Pizza without guilt WEEKEND | P.16 JULY 16, 2010 VOLUME 18, NO. 28
INSIDE: MOVIES | PAGE 19
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Pot club operator says he will run for city council By Daniel DeBolt
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MICHELLE LE
Megan Matsumoto, 19, right, and Danielle Ryu, 18, rehearse to the song “Fukashima Ondo” during rehearsal for the Obon Festival, held this weekend at the Buddhist temple in Mountain View.
Big in Japan: Obon festival celebrates culture By Emily Hamilton
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he Mountain View Buddhist Temple is holding their 58th annual Obon Festival and Bazaar this weekend. The festivities will take place on Saturday, July 17, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on Sunday, July 18, from 12 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The annual mid-summer holiday honors those who have passed away. A central part of the celebration is the dance. Four hundred
dancers will “Dance for Joy” in the Bon Odori ritual dance in appreciation of the deceased at 7 p.m. on Sunday. In addition to the dancing, guests at the festival will find a variety of activities. There will be an array of Japanese foods to enjoy, including sushi, tempura and udon, along with American treats like shaved ice. In the temple’s cultural room, there will be an exhibit of miniature Bonsai trees, Ikebana flower arrange-
ments, Kimekomi dolls and other traditional art. There will activities for children, including origami folding, hachi maki headband stamping and Taiko drumming. There will be professional Taiko performances at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and at 4 p.m. on Sunday. There will also be performances by the Obon Jazz Quartet and the San Jose Chidori Band. For more information and a full schedule, visit www. mvbuddhisttemple.org V
Moffett airfield up for grabs? By Daniel DeBolt
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ongresswoman Anna Eshoo is concerned about the potential for increased use of the runway at Moffett Federal Airfield as NASA considers getting rid of “underutilized assets.” While the owner of the for-
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mer naval airfield, NASA Ames Research Center, is largely mum on the issue, Eshoo’s spokesperson Ben Bradford confirmed that the congresswoman has been talking to NASA about the possibility that the agency would relinquish control of the airfield. Bradford said that Eshoo opposes such a move,
which some fear would increase air traffic at Moffett Field — an issue that’s been controversial in the past. Eshoo was not available to comment on the issue further. In an e-mail, NASA Ames spokesperson Michael Mewhinney See MOFFETT, page 10
GOINGS ON 20 | MARKETPLACE 21 | REAL ESTATE 25 | VIEWPOINT 13
e may have lost a battle to sell medical marijuana in Mountain View, but Matt Lucero says he’s been inspired to run for City Council this fall as a champion for the “blue collar, lower-class residents of Mountain View.” “If they thought I was a problem from the other side of the podium, wait until they see me sitting next to them,” Lucero said of the City Council. While Lucero had yet to submit the necessary forms, he said Monday that he was “absolutely” going to run. In order to qualify as a council candidate, he plans to become a Mountain View resident by moving into an apartment on Castro Street “right down the street form City Hall so I can keep an eye on them,” he laughed. He plans to rent out his Campbell home to his daughter. “It was not my idea,” Lucero said Monday, saying his Mountain View customers pushed him to do it. “Scores, if not hundreds ask me to do this,” he said. Lucero said he plans to use the former location of his dispensary, Buddy’s Cannabis Patient Collective, as campaign headquarters. The operation moved from the Bayshore Parkway location on July 7 to Sunnyvale after a judge upheld Mountain View’s temporary ban on pot clubs. Sunnyvale has a similar ban. Lucero said his desire to run “has nothing to do with Buddy’s Cannabis in Mountain View” and that he would abstain from related discussions and votes. “I don’t need to sit on the City Council to do the Buddy’s thing.” The theme of his campaign, he said, is “throw the bums out.” “I don’t like the way that City Council treats its people,” Lucero said, noting the way the
council decided to shut down his dispensary even though not one resident opposed the operation in City Council meetings. “There is a strong dislike of the City Council by blue collar, lower class residents of Mountain View.” A Web site and position statements are in the works, but Lucero said he is still “getting up to speed” on a lot of issues. Among the complaints he’s gotten from his customers include “misuse of money, oppression and apathy” on the part of the city and City Council. Lucero, a millionaire and former corporate attorney for large tech companies, said he was not yet sure about whether to commit See LUCERO, page 8
No warm welcome for Buddy’s POT CLUB FORCED FROM MV COULD FACE SAME FATE IN NEW SUNNYVALE SPOT By Daniel DeBolt
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t appears that Sunnyvale’s city government isn’t taking too kindly to Buddy’s Cannabis Patient Collective after its reopening there. Buddy’s new location has been open for less than a week and the dispensary has already been visited by Sunnyvale police detectives who issued two citations so far to the dispensary for violating SunnySee BUDDY’S, page 9