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Archives » 2002 » Volume 55 , Issue 35, Published on Wednesday, August 28, 2002NewsSummer birthday bash for city
Los Altos celebrates 50 years with a variety of activities Los Altos continued celebration of its 50th anniversary last Sunday with a community picnic extravaganza featuring food, music, booths and games for residents of all ages at a Hillview Community Center bathed in purple and gold. Father allegedly loses cool, kicks son after bike crashA Los Altos man could face possible felony charges for allegedly kicking his 8-year-old son in the head last week after a bike ride outing turned sour. The Los Altos Police turned the case over to the District Attorney’s Office for further investigation. Housing planned for post office expansionThe Los Altos Main Post Office on First Street is slated for major renovations that could include an expanded office area and underground parking with housing above. Niles S. Tanakatsubo of Foster City purchased the property from Meiyan Enterprises July 19. White Tiger Properties LLC will develop the .98-acre site. LAH tech giant files $2.2 trillion lawsuit to stop unsolicited faxesSteve Kirsch of Los Altos Hills made headlines last week on two major fronts, one attempting to thwart purveyors of junk faxes, the other helping Internet users with phone hookups. The noted Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist slapped Orange County-based Fax.com with a $2.2 trillion class action lawsuit to stop unsolicited faxes, which he claims are unlawful. News BriefsA local attorney has set up a trust fund for the survivors of last week’s fatal car crash in Mountain View that killed a mother and her daughter and sent her other two children to the hospital. Mountain View police said driver Rogelio Garcia Ruiz, 26, crashed into a cement pole along El Camino Real Aug. 17 with such force that the car split into two. Police reportAug. 25, 11:21 a.m., Eureka Avenue: Police reported the theft of a bike from an open garage. Weapon violation 13 prepare to battle for four vacant seats on Mountain View councilThirteen candidates will battle it out this November for the four spots available on the Mountain View City Council. Several last-minute filings pushed the number applying for the three, four-year seats up to 11. Challenger sues MV mayor Lieber over false election statementsCurrent Mountain View Mayor and Democratic candidate for the 22nd Assembly District Sally Lieber is the target of two lawsuits challenging her employment designation as it will appear on November ballot. The lawsuits, petitioned by her rival in the upcoming election, Republican Stan Kawczynski, were scheduled for two different venues: the Santa Clara County Superior Court on a date not yet set and the Sacramento County Superior Court yesterday. OpinionThe origin of ‘die-hard’ and a matter of the heartThe Pinhead Chronicles The distance record for the hand bow is held by Sultan Selim III. In 1798 the sultan shot an arrow 972 yards, 2 2/3 inches. Editorial“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main . . . if a clod be washed away, the whole is less as well as if a manor of your friends or your own were …” John Donne, Meditations, circa 1610 A.D. Letters to the EditorRecent news items show us the real legacy of Toni Casey’s leadership in Los Altos Hill’s City Council. First, we have Casey to thank for the loss of LAH’s landmark, the Winbigler Mansion. The owners trashed it even though it is classified as a historic building in LAH’s General Plan. Its destruction is a direct result of the cynical building strategy that Casey has fostered: don’t bother getting permission (even to demolish a historic building), because it’s easy to gain forgiveness from her city council. CommunitySilicon Valley visionary Carl Guardino outlines core issues for economic recoveryHead of SV Manufacturing Group tells Rotary affordable homes are No. 1 priority Carl Guardino told the Los Altos Rotary Club last Thursday that you never want to be so bad they boo you or so good they invite you back. But, he was invited back because he understands the pulse of Santa Clara County. Hurray for Bollywood: One of India’s biggest stars visits Los Altos
Town Crier Editorial Intern Mahima Choudhary drops by to spread the word about Indian cinema Stagedoor Manor proves unique camp for LAH actressTown Crier Editorial Intern Recent Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School graduate Lauren Weyle of Los Altos Hills found a summer camp that reinforced her longtime passion. Weyle attended Stagedoor Manor in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y., a prestigious acting camp that has launched stars such as Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh. ‘Remembering 9/11′ commemoration taking shape with sheriff, police chiefAfter the September 11 tragedies, many of us were obliged to change our lives. Whether it was finding the endurance to go on despite our losses, living life to the fullest or making a difference