Portrait of Courage

“I went to several doctors,” Dowd said. “I was told there was nothing wrong with me and it was all in my head. I was sent to a psychologist and told that I had anger issues. It was a young medical intern who finally diagnosed the disease.”

His struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS), a disease that often leaves people with severe depression, is an abject lesson in acceptance. He deals with his condition without a trace of self-pity, said his friends and colleagues.

Scope of renovations for city facilities expands after review

The price tag to renovate the Los Altos Hillview Community Center - which serves as the meeting space for dozens of recreation classes and several local service organizations - is estimated at approximately $12 million.

As city officials examine the condition of other aging city sites, the cost is likely to climb.

To break even, LAH hikes permit fees

The Los Altos Hills City Council voted May 24 to increase the fees assessed on new building projects, seeking to reduce the subsidy that town taxpayers pay for the projects.

For the past five years, the town has lost money in its planning and building departments because the fees charged to new-home builders and renovators did not meet the town’s costs.

Westwind arena repair begins town spending with dispute

The volunteers planning for Westwind Barn’s future all agree that town money should be spent on the historical facility, but the spending got off to a squabbling start last month when a divided council voted to pay retroactively for repairs it had not approved.

A contractor completed $28,000 in refurbishments on a riding ring at Westwind in mid-May, apparently before receiving the go-ahead or an assurance of funding from the town or Friends of Westwind, the volunteer organization that manages the barn.

LA council to appoint new city manager

Los Altos city officials recently closed the recruiting period for hiring a new city manager and have emerged with 40 applicants from across California. The council plans to appoint a new city manager this summer.

Councilwoman Val Carpenter, appointed to the subcommittee for recruiting, said, “It’s an excellent turnout both in numbers and quality.”

Police Blotter

DUI

June 3, 12:46 a.m., N. San Antonio Road and California Street: Los Altos police cited someone for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Commercial burglary

June 3, 3:11 p.m., Rancho Shopping Center: A burglary at a retail store was reported.

Drunk in public

June 2, 600 block of Harrington Avenue: […]

News article

Accident victim from Palo Alto

Local news services incorrectly identified the hometown of a woman who was fatally struck by a car Friday night while crossing Interstate 280 near De Anza Boulevard in Cupertino. Donna Marie Ward was not a Los Altos resident; she lived in Palo Alto.

Thursday meeting to discuss city […]

Farm controversy heats up after anti-farm signs stolen

Emotions about the future development of the Grant Road Farm reached a new high after vandals removed 70 signs from the front yards of Mountain View residents opposed to a 5-acre farm at the site.

The anti-farm group Defending Our Neighborhood includes about 50 residents who live near the 15-acre site of the former pumpkin patch in Mountain View. The group purchased the signs and put them in their front yards to demonstrate their common cause against the farm proposal promoted by the Mountain View Farmlands Group.

Editorial

The city of Los Altos is currently looking for another city manager. There have been phrases such as “rising star” bandied about when city leaders describe their ideal person for the job.

Might we suggest three words for describing the next manager: ambitious, effective and timely.

Letters to the Editor

LAH council left bad first impression

I wonder if the town council meeting is still going on at this very moment and if they have gotten to the last item on the agenda, Westwind.
Several of the Pacific Ridge Pony Club members who ranged in age from 9-14 years attended the May 24 […]

Matters of high school and college

Our family recently celebrated our oldest son’s graduation from Pomona College. Holden looks back on his years at Pomona with fondness for the personalized education he received at the liberal arts college. Four years ago, his perspective was a bit different on what the future held for him.

After four years of cramming in 11 Advanced Placement exams, Holden’s goal was to get into the “highest-ranked college” that would accept him into its class of 2007. Eventually, after long talks with his counselor, he altered his strategy to find a college that rather would be a good “fit.” Instead of one first-choice college, he settled on several “first” choices. Although he was waitlisted on some of the colleges that were on his original first-choice list, he believes he made the right choice by matriculating to Pomona. I recently asked him to reflect on his college years, and he posited that what he cherished most were the great students that Pomona enrolls each year.

Obituary Notices

SAMUEL ROBERT JACKSON

Samuel Robert Jackson, who lived 43 years in Los Altos Hills, California, passed away of leukemia May 17, 2007. He was 88.
Sam was born September 8, 1918 in Marion, Iowa. He graduated from Marion High School in 1936 and from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in […]

Family recovers and rebuilds after fire destroys home

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles profiling residents who are recovering from fires and other accidents that have destroyed their Los Altos homes.

Construction workers have laid the foundation for the McGraths’ new family home on Higgins Avenue in Los Altos - beginning the slow rebuilding process for the family who lost their home in May of last year to a devastating fire.

Rotary Club announces 2007 community service scholarships, student award winners

The Rotary Club of Los Altos presented its 2007 Community Service Scholarships, the Charles Cowan Scholarship for Science and Technology, 2007 Outstanding Junior High School Student Awards and two President’s Outstanding Achievement Awards at a May 24 luncheon. The 10 scholarship recipients will receive a total of $16,500 to assist them in attending their colleges of choice this fall.

