Volunteers make schools happen

Talk with parents volunteering in Los Altos schools, and they reminisce about their own childhood, when music, art and physical education were regular parts of a publicly funded education and parents were rarely needed in the classroom.

Today, “there is no question that without volunteers, there wouldn’t be music or art, and there would be less PE,” Elizabeth Dumanian, a parent with students at Blach Intermediate and Springer Elementary schools, said.

Student Ambassadors promote peace on campus

Parent volunteers form the backbone of many programs in Los Altos schools, but student volunteers also build school communities with the special power of peer-to-peer work. The Student Ambassador Program, which includes peer mediation, in which students help each other resolve social problems, operates at all levels of local schools, from elementary through high school.

Middle-school parents of prospective Los Altos High School students have likely interfaced with these student-life representatives at orientation events at the school. Donning navy blue Ambassador uniforms and khaki slacks, they expertly escort visitors around campus and answer questions.

Los Altos Hills votes to form a new school district

The Los Altos Hills City Council unanimously voted to form a new school district for kindergarten through eighth grade last Thursday. After debate, the council also voted 3-2 to delay the redistricting process 30 days to conduct last-ditch negotiations with the affected existing school districts.

The council approved the K-8 district plan as presented by John Radford of the public education committee, rejecting the second option of a K-12 district as potentially more complicated and slower to finalize. The committee estimated that the redistricting proposal might make the ballot in November 2007 but more likely in November 2008. Before it reaches voters, redistricting must be approved by the Santa Clara County or state boards of education.

Hospital at crossroads

Next week, El Camino Hospital officials will weigh the costs of delaying work on a new acute-care facility by as much as a year or plunging ahead in the hope of escaping the legal snares that have held them back for the past 14 months.

The difference could amount to $50 million above the $480 million officials last week said the project totals. More important for quality of care for local residents, hospital directors’ choice could mean the difference between a fully code-compliant 240-bed hospital and a marginally compliant 114-bed facility.

Access project at Rancho receives council funding

Pedestrian safety will improve around Rancho Shopping Center with funding approved March 14 by the Los Altos City Council.

A reallocation of $60,000 to the Springer/Foothill ADA Access project recommended by the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will make the changes possible.

News Briefs

Former Scout leader’s sentencing postponed
The sentencing of Los Altos resident Gregory Allen Wagner, 44, facing 27 years in prison on nine felony charges of molesting three Boy Scouts between 1987 and 1992, has been postponed to May 12.
After hearing a statement Friday from the brother of one of Wagner’s victims, Superior […]

Police Blotter

Los Altos woman dies in fall from overpass
A Los Altos woman, Gloria Hejna, 42, jumped from the San Antonio Road overpass onto the southbound lanes of Highway 101 at 1:29 p.m. March 24.
According to a witness, the woman climbed over the fence on San Antonio, then jumped. A car immediately […]

Are Los Altos Hills’ codes enforceable?

How well can Los Altos Hills, known for its plethora of ordinances designed to protect its rural environment, enforce its own rules?

Councilman Jean Mordo posed this question at Thursday’s council meeting, saying he raised the issue because of the frustration experienced by town staff and residents when trying to enforce town regulations.

Former councilman’s legal threat tossed out by DA

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has dismissed a formal complaint by former Los Altos City Councilman King Lear that several councilmembers violated the Brown Act, the state’s open-meeting law, regarding decisions about Gay Pride Day.

Lear had alleged that three councilmembers - a quorum - conferred privately before meetings held March 8, 2005, and Feb. 14, 2006, to arrange a majority vote to deny the request for the proclamation by the Gay-Straight Alliance of Los Altos High School.

Letters to the Editor

LAH council opening the wound
What do the children of Los Altos Hills need? The city council would say they need a new school district, their needs are not currently met.
I disagree. The children of Los Altos Hills - and their parents - need a community where neighbors smile at each other and […]

Acknowledging a local poet

Helen Carter King, frequent contributor of poetry to the Town Crier in earlier years, will celebrate her 98th birthday on Monday.

