New Year brings new pianist to Saratoga for concert

County assessor endorsement

Saratoga City Councilmember Yan Zhao endorsed her former opponent Neysa Fligor in the runoff race for county assessor on Monday. 

“Neysa is the only candidate in the runoff with the experience and qualifications to deliver fair and transparent assessments for both homeowners and businesses,” said Zhao.

Fligor, assistant county assessor and Los Altos vice mayor, is competing with former Saratoga councilmember Rishi Kumar for the county assessor seat on Dec. 30. Zhao, who was a candidate for county assessor in the November elections, joins several federal, state and local leaders in endorsing Fligor, including Congressman Sam Liccardo, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, State Sens. Josh Becker and Dave Cortese, Assemblymembers Alex Lee and Ash Kalra, Santa Clara County Supervisors Margaret Abe-Koga and Betty Duong and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

The county assessor is in charge of locating all taxable properties and setting their value, which is then used to calculate the taxes that fund local schools and other government services.

Classical pianist debuts

A classical pianist from South Korea will make her debut with The Steinway Society–Bay Area in Saratoga on Jan. 31.

Chaeyong Park was a 2025 Cliburn International Piano Competition semifinalist. Her repertoire includes early French Baroque music by Rameau, Beethoven sonatas and new music from living composers, like South Korean classical composer Unsuk Chin.

Park will be performing at 7:30 at the McAfee Performing Arts Center at Saratoga High School. She has previously played at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Gilmore Rising Stars and the Tongyeong International Music Festival.

According to her website, Park was the first female Korean pianist to win the Hilton Head International Competition in 2019. She also won first prize in the Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and was a finalist in the 2023 Arthur Rubinstein International Master Piano competition.

Tickets are $50-$78 at https://tinyurl.com/chaeyong-park.

Wildfire resilience grant

The Santa Clara County Firesafe Council was awarded a $220,000 for wildfire resilience projects on a road that runs between Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

The money comes from a 2025 State Fire Capacity grant for projects that would enhance fire resiliency and evacuation function on Los Trancos Road by creating a roadside buffer. The projects also aim to reduce the risk of roadside fire escaping to the wildland and provide opportunities to treat hazardous trees to protect the Los Trancos Creek Watershed from any future intense wildfires.

The Saratoga-based Firesafe Council will partner with Fire Safe San Mateo County for this project. Projects that fall along the sections of Los Trancos Road in Palo Alto were planned by the Santa Clara County Firesafe Council in coordination with Palo Alto’s Foothills Fire Management Team. The two groups collaborated on fuels reduction prescription throughout Portola Valley.

The project starts at the intersection of Los Trancos and Alpine roads in Portola Valley and proceeds on Los Trancos Road until it turns into Vista Verde/Ramona Road, creating 6.1 miles of fuel reduction on either side of the roadway.