Los Altos Students Deliver Aid In Haiti
Filed under Blog · Tagged: High School, Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer, Philanthropy
It is always heartwarming to hear about how our local youth continue to step up in making the world a better place. Just this past week, the Los Altos Town Crier ran an article about the humanitarian efforts of group of students. Once you have read the article, I encourage you take a moment and visit the web site listed at the bottom of the story…
Sleeping in tents, meeting representatives from grassroots organizations, playing soccer with the locals and helping rebuild a school are just a few of the activities a group of local students managed to fit in over their summer trip.
A delegation of 15 high school and college students, including seven from Los Altos High School, teachers and one parent embarked on a good-will mission to Port-au-Prince. Their goal was to bring aid to Haitian community organizations and pitch in to rebuild a Haitian school following the devastation caused by the 7.0 earthquake Jan. 12.
Global Exchange, a San Francisco-based non-profit group, organized the trip. Los Altos High teacher Seth Donnelly, who has visited Haiti eight times, initiated Los Altos High’s participation after students approached him expressing interest in assisting Haiti firsthand.
“It was one of the most meaningful experiences of my life to see how our delegation just game to life while bonding with Haitian peers and activists,” Donnelly said.
Several students who traveled to Haiti volunteered with the Los Altos High-originated One Dollar for Life (ODFL) organization. ODFL-participating high schools raised approximately $20,000 for Haitian relief. Half of the money was delivered via the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, a Bay Area organization that collaborated closely with Haitian grassroots organizations, schools, farming co-ops and women’s groups even before the earthquake, Donnelly said.
The students distributed the remaining $10,000 this summer to various Haitian groups through the Haitian Emergency Relief Fund.
“One hundred percent of the money from the ODFL drive was given to grassroots organizations, unlike a lot of large aid,” Donnelly said. “Students were able to see dollar for dollar that everything they raised went to actual organizations in Haiti.”
Donnelly said that during the students’ stay in Haiti, they witnessed how little of the major aid – pledged by governments and raised by nongovernmental organizations – seems to actually reach the people of Haiti.
“You need to give in a sustainable way,” said Ian Glasner, a Los Altos High School senior who participated in the venture. “You know that you are going to make a difference, but you cannot see it right away.”
While distributing the $10,000, students witnessed the courage, ingenuity and tenacity of Haitian leaders active in women’s groups, schools and other community organizations, who are trying to rebuild their country against the odds, Donnelly said.
“The earthquake happened six months ago, and there is still rubble everywhere,” Glasner said. “The streets are torn up, and the government has done nothing.”
In addition to distributing money, Donnelly said the group:
• Established deep ties of friendship and solidarity with Haitian activists and youth.
• Distributed medical supplies, donated by an Oakland nurse, directly to the Aristide Foundation, which operates mobile medical teams that serve people in the camps.
• Participated in the construction of a new Haitian school.
• Distributed approximately 200 solar-powered lights, donated by One Million Lights and World Centric, to Haitian community organizations.
• Distributed food and dental supplies to youth in Cité Soleil, one of the poorest areas in Port-au-Prince.
Glasner said he felt differently about life when he returned from Haiti.
“When I came back, my friends were like, ‘You missed so much,’” he said. “I couldn’t care less. People were dying in Haiti. Television is boring. I couldn’t care less about seeing the latest movie or sitcom.”
Glasner said he hopes to accompany Donnelly on another trip to Haiti.
For more information on One Dollar for Life, visit www.odfl.org.
SAT, ACT, A.P. … I.B.?
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Andrew Hill High School, Capuchino High School, Education, International Baccalaureate, Pacific Rim International School, Private, Public, San Jose High Academy, Sequoia High School
In August 2009, I wrote a blog post about how families, who relocate to Los Altos, have already researched the strong public and private schools in town. For global families who relocate often, there are additional education considerations: continuity of a globally available educational program … the International Baccalaureate.
The New York Times just published an article about I.B., so I thought I would share an abbreviated version. As you know, it is eminently helpful to work with knowledgeable agents. Having served on the Los Altos School Board, Carol & I strive to provide a level of nuanced insight not readily duplicated by other Realtors.
While some concerns have been raised about the I.B. program in the past, there are many families who consider this an invaluable experience for their children. At the end of the day, having the type of quality educational choices available, in and around Los Altos, is important. We would be more than happy to help you navigate your available options, from schools to housing. As you begin your search, we offer to help you with your questions, when you are ready.