Though in poor health, she continues to reside in her own home and amuse everyone around her. A resident of Los Altos since 1956, she has witnessed history.

Editorials

Accusation against council rejected
In our March 22 issue, we reported a complaint filed by former council member King Lear with the District Attorney’s office stating that three sitting members of the Los Altos City Council violated the Brown Act. The action claimed that the three conspired prior to the March 14 council […]

Obituary Notices

BEA DONNER
Bea Donner passed away in Seattle, WA on March 10 of a massive stroke at the age of 93. A Los Altos resident for 58 years, “Auntie Bea” is survived by her children Linda and Dennis Block and Gary Greenberg. Her grandchildren Michael Marks and Michelle and Tim Peacock and great […]

Longtime Los Altan Paula Wildanger, 79, adventurous world traveler, historian

Paula Wildanger, a longtime Los Altos resident and business owner known for her passion for people and history, died March 15 after several years of declining health. Mrs. Wildanger was 79.

Mrs. Wildanger, who moved to Los Altos in 1959 with husband Edward, was born in Colusa. She was a third-generation Californian whose great-great grandfather arrived from Oregon in 1846.

CSMA premieres piece by Los Altos composer

The Ives Quartet is scheduled to perform a new commissioned work by Los Altos resident Sondra Clark 7 p.m. Saturday at the Community School of Music & Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center in Mountain View. Clark is a noted Bay Area composer and graduate of The Juilliard School.

Robert and Sue Larson of Los Altos Hills commissioned “Celebrating the Muse: Seven Homages to American Composers” to celebrate CSMA’s new Tateuchi Hall.

Eleanor and Gerald Jensen

Eleanor and Gerald Jensen recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

They met at Curtiss-Wright Corporation in New Jersey in 1954 and married Jan. 28, 1956. They moved to Los Altos in 1967.

Katie Van Thillo and Travis Huff

Katie Van Thillo and Travis Huff have announced their engagement to be married July 30 at the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua on Maui.

The bride-to-be is the daughter of Barbara and Guido Van Thillo of Los Altos. She graduated from Los Altos High School, received a bachelor’s degree in human development from UC San Diego. She is a teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District.

People

Burns, Friedman in forum package
The Celebrity Forum Speaker Series is offering a special package for talks this month by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and in May by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. No individual tickets will be sold.
A $75 ticket reserves a seat at both lectures and gives a ticket […]

Blurring boundaries: Rupa Marya embraces her full scope

In art houses and cafes tucked into San Francisco’s Mission District, Rupa Marya, a 30-year old musician and Los Altos native, draws a devoted following. Rupa, as she’s billed, strikes a blend of traditional French chanson, American folk and nuanced Indian scales with an unusual force and grace.

Although her music is delicate and simple, there’s nothing demure about her approach. The lyrics, written mostly in French and Spanish, are confident and her vocal delivery incandescent and moving. Accompanied by a talented band including a violinist and accordionist, the sound is richly varied.

Wells discusses questions of human origins and migrations at Morning Forum lecture

Spenser Wells, leader of the Genographic Project, a collaboration among National Geographic, IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation, discussed his work on the largest genetic study of human migration at the March 21 Morning Forum.

As a child, Wells became fascinated by King Tutankhamen’s treasures and was inspired by his biologist mother to use science to study history. The same inquisitiveness has brought Wells, now with impressive credentials - a doctorate from Harvard and advanced study at Stanford - to direct the study of why people look so different if we’re all members of the same family.

Pet of the Week

Harley is a 2-year-old spayed female described as “our number one lap cat” by the employees of Palo Alto Animal Services. The agency said Harley, shown here with a human companion from the agency, needs a fairly quiet, indoor home where she can share a lot of lap time. To adopt Harley, visit Palo Alto Animal Services, 3281 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, or call 496-5971.

