Upfront
PUBLISHER William S. Johnson
Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center presents a free
“How To� Series for Family Caregivers
Wed, April 25, 6:30 pm - 8 pm How To implement tips & techniques from Physical, Speech & Occupational Therapists Wed, May 23, 6:30 pm - 8 pm How To cope with a loved one’s Dementia or Alzheimer’s Wed, June 27, 6:30 pm - 8 pm How To help a family member who has Parkinson’s Come to one or all three of these free informative sessions. Enjoy light refreshments and a chance to connect with others in similar circumstances.
RSVP to (650) 289-5498
Quality Daytime Care for Older Adults
* Free on-site care of your aging loved one available while you attend the workshop. 48-hour notice required.
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Buy 1 Playmobil Get 2nd 40% off* *See store for details!
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 Sue Dremann, Chris Kenrick, Gennady Sheyner, Staff Writers Eric Van Susteren, Editorial Assistant, Internship Coordinator Veronica Weber, Staff Photographer Kelsey Kienitz, Photo Intern Dale F. Bentson, Colin Becht, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Karla Kane, Kevin Kirby, Jack McKinnon, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Contributors Cristina Wong, Junesung Lee, Bryce Druzin, Editorial Interns DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Raul Perez, Assistant Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Lili Cao, Designer PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Samantha Mejia, Blanca Yoc, Sales & Production Coordinators ADVERTISING Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales & Advertising Judie Block, Adam Carter, Elaine Clark, Janice Hoogner, Brent Triantos, Display Advertising Sales Neal Fine, Carolyn Oliver, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Real Estate Advertising Sales David Cirner, Irene Schwartz, Inside Advertising Sales Cathy Norfleet, Display Advertising Sales Asst. Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Asst. Alicia Santillan, Classified Administrative Asst. Wendy Suzuki, Advertising Sales Intern EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Rachel Palmer, Online Operations Coordinator Rachel Hatch, Multimedia Product Manager BUSINESS Susie Ochoa, Payroll & Benefits Elena Dineva, Mary McDonald, Claire McGibeny, Cathy Stringari, Business Associates ADMINISTRATION Janice Covolo, Doris Taylor, Receptionists Ruben Espinoza, Courier EMBARCADERO MEDIA William S. Johnson, President Michael I. Naar, Vice President & CFO Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales & Advertising Frank A. Bravo, Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Connie Jo Cotton, Major Accounts Sales Manager Bob Lampkin, Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Alicia Santillan, Circulation Assistant 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) 326-8210. 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 Š2012 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com Our email addresses are: editor@paweekly.com, letters@paweekly.com, digitalads@paweekly.com. Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 326-8210, or email circulation@paweekly. com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
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450 CAMBRIDGE AVE, PALO ALTO, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210
The people who do this are ruthless.
— John Hanna, commenting on how his beautiful dogwood tree was attacked at his Crescent Park home. See story on page 3.
Around Town PLANTING THE SEED ... Before Linsanity swept the globe and a Palo Alto High School student became the toast of Big Apple, Jeremy Lin was getting his education at Mustard Seed, a pre-school program at Emerson School in Palo Alto. The program, which offers training in Chinese and English, is set to grow in the coming years thanks to the City Council’s decision last week to approve a new Mustard Seed day care center near the Baylands. Lin, a Harvard University alum who now plays for the New York Knicks, did his part to support the new Mustard Seed. In September 2010, when the project was being planned, Lin wrote a letter to the city lauding the program, which he called “extremely helpful in my development as a student and person.� He wrote in the letter that at Mustard Seed he “learned the importance of time management, consistent hard work and respect for others peers/teachers, as well as help in school homework.� Lin, who was playing for the Golden State Warriors at the time, also alluded to his future plans, none of which involved taking New York City by storm. Instead, Lin wrote, “One day I hope to devote my life to Christian ministry, as well as starting my personal nonprofit foundation devoted to social work in urban communities.� CELEBRATION TIME ... Palo Alto will briefly set aside its reputation as a wonky hub of big ideas and celebrate its lighter side on May 5. The city will hold its 90th annual May Fete Parade, and this year’s theme will be “Palo Alto at Play.� Event coordinator Bear Capron said in a statement that this year’s parade “is the perfect time to show everyone that we know how to play and have fun.� The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at University Avenue and Emerson Street and will proceed down University Avenue to Heritage Park, site of a fair. The procession will feature floats, clowns, marching bands, dance groups and martial arts studios. But for all the frivolity, the event will include several reminders of the city’s status as a locus of innovation. The parade will include a “flotilla of environmentally friendly green cars,� according to the city. And the grand marshal this year is Robert N. Klein II, who authored a
stem-cell initiative in 2004 and who until recently served as head of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. THE PRIZE ... Mary Schmich, who this week won a Pulitzer Prize for her columns in the Chicago Tribune, has her own Palo Alto connection. Schmich had served as an intern at the Palo Alto Weekly in the early days of the paper’s existence. Her contributions included a profile of Newman Walker, who had served as Palo Alto’s school superintendent from 1975 to 1985. Schmich had also spent time as a reporter at the Peninsula Times Tribune, a newspaper that replaced the Palo Alto Times and closed its doors in 1993. WATER WOES ... Palo Alto proudly boasts some of the cleanest tap water in California state, but the quality comes at a price. The city, which is one of about two dozen to gets its water through the Hetch Hetchy system, is responsible for paying its share for the system’s $4.6 billion upgrade project. At the same time, the city’s Utilities Department is plowing forth with its own repairs on the city’s water pipes and a new water-storage tank at El Camino Park. For local ratepayers, these improvements will likely mean higher bills. Residential rates are scheduled to go up by 15 percent under a staff proposal that the City Council’s Finance Committee endorsed Wednesday. Councilman Pat Burt said there’s been a lot of perception in the community that the council keeps on raising rates “willy nilly� — a perception that Burt tried to debunk at the meeting. He noted that the city’s gas and electricity rates would remain unchanged this year and that the water-rate increases are driven by concerns over safety and reliability. “In fact, we’re flat on rates on all our utilities except for contending with something that will matter a great deal to all of us,� Burt said. “It’s a wise, necessary investment.� The only other increase will be in wastewater rates, which will go up by about $2 on an average monthly bill. The Utilities Department estimates that the impact of all rate adjustments would be about $9 for the average monthly bill. N