Hunting the haunted

If you’re going ghost hunting, bring a camera and tape recorder, wear a T-shirt, and don’t forget an open mind.

That’s what staff photographer Joe Hu and I learned Sunday afternoon when we accompanied professional ghost hunter Gloria Young on an investigation of Rengstorff House, a restored 1867 Victorian home in Mountain View that is open to the public and renowned for being haunted.

Anonymous hit piece stirs up tranquil LAH race

With only two weeks before the Nov. 2 election, it appeared the Los Altos Hills council candidates had participated in a race devoid of the 2002 election-season antics that included a bomb threat, public smear campaigns, vandalism and theft. That is until an incendiary mailer lambasting council candidates Colette Cranston and Carol Gottlieb was sent to residents on or around Oct. 16.

The mailer, which bears the masthead of the Los Altos Hills Civic Association, blasts Cranston and Gottlieb for being “anti-property rights,” but carries no author. As of Monday, no one took responsibility for the mailer.

Prediction: Kerry leads Bush in rubber mask sales

Two years ago, Bill Clinton was sitting on the top shelf and Hillary was close by. Last year Spider-Man took Clinton’s place, and today if you want to find Hillary, her rubber mask is in a barrel along with other monster caricatures.

The “face-to-face” action this year is between George W. Bush and John Kerry, and sales of their caricature masks is a source for accurate national statistics on who will win the 2004 presidential election.

Costume Bank stocks full-service Halloween costumes

Visitors to the Costume Bank in downtown Los Altos are greeted with endless racks of costumes, weird masks hung against the wall and scary animal hats staring from the top shelf. They are there all year long, but they seem alive during the Halloween season.

The 3,500 costumes are not for sale like those in Halloween supermarkets. They can only be rented. Proceeds support a 42-unit low-rent apartment complex serving Stanford University Hospital’s families, transplanted during a patient’s long-term medical care. With Stanford becoming a bone marrow destination, the apartments are in constant demand.

Storm leaves Los Altos virtually undamaged

Los Altos endured the season’s first rainstorm last week with relatively few reported problems. Downed trees seemed to have created the most havoc in the area.

Three days of rain with 45 mph winds from Alaska apparently generated enough force to down trees at one school and a Mountain View public park.

LAH candidates disagree over $2 million loan

Council candidates in Los Altos Hills are divided on whether it was a good idea to take out a $2 million loan to help pay for the new town hall expected to cost $4.2 million to construct.

Some candidates say the loan was unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible. Others say the loan was necessary because it serves as a safeguard in case of an emergency and does not restrict future councils in financing municipal projects.

Merchants may bear burden of messy streets downtown

Los Altos businesses that generate the most litter could pay the highest fees to clean up downtown. The city council last month directed staff to draft a plan for an assessment district that would charge business owners a fee for a city crew to pressure-wash downtown sidewalks based on the amount of trash and grime their type of operations are anticipated to generate annually.

At least 50 percent of the business owners included in the proposed assessment district would have to vote for the tax before the city could enforce it.

Editorial

At a recent discussion of state propositions, one participant said this of binding arbitration: If you see it coming, run the other way.

We agree. Some argue outside arbiters are beneficial in solving labor disputes because they have no bias. Sounds great, except under county Measure C on next Tuesday’s ballot, the arbiter’s decision is final. Futhermore, the measure is authored and backed by county employees’ unions. Why? Because such arbiters have, more often than not, sided with the unions. Binding arbitration also puts power in the hands of an outsider and bypasses the Board of Supervisors over which voters have some semblance of control.

Summary of Town Crier Recommendations

For Los Altos Hills Council (3 seats)

Colette Cranston, Jean Mordo, Mike O’Malley

Letters to the Editor

Where has respect gone?
Lorraine E. Guidi

Don’t you wonder where respect has gone and how wonderful it was when it existed? All this anger and hate. I grew up taught to respect those over me, starting right with mother and father. To respect everyone doesn’t mean you have to like them, but […]

Are you talking to me?

