El Camino meeting challenges

A drive past Mountain View’s El Camino Hospital shows there’s some heavy lifting going on, but you can’t see it all from Grant Road.

Attorneys are battling a lawsuit that seeks to cancel the bonds for rebuilding the main hospital. Construction crews are replacing facilities not funded by those bonds as the hospital works to meet state seismic standards and accommodate new technologies. Directors are strengthening their communication with the public. In the midst of it all, doctors, nurses, lab technicians, aides and volunteers are outperforming comparable hospitals in patient care.

Sewer shakeup: Council staunches flow of money from enterprise fund

For years, Los Altos resident Gerry Madea has accused the city of illegally misappropriating thousands of dollars from its sewer enterprise fund. Last week, the city council did something about it, but the council’s action has the mayor crying foul.

Lame-duck Councilman King Lear led two motions during the Nov. 29 council meeting that addressed the concerns of sewer operation critics Madea and Tom Burns about the handling of money related to the city’s sewer enterprise fund.

Residents launch lawsuit over condo on El Camino

A group of residents opposed to the three-story condominium project approved for El Camino Real is suing the city of Los Altos. The lawsuit comes after two months of speculation about whether the group would take legal action against the city.

City Attorney Jolie Houston confirmed Friday that the North Los Altos Neighborhood Association had filed a lawsuit Nov. 18.

LA officials debate need for ethics code

Los Altos city officials are looking into adopting new ethics standards to discourage planning commissioners and councilmembers from making real estate investments while serving in public positions. The new standards could also discourage elected and appointed officials from serving on boards for organizations, such as non-profits, charities and business associations, that have financial interests with the city.

How to enforce the code is not under consideration. Councilmembers said last week, during a study session on the topic, they would not be in favor of penalizing top-level officials who disobeyed the standards because the Fair Political Practices Commission and the Political Reform Act exist for that reason.

LA council votes to ease Valencia parking woes

Students who park their cars in the Valencia Drive neighborhood near Los Altos High School will be getting the boot within the month.

The city council approved instituting restricted parking during school hours last week after three years of lobbying from neighborhood residents to put an end to the traffic problem. Approximately 30-35 cars park in the neighborhood each day, according to traffic engineer Tom Ho.

Council plans to spruce up LAH riding ring

In the last two months Los Altos Hills’ town horse facilities have been targeted for an infusion of money and development. In November the city council directed staff to apply for $50,000 of state park bond grant money to refurbish the town riding ring on Purissima Road.

Last year, the council had been discussing demolishing the ring in favor of a charter school site or a sports facility. The ring’s reprieve is due in part to increased activism from the Los Altos Hills Horsemen’s Association, which oversees the ring.

News Briefs

Radar speed signs slated for Los Altos
The Los Altos City Council approved the installation of two radar speed limit signs at Fremont and Miramonte avenues last month. A similar radar sign was recently installed by the city of Mountain View on Springer Road near Rosita Avenue.
The traffic commission chose those locations to […]

The oldest sports franchise and other nuggets

• Formed in 1946, the San Francisco Forty Niners are the Bay Area’s oldest sports franchise.

• From the 1500s to the 1700s, tobacco was prescribed by doctors to treat a variety of ailments including headaches, toothaches, arthritis and bad breath.

Letters to the Editor

Another chance for local screenings
Lynn Gordon

Los Altos may have a wonderful opportunity to offer movie screenings near downtown - with little fuss and no building construction required.
Focus Cinema, which has screened a variety of excellent films at Gunn’s Spangenberg Auditorium for the last four years, is now without a home. I […]

Editorial

The heated debate among Los Altos Hills councilmembers, group members and residents over use of Westwind Barn has obscured the fact that there are some promising developments taking place at the longstanding, revered horseriding institution.

A sudden windfall of state park bond money could enable the town to build and open a third riding arena at Westwind to accommodate more users. There may even be money available to add improvements to the town’s modest riding ring, which only months earlier had been discussed as a potential site for Bullis Charter School.

Foothill president Thomas Clements: Staunch youth advocate, local leader

Former Foothill College president Thomas Clements died Nov. 26 of congestive heart failure. He was 79 years old.

Dr. Clements received a bachelor’s degree from Whittier College, a master’s degree from Occidental College and his doctorate in guidance and educational psychology from the University of Southern California.

