OMVNA Newsletter

October 2006
Volume 18, Number 7

IN THIS ISSUE:
Mark Your Calendars
From the Chair
First Mountain View Reads Together   This November
Recommendation About Wall Insulation
Argument for Measure A

Mark Your Calendars

Ask the Candidates!
OMVNA General Meeting & Candidate Forum:
October 25, 2006, 7 p.m.
Trinity United Methodist Church
748 Mercy St., Mountain View
Send questions / topics to be addressed by candidates to chair@omvna.org

Monthly Meetings:
When: 7:30 p.m. every Second Monday of the month
Where: 580 Castro St., Chamber of Commerce Board Room
Who: All OMV residents

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From the Chair
By Ken Rosenberg

It is conventional wisdom around town that only a handful of people actually follow local politics. If you are not one of these people, let me embolden you to become engaged. We have a very interesting election coming up in Mountain View. Our City Council is made up of seven sitting council members only one of whom is a woman (Laura Macias). When Mayor Matt Neely moved to Italy, that left us with only six active members. Current Councilman and Vice Mayor Greg Perry has decided not to seek a second term for familial reasons. We currently have three contested seats open for this election cycle.

So if we have three out of seven seats available, we have a unique opportunity to really mold the council the way we want our City to be run. Think about all the decisions that have been made in the past few years. Did they go the way you wanted them to? For the downtown residents, I can say fairly confidently that most people were disappointed that the council chose Longs over Zanottos.

That decision rested with the council members and they voted differently than the constituents of the downtown residents.

Eight people are running for council this election. Three of these are women. Mountain View politics are largely devoid of party affiliation, but I know that one is a strong advocate for the Republican policies. One is a vocal proponent from the Green Party. One is a Libertarian. I’m assuming the rest lean toward the Democratic Party, but I’m not sure. My point is that these candidates are not created equal and it is up to us to decide which ones will represent the way we want our city to run.

How do you get to know the candidates? You start by recognizing that it is incumbent upon us to read and follow the news and of course, attend OMVNA’s next “general meeting,” which will be a candidate forum (details can be found on the front page of the newsletter). At this typically well-attended event, each candidate will be available for questions during and after, so bring a pad of paper and take notes. Email your questions to me in advance (chair@omnva.org) and we will get them asked during the forum. This is a wonderful way for you to head to the polls well informed. We have an opportunity to make a big change to City Council this year. Let’s seize it.

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First Mountain View Reads Together   This November
By Sharlene Gee

Imagine if all of diverse Mountain View talked about one book and its ideas for an entire month. Similar to the way setting a Hawaiian theme for a party guides the food, decor, entertainment and what to wear – the theme of one book and its ideas give a framework for the entire community to get creative and come together. It’s happening for the first time this November.

The book selected for the first Mountain View Reads Together is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. You are encouraged to read or listen to Blink, and then participate in the free activities. The action will be at the library and throughout the city.

Blink is about rapid decision making. Everyone makes decisions. When can we trust fast decisions? What affects them? How can we manage them?

Mountain View Reads Together kicks off at Google on Nov. 1 at 7PM. Beyond book discussions, activities include a police role play involving cars, an arrest, and Chief of Police Scott Vermeer; a panel discussion on interviewing; a prize-winning short film on stereotyping by Los Altos filmmaker, Jon Chu; conflict resolution workshops; a coffee triangle taste test; read-aloud sessions in English and Spanish, and more!

Curious how these activities relate to the book? Read the book! You don't have to read the book to take part, but you will get more out of the experience if you do. Create your own activities, too. The idea is to encourage everyone, people of all ages, ethnicities, and abilities, to take the theme of one book and its ideas and participate in a way each is able and motivated.

As many of us receiving this newsletter are aware, online experiences (e.g., omvna@yahoogroups.com) also contribute to a sense of community. Use the Google blog mvreads.blogspot.com to share your experiences and thoughts relating to the activities. Join the Google group mvreads@googlegroups.com to stay connected in a way similar to our OMVNAtalk, the OMVNA Yahoo group.

Buy the book at local Books, Inc. or East-West bookstores in October and November, and they will donate 10% to the library.

This program is presented by ParadigmHill Mountain View with sponsorship from the City of Mountain View Public Library.

