Storming to the rescue

Cloudless skies, tame winds and bright sunshine keep the subject of the weather farthest from our minds as we go about our daily business here in Los Altos. But one need only look across the country to the succession of devastating hurricanes hitting the Gulf Coast to appreciate the great weather we too often take for granted.

When Hurricane Ivan touched down last week, packing winds of 130 mph, it marked the first time in more than a century that Florida and the Gulf Coast had been hit by three major storms within four weeks. More than 50 stateside deaths have been attributed to Ivan’s fury, while Hurricane Charley, which touched down Aug. 13, and Hurricane Frances, Sept. 5, were responsible for dozens more fatalities and billions of dollars in damage. Another hurricane, Jeanne, was also brewing off the coast last week.

LAH resident in Atlanta for disaster relief

When Dru Anderson took the four-week Community Emergency Response Team training last fall in Los Altos, she never imagined a year later she’d be flying to Florida to help with hurricane disaster relief.

But that’s what happened. The call for help came Labor Day weekend through the CERT network. A week later the Los Altos Hills resident was heading to a staging center in Atlanta en route to Florida.

LAH council discusses thwarting of preschools at Bullis site

The Los Altos Hills City Council was met by a packed house at its Sept. 16 meeting. Residents - upset about the Los Altos School

District’s proposed 10-month lease of the former Bullis-Purissima School site to three

Sexual assault reported near Cuesta Park

Los Altos police canvassed Cuesta Park with fliers Tuesday looking for a woman who may have seen the two men who allegedly sodomized a teen at knifepoint last week. The two men allegedly approached the 15-year-old boy just moments after he spoke to the woman, police said.

The San Jose teen, on his way to catch a bus home from Cuesta Park, Sept. 13, told police he was sexually attacked by two men who forced him into a trailer.

Parking permit program extended a year despite enforcement woes

Los Altos employees who have dubbed the city’s downtown parking permit program a joke learned last week that the joke is on them for at least another year. The Los Altos City Council voted to keep the trial program in place until next September, when it comes up for review again.

Despite public complaints about the city’s ability to manage and enforce the program, Councilman Curtis Cole and Mayor John Moss supported retaining the program - and perhaps adding stricter regulations over time to prevent motorists from simply moving their vehicles from space to space every two hours to avoid a ticket. Councilman King Lear was absent, Councilman Ron Packard had to recuse himself, and Councilman David Casas voted against the program.

Fee increase for garbage pickup, building permits slated for Los Altos Hills Council vote

The Los Altos Hills City Council is scheduled to vote Oct. 7 on establishing a road impact fee to pay for street repairs and maintenance.

If the council approves the road impact fee, residents would see a 0.63 percent increase in the cost of building permits for projects greater than $10,000 and a $3.04 monthly increase in their garbage bills.

City drops bike path idea, forfeits county grant

The Los Altos City Council decided last week to forfeit a $434,000 county grant rather than move forward with a controversial bike path on a portion of the San Francisco Water District’s Hetch Hetchy easement parallel to El Camino Real that neighbors claimed would infringe on their property rights.

“The city doesn’t have the authority to come in and place a path on this property,” real estate attorney Diane Hanna told the council. “My clients don’t want to sue the city, but what would you do if you were in their shoes?”

LAH council postpones pathways hearings to 2005

In response to a request from the pathways committee for more time to review public input gathered from its last three meetings concerning the 2004 Master Pathway Map, the Los Altos Hills City Council last week postponed the second round of pathways hearings until January 2005.

The public hearings had been scheduled for Sept. 28-30. The first round of hearings were held by the pathways committee at the end of August.

Editorial

The Los Altos City Council had a chance last week to put an end to the city’s wrongheaded fee program for downtown employee parking. Instead, the council made a second flawed decision last week to continue with the program.

We have been against the program all along for several reasons. The program was created based on the premise that downtown parking spaces are at a premium and employees are taking up spaces meant for customers. But there has been no parking problem downtown for the past two or three years. Employees are not taking up spaces meant for customers because, given the amount of business activity here, there are spaces available for both. Also, we are fundamentally opposed to merchants, many of them struggling, paying the city fees so their employees can park here.

Letters to the Editor

Dispute over charter school figures
Nancy Kelem

In “Charter doubles previous offer to LASD (Town Crier, Sept. 8),” Los Altos School District Superintendent Marge Gratiot claims that LASD will save only $150,000 by not teaching the 128 LASD students who attend Bullis Charter School. Since LASD’s budget shows that it spends well over […]

Political anger management

I thought Zell Miller’s head was dangerously close to exploding when he spoke at the Republican National Convention early this month. Bitter and cantankerous, he reminded me of a man who might aim a loaded shotgun at kids who were cutting across his front lawn to get to school.

