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Archives » 2007 » Volume 60 , Issue 20, Published on Wednesday, May 16, 2007NewsActing globally, funding locally
The Los Altos-based David and Lucile Packard Foundation is one of the leading philanthropic foundations in the country, with a 2007 grant-making budget of $248 million. Although the foundation is a major supporter of global issues, its leaders remain dedicated to providing the financial backbone for many local non-profit groups as well. Founded by Hewlett-Packard co-founder and former Los Altos Hills resident David Packard and his wife Lucile in 1964, the foundation’s total worth is currently more than $6 billion - a considerable drop from its all-time high in 2000 of $11 billion. At the time, the foundation’s assets were almost exclusively tied to Hewlett-Packard and Agilent stock. Since the subsequent dot-com crash, however, foundation officials said they have diversified their investments to reflect overall changes in the market and rely less heavily on the two companies’ stocks. With Packard, Nancy Glaze helped increase, localize commitment to arts
As arts program director for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Los Altos resident Nancy Glaze combined her love of the arts with her skill in business to help local arts groups big and small survive and thrive. Her longtime shepherding of Packard-funded programs came to an end this year. Glaze retired recently from the foundation after more than 22 years of service. LASD parents offer attendance area proposals as solutionsWith public hearings nearing an end, Los Altos School District board members find themselves scrutinizing the different area attendance scenarios, both parent submitted and demographer suggested. The board gathered to hear another hour of public comment May 7. More than 250 parents and community members conveyed their concerns regarding the four scenarios presented by the Attendance Area Committee to school district officials. Likely garbage rate increase in Los Altos HillsThe town of Los Altos Hills will put its garbage contract out to bid this summer to explore options in the face of a rate-increase request from the Los Altos Garbage Company, the town’s current provider. The town negotiated a five-year, $864,000 yearly contract with the garbage company in 2003, due for renewal in 2008. The garbage company requested a 22 percent increase in the cost of the new contract, a result of increased labor and fuel costs. In total a resident’s monthly fee would go up from about $25 to $33 for one can. Los Altos Civic Center discussion on the tableA grass-roots Civic Center Task Force has met twice to discuss new plans for the 20-acre civic center site on San Antonio Road. The ad-hoc committee includes Los Altos City Councilmen Lou Becker and David Casas, former Los Altos Mayor Bob Grimm, Los Altos High School PTSA President Mike Abrams, Planning Commissioner Randall Hull, Los Altos architect John Hamlin and Paul Nyberg, Los Altos Town Crier publisher. Local social services hit by county budget cutsSocial service groups in Los Altos are expecting to feel the pinch when Santa Clara County finalizes its budget cuts in June. Facing a $227 million deficit, County Executive Pete Kutras has prepared a budget for 2008 that reduces funding for health and social services programs across the county. Non-profits and public-health organizations are scrambling to respond with alternative ideas and scheduled a rally May 14 under the leadership of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits. The council includes agencies with a Los Altos presence, such as the Community Services Agency, the Community Health Awareness Council and the Palo Alto Area Red Cross. Emotions run high over Grant farm proposalsDuring an emotionally charged, standing-room-only public hearing May 8, the Mountain View City Council heard a variety of viewpoints about the future development of the Grant Road Farm. The meeting, which was attended by about 150 people, was characterized by Mayor Laura Macias as a “listen and learn session” for the council to hear public comment. News articleArmed robbers arrested On May 9 at approximately 2:55 a.m., Los Altos police responded to an armed robbery at the Arco AM/PM gas station at 988 N. San Antonio Road, the second armed robbery at the site in two weeks. The suspect in this case brandished a fake handgun and ordered the clerk […] Palo Alto Bowl to be developed as hotel, homesLocal bowlers already knew their days were numbered at Palo Alto Bowl, the El Camino Real bowling alley on land put up for sale last year. The decades-old hangout got a new owner last week, when a group of investors purchased 3.5 acres of land, including the alley and a Motel 6. Local developer Barry Swenson Builder is leading the project to develop an extended-stay hotel and residential housing on the site, according to project manager Libby Glass. CommentLetters to the EditorAttendance lines issue needs a look back Jennifer Granath’s letter (May 9) suggesting an overhaul at the county level to align our school district with local city boundaries and implying that Los Altos has an unfair load of educating local youth ignores important facts. May - a month of rosesThere are yellow marks all over the May calendar, and I must pay them some attention. I think of roses as symbols of Mother’s Day, when all the florists hug themselves with glee. We will join my son Ron for brunch up the highway at Kincaid’s - where mothers congregate by the dozens. On this sweet holiday I spend time remembering my own mother. She would be out among our gorgeous pink and coral roses, exclaiming over each one. I can see her quite clearly. Because Ron’s birthday comes shortly after, I save him another long drive by celebrating with him on Mother’s Day. After all, there is no one who remembers his birth better than I. He’s not into counting the years anymore, and I fully understand that. ObituariesDick Pidgeon, public relations specialist, former food writer for TCHis many friends and associates remember Richard Graeme Pidgeon as Dick Pidgeon “Himself.” Having endured many years with diabetes and kidney failure, and many trips to the El Camino Dialysis Center, Mr. Pidgeon passed away last month at the age of 75. Born to Ira Sanborn Pidgeon and Jean Abigail Pidgeon on May 7, 1931, in Boston, Mass., he succumbed to his illness at Cuesta Grant Nursing Center in Mountain View. Obituary NoticesHOOGS, SHERWOOD \”WOODY\” August 21, 1926 - April 10, 2007, died peacefully at his home of heart failure. He was 80 years old. CommunityPet parade at 60 A downtown Los Altos tradition hits milestone - event Saturday
Pets in Los Altos paraded downtown before Los Altos was officially a city. The inaugural 1947 Los Altos Kiwanis Pet Parade predated the city’s 1952 incorporation by five years. This year’s parade, scheduled 10 a.m. Saturday, will mark 60 years that bunny rabbits, hamsters, goats and tail-wagging German shepherds have been wheeled or led down Main and State streets amid cheering onlookers. Expert offers Los Altos Morning Forum his prognosis for democracy in Iran
An expert on Iran spoke on “Prospects and Problems of Democracy in Iran” for the Los Altos Morning Forum audience May 1, offering his thoughts on what the United States could do to promote democracy in the beleaguered country. Dr. Abbas Milani, director of Iranian studies at Stanford University and senior fellow at the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution, said the paradox of Iran today is that it is a despotic regime with an active democratic movement. Comedian ’stands up’ for local youth at Challenge Team ‘Champions’ event
Michael Pritchard enthralled members of the Mountain View-Los Altos Challenge Team Thursday at its 20th annual Champions for Youth Breakfast with a mixture of spot-on imitations, zany humor and a heartfelt message to listen to and be respectful of children. Speaking before a consortium of local law enforcement, city and school district leaders, the stand-up comic and youth leader had his audience laughing liberally after rattling off one-liners that proved insightful commentaries on each stage of youth. Rotary’s Fine Art in the Park features Zittin’s watercolors
There are going to be many more birds in Lincoln Park Saturday when the Los Altos Rotary Club hosts its annual fundraising event, Fine Art in the Park. One booth in particular, local artist Floy Zittin’s, will feature watercolors of the birds she paints. This will be Zittin’s 10th year participating in the show, which features the artworks of 200 juried artists from across the United States. Supporters of blind, dyslexic offer scholarships, celebrate volunteersThe Northern California Unit of Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D) has scheduled its annual Celebration of Success and Volunteer Recognition Milestone Awards event Sunday at the Los Altos home of a longtime volunteer. The event provides an opportunity for the organization to honor the continuous commitment of 175 active volunteers who record “talking textbooks” in the Palo Alto studio. Two outstanding Bay Area students, members of RFB&D’s Learning Through Listening program, will receive Scholastic Achievement Awards. SchoolsLASD looking to educate after Blach drug incidentAfter an incident at Blach Intermediate School earlier this month involving three students and marijuana, Los Altos School District officials hope to turn the situation into a learning opportunity for district families. The boys were caught on campus with marijuana May 4, before departing on an eighth-grade field trip. The school administration confronted the boys and contacted their parents and the police. MVLA Foundation raises $650,000 for high schoolsThe MVLA High School Foundation presented Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District officials with a check for $650,000 this month to fund additional academic programs for local high schools. The foundation kicks off its annual fundraising campaign at the beginning of each school year by mailing requests for contributions to past and present donors. Foundation members follow the mailers with a phone-a-thon, hosted this year at the Los Altos Alain Pinel offices. Former LAHS student takes on the worldJennifer Lesyna, a 2004 Los Altos High School graduate now attending Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore., is a little farther from home this