Turning a corner

Once a train stop - in the heyday of the Valley of Hearts Delight - the Loyola Corners district of Los Altos appears on the brink of some positive change after seeing a decline in its retail base over the past several years.

This historic district, still characterized by friendly neighbors and a cluster of small retail businesses and offices, has had two of its mainstays, the Echo restaurant and Loyola Market, close within the past year. Crosby’s Pet Center also closed its doors last year. The Echo, with its scenic view of Permanente Creek, closed in May after 62 years of operation.

Local bank gains ‘Heritage’ with name change

Town Crier Staff Report

The Heritage Bank of Commerce sign was unveiled Sept. 2 at the Bank of Los Altos location in the Village Court Shopping Center, at the corner of El Camino Real and San Antonio Road.

LAH defendant awaits sentencing on sexual assault charges

Town Crier Staff Report

James Edward George, 69, of Los Altos Hills entered a guilty plea Aug. 24, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, Criminal Division, to four felony counts of sexual abuse and molestation of a minor.

Los Altos city and police back in impasse

The same conflicts between Los Altos police and city leaders that a city-commissioned police audit determined could compromise the department’s ability to deliver law enforcement services in 2000 still exist, according to police, who released a public notice last week asking residents to support a fair labor contract.

The city of Los Altos and the Peace Officers Association, which represents 31 officers, declared an impasse Aug. 20 following a three-month negotiation period. This means a state mediator will step in to prompt an agreement. This is not the first time both sides have declared an impasse. A mediator was called to settle negotiations in 2000. The city last year imposed a contract that police overwhelmingly rejected following an impasse.

Los Altos Hills water hogs should expect to pay huge fines during drought years

Los Altos Hills residents fond of maintaining lush landscapes could be in for a rude awakening.

Over the past few months, board members for the Purissima Hills Water District, which serves two-thirds of Los Altos Hills, have discussed plans to implement in a drought emergency and other measures to deal with the Bay Area’s population increase.

First round of pathways hearings completed

Over the course of three nights, approximately 120 Los Altos Hills residents attended public hearings held by the pathways committee last week to gather input on proposed future paths for the 2004 Master Pathway Update.

Meeting notices were sent to all residents, and 370 maps with spreadsheets explaining proposed trails were mailed to those who live within 300 feet of a proposed future path.

Whole Foods final design approved

Los Altos is one step closer to adding a sixth major grocery store to its inventory. The Los Altos City Council Aug. 24 approved final design plans for Whole Foods Market without any apparent opposition from a single neighbor.

The organic food supermarket is scheduled to open in a 54,125-square-foot building with basement parking at 4800 El Camino Real, adjacent to the See’s Candy property near Showers Drive. The property was the former site of an architectural firm and a furniture store. It has been vacant for several years. A housing project was slated for the property at one time.

First and Main property could lose value under new Los Altos zoning restrictions

The only type of business that may be developed on the city-owned property on First and Main streets in downtown Los Altos is a hotel, under a new zoning law put in place Aug. 24 against the planning commission’s recommendation.

The new law, which the council amended in the Downtown Urban Design Plan, may not only restrict the property’s use, but its value.

Editorial

Movement needed on salon limits
The Los Altos City Council was right at its Aug. 24 meeting not to react to the prospect of yet another beauty salon coming to downtown by passing an emergency moratorium. That said, there are several things that the city and downtown landlords can do to improve the […]

Letters to the Editor

Terrorism on pathways?
Keith H. McFarland

In his letter in the Aug. 25 Town Crier, Carl J. Clement expresses his concern that a pathway could come within 300 feet of his property. He suggests eliminating pathways altogether, and recommends that funds could be better spent on roads
He is apparently unaware that […]

Weekend warriors and the wives who love them

You know who you are. You’re a middle-aged guy, married with a couple of kids. You spend your days, and sometimes your nights, at a computer or in meetings doing whatever it is you do to fund your family’s lifestyle.

Your eating habits are dubious, which explains why you’re getting a tad thick around the middle.

The only food that does not spoil?

By Sam Wein

• The famous author Jack London was born near the corner of Third and Brannan streets in San Francisco.

