September 2015 newsletter

1. S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5 N E W S L E T T E R
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LEADERSHIP
Dear friends,
Hope you are doing well. This year has been a blur; we are already
planning Halloween and Thanksgiving! Ever since my election to the
city council, as a community organizer my community engagement
has increased exponentially with so many interesting community ideas
coming at me from our citizens – just scroll down to see the
community pictures. It has been a lot of hard work, learning and
integrating myself into a new role at the service of our community,
ensuring we don’t stop things we were already running for our
community. Hard work, but has definitely been a fun experience, an
opportunity to make a difference – and that definitely drives me to do
my very best given the opportunity before me.
Last month, I experienced what it was like to meet a world leader and it was a wonderful learning opportunity. Prime
Minister of India, Narendra Modi was visiting Silicon Valley and it was a historic occasion for our Silicon Valley
community. As an elected official and part of the organizing team, I had the inside scoop of a very successful visit.
PM Modi, who prides himself for his humble roots as the tea-seller at a train station, who rose up through the ranks of
Indian society with sheer determination, grit focus, brute force hard work, exemplary ethics and strong execution had an
air of humility around him, but deep wisdom as he interacted with Silicon Valley executives. When I got a chance to
meet him, I couldn’t help but notice that he had the mark of a man with great intentions, a doer-ship that drove his
behavior, a man of strong integrity, the ability to get things done. His impact on India is already making a difference. I
seek to emulate him in many ways; applying technology to governance is a key component of his charter and I find many
similarities in what I am seeking to accomplish in our city of Saratoga, provide services cheaper, faster and better.
I was also fortunate to find myself right by the stage watching PM Modi address the 18,000+ Silicon Valley crowd.
Never have I seen an elected leader with such a smooth oratory that hit all the high notes, resonated and touched the
depths of our heart, pushing and prodding to bring out the goodness, and reinforcing the value of what is right. India is
lucky to have a phenomenal leader at the helm. I salute PM Modi!
PM Modi is an inspiration for many of us to apply service, ethical forthright
behavior, hard work, commitment, make the tea, turn on the lights and
without a self-driven agenda be at service. I salute such exemplary leaders
and pray for the dawn of a peaceful world that thrives upon love,
spirituality, and the spirit of always giving, instead of asking. That would by
itself make a fabulous difference for our local community. I am honored
and inspired with this opportunity to be of service.
As always, I would love to get your feedback and ideas.
Sincerely,
Rishi Kumar

2. Lorem Ipsum
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The extreme drought that
California is currently
experiencing is forcing residents
and cities to cut back on water
usage massively. The City has been
helping out with tips and tools to
save more water, like the Drought
Forum and Legislative Update
held on the 26th
of September by
Senator Jim Beall. Make sure to
conserve as much as possible.
Cell phone
antennas on
herriman Avenue
Saratoga distributed drought gear. Announcements were made on
Nextdoor.com and the city facebook page. This distribution was
resultant from a request that councilemember Kumar made to city staff
and also to the Santa Clara Valley Water District – since other
neighboring cities had distribution dates (back in July) and the idea was
to have these drought gear available to Saratogans in our own city
Water
conservation in
saratoga
C i t y c o u n c i l u p d a t e
You may recall the city council
approved funding for a Village
Vision plan under the Capital
Improvement Project. The
current goals of the Village
Specific Plan are:
· Preserving and enhancing the
small scale, pedestrian character
of the Village to make the area
more inviting to potential
shoppers and diners;
· Preserving the architectural and
landscape character of the area;
· Improving parking and
circulation;
· Encouraging a traditional town
center mix of specialty shops,
restaurants, convenience
shops, services and residences;
and
· Conserving historic structures
That was on the agenda at our
last city council meeting. Stay
tuned for future community
meetings to gather your feedback
Village specific
plan update
Saratoga entertained the now
hot-button issue of cell phone
antennas on Herrimen Avenue in
a meeting again on the 16th
of
September. However, like last
time, the citizen appeal of the PC
decision resulted in a denial, with
one vote against the plan. You
can read about it on the SJ
Mercury News site
Minimum wage in
Saratoga?
The City of San Jose will start a
non-partisan study to support
the exploration of the minimum
wages impact on Santa Clara
County and San Jose. The
analysis will involve other cities
as well, and Saratoga has decided
to participate.
Drought gear availability

