A path to redemption

For one Los Altos couple, the anniversary of the day they met nearly 30 years ago brings memories more complex than fondness or nostalgia.

Before he came to live on a quiet street near Almond School, Jimi Simmons, a Native American, was consigned to the foster care system and later, prison. He met his future wife, Karen Rudolph, when he was on trial for his life. “Making the River,” a documentary chronicling one facet of the social turmoil of the 1970s, is their story. It captures the early tragedies that led to their lifetime of advocacy work in the community.

City seeks to bring color, foliage to First Street

Seeking to capitalize on a spate of planned developments, Los Altos officials are designing a new look for downtown streets, beginning at First Street.

“First Street currently provides the opportunity to enhance the public right-of-way because of the private development … on the west side,” City Manager Doug Schmitz said.

Proposal to intensify LAH water conservation efforts

The California Department of Water Resources has proposed an amendment to the Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance that might adversely affect homeowners in Los Altos Hills.

Under the amendment, if passed, any new development project with a landscape area of 2,500 square feet or more, as well as existing yards greater than 2,500 square feet, would receive an annual landscape irrigation audit. Cities and counties in the state can adopt the ordinance as written, adopt their own or issue findings that an ordinance is unnecessary.

Hospital, Blue Shield end impasse

El Camino Hospital has reached an agreement with Blue Shield of California to reinstate coverage. The April 2 announcement from hospital officials comes several months after the health insurance carrier terminated its health maintenance and preferred provider organizations’ contracts when negotiations stalled in January.

“We are pleased with the outcome of these negotiations,” said hospital CEO Kenneth Graham, “and especially pleased that Blue Shield members in our community will continue to have access to the care and the providers they have chosen at El Camino Hospital.”

Police Blotter

Medication disposal under way

Six residents have contacted the Los Altos Police Department about its new program for safely disposing of old and expired prescription medication since the effort began last month. When time allows, police staff are making house calls to pick up unwanted medications.

ATM victims continue to roll in

Los Altos Police continue to work with other agencies in the region to trace the path of two or more suspects believed to have been involved in the rash of ATM card fraud that began last month at an ARCO gas station and a Bank of America exterior ATM.

Community Service Officer Paco Vergara confirmed that police have acquired images of two men fraudulently withdrawing money from Los Altos residents’ bank accounts. The photos, taken from ATM surveillance cameras in Los Altos and Burlingame on March 15 and 17, show suspects using stolen card information to withdraw a total of $800. Police believe the suspects attached devices to ATMs in Los Altos to skim card and personal identification numbers. The suspects then used that information to access the accounts of approximately 60 residents, using ATMs throughout the region.

Wine event raises Westwind Barn profile

Los Altos Hills residents combined a love of local history with a love of local wines at a wine event at West- wind Barn March 30, using the opportunity to describe some of the big questions looming in the barn’s future.

Architect John Miller shared different restoration proposals for the 60-year-old barn at the “Westwind & Wineries” event and explained that the structure needs emergency work to address seismic issues as soon as possible.

Letters to the Editor

Day Worker Center makes its case

I must admit that when I went to Saturday’s meeting regarding the proposed new home for the Day Worker Center of Mountain View, I had a bit of a faint heart – an open mind to be sure, but some serious concerns nonetheless. However, an hour later, my mind and heart had been more than adequately assuaged.

Other Voices

I want to bring to your attention that the Town Crier perhaps unintentionally omitted consideration of the student populations who are citizens of Los Altos but do not reside within the Los Altos School District (March 26 editorial, “Change election years? Some pitfalls”).

The Living Experiment

We have become a nation of multitaskers. With cell phones pressed to our ears, we drive our cars, pay for our groceries, order our lattes and sometimes even ignore a dinner partner.

Wedding: Stephanie Tilley and Christian Hansen

Stephanie Tilley and Christian Hansen were married March 7 in Fresno. A reception was held at the Copper River Country Club.

The bride is the daughter of Keith and Ruth Holt of Manhattan Beach. She graduated from Buchanan High School and earned a master’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University. She is employed at Ernst and Young.

