Dogs, llamas and fine art take over downtown

Who let the dogs out? The city of Los Altos - that’s who. Dachshunds, greyhounds and labradoodles overran Main and State streets Saturday morning, along with a large crowd of pet owners and spectators.

It wasn’t only dogs participating in the 58th annual Kiwanis Pet Parade. Students from Covington Elementary School brought along a pair of llamas. And then there was Ross Rutner, who was stopped about every 10 feet along the parade route so people could check out his pet - a large albino Burmese python named Annie coiled around his neck and shoulders.

Poll of the Week

Last week’s question, “What should be done with the vacated Bullis-Purissima School site in Los Altos Hills?” drew a huge response from Bullis Charter School supporters.

Encouraged by an e-mail from the civic group, Hills 2000, 185 called or e-mailed vote for Option B, “lease to Bullis Charter School or district elementary school at site.”

District toasts superintendent as her retirement nears

Marge Gratiot may have begun her career in the Los Altos School District as a kindergarten teacher, but she is ending it as the mentor of the entire district.

So said the more than 300 people gathered to pay tribute to and express their affection for the district’s superintendent of 18 years last Thursday at the Los Altos Golf & Country Club.

Council rules Pinewood plan too much for neighborhood

Pinewood School leaders learned the hard way last week that even stellar educational programs could be too much of a good thing in certain Los Altos neighborhoods. The Los Altos City Council rejected a proposal that would have allowed the private school, a longtime fixture in the neighborhood, to increase its enrollment and expand its lower campus on Fremont Avenue farther into the Costello Acres neighborhood, an area recognized for its large lots and rural character.

Some say these same larger-than-average size lots that have made the neighborhood one of the most beautiful in Los Altos are also responsible for making the neighborhood vulnerable to nonresidential entities. The neighborhood is home to Pinewood’s lower and middle campuses and shares the same streets with Covington School and a proposed swim complex.

Lawsuit over 2003 hospital bond likely to delay construction

A lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of bond measures for El Camino Hospital and the Mountain View-Whisman School District, among others, shows no sign of being resolved soon, forcing the hospital district to cancel a planned April bond sale and postpone start of construction from September to next spring.

Hospital district voters approved Measure D, a $148 million bond issue, in November 2003, to replace the existing El Camino Hospital with a facility designed to meet state seismic safety regulations that go into effect in 2020. Saratoga resident Aaron Katz, who owns property in Mountain View, claims only property owners - including those residing outside the hospital district - should be allowed to vote. Katz said the only persons taxed in bond elections are landowners.

Police Report

Bobcat damagesTorwood home

A bobcat apparently tried to scratch through the roof of a vacant home on Torwood Court in Los Altos last Saturday, Los Altos police said.

Land agreement remains final hurdle in First/Main property

Whether Los Altos should sell or lease the city-owned property at the corner of First and Main streets appears to be the key unanswered question in the development of a downtown hotel at the site.

The city already has a preferred developer, project and appraisal for the site and recently cleared the legal hurdles required to dispose of it as surplus property. The Los Altos City Council last week passed a resolution stating that the development of a boutique hotel on the site is consistent with the city’s General Plan and would be in the public’s interest. The resolution leaves open the option to either sell or lease the 0.78-acre site to the developer as part of the final negotiation phase.

LAH cracks down on ‘unruly’dogs after cat killings

Los Altos Hills dogs roaming their neighborhoods off-leash are likely to find themselves in trouble with local law enforcement. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department plans to crack down on off-leash and unruly dogs after pit bulls killed two cats in unrelated attacks that occurred within 12 days of one another.

“We are appealing to residents to be more cautious,” said Steve Garcia, the city’s public safety officer. “The first step is to make people aware. If it continues, the next step is to use the enforcement tactic.”

Moffett could gain in base closures

On Friday Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced the list of U.S. military bases recommended for closure or realignment. Two local facilities were among them.

If the recommendations are adopted, Sunnyvale’s Onizuka Air Force Station will close and Mountain View’s Air Force Reserve Command at Moffett Field could gain 253 military and civilian personnel through realignment. Onizuka, among 33 bases suggested for closure, is one mile south of Moffett Field.

