Moving right along

Tim Justus is a man in transition in a community in transition. As the Los Altos School District’s new superintendent learns his way around, three of the five members of the school board head for the door, the district budget balances on the rim of the state’s Basic Aid bucket, the paint dries on Phase 1 construction, 100 five-year-olds scamper across the Bullis-Purissima quad to the district’s first extended-day kindergarten, and Bullis Charter School’s lawsuit moves into mediation.

“Transitions are wonderful times: Everything’s brand-new, and that’s exciting,” the energetic Justus said as he drove from school to school last week.

MVLA welcomes newcomers, new year

New teachers in the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District last week learned how to succeed in school from someone with inside information - Superintendent Rich Fischer.

Fresh from his first appearance as the new president of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, the self-styled “luckiest superintendent in the state” briefed 25 district newcomers on his expectations of them during an orientation session in the Los Altos High School library.

Judge gives go-ahead for pool center at Rosita Park

Los Altos can move forward with a community swimming pool project at Rosita Park, a superior court judge decided Aug. 16.

Santa Clara County Judge Leslie Nichols determined that the city has complied with the court’s 2003 request to conduct further environmental studies on the project.

News

Members of the newly formed North Los Altos Neighborhood Association hoped the planning commission’s decision last week not to make any changes to the zoning code would prohibit a three-story, 29-unit condominium project from moving forward. The project was up for approval Tuesday night after the Town Crier’s press deadline.

The resident group was prepared to take the matter to court, pending the Los Altos City Council’s decision, a spokesman said.

LA mayor asks residents to oppose school board candidate

David Casas, currently serving as mayor of Los Altos, is asking residents to withhold their votes for former Mayor Francis La Poll in the Los Altos School District Board race this fall.

In a letter to the editor in today’s Town Crier (Page 9), Casas, as a private citizen, asked residents to “seriously consider other candidates who genuinely have the well-being of the Los Altos School District foremost in their mind.”

LAH investigates whether town or residents are liable for pathway injuries

A hiker on one of Los Altos Hills’ public pathways falls and is injured. Who is liable - the resident whose property the trail crosses or the town which holds the right-of-way to the path?

That’s the what-if scenario town staff are investigating after a resident asked the city council to establish a written indemnification policy that would protect homeowners from being sued.

LAH set to reorganize finance committee

The Los Altos Hills City Council plans to “strengthen” one of its advisory committees. Earlier this month, the finance and investment committee reported the council had up to $3 million from the general fund to spend on a site for the Bullis Charter School.

The council discussed last Thursday assigning two councilmen as voting members to the committee. Currently, Councilman Jean Mordo, liaison to the committee, cannot vote. The council is expected to adopt the changes at its next meeting.

Letters to the Editor

Village? Suburb is more like it
Randy Rhody

To the downtown merchants, Los Altos is a “village.” Our Town Crier calls it a “town.” The city council calls it a “city.” Clearly, Los Altos lacks an identity.
I propose that we adopt the title “suburb.” I say this as someone who likes to […]

How the doughnut was born and other food facts

• In 1847 young Hanson Gregory was helping his mother make fried cakes. He asked her why the centers were always so soggy. She told him that for some reason they never got cooked when the cakes were done, so Hanson decided to poke out the center of some uncooked cakes with a fork. His mother cooked them, and the doughnut was born.

• Banana oil never saw a banana, it is made from petroleum.

The best and worst of my summer vacation

I’ve got nothing on Rick Steves, but here are some highlights from our family cruise on the Baltic:

Best City for Photographing Precious Artwork - St. Petersburg, Russia, hands down. Pay the museum, and you can snap and flash all you want. A cadre of babushkas makes certain that your camera bears the sticker which indicates fee payment. They may be old and female, but they mean business. Don’t mess with a babushka.

Sarah Reimer founded Federated Woman’s Club of Los Altos

There wasn’t much of a social scene for women when Sarah Margaret Reimer and her husband, George, moved to Los Altos in 1954. Rather than sit idle, Mrs. Reimer began knocking on neighbors’ doors until she convinced about a dozen women that the town needed a well-organized club for women.

Mrs. Reimer became the founding president of the Federated Woman’s Club of Los Altos in 1957.

Obituary Notices

DINA CARRIKER
Dina Carriker cared for generations of local residents during her 41-year career as a registered nurse at San Francisco General Hospital. The lifelong San Francisco resident, known for her sharp wit and big heart, died Aug. 6 of cancer. She was 89.
Born March 14, 1916, Ms. Carriker was the eldest […]

Weddings

Susan Stoesser and Aurel Foglein
Susan C. Stoesser and Aurel T. Foglein are scheduled to be married Sept. 17 at Stanford Memorial Church. A reception will follow at Michaels at Shoreline.
The bride is the daughter of Don and Terri Stoesser of Grass Valley and Los Altos Hills. She graduated from Los Altos […]

Births

A daughter, Sienna Schmulbach, was born July 31 to Los Altos residents Edmond Schmulbach and Julia Fong.

