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Woodside mushroom hunter travels near and far for the love of fungi Page 16 200 residents attend meeting on burglaries | Page 5 Questions in wake of PG&E’s bankruptcy filing | Page 5 Meeting on teacher housing set for Feb. 13 | Page 11
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Over 30 Real Estate Offices Serving The Bay Area Including Woodside 650.529.1111 Square footage, acreage, and other information herein, has been received from one or more of a variety of different sources. Such information has not been verified by Alain Pinel Realtors®. If important to buyers, buyers should conduct their own investigation.
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PREMIER PROPERTIES
represented by
PORTOLA VALLEY | 2.5 ACRES OFFERED AT $10,900,000
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Square footage, acreage, and other information herein, has been received from one or more of a variety of different sources. Such information has not been verified by Alain Pinel Realtors ®. If important to buyers, buyers should conduct their own investigation.
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Questions swirl in aftermath of PG&E’s bankruptcy filing The utility faces around $30 billion in liability from California’s destructive fires in 2017 and 2018. How will locals be impacted? By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
P Photo by Magali Gauthier/The Almanac.
Volunteer Navjeet Singh, a San Mateo County Human Services Agency manager, marks down the license plate number of an RV on the border of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park during the biennial point-intime count of individuals experiencing homelessness on Jan. 31.
San Mateo County conducts biennial homeless count By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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ore than 300 volunteers across San Mateo County woke up well before dawn on Thursday, Jan. 31, to take part in the county’s biennial one-day homeless count. A segment of those volunteers reported at 5 a.m. to a clinic space at the Ravenswood Family Health Center on Bay Road in East Palo Alto. They were greeted with coffee and snacks, paired into teams, and handed a census tract to cover. (There are 160 census tracts in the county, according to county spokesperson Michelle Durand.) Their instructions: To pass through each street in the
census tract, either on foot or by car; keep an eye out for homeless people, whether unsheltered or in cars or RVs; and, for the first time, to record their findings in a mobile app. Volunteers were instructed not to wake anyone, but if they did find someone awake who was willing to talk, they were permitted to administer a survey through the app. Volunteers in Menlo Park included three members of the Menlo Park Housing Commission — Nevada Merriman, Michele Tate and Wendy McPherson — as well as Bruce Ives, CEO of Menlo Park-based homeless services nonprofit LifeMoves. The Almanac shadowed Merriman and her partner for the assignment, Navjeet Singh,
economic self-sufficiency manager at the San Mateo County Human Services Agency, who were assigned an area in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. Singh drove while Merriman entered observations into the mobile app, called “Connecting Us.” They periodically stopped to walk in areas that were difficult to access by car and seemed like places where people experiencing homelessness might seek shelter — for example, by a creek or under a bridge. The data collected is used to shape the county’s homelessness policies. “This effort provides a pointin-time snapshot of people experiencing homelessness,” Durand See HOMELESS, page 6
acific Gas & Electric filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Jan. 29, throwing the future of the large investorowned utility into the hands of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, state legislators and the California Public Utilities Commission. For now, lights and gas will still go on as usual. According to a Q&A response page on PG&E’s website, the company is not going out of business, and does not expect “any impact” on its electric and natural gas service. PG&E’s website also states that the bankruptcy filing will not impact the growing number of people whose energy is purchased by local energy buyer groups, including Peninsula Clean Energy, a joint powers authority serving San Mateo County communities; and Silicon Valley Clean Energy, which serves much of Santa Clara County, including Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Sunnyvale and Cupertino. These are nonprofit entities, often referred to as community choice aggregators or CCAs, that pull together the energy demand of various communities to buy a portfolio of energy that’s cleaner, more renewable and cheaper than what PG&E offers. They rely on PG&E’s power grid to transmit and distribute the power they purchase,
