Palo Alto Weekly January 16, 2015 by Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto

Vol. XXXVI, Number 15 Q January 16, 2015

Dealership brings its fleet to animal shelter lot Page 5

w w w. P a l o A l t o O n l i n e.c o m

A PORTRAIT OF

CUBA PHOTOGRAPHER RAÚL CAÑIBANO’S EXHIBIT COMES AT A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN CUBAN HISTORY PAGES 22

Donate to the HOLIDAY FUND page 16

Transitions 19 Spectrum 20 Shop Talk 28 Movies 29 Puzzles 43 Q Eating Small venue, huge ﬂavors at Taqueria La Cazuela

Page 27

Q Home Eat your vegetables — and enjoy them

Page 31

Q Sports Stanford men ready for NCAA hoop champs

Page 45

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Schedule a consultation today at one of our convenient locations in Redwood City, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, or Los Altos. Make an appointment directly online at: stanfordhealthcare.org/derm or call 650.723.6316

Page 2 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Jackie and Richard Schoelerman R Excels in his organizational skills, creative problem solving techniques, innovative marketing strategies R Winning negotiator and exceeding his clients’ expectations R Helps clients find the distinctive house they seek and guides them in visualizing the potential of their dream home R Degree: Master of Architecture

Top Silicon Valley Power Realtor Team Jackie and Richard are one of the top Silicon Valley Power Realtor Teams at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, a group of distinguished Real Estate Professionals who are part of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced marketing firm specializing in distinctive properties and estates.

Fine Art of Real Estate As seasoned business professionals, Jackie and Richard employ the “Fine Art of Real Estate” through their wealth of business savvy, tenacity and expert knowledge of the local market to each and every transaction.

Giving Back to the Community x

Personalized Full Service Together, Jackie and Richard execute each transaction with a high level of ethical standards, integrity, skillful precision and dedication to excellence. We provide personalized full service and turnkey handling of the complexities of real estate transactions effortlessly giving our clients peace of mind for a smooth transaction closing.

Publications in Local Newspaper and Internet Each year Jackie and Richard create market trend publications, “Historical Property Values” and “Neighborhood Median Prices”, for Atherton, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park which are published frequently in the local Silicon Valley Newspapers and available on our website; www.schoelerman.com.

Expertise and Education x

Jackie Schoelerman R Engaged in financial and strategic planning success of numerous real estate transactions R Uses analytical abilities to track local trends R Uncanny knowledge of the local market R Winning negotiator and exceeding her clients’ expectations R Degrees: Bachelor in Business Finance and Architecture

Richard Schoelerman R Consummate professional with expertise as a Realtor, Architect, General Contractor, and Developer

Jackie Schoelerman R Member City of Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan Update Leadership Group R Co-chair Woman’s Club of Palo Alto philanthropy committee R Member Palo Alto Rotary Club R Participate in the annual MPPC community outreach programs Richard Schoelerman R President Elect and Board Member Palo Alto University Rotary Club R Member Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce R Participate in the annual MPPC community outreach programs

Coldwell Banker Global Reach Through Coldwell Banker, Jackie and Richard have access to the most affluent home buyers from coast to coast and around the world. A Global Advantage unmatched by any local or regional real estate company. Our universal global presence has: x Local Traditions; Global Connections x 82,000 Sales Associates x 3,100 offices in 50 countries and territories x Exceptional listing on the world’s leading real estate websites x Realogy Holdings Corporation is the parent company to: R Coldwell Banker R Sotheby’s International Realty R NRT LLC, the largest residential real estate brokerage in the United States R Cartus Corporation, a global leader in relocation services

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www.schoelerman.com www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 3

THE DELEON DIFFERENCE

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Page 4 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

Dealership brings its fleet to animal shelter lot City agreement gives Anderson Honda access to East Bayshore Road property by Gennady Sheyner The cars belonged to Anderson n May of last year, Palo Alto’s utility workers arrived at the Honda, an Embarcadero Road Animal Services Center site dealership that has been coveton East Bayshore Road to move ing the shelter land for well over a giant container filled with a decade. The site’s location at emergency-response supplies but 3281 East Bayshore Road, south found an unexpected sight: a fleet of Oregon Expressway and immeof Hondas occupying the city- diately adjacent to U.S. Highway owned lot and blocking access to 101, makes for ideal visibility for an auto dealership, a fact that has the container in question.

not been lost on Palo Alto officials. Every few years, a proposal has surfaced to move the animal shelter and make its land available to car dealers. Anderson Honda has invariably been at the center of these talks. The council held a study session on the topic in 2006, and in May 2008, when a worsening economic climate placed new pressures on dealerships to secure freeway-friendly locations, thenCity Manager Frank Benest told

the council that John Anderson, who owns Anderson Honda, “is under incredible pressure from Honda to get freeway frontage.” “Unless we find a way to do that, we are going to lose Anderson,” Benest told the council at the time. The land swap Benest and others had envisioned — Honda’s property for the animal shelter’s — never materialized, as residents and council members struggled to reach a consensus about a

plan that would place a dealership and possibly a billboard next to the Baylands. Some, like Benest, maintained that the city should do what it can to promote economic vitality and help local dealerships, which are a major source of sales taxes. Others balked at any talk of allowing more human activity near the Baylands, even in the largely industrial city-owned parcel next to the highway. (continued on page 12)

EDUCATION

Board backs increased parcel tax Members debate tax amount, priorities for funding by Elena Kadvany

(continued on page 8)

(continued on page 14)

Veronica Weber

homeless persons and for society. Embarrassed, some people avoid important medical and mental health appointments, he said. “Having a place to shower and clean clothes helps to restore dignity for clients. Society can be harsh if your clothes are dirty and your hair is not combed. We want to remove those stigmas,” Bains said. The hygiene services will also serve as a screen for other potential problems. Dignity on Wheels staff members will be able to spot clients’ minor illnesses, such as colds, and help keep them from turning into pneumonia, Bains said. Each station will be equipped with a wireless tablet to allow staff to take information from clients and con-

ll of the members of the Palo Alto Board of Education expressed support Tuesday night for what they said is a much-needed financial injection from an increased parcel tax that will likely appear on the ballot this May, with only one member dissenting on the amount of the tax. The parcel tax, which would begin on July 1 and last six years with 2-percent annual increases, would raise the $589 per-parcel tax that voters approved through Measure A in 2010 to $638 per parcel. The increase would generate an additional $2.3 million in parcel-tax revenue, initially providing $14.7 million in total revenue in the 2015-16 year, Chief Business Officer Cathy Mak said. While Mak painted a dim outlook for the future of the district’s finances — warning that while the local and state economies seem to be rebounding, Palo Alto Unified is not getting any new, ongoing, unrestricted funding from the state — board member Terry Godfrey said she was wary of asking voters for a $120 increase. She cited a poll that a consultant administered for the district in December, which found that 70 percent of the 402 registered Palo Alto voters surveyed supported the $120 increase after hearing both positives and negative arguments for it. (The poll simulated opposition arguments to the in-

Do you hear what I hear? Helping the Magical Bridge Playground at Palo Alto’s Mitchell Park to take shape, construction worker Chris Chamberlain mixes cement under the recently installed Magical Laser Harp adjacent to the play mound in mid-January. The laser harp uses laser lights that, when disrupted, make sounds such as musical notes and rustling leaves.

COMMUNITY

Nonprofit aims to bring laundry, shower services to homeless Group hopes new service will help people maintain dignity

eople who are homeless in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto could soon have free showers and laundry services through a new initiative that would bring the facilities to them. The mobile Dignity On Wheels service would include showers, restrooms, washers and dryers in a trailer that would visit rotating shelters at local churches, includ-

by Sue Dremann ing Palo Alto’s 15-bed Hotel de Zink. The effort is being undertaken by East Palo Alto’s Project WeHOPE, which also runs a shelter that serves 58 homeless citizens in East Palo Alto and Palo Alto, said Pastor Paul Bains, the nonprofit’s president and founder. The program’s goal is to reach adults throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, at first by

bringing the services to shelters and later to homeless encampments, Bains said. Most emergency shelters do not have shower and laundry facilities, and many clients have difficulty finding or traveling to places to bathe or launder their clothes, he added. The inability to maintain good hygiene has many implications for

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 5

Michael Repka Before you select a real estate agent, meet with Michael Repka to discuss how his real estate law and tax back-ground beneﬁts Ken DeLeon’s clients.

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Multimedia Advertising Sales Representative Embarcadero Media is a locally-owned and independent multimedia company based in Palo Alto. We have published in Palo Alto for the last 35 years, with award winning publications such as the Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice and Menlo Park Almanac on the Peninsula, and the Pleasanton Weekly in the East Bay. In each of these communities our papers are the dominate, best-read and most respected among its various competitors. We also operate extremely popular interactive community news and information websites in all of our cities, plus unique onlineonly operations in Danville and San Ramon. We’re looking for talented and articulate Outside Sales Representatives for our Retail Sales Team. Experience in online, social and print media sales is a plus, but not a requirement. Familiarity with the advertising industry and selling solutions to small and medium size businesses is a big plus. Four year college degree is preferred. As a Multimedia Account Executive, you will contact and work with local businesses to expand their brand identity and support their future success using marketing and advertising opportunities available through our 4 marketing platforms: print campaigns, website and mobile advertising, and email marketing. The ideal candidate is an organized and assertive selfstarter who loves working as a team to achieve sales goals, possesses strong verbal, written, persuasive and listening interpersonal skills, can provide exceptional customer service and is not afraid of hard work to succeed. If you have the passion to achieve great success in your DBSFFS BOE DBO DPOUSJCVUF TJHOJm DBOUMZ UP PVS MFBEFSTIJQ position in the market, please email your resume and a cover letter describing why you believe you are the right candidate for this fantastic opportunity. (NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE) Submit your resume and cover letter to: Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales and Marketing tzahiralis@embarcaderopublishing.com

Upfront 450 Cambridge Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER William S. Johnson (223-6505) EDITORIAL Editor Jocelyn Dong (223-6514) Associate Editor Carol Blitzer (223-6511) Sports Editor Keith Peters (223-6516 Arts & Entertainment Editor Elizabeth Schwyzer (223-6517) Express & Digital Editor My Nguyen (223-6524) Assistant Sports Editor Rick Eymer (223-6521) Spectrum Editor Renee Batti (223-6528) Staff Writers Sue Dremann (223-6518), Elena Kadvany (223-6519), Gennady Sheyner (223-6513) Editorial Assistant/Intern Coordinator Sam Sciolla (223-6515) Staff Photographer Veronica Weber (223-6520) Contributors Andrew Preimesberger, Dale F. Bentson, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Tyler Hanley, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Karla Kane, Ari Kaye, Chris Kenrick, Kevin Kirby, Terri Lobdell, Jack McKinnon, Daryl Savage, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti Interns Jennah Feeley ADVERTISING Vice President Sales & Marketing Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Multimedia Advertising Sales Adam Carter (223-6573), Elaine Clark (223-6572), Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571), Janice Hoogner (223-6576) Digital Media Sales Heather Choi (223-6587) Real Estate Advertising Sales Neal Fine (223-6583), Carolyn Oliver (223-6581), Rosemary Lewkowitz (223-6585) Inside Advertising Sales Irene Schwartz (223-6580) Real Estate Advertising Assistant Diane Martin (223-6584) Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan (223-6578) ADVERTISING SERVICES Advertising Services Manager Jennifer Lindberg (223-6595) Sales & Production Coordinators Dorothy Hassett (223-6597), Blanca Yoc (223-6596) DESIGN Design & Production Manager Lili Cao (223-6560) Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Paul Llewellyn Designers Kristin Brown, Diane Haas, Colleen Hench, Rosanna Leung EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Online Operations Coordinator Thao Nguyen (223-6508) BUSINESS Payroll & Benefits Susie Ochoa (223-6544) Business Associates Audrey Chang (223-6543), Elena Dineva (223-6542), Cathy Stringari (223-6541) ADMINISTRATION Receptionist Doris Taylor Courier Ruben Espinoza EMBARCADERO MEDIA President William S. Johnson (223-6505) Vice President & CFO Michael I. Naar (223-6540) Vice President Sales & Marketing Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Frank A. Bravo (223-6551) Marketing & Creative Director Shannon Corey (223-6560) Major Accounts Sales Manager Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571) Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Zach Allen (223-6557) Circulation Assistant Alicia Santillan Computer System Associates Chris Planessi 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 3268210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. ©2014 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, ads@paweekly.com Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 223-6557, or email circulation@paweekly.com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr.

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Page 6 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

City/Zip: ________________________________ Mail to: Palo Alto Weekly, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto CA 94306

The committee doesn’t need to boil the whole ocean. — Ken Dauber, Palo Alto school board member, on proposed goals for a new group studying the number of type of schools the district needs. See story on page 9.

Around Town

IT’S ELEMENTARY ... The Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine’s newest furry team member is helping Stanford physicians explain sleep disorder to children. Watson, a narcoleptic Chihuahua, was adopted last spring by Dr. Emmanuel Mignot, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. Mignot, who is also the director of the center, takes Watson, a black-and-white puppy with brown splotches, into the clinic when he treats children with narcolepsy — a condition that makes people suddenly fall asleep. Narcoleptic children, of whom there is a growing population, can develop particularly severe symptoms, including almost constant sleepiness or sudden episodes of muscle paralysis that occur with specific emotions, according to Stanford Medicine. Watson’s cataplexies can be triggered by certain foods — especially roast beef from Whole Foods — or when he sees a favorite toy. Sometimes the episodes are quick and other times they happen repetitively. Watson’s comic performance can put frightened children at ease and help them understand their own conditions, Stanford Medicine reported. Mignot’s prior studies of canine narcolepsy led to the discovery of the genetic basis of the disorder, which could help research on human narcolepsy, a condition affecting about 1 in 2,000 people.

CHROMEBOOKS ABOUND ... Hundreds of Chromebooks will soon find their way into the hands of Palo Alto students and teachers. The Board of Education this week indicated support for using $157,507 of a generous $520,000 gift from the Brin Wojcicki Foundation to purchase the laptops and train teachers to use them at both Palo Alto and Gunn high schools. Initially, the foundation wasn’t quite so generous: The original donation was $260,000 and only for Paly, but Superintendent Max McGee said he asked local tech-benefactors Sergey Brin (a Google co-founder) and Anne Wojcicki (founder of genetictesting company 23andMe and daughter of Paly journalism teacher Esther Wojcicki) to either split that amount in half or double it so Gunn could get in on the Chromebook fun. They doubled it. With Gunn not quite ready to move forward with its plan for the laptops,

$157,507 will be used to purchase 465 Chromebooks, some of which are headed to Paly’s ninth- and 10th-grade English and history classes and others to specialeducation classes. Every student in Paly’s AVID (Advanced Via Individual Determination) program will also receive a Chromebook, as well as approximately 50 to 100 students from socio-economically disadvantaged families. They’ll also be used when students take the state’s Smarter Balanced Assessment test this spring, the new standardized test that has replaced the STAR test (and No. 2 pencils along with it). The board will vote to authorize the purchase on Jan. 27. BE COUNTED ... Caltrain will conduct its annual on-board count of riders starting Tuesday, Jan. 20, a way to help the agency plan future service improvements and allocate its resources, the organization stated in a press release. Currently, it’s estimated that there are 60,000 riders on an average weekday. The week-long census will entail a headcount of every rider on every train. The number of bicycle boardings and bike riders not able to board due to overcrowding also will be tallied. Results will be released after the data has been analyzed, and previous counts are posted at caltrain. com/ridership. The data collected will also reveal the most popular stations and trains in the Caltrain system. In the past, Palo Alto’s University Avenue station has been the second busiest station in the Gilroy-to-San Francisco line. IF A TREE FALLS ... A woman who had only been at work 10 minutes received a phone call from Palo Alto police Jan. 12. Her car had been in an accident, the officer said. “But I’m at work,” Jia Wang told police. “Yes, but your car was in an accident with a tree,” Wang said the officer responded. Wang said she couldn’t understand. “I kept thinking that my car somehow hit a tree,” she said. When Wang checked her car, she found a large acacia had crashed onto her parked Honda Civic sedan, completely crushing the passenger-side door, roof and windshield and blocking the downtown street. Wang said she felt grateful that neither she, nor her child, were in the car at the time. A City of Palo Alto employee estimated the tree was about 35 years old. Q

Upfront TRANSPORTATION

Bridge designs wow Palo Alto commissioners City’s planning and architecture boards struggle to pick a favorite from three distinct visions

espite a design jury’s choice in December of a bold archway as the best concept for a new bike bridge over U.S. Highway 101 in south Palo Alto, the city’s Planning and Transportation Commission and Architectural Review Board this week both agreed that each of the three finalists in the recent design competition is spectacular in its own way. One cries for attention with its prominent red arch and a row of changing lights. Another is an understated ribbon that tries to blend into the Baylands. The third is inspired by a kayak, even though it’s meant for use by bicycles. “I think it’s hard to go wrong with either of the choices,” planning Commissioner Michael Alcheck said during Wednesday’s meeting on the bridge. “I think we have three awesome bridges here,” concurred acting commission Chair Adrien Fine at the end of the discussion. “Palo Alto would be lucky to have any of them.” The three finalists were chosen

out of a pool of 20 proposals for the bridge that will span the highway at Adobe Creek, giving south Palo Alto residents year-round access to the Baylands. With an estimated budget of $10 million, the bike bridge is one of the most ambitious and expensive components of the bike and pedestrian master plan that the City Council approved in 2012. On Dec. 17, a jury chose as its winner the arch concept proposed by HNTB Engineering, 64North, Bionic Landscape Architecture and Ned Kahn. The jury agreed that the design comes the closest to achieving the City Council’s stated goal of creating a prominent landmark that would serve as a gateway to the city. The final design choice will be made by the council, which will consider the jury’s recommendation in late February. This week, several individual commission and board members made a case for one option or another, though neither body took a vote. On Wednesday night, the planning commission’s general con-

Weekly file photo

by Gennady Sheyner

The gently curving bridge designed by Moffatt and Nichol, Steven Grover and Associates, Lutsko Associates, JIRI Strasky and Mark Thomas and Co. is still in the running for the Adobe Creek Bike Bridge. sensus was that despite their stark differences, any of the bridges would make for a proud addition to Palo Alto. Only Alcheck expressed a preference, giving the nod to the subtlest of the three proposals: the ribbon-like bridge designed by Moffat and Nichol, Steven Grover and Associates, Lutsko Associates, JIRI Strasky and Mark Thomas and Co. Fine offered words of high praise for all three proposals, but said he was a bit puzzled by the kayak shape of the design proposed by Endrestudio, OLIN, SBP and Biohabitats. “It might not come across as

a bike bridge — the fact that it’s imitating a kayak,” Fine said. “It’s nice to know a bike bridge is a bike bridge.” Roy Snyder, a bicyclist and birder who lives in the Palo Verde neighborhood, made a pitch for keeping things simple and focusing on the bridge’s function rather than the frills. The overcrossing, he said, “is the means, not a destination, nor the attraction itself.” “Nor should it be a distraction from the natural Baylands environment,” Snyder said. “The Baylands are where the action is. The Baylands is where we want to go. We want to get there as expedi-

tiously and easily as possible.” Commissioner Mark Michael expressed similar leanings. He called all the designs “impressive” but wondered if the HNTB arch design, known as “Confluence,” is a little “too grandiose” and suggested that there might be a benefit to having a bridge that has a lower profile. “I do like the arch, but I’m worried that it’s gonna be quite the landmark,” Michael said. Despite his misgivings, Michael called both the arch and the Moffatt and Nichol proposals “inspir(continued on page 15)

