Heartening support for domestic-violence victims: Other Voices
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- Written by Ruth Patrick
I am founder and director of the Women-of-Means Escape Network, Silicon Valley (WomenSV), a nonprofit Los Altos Community Foundation program that serves victims of affluent abusers. I want to thank the Town Crier and our local community for their incredible support of the recent “Women Rising” event at Main Street Cafe.
Creating 'mysteries' not productive: Other Voices
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- Written by Ron Packard
Two “Other Voices” columns by Kim Cranston recently published in the Town Crier claim supposed “mysteries” that involve city land sold to the Jeffrey A. Morris Group, now under construction at First and Main streets (“Los Altos mysteries explored,” Jan. 29 and Feb. 12).
The first “mystery” involved the differing numbers for the potential parking spaces on that land. The simple answer is that the count of 54 parking spaces was taken before demolition of the buildings at that site in 2010, and the 96 parking spaces were calculated afterward, when most of the new temporary parking was on dirt.
Mystery remains over intent of First and Main site: Other Voices
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- Written by Kim Cranston
Following is Part 2 in Cranston’s ongoing “Los Altos Mysteries Explored” series. Part 1 ran in the Jan. 29 issue.
Boxes of adolescent ardor
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- Written by Lenora Ferro
It was a serendipitous moment, one I shared with some passersby outside of Peet’s Coffee & Tea on State Street as I waited for my California mother to join me in a calming cup of coffee and chat.
I had seen the two tween-aged boys (minus their masks) horsing around in front of Skate Works and guessed that something was afoot. When next I glanced their way, there were two boxes perched on a bench, two sets of feet protruding out from under.
Los Altos mysteries explored
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- Written by Kim Cranston
Some contend that the city of Los Altos initially purchased the .78-acre site at First and Main streets for parking. Approximately how many of the above parking spaces were lost is a matter of confusion – the city cites 54 spaces in one memo, 96 in another.
Mystery 1: How many parking spaces has the Los Altos City Council eliminated since June 2010 in downtown Los Altos, and what will it cost to replace them?
To find out the total number of eliminated spaces, it is useful first to determine part of the answer, which is how many parking spaces the city council eliminated at First and Main streets (400 Main St.). This is complicated by the fact that two important city documents have different numbers for how many spaces were eliminated at First and Main.
The case for a community pool: Other Voices
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- Written by Maridee Charlton
Once again, there are rumblings of a civic center remodel with possible inclusion of a community pool. I hope that discussions start again with the city, and, this time, I hope that a community pool will be near the top of the priority list.
Here is why Los Altos needs a pool: Simply, we do not have one. Neither does the town of Los Altos Hills. Why? It seems as though every surrounding community has a pool. Why not Los Altos and Los Altos Hills?
Permanente Creek project an exercise in lunacy
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- Written by Jerry Clements
At the rear of Blach Intermediate School, there is a flood-control channel built in 1959 to convey Permanente Creek water to Stevens Creek, which could protect a large part of Mountain View in the event of a 100-year flood. It has functioned flawlessly except for in 1985, when a culvert became blocked and Blach was inundated. The Santa Clara Valley Water District removed the culvert, then built a constriction in the channel near the batting cage to impede the flow to Stevens Creek.
