Helping hand

The 2006 Town Crier Holiday Fund is making a list and checking it twice as it begins its annual fundraising drive in support of 14 small, local non-profits that serve the needy throughout Silicon Valley.

The $151,445 raised last year helped to finance many diverse projects: A teacher in East Palo Alto took her class on a field trip to the Aquarium of the Bay; a group of leadership students from Alta Vista High School visited local middle schools to train students in trust building and problem solving; and a woman, who prepared to return to the work force after three years of disability with only one pair of shoes and one pair of nylons, was able to select an appropriate professional wardrobe.

Warshawsky, Kerr win Los Altos Hills council seats

Los Altos Hills residents re-elected Dean Warshawsky (2,031, 36.9 percent) and Breene Kerr (1,833, 33.3 percent) to four-year terms on the city council. Challenger John Vidovich (1,640, 29.8 percent) finished third, 391 and 193 votes behind Warshawsky and Kerr, respectively, as of this week.

The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters will declare final election results Dec. 5 after the remaining absentee and provisional ballots are counted.

Colehower steps down; council seeks new member

The remaining councilmembers and city staff have begun the process to replace Los Altos City Councilman Kurt Colehower, who announced Nov. 8 his resignation from the five-member council to pursue a new business opportunity.

Colehower said he is leaving for a senior position in a “global technology company” that offers “new and exciting challenges” but could not disclose details until the company schedules a press conference later in the month.

LAH agenda addresses soccer field, redistricting meeting and sewer

The Los Altos Hills City Council plans for a town park and soccer field changed direction last week when Councilman Breene Kerr presented an alternative, less expensive plan to develop a soccer field at the Bullis-Purissima Elementary School site.

Kerr, a member of the Los Altos School District’s development committee for the site, reported that the town might negotiate development of a full-sized field for as little as $500,000. A full-size soccer field with artificial turf could cost approximately $1 million more than the initial site plan. The Mountain View-Los Altos Soccer Club has tentatively offered to contribute $500,000 toward the project in exchange for some usage rights.

Police Blotter

Small fire
Nov. 10, 11:35 a.m., 300 block of Second Street: A small fire ignited outside a store. The source was some work equipment left outside, according to the Santa Clara County Fire Department. Property damages were estimated at $1,500.
Residential burglaries
Nov. 7, between 8:45 a.m. and 1:55 p.m., 1300 […]

ECH board approves $2.6 million for cancer center

Construction of an 8,100-square-foot cancer center in the Melchor Pavilion office building on the El Camino Hospital (ECH) campus began Nov. 10. The ECH board of directors approved the $2.6 million budget for the project at its Nov. 8 meeting.

The center, including an outpatient lab and radiology services, is scheduled for completion by May, according to Ken King, vice president of facilities.

LASD wins solid support for parcel tax extension

Measure H on the Nov. 7 general election ballot, a renewal of the Los Altos School District’s $597 parcel tax, passed with 11,913 yes votes, approval by 77.65 percent of voters. The measure required a simple majority to pass.

Twenty percent of the district’s funding depends on parcel tax money, nearly $7.2 million annually. Measure H extends the district’s 2002 parcel tax for another four years beginning July 1.

Decisions aplenty in local, regional races

Voters faced many decisions in last week’s election. Santa Clara County residents picked their first woman district attorney and rejected a controversial land-use ordinance regarding county open space. Mountain View voters selected three new councilmembers. In addition to the local races, 13 state propositions were on the ballot.

Slow-growth and open-space advocates dominated the field in the Mountain View race. Results, as of Monday, showed Margaret Abe-Koga (9,047 votes, 21.86 percent), Ronit Bryant (6,556, 15.84 percent) and Jac Siegel (6,025, 14.56 percent) as the top vote-getters. Siegel and runner-up John Inks (5,787, 13.99 percent) were close enough in tallies that Siegel was not declared a winner, pending the impact of the additional absentee and provisional ballots. All four candidates favor passive use of the Cuesta Annex and a plan to set aside 5 acres for continued farming at the Grant Road Farm.

Editorial

We offer the following praises and regrets in the wake of an eventful, election-filled week.

