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Downsizing doesn’t have to be difficult.
Magazine highlights danger of overuse injuries in young athletes. See insert
Page 25
www.losaltosonline.com Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Community news for Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View since 1947
Bank-rupture
Vol. 64 No. 30 • 50 cents
New garbage company prepares for transition
Car crash through bank in Los Altos draws crowd of onlookers
By Jana Seshadri Town Crier Staff Writer
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By Elliott Burr
Town Crier Staff Writer
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irginia Pavlina had to make a quick decision Friday. The Los Altos Hills resident said her new Lexus IS 250 Sedan accelerated out of control as she approached Main Street from Second Street on a bustling afternoon in Los Altos. After realizing her brakes weren’t working, Pavlina said her effort to steer clear of pedestrians led her to crash her car into U.S. Bank, located in the historical Shoup Building at 300 Main St. “There was a man across the street standing in front of Starbucks about to cross, and all of a sudden my car took off,” Pavlina said in a phone interview from El Camino Hospital Monday morning. “I braked, but the brakes didn’t work. The car just went berserk. I had to make a quick decision.” Pavlina, 83, sustained several injuries, but no one else was injured in the crash, according to Los Altos Police. Pavlina said she suffered a cracked sternum and two ribs, minor foot injuries and various abrasions from the seat belt she was wearing. She said she hoped to be re-
PHOTOS BY ELLIOTT BURR/TOWN CRIER
Los Altos Community Services Officer Rod Sayre, above right, said he heard the car crash into U.S. Bank on Main and Second streets at approximately 3 p.m. Friday. Aside from the driver being hospitalized for various injuries, no one else was hurt. A crowd, right, gathered behind firefighters to survey the scene. leased from the hospital by midweek. Police won’t confirm whether Pavlina was the driver. If the accident, which occurred at approximately 3 p.m., is designated a crime, police will disclose the driver’s
name. As of Monday, police deemed it an accident. Police Chief Tuck Younis said the driver was fortunate she didn’t hit anyone. See CRASH, Page 6
First and Main buildings could come down Saturday
Sign of the times
By Jana Seshadri Town Crier Staff Writer
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MARY BETH HISLOP/TOWN CRIER
Local commercial real estate broker Ron Labetich led an effort to draw attention to all downtown Los Altos has to offer with a sign erected along San Antonio Road. Pictured, Kevin Zumwalt assembles the sign highlighting several Los Altos amenities.
familiar sight at the Main Street and Foothill Expressway entry to downtown Los Altos will soon disappear. The vacant buildings at the corner of First and Main streets – 400 Main St. and 230 First St. – formerly a KFC outlet, then home consignment center and a dry-cleaning store, are scheduled to be razed soon, according
to Jim Gustafson of the Los Altos engineering division. Preliminary work, including preparing the buildings and property for demolition, began July 12, with a fence installed around the perimeter and a “Hard Hat Area” sign posted. The demolition depends on PG&E crews’ removing the utility connection to the former drycleaning store, Gustafson said. “It will be on a Saturday and could happen as early as (this See FIRST & MAIN, Page 6
ission Trail Waste Systems, the garbage company scheduled to begin collections in Los Altos in mid-September, has scheduled meetings Aug. 9 to disseminate information, address concerns and answer residents’ questions. The Los Altos Environmental Commission will host two Mission Trail presentations in the Los Altos Civic Center’s Hillview Multipurpose Room, focusing on residential services 7-8 p.m. and commercial services 8-9 p.m. Each presentation will include information on the transition of service, a summarized list of changes/ additions and a brief questionand-answer session. Mission Trail replaces Recology Los Altos (formerly Los Altos Garbage Company), whose 10-year agreement with the city of Los Altos expires Sept. 15. Both companies have begun notifying residents of the See WASTE, Page 5
Poll of the Week Which of the following would bring you downtown more often? (a) More variety of retail stores. 30 votes (54.5 percent) (b) Live entertainment and/ or more events. 11 votes (20 percent) (c) Stores open in the evenings. 11 votes (20 percent) (d) Easy parking access. 2 votes (5.5 percent) Visit www.losaltosonline.com for more polls of the week.