Public interest vs. privacy rights

Newspapers are on the frontline of disclosure debates as taxpayers demand the right to know where their money is going while public agencies seek to protect employee privacy and facilitate delicate negotiations without excessive public scrutiny.

State legislators recognized the importance of transparency in government agencies when they enacted the California Public Records Act in 1968, which finds that, “access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business is a fundamental and necessary right of every person in this state.”

Purchase anticipated for Community House site

Community House, the building formerly known as the DeMartini House, could have its fate assured this week as the Los Altos Community Foundation board votes on a land-sale offer from the California Water Service Company.

The foundation leased the 8,400-square-foot property at 183 Hillview Ave. from the utility for a decade at a rate of $1,200 a year after relocating the 1920s house there from the other side of San Antonio Road.

Public meetings set for Safeway expansion plan

A plan to expand and renovate the downtown Los Altos Safeway has generated both support and concern among local business leaders.

Safeway officials from the Pleasanton-based chain held a public meeting last week to discuss the proposed expansion, in which the store will grow from 22,500 feet to 30,000 feet of sales space, and gain about 100 new parking spaces, including rooftop parking.

Historical rating preserves homes, at a cost to homeowners

As old homes fall into the hands of a new generation in Los Altos, the balance among preservation, profit and homeowners’ rights is coming into question.

In one recent example, the historical commission recommended denial of a demolition permit for property owners seeking to remove a 76-year-old house at 233 W. Edith Ave. and subdivide the 1-acre property into three lots. The homeowner, Los Altos realtor Helen Kasik, passed away in 2002 and her heirs requested the division. The city council has the ultimate authority in deciding the home’s fate.

Wide enrollment, green design signatures of LAH school

Parents packed into Los Altos Hills Town Hall Dec. 4 to learn more about the fall 2008 reopening of Bullis-Purissima Elementary School, shuttered since 2003. The school’s reopening has helped lay to rest the years-long saga of lawsuits and ill-will between Hills residents and the Los Altos School District.

“I was very pleased by the turnout,” said Los Altos Hills Mayor Craig Jones, a member of the town’s education committee. “It’s just another indication of the strong demand for public education services in our town.”

Shake-up changes future Los Altos mayors

At a special meeting Monday afternoon, the Los Altos City Council voted to amend how mayors and mayors pro tem are selected, effectively conferring Ron Packard a second term as mayor. The council voted 4-1, with Megan Satterlee dissenting, to require potential mayors to serve at least 23 months – increased from 11 months – on the council before assuming the post.

The change won’t go into effect until after Satterlee – elected to the council last month – becomes mayor next year, based on Mayor Val Carpenter’s suggestion. The impact of the amendment won’t be felt until 2010, when Packard will become mayor. Based on council practices before the change, the top vote-getter of the 2009 city council election would have become mayor in 2010 instead. The city council elects as mayor each year the most senior council member who has not yet served in the position. In the case of council members with equal seniority, the council member who received the most votes would become mayor. David Casas is scheduled to become mayor in fall 2009.

Police Blotter

Burglary

The serial burglars believed to be operating in Los Altos neighborhoods struck again last week, burgling six homes, two each on the 1800 block of Farndon Avenue on Dec. 6 and the 400 block of Los Pajaros Court and the 900 block of Eastwood Place Dec. 3. In each case the suspects entered homes while the residents were asleep.

News Brief

Hospital employees approve contract

The El Camino Hospital employees union ratified a new four-year contract Dec. 4. Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West Union Vice President John Borsos said the approval vote was unanimous. The union represents approximately 1,000 laboratory and dialysis technicians, environmental and other service workers.

Editorial

How much does a city manager, schools superintendent or hospital CEO make? Does the public have the right to know, and what should we do once we do know?

These are fundamental questions surrounding salary disclosures of public officials, the subject of this week’s cover story. Newspapers have gone to court repeatedly to fight for the release of such information, all for the purpose of holding public agencies, from municipalities to public hospital districts, accountable.