Calendar

Ongoing
Los Altos Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, 97 Hillview Ave.
Monday
Los Altos School District Board of Trustees, district offices, 7 p.m., 201 Covington Road.
Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees, 7 p.m., district offices, 12345 S. El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.
Los […]

LA mayor delivers for Meals on Wheels

Santa Clara County mayors took time out from their civic duties March 22 to serve meals to the elderly and home-bound, and spread the word about an important program in the county.

Ten mayors, including Los Altos mayor Ron Packard, packed a hot and cold meal at the O’Connor Hospital in San Jose, affixed a “Meals on Wheels” sticker on their private vehicle and delivered the meal to their city resident’s home.

Best-selling author to speak at Los Altos library endowment event

Bo Caldwell, a Cupertino author, is scheduled to speak 3:30 p.m. April 6 at the Los Altos main library as part of the Fourth Annual “Speaking Volumes” series by leading contemporary authors.

Sponsored by the Los Altos Library Endowment, the presentation will be held in the Program Room of the library, 13 N. San Antonio Road.

Residents can recycle old electronics and help charity

You can support a clean environment and raise money for a good cause by recycling your electronics this Saturday. A portion of the government reimbursemont the ASL Company (a state-funded recycling organization) receives will go to HOPE Services in San Jose. HOPE Services mission is to assist people with developmental disabilities to live and participate in their communities.

Drive into the ClickAway Computer store parking lot in Los Altos, the partnering organization, and drop off your old electronics, including computers, monitors, VCRs, printers, fax machines keyboards and telephones.

Residents march against war

Los Altos and Mountain View Voices for Peace, along with other organizations in the South Bay, joined the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center for a March 18 rally in downtown Palo Alto commemorating the 3-year anniversary of the war in Iraq. Among the speakers was Karen Meredith of Mountain View whose son Kenneth Ballard was a soldier killed in the war. Pictured here holding the group banner are Los Altos Voices for Peace members Ray Schuster and Myra Orta.

Community Briefs

CSA major fund-raiser Saturday
The Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills is holding its annual fund-raiser, “April Fools,” 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Cabaña Hotel in Palo Alto.
The event will include dinner, dancing, and live and silent auctions.
“We wish that poverty, hunger, and […]

Concerns over historical accuracy delay Hidden Villa porch restoration

When the Duveneck family purchased Hidden Villa Ranch in 1923, they could not have foreseen the minor uproar in 2006 that has delayed restoration of a porch on its small white house.

The house and its original porch were constructed nearly a century before the Duvenecks’ purchase. Legend has it that the materials were brought around Cape Horn in the late 1840s for the daughter of a Spanish consul.

RSVP program offers local seniors help with a variety of household tasks

For homeowners or renters who are advanced in years or disabled, tasks such as replacing smoke detector batteries, flipping a mattress or washing the windows can pose a major challenge.

Help is on the way in the form of cost-free assistance from local realtors in cooperation with various community organizations and senior centers. The community outreach effort, called Realtor Service Volunteer Program (RSVP), provides senior citizens with free assistance with household tasks during a designated week each year.

Enrollment increases steadily for LASD

Los Altos School District enrollment is expected to rise again this year, according to an enrollment forecast conducted for the district.

The forecast reported that enrollment growth, which in the past has been as high as 3 percent a year, has tapered to 1.5 percent. The district predicts the growth percentage should remain consistent for the next five to six years.

Bullis Charter students visit Costa Rica to aid turtles

Sixth-graders from Bullis Charter School traveled to Costa Rica during the mid-winter break this year for a service learning and environmental education project that focused on helping endangered Leatherback sea turtles.

The group traveled to Playa Grande in Las Bualas National Park, a beach where the turtles return to nest every year. Students and staff stayed at the Goldring Marine Biology Field Station, home of the Leatherback Trust, where they assisted a team of graduate students from several nations, joined forces with a group of high school biology students and met with local elementary students from Matepalo school.

