Eclectic combo at Cibo | P.16
MAY 21, 2010 VOLUME 18, NO. 20
650.964.6300
INSIDE: MOVIES | PAGE 19
MountainViewOnline.com
City is winning bird feces fight BURROWING OWLS GAIN GROUND AS NUISANCE BIRDS LOSE FRESHWATER PONDS By Daniel DeBolt
hunting grounds for the burrowing owls. The city and local he city has experimented bird preservationists are trying with remote control boats to preserve the ground dwelling and fake alligator heads to owls at the park, but everyone deter Canada geese and Ameri- agrees the coots and geese need can coots at Shoreline Park, and to go. it appears that some of the efforts The coots and geese leave large have been successful in cutting amounts of feces around the the coot population in half. entire park The population of coots at “You’re walking through it all the park went from the time,” a golfer 5,200 in 2008 to named Glen told 2,200, thanks to a Everyone agrees the Voice in 2007. $300,000 program on your shoes the coots and “It’s in which the city and on your ball. experimented with playing by geese need to go. Iftheyou’re an array of goose rules, you hit it and duck deterwith the poop on rents, including lasers to disturb it.” the birds at night, remote-conCity staff says the coots also trolled boats to scare them off cause expensive damage to the the golf course ponds, dogs to golf course greens, leaving holes chase them away, and draining in the turf that could stop a golf the water from three golf course ball. ponds where the birds took refOver the years the city has uge from predators. tried other bird deterrents with In a study session on the birds mixed results, including the use Tuesday the City Council sup- of strobe lights, coyote decoys, ported the city’s efforts, includ- targeted sprinklers and playing ing a plan to fill golf course the sound of distressed geese ponds with dirt to discourage the See BIRD FIGHT, page 6 nuisance birds while providing
T An impromptu memorial sprang up at Vogue Cleaners on Esquela Avenue, where two people were found shot to death on Friday, May 14.
MICHELLE LE
Divorce dispute may have led to murder-suicide MONEY ALSO AN ISSUE WITH COUPLE WHO OWNED VOGUE CLEANERS By Daniel DeBolt
T
he man believed to have shot his ex-wife before shooting himself May 14 wanted to resume living with her — or be paid for his share
of the home and dry cleaning business they had once owned together, friends and co-workers said Monday. In the city’s first homicide since 2008, Cho Yong Chang, 70, and his ex-wife In Ku Lee, 62, were
found dead Friday morning, May 14, inside Vogue Dry Cleaners on Escuela Avenue by an employee. Both had been shot and a gun was found at the scene, police said. See SUICIDE, page 10
Council “underwhelmed” by San Antonio Center plans LAST YEAR’S PLAN WAS BETTER, COUNCIL SAID By Daniel DeBolt
O
n Tuesday, half of the City Council was “underwhelmed” by the latest plan to redevelop an important 11 acre piece of San Antonio Shopping Center. “Topographically, it’s totally uninspiring,” said Council member Mike Kasperzak. “I was kind of underwhelmed. I didn’t think
INSIDE
it was as visionary as the first concept we saw.” Developer Merlone Geier has spent the last year developing the plan for the property where Sears and Rite Aid are now, but three of the six council members present were not impressed the latest iteration and wanted to see “a more visionary plan,” said Mayor Ronit Bryant
“I was deeply underwhelmed actually,” said Bryant. “After thirty years of looking at San Antonio Center, I thought we had a developer seriously interested in doing something with it. Looking at this, I was deeply disappointed.” A new Safeway grocery store, replacing the California Street location, and Rite Aid would anchor more than a dozen smaller
GOINGS ON 20 | MARKETPLACE 21 | REAL ESTATE 24 | VIEWPOINT 15
stores and 325 rental apartments on the site in five-story buildings. The 11 acres extend north from the corner of El Camino Real and front San Antonio Road, where two buildings and an ornate plaza are designed to encourage outdoor seating at the busy intersection. Removed from a previous design was a large single story parking structure under most of the development with a pedestrian promenade above it. It was replaced with rooftop parking and a large, uncovered, See SAN ANTONIO, page 6