The Cupertino Courier 1998 was a year of diversity Cupertino began the year with a series of dramatic floods, which officials called the worst in the city's recent history. The literal floods paved the way for a more figurative type of flooding later in the year: the emotional outpouring over diversity issues in the community. Residents expressed their opinions at city-hosted forums, at school board meetings and on the letters page of The Courier. As diversity issues simmered, other news emerged--Wally Dean stepped in as the new mayor, residents in Rancho Rinconada voted to become a part of the city, residents helped to elect the first female sheriff in the county and Jeff Lamson entered a "no contest" plea to charges that he had sexual relations with two of his female students. As 1999 unfolds, we promise to continue to keep an eye on the stories that shape our community and our lives. January Cupertino is not topless "What kind of city are you people running?" one resident asked city councilwoman Sandra James via fax in response to an advertisement for topless female oil wrestling at P.J. Mulligan's. The resident was actually teasing James, but the councilwoman decided it was a very good question. Before any oil started oozing, James called on the Sheriff's Department and city officials. They quickly informed P.J. Mulligan's management that "adult entertainment" is not allowed within 1,000 feet of homes. One of the bar's owners responded by saying an outside company that runs the wrestling events placed the ad without his consent; P.J. Mulligan's owners told the company that they "had no intention of going topless." City shuts down salon cited for prostitution The city moved to revoke the massage establishment license of a skin care salon on Stevens Creek that was cited for prostitution twice in 1997. Ahn T. Shaw, owner of Prima Skin Care and Spa, fought the revocation by demanding a hearing before the City Council. Shaw said she was willing to give up ownership of Prima Skin Care, but she also wanted a ruling that would allow her to reapply for a massage license at a later date. At the last minute, the City Council delayed the hearing to February. Chang reveals survey; city is in good shape Mayor Michael Chang announced at the annual State of the City event that 87 percent of residents are satisfied with how the city provides services. It was the first look at a city-commissioned survey of residents that also showed that 79 percent of residents have Internet access. Overall, residents are also said they were satisfied with the Sheriff's Department. In his speech at the Quinlan Community Center, Chang listed the expansion of the senior center and the library as two major goals for the new year. He also mentioned a teen center as something the city might want to consider in the future. February Shaw loses her appeal In the beginning of February, Prima Skin Care owner Ahn T. Shaw lost her appeal in the revocation of her massage establishment license. All five council members voted unanimously against the appeal, making it illegal for her to apply for another massage license in Cupertino, and possibly other cities. Shaw's lawyer told the council that at the worst she is a "negligent shopkeeper" because her employees engaged in illegal acts of prostitution without her knowledge. He also said the council's decision will cause her to lose her "right to employment." The council remained unswayed by his pleas. Property owners ask planners for limits Planning commissioners heard for the first time from property-rights advocates who do not want the city to regulate the construction of large homes. For months some residents had been complaining about the two-story homes that tower over surrounding single-story homes and take up a large portion of their lots. In addition to the size, residents complained the mostly Mediterranean-style homes do not fit in with existing ranch-style homes. As the commission began considering restricting the height, mass and style of future new homes, property-rights advocates warned that doing so could ruin property values in Cupertino. Cupertino suffers dramatic flooding A deluge of rain between 1 and 2 a.m. on Feb. 3 caused the worst flooding in Cupertino's recent history. The banks of Stevens and Calabazas creeks overflowed, flooding dozens of homes and apartments. "Nobody has seen this extent of flooding," city manager Don Brown said. Some residents were evacuated as water threatened their homes. Approximately 8,000 Cupertino homes were without power for up to 12 hours. On Feb. 7, another storm caused the Calabazas to flood again, hitting the residents at the Gardens of Fountainbleu apartments on Miller Avenue with water and mud for a second time. Judge denies Lamson's request for dismissal Jeff Lamson, the former Homestead High School football coach who was arrested in 1997 for sexual misconduct with female students, lost his request to have the charges dismissed. Lamson faced charges