Los Altos sewer fees increased third year in a row

Los Altos residents will be paying higher sewer fees for the third consecutive year beginning next month. The Los Altos City Council last week raised residential sewer rates $24 annually under the latest round of fee hikes. The average household will pay $21 per month or $252 a year - and, according to city staff, that’s not the end of increases. The city is already anticipating higher fees in the future to fund capital projects outlined in the Master Sewer Plan set to be approved in August.

Some residents are challenging the legality of the increase. Resident Gerry Madea said the increase is illegal under California law unless voters approve it.

Five recreation groups vying for Hills bond money

Gopher holes in sports fields, poor drainage in the town riding ring and the need for a community center offering children’s programs are among the things that Los Altos Hills could be remedying in the near future.

The city council is considering requests made by five local recreation groups for $319,167 made available to the city through state grants. Project proposals have been submitted by the parks and recreation committee for paddock development at Westwind Barn; the Los Altos Hills Horsemen’s Association to renovate the riding ring on Purissima Road; Supporters of Westwind Community Barn for a community room; Mountain View/Los Altos Soccer Club to build a synthetic turf soccer field at the Bullis Elementary School site; and Los Altos Little League to replace the riding ring with a playing field or add two baseball diamonds to the proposed soccer field at Bullis.

Editorial

The Los Altos City Council made the right move last week when members denied a proposal from Pinewood School officials to expand their campus along Fremont Avenue.

For years, the prestigious private school has coexisted peacefully with the neighborhood. But its success has drawn higher enrollment and greater needs. Pinewood officials were asking for expansion to an adjacent lot to build five new buildings. All told, their plans called for accommodating 160 students.

Letters to the Editor

Pedestrians at peril on San Antonio
Christopher Bruno

I read with interest and concern your article (April 13) regarding the perilous conditions on San Antonio Road for cyclists and pedestrians. My own teenage son was struck on his bicycle at a crosswalk in San Mateo last week by an unobservant motorist, and I […]

The bad and the good of it

The San Francisco Chronicle’s television critic calls himself “Cranky Pants” and gets away with eviscerating the shows he really dislikes. Another Chronicle columnist vents her ire with devastating honesty - and reaps a loyal following. With some trepidation, I’m going to try their style, and worry about any consequences later.

Here we go! The major objects of my daily irritation are SUVs. I’m aware there are many in Los Altos and all over the Peninsula. I counted 22 rushing by me as I idly sat in my car outside Safeway on First Street. When I drive, they seem to take up much of the lane closest to me, and I have to speed up or slow down to avoid the adrenaline rush. When I park, by some law of fatal destiny I come out and find an SUV on either side of me. It takes courage to back out when I can’t see cars approaching me. Therefore, I inch out.

Obituary Notices

HELEN A. YUILL
Helen A. Yuill a long-time Palo Alto and Los Altos resident died on April 29, 2005. She was 85.
Mrs. Yuill was active in the mid-Peninsula community as a speech and drama professor at Foothill and De Anza Colleges, as an actress at the Los Altos Conservatory Theater and […]

Engagements

Anne-Marie Mitchell and Michael Sanford
Anne-Marie Mitchell and Michael Sanford have announced their engagement to be married May 28 at the Central Peninsula Church in Foster City where the father of the bride will perform the ceremony. Their reception will be held at Sunset Gardens in Menlo Park.
The bride-to-be is the daughter […]

Noteworthies

The National Association of Composers USA, SF Bay Area Chapter, will present a concert of new chamber music featuring two Los Altos composers, June 4, at the Palo Alto Art Center, at Newell and Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto.

Denes Agay will perform “Rhapsody in Waltz Time” for alto sax and piano.

2005 CSA winner Joan MacDonald continues to sing CHAC’s praises

Joan MacDonald wanted to set the record straight - she was not one of the founders of the respected Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC), as some of her admirers touted her to be. However, MacDonald proved a vital catalyst for making the non-profit youth counseling organization what it is today.

MacDonald spoke of CHAC’s history and achievements while receiving the 42nd Community Service Award May 11. The Los Altos-Mountain View District of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR) presented MacDonald the award at a luncheon held at Michael’s at Shoreline in Mountain View. The award annually recognizes unsung volunteers in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills or Mountain View.