EDUCATION

Paly journalism teacher pens book on innovative education Esther Wojcicki to give Jan. 24 talk at Oshman Family JCC by Elena Kadvany

hen Palo Alto High School journalism teacher Esther Wojcicki told one of her classes what her new book, “Moonshots in Education: Launching Blended Learning in the Classroom,” is about, they burst into spontaneous cheers. Wojcicki, an award-winning teacher who founded the Paly journalism program in 1984, sees “Moonshots” as an instruction manual for educators who have yet to make a shift from a rote podium-to-student style of teaching to project-based, collaborative learning that grants students more freedom and ownership over their own education. This shift, she said, is comparable to the effort it took for the first-ever moonshot that landed man on the moon in the 1960s. “The reason I called it ‘Moonshots in Education’ is because I want to change the culture in the classrooms,” Wojcicki said, “and that is like a moonshot. It’s probably worse than a moonshot because getting teachers to stop lecturing (for) 50- or 90-minute periods all day — I don’t know

what it’s going to take.” The book itself serves as an example of Wojcicki’s teaching philosophy, with chapters written by not only Wojcicki but also fellow journalism teacher Paul Kandell, a former Paly journalism student, a Google search expert and Lance Izumi, senior director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco. Wojcicki and Esther Wojcicki several of her students will give a talk at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto on Saturday, Jan. 24, about the book and their experiences in the classroom. In “Moonshots,” Wojcicki advocates for small-group projects, real-world applications and student autonomy. She said she made a compromise, asking teachers unwilling to forgo all lecturing to allot 50 percent of class time to more hands-on learning. (This 50-50 split is what “blended learn-

ing” refers to.) “Right now, they don’t have 50 percent of the time,” Wojcicki said. “They don’t even have 20 percent of the time. A lot of classes, they have zero time.” Wojcicki thinks much of what drives teachers’ and schools’ fear of making this shift is a pressure to meet standards and produce high test scores. “A lot of school districts, if your test scores are down, instead of getting more funding, you get less funding. The system is upside down,” she said. “I think the pressure (for teachers) is, those kids have to work and they have to learn this stuff because otherwise, I personally am going to lose my job, and I’m going to lose face in the community.” The book highlights classrooms in Palo Alto and beyond that do, however, give this time. It’s on full display at Paly’s journalism program, where more than 200 students independently (with teacher advisers) report, write and produce a total of eight publications (including an online news website and broadcast TV station). While Wojcicki gave this interview, staff

for Paly newspaper The Campanile were busy at work at rows of computers in a separate, unsupervised classroom, putting together this week’s edition with laser focus. Former Campanile editor Maya Kitayama, now a freshman at Fordham University in New York City, described Wojcicki’s teaching style as “just a little guidance and a whole lot of trust.” “The most unique thing about The Campanile is it’s the only program where we as students take the learning and the work into our own hands,” said Kitayama, who wrote a chapter in “Moonshots” on Paly music teacher Michael Najar’s application of blended learning in an AP music theory class. “We work for the paper for the sake of the paper, not for the sake of a grade or a GPA.” “Moonshots” also advocates for use of technology in the classroom, with a chapter by Google research scientist Dan Russell, who studies the field of search, and several chapters on the history of technology in education by Izumi, who’s written extensively on using technology to revolutionize learning.

Kandell’s chapter is devoted to the importance of journalism education in teaching motivation and character development. A short film that shows Wojcicki’s classroom in action was also produced in conjunction with the book and will be posted on YouTube in a few weeks, Wojcicki said. “If people think about a typical class ... everybody envisions the teacher standing up in the front of a room, an American flag next to her head and all the students sitting there in rows staring at the teacher with a pencil in their hand and a paper on the desk,” she said. “I wanted to show them what it really looks like. And it looks like chaos, but they are learning.” Q

IF YOU’RE GOING When: Saturday, Jan. 24, at 7:30 p.m. Where: Oshman Family JCC, Albert and Janet Schultz Cultural Arts Hall, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto Cost: $10 advance registration; $15 at the door Info: http://bit.ly/1u71PxD

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 7

Inspirations

a guide id tto th the spiritual i it l community

Upfront TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Antenna proposals on the rise, but city still working on master plan Wireless facilities meet with fuzzy reception in Palo Alto by Gennady Sheyner

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/gov/agendas/default.asp

AGENDA–SPECIAL MEETING–COUNCIL CHAMBERS JANUARY 20, 2015 6:00 PM STUDY SESSION 1. Palo Alto Bicycle Boulevard Program Summary SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 2. Recognition of Mitchell Park Library and Community Center Grand Opening Volunteers CONSENT CALENDAR 3. Adoption of a Resolution to Authorize the City Manager or his Designee to Purchase Greenhouse Gas Allowances to Satisfy the City’s Cap-and-Trade Compliance Obligations for the Gas Utility in an Amount Not to Exceed $4,000,000 per Year and for the Electric Utility in an Amount Not to Exceed $250,000 per Year 4. Approval of Utilizing CALNET3 State Contract for Telecommunications in the Amount of $400,000 Annually for a 3.5 Year Term from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018 5. Approval of a Contract with C.F. Archibald Paving Inc. in The Amount of $2,220,134 for the FY 2015 Asphalt Paving Project, the 2nd of 4 Contracts in the FY 2015 Street Maintenance Program Project (CIP PE-86070) 6. Approval of a Contract Amendment to Sierra Infosys Inc. (C10135998) in the Amount of $120,000 for the Support HUK 4HPU[LUHUJL VM :(7 0UK\Z[Y` :WLJPÄJ :VS\[PVU MVY Human Resources Modules, Business Mapping and Reporting. 7. SECOND READING: Adoption of Park Improvement Ordinance for Bowden Park (First Reading: December 15, 2014, PASSED: 9-0) ACTION ITEMS 8. Approval of Concept Plan Line and Implementation Plan for the Maybell Avenue Bicycle Boulevard and Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway Projects 9. Adoption of Procedure to Vote Before Holding Closed Sessions 10. Policy and Services Recommendation to Adopt an Ordinance Increasing Council Salary From $600/Month to 4VU[O ,ɈLJ[P]L 1HU\HY`

Page 8 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

The bitter dispute over the Verizon tower is precisely the type of controversy that the council had hoped to avoid when it approved an $81,000 contract last April for the creation of a citywide master plan for wireless facilities. The company, Anthem Telecom, was charged with assessing the city’s wireless communication needs, creating a plan for meeting those needs and developing a strategy for implementing and managing an infrastructure program for the needed facilities. But when it comes to wireless equipment, the city’s planning effort is struggling to keep up with the telecom companies. The city’s contract estimates the consultant’s work to take 72 weeks, and the planning staff expects the report to be completed by the end of this year, said Jonathan Lait, the city’s assistant planning director. “They (the consultants) are interested in understanding more about some of the other utilities in the area and what their expansion needs are in Palo Alto,” Lait said. “They are conducting that research and doing that work now.” Meanwhile, applications continue to file in. When the new

year launched, eight applications for wireless equipment were in the pipeline. On Jan. 6, the city approved two of these applications, at 3600 Bayshore Road and at 925 Commercial St. Each included three panel antennas and radio equipment. As of last week, the city had applications pending at 1891 Page Mill Road (two rooftop antennas); 180 El Camino Real (16 rooftop antennas at the Pottery Barn building at Stanford Shopping Center); 675 El Camino Real (three rooftop antennas at a hotel); 2701 Middlefield Road (replacement of three rooftop antennas); and 801 Middlefield Road (AT&T antennas on a utility pole). Some believe there should be a moratorium on new antennas until the citywide master plan is adopted. In urging the council to reject Verizon’s application for the Palo Alto Little League field, opponent Jason Yotoupolis argued that the city should wait before considering such proposals. “The city is spending $80,000 on a wireless-communication plan and yet at the same time proposing an ad hoc ‘Ready, fire, aim’ approach,” he said. Q

Mobile showers (continued from page 5)

nect them with other services. Project WeHOPE originally planned to operate two units — one for each county — but Santa Clara County officials have asked for an additional trailer to accommodate a large demand, especially after the shutdown of The Jungle homeless encampment in San Jose, Bains said. Each unit would have two shower/restrooms and two washer/dryers. The units would be able to provide 30 showers and clean 18 loads of laundry per night at the rotating shelters. The host churches would provide water, electricity and sewer hookups; clients would do the janitorial work. During the daytime, the units could travel to homeless encampments, where each unit would offer an additional 60 showers and 36 loads of clothes per day, Bains said. Used day and night, the units would provide roughly 29,000 showers and more than 17,500 loads of clean laundry annually, he said. The program would eventually add a volunteer nurse and casemanagement services to offer medical assistance, referrals and counseling to encampment resi-

Courtesy Project WeHOPE

Inspirations is a resource for ongoing religious services and special events. To inquire about or to reserve space in Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 223-6596 or email byoc@paweekly.com

rom lanky poles masquerading as light fixtures to modest spikes hiding in the rooftops or jutting out of utility poles, cell antennas have been proliferating in Palo Alto over the past year, trying to keep pace with the city’s growing population and swelling digital demands. They come in different shapes and sizes, and they target just about every neighborhood, from Downtown North to Greenmeadow. Some plans go through years of revisions and stoke neighborhood debate before winning approval, such as AT&T’s proposal for a “distributed antenna system” two years ago and Verizon’s recent plan for a cell tower at a ballpark on Middlefield Road. The latter, which the City Council approved on Dec. 15, proved particularly thorny, with five years of revisions and an appeals process that pitted neighbor against neighbor in south Palo Alto. The council’s vote allows Verizon to replace a 60-foot-tall light pole with a 65-foot-tall pole that would support three antennas in the Palo Alto Little League ballpark. The new pole’s diameter would be 18 inches, 6 more than the existing pole’s.

A program offering mobile shower and laundry services for homeless persons in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties would be accessible to persons with disabilities. dents, he said. A truck that would accompany each trailer would be stocked with towels, soap and used clean clothing and would have a fresh-water tank and generator. Locations for dumping gray and black water still need to be identified, according to a program summary. The project needs about $170,000 for the three units, Bains said. So far, the organization has raised $50,000 in the last 60 days. Oakland-based Philanthropic Ventures Foundation has committed $44,000 of that money, Bains said. Dignity On Wheels is inspired by Tide Loads of Hope, the detergent company’s mobile-laundryservices program for disaster vic-

tims, which were deployed after hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, Bains said. Project WeHOPE also studied San Francisco’s Lava Mae, which offers homeless persons showers in converted city-donated buses, Bains said. People interested in donating to Dignity On Wheels can visit projectwehope.org or send a check to Project WeHOPE, P.O. Box 50624, Palo Alto, CA 94303. Checks should be made out to Project WeHOPE with Attn: Dignity On Wheels in the memo line. Q Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.

Upfront EDUCATION

Committee to take broader look at enrollment in Palo Alto schools Board urges goal to go beyond potential 13th elementary school by Elena Kadvany

he third timeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the charm, the school district hopes, as it moves toward creating the third committee in two years that is charged with issuing recommendations to the board on how to best accommodate growing enrollment in Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schools. School board members Tuesday night were encouraged that a committee with a broader scope, charged with looking deeper and beyond the isolated option of opening a 13th elementary school, will be the renewing push that this long-debated issue needs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done this before, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always been about the financials and the number of students we have,â&#x20AC;? board President Melissa Baten Caswell said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always been the driving force. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always been a bit frustrating to me because really, it should be, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;What do we want our academic program to look like? What do we want the environment around

TALK ABOUT IT

PaloAltoOnline.com What do you think the future composition of Palo Alto schools should look like? Share your ideas on Town Square, the community discussion forum at PaloAltoOnline.com/square.

that academic program to be?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; And then, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How can we accomplish that and serve all the kids that come in to us?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been backwards. I think this is a way to make it forwards,â&#x20AC;? she said. The new advisory committee will be tasked with bringing to the board a set of â&#x20AC;&#x153;strategic, evidence-based, actionable recommendations that will enable the district to design, develop and implement short- and long-term plans for accommodating projected PAUSD enrollment,â&#x20AC;? the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charge reads. These recommendations are not limited to a 13th elementary school but could mean a new K-8 school, fourth middle school or

something else entirely, Superintendent Max McGee said. The committee will also explore the possibility of changing attendance-area boundaries, moving popular choice programs or recommending new ones. Board member Camille Townsend stressed the importance of the committee coming up with multiple fleshed-out options for the board to eventually vote on. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Part of the reason we have committees do this is not that they have the answers,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s that they get their questions answered and it exposes the information throughout the community that this is complicated. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to see the information they come up with. For me, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to see options.â&#x20AC;? Board member Ken Dauber agreed but repeated a point he continually made throughout the recent school board campaign: The district needs to deal with its overcrowded elementary schools, even if recent data

shows enrollment growth is temporarily slowing. Total enrollment in kindergarten through fifth grade is down by 131 students, from 5,816 last year to 5,685 this year, according to the 14th-day enrollment report released in the fall. (However, a total of 132 K-5 students were overflowed this year, meaning there was insufficient room for them to attend their neighborhood school.) â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I do want to make certain of is that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t treat enrollment growth as the criteria because I think that with respect to elementary schools ... thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good case for middle schools as well,â&#x20AC;? Dauber said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our current state isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the state that we should be happy with.â&#x20AC;? Dauber also urged McGee to think about the time and opportunity costs of yet again deferring a board decision on enrollment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I encourage you to make this as short a time frame as is reason-

able and to focus the committee on where we can get value out of the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The committee doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to boil the whole ocean.â&#x20AC;? Dauber said the committee, for example, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to make any financial recommendations to the board but rather simply present the costs of potential options. All board members also told McGee that they want to be connected to the committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s process and want the public to be regularly updated on the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, which is slated to begin in late February or early March, McGee said. The committeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charge will return to the board at its next meeting on Jan. 27 for approval, after which the application process will begin. The committee will aim to issue its recommendations to the board this fall. Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com.

Correction In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sweet communityâ&#x20AC;? in the Jan. 9 issue, it was incorrectly stated that Stacy Sullivan attended high school in the 1960s. She attended high school in the 1980s. The Weekly regrets the error. To request a correction, contact Editor Jocelyn Dong at 650-223-6514, jdong@paweekly.com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302.

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+ 1 -/1 ,,0,.-*(1 (+ 2 -&.)+/*12 %1*$1 -'+2 '.+ 2 2 www.PaloAltoOnline.com â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ January 16, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 9

Upfront

News Digest Sutter Health, Blue Shield in contract dispute

Courtesy Veronika/Sidewalk Salon

Haircuts for the homeless Richard, above, a Downtown Streets Team member, poses for his â&#x20AC;&#x153;beforeâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;afterâ&#x20AC;? shots during the during the Sidewalk Salon event at All Saints Episcopal Church in Palo Alto on Jan. 12. Great Clips hair stylist and Sidewalk Salon volunteer Antoinette-Marie Figueroa, below, styles Downtown Streets Team member Sylviaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hair during the event.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been told they will need to switch doctors soon due to a contract dispute between Sutter Health and Blue Shield of California. Notices sent to customers warn the health insurer canceled coverage as of Jan. 1 for all hospitals and medical providers affiliated with Sutter Health. Palo Alto Medical Foundation is part of the Sutter Health network of providers. The cancellation affects 140,573 HMO members, who will get letters later this month stating that they will be assigned a new primary physician as of April 1, according to Blue Shield spokesman Steve Shivinsky. In addition, letters have been sent to 4,413 PPO members who have used Sutter facilities in the past 12 months and another 139,338 PPO members living within 15 miles of a Sutter facility. The letters inform patients that they can continue using Sutter providers until June 30, with some possible increase in out-of-pocket costs. After June 30, if no new contract is reached, Sutter will become an out-of-network provider and out-of-pocket costs will increase substantially. Blue Shield is asking for a cut in reimbursement rates, and Sutter officials have asserted that the two sides remain â&#x20AC;&#x153;very far apartâ&#x20AC;? on the financial terms of the contract. Bill Gleeson, a spokesman for Sutter Health, said on Tuesday, Jan. 13, that the two sides are not currently in negotiations but that Sutter has received offers from Blue Shield in recent days. However, he said that Blue Shield has not yet offered a deal that â&#x20AC;&#x153;represents significant financial movement.â&#x20AC;? Q â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Bay City News Service and Sam Sciolla

Buena Vista residents allowed to appeal

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Palo Alto officials set the stage on Monday for an emotional hearing over the future of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park when they affirmed the right of the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roughly 400 residents to challenge a decision authorizing their eviction. After a long discussion and plenty of testimony from Buena Vista residents and their supporters, the City Council voted unanimously that the Buena Vista Residents Association could appeal an administrative judgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s September decision that found the parkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s owner, Joe Jisser, offered the residents fair compensation for relocation from the 4.5-acre property in the Barron Park neighborhood. Residents and their attorneys have consistently contended that the compensation offered is insufficient and that Buena Vistaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s closure will cost them not just their homes but also their jobs and their childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Palo Alto education. The council rejected the argument from Jisserâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attorney that the appeal shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be allowed to proceed and then focused on the details of the appeals hearing. The process will include 30-minute presentations from each side, followed by rebuttals and a period for public comments; expert testimony by each side for up to 10 minutes; and submission of statements from each side, which would be made available 21 days before the hearing begins, most likely some time in April. Q â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Gennady Sheyner

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7KLV HYHQW LV IUHH DQG RSHQ WR WKH SXEOLF HWKLFVLQVRFLHW\ VWDQIRUG HGX Page 10 â&#x20AC;˘ January 16, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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

COMMUNITY

Local events commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day Volunteerism and remembrances mark birthday of civil-rights leader by Palo Alto Weekly staff Luther King Jr. Freedom Train on Monday, Jan. 19, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the civilrights leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The train is chartered by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley and will depart from the San Jose Diridon Caltrain Station at 9:45 a.m. and will travel to

the San Francisco Caltrain Station. There is no special southbound service, but Freedom Train tickets will be accepted on southbound trains departing San Francisco after 1 p.m. that day. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley at brownpapertickets.com/event/937736. Q

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elebrations honoring civilrights leader Martin Luther King Jr. are set to begin Friday. Here is a list of events in the Palo Alto area. King Institute open house: On Friday, Jan. 16, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University will host its annual open house and celebration of the civil-rights leaderâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life and work. The event starts at noon and will highlight the instituteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest publication, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Volume VII â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;To Save the Soul of America, January 1961 - August 1962,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? which documents Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early relationship with President John F. Kennedy and his efforts to remain relevant in an increasingly militant protest movement. The event will also feature entertainment from 3 to 5 p.m. from acclaimed jazz pianist Tammy Hall and Stanford University alumna Jessica Anderson, a former member of the Stanford Gospel Choir and co-founder of the Afro-Fusion Jazz ensemble Chicago Collective. Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, professor emerita, author and activist, will be present to sign her new book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Destinyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Child: Memoirs of a Preacherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Daughter,â&#x20AC;? which traces 200 years of African-American history through Gibbsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; own family and personal story. She will also talk about her memories of dating King during the early 1950s when they were both students in Boston. For more information, visit kinginstitute.stanford.edu. MLK Freedom Day: Heartbeat Earth and Silicon Valley Families are holding its MLK Freedom Day on Saturday, Jan. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Onetta Harris Community Center, 100 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park. The event, sponsored by the Social Justice Committee of First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, Youth Community Service, Reach and Teach, and PAN African City Alive, will feature games, expressive art and guest speakers. Entrance is free, but a $5 donation to benefit Youth Community Service, an organization that offers students ways to get involved in the community, is suggested. For more information, visit MLKFreedomGames.jottit.com. Day of service: Join the nonprofit Youth Community Service and the City of Palo Alto Recreation Department for a community-wide day of service as part of a nationwide event to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The event will take place on Monday, Jan. 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King Plaza, 250 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto. Freedom Train: Caltrain will run the annual chartered Dr. Martin

NEW YEAR

Upfront

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CityView A round-up

of Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Jan. 12)

Buena Vista: The council affirmed the right of the Buena Vista Residents Association to appeal the pending closure of the mobile-home park and adopted procedures for the appeals hearing, which will take place in April. Yes: Unanimous El Camino: The council approved a letter to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority expressing the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concerns with the proposed Bus Rapid Transit project. This includes opposition to the alternative that would create dedicated bus lanes on El Camino. Yes: Unanimous

Board of Education (Jan. 13)

Gunn High: The board approved a revised schematic design for the Central Building Project at Gunn High School. Yes: Unanimous

Planning and Transportation Commission (Jan. 14)

Downtown Cap: The commission continued its discussion of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Downtown Cap Study, which evaluates future restrictions on commercial development downtown. Action: None Bike bridge: The commission discussed the proposed designs for the Highway 101 overpass at Adobe Creek. Action: None

Architectural Review Board (Jan. 15)

Bike bridge: The board commented on the three final designs for the proposed Highway 101 overpass at Adobe Creek. Action: None 429 University Ave.: The board discussed a proposal from Kipling Post LP for a four-story mixed-use building at 429 University Ave. and agreed to continue the discussion on Feb. 19. Yes: Unanimous

Avenidas presents its 4th Annual Financial Conference

Computer Systems Associate Embarcadero Media is looking for an Information Technology professional to join our IT team to support and manage our Windows and Mac infrastructure.

