Palo Alto Weekly 02.04.2011 - Section 1

Palo Alto

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Consultants urge fire-station merger Page 3

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Fading Borders

Neighboring cities eye regional services Page 16

Spectrum 10 Eating Out 24 ShopTalk 25 Movies 27 Title Pages 29 Puzzles 49 N Arts

Exhibit shows the Duvenecks’ lasting legacy N Sports Women’s tennis streak will be tested N Home Just where are Greendell, Walnut Grove?

Page 21 Page 31 Page 37

Community Health Education Programs Palo Alto Center, 795 El Camino Real

Mountain View Center, 701 E. El Camino Real

Lecture and Workshops Getting Back in Rhythm: New Treatments for Atrial Fibrillation Presented by Shaun Cho, M.D., PAMF Cardiology Tuesday, Feb. 8, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Hearst Center for Health Education, Level 3, 650-853-4873

Lecture and Workshops 650-934-7373

Hypertension, Salt and Chronic Kidney Disease Health Lecture Series Presented by Toby Gottheiner, M.D., PAMF Nephrology Monday, Feb. 28, 7 to 8:30 p.m.

San Carlos Library, 650-591-0341 x237

The Obesity Epidemic For Your Health Lecture Series Presented by Lynn Bennion, M.D., PAMF Weight Management, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 7 to 8 p.m.

Third Floor Conference Center

HMR Weight Management Program 650-404-8260

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

Heart Smart Class Tuesdays, Feb, 15 & 22, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Bariatric Orientation Every second Tuesday of the month, 4 to 6 p.m.

Living Well with Diabetes Tuesdays, 4:30 to 7 p.m.; Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to noon.

Bariatric Pre-Op Every second Tuesday of the month, 2 to 4:30 p.m.

Living Well with Prediabetes First Monday of the month, 9 to 11 a.m., and third Wednesday of every other month, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Every other fourth Wednesday of the month, Redwood Shores Health Center, 290 Redwood Shores Pkwy., Redwood City

Bariatric Shared Medical Appointment Every first Tuesday of the month, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Healthy eating. Active lifestyles.

Orientation, Tuesday, Feb. 15, class starts on Tuesday, Mar. 8, 10 to 11:30 a.m.

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

New Weigh of Life Thursdays, Feb. 3, 2 to 3:15 p.m., Redwood City Center, 805 Veterans Blvd., Suite 201, Redwood City Sweet Success Program (Gestational Diabetes) Wednesdays, 2 to 4 p.m

Post-Stroke Caregiver’s Workshop 650-565-8485 Thursday, Feb. 10, 4 to 6 p.m.

Free orientation session. Tuesdays, noon to 1:30 p.m., and Thursdays, 5 to 6:30 p.m.

Living Well Classes 650-934-7373 Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Nine-session program, Mondays starting on Feb. 7, 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Nutrition and Diabetes Classes 650-934-7177 Bariatric Surgery Orientation Session Third Tuesday of every month, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Diabetes Management Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays, dates vary by referrals and registrations, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. (Monday & Wednesday, or 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Tuesday) Healthy eating. Active lifestyles.

Thursdays, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Living Well with Prediabetes Tuesdays or Thursdays, dates vary by referrals and registrations, 1:30 to 5 p.m.

New Weigh of Life Mondays, 6 to 7:15 p.m.

Sweet Success Gestational Diabetes Class Wednesdays, dates vary by referrals and registrations, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Heart Smart Class Mondays or Tuesdays, dates vary by referrals and registrations, 2:30 to 6 p.m.

Pregnancy, Breastfeeding & Child Care Classes Breastfeeding – Secrets for Success Thursday, Feb. 24, 7 to 9 p.m.

New Parent ABC’s – All About Baby Care Mondays, Feb. 14 & 28, 7 to 9 p.m.

PAMF Partners in Parenting Monday, Feb. 7, 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Preparing for Birth/Fast Track Three-session class starting Wednesday, Feb. 2, 7 to 9 p.m.

Prenatal Yoga First Thursday of every month, 6:30 to 7:45 p.m.

Your Baby’s Doctor Thursday, Feb. 17, 7 to 9 p.m.

For all, register online or call 650-853-2960.

Support Groups Bariatric 650-281-8908 Cancer 650-342-3749 CPAP 650-853-4729

Diabetes 650-224-7872 Drug and Alcohol 650-853-2904

Healing Imagery for Cancer Patients 650-799-5512 Kidney 650-323-2225 Multiple Sclerosis 650-328-0179

Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Child Care Classes Baby Safety Basics Thursday, Feb. 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Breastfeeding Your Newborn Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 7 & 8 and Mar. 7 & 8, 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Childbirth Preparation Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Feb. 3, 4, 5, Mar. 3 & 4, 6 to 9 p.m. (Thursday & Friday), 9 a.m. to noon (Saturday) Feeding Your Young Child Tuesday, Feb. 15, 7 to 9 p.m.

Infant Care Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Feb. 23, 26 & Mar. 1, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (weekdays), 10 a.m. to noon (Saturdays) Infant Emergencies and CPR Wednesday, Feb. 16, Mar. 2 & 16, 6 to 8:30 p.m.

OB Orientation Wednesday or Thursday, Feb. 9, 17 & 23, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

What to Expect with Your Newborn Tuesday, Feb. 15, 7 to 8 p.m.

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

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

Chronic Fatigue

For a complete list of classes and class fees, lectures and health education resources, visit: pamf.org.

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Upfront

1ST PLACE

BEST LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE California Newspaper Publishers Association

Local news, information and analysis

Merge Palo Alto fire stations, consultants say Report also recommends new ‘public safety director’ position, scrapping Station 8 staffing and regionalizing training

by Gennady Sheyner and Chris Kenrick he Palo Alto Fire Department should merge its Hanover Street and Arastradero Road fire stations, reorganize top management and end the “minimum staffing” requirement in the fireunion contract, outside consultants are recommending in a new study.

T

The 190-page report, which the City Council will discuss Monday night, characterizes the city’s Fire Department as one that provides top-notch emergency services but has major organizational deficiencies, particularly in areas such as fire prevention and training.

The study was conducted by ICMA, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes “best practices” in local governance, in partnership with TriData, a division of System Planning Corp., a Northern Virginia research and electronics company.

“The PAFD provides excellent service when responding to emergencies,” the consultants concluded.

“However, the PAFD, once considered a ‘best example’ fire orga-

nization, has become a stagnant organization and management is struggling, due in part to insufficient support staff.”

Using data analysis and face-toface interviews, the consultants evaluated fire-department response times; fire and emergency medical services (EMS) workloads; services and agreements with Stanford University; fire station and staffing locations and the use of overtime and auxiliary personnel.

The report includes 48 recommendations, including a new organizational structure in which a “public safety director” oversees both the police and fire operations; a single location for the Fire Department’s senior staff to operate in; merging of Station 2 and Station 5 into a new station near the intersection of Arastradero Road and Hillview Avenue; and staffing Station 8 in the foothills (continued on page 9)

TRANSPORTATION

Caltrain: ‘The crisis is at hand’ Board could declare fiscal emergency at or following March 3 public meeting

by Sue Dremann he board that oversees Caltrain is calling for a public hearing on March 3 to declare a fiscal emergency and to consider cutting service and closing stations, a move that would turn the West’s second-oldest passenger line into a daytime commuter train that would operate only during peak business hours.

Rail proponents and commuters urged the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board on Thursday to stay the hearings and consider a variety of possible interim funding options, including taking $5.5 million earmarked for the Dumbarton Rail project and getting two other transit agencies in Santa Clara and San Francisco counties to help make up the $30 million shortfall.

But board members decided to move ahead with plans to reduce service, citing the need for a wider public discourse on the future of the rail line.

Thursday’s unanimous vote pushes forward a key component of the draconian cuts: a board vote on or shortly after the March 3 meeting to declare the fiscal emergency. An emergency declaration would allow officials to make the cuts without need for longer-term analysis through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regarding impacts, board members said.

Caltrain proposes to cut weekday trains from 86 to 48 to run during commute hours only, along with any necessary adjustments to shuttlebus services. All weekend, night, holiday and special-event service would be eliminated. Up to seven of 10 stations could be closed be-

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Sketch by Vicki Ellen Behringer

Bulos ‘Paul’ Zumot breaks down as he testifies in his own defense Wednesday, Feb. 2, in San Jose.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Zumot breaks down on stand: ‘I still love her’ Palo Alto man recalls arguments with girlfriend Jennifer Schipsi but says he did not kill her or set fire to their cottage

by Gennady Sheyner

B

ulos “Paul” Zumot, the Palo Alto man facing murder and arson charges, took the stand in his own defense Wednesday afternoon and, fighting back tears, testified that he loved Jennifer Schipsi and was not responsible for her death.

Zumot, who was arrested Oct. 19, 2009, became emotional as he recalled his relationship with Schipsi, a 29-year-old real-estate agent whose body was found four days before the arrest. Police be-

lieve Zumot had strangled Schipsi and then burned down their Addison Avenue cottage to hide the crime.

Earlier in his San Jose trial, the prosecution pointed to the history of domestic violence between Zumot and Schipsi and witnesses testified about an argument the couple had on Oct. 14, 2009, just after Zumot’s birthday party. Police believe Zumot killed Schipsi the following day.

Zumot, 37, began his testimony

by telling the jury he was innocent.

“I did not kill Jennifer Schipsi,” Zumot said, when asked by defense attorney Tina Glandian why he agreed to take the stand. “I did not burn the house.

“There are a lot of things that need to be answered that we haven’t covered yet.”

Zumot said he met Schipsi in 2007 when both exercised at a San Jose gym. They became friends and then started dating, Zumot

testified.

“I fell in love with her,” he said.

“I still love her.

“We loved each other. We had our problems, and we had our ups and downs like everyone else.”

Zumot said he and Schipsi got into their first serious argument on Feb. 7, 2008, at which time he said he kicked her car, causing damage to the side. But one week later, they were back together. Glandian (continued on page 7)

(continued on page 9)

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EDITORIAL Jocelyn Dong, 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, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, Contributors Sarah Trauben, Zohra Ashpari 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.

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City/Zip: _______________________________ Mail to: Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610. Palo Alto CA 94302

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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‘‘

FREE WATER?

I did not kill Jennifer Schipsi. — Bulos ‘Paul’ Zumot, who testified in his own defense Wednesday during his murder-and-arson trial. See story on page 3.

Around Town FOND FAREWELL ... Full disclosure: Jay Thorwaldson had spent the last 10 years of his five-decades-long journalism career at the Weekly before he retired last week. On Monday night, the City Council sent a clear message that Thorwaldson’s departure will be felt not only in the Weekly’s newsroom but also in the community at large. Mayor Sid Espinosa read aloud a special proclamation, listing some of Thorwaldson’s most notable achievements, including a five-part investigative series in 1971 that led to the creation of the Palo Alto Fire Department’s paramedic unit; a 1970 editorial that resulted in the creation of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District; and the Family LifeSkills program he set up at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, which focused on communication between parents and teenagers.

The official proclamation also states that Thorwaldson “knows the AP Style Book backwards and forwards and can recite every page by memory� and has “made unforgettable contributions to Palo Alto and to the entire Bay Area.� Councilman Larry Klein praised Thorwaldson for his ability to advocate for issues he is passionate about, including his support for the openspace district in 1970 (Klein was part of that effort). At the time, Thorwaldson was a young writer at the Palo Alto Times, and he had to convince his editor to run the editorial. “Jay is not just a critic — he’s one who uses his journalistic soapbox to make this place and other places a better place to live,� Klein said.

Caltrain Committee — a mouthful of a proposal that ultimately faltered. The new name is meant to signify a “changed strategy� for the committee now that the high-speed-rail project is slated to start in Central Valley.

The project has galvanized the Palo Alto community and the council, which last year joined a lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority. By contrast, the council is deeply concerned about Caltrain, which is facing steep budget shortfalls and service reductions. “Why don’t we divorce high-speed rail?� committee Chair Larry Klein asked as the meeting concluded. “Or get a pre-nup,�

Councilwoman Nancy Shepherd quipped.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? ... After wrestling with California’s highspeed-rail project for two years, Palo Alto officials now face a more pressing problem: keeping Caltrain alive. On Thursday morning, a City Council committee recognized this change in priorities and offered to change its own name. If the full council agrees, the council High-Speed Rail Committee would be rechristened as the Rail Committee. The committee considered other alternatives, including the High-Speed Rail/

TOUR OF TRIUMPH ... Baseball fans all over the Peninsula cheered last fall, when the San Francisco Giants defeated the Texas Rangers and claimed the 2010 World Series Trophy.

On Feb. 15, baseball’s greatest prize will make an appearance in East Palo Alto, where fans will have an opportunity to see and take photos of it. The trophy will be displayed between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. at the city’s newly remodeled Youth Activity Center, 550 Bell St. N

VET GETS THE GOLD ... U.S. Army Combat Medic Stephen Evans, who grew up in Palo Alto and graduated from Los Altos High School, was severely wounded a year ago in Iraq, when the truck he was riding in was attacked. Evans suffered a broken skull, jaw, leg and eye socket, along with a traumatic brain injury, severe burns and lacerations. But Evans didn’t let his considerable injuries get him down for long. After months of rehabilitation, Evans was selected to compete in canoeing in the para-athlete division (for athletes with physical disabilities) of the Slalom Pan American Championships held in Mexico in January. He not only participated but paddled away with the gold medal. “He’s come a long way since he was on life support,� proud father and Palo Alto resident Henry Evans said.

Upfront SCHOOLS

YOUTH

Parents of strong-willed teens gain strategies, hope

Celebration of life for fifthgrade teacher George Flath

Palo Alto Parent Project caters to families whose kids have had brushes with law

Saturday event at Hoover School to include reunion, slide show and sharing time

by Chris Kenrick

by Chris Kenrick

A

concerns.

“It is for you to handle as a family.”

Newbom said she sent 42 personal letters to solicit enrollment for the current class and circulated 400 fliers.

The Paly mother had already initiated an informal support group of parents of her child’s friends.

“Palo Alto is in denial about these things,” she said.

“We have this image to uphold.”

The mother said she was pleased the first session had focused on the importance of parents expressing unconditional love for their children.

“Instead of making you feel like you’re doing something wrong, they focus on the fact that while we cannot control our kids, we can manage them in a different way,” she said.

“We talked a lot about short-term consequences, taking away things they enjoy for a short period of time.”

Police officers, all too familiar with middle-ofthe-night youth busts, said the Parent Project is one of the most effective tools in their arsenal to improve out-of-control teen behavior.

Calls for police to respond to the households of parents who have taken the class are eliminated or sharply reduced, Newbom said. Those parents who still call the police, she said, “tended to be the ones who were inconsistent in their attendance and participation.”

Beyond coaching on steps toward “active, engaged parenting,” a key goal of the course is to foster longer-term bonds among parents.

“Many parents comment that what they like most is being able to talk to other parents who have the same problems,” Newbom said.

“They feel alone because their next-door neighbors — who can hear all their family arguments — appear to have perfect children who are attending school and on their way to Harvard.”

In addition to the 12 parents in the English section, 14 are enrolled in the Spanish section.

Forty-two couples had been invited.

“I think there’s a time commitment issue and maybe a feeling of, ‘Oh, I don’t need that,’” Wagner said. “It may be hard to admit that you need some skills.”

The Parent Project is a “high-commitment class,” she said. Consistent participation is critical because the curriculum builds from week to week.

“The parents want all the answers the first night — they just want to go home and read the book.

But you can’t just read the book. It’s about the facilitation, the other learning tools, the parents interacting — that’s what you get from it, as well as the support group.”

Kara Rosenberg, principal of Palo Alto Adult School, a class co-sponsor, said she audited the first series of The Parent Project and was initially skeptical.

“I think the parents felt the same way. ... But what I saw at the end was that the parents were confident. Not all their problems were solved, but they had strategies to help them.

“And it’s nice for the parents to have these connections with the police department outside of their kids being in trouble.

“It may be trite to say, ‘It takes a village,’ but that is to some extent what this does. It helps parents create a network to help each other out and to know they’re not in it alone.” N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.

celebration of life will be held Saturday for George Flath, a popular fifth-grade teacher at Hoover Elementary School in Palo Alto who died unexpectedly Jan. 30 after flu-like symptoms rapidly developed into a severe infection.

The celebration will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the school at 445 East Charleston Road.

It will include a “welcome reunion,” slide show and voluntary sharing time.

Flath, a teacher at Hoover since 1994, was 43. He taught his class as usual Friday (Jan. 28) and was hospitalized during the weekend.

A cause of death has not been determined, but school officials said tests were underway to explore the possibility of meningococcal disease.

Some members of the Hoover community were taking antibiotics as a preventive measure. Representatives from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department held a meeting at the school Monday afternoon.

A health department physician said few members of the Hoover community had the type of contact with Flath that would put them at risk for acquiring the meningococcal bacteria. However, prophylactic antibiotics were offered “out of an abundance of caution,” and most parents of Flath’s students took them for their children, a health department spokeswoman said.

“Mr. Flath was an uplifting, vibrant teacher who cherished his work here,” Hoover School Principal Susanne Scott said in a letter to the Hoover community.

“His sense of humor added to the joy and enthusiasm in his work with students. He will be missed by all of us.”

School district staff and Hoover School parents were notified of the death in an e-mail, Assistant Superintendent Scott Bowers said.

Students were told about it, class by class, Monday morning, with counselors on hand, Bowers said.

School psychologists and staff from the grief counseling organization Kara were available to support staff members and students, Scott said.

Meningococcal disease comes from a bacterium that can cause both meningitis, inflammation of brain and spinal cord tissue, or sepsis, a severe infection of the blood, according to Sara Cody, a physician and communicable disease control officer with the health department.

“There are very few people in the Hoover school community who may have had the type of close contact that would put them at risk of acquiring the bacteria,” Cody said in a memo to Hoover staff members and parents.

While meningococcal disease is contagious, Cody said, “it is not easily spread from person to person.”

Meningococcal bacteria are “not as contagious as things like the common cold or the flu, and they are not spread

A

Courtesy of the Palo Alto Unified School District

s a police officer, April Wagner has responded to countless calls from desperate Palo Alto parents whose teenagers have run away, shoplifted, pulled weapons on family members or collapsed from the effects of drugs and alcohol.

“Parents think they’re the only ones going through it. It’s horrible,” Wagner said.

“It’s heartbreaking, and it tears families apart.”

Last month, Wagner and fellow officer John Alaniz convened a group of such parents for the launch of a strictly confidential class on how to handle strong-willed teens.

Two rooms full of parents — one Englishspeaking, one Spanish-speaking — gathered on a weeknight at Greendell School.

For three hours with no break — fueled by Subway sandwiches, candy and Peet’s coffee — the parents bonded over stories about their kids, according to a mother who was present.

The mother’s child — a popular Palo Alto High School student — has had multiple contacts with police, including a citation for possession of marijuana.

“Traditional parenting can be effective with compliant kids, but with strong-willed kids traditional parenting isn’t effective so you need ways to be effective without shutting them down,” she said.

The 12 parents in the English-speaking room interviewed one another and then introduced their interview partners to the larger group.

“It was completely open — you could share things if you want to, but you didn’t have to,” the mother said. Parents pledged to maintain confidentiality about discussions of particular children and the identities of other parents.

They received a homework assignment to report back the next week on how their teens reacted when the parents “showed them love in a tangible way every day” through notes, hugs or verbal expressions.

“It sounded pretty obvious to me, but there was someone in the class who said, ‘I don’t want to tell my kids I love you,’” the mother said.

“There are definitely kids out there who aren’t getting that regular dose of verbal or physical love from their parents.”

The Parent Project class is now in the fourth week of a 12-week series. A joint project of the police department and the Palo Alto Adult School, it has been offered twice a year in Palo Alto for the past five years.

Parents are referred to the class either by the school district, the police or, occasionally, by a juvenile-probation officer. Police said they typically reach out to parents of teens who have had multiple, serious contacts with the department.

“I send a letter not to every, but close to every, family whose child has been arrested more than once in that year,” Wagner said.

“For example, if a child has no discipline history with the school district and shoplifted a soda at Long’s, I’m not going to send a letter. But if a child has a discipline history at school and was cited for smoking weed at 11 p.m. out on a corner, it’s a case where, if the parents made a bigger effort, everyone could benefit.”

The Paly mother received her invitation from Police Department School Resource Officer Nanelle Newbom.

After recounting police contacts involving the woman’s child, Newbom’s letter said: “I’m not writing to you as an officer but as another parent of teenagers. Most of what I’m talking about here is not a matter for police to address, beyond safety

Hoover Elementary School teacher George Flath at a 2008 fifth-grade picnic. by casual contact or by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been...

“For those with casual contact, preventive antibiotics are not recommended,” Cody said.

The bacteria can live outside the body for only a few minutes, and do not live on environmental surfaces or in the air, she said.

At Monday’s meeting with Hoover parents, students and staff, public health officials offered prophylactic antibiotics to those who wanted them.

“Most of the parents did end up taking them for their children,” health department spokeswoman Joy Alexiou said.

