Town Crier Archive (1995 through 2008)

With new attendance lines in effect, three new principals at the helm and a new campus opening, children in the Los Altos School District are experiencing a world of change as they enter school this year.

School populations at the elementary schools in the district, with the exception of Oak, are welcoming new families as a result of the changes in the attendance areas.

A tasty treats store envisioned for 994 Los Altos Ave. has received final permit approval from the city, allowing residents Stacy Savides Sullivan and Peter Sullivan to begin the remodel.

"We’ll start working on the renovation any day now," Stacy Sullivan said.

Decks of playing cards, stacks of poker chips and a plethora of prizes will fill the community rooms at Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills Saturday when family, friends and others gather in memory of Mark Stern for a poker tournament and silent auction fundraiser.

Stern died last year at age 33 from complications of advanced-stage testicular cancer, leaving his wife, Maytal, and then-1-year-old daughter, Zoe, as well as other family members and many friends.

The Los Altos City Council took a small step at its Aug. 12 meeting toward further restricting zoning downtown to encourage retail business growth. Specifically, the council would like to require existing businesses to conform to the city’s retail-only zoning for first-story shops.

Under the current law, nonconforming businesses can continue to operate indefinitely. Council members weighed the general wisdom — that more retail would bring more foot traffic and economic growth downtown — against the possibility that gradually forcing out service industry locations such as banks and salons would fail to deliver economic benefits.

A plan to relocate the downtown Los Altos U.S. Postal Service office from 100 First St. this month probably won’t happen, and a timeline on its move remains uncertain.

Developer Randy Lamb wanted to break ground this month on the three-story Spanish-style building that would house office space, condominiums and a post office with limited services.

Following the arrest and arraignment last week of 41-year-old ex-convict Horacio "Jo Jo" Gaviola, local authorities are asking area residents if they recognize the man in this picture. Could another unsuspecting citizen have been Gaviola’s victim?

Gaviola is accused of allegedly stealing a credit card from an 84-year-old Los Altos Hills woman. He was also planning to burglarize the same victim’s property, according to San Jose Police Officer Brian Winco, who is investigating the case.

DUI

Aug. 11, 12:05 p.m., 1400 block of McKenzie Avenue: Nancy Hillyer, 43, was found unconscious in the back of a car and arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. Police measured her blood alcohol level at 0.325. The vehicle was towed.

School is back in session — and so is football. Los Altos High School last week began practicing for the upcoming season. Junior Tim Vanneman, running with the ball at right, is the Eagles’ new starting quarterback. Los Altos High also has a new head coach in Bill Waggoner, a 1981 graduate of the school. A season preview of the local high school football teams is scheduled as the cover story of next week’s Town Crier.

At last! A competitive MVLA election

Back in 1998, Silicon Valley was the new gold rush, Google was in its infancy and the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District held its last competitive school board election.

Thanks for the flowers