Costume Bank making patriotic costumes for Halloween

Town Crier Correspondent

Stand at the front door of the Costume Bank and you see densely packed costumes, hats and masks hanging against the wall. The shelves are lined with realistic-looking animal heads. All this is the result of backbreaking work by volunteers sitting at sewing machines in the back rooms.

Library News

For more information, call the Adult Reference Desk at 948-7683, ext. 3519.

Calendar

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

Wednesday

Community Briefs

The downtown Los Altos Annual Halloween Spooktacular, sponsored by the Los Altos Village Association, will begin at noon, Oct. 31, at the Community Plaza, Main and State streets. The event features free entertainment, trick-or-treating, contests and a performance by Egan Intermediate School’s music department.

Trick-or-treating at the stores in downtown Los Altos and entertainment for costumed children will take place noon to 3:30 p.m. Egan School musicians will begin their performance at 3 p.m. The Costume Contest will begin at 4 p.m., with prizes awarded for the most creative costumes. The grand prize winner will receive a $50 savings bond from United California Bank. There will also be a candy corn guessing contest and a raffle featuring a haunted gingerbread mansion.

Submit your scary stories for special Halloween issue

The Town Crier is featuring a collection of Halloween stories in its next issue, Oct. 31. We are awarding first-, second and third-place honors to the authors. First-place winners will receive a prize.

Here are the guidelines: Stories should be no longer than approximately 400 words. Subject matter is wide open, and while the story doesn’t have to be scary, it shouldn’t be gory or in bad taste.

School district candidates off and running at forum

Town Crier Correspondent

Keeping the Los Altos School District No. 1 in academic excellence, despite impending budget troubles, highlighted an Oct. 17 forum discussion among four contenders for the district’s board of trustees.

Phone-a-thon brings LAEF closer to its fund-raising goal of $1.278 million

The Los Altos Educational Foundation held its annual phone-a-thon Oct. 15-17 and has come closer to its goal of raising $1.278 million for the Los Altos School District, said Rae Lee Hansen, president.

A total of 300 parent volunteers manned the phones and solicited donations at the Los Altos offices of Coldwell Banker Gateway Center, Seville Coldwell Banker and Alain Pinel, she added.

Letters to the Editor

Your Oct. 17 article on El Monte traffic calming contained some outdated information.

The enforcement of the 25 mph speed limit on El Monte is no longer restrained by the 85th percentile rule, an antiquated law revised by Assembly Bill 2767 and signed by the Governor on June 28, 2000.

Secret source of good books: the children’s shelf

Blue Jeans & Jelly Beans

Recently I’ve been disappointed by some of the books I’ve checked out of the library. They’ve had elements I don’t want to read about: child abuse, extreme violence or a nihilistic worldview.

A message from Manhattan

Other Voices

“I’m not complaining. I mean, at least I’m not dead like my neighbor, but this has to be the worst day for traffic.” This is what passes for normal conversation around my Manhattan office in the weeks after Sept. 11.

Los Altos is paradise for pets

Looking Back, Moving Forward

Two years ago, our 11-year-old daughter, Kie, announced that she was starting a business, pet-sitting. She explained that nearly every neighbor had a pet and that she was going to help take care of them.

Reid, Roberts, Thomas for school board

The next four years will be a critical time for the Los Altos School District. The K-8 district faces great financial challenges with an expected 15 percent drop in state funding next school year.

Officials plan to go before the public next year with a new parcel tax and may ask for another bond measure after facilities renovations they envisioned fell short with 1998’s bond funding.

Quiet giving goes on

Family foundations flourish in Los Altos, LAH

amily foundations abound in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Whether the reasons are financially strategic, philanthropic or both, many of these foundations have assets in the millions, even tens of millions.

Los Altos prepares for local anthrax outbreaks

Los Altos emergency workers prepared themselves for potential local bioterrorist attacks last week in response to the recent anthrax outbreaks reported in Florida, New York and Washington, D.C., that U.S. government officials said could be linked to last month’s terrorist attacks.

“I suspect it’s not going to happen to the city of Los Altos,” said Los Altos Police Chief Don Johnson. “But if it does, we can’t have the (police) building go down. We’ve taken a very simple step. We open our mail outside, using gloves.”

New master plan, buildings OK’d for Foothill campus

Due to the recent discovery of an earthquake fault, Foothill College will rebuild its Campus Center as part of its new master plan approved Oct. 15 by the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees.

Foothill officials, who discovered the fault during a soil test in May, reworked the master plan to also include a new campus entry building, housing a studio theater and sciences building. These new facilities will house biology, biotechnology, veterinary technology, drama facilities, ornamental horticulture, student activities, student services and four general-purpose classrooms.

News Briefs

The Bay Area received the second cleanest air quality rating on record since the Bay Area Air Quality District began monitoring the air in 1969. The only year with a cleaner rating was 1997.

The district monitors air quality using a measurement called the federal one-hour standard. Each federal hour is equivalent to 12 parts (of pollution) per hundred million.