For more information, please contact www.mvreads.org, info@mvreads.org, (650) 265-7198.

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Recommendations About Wall Insulation
By Bruce Karney

In July I sent a message to OMVNAtalk seeking information about installing blown-in wall insulation. Now that we've had the walls insulated, I'd like to share my experience for the benefit of those who may be considering this kind of home improvement.

Bottom line: I'm very happy with the price, the process, and the results. It cost only $986 to insulate 1943-vintage, stucco-sided three bedroom, two bath home. That happens to work out to $1.00 per square foot of wall. PG&E will be sending us a rebate check for 15% of the cost, bringing our net cost down to $838.

There was a four week lead time to schedule the work, and the actual insulation work took a three-man crew about six hours. They drilled two holes (one high, one low) between each pair of studs and blew in cellulose made from recycled newspaper. The cellulose is treated to make it fire-retardant. They then sealed the holes with corks, put Stucco patching over the cork, and textured it to match the original finish of the walls.

A few days later I went around and painted the patches. This took two hours. The workmen's patching work was good enough that most of the patches are invisible now even if you know where to look. The ones that are visible on very close inspection are certainly not generally noticeable.

Even though overnight lows have only been in the 40's, it's already clear that the insulation is making a big difference in the comfort of the house. An added bonus: the house is much quieter now because the insulation keeps street sounds from penetrating the walls.

Information I've found on the web leads me to believe that the financial payback period for wall insulation in the Bay Area is about five years. However, I find it very satisfying to be able to do something so inexpensive that immediately reduces the amount of fossil fuel we will be using to heat our home. (I insulated the attic years ago -- but for the first 50 years after it was built this house had no insulation of any kind!)

Two things you should be aware of:

1) The homeowner needs to be present during the work, and it is very noisy when the holes are being drilled. You'll want to take down pictures hanging on exterior walls and remove all knick-knacks from your windowsills. Vibration from the drilling could cause them to fall.

2) If there are cracks or gaps in your interior walls, insulation may blow into the house, creating a dusty mess. Some gaps are predictable, like those where sink drains penetrate the drywall. The crew will tape these up in advance to prevent insulation getting into the house. However, there was an unexpected gap behind three of our kitchen drawers. It took about 20 minutes to clean up the dust with a shop-vac and a hand-vac. That wasn't any fun at the time, of course, but it's only a minor annoyance in retrospect.

Please contact me if you have questions about our experience or would like the name of the company who did the work (650-964-3567).

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Argument for Measure A
By Jeff Segall

This is a brief article on Measure A that is on the ballot this November. The OMVNA Steering Committee endorsed Measure A at the August meeting.

One of the great things about living in Old Mountain View is that we enjoy the scenic backdrop of the forested green Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and the Mount Hamilton Range to the east. These vistas gave Mountain View its name. But a new type of sprawl, often referred to as "monster homes built on ridgelines," increasingly threatens these views.

Measure A on the November ballot, known as the Santa Clara County Land Conservation Initiative protects views of the hills from inappropriate development, preserves water quality by protecting watersheds and aquifers, and enhances agriculture by restricting the subdivision of ranchlands into small parcels suited only for large homes. In a nutshell, Measure A prevents urban sprawl into the county's rural lands and yet only impacts 0.01% of the county's potential housing stock.

Measure A is very similar to initiatives that were passed in San Mateo County in the 80s and in Alameda County in 2000. Both of these initiatives have proved very successful in preserving rural lands and protecting agriculture. In fact, many who initially opposed the San Mateo County initiative now agree that it has proved beneficial to them and the

Groups that have endorsed Measure A include every major environmental group, the South Bay Labor Council, the Santa Clara County Council of Churches, the League of Woman Voters, and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business council of more than 200 of the largest businesses in Santa Clara County. An extensive list of federal, state, and local officials and individual endorsers of Measure A, including those who wrote the current county land use laws and who see Measure A as a significant improvement, is available at www.YesOnMeasureA.net.

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The OMVNA Newsletter
is published by a volunteer editorial committee & distributed to some 2200 homes and businesses by volunteers.

To get in touch with us:

• Write to P.O.Box 391328, Mtn. View, CA 94039
• E-mail the editor editor@omvna.org
• Find us on the Web at http://www.omvna.org

The opinions printed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the OMVNA Steering Committee.