The plight of children in war zones is a natural cause for John Pietrzyk. Born in Germany right after WWII, his parents and grandparents were refugees, first in Poland and then in the United States. Many years later, that experience was the impetus for a UNICEF benefit concert featuring a newly composed choral work on … Read more
No one was more surprised at Judy Santiago receiving a Jefferson Awards in 2024 from the Multiplying Good Foundation, SF Bay Area, than the Sunnyvale resident herself. “I’m still in shock,” said Santiago. “I got an email from [KPIX reporter] Sharon Chin a while back, and she said that, ‘You were notified several months ago … Read more
A commercial van fire in the underground garage of the Orchard Glen apartment complex was extinguished quickly on Thursday afternoon, with no injuries thanks to a speedy response from Santa Clara Fire Department. Smoke from the fire was visible on Stevens Creek Boulevard. The fire broke out at about 1:45 p.m., and SCFD was on … Read more
Between 1948 and 1965, Santa Clara laid the foundation for becoming power-independent, and that was due to the vision of two people: George Sullivan and Don Von Raesfeld, a collaboration with Santa Clara University, and progressive city councils. In 1948, Sullivan, Dean of Engineering at Santa Clara University, proposed a plan for meeting the needs … Read more
The air may have been chilly, but the spirit was warm at December’s Chanukah Menorah lighting in Santa Clara. The event drew a crowd of all ages, from young families to senior citizens, to the Civic Center Park, with Mayor Lisa Gillmor and new Police Chief Cory Morgan doing the honors of lighting the Menorah. … Read more
As more local firefighters headed south over the weekend, crews already on the scene are putting in long hours in the fight against the cataclysmic fires raging in Los Angeles. Over the weekend, Santa Clara Fire Engine 90 was dispatched to the Pasadena Fire Staging Area at the Rose Bowl as part of a Mutual … Read more
In 1896 — 14 years after Thomas Edison launched the first electrical power plant in the U.S., Santa Clara’s Board of Town Trustees made a historic decision: they invested $7,000 in an electric generator. That 1896 project laid the groundwork for all of the city’s electric power policy that followed. While that policy put control … Read more
Southern California’s cataclysmic fires were only 36 hours old, but by Thursday afternoon, firefighters from Sunnyvale and Santa Clara were on the ground in Southern California. They are part of a Santa Clara County strike team joining the fight against five wildfires that have, in two days, burned a path of devastation and tragedy across … Read more
Christmas is a time when we think a lot about tradition and revel in old-timey imagery. So, we took a look back at the ghost of Christmas 1924 in the record left by contemporaneous newspapers. Charitable Enterprises Abound At the home of Mrs. C.W. Haman, reported in the Dec. 7 Mercury Herald, the Santa Clara … Read more
Charles Dickens wrote in his immortal Christmas Carol that Christmas was the time of year when “Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices.” For 42 years, Santa Clara Soroptimists’ (SISCSV) Christmas store has helped local families in need share the holiday abundance: a holiday store where the merchandise is free, and no member of the … Read more