A Legend at Heart

The inventions of Dr. Thomas J. Fogarty, cardiovascular surgeon, have saved millions of lives. Not bad for a man who aspired to be a professional boxer and who almost didn’t get into college because his grades were so low.

His most famous invention, the Fogarty Balloon Embolectomy Catheter, removes blood clots with minimally invasive surgery.

A more recent invention, the Fogarty Aortic Stent-Graft, replaces the need for invasive surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm, a dangerous and life-threatening condition.

Downtown hotel deal risks delay again

Long-nurtured plans for a boutique hotel in downtown Los Altos may be dashed yet again, as investors face rising cost estimates.

The city was prepared to ink a deal with developer Roxy Rapp last spring to sell city-owned property at First and Main streets as the site for an 85-room hotel. Rapp requested a delay in the sale while he attracted additional investors for the project. Rapp anticipated escalating costs for the project, which had originally been estimated at $18-$20 million.

Moderate summer staves off drought, for now

This summer’s cool temperatures have decreased the severity of the drought anticipated in the Bay Area, but local agencies are still preparing for water shortages that may be around the corner.

California Water Service Company General Manager Ron Richardson said that while Los Altos has yet to see a 100-degree day, the local water agency is anticipating the possibility of a sweltering September. As temperatures rise, residents increase their water usage, particularly to maintain landscaping.

Few candidates make for a quiet local election season

With only four candidates registered to compete for three seats on the Los Altos City Council in November, the city isn’t likely to be treated to a dramatic election season. And the local school and community college district board seats won’t even appear on the ballot - no challengers filed against the returning incumbents.

Los Altans considering a run for the city council got an extra five days to collect nomination signatures and prepare their papers when the city extended the filing deadline last week, but no new candidates seized the opportunity to pull papers.

Hills extends eucalyptus ban for another year

Eucalyptus trees are on Los Altos Hills’ “must-remove” list for another year, and residents planning new homes or major remodels must factor the costs of removing the giant trees into their budgets.

Last summer the city council approved a ban on several eucalyptus species in town, citing the potential hazards of fire and falling limbs distinctive to the tree. Only trees within 150 feet of roadways or structures are targeted by the ordinance. Existing eucalyptus are exempted from the ban until property owners build new residences or undergo major renovations.

Hanson quarry expansion sparks environmental concerns

A proposed expansion of the cement quarry in the foothills south of Los Altos has raised environmental concerns with some Los Altos and Cupertino residents. Hanson Permanente Quarry has scheduled an open house Aug. 30 at the Quinlan Center in Cupertino to give the public a chance to voice concerns and hear from the quarry’s planners.

The quarry’s presence just south of the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve has long triggered environmental concerns over hillside land use. Staff from the Santa Clara County Planning Office fielded an initial round of public comments July 26 prior to completing an environmental impact report. According to county planner Mark Connolly, the sole purpose of the report, set for completion by mid-November, is to address potential environmental issues.

News Briefs

Police and FBI search creek in \’91 murder

Los Altos Police Department personnel and dozens of FBI agents searched the Calabasas Creek near Great America Parkway in Santa Clara Friday and Monday as part of an ongoing investigation with the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office.
Los Altos Acting Police Chief Capt. Tom Connelly […]

Mountain View Day Worker Center finds refuge at Trinity Church

With the specter of homelessness looming, the Day Worker Center of Mountain View has found a permanent site at Trinity United Methodist Church on Mercy Street. The center will relocate Aug. 31, the day its five-year lease expires at its current Calvary Church location.

“I think this is the best move,” said Day Worker Center Board President Elizabeth Fitting. “This has come full circle. We started one block away with one little office 11 years ago.”

Editorial

Back to school means back to the lines of cars at our area schools.

Most local students return to class this week and, unfortunately, a lot of them will be traveling to and from school by car. It’s clear that $3-per-gallon gas isn’t enough to deter parents and other caregivers from dropping off and picking up their children five days a week.

Letters to the Editor

Thanks for coverage
of Buddhist festival

Thank you on behalf of the Mountain View Buddhist Temple for your support of our 55th Annual Obon Festival and Bazaar.
We appreciated the article and photo you ran of our event. As you are aware, this gives the public an opportunity to learn of Japanese and Buddhist […]

A diamond is forever - sometimes

The day before my 20th wedding anniversary, I lost the diamond in my wedding ring. I don’t know how. I realized it was missing while standing at an Andronico’s checkout, and by then, I had already run a few errands and had wandered around the vegetable garden at home. Naturally, I retraced my steps and searched, but alas, the diamond was gone.

Initially, I felt the loss was fraught with hidden meanings. Perhaps the diamond harbored inharmonious marital energies - fights about my in-laws, petty squabbles over family finances, disagreements regarding the reasonable and appropriate level of care afforded to a canine - which required exorcism from the relationship before safe passage through another 20 years of marriage was assured. Or, maybe losing the diamond symbolized that what had bonded my husband and me for the first - let’s be optimistic and say - third of our married life would prove obsolete in its second phase as our children grow older and our personal goals and priorities mature.

Sons recall parents’ lives and times in Los Altos

Late last year, retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Stanley Chernack, 93, passed away, barely six months after the death of his wife, Edith, 92. They had been married more than 60 years and were longtime residents of Los Altos after buying a home surrounded by apricot orchards on Rose Circle in 1959.

Stan and Edith were born two days apart in Boston, Mass., in 1913, both to families who had recently immigrated from Russia. Stan attended Boston College, and in 1938 he joined the U.S. Navy and was trained as an aviator.

Crossing the borders of faith

A small group of Los Altos Lutheran Church members crossed more than the Mexican border this past July when they extended a helping hand to people in need that reached beyond the lines of their Christian denomination.

