T H E H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R F O R M E N LO PA R K , AT H E RTO N , P O RTO L A VA L L E Y A N D W O O D S I D E
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Council decides against charter city measure | Page 5 Residents seek safer Santa Cruz Avenue | Page 7 List of election candidates set | Page 8
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WOODSIDE $7,795,000
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SAN GREGORIO $5,499,000
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145 Bear Gulch Road | 313+/-acres S. Hayes/K. Bird | 650.245.5044 License#01401243/#00929166
300 Rancho De La Bana | 6bd/7ba S. Hayes/ K. Bird | 650.245.5044 License #01401243/#00929166
WOODSIDE $2,695,000
PORTO VALLEY $799,000
163 Otis Avenue | 4bd/3ba M. Lockwood/R. Flores | 408.565.5626 License #01017519/#02027985
251 Vista Verde | Land Wayne Rivas | 650.740.5746 License #01055861
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2 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
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August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 3
proud to support these local community events! August 25 September 8 September 8-9 September 15 September 16 September 21 October 13
Paws for Paws Burgess Park, Menlo Park Facebook Festivals “Facebook Fiesta” 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park Mountain View Art & Wine Festival Mountain View Pub in the Park Red Morton Park, Redwood City Fiestas Patrias Downtown Redwood City Moonlight Run & Walk Palo Alto Baylands Facebook Festivals “Truck Yeah!” 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park
Also offering. . . Weekly Mobile Farmers Market in Belle Haven & East Palo Alto on Sundays
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Saturday, September 8th, 1-6 PM
Celebration of Latin Food, Art, Music & Dance Proceeds benefit local school music & art programs.
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Live music and performances Free kids’ zone farmers market Craft Beer, Wine & Cocktails Food Trucks 4 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
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No charter city ballot measure, Menlo Park council decides By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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Photo by Robert Most
Llama or alpaca? Kids relished the chance to interact with animals at a petting zoo set up at Menlo Park’s annual Downtown Block Party on Santa Cruz Avenue Aug. 16. Hundreds of people attended, with leashed dogs and strollers in abundance, to enjoy live music, bounce houses, booths from local businesses and more.
Council approves $3.1 million in design changes for new Atherton library By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
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fter hearing that additional funding may be available for the town’s new library, the Atherton City Council last week approved changes in the building’s design that are estimated to shave $3.14 million off its cost while making minimal changes to the appearance of the building. The council held a special meeting on Aug. 17 as it works toward approving new, less expensive plans for a civic center design by December so the project can go back out to bid in January. The council voted in early June to make changes to the civic center design after the lowest of the only two construction bids for the project came in at $56.4 million, 40 percent higher than the town consultant’s $40.5 million estimate. The town had prequalified five firms to bid, but three of them dropped out. This time around, the town says it will open the bidding to any qualified construction firms. If the bid process timetable can be met, and a bid affordable to the town comes in, the project will be at least six months behind schedule.
The council had earlier voted to try to get the cost of the library down to $16 million, which was how much the town expected to have in the fund for the library construction. Atherton’s library is part of the county library system and some of Atherton property owners’ taxes go directly to the library. For years, library property tax revenues generated in Atherton that aren’t needed to run the library have been set aside to pay for the new library. But library officials say they may be willing to loan Atherton several years’ worth of those excess tax revenues to help pay library construction costs. The loan would be repaid with future excess library property tax revenues. The governing board of the Joint Powers Authority, which runs the county library system, will vote on Sept. 17 whether to loan the money. City Manager George Rodericks estimated that the loan would bring the total amount of funding available to build the library up to $22.7 million. The cuts approved by the council bring the estimated cost of the new library, before design costs and contingencies, to $20.13 million.
Rodericks said that with contingencies and design costs, he estimates the total library cost to now be $23.3 million. Council member Rick DeGolia, who is on the library JPA governing board, said the additional funding “gives us more flexibility to include in this library the best we can do and what the (library) staff wants.” Nonetheless, council members voted to make most of the changes that had been recommended by a working group that included architect WRNS Studio, members of the town’s Civic Center Advisory Committee, and library and town employees. Some ideas that had initially been presented as possible costcutting measures — including delaying renovations of the historic building the town now uses as council chambers, eliminating the plan to make library walls out of rammed earth and reducing the square footage of the library — were not recommended. Eliminating the rammed earth walls, which help save energy, muffle noise — important because of the nearby train tracks — and eliminating interior See LIBRARY, page 23
he Menlo Park City Council voted unanimously at an Aug. 13 emergency meeting to reverse its earlier position in support of placing a charter city measure on the November ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would have converted Menlo Park to a charter city, and given it more flexibility in the areas of elections and term limits. Despite discussing the topic for months, council members voiced concerns that the initiative had the appearance of being “halfbaked,” to use the words of Mayor Peter Ohtaki. Council members confirmed their interest in pursuing the charter city option, but agreed to take more time to involve and educate the community. Come fall, they plan to work on appointing a charter committee to explore the topic further. “Make no mistake. I absolutely believe we should become a charter city,” said Councilwoman Catherine Carlton. “My only concern is the process and the timing.” The measure would also have required voters to quickly get up to speed on some arcane election laws, without offering a clear plan for what the city could achieve if it passed. During the meeting, members of the public gave a mix of reasons for supporting and opposing the charter measure. City Council candidate Ron Shepherd, former Planning Commissioner John Kadvany and East Palo Alto resident Andrew Boone spoke in favor of going forward with the measure, arguing that there are few if any downsides to converting to a charter city because it allows greater local control, and could bolster voters’ say in electing whom they want. “Our districts were foisted upon the city for good reasons — there was an imbalance in who was appearing on the City Council,” Kadvany said. “Having done that, our voting process is not one which came from the voting public.” Belle Haven resident Pam Jones said the reconsideration was an “intelligent decision” to broaden
public participation on the topic, and Library Commissioner Lynne Bramlett said she felt the process was rushed and based on a “flawed premise.” Bramlett said she felt it was misleading to tie term limits to becoming a charter city; the city can implement them without being a charter — but the matter would have to go before voters, Councilman Ray Mueller clarified. Why a charter?
Part of the difficulty with the measure is that no one on the City Council or staff had been able to clearly articulate what a legally compliant voting system — either an alternative to or a hybrid with district elections — might look like. The city received a lawsuit threat about a year ago warning that Menlo Park could be in violation of the California Voting Rights Act, which makes it easier for voters from minority groups to prove that at-large election systems dilute their voting power. The threat Menlo Park received from Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman on behalf of an unnamed plaintiff or plaintiffs pointed out that the city’s Belle Haven neighborhood has more black and Hispanic people than the rest of Menlo Park at large, and its residents haven’t had a representative on the City Council for about 30 years. In response, Menlo Park followed a prescribed, strict process to convert from at-large to district elections. The city established a nonpartisan, randomly selected districting advisory committee, which drew up district boundaries. The City Council then accepted and finalized those boundaries in March. During the districting process, however, some raised concerns about the downsides of district-based voting. Since council members representing a district are elected by only the residents of their neighborhood district, some claimed that the process could “balkanize” the city, leading council members to prioritize See CHARTER CITY, page 6
August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 5
N E W S Established 1965
CHARTER CITY continued from page 5
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ADVERTISING SERVICES Advertising Services Manager Kevin Legarda (223-6597) Sales & Production Coordinators Pierce Burnett (223-6595), Diane Martin (223-6584), Nico Navarrete (223-6582) The Almanac is published every Wednesday at 3525 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Q Newsroom: (650) 223-6525 Newsroom Fax: (650) 223-7525 Q Email news and photos with captions to: Editor@AlmanacNews.com Q Email letters to: letters@AlmanacNews.com Q Advertising: (650) 854-2626 Advertising Fax: (650) 223-7570 Q Classified Advertising: (650) 854-0858 Q Submit Obituaries: www.almanacnews.com/obituaries The Almanac (ISSN 1097-3095 and USPS 459370) is published every Wednesday by Embarcadero Media, 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025-6558. Periodicals Postage Paid at Menlo Park, CA and at additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for San Mateo County, The Almanac is delivered free to homes in Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Almanac, 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 940256558. Copyright ©2018 by Embarcadero Media, All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Almanac is qualified by decree of the Superior Court of San Mateo County to publish public notices of a governmental and legal nature, as stated in Decree No. 147530, issued October 20, 1969. Subscriptions are $60 for one year and $100 for two years. Go to AlmanacNews. com/circulation. To request free delivery, or stop delivery, of The Almanac in zip code 94025, 94027, 94028 and the Woodside portion of 94062, call 854-2626.
Celebrating 47 great years! 6 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
to term limits and elections. Shifting demographics
the interests of their districts rather than the city’s overall best interests. And because the districts cover fairly small territories, there’s a chance that a council member might not even be permitted to vote on important matters in his or her district because that council member lives too close. (State political ethics laws say that council members should recuse themselves from voting on matters that take place within 500 or fewer feet from property they own.) Some advocates proposed implementing an alternative voting system, like ranked-choice or cumulative voting, that takes into account people’s second- and third- choice candidate preferences in races where multiple seats are open. FairVote, an election reform nonprofit, cites data indicating that ranked-choice voting systems may help women and people of color attain elective offices. However, only charter cities can consider such alternative voting systems, and all cities — whether a charter city or a general law city like Menlo Park — must comply with the California Voting Rights Act. One potential model for a voting system that could both comply with the law and use one of these alternative systems was proposed in the city of Santa Clara, in which ranked-choice voting would occur in two districts across the city, each with multiple seats. But voters defeated the measure in June. According to Cara Silver, assistant city attorney, it might be possible to devise a system in Menlo Park that could both comply with the voting rights act and offer cumulative or ranked choice voting, so long as the protected class still has a fair bloc of voting power, but added that such a system would have to be very nuanced and carefully analyzed. There are also other reasons to consider becoming a charter city, several council members pointed out. Councilman Rich Cline said he’s worked for newspapers that covered charter cities and felt that those cities had more local control and flexibility on some matters. Council member Kirsten Keith said: “For years, we’ve received emails from former mayors, asking to look at a charter. We’re familiar with a lot of those (charter) cities, and they run very well. ... Right now, it’s too rushed.” “I still think there are advantages to becoming a charter city,” Ohtaki said, noting the potential opportunities for greater local control. However, the charter that would have gone before voters restricted opportunities for more local control to potential changes
All of these considerations dance around an unspoken acknowledgment that Menlo Park is, under the California Voting Rights Act, essentially stuck with districts as long as Belle Haven continues to have the demographics it has. Looking ahead, though, there is little guarantee that black and Hispanic voters in Belle Haven will continue to enjoy the protection that the district system will offer those voters for the first time. District 1, the district that includes Belle Haven, is reported to have a current population that is 69 percent Hispanic, 18 percent black, 4 percent white and 3 percent Asian American, while the other districts range between 72 and 80 percent white. However, these statistics draw on demographic information collected during the 2010 census, which could already be outdated. Demographic change could occur through displacement, a loss of black and Hispanic residents from the neighborhood; dilution, an influx of racially different new residents to District 1; or dispersion, an increase of black and Hispanic residents in other parts of the city. Future census findings will determine if such changes would eliminate the legal need for districts. In any case, the city is expected to redraw district boundaries after the 2020 census. “There is no benefit to the city to even look at this issue until after the 2020 census,” said Mueller. “It is possible you’d see an influx of residents of a different protected class composition that would affect those numbers.” Dilution of the area’s Hispanic and black voters could happen if the residents of the substantial amount of new housing being built and proposed for development surrounding Belle Haven don’t also come from protected classes. “Frankly, that could happen even without displacement,” Mueller said. “I’m not advocating that that should happen.” Menlo Park has zoned for 4,500 new housing units to be built east of U.S. 101, the area currently covered by District 1, and development proposals are currently pending for 1,594 housing units, 1,500 of which would be on Facebook property. Plus, several high-end housing developments have already been built in eastern Menlo Park since 2010. Displacement of people of color from Belle Haven has been reported anecdotally to have been occurring as housing prices escalate, though little data is being collected to verify how widely or frequently this displacement occurs. A
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Ambulance struck in alleged DUI hit-and-run By Dave Boyce Almanac Staff Writer
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hree people, including the driver and passenger in a Woodside Fire Protection District ambulance, were taken to a local hospital following an alleged DUI hit-and-run on southbound Interstate 280 on Saturday, Aug. 18. According to the California Highway Patrol, at 5:25 p.m., a 1998 Toyota 4Runner struck the back of the ambulance on I-280 just south of the Edgewood Road exit ramp, where the freeway passes over Canada Road. There were no patients in the ambulance at the time, the CHP said. The Toyota driver was allegedly speeding and intoxicated at the time of the crash, according to a statement from the CHP. CHP Officer Christine Ross on Aug. 20 said that they are not yet releasing the Toyota driver’s name and that she did not know
