Setting up camp in Los Altos

The children are getting restless. Their parents are losing patience. What’s a family to do with all these long, lazy days of summer left?

Summer camp may be the solution. With so many camps, clinics and classes offered in and around Los Altos, there’s bound to be at least one that fits - and still has an opening.

New CEO Graham looking to grow with El Camino Hospital

If there is one thing Kenneth D. Graham knows from his 35 years of experience in health care, it’s how to play a part in hospital expansion.

“My role is to lead growth and development in a responsible and energetic way, so people can have confidence in the future,” Graham said.

Police granted Tasers and emergency coordinator

Los Altos Police Chief Bob Lacey came to the June 26 city council meeting with a serious shopping list - and went away with the items he requested.

The council voted unanimously to add $90,000 to the budget for an emergency service coordinator position, although members did not dictate whether the position would be full-time or part-time.

Los Altos Hills cows on the move

Two thefts of wooden cows from Los Altos Hills last week are only the latest in a years-long saga of cow-poaching and inter-town politics.

Plywood-and-paint Holsteins have been erected and decorated throughout town as a community commentary on education and tax policies. The “Got Milked” slogan originated in 2003 in protest of the Los Altos School District’s closure of Los Altos Hills’ only elementary school, Bullis-Purissima, immediately following a parcel-tax increase. Ever since, the cows have become a barometer of the feelings of Los Altos and the Hills on a number of issues, in particular Bullis Charter School.

Los Altos single-story overlay term remains seven years

The Los Altos City Council is leaving a single-story overlay zone for the Verano-Solana neighborhood as-is, despite some Solana resident concerns about two-story home construction outside the overlay zone impacting them.

With two years remaining on the seven-year zoning, which restricts new home construction to one level, councilmembers elected to stay with the decision of the previous council that granted the initial overlay.

Los Altos sewers set for filming, foaming

The Los Altos City Council at its June 26 meeting unanimously authorized the advertisement for bids for both the annual Sewer Main Video Inspection project and the Sanitary Sewer Master Plan, which includes a tree-root foaming project for 2007.

The video inspection should identify potential problems from sewer line blockages, which left unaddressed can cause subsequent sewage overflows. Inspection of the videos will enable city staff to prioritize problems for maintenance or repair. The project will televise all remaining sewer lines that have not previously been viewed.

News Briefs

Council to mull skate park plan
Los Altos city councilmembers are scheduled to consider a recommendation Tuesday for creation of a permanent skate park.
Councilmembers will discuss recommendations from the city’s Parks, Arts and Recreation Commission to direct staff to prepare a capital improvement project description for a permanent skateboard park. Pending approval, the […]

Police Blotter

Illegal dumping
June 27, 9:09 a.m., 2200 block of Grant Road: dumping garbage illegally.
Fraud
June 27, 5:03 p.m., 200 block of San Antonio Road: arrest for general fraud.
Vandalism
June 29, 7:39 a.m., 500 block of Panchita Way: malicious mischief.
June 29, 8:05 a.m., 200 block of Marich Way: malicious mischief.

City, foundation negotiating over Neutra Cottage

The Los Altos City Council and the Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF) decided at the June 27 council meeting to renegotiate a contract for lease of the Neutra Cottage after a missed filing deadline had threatened to jettison the agreement altogether.

Neutra Cottage was one of three built on Marvin Avenue in the 1930s, designed by Richard Joseph Neutra, an influential modern architect. Under an agreement between the city and LACF, the structure was relocated in front of Hillview Center.

County to consider redistricting in August

The Santa Clara County Office of Education’s committee on redistricting, set to evaluate Los Altos Hills’ bid for an independent school system, will consider the town’s resolution in August, county Superintendent Colleen Wilcox has decided.

The town resolution asked the committee to create a redistricting plan. At the August hearing, the committee will decide whether to do so, according to Larry Slonaker, spokesman for the office of education. If the idea is rejected, Los Altos Hills would have to approach redistricting through a town-wide petition. The hearing, for which a date has not been set, will be open to the public.

Letters to the Editor

Unwanted herbicides
I walked this weekend in the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life at Los Altos High School. The track was lined with luminaria memorializing loved ones who had died of cancer.
I began thinking of the causes of cancer and wondering about the herbicides used by the Town of Los Altos […]

We must find a way to save Hidden Villa camps

Editor’s note: The writer is the daughter of longtime Los Altos Hills resident Lois Crozier Hogle, who pioneered the Peninsula’s environmental movement. Mrs. Crozier Hogle died last year at 92.

This is regarding a possible end to the resident (12-day) summer camp at Hidden Villa.

Where, oh where, is the world’s oldest paved road?

The world’s oldest paved road is near Giza, Egypt measuring 7 1/2 miles long and was built 4,600 years ago.

• The Russian-born French painter Marc Chagall paid for everything by check, yet his signature was considered so valuable that few were ever cashed.

Obituary Notices

LINDA MARIE DOWLING
November 11, 1948 - May 29th, 2006
El Dorado Hills, California
Linda Marie was a life mate and true companion to her husband Stephen Dowling. They met in 1968 at a small courtyard party near San Jose State. Together they raised three children, Chad, Tamara, and Heather, and became […]

People

Jan and Stoney Edwards, 50 years

Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, Palo Alto, was the setting of a 50th wedding anniversary celebration June 30 for Jan and Stoney Edwards, residents of Los Altos since 1962.

APOXY gets stuck to Arts & Wine Festival lineup

Town Crier Report

So you ask: What is there to experience at this year’s Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival this weekend besides the arts and crafts, children’s activities and varieties of food and wine?

CSMA’s ‘Kids Art on Main Street’ features 30 artists

The Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) has scheduled “Kids Art on Main Street” through Aug. 1 at Main Street Cafe & Books in Los Altos.

