Palo Alto Weekly 11.05.2010 - Sectioin 1

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Palo Alto

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Upfront

Daylight-saving time is ending Set your clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. this Sunday.

Local news, information and analysis

Palo Alto eyes major reforms to permitting process City initiative aims to remove surprise, frustration from the ‘Palo Alto Process’ by Gennady Sheyner

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alo Alto’s ambitious plan to strike the derisive phrase “Palo Alto Process” from the local lexicon is surging ahead this month, as the city prepares to launch a series of reforms aimed at making it easier for builders to ob-

tain city permits. City Manager James Keene and the city’s leading planning officials told a group of business owners and downtown professionals Wednesday morning that reforming the city’s permitting process is now one of the

city’s highest priorities. The goal is to radically improve customer service in the city’s Development Center and to give applicants wanting to renovate, remodel or construct buildings a one-stop shop for all of their needs. The bold initiative was prompted by years of complaints from developers and homeowners about the unruly nature of the process. Some of the members in the audience Wednesday complained that differ-

ent city inspectors have different criteria, which makes code compliance difficult, if not impossible. Others complained it takes too long to get through the city’s approval process. A few pointed to the recent example in the historic Professorville district, where it took the homeowner about three years and $500,000 to attain the city’s permission to tear down a single-story house on Lincoln Avenue and build a new home. To tame the bureaucratic beast,

the city is reforming its entire organizational structure, instituting a series of benchmarks to measure customer service at the Development Center and encouraging local builders, developers and homeowners to point out problems and help the city resolve them. Keene announced his ambitious campaign to reform the planning process in late July, when he held a (continued on page 8)

EMERGENCY

Palo Altans: ‘Why didn’t PG&E warn of gas purge?’ Two schools evacuate after PG&E releases gas from mains by Jay Thorwaldson, Nick Veronin and Chris Kenrick

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Veronica Weber

Back to the future With the campaign signs of past Democratic candidates behind him, San Mateo Supervisor Rich Gordon talks to supporters Tuesday at Democrat headquarters in Palo Alto after voters in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties elected him to replace outgoing Assemblyman Ira Ruskin in the 21st District.

ELECTION 2010

City voters snuff firefighters’ Measure R Measure would have required an election to reduce fire staff by Gennady Sheyner

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proposal by Palo Alto’s firefighters union to freeze staffing levels in the Fire Department went up in flames Tuesday

after local voters overwhelmingly defeated Measure R. Seventy-four percent of the city’s voters opposed Measure R, which

would have required the city to hold a citywide election any time it wants to reduce staffing levels or close a fire station. The measure was placed on the ballot by Palo Alto Firefighters Union, Local 1319, which is in the midst of negotiations with the city over a new contract. Former Palo Alto Mayor Dena Mossar, who led the campaign opposing Measure R, said she wasn’t surprised by the election result. Mossar had characterized the firefighters’ proposal as a power grab that would give the firefighters’ union unfair powers over other labor groups. Her campaign, which was sup-

ported by a broad coalition of former mayors and civic activists, raised more than $60,000 to fight Measure R. “Palo Alto voters are a pretty smart lot,” Mossar told the Weekly Tuesday, after early results indicated the win. “Three to one is about as good as it gets.” Firefighters claimed the measure is needed to protect residents from reckless staff cuts by the City Council. The union gathered more than 6,000 signatures to place the measure on the ballot and had loaned $35,000 toward its campaign. (continued on page 7)

alo Alto residents and city and school officials Thursday were asking why Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) didn’t warn them it was about to purge a major natural-gas line in Mountain View late Wednesday morning. The strong gas smell drifted through parts of south Palo Alto and Mountain View about 11 a.m. Wednesday, evoking fears of a San Bruno-like explosion and causing the evacuation of two Palo Alto schools: JLS Middle School and Palo Verde Elementary School. Scores of residents went outside their homes to try to sniff out where the smell was coming from. Palo Alto firefighters parked along Middlefield Road and Oregon Expressway and were also trying to detect the source of what was described as a strong smell of natural gas. Palo Verde Principal Anne Brown said students followed procedures they had learned just weeks ago in a mock earthquake drill and were evacuated for about 25 minutes. “Once we got a report from (the school district) that it was a (gas) release and that the gas was gone we went back inside,” Brown said. “We opened up doors and windows and were ready to go. Not one student even had a headache. “It was a good test of our disaster preparedness.” Co-Chief Business Official Bob Golton said the district’s source of information about the release came (continued on page 11)

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Upfront

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EDITORIAL Jay Thorwaldson, Editor Jocelyn Dong, Managing Editor Carol Blitzer, Associate Editor Keith Peters, Sports Editor Tyler Hanley, Express™ and Online Editor Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Chris Kenrick, Gennady Sheyner, Staff Writers Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections Editor Karla Kane, Editorial Assistant Veronica Weber, Staff Photographer Dale Bentson, Colin Becht, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Kevin Kirby, Jack McKinnon, Renata Polt, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, Contributors Kelly Jones, Sally Schilling, Sarah Trauben, Georgia Wells, Editorial Interns Vivian Wong, Photo Intern DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Raul Perez, Assistant Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Gary Vennarucci, Designer PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Samantha Mejia, Blanca Yoc, Sales & Production Coordinators ADVERTISING Walter Kupiec, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Judie Block, Esmeralda Flores, Janice Hoogner, Gary Whitman, Display Advertising Sales Neil Fine, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Real Estate Advertising Sales David Cirner, Irene Schwartz, Inside Advertising Sales Cathy Norfleet, Display Advertising Sales Asst. Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Assistants Alicia Santillan, Classified Administrative Asst. EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Rachel Palmer, Online Operations Coordinator Rachel Hatch, Multimedia Product Manager BUSINESS Penelope Ng, Payroll & Benefits Manager Elena Dineva, Mary McDonald, Cathy Stringari, Susie Ochoa, Doris Taylor, Business Associates ADMINISTRATION Amy Renalds, Assistant to the Publisher & Promotions Director Janice Covolo, Receptionist Ruben Espinoza, Courier EMBARCADERO MEDIA William S. Johnson, President Michael I. Naar, Vice President & CFO Walter Kupiec, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Frank A. Bravo, Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Connie Jo Cotton, Major Accounts Sales Manager Bob Lampkin, Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Alicia Santillan, Circulation Assistants Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo, Computer System Associates The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 3268210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered free to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 326-8210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. Copyright Š2010 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed by SFOP, Redwood City. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com Our e-mail addresses are: editor@paweekly.com, letters@paweekly.com, ads@paweekly.com. Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 326-8210, or e-mail circulation@paweekly. com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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450 CAMBRIDGE AVE, PALO ALTO, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210

Palo Alto voters are a pretty smart lot.

— Dena Mossar, who led the campaign opposing Palo Alto’s Measure R, which was defeated. See story on page 3.

Around Town A GIANT VICTORY ... When Palo Alto officials met Monday night to discuss the top recreational issues of the day, it was clear they had other things on their minds. The clues were everywhere — from Councilman Larry Klein’s orange sweater, to Park and Recreation Commissioner Sunny Dykwel’s San Francisco Giants T-shirt, to the iPad on City Manager Jim Keene’s lap flashing baseball stats, to the frequent glances staff shot toward the muted TV screen. The Parks and Recreation Commission, which advises the council on topics relating to local sports fields and recreation, experienced “Giants Torture� in the worst way possible — their annual meeting with the council fell on the same evening as Game 5 of the World Series between the Giants and the Texas Rangers. Though heads frequently swiveled toward the TV, discussions remained largely on point, spanning such topics as bike improvements, youth programs and new amenities at El Camino Park. Councilman Greg Scharff was talking about El Camino Park when Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria whacked a three-run homerun, giving the Giants a 3-0 lead and prompting an excited Keene to interject with an update. “It’s clear where our priorities are,� quipped Commissioner Paul Losch. The meeting was scheduled to adjourn at about 7 p.m. so that the council could get to its regularly scheduled Monday meeting, but no one seemed to be in a rush. Minutes before the hour approached, one commissioner asked how much time the group had before adjournment. “About an inning,� Mayor Pat Burt replied. The council ultimately managed to stretch out the joint discussion and the subsequent intermission until past 7:30 p.m. Council members lingered in the small conference room to watch the Giants’ freakish, fuzzy-bearded closer Brian Wilson finish off the Rangers, giving the Giants their first World Series since the team moved to San Francisco and giving the council a chance to high-five and congratulate one another before proceeding to their regular meeting.

SILVER LINING ... Democrats took a political pummeling across the nation Tuesday, but things looked a little brighter in Palo Alto on Election Day. At the Democratic headquarters on El Camino Real, local politicians and operatives gathered late Tuesday to celebrate the election of Jerry Brown to governor, the political survival of Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate, and the election of San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon to the state Assembly. Gordon and Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, both gave the group a pep talk celebrating the parties’ victories, at least in California. “We have achieved some incredible results in California,� Gordon said. “We’re unlike the rest of the nation and thank God!� Attendees also cheered the voters’ rejection of Proposition 23, a proposal funded by Texas oil companies Tesoro and Valero that would have suspended California’s law governing greenhouse-gas emissions. “Just as our beloved Giants beat Texas, we gave the boot to Texas oil companies and defeated Proposition 23,� Gordon said to loud cheers. FIXING THE CITY ... Palo Alto officials agree that the city is full of aged and damaged infrastructure that urgently needs to be repaired or replaced. In September, the City Council appointed an 18-member task force to go through the city’s $500 million infrastructure backlog and think of ways to fund the needed improvements. Now, the city has a new problem — getting 18 volunteers to attend a meeting. After more than a month and a half, the task force has yet to hold a single meeting because of scheduling conflicts, the council learned this week. Its first meeting is now scheduled for December. This bit of news frustrated Councilman Larry Klein, who hoped the committee could complete its work next year and pave the way for a bond measure on the November 2011 ballot. “If people can’t make the meetings, they ought to not be on the committee,� Klein said.

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Upfront YOUTH

Referrals of students to free mental health services jump Suicide prevention, ‘asset’ promotion also offered to help teens’ well-being by Chris Kenrick

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It’s the little gifts that matter. Baby Gifts | Hostess Gifts | Birthday Gifts

his school year has seen a near doubling over last year of students being referred to free mental health services, according to the Palo Alto Unified School District. Since school began in August, more than 60 students have been recommended by school counselors for treatment under a program offering a minimum of three free sessions with local mental health providers, according to the district’s Coordinator of Student Services Amy Drolette. In 2009-10, 35 students were referred under the program. Those numbers do not include students referred to the Health Care Alliance for Adolescent Depression (HEARD), a health-care-provider group that formed to offer free services following five public suicides of Gunn High School students in 2009 and 2010. Statistics and trends on the number of students served by the HEARD Alliance were not immediately available. Referrals to the free services are made for problems such as anxiety and depression, Drolette said. Referred students were fairly evenly distributed throughout the K-12 age groups, she said. She attributed the increase in referrals to confidence among counselors that ongoing funds will be available for the program and that — at a family’s discretion — in-

formation would “circle back” so school counselors would know that a student is getting help. The service is “strictly confidential,” she said. “Once we make the referral, the families have the opportunity to contact the agency or provider. “The hope is that as we support them with the mental health piece, they’re healthier individuals and able to be more successful in the day-to-day school setting.” Drolette is in the midst of applying for a $250,000, 18-month grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools to help fund the program. Earlier this year, the district received a $50,000 grant from that agency. Though it has existed for seven or eight years, the free mental health referral program gained a higher profile last year following the five student deaths. It is one of several mental-healthrelated commitments made by the district to Palo Alto Project Safety Net, a community-wide coalition formed in response to the suicides. Other mental health-related commitments include suicide-prevention training of teachers and staff members at all middle schools and high schools. (continued on page 11)

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hold a study session with the Library Advisory Commission Commission; amend the building code for compliance with the state’s green building standards; and adopt a new requirement in the fire code for photoelectric alarms. The meeting with the Library Advisory Commission will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 8, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). Regular meeting will follow. BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The board plans to vote on proposed school calendars for 2011-12 and 2012-13 that will shift the academic year to begin earlier in August and the first semester to conclude before the December winter break. The board also will hear updates on the district’s three-year pilot Mandarin Immersion Program, and view “conceptual designs” for renovations to Hoover Elementary School. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, in the board room of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.). POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss Project Safety Net, the city’s public-private partnerships and electronic management for city agendas. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

415 University Avenue, Palo Alto | Phone 650-853-9888

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PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to continue its discussion of the Housing Element chapter of the city’s Comprehensive Plan and consider a colleagues’ memo about city policies on commissioners’ ex parte communications. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

Upfront ELECTION 2010

Palo Alto voters choose even-year city elections Saving money, increasing voter participation cited as reasons for shift by Gennady Sheyner

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alo Alto’s century-old tradition of holding city elections on odd years came to an end Tuesday when voters approved Measure S, which shifts elections to even years. The measure, proposed by Santa Clara Supervisor Liz Kniss, won in a landslide, with 76 percent of the vote. Measure S would bring the city into line with national, state and county elections and reduce costs by an estimated $1 million over the next decade, Kniss estimated. Kniss and other proponents of Measure S argued the proposal would also increase voter participation. They pointed to the fact that

the last four even-year elections had an average turnout of 71.25 percent, compared to 43.2 percent for oddyear elections. Councilman Greg Schmid and former Mayor Gary Fazzino both opposed Measure S, arguing that it would force local issues to compete for voters’ attention with national and state elections. Schmid also said there would be less media attention paid to city-level issues and candidates if the local election were held concurrent with the national one. But Measure S generally stayed under the radar in the months leading up to Election Day and did not generate broad opposition. “It boiled down to a simple deci-

sion,” Mayor Pat Burt said. “Not too many people had strong passions about this measure.” Councilman Greg Scharff, who proposed placing Measure S on the ballot, told the Weekly he wasn’t surprised by the measure’s easy passage. “We’re increasing voter participation and saving money,” Scharff said. “It seemed like a no-brainer.” By switching elections to even years, the measure also extends the terms of each council member by a year. Burt, Vice Mayor Sid Espinosa and councilmen Yiaway Yeh and Schmid would have seen their terms expire next year. Now, they will serve until 2012. N

ELECTION 2010

Community college measure falls short of two-thirds vote Support is there, but taxes are ‘toxic’ this year, campaigners say by Chris Kenrick

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majority of local voters favored a six-year, $69-a-year parcel tax to support Foothill and De Anza community colleges, but the tax — Measure E — fell short of the two-thirds approval it needed to pass. In the end, 58.1 percent of voters were in favor of the measure, with 41.9 percent opposed. Supporters had hoped revenue from the tax would offset $20 million in state cuts sustained by the colleges, allowing them to restore classes and labs for more than 10,000 students on wait lists this fall, supporters said. Polling last spring indicated more than 70 percent backing for the measure, but a second poll two weeks ago indicated support had dwindled, proponents said. Campaign chair Betsy Bechtel, a former Palo Alto mayor who now sits on the elected board of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District, noted that measures requiring a two-thirds majority went down across the county and state in Tuesday’s election. “We really do have strong support

for our community colleges and will continue to work hard to keep them effectively providing services for the students,” Bechtel said Thursday. Foothill College has been the destination for 14 percent to 16 percent of the Gunn and Palo Alto high schools’ graduating classes in recent years, according to the college. Bechtel discounted press criticism of district salaries as being responsible for Measure E’s failure to pass. The district has defended its faculty salaries — on the upper end but not the highest community college salaries in California — as necessary to attract and retain top talent. At a campaign gathering at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse in Cupertino Tuesday night, students who had worked phone banks and gone door-to-door for Measure E said voters they spoke with generally supported Foothill and De Anza. “Most people wanted to further young people’s education and have it available for future high schoolers,” De Anza student Vanessa Rosas said. But the nation’s anti-tax mood made it tough for Measure E, said

Foothill student Etienne Bowie, who grew up in East Palo Alto. “The word ‘tax’ is just toxic right now,” Bowie said. “I made 400 phone calls — maybe more. Most of the voters I talked to said ‘Yes,’ they supported it, but there were a lot of undecided people and they were scared of the word ‘tax.’” Bowie criticized the salary argument. “The faculty makes the school,” he said. “Our opponents used that (salary argument) very well against us.” De Anza student Arvind Ravichandran said, “We’re going to miss this campaign. We had a routine, and it was a good opportunity to learn about civic duty.” Palo Altans were well-represented at the gathering of about 50 campaign volunteers. Besides Bechtel, Foothill-De Anza board Chair Bruce Swenson is also a Palo Alto resident, as were a number of campaign volunteers. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.

Measure R

concerned about the larger issue of employee salaries and benefits. Tuesday’s election suggests that the voters approve of the council’s recent efforts to reduce spending on employee compensation, Burt said. “The vote does not surprise me,” Burt said. “The sentiment I heard from the community was strong opposition to Measure R and strong

support for the reforms the City Council recently made to pensions and benefits. “Voters know we have to control costs.” The topic of staffing levels is expected to resurface in the next month or two, when the city completes a study analyzing the Fire Department’s staffing levels. N

(continued from page 3)

Tony Spitaleri, the union president, couldn’t be reached for comment. Mayor Pat Burt said the voters’ overwhelming defeat of Measure R indicated the community is

Election results As of Thursday, Nov. 4

Measure R (Forces voter approval for firestation closures and staff reductions) No 13,125 74.43%

Yes 4,508 25.57%

Measure S (Switches city elections from odd years to even) Yes 13,018 76.01%

No 4,109 23.99%

East Palo Alto City Council (two seats open) Ruben Abrica (incumbent) 1,334 39.4% David E. Woods (incumbent) 1,225 36.1% Douglas J. Fort 831 24.5%

Measure E Santa Clara County (Foothill-De Anza Community College District parcel tax, twothirds majority needed to pass)

State Assembly, 21st District Rich Gordon (Democrat) 33,329 56.80% Greg Conlon (Republican) 22,413 38.20%

Yes 50,021 58.08%

No 36,101 41.92%

Ray M. Bell (Libertarian) 2,931 5.00%

Santa Clara Valley Water District, District 7

U.S. Congress, 14th District

Brian Andrew Schmidt 20,910 55.97%

Anna G. Eshoo (Democrat) 58,412 67.53%

Louis E. Becker 16,447 44.03%

Dave Chapman (Republican) 25,589 29.58% Paul Lazaga (Libertarian) 2,502 2.89%

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Nov. 1)

Ameresco: The council authorized the city manager to decline a proposed power purchase agreement from Ameresco. Yes: Unanimous High-speed rail: The council discussed California’s high-speed rail project, including the recent federal grant for high-speed rail and the upcoming rally in Burlingame on Nov. 7 opposing the project in its current form. Action: None

Finance Committee (Nov. 2)

Benchmark study: The committee discussed the Water Utility Benchmark Study recently completed by the Utilities Department. Action: None Water rates: The committee discussed the rate structure for the city’s water and wastewater services. Action: None

Historic Resources Board (Nov. 3)

Joint session: The board discussed potential topics for discussion at its upcoming joint study session with the City Council on Nov. 8. Action: None

Utility Advisory Commission (Nov. 3)

Gas and electricity: The commission approved staff proposals to change the Compressed Natural Gas Rate Schedule and to implement the Long-Term Electric Acquisition Plan. Yes: Unanimous

High-speed Rail Committee (Nov. 3)

High-speed rail: The committee discussed recent correspondence between Caltrain and the California High-Speed Rail Authority and approved drafts of letters from the city to the authority pertaining to a proposed high-speed rail station and the authority’s Supplemental Alternatives Analysis Report. Yes: Unanimous

Architectural Review Board (Nov. 3)

El Camino Commons: The board discussed a proposal for a 45-unit, three-story, senior-assisted housing facility at 4041 El Camino Way. The facility would be an expansion of Palo Alto Commons. The board approved the plans and added a series of conditions pertaining to color of materials, elevation and third-floor balconies. Yes: Lew, Malone, Prichard, Wasserman, Young Absent: Lee

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Upfront

Permits

TALK ABOUT IT

(continued from page 3)

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press conference to talk about what he called the “Blueprint for a New Development Center.” Since then, the city has hired consultants to lead the restructuring effort; created a new “staff action team” composed of representatives from all city departments involved in permitting; and appointed a new “Development Customer Advisory Group” consisting of architects, developers, builders and residential activists. Keene said one of the biggest challenges in reforming the permitting process is the sheer number of departments involved. The staff ac-

Corrections

INSPIRATIONS

A resource for special events and ongoing religious services. To inquire about or make space reservations for Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 223-6596 or email byoc@paweekly.com

In the Weekly’s Oct. 29 article about a proposed cell-phone tower, the height of the tower was incorrect. It is 50 feet tall and 8 feet square. Also, William Hammett was incorrectly paraphrased. Hammett said studies of electromagnetic fields often reveal that the towers easily meet FCC safety guidelines by an extra margin, not that companies add an extra margin. To request a correction, contact Managing Editor Jocelyn Dong at 650-223-6514, jdong@ paweekly.com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302.

