Palo Alto Weekly December 27, 2019 by Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto

Vol. XLI, Number 12 Q December 27, 2019

Take our year-end news quiz! Page 7

Donate to the HOLIDAY FUND page 14

Transitions 18 Pulse 19 Eating Out 22 Movies 23 Q Arts Weekly arts writers look at best theater moments Q Home $9M, $31M, $160M: Peninsulaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sky-high prices Q Sports Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NCAA titles from the fall

Page 20 Page 24 Page 27

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Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

THE HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS OF A FRACTIOUS YEAR by Sue Dremann, Elena Kadvany and Gennady Sheyner

Olivia Lamberti, a freshman at Stanford University, cheers with protesters outside Palo Alto City Hall on Oct. 22 just before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors held its public hearing on the university’s expansion proposal. Students were calling for more workforce housing and mitigation of growth impacts.

HUGEST IMPLOSION Stanford general-use permit application

ith about 3.5 million square feet of proposed development, Stanford University’s proposal to expand its campus became known as the “largest project” ever under the governance of Santa Clara County. But just days before the county Board of Supervisors was set to vote on the university’s application, Stanford abruptly withdrew it. The university’s decision both was and wasn’t surprising. On the one hand, Stanford was on the cusp of victory, with the county preparing to let it build 2.275 million square feet of academic space and 2,192 housing units for staff between now and 2030. On the other hand, the permit that the county was preparing to approve — with additional required housing and stricter traffic limits — was not the one that Stanford wanted, making the victory hollow. In the end, the approval process took on a meta flavor, becoming a negotiation about negotiations. Stanford wanted to negotiate a “development agreement” with the county — a mechanism that would have required opaque and diplomatic give-andtake. County leaders insisted on going through the regular planning process of setting requirements that Stanford would have to meet to compensate for problems the project would create. In announcing the withdrawal on Nov. 1, Stanford President Marc Tessier-Levigne said the university made the decision “with regret, but with a clear-eyed understanding of the challenges before us in achieving a successful long-term permit at this time.”

Suspected serial killer John Getreu waits in a courtroom at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice during a hearing on July 15.

Veronica Weber

he news of 2019 brought us corrupt parents and determined protesters, victims who decided to finally speak out and people celebrating achievements that were realized at long last. The new Stanford Hospital finally opened, a $2 billion state-of-the-art facility that will play a key role in the life of the community as well as in responding to local disasters for decades to come. Other long-sought projects got off the ground, or into the ground, such as construction of the California Avenue garage, with the new police headquarters to follow. Some efforts stalled out, like the city’s hopes to see developers build enough housing to lessen the demand, while others continued slow and uncertain percolation. Troubling national phenomena — divisiveness and polarization — came home to roost in April when one woman’s attempt to dox a man wearing a Make America Great Again hat instead went viral, backfired and forced her into hiding. In a refreshing turn of events, the Palo Alto Unified School District saw relatively smooth sailing on the part of administrators following years of turmoil and turnover. Meanwhile, a concerning tightfistedness when it comes to public records on the part of the city of Palo Alto seems to have taken hold. With leadership of our country facing uncertainty, locals are looking at 2020 with an air of cynicism. Before we launch into a new and potentially tumultuous year, we pause to review the best and worst happenings of 2019 — and consider how 2020 might be better.

Magali Gauthier

The best and worst news of 2019

MOST SIGNIFICANT ARREST John Getreu — alleged serial killer

NA technology and dogged police work nabbed an alleged killer in two 45-year-old cold-case murders. Leslie Marie Perlov and Janet Ann Taylor, both 21, were found strangled on Stanford University land in 1973 and 1974, respectively. The cases remained unsolved until Santa Clara County detectives ran evidence containing DNA through familial DNA databases. Experts identified a suspect, John Arthur Getreu, 74, of Hayward, California. He was arrested in November 2018 for Perlov’s death and charged this past May with Taylor’s killing. He has pleaded not guilty to both cases and remains in jail. Getreu lived in Palo Alto and surrounding cities during the time of the murders and worked at (continued on page 12)

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Upfront 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER William S. Johnson (223-6505) EDITORIAL

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Assistant Sports Editor Glenn Reeves (223-6521) Express & Digital Editor Jamey Padojino (223-6524) Staff Writers Sue Dremann (223-6518), Elena Kadvany (223-6519), Gennady Sheyner (223-6513) Chief Visual Journalist Magali Gauthier (223-6530) Staff Visual Journalist Sammy Dallal (223-6520) Editorial Assistant/Intern Coordinator Lloyd Lee (223-6526)

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Major Accounts Sales Manager Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571) Circulation Assistant Alicia Santillan Computer System Associates Chris Planessi, Mike Schmidt 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 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. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306. ©2019 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, ads@paweekly.com Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Email circulation@paweekly.com. You may also subscribe online at PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $120/yr.

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Odds ‘n’ ends Stories we wish came straight from our imaginations When things get out of hand — from animals (of the live and artistic kind) taking over neighborhoods to an alleged burglar caught red-handed — headlines are born. We selected three stories of local happenings that took people by surprise in 2019.

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Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Paul Llewellyn

WHERE HI-TECH MEETS HIGH TOUCH

To the surprise of passing commuters, Palo Alto-raised artist Sylvi Herrick installed three large-scale crow sculptures on the roof and yard of her mother’s Crescent Park home in May to raise awareness about immigration.

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WHO LET THE GOATS OUT? ... The motive behind a goat herd’s great escape from a Los Altos home on April 4 is still up for debate, but on that night Palo Alto animal control officers were called to prevent the herd from wandering off. Dubbed Operation Green Goat, a 14-minute video posted online by Animal Control Officer William Warrior shows photos and clips of the goats, who had taken over an open field at the end of Dianne Drive east of Interstate Highway 280, some tugging away at leafy branches and grass. The Palo Alto officers helped Santa Clara County sheriff’s deputies keep the herd from taking their adventure any farther by setting up a temporary barricade until the goats’ owner arrived with herding dogs. At the sound of loud barks, the goats followed the noise in a loose but orderly fashion. “They were goats being goats and they all kind of followed each other back home,” sheriff’s spokesman Michael Low said. The goats belonged to Green Goat Landscapers and were in the neighborhood for a temporary job — helping a new homeowner on O’Keefe Lane clean up an overgrown lawn. The herd left the property through a portable electric gate that had been left open. Authorities were alerted to the great goat escape by an astonished resident who saw the herd as she jogged on Dianne Drive earlier that night. SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT ... Commuters on University Avenue did a double take in May when they saw three 7-foot-tall crow sculptures outside — and on top of — of a home. The work, titled You-Me-We, is by Palo Alto-raised artist Sylvi Herrick, who brought the fiberglassand-steel crows on a flat-bed truck from St. Augustine, Florida, to her mother’s lawn and rooftop in the Crescent Park neighborhood. The crow sculptures, each weighing

around 350 to 400 pounds, are more than just decorations. Herrick sees them as a launching point for discussions on migration, borders and connection, themes she’s long been interested in exploring. “My mom is a refugee; my husband is an immigrant; and my grandmother was born in Mexico,” she said. The name You-Me-We comes from her desire for her artwork to unite people. “The three crows all work together. We’re all individuals but we’re all connected,” she said. WHAT A STEAL ... Employees of the Coach store at Stanford Shopping Center are still baffled over how a woman was able to sneak into the shop and hide for about eight hours before allegedly burglarizing the luxury retailer out of nearly $4,000 worth of merchandise at 1:50 a.m. the next day. On what seemed like a normal afternoon on Dec. 8, the 35-year-old San Francisco woman entered the designer brand store through a restricted entrance. The store, which sells leather goods and accessories, sweatshirts and jackets that range between $200 and $700, closed at 6 p.m. She went undetected until around shortly before 2 a.m., when officers responded to the mall due to an activated motion-detector alarm, Palo Alto police Sgt. Alex Afanasiev said. They found her outside of the store allegedly carrying $3,948 of merchandise, including a backpack and three shopping bags filled with goods, prompting them to arrest her, Afanasiev said. They also found her with drug paraphernalia, a metal bar, a screwdriver and other miscellaneous tools, he said. “Management was surprised something like this happened,” said a Coach manager who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We’re still trying to figure out where the woman hid.” The store’s open layout does not offer many hiding spots. On a recent Thursday, more mall security personnel and Palo Alto police officers patrolled the area. To prevent situations like the Coach store burglary, Afanasiev suggested that retail employees inspect all sections of their stores, including bathrooms, before they leave for the day. Q

Upfront

The Weekly’s year-end news quiz

Did you know?

From President Donald Trump’s visit to unending airplane noise, here are questions to test your recollection of this year’s news BY SUE DREMANN, ELENA KADVANY, JOCELYN DONG AND GENNADY SHEYNER

ow well have you been paying attention to local news? The Palo Alto Weekly staff has crafted this quiz to see whether you know the details of what happened this year. The answers, with explanations, are on page 10.

1 Recognizing that time is

money in the race to get county funds, Palo Alto has set the following deadline for reaching a decision on the best way to separate the railroad tracks from intersecting roads at rail crossings. A. December 2018 B. Fall 2019 C. Spring 2020 D. All of the above

2 In an effort to negotiate

approval of its proposed campus expansion, Stanford University this summer presented a package of benefits whose value it estimated at $4.7 billion. However, Santa Clara County concluded that the proposed benefits actually added up to: A. $168 million B. $1.4 billion C. $4.2 billion D. $6.1 billion

3 Which one of the following

did not show up to President Donald Trump’s first visit to the Peninsula since his election? A. Supporters who paid up to $100,000 per couple B. A diaper-clad giant “Baby Trump” balloon C. A live elephant dressed in an orange wig D. Social-activist group the Raging Grannies

4 Before Fry’s Electronics set

up shop in Palo Alto nearly 30 years ago, the sprawling building at 340 Portage Ave. was occupied at one point or another by each of these companies except which one? A. Bayside Canning Company B. Sutter Canning Company C. Basket Galleria D. Liddicoats

5 The Palo Alto Weekly’s

website and the sites of its sister papers were hacked Sept. 17, 2015, and a San Francisco man was arrested by federal authorities. What happened to that man this year?

A. He was acquitted by a jury B. He was convicted by a jury and fled the country to avoid a sentence C. After he was convicted by a jury in 2018, he was sentenced this year to time already served D. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to two years in prison What did Palo Alto do about

6 the ongoing problem of

airplane noise this year? A. The City Council approved filing a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen flight path program B. The City Council rejected a proposal to file a lawsuit against the FAA’s NextGen program C. The city joined a multicounty, class-action lawsuit for an injunction to prevent the FAA from flying aircraft according to its NextGen program D. The city filed an injunction in federal court against the FAA to stop flight paths over Palo Alto

7 During the 2016 City

Council campaign, incumbent Liz Kniss allegedly failed to report most of her contributions from developers until well after Election Day. The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) opened an investigation in March 2017. What happened to that probe this year? A. The FPPC concluded there were no improprieties on Kniss’ part B. In a no-fault settlement with the FPPC, Kniss paid an undisclosed fine C. Nothing; the FPPC still hasn’t finished its investigation D. None of the above According to a recent

8 California Student Tobacco

Survey of about 6,700 eighth, 10th, and 12th grade students from 18 Santa Clara County schools, what percentage of high school students in Santa Clara County have tried e-cigarettes? A. Less than 15% B. 32% C. 60% D. 80%

9 The growth of charter

schools in East Palo Alto has put pressure on the Ravenswood City School District, where enrollment and state funding have dropped sharply over several years. How many charter schools currently operate in East Palo Alto? A. Three B. Five C. Seven D. Ten

10 How long did it take

Stanford University to agree to install a campus plaque honoring Chanel Miller, who was sexually assaulted by student Brock Turner outside a fraternity house in 2015, with a quote that she chose from her victim impact statement? A. No time — the university agreed immediately B. Two months C. One year D. Almost two years Bonus question: What is the quote she chose? How many minutes elapsed 11 before emergency responders, responding to a 911 call about a Barron Park woman exhibiting stroke symptoms, took her by ambulance to Stanford Hospital in June? A. 47 minutes B. 34 minutes C. 11 minutes D. 5 minutes To curb alleged shoplifting 12 by Palo Alto High School students, the CVS store at Town & Country Village instituted what policy this year? A. All students are banned during the lunch hour B. Teens’ backpacks are searched as they leave the store C. All teens must be accompanied by an adult D. Only five students can be in the store during lunch hour

13 Palo Alto and Gunn high

schools will be able to start the school day earlier than 8:30 a.m. after 2022. True or false?

14 For more than two decades,

Palo Alto’s elected leaders have had a dream: a citywide high-speed Internet system for residents and businesses that’s

powered by an underground network of fiber-optic cables. That hasn’t come to fruition, but the City Council did agree this year to explore using the fiber ring for what purpose(s)? A. Installation of smart meters B. Synchronization of traffic lights C. Implementation of parking garage sensors D. All of the above

15 What kind of long-sought

recreational facility opened in Palo Alto mid-November? A. Olympic-level archery range B. Giant trampoline park C. Six pickleball courts D. Off-leash cat park

Now go to page 10 for the answers! Q

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For more information: (650) 305-0701 or eventbrite.com www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 7

Upfront YEAR IN REVIEW

The decade’s worth of news by Sue Dremann, Elena Kadvany and Gennady Sheyner

Veronica Weber

decade ago, at the close of 2009, Palo Alto was reeling from a series of suicides among its youth, Facebook was settling into the Stanford Research Park, the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center in south Palo Alto had just opened its doors and Dennis Burns (now retired) was completing his first year as police chief. Much has happened since then. With this retrospective of the top stories of the past decade, we take a quick walk down memory lane, focusing on those events whose impact reverberated for years. Here’s a final look back before crossing the threshold into 2020.

