Full steam ahead for Tai Pan WEEKEND | 19
APRIL 5, 2013 VOLUME 21, NO. 10
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MOVIES | 22
In the dark about toxics RESIDENTS AT MOFFETT’S WESCOAT VILLAGE WORRY OVER TCE, WATER By Daniel DeBolt
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COURTESY JEAN REVILLARD/SOLAR IMPULSE
Solar Impulse, an ultra-light plane using only sunlight for fuel, zooms past Hangar One on a test flight at Moffett Field earlier this week. The story and more photos are on page 14.
Castro principal: ‘Keep moving forward’ JUDY CRATES BIDS FAREWELL TO MOUNTAIN VIEW WHISMAN SCHOOL DISTRICT By Nick Veronin
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fter serving as principal of three schools in the Mountain View Whisman district, Judy Crates has announced she plans to retire this summer, at the end of her fifth year leading Castro Elementary. Crates, who began her career in education 41 years ago, has worked for the
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district for 16 years, and said she plans to use her retirement to spend more time with her family and to travel. Parents and colleagues from the district spoke highly of Crates — calling her a passionate educator, dedicated to continuous improvement. “We’re extremely grateful for Dr. Judy Crates’ many years of service to
the school district,” MVWSD Superintendent Craig Goldman said, calling Crates both a “colleague and a friend,” and saying that seeing her go is “bittersweet.” It’s a sentiment shared by Crates, who said that she always wanted to teach at See PRINCIPAL CRATES, page 10
VIEWPOINT 18 | GOINGS ON 24 | MARKETPLACE 25 | REAL ESTATE 28
Judy Crates
n an anonymous letter addressed to the Army and the local community late last month, military families living at Moffett Field’s Wescoat Village say they have “many concerns and requests” about living above polluted soil and groundwater. The 181-unit family housing complex — located behind Moffett’s main gate at the north end of Moffett Boulevard — partly sits above a plume of trichloroethylene (TCE) dumped or leaked over many years by the Navy. The vapors that rise from the ground — when concentrated in buildings — can cause cancer from long-term exposures and birth defects from short-term exposures, among other health problems, according to EPA toxicologists. “Many of us feel we have been living here uninformed with regards to the nearby plume,” the letter states. “We worry greatly about the safety of our families and often question the possibility of toxic vapors around us and the toxicity of our soil.” “Being notified of issues potentially so dangerous should be as mandatory as having to supply the front office with the required copy of my pet’s vet records See TOXICS, page 6