Day 2 started with a little bit of a backtrack to have coffee at Inklings in Pleasanton, one of those coffee shops like Cheers where everyone knows your name. We also checked out the Pleasanton farmer's market before the day's pedal to Antioch, about 40 miles. One of the other goals of the trip was to check out the Iron Horse Trail. This is a 30+ trail Cool pedestrian bridge not far from our airbnb in Dublin that drops you into a huge park called the Don Biddle Park. that spa

Here we are at Ed Levin Park in Santa Clara County. Right before we arrived here, off to the right, I noticed an iron archway. It turned out to be an old pioneer cemetery called Laguna Cemetery. I've passed that a million times descending Sierra and never once noticed it as I zoomed by. It's a cool little bit of our history. Every year, Valley Water boardmembers and staff make at least one trip to Sacramento to meet with legislators to share our priorities. This year I decide

Appliances that have a single purpose have no place in my house. But give me a gadget that can accomplish many things and it gets prime real estate on my kitchen counter. That’s the kind of thinking baked into the new horizontal levee in the City of Palo Alto. What’s a horizontal levee, you ask? Good question! First though, let’s use a less yawn-inducing term that might get y'all to read more - "Living" levee. San Mateo County Supervisor Gauthier, Napa County Supervisor R

Many of you have been asking, what is the Water District doing to repair, rebuild and move forward after the resignation of the CEO. I’d like to talk about three of those things: 1. CEO Recruitment 2. BAO Annual Review 3. Investigation Audit CEO Recruitment One of the most important jobs of a board is to hire and fire the CEO. To do that, the board has established an Ad Hoc Committee to develop and oversee this process. Before starting, the Board disc

It’s been hot these past few days. So hot that those in the water industry have been worried that the snowpack is melting too fast. This, they say, is a sign of what will become more common. Climate change equals weather whiplash and hotter temperatures, all of which are concerning even when we have good rain years. This potential new normal makes how we plan to meet water supply needs more tricky. The amount of water over the course of a year that falls from the sky (eithe

I’ve had this lawn sign in my yard for years. Now, after a hard won battle, I can finally take it down. This past Tuesday, January 27 th , 2026, the Valley Water Board of Directors voted to give $4 million dollars to the Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) to purchase more of Sargent Ranch. While Valley Water’s contribution was a small drop in the bucket, it was pretty cool to cast that vote. For those of you who don’t know about Sargent Ranch and the effort to protect Jurist

It was another year and another King Tide Ride, an annual ride sponsored by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. In this blog, I’m going to talk about the educational aspects and also, all the warm, fuzzy, woo parts. I’ll start with the woo. Because of rain, there was a lot of hemming and hawing about whether to do the ride. Would the trail already be flooded? And how would the King Tide contribute to that? So, I did a test ride the Friday before. In addition to monitori

For my bike friends who regularly ride Hicks from New Almaden, you likely marvel at the beauty of two water bodies, Almaden Reservoir and Gaudalupe Reservoir. Birds, streams, the ability to lose oneself while riding, to forget about the woes of the world - aren't we lucky to have these areas just a short pedal away? Beyond admiration as you pedal by, what do you know about these two reservoirs? Before I was elected to the Water District, more commonly referred to as Valley Wa

Imagine if you lived in a world where you never had to worry about having a safe and secure home. That world exists in Vienna. This past September, I joined a delegation of 25 leaders from across the state as a part of the Global Policy Leadership Academy’s Social Housing Study Trip. In this blog I’ll talk about: - Why Vienna - Takeaways - Why the Water District Why Vienna? This slide says it all. Vienna is one of the most afford

When Santa Clara County’s democratically elected Assessor, Larry Stone, announced he was retiring early, I was a tad bit irritated for a...

Look at that merry band of Valley Water employees dressed in day glo, bike helmets, sunglasses and gloves! Yes, that was the last Valley...

McKenzie River Trail is one of our all time favorite mountain bike rides. This year, we made it a destination and then almost didn't get...

One of the most recognized water projects in the State of California is the California Aqueduct, a shimmering ribbon of water that can be...

What do fundraising reports say about a candidate? With the D3 race for the Downtown San Jose seat nearing a close, and seeing...

Thank you once again for electing me to represent District 2 on the Valley Water Board. I take that seriously and am now in the process...

If you’ve watched the movie Dune, you’re probably familiar with one of the most water-wise societies ever. The movie is good, but I...

It was a big housing week for me and the Water District. Tuesday : I attended the ground breaking for an emergency interim housing...

What better way to celebrate my election to the Water District than to hold a blind water taste test party for all those who volunteered...

When you run for office, the Registrar allows you three words to describe yourself on the ballot. Having lived my own life, I completely...

It’s Halloween time which means we celebrate the spiders, the webs, and all those creepy crawler things that make me cringe at the...