that included two counts of oral copulation and 10 counts of penetration with a foreign object with a minor. Despite orders by a judge to stay away from his alleged victims, Lamson paged one of the girls, who then told sheriff deputies. The girl agreed to call Lamson and have the conversation recorded. Lamson's attorney argued that Lamson's rights were violated and that he should have been given the opportunity to have an attorney present during the conversation. The judge disagreed and ordered the case to move forward to trial. March Candidates vie for sheriff position Six candidates threw their hats in the ring in the race for sheriff. Candidates included assistant sheriffs Ruben Diaz, Tom Sing and Laurie Smith, Sgt. Jose Salcido, Capt. Brian Beck and former deputy Wayne Brown. After saying he wouldn't endorse anyone, Sheriff Chuck Gillingham surprised everyone by endorsing Sing, a longtime friend. Diaz announced his own endorsement of San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer, among others. Cupertino City Council members Sandra James, John Statton and Wally Dean endorseed Smith, Mayor Michael Chang endorsed Sing and Councilman Don Burnett backed Salcido. City opens Creekside Cupertino opened its newest, and probably last, big park, Creekside Park, off Miller Avenue. The city spent $3 million from Measure T funds, a bond passed by voters in 1990 to purchase land and to build parks, soccer fields, playgrounds, a community building and a bridge over Calabazas Creek. The park sits on the site of the Fremont-Older school, which was torn down a few years earlier and replaced with nearby Sedgwick Elementary. Federated agrees to build new Macy's The state attorney general's office negotiated a plan with Federated Department Stores that would replace the Macy's Clearance Center with a full-scale Macy's in Vallco Fashion Park, and clear the way for a major mall renovation that could include movie theaters and another department store. The negotiations came after the attorney general launched an investigation in 1997 into Federated's motivation behind opening the clearance center. The city contends Federated was trying to block a competitor, namely Dillard's, from coming into the mall. In the meantime, customers and sales had been dwindling, which meant the city's sales tax revenue also suffered. Parents ask for Mandarin immersion In a three-hour meeting a group of parents ask the Cupertino Union School District board to implement a Mandarin immersion program in schools--sparking one of the biggest controversies to emerge in Cupertino in 1998. With the goal of implementing one kindergarten class and one first grade class in the fall, the parents asked the board to place the item on the agenda so that a decision could be made quickly. The parent group estimated 40 students, 20 in each grade, would be involved the first year. Language experts informed the district that immersion--in which a blend of English- and Mandarin-speaking students are taught in both languages--is the best way to teach young children a language. Opponents argued it was not fair to spend money on a few children, while the majority of children go without programs such as arts, music and sports. April Sears moves to evict food court tenants Sears moved to evict the food court restaurants in Vallco Fashion Park on April 1 after stating that the restaurant owners had not been paying rent. The food court tenants said they had been sending in rent checks for a year to the mall's management company. The company was supposed to forward the checks to Sears. The checks were never cashed. One owner, Howard Wong of Osaka Teriyaki, said he would stay open until sheriff's deputies kicked him out. At the time, a rumor was circulating throughout the mall that Sears had plans to open a furniture store in the space, but company officials wouldn't confirm or deny it. A furniture store opened there later in the year. Measure H passes Without encountering any organized opposition, Measure H, the $144 million bond to repair Fremont Union High School District schools, passed easily on the April 14 special election. More than 21 percent of registered voters went to the polls; 80 percent of those voted in favor of the bond. Prior to the election, volunteers, including dozens of students, spent hours nightly at phone banks and walked neighborhoods to encourage people to support the measure. Over the next eight years $119 million will be spent refurbishing and upgrading the high schools, with the remaining $25 million being spent on further upkeep over another 25 years. 