SUPPORTERS OF ATHLETIC HOF INDUCTEES CREDITED FOR GIVING BOOSTS
Greta Wagner and Brian Brogan kept on ascending
Emanuel Lee, Sports Editor If there is a common thread among those who have been inducted into the Los Gatos High School Athletic Hall of Fame, it’s this: they all needed a support system of teammates, coaches and family members to help them ascend to newfound heights.
For Greta Wagner (class of 2014), soaring was literally a part of her daily training. Wagner is one of eight inductees in the 2026 LGHS Athletic HOF class, which includes Dan Dolen (class of 1970), Bill Berk (1990), Ben Winkelman (2000), Brian Brogan (2005), Danny Sullivan (2006), Sarah Safir Smith (2008), and Cady Chessin (2013).
The Induction Ceremony will take place on May 2 at La Rinconada Country Club. Tickets can be purchased at GoFan.co. Wagner won the 2014 girls pole vault event in the CIF State Track and Field Championships, a year after finishing in a tie for second.
Her winning mark in the 2014 Championships of 13 feet, ¼ inch was just shy of her alltime personal-best of 13-2, still a school record and one of the top 20 marks in state history.
“In that moment, you see where all your hard work paid off,” Wagner said. “I ended up missing high school graduation
Grandfather’s PTSD inspires Evan Johnson to launch charity
Faizi Samadani, Contributor Growing up in Los Gatos from the age of three, Evan Johnson witnessed his grandfather’s battle with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ivan Sitalov, who is still alive now, served as a soviet major in the Soviet-Afghan War from 19791982. Sitalov was left with the condition after surviving three plane crashes.
When Johnson built his grandfather an aquarium, he realized that this connection to nature—and happier times—dramatically helped his grandfather's PTSD and overall mental health. This inspired Johnson to create his nonprofit Ivan the Angelfish in honor of his grandfather.
Sitalov moved in with Johnson’s family to help take care of his newborn sister, when Johnson was just three.
THE BILLLISTER TEAM
THE BILL LISTER TEAM
THE BILLLISTER TEAM
Call Me To Discuss Your Next Move in
PENDING
319 ADELINE AVE., SAN JOSE
1,495,000
4 BEDS | 3.5 BATHS | +- 2148 Sq. Ft.
Beautifully upgraded former model home with all the bells and whistles. Centrally located to parks and playgrounds. The community’s amenities include parks, playground, walking trails, and stairs for exercise.
SOLD
21 EUCLID AVE., LOS GATOS SOLD WITH MULTIPLE OFFERS! LISTED FOR $3,850,000 SOLD FOR $4,300,000
4 BEDS | 2.5 BATHS | 2 CAR GARAGE
+-2,670 Sq. Ft. | +- 16,830 Sq. Ft. Lot
Rebuilt and expanded downtown Los Gatos Craftsman circa 2012. Huge lot!
Beautifully updated one story “Leep” built home, walking distance to shopping and park.
SOLD
4845 KINGWOOD WAY, SAN JOSE SOLD WITH MULTIPLE OFFERS! LISTED FOR $2,495,000 SOLD FOR $2,672,000
4 BEDS | 2 BATHS | 2 CAR GARAGE + ADU | +-1,791 Sq. Ft.
Updated and expanded ranch style home centrally located on a tree lined street with a detached 120 square foot ADU.
SOLD
12272 WINDSOR CT., LOS ALTOS HILLS
$4,750,000
5 BEDS | 3 BATHS | 2 CAR GARAGE +- 2,692 Sq. Ft
Lovely and well cared for home located in Los Altos Hills. Situated on a quiet cul-de-sac and a flat acre+ lot. Separate permitted 2 bedroom ADU and in-ground pool.
SOLD
19095 SARATOGA GLEN PL, SARATOGA LISTED FOR $3,750,000
SOLD FOR $3,950,000
4 BEDS | 2.5 BATHS
2CAR GARAGE | +- 2,534 Sq. Ft Lovely one level Saratoga home centrally located on a tree-lined street.
VOL.5 NO.33
Dan Pulcrano Executive Editor & Publisher
EDITORIAL
editor@losgatan.com
Drew Penner
Managing Editor
Emanuel Lee
Sports Editor
Faizi Samadani, Jonathan Natividad, Amanda Senior, Jeffrey P. Blum, Alan Feinberg, Anika Kapasi
Contributors
ADVERTISING
advertising@losgatan.com
Kate Kauffman
Senior Account Executive
Tiffany Birch Account Executive
PRODUCTION
Cindy Couling
Director of Creative Services
Deb Fischer
Creative Services Production Manager
Zk Bradley
Editorial Production Manager
Haley Tweedell
Assistant Editorial Production Manager
Saoirse Alesandro
Editorial Production Designer
Jen Meyer, Jackie Mujica, Elena Razgonov, Rowdy Tompkins, Graphic Designers
WEEKLYS
Mike Lyon
Digital Media
Sonia Chavez Accounts Receivables
Warren Giancaterino Information Technology
LEGAL ADS
legals@losgatan.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
subscriptions@losgatan.com
DEATH NOTICES
Death notices with basic information that are submitted to editor@losgatan.com may be published on a space-available basis only. To place a paid, unedited obituary with a photo, call 707.353.1148 or email LifeTributes@Weeklys.com.
OPINIONS
Commentaries and letters to the editor on our Opinion pages reflect the opinions of the authors. We welcome letters to the editor and commentaries on all topics of local interest. Email your submissions to editor@losgatan.com
Letters must include the writer’s name and hometown (for publication) and phone number (for verification). Submissions may be edited, and will be published as space permits. Letters are limited to 250 words, commentaries to 500 words.
CORRECTIONS
We strive to avoid errors in news and ads. Mistakes sometimes occur. To report errors, call or email; corrections will appear in the next edition and online.
All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing
which makes it illegal to advertise any preference,
or discrimination based
or
or
Ad
CAN AQUASCAPING HELP PEOPLE WITH PTSD AND OTHER MENTAL CHALLENGES?
Angelfish, from page 1
When Sitalov was a child, he would take supplies from the river to make aquariums. Johnson says his grandfather was having night terrors and flashbacks a lot for a few years. So, after he built his grandfather an aquarium, he says he noticed his grandfather began feeling much better. Sitalov was inspired to rekindle his relationships with childhood friends.
“He told me that no one can connect with him, and (he) felt so alone and distant from everyone else.” Johnson said.
One of the more confusing aspects, to him, is why his grandfather would feel that way. When he asked his grandfather what could make him feel better, Sitalov answered that he wished to tell people the stories of what he's been through. And the natural world has always seemed to give him life. Sitalov could scarcely keep the discoveries he would make down by the river to himself. Although his symptoms are more manageable now, Johnson says that he doesn't believe his grandfather’s PTSD has gone away, or ever fully will.
Four years ago, Sitalov rekindled some relationships with old friends from the small military town of Tver, Russia, through a social media site for the elderly called Odnoklassniki (it translates to “classmates.”) Johnson believes what inspired that was witnessing his grandfather's reaction to the aquarium that Johnson made for him and put in his room. “To me, it's quite transformative in the fact that I can actually connect with someone. I felt a deep connection there,” he said. Johnson’s nonprofit helps people make aquariums to help them have a personal connection to nature, which was directly inspired by the love for aquascaping he shared with his grandfather.
Ivan the Angelfish
Johnson named his 501(c)3 nonprofit after his grandfather's favorite childhood fish. “What we aim to do is spread aquascaping, which is like interior design but in an aquarium,” he said. Johnson's favorite approach to design is through iwagumi , which uses the rule of thirds, similar to in photography. Johnson says his mission is to help heal via his love for aquariums. Johnson realized how nature, in general, is great for people’s mental health. Johnson does this by making visits to different schools and handing out jars for aquascaping. He encourages students to design the interior however they want: including moving rocks and plants into unique locations. They add in water, and maybe even a snail. This is Johnson's way of introducing pets
and aquatic environments at no cost to the children. He hopes to encourage them to become intellectually creative.
Ivan the Angelfish began in February 2025. Since then, his social media accounts have reached 5,800 followers on Instagram, 1,600 on Meta and 500 on TikTok. Johnson's plan is to expand nationally. He’s already given presentations across the Bay Area, as well as in Arizona. In addition, Johnson attended local farmers markets, with hopes of raising funds for his non-profit.
On Friday, April 10, a representative for Senator Dave Cortese, Meghan Bedi, came to Johnson's live aquarium workshop and presentation at The Saratoga Villas in Saratoga. Bedi handed Johnson a certificate of recognition from Senator Cortese. Johnson also participated in a news segment on KTVU2 on March 27, where he was interviewed about Ivan the Angelfish.
Natalia Johnson, Evan’s mother, grew up in Tver, as well. She remembers her father going on trips for short periods of time, as well as being gone for weeks
or months for army service. Now, Natalia is a physician in Los Gatos, a career path she says was inspired by the PTSD her father developed after war. In addition to PTSD, Natalia says her father suffers from anxiety disorder and insomnia. Watching her father suffer inspired her to help others. Following in the footsteps of his mother, Evan volunteers at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos. He’s racked-up 130 hours since September. He even received the National Honor Silver Service Award for completing 75 hours.