2010

2011

In an unusual clash, Palo Alto’s environmentalists split into two camps over whether a site near the Baylands should be used to build a waste-to-energy plant or conserved as open space. The battle culminated in Measure E, a November election in which proponents of the plant prevailed, resulting in the city setting aside 10 acres for a possible facility. While it has not been built, the vote continues to shape Palo Alto’s waste-treatment policies, with the city now considering building a recycled-water plant at the site.

included 60 apartments for low-income seniors and 12 single-family homes, was proposed by the Palo Alto Housing Corporation, which in the election’s aftermath focused on building projects in Mountain View and Redwood City instead. After the defeat at the polls, the council summarily axed the “public community” zoning process, which many developers had relied on in the past to win approval of large developments that exceeded the city’s zoning laws.

TALK ABOUT IT

PaloAltoOnline.com What news event would you nominate as the top story of 2019? Share your ideas by posting under this article on Town Square, the community discussion forum at PaloAltoOnline.com/square.

internationally as unjust and lenient, prompted protests, legislative changes and, eventually, Persky’s recall. The sentencing is now held up as an example of the mistreatment of survivors of sexual violence by the criminal justice system.

2014

The start of a youth suicide cluster in late 2014, the second in five years, threw the Palo Alto community into action. Students became outspoken advocates for mental health reform — telling their peers “It’s OK to not be OK” — while their schools worked to alleviate academic stress and offer more support services. In the wake of the deaths by suicide came much change: campus wellness centers, school schedule changes, student advocacy groups, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigation into youth suicide, new social-emotional learning curricula and a heightened awareness of mental illness.

Veronica Weber

An early-morning plane crash into an East Palo Alto neighborhood on Feb. 17 killed three Tesla employees, caused a fire at a preschool and damaged two other homes. Miraculously, no one on the ground was killed or seriously injured. The crash occurred after the twin-engine Cessna took off in fog from Palo Alto Municipal Airport, its wing clipped a power line and the plane hit a PG&E tower. Power was knocked out to all or parts of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Stanford and Mountain View. The incident exposed the vulnerability of Palo Alto’s infrastructure and prompted city leaders to discuss creating an alternative power source in the event of another disaster.

Members of the San Mateo County Forensics Team and firefighters from the Menlo Park, Palo Alto and East Palo Alto fire departments respond to a plane crash on Beech Street on Feb. 17, 2010.

Buena Vista Mobile Home Park residents pack the Palo Alto City Council chambers during a hearing about the park’s possible closure on April 14, 2015. Buena Vista Residents Association, which represented the 400 mostly lowincome residents, filed an August lawsuit against the city challenging the council’s May closure decision. The court papers kept accruing: By November, the park owners also sued the city over its May decision, claiming the requirements were unconstitutional and tantamount to extortion. But all worked out in the end, with a $40.4 million deal inked in 2017 that preserved the mobile-home park.

2012

In an election battle that reshaped both Palo Alto’s political landscape and its zoning rules, voters overturned the City Council’s approval of a housing development on Maybell Avenue. The project, which

The start of a youth suicide cluster in late 2014 prompted students to become outspoken advocates for mental health reform.

2015

Buena Vista Mobile Home Park almost closed in 2015 after the City Council approved in May a resident-relocation plan submitted by the park’s owners. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the Palo Alto City Council tried to save the park by approving $14.5 million each toward the purchase of the park, but the owners rejected the offer in September. The

Page 8 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

When Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky sentenced Brock Turner to six months in county jail and three years of probation for the sexual assault of an unconscious and intoxicated woman on the Stanford University campus, he set off a firestorm whose embers continue to smolder. The sentencing, decried Dennis Backlund stands in his book-filled apartment. He was among the residents at the President Hotel Apartments forced to leave after the new property owners announced that they wanted to turn the building back into a hotel.

Turmoil in the Palo Alto school district reached its peak in 2017. There was the avoidable staff error that cost the district up to $6 million in unbudgeted union pay increases; a sexual-assault case at Palo Alto High School; the hotly debated and emotional decision to rename David Starr Jordan and Terman middle schools; and a spate of mid-year departures and end-of-year retirements of key staff, not to mention the early exit of Superintendent Max McGee in the wake of all of the upheaval. The district spent many months recovering from the build up of community distrust, low staff morale and general disruption.

2018

Longtime residents of the historic President Hotel Apartments in downtown Palo Alto learned in June that they would have to vacate their apartments by November as part of a plan by the new owner, AJ Capital Partners, to convert the iconic building into a luxury hotel. Despite a grassroots uproar about the loss of housing, the developer proceeded with the plan, prompting evictions of all residents. Q

Veronica Weber

2013

2016

Veronica Weber

Billionaire developer John Arrillaga came to city of Palo Alto staff in 2011 with an ambitious and zone-busting plan: a request to build two giant office towers and a theater at 27 University Ave., near the downtown Caltrain station. Staff held a series of private meetings with Arrillaga’s team, as City Council members later did, and in 2012 floated the idea of a city election on the project for the following June. But when residents learned about the project — and the opaque process — they came out in force, prompting the council to nix the concept. The doomed project also marked a turning point for Palo Alto’s commercial boom, with developer Jay Paul subsequently withdrawing its own proposal for a major office development near Page Mill Road in the face of public opposition.

2017

Upfront YEAR IN REVIEW

An interview with a rat — and other reporters’ tales An inside look at what Weekly reporters did to get a few of this year’s stories

hat does it take for journalists to get the story? Sometimes a little luck; sometimes courage. Sometimes it requires extraordinary patience. But always, it takes passion and a drive to make sure our readers get the full story. Here are a few of their tales.

My interview with a giant rat

Deep Rat finally took his leave. We watched silently until he disappeared. Peter was the first to speak. “You know, that was pretty brilliant,” he said. As for the promised scoop, the rat didn’t provide information that I hadn’t already unearthed. On June 12, 2019, a federal judge sentenced Colby to time served for the two felonies and three misdemeanors.

A moment with Rowena Chiu by Elena Kadvany read Rowena Chiu’s powerful New York Times op-ed, “Harvey Weinstein Told Me He Liked Chinese Girls,” immediately the day it came out in October. As a reporter who has covered sexual violence extensively, from the Brock Turner case to sexual misconduct in Palo Alto schools, I’m drawn to any and all #MeToo stories. Chiu was the latest woman to accuse Hollywood producer Weinstein of sexual assault. She said that he attempted to rape her in a hotel room in Venice while she was working as his assistant in 1998. Elena Kadvany She was 24 years old. A particular paragraph in her piece caught my eye: “Then, in September 2018, I watched another woman, Christine Blasey Ford, speak up about the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Coincidentally, only a few minutes from my house she was living the very existence I’d feared — getting death threats and leaving her home to take

Magali Gauthier

by Sue Dremann ’ve had many encounters while covering plane crashes, murders, trials and fires during nearly 20 years of reporting. But a humongous rat promising a scoop? I definitely did not see that coming. In June 2018, 35 -ye a r- ol d San Francisco computer programmer Ross Colby was convicted of the September 2015 hack of Palo Alto On- Sue Dremann line and its sister websites. But after the trial, prosecutors informed Embarcadero Media, the Weekly’s parent company, that Colby had implicated another person in the crime — a convicted felon and former Menlo Park resident who allegedly wanted Colby to remove two stories written about him from The Almanac website. The jury never heard that information because FBI investigators were unable to corroborate his claim. Colby also told outlandish stories about the man, including that the person shot an AK-47 over Colby’s head. Colby and his friends were terrified, he later told me during a jail interview. On Oct. 31, 2018, I received an email with the benign subject line: “Ross Colby.” Hi Sue, If you would like to get some dots connected about this story, please meet me to talk off record. No phone or recording, just yourself and a notepad. I’ll recognize you. Go to the San Jose Doubletree on Saturday 11/3 at 3 p.m. sharp, and hang around inside the lobby in sight of the main entrance. I’ll be there with info. Hmm. The email was not signed and the address was not traceable. Going to a meeting alone and standing in sight of the lobby’s main entrance seemed risky considering some of Colby’s claims. Still, I wanted to know more. I arrived at the DoubleTree at the appointed hour. People in elaborate costumes roamed the

halls: deer with giant antlers, bears, foxes, wolves, cats, a raccoon. A belated Halloween party? Maybe, I thought. Peter Beller, Embarcadero Media’s more-than-6-foot-tall chief financial officer, arrived to keep a discreet eye on me when I met with the informant. We sat at a cafe table adjacent to the lobby. I sipped my coffee and nervously checked the time on my smartphone. I glanced toward the glass double doors. The minutes were drawing near for the encounter. More animals paraded past. Then seemingly coming from nowhere, a man in a giant rodent costume, greater than 6 feet tall, approached. The rat sported a gnawed ear and a punk mohawk. “Are you Sue?” he asked. It took about 30 seconds to register; I was laughing. Peter looked confused. “This is our contact,” I said. “Deep Rat,” as we came to call him, took us to a quiet nook on the second floor. The rat trap attached to his long tail bumped along the stairs. “What’s with all of the animals?” I asked. A Furries convention, a group of fans of media featuring anthropomorphic animals, he said. “This is perfect,” I thought, admiring the genius of his disguise. Deep Rat rubbed his whiskers pensively as we asked questions. He seemed youngish; he was intelligent and creative; he had an obvious sense of humor. We talked for a long time; he was a friend of Colby and wanted to make sure I had certain information. Privately, I wondered how he could stand being in that costume. There wasn’t much ventilation except around his eyes. I pictured him returning to his hotel room and peeling off that hot rat suit, drenched in sweat. Would he be relieved?

Palo Alto resident Rowena Chiu said Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein attempted to rape her when she was his 24-year-old assistant in 1998.

refuge in hotel rooms.” I knew Blasey Ford, of course, lived in Palo Alto. Did that mean Chiu was also a Palo Alto resident and thus there was a local significance to this high-profile national story? After some quick Googling indicated she did live in this area, I sent a text to a well-connected Palo Alto parent I thought might know Chiu. The parent did and connected me with Chiu, a Palo Alto resident. Given it took Chiu two decades to share what happened to her — not only publicly, but with her husband and loved ones — I wasn’t sure what kind of interview subject she would be. I found her to be an earnest, thoughtful, willing participant who had given much consideration (probably more than I can ever imagine) to talking about this publicly. She seriously considered the ramifications for her young children and how she would explain to them what had happened to her. Her youngest, a 2-year-old boy, crawled into her lap as she recounted to me how she decided to go public after years of fear, silence and emotional trauma. “There’s a public duty, a civic good in speaking out,” she said she had ultimately realized. It was also important to her to speak out as an Asian woman, a culture in which talking about sexual violence is still taboo for many, she said. Two things about Chiu’s story really stuck with me. One was coincidental: the fact that she was the third Palo Alto woman to be vaulted to the national front of the #MeToo movement. In addition to Ford, there’s Chanel Miller, the Palo Alto native and Gunn High School graduate who was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner at Stanford University. The second thing was something Chiu said after appearing on our webcast, “Behind the Headlines.” It was so compelling I asked our staff to make sure it made it into the full video that we later posted online. “In speaking out, people talk a lot about your courage and your bravery, but the people who haven’t yet spoken out are listening. It makes them think, ‘Have I not been brave? Have I not been courageous because I’ve been silent?’” she said. “Everybody processes things differently. They in their own way have been brave and courageous because they’re still on earth and they’ve had something super traumatic happen to them and they’ve had to process it in their own way. One shouldn’t diminish the people that are silent by giving the people that are speaking out too much accolade.” She articulated the complexity of the assault survivor’s decision to speak up in a way I hadn’t heard before. It also made me think more deeply about my role as a journalist in telling these stories.

The waiting game by Gennady Sheyner

hen news breaks at odd hours, reporters in newsrooms that aren’t staffed 24/7 often have to rely on news releases and follow-up interviews to get the story. And that’s what I figured would happen on Friday, Aug. 2, after an armed 29-year-old man named Adam Smith allegedly tried to strangle his girlfriend and — once she escaped through a bathroom window — holed himself up in a house in the Charleston Meadow neighborhood. The standoff extended throughout the day, into the night and into Saturday morning. I was the reporter responsible for keeping tabs on breaking news on Saturday, so I arrived at the scene around 9 a.m. When I drove up, most of the roads in and out of the area were closed, so I walked around the neighborhood looking for a suitable obser vation point. Along the way, I chatted with a few police officers and paramedGennady ics in hopes of Sheyner getting some basic information. But while everyone was courteous, it was clear they were not authorized to talk to the press. I then drove to the neighborhood behind the crime scene, parked and walked over to where most of the police officers appeared to be heading. I spoke to several neighbors. One told me that Smith had fired a gun in the middle of the night to disable a robot that was sent inside the house. Another resident, whose backyard connects with the backyard of the house where Smith was holed up, told me that the police had commandeered his home and told him to leave. He was bicycling back to the house to see if he could get his clean laundry. Continuing on, I saw SWAT team members positioning themselves on the roof and crisis negotiators with bullhorns repeatedly telling Smith to get out of the house while canine units stood by and a drone hovered overhead. It was a major law enforcement operation. After hours of fruitless coaxing, officers began discharging tear gas, which filled the block and irritated the eyes of passing pedestrians. Fifteen minutes after the gas canisters were fired, I heard a commotion as Smith walked out of the house and into the backyard and an officer fired a “non-lethal” shot into his stomach. Police then apprehended Smith, who was sweaty, puffy-eyed and seemingly exhausted, and led him into an awaiting police SUV. Twenty-nine hours after it began, the standoff was over. I went home shortly after 3 p.m. and wrote my story. Q

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 9

Upfront

Year-end news quiz answers Missed the news quiz? Go to page 7 of this edition.

The county determined that most of the “benefits” in Stanford’s package — including 2,600 new student beds — were either a part of the project or a mitigation that would be required by the county whether or not Stanford had offered to provide it. Ending a fractious process with the county that began in 2016, the university withdrew its application on Nov. 1.

President Trump’s Sept. 17 fundraising luncheon at the home of Scott McNealy, the former CEO of Sun Microsystems, was shrouded in secrecy but protesters including the Raging Grannies group found out the location and showed up, with a “Baby Trump” balloon in tow. Luncheon attendees paid $1,000 to $100,000 (per couple), but no live elephant was present.

