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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Sure Shot Cupertino--A SAGE rifle may have kept Santa Clara County deputies from firing fatal shots at a suspect wielding a weapon. Although the target of a SAGE hit may feel like he's been punched, in reality the gun fires a rubber baton that is usually not lethal. Last week, David T. Malcolm took six shots from the special rifle and remained unscathed--except for a self-inflicted wrist laceration. Police were visiting Malcolm's Cloverly Court home on a domestic violence call. Less than a month ago, the SAGE was used on a Saratoga man who tried locking himself in a room with a meat cleaver. Buyer Blitz Los Gatos--Unsure what else to do with all their dotcom dollars, Silicon Valley swingers are pumping up the real estate markets in Carmel, Monterey, Lake Tahoe and the Gold Country in search of vacation houses. According to a National Association of Realtors survey, a 24.7 percent increase in second-home sales since 1995 is due to tax law changes that have essentially dumped the capital gains tax penalty for second-home buyers. In 1999, says Coldwell Banker of Monterey Bay VP Rita Lewis, over 50 percent of her company's second-home sales--from $800,000 to $17.5 million each--were paid for in cold cash. Soul Survivors Willow Glen--Breast cancer has plagued Sally Brenner, professor of health sciences and allied health at Ohlone College, for over a decade. She believes in the power of prayer, whether in a church, synagogue, Buddhist temple, or wherever. Determined to help herself and others like her, Brenner formed a support group aimed at quenching women's thirst for the spiritual in their battles with breast cancer. These days, her newly empowered group convenes monthly at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church to chat about feelings, share medical information and, of course, pray. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]