Browse archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Volume 49, Number 49, Published on 11/25/1996

News

Helping from the heart

Town Crier Staff Writer

Fire marshall says LAH driveways need to be wider

Los Altos Hills driveways could stand to be about a foot wider than many of them are, a Los Altos County Fire Protection District official told the city council last week.

Students face torture, assault charges

School district officials are considering their options for dealing with the two Los Altos High School 14-year-olds who face charges of sexual assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and assault for an alleged two-hour torture of a 13-year-old Mountain View boy.

Proposed office complex concerns south Los Altos residents

Special to the Town Crier

City feels backdraft after fire services OK

As the result of a closed Los Altos City Council meeting last Thursday, council members put the fire services issue onto last night's council agenda.

Parents question nursery school leaders over alleged child molester

Ed Whitehead fielded questions from angry parents who wanted information about the alleged molestations that occurred at their nursery school last spring.

Vandals damage new house, cause $10,000 in damage

Vandals cut wires and scratched windows at a house under construction in Los Altos causing an estimated $10,000 in damage, police said.

3 charged with annoying children

Los Altos police arrested three men after they allegedly solicited sexual favors from two 16-year-old girls at 12:15 a.m. Friday on El Camino Real and Clark Avenue.

Comment

Letters to the Editor

I am a native Los Altan, I have lived here all my life because I love this area so much. That is why I am so upset to hear about Kaiser tire burning (Nov. 6 Town Crier). I can't believe that for 45 days Kaiser was producing, from the burning of the tires, potentially dangerous toxins, without the public's knowledge.

Mama, let your babies grow up to be pilgrims

A Side of Clyde

Religions could put a stop to fanaticism

Of all the nature vs. nurture arguments, nurture clearly wins on the subject of religious beliefs. There is no gene for being a Seventh-day Adventist, or a Jehovah's Witness. It all depends on how you were brought up. Muslim children grow up to be Muslims, Jewish children grow up to be Jews, even when they live side by side in the Middle East. In fact, if you ignore the costumes and study the faces, you can believe that both come from the same ethnic roots. In Bosnia, where the Catholic Croats, Eastern Orthodox Serbs and Bosnian Muslims are all shooting at each other, they all share a common ethnic heritage. Some of them were just converted at various times in their history.

Community

CBS correspondent shares Middle East expertise

The voice is still familiar if you listened to radio in the 1970s. Bruno Wassertheil served as chief radio correspondent for CBS News in Israel during that time and broadcast more than 20,000 network newscasts from Israel.

Hidden Villa hosts holiday tea with crafts and fine arts

Hidden Villa, an environmental preserve and education center in Los Altos Hills, is hosting a holiday country tea, crafts and fine art sale from 1-4 p.m. on Dec. 6-8.

Bloomingdale's grand opening celebration brings out the celebrity heavyweights

An Opening to Remember: It finally happened. Bloomingdale's at Stanford Shopping Center is open. And oh, what a gala event!

Festival of Lights Parade features hundreds, draws thousands

The 19th annual Festival of Lights Parade gets under way 7 p.m. Sunday in downtown Los Altos.

Pages of the Past

As reported in the Dec. 1, 1971, issue of the Town Crier, the National Council of Teachers of English named Los Altos High senior Pendred (Penny) Noyce as a 1971 winner in its annual achievement awards competition.

Library Notes

Whodunit?, a mystery reader's discussion group, will meet at the Los Altos Library from 10:15-11:30 a.m. on Dec. 4. The group will discuss "Red Harvest" by Dashiell Hammett. Everyone is welcome to attend these monthly sessions.

Turkey sandwich give-away helps Eagles

Nick and Sue Testa probably gave away between 30 and 40 sandwiches today at their Italian Deli on Main Street.

Lights, music downtown brighten Los Altos' magical holiday season

Downtown Los Altos will come alive with lights and music Friday night to herald a holiday season with a special tree-lighting program and the debut of a Town Choir comprising singers from neighborhood churches and the community.

Community Briefs

The Los Altos History House Museum will hold an open house 1-5 p.m. Dec. 4 to showcase the new museum exhibit, "Toys of the Turn." Guests will have the opportunity to view this latest exhibit featuring a variety of toys from the late 19th through early 20th centuries. The open house also will feature holiday decorations and refreshments. Admission is free.

Town Crier to announce Los Altan of the Year Jan. 1

The Los Altos Town Crier will be naming its Los Altan of the Year for 1997 in the Jan. 1 issue.

Almanac

Wednesday

Los Altos Weather

Schools

Student chefs prepare turkey feast at Foothill

It was their first annual turkey dinner. The cup and saucer were on the wrong side of the plate and there wasn't a spoon for the dessert, but the food was well prepared and easy to enjoy.

LASD says farewell to 13-year veteran Faillace

After 13 years on the elementary school board, Philip Faillace is resigning to serve on the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School Board, to which he was elected this month.

Beta Sigma Phi traditions continue in Los Altos

The Los Altos Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, Delta Lambda Rho recently held an educational evening to discuss upcoming projects.

School Noteworthies

Local students who attend Homestead High School in Cupertino have been named Advanced Placement (AP) Scholars by the College Board in recognition of their achievement on the college-level AP exams. Nathan Brown, Alexa Bruce, Jimmy Chang, Julie Go, Minho Hyun, Tamar Kama, Stacey Kenfield, Samuel Lee, John Lehner, Elaine Lo, John Loo, Mariadelcarm Rodriguezlarrai, Erica Roedder, Christine Tong, Harvey Vrsalovic, Dennis Wong, Jeffrey Wong, and Hank Wu received the AP Scholar Award.

