Libraries at a loss

Local library lovers swallowed a bitter pill last week when results from last week’s primary election showed Measure B, which would have continued and increased a parcel tax to fund hours and services, went down to defeat.

The measure, needing a two-thirds majority to pass because supporters sought an $8.34 increase in the tax, garnered 61 percent of the vote countywide, although Los Altos voters carried the measure handily with 80 percent in favor.

Simitian survives Democratic battle for 11th State Senate District

Joe Simitian pulled away from Ted Lempert in their Democratic party battle for the 11th State Senate district nomination in last week’s primary election.

Simitian, currently the 21st District Assemblyman, easily outdistanced Lempert, a former Assemblyman himself, after early returns showed the two battling neck and neck. Simitian of Palo Alto finished with 57.3 percent of the vote to Lempert’s 42.7 percent. Los Altos Hills candidate Toni Casey loses U.S. Senate bid, page 6.

School districts breathe a bit easier at passage of Props 55, 57, 58

Local school officials feel wary relief at the March 2 passage of Propositions 55, 57 and 58.

Los Altos School District’s Randy Kenyon, assistant superintendent for business services, said the district will receive $4.5 million of Proposition 55 school facilities funding. “That amount completes the state’s commitment to us based on all of our Phase 1 projects, including Oak School’s,” he said. Kenyon said the funding “brings the total state contribution to the district’s construction program to approximately $10 million and ensures that we have enough money to complete Oak without having to borrow.”

Peace pole becomes a political hot button

The way members of the Los Altos City Council and Parks, Arts and Recreation Commission are tossing the peace pole proposal back and forth among themselves, you would think they were trying to avoid a political hot-button topic such as gay marriages.

The pole, offered as a gift to the council by the group Los Altos Voices for Peace in December, was back in the council’s collective lap at Tuesday night’s meeting as an agenda item. Members of the parks commission recommended denial of the pole as a gift to the city.

First and Main streets property could go on the market

The city-owned property at First and Main streets may go on the real estate market as part of a deal to bring a hotel downtown. The Los Altos City Council last week asked the city attorney to investigate the legal process for selling the public property. City officials have been negotiating with hotel developer Roxy Rapp to build an 80-plus-room boutique hotel on the 0.78-acre site for the past two years.

A lease agreement and possible joint partnership had been on the table previously, but neither party could agree on the arrangements. The former council tabled the project indefinitely.

Day workers and city officials join to educate the community about solicitation rights

Local day workers and Los Altos city staff are scheduled to come together March 17 to host an informational meeting for the first time since a federal judge ordered the city to change its No Solicitation ordinance.

The meeting, as well as a publicity campaign announcing the revised ordinance, is part of the settlement reached by day laborers and the city of Los Altos in October. 2003. The revised ordinance recognizes the right of day workers to gather on the sidewalk beside El Camino Real.

Hetch Hetchy neighbors prepare for ‘pathway battle’

Neighbors fed up with the city’s response to the proposed Hetch Hetchy pathway plan under review said they planned to ditch any intent to compromise if the council decided Tuesday night to continue working with consultant Glenn Lyles and to use what they consider “flawed” studies for background information for the project. The council was scheduled to make a decision after the Town Crier’s editorial deadline.

The pathway has been a source of contention for neighbors ever since the city unveiled plans to improve a one-third mile stretch of the Hetch Hetchy right-of-way from Los Altos Avenue through Via Del Poso and Mercedes Court to El Camino - opening their neighborhood to what they consider the city’s crime “hot spot.”

Sheriff’s Office faces transition as deputies leave

Half of the seasoned deputies in Santa Clara County’s West Valley Patrol Division that serves Los Altos Hills have retired in the past few years, putting the department in what Capt. John Hirokawa called a transitional period.

“It’s the street level right now that I’m most concerned about,” said Hirokawa, who heads the division. Lightly seasoned officers are taking over the beats in an area of 1,700 square miles, home of the fourth-largest county population in the state, he said.

Giving the thumb to recent actions

Thumbs down: To Santa Clara County residents who voted against Measure B, a parcel tax that would have maintained hours and services at local libraries, including the Los Altos branches. Despite the Los Altos area carrying the measure with 80 percent in favor, the remainder of the county wasn’t so receptive and measure failed to reach the necessary two-thirds majority to pass. This may be opening a can of worms, but the question should be asked: Would Los Altos be better off to join cities such as Mountain View and Sunnyvale, that have their own independent libraries, without being dragged down by the rest of the county?

Thumbs up: Meanwhile, the passage of state propositions 55, 57 and 58 bode well for our local school districts and city governments. Double thumbs-up: No on 56 meant no blank check for the legislature to keep raising taxes.

Underwear or outerwear?

A few years ago at a junior high school orientation, one mother asked about the school’s dress code. The principal deadpanned, “We tell the students that we do not wish to see their underwear.” This drew a huge laugh, because nowadays it isn’t clear why they call it underwear since much of it isn’t under anything.

