WHAT'S the truth about new and tighter pollution-testing regulations for vehicles, authorized by the state Legislature and the California Air Resources Board (CARB)? Some radio talk-show hosts are delivering near-hysterical warnings that your car can be forcibly snatched away from you if it doesn't pass. A protest "march" on the Capitol in Sacramento, inspired by San Francisco station KSFO, is scheduled for Aug. 21.
Friends of mine who have had their cars a few years express concern that they could be left isolated, deprived of transportation. I asked Rich Lang, owner of Los Gatos Tire Service, what drivers of older cars have to fear. It seems the main concern is that it could hit them hard in the pocketbook.
"We pre-test a customer's car to get an idea of how it will do," Lang said. "Then, if needed, we try to repair it so it can pass. When we do an official smog check, we can only do it once. If it fails, the owner has to take the car to another authorized smog-check station. We're not allowed to re-test."
A device connected to Lang's testing apparatus automatically telephones Sacramento when a check is done.
Another problem (which radio hosts also scream about) is that the new anti-pollution gasoline definitely gets less mileage, Lang said.
A good many older drivers with limited incomes are deeply concerned. "I get quite a few people from the Meadows," Lang said.
The idea behind the CARB regulations is to get polluting cars off the road. But if enough citizens protest a plan to seize and crush cars (including some owned by car collectors), the state may have to cut back on the severe regs.
THE LOS GATOS Fiesta de Artes on Aug. 24-25 and the Town Picnic on Aug. 25 will give Los Gatans an opportunity to indulge in a weekend of fun and frolic. This year's Fiesta, sponsored by Los Gatos Kiwanis Club, will take place at the Los Gatos Shopping Center near the Safeway Store and feature a variety of artwork, food booths, music and winetasting. On Sunday the 25th, from noon to 7 p.m. at Oak Meadow Park, Los Gatos Lions Club is sponsoring the annual Town Picnic, with live music and an "all-you-can-eat" menu of steaks, chicken and hamburgers. The event includes a tug-o-war, company versus company sports challenges and kids' games, plus, of course, the railroad and the carousel.
ON Aug. 3, volunteers for the Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad and the W.E. Mason Carousel enjoyed their 27th annual barbecue at Oak Meadow Park. The Central Fire District kept the fires stoked for the outdoor affair.
THE NEW 1996-97 president of Los Gatos Kiwanis Club is attorney Rusty Rinehart, succeeding Don Wolf. Other officers are Bob Jones, first vice president; Catherine Barrier, second vice president; and Ernie Patterson, treasurer. Joining the board of directors are Mary Tomasi, Jeff Miller, Terry Martin and Ray Aylsworth.
ARTIST Anne Lamborn came in second among 47 entries in a state of Florida competition to design an atrium sculpture for a new health facility. One of three finalists, she had submitted a design making use of her weaving skills.
LOS GATAN Chatham Forbes Sr., teacher of California history at De Anza College, led a group of local area residents to art museums and other sites in the Pasadena area, including the historic Gamble House. Along the way, they took in a play at the Pasadena Playhouse.
TWELVE Los Gatos Rotary Club members attended a Napa "Fly-in" June 10 and won the award for the most Rotarians arriving by air. Doug Rice, brother of L.G. Rotarian Steve Rice, flew the family's King Air, carrying seven. Ron Smith flew his Cessna 210 with five aboard. They heard Quentin Aaneson's experiences as a fighter pilot flying a P47 Thunderbolt over Europe in WWII as he described harrowing kill-or-be-killed situations.
BEING 'CUTE' in the workplace, engaging in innuendoes or putting people down, is not a good idea, speaker Craig Pratt told Los Gatos Rotary Club recently. Pratt, a former human-resources manager for Standard Oil Co., who has testified in more than 100 lawsuits, formerly was a tire retailer in Los Gatos. He said three things have changed the workplace that have made "cute" behavior not so cute: a revolution against authority; more demand for individual rights; and racial and ethnic diversity, which makes people sensitive about cultural differences. Failure of employers to deal with employees' efforts to explain problems can lead to unexpected surprises, he said.
THE SURPRISING and very welcome announcement in June that the sum of $600,000 is being left to the Los Gatos Museum Association from the estate of Rosalie Jacobsen Burns will, of course, make a big difference to our two local museums. The museum group has a long history of struggling for funds to keep the institution going.
One wonders what Ethel Dana (Mrs. John Atkinson) might have thought of the bequest. It was her idea that Los Gatos should have a museum. A Los Gatos physician with five children, she said, "I don't want my children to grow up in a town without a museum." Meetings at Dana's home led to incorporation and bylaws in 1965. The museum had no home of its own until the firehouse at W. Main Street and Tait Avenue became available, and in 1967 the Los Gatos Museum opened. Norman Stoner became the association's first president. He is active today and heads the Los Gatos Community Concert Association.
Over the years, the museum has secured funding from lectures, concerts, art shows and, most successfully, with its historic home tours. Now, through the kindness of a one-time resident, directors and members can breathe easier. Museum president Peter Tiernan expects the legacy to come through by early next year.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, August 14, 1996.
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