Photograph by Paul Myers

Jenna Castillo takes a shot at Katie Meehan during the 125-pound title fight at the July 21 Born to Fight Sanshou Shootout at West Valley College.




2001 Year in Review: July-September

July

The planning commission haltingly approved plans for a new Village fire station, after the station's architect agreed to diminish one of the building's towers. The concession broke a 3-3 tie on the commissioners' initial vote on the project, by convincing Commissioner Ruchi Zutshi to support the new building. The final decision came following three hours of discussion over two different nights, during which citizens expressed ambivalence about the new design for a building nearly double the size of the current facility.

Improvements to Azule Park and the Fourth Street Bridge were some of the big ticket items the city council listed among favored projects for an upcoming city-wide infrastructure upgrade. The council planned to budget $2 million to $4 million for improvement projects.

Accused sex offender Todd Lafferty, a former Westmont High softball coach and the son of Saratoga residents, waived his right to a preliminary trial on seven counts of unlawful sexual activity with minors. That set the stage for a plea from Lafferty and the start of a full-length trial in late August or early September.

Sean O' Leary took over as the executive director of Saratoga's senior programs. O'Leary came from a coordinating post at an adult care facility in Redwood City, with a master's degree in nonprofit administration

Popular bicyclist Hobart Pihl, who led a weekly riding group through Fremont's Older Open Space Preserve, died during a solo ride in the preserve. Pihl's comrades-on-bikes struggled to cope with the loss of a rider who always bounced back from every fall. They planned a safety program in his honor in Fremont Older.

City and Saratoga Fire District officials agreed to consider a plan to put a new public safety plaza on the land used by the sheriff, U.S. Postal Service and fire district. Citizen Don Whetstone called the city council's attention to the idea, after the planning commission approved what Whetstone described as an ill-conceived fire station design. Fire district officials were wary of the plan, which they had explored briefly in the mid-1990s.

New KSAR-15 Director Carolyn De Los Santos and some board members publicized a plan to put a new 13-movie film festival on the air, as well as broaden the programming schedule at Saratoga's community access station. De Los Santos also looked to shift the programming equipment to digital-based technology and garner larger support from donors in the community.

Administrative Services Director Mary Jo Walker left the city for Santa Clara. Walker kept the city's budget in "apple-pie order," according to one city council member.


Photograph by Mark Kocina

Youngsters dodge soccer balls during an agility drill at the Saratoga Major League Soccer Camp at Redwood Middle School in August.




August

Saratoga Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Patti O'Brien and Chamber Board President Preston Wisner both resigned from their positions, citing an inability to work with members of the chamber board. O'Brien had been at the chamber less than four months, while Wisner had served on the board for 11 years. O'Brien's top assistant, Barbie Leach also left the organization a few days after O'Brien's resignation.

City officials reviewed the first draft of the city's housing element--a plan to meet regional and local housing needs. In the plan, city staff proposed changes in the city's zoning and building laws. One proposal allowed mixed residential and commercial development in the city's commercial districts, while another suggested the city relax standards limiting the construction of second or "granny" units. City council members expressed general support for both ideas, with some slight changes.

The city brought together representatives from the Saratoga Fire District, the U.S. Postal Service and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office for the first session in a renewed discussion on a public safety center at the corner of Saratoga Avenue and Highway 9. The gathering answered two crucial questions regarding the participation of the fire district and the U.S. Postal Service, which had reached an impasse in similar discussions in the mid-1990s. Local Postmaster Curtis Jewell said his agency was "not a roadblock at this point in time."

While the city, three local public agencies and several citizens continued to brainstorm plans for a public safety center, the mayor said a proper exploration of the issue might delay construction of the Saratoga Fire District's new station. The city considered hiring an architect to draw schematics for a future center. Meanwhile, fire district officials said they could wait to follow through with center discussion, but would not wait "indefinitely."

Library patrons took advantage of an extra four weeks of check-out time by emptying much of the renovating library of its extensive collection. That eased library officials' move from the Saratoga Avenue facility, as some books were to be packed for storage while others were slated for the temporary library near Sacred Heart Church. Renovations were scheduled to begin in early September.

Saratoga Fire District Chairman Bob Egan indicated a potential rift between the district and the city, by saying that his district would go ahead with plans for a new fire station even if the city council rejects the plans at a scheduled Sept. 5 hearing. As an independent district, officials from both sides believed the fire district could override a city land use decision. While discussions on a public safety center continued, Mayor John Mehaffey said waiting for safety center plans to be completed was not a valid reason for denying the station.

Local dentist Susan Booth died in a plane crash near Redding, after her father's Beechcraft failed to clear a copse of trees at the small Loni Pool airport. Booth, an expert cosmetic dentist, catered to young children as well as senior citizens at her Cox Avenue practice. Family members doubted the airport where she died was safe for use.

