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Archives » 2002 » Volume 55 , Issue 12, Published on Wednesday, March 20, 2002

News

Hospital for the future

El Camino rebuilding to become ’shopping mall’ of health-care services

El Camino Hospital’s soft-spoken, yet driven, leader, CEO Lee Domanico, conveys enthusiasm as he describes ambitious goals to make this 42-year-old institution the hospital of Silicon Valley.

Trailer crushes man at MV hospital

A portable building that fell off its jacks while being prepped to move crushed a construction worker at El Camino Hospital Thursday afternoon. His injuries were so severe that an emergency crew rushed him to a higher-level trauma unit at Stanford Hospital, where he was in critical condition last week.

Mountain View firefighter Lynn Brown said construction workers at El Camino Hospital had propped up the portable building in two sections on jacks and were in the process of putting wheels under it so they could move it to another site when a 45-year-old contractor working with them crawled under the building apparently to help maneuver it. The building fell off the jacks and crushed the man, Brown said. A standard 10-foot-by-10-foot foreman’s trailer weighs about 3,200 pounds, according to one manufacturer of such buildings.

Packard Foundation stays with decision to vote against H-P/Compaq merger

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation confirmed last week that it would vote its shares in the Hewlett-Packard Company against the proposed merger with Compaq Computer Corporation.

“While we continue to understand the strategic considerations being addressed by management, today the board has made a final determination that, on balance, the interests of the foundation would be better served by Hewlett-Packard not proceeding with the proposed transaction,” said foundation chairwoman Susan Packard Orr, following a meeting at the foundation’s headquarters in Los Altos March 12.

Poor Clares to update monastery in LAH

The cloistered Poor Clare nuns plan to add a new building to their Los Altos Hills monastery by winter. This will be the first building constructed at the Immaculate Heart Monastery of the Poor Clares in about 50 years.

The new building will replace several existing structures that are in considerable disrepair, according to a report by City Planning Director Carl Cahill.

Egan school administrators foil students’ alleged drug deal

An envelope full of cash tipped off school administrators to an alleged drug deal planned at a Los Altos junior high school last week and led to the arrest of four teens.

Sgt. Tom Connelly of the Los Altos Police Department said a 14-year-old student from Egan Junior High School allegedly brought $145 to school as part of a plan to purchase marijuana from two students at Blach Junior High School.

Police arrest murder suspect in parked van off Magadalena Rd.

Town Crier Staff Report

Police caught up with a teen in Los Altos Hills last week who had been on the run since last October for allegedly murdering a woman in Indianapolis.

News Briefs

The Los Altos City Council last week renamed the reserved picnic area at Shoup Park, “Patriot Corner,” in honor of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The city plans to dedicate the group site July 4.

The council unanimously chose the name based on one of two titles suggested to the Parks, Arts & Recreation Commission during the public submittal process.

Los Altos, Mtn. View state leaders in California’s recycling program

Los Altos and Mountain View were among seven Bay Area cities to recycle more than half of their annual garbage over the past two years, surpassing California’s recycling requirements, the Integrated Waste Management Board announced this month.

The Integrated Waste Management Act’s standards required every California city and county to divert from landfill at least 50 percent of the waste generated within their jurisdiction in 2000. The legislature amended this law in 2000, requiring cities to sustain their waste diversion efforts into the future.

Police report

March 12, 5:04 a.m., University Avenue: Police responded to a report of a prowler.

Malicious mischief

Improved Megan’s Law allows for updated data about sex offenders

Police will receive daily updates on the identity and whereabouts of registered sex offenders under an improved Megan’s Law, which went into effect March 1. The revamped law also enables the public to access the information in 13 languages.

“This means that citizens looking up sex offenders in their communities will see information gathered the previous day, rather than information gathered the month before,” said Attorney General Bill Lockyer. “It also will make it more difficult for a registered sex offender to hide by moving from place to place often, as many of them now do.”

Opinion

Letters to the Editor

People nowadays are driving much faster and much more recklessly. There seem to be more people on the road, causing anxiety. People are becoming impatient, increasing the risk of accidents. An article published March 6 states that police now have the opportunity to use radar on El Monte. This is a great idea for cracking down on speeding.

By using radar police officers will be much more accurate measuring a car’s speed. Police officers will no longer have to estimate a car’s speed, leading to citations being rejected at court. Now police officers will have better confidence at ascertaining vehicle speeds, which will lead to more speeders being pulled over.

