‘Carousel’ coming

Foothill Music Theatre’s production of “Carousel” is scheduled to open Friday. It runs through Aug. 19 in Smithwick Theatre at Foothill College, 12345 S. El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.

Award-winning director Jay Manley helms a cast of 50 in this production of Nicholas Hytner’s 1994 Tony Award-winning revival of the musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. “Carousel” features choreography by Tyler Risk and musical direction by Catherine Snider.

How housing density is slowly affecting local residents

At less than 7 square miles in size and 28,000 inhabitants, the word “density” is rarely associated with Los Altos. Yet as residents increasingly experience such big-city headaches as traffic, overcrowded schools and shrinking room between neighbors, some see signs of growing pains.

“People like to say we live in a rural or semi-rural area, but there’s nothing rural about our traffic,” said Bill Crook, a member of the city’s Traffic Commission.

Local startup brings podcasts to personal growth

Los Altos residents Tim and Susan Bratton, co-founders of Personal Life Media Inc., a podcasting media startup, trace the genesis of their business to a crisis in their marriage.

Their firm, which offers 16 weekly Internet audio shows - known as podcasts - is an outgrowth of an experience they had after they rekindled their marriage, said Susan, 46, the CEO.

Los Altos School District: Setting goals and looking to the year ahead

Before the Los Altos School District board concluded its final meeting of the 2006-2007 school year, trustees approved a list of goals for next year.

The list, which covered curriculum, facilities, finance and communication, outlined goals district officials hope to achieve in the 2007-2008 school year.

Noteworthies

Mallika Bhandarkar of Los Altos Hills earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Boston University in May.

Jingbin Wang of Mountain View earned a Ph.D. in computer science from Boston University in May.

SF grad Jackson takes over as Los Altos girls basketball coach

Los Altos High’s new varsity girls basketball coach doesn’t have much experience - just one year as a junior-varsity assistant at St. Francis High - but Jacob Jackson’s passion for the game is undeniable.

“I played it for a long time and have followed it up close. My fiancee will tell you that I spend a lot of time diagramming plays and breaking down tape - even when I’m not coaching,” the 25-year-old said days before his wedding last Saturday. “I love basketball.”

North rises

Brandon Hamilton boldly predicted in these pages last week that his North team would top the South in the 33rd annual Charlie Wedemeyer High School All-Star Football Game.

Sure enough, the North prevailed: 24-21 July 18 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose.

Bringing home

The gold-medal-winning team from the Stanford Water Polo Club did something even the Stanford University water polo teams were unable to do this year: beat a team from Southern California to win a championship.

Led by five players from Los Altos/Los Altos Hills - Greg Guslani (St. Francis High), Mark Garner (St. Francis), Colin Mulcahy (Los Altos High), Kevin Cole (St. Francis) and Mitch Hamilton - the club’s 14-under boys team powered through the competition at the U.S. Club Water Polo Championships July 8-10 in San Diego.

Oaks claim crown

There was a sense of relief in Steve Espinoza’s voice after his Palo Alto Oaks swept Fontanetti’s Sunday in a doubleheader at Baylands Park.

“It took me four years, but we finally got it,” the Los Altos High graduate said.

New American Legion Post 558 commander

For years, the most involved members of American Legion Post 558 in Los Altos have sought more youthful leadership to bring added spark to the community commitment that has long distinguished this group of veterans.

They now have youth, relatively speaking, and plenty of energy in new post commander Bill Wunderlin. The 48-year-old member of the state’s Air National Guard and Iraq war vet was appointed commander during a July 11 ceremony at Legion Hall on First Street.

El Camino Hospital keeps focus on high-tech, appoints new information officer

El Camino Hospital appointed Eric A. Pifer, M.D., to the newly created position of chief medical information officer July 10.

The appointment, a vice president-level position, is effective Sept. 4.

Aug. 10 last day to nominate people for Community Service Award

Nominations for the 44th annual Silicon Valley Association of Realtors (SILVAR) Community Service Award for the Los Altos-Mountain View District are now being accepted.

The award recipient and sponsor will be honored at the annual awards luncheon, scheduled this year on Sept. 11 at Michaels at Shoreline in Mountain View.