Other Voices

My black lab puppy, Fairfax, is smart as a whip, mostly well-behaved, knows all kinds of fun tricks, can walk five miles a day and likes to cuddle. In a year, I will give him away.

“How can you do that?” people ask, incredulous. “I could never do that,” they say, shaking their heads.

The Living Experiment

Long ago when we were teenagers, before the adult stresses of Christmas, before the last-minute shopping, endless baking, holiday cards and mad dash to buy a fresh string of Christmas lights, came the training ground for all future Decembers – final exams.

Christmas and finals. Both inspire dread. Both involve procrastination, then cramming, and a sense that at this rate we’ll never be ready. There is always more to do – more holiday preparations for us and for the students in our midst, more studying.

Nancy Kelem, Bullis Charter School founder, 53

Los Altos Hills resident Nancy Landau Kelem died peacefully in her sleep Dec. 1 with her husband and three children at her side. She was 53.

Mrs. Kelem battled stage 4 colon cancer for more than two years. After exhausting her chemotherapy options, she went into home hospice for her final days.

Anniversary: John and Claire Batistich, 60 years

John and Claire Batistich celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Aug. 10. They were married at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Mountain View.

Anniversary: Cal and Alberta Rossi, 60 years

Cal and Alberta Rossi, 35-year residents of Los Altos, celebrated their 60th anniversary Aug. 10. They married in 1947 at Adela Rogers St. Johns’ estate.

The Rossis grew up in Santa Barbara and met at Santa Barbara High School. Cal attended UCLA and served in the Navy during World War II. Alberta worked in the UCLA library. They both pursued careers in education. They raised three children.

25th service awards luncheon spotlights volunteerism

The Joint Community Volunteer Service Awards luncheon celebrated volunteerism in a big way during the silver anniversary luncheon Dec. 7 at the Los Altos Youth Center.

The annual event, which salutes do-gooders across the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills landscape, recognized a few large groups as well as individual honorees. Volunteers, staff and workers at the Day Worker Center of Mountain View, along with the entire El Camino Hospital Auxiliary, were among this year’s recipients.

Local retiree enjoys ‘little miracles’ at Hidden Villa

Bernie Lilly, 64, has lived in Los Altos with his wife for the past 33 years. After serving in Vietnam years ago and recently retiring from a career as an engineering fellow and supervisor with ALZA Corporation, Lilly became a volunteer farm and wilderness guide at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills.

Lilly credits Hidden Villa with providing tremendous satisfaction in his life.

Community Briefs

LA Library schedules Marie Antoinette lecture

Kay Payne, a docent at the Legion of Honor and de Young museums in San Francisco for more than 25 years, is scheduled to review the exhibition “Marie Antoinette and the Petit Trianon at Versailles” in an illustrated lecture 7:30 p.m. tonight in the program room of the Los Altos main library, 13 S. San Antonio Road. The exhibition is on display at the Palace of the Legion of Honor through Feb. 17.

LAH residents among CEOs supporting Family Giving Tree

Six Bay Area chief executive officers, including two from Los Altos Hills, raced feverishly through the aisles of the Target store at the San Jose Market Center Nov. 30 in an effort to beat the 25-minute clock and fill numerous shopping carts with toys during Family Giving Tree’s annual CEO Shopping Challenge.

The CEOs included Los Altos Hills residents Jen-Hsun Huang of NVIDIA Corp. and Sanjay Mehrotra of SanDisk, as well as Ed Colligan of Palm Inc., Bo Ewald of Silicon Graphics Inc., Brian Halla of National Semiconductor Corp. and Tom Steipp of Symmetricom Inc.

Iraqi-American shares cautious hope with local audience

Iraqi-American Emad Yahya shared his cautious hope for the future of Iraq before an engaged audience at the Los Altos Library Nov. 28.

