News!

Silicon Valley farms? They're there, and they're worth millions

Written by Eric Kurhi. Published in the Mercury News September 24, 2017. Photo by Josie Lepe/Bay Area News Group

SAN MARTIN — As fourth-generation men of the earth, the Bonino brothers know their picked profession isn’t for everyone.

Their century-old LJB Farms has been around since long before the term “Silicon Valley” was coined, but it’s now an outlier in Santa Clara County, a throwback to days when it was known as the Valley of Heart’s Delight.

Heidi Sickler: San Jose's sustainability plan is good government use of tech

Written by Heidi Sickler. Published in the Mercury News September 4, 2017. Photo by Karl Mondon.

Silicon Valley’s technology industry continues to demonstrate its enduring power to innovate. Year after year, the companies that call the Valley home dominate the marketplace with new tools, applications, and services.

However, tech is not the only sector of our local economy that is demonstrating world-class creativity.  Our local governments also are adopting innovative policies and programs to address many of the issues critical to the region’s quality of life.

Coyote Valley Landscape Linkage

Bobcat Release at Little Uvas Open Space Preserve

The Open Space Authority recently joined its partner, Wildlife Education & Rehabilitation Center (WERC), at Little Uvas Open Space Preserve for the release of a bobcat named Oakley back into the wild. WERC has been caring for Oakley for the last 9 months and it was finally time for her to go back home.

Watch as Oakley ventures back into the wild and learn more about her care at WERC.

Ash Kalra: Don't squander Coyote Valley's value as open space

Published in the Mercury News October 5, 2016.

The state of California has always been in the forefront of climate change policy. Now, we have taken a revolutionary new step in the fight against global warming, by recognizing the importance of preserving open space.

How can preserving forests, farmlands and hillsides reduce greenhouse gases? The answer lies in the ability of trees and plants to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. When we convert open space and farmland to urban development, not only do we increase greenhouse gas emissions from new buildings and cars, but we destroy the green areas that were absorbing those gases – a double whammy for global warming.

Coyote Valley Family Harvest Feast Celebrates Urban Farming and Healthy Food

The Open Space Authority cordially invites the community to the Coyote Valley Family Harvest Feast, a celebration of locally-grown food, local farms, and Silicon Valley’s agricultural roots. This free and family-friendly festival will take place on Saturday, September 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at the Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve, 550 Palm Avenue in Morgan Hill. Attendees are encouraged to register in advance at www.CoyoteValley2016.eventbrite.com

How Green is My Valley? by Lisa Krieger

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo: New era of conservation gaining momentum in Coyote Valley

Written by Paul Rogers. Published in the Mercury News June 27, 2015. Photo by Jim Gensheimer.

SAN JOSE — After decades of conflict over whether to build technology campuses and housing in Coyote Valley, the scenic expanse of ranches and farms on San Jose’s southern edges along Highway 101, a new momentum has begun to keep the area free of urban development, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Saturday.

Liccardo said that although the city’s general plan, approved in 2011, still allows for tech campus development in the northern part of the 7,400-acre Coyote Valley, no tech companies have approached him hoping to build there. And, Liccardo added, his strong preference is for the firms to locate downtown, in North San Jose or in other urbanized parts of the city.

“I have no desire to invest in infrastructure development on the southern edges of San Jose,” Liccardo said in an interview, adding that if no new construction ever came to the rural valley “I wouldn’t lose any sleep.”