The winners of the 2007 Community Service Scholarships were: Confiance Dukunde, Foothill College (Foothill College); Michelle Lo, Mountain View High (UC Berkeley); Francis Mendaros, Mountain View Academy (Evergreen College); Vinh Nguyen, Mountain View High (Sonoma State); Jennifer Perez, Los Altos High (San Jose State); Ana Rangel, Mountain View High (UC Davis); Ariana Promessi, Mountain View High (UC Berkeley); Krissa Quero, Mountain View High (University of San Francisco); and Candice Salazar, Alta Vista High (Foothill College).

Palo Alto and Los Altos school districts agree on mutual payment for transfer students

Los Altos Hills children who attend school in the Palo Alto Unified School District can now officially transfer into the Los Altos School District without any financial burden on either district.

LASD Superintendent Tim Justus and PAUSD Superintendent Mary Frances Callan signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week guaranteeing that interdistrict transfer students come with the proper funding.

LASD offers new junior high summer school program

The Los Altos School District has restructured its summer school program to allow junior high school students to attend a pilot program that will separate them from the lower grades.

In previous years, district students transitioning to junior highs were usually administered summer school at the same site as K-8 students.

Foothill-De Anza Community College District offers new online courses

Online career training courses are a route some students choose to take to further their education. In an attempt to stay on the cutting edge of this educational methodology, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District recently partnered with Gatlin Education Services to provide online career training courses in the fields of health care, business, construction/automotive technology, Internet design, networking and CompTIA certification, Microsoft certification training and video-game design and development.

The noncredit courses are designed to benefit individuals at any stage of their careers: switching occupations, obtaining advanced training and certificates or first-time job seekers in need of specialized training. Foothill-De Anza and Gatlin offer resources for work force, corporate, vocational rehabilitation or career training - with accessibility from the student’s home or office.

Are we there yet? Suggestions for car rides with children

Q: School is coming to an end. As a family, we need a break from our schedule and are looking forward to taking some relaxing road trips. However, there will have to be some serious preplanning for the car time to be relaxing and fun for us, the drivers/parents, as well as our children. Any sure-fire answers?

A: Sure-fire answers? Probably not. But I do have some suggestions. All car activities are age-related, so you be the judge as to what will work with your gang.

Santa Rita students remember local soldier for Memorial Day

By Dorothy Dickson

Special to the Town Crier

LAH to dedicate Will Sigua memorial at Little League fields

Los Altos Hills is planning to dedicate one of its Little League fields in memory of Sgt. William Sigua, who grew up playing baseball in town.

The project is still in its planning stages. A specific field will be designated and a ceremony held toward the end of the summer, according to Duffy Price, a member of the town community relations committee.

Noteworthies

Laura Weiden, a Los Altos High School graduating senior, has been awarded the Best Buy Children’s Foundation Awards Scholarship. More than 1,700 graduating high school seniors were awarded a scholarship for $1,500 or $10,000 from the foundation. Weiden is the daughter of Cheryl and Don Weiden and plans to attend UC Berkeley next fall.

Los Altos High School alumnus Erik Connell graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., May 13. Connell, son of David and Anne Connell, majored in politics and government and philosophy. Connell leaves this month to serve in the Peace Corps in Swaziland.

Champions

It was far from a PowerPoint presentation, but coach Sandy Wihtol got the message across to his Los Altos High baseball team just the same.

With the players gathered at the school field upon his return from the Central Coast Section seeding meeting May 12, Wihtol flattened out a cardboard box, wrote the Division II playoff bracket on it and stuck the makeshift visual aid to the wall of the snack bar for all to see.

PA Oaks open season with sweep of Reds; Kleinhoffer tosses no-hitter in second game

The Palo Alto Oaks semipro baseball team opened the 2007 season by sweeping a doubleheader against the San Jose Reds Sunday at Baylands Park. The host Oaks won the first game 5-3 and the second 11-0.

Jason Kleinhoffer pitched a no-hitter in the second game, shortened to five innings on the mercy rule. It marked the second no-hitter of Kleinhoffer’s career with the Oaks. He allowed just two walks and struck out seven batters.

Hersey hurdles to fifth at CIF state track finals

Eric Hersey posted his best-ever time in the 110-meter hurdles at last weekend’s CIF State Track and Field Championships, yet that still wasn’t enough to finish in the top four.

The Los Altos High senior placed fifth against fierce competition Saturday at Sacramento City College’s Hughes Stadium.

Stallions start their season

Meet the Stallions, a local summer-league baseball team that almost wasn’t.

Los Altos-Mountain View PONY Baseball’s first entry into the Palomino Division (ages 17-19) nearly didn’t take off this season. Not because of a lack of players, but a lack of fields.

Economy is just right

Goldilocks is alive and well, and unlike the situation with her adversaries, the Three Bears, there is no bear market in the forecast of economic growth. The old adage that the economy is running “just right,” not too hot and not too cold, is true in today’s picture.

