Talented but not show-biz

Town Crier Correspondent

Local agency finds everyday kids for model roles

More time needed for adoption of controversial LAH ordinance

The Los Altos Hills City Council postponed voting on a major revision to a city zoning ordinance that increases the allowable development area of residential lots until its May 17 meeting.

City Attorney Sandy Sloan requested a postponement last Thursday, so she and Planning Director Carl Cahill would have adequate time to prepare a new negative environmental impact statement that more accurately reflects the scope of the proposed project. The delay was also necessary to fulfill the legal requirement for posting a new declaration for public review before the revised ordinance returns to the council.

Council agrees to lend housing funds to Cupertino if city reciprocates favor

City’s contribution of federal grants could give Cupertino project $300,000 boost federal grants toward Cupertino housing

Los Altos

News Briefs

Santa Clara County launched a new program this month to crack down on elder abuse. Fifteen local law enforcement agencies, including Los Altos and Mountain View, plan to participate in the “Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Protocol.” The program calls for stricter investigation and prosecution of incidents involving elder and dependent adults, including homicide, sexual and physical abuse, neglect, isolation, abandonment, abduction and financial abuse.

The program comes after an increase in the number of abuse cases in Santa Clara County, according to District attorney George Kennedy. Those who suspect abuse, may call Adult Protective Services at (800) 414-2002.

Police Report

April 2, 10:31 a.m., El Monte Avenue and Foothill Expressway: Police were called to check on the welfare of a nude male.

Municipal Code Violation

Open Space District opens1.3-miles of trail to bicycles

A new portion of Peninsula trail will open to bicylists at the end of this month.

The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board of Directors voted unanimously to amend the district’s use and management plan for its Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve to designate the Bay Area Ridge Trail between Hawk Trail junction and Rapley Ranch Road as a multiuse trail.

What show would go on?

Any Los Altos City Council decision about a theater vs. hotel vs. parking alternatives for the city-owned property at First and Main streets should be put on hold until more information is available. It is assumed that the $15,000 financial feasibility study commissioned by the city will soon shed some additional light on the situation.

Recently, the city-appointed Los Altos Youth Commission has rung in enthusiastically favoring the theater. No surprise. We suspect its location is irrelevant to young people. They do deserve a better shake for things to do in our quiet town. Just build it, and they will come.

Helen Carter King

Helen Carter King, a resident of Los Altos since 1956, contributed poetry to the Town Crier for several years. In the wake of her 93rd birthday April 3, we thought it fitting to run one of her many prize-winning poems.

Portrait of a woman poet

Just another suggestion for First & Main

Commentary

With a name like King Lear, the Los Altos mayor must feel that his role in life is not complete without a bit of tragedy.

Letters to the editor

It should surprise no one - least of all the members of the Los Altos City Council - that the problems of noise and glare are proving intolerable for many residents who live around the Rambus/Tree Farm project.

Before this gargantuan project was approved several years ago, numerous residents testified before the council, describing in detail all of these problems once the project is completed. But the council, greedily intent on maximizing the local tax revenues, ignored their warnings. Instead, it attempted to placate the residents with cosmetic retouches. Confident that the majority of Los Altans would not give a hoot that the quality-of-life was jeapordized for a relatively small number of residents, the council granted unprecedented variances, including a massive third story. These variances have resulted directly in heavy, ugly construction that is a colossal eyesore; and a level of human density that threatens to overwhelm the area with traffic, noise from machinery, nighttime glare of lights, daytime glare from sun reflection, and increased air pollution.

Saving a bookstore in jeopardy

The Living Experiment

“What is the store hoping will happen?” I asked the salesclerk at Printers Inc. in Mountain View.

Calendar

Ongoing

Los Altos Senior Center, 9-3 p.m., Monday through Friday, 97 Hillview Ave.

Los Altos history museum welcomes third-graders

All third-graders in the Los Altos School District are scheduled to go on a history field trip weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon, April 24 through May 18, as part of the study of their community.

