Los Gatan 4-12-2023

COUNCIL COMMITS $25,000 TOWARD HELPING HOMELESS

Public restrooms, more opportunities to shower also part of the plan

Drew Penner, Reporter

In January, during one of the storm systems, an unhoused resident was found 15 feet up a tree, Ed Lozowicki, a charity worker with the St. Vincent de Paul St. Mary outreach program, told the Los Gatos Town Council on April 4.

“He was there for 10 hours, protecting his kittens, his pets,” he said. “He couldn’t get down.”

As he spoke on Councilmember Rob Moore’s proposal to allocate tens of thousands more dollars towards services for Los Gatos’ most vulnerable residents, a giant tree trunk still rested horizontally on the camp of another homeless person, who luckily no longer inhabited that particular site when it fell.

These realities underscore the feeling faith community representatives brought to the table as they advocated for more cash beyond the original $25,000 of about $1 million in American Rescue Act Plan pandemic-recovery money Los Gatos had left over (after the Town spent $80,000 on Thursday Promenades in 2021 and $120,000 on the street parties in 2022, and the $100,000 ➝ Council, 6

LOS GATOS TOPS HOLLISTER IN

SHOWDOWN

Both teams look solid for stretch run

Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor

When it comes to the premier public high school baseball teams in the Central Coast Section, it doesn’t get much better than Hollister and Los Gatos.

The two perennial powers faced off April 10 with the host Wildcats prevailing, 7-4. The result improved Los Gatos’ record to 13-6 while the Haybalers dropped to 12-2, their second straight loss after opening the season with a dozen wins in a row.

The Wildcats were coming off an impressive 4-1 win over St. Ignatius on April 8 and coach Mike Minkel couldn’t be more pleased after his club knocked off another quality A-league opponent in Hollister.

➝ Baseball, 11

swimmers make splash p10 : john bean’s legacy p14 : upcoming events p15 : ny times crossword puzzle p17

PRODUCING Los Gatos junior Carter Johnstone gets pumped after hitting a triple in the fourth inning of a 7-4 win over Hollister on April 10. Johnstone had three hits and was hit by a pitch.

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VOL.2 NO.32

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WOMEN GATHER TO PREPARE LAYETTE CARE PACKAGES FOR NEWBORN BABIES

Staff Report

In the lead-up to Easter, local women gathered to package diapers, bibs and baby food for newborns, as part of the 20th Annual Lenten Layette event at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Los Gatos, March 30.

Since 2003, St. Mary’s has celebrated new life by preparing layettes for newborn babies during the Easter season.

A layette is a child’s first set of clothing and accessories.

The purpose of the collection is to

provide items for newborn babies who otherwise would leave the hospital without basic necessities such as blankets, clothing and diapers.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Relief Society women’s organization partnered with St. Mary’s to donate and collect baby supplies.

The volunteers counted more than 5,000 diapers, formula, blankets, bottles, onesies, hats, bibs, comfort items and gift cards.

This year under new leadership, Dianna McKay invited the St. Mary’s school children to participate in donating items, making gift cards and helping fill over 70 gift bags.

The baby layettes are shared with several partner organizations, including Sacred Heart, Birthright, Real Options, Santa Maria Urban Ministries and Hispanic Ministries in Monterey who are helping those displaced by recent floods from the Pajaro levee break.

After gathering items, repackaging diapers, and removing tags, participants met at St. Mary’s to assemble layettes gift bags for delivery.

The event concluded with a pot luck lunch and fellowship.

SUPERVISORS MAKE NARCAN AVAILABLE AT ALL COUNTY LIBRARIES

Eli Walsh, Bay City News

Santa Clara County will begin providing the opioid overdose-reversing medicine naloxone in all county library branches in an effort to make the treatment more widely available.

The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously April 4 to make naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, available at all county libraries and to train library staff on how to administer Narcan to someone who has over-

dosed on an opioid such as fentanyl.

Santa Clara County Librarian Jennifer Weeks said the county is also exploring partnerships with cities like San Jose and Mountain View that have their own library systems.

Narcan has been approved as a prescription drug since 2015 and is the standard treatment to reverse an opioid overdose by reversing or blocking an opioid's effects on the brain.

“By increasing access to these kits, we can help prevent opioid-related deaths

and ensure that our community has the resources it needs to stay safe and healthy,” said Supervisor Otto Lee, who called for making Narcan available at local libraries.

Other library systems across the country have made Narcan kits freely available to members of the public, including the San Francisco Public Library and the library systems in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and Denver.

Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

TRADITION Women gathered to package diapers, bibs and baby food for newborns, as part of the 20th Annual Lenten Layette event at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Los Gatos.

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TOWN COUNCIL DEBATES PLAN

Council, from page 1

more it gave public access broadcaster KCAT just weeks earlier—among other priorities).

Lozowicki made the point that these aren’t, for the most part, drifters of no fixed address coming to Los Gatos for a hand-out, but often are people who grew up in Los Gatos and attended Los Gatos High School.

“They are not transients,” he said. “Many of them have mental health issues or are physically disabled. So, they really rely on the charity of others.”

The plan put forward by Moore called for 24/7 public restrooms, increasing the availability of showers and a voucher program as a way to provide shelter for people without a roof over their heads during natural disasters or other emergency situations—paid for with an additional $75,000 contribution.

Just weeks earlier, after extensive deliberations, Los Gatos had chosen to make combatting homelessness one of its strategic priorities.

Councilmember Matthew Hudes asked the panel about its prior experience with handing out vouchers for temporary housing.

The question made Lozowicki think of the person they’d helped get a hotel room, in January, after he was at-

tacked in his tent in the middle of the night while sleeping.

“He was black and blue all over,” he said. “His eye was shut.”

Although, he said, in that case, they negotiated a cheaper rate with the hospitality firm and paid for it—along with three meals a day—directly, not through a voucher system.

When Vice Mayor Mary Badame learned that only eight to 12 residents— of the 16-18 or so total resident homeless in Los Gatos—seem to use the current shower program, it made her wonder if half of them were choosing to reject the offer of hygiene services.

Marna Taylor, who operates the Los Gatos United Methodist Church’s Shower Ministry, said some of the older residents have access to local gyms through Medicare and that others may be able to shower in others’ homes sometimes.

“There are very few that don’t shower at all in any capacity,” she said.

Badame asked about how the public toilets would stay clean.

Lozowicki said a contractor could be hired to clean them out every 2-3 weeks.

Mayor Maria Ristow wondered whether service providers might be prevented from putting homeless individuals up in hotels if the estab-

lishments already had no vacancy or if their customers complained about having to stay alongside the unhoused.

The faith community reps said it would be unlikely all 16-18 homeless people would need shelter during a disaster, as many have emergency-only places they can go and said they would negotiate a discounted room rate with multiple hotels.

Speaking during public comment, Jeffrey Suzuki, of the Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition, said spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a TV station while having only put $25,000 into homeless services sends a powerful message about the community’s priorities.

Chris Wiley, a Los Gatos resident, had sent an email to Council the prior evening expressing her fear that if the community spends $100,000 of ARPA money on homeless services it might not be well spent.

“My suggestion is that before we decide to contribute taxpayer’s money to the homeless problem, we should find out first what the County is doing for us,” she said, pointing to the possibility that Councilmember Moore could hold meetings with various agencies to see what support they could offer. “Possibly, after Mr. Moore (has) exhausted all these sources, he may come back and talk with the Town of how they can add to the mix.”

She noted that a private fundraising drive for the family of a woman killed by a hit-and-run driver in Los Gatos raised more than $100,000 quite quickly.

RJ Fisher Middle School student Dexter Torres wrote to the mayor, as part of an English project, about what to do to combat homelessness in town.

“I propose we make an area with small houses that people could live in for free, but as a requirement you would have to get a job,” Torres pitched. “We can also set up cameras and other systems to make sure the housing area is safe.”

Moore, who previously helped operate a shelter program at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, said the voucher system makes more sense than a congregate shelter because those can be dangerous spaces, particularly for women.

Badame said $100,000 is far beyond what Los Gatos can afford to contribute towards the homelessness crisis.

“We can’t fix this as a Town. We certainly care,” she said. “But this is a regional—if not State—issue that’s going to take billions of dollars to fix.”

Moore said he believes the vouchers should be paid directly from nonprofit

groups to hotels and noted they could be used not just during winter storms but also during summer fires.

Ristow said getting public restrooms will not only help the unhoused but also tourists and business owners, who currently bear the burden of the lack of such facilities downtown.

Councilmember Rob Rennie was originally skeptical about the voucher idea, thinking it could deplete the money the Town has to spend on homelessness quite quickly.

But in the end he came up with a compromise motion between Badame’s refusal to support any additional money to help homeless residents to Moore’s six-figure proposed total amount.

