Helper gets honors

By Clyde Noel and Bruce Barton

Town Crier Staff Report

Helper gets honors

By Clyde Noel and Bruce Barton

Town Crier Staff Report

City closer to decision on First and Main site

The final piece of data that the Los Altos City Council needed before moving forward with plans to develop the city-owned lot at the corner of First and Main streets is complete.

The consulting firm Keyser Marston Associates Inc. last week submitted to the city its economic analysis of the three proposals currently on the table for the First and Main site.

2-alarm fire shuts down El Monte Road, damages home and kills family parrot

A two-alarm fire shut down El Monte Road last Friday for several hours while firefighters tried to contain a blaze in a house on El Monte Road near Covington Road, said a spokeswoman for the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District.

The fire caused an estimated $250,000 in structural damages and about $50,000 in property loss due to fire, smoke and water, she said.

News Briefs

Mountain View’s police K-9 “Larry” led officers to the hiding places of three suspected burglars on two separate and unrelated incidents April 26.

In the first incident, Larry sniffed out two teens hiding in front of an apartment complex after a neighbor told police she saw two boys allegedly breaking into her neighbor’s house on Devonshire. The teens had left the house before police arrived, so police brought Larry onto the crime scene. After searching for nearly two hours, Larry led police to Tyrella, where they found and arrested the 14- and 15-year-old suspects.

Police Report

May 4, 10:35 a.m., State Street: Police said there was graffiti on the sidewalk.

Disturbance

Union, hospital officials continue negotiations

Talks between Service Employees International Union, Local 715, representatives and El Camino Hospital management have gone into federal mediation after four months of negotiations failed to bring any resolution to their disagreement over agency shop. The first mediation session lasted all day Thursday but yielded little progress, according to Keeley Blanchette, El Camino’s director of community relations.

“We’re hopeful we can resolve things,” said Christy Sermersheim, the union’s chief negotiator for the El Camino contract talks.

Police arrest 10-year-old boy for ‘terrorist threats’

Town Crier Staff writer

Los Altos

Restrain the constrained lot revision

Congratulations should go to the town of Los Altos Hills and the city council for having the common sense to pull the brakes on a slope density ordinance revision that cleared the way for overdevelopment and an undermining of town support for a rural atmosphere and serene open space.

Whether all of the council members understood the technical complexities of what was before them or not, the most recent move to pull back on a revision that doubled development areas on some lots shows that they may have finally realized the potential problems.

Letters to the Editor

I want to acquaint all Los Altos residents with the city council’s latest sellout of our town! The Masters Swim Club wants to build a large regional swimming pool complex on Rosita Avenue. where the current parking and old gym are located. This is a dead-end street! SPLASH, the financial arm of the Masters will raise the money for the two large (75-by-75 feet) pools plus wading pool, lockers, offices, microphone system, night lights, bleachers, etc. They plan to operate from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily. There is little time allotted to Los Altos residents, children and adults, for free swim.

Do not be misled by announcements from the Masters or our council that this is a pool for our community. Ask SPLASH or the City for a copy of their business plan. Once read, you will see that in order to make money and stay solvent the Masters plans to provide lessons to 400-600 children from the various cities in the region (Palo Alto, Cupertino, Mountain View, LAH, Sunnyvale, etc.). The Masters, as may not be generally known is open to people in all of these cities. There will be tournaments, various other kinds of lessons, etc.

Long days, short years

The Living Experiment

“These are long days and short years,” a friend from my moms’ group said 12 years ago. The rest of us nodded in agreement. At the time, we all had babies and suffered from the continual, physical exhaustion endemic to caring for the littlest of children.

She’s a natural at volunteering

By Elizabeth Cloutman and Sara Ballenger

Town Crier Staff Writers

Library News

The Los Altos main library will hold a book discussion on “Corelli’s Mandolin” by Louis de Bernieres today from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the small conference room.

During May, the Los Altos Library will display winning art and essays from the 2001 Growing Up Asian in America Contest.

Calendar

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

Wednesday

Community Briefs

The Alzheimer’s Association will present the second of its “Empowering the Alzheimer’s Community” spring series of educational events, a two-part workshop on “The Spirit of Caregiving,” 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, 751 South Bascom Ave., San Jose. The program is free, but preregistration is suggested as space is limited. To preregister, or for more information about the program, call (800) 660-1993.

Recreating vintage florals

Albert Schultz Jewish Community Center offering classes, events for seniors

Yitzak Santis offers a special program on Israel Today, 12:30 p.m., Thursday.

