Amid all the struggle, however, the city was forward looking, giving the final thumbs up to the Forum Group's redevelopment project, which will change Sunnyvale's downtown dramatically.

The plan for the project is to bring to the heart of the city more retail stores, businesses and residents that will in turn add revenue to the city while at the same time revitalizing downtown.

But with the exodus of top staff, including the city attorney, the city's head librarian, the public safety chief, the head of the department of human relations and with no permanent city manager in place for most of the year, the city government was running on the fumes of former leaders.

Finally, with the city council hiring interim city manager and long-time city executive Amy Chan at the end of the year, to fill the position permanently, the hiring of key department heads got under way with interviews for the chief of public safety.

In an effort to both educate and include the public in the budget planning process, the city council engaged city staff in a long process of identifying the Sunnyvale's specific needs and services and spelling the findings out at public meetings. A disappointing few residents showed up for the Saturday meetings, but the budget came to fruition. And with careful cuts here and there and the addition of various fees, many services have stayed in place. However, city staff acknowledge that next year may see deeper, more painful cuts.

And in an effort to help small businesses in the community, city council members formed a committee to meet with various business groups to find out what the city could do to help.

And school districts serving Sunnyvale successfully embarked on an exhaustive effort to bring in much needed money to the schools by putting parcel tax and a school bond measures on the November ballot—even as four of Sunnyvale schools this year were named California Distinguished Schools.

In the background all year long the war has waged on in Iraq, and Sunnyvale lost two of its own in June when Homestead High School graduates, Cpl. Bumrock Lee and Army Spc. Patrick McCaffrey died fighting in the war.

And as if to say "You're doing OK," Sunnyvale got a pat on the back from a national organization that dubbed the city once again one of the country's safest.

January

After Sunnyvale City Manager Bob LaSala was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 17, the city still had no public announcement or explanation for why in January. Speculation by council watchers was that the Public Safety Officers Association was the force behind LaSala's removal after he cut the public safety budget. Some also speculate that Tim Risch lost his council seat because he supported LaSala's cuts to public safety. But former PSOA President Steve Fisk said that any notion of the association "strong-arming" the city council was impossible.

At its Jan. 6 meeting, the city council granted an appeal by the SaberCats organization to erect a tent over their practice area at the former Patrick Henry Junior High School site on Dunford Way. The tent was used to protect the team's players from inclement weather and to simulate the indoor environment of their Arena Football League. Some 15 to 20 residents turned out to protest the visual impact of the near 41-foot-high, white tent and the problem of allowing a private group to use a piece of public property exclusively.

Following the election, Sunnyvale councilman, Fred Fowler, president of the Sunnyvale Democratic Club, sent out the club's electronic newsletter Sunnyvale Democratic Voice with a message stating the city council "is now a Republican free zone." Someone picked up that message and sent it out to the city's Republicans, who were irate.

A Pontiac Grand Am careens off Wolfe Road and smashes into a Sunnyvale home. If Matt Wahlgren hadn't checked his email around 3:20 a.m. on Jan. 12, the 22-year-old would have been asleep in a futon at his parents' Cypress Way home—right in the path of the car. According to a police report, Kip Cogswell, the driver of the car had fallen asleep at the wheel after working a late shift and lost control of his vehicle.

Thirty-two unlicensed contractors were nabbed in a sting operation out of a Sunnyvale home Jan. 21 and 22. Members of the California Contractors State License Board and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Economic Crimes Unit posed as private homeowners looking to have projects done on their houses. When unlicensed contractors bid on the projects, they were cited and faced up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $15,000 each.

Fire destroyed two-thirds of Michelle "Paloma" Hudkins' belly dancing apparel store, Lunatic Fringe, early in the morning on Jan. 6. To raise money to reopen the store, the local belly-dancing community came together to support the business with the "Too Hot" dance party on Jan. 23 at The Bean Scene in downtown Sunnyvale.

February

After an administrative leave that lasted almost three months, former city manager Robert LaSala's employment with the City of Sunnyvale ended Feb. 6 with the immediate termination of his contract. Because of rumors circulating through the community that the council wanted to get rid of LaSala, the move did not come as a surprise. Mayor John Howe said the agreement that ended LaSala's contract was a unanimous decision between the former city manager and the seven-member city council.

