News Worth Knowing: Public Comment Period Extended on Lehigh Expansion, Drive Less Challenge Kicks Off

1. 

The public still has time to comment on  a plan by the Lehigh Southwest Cement company to expand its quarry operations in the Cupertino foothills, after the deadline for written comments was extended from April 10 to May 23.

The Santa Clara County Planning Office had opened a 30-day public comment period in March for the draft environmental impact report (EIR) it’s preparing about the proposed expansion, but a state requirement required

Lehigh officials want to amend a 1985 reclamation plan for the quarry, most notably seeking to dig a new 210-acre pit mine just to the south of the current pit mine, in operation since 1939.

The  will research possible impacts to the local environment, including geology, water, air and visual impacts. The report does not cover the cement kiln run by the company on a different section of its land.

2. 

Anything to get us out of our cars: The Drive Less Challenge kicked off Friday, with many local businesses pitching in, from Alabaster Flower Shop to Esther's German Bakery to Vintage Bath. For the next two weeks, reduce what you car trips you can and substitute it for walking, riding your bike, or public transit. Los Altos, Palo Alto, Mountain View and Cupertino are among the communities competing.

The challenge site has an online tool to track one's trips, see how one is doing compared to friends and neighbors, said Adina Levin, member of the Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens’ Committee and founder of the Drive Less Challenge. And, of course, one can see how Los Altos as a whole is doing.

To view the full list of participating cities or to sign up for the challenge, visit drivelesschallenge.com. You can read other's experiences each day here.

Participants can follow along and share their experiences with friends and colleagues on Facebook and on Twitter at "@driveless." An awards ceremony will take place on May 21, 7-9 p.m., at  in Menlo Park. Prizes will be donated by businesses in each participating city, such as gift certificates to local restaurants and shops.

3. 

For a few tantalizing months, the possibility of free Shakespeare in the Park appeared within the realm of possible for Los Altos. 

The Festival Theater Ensemble, which had been in talks with the city of Los Altos to find a temporary home at McKenzie Park for its June 2011 season, has instead come to agreement to take the program to a community farm on 1055 Dunford Way in Sunnyvale.

Peggy Ford, a Los Altos Recreation supervisor who was working with the theater group, said she was informed April 16 that the theater company had come to agreement withFull Circle Farm and the Santa Clara Unified School District, which owns the Sunnyvale property. The company had to make plans to move its stage and equipment from Tracy and could not wait any longer, she said.

The Festival Theater Ensemble will explore the possibility of holding its 2012 season in Los Altos, its producer, Jennifer Selden, said.

4.  

It looked scary, but in the end, it was more spectacle than anything else. A driver backing out of a parking space on the 200 block of Main Street reportedly lost control of his car crashing into another car and apparently setting off a chain reaction of smash-ups before stopping.

No one was seriously injured and no one went to the hospital. Initial reports of five cars from the Santa Clara County Fire Department, which responded to the scene shortly after 10:30 a.m. to render possible medical assistance, was revised upwards to seven involved. The phalanx of tow trucks, which was observed by curious lunch-goers, told part of  the story.

5. 

When Crimson Mim opened up five years ago, fashion-forward women quickly discovered shoes not found in department stores or many other boutiques. Along Main Street, which has had its shares of struggles of late, it looks like owner Christine Campbell is doing well enough to spread her wings a bit more.

Campbell signed a lease at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto this spring and quietly opened a couple of weeks ago. The 989-square-foot shop will  focus primarily on clothing, she said.