The tour will be in three parts. First, they will visit the History House, Gilbert Smith’s home, which is restored as a Depression home of the 1930s. The second part of their tour will be a visit to see the pictures of early Los Altos painted by Annie Knapp Fitz.

Community Briefs

The Foothill Amateur Radio Society presents the “No (Morse) Code Technician Class Ham Radio Course.” The six-class course will meet Thursdays 7-10 p.m., April 26 to May 31, at Terman Library Conference Room, next to the Jewish Community Center, 661 Arastradero, Palo Alto.

Fees are $25 for adults, $15 for students under 18. The class is open to all, with no age limits or minimum requirements. For registration and more information, call Rich Stiebel, 494-0128.

Former 49ers’ Brent Jones talks about keeping faith

Brent Jones, the San Francisco 49ers’ legendary tight end, had guests at last Friday’s Peninsula Community Prayer Breakfast roaring with laughter with his on- and off-the-field trials and tribulations. But when the football jokes were done, Jones got serious with the sold-out audience of nearly 600 at Hyatt Rickeys in Palo Alto.

“I had a void in my life,” confessed Jones, now a CBS broadcaster. “I had sports, but that didn’t fill that void.”

A time of fast cars, fun summers

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Because of the rail, Los Altos came into being, but later the automobile brought fundamental change to our burg and to the lives of Los Altans.

Los Altos filmmaker’s first: a non-political drama in Cuba

Swimwear maker to premiere his new feature-length movie April 29 in San Francisco

When Bob Anderson’s first movie, “What about Cuba!” premieres April 29 in San Francisco, it will be the culmination of a lifelong dream of making a feature-length movie.

Jazz and spring fashions Saturday at Discovery Shop’s downtown celebration

Town Crier Correspondent

Cool jazz and the hottest spring and summer fashions will tempt shoppers Saturday at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop on Main Street.

Groundbreaking heralds beginning of local YMCA expansion in Mtn. View

The communities of Los Altos and Mountain View came together Saturday to celebrate facility expansion at the El Camino YMCA, 2400 Grant Road, Mountain View.

Phase II construction will expand the existing facilities by 32,000 square feet.

Children collect 5,000 eggs on Easter egg hunt

Town Crier Correspondent

Four-year-old Megan Feroglia of Los Altos checked the bushes in front of Citibank and, without any competition, selected five colored plastic eggs and placed them in her basket as soon as the police siren blew last Saturday morning.

Gridlock here to stay, state official says

Dean Mycszinski doesn’t see much hope for Bay Area traffic problems, and if anyone knows of a solution, he would. Myczinski, director of the California Research Bureau, which provides policy advice to the governor and the legislature, told the Feb. 20 Morning Forum audience that studying traffic is akin to “looking for trouble.”

The roots of the trouble go back to the invention of the streetcar. That system was designed to promote sprawl, because builders, who ran lines out to their new developments, owned the streetcar lines, Mycszinski said.

Library News

Ballet San Jose of Silicon Valley’s Dance Dialogue will be “Music, Music, Music: Selecting Music for a Ballet,” from 6:30- 7:30 p.m. in the Program Room. Nanette Heidtman will lecture.

The book discussion will feature “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck at 7:30 p.m. in the small conference room. A special display of Steinbeck photos, books and other items from the Center for Steinbeck Studies at San Jose State University is featured this month.

New columnist tackles senior issues

Joy for seniors

Over the coming months you will be seeing in this column a variety of articles having special relevance for seniors, like retirement (trends and alternatives), travel, housing trends, health and welfare, seniors and the Internet, and many others. I am the Joy in the title and, as a senior myself, I intend this column to live up to its name. Toward that end, I invite your comments about any of the topics being covered here, as well as suggestions for any topics you would like to have developed.

Los Altos High School Main Street Singers embark on their 17th annual spring tour to Latin America

The Main Street Singers of Los Altos High School departed for their 17th annual three-week spring tour Thursday. The group, under the direction of Mark Andrew Shaull, will be performing in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Cuba, through April 23.

This trip is the culmination of about 60 concerts the group has performed at private, public and corporate events this year.

