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Daisy Chu
running for
supervisor

Daisy Chu, wife of San Jose City Councilman Kansen Chu, announced that she is running for Santa Clara County supervisor in District 3 in November when Pete McHugh terms out.

She has already pulled papers and joins Sunnyvale Councilman Otto Lee, San Jose Vice Mayor Dave Cortese and Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves in the race.

"I love to serve people. I love to help people, and I've been doing that for 20 years," she said, referring to her tenure on the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Advisory Board and the San Jose Small Business Development Commission.

"I'll be coming in with a financial background," said the former Applied Materials accountant, pointing to fixing the county's budget problems as her first order of business if elected.

Committee
recommends
green steps

The Sunnyvale Green Ribbon Committee, convened in late 2007 by Councilman Otto Lee when he was mayor to explore ways to reduce Sunnyvale's impact on the environment, recommended five ways to do just that in 2008:

A high-level, full-time sustainability coordinator for $120,000 to $200,000 per year;

Educate residents through existing and new channels;

An inventory of greenhouse gas emissions citywide, not just from city operations, for between $50,000 and $200,000.

Prioritize permitting for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified development; and

Mandate LEED silver certification on large commercial developments.

The council will consider these reccommendations at a Jan. 25 workshop.

City, developer
start toxic
clean-up

Two soil vapor extraction systems to remove a toxic dry cleaning chemical from the soil beneath Sunnyvale's downtown were set to go online by this week, the city announced on Jan. 14.

The systems consist of a series of dry wells and collector pipes, mostly buried, and carbon filters around the east side of the Town Center redevelopment project. They will run 24 hours per day for as long as it takes to remove the vapors.

For more information, contact Sunnyvale Department of Public Works Assistant Director Mike Rogge at 480.730.7415, or mrogge@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us.