Los Gatan 3-15-2023

ACLU THREATENS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST TOWN

Drew Penner, Reporter

The ACLU of Northern California is stepping up its pressure campaign against the Town of Los Gatos, threatening legal action if it doesn’t reverse a rebuke of a Planning Commissioner who complained to state officials about a referendum drive that quashed residential densification plans.

It’s now representing Kylie Clark, the commissioner who was censured and ordered to counseling following a public hearing in February where she was called a racist by multiple residents for referring to the Los Gatos Community Alliance members as “white anti-housing men.”

“The Los Gatos Town Council refused to revoke the censure of Ms. Clark. They are also continuing to require that she attend counseling,” the organization’s legal director Shilpi Agarwal told the Los Gatan, Monday. “If we are unable to reach an agreement with the Town, we will consider litigation.”

The ACLU sent a letter to Los Gatos about the issue March 1, accusing Town officials of trying to chill free speech by reprimanding Clark so publicly.

It repeated these concerns Monday.

“We were hoping our letter

➝ ACLU, 12

Celebration

GOVERNMENT: DEPOSITS AT SHUTTERED SILICON VALLEY BANK AVAILABLE

Barry Holtzclaw, Reporter

The shockwaves and aftershocks of the failure of one bank—the biggest financial institution serving the center of the world’s entrepreneurial universe—are likely to linger for years, and, like their earthly counterparts, these tremors will change the way companies are built in the future.

In a kind of tipping point for the tech world, Silicon Valley Bank teetered, then collapsed in less than two days on March 10, threatening to take thousands of companies with tens of thousands of customers and employees and billions of dollars with it.

➝ Bank, 8

on the mound p10 : discover lost gatos p14 : upcoming events p15 : ny times crossword puzzle p17

CULINARY ICON Chef David Kinch was honored during the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce’s Annual

on March 9 at Testarossa Winery. For more photos, turn to page 6.

Drew Penner/Los Gatan

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THOUSANDS WITHOUT POWER AS STORM MOVES QUICKLY THROUGH LOCAL AREA

spokesperson Megan McFarland said.

SPLASH

In recent days, drivers have contended with flooded roads and fallen trees throughout the region as heavy storms pound the state.

out on Wednesday and Thursday, and after that a weaker storm system will bring light showers for Friday through early next week, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 155,000 PG&E customers in the Bay Area were without power Tuesday afternoon, including 600 in Los Gatos and 2,300 in the Lexington Hills, due to storm-related issues, according to PG&E.

The South Bay had 59,748 without power as of 12:30 p.m. and the East Bay had 56,931, according to PG&E spokesperson Megan McFarland

There were 26,254 without power on the Peninsula, 10,349 in the North Bay, and 2,111 in San Francisco, PG&E

“The storm is hitting PG&E’s service area hard,” McFarland said in the latest update.

Customers can get updates through the electric outage map online at pge.com/outages; by contacting the PG&E outage information line at 1.800.743.5002; or by logging into their account through pge.com and sign up to receive proactive outage alerts through email, text or phone.

A storm that drenched the region on Tuesday morning moved through the area faster than predicted.

The Bay Area will get a chance to dry

TWO DETAINED WITH REPLICA GUN AT WEST VALLEY COLLEGE

Student describes tense situation on campus

Drew Penner, Reporter

A lockdown at West Valley College in Saratoga was lifted Monday afternoon after two people with a replica firearm were detained, authorities said.

West Valley College was on lockdown for more than two hours, after the college sent out alerts shortly after 11am

that an armed intruder with a rifle was seen at the campus.

About 1:30pm, the lockdown was lifted, but all classes were canceled for the day, school officials said.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office did not release information about the pair detained, only saying on social media about 1:30 p.m. that “there is no active threat at this time and the campus is safe.’

A high wind warning and a flood watch is in effect for the region through Wednesday morning.

Dozens of roads remain closed or impacted. Highway 9 was closed at Booker Creek Road in Saratoga on Monday morning due to fallen rocks and a downed tree. Drivers were advised to take alternate routes.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there was no estimate for when the scene would be clear.

Updates can be found at quickmap. dot.ca.gov.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

CORRECTION

A story that appeared in the March 8 edition of the Los Gatan, titled “After discipline decision, First Amendment advocate sets sights on Town,” used an incorrect pronoun for Shilpi Agarwal, which should have read “her.” We regret the error.

Bay City News

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Represented

A night on the town

Drew Penner/Los Gatan SAY

Drew Penner/Los Gatan

CHEERS Carol Musser enjoys the wine.

Drew Penner/Los Gatan

SWEET STATION The dessert stand had plenty of treats to sample.

TECH BANKS FALL, OTHERS STUMBLE

Bank, from page 1

Government, at both the state and federal level, acted swiftly, and, after a day and a half of lobbying, anxiety, uncertainty and near panic, the U.S.Treasury took the unprecedented step Sunday night of guaranteeing that billions in deposits in a shuttered Silicon Valley Bank would be honored by the U.S. government, funded largely by mega-banks.