Works created by 30 children, grades 1-6, who participate in CSMA’s Arts in Action, are featured. The arts-in-the-schools program is provided at Springer School in the Los Altos School District and St. Nicholas School in Los Altos Hills.

Community Briefs

Chefs Who Care

dinner Monday, Tuesday

Justus evaluates his rookie year at luncheon

Ask Tim Justus to sum up his first year as superintendent of the Los Altos School District and he’ll have a lot to say.

The Los Altos Kiwanis Club invited Justus to Ristorante Bella Vita June 27 to speak about his inaugural year with the district and the community.

MVLA approves budget for 2006-2007

The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District Board of Trustees unanimously adopted its 2006-2007 budget June 26.

The budget projected approximate district revenues of $40.7 million and expenditures of $38.8 million.

LAEF announces new board members

The Los Altos Educational Foundation (LAEF) announced its new board for the 2006-2007 school year June 7. Board members come from the parent community representing the schools within the Los Altos School District.

The board’s charter is to drive fund-raising programs, community outreach and awareness in support of overall educational foundation goals.

Noteworthies

Kimberly Phyllis Blackfield of Los Altos graduated from the University of Oregon in Eugene in June with a Bachelor of Science in journalism. Keetje Jean Kuipers of Los Altos earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the same university.

Sarah Rhys Pritchard, daughter of Sandi Watkins and Willie Pritchard of Los Altos, received a bachelor’s degree cum laude from Smith College in May. She was also admitted to the scientific research honorary society, Sigma Xi. Pritchard majored in linguistics. She has joined the Teach for America program and will spend the next two years teaching in St. Louis, Mo.

Pacific zones in on title

It wasn’t just winning the national championship - it was how the Pacific Zone Cadet Girls water polo team did so that will long remain in the minds of the two Los Altos residents involved.

With Alexandra Kaufman in the water and fellow Los Altan Travis Wyckoff coaching poolside, Pacific Zone edged Coastal Zone squad 10-9 in a shootout.

Summer days on the green

Her recent jaunts to Patterson, Fairfield and Merced don’t measure up to last summer’s trip to Asia, yet Tessa The isn’t complaining. While the 14-year-old enjoyed the three-week family vacation, it interrupted her junior golf season.

This summer, the Los Altos resident is back in her element - surrounded by grass, trees, sand and water. With mom Lea The behind the wheel, Tessa is visiting golf courses throughout Northern California to play in or qualify for the top junior tournaments.

Childress makes a move

Josh Childress says he improved in his second NBA season, and the Stanford University product is confident his summer basketball camp will also be better in year two.

“This year, we’re basically going to take it a step further,” said Childress, drafted in the first round by the Atlanta Hawks in 2004. “We’ve been brainstorming throughout the year and we’re adding new things to it.”

Borrowing is good for economy if interest rates don’t rise

Interest rates are the big news for the financial community again. Why? Because interest rates dictate the cost of borrowing money, and borrowing money is the backbone of a capitalist economy.

Is borrowing in general a good idea or a bad idea? The answer is the same as it is for chocolate fudge, you know, the kind Granny used to make. Not enough is bad, and too much is worse. Borrowing can fund job growth and economic expansion, which everyone agrees is desirable.

Lap of luxury

For people with the necessary assets, a luxury four-door sedan is one of the privileges to enjoy. At one time, these up-market cars would have carried an American nameplate, but judging from the parking lot at Draeger’s market or the valet stand at Spago, today the choice seems to be limited to German, English or Japanese automobiles.

In the last month, we’ve sampled three luxury sedans - the Mercedes S550, BMW 760i and Jaguar XJR - and gotten a peek at a luxury car of the future with the Lexus GS450h hybrid.

Vrrrrrrooooooooooooom

When we were 10 years old, my twin brother, Peter Portugal, modified our long-outgrown tricycles. He took them apart and put them back together with the chassis upside-down. Suddenly we had long, low, hot-looking vehicles with plenty of leg room, more interesting than our customary bicycles. All the kids in the neighborhood brought their old tricycles for Peter to modify, and we held a series of hilarious tricycle races.

Portugal has been modifying vehicles ever since. As a preteen, he rebuilt a couple of scooters and a motor bike. When he was 14, he rescued a Model A Ford that had been sitting in a meadow for many years. By the time he was old enough to get his driver’s license, the Model A was running great and looking beautiful.

Summer means it’s time for a road trip

We’ve all experienced the following: A crazy friend interrupts your quiet Friday afternoon by yelling, “Road trip!” You then find yourself in the back of a van speeding to Las Vegas, San Francisco, Santa Barbara or some other random location. These spontaneous, unplanned and unstructured trips are my favorite.

I’ve had a number of memorable road trips, but the one that truly stands out is my family’s three-month trip through Europe. One would think that if you are taking your family to Europe for three months you would have some sort of plan. Enter Steven Pataky - a man without a plan.

Book proves learning about what we eat is valuable, if distasteful

In 1947, a munitions factory in Alabama had an excess of bomb-making materials. With World War II over, the owners needed a new use for the ammonium nitrate. Because it contained a lot of nitrogen, they tried it as a fertilizer, and it worked. Corn loved it.

In “The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals” (Penguin 2006) Michael Pollan follows the story of how food is created in America. Omnivores - that is, creatures who can eat a wide variety of food, including both meats and vegetation - are faced with the dilemma of deciding, “What should we have for dinner?”

Datebook

THEATER

Children’s Theater in the Park. Series of children’s theater productions from Peninsula Youth Theatre and the city of Mountain View. 6:30 p.m. Fridays, through Aug. 11. ParkStage, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. 903-6000 or visit pytnet.org.