May I just throw yet another question out there about the proposed new office building and Green on First Street?
As I walk around town, I ponder anew exactly what “benefits” Los Altos Community Investments is so keen to bring to the city?
More pedal power to anyone who hops on their favorite two-wheeler and takes off down the highways and byways of Northern California or the mean streets of Los Altos. I have no idea how anyone actually completes the Tour de France, let alone the Tour de Grocery Store.
It seems to me that recreational cycling is a much better way to get around the Bay Area while doing your part to squelch the petro-burning damage done every time the key turns in your gas-guzzler. Cardiovascular conditioning is one positive that comes from those uphill climbs. Putting more muscle on the legs makes for quicker breakaways from your local Peloton and elicits the occasional wolf whistle.
Having been a resident of Los Altos for 34 years and a former partner in a thriving bar and grill in the late 1980s, I believe that I have a good feel for living near the epicenter of downtown and Hillview Community Center. Over the years, I have given a tremendous amount of thought to a number of solutions to make Los Altos an outstanding place to live and visit.
Is it just me, or does it feel eerily like the United States has become the world’s largest puppet, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is backstage cheerily pulling string after string for his own amusement and benefit?
One of the kicks I now get as a former journalist is, when I read a sourced story, to try to figure out who the source (or, in the parlance of the Trump administration, “leaker”) is.
A few weeks ago I drove down to Ojai to visit a cousin and some friends. East of Los Alamos, I took the Cachuma Highway (CA-154) to avoid the dogleg south on 101 through Buellton, Solvang, Goleta and along the coast.
My notes describe the cutoff as “a two-lane road with two stop signs and one traffic circle in 40 miles, snaking through beautiful high country along the Cachuma Reservoir, which was looking still a bit underfilled despite one year of hefty rain after California’s five years of drought.” This road is a playground for sports cars, and I had to pull over several times in my sedate four-cylinder Camry to let a Mustang or Camaro roar by. I was looking forward to a return trip on the same road, planning to check out the vista points overlooking the reservoir and maybe take a rest stop at the little nature center near the Boy Scout camp.
Thank you for publishing Asher Kohn’s goodbye letter to Los Altos (“Can you help keep people like me in Los Altos?” July 26). He simply doesn’t understand what Los Altos is.
Comparing the Los Altos main library with other libraries in the county system (indexed for population): Seating is 40 percent of norm; there is zero space for children’s programs compared with up to 1,000 square feet in newer libraries; we have half the computers; we have no dedicated computer class space to teach coding (other libraries can offer coding for young girls); and we have one group study teen room compared with multiple rooms at newer libraries. Also, there is no room for new books in the children’s and adult sections.
Based on a needs assessment conducted in 2008 by Page+Moris, the recommendation was to increase the library’s size from 28,000 square feet to approximately 40,000 square feet – it would probably be more if commissioned today.
TOWN CRIER POLL
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