He offered that Los Gatos could double the original figure to $50,000, which would allow $30,000 for the restroom and shower program, leaving $20,000 for vouchers.

Moore pushed back on this, calculating that if you assume 10 people will need vouchers over the course of the year, that means each could only be housed for about a week.

He compared that to the more than $10,000 the Town spent per participant in the KCAT program, though he said he supports that endeavor, too.

But Rennie wasn’t swayed by this line of argument.

Councilmember Hudes said he agreed that the Town should spend more than the original $25,000 on homelessness, but said he had concerns about nonprofits being deputized to run an untested voucher program.

When Rennie’s motion went to the floor for a vote it was worded in such a way that the money for homeless services would be allocated right away, but that staff would have to come back with a more fleshed-out plan for it to get spent.

The motion passed 4-1, with Badame in opposition.

Jo Greiner, of St. Luke’s Pantry program, cheered the decision, even if it wasn’t as much as they’d originally hoped for.

“I’m excited about it,” she said of the $25,000 that had been added to the pot, minutes earlier. “I think we’ve really made progress here.”

And she said she’s glad Council didn’t go in the direction of finding ways to ship homeless people out to other shelters around the County in a disaster, which had come up as an option.

“That’s exactly what our unhoused community doesn’t want,” she said. “They want to be here. This is their community.”

CONVERSATION Marna Taylor of Los Gatos United Methodist Church speaks April 4 as part of a panel of faith-based community groups.

Drew Penner/Los Gatan

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GUEST VIEW COURT RULING PROVIDES A CAUTIONARY TALE TO OUR TOWN

Jeffrey P. Blum , Contributor

I am an attorney, but I am not a First Amendment free speech attorney. However, as the saying goes, I know enough to be dangerous. Moreover, I am usually pretty good at issue spotting, even in areas outside of my area of legal expertise. In the recent Massachusetts Supreme Court First Amendment free speech case I read about, I see potential danger to our town. Massachusetts is one of the most liberal states in the country, so for its supreme court to rule as it did in this free speech case is significant. It does not bode well for the constitutionality of our town’s civility policy as it now stands.

First, the back story. Last year, our town council implemented a new policy to control decorum at its meetings, following an extremely disruptive meeting that devolved into near chaos. This policy, which was also implemented statewide as SB 1100, defines a meeting disruption as “engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting.” That includes noncompliance with local regulations or “engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force.” The law also allows the leader of the public meeting, such as the mayor or chairperson, to remove a disruptive participant after issuing a warning. That is not the sum total of the town’s civility policy, however.

Currently, at the commencement of town council, board and commission meetings in Los Gatos, a recorded message is given to the public, stating among other things, that “Anti-social behavior, slander, hatred and bigotry statements are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form at town council meetings.” It also indicates that statements against nonpublic officials “shall not contain slanderous statements, hatred and bigotry.” Herein lies the potential problem, as illustrated by the court case in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the public has a right to be rude at public meetings in striking down the town of Southborough’s “civility code” for public comment at meetings. Going back hundreds of years to the founding days of our country as part of its analysis, the court indicated that in drafting the state’s constitution, John and Samuel Adams intended to allow colonists to redress the wrongs done to them. They aimed to allow colonists the freedom to rail against King George III in a rude and profane manner.

The Massachusetts case arose after a resident at a Southborough Select Board Meeting accused the town of breaking the state’s open meeting law. When a board member cut her off and accused her of “slander,” the resident told the board member that he needed to, ”stop being a Hitler.” She added the statement that “You are a Hitler. I can say what I want.” The board member replied by calling the resident “disgusting” and by telling her she would be escorted out of the meeting if she did not leave.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court indicated that the resident’s reference to Hitler was “certainly rude and insulting” but was protected speech nonetheless. The court added that the town’s insistence on civility “appears to cross the line into viewpoint discrimination: allowing lavish praise but disallowing harsh criticism of government officials.” The court added that civility “…cannot be required.” An attorney for the town indicated that the court’s ruling “effectively warns local officials against enforcing even modest rules of order and decorum at public meetings.”

The Massachusetts Supreme Court case is by no means binding on a California Court. However, in addressing a unique or difficult issue, it is not uncommon for our courts to look outside of California to see how other reputable courts in other states or even in other countries, are handling the issue. This suggests that before it is too late, before we see a case arising out of our town ending up in court at considerable expense, the town should perhaps revisit its civility policy. To the extent it attempts to restrict the public’s free speech right to make obnoxious, insulting, bigoted, hateful and provocative comments at public meetings, it may be constitutionally suspect.

