Vol. 73 No. 26 • 50 cents losaltosonline.com Community ... · Daily Specials, Entrees, Pastas, Pizzas, Antipasti, Fresh Salads, and home-made Bread. Try our affordable and delectable

Businesses surveyed after pilot program; retailers cite struggles

By Eric HeStaff Writer/[email protected]

The streets of downtown Los Altos looked differ-ent last weekend, with a

trial run of the city’s plan to ban vehicular traffic to help local businesses. The closure drew mixed reactions, with restaurant owners generally seeing an in-crease in business while retail-ers noted a decline in foot traffic and sales. The Thursday through Sun-day pilot program allowed res-taurants to place more tables out-side, creating additional space for patrons to honor Santa Clara County’s social-distancing pro-tocols amid the shelter-in-place restrictions. Main and State streets were closed to vehicular traffic from First Street through Fourth Street. The Los Altos City Council, which approved the program at its last meeting, planned to assess its success at its Tuesday meeting, after the Town Crier’s print deadline, and determine whether to continue. The city held two webinars with downtown business owners Monday to elicit feedback. Councilwoman Jeannie Bru-ins acknowledged the retailers’ struggles, expressing hope that merchants were willing to help each other in the best interests of downtown Los Altos. The city also sent surveys to all business owners, asking them to compare the foot traffic

and sales receipts last weekend to those of the weekend before and the same weekend dates from last year. The survey asked whether businesses used the ad-ditional outdoor space. Restau-rateurs were asked how many outdoor seats they added, while retailers responded to whether they had a line in front of their business and whether customers

had enough space to queue. Khatchig Jingirian, president of Smythe & Cross Fine Jewelry on Main Street, said Saturday afternoon that sales were down 75% since Thursday. He added that he hadn’t seen some of his regular customers, and that he’d spoken with four other retailers who also experi-enced a dramatic drop in num-

bers. Jingirian said he saw peo-ple hanging out on the streets, but they weren’t necessarily shopping. “It’s nice to see people walk-ing outdoors,” he said. “But we forget the downtown is a busi-ness district, and unfortunately it’s become more of a park kind of atmosphere.”

CommunityNew nonprofit works to install public art using private locations, funding.

Page 9

SchoolsBullis Charter School receives $2 million loan from federal government.

Page 14

WEDNESDAY • June 24, 2020Vol. 73 No. 26 • 50 cents losaltosonline.comCommunity news for Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View since 1947

Business & Real Estate . . 25Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Community . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Letters to the Editor . . . . . 8Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Public Notices . . . . . . . . . 34Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Stepping Out . . . . . . . . . . 23Your Home . . . . . . . . . . . 21

ALSO INSIDE – JUNE 24, 2020

Your HomeVexed by a decorating challenge? Ask a designer.

Page 21

Closed streets, open-air dining hit downtown

PHOTOS BY ANDREW YEE/ SPECIAL TO THE TOWN CRIER

Downtown Los Altos visitors stroll down Main Street, above, Sunday afternoon. By blocking off Main and State streets to cars, bicycles and skateboards, city officials hoped to provide restaurants with more room for outdoor dining, left, amid COVID-19 fears. The trial run of the pilot program started Thursday and lasted through Sunday, Father’s Day.

LA council hears from

police criticsBy Melissa HartmanStaff Writer/[email protected]

Los Altos City Council discussions last week saw renewed – and

unanswered – calls from current and former residents to reduce police department funding in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests earlier this month. Meanwhile, Mayor Jan Pepper questioned why funding for the evaluation of expanding the police sta-tion was considered a higher priority than building a new Emergency Operations Cen-ter (EOC). Public comment at the June 16 meeting was domi-nated by requests that the council review the city’s po-lice budget and internal oper-ating structure. Los Altos High School graduate Maya Acharya ex-pressed her disappointment in what she called a history of anti-Black racism at the school. She said money could be better spent on working to break down social biases on campus, close the achieve-ment gap and encourage af-fordable housing to stimulate greater diversity. “Adding another school resource officer to LAHS will not help. ... It doesn’t sup-port students,” Acharya said.

See POLICE, Page 5See STREETS, Page 6

Page 2 / Los Altos Town Crier / June 24, 2020

June 24, 2020 / Los Altos Town Crier / Page 3

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You will notice a new journal-ist covering city events this

month. Eric He joins the Los Altos Town Crier as a news reporter. A native of the Santa Clara Val-ley, He’s experience ranges from in-vestigative to sports reporting, and

you’ll have already spotted his by-line in our print and online pages. Please give him a welcome as you meet him – he looks forward to chatting in English or Cantonese and welcomes your story ideas and feedback at [email protected].

Welcome Eric to the newsroom

Local ideas to shape new public art in LAH

Los Altos Hills’ Public Art Committee is in-viting residents to sub-

mit thematic ideas for a yet-to-be sculpted artwork meant to represent facets of life in town. Examples include im-ages of an apricot orchard, deer grazing or Silicon Val-ley technology at work. “We need your help to in-fuse this innovative sculpture with iconic images that tell our story and portray the val-ues of our community,” the committee wrote last week. Los Altos Hills City Coun-cil members last month ap-proved the commission, called “Hills Helix.” Roger White

Stoller, a San Jose artist, will be crafting the 10-foot-by-12-foot, stainless-steel conic shape that showcases local iconography. A $100,000 do-nation by Hills resident and artist Karen Druker facilitated the purchase. Send up to three JPEG photos or sketches to the Public Art Committee at [email protected] by 5 p.m. July 26. In-clude your full name, a de-scription of the image, the location of the scene de-picted and an explanation of what the image says about Los Altos Hills.

– Megan V. Winslow

COURTESY OF TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS

San Jose artist Roger White Stoller, who specializes in large works, above, is craft-ing a “Hills Helix” for Los Altos Hills.


NewsPlanning commissioner officially announces bid for Los Altos councilTown Crier Staff Report

Los Altos Planning Com-missioner Sally Meadows last week declared plans to

run for city council in the Nov. 3 election. An active volunteer, Meadows has served on local governing boards and at nonprofits. She was a member of the city’s Design Re-view Commission before joining the Planning Commission. She also served as co-chairwoman of El Camino Hospital’s Com-munity Advisory Council and as board president of Mentor Tutor Connection. “I’m running for city council because we need experienced and common-sense lead-ers who have a vision for Los Altos today and also accept responsibil-ity and stew-ardship for tomorrow,” Meadows said in a statement. She is running her campaign on the slogan “It’s About ALL of Us.” “Effective leaders understand it’s about all of us, not just the people who vote for you, but also the ones who don’t,” she said. “Not just the people who live and work here today, but also those who will live and work here to-morrow.” Meadows established as goals: • “Work together to strengthen the resilience of our community, our city government, staff and first responders, and our business

districts; • “Act in a common sense, fis-cally responsible way to support the community and improve out-comes for all of us; and • “Engage respectfully in tough conversations and make hard decisions in a timely and ef-ficient manner.” Three seats are open on the five-member council in Novem-ber, with Mayor Jan Pepper and Councilwoman Jeannie Bruins termed-out. Meadows joins in-cumbent Councilwoman Lynette Lee Eng as the only candidates thus far who have declared their intent to run. The filing period be-gins July 13 and ends Aug. 7.

Mountain View race With the filing period still roughly three weeks away, the field is already crowded in the race for four open seats on the seven-seat city council in Novem-ber. Incumbent Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga and community activ-ist Alex Nunez both announced plans to run June 15. Incumbent Councilwoman Lisa Matichak and former council members Lenny Siegel and Pat Showalter also have declared their intent to run, as has Mountain View Whis-man School District board mem-ber Jose Gutierrez.

Purissima Hills Water District defends LAH county fire agency amid scathing auditBy Megan V. WinslowStaff Writer/[email protected]

In advance of a Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors review this week of allegations against the Los Altos Hills County Fire Dis-

trict, a partner agency has publicly professed sup-port of the district. An audit of the fire district misguidedly criti-cized actions it completed to improve fire suppres-sion efforts within its jurisdiction, argued Ernest Solomon, Purissima Hills Water District (PHWD) Board of Directors president, in a June 15 let-ter addressed to supervisors Cindy Chavez and Dave Cortese. Chavez and Cortese comprise the Board of Supervisors’ Finance and Government Operations Committee (FGOC), which is tasked with reviewing an audit completed by the board’s Management Audit Division and published May

22. They are expected to do so Thursday morn-ing as part of a joint teleconferenced meeting be-tween the FGOC and the Children, Seniors and Families Committee, another group Chavez and Cortese preside over. Afterward, the supervi-sors could make a recommendation to the entire board.

‘Vital’ collaboration Within the audit, management audit manager Cheryl Solov questioned whether the fire district’s history of funding enhancements to PHWD infra-structure like fire hydrants and water tanks could constitute illegal “gifts” of public funds. She rec-ommended the Board of Supervisors temporarily suspend fire district commissioners’ authority to prevent them from spending additional taxpayer money on such projects until further review. California government code, however, allows

Meadows

See AUDIT, Page 7

Farmers’ Market returns to Los AltosTown Crier Staff Report

The Los Altos Farmers’ Market will return Thursday after a one-week hiatus, according to the Los Altos Village Asso-ciation. LAVA canceled last week’s market after taking issue

with the California Farmers’ Market Association’s handling of an incident involving a vendor at the Livermore Farmers’ Market ear-lier this month. CFMA Executive Director Gail Hayden allegedly told a vendor at the market to stop handing out rainbow flags for LGBTQ Pride Month because it was a violation of CFMA policy. CFMA officials said they requested the vendor distribute the flags in the market’s “free speech” area. For more on the story, visit losaltosonline.com.

MVLA activists hold Juneteenth event

ERIC HE/TOWN CRIER

Organizers welcome visitors at a Juneteenth event at Pioneer Memorial Park in Mountain View Friday.

By Eric HeStaff Writer/[email protected]

An activist group of cur-rent and former stu-dents from the Moun-

tain View Los Altos Union High School District held a Juneteenth event at Pioneer Memorial Park in downtown Mountain View Friday. The group, Justice Van-guard, called attention to the day that celebrates the ending of slavery in the United States, amid a national discussion of racism in the wake of several instances of police brutality. “This is not a day to pro-test,” said Kenan Moos, who grew up in Los Altos, graduat-ed from Los Altos High School and helped organize the event. “This is a day to celebrate. This is the day we were told we were free.” Organizers aimed to edu-cate the local community about Juneteenth. They set up tables on the lawn, handed out fliers and initiated conversa-tions with event-goers. Accord-ing to the U.S. Census Bureau, 0.4% of Los Altos is Black or African American. The figure is 1.8% for Mountain View. “It’s really easy to stay ig-norant to these problems if you’re not experiencing them on a daily basis, or you live in a community that’s a little

bit less diverse and you’re not as exposed to these types of things,” said Briena Brown, another organizer. Brown said she was one of the few Black students who at-tended Mountain View High School. Her parents have given her “The Talk”: What to do if she gets pulled over by po-lice, and what to do if her fa-ther – a general sales manager at Red Bull – doesn’t come home. “Even his position doesn’t save him from the brutality that goes on,” Brown said. “I don’t want my dad to be another hashtag or a statistic. If I have Black children, I don’t want them to grow up in a world

where this is still going on.” Brown urged non-Black people to use their privilege to support people of color and become more proactive allies. Posting pictures, she said, is not enough. Friday’s gathering in Moun-tain View was just one of many in Santa Clara County, with organized events taking place in Palo Alto, Santa Clara and San Jose. Large-scale marches occurred in San Francisco and Oakland, where rally-goers shut down the Port of Oakland Friday morning. “It’s not because (June-teenth) became big,” Brown said. “It’s been big. It’s just be-ing recognized now.”


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“(Other) alums feel they often intimidate and make students feel uncomfortable. ... Instead of criminalizing our students, we should be looking for other ways to use our money.” Fellow Los Altos High grad Ishaan Parmar brought up ex-amples in other cities of direct change being made, not only in terms of police funding, but in restructuring police priorities. He noted, for example, that San Francisco leaders announced police would no longer be re-sponding to noncriminal calls. Mayor Jan Pepper thanked each speaker after his or her time expired, but the council offered no comment on the stu-dents’ statements. “I am aware that the council has many priorities, many things to juggle, but this is frustrating,” Parmar said. “The city council is asking questions about whether or not funds are being used reasonably in regard to capital improvement and road mainte-nance, all of which are very im-portant things, but are not raising such questions about the police.” The city’s law enforcement

policies were scheduled as a top-ic of discussion when an ad hoc committee organized by Pepper was due to report to the coun-cil at Tuesday night’s council meeting, which occurred after the Town Crier’s Monday print deadline.

Prioritizing projects The 2020-2021 budget as of last week included funds for an additional school resource of-ficer. The public safety budget currently accounts for nearly half of the city’s general fund expenditures. The council did not comment on the requested staff change. Still, city leaders opted to delay the authorization of a $200,000 evaluation of the po-lice station, labeled in budget documents as “annual civic fa-cilities improvement.” Councilwoman Neysa Fligor reasoned it would be smarter to do the assessment at a time when the council could afford to take action on the findings sooner rather than later. Pepper added that she was peeved the station study was included as a priority, while the design and construction of a new EOC was not, even after

the council had directed it be prioritized. “This is very disappointing to me. Our city needs this new public building,” resident Harry Guy said, referring to staff’s rec-ommendation to delay the EOC. Longtime volunteers with programs such as the Block Ac-tion Team and the Community Emergency Response Team in Los Altos, Guy and his col-league Art Whipple were dis-mayed by the news that progress on the project nearly halted after the council asked for a “rapid” approach. The design is ap-proximately 90% completed, ac-cording to engineering services manager Jim Sandoval. The de-sign must be finalized and other documents must be mocked up before the project can go to bid. Guy recounted staff reporting that the design was 75% com-pleted at a Feb. 25 presentation. “We really need to start spending money in places where it’s not very popular,” Whipple said. “I would like to see the council (doing) the talking the talk with emergency prepared-ness walk the walk.” Despite Councilwoman Ly-nette Lee Eng’s opposition, the council reprioritized the EOC over the police station.

