Los Gatos council recognizes West Valley Community Services’ 50th year

A golden anniversary

The Los Gatos Town Council recognized West Valley Community Services’ 50th anniversary with a commendation presented at the Aug. 6 council meeting.

The nonprofit has served residents of the West Valley, including Los Gatos, Saratoga and Cupertino, since 1973, offering rent and food services for unhoused and low-income people in the area.

Los Gatos Mayor Mary Badame presented to the commendation to the nonprofit for its “years of dedicated public service.”

Town council candidates

A new candidate has entered the race for Los Gatos town council, and will be up against the two incumbents who are running for re-election.

Brent Ventura, who had been issued nomination papers as of Aug. 8, served as the mayor of Los Gatos from 1983 to 1991 and has since worked as a self-employed attorney, according to his Linkedin profile.

Ventura joins the race along with Vice Mayor Matthew Hudes and council member Maria Ristow, whose terms on the council will come to an end this year. Mail-in ballots will be sent out on Oct. 7, and election day will be on Nov. 5.

Hudes was elected to the council after years spent on the planning commission and historic preservation committee, and Ristow served on the transportation and parking commission and the bicycle pedestrian advisory commission before taking office.

Anti-racism efforts

The Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition’s rental assistance program has distributed a total of $35,000 to 68 households, according to a report the group issued late last month.

The coalition distributed the funds to residents of Los Gatos and beyond, with the highest number of recipients residing in San Jose. The rental assistance program is part of the coalition’s recent efforts to help prevent homelessness and advocate for affordable housing.

The funds came from a variety of groups like Successful Aging Solutions & Community Consulting and UA Local 393, a union representing Santa Clara and San Benito Counties, according to the report.

“By directly intervening and providing critical assistance, we help keep people in their homes and communities,” the report reads.