SVB shareholders and employees would be out of luck.

The bank was for perhaps three decades the preferred lender of anything tech, from chipmakers to online sellers, and startups of all shapes and sizes from California to New York to London. It was closed March 10 by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was appointed receiver. The FDIC took control of the Santa Clara-based tech-focused lender following a run on deposits by investors

worried about rising interest rates.

Silicon Valley this month began selling securities at an increasing pace to cover those lost deposits. When other investors panicked as they saw their bank selling assets at a loss and losing deposits, they also began to withdraw their money. That’s a formula for a bank collapse—in this case the biggest U.S. bank to fail since Washington Mutual in 2008.

The FDIC took over the bank, but as of March 10, it was unclear what would happen next, especially when it began to look like its efforts to auction off Silicon Valley Bank’s assets was finding no early takers.

On March 11, hundreds—eventually 599—of venture capitalists lobbied federal authorities to bail out the bank, which they said was indispensable to keeping the nation’s world-leading technology engine running, and also to the maintenance of their role as the fuel for that engine.

STUDENTS HIDE IN CLASSROOMS

College, from page 4

Mikaela Hall, an 18-year-old Leigh High School senior who lives in San Jose, was so nervous their hands were shaking.

On Monday morning, the student was supposed to be learning about America’s governmental system in a course offered on the West Valley College campus.

Instead, they were hiding behind a Wellness Kiosk, straining their ear to listen to noises outside the door, alongside their professor and about 20 other students.

“It’s been quiet so far, but we did have a man try to open the door,” they said. “I kinda thought, ‘That’s the guy. We’re gonna have to do something.’”

Hall’s heart was pounding.

“The man left us alone for now,” they said.

Traffic had caused Hall to be a little late for school. After parking, they’d run across the creek bridge to make up time.

Hall was about three-quarters of

the way to class—approaching the Language Arts/Social Sciences building—when they got the alarming text.

“EMERGENCY. West Valley College LOCKDOWN. Armed intruder on campus. Updates on Facebook,” said the 11:02am text which included a link to West Valley College’s Facebook page.

An email from the college, received at 11:03am, outlined three options:

“RUN if you can safely run OFF CAMPUS—No driving cars. Leave belongings behind. / HIDE if you do not know where the threat is or how many suspects are involved, / FIGHT if an intruder comes into your hiding place. / You will be notified as soon as possible when it is safe.”

Hall went with the second option.

“I was near my class when I saw the text,” they said. “So, I just ran as fast as I could to my classroom.”

At 11:32am, a school spokesperson posted an update on Twitter.

“Police checking for white male

The FDIC reported that as of Dec. 31, Silicon Valley Bank had approximately $209 billion in total assets and about $175.4 billion in total deposits. At the time of closing, the FDIC determined that the amount of deposits exceeded insurance limits.

As of March 11, only customers with accounts less than $250,000 or less were protected by the FDIC.

The bank closing came less than two hours after a decision by SV Financial Group, parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, to halt trading shortly after NASDAQ opened—after its stock had collapsed in 24 hours from $176.55 to $39.25 per share.

At first, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin said she was “monitoring [the SVB failure] very carefully.” Her interest would accelerate as the weekend wore on.

After hours of tense meetings, federal regulators announced on Sunday that another bank had been closed and that the government would ensure that all SVB depositors—not just those insured deposits—would be paid back in full as Washington rushed to keep fallout from the collapse of the large institution from sweeping through the financial system.

seen caring [sic] a long rifle,” it read.

“Associated with red Cadillac in Lot 1. Remain in Lockdown. Will send another message when it’s safe.”

Campbell Councilmember Sergio Lopez said it was an “awful” situation the students were dealing with.

“Hoping everyone is safe,” he wrote on Twitter.

Around 12:20pm, Hall described hearing shouting outside the door and some people talking.

“It’s hard to hear,” they said. “No gunshots yet.”

Hall saw some men walk past the classroom. Their professor investigated and “said it looked like officers escorting someone.”

Hall is part of the College Advantage program, for Seniors who have a grade point average of 3.8 or higher.

It allows them to complete their senior year at West Valley College, taking courses not offered at Leigh High School.

Hall was supposed to be headed to Trigonometry at 12:30pm, not cowering behind a kiosk filled with masks.

There was no resolution by 12:43pm, when West Valley gave the next public update.

“Police still searching campus,” the

Yellen announced in a joint statement with the regulators that “depositors will have access to all of their money” starting March 13 and pledged there would be no cost to U.S. taxpayers.

