LA Council: a change of direction?

Voters will have another opportunity to further determine the direction of the Los Altos City Council when they go to the polls Nov. 8. Two seats, vacated by longtime councilmembers John Moss and King Lear, are up for grabs on the five-member board.

Four challengers, none of whom is an incumbent, are running for the seats. Two of them, Randall Hull and Val Carpenter, are active Los Altos volunteers who both serve on the city’s planning commission. Another, Kurt Colehower, a businessman with no previous experience serving on city boards, wants to “give back.” Finally, attorney Chris Croudace was inspired to run based on his opposition to the council’s September decision to approve a three-story, 29-unit condominium project at 5100 El Camino Real.

SV quality-of-life report has local tech leaders concerned

As the head of a Silicon Valley company, John Ambroseo doesn’t like how the future is unfolding for what once was the world center for high technology.

The Los Altos resident, president and CEO of Coherent, mulled over the findings of last month’s Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) report that showed our area lagging behind among the nation’s eight established high-tech regions in several areas, including affordable housing, transportation and tax incentives for businesses.

Details surface in molestation case

The 42-year-old Los Altos resident charged with molesting three Troop 31 Boy Scouts provided the names of at least eight scouts he had inappropriate contact with as a scout leader, according to court files.

Gregory Wagner also had planned an out-of-state trip with no return date at the time of his arrest, according to files. Wagner was a Boy Scout leader in the community for more than 20 years until the day of his arrest when he was dismissed from Los Altos Troop 31. He has been charged with nine felonies and if convicted, could face more than 27 years in jail.

Los Altos City Council candidates

Val Carpenter
• Biographical information:
Age 51. Born in Chicago. Business degree from Indiana University. MBA from Stanford University. Worked in marketing at Procter & Gamble, Advanced Micro Devices and at variety of high-tech companies. Served on the Los Altos Historical Commission. Currently on the Los Altos Planning Commission. Active with Girl Scout […]

Downtown loses another old-time business

Even as the city of Los Altos struggles to bring retail into the downtown’s empty storefronts, two of its oldest retail establishments have thrown in the towel.

Six months ago, Gregg’s-Boucher’s Appliances closed its doors after 60 years. Now the Los Altos Coffee Shop plans to close Jan. 1 after 27 years.

Some see conflict of interest in charter director’s district bid

Francis La Poll, on the Bullis Charter School Board of Directors since its inception and with a longtime association with the attorney who brought the charter’s first lawsuit against the Los Altos School District, is running for district trustee. Some local voters see a conflict of interest in his bid.

La Poll said he will resign from the charter board if he is elected to the district board, but his children will continue to attend the charter school.

LAH council funds redistricting study

The Los Altos Hills city council meeting took an unusual twist last Thursday as councilmembers were drawn into divulging their positions on creating a new school district in town.

City councils usually are not involved in school redistricting, a ballot measure that must be led by a group of citizens. Los Altos Hills is divided between two districts, Palo Alto Unified and Los Altos school districts.

A Roundup of California Initiatives

Proposition 73
Should the California Constitution be amended to require parental notification 48 hours before a physician performs abortion for a minor?
Yes: Physicians legally required to notify parents of a minor’s scheduled abortion.
No: Minors would continue to receive abortion services in the same manner as adults.
At stake: This proposition would […]

The Town Crier’s take on state initiatives

Proposition 73: Should parental notification 48 hours before a physician performs abortion for a minor be required? The initiative would mandate parent involvement. Vote YES.

Proposition 74: Should new teacher probationary period be increased from two to five years? Five years is too long. Most states have a three-year probation period. Vote NO.

Los Altos schools a source of community pride

I am proud to be the parent of two children who are thriving in the Los Altos School District and to serve as president of the Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF), which organizes the community to fund crucial educational enrichment programs such as art, music, science, libraries and physical education. But mostly I’m proud to live in a community that cares so deeply about public education.

Every year our schools are ranked as the top performers in the state. Last year, out of 5,499 public elementary schools in California, every one of our schools was in the top 1 percent. In a town where every real estate flier advertises great schools, our schools make Los Altos and Los Altos Hills an attractive place to raise a family and contribute to our high and stable home prices. Moreover, our schools reflect our values; the vast majority of our community is college educated and a large percentage has graduate degrees. It is fitting that our schools are so good and supported by so many.

Editorial

This year’s crop of candidates for Los Altos City Council features two candidates with a strong resumé of city involvement (Val Carpenter and Randall Hull) and two others with no history whatsoever (Kurt Colehower, Chris Croudace).

