Palo Alto Weekly 04.15.2011 by Palo Alto Weekly

6 °Ê888 ]Ê Õ LiÀÊÓnÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊN xäZ

Citizens sue city over Cal Ave plan Page 3

fueling

innovation Valley companies work to develop alternative fuels page 19

1ST PLACE

GENERAL EXCELLENCE

California Newspaper Publishers Association

Spectrum 16

Camp Connection 22

Movies 29

Eating Out 31 N Arts

ShopTalk 32

Title Pages 35 Classifieds 67

Uncovering long-lost sculptural color N Sports Stanford’s pitch to get ahead N Home Palatial to playful gardens on Gamble tour

Page 26 Page 37 Page 45

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital 20th Anniversary

LE CTU R E S E R I ES The Future and Personalized Healthcare:

The Role of Genes, Data and the Environment May 1, 2011 at 3pm The future of personalized healthcare will involve an individual’s genetic makeup, lifestyle and environment. Get a preview of what lies ahead and how technology can contribute to improved health. Atul Butte MD, Chief, Division of Systems Medicine and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Computer Science, Stanford School of Medicine

This free lecture will be held in the Freidenrich Auditorium at Packard Children’s Hospital. Pre-registration is required. Reserve your space online at calendar.lpch.org or call (650) 724-3783.

For additional 20th Anniversary Lecture Series offerings, visit anniversary.lpch.org Page 2ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Upfront

1ST PLACE

BEST LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE

California Newspaper Publishers Association

Local news, information and analysis

Palo Alto sued over California Ave. plan Critics of proposed lane reduction say city violated environmental law when it approved project in February by Gennady Sheyner

Palo Alto resident and a California Avenue merchant have filed a lawsuit against the city this week, claiming that the city violated environmental law when it approved a streetscape project for the California Avenue business dis-

trict in February. The project, which includes a reduction of lanes from four to two and new street furniture along California, earned the unanimous approval of the City Council Feb. 14 despite opposition from a

group of merchants and residents. Two opponents, Joy Ogawa and Terry Shuchat, filed their lawsuit Monday. Shuchat, whose camera business, Keeble & Shuchat, is located on California Avenue, and Ogawa filed a suit with the Santa Clara County Superior Court asking for the court to halt the project and require Palo Alto to redo its environmental analysis. The plaintiffs claim that

the city’s “negative declaration” — an environmental analysis required by the California Environmental Quality Act — for the project is deeply flawed. They argue in the suit that it did not consider, among other things, an “adequate project description” and evidence from business owners about the impacts of project constructions. “Business closures and resulting blight is an impact on the physical

environment that must be assessed in the environmental document,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also claims that the city’s environmental document failed to consider numerous factors, including approval from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and did not consider mitigations to the (continued on page 8)

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Palo Alto urged to hire emergency director Citizen volunteers call on City Council to immediately appoint a leader for city’s emergency-preparedness efforts by Gennady Sheyner

P Veronica Weber

Celebrating National Library Week in song and story Kathy Boyd, who was a children’s librarian in San Jose for 34 years, pitched in to lead a group of young readers in song at a storytelling event on April 13 at the Palo Alto Children’s Library. The event helped celebrate National Library Week, which runs through April 16.

ENVIRONMENT

Earth Day events to sprout in Palo Alto City and school officials prepare to bask in their green achievements next week by Gennady Sheyner

rom zooming electric cars to blooming “green” buildings, Palo Alto’s environmentalists have much to smile about these days. As the city prepares for Earth Day, April 22, its green efforts and ambitions are taking center stage at local classrooms, environmental nonprofits and City Hall, where officials are seeking to raise the conservation bar even further. Palo Alto’s ongoing and soon-tobe implemented green programs

were highlighted Monday night by Deborah van Duynhoven, Palo Alto’s chief sustainability coordinator. The long list of environmental efforts includes PaloAltoGreen, an award-winning program of the Utilities Department that allows residents to pay a little extra for electricity to support renewable energy. The program continues to lead the nation in participation, with 21 percent of the city opting in, though van Duynhoven pointed out in her report that the rate has leveled off.

Palo Alto’s green-building program, meanwhile, is generating momentum and producing dramatic results. In 2010, the year after the council adopted stricter rules regarding construction demolition, 789 permit applications were covered by the program — an 83 percent spike from 2009. Van Duynhoven told the council that 240 certified green buildings have either been built or are currently under construction — a number she called “phenomenal.” This includes 125 residences currently undergoing construction. One major effort the city plans to undertake next year is creating a citywide policy on electric vehicles. The plan, she told the Weekly, would consider everything from the permitting process to places where the city should set up chargers. “It’s really taking a holistic view (continued on page 8)

alo Alto’s neighborhood leaders and emergencypreparedness volunteers are urging the city to immediately hire a new director to lead the city’s emergency operations and to prepare residents for a major disaster. Members of the volunteer groups Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN), Palo Alto Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Citizen Corps Council, which form the backbone of the city’s disasterpreparedness efforts, called on the City Council Monday night to support the recommendations of a new study, which called for major structural changes in the city’s Office of Emergency Services (OES). The study by Arrietta Chakos of the firm Urban Resilience Policy recommended hiring an Office of Emergency Services director; finding a new, seismically safe emergency headquarters; and streamlining the city’s myriad studies of emergency preparation. Chakos said Palo Alto has a “very experienced, very professional approach to emergency response, without a doubt.” But when it comes to planning for disasters, the city’s structure is deeply fragmented, she said, with volunteer groups doing much of the work and getting insufficient support from city leaders. She told the council that restructuring the Office of Emergency Services is “crucial” and said it’s important that the new director report directly to the city manager’s office. The new position is needed to give the department a “more powerful role within the city” and facilitate better cooperation between departments. “Under current staffing, folks working in OES are woefully

overworked and there’s not enough resources devoted to the disasterreadiness work they’re doing,” Chakos said. “There is a very great need for interdepartmental coordination on planning, training and responding as well.” Emergency preparedness is one of the council’s five priorities for 2011, but several community members accused the council Monday of only paying “lip service” to this priority and doing nothing to address it. Even Mayor Sid Espinosa acknowledged the council has done little to address this priority, other than provide some support for grassroots initiatives. The most critical thing the city can do in the short term is to follow the report’s recommendations and hire a new director for the Office of Emergency Services, numerous volunteers told the council. Lenore Cymes, a Palo Alto CERT volunteer, said the past year has been a difficult one for her group and other community organizations tasked with preparing residents for disasters. The groups currently have no one to direct them or to provide feedback about what they’re doing right or wrong, she said. “The ‘Palo Alto Process’ will definitely not work in this situation,” Cymes said, using a phrase that often connotes bureaucratic delays. “This is one of the very, very few situations where volunteers devote time and energy and hope we’re never, ever tested. “There’s no room for a learning curve in this position,” she added. “We need one manager who can pull all the groups together.” Sheri Furman, who chairs Palo Alto Neighborhoods, also urged (continued on page 10)

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 3

Upfront

BASED ON THE BEST-SELLING NOVEL

PUBLISHER William S. Johnson

TheatreWorks

“GRIPPING... beautifully depicted” San Francisco Chronicle

“FULL OF POETRY and BEAUTY” Palo Alto Weekly

“THEATRICAL MAGIC!” The Daily News

Snow Falling on Cedars Based on the book by David

Guterson Adapted for the stage by Kevin McKeon

DON’T MISS IT! Now thru April 24 Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts TICKETS: theatreworks.org 650.463.1960

EDITORIAL Jocelyn Dong, Editor Carol Blitzer, Associate Editor Keith Peters, Sports Editor Tyler Hanley, Express™ and Online Editor Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Tom Gibboney, Spectrum Editor Chris Kenrick, Gennady Sheyner, Staff Writers Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections Editor Karla Kane, Editorial Assistant Veronica Weber, Staff Photographer Dale Bentson, Colin Becht, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Kevin Kirby, Jack McKinnon, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, Contributors Sarah Trauben, Zohra Ashpari, Kareem Yasin Editorial Interns Joann So, Arts & Entertainment Intern DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Raul Perez, Assistant Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Gary Vennarucci, Designer PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Samantha Mejia, Blanca Yoc, Sales & Production Coordinators ADVERTISING Walter Kupiec, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Judie Block, Esmeralda Flores, Janice Hoogner, Gary Whitman, Display Advertising Sales Neil Fine, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Real Estate Advertising Sales David Cirner, Irene Schwartz, Inside Advertising Sales Cathy Norfleet, Display Advertising Sales Asst. Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Assistants Alicia Santillan, Classified Administrative Asst. EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Rachel Palmer, Online Operations Coordinator Rachel Hatch, Multimedia Product Manager BUSINESS Penelope Ng, Payroll & Benefits Manager Elena Dineva, Mary McDonald, Susie Ochoa, Cathy Stringari, Doris Taylor, Business Associates ADMINISTRATION Amy Renalds, Assistant to the Publisher & Promotions Director Janice Covolo, Receptionist Ruben Espinoza, Courier EMBARCADERO MEDIA William S. Johnson, President Michael I. Naar, Vice President & CFO Walter Kupiec, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Frank A. Bravo, Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Connie Jo Cotton, Major Accounts Sales Manager Bob Lampkin, Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Alicia Santillan, Circulation Assistants Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo, Computer System Associates The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 3268210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered free to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 326-8210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. Copyright ©2011 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed by SFOP, Redwood City. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com Our e-mail addresses are: editor@paweekly.com, letters@paweekly.com, ads@paweekly.com. Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 326-8210, or e-mail circulation@paweekly. com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr.

SUBSCRIBE!

Support your local newspaper by becoming a paid subscriber. $60 per year. $100 for two years. Name: _________________________________ Address: _______________________________ City/Zip: _______________________________ Mail to: Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610. Palo Alto CA 94302

Page 4ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‘‘

450 CAMBRIDGE AVE, PALO ALTO, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210

This is one of the very, very few situations where volunteers devote time and energy and hope we’re never, ever tested. — Lenore Cymes, a Palo Alto resident, on being a disaster-preparedness volunteer. See story on page 3.

Around Town HOT OFF THE PRESS ... President Barack Obama was the very first recipient of Linda DarlingHammond’s new book recommending ways to fix America’s “slipping” education system, the Stanford University professor of education told a campus audience this week. “I told him I’d give him a test that will not be a multiple-choice test — it will be a ‘performance assessment,’” Darling-Hammond said in a jab at the fill-in-the-bubble mentality she believes has led to a narrowing of horizons for American students. Darling-Hammond headed Obama’s education transition team and reportedly was on the short list for his Secretary of Education pick. She examines strategies — among the most important, investing in teachers — that have led to school systems in Finland, Singapore and South Korea rising to the top of the international charts in her new book, “The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future.” GETTING ON BOARD ... For Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, the proposed cuts to Caltrain service literally hit close to home. Kniss, a former Palo Alto mayor who recently joined the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (which oversees Caltrain), returned to City Hall this week to discuss Caltrain’s budget crisis with the City Council Rail Committee. The Caltrain board, she said, continues to look for new funding sources to help the agency cover a $30 million budget shortfall. Caltrain officials are also considering reducing the number of trains, closing some stations and eliminating weekend services at others, including at California Avenue in Palo Alto. Kniss said she has heard “a lot of outcry about California Avenue” — outcry that is expected to continue until at least Thursday, April 21, when the board plans to make a decision about service reduction. Deputy City Manager Steve Emslie said the Caltrain proposal to kill weekend service at California Avenue is particularly troubling because the area around the station is designated as a “pedestrian and transit oriented district.”

“Weekend service is a big part if it, especially for the housing built in that area,” Emslie said. “We see that as a major impact to our land-use planning.” The board is not united in how many trains Caltrain should run each week, Kniss said. The most draconian proposal on the table would slash the number from 86 to 48. Kniss said she supports looking for new funding sources to maintain the current number of trains. “Until we find that permanent funding source, it’s absolutely imperative to continue the services we have now,” Kniss said. Caltrain’s ridership has grown exponentially over the past decade, with the number of daily riders growing from about 25,000 in 2003 to more than 41,000 this year. “What you worry about when you start to cut service back is that people find other ways to not use the train,” Kniss said. “And I don’t really think you want 41,000 riders out on Bayshore or on 280, or wherever they would be every day.” THE NEXT CHAPTER ... Palo Alto kicked off National Library Week in style Monday night when the City Council celebrated the city’s ongoing renovation of local libraries by welcoming a group of volunteers spearheading the bond-funded effort. The group Palo Alto Library Foundation, whose volunteers include former Mayor Bern Beecham, Alison Cormack and Susie Thom, announced Monday that it has already raised $3.3 million for books, furniture and computer equipment at the new libraries (the $76 million bond voters passed in 2008 only covers the buildings themselves) and expects to meet its campaign goal of $4 million by this fall. Beecham told the council that the existing Main and Mitchell Park libraries were funded by a bond local voters passed in 1956 — the year Dwight D. Eisenhower occupied the White House, Norma Jean Mortenson became “Marilyn Monroe” and Elvis had his first hit — “Heartbreak Hotel.” That’s also the year IBM developed the first hard-drive — a four-megabyte drive that was about the size of two refrigerators. “We’ve come a long way,” Beecham said. N

Upfront

PALO ALTO ONLINE

+$),

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Lasting Memoriesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; memorial database launched Readers may submit and search online for local obituaries

new online obituary database, Lasting Memories, offers Palo Alto Online visitors access to more than five years of previously published obituaries and a convenient way to post remembrances. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lasting Memories is in response to inquiries by readers whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve asked for a way to search for obituaries and a seamless way to submit obituary information,â&#x20AC;? said Bill Johnson, president of Embarcadero Media, which operates Palo Alto Online and publishes the Weekly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We hope itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be a great community service and a lasting

history of local residents.â&#x20AC;? The Lasting Memories page is located at www.PaloAltoOnline.com/ obituaries/. It is also available on the websites of the Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister papers, the Mountain View Voice (www. mv-voice.com/obituaries/) and The Almanac (www.almanacnews.com/ obituaries/). Website visitors looking for a particular obituary can search by first or last name, years of death and birth, keyword or tag. Visitors can also browse recently posted obituaries. New obituaries may be submitted

LOCA L

by clicking â&#x20AC;&#x153;submit obituaryâ&#x20AC;? and filling out the form provided, including name, dates of birth and death, city of residence and relevant biographical information. There is also space provided for memorial-service information and requests for memorial donations, as well as the option to upload a photo and YouTube link. Visitors to the site can leave comments and condolences on obituaries by clicking â&#x20AC;&#x153;submit a remembrance,â&#x20AC;? and there is also the option of sending a private e-mail. N â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Karla Kane

FOR 40 YEA

with purchase of $25 or more of natural & organic foods, body care, vitamins & more!

(,'+). ,' +,) & ((!*

&%#()'% -" / &( &+( /

After all other discounts & coupons. Cannot be combined with any other 'Free' or '$ OFF' Country Sun coupon. One coupon per household per day per purchase of $25 or more.

HEALTH

Let us provide daytime care for your aging loved one

Finding a group of their own Breast Cancer Connections offers support, networking for young women by Karla Kane

Daily Health Monitoring Exercise Arts Socializing Music

Therapies

Gardening Nutritious Lunches Local Transportation ... and more!

Veronica Weber

iki Calastas is a busy young woman. A single mother of two small kids, she works as a program administrator at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. And last year, she was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was like hitting a brick wall,â&#x20AC;? she said of her diagnosis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is not something I thought Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be dealing with at 32. You think, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll get sick when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m older but not yet.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Calastas had to deal not only with her health but also with managing her family life and career. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How will this affect my kids? I need to go to work tomorrow; I need to make dinner. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very disruptive. You want to hide under the covers,â&#x20AC;? she said. A co-worker recommended that Calastas visit Breast Cancer Connections (BCC), the nonprofit resource center located at 390 Cambridge Ave. in Palo Alto. The center, which offers more than 35 free programs and services for breast-cancer patients and their families, has been providing information and support to those touched by the disease since 1993. Calastas took her co-workerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advice and eventually joined Breast Cancer Connectionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; support and networking group for young women, which meets every other Tuesday evening. After losing her hair, she said she felt as though everyone stared at her, but at Breast Cancer Connections, she found a group of accepting, understanding peers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was so warm and welcoming and safe,â&#x20AC;? she said. Young women (loosely defined as under age 45) diagnosed with breast cancer struggle with different issues than older cancer patients. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more likely than older women, for example, to have young children. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can ask each other about parenting strategies, what to do when your kids want to play rough, or what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to tell them about the

270 Escuela Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94040 (650) 289-5494 www.avenidas.org Call for your free tour today!

Niki Calastas, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last year at age 32, meets every other week with a support and networking group specifically for young women through Breast Cancer Connections. cancer,â&#x20AC;? Calastas said. Other issues particularly pressing to young women can include body image, career building, dating and the potential infertility that can result from cancer treatments. Because breast cancer is more often an older womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disease, doctors sometimes misdiagnose it in younger women until the cancer becomes more advanced. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The doctor says, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re too young; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not cancerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and then waits too long,â&#x20AC;? said Cheri Livingston, Breast Cancer Connectionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; director of programs and services. Young women therefore often have to undergo more aggressive treatment and suffer more side effects, Livingston added. Group facilitator Ann Rivello said younger women sometimes have a harder time dealing with their diagnoses because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re otherwise in good health, unlike older women who have experienced prior health problems. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very confusing, very shocking. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a very inconvenient time to get cancer,â&#x20AC;? she said. At a typical meeting of six to 12 participants, members take turns giving updates about their lives and dis-

cussing issues and questions. Sometimes Rivello prompts the women to talk about what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re thankful for or what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re struggling with. A medical social worker, Rivello volunteered to start the group in 2009, when she was diagnosed with cancer at age 38. She didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel comfortable in the general support groups she tried, where most of the women were post-menopause. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was really difficult for me. I was always the youngest, and that made me feel even more isolated,â&#x20AC;? she said. With the creation of the group for young women, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, she said. And seeing that Rivello, who has two small kids of her own, has come through cancer and is doing OK gives women in the thick of treatment hope. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really important that they see a person whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gone through it. And even though emotionally and physically it takes quite a toll, the women are really quite positive. It really clarifies whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important in life,â&#x20AC;? Rivello said. Originally held on Thursdays, the (continued on page 7)

MENLO PARK

29 TH ANNUAL SIDEWALK

FINE ARTS FESTIVAL S A N TA C R U Z AV E N U E DOWNTOWN MENLO PARK

APRIL

15 % 16 % 17

Friday & Saturday 10 am - 6 pm Sunday 10 am- 5 pm 90 PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS Presented by

Judie Mountain & Wayne Robbins

Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce

$ 3$&,),& ),1( $576 )(67,9$/ pacificfinearts.com

*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;U Page 5

Help us rescue lives in Japan. Go to www.rescue.org/altweeklies

Upfront

News Digest Police release new details in Stanford assault New details have emerged in the Saturday (April 9) sexual assault of a woman in a graduate-student apartment at Stanford University’s Escondido Village. Stanford police said a man entered the apartment at about 9:40 p.m. and sexually assaulted the woman, who had been sleeping in her bedroom. The man “tried to hold the victim down as he assaulted her,” police said. The woman resisted and the man fled, according to police. A K-9 from the Palo Alto Police Department tracked a scent from the apartment to the area of El Camino Real and Churchill Avenue in Palo Alto shortly after the attack, though the assailant was not found. Police said the attacker may have entered the apartment through an unlocked door. The attacker is described as a dark-skinned male, possibly Asian Indian, about 30 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall, with a chubby build, short, wavy black hair and a rounded nose. He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a dark T-shirt. The victim “remembers smelling scent similar to apples at the time of the attack,” police said. Anyone with information about the attack is urged to call the Stanford Department of Public Safety at 650-723-9633 or 650-329-2413. N — Palo Alto Weekly staff

Ex-Greenmeadow manager pleads not guilty The man accused of stealing more than $65,000 from a Palo Alto neighborhood association was arraigned on a felony embezzlement charge on Thursday (April 14). Kimball Allen, 29, the former administrative manager of the Greenmeadow Community Association, pled not guilty for allegedly using the association’s credit card more than 250 times for personal purchases, including hair replacement, a BMW roadster and a personal fitness trainer, Rob Baker, supervising deputy district attorney, said. Allen, who was hired by the association in 2008, allegedly began ringing up the charges in March 2010, according to court papers. Over the next seven or eight months, he allegedly racked up between $65,000 and $67,000 in expenses on the card, and wrote several association checks for personal purchases. The transactions included $6,295 for hair replacement; $1,818.07 for an Apple Macbook Pro computer and a Hewlett-Packard printer; $3,480 for personal training at Equinox, an upscale Palo Alto gym, plus $140 monthly membership payments; a $3,000 down payment on a BMW Z3 roadster; $5,215 for an air-conditioning system at a home he owns in Kansas City, Mo.; and multiple charges for air fare, hotel, shopping, entertainment and restaurant purchases for himself and others in Los Angeles, Honolulu, Tacoma, Las Vegas, Kansas City and Mexico, according to the police report. It was “almost like gambling ... or ... a drug,” Allen reportedly told police during a March 17 interview. Felony embezzlement of more than $60,000 carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, Baker said. N — Sue Dremann

Palo Alto struggles to give voters reliable data Palo Alto voters will be asked to wrestle with incomplete and possible contradictory data in November when they hit the voting booths to consider whether the city should be allowed to build a waste-to-energy plant on parkland in the Baylands. The anaerobic digestion plant, which would process local yard trimmings and food waste and convert them into electricity, has become a topic of fierce debate between environmentalists who say the city should take care of its own waste and conservationists who argue that public parkland is no place for a new waste facility. Members of the City Council acknowledged Monday that a lack of conclusive information about the plant’s potential costs will make the voters’ decision particularly challenging and susceptible to the clashing arguments from the two green camps. Public Works staff and consultants have been scrambling in recent months to gather information about the projected costs of the new plant, which would occupy a roughly 9-acre site in Byxbee Park. They have already provided projections on how much the city would have to pay if it were to build a local plant and if it were to export its food scraps and yard waste to San Jose and Gilroy, respectively. But given the complexity of the topic, the inherent uncertainty of adopting new technology and the deep split both on the council and in the community, each answer has only spawned further questions and requests for more analysis. Some of the most crucial questions are far too broad and complicated to be answered before the November election, staff said Monday. The shortage of information means voters will have to rely on partial analyses, campaign literature and their own instincts when they step inside the voting booths in November, council members said. N — Gennady Sheyner LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com

Page 6ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Upfront

Cancer

(continued from page 5)

group was switched to Tuesdays after some of the single women explained that Thursday is a popular date night. For group members, meetings can provide a place of emotional release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have to hold it together all week. When I walk in to BCC, I just start crying because I can. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the only time I can be vulnerable. They understand it,â&#x20AC;? Calastas said. It can also be a place for laughter, gossip and forming relationships. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing how quick two hours can fly by,â&#x20AC;? she said, adding sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s made friendships that extend past the nonprofitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s walls. â&#x20AC;&#x153;How would I ever have met these people otherwise?â&#x20AC;? she said. Calastas, who went through chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and seven weeks of radiation, is now cancer free. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll undergo hormone therapy for five years and is currently combating lymphedema (a side effect of the cancer treatment) but is in good health otherwise. She said sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll

remain involved with Breast Cancer Connections into the foreseeable future, including volunteering there when her kids are older. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know how I would have navigated my treatment without it. These are my people. I would do anything for BCC,â&#x20AC;? she said. Breast Cancer Connections is holding its annual spring benefit breakfast Tuesday, April 26, from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club Ballroom, 2900 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park. Individual tickets are $100, and tables for 10 are $3,000. Writer/director/activist Michealane Cristini Risley and journalist Jan Yanehiro will be featured speakers. They are two of four co-authors of the book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This Is Not the Life I Ordered.â&#x20AC;? The Palo Alto Weekly is a sponsor of the event. More information about Breast Cancer Connections is available at www.bcconnections.org. N Editorial Assistant Karla Kane can be e-mailed at kkane@ paweekly.com.

