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Archives » 2001 » Volume 54 , Issue 30, Published on Wednesday, July 25, 2001NewsQuarry on solid ground
Los Altos residents want ’scar’ on hills removed, longtime view restored When people think of views in Los Altos, most imagine sweeping golden hills covered with healthy green trees, dipped in the glow of the evening sun. Views like this are enjoyed by many residents, including those living in south Los Altos, near the city border with Cupertino, who face the hills owned by the mining company, Hanson Permanente Cement. LAH council picks architectural firm to design new town hallAfter spending the past month interviewing four regional architectural firms, the Los Altos Hills City Council voted unanimously Thursday to offer John Goldman-Goldman Architects of San Francisco a contract to design the town’s new town hall. “We have glowing reports of the work (Goldman) has done in the mission style the council is leaning toward, given the history of our area,” said Mayor Toni Casey. “I believe John Goldman’s prices are significantly less (than the other firms’) and that he would get it done in a tighter time frame.” Not a grain of truth to bomb scare in City Plaza
Town Crier Staff Report Los Altos Police closed off the City Plaza and a portion of State Street in front of Wells Fargo Bank for more than an hour Friday afternoon after a resident reported two “suspicious packages” lying on the sidewalk. Woman reported missing after leaving for bike ride in LAHLos Altos Hills A 22-year-old woman who left on an overnight mountain bike ride from Los Altos Hills July 13 remained missing Monday. Incumbents Lear, Moss seek re-election to Los Altos City CouncilLos Altos os Altos Councilman John Moss and Mayor King Lear both announced last week that they plan to run for re-election on the Los Altos City Council this fall. New sidewalk ramps required for ADA, but lead disabled nowhere, residents sayRecent street improvements intended to make Los Altos sidewalks more accessible for disabled residents seem like they would be better suited for San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House, according to neighbors near North Gordon Way. At least two newly-installed sidewalk ramps appear to go nowhere and deadend into bushes and flower beds, neighbors have complained. News BriefsStandard & Poor’s, one of the nation’s top credit rating agencies, awarded the city of Mountain View a AAA credit rating based on the city’s tax base, financial track record, low debt burden and property values. The AAA rating is the top credit rating. Mountain View is one of only three cities in California to earn a AAA rating. Police ReportJuly 20, 2:16 p.m., Second Street: A caller told police someone was possibly trying to cash unauthorized checks. Los Altos hires new police chiefLos Altos ended its search for a new police chief last week. City Manager Phil Rose appointed Don Johnson, currently a captain in the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department, as the next Police Chief. Los Altos Hills Finance director leaves, new city engineer hiredThe Los Altos Hills town staff is once again in transition with the resignation of Finance Director Carol Ferrell and the hiring of Min-Tze Cheng to the newly created position of city engineer/public works director. After serving Los Altos Hills for 5 1/2 years, Ferrell resigned, effective Aug. 10, to become finance director for the city of Cupertino. CommentNo easy answer in Rosita pools debateThe ongoing controversy over construction of a three-pool swimming complex at the end of Rosita Avenue has all sides making sense. The Rosita-area residents are justified in their concerns over the anticipated traffic tie-ups from a reopened Covington School, the pool center, athletic fields at neighboring Rosita Park and a new child-care center on the Covington site at the end of their dead-end street. OpinionThere ought to be a lawCommentary A relative if mine (name withheld to thwart the long arm of the law) passed along a couple of pages listing interesting laws on the books of several states and local municipalities. This compilation was most likely a product of the Web, a communication means increasingly popular with folk who have nothing better to do than to surf it. I, too, have nothing better to do. But the Web and its reliance on all those Silicon Valley products is beyond my ken. I’m having enough trouble working on my new rotary dial telephone. Top 10 cool things about hiking with our kidsBlue Jeans & Jelly Beans Back when we were first married, my husband and I used to go backpacking. We relished the silence and the solitude, and swore that being alone with nature was the only way to enjoy the mountains. Letters to the EditorThere is no better illustration of the tragedy that has befallen Los Altos Hills than two recent letters to the Town Crier. In a July 10 letter, Bill Downey legitimately questions the wisdom of building a new town hall with voluntary contributions