Activists up in arms over disinfectant tied to allergies, illnesses

Two years after the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission introduced chloramine as a disinfectant into the Hetch Hetchy water supply, area activists and a state Assemblyman are raising an alarm, contending that the substance may be harming water drinkers from San Francisco to Los Altos Hills.

Water officials disagree and doctors are unsure, but Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, D-Redwood City, is calling for the state to conduct more studies on chloramine.

Three candidates vie for two LAH council seats

John Vidovich is the only challenger to file for the Los Altos Hills City Council race this November. He will face incumbents Dean Warshawsky and Breene Kerr in competition for two seats on the five-member council.

Councilmen Craig Jones, Mike O’Malley and Jean Mordo are halfway through their four-year terms.

Local travelers faced with terror concerns, inconvenience

The startling news last week of the foiled terrorist plot in Britain sent ripples of concern throughout the world. Los Altos residents, too, noted increased delays in their travels as word of the plot to hide liquid explosives in water bottles had airport workers confiscating everything from shampoo bottles to soda cans.

Mountain View resident John Farwell, a pilot with United Airlines, braved the Honolulu airport while working last Thursday. He reported that while there was a bit more tension than usual, “For us as crew members, we couldn’t tell anything was different. I learn about the news the same way you do, reading the newspaper.”

News Briefs

Los Altos High grad killed in car crash
Alexander James Baer, 25, a Los Altos High School graduate, was killed in a car accident Aug. 6 in Santa Barbara, where he was a senior at UC Santa Barbara.
Baer was a passenger in a Ford Focus driven by Jessica Rose Binkerd, 22, of […]

Police Blotter

11 p.m. Saturday, 2000 block of Grant Road: Two 19-year-olds were arrested for stealing alcohol from a grocery store.

Memorial fund set up for baby girl after mother found dead

Eva Koltai is laughing now and appears to be a well-adjusted, happy 18-month-old in the care of her grandmother in Mountain View. But that wasn’t the case two weeks ago when she was found alone in a bedroom, suffering from severe dehydration, while her mother lay dead in the living room of their Seaside apartment.

Her mother, Claire Sandra Koltai, 40, was found dead July 31. Seaside police initially treated the apartment as a crime scene, but foul play has been ruled out, according to Seaside police.

LA man joins state energy commission

Los Altos resident Jeff Byron started his work at the California Energy Commission during a challenging season. Appointed in June to the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency, Byron now has responsibility for California’s present and future energy needs.

With rising fuel costs, supply problems with Alaskan pipelines and ever-increasing energy consumption nationwide, it is an important burden indeed.

Editorial

It’s no secret that many downtown Los Altos businesses are struggling, even as the economy begins to turn around. And when a business does find success, it seems something stands in the way of it becoming even more successful.

Such is the case with Adventure Toys on Main Street. The good news is that owner Leslie Chiaverini wants to expand her business to vacant space next door. The bad news is that the city isn’t letting her - at least until a long process occurs - because of rules and regulations regarding “nonconforming” uses of the 1950s-era buildings at issue.

Letters to the Editor

Be careful whatyou wish for

We elect officials assuming they will have our best interests in mind. Checks and balances are an important part of the system to protect the community and to hold elected officials accountable.

From darkness to the light

These are indeed harrowing times. Hatred seems to rule the world, not only in the Middle East, but from the mouth of that Hollywood blowhard, Mel Gibson. That he was inebriated and speeding along a freeway causes my anger to flare at his dangerous and outrageous behavior. But his alcohol-induced anti-Semitic dribble showed the total lack of knowledge and concern for others. To lash out at Jews was not only unforgivable but also made his father’s teachings even more obvious. “I am not a bigot!” he said to the arresting officer, who happened to be a Jew. How can society rehabilitate such a person?

The damage done at a time when a furious war has already taken so many lives leaves me sick to my stomach. There is much to be learned by listening carefully to the many politicians, authors, spokespersons for both sides in the conflict as well as participants in the United Nations. Surely we can hold back quick-tempered comments in order to understand the complex ideas as they are presented. The graphic news pictures made us all, unwilling but important, participants in a global unraveling of ancient religions and secular conflicts. A cease-fire has occurred, but I hear worries expressed beforehand about how long it will last. Guerilla warfare with thousands of rockets now challenges the outstanding military might of nation states.