'Big house' battle rages In the meantime, Cupertino residents continued to battle one another over the big house issue at a joint meeting of the City Council and the Planning Commission, where angry words were exchanged on both sides. The goal of the joint meeting was to give planners an idea of the direction City Council members want them to follow in creating new regulations. By the end of the meeting it was clear the councilmembers sought some kind of change. "Nobody's saying you shouldn't be able to build a large home ..." Sandra James told an impassioned audience. "What we're trying to say is that we need to help protect the quality of the community and also the values and rights of landowners." County libraries filter Internet access Acting on a suggestion by a special task force on Internet access, the Joint Powers Authority agreed to place filters on computers in the children's areas of county libraries. Councilman John Statton, the city's JPA representative and task force member, said the plan does not fit Cupertino, where there have been no complaints about pornography on Internet sites, but "to a degree it does fit the district as a whole." County residents on both sides of the issue argued for more than two hours before the final vote. Rancho annexation nears Annexation of Rancho Rinconada came one step closer to fruition in mid-April when the Planning Commission approved a prezoning plan of the area. Prezoning the area to conform to the city's current standards was required before actual annexation could start. Just a few weeks earlier, the county tightened its own building standards of the area, after pressure from residents who complained about the "out of control" building of large houses in the neighborhood of 1950 Eichler-type single-story homes. May CUSD board passes version of immersion An exhausting six-hour meeting of the Cupertino Union School District trustees ended in approval of a milder version of the controversial Mandarin immersion program a group of parents had presented to the board in April. The board agreed to implement a voluntary pilot program for one kindergarten class in the fall--if enough parents ask for it. In response to dozens of parents who complained about the cost of the program, the board asked staff to find outside funding to subsidize the cost of the class. The pilot program will be "enrichment," rather than "immersion," which means children will be taught the language for one period each day. City leaders urge state to nix car fee plan Gov. Pete Wilson announced a plan to cut vehicle registration fees in half, but city leaders urged state representatives to nix the plan because of the potential harm to Cupertino's budget. The reduced fees for residents would also mean $2 million less each year flowing into city coffers, City Manager Don Brown warned. Local representative Jim Cuneen said the state will repay the city, but Brown said the state has made that promise in the past, and broken it. Reduced city services could be the result, Brown said. June Sheriff race yields historic results In a historic vote, a woman and a Hispanic man were elected as the runoff candidates for sheriff in the November election. Santa Clara County has only had white males as sheriff. Laurie Smith surprised everyone by receiving the most votes in a field of five candidates. Ruben Diaz came in second. Smith raised less money than the other candidates, and spent less. Diaz had raised and spent the most money. The two would face each other again in the Nov. 3 election. Stow heads Leadership class Longtime resident Daryl Stow replaced former Mayor Barbara Koppel as the head of Leadership Cupertino. Stow said he would try to grow the program, which prepares residents to be future leaders of the city. Leadership Cupertino is a joint program of the city, the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and De Anza College. At the same time as it approved Stow as executive director, the Leadership board approved the possibility of hiring a second employee, Carroll McNeill, to organize a spin-off of the program for teenagers. Chamber forms council The Cupertino Chamber of Commerce established an Asian American Council in mid-June to attract Asian-owned businesses into the organization. "It could be seen as divisive, but we're doing it to make our representation inclusive," said Chamber executive director Linda Asbury. Asbury estimated that 22 percent of Cupertino's businesses are owned by Asian Americans. Annexation stunted Annexation of Rancho Rinconada hit a potential snag: Proposition 218. City attorney Chuck Killian explained that the 1996 proposition requires that residents in an unincorporated area vote on whether to accept the new taxes of the city that's incorporating them. This meant that Rancho could not be incorporated into Cupertino unless a majority of its residents voted in favor of the taxes in the Nov. 3 election. July Planners shoot down residents' requests for building restrictions Residents of two different Cupertino neighborhoods had proposals that would have put limits on building two story homes in their neighborhoods rejected by the Planning Commission. The proposals asked for ordinances that would have still allowed people to build a second story but only after neighborhood input at a series of public hearings. The Planning Commission denied their