The mission statement for Ivan the Angelfish is to “empower communities, to create, heal and connect through transformative aquatic horticulture experiences.” By bringing aquascaping to people with disabilities, seniors, veterans and children, Johnson’s nonprofit has the potential to impact countless lives by encouraging healing and recovery through more ways than just traditional medicine. He wants to demonstrate that a relationship with nature is necessary for individual growth and prosperity.
CORRECTIONS
In last week’s story about the special Planning Commission meeting for West Valley Muslim Association’s CUP modification request, the current hours of operation were listed incorrectly. The included times were actually the hours proposed ahead of the March 11, 2020 Planning Commission decision. Here’s what was approved unanimously: “Maximum hours of operation shall not extend past 10:00 p.m. except for 30 days during religious service for the month of Ramadan which hours of operation shall not extend past 11:00 p.m.”
A sentence about a WVMA comment was also updated, to reflect stated traffic figures were for the Ramadan time period. We regret the errors.
NONPROFIT Ivan the Angelfish is an organization that aims to help people connect with nature in small ways, to create a very big change in their lives.
Faizi Samadani / Los Gatan
DATA PRIVACY UNDER THE MICROSCOPE AT SARATOGA COUNCIL STUDY SESSION
Flock Safety touts system’s power, but claims it’s not “mass surveillance”
Drew Penner, Editor
As Flock Safety rep Lily Ho worked her way through slides showcasing how the company’s automatic license plate readers have helped solve crimes across California, during an April 9 Saratoga City Council study session, she arrived at the one about a November 2023 SoCal police action.
“This one’s a good one,” she said, with the eager-but-hushed tone of a true crime podcaster. “It’s a serial killer. We’ve found many serial killers. And those are exciting ones to find…they’re just very difficult cases to crack.”
Her voice broke into something of a laugh, as she outlined how a Los Angeles County employee was found dead following a robbery and shooting at his home—and how police searched the Flock database for vehicle photos from nearby Flock license-plate-reading cameras. Beverly Hills Police made a traffic stop and arrested the suspect, Jerrid Joseph Powell, who was also tied to the fatal shootings of three homeless men.
In April last year, criminal proceedings against Powell were paused, after one of his attorneys, Derek Dillman, expressed concern about the defendant's “ability to rationally assist in his defense,” according to City News Service.
The presentation highlighted the almost-giddy attitude of proponents of these fixed automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras, as they argue for the benefits of a technology they say has, on the one hand, the power to close cases even the most sardonic and wily of detectives have failed to crack, but on the other hand, they claim, is definitely not mass surveillance.
Saratoga has 72 of these Flock cameras installed throughout its 12.78 square miles, most paid for by neighborhood groups. Seven are covered by taxpayers, out of the General Fund. Data is retained for 30 days, before it is destroyed. Under California law, license plate photos cannot be shared with out-of-state agencies.
“There’s an idea that this is a mass surveillance tool. It is not. License plates are only searched when there is a reason for search—a criminal reason for search,” Ho said, adding courts have often sided with Flock, “—if there are clusters of these camera networks in your town, it does not indicate where you go to school, where you shop, any personal habits of anyone’s life.”
Flock has been under increasing pressure to maintain its presence in the Greater Bay Area, as communities like Santa Cruz, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View have sided, for various reasons, with activists who’ve adopted the mantra “Get the Flock out,” referencing a vulgar word that
cannot be printed in this family newspaper article. Several people spoke strongly for and against Flock Safety during the study session, including deputies who said the system was a great tool in the law enforcement toolbox.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors’ recent decision to stop using Flock Safety has led to an interesting situation, where cameras are still installed all around Saratoga, and yet the Santa Clara County Sheriff ’s Office can’t tap them to assist with investigations anymore.
On a national level—between December 2024 and October 2025—Flock was used by 19 agencies to track “50501 protests,” “Hands Off protests” and “No Kings protests,” according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“Sometimes searches explicitly referenced protest activity; other times, agencies used vague terminology to obscure surveillance of constitutionally protected speech,” an EFF release states. “Three agencies used Flock's system to target activists from Direct Action Everywhere, an animal-rights organization using civil disobedience to expose factory farm conditions.”
In a recent update to Los Gatos Town Council, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Chief Jamie Field said the technology is becoming less effective there, as criminals adjust their tactics, now that they know there are license plate readers spread throughout town (though, she emphasized it can still be quite helpful in generating investigative leads.)
Saratoga’s homeowners associations are sold on the usefulness of the tech.
Some Silicon Valley residents say the ship has already sailed on preserving personal privacy.
“Those who are professing a lack of privacy, just look at your own cellphone. Privacy is wishful,” said Uday Kapoor, a resident of the Horseshoe neighborhood.
Kapoor is a former engineering director at Oracle—a company which, in 2024, reached a $115 million settlement over accusations it violated people’s privacy rights (including claims it built detailed profiles of users, such as about their location, purchases and political views).
“And ALPR cameras are not a weapon,” Kapoor said. “Terminology such as ‘warrantless surveillance’ is inappropriate for our village. So, I would urge the City Council to empower the neighborhood.”
But it was this same familiarity with technology that caused the Flock rep to stumble—if only a little—in her fielding of razor-sharp questions from municipal rule-makers.
Tina Walia, who’s previously worked as a business analyst in the semiconductor industry and a tech sector market researcher, wanted answers about data deletion.
“You mentioned all the data is deleted after 30 days. At the same time, I under-
stand that there is anonymized data that is retained? by Flock, so, how does that work?” she asked.
“We pull this from across our entire system—a small percentage, less than 1%— and we use that data,” Ho replied. “We scrub it of any information…but we use those images to train our machine learning models.”
The Flock rep explained they had to reprogram their AI when Elon Musk’s Tesla released the Cybertruck, for example.
“Our machine didn’t know what to do with it,” she said. “Just literally didn’t know what to do. We pulled over 1,000 images of the Cybertruck and trained it, so that, if you were to search ‘Tesla truck’, it would come up.”
Walia asked if any independent studies had verified that it was, in fact, “less than 1%” of the data being retained—and if that data can’t be “reverse-engineered” later, for sure.
Ho was not prepared for this level of interrogation.
“Yeah, good questions,” she responded. “I mean, I suppose—I would have to go back to our engineering teams to check on that. But, the more customers we get, the more images we get. That percentage probably shrinks.”
Walia wasn’t letting her off the hook just yet—including for her last half-answer.
“Okay that’s only the percentage. But can it be reverse-engineered—and not remain anonymous anymore?” Walia pressed.
Ho’s answer was anything but definitive.
“I don’t believe so,” she said. “Yeah.”
Walia asked if the company shares with anyone besides law enforcement.
“No,” she said. “We are not sharing with anybody. Period.”
But she added a small number of engineers at Flock do get to pull data
when requested by customers—but noted this would be recorded in a permanent audit log.
Councilmember Yan Zhao, who holds a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and spent decades in the semiconductor industry, was curious about what those audits say about the overall security of the Saratoga ALPR network.
“For all those audits, have you found any cases that, you know, we’ve violated any of the policies and the procedures that’s set by the Board of Supervisors?” she asked.
Neil Valenzuela, who’s in charge of Santa Clara County Sheriff ’s Operations for the region, said a “technical issue on Flock’s end” resulted in Houston Police Department officers having access to the data of Saratoga residents, temporarily.
“It was some sort of technical glitch,” he said. “But that was rectified pretty quickly—because of the frequent audits.”
“So, what is (Flock) doing to kind of prevent this type of hacking and, have any data been stolen, or been hacked in the past?” Zhao asked the Flock rep, referring to the all-too-often occurrence of receiving an alert from a company that your data has been compromised.
“Yeah, I want to be clear,” Ho said. “We have never been hacked. Full stop. We’ve never been hacked.”
But according to a Nov. 3 letter Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Illinois) to Andrew N. Ferguson of the Federal Trade Commission, passwords for at least 35 Flock customer accounts have been stolen, and security researcher Benn Jordan has captured a screenshot of Flock accounts apparently up for sale on a Russian-language cybercrime forum.
COMPANY REP Flock Safety official Lily Ho was grilled by Saratoga City Council members during an April 9 study session.
City of Saratoga
LOCAL SCENE
RADIO STATION CASTING COMMUNITY MODELS FOR LOS GATOS WINE WALK
Staff Report
Local broadcaster KPCR 92.9 Los Gatos—AKA Pirate Cat Radio—is looking for three community members to model station merchandise and represent KPCR at the Los Gatos Wine Walk on April 25.
“If anyone has told you that you have a face for radio, this is your chance to prove them wrong,” said Station Manager Daniel Roberts in a release. “Selected models will wear KPCR apparel at the station’s Wine Walk booth, interact with attendees, and take part in a professional photo shoot.”
In exchange, participants will receive KPCR merchandise, concert tickets and complimentary hair and makeup from Beauté Bar, located at 191 Saratoga-Los Gatos Rd.
“Collaboration is how real communities are built,” said Ofelia, proprietor of Beauté Bar who hosts The Ofeefee Show. “When we connect face-to-face, you feel the heart, the passion, and the story behind each business, and that’s what people truly connect to.”
The call is open to anyone comfortable in a public-facing setting who is available on April 25. Backgrounds in modeling, radio or events are not required.
Applicants are asked to send a photo and a short note explaining why they’d make a great model to info@kpcr.org.
CAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES MOBILIZES NATURE PHOTOGS
City Nature Challenge, the largest annual biodiversity census in the world, returns for its 11th year of connecting people through local nature and their communities.
