Find it Fast » Archives | Contact Us | Subscribe | Place an Ad | Admin
Inside this week's
|
Archives » 2002 » Volume 55 , Issue 39, Published on Wednesday, September 25, 2002NewsTaking your name
Identity theft on the increase in Los Altos n the booklet “ID Theft: When Bad Things Happen to Your Good Name,” the Federal Trade Commission recommends that fraud victims contact the following agencies to protect themselves. Packard Foundation announces big cutsUp to 50 percent of staff to be laid off Reacting to the ongoing slagging economy, officials with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced last week they are making dramatic cuts in staffing and grants for next year. News BriefsThe Almond School neighborhood is scheduled to hold three community meetings this fall as part of the design process for planned street improvements intended to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety for students. The Almond PTA received a $50,000 grant from the Traffic Safe Communities Network of Santa Clara County earlier this year to address aggressive driving problems around Almond School. Police ReportSept. 19, 7:28 p.m., El Monte Avenue and Springer Road: Police arrested a person for possession of marijuana. Burglary LAH denies easements for Creek projectSanta Clara Valley Water District will have to shelve portion of Adobe Creek improvements Los Altos Hills councilmembers denied property easements last week that would have allowed the Santa Clara Valley Water District to proceed with a costly, and some say disruptive, erosion control project. The action essentially shelved the project for the town’s portion of Adobe Creek. Murietta Ridge Added to Open Space InitiativeMore Los Altos Hills land could fall under the protection of a proposed open space initiative that residents are currently crafting to assure the long-term preservation of town-owned properties. Members of the grassroots group Los Altos Hills Open Space last week added a 13.9 acre area off of Moody Road to the list of lands that would require the city to seek resident approval before selling. The final draft of the Los Altos Hills Open Space Initiative is in thehands of the Town Planner and Town Attorney for review. The addition of Murietta Ridge means the Los Altos Hills Open Space Initiative will protect just over 157 acres of town-owned property. Other lands protected under the initiative include Byrne Preserve, Juan Prado Mesa Preserve, the O’Keefe Property, Rhus Ridge, Little League Fields, Westwind Community Barn and its facilities, and Edith Park. Los Altos City Council doubles legal budget to fund civil lawsuits recently filed against cityThe Los Altos City Council doubled its annual legal budget this month to fund a higher-than-usual number of lawsuits filed against the city over the past 18 months. City officials transferred $106,000 from the unreserved fund to supplement the $101,094 budgeted for attorney fees during the 2001-02 fiscal year. Over the past 18 months the city has been involved in five high-profile civil lawsuits, city attorney Marc Hynes said. The issues surrounding each suit all started years earlier but didn’t get to the litigation stage until recently, he said. OpinionPhilanthropy still alive despite economyIt wasn’t very long ago that the David and Lucile Packard Foundation was ranked No.1 in the nation with assets exceeding $12 billion. The foundation was looking to expand its headquarters and increase its employee base. It was the year 2000, in fact, a time when everyone in Silicon Valley seemed to be driving a new car or buying a new house. But the Packard Foundation’s assets have dropped dramatically, mirroring the decline in value of Hewlett-Packard stock as the stock market and the economy went south. So last week, Packard announced it is cutting its grant giving further for 2003 and reducing its work force. Letters to the EditorSPARC, the South Peninsula Area Republican Coalition, is proud to announce that its board of directors has unanimously voted to endorse Measure H. Measure H is the parcel tax for the Los Altos School District which will be on the ballot Nov. 5. As concerned Republicans we believe strongly in the importance of good education. The Los Altos School District, which has proven itself best in the state for many years, is of vital importance to the families in its community and helps keep property values high. Council putting plans before impactsBy Rick Foreman and Susan Mensinger The Los Altos City Council recently seems to be operating in a world void of simple common sense and judgment. CommunitySummer fun includes local