as well as on PG&E to collect energy bills on their behalf. The city of Palo Alto, which runs its own utilities system, will also not be affected. Representatives from those nonprofit entities confirmed this understanding: “We’ve been told by PG&E everything will be business as usual,” CEO Jan Pepper of Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) said in an interview. “There’s no reason for people to be worried.” “No customer outages are expected as a result of this action, either for PG&E’s direct customers, or for customers such as Palo Alto, connected through PG&E’s transmission system,” Palo Alto City Manager Ed Shikada said at a Jan. 14 City Council Meeting. Regarding the impact of PG&E’s action, Silicon Valley Clean Energy communications manager Pamela Leonard referred to a press statement by CalCCA, an association representing CCAs across the state, which stated that it supported PG&E’s announcement it would continue to collect bills on behalf of CCAs. “We agree with PG&E that ‘the normal and uninterrupted remittance’ of customer payments to CCAs and other public-purpose programs is of the utmost importance,” the association stated. See PG&E, page 7
Atherton police: At least $2M in jewelry, other items stolen this year Residents pack Jennings Pavilion for community meeting on burglaries By Angela Swartz Almanac Staff Writer
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bout 200 Atherton residents filled HolbrookPalmer Park’s Jennings Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 31, for a police meeting on a recent rash of burglaries in town. Police held the community meeting to address residents’ concerns about crime. Several of the residents burglarized over
the last few months attended the meeting and spoke critically of the department, questioning whether police are doing enough to stop the crimes. One burglary victim asked if the Atherton police are “out of their league” in dealing with the recent burglaries. Atherton Police Chief Steven McCulley said he “highly disagreed” with the comment. It’s “extremely difficult” to find and
convict burglars, he said. About 18 percent of property crimes — including burglary, theft and car theft — in the U.S. are solved, according to 2017 FBI data. “The wheels of justice turn slow, but we are working very hard,” Atherton Police Cmdr. Joe Wade said. Spike in burglaries
Police department data shows a dramatic increase in home
burglaries in town year-to-year: There were seven residential burglaries in 2017 compared with 26 in 2018. Things began fairly quietly in 2018, but the last two months saw a spike in the number of home burglaries. Five incidents were reported in November and seven were reported in December. Someone stole $14,000 worth of electronics from Encinal Elementary School during the first weekend of December. Police have identified a suspect in that
burglary, officers said at the meeting. In another incident in November, one or more burglars shattered a window of a home on Broadacres Road and stole a 400-pound safe containing roughly $225,000 worth of jewelry. Burglars stole $1,991,542 worth of goods in four incidents in January, Sgt. Anthony Kockler said at the meeting. Police said they will have more See BURGLARIES, page 6
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said in a press statement. “Data is compared with historical counts to show trends over time and the count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.” Merriman is also director of housing development at MidPen Housing Corporation, a nonprofit affordable housing developer. Earlier in her career, she said, she used statistics collected from a prior one-day homeless count to describe to community members the need for an affordable housing development she
was working on in Sunnyvale. In 2017, 1,253 homeless people were counted as having spent the night of Jan. 26 on the streets, in vehicles, or in the county’s emergency shelters, a 16 percent decrease in overall homelessness from 2015 observations. However, the number of homeless living in vehicles and RVs rose in 2017 by 25 percent and 44 percent, respectively. Preliminary results from the count will be processed, analyzed and submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The final report is expected to be released in June. A
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BURGLARIES continued from page 5
information on what was stolen sometime this week. Burglars have mainly been taking purses, jewelry and watches, Kockler said. There likely are two groups of burglars carrying out these crimes, police said. There were five residential burglaries in January, more than in any other month in 2017 or 2018 except November and December 2018. Police response