James Sasseville, 78, ‘ghost’-drew Peanuts characters for Charles Schulz

Artist and cartoonist James Frederick Sasseville, who “ghost”-drew Peanuts comic books for Charles M. Schulz, died at his home in Los Altos Nov. 30. He was 78.

Born in Minneapolis, Mr. Sasseville met up with the Peanuts creator while attending the Art Instruction Schools in Minneapolis in the 1950s. Mr. Sasseville moved to California in 1959 to work for Schulz drawing Peanuts comic books (Schulz alone did the newspaper comic strips) and several other strips and comics attributed to Schulz.

Ralph Keirstead, longtime resident, recorded for blind and dyslexic

Ralph E. Keirstead, 77, longtime Los Altos resident, died Nov. 3 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. The cause of death was respiratory failure after a short bout with pneumonia.

Mr. Keirstead was born in Waterville, Maine, and raised in Wethersfield, Conn. He received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Bowdoin College in 1948 and a master’s degree in mathematics from Johns Hopkins University in 1950.

Obituary Notices

AILEEN MORRISON
Aileen Morrison, 94, comfortably passed away in the Pilgrim Haven Nursing Center in Los Altos on November 22, 2005, with her two devoted children at her side. Aileen was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. She graduated from Indiana University in 1932 and worked as a professional social worker during the […]

Scouts News

Los Altos Troop 37 will recognize Senior Scout, Jordan David Epstein, at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Los Altos Youth Center. Only 2 percent of scouts nationwide reach the rank of Eagle.

Epstein, a Los Altos Hills resident, is a senior at Crystal Springs Upland School in Hillsborough.

New museum director brings experience, enthusiasm experience

Laura Bajuk, former executive director of a group of museums in Los Gatos, began work last week as the executive director of the Los Altos History Museum.

Bajuk led operations at Museums of Los Gatos for more than six years. She brings museum expertise and enthusiasm to Los Altos.

St. Nicholas welcomes ‘Father Larry’ as new pastor

The Rev. Lawrence Percell talks about his family - his wife, his children and his grandchildren - in his sermons at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Los Altos. The notion of a priest with a family puzzles some people. One Sunday a woman stopped him after Mass.

“Is this a Catholic church?” she asked. “Yes,” Percell answered. “A Roman Catholic church?” “Yes.”

The holiday season brings fun for burglars, too

Los Altan Kathy Rice’s backpack made a solo voyage from city to sea last week after disappearing from her car in the night. When she drove out to reclaim it, the sodden bag, filled with sand, was lacking some essentials: Rice’s credit card and cash.

Rice left her backpack overnight in a car she thought she had locked and woke up to find it gone.

Local programs superpower education, community for low-income families

The Town Crier Holiday Fund began six years ago with the goal of supporting small, local non-profits that specialized in hands-on work. This year, a group of donors has pledged to match each dollar collected up to $79,500, setting a total goal of $160,000.

Those who provided challenge grants in the past are returning this year: Steve and Michele Kirsch Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Skoll Community Fund, Rambus Inc., Charles and Nan Geschke Foundation, William and Gay Krause Foundation, Los Altos resident Ed Dowd, Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, and two new donors, Everlasting Private Foundation and Carl and Vickie Warder Foundation.

Eight more join the ranks of Joint Community Volunteer Service Award winners

Eight unsung volunteers were honored last Friday at the 23rd Annual Joint Community Volunteer Service Awards for Los Altos and Los Altos Hills held at the Los Altos Youth Center.

Amid a full house of city and town officials and community activists, 91-year-old Billy Russell received a standing ovation for his 50-plus years of volunteerism. Russell, involved in the Los Altos Rotary Club since 1950, was instrumental in the success of El Camino Hospital, serving on the first board of directors and founding the hospital’s foundation. Rotarian Marlene Cowan recognized Russell as a man “recognizing needs, finding solutions” and who once said the fun part of doing business was meeting the people.

Humane Society offers pet tips for holidays

The holidays can be a wonderful time of the year, but they can quickly become troublesome if your dog gets into the holiday chocolates and becomes ill or your cat climbs the Christmas tree and gets cut on an ornament.

Beth Ward, vice president of customer and animal care at Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV), offers tips on how to keep pets safe during the holidays.

