News Briefs News Briefs (October 07, 2005)

Homes evacuated after gas leak

About 20 people were briefly evacuated from 28 Mountain View homes Monday afternoon after work crews ruptured a natural gas line, the Mountain View Fire Department reported.

A hazmat team was called to the 100 block of Brenton Court on Oct. 3 just before 9 a.m., said Mountain View Fire Department spokesman Lynn Brown. PG&E crews capped the leak by 11:30 a.m., and residents were allowed back into their homes just after noon. No injuries were reported. -- Bay City News Service

Suspect arrested in taxi robbery

Police say they have arrested a suspect in the recent armed robbery of a taxi driver on Fordham Way.

The incident occurred a little after midnight on Sept. 25, after the driver picked up a man in Milpitas and brought him to Mountain View. Instead of paying, the suspect, now identified as 20-year-old Paul Siaave, produced a semi-automatic handgun, demanded the driver's wallet and fled the scene on foot. Siaave was arrested three days later and booked for robbery. -- Julia Bernard

Kepler's Books to reopen

Kepler's Books, a 50-year-old institution in Menlo Park which closed suddenly last month, will reopen at 11 a.m. Saturday, according to a posting by owner Clark Kepler on the www.savekeplers.com Web site.

The store had closed on Aug. 31 without any warning to the public. A later statement by Clark Kepler, the bookstore's owner, said it closed for financial reasons. -- Palo Alto Weekly

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