Obituaries

BARBARA S. GROLLE
Barbara S. Grolle, 78, of Los Altos died peacefully early Sunday, August 29, 2004, at home surrounded by her husband and sons. She had been battling leukemia for several months.
Barbara was born in Pittsburg, PA. Her early education occurred in both Elyria and Toledo, Ohio where her […]

Weddings

Hugh Egan and Eileen Prencke
Eileen Prencke and Hugh Egan were married July 17 at the groom’s home in Los Altos Hills.
The bride is the daughter of Ernesto and Luz Marina Prencke of Barranquilla, Columbia.
She has a master’s degree in engineering from Stanford University.
The groom is the son of […]

Scouting News

New additions to Eagle Scouts
Troop 33 scouts Andrew Eglen, James McDaniel, Jeffrey McDaniel and Elliot Swan are scheduled to become Eagle Scouts during a Court of Honor presentation Sept. 26 at the Los Altos United Methodist Church.
Eglen joined Cub Scout Pack 501 in 1995, when he was 8. His Eagle […]

More than 300 founders show civic pride, join Los Altos Community Foundation

Back in 1991, a group of volunteers formed the Los Altos Community Foundation to provide funds and working space for community-building activities and improve the local quality of life.

Those pioneers set out to build civic pride, foster community spirit and encourage broad citizen involvement. They were called “founders.” After 13 years, the foundation recently announced it has more than 300 founders and is still growing.

Community Briefs

Donor wall for new Town Hall
Los Altos Hills officials are raising funds for construction of a new Town Hall by asking residents to create their own tiles or receive assistance from Petroglyph, the ceramic studio that will glaze and fire each tile, for a donor wall.
Workshops will be Sept. 12 […]

Museum invites women to share stories

The Los Altos History Museum Exhibit Committee, in preparation for the new fall exhibit, “Votes for Women: Unfinished Business,” is seeking stories and photos from local women who would like to share either experiences that changed their lives in some way or memories about when they or their mothers first voted.

Send stories/photos to the Los Altos History Museum, c/o Jane Reed, 51 San Antonio Road, Los Altos 94022, or call 948-9427, ext. 11, and leave a message.

Calendar

Today
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board of Directors, 7:30 p.m., district offices, 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos.
Mountain View Parks and Recreation Commission, 7:30 p.m., 201 S. Rengstorff Ave.
Monday
Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District Board, 7 p.m., district offices, 1299 Bryant Ave.
Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board […]

‘Tally Ho’ set for Saturday

The Woodside-Atherton Auxiliary to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford has scheduled its 54th “Tally Ho” fund-raiser for the hospital 5:30 p.m., Saturday, at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton.

The event will include cocktails, dinner, silent and live auctions and dancing to kick off the Peninsula social season.

‘Rock Back the Clock’ swings back into action Friday at Rancho

“Rock Back the Clock,” the annual 1950s-style benefit for the Festival of Lights Parade, is scheduled 6-10 p.m., Friday, at Rancho Shopping Center.

Providing the musical direction again this year is Rens Boorsma of Soundtrax, who donates his time for this event.

El Camino Hospital benefit tugs at ‘Heartstrings’

Supporters of El Camino Hospital’s Healing Arts Program have scheduled a “Heartstrings” silent and live art auction benefit 2-5 p.m., Sept. 26, at Adobe Creek Lodge on Moody Road in Los Altos Hills.

Owners Susan and Bob Wayman will open their historic lodge and gardens to the public for the event.

Local Red Cross hosting events for preparedness month

In conjunction with September as National Preparedness Month, the Palo Alto Area chapter of the American Red Cross is hosting a variety of events geared toward bringing the preparedness message home to local residents.

The chapter encourages all residents to take the five steps in preparedness: make a plan, build a kit, get trained, volunteer and give blood. Together with the Stanford Blood Center and other partners, the local Red Cross has planned activities throughout the month. They include:

LAH couple hoping to expand work with Earthspeak

RSF-Earthspeak, a reconstructive surgery foundation founded by longtime Los Altos Hills residents Dr. Richard Jobe and his wife Andrea (Andi) Jobe, last week announced plans for their first fund-raising event to benefit a significant expansion of their speech rehabilitation efforts in developing nations around the world.

A dinner and auction are scheduled Oct. 9 at a private home in Los Altos Hills. Doug McConnell, a well-known regional TV personality and host of KRON’s Bay Area Backroads, will host the event. The Jobes will also present a slideshow of one of their recent speech training workshops. Dinner for the event is being provided by MacArthur Park of Palo Alto. Items for the auction are being provided by J. Lohr Winery, Cloudstone Winery and others.

