Making a move on transportation

Anyone who has spent time in Los Altos has probably heard of or made complaints about cut-through traffic, speeding cars and pedestrian routes too dangerous for schoolchildren to use unsupervised.

Residents rank traffic as a top concern citywide year after year, yet surprisingly only two neighborhoods have successfully approved improvements for their streets through the city’s Neighborhood Traffic

Extras increase LAH town hall price tag

Los Altos Hills councilmembers involved in building the new $4.2 million town hall were tight-lipped about the project’s increased price tag during a special council meeting, Feb. 9.

Councilmembers discussed the higher-than-expected cost of the new town hall’s audiovisual and broadcasting system, but

Future of public transportation clouded by funding issues

There’s a mixture of good news and some cause for anxiety when assessing the current and future regional transportation picture.

Among local action items, the Santa Clara County roads department, coming off a resurfacing project of Foothill Expressway, is working on traffic synchronization along Foothill to improve traffic flow. The county’s now-completed intersection improvements at Foothill and El Monte Avenue have begun to have their intended effect of diverting through traffic from El Monte to San Antonio Road.

Letters to the Editor

Rec facility also a need
Leslie Desmond

I am writing in response to Eric Lutkin’s response (Feb. 9) to Barbara Callison’s letter.
Of course, I agree that Los Altos “needs” police and fire services as well as good public schools. However, it also “needs” a good recreation facility, which it does not have at […]

Better to wait and see than believe doomsday evangelist

In a recent television interview, the Rev. Tim LaHaye, author of the “Left Behind” series of best sellers, described his vision of Earth’s final days when faithful Christians have already ascended into heaven, leaving the heathen population to fend for themselves. Apparently, a charismatic anti-Christ achieves power. One of the first things he does is to institute - now, hold onto your spleen - a world currency, a one-euro-fits-all monetary unit for the entire planet.

LaHaye isn’t joking around. He considers a world currency to be Satan’s tool because it robs countries of their sovereignty. In fact, one could say that it unites rather than divides the people of the world, and Lord knows we wouldn’t want that. Using the Bible as an irrefutable source of evidence (”It’s right there in Blah-blah, chapter blah-blah, verse blah-blah,”), LaHaye encourages everyone to escape the collapse of civilization as we know it by jumping on his Jesus bandwagon.

Cancel my order for a large cheese pizza, thanks

A few weeks ago our government increased our feelings of guilt when it announced new guidelines to make us all healthier: more exercise, fewer doughnuts, peeled grapes for dessert. It may be too early to tell lasting effects, but are the new guidelines being practiced by our local population?

To find out I dispatched members of my staff - mostly folk recently employed by Don Trump, but cheap - to cover various venues and report back to me.

Obituary Notices

MICHAEL CARRINGTON TAAFFE
Michael Carrington Taaffe, a lifelong Los Altos resident and descendant of the first pioneer family to cross into California over the Sierra Nevada Mountains by wagon train, died at his home Februbary 2, 2005. He was 73.
His gentle and unselfish manner earned him the affection and admiration of […]

Engagements

Amity Murray, 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., and […]

Morning Forum speaker expects really big things from nanotechnology

Nanotechnology may be the wave of the future, but what exactly it is left many Morning Forum members baffled, as Scott Mize, president of the Foresight Institute, gave a talk titled “Nanotechnology and the Millennium Challenges” last Tuesday. He discussed where nanotechnology is today, where it will be in both the short and long terms, and what its challenges and possible solutions are.

At the present time, he said, the technology is in a very early stage of development. But soon its effects will be as ubiquitous as plastic is today.

Astronomer to address scientific misconceptions

Author and astronomer Phil Plait of Sonoma State University is scheduled to give a nontechnical, illustrated talk titled “Bad Astronomy (In Everyday Life and the Movies)” 7 p.m., March 2, in the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College.

The lecture is free. For more information, call the series hot line at 949-7888.

Local corporate pyschologist stresses the importance of ‘approachability’

It was family night at the Main Street Forum last Thursday when three local authors, who happen to be family members, discussed their latest books at Main Street Cafe & Books in downtown Los Altos.

Thomas Rohrer discussed his third book, “A Woman Called Catherine,” as a quagmire of passion, intrigue and political scheming of two 60-year-old lovers.

Tough financial questions answered at next Main St. Forum

Robert T. Adams, president of Pacific Advisory Group, will speak 7 p.m., Thursday, at the Main Street Forum, taking his audience on “A High Speed Tour of Selected Personal Financial Questions.” The event will be held at Main Street Cafe & Books, 134 Main St.

The interactive session is designed in part for those faced with questions so specialized and unique that general advice is of no use. Other questions are more straightforward.