POLICEFrom Page 1

5th time’s the charm: Planning Commission sends ADU amendment to Los Altos councilBy Melissa HartmanStaff Writer/[email protected]

The Los Altos Planning Commission last week voted unanimously to rec-

ommend approval of amended text addressing accessory dwell-ing units in the city’s Municipal Code. After commissioners dis-cussed the changes at five meet-ings, the revisions now advance to the city council. The ADU updates, reviewed several times and finally deemed acceptable by the California De-partment of Housing and Com-munity Development, aim to bring Los Altos’ zoning text into compliance with housing laws that took effect Jan. 1. Planning services director Guido Persicone collaborated with City Attorney Jolie Houston, her staff and the commission on the draft ADU ordinance, outlin-ing categories of ADUs and add-ing or redesigning a square-foot-age chart, daylight plane graphics and other elements. In the final document approved

at the June 18 commission meet-ing, Persicone recommended the Planning Commission request the city council reduce permit fees as a “positive step to show the state that Los Altos is serious about building ADUs and incentivizing them.” The proposal is compat-ible with the next round of the city’s Housing Element, he said. In his research, Persicone dis-covered that cities such as Hills-borough and Half Moon Bay con-duct annual, voluntary surveys that monitor the rent of ADUs. Similar tracking could give Los Altos’ Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) a boost, as a certain number of ADUs are required by the Department of Housing and Community De-velopment each five-year hous-ing cycle. Acknowledging Los Altos’ need for RHNA numbers, the majority of commissioners fa-vored the idea. The survey will be paired with a mandatory inspec-tion for regular recertification, supported by an annual inspec-tion fee from property owners of $127. The commission directed Per-

sicone to ensure the amended text reflected maximum square footages of 850 for detached sin-gle-family ADUs and 1,200 for attached ADUs, expanded from previous requirements of 800 and 1,000, respectively. The Department of Hous-ing and Community Develop-ment nixed a few sections of the language suggested by staff and commissioners, such as adding a requirement that property owners submit a letter if they plan to con-vert a garage to an ADU, thus cre-ating parking nonconformance. Persicone lamented that the state was overriding much of cities’ local land-use control. Commis-sioner Phoebe Bressack said a good product still came from their efforts, despite Housing and Community Development being “fairly obnoxious.” “The purpose is to ensure compliance with state law,” Bres-sack said. “I think the piece that I really want to focus on isn’t only just complying with state law, but doing it in a manner that (is) the best way we can in reflecting the Los Altos community values.”


News

Restaurants see boon Vickie Breslin, owner of The Post restaurant in downtown Los Altos, ar-rived at her restaurant 8 a.m. Thursday in workout clothes, a bundle of excitement as she spaced diagrams provided by the city. She and her staff began moving ta-bles onto Main Street, taking advantage of the first day of the street closures. “I’m so excited,” said Breslin, looking at outdoor tables full of customers dur-ing the 2 p.m. hour. “I’m, like, skipping around.” Breslin, who said her sales have dropped “tremendously” since closing to dine-in customers March 15 – a day be-fore the county’s shelter-in-place orders – was fully booked Thursday night and expected to be busy all weekend, a sign of the public’s eagerness to return to din-ing out. Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Redwood City are among the nearby cit-ies that have enacted similar measures to close off streets. “This community that comes to The Post – people want to go out,” Breslin said. “If we’re not going to offer this, then they’re going to go to a different city that is, so it would really hurt us.” City workers gradually blocked off downtown streets Thursday morning. Signs mandating social distancing and

face coverings were plastered on barriers, and orange cones directed cars to side streets. The city set up an information booth at the corner of Main and Third streets to provide handouts and answer questions from passersby. City architects checked with restau-rants to see if they met the distancing re-quirements in between tables while also trying to help create enough space for more tables. Breslin helped spur the city council’s unanimous June 9 decision to close the

streets through a Change.org petition that has collected more than 4,400 signatures. She reached out to her network to in-undate the council with emails, and she credited Bruins with pushing the plan through to reality.

Detractors weigh in Not every business supported the clo-sure. Outside Brownhouse Design on Main Street, owner Julie Brown posted two large white sheets of paper with the words: “Street closure is hurting my busi-

ness. There must be a better way that works for all.” Brown, who said the pandemic has cost her more than half of her regular in-terior design business, did not like how the city council handled the closure’s rollout. She noted that some of her neigh-boring businesses didn’t know the street shutdown was happening, and that it will be a hassle for her to receive essential de-liveries. “We’re constantly ordering samples, products for houses,” Brown said. “Usu-ally they’re time-sensitive and we have to bring them to a client or a job site.” As Brown aired her grievances, a UPS driver arrived with a package for her. His plan for the weekend for downtown jobs: Park on one of the side streets and walk to deliver, which could take half an hour per stop. “Today’s the first day,” the driver said. “I don’t have a real heavy load on Main Street right now, but on a day that Cooks’ Junctions gets 30 boxes, it’s going to be a problem.” Bruins conceded that for retailers whose products are not being placed out-doors, shutting down the streets was not their first choice. “We understand that,” she said. “But their willingness – they’re willing to say, ‘Look, we’re all in this together. We all want our neighbors on the street to be successful.’”

STREETSFrom Page 1

ANDREW YEE/SPECIAL TO THE TOWN CRIER

Patrons wait 6 feet apart outside Tin Pot Creamery at the corner of First and State streets Sunday afternoon. State and Main streets were closed to vehicular traffic over the weekend as part of a pilot program.


By Megan V. WinslowStaff Writer/[email protected]

It required two appeals, but Los Altos Hills City Coun-cilman George Tyson man-

aged to change most of his colleagues’ minds and secure a $5,000 donation for Commu-nity Services Agency early Fri-day morning. “After last time that we met and the proposal for a $5,000, one-time donation to CSA met with no other support, I have to say, it didn’t even occur to me that we wouldn’t support this,” Tyson said, explaining his deci-sion to rehash the topic. He is a volunteer and donor to the Mountain View-based social services organization, which counts approximately 16

Hills resi-dents among its beneficia-ries. Tyson first proposed the dona-tion – meant to help CSA during the

C O V I D - 1 9 pandemic – while participat-ing in a May 28 joint meeting between the council and town’s Finance and Investment Com- mittee. Last week, at the tail end of a marathon city council meeting that began Thursday evening and extended until 12:45 a.m. Fri-

day, Mayor Michelle Wu and coun-cil members Roger Spreen and Kavita Tankha re-versed their positions and voted in favor

of the donation. Councilwoman Courtenay C. Corrigan praised CSA – and others like it – but reiterated her objection to giving taxpayer money to charities of the council’s choosing. “These are all such needy or-ganizations; they are all so wor-thy of every dollar,” she said. “But it’s my assertion that those dollars come out of the pocket of the individual – not from tax dollars that have been collected with the expectation they are to be spent on services.” Holding up her checkbook, Corrigan offered to personally split the $5,000 donation among council members, but a long si-lence followed the suggestion. Tyson explained the donation is more about the gesture than the actual dollar amount. “There’s a message here. … Are we part of this broader community?” he said. “And does that mean that it helps in-spire people to give individual contributions? Absolutely. I’m hoping so.” Despite the late hour of the often-heated discussion, resi-

dents representing views on both sides of the argument chimed in during the teleconferenced council meeting. The council’s reversal of opinion follows some public ridicule – and support – of its denial of a Los Altos Chamber of Commerce request to match Los Altos’ $250,000 donation to a small-business, COVID-19 relief fund. At the May 28 meet-ing, council members agreed to give $5,000 to the fund. They also agreed to make a one-time, $5,000 addition to the $11,500 already budgeted for the Com-munity Health Awareness Council (CHAC) in the coming year. Los Altos Hills leaders differ-entiate CHAC from other chari-ties because the town has a for-malized Joint Powers Authority agreement with the Mountain View nonprofit, and they have a voice regarding its governance through Tyson’s service on the board of directors, Corrigan ex-plained Friday. Council members agreed de-veloping a town policy for regu-lating future charitable dona-tions is a prudent idea. Due to print space con-straints, most of this article, including information on Planning Commission appoint-ments and discussion on poten-tial changes to town standing committees, is featured online at losaltosonline.com.

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Mentor Tutor Connection, a local non-profit that recruits, trains and places volunteer tutors and mentors in MV and LA schools, is seeking a Mentor Program Manager for Mountain View High School. This person will:

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This is a part-time paid position. The candidate should be comfortable in building relationships remotely and feel strongly about our mission which is to “help students achieve their potential and thrive.” If you are interested in joining our team, please email [email protected] and we will send you a full job description.

SEEKING A MENTOR PROGRAM MANAGER FOR MVHS

NewsHills council reconsiders, donates to CSA

the two agencies to share financial responsibilities, and their ongoing collaboration is vital, Solomon wrote in his letter. “Our joint projects have benefited the residents of Los Altos Hills as homeowners, ratepayers, and taxpayers, and improved fire safety for the region,” he wrote. “We are proud of our joint projects and believe that they are what our constituents should expect from us.” Solov, Solomon added, makes several referenc-es to the water district in her audit, but she never reached out to the agency for answers or explana-tions connected to her accusations. In the fire district commissioners’ own written rebuttal of the audit, they cite 1983 case law al-lowing water agencies and fire districts to contract with each other. They also explain how past ex-penditures safeguard the community. During fis-cal year 2013-2014, for example, the fire district spent $2.34 million, 80% of the total cost to in-crease the capacity of PHWD’s Neary water tank located off La Loma Drive. The PHWD funded the remaining 20%. The fire district shouldered the bulk of the price tag because it was the primary beneficiary of the

project, the rebuttal stated. “The Neary Tank capacity could only utilize 700,000 gallons in summer and 100,000 gallons in winter due to limitations in structural integrity and small diameter piping,” commissioners wrote. “According to an independent engineer, the avail-able capacity of the tank was possibly not adequate for fire protection.” Now the tank is capable of holding 2 million gallons during the summer and 1 million gallons during winter, an ample supply of water should a major fire event occur, according to commission-ers. Solomon’s letter only addresses parts of the audit pertaining to the water district. It does not mention Solov’s other allegations against the fire district, including potential violations of Califor-nia open-meeting laws and failures to adhere to competitive bidding processes. Solov and fire district representatives declined to comment for this article. The teleconferenced joint meeting be-tween the FGOC and the Children, Seniors and Families Committee is scheduled to start 9:30 a.m. Thursday. For more infor-mation, including a copy of the agenda, visit sccgov.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_ Meeting.aspx?ID=12702.

AUDITFrom Page 4

Tyson

Corrigan

The staff and management at the Los Altos Town Crier thank all of you who have stepped up to help us during this time of sheltering at home. You may have noticed that a number of our advertisers have stopped appearing in the paper because they have been forced to close. That means your support now is vital to keep us alive. Our reporters will continue to work hard bringing you the up-to-date information crucial during these ever-changing times. We have been in print since 1947, and we hope to continue publishing throughout the duration of this unprecedented crisis. And we will, with the help of this wonderful community. Again, THANK YOU!If you have not had a chance to support our independent local journalism, go to:

losaltosonline.com/subscribe


End of an era for iconic ice cream cone My parents, Henry and Sue Nesmith, have owned Los Altos Hardware for almost 40 years. Before the hardware store took ownership of the property in 1983, the building was home to the famous Clint’s Ice Cream shop, followed by a wonderful French restaurant. The building is known for its iconic ice cream cone that sat on the roof mark-ing the spot of Clint’s Ice Cream Store. In the midst of obtaining a new roof, Los Altos Hardware realized the historic ice cream cone had to be removed. Every rainy winter the cone would leak severely and merchandise would be ruined because of water dam-age. For years, we tried to patch the leaks from the inside, but they could never be fixed. When we started to investigate with the roofing company, we realized the foundation was made of narrow wooden beams that were decay-ing and full of termite damage. Unfortunately, the memorable ice cream cone had to be removed. It was a miracle it never fell over! We understand the sentimen-tal value of the ice cream cone and are terribly sad to see it go. Through the years we have loved hearing the stories of our custom-ers’ experiences at Clint’s and hope those stories never stop! We hope to one day re-create a more stable structure to represent Clint’s ice cream cone. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments you may have. Los Altos Hard-ware loves being a part of this wonderful community and we thank you for your continued sup-port!

Nina NesmithOperations managerLos Altos Hardware

LAH: All benefits, no assistance Following is an open letter to Los Altos Hills Mayor Michelle Wu. After reading your June 10 letter to the editor (“LAH mayor says town backs small business-es”) – your rebuttal to the nega-tive response about the choice the town of Los Altos Hills made to provide just a molecule of fund-

ing assistance for the Los Altos Small Business Relief Fund (Los Altos Hills funded one business grant) – I was very unhappy to learn that Los Altos Hills seems to want all of the benefits from a close-in and charming downtown with free parking, but chooses not to assist in any meaningful way during an emergency shutdown of the business community. The tax-base argument is groundless. Santa Clara County reported a very high rate of re-cent residential property tax pay-ments, while retail businesses have been prevented from gener-ating revenue, which in turn gen-erates sales-tax revenue. These businesses have been forced to shut down and limit shopping for the sole purpose of keeping ev-eryone in our community healthy. It is a very unbalanced bur-den the retailers, service provid-ers and restaurants are forced to endure. Their landlords and mortgage holders are not re-quired by the same COVID-19 orders to stop collecting monthly rents and mortgages. The rea-son the fund was created was to help, in a small way, balance the inequitable financial burden that continues. The city of Los Altos understands how critical it is to help share the burden. Due to lack of funding, 20 small businesses that qualify for a Small Business Relief grant will not be provided that assistance. Perhaps Los Altos Hills would prefer to pay on a “per trip” ba-sis: a toll gate at each road artery leading into downtown Los Altos from the Hills.

Sherry ScottPresident, Sherry Scott

DesignLos Altos

LA council, mayor: ‘We can do better’ I find Los Altos City Council-woman Jeannie Bruins’ off-hand-ed comment to Councilwoman Neysa Fligor extremely offensive. Her apology is hollow. She owes an apology to the community as well for her insulting remark. Racist language hurts all who hear it, regardless of their back-ground. Mayor Jan Pepper’s de-fense of Bruins’ remark is equally concerning. She owes an apology to the community as well. Their behavior is emblematic of a lack of awareness of council members as to the systemic rac-ism present in American society and the implicit cultural bias that permeates our lexicon. Apologize to the citizens of Los Altos. Educate yourselves. Share your plan to work with the Los Altos Police Department on reducing racially motivated stops and inviting community over-sight. We can do better. We demand better from our leadership.

Gretchen CrafordLos Altos

Chamber programs making a difference The leadership provided by the Los Altos Chamber of Com-merce has been instrumental to our community during this historic time. The Chamber has worked with several local orga-nizations to create the following new programs. • The Los Altos Small Busi-ness Relief Fund. The fund pro-vides $5,000 grants to eligible storefront businesses across all Los Altos business districts. • What’s Open Los Altos. The project provides one online loca-tion to order, purchase and donate to support Los Altos businesses through the COVID-19 crisis. • The Los Altos Gift Card. The initiative supports online gift card sales to support our local merchants and restaurants. • Open Streets Los Altos. The program works with both retail and restaurant owners to build consensus and find a temporary solution that supports our entire community. Residents have ex-panded opportunities to shop and dine within social-distancing pro-tocols through the open streets of downtown Los Altos Thursday through Sunday. • Facebook groups and social media campaigns. Such efforts

engage residents through social media to share photos of their favorite takeout and recent retail purchases. We ask you to show your sup-port of our efforts by donating to the Chamber – losaltoschamber.org.

