Palo Alto Weekly 05.11.2012 - section 1 by Palo Alto Weekly

www.PaloAltoOnline.com

6 °Ê888 ]Ê Õ LiÀÊÎÓÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊN xäZ

Summer Class Guide Page 24

With voting districts redrawn, June’s primary election heats up Pulse 16

page 28

Spectrum 18

Eating Out 36

Movies 38

Home 45

Puzzles 70

N News From art to lawn bowling: fee hikes proposed

Page 3

N Arts Bringing out gold in the foothills

Page 33

N Sports Senior swimmers take their ﬁnal bows

Page 40

')( % % % " % $ " ! % * + " ! ! " & ! # % thank you ! ! $ $ ! ! $ # % % " ! ! ! ! % ! ! " ! "! # " $ ! " % "

Page 2ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

Palo Alto looks to raise fees for artist studios, athletic fields City also considers charging more for community gardens and adding fees for lawn bowling by Gennady Sheyner aced with skyrocketing pension and health care costs for city workers and retirees, Palo Alto officials are considering raising fees for athletes who play on local fields, gardeners who plant at city parks and artists who rent studios at Cubberley Community Cen-

ter to balance the budget this year. The fee increases are included in City Manager James Keene’s budget for fiscal year 2013, which begins July 1. They aim to close the budget gap caused by rapidly rising employee expenditures. Pension and health care costs have each risen by about

$300,000 over the past year, while the city’s contribution for retirees’ medical care will jump by $1.9 million in fiscal year 2013, according to Lalo Perez, the city’s chief financial officer. The spiking expenditures are casting a shadow over good news on the revenue front — namely, the fact that the city’s sales-tax and hotel-tax revenues have essentially returned to where they were before the economy tanked in 2008. But while Keene’s

proposed budget for 2013 includes a $3.1 million increase in revenues, it also includes a $3.9 million hike in expenditures. Perhaps the most dramatic, and controversial proposal, in Keene’s effort to curb costs is elimination of the city’s animal-services operation, a move that finance officials estimate will save about $500,000 annually. But while outsourcing animal services has generated much publicity and unleashed community

opposition, animal lovers aren’t the only residents who could feel an impact should the City Council adopt the proposed budget. The council’s Finance Committee considered on Tuesday night the budget for the Community Services Department and heard protests from more than a dozen residents, including gardeners, artists and lawn bowlers. (continued on page 8)

EDUCATION

School board positive on graduation criteria Vote to be held May 22 on plan to stiffen requirements while offering alternates by Chris Kenrick

W Veronica Weber

They’ve got the moves Jordan Middle School students, from left, Griffin Carlson, Alex Gold, Eric Griswold, Cyrus Pishevar, Ryan Brown and Ariya Momeny show off their hip-hop moves while auditioning for the upcoming “airband” competition at the school, which will take place during lunch on May 16.

OPEN SPACE

State Sen. Joe Simitian pushes to keep parks open Nearby state parks in La Honda and Saratoga are on the shutdown list by Dave Boyce

ith a July 1 deadline looming over a budget-cutting plan that would close some 70 of the 270 state parks, two state senators are proposing an alternative that could keep about 50 of the parks open. The budget proposal, co-authored by Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) and Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa) would reallocate up to $41 million to cover a $22 million shortfall in the state Parks and Recreation Department’s budget for the current and next fiscal years and provide reliable fund-

ing for several years to come. The proposal would tap $10 million annually for five years from a clean-water revolving loan fund and from a $500 million reserve for motor-vehicle license-fee revenues, and up to $21 million every year in perpetuity from a fund earmarked for trail and off-highway-vehicle purposes. State parks are in financial trouble in part because they receive only about 20 percent of what they need annually for road maintenance, the senators said in a statement. Twen-

ty of the parks also have deferred maintenance needs of $1.3 billion for water, wastewater and septic systems. But cutting back on operating funds is not the answer, Simitian said in a May 8 teleconference with Evans. The proposal to close 70 parks was “fundamentally illconceived, penny-wise and poundfoolish, (and) irreversible,” he said. A closed park has higher risks for criminal activity, wildfire and possible lawsuits over injuries. “It’s a false economy,” he said. Parks also generate important revenue for local businesses. Of the 70 parks, 20 are located in Evans’ North Coast district, which includes Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino and Napa counties. Two nearby parks made the shutdown list: Portola Redwoods State Park in La Honda and Castle Rock State Park just west of Saratoga in Santa Clara County. “The state has never closed a state (continued on page 14)

ith high hopes of making inroads against the “achievement gap,” Palo Alto school board members Tuesday, May 8, declared their support for boosting high school graduation requirements to align with entrance criteria for California’s public, fouryear universities. The proposal — which will add requirements in foreign language, math and lab science beginning with the Class of 2016, today’s eighth-graders — will not affect the vast majority of Palo Alto students, who already meet or surpass the new guidelines. It is aimed at boosting expectations and support for the 20 percent of students who graduate without the four-year college-prep curriculum under their belts. The new rules also offer customized “alternative graduation requirements” for students who cannot or prefer not to pursue the standard route. The alternate path would be designed by the student and parents in consultation with school officials and would have to meet California graduation standards. The plan is set for a final school board vote May 22, but all five members Tuesday indicated their support, praising Superintendent Kevin Skelly for his multi-year work on the topic. In presenting his case for beefing up the requirements, Skelly’s voice cracked as he read a letter from a long-ago Palo Alto High School graduate who said he’d always regretted “taking the easy way out” when at Paly. “I did not choose wisely as my parents were not involved back then,” the letter stated. “If I had been forced to fulfill the language requirements back then it would

have helped me in college and in life.” Skelly said whether students pursue the college-prep curriculum or negotiate alternative requirements, the new system will force them to have a conversation with school officials and parents about productive use of their high school years — something that’s currently not the case. The school board chamber was packed with school principals from every level, as well as high school students and parents who voiced support for the measure. Twin Paly seniors Al and Lucas Brooks told the board they are often the only African-Americans in their advanced classes, their other black friends having been “laned down” years ago. “When I look for my black friends, they’re in other classes,” Lucas Brooks said. “The only difference between myself and my friends is that I had two Ph.D. parents and all their resources ... and they didn’t have that and were laned down to the bare minimum requirements for graduation.” Paly senior Tremaine Kirkman, a founder of the Student Equity Action Network, said the graduation proposal “is the right and practical thing to do to help students maximize their futures.” Gunn parent Linda Lingg, who last year expressed skepticism about the proposal’s impact on special-education students, said her concerns have been met with the latest proposal on alternative requirements. “Thank you for submitting a proposal confirming that our community values individuals who are pursuing an alternate path,” Lingg (continued on page 15)

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 3

Upfront

PUBLISHER William S. Johnson 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 Tom Gibboney, Spectrum Editor Sue Dremann, Chris Kenrick, Gennady Sheyner, Staff Writers Eric Van Susteren, Editorial Assistant, Internship Coordinator Veronica Weber, Staff Photographer Dale F. Bentson, Colin Becht, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Karla Kane, Kevin Kirby, Jack McKinnon, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Contributors Junesung Lee, Bryce Druzin, Editorial Interns DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Lili Cao, Designer PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Samantha Mejia, Blanca Yoc, Sales & Production Coordinators ADVERTISING Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales & Advertising Judie Block, Adam Carter, Elaine Clark, Janice Hoogner, Brent Triantos, Display Advertising Sales Neal Fine, Carolyn Oliver, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Real Estate Advertising Sales David Cirner, Irene Schwartz, Inside Advertising Sales Cathy Norfleet, Display Advertising Sales Asst. Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Asst. Alicia Santillan, Classified Administrative Asst. Wendy Suzuki, Advertising Sales Intern EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Rachel Palmer, Online Operations Coordinator Rachel Hatch, Multimedia Product Manager

T BA

WE S

BUSINESS Susie Ochoa, Payroll & Benefits Elena Dineva, Mary McDonald, Claire McGibeny, Cathy Stringari, Business Associates

OPER

ADMINISTRATION Janice Covolo, Doris Taylor, Receptionists Ruben Espinoza, Courier EMBARCADERO MEDIA William S. Johnson, President Michael I. Naar, Vice President & CFO Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales & Advertising Frank A. Bravo, Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Connie Jo Cotton, Major Accounts Sales Manager Bob Lampkin, Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Alicia Santillan, Circulation Assistant Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo, Computer System Associates The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 326-8210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered free to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 326-8210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. Copyright ©2012 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com Our email addresses are: editor@paweekly.com, letters@paweekly.com, digitalads@paweekly.com. Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 326-8210, or email circulation@paweekly. com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr.

SUBSCRIBE!

Support your local newspaper by becoming a paid subscriber. $60 per year. $100 for two years. Name: _________________________________ Address: _______________________________ City/Zip: _______________________________ Mail to: Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610. Palo Alto CA 94302

Page 4ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‘‘

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

When we talk about the need of saving for college or for a funeral, those are eye openers. —Georgina Peraza, instructor for the Secure Future$ financial-literacy program, on teaching lowincome people to manage their money. See story on page 5.

Around Town WHOSE SPACE IS IT ANYWAY? ... Nature lovers who frequent the Palo Alto Baylands could soon see some changes in the programs and tours the city offers at the nature preserve. That’s because the city’s considering either closing the Baylands Nature Interpretive Center or turning it over to the Santa Clara County Parks Department. The proposal, which would save the city $121,724 in expenses, would allow the city to eliminate one position — producer of arts and science programs — from the Community Services Department. But the switch would come at a price. The city would no longer offer nature interpretive classes, camps and school field trips, the budget proposal states. It would also lose about $94,700 in annual budgeted revenues from these activities. Community Services Director Greg Betts told the City Council Finance Committee Tuesday night that some programs would continue thanks to the city’s partnerships with nature groups such as the Audubon Society and Environmental Volunteers. Baylands visitors aren’t the only nature lovers who could notice some changes next year. People who go fishing at Boronda Lake in Foothills Park could soon find the water level going down, down, down. The city has been keeping the lake full by adding potable water as needed. But now, staff is proposing to cease this practice and treat the lake like other water reservoirs, which would mean the water level would fluctuate based on the amount of rainfall. This would save about $65,000 annually in water costs, Betts estimated. SPEEDING ALONG ... If regional transportation planners have their ways, El Camino Real could soon be the site of brightly branded buses whizzing north and south on dedicated lanes, stopping every now and then to pick up passengers from expanded station platforms surrounded by freshly installed streetscape improvements. That’s the vision that the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority has for its proposed “El Camino Real Bus Rapid Transit” project — an effort that the Palo Alto City Council is scheduled to discuss Monday night. Under the plan, the new buses would occupy dedicated center lanes in some cities (Mountain View, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale among them) in the same way lightrail currently shuttles passengers in

San Jose. But what’s good for bus riders may not be good for drivers. In cities like Palo Alto, the VTA is proposing allowing buses to stop in their driving lanes near stations (rather than pull into and out of stops). This would freeze the traffic behind the buses while passengers board and disembark. According to a new report from Palo Alto’s Chief Transportation Official Jaime Rodriguez, this option would entail widened sidewalks “to form the equivalent of bulb-outs at intersections to accommodate passenger dwelling and ticketing facilities.” The VTA is proposing two stops along El Camino Real, at Arastradero Road and at California Avenue. The system’s northbound terminus would also be in the city, at the University Avenue Transit Station. The VTA hopes to have the system operating by 2016. AUDIT PLAUDIT ... Palo Alto’s Office of the City Auditor is charged with reviewing city operations and recommending improvements. But the office recently found itself on the other side of a review, and it passed with flying colors. The Association of Local Government Auditors gave the office its 2011 Honorable Mention Knighton Award for the best performance audit in the category “Small Audit Shop.” The audit, which the office released in October, pointed out a security breach in the SAP system that tracks employee information. Auditors discovered that they were able to access sensitive and confidential information — including employees’ Social Security numbers and payroll records — for an “extended period of time” using a default password. Association of Local Government Auditors judges had decided that the audit’s approach was innovative and that the document had significant potential for impact, according to the city’s announcement. The audit issued 21 recommendations for tightening security, 13 of which have already been adopted, City Manager James Keene told the council this week (one is in the midst of adoption and the remaining seven are being evaluated). In a statement, Mayor Yiaway Yeh called the audit “another example of how an independent, objective City Auditor adds value to our City.” “As a result of this report and others like it, the City is making important improvements across the organization,” Yeh said. N

Upfront ECONOMY

Securing their futures Anti-predatory-lending program teaches financial street smarts to East Palo Alto residents by Sue Dremann hen Maria De la Luz Hernandez’s 11-year-old son begs for items he sees on the Internet, she — like most parents — wants to please him. And she also wants her only child to have a good college education. But until she took the Secure Future$ free financial-education course, she had little hope of having enough money for either, she said. Now Hernandez saves $50 every 15 days, and although her husband is on disability and is not working, she can still stretch the family’s money and have some left over, she said. Hernandez is one of 53 residents from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park’s Belle Haven neighborhood who have taken the free financial education and asset-building program. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation of Mountain View is funding the classes as part of a five-year asset-building initiative to help alleviate poverty. The program was launched in East Palo Alto in February by the nonprofit organizations Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, Renaissance Mid-Peninsula and Nuestra Casa as a response to “payday” lending, which is prevalent in

the city. Payday lending and other fringe financial services charge exorbitant fees for small loans, a practice that often keeps residents in debt, said Keith Ogden, staff attorney for Community Legal Services’ anti-predatory lending and homemortgage foreclosure program. A four-week course in finance management, quarterly workshops and financial counseling help residents learn to accumulate assets by opening bank accounts, developing sound money management plans, increasing savings and repairing or building credit. Only a few students have dropped out of the program, in part because participants have an added incentive to follow through, Ogden, said. As they complete a set of goals, such as opening a checking account or creating daily and monthly budgets, participants receive colored tickets to enter a series of raffles. The prizes range from $25 to $500 and are directly deposited into their new savings accounts. Hernandez won $25, she said. But her greatest satisfaction is being in control of her family’s money and watching it grow. “I didn’t have that habit before,”

she said. Hernandez said that without a credit card she could not pay bills by phone. Now she pays her bills on time through direct deposit and withdrawal, and she saves on fees. One time, when she owed $1, she had to purchase a money order for $1.75 to make the payment, she recalled. Such small sums add up, class instructor Georgina Peraza said. “You need to write down everything you spend every day. If you buy a popcorn, if you buy an ice cream, if you buy a coffee, you need to write it down. “How many (purchases) were ‘needed’? How many were ‘I want tos’? How many could be reduced or eliminated? Get up earlier to make coffee instead of buying it, and pack lunches for the kids to take to school instead of paying for them to buy lunch at McDonalds,” she said. Hernandez said one reason she took the class was because she didn’t have a credit or debit card for online purchases. But now she is learning to save for her son’s education, and she is more mindful to not buy him everything he wants, she said. The saving habit is also rubbing off on her husband, who is also taking the classes. “Before, whatever the boy wanted, he would buy. I would say, ‘Don’t buy too many toys!’ Now he is conscious of what he is spending, and we know we need to start saving,” she said. Peraza said such generosity is common among low-income immigrants, who want to give their children everything they did not have.

Single parents also often use gifts to keep a child feeling loved. “When we are single, we have dollar symbols in our faces. You want to keep them happy, so the child doesn’t want to go live with the other parent,” she said. “It’s so wrong. The children need to love you and accept what has happened. In their lives, they will hear many ‘nos.’ They need to be used to hearing that,” she said. Peraza tells her students to clean and organize everything in their homes. Organized closets and cupboards help eliminate double purchases, which are made when one can’t find something or has forgotten it even exists, she said. Refrigerator leftovers in clear containers can be seen and eaten — not stuck in the back turning into science experiments, she said. All of these measures save time and money, she said. The students make collages with pictures of their goals: a trip to Reno or a picture of a car or a home. They post their collages on the refrigerator as a reminder of saving for the things they really need or want, she said. Hernandez said one lasting lesson is the importance of saving for a death or hospital emergency. “When we talk about the need of saving for college or for a funeral, those are eye openers,” Peraza said. “Do you want to be buried in this country or in your home country? Do you want your relatives to cry because you are gone or because of the debt you have given them? “The financial crisis we are having now is really teaching us a great

lesson. We cannot rely on this country as a great power that will support us. It has its ups and downs, and we are dragged with it,” she said. Ogden said four groups have gone through the program since its inception, and there is hope to graduate a total of 100 people. So far, most have been Latino. But organizers recently placed greater emphasis on reaching English speakers through the Mouton Center and churches and food banks. Most participants have had some experience with banking, but organizers want to reach the unbanked — people who have never had a banking experience, he said. Oscar Dominguez, who until recently directed the program, said that Renaissance also runs a business program for emerging entrepreneurs, but there are very high attrition rates of business classes — of 30 to 50 percent. But Dominguez said he believes entrepreneurship, especially among people who have given up looking for jobs, is key to helping people rise above poverty. If there were an incentive, such as the raffle, more people might stick with the program, he said. Peraza’s eyes grew wide as she talked about the response to a recent April raffle, when the students came for the savings-account prizes. Just nine prizes were awarded. She swept her arm in a wide arc across the room. “You should have seen it. This place was packed,” she said. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

CITY HALL

City of Palo Alto overhauls its website New site includes more social features, customization options Gennady he City of Palo Alto on Monday, May 7, launched its new website, capping years of tweaks, frustration and ridicule from the city’s tech-savvy community about its existing site. The new website, which the city “soft launched” Monday, is available at beta.cityofpaloalto.org. Unlike the prior version, which can still be accessed at www.cityofpaloalto.org, it is loaded with a wide array of multimedia features, videos and options that allow users to customize their experience. A soft launch is a product release to a limited audience that tests the product’s viability before its official release. The two sites will both be available for the next 60 days,

TALK ABOUT IT

www.PaloAltoOnline.com What do you think of the City’s new website? Share your opinion on Town Square, the online discussion forum on Palo Alto Online.

Sheyner the city announced. During that time, the city will consider feedback about the beta version of the new site and make further tweaks as needed. The multi-year effort to overhaul the city’s site was conducted by staff and a dozen community volunteers known as the Website Advisory Committee. The committee will be officially recognized by the City Council in the coming weeks, City Manager James Keene said Monday. Bob Harrington, a member of the committee, lauded the city’s decision to get the community involved in the redesign. “To their credit, the City responded to website concerns by inviting citizen-volunteers to help improve the site,” Harrington said in a statement. “The Committee was formed ... and it’s paying off.” The new site’s homepage greets visitors with a video in which Keene and Chief Information Officer Jonathan Reichental describe their vision for the new site. Re-

The City of Palo Alto’s new website, which the city “soft launched” Monday, is loaded with a wide array of multimedia features, videos and options that allow users to customize their experience. ichental, who is leading the city’s multi-pronged social-media effort, called the new site a “virtual community of Palo Alto” — one that becomes more valuable the more people use it. “It should be a place in which, when there are updates to progress, when there are issues to be discussed, this is a place where the information can be stored and get possibly debated,” Reichental said

in the video. The site also includes links to other videos, the city’s agendas, budget documents, local nonprofit groups and city departments. Keene said the rise of social media in recent years has given the city new opportunities for informing residents and getting their feedback. For the next 60 days, residents will have a chance to offer feedback on the new site before

the new site becomes official. “The day of one-size fits all is actually long over for consumers and the same is true for government,” Keene said in the video. “Social media in particular allows us to build a much more individuated connections between our residents and the city.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 5

Upfront EDUCATION

When regular school doesn’t work, Menlo Park enterprise offers help ‘Academic trauma’ addressed by one-to-one teaching at Lydian Academy by Chris Kenrick he “parental angst” that walks through her door is familiar territory to Rhonda Racine, founder and director of Menlo Park’s Lydian Academy, an accredited, one-to-one tutoring service. As the product of Palo Alto schools and mother of two Palo Alto High School graduates, she’s acquainted with the community’s culture of achievement and the anxiety shared by many who worry their children don’t fit in. Her thriving six-year-old business, which offers customized instruction in a “non-stress environment,” targets needs that traditional schools, public or private, cannot always fill. That includes helping students with learning difficulties, discipline problems or those who have overextended themselves academically and are trying to get back on track. Another population of students is more advanced and trying to get ahead. For $70 an hour, a student can take a class or two — or an entire high school curriculum, including AP classes — on Lydian’s “campus,” an office space overlooking El Camino Real. “People have this idealized version of what the Palo Alto profile is and sometimes feel their child is different from the profile and worry about that,” she said in an interview around a table in her sunny office. Outside her door, the office was a quiet hum of a dozen students and tutors, working one-to-one in cubicles. “Parents who sit around this table have tough situations,” Racine said. Sometime the student has learning disabilities or discipline problems. Others have non-school passions that have pulled them off the academic track. “I certainly understand that value system when it comes to Palo Alto families,” she said. “You try to offer some doors they don’t know about and keep doors open that resonate with the family and priority system. “For example, there are lots of college programs people don’t know about that are highly academic but also make room for the arts. They might not have heard of those paths.” In ceremonies at the Stanford Faculty Club May 19, Lydian will graduate 12 high school seniors who are full-time students at Lydian. Three of those live in the Palo Alto school district. Others are from Menlo Park, Los Altos, Hillsbor-

Please join the Palo Alto Woman’s Club for our

Spring Kitchen Tour Saturday, May 19, 2012 10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. Tour five fabulous Palo Alto kitchens Tickets $30 Ticket orders received after May 12 and a limited number of tickets for sale at the door will be available at 2205 Waverley Street on Saturday May 19th. Tour is approximately 2 hours. For your comfort and safety, we request low-heeled shoes. Please no cameras or children.

To order tickets visit www.springkitchentour.org or call 650-493-8645 This ad space donated as a community service by the Palo Alto Weekly Page 6ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

ough, Saratoga, Half Moon Bay and Redwood City. Last year, Lydian graduated nine full-time seniors. One of them was a Palo Alto boy whose father said Lydian helped his son achieve the academic focus that had eluded him in larger settings, where he tended to be the class clown. “I did the same when I was in high school, so I understand it, but as a father I wanted him to be in an environment that would bring out the best of his academic potential,” said the father, whose son is “doing very well in his first year away at college.” Paly 2010 graduate Sarah Kortschak found “a little bit of relief from the Paly pressure cooker” at

‘The effects of trauma in academia are similar to what they might be elsewhere. Not that they’ve necessarily had bad teachers, but they’re super-sensitive and internalize these things in a way that makes them feel stupid or inadequate.’ —Rhonda Racine, founder and director, Lydian Academy Lydian, where she completed Algebra II, physics and chemistry in a one-to-one setting, her mother, Marcia, said. Diagnosed when a student at Duveneck Elementary School with dyslexia and auditory processing issues, Sarah graduated from Charles Armstrong School in Belmont before enrolling at Paly. “At Paly, there were many great fits and courses there for her, and some that were made more challenging because of her learning differences, so we used Lydian to balance the high school experience,” Marcia Kortschak said. Sarah remained a full-time Paly student, where she thrived in some classes but went off campus for oneto-one instruction in others. Her physics teacher at Lydian “made the whole world come alive and physics make perfect sense,” Kortschak said.