3. 3
Saratoga
Historical
Foundation
fundraiser
The Saratoga Historical
Foundation is holding a
fundraising event on Oct. 18 with
proceeds to benefit the
construction of a blacksmith
exhibit at the Saratoga Historical
Park. Live music, food, a silent
auction and even a free tour of
the garden are all included in the
agenda for the night. The event
will be hosted at Hakone and run
from 4:30 to 6:30
U p c o m i n g E V E N T S & H A P P E N I N G S
Saratoga’s
Bollywood night
of fun!
Saratoga’s monthly Bollywood
night of fun will be on the 2nd
of
October. This time the theme will
be Silicon Valley’s got Bollywood.
There already a full agenda
planned for the exciting evening.
Night will start out with a potluck
at 7:00 PM. At 7:30, the karaoke
starts, lasting until 10:00, when
the fun dancing begins.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Location
has been changed to Saunders
room or the Seniors Center room.
Instead of Blue Rock Shoot. If you
like to sing, do stand-up, dance –
then please go ahead and perform.
The event is a kids/ family
friendly BOLLYWOOD based
talent show, where anything and
everything goes. We love songs,
dances, stand-up comedy, musical
performances etc. from all parts of
the world. The atmosphere is a
cozy and welcoming one, and you
can mingle and make some new
friends. You perform if you want
to, or sit back and enjoy.
Otherwise sit back and relax,
enjoy the evening
Grand opening of
Saratoga’s
Quarry-park
The City of Saratoga invites the
public to a grand opening ceremony
for the Saratoga Quarry Park,
22000 Congress Springs Road, on
Saturday, October 31, 2015 from
10:30 a.m. to noon. Guests will be
able to hike into history as the park
still shows remnants of its past as an
operating quarry back in the early-
to mid-1900s. Since parking is
limited at the park, guests are asked
to park in the Saratoga Village and
use the free shuttle service available
at the corner of Big Basin Way and
Fourth Street. Shuttle service will
run from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For
more information about Quarry
Park, visit
www.saratoga.ca.us/quarrypark
1st
annual youth
technology day
On September 12th
, the very first
annual Saratoga Tech Day was
held in the Joan Pisani
Community Center. The event
acted as an opportunity to let
kids showcase apps and
programming skills they
acquired. It was a group of about
60 people, and accompanying the
children were three panel
sessions with real tech industry
leaders. The entire event was
organized by Sophomore
Shivaum Kumar, and was a part
of the Youth Coders Club, also
founded by Shivaum.
DOCUMENTARY
SCREENING
“COWSPIRACY”
This screening was hosted by: Santa
Clara County Activists for Animals
and Saratoga Hindu Temple. The
documentary, directed by Kip
Anderson and Keegan Kuhn
discusses the merits of a vegan /
vegetarian diet, an environmentally
friendly choice. Over 200 people
attended this one and enjoyed an
intellectual environmentally
conscious documentary over a
delicious vegetarian lunch, followed
by a “Meet the Director” panel
discussion
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G l i m p s e s F R O M S e p t e m b e r
At THE ANNUAL ICC
BANQUET
With steve westley,
former controller of
California who is
running for
Governor in 2018
ENJOYING lunch with
mayor of san Jose Sam
liccardo and first lady
Jessica at the PM MODI
PRIVATE RECEPTION

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At the first annual
youth tech day with
three honored
panelists
A GROUP OF
STATE WIDE AND
LOCAL ELECTED
OFFICALS await
the opening of
the welcome
reception area
PRIOR TO PM
MODI’S ARRIVAL
AT SAP CENTER
FROM THE Saratoga has
talent annual
competition in August

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KICKING OFF the
COWSPIRACY
DOCUMENTARY
SCREENING in saratoga
Speaking AT the diva
motherhood EVENT IN
PALO ALTO
Speaking about the
merits and benefits of
West Valley Community
Services - COMPUTER
HISTORY MUSEUM TO AN
ELITE GROUP OF 500+k
SILICON VALLEY RESIDENTS

7. Listening to the Prime
Minister’s Speech at the
SAP center
A RELAXING
EVENING At the
silver creek
country club
Dignitaries and elected
Leaders on the floor
OF SAP CENTER awaiting
PRIME MINISTER MODI OF
INDIA

8. At the annual
icc banquet in
the india
community
center milpitas
AT THE CALIFORNIA
LEAGUE OF CITIES
CONFERENCE IN SAN JOSE

9. PANEL DISCUSSION AT
A national news
channel VISITING
FROM INDIA
(DOORDARSHAN
DDNEWS) about the
upcoming visit OF
PRIME MINISTER MODI
With Senator Jim
Beall and
Councilmember Ash
Kalra (San Jose) at
the SJWC BBQ IN LOS
GATOS
SOUTH BAY LABOR
COUNCIL BBQ
WITH
CONGRESSWOMAN
ZOE LOFGREN and
CONGRESSMAN
HONDA

10. Attending a play at a
local PALO ALTO
THEATER
Attending a play at a local PALO ALTO With the first
Indian American Miss AMERICA Nina Daluvuri. We had a
great conversation and many topics emerged. She
would specially like to be involved with WOMEN IN
TECHNOLOGY that we run to promote the
encouragement of girls with MSET - she will join one of
our upcoming events