requests, however, simply because majorities in those neighborhoods weren't supportive of the proposals. Development group buys Diocese property After nearly 10 years of negotiations, the O'Brien Development Group purchased the former Diocese property in the Cupertino foothills. The group announced plans to build more than 170 homes on 70 acres of land. The land deal has been called one of the more significant sales in the South Bay in the last 30 years, and is expected to help the Diocese of San Jose get out of the debt it incurred from building St. Joseph's Cathedral in San Jose. In addition to containing homes, much of the property will be preserved as park land, extending the range of open space that leads into the development and Rancho San Antonio County Park. Food court tenants leave after eviction Food court tenants at Vallco finally left the mall after months of battling management and Sears. Although most tenants moved out without argument, at least one, Howard Wong, owner of Osaka Teriyaki, said he would challenge the eviction in court. August De Anza hosts world's athletes About 6,000 athletes from all over the world converged on De Anza College for the Chinese American Athletic Tournament. The events included traditional Chinese sports, as well as traditional American sports. Mimi Chan, a martial arts expert and model for Disney's Mulan, gave an exhibition and autograph session to fans. Participants in the games mostly included local athletes, but others came from as far away as Brazil and South Africa. Angus becomes first community officer Sheriff Sergeant Steve Angus became the first community officer specifically assigned to Cupertino, and situated himself in a new office at City Hall. Angus came to the city as a direct result from surveys taken by the Public Dialogue Consortium, which found that citizens wanted the city to take steps toward providing better public safety. Angus, a Saratoga native, has served the county for 20 years in the jails, the sexual assault unit and the crime-scene evidence unit. One part of Angus's new job is to take part in community-building exercises at town meetings and neighborhood watch groups. Eaton opens Eaton Elementary School opened after a 15-year shutdown. Even after a few months of concern that the school might be short of supplies upon opening, the district assured parents that teachers and students would have most everything they'd need. About 300 students started school at Eaton on Aug. 28. The Cupertino Union School District spent about $700,000 preparing the school, which had been partially maintained over the years because district officials knew it would eventually need to be reopened. September Art in the Park draws 2,000 festival-goers More than 60 artists participated in the annual Art in the Park to raise money for Cupertino's Fine Arts League. The event, which was held at Memorial Park on Sept. 20, drew more than 2,000 people. The festival began 21 years ago, when 25 artists from the Fine Arts League decided to show their work in an open field. 'Orchid Lady,' city 4-H founder dies Longtime Cupertino resident Lil Severin died Aug. 19 in a Los Altos nursing home at the age of 92. "She was really one in a million," her husband, Henry Severin, said. Lil Severin was affectionately known as the "Orchid Lady"; she and her husband ran Severin Orchid Farm from their home on San Juan Road, where they raised more than 2,000 varieties of the flower. Three orchid species are named after her, as is a special award for miniature orchids. Severin also founded the Cupertino 4-H Club and was active in it for 17 years. Planning Commission, council, adopt interim house ordinance In mid-September, city officials passed an interim ordinance designed to help protect neighbors' privacy when two-story homes are constructed on their streets. The Planning Commission passed a temporary, six-month ordinance in early September, and council followed suit at its Sept. 21 meeting. The interim ordinance demanded that two-story builders landscape their property with trees and shrubs to shield their own and their neighbors' views into each other's living space. The ordinance also states that if a homeowner doesn't properly care for the trees and shrubs, an "infraction" could be issued by the code enforcement arm of the city. Commissioner Orrin Mahoney said, "We're not trying to create a private zone. We're trying to create an ambiance of separation." The ordinance also asked for staggered second-floor windows, spaced 20 feet apart from the house next door. City builds relationship with Taiwanese town Cupertino city officials met the week of Sept. 14 with 21 delegates from Hsinchu, Taiwan, to discuss forming a "sister" relationship with the city. Hsinchu is Taiwan's equivalent to Silicon Valley, with nearly 150 international high-tech companies doing business in the city's science and industrial park. It is located near the northwest coast, just to the southwest of Taipei, Taiwan's largest