Local schools score well in API report

The California Department of Education released the Academic Performance Index (API) for 2005-2006 last week. The report indicates that Los Altos schools scored well above state targets for another year.

All the schools in the Los Altos School District scored more than 900, making the district API average 949, the highest in Santa Clara County.

Noteworthies

Homestead High School junior Jeffrey Glass placed first at the International Thespian Society Festival this month. Homestead senior Ittai Geiger placed second in the competition. More than 2,000 thespians from throughout California participated.

Megan Michelle Heckmann of Los Altos, pursuing a bachelor of arts in history, is among more than 650 University of Oregon students eligible for degrees at the end of winter term 2006.

Lively Foundation of MV expands innovative all-ages dance program

“What are you? A dog? Oh my gosh, that’s terrific!” Leslie Friedman encouraged one of her pint-sized students. Not quite the pedagogy one imagines in a ballet class, but Friedman makes no bones about how her Lively School offers a new flavor in dance.

The school, held at the Mountain View Masonic Temple, is expanding this fall to offer age-group classes for children from 3 to 12 as well as a parent and child movement class, “You and Me Yoga,” for children 6 months to 5 years.

Art Docents’ show features student art

The students at Loyola ElementarySchool file in from lunch eagerly anticipating the academic break that awaits them. They take their seats, and a silence breaks out around the room as they wait for their instructor.

Today art docent Daphne Luong, with several other docents and parent volunteers, will teach the students how to make prints of creatures from the tidal zone. The students are planning a trip to visit a tidal zone in June.

Love the differences between your kids

Q: We have two children, ages 9 and 13, who are very different in temperament and interests. The older child is focused, energetic, interested in everything and a great student. The nine-year-old has a few interests that are very solitary; also, he has few friends and low grades. Two concerns come to mind: Is there cause for alarm with the disparity between the two? Is there going to be a lasting negative effect on our second because the older sibling appears to have such “star power” right now?

A: When there is a disparity between siblings, the only cause for alarm occurs when a parent holds one child up as “the goal” for the other. We’re all familiar with the phrases “If you’d only do as well as your brother/sister” and “How come your (sibling) always gets As and Bs and you don’t?” Comparisons are not only odious and unloving, but they can result in that lasting negative effect you asked about with regard to child No. 2.

Lions make a roaring comeback

Rugby gets a bad rap. It’s not an ultra-violent sport involving drunken young men in striped shirts, according to local rugby enthusiast Aaron Wyse.

“There is a misconception that there is carte blanche for violence and that the (players) kill each other,” he said. “That’s what keeps (the sport) from growing.”

Earnings predicted to enjoy another double-digit quarter

It is earnings time again for public companies. Every three months companies tell investors and the public how they are doing financially. The reporting period is not only a ritual, it is a cottage industry. Companies with cadres of workers slice and dice the information leading up to and after the earnings announcements.

What is the big deal, you ask? Stocks thrive on earnings growth or sometimes the potential for earnings growth. Preceding the announcement periods, stock prices can move substantially on the hint of an analyst’s opinion. In fact, there is even a name for this phenomenon - the “whisper” number, which is not what analysts predict but what they imply or hint.

Women executives harder on themselves than men

Women are still hundreds of years behind men in the working world. Men were out hunting buffalo while we were making the beds - of berries and leaves. We are catching up, of course. Women got the vote only last century, and we finally managed to hit the boardroom in the last few decades. But still, women comprise less than 14 percent of those serving as CEOs, as university presidents and on public boards.

As women rise in the ranks, however, many of us are actually working harder than men. We often do triple duty - home, social life and work. Certainly, there are many wonderful husbands, and there are company leaders who value their women executives.

Nine-year-old sleuth solves Manhattan mystery with great-aunt’s aid

“Zoe Sophia in New York: the Mystery of the Pink Phoenix Papers” by Claudia Mauner and Elisa Smalley (Chronicle Books, 2006) is written for children in grades one through four, but I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway.