We appreciate candidates who have done their homework and paid their dues, if you will, to prepare for the council post. However, there’s also something to be said for those who can offer fresh approaches without being encumbered by city indoctrination.

Letters to the Editor

Why two different speed limits?
Bob Perdriau

Has anyone noticed that the speed limit on the Mountain View side of Springer Road is 30 mph? How much sense does it make to have two different speed limits on a single street depending on which direction one is driving?
Make the speed limit 30 mph. […]

Obituary Notices

Virginia Smith Faisant
Virginia (Ginny) Faisant, a long-time resident of Los Altos, died on September 8. She was 75.
Virginia was born June 10, 1930 in Shoshone, Idaho to Alta Elizabeth Gooding Smith and Daniel Sidney Smith. She graduated from Shoshone High School in 1948 and with Phi Beta Kappa honors from […]

Engagement

Jennifer Ewing and Bryan Steinbrueck have announced their engagement to be married July 16, 2006.

The bride-to-be is the daughter of Peter and Penny Ewing of Los Altos. She graduated from Mountain View High School and received a bachelor’s degree in business economics from UC Santa Cruz. She is employed at Borel Private Bank & Trust Co. in San Mateo.

Scouting News

Anthony Chern of Mountain View, Jeffrey Hynes of Sunnyvale, and Christopher Wong of Mountain View received their Eagle Scout awards at a Boy Scouts of America, Troop 33, Eagle Court of Honor ceremony held at the Los Altos United Methodist Church on June 29.

To earn the highest rank given by the Boy Scouts of America, the Eagle Scouts fulfilled requirements in the areas of leadership, service to the community, and outdoor skills.

Pianist to perform for El Camino healing arts program

Jon Nakamatsu, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist, will perform during Heartstrings, a benefit concert to raise funds for El Camino Hospital’s Healing Arts Program on Nov. 9.

The setting for the concert will be Stonebrook Court (formerly Morgan Manor) in Los Altos Hills, and the evening will feature a pre-concert dessert reception, brief tours of the restored historic mansion and a reception with the pianist following his performance.

Los Altos father and son take their train on the road

When an early-morning blaze left Fred Vertel’s Los Altos house as nothing more than a pile of rubble in 2003, it destroyed a labor of love - his museum-quality collection of model trains assembled over a lifetime.

But Fred and his son, Tom, have found a way keep trains in their lives, and this week the entire country will get to witness their success.

Friday’s raptor celebration marks successful season for Wildlife Rescue

This Friday volunteers and animal lovers will gather at Fogarty Winery for Wildlife Rescue Inc.’s Annual Raptor Release, a yearly fund-raiser and celebration for the non-profit group that tends to area wildlife. A red-shouldered hawk, a kestrel, a great horned owl and a gopher snake will be the stars of the show.

For the last 30 years the group has rehabilitated injured and orphaned wildlife from the cities of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View and Palo Alto. Last year, it received 2,130 animals, ranging from herons to squirrels to opossums.

Roundtable group holding ‘Media Day’ to help non-profits get their word out

The Mountain View-Los Altos Community Roundtable, a local group comprising representatives of the Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs of Los Altos and Mountain View and the Los Altos Community Foundation, is sponsoring “Media Day” from 3:30-5 p.m. Oct. 19 at Los Altos United Methodist Church.

Aimed at educating local non-profits, schools, churches and other community-based organizations on how to get more attention and press coverage for their events, “Media Day” will feature 10-15-minute presentations by representatives from local media and will include submission guidelines and tips from newspapers to assist in getting information published. A question-and-answer session will follow.

Town Crier solicits traffic questions for discussion

What are your chief concerns about Los Altos traffic? What questions would you like answered? We’d like to hear your questions as we prepare to engage local traffic officials in a roundtable discussion about traffic issues in Los Altos. The results of that discussion will appear in a Town Crier story.

We will forward as many of your questions/concerns as possible. Send submissions to Editor Bruce Barton at the Town Crier, 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, or send e-mail to bruceb@latc.com.

Local parks inspire work in Viewpoints exhibition

Local artist Floy Zittin is exhibiting a collection of her watercolors, “Walking Dreams - Musings on Shoreline and Rancho San Antonio,” Oct. 31 to Nov. 25 at Viewpoints Gallery in Los Altos.

Zittin has painted landscapes and wildlife studies of the two local preserves for many years, and in this show she distills the essence of her impressions of these parks working only from memory. The resulting paintings, while representing points along a trail, are filled with whimsy and celebrate the experience of hiking in the parks.