city. The delegation spent 10 days in the United States and introduced the heads of various city departments of Hsinchu to Cupertino citizens and municipal leaders. Later, city officials chose not to pursue a Sister City relationship with Hsinchu, because of Cupertino's commitment to Toyokawa, Japan. Sister Cities International allows only for one sibling per city. Instead, leaders chose to develop a "Friendship" relationship between the two cities. The association fosters the same sort of exchanges in business, education and government, but no formal registration is required. Mayor Michael Chang and a group of 42 delegates from Cupertino visited Taiwan in November to seal the agreement. Diversity series begins The Cupertino Courier began a three-part series on race relations Sept. 30 with a piece titled "In Search of Harmony." The series focused on the quickly changing demographic in Cupertino and the resulting tension. The series explored the fact that, although many immigrant groups have had a significant impact on the city, no single one has had so profound an influence as the Asian population. This is due, in part, to sheer numbers: In a single decade, the Asian population jumped, according to some estimates, by more than 25 percent. The series analyzed how such a dramatic shift has affected the area's government, education and business worlds. In December, the city of Cupertino honored the Courier with a "responsible journalism" award for its work on the series. Collaborative forms, meets for first time With the aim of adopting a cutting-edge, model approach to handling race relations, the city's leaders came together Sept. 22 in the first meeting of the Cupertino Multicultural Collaborative. The five-hour session included what Mayor Michael Chang called the "city's CEOs"--leaders from the Cupertino Union School District, the Fremont Union High School District, De Anza College, the City of Cupertino, the Asian American Parents Association (AAPA) and the City of Cupertino Cross-Cultural Consortium (5 Cs). Collaborative members sought to develop a common, interagency strategy to manage the impact of the quick influx of immigrants into Cupertino. Group members displayed the programs their agencies have in place to foster racial harmony. In the end, the Collaborative aims to mesh such programs into one working model--a model that will serve citizens involved in each agency, from the school children of CUSD to the college students at De Anza. October Neighborhood group forms for flood control The Neighbors of Calabazas Creek Flood Control Group held its first meeting Oct. 7 to push the Santa Clara Valley Water District to take measures to stop Calabazas from flooding their homes. Many homes along East Estates Drive were flooded during the storms in February--a mess that could have been prevented, residents said, if the culverts along the Calabazas Creek were cleaned out and widened. The project would cost $24 million. The water district's board members have to place a bond on the ballot to get residents to pay for the project. So far, this hasn't happened. Over the past four years the district expanded Calabazas from the San Francisco Bay to Cupertino. The project ended at Miller Avenue--leaving upstream residents high and, er, wet. Rotary hosts Oktoberfest More than 35,000 people headed to Memorial Park the first weekend in October to drink beer, listen to music and flaunt their lederhosen during the Rotary's 16th annual Oktoberfest. The result: the group raised approximately $40,000 for a variety of Cupertino charities, including the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation, Cupertino Community Services and the Northwest YMCA. "Rotarians really put their hearts into it," event organizer Dana Drysdale said. Task force forms in response to burglaries Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department formed a task force at the end of October with San Jose and Sunnyvale police investigators to nab the suspects in a string of burglaries that has plagued the West Valley area since March. At least 40 homes in Cupertino and another 30 in Sunnyvale have been broken into since investigators first began studying the case. Investigators suspect several burglaries in San Jose and Saratoga are also linked to the spree. November Chamber names Allen Citizen of the Year Don Allen, a.k.a. "Mr. Cupertino," finally got his due at a Nov. 14 awards banquet, where the Chamber of Commerce dubbed him Citizen of the Year. Allen had been so active in the city's major nonprofit organizations and had come to the aid of so many people both privately and through Cupertino National Bank, where he is CEO, some people thought he had already been awarded the top honor, according to Chamber officials. "Now is the time to correct that oversight," the Chamber's announcement declared. "He has a heart of gold," said Mary Ellen Chell, Cupertino Community Services director and a member of the committee that chose Allen as