Andy Harader Tennis Camp @ Palo Alto High School JUNE 11 - AUGUST 17

Kortschak is now at the University of Southern California, studying in the university’s school of theater and fine arts. Palo Alto district Superintendent Kevin Skelly said programs such as Lydian fill a need for some students. The district’s stated policy is to honor up to 40 units of coursework from accredited, off-campus institutions such as Lydian. If a class is taken at an outside institution, it is noted on the Palo Alto transcript, he said. Racine, the daughter of educators — her father was principal at Cubberley High School in the 1970s — has been passionate about schools since her early teens, when she was devouring books by psychiatrist William Glasser and writer Jonathan Kozol. She was a newly minted teacher when Proposition 13 budget cuts swept California schools, so she returned to school to study computer science and worked as an engineering manager for two decades. “I certainly was able to support my children in their choices of colleges, but it wasn’t my passion the way education is,” she said. “All the problems you’re faced with in education day to day come very naturally to me.” Racine helped her parents, who own the School for Independent Learners in Los Altos, before striking out on her own with Lydian in 2006. She bootstrapped with existing accredited curricula to attain provisional accreditation and obtained full accreditation for her enterprise in 2009. Often, students who come to her have been “academically traumatized,” and her top priority is to “build some academic confidence and get them loving learning again. “The effects of trauma in academia are similar to what they might be elsewhere,” she said. “Not that they’ve necessarily had bad teachers, but they’re super-sensitive and internalize these things in a way that makes them feel stupid or inadequate. “If it happens at a young age, all or parts of their learning can get stuck. They think everybody else knows how to add fractions when denominators aren’t the same, so they’re too ashamed to ask, and all this energy goes into hiding their differences. “We work to unpack all that.” At graduation, she said, there’s not a dry eye in the house. N

}iÃÊÇ £ÈÊUÊ ÊUÊ a small, fun, very educational camp

(650) 364-6233 ÜÜÜ°> `ÞÃÌi ÃV> «°V ÓääÇÊ ", Ê1-*/ Ê } Ê-V Ê >V Ê vÊÌ iÊ9i>À

Upfront PUBLIC WORKS

Palo Alto eyes major upgrade to sewage plant City pursues long-term plan to retire incinerators at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant by Gennady Sheyner or a city that prides itself on Bobel said the future regional its high-tech vision and green plant will be able to extract energy policies, Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sewage- from sewage sludge. The draft identreatment operation has long been tifies several options. One process, a source of embarrassment. known as gasification, heats up The city is one of the last in the sludge in an oxygen-free containstate to use incinerators to destroy er. This creates a gas that can be its sewage sludge. The largely obso- converted to electricity or renewlete technology produces hazardous able diesel. Allen said the process ash containing copper, which has to is long established, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new in be shipped to a landfill. For local the United States when it comes to environmentalists and city officials, sewage-sludge treatment. these incinerators canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be retired The other option is wet anaerosoon enough. bic digestion, a process in which Now, the city is finalizing a plan microorganisms break down waste to do just that. Public Works staff and create energy, which can be and consultants are preparing an either gas or electricity. Palo Alto ambitious long-range plan for the is already considering building an Regional Water Quality Control anaerobic digester to process local Plant, which provides services to food waste and yard trimmings. Palo Alto, Mountain View, Stan- The project, which has split the enford University, Los Altos, Los vironmental community, received Altos Hills and the East Palo Alto a major boost last November when Sanitary District. The goal of the voters approved the â&#x20AC;&#x153;undedicationâ&#x20AC;? document is to create a roadmap for of a 10-acre site in the Baylands to scrapping the 40-year-old technolo- accommodate the new facility. gy and for replacing it with one that Former Mayor Peter Drekmeier, converts waste into energy. who led the campaign to undedicate According to the draft plan, the the parkland, praised the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efprocess wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be cheap or easy. The fort to upgrade its sewage facilities document states that repairs and and encouraged the city to integrate replacements will â&#x20AC;&#x153;require a sig- the two efforts (replacing the wastenificant investment in the next 15 water plant and building a new comyears.â&#x20AC;? Phil Bobel, assistant direc- post facility). Drekmeier advocated tor of public works, estimated that â&#x20AC;&#x153;scaling upâ&#x20AC;? the digester to include renovating the wastewater plant food waste and said there are â&#x20AC;&#x153;great and replacing the aged equipment cost savings in energy-production could cost as much as $250 mil- potential.â&#x20AC;? lion. Meeting potential federal and â&#x20AC;&#x153;In nature, every waste product is state regulations â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including new used by something else,â&#x20AC;? Drekmeier requirements for recycled-water use, said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re definitely on the right incineration limits and air-emissions track.â&#x20AC;? regulations â&#x20AC;&#x201D; could add another The council did not take action $150 million to the price tag. The on the plan, though several memcost would be split among the part- bers said they were excited about ner agencies and would likely be the movement to replace the aged funded through either a bond or a equipment at the plant. Bobel said low-interest state loan, Bobel said. staff would try to blend the two projBobel and Jamie Allen, man- ects and return to the council in July ager of the plant, both told the City with a schedule for moving forward. Council Monday night, May 7, that He said the long-range plan for the the existing equipment is showing wastewater plant is necessary to cresigns of extreme wear and has ex- ate a â&#x20AC;&#x153;pathâ&#x20AC;? for moving forward on ceeded its design life. the needed upgrades. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Renovation and rehabilitation â&#x20AC;&#x153;We need the ultimate plant layis needed,â&#x20AC;? Bobel said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t out, so we can sequence and make mess around with a facility like this. expenditures in the right order,â&#x20AC;? he It needs to operate 24/7.â&#x20AC;? said. While safety is one factor, the The council was also scheduled to environment is another. The report discuss on Monday night the Lytton notes that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the public has expressed Gateway development, a four-story, concern over use of an incineration mixed-used project that would stand process.â&#x20AC;? on the corner of Lytton Avenue and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Therefore, the recommendation Alma Street. Members voted 8-1 of this LRFP (Long Range Facili- shortly after 10 p.m. to postpone the ties Plan) is to retire the existing in- item to next Monday, May 14. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner cineration process as soon as a new solids process can be selected and can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com. implemented.â&#x20AC;?

Support Palo Alto Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s print and online coverage of our community. Join today: SupportLocalJournalism.org/PaloAlto

Public hearing

Flood Control Benefit Assessment Rates for Fiscal Year 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2013 You are invited Topic :

Flood Control Benefit Assessment Rates for Fiscal Year 2012â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2013

Who :

Santa Clara Valley Water District

When :

Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 9:00am

Where:

Santa Clara Valley Water District Headquartersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Board Room 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA 95118

This public hearing will cover the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flood Control Benefit Assessments Report, 2012-2013 through 2029-2030, dated â&#x20AC;&#x153;April 2012.â&#x20AC;? The written report incorporates by reference a description of each parcel and the expected amount of assessment under the approved formula for each parcel within the flood control zones of the District. At the hearing, the Board of Directors will hear any and all protests. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board may adopt or revise any assessment and will make its determination upon each assessment referred to in the report. A copy of the report may be inspected at the Office of the Clerk of the Board at the above address at any time during business hours. Copies of the report have also been placed and may be inspected at the following locations: Campbell City Hall 70 North First Street Campbell, CA

Milpitas Library 160 North Main Street Milpitas, CA

Cupertino City Hall 10300 Torre Avenue Cupertino, CA

Morgan Hill City Hall 17555 Peak Avenue Morgan Hill, CA

Gilroy City Hall 7351 Rosanna Street Gilroy, CA

Monte Sereno City Hall 18041 Saratoga Los Gatos Road Monte Sereno, CA

Gilroy Branch Library 7652 Monterey Street Gilroy, CA

Mountain View City Hall 500 Castro Street Mountain View, CA

Los Altos City Hall 1 North San Antonio Road Los Altos, CA

Mountain View Public Library 585 Franklin Street Mountain View, CA

Los Altos Hills Town Hall 26379 Fremont Road Los Altos Hills, CA Los Gatos Town Hall 110 East Main Street Los Gatos, CA Milpitas City Hall 455 East Calaveras Blvd Milpitas, CA

Palo Alto City Hall 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA San Jose City Hall 200 East Santa Clara Street San JosĂŠ, CA

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library 150 E. San Fernando Street San JosĂŠ, CA Hillview Branch Library 1600 Hopkins Drive San JosĂŠ, CA Pearl Avenue Library 4270 Pearl Avenue San JosĂŠ, California Santa Clara Central Park Library 2635 Homestead Road Santa Clara, CA Santa Clara City Hall 1500 Warburton Avenue Santa Clara, CA Saratoga City Hall 13777 Fruitvale Avenue Saratoga, CA Sunnyvale City Hall 650 W. Olive Avenue Sunnyvale, CA

To secure information on an individual parcel assessment, you must know your Assessor Parcel Number. If you do not know it, call the Assessor at (408) 299-5570 and ask for it, giving your name and street address. Using that parcel number, you can learn your proposed assessment by calling the Santa Clara Valley Water District Tax Assessment Hotline at (408) 265-2607, ext. 2810. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate persons with disabilities wishing to attend this public hearing. For additional information on attending this hearing including requesting accommodations for disabilities or interpreter assistance, please contact the Office of the Clerk of the Board at (408) 265-2607, ext. 2277, at least three days prior to the hearing. Se harĂĄn los esfuerzos razonables para ayudar a las personas con discapacidades que deseen atender a esta audiencia pĂşblica. Para informaciĂłn adicional sobre la asistencia a esta audiencia incluyendo una solicitud de apoyo para asistir a los asistentes con un intĂŠrprete por favor contacte a la Oficina del Secretario del BurĂł al (408) 265-2607, extensiĂłn 2277, cuando menos tres dĂas antes de la audiencia.

0Ó&#x2018;L QÓ&#x203A; OÓľF VÓ ĂżŃÓ§F WKÓľF KLÓ&#x2039;Q KŇŤX JL~S QKÓłQJ QJŃÓĄL EÓ? NKX\eĂĄt WŇąW Fy WKÓ&#x2021; WKDP GÓľ EXÓ&#x2122;L ĂżLÓ&#x2026;X WUŇŤQ 0XÓ&#x2022;Q EtrW WKrP FKL WtrW YÓ&#x2026; FiF EXÓ&#x2122;L ĂżLÓ&#x2026;X WUŇŤQ Qj\ keĂĽ caĂť yeĂ˘X FŇŤX JL~S ĂżÓĽ QJŃÓĄL NKX\Ó&#x192;W WŇąW KD\ FŇŤQ WK{QJ GÓ?FK YLrQ [LQ OLrQ OŇĽF 9Ä&#x192;Q 3KzQJ 7KŃ .ĂŞ %DQ 4XŇ§Q 7UÓ? ÓŁ VÓ&#x2022; EŇŠP tW QKŇŠW QJj\ WUŃÓ&#x;F QJj\ KÓ&#x2018;S 4/2012_GS

Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°*>Â?Â&#x153; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;"Â&#x2DC;Â?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;iÂ°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; >Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;ÂŁÂŁ]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x160;U Page 7

Seeking People with Pre-diabetes @ Stanford University! s /PPORTUNITY for Monetary Compensation! s 7EIGHT ,OSS Sessions at End of Study! s )N 'OOD Health s YEARS OLD s -ODERATELY /VERWEIGHT "-)

Dr. Gerald Reaven at Stanford University is studying how a medicine like aspirin works to lower blood sugar in people at risk for type 2 diabetes. You will be screened for diabetes, receive cholesterol panel results & an evaluation of risk for heart disease. If you qualify you will receive 1 month of the study medicine or placebo (no medicine); payment for study time AND instructions for weight loss by our dietitian!

Call Dr. Reaven & Associates @ 650-723-7024 Find out YOUR Risk for Type 2 diabetes! For general information regarding questions, concerns, or complaints about research, research related injury, or the rights of research participants, please call (650) 7235244 or toll-free 1-866-680-2906, or write to the Administrative Panel on Human Subjects in Medical Research, Administrative Panels Ofﬁce, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5401.

Page 8ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Upfront

Fee

(continued from page 3)

Keene’s budget recommends asking those who use particular cityowned facilities to pay more so that the operations are more financially self-sustaining. The budget proposes raising the rent the city charges community gardens (designated gardening spaces at Johnson Park, Eleanor Pardee Park and near the Main Library) from 50 cents per square foot annually to $1 per square foot. This would raise the cost to most gardeners by $80 to $160 a year, depending on the garden size, and bring about $30,000 in revenue to the city. The budget also proposed raising studio rents at Cubberley Community Center, located at 4000 Middlefield Road, by 30 cents per square foot; raising fees for lawn bowlers by $100 a year (effectively doubling what they pay now); and generating another $100,000 in revenues by raising fees for users of athletic fields. These fees would help cover the cost of maintaining the fields. Though the Finance Committee agreed that the proposed fee hikes are too steep and too hasty, members also acknowledged that some increases would be needed to cover the structural budget deficit and make sure community services revenues approach expenditures. The committee directed staff to return next week with a revised proposal that includes less-dramatic increases to studio and garden rates. Councilman Pat Burt said the rate increases should be about half as steep as the ones staff had proposed. “We’ve got big cuts that we have to make,” Burt said. “But in any case where you had a longtime community use and you have a doubling or, in this case, a more than doubling of the fees in a single year — it’s just too abrupt in my mind.” Greg Betts, director of the Community Services Department, said programs like lawn bowling and community gardens were selected for fee increases because these are “exclusive-use facilities” that benefit a particular group rather than the community at large. But many of the artists and gardeners who spoke at the meeting said their operations are valuable to the larger community. Rita Morgin, who plants at the community garden near the Main Library, said the proposal to raise fees would make the community gardens “unavailable to people who’d benefit most” — lowincome residents and renters who don’t have gardens of their own. “This kind of an increase is really outrageous for gardeners — especially on a limited income,” Morgin said. Burt also argued that the benefits of community gardens go far beyond the gardeners who plant them. “While I recognize that the most direct benefit is to the gardeners, I think the community gardens do benefit a wider group of the community,” Burt said. “In my neighborhood, people who don’t have gardens view it as a community benefit to walk the gardens.” “There are other intrinsic values placed in there by the community and the community members who

are not using the gardens,” he later added. Several of the artists who attended the meeting urged council members not to rush into raising the fees. Marguerite Fletcher, an artist with a studio at Cubberley, said artists have been making a special effort to reach out to the greater public. The effort includes more openstudio times, more public lectures and participation in Palo Alto Art Center programs. “We do understand that the city is facing real financial dilemmas, and we’d like time to work with you on a resolution that can preserve our artistic community and find equitable solutions,” Fletcher said. Committee Chair Nancy Shepherd emphasized the need to “build a sustainable future for all these groups.” She and Councilwoman Gail Price both advocated having staff negotiate with artists, gardeners and other parties impacted by the new fees to consider various revenue options. All three committee members (Vice Mayor Greg Scharff

‘We pride ourselves on being creative and valuing the arts and the use of the imagination. And we need to live by that.’ —Gail Price, City Councilwoman, Palo Alto was absent) lauded the artist studios and agreed that they make valuable contributions to the city. “We pride ourselves on being creative and valuing the arts and the use of the imagination,” Price said. “And we need to live by that.” The Tuesday hearing was the first of a series public meetings leading up to the council’s budget adoption on June 18. The budget proposes to eliminate 18 positions citywide and to keep 20 vacancies frozen. If adopted, the city’s staffing level would drop to 1,006 full-time positions, 72 fewer than were budgeted for in 2011. The proposed budget also plans to raise the city’s infrastructure spending by $2.2 million, as recommended in a recent report by the 17-member Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission. The council had also considered asking the voters to approve in November a bond or a tax increase to raise money for infrastructure repairs. But council members and staff ultimately agreed that they don’t have enough time to do the necessary research and outreach for a ballot measure this year. On Tuesday night, the council’s Policy and Services Committee unanimously recommended not putting a revenue-raising ballot measure on the November ballot, a recommendation that the full council will consider later this month. The committee agreed that the city should instead look to 2014 for a possible ballot measure. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

REAL ESTATE TRENDS

Upfront

by Samia Cullen

TRANSPORTATION

Keep Resale in Mind When Buying a Home

Commuters get psyched to bike Numbers of cyclists up on Bike to Work Day by Jocelyn Dong ome people bike to work in order to help preserve the environment. Others do it for exercise or to save money. Palo Alto resident Kitty Lee has another reason. “You feel guilty if you don’t,” she said, only half-joking. Lee works for Stanford University, which offers strong incentives to convince people not to drive themselves to the office. On Thursday, May 10, Lee was one of hundreds of bicycling commuters who stopped by the Bike to Work “energizer station” on California Avenue in Palo Alto. The 18th annual Bike to Work event, sponsored by the Silicon Valley Bike Coalition, along with the City of Palo Alto, Stanford University and Hewlett-Packard Company, aims to encourage and celebrate twowheeled transportation. Volunteers hosted stations at strategic spots around town, replete with oranges, Hobee’s coffeecake, bagels, coffee, free tote bags and plenty of literature on how to cycle

Jocelyn Dong

A bicyclist gets a tote bag at the “energizer station” near the California Avenue Caltrain station May 10 during Bike to Work Day. safely in traffic. “Thanks for biking to work!” a volunteer called out to cyclists exiting the California Avenue underpass, next to the Caltrain station. The California Avenue area is like Grand Central for bicyclists. It’s at the intersection of the underpass, the train station and Park Boulevard. This year, 682 people biked past between 6:30 and 9 a.m. — more than last year, according to volunteer David Coale, who was counting the cyclists. He surmised that the good weather helped the turnout. “We get a little bit of everyone,” he said, gesturing to a woman in a chiffon skirt and heels, straddling her bike amid a sea of spandex-

clad riders. It was Coale’s fifth year of volunteering. “It’s fun to give a little bit of something as a benefit,” he said. For Lee, the commute times by car and bike are about the same — 20 to 30 minutes. She could get to campus quicker by car, depending on traffic. But then she’d have to find parking and walk or catch the Marguerite shuttle to her building on the sprawling campus. She’s been commuting by bike for about a year. The key lesson she’s learned is to map out a safe route, which provides a greater incentive to continue biking, she said. N Editor Jocelyn Dong can be emailed at jdong@paweekly.com.

The real estate market is a highly ﬂuctuating market, with fantastic ups, dramatic falls and sometimes unexpected turns. Home prices are inﬂuenced by many complex variables that even experts cannot accurately predict. For many buyers purchasing a home, resale is something in the unimaginable future. Many buy with plans to raise a family and stay for the long term. However, studies show that people now move more than ever before, whether for job opportunities, because of divorces or for myriad other reasons. Statistics show that an average family stays in a home only 5 to 7 years. Fixating strictly on purchase price can prove costly down the road. Instead, buyers should look beyond price to qualities that keep a property attractive to new buyers over the long haul: prime location,

good schools, nearby transportation, low crime rates, etc. The value of a property having these qualities tends to recover more quickly after a downturn in the market. Buying a property with good potential for renovation or extension can also be a positive upon resale. It is advisable to consult with an architect and a contractor to get a better understanding of what changes are permitted and feasible. Evaluate and discuss the options that you have with your agent. A good agent can provide you with projected resale price based upon the anticipated or historical increase in value in the neighborhood. Treat the home as an investment on which you want a good return. Real estate continues to be one of the most stable investments you can make. If you buy the right home, it will likely prove to be one of your most valuable assets.

If you have a real estate question or would like a free market analysis for your home, please call me at 650-384-5392, Alain Pinel Realtors, or email me at scullen@apr.com. For the latest news, follow my blog at www.samiacullen.com.

Mother’s Day Brunch

at Allied Arts Guild Beneﬁting Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford

MEET THE NEW LADERA OAKS! SWIM ;,550: -0;5,::

Join us for our annual Mother’s Day Brunch on May 13th Sunday in our beautiful and historic garden oasis. This year’s brunch buffet will include a savory carving station, heavenly dessert bar and bottomless mimosas and sparkling wine. Enjoy a splendid brunch buffet, stroll through 3.5 acres of Spanish Colonial architecture set amid lush seasonal gardens and visit the unique artisan shops and studios for a memorable Mother’s Day. First seating at 10:30am and second seating at 12:30pm.

Take to the water in our warm family pool or adult lap pool. We offer swim instruction for all ages and skill levels, a year-round U.S. Swim Team, a wonderful summer league swim team, and a Master’s Program.

Tickets are $50 per adult and $25 per child under 10 years old. Limited availability.

Enjoy our year round tennis community. Join our strong junior tennis programs, USTA teams and interclubs. Play in the twilight mixers on our lighted courts and keep the fun going with alfresco court side dining under the stars. You can also work out in our state-of-the-art ﬁtness center with a spectacular view.

Reservations are required. Call 650-322-2405 or email Events@AlliedArtsGuild.org

There’s never been a better time to get acquainted with Ladera Oaks and to enjoy the privileges of membership.

Take a tour. Use the club for 30 days for only $300. If you decide to join, we apply it toward your membership. Don’t wait! Call today to schedule your own private tour. Contact jim@laderaoaks.com or call 650.854.3101, ext.1000

3249 Alpine Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 www.laderaoaks.com Ladera Oaks is a private club owned by its members. Invitation to membership involves a selection process.

Menu Buffet Service: Seasonal Fresh Fruit Display Assorted Breakfast pastries and Mufﬁns Bagels with spreads, smoked salmon, capers, tomato, onion... Cheese Blintzes with a fresh fruit compote Belgium Wafﬂes with fresh fruit compote, whipped cream, syrup Eggs Benedict with a sauce béarnaise Mushroom and Spinach Frittata Plain Scrambled Eggs Bacon & Sausage Breakfast Potatoes Carving Station: Smoked Ham, Prime Rib of Beef, Turkey Breast, Traditional Accompaniments Dessert: Assorted mini pastries and cookies. Coffee, tea, juices and sodas Bottomless mimosas and sparking wine

75 Arbor Road Menlo Park ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 9

G U I D E TO 2012 S U M M E R C A M P S F O R K I D S

n n o e C c p t i o m n a C

Now in Los Altos!

Summer 2012

For more information about these camps, see our online directory of camps at http://paloaltoonline.com/biz/summercamps/. To advertise in a weekly directory, contact 650-326-8210 Stanford Water Polo Camps

Athletics California Riding Academy’s Camp Jumps For Joy!

Menlo Park

Join us this summer for fantastic and fun filled week with our beautiful horses and ponies! Each day Campers have riding instruction, develop horsemanship skills, create fun crafts and enjoy with our kids’ jump course. In addition, campers learn beginning vaulting, visit our Full Surgical Vet Clinic, and much more! Voted the best horse camp by discerning young campers. Choose English, Western or Cowboy/Cowgirl. Ages 5-15 welcome. Convenient close-in Menlo Park location and online Registration and Payment with either PayPal or Google Checkout. www.CalifiorniaRidingAcademy.com or JumpsForJoy@CaliforniaRidingAcademy.com for more information 650-740-2261

Champion Tennis Camp

Atherton

CTC programs provide an enjoyable way for your child to begin learning the game of tennis or to continue developing existing skills. Our approach is to create lots of fun with positive feedback and reinforcement in a nurturing tennis environment. Building self-esteem and confidence through enjoyment on the tennis court is a wonderful gift a child can keep forever! Super Juniors Camps, ages 4 – 6. Juniors Camps, ages 6 - 14. www.alanmargot-tennis.com 650-400-0464

Glenoaks Stables’ Horse Camp Portola Valley Giddy up your summer at Glenoaks Stables’ horse camp. Each full day of equestrian fun includes supervised riding, horsemanship, vaulting, pony games and arts & crafts. 6 one-week sessions. All skill levels welcome, ages 6+. www.glenoaksequestriancenter.com/summercamps.htm 650-854-4955

Kim Grant Tennis Academy & Palo Alto/ Summer Camps Menlo Park/Redwood City Fun and Specialized junior camps for Mini (3-5), Beginner, Intermediate 1&2, Advanced and Elite Players. Weekly programs designed by Kim Grant to improve players technique, fitness, agility, mental toughness and all around tennis game. Camps in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City. Come make new friends and have tons of FUN!! www.KimGrantTennis.com 650-752-8061

Nike Tennis Camps

Stanford University

Dick Gould’s 43rd Annual Stanford Tennis School offers day camps for both juniors a&dults. Weekly junior overnight & extended day camps run by John Whitlinger & Lele Forood. Junior Day Camp run by Brandon Coupe & Frankie Brennan. www.USSportsCamps.com/tennis 1-800-NIKE-CAMP (645-3226)

Oshman JCC

Palo Alto

Exciting programs for preschool and grades K-12 include swimming, field trips, crafts and more. Enroll your child in traditional camp, or specialty camps like Pirates, Archery, Runway Project, Kid TV and over 25 others! www.paloaltojcc.org/camps 650-223-8622

Spring Down Equestrian Center

Portola Valley

Spring Down camp teaches basic to advanced horsemanship skills. Ages 6-99 welcome! Daily informative lecture, riding lesson, supervised hands-on skill practice, safety around horses, tacking/untacking of own camp horse, and arts/crafts. www.springdown.com 650-851-1114

Stanford

Ages 7 and up. New to the sport or have experience, we have a camp for you. Half day or full day option for boys and girls. All the camps offer fundamental skill work, position work, scrimmages and games. stanfordwaterpolocamps.com 650-725-9016

Summer at Saint Francis

Mountain View

MINERALS, FOSSILS & JEWELRY SINCE 1987

Sports & Activity Camp (ages 6-12): This all sports camp provides group instruction in a variety of field, water and court games. Saint Francis faculty and students staff the camp, and the focus is always on fun. The program is dedicated to teaching teamwork, sportsmanship and positive self-esteem. After camp care and swim lessons available. www.sfhs.com/summer 650-968-1213 x650

Summer at Saint Francis

Mountain View

Advanced Sports Camps (5th-9th grades): We offer a wide selection of advanced sports camps designed to provide players with the opportunity to improve both their skill and knowledge of a specific sport. Each camp is run by a Head Varsity Coach at Saint Francis, and is staffed by members of the coaching staff. www.sfhs.com/summer 650-968-1213 x650

YMCA of Silicon Valley

Peninsula

Say hello to summer fun at the YMCA! Choose from enriching day or overnight camps in 35 locations: arts, sports, science, travel, and more. For youth K-10th grade. Includes weekly fieldtrips, swimming and outdoor adventures. Accredited by the American Camp Association. Financial assistance available. www.ymcasv.org/summercamp 408-351-6400

Academics Champion Youth Enrichment School

Palo Alto/ Mountain View

Join CYES’s culture summer camp, mixing academic subjects and hands-on exploration. Daily enrichment activities and weekly field trips. Learn 300 frequently used Chinese characters through creative, interactive Sunrise immersion program. www.championkis.com 650-858-1880, 650-353-0881

Galileo Learning

Los Altos/Palo Alto/Menlo Park/ Woodside/Hillsborough

Galileo Learning operates award-winning summer day camps at 31 Bay Area locations. Camp Galileo (pre-K rising 5th graders): Inspires campers to bring their ideas to life through art, science and outdoor activities. Galileo Summer Quest (rising 5th - 8th graders): Campers dive into exciting majors like Chefology and Video Game Design. www.galileo-learning.com 1-800-854-3684

Harker Summer Programs

San Jose

K-12 offerings taught by exceptional, experienced faculty and staff. K-6 morning academics - focusing on math, language arts and science - and full spectrum of afternoon recreation. Grades 6-12 for-credit courses and non-credit enrichment opportunities. Sports programs also offered. www.summer.harker.org 408-553-0537

iD Tech Camps Summer Tech Fun!