in our communities, we patriotically promised not to give into fear and uncertainty. One year later, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills families are encouraged to commemorate the tragedy with a patriotic one-hour gathering. It’s an opportunity to learn about safety and protection from the people who support us. This is an opportunity to support them. Jerry Lewis, Bill Clinton among lecturers signed for 2002-2003 Celebrity Forum speaker seriesThe 2002-2003 Celebrity Forum speaker series begins Oct. 18 at Flint Center in Cupertino and the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. The schedule is as follows: ‘Paint the Town - Again’Town Crier Staff Report The successful effort by local artists in 1999 to capture “the look of Los Altos the last year of the 20th century” will be repeated this fall with a new focus: Los Altos on its 50th birthday. Good Samaritan returns more than $800 in lost cashFor Alina Rother, one phone call presented bad and good news at the same time. Rother, a medical aesthetician and owner of Skin & Soul Clinic in Los Altos, received a call Aug. 21 from her friend Jim Nappo of Alain Pinel Realtors. He said a woman had found Rother’s envelope containing more than $800 in cash and checks in the parking lot at Wells Fargo Bank on Main Street. Parade supporters get ready to ‘Rock Back the Clock’Get ready for the 14th annual “Rock Back the Clock” family street dance scheduled 6-10 p.m., Sept. 6, at Rancho Shopping Center, Foothill Expressway and Springer Road in Los Altos. The event provides an inexpensive evening for the family. Kids can dance and hula-hoop their hearts out to 1950s hit songs. Seniors News12:30 p.m., Thursday: Health & Stress Workshop. Dr. Kathryn Riley and Dr. Lance Strovers will provide information to help minimize stress and to experience more energy ,feel more relaxed, sleep better and meet daily challenges. Sept. 9, 11: AARP 55 Alive Mature Driving classes 6 p.m.-10 p.m. To register, come in or mail check made payable to AARP dated the first day of the session. Mail to Mtn. View Senior Center at above address. CalendarLos Altos Senior Center,9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, 97 Hillview Ave. Wednesday Community BriefsThe Happy Times Banjos will entertain members of the Federated Woman’s Club of Los Altos at its first luncheon meeting of the new season, set for Sept. 4 at Michael’s Restaurant at Shoreline in Mountain View. The group comprises 10-15 banjo and washtub players, all volunteers, who play for enjoyment and keeping alive the old songs of yesteryear. History museum celebration awakens 50-year-old memories among longtime residentsResidents of Los Altos when the city was incorporated in 1952 were invited to the History Museum Thursday to commemorate the city’s 50th anniversary, “Celebrating 50 years of Community.” The invitation coincided with the opening of the museum’s newest exhibit, which features events in the community from the 1950s to the present. Future city leaders offered course on how to get involvedLeadership Education ADvancement is accepting applications for the 2001-2002 series. LEAD is a community involvement education course aimed at Los Altos area residents interested in learning more about their community and how to become involved. The course is sponsored by the Los Altos Community Foundation and organized by three volunteers from the foundation board. The eight-month course meets the fourth Monday from 7-9 p.m., starting Sept. 24, through May, except in December. Meetings are held in community locations relating to the topic of the month, and appropriate guest speakers will lead discussions. MV councilmember to discuss Afghan experience at Los Altos churchFoothills Congregational Church, 461 Orange Avenue, Los Altos, and the League of Women Voters are co-sponsoring a special 9/11 program from 7-9 p.m., Monday in the Parish Hall. The evening will begin with an ice cream social to be followed with a talk by Rosemary Stasek, Mountain View City Council member. SchoolsMV-LA Union High School District encouraged by 2002 STAR test resultsThe Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District showed improvement in all grade levels on the 2002 Stanford Achievement Test, Ninth Edition, administered at Mountain View and Los Altos High schools. The SAT 9 is part of the state’s Standardized Testing and Recording program (STAR) that the California Department of Education put in place in 1998. Engineering comes to LAHSTown Crier Editorial Intern When Los Altos High School opened its doors this week it marked the introduction of the Math Education Collaborative for juniors, a prerequisite for the new “pre-engineering” classes to be offered next fall for seniors. Schools BriefsThe Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View has scheduled an open house 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sept. 7, at 220 View St. CSMA has also scheduled a groundbreaking Sept. 21 for its new $11 million campus scheduled to open in January 2004. Why