“But it’s extremely unlikely that anybody else will get sick.”

Symptoms of meningococcal disease may develop within several hours or over a period of one to two days, and include high fever, severe headache, stiff neck, nausea, vomiting, discomfort when looking into bright lights and mental confusion.

A friend of Flath’s, Lewis Weaser, said the teacher, who lived in San Francisco, was socializing with friends Saturday afternoon.

“A group of five of us had dinner plans on Saturday night when he started to mention that he wasn’t feeling well,” Weaser said in an e-mail Monday.

“That was around 6:30, before dinner.”

Weaser said he received word about noon on Sunday that Flath was in the emergency room of Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco.

Flath’s family was at his side in the hospital, school officials said.

Rather than sending flowers, those who wish are asked to consider donating to The Companion Animal Rescue Effort at P.O. Box 111474, Campbell, CA, 95011-1474; or the San Francisco SPCA; or the Humane Society of Silicon Valley. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.

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News Digest Palo Alto Realtor target of ‘grandparents’ scam

Top Rating For Quality By Bay Area Consumer Check Book

Since 1981

Upfront

Ann Griffiths a well-known real-estate agent, wants everyone to know about a scam to which she fell prey on Jan. 25 — one that can devastate the life savings of seniors.

Griffiths was scammed out of nearly $11,000 after con artists impersonating her grandson led her to believe he had been arrested in Barcelona, Spain. “I’m lucky. It could’ve been worse,� she said Thursday (Feb. 3). “I had saved some money for a trip to Paris this summer with my granddaughters. It’s gone now.�

Griffiths said she was in a board meeting at Coldwell Banker, where she is a broker, when her phone rang. The voice on the other end sounded like her grandson, Ryan. “Hey, Grandma,� the voice said.

But Griffiths said her supposed grandson’s voice didn’t sound quite right. “Ryan, you don’t sound OK,� she said. “Well, I’m in Barcelona, Spain,� the voice said.

The real Ryan is a student at U.C. Santa Barbara, but the Ryan on the phone explained that he’d won a radio contest for a trip to Barcelona and he had taken a friend along. Griffiths pointed out that he didn’t have a passport. “Ryan� said the radio station had taken care of the problem and he had checked into a five-star hotel.

But he said he and his friend were in a Spanish jail after having met two young people from Canada on the beach. The young men went backpacking and got into the Canadian youths’ car to do some sightseeing, the impersonator said. Police pulled them over and found drugs in the car, he claimed.

Griffiths said “Ryan� made her promise not to tell anyone in the family. But he handed the phone to a policeman named Ted Peterson who said he handled law-enforcement issues for the U.S. embassy in Spain.

He assured Griffiths that “Ryan� and his friends had not been in possession of drugs but he needed her to wire $2,500 bail to get her grandson out of jail.

Griffiths said she wanted to protect Ryan at all costs, and the idea that he was being held in a foreign country played deeply to her emotions.

Griffiths said she wasn’t suspicious because $2,500 wasn’t much money for bail, since her late husband had been an attorney.

Two further phone calls asked for more money, including $5,600 in “legal fees.� Ultimately, Griffiths smelled a rat and called the Palo Alto police.

Griffiths called her real grandson’s cell phone and he answered. The real Ryan said he knew nothing about the scam and had been in Santa Barbara the entire time taking a physics exam, Griffiths said.

Police told her the con artists get hold of cell-phone numbers and use another number to cover their tracks. “You feel violated. But I’m not angry, I’m thankful,� she said, happy that she did not lose more.

Griffiths is a former president of Peninsula Volunteers at Little House in Menlo Park, which caters to seniors. She said she wants people to know how easy it is to be taken advantage of and to never provide important information that can lead to identity theft. “If I can save just one grandparent ‌,â€? she said of her decision to come forward. N — Sue Dremann

Alcohol, speed caused Stanford scholar’s fatal crash A Stanford University visiting scholar who died in a car crash on rainslicked Middlefield Road Dec. 18 had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit and was driving at 50 to 60 mph on the 25 mph road, according to Palo Alto police.

Rune Thode Nielsen, 25, was driving southbound on Middlefield when his vehicle struck a sign on the west side of the street, then slammed into a tree and ricocheted off a parked vehicle before coming to rest in the front yard of a home near the intersection at Hawthorne Avenue at 12:50 a.m., according to police. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office told Palo Alto police investigators that Nielsen’s blood-alcohol level was 0.212, according to police spokeswoman Lt. Sandra Brown. The legal limit is 0.08.

Police investigators also determined Nielsen was traveling at approximately 50-60 mph. “This is determined by the damage to the vehicle (crush), the damage to the tree and the resting location of the vehicle. Fire personnel were on scene and tried life-saving measures to no avail. He was apparently at a party earlier in the evening and was observed drinking,� Brown said.

Nielsen, a Danish national from Copenhagen, studied nanotechnology and “had a huge network of friends,� a source said after his death.

He was a resident of the St. Claire Gardens neighborhood in Palo Alto. N — Sue Dremann LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com

Upfront

University alumni volunteer relations director, served for 21 years as program director for the Career Action Center, a job-search nonprofit; and is the author of “The High-Tech Career Book.” She’s also volunteered with Community School of Music and Arts, the Mountain View School Board, the American Red Cross, the Mountain View Human Relations Commission and the Day Worker Center of Mountain View.

Over the past quarter-century, Jan Fenwick has worked and volunteered for environmental organizations such as the Purissima Hills Water District, the Peninsula Conservation Center and Environmental Volunteers, as well as educational organizations including the Community School of Music and Arts and the Foothill-De Anza College

Foundation board.

Dick Henning, in addition to founding the Foothill College Celebrity Forum Speakers Series, which he has directed since 1968, has delivered hundreds of speeches to clubs, schools and businesses. He served on numerous community boards and personally raised funds for and delivered wheelchairs to the needy in Third World countries.

Fifty-two-year League of Women Voters leader Veronica Tincher works on outreach to new and young voters and has also volunteered with Legal Aid and AARP Tax Aide. She’s also chaired the Santa Clara County Mental Health Board and served as treasurer for the boards of Keddem Congregation and the Palo Alto Jewish Community Center.

Bill Reller and his late wife, Car-

olyn Reller, are responsible for the creation in 1990 of Palo Alto Commons, a south Palo Alto residence for seniors, which Carolyn operated until her death in 2010. She is the first posthumous recipient of the Lifetimes of Achievement honor.

Both the Rellers are known for their years of active community service, including Bill’s work with the Palo Alto Community Fund, Peninsula Open Space Trust, the Palo Alto Board of Realtors and the Mid-Peninsula YMCA. The seven honorees will be celebrated at a public reception Sunday, May 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. at a garden party at a local home. The event is sponsored by Avenidas, Palo Alto Weekly and Palo Alto Online.

Tickets can be purchased for $75 by contacting Avenidas at 650-2895445 or online at www.avenidas.org.

Proceeds from the reception benefit senior programs at Avenidas. N Editorial Assistant Karla Kane can be e-mailed at kkane@ paweekly.com.

In early September, he and Schipsi were once again back together, Zumot said. She e-mailed him photos of the two of them together, including one of them at a camping trip at Lake Camanche. In the photo they are sitting together, his arm around her. She sent him another photo of herself, which he planned to frame and hang at the house.

But Zumot said Schipsi was also feeling depressed because of the faltering economy and the rough realestate market.

Zumot also said the two of them planned to get engaged in mid-October. They had plans to go to Palm Springs on the weekend of Oct. 17, 2009. In one text message, she requested “no ring, please.”

Zumot said Schipsi surprised him on Oct. 14, 2009, by taking him to his favorite restaurant for his birthday party. They went to the DishDash Restaurant in Sunnyvale,

where about 10 other friends were waiting.

Zumot said the group had a great time. He said he had a couple of drinks, while Schipsi had four or five.

After DishDash, they went back to Palo Alto, where they were planning to relax at Da Hookah Spot. His friend Victor Chaalan was driving them back to Palo Alto when Schipsi received a text message from her friend Jaber Al-Suwaidi. Zumot said she showed him the phone with the message. He said he looked at the message and tossed the phone back toward her because he didn’t want to talk to Al-Suwaidi at the moment.

Zumot also said he told Schipsi to “shut up” at one point during the car trip. He said he meant it jokingly, but she took it very seriously. She was in the back seat, crying.

They arrived at Da Hookah Spot, and Zumot said he went straight

into the café. He said he tried to call Schipsi a few times but she didn’t call back. He assumed she went home.

“She’d done that a couple of times — when we argue, she’d walk home,” Zumot testified.

“It was not a big deal at all.”

Earlier this week, witnesses recalled hearing that Zumot threatened to burn down both Da Hookah Spot and the Addison cottage. Then the defense began its case with testimony, focusing on Zumot’s whereabouts on the evening of the fire.

Zumot was scheduled to continue his testimony Friday, after the Weekly’s press deadline. For updates on the trial, go to www.

PaloAltoOnline.com. To follow the trial live on Twitter, go to twitter. com/#!/paw_court. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

COMMUNITY

2011 ‘Lifetimes of Achievement’ honorees announced Avenidas celebrates seven outstanding local seniors

by Karla Kane former mayor, a careerdevelopment expert, an environmental and education volunteer, a gifted speaker, a voter advocate and a pair of seniorhousing leaders are the recipients of the 2011 Avenidas Lifetimes of Achievement Awards.

Jim Burch of Palo Alto, Betsy Collard of Mountain View, Jan Fenwick of Los Altos Hills, Dick Henning of Los Altos, Veronica Tincher of Palo Alto and Bill and the late Carolyn Reller of Palo Alto were selected by the nonprofit senior-service organization Avenidas for their contributions to the community. The honorees, who are required to be older than 65, were announced at a

A

Zumot trial

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showed a screenshot of text messages they exchanged on Feb. 14, 2008.

She wrote: “Miss you... Love you!”

Zumot also recalled a March 2008 altercation. He said he had spit at her outside a Starbucks in San Jose. Schipsi then filed charges against him, and he pleaded guilty to making harassing phone calls.

He received three years of probation and had to take 52 classes for perpetrators of domestic violence.

Zumot said he and Schipsi got back together in October 2008, shortly after Schipsi visited him at his University Avenue café, Da Hookah Spot and told him she was sorry for what happened. On Oct. 26, 2008, she had allegedly sent him an e-mail telling him she loved him and saying that she couldn’t wait to spend her life with him. She also modified her restraining order against him to allow “peaceful contact.”

When Glandian showed the email on the projection screen, Zumot cried for several minutes.

Zumot said Schipsi had e-mailed him at the end of October, but he didn’t want to talk to her until the courts modified the restraining order. He said he tried to keep his distance from her until things cooled off.

“She wanted to be back together and work it out at any cost at that time,” Zumot said.

Zumot testified that they got back together in December but continued to have their fights. He said Schipsi became jealous whenever she found him in contact with other women. In one case, she became angry when an ex-girlfriend sent him a text message wishing him a merry Christmas.

Zumot said Schipsi broke his phone into pieces and hit him over the head with his keys, causing blood to gush from the side of his face.

He then went to the police, who took photos of his cut. The photo was shown in court Wednesday.

But the fight didn’t last long, he said. Zumot said Schipsi received

reception at the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto Thursday.

“Caring and commitment are two hallmarks of each of these outstanding nominees. They all have made their mark on their community and for that we are grateful,” Avenidas CEO Lisa Hendrickson said in a statement.

Former Palo Alto Mayor Burch has been active in community service since the 1950s, when he worked with such organizations as Boy Scouts of America, United Way, NAACP and Urban Coalition, which he co-founded. He volunteered for 36 years with Foundation for Global Community, until its closure in December 2010, and, along with his wife Wileta, has also produced educational seminars and television documentaries.

Betsy Collard, former Stanford

READ MORE ONLINE

www.PaloAltoOnline.com Read more about the trial — including Schipsi’s friends’ concern that she was in danger, a video placing Zumot at his lounge just after the fire, and Zumot’s friend recollection about the night before the fatal fire — on Palo Alto Online by searching under “Zumot.”

an arrest warrant because of the incident, but he ended up bailing her out, changing his story and making sure the charges against her would be dropped.

Zumot said in early March 2009 he realized the relationship wasn’t working out and asked Schipsi if they should go their separate ways.

Glandian read an e-mail from Zumot to Schipsi in which he tells her, “I’ll be praying for us whether we continue or split.” He signed off, “Love you, Paul.”

A few days after that he once again told her he didn’t think the relationship was going well because they had “different goals.” He said she agreed.

“It’s like a roller-coaster,” he said.

“Every day, up and down.”

Nevertheless, the relationship continued and so did the arguments.

Zumot said he and Schipsi got into a fight on Aug. 23, 2009, after Schipsi’s friend, Heather Winters, showed her a picture of Zumot at the café with a female friend. He said he came home and found Schipsi had packed away all of his belongings and left some of his clothes in a bag. He said he slept at the café that night.

Zumot said he tried again to end the relationship. He said Schipsi threatened to go to the police any time they had an argument and he proposed splitting up. Because he was on probation, he took the threats seriously.

On Aug. 24, 2009, the day after their argument, Schipsi called the police and claimed that he drove into her car, Zumot said. When the police investigated, they found no damage marks on his car and took no action, he said.

“She thought I was cheating, so she lied to the police,” Zumot said.

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Upfront The

Jean and Bill Lane

Lecture Series 2010–2011 Presents

D. A. Powell Reading Monday, February 7, 2011, 8:00 p.m.

Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford Campus

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.

Is bankruptcy looming for Borders?

Retail bookseller Borders Group, Inc., has announced that it plans to undergo a major restructuring that will close many stores and ask vendors and some landlords to work with the company on its debts.

(Posted Feb. 2 at 4:31 p.m.)

Google executive goes missing in Egypt The day before Google executive Wael Ghonim went missing last week from Egypt’s protests, he tweeted, “We are all ready to die.”

His family hasn’t heard from him since Friday (Jan. 28). (Posted Feb. 1 at 5:16 p.m.)

Powell has been called “the best poet of his generation – and arguably the most important poet under 50” (Time Out New York).

FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Information: 650.723.0011 http://creativewriting.stanford.edu

Sponsored by Stanford University’s Creative Writing Program

Tech firms pledge to help fund Stanford expansion A corporate-philanthropy program that aims to raise as much as $150 million for the proposed Stanford Hospitals & Clinics expansion project has launched with six founding companies, Stanford Hospital announced Tuesday (Feb. 1). (Posted Feb. 1 at 3:33 p.m.)

DA won’t prosecute on Brown Act violation Menlo Park Councilwoman Kelly Fergusson will not face criminal charges for a Brown Act violation, the district attorney’s office announced Tuesday (Feb. 1). In a written statement, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said that since Fergusson’s serial meeting didn’t result in any action taken by the council, her violation didn’t violate the criminal provision of the Brown Act. (Posted Feb. 1 at 12:19 p.m.)

Couple arrested for DUI at Palo Alto golf course A man and woman who allegedly had a drinking rendezvous at the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course netted double DUI arrests for Palo Alto police Monday evening (Jan. 31), but not before the man allegedly caused three accidents, police said. (Posted Feb. 1 at 11:55 a.m.)

Powerline catches fire in Palo Alto, people evacuate A fire on a transmission pole temporarily shut down Cambridge Avenue in Palo Alto Tuesday morning (Feb. 1) and severed phone and Internet service to some Comcast and AT&T customers into the afternoon. Editor’s note: This story included video content. (Posted Feb. 1 at 10:25 a.m.)

Stanford, city close to deal on hospital expansion Stanford University’s ambitious expansion of its hospital facilities will come with an equally ambitious traffic-management program that university officials hope will unclog some of Palo Alto’s busiest intersections and smooth Stanford’s path toward the city’s approval.

(Posted Jan. 31 at 10:37 p.m.)

Palo Alto braces for rising water rates Palo Altans could face years of steep water-rate increases, including a 12.5 percent jump in July, because of regional efforts to repair aged water infrastructure and spiking water-supply costs. (Posted Jan. 31 at 10:11 p.m.)

Dumbarton Bridge lanes to close for construction Due to long-term construction underway on the Dumbarton Bridge, Caltrans began closing lanes in each direction on the bridge Monday night (Jan. 31) to facilitate the seismic retrofit that is expected to be completed by August 2012. (Posted Jan. 31 at 12:42 p.m.)

Skelly: Parents wrestle with expectations of kids Palo Alto parents often fear that their children will not stand out in the sea of high-achievers, but Palo Alto Unified School District Superintendent Kevin Skelly told a group of Barron Park neighborhood residents Sunday (Jan. 30) that district students are prepared for excellence. (Posted Jan. 31 at 9:55 a.m.)

Group seeks to stem Caltrain ‘death spiral’ More than 200 Friends of Caltrain met on Saturday (Jan. 29) to find ways to keep the Peninsula railway from going into what one transportation official called “a death spiral” that threatens to shut down the West’s second oldest passenger train service. (Posted Jan. 31 at 8:50 a.m.)

Police ID victim of fatal East Palo Alto shooting The man who was shot and killed in East Palo Alto early Saturday morning (Jan. 29) has been identified as Ernesto Benites Valverde, 37, a dishwasher at a Peninsula country club, police reported. There is no indication of gang involvement in the shooting, police said. (Posted Jan. 29 at 4:51 p.m.)

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Upfront

Fire stations (continued from page 3)

only during “high fire” days, rather than throughout the summer.

The consultants’ recommendation to merge the two stations was based on data showing “significant overlap in service coverage,” according to the report.

Retaining the two stations is “not merited by current and projected demand and (there are) indications that existing locations no longer match current needs of the city as it has been built out since the stations were built in the 1960s,” the report said.

The consultants also criticized the “minimum staffing” provision in Palo Alto’s contract with its firefighters union. The provision, which has been in place since the late 1970s, requires the city to always have at least 29 firefighters on duty. The report stated that this provision has led to “decreased staffing flexibility as service needs change.”

The lack of flexibility has meant the elimination of many administrative staff positions, some of which should be reinstated, the consultants said, including the Geographic Information System (GIS) data analyst and a battalion chief to plan and manage the training program.

But efforts to scrap the provision have been shot down in the past.

The firefighters union, Palo Alto Professional Firefighters, Local 1319, has consistently fought efforts to end “minimum staffing,” and it continues to resist job reductions in the department. Last year, the union petitioned to have Measure R placed on last November’s ballot, which would have required any change in fire-department staffing levels to be approved by the electorate. It was shot down by 75 percent of voters.

“Though we understand the concern of the union to maintain an adequate staff to maintain safety, we disagree that the total minimum staff should be in the contract,” the

Caltrain

(continued from page 3)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com What do you think of the recommendations to change how Palo Alto’s fire department works? Engage in a discussion on Town Square, the online forum on Palo Alto Online.

consultants wrote.

It would be reasonable, they wrote, to establish staffing guidelines for a fire engine or a ladder truck. But they wrote that the city “should never agree to a minimum staffing requirement that establishes the total force as this equates to establishing the level of service provided.”

The new report also addressed another issue with a contentious history: staffing of Station 8 in the foothills. It recommends staffing the station only during “high fire” days, as determined by Cal Fire.

Alternative staffing options include contracting with Cal Fire or another agency as well as investigating the use of infrared technology to monitor hot spots in the area and deploying staff as appropriate.

The cost to staff Station 8 was $188,000, and the total workload was 12 hours.

The station is currently open between July and November for 12 hours a day. Consultants found that in all of 2009, the station’s Engine 8 responded to 17 calls and that the total workload for these calls was 12 hours. The cost to staff Station 8 was $188,000.

“The demand for services in Station 8’s area is too low to justify the cost and other options may be available,” the report stated.

Other recommendations are less divisive and are already being implemented by the city. The consultants urge Palo Alto to “regionalize” its fire and EMS training program and work with Los Altos, Mountain View and Sunnyvale toward a will occur, Scanlon said.

“The fact is that more people will die,” he said.

Scanlon said public perceptions of where funding comes from make it hard to make the case for saving public transit.

“Our society quite frankly is unenlightened. There is a widespread belief that highways are free,” he said, pointing instead to gas and other levies that support roadways.

But subsidies Caltrain receives are criticized.

Kniss said the human costs could resonate with the public.

“We’ve got a terrific case to make. It’s enormously important,” she said.

Scanlon blamed SamTrans, which has announced it must reduce its share of subsidies to Caltrain by $10 million, for causing much of Caltrain’s current problem. SamTrans is facing a crisis of its own and could halve its service in three years, he said.

More than half of SamTrans’ long-term debt is for the BART extension into San Mateo County,

“boundary-less response network” — a project the four cities are already pursuing.

“There is opportunity to improve service delivery and efficiency if Palo Alto and other jurisdictions combined to not only share stations but also to implement a boundaryless response model such that resources from any jurisdiction would respond regardless of the political boundary,” the report states. “This approach would more than likely result in more service-sharing opportunities and improve efficiency because cities could share resources more than they do under the existing automatic-aid agreements.”