Boomer Bootcamp: Firming Up Your Financial Fitness

We are looking for a person who can work as part of a support team, troubleshooting hardware and software, while providing Windows server administration and network management. You would provide computer support for both of our Bay Area locations (Palo Alto and Pleasanton) based in our main Palo Alto ofďŹ ce. This is an entry-level position, but an ideal candidate would have helpdesk and troubleshooting experience. We want that special someone who is technically savvy with excellent people skills. Windows server administration would be a huge plus. Additionally, as time allows, you will have an opportunity to share in building the exciting web-based features we are constantly adding to our custom-built PHP/MySQL platform for our awardwinning websites. But, sorry, no designers please. Your own transportation is a necessity. Mileage is reimbursed. This is a full-time, beneďŹ ted position. Please email your resume and cover letter to Frank Bravo, Director of Information Technology, at fbravo@embarcaderomediagroup.com with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Computer Systems Associateâ&#x20AC;? in the subject line. Embarcadero Media is an independent, award-winning news organization, with a 35-year publishing history.

4 5 0 C A M B R I D G E AV E N U E | PA L O A LT O

Saturday, February 7, 2015 8:30 am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4 pm Mitchell Park Community Center 3700 MiddleďŹ eld Road

For discounts, workshop information and to register. visit Avenidas.org or call (650) 289-5435.

Experts will discuss: â&#x20AC;˘ Retirement Readiness â&#x20AC;˘ Social Security Strategies â&#x20AC;˘ Health Insurance Costs â&#x20AC;˘ Investments and Cash Flow â&#x20AC;˘ Legal/Trust Issues ...and more

TOOLS FOR POSITIVE AGING

www.PaloAltoOnline.com â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ January 16, 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 11

Honda lease (continued from page 5)

But while the plan to create a cluster of dealerships never really advanced, it never really died either. Neither did Anderson’s interest in the site. City staff again explored the idea of a land swap as part of its 2011 assessment of the city’s infrastructure. A specially appointed Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission in its report highlighted sales-tax revenues as an “important component of the city’s financial stability.” “The city recognizes a need to pursue economic-development strategies that enhance the benefits for businesses to locate in Palo Alto and, for that reason, has begun to consider the creation of an auto-dealer cluster along East Bayshore Road,” the report states. Though the current council hasn’t really explored the topic, the idea came up last October when officials considered approving funds for a study of the sprawling Municipal Services Center immediately next to the animal shelter. The $250,000 study would consider “options for relocating City functions, personnel, and equipment currently operating out of the Municipal Services Center (MSC) and Animal Services Center (ASC), and then repurposing the sites to produce longterm economic benefits for the city.” At the time, council members Karen Holman and Greg Schmid both expressed concerns about the study and the potential effect on the animal shelter, prompting staff to defer the item to a meeting the following month. “The consideration of moving those facilities and locating those that will bring revenues to city, such as auto dealerships, has been at the front of discussion for a few years,” Holman said at the Oct. 20 meeting, in stating her dissent. “When those projects came forward before, it seemed like it really was not a financial advantage to the city.” When the proposed study resurfaced on Nov. 4, the council voted unanimously not to proceed with it at the time. The $250,000 was placed into the city’s Infrastructure Reserve, with the intent of revisiting the appropriation request

in 2015. But even though a land swap is not currently in the works and the stretch along Highway 101 in Palo Alto remains billboard-free, Anderson Honda has quietly moved onto a peripheral portion of the animal-services property — and it did so without a peep of public debate. Last April, John Anderson reached out to the city about leasing an L-shaped portion of the animal shelter parking lot and using it for car storage. About a month later, a licensing agreement was in place, with Anderson paying the city $5,400 a month to store cars at the lot, which was previously used by the Utilities Department and the city’s Office of Emergency Services. The city’s agreement with Anderson Honda was never discussed by the council or publicly disclosed until December, when it was mentioned in City Manager James Keene’s annual report on the city’s leases of public sites. Documents obtained by the Weekly through the Public Records Act paint a picture that is quite different from the one Benest painted in 2008, when the land-swap proposal was framed as a way to keep an important revenue generator from leaving the city during a time of economic stress. Last April, the dealership was facing a different problem: rising sales and not enough space to fit all of its cars. “Our business is booming right now, and it looks like we may need more storage soon,” John Anderson wrote on April 3 to Thomas Fehrenbach, the city’s economic development manager. “Is there any place we could store cars in the back of the Corp yard?” The following day, Fehrenbach replied that there “might be space in the Animal Services lot.” A few days later, he put Anderson in touch with Hamid Ghaemmaghami, who runs the city’s Real Estate Division. On May 2, Anderson, who signs his emails John “BigDog” Anderson, wrote to Ghaemmaghami that he would “love to grab that Animal Services lot for two months if I could.” On May 6, Fehrenbach emailed Ghaemmaghami to “follow up with this important request.” “If you could get rolling on this, I know John would appreciate it!”

Veronica Weber

Upfront

Honda Civics from Anderson Honda sit in a parking lot adjacent to the Animal Services Center in Palo Alto in mid-January.

Veronica Weber

The parking area available for lease adjacent to the Animal Services Center is surrounded by a large row of trees facing East Bayshore Road. Page 12 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Fehrenbach said. Later that day, Anderson sent his own email to Ghaemmaghami, saying, “Sorry to rush you, but we need to start parking there asap.” Within days, the agreement was in place and Honda moved the fleet south to its new station near the animal shelter. Unlike a formal lease, this was a “license agreement” that functioned on a month-to-month basis and gave each party the right to cancel the agreement with a 30-day notice, Ghaemmaghami told the Weekly. Under the terms, Anderson paid the city 40 cents per square foot, the lot’s appraised value. For the 13,500-square-foot site, this came out to $5,400 a month. The arrangement was made at the city-staff level, without council or public input, and the timing seemed to surprise even some city employees. In early May, Nathan Rainey from the city’s Office of Emergency Services was preparing to move a 20-foot long container stored at the animal-shelter site and requested assistance from other departments with lifting the container. On May 12, the day before the container was to be moved, Rainey received an email from Russ Kamiyama, a manager in the Utilities Department. “I happened to stroll over to the Animal Shelter, and I noticed that Anderson Honda has already begun to park their cars, and the container in question is buried,” Kamiyama wrote. City officials quickly reached out to Anderson Honda and the company agreed to move its cars later that afternoon. In response to a Weekly inquiry, Rainey said the container included emergency supplies and equipment “tailored to large field operations or a large disaster, which are not routine in Palo Alto.” He emphasized that there was no risk to public safety as a result of the cars and noted that since the incident the city has “repositioned some of the equipment from that container to be more mobile and accessible.” Though Anderson initially re-

quested leasing the land for two months, the Anderson fleet has remained on the shelter property ever since. This week, about 30 Hondas were parked there. John Anderson did not respond to a request for comment, but in an interview with the Weekly, both Fehrenbach and Ghaemmaghami said that there is nothing unusual or improper about the city’s agreement with the dealership. City policy gives City Manager James Keene the right to lease land for up to three years without approval from the council (at Cubberley Community Center, the terms are five years). The rules did not

‘This was just about parking some cars in a place where we’ve had a history of parking vehicles.’ —James Keene, city manager, Palo Alto require staff to notify the council and, accordingly, no one on staff did so, even when the topic of the Animal Services Center came up during last fall’s discussion of the Municipal Services Center study. When asked whether this agreement should have been disclosed more publicly, Fehrenbach noted that the animal shelter was listed on LoopNet, a website for commercial sites available for rental. “Hamid marketed this through public real estate channels, so it was sitting out there as a potential situation,” Fehrenbach told the Weekly. “We took the opportunity of Anderson needing some shortterm parking space.” But unless one takes time to go through the city’s LoopNet listings, the fleet of Hondas sitting next to the animal shelter could raise an eyebrow or two. Both Holman and Councilman Greg Scharff were surprised Wednesday when the Weekly asked them if they knew about Anderson Honda’s use of the lot. Neither

was aware of that fact. Ghaemmaghami also noted that in reaching the license agreement, the city did not play favorites with Anderson Honda. The rental rate was based on the site’s appraised value. Furthermore, this was an opportunity to support a local business, Ghaemmaghami said. “They are part of the community, too,” he said. “They bring in sales tax, they hire people and they’re good citizens for the community.” Keene told the Weekly that the ongoing agreement with Anderson in no way implies that the city has any larger or more permanent plans for the animal-shelter property. The idea of having a cluster of dealerships in the Baylands is “ancient history,” he said. “Our sense was that any idea about Anderson Honda going there permanently was just not an option at all,” Keene said. “This was just about parking some cars in a place where we’ve had a history of parking vehicles, both for Utilities and Emergency Services.” Keene also noted that, as a month-to-month license from which the city can get out any time, the arrangement is sensible and low-risk, as well as one that provides a “small revenue stream to the city.” If the council were to ask staff to move the cars, that would happen. Keene also noted that the city’s recent projects near the Baylands make it increasingly unlikely that the chronically percolating idea of a land swap with a commercial entity will ever resurface. “I just think that the efforts we’ve made with the early closure of the landfill, the planning and design we’re doing now on the Highway 101 pedestrian-and-bike bridge and the general sensitivity about land around the Baylands and in the whole area really argues for us moving as much as possible (away) from an industrial presence there.” Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

Upfront

Public Agenda

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A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hear a summary of pending bicycle-boulevard programs; consider approving the Maybell Avenue bike boulevard and Churchill Avenue enhanced bikeway projects; adopt a procedure for voting before going into a closed session; and consider increasing the council’s salary from $600 to $1,000 per month. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. BOARD POLICY REVIEW COMMITTEE ... The committee will discuss its policies on social media, math instruction, and identification and education under Section 504, among others. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, at school district headquarters, Room A, 25 Churchill Ave. HISTORIC RESOURCES BOARD ... The board plans to hold a retreat at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. PUBLIC ART COMMISSION ... The commission plans to elect its officers; consider the design proposals for the Highway 101 overpass at Adobe Creek; and review the proposed public art at 430 Forest Ave. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 13

Upfront

Parcel tax (continued from page 5)

crease and asked what amounts voters would support based on both the positive and negative arguments.) “I don’t actually support the $120 increase not because we don’t need it but because the polling in my mind was not completely solid,” she said, comparing it to the 69 percent of original support indicated for a 2004 parcel tax (which would have boosted an existing tax from $293 per parcel to $521) that fell just short of the two-thirds of support needed to pass. Godfrey also warned that “a 400-person survey isn’t representative of the community.” But district consultant Charles Heath said of the poll as a whole, “I don’t think it’s a barrier to success.”

“The rest of the poll is a glowing green light that the community would support a renewal and an increase,” he said. Godfrey said she was more comfortable with a $96 increase, which garnered 73 percent of support after voters heard both positive and negative information. Godfrey also urged her colleagues to align the ambitious wish list of programs and efforts that the new tax could pay for with the district’s overarching strategic plan and focused goals. That wish list is divided into three sections — equitable opportunities and access; STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programming and pathways; and student wellness — and asks for the community’s support in enabling efforts like the expansion of summer school and early literacy intervention, support for Buena Vista Mobile Home Park students who face eviction from their

homes, engineering curriculum for middle and high school, family counseling programs, nursing services at the elementary schools and annual bias and harassment training for students and staff. Missing from the ballot language itself is the piece on student wellness, however, board Vice President Heidi Emberling said. “Students’ social-emotional health should not be an afterthought,” she said. “It should be an integral part of any districtwide goal.” Emberling suggested adding a clause to the ballot that reads, “Strengthen efforts to promote student health and well-being.” The other board members expressed support for doing so. Board member Camille Townsend said the increased revenue from the renewed parcel tax is “critical.” “If you compare ourselves to equivalent districts across the

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nation, we simply don’t have the money,” she said. “The demands that this community puts on its administrators, its teachers and its students, frankly, is incredible. How do we do all that the community wants?” According to the poll, the top three issues that the parcel tax currently supports that voters

smaller class sizes. The most important new use for additional parcel-tax money, according to those surveyed, would be adding support staff to help atrisk students who are struggling with the basics (78 percent said it is very/somewhat important and 31 percent said it is very important). Townsend said there are other

‘Students’ social-emotional health should not be an afterthought.’ —Heidi Emberling, board vice president, Palo Alto Board of Education viewed as most important are attracting and retaining qualified teachers; supporting advanced programs in science, math and technology; and providing enhanced electives for high school students, including art, music and social sciences. In descending order, the other important goals to voters are keeping elementary school libraries open and fully staffed; maintaining teaching specialists in the areas of reading, math and science; maintaining teacher training and support programs; providing additional school counselors and psychologists for students who need help; and maintaining

priorities she felt weren’t represented in the survey, such as world language instruction. Board president Melissa Baten Caswell cautioned that even with a $120 increase, the district will not be able to accomplish all of the items on the community’s or the district’s wish list. “Staff will have to pick from the categories,” she said. “They’re not going to be able to do the whole ball of wax.” The board will vote on the parcel tax at its next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com.

Online This Week

These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAlto Online.com/news.

Traffic hampered firefighters response Firefighters were hampered from reaching an East Palo Alto home on Monday evening when a fire broke out because of heavy traffic. And the problem of delayed response times is becoming an increasing concern for departments across the area, including in Palo Alto, local fire chiefs said. (Posted Jan. 14, 8:27 a.m.)

East Palo Alto’s wireless network to shut down In May 2008, the WiFi101 network went live in East Palo Alto to bridge the “digital divide” separating residents from the benefits of Internet access. Now, that free wireless network, which covers East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park, will shut down, according to nonprofit Computers for Everyone. (Posted Jan. 13, 2:55 p.m.)

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Palo Alto recreation chief says farewell After a varied three-decade career that took him from a teenaged volunteer at Palo Alto’s animal shelter to the director of the city’s Community Services Department, Greg Betts is preparing for the next phase. (Posted Jan. 13, 8:50 a.m.)

or email: tzahiralis@embarcaderopublishing.com

House fire starts in cluttered garage A fire that damaged an East Palo Alto home on Monday evening started in a densely cluttered garage, causing an estimated $80,000 in structural damage and $40,000 in losses to the home’s belongings, Menlo Park Fire Protection District officials said. (Posted Jan. 12, 10:22 p.m.)

Support Palo Alto Weekly’s print and online coverage of our community. Join today: SupportLocalJournalism.org/PaloAlto Page 14 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

TEDx returns to Gunn High on Jan. 16 TEDx is returning to Gunn High School in Palo Alto for the fourth year this Friday, Jan. 16, with high school students lined up to give talks along with speakers like the founders of Siri, a Stanford University genetics professor and an 18-year-old Google intern from Tel Aviv. (Posted Jan. 12, 2:55 p.m.)

Masseur pleads ‘not guilty’ for alleged crimes An East Palo Alto man facing sexual battery charges pleaded not guilty on Thursday, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. (Posted Jan. 10, 4:17 p.m.)

Upfront

Bike bridge (continued from page 7)

ing.” “It’s a shame there has to be a winner and someone who doesn’t win,” he said. “But whoever gets the second place, maybe that bridge should be considered for the span between Town and Country (Village) and Paly,” he added, deadpan. The debate over the bridge’s “iconic” character re-emerged Thursday morning, when the architecture board took up the subject. Board member Catherine Ballantyne made a case for keeping things subtle near the Baylands, a part of the city that she said is marked by a “low-profile elegance” and that should “speak for itself.” While she acknowledged the arch bridge would be iconic, she wondered if that quality should really be the deciding factor. “Does ‘iconic’ really need to be an attribute, or is it just a product of Palo Alto’s ego?” she asked. Board Chair Randy Popp and Vice Chair Robert Gooyer both went over the tradeoffs inherent in each of the proposals before stating a preference for the arch concept over the other two. Gooyer said that the choice should come down to which attribute the council values most: an “iconic statement” or a “subtle, low-keyed and delicate” structure. The kayak bridge, which finished third during the jury’s deliberations last month, retained its underdog role during the reviews this week, though Popp praised its “exceptional design.” The problem, he said, is that it doesn’t seem to be very compatible with the freeway beneath it. The trucks and the diesel exhaust will “override the beauty of that in a very short period of time,” Popp said. The board members were the only ones who struggled to pick a favorite. Judith Wasserman, a former member of the Architectural Review Board and chair of the jury that selected the arch proposal, said in December that she was “blown away by how beautiful and poetic all of these were.” “That’s what most people who preferred the arch said — that you will see this more than the other bridge,” Wasserman said. “The other bridge was very elegant, structurally amazing, and looked like it was self-supporting. We looked for sky hooks and didn’t see them.” But much like the planning commission, Wasserman had nothing but love for all three bridges. “I personally felt that you can close your eyes and throw darts and come out good,” she said. Popp made a similar point Thursday and praised the city for going along with the design competition that netted the three finalists. “It’s really remarkable what we got here today,” Popp said. “I think we’re really on a spectacular path to having something amazing added to the fabric of our city.” Q

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 15

Last Year’s Grant Recipients 10 Books A Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Ada’s Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,000 Adolescent Counseling Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Bayshore Christian Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Breast Cancer Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Building Futures Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 CASSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Children’s Center of the Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,200 Collective Roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Computers for Youth Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Deborah’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Downtown Streets Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 DreamCatchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000 East Palo Alto Kids Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 East Palo Alto Youth Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Environmental Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 EPA Tennis & Tutoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Family Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Foothill-De Anza Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Foundation for a College Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Friends of Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

Thank you for supporting the Holiday Fund

Hidden Villa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 InnVision Shelter Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 JLS Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500 Jordan Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500 Kara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000 Mayview Community Health Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Music in the Schools Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000

Through January 12,

408 donors have contributed $ 199,210. With match $349,210 has been raised for the Holiday Fund.