Los Altos-based Share Literacy Program receives eBay Foundation charity grant

eBay Foundation awarded a Champion A Charity grant to the Los Altos-based Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK) in support of its Share Literacy program to provide books to at-risk children. Share Literacy supporter and eBay employee Mary Ann Cammarota championed the grant and presented the check to Sally Mallam, director of Share Literacy, in a ceremony at the organization’s offices in Los Altos on Nov. 16.

“We take it for granted that literacy is fundamental to personal success and well-being and a cornerstone of a society’s freedom and vibrancy,” Cammarota said.

Run, walk and roll into the new year

The Los Altos Recreation Department invites families, friends and neighbors to participate in the 2006 New Year’s Day 5K Fun Run, Walk and Roll. The noncompetitive race begins at 9 a.m. New Year’s Day at the corner of State and Main streets in downtown Los Altos.

All ages and ability levels are encouraged to run, walk, inline skate, scooter, skateboard or push a stroller 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) through the historic business district of Los Altos. Downtown streets will be closed and bicycles will not be permitted on the course.

Senior home repair volunteers needed

The City of Los Altos Senior In-home Repair Program needs volunteers to perform minor repairs.

The program makes it possible for senior citizens to continue living independently in their own homes.

Former executive secretary makes transition to farm life at Hidden Villa - and loves it

Each Thursday for the past 12 years, Jeanne De Waal, a volunteer farm and wilderness guide at Hidden Villa, has introduced schoolchildren to nature.

“I feel connected to this place,” said De Waal of the farm and wilderness preserve in Los Altos Hills. “I can hardly wait for Thursdays to come. We give a day (working at Hidden Villa), but I tell you, it’s the shortest day of the week.”

Pet of the Week

Josie is a 1-year-old spayed female cat available for adoption at Palo Alto Animal Services. She came to the shelter with her four kittens. She now plays surrogate mother to other stray kittens in need of mothering. She plays with them, cleans them and makes them feel safe and secure. But Josie needs a home herself. For more information, call 496-5971 or visit Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road.

Calendar

Today
Mountain View Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., city hall, 500 Castro St.
Monday
Los Altos School District Board of Trustees, 7 p.m., district offices, 201 Covington Road.
Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District Board of Trustees, 7 p.m., district offices, 1299 Bryant Ave., Mountain View.
Tuesday
Los Altos City Council, […]

New on exhibit at town hall

Nationally known Los Altos Hills artist Nancie Crowley exhibits her oil and gouache paintings at the new Los Altos Hills Town Hall Sunday through May 2006. A reception for the artist is scheduled 2-4 p.m. Sunday at town hall, Fremont and Concepcion roads.

Holiday Briefs

Santa visits Rancho
Santa Claus is scheduled to make daily appearances at Rancho Shopping Center through Dec. 24.
Santa is set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. appearances at the shopping center, corner of Springer Road and Foothill Expressway, in Los Altos.
Carriage rides available downtown
Downtown Los Altos visitors will have […]

Community Briefs

Volunteers needed by service agency
The Community Services Agency needs volunteers to work one to two hours a week to help provide food to local low-income families and the homeless. Volunteer work would include the pickup and delivery of donated food from local markets to the agency’s food and nutrition center. Weekday morning […]

How to avoid IRS attention to your corporate tax returns

If you own a closely held corporation, you may wonder how the Internal Revenue Service selects corporate returns for audit.

If you are requesting a large refund, your return may be tantamount to an invitation for an audit. Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation must review all refunds over a prescribed amount, arising from net operating loss carrybacks and credit carrybacks. In 2005, the prescribed amount was $2 million. Agents are required to contact such corporations and request information to verify the accuracy of the refund, as well as its origin.

Museum participates in Gulf relief effort

The Los Altos History Museum is taking part in “Museums Helping Museums: A National Relief Effort for the Gulf Region.”

The museum’s board challenged the museum’s membership to meet or exceed the board’s donation of $1,000 to the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), the regional non-profit museum association and a major coordinator in museum recovery and conservation efforts in the aftermath of recent hurricanes.

