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Letters
Lunardi's outdoor grill was a great local tradition
We are frequent customers at Lunardi's Market in Los Gatos, as well as other choice shops in the same center. It has been one of our culinary delights to frequent the outdoor grill on the weekends at this upscale gourmet market. It has heightened our community spirit to meet with neighbors and share in the camaraderie at this rare encounter.
For reasons unbeknownst to us, this culinary experience has been halted, much to our disappointment. It is beyond our understanding why it was necessary to cease this pleasurable and palatable opportunity when we are striving to maintain our unique small town identity.
Surely there's no good reason for this wonderful experience to be taken from us. We trust that it can be returned to us quickly.
Nick and Bev Haring
Los Gatos
Complaints from another merchant in the King's Court shopping center necessitated the end of the barbecue tradition, according to a Lunardi's spokesman. --Editor
General Plan went under a steamroller
It was like watching an abandoned kitten being run over by a paving contractor's steamroller. That was the fate of the General Plan when it went under the big wide wheel of an irresponsible absentee landlord driven by a corporate mass merchandiser's public relations firm.
It happened at the most recent town planning commission meeting and our town's commissioners didn't even wince when the life was smooshed out of the General Plan by the owners of the Rinconada Shopping Center and Longs Drug Stores.
It was not steam that powered the Los Angeles-based landlord's machine, it was greed; for the Los Gatos residents who were duped into supporting Longs, it was fear. They were not afraid by accident: the fear had been intentionally induced through the center owners refusing to lease vacant space to small, independent shops to give the appearance that the center was on the verge of collapse.
It was the kind of perfect business maneuver that defames the word "business." All that a couple of public relations firm consultants had to do was to shake their heads in front of a group of retired Rinconada residents and worry aloud about the Rinconada area of Los Gatos turning into Campbell's Rolling Hills Shopping Center.
The apparently abandoned space was worth a thousand deceptive words. It did not take the affluent but fixed-income residents long to think of what that might mean to their property values. The PR firm was then able to herd the neighbors into a gray-haired stampede over the General Plan.
The result was the first step to instating a mass merchandising national chain store as a necessary "enhancement" to the Rinconada Shopping Center.
Longs public relations people were silent on the fact that since their previous attempt at a user permit was denied, the absentee landlord of the center has refused to even discuss renting vacant space in the shopping center with potential lessees. Following the lead of Longs' PR firm, not one the commissioners had a single question about why so much space in the Rinconada Center had remained vacant in the midst of the greatest prolonged economic boom in the Santa Clara Valley's history. The commissioners were downright disinterested in hearing more from the two merchants who had been refused space at the center.
Apparently, all it takes to subvert the General Plan (not to mention endanger more than 1,000 children at a nearby school) is to evict small, independent businesses and then intentionally allow other valuable retail/commercial space to remain conspicuously fallow.
Thus, an owner who is willing to deliberately destabilize the economic viability of a commercial/retail area in our town can count on being rewarded with the planning commission's cooperation in approving changes to existing user permits to allow high volume, national chains to "enhance" the landlord's properties. The planning commission might as well announce that Los Gatos is electing to become yet one more celebrant in the Great Los Angeles-ization of Everything.
John J. Herr
Los Gatos
Article gave an extra spark to horsemen's entry
The sparkling article about the Los Gatos Horseman's Association "Hussar Regiment" by Shari Kaplan with the gorgeous photos by Kathy De La Torre overwhelmed us! Thank you so much for considering us newsworthy in such a generous way.
As a result, our parade through downtown was delightfully punctuated with hellos from townsfolk who recognized us because of your article. We also had the pleasure of learning there is quite a contingent of Hungarians in the area, some of whom made themselves known before, during and after the parade.
We even have a new member, thanks to you. A local horsewoman --unaware a riding club like ours existed in the area--was pleased to learn of our group and will be joining us.
We are not just Hungarians or even Hussars. We are all ages, with horse and without, trail riders and ring riders--a varied group with the love of horses in common--as well as the love of socializing with food!
Thank you again for the beautiful article.
Lisa Maryon,
Los Gatos Horseman's Association
Empty center not charming
I was glad to see the planning commission approve the conditional-use permit for a drug store (Longs) in North Los Gatos. The first go around was dominated by a group that appeared to want the old drugstore that moved a mile or two away to keep its "monopoly" in our neighborhood.
As a neighbor in favor of the permit, I was surprised to see it denied the first time. When I found out the issue was up for discussion again, I decided to attend the meeting to better understand what the real issues were. The opposition to the store has brought up numerous speculative reasons as to why the "big bad chain store" should be kept out. There were no facts to back up traffic concerns.
As for the safety of the children attending the Rolling Hills Middle School, why would a Longs cause any more problems then the existing Safeway? It boils down to this: Rinconada Center has been empty since the old drugstore moved out, and there is not enough retail traffic to support the other businesses since we all go somewhere else for our needs. The other local pharmacy has limited hours.
From afar, it looks like the big bad chain is ruining the neighborhood. But up close, it looks like the old drugstore that moved out wants to keep its local monopoly. The opposition makes it sound as if we wanted a Wal-Mart in our neighborhood. We'd like to take pride in our neighborhood, and the new Longs will help bring us the services we need in the north end of town.
Mr. Matsuo wants to know what changed? The neighbors will not be bullied by a business that moved out and wants to keep its monopoly.
Geoff O'Neill
Los Gatos
Hoping for chance to strike up an old friendship
In the summer of 1970, I graduated from London [England] University and visited the United States for the first time. I stayed with the parents and brother of a penfriend whilst I was in California. The family were called Lochrie and the son was called Bruce Lochrie.
Is it possible to locate his whereabouts? I am taking my family to United States in 2001, and would love to see Bruce again. Bruce's sister, my pen friend, I never met! At the same time as I was in America she went to England and stayed with my friends in London. She bought a sports car whilst in England and shipped it back. This is all I can remember after all these years. I cannot even remember her Christian name.
I know the chance of a connection is slim after all these years but I thought you were the best bet.
John Dymott
now of Farnham Surrey.
JDymot@aol.com
Correction
We got the photos right in our coverage of the Children's Christmas and Holiday Parade, but we missed a couple of identifications. The Grinch and the little girl on the cover should have been identified as Kindergro Preschool owner Cindy Comeau and Emily Wool, respectively. The cheerleader who looked as if she was catapulting over the Santa Cruz Mountains was actually Lauran Cook, a member of Los Gatos Cheer.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