The agencies also said that they would make whole the cash of depositors at Signature Bank, which the government disclosed was shut down on Sunday by New York bank regulators. The collapse of Signature marked the third significant bank failure within a week. Silvergate, a San Diego-based bank that made loans to cryptocurrency companies, announced it would cease operations and liquidate its assets. Amid the wreckage, the FDIC also announced that it would set up an emergency lending program, with approval from the Treasury, to funnel funding to eligible banks and help ensure that they are able to “meet the needs” of all their depositors.

On Monday, March 13, two more banks with strong Silicon Valley connections, Bridge Bank of San Jose and First Republic Bank of San Francisco, saw their stock prices plummet, then rebound slightly later in the day.

school spokesperson tweeted. “West Valley stay in lockdown.”

Just after 1pm, Hall remained trapped in the classroom.

“It’s mostly silent,” Hall said. “No one’s crying. My professor has been calm the entire time and checking on students/the situation.”

Then, about 1:30pm, good news arrived from the intercom system.

The lockdown had ended and they were free to go.

“I’m relieved that it’s over,” they said. “I’m glad everyone is OK.”

At 1:36pm, the West Valley College spokesperson confirmed on Twitter the campus had been deemed safe.

“The lockdown is over,” a follow-up message read. “Two suspects detained. Replica firearm ONLY.”

Hall was annoyed.

“These people caused so much panic with no actual threat,” they said. “It’s sickening.”

A few minutes after the “ALL CLEAR” was issued, Hall decided to head to their car to hydrate. Classes had been canceled for the day.

Bay City News contributed to this article.

POLICE BLOTTER

MARCH 5

• Someone stole a vehicle’s catalytic converter on W. Parr Avenue.

• A caller reported children playing in a batting cage on Fisher Avenue at 9pm, because they were trying to go to sleep.

MARCH 6

• Someone disassembled electrical panels on S. Turner and Shore streets.

• Two juveniles reportedly stole an unknown amount of merchandise from a store on the 15700 block of Los Gatos Boulevard.

• A caller reported their neighbors were scared of an unknown van that was parked on Worcester Loop. The van reportedly had a solar panel on top, and the driver was listening to music.

MARCH 7

• A woman was arrested for trespassing after she was earlier banned from a store on the 15500 block of Union Avenue due to an “issue with an employee who is her ex-boyfriend.”

MARCH 8

• A man was arrested on S. Santa Cruz Avenue after he was reported for “smoking something out of a glass pipe” at 6:03pm.

• An unknown suspect stole a bag of clothing from a vehicle parked on Los Gatos Boulevard.

• Someone stole a mattress that was slated for a return to Amazon on Calle Marguerita.

• A man was arrested for obstructing an officer on the 100 block of S. Santa Cruz Avenue at 6:30pm.

MARCH 9

• Vehicles were burglarized on Grays Lane and Elm Street.

• A woman was arrested for battery on the 100 block of Tait Avenue at 10:21am.

MARCH 10

• A man reportedly stole a pair of shoes from a front porch on University Avenue.

MARCH 11

• A man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on the first block of N. Santa Cruz Avenue at 2:07am.

• A caller, who was getting her nails done at a business on N. Santa Cruz Avenue, said a man playing a guitar across the street was “disrupting her” at 11:52am.

• An unknown suspect slashed a vehicle’s tires on Capri Drive and Division Street.

• A man was arrested for obstructing a peace officer and having a felony warrant on the 200 block of El Cajon Way at 3:52pm.

• Two homes were reportedly burglarized on Lora Drive and Lu Ray Drive.

• A man and a woman were arrested for being in possession of a controlled substance on Los Gatos Boulevard and Gateway Drive at 8:46pm.

Information is compiled from public records released by the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.

YOUNG BUT TALENTED, WILDCATS AIM TO COALESCE

Bean leads the way batting and pitching

Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor

Having graduated nine seniors off last year’s Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division championship team, Los Gatos High softball coach Randy Frey acknowledged this year’s squad will be more reliant than ever on senior Anna Bean.

It’s easy to see why. Though the team is talented, Bean is unquestionably the Wildcats’ best pitcher and hitter. Last season, Bean hit .451 with nine home runs and 39 RBI in 26 games. In the circle, the right-hander was often dominant, with 122 strikeouts in 88 innings.

“It’s pretty safe to say we’re going to go where she takes us,” Frey said. “I think we can contend for a league championship, but the big key is Anna Bean staying healthy, and there’s nothing to think that she won’t stay healthy because she doesn’t have a history of injuries. She’s definitely the key to our season this year.”

Bean is one of the team’s three captains along with junior Alexa Musser and senior Daisy Moore. Musser, a left fielder and third baseman, hit a solid .275 last year and has returned with a more potent bat which is why she’s hitting in the No. 2 spot this season.

Moore is projected to be the center fielder once she returns from injury. The Wildcats are strong behind the dish with returning sophomore Annika Norquist, who is projected to hit in the No. 4 slot. Whoever bats in the cleanup spot will get something to hit because it’s likely opponents won’t pitch to Bean who hits third in the order.

