Good deeds lead to good friends

Trish Galione was happy with her life on Martha’s Vineyard. It’s a great place to live, she said recently, if you have a family. But if you’re suddenly single again, you discover that the island is “truly remote and not a great place to live.” That’s what Galione learned not quite three years ago after she lost her husband to cancer.

For a while, she drove to Boston to socialize with other singles. That trip was such a hassle, she said, that she decided to give the San Francisco Bay Area a six-month try. She has family in Morgan Hill, and after her trial period, she found that she was settled.

Problem over El Camino anesthesiologists flares up again

The El Camino Hospital District Board of Directors was served last week with a petition signed by 60 staff physicians and surgeons expressing concern over anesthesia services at the hospital.

The petition comes in the wake of the highly publicized November ouster of a 19-member group which had been with the hospital since the beginning, in favor of a new 10-member group, Pacific Physicians Medical Inc., formerly with Washington Hospital in Fremont.

Hills residents argue over fate of Little League fields, riding ring

The Los Altos Hills City Council stepped up to the plate last week to decide the fate of the town riding ring and one of the Little League fields on Purissima Road.

Bullis Charter School has requested the ring and field as a temporary site in the event that the Los Altos School District does not lease the former Bullis-Purissima Elementary School site to it. The district is expected to make its decision April 1. Were the charter school to relocate to the field and ring, it could occupy the site for up to five years.

LAH mayor suggests boycotting LA businesses

Los Altos Hills residents would be doing business anywhere but in Los Altos if Mike O’Malley had his way. The Los Altos Hills mayor told councilmembers Thursday night as the regular meeting was wrapping up, that Hills residents should boycott Los Altos businesses to send a message to the school district.

O’Malley and others fault the Los Altos School District for not leasing the recently closed Bullis-Purissima school site to the new Bullis Charter School. There are no public schools in the Hills since the district shut down Bullis-Purissima.

City leaders accused of not supporting mandate set by voters to extend BART around SF Bay to extend BART

Local officials were put on the defensive in the wake of a Jan. 20 letter from Carl Guardino, president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group. Guardino addressed the letter to Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, Los Altos Mayor David Casas and Los Altos Hills Councilman Breene Kerr, among others, expressing “deep concern regarding your lack of support for fulfilling the voter mandate to extend BART to Silicon Valley.”

The letter notes “a handful of (Valley Transportation Authority) board members are acting contrary to the view of the majority of voters - in seeking to divert money from the BART extension. This is being done under the mistaken premise that eliminating or shortening the extension will solve the VTA’s financial problems. Neither action would accomplish this objective. But either would violate the voters’ trust.”

Los Altos council approves surrender sites for unwanted newborn babies

In an effort to reduce the number of newborn babies abandoned in Santa Clara County, the Los Altos City Council last month designated both Los Altos fire stations as California Safe Surrender Sites. These are the only locations the city has OK’d for mothers to leave their unwanted newborns with no questions asked.

The board of supervisors passed an ordinance in August authorizing all county fire stations to be designated as safe surrender sites when approved by local city governments.

Editorials

Land donation a rare gift indeed
Local environmental pioneer Lois Crozier Hogle has talked for decades about the importance of preserving our natural environment. Now, she has put her land where her sentiments are.
In case you missed last week’s Town Crier cover story, the longtime Los Altos Hills resident recently established her […]

Letters to the Editor

BART backer has board backing
Bill Coleman

Regarding the Palo Alto Daily News story “BART backer” (Jan. 26), the board of directors of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group was deeply troubled that the story makes it appear that SVMG’s president and CEO is on a one-man mission when, in fact, he is following […]

Buying popcorn requires home equity loan

There are numerous ideas for things to do over the holidays, and going to the movies is one of the better ones. On a friend’s recommendation we went to see “National Treasure” with Nicholas Cage.

The lobby was crawling with kids: “The Phantom of the Opera” was playing in several theaters, and “The Incredibles” had just opened. An R movie for adults, “Kinsey,” was playing in a theater so small that sitting in the second row from the back meant sitting in the second row.

War on poverty - or war vs. poverty?

A few days before last month’s presidential inauguration, the head of the United Nations’ anti-poverty effort issued a thought-provoking report. I was astounded to learn that world poverty can be cut in half by 2015 and that it is entirely possible to eliminate world poverty by 2025, just 20 years from now. This is truly cause for optimism and, more importantly, action. Perhaps poverty isn’t as insurmountable as we have long thought.

