Los Gatan January 28, 2026

Page 1


LICENSE PLATE READING CAMS TRIGGER TOWN DEBATE AFTER OTHERS OPT TO JETTISON ALPR

Chief Field: The AIbased tech has proved to be a crucial tool

Drew Penner, Editor

Detective Riley Frizzell crouched over a small Dell laptop at the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department Operations Center on Los Gatos Boulevard, Monday afternoon, hunting for a pickup truck.

There’d been plenty of activity going on at the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department in recent days: the semi-annual report to Council less than a week earlier, ongoing budget discussions in an era of cutbacks, the rise in scammers targeting local seniors and the upcoming Superbowl— which federal officials said will also play host to an ICE enforcement operation Feb. 8.

He ticked off a type of crime from the drop-down menu on the Flock Safety Group digital console, added the plate number and vehicle description and considered other filters to set up an alert within the license plate tracking software. He drew a box around the area he wanted to search.

Almost instantly, a series of photos of the suspect vehicle taken by cameras placed strategically across Los Gatos appeared on his screen. A notification pinged his cellphone. Actually, he wasn’t tracking

MOUNTAIN BIKERS CHEER MIDPEN’S TRAIL ANNOUNCEMENT

Finding a balance between wildlife conservation and recreation

Faizi Samadani, Contributor When the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District board voted to open a new trail at the Beatty property, east of Lexington Reservoir, Dec. 10, it was a significant win for the Los Gatos

outdoor community. There have been delays due to newts being killed at Alma Bridge Road by traffic. The agreement addresses this issue by opening the trail seasonally, when newts aren't migrating during the rainy seasons. The tentative date to open this trail is in 2028, as the last time there was a multi-use trail opened (which included mountain bikers) was the Serpentine Trail—around 30 years ago.

Midpen funded this through a $650,000 grant, setting up a pilot project for the Alma Bridge Road Newt Passage Project. The intention of this project was to offer ways to protect newts from being killed around the Beatty property, where there has been a significant rate of mortality documented for the animal. Santa Clara County has owned the Alma Bridge Road since 2021, so

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BLUE CANARY SWEETS: BEYOND BON BONS

Ness, Contributor

Julia Anderson lives a sweet life. Under the banner of Blue Canary Sweets, the former restaurant owner, culinary professional, pastry chef and chocolatier, gets to create chocolates for a living, without the stress of a brick-and-mortar operation.

You might remember Anderson from her time as proprietor of Fleur de Cocoa in Los Gatos, which she and her husband, Craig, purchased in 2012 from the original owner, master French pastry chef and chocolatier, Pascal Janvier, and his wife Nicola, who founded the shop in 2000.

The Andersons operated it until December of 2019, just before the pandemic, when they sold it to the current owners. Two of their former staff are still happily working there, including a pastry assistant who is now a sous chef, and a dishwasher.

“We were really picky about who we sold it to,” says Anderson. “Fleur de Coco will always have a special place in my heart.”

But with Blue Canary, launched in 2023, Anderson is following her true passion: creating chocolate bars and experimenting with flavors and textures in a format that isn’t constraining.

Life as a chocolatier is more than bon bons.

“At Fleur de Cocoa, I was literally spending most of my time creating truffles,” says Anderson. “One of my favorite things to make are bars. I decided to focus on the fun stuff: to be creative and play. I can make each bar a tablet for my love of chocolate.”

With Blue Canary, which is an online business with a subscription service, she makes about 30 different chocolate bars, although not all are available at the same time. Typically, she has between 10 and 15 flavors available at bluecanarysweets.com

You can also find some of her specially made chocolates at Gali Wines tasting room in Los Gatos. And she participates in a variety of pop-ups, including several large chocolate festivals. Chocolate lovers pay heed: the next one, Chocolate Salon, is March 28, in Golden Gate Park. With one small admission fee, attendees can sample and purchase chocolates from dozens of artisan vendors. “It’s an adjudicated event, and I’ve won a bunch of awards,” says Anderson. “Judges tend to like the new kids on the block.”

Before she dedicated her life to chocolate, Anderson and her husband owned an Italian restaurant they’d purchased in the Midwest, but after the birth of their daughter, they decided to return to the West coast so Emily would grow up with family.

Now, says Anderson, her daughter is her only employee, helping with packaging and sales at the various festivals she relies on for sales.

Anderson herself had a similar be -

ginning. “I worked in a chocolate shop as my first job during high school, and it was a lot of fun. I was their assistant. We didn’t do hard core tempering, but we did things like coconut haystacks and caramel turtles.” At that point, she had no interest in a culinary career. She graduated from UCLA with a degree in photography, and promptly did something completely different, working in HR.

“The last job I had was to lay everyone off including myself,” Anderson says. “I figured it was time to do something else.” So, off she went to Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena and graduated 2nd in class with a general culinary degree. Then came the gig with the Italian restaurant. “I’m not Italian, but my general background helped me plop right into it,” says Anderson. “I love savory cooking, where I can have fun playing, and I love pastry, where I can really nerd out.”

Chocolate bars are where it’s at for her now: simple, approachable, and unfussy, with a sophistication that rewards both gift-giver and giftee. And considering she uses amazing source material, you’re sure to discover a taste like no other.

Careful sourcing is seriously fundamental for making standout bars. For Anderson, it’s Valrhona. “It’s the one I really want to work with because they provide an array of ethically sourced choices with great flavor profiles.”

Her four primary sources include70% dark organic cocoa from Peru, which she says has a nice balance of bitterness, but is not over the top. It makes the perfect base for nuts and dried orange peel. She also likes the 64% dark from Madagascar, for its fruit forward flavor of berry and cherry, that welcomes the addition of freeze-dried fruits.

For her milk chocolates, she procures a 46% base from the Dominican Republic. “This has more intense cocoa notes than the typical milk chocolate base, which is usually around 35%. It’s ideal for dark chocolate lovers who want something a little more mellow,” she explains.