On Feb. 6 Harvest Partners—a Dallas company—sold the JCPenney building to Lehman Ali Inc, ending months of negotiations, and the sale gave a green light to plans to re-establish Sunnyvale's old street grid downtown. The sale also meant the Forum Development Group could go forward with the downtown redevelopment, which would include the transformation of the mall land into an open-air shopping area.

The Nob Hill store at 111 E. El Camino Real closed its doors on Feb. 24. Jennifer Brace, a spokesman for Raley's—Nob Hill's parent company—said the store closed because of increasing rent prices and lack of remodeling opportunities.

With a rifle, gasoline and two-way radios, twelve boys planned to set Cupertino Middle School on fire on Feb. 15. The scheme was stopped when two of the middle school boys revealed the plan to the principal, and the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety responded immediately. All 12 students were interviewed and taken into custody. A letter from the principal stated that the boys said they only wanted to do damage to the school and had no intention of harming any of their fellow students.

More details emerged in the separation agreement between former city manager Bob LaSala and the city of Sunnyvale. Mayor John Howe said negotiations leading up to the agreement had gone on for almost four months, starting in October. The city hired Bonnie K. Gibson, from the law firm Hanson Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy, LLP as a special consultant. The agreement included more than $200,000 in payments to LaSala and the ending of all claims the two parties had against one another.

The campaign for Proposition 55—the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2004—featured Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale in television spots and brochures mailed to homes in the Bay Area. Images that depicted signs warning of asbestos and a leaky roof spurred parents to call Peterson's principal, worried about the safety of their children. But according to the principal, the advertising, in anticipation of the March 2 election, had exaggerated the problems plaguing the school.

March

At the March 2 city council meeting, Mayor John Howe chose Vice Mayor Dean Chu to chair an ad-hoc committee, including Ron Swegles and Melinda Hamilton to begin the search for a new city manager. The concern for a potential city manager focused on the budget issues looming before Sunnyvale and California as a whole. Chu said it could take anywhere between six and nine months to find a new city manager.

Caltrain's rebuilt Lawrence Station in Sunnyvale opened on March 5. Two additional tracks running straight through Lawrence Station were installed specifically to handle the Baby Bullet trains.

The dispute between former vice mayor, Tim Risch, and the Public Safety Officers Association spilled into Santa Clara County Superior Court with a hearing to determine if the city of Sunnyvale has a right or obligation to turn PSOA President Steve Fisk's timecards over to Risch. Risch said he wanted the timecards to determine if time (during the last election) Fisk had charged to the city was done lawfully. On March 1, City Clerk Susan Ramos told Risch the records were available for him, but that PSOA attorney Harry S. Stern was seeking a restraining order barring the release.

Former Public Safety Officers Association president Steve Fisk asked the city council to investigate him so he could clear his reputation, which had been called into question by former vice mayor Tim Risch. The city attorney said the council could not go forward with an investigation because of the lawsuit that was pending concerning Risch being allowed to see Fisk's time cards.

On March 23, the court gave former Public Safety officer Association president, Steve Fisk, the injunction he was seeking to keep his timecard records from Tim Risch. In light of the ruling, Risch said he would continue to pursue any legal means available to get the records released.

On March 25 superintendents and staffs of the Sunnyvale School District, Cupertino Union School District and Fremont Union School District gathered to consider either a parcel tax or school bond for the upcoming elections. The Sunnyvale School District had identified $112 million shortfall and was considering putting a bond on the November ballot. Dr. Steve Rowley, superintendent of Fremont Union, said the earliest his district would be ready to put something on the ballot would be March.

City staff turned out on March 13 and 20 to explain every single service the city provides to council and the public, and the city council was prepared to hear what the public had to say on each item. The meeting was also televised. Only a handful of residents showed up. And the city received less than a dozen responses over the phone or by mail.

April

With the city facing painful budget cuts, the city council has decided to start charging a fee for the use of traffic-controlling equipment during non-city-sponsored events and proposed an amendment to the city's current fee plan. Representatives from neighborhoods showed up at the council's March 30 meeting to protest. Still the council approved the amendment unanimously. The Council did allow for block parties specifically to continue using city's supplies without fees, while still collecting some revenue from other events to offset city costs.

