2004: Busy year marked by positive change

Los Altos and Los Altos Hills accomplished several goals in 2004 that look to be major improvements.

In an election year marked by changes to the city council, Los Altos Hills finalized a contract with Comcast for cable, addressed the eyesore on the former Winbigler property and moved forward on a new map for pathways.

Temporary charter school campus one option for half-acre riding ring in Los Altos Hills

Los Altos Hills equestrians could be bumped from the half-acre riding ring next to the Little League fields on Purissima Road to make room for a temporary school campus. Bullis Charter School is one group that has been eyeing the site for its own use since the Los Altos Hills Parks and Recreation Department began looking into developing the riding ring at the beginning of the year. The city council is scheduled to consider proposals in February.

Jimmy Forbis, director of the parks and recreation department, told the city council Nov. 18 the riding ring is underused and under-maintained. It requires daily maintenance, and the Los Altos Hills Horsepersons Association (LAHHA), the group responsible for grooming the ring, has not spent anything on the facility in years, he said.

Special election to extend library bond measure likely

Santa Clara County officials have decided that it’s worth asking the public to go to the ballot one more time to pull the library system out of financial crisis despite last March’s defeated bond election that would have extended about $5.4 million annually in supplemental funding beyond this June.

The Joint Powers Authority, which governs the Santa Clara County Library, agreed Dec. 16 to continue pursuing options for a May 3 or June 7 special election asking voters to approve a benefit assessment tax, which would be used to fund about 20 percent of operational costs at all nine library sites, including two in Los Altos.

‘Elephant’ project replaces housing complex on ECR

An alternative health store specializing in herbal prescriptions is set to open along El Camino Real on a site originally earmarked for the corridor’s first housing-only complex.

Elephant Pharmacy got the go-ahead from the Los Altos City Council this month to open at the former El Torito restaurant site. The Berkeley-based wellness store is known for its alternative approach to traditional chain pharmacies.

Los Altos looks to limit the concentration of home child-care centers to one per block

Just when home child-care operators thought they were out of reach from city regulations, the Los Altos City Council discovered a loophole in California law that could limit clusters of centers from opening in the same neighborhoods. The council is scheduled Jan. 11 to restrict large family child-care centers to one per city block.

“(Home child care) is clearly an appreciated service to the community … It’s just what we’re talking about here is protecting residential character,” Mayor David Casas said.

Editorial

As we observe in the week’s cover story reviewing the year 2004, our communities made progress in several important areas, from developing a plan to boost downtown Los Altos businesses to finalizing contracts for Los Altos police and Los Altos Hills cable services. These aforementioned actions culminated months of discussion and intense efforts by our local representatives.

As we look ahead to 2005, there are a number of key areas to watch closely. Here are some examples:

Letters to the Editor

Civic center area already overcrowded
Vivian Banish Levitt

Eric Lutkin’s “vision” that putting the new pool downtown will help the Village thrive by drawing people to local businesses seems to be merely another attempt by someone in the Rosita community to divert the pool from that neighborhood.
There are already extremely large numbers of […]

Shoe giving reveals community with soul

This is the time of year for rushing around. There are religious celebrations in the community, shopping and traffic to deal with, sales and boutiques to go to and family to visit and make contact with.

Yet with all of this excitement in the air and rushing around, I have seen something that is a great testament to the heart of the community as a whole.

Los Altos History Museum to launch Stegner exhibit in 2005

The first half of next year, the Los Altos History Museum will house the largest retrospective to date covering the life and influence of Wallace Stegner, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, teacher and environmentalist, “Wallace Stegner: Throwing a Long Shadow.”

The admission-free exhibit will be open to the public noon to 4 p.m., Thursdays through Sundays, Jan. 6 through June 12.

Dinner for Los Altan of the Year scheduled for Jan. 13

The Los Altos Town Crier staff has named Rich Fischer the 2004 Los Altan of the Year.

The superintendent of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District will be honored Jan. 13 during a dinner at the Los Altos Golf & Country Club, to which the public is invited.

Town Crier Holiday Fund within sight of $120,000 goal

The Los Altos Town Crier Holiday Fund marks its fifth year fund-raising goal of $120,000 for area non-profit organizations whose work directly benefits the needy.

So far, more than $115,000 has been raised.

Community Briefs

Federated women hear from author
Author Charlotte Jarmy will be the featured speaker at the next meeting of the Federated Woman’s Club of Los Altos, scheduled 11 a.m., Jan. 5, at Michael’s at Shoreline restaurant.
Jarmy, a longtime Town Crier columnist, will review her new book, “Reflections: A Columnist’s Journey Through Time,” […]

Local school budgets continue to decline

With the state facing a deficit of $6 billion to $10 billion next year and the Legislative Analyst’s Office recommending that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger consider reducing education’s portion when he looks at slimming the overall state budget, school districts are drawing up their annual financial projections with fear and trembling.

Like most districts, those in Los Altos prepare financial reports three times each school year. But, as Joe White, associate superintendent of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, said, “Because of the state of the economy of most districts, the time spent tweaking the numbers and analyzing the data has increased exponentially in recent years.”