Consultants also recommended that the city create a “public-safety director” position to oversee both police and fire operations. The fire chief position is currently vacant and Police Chief Dennis Burns has been serving as the interim fire chief since last July. The report recommends that the city make his dual-role permanent.

The report was released at a time of tension between the city and its firefighters. City Council members have frequently expressed frustrations about the rising costs in the Fire Department at a time when other departments are facing budget cuts. At last month’s council retreat, City Manager James Keene talked about the need to bring the city’s public-safety employees “into alignment” with other labor groups that have faced salary freezes and benefit reductions over the past two years.

The city and the firefighters union are currently negotiating a new labor agreement.

Keene said in a statement Wednesday that the consultants’ review “allows us to benchmark our operations to other agencies and objectively assess what is working well and what needs refinement for us to provide responsive and cost-effective service to this community.

“I believe this report is an important step for us to identify ways to enhance the effectiveness of the Fire he said. The agency is trying to amortize the $13 million over 2530 years, he said.

Four public meetings are planned prior to the March 3 meeting in San Jose, San Francisco, Gilroy and San Carlos. The March 3 hearing will take place at 10 a.m. at the Caltrain Administrative Office, 1250 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos. Comments can be sent prior to the hearings to changes@caltrain.com, or mailed to Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, JPB Secretary, P.O. Box 3006, San Carlos, CA 94070. Phone 800-660-4287. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be e-mailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

t

tween San Francisco and San Jose: Bayshore, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Burlingame, Hayward Park, Belmont, San Antonio in Mountain View, Lawrence, Santa Clara and College Park. All service south of Diridon station in San Jose would end. Base fares would rise 25 cents.

“We all know that the crisis is at hand,” board member and Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager said.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, new to the board, said she hoped detailed studies of the impacts on roads and communities around the stations to be closed could be done.

In terms that were often pained and impassioned, board President Michael Scanlon spoke about the costs of losing Caltrain service.

People look at the costs but don’t understand the greater impacts.

With more people driving instead of taking the train, more car accidents

TALK ABOUT IT

CALL FOR ENTRIES www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Department and better position it for the 21st century,” he said.

Tony Spitaleri, president of Palo Alto Professional Firefighters, Local 1319, said Wednesday evening he was just beginning to read the voluminous report.

“There are a great many suggestions that would make the fire department a stronger one and would

help the department meet the needs of the community,” Spitaleri said.

However, he said, “The issue of minimum staffing is a real concern to us. We don’t support staffing reductions that could lead to killing a firefighter or a citizen.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Jan. 31)

Thorwaldson: The council passed a resolution in honor of journalist Jay Thowaldson, who retired this week. Yes: Unanimous Stanford: The council discussed the Stanford University Medical Center hospitalexpansion project and the status of negotiations between the city and Stanford on a development agreement. Action: None

City Council (Feb. 1)

Interviews: The council interviewed candidates for three positions on the Library Advisory Commission. Action: None

Finance Committee (Feb. 1)

Refuse rate: The committee discussed the city’s ongoing study analyzing the rate structures for refuse collection and the compatibility of the city’s conservation pricing with Proposition 218. Action: None Finances: The committee discussed the city’s long-term financial forecast. Action: None

Utilities Advisory Commission (Feb. 2)

Photovoltaic: The commission discussed the implementation of feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic customers. Action: None Water rates: The commission recommended approval of staff proposal to raise water rates by an average of 12.5 percent this year, with the exact rate increase varying by customers. The commission made several amendments, including a recommendations that no customer class gets a rate reduction at the same time as other customer classes get rate increases. Yes: Eglash, Foster, Keller, Melton No: Berry, Waldfogel Strategic Plan: The commission approved the Utilities Department’s 2011 Strategic Plan. Yes: Unanimous Smart Grid: The commission approved a pilot project focusing on Demand Response for commercial customers. The program aims to provide customers with information about peak electricity-usage days and give them financial incentive to reduce usage on those days. Yes: Berry, Foster, Kelly, Melton, Waldfogel Recused: Eglash

High-Speed Rail Committee (Feb. 3)

Rail: The committee heard updates on Caltrain and high-speed rail from the city’s Sacramento lobbyist. Action: None Letters: The committee approved sending four letters to rail officials and legislators expressing the city’s concerns about high-speed rail. Action: None

LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations. The council will then discuss the Fire Department Services, Resources & Utilization Study. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to discuss the recruitment of city attorney. The meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The Feb. 8 meeting of the school board has been canceled.

INFRASTRUCTURE BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE ... The committee will discuss the city’s infrastructure backlog. The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, at the Lucie Stern Community Room (1305 Middlefield Road).

HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION ... The commission plans to hear an update on Project Safety Net and discuss ways to honor youth achievements, and hear an update on the Human Services Resource Allocation Process. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 10, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊ{]ÊÓ䣣ÊU Page 9

Editorial

MTC must act to help save Caltrain Railroad’s financial crisis mobilizes Silicon Valley businesses, transit advocates, environmentalists, riders and even car commuters to prevent a ‘death spiral’

T

he late-January announcement that Caltrain must cut $30 million by July has created a huge concern among a broad range of interests in Silicon Valley and on the Peninsula.

The severity of cuts (from a $100 million annual budget) is unprecedented. Caltrain would be virtually eliminated as a significant commute alternative south of San Jose and crippled on the Peninsula, limited essentially to rush-hour service: no more train rides to Giants’ games.

Participants in two large “save Caltrain” conferences in the past two weeks warned that the cutbacks could well kill Caltrain, dumping most of its 40,000 average daily riders onto already congested north-south freeways. Turning Highway 101 into a parking lot would also jam cross-bay bridges.

One speaker at Saturday’s “Friends of Caltrain” conference warned that Caltrain would plunge into a “death spiral” — sensational-sounding but probably accurate. Similar concerns were voiced a week earlier at a “save Caltrain” conference sponsored by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, primarily representing large businesses in the valley that rely heavily on Caltrain to get employees to work and home. It will severely impact Stanford University’s ability to achieve its mandate of zero new trips due to its Medical Center/Hospital expansion.

This train wreck simply must not be allowed to happen.

The primary cause of the crisis is the recession, which has resulted in a severe drop in revenues for the three transit agencies that have been subsidizing Caltrain for years: Santa Clara County’s VTA, San Mateo County’s SamTrans, and San Francisco’s Muni system. SamTrans alone, facing a $23 million deficit, has announced it must cut its contribution to Caltrain by $10 million.

The others are expected to make equivalent cutbacks.

It is not a question of Caltrain’s success. It has the highest farebox return, at about 47 percent this year, at the lowest administrative-overhead cost of any transit entity in the Bay region. What it lacks is a dedicated source of reliable subsidy funds.

Yet conference participants, including numerous city and county and other officials, voiced more concerns than they did solutions.

Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, called for regional funding of regional transit, breaking down barriers between the respective transit agencies and streamlining administrative operations to focus on top priorities. One speaker warned that Caltrain would be long dead by the time voters might approve sales tax or other additional funds.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) warned at both conferences of the economic and congestion consequences of losing either all or part of Caltrain.

But the crisis cannot wait for long-term solutions. Unless a funding source (or sources) can be identified in the next three or four months Caltrain will have to implement deep cuts by July 1, the new fiscal year.

Virtually everyone involved agrees this would be catastrophic.

The impacts would stretch throughout the region and touch thousands of businesses. It would be terrible for individuals and families trying to get to and from work, either by train or car. It would increase air pollution and health problems.

We see one avenue of hope: The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) was created in 1970, initially as a planning agency to study and coordinate transit and transportation services.

It evolved into having some powers in assigning priorities and even funds to areas of greatest need.

If there is ever a time to flex its powers it is now. It could, for example, reassign $5.5 million in the long-stalled Dumbarton Rail project to Caltrain funding, on the grounds that a deadstop Highway 101 would soon result in a backup halfway across Dumbarton Bridge, as well as San Mateo and the Bay bridges.

The MTC could itself declare a funding emergency and take the initiative in finding funds to fill the Caltrain deficit before July 1. Perhaps the state Legislature could establish some mechanism for major corporations to make interest-free loans to keep Caltrain sound and effective.

We don’t think the existing transit agencies can solve this situation. They have their own deficit problems right now.

But the MTC, with key state and federal legislators behind it, might be able to stave off a short-term crisis as it continues seeking longer-term restructuring for transit operations throughout the region.

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Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Ebook errors Editor, I count five times the Weekly has repeated its misconception that library ebook collections require physical space.

This error first appeared in a Nov. 19 editorial wondering whether the public would like to remove books in the library to make space for ebooks.

Then the Weekly repeated this misconception in a thread on Town Square. When a reader replied online that this was absurd, you’d think the Weekly would not repeat the mistake. Of course, there is no need to remove anything from a library to make space for ebooks because ebooks don’t take up physical space.

Then you posed the meaningless question in your online poll, and you asked it again in your “Streetwise” feature. You repeated this pseudo dilemma last week on Jan. 14 in “Around Town” wondering whether “to reduce shelf space at the new libraries and to make more room for ebooks, possibly at the expense of traditional books.”

Ebooks are downloaded by the user from a remote location, not even from the library. Nothing in our library needs to be removed for them to continue to offer even more ebooks. They already offer thousands.

Your misunderstanding of the nature of ebooks confounds the ongoing discussion about the big reduction in the collection at Main.

Elaine Meyer Kingsley Avenue Palo Alto

Get it right, PAPAC Editor, Usually when a community is invited to vote as to what they would like, the majority rules. I guess this is not the case now.

The Palo Alto Public Art Commission rules. Not in my day.

When we asked the citizens to vote we honored the vote. Perhaps some of us did not agree but the end result is what counts.

What’s wrong with giving the community what it wants? The commission looked at many works and chose three for the community to pick from.

They did.

Give the Palo Alto citizens what they want. It’s their tax dollars.

Get it right, commissioners.

Paula Z. Kirkeby Ely Place Palo Alto

Sham vote?

Editor, Is anyone else still feeling insulted that after being asked to

vote on three fountain designs for California Avenue our votes were ignored?

Is anyone else wondering why city resources were wasted on setting up a website for a sham vote?

And why were votes from nonresidents counted?

I’d say the whole exercise was a farce and a waste of everyone’s time and resources.

This fiasco is also a reminder of the inept and tragic loss of our California Avenue trees and the more recent shocking decision to narrow California Avenue in spite of a strong preference from both merchants and neighbors to keep it a four-lane street!

Has city leadership noticed we have a problem?

Shannon McEntee Sheridan Avenue Palo Alto

Fountain-vote flaws Editor, The Palo Alto Public Art Commissioners have spoken. Those anointed ones claiming aesthetic perceptions far superior to those of us, the unwashed, have de-

clared the winning new fountain for California Avenue.

Of course, their choice came in second in the balloting to the first choice by the public, which they disregarded with arrogant, Olympian disdain.

Clearly their letter of Dec. 21, 2010 (“We want to hear from you ... Choose your favorite proposal”), was an empty charade because they had a preconceived choice for the Szabo proposal over the traditional Reed-Madden choice.

The commission was appointed by the City Council members who, like Pontius Pilate, would like to wash their hands of the outrageous breach of public confidence. But they owe us voters a reexamination of the scandalous hoax.

Surely this council wants to avoid being linked in history to an unpopular, reviled art exhibit.

California Avenue has suffered the tragic loss of stately trees. It does not deserve another embarrassment by the city.

Vic Befera High Street Palo Alto

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

What do you think? What do think should be done to fund Caltrain?

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 Jocelyn Dong 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 Beyond this winter by an anonymous teacher

few weeks ago, all of our hearts were pierced again, to learn of the death, by her own hand, of a Palo Alto student.

She was a senior. We mourn her passing; we have mourned them all. We would all say some consoling words, if we could only think of them, to those who knew and loved this 18-year-old girl best, who knew of her despair and sought to help her. Theirs is the bitterest cup, full of bewilderment, full of sorrow and frustration.

We understand their sense of futility. We had all hoped we were doing enough, and now we wonder anew if we can ever do enough, or even know what to do.

We have all been trying hard. Palo Alto’s clinicians — sleep doctors, family practitioners, psychiatrists and other therapists — are working daily with the repercussions of the past 20 months. Project Safety Net is laboring to weave its protections. In police cruisers, our officers keep up their after-hours vigilance toward youth. Our schoolteachers bear the extra load of their students’ sadness. Every worker in the district, from maintenance staff to board members, librarians to nurses, counselors to coaches, feels each new pang. And the district’s parents, worried daily for their children, are shaken by this latest loss.

As a community, we’re still gathering together the pieces of our expanding, mysterious puzzle. The inquiry into the causes of our teenage deaths, begun last fall by the Stanford School of Medicine, is ongoing. The study will consider whether each of these deaths was singular, or whether perhaps they all partook of our culture somehow. All of us should think of pitching in. All who can contribute, whether friends, family, neighbors, teachers, coaches, or counselors, should add any use-

A

ful piece of evidence they have — memory or fact or observation — to the assembling of the puzzle. Our best chance to answer our haunting question “Why is this happening?” lies in this study.

Palo Alto’s moms and dads, understandably, are more than ever anxious to know what their teenagers are thinking, know their secret lives.

But it’s in the developmental nature of teenagers to stake out a separate domain from their parents, as a useful step — and often the only step they can imagine — towards the independent identity they know they’ll need, with adulthood rushing toward them. Every parent fears intruding on a teenager too much, or too little. As much as is consistent with safety, let your child be your guide into his or her concerns. If, because of a barrier of silence, you feel heartsick and fear you’re losing your child, that’s all right; be patient. Mother Nature is at work to give you back an adult.

As much as is consistent with safety, let your child be your guide into his or her concerns.

Our high-school counselors, not long into second semester, will have a chance that’s all their own to offer guidance. As the ones who possess an overview of our kids’ schedules, activities, lives, when the counselors meet with students to go over registration for next year, they can encourage kids to “play within themselves,” take on realistic course loads,

balance sleep and play and school, and talk through a few of Project Cornerstone’s “41 Developmental Assets” with their parents in order to mull over how well, or not, things are developing. And those counselors who pass out copies of “On Being Unchosen by the College of One’s Choice,” a reassuring, charming essay by American writer Joan Didion, will be helping our kids to make curricular choices based on hope, not on fear.

Moms and dads, don’t let your child think of herself as defined by grades and SAT scores.

Don’t think of him this way. Don’t measure your child by his minutes of playing time on the field or court, or whether she gets the loudest applause at the piano recital, or by the length of his résume. It is best that we all consider ourselves, and each other, and especially those in our care, from the point of view of what good we may add to the world, how meaningful our work is to us, and whether we can adjust to the unexpected, tolerate uncertainty, be patient and faithful, independent and dependent, collaborative and daring. It takes longer to assess these things than to note a GPA, but it’s worth it. Is your child learning as the years go by, along with the rest of us, to love? And perhaps paramount is that our teenagers should have feelings of self-worth — that they feel good about themselves.

If your child cheats in school, wonder first why. Yes, cheating is not ethical and calls for consequences, but it is fostered by the pressures that our young people bring to school and find there, and is many times, in my experience, a cry to be heard. To students’ dismay our schools are troubled by a culture of cheating, which we grown-ups have yet to check; and so it’s understandable that they become susceptible to the artful dodge, even though

it always comes at the expense of their sense of integrity and self-confidence. Their sense of self-worth is also harmed, of course, when they’re encouraged to let others write their college essays for them.

If you’re a parent, guardian, aunt or uncle, read some of the best books about the inner world of teens. Start with Mark Salzman’s hilarious and fond memoir of his own suburban 1970s youth, “Lost in Place” — a tale of teenage misadventures with the cello, kung-fu, marijuana, automobiles, Zen, and grown-ups.

You’ll suddenly be reminded of everything that you yourself, long ago, worried about and were ecstatic about and then immediately brought you down.

In two letters to parents during our crisis, our district Superintendent has wonderfully sung the praises of sleep and of play. Sleep that knits up the unraveled sleeve of care; and play that brings families together in games, frivolity, nonsense — and halcyon relief from each tiny choice implying consequences for the Future. These lifegiving commodities, play and sleep, are in short-supply among our teens. We must supply them.

With the second semester starting, midyear fatigue here, and some teachers learning 100 new names and faces, it would be churlish to expect our teachers to reflect on practice.

All we educators can be as sensitive about all tasks we impose. With our texts that deal with loss or murder, bloody revolution or genocide or war, we know that the trick is in how and when we teach these things; and we’ve all got good-sized bags of tricks, which we can share.

No child, in any case, should have to lament as one girl did last school-year — only three days after one of our deaths. A sad-sack sophomore, trudging between class periods, ap-

Streetwise

Which film should win this year’s Oscar for best picture?

Asked on California Avenue. Interviews and photos by Zohra Ashpari.

Nancy Cutler Cowall

Interior Designer Evergreen Park, Palo Alto “’127 Hours’ because of our Palo Alto son, James Franco. James Franco all the way!”

Ari Lachman

Graduate Student Emerson Street, Palo Alto “I think ‘The Social Network’ because it was overall the most interesting movie.”

Michael Harrison

Trainer Crescent Park, Palo Alto “Definitely ‘The Fighter’ because Christian Bale’s portrayal of Dickie Eklund was amazing.”

Sharon Nelson

Lab Technologist Barron Park, Palo Alto “’The Black Swan’ because I love Natalie Portman and loved the costumes and acting.”

Greg Scharff

Palo Alto City Councilman/Attorney Seale Avenue, Palo Alto “I think ‘The King’s Speech’ should win because of the dialogue and acting.

Although it was a relatively low-budget film, it was still a powerful movie.”

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20 Annual

Would you like to be a control in a study?

Participation in the study involves doing a 20-minute phone screening interview.

If you are eligible, you will be invited to come to Stanford for a 60-minute study visit, including a blood draw.

There is no cost to participate in the study.

You will be compensated with $100 upon completion of the study visit to reimburse you for your time and inconvenience.

P ho

If you are interested in participating or have any questions, please contact the study coordinator,

Jane Norris, at (650) 723-8126.

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1-866-680-2906.

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CALL FOR ENTRIES

For general information about participant rights, contact

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Dr. Jose G. Montoya, Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford, is conducting a study looking for pathogens that may be associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

His team is looking for controls of the same age and sex as patients in the study.

ENTRY DEADLINE: April 8, 2011 New: Digital Submission Only ENTRY FORM & RULES AVAILABLE at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

C H I L D R E N ’ S H O S P I TA L

&,) # 2* #+ % - )* +0 Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital offers classes and seminars designed to foster good health and enhance the lives of parents and children.

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Guest Opinion (continued from previous page) ing “The Killing Fields.�

As much as our kids can let us know how they’re doing, though, in a larger sense they don’t really know, and can’t. They won’t really know the nature of their present experience for perhaps 10 years, or 20 — and so we need to make necessary adjustments, now, for them.

Unacknowledged has been our kids’ special handicap: they’ve been competing for GPA’s and SAT scores against a nation of high-schools that have not had our trauma. It’s as if, in the race toward college, our teenagers have been the only ones lugging 100-lb. boulders. It’s been enough of a jolt for many of them, on their first forays to the nation’s campuses, for college visits, to find the name of their high-school already known, and not happily known, to tourguides, parents and students from far away, and admissions personnel.

Because our students know no other high-school experience but this one, theirs, and because teenagers tend to feel as if everything’s happening for the first time (and in fact, it is), our teenagers take this experience to be the norm. It is not.

For their emotional well-being they need to hear this from us — and have us make adjustments to what we expect and ask of them.

In the broadest sense, we should bear in mind that to be a teenager is perhaps always to be anxious.

One has been wrenched from the haven of childhood and the next looked-for haven, adulthood, seems distant. One is fording a fast-flowing river, and neither shore offers prospects for immediate relief. No wonder each step threatens to seem a matter of life-and-death. Not getting into a prized college can feel this way to a teen, or failing to win the game, or being taunted online,

or having a friendship crumble, or getting caught at cheating, or being rejected in romance, or not getting an “A� in a course, or even not getting an “A� on this week’s exam, or even today’s quiz. We must do what is in our power to help our kids see things in other ways, and to know that nothing is the end of the world — not in the way they think it is. If we discover ourselves ratcheting up the inevitable anxieties of the teenage years, we must pull back. We must comfort our kids in their worries, making clear to them that there is no end to the world as they think there is, and there will be no end to our acceptance of how they feel.

When it comes to families truly in crisis, of course, no “tips� here or lists of reminders can help — and parents need to steer themselves and/or their teenager into therapy.

Opening oneself to the help of a stranger will at first, of course, feel strange — because the therapist will refuse to participate in the family’s private and familiar cycle of hurt, disappointment, demand. The first step is a scary one. But families must step outside their own “comfort zone� — which is really a zone of discomfort, of unhappiness — and seek help.

As a closing benediction on our individual, family, and community efforts, the last word, here, goes to a theologian: “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in a lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.� N The author is a Palo Alto teacher who also wrote the essay “High school life: To whom it may concern,� which published Sept. 3, 2010, in the Weekly.

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Two Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Concerts with Nancy Cassidy

The Palo Alto Womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club presents Nancy Cassidy in Concert at 1:00 p.m.