The site at 340 Portage Ave. was one of Palo Alto’s biggest wildcards even before Fry’s Electronics confirmed last August that it will shutter its store in January. The city has long eyed the site for housing, a prospect that now seems remote given the lack of interest from the property owner. Redevelopment plans are also complicated by the recent designation of the former cannery building as a historical

involving Councilmen Adrian Fine and Greg Tanaka were resolved within months, and more than 75% of FPPC complaints are resolved within a year, according to agency spokesman Jay Wierenga. He assured the Weekly in October that the FPPC does not “bury” cases, but he would not comment on when this complaint will be resolved. Kniss’ term will end in December 2020.

After a jury convicted Ross Colby in 2018 of two felonies and three misdemeanors in the cyberattack, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh on June 12, 2019, sentenced Colby to time served (about five months), plus one year of home incarceration with electronic monitoring, three years of supervised release and to pay $27,130 in restitution to Embarcadero Media.

Of the high school students surveyed, 32% have tried e-cigarettes, and more than 13% said they had vaped in the prior month. Local schools, parents, public agencies and elected officials are moving to respond to the rise in youth vaping, which many describe as a public health crisis. Earlier this month, the Palo Alto City Council agreed to ban the sales and distribution of electronic cigarettes at local stores.

In June, the City Council rejected filing litigation against the FAA over airplane noise caused by the agency’s NextGen program, despite urging from residents. The decision was the second time the council considered and rejected the idea. The council decided the best chance for relief from noise would be to work with the FAA through a regional process.

The FPPC says the complaint against Kniss remains under investigation, though the agency has declined to state why it’s taking so long, citing a policy of not commenting on open cases. What’s beyond dispute, however, is that the investigation is taking far Liz Kniss longer than most cases. Investigations into 2016 campaign-law violations

East Palo Alto is home to East Palo Alto Charter School, East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, KIPP, Oxford Day Academy and East Palo Alto Academy. Facing a sizable budget deficit, Ravenswood will close two of its elementary schools in 2020. One of the vacated campuses will be offered to KIPP Bay Area Schools, whose request to expand sparked controversy during the last school year. KIPP also won approval in September to open a high school in East Palo Alto next year.

A woman dressed as a Handmaid helps get the Baby Trump balloon ready for a protest outside President Donald Trump’s fundraising event in Portola Valley.

On June 3, a 911 call about a medical emergency was put through by a dispatcher as a possible psychiatric case and the fire department was “staged” away from the woman until police could clear the scene as safe. Police officers parked two blocks away for five minutes for a reason the city has never explained,

Sammy Dallal

Page 10 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

A car waits for a northbound train to pass at the Churchill Avenue intersection, one of three rail crossings that the city is preparing to redesign. then spent another five minutes questioning the ailing woman as she struggled to speak. In all, it took 47 minutes before she entered the Stanford emergency room, where she had a grand mal seizure. (The woman survived.)

district is considering how to use the required later start times to implement other changes, potentially including common bell schedules at the two high schools and among the three middle schools, opportunities to share staff among campuses and using video conferencing for classes.

The CVS at Town & Country Village in Palo Alto started limiting the number of students who could enter the store during the Palo Alto High School lunch period to five at a time in light of thefts. The store manager consulted with police and the school administrators prior to adopting the policy and said that it helped cut down on thefts. However, in November, the CVS corporation instructed the store to end the practice.

The uses are all “smart city” initiatives, which the city is eager to pursue. But even with the new direction, council members continue to hold out some hope that residents will one day connect their homes to a public fiber system. To that end, the council directed staff in July to hire a consultant to create yet another business plan to explore a broader fiber expansion.

Starting in the 202223 school year, all California high schools must start the day no earlier than 8:30 a.m. under Senate Bill 328, which was signed into law this year. School districts will have a three-year window to implement schedules that ring the first-period bell no earlier than 8:30 a.m. for high schools and 8 a.m. for middle schools. The Palo Alto school

Mitchell Park added six permanent pickleball courts on Nov. 13, bringing the city’s total number of courts available for pickleball play to 15. The six courts, four of which were converted from a tennis court, can be used on a first-come, firstserved basis. Seven of the 15 are tennis courts that give pickleball players priority from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Q

False.

StoryMap JS

In January 2018, Chanel Miller (who was then still anonymous, known to the public as Emily Doe), withdrew from talks with Stanford to place a plaque at the site where Turner sexually assaulted her, an area the university had transformed the previous fall by installing benches, landscaping and a fountain. Miller had originally proposed the quote from her victim-impact statement, “You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today,” which Stanford rejected saying it could be “triggering” for survivors of sexual violence. It took nearly two years and mounting public pressure, including two anonymously installed plaques with her chosen quote, for the university to reverse its decision in November. “I am deeply sorry that Ms. Miller was sexually assaulted on our campus, and I recognize the profound pain she has experienced,” Provost Persis Drell said in an announcement.

Veronica Weber

The “grade separation” effort has inched along at a slower pace than the City Council had anticipated in January 2018, when it set out to pick preferred alternatives for four rail crossings by the end of that year. Since then, the council has repeatedly moved the goal line, with the current target set for next spring. If things go as planned, construction would be completed by 2031, according to city estimates.

structure because of its significance to California’s agriculture in the early 20th century, when the building was occupied by the Bayside Canning Company (19181928). The cannery, which was later purchased by Sutter Canning Company, would later be converted to other uses, with Basket Galleria occupying it in 1985 and Fry’s coming to the site in about 1990.

Openings and closings in 2019 Palo Alto’s retail and restaurant scene saw some big changes this year with the opening of noteworthy restaurants and the debut of the area’s first outposts for a handful of international brands at Stanford Shopping Center. The community also said goodbye to a few longtime, beloved institutions. For a roundup and interactive map of the city’s most notable openings and closings during 2019, go to http://bit.ly/2019OpeningsandClosings.

Upfront “I think the heart of it is a lack of clear communication.” —Divya Ganesan, a student at Castilleja School, on the debate over the school’s development proposal

NOTABLE QUOTE S OF 2 019 “People get the idea that if you’re for Trump, you are an evil person.” —Victor, the 74-year-old man in the MAGA hat confrontation, on political polarization

“What we are looking at tonight is the unintended consequence of the state law and whether we should put a Band-Aid on it.” —Alison Cormack, Palo Alto councilwoman, on urgency law to protect renters

“Palo Alto is a city, not a gated community or a country club.” —Barbara Millin, Palo Alto resident, on expanding access to Foothills Park

“The priority you’ve set years ago is out of date.” —Neilson Buchanan, Downtown North resident, on plans for a downtown garage

“It looks like a monster, but we have to face it.”

“For a city of 67,000 to acquire $2 billion to $4 billion in debt would be an act of epic irresponsibility.”

—Ana Maria Pulido, Ravenswood City School District board member, on closing schools

—Carolyn Schmarzo, Palo Alto resident, on building a citywide train tunnel

“We just aged out.” —Rev. Randle Mixon, pastor at First Baptist Church, on the church’s pending closure

“There is such a thing as giving a startup too much money.” —Eric Filseth, Palo Alto mayor, on allotting more funds to study the Ventura neighborhood

“This is becoming our war cry at this point.” —Liz Kniss, Palo Alto councilwoman, on the city’s opposition to “one-size-fitsall” housing bills

“Sustainability is in Palo Alto’s blood, and this is where we can make our mark.” —Bob Wenzlau, Palo Alto resident, on the city’s new recycling guidelines

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 11

Upfront

Best and worst (continued from page 5)

Stanford Hospital in the cardiac transplant laboratory at the time of Taylor’s death. By the 1970s, Getreu was already a convicted killer, having been sentenced for the rape and murder in Germany of a 15-year-old in 1964 when he was 18. He is likely to stand trial in 2020.

BIGGEST REVELATION OF THE CORRUPTION OF PRIVILEGE Operation Varsity Blues nothing to bolster a positive view of huDoing man nature, a group of 33 wealthy parents found

Veronica Weber

themselves charged in March with federal crimes for allegedly bribing test proctors and athletic coaches to secure their children spots at top-ranked colleges and universities. The $25 million scandal involved 11 prominent, local parents from Palo Alto, Atherton, Menlo Park, Hillsborough and Mill Valley and college-admissions counselor William “Rick” Singer, who helped fake athletics resumes so their children would be recruited for college teams, including at Stanford University. In addition, SAT and ACT test proctor corrected the children’s answers or took the tests himself to boost the students’ scores. The parents allegedly paid Singer hundreds of thousands of dollars through his fake nonprofit organization, The Key Worldwide Foundation. Most of the local parents have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges — including conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and honest services fraud — and received sentences ranging from no prison time to five months of incarceration along with fines and probation. Four local parents, including Palo Altans Gregory and Amy Colburn, have pleaded not guilty. They face additional charges, including money laundering, and await trial in 2020.

After more than a decade of planning and building, the new 824,000-square-foot Stanford Hospital finally opened on Nov. 17. at him at the top of her lungs, at one point calling the man, who is Jewish, “Nazi scum.” Posting about the incident on Facebook and Twitter, she called the man a “hater of brown people” and threatened to post pictures of him on social media, which she then did. She asked the public for help finding him — “I want him to have nowhere to hide,” she wrote — a practice called “doxing,” or posting a person’s contact information to encourage threats and harassment. The incident and her postings went viral, and in a case of “what goes around, comes around,” she soon found herself the object of scorn. The woman received hate mail and death threats, lost her job and for a time disappeared. She was later found safe.

MOST VIRAL POLITICAL DIATRIBE The MAGA hat tirade n elderly man’s quiet cup of coffee at Starbucks on California Avenue in Palo Alto on April 1 turned into a diatribe-heard-around-the-world after a woman took umbrage with his wearing a red Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat. The Palo Alto woman attempted to shame the 74-year-old man and loudly exhorted other patrons to do the same. They didn’t join in, and he decided to leave the cafe. She followed him outside and continued to berate and swear

Veronica Weber

An effort by the city and Palo Alto school district to develop a master plan for Cubberley Community Center hit numerous obstacles this year.

BIGGEST DISCONNECT Cubberley Community Center t was supposed to be a true partnership that would ICommunity transform Palo Alto’s dilapidated treasure, Cubberley Center. That, at least was the vision that a 28-member committee of city and school stakeholders presented to the City Council in 2013. While it took some time to get off the ground, the joint planning effort by the city and the Palo Alto Unified School District proceeded apace this year, with a series of well-attended community meetings concluding in May. And in November, the project’s consultant, Concordia, completed the master plan for Cubberley, a document that envisions more green space, new swimming pools, teacher housing on a site next to Cubberley and rebuilt gymnasiums and auditoriums that would be shared by the city and the school district. But it became increasingly clear by the end of the year that the plans are unlikely to materialize. School board members have indicated that they have no interest in rebuilding the gym or the auditorium any time soon and have backed away from building teacher housing. And some city leaders have grown impatient with the school district’s wavering. The two sides are preparing to sign a fresh lease for Cubberley in early 2020, giving them until the end of 2022 to come up with a cost-sharing arrangement for the improvements. While the new lease may bring some clarity and certainty to the process, it will also ensure that nothing of substance will happen at the community center any time soon.

Page 12 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

MOST IMPORTANT CELEBRATION Stanford Hospital opening decade in the planning and building, the new 824,000-square-foot Stanford Hospital finally opened on Nov. 17 when staff wheeled 200 patients from the old hospital into the new one. The new sevenstory hospital, located at 500 Pasteur Drive, doubles to 600 the number of patients that can stay overnight. A new Level 1 trauma center is designed to handle injuries and illnesses caused by catastrophic events such as earthquakes, influenza and terrorism. Pluses for patients: All of the patient rooms are private and individual, surrounded by sweeping views; there’s a convertible bed for family members to stay overnight; and each room is wired for Wi-Fi so patients can contact their medical care team, stream movies and connect to the internet; an MRI-imaging suite is connected to an operating room for rapid diagnosis and surgical followup; and there are five healing gardens.

RUNNERS UP: Palo Alto's 125th anniversary, which the city celebrated on April 28 with the opening of its first time capsule from 1994. East Palo Alto pedestrian-bike bridge, a $14 million U.S. Highway 101 overpass that opened on May 18. The Avenidas senior center reopened on April 1 with a renovated 22,000-square-foot facility that includes a fitness studio, cafe and technology room. Palo Alto retired its old, polluting sludge incinerators in June and unveiled a new dewatering and haul-out facility. Construction began on a six-story California Avenue parking garage at 350 Sherman Ave.

ISSUE MOST ACTED-UPON BY CITY COUNCIL Environmental sustainability hen the City Council adopted “climate change” as a priorityin February, some residents accused the council of “virtue signaling” rather than setting goals that are actually achievable. In the following months, the council demonstrated that when it comes to environmental sustainability, it means business.

Upfront MOST NOTABLE COMING OUT Chanel Miller or years, she was only known to the world as Emily Doe, a name that took on outsized symbolism: of solidarity for sexual-assault survivors, of the flaws in the criminal justice system, of the power of the growing movement in which women everywhere were saying, “Me too.” But 2019 was the year that Palo Alto native Chanel Miller shed her anonymity and came out to the world as much more than the woman who had been sexually assaulted by Brock Turner at Stanford University in 2015. Miller revealed her name this fall in advance of the publication of her memoir, “Know My Name,” in which she grappled honestly and poignantly with the aftermath of the assault, the trauma of the criminal trial and reclaiming her identity. “Never fight to injure, fight to uplift,” she wrote on the final page of the book. “Fight because you know that in this life, you deserve safety, joy and freedom. Fight because it is your life. Not anyone else’s.” Miller is a Gunn High School graduate, a writer and artist. She lives in San Francisco.