Norquist hit .345 last season and can also play the outfield.

“Annika has a cannon for an arm, hits, and was honorable mention all league last year,” Frey said.

The team is strong up the middle with freshman shortstop Grace Tucker and sophomore second baseman Clare Torres, who hits leadoff.

“They’re as strong a shortstop and second baseman combination I’ve ever had [in 10 years here],” Frey said. “They’re very solid, sound defensively and both can hit. Just complete players. They get around the bases well, have great arms and great range.”

Junior utility Sydney Bacheller, a Monta Vista-transfer, can play the corner infield positions, catcher and the outfield. Sophomore Ria Sharma will play a valuable role as the No. 2 pitcher, particularly since the team has a couple of tournaments coming up and plays multiple games in one day.

She also plays center field. Tucker is the No. 3 pitcher and Frey might have

to go to her for a spot start or in relief because the recent storms have led to a postponement of two games and potentially more to come.

“I wasn’t really planning on pitching her a lot, but I have to have a third pitcher because you never know what’s going to happen,” Frey said. “I’ve been throwing her in practice and she looks good. She doesn’t pitch for her club team anymore, but she certainly knows how to pitch still.”

Sophomore twins Lily and Robyn Young figure to be contributors, though Robyn is still recovering from a thumb injury. Sophomore Addie Sorto is the team’s backup catcher and

plays third base and the outfield. Senior Angie McCloskey and junior Eva Fein round out the roster.

By far, the biggest challenge for the team so far has been the lack of game time. Due to its field being unplayable from the recent storms, Los Gatos entered the week having played just one game, a 7-1 loss to Branham on March 1.

Despite having a relatively young group the Wildcats started a freshman, five sophomores, two juniors and a senior in that contest Frey is optimistic for the season.

“The more this group plays together and learns to play together, the better they’re going to get,” he said.

SEEING THINGS Wildcats standout Anna Bean, in a triple exposure shot, delivers a pitch during the season-opener against Branham High on March 3. Bean is a returning NFCA third team All American.

Jonathan Natividad

LOS GATOS BASEBALL GOES DEEP

Wildcats possess depth, talent

Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor

It’s a luxury for high school baseball coaches to have a deep roster where guys are pushing each other at nearly every position, and that’s exactly what Los Gatos manager Mike Minkel has with this year’s team.

The Wildcats have a talented 29man roster and Minkel has the ability to mix and match and plug in players in different spots because of their athleticism and versatility.

“There’s never an instance where we feel we’re short in depth at any one position,” he said. “The best part of carrying a big roster is you’ve got a lot of guys fighting for positions and that competition brings out the best in players.

“The biggest asset of us having that depth is you’re not only able to plug in players even when you have injuries, but it also keeps guys hungry knowing there’s somebody potentially behind them that can take their spot in the next game. That competition brings out the best in all of us.”

Los Gatos entered this week’s play with a 3-4 record and to no one’s surprise Carter Johnstone has been fantastic. The junior shortstop who hits third in the lineup has earned the praise of Minkel for his professional approach and demeanor.

“I don’t know if I’ve met a high school player as even keel as he is,” Minkel said. “Staying even keel is one of the things we preach to players, but it’s challenging. A lot of times you get high with the highs and low with the lows. But Carter does everything you ask him to do. He’s a great kid, a good student [in the classroom], a good student of the game, and is passionate about the game.

“It’s hard to see that because he plays at that even keel with a minimal heart rate and the moment is never too big for him. Those are the qualities that the special players have. The great thing about him is his humility and work ethic.”

Senior pitcher and center fielder Jake Boyd has been terrific on the mound and defensively.

“Jake has athleticism oozing out of his ears,” Minkel said. “He gets a great read on balls, can go a long way to track them down and makes it look fairly effortless. He’s got that glide to him and that fearless approach, too, where he’s not afraid to lay out and save a run.

“He’s Mr. Reliable for us and is a fun player to coach. He’s extremely coachable, is receptive of everything we ask him to do with an open mind to change and picks things up well. He’s been rock solid on the mound for us and offensively he’s ready to get it going, too.”

Dylan Martinez is the team’s top returning relief pitcher and has a bulldog type attitude that serves him well.

“Dylan is pretty fearless in terms of not letting the moment or pressure get to him and staying within himself,” Minkel said. “He changes speeds and locations well, makes good pitches at good times and has really shown us a lot.”

AJ Minyard came up huge in a 1-0 loss to St. Francis on March 10, allowing just one run over the complete six innings against the Bay Area power. Minkel has several capable pitchers and as is the case with any team the ones who throw strikes, pound the

zone and get the job done will get his name called more often. Minkel loves being surprised and junior Ryder Reid providing a scoreless inning of relief against Serra a perennial Central Coast Section power on March 7 provided an early season highlight.

