News
News Briefs Local unemployment tied for lowest in county Los Altos tied Saratoga in February for the lowest unemployment rate in Santa Clara County at 5.2 percent, according to a report issued by the California Employment Development Department March 25. The number fell slightly from the 5.4 percent rate reported in November 2010. The report stated that roughly 700 people out of a 12,500-resident labor force were out of work and actively looking. The report uses 2000 census data in its estimations. San Martin – south of San Jose – had the largest chunk of unemployed workers at 23.5 percent, or 500 people. San Jose registered 52,100 unemployed residents (11.4 percent). – Elliott Burr
Library visitors concerned with traffic and parking By Jana Seshadri
Staff Writer/janas@latc.com
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any of the nearly 1,700 daily visitors to the Los Altos main library are concerned about traffic and parking problems linked to its popularity, according to a recent report compiled by the library commission. After conducting a survey to seek input from library patrons, a subcommittee of the Los Altos Library Commission comprising Cathie Perga, Darwin Poulos and Judith Suelzle spent several hours at various times and dates observing the vehicle and pedestrian traffic in the area adjacent to the library.
Considering traffic congestion more urgent than parking problems, the subcommittee has concentrated on the logjam first and deferred consideration of the parking-related problems, Poulos said. Studying the traffic and activity patterns around the library has uncovered several problems. “The committee has identified a number of conditions that could contribute to an accident, resulting in possible damage to vehicles, injury to drivers, passengers, pedestrians or bicyclists and liability to the city,” Poulos said. Concerns include unusually high traffic volumes, especially prior to programs at the library, the Los Altos History Museum
Courtesy of Darwin Poulos
Motorists drive through the entry to the Los Altos main library. The congested area causes logjams and is the site of unsafe conditions. or the Hillview Community Center; no posted speed limit on the access road between the library
Fire truck collapses bridge over creek
Paving policy continues for Los Altos streets Following city staff’s recommendation, the Los Altos City Council March 22 voted to continue using asphalt concrete to pave the 3-foot-wide roadside drainage swale between the street and residents’ property in neighborhoods. There are two components to the city-owned area, according to Larry Lind, Los Altos senior engineer, the roadside drainage swale and a shoulder parking area. Paving the swale with asphalt concrete is safer and conducive to positive drainage. Loose materials such as bark, compost or rocks are unsafe for pedestrians and bicyclists, he said. Staff members have issued eight permits since December 2009 for shoulder-area improvements, four for parking areas, which remain residents’ preference, Lind said. Residents may use any surface material they choose for the parking areas as long as it is compactible. – Jana Seshadri
To read more news, visit www.losaltosonline.com.
and museum; and overgown trees and shrubbery blocking the line of See TRAFFIC, Page 5
Helicopter responds to LAH burglary By Elliott Burr
Staff Writer/elliottb@latc.com
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Photos by Elliott Burr/Town Crier
A Santa Clara County Fire Department crew responding to a medical call in the 1400 block of Miramonte Avenue 2:30 a.m. Monday collapsed the bridge spanning Permanente Creek. No one was injured. The accident left approximately 12 residents without a way to drive their cars across the private drive, according to resident Richard Feldman, but they were able to get out by walking through backyards. A crew, inset, was working to remove the engine Monday. Battalion Chief Joe Parker, noting the engine weighs approximately 40,000 pounds, said fire crews have crossed the bridge before in similar vehicles. According to Los Altos Engineering Services Manager Jim Gustafson, the bridge’s use permit – issued in 1993 – shows it was capable of holding approxiamtely 36,000 pounds.
Police Blotter Petty theft
Junior High School. March 29, 6:03 p.m., 700 Los Altos Ave.: Unknown suspect(s) stole a locked bicycle valued between $300 and $400 from Santa Rita School.
Grand theft
March 29, 5:15 p.m., 100 W. Portola Ave.: Un- March 29, 11:55 p.m., 1400 block of Ranchita known suspect(s) stole an unlocked purple-and- Drive: Unknown suspect(s) transferred $15,000 from white mountain bicycle worth $350 from Egan the victim’s credit union account to an outside account.
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he Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department dispatched approximately six officers and a helicopter last week to Miranda Way in Los Altos Hills after residents reported their home had been burglarized. Upon arrival March 28, officers discovered the suspect(s) had stolen a laptop but nothing else, according to Capt. Carl Neusel. “We didn’t know what we had coming in there,” he said, noting dispatch told them the burglary was reported as in progress. “We always err on the side of caution.” He said no one at the scene saw the suspect, and he or she could have fled even an hour before officers showed up. Neusel, who said officers came from Cupertino, Saratoga and Los Altos Hills, confirmed that the incident was a burglary but couldn’t go into detail because an investigation is under way. Some residents circulated emails after the Miranda Way burglary alleging that officers had interrupted the burglary, but Neusel said that wasn’t the case. To fund the helicopter, the Sheriff’s Department uses money seized in drug arrests, according to public information officer Rick Sung. The chopper costs the department an average of $350,000 annually.