Champion Kinder International School

(2 to 5 Years)

WWW CHAMPIONYES COM

Summer Camp E

nrolling N ow

3UNNYVALE 3ARATOGA 2OAD 3UNNYVALE s ! -ANDARIN )MMERSION 0RESCHOOL "RINGS A 7ORLD OF /PPORTUNITY

New School Year Enrollment Pre-K (4 to 5 years) Sunrise Class Demonstration Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;`>Ă&#x17E;]Ă&#x160; >Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x2C6;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;x\Ă¤Ă¤Â&#x2021;Ă&#x2C6;\Ă¤Ă¤Ă&#x160;ÂŤÂ&#x201C; .EW 0RESCHOOL &ACILITY s $ANCE &ACILITY s !RT 3CIENCE 3TUDIO s 'ROUP +EYBOARD s #HILDREN S ,IBRARY s SF )NDOOR #LASSROOM s SF 0LAYGROUND !REA s &2%% $AILY 0ROFESSIONAL %NRICHMENT 0ROGRAMS

#HAMPION 9OUTH %NRICHMENT 3CHOOL ÂxĂ&#x160;Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;ÂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x160;9i>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x192;ÂŽ s s s s s

+INDERGARTEN !FTER 3CHOOL /PEN (OUSE AND #LASS $EMO

PALO ALTO CAMPUS

{Ă&#x2030;Ă&#x201C;Â&#x2122;Ă&#x2030;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;`>Ă&#x17E;]Ă&#x160;x\Ă&#x17D;Ă¤Â&#x2021;Ă&#x2C6;\Ă&#x17D;Ă¤

. #ALIFORNIA !VE # 0ALO !LTO s

MOUNTAIN VIEW CAMPUSĂ&#x160;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x160;{Ă&#x2030;Ă&#x201C;Â&#x2122;Ă&#x2030;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;`>Ă&#x17E;]Ă&#x160;x\Ă&#x17D;Ă¤Â&#x2021;Ă&#x2C6;\Ă&#x17D;Ă¤ 3UNNYVALE 3ARATOGA 2OAD 3UNNYVALE s

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (April 11)

Emergency: The council discussed a new study that recommends changes to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Emergency Services, including hiring a new emergency director and finding a new emergency operation center. Action: None Compost: The council discussed the preliminary results of the feasibility study for building an anaerobic digester at Byxbee Park and directed staff to return in June with more information. Yes: Espinosa, Holman, Klein, Price, Scharff, Shepherd, Yeh No: Schmid Absent: Burt

Rail Committee (April 13)

Caltrain: The committee heard presentations on Caltrain from Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, who sits on the Peninsula Joint Powers Board, and from Caltrain staff. The committee directed staff to send Caltrain officials a letter expressing the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concerns about a proposal to end weekend service at the California Avenue station. Yes: Klein, Price, Shepherd No: Burt

LETâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to have its annual meeting with state Sen. Joe Simitian. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). FINANCE COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss the long-term revenue and cost projections for the gas utility, amendments to the fiber-optic rate schedule, and a proposed transfer of $5.2 million from the Calaveras Reserve to the Electric Utility Operating Budget. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 19, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss changes to council policies and protocols and the proposed development agreement with Stanford University Medical Center to enable Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expansion of its hospital facilities. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). CITY-SCHOOL LIAISON COMMITTEE ... The committee will share information about recent City Council and school board meetings; hear a status review on teen mental health and Project Safety Net; discuss Cubberley Community Center and city and school budgets. The meeting will begin at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, April 21, in the conference room of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.). ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ... The board plans to discuss 2585 Embarcadero Road, a request to convert an existing office building into a day care center. The request includes conversion of an 18-space parking lot into a play area and a new trash enclosure. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, April 21, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). RAIL CORRIDOR TASK FORCE ... The task force plans to continue its discussion of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land-use vision for the Caltrain corridor. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in the Lucie Stern Community Room (1305 Middlefield Road). PUBLIC ART COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss allocating funds for youth art, consider the status of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art collection during Art Center construction and discuss the purchase of liability insurance for public art. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 21, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

The

Jean and Bill Lane

Lecture Series 2010â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2011 Presents

Lydia Davis Reading Monday, April 18, 2011, 8:00 p.m. Levinthal Hall, Stanford Humanities Center Note new venue for this event LYDIA DAVIS has been called â&#x20AC;&#x153;an American virtuoso of the short story formâ&#x20AC;? (Salon).

FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Information: 650.723.0011 http://creativewriting.stanford.edu

Sponsored by Stanford Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Creative Writing Program *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;U Page 7

Upfront CITY HALL

Earth Day

City and fire union prepare for arbitration Palo Alto management, firefighters remain at odds after almost a year of contract negotiations by Gennady Sheyner

fter nearly a year of talks, Palo Alto’s management and its firefighters are preparing to take their heated labor dispute to binding arbitration. The city and Palo Alto Professional Firefighters, Local 1319, have been mired in contract negotiations since late May but have failed to reach an agreement. Though both sides said this week that they have made some progress in recent weeks, they are also preparing for a three-member panel to settle the dispute. City Manager James Keene said the two sides made virtually no progress between May and February, when he declared the negotiations to be at an “impasse.” The conversations have since improved, though an agreement has yet to be reached. Tony Spitaleri, president of the firefighters’ union, said the sides are still negotiating and reviewing new proposals and he said he remains optimistic that they could reach an agreement without the need for arbitration. He said the union has made several proposals to reduce labor costs. “We’re looking for better ways to deploy our resources, be more flexible with our units and reduce our over-

time costs,” Spitaleri said. “We’ve been working on that pretty diligently for the last few months.” But with many issues still unresolved — including the controversial “minimum staffing” provision in the union’s contract — the prospect of binding arbitration now seems more likely than ever. Keene said the city is now in the “beginning stages” of setting up the binding arbitration process. The city and the union have already selected the three-member panel that would determine the new contract conditions — a panel that includes one member from each side and a third member chosen by the other two panelists. Spitaleri will be representing the union on the panel, while attorney Richard Whitmore was selected by the city. Labor Attorney Katherine J. Thomson will be the third panelist. Keene said the arbitration process could take between four months and a year. In the meantime, the city’s and the union’s negotiators will continue to meet in hopes of resolving their disagreements. He said the “minimum staffing” provision, which requires the city to have at least 29 firefighters on duty at all

SIGN UP FOR CASTILLEJA SUMMER CAMP Girls entering 2nd-6th grade CILT entering 8th-9th grade Session I - June 20th-July 15th Session II - July 18th-August 11th $1795 per session www.castilleja.org/camp Email: summercamp@castilleja.org CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Palo Alto City Council will hold a public hearing at the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, May 2, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. or as near thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, to Consider a Request by SummerHill Homes on behalf of A&D Protocol Transportations Inc. for a Zone Change from R-1 (8000) to RM-15 (Low Density Multiple-Family/Village Residential), a Comprehensive Plan Amendment to assign the Village Residential Land Use Designation to a 2.65-acre site currently designated Single-Family Residential and in use as a preschool/daycare center at 525 San Antonio Road; and a Record of Land Use Action. The Planning and Transportation Commission and staff recommend denial. DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk Page 8ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

times, remains an important subject for the city. A recent independent study commissioned by the council also recommended abolishing the minimum-staffing provision — a recommendation the union has consistently resisted. The report by the firms TriData and International City/County Management Association (ICMA) stated that the minimum-staffing provision should not be in the contract and that the city “should never agree to a minimum staffing requirement that establishes the total force as this equates to establishing the level of service provided.” Keene said the city’s conversations with the union have revolved around issues such as staffing levels, health care costs and pensions. Other labor groups have already made concessions over the past two years to reduce these costs, he said, but the firefighters haven’t had to because they were still covered by an earlier contract. “I think it’s absolutely clear, as we’ve said to all the labor groups, that we need structural changes,” Keene said. “Fire has yet to make any contributions since the economic downturn.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

Cal Ave

(continued from page 3)

project’s impact on parking. The city, the plaintiffs argue, also segmented the project into phases, in violation of environmental law. Plaintiffs are calling for the city to “set aside” its approvals for the environmental documents and “immediately suspend all activities” associated with these documents. In addition, Ogawa and Shuchat allege that the city violated state law governing Palo Alto’s Comprehensive Plan, which encourag-

(continued from page 3)

of what electric vehicles mean in the city,” van Duynhoven said. “We want to do this so that we have a complete picture in the planning department.” In addition to exploring the use of cleaner vehicles, the city along with the school district is also encouraging people to get out of cars altogether. On Earth Day, they are launching the “Driveless Challenge.” The initiative aims to encourage city residents to eschew their cars and track their “clean miles” online at drivelesschallenge. com. It is the latest tool in the school district’s effort to get more students to walk and bike to school. According to school officials, the proportion of students biking to Gunn High School jumped from 11 percent in 1999 to 36 percent in 2010. At Palo Alto High School, 40 percent of the student body bikes to school, while the share of bicyclists at JLS and Jordan middle schools is about 50 percent. School and PTA officials said in a statement that the district’s Earth Day events “will celebrate this success and focus on encouraging more students to use alternatives to solo driving more often.” Mayor Sid Espinosa on Monday called the city’s green efforts “comprehensive” and said he was overwhelmed by the wealth of activities local neighborhood groups and schools are planning to stage during the week leading up to Earth Day. es “local-serving retail.” Further, they claim the city “abused its discretion and acted in excess of its jurisdiction” before approving the streetscape plan. The lawsuit also states the city violated the state’s Brown Act by failing to make documents available to the public that were available to the City Council prior to its Feb. 14 meeting. The lawsuit is the latest in a series of attempts by a group of business owners and residents to derail the $1.7 million project. In early February, local attorney William Ross and a small group

Andy Harader Tennis Camp @ Palo Alto High School

JUNE 13-AUG 19 2007 NorCal USPTA High School Coach of the Year

Ages 7-16 • 9AM - Noon • M-F a small, fun, very educational camp

(650) 364-6233

w w w. a n d y s t e n n i s c a m p.

Green-themed events in the school district will kick off Wednesday, with an Earth Day Fair at El Carmelo Elementary School — an event that will include an electricity-generating stationary bike, electric-car displays and games focused on carbonfootprint-themed games. They will continue Thursday, when the local nonprofit group Canopy is scheduled to plant trees at Terman Middle School. On Earth Day, Espinosa will join Palo Alto Unified School District Superintendent Kevin Skelly in biking to JLS Middle School. Espinosa plans to spend Friday afternoon at JLS, where he and Skelly will officiate the school’s “Rally for the Planet,” check out a solar car built by students and unveil the plan for expanding the school. The expansion will include eco-friendly landscaping and building features, as well as improved bike and pedestrian amenities. Espinosa will also kick off the city’s chief Earth Day celebration — the “Clean Green Street Scene” at Lytton Plaza, at the corner of University Avenue and Emerson Street downtown. The event, which will be held from 4 to 8 p.m., will feature a poetry slam, information booths, live music and a “recycled fashion show.” Additional events scheduled for next week, including the GREENLIGHT Earth Day Film Festival of locally produced movies, are listed on the City of Palo Alto website at www.cityofpaloalto.org/earthday. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com. of California Avenue merchants attended a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and asked the commission not to fund the project. The commission is providing $1.2 million for the project through the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), while the city is chipping in another $500,000. During the Feb. 14 meeting, the overwhelming majority of the public speakers spoke in favor of the project, which staff said would create a more pedestrian- and transit-friendly environment in the commercial stretch of California Avenue between El Camino Real and the Caltrain station. Shuchat was among the minority who argued against the project at that meeting, claiming that the lane reduction would create traffic problems and hurt local businesses. “The current traffic flow on California Avenue is excellent,” Shuchat said. “Business is difficult enough in the current economic times without the City of Palo Alto making it more difficult.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

READ MORE ONLINE

www.PaloAltoOnline.com The petition may be viewed at Palo Alto Online.

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.

Help us rescue lives in Japan. Go to www.rescue.org/altweeklies

LANDSCAPE - DESIGN - BUILD

Ken Coverdell (650) 726-5990 Award Winning Since 1985

www.blueskydesignsinc.com Masonry-Plantings-Woodwork-Irrigation-Water Features-Drainage-Pools/Spas-Lighting

Repeat DUI driver pleads not guilty in Menlo case An Atherton woman charged with six counts of felony drunken driving posted higher bail on Tuesday (April 12) and is once again out of custody. (Posted April 14 at 8:50 a.m.)

Simitian’s green-energy bill becomes law

End of a perfect day.

A proposal by state Sen. Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to require California utilities to draw one third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020 became state law Tuesday (April 12) when it received Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature. (Posted April 12 at 3:56 p.m.)

Police arrest Lytton Plaza stabbing suspect A man who allegedly punched a woman in the face and stabbed a Good Samaritan April 2 at Lytton Plaza in downtown Palo Alto has been arrested. (Posted April 12 at 4:20 p.m.)

Palo Alto teen earns environmental accolades Palo Alto resident Aitan Grossman, 14, is one of 75 young leaders and thinkers nationwide to have been short-listed as a semi-finalist for Huggable Heroes 2011, a community service recognition program sponsored by the Build-A-Bear Workshop Foundation. (Posted April 12 at 4:12 p.m.)

Menlo Park burglars plead no contest Six months after their arrests, three burglars who targeted the Willows neighborhood of Menlo Park pleaded no contest on Monday (April 11). (Posted April 12 at 12:36 p.m.)

Appeals court upholds Facebook settlement A federal appeals court in San Francisco Monday (April 11) upheld a multimillion-dollar settlement between Facebook Inc. chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and three Harvard classmates who claimed he stole their idea of a social-networking website. (Posted April 12 at 8:47 a.m.)

171 University Ave I Palo Alto, CA | 650.328.7411 www.paloaltobicycles.com | M-F 10-7; Sat 10-6; Sun 11-5

Paly teacher wins Columbia University award Palo Alto High School journalism and English teacher Esther Wojcicki has received an “excellence in teaching” award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. The Charles O’Malley Award for Excellence in Teaching is named for a director and benefactor of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and signifies “stellar achievement in the teaching of student journalists,” according to the association. (Posted April 11 at 9:50 a.m.)

First Person: A conversation with Nanci Kauffman Nanci Kauffman, a Palo Alto resident and the new head of Castilleja School, talks with Lisa Van Dusen about educating young women, her ideas on new approaches to science and technology education, and the experiences that drew her to become an educator. (Posted April

n o i t a r Regist TH 9 Y A M Ends

10 at 10:16 a.m.)

Stanford, Packard nurses ratify contract Stanford and Lucile Packard hospitals nurses voted April 7 to accept a tentative contract hammered out by its union with the help of a federal mediator. (Posted April 8 at 6:34 p.m.)

Fairmeadow opens search for new principal Fairmeadow Elementary School is searching for a new leader following an announcement that Principal Eric Goddard will become director of human resources for the Palo Alto school district. (Posted April 8 at 3:56 p.m.)

Architectural board blasts proposed AT&T tower AT&T’s quest to plant cellular towers and Wi-Fi antennas in Palo Alto has proved taxing for company officials, city staff and concerned residents around the proposed sites. On Thursday (April 7), the company faced another setback when the city’s Architectural Review Board panned the design of a cell tower the company plans to install on Channing Avenue. (Posted April 8 at 2:45 p.m.)

Former Wilson Sonsini attorney arrested A former attorney for Palo Alto-based law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was arrested April 6 for allegedly stealing information from the firm’s computer network that resulted in $32 million in illegal profits for an insider-trading ring. (Posted April 8 at 9:07 a.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.

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 9

SANTA CLARA

COIN AMP & COLLECTIBLES EXPO COIN,, ST STAMP

Upfront

April 15-17, 2011

Held at The Santa Clara Convention Center COME SEE 1792 US Half Disme Valued at $450,000 Hours: -7pm & Other Rarities!! FREE Ki t 10 OVER 1000 OF THE NATIONS TOP Treas Fri & Saand ure Hdus DEALERS IN COINS, STAMPS, S at 11-2 nt pm PAPER MONEY, POSTCARDS, pm Sun 10-3 JEWELRY, EXONUMIA, MEDALS, TOKENS, CASINO CHIPS, GOLD NUGGETS, BULLION, COIN & STAMP SUPPLIES, COLLECTIBLES & MORE...

$6 Admission For all 3 Days For More Info Call (805)962-9939 or Visit us on the Web at www.SantaClaraExpo.com

$2 Off general Admission w/ this Ad

We specialize in Children’s Eyewear.

EDUCATION

Space shortages possible at Addison, Palo Verde Forty-one prospective kindergartners on wait lists for their neighborhood schools by Chris Kenrick amilies of 41 prospective kindergartners who live in Palo Alto’s Addison and Palo Verde elementary school areas have been told there is no guaranteed space at the neighborhood schools for their children this fall. The news came following a lottery held last week for prospective kindergartners at the two schools — necessitated after more children signed up at the two campuses than there are currently available spots. It’s possible that most or all of the children will clear the wait lists by the time school begins Aug. 23. Many families change plans or move their children to district “choice” programs such as Hoover and Ohlone schools, resulting in space freeing up for neighborhood children waiting for spots at oversubscribed campuses, school officials have said. The numbers of “overflowed” children were 31 for Addison and 10 for Palo Verde. Wait-listed Addison parents said they were told that up to 20 “overflowed” children in previous years ultimately got a spot at the school. Kindergartners who do not clear the wait list for their neighborhood schools are typically assigned to another campus nearby. In the case of

Addison, that likely would be Walter Hays. Wait-listed parents described their situation as disappointing and inconvenient as they scrambled to make tentative plans for their kids to go elsewhere. Overflows have occurred regularly in recent years as the school district has seen steady and sometimes unexpected bursts in enrollment. Demographers who consult for the school district have said last fall’s kindergarten and first-grade enrollment numbers were “surprisingly high,” far exceeding previously reliable predictors such as data on local birth records and housing turnover. Unless those growth rates slow down in the next few years, district officials have said they will prepare for growth at the high end of demographic projections. Growth has been particularly strong in the elementary grades and in the southern part of town. School district Superintendent Kevin Skelly said last month that by May or June he would recommend placement of up to 30 new elementary classrooms to be built in the next five years. Those would be in addition to the 10 new classrooms already under construction or in the pipeline at

Ohlone and Duveneck elementary schools. The classrooms will be built with funds from a $378 million facilities bond — to modernize and boost capacity of campuses districtwide — backed by 77.5 percent of voters in 2008. One factor certain to slow enrollment growth, at least temporarily, is a new “kindergarten readiness” law, to be phased in starting in fall of 2012. The new law — requiring that children turn 5 by Sept. 1 rather than Dec. 2 of the year they start kindergarten — will reduce the size of incoming kindergarten classes for three years. Those reductions will continue to be felt for the next 13 years as the smaller cohorts work their way through the system. Palo Alto’s district-wide enrollment, at 12,024 last September, has been on a steady upward trajectory since a post-Baby Boom low in 1989. At its historic high in 1968 — when Palo Alto had three comprehensive high schools and more than 20 elementary schools — enrollment was 15,575. Currently the district operates two high schools, three middle schools and 12 elementary campuses. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.

Emergency

platform needed to ensure the city’s commitment to emergency/ disaster readiness.” Chakos said many cities rely on county service for emergency preparedness as a cost-cutting measure. Some, however, have their own local coordinators. Mountain View, for example, has a half-time emergency-services coordinator, while Sunnyvale employs one full-time. Milpitas has a full-time emergency manager who shares the responsibility for emergency preparedness with the city’s fire administrator. The leading example is the City and County of San Francisco, she said, which has received federal funds for emergency preparedness and emerged as a regional leader in the field with an adequately staffed Office of Emergency Services. City Manager James Keene said he agreed with the report’s assessment of the city’s emergency-preparedness operation and offered to come back to the council in the coming weeks with specific recommendations about staffing the Office of Emergency Services. “One of the real issues that’s been out there, and it’s been highlighted in the study, and I’m sure all the neighborhood and community leaders echo it, there’s really been very little structure,” Keene said. “There’s been no real continuity. “There’s been lots of gaps, even

in the present moment, a lot of uncertainty, and it’s pretty tough to support community efforts with this kind of discontinuity.” Most council members agreed with the report’s recommendations, with Vice Mayor Yiaway Yeh calling them “achievable.” Some voiced concerns about the costs of the proposed changes. Councilwoman Karen Holman said she’s “looking forward to seeing how the funding is going to go for this.” Councilman Greg Scharff shared her concerns and argued that hiring two professional staff members for the department would be a significant long-term cost. Scharff also said he would be concerned about the new director having too much power over other department heads. “I’m a little concerned about someone who could say to our planning director or our utility director, ‘You need to do this,’” Scharff said. “That’s the job of the city manager.” Keene said it would not be effective if he’s “called in to referee between departments,” which he said often engage in “territorial issues” during times of transition. He said it’s “important that we once and for all establish formally the role of the OES and its staffing.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

Open 7 Days A Week Dr. Joanne Hu, VSP Provider - 650.321.3382 2750 Middleﬁeld Road, Midtown Palo Alto

www.ubereyes.com

Lu Hugdahl of Mountain View opened up a safe deposit box at a bank in Los Altos in November of 2006. Two years later she went to open her safe deposit box and was horriﬁed to discover four or ﬁve rings and three necklaces missing. On a police report she estimated two of the rings were worth approximately $1,500.00, “one being a keepsake from a cherished friend who passed away”, as reported by the Los Altos Town Crier. Hugdahl was stunned.

Page 10ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

(continued from page 3)

the council to move quickly on hiring a new emergency director. “We need to start at the top and get something going,” Furman said. “I don’t want to be talking about the same thing a year from now.” Doug Kalish, a CERT volunteer who sits on the steering committee of the Citizen Corps Council, asked the council, on behalf of 700 CERT volunteers, to move quickly on the report’s recommendations. He said the city’s recent changes to its emergency-preparedness operation (including four management changes in two years) call into question the council’s commitment to disaster preparation. “Our independent organization will accomplish more if we have a leader to organize, define and communicate our mutual responsibilities,” Kalish said. Chakos’ report recommends that the city not only appoint a new director but also provide this director with two professional staff members — one coordinating the city’s planning efforts and the other one serving as the city’s liaison with the community. The recommendation, she wrote in the report, “could be implemented by re-casting current positions to the elevated, organization-wide

Upfront

Neighborhoods A roundup of neighborhood news edited by Sue Dremann

AROUND THE BLOCK ELECTRIC RIBBON CUTTING ... Barron Park’s neighborhood hotelier, Creekside Inn, will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony today, April 15, at 4 p.m., to celebrate its new electric-car charging stations. Creekside has supported neighborhood activities, sponsoring emergency-preparedness classes and supplying prizes for the Barron Park May Fete.

GREEN SPOTS ... There are seven or eight spots left on the April 27 Barron Park Green Team Green Waste tour of recycling facilities in San Jose, where Palo Alto sends its recycled materials, and Sierra Pacific Recycling in Redwood City. The tour starts at 11 a.m. in Barron Park. More information is available from Lisa Altieri at laltieri@earthlink.net. RIDING THE RAILS ... Residents will have the opportunity to shape the future of Caltrain as members of its Citizens Advisory Committee. The nine-member committee advises the Caltrain board of directors, giving input on the needs of current and potential rail customers. Applications are due May 9 and are available at www.caltrain.com/cac or by calling 650-508-6223. N

Send announcements of neighborhood events, meetings and news to Sue Dremann, Neighborhoods editor, at sdremann@paweekly.com. Talk about your neighborhood news on Town Square at www. PaloAltoOnline.com.