From participating in organized biodiversity surveys to recording neighborhood wildlife, City Nature Challenge encourages community scientists of all levels to explore their local environment—all while contributing to biodiversity science and conservation.
Identification of photographed species will be crowdsourced through the online community, with results announced on May 13.
How to participate: Photos and sound recordings of any wild plant, animal, fungus, slime mold, or other evidence of life (scat, fur, tracks, shells, etc.) can be uploaded to the iNaturalist app or website, where a global community of naturalists confirms identifications. Wildlife can be
found anywhere: homes, neighborhoods, backyards, and beyond.
The Center for Biodiversity and Community Science (CBCS) at the California Academy of Sciences co-leads the Global City Nature Challenge with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
For more info: citynaturechallenge.org
THE LEGENDARY WAILERS, BABY BASH, LUNIZ TO BRING “ELEVATED VIBES” TO SJ
San Jose’s first 420 weekend celebration will take part in the heart of the city. It’s produced in partnership with Metro Silicon Valley, the region’s beloved alt-weekly, and San Jose’s only family-owned dispensary, Purple Lotus.
Day 1 (Saturday, April 18) features The Legendary Wailers, while Day 2 (Sunday, April 19) features Baby Bash, Luniz, RBL Posse, CRSB, Los Rakas, Amp Melo, Yonex Jones and Big Myke, at The Plaza in Downtown San Jose.
There will be plenty of food, fun and cannabis culture to enjoy. Attendees must be 18 or older.
Tickets: caltix.com/e/420-in-thepark/tickets
THE BUTTER PADDLE EXPANDS COLLECTION OF AMERICAN BRANDS
The Butter Paddle, a nonprofit gift store in Los Gatos, has announced it is expanding its collection of local artisans and American-made brands on offer. The organization behind the shop says this is part of a thoughtful response to changing retail costs.
Among the newest additions is celebrated American glassmaker Simon Pearce, known for handblown glass, handcrafted home décor and other giftable items. The Vermont company is widely recognized for its commitment to traditional craftsmanship and American manufacturing.
“As part of a broader shift, we’re bringing in more American-made brands and local artists as we navigate tariff uncertainty and rising costs,” Lora Knol, The Butter Paddle’s marketing chair, told the Los Gatan in an email.
The Butter Paddle will celebrate the exclusive arrival of Simon Pearce with a special in-store event on May 2 from 12-4pm.
AUTHOR PEGGY TOWNSEND SHARES HER SECRETS WITH SOUTH BAY WRITERS
She’s a writer, so beware, as what you say or do may end up in a novel
Amanda Senior, Contributor
Writers are often given the time-tested advice, “Write what you know.” For Peggy Townsend, that’s exactly what she does. After 33 years as a journalist covering the cops beat and writing features for the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Townsend is wellplaced as a crime fiction writer.
“I know more serial killers than is good for me,” said Townsend.
No stranger to police departments, and with convicts in her contacts, nobody is off-limits when Townsend is nosing around for a novel. Meandering through morgues, or chasing after an escaped serial killer through a graveyard at midnight, Townsend injects a hefty dose of hands-on experience into her pages.
The Botanist’s Assistant , Townsend’s latest publication, centers around Margaret Finch, a six-foot-tall, big-boned, midlife research assistant to a charismatic botanist at a small university.
When a dead body is found on campus grounds, authorities claim the cause of death as natural causes. However, eccentric, observant scientist Finch isn't convinced. A stickler for honesty and truth (personality traits that rub others the wrong way) Finch can’t help but see the signs others are missing—or are willing to ignore. Finch finds herself thrust into the role of detective in a race to catch the killer, before the killer catches up to her.
Townsend has garnered praise and attention in the literary world, with best selling New York Times author, Nina Simon, describing the novel as, “‘The Maid’ meets ‘Lessons In Chemistry.’”
A Booklist review wrote, “The realistically described frame of scientific research, botany, deadly plants, and university politics and endearing, sharply-defined, layered, mid-fifties heroine who begins to find friendship and expand her life add up to a fresh, satisfying
“To craft believable characters, they need to be more than a list of features”
Peggy Townsend
stand-alone cozy.”
Penguin Random House has released 75 cozy mysteries this year alone, with another 51 new titles hitting shelves soon. With such a high demand for the genre, it’s crucial to have a story that hooks readers, with characters that readers want to spend time with.
Before beginning a new manuscript, Townsend researches thoroughly, compiling a substantive file of detailed notes, consisting of at least thirty pages, to get where the manuscript needs to go.
“To craft believable characters, they need to be more than a list of features,” Townsend said. “What sets characters apart? How can you make them distinctive?”
Finch’s life is driven by order and routine. She lives in a cottage in the woods by a university, and drives an old-pick up truck. Hyper-aware of the treed landscape surrounding her, Finch never leaves home without her trusty chainsaw by her side. Perfect for if a road should need clearing. When Townsed settled on Finch’s nickname, “Big Bird,” she knew Finch was fully-formed.
Townsend recommends getting out in the world to find a sense of place and scene. Hiking in Carmel with her sister, she came upon the chimney and foundation of a homestead cabin, with views over mansions and houses in the valley.
“I thought, this is where Margaret lives,” said Townsend.
Townsend’s sister, a scientist with a formidable knowledge of botany, greatly influenced Finch’s special interest in botanicals, making her not only unique, but the perfect detective to piece together this particular mystery.
The impetus for Finch came when Townsend met a Meals On Wheels service user, a Montanan who grew up in a small cabin without running water. Awkward and friendless, boys pelted her with sling-shots as she walked home from school. After thinking she’d missed out on love, she agreed to marry a churchman who needed help raising his children. Later, they ended up falling in love and had a little girl.
“I was so touched by this woman who made her life into something of beauty,” said Townsend, “Margaret wants the same things—to be loved and accepted, while also solving a murder.”
“The characters need a goal, something they want. Readers want to cheer them on —even the villains. They should change and grow through the book,” Townsend said. “Characters drive the story, but you can’t let them get lost in it.”
Townsend often goes “magpieing”— her word for gleaning interesting tidbits from others, and then blending them into quirky, unique personas.
One of her favorite phrases came when a young girl was told to, “Go
get the spunk out of that horse,” so that her drunken uncle could ride the steed home.
Listening to conversations often reveals how a character converses, and is key for developing dialogue.
“I meet people and ask them their stories, noting how they talk and interact. It's a really successful way to build memorable characters. Accepted as they are, people like to talk. They tell you things that make you cry or blow you away.”
If you are interested in creating your own quirky cast of memorable characters, starting your memoir, or penning poetry, join South Bay Writers for their May 9th meeting at 10:30am, featuring Creative Writing Instructor, Lita Kurth, author of, “Writing Memoir in Flashes.”
South Bay Writers meets monthly at Saratoga Senior Center, 19655 Allendale Ave. Members $10, Non-Members $15. southbaywriters.com
AUTHOR APPEARANCE Peggy Townsend signs a copy of The Botanist’s Assistant, for the South Bay Writers’ prize draw.
Amanda Senior / Los Gatan
APRIL 5
• Someone reportedly stole an Amazon package from the caller’s porch on Hicks Road at 6:19pm.
• Around six juveniles were reported to be loud and drinking alcohol at Safeway on Pollard Road at 10:33pm.
APRIL 6
• A caller on Tait Avenue reported they lost an Apple Watch at John F. Kennedy Airport at 9:40am.
• A caller reportedly lost a backpack and wallet sometime over the weekend at Downtown on North Santa Cruz Avenue and West Main Street at 11:45am.
• A homeless person was reportedly going through trash at Gorjana on North Santa Cruz Avenue at 4:05pm.
APRIL 7
POLICE BLOTTER
to leave the caller’s door on Rose Court at 4:43pm.
• A vehicle was reportedly driving westbound on East Main Street, honking and failing to stay in its lane at 5:50pm.
APRIL 8
• A male was reportedly seen tagging near the North Creek Trail by Highway 9 and Miles at 10:40am.
• A vehicle accident with no injuries was reported at Lark Avenue and Winchester at 4:32pm.
• A theft at Whole Foods on Los Gatos Boulevard resulted in a felony arrest at 5:30pm.
• Juveniles reportedly jumped the fence of the Bay Tree Apartments on Massol Avenue and were in the pool drinking alcohol at 10:06pm.
APRIL 9
A suspicious person on Ashler Avenue was reported walking around
the neighborhood for the past few days and knocking on doors at 3:32pm.
• A subject camped out in front of 7-11 on East Main Street and was reportedly defecating at 3:40pm.
• A man was reported to have urinated on the caller’s property and stole a spray nozzle on University Avenue at 5:37pm.
• A caller’s stepdad reportedly smacked his arm while carrying a case of drinks on West La Chiquita Avenue at 10:34pm.
APRIL 10
• A subject was reportedly walking into oncoming traffic at University Avenue and Los Gatos Saratoga Road at 9:12am.
• A reckless vehicle was reported speeding and going towards the train tracks at Wimbledon Drive and Wedgewood Avenue at 6:29pm.
• (End for Print)
• A vehicle reportedly crashed into a fence and flipped over at University and Lark avenues (Police Blotter, 4/5-4/11)
APRIL 11
• An officer stopped a suspicious vehicle at Hicks Road at Shannon Oaks Lane, resulting in a cite-andrelease arrest at 2:24am.
• Two subjects reportedly stole $987.56 worth of products from Walgreens on North Santa Cruz Avenue. The theft occurred at 7:37am, but was reported at 12:14pm.