local parcel taxes are needed for schoolsSpeaking before the Los Altos Rotary recently, Michael W. Kirst, director of the Stanford School of Education, offered a legion of reasons why the state of California is a late arrival to the modern accountability movement for K-12 schools. “During the 1970s, school districts relied on an ad valorem tax based on property values and the state contributed approximately 30 percent to 40 percent of the district’s revenue,” Kirst said. “Now that has changed to a centralized state system where the state controls 85 percent of the local property tax, which leaves schools looking for help with parcel taxes.” Independent learning in Los AltosThe School for Independent Learners, a Los-Altos based secondary school providing an alternative to home schooling, started the new school year two days ago with a dramatic increase in its full-time enrollment figures. After opening in 2001 with only three regular students, the growing roster will count about 22 full-timers for this academic year, with more expected to join throughout the year. There will also be approximately 30 part time students coming in for tutoring or supplementary classes. SportsSports On The SideAn announcement in the Aug. 14 issue of the Town Crier about a Major League Soccer camp coming to Los Altos apparently caused some grief for the local AYSO region that hosted the camp. Unbeknown to the Town Crier, the camp had already filled up by the time the announcement ran in the paper. AYSO 43 Regional Commissioner Jane Lombard has issued the following apology to parents who called about the camp and were disappointed to learn they could not register their children: “We regret that we disappointed many potential attendees for the MLS camp the week of Aug. 19. The press release was submitted a couple of months ago as a follow-up of the initial announcement in July. Unfortunately, we had over 100 kids already by the time the press release (was) issued. We will be sponsoring a similar camp next year for the same week in August and hope that we can accommodate this enthusiasm.” Softball anyone? Error-prone Oaks blow chance to win league crownTown Crier Correspondent With their venerable coach recovering from an illness, the Palo Alto Oaks had two chances to “win one for the Gipper” last Sunday. A ‘Major’ road tripTeens visit all 30 MLB stadiums Strike or no strike, the 2002 Major League Baseball season will go down as a memorable one for Los Altos resident Eric Chown and two of his best friends. Are you ready for some futsal?Soccer-like sport gaining popularity The sport has been around for about 70 years, yet most Americans probably couldn’t tell you the first thing about futsal. Locals lead Airborne to team titleBoosted by the efforts of five Los Altos residents, Airborne Gymnastics won the NAWGJ Judges Cup Meet Aug. 18 in Novato. The club team tallied a score of 214.675 at the two-day meet, which drew top-notch competitors from throughout Northern California. Mtn. View residents help school build its first football teamTown Crier Correspondent As Kyle Cochran of The King’s Academy took his position at cornerback, the crowd and the opposing team looked amused. BusinessInvestors taking stock market profitsStock Report If I bought stocks at the lows in July, I would be selling too. That’s what many investors did last Friday after the stock market’s two day rally. 20 percent doing 80 percent of the sales?There’s an old maxim that says 20 percent of the realtors make 80 percent of the transactions. Fact or fiction? Several real estate company managers provided their take. “It’s self promotion and advertising,” said George Monaco, manager of Cashin Company. “After a few newspaper ads, their business takes a quantum leap.” Los Altos not a ho-hum real estate marketOne of the side effects of the tragic events of last Sept. 11 has been an increased desire for families to own a home. Even in the face of a stagnant economy, the desire has resulted in Bay Area home prices setting another record, with the median price for the nine Bay Area counties at $417,000. The number of homes sold in Santa Clara County increased 20 percent, and the median price was $476,000. Bank of the West to take over UCB location Sept. 16Beginning Sept. 16, United California Bank at 176 Main St. will become Bank of the West. The present Bank of the West location at 240 Third St. will be vacated. UCB will become fully integrated into the Bank of the West system as all conversion of operations and banking systems will be completed. Special SectionGuidelines for submitting Datebook itemsThe deadline is noon, Tuesday, for the next week’s paper. Notices must be typed and include a contact name and phone number. Los Altos lecturer discusses rare display of ancient Egyptian artifactsNearly 150 objects, many never before shown outside of the British Museum, are on view at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor through Nov. 11. Fine Arts Museum docent Connie Ewy will walk the audience through three millennia of colossal