Peninsula Symphony gets into the swing of things with new season

The Peninsula Symphony opens its 57th season Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 with works by Wagner, Beethoven and Mahler, and features a performance by contemporary pianist and Sunnyvale native Jon Nakamatsu.

The program includes Wagner’s Prelude to Act III of “Lohengrin,” Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 58, featuring Nakamatsu, and Mahler’s “Titan” Symphony No. 1 in D major.

Stanford-Berkeley lecture series commemorates 100th anniversary of ‘06 San Francisco quake

The Great San Francisco Earthquake of April 18, 1906 is estimated to have killed more than 3,000 people and left 225,000 homeless along California’s San Andreas Fault. While these numbers pale in comparison to this past weekend’s earthquake disaster in Pakistan (more than 30,000 estimated dead), it was ranked as the worst natural disaster in the United States until Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast last August.

To commemorate the centennial of the historic temblor, the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University have scheduled a series of lectures focused on the 1906 earthquake and strategies for coping with major seismic events in the future.

Government by initiative is poor policy, SJSU professor asserts at Morning Forum

Government by initiative, California’s 100-year-old venture in direct democracy, is a “bad thing,” declared San Jose State political science professor Terry Christensen at the Los Altos Morning Forum Oct. 4.

Christensen, specialist in state and local politics and author of eight books, questioned the value of replacing representative government with direct democracy. In his view, initiatives are flawed answers to complex problems. Voters tend to lack any “deep knowledge” of an initiative’s pros and cons, which may be one reason why two-thirds of all ballot initiatives fail.

Forums for schools, Los Altos council candidates

The Los Altos-Mountain View League of Women Voters will host an election forum 7 p.m., Oct. 17, in the Los Altos City Council chambers, 1 N. San Antonio Road, for Los Altos City Council and Los Altos School District candidates.

The local league will also sponsor an election forum 7 p.m., Oct. 20, in the Mountain View City Council chambers, 500 Castro St., for the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board candidates.

Community Briefs

Western Horticultural Society speaker
“Tiptoe through the Meadow” is the topic of speaker John Greenlee of Greenlee Nursery at this month’s Western Horticultural Society meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today at Covington Elementary School, 295 Covington Road, Los Altos. Doors open at 7 p.m. Visitors are welcome.
CSA honoring ‘hometown heroes’
The […]

Calendar

Ongoing
Los Altos Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Today
Los Altos Hills Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., town hall, 26379 Fremont Road.
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board of Directors, 7:30 p.m., 330 Distel Circle, Los Altos.
Mountain View Parks and Recreation Commission, 7:30 p.m., 201 N. Rengstorff […]

Pet of the Week

Rocky, described as “a cute little butterball of a hamster” by the staff of Palo Alto Animal Services, is in need of a home. He also is described as easy to handle and fun to watch. You can adopt Rocky by stopping by Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, or by calling 496-5971.

Town Crier looking for writers to spin ’spooky’ stories

October is here, which means Halloween is right around the corner. And so is the Town Crier’s annual spooky stories contest.

We’re offering storytellers of all ages the opportunity to weave a Halloween-themed story in under 400 words. We are awarding first-, second- and third-place honors to the authors. First-place authors will receive a prize.

Public invited to attend class exploring issues raised by Hurricane Katrina

The Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) at Stanford University is offering a one-unit class, “Confronting Katrina: Race, Class and Disaster in American Society.” Taught by Stanford faculty, the class is free and open to the public.

“Like the rest of the nation, the faculty of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity was profoundly moved by the images of suffering and neglect we all witnessed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,” said Larry Bobo, CCSRE director and Stanford professor of sociology. “Throughout the country and here on the Stanford campus people are struggling to understand what went wrong and why.”

Katrina Relief

Los Altos Community Foundation
The Los Altos Community Foundation has established a Hurricane Katrina Fund for residents wishing to donate locally. The foundation will act as the fiscal agent for the fund and will send money to the New Orleans Community Foundation in care of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Hurricane […]

Pakistan-Kashmir earthquake relief

The following organizations are accepting donations to help aid those affected by the 7.6 earthquake that struck Pakistan and Kashmir Oct. 8.

• Salvation Army

‘Prisoners Under Glass’ goes to class

“It rocks!” said Justin Van De Vanter. He was critiquing “Prisoners Under Glass,” and he wasn’t throwing stones.

Ruthven Patrick’s first book, a contemporary fantasy written for the same readers who enjoy the “Harry Potter” series, was released just in time for her appearance last week in Carol Raymond’s English classes.