New Creation Home Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 New Voices for Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,500 Nuestra Casa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Palo Alto Art Center Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Palo Alto Community Child Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Palo Alto Historical Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Palo Alto Housing Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Palo Alto Humane Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,500 Parents Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Peninsula HealthCare Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Project WeHOPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000 Quest Learning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Racing Hearts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,500 Rebuilding Together Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Silicon Valley FACES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 St. Elizabeth Seton School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 St. Francis of Assisi Youth Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 St. Vincent de Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,000 Teen Talk Sexuality Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Terman Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500 TheatreWorks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Youth Community Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,000 Youth Speaks Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

CLICK AND GIVE

Donate online at siliconvalleycf.org/ paw-holiday-fund Page 16 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

New Donors 10 Anonymous ..................... $17,395 Susan & Harry Hartzell ................ 300 Nick Atkins & Jennifer Wang ......... 250 Ann Burrell & Charles Smith ............. * Stephanie Martinson........................ * Anna Welke ................................... 50 Gwen Barry ..................................... * Ellen & Mike Turbow..................... 250 Earlyne Mund................................... * Sherry Brown................................... * Kay Sabin ........................................ * Timothy Collins ......................... 6,000 Kenneth E. Bencala & Sally O’Neil ... 100 Michael & Ruth Lowy .................... 100 Jean & John Tang ............................. * Merele McClure ........................... 250 Jonathan MacQuitty................... 1,000 Werner Graf ..................................... * Kay & Don Remsen .......................... * Claire & Ed Lauing ....................... 250 Susan Osofsky............................... 50 Elgin Lee ..................................... 250 Alan Wachtel.................................... * Patricia Bubenik ........................... 500 Shailan Shah ............................... 100 Linda Selden .............................. 200 Orumchian Kim ............................ 250 Jill Bicknell ...................................... * Kathleen & Tony Hughes ........... 1,000 Leannah Hunt .............................. 200 Marc Igler & Jennifer Cray ............... 50 Elizabeth Shepard ............................ * Reed & Judith Content ................. 200 Marion Lewenstein ....................... 500 Bob &b Jan Hermsen ....................... * Bob Barrett & Linda Atkinson........ 100 Marjan Wilkes .............................. 300

Carroll Harrington......................... 100 Carol Leonard ................................ 50 Anna Messner ............................. 250 Teresa Lau .................................... 25 Cynthia Costell............................... 50 Rick & Lisa Barr ........................... 150 Eileen Brennan ............................ 250 Carolyn Melena .............................. 75 Richard Ellson.............................. 100 Morton Maser.............................. 150 Jean Doble ...................................... * Charles Katz ................................ 500 Colleen Anderson & Jim Lobdell .... 250 Madeline Wong .............................. 50 Albert Russell .............................. 250 Fran Codispoti & Ken Schroeder ... 500 Jane Holland.................................... * Steve & Noel Beitler ..................... 100 Ed & Linda DeMeo ....................... 100 Glenn & Lorna Afﬂeck................... 100 Marianne & John Bowers .............. 200 Vicky Blake .................................. 200 Herbert Fischgrund ...................... 150 Stuart & Carol Hansen ................. 100 Susan Bartalo & David Fischer ..... 100 Jeremy Platt & Sondra Murphy .......... * Gavin & Tricia Christensen ................ * Don & Dee Price .............................. * Jim & Nancy Baer............................. * Denise Savoie & Darrell Dufﬁe .......... *

In Memory Of Tinney Family ............................... 500 Clara & Seb Abel.............................. * Ivy & Irving Rubin ......................... 150 Helen Rubin................................. 150 Anna & Max Blanker..................... 150 Don Rush .................................... 100 Mary Fran & Joe Scroogs.............. 100

Your donation to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund helps local kids and families in need Greg Brown...................................... * Frank & Jean Crist.......................... 50 Edward & Elizabeth Buurma.............. *

In Honor Of Jill Caddes................................... 100 Scott & Polly Caddes.................... 100 Hayley Caddes ............................. 100 Jake Caddes................................ 100 Garrett Caddes ............................ 100

Previously Published Donors 36 Anonymous ..................... 113,790 Betsy & Nick Clinch ...................... 250 Dr. Roger and Mary Jackman ............ * Jacqueline Reynolds-Rush ............ 200 Tony & Jan DiJulio ............................ * Joan Norton..................................... * Jean & Charles Thompson .............. 50 Ellie & Dick Mansﬁeld ...................... * Theodore & Frances Jenkins ........... 50 Luca & Mary Caﬁero ........................ * Richard Baumgartner & Elizabeth Salzer ..................... 300 Anne Talbott ................................ 300 Diane & Brandy Sikic........................ * Irene Schwartz................................. * Helen Feinberg ......................... 2,000 Jack & Susan Thomas ...................... * Veronica Tincher .......................... 100 Bryan Wilson ............................... 100 William Macrae ................................ * Elisabeth Seaman ........................ 100 Living in Balance .............................. * Sandra Slater .................................. * Daniel Cox ................................... 200 Weil Family .................................. 250 Lorrin Koran M.D. .......................... 50 Mary Lorey ...................................... * David Wells ................................... 50 Robert & Betsy Gamburd.................. * Anne & Don Vermeil ......................... * Sandra & Scott Pearson ............... 500 Bjorn & Michele Liencres........... 1,000 Lorraine Macchello........................... * Ken & Michele Dauber ................. 500 Amy Harris & Joss Geiduschek ..... 100 Jack & Martha McLaughlin ............... * Barbara & Charles Stevens............... * Patrick & Emily Radtke .............. 2,000 Margaret & Les Fisher .................. 100 Marjorie Giles .............................. 300 David & Karen Backer .................. 250 Laura Simeone .............................. 50 Noble & Lorraine Hancock ................ * Martha Shirk ............................... 500 Ellmann Family............................. 100 Dorsey and Katherine Bass .......... 300 Faith Braff ................................... 500 Wendy Sinton .............................. 100 Victor & Norma Hesterman ............... * William & Sally Hewlett.............. 2,000 Edward Kanazawa ............................ * Donald & Adele Langendorf .......... 200 Ellen Lillington ............................... 75 Jean M. Colby .................................. * Chris & Beth Martin ......................... * Lawrence Naiman ........................ 100 Tom & Patricia Sanders .................... * Dorothy Saxe ................................... * Roger Smith ................................ 300 Marian Adams ............................. 100 Brigid Barton ............................... 400 Lucy Berman ............................ 1,000 Harriet & Gerald Berner .................... *

Roy & Carol Blitzer ........................... * John & Olive Borgsteadt ................... * Linda & Steve Boxer......................... * Larry Breed ................................. 100 Bruce F. Campbell ..................... 2,000 Mr. George Cator ....................... 300 Ted and Ginny Chu ........................... * Keith Clarke..................................... * Constance Crawford ......................... * Theodore and Cathy Dolton .......... 350 Eugene & Mabel Dong ................. 200 Tom & Ellen Ehrlich ..................... 300 David & Diane Feldman ................ 750 Bonnie Packer ............................. 100 Hans & Judith Steiner .................. 100 Harry & Susan Hartzell .................... * Carolyn & Tony Tucher ...................... * Marc & Ragni Pasturel ................. 200 Tony & Priscilla Marzoni.................... * Tom & Patricia Sanders .................... * Robert & Connie Loarie .................... * Sallie & Jay Whaley ...................... 100 Eric Richert.................................. 100 Jerry and Linda Elkind .................. 250 Leif & Sharon Erickson ................. 250 Russell Evarts ................................. * Solon Finkelstein ......................... 150 Annette Isaacson ......................... 100 Hoda Epstein ................................... * Chittra Chaivorapol....................... 400 Arden King..................................... 20 Marie Earl & Peter Skinner............ 100 John & Florine Galen ........................ * Greg & Penny Gallo ...................... 500 Betty Gerard ................................ 100 Dena Goldberg............................. 250 Margot Goodman ............................ * Lynda & Richard Greene ............... 300 Eric and Elaine Hahn ........................ * Phil Hanawalt & Graciela Spivak.... 500 The Havern Family..................... 5,000 Walt and Kay Hays ........................... * Joe and Nancy Huber ....................... * Jon & Julie Jerome ........................... * Michael & Marcia Katz ................. 200 Sue Kemp ................................... 250 Christina Kenrick....................... 1,000 Michael & Frannie Kieschnick ........... * Hal & Iris Korol ................................ * Tony & Judy Kramer.......................... * The Kroymann Family ................... 250 Patricia M. Levin .......................... 100 Steve and Nancy Levy .................. 500 Mandy Lowell ............................... 100 Gwen Luce ...................................... * Lori & Hal Luft ............................. 100 Kevin Mayer & Barbara Zimmer......... * Richard L. Mazze ......................... 100 Drew McCalley & Marilyn Green .... 100 Eve & John Melton ....................... 500 Merrill & Lee Newman ................. 250 Craig & Sally Nordlund.................. 500 Jim & Alma Phillips....................... 250 Helene Pier...................................... * David & Virginia Pollard ................ 300 Teresa Roberts ......................... 2,000 Dick and Ruth Rosenbaum ........... 100 Peter and Beth Rosenthal ............. 300 Steve & Karen Ross ..................... 100 Nancy & Norm Rossen ..................... * Don & Ann Rothblatt ........................ * Dan and Lynne Russell................. 250 John and Mary Schaefer ............... 100

Jerry & Donna Silverberg .............. 100 Bob and Diane Simoni.................. 200 Art and Peggy Stauffer ................. 500 Peter S Stern ................................... * Jeanne and Leonard Ware ................ * Roger Warnke .............................. 200 Susan & Doug Woodman.................. * Gil and Gail Woolley ..................... 300 Lawrence Yang & Jennifer Kuan . 1,000 Art & Helen Kraemer ........................ * Barbara Klein & Stan Schrier ............ * Patti Yanklowitz & Mark Krasnow... 200 Andrea Smith............................... 100 Larry Baer & Stephanie Klein............ * Ms. Amy Renalds ........................... * Jody Maxmin................................... * Van Whitis ................................... 200 Diane Doolittle ................................. * John & Nancy Cassidy .................. 300 Charles P. Bonini.............................. * Lee & Judy Shulman ........................ * Robert & Barbara Simpson ............... * Janis Ulevich ............................... 100 Judith & James Kleinberg ................. * Leo & Marlys Keoshian .................... * James & Renee Masterson............... * Ralph Britton ............................... 300 Nancy Steege .............................. 100 Joanne Koltnow ........................... 200 Diane & Steve Ciesinski ............... 500 Charlotte Epstein ............................. * Caroline Hicks & Bert Fingerhut .... 100 Jessie Ngai .................................. 100 Xiaofan Lin .................................... 50 Hal and Carol Louchheim ................. * Rathmann Family Foundation ............ * Judy Ousterhout ............................... * Debby Roth.................................. 100 Sandy & Rajiv Jain........................ 101 Dennis & Cindy Dillon ....................... * Ho John Lee ................................ 100 Stan & Yulia Shore ........................... * Mehdi Alhassani .......................... 150 Dmitri Seals .................................... * Mike & Dana Nelson ...................... 75 Brigid Barton & Rob Robinson ...... 400 Adria & Beau Brown ......................... * Meri Gruber & James Taylor .............. * Janice Bohman ............................ 250 Jan Swan......................................... * Dexter & Jean Dawes ....................... * Nina Kulgein ................................ 200 Rick & Eileen Brooks ........................ * Michael & Jean Couch .................. 250

Martha Cohn ............................... 100 Maureen Martin ............................... * Diane Moore.................................... * Micki & Bob Cardelli ......................... * Matt Glickman & Susie Hwang ...... 500 Ralph Wheeler ............................. 225 Robyn Crumly .................................. * Bill Johnson & Terri Lobdell........ 1,000 Jan Thomson & Roy Levin ............. 250 Shirley Ely.................................... 500 Tatyana Berezin ............................... * Bonnie & Bryan Street ..................... * Bob & Joan Jack .......................... 300 Annette Glanckopf & Tom Ashton ...... * George & Betsy Young ...................... * Mahlon & Carol Hubenthal................ * John & Ruth Devries......................... * Linnea Wickstrom ........................ 100 David & Lynn Mitchell ................... 300 Virginia Fehrenbacher ................... 100 Lani Freeman & Stephen Monismith... * Mike & Cathie Foster.................... 500 Don & Bonnie Miller ......................... * Page & Ferrell Sanders................. 100 Joyce Barker ................................ 100 Lijun & Jia-Ning Xiang ................... 200 Hugh McDevitt ............................. 200 Robert French.............................. 100 Patricia Thomas ........................... 100 Scott Wong .................................. 200 Pam Mayerﬁeld ............................ 100 Thomas Rindﬂeisch .......................... * David Labaree ............................. 200 Mike & Lennie Roberts................. 100 Boyce & Peggy Nute ......................... * Zelda Jury ................................... 100 Karen Sundback & James Moore... 500 Steve & Mary Chapel ....................... * John & Lee Pierce ........................ 250 Mary Jo & Leonard Levy ............... 250

Al and Kay Nelson ............................ * Dr. Elliot Eisner ................................ * Ruth & Chet Johnson ....................... * Robert Lobdell ................................. * Baxter Armstrong ......................... 100 Phillip Gottheiner ............................. * Boyd Paulson, Jr .............................. * Dan Dykwel ..................................... * Dr. David Zlotnick ............................. * Dr. John Plummer Steward............ 100 Richard Brennan .............................. * Bob Donald ..................................... * Leonard W. Ely ............................. 200 Don and Marie Snow .................... 100 Kathy Morris .................................... * Pam Grady................................... 250 Carol Berkowitz ................................ * Yen-Chen and Er-Ying Yen ............. 250 Francine Mendlin ............................. * Richard Brennan .......................... 100 Helene F. Klein ................................ * Jean M. Law ................................ 100 Ernest J. Moore ............................... * Mary Floyd..................................... 25 Thomas W. and Louise L. Phinney ..... * Leo Breidenbach .............................. * Bob Schauer................................ 150 Bertha Kalson ................................. * Steve Fasani................................ 100 Jimmie Dickinson ......................... 100 John F. Smith............................... 250 Robert Spinrad ............................ 500 My sweet Dad Al Pellizzari ................ * My sweet dog “Tuﬁ” ......................... * Ed Arnold......................................... * Sam Stewart & Alan Stewart ............ * August Lee King ............................. 25 Nate Rosenberg ............................. 75 Betty Meltzer ................................... * Aarol O’Neill .................................... * John Black ................................... 500 Jim Byrnes................................... 100

In Honor Of Our grandchildren Emma, Greyson, Elizabeth & Samuel ..... 300 Richard Van Dusen & Kaye Kelley ... 250 Marilyn Sutorius ........................... 300 The Barnea-Smith Family .................. * Hamilton Avenue friends................... * Sallie Tasto.................................. 100 Gary Fazzino .................................... * Uncle Bill’s 50th birthday ................. * The Settle Family ......................... 500 Palo Alto Weekly staff ...................... * Sandy Sloan ................................ 100 Larry Klein’s service on City Council.... *

As a Gift For Mark Zuanich............................... 150

In Memory Of

Foundations, Businesses & Organizations

Bob Markevitch ................................ * Mom, Dad and Louie ........................ * Ryan ............................................... * Florence Kan Ho .............................. * Dominic Greening .......................... 50 The other 99% ............................. 200 Nickolas Rudd ............................. 100 Ludwig Tannenwald .......................... * Jack Sutorius ............................... 300 Nick ........................................... 500 Emmett Lorey .................................. * Becky Schaefer ................................ * Ted Linden................................... 200

Palo Alto Business Park ............ 1,000 United Methodist Women of the First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto .................... 500 Arrillaga Foundation ............... 10,000 Peery Foundation .................... 10,000 Communication & Power Industries....500 Attorney Susan Dondershine ........ 250 Harrell Remodeling, Inc. ................... * Bleibler Properties LLC ................. 500 Alta Mesa Improvement Company ............................... 1,500 Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run & Walk .......................... 36,994

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 17

Pulse

Alcohol or drug related Drinking in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Open container. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Possession of paraphernalia . . . . . . . . 3

A weekly compendiumof vital statistics

POLICE CALLS

Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Prowler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Palo Alto Jan. 7-13 Violence related Arson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Strong arm robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Attempted burglary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Vehicle related Abandoned auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Driving with suspended license . . . . . 10 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 9 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 3

Miscellaneous Camping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Disobey court order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Unattended death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Warrant notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Menlo Park Jan. 7-13 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Theft related Check fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

George Koestner

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto El Camino Real, 1/8, 8:52 p.m..; suicide adult/misc. 180 El Camino Real, 1/9, 10:23 p.m.; robbery attempt/strong arm. 1540 Middlefield Road, 1/9, 11:56 p.m.; arson/misc. 845 Ramona St., 1/11, 11 a.m.; domestic violence/battery.

Menlo Park 500 block El Camino Real, 1/7, 3:58 p.m.; battery. 1300 block Garden Lane, 1/12, 9:48 a.m.; battery.

December 31, 1931-December 29, 2014

After working at Reynolds as a management trainee, George returned to Washington University. In 1964 he received his MBA degree, which spearheaded his highly successful business career. That year Corning Glass Works hired George as the financial manager of a small branch in Newton, New Jersey. During the following ten years Corning offered him three promotions. The last of these was a job as the financial manager of a small pioneering subsidiary in Silicon Valley. Ultimately George, with other officers and employees founded Scientific Micro Systems Inc. in Mountain View, California. He became the CFO. SMS was one of the first companies to develop new kinds of storage systems for computers. The company grew and flourished until it had nearly 900 employees. George was highly involved in ushering SMS to “go public”. Before and after its incorporation George managed all of the financial and legal affairs of the company, as well as HR. Some years later, after retirement George was asked to become the CFO of Buslogic, Inc., a start-up formed by two young engineers. This company, too, prospered. Along the way George expressed his love for his family and his interest in youth sports, by coaching Little League teams. Through coaching George instructed and inspired young players to develop their skills and special talents. He encouraged them to fearlessly seize opportunities on the field and to play wholeheartedly. If there were mistakes, he never judged his players; he forgave them. Besides baseball, George coached, managed, and became a commissioner of both AYSO and later, CYSA teams on which Paul and Sarah played. As a result of these activities George, his family, and a Palo Alto soccer team of 16-year-old boys, were able to go on a spectacular sports-cultural tour to Hamburg, Germany. This people-to-people tour was not only educational but yielded wonderful friendships. George also loved music of all kinds. While young he played the saxophone. Later he pursued public speaking through Toastmasters. He was able to express humor in speeches at work which delighted all. He also taught Sunday school and became the head usher at his church. He and his family are grateful to have realized so many dreams: beautiful homes, skiing at Northstar, children’s educations, vacations and much more. Such a joyful life! A celebration of George’s Life will be held at the Forum at Rancho San Antonio in the Sierra Room, 23500 Cristo Rey Drive, Cupertino, California 95014, on Saturday, January 24, 2015 from 2PM4PM. Donations in George’s honor may be made to charities of your choice. PAID

Page 18 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychiatric evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Jacquelin Mitchell

June 29, 1934 – December 24, 2014 George Koestner, a man whose heart was full of love for his family, friends, business associates, neighbors, pets, and the larger community, both at home and abroad has moved to a higher realm. George, also known as “Red” or “Bud”, died on December 24, 2014 at age 80, while living in Cupertino, California. He is survived by Julie, his wife of 57 years, son, Paul, daughter-in-law Amy, daughter, Sarah Cording, son-in-law Richard Cording, three granddaughters--Emily Koestner, Alexa and Elise Cording, Karen Gerdel, niece, of Montpelier, Vermont, and cousin Gloria Gottschalk of St. Louis, Missouri. He was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Hazel Koestner and his sister, Peggy Koestner Freund. George was born on June 29, 1934 in St. Louis, Missouri. He was brought up a Christian Scientist, and later became a lifelong member of the Mother Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston, Massachusetts and of the Frist Church of Christ, Scientist in Palo Alto, California. George began his baseball odyssey at about age 11. He became such a strong pitcher that when he entered Cleveland High School, his coach of both baseball and basketball told him to prepare for a college athletic scholarship. He gladly did this. By the end of his senior year in high school he had become the second most winning pitcher in the state of Missouri. After tryouts with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers, a group of professional baseball scouts came to his door with contracts. He also received scholarship offers. His very wise parents helped him consider these offers and they all concluded that he should go to the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. In the fall of 1953 he went to class and pitched baseball very well against strong competitors at the U of I, while working toward a degree. During the summer after his sophomore year he played semi-pro baseball for a community team in Pierre, South Dakota. That fall he transferred to Washington University in St. Louis. While there he continued to play baseball and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. In the summer after his junior year George met Julie. Cupid’s arrows flew between them. Immediately after graduation George joined the United States Army for a program of six months Basic Training followed by five years of Reserve Duty. He was offered Officers Training. Although he enjoyed military duty, he had Julie, his fiancée, and a very good job with Reynolds Metals Company waiting in St. Louis. George and Julie married in 1958. Their happily awaited first child, Paul, was born in 1964. This was joyfully followed by the birth of the daughter, Sarah in 1966. A more loving husband and father could never be found!

Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Theft undefined. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle related Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 5 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Vehicle accident/injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . 6 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Alcohol or drug related Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Miscellaneous Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Disturbing/annoying phone calls . . . . . 2 Domestic dispute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Gang validations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Juvenile problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

OBITUARY

Jacquelin Baumgarten Mitchell of Atherton died on December 29, 2014, after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband, Lincoln A. Mitchell, daughter Rebekah Ann Mitchell of Kentfield, sister Rebekah Ann Bashford of Idyllwild, and nephew Morris D. Mitchell and niece Elizabeth D. Mitchell, both of Soquel. Jackie, then “Miss Baumgarten,” taught kindergarten at Hillview School and then Encinal School in the Menlo Park School District from 1955 to 1961. She subsequently substituted in the Menlo Park and Palo Alto Unified School Districts as “Mrs. Mitchell” from 1962 until their daughter was born in 1969. Jackie was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on December 31, 1931 and graduated from the Packer School in Brooklyn Heights, New York, where she made her debut in 1949. She also graduated from Southern Seminary in Buena Vista, Virginia, and the Denver School of Education in 1955. She met her husband on Friday, October 13, 1961, when he was a third year student at Stanford Law School. They were married two and a half months later on December 29. She died on their 53rd wedding anniversary. He described their marriage as a 53-year love affair and said that both of them would have signed up for another 53 year tour if they could. Jackie was active in the Junior Leagues of Brooklyn Heights and Palo Alto Mid-Peninsula, doing her volunteer work at the San Francisco Airport Travelers Aid in the evenings to accommodate her teaching schedule. She joined the Woodside-Atherton Auxiliary to the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford in 1977 and was the complex director from 1994 to 1996 and in 2002 for the Allied Arts Guild, which the Auxiliary operates on Arbor Road in Menlo Park. She leased and managed the various shops on the property for the benefit of the hospital. She also chaired the Friends of Allied Arts in 1998, 1999 and in 2001. She and her husband, and often their daughter Rebekah, together with the family Airedale, cruised their 26-foot boat in the Pacific Northwest during most Augusts for 40 years, from the San Juan Islands north through the coastal waters of British Columbia and southeast Alaska to Skagway, Sitka and Glacier Bay. They never tired of the snow-capped peaks, pristine forests and ever present salmon, eagles and orcas and the occasional brown (grizzly) bear. Jackie never forgot her students and was able to recall each of them by name and description more than 50 years later. She loved every last one of them. Her husband practiced law in Palo Alto for 50 years, always with her support. They were members of the Delta Yacht Club and the Ladera Oaks Swim Tennis and Fitness Club. A memorial service, followed by a celebration of life, will be held on Friday, January 23 at 2:00pm at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 330 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park. Burial will be private. PAID

OBITUARY

Transitions Births, marriages and deaths

Elsie Trojak Elsie Ruth Trojak, a longtime Palo Alto community member and St. Thomas Aquinas parishioner, died peacefully in her home on Jan. 2, 2015. She was 98. She wa s born on June 2, 1916, to Harry and Ber tha McGinnes. She grew up on a family farm with many cattle and chickens in coastal Maryland. She had three siblings: Ralph, Harry and Helen, now all deceased. During World War II she became a U.S. Army nurse, a role that satisfied her desires for both service and adventure. She was stationed in a region of India, which later became a part of Pakistan, and she remembered Gandhi making a speech during her time there. Following the war, she returned to the U.S. and eventually became a licensed nurse in four states, including California. Among her many posts, she served at Letterman Hospital in San Francisco, including for years as head of pediatrics. While there she met her future husband Emil Trojak, and they married in 1952. Together they

Memorial services Alan Henderson, former mayor of Palo Alto, died on Sept. 13, 2014. He was 89. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 3 p.m. at Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Joan Robinson, a longtime Palo Alto resident, died on Dec. 14, 2014. She was 87. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 2 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto.

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bought a house in Palo Alto in 1958. She was involved in the congregations at the St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Albert the Great churches in Palo Alto for more than 50 years. She helped in a variety of ways with the parish, as well as the Poor Clares of Los Altos Hills, including giving car rides to church members, cloistered nuns and even Mother Teresa when she came to visit Palo Alto. The parish also helped her cope with the deaths of her daughter MaryAnne in 2002 and her husband in 2011. She kept in touch with her family in Maryland through frequent phone calls, and last summer, her nieces and nephews surprised her by visiting Palo Alto to celebrate her 98th birthday. She loved being a nurse, as

well as going on walks in her neighborhood and dancing — which she first learned to do from English soldiers during the war. She is survived by her nephews and niece in Maryland, William (Lucy) McGinnes, Ralph McGinnes, Robert (Linda) McGinnes, Jerry (Donna) McGinnes and Jean McGinnes — as well as their children and grandchildren. On the Trojak side, she is survived by her nephew, Eric (Lynne) Trojak of Half Moon Bay. A memorial Mass will be held on Friday, Jan. 16, at 11 a.m. at St. Albert the Great Church, 1096 Channing Ave., Palo Alto. Memorial donations can be made to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, 3290 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306.

Anne Moss Steinberg Anne Steinberg died peacefully in her sleep on Dec. 26, 2014. A long-time resident of Palo Alto, Anne was committed to civic interests. For many years, she was a very active member of the League of Women Voters, becoming a member of the California State Board of that organization. On a more local level, she was the founder of the Rose Kleiner Frail Elderly day program, and actively participated as a member of the Palo Alto Friends of the Library, the Palo Alto Planning Commission and the Palo Alto Housing Corporation Board for years. She was very proud of all her work, but especially the Housing Corporation. Anne subsequently moved to San Francisco where she was a member of the San Francisco Friends of the Library. Being a Friend of the Library was extraordinarily meaningful to her because it affirmed her life-long love of literature. Anne was born in London, UK, in 1919, to parents Abram and Rachel Moss. A teenager during the Blitz, Anne met her future husband, David Steinberg, in London; his youngest brother had been sent to stay with her family as part of the kindertransport program. Anne and David were married in London on June 8, 1944, while David was on leave from the RAF. After the war, they lived in London until 1948, when they immigrated to the US, as a family of three with daughter, Aline and lived in Queens, NYC, where their son, James (Jim) was born. With many friends and family in New York, they remained there until 1957 when they moved to Palo Alto. Over the years, Anne became close to many friends and family members who also moved to California. Her love of travel gave her numerous opportunities to explore overseas and visit far-flung family members. She treasured trips to Japan with David, a visit to Singapore for a family wedding, and many trips to the UK to see family. One regret she had about aging was that she eventually had to give up traveling – and always cautioned Aline and Jim to travel while they could! Anne’s treasured grandchildren were all close to their grandmother: Chaz and Jake Steinberg, Risa Strobel and Kate Fletcher loved to listen to her stories and, as they grew older, to share their own with her. She will be missed by them, as well as by Jim and his wife Brenda, Aline and her partner Susan, and Andrew Moss, her closest and devoted nephew who has lived in San Francisco for many years. Her husband, David, preceded her in death. Although Anne had requested no funeral, a memorial event will be held during the spring to give her many local friends and relatives an opportunity to remember her together. PAID

OBITUARY

Daphne Hannig Resident of Palo Alto Oct. 21, 1989 - Jan. 4, 2015 Daphne Hannig, 25, of Palo Alto, was born to Frank Hannig and Karen Guttieri in Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied linguistics, English and art history at Foothill College and recorded music as The Amy Lynns. Daphne’s wit and beauty permeated her music, poetry, art and everyday conversation, bringing joy to all who knew her. A profound thinker, she found meaning in all experiences. And she was unbeatable at Boggle. She is survived by her parents and step-parents, Rodney Searcey and Mei-Hui Yang, her beloved sister, Contessa, three loving pets, many friends and relatives. A memorial will be held at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306 at 2pm on Saturday, January 17th with reception following. Spangler Mortuary is assisting with services www. spangermortuary.com. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rock Medicine http://www.healthright360.org/services-offered/rock-medicine or Victory Ranch Inc.http://www.victoryranchinc.org/home. aspx PAID

OBITUARY

Gerry C. Wagstaffe Gerry C. Wagstaffe, a lifelong resident of San Mateo County, died unexpectedly at home on January 9, 2015 at the age of 55. Gerry was the cherished only daughter of Gerard and Jean Wagstaffe, both of whom preceded her in death. A graduate of St. Francis High School, Gerry received her Associate of Arts Degree from Foothill College in 2006 and her Bachelor of Arts Degree from San Jose State in 2012. She was a loyal follower of the San Jose State Spartans. Previously an employee of Raychem Corporation, Gerry was employed by Stanford Hospitals & Clinics for more than 28 years, most recently as an Inventory Control Clerk. She traveled widely in her free time. Gerry was especially appreciative of the care provided her by the physicians and staff of Kaiser Hospital and UCSF in her recent kidney transplant. Gerry is survived by her brother, Dennis Wagstaffe, his wife Cathy Wagstaffe, and their children, Jeffrey Wagstaffe and Elizabeth Wagstaffe. Gerry is also survived by her dear friend, Coulter Cleary, and brothers Raymond Wagstaffe, James Wagstaffe and Stephen Wagstaffe. Her brother, John Wagstaffe, preceded her in her death. A memorial Mass will be held in her memory on January 23, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 131 Marine View Avenue, Davenport, California. The family asks that donations in Gerry’s memory be made to Kainos (for “Pete’s Place”) at 3631 Jefferson Avenue, Redwood City, California. PAID

OBITUARY

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 19

Editorial

Toward greater transparency Council should adopt policy requiring vote before closed sessions

e are all for a proposal to be considered next Tuesday by the Palo Alto City Council that would require an affirmative vote to authorize any closed session, whether born out of last year’s scathing Grand Jury report, a sincere belief in greater transparency or pure political grandstanding. It is impossible to know whether such a rule would have resulted in any past closed sessions not happening, but it’s a reasonable and harmless step toward greater transparency and individual accountability. Under the current practice, used by most local agencies, a decision to have a closed session is made unilaterally by the city manager and the city attorney and is guided by the state open-meeting law, the Brown Act, which spells out the limited circumstances when meetings may exclude the public. The most common exceptions are for personnel matters, labor or real estate negotiations and litigation. The law is permissive, not prescriptive; nothing requires a public body to meet in closed session except in a very few cases that, in general, involve individual privacy rights. But the practice in most cities is to take full advantage of the Brown Act’s exceptions and to meet in closed sessions whenever the city manager and city attorney believe it is legally permissible. A notice of the closed meeting and the topic(s) to be discussed must appear on the agenda and by law the public must be given an opportunity to comment prior to the commencement of the closed meeting. Since the closed meetings are often set to happen prior to the start of the open public meetings, however, no members of the public are usually present, and often neither are most council members. The proposal to change this process was made by Councilman Greg Scharff in the wake of the Grand Jury report, which found that the City Council inappropriately noticed and held closed meetings to discuss developer John Arrillaga’s unsolicited interest in purchasing a city-owned parcel that was not for sale next to his property near Foothills Park. The discussions did not involve negotiations nor any other legitimately exempt matters and was a clear violation of the law. Every council member, and especially lawyers Scharff, Larry Klein and Marc Berman, should have recognized the problem, raised objections and, if necessary, left the meeting. Scharff now proposes that the City Council vote in public prior to going into closed session, primarily as a way to make council members assume the responsibility for affirmatively determining a closed session is in compliance with the Brown Act and in the public interest. Former councilman Klein, who opposed the idea when it was proposed and again when it was considered last October by the council’s Policy and Procedures Committee, argued that the proposal was a solution in search of a problem and that under the current process any council member may make a motion in closed or open session not to close the meeting to the public. Klein is right, but so is Scharff. Although Klein successfully argued that there should be a public discussion about the city’s Cubberley lease negotiations with the school board when legally the council could have avoided doing so under the Brown Act’s real estate negotiation exception, such action is virtually unprecedented, and the council willingly defers to city staff on closed-session determinations. While an individual council member can object to a closed session, either before or after it has started, we know of no instance where this has occurred and then led to the reversal of the staff’s decision. Elected officials are well-known to use closed sessions, especially those noticed as performance reviews of the city manager or school superintendent, to discuss matters the Brown Act prohibits, but there is no effective enforcement mechanism. In considering Scharff’s proposal last October, the Policy and Procedures Committee split 2-2, with now retired Klein and Gail Price opposing it and Scharff and now-Vice Mayor Greg Schmid favoring it. The idea therefore comes to the council next week with no recommendation from the committee, but also without two opponents. It is not likely that imposing the requirement for a vote prior to going into closed session will dramatically change the number of closed sessions held by the City Council, but it does achieve greater transparency and will, on occasion, cause both staff and council members to think twice about it. Had this proposal been the policy back in 2013 when the Arrillaga discussions took place, we hope that a council member would have raised objections prior to a vote to go into closed session, sparing the council the embarrassment that later followed.

Page 20 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Equal access needed Editor, A recent article in the Daily Post (“Cop car cams fight crime,” Dec. 27-28) provoked me to do some thinking about the public’s right to access police videos. The updated video system that the Palo Alto Police Department (PAPD) has recently purchased, and are now using in their patrol cars, sounds excellent. It is great that the updated video equipment allows for the wider and more accurate capture of activity by alleged criminals, as well as the police. Moreover, it is important that the tapes content can be accessed by defense attorneys representing someone charged with a crime, pursuant to criminal law discovery practice. However, if a citizen is not arrested and charged with a crime, but still believes they have been abused, beaten or in some other fashion treated unfairly by the police, there is no policy in place to allow the videos to be viewed by the complaining party, police watchdogs or representatives of the press. Notwithstanding the fact that the police can release a video as evidence that they have been falsely accused of police misconduct, the alleged victim of police abuse has no equal right to demand access to the tapes. Gaps in the California Public Records Act, and special protections afforded by the Peace Officers Bill of Rights, must be closed to ensure public access to this valuable tool. The same legal dilemma will apply to the use of body-worn cameras, when the PAPD implements them in the future. The lack of a firm policy allowing full access to police videos undercuts the credibility of the video program. It leaves the public feeling manipulated and mistrustful of the police. With a more equal policy in place, we can ensure that Palo Alto takes a leadership role in police transparency and community police relations. Aram James Los Robles Avenue, Palo Alto

Same standards? Editor, As a fellow graduate of William S. Hart High School, I must come to the defense of Trent Irwin’s commitment tweet to “the university of Stanford,” mentioned in the Jan. 9 issue’s Sports Shorts. Applying the same standard you apply to the tweet to your coverage, there are no less than three times as many grammatical and accuracy issues in your coverage of the tweet than in the tweet itself. I would expect you to

apply the same level of attention Trent’s given to catching balls to catching your own slips, when calling out the slips of others. Love to the Weekly! And love to Hart High! Bryan Kirk Emerson Street, Palo Alto

Not Greendell Editor, In your latest Palo Alto Neighborhoods booklet (Dec. 31, 2014), once more you called my neighborhood “Greendell” when it should be known as “Fairfield Estates.” Our 77 homes, built by Mackay and McKellar, were built in two sections, first in 1953, the balance in 1954. The Greendell Eichler homes were built arriving about two years later, and there were only 48 homes. Someone fell short on their homework. Warren Storkman Mackay Drive, Palo Alto

Where does one park? Editor, What a mess the city of Palo Alto has made of parking at the new Mitchell Park library. There

are six handicapped spaces; that would be OK if there were not four more handicapped slots nearby at the edge of Mitchell Park, all of them empty when I went by. There are three parking spaces for hybrids only and four parking slots set aside to recharge electric autos. Then there are 12 parking spaces with signs that say “car pool,” with an additional sign that reads “car share only except by permit.” (Who is eligible for a permit anyway?) Behind the library are eight parking spaces identified as “staff parking,” and if you park there the minimum fine is $250. In the nearby Mitchell Park parking area they have painted a red curb where there used to be at least 10 parking spaces. It appears that many of the parking slots that could have been made available to those using either the library or Mitchell Park have been otherwise assigned. The clear message here is, if you plan to drive alone to the Mitchell Park Library, be prepared to park on nearby residential streets. Jean Wilcox Sutherland Drive, Palo Alto

WHAT DO YOU THINK? The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.

Would you support an increase in the school-parcel tax? Submit letters to the editor of up to 300 words to letters@paweekly.com. Submit guest opinions of 1,000 words to editor@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. 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 Editorial Assistant Sam Sciolla 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

To sleep, perchance to dream of change by Maria Daehler he Palo Alto Weekly article (Jan. 9) on the sleep assembly at Gunn High School continued a lively discussion on how we can best help our students have a healthier and happier adolescence. I was struck by the numerous online comments about the need to limit homework and the hopes that the administration would do so soon. Some of these comments were similar to the recommendations by two sleep experts, Drs. William Dement and Rafael Pelayo, who spoke at the assembly. They discussed the need to increase sleep and not do homework at the expense of sleep. They also shared how a sleep deficit can impact the safety of our students in many ways, such as unsafe driving, increased illness, an increase in impulsivity and irritability, a decrease in academic performance, increased risk of sports injuries and even an increased risk of suicide. Dr. Pelayo emphasized that research findings show students with increased sleep perform better academically and in athletics. As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, it was concerning that much of the community discussion centered on the need for the Palo Alto Unified School District (PAUSD) to limit homework as a tool for increasing sleep but with little mention of other very important variables. Limiting

homework is certainly one step that can help our kids, and I believe the school administration is working toward that end. In fact, Gunn Principal Denise Herrmann said last semester that all teachers will be estimating the amount of homework assigned, and students will be surveyed on homework load. This was already done in November for all math classes at Gunn. However, there are many causes for sleep abnormalities, and not all of them are school-related. It is helpful as parents to see where we can affect the safety of our children. Parents can be alert to biological, psychological, cultural and environmental contributors to sleep loss and seek information and help if needed in these areas. Contributing conditions such as sleep apnea, asthma, anxiety and mood disorders can be treated by health professionals, and kids should be referred who have symptoms suggesting such underlying causes of sleep loss. Simple steps such as no caffeine after lunch time make a world of difference for many people with insomnia. Psychological issues include teens feeling it is cool to stay up late or that school work or socializing is more important than sleep. Parents can help their teens solve these problems of adolescence whether it is an attitude change, learning how to organize their time better or setting limits to allow for more sleep. In the past, social mores helped parents in setting these limits. Now, social networking and hand-held electronic devices obliterate what was once a cultural norm of no calling after 9 p.m. on a school night. Parents can also help when there are environmental stressors that contribute to sleep loss. For example, the reliving of

trauma can be disruptive to sleep and can be relieved by getting psychological help for these teens. More commonly, electronic devices have entered the environmental scene of teens’ lives in ways we middle-aged parents can barely anticipate. Lights shining from these devices into the retinas of the user prevent release of melatonin in the brain and delay sleep onset. Also, they are small and portable, which makes them a common part of teens’ bedtime routines. This can keep the user’s mind turned on and tuned in. Instead, people are better able to fall asleep by lying in bed with a routine of dim lights, and less thought and stimuli. Recommendations are that these devices not be used for one hour prior to a planned bedtime, and never in bed. At the Gunn assembly students were asked about their use of these devices. They indicated that their usage was even higher than teens studied by Dr. Pelayo in his research. This is not surprising given that PAUSD teens live in the heart of Silicon Valley, the place of invention and promotion of such devices. Given these findings, it is not surprising that teens were openly texting during the assembly last week. What’s critical is not that they were texting during the talk on sleep, but that they don’t interrupt each other’s sleep by texting after 10 p.m. on weeknights. Again, parents can set limits on texting, teens can re-create social norms and turn off their devices by a certain hour so as not to disturb their or others’ precious sleep time, and the industry can consider options such as automatic off times programmed into devices for users.