Engagement: Cynthia Schott and John Reseburg

Cynthia Schott and John Reseburg have announced their engagement to be married.

The bride-to-be is the daughter of David and Betty Schott of Los Altos. She graduated from St. Francis High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA. She is employed at a public relations firm in San Francisco.

‘Little Heathens’ author Mildred Kalish pays local visit on behalf of library group “10 Best” author Kalish

As part of the seventh annual Speaking Volumes series, the Los Altos Library Endowment (LALE) has scheduled Mildred Armstrong Kalish, whose book was named one of the “10 Best Books of 2007” by The New York Times, to speak 4 p.m. April 18 in the program room of the main library, 13 S. San Antonio Road.

Kalish, 85, wrote “Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression” (Bantam, 2007), a memoir based on her youth. The idea for her book, Kalish’s first, came from telling stories of her childhood to her grandchildren.

Los Altos main library hosts conservation talk tonight

The Los Altos Library has scheduled Richard A. Walker, professor of geography at UC Berkeley and author of “The Country in the City: The Greening of the San Francisco Bay Area,” to speak 7:30 p.m. today at the Los Altos main library program room, 13 S. San Antonio Road.

Walker will speak on open space in the Bay Area, focusing on how the Bay Area “got its green goove.” A question-and-answer session will follow Walker’s remarks. Books will be available for signing and purchase. Admission is free and open to the public.

CERT classes tailored for Los Altos Hills and unincorporated areas

The Santa Clara County Fire Department, the Los Altos Hills County Fire District and the town of Los Altos Hills have scheduled a Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) program for town residents and those living in unincorporated areas.

Residents often want to help after a disaster, but they need training to be effective, according to Michael Sanders, emergency services coordinator and retired fire captain with the Santa Clara County Fire Department.

Student photographers exhibit vision and creativity in Los Altos show

The images are vivid and arresting, many comprising objects the average passerby wouldn’t normally notice: hanging bicycle tires or a light fixture pulled from a hole in the ceiling. To the visionary photographer, it’s art ready to be captured and framed.

The results, in color and in black and white, are hanging from the walls of Main Street Cafe & Books in downtown Los Altos. The catalyst for their exhibition is a Los Altos Cultural Association-sponsored photography contest, open to all students at Los Altos and Mountain View high schools and the Freestyle Academy of Communication Arts and Technology.

Friends of Los Altos Libraries schedules used-book sale

The Friends of the Los Altos Libraries has scheduled its annual Spring Used Book Sale May 2-4 at the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave.

More than 25,000 items will be available, 99 percent of them donated, including hardcover and paperback books, children’s books, CDs, DVDs, videos, puzzles and talking books. All materials will be in good to excellent condition.

Los Altos Morning Forum: Author offers solutions to global water scarcity

Jamie Workman, author and water and natural resources consultant, addressed the Los Altos Morning Forum March 18, offering his views on “The Human Right to Water.”

Author of “Heart of Dryness: A True Story about the End of Water,” scheduled for publication by Bloomsbury/Walker Press in early 2009, Workman spent many years in Africa studying the consequences of water scarcity on the Kalahari Bushmen of Botswana.

Nature collaborative screens PBS documentary ‘Children’ at library

The Bay Area Chapter of the Children in Nature Collaborative has scheduled a screening of “Where Do the Children Play?” 7:30 p.m. April 25 at the Los Altos main library community room, 13 S. San Antonio Road.

The one-hour PBS documentary highlights the importance of open-ended creative play in the healthy development of children.

Jeremiah’s Promise sets benefit golf tournament

Jeremiah’s Promise has scheduled its second annual Golf Tournament and Live Auction 11 a.m. April 21 at Silver Creek Valley Country Club. A surprise celebrity guest will address the golfers and guests during a cocktail reception. Last year’s speaker was three-time Super Bowl Champion and former 49er Brent Jones.

Registration is $250 per golfer. Payment includes greens fees, cart, lunch and tee prizes. The award for the Hole-in-One contest is a car.