Courtesy Miyo Nakanishi and Marion Dumont

GOOD EATIN’ ... Edgewood Eats, the occasional gathering of food trucks and neighborhood gourmands at Palo Alto’s Edgewood Plaza, started out last summer as a fun neighborhood idea but now has turned into something more. The Fresh Market, a potential neighborhood grocery store, has been looking at the plaza as a possible site for its first West Coast store, according to neighborhood leaders and a broker for the property. The Fresh Market folks are monitoring the Edgewood Eats Facebook page at www.facebook.com/edgewoodeats to gauge customer interest and understand local purchasing power. Susie Hwang, founder of Edgewood Eats, is asking Eatsgoers to post a comment on Facebook to demonstrate their enthusiasm for the new grocer. In the meantime, Edgewood Eats will take place for next two Mondays from 5 to 8 p.m. and will include such mobile food purveyors as MoGo BBQ, Iz-It Fresh Grill and Shack Mobile (lobster rolls).

This circa 1912 photo of Hideo Kaneko, far left, Naoharu Aihara and Ushitaro Takasuka was taken on Ramona Street. Kaneko was one of 13 founders of the Japanese Methodist Episcopal (later Aldersgate) Church. Aihara, a tailor, designed his outfit. Takasuka was a landscape gardener.

ESTHER CLARK PARK

Celebrating 102 years of community Aldersgate Church reaffirms Palo Alto’s Japanese community’s longevity with an annual spring fair by Sue Dremann

hen Brad Shirakawa set out to write a history of Palo Alto’s Japanese and JapaneseAmerican community, he expected to create the kind of 50-page pamphlet that most small organizations publish to commemorate milestones. Instead, it took nearly 200 pages of text and color photographs to chronicle that history in a coffee-table book. A century ago, Palo Alto had its own Japanese neighborhood. Walking down Ramona Street between Forest and Channing avenues in the downtown area, one could notice the aroma of fresh tofu being made at old-man Kusaka’s place, Shirakawa noted. Directly across the street, there were Japanese foodstuffs at Kihachi and Riki Sato’s grocery store. A block away on Emerson Street and Forest, the Palo Alto Laundry Co. was owned by Josaburo and Rina Okado. The Japanese Methodist Episcopal Church, which formed in 1909, was the centerpiece of the community. It was a gathering place of worship and social interaction in the heart of Palo Alto’s “Japantown,” Shirakawa said.

The church was located in Okazawa’s University Hotel at 827 Ramona St., and Rev. Otoye So was the first minister. This month, on April 30, Aldersgate United Methodist Church — as the original church is now known — will hold its annual spring bazaar. The bazaar is open to the public and features Japanese cuisine, a crafts and collectibles sale and an artist’s gallery (new this year) of the artists of Aldersgate, Rev. Roger Morimoto said. The church is now located across town on Manuela Avenue in the Esther Clark Park neighborhood in south Palo Alto. Shirakawa, secretary of the church, created the book for Aldergate’s 100th anniversary in 2009. The book describes in voices and images the people who first populated Palo Alto’s little-known Japanese-immigrant and Japanese-American community downtown. It was the largest minority in Palo Alto, Shirakawa said. “There were enough Japanese (that) we would play cops and robbers, hide and go seek. ... We never associated

with American children,” early resident Soyo Takahashi, who was born in 1917, told Shirakawa. There were barbershops and boarding houses, a poolroom and employment agency, a hotel and even a Japanese-language school. Residents lived mostly on Emerson and Ramona streets, with Forest and Channing avenues as north and south boundaries in what is today called University South. No one from the old neighborhood still resides there, but the church is still the centerpiece of that community. The church has been through many changes, as have its members. But despite racism, disease and forced removal from their neighborhood during World War II, the church and its congregation remained strong and vibrant, members say. One quarter of Palo Altans who died during the 1918 influenza epidemic were from the Japanese neighborhood. During the influenza epidemic, the Japanese community established a temporary hospital in its mission school to treat influenza cases from

all over the city, Shirakawa said. The neighborhood and church community were torn apart during World War II. Many members were sent to internment camps in Wyoming, he said. The church became a sanctuary again, even without its members’ voices. Residents stored their belongings at the church before they were relocated. By now the church had moved to Page Mill Road, with a congregation of 60. Alon Wheeler, a church member, watched over the possessions and made sure they were safe. Residents returning from the camps did not repopulate the Ramona Street community — many had their homes taken away. But they still attended the church, Shirakawa said. The modern church merged with the United Methodists in 1964 and built at its permanent location on Manuela in 1965. It grew from a handful of members in the 1920s to 303 in 1975. Today, there are about 250 members, Morimoto said. The church as a community is more fractured now. “We don’t have to come to church to find friends,” Shirakawa said. To the Issei and Nissei — new immigrants and their American-born offspring — “the church was everything to them,” he said. Morimoto agreed. “The way people construct their (continued on page 12)

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 11

Upfront

GOT

WRINKLES?

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Participate in a medical research study Free Investigational Procedure Compensation for time and travel

Citizen Corps to host Safety Faire May 1 Stanford Shopping Center event to offer hands-on fire-fighting demonstrations, ham-radio exhibits

The Aesthetics Research Center is conducting a research study of a new medical device. We’re looking for women, age 30-70, with forehead wrinkles.

by Sue Dremann

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Francis Palmer, MD Facial Plastic Surgeon, Principal Investigator

710033 710033

The Aesthetics Research Center 525 Chesapeake Drive, Redwood City

f you’ve never met Sparky the firedog or have wondered what the City of Palo Alto’s mobile disaster nerve center looks like, May 1 will be your chance. The Palo Alto Stanford Citizen Corps Safety Faire will take place at Stanford Shopping Center from noon to 4 p.m., and organizers hope it will be a primer of all things disaster-preparedness related, with new fire trucks, police units, demonstration vehicles, U.S. Geological Survey earthquake exhibits, a Red Cross kitchen that dishes out emergency meals and the Woodside Fire Department’s smoke trailer, in which participants learn how to put out a home fire. In light of the recent disasters in Japan, the fair comes at an opportune time, said Annette Glanckopf, Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN) representative to the Citizen Corps. Fair visitors will be able to learn skills crucial for surviving in an earthquake, flood, wildfire, extended power outage, chemical spill, evacuation and financial and communications shutdowns. PAN, an organization of 35 neighborhoods and two Stanford communities, has been advocating for a Palo Alto-based safety fair since last year. Leaders received a boost in June 2010, when the City of Palo Alto agreed to help sponsor the fair. The Palo Alto Weekly and Palo Alto Online are also sponsors. The Citizen Corps is developing a regional disaster-preparedness plan in coordination with Palo Alto and other local emergency entities. The event is seen as an important step in helping police and fire personnel, since emergency coordinators have said their ranks will be stretched thin in a disaster. Residents could be on their own for several days, they have warned. The fair will include training for adults, including basic topics such as how to use a fire extinguisher, as well as a Masters of Disasters training area for children. Speakers will include Dr. Enoch Choi of Palo Alto Medical Foundation, who will discuss pandemic influenza; Dr. Eric Weiss, Stanford Hospital, on the topic of emergency medicine; Bill Daley of HohbachLewin, who will discuss retrofitting buildings; and Palo Alto Mayor Sid Espinosa and City Manager James Keene. “We’ve had so many wakeup calls,” Glanckopf said. “It’s

Call Stephanie at 800-442-0989 or email research@aestheticsresearchcenter.com or www.wrinklestudy.net

better to be prepared months too early than just one minute too late.” Al Dorsky, co-chair and a founder of the PAN blockpreparedness coordinator program, has been a longtime ham-radio operator. One exhibit will be the Amateur Radio Disaster Services and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Services (ARES/RACES) ham-radio booth, he said. “In a disaster or power outage such as during the plane crash or when the fiber-optic cable was cut, ham-radio people were the only people who kept everything together. It was the only reliable means of communication. “When the hospital in Gilroy had no communications, these are the people who got things coming through,” he said. Dorsky was part of a ham-radio team following the Feb. 17, 2010, Cessna 310R plane crash into an East Palo Alto neighborhood. The accident took out all of Palo Alto’s electrical power. “In less than five minutes after the plane crashed, I learned about what was going on,” he said. The amateur-radio volunteers were able to get neighborhoods to assess the vulnerability and medical needs of people in their homes with only a ham-radio link and a phone, he said. Other exhibits will include the American Institute of Architects, KZSU, Stanford and Lucile Packard hospitals, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto Airport/LifeFlight, Palo Alto Rangers, Palo Alto Neighborhoods, Palo Alto CERT, the Bay Area chapter of the Red Cross and others. The first 300 families will receive a free gift. “Events like the Safety Faire serve multiple purposes,” said Doug Kalish, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) district coordinator. “First, they remind people that disasters do happen and personal preparation is necessary. Second, they highlight the hard work of the many volunteers who are already participating and help us to recruit new people. Finally, they allow us to meet volunteers outside of CERT so we can get to know them and their capabilities before a disaster strikes.” N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

BREAK FREE OF THE

(continued from page 11)

Cycle

lives — their idea of community — is different from what it was years ago,” he said. But people come to Aldersgate from as far away as Fremont and San Jose, and it has become a hub for Japanese nationals on extended work or research stays, he said. A few years back, members voted to become a “reconciling” congregation, accepting and welcoming of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender lifestyles. Morimoto looked around the sanctuary. The earliest Christians in Japan met in a feudal lord’s castle, where they were not persecuted, he said. Aldersgate’s design emulates a feudal-lord’s home. Every September, a huge salmon dinner takes place, where members gather to prepare and share scores of the great, pink fish. Despite social and technological changes, Aldersgate still preserves and expands what neighborhood means. “This is part of their sense of community,” Morimoto said. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

Diet/Binge FINALLY THE PROGRAM TO: s %ND THE BATTLE WITH EMOTIONAL OVEREATING s ,OSE PAINFUL POUNDS NATURALLY s ,EARN TO FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF s ,OSE THE INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR FOOD AND COME TO PEACE WITH YOUR BODY /UR SESSION SYSTEMATIC PROGRAM COMBINES BEHAVIORAL AND NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING WITH HYPNOSIS TO REINFORCE NEW BEHAVIORS AND THOUGHT PATTERNS IN A SAFE AND DISCREET ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU 7),, GET POSITIVE RESULTS

Call us today at 650.833.9892 to schedule a free consultation!

Gale Iguchi, Counselor

A CARING APPROACH TO OUT-OF-CONTROL EATING

-ENLO 0ARK #! s www.hungryheart.org

Page 12ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

What: Aldersgate United Methodist Church Spring Bazaar When: Saturday, April 30, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Where: 4243 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto Info: 650-948-6806 or www.aumcpa.org/

Veronica Weber

Aldersgate

Brad Shirakawa, left, and Rev. Roger Morimoto sit in the pews of the Aldersgate United Methodist Church, They published a book in honor of the church’s 100th anniversary, incorporating hundreds of photos and documents detailing the founding, as well as stories about the turn-of-the-century Japanese community in Palo Alto.

H ELLER I MMIGRATION L AW G ROUP

Pulse

Employment-based, Family/Marriage & Investor Visas A Full-Service Immigration Law Firm Serving the SF Bay Area & Silicon Valley for 25+ years PERM Labor Certiﬁcation N EB1/NIW Self-Petitions Green Cards, H1B and Work Permits Engineers, IT/Computer ﬁelds, Scientists/Researchers HR/Corporate, Business & Individual Clients

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

Palo Alto April 6-11 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Child abuse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Strong arm robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suicide/juvenile attempt . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Check forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Commercial burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Credit card forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Residential burglary attempts . . . . . . . . .5 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Abandoned auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Lost/stolen plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle accident/major injury . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .7 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 11 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Traffic/suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Animal misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Casualty/fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Elder abuse/self neglect . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Internet/harassing e-mail . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Penal code/false info to police . . . . . . . .1 Prowler/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Restraining order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Menlo Park

Miscellaneous Animal call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Attempt to contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Building/perimeter check . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Citizen assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Civil matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 CPS case/referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Hang-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Meet citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Pedestrian check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Public works call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Special detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .2 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Tree down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Welfare check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Atherton April 5-12 Violence related Assault and battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Parking problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Ticket sign-off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Traffic control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Traffic detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle/traffic hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 68

7 9 1 4 5 3 8 6 2

Venzon, 4/06, 9:05 p.m.; battery. Branner Drive, 4/07, 11:31 a.m.; battery. Sharon Park Drive, 4/08, 6:12 p.m.; domestic disturbance. Ravenswood Avenue/Laurel Street, 4/09, 9:09 p.m.; brandishing weapon. Del Norte Avenue, 4/10, 2:15 a.m.; battery.

Atherton

Palo Alto

Ashfield Road, 4/7, 1:48 p.m.; domestic disturbance. Elena Avenue/Valparaiso Avenue, 4/11, 1:51 p.m.; simple assault/battery.

Channing Avenue, 1/19, 4:45 p.m.; child abuse/neglect. University Avenue, 2/02, 5:52 p.m.; child

Free Attorney Consult! 877.252.8829 N greencard1.com N heller@greencard1.com

Menlo Park

VIOLENT CRIMES

2 5 4 9 8 6 1 3 7

3 8 6 2 7 1 5 4 9

4 7 9 3 6 5 2 1 8

5 6 3 1 2 8 9 7 4

8 1 2 7 4 9 3 5 6

1 2 5 6 9 7 4 8 3

6 4 8 5 3 2 7 9 1

9 3 7 8 1 4 6 2 5

Fresh news delivered daily Sign up today www.PaloAltoOnline.com

PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26 THIS IS A SUMMARY OF COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS. THE AGENDA WITH COMPLETE TITLES INCLUDING LEGAL DOCUMENTATION CAN BE VIEWED AT THE BELOW WEBPAGE: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/knowzone/agendas/council.asp

April 5-11 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Brandishing weapon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Domestic disturbance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Residential burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle related Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . . . .1 Driving without a license . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Suspended/revoked license . . . . . . . . . .2 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Miscellaneous Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Indecent exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Mental evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Resisting arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Violation of court order . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

abuse/physical. Walter Hays Drive, 2/14, 3:40 p.m.; child abuse/physical. Center Drive, 3/11, 10:01 a.m.; child abuse/ physical. Hamilton Avenue, 4/04, 10:21 p.m.; robbery attempt/strong arm. W Meadow Drive, 4/06, 3:12 p.m.; suicide/ juvenile attempt. University Avenue/Bryant Street, 4/08, 4:09 p.m.; battery. Clara Drive, 4/08, 9:01 p.m.; domestic violence. Park Boulevard, 4/09, 00:14 p.m.; domestic violence.

(TENTATIVE) CITY COUNCIL AGENDA –– THE REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING ON MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2011 HAS BEEN CANCELLED (TENTATIVE) AGENDA - SPECIAL MEETING – COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2011 - 6:00 PM 1.

STUDY SESSION: with Senator Simitian

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Finance Committee meeting will be held at 7 PM on Tuesday, April 19 regarding: 1) gas utility long term financial projections and revenue requirements; 2) transfer of $5.238 million from the Calaveras Reserve into the electric utility operating budget for FY 2012 and electric utility long term financial projections and revenue requirements; 3) amendment to Fiber Optic Utility Rate Schedules EDF-1 and EDF-2; 4) post-implementation SAP enterprise resource planning assessment; 5) City Auditor’s recommendation for selection of external financial audit firm; 6) status of audit recommendations A Special Policy and Services Committee meeting will be held at 6 PM on Wednesday, April 20 regarding: 1) Council Procedures & Protocols (continued from 3/8/11); and 2) Stanford University Medical Center - Development Agreement Review

Help us rescue lives in Japan. Go to www.rescue.org/altweeklies

A fundraising effort by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto Unified School District Notice is hereby Given that proposals will be received by the Palo Alto Unified School District for bid package: Contract No. FMM-11 DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK: The work includes, but is not limited to: The moving of an existing 1440 square foot modular building. Work includes asphalt paving, electrical, fire alarm, water, sewer, EMS, new ramps, utility trenching and carpet/vinyl for a complete and operational building. Bidding documents contain the full description of the work. There will be a mandatory pre-bid conference and site visit at 10:00 a.m. on April 13, 2011 at Fairmeadow Elementary School located at 500 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto, California 94306. Bid Submission: Proposals must be received at the District Facilities Office building D, by 10:00 a.m. on May 2, 2011. PREVAILING WAGE LAWS: The successful Bidder must comply with all prevailing wage laws applicable to the Project, and related requirements contained in the Contract Documents. Palo Alto Unified School District will maintain a Labor Compliance Program (LCP) for the duration of this project. In bidding this project, the contractor warrants he/she is aware and will follow the Public Works Chapter of the California Labor Code comprised of labor code sections 1720 – 1861. A copy of the Districts LCP is available for review at 25 Churchill Avenue, Building D, Palo Alto, CA 94306. 1. A pre-job conference shall be conducted with the contractor or subcontractors to discuss federal and state labor law requirements applicable to the contract. 2. Project contractors and subcontracts shall maintain and furnish to the District, at a designated time, a certified copy of each payroll with a statement of compliance signed under penalty of perjury. 3. The District shall review and, if appropriate, audit payroll records to verify compliance with the Public Works Chapter of the Labor Code. 4. The District shall withhold contract payments if payroll records are delinquent or inadequate. 5. The District shall withhold contract payments as described in the LCP, including applicable penalties when the District and Labor Commissioner establish that underpayment of other violations has occurred. Bidders may examine Bidding Documents at Facilities Office, Building “D”. Bidders may purchase copies of Plans and Specifications at American Reprographics Company (ARC), 599 Fairchild Drive, Mountain View, CA 94043, Phone Number (650) 967-1966 All questions can be addressed to: Palo Alto Unified School District 25 Churchill Avenue, Building D Palo Alto, CA 94306-1099 Attn: Aimée Lopez Phone: (650) 329-3927 Fax: (650) 327-3588

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 13

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC £ nxÊ Õ ÃÊ, >`]Ê*> Ê Ì ÊUÊÈxä®ÊnxÈ ÈÈÈÓÊUÊÜÜÜ°vVV«>° À}Ê -Õ `>ÞÊ7 ÀÃ «Ê> `Ê-Õ `>ÞÊ-V Ê>ÌÊ£ä\ääÊ>° °

This Sunday: Celebrating for the Wrong Reasons Rev. David Howell preaching Children are invited to gather at 9:45 for a Palm Procession Easter Services – April 24 at 9:30 & 11:00

INSPIRATIONS A resource for special events and ongoing religious services. To inquire about or make space reservations for Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 223-6596 or email byoc@paweekly.com

PALO ALTO GRAND PRIX

ROAD RACE SERIES

RUN, HAVE FUN & JOIN US FOR THE 2011 SEASON

MARCH 12

MAY 8

C I T Y O F PA L O A LTO R E C R E AT I O N P R E S E N T S

PA L O A LT O W E E K LY

OCTOBER 23

MOONLIGHT

RUN&WALK 26TH ANNUAL SEPTEMBER 24 2O1O

SEPTEMBER 9

NOVEMBER 13

For more information go to: www.paloaltogp.org Page 14ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Transitions

Winter Lodge founder Duncan Williams dies Illinois native turned Winter Lodge into one of the largest skating schools in U.S.

Duncan Williams, 90, the founder of Palo Alto’s Winter Lodge skating rink, died from complications of a brain tumor April 11, 2011. Williams was commended by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on the 50th anniversary of Winter Lodge, in 2006. In the proclamation from the county, Williams was noted as having “brought with him to Palo Alto the joy and excitement of community outdoor ice skating.” It also noted that Winter Lodge is now one of the largest skating schools in the United States. He was born June 6, 1920, in Evanston, Ill., and studied engineering at Dartmouth College. He earned his graduate degrees in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin. He met his wife, Mercedes, on the beach at Lake Michigan when they were teenagers. They married in 1942. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then taught engineering at the University of Wisconsin for nine

years. He moved to Ladera, Calif., in 1956 to work as a civil and mechanical engineering professor at San Jose State University. His fond memories of ice skating outdoors in Illinois and Wisconsin made him want to recreate the experience in California, Winter Lodge’s Executive Director Linda Jensen said. “No one had ever done that before. It was his big experiment,” she said. He decided to open a rink on Middlefield Road in Palo Alto because of the open space and increasing number of young families, Jensen said. The Winter Club was opened in 1956, offering recreational skating and lessons to kids and adults, as it still does today. He utilized his engineering background to develop a system of refrigeration and brine to maintain an outdoor ice rink in Palo Alto’s mild weather, making the rink the first of its kind west of the Sierras. He retired in 1983, after his lease expired. When The Winter Club was then threatened with closure, a community group was founded to help save the rink. In 1986, Palo Alto residents passed an initiative asking the city to acquire the land from the owner and preserve the skating facility. It’s now supported

and run by a nonprofit group. After retirement, he maintained an active interest in Winter Lodge (as it was renamed) and was a familiar, friendly face to many. “Any time we needed help, he would be here. He was really proud of it. He was sort of everybody’s grandpa,” Jensen said, noting his gentleness and wisdom. He was also a volunteer tutor at Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park for 19 years, helping Englishlanguage learners. He also tutored adults in English after he and Mercedes moved to The Sequoias Retirement home in Portola Valley eight years ago. Family members recalled him as kind, humble and witty. He is survived by his wife, Mercedes Williams of Portola Valley; sons and daughters-in-law Jeff and Katie Williams of Georgia, Dave Williams of Cloverdale, Calif., Don and Elaine Williams of Sonoma, Calif., and Tom and Vicki Williams of Belmont; and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 21, at 2 p.m. at The Sequoias, 501 Portola Road, Portola Valley. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the charity or environmental organization of one’s choice. N

Lawrence Crowley, former Stanford vice president of medical affairs, dies Lawrence Crowley, MD, 91, former vice president of medical affairs at Stanford University and major contributor to the building design of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Hospital, died March 30, 2011, at his home in Cupertino, according to a press release from Stanford. Born in Newark, N.J., in 1919, he attended Yale University as an undergraduate and earned his MD at the medical school in 1944. He acquired his first teaching position at the university after his internship and residency at Yale New Haven Hospital. He met nursing student Madeleine Robb and married her in 1945. He moved to southern California in 1953, after his wife contracted polio and needed a place to recuperate. After serving six years as a director of the Southern California Permanente Group, he took on a private practice along with a teaching position at the University of Southern California. He moved to Stanford in 1964 upon being appointed chief of surgery at the new Palo Alto Veterans Administration Hospital. He worked in a number of positions at Stanford, then moved to the University of Wisconsin in 1973 to become dean

of the medical school. He returned to Stanford in 1977 with the aim of aiding the school, which was experiencing financial and political difficulties. Three years later, the university’s president Donald Kennedy appointed him vice president for medical affairs. “I was never sorry for a moment. He provided strong and thoughtful leadership, and the School of Medicine quickly prospered under it,” Kennedy said in the press release. He received approval from Palo Alto for a modernization and expansion of Stanford’s medical center. The construction included expansion of four stories containing 11 patient care units, a new surgical suite, improved pharmacy and clinical lab and radiology services. Later, considered by his wife as his most prized achievement, he assisted Lucile Packard in conceptualizing the design for a new children’s hospital in the area. “After my mother died (well before the hospital was built), Dr. Crowley made sure that their common vision was fully realized in the new facility. Without his leadership, we would not have the world-class children’s hospital that we have today,” Susan Orr, one of Packard’s children, said in the release.