Spa Day

What ideas do you have for improving “The Palo Alto Process”? Share them on Town Square, the online community discussion forum, at Palo Alto Online.

tion team includes representatives from the Public Works, Utilities, Fire, and Administrative Services departments, as well as the city manager’s office. “One of the biggest issues that we have to deal with is breaking down the silo-style structure and barriers between departments,” Keene said Wednesday at the meeting, sponsored by the Palo Alto Business Improvement District. The team held its first meeting Tuesday night, said Tommy Fehrenbach, the city’s economic-development manager. The goal, he said, is to remove the element of surprise out of the notoriously convoluted system. “Customer service is our key objective,” Fehrenbach said. “We want the customers coming through the Development Center to have the best possible experience with the process and the system.” The city is also encouraging critics of the “Palo Alto Process” to step forward and help resolve the systemic problems. The 20-member Advisory Group is charged with pointing out the flaws in the city’s system and working with the city to fix these problems. Its members include local ar-

chitects John Barton, Jim McFall, Joseph Bellomo and Tony Carrasco; Stanford General Manager John Benevenuto; Facebook Director of Real Estate Jim Merryman; College Terrace resident Doria Summa; and construction manager Chris Sigler, among others. The group is scheduled to hold its first meeting later this month. Palo Alto also plans to kick off a series of pilot projects in February in which applicants are teamed up with a staff member whose job would be to shepherd the application through the municipal maze of permit approvals. “Instead of having a customer going to the Development Center and then perhaps going to different locations for different pieces of the application, we’ll have the customer sitting in one chair and having all the resources and staff coming to them,” said George Arimes, of the firm Horizon Centre, Inc., the city’s system-design consultant. Keene said the new initiative aims to make the permitting process less suspenseful. “We want to have predictability, where someone comes in and knows what the expectations will be and knows the rules of the game and is able to chart it out and plan and not have a lot of surprises,” Keene said. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

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Upfront

Palo Alto Historical Association presents a public program

News Digest “Busman’s Holiday: Edward Durell Stone and Palo Alto�

Man lying down on University Avenue hit by truck A bread truck hit a man who was lying in the middle of University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto at 2:29 a.m. Wednesday morning, police reported. Ralph Ortiz, 53, of San Jose walked into the westbound lane of the 300 block of University Avenue and lay down behind a cement planter box that someone had pushed into the middle of the street, a male witness told police. Police Lt. Sandra Brown said the witness reported that Ortiz appeared to drink a beer in front of the Medallion Rug Gallery, then walked into the street and lay against the planter box, hidden from view of the oncoming van driver. The witness tried to warn the van driver that a man was lying in the road, but the van crashed into the cement box and ran over Ortiz, Brown said. Police do not know who pushed the box into the street but assume it was Ortiz, Brown said. He was taken to Stanford Medical Center with head injuries and was in stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon, communicating with his doctors, she said. There is no indication that Ortiz was attempting suicide, Brown said. Police have not determined whether the man is homeless, she said. The van driver was not injured. N — Sue Dremann

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City to add amenities to El Camino Park When Palo Alto officials set out to build a massive underground reservoir at El Camino Park, their goal was to give residents an emergency water supply, not to provide new play spaces and park amenities. But city recreation officials are now trying to use the voter-approved project as an opportunity to reinvigorate the park — located across from Stanford Shopping Center — by adding lacrosse striping, a scoreboard, a grassy nook for picnics and a dog-exercise area. While funding remains a major obstacle, the City Council agreed with the Parks and Recreation Commission on Monday night that park improvements at El Camino should be a high priority. The council agreed that the opportunity for park improvements should not be squandered, though members acknowledged that finding the funds to make these improvements could prove tricky. The reservoir is funded by a voter-approved bond, and city officials are prohibited from using the bond funds for projects not relating to water improvements. City officials estimate that the construction of the reservoir will commence in the middle of next year and will take about two years to complete. The reservoir would have the capacity to store 2.5 million gallons of water. The council asked for more information about the estimated costs of the commission’s park projects. Once these estimates are in, the council will decide whether to fund the park projects through a bond or through the city’s capital-improvement program. N — Gennady Sheyner

Ballot shortage causes frustration at EPA polls Angry voters in East Palo Alto left in frustration without casting their votes after a shortage of paper ballots created long lines that went out the door on Election Day, poll workers said. Others stuck it out so their votes would be counted. The line snaked through the City Hall lobby for hours after the ballots ran out and voters had to use electronic machines to cast their votes. The problem was exacerbated by voters who were reading the ballot for the first time on the machines, each person taking 20 to 30 minutes to vote, Ethan Frantz, a San Mateo County election official, said. “An insanely long ballot� also added to the long voting times, he said. The ballots ran out about 3 p.m. and workers scrambled to accommodate voters by getting in two additional voting machines, but those machines did not arrive until 6 p.m., he said. “We’re seeing a lot of irate voters,� he added, noting that some voters felt the lack of ballots was meant to disenfranchise voters in the heavily Democratic and minority community. But Frantz said the problem appeared to be countywide. Precincts in Portola Valley were just as affected as East Palo Alto, he said. Frantz said voter turnout in many places was much higher than anticipated. In East Palo Alto, the City Hall precinct had 40 percent more voters than in any of his six years serving as an election official. N — Sue Dremann

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. HEART TO HEART SEMINAR ON GROWING UP Informative, humorous and lively discussions between parents and their pre-teens on puberty, the opposite sex and growing up. Girls attend these two-part sessions with their moms and boys attend with their dads. - For Girls: Mondays, December 6 & 13: 6:30 – 8:30 pm - For Boys: Tuesdays, November 30 & December 7: 6:30 – 8:30 pm

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C H I L D R E N’S H O S P I T A L LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

V I S I T W W W. L P C H . O R G TO S I G N U P F O R C L A S S E S *>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ ÂœĂ›i“LiÀÊx]ĂŠĂ“ä£äĂŠU Page 9

Upfront COMMUNITY

Audrey Rust named 2010 Athena Award winner Environmental leader to be honored for excellence, creativity and mentoring by Sue Dremann

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udrey Rust, longtime leader awardees, Rust said, “It’s quite an of Peninsula Open Space honor to be among them.” Trust (POST), will The most meaningreceive this year’s 2010 ful aspect of her tenure Athena Award, the Palo at POST is that which is Alto Chamber of Commost obvious, she said: merce has announced. “It’s the one of saving Rust will receive the incredibly important and award at a Chamber lunvaluable pieces of land cheon Nov. 17 at the Garand making them availden Court Hotel in Palo able” to the average perAlto. son to enjoy. The award honors “It’s helping to create women who demonstrate a landscape that sustains excellence and creativthis region,” she said. Audrey Rust ity in business and who In other parts of the contribute to the quality country, land is not conof life in their communities and help served with the same sense of public other women realize their leadership ownership as in the Bay Area, she potential. said. Considering the caliber of other “The concept that everyone has

access to that land is not as prevalent as we have here,” she said. Rust has led POST since 1987. Under her leadership, the Palo Alto nonprofit has protected 63,000 acres of open space land in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. She lives in Menlo Park. “Audrey Rust’s achievements in more than two decades as president of Peninsula Open Space Trust are as magnificent as the natural spaces she has worked so hard to preserve,” Congresswoman Anna Eshoo said in a letter supporting her nomination. “These lands have become parts of the National Parks System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, California State Parks, county and city parks, regional open space preserves and private farmland.”

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Prior to her tenure at POST, Rust worked with the Sierra Club, Yale University and Stanford University. She has served on numerous local, state and national organizations, primarily in conservation and housing. Over the years, a larger public consciousness about land conservation has emerged, she said. But there is a caveat. The commitment to local concerns that major corporations and individuals in the valley have felt in the past has not transferred to the next generation. Many business leaders now focus on the global environment and social issues. “It’s a concern for the future,” she said. As money leaves the Bay Area to

support causes in other countries, Rust also hopes leaders with deep pockets won’t take the local and regional environment for granted. “Understanding the importance of our natural environment in its diversity ... and its importance in the protection of the air and water is an essential thing,” she said. Athena International established the Athena award in 1982, a professional businesswoman’s organization dedicated to woman’s leadership. Various host organizations, including chambers of commerce, administer the award annually. Tickets for the luncheon are available by calling 650-324-3121. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

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.

Ohtaki, Keith, Cline win in Menlo council race Incumbent Heyward Robinson and educator Chuck Bernstein are reflecting on their unsuccessful bids for Menlo Park City Council, as the three incoming councilmembers appear to be Peter Ohtaki, Kirsten Keith and incumbent Rich Cline, who edged out his colleague. (Posted Nov. 4 at 8:57 a.m.)

Masked man robs Menlo Park Quiznos at gunpoint Police are searching for a masked man who robbed a Menlo Park Quiznos at gunpoint Tuesday night. (Posted Nov. 3 at 1:39 p.m.)

Things quiet at polls, but not as quiet as June The box of mail-in ballots at the Christian Reformed Church in Palo Alto filled to the brim early Tuesday afternoon, prompting poll workers at the precinct to place all new ballots into a canvas bag. The turnout at the church, which houses two precincts, was higher than it was in June’s primary election, workers reported. (Posted Nov. 2 at 8:58 p.m.)

Burglar makes off with liquor, laptop in Palo Alto An apartment in the 600 block of Waverley Street in Palo Alto was burglarized sometime Saturday night or early Sunday morning as the resident slept, Palo Alto police said. (Posted Nov. 2 at 11:55 a.m.)

EPA Kids Foundation raises more than $300K A foundation that raises funds for East Palo Alto schools did so well this year that it is expanding its reach. For the first time in its 17-year history, the East Palo Alto Kids Foundation (EPAK) reached $300,000 in annual donations, enabling it to make two rounds of “micro-grants” to teachers in the Ravenswood City School District. (Posted Nov. 2 at 9:41 a.m.)

Vehicle crashes into pizza parlor, pinning cashier A woman cashier was injured Monday when a vehicle crashed into the Avanti Pizza parlor in West Menlo Park, pinning the employee behind the cash register, a California Highway Patrol Officer said. (Posted Nov. 1 at 4:14 p.m.)

Cal Fire warns of phone solicitation scam The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is warning Bay Area residents of a telephone scam in which people are asked to donate money for firefighter training, a Cal Fire representative said. (Posted Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.)

School board asks city to link housing, schools With a nervous eye on crowded classrooms, the Palo Alto Board of Education formally has asked the City Council to keep school “capacity challenges” in mind when the city considers long-range housing plans for Palo Alto. (Posted Nov. 1 at 9:48 a.m.)

San Diego man killed by Caltrain Friday A man who was fatally struck Friday afternoon by a Caltrain approaching the Belmont station has been identified by the San Mateo County coroner’s office as San Diego resident Michael Turek, 40. (Posted Oct. 30 at 6:22 p.m.)

Crowd greets Piazza’s reopening Friday afternoon A crowd of nearly 30 people pushed through the front door of Piazza’s Market in Palo Alto when it was reopened at 3 p.m. Friday. The store had been closed since approximately 6:15 a.m. due to a major leak of refrigerant from the store’s cooling system. (Posted Oct. 29 at 9:57 a.m.)

Want to get news briefs e-mailed to you every weekday? Sign up for Express, our new daily e-edition. Go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com to sign up.

Introducing

Good for Business. Good for You. Good for the Community.

Mental health (continued from page 6)

The first trainings in a method called QPR, which stands for “question, persuade and refer,” took place Oct. 13 at Gunn High School and Terman Middle School. In a session lasting one to three hours, people are taught “how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade and refer someone for help,” according to the group’s website. Stanford University psychologist Alejandro Martinez, who has trained hundreds of Stanford students and staff members in the QPR protocol, led the training session at Gunn. The district’s farthest-reaching mental health commitment this year is to a system known as the Developmental Assets, encouraging “positive relationships, opportunities, values and skills that young people need to grow up caring and responsible,” according to local promoter, the nonprofit Project Cornerstone of San Jose. A high percentage of all Palo Alto’s high school students, as well as students in grades five and seven, took a baseline “Developmental Assets Survey” in October. Students answered questions about their relationships with their families and schools, and other questions aligned

with the 41 identified “assets,” such as “positive family communication” and “positive peer influence.” Results of the baseline surveys will be available in February or March, Drolette said. Parents had to give permission for their students to take the survey, which does not identify results by individual student, Drolette said. Elementary-school participation rates exceeded 90 percent; middle schools 85 percent and high schools 75 percent, she said. Drolette, a former high school history teacher and counselor, joined the Palo Alto school district in August from Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, a highachieving school ranked 36th in

the U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 list of America’s Best High Schools. “It’s quite an academically driven school but we brought on (the Stanford University-based) Challenge Success program to support our students in terms of the stress factors and ability to learn resilience,” Drolette said. “By nature, when you’re talking about high-achieving schools, Gunn and Palo Alto high schools are often part of the discussion, and I was quite familiar with the sites here before I came on board,” she said. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.

PG&E

(continued from page 3)

from the city, and that PG&E had not contacted the district. City Utilities Department officials scrambled to find the source when reports and complaints started pouring in to the city’s dispatch center. Palo Alto Utilities Director Val Fong said shortly after noon that Palo Alto “received no notification from PG&E about the natural gas purging,” which was occurring near Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View. “We’re doing some pipeline assessment work,” PG&E spokesman Matt Nauman said Wednesday when contacted by the Mountain View Voice, the Weekly’s sister paper. He said that at about 11 a.m. Wednesday crews opened up a portion of a gas main near Shoreline and flushed it of natural gas in order to send in a robot to examine the main for structural integrity. “After the San Bruno accident, we are obviously assessing our pipeline,” Nauman said, referring to the disastrous Sept. 9 explosion and fire. “This is part of that assessment.” Nauman said the utility notified some residents and businesses in both Mountain View and Palo Alto that they might smell gas, but the smell apparently spread out and lingered due to lack of a breeze. The gas did not pose a health or explosion risk, he added. Nauman said that during the gasmain assessment crews are sending a video camera deep into the line to look for damage. It is part of an examination of gas mains running up and down the Peninsula that PG&E has been conducting for the past few weeks. N

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Editorial

Dousing Measure R sends strong message Firefighters’ union leadership made a strategic gamble with Measure R, but Palo Alto voters saw through it — as should firefighters

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he astounding 3-to-1 defeat of the Palo Alto firefighters’ unionbacked Measure R should send a strong message to the union local’s rank-and-file members that voters are fed up with scare tactics and exaggerations such as those practiced by the current leadership of the local.

Those tactics have resulted in a serious embarrassment to the union and a damaging setback to the union local’s credibility in the community. Measure R if approved would have required citywide voter approval for any reduction in Fire Department staffing or station closure, shielding the department from any reorganization or budget adjustment based on broader city needs. It was promoted by “every minute counts” messages, one showing a firefighter holding a baby, and implying that there was an imminent threat to timely responses in emergencies. There isn’t. And if one comes up in the future it should be dealt with in open debate using appropriate channels, and by holding our elected officials responsible for public safety. Opponents correctly argued that Measure R would have placed the Fire Department in an impossibly rigid and protectionist position at the potential expense of all other city programs and services — including a number of other important “public safety” services. The measure was opposed by a huge cross-section of Palo Alto residents and civic leaders, and the final tally was more than 75 percent of voters rejecting the proposal, one of the largest rejections of a Palo Alto measure in history. Rank-and-file firefighters need to take a hard and realistic look at how their union local has led them astray. Then they might take similar look at how they want to be perceived in the community, particularly in a time of hardened public attitudes toward wages and benefits of public employees in general and public-safety personnel in particular. Challenging times lie ahead for unions representing all public employees, as the unsustainable costs of pensions and high salaries become clear and significant cuts necessary. These will be difficult discussions, made more difficult by the tactics of the firefirghters union. If nothing else, the overwhelming rejection of Measure R should send a message that voters want and expect a more honest and constructive dialogue from public employees — one aimed at finding solutions rather than emotional posturing.

Rank-and-file firefighters need to take a hard and realistic look at how their union local has led them astray.

Palo Altans opt for even-year city elections

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bandoning a century-old tradition, Palo Alto voters overwhelmingly opted for even-year elections in Tuesday’s election.

The move is expected to both increase voter participation and save money compared to odd-year elections. It will also add a year to council members whose terms are due to expire in 2011, when the change takes effect. Some opponents of the change cited tradition and the opportunity to explore local candidates and issues that a separate city election in odd years allows, not competing for space, time, attention, workers or funds with regional, state or national elections in even years. But the 77 percent approval of the change — initiated by Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss — shows that voters are ready to go for the change. And we believe that Palo Alto voters, with the plethora of communications now available that was unimaginable a century ago, won’t lose sight of the local issues and candidates in the larger even-years arena of politics and democracy.

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Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

The Cal Ave ‘project’ Editor, After volunteering for 20 years as the California Avenue Area Development Association (CAADA) president and working with nearly every city department, no city investigator asked for my recollections of the five years leading up to “The Project” on California Avenue. Having read the antics chronicled in the Executive Summary, it is revealing to read what was relayed to higher-ups. That report has errors, omissions and gaping holes in the timeline, appearing by design, and in a manner making all upper management and one senior engineer look faultless while casting blame on other lower level employees (people deserving of support and even thanks, not chastisement). If not for one conscientious employee, there would be no prior public notification at all. The report exhibits a continuance of no leadership; an outrageous whitewashing of responsibility; no vision; no accountability; no conviction or courage; and no common sense from the top rungs of city management, on down. This mentality results from years of weak, high-level city management covering one’s posterior, where employees with good skills are in fact, kept down or pushed out. Former councilman John Barton warned of this. He was correct. While a few departments are excellent (specifically Parks, Dept. of Homeland Security, and Community Services) one can safely surmise that no one is watching the city manager’s store. Nine well-meaning, but hands-off council members feed this problem. It would be a pleasure to see, for once, accurate reporting from the city manager’s office, not excusing top brass when things go wrong. Sadly, that appears unlikely with the current mindset of too many elected officials, and of the city’s top managers. Ronna Devincenzi Formerly of CAADA Palo Alto

School schedule shifts Editor, As a parent of two children in Palo Alto public schools, I wanted to point out several aspects of the proposed calendar change that have been overlooked by district leadership and the media. First, the comparisons cited by PAUSD to build its case for the new schedule do not provide a roadmap for how this proposal would impact Palo Alto families. Menlo-Atherton, one school often named as a parallel to PAUSD, is part of a high school-only district, so when it switched to an early start, the only students impacted were

those already in high school. Castilleja, a private school that is also referenced frequently by PAUSD, has a shorter first semester and its students don’t start school until Aug. 26, but still take finals before the holidays. PAUSD students, in contrast, would need to start school Aug.16, effectively shutting many children out of enriching summer programs and camps, not to mention family vacations. Second and perhaps more importantly, while pre-break finals may reduce stress for some high school juniors and seniors, I see this proposal as a ‘low-hanging fruit’ solution that doesn’t address the more urgent question of how to better balance the learning environment for students across all grade levels of our district. When Palo Alto students begin bringing home worksheets in kindergarten, have two to three hours of homework in middle school and survive high school through chronic sleep deprivation, it is clear that our high academic results are coming at a cost for the overall well-being of our children. I hope the PAUSD school board and leadership will step back from the calendar process and start a

deeper conversation about how we can help our children grow to be healthy, enthusiastic learners at all grade levels. Victoria Thorp Fulton Street Palo Alto

This week on Town Square Posted Nov. 3 at 8:11 p.m. by Another Wondering Resident, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood: I think that it is outrageous that PG&E did not inform our city about this planned release of gas (on Nov. 3), even though it occurred in a neighboring city. Gas being a gas will do what a gas does — travel. I heard that there is a gas main or station along Alma. Can anyone confirm this or explain where the gas-control system in this area (is)? This panic event to our residents, school staff and our city staff could have been totally avoided if PG&E would have communicated with the City of Palo Alto before proceeding with the purging.

