Three people rushed up to greet them, Eagle reports, because no one had been curbside for the past four years while the de Young was closed for revamping. "The museum is beautiful, very contemporary in feeling with a copper facing outside," she adds. "We really got the royal treatment."

The four are charter members of the de Young and so were invited to a special preview opening under way now. The official public unveiling isn't until October. Eagle is also a sustaining member of the San Jose Museum of Art, serving as a docent there until mobility problems sidelined her. Now she makes museum visits via wheelchair. Scheduled knee surgery may bring smoother ambulation soon.

As for her companions, Sharock is a S.J. Museum trustee, Epstein is a Friends of the LG Library board member and Kopp produces study guides for the vision-impaired and describes the action on stage live, for the American Musical Theater offerings. Impaired audience members wear a small hearing device and the descriptions enhance their limited vision.

So we see that the members of this art foursome are definitely culture mavens. The new de Young will house Oceanic, Afrikaner and contemporary art. Asian Museum artworks have been relocated to the San Francisco Civic Center area.

NEW OFFICERS: Donna LoCurto is the new chief operating officer of Community Hospital of Los Gatos. Most recently she held that position at Bellflower Medical Center. LoCurto is well versed in the clinical as well as the operational functions of a hospital, having served a variety of roles.

She's been chief of nursing, a supervisor and director of surgical services and has worked at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Southern California and several hospitals in Phoenix. "I was raised in a health-care family and have always been drawn to a hospital setting," she says. "I am excited about getting involved in the operations side of the hospital business." She received her MHA from Chapman U. and her BS in nursing from Arizona State U.

Another newcomer to Community Hospital is Elizabeth Copeland, who will be director of business development. Copeland served most recently at Watsonville Community Hospital in the same position.

She has carried out business plans for hospitals and medical groups and has also worked in the areas of nutrition, marketing, communications and government/physician relations. Other career stops included Stanford Hospital, Walter Reed, Brooke Army Medical Center and medical facilities in Germany.

THE AVIS OF BOOK PUBLISHING: Out of 74 Western regional cities profiled in the Images of America series last year, sales for the Los Gatos title have chalked up the second-highest sales. Some 5,000 copies have been sold of the photographic history written by library director Peggy Conaway.

The Arcadia book about the town of Redlands had the most sales. What has Redlands got that we haven't got? More people interested in its own history, evidently. The Images of Los Gatos book will remain in print as long as it is in demand, and all royalties from sales go to support the history project.

HAIKU RANGER: Roger Abe is a park ranger stationed at Alum Rock Park, and he grew up in Los Gatos in the days when orchards still abounded in this area. In fact, the house where he was raised was originally part of the Libbys' house, of the famed fruit-canning name, and Roger's father was an orchardist.

The Japanese-American Abe is also a mean hand with haiku, the shorthand form of poetry of Japanese origins. He belongs to the Haiku Society and is a member of the board of the San Jose Poetry Center. He was featured reader at Willow Glen Books one recent evening in their monthly series.

One poem poignantly depicted how he would watch his father peeling fruit and, by careful observation, learned how to be that deft with a knife himself. It captured quiet moments with family that our present fast-paced culture seems to have shrugged off and lost completely.

NEW LABEL: Craig Jenkins and his wife, Peggy Fleming (Olympic skating star for those too young to remember that fact), who live in the Los Gatos hills, have created their own wine label. Turning the Jenkins grapes into wine is done at Testarossa Vineyards.

IDENTITY THEFT: Identity theft seems to be the major white collar crime wave these days and a two-hour workshop on its prevention, detection and recovery will be given Aug. 27, 10 a.m.-noon, at the Saratoga Library. It's free and the sponsors are at 650.529.1282.

Paul King and Eric Drew, both victims of identity theft, are the presenters.

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