his age or city of residence, noting that the driver was not carrying identification. The collision caused the ambulance to overturn, blocking the center divider and one lane of traffic for about 45 minutes, the CHP said. After the collision, the driver of the Toyota continued south on I-280 and was involved in a noninjury collision two miles from the first crash. The driver fled on foot from the scene of the second collision, the CHP said. Following a search of the area, the Toyota driver was located and arrested for felony DUI and felony hit-and-run, according to the CHP. The Toyota driver was transported to a local hospital with moderate injuries, while the driver and passenger in the ambulance were taken to the hospital with minor and major non-lifethreatening injuries, respectively. The two Woodside Fire
Protection District medics who were in the ambulance have since been released from the hospital, Fire Chief Dan Ghiorso told The Almanac. “They both went home that night,” Ghiorso said on Aug. 20. One is back at work and the other is expected back soon, he added. The Toyota driver may have a broken leg, Ross said. The driver has not been jailed, she said. The ambulance, which was traveling at 65 miles per hour on its way back to Woodside from a call, is a total loss, Ghiorso said. Witness accounts vary, with reports that it rolled two, three or four times, Ghiorso said. “We know it rolled more than once,” he said. The speed of the Toyota is not likely to come to light, Ross said, in that there were no fatalities in the accident and thus no plans to retrieve the black box from the car. A
West Menlo residents petition county for a safer Santa Cruz Avenue
By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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coalition of residents in West Menlo Park has petitioned San Mateo County for a series of road changes to improve safety on the chaotic northbound stretch of Santa Cruz Avenue between Sand Hill Road and where it goes through a “Y” split with Alameda de las Pulgas. According to Ron Snow, one of the primary organizers of the neighborhood’s safety advocacy group, two petitions have been circulated through the neighborhood. The first calls for a set of changes to Santa Cruz Avenue between Sand Hill Road and where it splits with Alameda de las Pulgas. That received support from 97 percent of the more than 200 area residents who were asked about the proposed changes. The second petition proposes to add a pedestrian-activated signal for the crosswalk at Santa Cruz Avenue and Palo Alto Way, and received support from 98 percent of the more than 200 residents asked. The corridor has long been considered dangerous, especially by local commuters and residents who walk or ride their bikes around there and have seen traffic congestion increase in recent years. San Mateo County staff is working with a consultant, Kimley-Horn, to do a technical analysis of the area and develop a plan to improve safety and connectivity for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Last year, a public
meeting attended by county officials, representatives from Kimley-Horn and concerned residents led to the formation of a 28-person task force to develop a plan to address the traffic and safety problems in the area. San Mateo County Supervisor Don Horsley, whose district includes unincorporated West Menlo Park, said that plans are in the works to request an additional $245,000 from the county budget to continue the task force and develop a plan for the road and the Y intersection, which he said could be completed in as soon as three to six months. After the plan is released, the county will go through steps to collect public feedback on it, and it ultimately would have to get approved by the county’s Board of Supervisors. Only then could funding be set aside for any of the recommended infrastructure improvements, which might take time since the county is on a two-year budget cycle, Horsley explained. In the interim, he noted that the county has already made improvements to Santa Cruz Avenue, including adding “sharrows” (painted markings on the road to remind drivers to share the road with cyclists) and putting up radar signals that tell drivers how fast they’re going compared to the speed limit. However, Horsley added, he feels that the Y intersection needs to be reconfigured, especially to make the pedestrian crossing there
perpendicular. (Currently, the pedestrian crossing is an extralong diagonal walk across traffic lanes.) Just how to reconfigure the intersection, though, he plans to leave up to the traffic engineers with whom the county is working. Some feel, however, that the county hasn’t responded fast enough to address the safety problems. Snow said he felt that the task force’s progress has been rather slow and bureaucratic so far. He has continued to meet with neighbors and developed the proposals in the two petitions as first steps to addressing the area’s safety problems. But more needs be done to calm traffic along this stretch of the road, he said. Carin Pacifico, a West Menlo Park resident, said that there are several groups of advocates pushing for safety improvements, each with different priorities. As she explained it, cyclists want bike lanes added on Santa Cruz Avenue between Sand Hill Road and the Y split, but the bike lanes are opposed by residents along that street who do not want to give up their parking. She said households with kids, meanwhile, are pushing for improved sidewalks (the ones along Alameda de las Pulgas are narrow and uneven), and seniors who live at Menlo Commons are seeking traffic relief so that it will be easier to get out of the driveway. During peak commute times, Pacifico said, there’s a constant
REAL ESTATE Q&A by Monica Corman
Think Long Term When Buying Real Estate Dear Monica: I am in the market to buy a rental property but real estate prices have gone up so much that I am thinking I should wait until the market cools a bit before buying. What would you advise? Jonathan C. Dear Jonathan: We have seen prices rise considerably in many Bay Area communities in the past 5+ years. But there is still strong demand and companies DUH EXLOGLQJ ODUJH RI¿FH VSDFHV up and down the Peninsula. All of those who work in the
buildings want to live as close to them as possible or take public transportation if it works well for their commute. So here is what I believe and what I tell my clients. You don’t need to wait to buy, but if you buy, you should have a long term plan for the property. Quick turnovers don’t work in this market. But a buy and hold policy does work, if you hold it at least 5 – 7 years. 2XU PDUNHW ZLOO ÀXFWXDWH IURP time to time but barring a larger correction this strategy is the best plan.
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Town of Woodside Notice of Availability/ Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration Public Review Period: August 16, 2018, through September 14, 2018 Project Title:
250 Mountain Home Road Stream Bank Repair and Stabilization Project
Project Description: The project involves the repair of a stream bank landslide that occurred in February 2017 along the southern side of Bear Gulch Creek at the project site. The slide debris would be removed from the channel and the pre-slide toe of bank line would be restored. The slope would be recontoured and would have a maximum slope of 2:1 (horizontal to vertical). The project is designed to stabilize the creek bank with log rootwads, engineered log rootwad jams, 0.5 ton and larger anchor and ballast boulders, live willow brush layering, a tight line in the seep zone, and 100% biodegradable fabric-covered upper bank riparian planting area. The project involves removal of one 4-inch bay tree. It also involves LPSOHPHQWLQJ D GHZDWHULQJ DQG ÀVK UHORFDWLRQ SODQ DORQJ D IRRW section of the creek prior to project construction. Project Location:
250 Mountain Home Road Stream Bank Repair and Stabilization Project (APN# 072-191-170)
Lead Agency:
Town of Woodside P.O. Box 620005 (Mail) 2955 Woodside Road Woodside, CA 94062
Contact Person:
Sage Schaan, AICP, CEP, Principal Planner Tel. (650) 851-6790 / Fax. (650) 851-2195
Public Hearing: The Woodside Planning Commission meeting to consider the Mitigated Negative Declaration is scheduled for September 19, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. in Independence Hall located at 2955 Woodside Road. Notice of the Planning Commission public hearing will also be provided in a newspaper of local circulation, to neighbors within 300 feet of the project, and to all organizations or individuals who have previously requested such notice in writing. The Mitigated Negative Declaration, Project Plans, and referenced documents are available for review during normal business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Woodside Town Hall, located at 2955 Woodside Road in Woodside, California 94062. The Mitigated Negative Declaration will be available on the Woodside website: www.woodsidetown.org Please submit any written comments on the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration by 5:00 p.m. on September 14, 2018 to Sage Schaan at sschaan@woodsidetown.org or by mail at the Town of Woodside, at the address listed above.
See SANTA CRUZ AVENUE, page 15
August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 7
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List of council candidates set Menlo Park, Woodside have contested races By Dave Boyce Almanac Staff Writer
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he list of candidates for the Nov. 6 election in San Mateo County has been settled. With the exception of write-in candidates — their window opens on Sept. 10 and closes Oct. 23 — the filing deadlines have passed for people seeking seats on the city and town councils in Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside. Contested elections are ahead for all three seats open on the Menlo Park City Council. In Woodside, four council seats are open, one is contested, and no incumbents are running for re-election.
Just one candidate is running for each of the three open council seats in both Atherton and Portola Valley, and for three of four seats open in Woodside. When races are uncontested, councils have the option of appointing candidates to office and forgoing elections. The Woodside council has authorized elections for all four seats. The Atherton and Portola Valley councils were scheduled to take up the matter this week. This is the first election in Menlo Park since the council changed the election system from at-large voting, in which every voter can
2018
vote for every candidate, to voting by district, in which voters living in each of the five districts vote for candidates who also live in their respective districts. Here are the candidates: Menlo Park
In Menlo Park, all three seats are for four-year terms. Q District 1, which includes Belle Haven and the rest of Menlo Park east of U.S. 101: Mike Dunn, Cecilia Taylor and George Yang. Q District 2, which includes the Willows, Flood Triangle and Suburban Park neighborhoods: Drew Combs and current council member Kirsten Keith. Q District 4, which includes the downtown and Allied Arts
No contest in most local school board races By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
T
he Ravenswood City School District will have the only school board election in The Almanac’s circulation area in November after four other local districts’ elections were automatically cancelled because the number of candidates equaled the number of open seats. The Portola Valley School District will also have a bond measure on the ballot.
Ravenswood City School District
In the Ravenswood City School all three incumbents and seven challengers are running. Incumbents Ana Maria Pulido, Charlie Mae Knight and Marcelino Lopez are seeking re-election to the five-member governing board. They will face school aftercare director Maria Victoria Chavez, special education administrator Brooke Crosby, nonprofit curriculum manager Stephanie Fitch, paraeducator Julian Garcia, teacher Laura Nunez, paraeducator and parent Nicole Sbragia and Tamara Sobomehin, who oversees development and strategy for youth technology nonprofit Streetcode Academy. Nunez and Sobomehin are running on a slate together. Portola Valley School District bond measure
The Portola Valley School District does not have a board election this year. That’s because instead of adding a year to board members’ terms, as members of most other local elective bodies did to meet the new state requirements that local officials be elected in even years, the Portola Valley district’s school board
members decreased their terms by a year. There is, however, a $49.5 million bond to pay for repairs, renovations and new buildings on the district’s two campuses on the ballot. The measure will require 55 percent of the vote for approval. An approved bond would add a maximum of $300 per $1 million of assessed valuation to property tax bills. The money would go toward projects in a facilities master plan approved by the school board. The plan shows immediate firstphase priority projects at Corte Madera School, including a new two-story classroom building, costing between $38.4 and $42.5 million. At Ormondale School, projects costing $10.9 to $12 million are included as immediate first-phase priorities. Menlo Park City School District
In the Menlo Park City School District, incumbents Terry Thygesen and Joan Lambert are not running for re-election. With only three candidates for three open seats — incumbent Stacey Jones; Finance and Audit Committee member and district parent Sherwin Chen; and former candidate, district parent and biotechnology professional Scott Saywell — the election is automatically canceled. Las Lomitas Elementary School District
In the Las Lomitas School District, incumbents Rich Ginn and Christy Heaton are not running for re-election. Since there are only three candidates for three open seats — incumbent John Earnhardt, district parent and nonprofit executive Dana Nunn,
8 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
and district parent and tech executive Jon Venverloh — the election is automatically canceled.
neighborhoods: Betsy Nash, current council member Peter Ohtaki and Ron Shepherd. Woodside
Four seats are open on the Woodside council. The seats for districts 2, 4 and 6 are for fouryear terms, and the District 7 seat is for a two-year term. Q District 2, which includes the neighborhoods on Woodside Road west of Albion Avenue and along Kings Mountain and Tripp roads: Brian Dombkowski. (The district is currently represented by Deborah Gordon.) Q District 4, which includes neighborhoods along Canada Road and north of Arbor Court and Olive Hill Lane: Sean P. Scott. (The district is currently represented by Dave Tanner.) Q District 6, which includes neighborhoods south of Woodside Road and east of Mountain
In the Woodside Elementary School District, incumbents Claire Pollioni and Marc Tarpenning are not running for reelection. There are only three candidates for three open seats: appointed incumbent Jennifer Zweig; district parent, business executive and Safe Routes to School advocate Peter Bailey; and district parent Jenny Hayden, so the election is automatically canceled. Sequoia Union High School District
Incumbent Chris Thomsen, a Menlo Park resident, was the only candidate to file in his district, so that election will automatically be cancelled. The Nov. 6 election is the first since the Sequoia board divided the school district into five voting areas. Thomsen lives in Trustee Area D, which includes some neighborhoods of central Menlo Park west of U.S. 101, as well as North Fair Oaks and parts of Atherton and Woodside. Board members must live in the area they represent and are elected by the voters residing in that specific area. Board member Allen Weiner, whose seat is not up for election this year, lives in Area C, which includes West Menlo Park, Ladera, Portola Valley and Woodside. There is no one currently on the board who lives in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Menlo Park or in East Palo Alto. The first election for that area, Area E, is scheduled for 2020. A
Atherton
Three seats are open, each for a four-year term. The candidates are incumbents Rick DeGolia, Mike Lempres and Bill Widmer. Portola Valley
Three seats are open, each for a four-year term. The candidates are incumbents Maryann Moise Derwin, Craig Hughes and John Richards. A
Contested election ahead for Menlo fire board By Dave Boyce Almanac Staff Writer
Woodside Elementary School District
Home Road on both sides of Interstate 280, as well as the area south of Bardet Road along Canada Road: Richard “Dick” Brown. (The district is currently represented by Anne Kasten.) Q District 7, which includes neighborhoods along La Honda and Old La Honda roads, areas generally west of Portola Road: Ned Fluet and Frank Rosenblum. (The seat has been vacant since Peter Mason resigned in March.)
