Westwind Barn thrives as a vibrant legacy

For years, residents of Los Altos Hills have declared the rural setting “western living at its best.” The area has not only been promoted for its sprawling ranch-style homes, verdant rolling hills and backyard stables, but has also become famous for its legacy of horsemanship.

Tucked in the heart of the Hills, Westwind Barn carries on the tradition that has helped make the city a much sought-after location. The barn’s secluded, pastoral location abutting the Santa Cruz Mountains is a stomping ground for riders and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

Los Altos API test scores remain strong

Despite the cloudy news statewide that student performance gains were leveling off as reflected in the latest Academic Performance Index scores released, Los Altos elementary schools continued with mostly sunny results.

The index, introduced in 1999 to measure school reform, ranks schools between 200 and 1,000. State officials want schools to score at least 800.

Election results to be available on Town Crier Web site, phone line

Tuesday’s election results for local races were unavailable at the Town Crier’s press deadline. Results for the Los Altos Hills City Council, Purissima Hills Water District, state Assembly District 21 and state Senate District 11 races will be posted at www.latc.com and recorded on the Town Crier’s feedback line at 947-9457 as they become available. A full report is scheduled to appear in the Nov. 10 issue of the Town Crier.

The race between Democrat Ira Ruskin and Republican Steve Poizner for state Assembly was expected to be close. Many considered the battle for outgoing Assemblyman Joe Simitian’s seat the most heated local race during this election season. District 21, which includes Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, is about 60-40, Democrats to Republicans.

Intruder tries to assault teen as she sleeps in her LA home

Halloween eve unfolded like a scene from a horror movie in one typically quiet Los Altos neighborhood last week when an intruder sneaked into a home and crept into a girl’s bedroom preparing to attack until she awoke and scared him away.

Police said an unknown man entered a home near Almond School through an unlocked door at about 3:30 a.m., Oct. 30, as the girl and her parents slept. Police would not specify the girl’s age, but said she was between 15 and 18 years old.

Fire captain hospitalized en route to 911 call

A fire captain en route to administer emergency aid to an injured bicyclist ended up in the hospital after the fire engine in which he was riding hit a telephone pole on San Antonio Road Monday morning.

Los Altos police said Engine No. 15 from the Santa Clara County Fire District’s Almond Station in Los Altos was responding to an emergency call on El Camino Real and Jordan Avenue carrying two firefighters and a paramedic at 7:30 a.m. The engine hit the pole, which had a traffic signal mounted on it, at the San Antonio-Portola Avenue intersection near Egan Junior High School to minimize a collision with a car that failed to yield to the emergency vehicle.

LA city council may finalize Rosita pool plans at month-end

Plans to build a pool complex at Los Altos’ Rosita Park could sink or swim at the end of this month. The Los Altos City Council is tentatively scheduled to review the project’s final Environmental Impact Report at a public hearing as early as Nov. 30.

If the council finds that the report sufficiently evaluates potential environmental problems raised by the public in the draft EIR, the report will be certified, enabling the council to decide whether to move forward on the project; reject a pool at the site; or modify plans.

Winbigler structure slated for demolition

The unfinished structure on the 7-acre Winbigler property that has sat untouched for more than two years as a result of legal issues with the former owners was scheduled to be demolished as early as this week, weather permitting.

Pinewood School, the new owner of the Los Altos Hills property, obtained a demolition permit Oct. 27 to remove the structure built by former owners Maria Ligeti and Gordon Campbell before the city halted the project because of alleged code violations.

Letters to the Editor

There’s a ban on leaf blowers?
Bill Prescott

In re the Leaf Blower Ban (10/20 LATC, p. 4), there was one?
Must be some kind of joke. I can stick my head out the door almost any day of the week, at any hour of the day, and surely one of the houses […]

A profile in courage

In l999 I met New Haven author and icon, Virginia Marangell, who had just republished “Gianna Mia,” a novel about Italian emigrants set in the historic Wooster Square area of New Haven, Conn. I had just self-published my “Chicken Tonight-Feathers Tomorrow” electronically.

In a serendipitous twist of fate, Virginia’s Los Altos Hills nephew, Robert Marangell, had shared a copy of his aunt’s book with our mutual friend Cathie Perga. Cathie had just finished “Chicken Tonight” and noted striking similarities between Virginia’s book and mine. “You should know each other,” she urged. I traded books with Virginia, and we became pen pals.