Kim MosleyPresident, Los Altos

Chamber of Commerce

CommentBy Anushka Srinivasan

If you are South Asian American and perpetuate anti-Blackness, you have

fallen prey to an oppressive tactic of the United States government, the concept of “model minorities.” To combat anti-Blackness, we need to understand the his-tory behind the term “model minority.” In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson enacted the Immigration and National-ity Act, prioritizing “individu-als with specialized skills” in the immigration processes. Consequently, the only South Asians allowed to immigrate to America were exceedingly intelligent and/or talented in a specific discipline. By only allowing the “best” South Asians to enter the country, the U.S. government prede-termined the South Asian immigrant population to be successful. On the other hand, people from the African diaspora were forcibly brought to the U.S. through the transatlan-tic slave trade. They had no choice to come to America, let alone indulge in the op-portunity to learn and develop special skills to “prove their worth.” Therefore, South Asian Americans were system-atically supported to be more successful, making the U.S. government consider them a model minority. However, this detrimental approach to immigration policy allowed our government to rest on their laurels and believe that their work in supporting South Asian Americans was advanc-ing the mission of all inclusiv-ity and diversity in the U.S. Meanwhile, African Americans, who were forced into immigrating and were not given the right resources to be-

come successful, continued to be oppressed and struggled to survive. The African-Ameri-can community fought through chattel slavery, Jim Crow, redlining and now police bru-tality, while the media painted South Asian Americans as good, law-abiding citizens. When African Americans engaged in protests to merely exist as equals in U.S. soci-ety, South Asian Americans benefited off of their “model minority” status, playing into the government’s hands, even if it meant turning a blind eye to the continued oppression of their fellow peoples of color. You might be thinking, “Just because I’m not Black doesn’t mean I don’t experi-ence racism.” The difference here is that the racism that we, as South Asian Americans, have faced and continue to face is not institutionalized and not as rampantly wide-spread and maintained across U.S. government policies as racism that Black Americans face. Now, more than ever, the South Asian-American com-munity has the opportunity to reject the model minority messaging. One of the officers abetting the murder of George Floyd was Asian American, and we, as a minority popula-tion and a part of the larger Asian community, have a responsibility to strongly con-demn this anti-Blackness and racism. The Asian-American population has long played a major role in the United States’ systematic racism: Now is the time to fight back.

Anushka Srinivasan was born and raised in Los Altos.

Letters to the Editor The myth of the ‘model minority’

Other Voices

COURTESY OF THE LOS ALTOS HISTORY MUSEUM

Clint’s Ice Cream shop was established in the early 1950s. Owner Clinton Roe added his ice cream cone to the building, which remained until recently.

Letters to the editor

The Town Crier welcomes let-ters to the editor on current events pertinent to Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Drop us a line at 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, Attn: Edi-tor, or email letters to [email protected].


CommunityCommunity Briefs

State of the Cities event slated Friday The Los Altos Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a vir-tual State of the Cities event 11 a.m. Friday. Los Altos Mayor Jan Pepper and Los Altos Hills Mayor Mi-chelle Wu will discuss past ac-complishments and city council priorities for the year. Registration for the event, a fundraiser for the Chamber and small businesses, is $50. Reg-istrants will receive a $20 gift card redeemable at local busi-nesses. After consulting with past winners, the Chamber decided this year’s event will not in-clude a Walter and Marie Singer Award presentation recognizing an outstanding local merchant. The Chamber plans to resume the award next year. To register and donate, visit losaltoschamber.org or 2020SOC.eventbrite.com.

LAH set to host July 4 ‘caravan’ Due to COVID-19 concerns, this year’s Los Altos Hills Inde-pendence Day will be a slightly muted affair compared to past it-erations, featuring a “caravan” of participants instead of the regu-lar parade, according to organiz-ers. The caravan, launching 10 a.m. July 4 from town hall, 26379 W. Fremont Road, is lim-ited to representatives from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Of-fice, the Santa Clara County Fire Department, 10-15 classic cars and city council members driv-ing the route. From town hall, the proces-sion will travel down West Fre-mont Road and complete a large circle with right turns onto Ro-bleda, Purissima and Arastrade-ro roads before ending after Palo Hills Drive. Residents are encouraged to walk to the near-est street or drive to Purissima Park, 27500 Purissima Road, or Gardner Bullis School, 25890 Fremont Road, to enjoy the fes-tivities. For more information, call Los Altos Hills community services supervisor Sarah Ro-bustelli at 947-2518 or email [email protected].

Pets In Need offers summer camp via mailboxTown Crier Staff Report

The COVID-19 pandemic may have rendered Pets In Need’s annual summer

camp impossible, but the non-profit has found a creative way to keep local children engaged while still raising money for the programs that further its rescue mission. As of June 15 and through-out the year, the organization is offering Camp PIN Pal Buddy Boxes, curated collections of

various pet-themed activities. A free version geared toward se-niors is also available. The boxes may be purchased individually or through a subscription service. “We are proud of our com-munity programs at Pets In Need and are pleased to be able to of-fer an alternative, at-home expe-rience for our summer campers and our seniors,” said Al Mol-lica, the organization’s executive director, in a press release. “Our Camp PIN Pal Buddy Boxes are kid-tested and senior-approved,

and are a fun way to educate children and adults about ani-mal welfare.” PIN’s Buddy Boxes for chil-dren, which cost $65 each, are best suited for kids between the ages of 8 and 12, according to the press release. They include activities like learning how to design and operate an animal shelter. Buddy Boxes for se-niors include trivia questions, a memory game, a word search

New Los Altos group aims to revitalize downtown area through public art

Town Crier Report

After more than eight years on the Los Altos Public Arts Commis-

sion and “not getting much done with city government,” Maddy McBirney figured it was time for an alternative plan for public art in the city. “It has been brought to our at-tention that we can do public art on private prop-erty with pri-vate funding without the need of mu-nicipal process,” she said. So McBirney and friend and former Public Arts Commissioner Karen Zucker – among other local art aficionados – founded a non-profit, Arts Los Altos. Their goal, according to McBirney, is to “provide beautiful, outdoor art” for downtown Los Altos. “Our downtown could use some artistic, heartfelt beauty to revitalize its spirit,” McBirney said. “Art created for public consumption can bring people together, whether residents or visitors.” A year in the making, the group announced its formation last week, along with plans for its first public art installation. Arts Los Altos members plan to install “Dodi,” a sculpture from Oakland-based artists calling themselves HYBYCOZO, Mon-day on the front patio of the As-sistance League building at 169

State St. in downtown Los Altos. Members plan to host an unveil-ing party in early July. In a letter to potential do-nors, Arts Los Altos organizers noted that the piece “will bring color and light to downtown. It is math, science, art and technol-ogy at its best.” Group members hope to raise $60,000 for their first two or three art installations. “Dodi” is a 6-foot-tall, 12-sided shape with repeating pentagons. It will be illuminated from within, with colored LED lights that produce intricate pat-terns on the ground surrounding the artwork. “The sculpture was inspired by the geometry of the flower of life, a symbol found in almost ev-

ery ancient culture in the world, in plant and flower growth, as well as in the growing embryo during cell division,” Arts Los Altos supporters said in a June 9 press release. “Composed of overlapping circles forming pet-al shapes, it represents the cre-ation of beauty through unity, a sum greater than the parts.” Other key members of Arts Los Altos include Sherry Scott, a downtown merchant who runs Sherry Scott Design; Laura Roberts, retired executive direc-tor of the MVLA High School Foundation; resident Mike Bu-tensky; and former Los Altos City Council members Penny Lave and Mary Prochnow. For more information, visit artslosaltos.org.

Volunteer Ann Coombs: Author of book on LA treesTown Crier Report

Longtime Los Altos resident Ann Kleerup Coombs was the ultimate

community volunteer. She was active in many organizations, conscientious and thorough in virtually every task she took on. Mrs. Coombs, 86, died April 4 after a prolonged struggle with Parkinson’s disease. Mrs. Coombs lived in Los Altos for 54 years, contribut-ing in mul-tiple ways. She used her background in chemistry to work on issues related to water re-sources and toxic and waste materials. She was active in the League of Women Voters, the Girl Scouts, local schools, the city of Los Altos, Santa Clara County (including two terms – seven and a half years – as a county planning commis-sioner) and the state of Califor-nia. Former State Sen. Becky Morgan of Los Altos Hills nom-inated Mrs. Coombs to serve on the Planning Commission, where she did her homework, traveling to sites all over the county where plans were being proposed in an effort to offer better-informed decisions. She also served on numerous committees, including the Santa

COURTESY OF ARTS LOS ALTOS

“Dodi,” a lighted sculpture from the Oakland artist collaborative HYBYCOZO, is scheduled for installation Monday at the Assis-tance League headquarters in downtown Los Altos.

Mrs. Coombs

See COOMBS, Page 10

McBirney

COURTESY OF PETS IN NEED

Pets In Need’s Buddy Boxes include games and coloring activities. See CAMP, Page 10


Community

Clara County Hazardous Waste Planning Committee, the California Department of Health Services Integrated Site Manage-ment Advisory Committee and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Inte-grated Environmental Management Proj-ect Public Advisory Committee. In 2004, Mrs. Coombs received the Los Altos-Los Altos Hills Joint Community Volunteer Service Award. “She had an insatiably curious mind and was always learning about, and work-ing on, new projects,” said Clyde Coombs, her husband of 64 years. “I think one of the things that made her so valuable, beyond her chemistry background and willingness to work hard for these groups, was the fact that she approached them with no agenda, other than making sense. It wasn’t always easy.” Mrs. Coombs’ interest in other cul-tures helped her family fully experience the then-developing country of Singapore, where they relocated for two years in 1970. And passion for gardening and water issues prompted her to write the book “Trees of Los Altos” for the Los Altos Environmen-tal Committee. The book describes trees that thrive in the local environment. It also includes information on drought-resistant landscaping plans, as well as city regula-tions. It is still available for purchase at the Los Altos History Museum, with proceeds supporting local nonprofit organizations. Her husband said she spent two years on the book, which updated a pamphlet on city trees that had been written 40 years earlier. Mrs. Coombs’ research expanded the inventory from 40 trees in the first edi-tion to 110 trees in her revised version. Lo-cal philanthropists Bob Grimm and Paul

Nyberg funded and helped publish 3,000 copies of the book.

‘Smartest girl in class’ Mrs. Coombs was born in 1933 in San Francisco to Alex and Lillian Kleerup. The family moved to New York a year later, where she lived until they relocated to Fresno in 1946. She attended Fresno High School, where she edited the school yearbook and graduated as valedictorian. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa in chem-istry from Stanford University, with high-est honors. She worked for two years as a chemist in the lab of Melvin Calvin at UC Berkeley. She married high school sweetheart Clyde in 1956, and in 1957 left Berkeley for the life of a Navy wife. When Clyde joined Hewlett-Packard Co. in 1959, they settled in Mountain View, subse-quently moving to Los Altos in 1965. Clyde described his wife as “a very bright person, the smartest girl in the class.” “She really wanted to make a difference – she tried to make things better,” he said. Mrs. Coombs is survived by husband Clyde; daughters Catherine Coombs (Mc-Donald) of Sunnyvale and Julie Coombs-Hahn of Davis; grandsons Lyle Hahn of Davis, Michael McDonald of Sunnyvale and Steven McDonald of Sunnyvale; and sister Jane Threlkeld and family of Los Banos. She is predeceased by daughter Elizabeth Coombs Robinson of Menlo Park. There are no plans for a service at this time. For those wishing to make a com-memorative donation in Mrs. Coombs’ name, among the charities she supported are the League of Women Voters, Second Harvest Food Bank, Community Services Agency and Los Altos Community Foun-dation.

COOMBSFrom Page 9 Morning Forum of Los Altos

cancels 2020-2021 seasonTown Crier Report

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced organizers to cancel the upcoming season of the Morn-

ing Forum of Los Altos, unprecedented in the series’ 70 years of speakers. The board of directors recently elect-ed to scrub the 2020-2021 season in the wake of continued large-group restric-tions. The group holds events Tuesday mornings at Los Altos United Method-ist Church. “I want you to know that this is not a decision we made quickly or easily,” board president Tim Farrell wrote in a June 12 letter to members. “We dis-cussed the possibility of canceling only the fall/winter part of the season in the hope that restrictions on large-group

gatherings would no longer be in place by February, but decided that, even without restrictions, the majority of our membership would still be reluctant to attend until a vaccine is widely avail-able.” Farrell added that the board consid-ered holding virtual meetings. “But this option removes a key ele-ment from the ‘formula’ that makes our program so special – an intelligent, receptive, and highly engaged audi-ence that brings out the very best in our speakers,” he said. Farrell indicated that Morning Fo-rum would resume activity in 2021-2022, beginning its 71st year.

For more information, visit morningforum.org.

and coloring activities. Both versions feature craft projects and PIN swag. Proceeds from the sale of the chil-dren’s boxes will help PIN cover the cost of providing complimentary boxes to the Ronald McDonald House locations at Stanford and in Pasadena, as well as the Webster House in Palo Alto, a se-nior living community where PIN vol-unteers regularly brought dogs to bond with residents pre-COVID. Remaining

funds will go toward PIN’s animal res-cue efforts. Pets In Need is headquartered in Redwood City, but the organization’s Palo Alto shelter serves Los Altos and Los Altos Hills residents. Last year, 223 children enrolled in summer camp at the two shelters, participating in activities such as learning about veterinary medi-cine, exploring the Baylands and mak-ing crafts like cat toys and bird houses. For more information on Camp PIN Pal Buddy Boxes, visit petsinneed.org/buddybox.

CAMPFrom Page 9

Give to the Los Altos Small Business Relief Fund – losaltoscf.org


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Don’t you just love this time of year? It’s the perfect excuse to treat ....

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SchoolsBy Zoe MorganStaff Writer/[email protected]

Limited cohorts of lo-cal high school athletes are allowed to return

to campus starting this week, though the broader school re-opening plan is still under con-sideration. The Mountain View Los Al-tos Union High School District

hosted a webinar last week, where administrators laid out the current status of planning for next school year. Los Altos High School Prin-cipal Wynne Satterwhite an-nounced that starting June 22, specific groups of athletes would begin returning to campus, with no more than 12 students per coach. Athletes are only able to participate in one sport and can’t

also play for outside teams. Students haven’t been al-lowed on campus since schools closed March 13. Athletes are practicing out-side, and to maintain physical distance, they are primarily do-ing conditioning exercises. Sat-terwhite said that while it was going to be challenging, the dis-trict is focused on having kids return to campus in a safe and

healthy way. “I think it’s important for par-ents and students to know our goal is to get students back and be as creative as we can,” she said. The district is still waiting for guidance from the county and state on just what the start of the school year will look like. In the meantime, the district has

By Alisha ParikhStaff Writer/[email protected]

It started with hens, ex-plained Suzanne Kasso, who works as a substitute teacher

in the Los Altos School District. While on a weekly town hall meeting call with the district superintendent, Kasso learned that the number of students col-lecting hot lunch from the three distribution sites in Los Altos had more than doubled since shelter-in-place orders forced schools to close. “We have four hens and no one in my house really eats eggs,” said Kasso, who donated her eggs to the hot lunch pro-gram. “There are kids that are hungry, so I thought, ‘There has to be a way we can donate the extra eggs to kids that need it.’” While brainstorming other ways to help, Kasso, who also serves as garden manager for the Living Classroom program, de-termined that the now-unattended planters were a great opportunity to supplement the hot lunch pro-gram, which no longer requires proof of a federal free lunch eli-gibility, with community-planted

and -harvested produce. “Living Classroom has ex-tra produce in the gardens right now because we don’t have kids in the classroom,” Kasso said.