Children, families have a healthy good time at El Camino YMCA Kids Day

Children and their families celebrated “Healthy Kids Day,” Saturday, at the El Camino YMCA. Kids could participate in a variety of activities ranging from face painting to coloring in their own Red Cross Earthquake Safety coloring book.

“It’s a national YMCA event day, different Ys do different things,” said Lesley Scutero, a YMCA employee. “We do it every year, mixing some fun in with some health information. Kids get an idea of what it means to be healthy,” she said.

Community colleges review budget

Town Crier Correspondent

The midyear review of the Foothill-De Anza financial condition focused on the current fiscal year activity and included information on next year’s budget.

Schools Briefs

De Anza College is offering two orientation and registration sessions 1:30-3 p.m., April 20 and 27, at the Advanced Technology Center, Room 205, specifically for older adult students taking self-paced, credit computer courses this spring.

Rose Resnick Lighthouse Benefit

LASD Budget Review Committee considers painful, possible cuts

The Budget Review Committee met March 29 to discuss possible cuts in expenditures for the 2001-2002 school year. The Los Altos School District needs $3 million cut from its current budget to balance next year’s budget.

“We have a five-year spending plan, and there is no budget surplus this year. The problem for next year is that it just doesn’t get any better,” said Jay Thomas, LASD Board of Trustees president.

On Deck: the local sports lineup for April 11-17

Baseball

Today

Sports On The Side

Westwind Barn, 27210 Altamont Road, Los Altos Hills, will hold a hunter-jumper horse show 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 28. The schooling show will offer classes in jumping (three divisions, ranging from 18 inches to 2 1/2 feet), equitation, trail riding, halter showmanship, pairs and “champagne pleasure” for riders over age 21. Food and beverages will be sold. The show is a fund-raiser. For more information, call Valerie Metcalfe at 941-7481, visit the barn or logon to the Web site at www.westwindbarn.com.

Jr. Shark attack

St. Francis golf team on course to win WCAL championship

Spring Sports Summary

Boys Tennis

Women’s golf tourney set for April 21

Women golfers are invited to join Fore Women Golfers April 21 for a tournament at Rancho del Pueblo Golf Course in San Jose.

All level of women players are welcome to participate in the event, scheduled to start at noon.

Homestead volleyball team contending for title

Town Crier Intern

Every team has its rebuilding years and for the Homestead High boys volleyball team, there has been plenty of repairing to do this season.

MV girls squeak by Milpitas

Around The Track

LA splits with Vikes

Spartans are playing with a purpose

Prep Softball Report

Other local action

Local gymnast wins state title

Los Altos resident Ashley Silva won all-around honors at the Level 7 (age 13 division) state gymnastics championships March 24 in Rohnert Park.

Silva scored a 37.5, largely due to her first-place finishes in the uneven bars and floor exercises.

Gunn blasting opponents with big bats and pitching

Town Crier Correspondent

Prep Baseball Wrap Up

Training for life

Rancho F.I.T. center scheduled for May opening

Business Profile

GLC announces first award-winning teams

Master and mistress of ceremonies were Stanford professor Tom Byers and CEO, HiTech Law, Jacqueline Kessel. The 20 semifinalists were narrowed down to seven teams that were eventually honored with trophies and certificates. The winners were Caresoft Web Development, Quick Eagle Privatization Team, the Agilent Vantage Workshop Team, the Synopsys Designer Compiler Team, the Xilinx World Wide Operations Team, the Synopsys Licensing Model Upgrade Team and Harrell Remodeling Habitat Team.

How to lose friends without influencing anyone

Jean on the Job

If you want to work alone, produce alone, celebrate alone, continue the following behaviors:

At last - a new men’s clothing store has arrived in downtown Los Altos

Town Crier Correspondent

Business Profile

How to get your calls while you’re online

TechTalk

In our column each week we will offer solutions to your personal computer problems. We welcome your questions, no matter how challenging.