Reid is coming off Tommy John surgery and in that situation it’s never clear what a pitcher can do as they’re in the process of returning. Reid needed just six pitches to get the three outs.

“Every year you go into it and have expectations for players, and there’s always one or two guys you don’t have any expectations for at all,” Minkel said. “And all of a sudden they show up and it’s obviously a shock but a welcome shock. It was good to see him obviously able to get through that, but also as efficiently as he did pounding the strike zone and being fearless in his approach as well.”

Early in the season, coaches mix and match to see which combinations work best while also getting a feel for players who tend to perform well once it’s game time. Some of the many players expected to contribute offensively include Drew Dillehay, Brayden Smith, Johnstone, Sebastian Buller, Donovan Freed, AJ Ljepava, Sage Romero, Mason Webb, Boyd, and Santino Nanez.

However, several other players have received playing time this season and it’ll be interesting to see who rises to the occasion as the season progresses. So far, the offense is ahead of the pitching as it has put up some big numbers this season, including a couple of six-run frames and an eight-run uprising.

However, Minkel said he would like to see the lineup get off to a faster start and improve on its situational hitting including in the all important two-strike and two-out categories. Los Gatos batters also struck out 38 times in the first five games which is a number Minkel would probably like to see go down as well.

The team has dealt with some key injuries early but Minkel is optimistic for most of them to return healthy at some point this season. Minkel and his assistant coaches are excited going forward.

“It’s a great group of kids who enjoy being around each other, and us coaches enjoy being around them,” he said. “We’re working toward a common goal and we're getting there.”

GETTING IT DONE Junior shortstop Carter Johnstone has earned praise from Los Gatos High coach Mike Minkel for his even keel demeanor and professional approach to the game.

Jonathan Natividad

THE BANK THAT SANK

Bluster and hubris built a bank that damaged others along the way

“We’ll just take your house,” the new account manager threatened with all the swagger he could muster.

We’d been a Silicon Valley Bank customer through the 1990s as it grew from a community bank into a global concern with several billion in assets under management. Our homegrown media company was doing well too, acquiring and starting weeklies in and around Silicon Valley and employing 160. We’d been early to the web, which paid off when USWeb/CKS went public and rolled up all its local offices, including the franchise we operated.

Not wanting to see our credit line vanish, we cooperated and sold the web firm for less than we could have a week later.

As soon as we did, Silicon Valley Bank called the line anyway. The dotcom implosion was on the horizon, and the bank needed to shore up its loan portfolio.

BY D AN PULCRANO

Being doublecrossed by a “partner” was a tough blow. I’d watched the World Cup games at Stanford Stadium with one of their managing directors and relied on him as a trusted advisor. As we built a digital media company in the mid 1990s, we would get invited to SVB-organized events, where I bumped into the founder of Hotmail in the salad buffet line, and the CEO of the events calendar platform Zip2, Elon Musk.

ed writing personal checks to the company on payroll days, then checks back to himself as repayment, which an audit later showed added up to more than the amount he’d lent.

led us about the credit lines was promoted to one of Silicon Valley Bank’s top officers and was making a $3 million annual salary when the institution imploded on Friday.

We’d make a million, a modest exit for our investment and work, and another million if we waited a few more days until a stock price spike in the trailing valuation period aged out.

“I’ll sell next week,” I assured the relationship manager.

“Sell by Friday,” he said, “or we call your line.”

“Dan, you’re ready for a CFO,” the managing director told me when we went to lunch, and handed me a resume.

“This is your guy.”

We hired the charismatic, tough talking finance guy. He negotiated even bigger credit lines with another bank when SVB canceled our borrowing. He stopped issuing financial statements, and when red ink began to flow, he start-

LOS GATOS OFFICIALS REVIEW LETTER

ACLU, from page 1

would resolve the issue,” Agarwal said. “It is disturbing to see the lengths the Los Gatos Town Council will go to silence conversations about race, wealth, and housing construction.”

On Feb. 28, the Town’s Policy Committee—including Clark’s partner Councilmember Rob Moore—dug into options for how to fix the Code of Conduct so discipline is handed down more fairly in the future.

Karen Delaney, a former Santa Clara County civil grand juror, said she doesn’t believe the scope of the review is large enough.

She told the Policy Committee it should have listened to her when she

spoke on Oct. 18, 2018. That was four days after she received an email from Steve Leonardis, the Monte Sereno City Manager who was on Los Gatos Council at the time, accusing her, Margaret Smith and Karen Tomlinson of harassing him about a mural on his $2 million commercial property they didn’t like.

The email, sent from a government account, also threatened legal action.

“P.S.,” it concluded. “Tell Margaret I’m sorry I didn’t vote to reappoint her for the planning commission.”