after an earlier city council had set aside $750,000 to cover a majority of the costs. In a July 17 response, while extolling the new spirit of “civility and teamwork,” Mayor Toni Casey makes a personal attack upon Mr. Downey. Apparently the civility and teamwork extend only to Casey supporters. This fact was driven home last year when the new Casey council purged the town committees of all members who did not share her views, effectively disenfranchising the 49 percent of the town’s citizens who did not vote for her candidates. The major accomplishments of the present city council have been to approve special interest requests for megahomes. The recent slope-density legislation underscored this reality by dramatically increasing the allowable development area, and hence the water runoff and flooding risk. State GOP chairman ignites spark at SPARC meetingTown Crier Correspondent SPARC (South Peninsula Republican Coalition) is organizing in the South Peninsula with a mission to get out the Republican vote in the next election. CommunityFine wine to play annual role in aiding local American Red Cross relief programsTown Crier Editorial Intern Scientists say that drinking a small amount of wine can help lower the incidence of heart disease. However, the admission fee to the 20th annual MacArthur Park Wine Festival will support Palo Alto Chapter Red Cross CPR programs to save your life, just in case prevention with the wine does not work. Packard Foundation gives $1.2 million to arts education groupIn recent years, Cultural Initiatives has provided $1 million to 40 percent of local public elementary school districts. With the additional $2.1 million from the Packard Foundation, the organization will reach all eligible schools applying for arts education grants, supporting 74 percent of all elementary school districts in the county. Cultural Initiatives Silicon Valley hopes to extend the program to all qualified schools not yet participating by 2002, and also begin funding middle schools. Don’t Miss The Boat!After attending the performance of “Showboat” at Foothill College last Saturday night, we are recommending it to all of our readers! Director Jay Manley has put together a memorable performance: incredible voices, professional costumes, imaginative sets, plus seamless choreograpy. Best of all is the familiar music that never gets old. Showtimes are 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays; 8 p.m., Thursdays, Aug. 2 and 9; and 2:30 p.m., Sundays through Aug. 12. Do not miss it. At $10 to $18 per ticket, it has to be the best entertainment value ever. Paul and Liz Nyberg Library NewsComic magician Timothy James is scheduled to entertain children ages 5 and older from 3- 3:45 p.m., today at the Los Altos Library. ZunZun will play music of the Americas on Aug. 1. For more information, call the Children’s Reference Desk at 948-7683 ext. 3525. Community BriefsMembers of the Los Altos Recreation Department are offering a summer trip Aug. 15 to Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo. This trip is open to students entering grades 7-10. Six Flags Marine World offers an array of wildlife and wild rides, including some of the top coasters in Northern California, such as the new Vertical Velocity or Medusa. Trip cost is $50. Annual silent auction under way at Discovery Shop in Los AltosThe fourth annual silent auction is under way at the Discovery Shop in Los Altos. The auction acts as a fund-raiser for the American Cancer Society. Volunteers make up the baskets. This year, the 30 baskets contain gifts befitting babies to baseball fans. Wedgwood Preschool reopens in Blossom Valley Shopping CenterHelping to fill a desperate need for local child care, Wedgwood Preschool has found a new home in Mountain View, after an 18-month search for a new building. “We were in Sunnyvale for six years. It was a really nice location,” said Debra Glarvey, director of Wedgwood, about the former site at St. Luke Lutheran Church. “It was a great relationship, but they wanted to open their own Lutheran preschool, so we started looking for a new location.” Schools‘Old’ Mountain View High School schedules ‘Eagle Day’ reunionThe Eagle Alumni Committee of the now defunct Mountain View Union High School announced their annual Alumni Day get-together is scheduled for 9 a.m., Oct. 6, at Cuesta Park in Mountain View. Although closed in 1981, “Eagle” nostalgia, close alumni ties and fond memories live on. AAUW and Rotary sponsor tech camp at Stanford for local junior high studentsFour students from local junior high schools were selected recently to attend the American Association of University Women’s Tech Trek. The program, held at Stanford University in late July, is a weeklong residential camp for girls entering eighth grade. The camp features hands-on activities in math and science to help participants explore their interest in these subjects. The Los Altos-Mountain View branch of AAUW partnered with the Rotary Club of Los Altos in awarding scholarships