He became chair of the Packard Children’s Hospital board in 1987. He is survived by his wife Madeleine of Stanford; sons Lawrence Crowley of Littleton, Colo., and Stephen Crowley of Castle Rock, Colo.; and daughter Suzanne Iglesias of Santa Ynez, Calif. A memorial service will be held April 21 at 3 p.m. at Stanford Memorial Church, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford. Donations may be made to the Lucile Packard Children’s Fund online at www.supportLPCH.org or by mail to Tara Quinn, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 400 Hamilton Ave., Suite 340, Palo Alto, CA, 94301. N

Memorial Services Christiane Cook died March 19. A celebration of her life is planned by her family and friends for Saturday, April 16. Contact paulgilbert@mail.com or 650-248-3047 for details. June Darby died March 30. A memorial service will be held Tuesday, April 19, at noon at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, 3865 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That The City Council Of The City Of Palo Alto Will Hold A Public Hearing At The Regular Council Meeting On Monday, May 2, 2011 At 7:00 P.M., Or As Near Thereafter As Possible, In The Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California Declaring Its Intention To Levy An Assessment Against Businesses Within The Downtown Palo Alto Business Improvement District For Fiscal Year 2012. DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk

RESOLUTION NO. _______ RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO DECLARING ITS INTENTION TO LEVY AN ASSESSMENT AGAINST BUSINESSES WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN PALO ALTO BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2012 AND SETTING A TIME AND PLACE FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON MAY 2, 2011 AT 7:00 PM OR THEREAFTER, IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO DOES HEREBY FIND, DECLARE, AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Parking and Business Improvement Area Law of 1989 (the “Law”), California Streets and Highways Code Sections 36500 et seq., authorizes the City Council to levy an assessment against businesses within a parking and business improvement area which is in addition to any assessments, fees, charges, or taxes imposed in the City. SECTION 2. Pursuant to the Law, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4819 establishing the Downtown Palo Alto Business Improvement District (the “District”) in the City of Palo Alto. SECTION 3. The City Council, by Resolution No. 8416, appointed the Board of Directors of the Palo Alto Downtown Business & Professional Association, a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, to serve as the Advisory Board for the District (the “Advisory Board”). SECTION 4. In accordance with Section 36533 of the law, the Advisory Board prepared and filed with the City Clerk a report entitled “Downtown Palo Alto Business Improvement District, Annual Report 2011-2012” (the “Report). The City Council hereby preliminarily approves the report. SECTION 5. The boundaries of the District are within the City limits of the City of Palo Alto (the “City”) and encompass the greater downtown area of the City, generally extending from El Camino Real to the East, Webster Street to the West, Lytton Avenue to the North and Addison Avenue to the South (east of Emerson Street, the boundaries extend only to Forest Avenue to the South). Reference is hereby made to the map of the District attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and incorporated herein by reference for a complete description of the boundaries of the District. SECTION 6. The City Council hereby declares its intention, in addition to any assessments, fees, charges or taxes imposed by the City, to levy and collect an assessment against businesses within the District for fiscal year 2012 (July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012). Such assessment is not proposed to increase from the assessment levied and collected for fiscal year 2010-2011. The method and basis of levying the assessment is set forth in Exhibit “B” attached hereto, and incorporated herein by reference. SECTION 7. The types of improvements to be funded by the levy of an assessment against businesses within the District are the acquisition, construction, installation or maintenance of any tangible property with an estimated useful life of five years or more. The types of activities to be funded by the levy of an assessment against businesses within the District are the promotion of public events which benefit businesses in the area and which take place on or in public places within the District; the furnishing of music in any public place in the District; and activities which benefit businesses located and operating in the District. SECTION 8. New businesses established in the District after the beginning of any fiscal year shall be exempt from the levy of the assessment for that fiscal year. In addition, non-profit organizations, newspapers and professional “single-person businesses,” defined as those businesses which have 25% or less full time equivalent employees, including the business owner, shall be exempt from the assessment. SECTION 9. The City Council hereby fixes the time and place for a public hearing on the proposed levy of an assessment against businesses within the District for fiscal year 2012 as follows: TIME:

7:00 PM, or soon thereafter

DATE:

Monday, May 2, 2011

PLACE:

City Council Chambers 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, California 94301

At the public hearing, the testimony of all interested persons regarding the levy of an assessment against businesses within the District for ﬁscal year 2012 shall be heard. A protest may be made orally or in writing by any interested person.

Exhibit “A”

Any protest pertaining to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings must be in writing and shall clearly set forth the irregularity or defect to which the objection is made. Every written protest must be filed with the City Clerk at or before the time fixed for the public hearing. The City Council may waive any irregularity in the form or content of any written protest and at the public hearing may correct minor defects in the proceedings. A written protest may be withdrawn in writing at any time before the conclusion of the public hearing. Each written protest must contain a description of the business in which the person subscribing the protest is interested sufficient to identify the business and, if a person subscribing is not shown on the official records of the City as the owner of the business, the protest shall contain or be accompanied by written evidence that the person subscribing is the owner of the business. A written protest which does not comply with the requirements set forth in this paragraph will not be counted in determining a majority protest (as defined below). If, at the conclusion of the public hearing, written protests are received from the owners of businesses in the District which will pay 50 percent or more of the assessments proposed to be levied and protests are not withdrawn so as to reduce the protests to less than 50 percent (i.e., there is a majority protest), no further proceedings to levy the proposed assessment, as contained in this resolution of intention, shall be taken for a period of one year from the date of the finding of a majority protest by the City Council. If the majority protest is only against the furnishing of a specified type or types of improvement or activity within the District, those types of improvements or activities shall be eliminated. Exhibit “B” SECTION 10. For a full and detailed description of the improvements and activities to be provided for fiscal year 2012, the boundaries of the District and the proposed assessments to be levied against the businesses within the District for fiscal year 2012, reference is hereby made to the Report of the Advisory Board. The Report is on file with the City Clerk and open to public inspection. SECTION 11. The City Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to provide notice of the public hearing in accordance with law. SECTION 12. The Council finds that the adoption of this resolution does not meet the definition of a project under Section 21065 of the California Environmental Quality Act and, therefore, no environmental impact assessment is necessary. INTRODUCED AND PASSED: AYES:

Downtown Palo Alto Business Improvement District Annual BID Assessments

Restaurants & Retailers Under 6 FTE (50% of base amount) 6 to under 11 FTE (75% of base amount) 11 or more FTE (100% of base amount) Service Businesses Under 4 FTE (50% of base amount) 4 to under 7 FTE (75% of base amount) Over 7 FTE (100% of base amount) Professional Businesses 25% or fewer FTE, including owner (0% of base amount) 26% FTE to under 1 FTE (25% of base amount) 2 to 4 FTE (50% of base amount) 5 to 9 FTE (75% of base amount) 10+ FTE (100% of base amount) Lodging Businesses Up to 20 rooms (50% of base amount) 21 to 40 rooms (75% of base amount) 41+ rooms (100% of base amount) Financial Institutions

ZONE A

ZONE B (75% of Zone A amount)

$225 $340 $450

$170 $260 $340

$130 $200 $260

Exempt

$60 $110 $170 $225

$50 $90 $130 $170

$2258 $340 $450 $500

$170 $260 $340 $500

NOES: Note 1: For retail, restaurant, service, and professional businesses, size will be determined by number of employees either full-time or equivalent (FTE) made up of multiples of part-time employees. A full FTE equals approximately 2000 hours annually. Lodging facilities will be charged by number of rooms available and financial institutions will be charged a flat fee.

ABSENT: ABSTENTIONS:

Note 2: Second floor (and higher) businesses located within Zone A will be assessed the same as similar street-level businesses located within Zone B.

ATTEST: /s/ Donna J. Grider City Clerk

/s/ Sidney A. Espinosa Mayor

APPROVED AS TO FORM:

APPROVED:

/s/ Cara Silver Senior Assistant City Attorney

/s/ James Keene City Manager

Note 3: Assessment amounts are rounded to the nearest ten dollars. The minimum assessment will be $50.00.

/s/ Lalo Perez Director of Administrative Services Curtis Williams Director of Planning and Community Environment

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 15

Editorial Renewable energy bill a big win for Simitian, state Governor signs legislation that will create jobs, boost Valley’s economy

ong a devout and successful proponent of alternative energy, Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, hit the jackpot this week when Gov. Jerry Brown signed his Senate Bill 2X, which requires private and public utilities to obtain 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources in nine years, by 2020. Along with Simitian, the governor came to the SunPower/Flextronics plant in Milpitas for the ceremony, as did Energy Secretary Steven Chu, underlining the importance of the bill which, Simitian said, “... establishes California as the national leader in the use and development of renewable energy.” The bill also has a wide range of support from all sides of the energy industry, including consumer and environmental groups, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, as well as many of the state’s municipal utilities. The senator began his persistent effort to establish the 33 percent standard four years ago, and in 2009 his Senate Bill 14 passed both houses but was vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over what energy contracts would qualify to meet the goal. Last year Simitian’s Senate Bill 722 addressed those concerns but it did not pass the Legislature in time. The current law, also authored by Simitian and passed in 2006, applies only to investor-owned utilities and independent sellers. It set a 2010 deadline for 20 percent use of renewables, a goal utilities expect to exceed this year. It will remain in force until 2020, when SB2X takes effect. In a press release announcing the signing of the bill, Simitian said the measure will bring in investment dollars, tax revenue and jobs; improve air quality; address climate change; protect rate-payers from price spikes like the one in 2001 by diversifying the state’s sources of energy; and allow the country to base its foreign policy on American interests rather than energy needs. The timing of the legislation is particularly apt, as the price of petroleum continues an unabated upward spiral, while entrepreneurs in the Valley and elsewhere rush to bring the cost of renewable energy down. Simitian’s hard work and persistence on this legislation deserves recognition throughout the state, but particularly here in his district, where the vast majority of citizens are committed to addressing global climate change and many companies are innovating in the field of green technology.

Proposed massage rules overreach

t is welcome news that the city is now reconsidering a controversial portion of a revised ordinance governing massage centers and sole practitioners, after the storm of criticism that erupted over a requirement that therapists keep detailed records of client visits and share them with police. At a recent meeting of about 30 workers and city officials, including Acting City Attorney Don Larkin, the city rolled out a draft of the new ordinance. It was the first of several such meetings planned to share the new law with practitioners before a final version is prepared and sent to the City Council sometime in the fall. Although much of the draft ordinance is simply carried over from the existing law and most newly reworked portions are welcomed by many local massage therapists, some at the meeting were rightly incensed at the record-keeping provision, which is a major change from current practice and is not included in SB 731, the 2008 law that the city is using as a guide for the new ordinance. But Larkin said this week that his department is rethinking the recordkeeping provision that would allow police to view detailed client lists at any establishment whenever they decided to inspect the premises. This is certainly the right reaction to a provision that in our view had no business being in the ordinance in the first place. We can’t see any need for police to be snooping into the records of massage establishments, which must obtain their operating permit from the police in the first place. As even a cursory look at the proposed regulations show, the massage industry already is heavily regulated and if police have any concern at all about an operation they have plenty of tools at their disposal to investigate. Other provisions of the proposed new ordinance should help local establishments, such as a substantial reduction in fees, regulating sole practitioners, an increase in the education requirements and a requirement that all massage businesses carry a minimum of $100,000 in malpractice insurance. We are looking forward to seeing a revised ordinance that will drop the record-keeping requirement and give massage establishments the same considerations enjoyed by other small businesses in Palo Alto.

Page 16ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Cell-phone ‘rules’ Editor, I think I’ve finally figured out the two absolute “rules” Palo Altans want observed by their cell-phone companies: First, don’t build any tower within sight of my home, work, kid’s school or park. Second, don’t even think about dropping any of my calls. Janice Hough Bryant Street Palo Alto

Anaerobic feasibility Editor, At a recent City Council meeting on the anaerobic-digestion feasibility study, the consultant acknowledged that building a local publicly financed anaerobic digestion facility would be cheaper than the alternatives. He also acknowledged that the study missed (and will include in June’s update) several of the alternatives’ costs, including rebuilding the sewage incinerators, pricing greenhouse-gas emissions and applying a contingency as was done for the local option. Including conservative estimates of these costs into the consultant’s financial model indicates that a local anaerobic digestion facility would save Palo Alto $30 to $38 million over 20 years, for an average annual savings of $1.5 to $2 million. Our annual savings would greatly increase in subsequent years because the capital construction costs would be paid off. For instance, the cost of processing our organic waste would drop from $106/ton in year 20 to $65/ton in year 21. Compare that to more than $118/ton to truck our waste “away” and continue sewage incineration. Compared to that costlier option, the study also indicated that anaerobic digestion would reduce our CO2 emissions by 12,000 tons annually, equivalent to taking 1,600 cars off the road. Anaerobic digestion’s total reductions from current practices would be about 20,000 tons annually. With anaerobic digestion we could make tremendous progress toward achieving our climate-protection goals while saving tens of millions of dollars. The feasibility study should confirm this in June. Cedric de La Beaujardiere Co-Chair, Blue Ribbon Compost Task Force, Palo Alto

Parking problems Editor, Irwin Dawid’s April 1 letter suggesting that the city require fewer parking for a new office building at Alma and Lytton was intended as an April fools joke — right? No? He was serious? He feels a 49,000-square-foot office building with five residential units and 123 underground parking spaces is better with less parking? Under typical standards 49,000

square feet of office requires 197 spaces, nine for residents, or a total demand of 206. 123 spaces are about 60 percent of the actual need. With 200 employees and residents with cars, every nearby (and not so nearby) residential street will fill up with cars before the underground parking is used. Doubt that? Check out the occupancy in most underground parking facilities. Like the city structures, they are not well managed or fully used. I agree that the proximity to transit should allow some discount on parking, maybe 10 percent to 15 percent, but not 40 percent. I also agree that all of the commercial properties, including this one, need to pay for a residential parking program to protect the integrity of the residential neighborhoods from commercial parking impacts. The city staff has begun a serious look at commercial parking needs, their impacts and their management. Instead of moving ahead with more approvals, the city needs to place a moratorium on any further commercial approvals/exceptions until real solutions to the neighborhoodparking dilemma are found and instituted. Ken Alsman Ramona Street Palo Alto

This week on Town Square

Posted April 9 at 1:45 p.m. by Stephen Levy, a resident of the University South neighborhood: One of the main arguments in 1978 for passing Prop. 13 was that rising property taxes threatened older homeowners who were retired and living on a reduced income. While they might be “house rich,” they were “cash poor” and thus might be forced out of their homes through rapidly rising property taxes. But now we have reverse mortgages. I think the older argument no longer has merit for homeowners with substantial equity in homes bought 20 to 40 years ago. These homeowners CAN access the cash value in their equity through a reverse mortgage. I see no reason to give a break to homeowners who are both relatively affluent and sitting in a home worth five to 10 times their original purchase price . . . Similarly, I see no reason to give tax breaks to affluent seniors like the ability to opt out of parcel taxes though, fortunately, many Palo Altans voluntarily pay these taxes . . .

YOUR TURN The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.

What do you think? Do you have plans to honor Earth Day with new conservation efforts? Submit letters to the editor of up to 250 words to letters@paweekly.com. Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted. You can also participate in our popular interactive online forum, Town Square, at our community website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Read blogs, discuss issues, ask questions or express opinions with you neighbors any time, day or night. Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Online Editor Tyler Hanley at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.

Check out Town Square! Hundreds of local topics are being discussed by local residents on Town Square, a reader forum sponsored by the Weekly on our community website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Post your own comments, ask questions, read the Editor’s blog or just stay up on what people are talking about around town!

Guest Opinion Got enviro fatigue? On dawn of Earth Day, city working to help you get over it by Sid Espinosa worry that some of my friends are contracting environmentalism fatigue. Sure, they’re environmentally focused (they’ve already converted their light bulbs, replaced their lawn with native plants and bought a Prius), but they are also becoming tone deaf to the constant drum of environmentalism. I am worried about this trend. Climate change is such a monumental and complex issue that it is easy to throw up our hands in hopelessness, but the reality is that we’ve only just begun addressing the issue and all of us — across every sector — will need to make changes and sacrifices that we haven’t yet imagined or internalized. There is not a more critical issue facing our planet. I won’t go into the doomsday tales, but the latest sea level rise predictions alone should be alarming enough to get every Palo Altan’s attention. While it is sometimes hard to comprehend the causal correlation between our individual everyday actions and a global crisis, we need to make that connection. And while leadership is needed at international, national, state and regional levels, we must do everything possible here at home too. Environmental sustainability is a top priority for the City of Palo Alto. During April (when we celebrate Earth Day), we are reminded that Palo Alto is striving to be an environmental leader in four critical areas: energy and water supply and conservation, natural and built environments, transportation, and the handling of waste and

related materials. Our city government has set aggressive goals for itself. For example, last year, after surpassing previously set greenhouse gas (GHG) municipal emission reduction goals, we established a new target: by 2012, we will reduce municipal emissions 20 percent below the 2005 baseline. We are moving quickly and aggressively toward this goal through building upgrades, employee commute programs, waste reduction and other measures. We are also exceedingly proud of our citizens. PaloAltoGreen, which asks Palo Altans to pay slightly higher utility bills in order to support renewable energy purchase programs, has the nation’s highest participation rate at 21 percent. Unfortunately, these participation rates are starting to level off. Help us buck this trend at www.cityofpaloalto.org/pagreen. Businesses are also stepping-up, transforming their products, supply chains and facilities to be more green. WaveOne, for example, is a nonprofit organization that is assisting 250-plus Palo Alto businesses in completing energy and water reductions of at least 20 percent by implementing “best practices for waste stream management, and generating renewable energy.” The results have already been extraordinary. Technology continues to rapidly revolutionize the environmental arena. Across our city government, we are focused on finding and implementing innovative green and clean-tech products and services. We also want to serve as a test-bed for new technologies. Through partnerships with Stanford, our Public Works Department is focusing on innovative approaches to wastewater treatment and our Utilities Department has launched a pilot demand response program. Equally impressive is the leadership at the

K-12 level, with “Green Teams” launching recycling programs, wildly successful bike-toschool initiatives, and ensuring sustainability instruction. Last week at Castilleja I was overwhelmed by the student-led work in this space, and it left me hopeful that young people are internalizing the direct connection between their actions and the planet’s crisis. There is no better example of cross-sector collaboration on sustainability than CEAP (pronounced “keep”), Community Environmental Action Partnership. This citywide initiative includes neighborhood associations, businesses, city government, Stanford, nonprofits, schools, and the medical and faith communities — all working together to create and implement sustainable environmental solutions. Get engaged: www.pa-ceap.org. A few more highlights to follow this year: Energy and Water: In May, the city will launch a Demand Response Program to encourage limiting electricity usage during peak periods. Later this summer, the city will complete the installation of 600 LED streetlights, a program that will eventually spread across the city. In the fall, the City Council will consider new renewable energy contracts so that by 2015 33 percent of the city’s overall electricity needs will be provided by renewable energy with a rate impact of no more than .05 percent per kilowatt hour. The city also continues to promote its Stormwater Rebate Program ($1,000 for residential and $10,000 for commercial) for measures that reduce stormwater runoff. This year we granted our first rebate for a green roof. Natural and Built Environments: Through a Comprehensive Plan update this year, we are working to ensure that environmental sustainability is integrated into all aspects of our longterm city vision. The city also has a number

of energy efficiency projects underway at city facilities. Palo Alto will soon review whether and how to require energy performance reviews of buildings across the city. Another exciting project this year is the creation of Palo Alto’s first Urban Forest Master Plan. Transportation: Palo Alto is currently working on a major update of its Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Additionally, several new electric vehicle stations will pop up in Palo Alto this year, and staff is working to streamline the permitting process for home and business charging stations. We are also working with Caltrain and the Save Caltrain movement to ensure that this vital public transportation resource continues. Waste and Materials: As the city moves forward with its zero waste goals, in 2011 our green purchasing efforts will focus on reducing plastics from the supply chain, increasing recycled content and reducing toxicity levels. We are also studying the most environmentally responsible and cost-effective way to manage our compost as well as update the Regional Water Quality Control Plant. Finally, we continue to roll out Palo Alto’s plastic bag ban in local stores. There’s a lot happening on the environmental sustainability front in Palo Alto. Yes, the global crisis can be overwhelming, but now is the time to get energized and more deeply engaged. Yes, we need to continue to fight at national and international levels to ensure large-scale impact, but all of us need to be involved locally. This Earth Day, let’s all think about how we can live differently in order to help the environment. The city is tackling this issue in every way imaginable – and it is making a positive difference. Join us. N Sid Espinosa is mayor of Palo Alto.

Streetwise

Are you worried about the nuclear threat level in Japan? Asked on California Avenue, Palo Alto. Interviews and photographs by Kareem Yasin.

Randi Rice

Herb Buyer Rosewood Drive, Palo Alto “I’m very concerned for the people there, but I’m not worried about the effects here ... right now it’s just important for us to be safe and watch what comes in to the country.”

Julie Smith

Student Rosse Lane, Stanford “Obviously my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan. It is very scary situation, though I admit I don’t have a good conception of what exactly the potential scope of the problem would be and how radiation poisoning could happen in the U.S.”

Cary Wyant

Former Science Editor Greer Road, Palo Alto “I’m not hysterical but I am very worried about the world and nuclear power. It’s cheap energy, which is great, but it’s too devastating when things go wrong and we can’t control disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis.”

Julian Nash

Banker Grimmer Boulevard, Fremont “I guess you could say it has opened my eyes to the consequences of nuclear power and what’s best for the world going forward.”

Carolina Huerta

Massage Therapist Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto “I have two kids, so naturally I’m worried about the state of the world they’re growing up in where accidents like this can happen.”

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 17

APPLEWOOD

COUPON

RY! VE

EE DEL I FR

Have a Part

EE DEL I FR

Have a Part

pplewood N !A

Delivers! ow

RY! VE

Delivers! ow

COUPON

lewood App N

2 OFF 3 OFF $

Medium or Large Size Pizza

Extra Large or Family Size Pizza

Gluten-Free Pizza Now Available!

These Coupon Offers are available Daily between 2-6pm

.EW (OURS /PEN -ON 3AT AM n PM s 3UN AM n PM

1001 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (650) 324-3486 www.applewoodpizza.com

NOTICE OF VACANCIES ON THE UTILITIES ADVISORY COMMISSION FOR TWO, THREE-YEAR TERMS ENDING JUNE 30, 2014 (Terms of Melton and Waldfogel) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council is seeking applications for the Utilities Advisory Commission from persons interested in serving in one of two, three year terms ending June 30, 2014.

Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x192;iĂ&#x2022;Â&#x201C;Ă&#x160;+Ă&#x2022;>Â?Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;,iÂŤ>Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x192; UĂ&#x160;*Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;ViÂ?>Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*Â&#x153;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x152;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; >Ă&#x20AC;LÂ?iĂ&#x160; UĂ&#x160; >`iĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x203A;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Â?>Ă&#x192;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160; UĂ&#x160;7Â&#x153;Â&#x153;`Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;-Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;i

Eligibility Requirements: The Utilities Advisory Commission is composed of seven members who serve without pay. The Utilities Advisory Commission shall not be Council Members, officers, or employees of the City. Each of the Commission members shall be a utility customer or the authorized representative of a utility customer. Six members of the Commission shall at all times be residents of the City. Regular meetings are at 7:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.

Ă&#x2C6;xĂ¤Â&#x2021;Â&#x2122;{nÂ&#x2021;{Ă&#x201C;{x

www.restorationstudio.com

Duties: The Utilities Advisory Commission shall provide advice on acquisition and development of electric, gas and water resources; joint action projects with other public or private entities which involve electric, gas or water resources; environmental implications of electric, gas or water utility projects, conservation and demand management.

Help us rescue lives in Japan.

