Palo Alto Weekly 05.21.2010 - section 1

Palo Alto

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Stop, LOOK! and listen PALO ALTO ART CENTER PROGRAM ENTHRALLS KIDS FOR 30 YEARS PAGE 27

Spectrum 14

Eating Out 33

Movies 35

Puzzles 69

N News Hospital expansion study lists impacts

Page 3

N Sports High tech out at CCS swim

Page 37

N Home Deconstruct vs. demolish?

Page 45

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www.stanfordpackard.org Page 2ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

Impacts of Stanford hospitals’ ‘renewal’ detailed Newly released Draft Environmental Impact Report identifies projects’ impacts on air quality, traffic, noise

by Gennady Sheyner tanford University Medical Center’s sweeping proposal to rebuild and expand its hospital facilities threatens to bring — along with improved medical care — additional traffic, noise and pollution to Palo Alto, some of which cannot be avoided or mitigated, a detailed en-

S

vironmental report released Wednesday indicates.

The $3.5 billion “Project Renewal,” which city officials routinely call the “largest project in the city’s history,” would unfold over the next 15 years. It would bring about 1.3 million square feet of new develop-

ment and more than 2,200 new employees to Palo Alto by 2025.

The project includes reconstruction of Stanford Hospital and Clinics, an expansion of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, renovation of Hoover Pavilion and replacement of School of Medicine facilities.

The completion of the report is a “significant milestone” in the rebuilding project, dubbed “Project Renewal,” executives of both hospitals said in a joint letter released

Wednesday afternoon shortly before the city released the report.

Stanford officials say the improvements will bring the medical complex into line with California’s seismic requirements, relieve a shortage of hospital beds, add much-needed patient rooms and further enhance the medical and health care facilities and care.

But according to the new Draft Environmental Impact Report the project would bring a host of other impacts — not all of them desirable.

A lengthy list of “significant” impacts includes 10 that cannot be eliminated fully through mitigation.

These include emission of air pollutants and greenhouse gases; substantial construction noise; ambulance noise around a proposed new route along Sand Hill Road; demolition of the historic Stone Building complex; and removal of up to 71 trees that are listed as “protected” in Palo Alto’s official (continued on page 9)

CITY BUDGET

Palo Alto may keep traffic team, crossing guards City Council committee turns down plan to cut funding for crossing-guard program and police traffic officers

by Gennady Sheyner acing a crowd of Palo Alto children wearing bike helmets backed by concerned parents, a City Council committee voted unanimously Tuesday to spare crossing guards and traffic enforcers from the falling city budget ax.

The committee recommendation must be approved by the full council as part of the overall budget, scheduled for June.

The council’s Finance Committee voted to reject recommendations in City Manager James Keene’s proposed budget to eliminate the fiveofficer traffic team and the school crossing-guard program in fiscal year 2011, which begins on July 1.

With the city facing a projected $7.3 million budget gap, the proposed budget included both programs on its list of cuts.

But after receiving a flurry of emails and hearing from a group of parents, the committee agreed to keep the programs in place. Most speakers at the committee’s review of the Police Department budget told the council that the traffic programs are needed to ensure children are able to get to and from school safely.

“I don’t know how anyone, including people in the school district, will be able to live with themselves if just one child is hurt and killed by this decision,” Nina Bell, who lives next to Terman Middle School, said before the committee took its vote.

The traffic officers and the crossing guards were the only positions the committee chose to remove from

F Veronica Weber

Katya Villalobos, who takes over as principal of Gunn High School July 1, is committed to creating a community where teachers and students can shine.

EDUCATION

New Gunn principal has a passion for history Katya Villalobos has worked at Gunn or Paly since 1995, save for one year

by Chris Kenrick

T

hough born in El Salvador and educated at an all-girls Catholic high school, Katya Villalobos is steeped in the ways of Palo Alto public schools.

Villalobos, who takes over as principal of Gunn High School July 1, came to town as a student-teacher in 1995 and — save for one year — has worked at Gunn or Palo Alto High School ever since.

She’s well-known to many local students and parents for her outsized passion for history and an enthusiasm for the high school years.

“I love teenagers — they’re just awesome,” Villalobos said expansively in a recent interview at Gunn, where she is finishing a two-year run as a history and social-studies teacher.

“I know some people are scared off by them, but they keep me honest for sure, energized and on my toes.

“One of my goals, regardless of where I am in life, is to create a sense of community and a culture where teachers and students can shine.”

Among Villalobos’ earliest memories is boarding a Pan Am jet in

San Salvador and heading for California. She was 4 years old.

“I remember my mom crying because she was leaving her family. But my brother and I were having fun because we were on a plane,” she said.

Her father, Jose Villalobos, an accountant and mechanic in El Salvador, had planned to emigrate to the United States to work a few years before returning home, she said.

“My mom said, ‘I don’t want to be a single mother — we want to come there too.’ We were little, and my mom worried about us not being with our dad.

“My dad got the money together and paid for the airline tickets.”

The family settled in San Francisco, thrived — and stayed put.

Villalobos’ mother, Carmen, a nurse in El Salvador, obtained California credentials and worked at the University of California, San Francisco, Medical Center, from which she is retired. Jose retired as a mechanic from the Yel-

low Cab Co. in San Francisco.

Villalobos was sent to Catholic schools in the city and developed an early love of history.

“It started with my dad at the dinner table,” she said. “He’d always want us to talk about what was going on in the world.

“Ancient Greece in sixth-grade really captured me. I was fascinated that we could read speeches people wrote thousands of years ago — that they were translated and you can still read them today.

“It’s that idea that we’re all links in a chain. It doesn’t make us any less or better, but we’re attached to all the people who came before us.”

Villalobos attributes what she calls her “academic fearlessness” to a high school education at the allgirls Mercy Burlingame.

“That’s where I think my mouth grew,” she said.

“I didn’t really grasp it at the time, but there was a plan or a vi(continued on page 7)

(continued on page 5)

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‘‘

‘‘

Getting slim starts in your head.

Upfront

I love teenagers — they’re just awesome. — Katya Villalobos, who begins as Gunn High School principal July 1. See story on page 3.

Around Town

UNDER FIRE ... Tension between the Palo Alto City Council and local firefighters flared up Tuesday night, when the council’s Finance Committee was reviewing the department’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2011. The review came just minutes after the committee recommended approval of the Police Department’s budget, which eliminates two financial-crime investigators, a member of the traffic-enforcement team and the crime analyst responsible for gathering traffic-stop demographic information. The Police Department identified further cuts in order to help the city meet its projected $7.3 million budget gap, but the committee agreed that the department has sacrificed enough and voted to restore some of its boldest proposed cuts. The committee had a harsher assessment of the Fire Department’s proposed budget, which would raise department expenditures by more than $750,000. Tony Spitaleri, president of Palo Alto Firefighters union, told the committee that the department’s command staff has already been “torn apart� by past cuts. The committee was not impressed. “I don’t think the Fire Department is stepping up to the plate like all other departments,� Councilman Larry Klein said. The committee then ordered staff to “redo� the Fire Department budget and assume in its new proposal a 4 percent reduction in employee compensation. Vice Mayor Sid Espinosa, the lone dissenter, argued that making assumptions about the firefighter contracts while the city is negotiating with the firefighters union over these contracts is a “bad way to do budget.�

THAT BUZZ ALL AROUND US! ... If you’ve ever doubted the ability of small people, or things, to make a difference, well, you’ve never been in bed with a mosquito, author and Web entrepreneur Arianna Huffington told a mostly female crowd of tech executives last week.

Huffington addressed an awards gathering of the Palo Alto-based Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, a group aimed at promoting technical women at all levels. Honorees included

Lila Ibrahim of Palo Alto, general manager of Intel’s Emerging Markets Platform Group, and U.S. Undersecretary of Energy Kristina M. Johnson, who earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Musing on leadership, “fearlessness� and the state of the world, Huffington warned that lack of sleep and too much multi-tasking have led us astray. “Do not plug in your devices near where you’re sleeping,� she advised. “When you wake up in the middle of the night, the temptation to look at your Blackberry or your iPhone is overwhelming. You might go back to sleep, but it’s not the same.� ‘BETTY MELTZER HIGHWAY’ SIGN UNVEILING FRIDAY ... A ceremony marking the official renaming of El Camino Real in Palo Alto the “Betty Meltzer Memorial Highway� will be held Friday, May 28, at noon at the entrance to El Camino Park. The renaming is to honor her work on behalf of planting trees along the state highway, prior to her death last year. The unveiling of the new sign will complete the dedication process, which will be commemorated by several speakers.

FUMIGATION ... Next year, the Main Library on Newell Road will receive a long-awaited facelift, thanks to a $76 million bond voters approved in 2008. But first, city officials will tackle a more pressing need: killing the termites infesting the popular library. This Memorial Day, a Terminix crew will set up a tent around the library and fumigate the building. The library will be closed May 28-30 and reopen June 1, following the holiday weekend. Library staff discovered the termite problem earlier this year, when they found “termite debris� falling from the ceiling in one of the library’s staff areas. In February, Terminix inspected the building and found the wood-chewing pests. During the fumigation, the library’s book drops, including the one in the parking lot, will be closed. No items will be due until after the library reopens. N

Upfront HISTORIC PRESERVATION

Briones House makes ‘11 Most Endangered’ list National Trust for Historic Preservation lists it among nation’s most endangered historic places

by Sue Dremann and Jay Thorwaldson

P

alo Alto’s oldest structure, the 1844 adobe home of Juana Briones, was named on Wednesday to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2010 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

The home has been a source of contention and litigation between property owners and the City of Palo Alto for years, while efforts to preserve the house go back into the early 1980s.

The home was named a California State Historic Landmark more than 50 years ago and was once a destination for tours by schoolchildren.

Today the home is in disrepair and threatened by demolition while locked in a legal standoff between the city and its owners. The house, once the center of a vast rancho, stands on a 1.5-acre site at 4155 Old Adobe Road in the lower Palo Alto foothills.

Deputy City Manager Steve Emslie said the new designation won’t have a direct affect on a lawsuit between the city and owners but it could have an indirect impact.

“It strengthens the commitment of the city to preserve the house,” he said. “It was a very rigorous process to get this listed.”

Briones, a businesswoman and mother of eight, was one of only 34 women documented as a landowner in California after she was granted a historic legal separation from her abusive husband in 1844, according to a news release by the trust. She built her home on a 4,400-acre parcel purchased from Native Americans.

In July 2007 a stay of demolition was granted relating to a lawsuit involving the Friends of Juana Briones, the City of Palo Alto and the owners. The stay prevented owners

Jaim Nulman and Avelyn Welczer from demolishing the house, even though they had a court-ordered city permit to do so.

“The Juana Briones House is a rare tangible vestige of a unique and largely unknown story, one that can’t be forgotten,” Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation said in the statement.

The home is a rare example of a rammed-earth and wood-crib construction, called encajonado, and offers insights into life on an early California rancho, according to the press release. The house had been remodeled nearly a century ago, when two wings were added.

The national “endangered” listing did not happen by accident.

Jeanne Farr McDonnell of Palo Alto, author of the book, “Juana Briones of 19th Century California,” said she filled out the paperwork to get the house listed on the National Trust’s most-endangered list. Brian Turner, an attorney for the National Trust’s regional office in San Francisco and member of her group, The Briones Informals, suggested she apply to get the house listed, she said.

The significance goes beyond the original three-room home, McDonnell said.

“It helps us appreciate other cultures and the impact of women and other cultures in where we are today,” she said.

The house expresses a continuity of local history going back to the area’s Ohlone people: a wall of stones piled by native people living at the site encloses the patio, Briones’ three rooms represent the Spanish period and ad-

Police

department has already reduced staff to close budget gaps in previous years.

“We’ll take the remaining resources we have and make sure we do the best we can with them,” Burns said.

The loss of the two detectives specializing in financial crime is expected to impact the department particularly severely, given the increasingly prominent role of technology and the high frequency of identity-theft crimes in Palo Alto, Burns said.

He said the department would not be able to investigate the same number of fraud cases with the two officers gone.

The committee also backed Keene’s recommendations to increase fines for parking violations by $3 in July and directed staff to consider a $6 jump in fines.

The city also hopes to come to an arrangement with the Palo Alto Unified School District to split the funding for the city’s school-resource officer. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

(continued from page 3)

Keene’s proposed list of budget cuts.

The Police Department still stands to lose two investigators specializing in financial fraud and identity theft; a crime analyst who collects demographic data from traffic stops; and the officer charged with enforcing the city’s leaf-blower ordinance.

And the traffic team, while remaining intact, would lose one of its five positions.

Police Chief Dennis Burns told the committee Tuesday that the department has lost 12 sworn-officer positions and 14.5 civilian positions since 2003. Its force, which numbered 108 sworn officers in 1975, would shrink to 85 in 2011, assuming the full council approves the committee’s recommendations in late June.

He said the cuts were particularly difficult to make this year because the

(continued on page 10)

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‘What’s

your

The P alo A lto S tor y P r oject

story?’

Stories about Palo Alto, as told by local residents as part of the Palo Alto Story Project, are now posted on the Internet.

Watch them at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Upfront

2010 Photo Contest

TRANSPORTATION

Watch for the June 4th Edition of the Weekly announcing all the winners!

Palo Alto backs Caltrain bid for federal funds Caltrain hopes to use high-speed-rail funds for parts of its electrification project

by Gennady Sheyner

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P

alo Alto will get behind Caltrain’s effort to secure federal-stimulus funds for its longanticipated electrification project, a City Council committee decided Thursday morning.

The council’s High-Speed Rail Committee voted unanimously to support, in concept, amendments proposed by Caltrain for state Senate Bill 965, which governs how California will spend the $2.25 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds that the federal government allocated for high-speed rail in January.

The language proposed by Caltrain would enable the federal money to be used for certain portions of Caltrain’s $1.5 billion electrification project or other projects that would benefit high-speed rail. The Caltrain project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, is designed to improve existing train service and, at the same time, provide direct benefit for the future high-speed rail system. Under current plans, the system would be built by 2020 and would stretch along the Caltrain corridor as it passes from San Francisco to San Jose.

While the high-speed rail project has generated waves of opposition and concern in Palo Alto and around the state, the electrification project has been popular in Caltrain’s service area. Steve Emslie, Palo Alto’s deputy city manager, called the Caltrain project “incredibly desirable� for the city and the Peninsula and a “high priority for an incredible amount of time. “Up until the dawning of highspeed rail, there has been no funding set aside,� Emslie told the committee Thursday. “This is the first real money that can start to address the work for electrification of Caltrain.�

Councilman Larry Klein said the city has “long been in favor of electrification of Caltrain.� Mayor Pat

Burt suggested adding more language to the legislation to ensure that if Caltrain receives the federal funding, those funds would continue even if the High-Speed Rail Authority changes the alignment of the rail system or fails to complete the project. The committee unanimously adopted his suggestion.

Caltrain’s proposed amendments would also ensure that the federalstimulus funds could be used on the Peninsula even if the rail authority fails to get environmental clearance for its San Franciscoto-San Jose segment by November 2011, as is legally required. If the rail authority doesn’t meet this deadline, the money would likely be used on a different segment of the 800-mile line.

Caltrain hopes the federal funds would be used to pay for four projects that received environmental clearance and are now “shovel ready�: positive-train-control signals to prevent collisions; electrification work on the 4th Street and King Street station in San Francisco; grade-separation work in San Bruno; and wayside improvements such as transfer stations.

The projects would be compatible with the high-speed-rail project, which California voters approved in 2008, but would not preclude or predetermine any particular design alignments for the high-speed-rail line, Caltrain’s Executive Officer for Public Affairs Mark Simon told the council Monday night. Still, he said he expects the rail authority to oppose the legislative amendments offered by Caltrain.

The two rail agencies signed a memorandum of understanding last year to collaborate on the Peninsula segment of the high-speed-rail line, which is currently projected to cost about $43 billion. They have since formed a partnership, the Peninsula Rail Program, which is charged with developing the San Franciscoto-San Jose segment. “It’s a true partnership, which means you don’t always get along,�

Simon told the full council Monday. “You indicate things you disagree over and, hopefully, you can work these out and move forward.� N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

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Principal

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sion the Sisters of Mercy had that they were there to teach young women to be leaders.

“They pushed you, in a good way, to be who you are.”

Villalobos went to the University of California, Los Angeles, with the idea of a career in academia. Along the way — while teaching on the side at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts — she got bitten by the teaching bug.

She came to Paly as a studentteacher while obtaining a credential at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont. After teaching history for six years, she became Assistant Principal for Guidance and Instruction, handling the master schedule, staffing and curriculum for the next five years.

“I had many good mentors in the district and at the school,” she said, mentioning former Paly principals Sandra Pearson, Marilyn Cook and Scott Laurence.

A one-year stint as principal of Capuchino High School in San Bruno ended with a medical leave, and Villalobos returned to Palo Alto — Gunn this time — as a history teacher in 2008.

“I know Palo Alto students, and I know the curriculum,” Villalobos told Gunn’s student newspaper, The Oracle, at the time.

Villalobos enjoys travel and has returned often to her home country, even during El Salvador’s civil war of the 1980s.

Relatives recently bought a remote, 6-acre orange grove there, where she plans to spend time this summer.

“It’s just us and nothing. You get to talk to people, sleep and enjoy life — talk about organic eating and living.”

She’s passionate about what she calls her “mini-tribe”: her parents, brother, sister-in-law and three nieces, who all live close together in San Bruno.

She would like to extend that sense of community to the school setting.

“I know it’s a cliché, but the heart (of a school) is always the classroom,” she said.

“Kids do listen, and when they see a teacher show a sense of passion for the subject they’re like magnets. The kids say, ‘Yeah, I can do that.’”

Villalobos believes that kind of passionate teaching and community building can help heal the Gunn campus following four student suicides that occurred between May and October of last year.

She recalls two student suicides in 2002 and 2003 while she was at Paly.

“A parent or a school is never to bury a child, a student, a young adult. That’s not the natural order of things. Unfortunately it does happen and it hits us really hard and it has reverberations throughout the district and the town.

“That’s why relationship-building between teachers and students is so critical,” she said.

“Both schools have worked really hard to really connect with their students, trying to get to know them.

“Next to academics, my primary job is safety and I take it seriously.

“I’m mom to 2,000 kids. And that doesn’t scare me — I love it.” N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.

News Digest Palo Alto may break 50-foot barrier for buildings Palo Alto, a city with a history of opposing high-rise developments and promoting the small, eclectic neighborhoods, is now reconsidering its 50foot height limit for new buildings.

The City Council voted on Wednesday night to direct staff to take a fresh look at the limit — a restriction long viewed as sacrosanct by neighborhood leaders and other opponents of bulky new developments.

The council specified that staff should consider easing the 40-yearold restriction only in neighborhoods that are next to fixed-rail (i.e., Caltrain) stations.

The goal is to encourage new mixed-use projects near major transit corridors — a strategy that city officials, regional planners and state legislators are increasingly promoting in hopes of reducing traffic and creating sustainable neighborhoods. Councilman Greg Scharff, who made the proposal to reconsider the 50-foot height limit, said reconsidering the “sacred cow” restriction would give the city some much-needed flexibility in addressing Palo Alto’s housing needs.

Height limit has been a hot topic around the city since at least the early 1970s, when Palo Alto voters rejected a proposed 11-story office tower north of University Avenue and a downtown hospital proposed by the Palo Alto Medical Clinic. The city’s current Comprehensive Plan, which was adopted in 1998, states that the limit has been “respected in all new developments since it was adopted in the 1970s, only a few exceptions have been granted for architectural enhancements or seismic safety retrofits to non-complying buildings.”

New developments that exceed this limit, including the Taube Koret Campus of Jewish Life (62 feet), the proposed expansion of the Stanford Hospital (135 feet) and the proposed expansions of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (85 feet), have also been deeply scrutinized by planning commissioners, council members and the public at large. N — Gennady Sheyner

Palo Alto cleaver attacker was tortured in China Chunren Chen, the restaurant worker who allegedly hacked a fellow employee with a meat cleaver during an argument at a Palo Alto restaurant last year, had been tortured and “re-educated” in China decades ago, according to court documents.

The reported torturing and re-education was chronicled by Judge Douglas Southard in notes from a hearing May 8 in Superior Court in Palo Alto. The notes covered a discussion of Chen’s medical records among the judge, Chen’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jeff Dunn, and Deputy District Attorney James Demertzis.

Chen, 64, admits he attacked co-worker Zezhong Yang at the Jade Palace restaurant on May 27, 2009. Records show he had a previous arrest for a “similar” assault with a deadly weapon in Alameda County in 1997.

He is charged with attempted murder and aggravated mayhem for the attack on Yang, a chef, after he struck him several times with a meat cleaver in the restaurant’s kitchen.

A psychotherapist who examined him in December 2009 concluded that Chen likely has post-traumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit hyperactive disorder and anxiety disorders, according to the notes.

Chen will appear in Santa Clara County Superior Court in Palo Alto for a preliminary hearing on June 25. N — Sue Dremann

Court issues injunction against pesticide use A federal injunction affecting eight Bay Area counties will temporarily halt the use of 75 pesticides in and adjacent to endangered and threatened wildlife species habitat, according to a report released Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph C. Spero signed the injunction, an agreement between the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on May 17.

The injunction prevents use of the chemicals while the EPA formally evaluates the pesticides’ potentially harmful effects on Bay Area endangered species over the next five years. The affected counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma.

The injunction, which was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, was sought by the Center for Biological Diversity and stems from a lawsuit in 2007 against the EPA for violating the Endangered Species Act. The injunction prohibits the pesticides in areas such as near the Palo Alto Baylands, where the California clapper rail and salt marsh harvest mouse live, and at Stanford University in areas adjacent to habitat of the California tiger salamander and San Francisco garter snake.

The chemicals include strychnine, Warfarin (which is used to kill rats) and pyrethrins, a commonly used product to kill aphids and other plant pests, fleas and ticks. Many are highly toxic to fish, birds and beneficial insects.

The 2006 Center for Biological Diversity report can be found at www. biologicaldiversity.org/publications/papers/bayareapesticidesreport.pdf. N — Sue Dremann LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY AND COMPLETION OF DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER FACILITIES RENEWAL AND REPLACEMENT PROJECT (SCH#2007082130) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared to assess the environmental impacts of the following project: Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project LEAD AGENCY: City of Palo Alto, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301 PROJECT SUMMARY: The SUMC Project includes demolition, replacement, and expansion at the Stanford Hospitals and Clinics, the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The SUMC Project would demolish approximately 1.2 million square feet of existing buildings at the SUMC Sites (which comprise a total of 66 acres)and construct approximately 2.5 million square feet of hospital, clinic, and research facilities, for a net increase of about 1.3 million square feet of hospital and clinic uses (research space would not increase). In addition, other existing buildings would be renovated to meet seismic standards and approximately 2,053 net new parking spaces would be added to the sites.

SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS: The Draft EIR has identified that the project would have significant impacts in the areas of land use, visual quality, transportation, air quality, climate change, noise, cultural resources, biological; resources, geology and soils, hydrology, hazards and hazardous materials, population and housing, public services and utilities.

AVAILABILITY OF DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT: The Draft EIR is on file and may be reviewed at the City of Palo Alto’s Development Center, 285 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, during business hours, Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM; Wednesdays 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. The EIR will also be available for review on the City’s website, www.cityofpaloalto.org and at the Palo Alto Main Library, 1213 Newell Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303.

PUBLIC MEETINGS TO REVIEW DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT: During the public review period for the DEIR, the City Council and Planning and Transportation Commission (Commission) will hold public meetings to take public testimony on the document. A City Council meeting to introduce the Draft EIR will be on May 24, 2010 at 7:00 P.M. The first Commission meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 2, 2010 at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers, Palo Alto City Hall. The first City Council public meeting is tentatively scheduled for June 7, 2010. Subsequent meetings with the Commission to accept DEIR comment are tentatively scheduled to occur each Wednesday at 7:00 P.M. through July 14, 2010. Subsequent meetings with the City Council to accept DEIR comment are tentatively scheduled to occur on June 14, July 12, July 19, and July 26 at 7:00 P.M. Please note these public meetings are only to accept comments on the DEIR; no decision on the Project itself will be made. All persons may appear and be heard at these meetings.

PUBLIC REVIEW AND SUBMITTAL OF WRITTEN COMMENTS: If you wish to comment on the DEIR, please submit your written comments to Steven Turner, Department of Planning and Community Environment, 250 Hamilton Avenue, 5th Floor, Palo Alto, CA 94301 or via email at Stanford.project@cityofpaloalto.org, between the dates of May 20, 2010 and no later than July 27, 2010 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Steven Turner, Senior Planner at (650) 329-2155 or via email at steven.turner@ cityofpaloalto.org.

