Chief Lacey interviewed about officer shooting
Local television news media tapped Los Altos Police Chief Bob Lacey this month for information related to the killing of a California Highway Patrol officer.
Brendt Anthony Volarvich, the son of a former Los Altos police officer, allegedly shot and killed 37-year-old Andy Stevens, a commercial vehicle inspector, during a traffic stop Nov. 17 near Woodland. Volarvich’s flight from the shooting set off a manhunt in the Sacramento area that involved hundreds of law enforcement officers.
Volarvich is the son of Dennis Volarvich, who worked for the Los Altos Police Department for 11 years. Dennis Volarvich committed suicide during a police chase after robbing a Bank of America in 1997. At the time of his death, the Palo Alto Weekly reported that he was a suspect in several other bank robberies.
LA project receives safe route to schools award
A task force comprising Santa Clara County officials, Los Altos city staff and the Loyola Elementary School community was honored this month for its work to make Magdalena Avenue safer for children biking or walking to school.
In 2000, the county joined the task force to improve Magdalena Avenue as a safe route to area schools.
More than 65 percent of students attending Loyola Elementary School, located east of Foothill Expressway, must cross the expressway to get to school. About a 1-mile stretch of Magdalena, between Eastbrook Avenue and Springer Road, lacked a continuous sidewalk and bike lane.
The $1.22 million project involved widening Magdalena to accommodate continuous bike lanes on both sides, constructing a new sidewalk, installing pedestrian ramps and upgrading traffic signals. The project was completed last year.
The project of the year award was given by the South Bay Area Chapter of the American Public Works Association.
Los Altos Hills
LAH mails wildlife survey
Los Altos Hills city staff and the town’s open space committee mailed a wildlife survey to households last week. The survey asks residents to record sightings of deer, coyotes, bobcats and foxes in their neighborhoods.
According to committee chairman Roger Spreen, the results will assist fine-tuning existing town policy regarding protecting wildlife corridors, and will not lead to any new ordinances. Under town code, residential developments in the Hills must take into account corridors, and residents cannot put up fences that will block animals’ access to their habitat.
The approval process for fence and development permits requires city planners to work on a case-by-case basis. The open space committee anticipates that the survey will educate residents about the wildlife around their homes and the problem of habitat fragmentation, Spreen said.