POLICE BLOTTER

APRIL 2

• A woman was arrested for inflicting injury on a cohabitant on the 200 block of Garden Hill Drive at 1:48am.

• A man was arrested for being in possession of a stolen vehicle and obstructing an officer on the first block of Los Gatos-Saratoga Road at 10:15pm.

APRIL 3

• A man was arrested for injuring an elder on the 900 block of Blossom Hill Road at 6:30pm.

APRIL 4

• A man was arrested for stalking on the 15900 block of Los Gatos Boulevard at 12:25pm.

APRIL 5

• An unknown suspect stole 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on Los Gatos Boulevard.

• A man was reported as suspicious because he was “pacing around his vehicle, opening/closing the trunk” on Los Gatos Boulevard at 4:22pm.

• A woman with a child was reportedly going door-to-door on Stony Brook Road and Cardinal Lane.

• A man was “attacking leaves” with a machete on Los Gatos-Saratoga Road and Highway 17 at 7:25pm.

APRIL 6

• A man was climbing fences on Massol Avenue at 2:10am.

• A man was arrested for disorderly conduct on the 100 block of Massol Avenue at 2:40am.

• A vehicle was reported stolen on W. Parr Avenue.

• A man and a woman were reported for “setting up camp” on Los Gatos Boulevard.

• A vehicle was vandalized on Johnson Avenue.

• A patient was reportedly refusing to leave the hospital on Pollard Road at 7:10pm.

APRIL 7

• A vehicle was reported stolen on Forrest Avenue.

• A man stole a statue from a porch on Placer Oaks Court.

• A man was arrested for disorderly conduct on N. Santa Cruz and Bean avenues at 7:55pm.

APRIL 8

• A group of juveniles were reportedly “climbing up on the freezers” at a store on N. Santa Cruz Avenue.

• A man was arrested after he was looking inside homes with a flashlight on Loma Alta Avenue at 4:13am.

• Someone stole items from an unlocked vehicle on San Benito Avenue.

• An unknown suspect attempted to steal a vehicle’s catalytic converter on Calle Marguerita.

• A vehicle was reported stolen on Pollard Road.

Information is compiled from public records released by the Los GatosMonte Sereno Police Department.

Jeffrey P. Blum is a family law mediator who lives in Los Gatos.

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LGHS SWIMMING A SPLASH HIT

Boys, girls teams

nailing CCS times

Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor

Entering the month of April, 11 members from the Los Gatos High boys and girls swimming teams had earned Central Coast Section individual qualifying times.

That number is sure to go up by the time of the section championships, and from there a select few have a shot of making the CIF State Championships in May. The Wildcats returned five swimmers who participated in last year’s state meet, including sophomore Ava Taylor, juniors Ewan Lonergan and Karly Frangieh, and seniors

Lily van Putten and Katy Hawk.

The team has also been bolstered by

the addition of key freshmen in Mathijs Dirven on the boys side and Kiana Koechlin on the girls team. Koechlin has qualified for five individual CCS events, tied for the second best mark on the team along with Hawk and Taylor.

Frangieh has hit a team-best six CCS cutoff times: in the 200-yard freestyle, the 200 individual medley (IM), 50 free, 100 butterfly, 100 free and 100 backstroke. The exhaustive list is a testament to Frangieh’s diverse skill set and talent.

A year ago, Frangieh had a pair of seventh-place finishes at CCS in the 100 and 200 free, nailing State Consideration qualifying times. Frangieh and Hawk were also on the girls 200and 400-yard free relay teams that advanced to State, Van Putten on the 200 and Taylor the 400.

Last year, the 200 relay team took fifth in the CCS Finals in 1 minute, 37.11 seconds, earning them a No. 16 seed for State. Frangieh, who enjoyed a standout water polo season last fall and ranked among the section’s goal-scoring leaders, hit a State Consideration Qualification time in the 200 free early in the season.

That means even if she doesn’t finish in the top two in the CCS Championships only the top two from each event earn automatic berths to State she’ll most likely get a spot based on time.

“Karly certainly has the potential to make State again,” Wildcats coach Jim Deming said. “Kiana might have the potential to get there as well. She is very versatile so it’s kind of up to her what she wants to swim [at CCS]. She's very talented.”

The same goes for Taylor, who has nailed CCS qualifying times in five individual events, including the 500 free, where she finished 13th in last year’s section finals.

