OFFICIAL PROGRAM INSIDE APRIL 26, 2013 VOLUME 21, NO. 13
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Council members praise Intuit project OFFICE SPACE WOULD TRIPLE, MAKE ROOM FOR 1,300 MORE WORKERS By Daniel DeBolt
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MICHELLE LE
Shelby Sumner shows off her newborn to employees at Moffett Field’s commissary where she buys groceries.
Toxic vapors found in NASA buildings
n a study session Tuesday, City Council members praised the first major North Bayshore office development proposal under the city’s new 2030 general plan. In a project intended to “make Mountain View a better place,” Intuit proposes a pair of fourstory buildings at 2600 Marine Way with living roofs, solar panels and architecture that wowed some council members. The project aims to have only 45 percent of employees driving alone to a pair of parking garages, one that’s three levels and the other six levels (though only slightly higher than the four-story offices because of solar panels on the top level). Half of the project’s power would be generated on site and it would eventually produce zero waste, according to Intuit officials.
“This isn’t boring, it’s a very unique design that stands out,” said council member Chris Clark of a rendering of the two buildings. “I think people will say, ‘Wow,’ when they see it.” The proposed buildings are nearly equal in size and total 369,000 square feet, replacing eight buildings that total 108,000 square feet and making room for 1,300 new employees to add to the 1,900 employees the tax accounting software company has now in Mountain View. An adjacent Intuit campus will remain. “I really appreciate the fact you guys listened to what we said about what what we’re trying to preserve,” said council member Ronit Bryant, praising the relatively low building heights, meant to preserve views of the mountains and the Bay. “Towers and See INTUIT PROJECT, page 15
MUSEUM AND COMMISSARY AMONG THOSE AFFECTED BY TCE, PCE By Daniel DeBolt
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he Department of Defense has found toxic vapors in several buildings at Moffett Federal Airfield, buildings that are in use by the public, the military and NASA employees. According to a report released this month, the air of 23 buildings was tested on a portion of Moffett Field where the United States Navy is responsible for the pollution cleanup. Two occupied buildings had toxic vapor levels above EPA limits in areas where people work: the Moffett Field history museum and Moffett’s Building 10, which houses a crew of building maintenance workers.
INSIDE
Several other buildings also had elevated levels of toxic vapors in single locations not occupied by workers. Those buildings include the NASA Ames convention center and cafeteria, the Moffett Field Commissary — where members of the military buy discount groceries and other items, and two large research lab buildings, N239A and N210. A maintenance worker in Building 10 — where trichloroethylene vapor levels were 10 times the EPA limit — said employees there were told little about the situation when it was found. About 20 employees spend “an hour a day” in the building five days a week, he
said. It also houses boilers to steam-heat Moffett’s buildings. “They just come here to grab their tools and eat their lunch,” he said, adding , “They didn’t tell us anything” about whether it was safe. The report comes as the Navy proposes the use of new technologies to clean up the groundwater plume it left at Moffett where thousands of pounds of various solvents were dumped or leaked into the ground over several decades. The primary chemical, trichloroethylene (TCE), is known to cause cancer from years of See TCE, page 8
VIEWPOINT 17 | GOINGS ON 22 | MARKETPLACE 23 | REAL ESTATE 25
MV Whisman looking forward DISTRICT AIMS TO EMBRACE HIGH-TECH EDUCATIONAL TOOLS By Nick Veronin
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he superintendent of the Mountain View Whisman School District wants students to put down their textbooks, pick up tablet computers and start spending much more time on hands-on projects of their own design. In a few years time, if Craig Goldman’s
vision is realized, elementaryand middle-schoolers will be less preoccupied with “rote” learning, and more involved with what he called a “21st century education.” On April 18, in a presentation to the board, Superintendent Craig Goldman and top district administrators See WHISMAN FUTURE, page 6