• A subject who had previously been barred from the Los Gatos Library reportedly refused to leave the premises, resulting in a cite-andrelease arrest at 1:35pm.
• A man was reported in front of Rice Financial Consulting on East Main Street, eating and blocking the doorway, resulting in a cite-and-release arrest at 1:47pm.
• A vehicle reportedly crashed into a fence and flipped over at University and Lark avenues at 7:00pm.
These reports are compiled from publicly available information released by the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department. Prepared by Anika Kapasi
SPORTS
ACCOMPLISHED ATHLETES TO BE CELEBRATED
to compete at the state meet, and I don’t regret it. It was one of those moments where it all felt worth it. For me, it wasn’t about the competition or how I did in comparison to them. It was a moment where I thought about all of the sacrifices I made and then to see all of that come to fruition in those jumps at the state meet.”
Wagner, who resides in Los Angeles where she works as a customer success manager at Drata, credited her success to Bob Slover, her field coach at LGHS. It was Slover who encouraged Wagner to try the pole vault in her sophomore year.
The rest is history.
“I attribute all of my success to coach Slover,” Wagner said. “To have one of the best pole vault coaches at your high school is just incredible. He gave me the correct training and workouts and had such a big impact on my life. He contributed to my success even to where I am now. If I didn’t have him as my pole vault coach, I think my life and career would be very different.”
Wagner’s superior athletic talent and physicality was on full display in the 2014 State Championships. Not only did Wagner win the pole vault, but she also qualified in three other events, competing in two of them: the 100-meter dash and the 4x100 relay. On day one of the Championships, Wagner faced the remarkable challenge of trying to be in two places at approximately the same time.
“I had to run the 100 prelim heat right when I was going for my jump,” she said. “My heat was lining up right when I was on the pole vault runway. I grabbed my spikes trying to run the 100 heat, but grabbed the wrong shoe. So it was a bit crazy but always fun because I was always scrambling from one event to another. My coach definitely gained a few gray hairs.”
Wagner’s background came in gymnastics, a sport she competed in from 3 to 13 years old.
“My parents put me in gymnastics at an early age because it was a way to get the energy out of me,” she said. “I was very wild and even an escape artist type of kid, doing things like getting out of my car seat while they were driving.”
The body control, strength and speed Wagner picked up from competitive gymnastics helped her in transition to pole vaulting. Perhaps it’s no surprise
then that Wagner found tremendous success in the sport. Wagner’s single-minded pursuit to soar to new heights each time she stepped on the runway was at times a double-edged sword.
“I had no problem with the physical (part of the sport),” she said. “For me, it was always the mental side I struggled with a bit more. I always wanted to be perfect sometimes to my detriment. For me, it was never a physical limitation, but more so mental blockers essentially. I wasn’t scared per se, but I cared so much and wanted everything to be perfect, I let it overtake me sometimes.”
Wagner said Slover helped her find a more healthy mental approach that she employs to this day.
“There was one meet when I cleared a personal-best but wasn’t overjoyed and remarked I wanted to do better,” Wagner said. “He told me you have to celebrate all of your wins—no matter how small—because one day you won’t have them anymore. That’s something that definitely stuck with me as I look at improvement. In a customer success role, I’m detail-oriented and I want to make sure I’m on top of everything. But also to try to set smaller
goals and achieve them along the way.”
Wagner said she’s most looking forward to seeing her family, Slover and her former teammate and childhood friend, Carly Heffernan, at the Induction Ceremony. Always thoughtful and reflective, Wagner will no doubt reminisce with Heffernan and others on her time at LGHS and UCLA, places where she poured every ounce of energy into going higher.
“It is hard not doing it competitively anymore,” she said. “Growing up, it was the thing that got you up every morning. Afterward, you don’t know what your passion is going to be. That’s what I found hard after college. I was expecting it and preparing myself for life after pole vault competition. I miss caring and being so passionate about something similar. I have found other avenues, but it’s not the same. You don’t get the same feeling of winning anywhere else. It’s a unique feeling you only get when you win. I’m always going to try to find something that I care about as much as I did for track and field.”
Brian Brogan
It’s been 21 years since Brogan graduated from LGHS, but he looks back at his time
there as both transformative and with fondness. Brogan was the No. 1 singles player on three consecutive Central Coast Section Division I-title winning teams, plus back-to-back CIF NorCal championships in his junior and senior years.
“We had a great group of guys that knew each other since we were 10, 12 years old,” said Brogan, who is married with three children and resides in Carmel where he owns his own business. “We’re at a great school with a great athletics program, and we said, let’s create something special here and push ourselves. Luckily, we had a coach (Todd Dissly) who was involved and familiar with tennis and an assistant coach (John Huebner) who was a tennis pro and volunteered at times.”
Arguably the greatest tennis player in LGHS history, Brogan’s impressive resume speaks for itself. Brogan was named an All-American three times and reached as high as No. 2 in the USTA Northern California singles rankings and No. 28 nationally. He also achieved a national No. 1 doubles ranking during his sophomore year.
In the inaugural year of the CIF NorCal tournament in 2004, the Wildcats
Athletic HOF, from page 1
ON THE RUNWAY Former Wildcat and UCLA pole vaulting standout Greta Wagner is one of eight inductees in the 2026 LGHS Athletic Hall of Fame class.
SPORTS
class.
edged Saratoga 4-3 in the championship match. They repeated as champions a year later, winning by the identical score over Alameda. Some of the other top players on the team included Stephen Stege, Jon Teel, Lee Gerston, Chase Huebner, Will McAllister and Patrick Brogan, Brian’s younger brother.
“We had an amazing camaraderie with the team,” Brian said. “It was a great group to grow up with and for a public school to go dominate the scene was a little unheard of competing against the Bellarmines and Menlos of the world. I credit the Los Gatos environment for promoting athletics and allowing all of us that opportunity to excel.”
The Wildcats fared well in some of the most prestigious state and national tournaments, a testament to their depth and talent.
Unlike most high school sports, the prep tennis season coincides with the “club” USTA circuit. This means student-athletes face a serious juggling act if they want to participate in both, especially for a player of Brogan’s caliber. He was on the road often, traveling to locations throughout the country to compete in tournaments.
The task to balance both the high school and USTA worlds was a balancing act.
“I remember playing one of the NorCal weekends and a USTA national tournament at the same time,” Brogan said. “We were driving back and forth, and it was a hard balance between USTA and high school. If you were choosing USTA over high school events, it didn’t go well with your team. Fortunately, a lot of our guys trained at Courtside, Los Gatos Swim and Racquet Club and picked each other up. It comes back to having that strong community.”
Brogan said his parents emphasized the team aspect of tennis, which compelled him to actively invest his time with the high school squad.
“Tennis is a fairly individual sport, so I was fortunate my parents stressed the team aspect of the high school game,” he said. “It was a big decision to do both because a lot of the top kids at that level are home-schooled and not even participating in a lot of the normal school activities.”
With each passing day, Brogan gains a greater appreciation for his time at LGHS and the uniqueness of a public school duking it out and beating the private school powers in a sport traditionally dominated by the latter.
“Even though Los Gatos was a short four-year window, it set the foundation for us going forward,” he said. “We look back and appreciate so much what happened there. All those guys on the team were brothers, and we pushed each other on and off the court. The ones that are still around, I still talk to this day.”
Unlike a lot of top junior tennis players who suffer from burnout or quit the sport altogether, Brogan is still actively involved in the sport. He credits his parents for allowing him to grow in love with the sport as opposed to constantly pressuring him to win.
“Some of the other top juniors during my time had a lot of pressure where they don’t want to pick up a racket ever again,” he said. “I was very fortunate I didn’t have that amount of pressure and credit my parents for making the sport a competitive but fun experience for me. Tennis is something I still enjoy to this day, and I get invited to play in tournaments here and there.”
Brogan’s positive, lifelong experience in tennis has motivated him to give back to the sport and its community.
“I try to give back to the sport as much as it’s given me,” he said. “My dad still lives in Los Gatos, and I’ve continued to support the tennis environment in the area, working kids out on the side and coaching some players outside my full-time job.”
After graduating from LGHS in 2005, Brogan enjoyed a solid college career at Santa Clara University and Pepperdine. At SCU, Brogan rose to No. 53 in the Di-
vision I rankings, a school record at the time. Brogan’s close friend, Danny Sullivan (2006), is also a part of the 2026 HOF induction class.
“I’m really excited Danny is coming into the Hall of Fame this year as well,” Brogan said. “My younger brother walked on and played tennis at Arizona State when Danny was playing QB there. Danny puts on a big high school golf tournament for a bunch of ex-athletes called the Los Gatos Invitational, and we always duke it out and have a great time.”
Here is a snapshot of achievements of the rest of the HOF inductees—as usual, a who’s-who in the storied LGHS sports tradition.
Dan Dolen starred in three sports: baseball, basketball and football. He was a first-team all-leaguer in baseball in his junior and senior seasons, compiling a 6-1 record in both years while helping lead the Wildcats to a pair of league championships. Dolen also was the school’s best basketball player in his junior and senior year, leading the team in scoring and rebounding. He went on to enjoy a threeyear career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Bill Berk was a key cog in the football team, winning De Anza Division and Central Coast Section championships in the 1989 season. He caught a team-high 34 passes for 821 yards, and six touchdowns that year, while also serving as the team’s placekicker, converting 23 PATs and a field goal. In baseball, Berk was a three-year starter at shortstop, leading the Wildcats to a 57-21 record during that span. In addition to being outstanding defensively, Berk hit .398 during his junior season, leading the Wildcats to a CCS title game.
