Upfront DOWNTOWN
News Digest
Palo Alto Festival of the Arts returns for 32nd year
Residents offer to buy Buena Vista Seeking to prevent their eviction, residents of Palo Alto’s only mobilehome park have made an offer to buy the park from the Jisser family, who own the property and are looking to replace the park with high-end apartments. The newly formed Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association submitted an offer this week to the Jisser family and to the development firm of Prometheus Real Estate Group to buy the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, located at 3980 El Camino Real. In the letter, the group is proposing to purchase the property from the Jissers for $14.5 million, which is based on an April appraisal commissioned by the Jissers and prepared by Smith & Associates. The association formed last year after the Jisser family announced its plan to redevelop the site. The group submitted the letter as an “offer to enter into good faith negotiations with the park owner to buy the park,” according to the document. It states that the residents have identified sufficient sources of mortgage financing, including loan programs from the U.S. Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Department of Housing and Community Development, to finance the purchase. “These sources, combined with resident equity and funding from private sources, would enable BVMHPRA (Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Residents Association) to buy the park,” the association’s president, Erika Escalante, wrote. To create its financing plan, the group has been working with PMC Financial Services, which specializes in helping residents of mobilehome parks purchase the parks they live in. Deane Sargent, the firm’s managing director, submitted a letter to the city providing more details of the financing plan. The plan includes $13.2 million in “first mortgage financing” provided by the federal agency and a loan of another $2 million from the state program. It also includes a $280,000 in resident equity, which will be raised by selling shares to the residents. While the purchase of shares would not be required, PMC estimates that 80 percent of the park residents will participate. The plan would enable 80 residents to purchase the park for a $500 down payment, with monthly rents staying about the same and a share loan payment of about $25 per month. N — Gennady Sheyner
Palo Alto’s new tool targets cardiac arrest For victims of cardiac arrest, a minute of delay in emergency response can mean the difference between life and death. So when Palo Alto officials unveiled on Monday, Aug. 19, their plan to install 52 “automated electronic defibrillators” in police vehicles and city facilities later this month, they stressed the life-saving potential of the portable, easy-to-use devices that restore regular heart rhythm. At a special presentation Monday, Fire Chief Eric Nickel noted that for every minute that a shock is withheld from a victim, “the chance of survival goes down by 10 percent.” He thanked the council for its decision last year to allocate $92,000 to purchase 37 defibrillators, a move that came after lobbying by local group Racing Hearts. “Your decision will absolutely save community members’ lives,” Nickel said. For the city, the new devices ended up being a better bargain than expected. Though the money was intended to pay for 37 devices, the city was able to negotiate the purchase of 52 of them. Eight of them will go inside police patrol vehicles, a decision spurred by a recommendation from police Sgt. Wayne Benitez. “His pitch was simple: Defibrillators save lives,” Police Chief Dennis Burns told the council Monday, recalling Benitez’s suggestion. In addition to the police vehicles, the new devices will be installed at local libraries, community centers, City Hall, athletic facilities and other prominent locations. N — Gennady Sheyner
East Palo Alto shooting kills 19-year-old A 19-year-old man succumbed to his injuries after he was shot while in a vehicle in East Palo Alto late Tuesday night, Aug. 20, police said. Police identified the victim as Fremont resident Raymond Gewin-Phipps. At about 10:10 p.m., officers were alerted to shots fired in the 2500 block of Emmett Way, about a block from University Avenue. Upon arrival, officers located him slumped over in the driver seat of a parked vehicle, police said. He had at least one gunshot wound. The Menlo Park Fire District arrived on scene and rendered aid to the man. He was transported to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital, police said. Police are continuing to investigate the incident and are asking anyone who witnessed this incident or has any information to contact Det. Tommy Phengsene at 650-798-5947 or the East Palo Alto Police Department at 650-321-1112, send an anonymous email to epa@tipnow.org or send an anonymous text or voicemail to 650-409-6792. N — Bay City News Service LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com
Organizers recommend bringing bags to carry purchases
T
he streets of downtown Palo Alto will teem with art enthusiasts and revelers this weekend for the 32nd annual Palo Alto Festival of the Arts. In past years, nearly 150,000 people have come to the downtown area annually to see the work of 300 artists and crafters whose display booths will line University Avenue. There will also be food, live music, drinks and a Kid’s Art Studio at the event. Because of a new city ordinance banning the use of plastic and paper bags for carrying merchandise, the Chamber of Commerce, which is co-sponsoring the event with the City of Palo Alto, highly recommends that festival attendees bring their own re-usable tote bags to carry their purchases. Traffic closures in the area will mirror those that occurred last year, according to Palo Alto police. University Avenue will be closed from High Street to Webster Street to make room for the festival, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, and Sunday, Aug. 25. Tasso Street will be closed at Lytton Avenue from 1 a.m. on Saturday to 7 p.m. on Sunday for the everpopular Italian street painting expo, which is sponsored by the Weekly.
Emerson, Bryant and Cowper streets will be opened Saturday at 8 p.m. for through traffic. All roads will re-open at about 9 p.m. Sunday. It may be easier to take public transportation to the festival, and the event’s organizers have issued the following recommendations: s 4O AVOID TRAFFIC AND SPARSE PARK-
ing during events, festival-goers should plan to use alternate or public transportation. Organizers suggest using 511.org to plan their routes. s 0ET OWNERS SHOULD NOT BRING their animals to the festival as large crowds can make pets anxious and sometimes aggressive. N — Palo Alto Weekly staff
COMMUNITY MEETING Review the proposed designs for Monroe Park Improvements
Monday August 26th, 2013, 7– 8 PM Lucie Stern Community Center 1305 Middlefield, Palo Alto, CA 94301 Community Room The City of of Palo Alto seeks the community’s input on the proposed plans. URL: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/parks/projects.asp
for more information. Meeting hosted by City of Palo Alto Community Services, (650) 496-5916
East Palo Alto (continued from page 7)
communities we serve, and so we anticipate the maps that will come out of this process will reflect that, and that’s what we’ll bring back to the community,” he said. Sarver stressed that the district plans to maintain its popular openenrollment program, which allows families to apply for a school other than the one to which they’ve been assigned. The district typically gets about 700 requests a year under open enrollment and has accommodated “upwards of 500 of those,” he said. Open enrollment has been heavily used by Ravenswood families to get students reassigned from Carlmont or Woodside high schools to MenloAtherton, he said. Ravenswood graduates have been scattered to other high schools ever since the closure of Ravenswood High School, which the district operated in East Palo Alto from 1958 to 1976 when it was closed due to declining enrollment. The prospective boundary changes in the Sequoia district would not affect the 700 Ravenswood students who attend other school districts under the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.
Let our time machine take you back as you experience the rush of a vintage 1920’s steam locomotive when it comes to life and chugs through scenic Niles canyon. Grab your friends and family and come join us for a train ride. Come relive old memories and create new ones too in the beautiful canyon scenery! With ticket prices starting at $20 for adults, $10 for kids and departures on Saturday and Sunday, our excursions are great options for the young and young at heart.
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