to the four students at the Tech Trek Ice Cream Social. The goal of Tech Trek is to encourage junior high school girls’ interest in math and science by enabling them to meet other girls who enjoy science. The students also have the opportunity to interact with female role models in math, science and technology. At the Tech Trek they will take a variety of math, science and technology courses to introduce them to a variety of career choices. Pinewood students read for the starsWith a challenge to see how many books they could read during the month of May, the kindergarten classes of Kerri Riches and Cherie Scoffield at Pinewood School in Los Altos were recognized as Star Readers for reading over 2,500 books. The children were encouraged to go to the library and were asked to fill out a slip for every book they read. NoteworthiesShe has been accepted as a dean’s scholar at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. Eileen Marie O’Brien and Maura Anne O’Brien of Los Altos Hills and Kathryn Marie Jorgensen of Los Altos have been named to the spring quarter dean’s honors list at the University of California at Santa Barbara. School BriefsEric Glen Weyl, of Los Altos Hills, has received the Choate Rosemary Hall Award for Excellence in Algebra. Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn., is an independent secondary school. Retiring teacher leaves a caring and innovative legacy at Montecito SchoolShe began as a substitute teacher, but Sondra Swinmurn soon found herself a permanent teaching position and what seems to be a permanent place in the hearts of students at Montecito School in Los Altos. After 16 years of teaching, Swinmurn is retiring at the end of the month. “I have just enjoyed myself,” said the preschool teacher. “My husband is retired and we are going to live near our granddaughter.” LAHS student’s taste of national politics has her longing for moreLos Altos High School student Ali Burger wasn’t interested in politics. That was before she spent 11 days at the National Youth Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. “I didn’t know that much about politics when I started. I think it’s the best way to learn about our government,” Burger said of the program. “It’s absolutely the most fascinating thing (the government), which I didn’t think so before.” Sports On The SideSan Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon of Los Altos Hills has been voted to start Saturday’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game. Cannon will be in goal for the West team, which takes on the East at 12:30 p.m. at San Jose’s Spartan Stadium. Cannon, a St. Francis High graduate, is the first goalie in the history of the San Jose franchise to make the all-star contest. For tickets ($28-$20) and more information, call Tickets.com at (408) 998-2277. The game will be televised live on ABC. Stanford swingers SportsPA Babe Ruth shocks MVTown Crier Intern The Mountain View Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Star Team finished as runner-up in the recent District 6 Championship Tournament. Post 375 wins league titleWith a three-game sweep of Monta Vista last weekend, Palo Alto Post 375 clinched the league title. The American Legion team, with players from Mountain View and Gunn highs, beat host Monta Vista 4-2 Friday, then won a doubleheader Sunday at Baylands Park in Palo Alto. Post 375 took the first game 9-1 and the second game 1-0. Mattos catches on
WR perseveres, earns scholarship It didn’t happen the way he imagined, but Grant Mattos has finally received the college football scholarship he’s sought since the late 1990s. 4 locals set to play in tonight’s all-star football gameThose who just can’t wait until September to see prep players go head-to-head on the gridiron may want to check out tonight’s 27th Annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game. Four players with local ties are expected to play in the game, scheduled to kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Independence High in San Jose. A ‘Majors’ accomplishment for LA teamThe Los Altos Majors All-Stars made history last week, becoming the first Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Little League Majors team to win the District 44 championship. Los Altos brought home the title trophy July 17 with an 8-2 win over Campbell at Washington Park in Sunnyvale. Majors consist of 11- and 12-year-olds. Roche makes National Jr. OlympicDouglas Roche, who graduated from Egan Intermediate School in June, has qualified for this week’s National Junior Olympic Decathlon Championships in Sacramento. Roche advanced to the national after winning the Intermediate Boys Division Decathlon at the Western Region, held July 14-15 at James Logan High in Union City. College junior paints a successful business pictureJosh Huddleston said that soon after beginning college as a computer science major at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he realized business management was where his true interests lay. This summer, the 