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Palo Alto committee: ‘No confidence’ on high-speed rail City Council members vow to fight project, barring ‘immediate’ improvements by Gennady Sheyner alo Alto took its most extreme cil “hereby declares that it has No step to date to oppose the state’s Confidence in the High Speed Rail proposed high-speed rail line Authority and in the High Speed Rail Thursday morning when a City Coun- Project as presently planned.” cil committee unanimously passed a The resolution calls for the Caliresolution declaring “No Confidence” fornia High-Speed Rail Authority in the project and its governing body. to “immediately” become more reThe resolution, which will go to the sponsive to local communities and to full council Sept. 13, states the coun- come up with a “viable” plan for the
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system’s design. “It’s time for us to recognize what the facts of life are and to act accordingly,” said Councilman Larry Klein, chair of the High-Speed Rail Committee. “We need to be proactive in defense of our community and our region, or else this will be just rammed down our throat and all the studies and alternative designs won’t make a bit of difference.” Klein, who authored the resolu-
tion, suggested the city take an even bolder stance against the controversial $45 billion rail project and immediately adopt the actions he listed in the document. The actions include encouraging federal and state officials to withhold funding from the project, urging Caltrain to sever its relationship with the rail authority; encouraging Union Pacific to “remain steadfast in its refusal to waive any of its rights to the HSR Authority,” and considering litigation
to protect the Palo Alto’s interests. Klein, who in 2008 joined the council in formally supporting Proposition 1A, which funded the nearly $10 billion down payment, also wrote a background document explaining the drastic change in the city’s position on high-speed rail. He said since 2008 “an overwhelming number of facts have been discovered or developed and events have (continued on page 6)
TRANSPORTATION
Bike path across 101 planned Residents want Adobe Creek crossing improved by Sue Dremann hen it comes to finding a place for an improved bike/ pedestrian path that will cross U.S. Highway 101 in south Palo Alto, more than 50 residents turned out Wednesday to tell the city one thing: Leave it where it is. Currently, bicyclists and pedestrians pass from one side of 101 to the other by way of an under-crossing along Adobe Creek. The path, however, is subject to flooding, including two episodes last winter when the path was covered by 2 feet of water, residents said. The current crossing is also too narrow and creates conflicts between bicyclists and pedestrians trying to negotiate passage, they said. Palo Alto city officials and consultants from Alta Planning and Design hosted Wednesday’s meeting to hear the public’s input on five alternatives for a freeway undercrossing or over-crossing. The year-round crossing would connect the city’s residential and commercial areas to the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, East Bayshore Road, San Antonio Road businesses and the regional Bay Trail network of bike trails. The project will be located north of the San Antonio/101 interchange. The five alternatives include: renovation of a Matadero Creek under-crossing; a West Bayshore over-crossing; an over-crossing at Loma Verde Avenue; an Adobe Creek over-crossing and renovation of the existing Adobe Creek undercrossing. The sites are compatible with the Palo Alto Bicycle Transportation Master Plan, Alta Planning Project
W Veronica Weber
Diego Bernaldez, left, Rachel Ho and Josie Bogel, all age 4, play the “Pizza Party” memory game with parent volunteer Lyzbett Bernaldez in their Young Fives classroom at Greendell School in Palo Alto.
EDUCATION
Becoming ‘kindergarten ready’ Social, emotional preparation paves way for academics by Chris Kenrick
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indergarten nowadays is more academic than ever — but being ready for kindergarten is something else entirely. It’s not about knowing how to read, but knowing how to sit still in a circle on the carpet. It’s not about knowing your numbers, but knowing how to make a friend. That, at least, is the view of seasoned childhood educator
Sharon Keplinger, who last week welcomed Palo Alto’s 35th group of “Young Fives” to the first day of school on the Greendell campus near Cubberley Community Center. In an age of ramped-up academics from K-12, the Palo Alto school-district program for children on the immature side of 5 is as popular as ever with parents. Demand could increase if Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a bill requiring kids to turn 5 by Sept. 1 in order to start kindergarten, instead of the current Dec. 2 birthday deadline. The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Joe Simitian, a former Palo Alto school-board member, promises new “transitional kindergarten” programs for children born between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2. Demand for Palo Alto’s Young Fives has held steady over the years, though it is slightly up recently, Keplinger said. Two classes of 22 began last week, and Keplinger said there’s typically a waiting list long enough to fill a third class. In Young Fives class, kids learn to cut paper, hold a pencil, tell a story and sit still — things they used to do in kindergarten, but now must master ahead of time.
Parent Donna Noyman’s son has a late October birthday. She heard about Young Fives when he was enrolled in Parents Nursery School. “In many ways he seemed ready to go (to kindergarten) but in other ways — right before I had to make up my mind — it was clear he could use a little extra time on the social-emotional things, so we made the decision to put him into Young Fives. “I’m so glad we did,” Noyman said. “He’s confident now. He knows what to expect, how to be with people socially — there’s no clinginess — knows how to behave in the classroom,” she said of her son, now a kindergartener at Ohlone School. For decades, admission to Young (continued on page 9)
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