Application forms and appointment information are available in the City Clerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto - (650) 329-2571 or may be obtained on the website at www.cityofpaloalto.org. Deadline for receipt of applications in the City Clerkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office is 5:30 p.m., Thursday, May 5, 2011. In the event one of the incumbents does not apply, the final deadline for non-incumbents will be Tuesday May 10, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.

Notice of intent

Go to www.rescue.org/altweeklies

DONNA J. GRIDER City Clerk

Fill Vacancy on Board of Directors of Public Facilities Financing Corporation Topic: Santa Clara Valley Water District Notice of Intention to Fill

PALO ALTO RESIDENCY IS A REQUIREMENT FOR SIX COMMISSIONERS. A fundraising effort by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the Palo Alto Weekly

Vacancy on Board of Directors of Public Facilities Financing Corporation.

Who: The Santa Clara Valley Water District is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County, California. It acts not only as the countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water wholesaler, but also as its flood protection agency and steward for its streams and creeks, underground aquifers and district-built reservoirs.

What: The Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District intends to fill a vacant director position on the Public Facilities Financing Corporation (PFFC). The PFFC is a nonprofit public benefit corporation whose primary purpose is to provide assistance to the Santa Clara Valley Water District in financing the acquisition, construction and improvement of public buildings, works and equipment for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, together with site development, landscaping, utilities, furnishings and appurtenant and related facilities. The PFFC directors serve as volunteers. Duties of the PFFC director will be to perform any and all duties imposed by law, by the Corporationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws, or by resolution of the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District. PFFC directors meet at such times and places as required to conduct Corporation business, usually from one to three times annually. In order to be eligible for appointment, an interested party must reside within the County of Santa Clara and must continue to reside therein while serving on the PFFC. The Board is seeking interested candidates with experience and understanding of the financial market and the issuance of bonds.

When: Interested parties should notify the Clerk of the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara Valley Water District in writing no later than 2:00 p.m. on April 29, 2011, at 5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, California, 95118. Please submit a letter of interest which includes your name, contact numbers, residential address, occupation, summary of interest in the position, and qualifications and experience. Information packets can be obtained online at www.valleywater.org or in person at District Headquarters, 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, California.

Page 18Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

4/2011_GS

SUMMER 2011

n n o e C c p t i o m n a C

ATTENTION PARENTS!

Find the camps for your kids this summer in our newspapers and peninsula websites. We have all the camps you could possibly want!

IDE

p m Ca

y, eekl to W lo Al e Pa by th e uced Voic prod n View ion icat ountai bl l pu and M ecia A sp Almanac The

Also, pick up a copy of the Camp Connection magazine at family-oriented retailers on the Peninsula.

ion t c e n Con

SU 011

m Sum

O S F

ID R K

011

er 2

Cover Story

Fueling innovation

by Sue Dremann photographs by Veronica Weber

VALLEY COMPANIES WORK TO DEVELOP FUELS MADE OF CORN STALKS AND WOOD CHIPS

[

]

[

]

[

]

[

]

[

]

ick Wilson, CEO of Cobalt Technologies, opened a tiny vial of clear liquid, and a slightly sweet, alcohol scent wafted forth. It didn’t smell even remotely like jet fuel, which it was. Wilson opened another small vial of straw-colored liquid. This one had a “nose” of pine pitch. When it burns, this biodiesel fuel does not even remotely resemble the noxious black smoke that belches from semi trucks and buses, Wilson said. “It’s the future of the smells of fuels,” he said. Cobalt Technologies of Mountain View is one of a handful of Silicon Valley companies carving out a niche in the alternativefuels race. The industry might have been dismissed as alchemy in the 1960s, when oil was cheap and plentiful and a gallon of regular gasoline cost 31 cents. But with rising gas prices and concerns about Middle East instability, biofuel is poised to offer at least a partial solution to the energy problem, industry leaders said. Bay Area companies are developing a new generation of biologically based fuels along with the infrastructure to deliver them to the gas tank.

Commercial production of some fuels could start in the next few years, industry leaders said. But they also cautioned that biofuels won’t be a panacea. It will take all manner of alternatives to match oil demands, they said. The industry also faces many challenges: scaling up and finding enough land and/or renewable resources to produce the “feedstocks” needed to create the fuel; finding a high enough price point to attract investors yet not so high as to render the fuel price noncompetitive. And while Silicon Valley might be the place where the innovation takes place, keeping the industry here amid the high costs of housing and lifestyle could also be a challenge, Wilson said. Cobalt and others are hedging their bets. In addition to fuels, companies are also developing other products, such as biochemicals. Those products have higher price points that could create economic stability for the companies long before any big investments in biofuel production take place, Wilson said. “This is a little company. Why take a molecule and turn it into $2 for fuels when you (continued on page 21)

Top right, a bioreactor at Cobalt Technologies in Mountain View holds bacteria that convert organic-waste sugars into butanol. Above, Rick Wilson of Cobalt Technologies stands amongst the tanks of sugars, derived from pulp-mill waste, that feed the bacteria. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 19

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UCC 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto (650) 856-6662 www.fccpa.org

Maundy Thursday, April 21st Soup Supper & Communion, 6:30pm, Service of Tenebrae, 7:30pm

Journey to Easter 11:00a.m. 11:00a.m.

You Are Invited Sunday, April 17th Sunday, April 24th

Palm Sunday Easter Service

WESLEY UNITED METHODIST 470 Cambridge Ave (one block off California) Rev. Karen Paulsen

Good Friday, April 22nd Service of Contemplation, Noon

Easter Sunday Celebration Worship at 9:30 am & 11:00 am Oxford Street Brass & The Hallelujah Chorus Easter Egg Hunt 10:30am

â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

An open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ

Peninsula Easter Services

Holy Week Services April 21 April 22 April 24

6:00 pm Seder Dinner Noon & 7:00 pm Good Friday Services 9:30 am Easter Festival Service Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Easter Egg Hunt after the service!

Free gift for every family.

Bethany Lutheran Church 1095 Cloud Avenue, Menlo Park 650.854.5897

Holy Week ST. MARKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S EPISCOPAL CHURCH PALO ALTO

Maundy Thursday 4/21 | 7:30 pm

Easter Vigil 4/23 | 7:30 pm

Easter Sunday April 24 | 8:30 am and 10:45 am

Maundy Thursdayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; April 21 V 6:15pm

Saturday

Good Friday 4/22 | 12 pm & 7:30 pm

Monastic Supper & Liturgy of the Word followed by Holy Eucharist & Stripping of the Altar

Good Friday â&#x20AC;&#x201D; April 22

8BWFSMFZ 4USFFU t 1BMP "MUP $" www.gracepa.org ]

Staffed child care available at all services.

V Noon to 2:00pm Stations of the Cross with Reflections V 2:00 to 3:00pm

Labyrinth Stations: A Walking Meditation

V 7:30 to 8:30pm

Good Friday Prayers, Art and Meditation

Easter â&#x20AC;&#x201D; April 24 V 5:30am

Easter Vigil, Eucharist & Baptism

V 8:00 to 9:30am

Festive Breakfast & Family Easter Activities

V 10:00am

Festive Holy Eucharist

600 Colorado Ave, P.A. (650) 326-3800 www.saint-marks.com

Covenant Presbyterian Church April 17 Palm/Passion Sunday 10:45 a.m. Worship includes the John Henry Maunderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cantata Olivet to Calvary. In addition to our Sanctuary Choir, guest soloists, Chester Pidduck, tenor, and Krassen Karagiozov, baritone, will add their voices to the musical presentation of the passion story. April 21 Maundy Thursday 7:30 p.m. The Parable of the Kidron Valley, a liturgical drama followed by the Lordâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Supper.

April 22 Good Friday 7:30 p.m. A Service of the Shadows (Tenebrae) April 24 Easter Sunday 6:30 a.m. Sunrise Service, Patio Sunrise Meditation. Breakfast follows in Fellowship Hall. 10:45 a.m. Traditional Worship A Celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Please bring fresh ďŹ&#x201A;owers for the Easter cross to bring forward during the opening hymn.

Covenant Presbyterian Church, 670 E. Meadow Dr., Palo Alto, Rev. Dr. Margaret Willis Boles Page 20Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

Join Us For Easter The great question of Easter is about us: where are the tombs in our life that God is inviting us to leave and where is new life rising in us? Join us at Trinity as we celebrate the promise and possibility of new life. Palm Sunday, April 17: 8:00 am and 10:00 am* Maundy Thursday (The Last Supper) April 21, 6:00 pm* (with simple meal) Good Friday, April 22 7:00 am and Noon The Great Vigil of Easter Baptisms & First Easter Communion Saturday, April 23, 7:00 pm* Easter Sunday, April 24 6:30 am in the Memorial Garden 8:00 am* & 10:00 am* in Church with Festival Choir *Indicates child care available.

Cover Story

Join us for Easter Breakfast & Worship 9:00 a.m. • Breakfast 1140 Cowper Street

10:30 a.m. • Worship

www.fprespa.org

Peninsula Easter Services

April 17 PALM SUNDAY - 8 am Communion, 10 am Palm Procession & Communion with Choir

Aaron Kelley is the director of business development at Genencor, a Palo Alto company developing microbes that aid in the production of ethanol. — biobutanol — offers an energy density (i.e., amount of stored energy per volume) that is similar to petro(continued from page 19) leum-based aviation fuel. But it also can turn it into a $5 chemical?” he produces 70 to 80 percent less polsaid. lution than petroleum-based jet fuel, Wilson said. obalt has chosen to launch into Wilson isn’t envisioning biobubiofuels through the high-end tanol as a gasoline substitute any time market. Aviation fuel brings a soon. higher price — upward of $123 a bar“I question if there’s going to be rel, according to the International Air a biogasoline,” he said, citing chalTransportation Association. Cobalt lenges to the chemistry, but points to plans to build an intermediate-sized, jet fuel and biodiesel. 470,000-gallon biofuel production Biodiesel, another of his company’s plant, he said. products, can directly fuel existing The company has partnered with diesel engines with no modifications, the U.S. Navy at China Lake, Calif., he said.

Biofuel

Bay Area companies are developing a new generation of biologically based fuels along with the infrastructure to deliver them to the gas tank. to test its biojet fuel in aircraft. Biofuel could offer supply security for the military; production plants could be located at bases, he said. Cobalt takes wood materials and turns them into an alcohol-based fuel called butanol or butyl-alcohol. First, the mass of plants is treated to make its sugars digestible by bacteria. The digestible material then goes through fermentation, and the byproduct is an alcohol-based fuel. In Cobalt’s labs, steel tanks fitted with a tangle of tubes, pipes and valves hold the precious liquid made from digested plant mass, called lignocellulose, and sugars that microbes have broken down. Wilson calls butanol “the magic molecule.” It is used in everything from cosmetics to paint coatings, and it can be blended into gasoline to make a “flex fuel,” he said. As a fuel source, bio-based butanol

nother biofuel that industry professionals say shows promise is known as cellulosic ethanol, or ethanol produced from non-food plant materials. Palo Alto’s Genencor has developed microbes to aid in making ethanol (an alcohol that is found in alcoholic beverages) from plant materials such as corn stalks, rice-plant stems and high-yielding grasses such as switchgrass. Enzyme production, which is Genencor’s focus, could be a $3-billiona-year industry, Aaron Kelley, biofuels director of business development, said. Genencor is working with DuPont, a company poised to buy Genencor’s parent company. The two companies currently have a partnership to license the ethanol-production process

April 21 MAUNDY THURSDAY - 6 pm Soup Supper, 7 pm Foot washing & Communion April 22 GOOD FRIDAY – 12 noon Adoration of the Cross and Communion

Experience the love and power of Christ’s April 23 EASTER VIGIL – 8 pm Outside, Fire, Story, dying and Song, Communion; Champagne & Cake Following rising! April 24 EASTER SUNDAY – 8 am Communion, 10 am Festival Communion with music by The Whole Noyse Brass, Organ & Choir Easter Egg Hunt & Easter Brunch! All Saints’ Episcopal Church 555 Waverley @ Hamilton, Palo Alto 650.322.4258 www.asaints.org

Holy Week & Easter at

St. Bede’s

Episcopal Church 2650 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park

www.stbedesmenlopark.org April 21 t MAUNDY THURSDAY 12 noon Foot Washing 12:10pm Holy Eucharist & Healing Rite 7:15pm Foot Washing 7:30pm Holy Eucharist April 22 t GOOD FRIDAY 12 noon Service of music, reflection, and prayer 7:30pm Meditation on the Passion of Christ April 23 t HOLY SATURDAY 9:00pm Great Vigil of Easter, Holy Baptism & Eucharist April 24 t EASTER SUNDAY 8:00am Eucharist with Hymns 10:15am Sung Eucharist 11:30am Easter Egg Hunt Nursery available 10-11:30am

(continued on next page)

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 21

Cover Story

G U I D E TO 2011 S U M M E R C A M P S F O R K I D S

n n o e C c p tion m a C For more info see our online camp directory at PaloAltoOnline.com/biz/summercamps

Athletics Athletic Fitness – “Train with the Best”

Menlo Park

Riekes Summer Camps — A world of opportunity and fun-filled learning. Ages 9-18. Strength & conditioning, speed & agility, sport specific training, skills development, professional coaches, pre & post evals, leading edge methods, latest equipment. Sessions run from June through August. www.riekes.org 650-364-2509

Bay Area Equestrian Center

Woodside

At Wunderlich County Park Stables. Kids 8-15 have outdoor fun joining BAEC for horse camps. Camps focus on caring for and riding horses so come ready to ride and have fun learning good horse care. www.bayareaequestrian.net 650-446-1414

Camp Jones Gulch

La Honda

Join the fun this summer! Camp Jones Gulch offers friendship and growth to kids ages 6-16. Enjoy our Traditional Camp or Mini, Horse, Surfing, Leadership and Travel Camps. One- and two-week sessions. Limited financial assistance available. www.campjonesgulch.org 415-848-1200

Champion Tennis Camps

Atherton

CTC provides an enjoyable way for your Junior to begin learning the game of tennis or to continue developing existing skills. The 4-6 year olds have fun learning eye-hand coordination and building self-esteem! www.alanmargot-tennis.net 650-400-0464

Don Shaw’s Volleyball Training Academy

Sunnyvale

Join former Stanford University Men’s and Women’s head coach, Hall of Famer and 4-time NCAA Champion Don Shaw this summer at our camp for HS GIRL’s July 13th, 14th & 15th and for HS BOY’s July 18th, 19th & 20th. This camp gives players, who have the desire, the chance to improve their skills and learn proven techniques that will help them become more consistent and enhance their chances to play at a higher level. www.mvvclub.com 408-329-0488

Earl Hansen Football Camp

Palo Alto

Learn the fundamentals of football with Earl Hansen, Palo Alto High School and State Champion coach. This is a non-contact camp where kids develop fundamental skills with proven drills and techniques. Full practices in the mornings with 7 on 7 games in the afternoon. July 11 to 15 @ Palo Alto High School. Ages 10 to14. Lunch provided daily. www.earlhansenfootballcamp.com 650-269-7793

Jefunira Camp

Palo Alto

Celebrating our 20th year of Jefunira Camp summer fun in 2011! Come join us for some good old fashion summer fun! Our combination of an exceptional college aged staff and innovative, inclusive programming will create a memorable summer experience for your child. Programming for children ages 4-13. Pre and post camp care offered. www.jefuniracamp.com 650-291-2888

Kim Grant Tennis Academy Summer Camps

Palo Alto/Menlo Park/ Redwood City

Fun and Specialized junior camps for Mini (3-5), Beginner, Intermediate 1 & 2, Advanced and Elite Players. Weekly programs designed by Kim Grant to improve players technique, fitness, agility, mental toughness and all around tennis game. Camps in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City. Come make new friends and have tons of FUN!! www.KimGrantTennis.com 650-752-8061

Matt Lottich Life Skills Basketball Camp

Woodside/ Redwood City

MLLS offers high-level, high-energy basketball instruction for ages 6-16. This summer we celebrate the 8th year!! With two to three “leagues” in each session, young beginners to advanced elite players get to learn fundamental skills, advanced footwork and valuable life lessons from an unparalleled staff of Pro and Collegiate level players. Camps at Woodside Elementary and Sequoia High School. Early bird, multi-session, and group discounts available. www.mllscamp.com 1-888-537-3223

Nike Tennis Camps at Stanford University

Stanford

Come join the fun this summer and get better! Dick Gould’s 42nd Annual Stanford Tennis School offers day camps for both junior and adults, June 11-16. Weekly junior overnight and extended day camps offered June 19-Aug 12 for boys & girls ages 9-18 and run by Head Men’s Coach John Whitlinger and Head Women’s Coach Lele Forood. There is a camp option for everyone! www.USSportsCamps.com/tennis 1-800-NIKE CAMP (645-3226)

Spring Down Camp Equestrian Center

Portola Valley

Spring Down camp teaches basic to advanced horsemanship skills. All ages welcome! Daily informative lecture, riding lesson, supervised hands-on skill practice, safety around horses, tacking/untacking of own camp horse, and arts/crafts. www.springdown.com 650-851-1114

Stanford Water Polo Camps

Stanford

Ages 7 and up. New to the sport or have experience, we have a camp for you. Half day or full day option for boys and girls. All the camps offer fundamental skill work, position work, scrimmages and games. https://stanfordwaterpolocamps.com 650-725-9016

Summer at Saint Francis

Mountain View

Sports & Activity Camp (ages 6-12): This all sports camp provides group instruction in a variety of field, water and court games. Saint Francis faculty and students staff the camp, and the focus is always on fun. The program is dedicated to teaching teamwork, sportsmanship and positive self-esteem. www.sfhs.com/summer 650-968-1213 ext. 446

Summer at Saint Francis

Mountain View

Advanced Sports Camps (5th-9th grades): We offer a wide selection of advanced sports camps designed to provide players with the opportunity to improve both their skill and knowledge of a specific sport. Each camp is run by a Head Varsity Coach at Saint Francis, and is staffed by members of the coaching staff. www.sfhs.com/summer 650-968-1213 ext. 446

Team Esface Elite Basketball Skills Clinics

Woodside/ Redwood City

Spring Training (April-May). High-energy, high-level basketball training for ages 6-16. Use your offseason as a time to develop your basketball skills and IQ with the unparalleled coaching staff of Team Esface. Learn the fundamentals of the game, offensive attack moves and advanced footwork through dynamic drills and competitions led by young, positive coaches including former Division 1 athletes. April and May. Two days per week. Sibling and group discounts available. More information and sign up at: www.teamesface.com 1-888-537-3223

YMCA of Silicon Valley

Peninsula

Say hello to summer fun at the YMCA! Choose from enriching day or overnight camps in 35 locations: arts, sports, science, travel, and more. For youth K-10th grade. Includes weekly fieldtrips, swimming and outdoor adventures. Accredited by the American Camp Association. Financial assistance available. www.ymcasv.org/summercamp 408-351-6400 (continued on next page)

Please call us at 650.326.8210 for other camp advertising opportunities Page 22ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Top, glowing butanol-producing bacteria at Cobalt Technologies are projected on a computer monitor. Above, various types of bacteria solutions are studied at Cobalt Technologies to determine which produce butanol most efficiently.

Biofuel

(continued from previous page)

to biorefineries. In Genencor’s immaculate metaland-glass Page Mill Road research facility, a variety of feedstocks, from rice stalks to grasses to wood, are preprocessed and pretreated with steam and ammonia. Enzymes in the bacteria saccharify — that is, break down the materials into sugars, which are fermented and digested. Ethanol is recovered and dehydrated to create fuel-grade ethanol, according to the company. Those are the bones of cellulosic ethanol production, but the company has gone through several iterations of enzyme technology to get costs down. Accellerase Duet, its latest product, unlocks the energy stored in the plant materials more thoroughly and affordably and can digest many different kinds of feedstocks, Kelley said. “Each time, we’ve lowered the cost by one half,” Kelley said. Kelley sees cellulosic ethanol as eventually becoming competitive with gasoline and starch-based ethanol, which comes from corn and sugar cane. As the technology becomes more efficient, cellulosic ethanol could go as low as $2.50 a gallon, he said. “The price of corn is going crazy now. Biomass (from the other sources such as grasses and wood) is expected to be cheaper,” he said. Today’s price for biomass can be

$50 to $100 per ton, compared with $160 per ton for corn. Eventually, the prices are expected to be half of corn, he said. One drawback to ethanol is that its energy density is about 70 to 80 percent of gasoline’s. Vehicles get fewer miles per gallon, he said. But higher oil prices will still make ethanol competitive; and some automakers are working on more efficient engines that recover the lost energy, Kelley said. Cellulosic ethanol is also “cleaner.” It produces 80 to 90 percent less carbon dioxide than gas and oil, he said. Using materials that are essentially thought of as somebody else’s trash and situating biorefineries near fields and plants where solid waste, paper mills and lumber mills are located could also cut costs, including transportation, he said. Ironically, the country could have been decades ahead in cellulosic technology — and perhaps biofuel production — if it weren’t for cheap oil, according to Kelley. “The foundations for cellulosic processes started in the 1970s after the oil embargo. The oil prices came down and then research was shelved for 20 years,” he said. inod Khosla, a Menlo Park venture capitalist and well-known investor in biofuels, wrote in a Jan. 19 post on the Greentech Media website that “cellulosic and sugar-de-

Cover Story

G U I D E TO 2011 S U M M E R C A M P S F O R K I D S

n n o e C c p tion m a C For more info see our online camp directory at PaloAltoOnline.com/biz/summercamps

Academics Delphi Academy

Santa Clara

Have your best summer ever at Delphi Academy’s summer camp! Ages 5-13. Full Day Camp. Morning academics with experienced teachers, afternoon activities, day trips, camping trips, swimming, sports, crafts, activities, and a lot of fun! www.bestsummerever.org 408-260-2300

Harker Summer Programs

San Jose

K-12 offerings taught by exceptional, experienced faculty and staff. K-6 morning academics - focusing on math, language arts and science - and full spectrum of afternoon recreation. Grades 6-12 for-credit courses and non-credit enrichment opportunities. Swim, Tennis and Soccer also offered. www.summer.harker.org 408-553-0537

iD Tech Camps - Summer Tech Fun! Cobalt Technologies researchers Erin Fetsch and Phoebe Lee retrieve bacteria samples from an anaerobic chamber. rived fuels offer one of the lowest risk advances to quickly and affordably achieve low-cost transportation.” The driver for biofuels production was the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 Renewable Fuel Standard, which required increasing volumes of ethanol and biodiesel to be blended with fuel between 2006 and 2012. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 required 9 billion gallons of renewable fuel use in 2008, increasing to 36 billion gallons by 2022. The new standard caps starchbased ethanol production at 15 billion gallons by 2015 — about 13 billion gallons are currently being produced, according to the American Coalition for Ethanol. By 2022, 21 billion of the 36 billion gallons must be derived from biofuel such as cellulosic and non-corn-based ethanol. “That’s a very, very big number,” Kelley said. Ironically, the low price that would make biofuels competitive with oil and desirable for consumers could turn off some investors, Wilson said. David Horning, an analyst for Palo Alto Investors, a stock-investment firm, said that he has not invested in biofuels, even though “it’s a space I follow. There have been some IPOs in the last six months.” Palo Alto Investors has backed only one green-fuel-related company with venture capital: Fisker Automotive, a plug-in hybrid automaker in Anaheim, Calif., he said. (Fisker is planning on moving to Palo Alto this fall.) Horning is still concerned about the ability to scale up to commercial production and the return on the capital of expansion.