celebrationsStrictly Candids YUMMY, YUMMY - BUCK-A-BURGER: Every year in July and August, the Los Altos Methodist Church has a fund-raiser. It has been going on since 1980, started by the former Reverend John Dodson. A very successful event, indeed, named the “Buck-a-Burger,” simply because in those days, the burger dinner was only a buck. Morgan Manor Foundation working to help local single-parent familiesThe Morgan Manor Foundation is trying to make the world a better place for low-income single parents and their children. The foundation, a National Heritage Foundation created by Catherine Athans, joined the Los Altos community in 2001 and adopted as its principle, “a paradigm for education.” The purpose of the foundation is to serve those in need by giving them information, education and support - spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. Celebrity chefs demonstrate their skills, classic cars show their age, at fall festivalMartin Yan of “Yan Can Cook” fame, host of more than 1,800 cooking shows, food and restaurant consultant, and certified Master Chef, will be cooking along with Chef Chu’s Lawrence Chu, a renowned local Master Chef in his own right, at the Los Altos Fall Festival. Other local celebrity chefs participating in the Chefs Galley cooking demonstration tent are Dan Gordon of Gordon Biersch, Pamela Keith of Draeger’s Culinary Center, Jaime Carpenter of Jocco’s, Henri Delcros of Trader Vic’s, Chris Floyd of Left Bank, Rachelle Boucher of McPhail’s Private Chef/Savor the Moment, and Gary Roth of Los Altos Golf and Country Club. Dinner and concert benefit Poor Clare nunsJulia Randazzo and Take Note and Djacks will headline a concert and dinner benefit for the Poor Clare nuns. The event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Oct. 19, at St. Joseph School, 1120 Miramonte Ave. in Mountain View. Morning Forum speaker discusses medical challenges during past and future warsOn Sept. 17 - the 140th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day of war in U.S. history - Dr. George Zuidema addressed the Morning Forum of Los Altos on the subject of “The Changing Face of Medicine in Times of War from the Civil War to 9/11.” Zuidema has had a distinguished career as a surgeon and professor at the Johns Hopkins and University of Michigan medical schools and hospitals. He combined this lecture with a visit with his sister-in-law, Mary van Tamelen of Los Altos Hills. MV High grad premieres film about murder of migrant workerWith youthful memories of Sunday matinees at Palo Alto’s Varsity Theater, writer-director Glenn Robert Smith presented the northern California premiere of his award-winning 35mm feature film directorial debut “Los Patriotas,” a true-life murder-drama shot in a recreated illegal Mexican migrant camp, this past Friday as part of the 10th Festival Cine Latino! Having studied film at Foothill Community College in Los Altos Hills before earning his bachelor’s degree in telecommunications and film at San Diego State University, Smith — a self-described “gringo raised among Hispanics” in Mountain View’s Castro City neighborhood — considered the film’s inclusion in the Cine Latino! fest to be strategic. He’s gearing up to secure a Bay Area exhibitor with five venues for a four-city, 20-theater platform release later this year. Midpeninsula Open Space District seeking volunteersThe Los Altos-based Midpeninsula Open Space District maintains and operates the David C. Daniels Nature Center on Alpine Pond, where families are encouraged to visit and explore. In addition, the district will be offering its environmental education field trips program, “Spaces and Species,” to third- through sixth-grade students this fall. History Museum offers unique exhibit of cars and crafts for History MonthThe Los Altos History Museum will celebrate History Month the third weekend in October with a special car and crafts exhibit. The events are part of a larger effort by the 27 museums that make up the Heritage Council of Santa Clara County to revive public interest in local history. Los Altos program can finance needed repairsSince 1976, the city of Los Altos has provided home rehabilitation loans to eligible Los Altos residents through its Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program. Funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant program, the program supplies low- and no-interest loans to income-eligible homeowners for home repairs to correct housing code violations, alleviate overcrowding, minimize potential fire hazards and improve health, safety, accessibility and home security conditions. Eligible