All too often we hear about the tussles in town. Meaty reading consists of why one group is pitted against another. Battle lines get drawn over theaters, housing and schools. Amidst it all exists the YMCA basketball program which this year is teaching 1400 of our children how to play the game.

The YMCA basketball program has been around for years and has become more and more popular with each season. This year 200 new players were accepted based on the projection of gym availability. The program is one of the driving influences behind some of the new gym space which has opened in town. The unexpected challenge this year was the lack of available gym space despite the gym building frenzy that has been going on all over town. The process to match teams with practice space could have deteriorated into a divisive, finger pointing exercise.

The YMCA had counted on the new Egan gym being done and (as with so many construction projects) it was not. The new Blach Middle School gym was a little late for the starting schedule but has been finished and fed into the mix. With the late opening of the Egan gym, the City had to reclaim, for its own recreational programs, some of the facilities that had been earmarked for Y-Basketball.

For now there are five gyms operating with a total of eight courts. They are:

- YMCA courts, a brand new facility with 2 courts located at the YMCA on Grant Road

- Mountain View Sports Pavilion, two courts on Castro Street

- Blach Middle School, two gyms, one old, one new - The new one has two courts

- Egan Middle School, the old gym with one court.

A concession the Y program had to make was to push some of the practices to later times during the week. Some of the young players have been forced to practice at 8:00 PM in the evening. Not optimal for school kids or the parents donating their time to coach them.

The good news is that another gym is being added which is a brand new facility at the Miramonte School located at1175 Altamead. This will relax the practice schedules and allow some of the youngest players to move to earlier practice time slots.

The process of matching 1400 players with available facilities is daunting, even with enough gyms. It is a real testament to the strong commitment our community has to this important program that so many have worked so hard and so well together to make an accommodating schedule.

The success of this cooperative effort could not have happened had it not been for the support of City Recreational Staff, YMCA employees and School Administrators. YMCA Executive Director Ron Markillie characterized it best when he described the effort as "different groups collaborating to make a successful program." This is the spirit which makes ours a great small-town community.

Again this month, there is little activity...just one new single-story home with a loft, one second story addition, and the possible subdivision of a lot. Also, the owners at 1415 Kring, who filed an application for a second story addition that was listed in our September newsletter, are requesting a height variance for that second story to allow a 29.5 foot structure when 27 is the maximum height permitted. 

1.  02-SC-52--S and Kay Richardson -- 668 Vera Cruz Avenue: Consideration of design review for a new one-story home with a loft and partial basement.  Project Planner: Banks
2.  03-SC-01--S and D. Limbach -- 96 Los Altos Avenue: Consideration of design review for a 964 square foot addition to  the first story and a new 718 square foot second story to an existing one-story home.  
3.  03-DL-01--E and E. Ganitsky -- 681 Jay Street: Consideration of a tentative map application for a two-lot subdivision

FACT: Did you know that forty percent of accidental shootings occur in the homes of family and friends?

FACT: On average, one child dies every day in an unintentional shooting in the U.S.

(American Academy of Pediatrics).

FACT: Nearly half of all homes in the U.S. contain at least one gun.

FACT: Nearly half of parents who own guns store them loaded or unlocked in their home.

Teach kids

The Lucile Slater Packard Children's Hospital, in conjunction with SAFE KIDS, has made free gun locks available to all local police agencies. To receive a free gun lock in Los Altos, call Rod Sayer at the Los Altos Police Department

(947-2776) to make an appointment.

Disasters may be caused by a variety of events such as earthquakes, coastal storms and floods, hazardous material accidents and, unfortunately, terrorist attacks. When a disaster happens, a community is very dependent upon its emergency providers. Based upon the scope of a disaster, the normal emergency providers may not be able to be everywhere at once. During the initial hours after a disaster, when damage is heavy or widespread and emergency services are stretched thin, many people are called upon to provide assistance to those around them.

Volunteers play an extremely important role in assisting emergency providers. These volunteers bring a variety of skills and experience to the task such as ham radio operators. One group of volunteers is the Community Emergency Response Team or CERT. Our local CERT

members have gone through 20 hours of training by the Los Altos Police Department to help them prepare for earthquakes and other emergencies.

The training sessions include disaster first aid, earthquake preparedness, damage assessment, search & rescue, fire suppression, and neighborhood preparedness. The instructors are FEMA certified instructors. The training is open to all residents residing in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and unincorporated County. There is a $90 fee that provides each participant with essential equipment to perform the CERT functions.

For further information on the program or to be notified when the next training course will be offered, contact Agent John Korges at 947-2681 or john.korges@ci.los-altos.ca.us. Become a volunteer disaster assistance worker in our community.

President Leslie Lodestro

Vice President Ken Lorell

Treasurer Dianne Edmonds

Secretary Kathy Wright

Editor Vickie Clements

Housing Chair Kathy Putman

Traffic Chair Bill Crook

Schools Chair Bill Cooper

Contributor Karen Greguras

Webmaster Jerry Wright

Advisors Mike Abrams

Tom Anderson

Lou Becker

David Casas

Kate Disney

Mike Abrams, President

Mountain View-Los Altos High School Foundation

650-594-5999

State Capitol Bldg, Rm 1114

Sacramento, CA 95814

State Capitol, Room 5119
Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: (916) 319-2021

Fax: (916) 319-2121

State Capitol, Room 2082
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-6747

(Senator Vasconcellos is also Chair of the Senate Education Committee)

State Capitol, Room 5108
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 445-9740

Sample Letter to Assemblyman Joe Simitian

Dear Honorable Assemblyman Joe Simitian:

First, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your understanding of and support for "basic aid" school districts. Your recent comments opposing the destruction of quality educational programs for no real gain by any other students in the state are very much appreciated.

The devastating impact of the governor’s proposal to re-route our local property taxes on our community and its students cannot be underestimated. The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District will be required to reduce its budget by 30% over the summer if this proposal becomes law. This dismantling of an outstanding school system is unprecedented. Local property taxes have always stayed at home to fund local schools. Local property tax dollars have never been appropriated to Sacramento to level down school programs.

The student population served by our district is very diverse. Our program includes vibrant English Language Learner classes for our non-native speakers, intervention programs for our under-performing and disadvantaged students and support classes for students of color who are trying to qualify for college entrance. All of these programs along with our libraries tutors and up to one third of our teaching staff will be eliminated if this proposal is enacted.

I encourage you to continue to take a stand on behalf of our students to block the Governor's hijacking of the local property taxes that support the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District and over fifty other Basic Aid School Districts in the State. Bankruptcy is a real possibility for our district if this proposal is enacted.

We are willing to pay our fair share, as will all other school districts, of this statewide budget crisis, but adding the loss of 30% of our income to our fair-share cuts will devastate the education of our children.

Please make it clear to the Governor and your supporters that you will not support a state budget that contains a provision to take our local property taxes that support our schools.

Sincerely,