Citizen of the Year. FUHSD forms council Fremont Union High School District Superintendent Joe Hamilton announced at the beginning of October that he would create a District Community Council--a committee aimed at getting parents more involved in district decisions. "The Fremont Union High School District has always been labeled as having a communication problem," parent Karin Costa said. "This will help open that up." New Macy's opens A new Macy's opened in Vallco on Nov. 7, replacing a Macy's Clearance Center that had caused rancor between city officials and the chain's parent company, Federated Department Stores. The new Macy's came about as a result of the state attorney general's 1997 investigation of Federated Department Stores. The city of Cupertino called for the investigation after Federated opened a Macy's Clearance Center last year that didn't fit the site's "high-end use" zoning requirement. "There's no doubt in my mind that it wouldn't have happened without the help of the attorney general," Cupertino City Manager Don Brown said. Cupertino alleged that Federated, which owns the old Emporium site, was keeping possible competitors out by opening the clearance center. The investigation ended when Federated agreed to open a Macy's in the old Emporium spot and not to object to another high-end store coming into the mall. Former Vallco food court tenant files suit Osaka Teriyaki owner Howard Wong filed suit against the Jacobs Group and the Heitman company--the mall's managers prior to Jacobs--seeking unspecified damages to cover the loss of his business, lost profits and legal fees. Wong sued after Sears, the landlord of the old food court, shut the area down in July. Sears claimed tenants hadn't paid rents for a year. The suit also names Vallco's owner, Teachers Insurance Annuity Association, as a defendant, Wong's attorney Jeffrey Essner said. Wong claims that he faithfully paid rent to Heitman, then to Jacobs, who was supposed to forward the checks to Sears. Wong said his checks were not cashed. Essner said the sides have discussed a possible settlement, but he wasn't optimistic that an agreement will be worked out. "We have to move forward with litigation," Essner said. Forum helps open communication More than 100 residents attended an Oct. 15 community forum on diversity at the Quinlan Community Center. Members discussed three "hot topics": Mandarin immersion, the diversity focus at the city-sponsored Fourth of July and Chinese-language signage. The discussions were aimed at bringing underlying tension to the surface. Participants were given the opportunity to come up with ideas on how the issues could have been better dealt with. "How do we confront the issues as they surface?" Mayor Michael Chang asked the crowd. "How do we conduct ourselves? I think we've done it very well so far." Lamson enters plea Surprising prosecutors who spent more than a year working on the case, former Homestead High School football coach Jeff Lamson on Oct. 19 pleaded "no contest" to molestation charges in a San Jose courtroom. Lamson was scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 16, but the judge postponed the matter until the end of January. Lamson could face a maximum of six years in prison. Lamson pleaded no contest to 12 felony counts, including 10 counts of penetration with a foreign object and two counts of oral copulation with a 16-year-old female student during the 1990-91 school year. He also entered no-contest pleas to two misdemeanor charges stemming from "annoying and molesting" a 14-year-old female during the 1997 school year. By pleading no contest, Lamson avoided a court trial, but still faces the maximum prison sentence. "I was totally surprised," prosecuting attorney Deborah Baldocchi said of Lamson's decision. Management group purchases Vallco The Richard E. Jacobs Group announced in the last week of October that it purchased Vallco Fashion Park from the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) for an undisclosed amount. Jacobs had provided management at the mall for nearly a year. The city embraced Jacobs Group's decision: "We were hoping for it sooner or later," the city's director of administrative services, Carol Atwood, said. "We're happy because it gives the green light for Jacobs at Vallco. It solidifies that things are moving forward." Jacobs also announced that Dillard's will open in spring of 2000, along with a new food court close to the skating rink. Council finalizes gas station at city center In a close 3-2 vote Nov. 2, Cupertino's City Council approved Michael Khaziri's plan to build a Shell service station and car wash at the "Heart of the City," ending a long and contentious debate over an appropriate use for the site. Mayor Michael Chang provided the swing vote that will allow the 788-square-foot gas station and 648-square-foot car wash to be built. "It's time to move on with this site because it's looking so blighted," Chang said. Michael Aminian, representing