Fine French fare WEEKEND | P.15 MARCH 23, 2012 VOLUME 20, NO. 9
650.964.6300
INSIDE: MOVIES | PAGE 17
MountainViewOnline.com
Food trucks need rules, council says By Daniel DeBolt
A
MICHELLE LE
INSIDE HANGAR ONE
It was a rare chance to see Hangar One up close, as members of the Moffett Field Restoration Advisory board toured the hangar on March 14 as workers continue to strip its asbestos- and PCB-laden siding. Preservationists on the board had mixed emotions as rain fell on the massive, half-stripped steel frame. There is still no government funding to re-skin the 200-foot-tall landmark, and NASA Ames official Deb Feng said Friday that the proposal from Google’s top executives to pay as much as $45 million for its restoration in exchange for use of Hangar One for their private planes was still being considered at “the top levels of government.” See more photos on Page 8.
Don’t text and drive, teens urge By Nick Veronin
A
group of students at Mountain View High School have launched a campaign aimed at getting their peers to put away their cell phones while behind the wheel. The campaign and its slogan, “Don’t Drive InTEXTicated,” intends to draw parallels between drunken driving and driving while sending or reading text messages. After all, the campaign’s organizers reason, both behaviors can result in traffic accidents and even death. They have designed wristbands emblazoned with the campaign slogan. In order to get one, teens must sign a pledge promising not to send or read text messages while driving. See TEXTING, page 8
INSIDE
new crop of food trucks is apparently causing problems for Mountain View businesses, city officials say, and City Council members want to do something about it. Council members voted 5-2, with Tom Means and John Inks opposed, to begin working on an ordinance that could tell food truck owners how, where and when they can operate within Mountain View. Several have apparently stepped on the toes of “brick-and-mortar” restaurants by coming to town on Friday and Saturday nights and parking downtown, among other places. Code enforcement officers have cracked down. “There’s been a significant increase in complaints, questions and concerns from residents, neighboring businesses, business associations and food truck operators themselves,”
said code enforcement officer Chris Costanzo. “They have questions as to how, when and where they can operate in Mountain View.” City Attorney Jannie Quinn said food truck operators had to get temporary permits to be at Thursday Night Live events downtown last year. “Mountain View hates us. They don’t want us to be here,” said Darrel Oribello, a marketer for food trucks. City staff will soon propose an update to the city’s 56-year old food truck ordinance, which only regulates food trucks that visit job sites. Public hearings could be scheduled in May and a final City Council vote could come in the fall. The ordinance is aimed at the new trend of “specialty food trucks” that alert customers via Twitter or Facebook, and may be parked for long periods or come See FOOD TRUCKS, page 10
Five candidates lining up for council race By Daniel DeBolt
A
newcomer, two commissioners and two incumbents have said they will run for the City Council when four seats become open this fall. Leadership Mountain View graduate Margaret Capriles was the only candidate to file a statement of intent by the Voice’s press time. Planning commissioners Chris Clark and John McAllister both confirmed that they will be running for City Council again this year, as they did in 2008. Mayor Mike Kasperzak and council member John Inks say they will both be running for re-election, while the city will see the departure of Laura Macias and Tom Means due to term limits after both serve eight years on the council. Capriles is relatively unknown to city insiders and said she was not able to
Margaret Capriles
Chris Clark
John Inks
comment by the Voice’s press deadline, except to confirm that she is running. According to her profiles on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, she is a Democrat, a member of the YMCA’s local senior advisory board and a data architect at Hewlett Packard, where she says she has worked for over 20 years. On Facebook, she counts as friends state Senate candidate Sally Lieber, Mayor Mike Kasperzak and Day Worker Center director
GOINGS ON 18 | MARKETPLACE 19 | REAL ESTATE 21 | VIEWPOINT 11
John McAllister
Mike Kasperzak
Maria Marroquin. Clark, a senior operations manager for Loopt, was noted as the youngest gay city council candidate in the Bay Area when he placed 6th in the 2008 election in which the environment and smart growth appeared to be his top priorities. He’s addressed criticisms that he needed more experience See COUNCIL RACE, page 7