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Thanksgiving 2017 Newsletter
On Mobile/Tablet, View in Landscape Mode
Newsletter Writer: Intern Priscilla Widjaja
Contents A Note From Rishi: Consider signing the water Petition www.tinyurl.com/NoMoreSJWC City Happenings, Info, & News
Count your Blessings Appointed and Ready to Serve Quieter Saratoga in 2019 Arrests in Saratoga
Upcoming Events Celebration of Light State Route 85 Transit Guideway Study Brookside club study session Silicon Valley Shark Tank on December 17th “Unity in Community” Speech Competition on January 14th
Audition for Silicon Valley’s got Bollywood Q&A with Councilmember Rishi Kumar Visit www.RishiKumar.com/faq for the complete list
I have a question on parking issues near my home I will be on vacation in December. What should I be doing to better
protect my home while I am away?
A Note From Rishi
Consider Signing the Water Petition
Dear neighbors, Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week. Water is going to be our biggest challenge over the next few decades based on the challenges that were imposed upon us during the recent California drought and super high water bills. It is time we took control of it...now! We do NOT want to be at the mercy of an investorowned utility company for our water. How about a NEW DIRECTION! Or should we launch these reactive protests in an endless loop? I am in support of a new municipal water utility company servicing the cities that are currently covered by San Jose Water Company. Please consider signing the Water Oversight Group petition towards this that over 1,300 have signed www.tinyurl.com/NoMoreSJWC Here is what it will take for this directional shift:
Forging a broad coalition of cities that get served by SJWC will be a good start. See A1 below
In the United States, 58 cities have taken control of their water system; let us follow their execution strategy See A2 below
Condemn San Jose Water Company by exercising eminent domain. See a recent California use case success of doing exactly that A3 below
Silicon Valley Clean Energy is the result of 12 communities coming together. Today, the cities of Palo Alto and Santa Clara have their own municipal water company. Let us explore similar options to forge a new entity that will NOT be motivated by profit see A4 below
A sound financial model. See A5 below _DETAILS BELOW #A1 We are building a broad coalition engaging councilmembers from cities to converge behind this push back against rampant rate increases and more. Currently a council member each from Saratoga, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, Milpitas and Sunnyvale have joined as Board members of the Water Oversight Group, a group founded by Councilmember Rishi Kumar and pushing forward with this objective. #A2 Worldwide, 235 cities in 37 countries— including Paris, Budapest and Buenos Aires — have taken stronger or total control of their water systems in the last five years. In the U.S., 58 cities have taken or retaken control of private systems in the period, with the pace accelerating. Read this LA Times article http://www.latimes.com/business/lafipublicprivateproperties20151015story.html #A3 California municipalities have been particularly active in reclaiming water systems. Click on this article below that describes how eminent domain action led to California based Casitas Municipal Water District (“Casitas”) taking over operating assets of Golden State Water Company’s Ojai water system by eminent domain for approximately $34.5 million. Yes it can be done! http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170413006178/en/AmericanStatesWaterCompanyAnnouncesAgreementResolve #A4 Santa Clara and Palo Alto already have city owned and operated municipal utility company which is working very well for their residents i.e reasonable water rates, and NEVER surcharges. Twelve communities in Santa Clara County formed Silicon Valley Clean Energy, creating a communityowned agency https://www.svcleanenergy.org/aboutus that has created an alternative to PG&E. Why not a Silicon Valley Municipal Water community owned water ? All options should be considered perhaps expand the existing San Jose Municipal Utility or Cupertino Municipal Utility? #A5 With 229,000* metered connections, we anticipate a price tag of $700M. An investment of $3,000 to $5,000 / family would be needed financed upfront, spreading the payment over 10 years. Given that SJWC profited $222M in 7 years, we would have saved at least $350M in the next 10 years that could accelerate payments or credited back to the customers, or rates lowered to ensure a breakeven operation (remember the new municipal utility is NOT driven by profits) See coverage of my press coverage of my November 6th speech at the CPUC hearing here or http://www.indiapost.com/rishicallsformoneybackfromsanjosewatercompany/ The video of my pitch to CPUC is here http://tinyurl.com/RishiCPUCspeech asking CPUC to give us money back and reduce our water rates. Excited about this idea? Subscribe to the Water Oversight Group groups.google.com/group/wateroversight Please consider signing the petition here that 1300+ have signed already www.tinyurl.com/NoMoreSJWC Thanks Rishi
I loved this posting seen on Linkedin
City Happenings, Info, & News Count Your Blessings
Unveiling of the Willys and Betty Peck Count Your Blessing founding members of Saratoga in 1956. Willys is no more and missed every day. Betty Peck, 92 years old joined us via video conference. What a fabulous day, a momentous day in Saratoga. The community rallied behind this bronze "Count your Blessings" bench which will invite every Saratoga and Silicon Valley resident to thank everything we have in our lives.
Appointed and Ready to Serve! Councilmember Rishi Kumar, from the city of Saratoga has been appointed by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to serve on the Comprehensive County Expressway Planning Study Policy Advisory Board for a term expiring on June 30, 2019.