Khaziri, said construction could begin as soon as January. A 20-foot-wide easement owned by Khaziri held up a previous plan for a station there. Its discovery two years ago prompted the council to appeal Khaziri's plans, and led them to push for Khaziri and Storm to work together to build an attractive office development on a combined plot. But the parties couldn't come to an agreement and the plan fell through. Rancho residents vote in favor of annexing Voters in Rancho Rinconada said in the Nov. 3 general election that they want to become part of Cupertino. Sixty-six percent of Rancho voters approved Measure W, an advisory measure to gauge support for annexation, and nearly 56 percent voted in favor of Measure X, which extends the city's 2.4 percent utilities tax to all residences in the neighborhood. Property owners had until Jan. 4 to partake in a city-driven mail-in vote, which asks if they will pay the city's $12-per-year storm drain fee. If a majority of residents are in favor of the fee, the city will hold public hearings and will eventually vote to annex the area. If annexed, the neighborhoods of Rancho Rinconada will add about 4,200 people to the city's population. Foothill/De Anza District elects new board member Geology instructor Edward "Sandy" Hay became the newest member of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District board of trustees Nov. 3, beating three other candidates with 40.3 percent of the vote. Pat Millar was Hay's only competitor in vote count, but fell behind with 37.3 percent. Two others, Elaine Lubich and Joseph Krackeler each received less than 12 percent. Hay's term began on Dec. 1, when he took over the remaining two years of Jay Jackman's term. Smith first woman to win top-cop spot Laurie Smith beat challenger Ruben Diaz for the top law- enforcement spot in Santa Clara County in the Nov. 3 election by about 60,000 votes. Smith is also the first female sheriff elected in the county, and the second ever elected in the state. All five councilmembers endorsed Smith in the November election. "I have a great relationship with the city manager and the City Council," Smith said. "I think our service in Cupertino is excellent. I'm happy with the status quo there." Katz, Ho, Okamura win spots on board Avie Katz, Kathryn Ho and incumbent Randy Okamura were the top three vote-getters in Fremont Union High School District's board race in November's general election. Ho is a parent of two former Lynbrook High students and served on the PTA and as a volunteer at the school. Katz has two daughters at Monta Vista High School and teaches social studies at the Camden Community School in San Jose. Okamura had sat on the school board for four years and opted to run again because, he said, "I think there's more work to be done." Wally Dean takes over as mayor for second time Cupertino's laptop-toting vice mayor, Wally Dean, took the gavel from Mayor Michael Chang on Nov. 19 at a ceremony in City Hall. The event marked Dean's second stint as mayor of Cupertino, and his last year serving on the City Council. Term limits will prevent him from holding office any longer. Dean said he expects being mayor will be a little easier the second time around. He was "wide-eyed" during his first mayoral term, Dean said. "I want to focus on Cupertino as a whole, not as separate groups around the city," he said. Symantec backs out of De Anza building Cupertino software giant Symantec Corporation announced at the end of November that it wouldn't move into its recently completed 141,000-square-foot headquarters on De Anza Boulevard. Symantec instead agreed to purchase a Torre Avenue building next door to its existing worldwide headquarters. Moving into that building will allow the company to work more efficiently, Symantec officials said at a Nov. 16 City Council meeting. Symantec's change of heart resulted in a building swap: Tishman Speyer Properties, the owner of the facility next door to Symantec's Torre Avenue headquarters, will take over the new site on De Anza and lease it. John Sorci, Symantec's facilities director, announced that Symantec would be willing to pay the city $100,000 for improvements on the adjacent Four Seasons corner, or enter into an Internet sales tax revenue sharing agreement with the city for its trouble over the site. Kaiser Cement cited for polluting The Kaiser Cement Company was put on notice in September by a state environmental regulatory agency for allowing sediment to cloud Permanente Creek, which runs through the cement manufacturing facility. In response to the mandate, Kaiser officials said the company had already fixed many of the problems that created the excess runoff. It has also issued a list of additional short- and long-term goals that will help it comply with the agency's clean water requirements. Because of its response, Kaiser avoided paying a hefty fine of up to $10,000 for each day that it failed to notify the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board