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Archives » 2007 » Volume 60 , Issue 1, Published on Wednesday, January 3, 2007NewsLos Altan of the Year Jeanne MacVicar
After battling back from a major injury and beating breast cancer, Jeanne MacVicar of Los Altos feels fortunate just to be alive and well. So it’s no surprise that Jeanne, 60, has empathy for those continuing their struggles with cancer. It is this awareness, compassion and willingness to help that prompted her to attend an informal meeting four years ago at the American Cancer Society’s Discovery Shop in Los Altos. The meeting was about starting a local version of something called Relay For Life. Westwind agreement nears, charges dropped against ex-presidentAfter a year of strife, a new management agreement is in the works among the town, Friends of Westwind and other users of Westwind Barn, the Los Altos Hills landmark. At its Dec. 14 meeting, the Los Altos Hills City Council reviewed a proposed template for a peaceful renegotiation of power at the barn from the town’s Westwind Barn committee but postponed a definitive decision until more information could be gathered. Newly merged community foundation moves to MVThe Peninsula Community Foundation and Community Foundation Silicon Valley formalized their merger, reopening Jan. 2 as the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and acquiring new headquarters just across the Los Altos border. The new foundation, which combines the $1.5 billion assets of the two foundations, serves Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. Community foundations pool donations from the community to coordinate grant-making on a local level. LAPD consolidates dispatch servicesThe Los Altos Police Department will partner with the Mountain View and Palo Alto departments to manage their individual dispatch services through a Computer Aided Dispatch/Records Management System (CAD/RMS). The Los Altos City Council Dec. 12 approved the purchase of the CAD/RMS equipment, at a cost of approximately $25,681. The system could be implemented by February, Los Altos Police Chief Bob Lacey said. ECH averts ER problem with ValleyMed pact
The El Camino Hospital (ECH) District agreed Dec. 13 to form a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) with Santa Clara County to enable the county to issue bonds to fund $1.3 billion in state-mandated seismic upgrades at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose. Mark O’Connor, ECH District board member, will sit on the four-member JPA board. News BriefsConstruction sites burglarized Los Altos police have warned residents about a recent rash of construction-site thefts. Between Dec. 15-20, there were six incidents in which tools were stolen from residential area construction sites, said Paco Vergara, crime prevention unit officer. Police BlotterDriving under the influence Los Altos police issued three DUIs early last week as part of their Avoid the 13 campaign to crack down on drunk drivers. Youth services a priority for new LA mayor
His fellow council members describe newly appointed Los Altos Mayor Curtis Cole as diplomatic and logical, qualities that should hold him in good stead as he continues to make decisions in much the same vein. While Cole said he doesn’t have a specific agenda of projects to accomplish this year, he pointed to the council’s labor contract negotiations with unions for city police officers and a two-year budget plan as critical upcoming events for the city. CommentEditorialThe new year represents a fresh start for us all and an opportunity to look ahead. Here are our “resolutions,” or suggested goals and priorities for our community leaders in 2007. In Los Altos, let’s get some discernible traction going on two projects that seem perennially stuck in the mud: the community pool project on Rosita Avenue and the oft-discussed boutique hotel plan for city-owned land at First and Main streets. The hotel plan in particular seems completely stalled, although we understand talks between the city and developer Roxy Rapp have been ongoing. Online readers cast their votes on range of local issuesFor the past few months, the Town Crier has offered a series of online polls based on local issues. Here are previous questions and their results: Points of view on LAH redistrictingIn state, city and school district boundaries are rarely the same By David Pefley ObituariesObituary Notices LEROY EMERSON Leroy Emerson Codding, Jr. died in Monterey, CA Nov. 15, 2006 following a lengthy illness. Born July 8, 1921 in Boston, MA he was the son of Leroy E. Codding, Sr. and Edith Hazel Miles. His brother, Arthur M. Codding, predeceased him. Raised in Keene, NH, Lee attended Georgia Tech, […] CommunityVolunteer shares fruits of Hidden Villa with childrenWhen Stew Plock, 64, retired from Sun Microsystems, he wanted a low-tech volunteer job that he could do on a regular basis. He found it at Hidden Villa, an organic farm and wilderness preserve in Los Altos Hills. Plock knew of Hidden Villa through his wife Kathy, a preschool and kindergarten teacher who over the years had taken her students on field trips to tour the farm. He now leads farm tours and speaks with enthusiasm of his new work and fellow tour guides. Library programs range from video games to ‘Quirkyalone’The Los Altos main library has scheduled a number of events in January. All programs are open to