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.
John Chambers' $14.8 million home is not among the more than three dozen homes open Sunday afternoon, but you'll find a range from a $738,000 condo for sale to $12 million house in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.
After moving to Palo Alto, the Chambers' five-bedroom, seven-bath house on Via Feliz is on the market.
Preston Orlando has been identified as the 3-year-old shooting victim.
Music and presidents enliven First Friday's presidential theme at its July event, sending people people out and about the streets and shops of downtown.
The Fantasy 5 numbers are 10, 36, 27, 11, and 22.
People who believe their relatives could be among the approximately 100 pine coffins are asked to contact authorities. The remains from the 137-year-old potters' field will be removed to allow Santa Clara Valley Medical Center to proceed with a building p
The Independence Day holiday kept police hopping across town, grass is torn up in Old Los Altos parks, and graffiti calls make for a busy two days. A dog was found, and three cars were towed at Foothill Crossing.
The Daily 3 results are 8,4 and 0. The Daily Derby and the Fantasy 5 results are available, here.
An El Sereno Drive household is hit when a burglar, posing as interested car buyer, distracts the resident long enough for an accomplice to sneak in the house and steal valuables.
The daily, relentless parking enforcement at two busy shopping centers in Cupertino and Los Altos is aimed at changing the habits of all-day parkers who displace paying customers.
For once, only one tow from Foothill Crossing before the July 4th holiday.
Gorgeous weather and temperate weather made Wednesday's Independence Day celebration in Shoup Park and the parade in Los Altos Hills a wonderful place to be.
How did the Assessor in Silicon Valley come up with a $50 million fair market value for the home that Yuri Milner bought?
Yuri Milner's Los Altos Hills French chateau-style home is valued at $50 million by Silicon Valley's county assessor, substantially less than what was paid for it.
Hoping to inspire others to build more sustainably, the Packard Foundation plans to accommodate locals who want to tour its Net-Zero LEED Platinum certified headquarters.
The daily, relentless parking enforcement at two busy shopping centers in Los Altos and Cupertino is aimed at changing the habits of all-day parkers who displace paying customers.
DIY fireworks are banned for good reason in most cities, including most of Santa Cruz County, say ophthalmologists who treat post fireworks emergencies.
Yuri Milner's Los Altos Hills French chateau-style home is valued at $50 million by Silicon Valley's county assessor, substantially less than what was paid for it.
DIY fireworks are banned for good reason in most cities, including Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, ophthalmologists, who treat post fireworks emergencies, say.
DIY fireworks are banned for good reason in most cities, including Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, say ophthalmologists who treat post fireworks emergencies.