Investors, fasten your seat belt: more poor stock earnings ahead

Stock Report

Fasten your seat belts, the market slide isn’t over yet. More questionable corporate earnings are expected this week and markets will be closed Friday to observe Good Friday. Anything can happen.

Tips for first-time homebuyers

As housing prices climbed steadily over the past couple of years, many first-time homebuyers - stunned by sticker shock - sat on the sidelines and waited for prices to come down, or at least level off. There is hope for first-time buyers. Now that the economy has started slowing and inventories of homes on the market are beginning to grow, residential real estate may move toward a buyers’ market once again. So what should first-time homebuyers know before they march out to their first open house?

Don’t wait

Transactions

Cupertino

10260 Calvert Drive - I. & T. Hao to L. & N. Pyatigorsky for $1,295,000.00

Seville Contempo Los Altos recognized as No. 1 office worldwide

Fine Homes and Estates Seville Contempo has 21 years of experience in the real estate industry and is the leader of the system which is comprised of more than 6,300 independently owned and operated broker offices in more than 28 countries and territories worldwide.

5+2+9 could add up to college savings success

Next to retirement, college expenses are one of the most frequently cited reasons to save - and with good reason. Saving for rising college education costs is one of the biggest financial challenges Americans face.

While there are many investment vehicles designed to help you save for college, one plan in particular may be just what you’re looking for. It’s called the 529 plan, and it gives individuals the ability to save money on a federal-tax-deferred basis to help their children and/or other beneficiaries pay for qualified higher-education expenses.

Unique decorating tips to personalize your wedding

If you are like most of us you have been dreaming and planning your wedding day since you were a child. This is your special day and you want it to be perfect.

Yes, this is all going to happen and you are going to have one of those weddings that people will talk about for years to come. As you begin to build a lifetime of memorable events with your mate, here are some suggestions to make your wedding truly personal with some unique decorating ideas.

Eggs to dye for

Natural dyes follow old tradition for Easter egg coloring

There’s a collection of common grocery items in most people’s refrigerator crispers, pantry shelves or spice racks that can double during the Easter holiday as natural dyes for boiled eggs.

Recipes

1 package sugar cookie dough

18 pop sticks

‘Wine With Heart’ benefit unites 46 wineries in Santa Cruz Mtns.

The Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association is holding its sixth annual “Wine With Heart” benefit May 4 and 6.

The 46 wineries of the Winegrowers Association will donate wine, dinners and tours to raise money for Vascular Research at Stanford and the American Heart Association. Last year’s event raised $87,000.

Food Bites

Grill on the Alley, a San Jose restaurant, later this month will host an exclusive winemaker dinner featuring a wide selection of Robert Mondavi wines, paired with a five-course gourmet meal and professional wine tips by representatives of the Mondavi Winery. Executive chef John Emil Sola and chef De Cuisine Matthew Gentry will prepare the meal.

The dinner is scheduled for 7:15 p.m., April 27. Space is limited and reservations and pre-payment are required.

Lean chicken matzo ball soup

Soup ingredients:

3 1/2 quarts water

Diet, exercise and social support needed to maintain weight loss

Most studies show that even if a person is quite a bit

overweight, a loss of about 10 to 20 pounds is often enough to reduce blood pressure.

Wine bottles should be constantly cool

Steve Hicks is currently a wine advisor and consultant. He is a partner in a winery and has owned a wine shop. He is active in local, national and international food and wine societies. You can reach him at: shicksvine@aol.com

Spring is here and temperatures are rising. Those wonderful bottles you bought and stored last fall now need a cool place to be kept. Garages and closets were fine during the winter as long as there was not a great deal of temperature fluctuation. You can store at higher degrees than the optimal 55 and the aging process is accelerated. Lower than 55 and the development is slowed. You can do serious damage to wine if it is so hot you literally cook it and if it is extremely cold everything stops. I was recently offered Champagne that sat on the bottom of the Bering Sea in a shipwreck since 1918. It was supposedly in perfect condition, but at $1,350 per bottle, I thought it should be some else’s privilege to try it.

