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News From Silicon Valley's Neighborhoods Landmark Lust Milpitas officials have called dibs on being northern gateway to Silicon Valley--and they want to erect a giant space needle to prove it. Save the Grass Roots Los Gatos--Ah, Santa Cruz Mountains living--the clean air, the silence and--the roadside grasses dead or wilting from a lethal dose of Garlon 4. The county says spritzing a little herbicide on exuberant weeds growing along Bear Creek, Summit and other roads is much cheaper than mowing. But a group of 60 mountain residents concerned about their drinking water has a solution in mind, and they'll have a chance to propose it to county supe Don Gage and county roads director Michael Murdter on Dec. 1: they'll take care of their own frontage, thank you, if the county mows the rest. Cross to Bare Saratoga--A tree is a marked man in Saratoga these days. Last month the school board voted to remove 10 eucalyptus trees from the Saratoga School, prompting the resignation of board member Jill Hunter. Now the new Argonaut Shopping Center is denuded as well, and residents are not amused. Not only did Argonaut's owners remove every shred of shade from the parking lot, but they also took out the pines lining Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road, banishing residents' hopes that convenience and aesthetics might find a happy marriage in Saratoga's newest shopping center. Just Friends Cupertino--No offense toward Cupertino's sister city of Toyokawa, but Taiwan's Hsinchu City, home to 245 tech companies and a science-based industrial park, just feels like family to Cupertinians. Trouble is, Sister Cities International only allows one sister per city, and Toyokawa already fits the bill for Cupertino. So the would-be sisters are embarking on the informal, nonfamilial relationship known as "friendship." Two weeks ago a delegation of 42 Cupertinians, among them school board members, city leaders and high-tech mavens, arrived in what has become known as Taiwan's Silicon Valley, beginning a trend of networking and civic exchanges. [ Metro | Metroactive Central | Archives ]