Police Report

Oct. 16, 10:07 a.m., Deodara Drive: A caller reported an elderly male missing from the residence. The man later returned and said he had gone for a walk.

Vicious animal

Hotel developer asks council to consider adding 3rd story to site

Los Altos

Developer Roxy Rapp was scheduled to ask the Los Altos City Council earlier this week to allow for the addition of a third story for his downtown hotel project.

County supes pour $5 million into emergency budget

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed Oct. 16 to increase the county’s emergency preparedness budget by $5 million for the purchase of emergency preparedness equipment and training and pharmaceuticals to be used in the event of terrorist attacks on Silicon Valley.

Supervisors said the county needed to be in a greater state of readiness.

Incumbents Moss and Lear reveal their four-year goals at forum

Town Crier Correspondent

Los Altos

LAH Council settles neighbors’ fence dispute

Two neighboring families came to the Los Altos Hills City Council last Thursday to settle a dispute about fence height.

“I’m very disappointed this dispute has reached the height it has,” said Mayor Tony Casey.

Songwriter Mulcahy gets Santa Rita students involved in writing and singing songs on her new compact disc

Santa Rita School parent Tami Mulcahy has been following her passion of singing and songwriting and encourages the students of Santa Rita School in Los Altos to do the same.

“I have been a songwriter since I was 15 years old,” Mulcahy said. “I always thought it would be really neat to write songs with kids and see what would happen.”

LASD tops in test scores for third year in a row

The Los Altos School District (LASD) has done it again. For the third consecutive year the district has had the top STAR test results and the highest Academic Performance Index (API) ranking in the state, said Dick Liewer, assistant superintendent.

“The district is No. 1 in the state for the third year in a row,” said Marge Gratiot, superintendent. “I think it’s a good consistency and show of stability.”

School Briefs

Math education researcher Liping Ma is scheduled to speak to the general public about her work 7:30 p.m., Thursday. Admission is free. Ma is the author of “Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers’ Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States.” The lecture is sponsored by the Sixth District (Santa Clara Countywide) PTA, Palo Alto PTA Council, Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council and Palo Alto Unified School District. For more information, call or e-mail Erwin Morton at 323-2313 or erwin@morton.net.

ACT deadline Nov. 2

St. Francis on course for CCS golf title

Entering this final week of league play undefeated, St. Francis High looks like the team to beat for this year’s Central Coast Section girls golf championship.

“I think we definitely have a good shot at taking it all this year,” said Meredith Loosse, who has guided the Lancers to a 14-0 record in her first season as coach.

On Deck: the local sports lineup for Oct. 24-30

Football

Friday

Sports On The Side

West Bay Water Polo Club is offering a Winter Swim Camp to improve students’ swimming ability. The camp, for swimmers of all levels in grades 7-12, includes swimming and weightlifting. The camp runs Dec. 3 through Jan. 21 at Los Altos High. Times: swimming 3:30-5 p.m., weekdays; weights 5-5:30 p.m., Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Cost is $200. For more information, call coach Dan Dye at (408) 206-0647. To register, call Claudia Westrum at 949-3073.

Walk for firefighters

Turnovers cost Gunn a victory

Gunn and Santa Clara, two teams taking their lumps this season after moving into a tougher league, put on an offensive show last Friday night in a battle for a commodity that’s been hard to come by: wins.

In the end, Santa Clara took advantage of four turnovers by Gunn and a momentum-swinging touchdown from a kickoff return to prevail 42-28 at Foothill College. The loss dropped the Titans to 0-3 in the SCVAL De Anza Division; Santa Clara improved to 1-3.

Spartans pass Pioneers; Lancers stop S.I.

Town Crier Correspondent

Prep Football Digest

Mustangs riding toward division title

Prep Volleyball Summary

As the Homestead High girls volleyball team’s confidence rises, so does its chances of winning the SCVAL El Camino Division, claims coach John Milkovich.

Pinewood girls tennis team captures league championship

Fall Sports Roundup

The Pinewood School girls tennis team claimed the Private Schools Athletic League title last Thursday with a 6-1 home win over Notre Dame-Belmont.

LAHS grad Holloway stars in Owls’ football rout

Foothill College Sports Roundup

Freshman halfback Steven Holloway made the most of his first start of the season, playing a key role in the Foothill College football team’s 35-7 win at Chabot last Saturday.

Bringing Pakistan to Silicon Valley

Representative Toheed Ahmad opens Los Altos office

Pakistan has frequently been in the news since Sept. 11, because it is the only nation that still maintains diplomatic relations with neighboring Afghanistan and yet is also a part of the international coalition of nations opposed to terrorism.

There are reasons to be optimistic for 2002

Stock Report

Investors are faced with negative news about anthrax, the worst corporate earnings in a decade and fear of another attack on the United States. But the tone of the market is optimistic regarding 2002 and beyond.

No bull: Windows XP requires a beefy system

Tech Talk

This biweekly column offers solutions to personal technology problems submitted by readers. Neither the author nor this newspaper endorses products or companies mentioned.