She also uses a white chocolate base that is caramelized to give it more complexity from the bit of bitterness it brings. To this, she adds things called “crunchy cocoa nibs” to create a bar named “Golden Ticket.”

Most of her collection is based on dark, and the current selections include mandarin orange, shortbread, pistachios and Montmorency cherries, walnuts and fleur de sel, toasted almonds, and of course, plain.

You can also find some of her special creations at the Gali Wines tasting room in Los Gatos, including a Dubai bar, which Janice Gali asked her to create. “Honestly, I don’t do fads,” says Anderson. ”And I thought for sure Dubai bars were a fad.” But it’s a fad that’s still growing.

She’s also given in to everyone's love of bon bons, those little bites of joy that can uplift and inspire when the need arises. In her case, she’s created a cute little robot bon bon of dark chocolate Tahitian vanilla bean caramel. She says it’s “super awesome.”

What sweeter way to exact revenge on the tech world than to bite its head off? Significantly more pleasurable than trying to work your way through an endless phone tree that ends up disconnecting you.

I asked Anderson about the challenges of growing a sensitive plant in a world where the ecosystem is constantly at risk. Cacao only grows in a very temperate zone surrounding the equator, and like coffee, is under constant threat from climate change, especially the rise in temperature and more intense storms which raise fungal disease pressure. As crops diminish, the price continues to climb.

Tariffs also play an enormously costly role, and the only place in the US that can produce cacao is Hawaii, where there are now a few plantations on the Big Island, Oahu and Kauai. It’s a growing but very niche product there, with only 250 acres of trees. Compare that to 25M acres worldwide, largely concentrated in West Africa.

Still, Anderson is betting on the universal and endearing appeal of chocolate to keep her blue canary alive and well.

1,500 GATHER IN SOLIDARITY WITH IRANIAN ACTIVISTS

Candlelight vigil held at the Civic Center Lawn Sunday

On Sunday evening, a group of approximately 1,500 people showed up on the lawn in front of Town Hall, to protest the recent massacre of Iran. In recent weeks, there’s been a total internet blackout, during which thousands of people were killed.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which verifies each death with a network on the ground in Iran, says the 6,159 dead include at least 5,804 protesters, 214 government-affiliated forces, 92 children and 49 civilians who weren't part of the demonstrations.

Freedom, democracy and integrity were the themes of the memorial, held to honor all the protestors that sacrificed their lives in Iran.

With protests happening the last several Sundays in San Francisco at Harry Bridges Plaza, there’s been requests for residents in nearby communities to take action, as well.

Therefore, the candlelight vigil was organized here for participants in the Los Gatos and the South Bay area. Los Gatos-based artist Firouzeh Jahanshahi posted on social media to get the word out about the gathering.

As seen in many of the images and videos from the event, fake blood and body bags were used to depict what is happening in Iran now, an effort to extend compassion and solidarity through visibility. This coming Sunday, there will be a "Human Chain" on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco from 11am-2pm, which is expected to draw more than 5,000 participants.

PROPRIETOR Blue Canary Sweets owner Julia Anderson, at the Los Angeles Chocolate Salon, October 2025.
Laura
OUTDOOR ADVOCACY 1,500 local Perian residents at the Flame of Liberty memorial as two choir singers perform a duet.
Courtesy of Julia Anderson
Courtesy of Arvin Khosravi

and Ed

They say they are excited by the announcement of a new trail that’s set to

Mountain bike community building relationships

Midpen has been partnering with them to resolve this ongoing issue. “This compromise proves that the tension between resource protection and public access doesn't have to be a zero-sum game,” said Project Manager Mark Brandi.

Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that advocates for increased mountain bike trail access with land management agencies. Whether that means opening existing trails to mountain bike use, or developing new ones, SVMTB builds relationships and advocates for that cause. Ed Dee is the vice president of SVMTB, and speaks with great excitement about this recent development, as it promises hope for this trail and potentially more to be opened up in the future. “This is huge for the community,” said Dee, explaining his excitement that all local mountain bikers will be able to get out into previously inaccessible areas. There was a trail used in the late 1970s that was closed about a decade later, to the dismay of the Los Gatos bikers community, he recalled.

New trails on the horizon

Another reason that outdoor enthusiasts are thrilled with the news is because it sheds a light on the potential for other closed-off regions to be opened, too. “This is an example of environmental concerns and the mountain biking lob -

by working together for a solution,” said Dee, stating that any trail that's open for multi-use is going to include hiker access, so it’s a big win.

Local hikers will be able to access the trail from downtown Los Gatos, if desired.

The Beatty Ranch was acquired by Midpen 14 years ago. UCSC conducted studies on newt mortality over the course of three years along Alma Bridge Road, which is what has been stalling the process of Midpen opening access to this new trail. In January of 2026 along Alma Bridge Road, UCSC researchers could be spotted in yellow jackets collecting and moving newts along the road.

One of the directors on SVMTB, Jeff King, says he has kids who went to Los Gatos High School. King wants his kids and other youth to be able to reap the benefits of the nature that engulfs the town, rather than being on their phones at home. This recent deal with Midpen opens a gateway to new trails in the Sierra Azul mountains being resurrected for hikers as well as mountain bikers, which has the potential to impact the outdoors culture in Los Gatos for decades to come.

Another SVMTB official, Dirk Franklin, shares his enthusiasm over the new trail.

“I am really excited for the upcoming Beatty Property trails and the additional projects funded by Measure AA,” he said. “These will help make Los Gatos a true

trails destination. Great for recreation and local businesses.”

The first step, according to Dee, is to educate the residents of Los Gatos with the hope of gaining some traction around the less visible territories in the mountains of Los Gatos. “The mountain bike community has been greatly misunderstood by land managers for a long time,” he said. “The misunderstanding comes from land managers thinking all mountain bikers want an abundance of man-made technical features like jumps and burns. We love the environment and we just want to get on our bikes and ride. We are responsible, and we're not gonna be running people off the trail. The majority of mountain bikers just want to ride around in nature.”

