-PDBM/FXT
WEST VALLEY MUSIC
NASA request is a ‘promising’ move for Hangar One’s future By Daniel DeBolt
N
ASA Ames Research Center is taking a potential first step towards restoring Hangar One at Moffett Field by asking construction contractors to consider the cost of restoring the iconic landmark. NASA wants to hear from contractors and other interested parties on how they would go about replacing the hangar’s toxic siding — with cost estimates, said Ames director of center operations, Deb Feng. Past estimates have ranged from $15 million to $40 million, but Feng said she was sure it wasn’t $15 million. According to the “Request for Information� (RFI), released Monday, NASA wants to put new corrugated steel siding on Hangar One once the Navy removes the existing laminate siding, which contains PCBs and asbestos, next year. The RFI says that “NASA’s desire is to rehabilitate the hangar with new metal siding, restore the historic windows, install a new roof on the upper crown of the hangar and return the hangar to a state of usefulness.� While the RFI looks like a “promising� step forward, some of the hangar’s most ardent preservation-
ists were disappointed to see that NASA wants to use metal siding, said Lenny Siegel, board member of the Air and Space West Foundation. Siegel and his fellow board members have been working to preserve the hangar for years and are now working with the Smithsonian Institute to put an air and space museum inside. A proposal for a teflon-fiberglass fabric siding was made in 2007 by architect Linda Ellis, wife of the Air and Space West Foundation’s CEO Larry Ellis. Similar to what is used on the Shoreline Amphitheatre, it would be semi-translucent for natural lighting and have some cost savings over time, Ellis had said. While the RFI is not asking for bids on the actual residing work, a request for proposals could be the next step. Chief among the reasons for the RFI, Feng said, was to identify the costs of re-skinning Hangar One so that NASA management could figure out how to move forward. The request said that “to date, funding has not been identified for this rehabilitation effort,� but Feng said NASA was looking at various sources, including the possibility of funding it internally along with a $10 million appropriation Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is
School board elections Both school board incumbents face no challengers for re-election to the Mountain View Whisman School District’s board of trustees this November. The two incumbents are Ellen Wheeler and Phillip Palmer. Robin Iwai, a school volunteer and vice president of the board of
the Day Worker Center of Mountain View, initially pulled papers but has decided not to run. Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District trustees Judy Hannemann and Joe Mitchner are up for re-election this year. Incumbent Julia Rosenberg will not seek re-election. At press time, it was
seeking. “Anna has been very supportive of it, so we feel that there is some way to get the funding,� Feng said. Very soon $1.2 million will be needed if NASA wants to preserve the hangar’s unique corrugated windows, which would need to be carefully removed and the asbestos sealing putty cleaned off. Feng said an RFI was not unusual for NASA projects, but said it was “more unusual� for its construction projects. Siegel said he’d wished that the Navy had sent out an request before moving on its now controversial plan to remove the siding and destroy some of the hangar’s historic interior structures, which has left preservationist scrambling to save historic artifacts. NASA went as far as to vet the RFI with the State Historic Preservation Office, Feng said. “We have not skinned a hangar like this ever,� Feng said. “We thought (the RFI) was the smart thing to do because of the uniqueness of Hangar One. We want the best of minds and eyes on it.� The RFI is available at tinyurl. com/hangarone-rfi and the deadline for responses is Sept. 23.
EDUCATION Group Start Classes s 'UITAR s 0IANO Designed to give the student a start on learning a new instrument. +ICKSTART #LASSES s Flute s #LARINET s 3AXOPHONE The perfect class for beginning players behind in their band program to, that are afraid of the commitment of private lessons. Class emphasizes instrument care, embouchure/sound issues and ďŹ ngering problems. Class limit of 10. Class duration: 1.5 hours. Boot Camp Classes s Flute s #LARINET s 3AXOPHONE A great class for intermediate players to hone in on skills speciďŹ c to each instrument. Class limit of 10. Class duration: 2.5 hours. 3PECIALTY #LASSES "ROADWAY CLASSICS FOR KIDS $RUM 3ET
Top Teachers in the Bay Area!
(650) 961-1566 • 262 Castro St., Mountain View For more information and registration, please visit
www.westvalleymusic.com
Roller
&
Hapgood
PRESCHOOL
Continued from page 6
said of the board’s decision. “We were hoping that they would reconsider their decision.� Tynefield is optimistic that although the board members are not going to change their minds, they may help the preschool find a new home. After Tynefield spoke, board member Julia Rosenberg told her that the two of them might speak “offline� about how the district could help. Tynefield said she has already begun talks with some board members who have new ideas for locations for the preschool. “We would like to help you find a home for your fabulous program,� Rosenberg said at the meeting. “Unfortunately, it cannot be at Los Altos High School.� V
Continued from page 5
Saturday night is Frank Drake, who discovered the famous Drake equation and founded SETI as a field of science. Shostak called Drake the biggest luminary in the SETI field still accessible by the public. Drake first began listening to the stars for signs of intelligent life 50 years ago and continues to work in the Mountain View SETI offices today. Among Drake’s numerous accomplishments, which include directing the famous Aracebo observatory in Puerto Rico, he worked with the late Carl Sagan to create the aluminum plaques attached to pioneer spacecraft in the early 1970s designed to provide a message to intelligent life outside of the earth’s solar system. Shostak said SETI expects
&
Tinney
The Peninsula’s Premier Funeral Service and Cremation Provider Serving all faiths since 1899 Offering Pre-need Arrangements 980 MiddleďŹ eld Rd, Palo Alto, California 94301
(650) 328-1360 www.rollerhapgoodtinney.com Se Habla EspaĂąol
Funeral Home FD132
E-mail Daniel DeBolt at ddebolt@mv-voice.com unclear whether either of the nonincumbents listed on the county registrar of voters’ unofficial candidate list — Debbie Torok and Lara Daetz — would run. They had until 5 p.m. on Aug. 11 to file. Daetz told the Voice she might not run after all, even though she filed a declaration of candidacy July 30. Torok could not be reached for comment.
A Guide to the Spiritual Community Los Altos Lutheran Church ELCA
SETI
All Ages Welcome
upwards of a 1,000 people “from all over the place.� Unfortunately for SETI, those visitors are probably still limited to those from planet earth. The event could have been held in Mountain View, Shostak admits, but there is no conference center here. SETI is a collection of over 100 privately funded scientists working away in a Mountain View office building, with some of them listening for signs of alien life in radio waves from space. That was recently made easier with the installation of SETI’s new Allen Telescope Array, a set of dish antennas near Redding. In other SETI news, the nonprofit operation will soon be moving from its North Whisman Road location to larger, more permanent home in Mountain View at 189 Bernardo Avenue, Shostak said. Go to www.seticon.com. Tickets start at $20.
Pastor David K. Bonde Outreach Pastor Gary Berkland
9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Education Nursery Care Provided 650-948-3012
To include your Church in
Inspirations Please call Blanca Yoc at 650-326-8210 ext. 6596 or e-mail byoc@paweekly.com
460 S. El Monte Ave., Los Altos
www.losaltoslutheran.org
MOUNTAIN VIEW CENTRAL SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH Sabbath School: 9:30 a.m. Saturday Services: Worship 10:45 a.m. Wednesday Study Groups: 10-11 a.m. Pastor Kenny Fraser, B.A.M. DIV 1425 Springer Rd., Mtn. View OfďŹ ce Hrs. M-F 9am-1pm www.mtviewda.adventistfaith.org Phone: 650-967-2189
V
AUGUST 13, 2010 â– MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE â–
7