Quieter Saratoga in 2019 In response to the increased use of leaf blowers, the Saratoga City Council recently passed an ordinance that will help decrease noise pollution in the city. The new ordinance will go into effect on October 1, 2019. It will require that all leaf blowers used in Saratoga are certified by the manufacturer to produce no more than 65 Aweighted decibels (dBA) or less at a distance of 50 feet. There are a number of commercially available leaf blowers with relatively low noise levels. Leaf blowers that meet this criteria are labeled with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) B175.2 sticker. This manufacturer’s label will be used to verify compliance. Keep an eye out for continued outreach and reminders over the next two years before the change is implemented in October 2019. For more information, contact City of Saratoga Code Compliance at 4088681214 or [email protected]
Arrest in Saratoga West Valley Detectives arrested Isiah Caravez (19), Luis Meza (19), and Kunj
Pathak (20) for the 11/9/17 Robbery of the Exxon Mobil Gas Station at 12600 Saratoga Avenue in Saratoga, CA. Isiah Caravez (see photo), 19, of Saratoga brandished a firearm and demanded money from the gas station clerk. He is currently being held without bail at our Elmwood Facility.
Upcoming Events
Celebration of Light December 16 Join the City of Saratoga and the Ministerial for the Celebration of Light on Saturday, December 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the Blaney Plaza. The event is intended to build community and celebrate the diversity of Saratoga through the symbolism of light, which represents hope, joy, and faith across culture
Brookside Club study session Brookside Club (19127 Cox Avenue) On December 12, 2017, the Planning Commission will hold a Study Session to review proposed changes to the Brookside Club conditional use permit. The Brookside Club is a private, member owned swim and tennis club. Membership is limited to 250 families. Brookside’s existing use permit includes operating hours for weekdays and weekends, with closing hours based on the time of the sunset. The Club is proposing new operating hours for both tennis and swim activities which includes standardized closing hours.
State Route (SR) 85 Transit Guideway Study Take the Online Survey
The State Route (SR) 85 Transit Guideway Study evaluates transportation alternatives of the 23.7mile corridor that connects the cities of Mountain View and San Jose, from the SR 85/US 101 interchange in Mountain View to the SR 85/US 101 interchange in South San Jose. Study alternatives will include Bus Rapid Transit service and infrastructure, Light Rail Transit, and possible future transportation technologies or other options. The SR 85 Transit Guideway Study will be conducted by VTA staff under the direction of the SR 85 Policy Advisory Board (PAB). The advisory board will be instrumental in identifying the alternatives that will be analyzed and ultimately making a recommendation to VTA’s Board of Directors about how to proceed with a transit improvement plan along the SR 85 corridor. VTA values input from the community and we believe that more voices help us produce better outcomes. Please take a short survey about how you currently travel
and would be willing to travel on State Route 85 . Help set the criteria used to guide the study for transit improvements and alternatives. contact VTA Community Outreach at (408) 3217575 TTY (408) 2312330 For More Information and to take the survey!: http://www.vta.org/projectsandprograms/planning/sr85guidewaystudy
Silicon Valley Shark Tank on December 17th
Silicon Valley Coders Shark Tank on December 17th
WHEN: Sunday December 17th 2pm 4pm
WHERE: Joan Pisani Community Center,
Silicon Valley Coders Shark Tank is set for December 17th Top 2 teams from each location will be invited to pitch their business plans
Silicon Valley Young Coders Club is actively seeking Startup Advisors for these startup teams, please contact [email protected]
Unity in Community Speech Competition on January 14th
An opportunity for students to debate at “3rd annual Unity in Community Day on January 14th 2018 Mark your calendar. Prepare your Unity speeches RSVP at
tinyurl.com/s iliconvalleySTEAM
Audition for Silicon Valley’s got Bollywood
Calling performers to audition and win big at Silicon Valley’s got Bollywood 2018 on March 24th 2018 Not just Bollywood performances can be absolutely anything songs, dances, comedy, magic, just show case your amazing talent. Submit your audition videos at http://tinyurl.com/SiliconValleyBollywood or http://www.siliconvalleybollywood.com/
Q&A with Councilman Kumar
Visit www.RishiKumar.com/faq for the complete list. Queson: I need your advice on how to proceed or what is the correct procedure on an ongoing annoyance.
We have a religious place of worship very near to my house (almost next door). I find someone or other parally blocks our driveway. I do not want to call the police every me I see a car blocking our driveway. Can you please advise on any alternaves? Where do I raise my concern so that some acon is taken for a beer soluon? ANSWER: City staff will contact the religious place of worship to present the predicament and request help Queson: I am going to be on vacaon in December. What deterrents should I place around my home?. Are you planning a summer vacation? You will find some interesting tips and measures to take before you leave here Please take steps to place deterrents in and around your home. You can review safety tips at www.RishiKumar.com/tips . Please take action now, adopt some protective measures to protect your home Here are the the crime stats from 2016. Also, here is the deck that was presented by Captain Urena at a recent Neighborhood Safety Watch certification meeting
Glimpses - A Pictorial View (November 2017)
Thanksgiving week ...family time Rose Bowl Stadium UCLA vs CAL
At the CPUC hearing on November 6th, San Jose City Hall
Assemblymember Evan Low meets with Saratoga City Council
Chatting about water with Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran
With Jonathan Reichental, the CIO of the city of Palo Alto discussing Block Chain and Crypto Currency. Cupertino School Board Member LiangFang Chao was
attending this seminar too
At a political event, Westin San Francisco airport
With Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and Assemblymember Ash Kalra
With Congressman Ro Khanna and Mayor Lily Mei (Fremont)
With Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthy
and Saratoga residents Talat and Kamil Hassan
Saratoga Diwali 2017 was quite a party
Saratoga Diwali pictures and videos are at www.facebook.com/SaratogaDiwali or here
