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Archives » 2005 » Volume 58 , Issue 14, Published on Wednesday, April 6, 2005NewsAnother test for libraries
This month, Los Altos libraries will experience two milestone events. One will be an appearance by acclaimed author Tobias Wolff April 15, during National Library Week, to celebrate this community’s avid support for local libraries. The event is sponsored by Los Altos Library Endowment, an organization of local leaders who have created a perpetual funding source unique among all the branches in the Santa Clara County system. The second, more critical event is happening throughout the month as county voters cast write-in ballots for a parcel tax vital to restoring staffing and lost hours. Voters have until May 3 to decide the fate of Measures A and B, the first retaining the current parcel tax of $33.66 per year, the second increasing that amount by $12. Both need to pass by a two-thirds majority vote. What the library measures sayMeasure A • Special tax election - Santa Clara County Library District Joint Powers Authority Los Altos pedestrian struck and killed on San Antonio Road
Walking downtown from his house near Los Altos High School wasn’t unusual for resident Henry Kolm. “Hank,” as friends called him, preferred walking and biking to just about anything. At 74, he had earned a reputation among local bicycling and hiking groups as a strong athlete. “He enjoyed biking very much,” said longtime friend Don Levy, a member of the Sierra Club with Kolm. Local day workers hit the streets to promote centerLocal day workers hit the streets of Los Altos last week - but this time, it wasn’t temporary employment they were seeking. About a dozen workers canvassed neighborhoods surrounding Rancho Shopping Center Thursday passing out fliers promoting the Mountain View Worker Center at Calvary Church. The center provides an alternative to waiting on the streets for jobs and a place where employers can handpick laborers with qualifications specific to their work. Laborers at the center come from as far as Vietnam, Haiti and South America. Commissioners weigh Pinewood expansion against neighbors’ concernsLos Altos planning commissioners continue to grapple with a popular private school’s wish to expand versus neighbors’ concerns that expansion will overwhelm the surrounding area. Commissioners at Thursday’s meeting will consider requests from Pinewood School to expand facilities. Plans are to demolish four of the five existing buildings at 1012 Campbell Ave. (477 Fremont Ave.), renovate the remaining building and build three new structures. School officials propose to build five new buildings on the adjacent lot at 450 Covington Road. The renovated campus could house up to 160 K-2 students and a junior kindergarten. LA resident fights city to pay sewer overflow costs damageThe latest court setback will not stop Dr. Tom Burns from raising a big stink with the city of Los Altos over liability for a sewage backflow that caused major damage to his home. The rheumatologist said last week he will continue to pursue legal action, appealing his case to the appellate courts after county Superior Court Judge Leslie Nicholas rejected his claim March 18. Burns wants reimbursement for at least $1.2 million in damages to rebuild his home at 1530 Frontero Ave. after 36,000 gallons of sewage, by his estimate, poured out of his sinks, toilets and bathtubs on Feb. 3, 2003. He was forced out of his home for nine months while it was cleaned up and repaired. CommentEditorialOne only take a visit to the Los Altos main library to realize this is not your grandpa’s library anymore. The dusty hardcover books and card catalogs of the past have long ago been replaced by videos, CDs, rows of computers with Internet - and catalog - access, and yes, thousands of up-to-date titles, fiction and nonfiction. Then there are magazine selections, back issues of various newspapers, community rooms for special events, story times for toddlers, a snack area - the options seem endless. And the great part of it is, it’s free and open to all of us. Letters to the Editor Support library parcel tax Our libraries are an incredible local resource. All of us can be proud that our library system is considered one of the best in the nation, thanks to the diligence of our librarians, our library commission and many community volunteers. The west Texas bride and the California virusThis is a spinoff on the “new virus” - a story to be told and retold to children and grandchildren, ad infinitum. Let us begin by identifying the culprit, a nasty little twit of a microbe with aspirations. None can say from whence it was fashioned and launched, or how it came to land on our privileged shores. ObituariesObituary Notices WANDA LORAINE KOPF PeopleEngagements Amy Cole and Derek Brown Service NewsAir Force Airman Alexander K. Ralston, a 2002 graduate of St. Francis High School, has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. During his six weeks of training, Ralston studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches; and received physical training, rifle marksmanship training, field training exercises, and special training in human relations. In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force. Doctor-board member says El Camino Hospital achievements abundantDr. Dominick Curatola, 12-year board member of the El Camino Hospital District, told the Main Street Forum audience last week that small turnouts at board meetings spell good news for hospital operations. “Ever since I was elected to the ECH board in 1992, we have had only one huge turnout,” Curatola said. “Unless there is something wrong with a person’s health-care delivery, people seem to be happy with El Camino.” CommunityGrammy-winning guitarist at FoothillsGuitarist Mark Hanson, fresh from his 2005 Grammy win for the “Henry Mancini-Pink Guitar” CD, is scheduled to perform 2:30 p.m., Sunday, at Foothills Congregational Church, 461 Orange Ave., Los Altos. Hanson contributed two pieces to the “Pink Guitar” CD, which won a Grammy in February for best pop instrumental album. Community Briefs SPARC plans Los Altos event Pet of the WeekKimmie is one happy 3-year-old female bearded collie mix available for adoption at Palo Alto Animal Services. Kimmie is described as energetic, intelligent and obedient. You can meet - and hopefully adopt - Kimmie today at Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road. For more information, call 496-5971. More residents need training in disaster preparedness, Los Altos police say
The question of a major earthquake in the Bay Area is not if, but when, officers of the Los Altos Police Department told the Kiwanis Club March 22. Officers are concerned that when an earthquake strikes, not enough residents in Los Altos will have the skills to offer basic first aid, assess damage, suppress or avert fires and organize neighborhoods. Calendar Ongoing Arrival of colorful banners signals start of ‘Arts Alive’ benefit for schools
The Los Altos Village Association last week unveiled its Arts Alive banner program, which runs through July 10. Approximately 90 banners are lining Main and State streets in downtown Los Altos, painted by students from the following local schools: Almond Elementary; Blach Intermediate; Bubb Elementary; Canterbury Christian; Covington Elementary; Egan Intermediate; Los Altos Christian; Loyola Elementary; Oak Elementary; Santa Rita Elementary; St. Nicholas; and St. Simon. First man on the moon extols marvels of scienceIt was a defining moment in the history of mankind. Nearly 36 years ago, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon’s surface he proclaimed, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Appearing in a gray business suit with a yellow tie, Armstrong spoke about his great respect for science at last Friday’s Foothill Celebrity Forum Speaker Series. Local painter Sukey Bryan reaches the ‘STARS’Sukey Bryan - a local artist with a national reputation - is one of 16 artists selected by this year’s Silicon Valley Open Studios jurors to be in the 2005 Stars Collection. The exhibit will be on view at Main Street Cafe & Books through April 14. Other artists include Linda Curtis, Marjorie Law, Patricia Machmiller, Silvia Poloto, Simone Raoux and Steve Soult. LAHS to hold 50th anniversary celebrationLos Altos High School will commemorate its 50th anniversary with a three-day celebration, May 20-22. Tickets for the event are available on alumni and school Web sites. Berkeley historian scheduled to speak at Main Street ForumHistorian Roger J. Burbach is scheduled to speak and sign copies of two of his latest books at 7 p.m., Thursday, at the Main Street Forum at Main Street Cafe & Books, 134 Main St., Los Altos. Burbach’s academic specialties are U.S. and Latin American history. He is the director of research and publication at the Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA), based in Berkeley. CENSA is a non-profit organization focused, in its first decade, on Central America and the Sandinista revolution. For the love of art
Nancy Barnoski, former docent coordinator for the Los Altos Art Docents, stands among the works of Los Altos School District students at Hillview Community Center last week. The docents, celebrating their 35th year, showcased some 3,500 pieces from students in kindergarten through junior high school. Barnoski has been with the Art Docents for 25 years. ‘Paint the Town’ takes a look backA new installment in the successful “Paint the Town” series is scheduled for April 16 in downtown Los Altos. This time, artists are assigned to “paint the town history,” creating pieces from the archives of the Los Altos History Museum and Town Crier. More than 25 artists have signed on to participate. The public is invited to observe them in action on the streets of downtown Los Altos from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 16. Sons’ records cleared, but dads not satisfied