Enjoy …
SAT, ACT, A.P. … I.B.?
The alphabet soup of college admissions is getting more complicated as the International Baccalaureate, grows in popularity as an alternative to the better-known Advanced Placement program.
The College Board’s A.P. program, which offers a long menu of single-subject courses, is still by far the most common option for giving students a head start on college work, and a potential edge in admissions.
The lesser-known I.B., a two-year curriculum developed in the 1960s at an international school in Switzerland, first took hold in the United States in private schools. But it is now offered in more than 700 American high schools — more than 90 percent of them public schools — and almost 200 more have begun the long certification process.
Many parents, schools and students see the program as a rigorous and more internationally focused curriculum, and a way to impress college admissions officers.
To earn an I.B. diploma, students must devote their full junior and senior years to the program, which requires English and another language, math, science, social science and art, plus a course on theory of knowledge, a 4,000-word essay, oral presentations and community service.
The I.B. program is used in 139 countries, and its international focus has drawn criticism from some quarters.
Some parents say it is too closely tied to both the United Nations and environmentalism. From its start in 1968 until 1976, the program was financed partly by UNESCO. It is now associated with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and until recently it endorsed the Earth Charter, a declaration of principles of sustainability that originated at the United Nations.
Many schools, and many parents, see the I.B. partly as a way to show college admissions offices that students have chosen a rigorous program, with tests graded by I.B. examiners around the world.
“I don’t think there is anyone who does not respect the I.B.,” said Panetha Ott, an admissions officer at Brown.
Fewer colleges give credit for the I.B. than for A.P., but dozens give students with an I.B. diploma sophomore standing and some offer special scholarships.
The I.B. is also being offered now in some struggling urban schools where educators say it helps put low-income students on par with their richer peers.
Last fall, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave the program a three-year $2.4 million grant to prepare low-income and minority students to participate in the I.B.
As for where you can find I.B. schools, California and Florida have the most, and New England the fewest.
Old Cars & Saturday Mornings
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Car Show, Family Fun, Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer
If you’ve passed the parking lot behind Main Street Cafe on State Street near the intersection with Main on a Saturday morning, you’ve probably noticed 10-20 unusual cars parked there.
Some of the cars are so old that few were alive when they were built. Some are so unusual that most people will never see them outside of automotive history books or an auto show.
Those who own these cars meet just about every weekend for what’s become a tradition in the downtown village. The group, started with a casual conversation at the Los Altos Fall Festival’s annual car show nearly 10 years ago.
The only objective was to share their love of classic, collectible and just plain unusual cars – of which there seemed to be a great many around Los Altos. Someone had noticed that the back parking lot of the cafe (which sits under the Town Crier’s office) was usually empty early Saturday mornings, and the shop had an area in back where they could meet over coffee and share information about the cars.
To wander through the parking lot on any given Saturday is to see the widest range of automobiles that anyone can imagine. Sometimes the vintage can span 100 years … you might stumble upon a 1904 Franklin with its air-cooled two-cylinder engine and crank starter at one end of the lot, a new Dodge Viper or Ferrari super car at the other.
One of the regulars has driven his Peel, the smallest road-legal four-wheel production car ever built and roughly one-quarter the length of one of the Packards or Cadillacs that frequently makes an appearance.
And as everyone insists, this is not a contest among show vehicles. One of the regular cars is a Pierce-Arrow from the mid-1930s, jointly owned by three of the regulars, that won its class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the most prestigious automobile show in the country. But one of its owners might just as likely drive up in a running, but completely un-restored, Jaguar XK120, parking it next to an equally rusty but equally dependable old Dodge step-side pickup truck or a Lancia in similar condition.
Conversations often flow into nostalgia, remembering what it was like in a world of dial telephones, manual typewriters and gas pumps at service stations with a bell that rang when you drove in and a fill-up that came with a check of oil, water and tire pressure. However, the group might just as often compare features on new iPhones or discuss the ins and outs of setting up a home Wi-Fi system.
If you’ve got a newer or older car that’s the slightest bit out of the ordinary, you should drop by with it on a Saturday morning and join in the fun. If it’s not running, come anyways as someone might be able to offer some advice on how to get it back out on the road.