Summer traveling

One of my family’s favorite TV shows is “The Amazing Race,” a game in which contestants - paired in teams - are required to circumnavigate the globe performing daredevil stunts and eating unpalatable food faster than everyone else. My husband believes it would be tons of fun to actually participate in the show - not for the million-dollar prize, but for the excitement and adventure - but definitely not paired up with me. I possess no skills that would be of any use whatsoever in “The Amazing Race.” I am terrible with directions, I hate feeling rushed, I am somewhat indecisive and my upper-body strength and hand-eye coordination suck. Team Acosta would probably be immediately eliminated when I drop my paddle during the white-water-rafting-down-the-Ganges leg or I misread a map and rather than finding the main highway heading toward Sydney, I send our jeep bumping along an aboriginal walkabout trail.

Letters to the Editor

Thank you to Los Altos from Abraham family
Our family would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the amazing community of Los Altos. It would be impossible for us
to individually thank all the people who have helped […]

Editorials

LAH rekindles debate over Foothills Park
The recent Los Altos Hills City Council-supported proposal to exchange fire protection funds for Foothills Park access drew
more than a few raised eyebrows when it hit the local papers last week.
[…]

Obituaries

ROBERT W. PHILLIPS
Bob passed away July 12th, 2007 after a short illness. He is survived by his loving wife, Pat, his sister Helen and his brother
Tom. He leaves behind his three children, Carol (Tim), Charlie (Mary Ann) […]

Barbara Carter and the Rev. George Jefferson

Barbara Carter and the Rev. George Jefferson were married July 6. A reception will be held at the home of the bride Aug. 4.
The bride is the daughter of the late Robert and Corine Cochran of Palo Alto. She graduated from Western College in nursing
and from San Jose City College. She is employed at the […]

Kathryn Wright and John Toppel

Kathryn Wright and John Toppel have announced their engagement to be married Aug. 18 at the Heritage Resort and Conference Center in Southbury, Conn.The bride-to-be is the daughter of Sandra and James Wright of Easton, Conn. She […]

Fighting to be fit

Fairtex trains its fighters in Jiu Jitsu as well as Muay Thai to give them an edge in “mixed martial arts,” the anything-goes category of some of the biggest fights.

The kickboxing classes look like controlled chaos, as partners take turns repetitively practicing kicks and punches, not choreographed, not synchronized, with sweat flying and the sound of contact ringing around the room. One has to watch for a while to identify the teacher, modestly dressed, who walks around the room watching the athletes. But when he yells out a command, the melee of fighters snap in unison into a final barrage of punches. Fairtex uses retired fighters, many of them hailing from Thailand, as its trainers.

Incumbents quick to declare bids for re-election

A week into the filing period, all but one of eight local incumbents have indicated they plan to seek re-election in November.

Los Altos City Councilmen Ron Packard and David Casas have pulled papers to file, while Mayor Curtis Cole said he would not seek a second term. Los Altos School District trustees Margot Harrigan and Bill Cooper are running for their third and second terms, respectively, while Laura Casas Frier, Betsy Bechtel and Hal Plotkin plan to run again for the Foothill-De Anza Community College Board.

New Los Altos city manager will have full plate

When new Los Altos City Manager Douglas Schmitz joins the staff Sept. 10, he’ll face a challenging list of projects.

The Los Altos City Council appointed Schmitz to the city manager position July 19. He replaces retiring City Manager Phil Rose.

New stop sign surprises drivers

Caltrans caught many local drivers off guard recently when it changed a yield sign to a stop sign at the El Monte Road exit off northbound Interstate 280 in Los Altos Hills.

Brigetta Smith, a public information officer for Caltrans, said the stop sign was implemented about 6 weeks ago.

New Los Altos Hills mayor outlines goals for coming year

Craig Jones started off his first month as mayor of Los Altos Hills with praise for recent progress from the Los Altos School District and optimism about the process of reopening Bullis-Purissima Elementary School.

“We want to encourage the positive things that they are doing,” he said. “We consider it a very positive redress of errors in previous times.”

Foothills fire station staffed for summer, Dish reopens

The Palo Alto City Council voted last week to staff the Foothills Park fire station for the rest of the summer, declining to discuss a funding offer from Los Altos Hills. The town had offered funding equivalent to the cost of operating the fire station, asking in return for access to Foothills Park, which is open only to Palo Altans.

Two summer fires on Stanford University land between Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto had both city councils paying particular attention to fire protection, including the recently closed Foothills fire station.

Day Worker Center buys more time to juggle offers

The Mountain View Day Worker Center has been granted a one-month reprieve as it struggles to find new quarters before its Aug. 31 move-out date from Calvary Church.

Center organizers have spent the last months scrambling to secure a new site that fits their needs and are now weighing options, including an undisclosed offer from another local church.