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

What do you think? Did the natural gas smell in south Palo Alto Wednesday alarm you or cause you to think about emergency preparedness? 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!

Guest Opinion Rail debate becomes a push to ‘Save Our Caltrain!’ by Yoriko Kishimoto n 1851, officials of the brand-new State of California proposed a rail line to connect the first state capital, San Jose, to the emerging trading center of San Francisco. The three counties of San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara financed the beginning of this railroad nine years later, according to records. After several changes in ownership and name for the commuter service (including many years as an unwanted stepchild of Southern Pacific Railway), the same three counties took over ownership of Caltrain in 1992 and govern it today through a joint powers board (JPB), watching its ridership increase substantially. In return, Caltrain has shaped the touch and feel of the Peninsula: The fine-grained walkable downtowns have developed as “pearls on a necklace” along its line — just as a century or more earlier Peninsula cities were called “knots on a string” as they formed along the tracks. Today, while billions of dollars pour in for high-speed rail, Caltrain is threatened with bankruptcy, or just as bad it could die a slow death by entering a downward spiral of reduced service and reduced ridership. That is why a number of stakeholders are pulling together to form “Friends of Caltrain.” The idea is to work toward developing a dedicated, permanent source of operating funds that are needed, with or without high speed rail, to keep Caltrain healthy and

I

running. The day-to-day operating deficit is the biggest threat. Next Tuesday, Nov. 9, we are having a public meeting to present the regional context for Caltrain’s serious challenges, both immediate and long-term. The meeting will be at the Menlo Park library from 7 to 9 p.m. (For more information, go to www. greencaltrain.com/event-saving-caltrainthe-bay-area-connection/). We are planning a kick-off “Caltrain Summit” for Jan. 29, 2011, to reach out to the interested parties, partner with cities, employers, elected officials, neighborhoods, and environmental groups — allies to help advocate for a financing and governance structure that will be constructive for all stakeholders, including Caltrain. Caltrain’s success is its problem. Caltrain has the second highest fare-box recovery of the 28 transit agencies in the Bay Area. In other words, it is among the most self-sustaining transit agencies operationally. This is thanks to the dramatic increase in ridership achieved when the Baby Bullet express trains were introduced and travel time was reduced for many riders. Unfortunately, service to most stations was reduced as a trade-off. Also, many Peninsulans may not know that year after year Caltrain must go to the three counties to get operating funds to supplement the 43 percent that comes from fares. The counties have been steady in providing support, but Caltrain is just one competitor for funding from the struggling state and counties and their transportation authorities. Thus it finds itself facing a “worst-case” budget gap of up to $30 million (on a 2009

budget of $91 million) in the next fiscal year as the counties warn they will need to cut back The time is right for us to create some dedicated and permanent funding for Caltrain. Caltrain recently reduced service to 90 trains as day, from a peak of 98 a few years ago and it has announced a further cut for next year. The good news is that demand is strong and steady for Caltrain. Our daily ridership is still close to 40,000 despite recent cuts in services and fare increases. The bad news is that state and county contributions to Caltrain face further, potentially dramatic cuts. We know that excellent public transportation is key, actually indispensable, for our “innovation economy” to grow. For example, Stanford University is dependent on a well-functioning Caltrain to allow it to grow in workforce and population without creating a burden on its neighboring cities or the environment. The federal government has just announced its $715 million for high speed rail in California is to go to the Central Valley. This should alleviate the rush to complete all the analysis and decisions about the Peninsula alignment to meet the 2012 deadline to get “shovels in the ground,” although no change in deadline schedules have been announced. Although this means there is no immediate funding from this source for electrification or a modern train-control system for Caltrain, the silver lining is that we have no excuse now: We now have time to “do it right.”

To serve the Peninsula of the future, Caltrain needs to deliver real service improvements: higher frequency of service, competitive door-to-door travel time, safety and integration with the communities along the line. No matter what long-term decisions are made, it’s clear that Caltrain is critical to our Peninsula’s future. We will need some sort of dedicated funding. At the Jan. 29 “Caltrain Summit” we will explore what type of new revenues might be supported by our voters, solicit more ideas for increasing ridership and improving service, talk about better integration of community and rail — and discuss our hopes and visions for our Peninsula’s future. Our steering committee is made up of representatives from neighborhood, transit, cyclist, and environmental groups, employers and cities. Join CARRD, BayRail Alliance, DriveLess, Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter and Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens Committee and join us next Tuesday to learn about Friends of Caltrain and the regional context for Caltrain’s challenges and opportunities. We believe Peninsula residents are hungry to support a great regional rail system that will support our walkable communities for generations to come. N Yoriko Kishimoto is a former Palo Alto City Council member and mayor, and cofounder of the Peninsula Cities Consortium to voice common interests in reducing negative impacts of the California High Speed Rail Authority plans for the Peninsula segment of the proposed state highspeed rail system. She can be e-mailed at ykishimoto@earthlink.com.

Streetwise

With daylight saving ending early Sunday, what would you like to do with your extra hour? Asked on California Avenue in Palo Alto. Interviews by Sally Schilling by Vivian Wong.

Marilyn Mayo

Retired Teacher Oxford Avenue, Palo Alto “I would like to dance in the street doing the Grand Jete.”

Leland Cowan

Unemployed Sheridan Street, Palo Alto “I would like to do some reading. I’m getting into science fiction.”

Judge Luckey

Director of Children’s Theatre Cowper Street, Palo Alto “I will sleep and catch up on some reading because I am so busy working.”

Penny McNeel

Counselor Ross Road, Palo Alto “I will sleep in. Getting that bonus hour really feels like a bonus.”

Andy Livingston

Entreprenuer De Soto Drive, Palo Alto “I will probably rejoice in some small way. I’ll definitely be awake at 2 a.m.”

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

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 52

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A weekly compendium of vital statistics

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Violence related Armed robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Theft related Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle related Abandoned bicycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Vehicle accident/major injury . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .6 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .5 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Miscellaneous Animal call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Casualty/fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disposal request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Muni. code/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Possession of stolen property . . . . . . . .2 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Sex crime/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Menlo Park Oct. 26-Nov. 1 Violence related Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Spousal abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle related Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Driving without license Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .3 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Alcohol or drug related Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Court order violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbing phone calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Gang validations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Located missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Mental eval.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Probation violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Registrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Atherton Oct. 26-Nov. 1 Violence related Assault & battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle related Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Vehicle accident/prop. damage . . . . . . .3 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle complaint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Animal call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Citizen assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Civil matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

(continued on next page)

Pulse (continued from previous page) Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Fire call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Foot patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hang-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Meet citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Pedestrian check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Perimeter check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Shots fired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Special detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .2 Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Tree blocking roadway . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Welfare check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Transitions Births, marriages and deaths Memorial services Mary Davey A memorial service for environmental advocate Mary Davey, who died Oct. 2, will be held Saturday, Nov. 20, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Holbrook-Palmer Park, 150 Watkins Ave., Atherton. The event will be hosted by the Davey family, The Committee for Green Foothills and Hidden Villa.

Alma Street, 10/27, 11:08 a.m.; domestic violence/violate court order. 900 block Bryant Street, 10/27, 7:56 p.m.; armed robbery. 500 block Fulton Street, 10/27, 11:23 p.m.; armed robbery. Sandra Place, 10/29, 2:24 p.m.; family violence. Wilton Avenue, 10/29, 7:45 p.m.; domestic violence. 100 block University Avenue, 10/30, 11:55 p.m.; battery/simple. 2200 block El Camino Real, 10/31, 2:26 a.m.; battery/simple. San Antonio Road, 11/1, 7:38 p.m.; family violence.

Menlo Park Ivy Drive, 10/26, 11:37 a.m.; spousal abuse. 200 block Willow Road, 10/26, 11:40 a.m.; battery. 200 block Newbridge Street, 10/28, 3:14 a.m.; spousal abuse. 400 block O’Conner Street, 10/28, 5:49 a.m.; assault. 200 block Newbridge Street, 10/28, 3:14 a.m.; spousal abuse.

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#!2/, 7 '2!(!Carol W. Graham of Portola Valley, educator and naturalist, passed gently away, surrounded by family and loved ones, at Stanford Hospital on October 15, 2010. She was 82 and had cancer. She is survived by her husband, Arthur Graham; her three children, Lee Douglas Graham, Alison Graham, and Janet Graham; and her granddaughter, Marisa G. Messina. A Celebration of Carol Graham’s life will be held on Saturday, November 6, 2010 at 2 pm at the Portola Valley Town Center in the Community Hall, with reception immediately following. Donations in her memory can be made to Stanford University’s Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve: http:jrbp.stanford.edu/support.php. Please check the box designating the gift (in memory of “Carol Graham�). PA I D

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Humphrey-Thomas Virginia Humphrey and Mark Thomas were married in Capitola Beach, Calif., Sept. 18. The bride is the daughter of Virginia Humphrey of Woodside and the late Albert Humphrey of London, England. She is a graduate of Palo Alto High School and U.C. Berkeley. She works as a dentist in Palo Alto. The groom is the son of Robert and Alvarita Thomas of Nunn, Colo. He is a graduate of Bob Jones University and is a member of the U.S. Army. The couple resides in Palo Alto and San Antonio, Texas.

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto

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Commitment To Excellence

*/3%0( -!..).' -#$/./5'( Joe died October 22, 2010 in Palo Alto CA at age 85 after a full life in academia and social action. He was raised in NYC and Philadelphia. During WW II he served for 3 years in the navy participating in 4 major battles, and won the Purple Heart when his destroyer was sunk by a kamikaze off Okinawa killing 40 % of his shipmates. Joe attended Princeton after the war, where he majored in Psychology. He married Leah Brooks in 1949, after which he earned his MS at U. Miami and they both earned their PhDs in Clinical Psychology at Michigan State. They moved to Palo Alto in 1961. Joe spent the ďŹ rst half of his career with the VA Palo Alto’s Menlo Park division, running psychiatric wards, working with schizophrenics and administering work-for-pay rehab programs helping psychiatric patients return to the community. At age 50, he left hospital work and for the next 25 years was a professor of psychology at the College of San Mateo. He was an early activist in the anti Vietnam War movement, was president of the teacher’s union, and won the California Federation of Teacher’s highest state award in 2000. He is survived by Leah, his beloved wife of 61 years, his daughter Susan, son-in-law Warren Mar, and granddaughter Caroline. In lieu of owers, donations can be made to the Louisiana Veterans Memorial Foundation, USS Kidd Veterans Memorial, 305 South River Road, Baton Rouge LA 70802-6220; or to the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto CA 94304 (label donations “For General Fund # 2202â€?). PA I D

O B I T UA RY

2/"%24 $%!. 25349 7),,)!-3 Robert D.“Rustyâ€?Williams passed on peacefully at home in Princeton, New Jersey, on Wednesday morning, October 6. Born and raised in Monmouth, Illinois, he graduated from Monmouth High School and Monmouth College. He served in the Marine Corps in the PaciďŹ c theater during World War II. As an electrical engineer at Raytheon, Waltham, MA, he was in charge of the installation of the radar system across the high Arctic (Distant Early Warning Line). Most of the rest of his his career was devoted to consulting for the defense and intelligence industries. He worked in California with Grainger Associates, Lockheed, and Stanford Research Institute on projects including the Polaris missile and ABM defense systems. He also taught Management at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and served during the Carter administration as Special Assistant to the Director of Intelligence. In retirement, he and his family lived for

ďŹ ve years in northern Alsace, France, where he enjoyed conducting English conversation classes. His love for exchanging ideas across cultures continued after his move to Princeton, where he mentored foreign graduate and post-graduate students through the Individual English Conversation Program at Princeton University’s Friends of Davis International Center. Predeceased in 1975 by his ďŹ rst wife, Maribelle McBride Williams, and in 2009 by his granddaughter, Genevieve Lescroart, he is survived by his wife, Barbara Highton Williams, ďŹ ve daughters (Deborah Lescroart of Princeton, NJ; Tamara Gravelle of Palo Alto, CA; Andrea Clarke of Kernville, CA; Sarah Williams and Jessica Rachel Williams, both of New York, NY, and six grandchildren: Byron, Natalie, Alexandra and Charlotte Lescroart; and Lindsey and Katelyn Gravelle. A celebration of his life will be held at 2 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, November 13, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road. In lieu of owers, memorial contributions may be made to the Friends of Princeton Open Space, PO Box 374, Princeton, NJ 08542. PA I D

O B I T UA RY

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Title Pages SCHOOL

PINEWOOD Open House Events

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Condoleezza Rice stands outside the White House during a family trip to Washington, D.C.

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by Sue Dremann “Extraordinary, Ordinary People� by Condoleezza Rice; Crown Archtype, New York; 342 pp.; $27 One of the defining moments in former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s childhood came during a visit to Santa Claus when she was about 5 years old. Living in Birmingham, Ala., known as the most segregated big city in America in the 1950s and early 1960s, Rice almost didn’t get a seat on Santa’s lap because she is black, she wrote in her autobiography/homage to her parents, “Extraordinary, Ordinary People.� “The Santa in question had been putting the white kids on his knee and holding the black children away from him, keeping them standing,� she recalled. But her father, John W. Rice Jr., gave his daughter a firm lesson that day in values that guided the rest of her life: No matter how society

Courtesy of Condoleezza Rice

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Founded in 1959, Pinewood is an independent,

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Experience the Difference

A monthly section on local books and authors, edited by Sue Dremann

Rice — pictured with her father, John, and mother, Angelena — receives her Ph.D. in August 1981 from the University of Denver, with a job offer in hand from Stanford University.

strives to pigeonhole you, you’re still as worthy as everyone else. “If he does that to Condoleezza,� her father told Rice’s mother, “I’m going to pull all of that stuff off him and expose him as just another cracker.� Rice did sit on Santa’s lap, but she never forgot how racially charged that moment felt, she said. Rice’s autobiography is an extraordinary tale, not only of race but also of hope, determination and parentand-child devotion. Most of all, it is the story of how

a little black girl from the Jim Crow South was taught to become arguably the most powerful woman in the country. Written in clean, direct prose, the book is a fast-paced read most of the way through. The peek into Rice’s characteristically private life through her family relationships and her childhood is fascinating and inspiring. She is the first to say that her success has much to do with her upbringing, although intelligence and her extraordinary drive played major

Extraordinary, ordinary people Condoleezza Rice’s loving memoir of her parents traces family values against the backdrop of segregation Linda Cicero/Stanford News Service

Page 16ĂŠUĂŠ ÂœĂ›i“LiÀÊx]ĂŠĂ“ä£äĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž

roles in her success. The young Condoleezza would arise at 4:30 a.m. each day to practice ice skating before going to school, attend classes at the University of Denver and high school concurrently (at age 15), practice the piano, study, skate again and practice the piano again before bedtime. Rice’s parents — John, a minister and teacher, and Angelena, a teacher who instilled a love of music in her daughter — doted on their only child. Her name, meaning “with sweetness,� was derived from a musical notation, con dolcezza. Rice’s parents sacrificed buying a home in order to give her a rich life and good education, and she was raised in a middle-class neighborhood where parents sought to shelter their children from the surrounding segregation. But inevitably, that hatred seeped in. Bitter reminders of America’s apartheid were handed to the young Rice, even when attempting to take part in the most basic, American cultural experiences. In one incident, the family went out to enjoy dinner at a newly integrated hamburger stand. But when Rice bit into her hamburger, she discovered the white chef had deliberately filled the bun with nothing but onions. Indelible images of life in “Bombingham� are processed through a child’s eyes: Incendiary devices were thrown into neighbors’ homes; fathers and uncles sat on porches with shot guns or guarded entrances to neighborhood streets to keep out white “night riders� bent on terrorism. The massive explosion at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, which was two miles away, sounded as though it was next door. Rice recalls the funerals of four little girls killed in the 1963 blast, two who were her playmates. In her roles as national security advisor and secretary of state, Rice would take those images with her. She would later liken the early racist violence she experienced in the South to terrorist bombings, complete with shrapnel and nails. Rice became a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment — the right to bear arms — because of her experiences, she said. But Rice’s confidence, instilled by her parents, helped deflect the degrading messages about her blackness and not succumb to those negative attacks. Generations of her family would not bow to segregation. Her grandparents did not allow their children to drink from the “colored� drinking fountains or use the “colored� restrooms. Rice’s parents became educational evangelists. Later in life, she and her father worked to improve educational opportunities for children in East Palo Alto through the Center for a New Generation, which they helped found. Her parents believed that one could alter the equation of inequality through education, hard work, perfectly spoken English, and an appreciation for the “finer things� in white culture. “If you were twice as good as they were, ‘they’ might not like you but ‘they’ had to respect you,� she wrote, noting there was nothing worse than being a helpless victim of your circumstances.

There are few moments of selfdoubt in Rice’s book. Instead, there is a wonderful photograph of Rice as a child standing outside the White House during a family trip. It is perhaps more telling than any words about the kind of adult she would grow up to be: serious, resolute and confident. “My father said that I proclaimed, ‘I will work in there some day.’ I don’t remember saying that, but my parents did have me convinced that even if I couldn’t have a hamburger at Woolworth’s lunch counter, I could grow up to be President of the United States,� she said. But she underwent a crisis in college after deciding she wasn’t good enough to become a concert pianist. The rigors of music school and its insularity were stifling, she said. A class with former Czech diplomat Josef Korbel (the father of Madeleine Albright, secretary of state under Bill Clinton) changed her career path to international politics with a specialty in Soviet and Eastern European affairs. But here the book at times begins to read like a curriculum vitae, where Rice’s early adult years beginning at Stanford University and serving in George H.W. Bush’s administration seem cursory. She does delve a bit deeper into her controversial tenure as Stanford provost, where hard decisions were made to slash the budget. Here Rice becomes reflective, at one point wondering if she was too hard on the student body. She does come out in favor of affirmative action, from which she says she benefited. Readers expecting deeper insight into the events and decisions that shaped her political career will be disappointed. The book ends with the death of her father and George W. Bush’s inauguration. Rice has said a second book addressing the years starting in 2000 is planned for publication in 2012. Readers might wonder how Rice became a conservative, given her roots in the civil rights struggle. But she was also deeply affected by broader crises in 1960s American life. The Cuban missile crisis affected her in ways that still elicit visceral responses that surprise even her, she said. Rice’s father was also a lifelong Republican, after Southern Democrats in 1952 kept him from registering to vote after he “failed� a poll test: guessing how many hundreds of beans were in a jar. Republicans seeking to make inroads into the South readily signed him up, she said. Rice’s own choice to switch from registered Democrat is less concretely defined, although she said it came because of President Jimmy Carter’s handling of the Iran hostage crisis. But one suspects that a deeper answer lies in her early experiences. Her career of expertise in military affairs seems less one of chance and more deliberate, or at least informed, when viewed through these early lenses. And that leaves the reader wanting more. If Rice’s second book on her career and post-9/11 decisions delves deeper into how her thought processes might be informed by her early experiences, it could make fascinating reading. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly. com.