Stanford

Take hobbies further! Ages 7-17 create iPhone apps, video games, movies, and more at weeklong, day and overnight programs held at Stanford and 60+ universities in 27 states.. Also 2-week, Teen-only programs: iD Gaming Academy, iD Programming Academy, and iD visual Arts Academy (filmmaking & photography). www.internalDrive.com 1-888-709-TECH (8324)

Page 10ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

(continued on next page)

296 State Street

On the corner of 2nd and State

650/327-8700

Upfront

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (May 7)

Sewage plant: The council discussed the long-range plan for the Regional Water Quality Control Plant. Action: None Finances: The council accepted staff’s Long Range Financial Forecast and requested that staff include a scenario in the forecast with less drastic pension increases and no salary increases for employees. Yes: Burt, Espinosa, Holman, Klein, Scharff, Shepherd, Schmid, Yeh No: Klein

Board of Education (May 8)

Graduation requirements: The board discussed a proposal by Superintendent Kevin Skelly to stiffen high school graduation requirements to match entrance criteria for California’s four-year, public universities, with a provision for negotiated “alternative requirements” for students unable or unwilling to complete the four-year college-prep curriculum. Action: None Cubberley: The board approved a list of “principles” to guide its upcoming discussions with the City Council on the future of Cubberley Community Center, as well as membership of a 25-member Community Advisory Committee on Cubberley. Yes: Caswell, Klausner, Mitchell, Tom Absent: Townsend

Council Finance Committee (May 8)

Budget: The committee approved the budgets for the City Auditor and City Attorney offices and for the Library Department. Yes: Burt, Price, Shepherd Absent: Scharff Services: The committee discussed the Community Services Department budget and directed staff to return on May 15 with a proposal that includes less steep increases in fees for lawn bowling, community gardens and artist studios at Cubberley Community Center. Yes: Burt, Price, Shepherd Absent: Scharff

Council Policy and Services Committee (May 8)

Infrastructure: The committee voted to recommend that the city not place a revenue-generating measure on the November 2012 ballot. Yes: Unanimous

Human Relations Commission (May 8)

Grants: The commission discussed the Human Services Needs Assessment. Action: None

Planning and Transportation Commission (May 9)

Housing Element: The committee voted to recommend approval of the Housing Element in the Comprehensive Plan. Yes: Fineberg, Keller, Martinez, Tanaka, Tuma Abstained: Michael

Council Rail Committee (May 10)

Litigation: The committee discussed the partnership between the California HighSpeed Rail Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and considered whether the city should pursue litigation challenging the latest plans for a blended system of Caltrain and high-speed rail. Action: None

G U I D E TO 2012 S U M M E R C A M P S F O R K I D S

n n o e C c p t i o m n a C Summer 2012

Academics iD Teen Academies

A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations with the police union and the management and professionals group. The council also plans to discuss the city’s long-range financial forecast and 355 Alma St., a proposal by Lytton Gateway, LLC for a four-story, mixed-use building that includes offices and retail; and approve a new contract with the police union. The closed session will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 14. Regular meeting will follow in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss police and fire budgets for fiscal year 2013. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 15, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). CITY-SCHOOL LIAISON COMMITTEE ... Committee members will exchange information about recent meetings of the City Council and school board, and hear an update on the city budget and emergency preparedness. The meeting will begin at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 17, in Conference Room A of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.).

Stanford

Learn different aspects of video game creation, app development, filmmaking, photography, and more. 2-week programs where ages 13-18 interact with industry professionals to gain competitive edge. iD Gaming Academy, iD Programming Academy, and iD Visual Arts Academy are held at Stanford, and other universities. www.iDTeenAcademies.com 1-888-709-TECH (8324)

Mid-Peninsula High School Summer Program

Menlo Park

Mid-Peninsula High School offers a series of classes and electives designed to keep students engaged in learning. Class Monday-Thursday and limited to 15 students. Every Thursday there’s a BBQ lunch. The Science and Art classes will have weekly field trips. www.mid-pen.com 650-321-1991 x110

SuperCamp

Stanford

Increases Grades, Confidence and Motivation. Academic pressure to stand out. Social pressure to fit in. It’s not easy being a high school or middle school student. Straight A or struggling, kids are overwhelmed by homework, activities, and technology distractions. SuperCamp provides strategies to help kids succeed. Bobbi DePorter created SuperCamp to empower kids. Now in its 30th year with 64,000 graduates, SuperCamp builds study skills, self-esteem, and test scores. SuperCamp works. Parent Patty M. says, “We saw a jump in grades … the things she learned about her worth are of lasting value.” www.supercamp.com 1-800-285-3276.

Summer at Saint Francis

Public Agenda

India Community Center Palo Alto/ Sunnyvale/ Summer Camps Milpitas/Olema

Mountain View

Summer at Saint Francis provides a broad range of academic and athletic programs for elementary through high school students. It is the goal of every program to make summer vacation enriching and enjoyable! www.sfhs.com/summer 650-968-1213 x446

Synapse School & Wizbots

Menlo Park

Cutting-edge, imaginative, accelerated, integrated, and hands-on academic summer enrichment courses with independent in-depth, project-based morning and afternoon week-long programs for children ages 4-12. Young Explorers, Thinking Math, Leonardo da Vinci’s Inventions, Nature Connections, Girls’ & Soccer Robotics, and more! synapseschool.org/curriculum/summer 650-866-5824

Write Now! Summer Writing Camps

Palo Alto

Emerson School of Palo Alto and Hacienda School of Pleasanton open their doors and offer their innovative programs: Expository Writing, Creative Writing, Presentation Techniques, and (new!) Media Production. Call or visit our website for details. Also Pleasanton. www.headsup.org 650-424-1267, 925-485-5750

Arts, Culture and Other Camps COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITEE ... The committee plans to discuss the Utilities Department budget and the capital-improvement program in the general fund. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). PUBLIC ART COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss Byxbee Park maintenance issues impacting public art, hear an update on maintenance of the art collection and hear a report on the Youth Art Awards. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 17, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

Community School of Music & Arts (CSMA )

Mountain View

50+ creative camps for Gr. K-8! Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture, Musical Theater, American Idol Workshop, more! Two-week sessions; full and halfday enrollment. Extended care available. Financial aid offered. www.arts4all.org 650-917-6800 ext. 0

Join ICC’s Cultural Camps which give campers a quick tour of India and its vibrant culture. These camps include arts, crafts, folk dance, bollywood dance, music, yoga, Indian history and geography. Over 10 different camps all through the summer for Grades K-12. To register or for more details visit: www.indiacc.org/camps 408-934-1130 ext. 225

Pacific Art League

Palo Alto

Art camps are fun, and stimulate visual perception and cognitive thinking. Week-long camps are available for kids and teens 5 – 18, from June 18 to August 19, including Glass Fusing, Cartooning, Printmaking and Claymation. www.pacificartleague.org 650.321.3891

Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC)

Palo Alto

PACCC summer camps offer campers, grades kindergarten to 6th, a wide array of fun opportunities! K-1 Fun for the youngest campers, Nothing But Fun for themed-based weekly sessions, Neighborhood Adventure Fun and Ultimate Adventure Fun for the more active and on-the-go campers! Swimming twice per week, periodic field trips, special visitors and many engaging camp activities, songs and skits round out the fun offerings of PACCC Summer Camps! Registration is online. Open to campers from all communities! Come join the fun in Palo Alto! www.paccc.com 650-493-2361

TechKnowHow Computer Palo Alto/ & LEGO Camps Menlo Park/Sunnyvale Fun and enriching technology classes for students, ages 5-14 Courses include LEGO and K’NEX Projects with Motors, Electronics, NXT Robotics, 3D Modeling, and Game Design. Many locations, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Sunnyvale. Half and all day options. Early-bird and multi-session discounts available. www.techknowhowkids.com 650-638-0500

Theatreworks Summer Camps

Palo Alto

In these skill-building workshops for grades K-5, students engage in language-based activities, movement, music, and improvisation theatre games. Students present their own original pieces at the end of each two-week camp. www.theatreworks.org/learn 650-463-7146

Wizbots Creative Robotics Palo Alto/ Summer Camps Menlo Park/San Carlos FUN. ROBOTS. CREATIVITY. That’s what Wizbots Creative Robotics camps are all about! Each weekly camp includes the use of computers, LEGO® Mindstorms NXT robotics equipment, LEGO, motors, sensors, arts & craft supplies and other unique building materials. With lots of fun projects and exciting themes, boys and girls alike, learn all kinds of new skills and exercise their imaginations. The all new themes for summer 2012 include: Robots in Space, Robolympics, Crazy Contraptions, and Dynamic Designs. Quality staff lead half-day and full-day camps for rising 2nd-7th graders. www.wizbots.com info@wizbots.com

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 11

Jewelry Seminar & Buying Event Beneﬁting The Oshman Family JCC Our Gemologists and experts will evaluate to purchase your jewelry, watches, rare coins and paper money for their current fair market value All jewelry purchases by Stephen Silver Fine Jewelry will generate a donation in your name to the OFJCC On Display – Over 50 Pieces of Jewelry Owned by Actress & Celebrity, Eva Gabor

Sunday, May 20 Buying from 10am to 6pm Special Seminar with Guest Speaker Janet Zapata Former Tiffany & Co. Archivist, Jewelry Historian, and Author

3pm to 4:30pm

Monday, May 21 Buying from 9am to 7pm Location:

OFJCC - Freidenrich Conference Center 3921 Fabian Way Palo Alto www.paloaltojcc.org

For more information contact us at event@shsilver.com No appointment necessary - All transactions are strictly conﬁdential

Saturday, June 9

Page 12ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Upfront

News Digest Palo Alto engineer pleads guilty to fraud conspiracy A Palo Alto systems engineer who bilked 3Com Corporation out of nearly $600,000 pleaded guilty in federal court Monday, May 7, to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced. Sheng Qiang, who is also known as Becky Sheng Qiang, admitted to committing a sophisticated rebate fraud scheme with her husband, codefendant Yezhou Zhao. He also goes by the names Jake Zhao and Jake Chao, according to the U.S. Attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office. In pleading guilty, Qiang, 38, admitted that for approximately 5 1/2 half years, from 2002 to 2008, she and Zhao perpetrated a scheme to defraud 3Com, a computer-equipment manufacturer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich. 3Com offered a â&#x20AC;&#x153;Trade-Upâ&#x20AC;? program, which encouraged customers to replace old computer equipment with new 3Com equipment through a rebate program. Qiang admitted that she and Zhao submitted 98 fraudulent rebate claims to 3Com, totaling more than $634,000, and received more than $577,000 in rebates. Hewlett-Packard (HP) Company, an information technology corporation based in Palo Alto, acquired 3Com in April 2010. According to Qiangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plea agreement, she admitted that the couple established numerous shell companies and private mailboxes around the San Francisco Bay area. They submitted rebate requests to 3Com using various fake corporate and personal identities and forged and falsified documents. Qiangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4. Zhao has not appeared in court to face the charges in the indictment and is considered a fugitive. Authorities request anyone with information about his whereabouts to call the United States Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455. N â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Sue Dremann

Judge rejects challenge to California Avenue plan The City of Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort to remove two lanes from California Avenue took a leap forward Monday, May 7, when a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge rejected a lawsuit from a local merchant who opposes the lane-reduction plan. The lawsuit was filed by Robert Davidson, whose business, California Paint Company, is located on California Avenue. This was the second lawsuit by California Avenue merchants opposed to reducing the number of lanes from four to two. In February, Judge Patricia Lucas rejected a similar challenge from Terry Shuchat of Keeble & Shuchat Photography and resident Joy Ogawa. Both lawsuits claimed that the city violated environmental law in approving the $1.8 million streetscape project. Like Shuchat and Ogawa, Davidson claimed in his suit that the city had failed to accurately describe the project and that it did not adequately analyze the potential impact on area businesses. The city argued that Davidsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suit is nearly identical to the first challenge and that the court should throw it out. Though Lucas allowed the challenge to go forward, she ultimately sided with the city after concluding that Davidson did not express any objections to the lane-reduction project prior to filing his lawsuit against the city. Because he did not exhaust his â&#x20AC;&#x153;administrative remediesâ&#x20AC;? before contesting the lane-reduction plan in court, his petition cannot advance, she concluded. Even though they did not prevail in court, the merchants could claim a victory of sorts. By tying up the project in litigation, critics of the project have kept Palo Alto from receiving a $1.2 million grant city officials were expecting to get from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The city had hoped to begin the project this spring and complete it by fall. With the delay in grant funding, planning officials now hope to start the project next year. N â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Gennady Sheyner

Silicon Valley cash to fund Stanford Hospital Stanford University has launched a $1 billion fundraising campaign to build its new hospital and invest in medical research and teaching, and already half of that sum has been pledged by Silicon Valley companies and individuals, Stanford announced Monday. Three donors are contributing $150 million: John Morgridge, former Cisco Systems CEO, and his wife, Tashia; Anne and Robert Bass, philanthropists; and the Christopher Redlich family. Morgridge, the Basses and Redlich are all Stanford graduates. Seven companies have committed $175 million for the project through the Stanford Hospital Corporate Partners initiative: Apple, eBay, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Intuit, Oracle and NVIDIA. The new hospital will replace aging facilities and bring the medical center up to state seismic standards. A major portion of the campaign â&#x20AC;&#x201D; $700 million â&#x20AC;&#x201D; will support the new hospital, but the remaining $300 million will fund a number of initiatives in the School of Medicine that hospital officials said would improve the delivery of care and advance research. The campaign funds will also support graduate education programs in the biomedical sciences. N â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Sue Dremann

MEDIA

Weekly wins record 11 awards Palo Alto Online wins best website he Palo Alto Weekly took home a record 11 first- and second-place awards, including best website, in the annual statewide California Newspaper Publishers Association competition in San Jose Saturday, May 5. The Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s news staff garnered seven first-place awards, including for coverage of the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, competing against other large non-daily papers in California. The Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website, www. PaloAltoOnline.com, placed first for the third year in a row, having won in 2009 and 2010 as well. It was also the first time a Palo Alto Online video has won the statewide award. The Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister papers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Almanac in south San Mateo County and the Mountain View Voice â&#x20AC;&#x201D; picked up another three awards between them. The first-place honors were given for: s 4HE 7EEKLY S TEAM COVERAGE OF the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs last October; s #OVERAGE OF YOUTH AND EDUCA tion issues by Staff Writer Chris Kenrick, specifically her cover story, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nurturing happier, healthier youthâ&#x20AC;?; s 4HE 7EEKLY S NEWS AND COMMU nity website, Palo Alto Online; s 3TAFF 0HOTOGRAPHER 6ERONICA Weberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s video on the final days of the Palo Alto Bowl; s 7EBER S FEATURE PHOTO OF NEW FA ther Steve Martz and his premature son, Samuel; s 7EBER S PHOTO ESSAY OF THE 3TAN ford Powwow; s "EST HOUSE AD FOR ITS SERIES OF Shop Palo Alto advertisements. The categories for which the Weekly received second-place recognition were: s 3TAFF 7RITER 'ENNADY 3HEYNER S coverage of local government, specifically the ongoing conflict between the City of Palo Alto and its labor unions; s /NLINE BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE for photos and articles about Steve Jobsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; death; s 3PORTS %DITOR +EITH 0ETER S SHOT of Menlo School water polo coach Jack Bowen being pushed into the pool after a championship win; s 7EBER S ART NATURE PHOTO h(ON eybee gathers nectar.â&#x20AC;? In addition to the first- and secondplace honors, the Weekly also placed as a finalist in the categories of local breaking news, writing, photo essay, video and advertising excellence. The competition involved more than 3,000 entries and winners were selected by journalists outside of the state. The contest grouped newspapers by size of circulation and frequency of publication. N

SATURDAY, MAY 19, 2012 7:00 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 10:00 pm SILENT & LIVE AUCTIONS:

Items include: Paintings, Drawings,

All Saints Episcopal Church Photography, Folk Art, Sculpture, 555 Waverley Street, Palo Alto Jewelry, and more from local and TICKET INFORMATION: regional artists. www.deborahspalm.org LIVE MUSIC by Farouche 650 473-0664 REFRESHMENTS: (Ticket purchase enters you into a drawing for a Kindle Touch)

Wine Tasting, Hors dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; oeuvres & Dessert

MAJOR DONORS:

staciebaptistdesign (This space donated as Community Service by the Palo Alto Weekly)

The records for the City of Palo Alto show the following checks as outstanding for over three years to the listed payees. Under California Government Code Section 50050, unclaimed money will become the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property three years after the check was issued. If you are one of the listed payees, please contact Suneet Gill at (650) 329-2224 at the City of Palo Alto by June 30, 2012 so arrangements can be made to reissue the check.

Payee

Reference

Amount

Akamine, Yotoro

2053483

50.00

Anderson-Burley, Dirk

2053329

50.00

Basso, Giancarlo

2056136

77.89

Berlia, Neha

2053417

55.65

Carlsson, Erik

2060247

117.42

Chu, Moo Lan

2060241

156.00

Circle, Jenny

2053962

50.00

Hama, Takaakt

2062027

50.00

Harik, Georges

2060234

50.00

Ho Oh, Young

2053484

50.00

Hu, Xuteng

2052090

50.00

Kasson, Peter

2060255

70.00

Legend Document Solutions

2057194

400.00

Mahgerefteh, Daniel

2054844

50.00

McDonald, Kimani

2050771

50.00

Moidie, Sameer

2060246

115.00

Monshouwer, Marius

2054906

100.00

Murakami, Kenji

2054885

61.74

Murakami, Kenji

2056086

50.00

Nahm, Jung Ju

2060254

297.50

Protection One

2051335

65.00

Taylor, Jeremy

2053205

50.00

Tiongson, Jesusa

2053369

100.00

Tsai, Pamela

2050452

70.00

Verjee, Amar

2050819

65.00

Wable, Akhil or Gupta, Anoop

2051338

190.00

Be the Change Youth Benefit Concert

Youth dancers, bands, vocalists, classical musicians, volunteers from 12+ schools All proceeds go towards building a school in Sierra Leone through Free the Children Sunday May 20 7:00-8:30 PM

Cultural Art Hall Palo Alto Jewish Community Center 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto Minimum suggested donation $10 For more information, email eleanorksu@gmail.com This space donated as a community service by the Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto Uniﬁed School District NOTICE TO SENIOR CITIZENS ABOUT PARCEL TAX EXEMPTION

DEADLINE: MAY 31, 2012 On June 5, 2001, the voters approved Measure D, a special parcel tax assessment of $293 per parcel for five years. On June 7, 2005, voters approved an increase to $493 per parcel and extended the tax through the 2010-11 tax year. On May 4, 2010, voters approved an increase to $589 for six years beginning as of July 1, 2010, with annual two percent escalation adjustments. The funds are used to attract and retain qualified and experienced teachers and school employees, maintain educational programs that enhance student achievement, and reduce the size targeted classes. A parcel is defined as any unit of land in the District that receives a separate tax bill from the Santa Clara County Tax Assessor’s Office. An exemption is available for any senior citizen who owns and occupies as a principal residence a parcel, and applies to the District for an exemption. For the 2012-13 tax year, a senior citizen is defined as a person 65 years of age and older by June 30, 2013. Please apply for the exemption by May 31, 2012. If you were exempt from paying the PAUSD parcel tax for the 2011-12 tax year, you should have received an exemption renewal letter in April. To renew your exemption for the 201213 tax year, please sign and return the letter. If you have any questions about the parcel tax, the Senior Citizen Exemption, or you did not receive your renewal letter, please call the PAUSD Business Office at 650-329-3980. HOW TO APPLY FOR A SENIOR EXEMPTION

Upfront

Parks

(continued from page 3)

park, not even in the Great Depression,” Evans said. In fact, she said, during the Depression the state opened Anza Borrego Desert State Park in eastern San Diego County. Exactly which parks would still close under the Simitian plan has not been determined and is a matter for the Parks Department. Factors include historical significance, visitor count, the net savings that would result from closing a park and the level of difficulty in keeping visitors out, according to an online summary. The number of visitors statewide has been consistent in recent years, and during hard economic times, parks are important as a low-cost way to get away and relax, Evans said. Eighteen of the listed parks have collaborative arrangements in place with federal agencies or nonprofits that would keep them open, and

The proposal to close 70 parks was ‘fundamentally illconceived, penny-wise and pound-foolish, (and) irreversible.’ —Joe Simitan, state Senator, Palo Alto eight more are in negotiations for such arrangements, Evans said. The proposal aims to increase support and involvement by nonprofits, spearheaded by the California State Parks Foundation and community partners. It would also allow parks to become more entrepreneurial and give more flexibility when it comes to personnel, according to a summary of the “Sustainable Parks Proposal.” To reach the governor’s desk for signature, the proposal will need simple majorities in the Senate and the Assembly, Simitian said. Asked if he anticipated opposition, he said it was too early to tell but that “we’ve tried very hard” to design a proposal that avoids political confrontations. California is known for its parks and the idea of closing 70 of them, “I think a lot of people find incomprehensible,” he said. “We are using existing revenues in a relatively modest way to avoid the cuts,” he added. “Our goal is to get past the year-to-year crisis in management of state parks. ... I am cautiously optimistic.” N Almanac Staff Writer Dave Boyce can be emailed at dboyce@ almanacnews.com.

s #OMPLETE AN APPLICATION AT #HURCHILL !VENUE 0ALO !LTO -ONDAY – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or call the PAUSD Business Ofﬁce at 650-329-3980 to have an application mailed you.

With the wind in their hair and the concentration of a race car driver, kids ages 7 to 17 will barrel down Hanover Street in soap-box cars on May 19 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. They won’t have to battle the usual traffic. The road will closed for the Palo Alto Elks Silicon Valley Soap Box Derby. (Posted May 10 at 9:52 a.m.)

Man exposes self to middle-school girl — twice Mountain View police are searching for a man they believe exposed himself to a local middle-school-aged girl twice in the span of about 14 months. The man first reportedly exposed himself to the girl in February 2011, and then again on May 7, 2012. (Posted May 10 at 8:39 a.m.)

Suspicious odor leads to HazMat response A suspicious chemical odor, a plume of smoke and the sight of a man standing at the back of a pickup truck early Wednesday morning, May 9, in Menlo Park led a sheriff’s deputy to call in firefighters at 2:15 a.m. (Posted May 9 at 2:18 p.m.)

Downed line causes outage in south Palo Alto About 500 utility customers in south Palo Alto, including two area hotels, lost power for about three hours Wednesday morning, May 9, after a contractor working in the area of Wilkie Way accidentally caused a circuit to break and a power line to drop, utility officials said. (Posted May 9 at 11:22 a.m.)

Mountain View officially switches animal services A group hoping to save Palo Alto’s animal shelter swayed only one member of the Mountain View City Council Tuesday, May 8, in an effort to keep Mountain View from switching to a Santa Clara-based animal services provider. (Posted May 9 at 9:49 a.m.)

Menlo Park commission OKs Facebook plan The impact reports for the proposed Facebook campus expansion, along with the associated developer agreement, got the thumbs up Monday night, May 7, from the Menlo Park Planning Commission. (Posted May 9 at 9:19 a.m.)

VIDEO: VolunTEENS, Part 3 Filmmaker Carolina Moraes-Liu presents a monthly series of videos focusing on how teenagers in Palo Alto are finding ways to volunteer throughout the Bay Area. This third segment focuses on the Teen Arts Council. (Posted May 8 at 12:18 p.m.)

Hate-crime vandal wanted by Palo Alto police Palo Alto police are seeking the perpetrator of a pair of hate crimes after a dental office and a car were spray painted with racial and ethnic slurs on May 2 or 3. (Posted May 8 at 11:32 a.m.)

Ravenswood Family Health Center gets $5M grant An East Palo Alto community clinic that offers medical and dental services to some of the Bay Area’s neediest individuals and families has been awarded a $5 million federal grant by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). (Posted May 7 at 10:38 a.m.)

Palo Alto mulls major reductions in animal services Palo Alto residents would lose many of the animal services they currently enjoy, including the ability to voluntarily surrender pets, if the city were to scrap its longstanding operation and outsource it to another city, according to a new city report. (Posted May 7 at 9:56 a.m.)

Plane makes emergency landing near Palo Alto Airport A plane landed in the San Francisco Bay near the Dumbarton Bridge Sunday afternoon, May 6, after its landing gear failed, according to the Palo Alto Fire Department. (Posted May 6 at 7:33 p.m.) The 90th annual May Fete Parade marched through downtown Palo Alto Saturday, May 5, as an array of group floats, musicians, martialarts demonstrations and costumed characters showcased “Palo Alto at Play.” (Posted May 5 at 3:27 p.m.)

College Board to offer make-up SAT Give blood for life! bloodcenter.stanford.edu

Page 14ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Soap Box Derby racing into Palo Alto May 19

VIDEO: Palo Alto celebrates May Fete Parade

If you decide to complete the application in person, you will need to bring: s 9OUR !SSESSOR S 0ARCEL .UMBER FROM YOUR PROPERTY TAX BILL s ! COPY OF PROOF OF BIRTH DATE only one of the following: driver’s LICENSE BIRTH CERTIlCATE PASSPORT OR -EDICARE CARD s ! COPY OF PROOF OF RESIDENCE ONLY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING driver’s license, utility bill, Social Security check, or property TAX BILL

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.

The College Board will offer a special “make-up exam in the very near future” or refund fees after a scheduled administration of the SAT was canceled at Palo Alto High School Saturday, May 5. (Posted May 5 at 9:52 a.m.)

Upfront

Graduation

(continued from page 3)

told the board. “I recommend adopting this inclusive plan.” While indicating their own support, board members asked Skelly to outline prior to the May 22 vote how he plans to monitor and assess the impacts of the new graduation policy. Also Tuesday, the board approved a list of principles to guide its upcoming discussion with the City Council on the future of Cubberley Community Center, as well as the membership of a 25-member Community Advisory Committee. Committee members are Tom Vician, Tom Crystal, Lanie Wheeler, Michael Bein, Jean Wilcox, Sheri Furman, Ken Allen, Damian Cono, Claire Kirner, John Markevitch, Tracy Stevens, Susan Bailey, Rachel Samoff, Lessa Bouchard, Jerry August, Jim Schmidt, Susie Thom, Greg Tanaka, Diane Reklis, Mandy Lowell, Brian Carilli, Michael Closson, William Robinson, Penny Ellson and Mike Cobb. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.