Obituary Notices

JEANNE SHIRLEY GESELSCHAP(née Hutchison)

August 10, 1927 - June 1, 2006

Engagement

Lisa Conover and Jeffrey Hustis have announced their engagement to be married October 7, 2006 at the Los Altos United Methodist Church. A reception will follow at the Los Altos Golf and Country Club.

The bride-to-be is the daughter of Linda and John Conover of Los Altos Hills. She graduated from Mountain View High School, received a bachelor’s degree in political science with specialization in finance from UCLA and a master’s of business administration with specialization in finance from Thunderbird University. She is employed as a financial analyst at Hewlett Packard.

Noteworthies

Not quitting

his day job

Scouting News

Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 615 at Loyola Elementary School in Los Altos recently completed a community service project as part of earning their Bronze Award. The troop organized a sewing event, inviting other local junior troops to help sew pet beds of various sizes for animals from the San Martin Animal Shelter. The shelter serves animals from unincorporated areas of the county.

The 40-plus scouts were able to make more than 40 beds, which Troop 615 delivered to the shelter in June.

Mondays return to Los Altos main library

Beginning in September, Monday hours are back on the Los Altos main library schedule after a two-year schedule reduction.

The North County Library Authority, a special parcel tax established between Los Altos and Los Altos Hills to fund additional library hours and services, will pay for the Monday hours. Last year voters passed tax Measure A, which guaranteed funding for the next 10 years.

Community

Pastel artist

at Viewpoints

LAHS grad documents human rights abuses in Mexico

Diana Flores has flown far from the nest since she graduated from Los Altos High School in 1997. She relocated to the most isolated reaches of southern Mexico, where she works with villagers to document and publicize human rights abuses.

Based in San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, Flores has received an advanced degree in international adventure, global politics and the privilege of having a home like Mountain View to return to.

PAARC’s MacArthur Park Wine Festival halted

The Palo Alto Area Red Cross, which serves Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, has dropped its involvement in the annual MacArthur Park Wine Festival this year after eight years of partnership with the Palo Alto restaurant.

The event, usually held in mid-August, featured premium wines, elegant meals and auction items in support of Red Cross programs.

Local residents invited to take the ‘LEAD’

The Leadership Education ADvancement series (LEAD) is accepting applications for the 2006-2007 series. The community involvement education course is designed to develop community leaders in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, and connect them with other influential members of the community.

Sponsored by the Los Altos Community Foundation since 1996, more than 175 people have completed the course and many have become elected officials or non-profit volunteers. Current Los Altos Councilman Curtis Cole and Los Altos Hills Councilman Jean Mordo are among the graduates. Other recent graduates include bankers Cindy Luedtke and Steve Shepherd and attorneys Alex Myers and Marlis McAllister.

Chamber announces tournament winners

A field of 132 golfers entered the 16th annual Los Altos Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament Aug. 7 at Los Altos Golf & Country Club. The following players received awards.

First-place honors in the scramble format went to Hannelore Blanchard, Dave Blockhus, Jim Milliken and Charlie Marinelli.

School provides for independent learners

Education is what one walks away with regardless of how many times it took to get there.

Based on their belief in that philosophy, Herman Ohme and his wife, Jean, opened the School for Independent Learners in Los Altos in 2001 with no accreditation and three students.

Schools Briefs

Volunteers needed for art docent program
The Los Altos art docents are recruiting new volunteers to assist in bringing art lessons to Los Altos School District children. The docents have developed more than 40 units of hands-on appreciation lessons, including watercolor, brush painting, clay, graphic design, architecture and printmaking.
Trainee docents will receive extensive […]

There’s no debate - Los Altos kids like to talk

Watch out, Toastmasters. Los Altos children won’t be intimidated by the idea of public speaking if Communication Academy has anything to say about it.

The Cupertino-based company teaches children speech and debate skills, partnering with Bay Area recreation departments to offer classes for improved communication. The Los Altos Recreation Department held Communication Academy camps this summer at Hillview Community Center.

Keeping children entertained on long road trips can be tough

Q. Any suggestions for the last car trip of the summer with our kids? Long hours in the car and in the seemingly endless lines for food, rides and museums make planning the trip a challenge more than a pleasure.

A. Before you set out, leave your adult vacation mindset at home and get into the mindset of the ages of your children. You have to think in terms of their ages and needs to guarantee a fun trip for both you and your children.

Volunteers sew for children’s literacy

Even if you are a small boy, you can help a village solve its problems. That is one of the lessons children will learn this fall.