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, those requiring accommodation for these meetings should notify the City of Palo Alto 24 hours prior to the meetings at (650) 329-2496.

CURTIS WILLIAMS, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 7

Upfront Upcoming Events

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City Council (May 17)

High-speed rail: The council heard a presentation from Caltrain about pending legislation involving funding for high-speed rail. The council also accepted a list of guiding principles for high-speed rail. Yes: Burt, Klein, Price, Shepherd, Scharff, Schmid, Holman Absent: Espinosa, Yeh Infrastructure Commission: The council voted to create a new blue-ribbon commission to consider the city’s infrastructure backlog and possible ways to pay for the backlog, which is currently estimated at about $500 million. The committee would have 15 members, including three members with technical expertise and two with financial expertise.

Yes: Burt, Klein, Price, Shepherd, Scharff, Schmid, Holman Absent: Espinosa, Yeh

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City Council Finance Committee (May 18)

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Palo Alto government action this week

Police budget: The committee voted to maintain funding for crossing guards in the proposed Police Budget for fiscal year 2011. Yes: Klein, Schmid, Scharff No: Espinosa Traffic team: The committee voted to keep funding for four of the five members of the Police Department’s traffic-enforcement team. Yes: Klein, Espinosa, Scharff No: Schmid Fire Department: The committee asked the Fire Department to re-examine its proposed 2011 budget and identify more savings and efficiencies. The committee will review the budget again at a later date. Yes: Klein, Schmid, Scharff No: Espinosa

Planning & Transportation Commission (May 19) High-speed rail: The commission reviewed and commented on the Alternatives Analysis for the high-speed rail segment between San Francisco and San Jose. Action: None

Human Relations Commission (May 19)

Diversity: The commission heard updates on its pending Diversity and Inclusion Project and on this year’s World Music Day. Action: None

High-Speed Rail Committee (May 20)

High-speed rail: The committee heard a presentation from the city’s technical and environmental consultants on the alternatives analysis for the San Francisco-to-San Jose segment of the rail line. Action: None Caltrain: The committee approved, in concept, Caltrain’s proposed amendments to Senate Bill 965, which governs expenditures of federal-stimulus funds. Yes: Unanimous

Architectural Review Board (May 20)

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital: The board held a preliminary review for the proposed expansion of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. The board generally supported the proposed design but recommended some changes to colors and landscape elements in the project. Action: None

Public Agenda

A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week

CITY COUNCIL ... The City Council plans to discuss the city’s comments on the high-speed-rail Alternatives Analysis; and hold a study session on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Stanford University Medical Center expansion project. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, May 24, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). The regular meeting will follow at 7 p.m. or as soon as possible after the study session.

CITY COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to review the proposed 2011 budgets for the Utilities Department, the Public Works General Fund and the General Fund Capital Improvement Program; and to consider the rate schedule for the city’s fiber-optic service.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The board plans to discuss a proposed policy on suicide prevention and mental health. Members also will hear updates on the school district’s Mandarin Immersion Program and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s revised budget proposals. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25, in the Board Room of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.).

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to appoint a liaison to the Palo Alto Youth Council; discuss the commission’s list of priorities; and hear an update on the underground waterstorage tank project at El Camino Park. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 25, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to hold a study session on the Policies and Governance Programs Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan. The commission also plans to consider a proposal by Clarum Homes to subdivide a parcel at 420 Cambridge Ave. and create five condominiums. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMISSION ... The commission is scheduled to hear updates on 2010 priorities, the library construction projects and the proposed fiscal year 2011 budget. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 27, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

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regulations.

The fact that the massive development project will bring with it a wide range of major environmental impacts is unlikely to surprise either city or Stanford officials, who have been negotiating for more than two years on possible ways to contain the consequences.

The new report is a critical component of the development process because it details for the fist time the project’s effects on air quality, climate change, noise, geology, hydrology, housing, cultural resources and visual quality — and identifies ways to mitigate them.

The report also allows city and Stanford officials to distinguish between measures that the hospitals are required to implement to obtain environmental clearance and items that would qualify as “community benefits.�

The distinction is critical because Stanford is seeking to develop at a far greater density than the city’s zoning regulations allow. As a result, Stanford is expected to offer significant benefits before the City Council approves a “development agreement� enabling the ambitious project.

The council and the Planning and Transportation Commission are both scheduled to publicly review the DEIR in the next two months.

The council is also scheduled to hold an “orientation� session on the comprehensive document on Monday night (May 24).

The section on traffic impacts is expected to particularly arouse intense interest in the community. It already is one of the council’s top concerns about the hospital project. The report identifies numerous mitigation measures Stanford could take to reduce traffic, but notes that a few intersections will suffer significant “loss of service� even if Stanford agrees to implement all the measures listed. “Given the magnitude of the SUMC Project’s intersection impacts, there is no single feasible mitigation measure that can reduce the impacts to a less-than-significant level,� the report states. “However, there are a range of measures that, when taken individually, would each contribute to a partial reduction in the SUMC Project’s impacts.�

Recommended measures include new traffic signals, new bicycle and pedestrian undercrossings, an enhanced “travel demand management� program that would encourage workers to take public transportation, and design improvements at busy intersections.

The combination would reduce impacts during the morning rush hour, the report states. But intersection impacts would remain “significant and unavoidable� during the evening-commute hours at three Menlo Park intersections: Middlefield and Willow roads; Bayfront Expressway and Willow; and University Avenue and Bayfront.

Stanford has already agreed to a series of programs and projects aimed at lessening traffic impacts, including a $2.25 million payment to the city to improve pedestrian and bicycle connections from the transit center in downtown Palo Alto to the intersection of El Camino Real and Quarry Road.

Stanford has also agreed to purchase Caltrain “Go passes� for all hospital

Stanford University Medical Center’s proposed ‘Project Renewal’ expansion

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(continued from page 3)

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workers and to expand its Marguerite bus service.

The report also states the project would adversely affect the city’s already high jobs-to-housing ratio, which may cause more traffic and further air-quality impacts. The hospitals have agreed to address this issue by contributing $23.1 million to the city’s housing fund.

Given the number of “significant unavoidable environmental effects,�

Palo Alto’s approval of the project will require the city to adopt a “statement of overriding considerations,� the report states. The statement would indicate that “the City of Palo Alto is aware of the significant environmental consequences and believes that the benefits of approving the SUMC project outweigh its unavoidable significant environmental impacts.�

Just before the scheduled release of the document, Stanford Hospital CEO Martha Marsh and Children’s Hospital CEO Christopher Dawes issued an open letter calling its publication a “significant milestone� for Project Renewal. They underscored their “sense of urgency� to keep the project moving forward. Stanford is required by state legislation to seismically retrofit its hospital facilities by 2013, with a possible extension to 2015. “We are very pleased that this important document is now available for public review and comment,� the letter states. “This represents significant progress toward assuring that Palo Altans will continue to have access to vital medical services in modern, seismically safe facilities.� N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

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CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Palo Alto City Council will hold a public hearing at the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. or as near thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, to Consider Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project- Meeting to Receive comments on the Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR), including comments focused on the Project Description, Land Use, Population & Housing, and Public Services Chapters of the DEIR. DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk

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PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT Strong Schools Bond – Citizens’ Oversight Committee The Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District Board of Education seeks applicants for appointment to the independent, volunteer Strong Schools Bond Citizens’ Oversight Committee. The Committee will review and report to the public on the District’s bond expenditures. Applicants must reside within the Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District. An applicant may not be an employee, contractor, consultant, or vendor of the District.

The purpose of the Citizens’ Oversight Committee (COC) is to inform the public concerning the expenditure of bond revenues. The COC is required by state law to actively review and report on the proper expenditure of taxpayers’ money for school construction.

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Completed applications must be sent to: Dr. Kevin Skelly, Superintendent, Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District, 25 Churchill Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306, or emailed to: kruegsegger@pausd.org. All applications must be received by Friday, June 4, 2010, at 4:30 pm.

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

Upfront

Briones House

Juana Briones Heritage Foundation.

The National Trust’s designation could be an important step in saving the house, McDonnell emphasized.

Practically all of the places on the annual list get saved, she said.

The home’s preservation has been complicated because a caretaker, Tom Hunt, has a “life interest� for half of the property, which was willed to him by a previous owner, McDonnell said. When he dies, the property will revert to one parcel, but now it is difficult for the Nulmans to build a large home on the property. Their present share is too small to have a large house zoned, she said.

Although Hunt no longer lives in the cottage on the property, he is dedicated to preservation of the home, McDonnell added.

Thirty Briones supporters gathered in front of a state historic plaque on Wednesday on Old Adobe Road near the house to celebrate the designation, she said. “Yerba Buena tea,� made from the native healing herb Juana Briones, who was a medical healer, used to serve to visiting dignitaries at her San Francisco home,

(continued from page 5)

Please be advised the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC) shall conduct a special meeting at 6:00 PM, Wednesday, June 2, 2010 in the Civic Center, Council Conference Room, 1st Floor, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Any interested persons may appear and be heard on these items.

Staff reports for agendized items are available via the City’s main website at www.cityofpaloalto.org and also at the Planning Division Front Desk, 5th Floor, City Hall, after 2:00 PM on the Friday preceding the meeting date.

Copies will be made available at the Development Center should City Hall be closed on the 9/80 Friday.

NEW BUSINESS. Public Hearing: 1.

Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project: Meeting to accept comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the SUMC Project, including comments focused on the Project Description, Land Use, Population & Housing, and Public Services chapters of the DEIR.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Meeting of May 19, 2010.

NEXT MEETING: Special Meeting of June 9, 2010 at 6:00 PM Questions. Any questions regarding the above applications, please contact the Planning Department at (650) 329-2440. The ďŹ les relating to these items are available for inspection weekdays between the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. This public meeting is televised live on Government Access Channel 26.

ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn more about the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), please contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at 650.329.2550 (voice) or by e-mailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org. *** Curtis Williams, Director of Planning and Community Environment

ditional wings added to the building in the Arts and Crafts and Mission Revival styles date to World War I, she said.

Prior to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which significantly damaged the building, the public, including many school children, was able to tour the home up to 20 times per year, she said.

Concern about the house’s fate intensified in 1996 when then-owner Dan Meub, a Stanford neurosurgeon, inquired about demolishing the house due to shifting of major beams related to the 1989 quake.

He said he and his family moved out quickly when the shifted beams were discovered in October 1996.

Nulman and Welczer purchased the house and property in 1997, initially intending to restore it. But they soon changed to wanting to demolish it, citing the extensive damage.

Former Mayor Gail Woolley initially played a major role in efforts to save the house, helping create the

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was served in her memory. “She was one of the world’s exceptional people. If she was born at the right time maybe she would have been our first woman president,�

McDonnell said.

A Palo Alto couple deeply involved in the preservation effort, Clark and Kathy Akatiff, got involved through McDonnell, who used to have a “Nature Explorations� business on California Avenue.

Clark Akatiff said McDonnell’s true interest was in women’s history, and she discovered Briones in the early 1980s. She later wrote “the definitive biography� of Briones, he said.

For several years there was a debate about whether Briones actually lived or spent time in the Palo Alto house, as her main residence was in San Francisco. But a grandson settled the issue by recalling when he was 8 years old grinding coffee on the front porch.

Akatiff said Briones in her last years lived in a large house in Mayfield, now the California Avenue area of Palo Alto.

Other places on the “Top 11� list include: s !MERICA S STATE PARKS AND STATE owned historic sites; s "LACK -OUNTAIN (ARLAN #OUNTY

Ky.; s (INCHLIFFE 3TADIUM 0ATERSON

N.J.; s )NDUSTRIAL !RTS "UILDING ,IN coln, Neb.; s -ERRITT 0ARKWAY &AIRFIELD #OUN ty, Conn.; s -ETROPOLITAN ! - % #HURCH

Washington, D.C.; s 0AGAT 9IGO 'UAM s 3AUGATUCK $UNES 3AUGATUCK

Mich.; s 4HREEFOOT "UILDING -ERIDIAN

Miss.; s 7ILDERNESS "ATTLEFIELD /RANGE and Spotsylvania counties, Va. N Associate Editor Carol Blitzer contributed to this story.

Upfront

Online This Week These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com/news or click on “News” in the left, green column.

Tesla, Toyota to build electric car

Cyclists race through San Mateo County

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a surprise announcement today that Palo Alto-based electric car company Tesla, Inc., and Toyota Motors will team up to create an electric car. The announcement caught even Tesla officials by surprise — they had planned a 5 p.m. press conference, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reported. (Posted May 20 at 12:35 p.m.)

8:33 a.m.)

Impact report a ‘major milestone’

West Nile Virus resurfaces

Completion of the draft impact report on the Stanford hospitals expansion/renewal project is a “major milestone,” Palo Alto Mayor Pat Burt said late Wednesday. (Posted May 20 at 9:53 a.m.)

Soap Box Derby qualifier held Saturday Local youngsters will race sleek gravity-powered cars down a Dana Street overpass in Mountain View as part of the annual Palo Alto Elks Silicon Valley Soap Box Derby qualifying race this Saturday (May 22). (Posted May 19 at 6:39 p.m.)

Briones House makes ‘Endangered’ list Palo Alto’s oldest structure, the 1844 adobe home of Juana Briones, was named today to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2010 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. (Posted May 19 at 4:24 p.m.)

Edison transfers EPA charter school Citing budget problems, the company that operates East Palo Alto’s high-performing Edison Brentwood School will cease managing the campus in June.

Parts of state Highway 1 in Pacifica and Half Moon Bay will be closed briefly today while the 2010 Amgen Tour of California cycling race passes through San Mateo County. The cyclists are expected between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. (Posted May 18 at

Santa Clara County officials announced Monday three dead crows found throughout the county— including one in Los Altos—have tested positive for West Nile virus. Officials are advising residents to take extra precautions against mosquito bites. (Posted May 18 at 1:20 a.m.)

Caltrain competes for federal funds The two agencies responsible for building the Peninsula section of the high-speed-rail system now find themselves in a competitive race for federalstimulus funds, Caltrain’s chief spokesman told the Palo Alto City Council Monday night. (Posted May 18 at 12:49 a.m.)

Mountain View cops ID victims of shooting at dry cleaners Police have identified the two shooting victims who were found inside a Mountain View dry cleaning business on Friday (May 14). There are indications that the shootings, which shocked the neighborhood, may have been the result of a murder-suicide, police said. (Posted May 17 at 5:02 p.m.)

(Posted May 18 at 4:26 p.m.)

Divorce fight led to murder-suicide, friends say The man believed to have shot his ex-wife before shooting himself Friday wanted to resume living with her—or be paid for his share of the home and dry cleaning business they had once owned together, friends and co-workers said Monday, May 17. (Posted May 18 at 12:18 p.m.)

Simulated terrorism attack hits Bay Area A ship is being attacked and blown up in Redwood City today, improvised explosive devices are being detonated and fires are raging across the Bay Area— all part of a statewide anti-terrorism exercise. (Posted May 18 at 12:10 p.m.)

Palo Alto hosts rail-design meeting

Power restored in Menlo Park, East Palo Alto A power outage this afternoon left 1,329 customers in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto without power for approximately 40 minutes, a PG&E spokesman said.

(Posted May 17 at 3:42 p.m.)

A ‘Wonderland’ prom at Lucile Packard “An Evening in Wonderland” was the theme of the sixth annual prom at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital School Friday evening (May 14). Students and family members celebrated with music, dancing, carnival games and more. (Posted May 17 at 11:33 a.m.)

East Palo Alto man fatally shot Friday A 50-year-old man who was fatally shot in the head while working in his garage in East Palo Alto Friday night has been identified by the San Mateo County coroner’s office as Parma Maharaj. (Posted

Palo Alto will host the first of two meetings tonight (Tuesday) to gather residents’ input about the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s latest plans for the Peninsula segment of the 800-mile rail line.

May 16 at 8:51 a.m.)

(Posted May 18 at 11:16 a.m.)

Police in Mountain View are investigating the shooting deaths of two people whose bodies were found inside a dry-cleaning business in the city this morning. (Posted May 14 at 9:30 p.m.)

Hospitals to reply to nurses’ arbitration request Officials at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital are working on a response to a request from the nurses’ union for binding arbitration to bypass stalled negotiations. (Posted May 18 at 11:30 a.m.)

Paly earns honors in science, math Students at Palo Alto High School continue to rack up national honors in science and mathematics this spring—including placing second in a national math contest, announced Monday. (Posted May 18 at

Mountain View police investigate shooting deaths

Water district adopts new plan Bowing to intense community opposition, the Santa Clara Valley Water District officially scrapped a controversial redistricting proposal that lumped Palo Alto and Gilroy into the same district and adopted a new redistricting scheme Friday afternoon. (Posted May 14 at 4:44 p.m.)

‘What’s

your

The Pa lo Alto Sto ry Pro je c t

story?’

Stories about Palo Alto, as told by local residents as part of the Palo Alto Story Project, are now posted on the Internet.

Watch them at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

snap peas pumpkin tomatoes artichoke english peas asparagus nuts toffee chocolate honey lavendar eggplant pomegranates plums cherry apricots apriums pluots okra butter lettuce little gems escarole basil thyme marjoram parsley rosemary savory salmon beef pasture l e s berries males sausa read zucchi g gs m e a milk cheese quash bean awberri a s pump a t o ar tich nuts toff nates asian pears plums apricots avocado cherry pluots okra butter lettuce little gems escarole basil thyme marjoram rosemary parsley savory

W NO EN OP

d ow n town

PALO ALTO FARMERS’ MARKET

Connecting food lovers and farmers since 1981 SATURDAYS 8a-12p | GILMAN ST @ HAMILTON | www.pafarmersmarket.org

NOTICE OF VACANCIES ON THE UTILITIES ADVISORY COMMISSION FOR TWO, THREE-YEAR TERMS ENDING JUNE 30, 2013 (Terms of Ameri and Berry)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council is seeking applications for the Utilities Advisory Commission from persons interested in serving in one of two, three year terms ending June 30, 2013.

Eligibility Requirements: The Utilities Advisory Commission is composed of seven members who serve without pay.

The Utilities Advisory Commission shall not be Council Members, officers, or employees of the City. Each of the Commission members shall be a utility customer or the authorized representative of a utility customer. Six members of the Commission shall at all times be residents of the City.

Regular meetings are at 7:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month.

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

Application forms and appointment information are available in the City Clerk‘s Office, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto (650) 329-2571 or may be obtained on the website at www. cityofpaloalto.org.

Deadline for receipt of applications in the City Clerk‘s Office is 5:30 p.m., Thursday, June 10, 2010. In the event one of the incumbents does not apply, the final deadline for nonincumbents will be Tuesday June 15, 2010 at 5:30 p.m.

DONNA J. GRIDER City Clerk

9:48 a.m.)

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Sign up for Express, our new daily e-edition.

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PALO ALTO RESIDENCY IS A REQUIREMEHNT FOR SIX COMMISSIONERS. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 11

Transitions

!,%*!.$2/ "5,!%63+9 Alejandro Bulaevsky, 26, a former resident of Palo Alto, died April 12, 2010 of a tragic accident in New York City. He attended Ohlone, Jordan and Palo High School. After finishing the Film Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts he attended Parsons School of Design and received a Masters degree in architectural lighting design. In 2007 he co-founded Matirical, a lighting fixture and controls company which specialized in custom LED technology installations. In addition, he worked for various architectural light design companies on a large range of projects, including high end residential, hospitality, retail as well as gallery and civic projects, both domestically and internationally. He was a spirited, talented and creative individual, who lived life to the fullest. When he wasn't working, he was traveling to visit his family in Palo Alto and Berlin and to his other favorite metropolitan destinations, among them London, Rio de Janeiro, and Barcelona. He is survived by his mother and brother, Emi and Daniel Bulaevsky, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and his many friends.

Services have been held.

PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Births, marriages and deaths

Diana Holtland Gilbert

Deaths Evelyn Brother Evelyn Brother, 93, a resident of Palo Alto, died May 10.

She was born in a sod house to Ella and Edward Short in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She attended Sioux Falls School for the Deaf and Gallaudet University where she met her husband, Alvin R. Brother (deceased 1980). They moved to Palo Alto in 1947 where they raised two daughters, Betty Ann Lowman of Scotts Mills, Ore., and Millie Brother of Santa Barbara, Calif. She is survived by her two daughters, six grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Donations in her memory may be made to CODA - -Children of Deaf Adults, c/o R. Talbott, 7370 Formal Court, San Diego, CA 92120.

Roe LaVern Judy May 11, 1920 – May 7, 2010

A Life of Service Died of Lung troubles and Pneumonia Vern descended from early Buckeye, now Winters, CA. pioneering families, the elder son of Roe LaVern Sr. and Jeannette (Briggs) Judy.

He attended Esparto High School and was class president all 4 years. At Stanford University, a highlight was playing the clarinet in the band when they marched in the Rosebowl Parade.

He graduated with a B.A. in business, married Mary Lou Hyatt of Los Angeles, and joined the Navy in 1942. He served in the South Seas for 4 years as Lieutenant and navigator aboard a sea-going tug, U.S.S. ATA 123, supplying and pulling stranded vessels off the beaches.

After the war he returned to work at his father’s Ford dealership in Esparto. In 1951 he moved his family to Menlo Park and for 17 years commuted to work at the North American Securities Co., Russ Building, San Francisco. In 1967, though being one of the company’s vice-presidents, he left to start his own financial advising business in Menlo Park, Judy and Robinson Securities. Upon retiring in 1985 the company had 10 branches and 250 employees. Everybody was invited to and enjoyed going to the complimentary company retreats at Bass Lake, CA. Being thrifty allowed for great generosity.

Vern served on so many boards, the Los Page 12ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Lomitas School Board for 20 years, and the Kiwannis Club.

He taught business classes at Menlo College. He and 5 other Menlo businessmen started the Pacific Union Bank, corner of Crane and Oak Grove.

When younger, he enjoyed skiing. Later it was tennis, gardening and tractor driving, cultivating and manicuring he and Mary Lou’s 2 acres of young orchard at their Atherton Ave. house.

He liked to pass by the places of his youth going up to Cache Creek Casino. He retired and Mary Lou, by then being a retired Menlo physician, moved to the Forum Retirement Community in 1993. There he served as a tour guide and board member and wrote many wonderful Money Management articles for the Forum’s Phoenix Magazine.

He is preceded in death by his brother James, wife Mary Lou and grandchild Brittany Judy.

He is survived by children Peter (wife Mary) of Los Gatos, Ellen Keeland (husband Lloyd) of Reedsport, OR., Sally Gaines (husband Rick Kattlemann) of Mammoth Lakes, CA. and grandchildren Joshua Whitkins (wife Helen and great-grandchildren Oscar and Angus) of Freemantle, Australia, Joby White of Chiang Mai, Thailand, Vireo Gaines of Bishop, CA. and Sage Gaines of Santa Barbara, CA. A memorial service was held at the Forum Retirement Community, 23500 Cristo Rey Dr., Cupertino, CA. at 3:00p.m. Sunday, May16th.

Interment at the cemetery, Winters, CA. 11:00a.m. May 17th.

PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Diana Gilbert, 92, a resident of Palo Alto, died May 18.

Born in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, to Diena and Gerrit Holtland, she was the third of four daughters.

The family emigrated to the United States in 1924. She joined the Nurses Cadet Corp. during World War II. After the war she worked for many

years as a surgical assistant to neurosurgeon Dr. Cal List of Grand Rapids, Mich. In 1970 she met and married Palo Alto resident John Gilbert which brought her to Palo Alto.

She was always quite fond of her neighbors on Cowper Street. John died in 1999. She is survived by her remaining sister, Hermine Holtland of Berkeley.

100TH BIRTHDAY

Florence Sund Florence Sund turned 100 on May 14, and age hasn’t stopped her from getting all she can out of life.

One of her fondest memories is of riding her Arabian horse across the hills and meadows above Palo Alto and in her native Illinois countryside. When the wind was against her face, she felt free, she tells visitors.

Sund celebrated her birthday with a gathering of family and friends at Lytton Gardens, her residence for the last five years. Her birthday wishes included a visit from a therapy dog, handing out chocolate kisses to her caregivers and staff and feeling the air outside — something she hasn’t been able to do for 10 years.

Sund got her wishes, plus one she wasn’t anticipating: A horse was brought in from Webb Ranch to visit and Sund was adorned with a red riding jacket. Girl Scout Troop 33098 serenaded Sund, who is a former Girl Scout leader.

Sund was raised on an Illinois farm and attended Rockton College. She graduated the second highest in her class in 1931 and became a teacher. She and late husband Dick raised three children, Sylvia, David and Alan.

When she moved to Palo Alto

in the 1950s with Dick, a Stanford Linear Accelerator employee, her Arabian horse came with the family.

In Palo Alto, she worked in education at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, where she created the curriculum, according to her friend Rose Dana. She met Sund some years ago while volunteering at the former Stanford Rehabilitation Nursing Home.

“She’s like my mother and my children’s grandmother,” said Dana, who moved to the Bay Area and had no family nearby.

Sund suggested she could become the children’s “California grandmother,” Dana said.

Sund’s greatest imparted wisdom is gratefulness and she always thinks about the other person. In all of her conversations Sund always talks about service to other people, Dana said.

“She always says the secret to her long life is that she’s always finding positive energy and thoughts,” Dana said. “We can’t always change things but we can choose to be positive. And really look at nature — even the weeds coming up through the crack in the sidewalk — and appreciate all of that. It’s all life,” she said. N

BIRTHS

Today’s news, sports & hot picks

Ann Helen and Ulf Liljensten of Menlo Park, a daughter, May 1.

Palo Alto Historical Association presents

PALO ALTO HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION ANNUAL DINNER Everyone welcome to attend.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010 3HERATON 0ALO !LTO (OTEL s %L #AMINO 2EAL

Innovation and Mythmakers: How a 200-Year-Old Thriller Invented Silicon Valley

Guest Speaker: Paul Saffo Visiting Scholar in the Stanford Media X Research Network and author For information, reservations call (650) 327-4568 by May 255th

Pulse

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

Palo Alto

Terrorist threats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

May 11-17 Violence related Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Strong arm robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Elder abuse/neglect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Checks forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle related Abandoned auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .9 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .9 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Drinking in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Disturbing the peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Indecent exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Located missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . .1 Psych. Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Warrants/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Warrant/Palo Alto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Sick and cared for/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Menlo Park May 12-17 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Spousal abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle related Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . . . .3 Hit and run/no injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hit and run/property damage . . . . . . . . .1 Pedestrian stop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle accident/major injury . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Alcohol or drug related Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Possession of controlled substance . . . .1 Miscellaneous CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Dead body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Domestic disturbance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbing/annoying phone calls. . . . . . .3 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Info case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Located missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Atherton May 12-17 Violence related Assault and battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Hit and run/no injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle/traffic hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Alcohol or drug related Miscellaneous Animal call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Building/perimeter/area check . . . . . . . .8 Citizen assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

A Guide to the Spiritual Community FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC

Rev. David Howell preaching An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ

DONATION CORP.

Stanford Memorial Church

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE

University Public Worship Sunday, May 23, 10:00 am

“Children of God” Rev. Joanne Sanders

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VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto

Unlisted block Monroe Drive, 5/13, 8 p.m.; domestic violence.

Unlisted block Ramona Street, 5/13, 1:13 p.m.; strong-arm robbery.

Unlisted block Waverley Street, 5/13, 8:50 a.m.; domestic violence and battery.

Unlisted block College Avenue, 5/15, 2:44 p.m.; elder abuse and neglect.

520 Ramona Street, 5/15, 12:52 a.m.; simple battery.

1170 Welch Road, 5/15, 10:18 p.m.; domestic dispute.

460 Emerson Street, 5/15, 1:00 a.m.; assault of a peace officer.

Menlo Park 1300 block Willow Road, 5/12, 3:15 p.m.; spousal abuse.

1200 block Madera Ave., 5/15, 4:39 p.m.; spousal abuse.

Madera Ave., 5/17, 4:08 p.m.; spousal abuse.

Van Buren Drive, 5/17, 6:29 p.m.; battery.

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 69 y

6 9 8 5 2 1 3 7 4

4 2 5 7 3 9 1 8 6

3 1 7 4 6 8 5 2 9

5 4 2 1 9 7 8 6 3

8 7 1 3 5 6 9 4 2

9 6 3 8 4 2 7 5 1

2 8 6 9 7 3 4 1 5

1 3 4 6 8 5 2 9 7

7 5 9 2 1 4 6 3 8

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

This Sunday: Confirmation and Pentecost

ABLE AUTO CHARITY

Construction complaint . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Construction site checks . . . . . . . . . . . .3 County road block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Meet citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Road/sidewalk/other hazard. . . . . . . . . .1 Shots fired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Tree down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Watermain break. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Welfare check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

All are welcome.

Information: 650-723-1762

Music featuring University Organist, Dr. Robert Huw Morgan and the Memorial Church Choir http://religiouslife.stanford.edu

We Invite You to Learn and Worship with Us.

Timothy R. Boyer.

A place of caring, sharing and growing Worship Service 10:30 AM. www.fpcmv.org 1667 Miramonte (Cuesta at Miramonte) 650.968.4473

INSPIRATIONS

A resource for special events and ongoing religious services. To inquire about or make space reservations for Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 326-8210 x6596 or email byoc@paweekly.com

MARY PAGE STEGNER

WIFE OF NOVELIST WALLACE STEGNER, DIES AT 99 Mary Page Stegner, the wife of celebrated novelist, historian, and environmentalist, Wallace Stegner, died May 15 at The Sequoias in Portola Valley, CA. She was 99.

Mary was born in Dubuque, Iowa in 1911, and attended the University of Iowa where she met her husband of nearly 60 years, Wallace Earle Stegner. Once asked what role she played in his life and career, Wallace replied, “She has had no role in my life except to keep me sane, fed, housed, amused, and protected from unwanted telephone calls; also to restrain me fairly frequently from making a horse’s ass of myself in public, to force me to attend to books and ideas from which she knows I will learn something; also to mend my wounds when I am misused by the world, to implant ideas in my head and stir the soil around them, to keep me from falling into a comfortable torpor, to agitate my sleeping hours with problems that I would not otherwise attend to; also to remind me constantly (not by precept but by example) how fortunate I have been to live for fifty-three years with a woman that bright, alert, charming, and supportive.”

Mary is survived by her son, Stuart Page Stegner, daughter-in-law, Lynn Marie Stegner, three grandchildren, Wallace Page Stegner, Rachael Mackenzie Sheedy, and Mary Allison Stegner, and three great-grandchildren, Sheridan Stegner, and Dillon and Emma Sheedy PA I D

O B I T UA RY

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 13

Editorial

Reforming Palo Alto’s high school sports Lacking leadership and clear policies from the school district, Paly and Gunn have been left to deal with challenging coaching problems on their own

W

ith 1,600 high school students (44 percent) participating on 95 athletic teams in 17 sports, the sports programs at Gunn and Paly are huge and the expectations high.

Both schools can rightly boast of great coaching and many hardwon championships.

But as our two-part “Out of Bounds?” series has explored, there are also many stories of coaching behavior that some characterize as verbally “abusive” while others view as appropriately “motivational.”

While parents may be of two minds about whether it is acceptable for coaches to express anger, swear, throw clipboards and go on emotional tirades with their players, official Central Coast Section (CCS) standards and virtually every sports psychology expert make clear that such behavior is not only detrimental to success on the field, court or in the pool but can inflict serious emotional harm on adolescents.

Unfortunately, while these modern standards are being widely adopted by policymakers, many popular and otherwise qualified coaches are either resisting or finding it hard to change their ways.

And school administrators are struggling with how to hold them accountable, especially when teams are divided.

Palo Alto’s high schools are not immune from this challenge.

Coaching controversies have torn apart teams and friendships — and driven some players from the sports they love. Instead of united action to improve the conduct of coaches and help them grow, this polarization has led some parents and players to turn against those who complain and to question their motives. The result is loselose, both on the scoreboard and in the happiness of players — and coaches.

It is encouraging that Palo Alto school officials, in response to the Weekly’s investigation, have initiated the first steps toward addressing these problems by reactivating a long-dormant district committee to review athletic policies, coach-evaluation practices and other key issues.

Without clearly written policies explaining to coaches, players and parents standards of acceptable conduct, consequences for violating those standards, procedures for complaining about violations and procedures for conducting neutral investigations, coaching controversies will continue unabated and occupy inordinate amounts of senior administrators time dealing with distraught players and parents.

Reforms we believe are essential include: s ! STANDARDIZED DISTRICT COACHING AGREEMENT SIGNED BY EACH COACH that pledges adherence to the CCS standards. s ! DISTRICT WIDE PROCESS FOR THE NEUTRAL INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS

preferably by an assistant superintendent or outside contractor who functions as a neutral ombudsman for athletic issues. s 3TANDARDIZED ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK FORMS AND PROCEDURES FOR surveying all athletes and parents mid-way through the season and again at the end of the season, returned directly to administrators, not the coach. s 0ARTICIPATION BY ALL TEAMS IN THE 0OSITIVE #OACHING !LLIANCE program and ongoing promotion of PCA values in all aspects of Paly and Gunn sports. s !DOPTION OF A MENTORING PROGRAM THAT ACTIVELY SUPPORTS FIRST YEAR coaches and ensures they are meeting behavior and other standards.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the district should take immediate steps to redefine the role of high school athletic directors.

The current scope of responsibilities of the athletic directors is unreasonable and almost guarantees frustration, conflict and high turnover of coaches.

It is unfair and counter-productive for athletic directors to coach a team, teach P.E. classes and administer a large sports program. Their sole focus, as is the case in most private high schools with strong athletic programs, should be recruiting and mentoring new coaches, evaluating current coaches, mediating conflicts, resolving complaints and tending to the many logistical challenges of a sports program.

The additional expense will be more than offset by the time currently spent by the ADs and other administrators addressing coaching controversies and dealing with upset parents.

Just as it is in so many other ways, the Palo Alto Unified School District should aspire to be a national leader in the administration of its athletic program, demonstrating to other districts how adopting modern positive-coaching strategies can lead to a higher level of coaching, player and parent satisfaction, and a system that is fair and transparent in addressing problems.

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Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Youth safety Editor, I attended the city-wide budget meeting last Saturday morning at Lucie Stern. I appreciate the chance to participate in the process.

Youth well being is top of mind for many of us and it’s encouraging to see that it’s top of mind for the City Council as well. The proposed cuts that, in my mind, undercut our efforts to promote youth well being include anything that affects our kids’ ability to be independent, healthy, safe, eager to learn and well-nourished emotionally. I would be devastated to see cuts to our crossing guards, the traffic safety team or our libraries.

The crossing guards and traffic safety team work hand-in-glove to make it possible for our kids to move about town independently, taking cars off the roads and fueling their ability to be healthy and independent. My son crosses El Camino Real at Stanford daily to get to Escondido and before we had the guard cars would cut in front of us to turn left just as we were entering the intersection. It was nerve wracking and dangerous.

The guard makes it possible for the kids to get across without tears (from the bikers or the drivers). The trafficsafety team makes it possible for the crossing guards to do their jobs.

I know the city faces difficult decisions. I urge the city to prioritize spending in line with our goals and especially the priorities as they relate to the health, safety and well being of our youth.

Terry Godfrey Oxford Avenue Palo Alto

Manhattanization?

Editor, It is unfortunate that Councilman Scharff and some of his colleagues are even considering the prospect of raising height limits for new buildings in Palo Alto (Weekly, May 14).

If the current dilemma has taught us anything, excessively tall buildings in communities create a series of problems that cannot be undone. University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto has been transformed into a canyon that blocks out sunlight and scenery, creates significant traffic congestion, and engenders a grim and cold ambiance. A further “Manhattanization” of the city is completely unacceptable and must be rejected.

Matt Stewart Alma Street Palo Alto

Don’t change 2/3 rule Editor, Even Rich Gordon, your choice for 21st District Assemblyman on the Democratic ticket, comes out in favor of revoking the requirement for a 2/3 majority to pass any tax or budget measure. Does he not realize that because any fool can craft a spending proposal which directly

favors at least a third of the population — albeit a different third each time, that only 25.4 percent of the rest of us who will have to pay for his or her largesse need be convinced in one way or another for the measure to pass? So instead of enjoying what is effectively a 50-50 pass point for spending measures we are to be faced with one which is effectively 25-75.

I don’t think that’s at all a fair or wise change to promote, especially in the spendthrift state that is California.

Michael Goldeen Tasso Street Palo Alto

Preserve safety funding Editor, I understand that our city is facing very difficult budget decisions, but I am writing to urge the city council to preserve funding for the Palo Alto Police Department Traffic Team and the Adult Crossing Guards. Together, these enforcement resources have been crucial to the safety of thousands of Palo Alto children, including my own.

I am a mom of two children, one with special needs, who will attend

two different PAUSD schools in the fall. It is impossible for students to safely cross Arastradero to get to Terman without a guard. When we ride bikes or walk to Briones in the mornings now, and drivers make illegal U-turns, park in front of fire hydrants, and drive through a donot-enter sign the wrong way — it is a danger to my whole family — we cannot safely walk or bike to our neighborhood school without the traffic officers there to enforce the laws.

PAUSD’s 11,565 school children are walking/biking to school in record numbers. This is no time to reduce commute safety. As the city has developed housing, requiring us to expand our schools, it is increasingly important that we maintain safety for all residents, and especially our school children.

I strongly encourage you to prioritize public safety in your budget deliberations and support funding the adult crossing guards and PAPD Traffic Team.

Thank you.

Stacey Ashlund Campana Drive Palo Alto

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

What do you think? How important to you is maintaining Palo Alto’s 50-foot height limit?

Submit letters to the editor of up to 250 words to letters@paweekly.com.

Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you.

We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted.

You can also participate in our popular interactive online forum, Town Square, at our community website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Read blogs, discuss issues, ask questions or express opinions with you neighbors any time, day or night.

Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Publishing Co. to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square.

For more information contact Editor Jay Thorwaldson or Online Editor Tyler Hanley at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.

Check out Town Square!

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

On Deadline:

Is California high-speed rail the future or a slow-motion train wreck?

by Jay Thorwaldson or a frenetically busy community, it seems that Palo Altans sometimes have too much time or their hands.

It is a rare week when someone could possibly do or attend everything being offered — or even keep up with writing about them so people know they’re happening and can decide whether to attend, not attend or simply sigh regretfully.

This was the week of high-speed rail, with two public-invited city meetings (Tuesday and Thursday) on the “alternatives analysis” on the controversial project. In between, on Wednesday night, the city’s Planning and Transportation Commission discussed the seemingly endless issue of what the rail plan would do to local communities.

On top of that comes a press announcement that the California High Speed Rail Authority, beleaguered by protesting residents and Midpeninsula cities, is seeking another $16.6 billion in federal funds for what has been estimated as a $43 billion project.

And on top of that came a visit to Palo Alto

by Caltrain spokesman Mark Simon to let city officials know Caltrain wants a chunk of an earlier federal commitment of more than $16 billion.

The bigger significance of Simon’s visit is that, for the first time, it seems that Caltrain is standing up for its own interests and fu-

F

ture plans rather than hoping for a ride-along with the high-speed rail project. Up to now Caltrain has been remarkably quiet about its own future needs, which include a vision of electrifying Caltrain’s aging fleet of trains — meaning they will be new trains, or at least new engines.

Simon said the “partnership” with the California High Speed Rail Authority still remains intact, even though he expects the authority to oppose Caltrain’s suggested amendments to a law that designates the federal funds for high-speed rail.

There’s a “backstory” here, I’m sure, to use a journalistic term, and I’m sure Simon, a longtime journalist and former Chronicle columnist, knows it.

Some readers have complained that they are tired of reading high-speed rail stories.

They do seem to go on and on, sort of like rail tracks disappearing into the distance in a classic case of perspective, worthy of a firstgrade art exercise.

Well, some of us journalists may be tired of chasing this story down the tracks to see if high-speed rail becomes a reality or whether this whole thing is a slow-motion train wreck.

But if it does happen, the impacts could be so severe on the communities if the wrong alternatives are chosen that the continuing “story” simply can’t be ignored.

And there is a question: Will the seemingly minor split between Caltrain and the rail authority become a true divergence, further complicating what is currently deemed the nation’s largest transportation project?

Of course, if the authority selects a deep-

tunnel alternative, much of the Midpeninsula cities’ and residents’ opposition will fade away. But costs could be prohibitive.

Yet a shallow cut-and-cover trench could much more expensive considering the need to relocate water mains, underground telephone and electrical lines and storm drains — some of which may be so old that officials may be only vaguely aware of where they are. And it would be severely disruptive of homes and neighborhoods during years of construction.

In addition, there is concern about interfering with underground aquifers, sort of slow underground rivers.

And, as Palo Alto arborist Dave Dockter has warned, a cut-and-cover trench could well doom Palo Alto’s “living landmark” and namesake, the El Palo Alto redwood tree, estimated at perhaps 2,000 years old. Dockter said an examination of the tree’s root structure is a good example of the old tree’s tenacity in terms of surviving. It’s had a tough life.

First, its Siamese twin fell over into the San Francisquito Creek many decades ago. Then the city walled the creek bank in concrete, curtailing root growth.

And there were the trains, initially spewing out coal or oil exhaust that coated the redwood needles, choking the tree from air and water (absorbed by the needles, unlike other evergreens). By the 1960s, the city had begun a major life-saving effort, as the tree had begun to truly resemble what now would be called a cell-phone tower.

Each year starting in the 1960s, the city would back up its then-new snorkel fire truck and use its hydraulic basket arm to

lift a McClenahan’s Tree Service climber into the lower branches. The climber would climb to the top as part of an annual “physical exam.”

One year the climber found an infestation of airborne termites near the top, and had to operate.

The city installed a pipe up the tree with misting nozzles near the top in what George Hood, then the city arborist, called a “fool the redwood” plan — to make it think it was in the coastal fog belt with its brethren in the Coast Redwood clan.

As a young reporter for the erstwhile Palo Alto Times, covering the annual physical became my annual assignment.

But Dockter says the tree is almost more interesting below ground than above. It has a unique root structure compared to the usual shallow-rooted redwoods. On the creek side, its roots hit the old concrete wall and then go straight down, reaching for the water table and the creek.

But on the west side, hemmed in the by the existing tracks, the roots have actually gone under the tracks and are reaching toward El Camino Real, Dockter explains.

That means a shallow trench would have to sever those roots, possibly killing the tree.

As I once suggested in an earlier column, the old tree does sort of resemble a cellphone “tree tower.” Perhaps, with some spray paint and false needles, it may have a new existence beaming Internet and cell-phone signals to passing high-speed trains.

Or is that not funny? N Weekly Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be e-mailed at jthorwaldson@paweekly.com.

Streetwise

Has the Amgen Tour of California and other biking competitions inspired you to bike more?

Interviews by Siena Witte. Photographs by Kimihiro Hoshino. Asked on California Avenue and at Town and Country shopping center.

Aja Mathews

Alec Hsu

JP LaMere

Holly Flemming

Dave Phillips

“I can’t say I’ve been inspired by the race, but I definitely have been (inspired) by people in my life who’ve biked long distances.”

“It hasn’t really inspired me, just because I don’t bike.”

“I already bike a lot, so I don’t think it has pushed me to bike more. It was cool to see (biking) elevated to that level. Those guys are in a whole different league.”

“They’re fun to watch, but not to enter myself. I’m a runner, but biking is something I could do with my husband.”

“I bike, but not for competition, I like to do it for fun with my friends. I do trails because it’s safer, less cars.”

Student Park Boulevard, Palo Alto

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Cover Story

by Terri Lobdell, Jocelyn Dong and Jay Thorwaldson

What happens when Palo Alto’s high school athletes and their parents complain that a coach has crossed the line alo Alto High baseball player Noah Sneider and his fellow senior teammates faced a problem in spring 2009: They were deeply troubled about the way their new coach, Donny Kadokawa, was managing the team.

While they respected the coach’s vast baseball knowledge, they felt he was riding the players too hard and to bad effect (the team’s record then was 0-9). They wanted to suggest more positive and less angry ways of communication.

Kadokawa initially refused to meet, shocking the seniors, Sneider recalled.

“As seniors, we felt a leadership responsibility to have a conversation with the coach about how to improve the team environment,” Sneider said.

Many of the younger players did not agree with the seniors’ views.

Parent Joe Rizza said of the rebuff: “Donny was building a program for the future. ... His attention was on the younger guys. The seniors were just so much baggage.”

Assistant baseball coach Dick Held — a retired FBI regional director, former Paly parent and assistant coach for girls’ basketball and baseball for the past decade — shuttled back and forth between players and Kadokawa to open up communication, Sneider said. Kadokawa ultimately called the whole team together.

“A fiery and uncomfortable discussion broke out” that upset the players, the “Viking Magazine,” a Paly student publication, reported.

“The gist of his message was: ‘Suck it up. Not everyone is going to be nice to you in life,’” Sneider said.

Kadokawa recalled the meeting

P

Kimihiro Hoshino

I

n Part 1 of Out of Bounds, the Weekly last week described five publicly visible coaching controversies at Palo Alto and Gunn High Schools. The coaching behavior in dispute — including alleged angry outbursts, swearing and demeaning comments — was examined in light of current school standards of conduct that emphasize character education, positive coaching methods and

Coach Jen Gray, center, gives instructions to players on Palo Alto High School’s lacrosse team.

in an interview with the Weekly: “The seniors felt it was their program, (that) they could do as they pleased.”

He told them, “You either buy into the system or not; you can leave if you don’t like it.”

A few weeks later Steven Burk, the senior starting pitcher, left.

Sneider later followed.

By that time “I couldn’t even remember what I used to love about baseball,” Sneider said.

At the end of the 2009 season, Kadokawa was told by Paly Athletic Director Earl Hansen that he would

not be returning to Paly.

As the Weekly’s months-long investigation of the athletic programs at Paly and Gunn High found, speaking up about a coach’s behavior can be fraught with complications. The very act of raising issues deeply affects people on all sides of the problem — players, coaches, teammates,

parents and school administrators.

Emotions run the gamut. Players fear retaliation; coaches and their supporters grow defensive. Those involved in trying to address a complaint become frustrated with one another and make accusations about each others’ motives. Anger spills over when issues are not resolved.

The importance placed on high school sports and the deep bonds formed through hours of practice lead people to quickly take sides and hold fast to fixed viewpoints, which exacerbates problems rather than leading to understanding and better relation-

emotional safety.

The Weekly’s cover package last week included additional articles.

“What makes a good coach good?” highlighted coaches at both Gunn and Paly who are known for their positive philosophies and practices — providing student athletes with educationally rich team experiences and memories to last a lifetime.

It is the sense of a priceless opportunity lost that most distresses

many caught in a sports experience gone sour.

The vulnerability of teens and the power of a coach to influence those teens were also explored, along with the psychological dynamics that can lead well-intentioned coaches to treat athletes in angry or humiliating ways.

Part 1 also profiled the national, groundbreaking work of the Positive Coaching Alliance, founded

at Stanford University and now based in Mountain View; the working conditions and pay for coaches; challenges posed by the growth in club sports and the impact on high school athletics and individual players; and the variety of sports offered, the numbers of students participating, and the different types of coaches employed at Paly and Gunn.

Part II examines the adminis-

Page 16ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

PART 2 OF A 2-PART SERIES

ships between players and coaches.

The investigation found that students and parents who are unable to resolve problems directly with a coach face the prospect of approaching administrators in a system with no clear or consistent guidelines or procedures for how complaints should be made or investigated. In the past, that lack of transparency and unclear expectations added strain to an already stressful situation, parents have said. For example, parents who thought they had initiated a complaint by meeting with Paly officials later learned that the school would not take action unless the complaint was made in writing.

In spite of district policies requiring (1) that any written complaint receive a response within 10 days and (2) that copies of complaints and the school’s response be provided to the coach in question, the Weekly found that Paly has repeatedly failed to do either.

The Weekly’s examination of more than 600 pages of documents provided by the school district — in response to a Public Records Act request for communications between parents and school officials about coaching concerns — showed a qualitative difference in the written exchanges at the two high schools.

The documents, which covered the past two years, reveal that Gunn administrators generally responded more quickly and directly.

A greater volume of written complaints about coaching conduct were generated by Paly parents, as well as parent letters in support of coaches — revealing strong, sometimes personal divisions.

The documents also reveal the

trative challenges in overseeing numerous sports and coaches, existing practices in supervision of coaches, how complaints are made and investigated, and areas of responsibility identified as needing definition and improvement. The role of parents is also covered in articles on Sports Boosters and Positive Coaching Alliance’s tips for the high school sports parent. N

Cover Story issues about their coach will lead to retaliation — despite a state law that forbids it and official assurances that it does not happen. They fear their coach will give them less playing time, treat them poorly or provide unfavorable college recommendations. (Even those who have spoken up often felt these same fears but managed to overcome them, they said.)

Paly Athletic Director Hansen isn’t sympathetic to hesitating students.

“Get over it!” he said. “We do not hire coaches who are mean, unforgiving people — and if they are they don’t last long.”

Gunn High School Athletic Director Chris Horpel also expects athletes to talk to their coaches. Kids need to “man up” and deal directly with any problem, he said.

Members of the Paly boys’ basketball team did just that when they decided to band together and speak up last December, after individuals’ complaints about their coach the previous season had had little effect.

“I had players come to me last season, last summer, during spring practice,” acknowledged Hansen, who said he retained basketball coach Andrew Slayton after addressing concerns with him and receiving his assurances.

According to three of the players, however, problems continued, culminating in a highly disputed player ranking in December that placed the previous season’s starters near the bottom. Slayton declined to explain to the team his reasons. The play-

“Different athletes are going to react differently. You can yell at me all day, but if you yell at this other person then you’re going to ruin them. A good coach is going to be able to figure that out.”

Jerry Berkson, assistant principal, Palo Alto High School

Paly Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson said the time allowed for compliance depends on the situation.

Assistant Superintendent Scott Bowers emphasized the need for active progress: “The expectation would be that the athletic director and school administrators would actively move that coach toward the standards ... or else go back out and find a different coach.”

Both schools, on a regular basis, have done exactly that, according to school officials.

The schools “have been willing to pull the trigger on coaches they think are not appropriate. ... (They) have a track record on doing that,” Palo Alto Superintendent Kevin Skelly said.

‘Manning up’

U

nlike the Paly senior baseball players, not all high school athletes with concerns about coach treatment decide to speak up.

They report worrying that raising

ers called a team meeting to air the issues, and Slayton invited Hansen to attend.

A group of players later met separately with Hansen.

“So what do you want to do?”

Hansen asked those assembled in his office, according to player accounts.

“We want him fired,” one player responded. Each player in turn confirmed his agreement out loud, at Hansen’s request. It was unanimous.

Hansen fired Slayton and hired another coach. It was an unusual mid-season removal, only the second in Hansen’s career, he said.

(Slayton declined an interview with the Weekly but e-mailed: “While my interpretation of some of the events is different, I respect the fact that that is how some of the players perceived these events.”)

Several players indicated that acting together as a team facilitated fast action. It also helped that it was students, not parents, gathered in Hansen’s office.

Hana Kajimura with permission from The Viking Magazine

enormous range of sports issues raised in addition to coach conduct — including tryouts and cuts, length and frequency of practices, disputes involving referees, safety issues, whether fundraising events are compulsory, whether students must travel by team bus, tournament conflicts with holidays and Homecoming, fears of retaliation, problems in finding and retaining coaches, playingtime concerns, team management and communication issues.

They also show the diplomacy with which school officials have attempted to address specific concerns, especially in the controversial cases. Also, administrators walked a fine line, having to skirt personnel privacy issues while still addressing parental concerns, which required considerable communication skills.

Ultimately, the Weekly found that the schools’ investigations into questionable coaching (whether based on complaints raised by parents or players or on direct administrator observations) resulted in various forms of discipline. School officials call their approach “progressive,” ranging from the athletic director talking about specific problems with the coach to termination of the coach’s employment.

“What we do depends on the level of severity,” Gunn Principal Noreen Likins said. If a coach is warned and the problem continues, “We would make it very clear that if he crosses the line there will be this consequence, and then we have to follow through with consequences.”

Coach Donny Kadokawa, who coached Paly’s baseball team last year, was not invited to return after a contentious 2009 season.

“I will listen to kids before I listen to parents,” Hansen emphatically told the Weekly.

Palo Alto parents may have a reputation as quick to complain, but the Weekly found that many agonize over whether to voice their concerns about a coach and, if so, how to do it. Like their children, parents worry that raising issues will have negative consequences both immediately and in the long run for the athletes and their younger siblings, according to those interviewed.

At Gunn, parents often wait until the end of the season before complaining, Principal Likins said.

“They are afraid of the repercussions or playing time being lost, so it is tricky,” she said.

They also fear they’ll be branded as one of the outspoken parents who second-guess coaching strategies or complain vociferously about more playing time for their child, according to many parents. (See sidebar on tips for sports parents.)

“Cranky parents spoil it for the

rest,” former Palo Alto school board member Mandy Lowell said. “They give parents a bad name.”

Overzealous parents aside, numerous parents say that school administrators can have deaf ears when it comes to even legitimate concerns — a fact that discourages communication.

One Paly parent reported widespread frustration: “If you complain about anything, it’s automatically presumed that you’re griping about playing time — that is, unless your kid is playing all the time, in which case you probably don’t want to jeopardize that by complaining.”

Baseball parent Greg Avis said he called and e-mailed Hansen multiple times during spring 2009 and never got a response.

“I finally gave up. It was useless,” he said.

Criticism about Hansen’s lack of responsiveness in his role as athletic director was echoed by many parents in Weekly interviews.

Hansen declined to comment on the criticism.

Superintendent Skelly, however, said the district’s job is “to make sure the school has been responsive to a person’s issue and that they’ve taken appropriate action to that, that they haven’t shined it on, that they have taken it seriously, that they’ve been responsive to the issues there.”

There are times when parents have met with administrators and had success.

Taylor Lovely, a Paly ’09 grad and starter on the basketball team, said she and others on her team did not know how to go about approaching coach Scott Peters to discuss problems with “yelling, losing his temper, too much negativity.”

So a group of concerned parents decided to meet with McEvoy.

Lovely said she was nervous about this because she liked Peters and didn’t want him to think she was going against him.

In the end, though, she said it was a “great relief” to have surfaced the concerns. Lovely felt Peters listened and took the concerns to heart.

“We saw improvements,” she said. She credited the parent meeting with bringing about a healthier environment on the team.

Olivia Garcia, also a Paly ’09 grad and basketball starter, likewise benefited from parental involvement.

She complained to her father about Peters’ yelling and swearing at her on the bench during a game (for showing “attitude,” she said).

“I felt disrespected,” she said. Her father arranged a meeting with himself, Olivia, Hansen and Peters, and they ironed it out, according to Olivia. After that, she said things were “better” with Peters. As the season continued, Garcia counted herself among Peters’ supporters.

“I also realized after talking with my brothers (one had played basketball at Paly) that this was pretty standard coach behavior, and that I shouldn’t take it so personally,” she said.

Gunn parent Mary Perricone, the mother of four student athletes, also took direct action when her daughters’ coach’s conduct caused her serious concern five years ago. She complained first to the coach and then to Tom Jacoubowsky, then-athletic director (now assistant principal).

“Many people are bullied into silence, but I believe in standing up to bullies. Regardless of any defenses (continued on next page)

READ MORE ONLINE More articles and documents posted on Palo Alto Online

D

uring the course of reporting on high school coaching, the Weekly explored many facets of the athletic experience for local teens and obtained hundreds of pages from the Palo Alto Unified School District detailing its handling of complaints against coaches.

A sampling of these documents, along with additional articles on high school sports, are presented this week in print and online at

www.PaloAltoOnline.com. (Last week’s Part 1 of the series is available in its entirety online as well.)

This week’s online package includes: s Documents and complaints: Complaints submitted by parents, e-mail exchanges with officials and

responses of administrators related to baseball controversies at Paly and Gunn, softball at Gunn and girls’ water polo and basketball at Paly. s Meet the maze: An article about the confusing puzzle facing athletes and parents when they seek to raise issues about a coach’s behavior. s Sports Boosters: How Palo Alto parent groups fund major athletic projects and team expenses. N

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 17

Cover Story “There‘s no place like home.�

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Coach Scott Peters cheers on the Paly varsity basketball team.

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they might throw up at you — that you’re really concerned about playing time or whatever. The point is that their behavior is the issue and needs to be addressed,� she said.

Meanwhile, Perricone took matters into her own hands. During a game when it appeared to her that the coach was “berating� her daughter, using swear words, she protested the treatment, pulled her daughters from the game and took them home.

Soon after her daughters quit the team — the only time her kids quit a team. The coach did not come back the next year, she said. “The school responded well, although it took longer than it should have,� she said.

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he Weekly’s investigation found that Gunn and Paly parents and athletes who decided to voice concerns were often unsure about what they could expect or whether administrators were following proper (or any) procedure.

According to district policy, any complaint that is made in writing will receive a response. Usually the author will be contacted and the school official will try to solve the problem. At Gunn, Likins said: “Typically we respond and usually very quickly. We might in fact invite the parent to come in.�

Likins said such complaints should be shared with the coach.

Bowers agreed: “The expectation is that a written complaint will be shared with an employee and that any response to the complaint is also shared with the employee.�

That expectation is not always met, however.

In the case of Paly girls’ water-polo coach Cory Olcott, he said he was not shown any written complaints.

Yet Paly received at least 22 letters from athletes and in some cases both parents (many anonymous) in fall 2008 containing strongly worded descriptions of Olcott’s alleged treatment of players.

Most came from families who had

ers, this was not done, and became one impetus for parents appealing to higher-level school officials.

Investigations into coaching conduct at Paly and Gunn have ranged from informal to formal. Administrators say they often start by observing games and practices or talking casually with a few players or assistant coaches about how things

“The bottom line is that we should be responsive to people who have issues. It shouldn’t be: ‘Go fill out the form.’ It should be, ‘OK, what’s the issue? Let’s help you; let’s work together so your kid has a quality experience.’�

Kevin Skelly, superintendent, Palo Alto Unified School District

banded together to discuss how best to raise their concerns, according to parents involved.

Olcott told the Weekly that, though he was not shown the complaints, he did discuss concerns raised with Hansen and Berkson, who was in charge of athletics at the time.

In spite of district policy, Hansen acknowledged he does not always show written complaints to his coaches. “If every day I’m coming back and say, ‘Look at this, look at what this person said about you’ ... and you hear that all the time, why would you want to coach here?�

In one meeting with water-polo parents, Hansen promised he would administer anonymous feedback forms to the athletes at the end of the season, according to parent Joan Fiser (mother of player Silvia Maraboli and herself a teacher). To the dismay of some parents and play-

are going. “Observations are major,� Hansen said.

Horpel agreed and said he is not noticed as he watches a game or practice, “like a fly on the wall.�

But others say it is hard for a school official to go unnoticed, making it difficult to observe problems firsthand.

A few investigations have occurred quickly. Likins suspended Gunn baseball coach Brian Kelly in spring 2009 within days of complaints over his behavior during a team meeting. His permanent removal soon followed.

Other fact-finding has been more formal and deliberate. Horpel said he conducted a comprehensive evaluation of Gunn’s football program early in 2009, sending every football player a call slip to come (continued on next page)

Cover Story

Athletic directors have big jobs managing large athletic programs and coaches, with little time and no extra pay to the duty this year and a former student of Hansen’s, although he recently resigned effective in June).

In the prior two years, Paly Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson was in charge of athletics and did not meet regularly with Hansen.

Berkson said he and Hansen met “when needed.” Hansen also meets with Principal Jacqueline McEvoy as needed. There are other differences between the schools — such as how they gather student feedback on coaches.

“We should be systematically getting feedback from our student athletes on coaches. ... We should certainly ensure that the evaluations are anonymous and administered in a way that feels safe,” said Scott Bowers, the district’s assistant superintendent of human resources.

Gunn currently e-mails feedback forms to all student athletes and their parents at the end of a sports

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to Bowers.

“The expectation is that any time you are doing an investigation you are doing it in as fair-handed and unbiased way possible,” Bowers said.

“The goal is to get at the specifics and the truth of it, not to determine what the outcome is.”

Yet numerous Paly parents and players interviewed said they believe school neutrality is often missing when coach conduct is questioned.

“Earl is a staunch defender of his coaches,” one Paly sports parent said.

“It’s all about whether Earl likes the coach,” another parent said.

“The administration made clear who they were believing,” Fiser said, referring to the water-polo complaints.

Regarding Olcott, Hansen told the

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to his office and fill out anonymous feedback forms while there. Horpel also sent e-mails to parents asking for feedback. After the evaluation was completed, head coach Matt McGinn resigned.

Horpel also relied on studentfeedback forms, as well as a meeting with concerned parents, in deciding to replace Gunn’s varsity softball coach after the 2009 season, according to e-mails between Horpel and parents.

Whether formal or informal, investigations are only as valuable as they are objective. To that end, the school district assumes its administrators will be neutral, according

Gunn Athletic Director and wrestling coach Chris Horpel confers with a member of the Gunn wrestling team.

Kyle Terada

(continued from previous page)

File photo/Keith Peters

by Terri Lobdell thletic directors at Palo Alto and Gunn high schools are in charge of coaches and running the athletic programs at their schools — and they have their hands full.

Earl Hansen, Paly’s athletic director since 1993, manages 45 teams and approximately 72 coaches.

Chris Horpel, in his third year as Gunn’s athletic director, supervises 50 teams and approximately 85 coaches.

Hansen and Horpel (both P.E. teachers) receive two additional prep periods per day and no additional pay as compensation for their athleticdirector duties. Hansen also coaches Paly football; Horpel heads up wrestling. They receive standard seasonal stipends for coaching their teams: Hansen $4,372; Horpel $3,407.

By contrast, most private high schools with comparable sports programs employ full-time athletic directors, often with assistants, according to Nancy Lazenby Blaser, Central Coast Section commissioner for the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high-school sports in the state.

“Public-school athletic directors can’t possibly do all they’re required to do in the time they are given. ...

I don’t know how they keep their heads above water,” she said.

According to Hansen, the athletic-director job is “more challenging every day” due to the increases in the number of sports teams and athletes, budget challenges, the numbers of coaches who don’t also teach at the school (known as “walk ons”) and parent complaints.

Paly and Gunn have taken different approaches to organizing and administering athletic activities.

At Gunn, Horpel is a member of the Admin Team and meets weekly with the principal and assistant principals, including Tom Jacoubowsky, who oversees athletics and is a former athletic director there.

At Paly, Hansen meets weekly with the assistant principal in charge of athletics, Todd Feinberg (new

Paly Athletic Director and football coach Earl Hansen season, according to Horpel. Forms can be e-mailed back or printed out and handed in to Horpel anonymously.

“I don’t want coaches doing this,” Horpel said. “They could just toss out the worst forms.”

At Paly, there is also a school feedback form but no standard system for administering it.

“It’s varied, and that’s probably something we should look at,” Hansen said.

School feedback forms are only occasionally administered, according to Paly parents, players and coaches. Many athletes do not ever see the form during their four years at Paly, players and parents report.

Hansen said he allows some coaches to manage their own feedback process, using their own forms, which Hansen may or may not ask to see.

Hansen said he sometimes personally administers feedback forms by calling team meetings. In this event, he collates the forms before discussing them with a coach to maintain anonymity.

“Our responsibility or expectation is that kids and their families have a chance to provide the athletic director input. How (the schools) do it is really up to them,” Superintendent Kevin Skelly said.

School district involvement in high school athletics has varied.

Historically there has been an Athletic Committee — composed of a district-level supervisor and the two school principals, assistant principals and athletic directors — meeting bi-monthly to review and coordinate athletic policies and programs.

Sandra Pearson, retired Paly principal, recalled these meetings as an “important vehicle for making sure we were in step.”

Yet in recent years meetings have been canceled routinely. Burton Cohen, district supervisor in charge of coordinating the Athletic Com-

“There’s lots of pressure as (athletic director). People don’t understand about all the people coming at you from all sides.”

Jacquie McEvoy, principal, Palo Alto High School

Weekly: “He’s the head of the English department at Woodside Priory.

My next-door neighbor, the mother, works at Woodside Priory. (Her) two daughters had him in class and they loved him. We had the same from several of the other girls who were on the team who were definitely in this corner, and also I know the ones

who had issues. So again, we have to go through with my experience, and understanding and knowing some of the kids.”

Hansen said some parents who complained about Olcott were engaged in a “witch hunt.”

Hansen also backs girls’ basketball coach Peters: “We have a young

mittee until January 2010, said the scheduled meeting dates have been “placeholders” only. If the schools did not generate agenda items he canceled the meetings.

Last November, Horpel — in his third year as athletic director at Gunn — said he had yet to attend a district meeting due to these routine cancellations.

Since the Weekly began asking questions about this committee last fall, however, the Athletic Committee has been rejuvenated, with Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Linda Common now in charge. Common, who had athletic-oversight experience as Woodside High School principal for 12 years, said the committee has been meeting monthly since January and will continue meeting after her upcoming retirement July 1.

“This is definitely needed,” she said.

Skelly agrees: “It’s a forum for us ... to make sure everyone’s on the same page in terms of expectations.”

Common described the committee’s agenda as including review of all coach hiring and firing procedures, coach employment agreements, complaint and complaint investigation procedures, coach training needs, and systems for coach evaluations.

Common said clarity and “transparency” in policies and procedures is very important, as well as good communication.

“If the rules are clear, the process is right and the resources made available,” the system should work well, she said.

Like many school officials, Common expressed a strong preference for hiring teacher-coaches whenever possible. They get the “big picture” and “save so many problems,” she said. She also believes the district needs to address the training of coaches, especially walk-ons. During her tenure as Woodside principal, all coaches were required to take Positive Coaching Alliance workshops, which she believes would be helpful in Palo Alto. N coach that cares deeply for his kids; there is no question in my mind. He did above-and-beyond then, as he is now. ... Sometimes a coach will be overzealous, but the genuine feelings that he has for his players comes out. ... I’m behind him 100 percent, because I know that’s a fact.

“Hiring him was a piece of cake because I watched him for several years. He worked in our camps. I watched him dealing with kids of all ages, and they love him. He’s like the Pied Piper.”

Former Paly parent Renate Steiner agrees, based on her middle school daughter’s several years of experience with Peters on youth teams and camps. “Scott is a major inspiration,” she said, “He is so patient, (continued on next page)

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(continued from previous page)

so delightful. It boggles my mind how people can have problems with him.”

Hansen questioned the motives of parents complaining about Peters’ conduct in a February 2009 e-mail to Principal Jacqueline McEvoy: “This whole thing (new parent complaint about swearing) is about playing time and really nothing else.

(The parent) now only wants to get his way. I think if Scott is that bad (the parent) should take his daughter off the team. ... It would be wrong to punish Scott for the few people that are very self-serving.

“wouldn’t make things up, but would misinterpret what would happen and make it sound really bad.” While sympathetic to teammates who had problems with Olcott, she described the allegations as “blown out of proportion,” an opinion shared by other players and parents interviewed by the Weekly.

Murao said that letters describing Olcott as “abusive” angered her. “’Abusive’ is a strong word,” Murao said.

“At that point I had to stand up for Cory. That was hard because I did have problems with him. In some ways, the complaining girls were right, but the way they were going about it was wrong. They should have come instead to the captains,”

“It can be a fine line. What one person calls abusive another person says, ‘Oh, that coach is just motivating the kids.’”

Malaika Drebin with permission from The Viking Magazine

Tom Jacoubowsky, assistant principal, former athletic director, Gunn High School

“Sports are a privilege and not a right. Maybe they need to understand this.”

In fact, Hansen believes most complaints have little or nothing to do with a coach’s behavior.

“As far as complaints in general from parents, I would say that 99 percent, if you cut away the fluff, are based on playing time,” Hansen told the Weekly.

“Fluff,” he said, means “using every possible excuse to crucify a coach or discredit a coach — it’s all based on playing time.”

When Hansen investigated concerns about Olcott, he held meetings with the team co-captains, Liza Dernehl and Tara Murao, both Paly ’09 grads.

Dernehl said that she and Murao would help Hansen “in sorting fact from fiction, trying to make it so there was less drama and more water polo.”

She said Hansen would read parts of the various complaints and then ask them whether events happened as described.

She said Hansen once told them, “If this is true, then I need to do something about this, take this to the next level. But if it’s not, then I don’t want to do that, because it is not fair to Cory.” She said Hansen trusted them to be honest and unbiased.

“Mr. Hansen had a good sense of what was going on,” Dernehl told the Weekly. “He would say, ‘I don’t think this is true. Can you tell me if this is true?’ ... He would say, ‘This doesn’t sound like Cory,’ or ‘I doubt this happened, but I need to check it with you. What do you think?’”

“I would say, ‘This isn’t really what Cory meant; he didn’t mean it that way,’” Dernehl said.

Murao said Hansen seemed highly skeptical of the allegations.

(Hansen declined to comment on the team captains’ descriptions of these meetings.)

Dernehl said those complaining

Murao said.

When the season ended, Olcott handed out his own feedback forms and asked the girls to fill them out while he stayed with them. Olcott told the Weekly these forms were “just for me” — he did not provide copies to the school until later asked during the investigation of complaints. He said the school has its own forms and that he expected administrators to do their own process.

“I think they want to do that independently so it can be as objective as they can make it,” he said.

Many girls said they were upset by Olcott’s involvement in the feedback process; they had expected an administrator would survey the team according to Hansen’s promises to parents. Some girls said it affected what they wrote.

Hansen told the Weekly he called a water-polo team meeting in his office to do feedback forms but no one showed up, for reasons he could not explain and did not pursue.

Superintendent Skelly would not comment directly about Hansen’s handling of complaints. He acknowledged shortcomings within the district.

“There is clearly room for improvement to leave people with confidence that complaints will be addressed in a fair and even-handed manner,” Skelly said.

Taking it to the top

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fter witnessing what they considered an angry display by coach Peters at a Los Gatos girls’ basketball game in January 2009, a group of parents decided to take their mounting concerns up the administrative ladder to Principal McEvoy.

A total of 10-12 parents attended the meeting with McEvoy, representing 7-8 players. Two were supportive of Peters; others had either mixed views or strong concerns,

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Paly varsity boys’ basketball coach Andrew Slayton lost his job after a player revolt over ranking the previous season’s starters near the bottom of the play roster. according to several who were present. (This was the same meeting described earlier by player Taylor Lovely, which she said resulted in improvements.)

At the meeting, which included Hansen and Berkson, McEvoy invited concerned parents to put the specifics of complaints in writing.

While some parents felt the meeting cleared the air and promised to set in motion actions that would lead to improvements, Cheryl and Dave Atkinson took the next step suggested and put their concerns in writing.

“She told us, ‘I can’t do anything without hard evidence,’” Dave Atkinson said.

The Atkinsons’ complaint alleged that “Scott’s pattern of language, communications, and behavior toward Kirsten (Atkinson) and her teammates over our twoyear experience with him shows a complete imbalance of negative and demeaning messages — whether yelled, screamed, or conveyed in a one-on-one discussion.”

They cited examples, including use of the f-word.

In appealing to McEvoy, the Atkinsons said they hoped she would conduct an independent investigation into what they viewed as a serious, longstanding and urgent matter.

Instead, McEvoy relied on information from Hansen in preparing

her response to the Atkinsons.

In a three-page letter, McEvoy said that Hansen had talked and met individually with a “majority” of the 12 girls on the team. Based on what Hansen told McEvoy about those conversations, she concluded that while there were some concerns “about Coach Peters’ communication skills,” the majority of the team

a good coach and a good guy,” she said.

Hansen said her problems were “no big deal,” that she should focus instead on the game, she said. “Just focus on the positive. Agree to disagree.” She said that made sense to her. She also said she likes and supports Peters despite past problems.

Hansen declined to comment

“Never ever put a kid in a position he can’t get out of. If you listen to that you can pretty much eliminate most of your problems.”

Earl Hansen, athletic director, football coach Palo Alto High School

did not support the Atkinsons’ assertions about the extent of the coach’s negative behavior and its effects.

The Weekly contacted 11 of the 12 players and only one recalled talking to Hansen during the season about Peters’ coaching. That player said she told Hansen about problems she was having with Peters, which she declined to describe for the Weekly.

Hansen encouraged her to “not use parents as a channel for complaining,” and told her “Scott was

about that conversation but acknowledged that he did not have any “formal meetings” with players. “I didn’t sit down with them,” he said, contrary to what McEvoy’s letter inferred.

McEvoy, who expressed surprise when informed by the Weekly of Hansen’s comment, later clarified that what Hansen did was to have “informal conversations” with a majority of the girls on the team about (continued on next page)

Cover Story

New book provides ‘positive coaching’ advice to parents of sports- team members

by Terri Lobdell ositive Coaching Alliance founder and Executive Director Jim Thompson recently wrote “The High School Sports Parent,� which includes the following advice to parents: s &OCUS ON THE h"IG 0ICTURE v (ELP kids take away from sports character lessons that will contribute to their SUCCESS IN LIFE ,ESSONS INCLUDE THE rewards of commitment and delayed gratification, learning to bounce back from difficulties with renewed determination, and discovering how to support people within a team conTEXT !VOID BECOMING A hBACK SEAT coach� and leave performance on THE FIELD TO THE ATHLETES AND COACH s (ELP YOUR CHILD KEEP SPORTS IN proper perspective by focusing on EFFORT RATHER THAN OUTCOME &OCUSING on athletic talent rather than effort is a “trap� that can actually harm the PLAYER S ABILITY TO REACH POTENTIAL

P

&OCUSING ON TALENT ALSO BREEDS AN AT TITUDE OF ENTITLEMENT (ELP YOUR TEEN understand that hard work is usually entwined with enjoyment and is a gift that will serve him or her well THROUGHOUT LIFE s -ISTAKES ARE WHAT KIDS WORRY ABOUT MOST 4HE FEAR OF MAKING A MISTAKE CAN PARALYZE THEM #ON sider the typical reaction from the stands that an athlete hears or sees AFTER A GLARING MISTAKE -ANY PAR ents groan, slap their heads, frown OR YELL CORRECTIVE INSTRUCTIONS )N stead, help your teen learn not to fear mistakes and to bounce back quickly, leaving more energy to LEARN THE GAME s -ODEL hHONORING THE GAME v Demonstrate respect at all times for the other team and for game offiCIALS s 2EALIZE THAT COACHES HAVE TO BAL ANCE COMPETING NEEDS 4HE PLAYING time “pie� is limited and the coach

cannot give every family everything awkward middle between coach and IT WANTS 4HE TEAM CONCEPT REQUIRES PARENT )F YOU DON T LIKE THE COACH

give-and-take for the sake of the keep it to yourself and don’t poison WHOLE THE WATER s (ELP YOUR TEEN LEARN s )F THERE S AN ISSUE YOU to advocate for himself think warrants intervenOR HERSELF %NCOURAGE TION PROCEED SENSIBLY your teen to think about There are some situahow he or she wants to tions — such as physical DEAL WITH A PROBLEM /F or emotional abuse — FER TO LISTEN OR ROLE PLAY where you may decide &OR MOST PROBLEMS YOUR YOU NEED TO STEP IN child is in charge of his )N CASES IN WHICH PAR or her own experience, ents decide they must NOT YOU act: s $ON T MAKE DEROGA s $ON T INTERVENE Jim Thompson, tory comments about while angry; wait until the coach to your teen or executive director, YOU COOL DOWN other parents or members Positive Coaching s !SSUME THAT EVERY Alliance OF THE TEAM 5NDERMIN thing you write in an ing coaches behind their e-mail will be seen by backs is rampant in high school exactly the people you don’t want SPORTS 4HIS TOXIC BEHAVIOR CAN DEV TO SEE IT astate team culture, divide a team s $ON T ASSUME YOU KNOW WHAT and place high school athletes in an is going on or that your child’s por-

TRAYAL IS THE ONLY hTRUEv ONE 3EEK confirmation of what you heard from other parents you trust not to FEED THE RUMOR MILL s #ONSULT WITH YOUR ATHLETE ON YOUR PLANS )T IS CRUCIAL THAT YOU don’t act in a way that undercuts or EMBARRASSES YOUR TEEN s !CT AS IF EVERYONE IS OPERATING out of good will, even if you suspect THEY ARE NOT s &OLLOW THE CHAIN OF AUTHORITY Go to the coach first, even if you THINK HE OR SHE IS THE PROBLEM You will ultimately get better results with the athletic director if YOU START WITH THE COACH 3IMI larly, the athletic director should always be contacted before an issue is brought to the principal or ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL s )F THERE IS EVIDENCE OF A COACH behaving badly or abusing a player, it is better to err on the side of SPEAKING UP THAN TO LET IT SLIDE N

er enclosed several other complaint letters, all anonymous but with the AUTHORS PERMISSION SHE SAID &ISER SAID SHE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE from Skelly, nor from anyone on his BEHALF )T TURNS OUT "OWERS WHO received the packet, had referred it BACK TO 0ALY OFFICIALS h)T BECAME EVIDENT THAT THE school site had not adequately responded, so it was agreed that it

WERE hRIDICULOUS v 4WO OTHERS CRITICAL OF /LCOTT SAID "ERKSON TOLD THEM IN EFFECT h)N YOUR LIFE YOU RUN INTO PEOPLE THAT ARE DIFFICULT 9OU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DEAL WITH IT v /NE OF THE PLAYERS SAID "ERKSON ALSO TOLD HER h7HAT #ORY DID WAS NOT A BIG DEAL )T S STANDARD PRACTICE FOR MANY COACHES v h"Y NO MEANS DID ) TRY TO SHAPE

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(continued from previous page)

Hana Kajimura with permission from The Viking Magazine

practices, the climate on the team and how things were going in generAL (E DID NOT ASK ABOUT COACH CON DUCT DIRECTLY SHE SAID (IS QUESTIONS went to the “mood of the team,� she SAID -C%VOY SAID SHE WAS SATISFIED with the information Hansen gave her and that the findings ended up being supported by feedback forms administered by Hansen at the end OF THE SEASON 3HE SAID THE FORMS showed a majority of the team had a POSITIVE EXPERIENCE The Atkinsons, however, point to the school administration’s handling of their complaint as an example of a system that lacks neutrality, credibility and sufficient focus on the COACH S CONDUCT )N THEIR FINAL MEETING -C% voy asked the Atkinsons why their daughter didn’t quit the TEAM h@7HY ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR daughter through this?’ was her ATTITUDE v $AVE !TKINSON SAID h)T S -C%VOY S JOB TO MAKE SURE this is an environment that is supPORTIVE OF KIDS v Sending complaints back down the line for investigation can be PROBLEMATIC ACCORDING TO *EFF ,AMB

LONGTIME -ILPITAS (IGH 3CHOOL ATH letic director and past president of the California State Athletic DirecTORS !SSOCIATION )F AN INVESTIGATION is called for at his school, the principal will usually bring kids in, he SAID Neutrality is important and the further removed the investigator the BETTER HE SAID 7HILE EVERY SCHOOL IS DIFFERENT HE SAID h)N MY EXPERI ence, principals have been active in INVESTIGATIONS v During the investigation of the Atkinson complaint, several parENTS VOICED SUPPORT FOR 0ETERS /NE E MAILED SCHOOL OFFICIALS h) have attended all of the games for THIS SEASON EXCEPT FOR ,OS 'ATOS

Advice is offered from the sidelines by coach Cory Olcott to Paly’s girls’ water-polo team. and have never seen Scott be out OF LINE WITH THE GIRLS 7HAT ) HAVE witnessed is an inordinate amount of complaining by the players amongst each other, toward each other, and about the coach, and a lack of respect by the players and PARENTS TOWARDS THE COACH v Hansen said he has had no complaints about Peters’ conduct in the SEASON Peters declined requests for an INTERVIEW )N AN E MAIL HE WROTE h) TAKE PLAYER AND PARENT CONCERNS seriously and have had an open-

door policy to meet with any player OR PARENT SINCE ) BEGAN COACHING AT 0ALO !LTO (IGH 3CHOOL v

A complicated process

A

s with the controversy surrounding Peters, the invesTIGATION INTO /LCOTT S PERFOR mance percolated up past Hansen to Paly administrators and even to THE DISTRICT LEVEL )N A &EBRUARY LETTER TO 3U PERINTENDENT 3KELLY PARENT *OAN &IS

“When on the sports field, the student is getting yelled or screamed at for not doing something correctly or well, it really can do a great deal of damage to their self-esteem.�

Noreen Likins, principal, Gunn High School

would go back to the site for furTHER ACTION 4HIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED IN A LETTER TO &ISER

WHICH ) FORGOT TO DO %VENTUALLY the site did respond in writing the -AY LETTER FROM "ERKSON v HE EXPLAINED The fact that no response was reCEIVED TO &ISER S LETTER TO 3KELLY UNTIL several months later fueled parent fears and concerns that they were not being taken seriously at any LEVEL h) CAN UNDERSTAND THE FRUSTRATION that it’s back to where it started, but maybe that’s because where it started could have done a better job,�

3KELLY SAID -EANWHILE IN &EBRUARY AND -ARCH "ERKSON INTERVIEWED most but not all water-polo team MEMBERS 3EVERAL PLAYERS REPORTED STATEMENTS FROM "ERKSON THAT SUG GEST A LACK OF NEUTRALITY /NE PLAYER WHO SUPPORTED /LCOTT SAID "ERKSON AGREED WITH HER THAT SOME ALLEGATIONS CRITICAL OF /LCOTT

ANYONE S THINKING v "ERKSON WROTE IN AN E MAIL TO THE 7EEKLY h) MAY HAVE SPOKEN TO THEM IN general terms that, in life, you are going to have to work with people that you don’t exactly like but still need to work with, whether it’s a COACH OR A BOSS v HE SAID "ERKSON MET WITH /LCOTT TO DIS CUSS THE ISSUES RAISED )N A MEMO PROVIDED TO THE 7EEKLY BY THE DIS TRICT /LCOTT REFERS TO hSEVERAL INCI dents� in the feedback forms he had distributed (which he later provided TO "ERKSON THAT hWERE NOT UNFAIR IN THEIR CRITICISM v )N THE MEMO /LCOTT TAKES RESPON sibility for these incidents contributING TO THE TEAM S PROBLEMS "UT hTHE IMPETUS CAME MOSTLY from parents with unrealistic expectations� about their daughters’ playING TIME HE WROTE h4O ADVANCE ITS own agenda, a small contingent (of PARENTS WORKED ACTIVELY TO UNDER (continued on page 25)

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A community health education series from Stanford Hospital & Clinics

On Hand: Deep Knowledge Enables Effective Treatments To Preserve Crucial Function Nancy McRay was just three years old when she sat down at her family’s piano and began to play, naturally and easily and with great joy. She also had a knack for sight-reading, looking at the printed notes set before her and immediately playing them, as if she’d already practiced them many times before. By the time she was 14, word had gotten around about that skill and she became the official accompanist for a regional musical theater company.

McRay kept playing, earning an undergraduate degree in music performance, and then a master’s degree. She taught piano, she directed musical productions and she never stopped accompanying, sometimes playing for hours on end in the course of a rehearsal.

After years of medication, splints and acupuncture, McRay finally found her way to Stanford Hospital & Clinics orthopaedic hand surgeon Amy Ladd. Also a pianist, Ladd understood McRay’s dilemma better than most.

Ladd borrowed from one part of McRay’s body to repair the thumb joint’s worn edge. Carefully picking her way through the network of nerves and muscles to reach a tendon in McRay’s forearm, Ladd removed a small piece of it, coiling it into a platelike shape and placing it as a new pad-

Norbert von der Groeben

Precise Surgery in Tiny Spaces Nancy McRay has played the piano since she was a small child, not just for her own entertainment, but as a professional. Often, her jobs required her to play for hours at a time. About 15 years ago, her left thumb showed the first signs of the wear and tear. Playing became more and more painful, as did other daily activities. ding between the thumb joint and the trapezium.

“I knew my mother had had arthritis, and I wondered if it could be that.”

– Nancy McRay, Stanford Hospital hand patient “I can’t sing Stanford’s praises high enough,” McRay said. She had thought about having the surgery for more than two years, and knew it would mean a year of carefully-paced recovery before she could venture another try on a piano. But now, when she comes for a follow-up appointment, she and Dr. Ladd work hard to find a few minutes to sit down to play some simple duets. She’s also learning jazz piano with a teacher who almost immediately identified how McRay could change her playing style to protect her repaired thumband its mate from further damage.

Then, one day about 15 years ago, McRay felt something different when she spread her left hand out wide to cover a big distance between one note and another−it was a little pain between her thumb and her fingers. “I knew my mother had had arthritis, and I wondered if it could be that,” she said.

Architectural challenge

She was exactly right. McRay, like two in three post-menopausal women, was experiencing the first signals from a basal thumb joint beginning to lose its protective buffer of cartilage.

With each pivot of the thumb, each outreach, each grasp, the cartilage between the thumb joint and its partner bone, the trapezium, grew thinner and thinner, more and more painful.

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Norbert von der Groeben

Use, time and genetics

After hand surgery at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, Nancy McRay can play the piano again, without pain. She’s learned new playing techniques to help her avoid extra stress on her hands. Playing is no less fun now than it ever was.

The human hand is a tricky piece of engineering, especially the thumb joint.

“We’re looking for ways to better understand it,” Ladd said. Anatomists call the thumb joint−the trapezialmetacarpal joint−a saddle joint. It is the only one of its kind in the body.”

The saddle joint looks very much like its name, and it is the key to the thumb’s ability to work in opposition to each of the fingers.

Essential and multipurpose The motion of the basal thumb joint acts like a ball and socket, similar to the hip or shoulder joint. However, Ladd said, “This saddle joint is much more complicated. It’s more like two spoons loosely cupped together. Sometimes one rolls on the other like a snowboarder on a half-pipe, sometimes they grind like a mortar and pestle.”

And compared to the hip, shoulder, or knee, she said, “It’s a tiny little joint much harder to study with imaging techniques and motion studies.”

Ladd and her Stanford colleagues at the Robert A. Chase Hand & Upper Limb Center take a collaborative and comprehensive approach to patient care, combining research and clinical practice of three fields of surgery−plastic, orthopaedic and general surgery− as first established

by Chase, the Center’s founder. An early pioneer in hand surgery, Chase established Yale University’s Plastic Surgery section and then came to Stanford in 1963 to chair its surgery department. From 1977 to 1992, he was chief of the Division of Human Anatomy. He is the co-author of the Handbook of Hand Surgery and a founding member of the American Society of Hand Surgeons. He remains at Stanford as an active teacher and physician. His interest in the hand began when he served as a military doctor, treating soldiers wounded in the Korean conflict in the early ‘50s.

Then, there were just two centers in

special feature

What you can do to protect your hands

✓ Keep scissors handy to get through some of the tough packaging that seems impossible to open by hand – and can cause injury. ✓ Use jar openers whenever possible. Twisting while grasping puts heavy strain on the thumb and wrist.

Norbert von der Groeben

✓ Sprains, fractures or other injuries to the bones in the hand raise the likelihood of osteoarthritis. So can repetitive motions in certain occupations – constructions workers who hold jackhammers damage the cartilage from the harsh vibrations of that kind of equipment. When possible, wear protective gear.

Nancy McRay’s hand surgeon, Amy Ladd, MD, couldn’t have been a better fit for her. Ladd is also a pianist who understood the mobility and strength needed to play. Whenever Ladd can find time, the two sit down to play together.

✓ Ask about an ergonomic keyboard for work on a computer. Posture and a proper chair are also important tools to reducing the stress of hours of typing.

✓ Electric can openers, food processors, oval-shaped rubber handles, gel pens and ergonomically-shaped knives can all reduce the work load on the thumb joint.

✓ Consider stretching and light weightlifting to keep flexible and build strength in the muscles around your joints.

✓ Listen to your body. If you are using your hands and the activity is painful, your body is trying to tell you something. Ignoring pain allows the damage to continue. Ask yourself if there is a different way you can do an activity with less stress to your hand.

✓ Self-massage of the hands can also loosen tightness after hours at work. ✓ Monitor how long and how tightly you pinch or grasp an object. More stress to the joint equals faster breakdown.

the U.S. who offered specialized care of the hand.

it does to the arms, trunk and legs together. The hand’s sensory function are also dense−that’s how we can

Compared to other parts of the body, Chase said, the hand is a tightlypacked labyrinth of bone, muscle, tendon, ligament and nerve. Its ability to perform its tasks combines the need for brute force and minute manipulation.

The muscles and joints are a pulley system with flexibility that enables an unmatched diversity of movement. The hand’s architecture also can control an extreme range of intensity of motion and force−as fist or as coordinator of such fine motor skills as sewing, writing and playing musical instruments.

– Nancy McRay, Stanford Hospital hand patient And then, there’s the way the hand, and its skin, interacts with the brain.

The brain devotes as much of its real estate to movements of the hand as

For more information about the hand, visit stanfordhospital.org/chase

recognize an object just by holding it.

Chase likes to tell the story of a patient whose badly injured thumb was replaced with a finger. A few months later, seeing the patient using the new digit just as he would have his thumb, Chase asked him about it. The patient was quite happy with the restoration of function. “It feels like a thumbger!” he told Chase.”

Array of repair options

Norbert von der Groeben

“I’m a great believer in not expecting something like this is going to make everything perfect again. I am trying to do everything I can to take care of it.”

Source: Carolyn Gordon, hand therapist, Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center in Redwood City

Ladd and others have ideas about what might work to prevent the kind of deterioration that, for someone like McRay, ends in surgery. The need will be great: millions of Baby Boomers are getting to that age when they will likely develop the same kind of osteoarthritis McRay has. The next generation will have grown up typing on keyboards for hours on end from an early age or texting hundreds of times daily on cell phones. That kind of heavy use could produce repetitive stress injury. It’s already showing up in popular parThe first sign of trouble for Nancy McRay was a pain in at the base of her left thumb. lance as ailments That joint is a very common place for osteoarthritis to show up, especially in postlike cell phone menopausal women. Stanford hand surgeon Amy Ladd, MD, restored McRay’s ability elbow−and Guitar to play by placing a piece of tendon from McRay’s forearm in the joint as a buffer.

Hero wrist.

Implants are in development, Ladd said, as are studies to pinpoint the mechanisms at play in thumb joint breakdown. “This little saddle joint is a sloppy one, with built-in vulnerabilities,” she said. “We think micromotion could be the key to why it fails.”

“It’s a tiny little joint much harder to study with imaging techniques and motion studies.”

– Amy Ladd, MD, Stanford Hospital, Robert A. Chase Hand & Upper Limb Center

The surgery that McRay had is not for everyone. Some patients may opt for another of the surgical approaches that stabilize the thumb joint. What finally made McRay decide to go forward was the degree of pain that had become constant and its impact on her ability to do the many small tasks required for daily life - to open jars, grasp a door knob, put away dishes or walk her dog.

The surgery and the months of postoperative hand therapy have made her far more selective about how she uses her hands. She definitely stays away from the kind of intense, rapid piano playing she once did so often. But play she does, and loves it as much as she ever did. “I’m a great believer in not expecting something like this is going to make everything perfect again. And I am trying to do everything I can to take care of it.”

Stanford Hospital & Clinics is known worldwide for advanced treatment of complex disorders in areas such as cardiovascular care, cancer treatment, neurosciences, surgery, and organ transplants. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the U.S. News & World Report annual list of “America’s Best Hospitals,” Stanford Hospital & Clinics is internationally recognized for translating medical breakthroughs into the care of patients. It is part of the Stanford University Medical Center, along with the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. For more information, visit stanfordmedicine.org. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 23

City of Palo Alto Unclaimed Warrants The records for the City of Palo Alto show the following checks outstanding for over three years to the listed payees. Under California Government Code Section 50050, unclaimed money will become the property of the City three years after the check was issued. If you are one of the listed payees, please contact Josh Berta at (650) 329-2365 at the City of Palo Alto by July 15, 2010 so that arrangements can be made to reissue the check.

Payee A Better Prop. Mgmnt Abbas, Mustafa Abuaskar, Adnan Alexander, Fanjul Almojel, Ibrahim Saad Andrews, Carolyn Appling, Alison Becker, Tracy Bennett, Glenda Blue Cross of Calif Bronski, Jared Castle, James Chan, Danton Chan, Sebastien Condon, Dennis Cristobal, William Deal, Burton Dexter, Joanne Diamond Morgan Northend Eraker, Elizabeth Eraker, Elizabeth Erlich, Michael Forest Towers Gunn, Lisa Hirokawa, Hideya Hollister, Susan Hornik, David M. Hozour, Amir A. Hwang, Seokhwan Jiri, Kiraly Johns, Brenna Kapelner, Adam Kass, Alex Kim, Bongsug King, Julia Lemieux, Matthew Liauw, Jason Lim, Jong-Ho Liu, Ge Lovas, Desmond Lovas, Desmond Lovas, Desmond Lovelady, Berthol Maloney, William Marcus, Jeffrey Marin, Gabriel D. Mastromatt, Paul Murdock, William Murray, Hilary Oakville Grocery Oliner, Adam Palo Alto Hearing Aid Paterniti, JennďŹ er Petit, Manuel Roper, Tim Rose, Chris Samano, Dina Schlager, Mark S. Sentius Corporation Simpson, Marsha Soloman, Jeff Southerland, Stephanie Stanger, Greg Steele, Lindsay Studio Taktika Stumpp, Oliver Sun, Rebecca Teneyck, Alexander Vidal, David Wakasa, Yuji Weldon, Anna Wilkes, Fiona Wisne, Lawrence

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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.

CESAREAN BIRTH CLASS This two-hour class is taught by a labor and delivery nurse/childbirth educator who helps prepare families for cesarean delivery. Information about vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) will also be discussed.

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INFANT MASSAGE WORKSHOP Learn techniques of infant massage along with tips to relieve gas, aid digestion and soothe the soreness of vaccination sites on your baby. Class is recommended for infants from one month of age to crawling.

- Saturday, June 5: 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

SIBLING PREPARATION CLASS This class for children two years of age and older will help prepare siblings for the emotional and physical realities of the arrival of a newborn.

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Cover Story

Out of bounds (continued from page 21)

mine the work of players, coaches and other parents to build a cohesive group. Secret, exclusive meetings, derisive comments at games, and other divisive behavior placed the players in a difficult position and hampered the growth of the team.”

Several players and parents interviewed by the Weekly agreed with Olcott’s assessment that playing time contributed significantly to the complaints about his conduct; those critical of Olcott adamantly deny this was their motive.

Team divisions along playing-time lines are common when parents and students debate a coach’s methods, according to national sports expert Richard Lapchick, affiliated with Positive Coaching Alliance.

“This confuses the issues a bit.

The suspicion is that the parents and athletes are bitter about playing time. This is a pattern seen over and over with problematic coaches,”

#OSMETIC $ENTISTRY s )NVISALIGN s 4EETH 7HITENING

“We should be systematically getting feedback from our student athletes on coaches. ... We should certainly ensure that the evaluations are anonymous and administered in a way that feels safe.”

Scott Bowers, assistant superintendent, human resources, Palo Alto Unified School District

in support of Cory, six of them were aimed to discredit complaining players, she said.

Fiser met one more time with Berkson and Bowers. They told her at the end of the meeting that the decision had been made to retain Olcott.

“I was handled,” Fiser said. “They discounted everything I said. They really wanted to see me as the overanxious parent protective of her daughter.”

“If your personality is such that you (as coach) get angry easily or were coached by an angry coach and you haven’t learned another way, you’re going to have problems.”

Chris Horpel, athletic director, Gunn High School

Lapchick told the Weekly in an interview.

Berkson’s report to Fiser cited a “polarity” of viewpoints, as well as correlation between lack of playing time and dissatisfaction with Olcott.

The report also outlined Olcott’s tasks for improvement: Speak to the team as a whole about mistakes; eliminate sarcasm and profanity; and share concerns about a player only with that player and not others, such as team captains.

After receiving the report, Fiser questioned the findings in an email. She was especially critical of the emphasis given to examining the motivations of the players with concerns about coach conduct. Of the report’s eight comments listed

PREFERED DENTAL PRACTICE FOR OVER 50 YEARS!

Skelly commented: “The question is, ‘Did we make the right call there, should we have let this coach go or should we have kept him?’

The school made the decision to keep him. The kids (this year) had a quality experience.”

Signs of improvement

T

he most visible coaching-conduct controversies examined in this series do not exist in isolation. Numerous less-visible or less-controversial incidents occur and are either quietly resolved or are not pressed by parents or their kids. Some remain unresolved, and new complaints have been brought

GISSV

to the Weekly’s attention since Part 1 appeared last week.

By all accounts, however, the school year just ending has seen fewer serious problems than in the prior years, and the Paly girls’ water-polo and basketball teams finished their seasons without the intense controversy of previous years.

Whether the change this year is a result of increased monitoring and accountability, a change in team dynamics, or evolution of coaching styles and maturity — or all three — parents and players on both teams report noticeably improved behavior by their coaches.

Changes are also occurring at the district level.

In January 2010, the district revived its long-fallow Athletic Committee, consisting of top-level district personnel and the principals, assistant principals and athletic directors from both Paly and Gunn. Now led

by Assistant Superintendent Linda Common, the group meets monthly to review athletic policies, address issues around athletics and make sure everyone’s on the same page in terms of expectations.

The restart of regular meetings after several years of dormancy coincided with the Weekly’s investigation into coaching behavior and supervision.

The committee’s work is timely.

As shown in the experiences of a number of teams in recent years, school standards for coaching conduct — and what constitutes a violation of those standards — are not clearly communicated to sports participants in Palo Alto’s high schools.

Lacking clarity and reliable, comfortable channels of communication

Marisa Walker, Dave McKenna, and Jeuel Espanola

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(continued on next page)

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Cover Story

Out of bounds

(continued from previous page)

among athletes, parents and school administrators, coach-conduct problems often end up creating confusion, accountability issues, mistrust and divisiveness within and around a team.

Compounding those challenges is a lack of assumed goodwill among participants in many instances, especially at Paly. When disputes about coach conduct arise, unless the complaints are brought by the team’s starters, the focus is often diverted from the questioned conduct to accusations about parent and player motivations. Also, parents and players can at times be quick to demand a coach’s removal, pressing the coach and administrators into a defensive rather than problem-solving mode.

In these cases, tensions are magnified, making effective solutions more difficult.

Although senior district and school administrators can adopt

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and direct new policies to help solve the problems identified in this story, it is the two athletic directors who are on the front lines of the athletic program. (See sidebar on who is overseeing athletic programs.)

Their jobs â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which include coaching their own teams (football for Palyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hansen and wrestling for Gunnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Horpel) and teaching P.E. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are enormous and many say way beyond what is fair and reasonable given the high expectations of the community. In addition to running the day-to-day operations of their programs, they are expected to recruit, mentor and evaluate coaches for each of the 96 varsity and junior varsity teams in 17 sports; handle player and parent questions, concerns and complaints; and be an evangelist for a positive sports philosophy that not all parents endorse. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The (athletic director) is a tough job, being in charge of supervising lots of coaches,â&#x20AC;? Principal McEvoy said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the one out there providing support to all the coaches. Private schools have full-time ADs.â&#x20AC;?

Challenges aside, the vast majority of coaches in Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public high schools deserve recognition

and gratitude for their contributions and dedication to youth development, parents, players and officials agree. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be hard-pressed to find a better top-to-bottom coaching staff in any school around,â&#x20AC;? Skelly said.

Complaints â&#x20AC;&#x153;are the exceptions not the rule in terms of our coaches.â&#x20AC;?

Skelly believes that with current increased attention to athletic policies and practices, an educationally rich, positive sports experience for all Paly and Gunn students is more certain for the future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If you were to look at our coaches right now, I think (the ones with problems) are either not here or theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing a much better job â&#x20AC;&#x201D; so I have confidence in our ability to get our arms around this issue and deal with it. I think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re already doing it,â&#x20AC;? he told the Weekly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making very good progress.â&#x20AC;? N

READ MORE ONLINE

www.PaloAltoOnline.com What do you think of coaching at Palo Alto and Gunn high schools? Share your experiences and opinions on Town Square, the community discussion forum on Palo Alto Online.

Terri Lobdell is a freelance writer and is married to Palo Alto Weekly Publisher Bill Johnson. She was a high school sports parent for eight years, with two children in varsity soccer at Paly, and was a soccer-club team manager. She never made a complaint regarding any high school coaches. She can be e-mailed at tlobdell@paweekly.com. Jay Thorwaldson is the Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s editor and can be emailed at jthorwaldson@paweekly.com. Jocelyn Dong is the Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s managing editor and can be e-mailed at jdong@paweekly.com.

Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, movies and more, edited by Rebecca Wallace Project LOOK! marks 30 years of up-close tours and hands-on activities for kids at the Palo Alto Art Center

Clockwise from top: Docent Diana Modica leads students in discussion about art based on Chinese characters; the students take a closer look at some sculpture; Amy Best works with clay; Grace Kitayama, left, and Katie Hetterly use the computer to bring their clay figures to life.

A C L

L O O O S K E R

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n a Friday afternoon, the Palo Alto Art Center’s galleries are lively with kids gazing at the art with big eyes.

With the help of docents, Ohlone Elementary School fourth- and fifth-graders are talking about line and color, pondering symmetry, and wondering about how papier-mâché can look like bronze.

Soon, they’ll be making claymation films.

It’s a far cry from the scene Jean-

nie Duisenberg remembers from the 1970s. She was a volunteer at the Palo Alto Art Center and a docent at the de Young Museum, and she noticed a striking difference.

While there were always tons of children coming into the de Young for educational programs, it wasn’t the same in Palo Alto.

“Really, there weren’t children in this building,” she says.

Duisenberg envisioned a program that would provide special

docent tours, hands-on art activities and artist demonstrations for kids. She started working with artcenter officials and raising money — on a shoestring, as she recalls — to start programs at the Palo Alto Art Center. “I had a desk and a phone, and I got some grants,” she says.

The program launched in 1980, and there must have been some demand because, Duisenberg says, (continued on next page)

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 27

Arts & Entertainment

God’s Law of Abundance in the Divine Economy A Public Talk

by Marta Greenwood Sunday, May 23, @ 7:30 Cubberley Theatre 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

Marta Greenwood, a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science healing, is a former medical nurse whose life threatening illness led her to search for a spiritual approach to healing.

Raised in Iran and educated in England, she is now a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship and speaks internationally on the healing power of prayer.

Brought to you by the Christian Science Church in Palo Alto Check out cspaloalto.org • christianscience.com • spirituality.com

Page 28ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Docent Diana Modica discusses a giraffe sculpture with Ohlone Elementary School students.

Project LOOK!

(continued from previous page)

“Right away, for that semester, we had like 2,500 kids.”

Today, what’s now known as Project LOOK! is marking its 30th anniversary. It’s a public/private partnership, with much of its funding raised by the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation. Duisenberg is still on the board.

This afternoon, here to watch the Ohlone students’ tours, she smiles as she watches the students chattering in the galleries, then looks at a wall display of masks made to look like animal masks from Mali.

“I was always a wannabe artist,” she confesses.

Directed by Ariel Feinberg Berson, Project LOOK! serves about 5,000 children annually, with most of the tour groups peopled by kids in kindergarten through fifth grade.

About half of the school groups come from Palo Alto, and families are also invited to the three family days the program hosts annually.

Many of the about 20 docents who lead the tours have teaching backgrounds or are themselves artists.

As seen in today’s tours, it’s clear that the docents place great emphasis on engaging children by asking them questions and getting them to look more discerningly at the art.

The current exhibitions seem particularly easy for kids to connect with — the artists themselves are students. Now on display through May 30, the Youth Art Exhibition features work done by Palo Alto Unified School District students, kindergarten through high school; while Cultural Kaleidoscope shows the fruits of an arts-education program that partners Palo Alto and Ravenswood City School District students, in grades K through 5.

The shows are bright and multifaceted, including the Mali-style masks (done by second-graders) as

well as textiles, collages, drawings, sculptures, paintings and digital works of art. The visiting Ohlone students squeal as they spot artwork done by friends or siblings.

While taking the group around, docent Diana Modica pauses for a long moment in front of “Social Anxiety,” a sculpture by Palo Alto High School senior Devan Meyer. It contains a birdcage hanging from a tree, with birds fluttering outside it.

“How are the birds feeling?”

Modica asks the kids sitting on the floor.

“Free,” one child says.

Modica asks the students what kinds of lines and colors they see. A girl talks about the contrast between the straight lines in the cage, and the wavy lines in the tree. Like other works along this wall, the sculpture has dark, muted hues.

“Maybe these artists didn’t want you to look at colors; they wanted you to look at lines,” Modica says.

The kids appear thoughtful.

The visiting kids seem especially drawn to large figurative sculptures made by Gunn High School students. The artists built frames, then crafted papier-mâché bodies over them. They painted the sculptures with very evocative paint; one giraffe, made by Gunn junior Yo Yo Tsai under the guidance of teacher Erik Bowman, easily fools the eye into thinking it’s a metal sculpture.

Another of the sculptures, a cheerful Buddha made by Gunn senior Sarah Fetterman, sparks smiles among the children. “It kind of makes you feel peaceful,” one girl says.

The art isn’t all done by big kids, though. The Ohlone visitors can easily relate to a display of Gold Rush-themed dioramas made by fourth-graders. The boxes contain figures of animals and people, and popsicle-stick houses. One boy pipes up, “Is there someone here who did hydraulic mining?”

Modica keeps a straight face. “I don’t think anyone did hydraulic mining.”

Once the tours are finished, it’s time to head down the hall to one of the art center’s studios, where the kids will learn how to make a short stop-motion film with clay figures, a computer and a small video camera.

Typically, Project LOOK! events incorporate a hands-on activity related to the exhibition being visited.

When students visited the recent art-center shows of works from San Francisco’s Mexican Art Museum, they made memory books inspired

by Carmen Lomas Garza’s nostalgic family paintings, Berson says.

Since the current shows have so many media, it was hard to pick just one kind of project to do today, Berson says. So she settled on claymation. “It’s just a fun, different activity that kids don’t get to experience at school.”

Now she leads the activity, showing the students how to make figures out of colorful clay and then move the figures slowly in front of a white background, taking many photos that will then be turned into a short video. It seems a lot to accomplish in 45 minutes, but the kids dive into the project with aplomb, pairing up to make their sculptures and think of video story ideas.

Two girls make a butterfly and a bee; another sculpts a cheery mushroom with polka dots. As for the boys, one pair makes a cannon shooting a ball at a green man. A boy grins. “Let’s make his head go flying off!”

It takes all kinds to make a film festival, and at the end of the afternoon Berson plays the videos on a big screen. Not all the boys create scenes of mayhem, but several do, and after one film that looks like a battlefield story, a girl squeals and says: “That’s not a very nice movie.

We have dancing best-friend penguins who walk off into the sunset!”

Lots of laughter ensues.

Afterwards, it seems some new filmmakers have been born. The kids want to keep their clay figures; they want to bring the movies home; they want to know how to download the claymation program. Berson announces that she’s burning the video onto a CD to give to their teacher.

This yields some of the biggest smiles of the day. N Info: Tour cycles at Project LOOK! typically run from late January through May and late September through December. At the moment, the program is seeking new volunteer docents; an information session is planned for June 15 from 2 to 3 p.m. at the Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road.

For more about Project LOOK! call 650-329-2176, or go to www. cityofpaloalto.org/recreation and click on “Arts and Sciences,” then “Palo Alto Art Center.”

About the cover: Docent Diana Modica shows students a sculpture made by Palo Alto High School senior Devan Meyer. Photo by Veronica Weber.

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Playwright and director Alice Pencavel, left, oversees a rehearsal of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Elephant.â&#x20AC;? The actors are, from left, Meredith Hagedorn, Jessica Hemmingway, Michael Champlin and Aubrey Rawlings.

An elephant at the Dragon Young writer brings her satirical play â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to Palo Alto theater

by Rebecca Wallace

A

Veronica Weber

husband and wife are grieving over the loss of their child.

Their doctor prescribes an elephant â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a live elephant shipped from Kenya â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to come stay with them as a remedy. Clearly there are some absurdist-theater forces at work here.

The play â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Elephant,â&#x20AC;? by Alice Pencavel, began life as a short story and is now in rehearsals as a theatrical production, with a mini-run scheduled for Memorial Day weekend at Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dragon Theatre.

It also represents a big step along the road of a young playwrightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s career.

Pencavel caught the theater bug early. While growing up in Menlo Park, she started telling stories through cartooning, and acting with Peninsula Youth Theatre in Mountain View and other groups.

At Menlo-Atherton High School, she was a member of the Lunatics improv troupe.

Although Pencavel earned a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in acting from Ithaca College in New York in 2007, her minor was in writing, and she knew playwriting would become a focus of her theater career. It helped that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d had several of her plays produced in Ithaca, including â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Work At Noahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bagels,â&#x20AC;? inspired by a distasteful summer job. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hated it,â&#x20AC;? Pencavel says, sitting in the Dragon audience before a rehearsal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So I took the chaos of working there and made it into stories.â&#x20AC;? She grins, recalling a lightbulb moment: Unpleasant things can be much more bearable â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and comprehensible â&#x20AC;&#x201D; when you make them into art. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Life,â&#x20AC;? she adds, â&#x20AC;&#x153;is otherwise structureless. It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a beginning, middle and end.â&#x20AC;? Once she started taking notes on the chaos around her, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I discovered that I had more creative power.â&#x20AC;?

After college (and a work-ex-

Alice Pencavel at rehearsal. change program in New Zealand that yielded even more stories), Pencavel returned to the Bay Area and interned with TheatreWorksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; New Works Program, seeing new scripts that came in and helping organize critiques of them.

She also started working as a stage manager at the Dragon Theatre, which gave her a connection with Dragon managing artistic director Meredith Hagedorn (who plays the wife in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Elephantâ&#x20AC;?).

While Pencavel is renting the small Dragon theater to put on her play, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s able to offset some of the costs through work exchange.

This evening, Pencavel is in her role as director, overseeing a rehearsal with assistant director/stage manager Ashleigh Hill.

In one scene, Hagedorn and Michael Champlin, who plays her husband, are fighting over the elephant.

He canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see it, but she can. (Meanwhile, Jessica Hemmingway, playing the elephant, hovers at the back of the stage in gray sweats and a hat with floppy ears and a trunk.) Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a

moving scene, exploring the different ways people handle grief â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the way a relationship can be sorely tested in its wake.

Somehow, the couple manage to have a sweet reminiscence about their early days together. They remember a cramped apartment and better times, and then they share a kiss. At just the right moment for comic effect, the elephant loudly crunches on a handful of peanuts.

In another scene, Aubrey Rawlings, playing a psychiatrist, contributes laughs to what could have been a more biting scene about the ego of the medical profession, grandly swirling his lab coat around like a cape.

The careful mix of emotions is part of what drew Hagedorn to act in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Elephant.â&#x20AC;? Initially hesitant because she was already in another show (Dragonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current production of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anton in Show Businessâ&#x20AC;?), she read the script and signed on. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s such an interesting premise and extremely powerful with a great many levels,â&#x20AC;? she says after rehearsal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My character is definitely on an emotional roller coaster, but with the comedy the doctor and the elephant add, the character canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get bogged down in the sorrow.â&#x20AC;?

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a quick rehearsal period, and the three-night run is short for a play, but Hagedorn says those factors are actually good things. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The fact that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working so quickly ... has allowed us to really dive in and not waste any time in our explorations. That is the key to the magic of this project.â&#x20AC;?

Overall, the play will run about an hour and a quarter. The set will feature paintings by Menlo-Atherton High School graduate Scott Cooper, who is creating images based on the play. Pencavel has also enlisted musicians to perform afterwards. The Windy Hill band will play bluegrass on May 28 and 29, and singer Megan Keely will perform on the 30th.

Then Pencavel heads back to New York, which she calls â&#x20AC;&#x153;the theater epicenter.â&#x20AC;? Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be pursuing a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in playwriting at the New School, continuing to tell more stories.

! & ! ! # & ! ( )

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(continued on page 31)

*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; >Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ÂŁ]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;U Page 29

Learn the Guitar this Summer Carol McComb's "Starting to Play" workshop includes the FREE use of a Loaner Guitar for the duration of the classes.* Regular cost is just $160 for nine weeks of group lessons, and all music is included. *"Starting to Play" meets for one hour each Monday night for nine weeks beginning June 7th. Students are encouraged to bring their own guitar, but both nylon-string and steel-string loaner guitars are available.

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MVLA SOCCER CLUB COMPETITIVE TRYOUTS Ages 5 - 19 Boys and Girls The Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club (MVLASC) is one of the top youth soccer clubs in Northern California since 1972. MVLA has won 18 State Championship and one National Championship, and has over 700 players competing on more than 50 boys and girls teams from Under-8 through Under-19 age groups.

Our goal is to provide a meaningful, learning environment where players can improve their soccer skills, sportsmanship and passion for the game. We have teams at all recreational and competitive levels, so bring your child to our open tryouts and get in the game! A complete schedule of tryouts for Fall 2010 is available at http://www.mvlasc.org Check Out: http://www.mvlasc.org for more details

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Ishi, a Native American man who was thought by some to be among the last of his people living outside European-American influence, is a figure of both suffering and strength â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and artistic inspiration â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to Erik Bakke.

Now on exhibit at Smith Andersen Editions in Palo Alto, monoprints and paintings by Bakke explore the last years of Ishiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life, from 1911 to 1916. They hark back to the time Ishi spent in what must have been a very strange world to him: San Francisco.

Bakkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s art includes double images of Ishi wearing Monoprints and oil paintings by Erik Bakke (shown working in the studio) are on buckskin strips and a smock; exhibit at Smith Andersen Editions in Palo Alto. a painting of Ishi in Western clothes, and Ishiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death mask. He looks at how Ishi reflected the current events of his day, and also how he is linked to ongoing issues: fitting into society, environmental change, suffrage.

Tribute concert A reception for Bakkeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s exhibition, titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ishi: 100 Stanford composer Mark Applebaum, an associate Years Free,â&#x20AC;? is set for Saturday, May 22, from 3 to 5 professor of composition and theory, wrote the second p.m., with an artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talk at 4 p.m. The gallery is at movement to his string-orchestra piece â&#x20AC;&#x153;Martian An440 Pepper Ave. in Palo Alto, with the show running thropology 1.2.3â&#x20AC;? as a tribute to his sister. Carolyn, 28, through June 23. For more information, go to www. had died suddenly of heart failure the year before the smithandersen.com or call 650-327-7762. piece premiered in 2004.

This weekend, Applebaumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s composition will pay a tribute again, this time to the late J. Karla Lemon, who was director of orchestral studies at Stanford. The Stanford Symphonic Chorus, the University Singers and the Stanford Symphony Orchestra will perform it as part of two concerts in honor of Lemon, who died of a stroke last year during surgery for a heart condition.

The program will also include Berliozâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grande Messe des morts.â&#x20AC;? Jindong Cai will conduct.

Performances are at 8 p.m. on May 21 and May 22 in Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Memorial Church. Tickets are $10 general and $5 for students. Go to music.stanford.edu for more.

Music

Theater

Dance

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Still Life with Decoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Young Palo Alto actors Jenny Dally and Ty Mayer play Clarisse and Montag in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fahrenheit 451.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fahrenheit 451â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s kind of like a really big book club.

Over the last few months, Ray Bradburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fahrenheit 451â&#x20AC;? has sparked several events in the Palo Alto area: an electronic music concert and workshop, screenings of the film version of the book, and many book discussions. The activities are part of The Big Read program, a National Endowment of the Arts initiative.

Now Bradburyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dystopian tale of lawlessness and book-burning is on stage, with a theatrical version being performed by teen actors at the Palo Alto Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Theatre. The play, recommended for audience members ages 12 and older, has performances on May 21 and 28 at 8 p.m., May 22 and 29 at 2 and 8 p.m., and May 30 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. The theater is at 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. For more information, go to www.cityofpaloalto.org/childrenstheatre or call 650-463-4970.

Dancer, choreographer and conceptual artist Ann Carlson, an artist in residence at Stanford University, next week presents â&#x20AC;&#x153;Still Life with Decoy.â&#x20AC;? Carlson created the outdoor performance for its Stanford location, working with Stanford Ph.D. candidate SebastiĂĄn CalderĂłn Bentin and lighting designer Elaine Buckholtz.

Ann Carlson Starting at 7 p.m. on May 27 in front of Roble Gym at 375 Santa Teresa St., the dance-theater piece will unfold across several Stanford sites. Stanford dance students and other people from the campus community will perform the work, which audience members will see as they follow a path from the gym to Memorial Auditorium.

According to a press release by Stanford Lively Arts, the piece â&#x20AC;&#x153;calls attention to overlooked aspects of the campus life and landscape, through movement and stillness.â&#x20AC;? Carlson has presented other works in many other locations, including passenger trains, horse arenas and sculpture parks.

The event is free and will last about 70 minutes. More information is at livelyarts.stanford.edu.

Arts & Entertainment

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Elephantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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The 41st Annual Stanford Tennis School

(continued from page 29)

Pencavel is very aware that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not telling these narratives on her own. While writing can be solitary, drama is a collaborative art, and a play canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come to life without being passed on to a theater company. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like writing a letter and then sending it away,â&#x20AC;? Pencavel says, but finds no sadness in this. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then the actors and director, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s their story.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m always surprised at how easy it is to let it go.â&#x20AC;? N What: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Elephant,â&#x20AC;? a new play by Alice Pencavel, followed by live music Where: Dragon Theatre, 535 Alma St., Palo Alto When: May 28, 29 and 30 at 8 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $15.

Info: Call 650-804-5987 or go to www.dragonproductions.net/activities/outside-rentals.html.

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Eating Out

Veronica Weber

No pizza needed Dining at Vero is like eating in the chef’s kitchen, with a judicious selection of a few fine dishes

by Dale F. Bentson talian restaurants in the greater In fact, there is no pizza. There are Palo Alto area are as plentiful a dozen choices for antipasti and as apps on an iPhone. From Ol- a dozen and half pasta, meat and ive Garden to Quattro at the Four fish options. The focus on fewer Seasons Hotel, there is no short- dishes allows the kitchen to excel age of love for Italian cuisine, be it at its work. The homemade feel is spaghetti and meatballs or cuisine as though Griesbach invited me to his house for dinner. with a more contemporary flair.

Since I last reviewed Vero five Vero Ristorante Italiano leans towards present-day cooking al- years ago, the interior hasn’t though the recipes are Old-World changed much. It’s intimate, with family treasures. Both Vero’s warm mustardy-wheat-colored owners, Antonio Cremona and walls, wood chairs and cheery Massimo Chiocca, hail from It- yellow linen tablecloths. There aly’s southern climes. Executive is a small protected street-side Chef Clyde Griesbach anchors the patio for al fresco dining in the kitchen with more than 30 years’ warm days to come. Vero, which means “true,” is exactly the kind experience from Hawaii to Italy.

The restaurant emphasizes sea- of restaurant found in the chicer sonal, organic and local, with dish- neighborhoods of Rome, Milan es that are simple, straightforward and Turin.

Service, though, is likely better and well-prepared. The menu isn’t a laundry list of every conceivable than at the Italian versions. During pizza, pasta and veal combination. my visits, the staff was friendly,

I

(with min. order)

“THE BEST PIZZA WEST OF NEW YORK” —Ralph Barbieri KNBR 680

880 Santa Cruz Ave Menlo Park

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Marinated eggplant, castelvetrano olives, chilled calamari salad and marinated provolone are some of the antipasti plates offered at Vero.

FREE DELIVERY

knowledgeable, accommodating and prompt. The pacing between courses was perfect and no one attempted to collect dishes until we had both finished our courses.

For starters, six small-plate antipasti were offered — choose any three for $12. We chose all six. The marinated eggplant was meaty and delicate. Marinated anchovies were briny but not overly salty, fresh-tasting and slightly fish-oily. Chilled calamari salad was tender and refreshing. Thinly sliced soppressata salami melted on the tongue. There was a dish of marinated, diced provolone cheese and a plate of big, meaty, Sicilian castelvetrano olives. In all, a terrific symphony of appetizers.

One evening, the soup of the day ($6) was a medley of diced tomatoes, beans, arugula, celery, onions and carrots in a light tomato vegetable stock. Not as heavy as a minestrone, the soup had flavors that lit up the mouth yet didn’t overfill the stomach.

The parmigiana ($9) was eggbattered, thinly sliced eggplant that had been baked with tomato, mozzarella, parmesan and basil. It was just the right amount to tease the appetite without vying with the entrée yet to come.

I was particularly fond of the spaghetti carbonara ($14). Hallelujah. It contained no cream, no parsley and no garlic. That’s authentic carbonara: just eggs, crisped pancetta and parmesan cheese with a twist or two of black pepper. Though there was no citrus in it, the combination of luscious flavors hinted of Lunario lemons and fresh-ground Tellicherry peppercorns. It could be the best carbonara in town.

The camberoni ($12) were skillet cooked prawns with calabrese hot peppers, garlic, oregano, parsley and lemon. It was a successful combination, with a high flavor profile, and don’t worry about the peppers being too hot.

Bucatini all’amatriciana ($15) was guanciale (non-smoked bacon), onion, and white wine blanketed under a lush, slightly piquant tomato sauce. Bucatini are fat hollow spaghetti-like noodles, but more fun to eat.

Tagliatelli al sugo ($15), long flat noodles, came with generous chunks of spicy braised beef sugo and melted-on parmesan. Sugo is simply a long simmering sauce.

This dish was a step above any spaghetti with bolognese sauce.

Most of the pastas are housemade.

A special one evening was New (continued on next page)

226 Redwood Shores Pkwy Redwood Shores (Next to Pacific Athletic Club)

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(650) 654-3333 Buy 1 entree and get the 2nd one

with coupon (Dinner Only)

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230 S. California Ave., Suite 103, Palo Alto 94306 Phone: 650-324-3800 Email: FTP230@gmail.com Santa Clara County LDA #114 – Expires 7/11

Paralegal and Notary Services

Palo Alto Soccer Club U9 boys and girls open tryouts: Session #1: Sunday, June 6, 4pm-5:30pm at Cubberley #1 Session #2: Thursday, June 10, 4pm-5:30pm at Termin #2 Session #3: Saturday, June 12, 4pm-5:30pm at Cubberley Football Field Please visit our website at www.pasoccerclub.org for more details.

P.O. Box 50831, Palo Alto, California 94303

(650) 361-0561

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Eating Out

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Tooto, Grohe, Kohler, Delta, Bradford White, Rheem, Carrier, Bryant, Day & Night, Lennox

STANFORD JAZZ

FESTIVAL June 25 – August 7, 2010 All events at Stanford University Group rates, festival subscriptions, 40% OFF student tickets and TAKE 5! $5 family discounts available

39TH SEASON 06/16 Special Pre-Festival Performance An Evening with Dick Hyman 06/25 A Night of Brazilian Jazz!

Luciana Souza: Brazilian duos featuring Romero Lubambo plus Harvey Wainapel’s Alegritude 06/26 A History of African Rhythms & Jazz 06/26 Randy Weston’s African Rhythms Trio 06/27 Freddy Cole Quartet 07/02 The Music of Billy Strayhorn 07/03 Early Bird Jazz for Kids: Jim Nadel & Friends 07/03 Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio 07/09 Fred Hersch: Jobim and More 07/10 Early Bird Latin Jazz for Kids: John Santos Sextet 07/10 Tuck & Patti 07/11 Ella Fitzgerald: America’s First Lady of Song 07/16 Mose Allison Trio 07/17 Claudia Villela Band 07/18 John Santos Sextet 07/19 Khalil Shaheed & the Mo’Rockin Project

(continued from previous page)

Zealand black grouper ($26). The thick-cut filet had been pan-roasted and served with roasted eggplant, pepper flakes, tomato, onion, garlic and mint. The New Zealand black grouper’s meat is firmer than that of halibut but not as firm as sea-bass meat. Vero’s rendition was moist and delicate, and broke off in big flakes. I don’t recall having black grouper before. Usually, we get the more common red grouper, which is milder and sweeter. The fish was delectable.

Grilled skirt steak ($22) is served with an arugula, tomato and red onion salad. I asked to substitute roasted potatoes instead. The steak was perfectly grilled, fork-tender and sliced thin. The golden roasted potatoes that surrounded the meat made a picturesque, and most delicious, presentation.

Vero’s wine selection is as compact as the menu, yet it is a wellthought-out wine list. It is about one-quarter California wines, threequarters Italian. The Italian reds are divided into geographical regions:

mostly Sicilian from the south, Tuscan and Umbrian from central Italy, and Piemonte from the north.

The 2005 Valle dell’Acate Nero d’Avola from Sicily ($46) was deep garnet, spicy, young and fruity, and balanced perfectly with the Mediterranean fare. It was just fine with the fish dishes too.

The 2007 Cascina Val del Prete Barbera d’Alba “Serra de Gatti” ($40) was medium-bodied with a crisp black raspberry finish. A good choice with full-flavored meats and pastas.

Desserts did not disappoint.

Salame di cioccolato ($7) was rich dark chocolate that had been melted and poured onto a cooling surface, mixed with crumbled butter cookies, and rolled, chilled and sliced.

The dessert did indeed resemble chocolate salami.

The panna cotta ($7) was a light, silky, luxurious vanilla custard served with red berry sauce. Crostata di mele ($7.50) was a warm apple tart with that just-out-of-the-oven flakiness, dusted with cinnamon. A scoop of vanilla gelato accompanied the happy finale.

Vero focuses on simple dishes that are made as if chef Griesbach prepared them at home for friends. The ingredients are fresh; flavors are not masked; sauces do not overwhelm; and portions are plentiful. Writing this review has made me hungry.

Think I’ll grab my iPhone and make a reservation. N Vero 530 Bryant St., Palo Alto 650-325-8376 www.veroristorante.com Hours: Lunch: Tue.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: Mon.-Thu. 5:30-10 p.m.; Fri.Sat. 5:30-11 p.m.

Reservations Credit cards Street Parking Beer & Wine Takeout Highchairs Wheelchair access

Banquet Catering

Outdoor seating Noise level: Moderate Bathroom Cleanliness: Excellent

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts, and Stanford Continuing Studies present

Mark Twain Anniversary Festival: Staging "Hadleyburg" In 1900, Mark Twain published “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg,” a dark, late-period tale about the corruption of a small town celebrated

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

for its virtue. Scarcely more than a hundred years later, tales of

Box Office: 650.725.ARTS (2787) www.stanfordjazz.org Information: 650.736.0324

corruption, hypocrisy, and deception on a scale almost unheard of continue to emerge as the back stories of our country’s current economic woes (and wars).

07/20 Gerald Clayton Trio 07/21 Kristen Strom Quintet 07/22 The Music of Dave Brubeck presented by Victor Lin 07/24 Giants of Jazz: Charles McPherson, Junior Mance, and Tootie Heath 07/25 Ruth Davies’ Blues Night with Special Guest Keb’ Mo’ 07/26 Dena DeRose Trio 07/27 Junior Mance Trio 07/28 100 Years of Django with Julian Lage, Victor Lin & Jorge Roeder 07/29 Visions: The Stevie Wonder Songbook 07/31 Rebecca Martin featuring Larry Grenadier, Steve Cardenas & Larry Goldings 08/01 Dave Douglas Quintet Plus 08/02 George Cables Trio 08/03 Nicholas Payton with the Taylor Eigsti Trio 08/04 Joshua Redman Trio 08/06 SJW All-Star Jam Session 08/07 Taylor Eigsti Group featuring Becca Stevens

ORDER TICKETS www.stanfordjazz.org Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/stanfordjazz and YouTube: youtube.com/stanfordjazz

Page 34ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Inspired by one of the funniest — and most shrewd — observers of American society, Stanford playwright and lecturer Kevin DiPirro wrote this new play based on Twain’s story. DiPirro’s plays have been produced in New York, San Francisco, and Minneapolis. Hadleyburg, which has been read by Berkeley Rep and the Public Theater, will be performed in a stage reading by a professional cast with director, Mei Ann Teo from the Bay Area.

Wednesday, May 26 7:30 pm Geology Corner (Bldg. 320), Room 105 FREE; Open to the public For more information please visit: continuingstudies.stanford.edu

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OPENINGS

Mike Myers voices the ogre Shrek once more.

Shrek Forever After --1/2

(Century 16, Century 20) The â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrekâ&#x20AC;? franchise never should have been one. The first film was a satisfying one-off, but the sequels have tied themselves in plot knots trying to justify their existence. Now, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek Forever Afterâ&#x20AC;? promises itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the end of the line for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek,â&#x20AC;? profits be damned.

Movie newshounds may recall that in 2007, on the occasion of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek the Third,â&#x20AC;? DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg confidently crowed plans for the fourth and fifth â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrekâ&#x20AC;? films, to be released, respectively, in 2010 and 2013. Quietly those plans were halved, and now weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re getting whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s being promoted as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek: The Final Chapter.â&#x20AC;? Since the imperative for all three sequels has been strictly financial, rather than creative, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good call to try to â&#x20AC;&#x153;go out on top,â&#x20AC;? while taking advantage of the 3D craze.

The CGI-animated â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek Forever Afterâ&#x20AC;? isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t terribly original, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not terrible either, good news after the hugely profitable

NOW PLAYING The following is a sampling of movies recently reviewed in the Weekly: Babies ---(Century 16, Century 20) This French documentary, directed and filmed mostly

by Thomas Balmes, occupies a niche somewhere between â&#x20AC;&#x153;awww!â&#x20AC;? and ethnology. The filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s babies are four: Ponijao from Namibia; Bayarjargal from Mongolia; Mari from Tokyo; and Hattie from Oakland. The movie follows each baby from birth to about 18 months. Ponijao and her siblings play in the dirt, which they sometimes put in their mouths. Bayarjargal, the only boy in the group, plays near the family yurt, often alone or among goats and cows. Both Mari and Hattie have heaps of toys and books and are taken to parks and baby exercise classes. Despite their different environments, all of the tots are loved and cuddled, and they all seem healthy. Comparisons are hard to avoid, though the film never hammers them home. The Third-World kids are messier but have more freedom and are more in tune with the natural world â&#x20AC;&#x201D; even though the California mother takes little Hattie to a play group where the leader chants, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Earth is our mother.â&#x20AC;? Rated PG for â&#x20AC;&#x153;cultural and maternalâ&#x20AC;? nudity. One hour, 20 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; R.P. (Reviewed May 7, 2010) Iron Man 2 --1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) Showmanship is the order of the day for superhero sequel â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iron Man 2,â&#x20AC;? though the flash and dazzle distract from plot machinery thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than a little clunky. Robert Downey Jr. is back as our heavy metal hero (aka crafty

but persistently tiresome â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek the Third.â&#x20AC;? The latest excuse to return to the land of Far, Far Away is a pastiche of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Wonderful Life.â&#x20AC;? Again distressed by domesticity, Shrek (Mike Myers) sees his life as a Sisyphean hell endlessly cycling through diaper changes, home repairs, picture-snapping fans (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do the roar!â&#x20AC;?) and other obstacles to his quietly sipping an â&#x20AC;&#x153;eyeball-tiniâ&#x20AC;? in his favorite easy chair.

Longing for his days as a carefree ogre striking fear into the hearts of men, women and children, Shrek is prone to the advances of Rumplestiltskin (Walt Dohrn), the Faust of the fairy-tale set. Rumplestiltskin offers Shrek a magical chance to be a scary â&#x20AC;&#x153;ogre for a day,â&#x20AC;? but a loophole dooms him never to have existed: Seemingly, in 24 hours, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be gone for good.

Though itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foregone that Shrek will conclude, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what I had until it was gone,â&#x20AC;? this sequelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alternate timeline â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and, with it, altered supporting characters â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has a somewhat liberatindustrialist Tony Stark), smugly answering to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, who wants to seize Starkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high-powered armor for military use. Stark counters that his invention is inimitable and therefore the ideal deterrent: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have successfully privatized world peace! What more do you want?â&#x20AC;? Cue Russian physicist/ex-con Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), who demonstrates his own technology in a murderous assault on Stark. The crowded cast also includes presumable flame â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pepperâ&#x20AC;? Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and comic femme fatale â&#x20AC;&#x153;Black Widowâ&#x20AC;? (Scarlett Johansson). Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and violence, and some language. Two hours, four minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed May 7, 2010) Letters to Juliet -(Century 16, Century 20) Care for some wine with your cheese? Both are on the menu in this road-tripping romance that features a talented cast and gorgeous locales but a sappy plot. Aspiring writer Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) jaunts off to Verona, Italy, with her apathetic fiance, Victor (Gael Garcia Bernal). Victorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busy schedule researching wine vendors for his fledgling New York restaurant offers Sophie plenty of sight-seeing time. One such excursion leads her to the House of Juliet, where love letters addressed to William Shakespeareâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tragic character litter the wall. Sophieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curiosity leads her to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;secretaries of Julietâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; three women who respond to the notes. She soon discovers a decades-old letter from a woman named Claire (Vanessa Redgrave). Rated PG for brief rude behavior, some language and incidental smoking. 1 hour, 44 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; T.H. (Reviewed May 14, 2010)

ing effect on the moribund series.

Shrek must make Fiona (Cameron Diaz) fall in love with him all over again, and this time, he chooses to befriend Donkey (Eddie Murphy), weirding him out in the process.

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) has let himself go (heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a literal fat cat), while Rumplestiltskin has claimed the kingdom of Far, Far Away as his own.

Though the 3D gives the highflying action a pleasing vertigo, the moral has been done to death and the shtick is strictly same old, same old: ancient-modern mashups (Rumplestiltskin lives not in a trailer park but a â&#x20AC;&#x153;carriage parkâ&#x20AC;?), ironic use of pop music (a bounty-hunting Piper toots a Beastie Boys â&#x20AC;&#x153;flute loopâ&#x20AC;?), and unevolved character comedy (Donkey, for example, remains a lovable loudmouth).

All in all, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a decent adventure that will hold kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; interest while slinging a few hip references toward their folks. Strangely, what saves â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek Forever Afterâ&#x20AC;? from utter mediocrity isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t its highpriced superstar voice talent but veteran animator Dohrn, who steals the show by making Rumplestiltskin the best oily runt since Danny DeVito last dispatched a taxi.

Movies

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Rated PG for mild action, some rude humor and brief language.

One hour, 33 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese To view the trailer for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shrek Forever Afterâ&#x20AC;? go to Palo Alto Online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Mother and Child -(Palo Alto Square) Rodrigo Garcia spurned the common wisdom that urges one to â&#x20AC;&#x153;write what you know.â&#x20AC;? Focusing on three intersecting stories of mothers and daughters, the writer-director of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nine Livesâ&#x20AC;? has fashioned a reverential, idealized version of motherhood certain to polarize female viewers who may not agree that having a baby is the ultimate goal in life. Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington deliver brave performances, even though their characters ring false as often as they reveal authentic truths. For its strong point of view and tearjerker sentiment, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mother and Childâ&#x20AC;? earns a spot in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weepie genre. Rated: R for sexuality, brief nudity, and language. 2 hours. 6 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; S.T. (Reviewed May 14, 2010) Please Give ---(Palo Alto Square) Kate (Catherine Keener, often the star of Holofcenerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s films) is the owner of a trendy New York modern furniture shop, for which she buys furniture and accessories at estate sales. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We buy from the children of dead people,â&#x20AC;? says her husband, Alex (Oliver Platt). She pays a pittance and resells the pieces for major bucks, while being racked with guilt about all the disadvantaged people out on the streets. As often as not, though, her attempts at charity misfire. Kate and Alex have bought the pre-war apartment next to theirs, but canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take possession and merge it with theirs until its current tenant, bitchy 91-year-old Andra (Ann Guilbert), dies. While many of the characters are nasty, including Andra,

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Movies

PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26

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(TENTATIVE) AGENDA-SPECIAL MEETING-COUNCIL CHAMBERS MARCH 24, 2010 - 6:00 PM Approval of Council Appointed OfďŹ cers Contract with Sherry Lund Review of the Stanford Draft Environmental Impact Report â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Introduction of the Stanford Draft Environmental Impact Report, Including Overview of the Report and Outline of the Public Review Schedule Review of the Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project Fiscal Impact Analysis and Development Agreement Proposal and Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Preliminary Counter Offer and Direction to Staff Alternatives Analysis for High Speed Rail Colleagueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Memo from Mayor Burt and Council Member Klein Regarding Endorsement of Proposition 15 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Public Financing

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Finance Committee Meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 25, at 6:00 p.m. regarding: 1) EDF-1 and EDF-2 Fiber Optic Rate Schedules; 2) Budget Hearings for Utilities and Utilities CIP, Public Works General Fund Operating, General Fund CIP The Finance Committee Meeting will be held on Thursday, May 27, at 7:30 p.m. regarding: 1) Budget Hearings for Public Works â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Enterprise Funds (Storm Drain, Refuse, Wastewater Treatment), Internal Service Fund and related CIP

MOVIE TIMES A Tale of Two Cities (1935) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Stanford Theatre: Sat.-Tue. 7:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun. also at 3:20 p.m.

Alice in Wonderland (PG) ((

Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 10:50 a.m. & 4:25, 9:40 p.m.

Babies (PG) ((((

Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 11 a.m. and 1:05, 3:10, 5:15, 7:25 & 9:40 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 11:35 a.m. and 3:45, 7:55 p.m.

Cabin in the Sky (1943) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Stanford Theatre: Fri. 7:30 p.m.

The Clock (1945) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Stanford Theatre: Fri. 5:50 & 9:20 p.m.

Date Night (PG-13) ((1/2

Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 1:55 & 7:15 p.m.

Follow Thru (1930) (Not Rated) Stanford Theatre: Wed.-Thu. 5:45 & 9:10 p.m.

(Not Reviewed) Furry Vengeance (PG) 1/2

Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 11:25 a.m. and 2 & 4:20 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 11:25 a.m. and 2 & 4:20 p.m.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Not Rated) ((((

Guild: Fri.-Thu. 1:15, 4:30 & 8 p.m.

How to Train Your Dragon (PG) ((1/2

Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 11:30 a.m. and 2 & 4:25 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 11:15 a.m. and 1:50, 4:15, 6:55 & 9:20 p.m.

If I Were King (1938) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Stanford Theatre: Sat.-Tue. 5:35 & 9:45 p.m.

Iron Man 2 (PG-13) ((1/2

Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 10:55 a.m. and 12:25, 1:55, 3:20, 4:55, 6:10, 6:55, 7:45, 9, 9:50 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 10:30 & 11:10 a.m. and noon, 1:25, 2:10, 3, 4:35, 5:20, 5:55, 6:50, 7:30, 8:15, 8:55, 9:45 & 10:30 p.m. Wed. also at 11:05 p.m.

Just Wright (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 11:50 a.m. and 2:35, 5:05, 7:30 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 11:05 a.m. and 1:45, 4:10, 7:35 & 10:05 p.m.

Kites (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: Fri.-Thu. 10:50 a.m. and 1:45, 4:45, 7:40 & 10:35 p.m.

Letters to Juliet (PG) ((

Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 11:15 a.m. and 12:30, 1:50, 3, 4:20, 5:30, 7:05, 8, 9:35 & 10:25 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 10:40 a.m. & 11:45 a.m. and 1:10, 2:35, 3:55, 5:05, 6:35, 7:45, 9:10 & 10:20 p.m.

MacGruber (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 10:45 a.m. and 1:10, 3:25, 5:40, 7:55 & 10:15 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 11:20 a.m. and 1:35, 3:50, 6:10, 8:30 & 10:45 p.m.

Mother and Child (R) ((

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Palo Alto Square: Sun.-Thu. 1:30, 4:20 & 7:15 p.m. Fri. & Sat. also at 10:05 p.m.

Oceans (G) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 1:40, 5:50 & 10 p.m.

Please Give (R) ((((

Palo Alto Square: Fri.-Thu. 2:45, 5 & 7:20 p.m. Fri. & Sat. also at 9:35 p.m.

Prince of Persia: The Sands Century 20: Thu. 12:01 a.m. of Time (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Princess Kaiulani (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Aquarius: Fri.-Thu. 2, 4:30, 7 & 9:30 p.m.

Robin Hood (PG-13) ((

Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 11:05 a.m. and 12:05, 12:55, 2:15, 3:15, 4:15, 5:20, 6:20, 7:20, 8:30, 9:30 & 10:25 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 11:10 a.m. and 12:15, 1:20, 2:45, 3:40, 4:55, 6:15, 7:10, 8:20, 9:35 & 10:35 p.m. Fri.-Sun. also at 10:10 a.m.

The Secret In Their Eyes (R) (((

Aquarius: Fri.-Thu. 2:15, 5:15 & 8:15 p.m.

Sex and the City 2 (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: Wed. 12:01 a.m.; Thu. 10:05 a.m. and 1:10, 4:15, 7:20 & 10:25 p.m. Century 20: Wed. 12:01 a.m.; Thu. 12:40, 3:55, 7:10 & 10:25 p.m.

Shrek Forever After (PG) ((1/2

Century 16: Fri.-Wed. 11:20 a.m. and 12:35, 1:40, 2:55, 4:05, 5:15, 6:25, 7:35, 8:45 & 9:55 p.m.

3D: Fri.-Wed. 10:45 a.m.; noon; 1:10, 2:20, 3:30, 4:40, 5:50, 7, 8:10, 9:20 & 10:30 p.m. Thu. at noon, 2:20, 4:40, 7 & 9:20 p.m. only. Century 20: Fri.-Wed. 10:30 and 11:50 a.m., 12:35, 1, 2:20, 3:05, 3:30, 4:50, 5:30, 6, 7:20, 8, 8:25, 9:50 & 10:25 p.m. Fri. & Sat. also at 10 a.m. and 10:50 p.m. Thu. at 10:30 a.m., 1, 3:30, 6 & 8:25 p.m. only. 3D: Fri.-Wed. 11 and 11:30 a.m., 12:20, 1:30, 2, 2:50, 4, 4:30, 5:10, 6:30, 7, 7:40, 9, 9:30, 10:10 and 11:20 p.m. Thu at 11:30 a.m. and 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m.

Wake Up and Live (1937) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Stanford Theatre: Wed.-Thu. 7:30 p.m.

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

:PV DBO SFBDI IJN EJSFDUMZ CZ DBMMJOH ǿǞǚ ÇźČ&#x20AC;Č ÇťÇšÇ˝Çť PS TFOEJOH BO FNBJM UP LNJMMNBO!CPSFM DPN o BTL IJN BCPVU JOWFTUNFOUT PS BCPVU XIFSF PWFSTFBT IJT FMFWFOUI TUSBJHIU ZFBS PG HMPCF USPUUJOH XJMM UBLF IJN

Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260)

Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260)

Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (800-326-3264)

Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700)

Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264)

Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to Palo Alto Online at http://www.PaloAltoOnline.com/

CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-3456) (continued from previous page)

#BOLJOH o XF UBLF JU QFSTPOBMMZ

May 28th at 6:30 pm Jean Cocteauâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s 3 movie cycle, the â&#x20AC;?ORPHIC TRILOGYâ&#x20AC;? week 2

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;ORPHEUSâ&#x20AC;?

1949 B&W OrphÊe (ORPHEUS) is a poet who becomes obsessed with Death Moderated by Stanford Prof Jean-Marie Apostolidès and SJU Prof Danielle Trudeau, Film Experts Reserve more and reserve your seat at: .FNCFS '%*$

5SVTU BOE *OWFTUNFOU .BOBHFNFOU 4FSWJDFT BSF OPU '%*$ JOTVSFE 4 " / . " 5 & 0 ÉŁ 1 " - 0 " - 5 0 ÉŁ 4 " / ' 3 " / $ * 4 $ 0 ÉŁ - 0 4 " - 5 0 4 ÉŁ # 6 3 - * / ( " . &

Page 36Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; >Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ÂŁ]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

this is not a mean-spirited movie. Many characters battle with their selfishness. And the writing is superb: witty, at times seemingly improvised. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Please Giveâ&#x20AC;? is a very New York movie, but its New York is far from Woody Allenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gilded view. This is the real New York, warts and all. Rated R for nudity.

www.frenchfilmclubofpaloalto.org Established in 1977, the French Film Club is an independent non-proďŹ t Organization, open to the public. For full program and discounted tickets go to our website. Call 650-400-3496 for details.

Fri/Sat Only 5/21-5/22 Please Give 2:45, 5:00, 7:20, 9:35 Mother and Child 1:30, 4:20, 7:15, 10:05 Sun thru Thurs 5/23-5/27 Please Give 2:45, 5:00, 7:20, Mother and Child 1:30, 4:20, 7:15

One hour, 30 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; R.P. (Reviewed May 7, 2010) Robin Hood -(Century 16, Century 20) This â&#x20AC;&#x153;Robin Hoodâ&#x20AC;? isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t about robbing from the rich and giving to the poor. Rather, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a two-and-a-halfhour epic about sticking it to the French.

Director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Brian Helgeland (â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Knightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Taleâ&#x20AC;?) choose not to retell the well-known tale, despite the presence of familiar characters Marion (Cate Blanchett), the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfadyen) and Friar Tuck (Mark Addy). Instead, the tack is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Robin Hood Beginsâ&#x20AC;? (or â&#x20AC;&#x153;Robin Hood Royaleâ&#x20AC;?), with the story leading up to the ace archerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s days at odds with King John (Oscar Isaacs). Impressive recreations of period locations and dress contribute to the dirty and mostly grim tone, but somehow itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all too tasteful to be interesting. Or worse, sometimes itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s faintly silly, as with the revelation that Robinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dad essentially wrote the Magna Carta.

Rated PG-13 for violence including intense sequences of warfare, and some sexual content. Two hours, 20 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed May 14, 2010)

Sports Shorts

ON THE AIR Friday College baseball: Stanford at Arizona, 5 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)

Saturday College baseball: Stanford at Arizona, 5 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)

Tuesday College baseball: UC Davis at Stanford, 5:30 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)

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

Ban on high-tech suits puts athletes back in spotlight

by Keith Peters

I

At last year’s CCS finals Palo Alto’s (L-R) Sabrina Lee, Jasmine Tosky and Abby Duckett were among the many who wore high-tech suits that helped set numerous section records. The suits since have been banned.

t didn’t take long for the records to start falling at the 2009 Central Coast Section Swimming and Diving Championships. The very first race during the trials — the girls’ 200 medley relay — saw Palo Alto established a new standard. After that, the floodgates were open.

By the time the meet concluded on a warm Saturday afternoon at the George F. Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara, a whopping 18 meet records had fallen in the trials and finals. Even more eye-popping were the 124 automatic All-American times clocked.

The fast times came with such ridiculous ease that 10 boys clocked automatic All-American times in the 100 freestyle — including two in the consolation finals. The winning time of 43.71 broke a CCS record that had stood since 1980.

At meet’s end, everyone was talking about all the records that had fallen and the reason behind them — the revolutionary high-tech swimsuits the athletes were wearing.

This wave of record-breaking around the nation washed over the sport like a tsunami and forced officials to take quick action. In August of last year, high-tech suits linked to (continued on page 43)

NCAA SOFTBALL

CCS ROUNDUP

Stanford’s Haber goes from fan to a role model

M-A baseball wins one for history books

by Rick Eymer

by Keith Peters

G

rowing up in nearby Newark, the young Alissa Haber knew all about Stanford Olympian Jessica Mendoza, still considered the greatest softball player to ever don a Cardinal uniform.

This weekend, with Stanford hosting a regional as the NCAA tournament opens, there will be a handful of future softball stars in the stands who know all about Haber, who is, herself, now a member of the United States National Team.

“I was a huge fan of Mendoza,” Haber said Wednesday as she and her team prepared for Friday’s 6 p.m. regional opener against Texas Tech. “I came to games just to see her play.

She was my softball role model.”

Stanford (36-17) is the No. 2 seed in the regional and is hosting because of travel restrictions. The NCAA committee prefers to have at least one other team within driving distance of the host school. Top seed Hawaii (44-13) plays UC Davis (26-17) at 3 p.m. in the other regional opener. (continued on page 40)

o one could have seen this coming, certainly not the St. Francis baseball team.

After all, the Lancers were ranked ninth in the state and 58th in the nation by MaxPreps and they were facing a team that couldn’t beat a so-so Half Moon Bay team the last week of the regular season.

But, the Central Coast Section playoffs are different than the regular season. It’s one loss and you’re out. Run into a hot pitcher? You’re out. Have a bad day in the field? You’re out.

The Lancers know oh so well because, well, they’re out.

In what must rank as the most significant victory in Menlo-Atherton baseball history, the 14th-seeded Bears shocked third-seeded St. Francis, 9-5, in the first round of the CCS Division I playoffs on Wednesday on the Lancers’ field.

The Bears used a 16-hit attack and a superb outing by starting pitcher Nils Gilbertson to defeat the highly regarded Lancers. For Men-

N Kyle Terada/Stanford Athletics

Sunday College baseball: Stanford at Arizona, 11 a.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)

No help from the suits

Keith Peters

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . The MenloAtherton boys’ tennis team was well-represented at the USTA Northern California Junior Recognition Awards ceremony that took place last weekend at the Fremont Tennis Center. M-A senior Alec Haley won the USTA NorCal Grand Prix Award and the San Mateo County Leaderboard Award for Boys 18 singles. M-A sophomore twins Jesse and Christian Perkins won the NorCal USTA Grand Prix Award and Leaderboard Award for Boys 16 doubles. Freshman teammate Richie Sarwal won the Leaderboard Award for Boys 14 doubles.

The Grand Prix Circuit Winner Award is a series of tournaments from June through August, 2009, and the Leaderboard award is for the top ranking at the end of the year . . . Future Stanford women’s tennis teammates Kristie Ahn of Upper Saddle River, N.J., and Nicole Gibbs of Manhattan Beach, partnered last weekend to win the doubles title at the USTA Pro Circuit $50,000 event in Raleigh, N.C. . . . Kelsey Pedersen, a 2009 Gunn High graduate, is a freshman on the Cal women’s crew team that won the Pac-10 Championship on Sunday at Lake Natoma near Sacramento.

Pederson rowed in the Novice 8+ boat that finished third in its race. . . . Palo Alto High grad Phoebe Champion, a senior at Princeton, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Collegiate Water Polo Association All-Southern Division team this season. Princeton junior and Paly grad Tanya Wilcox made the second team, as did Bucknell sophomore Hallie Kennan, also from Palo Alto . . .

Palo Alto residents Rachel Ersted and Carolyn Rennels qualified to compete in the USRowing National Junior Championships in Cincinnati next month. The two high school seniors rowed in NorCal Crew’s Lightweight 4+ boat that placed third in the finals at the USRowing Southwest US Junior Championships held in Rancho Cordova recently. Ersted (Palo Alto High) and Rennels (Castilleja) are returning to national championships for the second time. In 2008, they placed fifth in the Lightweight 8+ grand final at Nationals.Both girls will compete at the collegiate level next season.

CCS SWIMMING

Senior Alissa Haber is breaking records of her role model at Stanford.

(continued on page 38)

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 37

Pa lo Alto

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Sports

CCS roundup (continued from page 37)

lo-Atherton, it was only its second CCS win in program history. St. Francis usually wins more than that in a single postseason.

But, not this year. With the victory, Menlo-Atherton (16-11) advances to the quarterfinals, where it will face sixth-seeded Bellarmine (18-12), a 10-0 winner over Homestead, at St. Francis on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Gilbertson shut out the potent Lancers’ lineup over the first five innings, scattering five hits. Meanwhile, the Bears were building a 5-0 lead, thanks to an RBI single

by Wally Hansen in the second inning (one of four hits for the senior centerfielder, who also drove in two runs), along with a two-run single by junior Chace Warren plus two unearned runs in the third.

M-A took a 7-0 lead on Warren’s two-run single in the top of the sixth (his third and fourth RBIs of the game) before St. Francis began a late-game comeback that was destined to fall short.

In the bottom of the sixth, St. Francis catcher Chris Hoo belted a long homer to left-center to cut MA’s lead to 7-1. The Bears answered in the top of the seventh with an RBI triple by Hansen and a run-scoring single by Casey Eason to extend their lead to 9-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, with Gilbertson tiring after throwing 71 pitches, St. Francis cut M-A’s lead to 9-3 on back-to-back homers by Kyle Macey and Dennis Duran. After Gilbertson hit leadoff hitter Braden Bishop, Patrick Moriarty was summoned from the bullpen to relieve Gilbertson.

Moriarty surrendered a single to Jon Nelson, but then struck out No. 3 hitter Tyler Goeddel on a pitch in the dirt. Cleanup hitter Alex Blandino followed with a two-run double to right-center, cutting M-A’s lead to 9-5. Moriarty induced Scotty Jarvis to fly out to center, and then struck out Hoo looking on a 2-2 fastball to end the game.

In CCS Division III action, Menlo School opened the playoffs with a convincing 11-1 victory over visiting North Monterey County on Wednesday in a mercy rule-shortened contest. The No. 3-seeded Knights (22-6) jumped out in front in the first when, after two walks, cleanup hitter up Jake Bruml hit a tremendous three-run homer to left center.

In the second inning, Menlo added three more with the key hit being Danny Diekroeger’s two-run double. Sophomore lefthander Jake Batchelder was stellar on the mound as he ran his season record to 9-0 with a five-inning complete game.

The Knights tacked on five runs in the bottom fourth and then ended the game in the top of the fifth by throwing out a runner at the plate on the front end of a double steal. Menlo next faces No. 6 Live Oak (17-11) on Saturday at Hartnell College in Salinas at 2 p.m. Live Oak defeated San Lorenzo Valley, 6-5.

In Soledad, No. 13 Sacred Heart Prep saw its season end in a tough 9-8 loss to No. 4 Soledad (23-4).

The Gators (15-12-1) had plenty of (continued on page 42)

Page 38ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Sports

Keith Peters

Allie Shorin

The PaloAlto boys and girls celebrated their first-ever SCVAL lacrosse titles on Saturday after the girls beat St. Francis, 9-8, and the boys edged Mountain View in overtime, 10-9, on the Vikings’ home field.

Menlo senior Maggie Brown (1) scored five goals in the WBAL title match to finish with 112 this season, tops in the nation.

Keith Peters

Allie Shorin

Palo Alto’s Sam Herzog (foreground) cheered the boys’ team on to victory after helping the girls win the SCVAL title.

The Menlo girls’ lacrosse team capped a 17-4 season by successfully defending its West Bay Athletic League playoff title with a 16-14 overtime victory over Burlingame on Saturday at Palo Alto High.

Keith Peters

Allie Shorin

Palo Alto’s Michael Cullen (left) congratulated goalie Joshua Chin after the Vikings’ 10-9 overtime win over Mountain View.

It was time for Menlo coach Jen Lee (in yellow) and her team to celebrate as the buzzer sounded to end the Knights’ 16-14 win in the WBAL finale. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 39

Sports

NCAA softball

has a career fielding percentage of .989 and hasn’t committed an error in her past 118 games, dating to May 10, 2008 at Arizona.

It’s only fitting that Haber, one Haber has recorded hitting streaks of three seniors (with Rosey Neill of 10 (twice), 11 and 18 games durand Shannon Koplitz) playing their ing her career. Her longest hitless final home games this weekend, has streak was four games during her followed in Mendoza’s footsteps to freshman year. Over her last three join her as one of Stanford’s great- seasons, Haber has been held hitless est players. in two consecutive games twice and Haber was named to three games once. the All-Pac-10 first team In her first college game, and is in line to become Haber walked, was hit by a just the second Cardinal pitch, stole second, scored softball player to become twice, grounded out and a four-time All-American. doubled, all in the first four The first? Well, Mendoza, innings of Stanford’s 11-1 of course. win over Western Michi“I’m honored to be gan on Feb. 9, 2007. compared to such a great Haber, Neill and Koplitz player,” Haber said. “It’s hope to guide the Cardinal an honor in itself just to Alissa Haber into another Super Rebe mentioned in the same gional despite the loss of breath.” freshman pitcher Teagan Gerhart, She’s earned the recognition. who remains day-to-day with soreHaber enters the weekend with a ness in her right arm. She’ll unlikely .395 career batting average, second be available to pitch or pinch-hit this only to Mendoza. weekend.

During Stanford’s sweep of Or“Our seniors are three tremenegon last weekend, Haber collected dous, talented student-athletes,” her 71st career double, overtaking Stanford coach John Rittman said.

Mendoza for the school record in “They bring so much to our team that category. as far as producing and being leadMendoza played at Stanford dur- ers on and off the field. Rosey is a ing Haber’s formative years, while hard worker and runs the defense. she was developing as a player and Shannon has gotten better every making the transition from tweener year. She’s our number three hitter to teenager. As a freshman at Stan- and has a work ethic second to none. ford, Haber met her role model and It’s a wonderful group and they are had the opportunity for a catch. truly a pleasure to coach.”

“I was shaking I was so nervous (continued on next page) and excited,” said Haber, who also

(continued from page 37)

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Sports (continued from previous page)

Neill earned her third consecutive Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year award and honorable mention.

Koplitz was named to the second team.

Ashley Hansen joined Haber on the first team while Gerhart and Jenna Rich were honorable mention and named to the All-Freshmen Team.

Haber, Neill and Koplitz have formed a bond that goes beyond Smith Family Stadium.

“I don’t think I could pick better people to go through this experience,” Haber said. “We’re all different personalities and we complement each other. I’ve lived with Rosey and I am going to be living with Shannon at grad school.”

Haber and Neill took their official recruiting visits to Stanford together and played together on the U.S. Junior National Team that won the world championship in 2007.

Koplitz and Haber were teammates with Absolute Blast during the summer of 2008, a team that participated in the Canadian Cup. The next year Haber returned to the tournament as a member of the U.S. National Team.

“They are definitely more than teammates,” Haber said. “They are close friends. It’s been an incredible journey with them.”

Without Gerhart, much of the pitching load has fallen to junior Ashley Chinn, a local product from Carlmont High. After some early struggles, Chinn has settled down

Meadow Wing & Focused Care

More honors he awards continue to pour in for the Stanford women’s softball team as three players earned All-West Region honors on Thursday, as announced by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Senior outfielder Alissa Haber was honored for a fourth year in a row, while sophomore infielder Ashley Hansen was recognized for a second straight season. Freshman pitcher Teagan Gerhart collected the first all-region recognition of her career. All three players are now in contention to be 2010 AllAmericans. N

T

and pitched effectively over the final two weeks of the season.

“Ashley has pitched in big games before,” Rittman said. “She’s a very capable pitcher when she hits her spots. She pitched behind Missy (Penna) and this year Teagan stepped up.”

Gerhart received national attention earlier in the year when she threw a perfect game and two nohitters in succession. That turned out to be the apex of her season as she was injured shortly thereafter.

“When Teagan was pitching, Ashley was a work in progress,” Rittman said. “Once Teagan went down, it was ‘OK, you have to go, there’s no more taking it slow.’ She had to learn on the run and make adjustments. She was getting the ball and she’s done an outstanding job.” N

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How To Clinics

Sign up on our website to reserve your seat

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Sports ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

E Q E Q IEGL 7EXYVHE]

Sammy Albanese

Kris Hoglund

Castilleja School

Palo Alto High

The senior threw a no-hitter, a two-hitter and a perfect game while striking out 45 in addition to getting four hits and driving in nine runs as the Gators tied for the WBAL softball title and earned a CCS playoff berth.

The sophomore helped win three lacrosse matches with seven goals and four assists.

He had the game-winning goal in overtime to upset No. 1 Menlo before assisting on the winning goal to win the SCVAL title in overtime.

Honorable mention Charlotte Biffar Palo Alto lacrosse

Brianna Boyd Palo Alto lacrosse

Maggie Brown* Menlo lacrosse

Kelly Jenks* Palo Alto softball

Claire Klausner Gunn softball

FREE SKIN CANCER SCREENING Dermatologists from Stanford Hospital & Clinics will be on hand to check for unusual moles or irregular blemishes that could signify the onset of skin cancer. If you have had the following, this free screening is for you: Fair skin and excessive exposure to the sun t Many moles or atypical moles t A parent or sibling who has had skin cancer t

Saturday, May 22, 2010 9:00am – Noon Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center 450 Broadway, Pavilion B, 4th Floor Redwood City, CA 94063

For questions, directions, or additional information, call 650.725.8400. There is no registration for this event; it is a first-come, first-served screening.

Page 42ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓ£]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

stanfordhospital.org/freescreen

T.J. Braff Palo Alto baseball

John Brunett Palo Alto lacrosse

Andrew Carlisle-Justin Chan Menlo tennis

Tom Kremer* Sacred Heart Prep swimming

Matt Walter* Sacred Heart Prep track & field

Mila Sheeline

Maurice Williams*

Menlo lacrosse

Palo Alto track & field * previous winner

To see video interviews of the Athletes of the Week, go to www.PASportsOnline.com

CCS roundup (continued from page 38)

offense with 14 hits as senior Bryan Kohrs had four of them while driving in two runs.

Softball Castilleja senior pitcher Sammy Albanese has accomplished much in her successful career, including tying a national record for most consecutive no-hitters in a season (10) and tying a state record for most strikeouts in a seven-inning game with 22. Until Wednesday, something was missing.

That was winning a CCS firstround game. Albanese secured that achievement by tossing a one-hitter and striking out 17 in a 2-0 victory over R.L. Stevenson in a Division III playoff opener in Salinas.

Sophomore Aryana Yee had a triple and drove in both runs in the top of the seventh for Castilleja, which will face No. 3 seed Valley Christian (22-5) on Saturday in the quarterfinals at the Salinas Sports Complex at 10 a.m.

In CCS Division I action, Gunn won its first CCS game in school history with a 7-2 triumph over No. 5 Santa Teresa (17-10). The No. 12-

seeded Titans (19-9) will host No. 4 Wilcox (18-10) on Saturday in a quarterfinal game at 2 p.m.

Freshman Claire Klausner struck out 15, allowed just four hits and scored the first run.

Golf Perhaps it was a good thing that Menlo School junior Patrick Grimes started his final round on the 10th hole at Rancho Canada West Golf Course on Tuesday at the CCS Championships, because it allowed him to pull off a spectacular finish.

Wrapping up his round on the 485yard par-5 ninth hole, Grimes eagled his final hole to finish with a 7-under-par 64 and a one-stroke victory.

It was the lowest round ever recorded in the CCS Championships.

The triumph qualified Grimes for the CIF NorCal Championships on Monday. He’ll be joined by Sacred Heart Prep sophomore Kevin Knox, whose even-par 71 was good enough for a NorCal berth. Grimes and Knox will compete for spots in the state championships when NorCals are held at the Legends West course at Diablo Grande resort in Patterson. N Bob Moriarty reported on the M-A baseball game.

Sports

CCS swimming (continued from page 37)

Keith Peters

record performances were banned for all high school competition.

“These high-tech suits had fundamentally altered the sport and become more similar to equipment, rather than a uniform,” said Becky Oakes, an assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). “The rules of swimming have always prohibited the use or wearing of items that would aid in the swimmer’s speed and/or buoyancy. The technical suits and styles had evolved to a point where there was little, if any, compliance with these basic rules.

“With new developments in the swimming community, the (rules) committee knew that in order to preserve the integrity, tradition and heritage of the sport, as well as protect and enhance the interscholastic swimming program, these new requirements were necessary to promote fair play and the educational values of high school and could not wait for another year.”

So, those full-length, tight-asa-second-skin suits that were so prominent on the pool deck at the ‘09 CCS championships are history.

Despite the seemingly obvious improvements the suits offered, local coaches say good riddance.

“The rule change was a good idea,” said Gunn coach Mark Hernandez. “There will always be ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in sports, but last year it was quite clear that if you couldn’t afford — or didn’t have a club coach who could provide you with — a special suit, you were fighting an uphill battle.

“Swimming and diving has never been totally ‘fair’, as evidenced by the fact several schools in our league prohibit diving boards as their pool.

But, last year it wasn’t even close.

By the end of the (CCS) meet last year, the suits were the real stars, and the emphasis shifted from the swimmers.”

Palo Alto sophomore Jasmine Tosky was one of the biggest stars at last year’s meet. She set two CCS records (trials and finals) in the 200 IM (1:57.94), set a section mark in the 500 free prelims (4:43.96), anchored the 200 medley relay to a pair of CCS records (the second at 1:44.31) and set a section mark of 48.98 in the 100 free on her leadoff

The Gunn girls won’t be wearing the high-tech suits they wore at last year’s CCS meet when they set a school record in the 400 free relay. leg of in the 400 free relay.

Appropriately, perhaps, was the fact Tosky wore a full-length golden suit from an Italian suit maker that truly looked like a second skin.

Despite its potential advantages, Tosky is glad things have returned to normal.

“It’s kind of nice they banned the suits,” she said this season. “I don’t think that’s the point of swimming.”

Paly coach Danny Dye agreed.

“I am glad those suits are gone,” he said. “I think it was unfair from a cost perspective and equity in that manner.”

Sacred Heart Prep coach Kevin Morris said their is a general acknowledgement that the times at this weekend’s CCS finals in Santa Clara will be a bit slower than last year.

“Although, I haven’t really heard anyone express that as a negative thing,” he said. “The kids are all swimming fast. Remember, those

Keith Peters

Sacred Heart Prep sophomore Tom Kremer actually is producing sizzling times with a conventional suit this season.

suits really only came out at CCS (in 2009), not the league meets. And, if you look at the psych sheet, there’s plenty of speed still there. Last year was a perfect storm of the technology of the suits and some amazing athletes. The suits may have dropped the times a bit, but these kids are still unbelievable.”

Added Dye: “I think the great swimmers will still swim fast. It is the next level swimmers and below that benefited the most from those suits.”

Hernandez agreed.

“I don’t think the change in the suit rule will change much for the top-end swimmers,” he said. “Those swimmers are going to place high regardless. Where I think we’ll see the difference is in places 5 to 16 and beyond. That is, someone who finished seventh last year in a (fast) suit may have to fight to finish in the top 8, or the top 16.

“I don’t see anyone breaking the Saratoga boys’ national record (3:00.68) in the 400 free relay, for example, but it will still be fast, and it will be more about what the swimmers are doing than what they are wearing.”

Morris sees another side of the story, which is the fact the CCS keeps dropping the CCS cuts “because too many people make the meet and, no matter how low the time standards are, there are still tons of people in each event,” Morris said. “I think that’s great. What a great example of how, whatever the goal is, people will reach it.”

One big goal this weekend for the Palo Alto girls is to find a way to win a championship. The Vikings lost to Mitty in ‘09 by just three points, and Dye has been trying to figure a way to make sure that doesn’t happen again when the section finals get under way Saturday at 2 p.m.

In what may appear to be a strange move on his part, Dye has moved Tosky out of the events she won last year — the 500 free and 200 IM — and put her in the 200 free and 100 fly.

Tosky is the top qualifier in the 200 free with a school-record 1:47.86 that is just off the CCS record of 1:47.58 set in 1998 by Loni Burton of Monta Vista. Tosky swam her time in the SCVAL De Anza Division finals while she was untapered and unshaved — and not wearing a high-tech suit.

In the 100 fly, however, Tosky comes in with only the seventh-fastest time (57.69) while fellow sophomore teammate Margaret Wenzlau is No. 5 at 57.16. There are three Mitty swimmers among the top eight, and thus Dye believes having Tosky in the race is crucial.

“I think that Margaret and Jasmine can control the points from Mitty in the fly,” he said, “maybe knock a swimmer into consols, plus take away the win and momentum from Mitty. Plus, if I take her (Tosky) out of the IM, then (junior) Sarah (Liang) can win that one. Last year we lost by three points. If I take the gamble and let Jasmine win an event that Sarah isn’t in, we can make up those three points.”

Mitty sophomore Charlotte Ruby has the fastest qualifying time in the 100 fly of 55.51. If Tosky wins and Wenzlau finishes ahead of two other Monarchs, the Vikings will take plenty of momentum into the next event — the 100 free, where Mitty has no swimmers among the top 30.

Paly, however, has only one among the top 16, junior Sabrina Lee. She will play a pivotal role not only in the 100 free but the 100 back, where she ranks 10th and is sandwiched between two Mitty entrants. If Lee can break up Mitty’s points there, it sets up Liang for a title defense in the 100 breast, where she ranks No. 2 behind Mitty’s Eva Chen.

If Paly has the lead after the 100 breast, the Vikings have their third CCS title in the bag heading into the 400 free relay where Paly is a clear favorite to beat Mitty.

That race, however, could go to the Gunn girls, who set a school record of 3:30.36 at the league finals and are primed to have perhaps their best CCS meet ever.

“We do expect a top-five finish this year,” said Hernandez, whose team was sixth last year. “Our lineup is not without holes but, then, no one else’s is either. Our girls are excited, especially the many who didn’t shave and taper for the league championship meet. Our team is

both experienced and young, and we are as athletic as we’ve ever been.

We’re going to do very well.”

Gunn has three solid relays, the slowest (200 medley) of which ranks No. 4 going into Friday’s trials. The 200 free relay is No. 3 and the 400 free relay No. 1. That sprint strength also shows up in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free. Sophomores Rachael Acker and Julia Ama carry the hopes in the 50 with Ama and seniors Teva Levens and Alex Lincoln in the 100 and sophomore Casey Lincoln in the 200 and 500 frees. Junior Emily Watkins and Levens could score big in the 100 breast.

Gunn could help Paly’s title hopes by taking away points from Mitty.

The Titans also could ruin the Vikings’ hopes, as well.

Friday’s prelims will be telling as will the diving competition. Paly has four divers among the top 13 — Grace Greenwood, Sophie Jorasch, Emma Miller and Serena Yee. They need to score enough points to help neutralize Mitty’s Stephanie Phipps, the defending champion.

Other local girls looking for individual honors will be Menlo-Atherton senior Sarah Winters (200 free, 500 free), Pinewood senior Stephanie Lim (200 free, 100 fly), Sacred Heart Prep senior Katie Howard (100 free) and SHP sophomore Erin Sheridan (50 free, 100 free).

In the boys’ meet, Bellarmine is favored to win a 26th straight section title with Valley Christian challenging. Sacred Heart Prep has the talent for a top-five finish while Paly likely isn’t as strong as last year’s seventh-place finish.

Along with Paly’s Tosky, Sacred Heart Prep sophomore Tom Kremer is a perfect example of an athlete excelling without the aid of a high-tech suit. Kremer has the No. 1 qualifying time in the 100 back (51.33) and the No. 2 time (1:41.02).

Both are automatic All-American times and personal bests. His 100 back time is a school record while his 200 free clocking ranks No. 2 in school annals.

Kremer, senior David Culpan, juniors Andrew Savage and Philip Bamberg make up formidable relays in addition to their individual contributions that could make some big waves this weekend.

Palo Alto will be led by sophomore Byron Sanborn, the No. 1 qualifier in the 100 breast (59.92) who’ll also be a factor in the 200 IM. Kei Masuda (100 fly), Nick Henze (100 free) and Scott Swartz (100 back) and Max Wilder (50 free) will help carry Menlo-Atherton’s hopes. N

CCS SWIMMING SCHEDULE at George F. Haines International Swim Center SATURDAY (All times are for finals, consolation events begin 2-3 minutes earlier) 2:03 p.m. -- Girls 200 medley relay Break 2:09 p.m. -- Boys 200 medley relay 2:17 p.m. -- Girls 200 freestyle 2:23 p.m. -- Boys 200 freestyle 2:29 p.m. -- Girls 200 Individual Medley 2:35 p.m. -- Boys 200 Individual Medley 2:40 p.m. -- Girls 50 freestyle 2:44 p.m. -- Boys 50 freestyle Break for Awards 3:16 p.m. -- Girls 100 butterfly 3:22 p.m. -- Boys 100 butterfly

3:28 p.m. -- Girls 100 freestyle 3:34 p.m. -- Boys 100 freestyle 3:44 p.m. -- Girls 500 freestyle 3:58 p.m. -- Boys 500 freestyle Break 4:13 p.m. -- Girls 200 free relay 4:19 p.m. -- Boys 200 free relay Break for Awards 4:42 p.m. -- Girls 100 backstroke 4:48 p.m. -- Boys 100 backstroke 4:54 p.m. -- Girls 100 breaststroke 5 p.m. -- Boys 100 breaststroke Break for Awards 5:15 p.m. -- Girls 400 free relay 5:25 p.m. -- Boys 400 free relay

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