needs include electrical and plumbing repairs, new flooring, heating and weatherization improvements, kitchen and bathroom remodels, painting, roof repair, room expansion or addition, structural reinforcement and repair of termite damage. Library NewsTo raise awareness regarding the censorship of books today, the Los Altos Library will display banned books and informative materials during Banned Books Week, Sept. 21-28. “Let Freedom Read: Read a Banned Book” is this year’s theme. “The Grapes of Wrath,” John Steinbeck’s classic novel about the Depression, had a rocky introduction in American libraries back in 1939. It was burned, barred or banned from various libraries around the country, including Kern County. Even today, as the National Steinbeck Center celebrates the centennial of Steinbeck’s birth, his books continue to be challenged. According to the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom, “Of Mice and Men” was the second most challenged book of 2001, after the Harry Potter series. Neighborhood organizes emergency committeeAre you sure you can count on your neighbors in an emergency? Gauri Pendharkar, a 12-year resident of Los Altos who lives on Sunrise Court - a street with 14 homes - contacted her neighbors and organized an emergency committee for her neighborhood. Community BriefsHidden Villa’s Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Awards honor those who organizers feel have contributed to forwarding their causes of multiculturalism and the environment. The seventh annual awards ceremony and dinner is set for 5-9:30 p.m., Saturday, at the Los Altos Hills preserve. This year’s honorees are acclaimed chef Alice Waters, environmentalist John Francis and volunteer George Chippendale. There will be a viewing of the Frank Duveneck and Lizzie Boott Duveneck family art collection, and a silent auction of four hybrid gasoline and electric engine cars. SchoolsSchool finances subject of Tuesday Los Altos LWV meeting“School Finance 101″ is the subject of an open meeting sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area and the Los Altos-Mountain View PTA Council Tuesday. Anyone concerned about the allocation of state and local funds to area schools are invited to come to learn how the Los Altos and Mountain View schools are financed. Michael Kirst, director of the Stanford School of Education and former member of the State Board of Education, will be the primary speaker. Three superintendents of local schools: Rich Fischer of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District; Marge Gratiot of the Los Altos School District; and Jim Negri, the new superintendent of the Mountain View-Whisman School District will contribute to the discussion. Judy Hannemann, of the League of Women Voters and the Mountain View-Los Altos High School Board of Trustees, will moderate the program. Schools feel the crunch of state budgetLocal schools dependent on state funding have fewer than 45 days to reconfigure their budgets after the approval of the state’s budget Sept. 5. The biggest fiscal change for schools is in the form of a $681 million delay in apportionments into the 2003-04 fiscal year, up from the $475 million delay outlined in the budget the Senate passed in June. LASD hires professional consultant to lead Measure H campaignThe Los Altos School District Sept. 12 launched its second attempt this year to raise $4 million for school programs - but this time with the help of a professional consultant to lead the Measure H campaign. “We really need to make this happen,” said Los Altos School Board President Margot Harrigan. “If Measure H fails, the high quality of education in our schools will be severely impacted. Egan supporters leaving their mark, brick by brickWith the renovation of Egan Junior High School close to completion, alumni and past and present families can make their personal mark on the campus while helping raise funds for the school’s Parent-Teacher Association. Dee Gibson, a former Egan PTA president, has been selling commemorative bricks for $100, and people can have whatever they like engraved on them. Each brick has three lines with 13 spaces on each line. LAH teen uses technology to help seniors leave a legacyFormer U.S. President Bill Clinton praises program as ‘way of the future’ Technology and teens are similar in some ways: They both change at a very rapid pace, and they both can be bewildering and problematic for seniors. NoteworthiesTayor Meschke and Julie Ashton of Los Altos have been named to the spring 2002 Dean’s List at Columbia University, New York. Air Force Airman Patrick N. Keenan