Area non-profits hurting

Economy, Packard cutbacks mean rough road ahead for service organizations

While the flat economy continues to dominate headlines, area non-profit groups, either overlooked or depended on too much during desperate times, are cutting back and hanging on. They, like the Silicon Valley unemployed, are in survival mode looking to ride out the storm.

Local organizations ponder a future without Packard Foundation support

When the David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced last month that it would cut costs and scale back donations, the numbers were almost too large to grasp. The Los Altos-based philanthropy - one of the nation’s largest - said it plans to curtail giving by 20 percent, down to a still mind-boggling $200 million in 2003. The plummet in Hewlett-Packard stock value is largely responsible for the painful belt-tightening.

Leo Florendo is too busy to worry about that. The faculty advisor for the Los Altos High School Robotics Team has his hands full with 20 teen-age dreamers who benefited from a $10,000 Packard Foundation grant this year.

Town hall supporters counter ‘faulty’ opinion poll

Residents launch citywide mailing to refute claims that voters don’t want new building

A Los Altos Hills resident group raising community donations for a new, city-approved town hall refuted an opposition group’s recent opinion poll that claimed most residents were against the mission-style building. Members for Town Hall launched a mailing earlier this month to counter alleged fallacies they say members of LAH Watchdog have been circulating about the new $4.9 million town hall planned for Fremont Road.

Foothill-De Anza chancellor leaving district

Leo Chavez to join Community Foundation Silicon Valley by end of year

hen faculty and staff members of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District opened their e-mail last Tuesday, they were surprised to learn their chancellor, Leo Chavez, had resigned.

News Briefs

The Los Altos Recreation Department will be one of 380 recreation agencies statewide to add an electric car to its inventory this year.

The National Park Service, California Parks and Recreation Society and DaimlerChrysler Company recently donated a Global Electric Motors (GEM) vehicle to Los Altos as part of a statewide giveaway program.

Town penalty for demolition of Winbigler home may run into the millions, mayor says

Los Altos Hills

Los Altos Hills Mayor Bob Fenwick said the media missed the real story in the planning commission’s Sept. 12 decision concerning the unlawful razing of the landmark Winbigler home and called it a “multimillion-dollar ruling.”

Police Report

Construction noise: Oct. 8, 3:44 p.m., El Camino Real.

Reckless driver: Oct. 8, 12:03 p.m., Berry Avenue/ Springer Road.

Trail lovers square off against LAH council Thursday over controversial paths

Horse owner Karen Sremac is not happy. Neither is trails lover Les Earnest. They are among a slew of Los Altos Hills residents who want the town to rework a revised map of town pathways that they say is hopelessly - and some say, purposely - flawed. The council stands to approve the revised map at Thursday’s meeting.

The map, submitted for approval as part of the town’s general plan, shows the deletion of easements adding up to 15 miles of proposed paths - paths that showed on the 1981 map. The changes reflect the shift in political makeup among town leaders toward those who side more with private property rights than town recreation needs.

LAH residents, officials compete over open space initiatives

Los Altos Hills lawmakers and grass-roots organizers are bickering over who may lay claim to the simpler, more effective open space initiative.

Both town council members and LAH Open Space are fighting for the protection and preservation of over 150 acres of town-owned space and recreation areas. But the campaign has recently been divided into two camps, when council, just days after residents submitted their open space initiative for city attorney review, introduced and approved an independent yet similar initiative at their Oct. 3 meeting.

Hospital’s good news bad for critics

It’s going to be hard for challengers running for the El Camino Hospital District’s Board of Directors to question the district’s current direction. At a time when HMOs are going under and hospitals are seeing plenty of red, El Camino reported the best bottom line in the hospital’s 42-year history. Figures released last month showed El Camino $29 million in the black. “Over three years, we’ve gone from break-even to $29 million,” said Chief Administrator Lee Domanico.

Domanico attributed the good news to several factors, including a district currently free from debt and interest expenses, and some shrewd investments that stayed away from the volatile stock market.

