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Upfront
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News Digest
Lawsuit
Judge won’t reopen high-speed-rail challenge
McLaughlin, Alan Davis, John Garcia and Robert Paugh, Mossar calls this statement “blatantly false� and “misleading.� City Clerk Donna Grider, the city’s designated elections official, is also listed as a responder in the suit. “The final sentence of the pertinent paragraph states that one or two individuals in the city administration are capable of enacting changes in the level of available emergency and medical services,� Mossar wrote. “This statement is blatantly false as city administrators are not capable of making such changes: Such power rests solely with the Palo Alto City Council.� Mossar also said in the suit that the nine-member City Council would require a majority-vote approval before it could change the level of available emergency or medical services. Mossar said the union’s rebuttal should more accurately read: “Such a decision should not be made by the city council.� If Measure R were to pass, the council would have to hold two public hearings on any proposed staffing reductions, vote to approve these reductions and hold an election in which voters also approve the reductions. The current council has already passed a resolution opposing the measure and calling it “bad government� and a waste of money. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.
The case challenging high-speed rail studies and route selection has been finalized by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Michael Kenny despite a last-ditch effort by a coalition of challengers to get it reopened. The coalition consists of Atherton, Menlo Park and private groups. Palo Alto has participated as a friend-of-the-court. Kenny made several additions or changes to the tentative decision he reached last week. Kenny on Friday agreed to delay his final ruling on the coalition’s latest legal challenge, but proceeded to finalize it Monday — effectively ending the legal challenge. In May, the coalition — which also includes the California Rail Foundation, the Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund and the Planning and Conservation League — asked the court to reconsider an August 2009 decision after discovering the rail authority relied on a ridership model that had not been publicized or peer reviewed. The 2009 ruling forced the rail authority to decertify and revise parts of its environmental-impact report (EIR) for the rail system’s San Francisco-to-San Jose segment. However, the decision did not require the rail authority to re-evaluate its selection of the Pacheco Pass and up through the Peninsula as its preferred route for the rail system, a route which the coalition is protesting. Last Thursday, Kenny tentatively denied the coalition’s request to reopen the case and argued that the plaintiffs had failed to meet the state’s stringent legal requirements for reopening previous rulings. Kenny wrote in his ruling that the coalition failed to demonstrate that new evidence would have led to a different ruling a year ago. He faulted the plaintiffs for not discovering the flaws in the ridership model before last year’s ruling and also wrote that the coalition had not exhausted all of its legal avenues. N — Gennady Sheyner
Art Center to undergo $7 million renovation The nearly 40-year-old Palo Alto Art Center will be getting a mid-life revamp — a long-awaited $7 million facility upgrade slated to begin next April. Plans, conditionally approved by the city’s Architectural Review Board Aug. 19, include the creation of a children’s wing and new courtyard, aircirculation and building-code upgrades, plus exhibition-hall and aesthetic improvements. Art Center Director Karen Kienzle is especially looking forward to the new children’s wing. “When it opened in 1971, the Art Center was intended to be primarily a place for adults, but now more than half our visitors are kids,� she said. “We serve around 7,000 children a year and we’re really bursting at the seams,� she added, describing long lines of paint-covered kids patiently waiting for the sole sink (installed much higher than is easily reachable for children) in one of the rooms used for classes. She said new sinks would be kid-friendly and foot-operated. The new plans call for a doubling of classroom space (from two rooms to four), plus the addition of a courtyard where summer camps and outdoor classes can gather, including a room designed for preschoolers. The center will also be brought up to code with the Americans with Disabilities Act, complying with doorway and restroom regulations, making all entrances more accessible to those in wheelchairs. Landscape-architecture firm SWA, which designed the green “living roof� at the California Academy of Sciences, has been hired for the outdoor improvements. Renderings are available at www.cityofpaloalto.org. N — Karla Kane
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C E N T E R S G A R A G E S
Palo Alto parents tapped for bond oversight role Three Palo Alto parents were confirmed by the Palo Alto Board of Education Tuesday night to help oversee spending under the school district’s $378 million construction program. Investment manager Todd Collins, architect Catherine Garber and psychologist Mary Marth will join the Citizens’ Oversight Committee for the Strong Schools Bond. The seven-member group is charged with monitoring spending of the facilities bond funds, which were approved by nearly 78 percent of voters in June 2008. Collins and Marth have children currently enrolled in Palo Alto schools. Garber’s children recently graduated from Palo Alto High School. Managed by the district’s Chief Business Official Robert Golton, the bond construction program will touch each of the district’s 18 major campuses, with major construction at the two high schools, three middle schools and at least one elementary campus. Besides general modernization and upgrades, construction is focused on expanding capacity for anticipated enrollment growth. Ever since a post-Baby Boom nadir in 1989-90 when district-wide enrollment was 7,452, enrollment has been on a steady upward trajectory. It currently stands at about 12,000. Historically, enrollment in Palo Alto schools peaked in 1967-68 at 15,575. N — Chris Kenrick
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Back to school (continued from page 3)
was this hot on the first day of school. I knew it was going to be this way,� she said with the nonchalance of a seasoned pro. Crossing guards, dressed in yellow vests as bright as the sun, halted traffic as the hordes of kids rushed with eager expressions toward the school grounds. The shuttle bus rattled and thumped, turning deftly around the corner from Newell Road to North California Avenue. The girls’ excitement was palpable. “Oh my GOD!� they gasped, as the bus pulled to a stop. They rushed through the shuttle’s doors shrieking and ran toward the campus. The shuttle driver smiled. Another school year had begun. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.
Corrections
In the Aug. 20 edition, an article about a planned tent city stated the event would be the first emergency-preparation drill for Barron Park residents. It is the third since 1987. An article about a Barron Park welcome event referred to resident Louis Lahot as a native of France; he is a Bay Area native of French descent. The Weekly regrets the errors. To request a correction, contact Managing Editor Jocelyn Dong at 650-326-8210, jdong@ paweekly.com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302.