And if you’re just downtown on a Saturday morning – between 9 and 11 a.m. – stop by and look at the cars. Show them to your children to help them understand the evolution of technology, or just to tell them what it was like when mom and dad, or grandma and granddad, drove a car just like this one. They guarantee you’ll be welcomed, and there’s never an admission charge or dues to be collected.
Note: This is a slightly edited version of a recent article, written by Gary and Genie Anderson for the Los Altos Town Crier.
Volunteers Helping Seniors
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer, Quality of Life, Volunteering
What began as a simple desire to help fellow residents, has blossomed over the past 8 years to include almost a dozen cities and hundreds of volunteers. The focus of all this care an compassion? Our senior citizens. Through the years, Carol & I have been a part of many coordinated efforts. The RSVP program, is once such effort.
The day of volunteering was recently covered by the Town Crier. Below are highlights from a recent article which highlighted how the program has helped to improve the lives of those assisted …
More than 100 Realtor volunteers helped 46 senior households, in the Los Altos and Mountain View area, during Realtor Service Volunteer Week.
Volunteers from Intero Real Estate Services & the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors helped seniors and the homebound with household. Wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a blue-and-yellow logo that identified them as members of the Realtor Service Volunteer Program, workers descended on households to help homeowners and renters with chores they can no longer perform by themselves.
Seniors were grateful for the free service. “I really appreciate the help,” said one 84-year-old senior, who has requested help for the past two years. “I still do quite a bit of the work myself. I even used to climb the stepladder, but my son gets worried about that, so I don’t do it anymore.”
Three volunteers visited her home to wash exterior windows, move a stove and refrigerator so she could clean underneath and replace her smoke-detector batteries. When a volunteer climbed the stepladder to replace the battery, he noticed there were none. That sparked a memory for the senior homeowner.
“I remember taking it out, but I never replaced it, because I couldn’t reach to put the new one in,” she said. Local Realtors officially adopted RSVP as a community outreach project in 2002, and it has since expanded to include realtor association members from other cities and counties.
Every May, these volunteers help seniors and the homebound with household tasks, such as washing windows, installing smoke-detector batteries, flipping mattresses, vacuuming, dusting, replacing light bulbs, changing furnace filters and trimming bushes.
Outside the home of a 90-year-old Mountain View resident, the team of Carol Casas, Hilda and Nick loosened dirt in a flowerbed, swept the patio and carport, trimmed ivy in her front yard and washed windows. “My children have gone and moved away, so it’s wonderful to have help. I couldn’t do it any other way,” the homeowner said. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
Two Open Homes This Weekend
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Employee Relocation, Housing Choices, Los Altos, Open House, Quality of Life
We will be holding two homes open this weekend. Both of these great houses are located in North Los Altos.
595 Los Altos Avenue will be held open this Saturday & Sunday, May 22nd & 23rd, from 1:30-4:30 pm.
465 Benvenue Avenue will be held open this Sunday, May 23rd, from 1:30-4:30 pm.
Come see these wonderful homes, both built for entertaining and living. You will absolutely love their locations, their neighborhoods, and their tree lined streets.
Feel free to call the Casas Team for a private showing of either home, or both, at 650-823-1434.
63rd Annual Pet Parade
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Family Fun, Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer, Pet Parade, Quality of Life
Well it was certainly one of the best Pet Parades in a long time, and pristine weather to boot. We surely enjoyed the riding on the Mayor’s car, with our Chocolate Lab … Coco. There were hundreds of people lining the street, and even more in the parade. This is one of those Mayberry moments. Truly a slice of mom and apple pie.
Below are highlights from a recent article in the Los Altos Town Crier …
Creatures of the world united in downtown Los Altos Saturday as thousands of them – two-legged, four-legged, eight-legged, no-legged and winged – thronged Main and State streets for the 63rd annual Kiwanis Club Pet Parade.
It was as if a huge pet store came alive, with families and their pets showing off one another on the sunny spring morning. Animals of all shapes and sizes walked, trotted, wheeled and slithered as visitors – local and out-of-towners – lined the streets, cheering, waving and clapping.
From the tiniest hermit crabs and furry spiders to lean greyhounds and majestic horses, visitors got their fill of the domesticated wildlife.
Not all pets wanted to march, however.
