April 7, 2023 — Welcome to the Cupertino Facts newsletter! This resident-led publication is dedicated to ensuring that we have a safe, vibrant, honest and effective community. We stand for win-win situations. In this issue, we explore the following issues: 1. Cupertino Shakespeare in the Park – To Be or Not To Be? 2. Should Cupertino […]
Non Profits: Not All are Charities
As we get to the end of the year, we wish all of you a happy and relaxing holiday season. It is also the season of giving, where we contribute to our favorite causes, often represented by charities we donate to. We often use the words non-profit organizations and charities interchangeably. However they are […]
Stay Engaged to Preserve Your Interests
A few years ago no one would have thought that CUSD would close schools even though: CUSD has the most crowded schools in the area 30% of primary school classrooms are non-permanent portable structures The district is projecting a $39M surplus over the next five years And the savings from school closure are minimal […]
Cupertino: It is a Lot More Than Vallco!
This is going to be our last email before the elections. 1. The Vallco Obsession 2. Opt-In Email List The Vallco Obsession The coterie of ex-mayors sent out another email showing the Vallco lot. We wanted to set the record straight. Vallco SB35 Plan: Stuck due to Toxic Contamination The SB35 plan approved by the previous city council (Rod Sinks, […]
Debunking more Misinformation
In this email, we cover the following topics: 1. The financial condition of the City 2. Debunking the “redevelopment needs office space to break even” myth 3. An update on the campaign spending by various candidates 4. A note from a fellow resident about the Bullying of our Treasurer Minna Xu That is the line […]
CUSD: Dispelling Disinfo with Data
This email will debunk disinformation about CUSD with data. We also include video clips from Jerry Liu, a CUSD trustee who opposed school closure, who shares his experience and goes into more details. Disnfo #1: CUSD Budget Shortfall? No we have surplus! The big reason cited for the shutdown of schools was a […]
Balanced vs Unbalanced Development: Contrasting Visions
This email is about two different visions about new development in Cupertino: The balanced approach which considers the impact on the residents, the city infrastructure especially traffic & schools, and the viability of the project. The unbalanced approach which focuses on maximizing investors’ profits without regards to impact on the quality of life of […]
How Regnart Elementary School was Shut Down
In this mail, we go through two items: (a) The painful journey to the closure of Regnart Elementary School (b) A note about who we are The Regnart Story: CUSD schools have one of the highest per-school enrollment in the region. A rational person would expect that the school board would prefer to distribute […]
Lobbying and CUSD Land Grab
This email is an effort to inform you of special interest lobbying, and how CUSD schools are being closed to be sold to investors.Lobbyist Registration In the first half of 2021, the resident oriented City Council of Cupertino passed a lobbying ordinance asking entities who were receiving compensation to lobby with the city, […]
Restoring Financial Accountability in Cupertino
Do you know that an employee swindled nearly $800,000 from the City of Cupertino, running an embezzlement scam which lasted from 2000-2014, and was finally addressed in 2018. What is surprising is that a coterie of ex-Mayors of Cupertino, who were in the council prior till 2018, have been sending extremely inflammatory mails about the resident focussed council, which was elected for […]