LA library talk on United Kingdom’s political leanings

The World Affairs Council, Peninsula Chapter, and the Los Altos Library invite the community to a talk by Mark Bevir, “Will the UK Lean Toward the U.S. or Europe?” 7:30-9 p.m., tonight, at the Los Altos main library, 13 S. San Antonio Road. Refreshments will be served 7-7:30 p.m.

The new Labour Party has risen from a long period of uncertainty to become the natural leading party in the United Kingdom, while the Conservative party is now in the electoral wilderness.

Los Altos High School alumni from 45 graduating classes will converge on Los Altos Friday for three days of celebration as LAHS turns 50.

The weekend tees off at 10 a.m. Friday with a shotgun scramble at Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Gilroy and continues through Sunday. Saturday will see the serious partying, beginning with the school’s first carnival, an all-day event to which the community is enthusiastically invited.

Commuters opt for bikes over cars during Bike to Work Day

Even with gas prices nearing $3 per gallon, saving money isn’t the only reason to bike to work. It reduces traffic and is good for your health.

That’s according to Los Altos organizers promoting the Bay Area’s 11th annual Bike to Work Day, scheduled 7-8:30 a.m., Thursday.

Los Altos resident chosen among 100 most influential women in Bay Area

The San Francisco Business Times named Los Altos resident Joann Zimmerman one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, May 5, at an award dinner held at the San Francisco Hilton.

Zimmerman is Kaiser Permanente’s senior vice president of operations for Northern California, with 10 Kaiser hospitals serving 3.2 million members reporting to her. Her responsibilities include working with the labor unions, functioning as liaison with Kaiser’s regional offices and addressing workplace safety issues.

Digging reveals discovery of wedding ring, dated 1896

When the United States joined World War I in 1917, Menzo Loucks rented out most of Oak Grove, his 33-acre ranch at the corner of El Camino Real and San Antonio Road. One farmer grew tobacco there but gave up the experiment after a year.

• The first Horseplay Fiesta took place in June 1937 at Hidden Villa. For the 1952 fiesta held at Pink Horse Ranch, “Races, Games, and action Galore” were promised, and the Los Altos Quota Club ran the concession to raise money for a tennis court at Covington School. The 1956 fiesta concentrated on raising money for the Los Altos Youth Center.

Community Briefs

Democratic Coalition featuring local officials
The Peninsula Democratic Coalition is sponsoring two events, each featuring a well-known state political figure.
State Treasurer Phil Angelides, a gubernatorial candidate, is scheduled to speak 7:15 p.m., Thursday, at the Los Altos Youth Center. The Youth Center is located at 1 North San Antonio Road in the […]

Pet of the Week

These healthy and friendly young domestic ducks are looking for a new home. The shelter often receives barnyard animals such as roosters, chickens, geese, ducks and occasionally a goat or pig. The ducks can be adopted - together or separately - at Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road. For more information, call 496-5971.

Calendar

Ongoing
Los Altos Senior Center, 97 Hillview Ave., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondays through Fridays.
Today
Los Altos Parks, Arts and Recreation Commission, 7 p.m., city hall, 1 N. San Antonio Road.
Community Health Awareness Council, 3:30 p.m., 711 Church St., Mountain View.
Mountain View Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., city hall, […]

Seniors News

Services offered at the Los Altos Senior Center include:

• Counsel on Aging, HICAP: Insurance counseling the third Tuesday of every month with Roy Ito. Make appointments through the Senior Center.

Pancake breakfast raises $1,700 for Relay For Life

Thanks to the Rancho merchants and the FIT and Covington School PTA Relay For Life teams, the annual Rancho Pancake Breakfast once again brought community members out to eat pancakes, drink juice and coffee, listen to live entertainment and participate in children’s arts and crafts. Many old-time Los Altos community members were thrilled that after a brief hiatus, the breakfast had returned to Rancho. The event raised $1,700 to support the Los Altos Relay For Life, which is scheduled June 25 and 26 at Los Altos High School.

ChopShticks comedy show to be held at the ‘Cabaña’ June 4

After selling out comedy events for the last three years, a Los Altos family has planned shows in a new venue. On June 4 their company, ChopShticks Productions, is scheduled to present “Comedy at the Cabaña,” billed as intelligent humor for the comedy connoisseur. This is ChopShticks’ premiere event at the Crowne Plaza Cabaña Hotel in Palo Alto. Shows are scheduled for 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

“The response to our comedy shows has been overwhelming,” said Gloria Goldblatt, the producer of ChopShticks Productions. “Our audience has clamored for more of our signature style of intelligent humor - humor that captures the Zeitgeist of the Silicon Valley. At the last ChopShticks show, the audience couldn’t get enough and particularly went wild over the quick wit and offbeat hilarity of Andrew Norelli. It was phenomenal. So, we’re showcasing Andrew, and you could say we’re back by popular demand!”

