Victory is sweet in many ways. In the case of the SF 49ers, it was their confrontation last Sunday that was the sweetest. The bad memory of last year’s confrontation with the Philadelphia Eagles was the freak hit on 49er quarterback Brock Purdy. It ended both Purdy’s season and the 49ers’.
While getting even has its moments, getting more than even has its rewards! In this case, it was the feisty 49ers who plucked all the feathers from the league-leading Eagles 42 to 19. This was not a get-even match as had been touted. It was a get-ahead and stay-ahead crushing.
Brock Purdy didn’t do anything more than he has been doing since he was elevated from the last NFL draft pick to starting quarterback. He moved the ball, making pass completions on offense while the defense played with Super Bowl intensity. Purdy’s support from Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel was brilliant, while the 49er defense was insurmountable!
Santa Clara has another team that is also doing brilliant work. Planning of the new Santa Clara downtown has been led by the most capable of community volunteers, Adam Thompson. Thompson and his A-team have worked and reworked an amazing plan of redevelopment for Santa Clara’s missing downtown.
Many visitors have often asked, “Where is Santa Clara’s downtown?” While residents can timidly point to an area that represented the city center, it is not exactly a landmark to be remembered.
Now, after hundreds of hours, and many months (and years) of meetings, design, redesign and planning, there appears to be agreement on the area, the proposed buildings, stores, services and facilities destined to provide Santa Clara with a hallmark downtown.
It will take the support of the City Council to make this plan proceed and prosper. Upon approval, it will then require participation of current owners, developers, builders and tenants to make this marriage work.
Face it, folks, the engagement period has been long enough. The redevelopment of the old downtown is not just overdue. It is an idea and plan whose time has come, and residents can thank Adam Thompson and his committee for their diligence and determination to dream and do!
I try and “shop” local, really, I do. I used to “shop” the stores on El Camino Real, but those I frequented are gone. El Camino Real is turning into El Canyon un-real, just brown apartments along a bus route. Now, the city wants to get me to go to a “new and improved” downtown Santa Clara. I’ve lived in Santa Clara for over 40 years and have been to downtown Santa Clara less than a dozen times. There is nothing there that suits my needs, and the plans for future development continue that “nothing”.