Enjoyment takes backstage for awhile

Reflections

When certain conditions prevail, staying close to home, telephone and bed seems like house arrest. The sun shines mercilessly, the breezes blow gently, and the hummingbirds attack the feeder voraciously. I sit and feel sorry for myself.

Community

From victim to hero

Fred Luskin’s ‘Forgive for Good’ offers advice on healing

Fred Luskin’s new book, “Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness,” had its genesis in his own personal pain. Luskin was devastated when his longtime best friend Sam suddenly cut him off, telling him only that Sam’s fiancee did not like Luskin because he had been unkind to her. When Sam later married, Luskin found out about the wedding from a friend.

Simitian names Judy Hannemann ‘woman of the year’ for 21st Assembly

Assemblyman Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) announced last week that he has selected Los Altos resident Judy Hannemann as the 21st Assembly district’s Woman of the Year.

Each year, members of the state Assembly and Senate select a woman from each of their respective districts to be recognized and honored as a woman of the year.

Drexler of LAH among ‘Women of Achievement’ honorees

Drexler, the only Los Altos-area recipient, was honored in the entrepreneur category. She is co-founder of Amira Medical of Scotts Valley, and was the company’s CEO until its acquisition by Roche in November, 2001.

Inspired to establish Amira by her fatherís suffering as a diabetic, Drexler strove to design and develop convenient monitoring aids for diabetes and to expand the company’s sphere of influence, especially in Japan. Earlier in her career, Drexler led manufacturing as well as a new product development group at Lifescan.

Nominations sought for realtors’ Community Service Award

Do you know someone that has given generously of their time, leadership, experience and heart to help those in the Los Altos, Los Altos Hills or Mountain View communities during the past year and is deserving of special recognition?

If you do, the Los Altos-Mountain View District of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors invites you to submit a nomination for its annual Community Service Award.

Community Briefs

The annual student art show, presented by the Los Altos Art Docents, featuring artwork by all students in the Los Altos School District and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, will be held April 4-7 at the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave.

Admission is free. Gallery viewing hours are 3-5 p.m., Thursday and Friday; 1-5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.

Forum speaker laments decline of news coverage

Orville Schell, dean of University of California at Berkeley’s School of Journalism, praised the good work done by the media following the tragic events of Sept. 11, in an address before the Morning Forum of Los Altos March 5. But he also voiced his lament over the subsequent decline in the amount of coverage and the return to the status quo.

Schell, the author of 14 books and a contributor to The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Nation and other magazines, pointed to the changes that have caused this decline in the reporting of important news. Speaking on election day, Schell criticized the media for not having provided information on the ballot propositions to help inform the electorate. He wondered whatever had happened to investigative journalism, and where the media was on the Enron matter.

International students to study at Hidden Villa

Hidden Villa of Los Altos Hills will be the site of the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture’s (MESA) annual orientation seminar. The participants include interns from Ecuador, Bolivia, Lithuania, Thailand and Kenya. After their orientation, they will be traveling to their host farm for the season, then returning to their home countries.

The Hidden Villa staff will train students in aspects of sustainable agriculture and green building. They will also learn about our local ecosystem, composting and the community supported agriculture program. The students will be staying at the newly rebuilt hostel, which incorporates geothermal heating and rammed earth building techniques.

‘Girls’ author brings ‘Friendship’ to Linden Tree

Author and former Los Altos resident Catherine Dee, known for books offering sound advice for girls and young women, will be present at a book signing for her latest entry, “The Girls’ Guide to Friendship,” 1 p.m., Saturday, at Linden Tree Children’s Records and Books, 170 State St., Los Altos.

Dee, also author of “The Girls’ Book of Wisdom” and “The Girls’ Guide to Life,” will sign books and informally discuss her ideas behind them. There will be refreshments and friendship journals for girls at the event.

Sports

On Deck: the local sports lineup for March 20-26

Baseball

Thursday

Sports On The Side

A Mountain View-Los Altos CYSA Class 3 under-11 soccer team (birthday after July 31, 1990) holds tryouts 4-6 p.m., Sunday. For more information, call 967-5376 or e-mail bill@vinnicombe.org. Another MV-LA team, this one for under-13 boys (born after July 31, 1998) is also seeking players. For more information, call Mike Hurt at 969-7139.

Adult athletics

Scoreless 2nd quarter dooms Pinewood

Town Crier Correspondent

Pinewood School’s dream of reaching its first Division II girls basketball state championship game was shattered by an eight-minute nightmare from which it never recovered.

