German immersion WEEKEND | 16
NOVEMBER 10, 2017 VOLUME 25, NO. 42
www.MountainViewOnline.com
650.964.6300
MOVIES | 19
Stabbing victim attacked with bike, patio chair ATTACK OUTSIDE CPA WAS MOUNTAIN VIEW’S FIRST HOMICIDE IN THREE YEARS By Kevin Forestieri
P MICHELLE LE
Tushar Moorti, a parent volunteer at Landels Elementary, offers advice to students using a trebuchet to launch small pumpkins into the air on Nov. 7.
A physics lesson with projectile pumpkins LANDELS ELEMENTARY HARNESSES THE POWER OF SPRINGS AND LEVERS TO LAUNCH GOURDS By Kevin Forestieri
T
uesday afternoon was a sight to behold at Landels Elementary, as one by one, students launched grapefruit-sized pumpkins across the campus field, hoping to hear a satisfying splat when they hit the ground. While pumpkin destruction sounds like a fun way to blow
off steam, the spectacular display hosted annually by the school has a purpose beyond seasonal produce smashing. The parent-led activity, now in its fourth year, gives young children a glimpse into the world of physics and ways to harness energy that can send fruit flying. Landels parent Tushar Moorti began teaching the classes and
Rental committee seeks $1.2M handout from city COMMITTEE DEFERS TOUGH DECISION ON RENTAL COSTS By Mark Noack
I
t was a true dilemma for members of the city’s Rental Housing Committee on Monday night. On one hand, they needed to devise a way to fund the $2.4 million annual budget for the city’s rent control
INSIDE
program. But they also faced fierce resistance from a seething crowd of property owners who complained that a proposed annual fee on apartments would be unfair. So the committee landed on what appeared to be the only palatable solution — have the
wheeling out the medievallooking trebuchet — about the size of a golf cart — to show students scientific concepts in action. Dubbed the “Punkin Chunkin” class, the afternoon activity mimics the annual World Championship Punkin Chunkin event in Delaware, where contestants See PUMPKINS, page 6
city foot the bill. In an odd decision that drew many confused stares, the committee voted 3-1 to formally request that the Mountain View city government fund at least $1.2 million, or half the cost, of administering the city’s new rent control program for its first 14 months. “We should ask the city to reimburse us for half the potential fee based on the fact this is part of the city charter,” said See RENTAL COMMITTEE, page 7
VIEWPOINT 13 | GOINGS ON 21 | MARKETPLACE 22 | REAL ESTATE 23
olice revealed the weapons used in the violent stabbing attack that killed a 55-yearold man over the weekend: a bicycle, a patio chair and a table. The victim died of his injuries at the hospital a day after being attacked in downtown Mountain View on Nov. 4, according to police. As of Wednesday, his name had not been released, pending notification of his relatives, according to the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner and Coroner’s office. The suspect, identified by police as Jan Neal of Marin County, is being held in Santa Clara County jail without bail. Jan Neal Although the victim was stabbed, he was not attacked with a knife, said police spokeswoman Katie Nelson. The suspect allegedly attacked the victim with a bike and one of the metal patio chairs in the courtyard, Nelson told the Voice on Wednesday. The attack occurred around
6:30 p.m. in the courtyard in front of the the Center for Performing Arts at 500 Castro St., where a performance was in progress. Officers received reports of a fight, and said that the 43-year-old suspect was still attacking the victim when they arrived. The suspect refused to obey commands by police to stop, according to a statement by the Mountain View Police Department. Witnesses told police they saw the suspect punch and kick the victim’s head while he was unconscious on the ground, and that the suspect picked up a mountain bike over his head and slammed it against the victim’s head and torso, according to a statement of facts released by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Witnesses, who later identified Neal as the aggressor, say he repeated this several times with a bicycle, a metal chair and a metal table, according to the documents. When the first police officer arrived on the scene, a struggle ensued with the suspect, who See STABBING, page 12
Corrections to veterinary clinic story A September 22, 2017 story published by the Voice reporting on complaints against the Alta View Animal Hospital and its owner, Dr. Paul Ghumman, contained two statements in need of clarification and another that the Voice wishes to retract. In the case of a dog (“BooBoo”) treated by Dr. Ghumman and then taken by its
owner to another veterinarian for a second opinion and further treatment, the Voice wants to clarify that some medical records were provided to the second vet by Alta View on the day requested after repeated phone and email requests, according to the complaint made by the dog’s owner to See CLINIC, page 12