Tucker, a 4-year-old Golden Retriever, sat patiently, tail wagging and tongue lolling, while his master, Spencer Richmond, 8, watched the parade from the sidelines.
The canines stole the show – with a variety of popular breeds represented, including pocket Chihuahuas, rambunctious Terriers and Pomeranians, frisky Golden and Labrador Retrievers, staid St. Bernards, stately Greyhounds, German Shepherds, Pugs and Dachshunds.
Spectators enjoyed the procession of guinea pigs, cats, goats, rabbits, chickens, lizards, rats and canaries.
To the delight of onlookers, many owners outfitted their pets in cute and clever costumes. They paraded their pets in decorated baskets, wagons, strollers and cages. Some dogs wore outfits to match their owners’, while others sat daintily in their owners’ pockets watching curiously.
Lively, foot-tapping tunes from the South Bay Jazz Society, performing in its horse-drawn wagon, and Ye Olde Towne Band, playing from its motorized gazebo bandstand, provided the soundtrack, entertaining participants and onlookers alike.
Approximately 5,000 people attended, according to Lucy Carlton, parade director and former Los Altos police chief. “Everyone has a great time,” Carlton said. “That’s what community is all about.”
Open House: Sat & Sun, 1:30-4:30 pm
Filed under Blog · Tagged: 645 Benvenue Ave, Employee Relocation, Los Altos, Open House
We will be holding an open house this Saturday and Sunday, May 15th and 16th, from 1:30 – 4:30 pm for our new North Los Altos listing: 465 Benvenue Ave.
Come see this wonderful home built for entertaining and living.
Call the Casas Team for a private showing at 650-823-1434. You will absolutely love this quiet, tree-lined street location.
2010 Census & Los Altos
Filed under Blog · Tagged: 2010 Census, Employee Relocation, Los Altos, Quality of Life
Let the counting being. The Twenty-third United States Census, better known as 2010 Census, is the current national census in the United States. “National Census Day” was April 1, and was the specific point of reference date that was to used in filling out the form everyone received in the mail.
As required by the U.S. Constitution, the census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The last census was conducted in 2000, and the results showed that Los Altos had 27,693 people living in 10,462 households. While the numbers are expected to change, they are not anticipated to increase significantly.
For background, the Census Bureau website states it will no longer use a long form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, which asked for detailed social and economic information. The 2010 Census will use only a short form asking ten basic questions, including name, sex, age, date of birth, race, and homeownership status.
Detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey. The survey provides data about communities in the United States on a yearly basis rather than once every 10 years. A small percentage of the population on a rotating basis will receive the survey each year, and no household will receive it more than once every five years.
So, how are the response rates going for Los Altos? As of today, almost 74% of the households in Los Altos have already submitted their forms to the census counters. That is well ahead of the current national average of 63%.
As you may be aware, the 2010 census has featured a lot of razzle dazzle. However, one of the most interesting technological innovations is an interactive map showing how the census collection is going. If you are interested in looking at how the various neighborhoods in Los Altos are doing, or any neighborhood across the country, simply click here to use the interactive map.
In addition to being important as it relates to Federal funding, the results of the 2010 census will determine the number of seats each state receives in the United States House of Representatives starting with the 2012 elections. Consequently, this will also affect the number of votes that states receive in the Electoral College for the 2012 presidential election.
So, for those of you who have already turned in your forms, you will be happy to know that you get to skip the step of a census taker knocking on your door. For the 2010 Census, Los Altos is on target to surpass our 2000 census response rate of 84%. Of course, this should not surprise anyone, exceeding expectations is in our collective DNA.
Packard Foundation Plans Eco-friendly Expansion
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Downtown, Enviromental, Green Building, Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer, Packard Foundation
With conservation one of their chief concerns, officials with the Los Altos-based David and Lucile Packard Foundation are taking great care to lead by example with plans for their new 45,000-square-foot office building on Second Street.
The two-story building, across from the current headquarters at 300 Second St., will employ an extreme-green philosophy, featuring net-zero energy efficiency. The goal, according to foundation president Carol Larson and vice president Chris DeCardy, is a building as environmentally friendly as possible – right down to rainwater runoff from the building that would water plants rather than spill into the street. Larson said 95 percent of the existing buildings’ materials would be recycled.
“We’re helping (the downtown) with this new building,” DeCardy said.
Added Larson: “We want it to be a place for the future while fitting into the past.”