the public and take place in the program room, 13 S. San Antonio Road. • 7 p.m. Monday - SuperCollege will present “Pay for College,” with Gen and Kelly Tanabe discussing scholarships, essay writing and tips to help you or your student pay for college. SchoolsCSMA hires new executive directorThe Board of Directors of the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) at Finn Center announced the appointment of Jeffry William Walker as the school’s new executive director. Walker has been the chief arts administrator at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., since 1990. He was director of the Austin Arts Center and was recently appointed director of the college’s new Office for the Arts. In 2005, he received the annual Elizabeth L. Mahaffey Fellowship, the state of Connecticut’s highest award for excellence in arts administration. Student essay: A visit to the other side of townThis morning, my friend Jenny and I took a trip to the Day Worker Center of Mountain View for an English research project. We arrived at 7 a.m. and planned to interview and videotape one of the benefactors. However, we could not figure out where the entrance to the center was. The center is really nothing special to look at. It is actually a church, and the Day Worker Center is a rented room in the back. There was a girl sitting outside the church entrance, and when we asked what time it opened, she said that she only spoke Spanish, so I tried not to feel shy and put my four years of Spanish to good use. She thankfully instructed us where to go. Schools BriefsHonor band selects Los Altos High students The 2007 Santa Clara County Honor Band has selected four students from the Los Altos High School Instrumental Music Program as members. SportsOwls going through growing painsIn the summer, the men’s basketball team Shanan Rosenberg envisioned coaching this season at Foothill College didn’t look like this. The squad was supposed to have more experience, more height and, come December, more wins than have materialized. “We didn’t get all the players we expected,” said Rosenberg, whose Owls have started 6-9. “A number of key players, five from 6-(foot)-4 to 6-6, for one reason or another didn’t play this year.” ‘Tis the season to sign
November was the start of the signing season, and several local high school seniors have since inked letters of intent with colleges, including: • Sami Field-Polisso. The Pinewood School guard signed to play basketball at Sacramento State. Field-Polisso last March led the Panthers to their second consecutive state championship. BusinessNew company offers organic menu for tiny gourmands
Los Altos resident Peggy Weimer was used to cooking up batches of vegetables for her baby daughter. It was a healthful alternative to jarred food, she thought. But after chopping, steaming and freezing the pureed vegetables into cubes, Weimer said she was exhausted. The healthful, homemade formula was “taking away from the time I could be spending with her,” she said. Keep that dream job from turning into a nightmareJobs don’t always work out - for a number of reasons. For some, an obstacle to job satisfaction may be unfulfilled expectations, for others it may be a politically charged business environment. Following are reasons why that dream job may turn out to be a nightmare. • The job is not what you expected. It is sometimes hard to express your disappointment about a job. You thought it would be different. Approach your boss and ask how you can be more productive. Don’t feel like you are complaining. Buy now while conditions are favorableInterest rates have fallen seven months in a row and are near 40-year lows, inventories of existing homes are higher than they have been in decades and prices have stabilized. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), these are perfect conditions for buyers, but are likely to change as sales pick up, prices gain traction and conditions improve for sellers next year. The national median price of homes bought 10 years ago has increased 88 percent. The number of U.S. households is expected to increase 15 percent during the next decade, creating a continued high demand for housing, NAR officials report. On the RoadGet a grip
Next time you’re driving in your car, take a look at the drivers - not the cars - traveling around you. Check out the position of their arms and hands in relation to the steering wheel. Whether negotiating town traffic or traveling on a highway, we cringe every time we see a driver with his or her hands gripping the steering wheel at the 12 o’clock position, or with the left arm slung casually out the window, or with the right arm slung across the top of the passenger seat, or with (shudder) one wrist draped across the top of the steering wheel while the other hand cradles a cell phone or water bottle. You can steer a car with your wrist? Oh, please! Then there’s the driver whose head is tilted back against the seat. Sleeping, perhaps? Got oil?The question seems to have been around as long as the automobile. How often should a vehicle’s engine oil be changed? The answer, as with most things in life these days, isn’t as simple as it used to be. DatebookDatebookDatebook 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). EVENTS |
In Our OpinionEditorialHere are our quick takes on recent local news events: |
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