Thumbs-up - and -down: To Los Altos Councilman Kurt Colehower, who announced the day after Election Day that he is leaving his seat on the council to pursue challenges in the business world. We wish him well and regret the loss of a councilman who offered a well-reasoned, intelligent perspective. With a mail-in ballot option costing the city more than $212,000 and a special election estimated at $423,000, the council would be prudent to opt for an appointment process.

Letters to the Editor

Alternative proposal for Grant Road Farm
There has been a lot of hand-wringing over the demise of the Grant Road Farm (aka Pumpkin Patch) ever since it became known that it would be sold. Personally, I would like to see it remain as a farm or at least open space. But the owners have […]

A letter from the past

I was ready to give up on November’s big holiday: Thanksgiving. What is there to be thankful about? The war in Iraq is still creating violence and death. Maybe I should hold my breath to avoid the skepticism that can destroy peace of mind.

Election day is over; we have a new party in power. What will happen with President Bush still in office for the next two years? Beyond Rumsfeld’s departure, what news will we get from the front? The election was a sweeping defeat, but Democrats now have to show they can preside over a more peaceful world.

Obituary Notices

YVONNE VALERIE DUNN
Valerie Dunn, born March 4, 1924, peacefully passed away on November 6, 2006 at the age of 82. A long-time Los Altos resident, Valerie was the dearly beloved wife of Charles E. Dunn for 63 years. A devoted mother to Charles (Nancy) Dunn of Los Altos and predeceased daughter Carol […]

People

Cindy Urquhart

and Troy Schalk

People

Rebecca Grossberg

and Mark Harvey

Dan Alexander, LAH community leader

Dan Alexander, a longtime Los Altos Hills community leader and supporter of Westwind Barn, died Nov. 9 from complications of prostate cancer. He was 90.

Mr. Alexander was raised in Salt Lake City and attended Stanford University, where he met his future wife, Margaret. He joined PG&E in 1939 as a lighting equipment salesman, moving to Los Altos Hills in 1966 when he transferred to the PG&E office in San Jose. He retired in 1981.

Blanding displays his ‘dream trains’ in Los Altos History Museum exhibition

Los Altos resident Richard Blanding’s love affair with model trains was on full display last week at the Los Altos History Museum. The Thursday opening reception for the new museum exhibit, “Mr. Blanding Builds His Dream Train,” drew more than 150 visitors, many of them wide-eyed children. The exhibit, which opened Nov. 2, runs through Jan. 7.

Blanding smiled as guests oohed and aahed watching the rambling little trains. The displays were the result of two weeks of work assembling and months of planning. He said about a dozen volunteers helped with the setup, including Jessa Dawson, Bob Grimm, Joann Kemp and Gary Ross.

Community

Paul Rogers, natural resources and environment writer for the San Jose Mercury News, explained the paper’s criteria for selecting news stories in his address, “Energy and the Environment: How the Press Decides What to Cover, and Major California Trends,” to a Morning Forum audience Nov. 7.

Rogers covers logging, fishing, air pollution, recycling and global warming for the Mercury News. He was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has won the David Brower Award, the Sierra Club’s highest national award for environmental journalism. He teaches environmental journalism at UC Santa Cruz.

Winetasting raises money for local Red Cross

Seventy-six local residents enjoyed the last bottles of a highly rated and sold-out vintage, Saxon Brown 2005 Semillon, at a Winemaker’s Dinner, which raised more than $10,000 for the local Red Cross, at Fremont Hills Country Club Nov. 3.

Los Altos Hills residents Linda Smith and Barbara Mordo, and Lois Adams of Los Altos, organized the benefit. Adams and Los Altos Hills City Councilman Jean Mordo, members of the board of directors of the Palo Alto Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, shared master of ceremonies duties. Executive Director Trish Bubenik spoke about the programs and services the chapter provides.

Girl Scouts collect books for hurricane victims

Girl scouts lined the driveway of Santa Rita Elementary School Nov. 6-9, greeting families with colorful “donate your books and bedding” signs as parents brought their students to school.

The six Girl Scout troops at Santa Rita participate in an annual book drive, which usually benefits local charities. This year, working with Cisco Systems 21st Century Schools Initiative, the Scouts are reaching beyond the Bay Area. They will donate the books to hurricane-affected areas to help fill Gulf Coast libraries.