The fathers of three of the four Mountain View High School students who were expelled earlier this year for vandalizing their campus say their sons were punished too severely for what they called a senior prank. The students had no previous offenses, and one was an Eagle Scout and a campus leader, the fathers told the Town Crier last week. All four students were reinstated in school with all privileges in mid-March. The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, which expelled the four seniors for painting graffiti on a copper façade and putting glue into most of the locks at their recently renovated school, takes a different view of the matter. The Santa Clara County Board of Education, which overturned the expulsion of the student who appealed his case - after which the district reversed its decision on the three related expulsions - took issue with the district’s methods but seemed to be in sympathy with its views. SchoolsAlmond students unveil books they produced
It was not a typical Tuesday evening at Almond School March 29. Rather than watch television, do homework or relax, more than 200 parents and students gathered for the Almond BookWave Blast. BookWave is an event started by a group of Almond parents to celebrate the joy of writing. Organizers plan to make it an annual event. Judge may dismiss three parts of teacher’s lawsuitThree of the four causes of action listed in the lawsuit filed Nov. 23 by a Stevens Creek Elementary School teacher against representatives of the Cupertino Union School District may be dismissed. In a March 30 hearing in federal district court, Judge James Ware indicated that his ruling would be made within a week. MVHS senior named Miss Teen Chinatown
Mountain View High School senior Klarissa Lee was named Miss Teen Chinatown 2005 March 26 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame in an event sponsored by the San Francisco Chinatown Lions Club. This year’s contest was the 39th year for the charity fund-raiser. Judges made their decision on the basis of the academic excellence, talent, community service, enthusiasm, charisma, character, poise and leadership qualities of entrants from throughout the Bay Area. Klarissa is shown here with her parents, Bill and Judy Lee. Schools Briefs Host families sought for exchange students St. Francis announces 14 NMS finalistsSt. Francis High School National Merit Scholarship finalists are from left (front), Christina Nguyen, Tracy Chou, Kim Tran, Kaitlin Solera and Sarah Fernquest; (back) Ramya Parthasarathy, Dante Popalisky, Matt Waters, Jeff Wang, Ross Boberg, David Krueger, Elanor Gilham, Edward Divita III and Rebecca Vu. Third-grader out to change city recycling pickup
When Brij Singh moved to Los Altos from Sunnyvale, he noticed that something was different: Los Altos had more trash on its streets than the other city. When his teacher Mrs. Loughmiller assigned her third-grade students a science project for Oak Elementary School’s annual science fair, Brij already had a project in mind. Set up for success
As a relatively new sport at Mountain View High, boys volleyball hasn’t approached the popularity of football, basketball or baseball at the school. Coach Jonathan Luu expects that to change. SportsInflation fears continue to plague the stock marketInflation fears, caused by higher oil prices, plagued the stock market all last week despite a strong session on Wednesday. For the week, the Dow industrials closed 0.36 percent down, the Nasdaq composite was down 1.1 percent, and the Town Crier “50″ dropped 0.14 percent. Crude oil prices rose to $57.50 a barrel, which took another bite out of stocks. For the first quarter, the Dow 30 stocks were down 3.5 percent, the Nasdaq was down 8.74 percent, and the Town Crier index of 50 stocks fell 7.86 percent. BusinessBanking vet Shepherd joins Northern Trust as a VPLos Altos resident and banking veteran Steven Shepherd has joined the Northern Trust team as vice president. He serves as a private banker and senior relationship manager in the Los Altos office. “I work with clients who have financial needs beyond plain banking services,” Shepherd said. “The focus on confidentiality is high on personal relationships. Everyone is close to their clients and I find that unusual for a large financial company.” MV Business Focus & Reception 2005 opens community dialogueThe Chamber of Commerce Mountain View, ALZA Corporation and contributing sponsor, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, have scheduled the Business Focus & Reception 2005, 4-6 p.m., April 14, at ALZA Corp., 1900 Charleston Road. The annual Business Focus provides an opportunity for local business and community members to engage in dialogue on current business issues and trends. Representatives from premier industries, retailers, service providers, school districts and NASA Ames Research Park will attend. A trio of gas savers
Gas prices in California hit an all-time high last week and appear headed for $3 a gallon before the end of summer. What’s a car buyer to do? The answer for thousands of buyers is to get in line to purchase one of the new generation of mainstream hybrid vehicles that came on the market in 2005. On the RoadTrading pens for Porsches in Monterey
