Upfront
Online This Week
These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com/news or click on “News� in the left, green column.
VIDEO: Palo Alto Vignettes Alice Crenshaw and her family became the first to move into Palo Alto’s Greenmeadow neighborhood, built by Joseph Eichler, in 1954. Now 93, Crenshaw reminisced about the neighborhood’s early years at a storytelling event last Sunday sponsored by the Palo Alto Historical Association. Her tale — and three others’ — are now posted at www. PaloAltoOnline.com. (Posted Dec. 10 at 1:32 p.m.)
Founder of Palo Alto Bicycles dies Bernhard J. (Bernie) Hoffacker, original owner of Palo Alto Bicycles, died Dec. 5, a few days short of his 92nd birthday, from complications from a broken hip. (Posted Dec. 10 at 8:58 a.m.)
Slain officer’s family speaks out at trial Family members of East Palo Alto police Officer Richard May, who was fatally shot in the line of duty almost four years ago, told jurors during the penalty phase of his killer’s trial Tuesday how difficult their lives are without him. (Posted Dec. 9 at 3:53 p.m.)
Klausner selected as school board president Outgoing Palo Alto Board of Education President Barb Mitchell passed the gavel Tuesday night to Barbara Klausner. Klausner, a lawyer who has worked as a math specialist in the school district, was unanimously chosen by her colleagues to lead the board for the next year, effective immediately. (Posted Dec. 9 at 7:27 a.m.)
Morning fire scorches Team Clean in Menlo Park Fire investigators are looking for possible causes of an early morning fire in a couple of tubs used to store mops at a commercial laundry in a single-story commercial building at 560 Oak Grove Ave. in Menlo Park Tuesday. (Posted Dec. 8 at 12:23 p.m.)
Authorities urge caution during cold spell As freezing conditions continue to grip the Bay Area, residents are being warned to take precautions on roadways, protect their pets and insulate exposed water pipes. (Posted Dec. 8 at 10:17 a.m.)
Son of Barry Bonds arrested in Menlo Park The son of Barry Bonds, who holds the lifetime and single-year Major League home run records, was arrested in Menlo Park Saturday after an argument with his mother, the Associated Press reported. (Posted Dec. 8 at 10:06 a.m.)
Apple buys Palo Alto-based Lala music startup Lala Media, Inc., a “cloud-based� music-streaming startup based in downtown Palo Alto, has been purchased by Apple Computer, Apple spokesman Steve Dowling confirmed Sunday. (Posted Dec. 7 at 7:38 p.m.)
Police nab suspect in Stevens Creek Trail assault Mountain View police have arrested the man they believe is behind last week’s attempted sexual assault of a jogger on Stevens Creek Trail, and behind at least two other recent attacks as well. (Posted Dec. 7 at 2:32 p.m.)
East Palo Alto shooting victim, 35, hospitalized Police are seeking witnesses who may have seen a man get shot in his torso early Saturday morning in East Palo Alto. (Posted Dec. 7 at 9:06 a.m.)
Recendes to stand trial for 2002 rape, beating A gold necklace and a single hair are enough evidence to try Roberto Recendes for allegedly beating and raping a 94-year-old woman in Palo Alto, a judge has ruled. (Posted Dec. 5 at 10:14 p.m.) Want to get news briefs e-mailed to you every weekday? Sign up for Express, our new daily e-edition. Go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com to sign up.
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New chancellor (continued from page 3)
ing opportunities for veterans,� she said. Thor’s institution has been a pioneer in online “distance learning� and in partnering with local employers to offer corporate training. For example, she said, every new employee of Phoenix-based U.S. Airways becomes a Rio Salado College student and receives training in the company’s standards and a college certificate in airline operations. In addition, more than 7,000 Phoenix-area students in 54 high schools take classes at Rio Salado. The college also offers courses at nearby Luke Air Force Base and in area prisons, where it trains inmates for jobs in the construction, culinary, horticulture, furniture manufacturing or computer industries. About 38,000 of Rio Salado’s 60,000 students are “online only.� Others are served in the college’s education centers, which are spread across the Phoenix area. “While I’m a big proponent of online learning, I don’t necessarily think that all of higher education should be online,� Thor said. “There are individuals who learn best in a traditional face-to-face classroom. There are those who benefit from a hybrid approach — some in person, some online. Then there are those particularly disciplined individuals who will do very well in the online environment,� she said. “There have been numerous studies, repeated over and over, that show no significant difference in learning between online learning and in-person learning.� Foothill and De Anza currently have a “great� mix of in-person, hybrid and online learning, she said. The two colleges also have one of the nation’s highest rates of successful transfers to four-year institutions, she said. “The millennial generation that’s coming out of high school right now really prefers the on-campus or blended approach because they do need that socialization,� Thor said. However, a “typical� Rio Salado student — a 29-year-old, working single mother — “is really not too focused on the football teams and the clubs� and needs the online option. Thor said she is “thrilled� with President Barack Obama’s American Graduation Initiative now working its way through Congress, which could provide $12 billion to community colleges. “In my 35 years in community colleges, I’ve never seen that kind of presidential attention,� she said. “I see significant opportunities for FoothillDe Anza to seek federal support.� Thor was selected by Foothill-De Anza trustees following a national search to replace former chancellor Martha Kanter, who resigned in June to become U.S. undersecretary of education. “Passion for education is what we look for in any college leader,� said Foothill-De Anza board president Betsy Bechtel, a former mayor of Palo Alto. “Linda Thor’s driving passion is student success, and that is evident in every conversation with her. I
am confident she will help us continue to advance our commitment to quality education for every student. We are very pleased to have her join us.� Before moving to Arizona, Thor, a native Californian, headed West Los Commitment To Excellence
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Angeles College in Culver City. She will be the sixth permanent chancellor since the Foothill-De Anza’s founding in 1957. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.
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s /UTSTANDING #ITIZEN 6OLUNTEER s /UTSTANDING 0ROFESSIONAL s /UTSTANDING "USINESS s /UTSTANDING .ON 0ROlT .OMINATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW PALOALTOCHAMBER COM OR AT THE 0ALO !LTO #HAMBER OF #OMMERCE AT (AMILTON !VENUE 0ALO !LTO Nomination deadline Dec. 18 at Noon
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