As the sunlight poured into the Santa Clara County Superior Court room, May 30, illuminating the three-panel abstract ocean scene on an austere wooden wall, Judge Evette Pennypacker was on her game, despite reduced access to digital paperwork over the Memorial Day Weekend, due to system upgrades.
She complimented attorneys and shut down bouts of bickering before they could break out (“I don’t think you’re crazy,” she placated, before a lawyer could launch a retaliatory rhetorical blow against his opponent).
Pennypacker, a UC Santa Cruz and Hastings College of the Law graduate, drew on her criminal law background to interpret how a US Supreme Court ruling about the Fifth Amendment in a death penalty case impacted a less serious matter before her; then she granted an order in a civil action against a Californian brewer.
Next, she turned to the most relevant item on the docket for this news outlet—Line 10.
It was Metro Publishing, Inc.’s application for an order declaring the Los Gatan a “newspaper of general circulation.”
For Executive Editor Dan Pulcrano and General Manager Lee May, it was a key moment of redemption in a long journey that stretches back to 1982 when they started their first paper in Los Gatos.
That publication, the Weekly, was sold in the wake of a Silicon Valley bust cycle, but in September 2021, Pulcrano and May, who grew up in Los Gatos, debuted the first issue of the Los Gatan.
On Jan. 1, 2023, Managing Editor Erik Chalhoub signed a submission to the court confirming what our readers know to be true—that the paper’s been printed at least weekly for more than a year and that inside is filled with a variety of news and information “of a general character in the Town of Los Gatos.”
When Pennypacker turned to the Los Gatan’s lawyer, Scott Talkov, of Talkov Law Corp., who was appearing remotely via Microsoft Teams, she kept it simple.
“I granted this petition,” she informed him.
No one spoke in opposition.
May, a Los Gatos High School graduate, was thrilled to learn the news.
“This is a really big step,” he said. “It means we reach enough people to be considered a community voice.”
Being designated a “newspaper of general circulation” allows the Los Gatan to accept legal advertising from individuals (for example, name change notices), businesses (includes default notices) and government agencies (such as the water board, the Town and the County).
“I’m really excited to see the progress,” May said. “It’s a little iffy starting a newspaper nowadays. But Dan and I are really committed to providing the information and resources Los Gatos needs to remain a viable, distinct community within the county. That’s something we’ve always been happy with about Los Gatos.”
According to May, this was a win for transparency advocates.
“As we get more and more visibility in the community, it means that more people will have access to public notices through advertising in our pages,” he said. “It allows you to see what your government is doing.”
Pulcrano said the company is offering a rate of $65 for fictitious business name listings. Interested parties should contact [email protected].
