The official web site of the Lowell Alumni Association

Here's the answer to the question on everyone's lips, "Who is the greatest wrestler ever to come out of Lowell High School?" - none other than Don Lockett of the class of 2000. Ranked #1 in the country in his weight class in the final 2005 poll by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association, the SF State grappler just finished his senior year with a third-place finish in the 141 pound weight class at the NCAA Division II finals in Omaha, Nebraska. Last year, Don took second at nationals in the 133-pound category. Not bad for a guy who joined the SF State team as a walk-on!

Still on the sports page: Congrats to Jerry Coleman '42, this year's recipient of major league baseball's Ford C. Frick Award, recognizing outstanding achievement in baseball broadcasting. The long-time San Diego Padres announcer, a former American League rookie of the year and World Series MVP, will take his place in the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame later this year. As Jerry might say, "Oh, doctor!"

What's that? You want more baseball news? Lowell's long-time varsity baseball coach John Donohue racked up his 500th career victory last month as his Cardinals continued their winning ways. At the helm for his 23rd season, Donohue and his team are riding a league winning streak of more than 60 regular season games that started way back in 2001, so it might not be premature to mark Wednesday, May 11th on your calendar for the AAA baseball championship game at SBC Park (start time approx. 4pm, following the Giants-Pirates game), as Lowell seeks its fourth consecutive city title.

Late election returns: In last November's San Francisco election, Christine Linnenbach '89 ran a spirited campaign for supervisor in the West of Twin Peaks neighborhood, but was narrowly edged out by the incumbent and finished second in a field of thirteen . . . Leanna Dawydiak '72 also ran for SF supervisor, from the Richmond district, but was unable to knock off the incumbent . . . and in Southern California, Horton Scioneaux '52 pulled in more than 45,00 votes, but failed to unseat the incumbent in the 36th Assembly district . . . but there is better news from Connecticut, where Arthur Lathrop '57 is finishing up his first term as mayor of Norwich . . . and back in San Francisco, Norman Yee, father of Karissa Yee '03, is the newest member of the Board of Education, where three of the seven commissioners have children who have attended Lowell.

Board moves: The Lowell Alumni Association's board added two new directors in January, Roberta Bleiweiss '65 and Emily Moto Murase '83, both of whom are already pitching in to help plan Lowell's 2006 sesquicentennial celebrations. Three other directors took their leave from the board: Arnold Low '59 (our outstanding grant committee chairman and prime mover behind the alumni photo wall display), Arlene O'Brien Doyle '65 (a member of the grant committee) and John Trasvina '76 (who has relocated to Southern California to take a new position as Western states regional director for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission.)

Fast start: Anne-Marie Bookwalter '03 didn't waste any time launching her professional acting career. She landed a spot with a professional touring company of "My One and Only" and was last heard from somewhere in Indiana . . . and another youngster, Jeffrey Kwong '05, made the news for being named California's top high school volunteer by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program. A volunteer in city politics and voter registration drives, Jeffrey is active at Lowell as one of the driving forces behind the Forensics Society and as a member of the school site council.

Final thoughts: Nice to see that Friday's San Francisco Chronicle now sports the smiling face of Rachel Gordon '80 atop her weekly City Hall Beat column . . . and congratulations to alum couple Claude and Louise (Jankelson) Rosenberg for their leadership gift to renovate the athletic facilities at SF's Burton High School (formerly Wilson High), where the football field has been renamed Rosenberg Family Stadium.

For the latest news about Lowell alums, keep an eye on the Alumni Spotlight section of our website at www.lowellalumni.org.

Items from Fall 2004

As usual, Lowell alums have been making plenty of news, so it's time to recap some of the most interesting items since the last newsletter . . . Tony Bennett, move to the back of the bus, because leaving just one heart in San Francisco doesn't cut it anymore. Ellen Magnin Newman '45 just co-chaired the "Hearts in San Francisco" fundraising effort for SF General Hospital. Artists decorated 130 hearts that have been displayed all around the city for the past few months in preparation for being auctioned off in November. Kudos to Ellen as well as to Pamela Baer (wife of our own Larry Baer '75) for their good work on this project.

On the airwaves: Lost track of local radio favorite Carter B. Smith '55 since KABL radio switched to an all-talk format? You can now find him and the rest of the KABL gang at 92.1 on the FM dial . . . And you can see Jack Hansen '56 twice every hour on Bay Area cable television as part of Comcast's "Local Edition" (shown during breaks on CNN Headline News) where Jack interviews local newsmakers without a weather map in sight.

Still haven't had enough of politics? OK, so you have, but you can't stop me from mentioning that two alumni ran for the SF Board of Supervisors this year - Christine Linnenbach '89 in District 7 (West of Twin Peaks) and Leanna Dawydiak '72 in District 1 (Richmond). No returns as of press time, but good luck to both . . . And let's not forget that college instructor Horton Scioneaux '52 is the Democratic nominee in California's 36th Assembly District, covering parts of San Bernardino and Los Angeles counties . . . Meanwhile, back in the Bay Area, did you know that two of the nine BART directors are Lowell grads? Yep, Lynnette Sweet '77 and James Fang '79 are the ones trying to keep the trains running on time and within budget . . . Finally, David Tseng '77 stepped down earlier this year as national Executive Director of PFLAG (Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays) to join the Kerry-Edwards campaign as co-chair for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender get out the vote efforts.

Sports page: Lowell senior Charlie Cutler '05 set the all-time California high school baseball record with his 71 RBIs as a junior earlier this year while helping the Cardinals win yet another AAA championship . . . Judo champ and US Secret Service agent John Matsuoka '86 vied for a spot on the US Olympic team earlier this year. The two-time national champ fell short of making the team, but proved that a 35 year-old can still give younger athletes a run for their money . . . Former New York Yankees hurler Stefan Wever '76 did ceremonial first pitch duty for the first game of the Trans-Bay high school baseball series earlier this year (Lowell swept Skyline of Oakland in two games). You can find Stefan at one of the SF watering holes he owns, the Horseshoe Tavern on Chestnut Street and the Grant & Green Saloon at you know which intersection.

