We do sometimes forget how nice it is to live in a democratic nation. Democracy was on full display in Los Gatos this past Tuesday night. I was a proud to be part of this town. The evening started with Neil Chase, Executive Editor, of the Mercury News, giving a presentation at a Town Hall meeting of about 60 Los Gatos residents. He explained what is happening with newspapers around the country and why our local Weekly Times has seemed so different these last few weeks. While he did not apologize necessarily, he did listen attentively to the suggestions made and I believe will do what he can to bring back parts of the newspaper that we know and love. I was impressed with the number of people who came to voice their opinion. Thank you. It struck me too that we need to work harder at being an Age Friendly community. As citizens in a small town, it is important that we watch out for our youngest and our oldest people. We need to offer ways in which everyone can play a part and feel engaged.

Next up that evening was the Town Council meeting. Hands down for a job well done by our elected officials. They have deliberated for almost a year about the Alberto Way project and in a 4-1 vote came to a resolution. They have spent hours upon hours figuring out how to be sure that this development was right for our Town. They approved the project at just above 69,000 sq.  Congratulations to Shane Arters and Lamb Partners. Their perseverance and patience with this process was remarkable. They also are to be lauded for compromising as much as they did.   Their building will be a beautiful addition to our town and we cannot wait for the CAT shuttle! Shane did want to thank so many of the Chamber members for writing letters to the Council this past week supporting his efforts. Those letters made a difference.

In other news, thank you to the wineries, merchants, restaurants, water providers and musicians who participated in the 2018 Spring Wine Walk. All reports indicate it was the best Wine Walk ever! Cheers to the Chamber staff for their work and to the volunteers who always come out and help us with this event. We appreciate you! And to all of you Wine Walkers - cheers for coming, for sipping and mostly for shopping! Mark your calendars for September 22 for Eat Drink Los Gatos, which is the event where we close North Santa Cruz Avenue. We are in the preliminary planning stages - lining up bands and registering local restaurants. This year will undoubtedly be bigger than last year - but we will be ready. If you would like to be a sponsor of this event, let us know soon!

Also coming this summer are the Third Thursday Block Parties. Stay tuned for more details. Let's just say you will want to make the trip down into Town on Thursday nights. Bring the whole family. The shops will stay open late, there will be lots of music, food, street performers and fun. It will be a Los Gatos that you have never seen before.

A few last notes for this month:

Have a great weekend. Summer is almost here.