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Volume 49, Number 31, Published on 07/22/1996

News

Turning points in city history

photoBy Ellen Shaw

Los Altos Hills puts hold on animal control contract; council questions costs

Feeling the town can get better bang for its buck when it comes to animal control services, Councilman Elayne Dauber pulled a contract proposal with the City of Palo Alto off the consent calendar at last week's Los Altos Hills City Council meeting to lodge a protest vote.

Software ready for police car laptops, officers anticipate 'exciting change'

The software is ready, the hardware is nearly ordered and by summer's end Los Altos Police expect to have their mobile, cellular laptop computers installed in the department's 10 patrol cars.

Los Altos Bank loses its gold standard

The controversial gold money bags sculpture in front of Great Western Bank in downtown Los Altos are gone for now, victims of recent vandalism according to bank officials.

Firefighter salary clarification

The numbers for Palo Alto and Los Altos did not include holiday pay.

Recent coyote attack gives MROSD hikers cause to use caution

A rare but frightening experience happened to a 3-year-old Palo Alto boy and his family on June 13 at the Windy Hills Open Space Preserve in Portola Valley. While the adults were packing up the car after an afternoon of fun and a picnic dinner, a 2-year-old male coyote came out from some bushes and with its teeth grabbed the toddler by the hand and dragged him toward the bushes, according to the boy's family.

Los Altos planners recommend change in day care code after hearing complaints

The Los Altos Planning Commission voted unanimously last week to recommend to the city council a minimum 300-foot separation between large (seven to 12 children) family day care homes to "avoid an overconcentration within a neighborhood," planners said.

Skateboard city: ramped, railed and rolling along

Colt Cannon skateboards last week at Hillview Community Center . He said the city's helmet law is "stupid." Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier

El Camino lawsuit hearing postponed as negotiations heat up

The anticipated July 16 hearing regarding an El Camino Hospital District lawsuit that could determine the hospital's future has been postponed to Aug. 1.

Comment

10 questions to ask before staying away from home

Dear Love My Job: I really don't have enough information to make an educated suggestion. Let's look at the criteria you would need to address to make the decision about telling or not :

Letters to the Editor

in Russia

Where have the old summers gone?

Here we are moving rapidly toward the end of July; it may only be the middle of July, then whoosh, it's August. When I was teaching, summer stretched out in long, lingering weeks that only ended when the store ads blared out "Back to School Sale." We had some days when the thermometer hit 90 degrees. Then my house fell into a brooding silence while the lady of the family retreated to a cooler spot to live through torture. Mostly, however, the weather was bright and cheerful, lending itself to lunch with "the girls," browsing through women's magazines or dashing off to Stanford for a luxurious shopping trip.

Community

'Tour de Library' bike ride - the fun in library fund-raising

Special to the Town Crier

MROSD hikes onto the world wide web

The web site includes a series of maps of the district and its preserves, starting with an aerial view of the district boundaries, linking to the "Preserve Finder Map" and the visitors map, then bringing the virtual visitors to the trail map and text for a specific preserve.

New postmaster accompanies changes in system at both Los Altos post offices

Charles "Chuck" Pruitt is the new Los Altos postmaster covering both the main office and Loyola Corners post office. Photo by Clyde Noel, Town Crier

Almanac

Los Altos Hills Planning Commission, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road.

Library Notes

Come see your own children's librarians perform today at 3 p.m. in the Program Room at the Los Altos Main Library.

Pages of the Past

According to the July 28, 1971, issue of the Town Crier, Los Altos had its own Olympics on July 16, 1971, at Los Altos High School where more than 200 boys and girls vied for top honors in track and field events, sponsored by the Recreation Department.

A definitive history of Silicon Valley and technology

Book review

Revered poet, novelist honored for life's work

Los Altos resident Janet Lewis has written novels and poetry. But she is not a poetess.

Los Altos Weather

Community Briefs

The downtown Los Altos summer sidewalk sale, sponsored by the Los Altos Village Association, is scheduled for this Friday and Saturday.

Senior Briefs

Friday: Birthday bingo party at 1 p.m. Come to Room 11 for an afternoon of bingo, sing-along and birthday cake.

Packard art sale features variety of styles, media

Packard artists pose with their works. Pictured left to right are: Maureen O'Connor, Shari Steele, Jean Packard, Cati Efira, Myrna Mitchner, Joan Chambers, and Ro DiBernardo. Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier

Families meet after writing 47-years worth of letters

Special to the Town Crier

Schools

Distinguished instructor keeps art alive

Since 1986, Ann Roomel has been teaching students the importance of the arts. But with the minimal state funding for art classes, each year Roomel must prove that her efforts are worthwhile.

School Briefs

for Brazilian students

New state budget allows LASD to reduce class size

The Los Altos School District (LASD) will take advantage of the state budget's class size reduction plan on the first day of school, Aug. 28.

Local schools continue to reap benefits of community foundation funding

Budgets for public school education continually receive cuts that only hurt the students in the end. The parents and community members of Los Altos have jumped in with both feet to make sure students' education does not suffer due to lack of money.

