Call to action: Stop quarry expansion

The huge German mining company Heidelberg that quarries limestone and burns cement in the Santa Cruz Mountains above our homes wants to expand, again. Our local governments are waging valiant efforts to protect our health and environment. But they spar with a multibillion-dollar public global company.

This quarry and cement kiln have violated their environmental operating permits over the years. They have compromised our air quality and Permanente Creek, which flows to the San Francisco Bay. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and federal courts have intervened to establish compliance. But the law-breaking continues: The county cited the quarry in 2018 for constructing an illegal road through the mountains. In June, the county cited the quarry for allowing mining overflow into Permanente Creek. Now, these distant owners want to kill thousands of trees and destroy acres of wildlife habitat, then leave a huge pile of mining waste in their wake.

Birthday girls receive unexpected gift

On Thursday, Jan. 15, at about 4 p.m., we were enjoying happy hour at Opa on Main Street. We both ordered special (and expensive!) drinks for our annual joint birthday celebration.

Let’s face it, many of us take our community colleges for granted. But for thousands of students throughout Los Altos, the Peninsula and the South Bay, Foothill and De Anza are launching pads for careers that will set them up for life. For others, they are new beginnings leading to encore careers. And for still others, they are economic and viable alternatives to attending expensive four-year universities. Furthermore, Foothill and De Anza are among the best in the state at what they do.

For these reasons and more, we encourage “yes” votes on two Foothill-De Anza funding measures on the March 3 ballot. Measure G is an $898 million bond that would cost property owners roughly 1.6 cents per $100 of assessed value. The measure, which requires 55% approval to pass, would fund construction of and updates to facilities. Measure H is a $48 parcel tax levied for five years that would raise $5.6 million annually for personnel and programs. It needs a two-thirds vote to pass.

Post council minutes on city website

I was pleased to read in the Town Crier that the No. 1 “area of focus” for Los Altos Mayor Jan Pepper is open and good government (“From the Mayor’s Desk,” Jan. 8).

I suggest that the best and easiest place to begin work on this topic is by restoring the now-defunct practice of publishing written city council meeting minutes on the city website.

Open Boronda Lake to nonresidents

A Palo Alto friend told us their city is again considering the pros and cons of opening Boronda Lake to nonresidents. Palo Alto editorial websites have mostly expressed the sentiment that Los Altos residents long ago lost their opportunity and should live without access or pay a substantial sum to gain it.

Visitors who tour the Silicon Valley Advanced Purification Center in Alviso get a firsthand look at the technology used to turn recycled wastewater into water purified to a level that meets California’s drinking standards.

At the end of the tour, guests receive a sample of wastewater-turned-purified-drinking-water. Time and again, the Valley Water tour guides hear the same message: This water is as good, if not better, than people’s current drinking water.