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Archives » 2002 » Volume 55 , Issue 22, Published on Wednesday, May 29, 2002NewsStories in rhyme
Bob Simon and Bob Pearl share poetry with the community Los Altos residents Bob Simon and Bob Pearl have buried the notion that poetry is somehow irrelevant and incomprehensible. The enthusiastic response from their many community audiences validate the popularity of their genre. Storytelling still alive and well in electronic age, thanks to Los Altos-based groupIn the age of video games, e-mail and distracted listening, the ancient art of storytelling is still alive and well - especially in tech-savvy Silicon Valley. South Bay Storytellers is a loosely structured, 10-year-old organization comprising people of all ages and interests who simply love to spin a good yarn. City updates anti-vehicle solicitation lawLos Altos A revision to the city’s anti-vehicle solicitation ordinance May 17 gives the Los Altos Police Chief more authority to prevent day laborers from seeking work along the streets based on safety issues. Meeting on LAH pathways plan could be cut short due to venue, residents sayThe Los Altos Hills City Council has scheduled a single item for the agenda of its June 6 meeting - hearing residents’ comments on the updated version of its 1981 Master Path Plan map. The town’s pathways system has long been a divisive issue among some residents. Controversy arose again during a May 16 council discussion on how the hearing should be conducted. Some council members expressed the hope that one evening would be sufficient to hear public comments if discussion is limited to off-road pathway easements that the pathways committee has recommended for removal and if each resident is allowed to speak for 60-90 seconds. However, some residents have said one public hearing with limited time for comments may not be sufficient on a matter so important to the town’s future. Investigators raise reward for church fire leadArson investigators looking for those responsible for last month’s three-alarm fire that destroyed the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer in Los Altos raised the reward ante for the arrest of whoever set the fire to $36,000 last week hoping to find a lead in the case. Dennis Johnsen, arson investigator with the Santa Clara County Fire Department, said investigators still had no definite leads or motive last week. News BriefsAn earthquake could be devastating to local business owners if the Hetch Hetchy water system is not upgraded, said members of nine peninsula chambers of commerce, including Los Altos and Mountain View, this month in a statement endorsing three state bills that would provide the funding and action needed to repair the aging system. The 10,000 business owners represented in the Santa Clara County Chambers of Commerce Coalition said they were concerned about the possibility of their communities being without water for up to 60 days if a disaster occurs along the Peninsula. Police ReportMay 17, 5:21 a.m., Maywood Court: Paramedics assisted an elderly patient who was having trouble breathing. Disturbance Los Altos resident, former minister, lived clean life prior to arrest for molestationThe former youth minister, arrested outside his Los Altos home last week for allegedly molesting teenage boys at a Long Beach church during the 1970s, had no police record in Los Altos and was not being investigated for any crime in the area late last week, said Sgt. Tom Connelly of the Los Altos Police Department. Gary Allen Carson-Hull, 57, booked on suspicion of 18 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, was being held in Santa Clara County Jail in lieu of $900,000 bail last week. He appeared to have led an unblemished life in Los Altos’ Orange Avenue neighborhood during the past 20 years, according to friends. Los Altos Hills-area jewel thief strikes, againFour Los Altos Hills homes have fallen victim to a stealthy jewel thief since the beginning of May, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. The most recent incident occurred May 10, when the thief entered a home on Vista Del Valle Court and took three watches and several other jewelry items. The Los Altos Hills thefts echo cases in Saratoga in recent weeks and two other incidents that occurred in the hillside town in January and March, said Capt. Dennis Bacon of the West Valley Patrol Division. Sheriff’s deputies have been unable to determine the culprit in any of the cases. Police train teens for emergency worker rolesSeven teens from Los Altos High School could take the lead in local emergency response during the next disaster as part of a new city preparedness program that qualifies students to be sworn in as disaster service workers for the city of Los Altos and Santa Clara County. The Los Altos Police and Santa Clara County Fire departments are in the midst of developing an emergency preparedness pilot program modeled after the Federal Emergency Managment Agency community emergency response team - a program developed after the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. OpinionLetters to the EditorOpen letter to the mayor and council members: It seems at every level of government we have politicians who are hellbent on chipping away at their fellow citizens’ inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Let’s call them chippers. Well it seems we have our very own chippers right here in Los Altos. I refer of course to the onerous consideration of ordinance 02.408. C’mon guys, this is America, not communist China. CommunityRancho pancake breakfast this SaturdayTown Crier Correspondent There’s a good reason to get out of bed early this Saturday: You can take advantage of the pancake breakfast at the 43rd annual Rancho Roundup. The event will be held, as it is every year, in the Rancho Shopping Center, 8 a.m. to noon. Rotary awards $11,000 in scholarships to high school seniorsTown Crier Correspondent The Los Altos Rotary Club awarded local high school seniors with $11,000 in scholarships last week. El Camino YMCA addition nears completion