Transactions

695 Berry Avenue - Kashima Trust to J. & H. Woo for $860,000.00

1201 Brucito Avenue - Cheek Trust to R. & R. Greanias for $895,000.00

Obituaries

Marilyn Grewe, also known as Mary Lou or Gammy, died Sept. 29. She was 75. Mrs. Grewe was the daughter of E.J. and Frances Grewe. She was a longtime resident of Los Altos and San Francisco.

She is survived by her siblings, James and Bonnie Young; daughter, Roberta; and grandchildren, Heather, Tony, Maria, Ernest and Douglas.

CSMA launching free Informance series on Monday

Violinist Daniel Heifetz will open the Community School of Music and Arts 2001-02 Stanford Lively Arts Informance Series 6-7 p.m., Monday, in Brunello Hall, CSMA, 253 Martens Ave., Mountain View.

The free series offers the public the opportunity to meet outstanding world-class artists, to hear musical excerpts, and to learn about their careers and ideas on music in an informal, up-close setting.

West Bay opens season with fabulous ‘Faust’

Opera review

Witness a well-done performance of West Bay Opera’s “Faust,” perhaps the most romantically melodic of all French operas, and the tunes will follow you for weeks.

As the parent goes, so goes the child

Keys to Parenting

Q. What have I done wrong? I feel as if I’m losing control of my 6- and 3-year-olds. Somewhere along the line, I began to bribe the children with a toy or special treat when their public behavior became uncontrollable. Now I find they won’t listen to me at all when I discipline. Am I in as much trouble as I think I am?

Innovation for health’s sake

Los Altan Armando Valdez uses communication research, technology to reach underserved minorities

In early October, Valdez and Associates of Mountain View was one of 68 firms to receive a 2001 Tibbetts Award, given by the U.S. Small Business Administration as its highest recognition for innovative technology.

Older Adult Resource Center and library change names

New names better reflect scope of services

Beginning Nov. 1, the Older Adult Resource Center and its library will have new names. They will be known as the Health Resource Center and the Health Library. While the center and its library will continue to be open to the general public and remain affiliated with El Camino Hospital, the staffs believe the new names are more reflective of the services they provide.

LASIK can make a big difference, but opt for experienced professionals

House Calls

Suzanne Elbert, a 34-year-old physical therapist, had been wearing glasses since age 5 when she was unable to see the big “E” on the eye chart. She recently came to me for a LASIK (Laser Assisted In-situ Keratomileusis) laser vision correction consultation, carrying a stack of Internet printouts and her glasses’ prescriptions from the past 10 years.

Artists help draw funds for Ronald McDonald House

“Tuffets for Tots,” a first-time fund-raiser to support Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, raised $11,000 with the sale of donated children’s furniture at the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts back in August.

The furniture, donated by IKEA, was decorated by artists in their own style and displayed in the Ronald McDonald House booth during the annual juried art event. Festival attendees bought approximately 100 of the one-of-a-kind furnishings, with all proceeds benefiting Ronald McDonald House at Stanford.

Five advanced tips for helping friends with cancer

Live Life Larger

Your friend has cancer and you want to help. The greatest present you can bring them is your presence. How you prepare yourself is more important than what you say or do. Words and actions that arise from a loving and healing spirit almost always hit the mark.

Glucosamine known to help body build cartilage

The Corner Pharmacist

Dear Mary: Until recently, I’ve been able to remain very active in sports. I have always been quite healthy and have kept myself in shape through diet and exercise. I enjoy working out, but recently I have noticed increased pain in my knees.

One of the most dangerous toxic waste sites: Our own digestive systems

One of the most dangerous toxic waste sites you are likely to encounter is your own digestive system. By the time a person reaches 50, the colon has accumulated enough toxic waste to deserve a cleanup grant from the Superfund.

These toxins are associated with conditions such as putrefaction, constipation, cancer and immune dysfunction. Fortunately, we can do something about these toxins with the use of specific herbs and nutrients.

Health Briefs

The Palo Alto Medical Foundation is offering flu shots to its established patients at its local clinic sites. High-risk patients may receive flu shots 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Oct. 28, at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. Other patients may receive their shots 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nov. 10-11 and 17-18, at the same venue. Shots are also available Nov. 10, 14 and 17 at the Los Altos Center, 370 Distel Circle. A charge of $18 will be billed to patients’ insurance. For information on the flu vaccine, logon to the Centers for Disease Control Web site at www.cdc.gov.

Healing imagery for cancer patients

‘Conquering Otitis Media,’ goal of Health Library book

Rare are the parents who get through their child’s first few years without having to deal with an ear infection. For some families, the problem might not be an occasional bothersome event but ongoing chronic troubles that are painful and can cause hearing loss. The book “Conquering Otitis Media” by Charles Bluestone, M.D. is a welcome text for parents trying to understand the complexities of ear infections in their young child.

The first two chapters, “What is Otitis Media?” and “Who is Most Affected and Why,” explain the difference between otitis media and acute otitis media - two conditions likely to take you scurrying to Urgent Care.

Weathering the emotional assault of terrorist attacks

Town Crier Correspondent

Reactions can be delayed and help should be sought