Federated women present winners

The Federated Woman’s Club of Los Altos held its 11th annual student art contest in March. Students from the entire Los Altos School District entered with 77 submissions. This year, first-place winners at each grade level received a $100 savings bond. Twelve honorable mentions received a certificate and a ribbon. The winner over all entries was Haley Jones, a third-grader from Almond School. Her entry was submitted to a statewide convention May 12. Pictured here are club members Dorothy Berryman, holding the first-place winner, and Doe Melrose, the event chairwoman. All entries are on display at the Los Altos main library.

El Camino Hospital’s Roadrunners need more runners

The El Camino Hospital-based volunteer group, whose members provide transportation for seniors who can no longer drive, needs more volunteer drivers.

“We currently need 10 to 12 additional volunteer drivers who could donate a half-day once a week,” said coordinator Lila Steiner. “We offer a flexible schedule, the camaraderie of other volunteers and affiliation with one of the most reputable hospitals in the country. The only requirements are a clean California driver’s license, some patience and dependability.”

Public invited to judge art for calendar

More than two dozen local artists last month accepted the challenge to once again “Paint the Town.” This time the task was to recall “what was, not what is” in greater Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.

Participating in the April 16 “Arts Alive” event, artists set up workstations downtown, painting such historic structures as the old downtown movie theater and the now-demolished Winbigler house.

Los Altos Hills town picnic to be held June 5

The eighth annual Los Altos Hills Town Picnic is scheduled 1-4 p.m., June 5, at the Little League Fields on Purissima Road at Viscaino Road.

The picnic features lunch, games, a magician, Ye Olde Towne Band of Los Altos, crafts, model trains and other attractions.

24 hours in June dedicated to fighting cancer

The American Cancer Society has scheduled “The 2005 Los Altos Relay For Life: 24 Hours of Hope,” June 25 and 26, at Los Altos High School.

The all-volunteer relay is a 24-hour event starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday with an initial Survivor Lap and ending with a closing ceremony at 10 a.m., Sunday.

Hannemann wins Challenge Team award

“Would everyone please stand?” Rich Fischer commanded the 100-plus breakfasters at Michael’s at Shoreline May 12. They were on hand to support the Mountain View-Los Altos-Los Altos Hills Challenge Team and to recognize their annual honoree for outstanding volunteer leadership.

Fischer continued by asking categories of people to sit down: those who had never done volunteer work (no one sat down); those who had never coached youth sports (several sat down); those who had never belonged to the American Association of University Women (more sat); those who had never been a Los Altos School District trustee (most sat down); those who had never been president of Rotary (more sat); those who had never been a Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School trustee - and only one person was left standing: Judy Hannemann. She had filled all those roles thoughout her many years of serving the community, and she was the 2005 honoree.

Make a difference - mentor a high school student

Why is mentoring useful? Because adolescence can be a particularly difficult time of life. Many changes in school, family and friends occur during this period. Sometimes it takes an objective friend to help a student down the path to success.

Partners for New Generations helps provide that objective friend, in the form of a mentor. The PNG mentoring program has proved very successful as measured both by the number of mentor requests from students and by student improvement. As a result of the program’s success, PNG needs more mentors.

Santa Rita students make the leap

Alexis Chapin, 10, leads blindfolded Audrey Cashen, 11, who leaps over a “river” during Santa Rita Elementary School’s Character Counts week. Tuesday’s exercises were intended to build trust and trustworthiness. The other lessons, taking place May 6-13, were citizenship, respect, fairness, responsibility and caring. Students were encouraged to participate in daily activities, which were designed to reinforce the day’s theme. They were awarded at the week’s end with a Santa Rita CHARACTER bracelet fashioned after the popular LIVESTRONG bracelet.

De Anza student newspaper earns 17 state awards

La Voz, De Anza College’s weekly student newspaper, was honored for general excellence in two categories - for its newspaper and for its online publication - at this year’s Journalism Association of Community Colleges statewide convention held in Sacramento April 7-9.

