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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Strike Two Campbell--Orchard City police are singing a new tune this holiday season, and it goes a little something like this: "Oh, the weather outside's delightful, but the crimes are sorely frightful. On Dec. 25 a 24-year-old man from Saratoga was jumped by two suspects whom he says he doesn't know. Three days later a 20-year-old victim and a 26-year-old suspect were allegedly involved in a drug transaction when they began arguing. The suspect stabbed the youngster's left arm and fled. The knife-wielding menace was apprehended later that night. Pet Detective Los Gatos--Together they've investigated arson mysteries across the nation, most recently the Sacramento synagogue fires and the Yosemite murders. They've gained a national reputation as an unbeatable duo and they've worked as a fire investigations team for four decades (in dog years, anyway). And now they're retiring together to do some hikin' and fishin'. Bill Hardwicke and Dolph, a black Lab, became partners in arson investigation for the Central Fire District in 1993. Their specialty: sniffing out ignitable liquids at fire sites. Dolph plans to live out the rest of his days with Hardwicke and his wife, Jean, in Los Gatos. Turned Ugly Palo Alto--After years of planning, design review and community uproar, the construction of two mammoth parking garages in downtown Palo Alto got a green light from the City Council two weeks ago. The above-ground, multilevel structures will take 878 cars off the congested streets and cost $25 million. Local environmentalists who argue that the free parking structures will only attract more downtown drivers are suggesting alternatives to development. They won support from the council's lone dissenter, Mayor Gary Fazzino, who pronounced the five-level Bryant Street garage "damn ugly." [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]