Respect the theme of summit at Saint Francis

Special to the Town Crier

School Briefs

The Blach Intermediate School student holiday fair is scheduled for 12:30-6 p.m. on Dec. 6 in the multipurpose room. Blach is located 1120 Covington Road, Los Altos. For more information, call 964-1196.

Classroom renovation begins at high schools after board OK

Town Crier Staff Writer

Local student writers wanted

The page is published one a month and can include articles on events at school, reviews of books, computer games, or other computer software.

Sports

Wihtol aims experience at Los Altos

Sandy Wihtol used to be a relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, and now he's being called in to register a save for the Los Altos High baseball program.

This Week in Sports

Football

Athlete Of The Week

One of 11 seniors on Los Altos High's field hockey team, Johnson scored two goals last week in the Eagles' 4-1 Central Coast Section semifinal win over Lynbrook to raise her total to 21 on the season.

Footaction kicks out scholarships

Footaction, a Dallas-based athletic specialty retailer, will award four students $5,000 scholarships and 20 others $1,500 scholarships this April.

Foothill rounds out season with third-place showing

Foothill College's women's golf team left its big gun Jill Ross at home with a neck injury, but still came away with third place at the Nov. 18 state championships in Palm Desert.

Los Altos plays smart against Lynbrook

Town Crier Staff Writer

St. Francis doubles up for 4th girls title

CCS tennis

Sports Shorts

To gear up for the Nov. 30 event in Fresno, Eagles Coach Margaret Bennett said that speed work and fine-tuning will be part of Hill's training regimen. As a bonus, his teammates will continue to run with him, even though they won't be competing in the state meet.

Mtn. View, Pinewood knocked out

Julie Christensen lived in the shadow of former St. Francis High setters Roz Pelayo and Vicki Viso last year, but the wait is over.

Business & Real Estate

Business Briefs

Consolidated Freightways, Inc. announced that R. Guy Kraines, a resident of Los Altos, has been appointed vice president and treasurer of the company. The appointment will became effective following the spin-off of the company's largest subsidiary, CF Motor Freight earlier this month.

LAGCo welcomes new general manager

Los Altos Garbage Company (LAGCo) welcomed a new face recently with the appointment of Bill Jones to the position of general manager.

Real Estate Noteworthies

He is regarded by peers as well qualified in the area of expediting and closing real estate transactions.

Transactions

Los Altos

Coldwell again undertakes Operation: One Warm Coat

Both Los Altos Coldwell Banker offices provide a drop-off box to collect warm coats from the community and distribute the coats to the area's homeless and others in need.

There are advantages to selling during holidays

Real estate agents believe November through early January is a good time to sell a home. This year could be an excellent year because Realtors say the inventory of homes is low and buyers are eager to see anything new.

E-mail: an expedient, imperfect mode of modern communication

Jean on The Job

Weekly Special

Former Town Crier owner restores historic home

Special to the Town Crier

Deck the halls with pinecones and acorns

Special to the Town Crier

Hillside Geometry: a modern classic in Los Altos Hills

Special to the Town Crier

Seniors create wonderland scenes

Special to the Town Crier

Holiday home tour features spectacular decorations

Special to the Town Crier

Obituaries

Gertude Blackman, a native of Chicago, Ill., died Nov. 12 at her residence in Los Altos. She was 80.

Weddings & Engagements

Michelle Marie Gigandet and Mark David Comiso were married Oct. 5 on the upper deck of the Monterey Plaza Hotel. A reception followed in the banquet room of the hotel.

Community Noteworthies

Viola Martinson, a Los Altos resident, was honored for his 52-year career as a professional secretary by Mission Trail Chapter of Professional Secretaries International (PSI). The chapter's scholarship, given annually to a student pursuing a career as an office professional, will now be known as the Viola Martinson Scholarship. The announcement was made Oct. 22 during the annual executive appreciation dinner held at the Palace Restaurant in Sunnyvale.

'Los Altos Story' reprised as part of an AIDS awareness program

"Making a Difference, the Rotary AIDS Project," a one-hour program which includes footage of "The Los Altos Story," a documentary exploring the impact of AIDS locally, will air at 6 p.m. Sunday on both Access Los Altos, Channel 26, and on Mountain View's KMVT, Channel 6 for World AIDS Day.

Vets train chugs to tree lighting event

An American Legion mock train engine, converted from an old surplus school bus, will be featured at this year's ceremonial tree lighting event this Friday at the Community Plaza in downtown Los Altos. It will return for the annual Festival of Lights Parade 7 p.m. this Sunday.

Service

Dixon, a 1996 graduate of Monte Vista High School of Cupertino, completed 11 weeks of training designed to challenge new Marine recruits physically and mentally.

Let's raise a glass to the real founder of Thanksgiving

We know that Samuel de Champlain's Order of Good Cheer at Nova Scotia was the first food and wine appreciation outfit in the Americas. Champlain brought from France all the delights of a first-class Thanksgiving, and the early 1605-06 residents of Canada's first settlement at Port Royal gave thanks not just once a year, but every evening during their stay. Daily thanks featured long prayers and a groaning board burdened with foods. Oh yes, and wine. Lots of wine. Luscious Bordeaux from France.

Births

A daughter was born Oct. 23 to Los Altos residents Ann and James Meola. The baby was born at Stanford University Medical Center.

Senior Briefs

Los Altos

LAGCo's 'Spirit of Sharing' lights up the holiday season

This holiday season, Los Altos Garbage Company (LAGCo) and Foothill Disposal are holding the annual "Spirit of Sharing" food and toy drive through Dec. 13 to benefit needy families served by Community Services Agency (CSA).