Co-sponsored by Los Altos Voices for Peace and the Los Altos Library, the discussion offered Yahya, president of the Arab-American Cultural Center of Silicon Valley, an opportunity to speak on the current state of affairs and living conditions in Iraq.

Noted jazz singer shares with Morning Forum

Jazz singer Wesla Whitfield wooed the Morning Forum audience with her signature style Dec. 4.

From a wheelchair on the stage of Los Altos United Methodist Church, Whitfield serenaded the packed house with such classics as “This Can’t Be Love,” “Heart and Soul,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Blue Skies” and “The Nearness of You.”

Elks offer scholarships to high school seniors

The Elks National Foundation is offering nearly $2.3 million in scholarships to high school seniors. The program is open to all students, and 500 scholarships will be awarded based on academic prowess, leadership abilities and financial need.

Applications are available at the Palo Alto Elks Lodge office at 4249 El Camino Real or at local high schools. To download an application, visit www.elks.org/enf/scholars.

Real conversation can invigorate family mealtimes

The Suenarm family eats dinner together every night. It’s tradition. Parents prepare the meal, children set the table and grandparents wait for some interesting mealtime conversation. This family has incorporated mealtime conversation in a fun new way thanks to the Memorable Mealtimes Company.

Co-founders and Grass Valley residents Maria Lundberg, Amy Edwards, Delphi Whittle and Julie Stein took the first letters of their first names to create their corporation name, MADJical Inc., two years ago. The four moms with backgrounds in education wanted to create a mealtime activity that would move family conversation beyond “What did you do today?”

El Camino Hospital Auxiliary announces scholarships

El Camino Hospital Auxiliary and Foundation is offering scholarships to students wishing to pursue careers in the professional health field.

Graduating high school seniors and full-time college students enrolled in an accredited California college or university may apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and permanent residents in the El Camino Hospital District, which includes Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino.

New class turns students into forensic experts

The scientists dug up dirt searching for bone fragments and evidence left behind at the crime scene. They dusted for fingerprints and examined evidence in microscopes.

The scientists are students at Los Altos High School enrolled in forensic science, a new integrated science course offered by the school this year. Their crime scenes may not be real, but the students take them seriously.

Foothill-De Anza board of trustees reappoints four residents to oversight committee

The Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees reappointed four district residents to serve on the Measure C Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee at its Dec. 3 meeting. The four have already served for one year and will begin new two-year terms in February.

The committee meets the requirements of Proposition 39, which applies to school bond measures that pass with less than two-thirds of the vote. Foothill-De Anza’s Measure C, a $490.8 million general obligation bond measure, was approved by 65.69 percent of the voters June 6, 2006.

The 3 is the key to Pinewood’s success

The starters often play the entire game, which can lead to fatigue by the fourth quarter. But the Pinewood School boys basketball team never seems too tired to shoot 3-pointers.

When the 3s are falling – like they were Dec. 5 in a 64-39 rout of Kehillah Jewish High – the Panthers usually prevail. But when they’re off the mark – as they were Saturday in a 40-36 loss to Head Royce – Pinewood struggles.

Injuries piling up, but LA girls soccer team still winning

On paper, the Los Altos High girls soccer team appears to have plenty of players. There are 22 listed on the varsity roster. But as coach Erin Montoya said last week, “It’s barely enough.”

The Eagles have been hit hard by injuries, depleting their depth and making it downright difficult to scrimmage during practice. Knee injuries are the biggest culprit, likely ending the season for one starter and keeping three others out for at least a month.

Los Altos girls ousted early from own basketball tourney

On the third and final day of the Los Altos Holiday Classic, the Eagles were in a position all host teams dread. They were watching instead of playing.

Teams were guaranteed only two games in the annual girls basketball tournament, so losing Thursday and Friday left Los Altos High on the outside Saturday. The Eagles opened play with a 46-30 setback to Mt. Pleasant, then fell 38-26 to Homestead.