Book Talk

MAKING HISTORY ... Gertrude Dyer Wilks, a well-known East Palo Alto civil-rights activist and founder of Mothers for Equal Education, has published her memoir. “Gathering Together� is a passionate account of her community activities since moving to East Palo Alto in 1955. She reflects on the challenges she faced, progress made and issues that need continued attention. Information: www.amazon.com. LOCAL ARCHITECTURE ... Three local projects — in Atherton, Portola Valley and Los Altos Hills — are included in Emeryville architect Robert Swatt’s new book,

“Inside Out: New Modern West Coast Architecture.� Information: www.amazon.com. STANFORD READINGS ... Michael Krasny will read from “Spiritual Envy� on Wednesday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m., and Patrick Hunt will read from “Myth and Art in Ekphrasis� on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Stanford Bookstore, 519 Lasuen Mall, Stanford. Information: stanfordbookstore. com. SIMPLE TIMES ... Amy Sedaris will read from her book, “Simple Times,� on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Spangenberg Auditorium, Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. The event is a benefit for Breast Can-

cer Connections. Tickets are $38 (includes one book) or $48 for two (includes one book). Information: www.keplers.com or www.bcconnections.org/events/fundraisers. ANIMAL TALES ... Vlasta Diamant, a Palo Alto author and artist, has self-published “This Really Happened, True Stories for Animal Lovers of All Ages.� Short tales and illustrations chronicle her encounters with animals: the intelligence and discernible emotional life of chickens; turtles with wanderlust, a Hells’ Angel mouse, and others. Reading and book signing Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. at Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Information: www.ThisReallyHappened.net. N

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Cover Story

Keene and Betts photos by Veronica Weber; the rest courtesy of the City of Palo Alto

Of the nine City of Palo Alto department heads who report to City Manager James Keene, at right, four have retired or will retire this year. The nine are, from top left, Police Chief Dennis Burns, Human Resources Director Russ Carlsen, Administrative Services Director Lalo Perez, Library Director Diane Jennings, Planning and Community Environment Director Curtis Williams, Fire Chief Nick Marinaro, Community Services Director Greg Betts, Public Works Director Glenn Roberts and Utilities Director Valerie Fong.

Transforming City Hall A wave of retirements has left Palo Alto with gaping vacancies and huge opportunities by Gennady Sheyner

P

alo Alto’s Fire Chief Nick Marinaro became the first major City Hall domino to fall when he retired in late June, after 37 years of service. City Attorney Gary Baum went next. After six years of dispensing legal advice at City Council meetings, which routinely dragged on well past midnight, Baum departed to pursue a career in private practice and to save his wife from being a “Monday night widow,” as he told the council last week. Baum’s departure coincided with the retirement of Library Director Diane Jennings, a 24-year veteran of the city’s library system. Jennings, who helped kick-start the library system’s dramatic renovation, is leaving Palo Alto for Santa Fe, N.M., just as the voter-apPage 18ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

proved reconstruction of local library branches is beginning to take shape. She now intends to monitor the rebuilt Mitchell Park library through a webcam. Public Works Director Glenn Roberts made no public announcement about why he’s suddenly leaving his post after 18 years in the department or where he’s going, but his settlement with the city suggests that Roberts’ sudden departure wasn’t entirely his choice. The city approved six months of severance pay, totaling $130,600, in exchange for Roberts’ retirement and a promise not to apply for another job in Palo Alto. In mid-October, Roberts was placed on administrative leave effective immediately, leaving headless the department charged with overseeing some of

Palo Alto’s most controversial projects. The task of handling all the departures (and all the subsequent arrivals) would tax any Human Resources Department. In Palo Alto it could soon become trickier because Human Resources Director Russ Carlsen himself is on the way out. Carlsen, who turned 65 in September, told the Weekly he is preparing to leave at the end of next month to pursue a doctorate. It’s not just the top department heads submitting resignation letters. Workers represented by the Service Employees International Union, Local 521, and mid-level managers have been retiring at a startling rate over the past few years. Between January 2007 and January 2009, 115 city workers left the city

— more than twice the number projected by the city’s finance staff. The surge of retirements added $25 million to the city’s liability for retirees’ health care benefits. Since then, the flow of workers out of City Hall has continued unabated. In 2009, 87 city workers retired, according to the Human Resources Department. The city expects the number of retirements to reach 60 in 2010. But it’s the ratio of departures within City Hall’s highest tier that has been the most significant. Of the nine department heads reporting to City Manager James Keene, four have either already left or plan to do so later this year. Three others — Planning and Community Environment Director Curtis Williams, Community Services Director Greg Betts

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City of Palo Alto

and Police Chief Dennis Burns — only became permanent department heads in the past year-and-a-half, after years in senior management of their respective departments. Burns is also filling in as interim fire chief until Marinaro’s permanent replacement is hired. (The other two department heads — Utilities Director Valerie Fong and Administrative Services Director Lalo Perez — started their positions in 2006 and 2007, respectively.) The sudden rash of retirements may seem to an outside observer like a case of a new city manager cleaning house and installing his own adminis- City Attorney tration. Keene Gary Baum left joined the city to pursue private in 2008. But practice. Keene told the Weekly most of the workers who left did so voluntarily, after reaching their retirement age. Demographics are largely to blame for Palo Alto’s sudden leadership turnover, Keene said. It’s been nearly half a century since John F. Kennedy urged Americans in his inaugural speech to “ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.� Many workers in the 1960s and 1970s took his advice and joined the public sector. Now, these Baby Boomers are hitting their retirement age and moving on to other things, Keene said. “It’s pretty unbelievable,� he said, referring to the number of retiring executives. “But this is just the reality of the Baby Boomer generation coming of age.� Age, however, isn’t the only culprit. The Great Recession has taken a bite out of Palo Alto’s tax revenues, even as the city’s health care costs soared. The city responded to these trends by snipping away at employee salaries and benefits. A year ago, the city capped off five months of grueling and ultimately fruitless negotiations by imposing its final offer on SEIU workers, who make up more than half of the city’s total workforce. The new terms, which the union vehemently opposed, require workers to start making contributions toward their health care costs.

‘This is just the reality of the Baby Boomer generation coming of age.’ – James Keene, City Manager Palo Alto also became one of the first cities in the area to institute a two-tiered pension system, with new employees getting “2 percent at 60� pensions (their pension payments will equal 2 percent of the highest salary earned, times the number of years of service, with retirement at age 60). Existing workers remained under the existing “2.7 percent at 55� pension formula. Keene also froze salaries for all non-public safety employees; eliminated the

bonus program for managers, professionals and department heads; and changed department heads’ employment to “at will� status. These moves have significantly improved what was once a bleak financial outlook. On Oct. 5, when the council’s Finance Committee discussed the city’s long-term financial forecast, council members were astounded by the new projections, which incorporate the recent changes to pensions and health care contributions. The city’s previous forecast, which did not include these measures, projected years of steep budget deficits in the city’s General Fund, ranging from $9 million in fiscal year 2012 to $16 million in 2017. The new forecast, which contains more modest salary increases, projects a $1.4 million deficit in 2014 and a surplus of $400,000 in 2017. Councilman Greg Scharff, who sits on the Finance Committee, said the new numbers have given him confidence that the city is on the right track. “The previous numbers were scary,� Scharff said. “I wouldn’t say

Real Estate Matters we’re out of the woods, but when you look at these you see the problems are manageable. “I feel, frankly, that Palo Alto is on the right financial track and that we’ve made huge progress and that things are actually looking up.� Mayor Pat Burt told the Weekly that the council agreed with Keene that these compensation adjustments were the “necessary and responsible� things to do to reduce expenses during lean times. They also, however, had an unwelcome side effect: They gave many of the city’s most experienced and knowledgeable workers an incentive to leave. Burt and Keene both said the new employment conditions played a role in the recent wave of retirements. “Certainly, given some of the questions and concerns people have expressed, this has to be a factor in these decisions,� Keene said.

T

he flood of retirees leaves Palo Alto in a sudden recruiting frenzy with various executive search firms combing through (continued on next page)

NOTICE OF VACANCY ON THE LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMISSION FOR THREE THREE YEAR TERMS, ENDING JANUARY 31, 2014 (Terms of Hochberg, Mittal, and Stinger) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council is seeking applications for the Library Advisory Commission from persons interested in serving in one of three terms ending January 31, 2014. Eligibility Requirements: The Library Advisory Commission is composed of seven members who shall be appointed by and shall serve at the pleasure of the City Council, but who shall not be Council Members, ofďŹ cers or employees of the City of Palo Alto. Each member of the Commission shall have a demonstrated interest in public library matters. All members of the Commission shall at all times be residents of the City of Palo Alto. Regular meetings will be held at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday the month, at least one month per quarter. Purpose and Duties: The purpose of the Library Advisory Commission shall be to advise the City Council on matters relating to the Palo Alto City Library, excluding daily administrative operations. The Commission shall have the following duties: 1.

2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

Advise the City Council on planning and policy matters pertaining to: a) the goals of and the services provided by the Palo Alto City Library; b) the future delivery of the services by the Palo Alto City Library; c) the City Manager’s recommendations pertaining to the disposition of major gifts of money, personal property and real property to the City to be used for library purposes; d) the construction and renovation of capital facilities of the Palo Alto City Library; and e) joint action projects with other public or private information entities, including libraries. Review state legislative proposals that may affect the operation of the Palo Alto City Library. Review the City Manager’s proposed budget for capital improvements and operations relating to the Palo Alto City Library, and thereafter forward any comments to one or more of the applicable committees of the Council. Provide advice upon such other matters as the City Council may from time to time assign. Receive community input concerning the Palo Alto City Library. Review and comment on fund-raising efforts on behalf of the Palo Alto City Library.

This relieves the pressure that buyers once felt to agree to pay higher fees at the very last minute. As always, borrowers can review the final documents one day before closing, providing an excellent opportunity for you to review all the figures with your real estate professional and ask any lingering questions before you make it official. Jackie Schoelerman is a Realtor with Alain Pinel Realtors and a Real Estate Specialist for Seniors. Call Jackie for real estate advice.

NO MORE SURPRISES It used to be too common a story: you're excited about signing the paperwork and grabbing the keys to your new home. But the day before closing, the lender advises that your closing fees are higher than their Good Faith Estimate listed. Suddenly, your excitement turns to pressure to just pay it and close the deal. Now those days are over, thanks to the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act. What was once the Truth In Lending Act has been rewritten to help consumers understand the loan costs and alert borrowers to changes in fees. Now the lender must provide their Good Faith Estimate within three days of receiving the borrowers' application, and closing cannot occur until the buyer has seven days to review the disclosure. If the final APR differs more than 0.125% from the original quote, a new disclosure must be provided, granting the borrower the right of rescission.

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Cover Story

City Hall (continued from previous page)

City of Palo Alto

candidates in search of the city’s next fire chief, city attorney, public works director and library director. It doesn’t help that some of these departing managers, including Jennings and Roberts, have left at a time when their respective departments are undertaking massive projects that will significantly impact the city’s future. Jennings is departing just as the city’s $76 million reconstruction of its aged library facilities is zooming ahead. Three of the city’s five libraries (the Mitchell Park, Main and Downtown branches) are slated for dramatic renovations in the coming years thanks to Measure N, which voters approved in 2008. The College Terrace branch is due to reopen this Saturday (Nov. 6) after more than a year of renovations. At the Oct. 25 council meeting, watchdog Bob Moss pointed out that the city is now “doing more to modernize, renovate and expand our libraries than we’ve done for the previous 50 years.� He thanked Jennings for her ability to accept community concerns and to integrate these concerns in the city’s plans for its new libraries. “She’s done a really fine job and our libraries are the better for it,� said Moss, who sits on the Library Advisory Commission. “Unfortunately, she’s leaving and we’ll be the worse for it.� Roberts’ replacement will im-

mediately step into one of the city’s most contentious and complex debates — over whether the city should build an anaerobic digestion plant in Byxbee Park. The landfill that currently occupies the Baylands site is scheduled to close in the next year or two, at which time the land would revert to parkland. A coalition of environmentalists hopes city officials will build a waste-to-energy plant on the site — a facility that would burn local food waste, yard trimmings and sewer sludge and convert it to electricity. Another equally vociferous coalition thinks this idea stinks and wants to see the space revert to parkland, as promised. The new public works director will also take charge at a time when the city is reforming its fee system for garbage collection. Garbage rates went up by 6 percent last month, largely to cover the cost of the city’s financially draining “zero waste� program. The new cost structure, which will be unveiled next year, will likely call for even higher rates for garbage collection and possibly new fees for recycling, public works officials have Assistant to the said. Keene ac- City Manager k n owl e d g e d Kelly Morariu left that the new to work for the vacancies, as City of Hayward.

well as the task of filling these vacancies, should slow things down in City Hall over the first half of 2011. It doesn’t help that his assistant, Kelly Morariu, resigned last month to accept a job as Hayward’s assistant city manager. “Clearly, in the short-term, over the next six months it will be a challenge,� Keene said. “It has to have some effect on our response and our workload.�

A

t the same time, Keene and the council embrace this transition period as the perfect opportunity to transform City Hall. Keene told the Weekly he hopes to take advantage of the recent departures and arrivals to make the organization leaner and more efficient. “We’ll have to be able to function in the long-term more like a Silicon Valley business would,� Keene said. This trend is already visible in the Community Services Department, where three of the four division managers retired last year. Keene took this opportunity to reorganize the department and eliminate one of the divisions. Open Space, Parks and Golf now belong to the same division, with Rob de Geus — the only division manager who didn’t retire last year — overseeing all three functions. Palo Alto has also begun to outsource some of the jobs traditionally performed by city workers, including printing documents and maintaining local parks and facilities. Two weeks ago, the council

approved a 30-month, $1.85 million contract with the company ValleyCrest Golf Course Maintenance to maintain the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course. The contract took effect Nov. 1. De Geus estimated in a report that the move to ValleyCrest would save the city $500,000 over the course of the contract. It also prompted four city workers to retire, he told the council. De Geus, who joined the city in 2003, has seen his range of responsibilities morph and expand over the past two years. In addition to managing a newly expanded division, he also served on the city’s labornegotiations team during last year’s painful wrangling with the unions over workers’ benefits. He is also Palo Alto’s point man on Project Safety Net, a community initiative to promote youth mental health after a string of teenage suicides on the Caltrain tracks. In the next few years, workers like de Geus, 41, could become the norm rather than the exception. Keene said the changes in City Hall’s organization could create opportunities for city workers to have broader powers at a younger age than they would have had 10 years ago. “Over time, some people might be able to have more responsibility and authority in an earlier phase in their careers and at a younger age,� Keene said. The restructuring comes at a heavy cost. A smaller staff means it takes longer for the department to institute new programs or man-

age existing ones. Earlier this week, members of the Parks and Recreation Commission told the City Council that the city’s recreation staff, and de Geus in particular, are “overworked.� Commissioner Sunny Dykwel said the city’s effort to promote youth well-being is already suffering from insufficient manpower.

‘It’s been increasingly difficult to sustain some of our youth programs as staff capacity is stretched ever so thin.’ – Sunny Dykwel, Commissioner, Parks and Recreation Dykwel said the newly reconstructed Lytton Plaza in downtown Palo Alto gives the city a perfect venue for hosting events for youths. Unfortunately, the Recreation Department no longer has the staff to manage or coordinate these events, she said. “It’s been increasingly difficult to sustain some of our youth programs as staff capacity is stretched ever so thin,� Dykwel told the council at the Nov. 1 meeting. She noted that over the past seven years, Palo Alto has eliminated seven positions from the Recreation Division alone — a 40 percent staffing reduction. Keene acknowledged the wave of

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City of Palo Alto

retirements means larger workloads for staff and longer turnaround times for some projects. “We’re in a real challenging situation,� Keene said. “Everyone is working a whole lot harder, and we have to be realistic about what we can achieve in the short term and what we can’t.� He maintained, however, that as the city adapts to the retirements, the long-term benefits will far outweigh the costs. Burt agreed. The recent wave of retirements will allow Keene to install his own management team to lead the city toward a leaner and more efficient future, Burt said. “Any time you have a number of senior people change in a similar time period, it becomes a greater challenge to focus on replacements,� Burt told the Weekly. “It’s also an opportunity, however, for Jim to be able to identify some candidates who are strong and who are well aligned with his vision and with the direction he’s taken as an organization.� Keene’s recruitment drive coincides with council’s search for the city’s next city attorney — one of four positions that reports directly to the council (the other three are city manager, city clerk and city auditor). The council last month appointed the firm Bob Murray & Associates to help it identify possible candidates. Burt said he expects the council to consider its applicant pool for the position in mid-December. Council members would then interview the top candidates and possibly reach a decision on Baum’s successor early next year. As for the other vacancies, Burt said the council intends to give Keene free reign to recruit the department heads. He said Keene’s recent moves, includ- Pamela Antil ing his ap- recently joined pointment of Palo Alto’s staff Dennis Burns as assistant city to succeed manager. former Police Chief Lynne Johnson and his recent hiring of Pamela Antil as an assistant city manager, have given him confidence in Keene’s judgment. “I don’t expect Jim to always make perfect decisions, either in his hires or in the other decisions he makes, but from what I’ve seen, I continue to expect a really good batting average, as well as a few home runs,� Burt said. N

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— Crafts from around the world provided by Heavenly Treasures

In the Neighborhood 11/17, 7:00 PM

november highlights NEW FOR THIS MONTH EXERCISE: Strength, Balance and Posture Training; Light Yoga and Stretch COOKING: Holiday Side Dishes and Fall Cut-out Cookies; Italian Fridays FLORAL DESIGN CLASS For updates, please visit our website: deborahspalm.org 555 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto

debor ah’s palm

Lovenheim investigates the disappearance of community in suburban America.

COMING IN DECEMBER Singer/Songwriter Steve Krause Part of the Singles Arts CafĂŠ

12/2, 7:30 PM A unique blend of heartfelt, bittersweet rock.

To purchase tickets, visit www.paloaltojcc.org/arts or call (650) 223-8699. Oshman Family JCC 3921 Fabian Way | Palo Alto, CA | (650) 223-8699

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Shop Local Discover and enjoy the rich diversity of Palo Alto businesses at ShopPaloAlto.com, the new online guide to all local businesses featuring listings, customer opinions, web links, photos, maps, coupons, special deals, gift certificates, promotional event listings and much more.

Good for Business. Good for You. Good for the Community.

When you shop locally, good things happen to make our community stronger:

t Sales tax dollars, which fund schools and local services, stay in the community.

t You reduce your carbon footprint by not driving outside the community to shop.

t You help to sustain the unique and diverse businesses t And when you shop at locally owned businesses, that make our shopping areas vibrant.

t You show how much you value the expertise of these businesses and the quality service they offer their customers.

you also support our friends and neighbors who are running these businesses, donating to community events and causes, hiring our kids and getting involved in making Palo Alto a better place.

Introducing

Connecting local residents with local businesses

Learn more about the value of locally owned businesses at ShopPaloAlto.com ShopPaloAlto is also available in a mobile version. A community collaboration brought to you by

For more information call 650.223.6509

Page 22ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, movies and more, edited by Rebecca Wallace

<ibh]b[ h\Y Y`ig]jY ]aU[Y Nature photographer braves storm, snow and desert for his art by Rebecca Wallace ome nature photographers are the picture of patience. They’ll sit for hours waiting for that faultless angle of light. Other people bounce from stone to stone, waterfall to waterfall, curious lenses at the ready for anything new. Joe Decker puts himself in the latter group. “For most situations I’m more of a hunter than a farmer,” he said. For his current solo show at Palo Alto’s Pacific Art League, Decker had plenty of rocks to choose from. His photos come from a 2008 monsoon-season residency at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona, a residency granted him by the National Park Service. The park closes at night because of past problems with people stealing rocks under cover of dark, Decker said. But during his residency he had nearly free rein of the long, nar-

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Veronica Weber

(continued on next page)

Top: Joe Decker checking out some local nature in Foothills Park in Palo Alto. Above: “Badlands Detail II,” taken in August 2008 by Decker at Blue Mesa, Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Right: Decker shot “Petrified Log and Badlands” at Blue Mesa in August 2008. Top: Petroglyph rock engravings are visible at the bottom of Decker’s July 2008 photo “Sunset Glyphs,” take in the Puerco River Valley at Petrified Forest National Park. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 23

Arts & Entertainment

alex de grassi Sunday November 7th 2010 Master Class 4:00 PM Concert 7:30 PM First Congregational Church of Palo Alto 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto Tickets and more information at http://fccpa.org

We invite you to join us for one of our open house events!

admission events OPEN HOUSES 2010

GIFTED CHILDREN Grades 6-8: Tues., Nov. 30, 9:30 – 11 a.m. K-Grade 5: Wed., Dec. 1, 9 – 10:30 a.m. Special, new events tailored for families of gifted children. Learn how Harker can help your child flourish! Advance registration required. E-mail DanielleH@harker.org.

