A site dedicated to the residents of Silicon Valley, with news, stories and events.
It takes a rare personality to make Eggs Benedict for 125 people in a camp kitchen, with real hollandaise sauce, and just consider it routine. Yet that was typical of Dane Mechlin — Chef Dane, as he was known — who died in April of leukemia, surrounded by his family and many of the close … Read more
Former city council member and long-time active member of the Santa Clara community, Debi Davis, passed away over Easter weekend. Davis served on the Santa Clara City Council for eight years between 2012 and 2020 and had several projects that she was especially dedicated to. Teresa O’Neill, who served on the city council with Davis, called … Read more
The death last Monday of former city manager Jennifer Sparacino gave the final punctuation to the end of an era in Santa Clara — an era of long-tenured City staff who came up through the ranks, as Jennifer did; getting her lessons in municipal management from legendary city manager Don Von Raesfeld. Her lowkey style tended … Read more
During her three-time battle with metastatic breast cancer, former Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan never let her illness stand in the way of living a full life. During her first bout with cancer, she participated in the 2012 Levi’s Stadium groundbreaking despite being in the middle of chemotherapy. In 2014, she excused herself from a … Read more
Don Von Raesfeld, arguably the single most influential person on Santa Clara’s road to electric power self-sufficiency, died suddenly this week at St. Clare’s Church during Easter Mass. He was 96. “In my history of Santa Clara, he is Mr. Santa Clara,” said former mayor Gary Gillmor. “He did so much for the city that … Read more
Anyone who ever worked with Bill Kelly agreed on one thing: The longtime City of Santa Clara Fire Chief had, in the words of Santa Clara County Fire Department Chief Tony Bowden,” a huge impact on my career.” But for himself, Kelly only wanted to talk about how the people he had worked with and … Read more
The true heart of Heart of the Valley (HOV), Services for Seniors, Inc. has died. Glenda Cresap, 72, who led the small but mighty organization located in a tiny blue house off El Camino Real for over 30 years, died at Good Samaritan Hospital on July 1 surrounded by her family. Born April 30, 1950 … Read more
It’s not an exaggeration to say that much that has materialized in Santa Clara since 1970 is there because of farsighted planning on the part of legendary figures in city governance. Former mayor Larry Fargher was one of those legendary leaders. Fargher died at his home on June 14 at the age of 89. A … Read more
Santa Clara lost one of its great ladies last week. Laura Mahan died peacefully in her home surrounded by family at the age of 98. Born in San José to Italian immigrants, Theresa Fasano Stasi and Canio Stasi, after graduating from high school Laura married her husband of nearly 60 years, former Santa Clara Council … Read more
Perhaps all you need to know about Gerri Gamma is summed up by her granddaughters Hailey and Brianna Gamma: “She was so cool.” “It was always a good time when we were with her,” said Brianna. “And she used to let us drive her red Firebird.” When they were younger, the girls looked forward to … Read more