Schools Briefs

Santa Rita brews ‘Witches’ Delight’
Ghoulish goblins and wacky witches are planning to attend Santa Rita Elementary School PTA’s 45th annual “Witches’ Delight” Halloween carnival, scheduled for 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Oct. 29 at the school, 700 Los Altos Ave. The event attracts hundreds of local families and is a great way to […]

Students go take a walk

They’re walkin’, yes, indeed. Last Wednesday was “International Walk to School Day,” and local students were among the thousands from around the world who celebrated by dispensing with gasoline-powered vehicles for the day. The idea behind the day is to walk to school together with a purpose - to promote health, safety, physical activity and concern for the environment. Among Los Altos School District schools participating, Loyola Elementary School students, shown here, formed a “walking school bus,” conducted by Principal Linda Eckols and Superintendent Tim Justus. Members of the Covington Elementary community gathered at Los Altos Lutheran Church and the Chamber of Commerce to walk to the campus on Covington Road. Santa Rita participants also used the “walking bus” concept for their event.

Castro children say YES to reading

Fourth-grader Jennifer Salto read aloud from “The No-Five-Year-Olds Club,” oblivious to eavesdropping adults.

The Castro Elementary School student read with expression. When she came to an unfamiliar polysyllabic word, she calmly sounded it out: furn - i - ture. Furniture!

Relatively few opt out of military recruitment

Parents and peace activists concerned about military recruitment of high school students recently pointed to two difficulties with the Denial of Consent form that students took home at the beginning of the school year for their parents to read and sign - or not. The signed “opt out” form prevents the armed forces from trying to recruit students on or off campus.

One problem is that the form can be overlooked in the stack students took home. The other problem is that it may not be the only form parents need to sign to prevent recruiter contact.

Phonathon for LA schools to be held Oct. 17-20

The Los Altos Educational Foundation will kick its 2005-2006 fund-raising campaign into high gear with its annual phonathon Oct. 17-20.

The goal is to raise $100,000 more than last year, for a total of $1.45 million for educational enrichment in the Los Altos School District. Without foundation funds, certain districtwide programs - including library services, physical education, vocal and instrumental music, art aides, technology aides, computer instruction and class-size reduction - would not be possible.

FHDA bond ratings highest of state community colleges

The Foothill-De Anza Community College District received exceptional bond ratings from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s.

The creditworthiness ratings were given in conjunction with the district’s recent sale of its final series of general obligation bonds. During the refinancing of certificates of participation in 2003, the district received

Noteworthies

Amy Groves, daughter of Robbie and Alan Groves of Los Altos, graduated magna cum laude from the Leventhal School of Accounting at the University of Southern California, where she was on the dean’s list for all eight semesters. She is employed at Deloitte, a public accounting firm, in San Francisco.

Ashley Brooke Trepanier Hannebrink, a sophomore at Dartmouth College and the daughter of David and Renee Hannebrink of Los Altos Hills, is studying French in Paris as part of the college’s Foreign Study Program.

Bless the beasts … and the children

Students and staff of St. Joseph Elementary School celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, with their annual Blessing of the Animals Oct. 5 on the school grounds, 1120 Miramonte Ave., Mountain View. The school’s second-graders prepared and led the special prayer service. Here, the Rev. Oscar D. Tabujara conducts the blessing.

Eagles pick off Matadors

A nightmare of a football game for Monta Vista quarterback Alex Aikens played out like a dream for Los Altos linebacker Kellen McColl last Friday night.

McColl snared four of the seven interceptions thrown by Aikens and returned two for touchdowns in the Eagles’ 40-7 rout at Foothill College. The interceptions were the first of McColl’s high school career - and so were the touchdowns.

October’s traditional market volatility could be offset, some analysts believe

The stock market sold off last week to start off the month in negative territory.

Traditionally, October is a volatile month for stocks, but some analysts believe a sell off will set the stage for higher prices later in the quarter. Solid earnings and low inflation could support that contention but high-energy bills will translate into some degree of dampening for the economy.

Local CPA firm merges with national chain

Local accounting firm American Express Tax and Business Services, founded in 1977 as Young, Craig & Company, has moved up the business food chain yet again, merging with RSM McGladrey this month.

Managing director Dennis Young, a businessman active in local civic and volunteer groups, said that clients won’t see changes in their day-to-day services from the company.

New tax laws for donations of vehicles

Although the Internal Revenue Service may seem a hodgepodge of bureaucratic rules run amok, in reality “though this be madness, yet there is method in it,” in the immortal words of Polonius in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

The most recent changes to the tax laws regarding the charitable contribution of motor vehicles, boats and airplanes is a case of Congress trying to curb the abuse of prior tax laws. Notice 2005-44 in the Internal Revenue Bulletin provides the most current guidelines for such donations.