2011 Tours: Jan. 7, 11, 20 & 25 Special tours for our prospective kindergarten parents to see the school in action, visit classrooms, enjoy warm cookies and ask questions! Advance registration required. Contact admissions@harker.org.

Lower School 4300 Bucknall Rd., 408.871.4600

Middle School 3800 Blackford Ave., 408.248.2510

www.harker.org

Upper School 500 Saratoga Ave., 408.249.2510

K through Life

Page 24ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

®

Storms were a big part of Joe Decker’s residency at Petrified Forest National Park. Here, he captured “Sunset Lightning” in August 2008. of El Capitan shone golden. an arts residency aboard a cruise Decker had a little camera that ship in Greenland. (continued from previous page) yielded tiny squares of film, and All along, Decker remains inhe did his best to capture the scene. spired by Rowell, the late wilderrow expanse of land. He roamed the painted desert and areas of petrified When the photos came back, he ness photographer who had his work wood, photographing sunsets, ripply was disappointed: “It wasn’t what seen in National Geographic, Life and other publications, including textures in the land, ancient petro- I saw.” Now, in his Eichler house in San his many books. Rowell reinforced glyph rock engravings, and “beautiful, rolling, often surreally colored Jose, he shows an interviewer some Decker’s desire for truth in his pichills.” In all this beauty, Decker of those photos while a shy Russian tures, the kind of photos that Decker said, deciding what to photograph Blue cat looks on. The images have describes as “both art and documena ethereal, painterly glow, but even tary.” was “often an intuitive call.” “He had a strong sense of those Storms were subjects worth sit- now Decker looks dissatisfied, saying, “It looked better than that.” kinds of ethics,” Decker said. ting still for. One night he perched That New Year’s Day began an Shooting mostly using Canon film atop a mesa for some time, watching and photographing a lightning ongoing quest for Decker: to cap- or digital SLRs, Decker says he does storm coming across the desert. ture and do justice to what he sees. very little computer-assisted altera“Lightning is very easy to shoot at Throughout the ‘90s he read about tion to his photos other than some night; you leave your shutter open photography and took workshops minor touches, such as lightening of for a long period of time,” he said. with Galen Rowell, Richard Knepp dark areas. Decker particularly enjoys passing “It’s hard to shoot during the day. and other photographers, while still working Silicon Valley start-up along what he’s learned to students You have to take hundreds of photos hours. during his traveling workshops, sometimes.” “By ‘99 I had some basic chops,” which often include camaraderieOn this night, the storm served itself up perfectly to the photographer he said. He took off the month of filled week-long sessions along the — who then realized that perhaps October 1999 and spent it shooting Oregon coast. Many new photograthe bolts were getting too close. “I in the eastern Sierras, periodically phers learn to focus on composition grabbed everything, ran for the car sending the film to a lab and having and patterns, he said. “The eyes are it sent back to him as slides so he attracted to high contrast and lines and got low.” While there is sometimes risk could learn from his results as he and S-curves. It’s the same rules as involved in nature photography, went along. “Gee,” he said with a in painting.” And a big part of teaching is Decker finds this life much more grin, “when I spend a month doing rewarding than the high-tech world this, I get better. That was the begin- sometimes just letting the students he left behind. After earning a math ning of the end for my tech career.” get out there and shoot, not checkBy 2002 Decker was ready to ing in until later, he said. degree from Caltech in 1984, Deckmake the leap to full-time photogra“It’s so interesting to see what er worked in programming and engineering management. Marriage to phy, a move he likens to “a dive into people point their cameras at,” he his outdoorsy wife led to spending the fog.” He worked on learning to said. “Sometimes the most inexpemore time in nature, and shooting market his art, and now also teaches rienced photographers will look at more wilderness photos. He wasn’t private workshops and Pacific Art something no else sees.” N trained and he wasn’t always happy League classes, along with having What: “Painted Hills, Electric Sky,” a with his images, but he felt increas- solo exhibitions at the art league, solo show of Joe Decker’s photogStanford Art Spaces and other ingly drawn to photography. raphy from Petrified Forest National A turning point was New Year’s galleries. In 2003, he had a photo Park shown at the Smithsonian’s NaDay, 1991, when Decker was in Where: The Pacific Art League’s NorYosemite during a snowstorm. By tional Museum of Natural History ton Gallery, 668 Ramona St., Palo Alto daybreak the flakes had all fallen, in Washington, D.C., as part of the When: Through Nov. 26. A reception and Decker awoke to an inspiring Nature’s Best Foundation Awards is planned from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 5. Gallery hours are weekdays from 10 sight. “There was this effect where Exhibition. a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 Decker travels two to three the first glints of sunlight were a.m. to 4 p.m. lighting up the north end of the val- months a year, to such destinations Cost: Free as Iceland, Patagonia, Utah, Oregon ley,” he recalled. The sun warmed Info: Go to Joe Decker’s website at the snow on the cliffs, and the face and Mono Lake. In August he had www.rockslidephoto.com/shows.html

Joe Decker

Arts & Entertainment

OPEN HOUSE

It was meant to be Palo Alto writer’s new play is a mosaic of ‘how we met’ stories by Rebecca Wallace alo Alto writer Caryn Huber- cast members: a few experienced man Yacowitz has penned performers but mostly congregants picture books and plays, who haven’t done theater since the nonfiction and musicals. Her latest odd elementary-school play. (The work could be called a mosaic. actors include Roy Blitzer, the husHer new play “Bashert!� — which band of Weekly associate editor has its first performance this Satur- Carol Blitzer.) day at Congregation Beth Am in Los Yacowitz says the cast has develAltos Hills — is based on memo- oped a nice community feel, with ries she gathered from congregants. everyone pitching in to share par“Bashert� means “destined� or ticular skills. Heather Klein, for in“meant to be� in Yiddish, and these stance, is a professional opera singstories are how-we-met anecdotes, er, and she’s teaching her castmates both humorous and poignant. how to bow correctly. “When I meet people, I like to Yacowitz added, “These actors ask how they met (their significant have really stepped up to the plate others),� Yacowitz said. “They just and given depth and humor in their blossom. When they’re telling the acting.� story, everyone gets to relive it.� The cast ranges in age from 15The play has 16 stories and 13 year-old Josh Strauss to 80-year-old

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Ventana School offers a progressive educational experience from preschool through the early primary grades. Ventana takes its inspiration from the Reggio Emilia philosophy which encourages artistic expression, critical thinking and investigative learning. t 1MBZ CBTFE FBSMZ DIJMEIPPE QSPHSBN XJUI FNFSHFOU QSPKFDU CBTFE DVSSJDVMVN t ,JOEFSHBSUFO BOE UIF FBSMZ QSJNBSZ HSBEF DMBTTFT UIBU NFFU UIF California state standards t .BYJNVN DMBTT TJ[F PG TUVEFOUT XJUI UFBDIFST t 0QUJPOBM BGUFS TDIPPM FOSJDINFOU QSPHSBN t /BUVSF BSFB XJUI HBSEFO BOE DIJDLFOT

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WRINKLES? The Aesthetics Research Center is participating in a research study for crow’s feet and forehead lines. We’re looking for women, age 30-70, with slight to deep wrinkles. FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Contact Stephanie at 800.442.0989 or email research@aestheticsresearchcenter.com

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Sterling Haidt

Playing a couple, actors Heather Klein and Rafi Bivas recall how their characters met on a night of dancing and Singapore Slings.

Hank Sterngold, Yacowitz said. Sterngold may give a particularly poignant performance. He plays a U.S. Navy officer who served in the South Pacific in World War II, and fell in love with a beautiful redheaded girl at a Halloween party. The story also happens to be his own and that of his late wife, Levona. Many of the stories are set during World War II, and all feature straight couples except one about two young women. Some stories are told at length, and some zip by in funny one-liners, “like in ‘LaughIn,’� Yacowitz said. One is about a middle-aged couple who knew each other when they were young, then married other people, then found each other again later in life when both were single again. Yacowitz co-directs the play with JoAnne Wetzel, and it’s her first major directing foray. Her recent theatrical scripts include “Jeans!�, a musical play about Levi Strauss, and “Pumpkin Fiesta,� a musical play based on her book of the same name, which was recently presented at Juana Briones Elementary School in Palo Alto. She is also a regular judge in the Weekly’s annual shortstory contest. This playwright also has acting experience. Wearing period costume at special events, Yacowitz regularly portrays Jane Stanford over at the little university that bears Jane’s name. The “Bashert!� project began last year, when Yacowitz began asking fellow congregants to share their stories. She wove them together, then connected them with a conversation between a romantic narrator who believes in the “meant to be� concept, and God, who is skeptical. (God is played by Rabbi Janet Marder.) At Saturday’s free performance, all the people whose stories are being told in the play are expected to attend the performance, which will be followed by a talk-back session and a reception, Yacowitz said. “The cast is so curious. They all want to meet the people they’re playing.� N

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Peninsula School

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What: “Bashert!�, a new play by Caryn Huberman Yacowitz Where: Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills When: 4 p.m. Nov. 6, with a talk-back and reception following Cost: Free Info: Call 650-326-0600 or go to betham.org.

Open House — Nursery, Kindergarten, First Grade Saturday, November 6, 10-11:30 a.m. Children welcome.

School Tours

GISSV

Oct. 14, Nov. 4, Jan. 6 & 13 beginning at 10:00 a.m. Dec. 2 & 9 beginning at 9:00 a.m. Parents only please.

German International School of Silicon Valley

registration not required

For an appointment, please call (650) 325-1584, ext. 5.

• Preschool and Grades K-12 with dual immersion language programm (German and English) • WASC accredited High School Program • German International Abitur & SAT/AP exams • Safe and nurturing learning environment • German language classes for all ages 310 Easy Street, Mountain View, CA 94043

email office@gissv.org

Visit our on uses Open Ho Dec 11 Nov 6 & 10am to

Photo: Marc Silber

The Best of two Worlds - Learning in German and English

1pm

web www.gissv.org

920 Peninsula Way, Menlo Park, CA | 650.325.1584 | www.peninsulaschool.org

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Cancer: From Prevention to Survivorship Please join us for a free program dedicated to increasing awareness about cancer, prevention and survivorship.

Saturday, November 13, 1 to 4 p.m. Palo Alto Medical Foundation 701 E. El Camino Real Conference rooms B & C, Mountain View

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the Palo Alto Planning & Transportation Commission Please be advised the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC) shall conduct a special meeting at 7:00 PM, Wednesday, November 17, 2010 in the Civic Center, Council Chambers, 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.

“Living Through Cancer, Living Through Life”

NEW BUSINESS.

Keynote guest speaker Debra Jarvis, an ordained minister in the Church of Christ, humorist, breast cancer survivor, and the author of It’s Not About the Hair: And Other Certainties of Life & Cancer.

Study Session: 1. Report on and Discussion of Pending Transportation Projects.

“You’re Done with Treatment, Now What: A Survivor’s Panel”

Author Debra Jarvis

Questions. Any questions regarding the above applications, please contact the Planning Department at (650) 329-2440. The files 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.

facilitated by Joanna Losito, R.N., MSN, FNP-C, OCN, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation

To register for this program, call 650-934-7373.

***

pamf.org/cancercare

Curtis Williams, Director of Planning and Community Environment

Meadow Wing & Focused Care

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING of the City of Palo Alto Historic Resources Board

a tradition of caring

Please be advised the Historic Resources Board shall conduct a meeting at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 in the Civic Center, Council Chambers, 1st Floor, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Any interested persons may appear and be heard on these items. Public Hearing 1. 661 Bryant Street [10PLN-00349]: Request by Embarcadero Capital Partners for a minor historic review of revisions to a previously approved project (09PLN-00116) including an expansion of the mezzanine floor area by 380 square feet resulting in a total building floor area of 12,862 square feet. The project would increase the previously approved bonus floor area utilized on the site to 1,526 square feet. Other revisions include alteration of the mezzanine bridge and a revised location of an interior stairway for the mezzanine. Environmental Assessment: Categorically exempt from the provisions of CEQA, Section 15301.

PALO ALTO COMMONS offers a comprehensive program for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in our Meadow Wing. Here, residents enjoy daily walks on beautiful garden paths and a full program of activities to engage mind, body and spirit.

2. 405 Lincoln [07PLN-00189]: Request by Michelle Arden and Allen Akin for Historic Resources Board review of plans for a new single family house in the Professorville Historic District for consistency with the mitigation measure described in the Final Environmental Impact Report for the project.

For residents in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, our Focused Care Program provides for all of the resident’s unique needs. Here, families are assured that their loved one will

Questions. If interested parties have any questions regarding the above applications, please contact the Planning Division at (650) 329-2441. The files relating to these items are available for inspection weekdays between the hours of 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM and staff reports will be available for inspection at 2:00 PM the Friday preceding the hearing.

get the best care in the most appropriate environment now and in the future as needs may change.

Call today... 650-494-0760

4075 El Camino Way, Palo Alto, CA 94306

650-494-0760 www.paloaltocommons.com

24 Hour On-site Licensed Nurse Services Page 26ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

License #435200706

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.

Steven Turner, Advance Planning Manager

Movies

450 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto www.hausner.com

Please Join Us for Our Kindergarten Open House Thursday November 18th 7:00 - 8:30 pm

OPENINGS

Monsters --1/2

(Aquarius) “Monstersâ€? nudges us into our future, in which the latest “Wonder of the Worldâ€? is a massive border wall between America and Mexico. To escape from alien monsters, two Americans will have to make a perilous crossing home. The social critique and monster-movie theatrics unavoidably place this film in contention with “District 9,â€? the overrated monster movie that scored a Best Picture nomination at the last Oscars. Like “District 9,â€? “Monstersâ€? is a “calling cardâ€? movie from a firsttime feature director, in this case British filmmaker Gareth Edwards. But “Monstersâ€? turns out to be the better film, not working itself into a lather in trying to impress, but dealing rather quietly with human-level drama that just happens to take place in the shadow of giant beasts. The 2015 of “Monstersâ€? proposes a world in which the crash of an alien space probe six years prior has unleashed a worrying “biohazardâ€?: giant amphibious creatures crawling around the border in what’s been dubbed the “Infected Zone.â€? American photojournalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy) finds himself in the unenviable position of an “offerâ€? he can’t refuse: Andrew must collect and deliver the boss’s wayward daughter Samantha (Whitney Able) safely home. When they miss safe passage by ferry, the two must take a risky path through the infected zone. Mostly, “Monstersâ€? is a small-scale indie romance. Though Samantha has a fiancĂŠ waiting for her, Andrew takes a shine to her and attempts to break down her emotional unavailability. As always, mutual survival draws people together, and though Andrew isn’t terribly refined, Samantha has her doubts about the life to which she’s returning. In part, “Monstersâ€? intends commentary on the collateral damage of militaristic imperialism, immigration-themed xenophobia and exploitative media. Then there are the science-fiction monster-movie archetypes, which Edwards happily upends. “Monstersâ€? fits into the later-day-â€?Godzillaâ€? tradition of “The Hostâ€? and “Cloverfield,â€? with beasties created by computer (in fact, Edwards did the effects work himself). The creatures emit a rattling and clicking reminiscent of the tripods from George Pal’s “War of the Worlds,â€? though Edwards’ aliens are massive in scale, as well as metaphorical. Appealingly, “Monstersâ€? zigs where other monster movies zag. The creatures are kept mostly in reserve, and when they do get their money shot, it’s a breathtakingly lyrical moment, encouraging thoughtful reflection rather than the now-clichĂŠd awe of roaring creatures and exploding artillery. “Monstersâ€? falls down a bit for the same reason it’s distinctive: its shaggy understatement. The political commentary could use some sharpening, and the partly improvised dialogue tends to be shapeless or obvious. McNairy and Able prove convincing in their lack of affectation, which helps, and the low-budget resourcefulness impresses. All in all, it’s a trip worth taking, with Edwards successfully selling himself as a filmmaker worthy of another shot. Rated R for language. One hour, 34 minutes.

Megamind --1/2

RSVP Aileen Mitchner Director of Admission 650.494.8200 ext. 104 admissions@hausner.com

(Century 16, Century 20) DreamWorks Animation conjures up its history of conceptual rip-offs with the sometimes diverting, sometimes dull “Megamind.� Luckily, kids have short memories, but it’s still no sure bet they’ll respond to the latest animated entry in the post-ironic “Shrek� vein. Those of us who remember the bad old days when exec Jeffrey Katzenberg jumped ship from Disney to DreamWorks may wonder if “Megamind� is the result of the same kind of corporate espionage that pitted “Antz� against “A Bug’s Life,� “The Road to El Dorado� versus “The Emperor’s New Groove,� et al. Though Disney isn’t involved this time, “Megamind� bears conceptual resemblance to “Despicable Me,� released in July by Universal. Hard to say which went into production first, but both take a supervillain’s perspective, as we discover he’s not such a bad guy after all. Will Ferrell plays the dastardly doofus Megamind, the perpetual loser of epic matches with superhero Metro Man (Brad Pitt, amusingly channeling buddy George Clooney). Always drawn into the middle, reporter Roxanne Ritchi (Tina Fey) fills the Lois Lane role. As written by Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, “Megamind� trades on the mythology of Superman, beginning with an origin sequence that finds baby Megamind and baby Metro Man hurtling away from exploding homeworlds. The most amusing riff: Megamind adopting the guise of a fatherly mentor with a distinct resemblance to Marlon Brando’s Jor-El. The orderly world of Metro City goes topsy-turvy when Megamind appears, almost accidentally, to vanquish Metro Man. What is a supervillain without his hero? This question, at times addressed seriously in the pages of comic books, gets a comic treatment — or, rather, a “romantic comedy� treatment as Megamind attempts to win over Roxanne, for whom he’s long carried a torch. The story’s loose parameters of good and evil put forward the ideal that everyone is capable of redemption or, in the case of Roxanne’s cameraman Hal (Jonah Hill), corruption. Granted superpowers by Megamind, Hal becomes Tighten, a would-be superhero whose selfishness quickly turns him villainous. Early on, Megamind explains, “Being bad is the one thing I’m good at,� but his buyer’s remorse when he gains control of Metro City teaches him that love is all he needs. It’s all very silly, and even more busy, with the focus put squarely on bells and whistles. Detailed design and swooping “camera� work exhaust the eye while ironic infusions of pop music exhaust the ear (the goto method for easy laughs or spackling over deficiencies of plot and character). Director Tom McGrath (“Madagascar�) lands a few of the jokes and gets good results from his voice cast, including the reliably off-kilter David Cross as Megamind’s pet fish Minion. Say this for “Megamind�: It doesn’t lack energy. Nevertheless, the promise of extraordinary brain power isn’t fulfilled.

CAIS and WASC Accredited

Confidential Scholarships Available

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Rated PG for action and some language. One hour, 36 minutes.