Dee explains that the work that he and his peers do at SVMTB is around education and working with other trail user groups—many with environmental concerns. Dee said that mountain biking is one of the largest growing segments of the outdoor recreational industry in the world, and that in his role as vice-president, he and his colleagues act as the middlemen trying to translate the passion behind all bikers in the area. A multiuse trail is currently in the planning stages for Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. They are targeting construction for that trail in Spring of 2027. This preserve currently does not have any trails open to bikers.

Where SVMTB and Midpen meet

Midpen is a regional land management agency that oversees 70,000 acres from Halfmoon Bay to Santa Cruz County with more than 250 miles of trails, with 27 trails open to the public. The first part of their mission is to buy open space land and preserve it, second is to restore and preserve the land making sure that wildlife and vegetative species are as healthy as possible, and third is to provide opportunities for public recreation in an ecological sensitive manner.

“With creating this Beatty trail, we had plans to build this new parking lot. But while we were originally in the planning stages of that, we were alerted by community scientists about large-scale newt mortality issues along the roadway, particularly in the winter months”, says Mcauley. That led to a pause in the Beatty project to look at it from a scientific manner, conducting data modeling and population estimates. From that study in a single season, about 40% of the newts that were trying to cross the roads were killed by vehicles. In about 50 years if the mortality rate continued, they found it would lead to extirpation of newts in that area.

DOWNHILL Jeff King, Dirk Franklin
Dee, board members for Silicon Valley Mountain Bikers, descend quickly along a gravel path.
open in 2028.
Midpen, from page 1

Eden Housing is not the same as the Santa Clara County Housing Authority (Responding to “Los Gatos approves 450-unit North 40 Phase 2, including 77 affordable units,” published Jan. 14 on LosGatan.com)

Los Gatos residents are being asked to accept a public narrative about “low-income housing” that blurs critical distinctions. Those distinctions matter—because North 40 Phase II is a permanent land-use decision that will reshape our town’s character, infrastructure, and quality of life.

At the center of this debate is Eden Housing, a nonprofit affordable-housing developer that is often discussed as if it functions like the Santa Clara County Housing Authority. It does not. The two serve different populations, apply different income rules, and produce different outcomes. Conflating them misleads the public about who this housing will actually serve.

At the county level, “low income” is defined using HUD Area Median Income thresholds and is tied to programs such as Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. When available, vouchers can reduce rent to roughly 30% of income, with the balance subsidized. What is often omitted is that voucher waitlists are long.

Eden Housing operates differently. Its units are project-specific and require

AdLETTERS TO THE EDITOR

applicants to meet standard rental underwriting—typically earning about 2x the monthly rent—while also staying under a strict maximum income cap. For a one-person household at North 40 Phase I, that cap is approximately $59,000.

Despite frequent claims, this model does not meaningfully house most teachers, firefighters, or police officers—many earn too much to qualify, yet too little for market-rate Los Gatos. It is more likely to serve seniors on fixed incomes and some disabled residents. These populations deserve housing, but clarity matters: this project largely brings new residents into Los Gatos rather than stabilizing the local workforce often cited in public discussions.

Finally, while 77 of 450 units (17%) are designated low income, the entire development benefits from state density-bonus and feasibility laws tied to those units, including increased density, reduced setbacks, modified road curvature and easements, and relaxed design constraints. Developers Grosvenor Group, the chief beneficiary (and chair of these trustees is Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, UK) have framed this project as equivalent to broad Section 8 housing. It is not.

The responsibility of the Los Gatos Town Council and Mayor is to safeguard

long-term livability and standards—not to approve projects simply because they are difficult to challenge. If Los Gatos is to change, residents deserve apples-to-apples truth—not PR—about who is housed, who is not, and what we trade away.

Strong opinions sparked by a strong opinion piece

(Responding to the Op-Ed in last week’s newspaper about North 40 Phase 2 by Jak VanNada)

The main opposition to the N40 was never really about affordability, but longterm development of any type. Not surprisingly, they also never proposed buying the land for public purpose, either (essentially that current property owners shouldn’t be able to sell their land at the fair market value).

The key difference between the two Town Council groups came down to this:

-The state-mandated eight-year development plan required adding 1,993 units (under RHNA) through 2031, but the Town’s General Plan (also up for adoption at the same time) required planning for twice as long (through 2040). One group wanted to plan for the long term (up to 4,000 potential units, over

20+ years), while the other just wanted to plan for the absolute minimum, and then start over in a few years.

But planning/zoning for the minimum, all the preferable sites (we can disagree what is “preferable”) may only get developed to that lower limit, and when the next 2,000 units are mandated 8 years later (and repeated even later), there will be nowhere to fit them, and the town would be forced to accept less-ideal locations for high-density units: meaning Builder’s Remedy-type developments would become the norm.

Jak’s story is 90% fairy

Missing the crime blotter What happened to the police report? We always looked forward to it.

—Editor: Hi Betsy, you will be pleased to hear we are planning to bring the Police Blotter back next week.

*Letters are edited for length and clarity

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CHIEF: LICENSE PLATE READER SYSTEM IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL, DESPITE RISKS

Flock, from page 1

a hardened criminal, a missing person or an individual suffering from a mental health episode. He was following a coworker’s movements across town. But he wasn’t peeping on Det. Sgt. Harold Hoyt’s activities because he’d suspected the veteran officer of going rogue. Nope.

This was part of a demonstration of the ALPR (automated license plate reader) technology, provided to the Los Gatan newspaper by the Department, after Flock Safety was thrust into the spotlight, in the wake of neighboring Santa Cruz becoming the first municipality in the state to scuttle its contract with the company.

Community members over the hill were incensed to learn recently that Flock Safety data generated in Santa Cruz and Capitola had been accessed by out-of-state agencies on behalf of federal law enforcement, including ICE.

Frizzell says Flock has been an extremely helpful tool for solving a wide range of crimes, assisting people in distress and finding missing community members. And, investigators note, it’s a little more cumbersome to use than you might think, considering how quickly it times out (forcing you to log back in and confirm you will use the product responsibly).