Lutheran Youth Director Danny Dye, 42, led 10 fellow church members to Tijuana, Mexico, where they spent a week building a home for a family from Mexico in the nearby village of La Florida. Many were members of the church’s youth group, aged 13-18.

Peru earthquake prompts Rotary Club fund

The Los Altos Rotary Club’s World Community Service (WCS) committee is accepting local donations to fund aid for victims of last week’s 8.0 earthquake in Peru.

“The monies will be used in coordination with Rotary clubs in the earthquake area,” said Dennis Young, treasurer of the group. “We will be able to expedite the funds to needed areas without overhead and bureaucracy.”

Plein air painting returns to downtown Los Altos

The Los Altos Cultural Association challenges local artists to participate in the second annual Plein Air Art painting session, scheduled 8 a.m. Sept. 21 through 3 p.m. Sept. 23 in downtown Los Altos.

Artists will be working from Friday morning through 11 a.m. Sunday of that weekend, and the association encourages the public to come downtown and observe the contestants as they paint scenes outdoors along the downtown streets.

TC editor recalls tight-knit community

Anne Chappell Belden was editor of the Town Crier from 1990-1993. She was with the paper when it temporarily closed, only to be saved by current owners Paul and Liz Nyberg.

One of her biggest stories was published after she left the paper - a 1997 in-depth series of articles on the 1992 kidnapping of Adobe Systems co-founder Chuck Geschke that won a California Newspaper Publishers Association award for best investigative-enterprise story.

Los Altos community heads back to school

As students pack their backpacks and head off to the first day of school this week, school district officials continue to launch new programs and curricula for the year ahead.

Los Altos School District

Watch out for distracted parents behind the wheel

Q: Now that school is about to start, I am more concerned than ever about the safety of their cell phone users who drive with phones clutched between shoulder and ear. More and more elementary schoolchildren are walking and crossing streets to school to support a fitness program. What can be done to protect our children?

A: If there is anything near the top of my Top 10 list of worst behaviors, it is exactly what you describe, with the addition of the driver - who unfortunately is too often a young mother - at the wheel of a huge SUV.

Schools Briefs

Castro encourages
literacy in classroom

Castro Elementary School is seeking community members to share stories with third-graders on Tuesday mornings this fall. Volunteers can help children improve their writing and English-language skills.
The seven-week program is scheduled to begin Oct. 2. Volunteers will receive explicit week-to-week instructions. No writing or teaching experience is necessary.
[…]

Racing with a passion

At 5-foot-2 and a little more than 100 pounds, Anne Sanguinetti is not an imposing figure. That is, until you put her on a horse.

When it’s race time and she’s controlling 1,000 pounds of equine, this jockey doesn’t back down from anyone.

From Brewers to Bears

Just weeks after determining that he wanted to be a Cal Bear, Los Altos High pitching ace Erik Johnson performed admirably as a Milwaukee Brewer over the summer.

Before a crowd of 400 college and pro scouts, Johnson competed with more than 100 Northern California prep standouts for the right to play on the Milwaukee Brewers Gray Area Code team. The Brewers are one of seven Major League Baseball teams that sponsor a team in the annual Area Code Games in Long Beach.

Health-care system requires advocates to navigate

Our country’s health-care system is in crisis. An estimated 45 million Americans do not have health insurance and many who do have coverage are underinsured. Health-care costs are growing rapidly, and the system is becoming ever more complex to navigate. It’s not surprising that when it comes to finding quality health care and paying for it, many of us need help. To ensure the well-being, perhaps even the survival, of ourselves and those we love, we must become informed health-care consumers.

Stay energized with the right foods

If you feel sluggish throughout the day, it could be due to a lack of energy-producing fuel in your diet. Eating the right foods can increase your productivity and provide you with enough energy to make it through your hectic day.

The body gets most of its energy from carbohydrates. There are two different kinds of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly and provide a quick boost of energy.

‘Eclipse’ seduces readers with adolescent charm

More than a dozen predominantly teenage females descended on the Los Altos main library Aug. 7 for a hormonally drenched book release party. The novel that inspired such devotion is Stephenie Meyer’s “Eclipse” (Megan Tingley Books/Little, Brown & Company, 2007), the third in a series of young adult books that have won a sizeable adult following, as well as frustrating the romantic aspirations of a generation of young American women.

“Eclipse,” like Meyer’s earlier novels “Twilight” (Little, Brown, 2006) and “New Moon” (Little, Brown, 2006), uses an addictively repetitive style of narrative, which gradually develops the plot in spite of many detours for smooching, angst and self-doubt.

Suggested titles for ‘Twilight’ fans

If you liked the “Twilight” series, Los Altos teen services librarian Sarah Neeri recommends these other texts:

• “Blood and Chocolate” by Annette Curtis Klause (Delacorte Books, 2007).

Weddings

Jodie Brown and Jason Signes

The bride is the daughter of Edward and Jacqueline Brown of Los Altos. She graduated from Mountain View High School and attended Foothill College. She is employed at Los Altos Union Presbyterian Church as the office associate.

TheatreWorks’ ‘Emma’ opens Saturday

TheatreWorks’ world premiere of the musical “Emma” is scheduled to open this week and run through Sept. 16 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.

Created by Tony-nominated composer Paul Gordon (”Jane Eyre”), “Emma” is directed by Robert Kelley, TheatreWorks’ founding artistic director.

Datebook

Datebook 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).

THEATER

Local car audio store puts music on wheels

When it comes to selecting a car audio system, George Meyer, owner of The Car Stereo Company in Los Altos, is the voice of experience.

Since 1982, when he purchased the original Car Stereo Company on Stevens Creek Boulevard, he’s seen eight-track cassette decks evolve to cassette players, which then evolved to CD players.