Lancers win tourney; Bourgoub named MVP

The St. Francis High boys basketball team on Saturday captured the Santa Cruz Dad’s Tournament for the second year in a row. The Lancers beat Watsonville 75-61 in the final of the 52nd annual event.

St. Francis (4-0) jumped to an early lead against Watsonville (7-2) and never relinquished it. The Lancers won with depth (10 players scored), defense (holding Watsonville to nine points in the fourth quarter) and rebounding (30-23 advantage).

Local harvest, ancient fruit

The fruits of this autumn’s olive harvest, tucked away in cupboards and fridges to cure, are becoming ready to eat in all their oily, fleshy glory. And for the olive eaters who wouldn’t know what to do with backyard olives no matter how much they hankered for a taste, supermarkets are overflowing with a profusion of olives of every color and size.

Evergreen olive trees can be spotted growing in many yards around Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, but few home-growers have garnered a successful harvest in recent years, due to the invasion of the olive fruit fly. It was first identified in California in 1998, and has spread across the state, threatening both commercial and small-scale harvests. As the olives mature from bright green to purple-black, they become increasingly vulnerable to the fly’s offspring, so home-growers should harvest sooner rather than later. Olives are ready to pick when they squirt juice when squeezed. In the coming year, ensure success by putting out flytraps, the only known preventive method, and clearing the orchard of fallen fruit.

To find a bottle, look to top wineries

This is the time of year wine writers and magazines print their top wine lists. As a rule, these high-scoring wines are not secret finds – in fact, they are often already sold out. My list this year comprises wineries that consistently manufacture good products you can currently purchase.

It has been my experience a quality winery will routinely make good wine regardless of the vintage. These wineries usually succeed with all the varietals they choose to make, and any wine you buy from them will almost always be decent.

Tandoori cuisine – A distinct flavor from North India

Indian cuisine relies on an assortment of zealously guarded culinary skills descended from generations across a host of regions. The cooking techniques imbue dishes with distinctive regional flavors that can be difficult to recreate in the Indian diaspora.

One such distinct flavor comes from the spectacular tandoori delicacies of North India. The use of a tandoor or clay oven is very important in traditional North Indian cooking. Many breads and dishes were designed especially for these clay ovens, including Punjabi and North Indian breads such as naan and tandoori roti, and meats and fish such as tandoori lamb chops, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, tandoori pomfret fish, tandoori shrimp and reshmi kebab, among others.

‘House of Meetings’ enters communist Russia through confession

The questions nagging me the entire time I was reading Martin Amis’ newest novel “House of Meetings” (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007) were Why Stalinist Russia? Why Amis? Was it a literary exorcism of the duck-and-cover drills we all practiced during the Cold War?

The house of meetings is a literary device around which Amis built his novel of communist Russia. It is the magnet at the end of the book that pulls the plot, such as it is, forward. In the story, an unnamed 86-year-old narrator bares his soul in a novel-length confessional letter to his American stepdaughter Venus (another device) as he travels back to Siberia to the labor camp where he toiled in virtual slavery for nearly a decade after returning from World War II as a Russian hero.

Books Brief

Foothill authors series continues in January

Author Dan Leeson is scheduled to visit Foothill College as part of the authors series this winter.

Foothill church’s Christmas recital benefits Green Pastures children’s home in MV

Foothill Covenant Church has scheduled a recital featuring a classical Christmas repertoire and traditional carols 7 p.m. Sunday at 1555 Oak Ave., Los Altos.

Sopranos Jennifer Gaderlund, director of vocal music at Graham Middle School, and Julia Hunt Nielsen, a harpist with the Berkeley Symphony and the Sonoma City, Stockton and San Francisco Pocket Operas, will perform.

Spiritual Life Briefs

‘Shout for Joy’ rings out at PA Unitarian

The 60-voice Aurora Singers have scheduled “Shout for Joy,” a holiday program of spirituals, folk and Broadway favorites, 7 p.m. Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Road.