Please note that the 10:30 a.m. Concert is Sold Out

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Saturday, February 5th Womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club of Palo Alto 475 Homer Avenue, Downtown Palo Alto Proceeds will benefit local charities through the Philanthropy Committee of the Womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club

LU C I L E PA C K A R D

C H I L D R E Nâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S H O S P I T A L 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 Page 12Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;{]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;䣣Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

Tickets are $10 per person and will be sold at the door or: To order tickets send a check payable to the Womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club of Palo Alto to Diana Wahler P.O. Box 1059, Palo Alto, CA 94302 by Feb. 2 Tickets will be held at the door the day of the concert Call 650-855-9700 for more information This space donated by the Palo Alto Weekly as a community service

Transitions Births, marriages and deaths

Deaths Steven Geiger Steven Thomas Geiger, 79, a resident of Palo Alto, died of pneumonia Jan. 18.

He was born was born Jan. 23, 1931, in Budapest, Hungary. When he was 13, he and his family survived the Nazi occupation by hiding with 3,000 other Jews for almost three months inside the infamous Glass House. Because he faced imminent death more than once and at such an early age, he no longer feared it but rather felt that the remainder of his life was a bonus, loved ones said. After another decade of Communist rule, he also learned the value of freedom, his wife recalled.

In 1956, he graduated from the Technical University in Budapest with a degree in electrical engineering. By late October of that year, the Hungarian Revolution erupted in the streets. On the night of Nov. 11, 1956, he escaped into the freedom of Austria. After a two-year stay in Australia, he immigrated to the United States. He worked as an elec-

trical engineer in the field of satellite communication at various companies, retiring in 2001 from CPI in Palo Alto.

The anchor of his large extended family, he was kind, steadfast, intelligent, handsome, funny, eccentric, philosophical, and extremely lovable, loved ones said. He valued open minds and respect for others. He loved classical music, history, desserts (especially the pies his wife made him nearly every week of their 30-year marriage), birding, ping-pong and films. His greatest love, however, was his family. In the weeks before his death, he said, “This is what I have done best and am most proud of.”

He had friends all over the world, including several who made the trip from Switzerland just to attend what would have been his 80th birthday party.

He is survived by his wife, Kristin of Palo Alto; son Marc Geiger of Sherman Oaks; daughter Nicole Geiger Laddish of Berkeley; stepdaughters Jennifer Morrill of Emerald Hills and Jessica Prentiss of San Carlos; and seven grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Eva

Horvath of Budapest, Hungary; and several nieces and cousins.

A memorial service is being planned. In lieu of flowers, a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank or www.KDFC.com would be appreciated by the family.

Clarice Vaughan Clarice Haylett Vaughan, 88, former medical-program director of the San Mateo County Department of Mental Health, died Oct. 5, 2010.

She was born July 22, 1922, and grew up in Long Beach, Calif. She graduated with honors from both Stanford University (1949) and Stanford Medical School (1951).

She worked for the Marin County Health Department as a public health officer for a number of years before returning to school to complete her psychiatric training at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. She returned to California and became the medical-program director of the San Mateo County Department of Mental Health at Chope Hospital. She retired in 1985.

She was married to Dr. Warren Taylor Vaughan, Jr. Together they traveled the world, attending conferences, visiting clinics and presenting lectures. She also as a board

A memorial celebration will be held in Portola Valley Feb. 5, 2011.

For information on this event, contact rvaughan@mpcsd.org.

Any donations may be made in her name to Pathways Hospice Foundation.

Today’s news, sports & hot picks

BIRTHS Amy DiFabio and Mason Stillwell of Palo Alto, a son, Dec. 3.

Kym Le and Carter Youngblood, Jr., of Los Altos, a daughter, Dec. 14.

Jennifer and Douglas Hirzel of Menlo Park, a daughter, Dec. 18.

Jennifer and Artur Tekiel of East Palo Alto, a son, Dec. 28.

Tracy and Nathan Luehr of Stanford, a son, Jan. 4.

Minliang Zao and Christoper Schilling of Menlo Park, a daughter, Jan. 4.

Rachel and Knute Ream of Menlo Park, a son, Jan. 4.

Davina Brown and Kendal Peters of East Palo Alto, a daughter, Jan. 11.

Anne Sophie Beraud and Jean Marc Olivot of Menlo Park, a daughter, Jan. 27.

Hermann Richard Ebenhoech

Robert George Campbell (Bob) Born March 12, 1919; died January 24, 2011 Bob was a native of San Francisco and a third generation Californian, born to Ella Dowling Campbell and Elmer G. Campbell. He was a beloved spouse of 67 years to Jeanne Martell Campbell and devoted father to Diane Campbell and Susan Campbell.

Known as “Papa,” he was a proud grandfather of Jeannie Campbell-Urban, Edie Campbell-Urban, and Mackenzie Campbell. He was the loving brother of William C. Campbell of San Rafael, CA and adored Uncle Bob to five nephews and nieces.

Bob was the great great grandson of Benjamin Campbell, founder of the town of Campbell, CA, a fact that made him very proud. He was a graduate of Lowell High School in San Francisco, the University of California at Berkeley, class of 1941, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, class of 1947. As part of the Greatest Generation, Bob served in World War II as Commanding Officer of a Navy minesweeper during the New Guinea and Philippines invasions.

His entire business career was spent in the property and casualty insurance business.

At the time of his retirement in 1984 (on the

member on a number of institutions, including the Common College of Woodside.

Her hobbies included photography, fly fishing, bird-watching, gardening and music. When not organizing photos, checking her garden on Farmville or planning a dinner party, she could often be found with her numerous cats or enjoying the squirrels who shared her bird-feeder, loved ones said.

She is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Anne Vaughan of Portola Valley; son, Richard Vaughan of Redwood City; and five granddaughters.

day his first granddaughter was born) he was President of Rathbone King and Seeley, a firm of Insurance Company Managers, and President of the American Star Insurance Company. In insurance company activities, he served as President of the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Property and Casualty Underwriters (CPCU), President of the Insurance Company Managers Association, President of the Insurance Forum of San Francisco, and Chairman of the San Francisco Insurance Educational Association.

Bob’s community activities included serving as Foreman pro tem of the 1974-75 San Mateo County Grand Jury, Vice President and board member of Sequoia Hospital Foundation, and Charter member of Sharon Heights Golf & Country Club (former vice president and board member).

Bob was an avid gardener, spending countless hours landscaping his homes as well as those of his daughters. He leaves behind many beautiful gardens for all of us to enjoy.

Bob also enjoyed the hobbies of golf, fishing, tennis, dominoes and traveling. Most of all, Bob loved the time he spent with “his girls,” who will miss him terribly.

A memorial mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 29, at St. Denis Church, 2250 Avy Avenue, Menlo Park, with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, Hanna Boys Center, or Sequoia Hospital Foundation.

PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Hermann Richard Ebenhoech, 78, died unexpectedly on January 6th, 2011 at his Palo Alto home of 45 years.

Many will miss his generous smile and sparkling eyes including his loving wife, Lisa AhornerEbenhoech, children, Adelheid (Daniel Thomas), Gebhard and Otmar, grandchildren, Theo and Lauren, and his former wife, Johanna Liebmann.

Hermann’s life will be celebrated at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church in Menlo Park on February 6th at 2 PM. Please join with us to celebrate his memory.

In lieu of flowers please donate to Santa Cruz Chorale, Chanticleer or a charity of your choice.

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Pulse

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

Palo Alto

Menlo Park

Jan. 18-Feb. 2

Jan. 18-Feb. 1

Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Child abuse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Sexual assault. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Credit card forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle related Abandoned Auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Bicycle recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 12 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 19 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Disturbing the peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Drunk driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . .2 Other/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Warrant/Other Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Violence related Spousal Abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Abandoned Auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . . . .9 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .4 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Alcohol or drug related Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Miscellaneous Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Annoying phone calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbing the Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Info. case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . .2 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Other/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .4

Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Threats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Atherton Jan. 18-Feb. 1 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Vehicle related Abandoned bicycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle minor injury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Misc. Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Vehicle accident/ property damage . . . .6 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Alcohol or Drug related Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Traffic hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Miscellaneous Animal call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Be on the lookout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Citizen assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Disturbing the peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Hang-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Meet citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Perimeter check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .5

Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Tree or wires down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Welfare check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Building check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Special detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Foot patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto Middlefield Road, 1/18, 1/20, 9:20 p.m., 4:45 p.m.; child abuse.

Colorado Avenue, 1/18, 7:38 p.m.; child abuse.

Coyote Hill Road, 1/18, 9:24 p.m.; domestic violence.

El Camino Real, 1/20, 2:52 p.m.; sexual assault.

Moreno Avenue, 1/22, 11:10 p.m.; battery.

El Camino Real, 1/27, 3:17 p.m.; assault with weapon.

Henderson Avenue, 2/1, 10:47 a.m.; battery.

Pierce Road, 2/1, 9:44 a.m.; domestic violence.

Menlo Park Callie Lane, 1/19, 8:01 p.m.; spousal abuse.

Windermere Avenue, 1/20, 1:21 p.m.; spousal abuse.

Henderson Avenue, 2/1, 10:01 p.m.; spousal abuse.

Atherton

Weddings

Stober-Tuck

Katharine Stober and Robert Tuck were married July 31, 2010, in Walnut Creek. A second ceremony was held Dec. 27 in Newport, England. The bride is the daughter of Daniel R. Stober and Joan Mendelson of Palo Alto and Victoria Emmons and the late John L. Emmons of Pleasanton. A graduate of Castilleja High School, Washington University and Columbia University, she works as a communications associate at International Coalition of Sites of Conscience in New York, NY. The groom is the son of Amanda Tuck of Orwell, England, and Anthony Tuck of Newport, England. A graduate of Oxford University and Columbia University, he is currently a doctoral candidate in the field of Japanese literature. The couple honeymooned in Hawaii and resides in New York.

Middlefield Road, 1/19, 3:03 p.m.; battery.

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Palo Alto 3903 El Camino Real

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San Jose 1090 Blossom Hill Rd

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San Jose 3136 Stevens Creek Blvd

Stevens Creek Blvd & S. Winchester

Sunnyvale 1080 Enterprise Way, Ste 150 Enterprise Way & 11th Ave

“ J o i n U s ! M e m b e r s h i p i s o p e n t o i n d i v i d u a l s w h o l i v e , w o r k o r a t t e n d s c h o o l i n S a n t a C l a r a C o u n t y. ” Page 14ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊ{]ÊÓ䣣ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

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★ ★ WE’VE GONE

! ★ ★ Judges

Call for Entries 20th Annual Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest

ADULT

YOUTH

1st Place - $100 Cash 2nd Place - $50 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place - $25 Gift Certificate to University Art

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1st Place – $250 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to Bear Images 2nd Place – $200 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place – $100 Cash, One-year Membership to Palo Alto Art Center

YOUTH

ADULT

1st Place – $250 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to Bear Images 2nd Place – $200 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place – $100 Cash, One-year Membership to Palo Alto Art Center

Veronica Weber, a Los Angeles native, first began working at the Palo Alto Weekly in 2006 as a photography intern. Following the internship, she was a photographer for The Almanac in Menlo Park. She is currently the Weekly staff photographer responsible for covering daily assignments and producing video and multimedia projects for PaloAltoOnline.com. She has a BA in Journalism from San Francisco State University and currently resides in San Francisco.

ANGELA BUENNING FILO

Categories and Prizes U PORTR AITS

VERONICA WEBER

1st Place - $100 Cash 2nd Place - $50 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place - $25 Gift Certificate to University Art

Angela Buenning Filo, a Palo Alto resident, photographs changing landscapes, most recently focusing on Silicon Valley and Bangalore, India, during their respective tech booms. Her photographs are in the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and were included in the book "Suburban Escape: The Art of California Sprawl." Her installation titled "1,737 Trees," focusing on one of the last orchards in Silicon Valley, is on permanent display in the lobby of the San Jose City Hall.

Photographs from her Silicon Valley and Bangalore series are on view in the new terminal of the San Jose airport.

DAVID HIBBARD ADULT

1st Place – $250 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to Bear Images 2nd Place – $200 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place – $100 Cash, One-year Membership to Palo Alto Art Center

YOUTH

U VIEWS BEYOND THE BAY AREA

1st Place - $100 Cash 2nd Place - $50 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place - $25 Gift Certificate to University Art

ENTRY DEADLINE: April 8, 2011 Entry Form and Rules available at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com/photo_contest For more information call 650.223.6508 or e-mail photocontest@paweekly.com

www.PaloAltoOnline.com

David Hibbard, a Menlo Park resident, has photographed natural landscapes and wild places most of his life. He is the author of "Natural Gestures," a book of images from the beaches and coastal forests of northern California. A major retrospective of his work was shown last year at Xerox PARC in Palo Alto. Website: www.davidhibbardphotography.com.

BRIGITTE CARNOCHAN

Brigitte Carnochan's photographs have been exhibited at galleries and museums nationally and internationally and has recently been featured on the covers of Lenswork, Camera Arts and Silvershotz and in Color, View Camera, Black and White UK, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and Zoom magazines. Brigitte's newest series, Floating World: Allusions to Poems by Japanese Women from the 7th to 20th Centuries, will be on view at Modernbook Gallery at their new location at 49 Geary Street, San Francisco, until February 26.

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Cover Story

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by Gennady Sheyner hen the lavish, 26-room Barron Mansion went up in a blaze on Thanksgiving evening in 1936, firefighters from surrounding towns raced to unincorporated Barron Park to save the 80-year-old Victorian structure, which had just been converted into a school.

Palo Alto firefighters, who were stationed closest to the blaze, were the first to arrive, but rather than charge forth, they looked on from El Camino Real, about 100 feet away from the flames. The Palo Alto Times reported that the department had “refused to go beyond the city limits,” pursuant to orders from the city’s board of public safety. Residents of Barron Park, which had not yet been annexed to Palo Alto, had to summon firefighters and equipment from Menlo Park, Los Altos, Redwood City, Los Altos and the Moffett Field army air base. Firefighters tore down fences and positioned their engines near the

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Veronica Weber

Chichio Koga

Veronica Weber

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Cover Story schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s swimming pool to ensure a water supply. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Half a dozen streams were soon playing on the fire, under the direction of Chief Thomas Cuff of the Menlo Park department, but the blaze had already swept the dry and weathered old mansion from end to end,â&#x20AC;? the Times reported.

The loss of Barron Mansion, and Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conduct during the blaze, helped sour relations between the neighbors. Barron Park Historian Doug Graham recalled the incident in a 2005 newsletter, quoting a former Barron Park resident who had told him in the 1980s, â&#x20AC;&#x153;They only were there to keep the fire from spreading into Palo Alto â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give a damn what happened in Barron Park.â&#x20AC;?

The Barron Mansion fire was by no means an isolated incident. The following August, a blaze at 2821 Waverley St. destroyed the new home of Mary Porter. Despite a valiant effort from neighbors, who pulled out everything but the piano and the stove, the flames quickly ate up the building. This time, no one bothered

posal, animal services and transportation planning. Palo Alto belongs to a six-city coalition dedicated to keeping up with Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highspeed rail project and a five-agency group tasked with protecting Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Menlo Park from the flood-prone San Francisquito Creek.

While â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shop Localâ&#x20AC;? may be the mantra of downtown Palo Alto merchants, city officials are thinking regionally more than ever before.

T

he trend is by no means new, but it has steamed ahead thanks to the Great Recession. With local tax revenues dropping, Palo Alto has been eliminating positions and reducing employee benefits to balance budgets. Over the past two years, the City Council has cut about 60 positions from the General Fund budget. Another 46 remain vacant to save money. At a recent council retreat, City Manager James Keene illustrated the current situation with a slide showing a slice of cheese full of holes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; each hole representing a major staffing vacancy.

Veronica Weber

In December, the Palo Alto Fire Department responded to a fatal accident on University Avenue in Palo Alto, where a woman was struck by a SamTrans bus.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not uncommon these days to see fire engines and police cruisers from neighboring towns routinely crossing city lines to assist their neighbors. to call the Fire Department. â&#x20AC;&#x153;None of the local fire departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s units was summoned since Mrs. Porterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residence is outside the city limits,â&#x20AC;? the Times reported.

These days, borders arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t what they used to be. Those that separated Palo Alto from the two burned structures have disappeared. Others have merely become more porous.

Palo Alto began signing mutualaid agreements in 1951, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not uncommon these days to see fire engines and police cruisers from neighboring towns routinely crossing city lines to assist their neighbors. Called â&#x20AC;&#x153;border drops,â&#x20AC;? cities send their firefighting resources to incidents near the city line, regardless of the jurisdiction, said Dennis Burns, Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s police chief and interim fire chief.

The trend isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t limited to firefighting or, for that matter, emergency response. Palo Alto is involved in partnerships with its neighbors in fields as dissimilar as water treatment, library books, garbage dis-

At the same time, Palo Alto is preparing to deal with a host of problems, from the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stalled quest for a seismically sound public-safety building to the impending closure of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s composting facility to the implications of Caltrainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential financial implosion. In each of these arenas, Palo Alto is banking on a little help from its friends.

Most of the work has been taking place behind the scenes, at routine meetings between city managers, law-enforcement agencies and waste managers. But on Jan. 18, Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s council publicly announced its desire to see more consolidation when it unanimously passed a resolution directing Keene to explore sharing a wide range of services â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including public-safety communications, emergency planning, fire prevention, records-management and arsoninvestigation programs, evidence facilities and office and field equipment â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with the cities of Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Los Altos.

The resolution, which passed with

no discussion, also directs Keene to include funds in his next budget for a study of a joint public-safety communication center.

The resolution is â&#x20AC;&#x153;saying that we take the issue of more regionalization and sharing services seriously and it authorizes me to see if there are economies of scale or other advantages to doing that,â&#x20AC;? Keene told the Weekly.

This was by no means the first time Keene has spoken publicly about the need to rely on neighbors to get through the lean times. Last June, when the council discussed the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s options for a new public-safety building, Keene spoke in favor of sharing resources. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In general, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in an era now where local governments, just as businesses have for a long time, are having to look at really different ways to organizing themselves and providing services,â&#x20AC;? Keene said at a June 7 meeting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have the luxury of individually designed approaches to providing services when we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have sufficient funding. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think increasingly we will see more efforts at looking at opportunity to share.â&#x20AC;?

Since then, Keene has been at the center of these efforts. Last year, he regularly met with city managers Kevin Duggan and Doug Schmitz, from Mountain View and Los Altos, to discuss citiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; upgrades of their respective dispatch equipment. The three city managers wanted to make sure they would upgrade to the same dispatch system so that each city could coordinate emergency calls across city lines.

During the course of the conversations, they started talking about fullon consolidation of dispatch services, fire-prevention programs, record management and other services to reduce overhead costs. Sunnyvale City Manager Gary Luebbers ultimately joined the discussions.

This week, the city released a new study by two consulting firms that analyzed the resources in the Fire Department. The consultant recommended that Palo Alto â&#x20AC;&#x153;regionalize the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fire and EMS training program.â&#x20AC;?

M

ayor Sid Espinosa, one of the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most adamant proponents of regionalization, credited the dismal economy for spurring these talks along. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The recession is sparking conversations that I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think wouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve happened without the pressures of cost-cutting,â&#x20AC;? Espinosa told the Weekly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure the conversations between the city managers wouldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve happened several years ago, but necessity calls for us to think outside the box and work with other jurisdictions to cut costs.â&#x20AC;?

Espinosa likes to use the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;artificialâ&#x20AC;? to describe city borders along the El Camino Real corridor.

But not everyone wants to abandon those boundaries altogether.

Last summer, when the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Finance Committee was wrestling with a $6.4 million hole in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Refuse Fund, then-Vice Mayor Espinosa suggested closing the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Recycling Center in favor of a regional approach. The committee quickly shot down the idea. (continued on page 19)

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Join us at our beautiful Albert & Janet Schultz Cultural Arts Hall for our second scintillating season!

FEBRUARY HIGHLIGHTS

Author Sarah Rose For All the Tea in China

Thursday, February 10 at 7:00 PM From Brahms to Piazzola Concert Saturday, February 12 at 8:00 PM Books as Works of Art Exhibit Reception

Sunday, February 13 at 4:00 PM Esn: Songs From the Kitchen Sunday, February 13 at 7:30 PM COMING IN MARCH

Suska Varda Part of Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Month

Thursday, March 3 at 7:30 PM Tango Dance Pary Sunday, March 6 at 7:30 PM To purchase tickets, visit www.paloaltojcc.org/arts or call (650) 223-8699.

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*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;{]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;䣣Ă&#x160;U Page 17

Cover Story

Veronica Weber

Amit Narayan, a visiting professor at Stanford University, stands outside Stanford’s cogeneration plant, which converts natural gas and steam to electricity and powers most of the campus. He is working with the city of Palo Alto to create a Smart-Grid system to better monitor energy usage.

City, university collaborate on smart-grid pilot, look for other partnerships in the future

by Gennady Sheyner

A

mit Narayan and Shiva Swaminathan arrived at their partnership from opposite directions.

