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.
Sheriff's deputies search the area for a man who blocked the path of a young woman out walking her dog, the third in two other unrelated incidents in Mountain View and south Los Altos that created a flurry of activity for local police.
A stranger who lunged at a girl on Bubb School campus in Mountain View triggers safety precautions immediately at all Los Altos School District campuses.
Are there alternatives to soaking customers? Monday's special meeting was scheduled after the Purissima Hills Water District director Gary Kremen wrote a letter urging exploration of several.
A Los Altos High School student was among those paired with AT&T employees in several job training activities at the AT&T's San Ramon campus.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission action Wednesday moves a little closer to realizing the goal of upgrading and electrifying the Caltrain system.
With four AP/honors classes and a full complement of student clubs she enjoys, this LAHS teen also has played varsity tennis since she was a sophomore and writes for the Talon.
Midsi Sanchez, who survived a kidnaping when she was 8, is working on the volunteer effort to search for missing teen Sierra LaMar, but she needs help from other youth.
Two pedestrians hit in south Los Altos when a car driven by a teenager rear-ended another claimed their injuries caused missed work and emotional distress.
The Los Altos School Board heard commentary from parents, discussed the options, then voted on its final facilities offer to Bullis Charter School.
The judgment that arrived Monday afternoon in the mail described how the Los Altos School Board must measure space in offering facilities to Bullis Charter School and awarded court costs to the school.
The Los Altos School Board heard commentary from parents, discussed the options, then voted on its final facilities offer to Bullis Charter School.
A financial aid deadline at midnight, an energy-saving opportunity, a chances to hunt up eggs will be gone if you don't mind the date!
Sometimes, people like their lunch all wrapped up in one tidy package. When you're in the mood for burrito, where do you go, Los Altos?
Los Altos Patch is live-reporting the school board's discussion and vote on the Bullis Charter School facilities offer, taking place at 7 p.m. at Covington School Monday night. Join us here.
Eighty clubs applied, but this was one of seven across the country to be accepted into the ECNL for the 2012-13 season.
The Los Altos School Board will discuss—and vote on—what offer to make to the Bullis Charter School for the 2012-13 academic year. Patch will cover it live.
An unintended consequence of term limits, the trend of running to get one's old job again is one way our local representatives try to continue to serve, and stay relevant, perhaps as they wait for another seat to open up.
Los Altos and Los Altos Hills have relatively few numbers compared to other communities in Silicon Valley, which is an international hub.
We've got more: Check out Patch's new feature of upcoming deadlines for camp registration, free film tickets, volunteer trainings, and more. Give us a heads-up about other deadlines on our comments section and we'll include them in the future.
Fifteen homes were placed on the market this week, and 37 are on view over the weekend.
