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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Details, Details Los Gatos--Vigorous participation by Los Gatans in the creation of development guidelines for the "North Forty"--a 40-acre parcel of land bounded by Highways 85 and 17 and Los Gatos Boulevard--has funneled into careful scrutiny of the language. At last Wednesday's planning meeting, townsfolk requested that the planning commissioners avoid "weasel words" like "unless" and "whenever possible" in drafting the guidelines. The attention to detail is admirable, but it may have overwhelmed the proverbial view of the forest: the Yuki family, who owns about 30 of the 40 acres in question, has shown no interest whatsoever in developing their property. School Frays Willow Glen--Opponents of a proposal to house Broadway High, a continuation high school, on the campus of John Muir Middle School have changed their tack. Instead of complaining that the 300 Broadway students would pose a threat to the younger campusmates, the opponents (including Assemblyman Jim Cunneen and Councilman John Diquisto) now say Broadway deserves its own campus, and they're asking San Jose Unified School District to pony up a bond measure for one. Sacred Space Palo Alto--In a near-universal chorus of religious tolerance, the majority of Palo Alto City Council candidates say they favor the creation of an eruv--a continuous physical barrier (partially made of twine) encircling the city so Palo Alto's approximately 700 Orthodox Jews can get around Talmudic restrictions and do more activities on the Sabbath. If the controversial project gets the city's approval, Palo Alto will become Northern California's first eruv, the symbolic equivalent of a walled city (or as Calvin Trillin coined it, "a magic schlepping circle"). [ San Jose | MetroActive Central | Archives ]