Wed07012015

News

Effective today, library cards free again in Los Altos

Both Los Altos libraries should see a spike in use soon. After the elimination of an $80 annual card fee that had been in place since 2011, nonresidents will receive free library cards at local libraries, effective today.

Residents of Mountain View ...

Read more:

Loading...

Schools

Almond fifth-graders set sail at Shoreline

Almond fifth-graders set sail at Shoreline


Courtesy of Corinne Finegan Machatzke
Fifth- graders at Almond School launched the boats they designed and built at Shoreline Lake last month.

Almond School fifth-graders boarded their handmade boats at Shoreline Lake in Mountain View last month to...

Read more:

Loading...

Community

Taking it back to 'The Streets': Local filmmaker aims to revive 1970s series 'Streets of San Francisco'

Taking it back to 'The Streets': Local filmmaker aims to revive 1970s series 'Streets of San Francisco'


Courtesy of Charles Alley
Charles Alley’s filmmaking company may be based in Mountain View, but he knows all about “The Streets of San Francisco.” He’s rebooting the 1970s TV classic.

When people look for the next hit TV show, they often assume ...

Read more:

Loading...

Sports

Enjoying the moment


Courtesy of Dick D’OlivA
Former Golden State Warriors trainer Dick D’Oliva, from left, wife Vi, former Warriors assistant coach Joe Roberts and wife Celia ride on a cable car in the victory parade.

Dick D’Oliva almost couldn’...

Read more:

Loading...

Comment

The death knell of suburbia: A Piece of My Mind

The orchards are gone. The single-story ranch house is seen as a waste of valuable land and air space. An eight-lane freeway thunders past the bridle paths in Los Altos Hills. But nothing has signaled the death of suburbia more strongly than the ann...

Read more:

Loading...

Special Sections

While competent & safe, MKC still cant catch European competitors

While competent & safe, MKC still cant catch European competitors


courtesy of Ford
The 2015 Lincoln MKC doesn’t overwhelm as far as overall performance goes, but it does offer comfortable ride quality.

Of all the auto companies with headquarters in the United States, only Ford managed to weather the great re...

Read more:

Loading...

Business

Company installs EV charging stations at LAHS

Company installs EV charging stations at LAHS


Zoe Morgan/Town Crier
Officials from Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District celebrate the installation of electric-vehicle charging stations at Los Altos High last week.

The Mountain View Los Altos ...

Read more:

Loading...

Books

People

JOHN R. DOBSON

JOHN R. DOBSON

May 1, 1922 -  June 16, 2015

Resident of Los Altos 59 years

John Raymond Dobson, also known as Dobbie to his flying buddies, passed away after a long illness surrounded by his family. He leaves behind his loving wife of 72 years, Janet Barni...

Read more:

Loading...

Travel

Venetian spa offers ways to de-stress

Venetian spa offers ways to de-stress


Courtesy of The VEnetian
The HydroSpa in the Canyon Ranch SpaClub at The Venetian in Las Vegas offers a muscle-relaxing bath and radiant lounge chairs.

Vegas cab drivers usually ask if you won or lost as soon as you get in their vehicles. They assum...

Read more:

Loading...

Stepping Out

Cast carries 'Arcadia'

Cast carries 'Arcadia'


Courtesy of Pear Avenue Theatre
“Arcadia” stars Monica Ammerman and Robert Sean Campbell.

The intimate setting of Mountain View’s Pear Avenue Theatre proves the perfect place to stage “Arcadia,” allowing audience members to feel as though they a...

Read more:

Loading...

Spiritual Life

Magazine

Living it up Older adults aim to age in place

Living it up Older adults aim to age in place


Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
Local enthusiasts flock to the Los Altos Senior Center to play bocce ball. The center hosts informal games four days a week and occasional tournaments.

As baby boomers in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View nose...

Read more:

Loading...

Inside Mountain View

Carrying the torch

Carrying the torch


Members of the Mountain View Police Department carry the Special Olympics torch as they run along El Camino Real between Sunnyvale and Palo Alto June 18. Members of the department participate in the relay annually to show their support for Spec...

Read more:

Loading...

Cruising Healdsburg in a Jeep Patriot


Photo By: Gary Anderson/Town Crier
Photo Gary Anderson/Town Crier

The 2013 Jeep Patriot Latitude, pictured in front of the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, has a base price of ,880, which includes heated seats and keyless entry.

With the trees exploding with buds, quaint hostelries offering killer midweek deals in wine country and a practical little 2013 Jeep Patriot Latitude 4x4 in the driveway, we decided it was time for a road trip to Healdsburg.

This little town only 100 miles from Los Altos often gets lost in the limelight of Sonoma, Napa and Carmel, which also seems to be the case for our press vehicle for the week – an inexpensive vehicle in the best Jeep tradition.

Healdsburg seemed the perfect place to visit, with the Inn on the Plaza offering an excellent base from which to do some backroad driving to visit out-of-the-way wineries, stroll the old-town plaza to explore interesting shops and small galleries and walk to two of the several excellent restaurants in the downtown area.

This would be a vintage weekend in more ways than one, as we compared vintages of wines at Ferrani-Carano Winery, whose lovely gardens are under the care of owners Don and Rhonda Carano; shopped for vintage clothing in a new multivendor antique store near the Healdsburg town plaza; and toured the collection of vintage movie memorabilia, including a rare Tucker automobile, at Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville.