This, of course, isn’t the first time the United Nations has addressed world poverty. In 1970 world leaders, including the United States, pledged 0.7 percent of their gross national income for development assistance in poverty-ridden countries. If delivered, the combined investments would effectively address poverty, hunger, disease, education, infrastructure and economic development. Although these pledges were reaffirmed at world summits in 2000 and 2002, so far only five nations have met the target.

Joan Van Stone, co-founder of the Community School of Music and Arts

The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) will hold a special memorial service Saturday for one of the school’s co-founders, Joan Van Stone.

Mrs. Van Stone, whose deep love for music and belief in its value for everyone led her to co-found the Mountain View school, died Dec. 15. She was 74.

Obituary Notices

GLORIA MORGAN SHEERER
Gloria Morgan Sheerer entered into eternal rest at age 84 surrounded by her loving family. She is survived by her devoted husband Cedric and loving children, Gary (Ann) Sheerer and Lynn (Gary) Moore. She was the cherished grandmother of Christian (Tinaz) and Alan (Joy) Sheerer, Lindsey, Kirsten and Whitney […]

Engagements

Amity Murray and Michael Spiegel
Amity Murray and Michael Spiegel have announced their engagement to be married Sept. 10, in Hampden, Mass. A reception will follow at the Hampden Country Club.
The bride-to-be is the daughter of Paul and Holly Murray of Wilbraham, Mass. She graduated from The MacDuffie School in Springfield, Mass., […]

Zohre and Kamran Elahian are no strangers to relief work.

The Elahians’ fieldwork through Global Catalyst, a Redwood Shores-based foundation that supports various nongovernmental organizations, has brought them to countless refugee camps around the world. Now, the couple’s efforts to leverage more support for tsunami victims have taken a personal twist.

TC Relief Fund extended through this month

In response to the tsunami devastation in south Asia and Africa, the Town Crier has transformed its Holiday Fund into a Town Crier Relief Fund. The newspaper staff has decided to keep the fund open until Feb. 28 to offer residents a convenient and secure way to donate to organizations directly involved in helping in the relief effort.

Interested donors may make checks payable to the Town Crier Relief Fund and deliver them in person or by mail to the Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022.

Calendar

Today
Los Altos Hills Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., town hall, 25890 Fremont Road.
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 Rengstorff Ave.
Monday
Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District Board of Trustees, […]

Pet of the Week

Touchy is an all gray, neutered male cat available for adoption at Palo Alto Animal Services. The 7-year-old is very attached to his brother Taz, an 8-year-old neutered male who is white and black. These two cats were left at the shelter by their previous owner who could no longer care for them. They are looking for a home together. For more information, contact Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road, 496-5971.

New round of emergency preparedness classes planned to begin in LA March 2

Another session of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training classes is scheduled to begin March 2 at Hillview Community Center.

The course offers an opportunity for private citizens to train in such areas as first aid, proper storage of necessary supplies and communications. Residents can then use these skills to help others in their neighborhood in an emergency.

Community

Diamond to rock Foothill
Charlotte Diamond, Juno Award-winning musician and educator, is scheduled to perform in a “Valentine’s Concert,” 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Sunday, at Foothill College’s Smithwick Theatre. As part of the People of Note Family Concert Series, the family-oriented concert raises funds to support music programs in local elementary schools.
[…]

‘Anything Goes’ in Weiss talk about Cole Porter at the Morning Forum

Bonnie Weiss, who teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, presented “Delightful, Delicious, De-lovely,” a review of Cole Porter’s life and his musical legacy, for the Los Altos Morning Forum, Feb. 1. Weiss showed film clips of the singers and dancers who performed his music, which enlivened the program.

Porter was born in Peru, Ind., in 1893. His mother enjoyed his early interest in music and encouraged him; but his wealthy grandfather dismissed the arts as a vocation. He insisted on the importance of scholarship, with the goal that Porter would become a lawyer.

First lady of the environment honored at Sunday land preservation forum

The League of Women Voters presented the Mary & Wallace Stegner Award for Environmental Stewardship to Lois Crozier Hogle, Feb. 6, during a forum on land preservation.

Hogle, a pioneer of the Peninsula’s environmental movement, is known as the first lady of the environment. The 90-year-old activist was honored for her lifetime commitment to open space preservation, the environmental organizations she founded and in recognition of her gift to the city of Los Altos Hills of her 11-acre property as a conservation easement.

District could reopen Bullis sooner if charter school closed, superintendent says

Reopening Bullis-Purissima Elementary School in conjunction with the closure of Bullis Charter School was one of the options Superintendent Marge Gratiot planned to present to Los Altos School District trustees Monday night.

