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California Newspaper Publishers Association
MARCH 17, 2017 VOLUME 25, NO. 8
www.MountainViewOnline.com
650.964.6300
MOVIES | 22
No one behind the wheel ... or inside the car ‘GHOST CARS’ COULD BE ZIPPING AROUND MOUNTAIN VIEW STREETS UNDER DMV PROPOSAL By Mark Noack
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MICHELLE LE
Eateries and offices are thriving on Castro Street, but it’s been tougher for retail shops to survive amid rising rents and changing customer habits.
Downtown study finds retail on the ropes BUSINESS IS GREAT FOR EATERIES AND OFFICES, BUT SHOPS AREN’T KEEPING UP By Mark Noack
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here’s money to be made in downtown Mountain View these days — that is, if you’re in the right line of business. A new city economic report
on the Castro Street area found that restaurants and the demand for tech office space are lifting Mountain View’s downtown to unprecedented growth and sales. But that prosperity isn’t being shared among all businesses.
Brick-and-mortar retail shops like bookstores, art galleries and knick-knack sellers are lagging behind, showing modest sales while facing the rising costs that come with a See DOWNTOWN, page 10
or nearly three years, Mountain View residents have become accustomed to seeing self-driving cars zipping around town, but the technology could soon be kicking off its training wheels. In a big leap, the California Department of Motor Vehicles last week published new proposed rules that would allow autonomous car companies to test cars without any human driver inside — meaning selfdriving cars would be truly driverless. If so, it could become a common sight to see unoccupied “ghost cars” zipping around Mountain View’s streets. “This is really the next step to moving forward the driverless testing and also the public use,” said DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez. “A number of (selfdriving car manufacturers) will be ready to move forward with driverless testing over the next year to make this happen.”
The new rules announced on Friday, March 10, come as the latest step in a fast-paced industry that, in many cases, is leaving regulators racing to catch up. Currently, 27 manufacturers have permits with the California DMV to test autonomous vehicles in the state, and many of those firms are either based in Mountain View or have an office nearby. While self-driving cars would no longer need a human behind the wheel, car manufacturers would need to have someone monitoring the vehicles remotely. It isn’t clear exactly how this would be accomplished, but reportedly the technology is sufficient to allow the monitors to remotely track autonomous vehicles. DMV officials are not specifying how many vehicles one person could monitor simultaneously. Many details of the new regulations are being left vague as See DRIVERLESS CARS, page 7
High school district’s champion of minority students set to retire ASSOCIATE SUPERINTENDENT BRIGITTE SARRAF WILL TAKE A PART-TIME ROLE By Kevin Forestieri
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fter almost half a century working in Mountain View’s education system, Associate Superintendent Brigitte Sarraf announced she will be retiring from the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District. Sarraf is credited for relentlessly championing efforts to raise achievement among the area’s underrepresented minority students since the 1970s, which ultimately won Mountain View
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High School national recognition last year. Sarraf, who spent most of her career overseeing curriculum and instruction including the recent roll-out of Common Core state standards, told the Voice she “technically” retired in December last year, but made no formal announcement and continues to maintain her role in the district office. The district is currently reviewing applicants to replace Sarraf, and is expected to make a final decision by the end of
March, according to Superintendent Jeff Harding. Although Sarraf will quietly be exiting, her colleagues have no problem extolling the work she’s done for the district. Harding praised Sarraf for being a constant advocate for open access and breaking down barriers that used to prevent lower-performing students from enrolling in rigorous academic classes. Under her watch, the district put together a framework dedicated to bringing underrepresented
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minorities up to speed, and ensuring that they take the classes that allow them to apply for the top colleges in the state. That framework includes at-risk youth counselors at both Mountain View and Los Altos high schools, more Spanish-speaking staff and bilingual community liaisons to help parents navigate the school system. The district was among the first in California to adopt “open access” policies — which allow students to take rigorous
Advanced Placement (AP) classes regardless of past performance — even though the move was hotly debated and well-outside of standard practices in 2001. Sarraf recalled that there were no other districts with an open access policy in the immediate area, and her extended search wasn’t exactly promising. “We only found one or two schools at the time that were dabbling in it, and in both cases the See SARRAF, page 8