Inspirations

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board (ARB)

a guide to the spiritual community

8:30 A.M., Thursday, May 24, 2012 Palo Alto Council Chambers, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Go to the Development Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue to review ﬁled documents; contact Diana Tamale for information regarding business hours at 650.329.2144.

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

ÕÀV Ê-V Ê>ÌÊ£ä\ääÊ>° °

278 University Avenue [12PLN-00155]: Request by The Hayes Group, on behalf of 278 University Investors, LLC, for Architectural Review of the replacement of brick paving in the sidewalk at the south west corner of University Avenue and Bryant Street with integrally colored concrete. Environmental Assessment: Exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Guideline Section 15301. Zone District: CD-C(GF)(P) (Commercial Downtown with Ground Floor and Pedestrian Combing Districts).

10:00 a.m. This Sunday: The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From The Other Apples Rev. David Howell preaching An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ

3825 Fabian Way [11PLN-00318]: Request by Brian B. Lawry of Gordon Prill, Inc on behalf of Space Systems Loral for Major Architectural Review Board review for expansion of Building 6 located near the center of an existing industrial campus. The building will be increased by 15,573 square feet to allow for the addition of a thermal vacuum chamber, 60 Hz generator, three (3) nitrogen tanks, and associated site improvements. Since the expansion will function as a test facility for the assembly operations, the proposal will not create any additional headcount or parking demand for the site. Environmental Assessment: An Initial Study and Negative Declaration have been prepared. Zone District: GM (General Manufacturing). 4214-4220 El Camino Real [12PLN-00067]: Request by Matt O’Shea of OTO Development on behalf of Graham Schnell Properties and Schnell Brothers Properties for Major Architectural Review Board review of a new four story, 174 rooms Hilton Garden Inn Hotel. Environmental Assessment: A Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared for this project. Zone District: SC (Service Commercial).

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

Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study: Review and Recommendation to the City Council and the Planning and Transportation Commission for the Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study Report. Amy French Manager of Current Planning

Today’s news, sports & hot picks

Join us for a

Garden Reception Honoring:

Jean G. Coblentz

Sunday, May 20 3:00 to 5:00 pm

Bill Floyd Phyllis Moldaw

For information, tickets, or to make an honor gift,

call 650-289-5445 or visit www.avenidas.org

Boyd C. & Jill Johnson Smith

Kenneth Sletten

Thanks to Our Sponsors

Community Champions

Asset Management Company

Association for Senior Day Health

Ruth & Don Seiler

Community Partners

Palo Alto Weekly Palo Alto Online

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 15

Robert Ross Staley

December 6, 1921 - April 6, 2012 Robert Ross Staley died April 6, 2102. Born in Tulsa, Okla., in 1921, he was a graduate of Cal Tech with Masters Degrees from Cal Tech, Stanford and Harvard. He served in the Navy during WWII and he worked for over 35 years as a technical writer and editor in the aeronautics industry. He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Jane Dugan Staley; and he is survived by his three children, Paul, Ellen (Lussier) and David; and eight grandchildren. He loved, not necessarily in this order, Stanford football, the Democratic Party, the California coast, the music of Lester Young and a good martini. A memorial service will be held on May 19 at noon at Alta Mesa Cemetery in Palo Alto. PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Pulse

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

POLICE CALLS Palo Alto May 2-8 Violence related Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Commercial burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Embezzlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Residential burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle related Abandoned bicycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Menlo Park

Paul Berg Poulsen Paul Berg Poulsen, 45, passed away unexpectedly April 28, 2012. He leaves behind his number one fan, his supporting and loving wife Kathleen, and his beloved sons Christopher and Tyler. Paul is survived by his parents, Ann Poulsen and Villy Poulsen, and his brothers, David and Michael. Born in Palo Alto, California, he called the Bay Area home and lived in the house that he built for his family in Los Altos. Early on, Paul found his calling in the construction and remodeling business and followed in his father’s footsteps and earned his general contractor’s license. Paul founded his own company and met with success, working hard and playing hard as he grew both his family and business. Paul’s other passions included cars, boats, waterskiing, soccer, ﬁshing and travelling. Paul’s good nature and huge smile is missed by the many lives he touched. Memorial services will be 11a.m., Monday, May 21,

Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . . . .4 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 17 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Misc. liquor law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Miscellaneous Animal call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Casualty/fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Concealed weapon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbing the peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Hate-crime vandalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . .6 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .3 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

May 2-8

at St. William Catholic Church, 611 South El Monte Avenue, Los Altos, CA 94022 with reception directly following at St. William. In lieu of ﬂowers, a fund for the children has been set up. Name of Fund: Poulsen Memorial College Scholarship Fund Checks Payable to: Kathy Poulsen for the Poulsen Memorial College Scholarship Fund Mail Check to: Avid Bank, 400 Emerson St., Palo Alto CA 94301 Attn: Susan Wells 650-843-2210 Vice President - Relationship Manager PA I D

OBITUARY

Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Spousal abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Attempted burglary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . . . .5 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Miscellaneous CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Disturbing/annoying phone calls. . . . . . .1 Felon possessing firearm . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Info case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Prohibited weapon possession. . . . . . . .1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Atherton May 2-8 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Residential burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Abandoned auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .2 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Alcohol or drug related Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Animal call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Citizen assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Disturbing/annoying phone calls. . . . . . .1 Fire call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Flooding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Meet citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .3 Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Tree blocking roadway . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Welfare check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto Unlisted block El Camino Real, 5/4, 1:30 p.m.; domestic violence/battery.

Menlo Park 1300 block Madera Avenue, 5/2, 9:34 p.m.; spousal abuse. 300 block Sharon Park Drive, 5/3, 3:14 p.m.; battery. 2800 block Sand Hill Road, 5/4, 7:51 p.m.; battery. 10 block Coleman Place, 5/5, 9:53 p.m.; battery.

Learn About Counseling Changes for Gunn How Teacher Advisors Can Better Support Our Kids Parent and Student education meeting and panel discussion with Q&A, featuring:

The PAUSD School Board met on March 27 and directed Gunn to make signiﬁcant changes to improve the quality of counseling. Come learn about: © The PAUSD survey of student satisfaction that led the School Board to mandate changes at Gunn © How advisory programs deliver academic and socialemotional counseling services more effectively, and improve connectedness © The prospects for bringing advisory to Gunn © How you can participate in this change process

Denise Clark Pope, Ph.D. Challenge Success Stanford University

Becky Beacom Health Education Manager Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Wednesday, May 16, 7:00 - 8:30 pm St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 600 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto Page 16ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

To learn more, visit our website: http://wecandobetterpaloalto.org/Counseling

Transitions Deaths

Robert Perkins Berryman Robert Perkins Berryman, a graduate of Stanford University, died May 6 in the home he built in Hillsborough. He was 87. He grew up in South Pasadena with his parents and his brother, John Sloan. He completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford in 1948 and completed his law degree at Stanford in 1951. During this time he married and had two sons, John Robert and Mark Alan. He later married Katherine Williams in 1958. They had a son, Robert Perkins Jr., and a daughter, Katherine Marie. He worked as general counsel for G. W. Williams & Co. and Williams & Burrows Inc. from 1954 to 1969. He then started his own construction company, R.P. Berryman Co., with his wife, Katie, as his equal. He built homes, apartments and commercial properties on the Peninsula. He was preceded in death by his wife of 50 years, Katherine, in 2009. He is survived by his sons, John (Yvonne), Mark (Jacqueline) and Bob Jr. (Anna); daughter, Kathie (Frank); grandchildren, Laura, Linda, Curtis and Clifford Berryman; Katie and Andy Woolard; and Amannda Armanini; as well as a niece.

A rosary will be held May 11 at 7 p.m. at Crosby-N. Gray Funeral Home in Burlingame. A service celebrating his life will be held May 12 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Bartholomew’s Church in San Mateo. Donations may be made to the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony or Angel Flight West.

Births William Foster and Dulcy Freeman of Menlo Park, a son, April 8. Nick and Alexia Costouros of Menlo Park, a son, April 20. Douglas and Cassie Hansen of Mountain View, a son, April 22. Mark and Lisa Lakata of Mountain View, a son, April 26. Erik and Krista Szyndlar of Menlo Park, a daughter, April 29. Eric Sponburgh and Kristina Johnson of Mountain View, a daughter, April 29. Zachary Held and Jaime Lau of Los Altos, a daughter, April 29. Ross and Alexandria Feldman of Palo Alto, a daughter, May 8.

Sheldon D. Sicotte Feb. 22, 1931 – May 1, 2012 Sheldon Sicotte, 81, of Palo Alto CA, passed away from cancer at Stanford Hospital on May 1, 2012. He was better known as Zeke, a nickname from childhood days. He was born in 1931 in Oakland CA, to Fred and Marguerite Goessi Sicotte. He graduated from Piedmont High School and Stanford University. He served as an ofﬁcer in the Navy during the Korean War and beyond, from 1952 to 1955, aboard a destroyer, the USS Hamner DD718. He was the navigator, making three tours of duty across the Paciﬁc. Zeke and his wife, Nancy, met while at Stanford. They were married in 1954. After his discharge from the Navy, they settled in Palo Alto, raising two sons there. He had a forty year career as a CPA in San Francisco, primarily with Hemming Morse Inc., where he served as the managing partner from 1976 to his retirement in 1996. He was active in the Boy Scouts, during his youth in Oakland, where he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, and a generation later in Palo Alto, where he was an adult leader when his sons were in the organization. Following retirement, he was involved in volunteer work as treasurer for both the Oregon-California Trails Association and the USS Hamner Reunion Association. He also served as a docent for the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto. His many interests included genealogy,

resulting in the writing of two family histories. He played the guitar for over sixty years, often with friends in country music sessions. He was an avid sports fan who loyally followed the SF Giants and all Stanford teams. He also was a skilled gardener with plants and flowers. His most compelling interest was traveling the back roads of this country, in the early years with his family, and in later years with Nancy, following genealogy research, pioneer trails, and Americana in general. He is survived by his wife, Nancy Johnson Sicotte; his sons Steve (Francine) of Portland OR and Dan (Erin) of Walnut Creek CA; his five grandchildren, Megan and Tessa SicotteKelly, Kevin Stanley, Jeff and Rob Sicotte; his sister Marilyn Welland (John); and seven nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held on May 29, 2012, at 1:00 PM at the First Congregational Church, 1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in his memory to veterans’ organizations. PA I D

William Edward Walsh Page Age 71

OBITUARY

Edith Marie O’Neil February 4, 1923 – February 27, 2012

Former Palo Alto, CA resident, Bill Page passed away on May 3, 2012 at his home in Medford, OR. Bill was born August 2, 1940, in Larchmont, NY, to Eugene Page and Esther Walsh. As a young idealist, Bill entered the Maryknoll Catholic seminary to become a foreign missionary. He went to Bolivia and Mexico to study and work. While in Mexico he became disappointed with the Catholic Church and left the priesthood in 1969. After his departure, he hitchhiked throughout South America and then went to Los Angeles to teach English. His future wife joined him in Los Angeles, and he began med-school at the ripe age of 36 to uphold his passion for helping others and motivating people to lead healthy lives, of which his own life was a premier model. Bill spent 25 years practicing family medicine at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Upon retiring from PAMF, Bill worked as a locum tenens physician in the US and in New Zealand. His life is a true inspiration to his family, friends, and patients, and his character and humor are to be celebrated and emulated. Bill endured three chemo treatments for melanoma prior to recently moving to the Rogue Valley Manor in Medford. Bill is survived by his wife of 40 years, Maria Cristina, two daughters, Christine and Danielle, and his sons-in-law Will and Joe. A local memorial will be held Sunday, May 13, 2012 from 2-5pm, at the Lucie Stern Community Center Ballroom, 1305 Middleﬁeld Rd, Palo Alto. Please consider a donation towards the ‘Palo Alto Medical Foundation Pre-Medical Scholarship Fund’ which is awarded annually to local under-served students seeking to pursue medical careers. Donations may be sent to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation Ofﬁce of Philanthropy at 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto CA 94301. PA I D

Edith was a kind, strong and loving woman with a positive outlook on life. To the end she was more concerned for her family than for herself. She lived a long and happy life. Born on February 4, 1923 in Seattle, Washington, Edith was the treasured child of Irvin and Edith Clow. She was nicknamed “Dolly” and is still known as Dolly to her extended Washington State family. Edith Marie (Clow) O’Neil of Palo Alto, California, died peacefully, surrounded by her family on Monday, February 27, 2012 at the age of 89. Edith was an only child but grew up with many cousins who were like siblings to her. Summers were ﬁlled with trips to the farm in Quinault - sleeping in the hay, long family hikes in the woods and lots of laughter. She graduated from the University of Washington in 1945 with a degree in Home Economics. In the late 1940s, after the war and in keeping with her adventurous spirit, she sailed on her own to Honolulu, Hawaii. She found a job in the airline industry where she met Phil O’Neil who would become her husband for the next 60 years. Although Edith and Phil began their married life in Hawaii, they moved to Seattle in 1952. In 1954 they moved to Palo Alto where they would stay for the next 57 years. The Palo Alto home was a welcoming place of happiness, laughter and joy. Edith always had a project – mouse bookmarks, pillows, home made jams and preserves, dresses for her 4 daughters and the beautifully soft baby blankets which are cherished by everyone who received one. Christmas memories were made better with her hand made gifts.

Edith and Phil loved to travel. Along with trips to visit family in Chicago and Seattle they traveled by ship to Alaska, Hawaii and Central America. After retirement they drove across the county, taking several months to see all of the places they had dreamed about. However, the most important trips for them were to visit their grandchildren, which they did very often. They took their grandchildren to every park, the zoo, diners, and generally spoiled them. Edith was preceded in death by her husband, Philip J. O’Neil in 2011, and by her beloved youngest daughter, Eileen Kohler in 1999. She is survived by her daughters Betsy Elam and her husband Craig, Alice Olson and her husband Grant, Mary Childress and her husband John, and son-in-law, Peter Kohler; her grandchildren, Sean Elam and his wife Jennifer, Christopher Elam and his wife Kristy, Jane Childress, Ellie Childress, Meagan Olson and Laura Olson; her great-grandson Nathanial Elam and a second great-grandson due in the fall; many cousins, and many nieces and nephews. She was adored.

OBITUARY PA I D

OBITUARY

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 17

Editorial Simitian’s park-saving plan ‘Sustainable Parks’ proposal aims to stop closure of state parks

s he prepares to leave Sacramento due to term limits, State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) is hoping to leave one final legislative mark: saving as many California parks from closure as possible. As chair of the Senate budget subcommittee that oversees the park system, Simitian should be able to shepherd his proposal to the Senate floor before a July 1 deadline and hopefully obtain legislative approval and ultimately Governor Brown’s signature. A similar bill is being considered in the Assembly. Last May, as the state budget crisis worsened, it was estimated that 70 parks would have to close in 2012 and 2013 due to cuts in the state parks budget. Since then, nonprofit groups and local and federal agencies have been working feverishly to find other sources of funding to keep parks open and maintained, and as a result the number expected to close was reduced to 54 last month. But with these parks facing closure at the beginning of the next fiscal year, a flurry of legislative activity, including Simitian’s proposal, is being mounted in Sacramento to find a way to keep most of the 280 state parks operating. (Local parks currently on the closure list are Portola Redwoods State Park in La Honda and Castle Rock State Park near Saratoga.) Simitian, along with North Coast Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), are proposing that $20 million a year be allocated to the park system from two existing state funds: the Motor Vehicle Account, which funds road maintenance and law enforcement on public roads, and the Clean Water Loan Fund, which could be used for badly needed water and septic-system repairs. The state park system has historically operated entirely within its own appropriated budget and has never utilized these funds, but with a deferred maintenance backlog exceeding $1 billion, the Simitian-Evans proposal is attempting to create a more stable, longer-term financial strategy using existing special purpose funds that are separate from the annual state budget. Other provisions are no-brainers, such as limiting the liability of nonprofit organizations who step up to help maintain or operate parks and allowing more flexibility and entrepreneurism in operations. State park supporters have done an incredible job over the last year at rallying public support and creating partnerships with nonprofits in an attempt to reduce the impacts of the budget cutbacks. Simitian’s proposal will complement and reward those efforts by creating funding sources sufficient to keep open and eventually improve our treasured parks.

New grad requirements

fter more than a year of discussion and fine-tuning, the Palo Alto school board gave all but its final approval on Tuesday to an updated plan for phasing in graduation requirements that are in sync with what is required to attend state universities. Once the board takes its final vote on May 22, Palo Alto high schools would phase in over several years the UC/CSU entrance criteria as its standards for graduating from high school, a higher bar than is currently in place. The change would add two years of foreign language, increase from two years to three of math, including Algebra 2, and change the current two-year science requirement to include a laboratory science. About 80 percent of the high school graduates in Palo Alto already have been meeting these so-called A-G standards and will not be affected. The debate has centered around whether elevating the requirements will result in getting that number up closer to 100 percent, or simply cause more students to not graduate from high school. Key to the consensus that has developed for the plan is a system whereby special education and other students who are not bound for college will be able to craft individual alternative graduation requirements. Passage of the new requirements is an important step in improving Palo Alto’s relatively poor record of educating both minority students and economically disadvantaged students compared to other school districts in the state, and we commend Superintendent Kevin Skelly and the school board for bringing this important reform to fruition.

Page 18ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Help the homeless Editor, I was very disappointed Monday, May 7, that the Palo Alto City Council passed another ordinance that targets the homeless. Like these people don’t have enough problems! Councilman Schmid made a very good point: If people can’t leave their belongings in public space, where can they leave them? And his colleagues ignored this question completely. Some homeless, for instance, use the libraries. They have to leave their belongings outside and 30 minutes is not nearly enough time to use a public computer, which some do, or look for a book or whatever. This ordinance is just more discrimination against those who are poor in our affluent community, where few residents understand the situation of the homeless. And people cannot “remain” on public property once a performance at Lucie Stern has ended. But they can enter the same property afterward? What sense does this make? I’m disappointed that councilmen Burt and Schmid didn’t stick to their guns and the rest of the council didn’t seem to care about the people who would be affected by this ordinance. I urge the council to rescind this new ordinance at the next meeting. Natalie Fisher Ellsworth Place Palo Alto

Rail costs understated Editor, The latest California High-Speed Rail business plan (the one that projects $68 billion to build the system) claims that operating costs once the system is built will be 10 cents per passenger mile. A recent study by Alain Enthoven of Stanford (and others) surveys the operating costs of HSR systems around the world and comes up with an average of 43 cents per passenger mile. California HSR does not explain how they intend to operate the system at a cost that is one-fifth of the Japanese and German systems. Cold fusion? Anti-matter? Wormholes? We don’t know. The study claims that if the 43cents-per-mile figure is used the HSR system will require a yearly subsidy of as much as $9 billion — more than the state pays for the University of California system. But since operating subsidies are forbidden by the enabling legislation, the system will have to be shut down as soon as it is completed. We are about to build a $68 billion hiking trail, the greatest economic folly in history. David Lieberman Kingsley Avenue Palo Alto

This week on Town Square Town Square is an online discussion forum at www.PaloAltoOnline.com Posted May 7 at 6:17 p.m. by Two lanes are better than Four, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood: The judge dismissing the (California Avenue) challenge is great news. The opposing businesses haven’t made a clear and cogent case about how their opposition will help the neighborhood. Arguments like “how are my customers going to get their paint? ” make no sense when there won’t be reduced parking, those businesses already have rear entries, and parking and traffic won’t be significantly diminished when the traffic is already super low. Let construction begin. Posted May 9 at 8:06 a.m. by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood: I have no opinion as to whether gardeners, bowlers and athletes should be charged more realistic

rents for their use of city facilities. What I do find outrageous is that there is a suggestion that these groups should find their costs increased while at the same time there is no mention whatsoever in making those who use the Children’s Theatre pay anything for their use of city facilities. A family that has two or three children pays a lot to get them into soccer, baseball or other sports or arts programs. A family that has theatre instead of any other activity pays little or nothing for the privilege. Undoubtedly all these activities are good for children’s wellbeing, but the fact that some pay and some do not is not only unfair but discriminatory. Start charging Palo Alto Children’s Theatre families and stop the outpouring of city funds into a freebie program before trying to raise funds from other activities.

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

What do you think? What do you think of State Sen. Joe Simitian’s plan to stop closure of state parks? 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 Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Online Editor Tyler Hanley at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.

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

On Deadline:

Will transitional-kindergarten survive state budget revise? by Jay Thorwaldson potential revolutionary change in kindergarten faces a major budget test May 14 when California leaders hammer out a state “budget revise.” The proposed change is twofold. It would require that all regular kindergartners have birthdays prior to Sept. 1, and institute a new “transitional kindergarten” for fiveyear-olds born late in the year. But the “transitional” component is threatened by state budget cutbacks. The issue is rooted in Palo Alto, which as far back as the early 1960s recognized the challenge and in the mid-1970s created what is now the “Young Fives” program. Young Fives was copied by some other districts, but most fell victim to budget cuts. The current change in kindergarten age requirements originated in Palo Alto when two teachers — kindergarten teacher Diana Argenti and second-grade reading specialist Natalie Divas — approached state Sen. Joe Simitian (DPalo Alto) armed with petitions signed by 287 teacher colleagues. Simitian asked Divas why she as a secondgrade teacher was interested in kindergarten ages. Her reply surprised him. “I’m the one these kids ask for help in reading. They would be better served if they were emotionally and developmentally ready” for kindergarten, he recalls her saying. The broader teacher support was because the problems of the younger kids often linger through many grade levels, requiring extra attention and resources. Simitian then learned of the 25-year history in California of attempts to deal with the young-

fives dilemma. He says he learned how the agerelated handicaps stay with kids throughout their early education years, and sometimes beyond in terms of emotional scars and academic blocks. “Old timers” in Sacramento warned him that he’d never get a bill off the Senate floor. Simitian said he was as pleasantly surprised as anyone when the bill not only passed both the Senate and Assembly, with a dramatic pre-midnight vote in the Senate. It was signed as one of the final acts of then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who called it landmark legislation. “We’re fighting now to hang on to the program,” Simitian said, referring to the upcoming budget revise. Education subcommittees of both the Assembly and Senate have opposed the cut, and there is optimism that the transitional feature will soon be restored. Overall, the program is expected to be cost neutral due to savings in later remedial support. The change may seem small. It is simply a delay of three months in some 5-year-olds’ entry into a regular kindergarten by requiring the child to be born after Sept. 1, rather than the present Dec. 1. This is an issue that has been fought over for more than a quarter century, and until now every attempt to delay kindergarten for the “young fives” has failed. The big difference this time around is the notion of “transitional kindergarten,” known as “TK.” Rather than being “held back” — a dread fate that hits about 18 percent of kids in early grades — the youngsters will be enrolled in a transitional class keyed to their readiness in terms of social, emotional and even physical maturity. The extra three months is a “gift of time” for the younger child, one legislative staff aide observed. That gift becomes a boon to the child for all of their early years in school, according to teachers and officials who have worked to create the new state law, which takes effect this fall in a three-year phase-in. This year the cutoff

birth date will move from December to Nov. 1. In 2013 it will move to Oct. 1, and finally in 2014 to Sept. 1. Instead of being the “little kids” with fewer social skills and less emotional security, when the children do enter regular kindergarten they become class leaders as the older, more readyto-learn and socially adept kids. But Gov. Jerry Brown dropped the transitional concept from his state budget package while keeping the age-cutoff features, triggering consternation in school districts statewide — from officials to a quarter million parents of the approximately 125,000 children ultimately impacted. In addition to the academic-planning and developmental-readiness issues, school officials realize that if the younger kids are simply “held back” their already hard-pressed districts will lose another chunk of state funding based on daily attendance, estimated at about $700 million statewide. The transitional-kindergarten plan would keep those kids in school, either in separate classes or “combo” classes with regular-kindergarteners. Hence no budget hit for the districts, about half of which already face declining enrollments. It would be “unconscionable” to drop the transitional-kindergarten component, Simitian says. It was a key feature that won legislative approval of the plan, after all earlier attempts. So tune in May 14. In a longer view, there’s irony. A few decades back, academically concerned parents pushed for earlier learning of reading, math and other subjects. Thus today’s kindergarten classes are teaching things that older generations didn’t have to learn until first grade — and much of the social-adjustment emphasis of the 1950s (such as playing kickball during recesses) shifted to academic performance. But as the kinder-curriculum was elevated,

those not developmentally ready began to flounder. Historically, Palo Alto’s Young Fives program is a visionary footnote. It grew from a group of mothers of 16 boys who felt their youngsters weren’t ready for regular kindergarten but didn’t want them to repeat the program for 4-year-olds. The mothers met with Palo Alto teacher Eleanora Jadwin. Names from the deep past of Palo Alto education, such as pre-school readiness pioneer Besse Bolton and Betty Rogoway, surface in the preYoung Fives years. Bolton taught a similar class until 1962, when Rogoway took it on. In 1975, the Young Fives was created under the auspices of Pre-School Family and Palo Alto Adult Education. The growing program became an official part of the Palo Alto Unified School District in 1987, when a second Young Fives class was added. Jadwin taught the class until 1988. From its inception, the program was built on teachers and parents collaborating, with parents observing and writing about their children and sharing their insights at evening or lunchtime discussions. Sharon Keplinger, the current head of the Palo Alto school district’s child-development programs, observes how “very forward thinking” Jadwin and the mothers were in the mid-1970s, along with the vision of their predecessors. There are some differences between Young Fives, where time-consuming individual evaluations are done for each child, and TK, which links to birth dates in nearly all cases. Yet there seems to be a new awareness among many parents, even in high-achieving Palo Alto, that sometimes slowing down a bit can result in later, long-lasting rewards. N Former Weekly Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be reached at jthorwaldson@paweekly.com with a copy to jaythor@well.com.