— Peter Canavese — Peter Canavese

NOW PLAYING The following is a sampling of movies recently reviewed in the Weekly: Conviction --(Century 16, Century 20) Life wasn’t exactly peaches and cream for Betty Anne Waters, according to the “based on a true story� film “Conviction.� But when her brother Kenny fails to beat a murder rap, Waters doesn’t look back; instead, she embarks on a two-decade quest to prove Kenny’s innocence. To succeed, the high-school dropout will have to get her GED, earn her BA, graduate law

school, and pass the bar exam. And all that’s merely prelude to facing the corruption and bureaucracy endemic to the Massachusetts institutions that arrested Kenny and sentenced him to life without parole. This is a job for ... Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank! Rated R for language and some violent images. One hour, 47 minutes. — P.C. (Reviewed Oct. 29, 2010) Hereafter ---1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) Three characters in different parts of the world are united by death. A devastating tsunami

leaves famed French journalist Marie LeLay (Cecile de France) with remarkable glimpses of the afterlife; soft-spoken British lad Marcus (played by real-life identical twins Frankie and George McLaren) struggles with the untimely death of his twin brother Jason; and San Franciscan George Lonegan (Matt Damon) has an uncanny ability to communicate with the deceased — whether he likes it or not. And the lives of these three individuals seem fated to intertwine. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster and accident images,

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(continued on page 29)

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Movies Athena

MOVIE TIMES

2010 Athena International Award

Audrey Rust

Movie times for the Century 16 are for Friday through Sunday and Tuesday only, and times for the Century 20 are for Friday through Tuesday only (unless otherwise noted). 100 Voices: A Journey Home (PG) (Not Reviewed)

President Peninsula Open Space Trust

Century 16: Mon. at 7:30 p.m. Century 20: Mon. at 7:30 p.m.

Conviction (R) (((

Century 16: 11:10 a.m.; 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: 11:40 a.m.; 2:15, 4:50, 7:20 & 9:55 p.m.

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Due Date (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11 a.m.; 12:30, 1:30, 3:10, 4, 5:50, 7, 8:30 & 9:50 p.m.; Fri.Sun. also at 10 a.m. & 10:55 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m.; 12:30, 1:45, 2:55, 4:10, 6:40, 9:20 & 10:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. & Tue. also at 5:30 & 8 p.m.

Easy A (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: 4:15 & 10 p.m.

For Colored Girls (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 1:10, 4:20, 7:30 & 10:35 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 10:10 a.m. Century 20: Noon, 1:20, 3, 4:25, 6, 7:30, 9 & 10:30 p.m.; Sat. & Sun. also at 10:25 a.m.

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The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (R) ((((

Guild Theatre: 1:45, 5 & 8:15 p.m.

Hereafter (PG-13) (((1/2

Century 16: 12:10, 3:35, 6:40 & 9:35 p.m. Century 20: 12:50, 4, 6:55 & 9:50 p.m.

Inside Job (PG-13) (((1/2

Palo Alto Square: 1:55, 4:40 & 7:20 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 9:55 p.m.

Jackass 3 (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: In 3D Fri.-Sun. at 8:20 & 10:45 p.m.; In 3D Tue. at 7:55 & 10:15 p.m. Century 20: In 3D at 1:05, 3:30, 5:50, 8:15 & 10:45 p.m.

Leaving (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Aquarius Theatre: 2:30, 4:45, 7 & 9:15 p.m.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Century 16: 10:30 a.m.; 1, 3:50, 6:30 & 8:55 p.m. Century 20: In 3D at (PG) (Not Reviewed) 11:25 a.m.; 1:55 & 4:20 p.m.

Life As We Know It (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: 11:35 a.m.; 2:20, 4:55, 7:35 & 10:15 p.m.

Megamind (PG) ((1/2

Century 16: 10:30 a.m.; 1:20, 4:10, 7 & 9:40 p.m.; In 3D at 11:20 a.m.; noon, 12:40, 2, 2:40, 3:20, 4:50, 5:30, 6:10, 7:50, 9 & 10:30 p.m.; Also in 3D Fri.-Sun. at 10 a.m. Century 20: 1:15, 3:45, 6:15 & 8:45 p.m.; In 3D at 11:30 a.m.; 12:40, 2, 3:10, 4:30, 5:40, 7, 8:10, 9:30 & 10:40 p.m.; Also in 3D Sat. & Sun. at 10:20 a.m.

The Metropolitan Opera: Boris Gudonov (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: Wed. at 6:30 p.m. Palo Alto Square: Wed. at 6:30 p.m.

Monsters (R) ((1/2

Aquarius Theatre: 3, 5:15, 7:30 & 9:45 p.m.

Paranormal Activity 2 (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:30 a.m.; 1:50, 4:15, 7:10 & 9:55 p.m. Century 20: 11:10 a.m.; 1, 3:20, 5:45, 8:05 & 10:20 p.m.; Mon. & Tue. also at 4:05 & 9:05 p.m.

Red (PG-13) (((

Century 16: 11:15 a.m.; 1:55, 4:35, 7:25 & 10:10 p.m. Century 20: 11:45 a.m.; 2:30, 5:15, 8 & 10:35 p.m.; Fri., Mon. & Tue. also at 1:30 p.m.; Mon. & Tue. also at 6:30 p.m.

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122 Hamilton Avenue

Palo Alto

(650) 324-3121

www.PaloAltoChamber.com

AUTHORS LUNCHEON november 13 10:30am-3:00pm

design by harrington design

Thanks to Our Annual Event Sponsors

Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce

Century 20: Thu. at 7 p.m.

Bon Jovi: The Circle Tour (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (R) (Not Reviewed) Guild Theatre: Sat. at midnight. Saw: The Final Chapter (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: In 3D at 10:50 a.m.; 1:15, 3:30, 5:45, 8:10 & 10:25 p.m. Century 20: In 3D at 12:45, 3:05, 5:25, 6:50, 7:55, 9:10 & 10:10 p.m.

Secretariat (PG) ((1/2

Century 16: 12:55, 3:45, 6:50 & 9:45 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 10:05 a.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 2, 4:45, 7:40 & 10:25 p.m.

The Social Network (PG-13) (((1/2

Century 16: 10:35 a.m.; 1:25, 4:25, 7:40 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 2:10, 5, 7:50 & 10:40 p.m.

The Town (R) (((1/2

Century 16: 12:20, 3:40, 7:05 & 10 p.m. Century 20: 1:25 & 7:10 p.m.

Waiting for Superman (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Palo Alto Square: 1:45 p.m.; Fri.-Tue. & Thu. also at 4:30 & 7:15 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 9:50 p.m.

( Skip it (( Some redeeming qualities ((( A good bet (((( Outstanding Internet: For show times, plot synopses, trailers, theater addresses and more information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com.

all proceeds benefit Abilities United www.AbilitiesUnited.org

@6<;/°:6**,9°67,5°;9@6<;: see and meet these acclaimed authors

56= ° °;6°+,* ° °

Palo °Alto Soccer Club

for information call 650-618-3330

Laurie and Jim Jarrett Carol and Mike Shealy Anonymous Friends

Ellen & Tom Ehrlich Bill & Brenda Younger Anonymous Friends

Books Inc. Allegro Framing Benny Points Caspari Crowne Plaza Cabana Hotel Prodigy Press Sprinkles Cupcakes

CYSA/NorCal &<6$ 1RU&DO Te a m Affilia te 7HDP $IĂ€OLDWH

“Take the next step!â€? “Take step!â€? Boys and Girls born between 8/1/97 to 7/31/02 (Ages 8 to 13°½) Join our Under 10 to Under 14 Teams for 2011 YDP will be forming U8/U9 Teams in Winter Please see our website for more information: www.pasoccerclub.org

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Movies Ecole internationale de la PĂŠninsule (continued from page 27) and for brief strong language. 2 hours, 6 minutes. — T.H. (Reviewed Oct. 22, 2010) Red --(Century 16, Century 20) “Redâ€? stars Bruce Willis as Frank Moses, a retired CIA black-ops agent with a fearsome reputation. Of course, news of Frank’s skills haven’t reached his suburban neighbors or Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), the Social Security office cubicle worker he’s taken to chatting up over the phone. Frank’s quiet life doesn’t last long: his plan to travel to Kansas City to meet up with Sarah hits a snag when armed commandos attempt to kill him. For Sarah’s safety, he’ll have to abduct her and keep her in line while looking up old friends also classified as “REDâ€?: “Retired — Extremely Dangerous.â€? Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language. One hour, 51 minutes. — P.C. (Reviewed Oct. 15 2010) The Social Network ---1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) The riveting film about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg defines a generation. Director David Fincher helms with a deft touch; the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin is beautifully crafted; and the acting is exceptional. In fact, the only thing missing from “The Social Networkâ€? is a likable protagonist. Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) wasn’t always the world’s youngest billionaire. In 2003, the computer whiz was an undergrad at Harvard University, more interested in campus life and dating than status updates or profile pics. Harvard students (and twin brothers) Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence) and a colleague approach Zuckerberg to enlist his help with the development of Harvard Connection, a MySpace-esque site specifically for Harvard students. Zuckerberg quickly enlists the financial and moral support of his best friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), to create his own socialnetworking site. In less time than it takes to fix a transmission, Zuckerberg designs and builds TheFacebook.com.Rated PG13 for language, drug and alcohol use and sexual content. 2 hours, 1 minute. — T.H. (Reviewed OCt. 1, 2010) The Town ---1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is the conflicted leader of a bank- and armored-car-robbing quartet based in Boston. Doug’s unfortunate family background (his mother left when he was a toddler and his dad, played by the excellent Chris Cooper, is in a federal prison) helped create the criminal he has become. Things get complicated when the gang kidnaps bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) during a brazen robbery, blindfolding the terrified young woman and freeing her at the edge of a river. Doug’s right-hand man/best friend Jem (Jeremy Renner), a triggerhappy bruiser, expresses concern when he learns that Claire lives in the same Charlestown neighborhood as Doug and his pals. Doug agrees to keep an eye on Claire, which quickly develops into a relationship between the two. Suddenly life isn’t so bleak for Doug. He is anxious to run away with Claire, leaving his drugaddicted ex (Blake Lively), relentless FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) and the city itself behind him. But gangster Fergie Colm (Pete Postlethwaite) won’t let Doug hit the road without pulling off one last job. Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use. 2 hours, 5 minutes. — T.H. (Reviewed Sept. 17, 2010)

Fri and Sat ONLY 11/5 - 11-6 Sun thru Tues 11/7 -11/19 Weds 11/10 ONLY

Inside Job 1:55, 4:40, 7:20, 9:55 Waiting Superman 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 9:50 Inside Job 1:55, 4:40, 7:20 Waiting for Superman 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 Inside Job 1:55, 4:40, 7:20 Waiting for Superman 1:45 Thurs 11/11 ONLY Inside Job 1:55, 4:40, 7:20; Waiting for Superman 1:45, 4:30, 7:15

STANFORD THEATER The Stanford Theatre is at 221 University Ave. in Palo Alto. Go to www.stanfordtheatre.org or call 650-324-3700.

Ministry of Fear (1944) A mental patient gets mixed up with Nazi spies. Friday at 7:30 p.m. Black Angel (1946) After an alcoholic songwriter’s ex-wife is murdered, he tries to clear the man falsely accused. Friday at 6 and 9:10 p.m. The Great McGinty (1940) The highs and lows of an unlikely politician. Sat.-Mon. at 7:30. Sat. and Sun. also at 4 p.m. Hail the Conquering Hero (1944) Discharged from the military for hay fever, a man is mistaken for a war hero at home. Sat.-Mon. at 5:35 and 9:05 p.m.

Ě˝ ࣑ ੢ á„‘ á‹• ओ PRE-SCHOOL Outstanding fullday program.

LANGUAGE Longest running bilingual immersion school in the area. Experienced native-speaking faculty.

ACADEMICS Established English curriculum. Rigorous program in a nurturing environment. Low student-to-teacher ratio.

The Bowman program builds confidence, creativity and academic excellence. + "#' $ ) $$ "#' $ )

WHEN IT’S YOUR CHILD, EXPERIENCE MATTERS. TEACHING MANDARIN CHINESE IMMERSION FOR 15 YEARS. A LEADER IN FRENCH IMMERSION IN PALO ALTO. ACCEPTING PRE-SCHOOL APPLICATIONS. REGISTER FOR A TOUR TODAY. TOURS & OPEN HOUSES

INFORMATION NIGHTS

UPCOMING TOURS October 8, 2010 October 15, 2010 November 5, 2010 November 19, 2010

Learn more about the school’s Mandarin Chinese Immersion and French Immersion programs. RSVP on our website.

OPEN HOUSES/INFO SESSIONS November 13, 2010 January 8, 2010

FRENCH INFO NIGHT October 12, 2010 CHINESE INFO NIGHT October 19, 2010

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF THE PENINSULA 7%" 777 )340 /2' s 0(/.%

FOOTHILL-DE ANZA

Community College District Board of Trustees

$ $* - $ ) % $ # $ ( &

invites applicants for its

! #' $ #* * ) *$ )

Audit & Finance Committee

)) (( #' " % ' % # , + ) *$ #'

www.bowmanschool.org

One of four seats held by community members on the volunteer Audit & Finance Committee will become vacant at the end of December. Trustees will appoint a new member to a four-year term that begins in January. Candidates should have a strong background in budget, ďŹ nance and/or audit. The committee acts in an advisory role to the board in carrying out its oversight and legislative responsibilities as they relate to the district’s ďŹ nancial management. Applicants may not be an employee, contractor, consultant or vendor of the district. The Audit & Finance Committee meets quarterly but may meet every two months if desired. The responsibilities of the committee are to: UĂŠĂŠ,iĂ›ÂˆiĂœĂŠ>˜`ĂŠÂ“ÂœÂ˜ÂˆĂŒÂœĂ€ĂŠLĂ•`}iĂŒĂŠ>˜`ĂŠw˜>˜Vˆ>Â?ʓ>ĂŒiĂ€Âˆ>Â?ĂŠ>˜`ĂŠĂ€iÂŤÂœĂ€ĂŒĂƒĂŠ related to ďŹ nancial matters such as bonds, certiďŹ cates of participation and other funding instruments that come before the Board of Trustees; UĂŠĂŠ ÂœÂ˜ÂˆĂŒÂœĂ€ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠiĂ?ĂŒiĂ€Â˜>Â?ĂŠ>Ă•`ÂˆĂŒĂŠĂƒiÂ?iVĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠ>˜`ĂŠi˜}>}i“iÂ˜ĂŒĂŠÂŤĂ€ÂœViĂƒĂƒĂ† UĂŠĂŠ,iĂ›ÂˆiĂœĂŠÂˆÂ˜`iÂŤi˜`iÂ˜ĂŒĂŠ>Ă•`ÂˆĂŒĂŠĂ€iÂŤÂœĂ€ĂŒĂƒĂŠ>˜`ĂŠÂ“ÂœÂ˜ÂˆĂŒÂœĂ€ĂŠvÂœÂ?Â?ÂœĂœÂ‡Ă•ÂŤĂŠ activities; UĂŠĂŠ iĂŠ>Ă›>ˆÂ?>LÂ?i]ĂŠÂˆvĂŠÂ˜ii`i`]ĂŠĂŒÂœĂŠÂ“iiĂŒĂŠĂœÂˆĂŒÂ…ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ Âœ>Ă€`ĂŠÂœvĂŠ/Ă€Ă•ĂƒĂŒiiĂƒĂŠi>VÂ…ĂŠ Ăži>ÀÊ>ĂŒĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠĂŒÂˆÂ“iĂŠÂœvĂŠÂŤĂ€iĂƒiÂ˜ĂŒ>ĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂœvĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠiĂ?ĂŒiĂ€Â˜>Â?ĂŠ>Ă•`ÂˆĂŒĂŠĂŒÂœĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠLÂœ>Ă€`ÆÊ UĂŠ ÂœÂ˜ĂƒĂ•Â?ĂŒĂŠĂœÂˆĂŒÂ…ĂŠÂˆÂ˜`iÂŤi˜`iÂ˜ĂŒĂŠ>Ă•`ÂˆĂŒÂœĂ€ĂƒĂŠĂ€i}>Ă€`ˆ˜}ĂŠ>VVÂœĂ•Â˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜}]ĂŠwĂƒV>Â?ĂŠ and related management issues; UĂŠ ÂœÂ˜ÂˆĂŒÂœĂ€ĂŠÂœÂŤiĂ€>ĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜>Â?ĂŠĂ€iĂ›ÂˆiĂœĂƒ]ĂŠw˜`ˆ˜}ĂƒĂŠ>˜`ĂŠĂ€iVœ““i˜`>ĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂƒĂŠ>˜`ĂŠ follow-up activities. Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter detailing their qualiďŹ cations to any of the following: Mail: OfďŹ ce of the Chancellor Foothill-De Anza Community College District ÂŁĂ“ĂŽ{xĂŠ Â?ĂŠ ÂœÂ˜ĂŒiĂŠ,Âœ>`ĂŠ Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

E-mail: chancellor@fhda.edu Fax: (650) 941-6289

Completed applications must be received by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. For more information, please call (650) 949-6100 or email chancellor@fhda.edu. *>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ ÂœĂ›i“LiÀÊx]ĂŠĂ“ä£äĂŠU Page 29

PIZZA

Pizza Chicago 424-9400 4115 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

of the week

This IS the best pizza in town

Spot A Pizza 324-3131 115 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto Voted Best Pizza in Palo Alto

R ISTOR A NT E

www.spotpizza.com

AMERICAN

CHINESE

Armadillo Willy’s 941-2922

Peking Duck 321-9388

1031 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos

151 S. California Avenue, Palo Alto

Range: $5.00-13.00

We also deliver.

POLYNESIAN Trader Vic’s 849-9800 4269 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

Hobee’s 856-6124 4224 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Also at Town & Country Village, Palo Alto 327-4111

Su Hong – Menlo Park

Dinner Mon-Thurs 5-10pm; Fri-Sat 5-11pm;

Dining Phone: 323–6852

Sun 4:30 - 9:30pm

To Go: 322–4631

Available for private luncheons

Winner, Palo Alto Weekly “Best Of”

Burmese

8 years in a row!

Green Elephant Gourmet

INDIAN

Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-6 pm

SEAFOOD

(650) 494-7391 Burmese & Chinese Cuisine

Darbar Indian Cuisine 321-6688

3950 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto

129 Lytton, Downtown Palo Alto

(Charleston Shopping Center)

Lunch Buffet M-F; Open 7 days

Dine-In, Take-Out, Local Delivery-Catering

CHINESE Chef Chu’s (650) 948-2696

Janta Indian Restaurant 462-5903 369 Lytton Ave., Downtown Palo Alto

ITALIAN

2008 Best Chinese MV Voice & PA Weekly

Spalti Ristorante 327-9390

Spalti Ristorante serves delicious, authentic Northern Italian cuisine, in a casually elegant, comfortable and spacious setting.

$6.95 to $10.95

Enjoy the freshest pasta, salads, seafood, veal, chicken and lamb attractively presented with the experience of dining in Italy.

Scott’s Seafood 323-1555

417 California Ave. Palo Alto 327-9290

Cook’s Seafood 325-0604 751 El Camino Real, Menlo Park Seafood Dinners from

Lunch Buffet M-F; Organic Veggies

1067 N. San Antonio Road on the corner of El Camino, Los Altos

Lounge open nightly

#1 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto

www.Spalti.com

Open 7 days a week serving breakfast,

417 California Ave, Palo Alto

lunch and dinner

Jing Jing 328-6885

ÝµÕ Ã ÌiÊ `ÊUÊ"ÕÌ` ÀÊ }

Happy Hour 7 days a week 4-7 pm

443 Emerson St., Palo Alto

www.spalti.com

Full Bar, Banquets, Outdoor Seating

Authentic Szechwan, Hunan Food To Go, Delivery www.jingjinggourmet.com

JAPANESE & SUSHI Fuki Sushi 494-9383

Ming’s 856-7700 1700 Embarcadero East, Palo Alto www.mings.com

www.scottsseafoodpa.com

STEAKHOUSE

4119 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Open 7 days a Week

Sundance the Steakhouse 321-6798 1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

New Tung Kee Noodle House

MEXICAN

520 Showers Dr., MV in San Antonio Ctr.

Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30 am-2:00pm Dinner: Mon-Thu 5:00-10:00pm

Voted MV Voice Best ‘01, ‘02, ‘03 & ‘04

Palo Alto Sol 328-8840

Prices start at $4.75

408 California Ave, Palo Alto

Fri-Sat 5:00-10:30pm, Sun 5:00-9:00pm

947-8888

Õ}iÊ i ÕÊUÊ iÃÌÞ iÊ,iV «iÃ

www.sundancethesteakhouse.com

Page 30ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Search a complete listing of local restaurant reviews by location or type of food on PaloAltoOnline.com

Eating Out RESTAURANT REVIEW

The Former Oaxacan Kitchen Is Now

ANATOLIAN KITCHEN Modern Mediterranean Cuisine 2323 Birch Street, Palo Alto

(Between Cambridge and California)

(650) 853-9700 www.anatoliankitchenpaloalto.com

NOVEMBER SPECIALS

Michelle Le

Buy a Large One Topping Pizza for only $18.95 Buy Two Large Pizzas and Get a Free Appetizer Buy Five or More Large Pizzas and Get $40 Off 4115 El Camino Real (Quarter mile North of East Charleston) s www.pizzachicago.com

The Special Bento features grilled black cod, tempura, sashimi and roast duck, along with daily specials.