MVHS Spartan Marching Band stomps competition at Grape Bowl Classic

The Mountain View High School Spartan Marching Band took the Lodi Grape Bowl Classic competition by storm Nov. 4, winning the Perpetual Grand Sweepstakes award for its field show, “Tsunami.”

The band won the award, known as the Lady of Lodi, for the second year in a row, beating out 37 bands from Northern California and two bands from Utah.

Schools Briefs

Foothill College begins search for new president
A nationwide search for Foothill College’s next president has begun. With the guidance of Academic Search Senior Consultant John Hicks, a committee will begin reviewing applicants in early January.
Hicks has met with various campus constituencies to understand the culture at Foothill and to determine the characteristics […]

LAHS Spanish students provide cultural displays honoring Day of the Dead

The Spanish II and the Spanish for Spanish Speakers classes at Los Altos High School, both taught by Mexican American teacher Diana Navarro Bushnell, celebrated “La Día de los Muertos,” the Day of the Dead, recently by sharing the traditional customs.

The students composed “poemas de calaveras,” poems about a living or deceased person. The poems were showcased in the prominently located crafts display case, augmented by “papel picado,” perforated- and cut-paper banners, and papier mâché “calaveras,” skulls, created by Kristi Martinez’s crafts class.

Eagles no match for Mitty

The Los Altos High girls volleyball team challenged heavily favored Mitty in the first game of Saturday’s Central Coast Section Division II quarterfinal, losing just 25-21.

Then the top-seeded Monarchs brought in their not-so-secret weapon. There’s no hiding 6-foot-5 Amanda Gil, who led Mitty to wins of 25-16 and 25-11 to sweep the match.

Los Altos football team to host CCS opener; St. Francis left out

Talk about a reversal of football fortunes: Los Altos High has made the Central Coast Section playoffs for the first time since 1998, while St. Francis has missed the cut for only the second time since 1976.

The Eagles are not just in, they’re at home in the first round. Seeded fourth in the CCS Medium School Division, Los Altos is scheduled to host No. 5 Mills at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Tennis teams fall in CCS

Los Altos High coach Cuong Duong couldn’t help but be encouraged by his team’s early effort in the second round of the Central Coast Section girls tennis playoffs Nov. 8.

The Eagles won the first set at No. 4 singles and at all three doubles spots against Stevenson.

Congressional changes will impact national fiscal policies

The U.S. Congress will change leadership in January, which will probably result in some changes in fiscal policy and direction next year. The laws that Congress initiates can and do have profound effects on our lives.

For example, in the mid-1980s retirement savings were boosted by the innovative Individual Retirement Account (IRA). This allowed workers to contribute up to $2,000 to a savings account each year. Two important provisions made these savings plans very popular: The contributions were tax deductible and the management of the accounts was handled by the owner of the account as opposed to a third-party trustee. Additionally, the accounts were 100 percent vested and belonged to the contributor.

El Camino corridor rebirth going strong

Exemplifying the ongoing revival of new development along El Camino Real, Elephant Pharmacy Inc., a store that offers over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, herbal remedies and supplements, will open its new store at 4470 El Camino Real Dec. 2.

The store, headquartered in Berkeley with a second location in San Rafael, chose Los Altos for several reasons.

CEOship not all gravy - lots of lumps

Thousands long for the job. Others wait years for the incumbent to walk away, pass away or retire to the sunny life, not just Sunnyvale. Others sit back without the authority or the responsibility of the difficult job - longing for the title.

Those who sit back simply cannot know the complex life of the CEO. With some exceptions, of course, the road is sticky, prickly and life consuming. It is often lonely. And now, thanks to the latest investigations of backdating, it is a frightening prospect in many ways. Legally, ethically and practically, the CEO is asked to be a brilliant strategist, empathetic with his reports and a visionary aware of the legal ramifications of his every move.

Carpet One sale raises cancer funds

Los Altos retailer Walther’s Carpet One is raising funds to fight breast cancer through the holidays as part of October’s National Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign.