As you know from reading this column, a too-slow economy causes job and wage losses and a too-strong economy triggers inflation, bringing higher interest rates. So steady as she goes is the best ticket.

Volunteers brighten State Street with flower plantings

State Street in downtown Los Altos is a little brighter and more colorful after volunteers installed pots at street corners and filled them with assorted flowers Saturday.

The plantings along State Street are part of Phase III of a Los Altos Village Association plan to make downtown more attractive. Darryl Furuichi of Los Altos Nursery supplied the terra cotta pots and flowers at a discount and made the arrangements. More than 20 members of the Village Association and the Los Altos Kiwanis Club, along with other volunteers, installed the arrangements.

Doughnut shop to reopen with new name, new owners

Heidi Pizzo, co-owner of Donut du Jour, believes that it’s time to renovate the doughnut.

Pizzo and her father and co-owner, Daniel Cottrell, 59, who was a journeyman baker for 25 years, intend to make eating a doughnut an experience of important culinary distinction.

The value of being prepared

I once saw a book sitting on the passenger seat of a vehicle parked next to mine titled “Who You Are Is Where You Were When.” Although I have not read the book, the title was poignant enough to stay with me for more than 20 years.

The “Where You Were When” part rings particularly clear over and over in my career in residential real estate sales in Silicon Valley.

New millineum vs. old school

Once each year, our Northern California automotive journalists’ association goes to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to test the best of the new crop of cars. This year, we drove two cars that can’t even be properly tested on the street because they require a track situation to begin to challenge their capabilities.

Despite the similarities - both engines put out an amazing 500 horsepower (an amount that until just a few years ago was only possible for cars built specifically for the track or drag strip) and both will give their owners credibility around other gear heads - these two cars could not be more different.

Choosing the right tire

Q: I need new tires for my vehicle. There are so many different choices. What are the differences between them, and how do I decide which ones to buy?

A: As a rule of thumb, the less expensive the tire, the lower the quality. The lower the quality of tire, the shorter the tread life, and the more likely it is to lose air pressure over time. Your vehicle will not feel as comfortable to drive.

Tips fuel cost savings

With gasoline prices again rising above $3 per gallon, the Automobile Association of America offers the following tips for saving money on fuel.

• Avoid buying premium fuel. If your car doesn’t require premium-grade fuel, don’t buy it. Check your owner’s manual, and if high-octane fuel is not required, fill up with the least expensive gasoline. Your car will run just as well.

Local doctor diagnoses state of U.S. health care

If you want the inside scoop on what’s wrong with our current medical system, local author Saul William Seidman, M.D., FACS, is scheduled to share his opinion at Main Street Cafe & Books 6:30-8 p.m. June 14.

Seidman, a retired neurosurgeon, will present evidence from his new book, “Inevitable Incompetence: Soaring Medical Costs, Dangerous Medical Care” (Universal, 2007), a lambasting of the current trend toward health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and socialized medicine.

Local author collaborates on guidebook on reconnecting with nature

Los Altos author Joanna Reynolds is scheduled to speak on “Exploring a Sense of Place” (Conexions, 2006), the guidebook she co-authored with Karen Harwell, 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Los Altos main library, 13 S. San Antonio Road.

The “Exploring a Sense of Place” guidebook is designed to help people discover and reconnect with the natural world wherever they live, according to Jana Dilley, communications director for the book, who added that it contains inspiration and a list of practical tools needed to design, develop, organize and produce an Exploring a Sense of Place program for any bioregion.

In face of tragedy and violence, God restores human community

Cho Seung-Hui invoked the name of Jesus in the videotape he left before his murderous rampage at Virginia Tech.

I understand why grieving parents and friends didn’t want to see his face on television or listen to his words.

Datebook

THEATER

“A Year with Frog and Toad.” Bus Barn Stage Company. Arnold Lobel’s popular characters hop from the page to the stage in Robert and Willie Reale’s musical. 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, through June 23; 7:30 p.m. today June 20; 3 p.m. Sunday; 7 p.m. June 17. Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. $22-$32. 941-0551; www.busbarn.org.

A collector’s delight

Chopstick holders. Keys. Pez dispensers. Salt cellars. Bookmarks. Music boxes.

Los Altos History Museum Executive Director Laura Bajuk is gleeful as she discusses the objets d’ obsession trickling in from around town, all part of the new exhibit on local collectors. “Los Altos Collects.” Located at the intersection of public history and private passion, ephemera and memorabilia, art and kitsch, these private collections offer glimpses of the American past, and of the people who preserve it.

LAHS grad shoots for stardom with new CD

Madonna, J. Lo and Fergie, look out - there’s another one-name wonder headed your way in today’s pop music world: Sheida.

The 1999 Los Altos High School graduate, otherwise known as Sheida Ansari, has just released her first CD, “Nine Lives.” It’s an eclectic tour-de-force for the 25-year-old, would-be pop diva who tried out for “American Idol” last year. The CD features urban beats, Sheida’s strong, multitracked vocals all over the place, some rock guitar and even a touch of Middle-Eastern influence.