stone fragments, papyri, mummy masks, jewelry and intricate inscriptions in a lecture at 7:30 pm, Sept. 10, in the Hillview Community Center Multipurpose Room, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. LAH resident Archibeque leading choral groups in salute to 9/11 victimsLos Altos Hills resident Carlene Archibeque is leading the San Jose State Choraliers, The Choral Project, San Jose Chamber Orchestra and the American Beethoven Society in a concert, “Remembering Voices,” honoring Sept. 11 victims on the one-year anniversary of the infamous terrorist attacks. The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., at Mission Santa Clara, on the campus of Santa Clara University, 500 El Camino Real. Silent auction aficionados may ‘discover’ Los Altos shop’s forgotten treasuresFinal bids accepted through Saturday for Discovery Shop’s 5th annual event Final bids on the Los Altos Discovery Shop’s 5th annual silent auction items must be submitted by 3 p.m., Saturday. WeddingsMichele Bojorquez and Terrence Tierney were married April 13 at St. Catherine of Sienna in Laguna Beach. A reception followed at the Four Corners in Newport Beach. The bride is the daughter of Jesse and Delores Bojorquez of Los Angeles. She graduated from Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena and has a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. She is employed at Distant Horizons in Long Beach. Four Scouts named ‘Eagles’The Eagle Scout is the highest rank a youth can achieve in the Scouting program. Less than 2 percent of Scouts nationally ever reach this rank. Since 1952, Troop 33, sponsored by Los Altos Methodist Church, has seen 109 Scouts earn Eagle awards. ObituariesSUHONEN, Seppo “Whitey” Mr. Suhonen, 76, was a native of Finland. He worked as an engineer for 41 years for Philco with subsequent mergers with Ford and Loral. He enlisted at 17 in the U.S. Navy and served on a submarine which saw action in the South Pacific during World War II. He is survived by his wife, Dorothea, in Los Altos and one son and three grandchildren. International Festival of Food to fill tummies, need for church rebuildMembers of the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer started the International Festival of Foods in 1982 to raise money for their new church. Now organizers of the 21th annual festival, set for Sept. 7 and 8, hope to raise money to rebuild it. With the highly-publicized fire that gutted their church in April, festival organizers hope to close in on the $400,000 still needed to rebuild. Methodist Players hold ‘Last Supper’ for fascinated onlookersSunday, members of the Los Altos Methodist Players staged Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” donning approximations of garments and posing with expression used in the classic painting. The players, who performed the showings at the United Methodist Church, have been doing “Last Supper” tableaus annually the past five years. The group has been doing “living masterpieces” for the past decade. Spiritual Life BriefsThe 8th annual Ben Eckenhoff Memorial Bike Ride will be held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sept. 14, to raise money to support the fight against chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This is a fun ride, not a race. The $25 donation includes a commemorative T-shirt and lunch. Elements of peace the subject of ‘Creekside Crossings’ discussionsCreekside Crossings at Los Altos United Methodist Church will discuss elements of peace on Sunday evenings in September and October. Titled “PeaceMaking,” the series of messages will explore forgiveness, hope, vision, prayer and other actions persons can take to live a life of peace. The pastors of the church will lead the discussions, designed to reflect on the challenges of our day. Bible study at Foothills CongregationalThe group is currently studying “Reading the Bible Again for the First Time,” by Marcus Borg, distinguished professor of religion and culture at Oregon State University. Fay Oliver is facilitating the study. All are invited. For information call 948-8430. Local cellist Hwang to solo Saturday at KAMSA eventCellist Albert Hwang, a student at Los Altos High School, will be a soloist at Saturday’s 13th annual Korean-American Music Supporters Association’s Youth Symphony Concert. The concert is scheduled for 8 p.m., in the Spangenberg Theater at Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. LAYT alum plays young Dr. Evil in ‘Austin Powers’ movieOne of the trademarks of Mike Meyers’ “Austin Powers” spy-movie spoofs is Dr. Evil’s terrible over-the-top laugh, produced every time the hero’s arch-nemesis hatches a diabolical plan. Josh Zuckerman, who once lived in Los Altos and was a member of the Los Altos Youth Theater, had plenty of time to rehearse this evil laugh before it was unleashed on the world in the third and latest installment of the series, “Austin Powers in Goldmember.” |
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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