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News Briefs
Small fire damages mats at Hakone
A fire that broke out at the Hakone Gardens on Jan. 18 damaged some of the traditional straw mats at the facility's tea merchant's house.
The house itself did not sustain any lasting damage.
"The potential had everyone frightened," said Masako Hall, the garden's director of administration. Built in Japan by a prominent Japanese architect, the authentic replica of a 19th- century Japanese merchant's home was reconstructed in 1991 at Hakone without using a single nail. Hall said it is valued at around $2 million.
According to Hakone staff, the fire at the house was caused by one of the hot plates used to heat water for tea.
The fire did leave extensive smoke and ash residue, which cleaners removed last week. The Saratoga Fire District's firefighters used carbon dioxide to put out the fire, avoiding water damage to the house.
Hall said an artisan in Sausalito would be reconstructing the straw mats.
Cost of replacing the tatamis and the damaged hot plate might cost the gardens between $20,000 and $25,000, Hall said.
League supporting new voting reform
The southwest Santa Clara Valley chapter of the League of Women Voters, which includes Saratoga, has come out in support of two new ballot measures on the March 5, 2002 ballot in California.
Proposition 41 will allow the state to borrow bond money to help counties purchase modern voting equipment and Proposition 43 amends the California Constitution to state explicitly that each vote legally cast in the state shall be counted. The measures come after a breakdown in the voting system in Florida during the November 2000 election.
Under Prop. 41, the state would work with counties to replace punch cards with a touch-screen method or an optical scan system like those used for college entrance exams.
Chamber's crab feed is planned
The Saratoga Chamber of Commerce will host a crab feed on Feb. 23 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ascension Church on Miller Avenue in Saratoga. Crab eaters can only get into the event by purchasing tickets in advance. Adult tickets cost $27.50, kids 12 and under cost $10. Call 408.867.0753 or visit www.saratogachamber.com.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