The city's evolving housing element passed through the planning commission. The plan included amendments to Saratoga's zoning and building code proposed in June. The commission declined to add a provision that would require builders to set aside a portion of every housing development for low-income families. It also passed on one commissioner's request that they designate certain properties for potential mixed commercial and residential use developments.

Kathy Hoglan, Alice Hoglan (center) and Vaughn Hoglan of Saratoga are interviewed by '60 Minutes' on Sept. 12. Alice Hoglan's son, Mark Bingham, was on United Airlines Flight 93 from Boston to SFO when it crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11. Bingham is believed to have been instrumental in fighting the highjackers and diverting the jet away from its intended target.




Photograph by Paul Myers







September

Four candidates filed for a spot in the first competitive Saratoga Fire District commission election in two decades. Incumbent Jay Geddes was joined by volunteer fireman Joe Long and Firefighters and Citizens Task force members Barry Ford and Dave Dolloff on the Nov. 6 ballot. Given the uproar surrounding the proposed fire station and the district's fire service, Geddes declared the election "the hottest ticket in town."

While the city council moved forward on finalizing a list of capital improvement projects, residents debated improvements to El Quito Park that were tenatively not funded by the council. Twenty-three projects were listed, projected to drain $4.3 million from the city's budget surplus. Residents around El Quito pushed for maintenance improvements at their park, before any new play fields were set down.

The county and Saratoga fire departments began a new cooperative venture--agreed on earlier in the summer. The "boundary drop" agreement allowed both departments to respond to fires in each other's districts, potentially bettering service in Saratoga.

A pared-down city council voted 3-0 to reject plans for the Saratoga Fire District's new station. District officials and consultants were visibly upset by the decision after four years of planning the project. Council members cited the station's increased size and its inability to solve safety and parking problems associated with the district's corner property at the Saratoga Avenue-Highway 9 corner. The project, approved by the planning commission earlier in the summer, had been appealed to the city council by the Firefighters and Citizens Task force.

Former Sacramento fireman Gordon Doncan took up the new post of assistant chief in the Saratoga Fire District. Doncan, who helped fight the truck explosion fire at the state capitol building in January 2001, planned to manage personnel and coordinate training within the district.

A suspect in the spring Oak Meadow Park stabbing was captured at the San Francisco International Airport. Raza Rezai, 20, was arrested by airport authorities after returning from Iran.

In Saratoga, relatives of Mark Bingham spoke glowingly of the man being feted as a hero who went down with a fight on United Flight 93 on Sept. 11. The Los Gatos High graduate and former West Valley College student called his mother, Alice Hoglan, from the plane that day. Then, relatives said, he stormed the hijacked cockpit with other passengers.


Photograph by Paul Myers

J.T. Bikul and Tara Barron, friends of Nicole Miller, embrace after a memorial service for Miller at West Valley College where she was a student. Miller was aboard United Flight 93 that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11.




As word reached the West Valley community that former Los Gatos resident Todd Beamer and West Valley College student Nicole Miller had also died on Sept. 11, the web of grief grew. The college cancelled classes on Sept. 14 in Miller's honor.

Saratoga's Chamber of Commerce and city council members wrestled with the idea of holding the annual Celebrate Saratoga! event on Sept. 15. Chamber officials finally gave into some community members' desire for silence and mourning by postponing the event.

Todd Lafferty, 27, pleaded guilty or no contest to sex charges involving four underage girls. The former Westmont High School softball coach entered the pleas more than a year after he was arrested for crimes with girls ranging from 15 to 17 years old.

City Manager Dave Anderson received a two-year extension on his contract with Saratoga, after a favorable review from the city council.

Friends and family members of West Valley student Nicole Miller moved shakily forward in the aftermath of her death on Sept. 11. They held onto the relationships they had built with her in her short life and the fact that passengers on her Flight 93 had thwarted another major disaster by forcing the plane down in rural Pennsylvania.

Local residents were apparently looking for an opponent for state Assemblywoman Rebecca Cohn (D-Saratoga), who had not handled West Valley College officials as the residents had hoped. In January, Cohn appeared to take the side of the city and local residents in their decades-long dispute with the college, by proposing a bill that would have restricted the college's land-use autonomy. That would have subjected the college to city land use review in the construction of a much-debated sports facility at the college. But Cohn shelved the bill in June. Residents asked Vice Mayor Nick Streit to run in 2002, but he declined.

Sheriff's deputies arrested two youths in connection with four dead and burned cats in Saratoga. The boys, both 17, were charged with arson and felony animal abuse.




2001 Year in Review
Year in Review Introduction
January-March
April-June
October-December

Photo: A Space Odyssey Christmas

Local Home Sales Listings

Friends of the Saratoga Libraries publishes 'A History of Saratoga's Libraries'

Saratoga Sampler

Sports Briefs

High school sports