Rodriguez, Maxey pace MV track teams; LA girls win on last event

Spring Sports Summary

Softball

Coaches clinic set for Saturday

Ten of the top high school football coaches in the Central Coast Section are scheduled to speak at Calcagno Consulting Service Association’s Clinic of Champions this Saturday at Mountain View High.

The football coaches clinic will start at 11:30 a.m. with registration and end at approximately 5 p.m.

Sinclair’s ‘Spectacular’ effort leads Twisters

Finishing more than a point higher than her closest competitor, Courtney Sinclair of Los Altos scored a career-high 36.20 en route to three gold and two silver medals at the 2002 Twisters Spring Spectacular gymnastics meet in Mountain View.

In her first competition since recovering from an ankle injury, Sinclair, 15, led her Twisters teammates to a five-point win over USA Elite Gymnastics from Modesto and qualified for the 2002 California State Level 8 Gymnastics Championships.

St. Francis headed to state championship game

Behind strong start, Lancers rout Rio Americano in NorCal final

As the top seed, St. Francis High was designated the home team for last Saturday’s Northern California Division II boys basketball final.

Foothill makes early exit from state basketball tournament

Foothill coach Jody Craig’s worst fear came true last Thursday in the quarterfinals of the California Community College Women’s Basketball Championships. Her freshman-laden team succumbed to what she called “deer in the headlights syndrome.”

“We were a little intimidated by the environment and overwhelmed by the situation,” Craig said after the Owls’ 88-58 loss to Cerritos at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. “We didn’t play like we’ve played throughout the year.”

Pitching could decide Los Altos’ fate

Coach Sandy Wihtol said he woke up every morning this winter believing his Los Altos High baseball team could realize its dream of capturing the SCVAL El Camino Division title.

With spring here - and the Eagles off to a nightmarish 1-9 start - Wihtol’s expectations haven’t changed.

Business

New realtor association president has strong ties to Los Altos community

Town Crier Correspondent

When Alicia Tuvell was asked to become president of Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR), she thought about it a long time. It’s a five year commitment and it takes away time from the business and the family.

Transactions

26 4th Street #15 - S. & S. Duckett to H. Rohdin for $415,000.00

55 Chester Circle - W. & M. Ho to D. Palomo for $761,000.00

HP-Compaq stockholders face off this week

Stock Report

After all the name-calling, back stabbing, cajoling and begging for stockholders to vote yes or no on the HP-Compaq merger, the counting will start today. Although both sides will claim victory, it will be so close and the results won’t be announced for days.

Your Health

Health Briefs

Ophthalmologist Mark Volpicelli is set to discuss the latest developments in cataract surgery and treatments for glaucoma and macular degeneration, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., March 22, in the cafeteria of El Camino Hospital, 2500 Grant Road, Mountain View. Volpicelli is a clinical associate professor at Stanford University.

Nancy Campisi, a representative from the Lions Silicon Valley Center for the Blind and Sight Impaired, will present an overview of the center’s services.

Don’t mix grapefruit juice with cholesterol medication? Please explain

Corner Pharmacist

Q: On my bottle of cholesterol medication, there’s a warning label telling me not to drink grapefruit juice. I understand that it will somehow interact with my medication, but can you explain to me how? Is it a very serious interaction? How can something as nutritious as grapefruit juice cause a problem with my medication?

New alternative for uterine fibroid treatment

El Camino Hospital offers nonsurgical solution to a common medical condition

For many years, a woman who suffered symptoms such as heavy bleeding or abdominal discomfort from uterine fibroid tumors had few options for treatment. Most commonly she underwent a hysterectomy - the removal of the uterus, and sometimes the ovaries and cervix, depending on the location of the fibroids.

Making time for your life

El Camino program offers techniques to deal with stress-related illnesses

Life often brings stress. Stress can come from everyday experiences such as long commutes, worries about jobs, or chronic pain. Yet somehow, we can’t define exactly what emotions we’re feeling or why our bodies feel tense and achy.

Exercise caution when taking medicine for your headache

House Calls

You’ve probably heard the one-liner “Not tonight, honey, I’ve got a headache.” While headaches are the source of such jokes, they can be uncomfortable, painful and sometimes debilitating. In some cases they can indicate more serious, even life-threatening, medical concerns.

How to redefine ‘mother’ as a wife

Keys to Parenting

Q: How can I redefine myself as a wife? I look in the mirror and see only a mother! Our children are 4, 2 and 3 months. Because of the ages of our children, at the end of the day, I have no conversation other than “uh-huh.” I have so little energy that I just want someone to “point me in the direction of my pillow.” In all fairness, my husband does help, but he is also wondering what happened to the “wife” part of me.