Four candidates are vying for three open seats on the board of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, which includes the communities of Atherton, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and nearby unincorporated areas. Incumbent Chuck Bernstein and appointed incumbent Robert Jones are running, as are challengers Sean Ballard and Jim McLaughlin. In the West Bay Sanitary District, with three seats open on the governing board, three candidates are running uncontested: Edward Moritz and Roy ThieleSardina are incumbents, and George Otte is an appointed incumbent. The sanitary district processes wastewater for Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, parts of East Palo Alto and Woodside and nearby unincorporated areas.
Incumbent Gerald Shefren and challenger Harland Harrison are running for the board of the Sequoia Healthcare District to represent Area E, which includes Portola Valley and Woodside. The health care district distributes property tax revenues to health organizations and nonprofits in southern San Mateo County. Incumbent Larry Hassett is running uncontested for re-election to the board of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District. The district conserves open space in southern San Mateo County from the Bay to the coast, following the ridgeline south to include northwestern Santa Clara County, and includes a small portion of Santa Cruz County. Three appointed incumbents — Calin B. Thomas, Bob Felderman and Brian Davis Wall — are running uncontested for three seats on the board of the Ladera Recreation District. A
Proposed growth along Bay far outpaces expectations By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
I
n Menlo Park, there’s one lesson city officials are learning the hard way for the second time this year: With great development potential comes greater development demand. Less than two years after the city completed an update to its general plan that permitted new construction on the city’s eastern side, developers have already attempted to lay claim to all of that development potential, and
then some. The zoning plan, called ConnectMenlo, was supposed to act as an expansive guide to shape development along the city’s Bay-facing side until 2040. But developers have already submitted proposals for five projects that cumulatively represent more than the 1.3-million-square-foot maximum of office space the plan permits. In fact, just one of those submitted proposals asks for permission See GROWTH, page 10
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N E W S GROWTH continued from page 8
to build far more than the maximum allowed new office space. The largest proposal submitted under the ConnectMenlo plan — and believed to be the biggest development proposal ever in Menlo Park — is Facebook’s “Willow Village� project, which aims to redevelop a 56-acre property the company owns along Willow Road into what’s expected to function as a new neighborhood. The proposal lays out plans to raze the current office park there — which houses about a million square feet of office space, city staff estimate — and build 1.75 million square feet of office space, plus 126,500 square feet of retail space, 1,500 housing units, a 200room hotel and a 40,000-squarefoot cultural/visitors’ center. Menlo Park’s Bayside development plan counts net new square footage, so it’s expected that only the additional square footage of Facebook’s proposal would count against the overall development potential. But the company’s proposal, plus other new buildings proposed in the area, signal that the appetite to develop in Menlo Park may be far greater than the community imagined in the recent ConnectMenlo process, which
involved upwards of 60 community and stakeholder meetings, many of which emphasized the long-term nature of the plan. Other proposed developments in the Bayfront area include 260,400 square feet of life sciences research and development space at 1350 Adams Court; 318,614 square feet of office space at 162-164 Jefferson Drive; 104,587 square feet of life sciences research and development space and 685 square feet of retail space at 1105 O’Brien Drive; and 94 housing units at 111 Independence Drive. Based on the proposals received so far, office space appears to be in highest demand. If only the developments that have already been proposed are built, the city would overshoot the office square footage it zoned for by 768,614 square feet, while falling short of developing an additional 2,098 housing units, 200 hotel rooms, 107,815 square feet of commercial space and 1.73 million square feet of life sciences space that could still be built under the plan. (This doesn’t factor in the square footage of existing buildings to be demolished that would be subtracted as part of a net new square-footage calculation.) On the housing front, Facebook has proposed 1,500 new units, and SP Menlo LLC has proposed to build 94 units. According to
a staff report, the city expects another 1,240 housing units to be “applied for in the near future� on the eastern side of Menlo Park. Already a problem
Last December, Menlo Park staff announced that the city’s El Camino Real/downtown specific plan was already approaching the development limits put in place when the City Council approved new development allowances in 2012. That plan, when adopted, had seemed expansive and destined to guide growth for decades. But as of December, most of the 474,000 square feet of new nonresidential space and 680 housing units the plan permitted had been claimed by approved and proposed developments, with about 92 percent of the nonhousing space and 72 percent of the total number of housing units claimed. To raise the cap for residential or commercial development beyond what is in the plan would require environmental review, a process that usually takes at least a year, according to staff. At an Aug. 6 City Council meeting, Belle Haven resident Pamela Jones urged the council to put the matter on the agenda and asked members to consider a moratorium on new building. “We cannot afford to keep doing
what we’re doing in the city of Menlo Park,� she said. During the years-long process to develop the ConnectMenlo plan, she said, local developers were active participants in public meetings, and in some cases won the zoning policies they sought as a result. “Oftentimes what residents brought up wasn’t considered,� she added. What to do
To address the fact that office development capacity is the first part of the zoning plan to be maxed out, staff has developed four options for the council to consider in the future. Community Development Director Mark Muenzer noted that the City Council may place the subject on a future council agenda, but the discussion hasn’t been scheduled yet. Among the options being considered are to keep the current office cap, amend the general plan to allow more office development, make developers apply to amend the general plan, or transfer some of the life sciences space the plan permits to become office space. Each option carries potential repercussions. According to staff, if the city keeps its current office cap, new office spaces would be approved based on a first-come,
first-served basis. Deanna Chow, the city’s assistant community development director, noted that a big question is which developer would get first dibs on the allowed development. Usually it would be based on whichever project receives entitlement first, but the process can be nuanced, she said. Later proposals would likely have to scale back to comply with the development cap. If the council takes on amending the general plan to increase the development potential of the area, the city would need to do more public outreach and pay for more consultants. Chow noted it cost the city about $1.6 million in consultant fees to develop the 2016 ConnectMenlo plan. If developers had to propose general plan amendments, it would be up to the council to decide on a case-by-case basis, which could create more uncertainty in the development process. If the city changes some of the development potential from life sciences space to office space, it would likely trigger a need for further environmental analysis of how such a transition would impact traffic, because life sciences space generates fewer workers — and by extension, fewer solo drivers — than traditional office space. A
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N E W S
John Marston, yachtsman, craftsman, family man John Ira Marston, a resident of Atherton, started out as a fireman but spent most of his years working in pest control. As a sideline, he and his wife Alice would buy, live in and redesign houses, which led to his becoming a master craftsman in the building trades. When he wasn’t working, he liked to fish, camp, hunt, and sail the San Francisco Bay. Marston died Aug. 9 in Carmichael, California. He was 92. A graveside gathering and interment is set for 11
a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 22, at Skylawn Memorial Park in San Mateo. A memorial service for friends and family is set for 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in Carmichael. Call 805-703-0425 for details. Marston was a native of Burlingame, the only child of railroad man Ira Webster Marston and telephone company operator Vera Mae Taylor. He entered the U.S. Army at 17 while still in high school and served as a medic in Japan and the South Pacific. He had photographs of
the devastation caused by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, his daughter Denise Morey said. After the war, Marston earned his high school diploma and an associate degree in entomology at the College of San Mateo, which was instrumental in his purchase of a pest control company that he managed for more than 40 years, his daughter said. In 1950, Marston married Alice Chambliss who, during their 68 years of marriage, cultivated her passions as an artist and interior decorator. The
couple had three children. As members of the Coyote Point Yacht Club, they owned sailboats large enough to have bunks inside. Marston was known for his infectious sense of humor. “He was a wonderful dad,” Morey said. “We’re all just aching from missing him.” He enjoyed owning vehicles of all types, his daughter said. He would visit Atherton mansions destined for destruction and cut deals for beams and hardwood flooring to use back
at home. “He was a real wood scavenger,” his daughter said. Marston and his wife loved to dance; he enjoyed jazz standards, folk music and rock and roll, but nothing edgy, his daughter said. He came to prefer classical music toward the end of his life, she said. Marston is survived by his wife Alice Marston; his daughters Denise Morey and Louise Valerie Marston; his son Eric Marston; six grandchildren; and one great grandchild. The family asks that condolences be sent to Alice Marston, 4050 Walnut Ave. in Carmichael, California, 95608.
MENLO MOVIE SERIES SUMMER 2018 Creating a sense of community Friday evenings Burgess Park 430 Burgess Drive Bring a picnic basket, blanket, family and friends to enjoy a night of watching the stars, under the stars.
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12 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
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Surf Air no longer using San Carlos Airport By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
S
urf Air, the controversial commuter airline behind thousands of residents’ noise complaints to the San Carlos Airport, has stopped using the airport, county officials say. Gretchen Kelly, the manager of the San Mateo Countyowned airport, said that the last record the airport has of a Surf Air plane landing at the airport is June 29, but added that workers affiliated with the company say it may be back in October. A startup airline that began using the San Carlos Airport in June 2013, Surf Air offered unlimited flights for a monthly fee and scheduled as many as 45 flights a day in and out of the airport. In mid-June, however, Surf Air replaced Encompass Aviation LLC with Advanced Aviation LLC as its flight operator. Days later Encompass sued Surf Air, claiming $3.1 million in unpaid bills. In addition, the federal government says Surf Air owes $2.33 million in taxes, and San Mateo County says Surf Air owes it $131,371 for 2017 taxes and may owe more for 2015 and 2016. Surf Air has since filed a counterclaim to the Encompass lawsuit, asking that Encompass return the PC-12 turboprop planes it has subleased from Surf Air and claiming at least $10 million in damages. Surf Air has also requested a jury trial.
Court filings show the trial, filed in the Southern District of New York, wouldn’t take place for at least six months, with pre-trial motions due by Feb. 11. After the change in flight operators, the airport recorded only 51 arrivals or departures by Surf Air before the flights stopped altogether. Some residents say they have seen and heard Surf Air’s distinctive blue-bottomed planes over their homes recently, but Kelly said many privatelyowned Pilatus aircraft use the San Carlos Airport and that “blue and white is a common paint scheme for the Pilatus.” Kelly said that no one from Surf Air officially notified the airport that the f lights would be discontinued, but that the company’s ground crew said f lights would be discontinued through the end of September. Surf Air no longer includes San Carlos as a destination on its website, but is still f lying some planes into and out of the Oakland and San Jose airports. In the meantime, former operator Encompass has rebranded itself as Roam. Its new website says Roam uses the San Carlos Airport, but Kelly said the company has not actually landed any flights there. Surf Air accuses Encompass in its counterclaim of continuing to use Surf Air’s planes. Neither Surf Air’s attorney nor its spokeswoman acknowledged The Almanac’s requests for comment. A
Flood Park plans move forward San Mateo County is working on a landscaping plan for Flood Park, a 24.5-acre park along Bay Road in Menlo Park, and most recently, the county’s Parks and Recreation Commission accepted the environmental analysis of the plan and recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve it. In the meantime, the county reports, it will begin to work with a design firm to help redevelop the park and hone in on the location and dimensions of the proposed park features. Before the commission’s decision, Menlo Park submitted some last-minute feedback to the county July 26 in the form of a letter from City Manager Alex McIntyre. McIntyre asked the county to work with residents
who live adjacent to the park to address potential impacts, such as noise and traffic, that they might experience as a result of the changes, which include the addition of a new sports field. The city asked that the county not restrict people from using sports fields there during peak traffic hours, arguing that people will use them anyway, and that it would severely limit when local sports teams would have access. The city also asked that the county have a clearer plan about how its water use would work with the Menlo Park Municipal Water System, and suggested the city and county work together to get sidewalks on Bay Road. —Kate Bradshaw
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N E W S SANTA CRUZ AVENUE
Woodside benefit to restore Arctic ice set for Aug. 30
continued from page 7
stream of vehicles headed into Menlo Park along Santa Cruz Avenue, residents who live on Santa Cruz Avenue after the Y split face major difficulties getting out of their driveways. Snow has recommended that the traffic signal turn red more often for drivers staying on Santa Cruz Avenue through the Y during peak commute hours so that residents get enough reprieve to pull out of their driveways, and so that pedestrians can cross at the Y split. One of the petitions that Snow and other neighborhood safety advocates circulated proposes three changes along Santa Cruz Avenue: to remove the third northbound lane; to change the traffic signal timing at the Y so that motorists continuing along the northeast section of Santa Cruz Avenue stop more often; and to add paint along the right lane so that motorists know the boundaries of the lane. The petitioners also requested that the county make these changes before the new school year starts. Some supporters of the petition offered anonymous comments. One endorsed the proposal as cheap, fast, and easy to reverse if things don’t work out as planned, and also easy to make permanent.
By Kate Daly Special to the Almanac
I
ce911, a nonprofit researching ways to address the current runaway rate of Earth’s rising temperatures, is ready to share data about a solution that could slow the rate of ice melting in the Arctic and perhaps even restore the ice. The Menlo Park company will be presenting its findings to the community at a benefit called Restore the Arctic, Restore the Climate on Thursday, Aug. 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Thomas Fogarty Winery in Woodside. Engineer, inventor and Stanford University lecturer
Kate Bradshaw
Cars approach the West Menlo Park crosswalk across Santa Cruz Avenue at Palo Alto Way, where a woman was accidentally struck and killed in 2004.
“My children and I are forced to risk our lives daily to cross this intersection as pedestrians,” someone wrote. “Cars often continue down Santa Cruz on the red against clearly marked signs. Cars often drive through the crosswalk and stop so that I have to push my stroller into traffic to get around them.” “This intersection is a mess. Try getting through there with a wheelchair! Ha!” another added. &URVVZDON OLNH ¶)URJJHU·
Another safety proposal that nearby residents overwhelmingly support, Snow said, is to add a pedestrian-activated light across Santa Cruz Avenue at Palo Alto Way.
The crosswalk there was the site of a fatality in January 2004, when Atefeh “Amy” Bijan, 75, was accidentally struck and killed by a vehicle driven by 84-year-old Atherton resident Adele Elliott. In the aftermath of Bijan’s death, there was discussion of upgrading the crosswalk to add warning lights, or removing the crosswalk. But the crosswalk there remains, and no warning lights have been added. An anonymous resident wrote in response to the petitions that he or she was a witness to Bijan’s death. “I know firsthand the dangers of this intersection and will not allow my children to cross here until safety measures are in place. The county should be
ashamed to have let so much time pass without a resolution.” Another respondent compared the crosswalk to the video game Frogger. “My 11 year old daughter uses this 4+ lane crosswalk on occasion,” he or she wrote. “Cars just don’t see her. ... It’s just a matter of time until someone gets hit.” Roberta Morris, who calls
Leslie Field of Portola Valley first turned her focus on polar ice in 2006. She will talk about her team’s work testing layers of reflective sand containing silica at experimental sites in the Sierra Nevada, Minnesota and Alaska, and how scientists are hopeful the process could mitigate climate change. She led a group of researchers to the Arctic last month and is seeking support to fund another trip there this fall. Go to eventbrite.com/d/ ca--sunnyvale/ice911 to buy tickets, which start at $150 per person. For more information about the organization, visit www. Ice911.org. A herself a “militant pedestrian,” said that the safety problems these changes aim to mitigate have been in existence for at least as long as she’s lived in the neighborhood, since 2006. But she’s optimistic that the next county manager, Mike Callagy, can help. “It’s possibly going to be the reason that things happen now,” she said. A
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August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 15
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Photo by Natalia Nazarova
A circle of Woodside High freshmen, about a week ahead of the first day of school, prepare for a guided meditation on the theme of “Being a freshman.” By Sarah Lehman Special to The Almanac
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ug. 15 marked the start of another year for students at Menlo-Atherton and Woodside high schools. There are plenty of significant changes at both campuses, from new classes to new schedules, buildings, food options and staff members. At M-A, enrollment increased from a little under 2,400 to about 2,480 this year. Woodside also welcomes about 1,890 students this fall, an increase of about 60 students, with more still registering. Both M-A and Woodside owe much of their ability to lower class size and update equipment to their nonprofit foundations, whose members work tirelessly to support every student even as enrollment increases. Woodside Principal Diane Burbank noted that, thanks to record fundraising, her school is able to invest in a second
part-time college counselor again this year. The school received many Chromebook donations last spring, and 30 Chromebook carts provide easy access to teachers and students. New infrastructure
The biggest change to M-A’s campus this year is the introduction of a brand-new, two-story STEM building to house many of the school’s lab science classes, offering better space and equipment than the previous C-wing. Inside there is also a new home for food and nutrition classes and a new makerspace for student use. A large new restroom facility also addresses M-A’s often-cited need for more bathrooms, and a new kitchen “will provide a hot and cold food bar with some selfservice options,” said Vice Principal Janelle Bugarini. And students should enjoy the newly improved guidance office. All this construction comes as
part of Phase 2 of M-A’s facilities master plan, funded by Measure A and planned by the Facilities Needs Task Force. This funding is districtwide, and thus it also applies to Woodside High. As part of Phase 2, M-A will continue updates such as new lockers, more bike storage, and improved student services accommodations. An update to the facilities master plan in June 2016 lists funded Phase 2 projects totaling just over $20 million. At Woodside, the staff and student parking lots were repaved and striped over the summer; there are plans to install solar panels next year. Work has begun on a new brick entrance to the student lot, but traffic will not be affected. Renovations were also made to the Woodside ceramics room. These offer more light, better kiln access, technology, and photography space. With more students taking ceramics and fulfilling AP studio art requirements than ever before, these improvements will be put to good use, Burbank said. New classes and programs
Photo by Sarah Lehman/The Almanac
The biggest change to Menlo-Atherton’s campus this year is the new STEM building to house many of the school’s lab science classes. 18 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
Several new classes and some updated favorites are ready for students at both M-A and Woodside. The popular audio elective at Woodside is now aligned with new Career Technical Education standards. Students can advance their skills over three years, said Burbank, while playing original music on the quad and handling assembly sound needs. Woodside biology also got a boost, as teachers redesigned much of the course to meet Next Generation Science Standards. Freshmen and sophomores can
expect more challenging and Studies class. Classes are still moving in to the new STEM building, extensive labs. Both M-A and Woodside enroll which provides improved technolmany underrepresented students ogy supports and equipment for and first-time college goers in lab science courses. the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. New people AVID is a four-year elective that Both school communities will gives extra support and technol- see several new faces this year. ogy to students. According to For the first time, Woodside is Burbank, AVID was the first working with a counselor from program at Woodside with a one- the Boys and Girls Club. The to-one device ratio; every student full-time counselor gives support received a Chromebook. to 25 freshmen at Woodside and Sequoia Union High School connects them to the Teen Center District is expanding one-to-one at the club. Chromebook access to students Woodside also welcomes a new in the Green athletic director, Academy and and two memBusiness TechAt M-A, enrollment bers of the guidnology Acadance team who emy at Wood- increased from a little are coming back side, groups that under 2,400 to about to Woodside offer a more after some time i n d i v i d u a l - 2,480. Woodside also away. The Engized education welcomes about 1,890 lish department and specialized three students this fall, an welcomes focus on the new teachers; environment or increase of about 60 mathematics, technology. social scistudents, with more four; A rite of pasence, three; and still registering. sage for Woodworld language, side seniors is three. In addithe Senior Thesis project, which tion, the special education departwill continue. Seniors ask a broad ment has two new teachers on question and complete a research board, and the arts department paper to answer it. “Last spring, includes a new art and ceramics the project was recognized by the teacher this school year. the San Mateo County School M-A has plenty of fresh talent Boards Association with a Kent as well. Two new staff members Award for a replicable best prac- will assist students in the acatice,” Burbank said. “The project demic resources department, spans two quarters and prepares and there are three new members students for college-level success.” of the guidance team, including Students at M-A continue to a college information specialenjoy the new Race, Immigration, ist who will work with M-A’s and Ethnicity elective and the relatively new Psychology and Gender See BACK TO SCHOOL, page 20
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Menlo Park City School District creates a ‘zone of innovation’ By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
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hat if students could pick and choose topics to explore in class, receive constant feedback on their progress and learn academic fundamentals while pursuing projects they find meaningful? The Menlo Park City School District plans to find out. A group of 20 teachers in the district will work together this year on a wide-ranging project that aims to personalize student learning with the hope of boosting achievement while making schoolwork more meaningful. District Superintendent Eric Burmeister describes the project — which the 20 teachers involved have named i3 for imagine, inspire and innovate — as a “zone of innovation.” Theresa Fox, the district’s technology and innovation coordinator, has another description: “a collaboration to create a more learner-centered classroom.” Fox said teachers will work with AltSchool software and incorporate project-based learning, in which students learn multiple academic subjects by completing broad-based projects. AltSchool can personalize lessons for students while giving them choices in what they do by offering “playlists” of possible topics, she said. The technology allows students to
self-direct some lessons, freeing up teachers to work more with small groups or one-on-one. Fox said it “helps all students to do their very best.” Two Hillview Middle School teachers, sixth-grade science teacher Julie Hilborn and sixth-grade math teacher Yogi Sullivan, piloted the AltSchool program last year and found their students loved to be in charge of their own assignments and learning, Fox said. In a report announcing the project, Burmeister said the district “believes that until all students are achieving and meaningfully engaged in their learning, we have not accomplished our purpose.” He said the traditional public education model “which at one time may have been an efficient means to an end, might now in fact be a barrier to achievement and engagement for all students.” Fox said 20 teachers signed up for i3 this year: seven fourth-grade teachers, five fifth-grade instructors, two elementary school music teachers, an elementary school art teacher, a school psychologist, and a team of four sixth-grade teachers. Burmeister’s report said the district hopes to “become a model of how a public school district can ensure achievement for all by eighth grade and meaningfully engage students in their learning.” The program is paid for with one-time state funding and grants. Participating
Photo by Robert Most
Teachers who will be part of the Menlo Park City School District’s i3 project this year practice some of the individualized learning activities they will be using in their classroom during an early August training.
teachers spent extra paid time this summer working on pilot projects to test different ways of using the software and also took part in training and developing program goals. Teachers will also get extra prep time during the school year to collaborate with other i3 teachers and work on program design and development. Parents will get information about student progress and how the program works. Fox said that most new programs show an initial dip in student achievement,
but “my goal is that there is no dip.” In his report, Burmeister said he sees three possible outcomes for the program: Q The project lasts a limited period of time, serving as a testing ground for new ways of teaching and learning. Q The program becomes one of the district’s “choice programs,” such as the existing Spanish immersion and multiage classrooms. Q The program “succeeds to such a degree that it ... becomes the direction all learning heads within MPCSD.” A
New classrooms ready for Las Lomitas district students By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
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he curious student just couldn’t wait to see the brand-new building he would be using at Menlo Park’s La Entrada School when classes start on Aug. 30. So on a recent sunny day in early August, Jack parked his bike and peeked inside, as workmen added the finishing touches to the new two-story, 21-classroom building. They mounted new 75-inch touch screen monitors in each classroom, moved boxes of teachers’ classroom books and supplies into place and made sure the sliding doors between classrooms were working. Outside, workers were adding final touches to the entry courtyard, blacktop play area and new landscaping and getting ready to install a new covered outdoor lunch area. Yet to start was renovation of the school’s playing fields. “It’s pretty cool here,” said Jack, who will be in fifth grade. “It’s a lot better than the portables, or the portable shoe boxes as I call them,” he said. After years of planning and more than a year of construction
disruptions, some students and staff in the Las Lomitas Elementary School District will be able to move out of portables and into new classrooms by the time the district’s two schools open next week. The biggest project of the current phase of construction — the new two-story building at fourthto eighth-grade La Entrada — will be unveiled to the public on Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 4 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting and tours of the new building at 2200 Sharon Road in Menlo Park. At Las Lomitas, the district’s kindergarten through third-grade school, the construction is not as close to completion. The school, located at 299 Alameda de las Pulgas in Atherton, will have five new kindergarten classrooms ready before school starts, with an additional two-story, six-classroom building due to be completed by December. A smaller building with two classrooms plus a flexible-use space is slated for completion in May. With more construction planned, the district isn’t quite ready to remove all the portables. At Las Lomitas, a new administration building, interior
Photo by Natalia Nazarova
Jack, an incoming fifth-grader at La Entrada School checks out the 75-inch touch screen monitor that will be in each classroom. They will connect to the teachers’ laptops both wirelessly and through builtin connectors.
of erasable white boards dividing them. Each classroom pair also shares what Holm called a “collaboration pod,” a truncated, soundproof triangular room where teachers can work with small groups or one-on-one, and students can pursue special projects. The classrooms also have two sets of glass entry doors that open up to the central atrium of the new building, plus doors to the outside so teachers can spread out or move classwork outdoors. The stairs to the second story also function as seating for students in larger group gatherings. Each classroom has rows of pegs for backpacks, and the hallways boast drinking fountains with water bottle fillers. “It’s really satisfying when the teachers come in and are excited,” Holm said. Enrollment
courtyard and lunch areas are also planned, as well as parking lot improvements. At La Entrada, existing classrooms will be renovated. The projects are paid for with proceeds from two voter-approved bonds, a $60 million bond passed in 2013 and a $70 million bond
approved in June. Eric Holm, the district’s director of bond projects, said the buildings were designed with the help of committees that included teachers and staff. Most of the classrooms in the new La Entrada building are built in pairs, with folding walls made
On Aug. 13, the Las Lomitas district had 117 kindergarten students registered to start school on Aug. 30, up from last school year’s 102 students. As a whole, the district had 1,246 students registered, down from 1,331 students at the end of the 2017-18 school year. A
August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 19
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Portola Valley School District highlights programs in new school year By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
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s the new school year gets underway in the Portola Valley School District, the district is showcasing several new or ongoing programs. Makerspace research
Portola Valley School District teachers are helping with national research that aims to make sure the currently ubiquitous “makerspaces” in schools help students meet traditional classroom learning goals by aligning projects with curriculum standards. Makerspaces are classrooms designed and dedicated to hands-on creativity, where students use everything from 3D printers to duct tape and toiletpaper tubes, as well as computer software and video cameras, to put together projects. For the second consecutive year, two Corte Madera Middle School teachers — math and science teacher Teresa Richard and English language arts teacher Donna Kasprowicz — and the district’s makerspace coach, Sarrie Paguirigan, are receiving coaching and
professional development training from research teams at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the nonprofit MakerEd. The district is one of only two in the nation working with MIT and MakerEd to figure out how maker projects can help students acquire the technology and science skills that are part of staterequired classroom curriculum standards (think Common Core). The teachers are also working on how to give students continuous feedback on their progress toward those goals. Ormondale projects
At Ormondale School, the district’s pre-kindergarten to thirdgrade school, a slew of projects will be financed by grants from the Portola Valley Schools Foundation. Projects include a lunchtime art club, a second-grade garden and related “superfoods” project about healthy foods, and new library books for the school’s Readers and Writers Workshop. Foundation grants also support the school’s activities for families and its social emotional learning program, in which students learn life skills such as
Photo courtesy Portola Valley School District
MIT researcher Yoon Jeon Kim (left) works with Corte Madera teachers Teresa Richard (center) and Donna Kasprowicz (right) on a project to help figure out how student work in makerspaces can align with state curriculum standards.