“Ava is in the same situation with Karly and Kiana she’ll have her choice of which events she wants to swim in CCS,” Deming said.

Hawk also has CCS qualifying times in five events the 50, 100 and 200 free along with the 100 fly and 200 IM and Joshua Naim three CCS cuts. In addition to the swimmers already mentioned, Mathew Cheang, Karissa Elliott, Tyler Newton and Connor Sullivan have all hit CCS qualifying times. All six relay teams three each from the boys and girls teams have hit section cutoff times, established in the very first meet of the season.

Deming said there’s a good possibility the girls 200 and 400 free relay teams will break the school record by season’s end. That’s because with standouts including Frangieh, Koechlin, Hawk, Taylor, van Putten and Elliott, Los Gatos has a diverse pool of talent prepared to produce fast times.

Junior divers Maddy Wong and Ava Lazovsky advanced to the CCS Championships in 2022 and are on track to do it again this season, Deming said.

Lonergan swam a 56.25 in the 100 breaststroke to take third place in last year’s CCS Championships, along with a ninth-place finish in the 200 IM.

Lonergan also swam the second fastest leg for his stroke in the 200 medley relay last year with Naim, Newton and Santiago Jackson. Lonergan dealt with injuries early in the season but Deming expects him to come on strong in the closing stretch of the season.

“Ewan is naturally gifted and swims year-round for Quicksilver,” Deming said. “He’s on their national team and is quite fast.”

Deming has been pleased with the times the Los Gatos swimmers have posted and expects them to peak once again toward the postseason.

“We aim at the end of the year for leagues,” he said. “It’s not so much about winning duel meets, but it’s making progress toward our season-end goals and the teams seem to be doing really well toward their objectives for the end of year.”

VERSATILE Wildcats junior Karly Frangieh has followed up an outstanding sophomore year with an equally impressive junior season. She has nailed CCS qualifying times in six different individual events.

Kim Hawk

WILDCATS SIT ATOP DIVISION

Baseball, from page 1

“We play unconditional baseball, we play for each other, and that's what you saw today,” he said. “A lot of unselfish play, a big-time team win and I couldn’t be happier with how our guys played.”

Carter Johnstone, one of the leading hitters in the section, showed why, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances, with two singles, a triple and a hit by pitch. The Wildcats did most of their damage in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring five runs.

Johnstone had an RBI triple, Santino Nanez a run-scoring double and Leo Manfredi a run-scoring single in the frame, which saw Donovan Freed lead off with a double. Although the Balers were credited with just one

error, coach Billy Aviles said there were several balls that were not fielded cleanly and could’ve been recorded as errors, plays they normally make.

“Los Gatos is a quality club and you can’t make mistakes against a quality club and expect to win,” he said. “We didn’t take care of the baseball early and it came back to bite us. We had two innings and gave up crooked numbers and against good teams you can’t do that. You can’t give good teams extra outs, it’s not going to work.”

The Balers’ Breyon Chavez went 2-for-3 and had two stolen bases, and Gavin Rodriguez also finished 2-for-3.

Hollister scored single runs in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings, with Trent Roach, Dominic Esparza and Rodriguez each driving in one run.

Rodriguez did a nice job of throwing out a would-be base stealer in the sixth, catching a low pitch before gunning the ball to second for the out. Roach was robbed of an extra-base hit when left fielder AJ Ljepava tracked down a line shot to left-center in the third.

Roach has been dominant most of the season but against Los Gatos allowed eight hits and five earned runs in 4 ⅔ innings. AJ Minyard was the Wildcats’ sixth and final pitcher, striking out the side in the seventh to close things out in dominating fashion.

The Wildcats’ pitcher by committee was by design and a testament to their tremendous depth on the bump. This was their only game of the week as the school is on spring break, and they don’t play again until a pivotal twogame set with Wilcox April 19 and 21.

“Trying to see what we’ve got and obviously getting guys some time

knowing we don’t really have anything for the rest of the week,” Minkel said. “There’s no sense of holding anything back and throwing everything we’ve got for a one-game week.”

Massimo Richiuso was terrific against St. Ignatius, allowing just one run and two hits over five innings.

“Massimo’s been a guy we just kind of got back recently the last couple of weeks, and we’re trying to ease him back into it,” Minkel said. “But he’s about as gritty as they come.”

Los Gatos sits atop the ultra-competitive SCVAL De Anza Division with a 6-0 mark, having won each game by four runs or more.