I never seek out impressive talkers - they’re a dime a dozen, and I meet them all the time. I prowl around for engaged, intelligent listeners. They are uncommon, exceedingly hard to find; and when I converse with a good listener, the world feels like it’s just become a better place. The art of conversation relies heavily on the ability to listen; in sports terminology, it’s like saying your best offense is a great defense. So, maybe you have a million facts at your fingertips, or can regale me with story after story about the intricacies of your precious life, but if my only real function is to serve as your private audience, I know that true communication is more or less a long shot.

Former presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan relied on active listening throughout their political lives, and both men are legendary for their ability to connect with an audience. Bill Clinton said that the most important thing in debate was to understand the question behind the question - to know that the surface query might be about foreign policy or economics, but the real issue to address was the fear or hope underneath it.

Volcano photographer survives trek to now-active Mount St. Helens

When news sprang in late September that Mount St. Helens was active again, landscape photographer and volcano enthusiast Mathias Van Hesemans was on the move.

Van Hesemans spent 11 days earlier this month at the volatile Washington volcano, chronicling its recent activity with hundreds of photos and video footage taken from a helicopter. Mount St. Helens’ historic, titanic 1980 eruption killed 57 people and blanketed hundreds of square miles in thick black ash.

American foreign policy failing democracy, Packer tells Los Altos Morning Forum

“The war on terrorism is a misnomer,” said George Packer, an award-winning staff writer for The New Yorker, when he spoke to the Oct. 19 Los Altos Morning Forum audience. “It is actually a war on radical Islam, but we don’t want to say we are at war with a religion.” Although the United States is the only country that can lead the worldwide struggle between democracy and Islamic militants, there has been no serious national debate on the meaning of Sept.11, the appropriate response to terror, or a strategy to engage Islamic nations in building democratic societies, he said.

Packer noted that in the past, great conflicts - such as World War II - were followed by the founding of institutions to foster our goals for democracy: the Marshall Plan, the United Nations, NATO and the World Bank.

IAEA Director-General ElBaradei to speak on preventing nuclear weapons’ spread

Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is scheduled to deliver the annual Drell Lecture 4 p.m., Nov. 4, in Stanford University’s Kresge Auditorium. His topic is “Nuclear Nonproliferation and ARms Control: The Road Ahed.” As head of the IAEA, ElBaradei oversees international inspections enforcing provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and related arms control agreements. The Drell Lecture, presented by the Center for International Security and Cooperation, is free and open to the public.

Before assuming the IAEA’s top job Dec. 1, 1997, ElBaradei held a number of high-level policy positions, including that of IAEA legal adviser. A diplomat and scholar, ElBaradei is familiar with the work of international organizations, particularly in the fields of international peace, security and law.

Community Calendar

Today

Los Altos Traffic Commission, 7 p.m., city hall, 1 N. San Antonio Road.

Community

Ira Ruskin and Steve Poizner, candidates for State Assembly, engaged in a debate Oct. 19 at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills. More than 200 attended the debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Poizner noted that he has knocked on 11,000 doors to promote his candidacy. His priorities are to return local control to schools, bring jobs back to Silicon Valley and outlaw gerrymandering.

Gala raises $80,000 for Cupertino school district

ROARING ‘20S COME ALIVE! The culmination of the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation’s 20th anniversary was celebrated Oct. 2.

The multi-activity event, the Roaring ’20s Gala, was held at Cupertino’s Cypress Hotel, with a sit-down catered dinner by the newly opened Park Place Restaurant in the gardens of Cali Mill Plaza. The lively event raised $80,000 toward music, art and information technology programs at all 24 schools in the Cupertino Union School District. Approximately 700 Los Altos students attend schools in the district.

