News Briefs News Briefs (May 06, 2005)

Council to take up child care project

The city council will debate whether to finance the construction of a child care center in Rengstorff Park at a study session next Tuesday. The center was approved in a surprising 5-2 vote last December, but former council members Rosemary Stasek and the late Mary Lou Zoglin, both of whom voted in favor, have since been replaced by the more fiscally conservative Tom Means and Laura Macias.

A $2.8 million loan from the Packard Foundation will fund the construction, and a guaranteed seven-year lease with the operator will cover early payments, but the city will have to find a way to pay off the loan and make up the half-million-dollar difference between the loan and construction estimates.

Medical clinic moves forward

Camino Medical Group (CMG) held a groundbreaking ceremony April 29 for its new headquarters on the site of the old Emporium building. City council members and neighbors who fought to keep Home Depot out of the site were on hand for the event, which featured speeches, photo-ops and a free lunch.

Organizers gave away pieces of the old building as souvenirs, but most of the 26,000 tons of concrete used at the site will be recycled and reused in the foundation of the new medical clinic at a savings of more than $300,000.

City officials concerned about the lost opportunity for revenue at the site approved the project after CMG's parent company, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, gave $5 million to help build a new senior center.

College district may layoff dozens

Board members in the Foothill-De Anza Community College District voted unanimously Monday to send layoff notices to 48 classified employees in an effort to manage a deficit of $8.4 million.

The district is required by law to notify employees they might need to lay off, said trustee Paul Fong. "This is a very difficult situation, but we had no other choice," he said. "Hopefully we'll get some money in the May revise, and hopefully we'll be able to rescind most if not all of the layoffs."

In fact, the budget could change up to $2 million either way, influenced by the state budget, enrollment, and possible increases in retirement and medical coverage costs.

The potential layoffs would be in various departments on both campuses and in the central district office. They include human resources technicians, bookstore employees, gardeners, maintenance workers, accountants, academic advisors and administrative assistants.

In addition, the board decided to notify 22 additional employees that they may be laid off because some of the first 48 to be laid off have the right to choose another job and bump that employee out.

New freeway on-ramp opens

After days of weather-induced delays, Valley Transportation Agency officials were finally able to open the on-ramp from Shoreline Boulevard to southbound 85 on Monday, well ahead of schedule. The new ramp will simplify traffic at the 85/101 interchange, cutting down on weaving between cars headed in several different directions.

The project, one of the largest road improvements in county history, is scheduled to be fully completed by January.

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