Pet of the Week

Barney is a 10-month-old male Parson Russell Terrier. Animal Services Officer Cody Macartney said Barney is lovable and extremely active – he will need training classes because it appears he has never been to one. He likes children, but Macartney recommends no toddlers, due to Barney’s bounciness. Barney is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. To meet Barney, visit Palo Alto Animal Services at 3281 E. Bayshore Road. For more information, call 469-5971.

‘HP Phenomenon’ subject of panel discussion tonight at Eagle Theater

A panel of Hewlett-Packard pioneers will share anecdotes and remembrances of working with Silicon Valley titan David Packard during “The HP Phenomenon,” a discussion scheduled 7-9 p.m. today at Los Altos High School’s Eagle Theater.

The event is a companion program to the current Los Altos History Museum exhibition, “Lucile and David Packard: Valued Partners.”

Community Briefs

Discovery Shop hosts cancer fundraiser

“Art for Your Body & Soul,” an event at the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop in Los Altos, features collectible jewelry and works of art. The event is sceduled 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 25-26 at the Discovery Shop, 243 Main St.

Mtn. View schools win garden classroom grant

Mountain View schools won their second substantial grant to bring children out of the classroom and into the sunshine to learn math, science and other subjects. The Morgan Family Foundation pledged $20,000 to the Mountain View Whisman School District to develop a plan that “allows garden classrooms to thrive and grow over time.”

“Many Mountain View Whisman schools have gardens,” said grant writer Alison Hicks, “but those gardens have depended on sporadic efforts of volunteers isolated on our various campuses. As a result, not all children have been able to get into their school gardens.

Local PTAs sponsor parent lecture

The PTA councils of Los Altos, Mountain View and Palo Alto have scheduled a parent education event with psychologist Madeline Levine 7-8:30 p.m. tonight at Gunn High School’s Spangenberg Theatre, 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto.

Levine, author of “The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids,” said that increasing numbers of young people in the United States are experiencing significant psychological symptoms, including anxiety and depression.

Schools Briefs

Covington School hosts new students

Students who will attend Covington School next year due to enrollment adjustments are invited to visit the campus 3:30-4:30 p.m. May 28.

Teens face political fork in the road

My first voting experience was unorganized, to say the least. After arriving at Blach Junior High School, it took me an hour to reach the voting booth. I had lost my ID. Yet, after scrounging through every crack and crevice in my car, this politically inclined 18-year-old headed toward the red, white and blue signs, ID in hand and the future of the United States on her mind. My belongings may have been scattered, but my mind was clear.

Blach band prepares for celebration

The program will include a performance by the student choir. The Blach band, including alumni, will perform “Festival of the Falcon,” original music commissioned for the celebration. Assemblyman Ira Ruskin will make a special presentation.

The community, alumni (previous staff and students), past PTA members and parents are invited to attend.

Noteworthies

The Cal Aggie Alumni Association of UC Davis selected Timothy Bucher, class of 1986, of Los Altos as one of six alumni to receive the Outstanding Alumnus Award for displaying outstanding achievement, promoting innovative change and making professional contributions to the community and to UC Davis.

Bucher, a software executive, is the chief executive officer and chief product officer for ZING Systems Inc., a company that develops software for a range of handheld wireless devices. Computer giant Dell recently purchased ZING.

Surprising Spartans

This is supposed to be a rebuilding season for the Mountain View High boys volleyball team. After all, the Spartans return just one starter from last year’s playoff team.

Seventeen games into the season, Mountain View is looking less like a team that’s rebuilding and more like one that’s reloading. The Spartans’ youth movement has led them to a 9-8 record that includes a 6-3 mark in the competitive Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.

Trio leads Los Altos girls team; Mtn. View sweeps Milpitas

While Los Altos High struggles as a team in girls track and field – sinking to 0-4 in the SCVAL De Anza Division with last week’s loss to Gunn – three Eagles are dominating individually.