Community Briefs

Voting systems subject of discussion
The league of Women Voters for Los Altos-Mountain View is holding a consensus meeting on county voting systems and procedures, 7-9:30 p.m., Thursday, at Foothills Congregational Church, 461 Orange Ave., Los Altos.
A presentation by the league’s voting systems and procedures committee will address issues including security, poll […]

Los Altos scientist awarded medal for ‘distinguished service’

Word of outstanding seismologist David Boore has rippled all the way to Washington, D.C. This month, the longtime Los Altos resident received the Distinguished Service Medal from the Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton.

Norton presented Boore, 62, with the award Feb. 2 for his scientific contributions to the United States Geological Survey in the field of seismology. The DSM is the highest honor bestowed by the Department of the Interior.

Free mediation for resolving local conflicts

The Los Altos Mediation Program (LAMP) provides mediation in local disputes. Mediation is a voluntary settlement process used to resolve conflicts between two or more people in a non-adversarial setting with the aid of a neutral third party. The process is confidential and informal.

LAMP provides free and fast mediation for parties residing in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills or the unincorporated area surrounding Los Altos. It mediates issues including problems between neighbors, tenant-landlord disputes, merchant-customer disagreements; and parent-teen problems.

Celebrate Black History month with ‘Joyous Noise’

The 16th annual “Make A Joyous Noise” concert will feature the Foothill College Gospel Choir along with gospel choirs from all around the Bay Area.

The event, culminating a month of special celebrations of Black History month, will take place at 7 p.m., Sunday, in Foothill College’s Smithwick Theater. The evening will include a review of black history and the origins of gospel music.

Calendar

Ongoing
Los Altos Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, 97 Hillview Ave.
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
Monday
Los Altos Historical Commission, […]

Pet of the Week

Palo Alto Animal Services has two young female guinea pigs who are looking for a new home either together or apart. The staff describes them as friendly, feisty and healthy. To adopt them, contact Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, at 496-5971.

LAH councilman outlines bold plan for energy conservation in the Hills

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s promise of 1 million solar-powered homes in California by 2018 will get a boost from Los Altos Hills if Councilman Breene Kerr succeeds with an ambitious plan that could mean the town’s upscale homes will have to meet energy conservation guidelines in the next five years.

Kerr told members of the Los Altos Hills Club, Feb. 8, that the way to solve California’s energy supply-and-demand problems is at the local level by encouraging communities to conserve and use renewable energy sources, such as solar power. He told the audience that after the 2000 energy crisis, Californians cut their use by 10 percent, but now demand is back to record levels.

Unidos winners nurture peers, youngsters

Teens at Mountain View High School have been honored for taking the concept of peer-to-peer influence to the next level. The Unidos Club has earned the Positive Peer Influence award from Project Cornerstone, a countywide collaborative to help teens and children connect with the community.

Unidos’ imaginative expansion of peer influence impressed the awards review panel. Club members not only work at having a positive influence on each other, but they also work - and play - in ways that make a positive difference to the children of Mountain View’s Castro Elementary School.

St. Francis community raises more than $12,000 for tsunami relief

Several fund-raising efforts in the St. Francis High School community have netted more than $12,000 for tsunami relief funds.

The Associated Student Body and Student Council sponsored a live auction during lunch Jan. 31 to benefit the tsunami relief funds. Using paper plate bid paddles, students eagerly vied for rarities such as shaving the head of their favorite teacher and a “Get Out of Detention Pass.” Two students paid $90 each to have a catered burrito lunch with popular literature and government teacher Don Carroll. Other popular items included being chauffeured to class for a day in a golf cart and special seating at athletic events. The student auction of items donated by faculty members or departments, raised about $1,000.

Springer PTA shakes, rattles and bids

Members of the Springer Elementary School PTA held their annual silent auction fund-raiser Feb. 12 at the University Club in Palo Alto. This year’s auction, titled “Shake, Rattle and Bid,” was a ’50s-themed event to raise money for classroom supplies, curriculum enrichment, physical education and the school library.

Several hundred people attended the auction, including Los Altos Mayor David Casas, a former Los Altos School District trustee; Bill Cooper, a current trustee; and Springer Principal Bob Celeste. Attendees bid on handmade crafts, gift certificates to local shops and stores, weekend getaways and many other items. The evening closed with a live auction led by guest auctioneer Cooper, a Springer parent.

Noteworthies

Kathryn Papadopoulos, a resident of Los Altos Hills and a student at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, has been selected as one of 400 students to participate in the National Young Leaders Conference under way in Washington, D.C. The conference is a leadership development program for high school students who have demonstrated leadership potential and scholastic merit.

Michelle Birnel, daughter of Rudy and Rosie Birnel of Los Altos, has been named to the dean’s list of the Loyola Marymount University Business School, Los Angeles. The senior spent the fall semester in Bonn, Germany, through the university’s study abroad program.