Back then, Delaney had pushed for a process update that could have

The SVB-recommended CFO opened accounts at multiple banks, and one of them called me to alert me to what he believed was check kiting. We were forced to sell our most profitable division, which published six Silicon Valley community newspapers. As soon as the sale closed, the CFO issued a quarter million dollars in checks without the funds to cover them, and emailed me his resignation.

“I’m sorry to leave you in this position,” he apologized.

The young account manager who mis-

prevented the Clark debacle from getting out of hand, she said.

“I’m shocked to hear that the purpose seems to be limited to actions involving commissioners today,” she told the Policy Committee, Feb. 28. “While the recent case is different in some ways, there is one common flaw that shows why the current Code and process fails to resolve all complaints in a satisfying and final way for the community. In neither instance was a neutral outside third party brought in to investigate and mediate. In both cases, the Town Attorney said it wasn’t necessary because the facts were known. I was also told it would just cost the Town too much money.”

She followed up that evening with an email where she argued Clark received a harsher punishment than Leonardis did.

Silicon Valley’s yin yang plays out in idealism wrestling with toxic, ethics-challenged greed. This week the devil stood on the shoulder for all the world to see. I wonder how many other entrepreneurs and enterprises were damaged over the years by the irresponsible behavior and bad advice dispensed by a bank that became an international embarrassment to our valley last week.

“Just to be clear, the volunteer (female) commissioner who expressed her personal opinion to the state was publicly shamed, er, I mean censured, with at least two council members suggesting even more severe consequences,” she typed. “I repeat my comments that the code of conduct policy, process, and practice need an overhaul for both council members and commissioners because these are not the correct outcomes.”

Los Gatos officials are “carefully reviewing the ACLU’s letter,” Mayor Maria Ristow said Tuesday.

“The Town did recently receive correspondence referencing an earlier complaint about Councilmember Leonardis, but does not have records regarding the outcome of that complaint so does not have information regarding the process or outcome,” she said.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW Silicon Valley Bank’s imprudent behavior and collapse put companies that trusted it at risk.

Dan Pulcrano is the CEO of Weeklys.

LOCAL SCENE

LOS GATOS STUDENT NAMED FINALIST IN GLOBAL ESSAY COMPETITION

Los Gatos High School sophomore Leo Dai has been awarded as a finalist in the John Locke Institute Essay Competition, a prestigious essay competition open to students throughout the world. Honorees are invited to attend the award ceremony at Oxford University in England.

Dai’s essay in the Psychology category, “Is there any mental illness that isn’t ultimately physical?” concludes that all mental illnesses likely have some physical component. Through an extensive literature review and analysis, Dai shares that while some minor mental illnesses have little to no physical links, the current trend in research and preexisting knowledge means that links do in fact exist.

Dai said he hopes that his research and essay will prompt a more holistic understanding of mental and physical health, ensuring patients will receive better care as the field of psychology continues to progress.

The John Locke Institute annually holds a global essay competition. All essays are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities, including Oxford and Princeton.

HERITAGE THEATRE PRESENTS VOCTAVE

The Heritage Theatre’s 2022-2023 season continues March 24 with 11-member a cappella group Voctave.

Known for its performances of Disney and Broadway hits, Voctave has had more than 150 million social media views of their videos, and their latest album, “The Spirit of the Season, Deluxe Edition,” reached number six on the Billboard charts. Their previous album, “The Corner of Broadway & Main Street Vol. 2,” debuted at number three on the iTunes charts.

Voctave members have roots in musical theater, contemporary Christian music, barbershop, pop and choral music. Formed in 2015 by producer and arranger Jamey Ray, the voices that bring their arrangements to life represent a variety of backgrounds and musical experiences.

Hailing from Central Florida, the members of Voctave have performed across the globe and appear on numerous recordings. The group has performed with Grammy, Dove and American Music Award recipients, including Sandi Patty, Pentatonix's Kirstin Maldonado, Mark Lowry, David Phelps and Jody McBrayer.

Voctave will perform at 8pm at the Heritage Theatre, located at the Campbell Community Center at 1 W. Campbell Ave.

Individual tickets are for $63; student and five-plus group discount tickets are $45. Tickets are available at HeritageTheatre.org, by phone at 408.866.2700, or through the Box Office, open Tuesday-Friday from 10am4pm and Saturday from 10am-2pm.

LOCAL STUDENTS RECOGNIZED AT TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Tufts University recently announced the dean's list for the Fall 2022 semester.

Los Gatos students earning dean's list honors are:

• Sami Hakkarainen, Class of 2025

• Reya Kumar, Class of 2024

• Anjali Satish, Class of 2025

• Liam Strand, Class of 2024

• Michael Zhou, Class of 2026

Dean's list honors at Tufts University require a semester grade point average of 3.4 or greater.

Tufts University has campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville and Grafton, Mass., and in Talloires, France.

SIZELOVE NAMED TO DEAN'S LIST AT BIOLA UNIVERSITY

Mark Sizelove of Los Gatos was named to Biola University's Dean's List for academic excellence.

