CHAC turning lives around

One day last week, Karen Friedman, a Community Health Awareness Council intern, was working at Kenneth N. Slater Elementary School in Mountain View. A boy had been taken out of class after some bad behavior, and the teacher asked Friedman if she could help. Friedman spent several hours with the child.

“Since I didn’t have a relationship with the boy, I just got to know him, talking about his family, things that were hard for him,” she said.

LAH set to pursue redistricting

The Los Altos Hills City Council is all but certain to begin seeking a new school district Thursday unless the Los Altos School District unexpectedly decides to allow Bullis Charter School to use the Bullis site by the town’s June 8 deadline.

Mayor Breene Kerr and councilman Craig Jones, the strongest council advocates of a negotiated settlement in lieu of redistricting, have both indicated that they will support redistricting if the district does not present a proposal.

Hidden Villa camp put on hold after 60-year reunion

Hidden Villa, the 1,600-acre farm and wilderness preserve in Los Altos Hills, plans temporarily to close its popular 12-day residential summer program in 2007 and eliminate eight full-time camp positions because of budget shortfalls.

The announcement - made in a memorandum by Executive Director Beth Ross, sent to select donors May 11 - came shortly after the non-profit celebrated the summer camp’s 60th anniversary.

Leaders after permanent site for day-worker center

A diverse group of more than 30 stakeholders from the Los Altos and Mountain View communities met for the first time May 31 at the Town Crier conference room to discuss day-worker issues and plans to seek a permanent site for the Mountain View Day Workers Center.

Elizabeth Fitting, on the center’s board of directors, said the first meeting allowed the group to connect with each other.

Rambus joins other companies in probe of stock options

Rambus, a Los Altos-based company specializing in high-speed computer chips, is the latest in a spate of high-tech firms to initiate an investigation into its stock option-granting practices.

The company announced May 30 that the audit committee of its board of directors has launched an internal investigation into its policies for granting stock options up to and including 2003.

Gay parade proves peaceful affair

Hundreds marched Sunday in a Los Altos parade celebrating gay pride and

Los Altos High School’s Gay/Straight Alliance.

Griffin House demolition stayed by judge’s ruling

Friends of Griffin House won a lawsuit Monday that will force the Foothill-De Anza Community College District to perform a new environmental impact report before tearing the landmark house down.

Superior Court Judge Leslie Nichols ruled that district officials gave inadequate evidence to support their decision to demolish Griffin House, a historic brown-shingled house built in 1903.

News Briefs

LAH tree survey targets eucalyptus, pines
The Los Altos Hills Planning Commission approved an amendment to the zoning ordinance Thursday that would require the removal of eucalyptus trees as a condition of site development approval. The commission added an exception allowing the retention of eucalyptus trees located more than 150 feet from roadways or […]

Police Blotter

Petty theft
May 29, 9:30 a.m., 600 Block of Belben Court: David Hernandez, 20, arrested for entering yard and stealing bicycle.
Vehicle tampering
May 29, 3:05 a.m., 1400 Block of Holt Avenue: Suspect entered unlocked vehicle and rifled through glove compartment. Nothing appeared to have been stolen.
Vandalism arrest
May 30, […]

LASD studies options in detail

Despite a looming Los Altos Hills redistricting deadline, Los Altos School District officials are proceeding at their own pace in reviewing six options proposed by the district’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee for Finance (CACF).

At the May 30 board of trustees meeting, CACF members Dick Hasenpflug and Pablo Luther presented a study that evaluates options for LASD, factoring in enrollment forecasts, school capacities, construction and operating costs.

Editorials

Good-faith effort by school district
While the Los Altos Hills City Council prepares at Thursday’s council meeting to pursue forming its own school district, the Los Altos School District is doing the right thing in its pursuit of schools facilities solutions that will not only include Los Altos Hills students but all district […]

Letters to the Editor

Was TC singled out for ‘gay pride’?
Roy Lave’s letter to the editor in your May 24 edition is puzzling. On behalf of the Los Altos Community Foundation, he chastises the Town Crier for calling the parade a “gay-pride parade.” But the Town Crier is not alone.
On May 11, the Mercury News article […]

Sometimes, the tide will turn

Sometimes, in a dark pit of despair when hope seems gone, friends are conspicuous by their absence and families are far away; when you’ve cried alone, believing all is lost and that prayers go unanswered; when the world seems bleak and tears don’t dry in the noonday sun - sometimes, a voice will be heard.

Suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, a betrayal and subsequent loss of trust will seem of small consequence, for the voice will soothe with words that resonate in your heart.

Obituary Notices

LINDA MARIE DOWLING
Passed away in her home in El Dorado Hills on May 29, 2006 after a brief illness. Linda was the daughter of the late Neil Vanni and is survived by her mother Jeanette Vanni and nine siblings. Her loving husband Stephen Dowling and children Tamara, Heather and Chad honored […]

Engagement & Anniversary

Lauren Pierovich and Colin Ward
Lauren Pierovich and Colin Ward have announced their engagement to be married Aug. 26 in Pleasanton. A reception will follow at the Castlewood Country Club.
The bride-to-be is the daughter of Lance and Carol Pierovich of Alamo. She graduated from Valley Christian High School, attended California State University Chico […]

Preschoolers begin Chain of Hope for Relay For Life event

Link by link, Los Altos is preparing for the annual Relay For Life, scheduled June 24 and 25 at the Los Altos High School track.

Preschoolers and their parents gathered at Los Altos United Methodist Church June 1 to snip and paste pieces of the Chain of Hope. Cancer survivors will hold the construction-paper chains aloft over the track at Los Altos High School as they complete the first lap of the relay.