The lure of water

Reflections

There is a certain mystique about water that draws me to it. While I manage to swim laps in a pool, I have never felt confident enough to swim in deep water in the ocean. My childhood in Brooklyn gave me, and thousands of others, access to the Atlantic. I jumped waves with my cousins and enjoyed the tingle of salt water on my body, but I took pains to hold my head above water and certainly out of my mouth. My strongest memory is of being dumped into the waves by my older male cousins. Swallowing gobs of salt water left a nasty impression on my mind.

LAH should not OK flawed paths map

The Los Altos Hills City Council is scheduled to consider approval of a revised map for town pathways at tomorrow’s meeting. We ackowledge that significant effort has been made to produce the map, but council should not approve the document as it currently is.

There are too many claims of missing paths or paths put in wrong places for this council simply to ignore, as planning commissioners did in recommending approval to council.

Letters to the Editor

Congratulations to all the residents and supporters of Los Altos Hills open space! We’ve achieved a major first milestone. In six months, our efforts to preserve Los Altos Hills open space heritage have succeeded in turning the council from discussing what to do with the money from the sale of open space, to developing their own open space initiative.

This turnaround is unprecedented in recent Los Altos Hills history and is due to the overwhelming citizen support that has arisen from the dedicated efforts of our many volunteers, and in no small part to the two candidates for the next council election, Breene Kerr and Dean Warshawsky, who have brought attention to our cause by actively supporting us in their campaigns.

LA resident Margaret Abe receives a lifetime achievement award

Margaret M. Abe, a tireless fund-raiser and volunteer for a range of community non-profit organizations, received the Norman Y. Mineta Lifetime Achievement Award Oct. 4.

The award was presented by California State Assemblyman Joe Simitian at the 2002 Annual Appreciation Dinner at Ming’s Restaurant in Palo Alto. The Silicon Valley Asian Pacific American Democratic Club honors community leaders who have contributed to their community in a significant way.

LWV election forum set for Thursday

The Los Altos-Mountain View League of Women Voters will sponsor a Candidates’ Forum for the Nov. 5 election. It is scheduled 7-9:30 p.m., Thursday at the Mountain View City Hall, City Council Chambers, 500 Castro St.

The forum will feature candidates for the El Camino Hospital District, the Santa Clara Superior Courts, the 14th Congressional District, and the 22nd State Assembly District.

History Museum offers cars and crafts exhibit for history month

The Los Altos History Museum will celebrate History Month this weekend 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.

The car exhibit, scheduled for this Saturday, organized by Collections and Exhibits Manager Allyn Feldman and local car afficionado Bob Mabe, will feature one luxury car and one typical car for each decade since the city of Los Altos’ incorporation in the 1950s. Feldman said she expects some vintage automobiles, like a 1930s Ford station wagon and the first firetruck used in the county.

A dirty race, but she’s doing it to fight leukemia

Sandra Bozich, owner of Eyes Optometry in downtown Los Altos, knows she could get pretty dirty this Saturday, when she tests her skills in an adventure race benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The event takes place at Lake Castaic in Southern California. Bozich will be challenged with a six-mile trail run followed by a 15-mile mountain bike ride and then a three-mile kayak segment.

Diabetes group organizes walk at Shoreline Park

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is scheduled to host “Mountain View’s Walk for a Cure” 8 a.m. to noon, Oct. 27, at Shoreline Park. The event will be held rain or shine.

“It’s great to be working together with the JDRF on such an important goal - curing a disease which kills one American every three minutes and costs our nation over $105 billion a year in health care expenses,” said Lisa Harper, chairwoman of the San Francisco Walk to Cure Diabetes.

Wildlife expo showcases leading conservationists

Wildlife Conservation Network makes its public debut Oct. 26 with its Wildlife Conservation Expo at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. The expo offers an unprecedented opportunity for the public to meet many of the world’s leading conservationists.

Peter Matthiessen, noted author-naturalist and winner of the National Book Award, will be the keynote speaker. He will be introduced by actress and conservation advocate Isabella Rossellini.