Experts to discuss open space management at Sept. 17 forum

Two experts with the Los Altos-based Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, Cindy Roessler and Kirk Lenington, are scheduled to discuss the district’s resource management and plant conservation efforts, including vegetation mapping, invasive plant control and protection for rare and endangered species,

The discussion is scheduled 7:30 p.m., Sept. 17, in the program room of the Los Altos main library, 13 S. San Antonio Road.

LA foundation helps girls build self-esteem

The Morgan Manor Foundation of Los Altos hosted an innovative day of rebuilding self-esteem and rediscovering both inner and outer beauty Aug. 19 for girls 11 to 18 in Santa Clara County foster and group home care.

The event, “Power in Beauty,” was held at the Stillheart Retreat in Woodside. The girls spent the day discovering the beauty of nature hiking the trails of the forest. In addition, the girls learned the basics of yoga, Pilates, nutrition and the importance of caring for skin. Merchants from Los Altos to Alameda donated products and services to make it a day the girls would never forget.

Newcomers schedule fall kickoff event

Newcomers Club of Los Altos/Los Altos Hills kicks off the fall season with a champagne brunch 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, in the garden of a private home in Los Altos Hills.

Cost is $15 per person.

Record-holding sailor to make MV appearance

The Los Altos-based U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 43, District 11NR, announced last week it will host an evening featuring Hugo Vihlen, the record-holder for sailing the smallest boat across the Atlantic.

The event is set for 7:30 p.m., Sept. 23, at the Microsoft Conference Center at 1065 La Avenida St., Mountain View.

Jolly young St. Nick goes full-day

It was 1 p.m. and St. Nicholas’ first full-day kindergarten class had just come in from the noonday heat after 40 minutes of activity under the direction of their physical education teacher.

They should have been wilting, but they bent to their work seriously, coloring in the balloons on their worksheets, yellow crayons for the oval labeled YELLOW, green crayons for GREEN.

Charter doubles previous offer to LASD

The chairman of Bullis Charter School has proposed renting the Bullis-Purissima School site from Los Altos School District for $300,000 annually, beginning next July.

Craig Jones of Los Altos Hills wrote to the district board of trustees and Superintendent Marge Gratiot Sept. 1 that the charter school is open to “a deal that fits the LASD needs for possible reopening of a public school on the site.” His letter suggested that renting the campus would save the district another $60,000 to $120,000 annually, depending on the number of district students enrolled in the charter school.

LASD students outperform most in state, district score down slightly

Two Los Altos School District schools showed unusual growth on the Academic Performance Index (API) for 2003-2004. Almond Elementary’s API soared 27 points over the previous year’s total, reaching 968 on the 1,000-point state scale. Blach Intermediate School shot up 14 points to 950.

The district as a whole lost two points from 2002-2003, achieving an overall score of 945. The API is based primarily on the California Standards Test and the California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey, key components of the California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program.

Noteworthy

Mary Sexton of Palo Alto, a seventh-grader at Bowman International School, has won the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship for exceptionally gifted middle school students who have demonstrated academic and personal excellence.

Mary will receive a four-year high school scholarship that covers academic fees, including tuition and books.

CHAC interns ready to face school year

Four-day training

prepare interns

Cupertino schools’ API scores increase again

For the second year in a row, all Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) schools receiving an API score for 2003-2004 exceeded the state target of 800. Sixteen schools scored above 900 and one made the highest possible score, 1,000.

For the fifth consecutive year, the CUSD improved districtwide; it received a district API score of 919, 10 points higher than last year.

NASA/Ames FHDA interns display work

Approximately 100 NASA/Ames interns from the Foothill-De Anza Community College District showed their contributions to various research projects through poster displays Aug. 26 at the NASA/Ames Research Center.

Foothill-De Anza interns, who participated in such projects as designing a minimicroscope for a future shuttle mission and troubleshooting software for the Mars Rover mission, offered visual displays of their work during the yearlong internship.

Foothill to open adult class program at Middlefield

The Foothill-De Anza Community College Board of Trustees approved a request for Foothill College to offer fee-based classes at its Middlefield campus beginning this fall. Currently, no fee-based community education classes are offered in the immediate Palo Alto community or at the Middlefield campus.