Streetwise

What are your plans for Mother’s Day? Asked on Cambridge Avenue. Interviews and photographs by Bryce Druzin.

Matt Raddack

Full-time dad Grant Avenue, Palo Alto “(My daughter’s) grandfather is in town and we really want to take it easy and enjoy the weather.”

Hilary Boudet

Researcher College Avenue, Palo Alto “This is my first year as a mom so we don’t really have any traditions yet.”

Salim Shaikh

Full-time dad Menlo Park “I’m going to surprise (my wife). I took photos of her during her pregnancy and I’m going to frame a picture and give it to her.”

Ooshma Garg

Works at a start-up South Palo Alto “My mom lives in Dallas, Texas, so I won’t be able to be there. ... I’m trying to find out an innovative way to send her a meal because she nurtured me and I want to give back.”

Linda Raffel

Artist Santa Ynez Street, Stanford “We’re having a big Mother’s Day party at home ... with my sisters and nephews and my father, who’s 100 years old and started it all.”

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 19

Spectrum

Guest Opinion Former student makes case for teacher advisor counselors at Gunn by Trevor Bisset am writing to throw my support behind the implementation of a teacher advisor program at Gunn High School, and to encourage Palo Alto parents, teachers and students to attend the May 16 panel d i s c u s sio n sponsored by We Can Do Better Palo Alto on the merits of TA programs. This initiative comes as part of an ongoing push to address student stress in the Palo Alto school district, and to stop the persistent and tragic string of youth suicides that have plagued our community for the past decade. Students in Palo Alto are stressed out. They’ve been stressed for years. The school sits in the shadow of Stanford University, and students face crushing pressure from parents and the community at large to earn a spot at one of the nation’s top colleges. Many students are raised by executives at Facebook, Apple, Intel, Sun, Cisco, Google, and other premier companies and do their homework surrounded by some of the most successful self-made business leaders in the world. It’s a lot to live up to. Even the kids who aren’t driven to study engineering at Cal Tech spend their formative years in a society that can’t help but conflate academic performance with a sense of self-worth. The impact on students’ anxiety and confidence levels is undeniable, and the epidemic of student suicides in recent years is testament to the need to support these students. The 2010 report released by the Project Safety Net task force exploring potential sources of student stress places an enormous priority on students’ ability to form personal relationships with faculty. It gives them an anchor, someone to turn to for help, and reminds them that they are not invisible and lost in the crowd. Herein lies the value of a teacher advisor program. I attended Paly from 2001-2005 and lost friends to suicide in 2002 and 2003. This was before Facebook was available to complicate high school social lives to an unimaginable degree, and the national economic outlook was more encouraging than harrowing — people graduated from college and consistently found gainful employment. We were stressed out regardless. I was a typical burned out senior upon graduating, after charging through the typical varsity athletics, model government, AP courses, applying to elite colleges, and so on. Having a teacher advisor I could lean on for guidance was a critical support system for me, and though I felt overwhelmed every week, my TAs kept me from feeling lost. They helped us with field trip logistics. They guided us through class registration. They made sure we cov-

STANFORD STROKE CENTER

Committed to the highest standards of stroke care Providing multidisciplinary stroke care for 20 years, the Stanford Stroke Center has led the way in establishing community standards of care. Stanford is consistently recognized as a leader in stroke treatment and research, with a comprehensive center pioneering medical, surgical and interventional therapies for treating and preventing stroke. WARNING SIGNS OF A STROKE t Sudden

numbness or weakness in face, arm or leg (usually on one side)

t Sudden

trouble speaking or understanding others

t Sudden

trouble seeing out of one or both eyes

t Sudden,

severe headache with no apparent cause

t Sudden

dizziness, trouble walking, loss of balance or coordination (especially if associated with any of the above symptoms)

For any sign of stroke CALL 911

stanfordhospital.org/stroke 650.723.4448

HOSPITALS NATIONAL NEUROLOGY & NEUROSURGERY

2011 -12

Page 20ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

ered all our bases around graduation requirements. They got us into our PSATs and CAHSEEs. They helped us wrap our heads around writing college admission essays. This was all critical, and I don’t remember my monthly TA sessions having more than 20 or 25 kids for each faculty member, compared to the 300-plus students assigned to each of Gunn’s guidance counselors. More importantly, the TAs were able to keep track of the emotional state within each student, and if grades were suffering, or if we were suffering, they were there to ask us what was going on, and refer us to guidance counselors. That was tremendous. I never took the time to address my own depression issues until after high school, but I vividly remember how supported I felt simply by hearing the words, “Are you doing OK?” It was grounding, and it reminded me that somebody had my back through the daily pressures. When I reflect on how supportive my TAs were, Gunn’s lack of a TA program would be laughable if it didn’t cast a reminder of the grim circumstances that led us to this discussion. I know that resources are limited. I know that California’s school year shrinks with every budget cycle, and I know teachers are under pressure to condense more education into diminishing windows. But that doesn’t matter. Paly was able to pull 45 faculty members into an hour-long support session eight or nine times during the school year (I believe it was monthly), and it made an enormous difference in the lives of the students. It still does. The Gunn community should view TA programs as an investment in the success of the other 19 school days each month; if academic rankings are so important to the community, shouldn’t we make a minimal effort to ensure that kids are supported enough to absorb the material? More importantly, shouldn’t we make a maximum effort to ensure that our children feel more confident than hopeless? I would like to encourage everybody to attend “Learning About Counseling Changes for Gunn: How Teacher Advisors Can Better Support Our Kids” on May 16, 7 p.m., at St Mark’s Episcopal Church at 600 Colorado Ave. in Palo Alto. Denise Clark Pope, a senior lecturer at Stanford, will lead a panel discussion highlighting the merits of a teacher advisor program. I am grateful for the opportunity to share my own positive experience with the TA program, but this panel is a much stronger way to educate the community and rally support for the cause. We have a stress problem in the district. The school district is responding to collective action. Let’s continue the progress, and keep pushing for a teacher advisor program at Gunn. N Trevor Bisset, Paly ‘05, graduated from Pomona College in 2010 and is now a water resource analyst at the Indio Water Authority. He lives in Palm Desert.

*(& % , /#!", " ' !1' (%(!# (' (%(!#+, * * " %)+ ' %% ( +, ,*# # ' ' !1' (%(!#+, % *, #+ '# !1' (%(!# (' (%(!#+, ," *#' -," *% ' ( +, ,*# # ' ' !1' (%(!#+, ' ' 1 * &# * % ) *(+ ()# ' *( (,# + )*(!* & ((* #' ,(*

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

!** 1- 0#(%$2*% ! ./)-/)16 !..-),1+%,1 4)1( -,% -& -2/ %5.%/10 -/ 3)0)1 -2/ 4%"0)1% &-/ +-/% ),&-/+!1)-,

444 %*#!+),-(-0.)1!* -/' /-"-1&-/4-+%,

4- #!+.20%0 q /!,1 -!$ -2,1!), )%4 q -**!/$ -!$ -0 !1-0

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 21

Page 22ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 23

CLASS GUIDE Summer is here, and classes for kids and adults are available across the Midpeninsula. Want to beat the heat? Maybe it’s time to practice that breaststroke or finally take up ice-skating. Getting a leg up in school can be tough. Summer is a great time for an SAT or language class. All the classes listed below are local, so give one a shot! The Class Guide is published quarterly by The Almanac, The Palo Alto Weekly and the Mountain View Voice.

Business, Work and Technology

Uforia Studios 819 Ramona St., Palo Alto 650-329-8794 www.uforiastudios.com Uforia Studios specializes in dance (Zumba, hiphop, Bollywood, Hula Hooping), Strength and Sculpting (uDefine) and Spinning (uCycle). All fitness levels and abilities are welcome.

CareerGenerations 2225 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto 650-320-1639 info@CareerGenerations.com www.CareerGenerations.com CareerGenerations offers one-on-one and group sessions to meet specific career needs. CareerGenerations career coaches can help assess talents in the context of today’s marketplace, generate career options, improve resumes and social-media profiles, design a successful search plan, and skillfully network, interview and negotiate salaries. Contact CareerGenerations for a free initial consultation.

For the Dancer

Dance Connection 4000 Middlefield Road, L-5, Palo Alto Studio: 650-852-0418 Office: 650-322-7032 www.danceconnectionpaloalto.com info@danceconnectionpaloalto.com Dance Connection offers graded classes for preschool to adult with a variety of programs to meet every dancer’s needs. Ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, boys program, lyrical, pilates and combination classes are available for beginning to advanced levels.

Photo courtesy Silicon Valley Boychoir

Beaudoin’s School of Dance 464 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto 650-326-2184 www.Beaudoins-Studio.com Tap, ballet, ballroom and jazz dance classes available for children and adults. Special classes for preschoolers.

The Silicon Valley Boychoir trains boys in the art of choral singing with an emphasis on vocal coaching, music literacy and high artistic standards. DanceVisions 4000 Middlefield Road, L-3, Palo Alto 650-858-2005 www.dancevisions.org info@dancevisions.org

DanceVisions, a nonprofit community dance center, offers classes from age 3 to adult. Classes range from modern to hip-hop, lyrical, pilates, jazz, ballet, and contact improvisation, as well as providing a performance showcase.

Zohar School of Dance and Company 4000 Middlefield Road, L-4, Palo Alto 650-494-8221 www.zohardance.org zohardance@gmail.com Founded in 1979, Zohar is unique in that it offers classes to adults in jazz, ballet and modern dance. Under the direction of Ehud and Daynee Krauss, the studio is known for its professional instructors and inspiring classes.

The Great Outdoors Lucy Geever-Conroy, Flight Instructor for Advantage Aviation 1903 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto 650-493-5987 www.advantage-aviation.com/ Offering learn-to-fly seminars, private pilot ground school and flying lessons, along with free seminars for pilots.

Health & Fitness CMAC Swim School CMAC Aquatic Center, 3805 Magnolia Drive, Palo Alto 650-493-5355 www.c-mac.us CMAC Swim School offers lessons for babies,

THE BEST OF TWO WORLDS LEARNING IN GERMAN AND ENGLLISH MOUNTAIN VIEW, BERKELEY & SAN FRANCISCO

t )WXEFPMWLIH dual-immersion PERKYEKI TVSKVEQW +IVQER ERH )RKPMWL JVSQ TVIWGLSSP XS LMKL WGLSSP

NOW ENROLLING. CALL FOR SCHOOL TOURS!

t High-standard FMPMRKYEP IHYGEXMSREP GSRGITX XLEX JSWXIVW holistic and individual development t 7EJI ERH RYVXYVMRK PIEVRMRK IRZMVSRQIRXW EX three locations MR XLI 7ER *VERGMWGS &E] %VIE

Phone: 650 254 0748 | Web: www.gissv.org | Email: office@gissv.org Page 24ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Spanish Immersion Program Pre-K After School Preparation for kindergarten Summer & Soccer Camps 650-493-4300 1611 Stanford Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 www.amigosdepaloalto.com

Summer Class Guide youth and adults. Classes are a half hour long and each class contains three to four participants.

Kim Grant Tennis Academy 3005 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-752-8061 www.kimgranttennis.com The Kim Grant Tennis Academy offers tennis classes to minis (ages 3-5), beginner (ages 5-7), intermediate I and II, advanced and elite players. Palomo Archery 4022 Transport, Palo Alto 650-391-9968 www.palomoarchery.com palomoarchery@yahoo.com Palomo Archery offers classes for groups, parties, boy scout/school classes and private instruction. American Red Cross: Silicon Valley Chapter 400 Mitchell Lane, Palo Alto 1-877-727-6771 www.siliconvalley-redcross.org In a Red Cross First Aid class students learn CPR, choking rescue, bleeding control and treatment of burns, fractures, seizures and more. Adult CPR and First Aid Certificates. Locations in San Jose and Palo Alto Betty Wright Swim Center @ Abilities United 3864 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-494-1480 www.AbilitiesUnited.org/BWSCwelcome aquatics@AbilitiesUnited.org Improve health and wellness through aquatic exercise and therapy in the fully accessible, public, warm-water (93 degree), indoor pool. Classes include aqua aerobics, aqua arthritis, back basics, body conditioning, Aichi yoga and prenatal. Physical therapy, personal training, Watsu and land massage by appointment. Group and private swim lessons. Be Yoga 440 Kipling St., Palo Alto 650-906-9016 www.be-yoga.com info@be.yoga.com Friendly community yoga studio. Small class sizes, excellent instruction, reasonable prices. Also offered are workshops on ayurveda, reiki and meditation. California Yoga Center (Palo Alto) 541 Cowper St., Palo Alto 650-967-5702 www.californiayoga.com info@californiayoga.com The California Yoga Center offers classes for beginning to advanced students. With studios in Mountain View and Palo Alto, classes emphasize individual attention and cultivate strength, flexibility and relaxation. Ongoing yoga

classes are scheduled every day and include special classes such as prenatal, back care and pranayama. Weekend workshops explore a variety of yogarelated topics.

Studio Kicks 796A San Antonio Road, Palo Alto 650-855-9868 650-855-9869 (fax) www.studiokickspaloalto.com info@studiokickspaloalto.com Studio Kicks is a family fitness center offering high-energy cardio kickboxing classes and fun martial-arts training for kids 3 and 12 and up. Taught by owner/ instructor Richard Branden, six-time world champion and original stunt cast member for the “Power Rangers.” Taijiquan Tutelage of Palo Alto 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-327-9350 www.ttopa.com mjchan@ttopa.com Taijiquan Tutelage of Palo Alto. Established in 1973. Learn the classical Yang Chengfu style of Taijiquan (T’ai chi ch’uan). Beginning classes start monthly. Taoist Tai Chi Society of the USA 3391 Middlefield Road, YES Hall, Palo Alto www.california.usa.taoist.org 650-396-9244

paloalto.ca@taoist.org The Taoist Tai Chi Society of the USA offers classes designed to improve balance, strength and flexibility while promoting relaxation and good health. Beginner classes in Taoist Tai Chi internal art of Tai Chi Chuan are offered for all ages and fitness levels in Palo Alto. First class is free. A nonprofit organization with nationally accredited instructors.

ship costs, fees and class listing included on the website.

Language Courses German Language Class 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto 650-329-3752 www.paadultschool.org

adultschool@pausd.org Learn to speak, read, and write German, with an emphasis on conversation. Basic grammar and Germanic culture are also covered. The instructor, a college-credentialed teacher, lived and

(continued on next page)

Yoga at All Saints’ Episcopal Church 555 Waverley St., Palo Alto 650-322-4528 www.asaints.org Kundalini-style yoga, combining asana (physical poses), breathing exercises and meditation. Practice is best done on an empty stomach. Please bring a mat and blanket and wear comfortable, easy-to-move-in clothes. If floor work is difficult, exercises can be modified to be done in a chair. All ages. No registration necessary.

Just for Seniors Avenidas 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto 650-289-5400 www.avenidas.org Avenidas offers classes from balance, line dancing and back fitness to dementia caregiving and computer. Member-

C H I L D R E N ’ S H E A LT H C O U N C I L

650 Clark Way, Palo Alto, CA 94304 650.688.3605 | info@sandhillschool.org

w w w. s a n d h i l l s c h o o l . o r g

Summer Session 6 Weeks | 2 Sessions June 11–July 20 & July 2–Aug. 11 Units transfer to UCs, CSUs &

most private colleges Online or on campus

For young minds,

math | English | biology foreign language | histor y | chemistr y

one size doesn’t ﬁt all.

Apply Today!

Compassionate, skilled support for your child’s learning needs. s

Grades K-4

5:1 student/teacher ratio

Curriculum supports social-emotional and academic learning

Outstanding support from Children’s Health Council professionals

Schedule a ParentNight: Visit! Parent Information THURSDAYS MAR 29 & APR 18 6:30 -– 11:30 7:30 PM 10:30 AM Pre-register online! Sign up online!

/foothillcollege /foothillnews

FOOTHILL COLLEGE

YEAR-ROUND ENROLLMENT

Palo Alto Prep Palo Alto Prep is a unique private high school designed to help students succeed in every aspect of life. We believe that school should be enjoyable and every student experience the pride of personal and academic accomplishment.

TEACHING. LEARNING. CARING

Celebrating our 25th Year! Come tour our newley built campus Enroll now for Summer School and Fall 2012 Grades 8-12

2462 Wyandotte Street, Mountain View www.paloaltoprep.com 650.493.7071 ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 25

Summer Class Guide (continued from previous page) studied in Germany through Stanford, from where she later received a master’s degree.

International School of the Peninsula (ISTP)

151 Laura Lane, Palo Alto 650-251-8500 www.istp.org istp@istp.org ISTP offers extensive after-school language classes at its two Palo Alto locations. Classes offered in French, Mandarin and Spanish to preschool

21st Century Smart Nursery through High School

students (3 to 5 years old). Additional classes taught in Arabic, Farsi, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese and Russian for elementary and middle school students.

2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto 650-323-3363 www.anandapaloalto.org Ananda Palo Alto offers classes on meditation, chanting and yoga.

The Peninsula Parentsplace Koret Family Resource Center, 200 Channing Ave., Palo Alto 650-688-3040 www.parentsplaceonline.org /peninsula SandraSt@jfcs.org The Peninsula Parentsplace offers parenting classes on subjects ranging from strategies for managing picky eaters to making the switch from diapers.

Music, Arts and Crafts

Mind and Spirit Ananda Palo Alto

Sur La Table Cooking School 855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (650) 289-0438 Cooking073@surlatable.com www.surlatable.com/ (Go to “cooking classes” navigation bar, and search “Palo Alto”) Classes are two to two and and half hours long. Recipes and tasting-sized portions will be provided in the class. Sur La Table offers hands-on classes, demonstration-only classes, and classes for kids and teens.

Since 1984

Los Altos & Mountain View waldorfpeninsula.org

SHAPING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW

Private Preschool through 8th Grade 30 years of academic excellence in a family friendly environment Return to Biblical principles Small student-teacher ratios LIMITED -* Competitive tuition rates ÜÜÜ° -°V ÊUÊ,-6*\Ê >- >° i>À`J >VÃ°V ÈÓxÊ >}`> i >Ê Ûi Õi]Ê ÃÊ Ì ÃÊUÊÈxä° {n°ÎÇÎn

Page 26ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

The Silicon Valley Boychoir 600 Homer Ave., Palo Alto 650-424-1242 www.svboychoir.org The Silicon Valley Boychoir rehearses in downtown Palo Alto and trains boys in the art of choral singing with an emphasis on vocal coaching, music literacy, and high artistic standards. The multilevel choir for boys in grades 1-8 is expanding next fall and adding additional levels. Auditions are June 4 (see ad). Art for Well Beings 2460 Park Blvd. #3, Palo Alto 650-776-8297 artforwellbeings.org me@judyg.com Art for Well Beings (AFWB) offers art classes especially welcoming people with special needs. AFWB is open to the public. Drop-in or sessions are available. All materials provided. Art with Emily 402 El Verano Ave., Palo Alto 650-856-9571 www.artwithemily.com emilyjeanyoung@gmail.com Emily Young teaches mixed-media, multi-cultural art lessons for children at her fully equipped studio in Palo Alto. Semi-private and private lessons available. Art Works Studio 595 Lincoln Ave., Palo Alto 650-796-1614 www.artworkspaloalto.net artworkspaloalto@gmail.com Art Works Studio offers a variety of fine-art classes for kids, as well as summer camps. Lingling Yang Violin Studio Palo Alto 650-456-7648

Summer Class Guide linglingviolin.blogspot.com linglingy@gmail.com Offers private violin instruction for children 7 and up and adults of all levels. Year-round enrollment. Audition required for intermediate and advanced violin players. Taught by classically trained violinist and very experienced violin teacher. Her students include award winners at violin competitions and members of PACO, CYS and ECYS.

Manzana Music School Palo Alto 650-799-7807 www.manzanamusicschool.com ManzanaMusicSchool@yahoo.com Private and group lessons for children and adults on guitar, violin, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, vocal, arranging and music theory. Midpeninsula Community Media Center 900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto 650-494-8686 www.communitymediacenter.net info@midpenmedia.org The Media Center offers classes every month in a wide range of media arts, including publishing media on the Web, podcasting, digital editing, field production, TV studio production, Photoshop for photographers, citizen journalism and autobiographical digital stories. One-on-one tutoring is also available. Biweekly free orientation sessions and tours. Music with Toby Palo Alto 415-513-3158 www.musicwithtoby.com Toby Branz offers private voice and violin lessons in Palo Alto and San Francisco. She received her masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 2010 and a postgraduate diploma in 2011. New Mozart School of Music 305 N. California Ave., Palo Alto 650-324-2373 www.newmozartschool.com info@newmozartschool.com New Mozart provides private lessons on all instruments for all ages and early-childhood music classes for children 2-7 years of age. Opus1 Music Studio 2800 W. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto 650-625-9955 musicopus1.com musicopus1@gmail.com Opus1 Music Studio is offering private and group music lessons for all kinds of instruments to ages 2 and up. Beginners to advanced level. Pacific Art League 668 Ramona St., Palo Alto 650-321-3891 www.pacificartleague.org frontdesk@pacificartleague.org Art classes and workshops by qualified, experienced instructors for students from beginners to advanced and even non-artists. Classes in collage, oil painting, portraits and sketching, life drawing, acrylic or watercolor and brush painting. Sculpture. Registration is ongoing. Palo Alto Art Center 1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto 650-329-2366 www.cityofpaloalto.org/enjoy lynn.stewart@cityofpaloalto.org Classes and workshops for children and adults in ceramics, painting, drawing, jewelry, book arts, printmaking, collage and more.

School Days Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;enna Preschool at the Oshman Family JCC 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto

650-223-8788 earlychildhood@paloaltojcc.org www.paloaltojcc.org/tenna Play-based approach develops skills and a love of learning. Two, three and five day per week options for 18 months to five years with emphasis placed on experiential learning, family involvement, values and fun in two beautiful locations.

Amigos de Palo Alto 1611 Stanford Ave., Palo Alto 650-493-4300 www.amigosdepaloalto.com Amigos de Palo Alto is a full Spanishimmersion preschool. Offering parents a safe environment where they may leave their children, both for childcare and to begin learning from bilingual instructors how to speak and learn Spanish the same way their native language was learned â&#x20AC;&#x201D; naturally. Preschool sessions are offered Mon.-Fri. (1-4:30 p.m.); Mon., Wed. and Fri. (8:30 a.m.11:45 p.m. or 1-4:30 p.m.); and Tue.Thu. (8:30 a.m.-11:45 p.m. or 1-4:30 p.m.). International School of the Peninsula Cohn Campus (grades 1-8): 151 Laura Lane, Palo Alto Cooper Campus (nursery): 3233 Cowper St., Palo Alto 650-251-8500 www.istp.org istp@istp.org After-school programs for preschool, elementary- and middle-school students. Classes include French cooking, Asian cooking, chess, science, robotics, Chinese dance, art and craft, watercolor, gymnastics, soccer and multi-sports. Milestones Preschool 3864 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-618-3325 www.milestonespreschool.org preschool@AbilitiesUnited.org Milestones Preschool, a developmental program, provides children aged 2-5 years a fun and educational environment that promotes their development of the social skills, independent thinking, intellectual growth, and positive self-image they need to succeed in kindergarten and later in life. NAEYC accredited. State of California License 434407984. Sand Hill School 650 Clark Way, Palo Alto 650-688-3605 www.sandhillschool.org info@sandhillschool.org For young minds, one size doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fit all. At Sand Hill School, find what fits best for each child. At Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Council. Grades K-4. 6:1 student/teacher ratio. Sora International Preschool 701 E. Meadow Drive, Palo Alto 650-493-7672 www.SoraPreschool.com Sora International Preschool is an English-Japanese bilingual preschool. Soraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to help families that are raising bilingual children as well as those that want their children to begin a second language at an early age.

Something for Everyone Palo Alto Adult School 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto 650-329-3752 650-329-8515 (fax) adultschool@pausd.org www.paadultschool.org Hands-on computer, language, test preparation, writing, bird identification, investment, hiking, yoga and certificate courses available. Hundreds of online classes are offered by the Palo Alto Adult School in conjunction with Education to Go.

Does your boy love to sing? The Class Guide is published quarterly in the Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice and Menlo Park Almanac. Descriptions of classes offered in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford, Atherton, Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto and beyond are provided. Listings are free and subject to editing. Due to space constraints, classes held in the above cities are given priority. The fall Class Guide will publish on August 1-3, 2012, with deadlines approximately two weeks prior. To inquire about placing a listing in the class guide, email Editorial Assistant Eric Van Susteren at evansusteren@ paweekly.com or call 650-223-6515.To place a paid advertisement in the Class Guide call our display advertising department at 650-326-8210.

Vocal Training â&#x20AC;˘ Music Literacy â&#x20AC;˘ Artistic Achievement

Auditions for the Fall 2012-13 season Multi-level choir in Palo Alto for boys 1st-6th grades By appointment â&#x20AC;˘ Monday, June 4, 2012 650-424-1242 or email: info@svboychoir.org www.svboychoir.org

Advertiser Directory 888 Monkeys (page 27) Amigos de Palo Alto (page 24) Foothill College (page 25) German International School of Silicon Valley (page 24) Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School page (27) Sand Hill School (page 25) Los Altos Christian School (page 26) Lydian Academy (page 26) Palo Alto Preparatory (page 25) Silicon Valley Boy Choir (page 27)

Our Preschool is an English-Japanese bilingual preschool. We provide children a great leaning experience in a warm, cheerful, and friendly environment. Our mission is to help families who are raising bilingual children as well as those who want their children to begin a second language at an early age.