“So what we would normally be pulling out of the gardens and using for our lessons as tastings, we’re no longer doing that. I asked if I could I pull out

our excess produce and get it to these kids and hand it out as part of our hot lunch distribution.” Living Classroom, active in

Volunteers harvest produce to supplement hot lunches

By Zoe MorganStaff Writer/[email protected]

Bullis Charter School re-cently received more than $2 million in federal

COVID-19 relief funds, through the Small Business Administra-tion’s Paycheck Protection Pro-gram. The PPP is meant to help small businesses and nonprofits weather the pandemic, by pro-viding loans that don’t have to be repaid if certain criteria are met. Charter schools that are run as nonprofits, such as Bullis, qualify to receive the funds. Tra-ditional public schools and other government entities, on the other hand, aren’t eligible for the pro-gram. In a written statement, char-ter school officials said “PPP loans were designed to include small not-for-profits like BCS” and that they would be using the funds to “keep teachers and staff employed and continue providing online and in-person learning” to their roughly 1,100 students. Bullis is not alone among charter schools in applying for the relief funds. According to a recent New York Times ar-ticle, which included an inter-view with Bullis board chair-man Francis La Poll, dozens of charter schools across the coun-try are known to have applied

BCS gets over $2M PPP loan


The Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District is preparing for

state budget cuts next school year, but currently it looks like the lost revenue will be more than made up for with property tax growth. The district’s board of trust-ees unanimously approved the budget June 15, in accordance with a state law requiring that districts adopt their budgets by

the end of June. However, state budget negotiations are ongoing and there could still be changes. “We build a budget on the lat-est information we have, know-ing that’s going to change,” Asso-ciate Superintendent of Business Services Mike Mathiesen said. “We just have to be positioned and prepared to change with it.” Currently, MVLA is plan-ning for a 10% reduction in un-restricted state funding, known as “minimum state aid,” which dates back to the Great Reces-

sion. That’s in line with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s May revision to his budget proposal, however the legislature has pushed back against the proposed cuts. Because MVLA is largely funded through local property taxes rather than state dollars, the 10% cut only works out to approximately $300,000 out of an over $100 million budget. Mathiesen said the lost rev-enue won’t lead to any lost pro-grams and is expected to be offset by property tax growth. However,

the math could change if the state decides to make deeper cuts. “That could stay at 10%, that could get deeper if the state has to make deeper cuts … it could improve if the legislature’s ver-sion of the budget goes through,” Mathiesen said. The state also gives MVLA money from various other sourc-es, such as lottery revenue. The district is budgeting for those funds to remain flat. However, local property tax-es make up the lion’s share of

MVLA’s funding, accounting for 82% of total revenue. Prop-erty tax collections are expected to jump 7% next school year. Overall revenue growth for the district is projected to be 3.4%. There is uncertainty around how the coronavirus pandem-ic will impact property taxes. According to Mathiesen, next year’s numbers appear relatively secure, but the following year’s are more of a question mark. Currently, MVLA is assuming

MVLA maintains budget stability despite future uncertainty

Athletes return to campus – in small groups

See BUDGET, Page 17

See GARDEN, Page 16

COURTESY OF JESSICA SPEISER

Living Classroom volunteers have been repurposing school gardens to provide fresh produce for students receiving free meals during the pandemic.

See PPP, Page 15

See REOPENING, Page 15


ESSENTIAL HEROES TO US ALL“Thanking and recognizing those on the frontlines

and those being kind and helpful in our community”

Our Heroes

Our thanks and deepest appreciation to Corine Bernard, Executive Director, and her staff for the incredible care our Mom, Grandma and Great-Grandma, Nella Lera, has received living

at Villa Siena, both before and during the current COVID-19 Pandemic crisis. These

difficult times make us realize how extra special the Villa Siena staff is and how much we value

the quality and compassionate care they provide our loved ones.

The Lera Family

Schools

convened a task force to work on multiple potential reopen-ing plans. The options include remaining remote, returning to campus with safety measures in place, and a hybrid of the two. “They’re sitting down and really having hard conversa-tions about how we best meet the needs of students – and that is always the measuring stick,” Satterwhite said. Regardless of the final plan, letter grades are going to be re-turning in the fall, curriculum director Margarita Navarro con-firmed. Last semester, the dis-trict switched to credit/no-credit grading, a move that prompted an outcry from some parents and students. Teachers also are planning to implement assessments in the fall to get baseline data on where students are academically, fol-lowing the switch to distance learning. “That will give teachers valu-able information at the very start of the school year of any partic-ular areas that they need to focus on,” Navarro said.

Added precautions District officials plan to put safety measures in place for when students and staff eventu-

ally return to campus. Tempera-ture screenings are going to be needed, as well as face shields for everyone on campus, human resources director Leyla Benson said. “We are prepared. We have run through a variety of scenari-os,” Benson said. “We anticipate the directions that are to come, and once we have those con-firmed, then we really build and focus our discussions.” Additional cleaning, espe-cially of high-touch surfaces, also will be necessary. The dis-trict has purchased some sup-plies already. The state will be sending supplies, including masks, face shields, thermom-eters and hand sanitizer, ac-cording to facilities and budget director Mike Mathiesen. Signage and directional ar-rows to help maintain physical distancing also may be used on campus. Plexiglass shields, similar to those used in grocery stores, are also an option for school offices, Mathiesen said. Even once campuses reopen, Benson said there’s a strong possibility that some students and staff will have extended ab-sences. That’s going to require trained, long-term substitute teachers. In addition, officials are preparing procedures in the event a student or staff member tests positive for COVID-19.

Plans are underway to sup-port specific populations of students, including those in the special-education program. The data from last semester show those students were dispropor-tionately likely to have limited engagement with remote learn-ing, special-education director Kristen Hardy said. Staff are working to create plans to keep students on track, with options to support individual pupils. Smaller programs, such as Alta Vista High School and Freestyle Academy of Commu-nication Arts and Technology, are working on plans to return to campus in some capacity soon after school starts, alter-native-education director Bill Pierce said. Their smaller num-bers make it easier than bring-ing one of the large high schools back. If the high schools’ instruc-tion remains at least partially remote, teachers are develop-ing plans to build a classroom community without meeting in person. That could include do-ing video sessions with smaller groups of students so they can better connect, teacher’s union president Dave Campbell said. “The reality is none of this is going to happen overnight,” Campbell said. “(Even) in a tra-ditional instructional setting, it takes weeks to months.”

for the loans. Those decisions have met with opposition in some quar-ters. Critics object to charter schools receiving funds tradi-tional public schools aren’t eli-gible for, while also qualifying for other relief money Congress specifically set aside for public education. Although the federal gov-ernment is providing schools with some extra funding, Bul-lis officials said in their state-ment that charter schools aren’t guaranteed to get a fair share of the money. That exacerbates an existing funding gap between traditional public schools and charters, officials argued. “Bullis Charter School re-ceives significantly less funding per student in state and local tax revenues compared to LASD schools. In the most recent au-dited year, it was approximately $5,600 less per student,” La Poll said in the statement. Parent donations raise addi-

tional funds for the school. The Bullis-Purissima Elementary School Foundation, which is a separate entity, solicits parent donations, suggesting a gift of $5,000 per student. The school’s 2019-2020 budget showed fundraising and grants making up more than a third of the school’s roughly $15 million in revenue. Traditional public schools also have foundations, which raise money to support their districts. The Los Altos Educa-tional Foundation raises money for the Los Altos School Dis-trict. Last school year the sug-gested donation was $1,200 per student, and LAEF’s expected fundraising was budgeted to be less than 5% of the school dis-trict’s roughly $65 million in revenue. The economic impact of the pandemic is expected to hit both charter and traditional schools, with Gov. Gavin Newsom pro-posing education funding cuts to help balance the state budget. If property tax revenue drops, that would also impact local schools’ bottom lines.

PPPFrom Page 14

TOWN CRIER FILE PHOTO

Mountain View High School coach and athletic director Shelley Smith observes players during a 2017 football practice. Although the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District is allowing sports practices to return, students will be mainly conditioning so that they maintain physical distance to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.

REOPENINGFrom Page 14


Schools

nine Los Altos School District schools, teaches students the im-portance of nature through hands-on gardening lessons. In the class, students learn to germinate plant seeds and harvest vegetables.

Harvesting volunteers While Kasso and Jessica Speiser, member of the district board of trustees, collaborated to roll out a volunteer program, Kasso spent the past few weeks tending to and harvesting the winter crops originally planted by Living Classroom students at the different schools. Speiser and Kasso shared the program in mid-May via Par-ent Teacher Association groups, Nextdoor posts and word of mouth. Most of the volunteers are directly associated with district schools, according to Speiser. Each school is home to any-where between 10 and 20 garden beds. Depending on volunteers’ experience and time, they can choose to adopt a bed or a group of beds to maintain. Kasso pro-vided volunteers with a variety of seeds from tomatoes to beans and peppers to sow in their planters. The 4-foot-by-8-foot beds become the respective volun-teers’ responsibility, and they must bring their own tools and wear face masks when tending to their plants to comply with COVID-19 guidelines. Given the size of the beds, maintaining social distancing has been fairly easy, Kasso noted. “A lot of families are biking over every night after dinner or doing their family walk, just walking by their garden and giv-

ing a little bit of water or pulling out a weed or two,” she said.

Abundant crop Emily Harris walks to Cov-ington School every other day to check on the two planters she adopted. She filled them with some quicker-growing plants such as radishes and beans. She is using the opportunity to carry on the Living Class-room mission and educate her 8-year-old daughter about the importance of gardening and giving back. “Something I talk to my daughter about is the powerful visual of the energy inside these seeds,” Harris said. “All we have to do is give it the light, the soil and the water that it needs and it does the rest. It does the hard part.” Because not all 10 of the gar-den boxes at Covington were claimed, Harris is pitching in to

help maintain the unclaimed beds as well by watering plants and picking weeds where needed. “This is something that I felt compelled to do because I could use my hands to make a differ-ence for other people in a very obvious, socially distanced, quarantined and so very impact-ful way,” Harris said. During the weekly cycle, volunteers harvest produce on Mondays and drop it off at the Covington multipurpose cen-ter. Another set of volunteers clean the produce using a three-wash technique and place it in the refrigerator for a third set of volunteers to transport it to distribution centers on Tuesday mornings. This ensures that families are receiving the fresh-est produce possible to accom-pany their hot lunch. The hot lunch program alone provides enough food for one meal a day, but with the addi-

tional produce, Speiser hopes that the families will have more meals covered. “We want to make sure that our most underserved families in our district are served, that we are keeping as many kids and families in our district food secure,” she said. Volunteers planted more than 100 seeds just a few weeks ago and as plants start to sprout, Kasso looks forward to an abun-dant yield. “I’ve told families, even if it’s one or two tomatoes, pick them,” she said. “Because collectively at all the different sites and all the different garden beds, if ev-eryone brings in five cherry to-matoes, suddenly you’ve got a lot of cherry tomatoes and you have enough to feed a family or two or three.” To volunteer or to donate produce and nonperishables, visit bit.ly/3e4r9wt.


Michael Jimenez may be new to Mountain View High School, but he’s

already known the superinten-dent for more than a decade. The Mountain View Los Al-tos Union High School District Board of Trustees unanimously appointed Jimenez as Mountain View High’s principal at a meet-ing last week. Jimenez is set to start July 1. He comes from the Mt. Dia-blo Unified School District, where he currently serves as as-sistant superintendent of second-

ary schools. That’s the same district Super inten-dent Nellie Meyer came to MVLA from. How-ever, the two have known each other much longer. It was Meyer who appointed Jimenez to his first principal post when they both worked in the San Di-ego Unified School District. According to Meyer, Jimen- ez’s experience working at both the school and district level, as well as his ability to build rela-

tionships with staff, parents and students, made him a good fit to lead Mountain View High. “(He’s) very experienced and was very successful as a high school principal and very calm in a storm,” Meyer said. That ability to remain steady during challenging times will be useful as MVLA navigates the pandemic and the start of next school year, Meyer said. Jimenez has worked in edu-cation for more than 30 years, beginning as a substitute teach-er in San Diego in the 1980s. From there, he became a physi-cal education teacher. Ultimate-ly, one of the principals Jimenez

worked for asked if he was in-terested in school administra-tion and he began pursuing that path. Jimenez ended up serving as a vice principal at the elementa-ry, middle and high school level, as well as being a high school principal. Ultimately, Jimenez moved up to Northern Califor-nia, taking a job at Mt. Diablo, where Meyer was superinten-dent. After Meyer left Mt. Diablo and took the job at MVLA last year, Jimenez said the district moved in a direction that was no longer a good fit for him. He reached out to Meyer and decid-

ed to apply for the job at Moun-tain View High.

Positive culture Although he’ll be moving from being an assistant super-intendent back to being a prin-cipal, Jimenez said “it’s more about the work and the working relationships that you have with people.” He said he respects Meyer, in particular her focus on students and attention to equity in education. He will replace Dave Gris-som, who is taking a job as commissioner of the Califor-nia Interscholastic Federation’s

New MVHS principal brings experience to reopening challenge

See PRINCIPAL, Page 17

Jimenez

Class of 2020Following are Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View graduates from two area private schools.

Kehillah Jewish High School

Spencer Ronald Richmond

Hannah AshbyAlly DicksonChristy GarreauJulia KirschElizabeth LedwithGeorgia NiehMabelle PasmooijNicole PavlikBecca RowRoxana ScottLucia ShenLauren SibleyLily TaylorBella VandenbergSuzanna Wang

Castilleja School

GARDENFrom Page 14

COURTESY OF JESSICA SPEISER

Henry Speiser, Los Altos School District Trustee Jessica Speiser’s son, works in Loyola School’s garden.

Have an idea for

a schools story?

Email Zoe Morgan at [email protected].


Foothills Congregational Church, UCC461 Orange Ave

VIRTUAL WORSHIP: Sunday, 10:00 a.m.

Services are online. Visit our website for

information and details.

650-282-7718 • www.foothills-church.org






Connecting our diverse community to God...

www.ConnectBCC.org 650.948.5698 - 625 Magdalena Ave, Los Altos 94024

Home of: Los Altos Christian Schools (www.lacs.com)

Sunday Morning Service Times9:00 Praise Service 10:45 Modern Service

*childcare available at all services

Join us ONLINE for Sunday morning (10 - 11)

Wednesday evening (7:30 - 8:30)

First Church of Christ, Scientist401 University Ave. (650) 948-3602

www.christiansciencelosaltos.org

See our website for how to connectwww.ChristianScienceLosAltos.org

Religious Directory

St. Simon Catholic

Church & School

Mass Schedule: Weekday: 6:30 a.m. & 8:30 a.m. Saturday: 8:30 a.m. & 5:00 p.m. Sunday: 7:30, 9:00, 11:15, 5:00 p.m.

Rev. Warwick James, Pastor1860 Grant Rd, Los Altos

650-967-8311

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UNION CHURCHA Community of Christ Followers

Loving, Learning and Serving Together

Worship 10:30 am-10:00 amJoin us online

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LOS ALTOS LUTHERAN Rejoicing in the Word + Sent in the Spirit

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Worship 10:30 amJoin us online


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9:00 Contemporary Serviceand Sunday School

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1715 Grant Road • Los AltosBETWEEN FOOTHILL BLVD. & FREMONT AVE.