Schools cannot be wholly responsible for the biologic, cultural and environmental contributors to our children’s mental and physical health. However, as Gunn administrators Dr. Herrmann and Tom Jacoubowsky noted, they can help educate our children and our community on ways to be healthy in mind and body. I applaud their work to collaborate with experts in these areas and to bring internationally known sleep experts to our students as they did last week. Ongoing education and discussion on these topics is critical to change our new culture of electronic devices. Perhaps, the next step is pairing homework policy with sleep standards and continuing a collaboration between schools and parents to see where it takes us. I recommend a plan to encourage students to not work after a certain time at night so that sleep becomes the top priority. If students utilize a system in which they stop doing homework by 10 p.m. and are given no consequences in making up the work, the school can start to more readily determine who needs more support to maintain healthy boundaries. Sometimes that support is less homework or a lighter course load. Sometimes it is a medical referral. Sometimes it might be a contract with a student and parents to turn off electronic devices and go to bed. Sleep well Palo Alto. Dream of change. It has been possible. It still is. Q Dr. Maria Daehler is a child and adolescent psychiatrist, a parent of PAUSD students and an over-user and admirer of electronic devices (but working at turning them off by 10 p.m.).

Streetwise

Do you consider sustainability or ethics when deciding where to dine out? Asked at California Avenue. Interviews and photos by Sam Sciolla.

Elissa Hirsch

Jordan Sanches

Pam Conner

Suresh Gopalakrishnan

Gordon Reade

La Cresta Drive, Los Altos Hills Stanford administrator

Mayfield Avenue, Stanford Student

Military Way, Palo Alto Retired

East Evelyn Avenue, Sunnyvale Software engineer

Bryant Street, Palo Alto Flight instructor

“I usually don’t dine out, because I mostly eat organic. ... There are a few restaurants I could eat, but I usually don’t.”

“If I’m eating out, I’ll eat food that’s good for me, so organic or sustainable. ... I know that eating meat isn’t sustainable, but I do that.”

“I don’t. I go where I like the food. ... It’s hard to find places that publicize that they are practicing sustainability.”

“I don’t do that at all. ... (I consider) taste, price, cleanliness, maybe. ... Most restaurants are ethical by default, I think.”

“Oh, I’d put that at about 70 percent. ... I don’t want animals to needlessly suffer.”

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 21

Palo Cover AltoStory Weekly

Raúl Cañibano

Among Cañibano’s signature talents is that of capturing multiple subjects in a single frame, as in this 1998 shot taken at a Psychiatric Hospital in Havana.

The story of

Cuba, told on film

Cristina García Rodero, Magnum

here are many ways to tell the story of a people. For Cuban photographer Raúl Cañibano, there’s no better way than with a camera, some film and his favorite 28-millimeter lens. Next week, an exhibition of the artist’s black-and-white photographs opens at Foothill College. “Raúl Cañibano: Storyteller” draws together images taken over the course of more than 20 years and is the result of an ongoing collaboration between curator and Foothill photography professor Ron Herman and Cañibano, one of Cuba’s most celebrated photographers. By pure chance, Cañibano’s first solo exhibition in the Western United States has coincided with a momentous shift in U.S. and Cuban relations, with presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama announcing on Dec. 17 their intention to restore diplomatic relations, followed by the release of 53 American political prisoners from Cuba, confirmed earlier this week. As the 55-year-old U.S. embargo against Cuba looks poised to lift, the two countries enter a new era of tentative re-engagement in which the future, though uncertain, looks brighter than the past. It’s against this hopeful backdrop that Cañibano travels to California next week to share and speak about his work. It’s an opportune moment for Americans to reflect on images of Cuba and to

Acclaimed Cuban photographer Raúl Cañibano will speak about his work at Foothill College on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

Photographer Raúl Cañibano’s Bay Area exhibit comes at a pivotal moment in Cuban history by Elizabeth Schwyzer

learn about the country from an artist who has spent his career documenting its people. The country depicted in Cañibano’s black-and-white photographs is not the Cuba Americans think of first: that of scruffy guerrilla fighters Fidel Castro and Che Guevara scowling into the lens or puffing on Cuban cigars. Born in Havana in 1961, two years after the end of the Cuban Revolution, Cañibano never knew those political struggles firsthand. The Cuba he inherited was a country reeling in the aftermath of a massive upheaval, and the people he has documented over the course of three decades are not revolutionaries; they are

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children and neighbors, workers and elders. Neither does he tend to turn his lens on the vintage 1950 automobiles and once elegant, now crumbling facades that visitors to Havana find so visually alluring. Instead, Cañibano’s work evidences an insider’s eye. His gaze takes in the full range of Cuban life: the city and the countryside, the young and the old, the proud and the vulnerable, the beautiful and the lost. Across all his subjects, Cañibano’s gaze is intimate, sometimes humorous and sometimes haunting, but always compassionate. In one image, a barechested young boy with worried eyes stands awkwardly against a

wall, posing with a lineup of dead rodents. In another, a child uses washing hanging on the line as an eerie disguise. In the city, a young bride wilts in the heat of a power outage as her coterie attends to her; in the country, a man carries the curled body of a crocodile against his chest. The title of his exhibition, “Storyteller,” reflects the way Cañibano sees his role in Cuban society: as a writer of visual stories. “I practice documentary photography,” the artist explained in an email interview earlier this month. (His responses, written in Spanish, were translated by Palo Alto-based photographer and graphic designer Alejandra

Chaverri, who collaborated with Herman on this project.) “I narrate my time and place in a very personal way,” Cañibano continued. “I develop photographic essays about a variety of topics. I narrate a history with beginning and end.” To Cañibano, the most interesting stories are those of the ordinary Cuban people. “I am interested in people as my main topic; their experiences, their surroundings, their customs and traditions,” he wrote. In his series “Chronicles of the City,” Cañibano tells the stories of urban Cubans. In “Guajira’s Land,” he draws close to those who live and work in the countryside, while in “Sunset,” he portrays the loneliness of aging with piercing candor. Works from all three series will be on view at Foothill College’s KCI Gallery as part of the exhibition, which opens Wednesday, Jan. 21, with a talk by the artist, and runs through March 11. A hardcover book with an introduction by Herman accompanies the exhibition. Today, Cañibano’s work is internationally recognized. “Guajira’s Land” won the grand prize in Cuba’s National Photography Exhibit in 1999. The following year, Cañibano was one of 11 photographers selected for a major retrospective show at London’s National Theatre, “50 Years of Cuban Photography.” Cañibano’s artistic success is all the more remarkable given the

Palo Cover AltoStory Weekly

Raúl Cañibano

In the village of Crucecita, a boy and a woman sit sorting beans at a table, while behind them a man plays violin outside the window.

As diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba shift, Cañibano sees his photographs as documenting a way of life in Cuba that may not last.

Raúl Cañibano

The contrast between young and old is among the recurring themes in Cañibano’s oeuvre, as seen in this 2012 shot from his “Sunset” series.

Attendants swarm around a young Havana bride during a 2005 blackout in Cañibano’s series, “Chronicles of the City.”

nearly insurmountable challenges he faced to develop his craft. As a child, Cañibano had always found photography compelling but had never had the means to pursue his interest. It wasn’t until he was in his his mid-20s that a friend lent him a Russian camera to take on a visit to his childhood home of Manatí, on the northern coast of the island. On this trip, he met a schoolteacher who practiced photography as a hobby and showed Cañibano how to develop and print photographs. “This caused a great impression on me,” Cañibano remembered. “When I returned to Havana from this vacation, with the little money I had, I bought the necessary equipment to take and develop photographs. I started shooting weddings and birthday parties and began making money with photography.” Yet it wasn’t until he stumbled across a posthumous exhibition of work by Cuban magical realist photographer Alfredo Sarabia

that Cañibano was moved to take his camera to the streets and to compose images that captured the Cuban people as he saw them. In his late 30s, he quit his job as a welder in order to pursue his art. Sadly, only a few images remain from the early years of his career. In a decidedly less lucky twist of fate than the one that brings him to the states today, Cañibano made the decision to devote himself to photography in the early 1990s, just as socialism collapsed in the Eastern Bloc, the Soviet Union dissolved and Cuba found itself without military, political or economic support. In the ensuing years, known in Cuba as the “special period,” the country’s economy shrank by nearly 50 percent, trade dwindled and daily essentials grew scarce. For the budding photographer, this meant supplies like film and photo-processing chemicals were practically nonexistent. “Cuba stopped receiving photography materials as the econom-

ic exchange with East Germany stopped,” Cañibano explained. “This made the beginning of my career as a photographer very difficult. I had to work with expired materials and took just a few photographs during this period.” Aside from these daunting technical limitations, there was the question of how to learn the craft of photography. With the country in a state of grave economic crisis and no institute of photography in Cuba to begin with, there were few options available for formal training. Cañibano tried to read technical photography manuals but found them so dry that he turned to studying classic photographs and even paintings, absorbing the fundamentals of composition by example. It was Cañibano’s distinct compositions that first attracted Herman to his work. A Bay Areabased photographer and organizer of international trips for photo enthusiasts since 2001, Herman took his first group to Cuba in 2010,

where he met Cañibano and saw his work at Havana’s photography museum, the Fototeca de Cuba. “What attracted me to his work initially were his compositions,” said Herman. “I was drawn to his unique sense of framing, often placing subjects on the edge of the picture frame and capturing multiple scenarios going on simultaneously within the same frame.” This talent for combining multiple subjects and capturing an unfolding scene at the most crucial instant recalls the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson. The late French photographer was known for images that arrest “The Decisive Moment” when action and composition converge. According to Herman, Cañibano similarly “captures the apex of multiple stories unfolding simultaneously within the same scene, thereby defining ‘The Decisive Cuban Moment.’” Cañibano’s use of surprising juxtapositions, his subtle humor and his instinct for compositions

that convey what Herman calls the “intoxicating chaos” of Cuba made his art instantly unforgettable to the American photographer. “His work was so powerful to me,” said Herman, “that the images stayed in my mind long after I returned to the U.S.” Cañibano’s flair for layering subjects in a single shot is evident in works like “Guarija’s Land, Crucecita, 2001,” in which a boy and a woman sit sorting beans at a table, while beyond them, a man stands outside playing a violin, his body perfectly outlined by the rough boards that make up the window frame. In “Sunset, Psychiatric Hospital, Havana, 1998,” a male figure in the foreground strides past the lens, his weathered skin and oddly puckered lips grabbing the viewer’s attention. Over his shoulder, another figure sits in the distance, head tipped back as if gulping a drink; a third figure appears at the (continued on page 24)

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Palo Cover AltoStory Weekly

(continued from page 23)

far right edge of the frame, visible only from the ankles down. It’s photos like these that capture Cuba not as a political symbol, a romantic ideal or a national tragedy but as a specific and vivid place where people go about their daily lives. And while Cañibano may capture fleeting moments in his work, it’s his long-term studies of communities — he often returns to the same street or village over the course of months or years — that allows him the privileged access and trust of his subjects, resulting in remarkably candid images of people going about their lives, unguarded. In his photographs, Cañibano offers a point of view that is both honest and idiosyncratic, that draws startlingly close to its subjects and yet dignifies them with an air of mystery. It’s a vision of Cuba few outside the country have seen, and fewer still in the U.S. As Herman noted, America’s vision of Cuba has been obscured for more than half a century; this exhibition provides a glimpse of a nation where life goes on in the face of all challenges. “Cuba and its people have been shrouded in mystery largely due to the embargo,” Herman noted. “Cañibano’s images provide insight into Cuba, which is largely unknown to many.” As Herman sees it, these images reflect not just the daily reality of life in Cuba but also the spirit of its people. “I think his photographs can teach Americans about the openheartedness and resilience of the Cuban people,” Herman said. “Despite daunting everyday challenges, Cubans display their warmth and resourcefulness in everything they do.” Resourcefulness and perseverance have been key to Cañibano’s

success and also to Herman’s ongoing collaboration with the Cuban artist. Since 2001, Herman has returned to Cuba four times, an effort that requires authorization by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and often involves delays while visas are approved, or in some cases, denied. “Organizing creative collaborations with artists living in Cuba has its challenges,” Herman acknowledged. “Communication can be difficult. We are so used to getting immediate responses in the United States because of our access to the Internet and telecommunications. In Cuba, Internet access is limited and unreliable, so sometimes I wait two to three weeks for an email response to a simple question.” Even phone calls and Skype from the U.S. to Cuba are many times more expensive than to any other country, due to the embargo. Still, Herman said, there’s no question the effort is worth the opportunity for cultural and creative exchange. His next trip to Cuba is planned for March of this year, with another planned for the end of June. In both cases, he’ll be taking a group of Bay Area artists along to meet Cuban photographers and to document the changing country. Both Herman and Cañibano express hope that these collaborations will continue and that the coming years might ease the process of arranging travel and communication between Cuba and the United States. Among the many lessons Cuba holds for Americans, Herman thinks, is that of valuing artistic talent and achievement. “One of Cuba’s greatest strengths is the arts,” he said. “Unlike most cultures, artists and musicians in Cuba are highly regarded. Many creative professionals in Cuba make more money than doctors and lawyers because they can sell artwork and CDs to tour-

Page 24 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

In this 2004 shot from Santo Tomás, a young boy poses with dead hutia: a common rodent in Cuba that is hunted for its meat.

Raúl Cañibano

Photography professor Ron Herman was initially drawn to Cañibano’s powerful use of framing, as in this 2006 shot from the town of Viñales.

Among the works from Cañibano’s series “Guarija’s Land” is this startling image taken in the swamps of Ciénaga de Zapata in 2006. ists and abroad in hard currency, whereas doctors and lawyers are paid the normal Cuban salary of approximately $20/month.” When asked whether he felt visual arts and artists were highly respected in Cuba, Cañibano made it clear he did, and also that respect and money were two distinct issues. “Yes, of course,” he wrote. “Overall we have a great artistic tradition and very good schools. Artists are well-respected, which has nothing to do with the economy.” As for the place of photography in Cuban politics, Cañibano preferred not to comment, although he acknowledged his own reaction to the news of recent weeks. “I felt very emotional with Obama’s speech because I am almost as old as the Revolution,” he wrote. “I am very happy with the good relationships between the

peoples of the United States and Cuba. The Cuban people are very happy. It is time to sand off the harshness from the past.” Though a warming trend in U.S.-Cuban diplomacy is welcome news in Cuba, such changes are likely to herald a shift in the lives of the Cuban people, both in the cities and in rural regions. That’s one of the reasons Cañibano sees his work as a kind of anthropological study. “My intent is to document a way of life and customs that may be lost with the passage of time,” he wrote. For now, “Raúl Cañibano: Storyteller” offers an intimate and vivid telling of the story of Cuba and its people, frame by astonishing frame. Q Arts & Entertainment Editor Elizabeth Schwyzer can be emailed at eschwyzer@paweekly. com.

What: Raúl Cañibano: “Storyteller” Where: Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) Gallery, Lower Level, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills When: Jan. 21-March 11. Gallery hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.6:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Artist lecture Wednesday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. in room 1501, followed by a reception from 7-9 p.m. Gallery talk with curator Ron Herman on Wednesday, March 4, from noon-1 p.m. Cost: Free Info: Go to RaulCanibano.wordpress.com or call 650-949-7082. To learn more about Ron Herman’s organized trips to Cuba, go to HermanPhotoTours.wordpress.com.

About the cover: In works like “Series: Guajira’s Land, Viñales, 2007,” Cañibano shows his eye for the decisive Cuban moment. Photo by Raúl Cañibano.

A weekly guide to music, theater, art, culture, books and more, edited by Elizabeth Schwyzer

St. Lawrence String Quartet premieres John Adams’ ‘Second Quartet’ by Janet Silver Ghent but sound really cool.” That’s because Adams’ inspirations come not only from Beethoven and Bach, but from Broadway, blues and big band. He sometimes treats the cello as if it were a bass in a jazz quartet or a rock band, beating out the rhythm. “I feel like my role is to provide that strong grounding,” said Costanza, qualifying, “that rhythmic drive is offset by a singing, lyrical quality.” Over the years, Adams’ music has engendered its share of controversy along with kudos. The New York Metropolitan Opera’s recent revival of his 1991 opera, “The Death of Klinghoffer,” has fomented protests over what some call a pro-Palestinian slant. Adams’ minimalist instrumental pieces have occasionally caused critics to raise their eyebrows. Among these is “Grand Pianola Music,” which Adams refers to in his autobiography, “Hallelujah Junction,” as “a P.T. Barnum of a work. ... It is my truant child, the one that antagonizes those listeners overburdened with good taste.” Coincidentally, Adams conducts that work this weekend with the San Francisco Symphony. On Sunday, following an afternoon performance in the city, he’ll hop in the car for “Second Quartet”’s evening premiere at Stanford.

