Crime & Safety

Sierra LaMar, Eclipse, Shuttle Endeavour Top 2012 Stories

Matt Manoukian's services, Bullis Charter School issues, the California Lotery's MEGABucks jackpot, Pro Bowler Tony Reyes' crash and theft of couple's life savings from credit union were among the rest.

 

The tragic disappearance of Sierra LaMar, the annular eclipse, and the soaring California goodbye tour of NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour were among the top stories in 2012 on Los Altos Patch. 

Los Altos Patch readers vote with their clicks, in the world of online news. Our area's  historic connection with science and technology figure largely into many of our readers' choices.

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We've left out some other articles that predictably had very high readership (Restaurants Open on Christmas Day and Things to do on Christmas Day 2012) in favor of news stories.

Here's a recap of the biggest news of the year, judged by how many people clicked through to read the stories.

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1. Sierra LaMar Murder Suspect ‘Didn’t Seem Concerned’ (May 27): Antolin Garcia-Torres, the Morgan Hill suspect arrested in connection with the disappearance of teen Sierra LaMar, appeared nonchalant about the investigation and was talking about going back to work, to his older sister, Lucero, told Patch. Related stories that ranked high included Sheriff: Sierra LaMar's Murder was 'Purely Random' and 

2. Make a Pinhole Projector for Eclipse Viewing (May 19): This Los Altos Patch story received 53 Facebook recommends, perhaps because of its simple, five-step illustration of how to make a safe viewing device for the May 20 annular eclipse. A special thanks to readers who indulged me in using my 6-year-old for a demonstrator for the pinhold projector. The May 16 companion story was a ittle further down the list: Ready for the Eclipse? How to View It Safely 

3. UPDATE: Where to See Space Shuttle Endeavour Flyover (Sept. 20): Oh, this was a fabulous time for kids and space aficionados alike, who teem in this valley. This article, meriting 366 Facebook recommendations, brought together constantly updated information about the goodbye tour of NASA's Space Shuttle Endeavour, which flew over Northern California (with a tip of the hat to Moffett Field), enroute to Los Angeles, where it is now housed in a museum.

4.  MegaBucks for Friday's MEGA Millions California Lottery Jackpot (March 29): News that the California Lottery MEGA Millions game hit the half billion-dollar mark, for an all-time record, got lots of interest, with 96 Facebook recommendations. As it turned out, none of the winners after the March 30 night draw, were from our area.

5. Pro Bowler Tony Reyes Killed in Highway 101 Crash (Sept. 28): Tony Reyes' big heart and 1000-watt smile was a big loss—and a big shock in the Pro Bowl world—when his untimely car accident took place near Marsh Road on our most heavily traveled freeway along the Peninsula. The 38-year-old San Jose State alumnus left a wife and toddler daughter. Friends and pro bowlers were leaving expressions of condolences for Reyes on the Facebook Page for Off The Sheet, the pro shop he operated inside of Fourth Street Bowl in San Jose with PBA bowler Lindsey Wong. 

6. Orionids Meteor Shower 2012: Where to Watch In And Near Los Altos (Oct. 20): The offspring of Halley's Comet was set to put on quite a show the first of several late-year meteor showers that fascinate Los Altos Path readers. It received 66 Facebook recommends, as well.

7.  (Feb. 16): Readers were particularly interested in this article about a pair of Palo Alto credit union employees from the Sacramento area who were sent to jail, after draining a Los Altos couple's bank account. They went on a shopping spree at Walmart and Nordstroms, and bought a used (?!) Acura MDX. Authorities recovered about $85,000 when they froze the scammers' accounts. 

8. Presidential Debate: Where to Experience Obama-Romney Face Off Wednesday   (Oct. 3): The fiscal cliff drama may have flushed all memory of the election drama, just a few short months ago, but the first presidential debate was highly anticipated among Los Altos Patch readers, and we daresay across the nation.

9. Bullis Objects To Longterm Agreement Draft (Sept. 25): Surprisingly, the Bullis Charter School issue doesn't appear until No. 9 in our list. It's a significant one. It was the news that changes that school district parents demanded to a draft agreement between the charter school and the district did not have the support of the Bullis Charter School board, and that litigation was a possibility again. Related stories ranking high were LASD Parent Group Wants Amicus Status in BCS Dispute,  and Bullis Charter School Choir's 'Gift of Song'

10.  (Nov. 7): Patch's recap of the local election results, reported in the wee hours right after election night, was the last of the top 10, and for good reason. The results signaled major changes on the Los Altos City Council, heralded a seismic change with the addition of two new community members to the El Camino Hospital District board, and brought a new member to the Los Altos School District board, among other results. It gave Los Altos Patch a great opportunity to include Patch student reporters Kim Saminathen and Vince Ei's contributions to our live reporting via CoverItLive. There was high interest in the related story, Los Altos 2012 Election Results: Jan Pepper Leader of the Pack in City Council Race.

11. Memorial Service for Matt Manoukian Is Saturday (Aug. 14): The memorial service for U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Matt Manoukian, who was killed in Afghanistan Aug. 10, was of particular high interest. The Los Altos Hills native was a 2001 St. Francis High School alumnus, and his parents, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Socrates "Pete" Manoukian and Associate Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian of the California Court of Appeal for the Sixth District, are well-known in several circles of the community. 

12. 'Casa Facebook' Landlord Recalls Early Days of Cheap Sushi and Paintball (May 18): The Facebook public offering may seem anti-climatic with the benefit of many monts, but it takes nothing away from a charming recounting of its early days in Los Altos—from the former landlord of founder Mark Zuckerberg. With 46 recommends, the story 46 Facebook recommendations, readers seemed to enjoy a few behind-the-scene details of how the Thai-born landlord had Buddhist monks bless the house in hopes of bringing good luck to the house, just weeks before Zuckerberg showed up.


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