Sizelove, a Bible, Theology and Ministry major, was one of 1,700 students who were named to the dean's list in fall 2022. Biola students are placed on the dean's list to honor those with a GPA of 3.6 or higher while enrolled in 12 or more credits and whose cumulative GPA is at least 3.2.

Biola University is a Christian university in Southern California.

PRESTIGIOUS AWARD Los Gatos High School sophomore Leo Dai is a finalist in the global John Locke Institute Essay Competition.

Courtesy of Los Gatos High School

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY, MOUNTAIN CHARLIE!

Alan Feinberg, Contributor

St. Patrick’s Day offers the perfect opportunity to pay homage to one of Los Gatos’ most fascinating and colorful characters, Charles Henry McKiernan, better known as “Mountain Charlie.”

McKiernan was born in Ireland in 1825. He joined the British navy to escape the potato famine and was stationed in Australia when he heard about the discovery of gold in California. His enlistment having expired, McKiernan boarded a steamer headed for San Francisco to seek his fortune.

After achieving some success in the mines, McKiernan and a few of his former shipmates organized pack trains to transport goods to other miners. That venture only lasted until the second trip, when they were ambushed and all of their provisions and livestock were stolen.

Timber was becoming the new gold for fortune seekers, so McKiernan traveled south to the Santa Cruz Mountains. He claimed squatters rights to thousands of acres of redwoods by camping in the burned-out trunk of a giant redwood tree while building a cabin, thereby becoming the first known European settler in the mountains.

On May 8, 1854, while hunting with a friend, Charlie’s face and head were badly disfigured in an attack by a ferocious California Grizzly. It seems that he got between a thousand-pound mama bear and her cubs. His friend was able to distract the bear, but not before she grabbed Charlie by the head and took part of his skull with her. He survived after a local doctor fitted a four-inch-square metal plate made from melted silver dollars into his skull.

As luck would have it, the nurse during his long recovery happened to be a recent Irish immigrant named Barbara Kelley. They fell in love, married two years later, and expanded

Charlie’s cabin into a large homestead where they eventually raised seven children.

After surviving the nearly fatal

attack, McKiernan always wore a hat low on his head to hide the gruesome scar over his damaged left eye which he called his “bad lamp.” History

records that he enjoyed telling his tale with great enthusiasm, often frightening local children by quickly removing his hat.

In 1858, McKiernan and his neighbor Hiram Scott were awarded a contract by the Santa Cruz Turnpike Company to construct a toll road to the summit from Scott’s cabin in what’s now known as Scotts Valley. The McKiernans’ home, called Halfway House, became a popular stagecoach stop. Barbara cooked meals for their guests while Charlie helped with the horses. You can still drive along a narrow, winding, five-mile section of Mountain Charlie Road between Glenwood and the summit. You’ll pass commemorative markers at the site of Charlie’s log cabin and at the intersection of Summit Road.

The McKiernan family moved to San Jose in 1884 after the railroad diverted most of the toll road business. Charlie died there in 1892.

To set the record straight, our “Mountain Charlie” isn’t the same person as “One-Eyed Charley.” The latter was a tough, tobacco-chewing, stagecoach driver named Charley Parkhurst who lived as a man for more than 60 years. It wasn’t until after her death that she was revealed to be a woman.

While Charles Henry McKiernan is best remembered for that infamous bear fight, he ultimately became quite successful as a hunter, rancher, road builder and businessman, living by the motto, “Right Wrongs Nobody.” His nemesis, the native California Grizzly, was eventually hunted to extinction.

Content from “Discover LOST Gatos” historical walking tours by Alan Feinberg, Peggy Conaway-Bergtold and Sandy Decker. Download the free mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Contact us at discoverLOSTgatos@gmail.com with comments and suggestions for future stories.

MOUNTAIN CHARLIE Charles Henry McKiernan (1825-1892), from a portrait by painter Andrew P. Hill.

Discover LOST Gatos

For more events, visit the online calendar at losgatan.com/events-calendar

‘INTO THE WOODS’

Westmont High School will present its spring musical, “Into the Woods,” March 17-18 and 23-25 at 4805 Westmont Ave. in Campbell. The musical follows Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King's Festival; Little Red Riding Hood; Jack and his ever-growing beanstalk; and a new story of a Baker and his wife, who long to have a child. ➝ visit bit.ly/3Fal8y3.

‘THE LIGHTNING THIEF’

Los Gatos High School, 20 High School Court, will present “The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical” March 24, 25, 30, 31 and April 1. ➝ lghs.net/news/what_s_new/ spring_musical_2023.