Sora International Preschool (page 27)

701 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto (650)-493-7672 www.SoraPreschool.com

Waldorf School (page 26)

*LGHRQ +DXVQHU -HZLVK 'D\ 6FKRRO ,QVSLULQJ 0LQGV &UHDWLQJ &RPPXQLW\

Circus Camp

&RPH VHH ZKDW HYHU\RQH LV WDONLQJ DERXW Â&#x2021; Â&#x2021; Â&#x2021; Â&#x2021; Â&#x2021; Â&#x2021;

.LQGHUJDUWHQ WK *UDGH ([FHOOHQW $FDGHPLFV 'HGLFDWHG DQG &DULQJ )DFXOW\ 6WDWH RI WKH $UW )DFLOLWLHV 0XVLF $UWV DQG $WKOHWLFV $IWHU 6FKRRO 3URJUDPV

6FKHGXOH \RXU SHUVRQDO WRXU WRGD\ $LOHHQ 0LWFKQHU 'LUHFWRU RI $GPLVVLRQ H[W RU DPLWFKQHU#KDXVQHU FRP 6DQ $QWRQLR 5RDG 3DOR $OWR &$ Â&#x2021; ZZZ KDXVQHU FRP &$,6 DQG :$6& $FFUHGLWHG Â&#x2021; &RQÂżGHQWLDO 6FKRODUVKLSV $YDLODEOH

Give blood for life! Sessions @ Terman Middle School July 16-27 655 Arastr ! & #

b l o o d c e n t e r. s t a n f o r d . e d u Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°*>Â?Â&#x153; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;"Â&#x2DC;Â?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;iÂ°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; >Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;ÂŁÂŁ]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x160;U Page 27

Cover Story

June’s primary is a whole new ballgame hen voters go to the polls June 5, they’ll be voting in a primary election unlike any in recent history. For one thing, boundaries have been redrawn for state and U.S. Congressional districts, significantly changing the constituent base for elected representatives. What’s more, thanks to the California electorate’s approval of Proposition 14 in 2010, voters no longer have to cast ballots along party lines in a dozen primary races — for U.S. Congress, state Legislature and top state officials. Instead, all candidates are eligible to receive a voter’s endorsement; the top two vote-getters per race will face a run-off in November’s general election. This year, Proposition 14 affects the bids for U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and state Senate and Assembly.

With voting districts redrawn, races heat up for state Legislature

(

ELECT O N ( 12 (2 0 Two Democrats with experience in the state Assembly, incumbent Jerry Hill and former Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, are competing for the newly redrawn state Senate District 13, along with Democratic teacher Christopher Chiang and Libertarian John Webster. And in the Assembly, one-term Democratic incumbent Rich Gordon is being challenged by Republican Chengzhi “George” Yang, a software engineer; Democratic business owner Geby Espinosa; and Joseph Antonelli Rosas, a network security adviser who declared no party affiliation.

Santa Clara County is also electing a new supervisor and asking voters to weigh in on Measure A, which determines the government branch in control of the county jail. Those vying to be on the Board of Supervisors are termed-out state Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto), two-time Cupertino Mayor Kris Huyilan Wang and Cupertino City Councilman Barry Chang. Also on the ballot, though not included in this voters’ guide, are two open Superior Court judgeships. Five attorneys are seeking election in those two races. Ballots were mailed this week to absentee voters. This year, a new “drive-through” drop off will be available in some areas of the county for returning mail-in ballots, according to Registrar of Voters spokeswoman Elma Rosas. N

Competition heats up in race for new state Senate district Four-way bid for Joe Simitian’s seat includes political veterans Jerry Hill and Sally Lieber by Gennady Sheyner

o the average Peninsula voter, Brisbane and Sunnyvale have little in common. The former is a small, industrial suburb on San Francisco’s doorstep, the latter a high-tech hub in the heart of Silicon Valley. But to state Assemblyman Jerry Hill, the two municipalities are facing many of the same issues, including concerns over Caltrain’s survival, open-space preservation, high-tech jobs and airport noise. Hill, a two-term Assemblyman whose 19th District includes most of San Mateo County (including Brisbane), this June finds himself in a four-way race to replace state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, in the newly redrawn District 13. If he were to win, his constituency would encapsulate much of his existing district in San Mateo County and the northern part of Santa Clara County, including Palo Alto and Mountain View. Hill’s most formidable opponent, former three-term state Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, is approaching the race from the other side, both geographically and politically. While Hill touts his ability to find the middle ground and get along with a wide spectrum of constituents (his website includes a list of roughly 400 endorsements), Lieber embraces her image as a firebrand who fights for the needy and the disenfranchised. “I’ve never been the favored candidate of the powers that be,” she proudly proclaimed at a recent interview. Also on the ballot are Christopher

Chiang, a reform-minded schoolteacher from Mountain View, and John Webster, a Libertarian crusading against what he calls the “darker side of democracy.” Each is running on a shoestring budget of about $1,000 and is concerned as much with shifting the conversation as winning the race. The district they seek to represent looks nothing like the one Simitian took over eight years ago, when he replaced another Palo Altan, Byron

‘I believe we need to make serious cuts to the kinds of commitments we’re making to adults.’ —Christopher Chiang, teacher Sher, in the Senate. The prior district — a rabbit-shaped blob with jagged contours that hint at decades of politically driven chiseling — was overhauled last year. The nonpartisan California Citizens Redistricting Commission took a rolling pin to District 11 and smoothed it into a parallelogram stretching from Brisbane to Sunnyvale. The new District 13 occupies much of Simitian’s old District 11, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Atherton. Now, these cities will be sharing representation with most of San Mateo County and the cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale.

Page 28ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

The district’s changing borders and increasing girth shifts power away from Palo Alto. All four candidates live outside the old District 11 boundaries and would have been ineligible to run for Simitian’s seat. Hill was born in San Francisco and learned the political ropes in San Mateo, where he followed the traditional trajectory from community leader to councilman to Assemblyman. His three opponents are all from Mountain View, a city that until now has been represented by Democrat Elaine Alquist. With San Mateo County claiming the lion’s share of the new District 13, each is at a geographical disadvantage against Hill, though Lieber claims she has name recognition throughout the district. When the election dust settles, Palo Alto residents will not have a homegrown representative in their Senate district for the first time in 16 years. Both Hill and Lieber are Democrats with strong environmentalist credentials, but they also have profound differences. Hill’s record includes bills supporting green technology, strengthening consumer protection and beefing up regulation for utilities. Lieber has focused on social services and protection for the disenfranchised, whether they be pregnant convicts or people who are homeless. If elected, Lieber said she would seek as one of her first legislative proposals a bill that would increase the amount of food al(continued on page 30)

Christopher Chiang

Jerry Hill

Sally Lieber

John Webster

Cover Story

Three challenge Rich Gordon in Assembly race New open-primary rules will send top two June vote-getters to November run off by Renee Batti

s Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, asks District 24 residents to return him to the state Assembly for another two years, three challengers with no experience in elective politics are telling voters they can do a better job representing their interests in Sacramento. It’s a near certainty that Gordon, a first-term incumbent assemblyman and former three-term San Mateo County supervisor with wide name recognition, will be the top votegetter in the June primary. But even so, under California’s open primary rules, one of the three challengers will also win a spot on the November ballot. On the June 5 ballot in addition to Gordon are Chengzhi “George” Yang, 35, of Menlo Park, a Republican and a software engineer; Joseph Antonelli Rosas, 22, of Sunnyvale, a network-security adviser who has no party affiliation; and Geby Espinosa, 47, of Mountain View, a Democrat and a small business owner. Gordon, 63, now represents District 21, which includes Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto and Palo Alto. But with redistricting of the state, finalized last August, the same area has become part of District 24 as of this election. The district has been reshaped to encompass areas including Mountain View, Sunnyvale, and most of the San Mateo County coastside from El Granada south.

Rich Gordon Asked why voters should return him to Sacramento, Gordon cites his effectiveness during the year and a half he has served. In the last year, he said, 15 of the 19 bills he sponsored have been signed into law. “That’s the highest percentage in the Legislature,” he said, adding that many of the bills achieved bipartisan support. He singled out two of those bills as examples of his record: One aims to create more plastic bottle remanufacturing — and related jobs — in the state through financial incentives; another allows Los Altos nonprofit Midpeninsula Open Space

(

ELECT O N ( 12 (2 0 District to repay promissory notes over 30 years, up from 20 years, which has allowed it to restructure its bond package “for a huge savings this year,” he said. Gordon said that funding for the financial incentives for plastic remanufacturing already exists through the program that charges consumers 5 cents per plastic bottle at the time of purchase. With the incentive program, at least one new plastic remanufacturing plant has opened in Riverside, with 120 new jobs, and more are likely to appear, he said. The program allows businesses in the state to compete with China, where most plastic bottles are now remanufactured then shipped back to the United States, he said. Gordon wants to continue working on key issues he has focused on since arriving in December 2010: government reform to fix the dysfunction of the Legislature; and the state’s fiscal health. “We’ve got to make sure that what should be our No. 1 priority — education — gets the funding it deserves.”

Geby Espinosa Entering the race with no civic or political experience, Espinosa said she’s running for the Assembly seat because she’s concerned about the poor economy and the number of bankruptcies in the state. She said she wants to work to improve government and society in the areas of education, the right to work, term limits for the U.S. Congress and the economy. Her platform also includes support for “the right to bear arms,” she said. One remedy for the economy: “Let the farmers grow hemp,” she said. “From hemp, we can get the taxes and create jobs. California becomes a leader in the nation.” Espinosa is co-owner of The Con-

tenders Gym in Mountain View.

Joseph Antonelli Rosas Education and “getting the money out of politics” are Rosas’ top priorities, he said. If elected, he would push for increasing funding for the University of California and California State University systems by $500 million each, increase community college funding by $200 million, and increase K-12 school funding by $6.1 billion. “I will also ensure that this money goes to the students,” he said. “I will propose that we cap school officials’ salaries.” To pay for these measures, he would ask voters to approve income tax increases of 1 percent to 3 percent on families with incomes above $500,000. Another proposal: Require the annual reassessment of non-residential property for tax purposes and eliminate the current loopholes allowing businesses to sell property without triggering a reassessment. Regarding his other priority, Rosas said: “Money has an undue influence on our political system. Not only do campaign contributions influence politicians, but all the spending on advertising for ballot measures corrupts that system as well.” Rosas’ civic experience includes being a youth leader in Peninsula Interfaith Action; leadership in local California Common Cause and Democracy Matters citizens groups; and participating in the Occupy San Jose movement. Yang said he’s running for the Assembly seat because, “as a father of two kids, I want them to inherit from us a California where the schools excel, UCs are affordable and the state budget is stable.” Listing education and the state budget as the top two issues he would work on if elected, he said: “We should focus on fostering a desire to learn in our students. To that end, we must be willing to explore using new technologies, new systems, as well as new methods in

Chang, Wang have experience, but Simitian’s the 800-pound gorilla by Chris Kenrick

ible records in local elected office. But neither Chang nor Wang approaches the widespread name recognition enjoyed by the 59-year-old Simitian, gained over three decades in elected office, beginning with the Palo Alto Board of Education and moving through the Palo Alto City Council, county Board of Supervisors, California Assembly and California Senate.

Geby Espinosa

Joseph Antonelli Rosas

Chengzhi “George” Yang

Three elected officials vie for 5th District supervisor seat alifornia State Sen. Joe Simitian is the 800-pound gorilla in this November’s three-way race to represent northern Santa Clara County on the Board of Supervisors. The two other candidates for the board’s 5th District seat — twotime Cupertino Mayor Kris Huyilan Wang and Cupertino City Councilman Barry Chang — also have cred-

Rich Gordon

Termed out of the Senate this year, Simitian is circling back to seek for the second time a seat on the county board, where current Supervisor Liz Kniss will be termed out and is herself circling back to vie for a spot on the Palo Alto City Council. Such are the effects of term limits on the local political landscape. A run for Congress would be a logical next step for Simitian, but

teaching.” Regarding the state budget, he said: “We must stop the boom-andbust cycles of state budgeting. One way to achieve it is to tie compensation of public servants to (the) median salary factored by the unemployment rate so state spending will rise and fall with economic cycles.

“It will also give public servants a financial incentive to serve the interest of the public.” Yang’s prior civic experience was as chair of the San Bruno Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. N Almanac News Editor Renee Batti can be emailed at rbatti@ almanacnews.com.

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, a close friend of Simitian’s first elected to Congress in 1992, announced in August she will seek re-election this year. Congress is not subject to term limits, which were imposed on the state Legislature by California voters in 1990. Chang, who holds a master’s in civil engineering from the University of Cincinnati, is a Realtor. He was elected to the Cupertino Union School District Board of Education in 1995 and re-elected in 1999. He served four years on the Cupertino Public Safety Commission and was elected to the City Council in 2009. His long-running, outspoken crusade against the 73-year-old Lehigh Permanente quarry and cement plant led to a public chastising by

County Executive Jeffrey Smith last spring over his behavior at two public meetings. Wang, who has a background in statistics, computer science and business, worked for local companies HP, Sun Microsystems, Visa and Portal Software before entering public service around 2003. She was elected to the Cupertino City Council in 2003 and re-elected in 2007 and has served on an array of commissions, including the Santa Clara County Parks & Recreation Commission, the Santa Clara County Recycling Waste & Reduction Commission, the Santa Clara County Cities Association and the Environmental Quality Policy Com(continued on page 32)

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 29

Cover Story

Palo Alto Uniﬁed School District

Measure A resolves questions over control of jail

Notice is hereby Given that bids will be received by the Palo Alto Unified School District for bid package: PAUSD Uninterruptible Power Supply Equipment Purchase Contract No. 12-P-05-E DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK: The work includes, but is not limited to: Supply Uninterruptible Power Supplies to augment current equipment. Bidding documents contain the full description of the work. All requests must include the Bid # 12-P-05-E, PAUSD Uninterruptible Power Supply Equipment Purchase. There will be a mandatory pre-bid conference at 2:00 P.M. on May 15, 2012 at the Palo Alto Unified School District, 25 Churchill Ave, Palo Alto, California 94306. Bid Submission: Bids must be received at the District Purchasing Office, Attn: Denise Buschke by 3:00 p.m., PTD on Monday June 4, 2012. Bidders may request Bidding Documents Via email: dbuschke@pausd.org. or, at the District Office, Business Services Department, 25 Churchill Ave Palo Alto, CA 94306. Please call Denise Buschke @ 650-329-3802 to schedule appointment. All questions can be addressed to: Palo Alto Unified School District 25 Churchill Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94306-1099 Attn: Denise Buschke Phone: (650) 329-3802 Fax: (650) 329-3803

Palo Alto Unified School District Notice is hereby Given that proposals will be received by the Palo Alto Unified School District for bid package: Contract No. DMM7-12R DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK: The work includes, but is not limited to: Portable relocation and installation of seven portable classrooms including but not limited to site work, site utilities and interior fit out. Bidding documents contain the full description of the work. There will be a mandatory pre-bid conference and site visit at 2:00 p.m. on May 23, 2012 at the Duveneck Elementary School, 705 Alester Ave. Palo Alto, California, 94303. Bid Submission: Proposals must be received at the District Facilities Office Building D, by 12:30 p.m. on June 4, 2012.

No argument against measure has been filed by Daniel DeBolt

ounty officials hope voters approve Measure A on June 5, as it would resolve a legal quandary over a restructuring of the county’s jails two years ago. In 2010 the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors transferred control of much of the county’s jail system to the county sheriff in a restructuring that has saved $7 million a year. Opponents of that decision, including Supervisor Liz Kniss and the Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers Association, said the move violated a 1988 amendment to the county charter and therefore needed a public vote. After two lawsuits claiming the board’s 2010 decision was illegal, including one from the correctional officers association, the board is finally requesting that public vote. Measure A would confirm the 2010 restructuring and give county supervisors the leeway to make such restructuring moves in the future. Measure A asks voters to “reaffirm the recent restructuring, ensure compliance with the law, and clarify and broaden the Board of Supervisors’ discretion in determining how to most efficiently operate the county jails” says the argument for it, signed by all five county supervisors. “I firmly support Measure A,” said Kniss, whose district includes Mountain View and Palo Alto. “When the proposal was made to

move the Department of Corrections under the jurisdiction of the sheriff, I voted against it. I believed then as I do now that only the voters can reverse the arrangements they put into place when the Department of Corrections was made a separate department in 1988.”

Measure

Shortly after the 2010 restructuring, San Jose lawyer James McManis sued the county “to make sure the county followed the law like the rest of us.” “We got exactly what the lawsuit is designed to get,” McManis said. “The supervisors are doing what they should have done a long time ago, which is putting it to a vote of the people.” McManis said he agreed to drop the lawsuit when the measure was proposed. County Counsel Miguel Marquez reportedly told the Board of Supervisors that the 2010 restructuring would stand up to a lawsuit because the Department of Correction would still run the jails, but “in cooperation” and “in conjunction” with the sheriff.

But Kniss and others say the Santa Clara County Sheriff is now the one really in charge of the county’s jails. That conflicts with a 1988 county charter amendment that created the Department of Corrections to run the county jails, and put a chief of corrections in charge. “When you are dealing with the law there’s different ways things can be interpreted,” said Gary Graves, chief operating officer of Santa Clara County. “We believe what we implemented two years ago was consistent with the charter.” “The jail was not given to the sheriff to run,” Graves added. McManis disagreed. “The people at the county are very clever people,” McManis said. “The county charter adopted by the voters required the director of corrections to operate the jails. The county tried to get around that by taking all the functions from the director of corrections and transferring them to the sheriff. Except they left the director in charge of a couple trivial assignments and said he is still in charge of the jails. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see through that.” No opposition to Measure A has emerged and no ballot argument against it was filed. N Mountain View Voice staff writer Daniel DeBolt can be emailed at ddebolt@mv-voice. com.

PREVAILING WAGE LAWS: The successful Bidder must comply with all prevailing wage laws applicable to the Project, and related requirements contained in the Contract Documents. Palo Alto Unified School District will maintain a Labor Compliance Program (LCP) for the duration of this project. In bidding this project, the contractor warrants he/she is aware and will follow the Public Works Chapter of the California Labor Code comprised of labor code sections 1720 – 1861. A copy of the Districts LCP is available for review at 25 Churchill Avenue, Building D, Palo Alto, CA 94306. 1. A pre-job conference shall be conducted with the contractor or subcontractors to discuss federal and state labor law requirements applicable to the contract. 2. Project contractors and subcontracts shall maintain and furnish to the District, at a designated time, a certified copy of each payroll with a statement of compliance signed under penalty of perjury. 3. The District shall review and, if appropriate, audit payroll records to verify compliance with the Public Works Chapter of the Labor Code. 4. The District shall withhold contract payments if payroll records are delinquent or inadequate. 5. The District shall withhold contract payments as described in the LCP, including applicable penalties when the District and Labor Commissioner establish that underpayment of other violations has occurred. Bidders may examine Bidding Documents at Facilities Office, Building “D”. Bidders may purchase copies of Plans and Specifications at ARC, 1100 Industrial Rd. Unit 13, San Carlos, CA 94070, Phone Number (650) 517-1895 All questions can be addressed to: Palo Alto Unified School District 25 Churchill Avenue, Building D Palo Alto, CA 94306-1099 Attn: Lori Alvarez Phone: (650) 329-3927 Fax: (650) 327-3588

Page 30ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Senate

(continued from page 28)

lotted to pregnant state prisoners. Though Hill emphasizes his roots as a community leader and a smallbusiness owner, in this race he is in many ways the establishment’s choice. His endorsement list includes a raft of mayors and council members (including seven of nine Palo Alto council members, with Karen Holman and Gail Price the only exceptions), the Association of California State Supervisors, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and the California Labor Federation. He has also received contributions from an array of pharmaceutical, biotech and health care companies, including Genentech, Eli Lilly and the California Association of Health Facilities. While Lieber said she would never seek an endorsement from pharmaceutical lobbyists, Hill asserts that his long list of supporters is proof of his ability to find the middle ground. He also rejects any implication that money could sway his votes. The prime example for him is PG&E, which in the past contributed to his campaign.

That hasn’t kept Hill from becoming one of the company’s toughest critics in the Legislature. Hill toured the San Bruno neighborhood devastated by the gas explosion on the morning after and was deeply moved by what he saw. His legislative priorities immediately changed, he said.

‘They were quick to speak out of both sides of their mouths, and I’ve been calling them out on it at every chance.’ —Jerry Hill, Assemblyman “Cars that were blocks away were melted,” Hill said. “To see the destruction and the smoke that was still coming from homes and the eight lives that were lost — it personalized it for me.” Since the explosion, Hill has consistently criticized PG&E for its “complacent culture.” His recent bills include one that requires PG&E to have remote-controlled shut-off valves in

dense urban areas and another one that exempts victims of the gas explosion from taxes on money they receive from PG&E. “Some of the legislation has been problematic for the utilities,” Hill said. “They were quick to speak out of both sides of their mouths, and I’ve been calling them out on it at every chance.” In a recent interview, Hill offered other examples in which he has taken on big-moneyed interests and stuck up for his constituents. He pointed to his time on the San Mateo City Council, when he helped establish one of the state’s first anti-smoking ordinances. More recently, he has led efforts to squash San Francisco’s proposals to institute highway tolls and to restrict hiring for public-works projects to city residents — positions that earned him major kudos from his Assembly district just south of the city. Hill’s endorsements and accomplishments don’t faze Lieber, who relishes her familiar role as an underdog. While Hill’s campaign has been outspending Lieber’s according to campaign-finance records, she still has about $200,000 in the bank, com(continued on next page)

Cover Story (continued from previous page)

toward acquiring the $68.5 billion needed to pay for the system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been extremely critical (of the high-speed-rail project), and I will continue to be so,â&#x20AC;? Hill said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I do appreciate the governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new appointments and the direction the authority is going. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no bait-and-switch here.â&#x20AC;? Lieber said she is interested in exploring ways to use regional train funds that are part of the high-speedrail project to improve Caltrain from San Francisco to Gilroy (a recent regional agreement between the California High-Speed Rail Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation

ELECT

(

pared to $150,000 in Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campaign ( 12 20 chest. In addition to the $100,000 Lieber pumped into her own campaign, she has also received contributions ports raising the training requirements from an assortment of attorneys, retirfor teachers and getting away from the ees and environmentalists from both existing policy of measuring studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. reading and math skills in favor of a Lieber vowed in a recent interview more â&#x20AC;&#x153;holisticâ&#x20AC;? testing for students. He that if elected, she would continue to also said he wants to end Sacramentoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look out for the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most needy resiâ&#x20AC;&#x153;micromanagementâ&#x20AC;? of education poldents. As part of a practice she calls icies and to give teachers more power â&#x20AC;&#x153;experiential politics,â&#x20AC;? Lieber once to set classroom agendas. spent three days on the streets of San Chiang said one of his chief goals Jose with a little bag containing $2 is to get the Legislature to devote in change. She said it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t take her more money to pre-kindergarten long to get booted education â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an from a bagel shop investment that for appearing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Unfortunately, the legislation has tended to pick he said would homeless. more than pay the low-hanging fruit â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to take from those who â&#x20AC;&#x153;It only took off in the long two hours for me donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have great representation in the Capitol.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; run. to turn into a huâ&#x20AC;&#x153;If a parent â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Sally Lieber, former Assemblywoman man pigeon,â&#x20AC;? she canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford a said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;No one saw proper day care me. I felt I shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go into places.â&#x20AC;? Commission only commits to electri- and the child is sitting in front of Among Lieberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proud achievements fying the Caltrain corridor between a TV from ages 1 to 4 or 5, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll as an assemblywoman was convincing San Francisco and San Jose). be spending a lot of money in the then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to see a fully electrified long run,â&#x20AC;? Chiang said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe scrap a proposal to shutter cold-weath- system so that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have diesel we need to make serious cuts to the er shelters. trains in the heart of Silicon Valley,â&#x20AC;? kinds of commitments weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re makâ&#x20AC;&#x153;We were able to get a deal that al- Lieber said. ing to adults.â&#x20AC;? lowed companies to keep shelters open Both Hill and Lieber voiced conFor Chiang, this means supportat their discretion,â&#x20AC;? Lieber recalled. cerns about the way the project has ing Gov. Jerry Brownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort to cut She said one of her goals, if elected, progressed thus far. Lieber criticized employee pensions. He also supwould be to protect social services the rail authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public-relations ports Brownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cuts to social services from major cuts and to seek more con- contracts, particularly its $9 million and advocates keeping these cuts in tributions from corporations in resolv- contract with Ogilviy Public Rela- place even when the state economy ing the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fiscal crisis. tions, a firm that quit the partnership rebounds. The money saved, Chiang â&#x20AC;&#x153;Unfortunately, the legislation has last summer after disagreements with said, should be placed into educatended to pick the low-hanging fruit the rail authority. Hill, meanwhile, is tion. Even popular proposals like â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to take from those who donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have pushing a bill that would require the electrifying Caltrain should take a great representation in the Capitol and rail authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subcontractors to re- backseat to improving education for to take by and large from low-income port potential conflicts of interests. Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s children, he said. children and from education rather From Lieberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perspective, one Webster, who has run unsuccessthan asking our major corporations difference between her and Hill is fully for various state offices in the to step up and to do a little bit more,â&#x20AC;? the way each is campaigning. Lieber past, also opposes high-speed-rail Lieber said. said she is pursuing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;grassroots spending but for a completely difFor all their differences, the two strategy of reaching out directly to ferent reason. A libertarian, Webveteran candidates expressed similar the voters.â&#x20AC;? She pointed to Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s en- ster said major projects such as concerns about Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposed dorsements from the pharmaceutical high-speed rail should be left to high-speed rail system, a $68.5 billion industry and said the endorsement is the private market. He argued in a project that has galvanized intense op- not one she would seek to get. Earlier recent interview that government position in Palo Alto and surrounding this year, she received a $2,200 con- needs to start treating its citizens communities. Each has also stressed tribution from Chevron, an offering more like customers. This means the need to upmaking sure that grade Caltrain, citizens pay for a popular serwhatever servicvice that remains â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Even if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not elected, if I get the argument es they receive hampered in a out there, the Congress will start taking things from the governstructural deficit ment, even if it with no dedicated seriously and then decide to do something.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; means charging funding source. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;John Webster, Libertarian â&#x20AC;&#x153;token tuitionâ&#x20AC;? in Hill said he public schools. plans to introduce a bill that would al- that she considered accepting (â&#x20AC;&#x153;better â&#x20AC;&#x153;You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want a bunch of peolow the Peninsula Corridor Joint Pow- than have them giving it to someone ple getting free benefits and someers Board, which oversees Caltrain, whom they can sway,â&#x20AC;? she said). She one else getting charged for it,â&#x20AC;? said to pursue a ballot measure that would later reconsidered and returned the Webster, a self-employed software fund the popular but cash-strapped money. engineer who describes himself commuter service. It would be up to â&#x20AC;&#x153;My competitor is getting a lot of on his election website as an â&#x20AC;&#x153;avid Caltrain officials to determine when to the business support,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m nudist.â&#x20AC;? pursue a ballot measure, which would not seeking to get endorsed by any Among his more unconventional most likely entail a sales-tax increase. lobbying organization.â&#x20AC;? proposals is pushing for California On high-speed rail, Hill said he While Hill and Lieber can point to threaten succession from the wants to see the California High- to their extensive legislative records, United States. Speed Rail Authority address three Christopher Chiang is new to politics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not elected, if I get major concerns before he will fully As if to underscore that fact, he is full the argument out there, the Consupport the project. The rail authority of compliments when he talks about gress will start taking things serihas to offer an assurance that a two- the two frontrunners in the race. In ously and then decide to do sometrack â&#x20AC;&#x153;blended systemâ&#x20AC;? of high-speed fact, he said he would be happy to thing,â&#x20AC;? Webster said. rail and Caltrain is the only design vote for Hill or Lieber if they were The four-candidate pool will be winoption that would move forward (as to show a commitment to education nowed down to two on June 5, when opposed to the locally unpopular four- reform. California holds its primaries. The top track design); that the rail authorityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chiang, a 31-year-old teacher at two vote-getters will then square off in commitment of $700 million for Cal- Mountain View High School (and, the general election on Nov. 6. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner train electrification would come soon- before that, in Cupertino and in San er rather than later; and that the rail Mateo), can speak extensively and flu- can be emailed at gsheyner@ authority lay out a â&#x20AC;&#x153;better pathwayâ&#x20AC;? ently about education policy. He sup- paweekly.com.