Every March, all of us automotive scribes on the left coast get together for two days in Monterey - home of great roads, an even greater racetrack and a really neat aquarium. We were more interested in the first two, especially since companies like Porsche, Lotus, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Acura, Infiniti, Lexus, Cadillac and Pontiac brought about 65 of their most performance-oriented wares armed with their most potent engines, manual transmissions and arresting paint. We took the very presence of these cars as a begging to drive the snot out of them. It would be rude not to. Food for the heartWith all of the fad diets and breakthrough food-related health discoveries constantly bombarding consumers, getting through the grocery store with just a handful of healthy foods almost needs a special college degree, especially for those trying to decipher nutrition labels. The American Heart Association has developed a program to take away some of the guesswork. Savvy shoppers may have noticed the appearance of the red heart symbol with the white check mark on some packaged foods at their local grocery stores in recent years. In Los Altos, Safeway, Andronico’s, Draeger’s and Albertson’s all carry foods with the symbol. What does it mean? It means the product meets the American Heart Association’s nutritional criteria for heart-healthy levels of saturated fat and cholesterol per serving for most people over age 2. Food and Wine‘Fables and Foibles’ provides a witty diversion
What a pleasure to be in the presence of sly, unbridled wit. Howard Jarmy, in his latest book, “Fables and Foibles” (AuthorHouse, 2004), lets his imagination fly off to the land where almost anything is possible and almost everything is funny. For example, Jarmy turns an ordinary traffic jam into a launching pad for a giant slingshot to catapult commuters. The humor works because Jarmy gives a deadpan delivery of the absurd, somewhat like columnist Dave Barry. Innovative Monterey winery changes handsThe late Richard Graff founded Chalone Winery almost 40 years ago in a remote area near Pinnacles National Monument in Monterey County. He was an innovator, a pioneer, a visionary and a wonderful winemaker. He realized the Chalone Bench, with its limestone soil, was uniquely similar to soil producing the marvelous wines of Burgundy. DatebookDatebook 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 Books‘Collapse’ examines disappearance of ancient cultures
The mystery of Easter Island - how those enormous stone statues were erected on an isolated, barren island - led some to postulate that it must have been visited by space aliens. But reason prevailed as more imaginative visitors gazed around them and reached a stunning conclusion: There must have been trees on Easter Island at one time. Not only that, they must have been large trees that yielded timber for transporting and erecting the statues and for building large, strong canoes. In his new book, “Collapse” (Viking, 2005), UCLA professor Jared Diamond examines Easter and other societies that have collapsed (often soon after reaching peak power) and a few that haven’t. Not content to speculate from behind a desk, Diamond, originally trained as an ornithologist, is a scientist in the best sense, one who is willing to leave the comforts of home in order to do rigorous fieldwork firsthand. Engaging, thoughtful and thought-provoking, “Collapse” follows Diamond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Guns, Germs, and Steel,” about how certain societies came to power. Panama offers many adventure options
Green mountains overgrown with dense rain forest swelter beneath the brilliant equatorial sun. The unearthly roars of howler monkeys reverberate through a labyrinth of jungle vegetation. In the corner of the eye, colors flash as toucans and macaws wing through the lush rainforest canopy. Jaguars, puma and black panthers prowl this forest on the hunt for giant tapirs and wayward hikers. As one emerges onto a ridge overlooking a vista of tropical wilderness, the unexpected superstructure of a cruise ship glides silently between the green peaks. Scandinavian seniors sunbathe on the deck or lean over the rail attempting to focus zoom lenses on spider monkeys swinging through the trees as the luxury liner passes through the Panama Canal’s Culebra Cut. TravelMediterranean diet emphasizes fish, plant-based foodsQ: Does a Mediterranean diet require eating only Italian or Greek dishes? |
In Our OpinionLetters to the Editor
Leo Long earns local honorsIn the April 30 issue of the Town Crier, you were right to congratulate and thank Dick Henning from Foothill College for four decades of service to the community. I met him at Foothill as student body president more years ago than I’ll admit. Great guy. |
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