‘ChopShticks’ offers laugh-filled alternative for celebrating the holiday season locally

“ChopShticks: An Evening of Chinese Food and Comedy,” put on by Los Altos resident Gloria Goldblatt, is scheduled Dec. 24 and 25 at Ming’s Restaurant, 1700 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. The show celebrates the holidays in the “traditional” Jewish way: listening to great comedy, eating Chinese food and doing a mitzvah (Yiddish for “good deed.”) Ming’s will open at 6:30 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. and the show set for 8 p.m.

Ross Turner, Kira Soltanovich and Steve Mittleman will deliver intelligent humor with a universal appeal.

LASD’s financial advisory committee acquires knowledgeable new members

The independent oversight group that advises the Los Altos School District on financial matters acquired several knowledgeable new members last week, adding to the diversity of the 19-member committee.

Former Sun Microsystems server and processor chief John Shoemaker joined the Citizens’ Advisory Committee for Finance (CACF), along with Tammy Logan, a senior engineer at Cisco and active district parent who withdrew from the high-priced race for the school board this fall. Both Logan and Shoemaker are at-large members.

Schools Briefs

Kehillah dedicates new facility
The public is invited to celebrate as Kehillah Jewish High School dedicates its new home, which will serve the entire community. The dedication program, scheduled for 1-3 p.m. Sunday, includes light refreshments, a tour of the school and a keynote address, “What Makes a Healthy High School Environment,” […]

Local schools to receive emergency response training

Students in five school districts in Los Altos, Mountain View, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale will benefit from a $480,715 federal emergency response and crisis management grant that will address prevention, mitigation, preparation, response and recovery procedures and training for a wide variety of emergencies, including fire, earthquake and potentially violent incidents.

School principals and PTAs were involved in the 18-month grant-writing process. The goal is uniform response to emergencies in all five participating districts, Los Altos School District Superintendent Tim Justus said.

Foothill presents astronomy for poets, public

With intriguing new objects being discovered around and beyond Pluto, with wonderful new pictures and information coming from Mars, and with more than 150 planets - some too weird for words - now known to orbit other stars, this winter quarter might be the perfect time for an introduction to the planets.

Foothill College offers Astronomy 10A, “Planets for Poets,” in the evening and during the day, for anyone interested in the latest discoveries and ideas about other worlds. The instructor, Andrew Fraknoi, specializes in explaining scientific ideas in everyday language. No background in science or math is required.

College Briefs

Winter registration begins at Foothill Jan. 9
Winter quarter classes at Foothill College begin Jan. 9. Most classes run 12 weeks, unless otherwise noted in the schedule of classes. Register early for best course selection.
Continuing students - those who were enrolled in fall classes at Foothill - can register online or by […]

SFHS sophomores see realities of poverty

It’s easy for teenagers living in the Bay Area to go about their daily lives without ever looking poverty in the eyes. And while there are plenty of exceptions to this rule, it’s true for many - certainly not all - incoming St. Francis students. This month, St. Francis sophomores are finishing up their immersion retreats in San Jose for the 2005-2006 school year. All sophomores perform fieldwork with either Sacred Heart Community Services or Sacred Heart Nativity School.

“It’s our hope that once students interact with people struggling with poverty in their own neighborhoods,” said Ken Biggs, coordinator of retreats, “they’ll have the courage to recognize it and not look away.”

Pinewood students raise $10,000 for LACF hurricane relief fund

Pinewood School students from kindergarten through sixth grade presented a check for $10,000 to Executive Director Roy Lave, Chairman of the Board George Limbach and Executive Assistant Joanne Byrne of the Los Altos Community Foundation Nov. 29. Lave will forward this money to the Baton Rouge Area Community Foundation’s Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund.

After the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, principal Gil Brady implemented the “Pennies from the Heart” coin drive. The goal was to find a way for students to help in a direct and meaningful way. They conducted a “coin hunt,” which challenged them to search their homes for loose change they could donate.

St. Francis community delivers its largest food drive in 30 years

Led by the Service Club, St. Francis High School and the St. Francis community raised the money to purchase enough food to feed 500 families in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties on Thanksgiving Day: $5,000 for turkeys and more than $10,000 for canned and dry foods.

Approximately 50 student volunteers, along with faculty and staff members, assembled individual packages of food and loaded the trucks for distribution. Each package contained a turkey, canned goods, dry foods, oil, sugar, bread and cake.