After Los Gatos secured a $100,000 Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund grant, on Nov. 3, 2020, it offered Flock Safety Group a sole source contract to set up and operate 15 license plate-reading cameras in the community. The concept was to “augment traditional Police services in the deterrence, interruption, and investigation of crime,” prior town manager Laurel Prevetti said at the time.

In 2021, the Town entered into a twoyear agreement term with Flock Safety Group for fifteen ALPR cameras at a cost of $78,750. The Town later added two cameras and, in 2023, Flock Safety Group increased their subscription price to $3,000 per camera annually (up from $2,500).

After that, Flock pitched Town officials on a different concept—a five-year (60-month) “master services agreement” for $255,000 ($51,000 per year) for the 17-camera subscription. The department built in an extra $40,000 for unforeseen costs, bringing the total to $295,000. The contract is set to expire in 2029. Other private groups allow the Department to search their cameras, too.

Steve Clark, the former deputy chief of the Santa Cruz Police Department, who is currently the vice mayor for the City of Scotts Valley (which doesn’t have a contract with Flock Safety, but does have one with Axon for body-worn-camera management), said in a telephone interview he thinks the City of Santa Cruz went too far.

“On the one hand I understand why the council took the action that they did,” he said of Santa Cruz’ choice. “But on the other hand, I think they lost sight of the public safety purpose behind that (technology).”

You have to find a way to balance data privacy worries with public safety concerns, he added.

“Law enforcement has to admit there’s been some abuses of it, and they need to clean that up,” he said, adding you can address privacy concerns practically, without going overboard and buying in to “conspiracy theories.”

He remembered the case of a missing older lady that was solved with the help of an earlier generation of license-plate-reading technology. She turned up in LA when her gold Chrysler PT Cruiser was imaged down there, he said.

But it’s not just Santa Cruz turning its back on the traffic surveillance tool. Los Altos Hills also voted to terminate the contract with Flock at its Jan. 15 Council meeting.

“Effectively immediately, all Flock cameras in Town will go offline. Town Staff is currently in the process of getting the Flock cameras taken down,” reads a message on the peer Silicon Valley jurisdiction’s website.

In November, Oakland City Council’s Public Safety Committee decided not to move forward with a $2.25 million contract with Flock. But in the end it was revived and approved by the full Council in December.

Concerns about the misuse of Flock’s databases have been mounting.

On Jan. 6, Flock Safety posted a blog stating that it doesn’t have a contract with ICE or any other Department of Homeland Security agencies.

“Flock does not share customer data with any federal agency without a local customer’s explicit choice and control,” the company wrote.

But 404 Media, a digital outlet, reported last year that ICE officials had managed to tap into Flock’s nationwide network. Los Gatos opted out of this country-wide database, only sharing with Santa Clara County agencies; it keeps records for 30 days, unless they need to be saved as part of a civil or criminal case. The ACLU says that Flock’s terms and conditions allow the company leeway to share some information with federal forces, even if local jurisdictions try to restrict data.

And earlier this month, Home Depot investors, led by Zevin Asset Management, began pushing that corporation to examine its relationship with Flock, citing issues with how the company could be sharing data with immigration officials.

LGMSPD Chief Jamie Field says that she understands there are concerns out in the

community. But, she added, while her department is eager to adopt new tech to fight crime, they are committed to making sure there are appropriate safeguards in place.

“We subscribe to the community policing model,” she told the Los Gatan. “I’m not going to jeopardize the community’s trust on one of these systems.”

During the Jan. 20 Los Gatos Town Council meeting, some of the depart -

ment improvements came into focus: one new records specialist, three new trainees, four new members of the police explorers program (for younger residents), three new Disaster Aid Response Team members and the ongoing replacement of mobile data computers.

“We’re moving into a new era with the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department,” she told Council, adding they want to

THE CHIEF Jamie Field outlined the various safeguards that are in place to prevent abuse of the Flock

do this in a spirit of “trust and transparency.”

LGMSPD has expanded its drone program and added new citation software for automating enforcement actions.

Los Gatos resident Austin Marshall spoke in person during the public hearing about his experience trying to request a series of documents about LGMSPD’s Flock Safety program using the ➝ Flock, 11

Safety system.
DEMONSTRATION Detective Riley Frizzell shows what goes into a Flock Safety search, during a session at the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Operations Center on Monday.
NETWORK A camera on the SJSU campus in San Jose. Los Gatos allows law enforcement agencies across Santa Clara County to access its Flock cameras. But it does not share with the company’s nationwide system.
Dan Pulcrano
Penner / Los Gatan

LOS GATOS TEAMS VYING FOR SCVAL DE ANZA DIVISION SUPREMACY

Boys and girls hoops, girls soccer aim for league titles

The Los Gatos High School boys basketball team enters this week’s play at 14-4 overall and 5-1 in the SCVAL De Anza Division, a game back of first-place Milpitas—which beat the Wildcats in their first league meeting, 58-52.

The rematch is set for Jan. 30, a game that will have huge ramifications on the title race. Outside of the Milpitas loss, Los Gatos has often grinded its way to victory, combining tough defense, patience on offense and relying on senior wing Dionysis Maroudas to be a playmaker.

Maroudas has been a model of consistency and ultra-reliable, leading the team in scoring in all but one game this season. The 6-foot-3 Maroudas also ranks first on the team in steals and is shooting 47% from the field—tied for first with post Will Campbell.

Maroudas had 16 points and seven re-

bounds in the team’s most recent game, a 55-44 win over Monta Vista on Jan. 23. The Wildcats trailed 14-10 after the opening quarter, but outscored the Matadors 20-8 in the second quarter to seize a 30-22 lead entering halftime.

Los Gatos continued to surge coming out of the break, putting the game away with a 15-7 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Freshman Milos Grabovac had 12 points and Campbell finished with nine points and seven rebounds, including five offensive.

