Driver sentenced in pedestrian fatality

The Los Altos driver who struck and killed a pedestrian on San Antonio Road in April has been sentenced to three years of probation, 350 hours of weekend volunteer work and a $734 fine.

Spencer A. Scranton, 21, was sentenced Feb. 2 after pleading no contest Dec. 2 to one misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter. He faced up to one year in county jail and a maximum $2,000 fine.

A police investigation concluded that Scranton had been driving 8 mph above the posted speed limit and failed to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. He was not found to be driving outside the norm of other drivers or with gross negligence.

Scranton was 20 and headed to Foothill College when he struck 74-year-old Los Altos resident Henry Kolm around 11:30 a.m. April 2. The pedestrian was in the crosswalk on San Antonio Road at Hawthorne Avenue on his way to Plaza South.

Interim agreement sent to Los Altos Hills

City staff said last week that the interim sewer agreement allowing Los Altos Hills 25 additional connections to the Los Altos sewer main was signed and transmitted to Los Altos Hills in mid-February.

Staff are still revising the master sewer contract and anticipate that the city council will consider it this month or next.

The current sewer agreement allows citizens of Los Altos Hills to purchase 1,100 residential connections from Los Altos.

About five years ago, the city reported that 1,185 connections had been sold to the town by mistake. In 2001, the Los Altos City Council granted the town council’s request for an additional 45 connections in the town’s sphere of influence, with the understanding that the town would assume responsibility for all permits in excess of 1,100.

LAH cell towers get go-ahead

The Los Altos Hills city council on Feb. 16 unanimously approved permits for cell towers at town hall and the intersection of Arastradero and Purissima roads.

The temporary cell-on-wheels in the orchard surrounding the 70-foot town hall tower will continue to operate until the new tower is built. The council agreed to add apricot trees to the orchard.

Residents at the meeting called again for a more specific town ordinance governing cell development and for a citizens’ advisory committee on cell phones.