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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Strike Pose Sunnyvale--When it comes to seething hotbeds of proletarian unrest, the county workers' proposed strike is hogging all the ink these days, but the model city of Sunnyvale isn't far behind. Members of the Sunnyvale Employees Association and the city reached an impasse in early June when the union rejected the final contract offer and the city refused its counter-proposal. The 500 workers' primary gripe is the discrepancy between their salaries and those of equal positions in surrounding cities; in some cases, they claim, the gap is as much as 30 percent. Lesson in Giving Cupertino--Who says Silicon Valleyites are stingy? McAuliffe Elementary School raised a little over $6,000 last weekend to support Richie Ang, a 6-year-old diagnosed with an inch-and-a-half-diameter benign brain tumor in early June. The Angs' devoted insurance company jumped ship with the lifeboat, claiming the illness was a pre-existing condition, but the school community quickly rallied to organize a "Get Well Richie Ang Day" featuring car wash, bake sale, silent auction and flea market. Although the tumor is benign, its location and size make it urgent. Richie begins chemotherapy this week. Mobile Homeless Los Gatos--While it may shock some to hear that such a thing as the Los Gatos Mobile Home Park exists, it probably won't shock anyone to learn that the land is slated for housing development a la Barry Swensen, and the trailers are out on their hitches. The question now is how to compensate the displaced residents. Park tenants (who variously own and rent their mobile homes) say there's not another place in the county that will accept their 10-year-old-plus rigs. And they want compensation for their mobile homes in spite of owners Malcolm and Margaret McNelly's claim that the land is the only thing that gives them any value at all. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]