I was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Los Altos. What else do you think L.A. Chung stands for?
My first Los Altos event was walking in the Pet Parade in 1962 with my Collie, Laddie. We all went down to the pancake breakfast at Rancho after that. I remember riding my bicycle on Interstate 280 the day before it opened to the public and passing under it to ride up to Maryknoll, before it was a retirement home for priests.
My elementary school was close enough to walk to, and is now Grant Park and community center. I learned how to swim at Los Altos Covington Pool and Los Altos High School in the summers. I learned to ride from Herman Koopmans, following him from Los Altos Hills to Portola Valley.
I've been in journalism since 1980, when I participated in the Maynard Institute's Summer Program for Minority Journalists. I've been a reporter for the Hartford Courant in Connecticut and the San Francisco Chronicle. During a 12-year career at the San Jose Mercury News, I was an editor supervising reporters in community news, weekend breaking news and business. I had a column through which I wrote about local events, the travails of ordinary people fighting City Hall, and the intersection of race, culture and public policy.
Since leaving the Mercury News, I've worked on the Chauncey Bailey Project, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism and done research Hewlett Foundation projects.
In the old days, once I told people my name, I'd have to quickly add— "No relation to Connie." But no one knows who she is, anymore.
My Beliefs
Always say "Please" and "Thank you." It goes a long way toward making life more civil. Play nicely. Stand your ground if you believe you're right. Admit when you're wrong.
Politics
I believe in sanity, and in public officials striving to do the right thing for the greater good.
I vote in each and every election, and have, at different times in my life, been registered as a Democrat, Independent and Republican.
Religion
My mother raised me at the Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church. It's the closest thing to "my" church, even if I don't attend.
Local Hot-Button Issues
Los Altos elementary schools are the top in the state. But maintaining school standards during a very sluggish economic recovery period, with limited and unreliable state funds, will be difficult this year and in the coming years. It will require the school community to reach out to the broader community and make the case for donations and perhaps taxes.
Downtown economic vitality is a deep concern.
Solar Impulse, the $147 million project inside a hangar at Moffett Field, can fly continuously except in case of pilot fatigue and bad weather conditions.
What to do if you suspect you have bed bugs.
The case was postponed Friday because the court commissioner did not see proof that the papers notifying the recipient had been served.
What to do if you suspect you have bed bugs.
Do you know how many electric vehicles are in Los Altos? You'd be surprised.
If it's Japanese, you'll find it here. Meet Patch Editor L.A. Chung and spend a day or two sampling Japanese culture, food and arts, a legacy of Cupertino's enduring sister city relationship with Toyokawa.
T-shirts, with proceeds, going to One Fund Boston will be on sale at FitGeek Sports at the end of April.
The International Space Station's orbit will be directly overhead--and the weather is clear!
Hey, Los Altans! It's back, and high in the sky! The International Space Station will be on its orbit around the Earth.
With a title like, 'One Very L-o-o-o-ng Day - A Summer Working at the South Pole,' how could you miss this humorous talk, hosted by the Los Altos Library Endowment Wednesday evening?
The store on 10425 De Anza Boulevard is about to open.
Junior Natalie Ng wins biotech competition, after beating 9 other finalists from across the country.
After allegedly stealing a car on the Los Altos Hills-Palo Alto border, Dmitri Storm may have picked up a hitchhiker.
The juveniles were believed to have stolen the car from Lakehaven Drive at 7:30 a.m. and were apprehended by Sunnyvale police and CHP at 11:46 a.m.
They had the high school division covered, in this annual theme competition.
Follow along with Patch for the Monday night school board meeting, the first regular meeting since the spring break.
Vision, practicality, and oh, those thoughtful little brown notes, marked a man of uncommon devotion to community in making Foothill and De Anza colleges a reality.
Come meet Cupertino Patch's new editor at Bitter + Sweet Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to noon, and tell her what you'd like to see in Patch.
Vision, practicality, and oh, those thoughtful little brown notes, marked a man of uncommon devotion to community in making Foothill and De Anza colleges a reality.
Expect possible bogus phone and e-mail entreaties following the Boston Marathon bombings and the fertilizer plant explosion in the town of West, south of Dallas, feds say.
