper is naturally rather grayish for protection from the harsh exposure of the high elevations which it inhabits. Cultivars are grayer, bluish or silvery, and mostly develop symmetrically conical form. Old spec imens that were initially conical even tually grow as small trees with rounded and relatively dense canopies, perhaps on bare trunks.

“Skyrocket” and “Blue Arrow” are very narrow like Italian cypress that grow only 15 feet tall. “Wichita Blue” and “Moonglow” are stoutly conical.

“Blue Arrow” and “Wichita Blue” are bluish green. “Skyrocket” and “Moon glow” are silvery gray. Established spec imens do not require much water, but develop better foliar color with warmth and occasional watering.

Tony Tomeo can be contacted at tonytomeo.com.

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A two-car attached garage is also part of the property.

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