Ben Winkelman was a two-way star in football, playing defensive end and tight end. He tied for first on the team in TD receptions and fumble recoveries, while also being among the leaders in tackles and sacks. He played on the opposite side of the line from future NFL Hall of Famer Jared Allen, when the team allowed an average of just 7.4 points per game in the regular-season. Winkelman was also a strong basketball player who dominated in the paint.
Danny Sullivan quarterbacked the football team to De Anza Division and CCS titles in the 2005 season. He completed 60% of his passes while throwing for 24 touchdowns to just six interceptions in his senior year. Sullivan, who went on to play at Arizona State, graduated from LGHS holding the second best all-time mark for passing yards and TDs in a single season.
Sarah Safir Smith had an illustrious swim career, winning four individual league championships while also being a part of seven league championship-winning relay squads. She broke the school record in the 50 free, and was a key cog in the record-breaking 200 free relay and 200 medley relay squads. In water polo, Smith earned all-league honors three times, including an all-CCS selection in her senior season. She went on to play water polo at Santa Clara University.
Cady Chessin was the first girl to wrestle on the boys varsity team and the first to win a varsity match. She was a threetime CCS girls champion, won state titles in her junior and senior seasons and captured a national championship in 2013. Chessin went on to wrestle at Menlo College, earning four-time All-America honors while competing in the Pan American Games and the Olympic Trials.
ACE Brian Brogan was the No. 1 singles player on a Wildcats team that won three consecutive CCS D-1 titles and back-to-back CIF NorCal championships.
JAKE TONGES’ HARD WORK PAYS OFF WITH MULTI-MILLION-DOLLAR CONTRACT SPORTS
49ers tight end reflects on getting let go from Bears, capitalizing for the 49ers
Drew Penner, Editor
Last Thursday, San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges took a break from apartment-hunting in Los Gatos and Saratoga to chat with the Los Gatan about signing a big two-year contract extension with the team that plays just up the road.
“I’ve gotta find a spot,” the 26-yearold said, emphasizing his preference for where he’d like to call home, adding he’d just moved out of his old place in Mountain View. “I’m from Los Gatos.”
With the help of his agent Steve Caric, of The Team (formerly Wasserman), Tonges scored a two-year, $8 million deal that features a signing bonus of $2.615 million.
It comes with a 2026 base salary of $1.145 million, followed by $1.26 million in 2027—on top of other sweeteners.
The pro career of #88 has been one of steady progression. This was his third year with the 49ers, but only the first where he’s had the chance to start putting numbers up on the board.
He went from the practice squad in Year 1, to special teams in Year 2 (but didn’t get many opportunities to display his offensive talents), to scoring five touchdowns (putting him in the Top 50 in the league) and notching 293 receiving yards in Year 3.
This impressive rise in a business where the average career-length for tight ends is just 3.7 years, according to statista.com, was anything but a foregone conclusion.
After all, he was released from the Chicago Bears roster in August 2023, after playing just four games with the team the prior year.
“I had pulled my calf,” he remembered. “I couldn’t play in the preseason.”
On the one hand, Tonges knew he’d proven he was NFL material. But also knew the footage in his playing portfolio didn’t fully represent all that he had to offer.
“I didn’t feel like the opportunity was done,” he said, but added, “You don’t have that much real game tape.”
Luckily for him, the West Coast was calling him back. The 49ers looked past the fact the only time he was targeted for a pass with the Bears it was an incompletion, and saw his potential.
Tonges was coming off of four seasons at Cal Berkeley where he recorded 47 receptions for 620 yards—and scored four touchdowns.
Born in Cincinnati, Tonges was a Bengals fan as a kid.
NUMBER 88 Last year, Jake Tonges had a breakout season, making critical touchdowns and catching 34 passes while filling in for tight end George Kittle.
But like everyone else, he grew up watching the 9ers. And once he moved to Los Gatos, he was surrounded by friends who cheered for the team.
“It’s obviously a super legendary organization,” he said. “My parents were over the moon because they could come to the games.”
Tonges got to work proving himself.
“You’re just practicing all week, helping the starters on the roster prepare,” he said. “They had a really good defense that year.”
He says they taught him a lot. And he remembers all the sweat equity he put into learning the top-notch offensive moves.
“It just gave me a lot of confidence,” he said. “I felt like, I can do it in the game and take it to the next level.”
Tonges went from getting let go from a team that had been the worst in the league the previous season, to going to the Super Bowl—even though he didn’t get to play in it.
“I wouldn’t have guessed that’s where I would have ended up,” he said. “It was obviously a surreal experience.”
He kept chugging away in his second year on San Francisco, mostly in the background. By last fall he was tied for first in touchdowns in the NFL for his position, with Sports Illustrated calling him the “secret weapon that no one saw coming.”
With George Kittle suffering multiple injuries, Tonges got his moment to really prove himself.
“You never really know if your opportunity’s going to come, or when it’s going to come,” he said.
Kittle hurt his hamstring in the first half of the Sept. 7 game in Seattle, creating an opening.
Quarterback Brock Purdy dashed right after the snap, chased by two Seahawks, with less than 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter. He fired one off quickly before going down. And then—
“Bang!” Tonges said, recalling the endzone completion that put them ahead in the 20-17 victory.
With Kittle beset by additional injuries, Tonges would go on to be targeted with 46 throws—and catching 34 of them—in the regular season.
No wonder the 49ers want to keep him around.
“It’s every player’s goal when they enter the NFL to make it to a second contract,” he said, thinking back to how he was undrafted out of college. “I feel extremely grateful.”
So, you might just bump into him around town in the days ahead.
“I think it’s just a beautiful area and I think downtown Los Gatos is one of the better downtowns I’ve ever been to, for a smallish, mid-sized town,” he said, adding other players and coaches love the place, too. “They often are like, It’s just so gorgeous over there.”
Jonathan Natividad
REAL ESTATE
Earthquake insurance may help you sleep at night
After recent temblor, consider your coverage
By Janis Mara
When a 4.6 magnitude earthquake rattled the Bay Area on April 2, it was felt all the way from Santa Cruz County to Healdsburg. In the wake of the shake, it’s not a bad idea to consider purchasing earthquake insurance.
There’s a 72 percent chance that a 6.7 magnitude quake will hit the Bay Area over the next 30 years. However, 85 to 90 percent of Californians don’t have earthquake insurance, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Many people don’t realize that just because they have home insurance doesn’t mean they have earthquake insurance. It must be purchased separately through the California Earthquake Authority.
“It’s definitely something you should consider,” said Matt Brannon, a senior analyst at Insurify, a national insurance data website.
The decision “will come down to some financial decision-making, because especially in areas where earthquakes are very potentially disastrous, rates tend to be higher,” Brannon said.
The average cost in California is $900 a year, the analyst said. However, in highrisk areas, it could be $2,000 to $5,000 annually. To find out if you are in a highrisk zone, you can use the calculator at the California Conservation Department’s website.
Also, deductibles are high for earthquake insurance compared with home insurance, according to Jeanne Kilkenny-Turk, a longtime Bay Area insurance broker.
“Your deductible on earthquake insurance is usually 10 or 15 percent of your dwelling coverage,” she said.
“If your house is $500,000 and you have a 10 percent deductible, your home could sustain $50,000 in damage before earthquake insurance comes into play,” Kilkenny-Turk said.
On the other hand, of course, it’s better to have to pay $50,000 than cover the entire cost of replacing your home.
While many people assume that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help them after a big earthquake, that’s not guaranteed.
The main form of federal disaster relief is a low-interest loan, and recipients must show that they can repay the loan. Grants from FEMA for emergency home repairs and temporary rent assistance are only for those who do not qualify for loans.
If earthquake insurance is out of your price range, there are other ways to protect your home, according to the California Department of Insurance.
One of the most effective approaches is to retrofit your home. The cost is likely to be considerably below either purchasing insurance or repairs after an earthquake.
Securing breakable items, putting latches on china cabinets, bolting tall furniture such as bookcases and armoires to the studs in the walls and tying down computers and TVs are other strategies.
Probably the most important thing is to study the variables and decide what approach works best for you. If you can bear the cost, “For a lot of people, the peace of mind of having insurance to deal with a major loss is worth it,” Brannon said.
RECENT SALES AND PRICES
In Santa Clara County, the median home is about $1.6M, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
In February 2026, Santa Clara County home prices were down 0.93 percent compared to last year, selling for a median price of $1.6M, according to data from Redfin. On average, homes in Santa Clara County sell after 12 days on the market, compared to 10 days last year. There were 800 homes sold in February this year, up from 727 last year.