Martina Mickos, Alyssa Biondi and Kristin Rimbach each won two events against the visiting Titans April 2. Mickos ran the 100-meter hurdles in a personal-record 16.10 seconds and the 300 hurdles in 50.22. Biondi ran the 100 dash in 12.78 and the 200 in 26.60. Rimbach cleared 5 feet, 6 inches in the high jump and went 31-8 3/4 in the triple jump.

Lancers overcome injuries

After losing two straight games and its ace pitcher and a top hitter to injuries, there were questions about how the St. Francis High baseball team would respond last weekend against Sacred Heart Cathedral and Riordan.

The Lancers answered those questions definitively, emerging with two victories. St. Francis routed Sacred Heart 12-1 Friday and held off Riordan 9-8 Saturday.

LA baseball team ends skid, sweeps Cupertino in league

The Los Altos High baseball team found a cure for its league losing streak: Cupertino.

The Eagles beat the Pioneers twice last week to snap their six-game slide in the SCVAL De Anza Division. Los Altos followed a 4-0 home win April 2 with a 5-3 victory Friday at Cupertino.

St. Francis wins as group; Mtn. View still unbeaten

St. Francis High boys golf coach Dave Ferriera said the Lancers “have an unusual situation this year.” His team doesn’t rely on just a few golfers to carry them to victory – it’s a group effort.

That makes it hard to predict which player will post the team’s top score from match to match. Four Lancers have earned medalist honors this year.

Local Little League launches season

Los Altos & Los Altos Hills Little League held its annual opening-day celebration March 16 at the Purissima Fields in Los Altos Hills.

The ceremonies began with the Majors’ Yankees team singing the National Anthem and Los Altos Hills Mayor Craig Jones throwing out the first pitch.

Mtn. View softball team wins 3

The Mountain View High softball team won its first three games in the Mission College Invitational last weekend in Santa Clara.

The Spartans beat Santa Clara 4-3, then Sobrato 6-2 and Live Oak 7-0 in pool play. Kendra Vanek earned the win in the first and third games; Victoria Hayward won the second contest.

Inside perspective

Spiritual leaders in the community get an inside look at the state of marriage today, both its traditions and its changing intimacies. Their years spent meeting and joining couples have given some local leaders good stories to tell and fond memories of marriage in Los Altos.

The Rev. Malcolm Young, a priest at Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos who has been married 16 years, described officiating at weddings as “one of my favorite aspects of my ministry as a priest.”

Matchmaker, make me a match

For women who are always the bridesmaid and never the bride – and for men who are no longer attending bachelor parties because all their friends are married – Amy Andersen offers hope beyond blind dates and Match.com that singles will find that special someone.

Using old-fashioned interview techniques and intuition, founder and CEO Andersen established Palo Alto-based Linx Dating LLC to match high-caliber, educated professionals who are seeking another for a committed relationship.

Destination weddings repurpose honeymoon locations for groups

Today’s bride is older, better educated and more career-oriented than ever before. With an average age of 27, she is more business savvy and more likely to ask questions than her predecessors. Very often, the expenses for the wedding are paid for by the bride or shared with the groom.

There is also an increasing trend toward the renewal of vows. Whether it is an older couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary or a younger couple celebrating their l0th, the idea is to celebrate continuing love. Seventy percent of couples renewing their vows do so because they didn’t have the wedding or celebration they wanted when they first got married, due to financial or time constraints.

Tale of conjoined twins explores unusual theme with mundane details

Lori Lansens, author of “The Girls: A Novel” (Back Bay Books, 2007), deserves credit for exploring an uncommon but fascinating theme: the lives of conjoined twins.

The task of describing such a situation is daunting. The book could offer psychological and medical insight into the lives of craniopagus twins, but it reads more as a sweet human-interest tale about sisters who share a deep love for each other – and who just happen to be joined at the head.

Foothill authors series adds visual arts and performance to celebration of books

A multimedia gallery exploring concepts from T.C. Boyle’s award-winning book “The Tortilla Curtain” (Bloomsbury, 2004) opened this week at Foothill College’s Krause Center for Innovation. The exhibition, running through May 15, melds traditional and new media with collaboratively created print images that address themes of race, class conflict, immigration and the environment.

