The Salanders have led an army of volunteers working to put the city-owned land back to the way it was before Europeans arrived in California. The Santa Clara preserve, opened for business this month, will not yield to the valley's rules. Its hours are set by the sun. There is no place for cars. No data jacks.
Blackouts roll in regularly, but only at dusk.
Yes, there is some hustle and bustle at Ulistac, but there is also rustle. The rustle of the leaves and the wild oats and Italian rye when the afternoon breeze blows. It's enough to drown out the hum of traffic on nearby Lick Mill Boulevard, Montague Expressway and Tasman Drive. The Salanders started on Ulistac five years ago, joining the fight to save it from development. The Salanders weren't even the Salanders then.