216
2,295 sq ft; sold: Mar. 24, 2026
49 Fillmer Ave, Los Gatos 95030 $4.1M, 4 beds, 3 baths, 2,450 sq ft; sold: Mar. 24, 2026
380 School Ct, Los Gatos 95032 $2.25M, 3 beds, 3 baths, 2,026 sq ft; sold: Mar. 24, 2026
18071 Saratoga Los Gatos Rd, Monte Sereno 95030 $4.62M, 5 beds, 5 baths, 4,332 sq ft; sold: Mar. 13, 2026
Ocean View Vineyard & Orchard in Los Gatos 5+ Acres
Imagine sipping your own vintage while watching the marine layer lift over Santa Cruz & the Bay! www.24854Skyland.com
Bobbie Herteman BROKER 831-566-5835 DRE #01255003 24854 Skyland Road, Los Gatos $2,285,000
San Mateo Ave, Los Gatos 95030 $3.03M, 3 beds, 3 baths, 2,500 sq ft; sold: Mar. 24, 2026
15689 Linda Ave, Los Gatos 95032 $3.61M, 4 beds, 4 baths,
HEAPS SCORES EARLY IN THE SECOND HALF AGAINST JAPAN
Women’s team gearing up for game in Colorado on
Friday
Faizi Samadani, Contributor
Less than three minutes into the second half, Lindsey Heaps put the ball into the net at PayPal Park, in the 2-1 victory against Japan on Saturday.
Japan had just won the Women’s Asian Cup. After that success, their coach, Nils Nielsen, was surprisingly ousted.
Riko Ueki scored their lone goal in the San Jose match.
Rose Lavelle got the first goal for Team USA.
The American squad was scheduled to play Japan on Tuesday in Seattle, and again in Colorado on Friday.
FARLEY ROAD IS ‘A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN’
The Farley Road Neighborhood Coalition
Since the 1950s, our Los Gatos neighborhood has been a semi-rural enclave of single-family homes nestled among dark, quiet streets defined by the sound of cicadas. That changed in 2018, when the West Valley Muslim Association moved into the former Jehovah’s Witness church on Farley Road. Today, our neighborhood experiences year-round disruption. WVMA’s building has a stated capacity of around 1,200 people, but includes less than 200 on-site parking spaces. The result is predictable: overflow parking on residential streets, with visitors walking blocks to the facility. Members travel for daily prayers and numerous activities, up to 14 per day. On Friday afternoons, traffic becomes so congested that residents can be trapped in their driveways.
During Ramadan, the impact intensifies. For 30 consecutive days, activity begins before sunrise and extends late into the night. Vehicles speed, block driveways and crowd narrow roads with no sidewalks. Pedestrians, including families, walk in the dark roadway. Neighbors are kept awake by sporadic car alarms, continuous slamming doors, loud voices and headlights streaming into bedroom windows. In addition, residents have expressed concern that emergency vehicles could not reliably access the area.
A failure of oversight
In 2024, residents reviewed WVMA’s Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and discovered
it had inherited decades-old approvals granted to the previous owner, whose operations were less intensive. The former church held just two weekly services (between 8am and 10pm) and did not generate overflow parking or sustained traffic.
When residents raised concerns, Town staff acknowledged that applying updated operating parameters, consistent with other religious institutions, seemed reasonable. The Town indicated it would help.
Two years later, there has been minimal change to address the intensification and safety concerns. Residents have documented over 30 apparent CUP and municipal code violations. But Town staff has recommended approval of WVMA’s application to expand operations, potentially allowing activity from 4am to midnight, year-round, with no meaningful limits.
Now, WVMA has asked for a CUP modification to allow it to operate for up-to 20 hours daily. This raises a fundamental question: why expand permissions for an organization that has not complied with existing ones?
The reality on the ground
At the March 31 Planning Commission meeting, Commissioner Rob Stump described Farley Road as “a disaster waiting to happen.” He noted that traffic has increased to approximately 4,000 vehicle trips per week, a dramatic escalation from about 400, on a narrow,
unstriped residential road. He also observed pedestrians walking in the roadway at night and expressed concern for public safety.
This matters beyond Farley Road
Approving an expanded CUP in a residential (R-1) zone does not just affect one street, it establishes a precedent. If the Town allows near–round-the-clock, high-intensity use here, it signals that similar expansions could be permitted in other Los Gatos residential neighborhoods.
In practical terms, it means any neighborhood with a similarly zoned property could face comparable traffic volumes, parking overflow, and safety risks. Farley Road would not be an exception, it would become a standard model.
The broader constraint
WVMA argues its operations are protected under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). While the law serves an important purpose, its application can limit a town’s willingness to enforce local zoning standards. This is not about religion. It is about land use, public safety, and the responsibility of local government to enforce codes fairly and consistently.
A community asking for basic protections
Our Farley Road Neighborhood Coalition represents approximately 70 households within a six-block radius. We include seniors, families with young children and working professionals, residents who rely on the Town to safeguard basic quality-of-life standards. Instead, we have seen reliance on applicant-funded noise studies and in -
accurate infrastructure data. When the Town reported incorrect street-width measurements, residents conducted field measurements to correct the record. Even when impacts do not exceed technical thresholds, they are real. A finding that noise is “within limits” does not mean residents can sleep, or that their health and safety are unaffected.
What we are looking for
We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking the Town to do its job:
• Enforce existing CUP conditions and municipal codes
• Conduct independent, unbiased traffic, noise and environmental studies
• Evaluate public safety risks, including emergency vehicle access
• Apply consistent standards, as seen in comparable cases such as Hillbrook School
The Planning Commission has asked residents to participate in—and split the cost of—mediation with WVMA. As noted by Town Attorney Gabrielle Whelan, it is reasonable to expect the applicant, who is seeking expanded entitlements, to bear that cost.
At a recent meeting, Jeffrey Barnett described this as the most difficult decision of his six years on the Planning Commission. For residents, however, the issue is straightforward. We are not experts in zoning law, traffic engineering, or fire / public safety issues. We are simply asking to live safely and peacefully in our homes. The Town has the responsibility, and the authority, to ensure that outcome. Not just for Farley Road, but also for the residential neighborhoods that could be next.
*Op-eds are lightly edited for clarity, grammar and space.
Faizi Samadani / Los Gatan
RIVALS On Saturday, Japan played its first match since the shock dismissal of coach Nils Nielsen.
GUEST VIEW Ad A LAWYER’S EVOLUTION
Why “Mercy” is the best fiscal policy for Los Gatos and Santa Clara County
Jeffrey P. Blum, Contributor
For more than 47 years, I made my living as a divorce attorney and mediator. I was the one asking the questions, navigating the intricacies of the law, and trying to find a path through the wreckage of human relationships. I was a traditionalist who respected the decorum of the bench. I was the straight-laced suit and tie lawyer, although occasionally I found the courage to wear my Jerry Garcia or Save the Children tie. Traditionalist or not, I was the lawyer who understood that a stable community relies on a predictable legal system.
Today, my perspective has shifted from the courtroom to our town. Whether I am sitting at a Rotary Club of Los Gatos meeting or reflecting on my recent service as a commissioner on the Community Health and Senior Services Commission, the conversation inevitably turns to the same concern: How do we maintain the safety and character of Los Gatos when Santa Clara County is facing a staggering $470 million budget deficit?
Recently, I have been reflecting on my legal career through the lens of a new book, The Price of Mercy by Emily Galvin-Almanza. Her work forced me to confront a hard truth: our current “transactional” justice system is failing both the accused and the Los Gatos taxpayer. We currently spend approximately $180,000 per year to house a single inmate in state prison. As residents who value fiscal responsibility, we must ask: Are we getting $180,000 worth of safety? The answer is often no.
This issue is not a distant one. In a recent talk at Rotary Club of Los Gatos, our mayor noted that Los Gatos has an unhoused population of between 30 and 60 people. These are our neighbors, and they represent the “front lines” of where our legal and social systems intersect. Galvin-Almanza’s thesis is that “mercy” is a diagnostic tool. In Los Gatos, we don't just put a band-aid on a problem. Instead, we look for the root cause. True mercy is looking past a case number to see the human being and the underlying issues, often mental health, trauma, or sudden economic loss, that lead to homelessness and legal entanglement.
I urge Los Gatans to petition our State Assembly to adopt three “common sense” changes that would directly benefit our county’s bottom line:
Fund a Holistic Defense Model: A public defender should lead a multidisciplinary team of social workers and mental health specialists. Instead of a $180,000 prison cell, we choose a $15,000 community-based intervention that addresses the drivers of crime.
Ensure Early Access to Counsel: Justice delayed is justice that costs more. Ensuring a defender is present during the first 24 hours prevents procedural errors that lead to years of expensive, taxpayer-funded litigation.
End “Blind” Plea Bargaining: Currently, defendants are often pressured to plead guilty before seeing police reports or body-cam footage. “Speedy discovery” ensures cases are resolved on facts, not fear of a “trial penalty.”
In Los Gatos, we value results over political theater. We see the “revolving door” effects on North Santa Cruz Avenue and in our local storefronts. When the legal system grinds someone down without addressing the cause, we lose the chance for Victim Restitution. If we stabilize a defendant’s housing and employment, we create a path for them to pay back what they owe to their victims, many of whom are our own neighbors and shopkeepers.
Ultimately, this isn’t about being “soft” on crime; it’s about being smart with our tax dollars. By investing small sums of money on the front end for social intervention, we save millions in back-end incarceration. It is time for Santa Clara County to stop managing the revolving door and start closing it for good.
We can no longer afford the luxury of an inefficient justice system that drains our coffers while leaving the root causes of local instability unaddressed. I encourage my fellow residents to join me in urging our state legislators to support funding for Holistic Defense and Resource Parity. It is time we stop throwing good money after bad and start investing in the safety, fiscal sanity, and restitution that Los Gatos families and business owners deserve.