Kudos to Tonny and Nora (Yeung) Yu '84 as well as Patrick Quan '76 for helping to fund Lowell's new remote data collection science lab. Students will use laptop computers to measure real-world data (acceleration in moving elevators or autos, radiation levels, etc.) and then compare the data to expected results. Sure, Galileo only needed a pair of cannonballs and the leaning tower of Pisa, but think what he could've done with this equipment . . . And speaking of exciting uses of technology, Andrew Lieberman '83 is being honored this month as a 2004 San Jose Tech Museum Awards Laureate for his work to improve education in Mayan communities in Guatemala, where he has lived since 1994. Classmates will remember Andy's work helping install computers at Lowell and join us in applauding his dedication to his current work.

Coming to a screen near you: "Sucker Free City," written by Alex Tse '94 and directed by Spike Lee, wowed audiences at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival this past September. Let's hope we all get a chance to see it soon on Showtime or elsewhere . . . And "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," based on the first three of Daniel Handler's '88 Lemony Snicket books, opens in movie theaters across the country this December . . . Peter Stein '77, award-winning documentary filmmaker, is the new Executive Director of the SF Jewish Film Festival . . . On stage, Dale Polissar '54 (notice we spelled your last name correctly, unlike the Chronicle, Dale) got good reviews for his satirical musical-comedy about the war in Iraq and the Bush administration, "By George, It's War!." The show played (in both senses of the word) to audiences in Marin County recently.

Doctors and lawyers: Kevin Grumbach '74 appeared on the front cover of the SF Chronicle's Sunday magazine section earlier this year in connection with a serious piece about his thoughts on reforming health care policy. You can find a link to that and other recent articles about Lowell alums on our website - www.lowellalumni.org -- in the Alumni Spotlight section . . . Lisa Wong '89 has jumped from the big law firm world to a new post as supervising attorney for the SF Bar Association's Volunteer Legal Services Program, where she helps coordinate the pro bono efforts of more than 1,500 local attorneys each year.

Items from Spring 2004

Plenty of alums have been making the local and national news lately, so here's a quick roundup of some of the highlights . . . Yale University president Richard Levin '64 was named by President Bush to an independent commission investigating intelligence failures related to the search for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. It remains to be seen whether this task will be easier or harder than Flossie Lewis' English class . . . It had to happen eventually - a Lowell alum has finally appeared on a reality TV show (thank goodness it wasn't "Cheaters"). Jamie Chung '01 is in the cast of MTV's "The Real World: San Diego." Jamie's lucky break came when auditions for the show were held at the bar where she was working . . . In other entertainment news, you'll soon see the work of Alex Tse '94 when Showtime cable airs "Sucker Free City," a drama based upon conflicts among white, black, Latino and Asian street gangs in San Francisco. Alex wrote and co-produced, Spike Lee was director/producer. Filming took place at various locations in San Francisco last year.

Those of you with young children (as well as everyone who likes cleverly-written but dark and twisted stories) will be eagerly awaiting the first movie based upon one of the best-selling books by Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler '88). Due out late this year, "Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events" features Jim Carrey as Count Olaf, Meryl Streep, Cedric the Entertainer and Jude Law (as the narrator) . . . Not as much fun as the movies, but with a much bigger impact on your wallet, SF parking tickets will soon come to you courtesy of Bond Yee '68, recently appointed to take over as acting director of the Department of Parking & Traffic on June 1st. Currently serving as deputy director of the department's traffic engineering division, his first task is to restore public confidence following some recent allegations of departmental favoritism and wrongdoing. Good luck - and try not to ticket a certain battered green Honda Accord more than once a month, ok?

Here's a story that hasn't been in the headlines but should - Warren Hellman '51 provided significant financial backing for two recent successful SF ballot measures that will make a real difference to the city's public schools. Prop A, passed late last year, is a $295 million bond issue to fund badly-needed repairs and upgrades to a number of schools (including improved access for the disabled at Lowell). And Prop H, approved overwhelmingly by voters in March, establishes what will eventually become a $60 million annual commitment to fund preschool and specific programs within the public schools, targeting arts, music, athletics, libraries and physical education. Financial guru Hellman truly leveraged his investment in these campaigns to do great things for all the children of SF - job well done!

Here's a Lowell angle on SF Mayor Gavin Newsom's decision to issue same-sex marriage licenses - Chronicle reporter Rachel Gordon '80 found herself in the media spotlight after the newspaper barred her from continuing to cover the same-sex marriage story because she married Liz Mangelsdorf on March 9th. Congrats and best wishes to the happy couple . . . and yes, Mayor Newsom is the son of the late Tessa Menzies Newsom '64 . . . The irresistibly charming and seemingly ageless Carol Channing '38 was just in town for two performances of her one-woman show at the Geary Theater. Last October, Ms. Channing took time to visit Lowell where she toured the new science/academic wing and chatted with students rehearsing the Fall semester play . . . Best wishes to Don Fisher '46 upon his retirement as chairman of the board of Gap, Inc., where he will be succeeded by son Robert . . . The Chronicle ran a great article about our Sydney Goldstein '62, founder and director of the long-running City Arts & Lectures series. Best quote: Gloria Steinem once referred to Goldstein as the "Sol Hurok of ideas" . . . And the Chron ran another great profile of local rocker Karney (aka Anna Karney '78). For links to that article and others, visit the "Alumni Spotlight" section of the LAA website at www.lowellalumni.org.