Just the facts, ma’am

Retiring LA chief blends tough and tender for success

The beginnings of a police career

Overlay zone meant to limit 2-story homes hits a snag

Los Altos

A Los Altos city law intended to quiet neighborhood construction squabbles seemed to hit its first snag last week, adding fuel to the fire on at least one Los Altos street.

Rapp waiting for city to secure land before moving forward with hotel

Developer Roxy Rapp said he doesn’t intend to update designs for his boutique hotel planned for the city-owned property at First and Main streets until he has a signed agreement from Los Altos city officials and a clear understanding of when the property will be available.

The city site is currently tied to leases with Nielsen’s Martinizing Dry Cleaning and The Home Consignment Center through 2006.

News Briefs

The Los Altos City Council turned down Wildlife Rescue’s latest request for funding last month. This is the second time since the start of this year that the non-profit animal rehabilitation center has asked Los Altos for financial aid. And this is the second time that the Los Altos City Council has refused funding. The organization asked for a $13,400 contribution to cover a portion of its operating costs, which have skyrocketed over recent years, officials said.

Members were asking all cities to which it provides service to make a proportional contribution. Wildlife officials said about 14 percent of the animals treated at the center come from Los Altos.

Police report

Aug. 25, 3:31 p.m., Los Altos and Yerba Santa avenues:

A caller told police that a passing car had thrown a can of spray paint at the caller’s car.

Sheriff Laurie Smith cites low crime rates in county

Los Altos Hills

Even though Santa Clara County is geographically one of the largest in California, its crime rate is significantly lower than comparable or larger counties, according to Sheriff Laurie Smith.

Two more office buildings to join El Camino landscape

Town Crier Staff Report

wo more office buildings are slated to join the street scape along El Camino Real in Los Altos.

The garden on Dori Lane

A View from the Hills

In l992 I took my first color shots of “The Garden” on Dori Lane, and a young grower named Craig Murray, who allowed me to prowl amidst lanes of vegetables and flowers, and breathe the scent of fresh basil. The garden flourished. Friends and neighbors gathered to exchange pleasantries, select nutritious vegetables and hand pick bouquets for their tables.

Letters to the Editor

I was dismayed to read about the formation of a group (Aug. 22) whose interest seems to be to prevent the Packard Foundation from remaining in Los Altos.

I think I speak for a majority of residents who want to encourage the Packard Foundation to stay in Los Altos. I am proud to share our village with a world-class foundation that does so much for our environment, open-space and farmland preservation and world social issues such as education and child welfare.

Community Services Agency recognizes Judy Marcus as outstanding volunteer

Town Crier Editorial Intern

Adobe co-founder Chuck Geschke will be the keynote speaker at recognition breakfast

Calendar

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

Today

Community Briefs

The Los Altos History Museum is holding a volunteer open house for all prospective and current volunteers 5-7 p.m., Monday, at the museum, 51 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos.

Current volunteers will be recognized while new visitors can hear about new volunteer opportunities.

Hidden Villa to honor three humanitarians at annual awards dinner

Hidden Villa, the Peninsula’s historic educational farm and 1,600-acre wilderness preserve in Los Altos Hills, will present three Duveneck Humanitarian Awards at a dinner under the stars Sept. 22.

The public is invited to celebrate the contributions of this year’s award winners, who share the humanitarian values that are the legacy of Josephine and Frank Duveneck, Hidden Villa’s founders.

Two local art shows offer contrasting media and viewer response

All About Art

For serious museum-goers, there are two shows you do not want to miss: “From Corot to Picasso,” at the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts on the Stanford University campus; and the Ansel Adams retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Zyt Gallery in Los Altos plans Michael Joseph exhibit

“A Life in Oils,” an exhibit of original fine artworks by artist Michael Joseph, is scheduled Sept. 20 through Oct. 9 at Zyt Gallery in Los Altos.

A reception with the artist will be held 6-9 p.m. at the Sept. 20 opening. Designed as a celebration of West Coast living, the subject of much of the artist’s work, the evening will include live music by Bay Area blues favorites, hors d’oeuvres and a special commemorative beer brewed exclusively for the occasion in partnership with Fermentation Frenzy of Los Altos.

How Adobe Creek was redirected

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Recently, I visited a home owned by Wendel Roscoe of Los Altos Hills.

‘Wishing on a Star’ for children’s health care

Woodside-Atherton Auxiliary to hold its 51st Tally Ho fund-raiser for Packard Children’s Hospital

“Wishing on a Star” is the theme for the 51st annual Tally Ho fund-raiser for Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University. The event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Saturday, at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton, and will include cocktails, dinner, both silent and live auctions, and dancing.

PAMF talk to address lifelong impact of adoption

The discussion, organized by the Post-Adoption Center for Education and Research (PACER), will emphasize the lifelong impact of adoption and address steps that can be taken to ensure that the impact is enriching.