Japanese with an edge Breadth of cuisine shows in Nami Nami’s small plates, presentation by Ruth Schechter

T

empting as it is to focus on sushi when choosing a Japanese restaurant on Mountain View’s bustling Castro Street, there’s decidedly a lot more to Japanese cuisine than fish. Nami Nami is a remedy to this mindset. Though small in size, the 3-year-old restaurant has an extensive menu that specializes in unusual dishes and traditional Kyoto-style tapas — small samplings presenting a wide range of flavors and cooking styles — including some that may make you wonder if Japan is the real inspiration behind the creation. The setting is simple, with deeply textured ochre walls, twisty paper lanterns hanging from a high ceiling, and unadorned tables, putting the spotlight right on the food. Presentations are uniformly beautiful: It’s worth it to simply take a minute and admire the arrangements. Instead of coming in bento boxes, lunch specials are served on lacquered platters with collections of mismatched ceramic plates and bowls. Sashimi is fanned out with meticulous care in a deeply textured arc on cobalt-blue glass. A shrimp roll is positioned so the tails all point the same direction. The menu is ambitious, with the

tapas-like starters, salads, stews, porridges, rice balls, noodles, soups, fried foods, sashimi, grilled items and a separate list of the specials of the day. The section called chinmi (Japanese for “delicacy�) lists dishes you do not normally see on Western menus: pickled sea urchin roe, salted sea cucumbers, monkfish liver, fermented squid and fish stomach. Try to pick and choose so that you can sample a range of flavors. While much on the menu is superb, there are some selections that simply do not work. Definitely sample the fresh fish. We had the sashimi three kind ($20): beautiful, glistening, generous slabs of pristine yellowtail, tuna and salmon dusted with roe. A starter of octopus and seaweed su-no-mono ($6) became exceptional with a sprinkle of dashi vinegar sauce and cucumbers sliced like tiny works of art. Black cod saikyo yaki ($11) consisted of two generous chunks of buttery, perfectly prepared fish shimmering with a glaze of sweet white miso. Less successful were some of the fried selections suggested by various waitresses. The Nagoya Zen ($12), one of the regular lunch specials, was a lightly

breaded pork cutlet with a side of too-sweet, too-thick sauce. Bland in appearance and in flavor, the parts did not add up to much of a whole. A luncheon appetizer of organic chicken kara age with yuzu lime pepper ($7), breaded and deepfried nuggets of too-dry poultry, made me yearn for a spot at the sushi bar. A dinner appetizer suggestion, a special of three red crab croquettes ($15), was creamy and crunchy, but with exactly zero flavor. Another lunch suggestion, the Setouchi Zen ($12) was more like it: an enormous portion of stewed mackerel with a delicate ginger miso sauce that blended well with the strongly flavored fish. And the beef tongue stew in miso sauce ($14), a dinner dish that pushed the boundaries of East-meets-West cuisine, was like sampling the essence of earthy flavor — an amazing, velvety, melt-in-your-mouth experience. The restaurant features a thorough wine list, with a nice range of varietals, including pinot grigio, Syrah and Château Le Pape ($35-$60), and several sections by the glass. Premium sakes and Japanese vodkas are offered by the glass or bottle. Desserts ($6-$7), not usually a strong point in Japanese restaurants, are complex and tantalizing here, including the white coffee panna cotta, the yuzu pudding and the strawberry and red bean (continued on next page)

Support quality child care for low-income families

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%*/& '03 ,*%4 Armadillo Willy’s Baja Fresh Mexican Grill Bistro Maxine Celia’s Country Gourmet CPK Stanford Green Elephant Gourmet Hobee’s (2 locations) Indochine Ming’s Chinese Cuisine Mountain Mike’s Pizza Palo Alto Creamery-Downtown Palo Alto Creamery-Stanford

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NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the Palo Alto Planning & Transportation Commission Please be advised the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC) shall conduct a special meeting at 6:00 PM, Wednesday, November 10, 2010 in the Civic Center, Council Chambers, 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. Reports of Officials. 1. Update of Housing Element Goals, Policies and Programs.

2. Colleagues’ Memo: Quasi-Judicial Matters. Questions. Any questions regarding the above applications, please contact the Planning Department at (650) 329-2440. The files 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

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mochi. Nami Nami prepares its food in the kappo style, which traditionally involves seating diners across a counter from the chef. In this case, however, the only chef visible is working the minuscule sushi bar, but the unusual ingredients and personal touches are evident as each dish is brought out from the kitchen. Try to sample a little from throughout the menu, starting with tapas and sashimi, and then share some of the heavier dishes. That way you’re sure to have at least some selections that will amaze your palate, even if you do go wrong on some others. N

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Support Local Business PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26 This is a summary of council agenda items. The agenda with complete titles including legal documentation can be viewed at the below webpage: www.cityofpaloalto.org/knowzone/agendas/council.asp

(TENTATIVE) AGENDA-SPECIAL MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS NOVEMBER 8, 2010 - 6:30 PM 1. Joint Meeting With Library Advisory Commission Regarding Library Issues COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:30 PM or as near as possible thereafter 2. Approval of a Contract for Construction Management and Design Services for the Stanford Avenue and El Camino Real intersection Improvements and Streetscape Project 3. Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 4. Public Hearing: Adoption of Green Building Ordinances to be Consistent With CalGreen State Building Codes 5. Public Hearing: Adoption of updated California Building Code Ordinances 6. Public Hearing: Adoption of the 2009 Edition of the International Fire Code

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Policy and Services Committee Meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 9, at 7:00 p.m.

Page 32ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

1ST PLACE

STANFORD ROUNDUP

BEST SPORTS COVERAGE

No. 1 women’s soccer team plays for title

California Newspaper Publishers Association

Sports Shorts

PREP ALUMS . . . With Palo Alto High grad Tim Wenzlau providing the winning goal, 18thranked Princeton won the 2010 Ivy League Championships with a 7-6 overtime win over Brown on Sunday in men’s water polo. Wenzlau’s winning goal came on a counterattack with 52 seconds left in the second overtime. Menlo School grad Matt Hale led the Tigers with three goals while Wenzlau had two. Menlo grad Mike Merlone had 15 saves in goal. Princeton (14-7) will be back in action this weekend at the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Championships

ON THE AIR Friday Women’s volleyball: UCLA at Stanford, 7 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)

Saturday

Sunday Women’s volleyball: USC at Stanford, 1 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)

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by Rick Eymer he moment of truth has arrived for Stanford’s top-ranked women’s soccer team and the thirdranked women’s volleyball team. Their defining Pac-10 moments come to town Friday in the form of Oregon State and UCLA, respectively, the first a surprise and the second always a given. Stanford’s volleyball match gets underway at 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion. Stanford’s soccer match gets started at 8 p.m. across the practice football field and Sunken Diamond from Maples, and will be televised nationally by Fox Soccer Net. Cardinal senior Christen Press continues to lead the nation in scoring with 49 points (2.72 per contest) on 21 goals (also tops in the country) and seven assists. Palo Alto High grad Teresa Noyola has eight goals and 11 assists, ranking 39th in the nation in scoring and eighth in assists. Stanford, coming off a 3-0 win at California last Saturday, ranks third overall in scoring offense. Oregon State (7-0, 15-1-1) enters the match ranked 13th by NSCAA, seventh by Soccer America and sixth by TopDrawerSoccer.com. Stanford (7-0, 16-0-2) is the unanimous No. 1. The Beavers already have established their best mark in program history and are on a 10-match winning streak. “The game on Friday is massive,” Oregon State coach Linus Rhode said. “It’s for the Pac-10 Championship. It’s the first time we’ve ever been in that type of situation as a program. Stanford is the No. 1 team, they haven’t lost a game this year, so it should be a great environment to go down there and play and get a result.”

T

Stanford senior Christen Press, the nation’s leading scorer, will lead the nation’s No. 1 team against visiting Oregon State (7-0, 15-1-1) on Friday night with the Pac-10 Conference title at stake.

(continued on page 34)

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

GIRLS’ GOLF

Prime time for Stanford against Arizona

Castilleja makes some history at CCS finals

by Rick Eymer

by Keith Peters

A

nticipation runs deep for Saturday’s showdown between 10th-ranked Stanford and visiting 13th-ranked Arizona, perhaps the two most improved football teams in the Pac-10 over the past two or three years. This game, matching teams with 4-1 (7-1 overall) records, may not be for all the marbles but it still carries a championship feel. National television (ABC), a full house, teams that match strength against strength only help throw the switch on the magnitude of the contest. The electric atmosphere surrounding the contest, from tailgating to other planned sporting events on the Stanford campus earlier in the day, should peak when the head official blows his whistle for either Nate Whitaker or John Bonano to put the game into motion at 5 p.m. The expected return of Arizona quarterback Nick Foles, the toughminded redshirt junior who missed (continued on page 34)

N

Don Feria/stanfordphoto.com

College football: Arizona at Stanford, 5 p.m.; ABC (7); XTRA (860 AM); KZSU (90.1 FM)

Cardinal volleyball hosts Pac-10 showdowns with UCLA and USC

Rob Ericson/Stanfordphoto.com

HONOR COACH . . . Dave Winn has accomplished a lot during his five years as head coach of the Palo Alto girls’ volleyball team. His squad reached the Central Coast Section semifinals his first three seasons before reaching the finals last year after compiling a 33-match winning streak and finishing with a 36-5 record, the most victories in school history. Now, Winn has his team primed for even greater accomplishments as the Vikings opened the week with a 32-1 record and a No. 67 national ranking after winning their sixth straight tournament title over two seasons. Not too surprisingly, Winn last week was among five recipients of the 2010 CCS Fall Sports Honor Coaches Awards. The honor is presented to those coaches who their colleagues have made outstanding contributions to that sport at their school, within their league, in the community and to the CCS. At the time of nomination, they must be actively coaching and have been coaching in their respective sport for a minimum of five years at the varsity level. Beginning this week, Winn was 50-8 in SCVAL De Anza Division action and 155-33 overall. He previously coached at Los Altos and Pinewood, and continues to coach with the City Beach Volleyball Club. He also serves as the SCVAL volleyball rep to CCS. Winn has been involved with the USYVL and youth volleyball camps.

Stanford’s Andrew Luck (right) celebrates his 51-yard TD run against Washington last week with Ryan Whalen.

ormally at this time of the year, members of the Castilleja golf team are either putting away their clubs and heading off to a winter sport or gearing up for junior tournaments. This season, however, is different for the Gators after they made some history on Tuesday at the Central Coast Section Championships. For the first time ever, Castilleja advanced past the section tournament while qualifying for the NorCal Championships. Thus, the season continues for the Gators, who will compete on Monday at Stockton Country Club. “We’re just excited to go and play over there,” said Castilleja coach Jim Miller. Castilleja became the first golf team from the West Bay Athletic League, or the old Private Schools Athletic League, to advance past the CCS tourney after the Gators finished second with a team score of (continued on page 38)

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 33

Sports

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FOOTHILL-DE ANZA

Community College District Board of Trustees seeks applicants for its

Measure C Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee Candidates appointed to the independent, volunteer Measure C Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee review and report to the public on the district‘s Measure C bond expenditures. Applicants must reside in the district’s service area, which includes the cities of Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and portions of San Jose, Santa Clara and Saratoga. Applicants may not be an employee, contractor, consultant or vendor of the district. The Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee bylaws are available at www.measurec.fhda.edu or by calling (650) 949-6100. Currently three committee members are needed in the following categories: UÊ,i«ÀiÃi Ì>Ì Ûi]Ê ÌÊ >À}i UÊ,i«ÀiÃi Ì>Ì Ûi]Ê-i ÀÊ Ì âi ÃÊ"À}> â>Ì UÊ,i«ÀiÃi Ì>Ì Ûi]Ê-ÌÕ`i Ì This committee is responsible for reviewing expenditures related to the district‘s $490,800,000 general obligation bond, Measure C, approved by the voters on June 6, 2006. Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter detailing their qualifications, and noting which of the above categories they would represent, to any of the following: Mail: Office of the Chancellor Foothill-De Anza Community College District 12345 El Monte Road Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

E-mail: chancellor@fhda.edu Fax: (650) 941-6289

« iÌi`Ê>«« V>Ì ÃÊ ÕÃÌÊLiÊÀiVi Ûi`ÊLÞÊxÊ«° °Ê À `>Þ]Ê Û°Ê£ ° For more information, please call (650) 949-6100 or email chancellor@fhda.edu Page 34ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Stanford roundup (continued from page 33)

Oregon State junior goalkeeper Colleen Boyd, sixth nationally in goals against average, has been credited with 13 shutouts, the past six in succession, and has allowed seven goals on the season. Stanford freshman Emily Oliver ranks third nationally, allowing four goals in 14 contests. “I think that tactically, it’s going to be a tight game,” Rhode said. “Defensively, we’re going to have to be on it. They have some very talented individuals on their offense. Our defense has been very strong this year.” The Beavers, who have never finished higher than fifth in conference play, own signature wins over USC and UCLA, both of which came in Corvallis. Their lone loss was at No. 11 UC Irvine. Oregon State is 3-1 against teams with winning records. Stanford hopes to clinch at least a tie of its second straight Pac-10 title and ninth overall. The Beavers are looking for their first-ever title. Whatever the outcome, both schools will advance to the NCAA tournament, which would begin a week from Friday. The NCAA selection show will be televised live on ESPNU on Monday at 1:30 p.m. The Cardinal, which has a sixgame winning streak over Oregon State, has won its last 29 home consecutive home matches and is unbeaten in its last 33 at home. The Beavers have not scored a goal at Stanford since 1996 and have won once (2003) in the 17-game history of the series. Cardinal sophomore defender

Stanford football (continued from page 33)

the past two games with a knee injury, will bolster the Wildcats’ mindset. They didn’t miss a best with backup Matt Scott, who guided Arizona to a 29-21 victory over host UCLA last week. Stanford beat host Washington, 41-0, last Saturday. “It shows you how big of a game this that this is prime time on ABC,” Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck said. “We understand this game has huge implications on the end of the season and the Pac-10.” Luck will be staring across the line of scrimmage against a defense that leads the conference in sacks at 3.38 per game. He’s confident his offensive line, which has helped ward off potential danger all season, will continue its strong efforts. The Cardinal has allowed three sacks all season. Luck tops all Pac-10 quarterbacks in passing efficiency and Stanford ranks second in scoring offense and third in total offense. The Wildcats are the conference’s best defensive team. “They might be the best defense we’ve faced,” Luck said. “They force turnovers, they are fast and they are coached by Mike Stoops, a very well-respected defensive coach. You don’t change anything but you have to be aware they have good players, great defensive ends.” Even the Pac-10 championship is in play, though Stanford has al-

Alina Garciamendez returned to school after playing for Mexico in Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Canada in Cancun as part of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament. Castilleja grad Lindsay Taylor has scored a goal in each of her past five matches after scoring four in the first 13. Women’s volleyball The Cardinal (9-2, 18-2) lost its first match against UCLA, giving Friday night’s contest even bigger implications. The 10th-ranked Bruins (7-4, 17-5) are a fistful of kills away from making the Pac-10 race extremely tight, as they also play at No. 2 California this weekend. The Bears (10-1, 20-1) are also in a trepid situation, with visiting USC (8-3, 18-3) the last team to beat them. Stanford, which swept both Oregon and Oregon State on the road last weekend, hosts the seventhranked Women of Troy at 1 p.m. Sunday. For the Cardinal to maintain any chance at defending its conference championship, these two matches rank high on the must-win list. Stanford leads the nation in hitting percentage with a .322 season clip and is ranked third with 14.01 assists per set. Senior Alix Klineman is among the national leaders in kills (5.64, 2nd), points (6.29, 2nd) and hitting percentage (.382, 29th). She leads all active Pac-10 players with 1,792 kills, ranks sixth with 1,027 digs, is tied for fourth with 81 aces and is eighth with 258 blocks.

a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contests this weekend. The Cardinal (3-1, 10-5) meets visiting Long Beach State at noon Saturday and then plays No. 5 UC Irvine on Sunday at noon. Stanford, which has won its last 11 matches at home, beat Santa Clara, 17-6, in a nonconference match last Friday as each Jeffrey Schwimer and Jacob Smith scored four goals. Smith leads Stanford with 35 goals. Field hockey Stanford (11-5) is the top seed for the NorPac Conference tournament that got underway on Thursday at Davidson College. Women’s swimming The top two teams from last year’s NCAA Championships, Stanford (1-0) and Florida (1-1) along with 15th-place Michigan (2-2), compete in a two-day tri-meet at the Avery Aquatics Center on Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m. Last year’s NCAA title came down to the final event, as Florida edged the Cardinal by less than three points. Stanford’s freshmen were rated the top recruiting class in the nation, headlined by Maya DiRado, Felicia Lee and Andie Taylor, all among the top high school swimmers in various events last year. Women’s golf Stanford hosts the Pac-10-SEC Challenge beginning Friday at the Stanford Golf Course. The tournament runs through Sunday.

Men’s water polo Fourth-ranked Stanford hosts

Wrestling Stanford opens its season Sunday with a 3 p.m. nonconference match against Northwestern. N

ready lost to top-ranked Oregon. The Wildcats play in Eugene in three weeks. Oregon State pinned Arizona with its only loss to date. Stanford hosts the Beavers in three weeks. “They have the best two defensive ends, by far, in the Pac-10,” Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh said. “Even their third guy would be starting for any other team. Pass rush can dictate a lot of things if you can get pressure on the quarterback.” Film from last year’s 43-38 loss in Tucson was very much part of the weekly study meetings in preparation for this game. Arizona scored twice in the fourth quarter to overcome a 38-29 deficit. Arizona’s Nic Grigsby raced 57 yards for the winning touchdown late in the contest. Stanford failed to score on its two trips into the red zone in the final period. The teams combined for 1,137 offensive yards, including 849 yards on 61-of-86 passing combined. Foles completed 40 of his 51 pass attempts. There was one interception and one sack in the game, both produced by the Wildcats. “I’m sure for the older guys that’s certainly in the back of their minds,” Stanford sophomore linebacker Shayne Skov said. “It’s in their minds not to let it happen again. We have to be physical up front and clamp down on the running lanes. We just have to go out and play football.” While Arizona has the conference’s best defense, Stanford is not

far behind in third place, allowing 330.4 yards a game, roughly 43 yards more than the Wildcats. The pass defense has been the most impressive. After allowing 265 yards on average last season, the Cardinal secondary has helped improve that to its current 199 per-game average. Delano Howell’s return to the secondary against the Huskies certainly bolstered that unit. Howell and Owen Marecic each had two of the team’s 10 interceptions. Special teams will also play a vital role in the game’s outcome. Stanford has the conference’s best kickoff coverage team while Arizona’s Travis Cobb leads the Pac-10 in kickoff returns, including a spectacular 100-yard return in helping Arizona beat Iowa in Week 3. “He’s a returner who can hit it,” Harbaugh said. “He has great instincts and the ability to set up his blockers.” Harbaugh hinted that Chris Owusu, who led the Pac-10 in returns last year, may get a chance to return this year. Owusu, who missed the Washington State game with a left hand injury, had his most productive return day, in terms of yardage, against the Wildcats last year. “We have a heck of an opportunity to get where we want to be by the end of the season,” said Skov, who leads Stanford with 46 tackles. “We’re definitely going to be ready to play.” N

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Sports

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Robinson sisters help Gunn girls in runnerup finish Gunn boys, Paly girls also qualify for CCS finals

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9-2009

Gunn’s Erin Robinson leads Allison Sturges of Mountain View.

he success the Gunn High girls’ cross-country team is enjoying this season can be traced to a fun run last summer by the Robinson family. It was then that Gunn senior Erin Robinson convinced her sister, Sarah, to join her on the team. It wasn’t the easiest sell. Sarah just wanted to run enough to stay in shape for soccer, which is a winter sport. Sarah was going to run her freshman year at Gunn, but only in track. Once big sister convinced little sister to turn out for cross country, Gunn’s season was off and running. The Robinson sisters have been shadowing each other most of the

C U S T O M S O L U T I O N S F O R E V E R Y S T Y L E A N D E V E R Y B U D G E T

CITY OF PALO ALTO Notice of Funding Availability Program Years 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) And Housing Development Funds Applications are now available for the City of Palo Alto’s 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program years. The City expects to distribute locally approximately $800,000 in funds each ďŹ scal year (July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2012) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the CDBG Program. The primary objective of the Program is: “The development of viable urban communities, including decent housing and a suitable living environment, and expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and very low income.â€? The CDBG Program is directed toward expanding and maintaining the affordable housing supply; promoting housing opportunities and choices; maintaining and improving community facilities; increasing economic opportunities, accessibility, energy efďŹ ciency and sustainability; and providing supportive services speciďŹ cally for persons of low and very low income. Targeted groups might include persons who are homeless, seniors, persons with disabilities, and other special needs groups.