Zach Otoupal collected a team-high nine rebounds, continuing his strong effort on the boards. Maroudas led the team in assists for the fifth time in the last six games, noteworthy as opponents continue to focus their defense on containing him.

Girls Basketball

The Wildcats entered this week’s action at 12-5 overall and 5-1 in SCVAL De Anza Division play, tied for first in the league standings with Los Altos.

Los Gatos beat the Eagles in their first

matchup, 48-35, but lost to Fremont on Jan. 7. The Wildcats get an opportunity to avenge their loss to Fremont in the second regular-season contest between the teams on Jan. 28. Their rematch with Los Altos is set for Feb. 11—a game that will likely decide the De Anza Division championship.

Girls Soccer

Los Gatos continues to stay atop the De Anza Division, entering this week’s play at 9-1-3 overall and 4-0-1 in league.

Second-place Los Altos (5-1) is right on the Wildcats’ heels, but lost the teams’ first showdown, 2-1, on Jan. 3. The rematch is set for the final day of the regular-season on Feb. 17—the outcome likely to decide the De Anza Division title winner.

Los Gatos is aiming to repeat as league champions and has been playing at a high level since the start of the season in early December. Abby Nelson has a team-high 21 goals, Isabella Cain 13 and Ale Munneke nine to spearhead the prolific Los Gatos attack.

The Wildcats have outscored their league opponents by a combined margin of 24-4, posting two shutouts along the way. Darcy Armstrong has six goals, including a crucial tally in a 2-2 draw with Palo Alto. Teagan Kaefer has 13 assists and Nelson seven. Up next is a Jan. 20 match against Mountain View.

Boys Soccer

Los Gatos entered this week’s action at 6-3-2 overall and 3-2-2 in De Anza Division play, good for fourth place in the league standings.

Max Lees continued his strong play by scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Palo Alto on Jan. 15. That result followed a 2-2 draw with Homestead, a team ahead of Los Gatos in the standings. Freshman Sam Olivella and sophomore Ben Booysen had one goal each in one of the team’s best results this season.

However, the Wildcats suffered a setback with a 3-1 loss to Santa Clara—the second to last place team in the league—on Jan. 22.

NIFTY Senior point guard Lola Cuevas delivers a no-look pass during the Wildcats’ 57-52 home victory against Monta Vista on Jan. 23.
Jonathan Natividad

HIGH-TECH POLICING GUARDRAILS

Flock, from page 9

California Public Records Act process.

Two of his four asks did not yield results.

“The Town came back and said there are no responsive documents,” he said. “I’m hoping that’s a mistake.”

He was supplied with a policy document, but the audit report he got was significantly blacked out, including the names of any agency besides the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department that’s been searching cameras across town.

“It’s controversial, in part, because it’s being abused,” Marshall told the Council of Flock’s system. “Every week it’s a new story.”

His other two requests had to do with training records.

When Councilmember Matthew Hudes asked why these documents were not provided, Town Attorney Gabrielle Whelan suggested it’s because they don’t exist.

“It would be a matter of whether or not the Town has them to provide,” she said.

Mayor Rob Moore asked the chief if Immigration and Customs Enforcement had accessed Los Gatos’ database.

“We have not had ICE reach out to us in that manner,” she said.

Chief Field said one of the new challenges faced by the Department is that criminals have been adapting, too, such as by obscuring their plates to avoid detection. This has meant fewer results from ALPR systems, though she declined to quantify the drop.

On Monday, Field told the Los Gatan that Marshall’s CPRA request had been reopened, to see if there might be Flock training records that were missed the first time.

She said that, while problems can arise with any new technology, it’s important not to overlook the benefits.

“I think we can ‘What if…?’ a lot of different aspects,” she said. “There’s all sorts of different databases that law enforcement has access to that could be used in ways that are unfavorable. There are bad actors in any profession.”

There are already guardrails in place, like state legislation limiting how local law enforcement can share ALPR data with federal immigration authorities and out-of-state agencies, she said, adding that crossing the line would likely be a “career-ending” move.

“What if we didn’t have systems like this?” she asked rhetorically, adding if a suspect vehicle connected to a violent crime arrives in the community, they’d want to know about that. “Yes, there’s risk in so many things that we do. But can we minimize the risk?”

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WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A CONTESTANT ON ‘JEOPARDY!’ ANYWAYS?

LGHS teacher Anne Martyn takes us behind the scenes of the classic game show

Drew Penner, Editor

Anne Martyn had a taste of show business when she graduated from college, scoring a job as a page at Paramount Pictures.

But eventually she settled into the pleasant life of a suburban high school teacher at Los Gatos High (she’s Class of ’87 herself), encouraging students through some of literature’s classic passages—and never missing the annual Children’s Christmas/Holidays Parade.

It’s been 27 years now that’s she’s been teaching English.

But for years she’d dreamed of getting the opportunity to be a contestant on “Jeopardy!”

She tried signing up for fun and made it pretty far in the running, in 2018. Back then she did an online test, followed by a written one in a ballroom in San Francisco.

Then, she joined two other people for a mock competition.

“They’re just looking to see how you act under pressure and your sportsmanship,” she explained, over her cell phone while sitting on a bench on the LGHS front lawn in December. “It was always just kind of a lark.”

Her husband Craig, who grew up watching “Jeopardy!” regularly with his family, had made it that far, too, although in his case he paid to fly down to Los Angeles for an audition.

Last spring, Martyn decided to apply again.

Now, in the post-Covid world, she didn’t have to travel for the various stages of the process. The third test, this time, was held through videoconference technology (and was placed into a break room with about 20 other people at one point).

Then, you have to wait.

On Sept. 18, she got a call from Sony Pictures TV. Because she was in her class and had her phone on silent, she missed the call.

After the final bell of the day, she called back, and the voice on the other end of the line asked if she could make it down to Culver City for Sept. 18, to begin filming an episode.

Martyn was told to keep the whole thing hush-hush, though she was allowed to tell her immediate family and her employer (she couldn’t just play hooky for three days).

That’s when she got down to business.

