Owner of Condemned Mobile Home Vows to Fight
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PUBLICATION AND PALO ALTO WEEKLY PUBLICATION PALO ALTO WEEKLY AN ALMANAC, MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICEE AND AN ALMANAC, MOUNTAIN VIEW VOIC HOME+GARDEN Spring SPRING 2011 Home & TWO KITCHENS, Garden TWO Design GOALS IN MOUNTAIN VIEW PAGE 22 IN THIS ISSUE East meets West in APRIL 8, 2011 VOLUME 19, NO. 13 INSIDE: WEEKEND | PAGE 20 650.964.6300Mountain View I Page 4 MountainViewOnline.com Google gives $1M to local Owner of schools condemned mobile By Nick Veronin oogle announced plans on home vows to fight Tuesday to give $1 million Gto local elementary and UNCERTAIN FUTURE FOR UNITS AFFECTED BY middle schools to fund math pro- COLLAPSED CREEK BANK AT SAHARA MOBILE VILLAGE grams for struggling students. “We are extremely grateful to By Nick Veronin vens Creek Drive, a street within Google for making it possible Sahara Mobile Village. to embark on this new era of t’s just been a damn mess,” Gomez-Martinez said he will be instruction and student achieve- said Bob Burnham, an allowed to remain in his home. ment,” said Craig Goldman, “I eight-year resident of Burnham, a 77-year-old retir- superintendent of the Mountain Sahara Mobile Village whose ee, was home when the cliff View Whisman School District. home is uninhabitable since his collapsed, taking most of his A statement from the school backyard was swept away by heavy backyard and the majority of a district said the grant will be rains and the rushing current of white picket fence with it. used to identify strategies for Stevens Creek on March 20. Although he is glad that his unit improving math instruction, Residents and management at has not been damaged and that train and support teachers, and the mobile home park expressed his cat, Whiskers, was not harmed provide ongoing oversight of relief, resignation, anger and in the landslide, he is upset with programs developed using the frustration — in some cases all how the incident has been han- Google money. at once — at the damage caused dled by the mobile home park’s The grant is aimed specifically by last month’s days-long deluge management. Action should at those students in the district that eroded the cliff along the have been taken years ago to who need the most help in their creek’s banks. prevent it, he said. math classrooms, according to “We weren’t affected, fortu- “If they would have done some- Goldman and Heather Spain, nately,” said Daniel Gomez- thing three years ago we wouldn’t manager of community affairs Martinez. His backyard was be in this mess,” Burnham said. at Google. spared, but just barely. Three of The owners of the park have “We are truly humbled by the his neighbors weren’t so lucky. known for years that the cliffs company’s generosity and sin- MICHELLE LE The cliff that gave way bor- along the bank of the creek cere desire to help the district’s One of the three homes that were damaged by a collapsing creek ders Stevens Creek and runs needed reinforcement, but did neediest students,” Goldman bank at the Sahara Mobile Village. behind several homes along Ste- See TRAILER PARK, page 6 said. The district’s statement noted that math is a key indicator of future academic success and that the grant would go toward Caltrain unveils plan for less-drastic cuts helping socio-economically dis- advantaged students in Moun- SAN ANTONIO STATION SAVED UNDER TENTATIVE FINANCIAL AGREEMENT tain View’s primary and middle schools. By Sue Dremann Clara County’s Valley Transporta- considerably more service than an nario that would have cut trains “We really want to help level tion Authority (VTA), San Mateo earlier proposal that would have from 96 to 48. The agency faces a the playing field in math and altrain has released a ten- County’s SamTrans and San Fran- gutted the rail line. $30 million operating deficit on a make sure that all the kids in tative financial plan that cisco’s Metropolitan Transit Agency Caltrain staff is recommending $100 million budget. the district are getting a strong Cwould preserve much of the — and the regional Metropoli- that the Peninsula Corridor Joint The 76-train schedule would foundation in math,” Spain commuter rail’s train service while tan Transportation Commission Powers Board, which oversees Cal- maintain the current early-morn- said. cutting 12 trains and three stations, reached an agreement Monday train, authorize a 76-train weekday ing, midday and late-evening week- The grant is part of a broader according to a Tuesday press release. night, April 4, on a tentative finan- schedule beginning in July 2011. day service hours and would contin- Google campaign geared toward Mountain View’s San Antonio sta- cial plan. Currently, there are 96 trains run- ue service between Gilroy and San improving science, technology, tion is spared the chopping block If approved, it would significantly ning during the week. Francisco. The weekend schedule engineering and math education under the plan. reduce the agency’s projected fiscal- The proposed schedule is a 60 would continue but would modify Executive staff from Caltrain’s year 2012 operating deficit. percent increase in weekday train weekend and special-event service, See GOOGLE GRANT, page 6 three member agencies — Santa The new proposal would allow frequency over a worst-case sce- See CALTRAIN, page 10 INSIDE GOINGS ON 23 | MARKETPLACE 24 | MOVIES 22 | REAL ESTATE 27 |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q 1#.3/#& /4.3#+.+'6q" /,,#1&/#& /2#3/2 2 ■ MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE ■ APRIL 8, 2011 7PJD FT 2010 AROUND TOWN Asked in Downtown Mountain View. Pictures and interviews by Peter Maxwell Have you noticed any signs that the local economy is improving? 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