Bus Barn serious about comedy

Last week, Bus Barn Stage Company’s latest production, a romantic comedy, was in its fifth week of rehearsal, sets were being built onstage, work was starting on lighting and sound and actors were looking forward to dress rehearsals. James Sherman’s “Romance in D” opens Thursday and runs for a month in the old bus barn between the Los Altos History Museum and the sports field at 97 Hillview Ave.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the theater group that many in the community worked to establish after the demise of the Los Altos Conservatory Theatre in 1994. Bus Barn Stage Company was founded in June 1995 with startup funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Los Altos Community Foundation. Vicki Reeder of Follies fame is president of the board of directors, Jean Mordo of the Los Altos Hills City Council is treasurer and Roy Lave, founder of the community foundation, is secretary.

High-profile parents take seats on Los Altos council

In the race for Los Altos City Council a background in city government may not have impacted voters as much as raising children in the community. Two high-profile parents with moderate agendas - Val Carpenter and Kurt Colehower - claimed and maintained early leads in the race for council in last week’s election.

Colehower has four children attending Los Altos schools and Carpenter is a local Girl Scout leader whose two daughters attended Pinewood School. The council newcomers will be sworn in Dec. 6.

Realtors ’startled’ by tax reform proposal

A proposal by President Bush’s Advisory Panel on Tax Reform to abolish the Mortgage Interest Deduction for homeowners in favor of tax credits drew sharp criticism from local realtors when it was introduced Nov. 1.

Adopting the recommendations could have dramatic consequences for local housing markets, warned Willi Krauss, president of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR). Her local trade organization represents more than 4,000 real estate professionals in Los Altos and Silicon Valley and on the mid-Peninsula.

LAH council changes plans for Westwind arena

In a bid to involve more residents at Westwind Barn, the Los Altos Hills City Council is revamping its plans for the town’s Year-Round Riding Program, and for managing the barn and its activities.

Last summer the state approved a requested parks and recreation grant for $153,590, earmarked as a stalls and paddocks project for the riding program. In a change of plans at its Nov. 3 meeting, the city council agreed to request a revised grant to use the park bond money to construct a third arena at Westwind, expressly for the town riding program.

Fiscal know-how, experience win out in LA school board race

Voters chose experience and fiscal expertise in local school board elections last week, electing Mark Goines, David Pefley and David Luskin to the open seats.

The Los Altos School District saw its most exciting race in years won by three MBAs who stressed the importance of pulling the community together to make momentous decisions in the midst of financial distress. In the next two years, the board must decide the future of the district’s only expansion site, renewal of the district’s parcel tax allotment - 20 percent of its budget ­- and the shape of future school enrollment boundaries.

Moving house

After years of deliberation and planning, the small cottage designed by acclaimed modern architect Richard Neutra will have a new home.

The historic 1939 building will be cut in half on Sunday and moved down the street to city-owned land between Hillview Community Center and the Community House, where it will be reassembled and restored.

Voices from the past to light our way

One never knows where a name dropped can lead. Several weeks ago, I sent out 100 little postcards announcing our new Web site (www.jarmybooks.com). Some came back with “Can’t Find” or “Wrong Address,” and those I just tossed. But I received a phone call from a long-ago friend who lived in my house in the Bronx. We reconnected a few years ago when she saw my name in a New York Times letter to the editor. I barely knew this woman.

Another woman sent me a note saying she enjoyed our Web site. She mentioned that her mother, my cousin, was 91 and lived in Florida. At first, I could not recall who this woman was, but my address book reminded me that she was family and before marriage had carried the same name as I (Giventer). Her grandfather was my dad’s brother. I feel an emotional bond because of the family name, and because she lives in Southern California, a reachable address. We are all connected to strangers and bump into one another by accident.

Letters to the Editor

Hydroflushing sewer system also limited
Thomas M. Burns, MD

The long-anticipated Sewer Master Plan has finally been published and is available for public review. Your excellent editorial of Nov. 9 highlighting the city’s limited amount of public review of its sewer system just begins to scratch the surface about the discrepancies between Brown […]

Editorial

In the wake of last week’s election, we extend congratulations to the new leaders who are sure to serve our community well.