“I’m a little less bullish than other investors out there. ... The operating losses are very, very large. I don’t know how quickly they’ll be able to come down the cost curve. Biorefineries are very expensive plants. The costs are well north of $6 to $8 a gallon to build,” he said. Wilson said the money to scale up must come from many sources, and venture capital can’t do it all. It will take partnerships with business and government. Some tax credits and federal financing are helping. A special depreciation allowance allows a 50 percent depreciation deduction of a new cellulosic ethanol plant in the year it is put in service. Any enzymatic cellulosic plant acquired after Dec. 20, 2006, and operational before Jan.1, 2013, qualifies. The provision is effective through Dec. 31, 2012. The Department of Energy announced it would give $80 million in 2010 for numerous biofuel projects and plant development, including through its Biomass Program. In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy announced $646 million in advanced-biofuels loan guarantees to four companies. Horning said the transition will take a long time, and it won’t be on the scale that Silicon Valley is used to. “People tend to make connections with tech. The timescale for tech is in months. But the energy-tech time scale is in years and decades,” he said. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly. com.

Stanford

Ages 7-17 create video games, iPhone apps, C++/Java programs, websites and more. Weeklong, day and overnight programs held at Stanford, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara, UCLA and others. Also special Teen programs held at Stanford in gaming, programming and visual arts. Free year-round learning! Save with code CAU22L. www.internalDrive.com 1-888-709-TECH (8324)

iD Teen Academies

Stanford

Teens spend two weeks immersed in the dynamic world of video game creation at iD Gaming Academy, computer science/ application development at iD Programming Academy or photography/filmmaking at iD Visual Arts Academy. Overnight programs held at Stanford, Harvard, MIT and others. Week-long programs for ages 7-17 also available. Free year-round learning! Save w/code CAU22T. www.iDTeenAcademies.com 1-888-709-TECH (8324)

ISTP Language Immersion

Palo Alto

International School of the Peninsula camps offered in French, Chinese, Spanish or ESL for students in Nursery through Middle School. Three 2-week sessions, each with different theme. Students are grouped according to both grade level and language proficiency. www.istp.org 650-251-8519 Mid-Peninsula High School Summer Program Menlo Park Mid-Peninsula High School offers a series of classes and electives designed to keep students engaged in learning. Classes MondayThursday and limited to 15 students. Every Thursday there’s a BBQ lunch. The Science and Art classes will have weekly field trips. www.mid-pen.com 650-321-1991 ext. 110

Summer at Saint Francis

Mountain View

Summer at Saint Francis provides a broad range of academic and athletic programs for elementary through high school students. It is the goal of every program to make summer vacation enriching and enjoyable! www.sfhs.com/summer 650-968-1213 ext. 446

SuperCamp

Stanford/San Jose/Berkeley

SuperCamp is the summer enrichment program that parents and kids love! Now in our 30th year and with over 56,000 graduates worldwide, we’ll give your son or daughter the skills, added confidence, motivation and character direction to flourish. Junior Forum, incoming 6th-8th graders; Senior Forum, incoming 9th-12th graders. Located at Stanford, San Jose State, UC Berkeley and 6 other prestigious schools nationwide. www.supercamp.com 800-285-3276

Synapse School & Wizbots

Menlo Park

Cutting-edge, imaginative, accelerated, integrated, and hands-on academic summer enrichment courses with independent in-depth and project-based morning and afternoon weeklong programs for children ages 4-12: Young Explorers, Thinking Math, Leonardo da Vinci’s Inventions, Nature Connections, Girls’ & Soccer Robotics, and more! www.summerinnovation.com 650-866-5824

TechKnowHow Computer & LEGO Camps

Palo Alto/Menlo Park/Sunnyvale

Fun and enriching technology classes for students, ages 5-14! Courses include LEGO and K’NEX Projects with Motors, NXT Robotics, 3D Modeling, and Game Design. Many locations, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Sunnyvale. Half and all day options. Early-bird and multi-session discounts available. www.techknowhowkids.com 650-474-0400

Woodland School Summer Adventures

Portola Valley

For kindergarten through 8th grade. Offers academics, sports, field trips and onsite activities. June 27 - July 29 www.woodland-school.org 650-854-9065

Write Now! Summer Writing Camps

Palo Alto/Pleasanton

Emerson School of Palo Alto and Hacienda School of Pleasanton open their doors and offer their innovative programs: Expository Writing, Creative Writing, Presentation Techniques, and (new!) Media Production. Call or visit our website for details. www.headsup.org 650-424-1267, 925-485-5750

Arts, Culture, Nature and Other Camps Camp Jano India

Mountain View/Santa Clara

Celebrate Indian culture, languages, arts, festivals, literature, cuisine, and leaders. Weekly themes are brought to life through related arts, dance, games, projects, stories and theatre in a very unique, exciting, creative, interactive, and structured style. June 13-August 5. Age 5 to 14. www.janoindia.com 650-493-1566

Camp F.U.N. (Friends with Unique Needs)

Palo Alto

A nurturing environment for kids with challenges to experience the fun of summer camp. Led by therapists at Children’s Health Council. Ages 5-12, full days, Mon-Fri, three sessions. Small groups. Financial aid available. www.chconline.org 650-688-3625

Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA)

Mountain View

50+ creative camps for Gr. K-8! Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture, Musical Theater, American Idol Workshop, more! Twoweek sessions; full and half-day enrollment. Extended care available. Financial aid offered. www.arts4all.org 650-917-6800 ext. 0

Creative Arts – “Express Yourself”

Menlo Park

Riekes Summer Camps — A world of opportunity and fun-filled learning. Ages 9-18. Rock camps, Hip Hop, recording, filmmaking, animation, B&W and digital Photography, graphic arts, comic book creation, Photoshop, magazine publishing. Sessions run from June through August. www.riekes.org 650-364-2509

Nature Awareness –“Explore Our Natural World”

Menlo Park

Riekes Summer Camps — A world of opportunity and fun-filled learning. Ages 6-18 and families. Learn awareness & survival skills, explore Monterey Bay, deep redwoods & coastal marsh. Surf camp. Family Festival. AFCANA Combo Camps combining fitness, arts & nature. Sessions run from June through August. www.riekes.org 650-364-2509

A bumper sticker on a Honda Civic pronounces the demise of fossil fuels.

Please call us at 650.326.8210 for other camp advertising opportunities *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 23

Cover Story

6$< +(//2 72 $'9(1785( 6XPPHU &DPS <0&$ 2) 6,/,&21 9$//(<

&DPSV DW WKH < DUH DERXW IXQ DQG HQULFKLQJ DGYHQWXUHV OHG E\ FDULQJ DGXOWV .LGV GHYHORS FKDUDFWHU H[SORUH QDWXUH WU\ QHZ DFWLYLWLHV DQG PDNH ODVWLQJ IULHQGVKLSV Â&#x2021; 'D\ &DPS ZLWK ZHHNO\ ÂžHOGWULSV Â&#x2021; 7HHQ /HDGHUVKLS &DPS Â&#x2021; 2YHUQLJKW &DPS LQ WKH 6DQWD &UX] 0RXQWDLQV /HDUQ PRUH \PFDVY RUJ VXPPHUFDPS )LQDQFLDO DVVLVWDQFH DYDLODEOH

&RQQHFW ZLWK <0&$ RI 6LOLFRQ 9DOOH\ RQ

Propel Fuel CEO Matt Horton said his company plans to build 75 flexfuel and ethanol pump stations at gas stations throughout California this year, including one in Palo Alto.

Flexing at the pump

Planning Your Kitchen and Bath Remodel For homeowners wanting to learn the steps to achieve a successful remodel, these interactive workshops, taught by our award-winning designers, promise to be informative and fun! Upfront planning ensures your remodeling project is not only a positive experience, but a collaborative one, helping to transform your ideas into the home youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always wanted. n Get the answers you need about budgets, design and space planning/guidelines, cabinet and countertop choices, color palettes, lighting, new trends and ideas for ďŹ&#x201A;ooring. n Learn about accessible/timeless design, what choices are available for a healthier and greener home and how to integrate them into your remodel now. Beautiful, luxurious and functional â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you can have it all. n Get excited about your home remodel as our designers take you through a journey of ideas, photos, materials, and product options available to transform your home today!

Redwood City-based Propel puts alternative fuels in conventional gas stations by Sue Dremann

We never forget itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your home.ÂŽ

Saturday, April 23rd Registration and light breakfast 9:15 am Workshop 9:30 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 12:00 pm Harrell Remodeling Design Center

Call us or go online to register today. We will see you there! Page 24Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

License: B479799 Our Design Center is 85% solar powered.

ne big hurdle to the expansion of biofuels is getting that fuel into the gas tanks of drivers. Propel, a Redwood City company, has taken on that challenge, with plans to build hundreds of fueling stations that would be within a 10minute drive of 75 to 80 percent of all California residents, CEO Matt Horton said. A new location in Palo Alto, at Stanford Avenue and El Camino Real, is pending approval from the city, he said. Propel opened its first station in Southern California last August. Twenty-two stations are currently operational from Sacramento to Southern California and 25 more are completing their permits, he said. The company will build 75 stations this year, with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission offsetting $10.9 million in infrastructure costs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With just the 75-station project, we will reduce close to 40 million gallons of petrol each year. That is a lot of fuel,â&#x20AC;? he said. Horton has spent 10 years in venture capital, investing in cleanenergy companies. He started as a Propel investor and then became its CEO.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always loved building companies. I believe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the most important investments I have made. People are hungry for change, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re bringing that to them,â&#x20AC;? he said. Propel offers two types of biofuel: biodiesel, which is made from vegetable oil and can work in any diesel engine; and E85, a â&#x20AC;&#x153;flexâ&#x20AC;? fuel that is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Only vehicles with engines tooled to accept flex fuel can take the product. There are dozens of makes and models, from Chevrolet Suburbans to some Mercedes Benzes and Toyotas, and the engines can take both flex fuel and regular gasoline. Propel lists the models on its website and on its lime-green-and-white pumps. Horton said he views the pump locations as a platform that can adapt to whatever renewable fuel becomes dominant, whether it is flex fuel, ethanol, biodiesel or biobutanol or something else. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe in a portfolio approach. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need all of those thingsâ&#x20AC;? to get beyond oil, he said. The ability to get alternative fuel to consumers has been helped by the federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which prohibits a franchisor (oil company) from restricting a franchisee, or re-

Cover Story

An exceptional neighborhood deserves exceptional service. When you call Bank of America, you can rest assured that our top priority is providing the information you need to make well-informed home ďŹ nancing decisions. We bring personal service to the neighborhood, including: UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x160;Ă&#x153;Â&#x2C6;`iĂ&#x160;Ă&#x203A;>Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;vĂ&#x160;Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;Â&#x201C;iĂ&#x160;wÂ&#x2DC;>Â&#x2DC;VÂ&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}Ă&#x160;Â&#x153;ÂŤĂ&#x152;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192; UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x160;VÂ&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x203A;iÂ&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;>Â&#x2DC;`Ă&#x160;ivwVÂ&#x2C6;iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;Â&#x201C;iĂ&#x160;Â?Â&#x153;>Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x153;ViĂ&#x192;Ă&#x192; As part of the Bank of America family, we will work closely with you to make sure your home ďŹ nancing experience is one that youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be glad to tell your friends and associates about. If you would like information about your home loan options, contact us today.

Flex fuel is currently cheaper than gasoline at a Chevron station in San Jose. tail gas station, from installing E85 in early April was an employee with infrastructure through a franchise the VA Palo Alto Health Care Sysagreement. tem. About 95 percent of retail gas staMichael Hill-Jackson, a spokestions are not owned by the oil com- man for the Palo Alto VA, said the panies, Horton said. Propel is work- hospital is rapidly increasing the use ing out agreements to add pumps of E85. and canopies or islands at stations â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have 175 vehicles and 85 perthat sell name-brand gasolines. cent are E85 capable,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We Chuck Brassfield, owner of Capi- have an E85 station in Menlo Park, tol Premier Chevron Car Wash in and one coming in Palo Alto within San Jose, said the Propel pumps are the next 12 months.â&#x20AC;? working out well. He started lookThe VA also has a pilot electricing into alternative fuels a couple vehicle program, Hill-Jackson said. of years ago and talked to Capitol Hortonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach is broader than Expressway Auto Mall dealers. Ford just biofuel, however, he said, and and GMC had an extensive line of heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll adapt to whatever becomes the flex-fuel vehicles, he said. dominant fuel source. For the next 15 years, he thinks flex fuel will be the logical successor to gasoline, especially considering the cost of electric vehicles and the need for a different infrastructure. A Chevrolet Volt is $43,000, according to a local dealer. Propelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s E85 appeals to an array of drivers, from kids with soupedup cars to clean-energy-conscious drivers and government fleets, according to Brassfield. Propelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s E85 is 105 octane, the equivalent of a Matt Horton, high-performance fuel. CEO, Propel â&#x20AC;&#x153;They go darting in here and go right for that ethanol. They say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Oh, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The first question out of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s man itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he said. mouths was â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Where could I get the However, the miles-per-gallon rafuel?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he said. tio is lower than gasoline. Brassfield Horton hopes to capitalize on estimated on average, cars travel 25 the increasing numbers of flex-fuel percent fewer miles per gallon. A vehicles, with the belief that if you Chevy Avalanche filling up at the build it, they will come. pump got 12.8 mpg compared to 15 There are 10 million flex-fuel ve- for gasoline, its owner said. hicles on the road nationwide, with But Brassfield and Horton said up to 50 percent of domestic autos they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s much of a to be flex-fuel vehicles this model downside. year, according to Horton. On April 1, E85 sold for $3.49 a â&#x20AC;&#x153;There will be two times as many gallon; at the adjacent pump, Chevflex-fuel vehicles sold this year than ron regular gas cost $4.15 per gallon there were Prius vehicles sold in its and supreme sold for $4.39. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first 10 years in the U.S.,â&#x20AC;? he said. a 66-cent and 90-cent per gallon Brassfield said since the Propel advantage for Propel. And Propelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pumps opened in July 2010, sales biodiesel was equivalent to Chevhave been ramping up significantly. ronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at $4.33 per gallon. In February, he sold 15,000 gallons â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gas went up three cents last of E85; in March, the number was night. I think it will go up to $4.25 close to 20,000 gallons, he said. before it levels out,â&#x20AC;? Brassfield â&#x20AC;&#x153;I talk to a lot of customers. The said. price is the No. 1 thing. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the future for alternative the reasons they bought that kind of fuels is really good. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not going to vehicle,â&#x20AC;? he said. go away at all.â&#x20AC;? N â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Sue Dremann Among Propel clients filling up

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I think the future for alternative fuels is really good. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not going to go away at all.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Ken Low

Arash Bahman

Sales Manager

Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer

888.848.7979

650.846.4783

650.846.4756

Gus Mendy

Modak Nirmalya

Ahmad Ghavi

Suman Singh

Mela Jimenez

Derek Kam

Janet Velez

Norma Sanchez Mortgage Loan Specialist

650.846.7965

510.676.8883

650.846.4749

650.260.9781

Mike Kessler

Maria Anderson

Steve Papapietro

Chris Blair

Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer

Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer

Mortgage Loan Specialist Sr. Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer

Mortgage Loan OfďŹ cer

650.846.7967

650.213.5730

650.465.7683

650.941.1777

650.846.4785

650.213.5707

650.358.4032

Bank of America, N.A., Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender ÂŠ 2010 Bank of America Corporation. Credit and collateral are subject to approval. Terms and conditions apply. This is not a commitment to lend. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. 00-62-0115D 04-2009 AR72512

) . / 0 1

Choose the care you need, live-in or hourly, when you call for your FREE assessment by a geriatric care manager. The top Bay Area home care choice since 2002, and the references to prove it. We provide caring, committed caregivers to work with your familyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;any time of the day or nightâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; whether on a momentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notice or planned in advance. Plus our caregivers are: â&#x2014;? Double screened. First, with criminal background checks and second with psychological testing for honesty and trustworthiness. â&#x2014;? Insured. Bonded, covered by workers compensation, insured and trained in our exclusive Balanced Careâ&#x201E;˘ Method so your family gets the best in care. Trust Home Care Assistance caregivers to provide all the help your family needs.

! " # "

$ $ %& '( ) ! * +, $ *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;U Page 25

Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, movies and more, edited by Rebecca Wallace

L.A. Cicero/Stanford News Service

A ncient a rt

“Art, Chemistry

in living color

“

Cantor Art Center exhibition f inds hidden bright hues in Greco-Roman sculpture

by Joann So

Page 26ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

at the Cantor museum. The 18th-century German art historian Johann Winckelmann pioneered the idea that the ideal Greek sculpture was white, and “cemented the proper taste” for these works, Stanford University student Ivy Nguyen said. When artworks were found, handlers would then clean the work to get rid of the dirt and, oftentimes, whiten the piece. However, Nguyen and her team have now used modern technology to remedy the long-lost color on the maenad at Stanford. Nguyen, a sophomore studying chemical engineering, found hints of color using contemporary instruments, and tried to re-create the colors that were originally on the marble using period paints, she said. Other images from ancient pottery provided the designs for the maenad’s newly colorful draped clothing.

and Madness: The Science of Art Materials.

In the lab, Ivy Nguyen tests a marble sculpture with x-ray fluorescence (XRF), seeking traces of ancient pigments.

Courtesy of the Cantor Arts Center

t the end of a dimly lit room in Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center are two replicas of an ancient maenad sculpture. According to Greek mythology, the maenads were female worshipers of the Greek god Dionysus. The one on the right is the usual Greco-Roman sculpture, shiny and white. We’re used to this kind of unpainted beauty. Understated color brings out the sculptor’s mastery of line and sheen, and the presence of a white sculpture can stir up a stately air in any museum. Her twin stands a few feet away — but instead of being a graceful white, she is bathed in hues of red, yellow and brown. Contrary to the long-lasting notion, Roman sculptures weren’t always white, according to this new exhibition

Stanford University sophomore Ivy Nguyen looks at a replica of an ancient sculpture at the Cantor Arts Center. After finding minute pigment traces on the piece, Nguyen and her team painted the replica in hopes of re-creating what the sculpture originally looked like.

Arts & Entertainment 2010 Wallace Stegner Lecture Series

VENTURES

INTO THE NATURAL WORLD SERIES SPONSORS

Ambassador Bill and Mrs. Jean Lane

Vinod Khosla

in conversation with Michael Krasny

Courtesy of the Cantor Arts Center

! "

Monday, April 26 8:00 p.m. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts 500 Castro Street, Mountain View

Stanford students Nell Van Noppen and Blake Miller work on the replica of the ancient sculpture.

For tickets, call

(650) 903-6000 â&#x20AC;&#x153;True Colors,â&#x20AC;? the exhibition up at the Cantor center through Aug. 7, also features a video clip showing the scientific process that Nguyenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team used. In addition, vials of minerals are neatly arranged in a glass case to portray the kind of pigments that were found on the maenad. The project grew out of Nguyenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sophomore interdisciplinary seminar called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Art, Chemistry and Madness: The Science of Art Materials.â&#x20AC;? It was taught by chemical engineering professor Curtis Frank and his artist wife, Sara LoeschFrank; and by Susan Roberts-Manganelli, manager of collections, exhibitions and conservation at the Cantor center. This exhibitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maenad, from the Herodian Dynasty, was uncovered from a Samarian well during a Harvard expedition in the 1930s. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We acquired the piece from Harvard through a trade in 1998,â&#x20AC;? Nguyen said. The maenad seemed a prime candidate for the Cantor project, as the 18th-century art marketâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preference for the white couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t affect this sculpture found in a well two centuries later, Nguyen said. The maenad was left untouched by human hands but accrued natural residues. Nguyen came to this art project through the sophomore seminar, which Manganelli has worked hard to make an interdisciplinary effort. In order â&#x20AC;&#x153;to connect with students as much as possible,â&#x20AC;? Manganelli said, she has brought various departments including drama, English and the medical school together to find ways to better conserve art. She also works closely with one to two students per year to teach them basic conservation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are the future art collectors and supporters.â&#x20AC;? Interviewed in the Cantor centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conservation lab, Manganelli said that â&#x20AC;&#x153;curators are keepers of the art,â&#x20AC;? as she pointed out various pieces that needed to be taken care of. She added that she hopes â&#x20AC;&#x153;to see a surge and link arts into scienceâ&#x20AC;?

to further expand the potential of art conservation. Students from the seminar, including Nguyen, were introduced to this environment. Besides hearing lectures explaining the science of art materials, they were able to experience what happens behind the scenes in a museum. It was here that Nguyen saw the sciences from a curatorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective. At the end of the sophomore seminar, students were asked to propose their dream exhibition, in a competition that Nguyen won. A painted, atypical model of a Greco-Roman marble sculpture was the dream exhibition of a science student who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t consider herself an artsy individual until this class. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The project changed my outlook a lot.â&#x20AC;? The nymphish maenad with feline iconography â&#x20AC;&#x201D; spotted leopard skin on the shoulders and a cat head tucked underneath the arm â&#x20AC;&#x201D; challenges the idea of a stately marble, she added. Though Nguyen didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a particular training in the arts, Manganelli spoke of her strong background in writing (she reports for the Stanford Daily) and her experience in the sciences. This not only helped Nguyen as she was writing and presenting her proposal to the museum board, but it also allowed her to garner support from the sciences and arts. In the lab, Nguyen worked to find out what colors had originally been painted on the maenad by using XRF (x-ray fluorescence), which points out â&#x20AC;&#x153;minute traces of paint that are impossible to the naked eye,â&#x20AC;? she said. The machine beeps to show elements found on the marble and sends out a specific signal based on the remnants. She also found evidence of different colors by UV-ray testing with a black light. It was a collaborative and surprising journey. Nguyen had no idea about the identity of the sculpture until John Hermann from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston said so

during a phone call. He came to the conclusion that the figure was a maenad because of the cat head that subtly protruded outward from the body, Nguyen said. She also didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect there to be gold found on the marbleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surface. Two Stanford students, Blake Miller and Nell Van Noppen, painted the maenad based on Nguyenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s findings. Manganelli described Nguyen as â&#x20AC;&#x153;smart, tenacious ... not being fazed by anything.â&#x20AC;? She added, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The knowledge she brings makes me think about other things.â&#x20AC;? At the Cantor center, Nguyen said, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seen some visitors speechless when they see the painted version, especially when juxtaposed against the white one. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what to say â&#x20AC;&#x201D; even the ones who talk a lot. They are at a loss for words, trying to understand.â&#x20AC;? Nguyen brought up a point about the ideas instilled regarding Roman sculpture in particular. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Washington, D.C., is based on the premise that marble is supposed to be white.â&#x20AC;? When asked if she considers herself more of an artist or scientist, she humbly responded, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m more of a scientist, really.â&#x20AC;? And as for artistic hopes, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see where it goes from here.â&#x20AC;? N

What: â&#x20AC;&#x153;True Colors: Rediscovering Pigments on Greco-Roman Marble Sculpture,â&#x20AC;? an exhibition Where: Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive, Stanford University When: Through Aug. 7, open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursdays until 8 p.m.

LECTURE SPONSORS

MEDIA SPONSOR

All proceeds benefit POST.

Peninsula Open Space Trust POST

222 High Street, Palo Alto, California 94301 (650) 854-7696 www.openspacetrust.org

drive less challenge 2011 Live Better, Drive Less! April 22 to May 5 DriveLessChallenge.com

tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fun way for anyone to try alternatives to solo car trips, the largest source of carbon emissions in the Bay Area.

Track your tripsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;bus, bike, train, camel, whateverâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and see your progress. Challenge friends, classmates, co-workers, neighbors, pets, whomeverâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and WIN PRIZES! How fun is that! Sign up now at DriveLessChallenge.com. Volunteer or sponsor this innovative, grassroots event organized by local community groups to show your support for healthy lifestyles, local shopping and climate protection. Contact DriveLessChallenge@gmail.com.

