By Khalida Sarwari
2014 will be remembered as a year of contrasts for Saratoga. Seventy-five-year old Saratoga businessman Robert Schiro made headlines when he landed behind bars again this summer. He had already completed an 18-month prison sentence for driving drunk earlier this year.
Just a few months later, another Saratogan, 66-year-old Tim Cassell, grabbed headlines for his amazing survival story in the Sierras.
The issue that sparked the most heated debates among residents this year was the Highway 85 project. Residents were a constant presence at city council and VTA meetings to make sure that their elected officials were aware of their dissatisfaction with the project, which they claimed would worsen noise and traffic especially in their city.
This was also a special year for the Saratoga Foothill Club and the Saratoga Sister City Board. The former celebrated the 100th anniversary of its Julia Morgan-designed clubhouse and the latter commemorated 30 years of its sister-city relationship with Muko, a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan.
The city received high marks in many reports, from its second consecutive “A” grade in the 2013-2014 Community’s Health on Tobacco Report Card to its second safest city ranking by Movoto.com, the blog site of a national online real estate brokerage. Saratoga also can claim seventh fastest-growing city status, courtesy of consumer advocacy website NerdWallet.