School Noteworthies

Students at Moffett High School, part of the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District, selected William Smith, Jr. as student of the month for June. Smith was initially referred to Adult Education from Mountain View High School to complete his GED because he lacked the necessary credits for graduation and he needed to continue working. After several days in the GED program, Smith decided that no matter how long it would take, he would earn his high school diploma. And he did just that in January 1996. Smith's fascination with computers has led him to his next educational endeavor. This fall he will begin working on his computer sciece degree at De Anza College.

Sports

Los Altos blasts Sunnyvale for title

Town Crier Staff Report

McFall in sync with junior national team

Town Crier Sports Editor

Broncos, mustangs riding high

Town Crier Staff Report

Sports Shorts

BASEBALL BITS: In the Los Altos majors all-stars' recent 7-2 loss to Campbell in the District 44 tournament, pitcher Matt Beck (six strikeouts) and Adam Vasser had RBI singles. For Campbell, pinch hitter Chris Cifelli broke a 2-2 tie in the fourth with a three-run home run.

Trifunovic set to take on the pros

Town Crier Sports Editor

Cupertino outdoes Los Altos

Town Crier Sports Editor

Business & Real Estate

Transactions

Los Altos

Selling your home in a fast moving market

It was a traditional three-bedroom two-and-a-half-bath home located in the northern part of Los Altos with a sunken living room and a large family room. The house was on the market four days, and it attracted five offers.

Comerica recognizes sweet smell of success, continues onion give-away to customers

Comerica's chairman and chief executive officer, Eugene Miller, recently sent a letter to shareholders describing aggressive efforts Comerica will employ to the year 2000 and beyond.

Weekly Special

Mountain View arts center keeps community agenda

Special to the Town Crier

St. James Infirmary hopes to fly high once again under new ownership

The stilt-legged bomber resembling the villain Snidely Whiplash from the Dudley DoRight cartoon no longer guards St. James Infirmary Bar & Grill in Mountain View.

MV Library gets a new look both inside and out

Keeping in step with the new and changing technological world, the city of Mountain View Library is expanding.

Mountain View's

changing, growing downtown

Peninsula Youth Theatre actors go up, up and away with 'Peter Pan'

Town Crier Entertainment Editor

Space Camp opens at NASA Ames Research Center in MV

More than 140 enthusiastic young students began a week of astronaut training adventures July 14 as the first U.S. Space Camp facility on the West Coast opened at NASA Ames Research Center.

San Antonio Center on rebound with value stores

Special to the Town Crier

Service

Warren graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree. He joined the Navy in 1994.

Obituaries

Daniel J. Berkson, a former Mountain View resident, died July 1 of injuries suffered in an automobile accident. He was 38.

Los Altos resident welcomes college president

Ruth Koehler, a former mayor of Los Altos and member of the city council, recently welcomed the new president of her Massachusetts college during a visit to the Bay Area.

Los Altos sailor returns from Middle Eastern tour

Special to the Town Crier

Births

A daughter, Emily Nicole Baird, was born May 7 to Mountain View residents Scott and Kathleen Baird at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. Emily weighed 7 pounds.

Scouts on the ball with field improvements

A requirement for obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout is to plan, develop and give leadership to others in a service project helpful to any religious institution, school or community. With the help of other scouts - and more than $13,000 from Los Altos Pony - the following boys completed their Eagle Scout service projects:

Foothill sings out with 'Kiss Me Kate'

Actors, singers and dancers from San Francisco to San Jose are teaming up with award-winning Foothill Musical Theater to stage a grand-scale revival of Cole Porter's classic American musical comedy, "Kiss Me, Kate."

Actors get second chance in Bus Barn's 'Later Life'

Special to the Town Crier

Compete like Olympians, stay fit

The 1996 summer Olympic Games started last Friday in Atlanta, Ga., and armchair athletes may catch the bug to try the sports they watch on television.

Alzheimer's patients have 'someone to stand by you' in Los Altos

One in 10 persons over 65 has Alzheimer's disease (AD) and nearly half of those over 85 have AD. Increasingly, it is found in people in their 40s and 50s. More than seven of 10 people with Alzheimer's live at home and almost 75 percent of the home care is provided by family and friends.

On pins and needles

Acupuncture relieves

Nutrition duo touts 'phenomenal' weight loss success with phen-fen

It's easy to be cynical these days about weight loss programs. After all, there are so many of them and few actually practice what they preach. But two nutrition experts who recently relocated in Los Altos are finding success with a program that combines drugs with diet and exercise.

Summer health tips: stings, Lyme disease, dehydration

Most people, in fact, are not allergic to insect stings. Of the 25 million Americans who are stung every year, fewer than 4 percent will have an allergic reaction.

Stanford offers new test, possible treatment for HIV

This summer the Stanford University Medical Center is participating in the most advanced tests in the world for HIV and AIDS viruses. The new test is free to HIV-positive individuals.

Health Briefs

first aid for teens

Velcro obstacle course sticks to fun at festival

Special to the Town Crier