A reception and bilingual English/Spanish open-microphone event 6:30-10 p.m. April 18 will offer a first-come, first-served chance for performers to explore themes from the book. Multimedia performances can make use of available Mac and PC platforms and plasma screens at the event.

Shaking up Shakespeare

Combine 16 comedies, 11 tragedies, seven histories and assorted sonnets and poems – all performed in under two hours by three frenzied actors in tights – and you get Bus Barn Stage Company’s production of “The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged).”

Written in 1987 by three Bay Area actors who formed the Reduced Shakespeare Company, the comedy is scheduled to preview Thursday, open Friday and run through May 3 at the Bus Barn Theater, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. It features “Titus Andronicus” recreated as a cooking show, the tragedies played out as a football game, “Othello” sung as rap, and Hamlet performed forwards and backwards. 

Foothill’s one-act play festival opening Friday

Foothill College’s annual student-directed one-act play festival opens Friday at the Lohman Theatre, 12345 S. El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills.

The festival, titled “I Only Have Ives for You,” features six vignettes by David Ives performed by students in the Foothill Theatre Conservatory Program. The six acts are “Enigma Variations,” “The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage,” “Babel’s in Arms,” “Soap Opera,” “Arabian Nights” and “Captive Audience.” The cast includes Kate Chan of Los Altos.

Pastor: How Christian realism overrules primal self-interest

Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore, we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, could be accomplished alone; therefore, we must be saved by love.

– Reinhold Niebuhr, “The Irony of American History”

BETH BROWN

Beth Brown passed away on March 1, 2008 in Sunnyvale at Manor Care Nursing Facility, age 96+. She is survived by her husband Robert (Bob), their son Tim, his wife Sheryl and two grandsons, Rory and Ryan.

ROBERT G. BRYSON July 4 1921 - March 25 2008

Veteran, aerospace engineer, artist, patron of the symphony, supporter of the Friends of the Library, avid bridge player, generous husband, father and citizen and, above all, a gentleman and a hero.

JOYCE VEACH

Joyce Veach, longtime Los Altos resident, born in Wis. 1925, died Sunday, March 30. Survived by husband of 49 years Carroll Veach, son David of Colorado and daughter Veronica of Utah. Five grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

LAVA honors owner of Lin’s Toy Cupboard

Family, friends and merchants gathered at the Costume Bank April 2 to bid a formal farewell to Linda Dodge, who recently closed Lin’s Toy Cupboard after deciding to retire. As the owner of one of Los Altos’ oldest established businesses, Dodge’s tenure at her State Street address lasted 20 years.

“It was the right time to move on,” Dodge said, with husband, Ed, at her side. “I was ready to let go.”

Equal opportunity in homeownership helps ensure American dream for all

Thanks to the invention of the invisible dog fence and a growing interest in urban living, the traditional white-picket fence may no longer be the universal symbol of the American dream of homeownership. However, the concepts behind that vision remain more important than ever.

The notion that Americans become self-realized when they enter the ranks of homeowners is not simply a myth created to prop up the economy. The housing industry constitutes approximately one-fifth of the nation’s gross domestic product, but the benefits of homeownership extend to the individual as well.

Remodeling industry recognizes Los Altos’ IKB

Located on Main Street, IKB received a platinum award for residential interior for its ability to balance clients’ needs for a more spacious and functional space in the kitchen and main living areas.

The winning design brings the outside environment inside, with more natural light, and enhances the clients’ unique Asian collection with custom-designed cabinets, architectural detailing and an Asian-inspired bathroom for a seamless and unique appearance that reflects the clients’ lifestyle and tastes.

Acacia C. closes abruptly

Citing problems with renegotiating a new lease and the doldrums of today’s economy, longtime downtown Los Altos merchant Lynda Newlon abruptly closed her 21-year business, Acacia C., on March 22.

“This was very, very unexpected,” said Newlon, a Los Altos resident, after a breakdown in lease negotiations resulted in an order by her landlord to clear out within 48 hours.