“The idea has been floated by several people in the community,” Gratiot said earlier Monday. She said that both district and charter school parents suggested the idea when they saw the data showing the district would spend less operating Bullis than paying for in-district and out-of-district charter school students. This year, according to business manager Randy Kenyon, the district is sending $600,000 the charter’s way.

Students craft ‘helping hearts’ to aid tsunami victims

Inspired by the resourcefulness of schoolmates who sold hot chocolate to raise money for tsunami victims, students at St. Nicholas School in Los Altos are taking a hands-on approach to their relief efforts.

Under the direction of Sara Callahan, one of the school’s community outreach coordinators, children in each grade have been hand-crafting valentine cards in class. The cards are being sold to benefit those affected by the disaster in east Asia.

Live, from Springer - it’s the Monday news

Springer Channel 3 is on the air in Springer Elementary School, broadcasting news, student council updates, birthday greetings and more.

Sixth-graders, rotating the roles of anchor, interviewer and cameraperson, produce the newscast, broadcast throughout the school at 8:30 a.m. on Mondays.

Schools Briefs

Sample the Waldorf experience tonight
The Waldorf School of the Peninsula invites Bay Area parents to experience a sampling of lessons from the Waldorf curriculum 7-9 p.m., today. Attendees will learn firsthand how the Waldorf curriculum’s ascending spiral of learning-through-experience provides a foundation for knowledge of the self and the world. Discussions will […]

Noteworthy

Stephanie D. Moniz, daughter of Bill and Judy Moniz of Los Altos, has been named to the dean’s list at UC-Santa Barbara for each semester of her enrollment. The junior is majoring in pharmacology. She graduated from Mountain View High School in 2002.

Cupertino district files to dismiss teacher’s suit

The Cupertino Union School District filed a motion Jan. 31 to dismiss the federal lawsuit brought just before Thanksgiving by a Stevens Creek Elementary School teacher against his principal, his superintendent and district trustees.

A hearing is scheduled for March 28 in San Jose Federal Court. The original complaint was filed Nov. 22 by Alliance Defense Fund on behalf of Stephen J. Williams, a fifth-grade teacher. A second complaint, that Principal Patricia Vidmar singled Williams out for “persecution” because he is a Christian, was added last month.

Head and shoulders above the competition

The Pinewood School girls basketball team is tearing through the Private Schools Athletic League like a paper shredder through unsolicited credit card applications.

The Panthers are 7-0 in PSAL play and well on their way to a 10th consecutive league title.

According to Leonard Koppett’s theory, a down year for market

Now that Super Bowl XXXIX is over and the New England Patriots won, we refer to the late Palo Alto resident Leonard Koppett’s theory. According to the popular sportswriter, if a National Football Conference team wins, the stock market as measured by the S&P 500, will rise for the year. Conversely, if an American Football Conference team wins, the market will go down - and the Patriots are an AFC team.

To give credibility to Koppett’s hypothesis, it has an impressive record: It has been correct 30 out of 38 times, but is mixed for the Patriot’s results. In 2002, the Patriots’ 20-17 victory over the NFC St. Louis Rams presaged a down market year and the S&P 500 fell about 24 percent. In 2004, the Patriots defeated the NFC Carolina Panthers 32-29, but the market rose about 3 percent.

File taxes early to avoid last-minute jitters

There are only 72 days left until the April 15 deadline for filing taxes. Why not try a fresh approach and file your income taxes early this year?

Dennis Young, managing director of American Express Tax and Business Services Inc., said people are aware they can obtain information from the Internet, so they are starting to gather their items early.

Monte Carlo offers elegant dining, dancing in Mountain View

The concept of dinner and a dance has taken on a European flair in Mountain View recently. The Savinovic family, responsible for bringing street dining to Los Altos’ Main Street with its portable patio at Ragusa, opened an upscale supper club at the former Limelight nightclub on Castro Street last month.

Few establishments along the Peninsula combine upscale dining with a dance club, but the Savinovic family is used to taking a gamble. If this new venture is anything like Ragusa, the Monte Carlo should prove a success.

Breakfast in Bed

Cherry-stuffed

French toast

Amaretto, orange, vanilla, rum and bourbon frostings add flavor burst to traditional chocolate truffles

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Chill Time: 2 to 3 hours

Wolfe revisits ‘Dangerous Liaisons’

Tom Wolfe’s “I Am Charlotte Simmons” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004) is a reprise of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ “Dangerous Liaisons” - with basketball. Frat boy Hoyt Thorpe is the vile Valmont. A group of nasty sorority girls who have long ago sacrificed their own virtue form a composite Marquise de Merteuil.