A Magical Day in May, starting with a continental breakfast at 9:30 a.m and a presentation by TV personality Henry Tenenbaum, is scheduled for Friday.

Help One Child may benefit from a gold Cadillac

Help One Child, a Los Altos-based non-profit organization dedicated to aiding foster children and their families, has received an unusual donation to help with fund raising: a 1970 gold Cadillac, rarely driven and in mint condition.

The donor, Los Altos resident Larry Reeves, said his fireman father kept the car in superb condition. It has only 50,000 miles on it, runs well and is valued between $7,000 and $10,000.

Peninsula Symphony fan base strong in Los Altos - new office opened here

Town Crier Staff Report

The venerable Peninsula Symphony, in its 52nd season, will feature 24-year-old Angela Fuller, an Irving M. Klein International String Competition winner, at its next couplet of concerts, 8 p.m., Saturday, at Flint Center, De Anza College, Cupertino, and May 19 at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center.

Calling all local hams - have a ‘field day’ June 23-24

Radio amateurs or “hams” across the nation will celebrate Field Day June 23-24, when they will attempt to contact as many other hams as possible using radio stations in field conditions.

The annual event is intended to exercise amateur operating skills in conditions resembling those that might prevail after a major disaster. In emergencies, radio amateurs have rendered communication services to support public safety agencies.

Group seeks to keep alive artistic traditions

All About Art

Just how important are local art groups and art clubs? That’s an easy question. Very, very important. While these groups don’t exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art or the Metropolitan Museum in New York, nor do they have any influence over the “greater art world,” they do represent your community. And ever since man beat sticks and danced around a fire, art and music have been accepted essentials of the human condition, a fact no one has ever been able to explain.

Six rarely seen private gardens to open Saturday

Six rarely seen and unusually fine private gardens will be open May 12 in San Mateo County as part of The Garden Conservancy’s Open Days program.

The lead garden is at the home of artist Edith Bergstrom, 150 Hawthorn Drive, Atherton, which will be staffed with volunteers. They will offer admission tickets for $5 per visit at each gate. No reservations are required.

From ‘Wheel of Fortune’ to pot of gold

Looking Back, Moving Forward

In the early 1900s, when land developers were enticing people to buy in Los Altos, they employed a “Wheel of Fortune” concept. When potential buyers visited the area, they could take a free spin. On one segment of the wheel was the offer “set of dishes or parcel of land.”

Cultural association undertakes fund-raising effort to enhance high school theaters under construction

Members of the Los Altos Cultural Association have announced they are raising the curtain on a fund-raising effort to enhance theater buildings currently under construction at Los Altos and Mountain View high schools.

Both schools are currently undergoing major remodeling with funds provided by a 1995 bond measure. However, while the funds are available for the basic structures, outfitting and equipping the new facilities requires additional district funds or contributions by private citizens.

WISH List honors ‘Good Guys,’ Cunneen and Morgan

The WISH List (Women in the Senate and House), an organization that promotes pro-choice Republican women for office, plans to honor two local men in a “Good Guys” event scheduled 5:30-7:30 p.m., Thursday, at Councilman Robert Fenwick’s home in Los Altos Hills.

The honorees are former state Assemblyman Jim Cunneen and Jim Morgan, CEO of Applied Materials and husband of former state senator Becky Morgan. Both have shown support for pro-choice and women’s issues.

Seniors News

The Los Altos Senior Center is located in the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave., in Los Altos. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 948-7483. Following is a list of special events for the month.

Thursdays: 10 a.m., Bocce ball at Cuesta Park, Mountain View.

LAHS students expelled for bringing gun to school

The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School Board of Trustees made the appropriate findings when they voted to expel two Los Altos High School students in March, according to Brigitte Sarraf, associate superintendent of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union School District.

Both students were involved with bringing a pellet gun to the school campus on March 12.

API tests an unfair reward system for state funds, teachers say

The California Teachers Association State Council is asking schools statewide, including those in Los Altos, to protest the reward system by rejecting the monetary awards given by the state to schools who have shown the required minimum growth in their Academic Performance Index (API).

The API is part of The Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA). Passed into law in 1999, the law tracks and compares growth in schools’ academic performance and rewards schools that meet their performance goals, according to the state Department of Education.

Key Club Convention inspires local high school clubs

It was May 1925 when the 11 charter members comprising the Key Club met officially for the first time in Sacramento. Since then, Kiwanis Educates Youth (KEY) Clubs have been a staple at high schools across the country and beyond.