The La Voz staff also won the following awards:

St. Simon student wins state geography bee

Peter Johnston, 13, a seventh-grader at St. Simon School in Los Altos, won the state geography bee April 1 in Sacramento. He is the son of Karen and Lonn Johnston of Palo Alto.

The winning question was, “The summits of the world’s five highest volcanoes are located in which mountain system in the Western Hemisphere?” (The answer is the Andes Mountains.)

Family awards scholarships

Woody DeMayo, a resident of Los Altos Hills since 1996, has established the Gail Wagner DeMayo Scholarship and named its first recipients. DeMayo said the scholarships will be given annually to two graduating Los Altos High School seniors planning to study art in college.

“I established the scholarships to honor my wife and provide some aid for students who needed it to further their art studies,” he said.

Bullis Charter School students tour historic sites

U.S. government and history lessons came to life for fifth- and sixth-graders of Bullis Charter School during a weeklong trip in April to Washington, D.C., Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown.

Highlights of the trip, designed to reinforce the school’s U.S. history curriculum, were the laying of a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and meeting Sen. Barbara Boxer. The children also enjoyed meeting Egyptian Ambassador Nabil Fahmy and his wife, Nermine Abdel-Naby, and visiting their residence.

Homestead places 14th in national math contest

Homestead High School finished 14th in the 2005 Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest, a national mathematics contest administered by National Assessment & Testing (www.natassessment.com). While most math competitions encourage rote memorization, familiar problems and quick mental reflexes, the Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest presents schools with 15 unique, intricate problems to be solved over the course of a week. Under the guidance of coach Steve Headley, students worked together using brainstorming, collaboration, research and technology to solve the problems, gaining experience with skills that will be critical in college and their careers.

The 2005 Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest included creative problems accessible to students of all abilities, such as one asking about numbers that can be generated using only one each of the numbers 2 through 5. For example, the number 120 is the largest that can be produced when only addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are allowed: 120 = 2 x 3 x 4 x 5. Other problems on the test started out simply but progressed to some very difficult conclusions. One such problem involved positions attainable in various board games. Early parts of this problem asked how many unique board positions could be achieved after two moves in checkers and chess. Even students wholly unfamiliar with these games could find the rules on the Internet and answer this question quickly (49 and 400, respectively). However, later parts of the problem asked how many unique board positions could be achieved after three moves in checkers, chess and go, which required in-depth analysis of many intermediate positions, as well as knowledge of unique rules such as the forced capture rule in checkers and the ability of players to pass in go.

Sacred Heart ‘Pulses’ this weekend

Sacred Heart Preparatory School’s a cappella quartet, Pulse, will present Jason Robert Brown’s “Songs for a New World” at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, and 2 p.m., Sunday, at the Campbell Center for the Performing Arts at the school, 150 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton. Pulse is composed of Los Altos seniors Emily Borromeo, alto; Nic Rouleau, tenor; and Nicole Villeneuve, soprano; and Sean Kranz, bass-baritone, of Atherton. Tickets are $8 for adults; $5 for students and the school faculty. To order tickets, call 968-6480.

St. Nick alum dedicates project to school

Many local students and their families spent spring break on vacation, but 14-year-old Matt Giebler of Los Altos and his family spent the break at Giebler’s alma mater, St. Nicholas School. When students returned in April, a brand-new, hand-constructed wooden shed stood in place of the one that had been slowly rotting away.

“Matthew Giebler is an example of someone who takes pride in giving back. At St. Nicholas, we try and emphasize service to the broader community. The building of the shed is a wonderful, and very visible, example of giving back, not just for the benefit of oneself, but for others,” said Father Gary Thomas, pastor of St. Nicholas.

Scholarships for Latinos, military dependents

PacifiCare’s Latino Health Scholars program plans to award 70 $2,000 scholarships to Spanish-speaking, bicultural high school students seeking careers in health care. In addition, PacifiCare will bestow Freedom Awards of $25,000 each on the two most deserving and qualified applicants.

Eligible candidates are high school seniors who are fluent in Spanish and English and maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0. Applicants must show proof of acceptance into a university, community college or accredited technical college and must be enrolled in an approved health care program at the time they receive the scholarship.