LIVES
Sandra Jean Haywood
July 2, 1942 – March 14, 2025
Sandra Jean Haywood departed peacefully on March 14, 2025 at 82 years young. She grew up in Albany, CA where her love for learning and talent in the arts, figure skating, reading and the medical field began. As early as grade school, her artistic talent was regionally recognized with awards for her civic poster entries. Following high school, she was selected to attend an inaugural program at UCSF in dental assisting and soon found work as a dental assistant, eventually becoming office manager. With optimism, style and grace, she worked full-time while raising two young daughters, a cat, and still made time to sew them beloved matching dresses, Halloween costumes, Easter hats - some with birds nests, making every holiday a celebrated and cherished memory.
In 1974 Sandy remarried and they moved from Niles, CA to Los Gatos. She taught several dental assisting classes before discovering a long and rewarding career as a medical office manager for a succession of well respected reconstructive surgeons in town. She loved greeting patients and ensuring that their experience and the office ran smoothly. Sandy also loved ski-bus Wednesdays when a chartered bus filled with Good Sam doctors, nurses, spouses, staff and an occasional lucky child headed for the slopes pre-dawn, skied all day, and on the evening ride home shared stories and good cheer over homemade hors d’oeuvres. In later years, these trips morphed into flights to the Canadian Rockies to ski and ice skate which she enjoyed with her colleagues as well. While at home, ice skating and a lot of Jazzercise kept her going.
Curiosity for learning new things spanned her lifetime. Her artistic talent and eye for design were apparent in everything she endeavored from classes in photography to china painting, ceramics to stained glass, to her bespoke interior decor. She had great appreciation for the performing arts, subscribing to Old Town’s CAT and San Jose Rep for decades, then opera. Via television she caught every figure skating event, and later in life and quite out of the blue, she became a devoted Golden State Warriors fan, rarely missing a game. She loved museums, KQED shows and fully reveled in her diverse and extensive music and book collections.
She found beauty in antique and restored car shows and this led to the SFBA Mercedes Benz Club rally era. Eventually she and a fellow club friend joined forces and, ditching their husbands in jest, jumped in together and won 1st Place at the Carmel Valley Rally in 1985. She served as editor and beyond for the SFBA MB Club for several years and in 1987 was recognized nationally by the MB Club of America as Member of the Year for her outstanding achievement and contribution. Soon after that era she discovered a much deeper passion in volunteering for Los Medicos Voladores -The Flying Doctors. Via small plane, she traveled to remote communities in Baja California and Sonora, Mexico, serving as a dental assistant or in any role needed. Sandy’s love for the people, culture and art of Mexico grew ever more. Eventually Sandy was writing the LMV newsletter, managing membership, and serving on the board. She completed Private Pilot Ground School and nursing and foreign travel nursing coursework on nights and weekends for good measure, all the while still working full-time for the aforementioned reconstructive surgeons. In her retirement years, she served on the board and landscape committee of the Villas of Los Gatos, her beloved home for many years.
Sandy loved to travel to the mountains whether it was in the Lake Tahoe region where her eldest daughter lived or National Parks including Yosemite, Yellowstone, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, parks in Canada too. She appreciated their beauty and their importance in this world. Via boat, she ventured out to Channel Islands National Park to visit and assist her youngest daughter in the field where she was monitoring an endemic deer mouse population. Sandy’s medical skills made her a natural.
Sandy moved to Napa in the last years of her life to be closer to her daughters Heidi and Holly. She greeted everyone with joy and her beautiful smile. A day never passed when she didn’t express appreciation for those in her life. She rarely missed an opportunity to brighten someone’s day with a sincere compliment and just enough humor. Her bright spirit touched and enriched the lives of so many, words cannot express how much she is missed.
DISCOVER LOST GATOS
REMEMBERING THE INTERURBAN RAILWAY
The future of public transit was a century ago
Alan Feinberg, Contributor
Imagine how convenient it would be to step aboard a trolley in downtown Los Gatos and relax in comfort as you travel to Palo Alto or San Jose. It would be a reliable and time-efficient way to commute without worrying about getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. You could take your family all the way to Alum Rock Park on a summer afternoon or explore new restaurants without the expense and hassle of finding a place to park. What’s amazing is that you’re not imagining a distant future, you’re reliving the past!
In the late 19th century, shortly after
the advent of electricity, entrepreneurs began developing plans for streetcars which could travel over long distances using electric power. Several private companies applied to Santa Clara County for licenses to operate a rail line powered by overhead wires between San Jose and Los Gatos, mostly via existing roadways. In an era when the automobile was considered just a toy for the very rich, public sentiment was strongly in favor of a so-called “inter-urban” transportation system. Merchants believed that it would stimulate business, students thought it would offer easy and reliable transportation to school, and people anticipated an inexpensive and convenient way to explore new destinations.
ADVANCED PUBLIC TRANSIT An interurban trolley rolls down the center of N. Santa Cruz Ave. in this vintage postcard, circa 1920.
INTERIOR This trolley car was named “Granger” after the Interurban Railway company co-founder.
Alan Feinberg
After several unsuccessful attempts by competing companies to raise funds and secure rights-of-way, the San Jose - Los Gatos Interurban Railroad began operating in March of 1904. The 18-mile line ran down the center of Main St. and North Santa Cruz Ave. then along Saratoga - Los Gatos Rd. (Hwy 9), Saratoga Ave., and Stevens Creek Blvd. before terminating in downtown San Jose.
Trains ran hourly at speeds up to 30 mph. Compared to a four hour horseand-buggy ride between Los Gatos and San Jose, a complete trip with multiple stops took only 30 minutes! There was also a short extension along Big Basin to Congress Springs.
The streetcar business proved to be extremely profitable. Within five years, three other interurban lines were operating in the valley. At the height of the electric trolley’s popularity in 1915, 126 miles of track crisscrossed the area.
Compared to the traditional railroad, with huge, lumbering steam engines, the little electric streetcars were a marvel of early 20th century engineering. They were quiet, efficient, and featured innovative safety features such as air brakes. Each car comfortably seated 52 passengers. The interiors were elegantly finished in handsome carved cherry wood, with brass trim, electric lights, etched glass sliding doors, and genuine leather seats.
The interurban line ran daily mail and express cars. During harvest season, boxcars were leased to orchardists to haul fruit to local canneries. In 1910, special trains with observation cars were introduced so that riders could tour the area during springtime when the orchards and wildflowers were in full bloom.
The trolley ultimately fell victim to the advance of the automobile as more people were able to afford the convenience of personal transportation. Ridership declined and the business quickly became unprofitable. Streetcars also became a nuisance when competing with increased automobile traffic, occasionally resulting in accidents. They were ultimately deemed obsolete, and service was discontinued in March of 1933 just 30 years after inception.
It’s ironic that the Valley of Hearts Delight — with slightly more than 100,000 people in 1920 — had a more advanced public transit system than today’s Silicon Valley with a population of 2 million.
Alan Feinberg is an award winning local historian and founder of the LOST Gatos Project www.lostgatos.com. Since 2015, his mission has been to generate enthusiasm among Los Gatos residents for remembering and preserving our town’s unique character and historic treasures before they’re lost forever. For more Los Gatos history, download the free mobile app Discover LOST Gatos by Alan Feinberg, Peggy Conaway, and Sandy Decker and take a self-guided walking tour through our historic downtown.
AdLet us help you with your next rebranding, product launch, media campaign, digital initiative, website redesign or image refresh.
+ strategy + design
Name Change
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME. Case No. 26CV486299. Notice of Petition of Brian Henry Kaplan. Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. To all interested persons: Petitioner: Brian Henry Kaplan filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. Brian Henry Kaplan to Proposed name: Brian Kip Henry.
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.