Narayan, an inventor, entrepreneur and visiting professor at Stanford University, spent the bulk of his career designing complex computer systems and superconductor chips for devices such as smartphones and video games. He later focused his research on energy efficiency and began directing Stanford’s Smart Grid program.

He is on the frontlines of research in the growing field of “demand response” — a mechanism that encourages electricity consumers to voluntarily reduce their usage during peak hours.

Swaminathan, a senior resource planner at City of Palo Alto Utilities, has been thinking about practical ways to bring Smart Grid technology to the city’s electricity customers. Given that the local utility doesn’t have the size or resources of Pacific Gas & Electric, which already uses smart meters, city utility officials want to integrate brand-new, state-of-the-art technology without taking a major risk or betting the bank. The project also brought Swaminathan to demand response.

The Stanford researcher and the Palo Alto utilities engineer are now working together to bring the city its first rebate-based smartgrid program — an 18-month pilot project targeting major commercial customers. If things go

well, the program would later be expanded to the city’s masses.

Narayan describes smart grids currently used by major utilities such as PG&E as “Demand Response 1.0.” He wants to develop what he calls the “2.0 version,” which would give customers additional information about peak days and electricity usage. The program would anticipate the days of greatest electricity use (mostly during the summer) and offer customers rebates if they cut back on electricity on those days. If everything works out, the customer would save money because of lower electric bills. At the same time, the city would no longer have to operate inefficient (“dirty”) generators that remain idle for most of the year but only get harnessed during peak times.

Thus, the environment would also win, Swaminathan said.

The partnership is exactly what Palo Alto officials are talking about when they call for the city to look beyond its borders for regional approaches to sustainability. At the council’s Jan. 22 retreat, Councilman Greg Scharff pointed to the city’s municipal utilities and the brainy, green university next door and concluded that there should be plenty of opportunities for the two to collaborate.

Mayor Sid Espinosa reiterated the point during his State of the City speech two days later, when he called for Palo Alto to serve as a “test bed” for sustainability pro-

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grams and technologies emerging from Stanford.

“We have the incredible opportunities to test emerging technologies and practices right here in the city,” Espinosa said in the address.

“We must explore those opportunities.”

So far at least, most of the collaborative efforts have occurred from the bottom up. Narayan began collaborating with the city staff through Steve Eglash, who as a member of the city’s Utilities Advisory Commission and executive director of Stanford’s Energy and Environmental Affiliates Program, personifies the bridge between the school and the city on issues of sustainability (The commission discussed and endorsed the project at its meeting Wednesday night).

Eglash said the school and the city already collaborate on several issues relating to utilities. In recent months, for example, officials from the two institutions have been talking increasingly about possible ways to provide backup power to one another. Stanford also regularly sends graduate students on internship assignments in the city’s Utilities Department.

“Most of what’s been happening up until now has happened based on mutual respect between two individuals or a small group of individuals, where one professor at Stanford and one staff member in Palo Alto realize while conducting their normal work responsibilities

Veronica Weber

Stanford, Palo Alto forge ‘smart’ partnerships Shiva Swaminathan, senior resource planner for City of Palo Alto Utilities, stands outside the city’s electrical substation on Colorado Avenue. The substation receives electricity from nearby PG&E transmission towers. that there is something they can work on together that falls within the scope of their jobs and could help their institutions,” Eglash said.

In the case of Palo Alto’s smartgrid initiative, Narayan said he reached out to the city because he wanted to test his research work in a real-life environment.

“I was trying to connect with utilities so we could basically do something not in a vacuum but in real collaboration,” Narayan told the Weekly.

For the Utilities Department, the partnership means world-class expertise and resource sharing. If the council approves the project, Narayan and his team of Stanford researchers and interns would analyze the results of the pilot program and help the city proceed with the next phase. The administrative cost for the city would total about $15,000 in the current fiscal year and $10,000 in 2012, according to a staff report.

“We’re not investing too much in hardware,” Swaminathan said.

“We’re focusing mainly on software tools to assess the customers’ potential and to give them the tools to get involved in better managing their usage.”

Narayan said the tools’ features could expand in later phases. For example, the software could function much like Netflix, a popular entertainment service that allows

users to rent and stream movies and television shows and then recommends similar programs.

In the case of utilities, the smartgrid software could analyze the customer’s profile and then alert the user to ways to save money and get better energy efficiency.

Espinosa told the Weekly in a recent interview that sustainability is just one of many areas where the city wants to work more closely with Stanford. Last year, city officials met with Stanford University President John Hennessy to discuss possible partnerships. More recently officials from the city and from Stanford’s School of Engineering met to discuss a variety of Stanford’s clean-tech, parkingmanagement and bike-share programs, which the city could soon participate in.

Collaborations with Stanford on sustainability issues are but one of many possible regional partnerships the city is exploring, with the goals of reducing costs and improving services (see main story), Espinosa said.

“Could we become more structured in thinking about policy questions that we want answered, or technologies we want harvested, or projects that we want to explore so that we can have direct relationships with professors, graduate students and undergrads to benefit both Stanford and Palo Alto?” he asked. N

Cover Story

Inspiring children to achieve

How Palo Alto works with neighboring cities Joint services: What:

With Whom:

Sunnyvale Materials and Recovery Transfer (SMaRT) station

Mountain View, Sunnyvale

Palo Alto Animal Services

Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills

High-speed rail lobbyist

Menlo Park, Atherton

LINK+ library book-sharing service

Libraries in California and Nevada

Regional Water Quality Control Plant

Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Stanford University and the East Palo Alto Sanitary District

since

Collaborations: What:

With Whom:

Peninsula Cities Consortium (high-speed rail project)

Atherton, Menlo Park, Belmont, Burlingame, Brisbane

San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority

Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, San Mateo County Flood Control District

Possible partnerships: What:

With Whom:

Public-safety communication center (dispatch services, emergency planning, fire prevention, recordsmanagement and arson-investigation programs, evidence facilities and office and field equipment)

Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos

Smart grid, sustainability

Stanford

Composting

Study to be released in spring

Caltrain

Unknown

Fading borders (continued from page 17)

(continued on next page)

Join Us for an Open House!

Saturday, February 5 Thursday, February 10 Thursday, February 17

9 a.m.–noon 9 a.m.–6 p.m.

9 a.m.–6 p.m.

© 2011, Barbara B. Baker

Regionalization is already the norm in most areas of waste management. Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale all ship their garbage to the Sunnyvale Materials and Recovery Transfer (SMaRT) station, where it gets sorted on conveyor belts, stripped of salvageable recyclable matter, and trucked to landfills. The SMaRT station also includes a recycling center where residents from all three cities are allowed to drop off materials at no charge.

But when it comes to composting, the drive to regionalize has encountered a wave of opposition from some of Palo Alto’s greenest environmentalists.

The city’s composting facility at Byxbee Park is set to close next year, after which time Palo Alto’s yard trimmings and food scraps are set to go to the Z-Best station in Gilroy.

Palo Alto’s Zero Waste Operational Plan, which the council adopted in

2007, specifically recommends using a regional facility for local organic waste.

Many, however, feel Palo Alto should take care of its own yard waste, rather than ship it elsewhere.

A coalition of environmentalists led

by Bob Wenzlau and former Mayor Peter Drekmeier is leading a charge for a local solution to the composting problem.

In late 2009, a special taskforce recommended that the city explore building an “anaerobic digestion” plant — a waste-to-energy facility that would convert local yard trimmings, food waste and sewer sludge into electricity.

Last April, after a four-hour debate featuring dozens of public speakers, the council voted 5-4 — with Espinosa, Karen Holman, Greg Schmid and Yiaway Yeh dissenting — to fund a feasibility study for a waste-to-energy plant in the Baylands.

Minutes later, the council voted on

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Cover Story

Fading borders

(continued from previous page)

a separate motion, directing staff to pursue regional solutions for composting. The motion also passed by a 5-4 vote, with Pat Burt, Larry Klein,

Nancy Shepherd and Gail Price dissenting (Greg Scharff voted in favor of both).

The feasibility study will be released in the spring, at which point the city’s most passionate local vs. regional debate is likely to resume.

ther resource-sharing opportunities have proven less divisive. Last month, the council agreed to extend the city’s participation in LINK+, a service the city joined in 2008 that allows local libraries to swap books with hundreds of others in California

O

and Nevada. The program, which is projected to cost the city about $200,000 over the next two years, will give customers access to about 18 million volumes from dozens of libraries.

So far, only 0.7 percent of local library customers have used LINK+

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— a smaller rate than the city had projected. But library officials believe it will become more popular in the coming years and unanimously recommended renewing the city’s participation.

The nonprofit group Friends of the Palo Alto Library also signaled its support for LINK+ and committed $100,000 to pay for the service.

Espinosa said as the city’s budget woes continue, other opportunities for regional cooperation will almost certainly crop up. In some cases, this will involve sharing municipal services like emergency dispatch and record management. In others, it will entail forming partnerships with other communities to help influence state policy.

Palo Alto launched one such partnership in 2008, when former Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto helped co-found the Peninsula Cities Consortium to give the city and its neighbors a greater voice in California’s high-speed rail system.

The coalition now includes elected leaders from Atherton, Menlo Park, Belmont, Burlingame and Brisbane.

The city also shares a high-speedrail lobbyist with Menlo Park and Atherton and has joined its two Midpeninsula neighbors in a lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

The challenges of a new year are expected to present cities with other opportunities to team up. One major area of potential cooperation lies in securing permanent funding for Caltrain, Espinosa said. Another one is finding a way to meet stringent state mandates requiring each community to zone for its “fair share” of housing (in Palo Alto’s case, city officials agree that the “fair share” is neither fair nor possible).

In his view, thinking regionally isn’t so much an option on these issues but a necessity.

“There are specific issues where communities will have to come together to come up with solutions,” Espinosa said. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

About the cover: Design by Paul Llewellyn; photographs by Marjan Sadoughi and Veronica Weber.

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The Senior You Love Can Remain At Home Longer

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

BUILDING COMMUNITY Y Exhibit features the Duvenecks’ influential efforts in founding Hidden Villa and Peninsula School

Exhibit visitor Carolyn Tucher reads about the Duvenecks’ family history in the company of a large black-and-white photo of Josephine and Frank Duveneck.

A photo of Cesar Chavez sits in a re-creation of the Big House dining room at Hidden Villa. The house was a gathering place for both relatives and activists.

by Rebecca Wallace | Photos by Veronica Weber

T

here’s a lot more to real estate than “location, location.” The heart of a property often comes from what you do with it.

Few Peninsulans have illustrated this philosophy better than Josephine and Frank Duveneck. In 1924, they bought a pretty piece of land in a Los Altos Hills valley, and ended up turning it into the summer camp, farm and gathering place now known as Hidden Villa.

Around that time, the Duvenecks and other parents also transformed Menlo Park’s Coleman Mansion and its environs into the progressive Peninsula School.

In their spare time, the pair also helped found the Loma Prieta chapter of the Sierra Club, and Josephine served a term on the Palo Alto City Council.

“She had incredible energy and was able to enlist people to support her,” Nan Geschke said. “We are

just in awe of everything she did.”

Geschke has done quite a lot herself. She’s co-chair of the exhibit “Touching Lives: The Duvenecks of Hidden Villa” that opened last month at the Los Altos History Museum. Through old photos, newspaper clippings, videos, clothing and other artifacts, the exhibit traces the couple’s lives. Visitors follow the Duvenecks from their privileged East Coast upbringings to their philanthropic decades on the San Francisco Peninsula after they fell in love with California.

A centerpiece is a re-creation of the dining room at “The Big House” that the Duvenecks built at Hidden Villa. Within the wooden walls are historic photos; a copy of a painting by Frank’s father, the artist Frank Duveneck Sr.; and a set table complete with candlesticks. (continued on page 22)

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Arts & Entertainment

Date: Time:

Saturday, March 5, 2011 8:30 a.m. - Registration, Breakfast 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.- Program Location: Stanford Univerity School of Education – Cubberley Auditorium Near the main quad and The Oval

Admission: $20 pre-registration/$25 at the door

A model of one of the Duvenecks’ horses peers into the Los Altos History Museum exhibit.

Duvenecks

(continued from page 21)

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

This Sunday: A Super Sermon Rev. David Howell preaching An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ

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

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The room also gives a taste of the couple’s politics. A photo of Cesar Chavez is prominently placed at one table setting, providing a reminder that the Big House was not just a warm hearth for family and friends, but a community gathering place where Chavez and other Mexican-American activists planned farm workers’ strikes and boycotts.

Another area recalls the support the Duvenecks gave to their Japanese-American friends who were interned during World War II. A stack of small suitcases shows the limited amount of belongings that internees were allowed to bring, while an exhibit card tells about the Duvenecks bringing relief supplies to the internees and storing their possessions for them during the war. A quote from Josephine reads: “Intolerance is too costly for any of us.”

Other exhibit areas include replicas of the fireplace at the Big House, Frank’s blacksmith shop, and the writing cabin behind the Big House where Josephine wrote books including her autobiography, “Life on Two Levels.”

A section on Peninsula School features a poem by Josephine about the school, a decades-old yearbook, and a large photo of the graceful Coleman Mansion that became the school’s “Big Building.”

The school, Geschke said in an interview at the museum, had its roots in Josephine’s own “nontraditional education.” Josephine said that traditional public schools could be crowded and restrictive, and also complained that “the girls had to wear dresses,” according to an exhibit card.

After Josephine and other

parents researched progressive schools and studied the ideas of education reformers including Maria Montessori, they opened The Peninsula School for Creative Education in the fall of 1925 with 45 students, according to the exhibit. Today the school has 255 students in nursery school through eighth grade. Its website still talks about the founders’ original values: “an environment in which learning was joyful and exciting, where children were challenged to learn by doing, and where both independence and group cooperation were highly valued.”

Besides being Peninsula’s cofounder, Josephine was also director and teacher, among other roles. Frank taught math, science and shop, and served on the board.

A photo in the exhibit shows children taking part in one of the Greek festivals that Josephine liked to stage at the school.

The couple’s legacy also lives on in the Palo Alto Unified School District, where Duveneck Elementary School is named after them.

As for Hidden Villa, the pair bought its land while they were living in Palo Alto. They had become drawn to the picturesque valley in neighboring Los Altos Hills, and one day saw a “For Sale” sign on Moody Road, Geschke said. “It just became the center of their lives.”

Irene Sasaki, one of the exhibit researchers, added, “Once they had this lovely property, they decided to share it with people.”

The Duvenecks built the Big House, a three-story, 5,000square-foot home roofed in handmade green tiles, for $33,564.42, according to an exhibit card. Then they opened it, and Hidden Villa, to the world, establishing a hostel, a pioneering multiracial summer camp, and an environmental-edu-

cation program.

Thousands of people visit Hidden Villa every year, in tune with the Duvenecks’ original vision for the place. Of the Big House, an exhibit card states, “It was a gathering place for politically minded people, a spawning ground for social justice, a safe haven and the scene of countless festivities.

“The Duvenecks never locked the door of the Big House or the gates to the property.” N

What: The exhibit “Touching Lives: The Duvenecks of Hidden Villa” traces the lives of Peninsula philanthropists Josephine and Frank Duveneck.

Where: Los Altos History Museum, 51 S. San Antonio Road When: Through June 27, open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.

Cost: Free Info: Go to losaltoshistory. org or call 650-948-9427.

Special programs include a panel discussion on the Duvenecks and Hidden Villa, with such speakers as Palo Alto musician Nancy Cassidy, who was an early camp director; and David Duveneck, grandson of Josephine and Frank. The free panel is from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

March 16 at the Hillview Community Center, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos.

Arts & Entertainment

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Private Eyesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and truth and lies The audience has to figure out the action in Dragonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fast-paced, twist-and-turn production

by Jeanie K. Smith ou may not know that Steven Dietz is one of the most produced playwrights in the U.S., only slightly behind Shakespeare and Tennessee Williams. That might be a good enough reason to go see the current Dragon Theatre production of his play â&#x20AC;&#x153;Private Eyesâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to see what all the fuss is about.

But an even better reason is the quality of Dragonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an excellent eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entertainment, sure to generate laughter and postshow discussion.

The play begins with Lisa (Kelly Rinehart) auditioning for a role in a play for a director named Matthew (Fred Pitts). Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bit of meta-theater thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delicious satire, poking fun at directorial pomposity and the hapless actor at his mercy. But suddenly another director named Adrian (Martin Gagen) appears, and everything you just saw is thrown into question.

In order not to write a review full of spoilers, I can say no more, except that we meet two more players in this complex plot: Frank (Vic Prosak), a therapist and more; and Corey (Sara Luna), a waitress and more. Who is related to whom and how is something youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to figure out for yourself, along with the rest of the action.

Once the first plot twist happens, we realize that we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t trust our perception of what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re watching, as reality ground zero â&#x20AC;&#x201D; whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real and whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imagined and whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lied about â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is continually shifting. Just when

Y

THEATER REVIEW you think you have it all figured out, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in for another surprise revelation. Equally in doubt is truth. Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s telling it? Who isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t? Whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lying to whom? Again, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re on your own here.

We canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t trust our perception of what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re watching, as whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real and whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imagined is continually shifting.

James Kasyan

Along the way there are some fabulously funny scenes, and Dietzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s witty dialogue. The characters bravely schlep through the comic twists, themselves somewhat hapless at the authorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pen. There are a few serious moments that perhaps give a clue as to Dietzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intended message, but nothing too heavy-handed or obvious.

The play does tend to sag somewhat in the middle of each act, a little bloated with its own plot twists, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a minor quibble in an otherwise fast-paced show. Director Lennon Smith has done a good job of staging

to maximize the comedy and clarify the complex plot.

Rinehart and Pitts are spot-on in their respective roles, marvelous at the quick changes required of their characters. They have an ease with each other that works well. Gagen is equally at home in his various incarnations: classic directorial stereotype, pathetic wannabe, miserable husband.

These three actors carry the bulk of the action, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dizzying to watch them but enjoyable to see how they manage the complexity.

Emily Hagenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s costumes add nicely to the characters, and Henry Sellenthinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s set manages several totally different locales with minimal changes.

Jeffrey Loâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s music choices mostly capture the mood, although thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a critical moment when less might have been more.

Kudos to the Dragon for kicking off its new season with a terrific show. Be sure to plan for some fun discussion after the show, preferably over a glass of Merlot. (OK, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all the spoiler youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re getting.) N What: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Private Eyes,â&#x20AC;? by Steven Dietz, presented by Dragon Productions Theatre Company Where: Dragon Theatre, 535 Alma St., Palo Alto When: Through Feb. 13, with 8 p.m. shows Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays Cost: Tickets range from $15 to $30.

Info: Go to www.dragonproductions.net or call 650-493-2006.

Fred Pitts and Sara Luna in Dragon Productionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Private Eyes.â&#x20AC;?

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The Herbert Hoover sandwich features ham, bacon, American cheese, mozzarella sticks, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, banana peppers and a double helping of the Ike’s “dirty sauce.”

For the love of sandwiches Ike’s Place is all about spreading the love — on sourdough rolls, Dutch crunch, gluten-free bread ...

By Sheila n the noontime line at Ike’s Place at Stanford University, a line that curves around the spacious, light-filled Forbes Family Cafe of the Jen-Hsuan Huang School of Engineering, you’ll have plenty of time to eavesdrop on conversations such as: “I just figured out I don’t have to go to class anymore.”

“Dude! Next quarter I only have two classes!”

Aha! Now we know why elite students have 40 minutes to spend waiting for sandwiches. At least they’re getting the best.

Soon, so will Burlingame, downtown San Jose near San Jose State University and Santa Rosa Community College, where new Ike’s Places are scheduled to open.

Ike Shehadeh is all about spreading the love.

His sandwiches are behemoths, but you can get a half-sandwich, which still comes with your choice of fruit or a bag of Dirty’s AllNatural Potato Chips, and a perfect little caramel-apple lollipop.

Build your own or choose a local hero like John Elway (turkey, bacon and Swiss cheese).

Vegetarians flock to flavor festivals such as the Chelsea Clinton ($6.96 half, $9.99 full), with vegan turkey, French dressing, avocado

Himmel

I

Veronica Weber

Page 24ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊ{]ÊÓ䣣ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

The Paul Reubens includes pastrami and coleslaw. and smoked gouda. There are 16 vegan combinations. Vegan Chelsea employs sesame dressing and vegan soy cheese.

Ike Shehadeh has been featured on the Travel Channel and drawn customers from as far away as Siberia to his original store in San Francisco. That store has moved once, and is about to move again, into a 3,000-foot space, which is seven times its original size. Now he has 71 “phenomenal” employ-

ees, half of whom have been with him over a year, a long time in this business. The second store is just off U.S. 101 in a Redwood Shores office park, with, Shehadeh notes, 500 free parking spaces. By March he expects to employ 150 people.

Ike originally wanted to open a full-serve restaurant, but didn’t have the money for it. So, he says, “I changed all my recipes into sandwiches.” His goal with a sandwich is that you take a bite, “and hit as many taste buds as possible.”