At a public meeting held by Forum Development Group to share its plans to develop downtown and gather input, more than 200 Sunnyvale residents turned out to speak. Most voices adamantly opposed the tall buildings, upscale shopping and almost 300 homes proposed for the project. Forum—which plans to build a 500,000-square-foot complex of shops, homes and businesses downtown—brought planning commissioners, former council members, business leaders and residents to the Sunnyvale Senior Center. Some who spoke criticized the traffic that would be caused by attracting shoppers to the now empty Town Center Mall, and others even suggested that a revitalized downtown area is not needed.

After four years of dust, loud noise and circuitous paths to class, students and alumni celebrated the grand reopening of Fremont High School's historic campus on April 8, enjoying the new buildings and those that were renovated, including the original school.

The playground in Ortega Park was completely dismantled as part of a half-million dollar renovation project to update the park structures and make them accessible for disabled visitors and residents. According to the city, the project was due to be completed in the fall.

In an effort to help bring in business, auto dealers in Sunnyvale wanted bigger, brighter signs. However, a city ordinance limits the size and number of signs. But the city considered the idea of changing the ordinance if it would help business. Laura Babcock, chairwoman of the planning commission, and council members Julia Miller and Ron Swegles reported to the council on April 20 with a list of possible items for the city and car dealers to consider—among them tent sales with local credit unions, a new-car-dealers association and ideas about signage.

India Community Center, a recreational facility that offers various programs such as yoga, music and dance, opened its doors to the public April 18. While the primary focus of the center is to address the needs of the huge Indian population in Sunnyvale and neighboring cities, it will also provide an opportunity for the mainstream population to experience all aspects of Indian culture.

By the summer of 2006, First Community plans to have "rehabilitated" the Best Western Sunnyvale Inn property into 42 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, available to families that make between 20 percent and 40 percent of the area's median income. The project and its necessary amendments and permits were approved at the April 13 city council meeting.

May

At a community forum April 29, the Atlanta-based developer Forum Group received overwhelming support from the community for the first time for its proposal to turn the Town Center Mall into an open-air, mixed-use project. Some residents, however, were still concerned about the plans for height and setback, but Forum's spokesperson said the architectural team would hammer out the details and also assured business owners on S. Murphy Avenue that the development will draw more patrons to Murphy Avenue.

Sunnyvale officials said the 630 goats and 160 sheep grazing from April 16 through June 30 at the city's old landfill were well worth their $20,000 price tag. The animals munched on 90 acres of tall grass and weeds that grew during the winter. Methane gas produced by decomposing garbage is used today to power the city's sewage treatment plant, and this is why the goats and sheep are so important. According to Sunnyvale Communications Officer John Pilger, "mechanical mowers can damage the methane collection system."

Former vice mayor, Tim Risch, made public comments on the Sunnyvale city budget, concerned about what he says are overtly political decisions. At the May 4 city council meeting, Risch suggested that the council excluded parts of the Department of Public Safety from being cut in order to avoid a negative backlash from the public. But what started as a comment by Risch, became a face-off between Risch and vice mayor, Dean Chu, who chose to ask his own questions of Risch rather than address the speaker's comments.

After more than a year of legal battles and court time, the gender discrimination lawsuit filed against the city of Sunnyvale by four former female public safety officers reached a settlement on May 14, resulting in more than $1 million being paid to the women. And as a condition of the settlement, all parties involved are denying there was any wrongdoing in the case. The suit began Feb. 21, 2003, when three women, Pascale Nadya Wowak, Joy Booker and Penny Lenee Alderin, charged that they were discriminated against by the public safety officers department because they were women. Wowak charged that she was discriminated against because of pregnancy as well.

The search for a new city manager that began with the appointment of an ad-hoc committee on March 2 was temporarily put on hold, while the city council and staff focus their attention and resources on Sunnyvale's 2004-2005 budget. Vice Mayor Dean Chu said the budget should be approved by mid-June to meet the July 1 start of the fiscal year.

Hoping to turn Moffett Park's 24.3 million square feet into a high-quality office space to house corporate headquarters for technology industry leaders, the city council unanimously approved a series of zoning code amendments to the Sunnyvale General Plan at its May 11 meeting. This move gave the go-ahead to the Moffett Park Specific Plan.