Plate glass windows are in place, interior and exterior walls emit the smell of fresh paint, and construction workers are in the process of installing flooring in the new addition to the El Camino branch of the YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula. Area residents can expect to enjoy the 32,000-square-foot facility by mid-July, if not sooner. “The contractors, Vance Brown Builders of Palo Alto, are well ahead of schedule, and it’s rapidly nearing completion,” said Ron Markillie, executive director of the El Camino branch. “Everything’s pretty much done … We’re anticipating that probably by the end of June or sooner the building will be turned over to us. It will take a certain period of time to move our equipment into the new facility. We will have a more exact date within the next two weeks.” He added that the branch has scheduled a special open house June 23 for those who have donated to the building fund. Los Altos Hills celebrates spring with family picnicLos Altos Hills has scheduled its fifth annual spring family picnic 1-4 p.m., Sunday, at the Little League Field on Purissima Road. The picnic will be preceded by a guided pathway walk that will leave from the Little League Field at 11 a.m. The event has become a tradition for Hills families. The town provides a complimentary meal of a half-chicken, quarter-pound all-beef hot dog or veggie burger; chili; tossed salad; garlic bread; sodas, beer, wine; and ice-cream sundaes. Chamber to honor local mayors at Friday banquetThe 19th Annual Los Altos Chamber of Commerce “Salute to the Mayors Banquet” will be held Friday, at Crowne Plaza Cabana, 4290 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. The black-tie-optional affair starts with no-host cocktails at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner at 7:30 p.m. The event will bring together two communities, honoring Mayor Francis La Poll of Los Altos and Mayor Toni Casey of Los Altos Hills. Community BriefsThe Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Committee has scheduled a two-day adult horsemanship clinic, 9 a.m. to noon, June 4 and 11, at Westwind Barn, 27210 Altamont Road. The clinic is designed for beginners, age 18 and up, who have little or no experience with horses and riding. Westwind Barn will provide the horses at no cost. Participants will spend one hour riding and the remaining two hours on stable management. ‘Music & Memories’ program complements homes exhibitionComplementing the exhibit is a special “Music & Memories” program set for 4 p.m., Sunday. The chair of this “Music and Memories: The History of the Los Altos Garden Club,” program is Beverley McChesney, historical commissioner and museum volunteer. Music and singing is presented by Jim Thurber, Jr. The Los Altos Garden Club will be furnishing two or three period floral arrangements. Economic future looks bright, expert tells the Morning ForumNoted international economist and author Paul Erdman admitted one financial error to the Morning Forum audience on May 21. “In 1958 I sold a house in Los Altos Hills for $28,000,” he said with a laugh. “I thought the market had peaked.” SchoolsMV-LA PTA Council says ‘thank you’ at annual luncheon“Saying thank you is important,” Barry Posner told the audience at the annual Los Altos Mountain View Parent-Teachers Association Council luncheon, May 22. Posner, the first ever guest speaker at the event, is the Dean of the Leavey School of Business and professor of leadership at Santa Clara University. LASD to try for parcel tax in NovemberThe Los Altos School Board of Trustees decided at its May 20 meeting to try again for an increase in the parcel tax . The board is scheduled to adopt a resolution to formally put the parcel tax on the November ballot at a special meeting, June 10. They will also determine the amount of the increase to be requested for the parcel tax. NoteworthiesNeal Jonathan Yung of Los Altos Hills earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, N.Y., in December 2001. Christian P. Schroeder of Los Altos Hills has joined the United States Army under the Delayed Entry Program, making him eligible to receive up to $50,000 toward college tuition. He is a 1995 graduate of Gunn High School and will report for basic training at Fort Benning, Columbus, Ga. Schools BriefsThe Los Altos School District has scheduled a celebration to honor Assistant Superintendent Dick Liewer’s 35 years of service to the district, 4-7 p.m., June 11, at Garden House at Shoup Park, 400 University Ave. Tickets are $15 per person, and the public is invited. Anyone unable to attend, may donate to the personal gift for Liewer by sending a check payable to Janie Boscacci, 201 Covington Road, Los Altos, CA 94024. Career advice for students at Foothill College
