Hellenic hospitality WEEKEND | 17
OCTOBER 5, 2018 VOLUME 26, NO. 37
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MOVIES | 20
Council votes to allow pot shops in Mountain View DOWNTOWN, SAN ANTONIO AND NORTH BAYSHORE AMONG AREAS WHERE STOREFRONTS CAN OPEN By Kevin Forestieri
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NATALIA NAZAROVA
Parents in the San Antonio neighborhood listen to Councilwoman Margaret Abe-Koga speak at a meeting in Del Medio Park on Saturday about plans for a new public school campus and playing fields proposed by the Los Altos School District.
San Antonio residents say they want a neighborhood school COMMUNITY MEETING, SURVEY SHOW SUPPORT FOR NEW CAMPUS TO SERVE LOCAL STUDENTS By Kevin Forestieri
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ozens of parents and children packed into Del Medio Park over the weekend to talk about a future vision for Mountain View’s San Antonio neighborhood, with its
own school and expansive open space in a part of the city that currently lacks both. The small, 0.38-acre park — the location of the Sept. 29 community meeting — gets plenty of use by residents in the area who have to make do with the
postage stamp of green space. The San Antonio area, which falls within the Los Altos School District, has one of Mountain View’s worst residents-to-openspace ratios in the city and no See SAN ANTONIO, page 7
Oakland man arrested for alleged rape, strangulation By Kevin Forestieri
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ountain View police arrested an Oakland man on Sept. 27 after identifying him as the suspect in a rape and strangulation Sept. 23, according to a statement by the Mountain View Police Department. On Sunday, Sept. 23, the victim was admitted to a local hospital with visible signs of
INSIDE
sexual assault, according to the statement. The woman told officers that s he had picked up a friend — Lavel Powell identified as 29 -ye a r- old Lavel Powell — and that he had strangled her until she lost
consciousness and then sexually assaulted her, police said. According to the victim, Powell had called her in the early morning hours Sept. 23 and told her that he needed to be picked up from a business near the intersection of Dale Avenue and El Camino Real in Mountain View, police said. She drove Powell a short distance, See ARREST, page 16
VIEWPOINT 12 | GOINGS ON 21 | MARKETPLACE 22 | REAL ESTATE 24
majority of Mountain View City Council members agreed Tuesday night to allow marijuana retailers to open up shop in Mountain View, parting company with other cities in the county that have sought a ban on the businesses. The 5-2 vote to allow up to four marijuana stores — two storefront shops and two delivery businesses — came after hours of public comments, mostly from people who were opposed and warned that pot shops would ruin the family-friendly feel of the city and bring a wave of crime and drug use. Several speakers carried signs that said “No pot store in MTV” depicting a crossed-out marijuana leaf. Mayor Lenny Siegel and council members Chris Clark, John McAlister, Ken Rosenberg and Pat Showalter voted in favor of the proposal, with Margaret Abe-Koga and Lisa Matichak opposed. The council’s action would allow marijuana retailers, through a conditional use permit, to open up a storefront business in downtown Mountain View, the San Antonio Shopping Center, in North Bayshore and along El Camino Real, as well as in various major shopping centers throughout the city. City Council members agreed not to allow the shops in the Grant Park Plaza, both as a way of appeasing concerns from residents and an acknowledgment of how hard it is to access and park in the plaza. Rosenberg said allowing marijuana stores follows through on a clear mandate by voters in 2016. Nearly two-thirds of Mountain View residents supported Proposition 64, which cleared the way for recreational marijuana in the
state. Detailed election results showed every single precinct in the city at least held a majority in favor of the law. Although many of the 68 public speakers vehemently opposed the idea of pot retailers, he said the city can’t ignore the people who didn’t come to the meeting. “I see an opportunity for the city of Mountain View that extends beyond Mountain View, given that the progressiveness of this city is not shared by some of our neighbors. And yet people who live in those cities are going to enjoy shopping here, as they already do,” Rosenberg said. “As much as I enjoy Cupertino, the city itself has no soul. They try to make a downtown and it’s basically a mall. Mountain View doesn’t have that issue.” Some of the public speakers, however, worried that turning the city into a magnet for recreational marijuana would cause a whole host of problems. Resident Tootoo Thomson told council members that the city isn’t ready for the “new can of worms” that the marijuana retailers will bring, and that the vote on Proposition 64 shouldn’t be conflated with residents wanting the businesses in their backyard. In a statement submitted to the council prior to the meeting, Thompson said the city should follow the example set by neighboring cities and continue the moratorium on marijuana retailers. “Palo Alto, Los Altos and Sunnyvale have not approved to (sic) open any marijuana outlet. Please learn from them. Otherwise the drug addicts, criminals and homeless people will flock to our city,” she said in the statement. See POT SHOPS, page 11