20-year-old junior, a longtime Los Altos resident, has turned his dreams into a “real-world” experience, right in his own hometown. As an intern for College Works Painting, Huddleston had the opportunity to build his own house-painting business from the ground up. BusinessKiss summer market rally goodbyeStock Report Hopes for a summer rally are diminishing by the day as corporate profits weaken and the outlook for the second half of the year remains dismal. Do you need a financial plan?Steve Zeller Many people want to retire early or send children to college, but not everyone has a plan to reach these goals. A financial plan is a financial road map that you develop and follow to reach your financial goals. It is a process of making all your assets work for you so you can afford the things you want in life. Transactions1943 Alford Avenue - J. & A. Hopponen to J. Hartlove for $900,000.00 331 Angela Court - J. & R. Richter to S. & W. Brugman for $1,435,500.00 My love affair with the computerJean on the Job Dear Computer: When you are good, you are very, very good. You are reliable, quiet and uncomplaining and do everything I ask. You demand very little in return. Maybe a new ink jet or a hard drive now and then. Maybe more memory. Weddings & EngagementsYasmin Pourmand and Shawn Braun have announced their engagement to be married Oct. 27 in Monterey. The bride-to-be is the daughter of Dean and Elizabeth Pourmand of Los Altos Hills. She graduated from Los Altos High School, earned an undergraduate degree in neurobiology and English from the University of California at Berkeley, and an international MBA from Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management. She is employed at PeopleSoft. PeopleObituariesJean Lichtenstein, a 40-year resident Los Altos resident, died April 9. She was a native of Connecticut. Mrs. Lichtenstein attended Bridgeport School of Nursing in Connecticut, where she became the first pediatric nurse to serve at the country’s first physical rehabilitation center, Rusk Institute. Mrs. Lichtenstein is survived by her husband, Robert of Los Altos; children, Tamara and her husband Michael Bergt, Jude Lichtenstein and her husband Alan Herman and Barbara Lichtenstein and David; three granddaughters; and many beloved friends. Stepping OutFirth’s ‘Neville’s Island’ is no ‘Survivor’
Theater Review Bus Barn Stage Company’s production of “Neville’s Island” presents a situation difficult to accept. Travel‘Bula’ everywhere on beautiful - and reasonably priced - Fiji islandsTravel Talk Fiji is a archipelago of more than 300 islands scattered over 230,000 miles of the South Pacific with a diversity of people to meet and places to see. “Bula” means hello, and you hear it constantly. Couples, families, honeymooners and divers attracted to its world-class diving locations can all find something for them in the Fiji Islands. Don’t be in the dark about your hotel billSummer travelers may find it’s not only the high price of gasoline that affects the cost of their vacation. The American Automobile Association (AAA) of Northern California said several hotels and motels in the western United States are now instituting “electricity surcharges” for their guests. Fees can range from $1.50 to $3.50 per night per room, according to Atle Erlingsson of the corporate communications office of the California State Automobile Association headquarters in San Francisco. Special SectionCharm, history, Spanish details
Town Crier Correspondent 1920s Mediterranean villa updated: Rho and Jerry Brown of Los Altos Your HomeAdd a third dimension to your garden - try a trellisRoominations Nothing beats a trellis for quickly adding the dimension of height in a garden. In eight or 10 weeks, with a trellis in a large container, you can grow morning glories 6 feet high. Or, in just one growing season, you can train a fast-growing climbing rose at least halfway up a trellis, and maybe over the top. A trellis or arbor allows you to look directly into the beauty of climbing roses or other bloomers and puts the blossoms where you can easily enjoy their fragrance, as well. Home BriefsThe California Native Plant Society meets Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the program room at the Los Altos Library. Speaker Jodi Isaacs will discuss preservation of grassland habitats in her presentation, “Resource Management at Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve.” The program is free and open to the public. For more information, call Georgia Stigall at 941-1068. Local builder honored Where will this end?Town Crier Correspondent Pat Ley’s century plant tops 30 feet in Los Altos Hills |
In Our OpinionLetters to the Editor
Leo Long earns local honorsIn the April 30 issue of the Town Crier, you were right to congratulate and thank Dick Henning from Foothill College for four decades of service to the community. I met him at Foothill as student body president more years ago than I’ll admit. Great guy. |
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