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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Rural Rumble Campbell--Residents of the San Tomas neighborhood met with Campbell city staffers last week to voice their displeasure over a group of proposed changes to their locale. Ever since Orchard City annexed the little rural neighborhood in the early '80s, San Tomasians have stood vigilant guard over the bucolic character of their community. At stake: proposed amendments to the San Tomas plan regarding sidewalks and curbs, single-family home additions and more. Community development director Steve Piasecki is quick to minimize the changes: "[The city is] not at odds with the desire that we retain the semi-rural feel of San Tomas," he says. Here's the Rub Los Gatos--It was just five years ago that massage therapists in Los Gatos cast off the cloak of scandal and won the right to obtain business licenses--if they worked under the immediate supervision of a licensed medical practitioner. Now with the increasing popularity of massage and other holistic healing practices, massage therapist Carol Knop is suggesting the town drop the supervision-by-doc stipulation and come up with criteria for issuing business licenses to massage therapists. Mayor Jan Hutchins, himself a certified rub-a-dubber, supports the idea of Knop's proposal, joking, "When I get past my wage-slavery years, I intend to do massage therapy and teach yoga in my dotage." Sweet Sisterhood Saratoga--This weekend Saratoga's annual parade did double duty as a birthday party for the beautiful relationship between Saratoga and its sister city of Muko, Japan. Numerous delegations sent across the deep blue over the years have resulted in what everyone agrees is a wonderful relationship. The two have much in common: both are small, wealthy and situated in the foothills near a major city. By all accounts, sibling rivalry between the two is nil. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]