(

CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

OPEN HOUSE â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3 locations

Preschool (2-5): 5/11, Fri. 5:00-6:00pm 1055 Sunnyvale-Saratoga Rd. Sunnyvale, 94087, (408)735-8333 Palo Alto (5-12): 5/11, Fri. 5:30-6:30pm 870 N. California Ave. Palo Alto, 94303, (650)85801880/ (650)353-0882 Mountain View (5-12): 5/11, Fri. 5:30-6:30pm 2094 Grant Rd. Mt. View, 94040, (650)353-0881

SUMMER CAMP Champion Youth Enrichment School (CYES)

Creative Interactive Mandarin Immersion Programs For ages Pre-K to Grade 5 Full and Half-Day Programs *UNE n !UGUST s n ,OCATION . #ALIFORNIA !VE 0ALO !LTO

WWW CHAMPIONKIS COM

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) AGENDAâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;SPECIAL MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS May 14, 2012 - 5:30 PM CLOSED SESSION 1. Labor SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 2. Proclamation Honoring Hua Kuang Chinese Reading Room 3. Selection of Candidates to Interviewâ&#x20AC;? for the Architectural Review Board, Planning and Transportation Commission, and Utilities Advisory Commission STUDY SESSION 4. Study Session: Bus Rapid Transit Update CONSENT CALENDAR 5. Recommendation to Adopt Resolution To Execute the Northern California Power Agency Renewable Energy CertiďŹ cates Transfer Agreement 6. Adoption of a Budget Amendment Ordinance and Approval of Wastewater Treatment Enterprise Fund Contract with California Plus Engineering, Inc. in the Total Amount of $2,330,000 for the Power Monitoring & Standby Generators Replacement Project at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant - Capital Improvement Program Project WQ-80021 & VR-11000 7. Approval of Cubberley Guiding Principles ACTION ITEMS 8. PUBLIC HEARING: Adoption Of A PC Ordinance For The Proposed Lytton Gateway Project to Amend The Zoning Map of the City Of Palo Alto to Change the Zone Designations From CDC-P And CDN-P to a Planned Community (PC) District To Allow A Mixed OfďŹ ce And Retail, Four-Story, 50 Foot Tall Building (And A 70 Foot Tall Corner Tower Feature) on the Former Shell Station Site, Located At 355 And 335 Alma Street. The Project Includes Exceptions to the Daylight Plane And 35-Foot Height Limit Within 150 Feet of Residential Property. *Quasi-Judicial (continued from 05/07/12). 9. PUBLIC HEARING: Appeal Of An Architectural Review Approval and a Record Of Land Use Action Regarding the Director's Architectural Review Approval of a Three Story Development Consisting Of 84 Rental Residential Units In 104,971 Square Feet Within The Upper Floors, 50,467 S.F. Ground Floor Research And Development Area, Subterranean And Surface Parking Facilities, and Offsite Improvements, With Two Concessions Under State Housing Density Bonus Law (GC65915) On A 2.5 Acre Parcel At 195 Page Mill Road And 2865 Park Boulevard. * Quasi-Judicial (Staff requests item be continued to June 4, 2012). 10. Adoption of Palo Alto Police OfďŹ cers Association Agreement (HR).

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Finance Committee meeting will be held on May 15, 2012 at 6:00 PM. regarding; 1) Police Budget, 2) Fire Budget. The Finance Committee meeting will be held on May 17, 2012 at 6:00 PM. regarding; 1) Utilities Budget, 2) Utilities CIP, 3) General Fund CIP, and 4) Gas Utility Propose Rate Adjustments Effective July 1, 2012. The City /School Liaison Committee will be meeting on May 17, 2012 at 8:30 AM regarding; 1) Emergency Preparedness, 2) Update on City Budget.

Cover Story

5th District

The biggest issues on the horizon for counties, he said, will be health care reform and the planned closure of state juvenile-justice facilities and mittee of the League of California transfer of funding and supervision Cities. She has been an office-holder responsibilities to the county level. in several of those groups. “We’re moving a lot of things back In late-March e-filings with the to local government in the probation California Fair Political Practices and incarceration world, both as a Commission, Chang’s campaign way to do the job less expensively showed an endand hopefully do ing balance of a better job,” he ( $11,748; Wang’s said. ELECT O N campaign had “The state re( 12 20 an ending balcord on recidiance of $50,000 vism is nothing and Simitian’s to be proud of, campaign had an ending balance of and there’s a lot of evidence that $108,489. good programs at the local level Chang did not return email and can outperform what gets done at phone requests for an interview, and the state level. Wang said she was unavailable be“It means all the probation offices cause of an out-of-town trip. are going to have to be working in In a phone interview Monday, top form and there will be changes Simitian noted the county is signifi- in the county jail. It also means the cantly worse off financially than it county will have to step up for prowas when he previously served on grams for folks trying to re-enter the the Board of Supervisors, from 1997 community, and get that job done.” to 2000. Because the north county com(continued from page 29)

(

Barry Chang

Joe Simitian

munities generally are more prosperous than other areas, part of the job is making the case for services here, Simitian said, recalling that

in his previous supervisorial stint, his colleague Blanca Alvarado had 45 percent of the county’s welfare population while he had just 4.5

Kris Huyilan Wang

percent. Simitian, a lawyer, said if elected he’d look forward to being able to live at home and leave the Sacramento policymaking world for the day-to-day operations of government and delivery of services. Under the rules for the nonpartisan supervisor election, any of the three candidates could win the seat outright if he or she were to get more than 50 percent of the votes on June 5. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters will square off in November. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner contributed to this report. Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.

Introducing Your Style, Your

NEIGHBORHOOD Our Apartment Homes.

Welcome to Webster house, Palo Alto’s most gracious senior living community, now a member of the not-for-profit organization that owns and operates Canterbury Woods, Los Gatos Meadows, Lytton Gardens, San Francisco Towers, Spring Lake Village, and St. Paul’s Towers. Here, you’ll enjoy the rare combination of ideal location, dedicated staff, amenities, and services, all within walking distance of downtown Palo Alto, where you’ll find a mix of shops, restaurants, and art galleries. You’ll also find peace of mind and a welcoming community offering the advantages of continuing care. To learn more, or for your personal visit, please call 650.327.4333.

Support Palo Alto Weekly’s print and online coverage of our community. Join today:

401 Webster Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301 A non-denominational, not-for-proﬁt community. License No. 435294364 COA #246

Page 32ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

EPWH625-01AA 02 112511

websterhousepaloalto.org

SupportLocalJournalism. org/PaloAlto

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

Top: “Uphill Climb” may be evocative of the artist’s lengthy bike rides. Above: The California hills turn a rusty, warm orange in “Long Shadows.”

THE HILLS ARE

alive

by Rebecca Wallace epending on how sentimental you are, California’s summer hills are either invitingly, softly golden, or just brown. In Gary Coleman’s oil paintings, the hills glow all year round. The third-generation Northern Californian expresses his love for his home through color — vivid, jazzy color. Trees are so green that they’re sometimes blue; hills are so warm that they’re sometimes orange. The terrain may not technically look like this, but this is how it makes Coleman feel.

“I’m taking what I see and making it what I’m seeing when I’m painting,” he says. “I think I’ve made it more alive.” Coleman often works on abstracts at the same time as his landscapes. Perhaps the fanciful influences spill over. He’ll have four or five paintings going in his San Jose home studio, where paint speckles the door handles. He ponders one abstract canvas, which may have its urban, angular roots in his Oakland upbringing or the Scissor Sisters music he listens to. Then he looks at a landscape he’s working on, of the Stanford hills near Interstate 280. “It’s not really speaking to me,” Coleman says. He traces the gentle slopes. “Maybe it needs an upward thrust. What do you think?” He and a visitor speculate about adding a tree or the Stanford Dish. He says: “A painting ought to be interesting; it ought to have direction, motion. There’s something missing. Until I find it, it’ll just sit there.” He laughs and points to a closet shelf where canvases are stacked tightly, sometimes rarely seeing the light of day. “Or it’ll go to the back of the class.” Coleman knows about artwork left at the back of the class. For years, he hardly had time to paint while teaching English and history at Leland High School in San Jose. He enjoyed teaching, but it was a 60-hour-a-week job. He also knows about artwork making it into the bright gallery lights — and sometimes finding a buyer. After

Veeronica Weber

Colors pop in artist’s oil-paint odes to the California landscape

Top: In a rare digression from his beloved California terrain, Gary Coleman here captured “New Mexican Earth.” Above: Coleman pictured in the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts lobby, where “Blue and Gold #2” and others of his paintings are on display.

(continued on page 34

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 33

Arts & Entertainment

Gary Coleman (continued from page 33)

he retired in 1998, he was able to create art full-time, returning to the drawing and painting he had studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris in the 1960s. Coleman has displayed his oil paintings, and the occasional monotype, in many solo and group exhibitions. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been especially active in Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Pacific Art League. Currently, he has about 18 landscapes in a solo show at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts and in neighboring City Hall. Artists are chosen by a visual-arts committee appointed by the city council. The paintingsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bold colors stand out against the lobby walls in the theater. A visitorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye is drawn to the dynamic, fluffy whites in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Clouds Over Windy Hill,â&#x20AC;? and to the warmth of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cleaved

â&#x20AC;&#x153; A BLAST OF

Hills.â&#x20AC;? At one end, â&#x20AC;&#x153;New Mexican Earthâ&#x20AC;? is a non-Californian anomaly, with mesas that look faded by the sun. Hues are most vivid in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Uphill Climb,â&#x20AC;? with trees and swaths of earth popping in peacock blue. If this painting were a photo, it would be delightfully oversaturated. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I particularly like this show at this time of year, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very bright and colorful, and it speaks to the excitement of spring coming,â&#x20AC;? said Michele Roberts, who works with the theaterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visualarts program as marketing and public-relations manager. â&#x20AC;&#x153;And itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very nice, that local connection of knowing those hills and seeing them interpreted in his style.â&#x20AC;? Back in his studio, Coleman says it can be hard to say where that style comes from. Once he gets rolling on a canvas, his conscious mind often steps back and a creative force takes over. When Coleman became a fulltime artist, the muse led him toward figurative works. (And, he confesses, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was doing figurative to show people I could draw.â&#x20AC;?) In a 2001 solo show at the Pacific Art League, the figure was his own. The exhibition was called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Artist as Landscape,â&#x20AC;? playfully reflecting how the artist saw himself sans mirror. The viewpoint was often looking down at his hands and feet. In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Contemplation,â&#x20AC;? the artist sits on the toilet,

pants around his ankles. Coleman smiles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I never, ever thought there was a possibility that I would sell this. But a lady in Atherton bought it.â&#x20AC;? Another painting, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Duck,â&#x20AC;? proved so controversial that it sparked an art-league board meeting. It shows the artist in the bath, his feet, legs and genitals showing. A toy duck floats in the water. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the reason it was objected to is because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a male nude. You see female nudes everywhere,â&#x20AC;? Coleman says. Over time, Coleman did more landscapes of the California hills, sometimes en plein air, sometimes from photos or sketches. Ever since his family moved to Walnut Creek when he was in the eighth grade, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been drawn to those hills. He used to be a regular cyclist, and still sometimes hikes with his wife, Karoline. Coleman usually doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t paint the other places heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been, though the palette would be broad. In 1964, a taste for change led him to a job as a diplomatic courier for the U.S. Department of State, based in Germany. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d carry sealed bags with secret materials to Cairo and then Ethiopia, or to Beirut, or to Cold War Moscow. Coleman remembers the Russian guards on the trains, with long coats and machine guns, German shepherds sniffing under the cars. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was so cool.â&#x20AC;? Coleman met Karoline, who

is from Germany, and they lived in Belgium when their children were young. They still make regular trips overseas. Nowadays, Coleman spends much of his time painting, and not much on marketing his art. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Things kind of happen by accident,â&#x20AC;? he says. Sometimes he knows another artist whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shown at a gallery, and that gives him an in; or people buy paintings through his website. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to keep seeing growth in my work, to say: â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interesting. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I was starting out, I wanted to be nationally known. Now I just want to see positive change, to feel what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m doing is worthwhile.â&#x20AC;? He grins. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t hurt that this pays for our travel to Europe.â&#x20AC;? N Info: Gary Colemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s landscapes are on display through June 18 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts at 500 Castro St., with a few at nearby City Hall. The lobby show is free and open to the public Monday, Wednesday and Friday from noon to 1 p.m., and one hour before performances in the center. Go to mvcpa.com. Coleman is also taking part in Silicon Valley Open Studios this Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. His home studio is at 1577 Wawona Drive in San Jose. Go to svos.org.

CINEMATIC SUNSHINE.â&#x20AC;? DAILY MIRROR

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A

DELIGHTFUL, VIBRANT FILM

WITH A STELLAR CAST.â&#x20AC;? ELLE

FUN!â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

SUNDAY EXPRESS

â&#x20AC;&#x153;JUDI DENCH IS

PITCHPERFECT.â&#x20AC;? LADIESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; HOME JOURNAL

HILARIOUS AND MOVING... A JOY TO WATCH.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

WOMAN & HOME

â&#x20AC;?

CHARMING

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

, DELIGHTFUL AND AMUSING.â&#x20AC;? EMPIRE

â&#x2014;? We provide high quality, bonded and insured caregivers, who are experienced in care for older adults. â&#x2014;? We are the leader in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week live-in care. â&#x2014;? We provide the culinary training for our caregivers at Sur La Table, to improve their skills and our clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; meals. â&#x2014;? Our experts wrote the books Handbook for Live-In Care and Happy to 102, available on Amazon.com. They are a resource for the industry as well as families.

EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS START FRIDAY, MAY 11

! "# "$% & '

( ) ! "# "$% & *

Page 34Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; >Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;ÂŁÂŁ]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°*>Â?Â&#x153; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;"Â&#x2DC;Â?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;iÂ°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;

! " # #

Arts & Entertainment

Worth a Look Theater â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pear Slices 2012â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Back for its ninth year, the annual â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pear Slicesâ&#x20AC;? production brings new short plays by local playwrights to the Pear Avenue Theatre stage. Palo Alto resident Diane Tasca, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s artistic director, directs some of the one-acts, with Robyn G. Braverman and Troy Johnson taking the helm for the others. Actors will play various roles in different plays. This year, the mix of comedy and drama features: Ross Peter Nelsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mounting Olympus,â&#x20AC;? a humorous look at the gods; Earl T. Roskeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s futuristic â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Infinite Bookâ&#x20AC;?; Douglas Reesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Toppers,â&#x20AC;? a light-hearted dialogue between plastic figures; Leah Halperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pine and Oak,â&#x20AC;? a conversation between Emerson and Thoreau; and Paul Bravermanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s TV spoof â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lawyer Zoneâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;scary little comedyâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do Us Part.â&#x20AC;? Also on the program are: Elyce Melmonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vanishing Borders,â&#x20AC;? about the criminal justice system; Bridgette Portmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;No Dogs Go to Heaven,â&#x20AC;? about the end of the world and how you can make money on it; and Beverly Altschulerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contemporary genie tale â&#x20AC;&#x153;Careful What You Wish For.â&#x20AC;? The production opens tonight, May 11, and then runs through June 3, Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2. The Pear Avenue Theatre is at 1220 Pear Ave. in Mountain View. Tickets are $15-$30. Go to thepear.org or call 650-254-1148.

Actor Paul Braverman wrote two of the short plays in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pear Slicesâ&#x20AC;? production.

Freewaters Sandals 1 pair = 1 year of clean drinking water for 1 person in a developing country

and $5 for non-Stanford students, with Stanford students getting in free. For more information, go to

526 Waverley Street Downtown Palo Alto TOYANDSPORT COM s

music.stanford.edu or call 650-725ARTS.

% & ,- ,

Music Spring jazz

A noted trumpeter and trombonist come to town this month for guest gigs with two Stanford University jazz groups. Jon Faddis, following in the footsteps of his mentor Dizzy Gillespie as a busy performing trumpeter, is scheduled to share the stage with the Stanford Jazz Orchestra next Wednesday, May 16, at 8 p.m. in Dinkelspiel Auditorium on campus. Also a composer, conductor and music faculty member at Purchase College in New York, Faddis will perform some of his own compositions with the orchestra. Faddis is also scheduled to perform with the orchestra this summer at various jazz festivals in Europe. Later this month, trombonist Doug Beavers will perform with the Stanford Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble on Saturday, May 26, at 8 p.m. in Dinkelspiel Auditorium. Beavers toured with the pianist Eddie Palmieriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s band and played on the 2005 Grammy-winning release â&#x20AC;&#x153;Listen Hereâ&#x20AC;? before starting a solo career in performing and composing. The May 26 concert program includes pieces orchestrated by Beavers for the Stanford ensemble. Concert tickets are $10 general

" & #'

# ()

(* +%

! " # $ % & "

! "!# ! $ ! ! !

% # "

Eating Out FOOD FEATURE

Fancy fungus among us Garrone family’s Far West Fungi brings organic specialty mushrooms to local farmers markets by Bryce Druzin ost companies would avoid describing their products as ugly. But Far West Fungi has some fun with its sometimes alien-looking products, selling “ugly shiitake baskets” filled with misshapen mushrooms at farmers markets across the Bay Area. “They’re not perfectly formed, but they’re so delicious,” said John Perez, who comes every other week to the Mountain View market to pick up an “ugly” basket. Toby Garrone, who owns Far West Fungi with her husband John, said, “People always laugh and say: ‘Well, I don’t really care what they look like. They taste the same, right?’” The Garrones have been the sole owners of Far West Fungi since 2004, and grow their organic mushrooms in Moss Landing in Monterey County. Besides offering shiitake, Far West grows and sells bulbous large-stemmed king trumpets, delicate and ghostly tree oysters, maitakes resembling miniature coral reefs, and other varieties. The company has stands at 16 farmers markets, including the Saturday Palo Alto and Sunday Mountain View and Menlo Park markets. They also sell non-organic “agaricus” varieties such as white and brown buttons from Global Mushrooms in Gilroy. “We carry them because they’re such the standard mushroom,” said Robbie Desanto, who works at Far West’s stand at farmers markets and the company store in San Francisco. Desanto said he’s witnessed customers purchase the more common mushrooms for years before trying the more exotic varieties. “It’s that initial getting away from the ‘regular’ mushrooms that scares people at first.” At a recent Sunday market in Mountain View, Desanto sold

M Veronica Weber

King trumpet mushrooms for sale at the Far West Fungi store in San Francisco’s Ferry Building.

PENINSULA

Discover the best places to eat this week! AMERICAN

CHINESE

Armadillo Willy’s

Chef Chu’s

941-2922 1031 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos www.armadillowillys.com

948-2696 1067 N. San Antonio Road www.chefchu.com

Cheese Steak Shop

Ming’s

326-1628 2305-B el Camino Real, Palo Alto

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

854-0291 3535 Alameda, Menlo Park www.luttickens.com

The Old Pro 326-1446 541 Ramona Street, Palo Alto www.oldpropa.com STEAKHOUSE

Sundance the Steakhouse 321-6798 1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto www.sundancethesteakhouse.com

INDIAN

Janta Indian Restaurant 462-5903 369 Lytton Ave. www.jantaindianrestaurant.com

Thaiphoon 323-7700 543 Emerson Ave, Palo Alto www.ThaiphoonRestaurant.com Read and post reviews, explore restaurant menus, get hours and directions and more at ShopPaloAlto, ShopMenloPark and ShopMountainView

Veronica Weber

Lutticken’s

mushrooms, answered questions and handed out recipe ideas along with co-workers Hope Moseley and Merl Sabado. When a customer asked Sabado what to do with yellow oysters, she recommended dropping them in a soup. “But towards the end. Don’t let them sit too long,” said Sabado, who has worked with the Garrones for more than 25 years. Sauteing mushrooms with vegetables or using them in omelettes are common customer uses for their fungi. But Caitlin Eanes said she had a more elaborate dish in mind for her mushrooms: chestnut pappardelle in a brown butter sauce with English peas. “I’m using maitake, but black trumpet would have been better,” she said. Back at the Moss Landing farm, Toby Garrone said risotto is “always good with mushrooms” and likes to use a combination of shiitake, oyster and king trumpet. Her husband’s latest recipe involves taking the large stemmed king trumpet mushroom, cutting them paper thin and sauteing them in butter. “The mushroom itself comes out like a chow fun noodle, and sauteing them in butter makes a really nice, sweet, mushroomy sauce,” he said. He added that king trumpets are also firm enough to be cut in half and thrown into a roast. Customers at the Mountain View market repeatedly mentioned the willingness of Far West’s employees to talk about their mushrooms. When a customer asked Desanto why organic button mushrooms are hard to find, he gave a detailed answer about the variety’s susceptibility to mold that makes organic growing uneconomical. “They are so delighted to give you information,” said Orly Ben Yosef,

From left, mushrooms offered at the Ferry Building are: yellow tree oyster, pink tree oyster, shimeji and shiitake. Page 36ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Eating Out

INTERESTED

IN LEARNING

After school program starts on September 8 for non-Mandarin speaking students. At Jordan School (Saturdays 9am-11am), Fairmeadow School (Thursdays), Laurel School (Tuesdays and Fridays), Oak Knoll (Mondays) and Encinal School (Wednesdays) Contact: Phyllis (650) 917-7907 for details

Hwa Shin Chinese School 750 N. California Ave., Palo Alto

www.hwashinschool.org

Veronica Weber

Sales associates Christine Manzano, left, and Christina Dubois assemble mushroom displays at the Far West Fungi shop in San Francisco. who has visited Far Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s farm and is a member of a group dedicated to promoting mushrooms. John Garrone has been selling mushrooms at the Palo Alto market for more than 25 years. He said the market has an unusual feel because of its ties with Avenidas, a senior organization that receives donations from the volunteer-run market.â&#x20AC;?The dynamic is very community-oriented,â&#x20AC;? he said. The Garrones have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of farmers markets, from the 1980s when Palo Alto had the only market on the Peninsula, to the present day, where some cities hold multiple markets in a week. Though the increase has ultimately been good for business, Toby said there was a time when the addition of new markets diluted sales. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It felt like you had to keep on doing more and more farmers markets just to make what you used to make at two of them,â&#x20AC;? she said. The Garrones said the biggest challenge to their business is the large number of inexpensive shiitakes imported from Asia, which can sell for a third of the price of Far Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s product. Regional demand for organic food is key to their business, they said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fortunate that we have a nice, niche market in the Bay Area,â&#x20AC;? John said. About a third of Far Westâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s production is sold at farmers markets, with the rest going to wholesalers Info: Far West Fungi has a store at the Ferry Building in San Francisco and a farm in Moss Landing, and makes regular appearances at local farmers markets. The company is at the downtown Palo Alto market on Gilman Street on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, May through December. On Sundays, there are tables at the Menlo Park market off Chestnut Street and the Mountain View market at Hope Street and W. Evelyn Avenue, both from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. all year. For details, go to farwestfungi.com or call 650-871-0786.