Image courtesy of 60 Minutes

Chanel Miller, a Palo Alto native who was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner at Stanford University in 2015, sits for her first public interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019. Emboldened by the priority, the council voted in June to ban plastic straws and produce bags and followed up in July with a law requiring contractors to disassemble — rather than demolish — buildings so that materials can be salvaged and reused. The coup de gras came in November, when the council passed a ban on natural gas in new buildings (which will now have to be all-electric) and reached an agreement with Valley Water, formerly known as the Santa Clara Valley Water District, to build a new recycled-water plant in the Baylands. The deal will expand the use of treated effluent for irrigation throughout the county and, if things go as planned, supply the city and Santa Clara County with a new long-term — and drought-proof — water source.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT Housing he City Council talked the talk in early 2018, when members named housing one of their top priorities for the year and set a goal of approving 300 new housing

RUNNER UP: Rowena Chiu, a Palo Alto mother of four, broke two decades of silence this fall with a New York Times op-ed describing how Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein had allegedly attempted to rape her while she was working as his assistant in 1998. In an interview with the Weekly, she said she realized “there’s a public duty, a civic good in speaking out.”

units annually. Two years later, that “talk” has produced little reason for optimism. The city’s new housing incentive program, which offered density bonuses for residential developments, has had no takers. Mayor Eric Filseth devoted his “State of the City” speech largely to criticizing SB50, the housing bill that would have required cities to approve multi-story developments near transit hubs and in areas rich in jobs. And the city’s most promising housing site, at Fry’s Electronics, has lost its lustre after the property owner said it’s not interested in redeveloping any time soon. The only significant housing project that the council approved this year was a 57-unit development for lowincome residents on El Camino Real — a victory that was more than offset by the loss of 75 apartments at the President Hotel downtown, whose owners want to turn the building into a boutique hotel. Despite acknowledging the “housing crisis,” council members are likely to continue to oppose new state laws that encourage — or require — more housing. But given the city’s recent track record, their assertions that “local control” is paramount for increasing the housing supply are ringing increasingly hollow.

MOST PROMISING DEVELOPMENT AT CITY HALL Office of Transportation ity Hall saw some major changes in 2019, the first year with City Manager Ed Shikada in charge. The most dramatic move was the creation of the Office of Transportation, which now has a staff of more than 15 employees and is charged with reforming the city’s parking system, expanding local shuttle service and planning for rail grade separation. Some of its efforts are expected to bear fruit in 2020, when the city

(continued on page 15)

WORST TREND AT CITY HALL Rising secrecy t’s been a terrible year for oversight at City Hall. When City Auditor Harriet Richardson announced her resignation at the end of 2018, few could have expected her position to remain vacant a year later. But her office, which had been mired in internal bickering for several years before her departure, remains shrouded in uncertainty, overseen by an outside consultant while the city considers fundamental changes. One option on the table calls for shifting some of the responsibilities of the city auditor’s office to the city manager’s, a move that would significantly undermine the auditor’s independence. An even more troubling trend is the lack of independent oversight in the Palo Alto Police Department, despite a recent uptick in claims of police brutality and the high-profile retirement of a veteran police sergeant who was caught on a surveillance video violently arresting a resident at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. For more than a decade, the city’s independent police auditor, OIR Group, has issued twice-a-year reports that detailed complaints against police officers, described all cases in which officers used force, and evaluated the department’s response to these incidents. This year, the police auditor did not issue any

Veronica Weber

A lack of independent audits raised major questions about oversight at City Hall. reports, citing direction from the city. The City Council for its part has been mum on the issues of police brutality and improper conduct. Its only decision — to approve a $572,500 settlement with the Buena Vista victim (a settlement that also required all officers to undergo LGBTQ sensitivity training) — took place behind closed doors and was not publicly acknowledged until the following day, when reporters began making inquiries.

City staff have similarly clammed up when asked about potential misconduct by police officers. Responses to requests for information through the California Public Records Act have been dragged out for months and, in the end, the city has released little information. It declined to release any information about an officer who was reportedly driving under the influence when he hit a neighbor’s car while off duty and then was caught lying about it to investigators. The city has also not provided documents related to a botched emergency response in June to a 911 call. The Weekly requested any copies of audio and video recordings from the devices in the supervising officer’s patrol car and body-worn camera; emails related to the functioning and existence of the officer’s body-worn camera, patrol car dash-camera recordings and GPS tracking; and the policies and training documents the police department said it modified in the wake of the incident. Similarly, the city has withheld all information regarding its new contract with police auditor OIR Group, which the council approved on Dec. 16. And when confronted earlier this year with news reports of a senior police supervisor using a racial slur while speaking to another officer, the city’s only public action was to modify its agreement with OIR to clarify that future audits will not include internal personnel matters.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 13

Support our Kids with a gift to the Holiday Fund Last Year’s Grant Recipients 49ers Academy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Able Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Ada’s Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Adolescent Counseling Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Aim High for High School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 All Students Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 Art in Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Art of Yoga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Bayshore Christian Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Big Brothers Big Sisters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Buena Vista Homework Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 CASSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. . . . . . . . $10,000 Downtown Streets Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 DreamCatchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 East Palo Alto Academy Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 East Palo Alto Charter School (EPACS). . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 East Palo Alto Kids Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 East Palo Alto Tennis & Tutoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 Environmental Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Family Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Fit Kids Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Foundation for a College Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Friends of Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Get Involved Palo Alto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Hidden Villa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Jasper Ridge Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Kara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 KIPP Valiant Community Prep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 La Comida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Live in Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Marine Science Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Music in the Schools Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 New Creation Home Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 New Voices for Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Palo Alto Art Center Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Palo Alto Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Palo Alto Music Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Peninsula HealthCare Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Peninsula Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Project WeHOPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 Ravenswood Education Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Rebuilding Together Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Silicon Valley Urban Debate League . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 St. Elizabeth Seton School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 St. Francis of Assisi Youth Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 TheatreWorks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 YMCA East Palo Alto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 YMCA Ross Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Youth Community Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 Youth Speaks Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12,000

Child Care Facility Improvement Grants Friends of Preschool Family. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Grace Lutheran Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 The Learning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Palo Alto Community Child Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 Palo Alto Friends Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Parents Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000

ach year the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund raises money to support programs serving families and children in the Palo Alto area. Since the Weekly and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation cover all the administrative costs, every dollar raised goes directly to support community programs through grants to non-profit organizations. And with the generous support of matching grants from local foundations, including the Packard, Hewlett, Peery and Arrillaga foundations, your taxdeductible gift will be doubled in size. A donation of $100 turns into $200 with the foundation matching gifts. Whether as an individual, a business or in honor of someone else, help us reach our goal of $400,000 by making a generous contribution to the Holiday Fund. With your generosity, we can give a major boost to the programs in our community helping kids and families.

Give to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund and your donation is doubled. You give to non-profit groups that work right here in our community. It’s a great way to ensure that your charitable donations are working at home.

As of December 16, 263 donors have contributed $281,251 to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund. 19 Anonymous.................................$124,700

New Donors Beth & Peter Rosenthal...................................... 300 Constance Crawford ......................................... 125 Linda & Jerry Elkind............................................ 250 Diane Finklestein................................................ 200 Eric Keller & Janice Bohman .............................. 500 Tom & Nancy Fiene ............................................ 100 Kay & Don Remsen.................................................* Werner Graf ...........................................................* Sallie & Jay Whaley .................................................* Scott Pearson ..................................................... 500 Marilyn, Dale, Rick & Mei Simbeck .........................* Mandy Lowell .........................................................* Robyn H Crumly .....................................................* John & Kristine Erving .............................................* Barbara Klein ..........................................................* Elizabeth Lillard-Bernal............................................* Virginia Laibl ...................................................... 100 Hoda Epstein ..........................................................*

Victor Befera ...................................................... 100 Elizabeth Kok ..........................................................* Rosalie Shepherd ............................................... 100 John Keller ......................................................... 200 Anne & Don Vermeil...............................................* Steve & Diane Ciesinski ..................................... 500 Bruce & Jane Gee .............................................. 250 Kenyon Family ................................................... 500 Jocelyn Dong ..........................................................* Deborah Mytels ................................................. 100 Eilenn Brennan........................................................* Marian Scheuer ................................................. 100 Ruchita Parat...................................................... 100 Susan Light ........................................................ 100 Ellen Krasnow .........................................................* Dennis & Cindy Dillon........................................ 300 Graceann Johnson............................................. 100 Diane & Branimir Sikic ............................................* James Lobdell .................................................... 250 Eric Filseth .......................................................... 350 Deborah Wexler................................................. 500 Erika Buck .......................................................... 100

Enclosed is a donation of $_______________ Name__________________________________________________________ Business Name __________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip ___________________________________________________ Email__________________________________________________

Credit Card (MC, VISA, or AMEX)

All donors and their gift amounts will be published in the Palo Alto Weekly unless the boxes below are checked.

__________________________________________Expires _______/_______

T I wish to contribute anonymously.

Phone _________________________________________________________

T Please withhold the amount of my contribution. Signature ______________________________________________________ I wish to designate my contribution as follows: (select one)

Send coupon and check, if applicable, to:

T In my name as shown above T In the name of business above OR:

T In honor of:

T In memory of:

T As a gift for:

_____________________________________________________________ (Name of person)

Non-profits: Grant application & guidelines at www.PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund Application deadline: January 10, 2020

Page 14 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Please make checks payable to: Silicon Valley Community Foundation

01 – Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund c/o Silicon Valley Community Foundation P.O. Box 45389 San Francisco, CA 94145 The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund is a donor advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. A contribution to this fund allows your donation to be tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Upfront

Donate online at ssiliconvalleycf.org/ paw-holiday-fund

Best and worst (continued from page 13)

Ted & Becky Baer ...................................200

Charles A. Smith ........................................ *

Rich & Pat Douglas ................................100

Arthur Keller ..........................................100

Richard A. Baumgartner & Elizabeth M. Salzer ................................450

Aryela Zulman .......................................100

Rita Vrhel ...............................................200

Kate Godfrey & Rob Colley........................ *

Hans & Judith Steiner ............................100

Guy & Janet DiJulio.................................... *

Phebe Bush ................................................*

Roy & Carol Blitzer ..................................... *

Ellen Lillington........................................400

Bertha Kalson ............................................*

Braff Family ............................................500

Mahlon & Carol Hubenthal ...................250

Aaron O’Neill .............................................*

Xiaofan Lin............................................... 50

Nina & Norman Kulgein ........................250

Ludwig Tannenwald ..................................*

Teresa Roberts.....................................1,000

Harry & Susan Hartzell ............................. 50

Bill Land .....................................................*

Richard Alexander...............................1,000

Marc Igler & Jennifer Cray .....................100

Jim & Dottie Mellberg............................200

Peter Beller.............................................250

James W. & Nancy E. Baer .....................200

Omar & Michelle Baldonado .....................*

In Memory Of Emmett Lorey ............................................*

Nancy Wong & Robert Lipshutz ............200

Yang Chu...............................................250

Ron & Melanie Wilensky .......................300

Dennis Clark ............................................ 75

Tom & Darlene McCalmont...................500

David Thom ...........................................200

Cynthia Costell ......................................100

Shirley Reiter ..........................................300

Elizabeth Bechtel ...................................100

Scott & Jan Kliner ..................................500

Bonnie Packer & Robert Raymakers ......100

Leo & Marlys Keoshian ..........................100

Michael Patrick ......................................200

Peter Kidder & Lynn Johnson.................200

Sandy Liu ...............................................100

Previously Published

Chris Logan ...........................................100

Dena Goldberg ......................................500

Joanne Koltnow ....................................200

Romola Georgia ........................................ *

Roger V. Smith .......................................300

Tom & Patricia Sanders .............................. *

Roger Warnke .......................................300

Art & Peggy Stauffer..............................500

John Tang & Jean Hsia ............................... *

Steven Feinberg ..................................5,000

Eugene & Mabel Dong ..........................200

William Reller ......................................1,000

John & Mary Schaefer ...........................100

Jan & Freddy Gabus...............................250

Sheryl & Tony Klein .................................... *

Marc & Margaret Cohen .......................100

Karen & Steve Ross .................................... *

Micki & Bob Cardelli .................................. *

Kaaren & John Antoun .......................1,500

William Preston...................................1,000

Businesses & Organizations Palo Alto Business Park ..............................* Communications & Power Industries .................................1,000 Bleibler Properties ...............................1,000

Rick & Eileen Brooks ..............................500 James Taylor & Meri Gruber ..................100 Wendy Max ............................................. 50 David & Virginia Pollard .........................150

In Memory Of Kathy Morris.......................................... *

rolls out its new bike- and scooter-share programs and (presumably) narrows down its preferred alternatives for reconfiguring the railroad tracks at roadway intersections. With transportation topping the council’s priorities list and residents split over recent bike boulevards laden with “street furniture,” the stakes are high for the new office and its recently hired leader, Chief Transportation Official Philip Kamhi. And while success is not guaranteed, having more resources should help.

QUICKEST LEADERSHIP TURNAROUND Ravenswood City School District superintendent loria Hernandez-Goff was put on paid administrative leave and forced to resign in February following a tumultuous, controversial tenure as the Ravenswood City School District’s superintendent. Her temporary replacement, Gina Sudaria, the district’s student services director and a longtime staff member, has in just several months lifted staff morale and moved forward difficult conversations about budget cuts and school closures. It remains to be seen whether she’ll become the district’s permanent superintendent, with the board

Magali Gauthier

CLICK AND GIVE

Gina Sudaria became Ravenswood City School District Board of Education interim Superintendent after Gloria Hernandez-Goff was put on paid administrative leave and forced to resign in February.

