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MAY 31, 2013 VOLUME 21, NO. 18
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Hangar One, Moffett airfield up for grabs USE AS AIRPORT FOR PRIVATE BUSINESS JETS IS LIKELY UNDER NASA’S LATEST PLAN By Daniel DeBolt
golf course. Hangar One must be he possibility of Moffett restored under both options, the Federal Airfield becom- RFP says. ing an airport for private business jets is now a real option Preservationists after a “request for proposals” concerned was issued Tuesday outlining Preservationists may be less possibilities for leasing the entire enthusiastic about the possibil1,055 acre airfield and its historic ity of using Hangar One as a aircraft hangars. billboard, a possibility raised Up for lease from NASA are by former NASA Ames deputy Moffett’s lengthy runways and director William Berry that massive hangars, where a “fixed doesn’t appear to be addressed in base operator” could authorize the RFP, or the renaming of Mofflights that are not fett Field, which the connected to NASA’s RFP allows in order mission. Such a plan to better market the would support a Preservationists airfield. business proposal to Hangar One presmay be less ervationist finance the re-siding Bob Moss and rehabilitation of expressed concern. enthusiastic Hangar One, said an “Restoration and email from public use of Hangar One about the affairs officer Traci takes a clear backseat Madison of the Gen- possibility of in this RFP which eral Services Adminprobably puts anyone istration. The GSA using Hangar like Google, primarpartnered with NASA ily interested in reOne as a on the request for skinning and using proposals (RFP). Hangar One, at a disbillboard. The request for advantage,” said Moss proposals was part in an email. Moss, a of a compromise pushed by Moffett Field Restoration AdviCongresswoman Anna Eshoo sory Board member, was referafter years of complaints from ring to interest from Google’s NASA about the cost of airfield founders in leasing Hangar One. maintenance and operations “Taking over operation of the and community outcry over the entire airfield plus Hangar One preservation of historic Hangar requires someone familiar with One. The 200-foot-tall former maintaining and operating a airship hangar was once slated flight facility, plus some unusual for demolition because of toxics requirements like historical presin its siding is a bare frame, and ervation, wildlife protection, was stripped of its siding after a renting land (part of the Sunnytoxic cleanup by the Navy. vale golf course) and maybe Companies will have a chance facilities (any of the hangars or to bid on leasing and restoring other buildings) plus paying rent Hangar One and its 16 acres, or to NASA. Also they would have leasing both Hangar One and the to hook up utilities, co-operate airfield, including Hangars Two and Three and the nearby NASA See HANGAR ONE, page 9
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20 YEARS AND STILL SLITHERING Preschooler Kewei Liu holds George, the resident snake at St. Paul Child Development Center in Mountain View. The beloved classroom pet turned 20 this month, an event celebrated with some fanfare by the preschoolers. More photos are on Page 8.
Grading system ‘broken’ or just buggy? By Nick Veronin
W
hile excited about his daughter’s graduation from Mountain View High School, Steve Uhlir said the timing troubles him. That’s because once Uhlir’s daughter is no longer a student at MVHS, he no longer has a direct link to the school’s grading system — which he describes as “broken.” Uhlir, who began speaking out against aspects of the new student assessment policy about six months ago, said he is feels the issue is being “swept under the rug” by school administrators.
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At the May 28 meeting of the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District board, Uhlir called upon the trustees to compel the administration to act to fix the problems he’s detailed. Making grades fair Uhlir first addressed the board with his concerns in December 2012 — saying that while he agreed with the goals of the new grading policy, there have been unintended consequences at MVHS, that will unfairly impact students. The policy — which the dis-
trict board approved at the end of the 2011-12 school year and which district administrators and teachers began implementing at the beginning of the this school year — was hailed by Superintendent Barry Groves and Assistant Superintendent of Education Services Brigitte Saraff. Both Groves and Saraff said the new system would make grading fairer across the board by ensuring that there would no longer be so-called “easy” and “hard” teachers. The policy See GRADES, page 12
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