empathy, impulse control and problem-solving. The second-grade classes will also once again partner with the produce department at Roberts Market to cook healthy superfoods each month. Corte Madera projects
Corte Madera, the district’s fourth- to eighth-grade school, has plans for parent programs that will offer “fresh perspectives (in) parenting in this complex time,” the district says. The school will also continue to teach students daily life values,
such as kindness and respect. In the school’s makerspace, teachers and students will continue their partnership with Stanford and MIT. District officials say that because the district is so small, “reaching out to the community and partnering helps keep us fresh and growing.” Corte Madera students entering fourth and sixth grades came to school a day early for orientations, allowing students to see old friends and meet new students while receiving sneak previews of their new classes and teachers.
Woodside Elementary parents prioritize safer travel to school By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
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tudents at Woodside Elementary School should soon find it safer and easier to get to and from school on foot or by bike with the addition of new crosswalks that are being installed after parents urged the town to address safety concerns brought on by increased traffic in Woodside. Woodside Elementary parents Peter and Veronica Bailey and Eva and Bryan Schreier headed up the effort. In June, they presented the Town Council with a petition bearing more than 300 signatures that were gathered in less than a week, asking for action. While the Safe Routes to School BACK TO SCHOOL continued from page 18
resident college counselor. In addition, M-A greets four new math teachers, five for social studies, two for world language, and three for English. A new campus aide joins M-A’s all-star team, and the school is looking for another. New schedule
One of the biggest adjustments
program has been on the town’s radar for years, with some projects already completed or in the works, the parents’ pleas moved the Town Council to immediate additional action. “We felt like this was a critical safety issue,” said Peter Bailey, a town Planning Commissioner who will join the school board in November. “The traffic’s gotten so much worse that kids on a daily basis are at risk of getting hit.” Bailey said the advent of phone apps like Waze that redirect drivers to avoid congestion have worsened Woodside’s traffic. “I believe if something’s not done, someone’s going to get hurt,” he said. “If that were to happen and we didn’t do everything
possible to address the issue, I’d feel horrible.” After hearing from the parents, the council agreed in July to install three new crosswalks across Canada Road at Laning Drive, Mountain Home Road at Cedar Lane and Albion Avenue at Woodside Road. A fourth crosswalk, across Canada Road at Romero Road, will be moved, and all the crosswalks will get highvisibility striping and signs. The town also agreed to extend the Albion Avenue trail to Woodside Road. The work will be done as soon as possible, Town Engineer Sean Rose said, and should be completed by the end of September. The town was already in the
process of narrowing the traffic lanes on Canada Road to try to slow down traffic. Next summer it is scheduled to improve the trail from Roberts Market to the school and add a crosswalk from the market to the Canada Corners parking lot. The town has also contracted with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office for an additional motorcycle officer for more enforcement, and is considering joining the Waze Connected Citizen program, which warns local officials when traffic is rerouted. Bailey said he and his wife consider themselves “free-range parents” who’d like to let their kids bike and walk as often as they can from their home off Canada Road,
for M-A this year is a new bell schedule, which was voted on by staff members last spring. Although students did not cast votes, their input was collected on several prototype schedules before a decision was made. The selected schedule is a double-block format like the old schedule, but first period starts 10 minutes later, at 8:55 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. Wednesday is now an even block late-start day, with zero period
starting at 7:50 a.m. and second at 9:30. Thursday will be an odd block, starting with first period at 9:15 a.m. One of the reasons for the switch is to give students a later start. Even and odd block days are flipped to put the staff meeting on Thursday and give teachers more time to plan block lessons. Another innovation that comes with this schedule is flex time. This is a twice-weekly, 30-minute period on block days before lunch
that offers students more flexibility to get their work done. Students may schedule appointments with their teachers, choose a classroom to study or work in, attend presentations, or meet with counselors. Sometimes staff will schedule appointments for students, or schoolwide events will be held during this time, but it is largely up to students to use this time to enrich their learning. School photo IDs are necessary to check in. Woodside will be testing out a
20 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
Transitions
Several employees left the district at the end of last school year. Because the district’s enrollment is falling, all the positions will be filled internally. Special education teacher Katelyn Gill resigned to accept a position in the San Diego area. Director of Learning and Innovation Jason Borgen will become chief technology officer for the Santa Cruz County Office of Education on October 1, and paraeducator Kristin Berman retired after a long career with the district. A but they just don’t feel it’s safe. He and the other parents want to do as much as possible to “encourage kids to walk and bike to school,” including improving the town’s existing trail system for all types of users. Bailey said the parents also have ideas for longer-term improvements, such as more stop signs and new paths, including a trail from Cedar Lane along the fire station to Woodside Road, and crossing guards at Roberts Market and the school. “You can’t get rid of all the risks,” he said. “But, I think we can do better.” Bailey added that safety measures don’t replace teaching children the rules of the road. “Kids have to be trained ... to be street savvy,” he said. A similar 30-minute tutorial period for two weeks in October. The goal is to give students extra time to complete homework and get help without spending time after school. Start and release times will remain the same during this period. A — Sarah Lehman was a summer intern at The Almanac, and is a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School, where she’s co-editor-inchief of the M-A Chronicle.
C O M M U N I T Y
he fig had been picked by hand from a 30-year-old tree the day before it arrived on my plate. Sliced in half, it was carefully topped with a small dollop of Humboldt Fog goat cheese, toasted walnuts and a green marigold leaf. Hours before, the chef and his team had filled a Toyota Tundra with flats of the dark purple Mission figs — as well as stone fruit, Italian pears, blackberries and peaches — from K and J Orchards’ stand at the Ferry Plaza farmers market in San Francisco. Early every Saturday morning, the cooks scour the market for the best produce, with the farmers ultimately dictating that night’s menu. It is this symbiotic, sacred relationship between kitchen and farm that the Michelin-starred Madera at the Rosewood hotel in Menlo Park aims to elevate with a new monthly dinner series that launched in June. Each month, the chef invites one of the farms that supplies the restaurant to a communal dinner that aims to demystify and honor the labor that goes into the food. “It’s a celebration of the relationship between chef and farmer,” Madera’s
executive chef, Reylon Agustin, told 13 people gathered in a private dining room for the K and J Orchards dinner on July 28. “Tonight we’re in casual conversation about the struggles and the triumphs that we go through on a weekly basis and season to season.” Even in the ever-enlightened Bay Area, it’s easy to forget the enormous effort that it takes to grow and serve the food on our plates. We don’t hear about how unseasonably cold weather froze this year’s apricot blossoms or the painstaking “succession planning” necessary to keep a farm going — planting hundreds or thousands of new trees each year, investing in new varieties or replacing older trees. We don’t know that the figs weren’t planned for that night’s menu, but added at the last minute because they were just too good to pass up. Sitting side by side with the people who grew and cooked your food, you hear these stories. It’s impossible not to have a deeper appreciation for their work. Over kampachi, duck liver mousse and fermented peaches, Boonie Deasy of K and J Orchards told the story of her farm.
Her father, a University of California pomologist (a botany specialty focusing on fruit) who wrote books about Asian pear propagation, met her mother, a registered nurse from Thailand who owned a small farm in Yuba City, north of Sacramento. They fell in love and in 1990 started K and J Orchards on a 20-acre property in Winters, just outside of Davis. Deasy has since taken over the farm with her husband, Tim. They oversee about 10 full-time and 30 seasonal workers across both farm properties. More than 200 Bay Area restaurants — including the likes of The French Laundry, Michael Mina and Manresa — rely on them for pristine cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, pluots, plums, figs, Asian pears, apples, persimmons, mandarin oranges and walnuts. Madera has sourced produce from K and J Orchards since opening nine years ago. Deasy and her husband drive hundreds of miles every week to deliver their produce to restaurants and sell it at farmers markets, including in Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Every piece of fruit is hand-picked and hand-sorted, carefully vetted for quality. “The amount of work that goes into farming is something that is just lost,” Agustin said. “Even as a young cook, I was largely unaware of how much effort goes into it.” At the dinner, Deasy and her husband marveled at the culinary team’s treatment
Left: Reylon Agustin, the executive chef at Madera in Menlo Park, hosts a monthly dinner focusing on the produce of a single farm, bringing diners and farmers together at the same table. Middle: John Wesley, the sous chef at Madera, places preserved blackberries and wild onion onto servings of smoked squab. Right: Poached pears from K and J Orchards were served with duck liver mousse and hazelnuts. Top photo: Figs from K and J Orchards are topped with Humbolt Fog goat cheese and walnuts were on the menu at a dinner on July 28.
of their fruit: pears poached in white wine, cinnamon, vanilla bean and chili flakes, served with duck liver mousse; blackberries cooked down to make a lacquer for smoked squab; peaches and plums transformed into an ethereal gazpacho, poured table-side over slices of kampachi. The dinner also breaks down the walls between diner and chef. Over three hours and five courses, Agustin talked openly about why he became a chef, his upbringing, Anthony Bourdain-esque descriptions of the days when chefs drank ginand-tonics out of plastic quart containers, and where he eats on his days off. Agustin grew up baking with his Filipino grandmothers; an early culinary triumph was when he finally got a recipe for leche flan just right. He chose a career in the kitchen against the wishes of his family and went on to cook for Gordon Ramsay in London and Traci Des Jardins in San Francisco. At Madera, he has focused on cultivating close relationships with a smaller number of growers, narrowing the number of farms the restaurant sources from to about 10. He brings his whole staff, both front and back of house, on farm visits. Anyone who wants to go to a ranch to see a slaughter just has to ask. “Being a chef now, it’s easier in a lot of aspects and harder in a lot of aspects. Everything is at our fingertips. We can order from any corner of the world and procure whatever we want to, the best of everything or the most manicured of something,” Agustin said. “But at one point as a chef you have to question if that’s the right culture to adopt.” The dinner may inspire diners to ask themselves the same question. While not everyone can afford the dinner (it costs $165 per person, including wine pairings but not tax and gratuity), most of us can visit our local farmers market to support and get to know the people growing our food. The dinners will run through November and resume again in the spring. For more information or to make a reservation, go to maderasandhill.com/farmdinner or call 650-561-1528. A
August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 21
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After Cannes, young Menlo Park-raised filmmaker sets sights on career in cinema By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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t 21, Alexander Gonzalez has already made it to the Cannes Film Festival and is more excited than ever to delve into the craft of filmmaking. Gonzalez, who was born in Redwood City and grew up in Menlo Park, where he attended local schools and graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School, now studies filmmaking at San Francisco State University. There, he participated in the university’s 2017 campus film festival, for which he created a short film, called “You.” A lifelong cinephile
Gonzalez said in an interview with The Almanac that he’s always loved movies. As a kid, his favorites were the ìStar Warsî series, ìGodzilla,î and movies about Marvel superheroes. He says he appreciates the escapism and unique storytelling capabilities that are possible through film. He said he didn’t get started in filmmaking, though, until a Spanish class tasked him with
making a video that depicted him speaking Spanish while cooking a meal. He grabbed an old camcorder, a tripod, cooked up a delicious meal and then got to editing, which is one of the parts he says he’s come to enjoy most. At the time, most of his video editing knowledge came from YouTube tutorials, he said. Four years ago, he was filming classmates prancing around Menlo-Atherton High School in goofy masks staging a heist to change their grades for Video Production class, and making homemade stop-motion Godzilla videos starring a plush dinosaur toy, cardboard skyscrapers and Lego-man casualties. More recently, he directed a polished video about a nonprofit called Taking it to the Streets SF, which provides housing, job training and mentoring to homeless teens in exchange for their help with street cleanup and graffiti abatement in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury and Cole Valley neighborhoods. “You”
The video that brought him to France, called “You,” he said,
was inspired by a period when he was pursuing filmmaking while simultaneously working to improve his fitness. That summer, he said, he began running regularly and lost about 25 pounds, while also deepening his knowledge of filmmaking, and saw some similarities between the daily diligence it took to get fit and to learn his chosen craft. Gonzalez had only about a week to make the film before the deadline, and it was a time when there were a lot of papers to write and exams to study for, so the friends he’d usually enlist to participate in his films were not available. What emerged was a deeply personal short film about the challenges and victories of self-motivation and working toward one’s goals. The film ended up winning a jury award at the San Francisco State film festival and was entered into the Terminus Conference + Festival in Atlanta. It was then selected to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in France, considered one of the world’s premier film festivals.