Volunteers gathered at Los Altos Library on Saturday to help make finger-puppets for the Share Literacy program that will benefit children in Berkeley schools.

Noteworthies

Los Altos High School senior Gabrielle Guidi, daughter of Roger and Wendy Guidi, and Ben Laufer, son of Michael and Elizabeth Laufer, participated in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI) this summer. BUTI is a program of musical study and performance. Guidi and Laufer were among 170 students selected from auditions across the country and abroad to work with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston University faculty and world-renown visiting artists.

Eric Crites of Los Altos Hills was named to the dean’s list at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y., for the spring semester. Students must achieve at least a 3.4 grade-point average to make the dean’s list. Crites is studying in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

New preschool focuses on virtues

Little Prodigy Preschool, a new home-based preschool in Los Altos, is taking registration for its program, which focuses on teaching virtues at a young age.

“We feel the key elements of a child’s development are not centered around academics alone but include creativity and social development,” said Tina Parvini, preschool director.

PONY power

Los Altos-Mountain View PONY Baseball is known for its postseason success, and the league continued that tradition this summer.

Two of its all-star teams reached the Northern California Regionals - with one of them nearly making the Bronco World Series - and another squad played in the sectional final last month.

Ichikawa reels in championship at NCGA Junior at Lake Merced

This golfer actually welcomed a hook last week. Taking a rare day off from golfing, Adam Ichikawa spent much of Thursday trying to hook a few fish at Stevens Creek Reservoir.

“I didn’t catch anything, but it was nice,” the 15-year-old said. “I needed to take a break.”

Masters swimmers from Los Altos make a splash at Fina World meet

It’s not the racing - or even placing - that swimmer Bobbi Callison will remember most about last week’s Fina World Masters Championships.

Callison and husband Paul Anderson, who also competed in the international meet at Stanford University, got more joy from having swimmers from another country over for dinner.

Sports

Alan Moll, managing partner of Aldo Los Altos, an Italian restaurant at 388 Main St., has sold his controlling interest to Aldo’s chef, Donato De Marchi.

“He made a serious business offer,” said Moll. “An irresistible offer, and I decided to accept it.”

Realtors’ association offers tips to protect against identity theft

Identity theft has impacted both homebuyers and real estate professionals across the nation. To help consumers better protect their credit, the National Association of Realtors and the Federal Trade Commission recently unveiled a new nationwide campaign, AvoID Theft: Deter, Detect, Defend, which recommends the following safety tips.

To deter identity theft:

Sweet days of summer

r

Sweet is the operative word at fruit stands in the Los Altos Farmer’s Market this month, where vendors describe their fruit from “tart, tangy and sweet” to “bursting with sweetness.”

Perhaps enough stitches for a niche: Knitting book won’t appeal to most

If you knit maniacally, keep hidden stashes of yarn in your house and plan your vacation spots around yarn stores, then “Knitting Rules” author Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is right: You’re not like the rest of us, nor should you try to be.

P.S. Nor do the rest of us particularly care.

Spy novel delightful, if you’re patient

Here is a good meaty novel you can sink your teeth into. “The Foreign Correspondent” (Random House, 2006) is the ninth book by Alan Furst, master of the historical spy novel.

The title refers to Carlo Weisz, an Italian living in Paris in the 1930s, working for Reuters plus helping to produce an antifascist underground newspaper, “fighting fascism with typewriters.” One of the charms of the book is that although there is some violence, it’s not all about spies killing each other - it’s about good people struggling to make a difference with words.

Finding comfort in Oregon’s Shakespeare capital is just a bite away

One activity still going strong as the summer wanes is the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, a nearly year-round celebration of theater in Ashland, Ore.

Selecting shows to see isn’t too tricky - many visitors make a marathon out of squeezing in every offering during the week they visit. It is hard to go wrong with the Shakespearean and contemporary offerings at the festival’s three theaters.

Experience open space on guided hikes

Docents with the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District plan to lead ten hikes and strolls through local open space lands during the last two weeks of August. These free activites are open to the public and most do not require reservations.

Saturday “Cool at the Top”

Sherrie Carreno: Driven to make them smile at Marriott

Soothing the woes of an irritable, worn-out business traveler makes Sherrie Carreno’s day. After all, she’s the general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott in Los Altos.

Easing the burdens of burned-out road warriors comes naturally because she genuinely likes to serve people. She gets to practice that skill every day by taking frazzled hotel guests from sapped to satisfied.

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