By choosing Val Carpenter and Kurt Colehower for Los Altos City Council, residents are assured of intelligent, hard-working people who will represent them well.

Norman Sokoloff, 59, surgeon, investing analyst, Renaissance man

Norman Sokoloff, distinguished orthopedic surgeon in the South Bay and 25-year resident of Los Altos Hills, died Oct. 29 from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He was 59.

Dr. Sokoloff practiced in Sunnyvale and at El Camino Hospital. He restored health and improved the quality of life for thousands of patients through his diagnosis, skilled surgery, sound advice and words of encouragement. During his successful career, Dr. Sokoloff received many accolades, including America’s Top Surgeons 2002 and 2003, and was among San Jose Magazine’s Best Doctors in Silicon Valley in 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Obituary Notices

JOHN ALEXANDER MCWILLIAMS
John was born on April 15, 1937 in Newport, Rhode Island and passed away on October 22, 2005 in Mountain View, California. John was a resident of Los Altos, California for 38 years. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Mary Ellen McWilliams.
Mr. McWilliams was a […]

Girl Scout convention pledges focus on ‘courage, confidence, character’

Six representatives from Los Altos Girl Scout troops attended the 50th National Girl Scout convention in Atlanta last month. The event, held once every three years, brings together a diverse membership representing 2.8 million girl members and almost 1 million adult volunteers.

The convention featured workshops, exhibits and a national council session, which focused on the changing role of Girl Scouts in the 21st century as they strive to maintain their core mission of developing young women of courage, confidence and character.

Los Altos-area Eagle Scouts join top 4 percent with honors at LDS church

The Boy Scouts of America honored three local young men - Matt Brigham, Alex Wheatley and Matt Whitlock - last month for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.

Only about 4 percent of those who join the Boy Scouts reach the rank of Eagle Scout. The award requires a minimum of 21 merit badges, as well as proven leadership skills, long-term commitment and a desire to serve others.

Noteworthies

The National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI) announced that Max Trescott of Mountain View successfully renewed his designation as a Master Certificated Flight Instructor (CFI). Trescott owns and operates San Jose Flight Training at Santa Clara County’s Reid-Hillview Airport.

Trescott is one of only 38 California aviation educators who have earned the prestigious “Master” title. Of approximately 87,000 CFIs in the United States, fewer than 500 have achieved that distinction.

Weddings

Belis Aksoy and Jonathan Sly
Belis Aksoy and Jonathan Sly were married Sept. 12 at the Sheraton Resort in Cesme, Turkey.
The bride is the daughter of Nihat and Mukadder Aksoy of Izmir, Turkey. She is a graduate of the University of Ankara and received a master’s degree in business administration from San […]

Local CSA sharing program spreads warmth of the holidays

More than 3,500 pounds of food donations came through the doors of the Community Services Agency (CSA) last week from Almond Elementary School. “It was huge!” crowed Alison Hopkins, director of volunteers. The agency, which serves Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, is gearing up for a holiday season of giving with the help of donors and volunteers.

“Our holiday sharing program is a huge community effort,” said associate director Maureen Wadiak. “Our whole office literally turns into a toy store.” The organization, which serves low-income families and seniors, plans to prepare special holiday food bags, gifts, senior events and more in the next two months.

Former secretary Colin Powell handles heckling with humor at Celebrity Forum

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the Celebrity Forum audience at Flint Center last week on his experiences as a world leader.

But the most important message Powell conveyed may have been in his reactions to the 150 or so organized protesters who attempted to disrupt the program, presumably due to Powell’s previous support for the war in Iraq.

LAYC sponsors dance at youth center

The Los Altos Youth Commission is sponsoring a high school dance Friday 8-11 p.m. at the Los Altos Youth Center, 1 N. San Antonio Road.

The dance will feature music by Rens of SOUNDTRAX.

Los Altos Sister Cities sponsors T-shirt design contest for 5K run

The Los Altos Sister Cities organization is sponsoring a competition for best t-shirt design for the Los Altos New Year’s Day 5K Fun Run, Walk and Roll on Jan. 1, 2006.

The winning design will be featured on t-shirts sold at the annual downtown Los Altos event, which encourages participation from walkers, runners, skaters, scooters and strollers of all ages.