Three elementary schools in the Sunnyvale School District—Cumberland, Fairwood and Vargas—and Ponderosa School in the Santa Clara Unified School District, were named as California Distinguished Schools in 2004.

June

Actor Dane Andrew Beezley and a small group of dedicated volunteers fought to keep the $15,000 for the Sunnyvale Arts Commission from being cut from the city's budget at the June 1 council meeting. Council had to wait until its June 15 meeting to take action.

The reality of war came home to Sunnyvale in early June when Cpl. Bumrok Lee—Homestead High School class of 2001—died from injuries sustained in an explosion in Iraq. The young man, who played varsity water polo for the Mustangs was mourned by a wide circle of friends and family, and honored for his service to his country.

On June 8, the Sunnyvale City Council and Santa Clara Unified School District met at the Sunnyvale Public Library to discuss uses for extra land on the Peterson Middle School site. The 48-acre site—originally meant to house a high school and currently used on weekends for soccer, baseball and football games and leagues—sits in the heart of residential Sunnyvale on prime development land. Angry residents attended the meeting, concerned that the district planned to sell the land to developers and turn it into private housing. SCUSD business administrator Roger Barnes said the district had not made any plans at that point, and wanted to set up a series of community meetings for public input.

Plaza De Las Flores, a 140-person senior living community in downtown Sunnyvale, was saved from possible redevelopment because the Sunnyvale Department of Housing and Community Development, Christian Church Homes and the California Housing Finance Agency raised almost $17 million to keep the complex as it is, with the Church group as the new owners. Funding also came from Proposition 46, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2002. The federal government had come to the end of its 20-year agreement to provide subsidies to the original owner of the property, which meant the owner could have sold the property to private developers.

The Sunnyvale Special Weapons and Tactics team took fourth place in the World Swat Challenge, beating teams from all over the world. The team won the Best of the West competition five of the last nine years.

The Sunnyvale City Council passed its fiscal year 2004-2005 budget in a unanimous vote, but were left waiting on the state's fiscal situation to find out what affect it would have on the city this year. As part of planning the budget, city held a series of all-day meetings on four weekends in April and May to gather public input. However, not many people showed up.

At an emotional meeting, the Sunnyvale School District unanimously voted to approve its 2004­05 budget which included cuts to the district's classified-employee workforce. According to the district, 13 full- and part-time classified employees would lose their jobs altogether out of the approximately 235 who work for the district.

After a tour of duty in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq Maj. Graham Clark, 38, a former Fremont High school teacher and assistant principal, was unanimously chosen as Homestead High School's new principal on June 15.

Clark led his battalion in repairing the area's schools, rebuilding the physical structures and helping them change from a Saddam Hussein-based curriculum to one free of propaganda.

After his last meeting on the Sunnyvale Arts Commission, three-time chairman Dane Andrew Beezley created a study issue to look into reopening the Sunnyvale Creative Arts Center Gallery. The gallery had closed because of high staffing costs and a looming $15,000 repair tag for an outdated lighting system. After staff agreed to look into the issue, the commissioners met privately to form the Friends of the Gallery—F.O.G. for short—to look for outside ways to reopen the gallery.

July

Former Homestead High School athlete and Sunnyvale native, Army Spc. Patrick McCaffrey, died in the line of duty on June 21 in the town of Balad in Iraq.

His National Guard battalion—The 579^th Engineer Battalion out of Petaluma—was deployed for combat overseas for the first time since World War II.

A fire gutted a mobile home and left a 3-year old boy dead. Jessica Young, the 26-year-old mother who lived in the home, was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and child endangerment likely to produce great bodily harm or death.

The city council voted unanimously to approve development plans on the last Olson-family-owned cherry orchard in Sunnyvale, a site that has stood since the days Sunnyvale was a collection of farms and orchards. The developer plans to turn the 3.67-acre orchard—on the corner of Mathilda Avenue and El Camino Real—into a 2.21-acre, 36-townhouse complex and just under an acre and a half of it into retail space. Yvonne Olson Jacobson, who grew up on the land and now owns it, said she wanted to make sure any development was done under her watch.