Pat Burt & Sally Bemus ..........................250

Dr. & Mrs. Frederic J. Kahn ....................250

Judy & Tony Kramer................................... *

Andy & Eva Dobrov ................................. 50

Larry Baer & Stephanie Klein ..................... *

Linda & Steve Boxer ................................... *

Jerry & Donna Silverberg .......................100

Jerry & Bobbie Wagger .............................. *

Betty Gerard .............................................. *

Brigid Barton & Rob Robinson ...............200

Boyce & Peggy Nute .................................. *

Ralph R. Wheeler ...................................300

J. Platt & S. Murphy ...............................600

Stephen Levy .........................................500

Ellen & Mike Turbow .............................200

Bonnie Berg ............................................... *

Kroyman Family .....................................250

Marion Lewenstein ................................500

Don Barr & Debra Satz ..........................100

Carol Jorgenson.....................................300

Debby Roth............................................200

Lucy Berman .......................................2,500

John & Florine Galen ................................. *

Christina Kenrick ................................1,000

Barbara Allen .........................................100

Mary Lemmon ..................................15,000

Sue Kemp ..............................................250

Weil Family .........................................1,000

Ellen & Tom Ehrlich ................................500

Hal & Carol Louchheim.............................. *

Leif & Sharon Erickson ...........................250

Charles S. & Anne Williams ...................150

Sally & Craig Nordlund ..........................500

Ted & Ginny Chu ....................................... *

George & Betsy Young .............................. *

Ann & Don Rothblatt.............................500

Leo & Sylvia Breidenbach ....................... *

Peter S. Stern .........................................250

Martha Shirk .......................................1,000

Bob Donald ........................................... *

Nancy & Joe Huber ................................100

Jody Maxmin ............................................. *

Fr. John Fitzpatrick C.S.Sp. ..................... *

Susan & Doug Woodman ......................... *

Adele & Donald Langendorf..................200

David W. Mitchell ..............................400

Wendy Sinton ............................................ *

Gwen Barry................................................ *

Ted Linden .........................................200

Penny & Greg Gallo ...............................500

Diane Moore.............................................. *

Lee Domenik ......................................... *

Elaine & Eric Hahn ..............................1,000

Richard Johnsson ................................5,000

Alan & Tracy .......................................... *

Judith Appleby.......................................200

Phil Fernandez & Daniel Sternbergh .......... *

Er-Ying & Yen-Chen Yen ....................250

Judy Ousterhout ........................................ *

Albert Russell .........................................250

Betty Meltzer .......................................25

Palo Alto Unified under Superintendent Don Austin

Philip Hanawalt & Graciela Spivak ......1,000

Catherine Crystal Foster ........................500

Mary Alyce Pearson ............................... *

Dorothy Saxe .........................................100

Andrea Smith.........................................100

Kathy Riskin Graham ............................. *

Gwen Luce & Family..............................100

John Pavkovich ......................................400

Jack Sutorius......................................500

Bruce Campbell ......................................... *

Thomas Rindﬂeisch.................................... *

Dr. Elliot W. Eisner .............................200

Bill Johnson & Terri Lobdell .................1,000

Ellmann Family.......................................100

August L. King....................................... *

Janice Ulevich.........................................100

Jan Thomson & Roy Levin......................250

Brett Remmel & Mark Remmel ..........100

M. D. Savoie ..........................................250

Mike & Cathie Foster ..........................1,000

In Honor Of

Julie Jerome ............................................... *

Chuck & Jean Thompson ......................100

Principal Iris Wong ................................. *

Michael Kieschnick .............................1,000

Amado Padilla .......................................250

Normal L. Frazee, 100 years young ....400

Joan Jack................................................100

Donald & Diethild Price..........................100

Lucas Milam ......................................100

Ron Wolf ...............................................200

Luca & Mary Caﬁero.................................. *

Logan Marsh & Gabby Perez .............250

Gordon Chamberlain.............................300

Don & Bonnie Miller ..............................100

Marilyn Sutorius ................................500

Daniel Cox .............................................200

Patti Yanklowitz & Mark Krasnow ............. *

Joe Simitian ........................................... *

Michael & Gwen Havern ....................5,000

Robert & Barbara Simpson ........................ *

Susie Richardson & Hal Luft ....................... *

Barbara & Charles Stevens......................... *

Felicia Levy .............................................100

Nancy & David Kalkbrenner....................... *

Page & Ferrell Sanders ...........................100

Marcia & Michael Katz ..........................200

Diana Diamond .....................................100

Stewart & Carol-Anne Hansen ..............100

Alta Mesa Cemetery & Funeral Home..............................2,000

he school board hired Don Austin from the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District in 2018, coming off of years of contention, drama and trauma in Palo Alto Unified, from federal investigations into bullying and sexual violence to a $6 million budget fiasco to teen suicide clusters to high turnover at the district office. His year and a half in Palo Alto may have marked the calmest period in the district in recent decades. While there have been some dustups, primarily stemming from communication issues — such as the district’s decision to close new enrollment at four elementary schools for the Voluntary Transfer Program, which allows East Palo Alto students to attend Palo Alto Unified schools, and a reorganization of the specialeducation department — the high-stakes fights that defined much of his predecessors’ tenures have largely disappeared. Even a plan to revamp middle school math, a predictably contentious topic in Palo Alto, elicited no more than 10 public comments at the Dec. 10 school board meeting (though parents have said that the NextDoor.com and WeChat forums have been buzzing with reaction).

Carolyn Brennan ........................................ *

Merrill & Lee Newman...........................250

Killiney Kopitiam................................250

Phillip Zschokke ...................................50

(continued on page 16)

Robert Spinrad ...................................... * Alissa Riper Picker ..............................250 Duncan Matteson ..............................500 Nate Rosenberg .................................200 Don & Marie Snow ............................100 Bob Kirkwood ....................................... * Leonard Ely ........................................500 Ruth & Chet Johnson ............................ * Nancy & Bob Lobdell ............................. * Pam Grady ........................................350 Barbara E. Schwartz............................... * Ryan Kamita .......................................... * Boyd Paulson ......................................... *

Veronica Weber

* Donor did not want to publish the amount of the gift.

Ray Bacchetti .....................................250

Thomas W. & Louise L. Phinney ............. *

Businesses & Organizations Peery Foundation .........................10,000 Arrillaga Foundation ....................10,000

Palo Alto Unified School District Superintendent Don Austin speaks during a meeting as board member Jennifer DiBrienza listens.

MOST NOTABLE ABSENCE OF DRAMA

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 15

Upfront

Best and worst (continued from page 15)

narrowly voting to conduct an external superintendent search, despite community pleas to keep Sudaria (including from donors eager to support the new leadership).

BEST EXAMPLE OF ‘NOT KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES’ RV parking program opens in EPA; Palo Alto tries (again) to follow suit ast Palo Alto proved to be “the little city that could” this year when it tackled the homeless issue on its streets. The city partially funded a pilot safe parking program, which opened on land it owns on Bay Road in early May and provides spaces for up to 20 RVs to park overnight, plus toilets, showers and other amenities. The program is run by local nonprofit Project WeHope, which provides the homeless RV dwellers services, job counseling and help finding housing. So far, 10 families and individuals have moved into permanent homes, according to a December staff report. Palo Alto tried to enact an oversized-vehicle street-parking ban five years ago but tabled the ordinance after a similar southern California ordinance was challenged in court. Attempts to get churches to house a safe-parking program also failed. This June, Council members Tom DuBois and Lydia Kou proposed a safe-parking program on city-owned properties, an idea that the council’s Policy and Services Committee on Nov. 12 unanimously supported. In the interim, the committee recommended that a three-month pilot program

Veronica Weber

Walter Lima, a driver with Dignity On Wheels, cleans and checks on the shower, bathroom and laundry facilities in the truck at the new RV Safe Parking program lot in East Palo Alto, which launched on May 14. launch on church properties next year. The council will then consider a larger program on two potential city properties. RUNNER UP: East Palo Alto’s long-awaited $14 million pedestrian-bicycle overpass at U.S. Highway 101 opened on May 18, linking the east and west sides of the city and providing access to and from neighboring Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Stanford. Palo Alto’s planned bike/pedestrian bridge over 101 has yet to break ground. Q

About the cover: Photos from some of 2019’s top stories, clockwise from top left, include: Customers at T4 use straws to sip on boba tea before the city’s new plastics ban goes into effect, by Veronica Weber; the opening of the new 824,000-square-foot Stanford Hospital, by Veronica Weber; Stanford students protest the university’s expansion proposal, by Magali Gauthier; former Ravenswood City School District Superintendent Gloria Hernandez-Goff, by Veronica Weber; Palo Alto and Sunnyvale police and the SWAT team respond to a domestic violence incident on Tennessee Avenue, by Veronica Weber; Assistant teacher Shayla Harris helps a student read at KIPP Valiant Community Prep in East Palo Alto, by Veronica Weber; suspected serial killer John Getreu, by Veronica Weber.

Foothill College offers a broad range of excellent physical education classes for all ages, from archery to table tennis and pilates. The college has an Olympic-sized swimming pool, weight room and gyms. We also offer a wide range of art classes, including ceramics

Better your mind, body and soul at Foothill College this winter. Page 16 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

and drawing.

Upfront

News Digest City enters month-to-month Cubberley lease With Palo Alto’s long-standing lease of Cubberley Community Center from the Palo Alto Unified School District just days away from expiration, the two sides have entered into a month-to-month arrangement to preserve their partnership in the popular but dilapidated complex on Middlefield Road. The City Council and the Board of Education have both endorsed the basic tenets of a new lease, with the council directing staff in early October to bring back the document by the end of the year for approval. But despite a stated commitment by City Manager Ed Shikada and Superintendent Don Austin to work together on a new vision for Cubberley, the two sides have not been able to finalize a new deal for the 35-acre community center. The current lease between the school district, which owns 27 acres of Cubberley, and the city, which owns 8 acres and leases the rest, expires on Dec. 31. The city’s Chief Communication Officer Meghan Horrigan-Taylor said that city and the school district are working on a new lease for consideration in early 2020. Q —Gennady Sheyner

Light changes speed up University Avenue traffic A traffic-light synchronization project along the University Avenue commute corridor in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto is speeding up traffic on average by 28% and decreasing travel time by 13% for all of the peak travel periods, according to a consultant’s report submitted to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The report measured the results of synchronizing 19 signals starting last May along the corridor from Middlefield Road to the Dumbarton Bridge during the weekday peak traffic flow and midday on weekends. Palo Alto, East Palo Alto and Caltrans applied for a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Program for Arterial System Synchronization in July 2018. The $126,275 project was designed to improve often horrendous commute conditions along the arterial roadway. There was an approximately 25% reduction in stop delay, a 21% reduction in stops per vehicle and a 13% decrease in travel time with a 28% increase in speed for all of the peak periods since synchronization. The report also looked at the average savings in dollars over a fiveyear period, which is considered the project’s “lifetime.” The project is estimated to have a travel-time savings of approximately $45,187,857 (calculated as 50% of the wage rate for off-the-clock travel or $20.09 in 2014) and $2,455,618 in fuel-consumption savings. The synchronization also will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles by 13.2 tons. Q —Sue Dremann

New VTA schedule leaves Gunn High in a quandary With the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority poised to shake up its bus routes this weekend, Gunn High students who participate in after-school activities may need to look for new ways to get home. The VTA is preparing to implement on Saturday, Dec. 28, its “New Service Plan,” which will increase service frequency for buses on some of Santa Clara County’s busiest arteries, including El Camino Real. This includes bus Routes 22 and 522, which extend from the Palo Alto Transit Center to the Eastridge Transit Center in San Jose. The plan also, however, will limit options for riders in the less central parts of the city, including the neighborhoods in west and south Palo Alto that are currently served by Route 88. This includes Gunn students who may need a ride home several hours after the final bell. In the new system, the 88 line will be scrapped and replaced by three routes: 288, 288L and 288M. All three will start at the Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Medical Center and go through Gunn before diverging as they make their way north and west, with 288 going along Charleston Road and Fabian Way before cutting left on Louis Road. The 288L will head north on Meadow Drive, turn west on Louis and terminate at Louis and Amarillo Avenue. The 288M will take Meadow to Waverley Street and end up at the intersection of Middlefield Road and Colorado Avenue. All three routes will only run on school days, and even on those days, the bus schedule would be compressed when compared to existing service, with the afternoon 288L and 288M buses operating only after the high school’s dismissal time. Palo Alto is now exploring ways to fill the gap by introducing a new South Palo Alto shuttle, operated by the city. Palo Alto’s transportation staff expects to consider modifications to the route in the spring, according to a report from Office of Transportation. Q —Gennady Sheyner

CityView and Public Agenda City Council

The council did not meet this week and has no meetings scheduled until Jan. 6.

Public Notices 995 Fictitious Name Statement 24 HOUR FRIENDLY HOME CARE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: FBN660995 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 24 Hour Friendly Home Care, located at 530 Showers Dr., Ste. 7, #422, Mountain View, CA 94040, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: An Individual. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): LONGOMOELOTO TUKITOA 6 Newell Ct. Palo Alto, CA 94303 Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on November 27, 2019. (PAW Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27, 2019) THE BECOMING LAB FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: FBN660988 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: The Becoming Lab, located at 783 Kendall Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: An Individual. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): LIZ COHEN 783 Kendall Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94306 Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on November 26, 2019. (PAW Dec. 6, 13, 20, 27, 2019) 624-626-628 MASONIC AVENUE HOMEOWNERS’ ASSOCIATION FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: FBN661592 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 624-626-628 Masonic Avenue Homeowners’ Association, located at 526 Addison Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: A Trust. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): MARY ALICE OJAKIAN, TRUSTEE 526 Addison Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 VICTOR OJAKIAN, TRUSTEE 526 Addison Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 Registrant began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 12/20/2012. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on December 13, 2019. (PAW Dec. 20, 27, 2019; Jan. 3, 10, 2020) DROOLIE LANE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: FBN661639 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Droolie Lane, located at 6437 Du Sault Dr., San Jose, CA 95119, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: An Individual. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): BRIGID OROZCO 6437 Du Sault Dr. San Jose, CA 95119 Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on December 16, 2019. (PAW Dec. 20, 27, 2019; Jan. 3, 10, 2020)