Community

Wildcat show at Foothill
Leopards Etc. will present a show of wildcats, live on stage, 2-3 p.m., Nov. 14, at Foothill College, Room 5015, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.
The show will feature five wildcats, along with fascinating facts about their life in the wild. Learn about work being done by the […]

Stem cell science discussed at Los Altos forum

Sunday night’s Los Altos forum on stem cell research, the focus of the controversial Proposition 71 on the Nov. 2 ballot, was less a debate and more a discussion of a science with amazing promise but also potential problems.

The event, the second in a two-part series of stem cell talks, featured Dr. Daniel Kraft, a stem cell biologist at Stanford Medical Center, and Dr. J. Joseph Predergast, medical director of Endocrine Therapeutics Inc., a clinic primarily for people with diabetes.

Montessori breaks Bullis lease, school district considers litigation

Montessori School of Los Altos will not move into rented classrooms at Bullis-Purissima Elementary School but remain at the YWCA in Palo Alto for the academic year, its director informed school parents last week. Trustees of the lessor, Los Altos School District, discussed possible litigation against Montessori in closed session Oct. 18.

Hannelore Engelman, signed a 10-month lease Sept. 14. At press time, Engelman had not returned phone calls or replied to e-mail from the Town Crier as to why she withdrew from the contract.

Community college district considering purchase of shopping center

Foothill-De Anza Community College District is growing annually, and it is projected that in five years De Anza College will need more space. By coincidence, The Oaks Center, across from the college, is for sale for $21.75 million. The college is considering purchasing the shopping center.

The issue has been discussed at the last two board meetings, and a meeting was scheduled Oct. 18 to determine what action to take, including a possible letter of intent.

Noteworthies

Ross Boberg and Tracy Chou of Los Altos Hills; and Edward Divita III, Sarah Fernquest, Elanor Gilham, David Krueger, Christina Nguyen, Ramya Parthasarathy, Dante Popalisky, Kimberly Tran and Kaitlin Solera of Los Altos are among the 15 St. Francis High School students who have been named National Merit Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

The Los Altos High School Wind Ensemble returned from England this summer with a silver award for its performance in the first London International Wind Band Festival, which organizers plan as an annual event.

Schools Briefs

Egan track ready soon, Oak work on schedule
The track at Egan Junior High School should be ready for use by Nov. 15. A 6-foot-high temporary fence will protect the infield while grass grows back.
Although some of the extra time built into the Oak Elementary renovation schedule has been lost, district officials […]

Safeway donates $5,000 to El Cajon Project

Safeway in Los Altos revitalized the El Cajon Project last Thursday when it donated $5,000 to the non-profit program.

In operation since 1993, El Cajon provides an opportunity for at-risk high school students who struggle with the traditional curriculum to gain hands-on culinary experience. The program arranges for interested students to work in professional kitchens two hours a day, four days a week, at participating restaurants.

Lancers run over Padres - again

The St. Francis High football team on Saturday continued its dominance of Serra, defeating the host Padres for the 33rd consecutive time.

The Lancers prevailed 21-7 in a key West Catholic Athletic League game. The win put St. Francis at 3-1 in league; Serra fell to 2-1.

Presidential uncertainty keeps stock market depressed

If you wonder who took the bigger battering last week, the New York Yankees or the Dow industrials, it appears to have been the Dow - and its battering is likely to continue.

Oil prices are pushing the market down and casting doubt on fourth-quarter earnings. Oil prices are going to bite the consumer sooner or later. Combine that with queasy fundamentals in big name stocks (Microsoft and Coca-Cola last week) and you have few places to hide if you are investing in the market.

Downtown charity fund raising weekend Nov. 13 and 14

Los Altos business owners would like to do something beneficial for the charity of your choice. More than 45 downtown businesses will offer a percentage of their profits to more than 15 charities taking part in the promotion Nov. 13 and 14.

It’s an idea that has become successful because the buyer gets a donation wish, the business gains a sale, the charity gets an unexpected stipend, and the city gets a penny from the sales tax. Everybody wins.