Zoe Sophia is an intelligent, mature 9-year-old living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her parents (who make only a very brief appearance at the edge of a page), a housekeeper and a dachshund. Zoe Sophia attends the Wildendorf School for the Exceptionally Curious.

Books Briefs

TV host to visit local knit shop
Vickie Howell, host of the DIY Network’s “Knitty Gritty” knitting show is scheduled to appear 6 p.m. April 19 at Full Thread Ahead, 169 Main St., Los Altos.
Howell will speak to local knitters, answer questions and autograph her book, “New Knits on the Block: […]

TC Train Tour to explore Ashland

Some people just need to see it live, in person. Dance, music, theater - no matter. A recording won’t do. These are the folks who make annual pilgrimages to Ashland for a fix of fine theater.

For those who go with Town Crier Train Tours, there is an added measure of first-hand experience - the pleasure of taking the train to Oregon.

It’s not rocket science

Living in Silicon Valley, you can find yourself pondering many questions that would seldom plague a resident of a less scientific locale. Now comes an answer to one of the more obscure: What does a rocket scientist do to relax?

Tammi Ayyagari, who has worked for Boeing for more than 30 years, likes to settle back and conjure up a house. It gives him something to do on the long flights he takes for business. No San Francisco-to-New York hops these. Ayyagari regularly flies 2,100 miles southwest of Hawaii on a C-5 transport to an atoll, Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, where he tests the missiles he and his employees design.

LAH resident heads new division of award-winning homebuilder

Los Altos Hills resident Roger Menard has been named president of John Laing Homes’ new San Francisco Bay Area Region, headquartered in Pleasanton.

The company was recently named residential construction’s “Most Admired Builder of the Year” by Big Builder magazine for its dedication to homebuyers, community involvement and employee development. The firm is the nation’s second-largest private homebuilder.

Presidio Heights mansion site of decorator showcase

The San Francisco Decorator Showcase is set April 29 through May 29 at a Presidio Heights mansion, 3701 Washington at Spruce. The renovation is a must-see for potential buyers and people interested in interior and exterior design.

The annual benefit for the financial aid program at San Francisco University High School will feature a self-guided audio tour.

Inventive remodels, restorations on Charming Cottages House Tour

Five remodeled homes in Palo Alto will be open for viewing Friday and Saturday for the 15th Annual Charming Cottages of Palo Alto House Tour, a benefit for the Palo Alto Area Mills College Club’s scholarship fund and alumnae activities.

Tickets are $30 for the tour, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., beginning at 117 Pope St., Menlo Park. The cost of tickets is tax deductible.

Poison oak a beautiful native if you ‘let it be’

One of California’s most beautiful wildlife plants is also one of the most hated natives: poison oak.

Few native plants can match the vibrant fall color, adaptability and attraction value to wildlife of this shrub, groundcover and thicket-former. It’s one of the most effective barrier plants, but best used away from paths and well-used parts of the garden. Its signature “leaves of three” come in a delightful range of shapes.

New area company HomeSplit aims to make partnerships a buying concern

Bill Ricardi is on a mission to bring affordable housing to Los Altos and the mid-Peninsula. “People grow up here but then can’t afford to stay,” he said. “HomeSplit is a way to change that.”

HomeSplit.com, Ricardi’s new Internet site, takes an old type of real estate - multifamily housing complexes typically purchased by an investor and used for rental income - and repurposes it. HomeSplit matches up moderate-income buyers who purchase multifamily housing together in a legal arrangement called “tenants-in-common.” But rather than rent out the units, the buyers live in them.

Appraised home value can differ from current market value

Q: A little more than a year ago, we refinanced our home and had an appraisal done. Recently we had a realtor come out to evaluate our property in hopes of putting it on the market to sell, but we were disappointed that the current market value was lower than the appraised value from the lender. Which value is right, appraised value or market value?

A: Both. Fair market value is defined as “the most probable price in terms of money that a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller acting prudently, knowledgeably and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus.” Wow, there’s a definition!