997 All Other Legals NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE TS No.: S.477-028 APN: 003-56-068 Title Order No.: 190714458-CA-VOI NOTE: THERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT ATTACHED. YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED 6/19/2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. A public auction sale to the highest bidder for cash, cashier’s check drawn on a state or national bank, check drawn by a state or federal credit union, or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, or savings association, or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the Financial Code and authorized to do business in this state will be held by the duly appointed trustee as shown below, of all right, title, and interest conveyed to and now held by the trustee in the hereinafter described property under and pursuant to a Deed of Trust described below. The sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by the Deed of Trust, with interest and late charges thereon, as provided in the note(s), advances, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, interest thereon, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee for the total amount (at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale) reasonably estimated to be set forth below. The amount may be greater on the day of sale. Trustor: DRAGAN V. PODLESNIK AND MARTA D. SAVIC, HUSBAND AND WIFE, AS COMMUNITY PROPERTY Duly Appointed Trustee: PROBER AND RAPHAEL, ALC Recorded 6/25/2007 as Instrument No. 19481661 in book N/A, page N/A of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Santa Clara County, California, Date of Sale: 1/22/2020 at 9:00 AM Place of Sale: Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse, 191 N. First Street, San Jose, CA 95113, At the Gated North Market Street Entrance Amount of unpaid balance and other charges: $2,116,223.99 Street Address or other common designation of real property: 1885 GUINDA STREET PALO ALTO, California 94303 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address or other common designation, if any, shown above. If no street address or other common designation is shown, directions to the location of the property may be obtained by sending a written request to the beneficiary within 10 days of the date of first publication of this Notice of Sale. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date

has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call (800) 280-2832 or visit this Internet Web site www.auction. com, using the file number assigned to this case S.477-028. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. Date: 12/4/2019 PROBER AND RAPHAEL, ALC 20750 Ventura Blvd. #100 Woodland Hills, California 91364 Sale Line: (800) 280-2832 Rita Terzyan, Trustee Sale Technician A-4712417 12/13/2019, 12/20/2019, 12/27/2019 AMENDED NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: NICK KLUZNICK aka RONALD P. KLUZNICK Case No.: 19PR187318 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of NICK KLUZNICK, aka RONALD P. KLUZNICK. A Petition for Probate has been filed by: Public Administrator of the County of Santa Clara in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA. The Petition for Probate requests that: Public Administrator of the County of Santa Clara be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A HEARING on the petition will be held on January 3, 2020 at 9:01 a.m. in Dept.: 13 of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, located at 191 N. First St., San Jose, CA, 95113. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner: Mark A. Gonzalez, Lead Deputy County Counsel 373 West Julian Street, Suite 300 San Jose, CA 95110 (408) 758-4200 (PAW Dec. 13, 20, 27, 2019)

The Palo Alto Weekly is adjudicated to publish in Santa Clara County. Public Hearing Notices Resolutions • Bid Notices Notices of Petition to Administer Estate Lien Sale • Trustee’s Sale Deadline is Tuesday at noon. Call Alicia Santillan at 650-223-6578 or email asantillan@paweekly.com for assistance with your legal advertising needs. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 17

Transitions Births, marriages and deaths

In Memoriam Remembering those who left us

his year, the Palo Alto area lost extraordinary figures whose lifelong work continues to inspire and help the generation they left behind. Though varied in their professions — from educational pioneers to health professionals — these diverse individuals all had in common a selfless desire to give back to their communities. This list commemorates the contributions of a select few but is by no means comprehensive. If you would like to acknowledge others who died this year, go to PaloAltoOnline.com and leave your tributes under this article. To view additional obituaries, go to the Lasting Memories website, posted at PaloAltoOnline.com/obituaries.

Gertrude Dyer Wilks Died Jan. 20, 2019, at 91 Born in 1927 on a plantation in Duboc, Louisiana, and later settling in East Palo Alto, Gertrude Dyer Wilks escaped the discriminat ion a nd violence of the rural south and later cemented her role as an educational pioneer and stalwart public servant. Her activism began before East Palo Alto became a city. At the height of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, she created the area’s first private African American school system. And when East Palo Alto was finally incorporated, she served on the city’s first City Council. “She spoke with such passion and influence; nobody would tell her no,” Wilks’ granddaughter LaPria Wilks told the Weekly. Later after seeing how the public education system was failing her three children, she founded Mothers for Equal Education to push for more educational opportunities for East Palo Alto’s youth. The group rallied for the desegregation of schools and organized a “sneak out” program in which white Palo Alto residents took black children into their homes five days a week, so they could enroll in better schools. In honor of her contributions, the private Nairobi School was renamed the Gertrude Wilks Academy before its closure in the 1980s.

Alan Grundmann Died Feb. 5, 2019, at 86 Alan Grundmann dedicated most of his life to Stanford University, leaving an indelible mark upon the school. In 1976, he became the first administrative director of the u n i v e r s i t y ’s nearly 1,200acre Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, promoting research and conservation through his position. On top of managing the lands, he spearheaded the development of an on-site laboratory along with a docent center, a library of archival and reference material and other facilities that continue to be used by Stanford and other institutions for research and environmental education. Prior to this position, he helped organize, finance and operate Stanford’s first Upward Bound Program, which helps low-income, first-generation high school students prepare for a college education. In 1967, he became the assistant provost of the university, responsible for overseeing building renovations, construction and overall management of academic lands. He later received the Kenneth M. Cuthbertson award in 1993 for his extraordinary contributions to Stanford. A longtime friend from Harvard University remembers him as “a man of keen intellect, boundless curiosity, considered opinions — the man who had something worthwhile to say, to challenge, to defend.”

Joseph Lawrence Naiman Died June 23, 2019, at 86 Remembered by his family for his generous spirit, Joseph “Laurie” Naiman was a pediatric hematologist-oncologist whose contributions spanned from research and education to diligent clinical care. Early in his career, he was the professor of pediatrics at Temple University School of Medicine and chief of hematology-oncology at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. In 1984, he moved to California and served as a medical director of the Northern

Page 18 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

California Region of the American Red Cross Blood Services and as a clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. Throughout his career, he authored more than 70 medical publications. But according to his family, his proudest accomplishment was developing a family support program for children with leukemia and cancer. He also was instrumental to the establishment of the Ronald McDonald House Charities when it first formed in Philadelphia in the 1970s. Outside of health care, he was an active photographer. In Palo Alto, where he lived for more than three decades, he was a member of the Palo Alto Camera Club and elected as its president. His work received several awards, including two first-place prizes in the Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest in 2002 and 2019. He also was a frequent contributor to the PaloAltoOnline.com photo gallery.

Donald Fitton Died June 26, 2019, at 94 Palo Alto resident Donald Fitton was one of the co-founders and first president of the nonprofit Creative Initiative Foundation, which later became the Foundation for Global Community before it dissolved in 2010. It began with the ambitious initiative to bring “about the cooperation of the races, the religions and the nations for the well-being of all humankind,” according to its website. As a young man, he aspired to be like his father, a fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force during World War I, and joined the U.S. Air Force. Later, he had a two-decade career as an executive in the scientific and technical publishing industry before he was inspired by Harry Rathbun, a business law professor at Stanford University, to make a career change. In 1962, he co-founded the Creative Initiative Foundation with his wife, Virginia Fitton, and Rathbun and his wife, Emilia Rathbun, and later the AMR Institute, which was mainly concerned with couples’ dynamics. The foundation’s interests were broad and far-reaching. In 1982, he and Virginia helped co-found the Beyond War movement when the foundation’s focus shifted toward educating the public about the catastrophic effects of global nuclear war. The two continued to work with the Foundation for Global Community in Palo Alto, where they lived for over four decades.

Carroll Howell Harrington Died Nov. 21, 2019, at 84 Carroll Howell Harrington was a tireless community activist and dedicated environmentalist. As a Palo Alto resident for 50 years, she made her mark on the city in countless ways, from volu nt e e r i ng her graphic design skills for local political campaigns to working for the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District as its first public information officer in the 1970s. Since youth, she was a high academic achiever, receiving valedictorian status at her local high school in Taos, New Mexico. When she moved to California, she got her first job as a secretary for lifestyle publication Sunset Magazine. According to a 1972 issue of Anchora of Delta Gamma, the contacts she made there were instrumental to her environmental work as they later helped her publish a little green handbook, “If You Want to Save Your Environment ... Start at Home!” She donated the $10,000 in book sales to the American Association of University Women’s scholarship fund. On top of her activism, she sat on the board of the Palo Alto Community Fund and Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce. In 1993, she received the Athena Award, which recognizes influential business and professional women. “Carroll was a hard worker on projects and issues in which she believed, with solid ideas and instincts and a willingness to put in the behind-the-scenes work required to make them successful,” according to Jay Thorwaldson, former editor of Palo Alto Weekly.

Other notable locals who died in 2019 Henry Dure Bullock, founder of commercial real estate investment firm, Menlo Equities. Mary Carlstead, high school teacher and Filoli Historic House and Garden docent. George Comstock, mayor of Portola Valley, co-founder of Diablo Systems and founder of computer company Durango Systems. Edward Teryl Hogan, tournament director of Palo Alto Golf Club and president of Palo Alto Lawn Bowls Club. Bernardo Gonzalez Huerta, member of East Palo Alto’s Public Works & Transportation Committee and Planning Commission.

William D. Iaculla, educator, artist and member of the Pacific Art League. Joseph Kott, chief transportation official of Palo Alto and co-founder of Transportation Choices for Sustainable Communities. John Clarke L’Heureux, professor emeritus of humanities at Stanford University, author and poet. James Weeks Lyons, dean emeritus of student affairs at Stanford University and lecturer in the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Roy Herrick Maffly, educator and former associate dean at the Stanford School of Medicine. Stephanie Munoz, community activist for affordable housing and homeless support. Everardo ‘Lalo’ Perez, former chief financial officer of Palo Alto. Erika Nord Richards, physical therapist and lifetime member of the League of Women Voters. Louis Sloss Jr., a founding shareholder of Embarcadero Media. Hans Anton ‘Tony’ Tucher, president of Cypress String Quartet, member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the board of directors of the World Affairs Council. Marilyn Koenick Yalom, gender studies schola r at Stanford University, author and cultural historian. Q

Corrections

In the Transitions section of the Dec. 20 issue, the contact information for Herbert Brooke Moore’s memorial service is melosync@yahoo.com, not melosynch@yahoo.com. No “h.” The Weekly regrets the error. To request a correction, contact Editor Jocelyn Dong at 650-223-6514, jdong@ paweekly.com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302.

Visit

Lasting Memories An online directory of obituaries and remembrances. Search obituaries, submit a memorial, share a photo.

Go to:

PaloAltoOnline.com/ obituaries

Pulse A weekly compendium of vital statistics

POLICE CALLS Palo Alto

Dec. 18-Dec. 24 Violence related Strong arm robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Theft related Attempted shoplifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle related Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Abandoned auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Driving w/ suspended license. . . . . . . . 1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lost/stolen plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Vehicle accident/major injury . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 3 Vehicle accident/prop damage. . . . . . . 5 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Alcohol or drug related Drinking in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Open container. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Possession of paraphernalia . . . . . . . . 1 Under influence of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Miscellaneous Court order violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Noise ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Other/misc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Resisting arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Menlo Park

Dec. 18-Dec. 23 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Vehicle related Abandoned auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Driving w/ suspended license. . . . . . . . 2 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . 3 Alcohol or drug related Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Possession of paraphernalia . . . . . . . . 1 Miscellaneous APS referral. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Other/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto Waverly Street/Hamilton Avenue, 12/17, 12:38 p.m.; strong arm robbery. Channing Avenue, 12/17, 12:54 p.m.; strong arm robbery.

Abdul Majid Qureshi

Miyeko Tanabe Miyeko passed away surrounded by her loving family, including her husband, Masato of 62 years. Miyeko was born the daughter to Buntaro and Tsuneyo Takita in San Francisco where she lived until the age of nine. She moved to Japan with her family for one year and then returned to San Francisco where she attended Pacific Heights Elementary School and then Commerce High School. Miyeko also studied daily at Japanese school (Kinmon Gakuen). In February 1942, like other Japanese Americans, she was evacuated to an internment camp for the remainder of the war. She and her family were evacuated to Tanforan Race Track where they lived for six months before being relocated to Topaz Relocation Center near Delta, Utah. Upon leaving camp she was not initially allowed to relocate to the west coast and enrolled in Montana State University. She subsequently enrolled at University of California, Berkeley where she earned graduate degrees in Library Sciences. She worked for the U.S. Army as a librarian at Heidelberg University and after was accepted as a Fulbright Scholar to study at Keio University in Japan. She met another Fulbright Scholar at Keio, Masato Tanabe, and they enjoyed each other’s company on sightseeing trips and Fulbright scholar activities. Miyeko and Masato were engaged before they left Japan and married in San Francisco upon their return. Miyeko was musically gifted from an early age. She received as a gift her first toy piano at age three and started her formal music education at age six. She enjoyed listening to music and loved playing classical music. She taught piano and hosted recitals during her years in camp and continuing later in her home while she was raising her three children. In her piano teaching, she strived to hone piano technique as well as impart her passion for music. Miyeko created and launched the Japanese Language Program in the Palo Alto School District in the early 1970s and served as one of the program’s two teachers for over a decade. Miyeko set high standards for herself and others be it piano, Japanese language, cooking or another of her many interests. Kindness and concern for others were at the heart of her character. Miyeko is survived by her husband Masato of Palo Alto and her sister Aiko Takita of Berkeley, California; her three children Robert (Sukie), Kenneth (Michele) and Michiko, and her five grandchildren Kenji, Mari, (Alireza), Kimi, Brian and Sarah. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple. PAID