My personal war with squirrels

Wild life runs all over my property. The deer eat my rosebushes, raccoons pull up azaleas when I fertilize them with fish oil and the foxes take care of the wild rabbits. That’s nature, but I’m at war with squirrels and with winter coming I want to feed the birds.

Squirrels may be God’s creatures, but they are not pious. They do not love their neighbors and they don’t even share with each other. They are everywhere. There is a squirrel on every tree and one’s going to make a fine Daniel Boone hat for me.

Obituary Notices

RICHARD “DICK” CLAYTON
Long time Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills resident Richard “Dick” Clayton, 86, passed away at his home on October 8, 2004 of congestive heart failure after a 3-month illness.
Born in Minneapolis, MN on April 13, 1918, he lived in St. Paul throughout his childhood, and attended the […]

Weddings & Engagements

Anne Lackmann and Scott Erik Fernqvist
Anne Lackmann and Scott Erik Fernqvist have announced their engagement to be married in May.
The bride-to-be is the daughter of Rita and Johannes Lackmann of Paderborn, Germany. She received a master’s degree in economics from Christian-Albrechts University in Kiel, Germany. She is employed at the United […]

Service News

Lt. Cmdr. Malachy D. Sandie
received a master’s of arts degree in national security and strategic studies from the College of Naval Command and Staff at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. The son of William G. and Celine Sandie of Los Altos, he graduated from St. Francis High School in 1986 […]

Veterans Day concert features ‘Evening with Sousa’ at Eagle Theater

Town Crier Staff Report

The Los Altos High School will present a concert commemorating Veterans Day, 8 p.m., Nov. 11, at the high school’s Eagle Theater.

City seeks input with traffic management survey

The Los Altos Traffic Commission plans to amend the city’s Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan (NTMP).

The commission is working with city staff to survey residents and collect answers that will be used to change and improve the existing traffic plan. The plan and the survey are discussion items for the city council’s Nov. 9 agenda.

The questionnaire

Name (optional): ______________________ Street (optional): ___________________

1. Have you participated in an NTMP effort? _____ Yes _____ No

Los Altos native to compete on national TV comedy show

Los Altos native Andy Goldblatt has gone Hollywood, currently making a name for herself in the challenging realm of improvisational comedy.

The 1998 Gunn High School graduate has just appeared on the PAX TV channel’s new improv show, “World Cup Comedy.” The weekly one-hour series, with Kelsey Grammer from “Frasier” as executive producer, brings the hysterical frenzy of improv competitions together with “smoke and mirror” effects of today’s television.

Los Altos artist helps gallery celebrate 10 years

Los Altos artist Francine Markoe will usher in Nature Gallery’s 10th anniversary this weekend with an exhibit of her rock paintings. A reception for the artist is scheduled 6-9 p.m., Friday, at the gallery, located in Palo Alto’s Town & Country Village.

Markoe has developed a style of painting that utilizes materials on canvas to emphasize the natural dimensions of the environment - desert, mountains, sky and ocean. She creates paintings that are acrylic and mixed media, including the use of pebbles and stones on canvas, and are somewhat heavily textured with the forces of nature in evidence. She calls them “abstract landscapes.”

First radio station, cactus farm

The Mountain View area, which included Los Altos at the time, had 22 wineries in 1875.

• Curtis Dwight Wilbur lived his last years in Los Altos, dying in 1954. His prominent career included serving as secretary of the Navy under President Coolidge after the Teapot Dome scandal. He also served as the chief justice of the California Supreme Court.

Calendar

Today
Mountain View Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., city hall, 500 Castro St.
Thursday
Los Altos Planning Commission, 7 p.m., city hall, 1 N. San Antonio Road.
Los Altos Hills City Council, 6 p.m., town hall, 25890 Fremont Road.
Tuesday
Los Altos City Council, 7 p.m., city hall, 1 N. San Antonio […]

Pet of the Week

Ralphie is a 6-year-old neutered male cattle dog available for adoption at Palo Alto Animal Services. He has been at the shelter awaiting a home since July. Ralphie is in need of an experienced dog home that can meet his activity level needs. Ralphie also needs a home where there are no other pets. To meet and possibly adopt Ralphie, come to Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road, or call 496-5971.