Eagles let one get away

If you believe there are good losses and bad ones, file Friday’s under the latter for the Los Altos High boys basketball team.

The Eagles dropped a 46-40 home game to a Del Mar team that came in without a win and lacking much size or athleticism.

LA girls soccer team young, but talented

Don’t be fooled by their age. The players making up this season’s Los Altos High girls soccer team may be young, but they play well beyond their years.

“They know the game and play well together,” Eagles coach Erin Montoya said of her squad, comprising three seniors, two juniors, 11 sophomores and three freshmen. “They have great skill and move the ball nicely.”

Consumer ’sentiment’ confirms hard data

The Nasdaq index peaked at a four-year high on Friday ending a seven-week upward sprint. Chipmakers helped propel the average as the Philadelphia Semiconductor index rose more than 4 percent to its highest level in 1 1⁄2 years. The Town Crier Index is up more than 25 percent this year. Although not exclusively a “tech” index, it is made up of local companies and naturally would be heavy with technology stocks.

The S&P 500, a more diversified index, was down 0.3 percent for the week, while the small company S&P 600 posted a modest gain of 0.9 percent. There were positive signs in the overall market with 403 new highs versus 67 new lows on Friday.

New store takes tiaras to Main Street

A profusion of feathers and glitter has moved into 157 Main Street this month in the form of Cotton Candy, a monthlong specialty store that opened two weeks ago and plans to close Dec. 28.

Cotton Candy is in effect a giant clearance sale - the stock, all of it 50 percent off, comes from a small chain of stores that recently closed. The pink walls and glittering strings of white lights illuminating the space announce the girl-zone within, a profusion of feather boas, inexpensive bath products, playful trinkets and stocking stuffers.

Remember your boss is the boss

“He doesn’t know what he’s doing.”… Sorry, he’s the boss.

“She is not organized, she’s sloppy, she’s stupid.” Sorry, she’s the boss.

Getting it right

The biggest age group in history - the baby boomers, born 1945 through 1964 - is getting older. This shocking news was the core of a recent presentation to investment managers by a Ford Motor Co. market analyst.

Based on this insightful revelation, the Ford exec predicted that the sport-utility vehicle had seen its days of glory and is about to become just another niche vehicle. Unlike many pundits, he argued that the recent run-up in fuel prices is simply hastening the inevitable. The real explanation for the recent drop in sport-utility sales, he said, and the indication that SUV sales will continue to decline, is the aging of the baby-boom generation.

These cars are winners by most measures

Here are a few cars we’ve recently driven that we liked, but didn’t have space to write about in detail.

Infiniti G35 Sports Sedan

Strong-willed, orphaned anthropologist-to-be looks back on ’40s, ’50s

Save your letters! That’s the moral of “War Orphan in San Francisco” by Cupertino author Phyllis Helene Mattson (Stephens Creek Press, 2005).

Mattson taught anthropology at De Anza College until her recent retirement. Her book is a collection of letters that she had the foresight to save as a child.

Food for the rest of us: New York critic writes memoir

Today, the New York Times food section is stocked with food hailing from across the boroughs and the continents. Obscurity and homeliness are the new chic. But when Ruth Reichl began her reign as Times food critic in the early ’90s, the idea that a quiet, second-floor noodle house could compete with haute French cuisine was revolutionary. She had to make her mark in a job with the power to make or break restaurateurs, and one bogged down in tradition. Reichl’s playful but poignant account of her nerve-wracking years at the Times, “Garlic and Sapphires” (Penguin Press, 2005), offers a unique entrée into cultural journalism and New York dining rooms.

The book is worth reading for the culinary gossip alone, and reprints of Reichl’s original reviews, apt companions to her narrative. A sparing selection of recipes comprises the “illustrations” for this text, reminder that this is not your typical memoir.

American in Austria finds some charming differences

As fellow first-worlders, Europeans and Americans aren’t all that different - or are they? A third-grader from Austria was fascinated that we had moved to his native land from California. He asked me what weapons we had back in America. I wasn’t sure what he meant. Iraq? Star Wars? The nuclear arsenal? No - he meant us personally. “Doesn’t every American carry weapons?” he asked. “Oh, no,” I answered after a moment.

In our first two months living abroad, we discovered some similarities and some differences.

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