“We’re playing really well right now,” Minkel said. “Unfortunately, spring break comes at a very inopportune time when we’re really starting to hit our stride a little bit. We’re still not exactly where we need to be, but we’re getting there.”

Meanwhile, Aviles said he wasn’t worried about the state of his club after losing two straight, the first a 13-5 defeat to Carmel on April 6.

“No need for concern, we just have to bounce back and get to battling,” he said. “It’s baseball, pitching and defense wins, and the last couple of games we haven’t pitched and played defense exceptionally well. And that was the key early [to our success]. Just a small hiccup halfway through the season. Better it happens now than coming down the stretch. We’ll get back to work tomorrow and try to correct some of those things. We’ll bounce back.”

With frontline starters in Roach and Wyatt Barton and a quality starter-reliever in Brandon Flores, Hollister figures to be in good shape the rest of the way. It is 9-1 in PCAL Gabilan Division and doesn’t have another league game until April 18 vs. Soledad. Los Gatos has proven it can compete with the top teams from the West Catholic Athletic League, which is no small feat.

Even though the Wildcats are just 1-3 against WCAL teams this season, all three of those defeats to St. Francis, Serra and Mitty came by one run.

A De Anza Division championship would put them in the Division I field with the very best teams in the CCS.

The same goes with Hollister. As probable winners of their respective A leagues, Hollister and Los Gatos could see each other again down the line in the Division I playoffs where it would be slotted with the top WCAL schools.

ROUNDING THIRD Donovan Freed comes around to score during the Wildcats’ 7-4 non-league win over Hollister on April 10. Freed had a double and scored twice in the victory.

Jonathan Natividad

LOCAL SCENE

APRIL IS DISTRACTED DRIVING AWARENESS MONTH

Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Sheriff Robert Jonsen announced April 5 the County’s efforts to increase awareness about distracted driving with stepped up education and enforcement. April is “Distracted Driving Awareness Month,” both nationally and here in Santa Clara County.

“Distracted driving is anything that takes your eyes, your hands, or your mind away from the task of driving,” Jonsen said. “Mobile devices remain the biggest distraction for drivers— whether it’s talking, texting, emailing, pictures, Facetiming or using an app.”

In 2006, California passed a law requiring that cell phones be used “hands-free” while drivers are behind the wheel. The law was authored by Simitian, who was then a member of the California State Senate. The State’s new “hands-free” law then took effect on July 1, 2008. The following year, traffic fatalities dropped 20 percent, and there were 700 fewer deaths on California roads and highways.

In 2008, Simitian introduced a follow-up bill to prohibit texting while driving which became law and took effect in 2009.

“My ‘hands-free’ cell phone bill might seem like simple common sense these days, but it was a hard sell at the time,” Simitian said. “It took me six efforts over a half-dozen years before it finally passed in 2006, with a razor thin margin.”

While progress has been made, the issue of distracted driving remains significant. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s most recent report found that despite the laws in place distracted driving is still a concern; in 2021 there was a 12% increase in fatalities where at least one driver was distracted, which resulted in 3,522 deaths nationwide. In Santa Clara County alone in 2021, there were more than 200 car crashes that involved distracted driving and 13 people were seriously injured or killed.

“It’s clear that most California drivers ‘get it.’ They understand just how dangerous distracted driving is, and most are doing their part to make

our roads safer,” Simitian said. “But we also know that there are still too many drivers texting and talking while holding their phones.”

Current California laws prohibit drivers from using a cell phone or mobile device while holding it in their hand, even when stopped at a red light. The device can only be used in a hands-free manner, such as speaker phone or voice commands, but never while holding it. Any driver under the age of 18 is prohibited from using a cell phone while driving (except emergency calls), even hands-free.

“Distracted driving not only impacts other drivers, but it affects passengers, pedestrians and cyclists as well,” said Dr. Lubna Husain, Emergency Department Medical Director at O’Connor Hospital. “Every day we see the results of someone choosing to drive distracted, from minor shake ups to more severe injuries. Paying attention and driving safely protects not only yourself but also your loved ones and neighbors.”

Law enforcement agencies have the authority to enforce “hands-free” laws. This month, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office will provide increased enforcement for motorists using a handheld mobile device. Vehicle enforcement stops will include an educational reminder about the law,

and repeat or severe offenders will be issued a citation.

Jonsen reminds drivers to “put your phone down and just drive.”

Visit leavethephonealone.info to learn more about distracted driving.