Schools Briefs

Students teach about Persian New Year
Local teens and children will present a free educational program about NoRooz, the Persian New Year, 5 p.m., March 6, in the Covington Elementary School multipurpose room, 205 Covington Road, Los Altos. Haji Firooz and Amoo NoRooz will entertain. The public is invited, and admission is free.
[…]

Parents are the gatekeepers of Internet access

Readers of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” know that the necessary response to the evil afoot in the world is “constant vigilance!” That is also the necessary response of parents who want to protect their children from the more insidious elements crawling the World Wide Web.

As Jim Bentley demonstrated at Almond School Feb. 8, parents can install software to make any Internet site unavailable to their children - as long as the children don’t use the countercharm of changing their password to fool the gatekeeper.

Locals head to next round

The Mountain View High boys soccer team last week opened the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs against a familiar opponent - a Santa Clara squad it faced twice in league competition.

While there were several similarities between the playoff game and the SCVAL De Anza Division meetings, it was what the Spartans did differently Feb. 16 that led to their 3-1 victory.

Alan Greenspan speaks about specifics and the market declines

When Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan speaks, he does a good job preparing investors for what’s ahead for the market. His comments last Thursday indicated interest rates are going to continue to rise, but the market has done a good job factoring in these hikes. He doesn’t shock anybody but potential investors, so the market always seems to take a header.

Last Thursday the Dow Jones industrials lost 80 points and fell back into negative territory, while the Nasdaq composite shed 26.09 points or 1.25 percent. Friday morning the market started to correct itself but continued downward after it had been open several hours.

Local firm converts memories into custom digital format

Every picture tells a story. But the stories told by unorganized, random images usually fade and lose their meaning with time. illuminated Legacy, or iLegacy, the Los Altos-basesd company converts photos, slides, 8mm or 16mm movies and VHS tapes into DVDs and other forms of digital media incorporating images, text, narration and music.

“Our few most recent generations are among the first to be blessed with the ability to produce voluminous, high-quality images that document our lives. But this blessing comes with associated challenges,” said Michael Maurier, vice president of production at iLegacy. “Our home media is surprisingly fragile and easily lost or forgotten. I know firsthand the tragedy of losing precious family photos. It is the kind of wound that never heals and is a loss that is more keenly felt as time has passed.”

A frame by any other name would smell

Two books, UC Berkeley linguist George Lakoff’s “Don’t Think of an Elephant!” (Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2004) and writer-editor Thomas Frank’s “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” (Metropolitan Books, 2004), look at the question of how so many supposedly rational people have been persuaded to vote against their own economic self-interest.

Both books agree that this sleight of hand is based on a continuing culture war pitting the latte liberals, those cartoonish Volvo-driving, chardonnay-sipping, paper-shuffling parasites, against the plain-talking, beer-swilling, hard-working heartlanders - but Frank does so in more lyrical language than Lakoff.

Books Brief

Otter Award recipient to be honored
Mingle with more than 50 local children’s authors and illustrators, honor Otter Award recipient Kay Goines and enjoy dinner and drinks as the Northern California Children’s Booksellers Association announces the recipients of its 2005 Literacy Grants.
The event, held in conjunction with the USF Reading the […]

Adventures in an all-inclusive Cancun

We would never have chosen an all-inclusive vacation in Cancun, Mexico, for ourselves, but when my girlfriend’s parents gave the trip to us as a gift, we couldn’t refuse.

Since my girlfriend hadn’t taken a vacation in over 12 years, her parents decided to splurge and purchased a vacation package for two at Palace Resorts. With airfare, lodging, meals, tours and drinks taken care of, we had little to worry about prior to our departure.

Living large

A survey of more than 1,500 people 50 and over, sponsored by ERA Real Estate, revealed changing attitudes about real estate. Many long-held assumptions are not true.

The general consensus among realtors was that the typical aging homeowner was planning to downsize or move to an active adult community, but survey results show otherwise.

Escalating real estate prices set records month after month

Despite spiraling prices, the local real estate market is still hot with numerous weekend open houses. More listings come on the market daily but not fast enough to grow the listings.

“It’s kind of like snowflakes that melt before they hit the ground,” said Avram Goldman, president of Coldwell Banker, Northern California. “The majority of offices are reporting more than 50 percent of the offers are multiples. Buyers are still out in droves.”

Half of the new home purchases have ’smart home’ features

Housing starts in the United States jumped 11 percent in December; and according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, home starts are rising at levels not seen in 25 years.

Internet Home Alliance, a network of leading companies involved in the advancement of home technology, surveyed more than 400 consumers who were either owners or prospective buyers of newly constructed homes.

Datebook

Datebook items are run on a space-available basis for entertainment, non-profit events, low-cost classes and groups of wide interest in our circulation area. The deadline is noon, Tuesday, for the next week’s paper. Notices must be typed and include a contact name and phone number. Items may be submitted via e-mail (peteb@latc.com); fax (948-6647) or post (138 Main St., Los Altos, CA 94022).

THEATER