The 40th anniversary of the Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival, scheduled this weekend, gives us an opportunity to weigh its impact on downtown Los Altos.
Decades later, the festival remains Los Altos’ most popular event. Each year, we gather to celebrate sunny summertimes and enjoy a weekend escape.
In the last few years as I have served on the Los Altos City Council, and now as I serve as mayor, one of the most satisfying parts of the job to me has been working with so many engaged residents. I’m proud that people in our city have been willing to persist in their goals to work with their neighbors to help make Los Altos a better place.
Summer 2019 is here, and, of course, we’re all thumbs.
• Thumbs-up: To the actual start of work on a new Hillview Communty Center. Demolition and construction will soon begin on a 24,500-square-foot, $34.7 million center to replace old, run-down facilities that formerly housed an elementary school many years ago. Estimated time for completion is December 2020. After decades of talking about it, Los Altos is finally getting something done.
After attending the Los Altos Hills City Council meeting June 20, I had two observations.
First, I was shocked that the pathway completion on Summerhill Avenue was not completed in the 13 years we lived off of Summerhill, nor in the five years since. The starts and stops in the paths along Summerhill force residents to just walk in what is a very busy street with several blind curves. Had a safe pathway existed, our children could have walked to school. Yet, instead of placing priority on a pathway that is unanimously desired and so sorely needed for the safety of residents, the town is arguing over a path on Robleda Road that is not only redundant, but requires a $50,000 feasibility study to determine whether it can even be constructed. What is wrong with this picture?
The Los Altos Women’s Caucus and others hosted a forum June 4 in an attempt to establish facts about Bullis Charter School and the Los Altos School District.
I had the good fortune to be among the 12,000-plus invited guests at the 75th anniversary ceremonies commemorating the D-Day landings in Normandy.
“Hi, Jackie, this is Bruce Barton of the Los Altos Town Crier. I want to talk to you about this piece you just wrote.”
The year was 2010. My first book, “My Life in a Tutu,” had recently been published and for some strange reason, the powers that be at the Relay For Life cancer fundraiser thought I could do the marketing for the cause. I’d never done something like this before and I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. Hearing his voice, my stomach immediately churned, for I was sure he hated it and wanted a redo. Self-esteem has never been strong on my list of accomplishments.
The Town Crier welcomes letters to the editor on current events pertinent to Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Write to us at 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, Attn: Editor, or email editor Bruce Barton at bruceb@latc.com. Because editorial space is limited, please confine letters to no more than 200 words. Include a phone number for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be printed.
You can also have your say right here at losaltosonline.com – scroll to the bottom of any story to add a comment.