Differing views on John Kerry book ‘Unfit For Command’

Because I am a veteran with many years of military duty in Pacific waters, I was given the book “Unfit for Command” (Regnery Publishing, 2004) to review. The authors, John E. O’Neill and Jerome R. Corsi, are both veterans of the Vietnam War and served in the swift boat operations.

The book, currently No. 4 on the New York Times bestseller list, is thoroughly researched and chronologically reported and lists copious footnotes, but during the election season you have to conclude that the book is either a pack of lies or a justified charge of false heroics by a man who misrepresented the facts to promote himself.

Books

Freedom of speech is one of the cornerstones of democracy - one that asks much of the citizen listener. Speaking at Stanford University on Sept. 22, Harper’s Magazine Editor Lewis Lapham said, “To perform the duty of a citizen is work.” It’s work separating fact from hearsay in public discourse; it takes further work to create meaningful context.

The World Wide Web makes it easier than ever to check and cross-check what is being said. Take a recent example: the book “Unfit for Command” (Regnery Publishing, 2004) by John E. O’Neill and Jerome R. Corsi, Vietnam-era Swift Boat veterans, who accuse John Kerry of lying about his Vietnam record.

Trip to Croatia a family odyssey filled with discovery

In September, I accompanied my parents and older sister on a monthlong Elderhostel trip to Croatia. This trip held special meaning because it was a trip to the island of Korcula, the birthplace of my father’s parents, and his first time to see it.

My dad, who turns 81 soon, spoke of his Dalmatian heritage with mixed feelings. He has family there, but hasn’t kept in touch with them; and he was heartsick about the politics and the Serbian/Croatian war.

Monsters and mystery

We asked for it. And you responded with another flurry of scary and haunting creations in

accordance with the Halloween season. What follows are four of the best entries from this year’s

The Strange, Sad, Disappearance of Milton Barako

Have you heard about the old house on Milton’s Hill? It is old and creepy, with cobwebs everywhere, and has chipped paint. Legend has it that a ghost’s wail can be heard there, and if you listen carefully, you can hear wind that sounds like witches’ cackling.

Now our story takes place in a little town below Milton’s Hill. This town’s name is Worad Town. In the town, there was an 11-year-old named Milton Barako. He was very inquisitive and got into all sorts of mischief. One day while digging in the dirt, he found an ancient tablet. The tablet said:

A monster-y story

Once there was a monster. He was big, long, fiery red, with 106 green evil eyes.

He went to a moldy refrigerator, opened it, took out some eyeballs and some yucky vampire’s blood and set them on a table. He put the eyeballs in the blood. For a while, the monster was quiet while the blood turned green. Abruptly, he shouted “Eeeooga zippaty do ga ga ga ok ok!” The eyeballs fizzled franticly and blew up. For a second, the whole world looked like glop. Then a squeak was heard. The monster opened the door. A glop monster was there. “Oh, my old friend Bob,” the monster said. “Come in.”

The disappearing fashion

On a beautiful Thursday morning in Los Altos, Jenny was waking up and getting ready to go to work. She got out of bed, took a quick shower, got dressed, ate a quick breakfast, and was on her way to work.

She parked in the same spot that she normally parks in the back of the store. When she got inside the store, she said a brief hello to her fellow co-workers, clocked in and went to work. “Jenny, I need you to put the new clothes on the mannequin in the window, please,” said Jenny’s boss. Jenny got the clothes and started to work. She put the new shirt and pants on the mannequin and put it back in the window, then proceeded with her regular duties. Time went by quickly and it was time to close. They turned off all the inside lights and did a quick sweep, locked the door, clocked out and went home. The next day, Jenny went to work the same time she always does, late. But this time, one of her co-workers wasn’t there today.

I will never forget how brave you were, Persheca

The trees were turning red and brown when I came home from school that day. I had a pile of homework that my teacher, Mrs. Devil, had given me. I walked up the stairs to my room.