Community Briefs

Craft fair set for this weekend
The Los Altos Art Club, the Los Altos Senior Center and the Los Altos Recreation Department have scheduled their annual Arts and Craft Fair 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, at the Los Altos Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave.
The fair, featuring original fine […]

LAVA Spooktacular on Second Street

The annual Halloween Spooktacular, sponsored by the Los Altos Village Association, was held Friday on Second Street between State and Main streets. The event featured a variety of activities, including window painting, a parade and trick-or-treating among downtown businesses.

Left, pirate girl Trinity Kessler, 3, and puppy Jasmine Scandlis, 2, play with a balloon on Second Street during the event. Middle, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Ben Pribe, 5, and Killer Whale Corbin Jee, 5, pet a rabbit. Egan Junior High School orchestra member Jasper Cooke, 12, plays the violin during the band’s rendition of the “Harry Potter” theme song.

‘Fahrenheit 9/11′ screening at LAHS canceled, protocol lapse cited

The explosive, divisive world that is modern politics sneaked up on Los Altos High School officials last week when they canceled an unexpected scheduling of Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11″ at Eagle Theater.

The anti-George W. Bush movie and its R rating concerned officials, along with running the film with its controversial political stance a week before the election. But officials said the cancellation was more the result of a violation of school protocol for running such films.

Rambus, Foothill’s Krause Center honor technology-using teachers

Los Altos based Rambus Inc. and the Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills teamed up to recognize the achievements of local educators who have demonstrated innovation by integrating technology in Silicon Valley K-12 classrooms. Rambus and the KCI honored these teachers at the presentation of the 2004 Rambus/KCI Innovation Award Oct. 29 at the KCI.

“We are proud to partner with Rambus, one of Silicon Valley’s leading technology companies, in honoring local teachers who use technology to improve their classrooms,” said KCI Executive Director Gay Krause. Rambus is an international leader in providing advanced chip interface products and services worldwide. Smart Valley established the award five years ago in conjunction with the launch of the Foothill College Learning In New Media Classrooms (LINC), a program that continues to offer short, affordable technology training designed for the specific needs of K-12 educators.

See you in 2090

Sixth-grader Zachary Blumenstein, also known as World Series champion Johnny Damon of the Boston Red Sox, joins the Halloween parade at Springer Elementary School.

Schools Briefs

Homestead High plans 10-year reunion
Homestead High School alumni have scheduled their 10-year reunion 7-11 p.m., Nov. 27, at Tied House, 945 Villa St., Mountain View. Cost is $40 per person. To register, logon to www.homestead94reunion.com.
History essay contest entries invited
The California Pioneers of Santa Clara County invite entries […]

High school transfer policies may change

Under a policy called “senior privilege,” students who start their senior year in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District are allowed to finish the academic year in the same school, even if they move out of the district. The district board at its Oct. 25 meeting began considering the possibility of expanding the policy to include students who complete their junior year then move during the summer.

At the next meeting, Nov. 25, the high school board will have the second reading of Revised Board Policy 5117, Interdistrict Attendance, which would allow students who complete 165 credits with good behavior, good grades and good attendance to attend high school within the district for their senior year.

Egan students learn the value of voting

Last Thursday, five days before the national election, millions of students in the United States held a student/parent mock election. Locally, Egan Junior High School conducted an election in the seventh- and eighth-grade history and civics classes.

The tallies from the combined classes gave John Kerry 325 votes to George Bush’s 120.

Commission nearly doubles its award to Foothill College

The Foothill College Commission did it again - they increased their donation to Foothill College, as they manage to do each year. This year’s check for $75,000 is 1.9 times as much as last year’s.

The commission hosted a reception last week to announce the $75,000 contribution and to honor the different departments slated to receive a portion of the funds.

Noteworthy

Lynsey Barkoff of Los Altos Hills was named to the dean’s list for outstanding academic achievement in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies during the spring semester at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California.

Local schools observe Red Ribbon Week

Amid all the colorful Halloween celebrations, students and teachers in some Los Altos schools still found time to observe Red Ribbon Week, scheduled this year nationally Oct. 23-31.

The challenge for teachers and school principals has been coming up with something new and different each year to keep the students hooked into the event’s anti-drug messages.

National Merit program honors 31 LAHS seniors

Thirty-one Los Altos High School seniors have been selected as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.

Eleanor Birrell, Stephanie Fan, Morgan Freret, Bryce Hoffman, Jennifer Hsiaw, Silva Kanerva, Kenneth Lee, Wei Wei Liu, Peter Moore, Alan Richardson, Scott Seyfarth, Amy Tong and Sandra Voss have all qualified as semifinalists. Finalists will be named this spring.