650-967-4906 • www.ilclosaltos.com

IMMANUEL LUTHERANCHURCH IN LOS ALTOS

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650-450-9171800-22-UNITE

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The Bahá’í Faith"The earth is but one country,

and mankind its citizens."

"Let your vision be world embracing..."

Join us forInformationalandInterfaithGatherings

Mountain View Bahá’í[email protected]

650-450-9171800-22-UNITE

www.mvbahais.org


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CHILDCARE & PRESCHOOLDIRECTORY

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Schools

3% property tax growth in the 2021-2022 school year and 1% the year after that. There’s typically a lag before school districts feel the impact of a recession, because of the time it takes to hit tax revenue. In terms of enrollment, MVLA expects to see growth continue. Over the past decade, the district has seen its popula-tion grow by roughly 1,000. Next year, about 90 more students are expected, rising from 4,549 to 4,640 pupils districtwide. That’s consistent with reg-istration numbers so far, Ma-

thiesen said, but he added that numbers won’t be nailed down until school starts. There are some students who didn’t log on for online learning, and Mathie-sen said it’s possible the families may have moved out of the area. On the other hand, the econom-ic uncertainty also could lead to some parents opting to send their kids to public school rather than a private alternative.

Program cuts One area that’s expecting to see funding cuts is the Adult School. The budget includes a 12% reduction in the block grant the Adult School receives from the state, which makes up the

vast majority of its funding. That means a cut of around $380,000. Currently, Mathiesen said the worst-case plan is to use a com-bination of deficit spending and reserves to cover the difference. Although it is late to make staff-ing changes, he said the school may see if there are vacant positions they can leave open or one-time expenses, such as equipment purchases, that could be cut. However, no program re-ductions are planned. MVLA is also budgeting for a 50% cut in state funding for the Career Technical Education incentive grant program, which is used to support classes includ-ing engineering and computer

science. Although 50% is a large cut, that only works out to ap-proximately $125,000. Mathiesen said MVLA offi-cials will be looking to find oth-er pots of money to tap, such as the site allocation each principal is given. The district hadn’t been using the grant to pay salaries, but rather for things such as sup-plies and teacher training. “We want to still support those programs because they’re valuable and they’re growing,” Mathiesen said. “We want to try to stay away from cutting them to such a degree that it dimin-ishes that growth.” As MVLA tracks state bud-get deliberations and what prop-

erty tax collections ultimately look like, there is a possibility the budget could be amended. However, Mathiesen said that unless something drastic chang-es, an amended budget is un-likely. Instead, district officials will make the fixes in December when they pass the first interim report. “Right now, as we talk to-day, it’s a healthy budget that maintains our fiscal stability for next year and the years (follow-ing),” he said. “We’re being ever watchful in preparation of need-ing to adjust if necessary.” To read about the Cupertino Union School District’s budget, see next week’s paper.

Central Coast Section. As Jimenez settles into the new job, he said he wants to focus on con-tinuing the positive culture Gris-som is leaving behind. “I want to make sure I can build upon that environment,” Jimenez said. “It’s not just a good place to learn, it’s a place … kids want to come and have fun in that environment – fun learning and fun with extracur-ricular activities.” The goal is to foster a safe and trusting learning environ-ment, where students know it’s OK to make mistakes and learn from them, Jimenez said. He’s also interested in focusing on closing the achievement gaps at Mountain View High, which re-fers to gaps in academic success among groups of students. Beyond the larger goals,

though, Jimenez also will be in charge of leading the school through the transition from re-mote learning to an ultimate re-turn to campus. “We have a lot of challenges as we open up, and so it’s nice to have someone who knows school operations inside and out,” Meyer said. As he begins to get involved in planning for next year, Jimenez said he wants to concentrate on ensuring that students can ac-cess education, regardless of the ultimate form it takes when the start of the new school year ar-rives. There will be a learning curve at the beginning, Jimenez said, but he added that he wants to collaborate with the staff, students and the broader school community. Said Jimenez, “I want to make sure I can support them and help them right now.”

BUDGETFrom Page 14

PRINCIPALFrom Page 16


SFHS grad Bramlett takes 2nd at tourney Pro golfer and St. Fran-cis High graduate Joseph Bramlett finished in a tie for second place at the Korn Ferry Challenge, held June 11-14 at TPC at Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The 32-year-old Bramlett shot an 11-under-par 269 over the four rounds, putting him one shot behind champion Luke List. The event was part of the PGA’s developmental Korn Ferry Tour.

Local high schools seek coaches Los Altos High seeks head coaches for varsity girls bas-ketball and wrestling, both winter sports, and cheer/rally, which runs fall through winter. To apply and for more information, contact ath-letic director Michelle No-eth at 960-8857 or michelle. [email protected]. Mountain View High seeks a head coach for girls golf, a fall sport. To apply and for more information, contact ath-letic director Shelley Smith at 940-4600, ext. 1421, or [email protected].

NFHS provides free officiating classes With so many people stuck at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, the National Federation of State High School Associations recently made its officiat-ing courses available online for free through July 1. Cur-rent high school officials and those interested in joining the officiating ranks can ac-cess the 11 courses at nfhs-learn.com. Courses include basketball, football, soccer, swimming and diving, vol-leyball, wrestling and soft-ball, in addition to a general course titled Interscholastic Officiating. Multiple courses are offered in basketball, soc-cer and volleyball. Those in-terested in becoming an offi-cial after taking any of these courses are urged to visit HighSchoolOfficials.com for more information.

By Pete BorelloStaff Writer/[email protected]

There was a time when all-league goal-keeper Nicole Smith preferred pro-ducing goals to preventing them.

“When I first started playing soccer, I didn’t want to play goalkeeper,” the Los Al-tos Hills resident said. “I liked to score goals and run around in the field.” But when Smith’s dad became her coach when she was about 8 years old, everything changed. “No one wanted to play goalkeeper, so he forced me to do it,” said Smith, who gradu-ated from Gunn High early this month. “By sixth or seventh grade, I was doing it full time. I started to realize it was really fun, and I appreciated the position more.” The coaching staff at the University of Washington clearly appreciates how Smith plays the position; the Huskies offered her a scholarship that she accepted in April. “The (recruiting) process was different than most people’s because I had verbally committed to a (NCAA) Division III school my sophomore year,” Smith said, referring to MIT. “For academic reasons, it didn’t work out. … I was upset at first, but now I’m super excited by how it worked out. I get to play DI – and Seattle is such a cool city.” Smith applied to the data science program at Washington and contacted coach Nicole Van Dyke about joining the Huskies, send-

ing training video and game highlights of her playing for Gunn and the Palo Alto Soccer Club. It turns out Van Dyke was already fa-miliar with Smith. “I went to a soccer camp at an Ivy League school (University of Pennsylvania) she pre-viously coached at,” Smith said of Van Dyke, who is entering her first year as coach at Washington. “Our paths aligned.” Smith will enter the Huskies’ fall season as one of only three goalies on the roster – and only one of them is a returning player. “I’m not sure what to expect,” Smith said of her freshman season. “I’ve met some of

the players on Zoom, and I look forward to getting on campus. I plan to get there by late July and the preseason is supposed to start in August, but everything’s tentative right now due to coronavirus.”

Getting ready In the meantime, Smith is preparing for the season by running in Los Altos Hills – “It’s good training, especially uphill,” she said – and working on her goalkeeping at open fields and parks with younger sister Natalie.

By Joe PerrinoTown Crier Editorial Intern

For the first time in its nine-year history, Mountain View’s Brushback Base-

ball Club has produced a Major League Baseball draft pick. The Boston Red Sox selected infielder Nick Yorke in the first round of the 2020 MLB amateur draft June 11. “We kind of figured early to mid-rounds,” Brushback head coach Kris Mims said of where he expected Yorke to be selected. “It was a nice surprise to see him drafted 17th overall by the Red Sox.” A 2020 graduate of Mitty High, Yorke has been touted by MLB and college scouts as “the top pure hitter on the West

Coast.” The San Jose native was batting .533 when his senior sea-son was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “His swing is one of the smoothest swings I ever saw as a high school player and as a little kid,” said James Hoyt, a 2020 graduate of Mountain View High who played with Yorke on Brush-back. That smooth swing helped Brushback on several occasions during the three years Yorke played for the club (2015-2017). Mims recalled Yorke’s impact on Brushback’s 13-and-under squad when it traveled to San Diego in the summer of 2015 to compete in the Xtreme Diamond Sports World Series. Brushback

Alum of Mtn. View baseball club drafted in first round by Red Sox

COURTESY OF NICOLE SMITH

Los Altos Hills resident Nicole Smith, shown playing with her Palo Alto Soccer Club team, recently committed to play for the University of Washington.

Finding her placeGunn High graduate Smith to play goalie for Washington

COURTESY OF KRIS MIMS

Brushback Baseball Club head coach Kris Mims hands Nick Yorke a jersey on his first day of practice for the 13-and-under team in 2015. The Boston Red Sox selected Yorke in the first round of this year’s MLB amateur draft earlier this month.See DRAFTED, Page 19See SIDE, Page 19

SportsSports on the Side

See KEEPER, Page 19


2020 LOS ALTOS & LOS ALTOS HILLS

Town Crier Report

A Los Altos High School graduate and Mountain View resident is set to

receive a second hall of fame induction for his success as a high school tennis coach, but he’ll have to wait longer than ex-pected. Bill Shine – the boys and girls tennis coach at Menlo School – was slated to be inducted into the USTA-NorCal Hall of Fame Friday, but the event was recently postponed until Oct. 23, accord-ing to Menlo sports informa-tion director Pam McKenney, because of the coronavirus pan-demic. Two years ago, Shine was in-ducted into the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame. “This is quite an honor to be selected into the USTA NorCal Tennis Hall of Fame,” Shine said in a press release issued by the school. “To be able to play and coach nearly my whole life in Northern California is a dream come true.” After taking over Menlo’s varsity tennis teams in 1996, Shine has led the Knights to a combined 25 Central Coast Sec-tion titles and 20 California In-terscholastic Federation NorCal championships. Shine has an overall coach-ing record of 1,074-154. His girls and boys teams both hold state records for consecutive league dual-match victories. His teams

have never lost a league match. The Menlo girls wrapped up their 26th straight league title last fall and also won CCS and Nor-Cal crowns. The boys entered the spring season, cut short after three matches due to the corona-virus pandemic, having won 23 league championships in a row. Before his successful run at Menlo, Shine coached the boys and girls teams at Pinewood School for 15 years. Prior to that, he spent a season coaching the boys team at Los Altos High; the Eagles went 19-3 that year. Shine received several acco-lades during his playing career as well. As a junior player, he earned a top-10 ranking every year from 1962 to 1973. At Los Altos, he was named team MVP all four years and twice reached the Central Coast Section singles finals. He was also part of the CCS champion doubles team in 1971. Shine then played for the University of Louisiana at Lafay-ette, where he garnered All-Sun Belt Conference First Team hon-ors twice (1976 and 1977). “I owe this to a lot of people, like Dick Gould (former Stan-ford University men’s coach), who along the way helped me become the coach I am today,” Shine said. Gould is scheduled to present Shine at the induction ceremony, set to take place at the Peninsula Golf and Country Club in San Mateo.

Sports

CIF offers newsletter for parents, guardians The California Interscholas-tic Federation, the governing body for the state’s high school sports, issues a free monthly newsletter via email for parents/guardians of student-athletes in California. The newsletter aims to keep readers informed of is-sues such as health and safety, eligibility and upcoming events. To subscribe and for more infor-mation, visit cifstate.org.

SIDEFrom Page 18

advanced to the Silver Division title game, and Yorke came through in the clutch. “He hit an opposite-field home run in the championship game to help us win the championship,” said Mims, who is also the head coach at Mountain View High.

Yorke’s success hasn’t come without hard work and perseverance, however. “When he first joined the program, he was coming off a broken collarbone,” Mims said of the then-12-year-old. “He missed a few months, but he came back ready to work. He was always smiling and enjoying himself.” More recently, Yorke underwent shoul-

der surgery to repair damage in his throw-ing shoulder, keeping him at the desig-nated hitter spot his junior season. Despite the shoulder injury, Mims said Yorke can reach the big leagues by age 22 or 23. Yorke, who did not respond to the Town Crier’s request for an interview, is a player Mims won’t soon forget. “Kids like that make it easier for coach-

es to be able to coach,” he said. “When he had been selected, I received a gaggle of texts from people and coaches who I had coached with, and it was great to see all of his hard work pay off.” After the draft, Mims celebrated Yorke’s accomplishment by posting con-gratulatory messages on Brushback’s so-cial media accounts.

“She’s a field player,” Smith said of the rising junior, “so she can shoot on me.” The Smith sisters played to-gether at Gunn two years ago, but Natalie devoted this past season to her club team. Nicole played on the Titans’ varsity team all four years. Juan Mayora, who coached her the first three years, watched Smith steadily improve. “She had a great season last year,” he told the Town Crier during Smith’s junior year, “and is following that up this season.”

Making an impact As a senior, Smith was named team captain under new head coach Leo Barcellos. “It was an honor and super fun,” Smith said of serving as captain. “I focused on leading by example and creating a fun atmosphere. I encouraged them to have fun and work hard at the same time.” It would prove to be the best season of Smith’s high school ca-reer. After narrowly missing the Central Coast Section playoffs her sophomore and junior years, Gunn qualified this year by win-ning the Santa Clara Valley Ath-letic League El Camino Division. “It was the first time we’ve won league in recent program history,” said Smith, whose squad went 12-0 in the division and finished 15-4-2 overall af-ter falling to Sobrato in the CCS semifinals. “I couldn’t find in the

records when it last happened, but I’m guessing it was in the ’80s. There’s no (championship) banner in the gym; hopefully we’ll get one now.” Smith played an integral role in Gunn’s success. Over her 20 starts in goal, she surrendered only 15 goals, made 92 saves and posted six shutouts. Smith allowed an average of just 1.21 goals per game. Smith said the highlight of her season was a game she barely played in – the Titans’ 2-1 upset of Aptos in the CCS Division I quarterfinals Feb. 22. Smith re-ceived a red card early in the first half for tackling a player and was ejected. “It was probably my first red card,” she said. “(Aptos) had a breakaway, so I risked it and came out and tried to defend her like a field player. The risk was worth it, because we didn’t get scored on, but it was frustrating

not to play in such a competitive game. I was still pumped that we were able to pull it out. The spirit and energy I felt on the field and on the bench was like no other high school game I’ve played in.” Another game that sticks in Smith’s mind: Gunn’s 2-0 upset of Palo Alto to kick off her junior season. “That was the first time we beat them in a decade,” Smith said. “It was my first season as the starting goalie, and there was the stress of playing your home-town rival in the first game of the season. I felt I played well under the stress.”