“You’re studying for a test where you do not know the subject matter,” she said of the unique challenge that lay before her. “There could be anything on it.”

In order to pack her brain with as much arcane knowledge as possible, she

AFTER THE SHOW Anne Martyn pictured at the Los Gatos Children’s Christmas/Holidays Parade in December, days after her episode of “Jeopardy!” aired.

decided to focus on a different topic each day—national parks, major wars and treaties, first ladies and presidential pets.

She remembers one time when her student came into her classroom and was like, What are you doing?

“Oh, you know,” she replied, coyly. “I’m just studying.”

And while she dug into the “Jeopardy!” archives, she knew that they’ll never ask the same question twice. Some people will even buy a replica signal-sender to practice buzzing-in.

Game Day

There were about 15 contestants present when Martyn arrived at the Sony lot in Culver City at 7:15am. One was returning champion Harrison Whitaker, 27, a brainiac who had dominated across multiple episodes.

That meant everyone else realized their chances of success had just dropped through the floor. Oddly enough, Martyn said, that sort of took the pressure off, allowing them to relax and just have fun.

“And he’s an amazing guy—so nice,” she recalled. “It was a really collegial atmosphere right off of the bat.”

But Whitaker was defeated. He was taken out (after 14 games)—in the very episode before Martyn took the stage— by Libby Jones, a recruiter from Florida, who answered a question (er, questioned an answer?—in “Jeopardy!” you famous-

ly respond to an answer in the form of a question) about infrastructure depicted on a stamp correctly.

Martyn and Jones were joined by Eli Selzer, who works nearby for HBO in post-production, in the following episode that would be televised Dec. 2.

“I just said, ‘Let’s go get ‘em!’”, Martyn recalled. “Then, we went out there and gave it our all.”

The following moments went by altogether too fast, she says.

“I had so much adrenaline pumping through me,” she said, adding she thinks she was reading the “answers” faster than normal. “I was definitely buzzing-in too soon.”

Martyn had worked on her click-technique with a ballpoint pen.

“The actual buzzer was much harder to yield,” she said. “You just try to adjust.”

Martyn was trailing her competition. But, she knew she about remaining calm under pressure. After all, her father competed at three different Olympics, and even carried the flag for the USA in LA in 1984.

“I was a little more cautious,” she said. “That was my judgement call. Maybe it wasn’t the right one.”

Going into the Final Jeopardy round, she was in last place at $2,200. But she doesn’t focus on the fact that she was $20,800 behind Selzer, but rather how cool it was that Jones was $2,200 ahead of him. A nice symmetry. Martyn decided not to bet anything.

Her husband and two sons were there in the audience, looking on.

And based on Jones’ gambit of wagering $20,801, had that opponent gotten it wrong, Martyn would’ve bested Jones (though, in that scenario, Selzer would’ve won, since he only wagered $2,201).

The category was “Celebrities.” And the answer to which they had to come up with a question? “An Ivy League grad, actress and author. She was Vogue's youngest cover girl at 14 and was called the face of the 1980s.”

They all knew it: Brooke Shields.

“It took me all of a second,” she said. While much of that day is a blur in her mind, she recently got to experience it as a viewer.

“It was kind of just such a joyful moment,” she said, describing what it was like to see herself on the show. “I’m having a ball.”

Unlike what you hear about the behind-the-scenes horrors of some Hollywood productions, making “Jeopardy!” was pure bliss, she says.

Like a perfect dream that she can revisit in her mind, any time she likes.

And, since her episode came out, she’s been getting plenty of positive comments from Los Gatans, too.

“I just felt that love of the community supporting me and saying, ‘Good job!’” she said. “Everyone has been so kind.”

Drew Penner / Los Gatan

LLIVES

Larry Justo Arzie

April 5, 1943 – January 13, 2026

arry and David met in the mid 60’s at San Jose State College. They became close friends and eventually purchased an old wonderful house in Los Gatos. They later parted ways and left Los Gatos. A few years later they moved back to Los Gatos together after David started a small shop in downtown Los Gatos called Los Gatos National Porch. Larry and David ultimately purchased another old house which they sold to start a business together. Thus, was born the Los Gatos Porch (they temporarily lived in the attic of the new shop while establishing the business) and then became life partners and business partners. They did very well in the community and ultimately became a fixture in Los Gatos while giving much love and service back in return. The term “Larry and David” was thus born. Larry began his lifelong giving and service to the town and his many friends and clients. He was always there for any cause that he felt could benefit from the natural generosity that he possessed. Larry lent his thoughtful and often pointed insight to most town issues, even at the expense of making some enemies. But his actions were never for his own gains but always for the idea of doing the right thing for the town. He had a very principled view and believed in treating others justly and fair. Larry was devoted to the arts and culture in our community. He was totally committed to keeping the Los Gatos legacy of being an artistic town alive.

Larry’s Spanish heritage was very important to him. It came from his mother who was born in Spain but moved to the U.S. with her parents. He was extremely close with his abuela and abuelo (grandparents). He talked to his abuelo into funding a trip to Spain in his early college years where he met his whole Spanish family. A classic early 60’s college boy spending the entire summer in Europe on grandpa!

He is survived by his partner, David Stonesifer; a few relatives, including brother, Frank Arzie and his wife Judy; nieces, and an aunt. He is also survived by his caring companion, Sam Martinez and Charlie, their wonderful Jack Russell Terrier.

The Celebration of Larry’s Life will occur on February 12, 2026 at La Estancia in Los Gatos beginning at 11:00 am. Promptly at noon the service will begin followed by refreshments and more sharing of memories.

Capture the essence of a departed family member with an obituary in the pages of our papers. Your tribute will appear perpetually on our website, and that of our partner, Legacy.com. We can write a tribute that embodies the spirit of the deceased, or we can publish one you provide us.

