Five of the six contenders vying for three seats on the Los Altos Hills City Council participated in a candidates’ forum Oct. 7, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Los Altos-Mountain View and the American Association of University Women Los Altos-Mountain View Branch.

The only incumbent, Mayor Jean Mordo, and candidates Ginger Summit, Rich Larsen, Jim Abraham and Toni Casey presented their platforms in town council chambers and answered written questions from the audience at the 90-minute presentation that lured more than 60 residents away from the televised presidential debate scheduled that same evening.

Lacking the size and strength to physically match many of its opponents, the Los Altos High boys water polo team is winning with characteristics that are not so easily measured.

“They are little, by comparison, but they have big hearts and try really hard,” coach Ed Samuels said of his players. “The effort level is a nine out of 10. That’s a sign of intelligence – they know effort leads to success.”

Who’s in and who’s out in Los Altos? It’s just a game of musical chairs – no one’s really out of here at all, but we’re keeping your nose in business.

On Monday, May 11, 1612, William Shakespeare testified at the Court of Requests in Westminster in a lawsuit involving an unpaid dowry. Stephen Belott was suing his father-in-law, Christopher Mountjoy, over what he claimed was an unpaid dowry of £60 (about $12,000) and a legacy of £200. Court parchments show that Shakespeare had been asked by Mountjoy’s wife in 1604 to persuade the reluctant bridegroom to marry her daughter Mary.

Apparently, it was Shakespeare who had relayed the news of the promised dowry to help in the persuasion, and it was Shakespeare to whom Mary Belott and family friend Charles Nichols went to confirm the amount (at that time, according to Nichols’ testimony, Shakespeare said the amount was to have been £50). In his court testimony, Shakespeare says only that Belott had been promised a marriage “porcion” but adds that he cannot remember the sum mentioned. It seems to be a moot point anyway, because Christopher Mountjoy defaulted even on the amount he was eventually ordered to pay (slightly more than £6) by the elders of the French Church, to whom the case was referred.

Beth Am preschool opens enrollment

Gan Ami Early Childhood Education Program enters its second year at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, offering parent-toddler groups and morning classes for 2- and 3-year-olds in collaboration with the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center in Palo Alto.