Mindset matters Smith has learned to handle the stress of guarding the goal by not dwelling on the shots that get by her. “A coach once told me that goalkeepers need to have a bad memory,” she said. “The hard-est part is getting scored on in games and in training when they get 30 shots on you, and a bunch go in and you feel like you failed. You have to realize it’s helping you get better.” Smith added that her goal-keeping coach, Rodrigo Baptista of the Palo Alto Soccer Club, has helped instill that in her. “He’s been great,” she said. “I’m especially thankful to Rodrigo and my parents (Jim and Patricia) for their support through the (recruiting) pro-cess. There were moments that I thought it was not going to work out, and they told me to keep pushing – and I’m glad I did.”

DRAFTEDFrom Page 18

Los Altos grad Shine headed to USTA-NorCal Hall of Fame

KEEPERFrom Page 18

COURTESY OF NICOLE SMITH

A beaming Nicole Smith dons her new University of Wash-ington hoodie shortly after committing to play soccer for the Huskies.


The Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center (ARKC) staff is used to welcoming in 60+ participants to our day health care center in Mountain View every day. In addition to medical support, our participants come in for socialization, lunch, exercise, and activities.

On March 16th, our whole model switched to a “Center without Walls.” Over the last few months, our staff have gone above and beyond to reach out to our participants in their homes. Some of the services we have provided are social calls, deliveries, service coordination, caregiver support, exercise videos, social-distanced visits, and activities.

The 130+ social calls we conduct each week are made primarily by our program aides. In addition, we are also conducting 60+ Wellness/Risk Assessment calls weekly. The goal of the calls is to increase social engagement, reduce depression, and to continue our connection with our participants and families. We call participants to “chat” but also to identify new needs that arise for home care, medical follow up, food and other delivery needs.

One participant remarked, “It makes me feel like I am not alone, and that people are thinking about me.” Another family reports “You all are doing so much good to get your people through this crisis. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels enormous gratitude for all you are doing! Many, many thanks!”

Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center Focuses on Creative Caregiving During COVID

In addition to calls and service referrals, we have also learned how to do caregiver support groups on Zoom. We continue to provide activities to participants to do at home weekly. Loretta, our Activities Manager, designed a special calendar to follow at home so that our participants and their caregivers can have a little structure to their days, and gives some ideas for fitness and activities.

We have a YouTube channel where participants and families can see Dina and Eileen lead exercises to follow along with them. We also are having fun with participants on Zoom, Facetime, and other ways that work for the participants and families.

Interested in learning more? Please visit our website at www.avenidas.org/care or call (650) 289-5499. We are located at 270 Escuela Avenue in Mountain View.

270 Escuela Avenue • Mountain View • CA 94040 • (650) 289-5499

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2Stepping Out

PuzzlesBusiness & Real Estate

INSIDEJune 24, 2020

Your HomeYour Home is published the fourth week of every month. For advertising information, email [email protected].

SECTION

By Sherry Scott

Over my 30-plus years as an interior designer, there are many ques-

tions I’m consistently asked. For readers with a burning design question or two, or those frustrated with sorting through the myriad online information available without finding an applicable solution, perhaps a direct question-and-answer column on the subject matter will be helpful. In my new “Ask a Designer” column, I’ll be answering some of those questions, based on years of experience problem-solving in commercial and residential design. I also invite questions from readers, which I may answer in a future column.

Q: What can a renter do to make an apartment feel more like a home than a “rental”? A: A good approach is to think about what you can do rather than what you cannot do in a rental home. Consider non-permanent elements in addition to furniture. One way to add height to a room is to group a variety of

pots together that are differ-ent shapes and heights. Bring in some lush greenery with living “rubber” plants, as they are commonly called. These originate from Southeast Asia and can grow upward of 100 feet tall there. The domesticated versions we see locally are between 6 and 10 feet tall. Pots can be sourced at a vari-ety of local places, from Maria’s European Lifestyle at 393 Main St. for more unusual metal options as well as traditional painted ceramics to Los Altos Hardware at 441 First St., which offers outdoor planters that can easily work inside. There are no strict rules. Another option for adding height is a floor lamp. While these cost more than a table lamp on average, they can be very sculptural in design, which will elevate the drama factor as well as provide more functional reading or ambient lighting. You can create a more cus-tom look by installing modular bookshelves and media cabi-

nets that hang, or “float,” on a wall, rather than plopping a bookshelf or media cabinet directly onto the floor. It takes the right composition on the wall for the elements to appear balanced and for a large TV screen to be integrated into that composition. This provides a more permanent look and feel, even though it can be removed

down the road. The same float-ing concept applies to any type of storage system, for living rooms, dining rooms, offices or bedrooms. An alternative to a walk-in closet is what furniture manufacturer Jesse Italia calls a “walk-in cabinet.” This modu-lar clothing storage system provides self-supporting rods,

shelves, drawers and cubbies. While the back panels should be screwed to the wall, all of the fittings are supported by the back panels only. They are available in various colors, widths and heights to fit into your space. Time to move? They can be taken down and the back panels

Practical ways to make an apartment feel like home

Ask a Designer

See DESIGN, Page 22

By Michelle Isaac

Of all the roses I planted in my backyard, the Poseidon is one of the

most disease-resistant. No mat-ter the amount of rain, when other roses start to gain white, powdery mildew, this beautiful rose always stays strong and healthy. It has no issues with black spots or any other dis-eases either, and I do not spray it with anything. In 1990, the Kordes fam-ily, famous for rose breeding, decided that all garden roses should be naturally healthy and disease-resistant. They sub-sequently required all of their trial fields for garden roses to be managed and then evaluated

without applying fungicides. The Poseidon rose was bred by Tim-Herman Kordes, the fourth generation of the Kordes family, in 2004 in Germany. It was originally known by the name Novalis. Novalis is named after the pseudonym of poet Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (1772-1801). Later, Newflora LLC introduced it as Poseidon to the U.S. market. Poseidon is a bushy, upright shrub rose with repeat blooms. This vigorous, floribunda rose has cup-shaped flowers that grow in flushes throughout the season. It was a gold medal German ADR rose trial winner in 2013. Rose breeders often describe this trial as among the most

challenging in the world. In ADR, trial roses are tested over three years, and the criteria analyzed include disease resis-tance, hardiness and attractive-ness. Since 1997, no chemical pesticides have been allowed in this competition. Poseidon shrubs can reach up to 5 feet tall by 2.5 feet wide. They have gorgeous and smoky purple-mauve buds that bloom into silvery, purple-ruffled delights. The bloom is fully petaled and the edges of the petals seem to be almost scalloped.JULIA ISAAC/SPECIAL TO THE TOWN CRIER

The Poseidon rose is disease-resistant and has repeat blooms.

Coming Up Roses

Disease-resistant Poseidon rose boasts both beauty and vigor

See POSEIDON, Page 22

COURTESY OF JESSE ITALIA SRL

An alternative to a walk-in closet is a “walk-in cabinet.” This modular clothing storage systemprovides self-supporting rods, shelves, drawers and cubbies.


The staff and management at the Los Altos Town Crier thank all of you who have stepped up to help us during this time of sheltering at home. You may have noticed that a number of our advertisers have stopped appearing in the paper because they have been forced to close. That means your support now is vital to keep us alive. Our reporters will continue to work hard bringing you the up-to-date information crucial during these ever-changing times. We have been in print since 1947, and we hope to continue publishing throughout the duration of this unprecedented crisis. And we will, with the help of this wonderful community. Again, THANK YOU!

If you have not had a chance to support our independent local journalism, go to:

losaltosonline.com/subscribe

Your Home

removed. Once the screw holes are filled and the wall paint is touched up, there will be no sign of the chic custom closet that was once there. In a new location, the same fittings can be laid out differently to suit other wall lengths. Another temporary design option is removable wall cover-ings. Tempaper.com offers fun patterns that can be ordered online. They are self-sticking, so that’s another benefit – no messy glue. Don’t forget about area rugs if you are living with hard-sur-face floors. These are fantastic ways to create or continue a theme. Available in many sizes, all price points and almost endless color combinations and designs, rugs not only add much-needed flavor to a room, but comfort and softer acoustics as well.

Q: Our kitchen feels dark and outdated. All of the cabinets are dark. Is painting them a light color the way to go? A: While painting the cabi-

nets might be a quick solution for some kitchens, the condition of cabinets may influence that decision. When the cabinet boxes and drawers are still in good working condition, paint-ing may be an easier option to save time and cost, over a complete remodel with all new cabinets. Should there be a flat, fixed part of the cabinet showing between the doors and draw-

ers of at least half an inch, that is called a “face frame” style. This style, even when painted a lighter color, will still have a more traditional appearance. The lighter color, though, will update the overall feeling in the kitchen and make it appear fresher. For visual interest and to provide a more unique charac-ter to your kitchen, a section of the cabinets, either uppers

or lowers, can be left darker or painted a contrasting color. Keep the demarcation line of the light and dark cabinets aligned top and bottom and in balance with the other darker colors in the room. For wood cabinets that have been painted over, it is possible to remove the paint, however the process is much more labor-intensive. This would involve carefully sanding off all of the paint, then priming, then stain-ing if another color is desired, and finally sealing the wood. A similar design concept can apply, with a portion of the wood cabinetry exposed, while a section can remain painted. Layering in a unique and up-dated light fixture will help your cabinetry face-lift look more like a major update. Sherry Scott is a Certified Interior Designer in California, professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers and proprietor of Sherry Scott Design in down-town Los Altos, 169 Main St. Email questions to [email protected]. For more information, visit sherryscottdesign.com.

This lavender rose dis-plays very full flowers with approximately 60 petals that are approximately 4 inches in diameter. I love its light-purple color, which gives the flower its uniqueness and rare beauty. Poseidon roses have mild, fruity fragrances, yet a long vase life. These gorgeous roses are perfect for making a bouquet at home. Nevertheless, I have to point out that this vigorous beauty does not like very hot weather. When the sun is strong, it can burn and “fry” the flowers. In the Bay Area, it is better to plant in partial shade for best color. I have two Poseidons in my backyard. One is in partial shade, and it grows just like it should. The other is in the cor-ner of a fence, and it reaches 6 feet outside the fence. Both are quite healthy and without any disease issues. Michelle Isaac is a gardener in Los Altos. For more infor-mation, email [email protected]. Julia Isaac con-tributed to this column.

POSEIDONFrom Page 21

DESIGNFrom Page 21

COURTESY OF JESSE ITALIA SRL

Achieve a more custom look when designing for an apartment space by installing modular bookshelves and media cabinets that hang, or “float,” on a wall.


Stepping Out

By Christina ChengTown Crier Editorial Intern

A global pandemic hasn’t stopped Los Al-tos Stage Company from offering a slew of brand-new, virtual online summer programs.

The local theater company is hosting 24 virtual classes on Zoom, created specifically with an in-teractive online format, for participants ranging in age from 4 to 22 through July 31. This year’s summer camp program is “very” dif-ferent from previous years, LASC education direc-tor Jillian Cummings said. In previous years, the company hosted seven weeks of camps at Hillview Community Center. Initially, LASC hoped it would be allowed to continue its normal program, because “teaching acting and dance online is tricky, (as) be-ing able to make physical contact with the student is helpful,” according to Cummings. However, at the onset of the pandemic, LASC began offering its spring classes on Zoom “as a way to keep the students’ creativity flowing and also trying to find a way to employ so many teach-ing artists who were abruptly out of work,” Cum-mings said. “We had ups and downs learning to work with the system, but have come a very long way and have a good handle on it now,” she said. With experience hosting online classes heading into the summer, Cummings and LASC are focused on crafting interactive and engaging programs. “As a mother of two almost-8-year-old chil-dren, I understand how isolating learning from a screen can be. I have watched my children walk away from the classroom screens and think no one would notice or care,” Cummings said. “So we researched many different ways of including students and have learned what worked and didn’t from past classes. We are stressing the interactive part of teaching and are having training meetings on how to make sure you include and engage every student.” As a result, the virtual summer classes have shifted in focus from performance-oriented pro-

grams to ones focused on technique for older students, and creativity and physical engagement for younger students, according to Cummings. In addition, an online format has enabled LASC to invite instructors from outside the Bay Area to teach, such as casting agents and Juilliard-trained performers. “It was a complete rehaul, but I am so excited to offer the camps we have,” she said. “It is of the utmost importance to me that the students get the one-on-one attention they all deserve. We are not about the numbers, but about the quality – and although we keep our cost down so everyone can afford the camp, we want the students to get the learning experience they deserve.”

Camp offerings For children ages 4-6, there’s the Broadway Babies Camps. Each one-week camp runs 9-10:30 a.m. and themes change weekly. Offerings include the Out of This World Outer Space Camp (Mon-day to July 3) and the Magical Dreams Unicorn Camp (July 20-24). According to Cummings, par-ticipants spend the first hour learning songs and a dance, as well as playing theater games that “work well without people around,” followed by 30 min-utes of crafts with the help of parents. Each camp costs $95. For older children (ages 7-12), the Rising Stars Camps focus on a musical franchise – like Troll’s Camp, for example, slated 10 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. July 6-10. Those who attend the weeklong camps spend each day learning a song and dance from the musical along with time to make crafts, according to the LASC website. Each camp costs $145. In addition, LASC is slated to host various multiday classes for participants of different ages, including a theater makeup class, private vocal coaching sessions, a Broadway scene study class, a puppetry class and an audition preparation work-shop, among others. Costs range from $35 to $150. For registration and more information, visit losaltosstage.org/virtual-summer-camps.

LA Stage Co. takes summer classes online

Town Crier Report

Stanton Welch’s “Indigo” is the next installment in Smuin Contemporary

Ballet’s Hump Day Ballets se-ries, performances from the company’s archives available for free streaming for 48 hours each week. Set to Antonio Vivaldi’s Cel-lo Concerto in B minor and Cel-lo Concerto in G minor, “In-digo” examines the vagaries of romantic relationships as four couples come together, fall in love, fight and exchange part-ners. Offered today through Fri-day, it will be accompanied by a video introduction from for-mer Smuin dancer Erica Chipp-

Adams, who danced in the West Coast premiere of the piece in fall 2016. Streaming instructions are available through Smuin’s email list (sign up at smuinballet.

org) or via Smuin’s Facebook ( facebook.com/SmuinBallet) and Instagram (instagram.com/smuinballet). For more information, visit smuinballet.org.

CHRIS HARDY/SPECIAL TO THE TOWN CRIER

Smuin Contemporary Ballet performs Stanton Welch’s “Indigo,” streaming free today through Friday as part of Smuin’s Hump Day Ballets series.

