The hummus among us WEEKEND | 18
OCTOBER 5, 2012 VOLUME 20, NO. 38
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MOVIES | 20
Four running for three seats in school board race By Nick Veronin
T
he Mountain View Whisman School District is poised to hold its first contested election since 2004, with four contenders for three open seats on the district’s board of trustees this November. The candidates are Peter Darrah, Bill Lambert, Steve Nelson and Jim Pollart. All three incumbents — Fiona Walter, Ed Baily and Steve Olson — decided not to seek re-election.
MICHELLE LE
Connor Sato, left, and Tyler Sato hold bowls with paper lotus leaves in the Ochigo procession at the Mountain View Buddhist Temple on Sept. 29.
MV Buddhist Temple celebrates 50 years By Daniel DeBolt
W
hat began during the Depression as a small service for Japanese farm workers conducted inside people’s homes celebrated 50 years as the Mountain View Buddhist Temple last weekend. “The farmers helped build the temple to what it is today,” said Richard Endo, four-time
president of the 500-member temple. “We should be grateful to our pioneers that have made the temple what it is today. We are very fortunate.” Honoring the past of the temple at 575 North Shoreline Boulevard as it looks to grow in the future was the theme of the event over the weekend, Endo said. The temple was first imagined
when local Japanese-Americans returned from World War II internment camps in 1945 and found that the temple’s former location in the Mockbee building at Dana and View streets — near where a large Japanese business community had also been — was no longer available. Over $38,000 was raised and See BUDDHIST TEMPLE, page 4
Housing a hot topic for candidates By Daniel DeBolt
I
n a Whisman neighborhood forum Monday night, City Council candidates had differing views on how to tackle what they all agreed is an affordable housing problem in Mountain View. “I don’t really understand the logic of subsidized housing in a popular place like this,” said
INSIDE
resident Greg Coladonato when he asked the candidates for their views on the city’s below market rate housing program, which requires developers pay into a fund to subsidize affordable housing projects or to make portions of their projects affordable for lower income residents. “I am unabashedly in favor of BMR housing programs,” said
incumbent Mayor Mike Kasperzak. “One of the things people really like about this community is diversity, and we are becoming a community where people cannot afford to live. I actually got a call earlier this year from a Googler who was being priced out of their apartment. I don’t See HOUSING, page 8
VIEWPOINT 16 | GOINGS ON 21 | MARKETPLACE 22 | REAL ESTATE 25
Peter Darrah Peter Darrah, a decade-long Mountain View resident, is the father of two children and husband to Landels Elementary kindergarten teacher Amy Darrah. He said he enjoys running, cycling, ultimate Frisbee, and, above all, spending time with his family. The computer engineer lives in the Old Mountain View neighborhood just off Castro Street — where he and his family enjoy spending time. “We love the community and all the restaurants,” Darrah. He holds two bachelor’s degrees — one in Latin American studies from Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., and one in computer engineering from the University of the Pacific in Stockton. Before moving to Mountain View as a “high-tech immigrant,” he started a small business making custom wooden kayak paddles in Costa Rica. “The main reason I’m running is for the kids,” Darrah said. “My kids are super important to me. Our children’s education is critical for all of our futures.” He has been involved with the district for many years — working on a MVWSD task force, serving on the board of the Mountain View Education Foundation and volunteering at Landels. Besides his service to the dis-
trict, Darrah said his role as manager at Advanced Microdevices should convince voters of his professionalism and ability to tackle big projects. He said the time he spent in Costa Rica, his degree in Latin American studies and his ability to speak fluent Spanish will be assets in a district with such a large Hispanic population.
VOTER GUIDE The Voice’s election coverage continues next week with the City Council election guide, followed by the El Camino Hospital District race and Measure M.
“I think I understand better than most (non-Hispanic) people what the issues facing that community are,” he said. The efforts being made at Castro to involve parents, families and the community in the education process is a great first step in boosting academic performance in local Hispanic communities, he said. “It takes a whole community to educate a child.” He said his wife being a teacher in a district school is not a conflict of interest. “I can vote on the teacher contract, because my wife is covered by collective bargaining,” he wrote on his campaign website. “Her salary is set along with all the other 250 teachers in the district. It’s based solely on years of service and education. No board member, superintendent, or principal can affect her salary apart from the rest of the teachers.” In fact, Darrah said, having his wife teaching in the district is an asset. “It gives me a lot of See SCHOOL BOARD, page 6