of the problem. The gray water was first noticed by Cupertino residents in April after heavy rains washed sediment into the creek from Kaiser's quarrying operation in the Cupertino foothills. Kaiser initially said the water became polluted after the heavy rains, but that was proved wrong after a second inspection in May. Bonsai Nursery closes its doors after 45 years of business One of Cupertino's most recognizable businesses called it quits in November. The Bonsai Nursery, located on the corner of De Anza Boulevard and Bollinger Road, had a low-key going-away sale during a dreary weather week. Brothers Tom and George Yamanaka, the original owners of Bonsai, said they didn't need to advertise the half-off sale because word of their leaving spread so quickly. Everything was sold in about three weeks. "When you've been at it for 45 years, it's a good part of your life," Tom Yamanaka said. "We've got a lot of very loyal customers." The site is scheduled to hold a Payless and Thrifty store with a Rite Aid Pharmacy, according to the 70-something Yamanakas, who are retiring. Home Depot set to open business on old Kmart site After more than two years of legal disputes, the Home Depot and the Vidovich family settled their case out of court at the end of September--clearing the way for Home Depot to begin construction of a store at the Kmart site on De Anza Boulevard. Home Depot expected to begin construction by April. Additionally, ShBoom nightclub owner Porter Hurt agreed to vacate his property in October, further clearing the way for the 130,000-square-foot Home Depot. The only remaining tenant at the center is Walgreen's, which will move out when its new store is built on the corner of Bollinger Road and Blaney Avenue. The string of lawsuits over the site began when John Vidovich, the owner of the land, sued Home Depot, asking a judge to release him and his partners from a lease agreement signed by the two sides in Nov. 1995. Home Depot countersued, charging that the landowners had violated the agreement after they entered into a lease with Lucky Food Centers. Home Depot argued that Vidovich had agreed to give the company the right to "first refusal." Vidovich contended he couldn't evict ShBoom, which had subleased its space from Kmart. The inability to evict ShBoom, Vidovich claims, led to an automatic end of the 1995 lease with Home Depot, giving him the right to negotiate a new lease with Lucky. In its countersuit, Home Depot demanded $16 million in damages, over money lost. ShBoom owner Porter Hurt also sued Vidovich. The trial is set to begin March 22. December The Duke of Edinburgh pours into its 15th year of operation The Duke of Edinburgh celebrated its 15th birthday at the beginning of December--right around the same time, the pub owners' discovered that Sydney Sheldon had used the Duke as a setting for a scene in his latest novel, Tell Me Your Dreams. Bill McSweeney, wife Pat and Carlos deAcha have been running the ship at The Duke for six years as a team. DeAcha has been managing the pub for 14 years. "A lot of things happen here," deAcha said. "It seems like you don't always do business around a board table anymore but in a restaurant or a pub." Support for Lamson divides community Hoping to gain a lenient sentence in a San Jose courtroom on Dec. 16, friends, school officials and clergy members close to Jeff Lamson--the ex-Homestead High School football coach who pleaded "no contest" to charges of sexual offenses with two former students--launched a letter-writing campaign on his behalf. Letters in support of Lamson were penned by leaders in the education field, including former Cupertino Union School District superintendent Yvette del Prado, current assistant superintendent John Erkman and Homestead teacher Dorothy Mansfield. One of the victims in the case still attends the high school. The letters sparked a competing petition, which was circulated by part-time Homestead employee Karin Bortoli and signed by 200 people, including 50 Homestead students. Bortoli said she became outraged when she learned local educators were sending their support for Lamson. "That upsets me," she said. "They're saying it's OK for people to go out and molest people. It's ridiculous, ridiculous. How is that supposed to make the girls feel?" The information was scheduled to be presented to Judge LaDoris Cordell at the sentencing, but, faced with a full docket that day, she postponed the hearing until late January to allow time for character witnesses to testify. CUSD board elects new president Barry Chang was elected president of the Cupertino Union School District's board of trustees by other board members the first week of December. Debbie Byron took Chang's place as vice president, and Ben Liao took over as clerk of the board. [ Back to Contents Page | Cupertino Courier Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Cupertino Courier, January 6, 1999. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.