Smuin streams ‘Indigo’ this week

Crossword Answers

Sudoku Answers

Find A Word Answers


Puzzles Page

Answers to puzzles

on Page 23

Town Crier Crossword

Find A Word

Across1. Los Altos mayor Pepper4. Cause to fall8. Wishes undone12. “Lord of the Rings” bad guy13. “Slow down!”14. “My word!”15. Heartfelt feelings17. James Patterson story, e.g.18. Coast Guard rank, abbr.19. Place for a treatment21. Jazz singer Carmen24. Place to make a splash28. Underground finds29. Exp. under construction31. “____ Woman” : Reddy hit32. Meshing parts33. Remote button34. Sturdy and robust36. SA ancient37. Portable cone lodgings38. Awaits action39. Grasshopper’s fable colleague

40. Auto insurer with roadside service41. Stuffed chicken44. Chisel, e.g.49. Great Lake50. Baseball stats51. Diamonds, slang52. Cravings53. Balanced54. Inc. in the UK

Down1. Pesci of “GoodFellas”2. Hurler’s pride3. Officer, abbr.4. Bale binder5. Greek letters6. Lithium-___ battery7. Important document8. Mideast capital9. Traditional Olympics powerhouse10. Order of corn11. Lexicon abbreviation16. Darjeeling and oolong20. Places21. Steamy22. ____ and Barrel23. Update, as cartography25. Parlor piece

26. Carli of US soccer27. Fitzgerald and others29. Banquet attendees30. Propel, in a way32. No Doubt vocalist Stefani35. Departs36. Gist38. Bel ___ cheese40. Opposed, in Dogpatch41. E or G, e.g.42. Surliness43. German article45. Business abbrevia-tion46. Salad topper47. Autumn month, abbr.48. Was ahead of every-one else

– Los Altos related clues bolded

Fifteen words related to the sea are listed by this puzzle. They may go across, up and down or diagonally in the puzzle. Circle each one when

Sudoku By Myles Mellor and Susan Flanagan

Each Sudoku puzzle consists of a 9X9 grid that has been subdivided into nine smaller grids of 3X3 squares. To solve the puzzle each row, column and box must contain each of the numbers 1 to 9. Puzzles come in three grades: easy, medium and difficult. Level: Medium

you find it.CatamaranClearDolphinFishingManta

OceanPorpoiseReefsSwellTunaTurtles

WaterskisWavesWhalesYacht

By Myles Mellor


BN

K-6

611

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Business & Real Estate

By Marie GodderisTown Crier Editorial Intern

In a sign of a return to nor-malcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, exercise class-

es popped up last week on the Bumble Green lawn on First Street in downtown Los Altos. Led by instructors from Al-kalign Studios, which has a loca-tion on First Street, the strength, cardio and mobility workouts abide by current social-distanc-ing rules. “The outdoor classes are great because you’re outside and

you distance yourself while also being with people,” Alkalign founder and CEO Erin Parusze-wski said. “I’m super excited to get back to the outdoor sessions, and eventually the indoor, be-cause the difference between seeing someone on the other side of the screen versus seeing them in person is totally differ-ent.” Capped at 20 participants, the outdoor classes are held three times a week. Several packages and memberships are available for interested participants, rang-ing from $28 for a single class to

By Eliza RidgewayStaff Writer/[email protected]

Los Altos’ latest form of secret dining is wel-coming to all comers

– a grassroots improvisation of volunteer maitre d’s, with fancy foods in compostably plated takeaway. Many local restaurants have been creating new family meal options and offering takeout on a scale nev-er done before. The occasional big-city offering has started to make its way to Los Altos as well – and that’s bringing fla-vors and traditions previously impossible to experience in the 94022 sphere of eating. Months into the shelter-in-place, when Los Altos resident Vivienne Hsu started wistfully craving food from a gifted chef and food entrepreneur she worked with in the nonprofit world, she proposed an experiment. Azalina Eusope’s Malaysian food enterprises are already leg-endary in San Francisco circles, but it took the deeply personal ties of woman-to-woman re-lationships to bring her dishes down the Peninsula.

Felicity and food Hsu and Eusope talked through a neighborhood delivery model where Hsu would spread the word of a special one-eve-ning opportunity, neighborhood diners would order online, Eu-sope would fill a van with food

from the menu at her restaurant Mahila and drive it down the Peninsula, and Hsu would dis-tribute the takeaway – at a social distance – from her front yard. They calculated what mini-mum order size could break even, and, as Hsu put it, “the rest is his-tory.” They met the minimum within two hours of Hsu’s first post about the opportunity, and ended up having 30 families pass by during the pickup window to say a muffled hello through masks and grab a bag of roti with curry, roast chicken, turmeric noodles or kaya jam to go. Hsu said she got a chance to terrorize her children with the fragrant wonder/horror of Eu-sope’s durian panna cotta, as well as a reprieve from lockdown doldrums for at least one night. She said the fun of brief, socially distanced catch-ups with friends and new acquaintances made her think that after the era of shut-downs, a block party that re-cre-ated this style of grassroots or-ganization and brought in orders from different restaurants would be wonderful to try. “Once people get comfortable with the idea of bundling orders together, delivery to a home is re-ally not that far-fetched of an idea – it can make business or home events more fun,” Hsu observed. Eusope said every day still feels like “survival mode,” par-ticularly as the pandemic throws the entire restaurant supply chain into crisis, but as her busi-

ness has grown, she has been able to revel in the ways it is a “truly passion-driven business.” “I started this business out of survival. I was about to get di-vorced, there was no income com-ing in. How was I going to support my two kids?” Eusope said in an interview earlier this month. Eusope comes from genera-tions of street vendors. “There’s stigma and preju-dice against it – and I’m telling

a story about that experience through my food,” she said. “That’s my focus – to highlight not only my people, but to high-light these generations of street vendors. They don’t really get the nod or appreciation that they deserve.” Eusope’s roots in neighbor-hood food served from a side-walk go back five generations, and her food reflects the very specific flavors of their Mamak

Malaysian community, whose traditions stretch back to South India. Eusope said her ancestors mi-grated from India during an era of imperialism and trade, when Malaysia was a pivotal trading nexus, situated in the midst of two oceans. “Some would come and set-tle, some came through when the British were colonizing

Grassroots distribution brings big-city food to Los Altos

Alkalign Studios brings workouts to the streets

COURTESY OF AZALINA EUSOPE

Azalina Eusope’s restaurant dishes translate, with modification, into local curbside food drops.

See FOOD, Page 28

See ALKALIGN, Page 26


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$45 for three classes, along with 30-class packages. Classes run 45-60 minutes and cover a wide range of exercises applica-ble to everyday life. “The classes over Zoom were defi-nitely a great way to connect, but once Bumble on the Green classes became an option, I jumped at the chance to attend a class that allowed for social interaction with my fellow Alkaligners while main-taining appropriate social distance,” Los Altos Hills resident Margo Mynderse-Isola said. “What the Bumble class offers that the online classes can’t is the ability to see and interact with the Alkalign in-structor and multiple attendees, see their facial expressions, and truly get a sense of how they are doing during this pan-demic.” Alkalign – which has been offering virtual fitness classes since the pandemic began – strives to provide strength, mo-bility, flexibility and mind-body connec-tion through exercises and workouts, ac-cording to Paruszewski. “Alkalign is a community first and fitness studio second,” she said. “It’s a very inclusive workout, so people can participate at different levels. It is very balanced in order to help people move better through life, with the idea be-ing when you move better, you can feel

better and live better.” She added that those who attend the outdoor classes are required to bring their own masks and mats, and have a des-ignated distanced space on the Bumble Green lawn. Paruszewski isn’t sure when Alkalign’s in-studio sessions will return, but the outdoor and virtual classes will

continue in the meantime. “We have to be innovative and con-stantly evolving and just be flexible so we can provide our clients and our com-munity with what they need now, and it changes every day,” she said. For more information on Alkalign, visit alkalignstudios.com.

MARIE GODDERIS/TOWN CRIER

An instructor from Alkalign Studios leads an exercise class on the Bumble Green lawn on First Street in downtown Los Altos.

ALKALIGNFrom Page 25Looking for

this week’s real estate

transactions?

Find them, and much more, at

losaltosonline.com.




India and Malaysia at the same time,” she added. Eusope’s food combines Indian food-ways with a hearty dose of the pungent, herbaceous flavors of Malay cuisine. An infusion of technique from the Chinese community in Malaysia brings soy sauce and rice wine, fermented mustard leaves and black beans, and dishes cooked at high heat in a wok. Black mustard seed meets star anise and orange peel. Her father worked as a street vendor who sold hand-pulled, Chinese-style noodles accented with roasted turmeric and fennel seed, and she said that for 45 years he sold only those noodles. “I don’t make fusion food, I make food the way my people make the food,” Eusope said, a distinction that captures some of the excitement her menu sparks in first-time tasters.

Improvised catering Eusope said she and her employees are like many other restaurants during the cri-sis: They face days with near zero busi-ness coming in. If they want to survive, they must find new ways to serve food.

“Getting support is an amazing feel-ing. My heart starts blooming bigger than its actual size,” Eusope said of the enthu-siastic and swift response from Mountain View and Los Altos eaters when she put out the call for orders. Trying this new mode of ad hoc, anar-chic catering required experimentation: Which foods can safely travel the dis-tance and delays of distributed pickups? How will the presentation of her elabo-rate dishes, which include many compo-nents, suffer over time before they are scooped and tipped from compostable containers? After the successful test run with Hsu, Eusope turned to a dear friend in Moun-tain View as the next host, and said she plans to continue the experiment if oth-ers want to rally friends and neighbors to place coordinated orders. “I want to see more restaurants do a similar thing. I want to try some food that I can only find in the South Bay or East Bay,” Eusope said from her own perch in San Francisco. Find ongoing takeout and delivery food opportunities via posts on Los Altos Takeout and Delivery, an informal group started by residents, at facebook.com/groups/losaltostakeoutanddelivery.

TOP PHOTO BY ELIZA RIDGEWAY/TOWN CRIER; ABOVE PHOTOS COURTESY OF AZALINA EUSOPE

A recent food drop-off in Mountain View, top, included only the menu items, above, chef Azalina Eusope thought could palatably survive an hour or more on the road.

FOODFrom Page 25






Obituary Noticethe pool. He provided a unique tale telling of his adventures and exper iences which he shared them with family and friends.

As life went on, Tom and Jean spent many hours develop-ing pressing stories for their local community newspaper and cre-ating thrilling works of fiction - many of which provide a clear window into his life long jour-ney around the world and back.

H i s b e love d w i fe , Je a n p a s s e d a w a y i n 2 0 1 6 .

Tom was a lifetime member of the Los Altos Country Club, he was an avid golfer, and earned several hole-in-one trophies. He was a very charming, person and well liked by all he encoun-tered. He will be surely missed.

Thomas Adam Rohrer passed away May 23, 2020 at the age of 93.

He will be laid to rest at the Alta Mesa Memorial Park.

THOMAS ADAM ROHRER

Resident of CupertinoNovember 24, 1926 - May 23, 2020

Thomas Adam Rohrer was great man with a big hear t , very charming and gentleman-ly with a unique sense humor.

Thomas Rohrer was born on November 24th, 1926, he entered the world with as much zest and an expediency for life. Tom spent his days milking cows, cascading and sheering sheep on the family farm. Hard work was in his genes, which later proved to be a great strength during the Depression.

Tom loved to travel to many new and exciting places with his companions while speaking sev-eral languages. He broke bread all across his travels, while enjoy-ing the countries wine and culi-nary flavors. He traveled the world many times over. Tom was curi-ous of the human condition which resulted in writing and publishing many books to his name manifest-ing in thrilling fictional writings.

The books were based on his journeys and adventure of the years he was in the War while serving in the Merchant Marines.

Tom sha re d h i s w isdom with h is family and f r iends of h is l i fe’s many journeys.

He ea r ne d a n eng i ne e r-ing degree and founded a pat-ent while serving his terms.

Tom met his first wife Joan in 1944, at an officers dance while serving his term. It was love at first site and they were mar-ried on Valentine’s Day in 1948.

Tom and Joan both earned degrees, built a business, trav-eled the world and pursued phi-lanthropy. Joan passed away in 1996, after battling ovarian cancer.

A few years passed, Tom was set up on a blind date at the Los Altos Country Club, where he met the ever enchanting Jean Hollands. Jean was the second love of his life. Jean, like Tom had the same curi-osity for the human condition. The two were married in 2005. Tom and Jean had the same excitement for traveling and loved their jour-neys together on many continents furthering their love for-fine wine.

The two documented their adventures through narrative sto-ries and published writings. The couple was well known for host-ing large family gatherings by

Datebook items are run on a space-available basis for entertainment, events, classes and groups run by nonprofits in our circulation area (primarily Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View). The deadline is noon Tuesday for the next week’s paper. Submit notices via email to [email protected] and include a con-tact name, phone number and fee to participate (if applicable). Note that some items may be postponed or canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

EVENTSLos Altos Hills Independence Day Caravan. Replaces regular parade due to COVID-19. Participants in cars limited to representatives from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, the Santa Clara County Fire Department, 10-15 classic cars and city councilmembers. 10 a.m. July 4. Starts at Los Altos Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road. Procession will travel on West Fremont Road and complete a large circle with right turns onto Robleda, Purissima and Arastradero roads before ending after Palo Hills Drive. Walk to the nearest street or to drive to Purissima Park, 27500 Puris-sima Road, or Gardner Bullis School, 25890 Fremont Road, to watch. 947-2518; [email protected].

PRESENTATIONS“Great Decisions 2020.” A discus-sion of the most critical global issues facing the U.S. today. 1:30-3 p.m. Mondays. Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road., Los Altos. Free. 948-7683; sccld.org.

ACTIVITIESPickleball. Game open to seniors. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays. Los Al-tos Youth Center, 1 N. San Antonio Road. 947-2797.

EXHIBITS“Distant Lands.” Photography ex-hibit featuring Jim Colton’s newest works. Los Altos Hills Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road. 941-7222; jimcoltonphotography.com.

Moffett Field Historical Society Museum. Memorabilia, artifacts, photos and aircraft models connected with the former Naval airbase. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Satur-days. Building 126, Moffett Federal Airfield, Mountain View. $3-$8; free children under 12 and active military. Photo ID required for adults. 964-4024; moffettfieldmuseum.org.

AUDITIONSFoothill Symphonic Winds. Seeks percussionists for its performance season. [email protected].

Schola Cantorum. Choral group invites talented adult singers of all musical and cultural backgrounds to audition. Previous college cho-ral experience preferred. Rehears-als 7:15-10 p.m. Mondays. Los Al-tos United Methodist Church, 655 Magdalena Ave. 254-1700; info@ scholacantorum.org.

CLASSES/WORKSHOPSA Senior Storybook: An Avenidas Wise Owl Zoom Drama and Per-formance Class. Learn to dramatize your voice and read a world folktale about the wisdom of elders in a vir-tual performance for the Avenidas community. Instructor Enid Davis teaches reading-aloud techniques and brainstorms with participants for a costume and a background. For ages 50 and over. 2-3:15 p.m. Tuesdays, July 14 through Aug. 25. $85. 289-5436; [email protected].

Guided Meditation. Thirty-minute guided meditation session with in-structor Manisha Kumar to inspire regular meditation. 6-6:30 p.m. Mon-days. Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road. Free. 948-7683.

T’ai Chi for Arthritis. Developed by Dr. Paul Lam and endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation. 1:30-3:30 p.m. Mondays. Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave. Directed by Foothill College. All are welcome. Free. Register in person. 269-2589; [email protected].

Jazzercise. Dance fitness class. 8:30 a.m. Sundays and 9 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at Grant Park, 1575 Holt Ave., Los Altos; 8:30 a.m. Saturdays, 6 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays and 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Blach Intermediate School, 1120 Covington Road. First class free. (408) 505-2048.