Moving the Sunnyvale Town Center one step closer to redevelopment, the city council approved a number of general plan amendments to the Sunnyvale Municipal Code and Downtown Specific Plan. Within those changes were an additional 92 housing units and 80,000 square feet of office space for the project. The Forum Development Group originally asked for 100 more units and 98,000, but the council did not grant the full amount. Members of Friends of Sunnyvale characterized the deal as an unhappy marriage between the city and developers because voice of the people had not been heeded.

For the first time in a year, the Sunnyvale Narcotics and Vice Unit—eliminated to meet budget demands—was out in Sunnyvale in full force, having been restored by the city council during this year's budgeting process. The $1.1 million in budget funds restored one officer and one supervisor and brought a county officer back to Sunnyvale. The three-man force handles crimes such as gambling, prostitution and drug trafficking.

August

The ad-hoc committee set up in March by Mayor John Howe to search for a new city manager delayed its search after acting city manager, Amy Chan, agreed to stay with the city until the end of 2005. Chan chose to stay on longer to give the city and council time to iron out the budget and get the downtown development project taken care of. Councilman Ron Swegles said the city was in good company with Chan, who has a strong working knowledge of the city after years of service in various departments.

After being injured on the job and almost a year on leave, Director of Public Safety Ernie Bakin retired from the force. Bakin joined Sunnyvale in 1999. Acting Public Safety Director Bob Bradshaw agreed to stay with the department until a permanent replacement is found.

On Aug. 11, drivers, sorters and equipment operators for the Sunnyvale Materials Recovery and Transfer Station formed picket lines outside the station and city hall to protest not being paid the prevailing wage. The majority of the workers—called sorters because they sort the waste the materials that come in—were only making $8 an hour, $4 less than the prevailing wage in the area, which was determined on July 23 by the state. According to the city, Greenteam/Zanker—which operates the SMaRT Station under contract with the city—is required to pay prevailing wage by its agreement. The city gave Greenteam/Zanker time to correct the problem, which was not done, and rumors of a lawsuit by the laborers' union began to circulate.

Three months into his tenure with the city of Sunnyvale, acting director of the Public Safety Bob Bradshaw turned in his resignation, effective Aug. 31. The decision came less than two weeks after former director Ernie Bakin formally retired from the chief position. A number of factors contributed to Bradshaw's resignation, including a difference in managerial styles between him and Interim City Manager Amy Chan. In addition, although he worked in Sunnyvale, Bradshaw lived in Reno and was driving back home every other weekend to see his wife.

Sunnyvale got its third Director of Public Safety in a year when Interim City Manager Amy Chan appointed former San Jose and Palo Alto police officer Pat Dwyer interim director after Bob Bradshaw's retirement in August.

September

Sunnyvale residents Sara Lowe and Lauren McFall and their teammates on the United States Olympic Synchronized Swimming team took third place in the Athens Olympics.

Four Sunnyvale residents filed for candidacy in the 2005 city council election, more than a year before the November 2005 election. Arts Commissioner Dixie Carney and public safety officer Anthony Drago filed papers to run for seat two—currently held by Fred Fowler—and Palo Alto Fire Capt. Anthony Spitaleri filed for seat one—held by Julia Miller—along with former Vice Mayor Tim Risch, who was voted out of office less than a year earlier.

The city council approved a grant application for community gardens at its Sept. 14 meeting. Sunnyvale Sustainable Gardening group leader Josh Salans had been lobbying for community gardening space for months, and the council's authorization allowing the group to apply for a $30,000 grant to build a 40-acre plot in Sunnyvale was the first step. The garden funding would come from the Satterberg Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to promoting education and environmental awareness. Sunnyvale already received a $10,000 grant from the group to build a smaller senior garden, a project that is now a part of the community garden plan.

The San Jose SaberCats and their neighbors around the Patrick Henry School field both asked the city council to not force the team to put up trees around the team's practice tent. According to the team, the $60,000 needed to install the trees—originally meant to hide the team's huge white tent—was an unnecessary expense because the SaberCats would be vacating the field in June 2005. The field's neighbors agreed, because the same view of the hills and skyline they lost to the tent would also be blocked by the trees. Councilman Ron Swegles attempted to get the tree-installation money redirected into the school district, but the city attorney, Valerie Armento, said that money belonged to the team.