Coldwell Banker survey offers ‘apples-to-apples’ price listings

What’s the difference between Palo Alto and Killeen, Texas? About 1,770 miles and $1.4

million.

Cooking with class

Betty Ewing’s culinary class meets in the old woodshop at Los Altos High School. It is a fairly cavernous space with a large stove, rotisserie oven, several long cutting-height tables, double sinks, refrigerator, washer-dryer and plenty of walking-around room. There are some chairs and a computer but no desks.

Students start dribbling in soon after 10 a.m. A girl with soulful eyes wearing a miniskirt takes a chef’s coat off the hooks near the door and puts it on. A few quiet kids seem to materialize from nowhere and stand at the margins, surveying the field. Girls in twos arrive midsentence. A tall, handsome boy glides in, grooving to an inner beat. A clutch of large puppy-boys enters, all wearing royal-blue LAHS football jerseys, their arms and legs and heads windmilling into each other at the doorway. The volume ratchets up, Wild 94.9 turns on and the teenage kinesis takes over.

Slow Food is a cause aimed at saving a way of life

Slow Food has been anything but slow when it comes to attracting an international following of 80,000 members in 100 countries. The snail is the organization’s symbol, yet the group has been quick to influence the way we think about food.

Founded in 1986 by Carlo Petrini, a native of Italy’s Piedmont region, Slow Food embraces all that is local, seasonal, traditional and, above all, pleasurable in world food cultures. The idea for the organization arose from Petrini’s sense of outrage over news that McDonald’s was opening a franchise at the foot of Rome’s famed Spanish Steps.

Croatian man cooks on, through war and regime change

The Town Crier features local chefs in the monthly “Food & Wine” section. This month we profile Restaurant Ragusa owner Stijepo Savinovic.

Name: Stijepo “Steve” Savinovic.

Harvest season brings back memories of first crush

I remember the first time I participated in the “crush.” It seems like yesterday, but it was almost 30 years ago. I had invested in a winery project in Gilroy and we had built our building, purchased our equipment and contracted for grapes. The only problem was we were not sailing through the licensing process. The grapes started arriving, and we began crushing. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms arrived and said we couldn’t do that without a license. I believe we said we would talk to Mother Nature to see if she could stop the grapes from ripening! The ATF relented, and the fun began in earnest.

There is always a lot to be said about the romance of the harvest, but let me tell you, the romance can fade fast. It is hard work, and as long as the grapes keep coming, you keep working. We were not experienced so it was a trial by error until we got the system working efficiently. It is almost a guarantee some part of the equipment will break and slow things down.

Characters’ relationships to beauty at core of compelling new novel

In Zadie Smith’s latest novel, “On Beauty,” art historian Howard Belsey - English, bit of a stiff upper lip - is married to Kiki, an African-American earth mother type. Together they are raising three intelligent, high-energy children in a cozy New England college town on the outskirts of Boston. The three college-age children are son Jerome, who has just found Jesus and is passionate about sharing his faith (much to the discomfort of his agnostic parents); awkward, ardent intellectual daughter Zora; and the youngest child, Levi, adrift between the world of relative privilege where he grew up and the beckoning urban, black male street life of hustling, music and brotherhood.

Zora has decided to make her mark - if not by her brilliance then by dint of her unflagging perseverance - at Wellington College, where Belsey has taught for 10 years and is desperately trying to obtain tenure. It is also where the elder Belsey is joined, early in the novel, by a hated rival from England, Sir Montgomery Kipp, who, in addition to being a fellow academic and art historian whose views on art and politics are diametrically opposed to Belsey’s, is a very successful public intellectual and philanthropist and one of the first black men to graduate from Oxford University.

Books Briefs

Author of baseball book pitches on Main Street
Charlie Knell, co-author with Vince Scarich of “Celebrating Joy … the Rebirth of Baseball,” reviewed in the Town Crier Sept. 7, will sign copies of the book 7-8:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at Main Street Cafe & Books, 134 Main St.
Kepler’s reopens to crowds […]

Los Altos resident chronicles her move to Vienna

Eva Ciabattoni is a Los Altos resident and freelance writer living on the outskirts of Vienna for one year. Born in Austria, she moved eight times between the United States and Austria while growing up. Her family roots go back generations in Baden, Austria.

Nestled at the foot of the Vienna woods 30 miles south of Vienna is Baden, a town similar in size to Los Altos, except that weather patterns drift in over the wooded hills from the Alps instead of the Pacific Ocean. My children and I are spending the year here, rediscovering a piece of our history in this place of my ancestors.

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