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March 25, 1946 – December 2, 2019 Majid Qureshi, a resident of Menlo Park for over 30 years, passed away on Dec. 2. He was 73. Majid lived much of his early childhood in Iran. He went to England for secondary and high school, before returning to Pakistan and obtaining degrees in Pharmacy from FC college in Lahore and Punjab University. After working for two years in Pakistan he immigrated to the US in 1971. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Rutgers University, NJ in 1979. He worked in R&D for various pharmaceutical companies, including Schering-Plough and Pfizer before making the move out West with his family, settling in Menlo Park and working for over twenty years at Alza Corporation (later Johnson and Johnson). He rose to a position of Senior Director of Process Development/Technology Transfer for oral dosage before retiring in 2006. Post retirement, his life-long passion for classical and traditional Eastern arts blossomed, including Hindustani classical music, Mughal & Persian miniature paintings, and Urdu & Farsi poetry. He was a devoted collector of recordings, manuscripts, and collectible art books and maintained an extensive and well-catalogued library. A true polyglot, he was conversant or fluent in Urdu, Punjabi, and Farsi. He regularly attended concerts and poetic symposiums to feed his passion and broaden his horizons. For the past 13 years he participated in classes and gatherings on a weekly basis that were centered on the interpretation of his favorite poet, the 13th century Sufi mystic Maulana Jalaludin Rumi. In addition to being a connoisseur of the arts, he enjoyed watching professional tennis, international cricket, and making a daily visit to Peets Coffee in downtown Menlo Park to meet with his friends and acquaintances. He was a fan of the finer things in life. He loved traveling, museums, fine-dining & clothing, and had a particular affinity for fedora and panama hats. Nothing gave him more pleasure however than spending time with and watching his six grandchildren grow up before his eyes. Majid was married for almost 49 years, and was the most wonderful husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and provider one could ever hope for. Majid is survived by his wife Naheed; three children, including Shehrzad Qureshi of Palo Alto, Ferhan Qureshi of Fremont, Faiza Qureshi of Los Gatos; his sister Rehana and six grandchildren - Khalil, Zak, Sahil, Laila, Hamza and Aisha. Majid was preceded in death by his father, Abdul Qadir, his mother, Saadat, and his brother, Abdul Wajid. Majid was laid to rest at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto on December 3rd and his memorials to date have served as touching reminders of the kind, fun-loving, gentle, humble and compassionate man that he was. PAID

OBITUARY

Marketplace The Palo Alto Weekly offers advertising for Home Services, Business Services and Employment. If you wish to learn more about these advertising options, please call 650.223.6582 or email digitalads@paweekly.com. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 19

Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, culture, books and more, edited by Karla Kane

The year

2019

in local theater

Courtesy of Anita & Steve Shevet

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley stands backstage at Radio City Music Hall after accepting the Regional Theatre Tony Award on June 9.

by Karla Kane

ost memorable moment of 2019 for local theater fans? No doubt one of them was TheatreWorks Silicon Valley winning the Regional Theatre Tony Award, an enormous feather in the cap of founder Robert Kelley (who was also honored with a local Lifetimes of Achievement award) as he went into his final season as artistic director of the company. But TheatreWorks never rests on its laurels, offering another fine year’s worth of productions, including a stellar version of the hilarious Hitchcock spoof “The 39 Steps,” a wonder of comic timing that had audiences crying with laughter. If comments on Palo Alto Online’s Town Square forum are to be believed,

Page 20 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Dragon Productions Theatre Company had a big year, its first under the leadership of new co-artistic directors Bora “Max” Koknar and Alika Spencer-Koknar, who took over where founder Meredith Hagedorn left off (Hagedorn also gave a very endearing performance as doomed queen Marie Antoinette in “The Revolutionists” in January). The little downtown theater offered many fine productions this year, but perhaps most surprising to me was its intimate and visceral Second Stages version of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” breathing new life into a play I thought I had seen and read too many times to be impressed by but that ended up striking a deep chord. In addition to its main stage productions, the space was enhanced by ongoing circus series, festivals (some in cahoots with Fuse Theatre), comedy, open-mic and music nights, children’s programming and more, including a new

Weekly file photo

Weekly arts writers look back on some standout productions, performances and moments from the Midpeninsula theater scene

“Archduke,” which was workshopped at TheatreWorks’ New Works festival a few years back, drew mixed reactions. I, however, called its regional premiere “moving, bold, strange and empathetic,” in addition to very humorous. Back at the year’s start, Weekly theater critic John Orr gave rave reviews to “Frost/Nixon,” calling it an “astounding, not-to-bemissed 110 minutes of theater” and lead actor Allen McCullough’s performance as Nixon “transcendently brilliant.” Its current offering, the world premiere of Paul Gordon’s new musical adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” (another New Works alum) has audiences swooning for this fresh, funny take on the centuries-old romantic comedy.

Above: Dragon Productions Theatre Company founder Meredith Hagedorn plays Marie Antoinette in “The Revolutionists.” Courtesy of Lance Huntly. Top: Foothill Music Theatre’s “Cinderella” provided a modern twist on the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic by giving the heroine a strong and powerful voice. Courtesy of Foothill Music Theatre. batch of classes in partnership with its neighbor, Broadway by the Bay. Speaking of which, Broadway by the Bay in March this year offered a nearperfect version of the pop-rock opera “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” a dreamy, rainbow-hued riot of music, comedy and dance that

Arts & Entertainment

showcased its impressive production values, choreography and ensemble strengths. Over at Mountain Viewâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pear Theatre, Artistic Director Betsy Kruse Craig announced sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stepping down at the end of the year but plans to remain involved as an actor and director. Orr named actor Fred Pittsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sweatâ&#x20AC;? at the Pear as one of the yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lynn Nottageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pulitzer Prize-winning play received an excellent staging at The Pear ... with an overall fine cast and a great set,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But Pitts, who in real life is a doctor, was brilliant.â&#x20AC;? He also enjoyed the quick-fire character changes by the cast of the theaterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s annual â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pear Slices,â&#x20AC;? which showcases original shorts by local writers. More recently, Weekly writer Janet Silver Ghent called the Pearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambitious one-woman production of â&#x20AC;&#x153;You/Emmaâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;imaginative,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;well-craftedâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;poignant.â&#x20AC;? It was a good year for updates on some lesser Rodgers & Hammerstein classics. Foothill Music Theatre this summer presented a charming (pun intended) version of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cinderella,â&#x20AC;? updated for modern tastes by making Cinderella a much more active heroine yet still retaining most of the beloved fairy tale elements. Kuo-Hao Loâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scenery, too, was sublime, and the result was a family-friendly treat. Palo Alto Players mounted an updated R&H production of its own with David Henry Hwangâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rewrite of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flower Drum Song.â&#x20AC;? By keeping most of the songs but jettisoning most of the cringe-worthier aspects of the stereotype-laden original script, this production was a funny, touching and very welcome story of the ChineseAmerican experience in midcentury San Francisco. Another favorite this year from Palo Alto Players was the screwball comedy â&#x20AC;&#x153;One Man, Two Guvnors,â&#x20AC;? especially for the delightful skiffle soundtrack performed by an ace band of musicians and, occasionally, members of the cast.

To the west, Los Altos Stage Company went bold with shows like â&#x20AC;&#x153;American Nightâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Admissions,â&#x20AC;? comedies which tackled prescient issues with wit and

Courtesy of Kevin Berne

Courtesy of Joyce Goldschmid

Mei-Li (Emily Song) flees China and arrives in San Franciscoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chinatown in Palo Alto Playersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;Flower Drum Song.â&#x20AC;?

Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Duchess Sofie (Scott Coopwood and Luisa Sermol, in foreground) are envisioned by would-be assassins played by Adam Shonkwiler, Stephen Stocking and Jeremy Kahn in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Archduke,â&#x20AC;? presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.

aplomb. The former was a surreal trip through one would-be citizenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dream, while the latter took on the sometimes-hypocritical world of elite education. Both

seemed to slightly baffle and rattle their audiences; a risk well worth taking. What might 2020 bring to the

local theater scene? Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking forward to finding out. Q Arts & Entertainment Editor Karla Kane can be emailed at kkane@paweekly.com.

Need a ride? Notice is hereby Given that proposals will be received by the Palo Alto <UPĂ&#x201E;LK :JOVVS +PZ[YPJ[ MVY IPK WHJRHNL! Contract No. RFQW-20 Description of the Work: ;OL ^VYR PUJS\KLZ I\[ PZ UV[ SPTP[LK [V! H JVTWYLOLUZP]L YLMYLZO VM [OL ^PYLK L[OLYUL[ UL[^VYR [V HKKYLZZ [OL L_PZ[PUN HUK NYV^PUN ULLKZ VM OPNO ZWLLK OPNO KLUZP[` JVUULJ[P]P[` MVY KL]PJLZ \ZLK I` Z[HÉ&#x2C6; HUK Z[\KLU[Z ;OL WYVWVZLK YLZWVUZL [V [OPZ 9-7 ZOV\SK WYV]PKL H YVI\Z[ ZJHSHISL HUK LHZPS` THUHNLK ZVS\[PVU [OH[ ^PSS TLL[ [OL ULLKZ VM [OL +PZ[YPJ[ÂťZ Z[HÉ&#x2C6; HUK Z[\KLU[Z MVY H[ SLHZ[ [OL UL_[ Ă&#x201E;]L `LHYZ ;OLYL ^PSS IL H THUKH[VY` WYL IPK JVUMLYLUJL H[ ! W T VU 1HU\HY` H[ [OL +PZ[YPJ[ 6É&#x2030;JLZ *O\YJOPSS (]LU\L 7HSV (S[V *HSPMVYUPH Bid Submission 7YVWVZHSZ T\Z[ IL Z\ITP[[LK LSLJ[YVUPJHSS` VY YLJLP]LK PU WLYZVU H[ [OL +PZ[YPJ[ 0; 6É&#x2030;JL I` ! W T VU -LIY\HY` PREVAILING WAGE LAWS: ;OL Z\JJLZZM\S )PKKLY T\Z[ JVTWS` ^P[O HSS WYL]HPSPUN ^HNL SH^Z HWWSPJHISL [V [OL 7YVQLJ[ HUK YLSH[LK YLX\PYLTLU[Z JVU[HPULK PU [OL *VU[YHJ[ +VJ\TLU[Z 7HSV (S[V <UPĂ&#x201E;LK :JOVVS +PZ[YPJ[ ^PSS THPU[HPU H 3HIVY *VTWSPHUJL 7YVNYHT 3*7 MVY [OL K\YH[PVU VM [OPZ WYVQLJ[ 0U IPKKPUN [OPZ WYVQLJ[ [OL JVU[YHJ[VY ^HYYHU[Z OL ZOL PZ H^HYL HUK ^PSS MVSSV^ [OL 7\ISPJ >VYRZ *OHW[LY VM [OL *HSPMVYUPH 3HIVY *VKL JVTWYPZLK VM SHIVY JVKL ZLJ[PVUZ Âś ( JVW` VM [OL +PZ[YPJ[Z 3*7 PZ H]HPSHISL MVY YL]PL^ H[ *O\YJOPSS (]LU\L )\PSKPUN + 7HSV (S[V *( ( WYL QVI JVUMLYLUJL ZOHSS IL JVUK\J[LK ^P[O [OL JVU[YHJ[VY VY Z\IJVU[YHJ[VYZ [V KPZJ\ZZ MLKLYHS HUK Z[H[L SHIVY SH^ YLX\PYLTLU[Z HWWSPJHISL [V [OL JVU[YHJ[ 7YVQLJ[ JVU[YHJ[VYZ HUK Z\IJVU[YHJ[Z ZOHSS THPU[HPU HUK M\YUPZO [V [OL +PZ[YPJ[ H[ H KLZPNUH[LK [PTL H JLY[PĂ&#x201E;LK JVW` VM LHJO WH`YVSS ^P[O H Z[H[LTLU[ VM JVTWSPHUJL ZPNULK \UKLY WLUHS[` VM WLYQ\Y` ;OL +PZ[YPJ[ ZOHSS YL]PL^ HUK PM HWWYVWYPH[L H\KP[ WH`YVSS YLJVYKZ [V ]LYPM` JVTWSPHUJL ^P[O [OL 7\ISPJ >VYRZ *OHW[LY VM [OL 3HIVY *VKL ;OL +PZ[YPJ[ ZOHSS ^P[OOVSK JVU[YHJ[ WH`TLU[Z PM WH`YVSS YLJVYKZ HYL KLSPUX\LU[ VY PUHKLX\H[L ;OL +PZ[YPJ[ ZOHSS ^P[OOVSK JVU[YHJ[ WH`TLU[Z HZ KLZJYPILK PU [OL 3*7 PUJS\KPUN HWWSPJHISL WLUHS[PLZ ^OLU [OL +PZ[YPJ[ HUK 3HIVY *VTTPZZPVULY LZ[HISPZO [OH[ \UKLYWH`TLU[ VM V[OLY ]PVSH[PVUZ OHZ VJJ\YYLK )PKKLYZ TH` L_HTPUL )PKKPUN +VJ\TLU[Z VUSPUL H[ O[[WZ! NV WH\ZK VYN UL[^VYR

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Avenidas@450 Bryant www.PaloAltoOnline.com â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ December 27, 2019 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 21

YEAR IN REVIEW Old favorites closed, a few got revived, fine dining took flight and delivery services got bigger by Elena Kadvany

Michelle Le

Tied House closed after three decades in Mountain View.

HAPPIEST REVIVALS ... A happy counternarrative to all the closures was the revival of muchloved restaurants this year. Mike’s Cafe gave Palo Alto’s Midtown neighborhood its favorite restaurant back after a lengthy renovation. New owners renovated and rejuvenated the 167-year-old Alpine Inn, giving the Portola Valley community a gathering place and watering hole (now, plus wines on tap and wood-fired pizza) for years to come. Su Hong Palo Alto closed, but a former waiter reopened it under a new name, keeping on the same chef and changing little on the menu. Rose International Market returned to Mountain View after a four-year development-induced hiatus. And in a holiday miracle for sandwich lovers everywhere, Woodside Deli reopened in Redwood City last week, with the owners of Colombo’s Delicatessen in Pacifica, who are related to the original owners of the local deli, at the helm. MOST EXPENSIVE BURGER ... Selby’s wanted to make a name for itself by serving “the coldest martini on the west coast,” but perhaps should have considered going with “the most expensive burger on the Peninsula.” The swanky restaurant, located on the border of Redwood City and Atherton, drew attention for its $50 Black Label cheeseburger: a patty of dry-aged hanger steak, short rib and chuck, topped with black truffles and Époisses, a soft cheese from Burgundy.