DISCOVER LOST GATOS

The Historic Tait Avenue Fire Station

Landmark will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year

Alan Feinberg, Contributor

The old fire station on the corner of Tait Ave. and W. Main St. is a familiar sight to those of us who live on the West side of town. The Spanish Revival style building, with its stucco walls, low hip roof clad in red clay tiles, broad eaves, and arched entry, is a typical example of a small civic building in Northern California during the early 20th century. Despite its age, it looks almost the same as the day it was built nearly 100 years ago.

Ironically, the fire department’s first headquarters burned to the ground in the Great Fire of 1901 which destroyed almost the entire downtown business district. They continued to operate without a home for the next 25 years since a replacement wasn’t an important consideration for the all-volunteer department. The part-time “fire laddies” as they were affectionately called, were paid $2.50 to $3 each time they were called to a fire.

Investment in modern firefighting

equipment was a priority. With the passage of bond issues in 1915 and 1916 the town raised enough money to purchase two state-of-the-art fire engines to replace its aging 19th century hose carts and hand-drawn hook and ladder wagon. The first was a combination chemical and hose truck (on the right in the photo) and the next was a more substantial 750-gallon pumper. The department was justifiably proud of their American LaFrance fire engines which were considered to be the finest that money could buy.

American LaFrance, based in Elmira New York, was one of the oldest and most prominent manufacturers of fire apparatus in the United States. Their fire engines were renowned for their toughness, durability, exceptional quality, and strong performance. The familiar red engines became a staple of fire departments throughout the country.

A successful $30,000 bond issue in 1926 made it possible for the town to finally construct a permanent fire station. The original floorpan, with the main entrance at 4 Tait Ave., included compact

living quarters and a chief’s office. The garage facing Main St. housed the fire engines. The station opened in 1927 and served the community for nearly 40 years.

It found a second life as the town’s first history museum when the fire department moved to a larger facility on University Ave. in the 1960s. The garage became exhibit space and the office and living quarters became curatorial and storage rooms. This adaptive reuse preserved the original exterior features while interiors were reconfigured for exhibit circulation. The story is an archetypal one in preservation: a small-town civic building whose scale makes it both historically recognizable and practically reusable.

When the history museum relocated to the Forbes Mill Annex, the space was converted into a dedicated art museum. The two museums merged in 2015 to form the New Museum of Los Gatos (NUMU) and their exhibits were moved into the former library space in the civic center. Both buildings have remained vacant ever since.

There’s been considerable discussion and

speculation over the past few years about the future of the fire station. Last month, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Council approve a zoning change for the town-owned property from Central Business District to Single-Family Residential Downtown with a Landmark and Historic Preservation Overlay. The Town Council subsequently voted 5-0 to approve. Since the property is also in the Broadway Historic District, we can be confident that any exterior renovations to convert the building into a private residence will be very strictly controlled.

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.

FIREFIGHTERS The Town got started on its first permanent fire station in 1926, with the help of a $30,000 bond.

Town of Los Gatos

NOTICE AND SUMMARY OF AN ORDINANCE TITLED:

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS AMENDING THE ZONING CODE FROM C2:LHP (CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT WITH A LANDMARK AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION OVERLAY) TO R-1D:LHP (SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DOWNTOWN WITH A LANDMARK AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION OVERLAY) FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 4 TAIT AVENUE

Notice is hereby given that at its meeting of Tuesday, January 20, 2026, the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos introduced the Ordinance titled above. The adoption of this Ordinance is scheduled for Tuesday, February 3, 2026, at approximately 7:00 p.m., in person and via Teleconference.

The following is a summary of the Ordinance:

An Ordinance of the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos amending the Zoning Code from C2:LHP (Central Business District with a Landmark and Historic Preservation Overlay) to R-1D:LHP (Single-Family Residential Downtown with a Landmark and Historic Preservation Overlay) for property located at 4 Tait Avenue (APN 510-44-054). The Ordinance will change the zoning designation to be consistent with the surrounding neighborhood and to match the Medium Density Residential General Plan Land Use Designation.

Please note that the above is a summary of the Ordinance. To obtain a full understanding of the Ordinance it should be read in its entirety. A copy of the full text of the Ordinance is available in the Town Clerk’s office at Los Gatos Town Hall, 110 E. Main Street, Los Gatos, CA 95030.

Wendy Wood Los Gatos Town Clerk

Published: 1/28/2026 (Pub LGN 1/28)

Name Change

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME. Case No. 26CV484106. Notice of Petition of Veronica Flores De Diaz. Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. To all interested persons: Petitioner: Veronica Flores De Diaz filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: Present name: a. Veronica Flores De Diaz to Proposed name: Veronica Diaz. 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: April 14, 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, 107 Dakota Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Date: January 13, 2026. /s/ Le Jacqueline Duong /s/, Judge of the Superior Court. Filed January 13, 2026 by /s/ TB T. Belloncle /s/, Deputy Clerk. (Pub LGN: 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, 02/18/2026)

Fictitious Business Name Statements

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #722599

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: MLB Consulting Specialist, 4876 Poston Drive, San Jose, CA, 95136, Manuel L. Barrios. This business is being conducted by an Individual. Registrant has not yet begun business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. /s/Manuel Barrios. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 01/07/2026. (pub LG 01/14, 01/21, 01/28, 02/04/2026)

PUBLIC NOTICES

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME. FBN721117, filed on 11/07/2025.