With the graduating class of 2002 also comes one of the tightest job markets Silicon Valley has seen in a long time. What should someone new to the job market do? Marty Nemko, author of “Cool Careers for Dummies,” gave career advice to students at a May 22 job fair at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. SportsLos Altos swim coach receives CCS awardLos Altos High varsity swimming and diving coach Dan Dye recently won a Spring Sports Honor Coaches Award. Dye, who just wrapped up his sixth season as the Eagles coach, was selected in a vote of his colleagues. The CCS picks an honor coach for every varsity sport and recognizes them at a breakfast. LAHS varsity beats alums in final inningThe Los Altos High varsity baseball team edged the alums 9-8 in the eighth annual Bob Baird Memorial Alumni Game, played earlier this month at Los Altos. Varsity star Thomas Roux led off the bottom of the seventh with a long home run to tie the game 8 and the Eagles forced in the winning run later in the inning. Front rowHills resident snags 3 medals at international rowing event In April, 42 years after nearly making the Peruvian Olympic rowing team, Luis Yáñez returned to his native land, oars in hand. Los Altos grad Mathai named honorary coach of children’s triathlonNBC3 sports director Raj Mathai, a 1989 graduate of Los Altos High, will be the honorary coach at Sunday’s Silicon Valley Kids Triathlon. The event, slated to start at 8 a.m., will be held at De Anza College in Cupertino. Lozares battles wind & rain to place 2nd at NorCal regionalGolf is challenging enough with all its sand traps, water hazards and trees. So imagine adding steady rain, strong winds and occasional hail to the mix. St. Francis High’s Kevin Lozares encountered such weather conditions near the end of his round at the Northern California boys golf regional, held May 20 at Monarch Bay Golf Course in San Leandro. Local skier finishes 4th in NASTAR competitionLos Altos resident John Hearne finished fourth in his age group at the NASTAR Ski Racing Championships, held recently in Park City, Utah. Hearne competed in the men’s 55-59 age division, which included 20 participants. CCS warns high school teams, athletes not to jeopardize their standingThe Central Coast Section recently issued a reminder that during the high school year, prep teams and athletes are not permitted to play two seasons of any sport. After basketball ended in March, for example, a school team is not allowed to participate as a school identified/sponsored team in any outside organization’s program the rest of the school year. Sports On The SideThe Pace Setter Walk to benefit the Greater Bay Area Chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation is slated for 8:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, at Shoreline Park in Mountain View. Participants can pay the $50 registration fee or collect at least $50 in pledges. Walkers will receive refreshments, a T-shirt, goody bag, on-site massages and a chance to win raffle prizes. Proceeds will support programs and services for patients and their families with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. For more information or to pre-register, call 578-6590 or (800)- 241-0578. Get your kicks PALO Club stresses the ‘point’ at its basketball awards dinnerLocal students swept Most Valuable Player honors at the PALO Club’s All-Mid-Peninsula Basketball Team awards dinner May 13 at the Elks Club in Palo Alto. Point guards Hakeem Gilliard (St. Francis High) and Sarah Feely (Pinewood School) were named the top players among the area’s boys and girls, respectively. Fifteen other local players also were recognized for their performances in 2001-02. Clijsters, Williams & Davenport commit to Bank of West ClassicIndividual tickets went on sale May 13 for the 2002 Bank of the West Classic, to be played July 22-28 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on the Stanford University campus. The Bank of the West Classic is a Sanex WTA Tour Tier II event with a 28-player singles draw and 16 doubles teams. Prize money totals $585,000. Sollers moves a step closer to qualifying for U.S. OpenLos Altos Hills resident Adam Sollers is closing in on a berth in one of golf’s biggest events: the United States Open. Sollers last week placed second at a U.S. Open local qualifier at Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club in Menlo Park; the top five finishers move on to this week’s sectional qualifier. Pinewood track and field team makes the gradePinewood School has a won Central Coast Section 2002 Spring Season Scholastic Team Award in girls track and field. Pinewood earned honorable-mention status in several other sports, as did Los Altos and St. Francis highs. Town Crier seeking sports story ideas for the summerThe Town Crier sports department won’t be going on a break, though, and is on the lookout for summer sports stories. If you or someone you know is participating in a sport this summer or would make an interesting feature story, please contact us. Fremont Hills team makes USTA NationalsAfter winning the United State Tennis Association’s Senior League Sectional title, a 3.0-level team from Fremont Hills will represent Northern California at the upcoming USTA Nationals. Fremont Hills (Los Altos Hills) beat Orindawoods 2-1 in a tiebreaker, which it won 15-13, at the sectional earlier this month. The sectional took place at Sierra Sport and Racquet Club in Fresno. BusinessA light at the end of the tunnelLow-level laser light therapy may alleviate carpal tunnel syndrome Numbness, tingling or weakness in the hands, sometimes accompanied by pain that radiates up to the elbow. If you’ve experienced these symptoms, you might be among