Marco Borggreve

Margaretta Mitchell

“It’s still in-house,” said cellist laying John Adams’ “Chamber Symphony” at Christopher Costanza. “It hasn’t its 1993 American pre- escaped yet.” Like Adams’ “String Quartet” miere, cellist Stephen Harrison experienced a mixture of surprise (2008) and “Absolute Jest” (2012), and familiarity. “(It) had a sense of which were both composed with humor, the likes of which I’d never the St. Lawrence String Quartet in heard before,” Harrison recalled. mind and altered along the way, “Some of the music reminded the new quartet is a work in progme of what I used to hear when ress, as Adams himself admits. “What I appreciate about my I listened to cartoons.” Think Bugs Bunny chase scenes: the ca- friends in the St. Lawrence is their reening momentum, the sense of willingness to let me literally ‘imimpending climax. “That jack-in- provise’ on them as if they were the-box feeling I got when I was a a piano or a drum and I a crazy kid was almost irresistible,” said man beating away with only the Harrison, Stanford senior lecturer roughest outlines of what I want,” in cello as well as cellist with the Adams said in a press release from Palo Alto-based Ives Quartet and Stanford Live. “They will go the the San Francisco Contemporary distance with me, allow me to try and fail, and they will indulge my Music Players. After 40-plus years of creating seizures of doubt, frustration and chamber works, orchestral com- indecision, all the while providing positions, operas and ensembles, intuitions and frequently brilliant suggestions of their Adams continues to own.” generate surprises. “He’s willing to Audiences shouldn’t give and take,” said necessarily expect Nuttall, who has shades of “Kill the been rehearsing the Wabbit” — more new piece at Adams’ properly known as home in Berkeley, Wagner’s “Ride of along with Costanthe Valkyries” — za, second violinist when the St. LawMark Fewer and viorence String Quartet Composer John list Lesley Robertpremieres Adams’ Adams has worked son. The piece is one “Second Quartet” closely with the St. of three new works on Sunday, Jan. 18, Lawrence String commissioned to at Stanford’s Bing Quartet to develop celebrate the quarConcert Hall. But his “Second tet’s 25th anniverthey should expect Quartet.” sary. shocks of recogni“One of the great joys of playtion. The first movement, a sprightly ing new music in general is that we Allegro Molto, is based on phrases spend so much of our time playfrom the scherzo of Beethoven’s ing music by dead people,” Nuttall Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Ma- added. “When we get a score from jor, Op. 110. The two-part second John, there are always an amazmovement begins with a slower ing number of changes in terms of Andantino inspired by the open- articulation and tempo and gesture ing bars of the same piano sonata, and vibe — even orchestration and before segueing into an Energico pitches. ... It’s a real gift not only to inspired by one of Beethoven’s have him write a piece for us but be willing and able to work with “Diabelli Variations.” “Good composers borrow and us so closely in preparation for the great composers steal,” said St. premiere.” In Sunday’s concert, Adams’ Lawrence String Quartet first violinist Geoff Nuttall, paraphrasing new work will be sandwiched composer Igor Stravinsky. “Adams between pieces by storied “dead steals from Beethoven but turns people”: Haydn’s String Quarit into Adams. He’s totally Ad- tet No. 5 in F minor, Op. 20, and ams, but totally connected to the Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14 past. Most of the great composers in C-sharp minor, Op. 131. “We feel very strongly about through history have been inspired by what came before them (while) playing new work this way,” having their own voice — and Costanza said. “It’s quite rewardJohn is a perfect example of that.” ing ... to see how the evolution has Apart from the members of the gone.” The challenge in playing Adquartet, all of whom are artists in residence at Stanford, few have ams, he added, is “the complexity heard so much as a downbeat from of rhythms — rhythms that don’t line up with the time signatures the “Second Quartet.”

The St. Lawrence String Quartet will perform the world premiere of John Adams’ “Second Quartet” on Sunday, Jan. 18, at Stanford University. “He’s gonna be a busy guy this weekend,” said Costanza, who doesn’t expect raised eyebrows at Bing, emphasizing that Adams’ treatment of Beethoven is “respectful.” “He’s writing pure music about what interests him musically,” Costanza noted. Given the sheer breadth of Adams’ music, he’s not a composer who can be easily pigeonholed. “Although John Adams is often labeled a minimalist, his music defies categorization,” wrote Jonathan Berger, composer and Stanford music professor, in an email interview. “Just when he seems to be veering toward repetitive patterns, he will introduce a highly expressive, lyrical turn. A strong sense of spontaneity imbues even his most process-oriented music. It is no surprise at all that the St.

Lawrence Quartet and John Adams have found one another as collaborators. Both Adams’ music and the SLSQ’s performance are a magical blend of intellect and intuition, of witty surprise and sophistication.” Q Freelance writer Janet Silver Ghent can be emailed at ghentwriter@gmail.com.

What: St. Lawrence String Quartet premieres John Adams’ ‘Second Quartet’ Where: Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford When: Sunday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. Cost: $30-$75; $15 students Info: Go to live.stanford.edu or call 650-724-2464.

THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY presents

The Mohr Visiting Poet Louise Glück Reading W E D N E S DAY , J A N U A RY 21, 2015 8:00 PM C E ME X A U D I TO R I U M , Z A M B R A N O H A L L , K N I G H T M A N AG E ME N T C E N TE R 641 K N I G H T W AY , S TA N F O R D U N I VE R S I T Y Winner of the 2014 National Book Award for Faithful and Virtuous Night “[O]ne of the purest and most accomplished lyric poets now writing.” - Robert Hass

FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Information: 650.723.0011 http://creativewriting.stanford.edu Sponsored by Stanford University Creative Writing Program www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 25

Arts & Entertainment

Art

‘lift/HEFT’

Theater

City at 2120 Broadway St. For tickets or more information, go to dragonproductions.net or call 650-493-2006, ext. 2.

‘The Libation Bearers’

Music Pallade Musica

DINNER BY THE MOVIES AT SHORELINE’S

Cucina Venti c on Live musi sdays 5-8pm

Thur & s y a d s Wedne

Elizabeth Delage

Early music lovers take note: Montreal’s acclaimed Pallade Musica makes its West Coast debut tonight, Friday, Jan. 16, when it comes to Palo Alto’s First Lutheran Church (600 Homer St.) at 8 p.m. courtesy of the San Francisco Early Music Society. The grand-prize winners of the 2012 Early Music Baroque Performance Competition, the quartet will play a program of 17th-century European instrumental music, including works by Italian composers Dario Castello and Bellerofonte Castaldi, Austrian composer H. I. F. Biber and Danish- Montreal early music ensemble German organist Diet- Pallade Musica comes to Palo rich Buxtehude. Unlike Alto on Friday, Jan. 16. a typical chamber-music quartet consisting of two violins, a viola and a cello, Pallade Musica draws together baroque violin, baroque cello, harpsichord and theorbo, a plucked string instrument from the lute family. Tickets range from $30-$35; season subscriptions to the San Francisco Early Music Society are also available. Go to sfems.org or call 510-528-1725.

Courtesy Palo Alto Art Center

James Kasyan

For its 15th season opener, Redwood City’s Dragon Theatre has chosen a Greek tragedy: a powerful tale of violence and revenge. Aeschylus’s “The Libation Bearers” is the second book of the trilogy the “Oresteia,” and the play takes as its subject the murder of Clytemnestra by her son Orestes, who is avenging his father’s murder. First performed nearly 2,500 years ago, the “Oresteia” remains at Tasi Alabastro, left, plays the foundation of the Orestes and Jessica Bettencourt Western theatrical plays his sister Electra in tradition. Dragon Theatre’s production Dragon Theatre’s of “The Libation Bearers.” updated production runs now through Sunday, Feb. 1, with shows Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22 general admission, $10 for limited-availability rush, and $125 VIP. There’s also an opening-night gala after the show tonight, Friday, Jan. 16, as well as a post-show panel discussion on Saturday, Jan. 31, when Stanford Classics professor Rush Rehm will join the show’s director, Tunuviel Luv, to discuss the play and its relevance to contemporary audiences. The discussion will be followed by a reception with the artists; tickets to the Jan. 31 event are $30. The Dragon Theatre is located in downtown Redwood

As part of its ongoing artists-in-residence program, the Palo Alto Art Center presents ‘lift/HEFT,’ new sculptures by fiber artists Lauren DiCioccio and May Wilson. The two have been busy for the past few months creating art out of fabric donated by community members. Starting tomorrow, Saturday, Jan, 17, the results of their labors go on view to the public. The show runs through April 12, with an opening celebration on Friday, Jan. 23, from 7 to 10 p.m. San Francisco-based Wilson tends to use heavier materials, including industrial felt, vinyl, nylon and concrete, to explore the themes of struggle and restraint, while DiCioccio often inSculptures by Lauren corporates discarded DiCioccio and May Wilson will items like newspapers, be on view at the Palo Alto Art magazines and plastic Center Jan. 17 to April 12. bags in her intricate, embroidered works. In their first-ever collaboration, the artists have employed a range of techniques — stapling, sewing, stuffing and weaving — to create a series of whimsical, vaguely anthropomorphic fabric sculptures. The Palo Alto Art Center is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. To learn more, go to tinyurl. com/lvxy6et or call 650-329-2366. Q — Elizabeth Schwyzer

SEE MORE ONLINE www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Watch a YouTube video of Pallade Musica in the online version of this story at PaloAltoOnline.com.

January Specials Butternut Squash Soup Garnish with pumpkin seeds and olive oil.

Cioppino Fresh salmon, snapper, clams, mussels, crab legs and prawns in a spicy Venti tomato sauce.

Mediterranean Salad with Sea Bass Pan Seared Sea Bass, Faro, Spinach, Arugula, Sweet Potatoes, Light Pesto Sauce, Roasted Pine Nuts, Roasted Peppers, Dry Black Olives, Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette and Cherry Tomato.

Greek Salad Made with cucumber, roma tomatoes, kalamatn, olives, red onions, topped with crumbled fetta cheese and bell peppers. Served with lemon vinagrettte.

Filet Mignon Filet mignon in a red wine reduction. Served with broccolini and a risotto cake ﬁlled with blue cheese.

Grilled Lamb Chops in a Lemon Vinaigrette Sauce Served with Swiss chard, and Roasted Potatoes.

Sausage and Honey Pizza Made with tomato sauce, mascapone cheese, honey, Italian sausage, sarrono peppers, with fresh basil. We serve local and organic mixed greens along with daily fresh seafood.

Executive Chef Antonio Zomora

1390 Pear Ave., Mountain View (650) 254-1120 www.cucinaventi.com

Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Page 26 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Eating Out Michelle Le

Co-owner Myrra Rivera walks back to the kitchen after delivering lunch to customers. Michelle Le

Small venue,

Taqueria La Cazuela’s chicken meatball soup comes loaded with fresh vegetables.

huge flavors

Revelation-inducing burritos and artful tacos abound at Taqueria La Cazuela

by Dale F. Bentson n the first day of preparation before each school year begins, Principal Tami Espinosa of Brentwood Academy in East Palo Alto brings 60 staff and faculty members to nearby Taqueria La Cazuela for lunch. “The first year, I was overwhelmed,” said La Cazuela owner Gabriel Sanchez. “We could only seat 30.” But Espinosa brought tables and chairs and set them up outside. It’s become a tradition. “I was hooked on their food the first time I ate there,” Espinosa said. “We use them for all our parent events. Last year we had a shower for a teacher and needed a table for 10. When we arrived, the table was decorated. They are such nice people, very accommodating.” It’s hard to miss Taqueria La Cazuela. Not only is the location prominent — at the corner of Bay Road and Clarke Avenue — but the structure is also painted jalapeño green. It simply radiates “good Mexican food made here.” It wasn’t always that way. Four years ago this month, Sanchez and his wife, Mayrra Rivera, took

over the space, which had housed a similar restaurant. “The clientele was not so good,” Sanchez said. “Not only did we have to clean up the restaurant, we had to chase away some of the characters who hung around. It was slow going, so one day, I just took platters of tacos out on the street and gave them away.” It worked. Business has been solid ever since — and the clientele has improved. But nothing comes easy. Sanchez worked two jobs for years in order to set aside enough to buy the space at 2390 Clark Ave. He spent the daylight hours working in building maintenance, then went straight to the graveyard shift as a hotel receptionist. Once he opened the restaurant, Sanchez went from seeing little of his family to being surrounded by them. His mother makes the mole sauce twice weekly; his wife Mayrra makes the other sauces and specialties and handles the front of the house. One son and three daughters help out, school schedules permitting, but Sanchez does most of the cooking. His brother, who owns Taqueria La

Veracruzana in Santa Clara, has also been a big help, Sanchez said. Recipes come from family, friends and adaptations of traditional regional dishes. “I am from Veracruz (the Caribbean side of Mexico) and my wife is from Michoacán (the Pacific side),” Sanchez said. “She makes enchiladas Michoacanas ($10.50), which customers specifically come in for.” The small but colorful interior is designed for eating, not lingering — although no one is rushed. In summer, tables and chairs are added outdoors for al fresco noshing. There’s no alcohol, but there are several flavors of aguas frescas: refreshing beverages made with fruits and even flowers. The food is impressive: fresh, without too many distractions. The chili peppers in the sauces don’t overwhelm, but enhance the flavors. Everything on the menu is made to order. The carnitas super burrito ($6) was a revelation. Not only were the ingredients moist and juicy, but the tortilla was grilled, rather than steamed, which gave it a flaky crispness. The ingredients weren’t all squished together ei-

ther because it was just made, hot from the kitchen. Special one day, the chicken meatball soup ($7.99) was loaded with vegetables and the broth was golden and thick, almost creamy. The chicken meatball was large enough that I quartered it. The delightful chicken sope ($2) was made with the characteristic thick tortilla topped with refried beans, green chilies, tomato, chicken and a squiggle of sour cream, and sprinkled with fresh queso fresco. Enchiladas Michoacanas ($10.50) is not an easy dish to make. It’s a many-step process involving red chilies, onions, cabbage, potatoes, garlic, sauces, herbs and spices — and technique. The resulting dish is stacked with rich flavors, topped with avocado and queso fresco and served with fried chicken or steak on the side. Tacos al pastor ($1.35) came with tender barbequed pork, onions and cilantro dabbed with a slightly piquant red chili sauce. Other taco choices were carne asada (steak), carnitas (braised pork), chicken, and lengua (beef tongue). Both the fish (cod) and shrimp tacos ($2.50) were as artful as they were delectable. La Cazuela also serves breakfast with eggs four ways ($8 each) and a breakfast burrito ($5.50).

Throughout the day there are burritos, tacos, tortas, nachos (with meat), sopes, tostadas, combination plates and specialties such as chile rellenos, shrimp cocktail, flautas and a dozen others. There are also daily specials such as tamales and soups. Menudo, the traditional Mexican soup made of tripe, red chilies, onions and herbs, is prepared on Fridays and Saturdays. One cool morning, there was champurrado ($2.75), a thick maize-based chocolate drink with hints of cinnamon and vanilla. Just delicious. That’s what you get with dedicated on-site owners and a loving touch, not only in the food but in the ambiance, be it ever so humble. Q Taqueria La Cazuela 2390 Clarke Ave., East Palo Alto 650-289-0727 Hours: Monday-Saturday 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Reservations

Credit cards

Lot Parking Alcohol

Takeout Children

Outdoor dining: seasonal

Noise level: moderate Bathroom cleanliness: good

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 27

Eating Out

ShopTalk by Daryl Savage

SHADY LANE MOVES TO MENLO ... One of downtown Palo Alto’s oldest shops is closing next month and moving to Sharon Heights Shopping Center in Menlo Park. Shady Lane, 441 University Ave., is an eclectic craft store, art gallery and gift boutique. Owner and artisan Alice Deutscher said she will miss having her shop downtown, but she had no choice. “It’s been a wonderful experience being on University Avenue for 40 years, but our building is being demolished,” she said. “It’s definitely a bump in the road, but I’m a survivor.” Shady Lane will close next month, approximately one week after Valentine’s Day; its tentative Menlo Park opening date is early March. Deutscher found an octagonalshaped building for the store’s rebirth. The boutique’s new location has been vacant for about a year, ever since Fino Fino, a hat shop, moved out of the center. The unusually shaped space is located between Wells Fargo Bank and Starbucks, and Deutscher has big plans for it. “It has a courtyard, so I can hold outdoor artisan events,” she said. During her four decades on University Avenue, Deutscher witnessed many changes. “Rents have increased so much that a lot of the independent stores had no other option but to close,” she said. “Then the chain stores moved in. We still have local businesses here, but they are holding on for dear life.” Also involved in the planned demolition is the upscale furniture store, Design Within Reach, located at 447 University Ave. next to Shady Lane at the corner of Kipling Street. That store’s current lease expires in July 2015 and is expected to continue on a month-to-month basis until further notice, according to a shop employee. The proposal for the new development calls for a four-story, 50-foot building at 429447 University Ave., replacing the two current shops as well as the two vacancies established when yogurt shop Red Mango and clothing store Fashion Passion closed. Plans detail a concept for new ground floor retail, with a mix of offices, apartments and commercial space on the upper three floors.

TALKING TURKEY: ANATOLIAN KITCHEN EXPANDS ... It took nearly 18 months and more than $250,000, but restaurant owner Dino Tekdemir finally has managed to double the size of his Turkish restaurant. The addition to Anatolian Kitchen, 2323 Birch St., Palo Alto, opened last month. “I couldn’t be happier or prouder. It’s hard to believe this used to be a pizza place,” said Tekdemir, referring to the new wing of his restaurant, formerly the home of Ramona’s Pizza, which unexpectedly closed in May 2013. It was then that Tekdemir grabbed the space. “I completely gutted it and started fresh,” he said. The casual pizza joint has been transformed into an elegant bar and lounge. Pointing to the suede stools and elaborate marble bar, Tekdemir said, “Everything here has been custom-made from A to Z, and it’s all from Turkey. Once customers sit in these chairs, they don’t want to get up; that’s how comfortable they are.” A collection of Turkish rugs decorates the walls and floors of the 1,000-square-foot addition. Tekdemir has thrown himself into his restaurant. “I sold my other restaurant in San Francisco last year,” he said. “It was too much. I couldn’t keep going back and forth. My time and energy had to be focused on my Palo Alto restaurant. I even moved to Palo Alto recently so that I can walk to work every day.” Menu prices have not increased as a result of the expansion. “It’s killing me, but we have not raised our prices. Everything has remained the same,” Tekdemir said, adding that he has big plans for the future of his restaurant. “We’re going to add live music and belly dancers. And we’ll be announcing a happy hour.” Anatolian Kitchen is a family-based business. Tekdemir’s brother and wife work at the restaurant. “But I consider everyone who works here my family,” he added. “My success is their success.”

Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out or in, down the block or across town? Daryl Savage will check it out. Email shoptalk@paweekly.com

Veronica Weber

Palo Alto’s Anatolian Kitchen, located at 2323 Birch St., has developed the adjacent space into an elegant bar and lounge. Page 28 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

OPENINGS

Simon Mein/Sony Pictures Classics

Timothy Spall plays the irascible 19th century English painter J.M.W. Turner in Mike Leigh’s “Mr. Turner.”