The event will be presented Sept. 11, 7-8:30 p.m., in the Hearst Center for Health Education, Level 3, PAMF, 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. To register, call 853-4873.

West Bay Opera’s gala set at History Museum

West Bay Opera’s annual fall gala, “A Night at the Opera,” is scheduled 5:30 p.m., Sept. 16, at the new Los Altos History Museum. This year’s theme, “Opera Under the Oaks,” reflects the garden setting. The evening will include a private museum visit, champagne cocktail hour during the silent auction, candlelight dinner al fresco, an exciting live auction and operatic entertainment by West Bay Opera stars.

A performance of the “Top Ten Opera Favorites” as selected by the gala attendees, will conclude the evening’s entertainment.

Get ready to ‘Rock Back the Clock’ at Rancho center this Friday night

Get those hula hoops ready. The 13th annual “Rock Back the Clock” family street dance is scheduled for Friday 6-10 p.m. at Rancho Shopping Center, Foothill Expressway and Springer Road, in Los Altos.

The Rancho Merchants Association hosts the event to raise money for the Los Altos Festival of Lights Parade in downtown Los Altos the first Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Library News

The Friends of the Los Altos Library will hold their fall used book sale Friday through Sunday at the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos.

The Friday sale is open 7-9 p.m. for members only. Family memberships are available at the main library for $5. The sale is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sept. 8, and from noon to 3 p.m., Sept. 9. On Sunday, books are sold by the bag. Bags are available at the door for $3 each and there is no limit to the number of bags purchased.

Packard recommends grant for school theaters

The Packard Foundation has recommended a $75,000 grant to the Los Altos Cultural Association for the Performing Arts Facilities Fund to equip both the Los Altos and Mountain View high school theaters, said Nancy Glaze, director of the Arts Program. “It will not be official until Sept.13, but Packard is enthusiastic about the project,” she added.

The Packard Foundation first donated $196,200 to the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District (MVLA) towards the theaters in 1999, bringing their total donations to $271,200, Glaze added.

Noteworthies

Priya M. Rajendran, daughter of Raj and Shanthi Rajendran of Los Altos, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass.

Schools Briefs

Little Acorn School, a preschool and day-care center located at 1667 Miramonte Ave., Mountain View, has scheduled an anniversary celebration 2-5 p.m., Sept. 15. The event will be held at the Wooding Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian Church of Mountain View at the same location. For more information, call Brigitta or Josephina at 964-8445.

Local bands perform with Dallas Brass

Local elementary schools start year with high hopes

Town Crier Editorial Intern

Blach Intermediate School

MV-LA school board extends Fischer’s term

It’s official. The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District Board of Trustees has extended Superintendent Rich Fischer’s contract for another year.

“The contract was actually extended to June 30 of 2004,” said Fischer. “When I signed my first contract with the board four years ago, I asked for only a three-year contract.”

On Deck: the local sports lineup for Sept. 5-11

Football

Friday

Sports On The Side

Four Los Altos residents participated in the Hi-Tec Adventure Race Aug. 19 at Folsom Lake in Sacramento. They were on teams that competed in trail running (5-8 miles), kayaking (1-2 miles) and mountain biking (10-15 miles) in a test of endurance and teamwork. Brent Forsthe was part of team Xtreme Organic Matter, which finished 13th in the male division with a time of 2 hours, 52 minutes and 39 seconds. Matt and Tami Richardson competed for Mochihchu, which took eighth in the coed division (2:46.50). Deborah Kilpatrick was on Voodoo Spice, which placed 18th in the female division (4:52.15).

Fall ball

Mtn. View resident honored for soccer leadership

Those of us who spent any considerable amount of our childhood playing sports often encountered that one coach who became a mentor.

That person became a permanent part of your life, someone you keep calling “coach” long after you stop playing for them.

St. Francis aims for state; Los Altos eyes CCS prize

Prep volleyball preview

Los Altos High

Fly-fishing in Los Altos

Business Profile

The Midge Fly Shop meets the needs of both experienced and fledgling enthusiasts

Stock Report

Market leaves investors dejected

When Sun Microsystems told the truth about lower earnings last week, investors tanked the stock and took a lot of other high-tech firms with it.

It’s all in the details

Creative Planning organizes special events, meetings and incentive programs

“The devil is in the details,” warns a familiar adage. However, Peter Miller said that by using his service, Creative Planning, businesses can be spared the innumerable details of planning corporate meetings, special events and employee incentive programs. It’s a service he enjoys providing.

Single-family homes taking longer to sell

Town Crier Correspondent

California Association of Realtors’ latest weekly report revealed Santa Clara County is feeling the real estate slowdown more than any other area in Northern California.