Yesterday’s election results? Try these online sites

By Christopher Nicholson

“The next governor of California nominated today,” ran the headline in the Los Angeles Times. In his statement, the nominee expressed his thanks: “I am exceptionally grateful to Los Angeles and all of Southern California for the staunch support given me in my campaign for the nomination - and I wish, through the Times, to extend them my heartfelt thanks for this magnificent tribute of their trust.”

Hidden Villa, CSA join to give needy organic food

Hidden Villa has received a $50,000 grant from the Noble and Lorraine Hancock Family Fund to sponsor a healthful eating collaboration with Community Services Agency (CSA) of Mountain View to distribute organic produce to needy clients.

The program, “Healthy Food, Healthy Families,” will contribute nearly 35,000 pounds of vegetables and fruits to CSA. Agency volunteers will pick up the food twice a week, sort it and distribute it at the agency’s Food and Nutrition Center in downtown Mountain View.

Red Cross teen volunteers in spotlight

Stars shone in the Portofino Room at the Crowne Plaza Cabaña May 19 as the Palo Alto Area Red Cross (PAARC) honored 23 seniors and two underclassmen from eight area high schools, including Los Altos schools, for their contributions.

With an Oscars theme, “The Spotlight Is on Our Youth Volunteers,” the event was the first Youth Award Night for the PAARC was organized to recognize teens who have given many hours and much dedication to programs such as Safe Ride, Safe Kids, Kid Power and Youth in Disaster.

Noteworthies

Steven Closs of Los Altos received a bachelor’s degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md.

Akila Kadambi, a seventh-grader at Pinewood School, won first prize at the Synopsys Silicon Valley Science and Technology Champions for her science fair project, “Lead and Arsenic Levels in Playground Equipment of Different Neighborhoods.” She was also nominated for a Discovery Channel award and received a check for $100 from the American Chemistry Association.

Heavy medal

For Ben Sitler, the boys 3,200-meter run at the state track and field championships came down to class.

Dragging with about 300 yards to go and in jeopardy of falling to fourth place, the St. Francis High senior found his motivation.

Mercury overcomes absences to win cup

Soccer coach Albertin Montoya believes the regular season is more about developing players than winning games, and that philosophy has served his under-16 girls club team well this year.

After finishing fourth in its league, the Mountain View/Los Altos Mercury won State Cup at the Class I level last month and enters the upcoming Far West Regionals ranked second in the nation.

The question: Does anyone understand the market?

Did you ever have the feeling that all this financial stuff was just too complicated and there are so many moving parts that it was too hard to piece it all together?

After all, you were a political science major and besides back then the GDP (gross domestic product), a measure of all goods and services in the United States, wasn’t even called that. It was the GNP (gross national product). And worse, manufacturing was the dominant measure of GNP.

Downtown benches get the loving touch

If you’ve been out and about downtown recently, you may have noticed Los Altos mural painter Jan Meyer touching up details on the six concrete sidewalk benches on Main Street.

Julie Rose, Chamber of Commerce president, approached Meyer about retouching the 1994 bench paintings at the suggestion of friend and downtown business owner Mary Prochnow several months ago.

The workhorse & thoroughbred of SUVs

People who know we write car reviews for the Town Crier sometimes ask what vehicle we own. Our answer for the past seven years has been the same: the Ford Explorer, and we just leased our third one a few months ago.

We need a sport-utility because Genie is an avid gardener, which means frequent trips to the nursery, and Gary races a vintage MGA that has to be towed to tracks in Northern California. Having test-driven most SUVs on the market, we came to the conclusion, as have a large number of other consumers over the years, that the Explorer offered the best combination of price, performance and quality in the mid-price market.

Brake repair cost varies by mechanic

Q: I think I need new brakes. I’ve called around to a few repair shops and received a wide range of quotes. Why is there such a difference? Should I just go with the lowest price?

A: There is no official definition of what a brake repair should involve. This means that every repair shop you call will be giving you a price estimate on a different repair procedure, based on its own definition, performed by variously qualified employees using parts of varying quality. Without inspecting the brake system of your vehicle, repair shops have no true way of knowing what must be done.

Latest in detective series is sweet without sap

Finally I’ve found a detective novel that makes me want to read the others in the series. “Blue Shoes and Happiness,” by Alexander McCall Smith, (Pantheon 2006) is the latest installment in the “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” books.

Smith is gentle and sweet without being sappy. He avoids the gruesome details of murder; in fact, in this book he avoids murder altogether. Protagonist Mma Ramotswe runs a detective agency in Botswana with the help of assistant Mma Makutsi, who explains, “‘Mma Ramotswe does not solve crimes. She deals with very small things.’ To portray the smallness, Mma Makutsi put a thumb and forefinger within a whisper of one another. ‘But,’ she went on, ‘these small things are important to people. Mma Ramotswe has often told me that our lives are made up of small things.’” Smith is a philosopher who paints a cast of characters from whom we can learn how to discern the important things in life.

‘In Patagonia’ en route to Tierra del Fuego

It was far past bedtime when, dripping wet with rain, I rang the doorbell of the hospedaje looking for a room. Teresa - the 50something hotelier wearing a flowery dress and a stern expression - stood in the doorway, seemingly barring my entrance.

“It’s raining,” I explained in my most apologetic Spanish.

Town Crier Train Tours: Next stop Ashland

Town Crier Train Tours returns to Ashland for its third-annual visit June 28 to July 3. After a day in the Oregon pine forest, the group will travel to Ashland for three days of Shakespeare festival activities.

The group is scheduled to take in two matinees and two evening performances in an order that alternates serious drama with lighter fare. The plays include:

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