Back home for Almond and Springer

After spending last school year in the Egan and Covington camp schools, Almond and Springer students were anxious to return to their newly renovated campuses on Monday.

What began with the approval of a $94.7 million bond measure in 1998 has materialized in phase one renovation of Blach, Egan, Covington, Almond and Springer schools. The district has spent $82 million on phase one construction thus far, which meant renovating all permanent structures at each campus. Phase two of the plan, which would require the passage of another bond measure, would involve the replacement of portables at all the schools with permanent structures.

Mtn. View candidate leads gubernatorial poll

California’s next governor could come from Mountain View if an online poll conducted last week is any indication of who voters will elect in October’s recall election. Gubernatorial candidate and Mountain View resident Georgy Russell took the lead with nearly 27 percent in the Recall Sanity poll conducted online Thursday. Green Party candidate Peter Camejo ranked second in the poll with 18 percent of the votes, and Arnold Schwarzenegger came in third with 10 percent of the votes.

The 26-year-old Democrat is one of 135 California residents who threw their names into the governor’s race after voters collected enough signatures to recall Gov. Gray Davis last month.

No developers accept city’s invitation to build hotel

Not a single developer has accepted Los Altos’ invitation to built a hotel on the city-owned land at the corner of First and Main streets, officials confirmed last week.

Los Altos city staff sent out Request for Proposals to eight select hoteliers across the country last month to gauge the interest in building a hotel at the site following severed negotiations with local developer Roxy Rapp.

A Los Altos community icon remembered

Jack Huston’s relentless energy and passion for the Los Altos community were still vigorous before his death on Aug. 15.

Mr. Huston died suddenly of a heart attack, at the age of 77, while alone at his San Jose residence.

MTV’s ‘Made’ in Los Altos

A Los Altos salon and its staff got a taste of fame Monday when a filming crew from an MTV documentary series made them part of an upcoming installment.

Diane Walz, owner of Balisimo Salon on State Street, was surprised when producers from the show “Made” contacted her last week and asked if they could use her salon and team of beauticians to perform a makeover for the show’s latest subject.

LETTERS OF AUGUST 27, 2003

to run again?

City missing golden opportunity

Prior to that, city staff had sent a “request for proposal” (RFP) to property developers for the site, which resulted in several responses, including building a hotel, movie theaters, offices, residential facilities and retail. After lengthy debates and reviews, on a motion by King Lear, the project for a hotel as proposed by developer Roxy Rapp passed 3-2.

In general, the motion called for the city to accept Rapp’s offer to buy the land from the city for $3 million, develop an 85-room boutique hotel and provide the city with a minimum of 75 parking places.

Weddings

Send your wedding, engagement or anniversary announcements to Avinell Johnson at the Los Altos Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022.

Photos are welcome. If you want your photo returned, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. For more information, call 948-9000, ext. 335, or e-mail

OBITUARIES FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 27

It was with great sorrow that on August 14, 2003 Silicon Valley lost one of its dearest community members. Earl was a technological visionary in the computer networking industry; a devoted husband, father, and grandfather; and a benevolent member of the Los Altos United Methodist Church. He was 65.

“Believe and succeed,” Earl once said. “The key to happiness is having dreams, the key to success is making dreams come true.” Earl lived his dream, and then some.

Stanford President Hennessy shares values at St. Nicholas

John L. Hennessy, president of Stanford University, spoke on how his religion and his core values inform his personal and professional life to an overflow audience at St. Nicholas Church in Los Altos last Thursday.

Hennessy succinctly defined his job: It’s about making decisions — difficult ones that can affect hundreds, even thousands; complex ones; those with long-term effects; and those that will disappoint someone. He said that few decisions get to the president level that don’t involve someone getting disappointed, which adds stress and challenge. A new dimension, not experienced in his previous leadership positions, has been the attacks on his personal character, not only on his judgment.

Police to work with schools on traffic

With the start of school this week came more morning traffic as parents shuttled students to school.

This year, with the closure of Bullis-Purissima School in Los Altos Hills, Santa Rita students going to Egan Camp School and Loyola students moving to Blach Camp School, more students will be crossing Foothill Expressway and taking new routes.

County to decide on charter Sept. 3

The Santa Clara County Board of Education expects to grant or deny the Bullis Charter School’s appeal in writing as required by law at its meeting, 5 p.m., Sept. 3, at the Santa Clara County Office of Education, 1290 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose.

This is the first charter school appeal that the county board has heard, according to Bonnie Plummer, assistant superintendent for instructional services at the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

Straight A’s

Sure, the Bay Area Athletics had a tremendous pitching staff and a slew of dangerous hitters. But it took more than that for the local 16-and-under team to win the United States Amateur Baseball Federation World Series.

In what seems like a perfect set up for a cereal commercial, the A’s head coach said breakfast played a key role in his team’s success.

Open houses are big business in Los Altos

Open houses are important business builders for realtors. On any weekend as many as 20 homes in Los Altos and 10 in Los Altos Hills are open for buyers to look over.

Alan Bien, Coldwell Banker realtor, held an open house at 648 Oakridge Drive last Sunday and was busy talking to guest buyers.

An Orange transformation

With its old trees, sidewalks, alleys and standout houses, the University district of Los Altos is more popular than ever. This pedestrian-friendly neighborhood west of downtown was the first to be settled. Some of its oldest homes date back to 1908.

Joe and Patty LoConte bought one of those old homes on Orange Avenue, tore it down to the footprint and built it anew.

Trading places

Those looking to cut vacation costs in a down economy have come up with a new trend in travel - their homes.

Although swapping homes has been going on for decades, expense-minded voyagers are opting for trading places in increasing numbers. The emergence of the Internet has sparked this trend, creating a clearing house for thousands of swappers who have put security and anxiety issues aside for a rent-free vacation.

Spa adds glow to wedding day

A wedding can be a stressful endeavor for both the bride and the groom. Luckily, Destino Spa offers many ways to melt the couple’s troubles away.

The spa’s motto says it all: “A journey to take.” While the spa has an Asian-inspired theme in its d/cor and in its philosophy, it offers a serene getaway right in Palo Alto.