The program will be titled “Foothill College Community Education at Middlefield Campus.”

They’ve got game

Beyond strong SAT scores, the local high schools have something else in common: strong girls volleyball teams.

Five of the area’s six teams reached the Central Coast Section playoffs last year. St. Francis High won its fourth state title in a row. Los Altos High went as far as the CCS semifinals after reaching the finals the past five seasons. Gunn High advanced to the CCS quarterfinals a year ago, while Mountain View and Homestead highs bowed out in the opening round of the playoffs.

Chamber golfers tee off for challenge and charity

The 15th Annual Los Altos Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament was held Aug. 9 with a full field of 144 golfers playing at the Los Altos Golf & Country Club.

“Perfect weather teamed with generous sponsors, friendly competition and a magnificent golf course made this a great tournament,” said Steve Shepherd who co-chaired the event with Kathy Brown.

Intel profit warning and jobs report confuse investors

Investors were anxiously waiting for the government’s report on the nation’s payrolls last Friday morning. The Labor Department reported 144,000 additional jobs, but the market wasn’t swayed.

The latest reading on unemployment fell to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent in July, but Wall Street expected more than 150,000 jobs.

Bicycle Outfitter purchased by Palo Alto Bicycles

Two longtime San Francisco Bay Area competitors came under single ownership last month when Dick and Marilyn Powell sold The Bicycle Outfitter of Los Altos to Bud and Neal Hoffacker, owners of Palo Alto Bicycles.

The Bicycle Outfitter will continue in the same location and be managed independently of Palo Alto Bicycles under the leadership of Dave and Kathy Prion.

Business

Chef Alton Brown demonstrates how to deep-fry doughnuts using a recipe from his forthcoming cookbook, “I’m Just Here for More Food.” The host of “Good Eats” was recently at Stanford Shopping Center as part of a national mall tour.

Armed with garbage cans, hair dryers, blowtorches and other unorthodox cooking tools, Alton Brown resembles a mad scientist more than an acclaimed chef - but that’s the point. Cooking is all about science, he says.

Big Easy cookout ends summer grilling with a bang

There’s still time this season to breathe new life into the traditional American cookout with flavors from New Orleans. Known as the “Big Easy,” New Orleans has earned a reputation worldwide for serving big Creole flavor with that little something extra, or “lagniappe.”

Adding New Orleans flair to grilled food is easy if you have the right spices. A sprinkle of an authentic, all-purpose blend of Creole spices or marinade is the first step for backyard grilling.

As the W spins

Remember George W. Bush saying, “Would I ever allow a deficit? Only if there was a war, a recession or a national emergency,” during a stop in Chicago on the 2000 campaign trail?

Exactly. That’s because it was said by Al Gore in 1998, not by Bush in 2000. Famously adding “Never did I imagine we’d get the trifecta,” Bush borrowed the phrase in October 2001 when he referred to the fictitious sound bite no fewer than eight times in seven months before he was busted. Here’s the real trifecta: the most aggressive White House public relations team ever assembled, a snoozing press corps and a polarized populace.

‘The Big Year’ a book of a different feather

I am not a birder, though I do enjoy observing the hummingbirds, doves, finches and occasional woodpecker or hawk that visit my yard, so my true pleasure in reading a book about bird watching caught me by surprise.

Journalist Mark Obmascik documents the competitive efforts of three intrepid birders in his book “The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession” (Free Press, 2004). The birders’ goal is to see as many species of birds as possible in North America north of the Mexican Border during the 1998 calendar year.

Island hopping in the Caribbean an ideal sailing adventure

If you’d asked me six months ago to list my favorite vacation adventures, sailing in the Caribbean for a week would not have made the cut. In fact, it’s doubtful that it would have made the top 100 list. I have been known to experience motion sickness in the bathtub, and the thought of being on a boat, in an ocean … well, I tried not to think about it!

But peer pressure can have an interesting effect on an individual, especially when the peer group consists of your wife and six college friends who have planned a sailing adventure in the Caribbean.

Datebook

MUSIC

Pat Ryan’s Celtic Junket. 6-8 p.m., Sept. 24. Harmony Bakery Café, 299 California Ave., Palo Alto.