Foothill College rally seeks clemency for death row anti-gang author-activist

Supporters of San Quentin death row inmate Stan “Tookie” Williams held an Oct. 30 rally to advocate for saving his life. The event also featured a sceening of a 2004 movie based on the life of the former gang member.

Williams, scheduled for execution Dec. 13, fielded questions from prison during the event. The co-founder of the “Crips” gang in Los Angeles has authored anti-gang books and is the subject of “Redemption,” starring Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx.

When a water heater is full, this massive object weighs about 400 pounds. Unless supported, it will topple, breaking both the gas and water lines connected to it. Wrap steel plumber’s tape twice around the heater at two places, and then secure the tape to two different wall studs with 1/4-inch lag screws. Nail a wooden spacer between the heater and the wall to prevent the tank from striking the wall.

- From Page 7 of the Los Altos Emergency Preparedness Manual, a guide and handbook for home, family and community preparedness. To view the handbook online, visit www. ci.los-altos.ca.us.

Flag collector Kit Hinrichs will speak on “Myths and Legends of the American Flag” 7:30 p.m. Thursday as part of the Los Altos History Museum’s ongoing Gallery Talk series.

In conjunction with the current decorative and graphic arts exhibit featuring his flag collection, Hinrichs will share anecdotes and little-known facts about the flag.

Local inventor awarded Lifetime Achievement Emmy for invention

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences this fall honored local engineer Fred Pfost with a lifetime achievement Emmy for his contributions to the invention of the videotape recorder. Pfost spoke last week to Viewfinders, a group of local camcorder enthusiasts, at Cupertino’s Quinlan Community Center, sharing the DVD of his acceptance speech.

Bill Mannion, one of Viewfinders’ founders, said of Pfost’s work, “It’s now ubiquitous, in everyone’s homes.” The engineer developed the first instant-replay video technology as well as the first video recorder, an ancestor of the VCR. Pfost is now retired, but he still invents. “I’m an engineer,” he said. “What’s that saying? Engineers never die, they just fade away?”

Firefighters assist in a ‘Discovery’

Discovery Shop volunteer “streetwalkers” Adriana Ippati-Torrens and Anne Habley get an assist from Santa Clara County firefighters (left to right) Jim Nash, Charlie Shaw and Jason Falarski to promote the American Cancer Society shop’s “Holiday Extravaganza” Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Los Altos store, 243 Main St. Manager Ardy Bazarian said the store is featuring “only the best” of its inventory, including current fashions, furs, decorations and jewelry. For more information, call 949-0505.

Football team kicks off against solicitors

The Los Altos High School football team is sponsoring a fund-raiser, that also provides a service for Los Altos residents. The team is selling “No Solicitation” decals, which conform to the ordinance passed by city council last February. The stickers provide the door-side notice required by law to discourage pesky and sometimes dangerous solicitors.

The football decals are printed with the “No Solicitations” lettering required by the ordinance. The peel-and-stick decal also displays subtext, designed so that neighbors and children will not be discouraged by the sign.

Community Briefs

Moffett Field advisory board meets
The former NASA Moffett Field Restoration Advisory Board meeting is scheduled 7-9 p.m. Thursday at Mountain View city hall, Fourth Floor Gallery. 500 Castro St.
Topics on the agenda include Site 29 (Hangar 1) EE/CA schedule, south of Highway 101 groundwater sampling data, Orion Park housing groundwater […]

Raising the flags for the vets

Girls Scout Troop 1161 members (back row) Alexandria Vargas, Sarah Weber, Lauren Amorese, Haley Libuit, Katie Hofschield, (middle row) Katherine Gaffney, Vaishu Sitarama, Ellie Baer and (front) Brownie Troop 993 member Chelsea Roston install flags in front of downtown businesses last week in recognition of Veterans Day this past Friday. American Legion Post 558 donates flags to the scouts to sell to businesses. Flag sales go to Girl Scout activities.

Pathways Hospice hosting Dec. 1 workshop for grievers

Pathways Hospice is hosting “A Celebration of Light” 7-8:30 p.m. Dec. 1 at Los Altos United Methodist Church. The remembrance event is designed to help those who are grieving find hope and cope with the holiday season.