Going, going …

Last Friday’s stunning 17-12 loss at Fremont is further proof that the concept of the 24-hour rule is lost on the Los Altos High football team.

The unwritten rule says a football team has only one day to dwell on a loss before focusing on the next game; the Eagles still can’t seem to forget their Oct. 16 loss to rival Mountain View.

President has limited control over economy

The big event was yesterday, so can we now all lighten up? The partisan feelings we withheld have split families, shattered friendships and made us wonder about our future.

The news for investors, according to analysts, is that regardless of the election outcome - which may take weeks to be announced - there’s likely to be a gridlock in Washington.

Business

Justin Appler, a Los Altos resident and senior at Mountain View High School, offers computer service and support with a preference to help seniors operate their computers.

“Two years ago my grandmother came to visit, and she wanted to know how to use her e-mail,” Appler said. “She lives in Illinois and couldn’t get hers going. All she needed was tutoring.”

High performance on a small budget

In the din of advertisements promoting 500-horsepower supercars with prices in the six-digit range, we sometimes miss the quiet revolution in low-budget cars that has been going on for the past five years.

No longer does the recent graduate in his or her first job have to settle for an underpowered little subcompact with barely enough power to get out of its own way.

Tips for conserving gasoline in an effort to save money & environment

Motorists who conserve gasoline may save money, help the environment, extend the life of their vehicle and further the national goal of energy independence.

Here are some gas-saving tips from the experts at the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence:

Drivers may avoid lines by renewing licenses online

The California Department of Motor Vehicles has good news for the approximately 3 million Californians eligible to renew their drivers licenses each year.

In an effort to reduce long lines and wait times in offices, the California DMV has made it possible for drivers to renew their licenses using the DMV Web site.

Survey: participation in Spare the Air activities up in Sept.

A survey conducted by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District in September revealed the highest level of participation in Spare the Air activities by Bay Area residents since the survey began in 1998.

The survey indicated that about 360,000 of the 5 million drivers in the Bay Area reduced their driving trips in some way: 37 percent linked trips with other drivers; 30 percent eliminated trips altogether; and 30 percent of the reduced trips were originally for shopping.

Tolls increase this week for FasTrak users on seven Bay Area bridges

On Monday, tolls increased for motorists using FasTrak transponders on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned bridges.

The FasTrak fee is now $3 for two-axle cars on the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Mateo-Hayward and San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges.

Boyle reveals monstrosity of science when untempered by humanity

From the fertile furrows of author T.C. Boyle’s imagination comes his latest novel, “The Inner Circle” (Viking, 2004).

Historical fiction of a kind, it is based on the life and work of professor Alfred C. Kinsey (Prok), who created a sensation in the middle of the 20th century with the publication of his books on the sexual behavior of the “human animal.”

Books Briefs

Children’s authors to speak at museum
The sixth annual “Evening With Children’s Authors,” scheduled 6-9 tonight, at the Hiller Aviation Museum, will feature three authors who have written noted children’s books.
Award-winning authors and illustrators Christy Hale, Peggy Rathmann and David Schwartz will discuss their work, answer questions and sign books.
Tickets are […]

Petanque a favorite pastime in southern France

This past spring, we had decided to take some time off from Silicon Valley and were house hunting in Mougins, a small town in the South of France near Nice and Cannes. On the town’s main street is a group of petanque courts, which caught our attention.

Situated near the post office, Mougins’ only cafe and a newspaper stand, the petanque courts are an essential part of the downtown because they serve as a community meeting place. However, the simple dirt courts are not much to look at.

Postcards from abroad

The Town Crier wants to hear from you about your travel experiences. Send an e-mail “postcard” to laurenm@latc.com with travel advice, funny stories about misadventures or off-the-beaten-path suggestions. Postcards should be 200 words and accompanied by a photograph.

AAA report rates airline, airport preferences

AAA of Northern California asked members about their favorite regional airports and the airlines that operate from Bay Area facilities in a recent survey. The survey revealed some current trends about how consumers make travel decisions.

Fifty-five percent of those surveyed had traveled through San Francisco International Airport within the last year, but only 28 percent said it was the airport they prefer to use. Oakland has been used by 35 percent of AAA members in the past year. San Jose airport was used by 27 percent, and Sacramento airport was used by 26 percent of those surveyed.

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 and Saturday; 2 p.m., Sunday. Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave. $8-$10. 947-2796.