Cost: Free Info: Call 650-723-4177 or go to museum.stanford.org. *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;U Page 27

PALO ALTO

Arts & Entertainment

STANFORD

Safety Faire Sunday, May 1, 2011 Stanford Shopping Center, Noon - 4pm Learn to prepare for emergencies and disasters Earthquake, Storms & Floods, Fire, Crime Safety & Terror, Pandemic Influenza SPEAKERS AND TOPICS Jim Keene, Palo Alto City Manager Sid Espinosa, Palo Alto Mayor Dr. Enoch Choi, PAMF: Pandemic Influenza Dr. Eric Weiss, Stanford Hospital: Emergency Medicine Bill Daley, Hohbach-Lewin, Inc: Seismic Retrofitting MORE THAN 25 EXHIBITORS Partial list:

American Red Cross ARES/RACES Ham radio Palo Alto Neighborhoods Palo Alto Medical Foundation Stanford Medical Center US Geological Survey

Free gift to the first 300 families! Win raffle items for kids and adults!

EMERGENCY RESPONSE VEHICLES American Red Cross Kitchen Palo Alto Mobile Emergency Operations Center (MEOC) New Palo Alto Fire Truck Woodside Fire Dept. Smoke Trailer and more!

The Stanford Blood Mobile will be on site. To schedule your donation, call (888) 723-7831 or go to http://bloodcenter.Stanford.edu

For a complete list of sponsors and exhibitors go to: www.cityofpaloalto.org/ccc

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the Palo Alto Planning & Transportation Commission

New York photographer Rosalind Solomon is known by many for her portraits. Pictured is her 2008 photo “Untitled 2008.”

A glimpse of the roots of art

Please be advised the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC) shall conduct a public meeting at 6:00 PM, Wednesday, April 27, 2011 in the Civic Center, Council Chambers, 1st Floor, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Any interested persons may appear and be heard on these items. Staff reports for agendized items are available via the City’s main website at www.cityofpaloalto.org. and also at the Planning Division Front Desk, 5th Floor, City Hall, after 2:00 PM on the Friday preceding the meeting date. Copies will be made available at the Development Center should City Hall be closed on the 9/80 Friday. NEW BUSINESS. Public Hearing 1. 2080 Channing Avenue: Preliminary Review and Initiation of a Proposed Amendment to the existing Planned Community District known as Edgewood Plaza to allow renovation of three existing retail structures, on-site relocation of one of the retail structures, and construction of 10 new single-family homes. Environmental Assessment: An Initial Study is being prepared in accordance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. Zone District: PC-1643. Questions. For any questions regarding the above applications, please contact the Planning Department at (650) 329-2440. The files relating to these items are available for inspection weekdays between the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. This public meeting is televised live on Government Access Channel 26. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn more about the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), please contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at 650.329.2550 (voice) or by e-mailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org. *** Curtis Williams, Director of Planning and Community Environment Page 28ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Writers, composers and others from the Djerassi Resident Artists Program speak on ‘Where Art Originates’ by Rebecca Wallace

exas artist Laurie Frick speaking together with vimines the minutes of her sual artist Lena Lapschina life for inspiration. The deof Lagenlois, Austria. tails she finds in her sleep charts On July 11, Budapest and daily-activity logs become composer and pianist Kriszpatterns in collages, drawings tina Megyeri is scheduled to and installations. speak along with Montreal A former high-tech executive, visual artist Karen Tam, she now uses visual art to explore whose media include video, “science, compulsive organizasequins and rice bags. tion and the current culture of Poet Cliff Forshaw, who continual partial attention,” she teaches in the English desays in her resume. partment at the University This year, Frick is spending In the piece “Daily Activities of LF” (detail of Hull in England, will give some time in Silicon Valley, but shot), a work in wood, pigment and adhesive, the Aug. 15 lecture with New not in the high-tech world. She’s artist Laurie Frick explores the patterns York photographer Rosalind one of the many artists who come she finds in her daily pursuits. The work Solomon, known to many from all over to create in the hills was just shown at the Edward Cella Art and for her portraits. near Woodside with the Djerassi Architecture gallery in Los Angeles. Sept. 19 brings choreograResident Artists Program. pher Andee Scott of Austin, Frick and 12 other Djerassi art- artists will perform or give demon- Texas, and media artist Simon Zoric ists will also give free talks in Palo strations as well. of East Bentleigh, Australia. Alto over the next six months about This year’s series begins on April The final lecture, on Oct. 24, feathe creative process. Visual artists, 25. That night, the two artists sched- tures three artists: Laurie Frick; San composers, writers, a choreographer uled to speak are Edmonton poet Jose composer Hafez Modirzadeh; and a media artist will speak at the Jenna Butler, who draws inspiration and visual artist Katherine SherPalo Alto Children’s Theatre as from Western Canada’s prairies and wood of Rodeo, Calif. N part of the “Where Art Originates” mountains; and visual artist James series, which is also presented by Barsness of Athens, Ga., whose Info: All lectures are at the Palo Alto the Palo Alto Art Center (currently complex, layered paintings blend Children’s Theatre at 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. Admission is free, closed for renovations). elements of drawing and collage. All talks are scheduled for MonThe next lecture is on June 6, fea- but reservations are required; call day evenings at 7, with a question- turing New York short-story writer 650-747-1250. For more information, and-answer period following. Some and novelist Aaron Hamburger go to djerassi.org.

Movies

! "

OPENINGS

AUDIENCES ARE CHEERING FOR THE BEST REVIEWED MOVIE OF THE YEAR! A. O. SCOT T,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A MASTER CLASS IN OFFBEAT COMIC BRILLIANCE.â&#x20AC;?

KENNETH TURAN,

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A PURE PLEASURE TO EXPERIENCE... An off-center human comedy at its funniest and most heartfelt.â&#x20AC;?

From left, Rafael (voice of George Lopez), Blu (voice of Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (voice of Anne Hathaway) go hang gliding in the new animated comedy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rio.â&#x20AC;?

Rio --

(Century 16, Century 20) Despite its exotic setting, the personal connection of Rio-bred director Carlos Saldanha, the odd eye-popping sequence, and a lot of literal color, the new CGI-animated â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rioâ&#x20AC;? turns out to be figuratively colorless. Certainly, there are worse ways to entertain a kid for 96 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rioâ&#x20AC;? is genial enough, with jokes and action sequences positioned in all the right places. But the flick is so doggedly programmatic that even little kids may find it ho-hum. It all starts in the Brazilian rainforest, where baby Blu gets shanghaied by pet-trading smugglers. In short order, the blue macaw grows up as the pet of Minnesotan bookstore owner Linda (Leslie Mann), who â&#x20AC;&#x201D; like Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; lives comfortably off the social radar. That all changes with the arrival of Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro), a Rio-based bird scientist who has traveled across the globe to ask Linda to bring Blu home to mate with the last female of their kind: If Linda doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t agree, Bluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s particular species will go extinct. Before you can say â&#x20AC;&#x153;flying down to Rio,â&#x20AC;? a nervous Blu must shake a tailfeather on a high-stakes blind date with restless parrot Jewel (Anne Hathaway). To initiate the requisite â&#x20AC;&#x153;lost in the big cityâ&#x20AC;? chase plot, human smugglers again intervene, with white cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement) doing their dirty work as the heroes go on the run. Jewel would rather â&#x20AC;&#x153;go on the fly,â&#x20AC;? but the sheltered house pet Blu never found his wings. (Perhaps his learning curve will coincide with the duoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love connection? Awww...) Chained to each other like â&#x20AC;&#x153;The

NOW PLAYING Arthur -1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) Russell Brand assumes the role of booze-guzzling playboy Arthur Bach, heir to a seemingly endless fortune. Even Arthurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifelong nanny, Hobson (Helen Mirren), canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t coax maturity out of the reckless lush. Arthurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother (Geraldine James) threatens to cut him off unless he agrees to marry Susan Johnson (Jennifer Garner), the power-hungry daughter of a developer (Nick Nolte). Arthur reluctantly goes along with his motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wishes but second-guesses himself when he falls for aspiring writer Naomi (Greta Gerwig). Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an alcoholic spendthrift to do? And, more importantly, do you care? Rated PG-13 for some drug references, sexual content, alcohol use throughout and

Defiant Ones,â&#x20AC;? attracted opposites Blu and Jewel gradually learn to see eye to eye over the course of their vertiginous adventures, defined more by falling than flying. Along the way, they find help from toucan Rafael (George Lopez), yellow canary Nico (Jamie Foxx), and drooling bulldog Luis (Tracy Morgan) as they dodge Nigel and a pack of thieving monkeys. The presence of Foxx and Clement (late of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flight of the Conchordsâ&#x20AC;?) supports Saldanhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unconvincing attempt to make â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rioâ&#x20AC;? a full-fledged musical. Sadly autotuned, Foxx doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make much of an impression, but Clement owns the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best scene by delivering a classic self-defining villain number. What â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rioâ&#x20AC;? most conspicuously lacks is distinctiveness of character (or chemistry), situation and even place. Aerial views of the city are the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most impressive feature, but the buffed edges of the 3D CGI take the edge off even the black-market-entwined orphan boy who lives in a rooftop shanty. A disco ball and some Lionel Ritchie may be enough to make two macaws mate, but animationexhausted family audiences no doubt expect a bit more of a show. A little samba here, a Carnival climax there, and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rioâ&#x20AC;? comes in for its landing predictably on schedule.

CINEMARK

Campbell (408) 559-6900

Redwood City (800) FANDANGO 990# San Jose (800) FANDANGO 983#

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules --1/2

(Century 16, Century 20) Pint-sized diarist Greg Heffley (Zachary Gordon) returns to Westmore Middle School as a proud seventh grader. Naturally, his pride doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t last long, as the franchise runs on indignities (and the occasional gross-out). Throwing Greg off balance is cute transfer student Holly Hills (Peyton List), who gives him a yet more compelling reason to try to be cool. As ever, Gregâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guileless best friend, Rowley Jefferson (Robert Capron), remains clueless to coolness, but the larger threat comes from Gregâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s big brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostick). Rated PG for some mild rude humor and mischief. 1 hour, 36 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed March 25, 2011)

CINEMARK

LANDMARKâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

CAMERA 7 PRUNEYARD CENTURY 20 DOWNTOWN CINĂ&#x2030;ARTS AT SANTANA ROW GUILD THEATRE

Menlo Park (650) 266-9260

â&#x20AC;&#x153;PROVOCATIVE. PULSES WITH THE THRILL OF DISCOVERY.â&#x20AC;? - Richard Corliss, TIME

â&#x20AC;&#x153;MESMERIZING. A largely untold story of American justice.â&#x20AC;? - Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

â&#x20AC;&#x153;BRILLIANT! RIVETING and suspenseful. Robert Redford has crafted a revealing look into our history that you only thought you knew.â&#x20AC;?

Rated G for mild off-color humor. One hour, 36 minutes.

language. 1 hour, 45 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; T.H. (Reviewed April 8, 2011)

NOW PLAYING

CAMERA CINEMAS

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese

- Pete Hammond, BOXOFFICE

Jane Eyre ---1/2 (Palo Alto Square) Just when you think the umpteenth adaptation of Charlotte Bronteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beloved 1847 novel couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t possibly add anything new to the library of cinematic classics, director Cary Joji Fukunaga proves you wrong. Instead of telling the tale in chronological order, screenwriter Moira Buffini begins with the adult Jane (Mia Wasikowska). Only after being taken in by cleric St. John Rivers (Jamie Bell) and his sisters does Jane recall her unhappy time as the orphaned ward of her aunt (Sally Hawkins). Buffeted about by fate and subject to the cruel inequities of class and gender, Jane eventually becomes the governess of Thornfield Hall and falls in love with the master of the manor house, Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender).

(continued on next page)

JAMES McAVOY ROBIN WRIGHT

ROBERT REDFORD

JAMES SOLOMON & GREGORY BERNSTEIN ROBERT REDFORD JAMES SOLOMON

STARTS FRIDAY, APRIL 15 EVERYWHERE

SPECIAL ENGAGEMENTS NO PASSES OR DISCOUNT COUPONS ACCEPTED

CHECK THEATRE DIRECTORIES OR CALL FOR SOUND INFORMATION AND SHOWTIMES

+, &+0.'*%- %1. '.& "+/, # .+ !

*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;U Page 29

Movies MOVIE TIMES Fri & Sat 4/15-4/16 The Conspirator 1:30, 4:25, 7:15, 10:05 Jane Eyre 1:35, 4:30, 7:15, 10:10 Sun thru Thurs 4/17-4/21 The Conspirator 1:30, 4:25, 7:15 Jane Eyre 1:35, 4:30, 7:20

A Place in the Sun (1951)

Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s news, sports & hot picks

J ACE J Summer Music Camps â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

My First Rock Camp Girls Rock Camp Advanced Rock Camp Rock Camp Recording/Jam Camp Rock Camp

June 27-July 1 RWC July 5-9 RWC July 11-15 RWC July 18-22 RWC July 25-29 RWC August 1-5 PA

John Jordan, director 650-722-1581

www.jacejmusic.com

jacejmusic@gmail.com

â&#x20AC;˘Play in a band â&#x20AC;˘Live performance â&#x20AC;˘Improvisation â&#x20AC;˘Recording â&#x20AC;˘Ear training â&#x20AC;˘Vocal instruction â&#x20AC;˘Rhythm Training

Century 16: 11:10 a.m.; 1:35, 4, 7 & 9:50 p.m.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Stanford Theatre: Sat.-Mon. at 5:30 & 9:45 p.m.

The Conspirator (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 2:15, 5:10, 7:55 & 10:45 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1:30, 4:25 & 7:15 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 10:05 p.m.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (PG) ((1/2

Century 16: 11:25 a.m.; 1:45, 4:05, 7:10 & 9:30 p.m. Century 20: Noon, 2:30, 5 & 7:20 p.m.

Giant (1956)

Stanford Theatre: Fri. at 7:30 p.m. Century 16: Wed. at 7:30 p.m. Century 20: Wed. at 7:30 p.m.

Hanna (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:20 a.m.; 12:20, 2, 3, 4:40, 5:40, 7:30, 8:40 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: 11:45 a.m.; 2:25, 5:05, 7:50 & 10:30 p.m.

Hop (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:05 a.m.; 1:25, 3:55, 6:50 & 9:15 p.m. Century 20: 11:30 a.m.; 1:55, 4:30, 7 & 9:25 p.m.

In a Better World (R) (Not Reviewed)

Aquarius Theatre: 1:30, 4, 7 & 9:45 p.m.

Insidious (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: 12:15, 2:45, 5:15, 7:55 & 10:25 p.m.

Jane Eyre (2011) (PG-13) (((1/2

Palo Alto Square: 1:35, 4:30 & 7:20 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 10:10 p.m.

Limitless (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 1:50 & 7:25 p.m. Century 20: 12:30, 3, 5:35, 8:10 & 10:40 p.m.

The Lincoln Lawyer (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11 a.m.; 4:25 & 10 p.m. Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 2:10, 4:55, 7:40 & 10:25 p.m.

No Eres TĂş, Soy Yo (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:15 a.m.; 4:15 & 9:35 p.m. Century 20: 12:05 & 2:45 p.m.; Fri.-Tue. & Thu. also at 5:20, 8 & 10:35 p.m.

Natalie Portman stars in the comedic fantasy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Your Highness.â&#x20AC;?

Potiche (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Aquarius Theatre: 2, 5 & 8 p.m.

(continued from previous page)

Rango (PG) (((

Century 20: 11:15 a.m. & 9:25 p.m.

Rio (PG) ((

Century 16: 11 a.m.; 12:15, 1:30, 2:45, 4, 5:15, 7:05, 8, 9:40 & 10:25 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 & 11:50 a.m.; 1:50, 4:20, 4:50, 6:50, 8:05, 9:20, 9:50 & 10:40 p.m.; Fri. also at 12:15, 2:50 & 5:25 p.m.; Sat. also at 10:20 a.m.; In 3D Sat.-Thu. at 12:15, 2:50 & 5:25 p.m.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (R) (Not Reviewed)

Guild Theatre: Sat. at midnight.

Scream 4 (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:30 a.m.; 12:45, 2:10, 3:20, 4:50, 6:15, 7:35, 9 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m.; 12:10, 1:10, 2, 2:50, 3:45, 4:35, 5:30, 6:20, 7:10, 8, 8:50, 9:40 & 10:35 p.m.

Soul Surfer (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 12:30 & 3:35 p.m.; Fri.-Tue. & Thu. also at 6:45 & 9:25 p.m. Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 2, 4:35, 7:10 & 9:45 p.m.

Source Code (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:35 a.m.; 2:05, 4:30, 7:20, 8:30 & 9:55 p.m. Century 20: 11:50 a.m.; 2:20, 4:40, 7:15 & 9:35 p.m.; Sat. also at 10:05 a.m.

Sucker Punch (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: 10:45 p.m.

Win Win (R) (((

Century 20: 11:40 a.m.; 2:20, 4:55, 7:30 & 10:10 p.m. Guild Theatre: 2, 5 & 8 p.m.

Your Highness (R) ((

Century 16: 11:45 a.m.; 12:50, 2:15, 3:20, 4:45, 5:50, 7:15 & 9:45 p.m. Century 20: 12:10, 1:45,

Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

The Grateful Dead Movie Event (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

# $ !! %& ' !"

(

)

RAVES:

A KNOCKOUT!

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

LIKE NOTHING YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;VE EVER SEEN! A fairy tale of lightning speed and gritty action!â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PETER TRAVERS

SAOIRSE RONAN ERIC BANA

and

CATE BLANCHETT

DIRECTED BY JOE WRIGHT ORIGINAL SCORE BY THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS www.HannaTheMovie.com

NOW PLAYING EVERYWHERE!

CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATRE LOCATIONS AND SHOWTIMES ! !

! ,- ',1/(+&. 5 &2/ 1(/' 3,0- $ /, #

Page 30Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

Stanford Theatre: Sat.-Mon. at 3:15 & 7:30 p.m.

Arthur (2011) (PG-13) (1/2 Century 16: 11:40 a.m.; 1:40, 2:35, 5:10, 6:55, 7:55 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 1:50, 2:15, 4:25, 7:05, 7:15 & 9:45 p.m.

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements including a nude image and brief violent content. 1 hour, 55 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; S.T. (Reviewed March 25, 2011) Rango --(Century 20) Youngâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;uns will take a shine to the hero of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rangoâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a chameleon thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part Kermit the Frog, part street-corner kook (and all Johnny Depp). The film begins with the wild-eyed chameleon, a legend in his own mind whose play-acting is contained within the glass walls of a terrarium. A spill onto a desert highway forces the lizard out of his comfort zone. A couple of Hunter S. Thompson allusions later, the Hawaiian-shirt-clad hero wanders into the desert and arrives at the depressed town of Dirt. Given the opportunity to reinvent himself, the chameleon bluffs a heroic persona, calling himself â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rango.â&#x20AC;? Since Dirt is in the midst of a water shortage, a hero fills a vital need. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People have to believe in something,â&#x20AC;? says the turtle Mayor (Ned Beatty), who appoints Rango sheriff. The comedy comes from the chameleonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ironically dubious adaptability and unearned confidence. Rated PG for rude humor, language, action and smoking. 1 hour, 47 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed March 4, 2011) Win Win --(Century 20, Guild) When we meet lawyer Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti), he appears to be a born loser. His aging client base is shrinking, his office duplex is giving him $6,000 worth of plumbing agita, and the wrestling team he coaches is logy and uninspired. Everything changes when Mike sees an opportunity to bring in some extra scratch by becoming the legal guardian of one of his clients, an elderly and mentally deteriorating man named Leo Poplar (Burt Young). This way, Mike can move Leo into a rest home that can shoulder the responsibility for daily care, occasionally check in, and collect a cool $1,500 a month. A curveball arrives in the form of 16-year-old Kyle Timmons (Alex Shaffer), here to crash with his Grandpa Leo. Rated R for language. 1 hour, 46 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed April 1, 2011) Your Highness -(Century 16, Century 20) James Franco plays the ever-questing Fabious, first-born son of the king (Charles Dance) and des-

( Skip it (( Some redeeming qualities ((( A good bet (((( Outstanding Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260) Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (800-326-3264) Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264) CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-3456) Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260) Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700) Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com.

tined to rule the land. First, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to marry his sweetheart Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), with Fabiousâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; younger brother Thadeous (Danny McBride) lined up as best man. Undistinguished by quests, Thadeous is a jealous stoner layabout, but he gets more than he bargained for when he becomes part of a quest to rescue Belladonna, who is kidnapped from the wedding by dastardly

wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux). Natalie Portman turns up along the questâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s long road, as a woman warrior subjected to ogling and advances from Thadeous. Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, pervasive language, nudity, violence and some drug use. 1 hour, 42 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed April 8, 2011)

The Downtown Palo Alto

Clean Green

Street Scene

Eating Out RESTAURANT REVIEW

An Earth Day education celebration

Friday. April 22 4pm-8pm

Lytton Plaza

University & Emerson

Recycled Fashion Show

Poetry Slam Demos Info booths

Kids artwork displays throughout downtown

FREE giveaways throughout downtown

Michelle Le

Live Music

Bul go ki, marinated beef with house sauce, is served with tempura, noodles, rice, kimchi, soup and vegetables. nice treat on a rainy evening. My bul go ki (aka bulgogi, $8.95) was beef, onion, scallion Friendly service and a menu that sticks to the basics and carrot with accompanying white rice. The vegetables were make for a cozy Korean/Japanese meal at Totoro perfectly julienned, with the carby Alissa Stallings rot al dente and the beef perfectly tender. But, like the hot pot, the n case youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not familiar with Portions are generous. Each dish lacked flavor. There was a Korean cuisine, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll tell you meal begins with small plates, or subtle flavor of soy and garlic, but this much: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comfort food. banchan. Totoro offers four dishes, overall, the modest flavors that are Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the impression youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll whereas other Korean restaurants often presented boldly in Korean get after visiting Totoro on Villa may offer anywhere between eight cuisine are lacking here. Street in Mountain View. Despite and 12 options. But what we samThis was also true of the vegits splashy neon signs in the front pled was fresh, and fewer dishes etable bi bim bop (aka bibimbap, window, and picture menus and may be appropriate considering $7.95): cold sliced shitake mushads for Korean beer on the walls, Totoroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s size. Small dishes of pep- rooms, carrots, zucchini, scallion, once you step inside you see the pery glass noodles, as well as bean bok choy and chive, which you homey touches: prompt service, sprouts with sesame flavor, had a mix with your rice (bibimbap literhandmade signs and mixed crock- fresh, earthy note; the pickled dai- ally means â&#x20AC;&#x153;mixed riceâ&#x20AC;?). I spied ery. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a menu that sticks kon was sweet and refreshing; and several patrons applying their hot to the basics, offering hot pot; tra- the roughly diced kimchee was sauce during our meal to increase ditional meat, rice and vegetable redolent with tangy chili. the flavor factor. However, there dishes; and a selection of Japanese Before we had even had a are spicy counterparts on the menu katsu, or breaded meat dishes. chance to dip our chopsticks in all to these dishes that would not reTotoro is named after a popular four dishes, our appetizers arrived quire this extra attention. Japanese anime character, and the at the same time as our entrees The hot version of this dish, hostess is just as friendly when and rice, and we became over- DolSotBiBimBob ($8.95), which greeting her patrons. Her prompt whelmed with food, which was we enjoyed during lunch, allows service and infallible courtesy regrettable. The seafood pancake the rice to get crispy in the stone prompted one fellow diner to tell appetizer ($8.95) was the size of bowl and also includes a raw egg me that her service alone would a dinner plate and included egg, for cooking. I think these elements make another visit worthwhile. bell pepper, onion and shrimp, but make it more satisfying due to the Tim Robert, the Korean chef and the crispy texture we were hoping contrasting textures. manager, has been a chef for 15 for was overpowered by too much The Nam Bi U-Dong ($8.95), years, and says he is proud of To- egg, and was mushy, if not runny, an offering from the Japanese side toroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s repeat customer base. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We in some areas. The fried potstick- of the menu, features tempura are very popular with the local ers ($4.95) were tasty but unre- shrimp, chicken, fishcake and such Korean-American and Chinese- markable. vegetables as broccoli, Japanese American community,â&#x20AC;? he said. The seafood tofu hot pot ($8.95) pumpkin, potato and seaweed, Prices range from $6 to $8 per comes bubbling in its own mini with a raw egg that cooks in the person for lunch and $8 to $10 for cauldron-like pot, and my friend broth. The noodles were thick; the dinner. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re reasonable, espe- had a great time cracking her own broth was savory; and the tempura cially considering the freshness of egg and stirring it until it cooked was crisp and light. Only the fishthe julienned vegetables and the in the heat of the broth. The tofu cake detracted, as it brought color quality of the meat, which was was creamy; the broth had a light but no flavor or texture of note to tender and without gristle in all of garlic flavor; and the vegetables the party. our dishes. were the perfect texture. It was a (continued on next page)

Comfort food

Urban Meditation Retreat 4 /* $'4 ''$ -/. 0$' )'* -& 4 ' $( 0 #$./ ( ./ - "40 $)+* # /#$. /#- 4 - /- / 2$'' !* 0. *) 5) $)" /- ),0$'$/4 ) .+$-$/0 ' ( )$)" $) /# (* -) 2*-' -/$ $+ )/. 2$'' ' -) #*2 /* ( $/ / ) #*2 /* 0. ( $/ /$*) /* -$)" *0/ $)) - /- ).!*-( /$*) * +-$*- 3+ -$ ) $. - ,0$-

*./

$) '0 $)" '0) # *- (*- $)!*-( /$*) ) /* - "$./ - +' . 1$.$/ 222 %0)$+ -+ /# *-" *- ''

0)$+ - | 0 #$./ /- $)$)" !*- (* -) '$!