Packard officials hope to receive city go-ahead by midyear and break ground by December. They said they anticipate the new building would be open for business by summer 2012.
Since the Packard board of directors decided to move forward with the building last December, Larson, DeCardy and other Packard officials have held meetings with city leaders and the public to tout their building’s benefits. The latest was a Community Conversation with members of the general public, scheduled March 9 at foundation headquarters.
Construction is likely to be painstaking, given Packard’s ambitious goals in creating a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certified building, the highest possible green certification. Larson said plans call for smaller offices and more “common space.”
“We’re driving our employees to be in better contact with each other,” Larson said.
Meeting space, videoconferencing and high-tech improvements also will be among the features.
The new building, designed to accommodate the foundation over the next 40 years, has capacity for 124 employees, Larson said, although she imagines the foundation will not need that many. The 45-year-old foundation, active in 10 countries and focused on some of the planet’s most pressing problems, currently has 100 employees.
To make way for the new building, the
existing buildings on Packard-owned land bordered by Whitney and Second streets and San Antonio Road will be deconstructed, Larson and DeCardy said, further reflecting the green approach. Instead of demolition, Packard will have crews tear down the old buildings piece by piece. Deconstruction could start as soon as this month, they said.
Larson emphasized Packard’s commitment to staying in Los Altos and that the foundation is proud to call it home.
“People are proud of it being here, and we’re grateful for that,” she said. “We want Los Altos to continue being the exemplary community it already is.”
Note: This is a slightly edited version of a recent article featured in the Los Altos Town Crier.
Restaurant Spotlight – Chef Chu’s
Filed under Blog · Tagged: Chef Chu's, Dining, El Camino Hospital, El Camino YMCA, Los Altos, Los Altos Town Cirer, Restaurants
Chef Lawrence Chu, with 40 years of restaurant experience, prides himself on elegant dining, gourmet food to go, full-service catering, banquet facilities, and creative cooking classes, all with wonderful Chinese restaurant food.
Just last week, I was fortunate to join Chef Chu at his anniversary celebration. It was wonderful to see the community turn out to honor a wonderful chef, his family, and his restaurant.
As for the restaurant, you should know that the menu offerings are so extensive that you can easily enjoy a custom culinary experience each time you visit. The food deserves, and receives, accolades from the hundreds who dine at the restaurant each week. Even the Yelp reviews attest to the delicious cornucopia of the menu selections.
As a restaurant reviewer once stated, “Chef Chu … has been called a standard-setter, and he is. One expects and gets no less from this Sichuan-born, Taiwan raised, son of a gentleman from Hunan.”
Beyond his obvious talents in the kitchen, Chef Chu has made many contributions to the greater community. As founder of the Asian Chef Association, Lawrence Chu organized events that have raised over $100,000 to fight human trafficking and $250,000 for tsunami victims.
Closer to home, he’s led a group of chefs in providing Thanksgiving meals to 2,000 people through Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, and has donated hundreds of raffle items and free catering services to numerous local causes and organizations, including schools, PTA walkathons, the Children’s Health Council, El Camino Hospital and the El Camino YMCA. Wow!
In a recent Town Crier article, it was reported that in addition to Chef Chu’s being ranked as one of the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the country, the article also noted that Chef Lawrence Chu’s received the Lifetime Achievement Award of Excellence at an industry awards ceremony in Las Vegas.
If you are interested in trying your hand at one of Chef Chu’s recipes, you can pick up book at the restaurant. In the book, he tells you how to prepare Chinese dishes that rival those served in his restaurant.
So, there you have it. If you are on the lookout for some good Chinese food, this is the place. Whether you choose to dine in, or order food online for takeout, I am confident that you will not be disappointed. While Los Altos has dozens of good restaurants in town, Chef Chu’s continues to set the bar … both in the quality of their food, and their commitment on giving back to the community.
About Us
Moving into Los Altos? We can help! We have lived in Los Altos for the past 35 years and love helping people buy and sell homes in this great city! We bring experience, knowledge, skills and professionalism to each of our client relationships. Our clients will agree they would not have had the same positive experience, at each step of the way, if they had not had us represent them.
David Casas Cell: 650-823-8920 or Email
(DRE#01116954)
Carol Casas Cell: 650-823-1434 or Email
(DRE#01123855)