7JFXQPJOU
â– EDITORIAL â– YOUR LETTERS â– GUEST OPINIONS
N EDITORIAL
THE OPINION OF THE VOICE Founding Editor, Kate Wakerly
N S TA F F Publisher Tom Gibboney
Editorial Managing Editor Don Frances Staff Writers Daniel DeBolt, Kelsey Mesher Intern Dana Sherne Photographer Michelle Le Photo Intern James Tensuan Contributors Dale Bentson, Angela Hey, Sheila Himmel, Jennifer Pence, Monica Schreiber
Design & Production Design Director Raul Perez Designers Linda Atilano, Laura Don, Gary Vennarucci
Advertising Advertising Representatives Anna Mirsky, Dianna Prather Real Estate Account Executive Rosemary Lewkowitz Real Estate Advertising Coordinator Diane Martin Published every Friday at 450 Cambridge Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 964-6300 fax (650) 964-0294 E-mail news and photos to: editor@MV-Voice.com E-mail letters to: letters@MV-Voice.com News/Editorial Department (650) 964-6300 fax (650) 964-0294 Display Advertising Sales (650) 964-6300 Classified Advertising Sales s FAX
Holiday Fund helps strapped local agencies
L
ast year more Voice readers than ever before shrugged off the sagging economy and dug deep into their pockets, donating more than $40,000 to support seven local nonprofits in the Voice’s annual Holiday Fund drive. Along with grants from the Hewlett and Packard foundations, as well as the Wakerly Family Foundation, a total of more than $70,000 was raised, giving each nonprofit more than $10,000. This year, we hope to exceed the record of 178 donors to the fund, and also surpass last year’s total donation for each of the nonprofit agencies. With the economy still floundering, there continues to be hundreds, even thousands, of local residents who are having trouble providing the basic needs of food and shelter for their families, or who are suffering from a lack of other important social services. If you are able, please consider making a donation to the Voice Holiday Fund this year. Your contribution will help provide a safety net to those who are down on their luck. These are our neighbors who may have been laid off unexpectedly, or had a catastrophic illness, or suffer from addiction or mental health problems. They deserve our help. The Voice Holiday Fund, now in its seventh year, provides grants to organizations that can offer a temporary home, arrange health care or provide counseling to bring an end to the substance abuse that destroys families and victimizes young children. Last year through the Holiday Fund, the Voice and its foundation partners were able to raise a total of $75,125 for seven local agencies. More than half that contribution, $42,000, was donated by Voice readers. With matching grants of over $33,000, the Holiday Fund was able to provide $10,732 for each of the seven nonprofit agencies. Monies contributed to the Holiday Fund are held by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and will be distributed to the nonprofits in February or early March. No administrative costs or fees are deducted from Holiday Fund gifts, so 100 percent of all donations will be received by the nonprofit agencies.
2009
liday o H und F
Here are the organizations that will benefit from this year’s Holiday Fund: Community Services Agency of Mountain View and Los Altos CSA assists homeless families and seniors with short-term housing, medical care and more. The nonprofit is a cooperative effort of 17 faith communities in Mountain View and Los Altos.
Community Health Awareness Council CHAC serves Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and seven school districts. It offers school-based programs to protect students from high-risk behaviors, such as drug and alcohol abuse.
Mountain View RotaCare Clinic The RotaCare Clinic provides uninsured community residents with medical care and medications and is frequently the last resort for this underserved demographic.
Day Worker Center of Mountain View The Day Worker Center provides a secure place for workers and employers to negotiate wages. It serves 50 or more workers per day with jobs, English lessons and guidance.
Support Network for Battered Women This group operates a 24-hour bilingual hotline and a safe shelter for women and their children. It also offers counseling and other services for families dealing with domestic violence.
Community School of Music and Arts CSMA provides hands-on arts and music projects in the elementary classrooms of the Mountain View Whisman School District. Nearly 40 percent of the students are low-income, and 28 percent have limited English proficiency.
Partners for New Generations Partners for New Generations matches adult volunteers with organizations serving youth in the Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills area.
We hope that this year, as in the past, Voice readers will show their generosity by giving to these worthy causes. To give to the Holiday Fund, simply cut out the coupon provided in the paper each week (this week’s coupon is on page 8) and send it in with your donation. Or donations can be made online by going to www.siliconvalleycf.org/giving-mvv.html.
E-mail Classified ads@MV-Voice.com E-mail Circulation circulation@MV-Voice.com
N GUESTOPINION
The Voice is published weekly by Embarcadero Publishing Co. and distributed free to residences and businesses in Mountain View. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 964-6300. Subscriptions for $60 PER YEAR PER YEARS ARE WELCOME
Save Shoreline’s burrowing owls
Copyright Š2009 by Embarcadero Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Member, Mountain View Chamber of Commerce
CITY MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN ATHLETIC FIELDS OR DISAPPEARING SPECIES By Shani Kleinhaus & Bob Power
N WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? All views must include a home address and contact phone number. Published letters will also appear on the web site, www.MountainViewOnline.com, and occasionally on the Town Square forum.
TOWN SQUARE FORUM POST your views on the Town Square forum at www.MountainViewOnline.com E-MAIL your views to letters@MV-Voice.com. Indicate if it is a letter to be published. MAIL to: Editor Mountain View Voice, P.O. Box 405 Mountain View, CA 94042-0405 CALL the Viewpoint desk at 964-6300
18
â– MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE â– NOVEMBER 20, 2009
O
nce numbering in the hundreds around the Bay, the western burrowing owl in Santa Clara County is now down to fewer than 40 nesting pairs. In the past 10 years, as many as 13 of those pairs nested at Mountain View’s Shoreline Park. In 2009, the last three remaining families raised owlets there. Relying on ground squirrel burrows, along with thoughtfully placed man-made nesting chambers, the burrowing owls at Shoreline have delighted park users for the past several decades. But plans now being drawn up
by the city of Mountain View put this animal’s future in doubt. In 2008, city staff presented plans for an athletic field that would use Shoreline Park lands along Garcia Avenue. In July 2009, city staff released a request for proposals for the design of the athletic field, and on Sept. 22 the council approved a $667,300 contract for BAS and Associates to design the facility. The September staff report to the council does not discuss an environmental impact report or analysis of alternatives for this development. The report mentions conversations with “local experts Continued on next page