*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;U Page 31

Caring for Older Parents

You care about your aging parents. And yet, sometimes, you just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know the best way to help them, especially when they are trying to remain independent. Seniors Helping SeniorsÂŽ in-home services is an exceptional program of care and caring that matches seniors who want to provide services with those who are looking for help. UĂ&#x160; i>Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;iÂŤĂ&#x2030;VÂ&#x153;Â&#x153;Â&#x17D;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;} UĂ&#x160; Â&#x2C6;}Â&#x2026;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x192;iÂ&#x17D;iiÂŤÂ&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;} UĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;Â&#x201C;ÂŤ>Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x153;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2026;Â&#x2C6;ÂŤ UĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;LÂ&#x2C6;Â?Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;>Ă&#x192;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x152;>Â&#x2DC;Vi UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x153;ViĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2026;Â&#x153;ÂŤÂŤÂ&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;} UĂ&#x160;*iĂ&#x152;Ă&#x160;V>Ă&#x20AC;i UĂ&#x160;9>Ă&#x20AC;`Ă&#x160;7Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Â&#x17D;

Isabel Marant Rachel Comey Vanessa Bruno

Call us today. Like getting a little help from your friendsâ&#x201E;˘ If you are interested in becoming a provider, we would like to hear from you too.

Eating Out (continued from previous page)

Service was friendly and attentive, and on a cold, wet Sunday night, the restaurant was filling up fast by 7 p.m. The lunch service is equally popular, and the employees seem accustomed to moving the lunch

crowd through quickly. Overall, Totoroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lean cuts of beef and pork and carefully selected fresh vegetables, paired with steaming broth and generous portions of rice, make this a reliable stop when shopping downtown. For those un-

Beer Takeout Highchairs Wheelchair

8GI@C )/Ă&#x2020;*'# )'((

access

K_fl^_k$gifmfbè^# XnXi[$nèeè^# è[\g\e[\ek Ă&#x201D;cdj :fdg\ccè^ Zfem\ijXk`fej n`k_ Ă&#x201D;cddXb\ij Xe[ Xik`jkj

650-964-4112 OfďŹ ce 650-391-6275 Mobile

883 Santa Cruz Ave.

Banquet

Catering Outdoor seating Noise level: Fine Bathroom Cleanliness: Poor

Shop Talk

by Palo Alto Weekly staff K`Zb\kj Xe[ Xcc$\m\ek gXjj\j fe jXc\ efn

Menlo Park (650) 353-7550

n`e[i`[\iYXpXi\X%fi^ www.seniorshelpingseniors.com/ MidPeninsula

SB GUT

302).' VDUJPO U " O MF

#BLF 4 BMF

! " # $ % # !

! & $$$' ' !"## $ % &

-VO DI

1MFBTF KPJO VT

4BUVSEBZ "QSJM UI BN QN

$PMPSBEP "WF 1BMP "MUP CFUXFFO -PVJT (SFFS

#JEEJOH POMJOF GPS 4JMFOU "VDUJPO TUBSUT "QSJM BU QBGOT DNBSLFU DPN

mOE VT PO GBDFCPPL

5 5IJT TQB DF EPOBUFE BT B DPNNVOJUZ TF U SWJDF CZ UIF C 1BMP "MUP 8FF 8 LMZ

Help us rescue lives in Japan. Go to www.rescue.org/altweeklies

A fundraising effort by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the Palo Alto Weekly

Page 32Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; ÂŤĂ&#x20AC;Â&#x2C6;Â?Ă&#x160;ÂŁx]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁÂŁĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

U FO N O J &OUFSUB

(BNFT

Credit cards Lot Parking

D<ECF$8K?<IKFE G<I=FID@E> 8IKJ :<EK<I

Open Mon-Sat 11am-6pm

Totoro 841 Villa St, Mountain View 650-691-0796 Daily house: Lunch: 11:30 a.m.2:30 p.m. Dinner: 5-10 p.m. (with service ending at 9 p.m. on Sundays). Reservations

tomschwartz@shsmidpeninsula.com

www.josefboutique.com

familiar with Korean cuisine, Totoro is friendly to the tentative palate. N

MORE MEDITERRANEAN ...Palo Alto may already have its fair share of Middle Eastern eateries, but the owners of the latest addition, Zara, say that the tastes and dishes on offer at their restaurant are different. Owner Ted Yashar Sokmen, who is from Turkey, says that Zaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s features a variety of authentic Turkish sauces not typically found at other restaurants. Also on the menu are kebabs, hot and cold appetizers, and such entrees as the Alexander lamb and beef gyro. Zara, which opened in March, occupies the space attached to Club Illusions at 260 S. California Ave. in Palo Alto. Along with its spacious interior bar and dining areas, the restaurant also features a large patio with Mediterranean-style tiles and vegetation. Sokmen plans to open up the area, which he says could seat 30 to 40 people, in summer. FISKER AFOOT ...The luxury electriccar company Fisker may stimulate some competition for the Palo Altobased Tesla Motors when it opens a Palo Alto showroom at 4190 El Camino Real this fall. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Palo Alto was selected as an area in the heart of Silicon Valley because it represents a key potential market for Fisker prospects both in terms of demographics and willingness to both adopt and embrace new technologies,â&#x20AC;? said Roger Ormisher, director of global communications. Demonstration models of the Fisker Karma, a lithium batterypowered luxury sedan for which there is a two-year waiting list, are expected to arrive at the retailer this summer.

Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out, or in, down the block or across town? Shop Talk will check it out. E-mail shoptalk@paweekly.com.

PIZZA Pizza Chicago 424-9400 4115 El Camino Real, Palo Alto This IS the best pizza in town

of the week

Spot A Pizza 324-3131 115 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto Voted Best Pizza in Palo Alto www.spotpizza.com

POLYNESIAN AMERICAN

CHINESE

Armadillo Willy’s 941-2922

Peking Duck 321-9388 151 S. California Avenue, Palo Alto We also deliver.

1031 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos Range: $5.00-13.00

Hobee’s 856-6124 4224 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Also at Town & Country Village,

Su Hong – Menlo Park Dining Phone: 323–6852 To Go: 322–4631 Winner, Menlo Almanac “Best Of” 8 years in a row!

Palo Alto 327-4111

Burmese Green Elephant Gourmet

INDIAN Darbar Indian Cuisine 321-6688 129 Lytton, Downtown Palo Alto Lunch Buffet M-F; Open 7 days

(650) 494-7391 Burmese & Chinese Cuisine 3950 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto (Charleston Shopping Center)

Janta Indian Restaurant 462-5903 369 Lytton Ave., Downtown Palo Alto Lunch Buffet M-F; Organic Veggies

Dine-In, Take-Out, Local Delivery-Catering

ITALIAN CHINESE Chef Chu’s (650) 948-2696 1067 N. San Antonio Road

Spalti Ristorante 327-9390 417 California Ave, Palo Alto ÝµÕ Ã ÌiÊ `ÊUÊ"ÕÌ` ÀÊ } www.spalti.com

on the corner of El Camino, Los Altos 2010 Best Chinese

JAPANESE & SUSHI

MV Voice & PA Weekly

Jing Jing 328-6885

Fuki Sushi 494-9383 4119 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Open 7 days a Week

Trader Vic’s 849-9800 4269 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Dinner Mon-Thurs 5-10pm; Fri-Sat 5-11pm; Sun 4:30 - 9:30pm Available for private luncheons Lounge open nightly Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-6 pm

Green Elephant Gourmet

SEAFOOD Cook’s Seafood 325-0604 751 El Camino Real, Menlo Park Seafood Dinners from $6.95 to $10.95 Scott’s Seafood 323-1555 #1 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto Open 7 days a week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner Happy Hour 7 days a week 4-7 pm Full Bar, Banquets, Outdoor Seating www.scottsseafoodpa.com

THAI Thaiphoon Restaurant 323-7700 543 Emerson St., Palo Alto Full Bar, Outdoor Seating www.thaiphoonrestaurant.com Best Thai Restaurant in Palo Alto 5 Years in a Row, 2006-2010

Fine Burmese & Chinese Cuisine 3950 Middleﬁeld Rd, Palo Alto (650) 494-7391 Open 7 Days a Week

443 Emerson St., Palo Alto Authentic Szechwan, Hunan

MEXICAN

Food To Go, Delivery www.jingjinggourmet.com

Palo Alto Sol 328-8840 408 California Ave, Palo Alto Õ}iÊ i ÕÊUÊ iÃÌÞ iÊ,iV «iÃ

Ming’s 856-7700 1700 Embarcadero East, Palo Alto www.mings.com

New Tung Kee Noodle House 520 Showers Dr., MV in San Antonio Ctr. Voted MV Voice Best ‘01, ‘02, ‘03 & ‘04 Prices start at $4.75 947-8888

Oaxacan Kitchen Mobile 321-8003 2010 Best Mexican We have hit the Road! Follow Us twitter.com/oaxacankitchen Become a Fan facebook.com/oaxacankitchenmobile Find Us www.OaxacanKitchenMobile.com

Siam Orchid 325-1994 496 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto Organic Thai Free Delivery to Palo Alto/Stanford/Menlo Park Order online at www.siamorchidpa.com

STEAKHOUSE Sundance the Steakhouse 321-6798 1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30 am-2:00pm Dinner: Mon-Thu 5:00-10:00pm Fri-Sat 5:00-10:30pm, Sun 5:00-9:00pm www.sundancethesteakhouse.com

Search a complete listing of local restaurant reviews by location or type of food on PaloAltoOnline.com

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 33

THANK YOU to these green energy purchasers for helping to make PaloAltoGreen the #1 renewable energy program in the United States!

City of Palo Alto Utilities wants to thank all the businesses, organizations, and residents in Palo Alto who support renewable energy and contribute to the success of PaloAltoGreen.

To sign up or learn more, visit us at www.cityofpaloalto.org/pagreen or call (650) 329-2161

Page 34ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Book Talk

LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS ... A special craft and storytime event for kids will be held April 16 at 10 a.m. at Mitchell Park Library’s temporary location, 4050 Middlefield Road. Local author Meg Waite Clayton will present her new book, “The Four Ms. Bradwells,” April 20 at 7 p.m. at the Children’s Library Tree Top Room, 1276 Harriet St.

Title Pages A monthly section on local books and authors, edited

by Karla Kane

STANFORD EVENTS ... Upcoming authors at the Stanford Bookstore, 519 Lasuen Mall, include Steven Schlozman, “The Zombie Autopsies: Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse” (April 20, 6 p.m.). Information: www.stanfordbookstore.com AUTHOR TALKS ... Upcoming Kepler’s author events, at 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, include Wayne Pacelle, “The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them” (April 15, 7 p.m.); Joel Brinkley, “Cambodia’s Curse: The Modern History of a Troubled Land” (April 20, 7 p.m.); Jayne Ann Krentz, presenting a fiction-writing workshop (April 26, 7p.m.); Lisa Harper, “A Double Life: Discovering Motherhood” (April 28, 7 p.m.); Mary Gordon, “The Love of My Youth” (April 29, 7 p.m.); John Flanagan, “Ranger’s Apprentice - Book 10: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja” (April 30, 2 p.m.); Neal Shusterman, “Everfound” (May 3, 7 p.m.); and Joan Hill, Katie Mahon and Mary Beth Phillips, “The Miracle Chase: Three Women, Three Miracles, and a Ten Year Journey of Discovery and Friendship” (May 5, 7 p.m.). Information: www.keplers.com.

Items for Book Talk may be sent to Associate Editor Carol Blitzer, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 93202 or e-mailed to cblitzer@paweekly.com by the last Friday of the month.

VY\]bX

“Madame Tussaud: a novel of the French Revolution” by Michelle Moran; Crown Publishing Group, New York; 448 pp; $25 by Karla Kane he name Madame Tussaud conjures images of the famous London wax museum, showcasing eerily lifelike wax models of celebrities, world leaders and notable characters. But what about the real person behind the name? In Palo Alto author Michelle Moran’s new novel “Madame Tussaud,” the titular Tussaud herself gets a voice, and the tale she has to tell is fascinating. Moran, who’s tackled iconic females from history in previous novels (“Cleopatra’s Daughter,” “The Heretic Queen,” “Nefer-

titi”) once again delivers an engaging, first-person narrative. The setting is Paris during the tumultuous French Revolution, a period that saw the overthrow of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette, the suppression of religion and the rise of the guillotine. At novel’s start, pragmatic Marie Grosholtz (her marriage to Mr. Tussaud comes later) is living with her mother in Paris and helping her mother’s partner (and Marie’s mentor) run the family wax museum, which showcases replicas of Paris’ most famous citizens and visitors. After a much-anticipated visit by the glamorous royal family, Marie, much to her shock, is asked to tutor the king’s religiously devout

Shop Local

Veronica Weber

MORE TALKS ... Upcoming authors at Books Inc. at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto include Scott Gummer, “Parents Behaving Badly” (April 19, 7 p.m.) Information: www. booksinc.net. Phyllis Lynch, author of “GiGi The Funny Little Dog,” will appear along with GiGi and sign her book at Diddams Party Store, 1952 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View (April 16, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). N

H\Y kcaUb h\Y kUl

Palo Alto author Michelle Moran specializes in female-driven historical fiction.

ÀAUXUaY HiggUiXÁ Vf]b[g \]ghcfm hc `]ZY

(continued on next page)

Good for Business. Good for You. Good for the Community.

Discover and enjoy the rich diversity of local businesses at ShopPaloAlto.com, the new online guide to all local businesses featuring listings, customer opinions, web links, photos, maps, coupons, special deals, gift certificates, promotional event listings and much more. For more information call 650.223.6509

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊU Page 35

Title Pages

Madame Tussaud (continued from previous page)

and sheltered sister Princess Elisabeth in the art of wax working. During her time at the royal Palace of Versailles, Marie is befriended by and grows fond of the royals, who are well-meaning but woefully naive and out of touch with reality — a reality in which the common people of France are suffering poverty and famine and blame the extravagant royal family for their dire situation. In the meantime, Marie’s family and home also frequently play host

to a number of radical thinkers who want to expel the royals and institute a republic in their place, inspired by the recent American Revolution. As discord grows, Marie finds herself torn between the two factions, trying to maintain her relationship with the royals while keeping her business (and her head) through shows of support for the revolutionary cause, which, as it grows in strength, turns increasingly erratic and violent. Marie must keep a foot in both worlds, preserving her friendships while avoiding making dangerous enemies. One of the most interesting ele-

ments of the book is the depiction of how the wax museum serves a critical purpose for the people of Paris. Though it now exists as a tourist attraction, in the novel it acts as a sort of visual newspaper for the pre-photography Parisians, with ever-changing exhibits depicting the leading figures and newsmakers of the day. Famous U.S. statesmen such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, who both spent considerable time in France, are represented there, as well as the royals themselves and the revolutionaries who seek to overthrow them. It is Marie’s job to keep cur-

Mid-Peninsula igh chool H S

rent with the news cycle and create fresh scenes for spectators hungry for information. She takes it very seriously, throwing herself into her work with the dream of one day being invited to join the Académie des Sciences. Marie’s patriotic duty also takes a grislier turn when she is asked to make death masks of those killed in the upheaval, handling severed heads and roaming battle sites looking for corpses to model. Moran gives wonderful details about how the elaborate wax models are created, with painstaking care and sometimes even real human teeth and hair. As the book takes place mostly only within the five-year period when Marie Tussaud is involved with the royal family and the revolution, the rest of her interesting life, such as her turbulent marriage, successful wax-museum career in London and so on are just mentioned briefly as an epilogue. Even the character of Monsier Tussaud, from whom she got her famous last name, barely makes it into the book.

I appreciate that Moran focused on the intense French Revolution period but it still seemed a bit of a letdown to have the narrator’s long life wrapped up so abruptly. Marie Tussaud as a narrator is likeable and admirable, but can occasionally come off as a bit cold and bland in her desire to further her business above all things — even her romance with earnest scientist and best friend Henri. But she was a woman ahead of her time — independent, talented and more interested in her artistic and scientific career than in settling down with a family, making her a more-than worthy subject. Though we’ll never know the true inner thoughts of the real Madame Tussaud, she must have indeed been remarkably levelheaded to survive and thrive in such a trying time. On the whole, Moran’s done another excellent job of immersing the reader in history in this compelling novel. N Editorial Assistant Karla Kane can be e-mailed at kkane@ paweekly.com.

Public Meeting Notice

spring open house Saturday, April 23, 2011 10:30-12pm

Community Meeting DATE: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 TIME: 6:30-8:00 PM PLACE: Council Chambers, City Hall 250 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto This meeting will focus on a presentation of parking data in the Greater Downtown Palo Alto region with an emphasis on the residential neighborhoods of Professorville, SOFA, and Downtown North.

Agenda

No RSVP is necessary

The public meeting will be an opportunity for the general public to provide input on parking strategies such as Residential Permit Parking (RPP). The meeting will provide background information and request feedback and preferences, including: UÊÊ"ÛiÀÛ iÜÊ vÊ,iÃ `i Ì > Ê*iÀ ÌÊ*>À }Ê*À }À> Ê UÊÊ-Õ >ÀÞÊ vÊÜ À ÊV « iÌi`Ê> `Ê «À }ÀiÃÃÊLÞÊ ÌÞÊ-Ì>vvÊ UÊÊ ÃVÕÃÃ Ê ÊÌ iÊ«À ViÃÃÊv ÀÊµÕ> vÞ }Êv ÀÊ,**Ê UÊÊ iÝÌÊÃÌi«ÃÊ> `Ê «i ÊµÕiÃÌ Ê«iÀ `ÊÊ

Choose a small, caring, innovative high school 1340 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025

(650) 321-1991

www.mid-pen.com e

-« Ã Ài`ÊLÞÊÌ iÊ ÌÞÊ vÊ*> Ê Ì Ê Ê/À> Ã« ÀÌ>Ì Ê Û Ã ° For further information, contact: Ê > `i >À >]Ê*>À }Ê > >}iÀÊ Èxä ÎÓ ÓÓÓxÊ ÀÊ gil.candelaria@cityofpaloalto.org

Celebrate Brunch & Dinner

Brunch: 7:30am to 2pm U Lunch: 11am-4pm Dinner: 4 to 9pm THE WOODSIDE BAKERY & BISTRO 3052 Woodside Road, Woodside Bakery (650) 851-7247ÊUÊ ÃÌÀ Ê(650) 851-0812 Page 36ÊUÊ «À Ê£x]ÊÓä££ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

1ST PLACE

BEST SPORTS COVERAGE

California Newspaper Publishers Association

Sports Shorts

ON THE AIR Friday College baseball: Oregon State at Stanford, 5:30 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

Saturday College baseball: Oregon State at Stanford, 1 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

Sunday College baseball: Oregon State at Stanford, 1 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

Tuesday College baseball: Stanford at Santa Clara, 6 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

www.PASportsOnline.com For expanded daily coverage of college and prep sports, please see our new site at www.PASportsOnline.com

Stanford’s Mark Appel (2-3, 3.09) has assumed the Friday night starter role. The sophomore is coming off his best effort as a college pitcher. He threw a four-hit complete game at USC last weekend, allowing an unearned run. He’ll go against Oregon State on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Stanford makes a pitch to get ahead

Cardinal looking to improve its 3-3 Pac-10 record, starting with three-game series with Oregon State by Rick Eymer n early season showdown looms for the Stanford baseball team when Pac-10 Conference leader Oregon State comes to town for a three-game series, beginning with Friday’s 5:30 p.m. start. There’s a lot of baseball to be played, yet the 17th-ranked Cardi-

nal (3-3, 16-9) could use a series win to get its conference record back on track; especially when it is the first home conference series of the year. The Cardinal snapped a two-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over Pacific on Tuesday night and has won eight of 11 games. Stanford is 6-6 in games decided by two runs or less.

Mark Appel (2-3, 3.09) has assumed the Friday night starter role. The sophomore is coming off his best effort as a college pitcher. He threw a four-hit complete game at USC last weekend, allowing an unearned run. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Appel, who became a full-time starter last summer, has helped ease

the loss of Brett Mooneyham to injury. “I feel that everything is just coming together this season,” Appel told blogger Jessica Quiroli. “(Starting) was a huge step into getting to where I want to be. I am definitely a long ways away and still have tons of (continued on page 40)

PREP LACROSSE

PREP ROUNDUP

For Menlo girls, it’s all about getting better

Sacred Heart Prep turns it around by topping Menlo

by Keith Peters o matter how good the Menlo School girls’ lacrosse program gets over the years, don’t expect the Knights to ever go undefeated. It’s not because they won’t have the talent, it’s more than coach Jen Lee won’t have a schedule to allow for such perfection. Menlo probably had the players to put together an unbeaten season in 2010, but the Knights lost to East Bay powers Carondelet, Foothill and Amador Valley of Pleasanton and NorCal nemesis St. Ignatius to finish 17-4. Menlo opened this season against Carondelet and lost. The Knights hosted Cherry Creek, the defending Colorado state champion, and lost. A few days later, Menlo hosted Ohio power Cleveland Heights and were beaten by five goals. And, once again, Menlo and St. Ignatius met (continued on page 42)

by Keith Peters fter starting the season with just one victory in seven games, the Sacred Heart Prep baseball team is finally turning the corner and heading in the right direction following arguably its most important victory of the season. That arrived on Wednesday as the Gators upended visiting Menlo School, 6-4, in the first of two showdowns in the West Bay Athletic League this season. “I’m not so surprised by the outcome, as I am that it all came together at once (good pitching, great defense and timely hitting),” said SHP coach Gregg Franceschi. Sacred Heart Prep won the first meeting last season, as well, but Menlo came back to take the second as the teams shared the league title. The Knights can only hope for the same, unless the Gators trip up along the way. There was none of that Wednesday as Sa-

Keith Peters