Schools Briefs

‘Generation Connection,’ literacy in classroom
Make a difference in a child’s life this winter. Work one-on-one with a Castro Elementary School second-grader on Tuesday mornings for six weeks to assist with a creative writing and reading activity. Children and volunteers together will make a sharing journal of “Life in the Second […]

Spirited Spartans send cheer to troops in Iraq

The Mountain View High School freshman girls soccer team held a pasta party Dec. 10 at which they put together 12 care packages for U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The girls said they hope the care packages will raise the spirits of the men and women in the units receiving them. The activity was a team-builder organized by the “soccer moms,” who saw to it that the packages contained phone cards, DVDs, books, baby wipes, shaving cream, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, nonperishable food items, bar soap, shampoo, socks and cotton swabs. The items were donated by team members and their supporters. Major Tim Tinner of Mountain View collected names and addresses of the units in Iraq and gave them to the girls. He also advised them on what the troops need most. In midmonth, the team’s record was five wins, one loss and one tie. This looks like another win for the Spartans.

Three local students among Woodside Priory AP Scholars

Three local residents are among the 38 Woodside Priory School students designated AP Scholars by the College Board in recognition of exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement exams. Three Priory students earned the award of National AP Scholar, which requires an average grade of 4 or higher on a five-point scale on all AP exams taken, and grades of 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams.

The 38 scholars represent 34 percent of the school’s students who took the exams last May, said Brother Edward Englund, director of guidance and counseling. About 17 percent of the more than 1 million high school students in the nation who took the exams qualified for the honor.

Top 10 of 2004

Compiling a list of the Town Crier’s top 10 sports stories of the year is always a difficult task because the count of deserving local teams and athletes usually exceeds that number. This year is no different.

The mandate is to keep the list to 10, however, so - with apologies to those omitted - here’s the countdown for 2004:

2004 was a decent year for investors with Dow Jones Industrials up

Since this is the last stock report for 2004, it appears Santa is providing a nice rally for all of us before the end of the year. Frankly, it feels like the market meandered most of the year, but if you look at the major indexes, it was actually a decent year for stocks.

As of Dec. 22, the Dow Jones industrials are up 3.45 percent since Jan. 1, and the Nasdaq composite is up 7.69 percent. The Town Crier index of 50 stocks is up 7.75 percent. Compared to previous years, most investors are happy.

Patt’s Greenhouse closing after 35 years

Chalk up another empty retail storefront in downtown Los Altos when Patt’s Greenhouse closes its doors next month. Current owner Debra Jorgensen is calling it quits. After 35 years in business, Patt’s leaves many customers with fond memories of a corsage or wedding bouquet artfully arranged for their special event.

Turnover among independent florists is relatively high. According to census reports, about 10 percent go out of business every year and the primary reason is competition.

My colleague doesn’t vote the same as I do

When your colleague voted differently from the way you did, how do you respect him? The recent election divided many people. How can you maintain a good relationship when you think a colleague is stupid in his opinion of the candidates or the proposition?

How can you admire your boss when your inclinations about government and the world are diametrically opposite?

‘Love Wife’ offers bittersweet story of immigrant life

Broad themes: Xenophobia. Adoption. Culture clash. “The Love Wife” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2004) might have been problematic.

Worn plot elements: a stranger comes to town, mistaken identities, convenient disasters to move the plot along. “The Love Wife” should have been problematic. A narrative told by the characters as though talking directly to the reader - in fragments that make it easy to lose track of who is speaking. “The Love Wife” ought to have been an unredeemable mess.

Books Brief

Linden Tree presents ‘World Stories ‘
“World Stories with Njeri,” a monthly series, is scheduled 11-11:45 a.m., the second Saturday of each month, from Jan. 8 through May, at Linden Tree Children’s Recordings & Books in downtown Los Altos.
Each session will feature storytelling, crafts or puppetry and is appropriate for children of […]

Couple considers physical limitations when remodeling home

When making major home renovations, consider including long-range features that can add to a comfortable and safe environment in later years as well as immediately.

The difference in price to add touches to accommodate a changing lifestyle is insignificant compared with the total remodel.

The new year inspires remodeling thoughts

January is the busiest time of the year for remodeling. If you’re planning a major remodel or addition, now is the time to begin contacting architects and remodeling professionals to get on their business calendar.

According to Service Magic’s Neighborhood in Golden Colorado, the most popular requests from this holiday wish list are:

Datebook

THEATER

“Striking 12.” Rewired version of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale, “The Little Match Girl,” featuring a mixture of theater and live pop-rock tunes. TheatreWorks. 7:30 p.m., Tuesdays, 8 p.m., Wednesdays- Fridays, and 2 and/or 7 p.m., Sundays; 2 p.m., Saturday, through Jan. 8. Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road. $20-$50. 903-6000; theatreworks.org.

Obituary Notices

LOREN H. CANTRELL
Loren H. Cantrell entered into rest in Santa Rosa on Wednesday December 15, 2004. A native of Wichita, Kansas, he was 81 years old. Loren was an Aerospace Engineer working at Lockheed Missiles & Space in Sunnyvale for 23 years. He attended UC Berkeley and had attained a Bachelors Degree in Industrial […]