Professor speaks of dark matters at astronomy talk

The Milky Way galaxy was formed primarily through the accumulation of an invisible substance called dark matter and the stars and gas dragged along with it, according to a prominent UC Berkeley professor who spoke in Los Altos Hills last Wednesday.

Astronomy professor Leo Blitz spoke about the origins of the universe to close to 700 students, professionals and amateur astronomy hobbyists. His talk, “The Making of the Milky Way: Survival of the Fittest,” was the first presentation in the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, which is being held at Foothill College.

Calendar

Community Health Awareness Council, 3:30 p.m., 711 Church St., Mountain View.

Mountain View Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., city hall, 500 Castro St.

Community Briefs

Julia Randazzo and Take Note and Djacks will headline a concert and dinner benefit for the Poor Clare nuns scheduled for 5:30 p.m., Saturday, at St. Joseph School, 1120 Miramonte Ave., in Mountain View. There will also be a donation-drawing for an acoustic guitar and an afghan made by the Poor Clare sisters.

Proceeds from the evening will assist in the rebuilding of the Poor Clare Monastery in Los Altos Hills. The monastery, built in 1920, was originally the home of the Gibson family. Today, it badly needs repair and retrofit construction.

Correction

5 percent and reflects the approximate percentage of students in the district who attend Alta Vista High School,” said foundation president Julia Rosenberg. The remaining $212,000 is equally divided between Los Altos and Mountain View high schools, she said.

CAC hosts specialist talk

Want to know how to remain positive in the face of frustrating behavior? Want strategies for building desirable behaviors and eliminating problem ones? Bill Thiemann, a behavior management specialist with the Santa Clara County Office of Education, will discuss these issues and answer questions during an Oct. 23 talk at Santa Rita School in the multipurpose room.

Thiemann has 20 years’ experience as a teacher and consultant specializing in children with special needs who have behavior issues. Coffee and refreshments will be served.

LASD needs to pass parcel tax hike and get more funding from state to keep current educational program

The educational program in the Los Altos School District could be in for some big changes.

According to the district’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Finance, the district needs to pass Measure H, an increase in the parcel tax, and to become a Basic Aid District to receive more funding from the state in order to maintain its current educational program with minimal cuts.

New Montclaire principal looks to establish communication

Town Crier Editorial Intern

For Todd Shimada, becoming principal of Montclaire Elementary School in Los Altos is the pinnacle of a long educational career that has taken him from teacher to an assistant principal.

Los Altos School District supporters take to the streets for parcel tax increase

More than 125 drivers and walkers participated in an Oct. 5 get-out-the-vote precinct walk for the Los Altos School District’s Measure H campaign.

Supporters are seeking a $333 increase in the annual parcel tax to maintain programs threatened by a down economy and a state budget deficit. The increase would raise the annual parcel tax from its current $264 figure to $597. The proposal is on the Nov. 5 ballot.

On Deck: the local sports lineup for Oct. 16-22

Football

Friday

Mountain View High is lacking victories, but not effort

Prep Girls Volleyball Report

Don’t be fooled by the record. Although the Mountain View High girls volleyball team is sitting near the bottom of the SCVAL De Anza Division, coach Gerrie Phillips said her players are giving their all.

Foothill whips West Valley 38-7

The Foothill College football team took the lead on the opening play of last Friday’s game at West Valley and never relinquished.

Ardell Brigg’s 88-yard kickoff return set the tone for the Owls, who went on to win 38-7.

Lu selected as coach of the year

Local coach and Olympic champion Li Lu has been named Coach of the Year by the Northern California Gymnastics Association.

Lu has worked at Gold Star Gymnastics in Mountain View since 1999 as an assistant coach for the girls competitive team.

Sports On The Side

Stanford University women’s soccer player Callie Withers of Los Altos Hills made Soccer America’s Team of the Week for Sept. 16-22 for her play at the Stanford Nike Invitational. The midfielder played a key role in the Cardinal’s 4-0 wins over Oklahoma and Florida. Withers netted her second goal of the season against Florida when she connected on a 30-yard blast. Withers is a 1999 graduate of Gunn High.