Over the weekend of March 30-April 1, about 5,000 high school students convened in Long Beach for the annual Key Club Convention. This convention was a drop in the bucket compared to what occurs over the entire country. The 5,000 delegates in Southern California just represented members from California, Nevada and Hawaii.

Noteworthies

Joseph Jaquette, a graduate of Los Altos High School and Los Altos resident, recently completed his Senior Independent Study Project at The College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio.

Schools Briefs

De Anza College has scheduled its 20th annual Herb Patnoe Memorial Jazz Festival tomorrow and Friday.

The memorial celebration, featuring the Herb Patnoe Alumni All-Star Band, is scheduled 7 p.m., tomorrow, at the Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, 33 E. San Fernando, San Jose.

Beloved St. Nicholas teacher honored for 25-year career at surprise celebration

Honors include commendation from Eshoo

Family, friends, former students and colleagues gathered on Sunday for a surprise celebration of the 25th teaching anniversary of Kevin Kannengeiser, a math and social studies instructor and athletic coach at St. Nicholas School in Los Altos Hills.

Local scout earns Eagle rank

The troop honored Epstein, a Los Altos Hills resident, with recognition gifts, including the Perpetual Eagle, held in trust by the newest Eagle Scout and passed on at the next Eagle Court.

Mayor King Lear presented Epstein with a proclamation from the City of Los Altos, naming the day in his honor. In addition, Epstein received numerous certificates and letters from senators, congressmen, former presidents and vice presidents, and an American flag that had been flown over the United States Capitol in his honor. At the April 19 Los Altos Hills City Council meeting, Epstein was presented with an official Proclamation of Commendation by the Town of Los Altos Hills.

Foothill’s student newspaper, The Sentinel, back on guard

Students, staff resurrect paper

The volunteer staff of “The Sentinel,” Foothill college’s newspaper, hopes the March 19 premiere issue makes a good first impression - again. The community college in Los Altos Hills, has been without a student newspaper for the past two years. Students and staff are resurrecting the once defunct publication.

9-8 loss to Santa Clara hurts Eagles’ CCS hopes

Town Crier Correspondent

Prep Baseball Wrap Up

Sports On The Side

Junior Jimmy Wu went 11-2 this spring playing No. 1 singles on the Los Altos High junior varsity boys tennis team. The Eagles concluded the season with a 7-6 record.

Get your kicks

Midpeninsula Tennis Patrons: the starting point for many local tennis players

Town Crier Intern

Several local tennis players got their start with the Midpeninsula Tennis Patrons, a non-profit organization dedicated to introducing Bay Area youth to the sport.

St. Francis High golf team takes loss in stride

Spring Sports Summary

espite getting upset by Serra in last week’s West Catholic Athletic League Championships, the St. Francis High boys golf team went into Tuesday’s Central Coast Section Regional Tournament with ample confidence.

On Deck: the local sports lineup for May 9-15

Baseball

Today

Mustangs close in on title; Eagles win fourth straight

Prep Softball Report

he Homestead High softball team warmed up for this week’s showdown with Lynbrook by getting in some batting practice last Thursday at Cupertino.

On the right track

De Anza Division meet

Although Los Gatos dominated last Thursday’s SCVAL De Anza Division Championships by winning both the boys and girls team titles, several athletes from Los Altos and St. Francis performed well enough to make the North Sub-Section meet.

Finding a stock’s value in today’s market

Stock Report

Early Monday morning, the markets turned around and went into a mild negative bias. The failure of the Dow to clear 11,000 has caused the Dow Jones industrial index to sell off and move into negative territory again.

Tips on RAMdon hanging, digital cameras and migration

Tech Talk

This biweekly column will suggest solutions to personal computer problems submitted by readers. Questions are welcome, no matter how challenging.

Life insurance for all the stages in your life

When was the last time you stopped and took a good look at the changes in your life in the past few years? You now may have children and more assets than you did years ago.

While your lifestyle may have changed a lot, your life insurance policy may not have. To determine what your current life insurance needs are, look at the four stages of life insurance. When thinking about buying a life insurance policy or reviewing a current one, identify which stage you fall into. This may help streamline your choices.

Los Altans: Test your investing IQ with the following quiz

Are you one of millions of Americans investing in the stock market?

In 1999, an estimated 78.7 million people owned stocks, either mutual funds, individually or both, up from 69.3 million in 1995, according to Securities Industry Association.

Jack Huston recognized for leadership in Los Altos Chamber’s early days

Town Crier Correspondent

The Los Altos Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for its Golden Anniversary Celebration June 1. Former chamber presidents and special guests are invited to participate in recognizing and remembering past accomplishments at a black tie optional dinner.