Transactions

Cupertino

21643 Castleton Street - J. & G. Griggs to A. & J. McManus for $950,000.00

Business Briefs

Business Network International, a business-to-business referral organization, has launched a new chapter and is accepting applications for new members. Only one representative from each profession is accepted into membership. The organization is scheduled to resume its regular breakfast meetings, beginning 7 a.m., Thursday, at Coco’s Family Restaurant, 1305 S. Mary Avenue, Sunnyvale. For more information, call Cres McFall at (800) 978-6200.

‘How to Buy a Business’

Cantonese concert, film festival coming to Spangenberg

The Cantonese Opera Association of Silicon Valley will present a live concert and film festival fund-raiser Sunday at Spangenberg Theatre at Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto.

The day starts with the film “Hu Du Moon” (”The Stage Door”), starring Siao Fong Fong, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Batmobile is coming to town for Los Altos Fall Festival

The Batmobile will be among the vintage cars featured at next month’s annual Celebrate Los Altos Fall Festival.

The car from the 1960s television series “Batman” will be on display both days at the festival’s Classic Car Show. The festival is scheduled for Oct. 6 and 7 in downtown Los Altos.

AAA speaks out against racial profiling by police

At its recent annual meeting, the American Automobile Association (AAA), spoke out against the practice of racial profiling by law enforcement officials

Delegates attending the meeting urged law enforcement officials on all levels not to tolerate or engage in the practice of substituting race or ethnic background for evidence as grounds for suspicion.

New Freelander passes the ‘Ice’ test

Road Test

On Iceland’s Langjokull, or Long Glacier, the new-to-North America Land Rover Freelander proved it will be an excellent choice to take you to Lake Tahoe next winter.

An auto broker is more than a middleman

By Robert Hammer and Stefanie Kelly

Your neighbor just purchased a new Mercedes-Benz CLK430 cabriolet.

Bay Area Air Quality Management District scraps its 10,000th vehicle and asks for more

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District’s Vehicle Buy Back Program scrapped its 10,000th vehicle earlier this summer.

Since the program began in 1996, scrapping of these vehicles has removed 1,500 tons of air pollutants, according to the district.

Arthritis Foundation seeking used vehicles

The Arthritis Foundation asks people to donate cars, trucks or recreational vehicles to its Auto Round-Up.

The foundation works to find a cure for arthritis and provides information to more than a million men, women and children who have this crippling disease.

Weddings & Engagements

Maria Dall’Era and Daniel Durkin were married on June 9 in San Francisco at the Olympic Club, Lakeside. She is a graduate of St. Francis High School, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. She is currently a fellow in rheumatology at University of California San Francisco.

The groom, a native of Glen Arm, Md., graduated from The Johns Hopkins University and received his doctorate in physics at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently a physicist at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The couple live in San Francisco.

Obituaries

Dale Baker died at his Los Altos home Aug. 20. A native of Illinois, he was 80.

Mr. Baker was the owner of Humphries Leather.

Welcome new rector at chili cook-off

The Rev. Malcolm C. Young will be welcomed at his new parish, Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos, at its second annual Square Dance and Chili Cook-Off on “Welcoming Sunday,” this coming Sunday.

Church members encourage the community to come and greet their new rector and his family at the Parish Hall festivities following the 10:15 a.m. worship service.

Another well kept secret - Ecumenical Resource Center - revealed

Guest Columnist

The Northern California Ecumenical Resource Center is one of the best kept secrets in the Bay Area. Located in the Santa Clara Presbyterian Church, 2499 Homestead Road, the center maintains over 3,000 religious videos, worth close to $100,000, for the use of area churches.

Maryknoll celebrates 75 years in Los Altos

On Sept. 22, the Maryknoll order will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of their Los Altos seminary.

Bishop Patrick J. McGrath of the San Jose diocese will celebrate Mass at 11 a.m., with a homily by the Superior General of Maryknoll, Father Raymond Finch, M.M.

Westwind Barn’s Hoedown set for Saturday in the hills

A horse is a horse, of course, of course - or is it?

Various breeds and riding styles will perform at Westwind Barn’s annual Hoedown Celebration 5-11 p.m., Saturday, in Los Altos Hills.

MV Art & Wine Festival slated for this weekend

Hand-crafted work by 650 artists and craftmakers, music, food from around the globe, an array of wines and a host of activities for the entire family will be featured at this weekend’s 30th Annual Mountain View Art & Wine Festival.

One of the West Coast’s biggest festivals, nearly 200,000 people are expected to pour onto Castro Street Saturday and Sunday.

‘Disks’ running in Mountain View

The Bootstrap Foundation presents the world premier production of “Imaginal Disks,” running Friday through Sept. 16 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts’ SecondStage, 500 Castro St.

A girl on the edge of womanhood and her invisible dancing doppelgänger provoke questions about genetics, biotechnology and education in this new musical. This first-time collaboration between Bay Area playwright Sharmon J. Hilfinger and composer Joan McMillen traces transformations of caterpillar to butterfly, young girl to womanhood and thriving ecosphere to threatened habitat.