of Los Altos has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. Coachella presents a stark contrast to Silicon ValleyCan you imagine what life would be like if you had to wear the same clothes every day? Or if you had to struggle to eat three meals a day? I have a hard time putting myself in either of those situations, and I think many Silicon Valley residents would feel the same way. Blach school’s energy-saving design deemed a state modelGeorgina Blach Intermediate School is the first pilot school built in California since the two-year-old non-profit group Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) developed the energy- saving standards for the design and construction of a new generation of California schools. Representatives from the collaborative organizations will join in recognizing the model High Performance School at a ceremony scheduled 10 a.m. to noon, Thursday, at Blach, 1120 Covington Road. Tours showcasing the innovations in energy efficiency, air quality and lighting incorporated into Blach’s renovation will follow the program. SportsEagles stomp Sacred Heart Prep; Gunn (2-0) gets by HomesteadTown Crier Staff Report The Los Altos High football team, coming off a poor performance in its season opener, trounced Sacred Heart Prep 44-14 last Saturday. Green, defense lift Owls to 18-14 win over CSMTown Crier Correspondent For the second week in a row, the Foothill College football team’s defense made its presence felt as the Owls struggled to an 18-14 win over the College of San Mateo in their home opener last Saturday. Let’s face it, men and women golfers are envious of each otherGolf Fitness Tips My teen-age daughter took her first golf lesson a couple of summers ago at the Palo Alto Hills Golf Club. I was at once amused and struck by how “feminine” her golf swing looked. Spartans fill highlight reel in 35-20 victoryOne would be hard pressed to find the highlight of Mountain View High’s 35-20 football win over Saratoga last Friday. There are almost too many to choose from. It could be Tariq Bright’s 37-yard dash for the Spartans’ first touchdown. Or perhaps the reverse Jonathan Lam took 87 yards for a second-quarter TD. Annual Trailblazer Race set for Sunday at Shoreline ParkThe eighth annual Trailblazer Race is scheduled for Sunday at Shoreline Park in Mountain View. The event, organized by The Friends of Stevens Creek Trail, will start and finish in front of the Microsoft campus on La Avenida off Shoreline Boulevard. Los Altos High field hockey team keeps perfect record intactThe Los Altos High field hockey team remained undefeated by routing visiting Del Mar 5-0 Friday in a BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division opener for both squads. Jooske DeGroot scored four goals for the Eagles (5-0) and Sara Bird accounted for the other score. Reitmeir races to title - in his friend’s carLike most sports, auto racing has etiquette. A driver who wins a racing series - particularly a national championship event - behind the wheel of a friend and fellow competitor’s car should not tease his pal about it. Especially if that friend towed the car 1,800 miles to race in the series, only to finish 17th. Local boys earn berth in USSSA World SeriesBy winning a recent tournament in Reno, the San Jose Lightning travel team has claimed a berth in the 2003 USSSA Baseball World Series. The Lightning, an under-16 squad featuring two players from St. Francis High and three from Mountain View High, went 4-0 at the Reno tournament Aug. 16-18. Lancers undefeated, but less than perfectPrep Girls Volleyball Despite beating four formidable opponents in straight games to open the season, coach Kim Oden says her St. Francis High girls volleyball team still has plenty of room for improvement. BusinessSt. Stephen’s Green opens as friendly Irish barA little bit of Ireland, in the form of St. Stephen’s Green, came to life last week as soon as the green awning was hung over it’s Main Street canopy. Three Irish investors, Matt Hynes, Erik Barry and Bob Crosbie joined in a business venture to introduce Los Altos to an authentic Irish bar. Saber rattling still spooking marketStock Report Look for a new market low in October. The only new money coming to the market are a few novice investors trying to trawl the market bottom. Transactions10938 Barranca Drive - CTC Real Estate Services to D. Gaines for $489,000.00 10293 Bret Avenue - A. Chang to C. & C. Chen for $1,250,000.00 Tech TalkIs it OK to empty Norton AntiVirus on Windows PC? This column offers solutions to personal technology questions from our readers. Neither the author nor this