Enjoying the Jeep’s off-road roots

We thought the trip would be a great way to check out the Patriot, which has its own vintage look. With a base price of $22,880 ($26,220 sticker price on our test vehicle), the Patriot is a no-nonsense utilitarian four-passenger hauler.

While most of the high-clearance crossovers today are styled like space capsules – all curves and sweeping lines – the Patriot looks just like the first Grand Cherokee that Jeep produced when it started the trend toward comfortable urban versions of its military-bred off-road vehicles. The flat sides and squared-off edges have practical benefits as well, giving the car a spacious feeling inside. It offers good head and shoulder room, and an easy-to-pack cargo area. We found the colors on our test vehicle – deep cherry-red paint contrasting with slate-gray trim and light-pebble seats – attractive.

It was comforting to learn that the traditional look was only skin-deep, because the vehicle is equipped with the full range of up-to-date safety gear. This includes electronic stability control and roll mitigation, antilock brakes with brake assist, tire-pressure monitoring and a full set of front, sidecurtain and rear airbags.

Modern conveniences – such as heated front seats, auxiliary 12-volt and 115-volt outlets, a removable/rechargeable flashlight and illuminated keyless entry – are also standard.

It was nice to see Jeep hasn’t lost touch with its off-road roots, even in this comfortable wagon. We were surprised to find that the continuously variable transmission had an off-road crawl ratio. Our test vehicle came with the optional Freedom-Drive II Off-Road Group that includes a locking rear differential, hill-descent control, oil pan skid plate, engine oil cooler and tow hooks, plus all-terrain tires. This earns it “Jeep Trail Rated” designation, which means that it is up to the challenge of most off-road trails and is certainly able to handle dirt tracks or snow-packed roads back to a remote camp or hiking trailhead.

The interior was nicely equipped, attractive and comfortable. It comes with a variety of handy shelves, trays, crannies and compartments to keep everything from cellphone to sunglasses, bottled water and computer gear convenient or tucked out of sight – or both. One cool touch: the rear speakers mounted in the tailgate can be dismounted and hung outside, perfect for a tailgate party.

Our only misgiving about the interior – noticing the wear already apparent after 8,000 miles – was that for the kind of heavy use this vehicle is likely to get, we would probably opt for a durable vinyl interior rather than the “premium” cloth upholstery.

In addition to the standard features, our vehicle was equipped with the optional convenience group including additional airbags, garage-door opener, adjustable roof rails and connections for cellphone, computer, iPod and Sirius satellite radio. With the addition of racks for sports gear, this seems like the ideal choice for a young couple who need family capabilities during the week but appreciate the outdoors opportunities of the coast and mountains on the weekends. The only thing missing was a navigation system, but fortunately there are a variety of inexpensive choices at the nearest electronic gear store.

On the road to Healdsburg

The driving opportunities for our getaway were also perfect to give the Patriot a good workout. The weekday morning run up Interstate 280, across the Golden Gate Bridge, then following Highway 101 to the Healdsburg turnoff was an easy and mostly traffic-free way to see how the car handled at speed.

We were more than satisfied with the stability of the car at highway speeds – even in crosswinds – and were particularly pleased to notice that the cabin was quiet underway, allowing us to enjoy the sound system and chat along the way.

We did think that the 172-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-four engine, with its 165 pound-feet of torque, was a tad underpowered, even for the 3,300-pound weight. It required us to take our time merging with traffic and to keep a close eye on conditions to avoid having to accelerate out of difficulties.

We would also have liked a little better than the 21 mpg that we got on the trip with the CVT transmission. The alternative manual transmission is rated at 26 mpg, but that would have meant a lot of clutching and shifting through San Francisco traffic on the way to the bridge.

The curves of Dry Creek Road, Lytton Springs Road and Alexander Valley Road gave us a chance to see how the vehicle handled on tighter corners. Here the vehicle was surprisingly competent, considering how some of its competitors can wallow and get a little unwieldy. A combination of neutral handling and some electronic assistance kept us balanced at all times.

Over lovely meals at Baci Café & Wine Bar and Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar on our two evenings in town, we couldn’t have been happier. Our only thought when strolling back to the Inn at twilight and looking around the plaza was the number of stores and restaurants that would have to wait for a future trip. But fortunately, with Healdsburg only a two-hour drive from Los Altos, we could promise ourselves we would be back.

Longtime Los Altos residents Gary and Genie Anderson are co-owners of Enthusiast Publications LLC, which edits several car club magazines and contributes articles and columns to automotive magazines and online services.

Schools »

Schools
Read More

Sports »

sports
Read More

People »

people
Read More

Special Sections »

Special Sections
Read More

Photos of Los Altos

photoshelter
Browse and buy photos
http://www.losaltosonline.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=44365&itemid=57
www.losaltosonline.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2015-27
177783
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:NMKDRCSEAMSE5PX3ADFFONIRM2JAOK6I
<urn:uuid:74d54d19-82c6-413d-8660-b600075365e3>
2015-07-01T12:10:35Z
184.105.137.230
sha1:6I2TB2TPZJ7XLZTAFLOMYQZB5UNUJVUF
<urn:uuid:a8127c4b-9b18-4136-8670-a3ee3b76a3a8>
http://www.losaltosonline.com/index2.php?option=com_content&task=emailform&id=44365&itemid=57
length
response
<urn:uuid:d1a8dbaf-153c-4919-b42b-7427c600f889>
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2015-27
operator: CommonCrawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for June 2015
publisher: CommonCrawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf