Menlo School opens Creative Arts and Design Center | Section 2
T H E H O M E TOW N N E W S PA P E R F O R M E N L O PA R K , AT H E R TO N , P O R TO L A VA L L E Y A N D WO O D S I D E
SEPTEMBER 12, 2012
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Portola Valley to honor Martin Litton’s life of activism
Environmental champion PAGE 5
Portola Valley to honor Martin Litton’s life of acti
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The experienced expatriate Author offers advice on living abroad in the golden years
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dozen years ago, Karen McCann never could have imagined her future self casually eating pig cheeks and lamb tongue while sipping a cold beer. Once a faithful vegetarian, Ms. McCann, who grew up in Menlo Park and Atherton, found that moving to Spain changed much more than her diet. Her new book, “Dancing in the Fountain,� is full of the expatriate situations that start as challenges and become chances for growth: ordering in a restaurant, making friends, learning the language, bringing pets overseas. “I experimented with being a slightly different person,� Ms. McCann said in a recent interview at a Philz Coffee in Palo Alto. “I think the person I am now is much more interesting.� She still considers the Menlo Park Library her “library of origin,� where she was an avid reader as a child and teenager. When her book was published, she sent one of the first copies to the library. “It’s a tiny token of my appreciation for the countless hours of pleasure and inspiration I found there,� she wrote on her blog. Later, she worked as a journalist for a long time in a small town outside Cleveland. She found the dramatic move across the Atlantic to Spain to be a welcome change of pace. “Living in Ohio ... in a community that is more about stability than innovation, it was very easy to get settled and enjoy the feeling of getting deeper and deeper into things,� she said. “Living abroad is all about trying new things.� She and her husband, Rich, were vacationing for the fourth time in Seville when they sat down at a cafe and decided to spend a full year in the city. Both were retired and did consulting in their spare time. Little did they know this “sort of a sabbatical,� as Rich had called it, would become a permanent move to the city they have now
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“One of the great things about living abroad is that you can’t take anything for granted,� says author Karen McCann.
called home for seven or eight years. “One of the great things about living abroad is that you can’t take anything for granted,� she said. “You are never on automatic pilot. Even now ... at any second someone could turn and say something to me that even though I have a fair mastery of the language, I will have no idea what they are saying.� Language aside, her book often emphasizes what she calls “mentally unpacking your bags,� an idea she compares to the Buddhist practice “be here now.� “What people do in any new place is naturally compare it to the old one, and a certain amount of that is inevitable and useful,� McCann said. “But there comes a point when you have to
focus on where you are now and start building your life there.� She believes it’s one of the most important ideas in her book. “I see a lot of women and men arrive in Seville, either for business purposes or on impulse and they spend all their time looking at their watch, saying, ‘Back home, it’s three o’clock in the morning, I must be exhausted,’ or furious because it takes so much longer to do your shopping in stores there because the sales clerks think nothing of finishing their conversation with one another for a good 10 minutes,� Ms. McCann said. “But the whole pace of life is different.� See MCCANN, page 6
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A FEW MINUTES WITH MARTIN LITTON Portola Valley to honor a life of activism By Dave Boyce Almanac staff writer
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ere’s a softball question for an environmentalist: With climate change largely absent from the national consciousness, if you could issue royal decrees in your corner of the planet and set an example, what would you order to be done? Noted environmental activist and longtime Portola Valley resident Martin Litton played along one recent morning while sitting in the shade at a Triangle Park picnic table. After a moment, he smiled, shrugged and said he’d take down the Golden Gate Bridge, restore Marin County to its natural state and bring back ferry boats as the means for crossing San Francisco Bay. If the Bay Bridge were to remain, he’d restore passenger train service to its lower deck. “A lot of these people who go back and forth across the Bay Bridge would rather be sitting in a train,” he said. He would also end promotion of the Peninsula as a home for new business ventures. “Let ‘em keep it in New Jersey,” he said. Mr. Litton, a glider pilot for the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, came to the Peninsula himself in 1954 with his wife Esther to take a job as travel editor for Sunset magazine in Menlo Park. He had acquired a reputation for nature writing with the Los Angeles Times and
as an ardent defender of natural wonders, including the wonders of an untamed Colorado River. He helped prevent dams that would have flooded Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and parts of the Grand Canyon; the one that flooded Glen Canyon he could not stop. It was his idea to bring wooden dories to the Grand Canyon, and he owned a river-running business there for decades. The town of Portola Valley will be honoring Mr. Litton and his environmental activism on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 16, at the Blues & Barbecue Festival. The event is at Town Center at 765 Portola Road, and proceeds go to support the purchase and maintenance of open space in town. Mr. Litton’s friend David Brower, founder of Friends of the Earth, recommended him to Sunset, he said. After residing in Menlo Park for a year and Los Altos for four years, the Littons in 1959 moved to a steep four-acre parcel in what is now Portola Valley and built a house on the one spot suitable for construction, a house in which they raised four children and in which Martin and Esther still live. In the 1950s, trains passed through Los Altos, and Mr. Litton is a fan of trains. The transit corridor for Foothill Expressway then accommodated two rights of way: a road and a
State fines hospital $50,000 By Sandy Brundage and Palo Alto Weekly Staff
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enlo Park Surgical Hospital was one of 14 hospitals recently cited by the state after the California Department of Public Health found violations of licensing requirements that “caused, or (were) likely to cause, serious injury or death to patients.” The hospital, a Willow Road facility connected with the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, was fined in a 2009 case of improper equipment set-up for endometrial surgery that led to rupture
of the patient’s bladder, according to the state. According to the health department report, a patient with a history of “pelvic pain endometriosis, right ovarian cyst and possible interstitial cystitis” was admitted for complex endometrial surgery. A bag of fluid to stretch the bladder wall for examination was mistakenly attached to a mechanical pump for a different procedure, rather than hung with no pressure, resulting in rupture of the bladder. The See HOSPITAL, page 10
Almanac photo by Michelle Le
Martin Litton helped prevent the building of dams that would have flooded Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and parts of the Grand Canyon.
railroad connecting Monterey and Los Gatos to San Francisco. “Something to enjoy looking at,” Mr. Litton said, referring to the steam engines that passed by. Steam engines would be memorable for someone who is 95 years old. “I’m 95 and a half,” Mr. Litton replied when asked if he was 95. The drama of steam engines is long gone, and Mr. Litton is now a fan, at a distance, of the MetroLink, the 20-yearold, 512-mile commuter train service in Los Angeles, where he grew up. “LA has erupted in trains,” he said. “I’d love to go
down there and spend the day on the trains.” Portola Valley has no trains, nor has it electricity transmission towers, due mostly to the efforts of Peninsula residents, including Mr. Litton. Members of “Save our Skyline” went to court and in 1965, beat back a plan by the Atomic Energy Commission to run power lines to feed the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park. “They were going to come right through here,” Mr. Litton said, looking around Triangle Park. “We beat them out of Portola Valley. They would
have really been ruinous here.” Asked his impression of Portola Valley, he described it as “not really a town. We pretend to be.” With no downtown and no grid of streets, “it doesn’t fit the usual concept of a city,” he said. “It’s a scattering of neighborhoods, you might say.” The word “alpine” — as in Alpine Road, the Alpine Inn, the Alpine Hills Tennis & Swimming Club — bugs him. “What in the world does that (word) mean?” he asked. “Some real estate agent’s idea. There’s nothSee LITTON, page 8
County meets on plastic bag ban By Sandy Brundage
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ocal governments are taking steps this fall to turn a proposed ban on plastic bags into reality. The San Mateo County Planning Commission will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, to provide feedback before the Board of Supervisors votes on the ordinance next month. Menlo Park and 24 other Peninsula cities may join the county in restricting the use of single-use carryout bags, and San Mateo County has released an environmental
impact report to explore the effects. The ban targets single-use bags, except those used by restaurants and for produce, and would also implement a 10 cent fee for paper bags until Dec. 31, 2014, and then hike the fee to 25 cents per paper bag. Go to tinyurl.com/8us3hle to review the environmental impact report. Comments on the environmental impact report were accepted until Monday, Sept. 10, but residents may also speak about the proposed ban during the Sept. 12
county Planning Commission meeting. If the supervisors approve the ban, the Menlo Park City Council is expected to vote on the ordinance in January, according to staff. The city will host two informational meetings about the ordinance in mid-October and midDecember. The county Planning Commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, in the supervisors’ chamber at 400 County Center in Redwood City. A
September 12, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 5
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‘10 Casale Marchese Frascati Superiore .................................... Reg. $12.99 ‘10 Sergio Moturra Orvieto.......................................................... Reg. $13.99 ‘11 Garofoli “Macrina� Verdicchio dei Castelli Jesi ................ Reg $13.99 ‘10 Mancini Vermentino di Gallura .......................................... Reg. $15.99 ‘11 Marco Porello Roero Arneis ................................................... Reg. $16.99 ‘11 Stefano Massone Gavi ............................................................ Reg. $17.99 6 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N September 12, 2012
Experienced expatriate MCCANN
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She encourages women of all ages to travel — if not live abroad — and hopes her experiences serve as some practical advice. “I think women living abroad have it easier because culturally we’re more geared to socializing and respecting the fact that we need a social life,� she said. As for older women, “I would say this is a wonderful opportunity to reexamine options and think of that stuff that you’ve always wanted to do, whether it’s travel or painting or whatever.� Her other point of emphasis is the importance of humor in daily expat life. “Rich and I bust up laughing a lot. We are always putting ourselves in situations where we don’t know what to do; we screw up, and the Spanish are really gracious. They will bend over backwards not to embarrass us.� She recalls a time when Spanish friends of hers were telling a story about a recent trip to St. Petersburg. “Rich didn’t catch what they were talking about, and at the very end of the story he goes: ‘St. Petersburg, I hear it’s lovely. Have you ever been there?’ And perfectly graciously they said, ‘As a matter of fact, we just got back from there,’ and told the whole story again much more slowly,� Ms. McCann said. “That’s the Spanish way of doing it.� “The Spanish way� came in more forms than just social etiquette. “My eating changed so radically,� she said. “I arrived as a low-fat, vegetarian person and now I eat everything. I kept getting taken places where people would hand me a plate of meat and there was no way I could refuse it gracefully, and I didn’t want to; I was trying to integrate myself into the culture.� She eventually even came around to “the Spanish love affair with ham,� as she puts it in her book. “Ham is absolutely essential,� she said. “It’s like air, water, ham. It’s everywhere and it’s absolutely marvelous.� Along with the leisurely, latenight meals came the traditional social drinking. “I didn’t use to drink a lot of beer, but ... when it’s that hot that’s all you want,� she said. “You don’t have to drink a lot to be part of the convivial, social evening.� She recalls the night when her Spanish friends convinced Rich and her to prepare them some classic martinis. “It was Rich’s birthday and they had all been asking about
Photo by Christine Ogilvy
Karen McCann, dressed for Seville’s Feria de Abril (April Fair).
them and you can’t find them over there to save your life,� Ms. McCann said. “We had this big martini party and everyone was dying to try them. They take two sips and they are just pie-eyed within half an hour because it’s not (part of) their custom.� In addition to her many Spanish friends, Ms. McCann, who heads a welcome committee at a women’s club, has also established an expat social circle with people of all ages. “In the expat community, because it’s so small, we’re just so excited to meet someone we’re sympathetic with that we put aside the whole issue of generation,� she said. She wrote a book once before, in Ohio, about alternative medicine. Titled “Taking Charge of Your Hospital Stay,� it explained that staying in a hospital is like living in a foreign country. “It’s got its own language, its own rules, its own monetary system; everything,� she said. As for her newest book, she grappled with the content and the structure for some time. She decided to self-publish the book, using a print-on-demand service; customers buy the book on Amazon, which prints a copy only after the order has been placed. Despite being such an advocate of living abroad, she emphasizes that her experiences are only one example of living a fulfilling life in the “golden years.� “It’s about a mental attitude, not a geographical location,� she said. “I know a lot of people who have retired and moved to Florida and decided their goal was to live a life of total ease. I think that’s a perfectly legitimate choice, but I don’t think it’s the inevitable choice. ... The most interesting part of your life may be just beginning.� A
Go to enjoylivingabroad.com for more information about Karen McCann and her book.
R EAL E STATE Q&A
N E W S
by Monica Corman
Best Way To Look For Rentals Dear Monica: I am looking for a rental in the Palo Alto area and would like to know the best way to go about this. Where would I find the best information about available rentals? Lisa N. Dear Lisa: There are a few ways to search for rentals in this area. First, there are a few apartment buildings and complexes that are strictly rental properties. There are usually vacancies at these places and if you rent such a place you don’t have to worry that the owner will decide to sell it and make you move. It is also good to check with your real estate agent to get information about rentals being offered through agents or that agents know about. Most rentals offered through agents are listed
Cyclist injured A bicyclist was injured Aug. 28 on Santa Cruz Avenue near Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park when the occupant of a parked car opened a door as the cyclist was approaching in the bike lane. The cyclist struck the door and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to Menlo Park police spokesperson Nicole Acker. The cyclist, who complained of pain, was taken to a hospital. The accident occurred between Hillview Drive and Olive Street during an open house event for the new Hillview Middle School campus.
Sharon Heights residents rally against ‘affordable housing’ site Almanac Staff Writer
C
learly the key to community engagement in Menlo Park is to suggest building “affordable housing� in Sharon Heights, in a park. The city recently held two workshops to solicit feedback on where to place an estimated 1,000 high-density and affordable housing units it must add as part of a lawsuit settlement over Menlo Park’s lack of compliance with state housing law. Of the 32,516 residents counted by the state’s most recent census, about 100 attended the workshops. The number of Sharon Heights residents rising up in outrage over the inclusion of a neighborhood park as a potential housing site, however, appears well on
the way to creating a veritable mountain of feedback — a couple hundred emails were sent to the council in protest — and spawned a petition. The list of 25 potential sites was narrowed by the Housing Element Update Steering Commission after the workshops. Dropped from consideration: seven sites, including parcels in the M2 industrial zone, SRI’s property on Ravenswood Avenue, the Hewlett Foundation’s Sand Hill Road site, and a city-owned lot on Willow Road. The commission added one — the soon-to-be vacant main post office at 3875 Bohannon Drive. Still on the list: Sharon Park, albeit with a suggestion that the 2.67-acre site be limited to highdensity senior housing.
Who lives in BMR homes? The Almanac obtained a list of occupations for those who live in Menlo Park’s below-market-rate units. The city provided the following data: UĂŠĂŠĂŠ`Â“ÂˆÂ˜ÂˆĂƒĂŒĂ€>ĂŒÂˆĂ›iĂŠ assistant UĂŠĂŠĂŠĂ•`ÂˆĂŒÂœĂ€ĂŠ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ >Â˜ÂŽĂŠĂŒiÂ?Â?iÀÊ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ ˆÂ?Â?ˆ˜}ĂŠ>˜>Â?ĂžĂƒĂŒĂŠ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ Ă•ĂƒÂˆÂ˜iĂƒĂƒĂŠÂœĂœÂ˜iĂ€ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ >ÀiÂ˜ĂŒiÀÊ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ Â…Ă•Ă€VÂ…ĂŠ`ÂˆĂ€iVĂŒÂœĂ€ĂŠ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ Â?iÀŽÊ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ ÂœÂ“ÂŤĂ•ĂŒiÀÊÀiĂƒÂœĂ•Ă€ViĂŠ associate UĂŠĂŠĂŠ ÂœÂ˜ĂƒĂŒĂ€Ă•VĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠ manager
UĂŠĂŠĂŠ iÂ?ÂˆĂ›iÀÞÊVÂœÂœĂ€`ˆ˜>ĂŒÂœĂ€ĂŠ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ iÂ˜ĂŒ>Â?ĂŠĂŒiV…˜ˆVˆ>Â˜ĂŠ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ ÂˆĂ›ÂˆĂƒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂ“>˜>}iÀÊ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ ˜}ˆ˜iiÀÊ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ Ă?iVĂ•ĂŒÂˆĂ›iĂŠ administrator UĂŠĂŠĂŠ Ă?iVĂ•ĂŒÂˆĂ›iĂŠVÂ…ivĂŠ UĂŠĂŠĂŠĂžÂ“Â˜>ĂƒĂŒÂˆVĂƒĂŠ instructor UÊÊÊՓ>Â˜ĂŠĂ€iĂƒÂœĂ•Ă€ViĂƒĂŠ assistant UĂŠĂŠĂŠÂœĂ•Ă€Â˜>Â?ÂˆĂƒĂŒĂŠ UĂŠĂŠĂŠ ˆLĂ€>Ă€Âˆ>Â˜ĂŠ
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One of the best sources for rental information in the past has been a popular, free, online posting service. However this online source has lately been plagued by scammers who distort the information or worse, try to get users of the site to give up private information and even money. It has become such a problem in this area that many owners and agents have stopped using this source entirely. If you do visit this website, beware of the information you find. If a rental sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
For answers to any questions you may have on real estate, you may e-mail me at mcorman@apr.com or call 462-1111, Alain Pinel Realtors. I also offer a free market analysis of your property. www.MonicaCorman.com
Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac
By Sandy Brundage
on the Multiple Listing Service and the information is available on many of the online real estate websites, and in some cases, in local print and online newspapers.
DON’T START FROM SCRATCH
Comments sent to the City Council ranged from impassioned pleas for the park where at least one resident had a first kiss to pointing out the site lies far from any amenities or public transit, to the downright ugly. One anonymous “MP citizen� wrote, “Keep low income trash out of Sharon Heights. Put them in East Menlo Park where they belong. People who don’t have the ability or work ethic to live in a nice neighborhood shouldn’t be given handouts.� The Almanac obtained a breakdown of the occupations of those living in the city’s current 61 below-market-rate (BMR) units, which includes several teachers, a research chemist, an engineer and a physicist. Housing Commissioner Carolyn Clarke, who sits on the steering commission and is running for City Council, said there’s nothing to fear. “There is a misconception that what is called affordable housing is low income housing, and this is not the case.� For example, she said, the test used for applicants to the city’s BMR program determines whether they are fully employed with healthy financial records. “We are talking about people who teach our children, protect See HOUSING, page 9
If your prescription eyeglass lenses are made of plastic, they are vulnerable to scratching. To avoid the tiny scratches that accumulate over time to obscure vision, resist wiping glasses when they are dry. Never use a paper product to wipe, nor should you use a window cleaner or saliva to clean plastic lenses. Instead regularly clean lenses with warm water and a drop of dish detergent. Then, wipe dry with a clean cotton cloth or a microfiber cloth. For impromptu cleanings, carry a small
bottle of lens cleaner and a suitable wiping cloth in your car, purse, or pocket. Avoid leaving eyeglasses lying around unprotected, particularly on a car’s dashboard, where concentrated sunlight and heat can ruin frames. It can be tempting for eyeglass wearers to clean them with any piece of cloth that’s handy — including the bottom of a shirt. In addition to helping you enjoy clear vision, your glasses are an investment. Take them off with two hands, rinse them under water, and use a soft micro-fiber cloth to clean smudges. At MENLO OPTICAL we offer a variety of lenses, including plastic, Trivex, and High-index, and also offer cleaning supplies and protective cases. Please call us at 322-3900, or visit us at 1166 University Drive, on the corner of Oak Grove Avenue and University Drive. P.S. Hair spray or perfume droplets can damage eyeglass lenses’ anti-reflective coatings. Mark Schmidt is an American Board of Opticianry and National Contact Lens Examiners Certified Optician licensed by the Medical Board of California. He can be easily reached at Menlo Optical, 1166 University Drive, Menlo Park. 650-322-3900.
Serving the community for over 22 years
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Almanac photo by Michelle Le
Martin Litton, right, shares laughs with friends Nani Venegas, left, and her husband Michael Powers at “Martinis with Martin” on June 21 at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos. Mr. Powers presented Mr. Litton with photos he took from their past river trips. The event was hosted by the Sequoia ForestKeeper organization to honor Mr. Litton’s accomplishments. Mr. Litton was a glider pilot for the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II.
Litton honored for lifetime of environmental activism LITTON continued from page 5
ing alpine about it. We’re not in the Alps.” One thing that Portola Valley does have in common with the Alps: they’re on the same planet. Whose job is it to save it from climate change? “It’s too late, too late,” Mr. Litton said wearily. “It’s unbelievable that (the debate) has gone the way it has.” What should be done? “Stop multiplying right now,” he said. A big part of the problem, he added, are religions that encourage large families and preach human subjugation of the Earth. How do you reach people not in the environmental choir? “A lot of them aren’t reachable because they don’t care. They don’t feel the problem in their individual lives. “It’s not a popular subject because it’s unpleasant. People don’t want to hear about it (but) who’s kidding who. Global warming is here. The polar ice is breaking up.” The ice that used to appear in his birdbath for three or four
days every winter is also gone, he noted. Begone, HP!
On the royal decrees question, Mr. Litton did note one more that he would have issued before the others: Require HP Corp. to move off the Peninsula. Why? “Because I don’t like David Packard,” he said, then recounted an incident from the early 1960s outside HP corporate offices in Palo Alto. Mr. Litton was a founding member of the then-recently formed Committee for Green Foothills. On this evening, he was parked along the street standing outside his car and photographing HP offices ablaze with interior lights. Mr. Packard, the company’s cofounder, had claimed that keeping lights on, even at night, was more efficient, Mr. Litton said. Mr. Packard drove by Mr. Litton “in his Cadillac” and stopped to ask him who he was and what he was doing, Mr. Litton said. He told him he was with the Committee for Green Foothills and that he was taking pictures of the buildings with
their lights on. According to Mr. Litton, Mr. Packard replied: “I thought you might be one of them stupid bastards.” Asked to comment, Michael S. Malone, Mr. Packard’s biographer, said in an email that it was a “funny story” he hadn’t heard before, recalled Mr. Packard driving an Oldsmobile Toronado, and that the words attributed to Mr. Packard “are his style.” Mr. Malone continued: “The light thing is interesting because I remember that argument about keeping them on. Might be true, as those were some very powerful lights that probably did consume much of their power being turned on. But if justified as engineering, it certainly was a PR mistake.” The incident continued, according to Mr. Litton, whose wife was with him in a separate car. Mr. Packard allegedly took down the license plate numbers of both cars, scaring his wife away in the process, then following her home; she lost him on Portola Valley streets, but Mr. Packard was back in the neighborhood the next morn-
8 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N September 12, 2012
Portola Valley Blues & BBQ Blues & Barbecue, the traditional fall festival to benefit the purchase of open space in Portola Valley, returns to the Town Center at 765 Portola Road on Sunday, Sept. 16, after a hiatus of two years. The day includes a concert, a silent auction, inflatable games and other entertainment for kids, a climbing wall, plenty of food and drink, and recognition of noted environmental activist and longtime resident Martin Litton. The festival opens at 2:30 p.m., with the silent auction starting at 3 p.m. and the concert by the Daniel Castro Band and Acoustic Therapy at 3:30. The recognition of Mr. Litton is set for 5:45 p.m. Tickets are $65 for an individual and $650 for a table for 10 for the package deal that includes appetizers, seating at a table, and the barbecue dinner from Bianchini’s Market in Ladera along with wine and beer. Without the alcoholic beverages and without the table seating, tickets are $35 for adults and $15 for youth aged 12 or younger. If you bring your own picnic food, admission plus appetizers is $20 for adults and $10 for kids. Tickets are available via PayPal. After expenses, revenues from the festival go to the Open Space Acquisition Fund to buy and maintain open space in town. Write to events@portolavalley.net for more information. ing with a car full of “men in fedoras,” Mr. Litton said. “Chasing people through the night in his car doesn’t seem like Packard,” Mr. Malone said. Mr. Packard’s foundation later
provided the initial financial backing for the Monterey Bay Aquarium and its associated marine research institute, and became a major supporter of environmental causes. A
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Summary Reports Summary Real Estate Reports for Week of September for Week of May 7. 10.
Menlo Park protest
Available at
Shaunn Cartwright, left, and Joseph Rosas protested in Menlo Park on Thursday, Sept. 6, over the imprisonment of U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, who is being held at Fort Leavenworth federal prison in Kansas on accusations of turning over thousands of secret government documents to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks in 2010. About 25 people from Occupy San Jose and Peninsula Direct Action showed up for the two-hour protest at 350 El Camino Real in Menlo Park. The office there is not affiliated with the Democratic Party but established by and for volunteers who support Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac Democratic Party causes, office manager Mike Aydelott told the Almanac. A spokesman for the Bradley Manning Support Network said similar protests had been planned for “dozens of cities across the U.S.” on the last day of the Democratic National Convention.
PeninsulaSpecialist.com
Reports for: Atherton Woodside Portola Valley Menlo Park
STEVE GRAY offers 30+ years of local knowledge. Born in Menlo Park. Raised in Atherton. A Woodside resident.
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$85 million asked for Woodside estate The 92-acre Flood estate on secluded Greer Road in Woodside, a property that has remained in the same family since 1941, is up for sale. Elizabeth Flood, who bought the property with her husband James, died in April 2011, according to the real estate website of Mary & Brent Gullixson. The asking price for the estate
is $85 million but whatever it sells for, San Mateo County will reap a windfall in tax revenues when the property is reappraised. The valuation in 2011 was $7,944, the Gullixson website says. The estate consists of three parcels, with a main house of 9,000-square-feet, nine bedrooms and eight and a half baths, the website says. The
property includes a lake, a reservoir, a vineyard and a creek as well as a two-bedroom gate house, a three-bedroom caretaker’s house, a pool, a tennis court and a three-stall barn. Among the noted guests was President John F. Kennedy, and the Kingston Trio once played for a debutante ball for one of the couple’s daughters, the website says. A
Celebrating anniversary of Committee for Green Foothills The Committee for Green Foothills is inviting the public to help celebrate its 50th anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 23, with an afternoon gathering at Runnymede Farm at 980 Runnymede Road in Woodside. Rarely open to the public, this
100-acre farm has an extensive collection of sculptures by noteworthy artists such as ceramicist Jun Kaneko and sculptors Viola Frey and Andy Goldsworthy. The four-hour celebration begins at 2:30 p.m. and includes
“scrumptious food” and remarks by American West scholar and author Jon Christensen and author Lynn Stegner. Space is limited and individual tickets begin at $125. Go to tinyurl.com/CGF-777 for more information.
HOUSING
Ohtaki as well as Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, are scrutinizing the process. “Affordable housing is a worthy goal, but the degree and how it gets implemented is the problem,” Mr. Ohtaki said. “In terms of degree, these (housing) allocations are driven by the State of California saying the Bay Area will grow by 2,147,000 by 2040 from 7,152,000 in 2010. That’s a very big number, and I don’t think the region or state grew anywhere near that rate over the last 10 years.” Menlo Park is exploring whether secondary units, otherwise known as “granny units” may be counted toward the allocation. That would also save on costs. According to another Peninsula city, Sunnyvale, it costs between $116,000 to $250,000 per unit for cities to subsidize affordable housing. “The State has taken away
our (redevelopment) funds, of which 20 percent went to affordable housing, so just who is going to pay for these units to be built?” Mr. Ohtaki asked. “In effect, cities go through this time-consuming and expensive process to allocate these highly speculative population growth numbers down to re-zoning specific parcels, thereby raising fears in neighborhoods, and yet many of these affordable units may not get built because there’s no funding available.”
continued from page 7
our homes against crime and fire and assist us at our public library when we search for a book. ... They too want to share our delight in living in Menlo Park.” Addressing concerns of Sharon Heights residents who spoke at the Sept. 5 Housing Commission meeting, Ms. Clarke said she’s confident that the city will plan for added units with “the appropriate consideration for each needed zoning change ensuring a healthy balance between housing and maintaining livability standards in Menlo Park” as well as follow its own regulations for infill development. In the meantime, several officials are questioning the way the state calculates housing requirements. Vice Mayor Peter
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WEST BAY SANITARY DISTRICT NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS GIVEN that the District Board of West Bay Sanitary District will conduct a Public Hearing on Wednesday evening, September 26, 2012 in conjunction with its regularly scheduled meeting which commences at 7:00 p.m. The location of the meeting is at the District’s offices, 500 Laurel Street, Menlo Park, California 94025. The purpose of the Public Hearing will be to consider a proposed increase in Sewer Connection Fees for all District customers. The proposed rates are as follows:
Connection Fee Dollars District Residential Unit
$5,596.00
Supplementary Connection Fee $763.20
Authority
Total
$1,740.20 $2,376.00
$7,336.20 $7,972.00
$237.30 $324.00
$1,000.50 $1,087.20 (c)
Non-Residential Use Equal or Less than 325 mg/l BOD and/or SS
$25.44/gpd +$7.91 $10.80/gpd +$763.20 +$237.30 $324.00
$33.35 $36.24/gpd +$1,000.50 $1,087.20
Greater than 325 mg/l BOD and/or SS
$25.44/gpd
Total(b)
(a) (b) (c)
Ratio(a)
The connection fee for Authority expansion costs is calculated by multiplying $7.91 $10.80/gpd times the average daily flow in gpd, times the ratio of the highest of the BOD and SS concentrations to 325 mg/l subject to a minimum connection fee $7.91 $10.80/gpd plus $237.30 $324.00 per connection. The total connection fee is the sum of the District and Authority connection fees subject to a minimum connection fee of $33.35 $36.24/gpd plus $1,000.50 $1,087.20 per connection. The connection fee for a supplementary connection(s) to the same building shall be $1,000.50 $1,087.20 per connection. [Amended by General Regulation No.2012-03]
At the Public Hearing, any interested person may address the District Board. Written comments may be submitted at or before the Public Hearing by addressing them to the District Board at the address indicated above. /s/ Phil Scott Phil Scott District Manager Dated: August 22, 2012
The 2013 “Living Well” is coming We are pleased to once again offer our annual publication (now all glossy!) covering the local needs and interests of the 50-plus market.
For infomation on advertising in the 2013 Living Well please contact Connie Jo Cotton Sales Manager ccotton@paweekly.com (650) 326-8210 x5671 or your sales representative or call 650.326-8210. Deadline to advertise is October 2nd..
Firefighters extinguish fire in warehouse Firefighters put out a 2-alarm fire in a commercial warehouse in Menlo Park late Saturday night, Sept. 1, a fire chief said. Fire crews responded just after 11:45 p.m. to the fire at the 5,000-square-foot warehouse of wooden and plastic pallet business Duran Pallets at 3620 Haven Ave., Menlo Park Fire District Chief Harold Schapelhouman said. Fire personnel had to break into the smoke-filled warehouse by cutting holes in the building’s rolling metal doors, the fire chief said. “The good news was that they had a sprinkler system, so that kept the fire in check until we could get the building opened
up,” he said. Once inside, firefighters saw a roughly 10-foot stack of wooden pallets on fire. It took about 20 minutes to get the fire under control, Chief Schapelhouman said. The chief said exposed electrical cords may have sparked the fire, but an investigation into exactly what caused the blaze is ongoing. He said the fire caused an estimated $25,000 in damage to the building. No workers were inside the warehouse at the time of the fire, and no firefighters were injured.
HOSPITAL
case of a nurse who inappropriately removed sutures that anchored a patient’s tracheostomy tube, which later dislodged. The patient was in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit following treatment for a tear in his heart and placement of a stent. A tracheostomy tube was inserted after he developed respiratory failure. Without proper permission or documentation, a nurse removed the sutures in order to clean the area around the tube. After the patient stopped breathing, a doctor noted the tube had dislodged and the sutures were not in place. The patient was revived, but later died. Stanford said the staff member was “re-educated about the policy which states there is a requirement to obtain a physician order prior to carrying out an intervention related to the removal of trach ties.” The hospital said it also educated RNs to changes in its tracheostomy care policy, and followed up with compliance audits through the first quarter of 2011. The 12 other hospitals cited Thursday paid a total of $725,000. They included Kaiser Foundation Hospital in San Francisco, which paid $100,000 in its third administrative penalty, the health department said. Kaiser Foundation Hospital in South San Francisco paid $75,000 in its second administrative penalty. Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center, both in San Francisco, paid $50,000 apiece for their first administrative penalties, according to the health department.
continued from page 5
patient was discharged home with a tube placed in the bladder for urine drainage for two weeks, the report said. “The California Department of Public Health has informed us that we have been issued a $50,000 fine for an incident in 2009 where established surgical policies and procedures were not followed. The patient made a full recovery from the incident,” said hospital spokesperson Jill Antonides, who added that this was the first time the hospital had received an administrative penalty. “We are considering an appeal but have not finalized that decision.” Immediately after the incident in 2009, Menlo Park Surgical Hospital reviewed policies and procedures, re-educated staff members regarding the procedures at issue, and researched options for and later purchased new equipment, according to Ms. Antonides. The staff review was followed up with random observational audits, Menlo Park Surgical Hospital said. “There have been no further incidents since that time, and the staff person involved in the incident is no longer with the organization,” Ms. Antonides said. “We have cooperated fully with the CDPH and have met all deadlines for responding to them through the process, and we remain fully committed to ensuring the safety of our patients and to delivering exceptional health care.” Other cases
450 Cambridge Avenue, Palo Alto | 650.326.8210 | www.PaloAltoOnline.com
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Stanford University Hospital was fined $50,000 for the 2010
— Bay City News Service
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September 12, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 11
A community health education series from Stanford Hospital & Clinics
When Vascular Disease Strikes, Surgery May Be Best Choice Stanley Ingerman went along for most of his life pretty much like a lot of other people. He endured the normal childhood diseases—he remembers measles and chickenpox. As an adult, he hit six feet tall and managed to maintain a healthy weight, give or take a few pounds, into his mid-50s. Then one night he woke up with an incredible pain in his right leg.
Ingerman, his doctor said, had developed peripheral artery disease, PAD for short. Like a lot of other people with the condition, he had been a smoker—smoking increases the risk of PAD by two to six times—he was over 60 and the disease’s symptomatic pain was in his legs. The arteries carrying blood to his legs had become clogged with fatty deposits. An estimated 8 million people in the United States suffer from PAD. To treat the condition, Ingerman’s surgery followed the standard procedure: The failed artery in his leg was replaced by a vein from his other leg. With luck, it would last several years. Because he was showing signs of high
What Mell found was that a previous bypass had failed and couldn’t be salvaged. “Generally, when bypass grafts fail after a period of time it’s usually because of the progression of the disease,” Mell said.
Renewed challenge “I was doing everything right,” Ingerman said. But, eight years later, that first fix finally failed when the artery clogged, and Ingerman went through another surgery. In the 18 months that followed, Ingerman’s artery failed three more times and his physicians finally told him he needed to go to Stanford. They had done everything they could.
Norbert von der Groeben
“On a scale of one to 10, it was at least a 7.5,” Ingerman said. “My toes were turning color. There was no blood flow. The pain I was feeling was all the muscles dying. I sat there and cried. I was in the doctor’s office the first thing in the morning.”
He had a confidence that made me very comfortable.”
blood pressure, he was advised to reduce the amount of salt in his diet, to lose some weight and to start exercising regularly. He followed all that advice.
The average person’s body contains about 60,000 miles Stanley Ingerman went along for most of his life pretty much like a lot of other of blood vessels, a people. He endured the normal childhood diseases—he remembers measles and combination of veins, chickenpox.Then one night he woke up with an incredible pain in his right leg. which carry blood to the heart; arteries, which carry blood from away from the functioning artery, Ingerman would heart; capillaries, some thinner than lose his leg. Ingerman had a complia hair, which branch from the artercated vascular condition brought about ies all the way out to our toes and by the previous multiple procedures fingers; and venules, the tiny blood that required intervention that wasn’t vessels that connect to the capillaries necessarily straightforward, Mell said. as the oxygen-depleted blood begins its He would have to find a vein in Ingerjourney back to the heart for recirculaman’s other leg that would be a strong tion. Between 5 to 6 quarts of blood enough to maintain steady blood flow around the system in the average flow; he would also have to maneuver adult. The accumulation of deposits around the scar tissue from the previcalled plaque, clumps of debris called ous surgeries to attach the new vein. clots and inflammation of the vessels (vasculitis) can obstruct blood flow, causing a variety of diseases and raising the risk of stroke and heart attack. “He took a vein from my left leg to replace the clogged artery in my right leg and sewed everything back up,” Inger“Before this surgery, I was
“On a scale of one to 10, it was at least a 7.5. My toes were turning color. There was no blood flow. The pain I was feeling was all the muscles dying.” – Stanley Ingerman, Stanford Hospital & Clinics patient Ingerman arrived at Stanford Hospital on New Year’s Eve and found himself a patient of surgeon Matthew Mell, MD, medical director of Stanford’s Vascular Clinic and Lab. “He had a great bedside manner,” Ingerman said. “He answered every question I asked and made sure there were no doubts in my mind about what was going to happen.
Restored vigor
overweight. I was a couch potato. Now I walk 35 miles a week. I watch the foods I eat and I’m much more aware of what my body feels like from day to day, and of my health.” – Stanley Ingerman, Stanford Hospital & Clinics patient Norbert von der Groeben
Matthew Mell, MD, Medical Director of Stanford’s Vascular Clinic and Lab, became Ingerman’s doctor. “He had a great bedside manner,” Ingerman said. “He answered every question I asked. He had a confidence that made me very comfortable. 12 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N September 12, 2012
Fortunately, in a short-term response, Ingerman’s body had recruited collateral vessels near the collapsed artery to circulate a minimal flow of blood. But the body’s natural response would not be enough to sustain real function for Ingerman’s leg. If Mell could not create a repair that would reach from Ingerman’s groin to below his knee as a substitute for the length of non-
Mell points out the long stretch of artery in Ingerman’s leg w flowed. In the surgery he performed on Ingerman, Mell borr Ingerman’s other leg as a substitute.
special feature
What You Should Know about Your Vascular System t The average adult body contains about 60,000 miles of blood vessels which serve as the transport system for 5 to 6 quarts of blood. As oxygen-rich blood leaves the heart, it travels through the arteries; as it returns, it is borne by veins. t Anything that interrupts the free flow of blood from the heart to the rest of the body can cause problems including limb pain, heart attack and stroke. t Blood vessels can be obstructed by fat, cholesterol, calcium and cellular waste products. The condition is called atherosclerosis. Blood flow can also be blocked by vessels whose lining has become inflamed. t Risk factors for blood vessel blockage include diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, excess weight, age and family history.
t One in four Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease. Between 12 and 20 percent age 65 and older have peripheral artery disease. More than two-thirds will not have any symptoms. t Symptoms can include pain when walking, as well as aching, cramping, weakness and numbing in the hip, thigh, buttocks or calf. Sores or ulcers on the feet or legs can also be an indication of disease. t Non-surgical treatments include medication to reduce cholesterol, thin blood and control diabetes. Quitting smoking, losing weight and exercising also help. For more information about vascular disease care at Stanford, call 650.725.5227 or visit stanfordhospital.org/vascularcare.
Norbert von der Groeben
Join us at http://stanfordhospital.org/socialmedia. Watch the new Stanford Hospital Health Notes television show on Comcast: channel 28 on Mondays at 8:30 p.m., Tuesdays at 3:30 p.m. and Fridays at 8:30 a.m.; channel 30 Saturdays at 10:30 p.m. It can also be viewed at www.youtube.com/stanfordhospital.
After his surgery, “I was on my feet and walking the next day. That was painful, but it was just for a short time,” Ingerman said. Getting up and moving helped him begin a regimen of walking, one of the best therapeutic treatments for PAD, as well as for recovery from his vascular surgery. Once at home again, “I walked 10 to 15 minutes after every meal in an inside hallway and expanded that by five minutes every day until I got up to half an hour—then I started going outside.”
Norbert von der Groeben
where blood no longer rowed a vein from
As many as 40 percent of people with PAD won’t experience symptoms. For those who do, treatment depends on the length of the blockage. “Some people have a very limited disability because there are so many collateral ways for the blood to get
where it needs to go that symptoms aren’t very severe,” Mell said. Because surgical fixes don’t last forever—as Ingerman’s experience shows—choosing surgery as a treatment means weighing its benefits. In Ingerman’s situation, “his risk of amputation was significantly high if we didn’t do something,” Mell said.
“Going to Stanford—just the reputation of the hospital−was enough to put me at ease.” – Stanley Ingerman, Stanford Hospital & Clinics patient Researchers are investigating substitutes for the veins and arteries physicians now harvest from a patient’s body to replace blocked arteries. Having an alternative—possibly some sort of synthetic tubing—would reduce the technical challenges of this type of vascular surgery and speed recovery, Mell said. “But so far nothing has sur-
passed the long term durability of a patient’s own vein,” he said.
Steadied future Ingerman is much healthier now. “Before this surgery, I was overweight. I was a couch potato. Now I walk 35 miles a week. I watch the foods I eat and I’m much more aware of what my body feels like from day to day, and of my health. I’ve become sensitized to that. This was a wakeup call.” Mell has told him that even doing everything right, he may develop another clogged artery and might need another surgery. But Ingerman was not overly concerned. “Going to Stanford—just the reputation of the hospital—was enough to put me at ease,” he said. With Mell as his doctor, and the success of his most recent surgery, “I’m very calm about things at this point.”
Norbert von der Groeben
man said. “I was on my feet and walking the next day. That was painful, but it was just for a short time.” Getting up and moving helped Ingerman begin a regimen of walking, one of the best therapeutic treatments for PAD as well as for recovery from his vascular surgery. Once at home again, “I walked 10 to 15 minutes after every meal in an inside hallway and expanded that by five minutes every day until I got up to half an hour—then I started going outside.”
Ingerman is much healthier now. “Before this surgery, I was overweight. I was a couch potato. Now I walk 35 miles a week. I watch the foods I eat and I’m much more aware of what my body feels like from day to day, and of my health. I’ve become sensitized to that. This was a wake-up call.”
Stanford Hospital & Clinics is dedicated to providing leading edge and coordinated care to each and every patient. It is internationally renowned for expertise in areas such as cancer treatment, neuroscience, surgery, cardiovascular medicine and organ transplant, as well as for translating medical breakthroughs into patient care. Throughout its history, Stanford has been at the forefront of discovery and innovation, as researchers and clinicians work together to improve health on a global level. Stanford Hospital & Clinics: Healing humanity through science and compassion, one patient at a time. For more information, visit www.stanfordhospital.org.
September 12, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 13
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Facebook, payday loans on council agenda The Menlo Park City Council will review at its Sept. 11 meeting the upcoming development agreement process for Facebook’s west campus. Renowned architect Frank Gehry designed a 433,555square-foot building for the Constitution Drive location that is expected to accommodate 2,800 engineers. Also on the Sept. 11 agenda: The council appears to be taking pre-emptive action against payday loan businesses. Although no such business currently exists within the city, staff has asked the council for direction on a possible ban after Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto approached the police department about regulating payday loan and auto title loan businesses, which are known for charging sky-high
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interest rates. According to the staff report, the average payday loan interest rate in California was 414 percent in 2010. San Mateo County recently enacted an ordinance limiting locations and hours for such businesses. Go to tinyurl.com/8b87ht9 to review the agenda. A study session on Bedwell Bayfront Park operations starts at 6 p.m. followed by the regular meeting about hour later in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St.
Driver not at fault for striking pedestrian The 22-year-old driver of a Toyota Prius that struck an 85-year-old man was determined to not be at fault, Menlo Park police said. According to the investigation, the man was jaywalking as he attempted to cross El Camino Real near Santa Cruz Avenue around 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 4. The Toyota was traveling north when the car struck him. He was treated for non-life-
threatening injuries at a local hospital, while no else was hurt, police said.
Election forums Check out the positions of state Senate and Assembly candidates at the League of Women Voters forum on Thursday, Sept. 20, in Menlo Park. Candidates Rich Gordon and George Yang are running for the state Assembly and Jerry Hill and Sally Lieber are running for the state Senate. The forum starts at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St. The league is also hosting a presentation on state propositions appearing on the November ballot. Held at the Menlo Park library at 800 Alma St., the presentation starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6. A forum for the five Menlo Park City Council candidates will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, also in council chambers.
Tuesday: Cafe Scientifique “A Holy Grail of Bioinformatics: Automatic Construc-
tion of Metabolic Models from Sequenced Genomes” will be the topic at Cafe Scientifique on Tuesday, Sept. 11. The free event will be held at SRI International at Middlefield Road and Ringwood Avenue in Menlo Park. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. Visit cafescisv.org for more information.
Coastal cleanup day Call all volunteers — Menlo Park is looking for help on Saturday, Sept. 15, for Coastal Clean Up Day. Local sites tagged for cleanup include San Francisquito Creek and Bedwell Bayfront Park. Call 330-6740 or email recycle@ menlopark.org to register. The project runs from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Book sale Coming attractions this weekend include the Friends of the Menlo Park Library book sale. Browse offerings in the library’s downstairs meeting room at 800 Alma St. from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15 and Sunday, Sept. 16.
Outdoor Furniture Clearance On Now! Save up to 50% on America’s finest outdoor furniture
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14 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N September 12, 2012
Photo courtesy of Kepler’s.
At Kepler’s Naturalist Bernie Krause will discuss and sign his new book, “The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s Wild Places,” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real in Menlo Park. The book shares the author’s insight into how animals rely on their aural habitat to survive and the damaging effects of extraneous noise. The event is free.
Written bids will be taken both days, and an auction will be held on Sunday at 2 p.m. in council chambers at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St. Most items cost $2 or less, and on Sunday books will be half price or $5 for a full bag. All proceeds benefit the library. A
N E W S
Incarceration extended for violent sex offender
What school is meant to be.
By Sandy Brundage
tal health community. Renowned psychiatrist Allen 51-year-old Menlo Park Frances posted his recent expeman convicted multiple rience with a review of 28 sexutimes for rape will remain ally violent predator cases on incarcerated under California’s the Psychology Today website. sexually violent predator law, a Noting that the review was jury has decided. unsystematic and not necesLamar Damian Johnson’s con- sarily representative, he found victions date back to 1984, when that only two of the cases met he was found guilty of felony the clinical definition of the statutory rape, according to disorder. the San Mateo County District “My experience indicates that Attorney’s Office. He was con- the SVP laws are being implevicted again in 1993 following mented in a highly arbitrary the rape and beating of a woman and idiosyncratic fashion with he met in a bar in San Jose, who judges and juries easily conthen accompanied Mr. Johnson fused by misleading expert to his Carlton Avenue home testimony,� Dr. Frances wrote in Menlo Park. He was sen- on March 29. He concluded tenced to 36 years that “a very small in state prison and proportion of required by law to criminal rapMenlo Park man ists committed serve at least half that time. SVP statretains classification under The trial to utes do qualify extend his incar- as ‘sexually violent for a Paraphilia ceration ended diagnosis. But predator.’ after seven days the overwhelmwith a jury’s vering majority of dict on Sept. 5 committed rapthat Mr. Johnson continued to ists do not qualify for a diagfit the state’s criteria of a sexually nosis of ‘Paraphilia NOS.’ This violent predator (SVP). Chief term is currently being misused Deputy District Attorney Karen and wildly over-diagnosed by Guidotti listed the reasons: “His evaluators who have a fundaprior sex offenses. The fact that mental misunderstanding of he was diagnosed with paraphil- (the clinical criteria).� ia not otherwise specified, and The controversy has attracted the doctors’ opinion that he is the attention of the California likely to re-offend.� Department of Mental Health, Ms. Guidotti estimated that which administers the commore than 25 felons in San mitment program. It recently Mateo County have been com- launched a retraining program mitted as sexually violent preda- aimed at improving the accutors to date. racy of its diagnosticians. In general, those committed Mr. Johnson’s case goes to under this law have been con- court again on Sept. 13, when victed of specific sex offenses defense attorney John Halley is against at least one victim, and expected to argue for a comdiagnosed with a mental disor- mitment term of two years, der that suggests they’re likely to instead of one of indeterminate re-offend if released. The law, length. Mr. Halley declined to which took effect in 1996, allows comment on the case. the offenders to be incarcerated at state mental hospitals after serving their original prison sentences as long as certain conditions are met, leading to attack by civil rights proponents who argue that it allows unfair punishment for those who have Support served their time. Almanac Staff Writer
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Diagnosis challenged
Witnesses testifying on Mr. Johnson’s behalf included his wife, sister, son and two psychologists who challenged the mental diagnosis, according to court records. The appropriate classification of an offender as having a “paraphilia not otherwise specified� is a current controversy within the forensic men-
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Open Houses: Upper School Oct. 28, Dec. 2 Middle School Oct. 7, Nov. 4
www.menloschool.org/admissions
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September 12, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 15
N E W S
Funds rejected by San Mateo County may pay for new trail network By Gennady Sheyner
proposal — the bike bridge at Adobe Creek and the Park Boun eleventh-hour request levard — are key components of from Palo Alto and Stan- the city’s recently adopted Bike ford University for a grant and Pedestrian Transportation that would greatly accelerate the Plan, a document that aims to city’s ambitious bike plan and transform Palo Alto into one create an expansive trail network of the nation’s premier biking around the Stanford Dish glided destination. past the City Council on Tuesday “We think this is a great night, Sept. 4, and now heads opportunity for the city to to the Santa Clara County for hopefully kick-start our newly approval. adopted Bike and Pedestrian The proposal, which the city Transportation Plan and to and the university scrambled really significantly fund two of to put together over the past our major priorities,” Planning month, aims to tap into a $10.4 Director Curtis Williams said. million pool that the county The council agreed and votreceived from Stanford after San ed 6-0, with Councilman Sid Mateo County decided not to Espinosa absent and Mayor use the funds to build a new trail Yiaway Yeh and Councilman at Alpine Road. The trail was one Larry Klein recusing themselves, of two proposed as a mitigation to support the application. for Stanford’s “general use perThe joint proposal earned mit,” which allowed the univer- plaudits from an important sity to construct up to 5 million stakeholder group — Stanford square feet of new development campus residents. Allyn Taylor, on campus. vice president of the Stanford When San Mateo County Campus Residential Leaseholddeclined to use the Stanford ers, said her group (which is funds for the elected to repnew trail, the resent the cammoney reverted pus communito Santa Clara Palo Alto council lauds ty) fully backs County, which the joint applijoint plan to seek now must use cation from $10.4 million for new the city and the the money to enhance recre- bike bridge, trails near university. ation opportuThe ca mStanford Dish nities for users pus residents of the Stanford hadn’t always campus. seen eye to eye The grant application that the with the city on the recreation two sides plan to submit requests funds. When Santa Clara Counfunds for five projects — $4 mil- ty Supervisor Liz Kniss proposed lion for the proposed bike bridge in May to use the Stanford funds at Adobe Creek; $4.5 million for to pay for Palo Alto’s bike bridge new trails between El Camino and to spend another $3 million Real and the Stanford Dish and to extend the Dumbarton link to along Junipero Serra; $200,000 the Bay Trail, campus residents to create the city’s second “bike protested that the two projects boulevard” at Park Boulevard; are too distant from the cam$1.5 million for a new bike-and- pus. They asked the Santa Clara pedestrian trail along Matadero County Board of Supervisors Creek, which would link Bry- to delay its vote and to consider ant Street and Greer Road; and other projects, including the $200,000 to enhance a trail along campus residents’ proposal to the Arastradero Road, between extend trails around the Dish. Foothill Expressway and PurisUniversity officials, who consima Road in Los Altos Hills. curred that the process was movThe proposal was quickly ing too fast, asked the county put together by city staff and supervisors to set up a more Stanford officials after initial deliberative process for evaluatdisagreements about how the ing various grant requests. The funds should be spent. City Board of Supervisors agreed and planners acknowledged Sept. is now scheduled to hold a public 4 that they have much work to hearing on the grant proposals do when it comes to public out- on Oct. 9. reach. But given the tight deadThe county issued its request line — the application was due for proposals in August, said JaiSept. 6 — they urged the council me Rodriguez, Palo Alto’s chief to support the ambitious pro- transportation official. This left posal. Two of the projects in the the city and Stanford with less
Embarcadero Media
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Photo by Angela Morgenthaler
Amanda Muir rides”Cowboy” over a jump.
Junior Riders hold horse show More than 60 children, ages 6 to 16, took part in the Woodside Junior Riders 65th annual horse show on Aug. 12 at 3345 Tripp Road in Woodside. The show marked the completion of the eight-week summer English riding program. All riders received a ribbon to celebrate their accomplishments. This year’s highlights included a drill team program with 10 of the more advanced riders, and “Grand Entry of the Flags,” says program director Kathi Dancer. Ms. Dancer was assisted by volunteers, some of whom were students in the program more than 30 years ago. Woodside Junior Riders is a nonprofit summer English riding program, where children learn horsemanship, horse safety, and how to care for and respect horses. A local institution since 1947, it is the oldest and longest running riding program for children on the Peninsula. than a month to put together a grant application. The new plan differs markedly from the one Ms. Kniss pitched in May. The new grant proposal includes a wider range of bike projects than the previous one. It also includes the network of trails by the Dish that Stanford campus residents have long lobbied for. It doesn’t, however, ask for any funds for the 27-mile Dumbarton link in the San Francisco Bay Trail, between Redwood City and Alviso. Mr. Williams, Palo Alto’s planning director, said the city decided not to pursue the Dumbarton link because that project would lie in San Mateo County, well outside the city’s jurisdiction. “The application needs to come from the sponsoring agency, and we’re not that for the Bay Trail,” he said, “It’s not a project that we would sponsor and build.” Even so, the Bay Trail project could compete with the ones
16 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N September 12, 2012
Photo by Angela Morgenthaler
Sophie Horn, riding “Katie,” accepts her ribbon from Lena Pladmondon.
Visit woodsidejuniorriders.com for more information.
proposed by Palo Alto and Stanford. Adina Levin, co-chair of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, said the Midpeninsula Open Space District plans to submit its own application for that plan. The project, she said, would add value to the Palo Alto sections of the Bay Trail by making it possible for people to get from the city to San Mateo and Alameda counties. But Palo Alto council members
agreed that the city would have a better shot at getting county funds with the proposal offered by staff and Stanford. Mr. Rodriguez, Palo Alto’s chief transportation official, noted that the Dumbarton trail is located too far from the other elements in the proposal. The ones included, on the other hand, all link together in one cohesive network. The argument proved convincing to the council. A
Tuesday talk on harvesting rainwater Marc Hellman, an experienced designer of rainwater harvest systems, will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, at the Community Hall at the Town Center, located at 765 Portola Road in Portola Valley. The program is part of the Tuesday Harvest series of environmental talks. Mr. Hellman’s talk, “Blue is the New Green,” will discuss wateruse consciousness and how to create and manage conserved
rainwater at home. Mr. Hellman is a guest lecturer and continuing education instructor “at colleges, horticulture departments and conferences,” the town said in its announcement, adding that his inclusion in the speaker series should not be taken as an endorsement of services or remarks. Go to tinyurl.com/PV-890 for more information.
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Residents petition town for farmers’ market in Skylonda By Dave Boyce Almanac Staff Writer
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oodside’s Town Council plans to address this week the uproar that broke out in the Skylonda community a few weeks ago when the town threw cold water on a farmers’ market at the corner of highways 35 and 84. On Wednesday, Aug. 1, a farmers’ market was held in Skylonda in a parking lot shared by the Mountain Terrace and Penelope’s
Den. There were about eight tables of fresh produce, homemade cheese, sunflowers and other goods, the efforts of nearby artisans and farmers. The vendors sold out, residents said. Subsequently, the town informed the organizers that the market was not permitted under the Woodside municipal code. A petition with 199 signatures calls on the town to permit a weekly farmers’ market at Skylonda between May and December. On Tuesday, Sept. 11, the coun-
cil plans to address the issue. Town Hall staff are recommending that the council either amend the municipal code to allow for consideration of farmers’ markets in town, or find a section of municipal code that would suffice in lieu of such an amendment. The council meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. in Independence Hall at the corner of Whiskey Hill and Woodside roads. San Mateo County is host to some 31 certified farmers’ markets, a staff report said. Represen-
tatives from the county’s public health agency spoke in favor of such markets in Woodside in February 2010 during a community workshop on updating the town’s general plan. The plan’s circulation and sustainability chapters note the importance of activities that encourage lower greenhouse gas footprints. The West Coast Farmers’ Market, held in Parking Lot 7 at Canada College, is just over the Woodside municipal boundary and therefore technically in Red-
wood City, according to the staff report. This market is held every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A
Support Local Business
Woodside’s Olive Hill Salon celebrates first anniversary Olive Hill Salon, located 2920 Woodside Road in Woodside, is marking its first anniversary with an olive-themed party at the salon from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26. “There will be a bite, a drink, and a drawing for hair services and products,” said owner Danielle Casa. In its first year, the salon added two stylists and expanded its client base by 75 percent, said Ms. Casa. Kendra Silva joined Ms. Casa and Janice Weiss in January
N BUSINESS
2012, and Sydney Edwards joined in July. Stylist Michelle Mirassou will join in September, Ms. Casa said. In the past year Olive Hill Salon has also hosted hair and make-up services for local school functions, as well as for private and corporate parties using products with sustainable and natural ingredients, says Ms. Casa.
Three arrested in assaults on youths, bike theft By Dave Boyce Almanac Staff Writer
M
enlo Park police officers arrested three minors Aug. 31 and booked them into Hillcrest juvenile hall in San Mateo on robbery and assault charges. Police are looking for two more suspects in the assault on a boy and a girl and the theft of the boy’s bike in the vicinity of the pedestrian/bicycle bridge at Ringwood Avenue and U.S. 101. In the assault, the suspects allegedly punched and kicked the boy and punched the face a 15-year-old girl who attempted to intervene. The victims’ injuries were not life threatening, police said. Police typically do not identify arrested minors.
Other arrests
On Sept. 1, Menlo Park police arrested and booked into the county jail Samuel Erichturner, 19, on charges in connection with a burglary of the Chevron gas station at El Camino Real and Oak Grove Avenue, police said. Mr. Erichturner is accused of having forced his way into the locked business and causing about $1,000 in damages to several pieces of equipment. Police arrested Mr. Erichturner
N CRIME
in the driveway of the gas station, police said, adding that he was in possession of 11 packs of cigarettes from the station. On Sept. 3, a few doors down the street from the gas station at the Studio 1258 Hair Salon, there was an attempted burglary in which two double-pane glass windows were damaged. No one appeared to have entered the business or stolen anything, police said. Thieves stole two locked bicycles, one valued at $2,000 and stolen from a bike rack on Monday, Sept. 3, in the 700 block of El Camino Real, and the other valued at $1,500 and stolen on Wednesday, Sept. 5, from outside an apartment complex in the 600 block of Roble Avenue, police said. A
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L U C I L E PA C K A R D
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Your Child’s Health University Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital offers classes and seminars designed to foster good health and enhance the lives of parents and children. CHILD CPR & FIRST AID Designed for parents and care-givers of children one year of age to adolescence, this class will cover cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques, choking and first aid for common childhood injuries. - Saturday, October 13: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
GRANDPARENTS SEMINAR Designed for new and expectant grandparents, this class examines changes in labor and delivery practices, the latest recommendations for infant care and the unique role of grandparents in the life of their grandchild. - Sunday, October 21: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
MOTHERS OF SONS: THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF GUIDING YOUR SON THROUGH ADOLESCENCE Robert Lehman, MD, co-creator of the “Heart to Heart” program will host an evening just for mothers of adolescent sons. This seminar is a primer for mothers on the changes a boy experiences in adolescence and how mothers can help guide them. - Tuesday, October 23: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
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Call (650) 724-4601 or visit calendar.lpch.org to register or obtain more information on the times, locations and fees for these and other courses.
VI S IT LP CH.ORG TO S IG N U P FOR CLAS S E S September 12, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 17
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Federal charges filed against Mosdromos By Sue Dremann
expenses. A $3,000 investment of raw erry Mosdromos, a product could Palo Alto man who was be turned into arrested on June 7 for $30,000, he selling $250,000 worth of ste- allegedly said. roids and prescription medi“He said San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office cations through his Menlo the operation Park bodybuilding business, is much big- Perry was arrested and charged by ger than he, Mosdromos federal agents for the crimes but he did on Aug. 30. not disclose any co-conspirThe case was referred from ators or elaborate on how the the San Mateo County District operation works,” according to Attorney’s Office for federal the complaint. He denied the prosecution because Mr. Mos- Xanax shipment was destined dromos is alleged to have sold for him, an investigator wrote. and shipped the illegal drugs According to the federal throughout the country and complaint, an FBI officer had internationally. intercepted an incoming text His alleged activities were message on Mr. Mosdromos’ first discovered on April 23, cell phone from someone after Department of Home- wanting to purchase anabolic land Security Investigations steroids. The buyer came to intercepted a package contain- Mr. Mosdromos’ residence ing steroids at a United Parcel to purchase the steroids and Service store. admitted to officers that he The drugs from China were had previously purchased 500 addressed to his postal box at tablets of the steroid Anavar for the UPS store located at 325 $150 and previously purchased Sharon Park Drive in Menlo injectable testosterone from Park. A second shipment con- Mr. Mosdromos. taining thousands of Xanax Mr. Mosdromos waived his pills from the Miranda rights United Kingon June 7 and dom was intertold investigaHis Menlo Park cepted on May tors that his business was 18, according fiancee and allegedly a front for employees did to the criminal complaint trafficking of steroids not know that filed in U.S. he traffics and and prescription District Court manufactures for Northern controlled medications. California. substances. In June, Mr. He told his Mosdromos’ Loma Verde Ave- fiancee the shipments were nue residence and his business, supplements, according to the One 2 One Fitness in Menlo report. Park, were searched by the He allegedly told investiMenlo Park Police Depart- gators that the prescription ment and Homeland Security, medications found in his assisted by the FBI. apartment were shipped from Law enforcement found gal- countries including China, lons of steroids, a conversion the United Kingdom, Pakilab to turn pills into liquid, stan, India and Mexico. He thousands of prescription pills shipped the medications to MDMA (Ecstasy) and other various people after receiving controlled substances, along instructions from buyers. with shipping labels addressed Mr. Mosdromos was booked to locations across the United into San Mateo County Jail in States and to many overseas June and posted $25,000 bail, countries. He was arrested and but on Friday, Aug. 31, in the posted bail. San Francisco federal court he He initially denied owning was again taken into custody, the illegal substances, but he according to court documents. later admitted he had been sell- He faces charges of possession ing prescription medications with intent to distribute a conand manufacturing anabolic trolled substance and consteroids, according to the com- spiracy to possess with intent plaint. to distribute a controlled subMr. Mosdromos told police that stance. If convicted, he could he trafficked the drugs to make receive maximum penalties of extra money so that he could 20 years in prison and a $1 help pay for his mother’s medical million fine. Palo Alto Weekly Staff Writer
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18 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N September 12, 2012
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N E W S
Not Ready For Prime Time scam unwinds By Dave Boyce Almanac Staff Writer
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t a household in Menlo Park’s Sharon Heights neighborhood (the resident requested anonymity), the phone calls began Tuesday, Aug. 28, at around 10:15 a.m. The caller claimed to be the resident’s 13-year-old grandson calling from a jail holding cell and in urgent need of $2,000. Which jail? The grandson wouldn’t say. On what charges? He wouldn’t say. “He wouldn’t answer questions,” the woman told the Almanac. “He didn’t like questions.” He did have a demand: that she should bring the $2,000 to a market on Willow Road and buy a money order there. Her grandson’s agent would contact her at the market in person to take over delivery of the money order, she said she was told. “I love you, Grandma,” the caller said to her. “I need help and I’m in trouble.” He kept calling, perhaps 20 times over the next two hours,
the woman said. “I thought I was going to do it,” she said. But her suspicions were aroused by unsatisfactory answers to several of her questions: ■ Why is your voice so gruff? He had been up all night, the caller said. ■ What is your middle name? “I’m in a holding cell and you’re asking me stupid questions?” the caller replied. ■ What is your sister’s name? “You know my sister’s name,” he replied with exasperation. The woman said she called her grandson’s middle school and found herself talking with him on the phone. “Then I really wanted to catch this guy,” she said. She called the Menlo Park Police Department, who, she said, did not respond immediately as the officers on patrol were dealing with an accident. An officer did arrive and took the next call from the perpetrator. The officer was no more successful in obtaining answers, and police said they’d let her know of progress on the case.
“That meant a whole bunch of us went all through grade school together. This was also the era when Hillview, Oak Knoll and Encinal were all K-8 schools. “As word of the reunion circulated, others who attended St. Raymond, etc., expressed interest, so the reunion is open to anyone who graduated from eighth grade,” she says. For more information, contact Sally Moffet Lussier at sallylussier@earthlink.net.
Cal Fire bans outdoor fires The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is forbiding the starting of outdoor fires “within the 31 million acres” of land in the state where is has responsibility. All residential burn permits have been suspended. Locally, the state responsibility area includes Huddart and Wunderlich county parks in Woodside and much of the rest of unincorporated forested San Mateo County, according to a Cal Fire map. Cal Fire issued the Aug. 28 warning in recognition of the weather forecast and the major wildfires now burning in the state. Among the tips offered to prevent wildfire:
x Weight Loss Sessions at End of Study! x In Good Health x 30-60 years old x Moderately Overweight BMI 25-35
Dr. Gerald Reaven at Stanford University is studying how a medicine like aspirin works to lower blood sugar in people at risk for type 2 diabetes. You will be screened for diabetes, receive cholesterol panel results & an evaluation of risk for heart disease. If you qualify you will receive 1 month of the study medicine or placebo (no medicine); payment for study time AND instructions for weight loss by the dietitian!
Call Dr. Reaven & Associates @ 650-723-7024
Find out YOUR Risk for Type 2 diabetes! For general information regarding questions, concerns, or complaints about research, research related injury, or the rights of research participants, please call (650) 723-5244 or toll-free 1-866-680-2906, or write to the Administrative Panel on Human Subjects in Medical Research, Administrative Panels Office, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5401.
Don Scheuch September 12, 1918-August 29, 2012
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Class of 1962 eighth-graders invited to local reunion All graduates of the eighth grade in local schools in 1962 are invited to attend a reunion picnic from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Burgess Park picnic grounds, 501 Laurel St. in Menlo Park. Tacos and tostadas with all the fixings, beverages and dessert will be provided for a nominal charge. “Our post World War II parents moved to Menlo Park and Atherton and largely stayed,” says reunion chair Sally Moffet Lussier
x Opportunity for Monetary Compensation!
■ Long grass can be a fire hazard, but trimming it should be done before 10 a.m., and never on a hot, windy day. ■ Make sure to use spark arresters on all portable gasoline-powered equipment, including tractors, chainsaws, weed eaters, mowers, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. Visit tinyurl.com/Fire345 for local tips and information from the Citizens Emergency Response Preparedness Program (CERPP), a volunteer agency that serves the Woodside Fire Protection District, including the communities of Woodside, Portola Valley, Los Trancos Woods, Vista Verde, Ladera and Emerald Hills.
Dr. Donald Scheuch passed away August 29th surrounded by his loving family, just two weeks shy of his 94th birthday. Don was born on September 12, 1918, in Seattle, WA, to Milton and Isabelle Scheuch. He received a B.S. degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1943, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1949. In 1940, Don was employed by the National Broadcasting Company in Hollywood as a television and studio engineer. In 1943, he went to Harvard University’s Radio Research Laboratory where he worked on the countermeasures vulnerability of radar systems. In 1945, he was assigned to the U.S. Army Air Corps as a Civilian Technical Observer in radar countermeasures, with assignments in the China-Burma-India Theater and later in the Marianas. In 1949, Don was recruited to the newly established Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park, CA, to help build a regional center of electronics capability, now known as Silicon Valley. Don organized SRI’s first Systems Analysis Department, attracting many young engineers to the area. He then became Vice President of the Electronics and Radio Sciences Division, where the laboratories under his direction gained national recognition for their pioneering work on national air defense and ballistic missile defense programs. He was later appointed Director of the Engineering Group and then Senior Vice President for all of engineering at SRI.
In 1969, he was named Vice President and Chairman of the Office of Research Operations, and in 1977 was appointed Senior Vice President of SRI International and a member of its Board of Directors. Following his retirement from SRI in the early 1980s, he joined the venture capital firm Continental Capital Corp., serving on its Board of Directors. He sat on the Advisory Council of Stanford University’s School of Engineering and was a Trustee of the United Way of the Bay Area. Don had a smile and graciousness that warmed every room, and a kindness that made him beloved by all who knew him. He loved the outdoors, especially the mountains, and took his family on many memorable camping trips. For many years, he took an annual fishing trip with a group of friends to different locations around the U.S. and Mexico. He also enjoyed tennis, golf, ping-pong and hiking. He was an avid ham radio operator since the age of 16, and loved to talk to friends all over the world. A resident of Portola Valley for more than 50 years, Don is survived by Polly, his loving wife of 61 years, three children Steve (Katie) of LaCrosse, WI, Jeff (Debbie) of Menlo Park and Judy (Alan) of Santa Monica, CA, nine grandchildren and two wonderful caregivers, Lydia and Jenny Velasco. Private services will be held at a later date. Donations may be made to: United Way of the Bay Area, 221 Main Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105
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Children’s hospital celebrates milestone By Gennady Sheyner Palo Alto Weekly
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fter years of plans, negotiations and design work, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital officials celebrated a major milestone Sept. 6 in their effort to expand and upgrade the hospital. Hospital officials were joined by HP CEO Meg Whitman, John Sobrato, founder of The Sobrato Organization, and a host of
dignitaries at a groundbreaking ceremony at the hospital. The project will add 521,000 square feet of space to the hospital, including seven operating rooms and 150 new patient rooms, 146 of which will be private. Two of the new operating rooms will feature advanced imaging technology that will allow surgeons to collaborate with anesthesiologists and radiologists and to use rapidly updated images to make real-time assessments
during complex operations such as repairing a malformed heart or removing a brain tumor, according to the hospital. Patients will no longer need to be moved to another room for CT scans and MRIs. “The new hospital has been designed not only for our patients today but also for what we anticipate will be their needs in the future,” Christopher Dawes,
N CAL EN DAR Visit AlmanacNews.com/calendar to see more calendar listings
Special Events Fall dash 5K run Kids 4 Sports Foundation holds its annual fall dash 5K run at Burgess Park. all proceeds support team sports in local east Menlo Park and East Palo Alto schools. Sept. 16, 9-11 a.m. $30 adults and $20 kids. Burgess Park, 700 Alma St., Menlo Park. Call 650-644-9803. kids4sportsfoundation.org California coastal cleanup in Menlo Park Attendees join the Friends of Bedwell Bayfront Park for the fourth year of hosting the cleanup. Sept. 15, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Bedwell Bayfront Park, Marsh Rd/Bayfront Expressway, Menlo Park. Call 650-475-2012. www. flowstobay.org MDA fill the boot Firefighters volunteer at the Muscular Dystrophy Association event and will be asking motorists and pedestrians to drop some money in their boots to support MDA’s services to Bay Area kids and families. Sept. 16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Quintana & Woodside roads, Woodside. Call 415-673-7500. www.mda.org
Talks/Authors
Avenidas presents the 9th Annual
Family Caregiver Conference Saturday, September 15, 9 am - 3 pm Mountain View, CA Topics will include: Forgiving yourself Long-term care costs Safe medication use Dementia care challenges Avoiding burnout Help for hoarding Free tours of Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center at 3 pm! Register at Avenidas.org or call (650) 289-5435.
Resources and programs for positive aging
Dr. Abraham Verghese, author and professor of medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, will discuss his two careers: literature and medicine. He is the author “of Cutting for Stone,” “My Own Country,” and “The Tennis Partner.” Proceeds benefit Menlo-Atherton High School. Sept. 18, 7-8:30 p.m. $15 adults, $10 students. MenloAtherton Performing Arts Center, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton. Call 650-492-0865. mafoundation.org Keplers: ‘Ascent of the A-Word’ Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg discusses and signs his new book: “Ascent of the A-Word: A--holism in Modern Life: The First Sixty Years.” Sept. 12, 7 p.m. Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 650-324-4321. www. keplers.com Keplers: ‘How Children Succeed’ Paul Tough discusses his parenting book, “How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character.” Tough is an editor at the New York Times Magazine and writes about poverty, education and the achievement gap. Sept. 15, 3 p.m. Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 650324-4321. www.keplers.com Keplers: ‘Science Left Behind’ Hank Campbell discusses and signs his new book “Science Left Behind: Feel-Good Fallacies and the Rise of the Anti-Scientific Left.” Many have heard that Republicans’ anti-evolution, anti-global warming and anti-embryonic stem cell research beliefs are science’s worst enemy. Campbell talks about underreported attacks on science that originate on the other side. Sept. 18, 7 p.m. Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 650-324-4321. www.keplers.com/event/hank-campbell Keplers: ‘The Great Animal Orchestra’ Bernie Krause discusses and signs his book: “The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s Wild Places.” He shares how animals rely on their aural habitat to survive and the damaging effects of extraneous noise on the delicate balance between predator and prey. Sept. 13, 7 p.m. Kepler’s, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 650-324-4321. www.keplers.com/event/ bernie-krause
Art Galleries Jared Sines’ ‘Hues and Views’ The Portola Art Gallery presents ‘Hues and Views’
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president and CEO of Packard Children’s Hospital, said in a statement. “The acuity of our patients is among the highest in the United States. The new hospital will incorporate the very latest medical technology while also providing more privacy and more space for families to be with their sick child or pregnant spouse.” The project, a major component
of Stanford University Medical Center’s $5 billion “Project Renewal,” earned the approval of the Palo Alto City Council in July 2011. Other components of Stanford’s massive expansion effort include a new Stanford Hospital and Clinics building and renovations to the Stanford University School of Medicine. The Children’s Hospital addition is slated to open in 2016.
- a collection of Jared Sines’ oil paintings of landscapes and waterscapes from Pacific Grove, Calif. to Ashland, Ore. Sept. 1-30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Portola Art Gallery, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park. Call 650-321-0220. www. portolaartgallery.com
8300. www.filoli.org The Great Apple: Cooking with Seasonal Foods Using apples from Filoli’s harvest, participants learn how to make recipes for the holiday season. Everyone will take home something from Filoli’s garden to create at home. Sept. 15, 1-3 p.m. $65/$80. Filoli, 86 Canada Road, Woodside. Call 650-364-8300 ext 233. www.filoli.org
Classes/Workshops Macro photography Participants get up close and personal with their subject matter and learn to capture every detail. The workshop includes classroom instruction on equipment use and technique, field shoots with individual attention and follow-up meetings for critique and feedback. Sept. 11-13, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. $115 members; $140 non-members. Filoli, 86 Canada Road, Woodside. Call 650-364-8300. www.filoli.org Plein-air-to-studio watercolor workshop This five-day workshop teaches how to collect information “plein air,” bring that information into the studio to design, and complete a painting. Sept. 18, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $450 members; $540 non-members. Filoli, 86 Canada Road, Woodside. Call 650364-8300. www.filoli.org The Art of Scratchboard This workshop will examine the different styles and methods of taking drawing from paper to Scratchboard to create botanical and natural subject illustrations. Sept. 10-11, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. $150 members; $180 non-members. Filoli, 86 Canada Road, Woodside. Call 650-364-
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Concerts Music on the Square: Native Elements - Reggae San Francisco-based Native Elements has been playing reggae in the Bay Area for more than 15 years. Sept. 11, 6-8 p.m. Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway St., Redwood City. www.redwoodcity.org/ events/musiconthesquare.html
Dance Dancing on the square - mambo A 30-minute demonstration of mambo instructed by Arthur Murray continues on with public participation. Sept. 18, 6-8 p.m. Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway St., Redwood City. www.redwoodcity.org/events/dancing.html Dancing on the square - swing / lindy hop A 30-minute demonstration of swing/ lindy hop instructed by Carla Heiney continues on with public participation. Sept. 18, 6-8 p.m. Courthouse Square, 2200 Broadway St., Redwood City. www.redwoodcity.org/events/ dancing.html
‘Hues and Views’ “Creek Shadows” is one of the oil landscapes and waterscapes by Jared Sines featured in the September show at the Portola Art Gallery, 75 Arbor Road in Menlo Park. Based in San Mateo, Mr. Sines has had a long career as a fine and commercial artist. He began showing his work at Shreve & Co. in San Francisco at the age of 20. He is one of 14 Bay Area artists whose work can be viewed at the gallery, located in the historic Allied Arts Guild.
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Design pioneer William Moggridge dies at 69 This information is based on an obituary that appeared in the New York Times. William Moggridge, a longtime resident of Woodside and the co-founder of the Palo Altobased product design company IDEO died Saturday, Sept. 8. He was 69. Mr. Moggridge had a pathbreaking design career that included designing an early laptop computer for Grid Systems that traveled on the space shuttle. He is most well known for having conceived of interaction design, “a discipline that focuses on improving the human experience of digital products,” the New York Times reported. Mr. Moggridge’s career included terms as a visiting professor in interaction design at the Royal College of Art in London, as a lecturer in design at the London Business School, and as a member of the steering committee for the Interaction Design Institute in Ivrea, Italy. He also served as director of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. More recently, he was a consulting professor in the Joint Program in Design at Stanford University and spoke about interaction design in public
remarks in January 2007 at Kepler’s bookstore. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Karin; their sons, Alex and Erik; and his brother, Hal.
Donald Scheuch SRI engineer
This obituary is based on information provided by the family on the Almanac’s Lasting Memories website: almanacnews.com/ obituaries Donald Scheuch, a 50-year resident of Portola Valley and an engineering recruit to SRI Internationa l who rose to the upper echelons of management, died surrounded by his family on Aug. Donald Scheuch 29. He was 93. Mr. Scheuch, born in Seattle, received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in electrical engineering at Stanford University, relatives said. World War II took place between those degrees, during which time Mr. Scheuch worked as an engineer for the National Broadcasting
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Company in Hollywood, on radar systems countermeasures at Harvard University’s Radio Research Laboratory, and in Southeast Asia and the Marianas Islands as a civilian technical observer for the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1949, Mr. Scheuch joined the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) in Menlo Park and organized SRI’s first systems analysis department, relatives said. While he was vice president of the Electronics and Radio Sciences Division, the division was recognized for its contributions to programs for national air defense and ballistic missile defense. His technical career at SRI included being appointed director of the engineering group and senior vice president of SRI engineering. He later advanced to vice president and chairman of the Office of Research Operations, and then senior vice president of SRI International and membership on the board of directors. In retirement, he served on the board at Continental Capital Corp., as a trustee for United Way of the Bay Area, and on the advisory council at Stanford’s
school of engineering. “Don had a smile and graciousness that warmed every room, and a kindness that made him beloved by all who knew him,” family members said. His interests apart from work included camping in the mountains, fishing, tennis, golf and pingpong. Beginning in his teens and throughout his life, he was a ham radio operator, the family said.