But the crowd loved him. When Miller accused his own party, the Democrats, of sacrificing national security due to an obsession with bringing down the commander-in-chief, men in the audience cheered like their quarterback had just scored a touchdown. Women applauded and beamed, the way I imagine I would if my husband were ever to admit that yes, he was completely wrong, and that he was very, very sorry indeed.

Thomas Robert Conlon, a devoted teacher, remained active in Los Altos Hills affairs

Thomas Robert Conlon, a 30-year resident of Los Altos Hills, died peacefully of cancer on Sept. 11. He was 71.

The firstborn son of native San Franciscans, “Tom” Conlon grew up an altar boy and on the ballfields of San Francisco’s Portola district.

Obituaries

JAMES LOUIS MUELLER
James Louis Mueller of Los Altos Hills, 74, passed away September 12 at Kaiser Hospital, Redwood City, from acute hepatitis B.
He is survived by his wife Marge, sons TJ (Nancy), and Ed, grandchildren Susan, Grant and Kathryn, and sister Joyce Charbonneau (Jim) of Mariposa, AZ. A brother, Paul, […]

Engagements

Lara Nevin and Martin Potstada
Lara Nevin and Martin Potstada have announced their engagement to be married Sunday in Los Altos.
The bride-to-be is the daughter of Larry and Merrian Nevin of Los Altos. She is a graduate of Westlake High School in Westlake Village and CalPoly. She manages the University Cafe in […]

Noteworthies

Los Altos Boy Scout Troop 37 awarded Matt Weiden the rank of Eagle Scout on Sept. 12. Weiden joins only 2 percent of Scouts to reach the rank of Eagle. The requirements include exhibiting leadership skills, completing community service, doing a special Eagle project and receiving a minimum of 21 merit badges.

For his Eagle project, Weiden planned, organized and oversaw the rebuilding of the tennis backboard at McKenzie Park in Los Altos. The project included removing the old plywood, installing new frame and 4-by-8-foot sheets of plywood, and applying two coats of paint. The project took 147 hours.

CSA: Time for ‘Hometown Heroes’

Community Services Agency (CSA) of Mountain View and Los Altos kicks off Hometown Heroes, its annual community breakfast 7:30-9 a.m., Oct. 15, at the Crowne Plaza Cabana in Palo Alto.

The breakfast honors those who have made an impact by assisting CSA in its mission to serve those in need.

Big honor for ‘Tiny Tots’

Tiny Tots Preschool teachers Myla Santos and Kelly Cavalli obviously enjoy their work. Bay Area Parent named the Los Altos Recreation program a “Family Favorite” under the category of best preschools and day-care centers.The magazine presented a Best of the Best 2003 winner certificate to the city. It now hangs proudly on the wall at the Tiny Tots Preschool located at the San Antonio Club in Los Altos. Tiny Tots Preschool is a social-recreation program offered to children ages 3 and 4, by the Los Altos Recreation Department. For more information, call Donna Legge at 947-2889.

Expert to talk on benefits of fair trade

Doug Dirks, marketing director for Ten Thousand Villages and a proponent of fair trade, will share stories of his work 7:30 p.m., Oct. 18, at Foothills Congregational Church of Los Altos.

Having traveled to most of the 35 countries where Ten Thousand Villages buys products, Dirks knows how fair trade has positively affected the lives of artisans. Ten Thousand Villages is the oldest and largest non-profit fair trade organization in the United States, with sales in excess of $16 million and serving some 60,000 artisans around the world.

Local women candidates usher in museum exhibit

The opening of the “Votes for Women: Unfinished Business” exhibit at the Los Altos History Museum 5-7 p.m., Thursday, will feature a number of women candidates for local offices who are “finishing some of the unfinished business.”

The candidates running for city council offices who will be present at the exhibit are: Colette Cranston and Carol Gottlieb (Los Altos Hills), Kelly Fergusson and Lorie Sinnott (Menlo Park), Patricia Foster (East Palo Alto), Laura A. Macias and Stephanie Schaaf (Mountain View).

CHAC goes ‘Back to Our Future’ with mural

Through the Community Health Awareness Council, local youth have created “Back to Our Future,” a mural that will be displayed at Mountain View City Hall. An opening and small reception for the project completion is scheduled 3:30-6 p.m., Friday, at city hall, 500 Castro St.