Notice of Hearing: Date: May 19, 2026, Time: 8:45 AM, Room: Probate. The address of the court is: 191 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113, Downtown Superior Court. A copy of this Order To Show Cause shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: Los Gatan, 380 S 1ST Street, San Jose, CA 95113. Date: February 13, 2026. /s/ Charles F. Adams /s/, Judge of the Superior Court. Filed February 13, 2026 by /s/ AS A.Syrel /s/, Deputy Clerk. (Pub LGN: 04/01, 04/08, 04/15, 04/22/2026)
Fictitious Business Name Statements
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #724551
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: 1. Cruz Collaborative Construction, 2. Cruz Collaborative. 2150 N First St., 4th Floor, San Jose, CA, San Jose, CA, 95131, Cruz Collaborative Construction LLC. This business is being conducted by a Limited Liability Company. Registrant began business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on 01/01/2026. Above entity was formed in the state of California. /s/Jonathan Molina Cruz. CEO. #202118910422. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 03/06/2026. (pub LG 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724617. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. FOOTHILL REPAIR PRO LLC 4388 El Camino Real Unit 128, Los Altos, CA 94022. This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company, FOOTHILL REPAIR PRO LLC, 4388 El Camino Real Unit 128, Los Altos, CA 94022. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 03/10/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Patty Camarena /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. FOOTHILL REPAIR PRO LLC, Article/Reg # B20260015971, Above Entity was Formed in the State of CA. /s/ Peter Christianson /s/ Owner. (Pub LGN: 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724757. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. FLOWRA , 205 Milbrae Ln, Los Gatan, CA 95032. This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company, THE CREATIVE AND WELLNESS STUDIO LLC, 1401 21st Street Ste R, Sacramento, CA 95811. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 03/13/2026 and 03/13/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Patty Camarena /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. THE CREATIVE AND WELLNESS STUDIO LLC, Article/Reg # 202461014023, Above Entity was Formed in the State of CA. /s/ Sophie Leclerc /s/ Member. (Pub LGN: 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724093. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. RAVENWOOD VENTURES INC., 2. C&C GLASS, 1060 Lincoln Ave Ste 20 1160, San Jose, CA 95125. This business is conducted by: A Corporation, RAVENWOOD VENTURES INC, 1060 Lincoln Ave Ste 20 1160, San Jose, CA 95125. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 02/23/2026 and 02/24/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Fraulein Dominguez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. RAVENWOOD VENTURES INC, Article/Reg # B20250371496, Above Entity was Formed in the State of California. /s/ Joaquin Vela /s/ President. (Pub LGN: 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #724695
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: March Design, 569 Clyde Avenue, Unit 520, Mountain View, CA,
PUBLIC NOTICES
94043, Mike Ma Architects, APC. This business is being conducted by a Corporation. Registrant has not yet begun business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. Above entity was formed in the state of California. /s/Mike Ma. President. #B20250424102. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 03/12/2026. (pub LG 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724745. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. KEEP MOVING FOR PARKINSON’S, 21559 Santa Ana Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95033. This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company, KEEP MOVING FOR PARKINSON’S LLC, 21559 Santa Ana Rd, Los Gatos, CA 95033. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 03/13/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Fraulein Dominguez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. KEEP MOVING FOR PARKINSON’S LLC, Article/Reg # B20260111470, Above Entity was Formed in the State of CA. /s/ Jennifer Larsen /s/ Manager (Pub LGN: 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724725. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. LAVENDER DUCKY, 170 N 11th St, San Jose, CA 95112. This business is conducted by: An Individual, KRISTINE ELISE CONLEY, 170 N 11th St, San Jose, CA 95112. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 03/14/2026 and 03/12/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Corinne Vasquez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Kristine E Conley /s/ (Pub LGN: 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724806. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. AJ RENTALS, 107 S Mary Ave #91, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. This business is conducted by: An Individual, Ai Jia Zhang, 107 S Mary Ave #91, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 03/16/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Fraulein Dominguez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Ai Jia Zhang /s/. (Pub LGN: 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724384. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1.YONA SKIN CLINIC, 14537 S Bascom Ave, Campbell, CA 95008. This business is conducted by: A Corporation, YONA SKIN CLINIC, 14537 S Bascom Ave, Campbell, CA 95008. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 02/17/2026 and 03/03/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Corinne Vasquez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. YONA SKIN CLINIC, Article/Reg # B20260082547, Above Entity was Formed in the State of CA. /s/ Eun Sung Huh /s/ CFO. (Pub LGN: 03/25, 04/01, 04/08, 04/15/2026)
File Number: FBN724792 . The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. Gioia Company, 2. Gioia Italian Art and Products , 323 Sharks Way, San Jose, CA 95110. This business is conducted by: A Corporation, Little Italy San Jose Foundation, 438 Northwood Drive, South San Francisco, CA 94080. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 3/1/26 and 03/16/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Elaine Fader /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. Little Italy San Jose Foundation, Article/ Reg # 3307761, Above Entity was Formed in the State of California. /s/ Joshua DeVincenzi Melander /s/ President. (Pub LGN: 04/01, 04/08, 04/15, 04/22/2026)
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #725131
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: KPK, 844 Strickbroth Drive, Milpitas, CA, 95035, Karissa Kashyap Inc. This business is being conducted by a Corporation. Above entity was formed in the state of California. Registrant began business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein 04/16/2024. /s/Karissa Kashyap. Owner. #6205518. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 12/12/2024. (pub LG 04/01, 04/08, 04/15, 04/22/2026)
File Number: FBN725036. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1.SHEPHERD SECURITY ADVISORS, 1795 White Oaks Rd, Campbell, CA 95008. This business is conducted by: An Individual, JOSUE MORA, 1795 White Oaks Rd, Campbell, CA 95008. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 03/13/2026 and 03/23/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Corinne Vasquez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Josue Mora /s/. (Pub LGN: 04/01, 04/08, 04/15, 04/22/2026)
File Number: FBN724906. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. Select Injury Center, 2248 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA 94306. This business is conducted by: A Corporation, Select Chiropractic Inc., 2248 Park Blvd., Palo Alto, CA 94306. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 03/17/2026 and 03/18/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Elaine Fader /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. Select Chiropractic, Inc. Article/Reg # B20260035749, Above Entity was Formed in the State of California. /s/ Vitaly Mozeson /s/ CEO. (Pub LGN: 04/08, 04/15, 04/22, 04/29/2026)
File Number: FBN725282 . The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. Flowers On The Go by Judy, 15751 Loma Vista Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95032. This business is conducted by: An Individual, Judy Gadbois, 15751 Loma Vista Ave., Los Gatos, CA 95032. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 03/29/2026 and 03/30/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Patty Camarena /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Judy Gadbois /s/. (Pub LGN: 04/08, 04/15, 04/22, 04/29/2026)
File Number: FBN725375. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. Lumora Research , 1331 Alma St, Palo Alto, CA 94301. This business is conducted by: An Individual, Pegah Karimi, 1331 Alma St, Palo Alto, CA 94301. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 04/02/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Corinne Vasquez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Pegah Karimi /s/. (Pub LGN: 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
File Number: FBN725483. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. ZESTFUL DEVELOPMENT, 15495 Via Caballero, Monte Sereno, CA 95030. This business is conducted by: A Corporation, CALADRIUS LOGIC, INC., 15495 Via Caballero, Monte Sereno, CA 95030. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 04/03/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Elaine Fader /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. Caladrius Logic, Inc, Article/Reg # 10544431, Above Entity was Formed in the State of Delaware. /s/ John Morrow /s/ CEO. (Pub LGN: 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
File Number: FBN725524. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. BE PRESENT THERAPY, 59 N Santa Cruz Ave Suite Y, Los Gatos, CA 95030. This business is conducted by: A Corporation, EDWARD J. SMITH MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION, 59 N Santa Cruz Ave Suite Y, Los Gatos, CA 95030. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 03/04/2026 and 04/06/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Corinne Vasquez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. EDWARD J. SMITH MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION, Article/Reg # 10544431, Article/Reg # B20260092426, Above Entity was Formed in the State of CA. /s/ Edward Smith /s/ President. (Pub LGN: 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #725471
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Metatron Enterprises, 1766 Hudson Dr., San Jose, CA, 94124, David Anthony S Nelson, Sarah S Betadam. This business is being conducted by a Married Couple. Registrant began business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on 10/18/2005. /s/Sarah S Betadam. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 04/03/2026. (pub LG 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #725541
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Fertility Whisperer, 940 Saratoga Ave., Suite 104, San Jose, CA, 95129, Way Of Wellness Healthcare Inc. This business is being conducted by a Corporation. Registrant began business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on 03/13/2026. Above entity was formed in the state of California. /s/Shasta Ericson. President. #C4859173. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 04/06/2026. (pub LG 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
File Number: FBN725654. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. AMORCO MECHANICAL 43289 Osgood Rd, Fremont, CA 94539. This business is conducted by: An Individual, THEODORE TACLINDO AMOR, 43289 Osgood Rd, Fremont, CA 94539. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and
04/09/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Patty Camarena /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Theodore Amor /s/. (Pub LGN: 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
File Number: FBN725635. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. PENINSULA AUTOMOTIVE, 2. PENINSULA VOLKSWAGEN, 3. PENINSULA AUTO, 831 Camden Ave, Suite 14, Campbell, CA 95008. This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company, FLAT TIRE VENTURES LLC, 115 Belcrest Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95032. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 02/05/2026 and 04/09/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Fraulein Dominguez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. FLAT TIRE VENTURES LLC, Article/Reg # B20250245155, Above Entity was Formed in the State of CA. /s/ Andrew John Morse /s/ Managing Member. (Pub LGN: 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
File Number: FBN725574. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. BAMBANA , 842 Pollard Road, Los Gatos, CA 95032. This business is conducted by: An Individual, CHELSEA F BRIGANTI, 842 Pollard Road, Los Gatos, CA 95032. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 4/07/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Corinne Vasquez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Chelsea F. Briganti /s/. (Pub LGN: 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
File Number: FBN725689. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. EXPANDING PATHWAYS, 3880 S. Bascon Ave #108, San Jose, CA 95124. This business is conducted by: An Individual, NHI NGUYEN, 351 Treichel Lane, Watsonville, CA 95076. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 02/20/2026 and 4/10/2026 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Patty Camarena /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Nhi Nguyen /s/. (Pub LGN: 04/15, 04/22, 04/29, 05/06/2026)
Two Easy Steps To Keeping Your Business Name
Fictitious Business Name paperwork with the clerk of the county
2 Note: If you filed your fictitious business name more than five years ago, you must file a renewal and re-publish to remain compliant.
your mobile phone or scanner and this QR code to upload the document and publish your statement in a newspaper of general circulation
Want to minimize the risk of developing dementia? Schedule a weekly game night with the kids. Want to decrease the risk of heart disease? Have dinner with a friend. Want to reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and even stress? Hang out more often with the people you love most—IRL.
The research is clear: strong social bonds can decrease the risk of premature death, along with a host of chronic illnesses.(1) That is healthy medicine.
Welcome to the healing power of Togethering.™
(1) U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Social Connection, 2023