such as Whole Food, Veritable Vegetable and Earlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Organic Produce. Toby said that without companies willing to pay a higher price, the business would be completely dependent on farmers markets. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re running out of kids and trucks. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only so many farmers markets we can do.â&#x20AC;? The Garrones werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shy about sharing their feelings about the quality of their imported competition. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They smell funny,â&#x20AC;? John said. Toby added: â&#x20AC;&#x153;I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put my mushrooms in a plastic bag and put them on a ship for three weeks and have them come out looking like something you want to eat. So we are really clear that it is somehow processed.â&#x20AC;? John and Toby said they can not only identify imported shiitakes by

sight, but that they can also recognize their own from other domestically grown. They recalled being in a Whole Foods and seeing shiitakes that they suspected were their own, but were labeled â&#x20AC;&#x153;grown in Washington.â&#x20AC;? After asking a worker to bring out the original box, they found their suspicions confirmed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were laughing later, going, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a little neurotic: We know our own little babies,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? Toby said. Costs for growing have also increased, they said. Far West grows most of its mushrooms out of blocks made up of red oak sawdust and organic rice bran. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At one time sawdust was a free item that people wanted to get rid of,â&#x20AC;? Toby said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an expensive item.â&#x20AC;? N

2 .%,/

*/, * ' ./, ' **!- .*,"

1&.% +/, % -" *# *, (*," *# ) ./, ' & *,$ )& #**!- *!2 ," 0&. (&)- & (*,"

*/).,2 /) ./, ' **!-

++' J :Xc`]fie`X 8m\ Â&#x203A; GXcf 8ckf Â&#x203A; -,'%*)+%0(0'

#.", '' *.%", !&- */).- & */+*)- ))*. " *( &)"! 1&.% )2 *.%", 3 ,""3 *, 3 3 */).,2 /) */+*) )" */+*) +", %*/-"%*'! +", ! 2 +", +/, % -" *# *, (*,"

COMMUNITY MEETING

Safe Routes to School for Palo Verde, Ohlone, & Walter Hays Review and comment on Draft Walk and Roll Maps and Route Improvements

Tuesday, May 15, 6:30-8:00 PM Palo Verde Elementary, 3450 Louis Road

Wednesday, May 23, 6:30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8:00 PM Ohlone Elementary, 950 Amarillo Avenue

Thursday, May 24, 6:30 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8:00 PM Walter Hays Elementary, 1525 MiddleďŹ eld Road The Palo Alto Safe Routes to School program is documenting suggested routes to school and identifying opportunities for engineering improvements and enforcement which, when combined with safety education and promotion activities, will encourage more families to choose alternatives to driving to school solo. More info: Contact Sylvia Star-Lack at transportation@cityofpaloalto.org or (650) 329-2156

May 19, 2012, 9AM-Noon www.cleanacreek.org or call (408) 630-2739 Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°*>Â?Â&#x153; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;"Â&#x2DC;Â?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;iÂ°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; >Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;ÂŁÂŁ]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ&#x201C;Ă&#x160;U Page 37

CELEBRATING OVER 30 YEARS

GROWTH & CHANGING STUDENT LIVES

Movies

OPENINGS

Sound of My Voice ---1/2

MID-PENINSULA HIGH SCHOOL

SUMMER SCHOOL *UNE *ULY s %XTENSIVE SUMMER SCHOOL PROGRAM s 3MALL #LASSES s /N GOING ENROLLMENT THROUGHOUT THE YEAR s !N ENVIRONMENT THAT SUPPORTS UNIQUE LEARNING STYLES AND CREATIVE THINKING s ! STRONG ACCEPTING COMMUNITY (650) 321-1991 x110 1340 Willow Road, Menlo Park

www.mid-pen.com

KEEP YOUR VTA YOUTH DISCOUNT Apply for a Youth Clipper card at an upcoming Walgreens event. ®

Starting July 1, 2012, VTA youth monthly passes will be available only on Clipper. To apply for the Youth Clipper card, bring your proof of age to an upcoming application event (a parent/guardian signature is also required).

Wednesday, May 9 2012 El Camino Real Santa Clara, 5pm - 8pm Saturday, May 12 1795 E. Capitol Exp. San Jose, 9am - 12pm Saturday, May 12 770 First St Gilroy, 2pm - 5pm Tuesday, May 15 4170 El Camino Real Palo Alto, 5pm - 8pm Thursday, May 17 342 W. Calaveras Blvd Milpitas, 5pm - 8pm Saturday, May 19 1130 Bird Ave San Jose, 9am - 12pm

For a list of accepted proofs of age, visit clippercard.com/VTA or call 877.878.8883. Page 38ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

(Aquarius) Captivating from the start, Zal Batmanglij’s feature debut proves that the basics — compelling ideas, characters, story and performances — can make the most modest production engrossing. The inventive plot scripted by Batmanglij and Brit Marling, who also glows as a charismatic cult leader, teases and tweaks the tension of this 2011 Sundance Film Festival indie. Although the engine that drives the plot questions whether the mysterious guru is the real deal, the ambiguous answer doesn’t matter as much as the concepts explored. The drama opens with Peter (Christopher Denham of “Shutter Island”) and Lorna (Nicole Vicius of “Half Nelson”) embarking on a clandestine trek into the San Fernando Valley, where they end up in the basement of a suburban house with others scrubbed down and clad in hospital gowns. A weirdly elaborate secret handshake and no-questions-asked policy set the stage for the introduction of the woman sequestered there. Maggie (Marling of “Another Earth”) claims that two years ago she woke up underwater, feeling a terrible sense of loss. She had no memory, no clothes, no money, no immune system. The angelic-looking young woman with the backlit blonde tresses recalled only her name and Halloween birthday. Others knew of this time traveler from 2054, who had journeyed back from the civil war-torn future to guide the chosen ones. From isolation to group-think tactics, the film cleverly sets up how individuals are assimilated into a cult. But Peter and Lorna are not followers, but aspiring documentary filmmakers working undercover to expose Maggie as a fraud. The viewer can share their skepticism — or not. Just when you’re convinced the situation is a scam, Maggie coaxes repressed feelings from Peter, and the sound of her voiceover provides snippets of his and Lorna’s backstories. How does their past affect perception and motivation? There are plenty of psychological issues to entertain your mind while you wait to discover if the outcome is swindle or science fiction. The soft-spoken Peter may be an anal-retentive jerk suffering from childhood wounds. Lorna may be a poor little rich girl, trading one addiction for another while rarely finishing anything she starts. Relationships and group dynamics shift, subtly or cataclysmically, due to revelations about the characters and new kinks in the plot. Best of all, the edgy drama encourages you to consider your belief system and thinking process, functioning as a cinematic Rorschach test with its inkblots open to interpretation. Rated R for sexual references, language and drug use. 1 hour, 25 minutes. — Susan Tavernetti

Dark Shadows --

(Century 16, Century 20) The tried-and-true tandem of director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp — who have collaborated on a plethora of films since first teaming up for “Edward Scissorhands” in 1990 — is often a tantalizing proposition. But not every Burton/Depp offering is must-see cinema. (“Alice in Wonderland” from 2010 certainly had its naysayers.) The duo’s latest strange brew, “Dark Shadows,” lands in the “underwhelming” category. “Shadows” isn’t an abomination, but it falls well short of the high expectations viewers anticipate from two of the industry’s top talents. The film, based on a popular TV show from the late 1960s, plays as something of a comedy-horror hybrid. But it lacks the real humor of a good comedy and chills of an effective horror. In trying to walk the tightrope between two genres, “Shadows” tumbles somewhere into the murky middle, where ho-hum movies go to die. Depp, playing a vampire for the first time in his storied career, is 18th-century bloodsucker Barnabas Collins. Barnabas acquires his fang-toothed curse af-

ter spurning clingy lover Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green of “Casino Royale”), who turns out to be a very jealous witch. Angelique’s machinations lead Barnabas to stay buried for the better part of two centuries. The year is 1972 when he finally rises from his coffin. The once-proud fishing town of Collinsport, Maine, that Barnabas’ family established is now essentially run by Angelique, whose witchery has made her all but immortal. And Barnabas’ family home, Collinwood Manor, has grown decrepit. Those who reside in the mansion are all that’s left of the Collins family: matriarch Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer); Elizabeth’s smarmy brother, Roger (Jonny Lee Miller); teen malcontent Carolyn (Chloe Grace Moretz); and innocent youngster David (Gulliver McGrath). Therapist-inresidence Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter) and housemaid Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote) — who bears an uncanny resemblance to Barnabas’ long-ago true love — round out the motley crew. Burton’s trademark style is evident throughout, and watching Depp (excellent as usual) portray a blastfrom-the-past vampire is entertaining, at least. The film also boasts a nice performance by Green (who looks like Anne Hathaway’s long-lost sister) and strong production values, such as make-up and set design. And the filmmakers have some fun with the time period, including a soundtrack that features great music from the early ‘70s. Strangely, “Shadows” seems like the gothic version of “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” The central character awakens to a modern time he can’t quite understand and hilarity ensues (or, in this case, doesn’t ensue). Said character is out-of-sorts in a world that has moved on without him, yet he is pivotal to quashing a megalomaniac’s plot. Rehashing old jokes is no way to win over an audience. Add another addition to the growing Depp-Burton library — although “Dark Shadows” is hardly the team’s brightest creation. Rated PG-13 for language, comic horror violence, sexual content, smoking and drug use. One hour, 53 minutes. — Tyler Hanley

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel --1/2

(Palo Alto Square) Seven pensioners board a plane from England to India in this last-chance-at-love travelogue. I’d call it “Eat Gray Love,” myself, but that’s why I don’t work in marketing. Part of the joke of this comedy-drama — ably directed by John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”) — is that the title isn’t entirely truth in advertising. The brochure advertising The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly & Beautiful turns out to be a beneficiary of Photoshop. Rundown and lacking in amenities (in the case of one room, a door), the spot isn’t the best, but it is a hotel and exotic, and there’s no turning back for the strangers who become the place’s first guests. As adapted by Ol Parker from Deborah Moggach’s novel “These Foolish Things,” the film has more story than it can seat comfortably, but the actors paint in the crudely sketched characters. Judi Dench makes for an entirely loveable leading lady, heading up the ensemble and narrating the picture as Evelyn, recently widowed but unwilling to be patronized by her children. She’s joined by retired judge (Tom Wilkinson), bitter racist Muriel (Maggie Smith), uncomfortable couple Douglas and Jean (Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton), take-charge gal Madge (Celia Imrie) and randy Norman (Ronald Pickup). Though the picture cozies up to plenty of cliches, it has this going for it: The course of the film’s romances isn’t immediately apparent (partly owing to one character being gay, “nowadays more in theory than in practice”). The conclusions may not all be foregone, but more than once we’re instructed: “Everything will be all right in the end. And if it is not all right, it is not

Movies yet the end.â&#x20AC;? The story comes down firmly in favor of plucky (Luddite Evelyn starts a blog and begins a new career coaching telemarketers) and against sour sticks-in-the-mud (Jeanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pessimism about â&#x20AC;&#x153;the climate, the squalor, the povertyâ&#x20AC;?). Of course, Muriel learns that India isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just â&#x20AC;&#x153;brown faces and black arts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; reeking of curry,â&#x20AC;? so much so that she becomes instrumental in saving the day for the hotelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s young and in-over-hishead proprietor Sonny (Dev Patel of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Slumdog Millionaireâ&#x20AC;?). Young and old all get some sort of romantic or sexual action, but more broadly the message is to â&#x20AC;&#x153;seize the grayâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; err, day. Just by making the leap to India, the heroes are all winners, and each commits to further steps forward, illustrating Denchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s voiceover conclusion: â&#x20AC;&#x153;All we know about the future is that it will be different.â&#x20AC;?

Each plot seems underserved (despite the two-hour running time) and the whole enterprise too platitudinous, but with powerhouse actors like Dench, Nighy and Wilkinson, even a critic can agree itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better to be plucky than a stick-in-the-mud. Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language. Two hours, four minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese

Darling Companion -

(Aquarius) Well-bred writer-director Lawrence Kasdan (â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Big Chillâ&#x20AC;?) goes to the dogs with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Darling Companion,â&#x20AC;? a currish new ensemble â&#x20AC;&#x153;comedy.â&#x20AC;? Kasdanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 11th feature as a director rounds up regular collaborators Kevin Kline and Diane Keaton, but great opportunity quickly reveals

itself to be great disappointment. Keaton plays Beth Winter, the welloff wife of spinal surgeon Joseph (Kline). With daughter Grace (Elisabeth Moss) striking out on her own, empty-nester Beth redirects her maternal energy toward a dog she finds on the side of the road. She dubs the dog Freeway, and bonds with the animal over the initial objections of her husband. One year and one dog-themed montage later, family and friends assemble at the Wintersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; vacation home in the Rockies, on the occasion of Graceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wedding. A multitasking Joseph takes a business call while walking the dog, and Freeway hightails it. And so three couples â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Joseph and Beth, Josephâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister Penny (Dianne Wiest) and boyfriend Russell (Richard Jenkins), Pennyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son Bryan (Mark Duplass) and the cabinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s psychic-gypsy caretaker Carmen (Ayelet Zurer) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; must track

MOVIE TIMES Showtimes for the Century 20 theater are for Friday through Tuesday only unless otherwise noted The Artist (PG-13) (((1/2 Century 16: Fri.-Mon. at 11:30 a.m.; 2 & 4:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 7:30 & 10 p.m.; Sun. & Mon. also at 7 & 9:30 p.m. Century 20: 12:30, 2:50, 5:05, 7:20 & 9:40 p.m. Ball of Fire (1941) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Fri.-Sun. at 5:25 & 9:15 p.m. Battleship (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Thu. at 12:01 a.m. Century 20: Thu. at 12:01 a.m. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (PG-13) ((1/2 Palo Alto Square: 1:15, 2:30, 4:15 & 7:15 p.m.; Fri.-Sun., Tue. & Thu. also at 5:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 8:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 10:15 p.m. Chimpanzee (G) ((1/2 Century 16: 11:20 a.m.; 1:40, 3:55, 6:20 & 8:50 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 1:25, 3:35, 5:40, 7:50 & 10 p.m. Dark Shadows (PG-13) (( Century 16: 11 a.m.; noon, 12:50, 1:50, 2:50, 3:50, 4:50, 5:50, 7 & 9 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 10 a.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 8, 10:20 & 11:05 p.m.; Sun.-Thu. also at 7:50, 9:50 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: Fri.-Thu. at 11:15 a.m.; 2, 4:45, 7:30 & 10:15 p.m.; Fri.-Tue. also at 11:55 a.m.; 12:35, 1:15, 2:40, 3:20, 4, 5:25, 6:05, 6:50, 8:15, 8:55 & 9:35 p.m. Darling Companion (PG-13) ( Aquarius Theatre: 4:15, 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 1:45 p.m. The Dictator (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Tue. at 12:01 a.m.; Wed. & Thu. at 11 a.m.; 1:10, 3:20, 5:30, 8:10 & 10:30 p.m. The Five-Year Engagement (R) ((( Century 16: 12:30, 3:40, 7:05 & 10:15 p.m. Century 20: 11 a.m.; 12:30, 2, 3:20, 4:50, 7:45 & 10:35 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. & Tue. also at 6:15 & 9:05 p.m.

down the dog, bonding and healing all the way. The script by Kasdan and his wife Meg is never less than utterly obvious; most audiences will immediately identify with the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s canine lead and look for the nearest route of escape. That Freeway remains a blank doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help. Pet owners may be able to relate to Bethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manic love of her dog, but the Kasdans do nothing to establish Freewayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character or appeal, other than accidentally to suggest the dog is too smart to stay with either its abusive first set of owners or its insufferable second set. Um, I guess spoiler alert: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a long way to the unintentionally comical â&#x20AC;&#x153;running across a fieldâ&#x20AC;? reunion of a retiree and her dog. (Oh yeah, they go there: Dog love is a many-splendored thing.) If only the rest of the film were as amusing. The forced nuttiness goes almost entirely limp despite the starsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; comic credentials. The stereotypical psychic gypsy fails to stoke any Woody Allenesque whimsy; a random animated dream sequence proves ill-advised; and Kasdan encourages an offputtingly theatrical acting style that compounds the participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; embarrassment factor.

That leaves only the ensemble relationship drama, which ranges from soggy to all wet. Indeed, a storm serves as the metaphor for what the couplesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; relationships must weather. Though the film has autobiographical roots, the dialogue sounds like therapy role play (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m so sick of you judging my feelings all the timeâ&#x20AC;?) rather than genuine discussion. The filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s niche audience is indiscriminate aging dog lovers; people lovers should look elsewhere. Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and language. One hour, 43 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese

Fri-Sat 5/11-5/12 Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 5:30, 7:15, 8:30, 10:15 Sun 5/13 Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 5:30, 7:15, 8:30 Mon & Wed 5/14 & 5/16 Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 7:15 Tue & Thurs 5/15 & 5/17 Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 5:30, 7:15

BWQYSba O\R AV]ebW[Sa OdOWZOPZS Ob QW\S[O`Y Q][

MARK RICHARD DIANE KEVIN ELISABETH SAM DIANNE AYELET DUPLASS JENKINS KEATON KLINE MOSS SHEPARD WIEST ZURER

WRITTEN BY MEG KASDAN & LAWRENCE KASDAN DIRECTED BY LAWRENCE KASDAN WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM

HUNDREDS OF PUPPIES, KITTENS, DOGS AND CATS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION; NOT ONLY CAN YOU FIND YOUR NEW â&#x20AC;&#x153;DARLING COMPANIONâ&#x20AC;?, YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;LL BE SAVING A LIFE. VISIT WWW.ANIMALLEAGUE.ORG.

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.DARLINGCOMPANION.COM

Girl in Progress (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 12:15, 2:30, 4:45, 7:20 & 9:50 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 10 a.m. Century 20: 12:10, 2:30, 4:55, 7:15 & 9:40 p.m. His Girl Friday (1940) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Fri.-Sun. at 7:30 p.m.; Sun. also at 3:40 p.m. The Hunger Games (PG-13) (((

OFFICIAL SELECTION

BRIT MARLING

FILM FESTIVAL

2011

Century 16: 11:50 a.m.; 3:20, 6:30 & 9:45 p.m. Century 20: 12:40, 3:50, 7 & 10:05 p.m. The Lucky One (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: 11:30 a.m.; 2, 4:30, 7 & 9:35 p.m. Marvelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s The Avengers (PG-13) (((( Century 16: 12:10, 3:30, 7:10, 8:30 & 10:30 p.m.; Fri. (standard 2D) also at 10 a.m.; In 3D at 11:40 a.m.; 12:50, 3, 4:20, 5, 6:10, 6:40, 7:50 & 9:30 p.m.; In 3D Fri. also at 10:40 a.m.; In 3D Fri. & Sat. also at 10:05 & 11:05 p.m.; In 3D Sat. & Sun. also at 10 a.m.; In 3D Sat.-Thu. also at 2:20 p.m.; In 3D Sun.-Thu. also at 10 p.m. Century 20: 11 a.m.; 1:05, 2:15, 4:20, 5:35, 7:40 & 8:55 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. (standard 2D) also at 10:50 p.m.; In 3D at 11:30 a.m.; noon, 12:35, 1:40, 2:45, 3:15, 3:50, 4:55, 6, 6:35, 7:10, 8:15, 9:20, 9:55 & 10:30 p.m. The Metropolitan Opera: Die WalkĂźre (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: Mon. at 6:30 p.m. Palo Alto Square: Mon. at 6:30 p.m. The Metropolitan Opera: Siegfried (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: Wed. at 6:30 p.m. Palo Alto Square: Wed. at 6:30 p.m.

foxsearchlight

EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS

START FRIDAY, MARCH 11

! "# "$% & '

Monsieur Lazhar (PG-13) ((( Guild Theatre: 3:30, 6 & 8:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 1 p.m. The Pirates! Band of Misfits (PG) ((( Century 16: 11 a.m.; 4:10 & 9:10 p.m.; In 3D at 1:20 & 6:50 p.m. Century 20: 12:20 & 5 p.m.; In 3D at 2:40, 7:20 & 9:40 p.m. The Raven (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: 11:35 a.m.; 4:40 & 9:35 p.m. The Road to Glory (1936) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Wed. & Thu. at 5:35 & 9:10 p.m. Safe (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: 2:15 & 7:15 p.m. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Fri.-Mon. at 11:10 a.m.; 1:45, 4:25, 7 & 9:40 p.m. Sound of My Voice (R) (((1/2 Aquarius Theatre: 4:45, 7:30 & 9:55 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 2:30 p.m. The Thing from Another World (1951) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Wed. & Thu. at 7:30 p.m. Think Like a Man (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 1, 4, 7:15 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 11 a.m.; 1:50, 4:40, 7:30 & 10:20 p.m. Wings (1927) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Wed. at 2 & 7 p.m.

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

Sports Shorts

CCS SWIMMING

Senior class is taking its final bows

CARDINAL CORNER . . . Stanford freshman Patrick Rodgers, along with UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth of Texas, have been named finalists for the 2012 Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the top player in collegiate golf. The most prestigious award in men’s college golf, The Ben Hogan Award is presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the past 12-month period. The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee represents leaders in professional, amateur and collegiate golf. Rodgers is currently among the top four in all four major rankings systems. Last summer, he represented the United States at the 2011 Walker Cup, finished second at the Players Amateur, took fourth at the Northeast Amateur and reached the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur . . . Stanford Provost John Etchemendy has asked Patrick Dunkley, deputy director of athletics, to serve as interim Athletic Director over the summer months after Athletics Director Bob Bowlsby departs in June 16 to lead the Big 12 Conference.

ON THE AIR Friday College baseball: Washington St. at Stanford, 6 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

Saturday College baseball: Washington St., at Stanford, 2 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

Sunday College baseball: Washington St. at Stanford, 1 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

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

he Central Coast Section Swimming Championships is considered as one of the fastest meets in the nation, year in and out. Who can argue with such alumni as Olympians Mark Spitz, Carrie Steinseifer, Brian Job, John Naber and Pablo Morales. Thus, the meet is a fitting stage for the final acts of seniors Jasmine Tosky of Palo Alto, Tom Kremer of Sacred Heart Prep and Rachael Acker of Gunn. Like the great swimmers before them, all three have aspirations of some day swimming in the Olympic Games — if not this summer then in 2016. Their focus right now, however, is on Friday’s trials and Saturday’s finals at the George F. Haines International Swim Center in Santa Clara. The boys’ diving finals will be Friday at 9 a.m., with the girls’ diving held Saturday at the same time. Then, it’s time for Tosky, Kremer and Acker to take center stage at 1:30 p.m., in what should be yet another competitive affair. Tosky is the most accomplished of the trio, having won six individual CCS titles the past three seasons while leading Paly to runner-up team finishes each time. She currently holds CCS meet records in the 200 IM, 100 fly, 200 free and 500 free. Her 100 fly time of 51.92 from last year’s prelims is also the national record for public schools. “Jasmine has been a great representation of what it means to be a Palo Alto Viking,” said Paly coach Danny Dye. “She has always been a great swimmer and, in her four years at Paly, she has grown into a wonderful young lady. She has the determination, drive and commitment to succeed at the highest levels. Yet, at the same time is very down to earth, cares about her team and teammates, is willing to do whatever is necessary to help them and can laugh and joke with the best of them. “I could write forever on what Jasmine has accomplished in the pool, and I am as proud as anyone of those accomplishments. But how she has grown as a person is probably where I am most proud. The team loves her, she relates to them. She has grown up with

Sacred Heart Prep senior Tom Kremer (right), here celebrating a win in the 400 free relay in last year’s CCS meet, will cap his sensational prep swim career on Saturday at the CCS Championships.

(continued on page 43)

WOMEN’S WATER POLO

PREP ROUNDUP

Former teammates hoping to meet in the NCAA finals

Menlo School seeks perfection in CCS tennis final

by Rick Eymer allavi Menon and KK Clark won a pair of Central Coast Section women’s water polo titles while playing together at Sacred Heart Prep. They’ve also each won an NCAA championship, playing against each other. The two former Gators will likely meet as competitors one more time this weekend before they resume their life-long friendship. Menon hopes she’ll be part of a repeat with Stanford. Clark would love to help UCLA win its first national title since 2009. Top-seeded Stanford (23-2) takes on Pomona-Pitzer (21-16) at San Diego State’s Aquaplex in the first round of the NCAA tournament at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

by Keith Peters he Menlo School boys’ tennis team probably has season goals that other teams only dream about, no matter what has happened the previous season or who’s presently wielding the racquets. “An undefeated season is always the goal,” said Menlo senior Justin Chan. Chan has achieved perfection once in his career and come close to it on three previous occasions as the Knights have gone 27-2, 27-0 and 28-1 during his first three seasons. A second perfect campaign is still on the line for Chan and his teammates, who will continue to seek perfection on Friday in the Central Coast Section Team Tournament championship match.

(continued on next page)

Page 40ÊUÊ >ÞÊ££]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

T Keith Peters