@losgatan
vol . 3 , no. 15 : december 20-26, 2023 : losgatan.com
local sports previews p8 : ‘fentanyl high’ premieres p14 : local columnists p16 : ny times crossword puzzle p17 Drew Penner/Los Gatan
BADAME NAMED MAYOR; HUDES TO SERVE AS VICE MAYOR Public shows support for Maria Ristow’s year of mayorship
Older residents turn up for free lunch and to consider new transportation option
Drew Penner, Reporter
It was a whirlwind 12 months of store-openings, community-building, future-envisioning and infrastructure development, but as they say, all good things must come to an end. And so Dec. 12, Mayor Maria Ristow handed the baton to Mary Badame, who served as Vice Mayor for the past year. In addition, Councilmember Matthew Hudes ascended to the position of Vice Mayor. “It feels like a really long time, and it also feels like it went by really quickly,” Ristow said, as she geared up for her outgoing remarks. “I hope this isn’t as long as Councilmember Rennie’s speech two years ago, but there’s a lot I wanted to cover.” Ristow oversaw the establishment of a Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee—which she credited to prior groundwork by former mayors Marcia Jensen and Marico Sayoc—the continued rollout of the “parklet” patio program, new traffic-calming measures and the adoption of the Flock Safety traffic camera system, among other initiatives. ➝ Mayor, 10
TRANSPORTATION AGENCY AND TOWN TEAM UP TO GET SENIORS ON THE BUS
Drew Penner, Reporter
Harvey Christensen is pushing 92, but on Dec. 13, he tried something completely novel— he rode a Valley Transportation Authority bus across town with his wife Jacquie. They joined a group of seniors who met at the Los Gatos Adult Recreation Center and headed to Double D’s Sports Grille via the “27” route, Los Gatos’ public transit lifeline. ➝ Seniors, 12
Subscribe to receive Los Gatan home delivery every week.
NEW LEADERS Mayor Mary Badame and Vice Mayor Matthew Hudes are sworn in Dec. 12, as outgoing mayor Maria Ristow looks on.
LGSubs.com