The baby, born at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Redwood City, weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces.

Announcement Guidelines

E-mail wedding, engagement,

anniversary and birth

Los Altos native awarded Peabody

The documentary film “Rwanda: Do Scars Ever Fade?”, directed, edited, produced and co-written by Los Altos native Paul Freedman, received a Peabody Award May 16 and will compete for several Emmy Awards Sept. 18. The film, first televised Dec. 19 on The History Channel, was created 10 years after the genocide in Rwanda. Approximately 75 percent of the country’s Tutsi minority population - an estimated 800,000 people - were killed within 100 days in 1994.

“I wanted to put a personal face on what happened,” Freedman said. “You hear these numbers like ‘800,000 Rwandans,’ and it’s just a big number. You don’t feel anything.”

Pets of the Week

Both of these 1-year-old spayed female cats were found in an abandoned hotel where they were raising their young kittens. They are sisters and shared the responsibility of raising each other’s litter. The shelter was able to find homes for all the kittens, and agency workers are now looking for a fun-loving home for these two lively females described as “just overflowing with personality.” Both cats have gentle temperaments, according to an agency representative. To adopt the cats, stop by Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, or call 496-5971.

Calendar

Ongoing
Los Altos Senior Center 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, 97 Hillview Ave.
Today
Los Altos Traffic Committee, 7 p.m., city hall, 1 N. San Antonio Road.
Los Altos Hills Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., town hall, 26379 Fremont Road.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board of Directors, […]

LA celebrates summer’s end with community bash

Los Altos is hosting a final summer bash for residents and their guests Sunday at the fourth annual Community Picnic.

The event includes three entertainment stages, live music, dance performances, a classic car show, museum tours, kid and senior zones and a barbecue lunch prepared by local firefighters.

Community Briefs

Federated club to hold first meeting
The Federated Woman’s Club of Los Altos has scheduled its first meeting of the season at 11 a.m. Sept. 7 at Michaels Restaurant, Shoreline Boulevard, Mountain View. After lunch at noon, the 1 p.m. program will feature a violin/piano duet performed by Tibor Horvath and Yelena Savehenko, […]

‘Mastering the Game’ traces history of computerized chess

Imagine a museum where ancient history starts in the 1940s and a relic from 1982 seems as timeworn as a medieval abacus.

That place is the Computer History Museum at 1401 N. Shoreline Boulevard, Mountain View, which preserves the personalities and stories of the information age as well as its physical artifacts.

Library celebrates rivers in honor of park opening

Santa Clara County Library will feature special river-themed programs throughout September in honor of the opening of Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, a 120-acre regional open space preserve that has been more than 20 years in the making.

During September, the library will offer activities related to rivers. The events will include puppet shows, films, crafts and talks held by guest speakers. The library has also compiled a list of recommended reading.

Honk for solar power

As the Million Solar Roofs Bill heads into its last votes in the Assembly, Environment California activists have launched a series of “Honk for Solar” rallies in the Bay Area in support of the nation’s largest solar power bill, SB 1.

A rally is planned for the Los Altos Farmers’ Market 2-4 p.m. today at the corner of Main and First streets in the downtown.

Residents eager to serve on school boards

Competitors for local school board races are spilling onto the field.

Eight candidates are vying for the three seats soon to be vacated on the governing board of the Los Altos School District.

Schools Briefs

Teacher who sued CUSD resigns
Stephen J. Williams, the teacher who sparked national outrage against the Cupertino Union School District when he filed suit in federal court in November claiming his principal curtailed his First Amendment rights, resigned his position Aug. 15. Williams was not available for comment. A district spokesman declined to […]

Oak School’s innovative garden a plum

One of the brightest spots at the renovated Oak Avenue School is the new creative play and educational garden between the rear classrooms and the sports field.

At the school’s grand reopening, held over the weekend, visitors toured new classrooms lit by a combination of automatically controlled natural and electric light, strolled through refreshing outdoor corridors and found the garden waiting in the rear.

Egan students get a lock on the new school year

Clockwise from left, Egan Junior High School students K.K. Sandlin, Kendra Cavanty, Moriah Ramirez, Jordan Campitelli and Chris Beyer try out their new lockers at orientation last Thursday.

Force out at home

The All-Star Academy of Baseball is in need of a new home - and new ownership.

The Mountain View-based academy has lost its lease and will close its 26,000-square-foot facility Tuesday to make way for a new Nob Hill supermarket. Academy owner Tom Senna said he fought the eviction for months - he signed a five-year lease when the business opened in March of 2003 - but recently agreed to a settlement because of mounting legal costs.

Gas prices go up, Nasdaq goes down

While last Friday’s market action saw little change for the broad averages, the week ended down for the major indexes.