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Page 36ĂŠUĂŠ ÂœĂ›i“LiÀÊx]ĂŠĂ“ä£äĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž

C E N T E R S G A R A G E S

A Mandatory Proposal Writing Workshop will be held at Palo Alto City Hall, Council Conference Room, 250 Hamilton Avenue at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, November 15, 2010. The deadline for submitting applications is 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 16, 2010. Applications are available at the City of Palo Alto Planning Division, City Hall, 5th Floor, 250 Hamilton Avenue, during regular ofďŹ ce hours. Applications are also available on the City’s website: www. cityofpaloalto.org/depts/pln/default.asp. To request an application by mail or for more information please contact Robin Ellner, Administrative Associate at 650/329-2603. Persons with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services in using City facilities, services or programs, or who would like information on the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact: ADA Coordinator, City of Palo Alto, 650-329-2550 (Voice) ada@cityofpaloalto.org

season, while leading Gunn to a No. 2 ranking in the Central Coast Section. Erin and Sarah ran first and second at the Monterey Bay Invitational and at the Palo Alto City Championships, tuneups for Tuesday’s SCVAL El Camino Division Championships where Erin took second and Sarah third. That effort helped the Titans finish second with 52 points, trailing only defending champ Mountain View’s 31 points. Both teams, along with Palo Alto (78), qualified for the CCS Championships at Toro Park in Salinas on Nov. 13. The Gunn girls are the defending Division I section champions, a title that came on the heels of a second-place league finish in 2009. Erin Robinson hopes that’s the case once again. “We didn’t have a great league meet last year,� said Erin, who disappointed with her effort Tuesday on an unseasonably warm day on the rolling 2.95-mile layout at Crystal Springs in Belmont. “I definitely would have liked to break 18 (minutes), but I still have CCS and state.� Erin Robinson clocked a seasonbest 18:22, finishing second to Mountain View’s Allison Sturges (18:18) after Sturges pulled away with just about a half-mile remaining. “I probably should have gapped her in the middle part of the race,� said Robinson, who kicked herself for allowing Sturges (with a better finishing kick) to stay close. Sarah Robinson raced home third in 19:08, but junior Kieran Gallagher struggled with the heat and fell back to 14th in 20:36 after taking sixth last season in 18:45. Gunn lost senior Emma Dohner to the heat midway through the race, thus normal No. 5 runner Melia Dunbar’s 15th-place finish (20:44) was the No. 4 score and Rachel Bent’s 18th place (21:11) was the No. 5. The weather should be cooler in Salinas next week and Gunn will be ready to defend after putting five runners among the top 13 in 2009. Sarah Robinson will help fill the gap left by two graduating seniors. “We definitely needed her,� Erin Robinson said of recruiting her sister. “We obviously wanted to do well again at CCS. We didn’t have quite as much depth going into this season, so she’s definitely helped that.� Gunn won’t have to worry about Mountain View at CCS, because the Spartans run in Division II. Carlmont will provide the competition for Gunn in Division I. Also headed to CCS next week out of the El Camino Division finals are the Gunn boys and Palo Alto girls. The Gunn boys had the same score (56) as last year and placed three among the top 15, just like (continued on next page)

Sports

German-American International School

(continued from previous page)

Announces a New

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Keith Peters

last season. All three Titans, however, were new among the leaders. Junior Andrew Prior finished fifth in 16:15, senior Rory Runser was sixth in 16:21 and junior Peter Chen took 10th in 16:51. Rounding out the Gunn scoring was junior Daniel Krigel in 16th (17:16) and junior Michael Underwood in 19th (17:30). Gunn finished ahead of defending champion Mountain View (third with 69), which dropped one of its top scorers into the froshsoph race. Los Altos won its first division title (42 points) in the fiveyear career of head coach PattiSue Plumer, the former Stanford AllAmerican and U.S. Olympian. The Eagles had six runners among the top 13 finishers. The Palo Alto girls were a strong third with nearly the same score (78) as last season (77). Senior Susan Heinselman led the way in 10th (20:07) with sophomore Chika Kasahara right on her heels in 11th in 20:12. Senior Gracie Cain raced

Gunn’s Andrew Prior

Gunn’s Sarah Robinson

home 16th (21:00) while senior Leigh Dairaghi (19th in 21:12) and junior Lydia Guo (22nd in 21:36) rounded out the Paly scoring. The Paly boys finished fifth and did not qualify as a team for CCS, but junior Nikolai Solgaard (14th in 17:06) and junior Corso Rosati (24th in 17:51) earned individual

berths for the CCS finals. The West Bay Athletic League finals for boys and girls will get under way Friday, also at Crystal Springs, starting at 3 p.m. The Menlo boys will be out to defend their title while the Priory girls are hoping to improve upon their second-place finish in 2009. N

PREP FOOTBALL THIS WEEKEND Mountain View (4-1, 7-1) at Palo Alto (5-0, 8-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. While this is only a nonleague game, there’s plenty at stake for the host Vikings, who moved into the Cal-Hi Sports Top 25 state rankings this week. It’s Paly’s first appearance (at No. 25) since 2006, when the Vikings played in the Division II state finals. Mountain View of the SCVAL El Camino Division is coming off a 57-7 rout of Cupertino while Palo Alto defeated Homestead, 35-13, last Friday to win the SCVAL De Anza Division crown outright. Paly is averaging 31.6 ppg while allowing just 8.0 per game, while Mountain View is scoring 34.6 ppg while giving up 14.7. Paly senior QB Christoph Bono was named Cal-Hi Sports Nor Cal Offensive Player of the Week after completing 12 of 16 for 253 yards and two TDs against Homestead. He has completed 101 of 153 passes (.660 completion percentage) for 1,580 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also has kicked 35 PATs for the Vikings, who can go 9-0 for the first time since 1963 with a victory on Friday. Davante Adams, who caught five passes for 133 yards and a TD last week, now has 43 catches for 763 yards (17.7 yards per catch). Palo Alto is just two wins away from completing a 10-0 regular season. The last time that happened was 1950.

South SF (2-2, 4-3) at Menlo (3-1, 6-2), Friday, 2:45 p.m. The Knights already have locked up a CCS playoff berth following a 42-7 blasting of Woodside last week. Menlo still has hopes for a co-title in the PAL Ocean Division, but needs San Mateo to upset first-place Jefferson (4-0, 7-1) on Friday for that to happen. Menlo QB Robert Wickers threw for 179 yards and two TDs in the first half against Woodside while Tim Benton had six catches for 126 yards. Phil Anderson had a 24-yard TD reception and a 79-yard kickoff return for a score in the second quarter. Beau Nichols had touchdown runs of 14 and 1 yards in the first half, the second of which allowed him to set the school record for career points. Nichols has 248 points, breaking the record of 242 points set by running back J.B. Barrett in 1982.

Burlingame (3-1, 5-3) at MenloAtherton (1-3, 2-6), Friday, 2:45 p.m. The postseason is out of reach for the Bears, but they still can have a say in the PAL Bay Division race by upsetting co-leader Burlingame. M-A was less than three minutes away from upsetting co-leader Terra Nova last week, but let the victory slip away and dropped a 31-21 decision. M-A

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jumped to a 14-0 lead before the game was five minutes old. Terra Nova fumbled on its first play from scrimmage and M-A’s Taylor Mashack found himself with a ball in his hands and clear sailing from 27 yards out 10 seconds into the contest. A little more than four minutes later, QB Willy Fonua and Richard Cornew connected on a nine-yard scoring toss. After losing the lead before halftime, the Bears bounced back to retook the lead at 2117 on a 13-yard run by Cameron Moody. It was a lead that held until the Tigers scored with 2:14 remaining to play.

Sacred Heart Prep (3-1, 7-1) at Terra Nova (3-1, 5-3), Friday, 7 p.m. The Gators need a victory to have a shot at least a co-championship in the PAL Bay Division, which would be the team’s first ever. A win by the Gators, coupled with an M-A win over Burlingame, will give SHP the outright title. The Gators set themselves up with a 33-21 win at Aragon last weekend to wrap up a CCS playoff berth. Senior QB John Geary sparked the victory by completing 13 of 18 passes for 274 yards and three TDs. Tomas O’Donnell caught seven of those passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. Colin Terndrup and Pedro Robinson also caught touchdown passes in addition to running for scores. The Gators expect the game with Terra Nova to be a real shootout, with Geary likely needing another big passing night.

Gunn (0-4, 3-5) at Wilcox (2-2, 5-3), Friday, 7:30 p.m. The Titans have two more shots at winning their first SCVAL De Anza Division game of the season, but it would have to come against Wilcox or Los Gatos. Gunn’s best shot might have been last week, but the Titans came up short during a 24-10 loss to visiting Milpitas. Twice in the fourth quarter, Gunn drove deep into Milpitas territory trailing by just a touchdown, only to fall short of the end zone.

STEVE MARSHECK STEVE EARNED HIS B.A. IN MATHEMATICS FROM UC SAN DIEGO AND HIS M.A. IN MATHEMATICS FROM VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY. He wants his students to see the beauty and magic in mathematics. He says, “Once I experienced Abstract Algebra in college, I was hooked. I want my students to see the structure and logic in math that is often hidden by the details and computations.” When Steve isn’t teaching math at the Priory, he pushes his physical limits by training for Ironman Triathlons. In addition, he coaches the Priory’s Middle School cross-country team. He believes teaching is a gift for the teacher and the student. Steve says, rather humbly, “After 17 years, I still think teaching is fun. I enjoy attempting to convince teenagers that math is beautiful. Occasionally, I succeed.”

ONE OF THE MANY REASONS TO SEND YOUR CHILD TO: Woodside Prior y School

Priory (3-3, 4-4) at Alma Heights (0-6), Saturday, 1 p.m. The Panthers will attempt to close their season with back-to-back victories for the first time this season, after holding off Stuart Hall last week, 2220. James McDaniel rushed for 78 yards and Connor Mather added 60 yards on the ground. Alex Brugger had 10 tackles, including three sacks, while Marcus Talbott finished with 12 tackles and Will Latu had 10. -- compiled by Keith Peters

Admissions Office 302 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 www.PrioryCa.org

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The senior captain helped the Vikings go 5-0 in water polo, scoring nine goals in 12-9 and 10-5 league wins as the Vikings clinched third place, and adding seven more in a 3-0 finish at the Mustang Oktoberfest tourney.

Honorable mention Catherine Donahoe

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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 special Council meeting on Monday, November 22, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. or as near thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, to Consider Approval of a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Adoption of an Ordinance Amending the Zoning Map to Apply the Pedestrian and Transit Oriented Development (PTOD) Combining District to a ½ -acre Site Zoned Multiple Family Residential (RM-40) to Allow Eight Residential Condominiums Above Ground Floor Office Space, a Below Grade Parking Garage, and Related Site Improvements at 305 Grant, 2640 and 2650 Birch Street and 306 and 320 Sheridan Avenue. The Planning and Transportation Commission Recommends Approval with Modifications. DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk Page 38ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

To see video interviews of the Athletes of the Week, go to www.PASportsOnline.com

428 at the Rancho Canada East Golf Course in Carmel Valley. St. Ignatius won the team crown with 419 strokes while Presentation earned the third berth for NorCals with a 437. Members of all the qualifying teams also will compete as individuals on Monday, and still could advance to the state championships even if their team does not. That’s certainly a scenario for Castilleja senior Brenna Nelsen, who shot a 3-over 75 and wound up in a three-way tied for third. A similar effort on Monday could move the Harvard-bound Nelsen into her first-ever appearance in the state finals. Nelsen and her teammates, along with Miller, will travel to Stockton on Sunday and walk the course that afternoon. None of the competitors are allowed to play the course until Monday. This all new territory for the Gators, who took advantage of a rule change to make school history. In previous years, only the top four of six scores counted. This season, five of six scores counted. “Counting five really helped us, and in our league,” said Miller, whose squad went 9-1 in dual matches this season and shared the league title with Sacred Heart Prep. Had the teams still been counting the top four scores, Santa Catalina would have won the title on Tuesday with a 326. Its No. 5 scorer, however, finished with a 113 and the team wound with a 439, missing a NorCal berth by three shots. For sure, it was a team effort for Castilleja. Nelsen led the way on the tricky 5,278-yard course that features the Carmel River on five holes during the front nine. Nelsen was 5-over on the front nine but 2-under on the back as she birdied the 416yard par-5 15th, the 439-yard par-5 16th and the 84-yard par-3 17th. Senior Sarah Debs provided a huge lift with her 79, her second sub80 round in as many tournaments. Freshman Caroline Debs was solid with an 89 while sophomore Taylor Wilkerson shot 90. Ellie Zales capped the scoring with her 95, but senior Stephanie Merenbach was just a shot back. Perhaps appropriately, the Castilleja players stopped at Yogurt Heaven for a well-deserved snack on the way home. A heavenly finish for the Gators, either way. That wasn’t the case for the Sacred Heart Prep girls or a trio of other local players. The Gators, the only team to beat Castilleja during the regular season, finished sixth with a 459 team total. SHP’s first three players — junior Rachael Henry (77), junior Shelby Soltau (88) and junior Kennedy Shields (89) — had a combined score of 254. The Gators’ final three contestants, however, shot a combined 330. Gunn’s Jayshree Sarathy, competing as an individual, shot a fine 3-over 75 but had to compete in a playoff with Mitty’s Lauren Salazar and lost it — costing her a trip to NorCals. Pinewood’s Kimberly Beers finished with an 89 while Menlo’s Gabby Girard shot 101. N

Community Health Education Programs Palo Alto Center 795 El Camino Real Lecture and Workshops 650-853-4873 What Everyone Should Know About Hospice Presented by Colleen M. Kenny, MACP, Hospice Community Relations Liaison, and Sophie Mace, R.N., Case Manager, Sutter VNA & Hospice Tuesday, Nov. 9, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Your Baby’s Doctor Wednesday, Nov. 17, 7 to 9 p.m.

Living Well Classes 650-853-2960 Functional Spine Training First Monday of each month, 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Nutrition and Diabetes Classes 650-853-2961 Adult Weight Management Group Thursdays, 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Healthy Eating Type 2 Diabetes Third Wednesday of every other month, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Bariatric Nutrition SMA First Tuesday of each month, 10:30 a.m. to noon

Gestational Diabetes Wednesdays, 2 to 4 p.m.

Living Well with Diabetes Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7 p.m., or Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to noon Heart Smart Class Third and fourth Tuesday of every other month, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Prediabetes First Monday of the month, 9 to 11:30 a.m., and third Wednesday of every other month, 4:30 to 7 p.m. Also in Redwood Shores, fourth Wednesday of every other month, 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Post-Stroke Caregiver’s Workshop 650-565-8485 Pregnancy, Breastfeeding & Child Care Classes

Preparing for Birth 650-853-2960 Thursdays, Nov. 4 – Dec. 16, 7 to 9:15 p.m. Saturday/Sunday, Nov. 20 & 21, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, Dec. 4, 11 & 18, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 8 – Jan. 12, 7 to 9:15 p.m.

Lecture and Workshops 650-934-7373 Healthy Family Meals Dr. Marvin Small Memorial Parent Workshop Series Presented by Dalia Perelman, R.D., PAMF Nutrition Services Tuesday, Nov. 2, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Meet the Diabetic Foot For Your Health Community Lecture Series Presented by Elaine Davis, M.D., PAMF Podiatry Wednesday, Nov. 10, 7 to 8 p.m.

Bye Bye Diapers Dr. Marvin Small Memorial Parent Workshop Series Presented by Heidi Emberling, ParentsPlace Tuesday, Nov. 9, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

HMR Weight Management Program 650-404-8260 Free orientation session. Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m., and Thursdays, 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Living Well Classes 650-934-7373 Back School Tuesday, Nov. 2, Noon to 1 p.m., and Thursday, Nov. 11, 5 to 6 p.m.

Nutrition and Diabetes Classes 650-934-7177 Heart Smart Class Second Tuesday of each month, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

Prediabetes Third Thursday of each month, 2 to 4 p.m. Fourth Tuesday of each month, 3 to 5 p.m.

Diabetes Class (two-part class) Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. to noon and Wednesdays, 2 to 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 11, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.

New Parent ABC’s – All About Baby Care Mondays, Nov. 8 & 15, 7 to 9 p.m., 650-853-2960

Mountain View Center 701 E. El Camino Real

PAMF Partners in Pregnancy Monday, Nov. 29, 6 to 7:30 p.m., 650-853-2960 Preparing for Childbirth Without Medication Sunday, Dec. 5, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 650-853-2960 Raising Healthy & Happy Eaters! 650-853-2961 Introduction to Solids (ages 0 – 1) Feeding Your Toddler (ages 1 – 3) Feeding Your Preschooler (ages 3 – 6) Offered in Palo Alto and Los Altos, please call for dates.

Preparing for Birth – A Refresher Sundays, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 650-853-2960

Sweet Success Gestational Diabetes Class Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon

Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Child Care Classes Breastfeeding Mondays or Tuesdays, Nov. 1, 2, Dec. 6 or 7, 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Infant Emergencies and CPR Wednesday, Nov. 3, 17 and Dec. 1, 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Feeding Your Toddler Tuesday, Nov. 2, 7 to 9 p.m.

OB Orientation Wednesday or Thursday, Nov. 17 & 18 or Dec. 2, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Childbirth Preparation Nov. 5, 6, Dec. 3 & 4; Thursday, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., Friday, 6 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon

Baby Care Nov. 2, 18, Dec. 1 & 7, Tuesday/ Thursday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon

Preparing for Baby Tuesday, Nov. 9, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

For all, register online or call 650-934-7373.

Infant/Child CPR Monday, Nov. 15, 6 to 8 p.m. What to Expect with Your Newborn Tuesday, Nov. 16, 7 to 8 p.m.

Support Groups Bariatric 650-281-8908

CPAP 650-853-4729

Drug and Alcohol 650-853-2904

Kidney 650-323-2225

Cancer 650-342-3749

Diabetes 650-224-7872

Healing Imagery for Cancer Patients 650-799-5512

Multiple Sclerosis 650-328-0179

Free Appointments 650-934-7373 HICAP Counseling Advance Health Care Directive Counseling General Social Services (visits with our social worker)

Support Groups 650-934-7373 AWAKE

Bariatric Surgery

Breastfeeding

For a complete list of classes and class fees, lectures and health education resources, visit: pamf.org. *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 39

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Page 40ÊUÊ Ûi LiÀÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

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