October

The city council picked the name Plaza Del Sol for the new downtown plaza. Over 400 entries were submitted to the Parks and Recreation Commission.

Sunnyvale City Council and City Attorney Valerie Armento came to a separation agreement, with both sides disagreeing about why the working relationship was ending. Mayor John Howe said that Armento, who'd been with the city since 1991, had come to the council intending to leave office, but Armento said the council had elected not to continue her contract with them, effectively ending her employment with the city. As a term of their separation, Armento is being kept on the payroll until Sept. 30, 2005, although she left office Oct. 15, 2004, temporarily replaced by Senior Assistant City Attorney Joan Borger. Armento's contract—while not a public document—is thought by many to be worth almost $250,000 a year including benefits.

Sunnyvale Public Safety Officer, Lt. Douglas Michael Sims, faced driving-under-the-influence charges after he was stopped in late September because he was weaving through late night traffic on Highway 85. Sims refused to submit to a sobriety test by a California Highway Patrol officer and allegedly told the officer, "We're on the same team," and he also tried to call for a ride home. The officer who stopped Sims said he found eight firearms inside the black GMC truck and a dead boar in the back bed. Sims was not taken into custody after he was arrested because putting a peace officer in a cell with other inmates could incite violence.

Councilwoman, Melinda Hamilton and her husband Olaf Hirsch welcomed their first son, Tobias Nils Hirsch, on Oct. 15. The 6 pound, 9 ounce boy was born at El Camino Hospital, the same place Hamilton was born. Although her leave continued through the end of the year, Hamilton attended a few meetings following Tobias' birth, including the inauguration of the new mayor and several closed meetings involving the search for a new police chief and library director.

A city already without a permanent city manager, a city attorney or public safety director lost another leader when Sunnyvale Public Library Director Valerie Johnson announced she had taken a position with the San Mateo County library system. Johnson—who had been with Sunnyvale since 1989—was instrumental in bringing Seattle's Pike's Market "FISH! Philosophy," to the library, which taught employees to improve the environment for visitors by having fun and enjoying their jobs.

November

Interim City Manager Amy Chan became Sunnyvale's permanent city manager on Nov. 9 with a unanimous vote of the city council. Chan started with the city as an accounting officer in 1980, rising to finance director from 1983 to 1994. She became assistant city manager in 1994. The council praised Chan for her guidance during tough economic times, and said they were turning to her for stability and assistance as the city entered a new year with several management spots vacant.

The Sunnyvale Center for Innovation, Invention and Ideas —the city's patent library—faced the chopping block when the city council voted at its Oct. 19 meeting, to close the center. The council said the center was losing money for the city. But, after an outpouring of public support, the council at its Nov. 9 meeting, gave the center a reprieve until June 30, 2005. Sunnyvale resident Mikio Ishimaru has taken it upon himself to lead an effort to make the patent library self sufficient by June 30, otherwise the center will close.

After 11 years of food, drinks and celebrations, Stoddard's Brewhouse and Eatery closed it's doors suddenly on Nov. 18, leaving employees and patrons with little more than a small sign on the door. The restaurant had been struggling financially. To help the displaced workers during the holidays, Sunnyvale Chamber president Suzi Blackman and several others began calling their contacts in the food service and brewery businesses to find them jobs.

The Fremont Union High School District and Sunnyvale School District received major support from voters in November with the passing of Measure L—the $98-per-parcel tax—and Measure P, the $120 million school bond.

A year after becoming the first Asian American elected official in Sunnyvale, Vice Mayor Dean Chu became the first Asian American mayor of the city. Ron Swegles became vice mayor. Chu said he wants to get his fellow council members out to attend more neighborhood meetings and walk streets to meet the residents of Sunnyvale.

December

Sunnyvale was once again named one of the 20 safest cities in the country, according to Morgan Quitno Press, a state and city ranking publication. Sunnyvale was the nation's fifth safest city for its size and 18th overall. Morgan Quitno has ranked cities for the past 11 years, and Sunnyvale has always been within the top 20. This was the ninth consecutive year the city was in the top ten as well. Rankings are determined by using FBI data on five crime categories: murder, rape, aggravated assault, burglary and car theft.