PROGRAMS FOCUS ON PHISHING SCAMS

April is Financial Literacy Month, a time to raise awareness about the importance of financial education and maintaining smart money management habits. The Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD) will be hosting two in-person programs dedicated to providing people with the tools to protect themselves against sophisticated fraudsters and scams.

According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, in 2021 there were more than 847,000 complaints of suspected internet crime with losses exceeding $6.9 billion. The top three cybercrimes were phishing, non-payment/non-delivery schemes, and personal data breaches. Phishing is a tactic criminals use to get victims to reveal personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers.

“Cybercrimes come with a high financial toll that can wipe out a person’s life savings, and we want to help

residents avoid falling victim,” County Librarian Jennifer Weeks said. “Our upcoming programs will introduce you to topics such as ‘phishing’ and you’ll learn what to look out for as well as ways to keep your online information safe.”

On Wednesday, April 19 at 11am, the Saratoga Library will host the first program featuring Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin West. West serves as a prosecutor to REACT—Santa Clara County’s high-tech investigative force who has disrupted fraudulent call centers abroad and is actively working to combat romance investment scammers. West will present different types of scams, and how you can protect yourself and your loved ones from falling victim.

The second program is on Saturday, April 29 at 3pm at Cupertino Library. Riana Pfefferkorn, a Research Scholar at the Stanford Internet Observatory, will talk about common scams and how to avoid them.

At the end of both events, there will be a Q&A moderated by County Supervisor Joe Simitian, a member of the Library District’s governing board and an advocate for privacy protection and data security.

For information and to register, visit bit.ly/3MyqbN0 (Saratoga Library) and bit.ly/40RFiFL (Cupertino).

PUT THE PHONE DOWN Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Sheriff Robert Jonsen were joined by county and Los Gatos officials in announcing April as Distracted Driving Month on April 5.

Moms, Dads, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncles, Aunts, Brothers & Sisters

Is Someone You Love Graduating In 2023?

Tell your 2023 grad just how proud you are of their accomplishment with a keepsake graduation ad & photo. They will treasure this for a lifetime.

We will run a 1/8 page color ad that includes their graduation photo in Los Gatan’s June 7 Graduation edition.

Cost is $89

Just email us the following information at Serenity@weeklys.com:

1. Graduate’s name & school graduating from

2. Photo (graduation photo or cute family photo of the graduate)

3. Text/Salutation (up to 22 max number of words)

4. Don’t forget to include the names of those extending their good wishes.

5. Please include your name, address & phone number so Serenity Polizzi can call you to confirm how you want the ad to look.

Once we recieve your email Serenity will then contact you to go over the information to refine it for you.

If you have any questions on this, please don’t hesitate to email us your contact phone number at Serenity@weeklys.com, as well.

DISCOVER LOST GATOS

JOHN BEAN AND THE VALLEY OF HEART'S DELIGHT

Alan Feinberg, Contributor Spring has finally arrived! As beautiful as it is today, imagine what spring was like when thousands of acres of fruit and nut trees were in full bloom in the “Valley of Heart's Delight.” Did you know that many of those orchards might not have survived without the efforts of a Los Gatos entrepreneur named John Bean? The product that he invented in a shed behind his house saved an incalculable number of trees. The startup company that he launched eventually went public and now employs thousands of people worldwide. His remarkable tale is just like a contemporary Silicon Valley success story except that it began more than 100 years ago.

Bean was born in Maine in 1821. As a young man living in Michigan, he invented the Buckeye Force Pump, the world’s first deep-well water pump. He sold the patent and the manufacturing rights for $25,000 and royalties of 25 cents per pump, which was a significant sum in those days.

When diagnosed with tuberculosis at age 62, Bean decided to retire here, believing like many did back then that our “salubrious” climate might improve his health. He purchased 10 acres of land which included a large almond orchard, and settled comfortably into his Los Gatos home.

But fate soon intervened when Bean found his trees infested with highly destructive scale insects. A typical squirt gun insecticide sprayer was weak and ineffective, so he used his self-taught engineering skills and his pump design experience to create a high pressure pneumatic device which could spray into every crevice of a tree, continuously, from top to bottom.

Bean showed his invention at the California State Fair in 1883. It was such a sensation that he decided to start a small company to manufacture and market his pump. As demand grew, he asked his son-in-law David

Crummey to take charge of the new Bean Spray Pump Company so that he could focus on design and engineering.

