The holidays on film | P.19
DECEMBER 23, 2011 VOLUME 19, NO. 49
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INSIDE: WEEKEND | PAGE 15
MountainViewOnline.com
Will city give business more time to move? SIMON PRINTING SAYS IT WILL HAVE TO CLOSE IF DEADLINE NOT EXTENDED By Daniel DeBolt
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MICHELLE LE
Simon Printing craftsman Mark Stovall preps a plate to be burned in the film storage room.
n a quiet corner of Silicon Valley you can find an original Heidelberg press, a marvel from the heyday of mechanical engineering, humming along daily to produce the sort of embossed, perforated and hot-foil-stamped stationery a Kinkos employee could only dream of. “When I say craftsmen, I’m not kidding,” said Cora Simon of the three longtime press operators at Simon Printing, which moved to Mountain View’s Mora Drive 28 years ago. “They make the impossible possible.” The shop has found success in the high-quality printing niche
More domestic violence in a bad economy SHELTER FOR BATTERED WOMEN HOPES TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF SPOUSAL ABUSE By Nick Veronin
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t is a common misconception that rates of domestic violence spike during the holiday season, according to Stacy Castle, chief operating officer of the Young Women’s Christian Association of Silicon Valley. Castle, who oversees the YWCA Silicon Valley’s Domestic Violence Department, said that there is no specific time of year when spousal abuse is highest. Unfortunately, she said, it is a perennial problem, which has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Domestic violence is at an “all time high” in Santa Clara County, according to Castle — a fact she attributes, at least in part, to the recession. As the country enters yet anoth-
INSIDE
er year of economic turmoil — with levels of unemployment and financial insecurity especially high in California — Castle said that many families in Mountain View and the surrounding areas are feeling squeezed more than ever before. “As that stress continues to build, we continue to see a rise in domestic violence,” Castle said. In an effort to shield women from abusive partners, the YWCA Silicon Valley runs the Support Network for Battered Women. The program — one of seven local nonprofits that receive help from the Voice’s annual Holiday Fund drive — provides a variety of services for
women (and their children) who have been victims of domestic violence. The Support Network runs a 24-bed shelter, and offers professional counseling and support groups for adults and children, case management, legal advocacy, a toll-free hotline, and crisis intervention services, Castle said. It can even arrange transportation and hotel accommodations on a moment’s notice if the situation is dire enough to call for such action, she added. “Our shelter is needed to help keep people safe from domestic violence,” both in the short term and the long term, she said.
2011 HOLIDAY FUND
The professional counseling and support groups can be a critical source of information for domestic violence victims. Many women who are in abusive relationships grew up in households where such behavior was normal, Castle said. The Network staff work hard to break the cycle of domestic violence. “’That’s how my mom and dad interact, that’s how everyone on my block interacts,’” Castle said, explaining the thought process that can make the cycle of domestic violence seem normal to both men and women. “Dispelling those notions is crucial.” In an effort to nip domestic violence in the bud, the Network offers counseling to the children of abused women as well as to See SHELTER, page 6
GOINGS ON 20 | MARKETPLACE 21 | MOVIES 18 | REAL ESTATE 23 | VIEWPOINT 13
as the printing industry declines. Nevertheless, it may be forced to close soon by unusual circumstances. Simon Printing is one of 17 businesses on Mora Drive that have to close or relocate by April because of an agreement made 25 years ago to allow housing development on Mora Drive in 2012. The City Council approved a gatekeeper request Dec. 13 to allow the planning process to begin for a five-acre housing project there, and several offers have already been made on the property by developers. The Simons say they can’t afford to move to a new space See SMALL BUSINESS, page 7
New Hangar One skin cheaper than demolition By Daniel DeBolt
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ongress take note: a new NASA report says that demolishing Moffett Field icon Hangar One is more costly than replacing its toxic siding. Pleasantly surprising preservationists, the Condition Analysis and Rehabilitation Plan for Hangar One, released Dec. 16, puts the cost of demolishing Hangar One at $44.4 million, while doing the bare minimum to save the hangar, installing a new skin, would cost $40.7 million. The report’s “findings are See HANGAR ONE, page 12