Business Briefs

SPAUG’s ( The Stanford Palo Alto Users Group for the PC ) regular monthly meeting will be 7:15 p.m., May 30, at the Elks Lodge (Lodge room) at 4249 El Camino Real, in Palo Alto. Meetings are on the last Wednesday of the month.

Guests are welcome, and the meeting is free to all first-time guests.

How a search engine benefits your business

Need a better way for Internet consumers to search for products on your business’ Web site? If so, maybe you should consider putting a customized search engine on it.

Search engines are powerful tools for e-commerce. They are the intersections of the new economy. Whether your site sells products and services or provides valuable content to the Web community, a search engine can help you reach your goals.

The sport and art of dressage comes to State Street

Town Crier Correspondent

Business Profile

Protecting your family’s money

According to the National Institute For Estate Planners, Baby Boomers, their children, and their grandchildren are poised to inherit an enormous amount of wealth. The number and size of estates and inheritances are expected to rise sharply until about 2015. The forthcoming transfer of wealth in the U.S. over the 55-year period from 1998 to 2052 will be at least $41 trillion and could be as high as $136 trillion, according to the Boston College Social Welfare Research Institute. In 1999, 590,000 households had a net worth of $5 million or more, up from just 90,000 in 1994, according to the Spectrum Group, which estimates that 6.7 million households last year had a net worth exceeding $1 million, up from 5.3 million households the year before.

A significant segment of the population has benefited from a prolonged prosperous economy, an extended bull market and a growing prevalence of broad corporate incentive programs, such as stock options. Many charities and community foundations have in turn benefited from the resulting multitrillion-dollar intergenerational transfer of wealth that has begun and is expected to continue in the coming decades. Charitable giving increased by over $15 billion last year, resulting in more than $190 billion nationally, according to Giving USA, an annual report published by the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel.

Transactions

Cupertino

10194 Parish Place - D. & Y. Wang to Y. & D. Wang for $630,000.00

Coldwell Banker to hold seminar for home buyers

Coldwell Banker Northern California is hosting a home buyer’s seminar, scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m., May 17, at Adobe Creek Restaurant, 127 First St., Los Altos, across from the Coldwell Banker office.

The event is free and open to the public.

Housing market shifts burden back to seller

This spring, with mortgage interest rates at a 30-year low of 6.75 percent, buyers are once again looking for their dream house. There is also a larger inventory of homes for sale, which means more choice for the buyers - and more competition for sellers.

“In today’s market, there’s a lot more competition … with the same or similar type homes,” said Rich Gendreau, an agent at Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Altos. “The (local) market is starting to go back to a more normal market.”

Profile of a human resource professional

Jean on the Job

Human Resource people and other counselors and service-oriented human beings are good at being good, but not always good at getting what you want. My suggestion is to add some new and fairly dangerous skills to your repertoire. This economic moment in our history needs concerned people - persons to stand up, stand out, and stand for - the noble values of your company, even in duress. See how you fit the profile, and then see if you are willing to do the add-ons!

A new twist for Mother’s Day breakfast

Filling:

1 1/2 cup golden raisins

Rites of Spring: Celebrate simply, sweetly, And swiftly

Makes 2 dozen

4 English Muffins, split

No-energy entrees for summer’s blackouts

Servings: 4

Calories: 34 calories and 1 gram of fat per serving

A berry dessert that takes the cake

Special to the Town crier

During berry season, few desserts tickle the tastebuds better than shortcake. Berry-Banana Shortcake pairs the season’s freshest berries and ripe bananas with an easy pat-in-the-pan biscuit shortcake.

Food Bites

Mountain View will host the fifth annual A La Carte & Art festival 10 a.m.-6 p.m., May 19-20, on Castro Street, between Church Street and Evelyn Avenue.

The festival will feature cooking demonstrations as well as food samples, a farmers’ market, international foods, premium wines and microbrews, and a juried show with 175 artists.

Preserving family recipes online for Mother’s Day

My grandmother was the cook in our family. She would often spend an entire day over the stove simmering homemade pasta sauce or baking special holiday desserts.

After she died last year, I began to compile her recipes so my family could continue celebrating holidays with her traditional raviolis, pot roast and Italian torta. Unfortunately, she didn’t need to rely on recipe cards for assistance and didn’t keep her recipes in one cookbook or file.

Magazine ranks local markets on prices, quality

Town Crier Staff Report

Local residents could save as much as $1,400 on groceries each year depending on which grocery store they choose to shop at, according to a recent survey of Bay Area food stores.