Seven ways to develop a modest wine collection

Collecting wines and knowledge about wine need not be a highbrow affair. If you know how to get started, it can be an enjoyable hobby.

George Phelan, wine maker for Dunnewood Vineyards & Winery, offers seven tips for starting a modest but diverse wine collection:

Births

A son was born Nov. 8 to Fang and Mingjun Yu of Mountain View.

A son was born Nov. 14 to Sarah and Chad Williams of Mountain View.

Obituaries

William “Bill” Phy died March 13 in Los Altos Hills. He was 72.

Mr. Phy was a 39-year Los Altos Hills resident and a strong advocate for mantaining the rural character of the town. He served on several town committees and citizen groups.

TheatreWorks goes underground

TheatreWorks closes its 31st season with the Bay Area premiere of “Floyd Collins,” a new musical based on one of the most publicized news stories of the 1920s.

The musical drama previews today through Friday, opens Saturday and closes May 6 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.

‘Chicago’ coming to Flint

Tickets go on sale Sunday for JAM Theatrical’s production of the musical “Chicago,” which will be performed May 29-31 at Flint Center in Cupertino.

The show, with choreography by Bob Fosse and music and lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb, features Broadway hits such as “All That Jazz,” “Mister Cellophane” and “Razzle Dazzle.”

Foothill’s ‘Shakespeare’s Lovers’ opening this Friday

Students enrolled in the Foothill Theater Conservatory will stage “Shakespeare’s Lovers” for the annual One-Act Play Festival, which runs Friday through April 22 in the Studio Theater at Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.

Evening performances are set for 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, and April 19-21. A matinee performance is scheduled for 2 p.m., April 22.

Versatile hand-tied bouquets: great for casual weddings, gifts

Town Crier Correspondent

Flowers play an important role in making weddings wonderful - their color, scent and pure beauty lingers in memory, summing up the excitement of the day.

Dancing to a different beat

Wedding couples could opt for a fresh approach by choosing from long-established styles

Walking down the isle to the “Wedding March” is a musical tradition. But what if the couple wants to start a tradition of their own? Here are a few ideas:

Family wedding helps alleviate kids’ anxieties

Approximately one in four marriages in the United States involves divorced or widowed parents with young children. Oftentimes, children have a difficult time accepting the idea of a parent remarrying, and it’s easy for them to feel left out or even threatened by the new family member. A new wedding ceremony, however, helps put children’s tensions at ease by joining not only the bride and groom, but the entire family.

Unlike traditional ceremonies, the Family Medallion Service, created by Christian Church Minister Dr. Roger Coleman, incorporates children from previous marriages into the lifetime commitment that is usually reserved for the bride and groom.

LA History Museum’s ’special garden’ available for weddings & receptions

For the couple seeking a special garden setting for their wedding or wedding reception, the new Los Altos History Museum, behind the Los Altos main library on San Antonio Road, offers its landscaped grounds for rental from mid-April through mid-October.

The three garden areas, two adjacent to the new museum and the third, an arbor near the History House, were designed to accommodate large groups and are surrounded by stately oak trees and flowering plants. Rental also includes use of the History House front porch and gardens for wedding photographs.

Weddings

Katina Condos and Christopher Chiochios were married Sept. 9 at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Belmont.

The bride is the daughter of Constantine and Joanna Condos of Los Altos. She is a graduate of Los Altos High and earned a bachelor’s degree in ceramics at San Francisco State University. She is a ceramics and art teacher.

Don’t forget mom

Wedding fashions tailored for the mothers-in-law at LuGarre Fashions

While the bride and groom are the stars of a wedding, their proud mothers are also important featured players and want to look their best for that special day. Gloria Ravetto, owner of LuGarre Fashions in Sunnyvale, said that there is, strictly speaking, no one “correct” look for the bride or groom’s mother, but she had several practical suggestions on selecting an outfit that would both flatter the wearer and complement the look of a wedding.

A perfect fit

Custom-made is shortcut to the ideal mother-of-the-bride dress

How many of you moms have exhausted yourselves looking for that perfect dress to wear at your son or daughter’s wedding?