Schools Briefs

Marine biology camp in Fiji
Los Altos and Mountain View science students and teachers have organized a summer camp in Fiji to conduct marine biology experiments. One of the goals of the studies is to “Keep Fiji Fiji.” FijiFiji BioCamp will run for 12 days, June 25 to July 7.
Students interested […]

Noteworthies

Tyler Gloski of Los Altos has been named to the academic honor roll for the winter term at Northfield Mount Hermon School, Northfield, Mass. An independent boarding school established in 1879, Mount Hermon School educates 890 students each school year and 240 in summer school.

Abigail Do, a Los Altos High School student, has won an AFSA Awards for Excellence Scholarship. This is a nationally competitive program that awards scholarships for study abroad. Abigail will use her scholarship to study in France.

12 local students selected for National Merit Scholarships

Ten local students have been selected to receive National Merit Scholarships. Two more students have won corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships.

The following 10 local students are among the 2,500 distinguished high school seniors who have won National Merit $2,500 Scholarships: Los Altos residents Eleanor J. Birrell, Los Altos High School; Benjamin Chen, Mountain View High School; Jocelyn T. Chin, MVHS; Joyce K. Ho, Castilleja School; Bryce C. Hoffman, LAHS; Julia L. Renaud, Castilleja; Kimberly D. Tran, St. Francis High School; and Los Altos Hills residents Charles A. Kang, Gunn High School; Wei Wei Liu, LAHS; Daniel P. Wenger, Woodside Priory School.

Gunn Class of ‘75 schedules reunion

The 30th reunion of the Class of 1975, Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto, is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., July 23, at Baylands Park, Sunnyvale.

For more information, contact Donna Helliwell at dhelliwe@yahoo.com or Lee McNeely Vojvoda at 948-3050.

Student art aids at-risk children

A group of third- through sixth-grade students at Pinewood School in Los Altos prepared all school year for an exhibit of their art held April 30 at Gallery 9, 143 Main St., Los Altos. Each week at 7:30 a.m., they gathered in the school art room to work together on paintings they would sell to raise money to benefit children served by EMQ Children and Family Services, a private, non-profit mental health center. Art teacher Phil Rosenthal initiated the project, which raised $2,000, all of which students donated to EMQ. Gallery 9, owned and run cooperatively by local artists, donated the exhibition space for the fund-raising event.

LAHS track coach has Eagles soaring

The Los Altos High track and field team has landed a jumps coach with impressive credentials. Miche Hoffer, hired Jan. 25, is a four-time Swedish national decathlon champion.

“I competed up until last year,” said Hoffer, a member of Sweden’s national team for 14 years. “After that year, I felt that I had accomplished as much as I wanted to accomplish. I have other goals now.”

Institutional investors buy lagging tech stocks

The Dow Jones industrial average of large blue chip stocks led the way down last week on heavier volume. The Dow declined 2 percent and the S&P 500 1.5 percent, both breaking a three-week winning streak. These two indexes often move together even though the composition of the S&P 500 is much broader.

The Dow is made up of 30 industrial stocks, many of which are household names like General Motors, General Electric and Wal-Mart. The S&P 500 was designed to have a broader market representation by using 500 stocks from all the major industry groups. Both are market-weighted, which gives more influence to the larger companies in the group. The largest 30 companies in the S&P 500 are many of the same names as are in the Dow 30 stocks. While smaller companies influence the index, more than 40 percent of the group’s performance can be attributed to these larger stocks.

Former Los Altos resident a ‘rising star’ at Sun Microsystems

Leslie Lambert, a former Los Altos resident, has been honored with a “Ones to Watch” award by CIO Magazine for her work as Vice President, IT Service Management, at Sun Microsystems. She was presented the award in a ceremony May 10 at the CIO Leadership Conference in Cambridge, MA.

“This is a tremendous honor to be recognized by CIO magazine,” Lambert said. “CIO magazine is one of the premier bellwether publications of the IT industry, for both IT and business executives and I am very proud to have been selected, along with a fantastic set of fellow honorees.”

‘Blogging’ along together!

In the 1950s I reported for a test for a job. They said I scored so high in logic that I could be trained to be a programmer. I asked, “What’s a programmer?”

I left the 1950s with years of programming and systems analysis under my belt.