In 1901, Bean created the Magic Pump, a large mechanical sprayer which featured higher air pressure and adjustable nozzles. His pumps helped to save not only his almond trees but also many of the orchards in Santa Clara Valley. The pumps were exhibited at the 1915 Panama-Pacific World Exhibition and sold to orchardists from as far away as South Africa and New Zealand.

John Bean passed away at age 88 while working on a new model of his famous sprayer. In 1928, shares in the newly renamed John Bean Manufacturing Company were first offered on the San Francisco stock exchange. After two major acquisitions, his little company had grown into the world’s largest manufacturer of agricultural and canning machinery and was renamed the Food Machinery Corporation. Today, FMC is a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate with more than 6,400 employees. The Bean family remained involved until 1971 when co-founder David Crummey’s 93-year-old son John retired as Honorary Chairman of the Board.

John Bean’s orchard was eventually subdivided into residential lots and is now part of the Almond Grove historic district. Sadly, the large Victorian home which he built for himself and his extended family on the corner of what is now Bean Avenue and N. Santa Cruz was bulldozed in 1938 to make way for a retail building and parking lot, and John Bean’s remarkable success story has largely been forgotten.

Content and photos from “Discover LOST Gatos” historical walking tours by Alan Feinberg, Peggy ConawayBergtold and Sandy Decker. Download the free mobile app from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Contact us at discoverLOSTgatos@gmail.com.

ORCHARD

INVENTOR

John Bean (18211909) and his original spray pump, circa 1883.

TOOL Top-ofthe-line Bean Triplex Sprayer, pictured in 1915.

John Bean’s remarkable tale is just like a contemporary Silicon Valley success story except that it began more than 100 years ago.

Photos by Discover LOST Gatos

CALENDAR

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

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.

SPRING INTO GREEN

The Town of Los Gatos’ annual Spring Into Green event will be held April 23 from 10am to 1pm in Town Plaza Park. Celebrate sustainability, Keep Los Gatos Beautiful Month and Earth Day. The festivities include environmentally focused exhibitor booths, a tree planting ceremony, the weekly Los Gatos Farmers Market, family-friendly activities, live music and more ➝ LosGatosCA.gov/SpringIntoGreen.

GREAT RACE

The Rotary Club of Los Gatos’ 45th annual Great Race returns April 29 at Vasona Park. The event includes a one-mile kids run and a four-mile run. Register online by April 28 at lggreatrace.com. For information, call 408.472.9026 or email lggreatracedirector@gmail.com.

LOS GATOS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

The Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame will hold its 18th Induction Ceremony on May 6 at La Rinconada Country Club. This year’s inductees are: Jack Anti (Class of 1931), Dick Whiteman (1951), Bob McArthur (1964), Jeff Robinson (1975), Karen Freedman Thompson (1978), A.J. Matthews (1982), Samantha Copenhaver Van Devender (1983), Virginia Fritsch (2003) and Kiko Alonso (2008). The reception begins at 5pm, followed by the dinner at 6:45pm and ceremony at 8pm.

➝ tinyurl.com/2023lghshalloffame.

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/PlanningCommission.

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.

DOWNTOWN VIBE Attendees of the Wine Walk in 2022 stroll down N. Santa Cruz Avenue visiting shops with wine glasses in hand.

Drew Penner/Los Gatan file

Women In Business

Is your business your passion?

Tell your story in our inaugural Women in Business profiles or promote the women on your staff. Readers are curious about the people behind the scenes of local businesses and this format celebrates your success. Share your background, skills and passion  with potential customers.

PUBLICATION DATE: Wednesday, May 3

SPACE RESERVATION DEADLINE: Friday, April 14

REAL ESTATE HOME OF THE WEEK

MODERN LIVING

This Los Gatos home was recently remodeled.

Located at 14830 Blossom Hill Road, the 3,992-square-foot home includes five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The kitchen features an expansive island, Miele appliances, custom glass European cabinetry and quartzite counters.

The primary suite is equipped with a walk-in closet that has LED lighting and glass-enclosed jewelry trays,

along with a bathroom and steam shower.

The yard includes a pool and spa with waterfall, pergola, stone fireplace and outdoor kitchen. The home also has an owned Tesla solar panel system with battery backup.

The home, built in 2008, is listed at $5.3 million by Golden Gate Sotheby’s International Realty. For information, visit beyondre.marketing/14830-Blossom-Hill-Road.

BLOSSOM HILL ROAD This Los Gatos home was recently remodeled.

INSIDE The kitchen is equipped with