Page 22 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

A MICHELIN STAR FOR MAUM ... The chefs at Maum, Palo Alto’s high-end Korean restaurant, took home their first Michelin star in June, less than a year after opening. Co-chef Michael Kim said the accolade had been a “lifelong professional goal” for him and his wife and co-chef, Meichih, who draw on their Korean and Taiwanese roots at Maum, which means “heart and soul” in Korean. Fine dining continues to grow on the Midpeninsula, which is now home to six Michelin-starred restaurants, including Maum (Baumé, Protégé The Village Pub, Chez TJ, Madera). THE YEAR OF DELIVERY ... In a sign of the times, DoorDash opened its first shared delivery kitchen in Redwood City in October. Under one roof, several food businesses — Nation’s Giant Hamburgers, Rooster & Rice, Humphrey Slocombe, The Halal Guys and Chick-fil-A — can deliver throughout the Peninsula without having a brick-and-mortar restaurant here. The bright red, 6,000-square-foot building is emblematic of shifts and tensions in the dining industry, spurred by the growth of third-party delivery apps like DoorDash, Caviar, UberEats and others. NATURAL WINE BOOM ... The Peninsula got its first dedicated natural wine bar this year with Salvaje. The downtown Palo Alto bar (369 Lytton Ave.) defines natural wines as those made organically on biodynamic farms with minimal intervention and little to no sulfates or other additives. (Salvaje appropriately means “wild” in Spanish.) The small, cozy Spanish-style building Salvaje occupies feels like having a drink in your friend’s living room, and the intimate setting is ideal for peppering the helpful staff and owners with questions if you’re unfamiliar with natural wines. MOST ANTICIPATED OPENINGS OF 2020 ... Early 2020 will see the local debut of two ambitious, modern Indian restaurants with connections to San

Francisco: Ettan (518 Bryant St., Palo Alto) and Rooh (473 University Ave., Palo Alto). The former will be led by Srijith Gopinathan, a native of southern India and executive chef at the Michelinstarred Campton Place Restaurant in San Francisco. The latter is a new outpost of a popular San Francisco restaurant of the same name, but with a unique focus on open-fire cooking. In Mountain View, beer drinkers and pretzel lovers are still

not-so-patiently waiting for the much-delayed arrival of Ludwig’s German Table (383 Castro St.), which will likely materialize next year. Owner Ben Bate spoke out this year about the costly setbacks he’s faced in the city permitting process. Q Staff writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com. Sign up for her Peninsula Foodist newsletter newsletter at paloaltoonline. com/express/foodist.

New owners reinvigorated the 167-year-old Alpine Inn in Portola Valley this year.

Veronica Weber

TEARFUL GOODBYES ... We said goodbye this year to a handful of longtime eateries: The Prolific Oven (39 years) and Round Table Pizza in Palo Alto (52 years), Applewood Pizza in Menlo Park (36 years), Martin’s West in Redwood City (10 years), Cho’s Mandarin Dim Sum in Los Altos (39 years, including at the original Palo Alto location) and Mountain View’s Tied House (31 years), which closed abruptly over the weekend, the owner said because of a need to remediate a chemical spill linked to a prior tenant’s dry cleaning business. While there’s no singular reason

for the closures, the owner of The Prolific Oven had some pertinent words for what customers can do to prevent family-run independent food businesses from becoming an endangered species: “It’s in the power of the people where they choose to spend their money,” said Regina Chan, whose parents Henry and Sophia Chan bought the bakery in 1996. “I hope that I’m wrong and that small businesses and family businesses can continue to thrive in the Bay Area, but it’s going to be up to the consumers to really show that.”

Sammy Dallal

his was both a dynamic and a trying year for the Peninsula dining scene. Palo Alto’s Maum won its first Michelin star. Bacchus Management Group, perhaps the area’s best-known restaurant group, added swanky Selby’s to its family. International eateries opened or are on their way here, from Telefèric Barcelona to Singapore’s Killiney Kopitiam. Restaurant owners spoke out about struggling to keep their businesses afloat amid a tight labor market, high turnover and the increasing cost of doing business in the Bay Area. These pressures will continue to play out in 2020, with many in the industry worried about the future of the locally owned, middle-range neighborhood restaurant. Read on for a roundup of noteworthy restaurant news of the year and the openings we’re most looking forward to in 2020.

Photo by Isabel Baer

Modern Indian restaurant Ettan will open in downtown Palo Alto in early 2020.

Chefs Meichih and Michael Kim of Palo Alto’s Maum earned their first Michelin star in 2019.

The six most viewed Peninsula Foodist stories of 2019 1. After 39 years of cakes and pastries, Palo Alto institution Prolific Oven to close 2. Hillsdale says hello to the modern mall food court with Shake Shack, The Refuge and Instagrammable dim sum 3. Peek inside the fine-dining Selby’s, opening in Redwood City this summer 4. Barcelona tapas restaurant coming to Palo Alto 5. Round Table Pizza bites the dust in downtown Palo Alto 6. Local deli owners to revive Woodside Deli in Redwood City

Movies OPENINGS

A merry ‘Little’ Christmas ‘Little Women’ remains evergreen in Greta Gerwig adaptation 0001/2 (Century 16 & 20, Icon) Since 1868, Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” has resonated with readers. Perhaps, above all, the appeal lies in the story’s inherent self-empowerment: in its coming-of-age story — times four — of the March sisters, but also in its unavoidable feminism and its autobiographical origins. There’s little more empowering than telling one’s own story, and through her avatar Jo March and the love and strife that surround her, Alcott locates an authenticity that has sustained this essential American story for over 150 years and umpteen adaptations. “Little Women” has been adapted over the decades for the stage, radio, television and film. This Christmas, we get the eighth feature-film adaptation of “Little Women,” with three-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan following in the footsteps of Katharine Hepburn and Winona Ryder as Jo. Fret not. Writer-director Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”) is thinking what you’re thinking — what can this “Little Women” offer that

Photo courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Saoirse Ronan and Eliza Scanlen star in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women.”

the others — including a modernday adaptation as recently as last year — haven’t already? She has answers. Aside from her own comic and dramatic sensibilities and a stellar cast, Gerwig’s “Little Women” adopts a bold narrative approach to retelling Alcott’s two-volume story. Alcott’s part one deals with the girls of the March family, while part two advances years to rejoin them as young women making their way into adult society. Invariably, adaptations retain this chronological order and its interest in what will happen to the girls as time, pardon the pun, marches on. Gerwig leans in to the familiarity of “Little Women,” choosing to make the adult story the present and the childhood a past visited in flashbacks. It’s a choice that seems jarring and ill-advised at first, but one that increasingly pays emotional dividends as the film proceeds. Gerwig delights in the portrait of the artist as a young woman, starting the film with an ironic Alcott quotation (“I’ve had lots of trouble,

so I write jolly tales”) followed by Jo making her entrée into publishing by submitting her work to the judgment of a man, editor Mr. Dashwood (Tracy Letts). Through the flashbacks, we see Jo developing her artistry through amateur theatrics and the accumulation of life experience in the company of her sisters Meg (Emma Watson), Amy (Eliza Scanlen) and Beth (Florence Pugh). The girls grow up in Concord, Massachusetts, under the guidance of their beloved “Marmee” (Laura Dern), a de facto single mother in the temporary absence of Father March (Bob Odenkirk), away as a chaplain to Civil War troops. The girls tolerate their grumpy but well-off great aunt (a hilarious Meryl Streep) and warm to their neighbors, kind Mr. Laurence (Chris Cooper) and his grandson Theodore “Laurie” Laurence (Timothée Chalamet). In a way, Laurie becomes one of the girls, ingratiating himself and inevitably becoming a romantic prospect. It’s part of the story’s genius that landing a man isn’t the be all and end all of the story, despite its vintage. Certainly marriage is a key consideration for these little women, but at least for Jo, it is a secondary one to vocation, and the March girls were raised too well to settle for a suitable arrangement in place of a satisfying romance. Still, the drama surrounding Laurie’s romantic triangle with two of the March girls gives the story its most potent emotional passages, with the ever-resonant Chalamet wearing his heart on his sleeve first as gawky youth and then as a sullen and somewhat resigned young man. While on her path, Jo worries, “Who will be interested in a story of domestic struggles and joys? It doesn’t have any real importance, does it?” Of course, she needn’t have been concerned. “Little Women” still speaks loudly, clearly and truthfully for women’s equality, the growth of character and the pride of artistry with characters that remain as vital and relatable as when they were conceived. Rated PG for thematic elements and brief smoking. Two hours, 14 minutes. — Peter Canavese

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MOVIE TIMES Movie times were not available this week due to the Weekly’s holiday press deadline. For local listings, go to paloaltoonline.com/movies.

“STUNNINGLY GOOD!” SF Chronicle

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 25.

Jan 15–Feb 16 Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

theatreworks.org 650.463.1960

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 27, 2019 • Page 23

Home&Real Estate

OPEN HOME GUIDE 25 Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com

A weekly guide to home, garden and real estate news

In local real estate, there were many in 2019, from a celebrity couple’s $31M mansion to a New York startup becoming the Bay Area’s biggest brokerage

Where $9 million won’t buy you a house 1628 Bryant St., Old Palo Alto

quarter-acre property in Old Palo Alto that went on the market last spring turned heads for what wasn’t included in its $9-million price tag: a house. The vacant lot was listed on April 11 for triple Palo Alto’s $3-million median home value, or about the price of what it would cost for three single-family homes in the city. The property, once part of the grounds of the adjoining historic 1920s Wickett estate, has sat virtually undisturbed behind a stucco wall, serving as a home for a giant oak tree and a grove

of redwoods since being split off from the main estate in 1972. The property was delisted in June and was still off the market at the start of December.

Microsoft co-founder’s mansion hits the market

267 Camino Al Lago, West Atherton

Russell Beatty

here were rumblings aplenty this year of a return to a quieter market, but a glance at some of the bigger Midpeninsula real estate listings and deals of 2019 suggests that not everyone got that memo. In particular, Atherton continues to top lists of the nation’s most expensive ZIP codes, kept aloft by multiple home sales in the tens of millions of dollars — including nine sales over $20 million in 2019, according to Zillow — and even pricier transactions involving big names. But not everything that grabbed headlines parlayed the attention into a sale ... yet ... so perhaps even here, some price tags are high enough to give pause — or more likely, the right buyer just hasn’t come along.

ore than a year after his death, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen is still making headlines. The billionaire’s West Atherton home became the most expensive listing in town when it hit the market in October with a $41.5 million price tag. Allen reportedly bought the 21,030-square-foot home in 2013 for $27 million when it was brand new, according to the San Francisco Business Journal. The house features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms and a pool on 1.9 acres of landscaped grounds. As of Dec. 19, the home was still on the market.

The grounds of Green Gables in Woodside include both formal gardens and woodlands, according to a listing from Christie’s International Real Estate. The 74-acre Fleishhacker family estate has been up for sale for some time, but without a set price. according to the report. In August, the Weekly’s sister publication, The Almanac, received a tip on the same property in West Atherton that was sold at the end of June, and found the deed and transaction details for the 1.2-acre lot: The home was sold to a mystery entity tied to a wealth manager for celebrities and athletes, but The Almanac couldn’t find a definite tie to the Currys. Natalie and Joe Comartin previously owned the property, according to San Mateo County records. They purchased the home for $6.5 million in 2007, records show.

Steph Curry moves in

West Atherton

tephen and Ayesha Curry reportedly purchased a $31 million home in Atherton in June, according to a Variety media report. The Golden State Warriors point guard and his celebritychef-and-cookbook-author wife bought a three-story home in West Atherton that includes a guesthouse and detached garage,

Trump lunched here

Christian Trujano

The vacant lot at 1628 Bryant St., once part of the grounds of the adjoining historic 1920s Wickett estate, has sat empty for decades. On April 11, 2019, it was listed for $9 million. Page 24 • December 27, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

610 Los Trancos Road, Palo Alto Hills

he Palo Alto home of former Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy made national headlines in 2018 when it hit the market for a record-shattering $97 million, making it one of the most expensive Bay Area listings in a decade. The 32,000-squarefoot home drew attention again in September 2019 when President Donald Trump was the guest of honor at a fundraiser luncheon at the 13-acre hillside estate, located along the Portola Valley border in Palo Alto Hills. The 20-room home includes a pizza room, a poker room, a spa with a sauna and massage table, a disco, a full gym with a climbing wall; an indoor basketball court, a wine cellar, a billiards room, a theater and a 110-yard golf practice area with two putting greens. In October, the home’s sale price dropped by $50 million. The property was listed for $53.8 million earlier this month.

74 acres, 32 bedrooms, price TBD Green Gables, Woodside

ne of Woodside’s oldest estates, the 74-acre Fleishhacker property known as Green Gables, made national news at the start of the year after word got out at the end of 2018 that the property was reportedly heading to the market. As it turned out, the longtime family home had been quietly on the market since 2015 (with agents and potential buyers all asked to sign nondisclosure agreements to view the property) at a listing price said to be $160 million. Realtor Michael Dreyfus of the Sotheby’s International Realty franchise in Palo Alto went public with the fact that the historic 32-bedroom estate is on the market, but without a listing price. Designed by famed Arts and Crafts movement architecture firm Greene and Greene and built in 1911, Green Gables has remained in the hands of the original family. Over the years, the Fleishhacker family built out the compound, adding multiple residences and other amenities. The massive property now has seven residences, including the historic main mansion and two family residences. Other amenities include three private roads, three swimming pools, a tennis court plus a barn and storage buildings that the listing notes have potential for stables. The property is still listed for sale without a price tag. The property is so rare, that the owners reportedly are waiting to see what the market might bear.

Compass buys Alain Pinel

enture-funded real-estate startup Compass became the Bay Area’s largest residential brokerage firm after snapping up top-selling Bay Area firm Alain Pinel for an undisclosed sum in early 2019. The deal nearly doubled the number of Compass’ agents in the Bay Area, adding 1,300 agents from Alain Pinel, a company whose sales volume topped $12.2 billion in 2017. With this addition, Compass now has approximately 3,000 agents working out of 97 offices in the Bay Area, including locations in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, the New York-based brokerage firm announced at the time of the sale. The move followed two other significant local acquisitions by Compass in mid2018: acquiring Paragon Real Estate Group, and just a month later, buying Pacific Union International. Both groups ranked among the top 10 residential brokerage firms in the nation based on sales volume. Earlier this month, Compass announced that it had brought on more than 40 real estate agents from San Jose’s CSR Real Estate Services residential real estate, which will no longer continue as a brokerage, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal. Q Compiled by Linda Taaffe and Heather Zimmerman.