I dug in my homework and found a small coin. It looked old and mossy. I picked it up and as soon as I did a voice spoke, “Sabrina. Age eleven. Murder, ha, ha, ha”. This voice was cold and strong {it made me shiver.} But I was very fascinated with the coin. I could just read the words “Svorshever Cave of Death”.

R.I.P.

The answer to two plus four was obvious, but why I found a dead woman in my house was not. I remember that freezing cold October night when I couldn’t figure out what 32 squared times X was, when I heard a scream, a scream that made my blood run cold. Paralyzed with fear, I slowly got up and shut all the rattling doors and windows. Outside the trees were staring at me while I closed the blinds. Ensured that I was safe, I went diligently back to my homework.

A few minutes later, I heard that same, spine-chilling scream that raised the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. Only this time, it was different, closer, coming from my basement. My mind was telling me something, to go loook, but I was too terrified to move. Finally, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a peek.

One with nature

Tom and Karen Smith enjoy living in a home that overlooks nature. From the back of their house they look down on Hidden Villa properties, Moody Canyon and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District property.

“Coming from Texas, you can’t begin to appreciate this fantastic view of the mountains,” Karen said. “When the carpet of fog rolls in and hangs in space over the mountains, it’s an unbelievable sight.”

St. Francis schedules annual home tour in Los Gatos, Monte Sereno

The Women’s Club of St. Francis High School has scheduled its 16th annual holiday home tour, “Christmas at Our House, 2004,” in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno Dec. 2-4. The twilight tour and gala preview party begins at 5 p.m., Dec. 2. Homes will be open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dec. 3 and 4.

More than 500 parents, students and alumni join to produce Christmas at Our House. Last year more than 2,000 people toured the festively decorated homes, contributing $120,000. This year’s proceeds are designated for the campaign for St. Francis High School.

What Thanksgiving means for gardens

I was horrified to realize that Canadian Thanksgiving, celebrated the second Monday in October, had passed me by, completely unnoticed. Since I’m not Canadian by any stretch of the imagination, it must seem strange for me to be upset.

But for me, the day is my personal “the-holidays-are-coming!” panic button. I am given a week of nervous breakdowns and mental preparation (I have how many shopping days left?) before I need to have my act together. It means my sewing needles and crochet hooks work up a frenzy. It means searching for new pumpkin soup recipes and stockpiling cookie ingredients. It means one month before total insanity.

Compost simplified

Compost is garden soil made by decomposing things that used to be alive. Plants love it. If you toss certain kinds of garbage into a pile or bin, you will have a batch of excellent soil amendment six months later. Now is a good time to start composting for spring gardening; like other good things in life, compost takes time to develop.

What is the easiest way to start a compost pile? Designate a space in your yard to be the compost pile, about 3-feet wide. Then add weeds, straw, leaves, dirt, water and kitchen scraps. That is all you have to do. If children or animals are likely to get into your compost, enclose the pile in a cylinder of stiff wire mesh fence, or a wire mesh compost bin such as the one available at marthastewart.com.

Consider staging for your home when moving

When you move into a new home, wouldn’t you like to have someone else place the furniture and arrange things for you? Or, maybe give a new look to your existing furnishings and accessories?

Working with clients from San Francisco to San Jose, Julieann Powers does just that for her clients with ciao bella Interiors - “hello beautiful” in Italian.

Datebook

THEATER

“That’s All Folks.” Combines 11 folk tales with humor and from a contemporary point of view. Los Altos Youth Theatre. 7 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Nov. 5; 2 p.m., Sunday, and Nov. 6. Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave. $8-$10. 947-2796.

Obituary Notices

PHILIPPA “POPSY” BUTLER HENDERSON
Philippa “Popsy” Butler Henderson, daughter of General Frederick and Phillipi Harding Butler of San Francisco, has died at the age of 69. She passed away peacefully on October 5, 2004 with her family at her side at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose after a long illness.
She was a resident […]