“Anyone who watches it can take away the fact that everyone has goals and things they want to do. You need to actually put time and effort into whatever you want to do to see results,” he said. When Gonzalez learned his film would be screened at Cannes, he didn’t think he’d be able to go to the festival. He’d have to pay for airfare to get there, and a program fee of about $3,000. But the same can-do attitude that helped him make the film, and that constitutes the film’s message, spurred him to find funding from whatever sources were available. San Francisco State’s cinema department and the liberal arts college there contributed funding, and he raised about $2,000 through a GoFundMe page he set up. He was also able to raise funds to travel to the Terminus Conference + Festival. “It was humbling to see how many people care about me, who believe in me,” Gonzalez said. The experience, he said, was a memorable one. He met lots of young and independent filmmakers, and spent time networking, watching films, and of course, eating French food. Now that he’s returned, he says he has a new outlook and
Photo courtesy Alexander Gonzalez.
Alexander Gonzalez at the Cannes Film Festival in France, where his short film “You” was screened.
newfound determination. “I thought I was determined, but there’s so many people hustling every single day, who have made names for themselves already,” he said. :KDW·V QH[W"
Gonzalez is planning to finish his undergraduate degree at San Francisco State and is currently working at KQED as an education production intern. He dreams about working at Lucasfilm someday. Go to alexander-gonzalez.com for more information. A
Most local firefighters back from battling deadly California wildfires ocal firefighters from the Woodside and Menlo Park fire protection districts have returned from battling some of the deadly wildfires that have consumed California this summer. On Tuesday, Aug. 14, a fourman crew from the Woodside Fire Protection District, who had relieved an earlier five-man crew from a two-week shift on the fire line, returned home from fighting the Carr Fire near Redding. Three firefighters, two from
Cal Fire and one from the Redding Fire Department, have died in that fire, along with a Pacific Gas & Electric linesman and four residents of the area. Two other Woodside firefighters were still helping to fight the Mendocino Complex Fire in Mendocino and Lake counties. A firefighter from Utah has died in that blaze. A crew from the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, which also replaced an earlier crew, also returned home from the Carr Fire on Tuesday night. Two specially trained and statecertified fire line paramedics who were working alongside
ground crews fighting the fires remained at the Carr Fire, with another working on the Mendocino Complex Fire. The firefighters from the two local agencies were part of a San Mateo County strike team. The county has three such teams, representing every fire agency in the county, ready to support efforts to extinguish large wild fires. Each team has five fire engines, a command vehicle and 22 personnel, Menlo Park Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said. Woodside fire district Chief Dan Ghiorso said regular fire crews were “getting a handle” on the Carr blaze, which Cal Fire
said was 67 percent contained by Wednesday morning, Aug. 15. Schapelhouman said the strike teams’ fire engines, normally used on pavement, are the “work horses” of the wildfire battles. He said that “it isn’t lost on the firefighters that fire season never seems to end anymore in California.” The firefighters who have worked on the the two fires are: Q From Menlo fire: (first two weeks) Capt. John Wurdinger, engineer/paramedic Anthony Morales, engineer Eric Mijangos, firefighter Anthony Ramirez; (Aug. 9-14) Deputy
Chief Don Long, Capt. Ken Babcock, and engineer/paramedics Dan Giraudo, Scott Basset and Scott Johnson; (still deployed) fire line paramedics Joe Foster, Eric Bunzel and Alex Perlstein. Q From Woodside fire: (first two weeks) Battalion Chief Emil Picchi, Capt. Bob Bender, Capt. Keenan Hird, firefighter/ paramedics Brandon Lima and Chris O’Leary; (Aug. 9-14) Capt. Scott McKenzie, firefighter/paramedics Javier Valdez and Josh Muela, and firefighter Jim Laughlin; (still on Mendocino Complex Fire) fire line medic Bob Erickson and firefighter Jared Abbott. A
Q POL I C E C A L LS
showed them fleeing the scene after being unable to enter the building. Aug. 6.
“positively identified” the suspect who, police said, was in possession of stolen property, including a cellphone, two tablet computers, an audio speaker, a duffel bag and a wallet with credit cards. Aug. 3.
steal bicycles that evening. Aug. 18.
and wearing a black shirt, black shorts and a blue hat. The woman was about 5 feet 4 inches tall, heavy set with brownish orange hair and wearing an orange shirt, black capri pants and glasses, police said. Estimated loss: $236. Aug. 4.
By Barbara Wood Almanac Staff Writer
L
These reports are from the Menlo Park Police Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. Under the law, people charged with offenses are considered innocent unless convicted. Police received the reports on the dates shown. PORTOLA VALLEY Commercial burglary: A thief cut a padlock to a storage shed in the 100 block of Portola Road and stole landscaping, gardening and construction tools. Estimated loss: $15,000. Aug. 4. LADERA Attempted burglary: Someone threw something hard against a glass door at the Shell gas station at La Cuesta Drive and Alpine Road, but surveillance footage
MENLO PARK Residential burglaries:
Q Police arrested and booked a 35-year-
old Atwater man on charges that include burglary, attempted burglary and prowling. Police allege that the man was seen attempting, and failing, to enter a residence on Hollyburne Avenue by trying the handles on a patio door. He was then allegedly seen trying to enter a second house by manipulating the window screens, and was also unsuccessful. He was allegedly successful in entering a third residence through an unlocked rear door. The residents of the house reportedly saw him fleeing upon their arrival home, and they then described a suspect to the police. The police found someone matching the description hiding in shrubbery near the house. The burglary victims
22 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
Auto burglary: Police arrested and booked into jail two 18-year-old men, one from Menlo Park and the other from Belmont, on suspicion of burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime. Police responded to a call at 1:26 a.m. regarding two people seen looking into cars in the vicinity of Santa Cruz Avenue and Arbor Road. In encountering the two men, police said that one admitted to stealing two bicycles from a carport in a nearby apartment complex. The second man was allegedly in possession of “numerous items” of stolen property, later found to have been taken from an unlocked vehicle parked in an underground garage nearby. The second man admitted to police that he and his companion had planned to
Thefts:
Q A resident of Corrine Lane told police that he was defrauded of more than $16,000 by someone he knows. Police are following up. Aug. 8. Q Someone visiting the Facebook campus on Hacker Way left a bag of 10 to 15 shirts in need of laundering in the trunk of a ride-share vehicle and has been unable to recover them. Estimated loss: $750. Aug. 14. Q Two men, one black and the other Hispanic, allegedly walked out of the Safeway at 525 El Camino Real with 24 cans of baby formula and fled the scene in a black Audi. Estimated loss: $575. Aug. 13. Q Police are looking for a black man and a white woman seen entering the Safeway at 525 El Camino Real and leaving with infant formula they had not paid for. The man is described as tall and skinny
Fraud:
Q A resident of Stanford Avenue told police that a person masquerading as his friend called to say he’d been arrested in Reno, Nevada, and needed $16,000 to bail out of jail. The resident sent the money before realizing that his friend was not in Reno and that he had been scammed. Aug. 8. Q An apartment in the 1100 block of Willow Road and advertised on Craigslist led a would-be tenant to transfer $875 to the alleged landlord as a deposit and the first month’s rent. The would-be tenant visited the apartment and learned that it was occupied and not available. Aug. 13.
C O M M U N I T Y Q C A L E N DA R Visit AlmanacNews.com/calendar to see more calendar listings
Theater
¶1RUWKDQJHU $EEH\· Pear Theatre presents “Northanger Abbey,” adapted by Pear founder Diane Tasca from the novel by Jane Austen. In this play, Northanger Abbey follows several young ladies and gentlemen as they negotiate romances, friendships, betrothals and betrayals. Through Sept. 3, 8 p.m. $15-$35. The Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida Ave., Mountain View. Search facebook.com/events for more info. 3OD\ RQ :RUGV SUHVHQWV 1RVWDOJLD UDPD The theater’s Monday Night Play Space will feature staged readings from 1980s TV programming, with a focus on sitcoms and children’s shows. Aug. 27, 7:30-9 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City. dragonproductions.net/box-office/mondaynight.html 6KDNHVSHDUH LQ WKH 3DUN The San Francisco Shakespeare Festival will perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the 1595 tale of four young lovers, a group of aspiring actors and a family of fairies outside Athens. Aug. 25, 26; Saturday 7 p.m. and Sunday 4 p.m. Free. Sequoia High School Campus, 1201 Brewster Ave., Redwood City. redwoodcity.org 7KHDWUH:RUNV 6LOLFRQ 9DOOH\ 3UHVHQWV ¶1DWLYH *DU GHQV· Award-winning playwriter Karen ZacarÌas wrote TheatreWorks’ new play “Native Gardens,” a suburban comedy about a Latino couple that moves in next to a prominent Washington, D.C. family. Conflicts over “fences and flora” escalate into a strong dialogue about race, taste, class and privilege. Aug. 22, 8-9:30 p.m. (approximate time). $40-$100. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. theatreworks.org/201819-season
Concerts 6XPPHU -D]] QG $QQLYHUVDU\ &RQFHUW 6HULHV Stanford Shopping Center hosts weekly rhythm and blues concerts showcasing a variety of jazz musicians and local favorites in the courtyard between Nordstrom and Crate & Barrel. Thursdays through Aug. 23, 6-7:30 p.m. Free. Stanford Shopping Center, 660 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto. simon.com/mall/stanford-shopping-center
Music
&UDLJ $QGHUVRQ /LYH 0XVLF Folk and Americana singersongwriter Craig Anderson will perform acoustic music. Aug. 24, 7-9:30 p.m. Free. Cafe Zoe, 1929 Menalto Ave., Menlo Park. Search facebook.com/events for more info.