Sports social

Youthful Owls take aim at playoffs

Town Crier Intern

Coaching a men’s soccer team filled with freshmen has advantages and disadvantages, according to Vava Marques.

Fear may lead to a scholarship, but is it worth the cost?

Other Voices

The San Jose Mercury News featured a front-page story Sept. 23 on former St. Francis High girls volleyball coach Dave Gambelin.

Lancers looking to redeem themselves

For the St. Francis High girls tennis team, this season is all about redemption. The Lancers are determined to make up for last year’s disappointing finish.

“They don’t talk about it,” head coach Lynn Horiye said, “but I know they’re motivated by that.”

Hapless homecoming

High School Football Report

Cupertino clobbers Los Altos 35-6

Los Altos tennis team moves into tie for first in division

High School Sports Summary

Boys water polo

Jean on the Job

Bully Broad goes to China

This week “Same Game, Different Rules: How to Avoid Being a Bully Broad, Ice Queen or Other Ms. Understood,” came out in two new versions - a paperback which claimed that this is the book that sparked a national debate (Is it OK for intimidators to show vulnerability without giving themselves away?), and the Chinese version of the same book. The title, my name and a few company names are in English, but most of the 200 pages are in beautiful Chinese characters. Do you know what it feels like to have your book turn into so many intricate characters? My name, for example, looks like three little Oriental houses.

Indexes record first gain in seven weeks

Stock Report

Remember when Alan Greenspan was talking about “irrational exuberance” and the stock market? Now, Richard Grasso, the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, has coined a new phrase. He said the market is in an “irrational depression” that won’t turn around overnight.

County assessor’s report shows assessed values declined 2.56 percent

Most of us experienced the recent economic tailspin in Silicon Valley. Now the Santa Clara County Assessor acknowledges the decline had an impact on the assessment roll.

Assessor Lawrence Stone released the 2002-03 annual report last week. It provides a snapshot of the dramatic changes in the assessment roll as of Jan. 1, 2002, the lien date.

Transactions

Los Altos

590 Casita Way - J. & V. Dibernardo to L. Johnson for $1,425,000.00

Coldwell hiring 1,000 new agents

With the tech sector continuing to sputter and layoffs mounting at Bay Area companies, many workers are fleeing to the one sector of the economy that remains strong - residential real estate.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Northern California, among the region’s leading providers of real estate services, is in the process of recruiting 1,000 potential new agents. More than half will be in the Bay Area.

Artists picket ZYT Gallery for lack of payment

The current economic times often create uneasy situations; and when an artist isn’t paid on time, he pickets his gallery.

Such was the case when artist Derek Lynch and several of his friends picketed ZYT Gallery Oct. 3 with colorful and graphic picket signs.

West Bay’s ‘Tosca’ is a tale of tyranny

Despite arguments that contemporary audiences have become too accustomed to violence in media, Puccini’s passionate opera “Tosca” will undoubtedly stand out - regardless of the generation gap - due to its depiction of corruption, torture and death.

“In Tosca we see a man stabbed to death on stage, but what happens offstage, that makes it a little bit difficult for a contemporary audience where you have movies … where violence is almost casual,” said Ken Tigar, stage director for West Bay Opera’s “Tosca,” which concludes this weekend at Palo Alto’s Lucie Stern Theater.

Anniversary

Jim and Norma Marshall of Mountain View celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Sept. 14 at Michael’s at Shoreline. Frank Vanderzwan, minister of the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, officiated at a ceremony reaffirming their vows.

Their daughter and son-in-law Kathy and Bill Nichols of Healdsburg, son and daughter-in-law Tom and Lynn Marshall of San Jose, and son Bob Marshall of Castro Valley hosted the occasion. Over 100 friends and family attended, including Norma’s mother, Doris Rector, 94, of Menlo Park and their two grandchildren.

Weddings

Carrie Peters and John Lorton were married April 20 at St. Simon Church, Los Altos. A reception followed at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club, Burlingame. The bride is the daughter of Bob and Carol Peters of Los Altos. She attended St. Francis High School and graduated from Chico State University. She is employed as a community director with the March of Dimes.