I’m no prude, but when I was a teenager, I went to great lengths to make sure my underwear was covered up. Tank tops with spaghetti straps were completely out of the question. I even remember using safety pins to attach my bra straps to my sleeveless tops, because exposing any part of a brassiere simply was not done.

LETTERS OF MARCH 10, 2004

Thank goodness that the voters were not fooled by the backers of Proposition 56.

OBITUARIES FOR THE WEEK OF MARCH 10, 2004

was born October 25, 1912 in Los Angeles. He was educated in the Los Angeles school system and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1930 as president and valedictorian of his class. He was also elected to the city’s honorary Ephebian Society.

Bob worked for a short time for the then Southern California Telephone Co. before entering the California Institute of Technology. He graduated in 1934 with a BSEE degree and was elected to Tau Beta Pi, The National Engineering Honor Society. He subsequently served as a Director of the Alumni Association. He was immediately reemployed by the then Pacific Telephone Co. where he worked for over 44 years. He retired in 1977 as a Division Manager and a California registered Industrial Engineer.

Wilma Leonard, set standard for civic duty in early days of Los Altos

Wilma Leonard, a former longtime Los Altos resident who was one of the founders of the Morning Forum lecture series and Foothills Congregational Church, died Feb. 11 at the Forum retirement community in Cupertino. She was 99.

Family and friends described Mrs. Leonard as a warm personality with an insatiable appetite for growth through education. Her son Mark said she was known for her “gentle persuasion” to help her family and community.

Wedding announcements

Send your wedding, engagement or anniversary announcements to Richard Billings 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 bruceb@latc.com.

Troubadour relates songs of Lewis and Clark expedition

Morning Forum members and guests last week were carried on an enchanted musical journey of American history and folklore, gathering facts and trivia from 200 years ago, led by Bill Schustik.

Schustik, dubbed “America’s only living chanteyman,” is a troubadour, which he defined as someone who “gathers stories from one neighborhood and carries them to the next.” He travels with, and plays, an array of musical instruments to accompany songs from the past.

Service group more than making its ‘Quota’

For a while, the local Quota club was clinging for dear life. Los Altos and Mountain View clubs merged within the last 10 years as longtime members struggled to recruit new blood. Member Sandy Perez recalled that club membership was down to 13 when she joined in 1996.

But things are looking up. Thanks to the efforts of a few new energetic members, the Mountain View-Los Altos Quota Club has since doubled in size.

Dance troupe brings Polish ballerinas to area for first time

Leslie Friedman of Mountain View runs what she calls the only professional dance company in the Los Altos-Mountain View area. She’s also the only dancer-choreographer to have built strong connections with dancers in post-Communist Poland.

Continuing a relationship begun in 1992, Friedman and her Lively Foundation have brought two acclaimed ballerinas to perform locally.

Kiwanis volunteers making dolls for traumatized children

More than 100 people, including Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts and members from the Los Altos High School Key Club and local Kiwanis Club gathered at Loyola Elementary School, last month, to make dolls. The handmade dolls are used to comfort children who have survived traumatic experiences or been hospitalized.

Volunteers of all ages cut fabric, stuffed and sewed the dolls together, completing 231 dolls between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.

El Camino YMCA embarks on ‘Race for the Kids’ fund-raising campaign

El Camino YMCA supporters hope to raise $135,000 this month during the Y’s annual fund-raising campaign for outreach programs and financial aid for families. The campaign, with the theme “Race for the Kids,” kicks off today with a short celebration among campaign leaders. The campaign runs through March 31.

“The whole point (of the campaign) is not just to get to $135,000, but to get the Y and its programs sold on the community,” said Los Altos Police Chief Don Johnson, this year’s campaign chairman.

Public packs final hearing of opinions on location for Bullis Charter School

More than 50 people addressed the Los Altos School District board last week during a final public hearing to choose a site for the Bullis Charter School.

So many people were in attendance that the March 1 meeting had to be held in the Almond School multipurpose room instead of the board room on Covington Road.

Pinewood prevails in low-scoring CCS final

What’s the shortest stairway to Central Coast Section basketball heaven? For Pinewood School and its followers, the easy answer is play in Division V as the top seed.

After a three-year absence from a division it bolted from in 2001, top seed Pinewood took home the CCS Division V girls basketball championship trophy with a 31-21 win over second-seeded Sacred Heart Prep last Saturday at West Valley College. It marks the seventh consecutive CCS title captured by the Panthers, with the previous three coming in Division II.

Local ‘Angel Investors’ put clout behind good ideas

An idea is only as good as the capital available for its implementation. The last thing you want to hear when your company has a great idea, and an opportunity to gain market share, is there’s no money to develop it.

International Angel Investors Institute has its roots in Silicon Valley and was founded in 1999 as a non-profit by Los Altos resident Hal Nissley. The organization’s mission statement is “Mentoring about corporate governance and seed finance.”

A taste of Ireland

Each year on St. Patrick’s Day, thousands - if not millions - of Americans sit down to what they think is an authentic, traditional Irish meal.

In fact, corned beef and cabbage - as well as green beer and even the St. Patrick’s Day parade - are more rooted in American culture than in Irish heritage.