Film
6*6 6XPPHU )LOP )HVWLYDO ¶$ 6HDVRQ LQ )UDQFH· The Stanford Global Studies Summer Film Festival will screen “A Season in France,” a film about a family of refugees immigrating to France. The film will be followed by a Q&A with Rebecca Wall, a doctoral candidate at Stanford University’s department of history. Aug. 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Free. Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Building 320, Stanford. Search events.stanford.edu for more info. 6*6 6XPPHU )LOP )HVWLYDO ¶4XLW 6WDULQJ $W 0\ 3ODWH· This year’s festival features 10 films from around the world that focus on the theme “Friends & Family: Tales From Near and Far.” In “Quit Staring At My Plate,” when Marijana’s dominant father falls ill, she takes over his role as the head of the family. This new power allows her to explore her sexuality and her inner strength and gives her a taste of freedom. Aug. 29, 6:30 p.m. Free. Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford. arts.stanford.edu/event
Talks & Lectures 2XW RI $QJHU 7KH %DWWOH %HWZHHQ 6HOI &RQWURO DQG 2XW RI &RQWURO “Out of Anger: The Battle Between SelfControl and Out of Control” will feature the filmed story of Jerry Hartman, whose ongoing anger issues led him in and out of prison until he was at last accused of assault with a deadly weapon. Participants will discover what practical
LIBRARY continued from page 5
structural supports could have saved more than $850,000. “Initially we were inclined not to go with (the rammed earth design),” DeGolia said. But the potential benefits, especially in reducing train noise, convinced the group working on the cost reductions that the design feature was worth the money, he said. And, as WRNS architect John Schleuter told the council about the rammed earth design: “It’s beautiful.” The approved changes include: Q Using less expensive windows ($900,000 estimated savings); Q Removing plans for built-in furniture and shelving systems ($605,000
tools helped Hartman learn how to control his anger and transform his life. Aug. 22, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Bethany Church, 1095 Cloud Ave., West Menlo Park. vimeo. com/277558162 (YHQLQJ /LWHUDU\ 6HPLQDU ¶6DOYDJH WKH %RQHV· Author Kimberly Ford will lead a seminar on the novel “Salvage the Bones” by Jesmyn Ward, a narrative that delves into the lives and legacies affected by Hurricane Katrina. Aug. 27, 7-8:30 p.m. $48. Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Search eventbrite.com for more info. .HSOHU·V %RRNV 'D\WLPH /LWHUDU\ 6HPLQDUV In this series, author and former adjunct professor at UC Berkeley discusses four books selected for the spring 2018 seminars, and the series is meant to help participants read better through entertaining lectures and discussions. Select Wednesdays through December, 1-2:30 p.m. $48, one seminar; $160, complete series. Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Search eventbrite.com for more info. 65, 2UJDQRQ 7RDVWPDVWHUV SRI Organon Toastmasters helps community members become better public speakers and leaders by providing a supportive environment for practicing communication and leadership skills. Guests are welcome to visit and join. Tuesdays, year-round. Free. St. Patrick’s Seminary & University, Redon Hall, 320 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park. sriorganon.com ¶:KDW RQ (DUWK LV JRLQJ RQ DW .LODXHD 9ROFDQR"· In this USGS Evening Public Lecture, Kyle Anderson, USGS research geophysicist, will discuss the first significant summit explosions in nearly a century and provide a better understanding of the volcanic system. Aug. 30, 7 p.m. Free. U.S Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park. online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar
Arthur Sharif
Silicon Valley’s longest serving Sotheby’s International Realty Agent
Museums & Exhibits ,QN :RUOGV &RQWHPSRUDU\ &KLQHVH 3DLQWLQJ IURP WKH &ROOHFWLRQ RI $NLNR <DPD]DNL DQG -HUU\ <DQJ Ink Worlds considers ink painting from the 1960s through the present, examining salient visual features and international connections, as well as the ongoing impact of historical techniques, materials and themes. Through Sept. 3, times vary. Free. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford. Search events.stanford.edu for more info. 7KH 'DQFLQJ 6RZHL 3HUIRUPLQJ %HDXW\ LQ 6LHUUD /HRQH This exhibition focuses on one spectacular work in the Cantor’s collection — a sowei mask, used by the women-only Sande Society that is unique to Sierra Leone. Ongoing until December; Mondays, Wednesdays, FridaysSundays 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Thursdays 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Free. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford. museum.stanford.edu/exhibitions 'R +R 6XK 7KH 6SDFHV LQ %HWZHHQ In this exhibition, artist Do Ho Suh uses a chandelier, wallpaper and a decorative screen to focus attention on issues of migration and transnational identity. Through Feb. 25, times vary. Free. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford. museum.stanford.edu/exhibitions ,PDJH³6FULSW Stanford University’s Department of Art and Art History in conjunction with the Guangdong Museum of Art will present “Image—Script.” The exhibition, including project faculty director Xiaoze Xie and curator Lu Zihua, will feature selected worked from the video collections of the Guangdong Museum of Art. Artists featured will include Cai Hui, Cao Fei, Huang Xiaopeng, Jiang Zhi, Liang Juhui, Ou Ning, Wang Shaoqiang and Zhou Tao. Through Aug. 26, noon-6 p.m. Free. 419 Lasuen Mall, Stanford. Search events.stanford.edu for more info. $QGHUVRQ &ROOHFWLRQ 3XEOLF 7RXU The collection hosts docent-led public tours five times a week. Ongoing until December 30; Wednesdays 12:30 p.m., Saturdays 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. and Sundays 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Free. Anderson Collection, 314 Lomita Drive, Stanford. Search events.stanford.edu for more info. 3RUWROD $UW *DOOHU\ 3UHVHQWV -HUU\ 3HWHUV· ¶2Q WKH 5RDG LQ 1RYD 6FRWLD· The Portola Art Gallery will present “On the Road in Nova Scotia,” paintings by Palo Alto artist Jerry Peters. The primary paintings in the show are inspired by photos taken on a three month road trip around the U.S. and Canada in 2005. Through Aug. 31, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Free. Portola Art Gallery, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park. portolaartgallery.com
estimated savings); Q Eliminating a microgrid battery system that would store power from the library’s rooftop solar system ($570,000 estimated savings); and Q Reducing the size of the heat pump in the building so it would only service the library, not the entire civic center ($466,000 estimated savings). Recommended changes the council did not adopt included eliminating a deck off the adult reading area, adding the utilities need for a future shade garden, and replacing acoustic fabric ceilings with acoustic tile ceilings. The council will discuss possible costsaving measures in the design of the building that will house the police and other town offices at its next meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5. A
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ABOUT LOCAL ISSUES
C
ould anyone have imagined the day their employer. They are working for you. Newspapers and other media organizations would come when it was necessary to rally support for a free press in order to don’t want to fight a war with the president of the protect one of our most fundamental freedoms United States. There will be no winners in such a from attack by the president of the United States? battle; the ultimate result will be the underminYet that is the reality we, our fellow journalists ing of two critically important institutions and and the nation face today from a president who the rise of extremism, or worse. Those whose profession it is to report the news has declared the press the “enemy of the people” and whipped up his supporters to physically fairly and accurately need to be reminding their readers of how integral a free and verbally threaten reporters press is to the health of our going about their jobs. ED I TO R I A L democracy, including within The president is waging an The opinion of The Almanac the smallest of local communiopen war on the press, broadly ties, and how toxic it is when accusing it of making up stories and publishing “fake disgusting news.” He the president intentionally attempts to erode repeatedly attempts to intimidate reporters, trust in the press. Newspapers and professional journalism are including inciting his own supporters to follow his example and taunt the press at his public facing threats on many fronts, including the president’s recent imposition of tariffs on the events. Today we join in an unprecedented coordinated Canadian newsprint used by most U.S. newspaexpression of concern by newspapers across the pers, which threatens to put many newspapers country to focus public attention on the dangers out of business. Virtually every newspaper is of the president’s attacks. In a project initiated struggling to adapt to steady decreases in adverlittle more than a week ago by the Boston Globe, tising revenue and many have closed down, leavhundreds of media organizations large and small ing cities larger and smaller than ours with no have published editorials to describe, in their reliable source of local news. So what can you, our readers, do to support a own words, why citizens should be alarmed by free and independent press as envisioned by our the president’s relentless hostility to the news media, his attempts to turn citizens against it, founders? First, think about and talk with others about and the dangers to our democracy his politically what our community would be like without motivated attacks present. How vulnerable is press freedom? What does newspapers. Redirect those who may legitimately it take to undermine and destroy the credibil- complain about errors or omissions in specific ity of institutions that are built upon trust and stories to the importance of having a news orgaintegrity and that citizens depend on to hold nization dedicated to informing the public and those in power accountable? Is our democracy holding elected officials accountable, and the sufficiently resilient to weather a president who consequences of losing that local institution. Second, call people out when they invoke the shows no respect for the importance of a vigorpresident’s language in criticizing local press ous independent press? Those are among the questions being asked coverage. “Fake news” is often real news that today by defenders of democracy and all believ- someone wishes hadn’t been published. Stop ers in a free society. From the nation’s capital to using the term. Doing so only emboldens the small communities, every news organization president and furthers his false narrative. Finally, subscribe to the newspapers you read is affected when its integrity is so sweepingly and indiscriminately challenged by a president and value. That financial support will determine with the power to reach and influence the entire the survival of most local news organizations and is the most tangible way to embrace the press freecountry. We are fortunate to live in a community that doms that are under attack. We’d welcome your has a deep respect for the work our reporters support, which you can give by clicking on the and editors do and for the role journalists play “Join” tab on our website, almanacnews.com. A in serving the public interest. That doesn’t mean readers or elected officials agree with everything we write or every position we take in editorials, nor should it. What’s on your mind? But professional journalists set out every day Tell us what’s on your mind by sending to gather the facts, evaluate the credibility of your letters and guest opinions to letters@ their sources and do everything possible with AlmanacNews.com. Or snail-mail them to: the resources they have to convey the full context The Almanac, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306. and significance of the news. They are not guided by either their own political agendas or those of
August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 25
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28 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018
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ENGINEERING Pure Storage, Inc. has following job opps. in Mountain View, CA: Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer) [Req. #RRT62]. Prfrm full cycle app dvlpmt for systms level storage SW. Software Engineer [Req. #SWE14]. Dsgn & dvlp SW for storage systms. Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer) [Req. #HGF77]. Prfrm full cycle app dvlpmt for systms level storage SW. Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer) [Req. #EDS38]. Dsgn, dvlp & test SW apps for memory storage devices. Mail resumes refernc’g Req. # to: S. Reid, 401 Castro St, 3rd Flr, Mountain View, CA 94041. Lifeguard & Swim Instructor The Oshman Family JCC is looking for enthusiastic lifeguards and swim instructors! No experience necessary. Pays up to $20 per hour. Contact Nicole at ngreen@paloaltojcc.org for more information! Sr. Escalation Manager (Job Code: SEM-AS): Liaison btwn Supp Engr/Sustaining Engr/Dev Engr on Escalated Cstmr Supp cases. MS+2orBS+5. Mail resume to MobileIron, Attn: Piper Galt, 401 E. Middlefield Rd, Mt. View, CA 94043. Must ref title & code.
Business Services 601 Accounting/ Bookkeeping ADMIN. ASSISTANT bkpg incl payroll, bill paying, tax prep. Leave contact name and telephone at 650-968-5680 or email to kara@jps.net.
604 Adult Care Offered A PLACE FOR MOM The nation’s largest senior living referral service. Contact our trusted,local experts today! Our service is FREE/no obligation. CALL 1-855-467-6487. (Cal-SCAN)
Are you in BIG trouble with the IRS? Stop wage & bank levies, liens & audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, & resolve tax debt FAST. Call 855-970-2032. (Cal-SCAN) Unable to work due to injury or illness? Call Bill Gordon & Assoc., Social Security Disability Attorneys! FREE Evaluation. Local Attorneys Nationwide 1-844-879-3267. Mail: 2420 N St NW, Washington DC. Office: Broward Co. FL (TX/NM Bar.) (Cal-SCAN)
636 Insurance
Cleaners need an experience presser. $16/hr to start. Apply in person. Town & Country Cleaners, 855 El Camino Real #42, Palo Alto.
DENTAL INSURANCE Call Physicians Mutual Insurance Company for details. NOT just a discount plan, REAL coverage for 350 procedures. 1-855-472-0035 or http://www.dental50plus.com/canews Ad# 6118 (Cal-SCAN)
It’s easy to Place your ad via the internet. just go to — www.TheAlmanacOnline.com
707 Cable/Satellite DIRECTV SELECT PACKAGE! Over 150 Channels, ONLY $35/month (for 12 mos.) Order Now! Get a $100 AT&T Visa Rewards Gift Card (some restrictions apply) CALL 1-866-249-0619 (Cal-SCAN) DISH TV $59.99 For 190 Channels $14.95 High Speed Internet. Free Installation, Smart HD DVR Included, Free Voice Remote. Some restrictions apply. 1-844-536-5233. (Cal-SCAN)
715 Cleaning Services Junk Removal Diva Woman Owned Professional All Junk removal, since 2010. No Job Too Small or Too Big; Household, Office, etc. Call: (650) 834-5462 PA Molly Maid, Inc. Give yourself the gift of time and let Molly Maid clean your home, contact us at 650-965-1105 or at pamollymaid@aol.com
751 General Contracting A NOTICE TO READERS: It is illegal for an unlicensed person to perform contracting work on any project valued at $500.00 or more in labor and materials. State law also requires that contractors include their license numbers on all advertising. Check your contractor’s status at www.cslb.ca.gov or 800-321-CSLB (2752). Unlicensed persons taking jobs that total less than $500.00 must state in their advertisements that they are not licensed by the Contractors State License Board.
624 Financial
500 Help Wanted
ENGINEERING Synopsys has openings in Mountain View, CA: Network Eng, Sr. II: Oversee comp. of Unified Comm. & Collab. solutions. Req. MS in CS/DE/EE or rel. + 2 yrs exp. in Unif. Comm. & Collab. solutions (Alt. BS + 5). REQ# 18770BR. ASIC Physical Design Engineer, Sr. II: Contribute to IC dsgn & phys. implmnt proc. Req. MS in CE/EE/CS/CIS or rel. + 3 yrs exp. w/ dsgn of cmplx ASSP & COT dsgns or rel. (Alt. BS + 5). REQ# 18798BR. R&D Engineer, Sr. II: Research, des, dev, and test ops sys-lvl EDA software. Req. MS in CS/CE/EE or rel. + 2 yrs exp. In Prod. App or rel. (Alt. BS + 5). REQ# 18766BR. R&D Engineer, Sr. I: Dsgn, dvlp, test or debug EDA or DFM s/w apps & tools. Req. BS in CS/CE/EE or re. + 6 months exp. in Engg, TA Engg or rel. REQ# 18849BR. R&D Engineer, Senior: Dsgn, dvlp, test or debug EDA or DFM s/w apps & tools. Req. BS in CS/CE/EE or re. + 2 yrs exp. in EDA/DFM Engg/research. REQ#18999BR. To apply, send resume with REQ# to: printads@synopsys.com. EEO Employer/Vet/Disabled.
Home Services
Lowest Prices on Health & Dental Insurance. We have the best rates from top companies! Call Now! 888-989-4807. (Cal-SCAN) SAVE on Medicare Supplement Insurance! Get a FAST and FREE Rate Quote from Medicare.com. No Cost! No Obligation! Compare Quotes from Major Insurance Cos. Operators Standing By. CALL 1-855-690-0310. (Cal-SCAN)
640 Legal Services DID YOU KNOW that the average business spends the equivalent of nearly 1½ days per week on digital marketing activities? CNPA can help save you time and money. For more info email cecelia@cnpa.com or call (916) 288-6011. (Cal-SCAN)
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757 Handyman/ Repairs Water Damage to Your Home? Call for a quote for professional cleanup & maintain the value of your home! Set an appt. today! Call 1-855-401-7069 (Cal-SCAN)
771 Painting/ Wallpaper Glen Hodges Painting Call me first! Senior discount. 45 yrs. #351738. 650-322-8325, phone calls ONLY.