The groom is the son of William Lorton Sr. of San Jose and Lia Lorton of Saratoga. He attended Saratoga High School and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He received a master’s degree in business administration from San Jose State University. He is employed at a startup company in Silicon Valley.

Engagement

Margaret Burt Binkley and David Francis Hulgrave have announced their engagement to be married Aug. 2, 2003, in Palo Alto.

The bride-to-be is the daughter of Edward S. Binkley and Jane Ellen Binkley of Los Altos. She graduated from Los Altos High School and received a bachelor’s degree in nutritional science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Obituaries

Mass was held at Saint William Catholic Church on October 10, 2002. Arrangements were under the direction of The Los Altos Chapel of Spangler Mortuaries.

BARTLETT, Genevieve M., of North Falmouth, passed away in the JML Care Center on Wednesday, October 9, 2002. She was 82.

Seeing is believing

Los Altos senior volunteers assemble Braille materials

There are only six raised dots in a Braille cell pattern, numbered 1 through 6. The arrangement of the dots configures the alphabet. The letters are then raised to form the interactive Braille guide. They start in the upper left corner and read down.

Interesting information for seniors on the Web

Save in a 529 college-savings plan for a grandchild.

T. Rowe Price has a graph on its Web site that calculates whether you are saving enough to pay for college, based on hundreds of possibilities.

Seniors: Getting that flu shot is nothing to sneeze at

Flu shots for members of the Los Altos Senior Center will be offered 12:30 p.m., Oct. 29, at the Hillview Center.

The shots are free for senior center members, but a $5 donation is requested from nonmembers. No reservations will be accepted.

Los Altos retirees flock to SIR groups

Once a month a group of retired men meet for lunch and talk about old times.

Sons in Retirement is organized into 170 local branches, from Fresno to the Oregon border, and includes Mission Trail Branch 35, which has a large contingent from Los Altos and Mountain View.

Poll workers needed for election

You must be a U.S. citizen and a registered voter in Santa Clara County. Poll workers are paid a stipend of $85 to $115 for working Election Day. Bilingual workers who speak English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese and Tagalog are needed.

Hours are approximately 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Training is provided at sites throughout the county. To sign up or for information, call immediately, (408) 299-7655, or visit the Web site: www.sccvote.org.

What questions to ask when looking for quality care of Alzheimer’s patients

Many people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s live safely at home, even though they may need plenty of memory cues like lists and notes. Over time, Alzheimer’s causes memory loss and thinking problems that could make living at home dangerous. For example, Alzheimer’s patients who are in the mid- to late-stages of the disease have been known to leave appliances such as the stove or the coffee pot on, and wander to unsafe places such as a busy intersection or unfamiliar part of town.

When this happens, Alzheimer’s experts at Beverly Healthcare, a provider of eldercare services including Alzheimer’s care, advise that families look for a nursing home with a program or unit designed specifically for people with Alzheimer’s.

Just visiting

Name: Sukhraj Vyas

Family background: Wife, Gita; son, Vikram; and two grandchildren attending Los Altos High School, Vishnu Vyas, 16, and Shri Vyas, 12.

Looking to volunteer? This Web site could find you just the right match

What’s your excuse for not getting involved: Not enough time? No skills or experience you think could help anyone? Nothing nearby?

If you had information on thousands of non-profit agencies looking for volunteers anywhere nationwide, and also were able to choose how much time to spend, the type of cause you want to support, and set your own hours for volunteering. It would be hard to find a reason not to volunteer, wouldn’t it?

Stanford Lively Arts releases performance schedule

Stanford Lively Arts this month opened its 33rd season, running through May 10 in three different venues on the Stanford University campus.

The schedule includes:

Nova Vista Symphony opens its season with a salute to George Gershwin

Two major works by George Gershwin will be flanked by several of the composer’s most popular songs in a concert by the Nova Vista Symphony Orchestra at 2 p.m., Sunday, at Foothill College.

The concert begins the 37th season of the symphony and its second under the direction of Nuvi Mehta.