The non-profit organization, which provides counseling services to high school-age students, created the “Back to Our Future” mural project “to instill hope for our local youth to offset their concerns regarding the war in Iraq,” according to project coordinator Charlotte Davis. “The mural project was a way to enlist middle school and high school youth to create a visual art expression of a bright future for themselves and their posterity.

Packard Foundation names former Stanford president new trustee

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced last week the appointment of Donald Kennedy, president emeritus of Stanford University and editor of the journal Science, to its board of trustees. Kennedy will begin his term in January 2005.

In making the appointment, Susan Packard Orr, chairwoman of the foundation’s board of trustees, said, “Don’s professional experience in the sciences, conservation and education combined with his personal volunteerism on behalf of children are a terrific match with our foundation’s priorities and history. His leadership and guidance will be an invaluable asset in helping to achieve our program goals.”

Community Briefs

Tech and Society Committee meets
The Technology and Society Committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 28 at the Golden Wok Restaurant, 895 Villa St., Mountain View.
The speaker will be Charles Walton, inventor and entrepreneur, who will describe his involvement in the development of Radio Frequency Identification, the technology behind keyless access […]

Quota Club collects supplies for needy students

Members of Mountain View-Los Altos Quota International had plenty of fun at their annual summer barbecue Aug. 22 at Cuesta Park. But behind the “Sizzlin’ Samba Summer BBQ” theme was a call to bring school supplies to the event to help needy students beginning the school year. Donations were given to the local Community Services Agency for distribution.

“These donations are awesome!” said Laurie Cappiello as she sold raffle tickets beside the growing pile of backpacks, boxes and bags filled with colorful surprises.

Resident named to president’s committee on disabled

President George W. Bush has reappointed Los Altos resident Claudia Coleman to be a member of the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities for the remainder of a two-year term expiring May 11, 2006. The reappointment took place last week at a swearing-in ceremony at Administration for Children and Families (ACF) headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“Every day, the lives of people with intellectual disabilities are enriched by the work of this committee,” said Health and Human Services Secretary, Tommy G. Thompson. “Claudia Coleman is a leader who is helping to strengthen those lives.”

Calendar

Ongoing
Los Altos Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, 97 Hillview Ave.
Today
Los Altos Traffic Commission, 7 p.m., city hall, 1 N. San Antonio Road.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board of Directors, 7:30 p.m., district offices, 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos.
Monday
Los Altos Historical […]

Interested in letters from Iraq

The Town Crier is interested in hearing firsthand from local servicemen and servicewomen involved in the current conflct. Please contact associate editor Linda Taaffe at 948-9000 for more information.

Noticeable improvements to ‘Safe Routes’

Morning and afternoon commutes at several schools are safer and more efficient this year, thanks to improvements to streets and walkways made by the Safe Routes to Schools program and to the sharp eyes of parents who volunteer to see that drop-offs and pickups go smoothly at their children’s schools.

As Loyola Elementary School did last year, Oak Elementary, camping at Blach Intermediate this year, is using curbside valets on busy Covington Road to load and unload children and packs and move cars along. Volunteer coordinator Scott Chan said all Oak students are dispatched within 10 minutes when the traffic flows well.

SAT and AP scores in, certain modes of dress out

Brigitte Sarraf, Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District’s associate superintendent for educational services, told district trustees last week that SAT scores for 2003-2004 showed “no huge variations” from previous years. SAT takers lost eight points in math at LAHS and nine points at MVHS.

“This year is one of the years in which we look at courses and their alignment with state standards,” Sarraf said. “Whenever we do see a little dip, we try to analyze it … and recover.”

Bullis Charter relocation not on LASD agenda

When subcommittees from the Los Altos Hills City Council and the Los Altos School District meet today, the subject will be the district’s prospects for operating a public school on the Bullis-Purissima campus again. Matters concerning Bullis Charter School will not be discussed, despite reports to the contrary in other local newspapers, according to a district source.

A district official, speaking last week on condition of anonymity, said the district’s subcommittee “does not have any intention of discussing charter issues with the Hills.” The official said the district subcommittee plans to discuss only the possibility of someday reopening Bullis as a district school.

Golf tournament held in memory of Rick Bell

A golf tournament in memory of well-loved Los Altos resident Rick Bell will be held Oct. 11 at Los Altos Golf and Country Club, 1560 Country Club Drive.

Organized by Carol Millie, Marge Sentous, Rich Fischer, Mona Armistead, Gene Ashley, Gunilla Follett, John Mason, Laurie Richard, Steve Shepherd, LeAnn Stroy and Rick Williams, the tournament is dedicated to the energy and love of life that Bell personified.

Trophy hunters

Los Altos High proudly displays the two Central Coast Section runnerup trophies it won for boys water polo in 2000 and 2001.