Real Estate
840 Vacation Rentals/Time Shares Point Reyes Compound for Sale One of a kind Point Reyes Family Compound. Seclusion on the hilltop above town. A five minute walk down to the bustle of the village: farmers’ market, book stores, galleries, cafe’s, open space. Two miles from Point Reyes National Seashore Headquarters with miles of trails, beaches, woods and rangelands. The original Point Reyes Schoolhouse (1879); the Art Studio at the Schoolhouse (1985); and the Jasmine Cottage (1984.). Rustic elegance in lush landscape with pond, fruit trees, and country lawn. Each place has private garden, equipped kitchen, fireplace, and fully furnished - inside and out. View entire property at: PointReyesFamilyCompound.com.
845 Out of Area NORTHERN AZ WILDERNESS RANCH $205 Month - Quiet very secluded 38 acre off grid ranch bordering 800 acres of uninhabited State Trust woodlands at cool clear 6,200’ elevation. No urban noise & dark sky nights amid pure air & AZ’s very best year-round climate. Blends of evergreen woodlands & grassy wild flower covered meadows with sweeping views across scenic wilderness mountains and valleys from ridgetop cabin site. Abundant clean groundwater at shallow depths, free well access, loam garden soil, maintained road access. Camping and RV use ok. Near historic pioneer town & fishing / boating lake. From $22,500, $2,250 down, with no qualifying seller financing. Free brochure with photos, additional property selections with prices, terrain maps, lake info, weather chart/area info: 1st United Realty 800.966.6690. (Cal-SCAN)
855 Real Estate Services RETIRED COUPLE $$$$ for business purpose Real Estate loans. Credit unimportant. V.I.P. Trust Deed Company www.viploan.com Call 818 248-0000 Broker-principal BRE 01041073. (Cal-SCAN)
LEHUA GREENMAN "Life is so much brighter when we focus on what truly matters..." 650.245.1845
809 Shared Housing/ Rooms Menlo Park - $1500 Redwood City, 1 BR/2 BA - $1200
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Public Notices 995 Fictitious Name Statement KUATAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DANCE GROUP FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 278359 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Kuataâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dance Group, located at 1919 Menalto Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): KUATA VAINIKOLO 1290 Garden St. East Palo Alto, CA 94303 This business is conducted by: An Individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on July 20, 2018. (ALM Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, 2018) RIVASâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; CLEANING FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 278370 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Rivasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cleaning, located at 1419 Camelia Dr., East Palo Alto, CA 94303, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): MARIELA RAMIREZ RODRIGUEZ 1419 Camelia East Palo Alto, CA 94303 RAMIRO ANTONIO RIVAS 1419 Camelia East Palo Alto, CA 94303 This business is conducted by: A General Partnership. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on July 23, 2018. (ALM Aug. 1, 8, 15, 22, 2018) SPIRIT OF BJJ FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 278444 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Spirit of BJJ, Located at 615 Bay Road, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): RYUICHI MIYAHARA 615 Bay Road Menlo Park, CA 94025 This business is conducted by: An Individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on July 31, 2018. (ALM Aug 8, 15, 22, 29, 2018) WALTER AUSSERER CONSULTING FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 278476 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Walter Ausserer Consulting, located at 421 8th Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): WALTER AUSSERER 421 8th Ave. Menlo Park, CA 94025 This business is conducted by: An Individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on May 11, 2012. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on August 3, 2018. (ALM Aug. 15, 22, 29; Sept. 5, 2018) STAR POOLS SERVICE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 278511 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Star Pools Service, located at Kavanaugh Dr., E. Palo Alto, CA 94303, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): MARVIN A. CERRATO HERNANDEZ 1490 Kavanaugh Dr. E. Palo Alto, CA 94303 This business is conducted by:An Individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on August 7, 2018. (ALM Aug. 15, 22, 29; Sept. 5, 2018) T&T ENTERPRISES FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 278401
The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: T&T Enterprises, located at 2 Buffalo CT, Pacifica, CA 94044, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): ANGELA M. GIBBS 2 Buffalo CT Pacifica CA, 94044 CHRISTOPHER D. GIBBS 2 Buffalo CT Pacifica CA, 94044 This business is conducted by: Married Couple. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 7-25-18. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on July 25, 2018. (ALM Aug 22, 29; Sep 5, 12, 2018) TRUCKEE RIVER HOUSE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 278599 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Truckee River House, located at 1131 Westfield Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): NOEL P. THOMPSON 1131 Westfield Drive Menlo Park, CA 94025 CHRISTINE P. WEIGEN 3510 La Mata Way Palo Alto, CA 94306 ROBERTA GATZ THOMPSON 1131 Westfield Drive Menlo Park, CA 94025 ELIZABETH ANN WEIGEN 521 Bryan Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94086 This business is conducted by: A General Partnership. The 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 San Mateo County on Aug 15, 2018. (ALM Aug 22, 29; Sept 5, 12, 2018)
997 All Other Legals NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SALE OF REAL PROPERTY AT PRIVATE SALE No.: 17PRO01158 IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO In the Matter of the Estate of ELIZABETH G. PROCTOR, Deceased. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on or after September 18, 2018, the undersigned San Mateo County Public Administrator, as Administrator of the Estate of Elizabeth G. Proctor, will sell at private sale, to the highest bidder, subject to confirmation by the above-entitled Superior Court, all the right, title and interest of the estate, in and to that certain real property more particularly described as follows: DESCRIPTION For APN/Parcel ID(s): 074-431-110 THE LAND REFERRED TO HEREIN BELOW IS SITUATED IN THE CITY OF MENLO PARK, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND IS DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS: PARCEL ONE: LOT 11, AS DELINEATED UPON THAT CERTAIN MAP ENTITLED â&#x20AC;&#x153;SHARON OAKS UNIT NO. 3, RESUBDIVISION OF PORTION OF PARCEL â&#x20AC;&#x153;Câ&#x20AC;? OF SHARON HEIGHTS UNIT NO. 14â&#x20AC;?, FILED FOR RECORD IN THE OFFICE OF THE RECORDER OF THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ON AUGUST 23RD, 1973 IN BOOK 82 OF MAPS, AT PAGES 32 AND 33. PARCEL TWO: TOGETHER WITH THE FOLLOWING APPURTENANT EASEMENTS: (A) THE NON-EXCLUSIVE RIGHT OF PEDESTRIAN INGRESS AND EGRESS OVER LOT 13 (COMMON AREA) TO AND FROM LOT 11 PROVIDED HOWEVER, THAT SUCH RIGHT SHALL NOT BE EXERCISES IN A MANNER WHICH WILL INTERFERE WITH THE LANDSCAPED AREA, THE SWIMMING POOL AREA OR VEHICULAR TRAFFIC ON THE PRIVATE ROAD OR THE PARKING BAYS AS DESIGNATED ON THE MAP OR IN SUBSEQUENT RECORDED INSTRUMENTS. (B) THE NON-EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE THE PRIVATE ROAD AREA FOR DRIVEWAY PURPOSES AND THE PARKING BAYS FOR OFF STREET PARKING BY OWNERS AND THEIR INVITEES. (C) THE RIGHT TO USE, OCCUPY AND ENJOY THE SWIMMING POOL AREA, THE RECREATIONAL FACILITIES THEREON AND THE OTHER LANDSCAPED PORTIONS OF ALL OF THE COMMON AREA. (D) THE RIGHT, SUBJECT TO THE PRIOR WRITTEN APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS, TO CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN AND OPERATE THROUGH, IN OR ACROSS THE COMMON AREA, PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SEWERS, WIRES, CONDUITS FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF ELECTRICITY FOR LIGHTING, POWER, TELEPHONE, ANTENNAE AND OTHER PURPOSES AND FOR THE NECESSARY ATTACHMENTS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH AND THE
RIGHT TO CONSTRUCT ANY PUBLIC OR QUASI-PUBLIC UTILITY THROUGH, IN OR ACROSS COMMON AREA, AS SHOWN ON THE MAP. SAID RIGHT SHALL BE EXERCISES ALONG THE SHORTEST AND MOST COVENIENT ROUTE BETWEEN LOT 11 AND THE NEAREST PUBLIC UTILITY LINE OR LINES. (E) A NON-EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT BURDENING LOT 12, AS SHOWN ON THE MAP FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF PARTY WALLS ON OR ALONG THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN SAID LOT 11 AND FOR THE ENCROACHMENTS DUE TO SETTLEMENT OR SHIFTING OR ANY OTHER CAUSE; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL A VALID EASEMENT FOR ENCROACHMENT BE CREATED IN FAVOR OF AN OWNER IF SAID ENCROACHMENT OCCURRED DUE TO THE WILLFUL CONDUCT OF SAID OWNER. (F) AN EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT AS SHOWN ON THE MAP OVER LOT 13 FOR ROOF OVERHANG. JPN 074-043-431-11 Property commonly known as: 2371 Sharon Oaks Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025 SUBJECT TO: Current taxes, Assesments, Covenants, Conditions, Restrictions, Reservations, Rights, Right-of-Way and Easements of record and in an â&#x20AC;&#x153;AS ISâ&#x20AC;? condition. Please contact: Steven Karp, California Realty Investment Company, 1209 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame, CA 94010, (650) 348-3055 for viewing of the property. Bids on said property are hereby invited. A bid will be accepted ONLY if made in writing on forms furnished by the Public Administrator. Completed bid forms may be left with the agent or may be delivered to said Public Administrator personally in said County of San Mateo, at any time after the first publication of this Notice, and before making of the Sale. Bids must be sealed, and will be opened at the Office of the Public Administrator. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE: Cash in lawful money of the United States. The Bid is to be accompanied by cash or certified check, in the amount of at least ten percent (10%) of the amount bid. THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT ALL BIDS. The balance of the amount bid is to be paid upon confirmation of sale by the Superior Court. Taxes, rents, operating and maintenance expenses and premiums on insurance acceptable to the Purchaser or Purchasers will be prorated as of the date of recording of conveyance. The examination of title, recording of conveyance and any title insurance policy shall be all the expense of Purchaser or Purchasers. Unless the Administrator has given written permission for extension of the escrow period beyond forty-five (45) days from the date of confirmation of sale by the Superior Court, the Purchaser or Purchasers shall pay ten percent (10%) interest per annum on that portion of the purchase price still due and owing at the time of confirmation; interest will be charged for the period beginning forty-six (46) days from the Court confirmation date to, and including, the date on which escrow closes. If, after confirmation, the sale is not complete for any reason. Bidder agrees to forfeit the deposit to cover the expenses of the sale. Documentary transfer taxes will be split equally between the purchaser(s) and seller. The parties to this agreement further covenant and agree that damages are difficult or impossible to ascertain should buyer fail to perform his/her obligation to purchase the real property after confirmation by the Court. Therefore, the parties agree that seller, the Public Administrator in and for the County of San Mateo, shall be entitled to liquidated damages in the amount of three percent (3%) of the purchase price of the real property in lieu of all other damages as a result of buyer(s)â&#x20AC;&#x2122; failure to perform under this agreement pursuant to the terms of Civil Code Section 1675(d). SAN MATEO COUNTY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR 225 37th Avenue San Mateo, California 94403 SELLER: S/ VICTORIA WRIGHT Public Administrator Estate Manager DATE: 8/9/18 JOHN C. BEIERS, COUNTY COUNSEL STATE BAR NO. 144282 BY: BRIAN E. KULICH, DEPUTY STATE BAR NO. 223296 COUNTY OF SAN MATEO 400 COUNTY CENTER REDWOOD CITY, CA 94063-1662 TELEPHONE NO. (650) 363-4762 FAX NO. (650) 363-4034 Attorneys For Pubic Administrator 8/22, 8/29, 9/5/18 CNS-3163522# THE ALMANAC
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(650) 223-6578 August 22, 2018 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 31
COLDWELL BANKER
HOME
Portola Valley | 3/3 | $2,395,000 14 Tynan Way Delightful country home w/ vintage touches. Open family/dining area, lofty ceilings, abundant light. All usable 9,600 SF lot, close to trails.
Where friends and family gather, and the opportunities for fun are endless. This is home, and it starts with Coldwell Banker . ÂŽ
Jean Isaacson 650.387.8427 jisaacson@cbnorcal.com CalRE #00542342
WELCOME
Wishing you a fun and relaxing Labor Day!
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Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 116 Portola Road Portola Valley, Ca 94028 C. (415) 377-2924 O. (650) 851-1961 KPIO LBWBOBVHI!DCOPSDBM DPN CalBRE# 02058127
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Real estate agents afďŹ liated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal veriďŹ cation. Š2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker ResidentialBrokeragefullysupportstheprinciplesoftheFairHousingActandtheEqualOpportunityAct.OwnedbyasubsidiaryofNRTLLC.ColdwellBankerandtheColdwellBankerLogoareregisteredservicemarksownedbyColdwellBankerRealEstateLLC. CalRE##01908304
32 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q August 22, 2018