Pathways’ Bereavement Services connect those who are grieving to a community that understands their grief experience. The hospice’s services include individual and group counseling, educational workshops and remembrance events.

Free, high-speed wireless Internet coming to local libraries

To meet the technological needs of more than 3.3 million annual visitors, Santa Clara County libraries are being outfitted with free, high-speed Internet access over the next few months.

Library patrons in Los Altos (including the Woodland branch), Cupertino, Campbell, Milpitas, Saratoga, Morgan Hill and Gilroy will soon be able to log on to the Internet with their own laptop computers and other personal mobile devices while in the library wireless (Wi-Fi) zone.

Calendar

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, 500 Castro St.
Thursday
Los Altos Hills City Council, 6 p.m., town hall, 25379 Fremont Road.
[…]

Los Altos resident appointed to board after two others elected

Laura Casas Frier of Los Altos finished last in the race for two seats on the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees. Nonetheless, she found herself appointed to the board the day after the election.

Frier, with 17,959 votes, or 14.39 percent of the vote, finished well behind former Foothill College math professor Bruce Swenson (42,838 votes, 34.34 percent), incumbent Paul Fong (38,321, 30.72 percent) and former Sunnyvale City Councilwoman Julia Miller (25,423, 20.38 percent) who failed to get in. But Frier was the unanimous board pick for a third, appointed two-year seat left vacant by the Sept. 11 death of board member Andrea Leiderman.

CATT on a hot tip truth

Mountain View High School junior Adrian Arredondo is the north county co-chairman of the Coalition Against Teen Tobacco. At the school last week, Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, Health Officer Marty Fenstersheib and Arredondo recognized the city of Mountain View for its exceptional work in monitoring and enforcing restrictions on the sales and advertising of tobacco products. Matt Neely, MVHS assistant principal and mayor, and Mountain View Police Chief Scott Vermeer accepted awards on behalf of the city council and the police department. The city’s efforts earned it a grade of B, the highest score CATT awarded. Kniss said the city was one of the few towns to pass proactive measures to protect children from cigarette advertising. Arredondo said, “I’m not just another statistic for tobacco companies.”

Halloween house enchants preschoolers

Halloween spooks and goblins popular with elementary schoolchildren can be scary for the preschool set. This year, Children’s House Preschool on Berry Avenue offered a fun and educational alternative - the “Enchanted House,” organized specifically for its 2- to 5-year-old students and their siblings.

More than 300 children walked through a maze filled with Halloween surprises and activities such as cookie decorating, a “bat cave,” pin-the-arm-on-the-skeleton and a magic mirror.

De Anza gala generates $70,000 for computers, new technology

Community supporters donated $70,000 at De Anza College’s recent 12th annual gala fund-raiser, “A Night of Magic.” Proceeds are earmarked for computers and other technology equipment for the new Student and Community Services Building and to fund projects such as peer advising and parent-student orientations.

De Anza President Brian Murphy presented the De Anza College Visionary Award for Extraordinary Public Service to former State Sen. John Vasconcellos, who retired in 2004 after four decades of public service that included extensive work on behalf of education.

Oak Cubs aid survivors of Hurricane Katrina

Members of Los Altos Cub Scout Pack 105 of Oak Avenue School have completed their seven-week Friday bake-sale fund-raiser to benefit survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Led by Minh Nguyen, a Webelos Scout, and with help from many pack parents, the Scouts raised $2,350.

Scouts selling baked goods, water and juice after school were Minh Nguyen, Daniel Bowers, Kevin Petersen, Ryan Forrest, Brandon Forrest, Brandon Van Ryswyk, Brooke Van Ryswyk, Steve Dinneen, Matthew Maciag, Connor Keane, Griffin Scheel, Ethan Goolish, Justin Yanagawa, Michael Bowers and Cole Seither.

Congenial tasks garner children’s help with holidays

Q: The minute Halloween is over and the decorations are stored away for next year, I go into panic mode. AAAARGH! the holidays are almost here. I’ll be ready, but I’ll be soooooo tired and grouchy if the past few years are any example. How can I get my children to help more?

