Category: News

First we would like to say Happy New Year and thanks for turning out to vote in the 2018 elections. We are excited about the historic all-woman Council and we hope that they can work cooperatively to get important things done in 2019. We are cheering them on!

As residents, most of the time we are in react mode. The City Council has something on their agenda and we have to show up at Council meetings to voice our opinion if we agree-or disagree with what is being proposed. Or, worse yet, we read about what the Council did decide on a specific issue in the Town Crier and we’re frustrated because it’s not what we think is right. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to help decide what the Council focuses on instead? Well, now we all have our chance. The Council is asking residents to take a survey to help them set priorities for the upcoming year. Continue reading “Making a difference in Los Altos”

Part of FOLA’s charter is to keep an ear to the ground in order to keep current on what’s going on in our community and what residents are both pleased with as well as unhappy about. One subject, which lies just below the surface but seems to be a constant point for discussion, is why in the world do our City Council meetings last so long? Not only does it seem like they go on forever, but by the time they’re over, or at least it seems, it’s often past midnight and most of the attendees have departed for a good night’s sleep. For a small, mostly residential city of 30,000, we don’t exactly have the problems of a San Jose or San Francisco, so what could be taking so much time? Continue reading “So why do our City Council meetings last so long?”

Okay, before you know it election time will be upon us. No, we are not going to discuss the upcoming Presidential election ­— we would rather see and hear the fights that go on in your extended family than try tangling with anyone we aren’t tied to by birth or marriage. Our discussion here is about local politics, for better or worse.

We will try to provide some insight into both the election of Council members vying for the three open seats on the Los Altos City Council as well as the contest for Santa Clara County Board of Education. The what? Okay, let us cover the former in this article and the Board of Education in our next.  Continue reading “Ballot Blues – Election Season is Here, Los Altos Edition”

Have you ever been to a carnival with a house of mirrors? You can make yourself look larger or even look like a crowd. Just a few people in the house of mirrors can look like a huge gathering. Here in Los Altos, special interests are doing the equivalent of a house of mirrors in the current City Council election. A small group of people is trying to appear as a large group of organizations who have reached a consensus on the best candidates. This small group is strongly pro-development and is not terribly interested in balancing the need for development versus what is best for the overall community. Continue reading “A House of Mirrors or Has Los Altos Politics Just Turned Dirty?”

Well Chris Harrison’s tagline, taken from the television show The Bachelor-ette, really applies to the election this year, both at the national as well as the local level. In Los Altos, the battle lines appear to be drawn with a fat marker between the “pro development” and the “resident-centric group” (or as some who favor aggressive development might say, “anti-development”). Continue reading “The most explosive season yet”

Why we should not rely on political parties to tell us who to vote for in City Council elections

Most of the more senior residents of Los Altos would probably agree that this presidential election is turning out to be more partisan, uglier and nastier than any in the last fifty years. But does that mean that our local elections for City Council members need to be partisan, ugly or nasty? We think not and we hope not. Continue reading “No Party this Year”

The 1993 film The Fugitive has an iconic scene where a freight train smashed into fugitive Richard Kimble’s (played by Harrison Ford) prisoner transport bus. After the impact the train derails, almost killing Kimble a second time. For those of us watching the Los Altos City Council meetings where the Community Center construction progress is being described, it brings back flashbacks of that movie and a train wreck happening before us, albeit in slow motion.

We know that readers often want us to tell them in twenty-five words or less what the problem is and what we want them to do about it. So instead of making you wait until the end of the article, let’s give you the short version of the story, which we sincerely hope doesn’t have a bad ending. Continue reading “The Community Center project – A train wreck in the making?”

October used to be the month that brought us tricks or treats. In the last few years it has also brought October surprises just before elections. We have now grown to expect this at the national level, but it turns out October surprises are now being orchestrated at the local level, specifically the upcoming City Council elections.

The “Ted and Jerry Sorensen October Surprise” is here

Continue reading “The October Surprise — Local Politics At Its Worst”

While there was much nail biting on both sides about the Presidential elections, many of us were less concerned about the outcome of the race for Los Altos City Council. Why? Because we had a really good group of candidates, all of whom were interested in making Los Altos a better place. We were pleased to see two candidates we recommended – Lynette Lee Eng and Sally Meadows – be the two top vote getters.

So, with that said, we offer heartfelt congratulations to Lynette Lee Eng on her re-election and likewise congratulations to Jonathan Weinberg and Sally Meadows as the newest members of the City Council. The new Council members have the luxury of several weeks of peace and quiet before the demands of their new positions are upon them. However, once the new Council is seated there is much to do and we hope they can bring new ideas and perspective to the challenges the City must address.

We would also like to congratulate Deputy City Manager Jon Maginot, who will take on the role of Acting City Manager upon City Manager Chris Jordan’s departure from Los Altos on December 5^th. We have known Jon for many years and look forward to his thoughtful, steady hand in steering the City through a challenging period of time.

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