The Nasdaq ended its third straight down week off 1 percent. It is 3.8 percent off its recent yearly high reached Aug. 3. Meanwhile the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost for the week 0.9 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. The small cap S&P 600 index is off about 4.7 percent from its early August peak and lost 1.4 percent for the week. The smaller stocks lead the spring/summer rally and have been leaders since the market’s resurgence in 2003.

Oldest business in Los Altos turns 71

In a world where chains like Rite Aid Drugstore and Longs Drugs stand tall in practically every shopping center, it’s amazing that local pharmacies stay in business.

Despite the recent influx of big-box companies, including the two-year-old Walgreens in the downtown triangle, Los Altos Pharmacy isn’t even struggling to keep up with competitors that have multiple locations. The oldest business in Los Altos, this family-owned pharmacy has been satisfying community needs for 71 years.

Stretching and breath awareness

It may seem that yoga has bloomed overnight, but actually its popularity in America has been growing gradually for decades. Like a late-blooming beauty, yoga is surprising people with grace and dazzle.

Yoga is a daily discipline of stretching with breath awareness. The difference between yoga and other stretching is that yoga emphasizes awareness of breathing, which is the key to synchronizing mind, body and spirit. In that nexus lies the key to health. Research has shown that yoga reduces stress.

Did you know?

Firefighters at the El Monte Station in Los Altos Hills enjoyed some national media attention in 2001 when Oprah Winfrey featured them and their yoga regime on her television show.

The firefighters told Oprah that after a year of yoga practice, “Now we have more stamina and strength, which allow us to perform better physically. We are much calmer in emergency situations and more centered as a team.”

Mind, body, spirit must be excercised to stay fit

Mind-body-spirit is a term used to express the notion that a person’s mind, body and spirit are all mixed together in the same place; the health of one of these aspects affects the health of the others. According to this theory, if you do a purely physical workout without also working to focus and calm your mind, your chances of achieving extraordinary health are diminished. If you work on your physical and mental health, but neglect to incorporate an awareness of spirit, the vital principle or animating force within living beings, you will be missing something that you need.

This column will attempt to answer your questions about mind-body-spirit, with emphasis on achieving fitness though daily practice.

Allergic to cats? Here’s some advice

Cats are sweet and playful animals that are fun to have as pets. Do not forget, however, that these cuties can also cause a life-threatening condition in sensitized individuals.

There have been several theories on how that sensitization develops and how to prevent it. The conventional thought used to prohibit children from keeping cats. The rationale was that repeated exposure to cats might make children allergic. Newer studies have found just the opposite: Keeping cats may give immunity to children as they are growing up.

Lost in the diet-craze maze?

Diet fads come and go, and Americans just keep getting fatter. We are bombarded by a plethora of diet choices, all promising weight loss.

In the short term, many popular diets will result in weight loss. But to maintain that loss takes a permanent change in behavior. People have to eat less and move more. It sounds deceptively simple, but it is tougher than it sounds.

‘Moses’ analyzes Ten Commandments

Pulitzer Prize-winner Chris Hedges examines the importance of the Ten Commandments as a code of moral order and attempts to shed light on what is corroding our collective soul and leaving behind a creeping sense of hollowness and futility in his “Losing Moses on the Freeway” (Free Press, 2005).

After finishing Harvard Divinity School, Hedges did not take the ordination exams but chose instead to become a foreign correspondent, covering wars for 15 years - from El Salvador to Bosnia to Iraq - many of them for the New York Times. He is the author of “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning.”

Simon’s ‘A Break in the Storm’ dramatizes events in Europe between the world wars

Arnold Simon’s “A Break in the Storm” (Noldan Publishing, 2004) conjures up the world of Brussels in 1935-1936 - a worried world, a bruised and vulnerable world. Hearts recoiled at the very mention of The Great War. That past horror still lay too close, was yet too painful. Too many friends and relations had died. Old enemies were hardly forgiven.

Little wonder, then, that all of Europe was listening with heightened emotions to what was now coming from the Germany of this new Herr Hitler, threatening renewed terrors.

Books Briefs

Hey, Mom!
Linden Tree Children’s Recordings & Books has scheduled special events for fall. Two of the earliest of these are a sing-along and a book-signing.
Four talented musicians who also happen to be local moms will treat visitors to a sing-along concert at 10 a.m. today in the Linden Tree courtyard.
Audrey […]

Los Altan shares a moment in Thai life

With the instruction to gather food for dinner, a group of girls tumble out of the gate that differentiates the small farm and schoolyard from the jungle of northern Thailand. The girls head directly for the first banana tree they see.

Campbell museum to hold exhibit on decorative arts

The Campbell Historical Museum is set to open a new exhibit on decorative arts noon Sept. 17.

Also called functional arts, decorative arts evolved during the Victorian era and continued into the Arts and Crafts period.

The Town Crier welcomes travel submissions

If you are a resident of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills or Mountain View, the Town Crier wants to hear from you about your travel experiences.

Articles can be about nearly anything or anyplace, but articles containing travel advice, funny stories about misadventures or off-the-beaten-path suggestions would be most appreciated.