Painting with light ‘Mr. Turner’ revives an Old Master, his world and how he saw it 0000 (Century 16) One Old Master deserves another. And so it is that one of the finest films of 2014 finds English filmmaker Mike Leigh taking as his subject English painter J.M.W. Turner. “Mr. Turner,” like Leigh’s equally sublime “Topsy-Turvy,” revives an era in astonishing, delicate detail, then moves through the world with a documentarian’s eye. Leigh takes Turner out of art history and puts him back in the world. In his role as cultural historian, Leigh more commonly focuses on contemporary life in lowermiddle-class English ’hoods (“Happy-Go-Lucky,” “Secrets & Lies,” “Naked,” “Life is Sweet”), but his obvious fascination with and affection for his fellow artists (perhaps especially the grouchy ones) and their pains are evident. Though Leigh probably isn’t quite as cantankerous as Turner, he’s well qualified to see the 19th century British painter for his faults as well as his genius, and to guide his cast through a well-honed pro-

cess of improvisatory rehearsal to arrive at life’s reflection caught on camera. Leigh opens on a beautiful landscape with river and windmill, and soon enough, we see the man regarding it with a thoughtful scowl. This is what passes for peacefulness for Turner (Timothy Spall), who only seems truly happy in the merry company of his beloved father (Paul Jesson). A coarse, grunting grump, Turner nevertheless remains consistently, quietly and compulsively driven to paint his landscapes and his seascapes, and to perfect his form through thoughtful regard and restless experimentation. “Mr. Turner” is as much about a way of viewing as it is about Turner himself, and it’s fascinating to enjoy Leigh’s entirely distinct viewpoint and technique in dialogue with his subject. Leigh is a dedicated, unblinking observer not of nature but of human nature, and he allows us to draw our own conclusions about what he shows us of Turner’s topsy-turvy interac-

tions with his world and his peers: his deep love of his father but his denial of his own illegitimate children, his sensitivity to nature and his brusqueness with people (including his sexual exploitation of women and lack of interest in marriage), his total dedication to art and his iconoclasm within the English art world, dominated by the standing-on-ceremony Royal Academy of Arts. Leigh’s narrative approach tends toward the episodic, with little interest in conventional “drama” and every interest in nuances of behavior and meaning, applied with gentle brushstrokes. Just as Turner had a penchant for moving incognito, Leigh wants to be a fly on the wall of history as he time-travels through Turner’s last quarter-century of life, up to and a bit beyond his “famous last words.” The collage of scenes accumulates Turner’s character, from moments of great emotional impact to those of passing fancy, like the artist’s fascinated encounter with a camera: wondrous new technology destined to evolve into the vehicle of “Mr. Turner” itself. Turner has been oft described as “painting with light,” terminology that’s also applied to the art of cinematography. Accordingly, Leigh’s right-hand man Dick Pope delivers the most stunning cinematic paintings of the year with “Mr. Turner,” which seems likely to collect the Best Cinematography Oscar. Less likely to make it to the podium, but no less deserving, is Spall, a career character actor and Leigh vet who inhabits Turner with a rare totality of presence and a depth that insists we love the man, despite his many warts, for being so thoroughly, unapologetically himself; for being redeemed by love and vocation; for having, like Leigh and Spall, the soul of an artist. Rated R for some sexual content. Two hours, 30 minutes. — Peter Canavese

TIM FLANNERY CIRQUE ZIVA from the SF Giants Golden Dragon Acrobats Jan. 23, 8 PM Jan. 25, 2 & 4 PM LES MISERABLES MY FAIR LADY March 6–15 June 5–14 WEST SIDE STORY KISS ME KATE August 14–23 November 6–15 Get Your Tickets Online At: www.FoxRwc.com 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City

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Ready ... aim ... mire Keith Bernstein/Warner Bros. Entertainment

‘American Sniper’ takes a hazy look through a sniper’s sights 00 (Century 16, Century 20) For decades now, Clint Eastwood has cast his squinty eyes on violence, pondering when it is necessary and how it affects the individual. Iraq warrior biopic “American Sniper,” about the late (continued on next page)

In Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper,” Bradley Cooper stars as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle; Sienna Miller plays his wife, Taya. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 29

Movies

Openings (continued from previous page)

Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, affords Eastwood another opportunity to wrestle with the way of the gun, yet the film gets mired in military hero worship. Based on Kyle’s autobiography (with Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice), “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” the film stars a bulked-up Bradley Cooper as the bronco-riding, beer-swilling, Texas-drawling good ol’ boy who becomes “The Legend” (“a title you don’t want,”

the screen Kyle avers) on his way to 160 confirmed kills behind the long barrel of an M40 rifle. “Sniper” covers Kyle’s four tours of duty in Iraq (between 1999 and 2009), his meeting and winning his wife Taya (Sienna Miller) and the domestic spaces between and after his time incountry. Early and often, Kyle gets depicted as a God-fearing alpha American male who’s motivated by vengeance for America and his fallen brothers in arms, and whose only fault may be loving his country too much. Along these lines, Eastwood and screenwriter Jason Hall insist upon the nobility of Kyle, showing

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how he takes no pleasure — and exhibits humility, not pride — in picking off his targets. Little evidence supports this view when it comes to the real Kyle, and some evidence points to the contrary (“I only wish I had killed more,” the man wrote). Kyle was given to boastful self-mythologizing; “American Sniper” is content to mythologize. Above and beyond the script, a haggard, coiled, grunting Cooper does heroic service to Kyle’s humanity, inhabiting his self-confidence and patriotic blinders, his post-traumatic stresses and creeping doubts. Back home, Kyle turns a corner into service for the V.A., but this and his strange subsequent fate get entirely short shrift, though they’re at least as important to the meaning of Kyle’s life as the military service that absorbs most of the film’s running time. “Sniper” turns out to be perfunctory in exploring the human dimension of a complicated man and the thoughts and experiences so many American military families have struggled to come to terms with. Rated R for strong and disturbing war violence, and language throughout including some sexual references. Two hours, 12 minutes. — Peter Canavese

Century Theatres at Palo Alto Square Fri 1/16/2015

NOW PLAYING IN THEATRES EVERYWHERE

Robert Rauschenberg at Kennedy Space Center with Apollo 11 launch vehicle assembly in background, July 15, 1969. Photograph by James Dean. Courtesy James Dean and NASA Art Collection, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATRES AND SHOWTIMES

Birdman – 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 10:05 The Theory of Everything – 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Sat 1/17/2015 Birdman – 4:15, 7:15, 10:05 The Theory of Everything – 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Met Opera: The Merry Widow – 9:55 AM Sun - Tues & Thurs 1/18 – 1/20 & 1/22/2015 (Not Weds) Birdman – 1:15, 4:15, 7:15 The Theory of Everything – 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 Weds Only Birdman – 1:15, 4:15, 7:15 1/21/2015 The Theory of Everything – 1:00 Met Opera: The Merry Widow – 6:30

Tickets and Showtimes available at cinemark.com

MOVIE TIMES All showtimes are for Friday – Sunday only unless otherwise noted. For other times, reviews and trailers, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies. Movie times are subject to change. Call theaters for the latest. All About Eve (1950) (Not Rated) Century 16: Sun 2 p.m. Century 20: Sun 2 p.m. American Sniper (R) ++ Century 16: 10:55 a.m., 12:30, 2:10, 3:45, 5:25, 7, 8:40 & 10:15 p.m., Fri & Sat 12:10 a.m. Century 20: 11:30 a.m., 2:35, 5:40 & 8:50 p.m. In X-D at 10:20 a.m., 1:20, 4:25, 7:30 & 10:35 p.m. Annie (PG) Century 20: 5:30 p.m., Sat & Sun 11:50 a.m. & 2:40 p.m. Big Eyes (PG-13) +++ Aquarius Theatre: 1:45, 4:30, 7:20 & 9:45 p.m. Century 20: 5 & 10:20 p.m., Sat & Sun 10:55 a.m. Big Hero 6 (PG) Century 16: 10:35 a.m., Fri & Sat 1:15 & 3:55 p.m. Century 20: 5:05 p.m., Sat & Sun 10:50 a.m. & 2:15 p.m. Birdman (R) +++ Palo Alto Square: 4:15 & 7:15 p.m., Fri & Sun 1:15 p.m., Fri 10:05 p.m. Blackhat (R) Century 16: 10:30 a.m., 1:30, 4:30, 7:35 & 10:40 p.m. Century 20: 10:40 a.m., 1:40, 4:45, 7:50 & 10:45 p.m. Foxcatcher (R) +++1/2 Aquarius Theatre: 1:15, 4, 7:05 & 9:55 p.m. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 16: 12:20, 3:50, 7:05 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 7:10 & 10:25 p.m., Sat & Sun 12:35 & 3:50 p.m. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 16: 10 p.m., Sat & Sun 7 p.m. Century 20: 7:45 & 10:35 p.m. I (Tamil) (Not Rated) Century 16: 12:45 & 9:35 p.m. Century 20: Fri 8:30 p.m., Sat & Sun 11:40 a.m. & 8:15 p.m. I (Telugu) (Not Rated) Century 16: 5:10 p.m., Fri & Sat 11:45 p.m. Century 20: Fri 4:30 p.m., Sat & Sun 3:45 p.m. The Imitation Game (PG-13) +++ Century 16: 11:25 a.m., 2:15, 5, 6:35, 7:50, 9:20 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:10 a.m., 2, 4:55, 7:55 & 10:40 p.m. Inherent Vice (R) +++1/2 Century 16: 12:05, 3:40, 7:20 & 10:45 p.m. Century 20: 7 & 10:15 p.m., 12:10 & 3:35 p.m. Interstellar (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 20: 6:30 p.m., Sun 11:15 a.m. Into the Woods (PG) +++ Century 16: 10:25 a.m., 1:20, 4:15, 7:10 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: 10:30 p.m., Fri 4:35 & 7:30 p.m., Sat & Sun 10:20 a.m., 1:25, 4:20 & 7:25 p.m. Met Opera: The Merry Widow (Not Rated) Century 16: Sat 9:55 a.m. Century 20: Sat 9:55 a.m. Palo Alto Square: Sat 9:55 a.m. Mr. Turner (R) ++++ Century 16: 3:30 & 10:25 p.m. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (PG) Century 16: 11 a.m., 1:35 & 4:10 p.m. Century 20: 7:05 & 9:40 p.m., Sat & Sun 11:25 a.m., 2 & 4:30 p.m. Notorious (1946) (Not Rated) Stanford Theatre: 5:35 & 9:30 p.m. Paddington (PG) Century 16: 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:20, 7:10 & 9:45 p.m. Century 20: 11 a.m., 1:35, 4:05, 6:55 & 9:25 p.m. Selma (PG-13) +++ Century 16: 10:25 a.m., 1:25, 4:25, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 4:40, 7:40 & 10:40 p.m., 10:25 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. Spare Parts (PG-13) Century 16: 10:50 a.m., 1:40, 4:50, 7:45 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 10:30 a.m., 1:15, 4:15, 7:15 & 10 p.m. Taken 3 (PG-13) Century 16: 10:45 a.m., 1:45, 4:45, 7:40 & 10:40 p.m. Century 20: 10:35 a.m., 5:15, 6:45, 8, 9:30 & 10:45 p.m., Fri & Sat 1:15 & 3:55 p.m., Sat & Sun 11:45 a.m. & 2:25 p.m. The Theory of Everything (PG-13) ++ Palo Alto Square: 1, 4 & 7 p.m., Fri & Sat 10 p.m. To Catch a Thief (1955) (Not Rated) Stanford Theatre: 7:30 p.m., Sat & Sun 3:35 p.m. Unbroken (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 16: 7:15 p.m., Fri & Sun noon Century 20: 7:20 & 10:25 p.m., Sat & Sun 12:50 & 4 p.m. The Wedding Ringer (R) Century 16: 11:10 a.m., 1:55, 4:40, 7:25 & 10:10 p.m., Fri & Sat 12:05 a.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m., 1:55, 4:35, 7:10, 8:20, 9:45 & 10:50 p.m. Wild (R) +++ Century 20: 7:35 p.m., Sat & Sun 1:50 p.m. Guild Theatre: 1:30, 4:15, 7:05 & 9:40 p.m. The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (PG-13) Century 20: 10:10 p.m., Sat & Sun 3:20 p.m.

+ Skip it ++ Some redeeming qualities +++ A good bet ++++ Outstanding

Robert Rauschenberg’s “Stoned Moon” Projects, 1969–70 December 20–March 16 Discover an iconic artist’s depiction of the Apollo 11 Mission, the launch that put the first man on the moon. Rarely seen art is accompanied by photographic documentation and artist’s notes never before on view.

CANTOR ARTS CENTER AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY

328 LOMITA DRIVE STANFORD, CA 94305 0 8 6 ( 8 0 6 7 $ 1 ) 2 5 ' ( ' 8 This exhibition is organized by the Cantor Arts Center in close collaboration with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Works in this exhibition are on loan from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York, Special Collections at the Getty Research Institute, and a private collection. We gratefully acknowledge support for the exhibition from the Cantor Arts Center’s Halperin Exhibitions Fund and the Contemporary Collectors Circle.

Page 30 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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) CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-0128) 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/movies ON THE WEB: Up-to-date movie listings at PaloAltoOnline.com

“THE BEST FILM OF THE YEAR!” -Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES

WINNER

BEST ACTOR TIMOTHY SPALL

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS

f i l m

b y

M I K E

T I M O T H Y

L E I G H S P A L L

CINEMAS 16 NOW CENTURY 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd, PLAYING Mountain View (800) FANDANGO

CHECK THEATRE DIRECTORIES OR CALL FOR SHOWTIMES

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.MRTURNERMOVIE.COM

Home&Real Estate

OPEN HOME GUIDE 42 Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com

Home Front CARING FOR ROSES ... The Peninsula Rose Society will meet at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, at the Redwood City Veterans Memorial Senior Center, 1455 Madison Ave., Redwood City. This month’s topic is “rose pruning and tool care,” and consulting rosarians will demonstrate dormant rose pruning and care of hybrid teas, floribundas, climbers and miniatures. The meeting is free and open to the public. Info: peninsularosesociety.org or contact Jerry Georgette at 650-465-3967. CARING FOR MAPLES ... Arnie Cornez, an aesthetic pruner and docent at Hakone Japanese Gardens in Saratoga, will talk about “How to Care for Maples” at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21, at the next meeting of the De Anza Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. Arnez will cover maintenance and care of the larger Japanese maple, remediation and grafting. The group meets in Room 12 of the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. Info: deanza-ars.com MONTHLY CHECKLIST ... Master Gardeners of San Mateo County have posted a monthly list of garden chores. Among January’s items are the following: Pull weeds brought on by recent rains now before they go to seed; plant dormant fruit trees and roses; top dress tender plants with a mulch mix; prune and cut back overgrown perennials, roses and shrubs; and protect plants from frosty nights. Info: smsf-mastergardeners.ucanr.org/ Monthly_Garden_Checklist/ LIKE A PRO ... In this Palo Alto Adult School class, Mollyanne Sherman will talk about “Managing Your Remodeling Project Like a Pro” from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Jan. 27 to Feb. 24, at Palo Alto High School, Room 1706, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. Focus of the class is on learning the steps, understanding the process and gaining resources to go beyond surviving a remodel. Cost is $91. Info: 650329-3752 or paadultschool.org THANKS TO SILVAR ... The Silicon Valley Realtors Charitable Foundation gave more than $50,000 in grants to local nonprofits in 2014, including East Palo Alto Kids Foundation, JustREAD and Youth Community Service (YCS). They also presented $1,000 grants to 18 graduating seniors from public high schools. Q

Send notices of news and events related to real estate, interior design, home improvement and gardening to Home Front, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302, or email cblitzer@ paweekly.com. Deadline is one week before publication.

An Arabian lentil soup that Julie Shanson prepared contains lentils, rice, carrots, cumin, lemon juice and parsley.

Greening story by Carol Blitzer photos by Veronica Weber

Shanson’s salad features purple cabbage, carrots, cilantro, green onions, lemon juice, a ginger vinaigrette and a sprinkling of salt.

‘Tasty and vegan’ does not have to be an oxymoron

the dinner table

at your vegetables. Like most people, Menlo Park resident Julie Shanson knows that eating healthy is no great mystery. She just wishes she knew growing up what she knows now about nutrition and eating right. And she’s passionate about sharing her knowledge, mainly through her website, findjoyinfood.com, her blog and her cooking classes. Shanson will be teaching a class called “Easy Soups and Salads for Short Winter Days” through Palo Alto Adult School on Jan. 28. She plans to share some of her family’s favorite recipes, including tortilla soup and minestrone. While in elementary school, Shanson was captivated by cooking. When her mom was getting a master’s degree, she would go to a neighbor and help her cook, using homegrown vegetables and fruits. She even chose to go to Cornell University because it was near the Moosewood Cooperative, the source of an early (and very popular) vegetarian cookbook. But her junior year in Paris sealed the deal for her; that’s when she learned the concepts of buying what’s fresh, eating it the same day, having two-hour dinners and enjoying wine with that dinner. Post-college, she found that even when working full time, she could still experiment

in the kitchen for herself and friends. But four years ago, when her mother was diagnosed with cancer (and later died), she turned her interest to whole-food, plant-based cooking. Today she cooks mostly vegan for her husband and children. “It was something to do to control the grief. I have two girls. I want to be around for them,” Shanson said. About a year ago she participated in a Stanford program that focused on healthy eating, absorbing some simple principles. Key to the principles is sorting foods by caloric density into red (e.g., ice cream), yellow (e.g., wholewheat bread) or green (e.g., broccoli). In the program she learned to track by color, with the goal of increasing the number of foods in the green column. “If I’d learned (the principles) the way I learned to balance my checkbook, it would have changed my life,” she said. “One of the great things about cooking for yourself is you know what’s in it. You know when you’re splurging,” she said, adding that the hardest place for her is the grocery store. “If I buy it, I’ll want to cook with it and eat it. I look at the cart and ask how many reds are in it” before checking out, she said. But Shanson acknowledged that “eating delicious food is important” and is delighted that one of her friends commented that “she makes healthy food taste good.” With so many steps involved in food (acquiring, preparing, cooking, consuming, dealing with leftovers, cleaning up), she said she plans carefully while in a store, loading up on staples that will keep (rice, beans, pasta) while

being conscious of how to quickly use those that won’t. She’s always thinking about ways to build up those greens. One suggestion she offered a friend whose child loved instant ramen soup was to throw in some edamame, shredded carrots and spinach. But Shanson said she’s no purist, calling herself an 87 to 97 percent vegan. “The minute you hear you can’t have anything, you want it,” she said, adding that one of her favorite sayings is “not right now,” meaning she could choose to have cream in her coffee at another time. When she first came to California in the early ’90s, she worked for Stanford University in fundraising, then later in high-tech. Today’s she’s in the early stages of crafting a livelihood that will incorporate her love of cooking. On her website she outlines the services she’s offering, from marketing with a client to brainstorming meal planning and preparation (including packing healthy lunches and snacks for kids) and customized cooking classes. She’s already teaching a soup-making class at The Girls Middle School in Palo Alto and plans to teach a second class through Palo Alto Adult School in April. One needn’t be a vegan to appreciate Shanson’s classes. She hopes to have students in her soup-and-salad class who “want to switch up their routine, add vegetables to their diet and who are looking for inspiration.” Q Associate Editor Carol Blitzer can be emailed at cblitzer@paweekly.com. (continued on page 33)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 16, 2015 • Page 31

Paciﬁc Union, the Bay Area’s leading luxury real estate ﬁrm, proudly supports our professionals’ donations to local charities.

Saluting

Ecumenical Hunger

Peninsula High School

Allied Arts Guild

EPATT

Peninsula Volunteers Inc, Rosener House

Bay Area Lyme Foundation

Filoli

Pets in Need

Bayshore Christian Ministries

Humane Society of the Silicon Valley

Phillips Brooks School

Bridgemont School

Las Lomitas Elementary School District

Ravenswood Education Foundation

Bring Me a Book Foundation

Lucille Packard Foundation

Ronald McDonald House at Stanford

Children’s Health Council

Maple Street Homeless Shelter

Second Harvest Food Bank

City Team Ministrieis

Menlo Park Atherton Education Foundation

Sequoia Hospital Foundation

Collective Roots

Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

St Anthony’s Padua Dining Room

Costano School

Music@Menlo

Stanford Buck/Cardinal Club

Deborah’s Palm

One Million Lights

Village Enterprise Fund

Eastside College Preparatory School

Palo Alto Partners in Education

650.314.7200 | 1706 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025 | A Member of Real Living

Page 32 • January 16, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

paciﬁcunion.com

Home & Real Estate HOME SALES Home sales are provided by California REsource, a real estate information company that obtains the information from the County Recorder’s Office. Information is recorded from deeds after the close of escrow and published within four to eight weeks.

Atherton 16 Irving Ave. Bach Trust to B. Pang for $4,500,000 on 11/25/14

East Palo Alto

Julie Shanson, shown here chopping green onions for a salad, will be teaching a course on “Easy Soups and Salads for Short Winter Days” on Jan. 28.

Greening up (continued from page 31) What: Easy Soups and Salads for Short Winter Days When: Wednesday, Jan. 28, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Where: Palo Alto High School, Room 103, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto Cost: $50 Info: paadultschool.org or 650-329-3752 What: Potluck Winners When: Tuesday, April 14, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Where: Palo Alto High School, Room 103, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto Cost: $50 Info: paadultschool.org or 650-329-3752