newspaper endorses products or companies mentioned. Your HomeThe Heart of the HomeTown Crier Report When Robert and Montse Armitano became the new owners of a 1900-era Palo Alto home, they were thrilled with the sense of history it exuded. Their needs, however, called for several changes, including a more spacious kitchen for their growing family and for entertaining guests. Sports On The SideThe Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame recently made available its 2003 Youth Fund grant applications. Non-profit Sec. 501(c) (3) youth organizations and schools may apply for these grants, which provide needed sports equipment. The deadline for returning completed applications is Jan. 31; grants will be distributed next summer. For a grant application, call (415) 352-8827 or logon to www.bashof.org. Up for the Challenge? Cooking in the great outdoorsCouple realize their dream to build a backyard kitchen, thanks to ‘HouseCalls’ The color brown was in style during the 1970s. Most of the ranch-style homes in Los Altos had brown kitchens and family rooms when they were built. Over the years, brown has gradually given way to new color schemes and lighter wall coloring. Classic bathtubs are comfortable and add character to a bathroomWhen people remodel their bathroom, they usually start with the tub. It sets the tone for style and the type of materials they are going to use. Simon Scott and Rebecca Trimpi, co-owners of Vintage Bath, have a long-standing passion for the sculptural beauty of old bathtubs and sinks. The Los Altos store doesn’t deal in the latest bathtubs but in old-fashioned tubs that are aesthetically pleasing and fit into small spaces. A Side of ClydeTaking your wine rack to heaven with this unique option Looking for a special piece of furniture that will last a lifetime or longer? A piece you wouldn’t be caught dead without? 10 years in ‘The Garden’LAH resident Craig Murray’s vegetation paradise has faithful customers clamoring for more When a man uses his hands to enrich the soil, when his ears are attuned to bird song, when he senses the merest vibration of a single leaf imperiled by a tiny insect predator, when butterflies and bees flit about him as he tends and seeds his plot to produce 12-foot towers of greenery topped with giant sunflowers that lift their faces to the sky, his soul is nourished, his spirit is gentled, and his heart soars to the music of the spheres. Do you have unexpected treasures in your kitchen?When seniors go into nursing homes, they are faced with the daunting prospect of liquidating their household effects. When a person clears out their house before putting it up for sale, they find they have several things they don’t need any more. That’s where Judy Johnson enters. With 25 years of experience in antique collection and custom estate liquidation, Johnson’s mission is to salvage things that people don’t think are valuable. Home Consignment Center is a busy place these daysDuring this economic downturn the Home Consignment Center, in downtown Los Altos, receives more foot traffic than any other downtown retail location. On busy weekends customers buy incoming furniture right off the delivery truck. “I come in once a week to look for any unique items on the floor,” said Pat McCarty of Palo Alto. “The stuff in here you won’t find in a department store and it’s good quality. I bought a coal scuttle in here today, and I don’t know if it’s an antique, but it sure looks old.” Harrell Remodeling Honored by Chamber of CommerceHaving only recently relocated their offices from Menlo Park to the Mountain View area, Harrell Remodeling was pleasantly surprised with the honor of being recognized in the category of Outstanding Business (Small/Medium Size). Judged on criterion including local impact, scope of contribution, timeliness and originality of contribution, among other aspects, Harrell Remodeling was chosen mainly for their work with local youth, including a “Ms. Fix-It” workshop for area Girl Scouts and for the community spirit of their company. “It’s enough to just own and operate a business, and make it successful,” said Carol Olson, President and CEO for the Chamber of Commerce. “Then to take the time to volunteer and give back, particularly to youth, is really amazing. And for Iris [Harrell Remodeling CEO] to be a role model to young girls is a unique contribution and something our community needs to recognize.” |
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. |
Los Altos Guide | Town Crier Archives | Classified | Subscribe | Place an Ad | Contact
2008 © Los Altos Online by Los Altos Town Crier .