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evening trains and restore four midday trains in order to reduce crowding from the increased demand for train service. The new trains will begin running in the fall. The steady increase in ridership is a respite from the decrease that occurred in 2008 as a result of job loss from the economic recession. Dunn says that the increase demonstrates an economic recovery in the Bay Area, as more companies hire new employees and encourage their employees to take public transportation to work. Under Caltrain’s Go Pass program, employers pay for their employees to take Caltrain. Caltrain also operates various free shuttle services to transport commuters to work. “The economy in this region is healthier than in most areas of the country, so we’re seeing a big increase in shuttle ridership, and shuttles go directly from train stations to (people’s) work,” Dunn said. Dunn also acknowledged that high gas prices could contribute to an increased use of public transportation, as commuters
DANIELLA SANCHEZ
Empty seats can be hard to come by during commute hours.
look for ways to save money. San Francisco resident David Siegel said he takes Caltrain
to work five days a week, and has noticed crowding on Caltrain during peak transporta-
tion hours. While Siegel says he uses Caltrain in order to cut down on transportation
munity to provide opportunities to learn about the environment and social justice. Since 2005, Hidden Villa has been providing CSA with almost 10,000 pounds of food annually for distribution to low-income families. Tied House Brewery & Café is a family owned Mountain View business that has been donating time, money, and food to a variety of local non-profits. They are a major sponsor of the Mountain View Art & Wine Festival, have hosted CSA’s volunteer recognition event for the past three years, and have been a “Chefs Who Care” restaurant. They have also have been a food sponsor to CSA’s past two spring galas. This year’s heroes will be celebrated on Friday, Sept. 14, 2012 at 7:15 A.M. at the Crown Plaza Cabana in Palo Alto. CSA is a non-profit, social service safety-net provider in Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills. CSA was started in 1957 by a group of Mountain View residents hoping to help low-income families and migrant farm workers. The nonprofit now opens its doors to the elderly, the homeless, the working poor and the unemployed in the area. —Rebecca Alger
early Mountain View businessman Charles Pearson, but details Continued from page 1 were not disclosed. The City Council recently unclear whether the house would voted to allow Burnell to demolfit without first being partially ish the house if a new home for disassembled, or possibly mov- it could not be found. Members ing a garage that sits in the way. seemed willing to put the fate of “If it would work, I got room,” the historic home in the hands she said. of Burnell after seeing him work Manoli made to save it over the her offer known last year, offering as in a letter to the ‘It seems stupid much as $500,000 to editor she sent move and restore it, to the Voice. She to let an offer said council memsays her properber Jac Siegel. ty was a working Manoli said like that go.’ farm. “How many she’d also be interJOSEPHINE MANOLI of those are left? ested in taking the The city can move “immigrant house” it (the Pearson on Burnell’s propHouse) here and have a nice place erty that Marina Marinovich is for future generations to enjoy trying to save. The tiny home her and learn about the past. “ Croatian grandparents once lived “We are completely interested in would be much easier to move in Ms. Manoliís offer,” Burnell into Manoli’s backyard if it were said in an email. “I made a call found it to be a good place for it. to her right away and thank you Burnell says he is continuing for the connection. We are now to work with Marinovich to save eagerly waiting for her response. the immigrant house as well, We look forward to contributing and said in a July 23 email that to the successful relocation of the he is conducting “a continued Pearson House.” search for creative options and Manoli said she would be solutions” to save the homes and wiling to allow public access to that “this concerted effort will the house on certain days of the continue until the time of any week, similar to the Rengstorff future groundbreaking” on his House. If it doesn’t work out, four-story office building. Burnell added that there is “another party interested in the Email Daniel DeBolt historic structure” once home to at ddebolt@mv-voice.com
N COMMUNITYBRIEFS
MVLA COMMUNITY SCHOLARS The Mountain View Los Altos Community Scholars program celebrated some of its most recent scholar recipients at a picnic over the weekend which featured speeches from local dignitaries, program mentors and students who have used their scholarships to reach for their dreams. Council member Ronit Bryant spoke at the event, issuing a proclamation in recognition of the work done by the MVLA Community Scholars. Bryant said she was “impressed” with the program and “grateful” for all the hard work that goes into supporting bright young men and women who just need a little extra help in getting to college. MVLA Community Scholars provides four-year scholarships to high potential, low income students living in Mountain View and Los Altos. “These students are intelligent, and with a little help do great things with their lives. All they need is a fair chance,” said Dee Gibson, chairman of the group’s board of directors. In its first year, 2000, the program provided a scholarship to Jose Antonio Vargas, who would later go on to win a Pulitzer 8
Prize for his reporting on the Virginia Tech shootings and become a nationally recognized advocate for immigrants rights.
CSA NAMES ‘HOMETOWN HEROES’ Community Services Agency announced this year’s “Hometown Heroes,” the annual celebration to honor both individuals and businesses for their philanthropic contributions to CSA and the local community. This year’s winners are Duncan MacVicar of Los Altos, Hidden Villa of Los Altos Hills, and Tied House Brewery & CafÈ of Mountain View, representing the individual, nonprofit, and business categories, respectively. Along with serving on the CSA board of directors for six years, Duncan MacVicar volunteers for the Methodist Church, the American Cancer Society, El Camino Hospital,Craigslist Foundation, and the Career Action Center. He is also the founder of the North County Homeless Housing Coalition and the California Veterans Legal Task Force. Hidden Villa is a nonprofit educational organization in Los Altos Hills that uses organic farming, wilderness, and com-
■ Mountain View Voice ■ MountainViewOnline.com ■ August 10, 2012
time and avoid searching for parking, the free shuttle and financial assistance offered by his employer, Mountain Viewbased Intuit, also encouraged him to take public transportation. “My company pays a subsidy if you take mass transit, so definitely I take that into consideration,” Siegel said. Caltrain receives 50 percent of its funding from fare box revenues, which have increased 22.1 percent since last year due to increases in fares and ridership. Another portion of the company’s funding comes from contributions from Caltrain’s three partner agencies, Samtrans, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, and the City and County of San Francisco, but it’s not enough to cover its budget. Difficulty in finding enough outside funding often forces Caltrain to raise its fare prices, but Dunn says the increase in ridership will stave off any immediate fare hikes for now. Caltrain’s most recent fare hike took effect July 1. “We made more revenue than we thought we were going to make,” Dunn said. “I don’t think we have any plan at this point to increase the fare.”
PEARSON HOUSE
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