Former Los Altos mayor King Lear is scheduled to speak at the Ethical Culture Society of Silicon Valley meeting 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Neutra House Conference Center, 181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos.
Lear, who is retiring from his long volunteer service as Neutra House’s manager, will share stories about the historical house – about its architect Richard Neutra, about the original customer for the house and about how it was later relocated and given life as a community gathering space.
There are ethical dimensions to Lear’s stories, mostly around the word “community.” His talk will address such questions as: What does it take for citizens to conceive and create a community asset for the common good? And, in today’s Silicon Valley culture, do citizens have what it takes?
Lear is a fourth-generation Californian born in 1938 and raised in the Northern California mountains. He earned an electrical engineering degree from Stanford University, served as a U.S. Army officer in Korea and spent his professional career working in national intelligence. After retirement, he served on the Los Altos City Council – including a term as mayor – for eight years. When he and fellow council members voted to provide space on the Los Altos Civic Center grounds to save a house designed by Neutra, Lear helped raise the funds to move and renovate the house, supervised the project and spent the next 15 years managing the facility as a small conference center and running architecture appreciation programs.
Lear’s talk is part of the ECSSV’s “Spotlight” meeting series, where speakers aim to enlighten and challenge on topics of ethical relevance. The meetings encourage questions and discussion, and include live music, light refreshments and community sharing.
For more information on the Ethical Culture Society of Silicon Valley, visit ecssv.org.