semester. Lesyna is in Sevilla, studying the historical and cultural events that have shaped modern-day Spain, including Spanish societal institutions and southern Spain’s cultural roots in North Africa. Schools article Foothill College features Foothill College Repertory Dance Company, under the direction of dance instructor Bubba Gong, has scheduled “Take Off With Us” 7:30 p.m. June 1 and 2 in the Smithwick Theatre at the college, 12345 S. El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. Proceeds will benefit scholarships for dance students […] Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School honors Gerry Elgarten, retiring head of schoolWhen a math puzzle is considered a “prize” and a visit to the principal’s office a “treat,” the retirement celebration for the head of Palo Alto’s Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School needs to match the creativity and warmth of the honoree, Gerald Elgarten, Ph.D. The school, along with community leaders, will honor Elgarten, who has a doctorate in educational administration and supervision from Fordham University, with “Hausner Celebrates Gerry.” The program of music, stories and celebration is scheduled 2-4 p.m. Sunday at the school’s campus, 450 San Antonio Road. LASD holds summer-school registrationThe Los Altos School District is accepting applications for its two enrichment programs through May 31. Both programs will run from June 18 through July 13 (no school on July 4-6). The primary-grades program is open to students entering grades 2-4. This program will be held weekdays at Springer School from 8:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. SportsOn track for CCSIt shouldn’t be hard to find local athletes at Saturday’s Central Coast Section track and field trials - San Jose City College should be crawling with them. Los Altos and Mountain View highs have combined to qualify 23 competitors for the trials, thanks to strong performances at Friday’s Santa Clara Valley Athletic League finals in Los Gatos. Eagles no match for Menlo
The Central Coast Section didn’t do Los Altos High any favors by changing the boys tennis playoffs from two divisions to one this year. Had the 2006 format remained, coach Cuong Duong believes the Eagles would have made it back to the title match rather than lose in the quarterfinals. Mtn. View golfers claim regionalIt was foggy, cold and breezy throughout, but Mountain View High weathered the weather to win the second day of the Central Coast Section Boys Regional Golf Championships. The Spartans shot a 381 May 9 on the West course at Rancho Cañada Golf Club in Carmel to beat runner-up R.L. Stevenson by three strokes. Serra and Palma tied for third, 11 strokes behind. Los Altos High secures second seed in CCS baseball playoffsThe baseball playoffs are here, and Los Altos High’s goal remains the same as when the season began. “Anything less than the finals would be a disappointment,” Eagles coach Sandy Wihtol said. BusinessNew local dental office offers personalized care and no rushTrang Nguyen, a dentist with a new office on Main Street, has a simple philosophy of care: Listen to the patient. Don’t rush. Discover the patient’s needs. Nguyen and her husband, Thanh Chau, who is also a dentist, opened Main Dental in February. But before they picked Los Altos as the location for their new office, they considered other sites in Saratoga, Los Gatos and Big Basin. Productivity is the key when experts are bearishA few weeks ago I wrote about the six months in the year that are traditionally the best for the stock market. I mentioned the old saying, “Sell in May and go away.” Now we are in May and the big-company stock indexes are continuing to hit all-time highs. Tips for spouses working in close quartersHusbands and wives sometimes work for the same company. It could happen in the largest of public companies and it could happen in the smallest shop downtown. In my experience, it actually works out very well in the larger companies. Couples share common perceptions of their company and understand the predicaments of their spouses, specifically based on the larger cultural information they have about the company. In a larger company, the emotional and physical space can offer relief to the constant translations we make about our company, our mates and ourselves. In a smaller company, spouses who work together typically do not have the luxury of physical separation or professional separation. It is difficult to leave a work problem at the back door of the shop. The good news, however, is that a couple can go home with the same success. But, in small businesses the traumas and dramas often supersede the victories. |
In Our OpinionEditorialWe’ve recently covered the passing of two of this community’s most involved and committed volunteers, Lee Lynch and Billy Russell. They represented an era when people helped out, not so they could get their name on a building, but because it was simply the right thing to do. There’s a new generation of volunteers hard at work right now in this community who are carrying on their legacy. The level of involvement in the recent Los Altos Relay For Life event bears this out. |
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