Square Dance. Led by Bows & Beaus Square Dance Club. Open to adult singles and couples. 7-9 p.m. Mondays. Loyola School, 770 Berry Ave. (408) 219-4239; bowsandbeaus.org.

Gym Ventures. Parent-child class-es. Offerings include youth sports, swim lessons and more. El Camino YMCA, 2400 Grant Road, Mountain View. 969-9622.

Fitness Boot Camp. Sixty sessions of exercise. 6-7 a.m. weekdays or just Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Shower facilities available. Foothill College, 12345 S. El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. Less than $4 per class. Registration: foothill.augusoft.net.

Morning Flow Yoga. Led by Duanni Hurd. 7-8 a.m. Saturdays. Yoga of Los Altos, 377 First St. $13.50-$18; Proceeds benefit the Alzheimer’s As-

sociation. 600-8108.

StrongStep. A Jacki Sorensen fitness class focused on low-impact work-outs to upbeat music, incorporating aerobics, strength training, abdomi-nal work and stretching. Offered through the Los Altos Recreation De-partment. 8:30-9:30 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Grant Park, Room 2, 1575 Holt Ave., Los Altos. $65/10 classes. 961-5411.

Wellness classes. Guest speakers with Gregory Dabb, DC, as host. 6:30-7 p.m. first and third Tuesdays of the month. Better Life Chiroprac-tic Center, Los Altos. Free. 949-0154; betterlifechirocenter.com.

Retreats. Weekend of reflection, prayer and discernment. The Je-suit Retreat Center, 300 Manresa Way, Los Altos. $280/weekend. jrclosaltos.org.

Session based on the book “When Your Heart Speaks, Take Good Notes: The Healing Power of Writ-ing.” Led by author Susan Borkin, Los Altos-based psychotherapist and writing/creativity coach. Free. (408) 973-7877.

Parent-Child Gym, Swimming, Drama, Sports, Art, etc. YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula El Camino Branch, 2400 Grant Road, Mountain View. 969-9622.

CLUBS/GROUPSMeditation group. Meditations drawn from Buddhist teachers, in-cluding Thich Nhat Hanh and Jack Kornfield. Meeting online through June 16; contact Susan Murphy at [email protected] for Zoom login. Free.

Los Altos Library’s Monthly Writ-ing Group. Casual writing space of-fering motivation, such as optional prompts, for a community of writers. 7 p.m. second Wednesday of each month. Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road. Free. 948-7683; sccl.org/losaltos.

Sons in Retirement (SIR) Los Al-tos Branch 35. Active mature men who meet for lunch to socialize, en-joy good food, and listen to speakers. Third Wednesday of each month. Palo Alto Elks Lodge, 4249 El Cami-no Real. (408) 313-6852; [email protected]; sirinc2.org/branch35.

Los Altos & Los Altos Hills New-comers Club. Helps new residents become better acquainted with their neighbors and new community. Ac-tivities include programs, luncheons, hiking, bridge and book clubs. 948-3421; losaltosnewcomers.com.

See DATEBOOK, Page 34

Datebook


Public NoticesNOTICE TO

CONTRACTORS

CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS AUDIO/VISUAL UPGRADEPROJECT CD-01021

CITY OF LOS ALTOSSANTA CLARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

1. Description of Work: The City of Los Altos, Santa Clara County, California, invites sealed bids for fur-nishing labor, material and equipment required to complete the project in the particular locations, of the forms, sizes and dimen-sions and of the materials and to the lines and grades and at the elevations as shown and delineated upon the plans and specifications made therefore. The follow-ing information is presented to indicate the size of the project and no warrant is made or intended to final quantities:

The project includes an upgrade of the Audio/Visual Equipment including hardware, cameras, micro-phones and cables, and all other equipment needed for the audio/visual broadcast-ing of community meetings. The project also includes construction of required ADA improvements (includ-ing but not limited to rest-rooms, ramps, and sidewalk improvements, and a new lift system).

2. Location of Work: Los Altos City Hall 1 North San Antonio Road Los Altos, California 94022

3. Contract Documents: Bids must be submitted on the City‚Äôs bid forms. A copy of the plans and specifications shall be obtained from the office of

the City Engineer, City Hall, 1 North San Antonio Road, Los Altos, California, 94022 for a non-refundable fee of $65.00 or visit City website to download the PDF file(s) ( h t tp : / /b ids . losa l tosca .gov). Copies may also be inspected at the office of the City Engineer. To the extent required by Public Contract Code section 20103.7, the City will also make the Contract Documents avail-able for review at one or more plan rooms.

4. Labor Compliance. Pursuant to paragraph 7-1.01A, Labor Code Requirements, of the General Provisions in these specifications, Contractor is required to comply with California Labor Code Section 1770, et seq. This Code requires the Contractor to pay their workers based on prevailing wage rates established and issued by the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor and Statistics and Research.

Pursuant to Labor Code sections 1725.5 and 1771.1, all contractors or subcon-tractors bidding on public works projects must be reg-istered with the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). No contractor or subcon-tractor may be listed on a bid proposal for a public works project unless regis-tered with the Department of Industrial Relations [with limited exceptions from this requirement for bid purpos-es only under Labor Code section 1771.1(a)].

No contractor or subcon-tractor may be awarded a contract for public work on a public works project unless registered with the Department of Industrial Relations. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the contrac-tor registration require-

ments mandated by Labor Code Sections 1725.5 and 1771.1 shall not apply to work performed on a public works project that is exempt pursuant to the small proj-ect exemption specified in Labor Code Sections 1725.5 and 1771.1.This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations.

5. Pre-bid Site Review: A pre-bid conference is not scheduled for this project. Prospective bidders are directed to Section 2-1.03 of the Standard Specifications regarding examination of the site of work. Upon request, a voluntary site visit will be available. Please contact Jon Maginot at [email protected] for appointments.

6. Contractor’s License: The Contractor is required to have a Class ‚ÄúB‚Äù General BuildingContractor License for this work. All bidders shall be licensed under the provi-sions of Chapter 9, Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code of the State of California to do the type of work contemplated in the project.

7. Bid Bond: Bids must be accompanied by cash, a certified or cashier‚Äôs check, or a Bid Bond in favor of the City in an amount not less than ten percent (10%) of the sub-mitted Total Bid Price.

8. Location of Bid Submittal and Date and Time of Opening: As a temporary measure in response to the City‚Äôs efforts to reduce the potential risks of COVID-19, the City will conduct a ‚Äúvirtual‚Äù public bid opening for this project. Virtual bid opening will be

conducted five (5) calendar days after bid due date via RingCentral Meeting‚Äôs video conference meeting joinable with desktop appli-cation or internet browser. There will be no in person meeting for this bid open-ing. Interested parties shall follow the link below to project bid page for further instructions on setting up RingCentral Meetings:

https://bids.losaltosca.gov/r fp/bid-city-hall-council-chamber s -aud iov isua l -upgrade

Sealed bids shall be deliv-ered on or before

THURSDAY, JULY 2, 2020 AT 12 P.M.

at City Hall, 1 North San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA. Bids received after this time will be returned unopened. Bids shall be valid for sixty (60) calendar days after the bid opening date.

Access to City Hall is cur-rently restricted. Sealed bids must be delivered via USPS, FEDEX, UPS, or other carrier to the Engineering Services Department in City Hall. Additionally, dropoff of bids will be accepted at City Hall front main entrance on June 30, July 1, and 2 between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Please knock on the door or call 650-947-2780 when dropping off bids.

Bids received will be pub-licly opened and read aloud on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. via Ring Central Meeting‚Äôs video confer-ence meeting.‚Äù

9. Payment & Performance Bonds: The success-ful Bidder will be required to furnish the City with a Performance Bond and a

Payment Bond, each equal to 100% of the successful Bid, prior to execution of the Contract. All bonds are to be secured from a surety that meets all of the State of California bonding require-ments, as defined in Code of Civil Procedure Section 995.120, and is admitted by the State of California. The cost of said bonds shall be included in the Bid amount.

10. Award of Contract: Said bids will be pre-sented to and considered by the City Council at a regularly scheduled meet-ing. The City shall award the Contract for the Project to the lowest responsive, responsible Bidder on the basis of the Total Bid.

11. Time of Completion of Work: The work shall be completed and ready for full use within one-hundred sixty (160) calendar days, the first day of which shall be the date specified in the City Engineer’s “Notice to Proceed”.

12. Substitution of Securities: Pursuant to Public Contract Code sec-tion 22300, the success-ful Bidder may substitute certain securities for funds withheld by City to ensure his performance under the Contract.

13. Rights of the City: The City reserves the right to cancel the project, and to reject any or all bids if not satisfied as to the price for the work or the responsi-bility of the bidder. The City also reserves the right to waive any informalities according to law.

14. Project Administration: All questions relative to this project prior to the open-ing of bids shall be in writ-ing and directed to the City Engineer, City of Los Altos,

1 North San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022.

Special direction is directed to Section 2 of the General Provisions for full directions as to bidding.

Dated: June 8, 2020/s/¬¨ Jon Maginot Deputy City Manager(6-17,24-20)

078-T

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS

LIGON, aka FRED LIGON20PR187882 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent credi-tors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate or both, of FREDERICK DOUGLAS LIGON, aka FRED LIGONA PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by RONALD LIGON in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara. THE PETITION requests authority to adminis-ter the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This author-ity will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before tak-ing certain very important actions, however, the per-sonal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.JULY 20, 2020 at 9:01 a.m. in Dept. 13 located at 191 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95113. IF YOU OBJECT to the grant-ing of the petition, you should appear at the hear-

ing and state your objec-tions or file written objec-tions with the court before the hearing. Your appear-ance may be in person or by your attorney. IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR OR A CONTINGENT CREDITOR OF THE DECEDENT, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representa-tive appointed by the court within the LATER of either (1)FOUR MONTHS from the date of first issuance of let-ters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 DAYS from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under sec-tion 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a request for special notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in probate code section 1250. A request for Special Notice from is avail-able from the court clerk.Petitioner: Ronald Ligon740 Raymundo AvenueLos Altos, CA 94023650-965-0810(6-3,10,17-20)

075-T

Public Notices

foreign), volunteer work and more. (408) 867-5086; hp.com/retiree.

American Association of University Women, Los Altos-Mountain View branch. Open to women (and men) with a college degree who are interested in equity for women and girls. 207-6625; lamv.ca.aauw.net.

Los Altos Las Madres Playgroups. Play-groups for moms and their babies 5 and under. Meet other new moms for weekly walks, park days and/or indoor play dates in and around Los Altos. Expectant moms, new dads and other caregivers welcome. 917-9914; lasmadres.org.

Quota International of Mountain View/Los Altos. Supports scholarships for hearing-impaired students, El Camino Hospital Infant Hearing Screening Clinic, Community Ser-vices Agency and CHAC. Noon first and third Thursdays of each month. Michael’s at Shore-line, 2960 N. Shoreline Blvd. Mountain View. 967-5404; quotamvla.org.

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Volunteer or-ganization of boating enthusiasts who perform community service, including boating educa-tion, voluntary vessel inspections and boating operations. Not involved in military or law enforcement activities. Ages 17 and up. 7 p.m. second Tuesday of the month. Mountain View Senior Center, 266 Escuela Ave. 941-5466.

Rotary Club of Los Altos. Service group. 12:15 p.m. Thursdays. Garden House at Shoup Park, 400 University Ave. 948-1455.; losaltosrotary.org.

Electric Toasters. Toastmasters group. Noon to 1 p.m. today. Electric Power Research Institute, 3412 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto. 855-2270.

Los Altos Lodge No. 712 F. & A. M. 7:30 p.m. first Monday of the month. Los Altos Masonic Hall, 146 Main St. 941-6615.

Weekly meditation practice group. Based on Jack Kornfield’s book “A Path with Heart.” 7 a.m. Tuesdays. Foot-hills Congregational Church, Los Altos. 969-3452.

South Bay Storytellers. 7 p.m. third Sunday of the month. Los Altos United Methodist Church, 655 Magdalena Ave. 494-1383; 917-1920; southbaystorytellers.com.

Vasa Order of America, Lindbergh Lodge. Organization for experiencing the Swedish cul-ture, open to people of Scandinavian descent and their families. 6:30 p.m. second Friday of each month; supper 7 p.m. American Legion Hall, 347 First St., Los Altos. 948-7030; 773-0199.

Baha’I Faith of Los Altos. Fireside talks. 8-9:30 p.m. Thursdays. 158 Coronado Ave., Los Altos. 948-0143.

Mountain View Women’s Club. Community

service organization. Monthly meetings. Ma-sonic Temple, 890 Church St. 967-1390.

Mountain View Foothills International Training in Communication Club. 7 p.m. first and third Thursday of the month. Union Bank, El Camino Real, Palo Alto. 967-6466.

Technology and Society Committee. 11:45 a.m. alternate Tuesdays. Golden Wok, 895 Villa St., Mountain View. 969-7215 (after 6 p.m.).

Quota Club of Mountain View. Noon first and third Thursdays of the month. Michael’s at Shoreline, 2960 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. 967-2964.

Optimist Club of Palo Alto-Mountain View. Luncheon meetings noon to 1:30 p.m. first and third Tuesdays of the month. Hyatt Rickey’s, Palo Alto. 855-1847.

Peninsula Gem & Mineral Society. Includes mineral displays, field trips and a lapidary. 7 p.m. fourth Wednesday of the month. Hillview Community Center, Room 12, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos, pggs.org.

VOLUNTEERSBlood drive. American Red Cross, North-ern California Region, is in desperate need of blood. (800) 733-2767; redcrossblood.org.

Share Conversational English with a Stan-ford International Student. Meet with a Stan-ford University graduate student, visiting schol-

ar, spouse, or post-doc during the academic year for one-on-one conversational English. Meet on campus, or off. Flexible times. [email protected].

El Camino Hospital Volunteer Program. As-sist patients and their families, and provide ad-ministrative support. 940-7214. American Cancer Society Discovery Shop. Volunteers for all shifts sought. 243 Main St., Los Altos. 949-0505.

JustREAD and JustMATH. Tutor high school and junior high school students in reading, writing and math one hour per week. [email protected].

Music for Minors. Volunteers needed to teach music education in local elementary schools. Training provided [email protected].

Writing Buddies. Write stories with first-graders. Adults are paired with Mountain View students for six weeks. Training provided. (408) 462-5883; [email protected].

Mentor Tutor Connection. Make a dif-ference in the life of a local child by mentoring or tutoring one. 641-2821; [email protected].

Los Altos History Museum. Learn about the history of Los Altos and help others enjoy the mu-seum. Training provided. Flexible hours or regu-larly shifts. 948-9427; [email protected].

DATEBOOKFrom Page 34


©2019 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Office is Owned by a Subsidiary of NRT LLC. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage or NRT LLC. CalBRE License #01908304.

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SUZANNE FREEZE-MANNINGDISTINCTIVE SILICON VALLEY REAL ESTATELos Gatos: (408) 355-1520Los Altos: (650) 397-1501DRE#: 01347405

10520 Sundown Canyon Way, Los Altos Hills

$3,600,000

SOLD

930 Springfield Drive, Campbell$1,720,000

505 Calle Siena, Morgan Hill

$1,325,000

SOLD

SOLD