Charlotte Simmons, valedictorian of her high school in the tiny Appalachian village of Sparta, has won a scholarship to prestigious Dupont University in Pennsylvania. Will she choose the life of the mind or the life of the flesh? Lonely Charlotte is no match for the institutionalized debauchery of Dupont, a fictitious Ivy League college. This novel has moments of Wolfe-ian genius, but not the sustained brilliance of his “Bonfire of the Vanities.” Whether or not Charlotte gives up her virginity is not a rich enough vein to mine for nearly 700 pages. Four hundred and eighty pages is too long to consummate the inevitable seduction, even with promise inherent in Wolfe’s vocative: “O loamy, loamy loins!”

Hillerman delivers gripping mystery of grand theft in the Grand Canyon

In the real world, two commercial airliners collided over the Grand Canyon on June 30, 1956, in an accident then called the worst commercial air disaster in history. All 128 persons aboard the planes were killed.

In “Skeleton Man” (HarperCollins, 2004), Tony Hillerman places fictional jewelry dealer John Clarke, his left arm handcuffed to a case of precision-cut diamonds, among the passengers in that disaster and tells us that neither Clarke’s arm nor the diamonds were recovered.

Kauai offers fantasy settings, great snorkeling

Dana, who has been my best friend since kindergarten in San Mateo, and I have stayed in touch through postcards since 1966, when she moved to Connecticut. For my 50th birthday, she presented me with a gift box full of postcards I’d sent her over the years, and it was a joy to turn over each one.

My favorite postcard was from my sixth wedding anniversary trip to the island of Kauai in Hawaii. It was written on March 25, 1995.

Open space district provides guided hikes

Docents from the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District have scheduled a number of free activities, all taking place in the district’s open space preserves during February.

• The San Francisco Bay is a haven for migrating and over-wintering birds. “Birding Along Stevens Creek by the Bay,” 8:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Feb. 13, at Stevens Creek Shoreline is a leisurely morning walk for watching and listening for resident and visiting birds, including water birds, perching birds and raptors. Bring binoculars and a field guide. The three-mile walk will follow Stevens Creek Shoreline and Whisman Slough in Mountain View.

Prime Time Wellness classes expanding at YMCA

Instructor Liz Siegel told her class of active older adults, “We are working toward a goal here - to stand up with our backs straight. “Her class, Chair Exercise, limits activities to conventional forms of exercise.

The class is just one of many in El Camino YMCA’s Prime Time Wellness program, which is part of the Active Older Adult program. AOA Program Coordinator Dolores Thompson said the wellness program, introduced only three years ago, has had an enthusiastic response. More than 50 percent of the participants have joined the Y.

Seniors rejuvenate muscles at FIT

For years the building was occupied by Sanwa Bank and open a few hours a day, a place where people stepped up to the cashier for their financial health. It’s now occupied by FIT (Focused Individual Training), open from 5:30 a.m. until 7 p.m., where people now step up on blocks for their physical health.

FIT does not offer group exercise programs like the senior centers with classes of 20 or more. When seniors come to FIT for personal training they receive an age-appropriate customized workout program. The program focuses on maintaining and building strength, balance, coordination, agility and power.

Reverse mortgages prove a blessing for many local seniors

Owning one’s own home free and clear was considered the American dream, but today many seniors look at a reverse mortgage as the blessing. Many live on a fixed income and face low returns from bank deposits and a dismal stock portfolio.

Karen Schenone, managing partner of Diversified Capital’s Los Altos office, said many Los Altos residents and those from other equity-rich neighborhoods are taking advantage of the reverse mortgage to enjoy a better lifestyle.

Volunteers sought for research study on Alzheimer’s Disease

A research study called VALID (VALproate In Dementia) is seeking 300 volunteers at 35 sites nationwide to test whether valproate treatment will slow progression of symptoms of the illness in people with early stage Alzheimer’s Disease.

Previous research has suggested that valproate, an anticonvulsant drug, may be helpful by delaying the emergence of behavioral changes, such as agitation, as well as slowing the expected decline in intellectual functioning and daily functioning.

Medicare paying for preventive cholesterol screening for the first time

Thirty-nine million Americans who receive Medicare now have access to an important tool for fighting heart disease: cholesterol blood tests.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and seniors account for more than 84 percent of annual cardiovascular deaths. An estimated 25 million Medicare-eligible seniors suffer from coronary heart disease, and nearly 800,000 seniors die from cardiovascular disease annually, according to the National Cholesterol Education Program.