the thousands who suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Real estate is not necessarily a safe investmentRick Glaze Q: Is real estate a good investment now, and do real estate investment trusts (REIT) make sense for a conservative investment? Managing credit risk helps small business owners sleep at nightToday’s entrepreneurs juggle a daily variety of details and challenges critical to running their businesses, from handling customer inquiries to managing a Web site. Perhaps none is more important than keeping an eye on cash flow. During these tough economic times, the question “When am I going to get paid?” is keeping more and more small business owners up at night. According to the Small Business Administration, more than 95 percent of U.S. companies are small businesses. Of those companies, nearly 25 percent fail within the first two year; many because of bad debt. Often, it is a dispute with only one creditor that contributes to the failure of such businesses. Rambus of Los Altos announces new senior VPRambus Inc., a leading developer of chip-to-chip interface technology with offices in Los Altos, recently announced the appointment of Steve Tobak as senior vice president of worldwide marketing. With 22 years experience in the semiconductor industry, Tobak brings extensive marketing, sales, product development and executive management experience to Rambus. As the company’s senior marketing executive, Tobak will have direct responsibility for worldwide corporate marketing, as well as dotted-line responsibility for product marketing the company’s three product divisions. Your HomeSpend less time and money on your guttersPicture this…a rickety old ladder, pockets filled with various makeshift extraction devices and your weekend project looming just out of reach. Gutters clogged? Besides being a laborious chore to handle, the water that has been flowing off your gutters can be causing serious damage to both your foundation and your landscape. “The WaterFall Gutter Guard System is an alternative to all that mess,” assures Tom Kraeutler, host of the nationally syndicated home improvement show, The Money Pit. Orange in the kitchen lowers inhibitionsInterior Decorating Orange lowers inhibitions and lifts the threshold of hunger and taste, particularly in the kitchen. Tips for clearing the air in your homeRegular housework may do more than lead to a neat home-it can lead to a cleaner bill of health. Ninety-five percent of Americans surveyed described air in their homes as “clean and healthy.” Indoor air pollution, however, is actually one of the top five environmental risks to public health, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency estimates that indoor levels of many pollutants may be two to five times, and occasionally 100 times, higher than outdoor levels. This, according to experts, is where housecleaning can help. Stress-free moves for do-it-yourselfersIf you’re one of the many people planning to move yourself into a new home, consider packing using helpful expert tips. The first thing to do is map out a timetable of things to do in the weeks prior to your move. This can help you make sure everything is done prior to moving day. Here are other tips from moving experts: Museum home tour proves a huge successThe first Spring Home and Garden Tour, held May 11, was an immense success. According to Juli Rose, chairwoman of the steering committee, more than 700 tickets were sold for the affair. The tour showcased homes and gardens in the historic village neighborhood of University and Orange avenues. “Once people knew it was sold out, they wanted to purchase tickets for next year’s event,” Rose said. Don’t mean to talk trash, but we need larger wastebaskets at homeA Side of Clyde Anyone who lives in a house must do a certain amount of housekeeping to keep things clean and orderly. I fill the wastebaskets; my wife empties them. A home’s weakest link: outdated doors and windowsTown Crier Correspondent Window technology has come a long way since early Americans placed oiled cloth across the holes in their dwellings. Affordable glass with sashes to open and close the windows followed, then aluminum-framed windows. Now, double- and triple-pane insulated glass is state-of-the-art. Homeowners use custom murals to express individuality, add interestFrom her powder room window, Mary Gustafson can see an enchanting garden dotted with Italian cypress trees leading to an endless vineyard. Farther out, far-off mountains reaching for a cerulean blue sky form the background for a village of white stucco buildings roofed in red tile. Well, almost. A woman’s home is her castleTown Crier Correspondent French palace inspires Abigail Ahrens’ hideaway in Los Altos Team approach avoids pitfalls in remodelsTown Crier Correspondent The keys to smooth and successful home remodeling are careful planning and good communication. The easiest way to achieve that success is working with an end-to-end design-build-interior (DBI) firm that uses a team approach. Garden delights abound at Nature’s AlleyBusiness Profile Walking into Nature’s Alley is like strolling through a well-planned, much-loved garden. On any given day, visitors may be enveloped by the scent of fresh flowers and soothed by calming music and burbling fountains. Everything in the store is creatively displayed to appeal to all of a visitor’s senses, and there are surprises everywhere you turn. |
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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