Bread choices include Dutch crunch, French, sourdough roll and gluten-free. Whatever your bread, keep in mind that it is slathered in fresh ingredients and Ike’s Secret Dirty Sauce. The Huang complex offers lots of comfortable seating indoors and out, but if your lunch hour is not unlimited, just try to eat soon.

You have to wonder, does waiting 40 minutes for a sandwich cause you to overrate the experience? Um, no.

No. 85, the Super Mario ($7.97 half, $11.11 full), is spectacular.

Warm all-beef meatballs nuzzle with thick, chewy mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce. Regular condiments are lettuce, tomato, pickles and peppers but you are free to subtract. Or add, for example, grilled mushrooms.

Ike’s uses halal chicken. Instead of the usual hunk of dry chicken breast, the chicken is shredded.

It’s still moist and tender, but mar(continued on next page)

ShopTalk

by Daryl Savage

STAINED GLASS, SPINNING CLASS ... This unlikely combination works. The stained-glass windows, eight of them, create a dramatic backdrop for a variety of exercise classes in Palo Alto’s newest fitness center. Located in the former University AME Zion Church at 819 Ramona St., Uforia Studios opened Feb. 1 and offers spinning and many other classes.

The building itself, nestled in a quaint residential neighborhood and classified as an historic structure, underwent a $150,000, 90-day renovation that helped turn the old site into a virtual work of art. Uforia is the brainchild of Sarah Lux and her husband, Robert Hanson, a nationally ranked track athlete. Also joining the venture is Jessica Gilmartin as Uforia’s consultant/investor.

She is the former co-owner of Fraiche, and sold her stake in the Palo Alto/Stanford yogurt shop last year. “We’ve been planning this for three years. We’ve done

our homework,” said Lux, who is also a competitive athlete. Other offerings include weight-training, Pilates, ballet-conditioning, Zumba and hip-hop. Chilled towels and free fruit are a few additional perks at Uforia. A grand-opening launch party is scheduled for Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. “Everyone who comes will get a free class,” Lux said.

BARGAINS IN ART ... The Palo Alto Art Center at 1313 Newell Road, preparing to undergo its first major renovation, is holding a pre-closing sale at its Gallery Shop, with all items reduced in price by at least 25 percent. The shop features hand-crafted artisan work, including necklaces made of zippers and earrings made of recycled Legos. The shop is scheduled to close Feb. 19, with the art center as a whole shutting its doors April 1 for year-long renovation work.

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 49

7 1 3 9 8 2 5 6 4

Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out, or in, down the block or across town? Daryl Savage will check it out. She can be e-mailed at shoptalk@paweekly.com.

6 2 5 7 1 4 9 3 8

4 9 8 6 5 3 7 1 2

9 5 4 3 2 8 6 7 1

3 8 2 1 7 6 4 9 5

1 7 6 4 9 5 8 2 3

2 4 7 8 3 9 1 5 6

8 3 9 5 6 1 2 4 7

5 6 1 2 4 7 3 8 9

Fresh news delivered daily Sign up today www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan Independent Monitoring Committee David Ginsborg Jim Foran

Robert Baldini

Jeffrey Cristina

Nancy Hobbs

Mark Lazzarini

Teresa Alvarado

Marc Berman

Patrick Waite

Terry Trumbull

Charles Taylor

Jane Kennedy

Lonnie Gross

OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY January 25, 2011

Year 9 of Your Program

Dear Santa Clara County Residents: (continued from previous page)

ries much better with all the other ingredients.

No. 7, Pizzle ($5.95 half/$8.98 full), is chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing. Which doesn’t sound all that special, but it is.

No. 111, Menage a Trois ($6.96, $11.11), features halal chicken, honey, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, pepper Jack, Swiss and smoked gouda. It is a fabulous mess.

Ike’s was invited to Stanford, helped design the space, and opened Sept. 1.

Note to the non-Stanford community: Maps are nearly non-existent.

The bike shop at Tressider Union has a map on the wall, and the clerk there very kindly gave me a map to take, even highlighting directions to Ike’s.

Which happens to be very close to the parking lot off Via Ortega, which runs 75 cents per half-hour.

Here is the good news: Parking is free after 4 p.m. and on weekends.

The Stanford Ike’s is open every day. N Ike’s Place Jen-Hsun Huang School of Engineering Center, 650-322-1766 ilikeikesplace.com Hours: Daily 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Reservations

Banquet

Credit cards

Catering

Lot Parking Alcohol

Outdoor seating

Takeout Highchairs Wheelchair access

Noise level: Fine Bathroom Cleanliness: Very good

This year marks the completion of the ninth year of the fifteen-year Clean, Safe Creeks & Natural Flood Protection Plan, a November 2000 ballot measure that received strong support from Santa Clara County voters creating a “pay as you go” countywide special parcel tax to fund initiatives to protect properties from floods, add trails and safeguard creeks and ecosystems.

As part of the plan, implemented by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, voters approved the formation of an Independent Monitoring Committee (IMC) to monitor the plan’s progress and ensure the outcomes of the plan are met in a cost efficient manner. Consistent with that objective, the IMC meets as a full committee bi-annually and relies on four working subcommittees to produce an annual oversight report that details the status of each of the four major outcomes promised to voters in 2000.

1. Homes, schools, businesses and transportation networks are protected from flooding There are nine flood protection projects to protect approximately 16,000 homes, businesses and schools. The water district also removes sediment from creeks to maintain stream capacity so flood waters are conveyed safely to San Francisco and Monterey Bays.

2. Clean, safe water in our creeks and bays The water district is implementing projects to improve the quality of water in our creeks and bays as well as remove trash and graffiti from our stream corridors.

3. Healthy creek and bay ecosystems are protected, enhanced or restored Initiatives are underway to enhance the health of creeks and the surrounding habitat. These efforts go beyond a waterway’s banks to reflect the conditions throughout the watershed, including the health of its birds, wildlife and fish.

4. Trails, parks and open space along waterways The water district works to create trails and open space within surrounding watersheds, stream corridors and on flood protection levees, for the community to use and enjoy.

Members of the IMC take this voter-mandated oversight responsibility very seriously. As described in this year’s report, the local parcel tax funds only a portion of several major flood protection projects.

Unfortunately, the anticipated share of federal and state funds needed to complete these projects on time has been lacking. As a result, some of these projects are in jeopardy of not being completed on time or at all.

If you are as concerned as we are about flood protection initiatives not proceeding as scheduled, I urge you to read our report and contact district staff and their board of directors, as well as your federal and state representatives.

To learn more about activities in your area or for a copy of the annual report, please contact Karna DuQuite at (408) 265-2607, ext. 2944 or visit www.valleywater.org. I would also like to extend an invitation to members of the public to attend our next evening meeting on May 5, 2011.

Sincerely,

David Ginsborg, Chair Independent Monitoring Committee

www.valleywater.org *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊ{]ÊÓ䣣ÊU Page 25

PIZZA Pizza Chicago 424-9400 4115 El Camino Real, Palo Alto This IS the best pizza in town

of the week

Spot A Pizza 324-3131 115 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto Voted Best Pizza in Palo Alto www.spotpizza.com

POLYNESIAN 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.

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

Su Hong – Menlo Park Dining Phone: 323–6852

Burmese

8 years in a row!

Green Elephant Gourmet

INDIAN

(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

Chef Chu’s (650) 948-2696

Janta Indian Restaurant 462-5903

THAI

ITALIAN

Thaiphoon Restaurant 323-7700 543 Emerson St., Palo Alto Full Bar, Outdoor Seating www.thaiphoonrestaurant.com Best Thai Restaurant in Palo Alto 5 Years in a Row, 2006-2010

Spalti Ristorante 327-9390 417 California Ave, Palo Alto

Jing Jing 328-6885

ÝµÕ Ã ÌiÊ `ÊUÊ"ÕÌ` ÀÊ }

443 Emerson St., Palo Alto

www.spalti.com

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

New Tung Kee Noodle House

Siam Orchid 325-1994 496 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto Organic Thai Free Delivery to Palo Alto/Stanford/Menlo Park Order online at www.siamorchidpa.com

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

STEAKHOUSE

MEXICAN

Sundance the Steakhouse 321-6798 1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30 am-2:00pm Dinner: Mon-Thu 5:00-10:00pm Fri-Sat 5:00-10:30pm, Sun 5:00-9:00pm www.sundancethesteakhouse.com

520 Showers Dr., MV in San Antonio Ctr. Voted MV Voice Best ‘01, ‘02, ‘03 & ‘04

Palo Alto Sol 328-8840

Prices start at $4.75

408 California Ave, Palo Alto

947-8888

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Scott’s Seafood 323-1555 #1 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto Open 7 days a week serving breakfast, lunch and dinner Happy Hour 7 days a week 4-7 pm Full Bar, Banquets, Outdoor Seating www.scottsseafoodpa.com

Lunch Buffet M-F; Organic Veggies

2010 Best Chinese MV Voice & PA Weekly

Cook’s Seafood 325-0604 751 El Camino Real, Menlo Park Seafood Dinners from $6.95 to $10.95

369 Lytton Ave., Downtown Palo Alto

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

SEAFOOD

To Go: 322–4631 Winner, Menlo Almanac “Best Of”

CHINESE

Trader Vic’s 849-9800 4269 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Dinner Mon-Thurs 5-10pm; Fri-Sat 5-11pm; Sun 4:30 - 9:30pm Available for private luncheons Lounge open nightly Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-6 pm

Siam Orchid is an organic fine dining Thai restaurant offering modern Thai fusion. We provide dine-in, private parties, pickup, delivery and catering.

496 Hamilton Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94301 Phone: 650.325.1994 Fax: 650. 325.1991

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

Movies

OPENINGS

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Rhys Wakefield and Richard Roxburgh in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sanctum.â&#x20AC;?

Another Year ---1/2

(Aquarius) Does time truly heal all wounds? Or does it only exacerbate the pain of living? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little from column A and a little from column B in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Another Year,â&#x20AC;? the 11th feature film from British master Mike Leigh (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Happy-Go-Luckyâ&#x20AC;?).

Leigh hit his stride in the 1990s as he firmed up a narrative style involving ensemble casts, rigorous character work and ample improvisation. No exception, the gently moving dramedy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Another Yearâ&#x20AC;? observes a sprawl of friends and family linked by their emotional dependence on the happily married Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen). Geologist Tom and counselor Gerri are enjoying days of wine and roses: chatty dinners and satisfying hours spent gardening their community allotment. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re literally down-to-earth.

They also spend plenty of quality time with their affable son Joe (Oliver Maltman), unhealthy old friend Ken (Peter Wight), Tomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s taciturn brother Ronnie (David Bradley) and, above all, Gerriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unshakeable work colleague Mary (Leslie Manville), whose neediness knows no bounds. Tom and Gerri prove to be a couple for all seasons, and Leigh structures the film accordingly, with acts set in spring, summer, autumn and winter.

Though Tom and Gerri hold the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mostly serene center, the dominant personality belongs to the blustery Mary, who never refuses a drink. Her restless self-examination and bluff outbursts of optimism (which mask an aching social desperation) effectively keep Gerri on the clock. Though Mary shows no sign that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aware of her increasing imposition, she does sum up the service provided by her married friends: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everybody needs someone to talk to, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t they?â&#x20AC;?

Leighâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach is â&#x20AC;&#x153;slice of life,â&#x20AC;? eschewing direct exposition in favor of eavesdropping on significant days in the lives of the characters. A summer barbecue, for instance, finds the romantically available at cross-purposes: Though Ken is interested, Mary wants nothing to do with him. Instead, sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rather hopefully set her sights on the conspicuously younger Joe. But this is no Hollywood romantic comedy. In achieving a credible realism, Leigh and his actors refreshingly avoid the tidy and obvious.

With winter comes a darker movement involving an off-screen death but also unexpected hope of deliverance for despairing souls. As such, the final

act serves as something of a rebuke to the character we meet in the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prologue, a depressed client (Imelda Staunton) of Gerriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who insists, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nothing changes.â&#x20AC;? Gerriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s patient empathy (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not always kind, is it?â&#x20AC;?) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and that of her husband â&#x20AC;&#x201D; reflects the inclusiveness and generosity of Leighâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s humane storytelling.

Gary Yershon supplies fittingly lovely music, and Leighâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longtime director of photography Dick Pope evocatively expresses the changing seasons in cinematographic language. But above all, Leighâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s films rise on the strength of his performers. In her seventh Leigh film, Manville skillfully embodies Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frantic yearning, and Broadbent and Sheen are positively darling: as seemingly real and inviting as oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own best friends.

The film makes no overt reach for profundity, but it does quietly affirm that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll always be another year â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with or without us. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reason enough to be hopeful, and to make the most of what and whom we have while time still belongs to us.

!

Rated PG-13 for some language. Two hours, 10 minutes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese

Sanctum -

(Century 16, Century 20) Ignore the marketing decision to use executive producer James Cameronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name to sell tickets, and the promise of the 3D process to deliver spectacle (while boosting admission prices). What remains is an amateurish action-adventure film that first-time feature screenwriters John Gavin and Andrew Wight and sophomore director Alister Grierson (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kokodaâ&#x20AC;?) sent spiraling deep into the abyss.

Despite the â&#x20AC;&#x153;inspired by a true storyâ&#x20AC;? tag, the narrative retains only the most basic incident of Wightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real-life Pannikin Plains cave-diving expedition of 1988: A flash flood traps a team in a large subterranean chamber of a vast underwater cave system.

The near-disaster that actually occurred in Australia becomes an unbelievable underwater drama set in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest unexplored cave system, Esa Ala, situated in Papua New Guinea.

Master diver Frank (Richard Roxburgh of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Van (continued on next page)

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Movies (continued from previous page)

Helsingâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Moulin Rouge!â&#x20AC;?) is the gruff, no-nonsense expedition leader who can feel the cave but seemingly has few feelings for human beings. The cave exploration provides the long-absent father opportunities to yell at his resentful teenage son, Josh (Rhys Wakefield of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Broken Hillâ&#x20AC;?). He also gets to demean adrenalin-junkie financier Carl (Ioan Gruffudd of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rise of the Silver Surferâ&#x20AC;?) and dismiss the two females (Alice Parkinson and Allison Cratchley) as panic-stricken liabilities. The cave system emerges as the fatal attraction.

Roxburgh deserves praise for his performance, the only credible one in the entire film. Even when repeatedly saddled with reciting the same lines from Coleridgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Kubla Khan,â&#x20AC;? the Australian actor lends an

air of reverence to the poetry of a sacred river running through â&#x20AC;&#x153;caverns measureless to man down to a sunless sea.â&#x20AC;? Frank may have ice water running through his veins, but heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the only person capable of guiding the group through the labyrinth with dwindling supplies and no contact with those above ground. Roxburgh looks and acts the part.

The other cast members elicit laughter for all the wrong reasons, although Wakefieldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acting improves as the movie wears on. Flat characters spewing inane dialogue donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a chance, particularly when the 3D camera captures their wooden performances in close-up.

The over-the-top Gruffudd is better hidden behind a diving mask.

Griersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direction hinders the

visual look, since his choice of close-ups, medium shots and a moving camera donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t make for good 3D images. Although a few extreme long shots present the natural landscape in breathtaking deep-focus views, most of the movie takes place in inky waters or brown-walled caves â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not the best subject for 3D technology. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sanctumâ&#x20AC;? is nothing sacred, and perhaps the worst film of the new year to surface in the darkness of the theater.

Rated: R for language, some violence and disturbing images. 1 hour, 43 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Susan Tavernetti

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

The Leopard Man (1943) Murders in a New Mexico town are blamed on an escaped leopard, but a human culprit may be framing the cat. Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Fri & Sat 2/4-2/5 The Kings Speech 1:30, 4:20, 7:15, 10:00 Biutiful 1:15, 4:30, 8:00 Sun thru Thurs 2/6-2/10 The Kings Speech 1:30, 4:20, 7:15 Biutiful 1:15, 4:30, 8:00

2

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS

ÂŽ

Movie times for the Century 20 theater are for Friday through Wednesday only, unless otherwise noted.

127 Hours (R) (((

Century 16: 11:35 a.m.; 1:55, 4:30, 7:10 & 9:40 p.m.

Another Year (R) (((1/2

Aquarius Theatre: 1, 4, 7 & 9:50 p.m.

Barneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Version (R) ((( Guild Theatre: 2:30, 5:30 & 8:30 p.m.

Biutiful (R) ((1/2

Palo Alto Square: 1:15, 4:30 & 8 p.m.

Black Swan (R) (((

Century 16: 11:40 a.m.; 2:20, 5, 7:40 & 10:15 p.m.

Century 20: 12:05, 2:45, 5:20, 8 & 10:35 p.m.

Blue Valentine (R) ((((

Century 16: 12:55, 4:15, 7:05 & 10 p.m. Sat 12:55, 4:15, 7:05 & 10 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m.; 2, 4:45, 7:35 & 10:20 p.m.

The Company Men (R) ((1/2

Century 16: 2:30 & 7:55 p.m. Century 20: 11:55 a.m.; 2:35, 5:05, 7:40 & 10:10 p.m.

The Dilemma (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:50 a.m.; 5:15 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 3:45 & 9:25 p.m.

The Fighter (R) ((1/2

Century 16: 11:20 a.m.; 2:25, 5:10, 7:50 & 10:30 p.m.

Century 20: 11:50 a.m.; 2:55, 5:45 & 8:30 p.m.

From Prada to Nada (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 12:45, 3:45, 7 & 9:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:45 a.m.; 2:25, 5, 7:40 & 10:10 p.m.

The Green Hornet (PG-13) (1/2

Century 16: 4 & 10:05 p.m.; In 3D at 1 & 7:20 p.m.

Century 20: 12:45, 4, 7 & 9:50 p.m.; In 3D at 2 & 7:30 p.m.

Hood To Coast Event (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

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

Justin Bieber: Never Century 16: Thu. in 3D at 12:01 a.m.

Say Never (G) (Not Reviewed)

The Ghost Ship (1943) A sailor suspects his captain of being a psychopath. Friday at 6:10 & 8:50 p.m.

The Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Speech (R) (((1/2

Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 12:55, 2:10, 4:55, 6:35, 7:45 & 10:25 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1:30, 4:20 & 7:15 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 10 p.m.

Dinner at Eight (1933) A social-climbing couple puts on a dinner party for high-profile guests. Sat.-Mon. at 7:30 p.m. Sat.-Sun. also at 3:15 p.m.

The Mechanic (R) ((

Century 16: 12:05, 2:40, 5:05, 7:45 & 10:10 p.m.

Century 20: 11:40 a.m.; 1:05, 2:15, 3:30, 4:40, 5:50, 7:15, 8:20, 9:35 & 10:45 p.m.

No Strings Attached (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:30 a.m.; 2:10, 4:55 & 7:35 p.m.; Fri.Wed. also at 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:30 a.m.; 1, 3:40, 4:50, 6:15, 8:55 & 10:15 p.m.

The Rite (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:20 a.m.; 2:05, 4:50, 7:30 & 10:10 p.m.

Century 20: Noon, 1:15, 2:40, 4:05, 5:25, 6:50, 8:10, 9:35 & 10:45 p.m.

You Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Take It With You (1938) Jimmy Stewart courts the daughter of a family with a style all its own. Sat.-Mon. at 5:15 & 9:30 p.m.

The Rocky Horror Picture Guild Theatre: Sat. at midnight.

Show (R) (Not Reviewed)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

PALO ALTO GRAND PRIX

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A

MODERN MASTERPIECE .â&#x20AC;?

-Matt Holzman, NPR

â&#x20AC;&#x153; BRAVO

MOVIE TIMES

ROAD RACE SERIES

BARDEM!

The Roommate (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 11:55 a.m.; 2:15, 4:45, 7:25 & 9:55 p.m.

Century 20: 12:30, 3, 5:30, 7:55 & 10:30 p.m.

Sanctum (R)

Century 16: 1:05, 4:05, 6:45 & 9:20 p.m.; In 3D at 11:45 a.m.; 2:35, 5:20, 8 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 1:50, 4:25, 7:10 & 9:45 p.m.; In 3D at 12:15, 2:50, 5:25, 8:05 & 10:40 p.m.

(

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

Aquarius Theatre: 2, 5 & 8 p.m.

Tangled (PG) (((

Century 16: 12:30 & 6:20 p.m.; In 3D at 3:30 & 8:45 p.m. Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 4:15 & 9:10 p.m.; In 3D at 1:45 & 6:45 p.m.

Tron: Legacy (PG) ((1/2

Century 16: 12:15 & 3:20 p.m.; Fri.-Wed. also at 6:50 & 9:45 p.m. Century 20: In 3D at 11:45 a.m.; 2:40, 5:35 & 8:25 p.m.

True Grit (PG-13) (((

Century 16: 11:25 a.m.; 2, 4:40, 7:15 & 9:50 p.m.

Century 20: 11:20 a.m.; 1:55, 4:35, 7:20 & 10 p.m.

-Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

UNQUESTIONABLY ONE OF THE YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEST.â&#x20AC;?

-Betsy Sharkey, LOS ANGELES TIMES

RUN, HAVE FUN & JOIN US FOR THE 2011 SEASON

( Skip it (( Some redeeming qualities ((( A good bet (((( Outstanding Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260) Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (800-326-3264) Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264) CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-3456)

WINNER

Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260)

BEST ACTOR JAVIER BARDEM CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

MARCH 12

TBA

Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com.

C I T Y O F PA L O A LTO R E C R E AT I O N P R E S E N T S

PA L O A LT O W E E K LY

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Book Talk

STANFORD READINGS ... Free February author talks at Stanford University include: Deborah Harkness, “A Discovery of Witches” (Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m.) in Geology Corner (Building 320), Room 105.

Information: continuingstudies. stanford.edu. Barbara Almond, “The Monster Within: The Hidden Side of Motherhood” (Thursday, Feb. 17, 6 p.m.) at the Stanford Bookstore, 519 Lasuen Mall.

Information: stanfordbookstore. com.

BOOKS INC. ... Dayna Macy gives a free talk on “Ravenous: A Food Lover’s Journey from Obsession to Freedom” (Saturday, Feb. 12, 3 p.m.) at Books Inc., 74 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto.

Information: booksinc.net.

TEA TIME ... Palo Alto’s Oshman Family Jewish Community Center hosts Sarah Rose, “For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History” (Thursday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m.). General tickets are $17 in advance and $22 at the door and include tea and refreshments; JCC members and students pay $12. The event is in room E104 at the center, 3921 Fabian Way. Information: paloaltojcc.org.

CANDLESTICK HISTORY ... The Museum of American Heritage is hosting an author talk with Ted Atlas, “The History of Candlestick Park” (Thursday, Feb. 24. 6:30 p.m.). Admission is $5 general and free for museum members.

MOAH is at 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto. Information: moah.org. (continued on next page)

Title Pages A monthly section on local books and authors,

A case G for O O D T G A M I N G

edited by Rebecca Wallace

“Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World,” by Jane McGonigal; The Penguin Press, New York; 388 pp.; $26.95

here’s a reason why many people who play video and computer games are always calling things epic, Jane McGonigal says.

The most popular games are played on an enormous scale. The role-playing game World of Warcraft, for instance, has some 12 million subscribers. Countless other people favor different games, from your mother duking it out with Spider Solitaire to what McGonigal calls “the largest army on earth” making more than 10 billion kills of evil aliens in Halo 3.

More than simple numbers, though, is the epic possibility that McGonigal sees in games and gamers. In her new book, “Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World,” McGonigal makes a nearly 400-page case that game-playing can fix society.

Such an assertion can seem silly at worst and overly ambitious at best. But McGonigal, the director of game research and development at Palo Alto’s Institute for the Future, makes a clearly written and surprisingly compelling case.

McGonigal begins by illustrating why games make players feel happy, productive and part of something larger than themselves, then moves ahead to detail several ways that games are already changing the world. By the time she’s finished, she’s imagining “The Long Game” that would last a thousand years: People would play for their entire lives, solving crowdsourced challenges and connecting with others through social rituals.

Along the way, McGonigal offers up 14 “fixes” to improve reality based on lessons learned in the game world, including: “Activate extreme positive emotions” and “Develop massively multiplayer foresight.”

McGonigal, a longtime game designer, brings authority and passion to her subject.

Her conviction is evident when she writes: “The real world just doesn’t offer up as easily the carefully designed pleasures, the thrilling challenges, and the powerful social bonding afforded by virtual environments. Reality doesn’t motivate us as effectively. Reality isn’t engineered to maximize our potential.”

The author also has a personable, persuasive voice that makes the reader open to looking at games, even old familiar ones, in new ways. Using the example of the popular puzzle-pieces-falling game of Tetris, McGonigal points out that not all games are about winning. In fact, in Tetris you will always lose.

Palo Alto researcher argues that video and computer games can lead to sweeping societal change

Bart Nagel

AUTHOR, AUTHOR ... Kepler’s Books at 1010 El Camino Real in Menlo Park hosts free author talks this month, including: Kelli Stanley, “The Curse-Maker: A Mystery” (Sunday, Feb. 6, 2 p.m.); Ellen Hopkins, “Fallout” (Tuesday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m.); Walter Bortz, “Next Medicine: The Science and Civics of Health” (Wednesday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.); Sarah Blake, “The Postmistress” (Thursday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m.); Marie Lawson Fiala, “Letters from a Distant Shore” (Saturday, Feb. 12, 3 p.m.); Andrew Foster Altschul, “Deus Ex Machina” (Wednesday, Feb. 16, 7 p.m.); Jessica Harper, “The Crabby Cook Cookbook” (Thursday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.); Siddhartha Mukherjee, “The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer” (Friday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m.); Maxine Hong Kingston, “I Love a Broad Margin to My Life” (Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m.); Peggy Orenstein, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New GirlieGirl Culture” (Thursday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.); and Stephen Winner, “The Silverado Story: A Memory-Care Culture Where Love Is Greater Than Fear” (Saturday, Feb. 26, 3 p.m.). Information: keplers.com.

“Reality doesn’t motivate us as effectively” as games do, Jane McGonigal writes.

“Reality isn’t engineered to maximize our potential.”

And yet you still keep playing, she writes, because you get immediate feedback of three kinds: visual (completed rows of pieces disappear), quantitative (your score goes up), and qualitative (the game feels more and more difficult over time).

“In other words,” she writes, “in a good computer or video game you’re always playing on the very edge of your skill level, always on the brink of falling off. When you do fall off, you feel the urge to climb back on.

That’s because there is virtually nothing as engaging as this state of working at the very limits of your ability — or what both game designers and psychologists call ‘flow.’”

Reality, McGonigal argues, is rarely so engaging. It doesn’t always give us clear goals, like getting the high score in Tetris or completing a quest in World of Warcraft. “Playing World of Warcraft is such a satisfying job, gamers have collectively spent 5.93 million years doing it,” she writes.

McGonigal brings in other voices to back her up, like that of the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.

As early as 1975, he was writing that the type of rewarding work and goals provided in the game world could help with feelings of depression and helplessness. McGonigal also gives examples of how game designers today use positive psychology in their creations.

The author then takes the next step: If gamers feel motivated to complete tasks that feel meaningful in the game world, why not create games that get us to accomplish societal goals?

Enter Chore Wars, one of McGonigal’s most entertaining examples.

This is an alternate reality game (one that’s played in real life as well as online) in which players create avatars and gain experience points for completing “adventures” such as emptying the real-world dishwasher.

When roommates or siblings are especially competitive, that house can get really clean.

McGonigal plays this game with her husband, Kiyash, and includes a

funny anecdote about Kiyash sneaking out of the bedroom early on a Saturday morning to be the first to scrub the bathtub. In a small but very concrete way, this game has improved their household reality.

“I’ve lived in this alternate reality long enough to have developed a highly effective counterstrategy,” she writes. “I clean the bathroom at odd hours in the middle of the week, when he’s least expecting it.”

As the book continues, McGonigal’s examples get larger, with games that change the world in increasingly dramatic ways.

SuperBetter, the author’s own creation, helps people cope with chronic health conditions by enlisting allies and setting goals. Fold It! allows players to solve protein-folding puzzles to aid the advancement of science. In the forthcoming Lost Joules, players will be able to bet against each other to see who can reduce their real-world energy consumption more.

The book suffers a bit from anecdote overload, but for the most part McGonigal succeeds in conveying both the games’ entertainment value and importance. These games have made a difference, she writes, because they’re designed to do so, and because they take advantage of the huge potential of the engageable hordes of gamers across the world.

“Gamers aren’t just trying to win games anymore,” she writes. “They have a bigger mission.

They’re on a mission to be a part of something epic.”

And so are game designers, she adds. “Right now, it’s easier and more fun to be a superhero in a video game than it is to help solve real global problems in everyday life.” But many games, she writes, “are starting to tip the balance: soon, we may find ourselves able to do both at the same time.”

McGonigal makes thorough, reasoned arguments. But the book might have benefited from a more thoughtful treatment of the problems associated with gaming.

Gamer addiction and “happiness burnout” — the exhaustion that can come after overplaying — are real problems, as is the “gamer regret” some people feel after having spent big chunks of their lives in a virtual universe. There’s also an argument against turning everything into a game: People risk forgetting how to enjoy an activity for its own sake. McGonigal makes a few references to these issues, but they feel glossed over.

But she also gives readers a chance to make up (continued on next page)

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Title Pages

Book Talk

(continued from previous page)

2011 Wallace Stegner Lectures Series Sponsor: Jean Lane, in memory of Bill Lane

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PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26 ***************************************** THIS IS A SUMMARY OF COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS. THE AGENDA WITH COMPLETE TITLES INCLUDING LEGAL DOCUMENTATION CAN BE VIEWED AT THE BELOW WEBPAGE: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/knowzone/agendas/council.asp

(TENTATIVE) SPECIAL COUNCIL AGENDACOUNCIL CHAMBERS - FEBRUARY 7, 2011 - 6 PM

1.

Closed Session: Labor 7:30 p.m. or as soon as possible thereafter SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 2. Presentation by Palo Alto Art Center Foundation 3. Appointments for the Library Advisory Committee CONSENT CALENDAR 4. Resolution Setting Council Vacation for 2011 5. Ordinance Authorizing the Closing of the Budget for FY 2010; Approval of 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 6. Maze & Associate Audit of Financial Statements as of June 30, 2010 and Management Letter 7. Resolution Amending Utility Rate Schedules G10 and G3 8. Upgrades to Palo Alto Art Center Renovation Project and Date Extension of MCA Design Contract 9. Phase II Environmental Site Assessment Work at the Palo Alto Airport 10. Resolution Adopting New Water Shortage Implementation Plan 11. Study Session: Fire Services, Resources & Utilization 12 Study Session: Urban Forest Master Plan (TENTATIVE) SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING -COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM FEBRUARY 8, 2011 - 2 PM CLOSED SESSION 1. City Attorney Recruitment Page 30Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;{]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;䣣Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

Peninsula Open Space Trust 222 High Street, Palo Alto, California 94301 (650) 854-7696 www.openspacetrust.org

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UNICORN TALE ... Palo Alto author Robin Ymer has published â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mythical Voyage,â&#x20AC;? a childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s storybook about unicorns. Ymer both wrote and illustrated the book, which is available at Keplerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books in Menlo Park.

Information: savantbooksand publications.com.

Items for Book Talk may be sent to Associate Editor Carol Blitzer, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 93202 or e-mailed to cblitzer@paweekly.com by the last Friday of the month.

Gaming

(continued from previous page)

their own minds about gaming by ending with an appendix titled â&#x20AC;&#x153;How to Play,â&#x20AC;? giving links to the games sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promoted. In a book that seeks to enlist the crowd in problem-solving, connecting and seeking out epic wins through games, the message is clear: Experience it for yourself. N Jane McGonigal is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. March 9 at the Computer History Museum, 1401 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. To register for the event, go to computerhistory.org or call 650-810-1898.

1ST PLACE

MEN’S BASKETBALL

BEST SPORTS COVERAGE

Stanford’s youth movement is on the rise

California Newspaper Publishers Association

Sports Shorts

ON THE AIR Friday Prep basketball: Burlingame girls at Menlo-Atherton, 6:15 p.m.; KCEA (89.1 FM). Boys’ game to follow at approximately 7:45 p.m.

Saturday

Thursday Women’s basketball: Washington St. at Stanford, 7 30 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Men’s basketball: Stanford at Washington St., 7 p.m.; XTRA (860 AM); KZSU (90.1 FM)

READ MORE ONLINE

www.PASportsOnline.com For expanded daily coverage of college and prep sports, please see our new site at www.PASportsOnline.com

A

nthony Brown became the third of nine freshman to start for Stanford’s men’s basketball team over the weekend. The Cardinal youth movement is in full swing.

Brown joined Dwight Powell and Aaron Bright as freshmen starters this season. John Gage, Josh Huestis, Robbie Lemons, Stefan Nastic and walk-on Chris Barnum have all seen action.

Nastic is out for the rest of the season with an injury and Andy Brown has yet to see any playing time, having been forced to sit out three consecutive years (including his senior year in high school) with a torn ACL. Gabe Harris is the only true sophomore on the team.

Without a senior presence on the team, Stanford coach Johnny Dawkins has had to be particularly patient with his young players as they learn from mistakes, trying to make the big play when it’s not there and generally run around the court without much direction.

“You have to find a balance,” Dawkins said. “You have to know how hard to push them and when to pat them on the back and encourage them. There are moments when they are unsure of themselves and moments when they are doing really well.”

Stanford completes its first four-game conference homestand in nine years with Saturday’s 3 p.m. contest against Arizona State, and the freshmen are different players from the first time they played the Sun Devils in Tempe.

“I don’t feel like a freshman any more,” Anthony Brown said. “I started feeling that way when the Pac-10 season started. It was the second half of our schedule and I think I earned some respect from my teammates.”

Brown is indicative of the rest of his classmates.

Powell began the season as they most polished of the

Stanford freshman Josh Huestis (24) helped his teammates rise to the occasion last weekend during a Pac-10 Conference victory over Oregon State.

(continued on page 32)

STANFORD ROUNDUP

GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Women’s tennis streak will be tested by UCLA

All-state honor fitting finish for Paly’s Winn

by Rick Eymer he Streak is once again on the line and Stanford has no intention of letting it go down without a fight. After all, it’s been almost 12 years since The Streak began and the Cardinal women’s tennis team has survived plenty of close calls over the years.

Top-ranked Stanford (3-0) hosts No. 5 UCLA (4-0) at noon Saturday.

For a nonconference match, this is about as big as it gets.

The Bruins handed Stanford its only loss last year and it came in the first meeting of the season by a 6-1 score on the road. The Cardinal came back to beat UCLA later in the year en route to the national title.

Stanford won its first three matches, the last two in the ITA Kickoff Weekend, by a 17-1 margin. Oklahoma earned the doubles point, the first time the Cardinal lost the doubles point at home in nearly two

by Keith Peters hen Dave Winn walked off the court at the San Jose State Event Center in December with a state championship in hand, he was completely satisfied. It was mission accomplished for his Palo Alto High girls’ volleyball team as the Vikings defeated heavily favored Long Beach Poly for the CIF Division I state crown.

It has been nearly two months since that historic victory by Winn’s team, yet the ripples from that huge splash in the volleyball world can still be felt.

Winn recently was named the MaxPreps California Coach of the Year in girls’ volleyball and two of his players, junior Melanie Wade and senior Megan Coleman, were named to the all-state team.

“I didn’t even know about it until a fellow coach at City Beach sent it to me,” Winn said of the honor. “I

T

(continued on page 32)

W Zach Sanderson/stanfordphoto.com

Women’s basketball: Stanford at Arizona, 1 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Men’s basketball: Arizona St. at Stanford, 3 p.m.; Fox Net Bay; XTRA (860 AM); KZSU (90.1 FM)

by Rick Eymer

Jim Shorin/stanfordphoto.com

CARDINAL CORNER . . . Redshirt senior Allyse Ishino, fresh off a top performance in Stanford’s win at Utah last week, leads the second-ranked Cardinal (8-0) into Saturday’s 4 p.m. performance against visiting San Jose State.

Ishino was named Pac-10 Gymnast of the Week after recording a career-best all-around score and winning three events . . .Brad Lawson recorded a seasonhigh 23 kills and fourth-ranked Stanford downed visiting Pacific, 25-20, 25-12, 22-25, 25-22, Wednesday in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s volleyball action at Burnham Pavilion.This is the same Cardinal team that has rallied from fifth-set deficits twice to win and then, unpredictably, fell easily at Long Beach State last week. Against Pacific, Stanford (5-2, 6-2) was in command of the match after winning the first two sets and led, 22-19, in the third set. Lawson hit .929 with 13 kills in 14 attacks in the first two sets and finished with a .487 hitting percentage with five blocks and four digs. Stanford travels to Chicago, and severe weather, for matches Friday at Lewis and Saturday at Loyola. The matches will conclude a seven-match, seven-city stretch in which the team will have traveled 9,227 miles stretching from Hawaii to Illinois . . . Stanford senior guard Jeanette Pohlen was added to the State Farm Wade Watch List, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), on behalf of the Wade Trophy Coalition, announced Wednesday. The announcement unites Pohlen with Stanford teammates Nnemkadi Ogwumike and Kayla Pedersen, who were named Wade Trophy hopefuls during the preseason . . .

In its first competitive action since November, the Stanford women’s golf team travels to the Arizona Wildcat Invitational for a three-day tournament that begins Monday.

With nine freshmen and no seniors, Cardinal prospects can only get better in time

Stanford senior Hilary Barte and her tennis teammates will defend the team’s home winning streak of 167 dual matches on Saturday.

(continued on page 34)

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Sports STANFORD FOOTBALL

Paly’s Anderson the start to a top recruiting class

by Rick Eymer

P

alo Alto High senior Kevin Anderson tops the list, literally, of 19 recruits who signed national letters Wednesday to play for the Stanford football team beginning in the fall.

Listed alphabetically, the 6-4, 245-pound defensive end, a member of the Vikings’ state championship team, is the first one named, just ahead of offensive lineman Brendon Austin out of Colorado, who is considered the 14th best prep lineman.

Of Stanford’s 19 recruits, seven were named PrepStar All-Americans or were listed as four-star recruits by either Scout or Rivals. com. Anderson is the lone Bay Area representative.

Stanford signed one of the top linebacker prospects in the nation in James Vaughters of Georgia. He’s listed as the fourth-best linebacker in the nation by Rivals.com and 44th on ESPNU’s Top 150 recruits.

A three-year varsity player, he recorded 95 tackles and four sacks among his 18 tackles-for-loss as a senior at Tucker High.

Vaughters is also one of three Stanford recruits, along with Wayne Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Remound Wright Fort Wayne, IN), who are finalists for the Franklin

Stanford roundup (continued from page 31)

years.

The Bruins, who play Friday at California, won their first four matches by a 20-2 margin as both teams qualified for the final four rounds of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships that begins Feb. 18 in Charlottesville, Va. The draw will be held Feb. 15, using the latest rankings for seeding purposes.

Stanford sophomore Mallory Burdette is expected to play against UCLA after missing two matches as a precautionary measure with a shoulder problem.

If Burdette plays at the No. 2 spot, that would set up a match between two of the top freshmen in the country in Stanford’s Kristie Ahn and UCLA’s Courtney Dolehide at No. 3 singles.

Stanford senior Hilary Barte likely will meet UCLA junior McCall Jones in the top singles match.

“We’re definitely not at our best, but everyone is in the same boat,” UCLA coach Stella Sampras Webster said. “It’s a great opportunity for us. We’re just going to go up there and hope to do our best. Hopefully we will have a chance to beat both teams.”

Burdette’s return would give Cardinal coach Lele Forood the kind of problem every coach would like to have: what to do at the bottom of the singles ladder, where senior Carolyn

D. Watkins Award, which honors the top African-American scholarathlete in the nation.

This is the first time in the history of the award that one school has had three Watkins Award finalists in the same recruiting class.

“This signing class is one that will play a big role in the success of Stanford football,” Cardinal coach David Shaw said. “Our coaches and staff have worked a lot of long hours over the last year or more with most of these young men, and they fill a lot of voids for our football team. We wanted to get faster and more athletic. At the same time, we wanted to bring in players who demonstrate a certain level of toughness that has been established throughout our program. I feel we have successfully met all of our goals with this recruiting class.”

Lyons, a defensive back, is a PrepStar All-American who is listed as the sixth-best safety prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He is also listed as the 16th top recruit in the nation according to MaxPreps and CBS College Sports recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

Wright is listed as the 16th-best running back prospect in the nation and top recruit in the state of Indiana by Rivals.com after he rushed

Keith Peters

Cardinal signs up 19 highly regarded players expected to play a big role in the continued success of Cardinal football

Palo Alto High senior Kevin Anderson signs his national letter of intent to play football at Stanford next fall while his father, Peter, and mother, Anne, watch during a special signing ceremony on Wednesday at Paly. for 2,100 yards and 34 touchdowns for Bishop Dwenger in the fall.

Atlanta’s Ronnie Harris, Georgia’s Ra’Chard Pippins and Folsom’s Jordan Richards complete the list of signed defensive backs. Kelsey Young (Norco), who attended the same high school that produced 2009 Heisman Trophy runner up Toby Gerhart, is listed as the 12thbest running back in the nation and 21st top recruit in California by Rivals.com. He rushed for 2,008 yards and 30 touchdowns as a senior.

Prep All-American Charlie Hopkins (Spokane, WA), ranked the 15th-best strong side defensive end in the country by Rivals.com and 31st overall defensive line prospect

in the nation by SuperPrep, is another of the five defensive linemen signed by Stanford.

Baton Rouge’s Lance Callihan, Brooklyn’s Anthony Hayes and Newport Beach’s J.B. Salem were also signed as defensive linemen.

Prep All-Americans Evan Crower of San Diego and Virginia’s Kevin Hogan were signed as quarterbacks.

