Fiscal woes are not unique to Bay Area cities (lookin' at you, Portola Valley). The Los Angeles Times editorial board notes that the city is teetering on the edge of a fiscal emergency, with its finances in “dire” condition and no money to cover unplanned expenses.

The GrowSF Report, self-styled centrists, breaks down results from the recent election in the hipster suburb to the North and finds a pivot from extremism to common sense.

“We're here to put a dent in the universe," said Steve Jobs, famously, in 1985. "Otherwise why else even be here?” Below, SF entrepreneur and venture capitalist Om Malik ponders one quality that sets the Valley apart—our “eternal,” ever-persevering optimism. Malik's blog post follows.

About 100 years ago, SJ CoC commissioned a film on the wonders of “The Valley of Heart's Delight” (later edited for TV in '62). Go ahead: reheat your leftover turkey, get comfy, and get whisked to the 1920's—where families are busily harvesting prunes, taking trips via automobile, and feeling that “anything is possible” in San Jose. Excerpts (transcribed) from the 1962 version, below.

In 2009, SCC residents submitted lines of verse to be compiled—by our inaugural Poet Laureate Nils Peterson—into a collaborative poem titled “A Family Album Santa Clara County, 2009.” The poem, excerpted below, winks at the wonders and quirks of Northern California living: like singing birds, quaking ground, ginkgo leaves, and (long) freeway drives.