HERITAGE THEATRE PRESENTS VOCTAVE

The Heritage Theatre’s 2022-2023 season continues March 24 at 8pm with 11-member a cappella group Voctave. Known for its performances of Disney and Broadway hits, Voctave has had more than 150 million social media views of their videos, and their latest album, “The Spirit of the Season, Deluxe Edition,” reached number six on the Billboard charts. Voctave will perform at 8pm at the Heritage Theatre, located at the Campbell Community Center at 1 W. Campbell Ave. Individual tickets are for $63; student and five-plus group discount tickets are $45. Tickets are available at HeritageTheatre.org, by phone at 408.866.2700, or through the Box Office, open Tuesday-Friday from 10am4pm and Saturday from 10am-2pm.

CAT’S HILL CLASSIC

The San Jose Bicycle Club and Mike’s Bikes present the 47th Cat’s Hill Classic on March 25 in downtown Los Gatos. The day is split into 11 individual races for male and female cyclists ranging from 9 years old and up, for all skill levels. There will also be a race for chil-

dren on all sorts of bikes at 12:15pm. Registration opens at 7:15am.

➝ teamsanjose.org/section/catshill.

SPRING WINE WALK

Tickets are now on sale for the Spring Wine Walk, held by the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce on April 22 from 1-4pm. Dozens of local wineries will set up shop in downtown Los Gatos to offer samples.

➝ bit.ly/42eXBGa.

LIVE JAZZ MUSIC

Live jazz performances at the Tasting House, 368 Village Lane, take place Fridays and Saturdays from 6-9pm, and Sundays from 11am-2pm.

ENTERTAINMENT AT GARDINO’S

Gardino’s, 51 N. Santa Cruz Ave., features entertainment Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, along with Sunday afternoons.

➝ bit.ly/3OSvPHS.

ONGOING

Los Gatos Farmers Market

The Los Gatos Certified Farmers’ Market offers seasonal fruits and vegetables from Santa Clara County yearround. More than 40 local farmers and food producers sell their wares Sundays from 9am to 1pm at Town Park Plaza on Main Street and N. Santa Cruz Avenue.

➝ cafarmersmkts.com/losgatosfarmers-market.

Campbell

Farmers Market

The Downtown Campbell Farmers Market is held Sundays, rain or shine, from 9am to 1pm.

➝ uvfm.org/campbell-sundays.

The Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos

The club meets the first three Thursdays of the month at noon at Double D's, 354 N. Santa Cruz Ave. First two Thursdays of the month feature guest speakers.

➝ lgkiwanisgives.org.

Rotary Club of Los Gatos

The Rotary Club of Los Gatos meets Tuesdays from noon to 1:30pm at Shir Hadash Synagogue, 20 Cherry Blossom Lane.

➝ losgatosrotary.org.

The Los Gatos Morning Rotary Club

The Club meets every Wednesday morning 7:30-8:30am at Los Gatos Lodge, 50 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road. Program includes featured guest speakers.

Los Gatos Lions Club

The Los Gatos Lions Club meets every Wednesday. A breakfast meeting is held at Moore Buick, 15500 Los Gatos Blvd., at 8am and a noon meeting at Los Gatos Lodge, 50 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, with a guest speaker. The club has been active since 1946.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Town Council

The Los Gatos Town Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of the month at 7pm.

➝ losgatosca.gov/16/ Town-Council.

Planning Commission

The Los Gatos Planning Commission meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 7pm.

➝ losgatosca.gov/189/ Planning-Commission.

Santa Clara County Supervisors

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meets virtually on Tuesdays at 9am.

➝ bit.ly/3oy2Zmq.

Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District

The board meets every other Tuesday at 5pm.

➝ bit.ly/3DaJRi9.

Los Gatos Union School District Board of Trustees

The board meets monthly at either 6:30pm or 4pm.

➝ bit.ly/3oywlRA.

Other Town commissions

The Town of Los Gatos has various committees that serve as advisory bodies for the Town Council.

➝ losgatosca.gov/12/BoardsCommissions-Committees.

A CAPPELLA SENSATION Voctave performs at Campbell’s Heritage Theatre on March 24.

REAL ESTATE HOME OF THE WEEK

A SLICE OF ENGLAND

This Los Gatos home’s design makes it stand out among others in the area.

Located at 530 Monterey Ave., the 2,020-square-foot home includes three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The Cotswold-influenced architecture features a thatched shingle roof, brick exterior, dormers, wrought iron fencing and a cobblestone private road.

Built in 1981, the home has a variety of updated features, including new interior paint, a new alarm system, new

interior lighting, new in-ceiling sound system, new fireplace insert, firepit in the rear yard, updated kitchen with granite counters, new sink and sparkling water filter system.

A loft that is not included in the square footage is accessible by a new spiral staircase. A balcony is also off the south bedroom.

The home is listed at $2,380,000 by Sotheby's International Realty. For information, visit bit.ly/3lcgjxf.

Sotheby's International Realty

MONTEREY AVENUE This Los Gatos home is uniquely influenced by Cotswold architecture.

Sotheby's International Realty

INSIDE The kitchen has recently been updated.