Coldwell Banker launches comprehensive technology program

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the largest residential real estate brokerage company in Silicon Valley, recently announced that it has launched a comprehensive technology program, with a sweeping series of initiatives that will maximize sales associate efficiency and optimize homebuyer and seller relationships in the coming months.

The four-pronged program, deployed on an accelerated schedule, features a state-of-the-art Web-based platform, powerful lead management technology, significant Internet marketing investments and strategic online relationships, resulting in immediate benefits for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage sales associates and clients.

Brain procedure generating wave of support

Dr. Janusz Smolenski of Los Altos is using cutting-edge technology to treat depression - except that this technology has nothing to do with cutting or invasive surgery.

Smolenski, an engineer turned psychiatrist, uses transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as one of his treatment modalities for depression. The technology, first developed in the mid-1980s, involves a special electromagnet delivering short bursts of energy to stimulate nerve cells in the brain. Smolenski uses rapid-rate TMS (rTMS), considered even more effective in treating depression. The frequencies used range from 1 to 20 pulses per second.

Siblings bicker when compared

Q: How do I tell my friend who complains about her children’s

constant bickering and tattling

Offer toddlers healthful foods in structured way

I have always enjoyed working with parents of infants and toddlers. My passion for helping parents work through feeding and nutritional problems was renewed a year and a half ago when I had my first child.

I know firsthand how challenging it can be to manage your new lifestyle with a recent addition to the family. Trying to balance work with parenthood while maintaining a good relationship with your spouse and taking care of your own health and well-being can be quite challenging. Adding toddler feeding issues to this juggling act can create emotional turmoil for parents.

Options available for dealing with menopause

The word “menopause” comes from two Greek words that mean “month” and “to end.” That’s a rather fitting description of the end of a woman’s reproductive phase of life. The medical definition of menopause is the absence of menstruation for 12 months. In American women, the average age for menopause is 51. Menopause also occurs when the uterus and ovaries are surgically removed. Perimenopause, the period of time preceding menopause, can last from two to 15 years and is due to the declining and erratic levels of estrogen and progesterone. For some women the perimenopausal period can be more bothersome than actual menopause.

A woman’s menstrual cycle is controlled by the endocrine system, which is regulated by glands in the brain. Two important hormones involved in the cycle are follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), which help regulate estrogen and progesterone. The ovaries have a limited number of eggs, and these eventually run out. FSH levels rise in an attempt to cause the remaining eggs to mature and hence increase estrogen levels. During menopause, these attempts are futile and the FSH just continues to rise. FSH levels can help determine whether a woman is in menopause.

‘French Women’ a sweet and light, not too filling read

This reviewer lost 3 pounds while reading “French Women Don’t Get Fat,” by Mireille Guiliano (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005). No pounds thereafter, at least not yet.

Subtitled “The Secret of Eating for Pleasure,” this book suggests a healthy approach to food. Not a crash diet, Guiliano’s gentle plan could last a lifetime.

Los Altan succeeds in Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s triathlon

Los Altos resident Rich Larsen finished in the top 25 percent of the competition at the May 1 Wildflower Triathlon in Monterey County. As a member of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training, he beat his personal goal of three hours in the grueling race.

“The strategy in a race like this is to capitalize on your strengths,” Larsen said. “Swimming is not my strong suit, so I swam outside and towards the back of the pack to reduce the number of people swimming over the top of me.”

You have to know when to Hold ‘Em at local poker clubs

As I traded the floorman three crisp twenties, he neatly dropped three stacks of blue chips on the felt. “Would you like to post now?” the dealer asked as I took my seat. Every eye at the table was looking me over, sizing me up.

“Sure, I’ll post now,” I said as I tossed 2 blue chips in front of me. (Posting is a forced bet new players must place to enter the action.) As the dealer dealt the cards, the betting sizzled to a blistering pace. Chips flew into the pot. Mere seconds had gone by when the dealer demanded, “Call or raise.” I hadn’t even looked at my cards yet.

Books Briefs

Former LAHS principal analyzes hiking tragedy
Former Los Altos High School Principal Bob Madgic is scheduled to sign copies of his latest book, “Shattered Air: A True Account of Catastrophe and Courage at Yosemite’s Half Dome,” 10:30 a.m., Saturday, at Main Street Cafe & Books, 134 Main St., Los Altos. Madgic will be […]

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).

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