I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Los Altos. What else do you think L.A. Chung stands for?
My first Los Altos event was walking in the Pet Parade in 1962 with my Collie, Laddie. We all went down to the pancake breakfast at Rancho after that. I remember riding my bicycle on Interstate 280 the day before it opened to the public and passing under it to ride up to Maryknoll, before it was a retirement home for priests.
My elementary school was close enough to walk to, and is now Grant Park and community center. I learned how to swim at Los Altos Covington Pool and Los Altos High School in the summers. I learned to ride from Herman Koopmans, following him from Los Altos Hills to Portola Valley.
I've been in journalism since 1980, when I participated in the Maynard Institute's Summer Program for Minority Journalists. I've been a reporter for the Hartford Courant in Connecticut and the San Francisco Chronicle. During a 12-year career at the San Jose Mercury News, I was an editor supervising reporters in community news, weekend breaking news and business. I had a column through which I wrote about local events, the travails of ordinary people fighting City Hall, and the intersection of race, culture and public policy.
Since leaving the Mercury News, I've worked on the Chauncey Bailey Project, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism and done research Hewlett Foundation projects.
In the old days, once I told people my name, I'd have to quickly add— "No relation to Connie." But no one knows who she is, anymore.
My Beliefs
Always say "Please" and "Thank you." It goes a long way toward making life more civil. Play nicely. Stand your ground if you believe you're right. Admit when you're wrong.
Politics
I believe in sanity, and in public officials striving to do the right thing for the greater good.
I vote in each and every election, and have, at different times in my life, been registered as a Democrat, Independent and Republican.
Religion
My mother raised me at the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. It's the closest thing to "my" church, even if I don't attend.
Local Hot-Button Issues
Los Altos elementary schools are the top in the state. But maintaining school standards during a very sluggish economic recovery period, with limited and unreliable state funds, will be difficult this year and in the coming years. It will require the school community to reach out to the broader community and make the case for donations and perhaps taxes.
Downtown economic vitality is a deep concern.
No good at cooking turkey? Still love that feeling of gathering around the family table? Several grocery store delis offer cooked turkeys—and whole menus—but don't delay, since the deadlines range from noon Monday to Wednesday.
The School of Education Tuesday course offers a free-flowing, ambitious debate about education's digital future.
The results for the Daily 3 game was 0, 8, and 8. Read below for the Fantasy 5 and Daily Derby.
The cloud cover may get in our way, but if the night skies are clear, you'll want to get comfy and turn your head skyward.
Rain is forecast Friday through Sunday, but it's not expected to be a big soaker.
Thousands are signing an online petition against Black Friday store opening hours that have been pushed into Thanksgiving Day.
The Daily 3 results are 3, 7 and 3. For the Daily Derby and the Fantasy 5, read below.
The Los Altos Police log from the weekend also showed a traffic collisions with injuries, illegal dumping returns to Woodland Acres and the Highlands.
'Self-serving' votes by the cities of Cupertino, Gilroy, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Saratoga and county Supervisor Mike Wasserman prompts exploration of new partnerships or stand-alone library costs.
The Daily 3 results are 8, 3 and 5. Read on for the Daily Derby and the Fantasy 5.
For shoppers, the Patch Directory has the 411 on local restaurants, salons, shops and more. And for business owners, you can make the listing on Patch more uniquely yours.
It appears that you won't have to think about crossing a picket line to do your Thanksgiving shopping, with employees set to return to work.
The Pirate Carrying a Mermaid Optical Illusion has been named Patch's Halloween Costume in America. Its creator—and wearer—will receive a $5,000 prize for having the most creative and innovative costume.
Xavier de la Torre, the new county superintendent of schools whose interest is in closing the achievement gap, appears as the district is wrestling the question of what space to offer the Bullis Charter School.
The Los Altos Police log for Nov. 8 makes one thing clear: Catalytic converters are valuable and cars parked in the street or a driveway are vulnerable.
Driving when feeling sleepy is as dangerous as driving while drunk, the California Highway Patrol says.
The pens not only record but also bring back, with clarity, the moment in the lecture notes were being taken, giving valuable aid to transitioning veterans.
Los Altos Hills pays tribute to Matthew Manoukian, who served four tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and was killed on August, 10, 2012, along with two other Marines, by a rogue Afghan police officer in Sangin district.
Los Altos Hills pays tribute to William Sigua, who enlisted in the U.S. Army in part because of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and was killed on Jan. 31, 2007.
Los Altos Hills pays tribute to Larry Donald Mullen, who was deployed to Vietnam in the spring of 1969 and was killed on May 26 that same year.