A: Because coping with the holidays is such a challenge for families, maybe parents should do as the stores do: plan ahead.

Foothill dancers celebrate new home with ‘Homecoming’

The Foothill College Intercollegiate Dance Program has scheduled “The Homecoming,” a performance designed to benefit the program and to celebrate its new dance facility, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3 in Smithwick Theatre.

The 2,800-square-foot dance studio has a sprung-floor system, state-of-the-art sound system, mirrors and barres. “For our dancers, the dance studio is a second home, and with the renovation of our dance facility, coming home has never been sweeter,” said Foothill dance instructor Bubba Gong.

Spartans anything but at Grape Bowl Festival

Mountain View High School’s Spartan Marching Band capped off the season by sweeping the awards at the 39th annual Grape Bowl Festival in Lodi Nov. 5.

The band won the top honor, the Grape Bowl Classic Perpetual Award, the “Lady of Lodi,” for the highest scores in the combined field show and parade events. Twenty-three bands from Northern California and one band from Utah competed for the honors.

Noteworthies

Grace Dunford, a graduate of Homestead High School, has received a Deerpath Scholarship for Academics at Lake Forest College, north of Chicago, where she is a freshman. The Deerpath Scholarship program recognizes students who have a grade-point average of at least 3.5 and recommendations from teachers.

Former Los Altos resident Roy Dar spent seven months studying stochastic processes in bacterial cells at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Science Undergraduate Research Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. He plans to enroll in the University of Tennessee’s graduate program in biophysics.

Eagles end with a win

In a fitting ending to a season that reinvigorated Los Altos High football, the spirited Eagles dominated Gunn 21-0 last Friday at Foothill College.

The SCVAL El Camino Division victory helped Los Altos atone for its crushing loss to Santa Clara the week before and left little doubt that this is a program on the rise.

Investing decisions should be tailored to individual needs

The price of a barrel of oil continued down last week as inventories built up and demand had subsided. Short-term swings in price are often due more to supply and demand than the actual cost of physically extracting the oil from the ground. During the hurricanes, supply was interrupted, and the uncertainty surrounding the energy markets caused oil and natural gas prices to soar. So as crude settles back down from a high of $70 to just above $57, the question is: Will long term supply and demand hit any semblance of equilibrium?

The major stock indexes continued to firm up last week with the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising 1.6 percent and the S&P 500 and 600 steady at plus 1.2 and 0.8 percent, respectively. Sectors leading the market were retail, financial, transports and medical. The earlier leaders have succumbed to profit-taking as the market pushed down home building and oil stocks.

LAVA exec announces he is leaving after 2005

Ted Garrett, executive director of the Los Altos Village Association (LAVA), said last week he is leaving the downtown merchants group.

Garrett, hired in 2003, said he would leave at the end of the year when his contract expires. Garrett and the board met in October to discuss a contract renewal.

Evolution of a blood bank

Platelets are rocking and rolling at room temperature. Red blood cells are cool, man. And plasma has chilled out.

We’re at the new flagship building of the Stanford Blood Center, where these precious commodities are treated with utmost care - along with the donors themselves.

Owes life to center

Meghan Daily of Redwood City is living proof of how important blood donations are.

They saved her life.

No mystery why Grafton’s best-selling books continue to delight

Sue Grafton’s books are consistently, deeply satisfying to read.

In “S is for Silence” (Miriam Wood/Putnam, Dec. 6, 2005), the 19th book in Grafton’s abecedarian series, Kinsey Millhone - beloved heroine of millions of readers - investigates the disappearance of a flamboyant, philandering young mother, Violet, who has been missing for decades.

Adventure close to home on train tours

Rail enthusiasts need travel only as far as Emeryville to find one of the world’s great train rides. The route stretches from San Francisco Bay to mile-high Denver. Dramatic scenery, the opportunity to travel with friends and the chance to experience life on a vintage train drew local residents to a seven-day journey with Town Crier Train Tours along the route aboard the American Orient Express, Nov. 1-7.

“This is territory you can’t get enough of,” said Bill Alhouse of Los Altos Hills. Bill and his wife, Barbara, had seen much of the route before. “Your vantage point is always slightly different,” he said.

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