Safe grapes: Raptors to the rescue

You may have noticed the vineyard near the corner of Edith and Fremont. It was recently planted and now boasts what appears to be a burgeoning crop of sweet peas between the rows of hillside vines. This vegetation was purposely planted and it is called a cover crop. Not too long ago any green growth that was not on the vine was quickly eliminated. The use of effective herbicides did away with the need for cover crops that had been used for centuries. When you have nothing but grapes to eat, the only other thing you have in the vineyard are pests that eat grapes!

A program currently being adopted by many wineries is to create an environment for sustainable agriculture. These planted crops amend the soil by adding nutrients, controlling weeds and erosion and the end result is healthy preservation of the soil and the environment.

Restaurants prepare for blackouts with emergency drills, light menus

Despite the rolling blackouts anticipated for this summer, one local restaurant doesn’t expect to be left in the dark. Palo Alto’s California Cafe has added blackout drills to its emergency preparedness list as a way to avoid closing its doors, should the electricity temporarily shut off.

The chefs have developed alternate menus with no-cook entrees, which staff has put to the test this month. They are offering diners these items on special “Lighten Up” menus.

60 vendors, baked goods and fresh fish at Los Altos market

Local farmers will return to downtown Los Altos this month for the second season of the Downtown Farmers’ Market, which is scheduled to open May 24 on State Street, between Second and Third streets. The market is will run from 4 - 8 p.m. every Thursday through September.

Market operator Ron Pardini of the Urban Village Farmers’ Market Association and the Los Altos Village Association will produce the event this season. This is the first year Pardini will operate the Los Altos market. He replaces operator Lynn Bagely, who resigned from the Los Altos market after last season.

Low-calorie additions make zesty salads

Q: What is arugula?

A: Arugula is a favorite vegetable in Italy and other Mediterranean countries, where it is used in soups, salads and mixed pasta and vegetable dishes. In the United States arugula is more expensive than some other leafy greens, but with its sharp, peppery flavor, a little goes a long way to add interest and flavor to salads.

Obituaries

Vernon DeForest Goodwin, longtime Los Altos resident, died March 25 in Mountain View. A native of Pennsylvania, he was 95.

Mr. Goodwin was an engineer for GTE and a member of the Emporium Lodge.

Weddings

Robin Johnson and Matthew Hall were married Sept. 3 in Sonoma County.

The bride is the daughter of Niki and Bill Johnson, former residents of Los Altos Hills, now in Scottsdale, Ariz. She graduated from Los Altos High School and has earned a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics from the University of California at Davis. She is employed as a financial analyst at GAP Inc.

Eylar to lead Calif. Youth Symphony

California Youth Symphony, conducted by maestro Leo Eylar, presents its spring concert at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, in Flint Center at De Anza College, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino.

Solo performances by three orchestra members who won this season’s CYS Senior Soloist Competition highlight the program. Violinist Kathy Kwon, 17, of Danville will perform “Violin Concerto No. 3″ by Saint-Saens.; flutist Vincent Yau, 17, of Cupertino will play “Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra” by Vivaldi; and trombonist Cathy O’Shaughnessy, 15, will perform the “Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra” by Gordon Jacob.

Hidden Villa Farm hosting Mother’s Day concert

Hidden Villa Farm and Wilderness Preserve hosts a Mother’s Day concert on Sunday featuring Four Shillings Short, a longtime Palo Alto musical group that recently returned from its U.S. tour.

The concert is scheduled for 5-7 p.m. at Hidden Villa, located at 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills.

‘Odd Couple’ coming to Bus Barn Theater

Bus Barn Stage Company presents Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” Thursday through June 9 at the Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos.

Those inimitable roommates Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison return to the stage in Simon’s famous comedy. Felix’s wife has kicked him out of the house and Oscar, feeling that Felix will do something foolish, offers to share his huge New York apartment. The meticulous neatness of Felix and the slovenly habits of Oscar don’t mix, however, and the results are both disastrous and humorous.

‘Housewives’ takes too long to develop

Theater review

“Angry Housewives,” Palo Alto Players’ production at Lucie Stern Theatre, has been around the block, popping up in other companies for 15 years.

Nova Vista Symphony Orchestra to play Sunday at Foothill College

Gilroy resident Maria Amirkhanian will perform Grieg’s “Piano Concerto” as part of Nova Vista Symphony Orchestra’s Sunday concert at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills.

The concert, scheduled for 8 p.m., will be directed by guest conductor Anthony Quartuccio.