Carpet One Floor & Home stores throughout North America introduced a collection of specially designed pink-ribbon welcome mats, with 25 percent of sales benefiting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The indoor/outdoor welcome mats are stain- and water-resistant and machine-washable. Nine additional welcome mats are for sale through December for $21.99, including a selection with fall, winter, holiday and pet themes.

Survey shows sellers value experience, integrity in a realtor

A survey of recent home sellers conducted by the California Association of Realtors (CAR) revealed that trust and integrity are key factors in their choice of an agent.

In May, CAR interviewed 150 sellers who had sold their home within the last six months using a real estate agent. The survey sample was about evenly split between first-time sellers (52 percent) and experienced sellers who have previously sold more than one home (48 percent). The average age among first-time sellers was 42, and the average age of experienced sellers was 47.

Holiday Wellness

W

ith the arrival of the holidays come colds and flus. A number of factors can contribute to that pesky illness, including higher than usual levels of stress.

One shot to beat the flu

Q:Should I get a flu shot?

A: Welcome to the flu season, which in the United States is usually from November through April each year. During this time flu viruses are circulating in the general population, increasing your chances of catching one. An annual flu shot is the best way to reduce the chances that you’ll suffer from the flu this season.

Doctor offers tips to overcome postpartum blues and depression

The arrival of a newborn is generally a joyous occasion. However, it can also represent a time of increased stress and difficulty for mothers transitioning into their new roles.

Up to 80 percent of new mothers experience a transient condition known as postpartum blues, or “baby blues,” just after delivery. For some women, however, the symptoms intensify and lead to postpartum depression from the time of delivery until a year or so afterward.

Books examine the benefits and risks of clinical trials

Advances in medical care depend on the results of clinical trials. Before new and better medical treatment becomes widely available, it must go through a period of rigorous and carefully controlled research using human volunteers to verify both safety and efficacy.

Sponsored by government and industry, tens of thousands of clinical trials are conducted in the United States each year. There is an ongoing need for volunteers.

Physiofit caters to a range of aches and pains

The word “relaxed” may not come to mind when most people think of physical therapy. For those who seek relief from aches and pains, the vision of a sparse workout room manned by a trainer and tedious discipline may be less than appealing.

But step into Physiofit Physical Therapy at Loyola Corners and you’re likely to be greeted cheerfully by one of six licensed physical trainers. The hallway opens into several clean, private rooms, a welcome retreat from a sterile hospital setting.

‘Three Junes’: Light on plot, heavy on language

Agent Donald Maass writes that most literary novels that land on his desk lack plot. And so it is with “Three Junes” (Pantheon, 2002), Julia Glass’s National Book Award-winning debut novel.

The narrative is organized into three parts that take place in June - in 1989, Paul mourns the death of his wife Maureen to lung cancer; in 1995, Paul’s sons Fenno, Dennis and David gather at their childhood home in Scotland to mourn their father’s death while Fenno mourns the death of friend Malachy (Mal); and in 1999, Fern, who met Paul in Greece in 1989, mourns the death of her husband and Fenno buries his border collie, the last of the line bred by his mother. The literal and figurative funeral pyres of the dead provide a mighty heap of ashes out of which the phoenix of hope and renewal may rise.

Town Crier Train Tours offers two trips in one: Copper Canyon and Colonial Mexico

Town Crier Train Tours is offering an exclusive itinerary for a trip to Mexico, Feb. 17-26. By special arrangement, two train trips are wrapped into one vacation package at 2006 prices.

Train buffs can leave winter behind when they take two different trains on a custom-designed route from Los Mochis to Mexico City.

New holiday play opens at Bus Barn

Bus Barn Stage Company leaps into the holiday season with “Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge,” which opens this week in Los Altos.

A new offering from accomplished playwright Christopher Durang, “Christmas Binge” is based on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” In Durang’s comedic version of the classic, the Ghost is played by a sassy woman whose magic is off, Scrooge and the Ghost keep showing up at Bob Cratchit’s house too early, and Mrs. Cratchit, furious with her family, intends to get drunk and jump off the London Bridge.

Datebook

THEATER

“The Two Gentlemen of Verona.” Foothill College Drama Department. 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Playhouse Theatre, Room 1301, Foothill, 12345 S. El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. $8-$16. 949-7360; www.foothill.edu/fa.