Mr. Scheuch is survived by his wife Polly; sons Steve of LaCross, Wisconsin, and Jeff of Menlo Park; daughter Judy of Santa Monica, and nine grandchildren. Services will be private. The family is asking that donations on behalf of Mr. Scheuch be made to United Way of the Bay Area, 221 Main St., Suite 300, San Francisco, CA 94105.
N PO LI C E C A L L S This information is from the Atherton and Menlo Park police departments and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. Under the law, people charged with offenses are considered innocent until convicted. MENLO PARK Theft reports: ■ Loss estimated at $800 in theft of locked bicycle from apartment balcony, Middle Ave., Sept. 1. ■ Loss estimated at $500 in theft of unlocked bicycle from in front of store, Safeway Supermarket at 525 El Camino Real, Sept. 1. ■ Loss estimated at $450 in theft of locked bicycle from front of apartment building, Noel Drive, Sept. 1.
■ Two bikes stolen overnight, Roble Ave., Sept. 4. Shots fired report: Resident heard something land on house roof and discovered .45 caliber bullet on ground outside, possibly result of discharged firearm in “grossly negligent manner,” Woodland Ave., Sept. 2. Accident report: Bicycle rider suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was treated in hospital after colliding with rock then swerving, losing control of bike and falling off, Marsh Road, Sept. 2. Spousal abuse report: Henderson Ave., Sept. 3. Child Protective Services report: Willow Road, Sept. 2.
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READERS CHOICE 2012 BEST CASUAL DINING
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Cafe Borrone
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Left Bank 635 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park 650-473-6543 leftbank.com
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BEST JEWELRY STORE
BEST AUTO REPAIR
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Gleim Jewelers
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Los Salonez 1010 Alma St., Menlo Park 650-328-0735 lossalonez.com
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BEST BOUTIQUE
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Studio Rincon
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899B Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park 650-322-5524 alysgrace.com
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BEST FITNESS CLASSES, YOGA
For a full list of the 2012 Almanac Readers’ Choice winners, go to AlmanacNews.com. com/best_of
September 12, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 21
Serving Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, and Woodside for 44 years.
Viewpoint IDEAS, THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS
ABOUT LOCAL ISSUES FROM PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. EDITED BY TOM GIBBONEY
Editor & Publisher Tom Gibboney
Newsroom Managing Editor Richard Hine News Editor Renee Batti Lifestyles Editor Jane Knoerle Staff Writers Dave Boyce, Sandy Brundage Contributors Marjorie Mader, Barbara Wood, Kate Daly Special Sections Editors Carol Blitzer, Sue Dremann Photographer Michelle Le
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Advertising Vice President Sales and Marketing Tom Zahiralis Display Advertising Sales Adam Carter Real Estate Manager Neal Fine Real Estate and Advertising Coordinator Diane Martin Classified Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan Published every Wednesday at 3525 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Newsroom: (650) 223-6525 Newsroom Fax: (650) 223-7525 Advertising: (650) 854-2626 Advertising Fax: (650) 854-3650 Email news and photos with captions to: Editor@AlmanacNews.com Email letters to: letters@AlmanacNews.com The Almanac, established in September 1965, is delivered each week to residents of Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside and adjacent unincorporated areas of southern San Mateo County. The Almanac is qualified by decree
A reasonable solution for affordable housing
S
ooner or later, Peninsula cities will have to make a good-faith a citizen-led referendum in 2003. In that case, most of the homes effort to plan for affordable housing, whether their residents were to be sold at market rate, with 15 percent reserved for people like it or not. It is state law and city councils ignore it at their of moderate incomes. peril. Purchase of the nursery site only begins what is sure to be an The consequences for not acting can be dire for any community exhaustive process by the town to attempt to develop a plan that that ignores the state mandate, including a freeze on building per- is acceptable to all residents, including those who live on Wyndmits, forced passage of zoning for up to 20 homes per acre, and a ham Drive. If the property is acquired and is zoned for affordable restriction on the amount of time given to develop properties for housing, the town must exhibit a good faith effort to make sure affordable housing. housing is built. The issue has popped to the top of the agenda in Portola Valley, The Wyndham Drive neighbors have wondered whether the where a decision by the Town Council to purchase town’s affordable housing obligations can be a 1.68-acre potential affordable housing site on met by identifying granny units, often placed EDI TORI AL Portola Road has stirred up a rash of criticism, behind a main house on larger properties. But The opinion of The Almanac mostly from neighbors who live directly behind Steve Padovan, the town’s interim planning what once was a family-owned nursery. Residents manager, told the Almanac that after discussing of Wyndham Drive, some of whose homes abut the matter with state officials, “we think it would or are very close to the rear of the property, strongly oppose the be difficult to get our housing element (part of the general plan) council’s plan to develop eight to 12 affordable housing units where certified if we relied solely on second units.” the popular Al’s Nursery did business for more than 20 years. After a 4-0 vote (with Ted Driscoll absent), the Town Council The homes would be sold to people who live or work in Portola decided to forge ahead with purchase of the nursery property, Valley and whose incomes are within the moderate range for San knowing that it would be controversial and encounter strong Mateo County, as determined by the California Department of opposition from neighbors. On the plus side, the site is near Housing and Community Development. A moderate salary for a small shopping complex at 884 Portola Road, as well as two an individual in the county is set at around $86,500 a year, and churches and the Town Center. With proper landscaping, a small $123,600 for a family of four. cluster of housing could blend easily into the neighborhood. The idea to buy the nursery property emerged after a plan to This project would not, as some opponents fear, be the beginbuild eight homes on four parcels in the Blue Oaks subdivision fell ning of more calls for affordable housing in Portola Valley. The through due to the expense of grading the irregular terrain of the project would help the town meet its affordable housing obligaproperty. Town council members hope that sale of the Blue Oaks tion, and provide a handful of people who work in Portola Valley land can bring enough to cover the $3 million purchase price of an opportunity to live much closer to their jobs, or allow some the nursery site, which includes $400,000 to clear away hazardous current residents to scale down without leaving their commuwaste. nity. But while outside observers might believe the council has acted Meanwhile, city officials in Menlo Park are suffering the conprudently in view of the consequences for not meeting the state sequences of missing multiple deadlines to upgrade the housing affordable housing mandate, many Portola Valley residents strongly element of the city’s general plan, which covers roughly 12,500 oppose approval of such a dense housing development in the com- housing units. Now city officials are on a tight deadline to identify munity. A similar effort by the council to rezone 3.6 acres for 15 nearly 2,000 additional sites where affordable housing could be to 20 small homes at Nathhorst Triangle near the intersection of built. That is what can happen when a city fails to keep up with Alpine and Portola roads was defeated 54 percent to 46 percent in the state’s affordable housing obligation.
of the Superior Court of San Mateo County to publish public notices of a governmental and legal nature, as stated in Decree No. 147530, issued December 21, 1969. Subscriptions are $60 for one year and
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Another way to tackle affordable housing ■ WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? All views must include a home address and contact phone number. Published letters will also appear on the web site, www.TheAlmanacOnline.com, and occasionally on the Town Square forum.
TOWN SQUARE FORUM Post your views on the Town Square forum at www.TheAlmanacOnline.com EMAIL your views to: letters@almanacnews.com and note this it is a letter to the editor in the subject line. MAIL or deliver to: Editor at the Almanac, 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025.
CALL the Viewpoint desk at 223-6507.
Editor: We wish to voice our opposition to the purchase of the former Al’s Nursery property by the town of Portola Valley. As neighbors of the proposed project, we were surprised and upset by the letter of intent announced by the town in June. The process that led up to that point was handled poorly and should have involved the neighborhood and the greater community. We have heard the town desires 10-12 units on the parcel. That would create a density much too high to be anywhere near compatible with the Wyndham Drive neighborhood. The precedent such a project could set for other parts of the town is not in keeping with what this community has
Sigmund Stern, a favorite nephew of San Francisco clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss, posed with his wife Rosalie and daughter Elise in Menlo Park in the early 1900s. Mr. Stern built a formal home on Atherton Avenue west of Selby Lane in 1910, and during World War I, Rosalie volunteered at the Camp Fremont hospital in Menlo Park. She also opened the ballroom of her home to Red Cross volunteers, who were assembling surgical dressings for the war effort. Elise later married Walter J. Haas.
been about. There are other ways to handle the affordable housing issue and the whole town should be involved in these decisions. We feel the town should focus
22 N The Almanac N TheAlmanacOnline.com N September 12, 2012
Menlo Park Historical Association
on second units spread around the town and change regulations as appropriate to encourage this. Since there appears to be no real long-term plan beyond development on the
nursery parcel, this is the direction the town would go anyway. Decisions would be made by individual property owners Continued on next page
V I E W P O I N T
L ET T ER S Our readers write
Continued from previous page
instead of having high-density projects forced upon neighborhoods and the controversies that result. This is a rather complicated plan proposed by the council for the nursery property. There could also be a risk to the taxpayers if the project does not go as proposed and incurs a loss. We ask the town to stop negotiating for 900 Portola Road and to begin addressing these important questions together as a community. Bud and Lynn Eisberg Wyndham Drive, Portola Valley
Wear purple on Alzheimer’s Action Day Editor: We are all in a position to make a big difference. September is World Alzheimer’s Month, a time when people around the world are making a concentrated effort to increase public concern. You’ll see us wearing purple on Sept. 21, Alzheimer’s Action Day. Many diseases that were once incurable now have treatments available, enabling people to live longer lives. The highest risk factor for Alzheimer’s dementia is age. Currently, there are no known ways to prevent, cure or slow the progression of this fatal disease. It can happen to anyone. It will affect all of us, one way or another. My mother died from Alzheimer’s three years ago. I have been volunteering in an art program offered by the Alzheimer’s Association for seven years. I’ve joined the local Alzheimer’s Association board. I see both the destruction of individuals and the enormous task that is before the rest of us. We are working to avert a disaster as Baby Boomers reach the age of typical onset. There are important things that can be done to lessen the impact on individuals and on society, but unless we pay attention, it will be too little, too late. By wearing purple on Sept. 21st, you can show that you care. We hope it will start the conversation. If you or someone you know is seeking information about the disease or support in dealing with it, please contact the Alzheimer’s Association at 800272-3900or visit www.alz.org. Kerry DeBenedetti Woodside
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September 12, 2012 N TheAlmanacOnline.com N The Almanac N 23
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Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Sq. ft. and/or acreage information contained herein has been received from seller, existing reports, appraisals, public records and/or other sources deemed reliable. However, neither seller nor listing agent has veriďŹ ed this information. If this information is important to buyer in determining whether to buy or the purchase price, buyer should conduct buyer’s own investigation. Photography by Bernard AndrĂŠ
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