Crower, the 23rd-best quarterback in the nation by Scout.com, threw for 2,232 yards and 32 touchdowns as a senior at St. Augustine. Hogan, rated the 13th-best overall quarterback prospect in the nation by Scout. com, passed for 1,820 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior at Gonzaga College High School in Washing-

ton, D.C. Devon Cajuste of Seaford, NY and Dallas’ Ty Montgomery signed as wide receivers for Stanford. Cajuste, the fourth-best overall recruit in New York by SuperPrep, caught 47 passes for 864 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior. Montgomery, a four-star recruit by both Rivals and Scout.com, is listed as the 27th-best wide receiver prospect in the nation by Scout.com.

Stanford also signed Patrick Skov, a fullback-linebacker from The Lawrenceville (N.J.) School, the younger brother of current Cardinal linebacker Shayne Skov. Patrick is rated the fifth-best fullback prospect in the nation by Scout.com. N

McVeigh and junior Veronica Li are two of the team’s most experienced players.

Freshman Nicole Gibbs has been playing in the No. 3 slot with Burdette out and sophomore Stacey Tan was at No. 4.

Stanford has not lost at the Taube Tennis Center since Feb. 27, 1999, before the current scoring structure was put in place. California ended what was then a school record 42match home winning streak.

The current streak is up to 167 matches, the longest running streak of any sport in NCAA Division I athletics.

Kim Hall shared goalkeeping duties in Michigan, combining for a 2.75 goals against average and a 7.50 saves average.

The tournament will bring together a lot of familiar faces from the local prep ranks. In addition to Stanford’s Menon, Kim Krueger (Menlo School) and Vee Dunlevie (Sacred Heart Prep), UCLA has Megan Burmeister (Menlo), KK Clark (SHP) and Rebecca Dorst (Menlo-Atherton); Cal has Lindsay Dorst (SHP); San Jose State has Adriana Vogt (SHP); USC has Constance Hiller (Priory); and Arizona State includes Morgan Leech (M-A).

Stanford hoops

Women’s water polo Top-ranked Stanford opened the season with four victories at the Michigan Invitational two weeks ago. The Cardinal hopes to continue that success this weekend in the Stanford Invitational.

Stanford opens play Saturday with an 8:30 a.m. contest against Arizona State and then meets California at 4 p.m. The tournament continues Sunday with an 8 a.m. match against San Jose State and concludes with the placement games in the afternoon. The title match is scheduled for 3 p.m.

The Cardinal outscored its first four opponents by 57-11 margin, with junior Pallavi Menon, a Sacred Heart Prep grad, leading the way with nine goals. Junior Melissa Seidemann, a member of the U.S. senior team, has seven goals.

Amber Oland, Kate Baldoni and

Men’s swimming Third-ranked Stanford hosts its final two meets of the season this weekend, meeting Cal State Bakersfield at 2 p.m. Friday and swimming against Pac-10 opponent USC at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Cardinal (4-0) swept a pair of meets at Arizona State and Arizona last weekend and heads into this weekend with an eye toward the Pac-10 championships in Long Beach coming up next month.

Austin Staab’s return has bolstered Stanford’s chances to compete for a national title. The school recordholder in the 100 fly, he was also the NCAA champion in the event two years ago.

Other seniors participating in their final home meet are Jake Allen, Josh Charmin-Aker, Alex Coville, John Criste, Brent Eichenseer and David Mosko. N

“You see things like that and it becomes crystal clear,” Dawkins said. “You want to stay healthy, eat properly and get your rest.

There are no do-overs. Once these games are played, they are gone forever.”

The leadership roles have fallen to Green and fellow juniors Josh Owens, Jack Trotter, Jarrett Mann and Andrew Zimmerman by default. In many ways it’s been a little unfair to them. They’re still trying to learn themselves.

“Excluding Jeremy, no other player has a reference point to how good he can be,” Dawkins said. “There is still some uncertainty with them too.”

Something that Brown and other freshmen take into consideration.

“This is the first time I’ve ever played without a senior,” Brown said. “The juniors are acting like leaders but they still don’t know it like seniors who are in their last goaround.”

Brown served notice he could be a star with his breakout performance against Oregon State last weekend.

Now he wants to show he can perform on a consistent basis.

“When I came here I set goals for myself and one of them was to start,” Brown said. “I was projected as a top recruit and I was going to make a significant contribution.”

Brown is convinced this freshman class will help Stanford recover some of the lost luster from the days of the Lopez twins, and that could happen sooner rather than later. N

Page 32ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊ{]ÊÓ䣣ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

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group, but both Bright and Brown have shown significant improvement.

Gage and Huestis are getting more playing time and Lemons doesn’t seem so lost any more.

“There’s not a finished product anywhere,” Dawkins said. “But all the kids have been contributing. Stefan, unfortunately, in injured but he was in our rotation. John and Josh show you glimpses of what they can be and I’m excited about how Robbie is progressing.”

Brown came to Stanford as a highly prized recruit in a class that was supposed to be the school’s best basketball recruits in a long time.

All they needed was time, and their time is at hand.

“Every kid is different but for some of these freshmen it’s become a long season, with a lot more demands on their time in terms of the offseason, the preseason and the regular season,” Dawkins said.

“Like any player, they hit a wall not only athletically but also with the rigors of academics. All that together can be draining mentally and physically.”

Even junior team leader Jeremy Green tried to do too much, playing through an illness on the road in an intense, overtime battle. Overcome from fatigue, he slumped to the ground moments after the game ended.

Sports GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

PREP ROUNDUP

Rivalry is just starting

Palo Alto, SHP boys are close to clinching First-place hoop teams can clear big obstacles on Friday; Sacred Heart Prep boys’ soccer remains unbeaten, atop WBAL

by Keith Peters

Eastside Prep’s win over Pinewood just sets up bigger showdowns ahead

by Keith Peters t’s two down and perhaps three to go for the Eastside Prep and Pinewood girls’ basketball teams in their season-long head-to-head battles that often lead to one of the squads reaching the state finals.

The teams are done with their regular-season showdowns in the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) and, to no one’s surprise, the Panthers have appropriately split their two games with each other.

Three more games remain on their league schedule, mere formalities based on this season’s results, so Eastside and Pinewood can begin looking forward to the WBAL playoffs and their expected meeting in the finals on Feb. 19 at Menlo School.

Due to a change in the WBAL bylaws, the winner of that game will get the league’s No. 1 seed for the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs. In all likelihood, that doesn’t mean that much to either Eastside Prep or Pinewood. Each team has much bigger things in mind.

“They (Pinewood) are the state champs and that’s what I tell my kids every day we come here; we’re trying to take our program where they are,” Eastside Prep coach Donovan Blythe said after his team’s 44-40 overtime win over visiting Pinewood on Tuesday that left the teams tied for first place with 6-1 records.

Said Pinewood coach Doc Scheppler: “We still can win the state; we still can get it done.”

Should either team attain their goal, it most likely will be done without a key starter.

Eastside Prep lost four-year starting guard Leanne Martin to a firstquarter knee injury that was reported as an MCL tear. An MRI could reveal worse and Martin could be sidelined the remainder of the year instead of just 2-3 weeks.

For Pinewood, senior Jenna McLoughlin is done for the season after re-injuring her ACL on Dec. 11, the same injury that forced her to miss 16 games last season.

“She had a relapse,” Scheppler said of McLoughlin, his team’s tallest player at 5-foot-10. “This (Eastside Prep) game was going to be her comeback. She’s having surgery (on Friday). So, this is who we are.”

Both teams will have to make some adjustments after this week’s personnel losses and game.

Eastside Prep will have to find a way to prevent Pinewood senior Hailie Eackles from scoring 27 points again, and Pinewood will have to do a better job with its perimeter shooting and knowing who

T

I

Keith Peters

Eastside Prep sophomore Hashima Carothers (44) came up with 13 points and 15 rebounds in a 44-40 overtime win over Pinewood. to foul and when.

Pinewood held a 38-35 lead on Tuesday with just 8.5 seconds to play. The Panthers were instructed

by Scheppler to make sure Eastside’s Ahjalee Harvey did not get off a three-point shot. Pinewood had three fouls to take and could have run out the clock while fouling.

When the ball was inbounded to Harvey, however, Pinewood didn’t foul. Despite being trapped in the corner by two players, Harvey fired up a 3-pointer that swished just before time expired — sending the game to overtime.

Baskets by seniors Ausjerae Holland and Takara Burse plus two free throws from Harvey in overtime handed Pinewood its first WBAL loss in 15 games dating to last season. Pinewood is now 164-2 in league games since 1995, with both losses to Eastside Prep.

“All things happen for a reason, and this was our time,” Harvey said.

The victory moved Eastside (6-1, 15-6) into a tie for first place with Pinewood (6-1, 15-5) and avenged Eastside’s loss to Pinewood in the opening round of league play this season.

“This was a statement game,” Harvey said. “We had to come out strong after losing to them this season. Every time they beat us, they

gain confidence and momentum.”

Perhaps Eastside Prep now has that momentum, thanks to Harvey’s remarkable game-saving shot.

Harvey finished with 15 points while sophomore Hashima Carothers added 13 and proved crucial on the boards with 15 rebounds. Burse added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Palo Alto took care of business and opened a two-game lead with a 5035 drubbing of host Monta Vista on Wednesday night in Cupertino. The Vikings improved to 8-0 in league (15-4 overall) and moved two games ahead of second-place Gunn, which was upset by previously winless Mountain View.

Palo Alto wrapped things up in the first half by jumping to a 16-5 first-quarter lead and extending its advantage to 28-11 by halftime. The Matadors (1-7) scored the first six points of the third quarter, but never could get their deficit to single digits. Paly was led by Sydney Davis, Shamelia Clay and Lindsay Black — all with 10 points.

Gunn, meanwhile, likely took itself out of the championship picture in the division following a 49-42 upset loss to last-place Mountain View in the Titans’ gym. Gunn (6-2, 14-4) was held scoreless in the second quarter and was held to a seasonlow six halftime points. N

he goals will be similar and the potential results identical when the Palo Alto High and Sacred Heart Prep boys’ basketball teams take the floor on Friday night in showdowns that will go a long way in determining their respective league titles.

Both teams need victories. Should they achieve them, the Vikings and Gators all but mathematically wrap up regular-season championships.

Palo Alto (7-1, 14-6) will put first place in the SCVAL De Anza Division on the line when it plays host to second-place Cupertino (5-2, 13-6) at 7:45 p.m. The Pioneers are the only team to beat the Vikings in league play this season, 45-40, on Jan. 14.

First-year Paly coach Adam Sax would like nothing better than to prove that loss was a fluke, especially in a game with so much at stake.

A win by the Vikings will give them a two-game lead over Cupertino and Gunn with only three games to play.

Gunn (5-3, 13-7) was upended by host Homestead, 55-43, on Tuesday night, opening the door wider for a possible Paly title. Jack Hannan scored 16 points for Gunn.

“Friday’s the big one,” Sax said.

“We have to win that one, otherwise we’re tied.”

The Vikings took care of business Tuesday night with a 60-38 win over host Los Altos. Paly senior Davante Adams tallied 17 points and grabbed six rebounds with five assists to lead the way. He made some nice passes to sophomore post E.J. Floreal, who finished with 13 points as did Max Schmarzo. Alec Wong missed the second half due to illness.

Before Paly takes on Cupertino in the final game of a quad, Sacred Heart Prep will visit second-place Pinewood at 6 p.m. The first-place Gators are 9-0 in the West Bay Athletic League and 17-2 overall while the second-place Panthers are 8-1 (16-3).

A victory will give SHP a twogame with games against four teams the Gators already have beaten quite easily. While Friday will be too early to be celebrating, a victory will provide quite a cushion for SHP, which routed Pinewood in its first meeting, 87-71.

The Gators tuned up for Pinewood as senior Will McConnell poured in a season-high 26 points and his twin, Reed, returned to the lineup following a sprained ankle in a 73-54 romp over host King’s Academy. Tomas O’Donnell added 10 points and Pat McNamara contributed eight. Reed McConnell scored five in his first game back as he prepared for the Pinewood game.

The Panthers, meanwhile, got 19 points and eight rebounds plus four steals from senior Kyle Riches in an 81-56 victory over host Crystal Springs on Tuesday night. Junior

Solomone Wolfgramm added 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while junior Cameron Helvey contributed 18 points and seven boards.

In San Jose, Menlo School came up with one of its best defensive efforts of the season in holding off host Harker, 36-27, to move into sole possession of third place in the WBAL. The Knights (5-4, 9-10) scored just four points in the first quarter and trailed by 15-9 at the half after holding Harker to just two points in the second period.

In East Palo Alto, host Eastside Prep got its long-awaited first victory in WBAL action with a 51-37 drubbing of Priory. The host Panthers (1-8, 6-13), who last won on Dec. 17 and had lost 11 straight, ended that streak of futility by jumping out to a 17-8 first-quarter lead and maintaining it throughout.

Senior Leslie Gray led Prep with 21 points and seven rebounds while junior Bryan Walker added nine points, seven rebounds and six steals.

Also in East Palo Alto, Mid-Peninsula moved closer to the Private Schools Athletic League title with an 86-62 thumping of host East Palo Alto Academy. The Dragons (8-0, 14-2) were led by Lydell Cardwell’s 26 points and 20 from Reggie Williams.

In the PAL Bay Division, Menlo-Atherton continued to win the close ones, going into overtime on Wednesday before holding off visiting South San Francisco, 47-43.

The second-place Bears (5-2, 12-9), who won two games last week by a combined three points, got 14 points from Ian Proulx and 13 from Myles Brewer while Michael Culhane pulled down 15 rebounds. M-A remains two games behind first-place Burlingame (7-0). The Bears will host the Panthers on Friday (7:45 p.m.) in a must-win game for M-A. Boys soccer Sacred Heart Prep maintained a solid four-point lead over secondplace Priory in the West Bay Athletic League race with a 2-0 victory over host Harker on Wednesday.

Christian Thaure and Joseph Bolous provided the goals for the Gators (8-0-1, 13-0-1) while Alec Mishra and Brendan Spillane contributed the assists.

Sacred Heart, which has outscored its opposition by 65-7 this season, will host Priory on Friday at 3 p.m., and can take a commanding lead with a triumph.

In Portola Valley, host Priory tuned up for a big showdown with Sacred Heart Prep routing visiting Pinewood, 10-0, on Wednesday.

The victory moved Priory to 7-1 in league (8-4-1 overall). Priory senior captain John Jernick scored three goals while senior captain Evan Filipczyk added two goals and two assists to lead the way. N

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Sports ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Abby Dahlkemper

E.J. Floreal

Sacred Heart Prep

Palo Alto High

The senior scored both goals in a 2-1 soccer victory over second-place Priory, including the winner on a header in the 73rd minute, and added an assist on the tying goal in a 1-1 deadlock with Menlo to remain atop the WBAL race.

The sophomore forward helped the Vikings’ basketball team go 3-0 by scoring 70 points and grabbing 31 rebounds, getting 51 points and 23 boards in two SCVAL De Anza Division victories to keep Paly atop the standings.

Honorable mention Julia Dressel Menlo soccer

Hailie Eackles* Pinewood basketball

Ahjalee Harvey*

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Pinewood basketball

Natasha von Kaeppler* Castilleja basketball

Adrienne Whitlock Pinewood soccer

Menlo-Atherton basketball

Michael Culhane Menlo-Atherton basketball

Dante Fraioli Pinewood basketball

Pat McNamara Sacred Heart Prep basketball

Max Schmarzo Palo Alto basketball

Colin Schreiner Woodside Priory soccer * previous winner

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

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Dave Winn

(continued from page 31)

didn’t even know it existed. I think it’s pretty cool that a couple of my players received that recognition, too. I’ve got all the recognition I can handle for one season.”

The 6-foot-5 Wade, who led the Vikings to their first-ever state title with 537 kills, 69 blocks and 53 aces during a remarkable 41-1 season, was named to the 11-player Division I first team. Coleman, a libero who had 543 assists this season, was named to the all-state second team.

Sacred Heart Prep junior Sarah Daschbach, who helped lead the Gators to the Division IV state championship match, was named to the Division IV all-state first team. She had 440 kills, 61 aces and 441 digs this past season. Sophomore teammate Sonia Abuel-Saud (380 kills, 308 digs) was named to the second team.

In Division V, Castilleja junior middle blocker Hannah Boland was named to the first team. She capped her career with 366 kills, 105 blocks and 40 digs.

For Winn, meanwhile, it has been a remarkable five years at Palo Alto.

He has compiled a 52-8 record in the SCVAL De Anza Division and is 164-33 overall. He hasn’t won fewer than 27 matches in any season — winning 27 twice before going 33-7, 36-5 and 41-1 this past season while earning a No. 10 national ranking from prepvolleyball.com.

“It has been such an amazing experience,” he said.

Winn, of course, was pleasantly surprised by the coaching honor.

“I think those who made the selection figured it’s pretty hard for a public school to win a state title,” Winn rationalized.

Winning such an honor next season might be even more special, given what the Vikings accomplished this season and what’s awaiting them next fall.

“We have to have a new motivation every year,” Winn said. “Our challenge next year is to build for the future, establish that spirit of excellence with this program. I want to see how deep we can get. We’ll lose a lot of seniors and we need to make sure the program is strong for years to come.”

Winn figures he was eight players deep this past season and wants that number to grow despite the return of Wade, Kimmy Whitson, Maddie Kuppe, Caroline Martin, Jackie Koenig — all seniors next fall — plus junior-to-be Shelby Knowles.

Winn wants to make every player better. To accomplish that, he’s planning a much-tougher schedule that almost guarantees the Vikings won’t be undefeated in 2011.

“We finally got invited to the Mitty Tournament,” Winn said. “I guess you have to win a state championship to do that. And, we’re hoping to get into the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.”

“We’re not going to go 42-0 for the season,” he said, noting that it’s just not realistic to set that as a target goal. But, the team can get better, despite seemingly having accomplished everything there is to accomplish. N

Sports

Courtesy Anne Anderson

Paly athletes signing a national letter of intent on Wednesday included (L-R) Alex Kershner (Duke soccer), T.J. Braff (SCU baseball), Tony Panayides (Colgate soccer), Kevin Anderson (Stanford football), Zach Spain (Presbyterian College lacrosse) and Davante Adams (Fresno State football).

COLLEGE RECRUITING

Local prep athletes take big step toward college

by Keith Peters

I

t was a special day for thousands of high school athletes around the nation as they signed their national letter of intent on Wednesday to continue their playing careers in college next season.

Palo Alto High had its own share

of recruited athletes sign, as well, during a ceremony likely duplicated around the country.

Six featured athletes, joined by their family and coach, signed up with the college of their choice — Davante Adams with Fresno State football, Kevin Anderson with Stan-

ford football, TJ Braff with Santa Clara baseball, Alex Kershner with Duke women’s soccer, Tony Panayides with Colgate soccer and Zach Spain with Presbyterian College lacrosse.

“I am proud of our athletes,” said Earl Hansen, Paly’s athletic director and football coach. “They represent a small fraction of a larger group of talented scholar-athletes who are going on to play at the collegiate level.”

It was perhaps a special day for Adams, Anderson and Braff. All played on Paly’s CIF Division state championship football team in the fall. Braff and Adams are currently teammates on the Vikings’ firstplace basketball team. In the spring, Braff will be playing baseball on a squad hoping to win a Central Coast Section title.

All three athletes could be instrumental to one of the finest overall athletic seasons in school history.

Panayides and Kershner, meanwhile, are close to finishing their prep careers while trying to help their respective squads reach the CCS playoffs. Spain still has his final lacrosse season coming up.

Paly could have 30 student-athletes who will be heading off to college and competing, not all with scholarships. Swimmer Sarah Liang is just one of many athletes heading to the Ivy League (she’ll swim at Princeton), which doesn’t offer scholarships. Quarterback Christoph Bono is another without a letter of intent. He’s expected to walk on at UCLA in the fall.

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Sacred Heart Prep, meanwhile, announced 13 student-athletes who will continue competing in college.

Reed and Will McConnell have been together all of their lives. That will change next fall, however.The basketball twins will continue their careers in college, but on different sides of the country. Reed has committed to play for UC Irvine while Will will play for Dartmouth.

Water polo standout Philip Bamberg is headed to USC and will be joined by soccer standout Geena Graumann. Joining Will McConnell at Dartmouth will be Pedro Robinson, who will go as a football player despite also being a talented tennis

player.

Staying in California will be Abby Dahlkemper (UCLA soccer), Robert Dunlevie (Stanford water polo), Andrew Malozsak (UC San Diego tennis) and Andrew Savage (Pomona swimming).

Heading out of state will be Nick Caine (Trinity University swimming), Eliza Henderson (Georgetown swimming), Alec Mishra (Kenyon soccer) and Joe Wise (Loyola-Maryland swimming).

Sacred Heart Prep’s graduating class of 2011 marks the fifth consecutive class where at least a dozen SHP student-athletes have been able to continue their playing careers as recruited athletes. N

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