But for some members of this year’s team - like standout Tyler Smith - they are an unpleasant reminder of what the Eagles haven’t won.

Look for interest rate hike and stock scams with a new twist

Alan Greenspan and the Federal Open Market Committee hold all the cards this week. The Federal Reserve Board announced its decision on interest rates yesterday. Stocks, bonds and home loan rates will react to the interest-rate decision.

The market expected the 0.25 percent increase in the federal funds rate, but it will react on Greenspan’s comments. He has held onto his statement that the recent economic weakness is just a “soft patch,” but recent events indicate the patch is getting deeper.

Business celebrates 50 years of accountability

Anyone who patronized Altos Billing, Bookkeeping & Tax Service when it was founded and operated by George and June Knight 50 years ago in downtown Los Altos, still feels at home with Knight & Company Bookkeeping & Tax Services Inc.today.

The tax and bookkeeping service has served the community without interruption since its Sept. 29, 1954, beginnings, and it is still run by the Knight family in the persons of their daughter Kamrin Knight Desmond and son Kirk.

Paradise lost?

Do you ever wonder why the 15,000 dead in France during last summer’s heat wave received so much less attention than the 3,000 dead in the 9-11 catastrophe?

Climate extremes are one of the signs of global warming described by the 1,500 scientists who signed the mostly ignored 1993 “World Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.” In “One with Nineveh” (Shearwater Books, 2004), biologists Paul and Anne Ehrlich effectively convey the warning that humans are on a collision course with nature as a result of overpopulation, overconsumption and the power of the few to override the well-being of the many.

Los Altos Lifestyle Calendar 2005 on sale now

The first-ever community calendar, Los Altos Lifestyles 2005, created by the Los Altos Cultural Association, is now being sold by Los Altos retail stores and organizations. According to Mike Abrams, association board member, the calendar was developed specifically to help local organizations raise funds.

“What’s most significant is that each non-profit gets to keep the entire $9.30 selling price since the Cultural Association is covering the printing and production costs.” said Abrams.

Books Brief

Banned Books Week
The Los Altos main library will celebrate Banned Books Week, Saturday through Oct. 2, with a display of some of the books that have been banned or challenged. The library encourages readers to examine the books and decide for themselves.
“Banned Books: 2004 Resource Book” is available as a library […]

Emigrant Wilderness offers variety of adventure activities

A true outdoor experience is the goal of many wilderness-minded individuals beating the paths around the Bay Area. Unfortunately, the seclusion they intend to achieve is almost nonexistent on the hiking trails nearby. With moderate ambitions, wilderness seekers can attain real seclusion and a true outdoor experience in one of the best-kept secrets in the High Sierras: the Emigrant Wilderness.

While crowds flock to the insanely popular Yosemite National Park, few wander northward to the adjacent Emigrant Wilderness. To hikers, backpackers, horseback riders, mountaineers and especially fishermen, the Emigrant Wilderness represents a paradise of geographical diversity, minus the hordes of people.

Christ Episcopal offers series on building relationships with God through prayer

Beginning Sunday, Christ Episcopal Church invites the Silicon Valley community to join an in-depth fall series of weekly presentations and discussions about building relationships with God through prayer.

For 10 weeks, the church will offer Sunday morning forums 9-10 a.m. and Wednesday evening dinner and study groups 6:15-8:15 p.m., focused on talking and listening to God in our daily lives.

Men’s retreat at Jesuit House set for Friday through Sunday

The 11th annual Los Altos Men’s Retreat is scheduled Friday through Sunday at the Jesuit Retreat House.

The Rev. James Hanley will be the retreat director for “Leading a Sane Life in a Crazy World.” The event is intended to be a weekend of rest and reflection. All interested men are encouraged to attend.

Extraordinary women, 2004, making a mark and making a difference

The sixth annual “Women Making a Mark” awards were presented to two Los Altos area residents, Michele Kirsch and Eleanor Watanabe, included among 19 extraordinary women of Silicon Valley who were recognized for their service to the community Sept. 9.

On-air personality Lissa Kreisler of K-Bay 93.3/94.5, served as master of ceremonies for the luncheon at Cupertino’s Cypress Hotel. Gilbert Sangari, editor/publisher of San Jose Magazine, presented the crystal awards.

Annual business luncheon features newly appointed state secretary

The 14th annual Women in Business Regional Luncheon is scheduled 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Nov. 9, at Four Points Sheraton Hotel, 1250 Lakeside Drive, Sunnyvale.

The Los Altos, Cupertino, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Sunnyvale Chambers of Commerce sponsor the luncheon.

Datebook

MUSIC

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