PACO concert set for Saturday at Stanford

The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra is scheduled to perform the second concert of its 42nd season 8 p.m. Saturday at Dinkelspiel Auditorium on the Stanford University campus.

The program will feature two well-known Bay Area virtuosi as soloists: Tod Brody in Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto in C Major and Michel Taddei in Dragonetti’s Double Bass Concerto. The combined PACO and Sinfonia orchestras will perform an early masterpiece by prominent composer John Adams: “Shaker Loops” (1978). The program will also feature selected movements from masterpieces of the chamber music repertoire, performed by ensembles comprising PACO members.

Bus Barn’s ‘Ballyhoo’ running through Dec. 22 in Los Altos

The Bus Barn Stage Company production of Alfred Uhry’s “The Last Night of Ballyhoo,” runs through Dec. 22 at 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos.

A romantic comedy from the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Driving Miss Daisy,” “Ballyhoo” is the tale of the need to belong and the power of love. It won a Tony Award for Best Play in 1997.

Green movement taken to the cleaners

People may wonder what generated the excitement at Aqua Cleaners’ grand opening on First Street Dec. 6. After all, Los Altos is home to at least 15 dry cleaners listed in the phone book – eight of them in downtown alone – and nearby Mountain View is home to 26.

What does make Aqua Cleaners special among the competition is its environmentally friendly approach to laundering garments. Instead of using highly toxic perchlorethylene (perc), hydrocarbons or siloxane, Aqua co-owners Kati Heilmann and Yasmina Das invested in professional wet-cleaning technology and a new “dry-cleaning” method that uses liquid carbon dioxide and biodegradable detergents as cleaning solvents.

Larry Dawson, Los Altos Hills leader, Town Crier investor

Laurence (Larry) Dawson, community activist and Los Altos Hills resident for 57 years, died Dec. 4 at his home after a lengthy illness. He was 87.

Despite his illness, Mr. Dawson was a familiar figure at weekly meetings of the San Jose Rotary Club and kept up with local and national events as well as cultural affairs. The week before his death, he attended an Opera San Jose performance.

LAURA GWEN MARSCHALL, PH.D

Loving wife to Jochen (Joe) and mother of Sarah and Evan, Laura was tragically taken from us in a car accident last Saturday afternoon. Born in Bethpage, New York, Laura lived the majority of her life in California after her parents moved here when she was still a toddler. Laura graduated from Los Altos H.S and went on to gain her Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D degrees from U.C., Santa Barbara in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Laura and her husband Joe moved back to the Bay Area in 1993. Laura took a Postdoctoral Fellow position at Stanford University and later became an associate professor at Cal State Hayward. More recently she taught biological sciences at Serra H.S. and was teaching at Menlo College at the time of her death. Laura loved the community of Half Moon Bay and was active in many local educational and charitable organizations.

DUSTY RHODES

Dusty was born June 26, 1918, in Madera, California, and attended Fresno State University. Raleigh E. “Dusty” Rhodes Sr., third leader of the Navy’s Blue Angels flight demonstration team, died of cancer at age 89 on Monday, November 26, 2007 at his home in San Jose, California.

TRUDY DAWSON

Gertrude (Trudy) Dawson, 77, succumbed to a second bout with cancer at her home of nearly 40 years in Los Altos, CA on 24 November 2007. Brought home under hospice care days before Thanksgiving, knowing her time was short, she said her goal was to join her family for the Holiday dinner, and she achieved it. In a wheelchair, with an oxygen tank, she was able to partake in three small samples of Thanksgiving dinner items, seated briefly at the head of the table, around which all her children and their families were gathered. Her ashes have been spread at sea.

Trudy was born in a Spokane, WA suburb (Millwood) to Pieter J. Van Steenbergen and Emma Mae Ward. She graduated from Holy Names College in Spokane, was a delegate in 1951 to the Washington Education Assoc., and completed a fifth year professional requirement at Gonzaga University.

Datebook