Jazz series opener
Los Gatos’s annual summer concert series opens at Town Plaza Park on June 26.
Le Jazz Hot Quartet will be kicking off the outdoor concert series from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. with original “gypsy jazz” compositions by lead guitarist Paul Mehling.
Admission is free, and attendees are welcome to bring picnic baskets and lawn chairs. Reserved seating is available for purchase at jazzontheplazz.com, where a full lineup for the weekly summer concert series is also available.
Council OKs housing
In a 3-2 vote on June 6, the Los Gatos Town Council gave its final approval of the housing element, a document outlining residential development in town for the next eight years.
State officials approved the document in early May after extensive discussion by council members on the extent to which the housing element will allow for the building of small, multi-unit housing. The housing element calls for 2,371 housing units to be built, 24% more than the 1,993 units the state is requiring.
Mayor Mary Badame and Vice Mayor Matthew Hudes voted against approving the housing element, arguing that the number of housing units the document outlines is too far over the amount required by the state.
“It was on my ballot statement when I got elected that I did not approve housing numbers that exceed the mandates imposed by the state on our town,” Badame said.
Council members Rob Rennie, Maria Ristow and Rob Moore voted in favor of adopting the housing element.
Moore said the housing element would serve to “regain local control, end the builder’s remedy in Los Gatos, meet state housing law and most importantly, meet the demands of our residents.”
State officials are on track to certify the document on Aug. 5, according to the town’s website.
Student makes winning pitch
Sahil Agarwal, a junior at Los Gatos High School, was recently selected as a finalist in an entrepreneurship competition.
Agarwal, along with his teammates from high schools around North America, were recognized for their startup called Boxmate, which allows restaurants to put advertisements on takeout materials. Agarwal and his team were selected as finalists for the University of Delaware’s Diamond Challenge, in which teams compete for $100,000 in awards.