The following person(s)/registrant(s) has/have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name(s): Tradeline Partners , 108 Smith Creek Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95030. Filed in Santa Clara county on 11/07/2022 under file No. FBN690089. Full Name of Registrant (s): 1. Daniel J Linebarger, 108 Smith Creek Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95030 and Cynthia J Linebarger, 108 Smith Creek Drive, Los Gatos, CA 95030. This business was conducted by: A General Partnership. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Corinne Vasquez /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Daniel J Linebarger /s/. Dated: November 7, 2025. (Pub LGN: 11/26, 12/03, 12/10, 12/17/2025, REPUB: LGN 01/07, 01/14, 01/21, 01/28/2026)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #722177

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: The Liquor Barn, 13305 Sycamore Ave., San Martin, CA, 95046, The Liquor Store LLC. This business is being conducted by a Corporation. Registrant began business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on 12/01/2025. Above entity was formed in the state of California. /s/ Yadwinder Singh. CFO. #BA20242027209. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 12/18/2025. (pub LG 01/07, 01/14, 01/21, 01/28/2026)

File Number: FBN722546. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. BARNETT TAX SERVICES, 500 E. Calaveras Blvd., Suite #214, Milpitas, CA 95035. This business is conducted by: An Individual, LORI KANAWYER BARNETT, 500 E. Calaveras Blvd., #214, Milpitas, CA 95035. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 12/18/2025 and 01/05/2026 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/ Lori Kanawyer Barnett /s/. (Pub LGN: 01/14, 01/21, 01/28, 02/04/2026)

File Number: FBN722434. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. RECOR COMMERCIAL CALIFORNIA , 481 N Santa Cruz Ave #162, Los Gatos, CA 95033. This business is conducted by: An Individual, STEVEN DOUGLAS MAXSON, 481 N Santa Cruz Ave #162, Los Gatos, CA 95030. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 12/29/2025 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. /s/ Steven Douglas Maxson /s/. (Pub LGN: 01/14, 01/21, 01/28, 02/04/2026)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #721762

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: San Jose Contract Enforcement Group, 1177 Branham Lane #1029, San Jose, CA, 95118, Xtreme Junk Pros LLC. This business is being conducted by a Limited Liability Company. Registrant began business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein on 12/02/2025. Above entity was formed in the state of California. /s/Ernest Daniel Estrada. Managing Member. #B20250394713. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 12/02/2025. (pub LG 01/14, 01/21, 01/28, 02/04/2026)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #722684

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Pace Physical Therapy, 3880 S. Bascom Ave Ste106, San Jose, CA, 95124, Epic Physical Therapy And Wellness PC. 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/Aparajitha Gottapu. CEO. #B20250323214. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 01/09/2026. (pub LG 01/21, 01/28, 02/04, 02/11/2026)

File Number: FBN722443. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. PL KRAUSE 2. PL KRAUSE COMPANY, 2. PL KRAUSE CO, 50 Cody Lane, Los Altos, CA 94022. This business is conducted by: An Individual, PETE KRAUSE, 50 Cody Lane, Los Altos, CA 94022. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 12/29/2025 is the file date. Statement filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara: /s/ Mike Louie /s/ Deputy, 110 West Tasman Drive, San Jose, CA 95134. /s/ Pete Krause /s/. (Pub LGN: 01/21, 01/28, 02/04, 02/11/2026)

File Number: FBN722779. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. MOXXIE , 544 Lochridge Drive, San Jose, CA 95133. This business is conducted by: An Individual, FELIX MARCELINO, 544 Lochridge Drive, San Jose, CA 95133. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 01/14/2026 and 01/15/2026 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/ Felix Marcelino /s/. (Pub LGN: 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, 02/18/2026)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #722744

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Monterey Square, 16795 Monterey Rd., Morgan Hill, CA, 95037, Marian Nazzal Petros, Jiries J. Nazzal, Neimeh J Nazzal, Issa J. Nazzal, Basima I Nazzal. This business is being conducted by a General Partnership. Registrant began business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein n 01/13/2026. /s/Marian Nazzal Petros. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 01/13/2026. (pub LG 01/21, 01/28, 02/04, 02/11/2026)

File Number: FBN722568 . The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. Pacific Assets Solutions 21510 Oak Court, Los Gatos, CA 95033. This business is conducted by: An Individual, Marat Svetlichnyi, 21510 Oak Court, Los Gatos, CA 95033. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 01/01/2026 and 01/06/2026 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. /s/ Marat Svetlichnyi /s/. (Pub LGN: 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, 02/18/2026)

File Number: FBN722557. The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. GEEK OUT TRAVEL , 13209 Quito Road, Saratoga, CA 95070. This business is conducted by: An Individual, APRIL ELIZABETH TARBUSKOVICH, 13209 Quito Road, Saratoga, CA 95070. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable and 01/06/2026 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/ April Elizabeth Tarbuskovich /s/. (Pub LGN: 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, 02/18/2026)

legals@losgatan.com

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #721637

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Sunkissed Co., 7160 Spumante Ct., Gilroy, CA, 95020, Lani Isabella Riggins. This business is being conducted by a Individual. Registrant has not yet begun business under the fictitious business name or names listed herein. /s/Lani Isabella Riggins. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 11/25/2025. (pub LG 12/03, 12/10, 12/17, 12/24/2025)

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT #722927

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Richard Smith & Associates, Inc., 1500 E Hamilton Ave., #212, Campbell, CA, 95008. This business is being conducted by a Corporation. 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/Denise Wilson. CEO. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Clara County on 01/21/2026. (pub LG 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, 02/18/2026)

File Number: FBN722852 . The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1. APPLIED MEDIA , 39 Ashler Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030. This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company, COVEN LLC, 39 Ashler Ave, Los Gatos, CA 95030. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 01/13/2026 and 01/20/2026 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. Coven LLC, Article/Reg # B20250435986, Above Entity was Formed in the State of CA. /s/ Andrew Coven /s/ Managing Member. (Pub LGN: 01/28, 02/04, 02/11, 02/18/2026)

Two Easy Steps

Keeping Your Business Name

File Fictitious Business Name paperwork with the clerk of the county Use your mobile phone or scanner and this QR code to upload the document and publish your statement in a newspaper of general circulation

Note: If you filed your fictitious business name more than five years ago, you must file a renewal and re-publish to remain compliant.

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Leaking, corroded, or clogged pipes can cause weak showers, sluggish drains and higher water bills.

TrenchFree replaces old water mains and sewer lines using cutting-edge trenchless technology — without excavating and tearing up the entire yard.

As the Bay Area’s trenchless technology leader, we save you time and money.

Call TrenchFree today for a free consultation and video camera inspection of your aging underground plumbing.

Nondistruptive underground drilling saves your lawn, gardens and hardscapes.

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