The department has increased the number of unmarked police cars with plainclothes officers patrolling town to address the crime streak, police said at the meeting. Police noted it’s important for residents to turn on their security cameras and alarm systems. Residents can sign up to have home alarm systems notify the police directly if there’s a break-in, leading to faster response times than if the call goes to the security company first, police said. Some home security alarms haven’t activated during breakins because thieves will smash windows and walk through the hole they create, not tripping motion detectors, police said. A few residents at the meeting recommended installing sound detectors, which will set off an alarm if a window’s glass breaks. A couple of residents burglarized complained that police haven’t provided updates on their cases. One person said police failed to interview her neighbors or nearby construction workers after her home was burglarized. Officers asked the woman to speak with them after the meeting so they could follow up with her on the case. Other towns on the Peninsula — like Hillsborough — are also being hit by burglars, Sgt. Jeff Rickel said. “Atherton still is an incredibly safe town statistically,” Rickel said. “It’s not even a
blip in crime on the Peninsula. We don’t want you (Atherton residents) to be so alarmed that you’re nervous all the time.” Recent incidents
One or more thieves struck as the Jan. 31 meeting was coming to an end, smashing the secondstory balcony door window of a home on the unit block of Santiago Avenue at around 8:33 p.m., according to an Atherton police press release. Burglars set off a security alarm at the home as officers were responding to a call of smoke inside another home. This delayed the officers’ response to the alarm, police said. “Based upon the methods used by the suspect(s) to gain entry into the residence, investigators believe these may be the same suspects responsible for many of the previous burglaries,” police said in the press release. As of Friday, Feb. 1, police didn’t yet know whether any items were stolen from the home. A residence was burglarized Jan. 3, and there were multiple burglaries and a car theft in a 24-hour period between Jan. 28 and 29. In a Jan. 25 incident, burglars forced their way into a home on the 100 block of Tuscaloosa Avenue by smashing a second-story balcony window, surveillance footage showed. There were at least three burglars involved and about $5,000 worth of jewelry was stolen, according to a police press release. In another incident, burglars stole $10,000 worth of purses after forcing their way into a home on James Avenue by breaking a rear window between Jan. 25 and Jan. 28, police said. Most of the burglaries have occurred between 6 and 9 p.m., according to police. Two recent burglaries took place in the morning at homes that were occupied, and both of the suspects were immediately arrested, police said in a press release following the meeting. The two incidents “were not part of the recent rash of burglaries,” police said. A
N E W S PG&E continued from page 5
However...
Looking farther ahead, however, PG&E’s bankruptcy raises major questions about the future of energy in California, and about who should pay when fires devastate huge swaths of land across the state. According to State Sen. Jerry Hill, this is “slightly uncharted territory,� but for now lights will stay on, and in the end, “rates will probably go up.� PG&E’s bankruptcy, he said, is a “bankruptcy of convenience more than a bankruptcy of necessity.� “The bankruptcy is going to cost ratepayers,� said Jeff Aalfs, a Portola Valley town councilman and chair of Peninsula Clean Energy’s board of directors. Jeff Aalfs Ratepayers are still footing the bill from the last time the company declared bankruptcy, in April 2001. That time, the utility was under U.S. Bankruptcy Court protection for three years and the bankruptcy was estimated to cost about $1,300 to $1,700 per customer. At the core of PG&E’s bankruptcy filing is the liability it faces from the spate of devastating fires that tore across California in 2017 and 2018. PG&E is being sued by thousands of wildfire victims and some local governments, says CALmatters reporter Judy Lin. “We recognize that we have a lot of work ahead to rebuild credibility and trust,� the company stated on Jan. 29. “This bankruptcy was about protecting (PG&E’s) liability around fire victims,� Aalfs said. One question at the heart of these bankruptcy hearings, he added, is this: “How do we absorb the cost of past and future fire events in a way that’s fair?� SB 901 was passed last year, and one controversial element of it is that liability PG&E incurs can be be passed on to ratepayers. “If the government assumes liability in an event like a fire, does it make sense for a company to use public funds to protect private shareholders? I don’t think that’s fair,� Aalfs said. PG&E is still solvent, according to its most recent SEC filing, says KQED news. However, the utility can’t access credit because of the amount it could owe to wildfire victims. That changed on Jan. 28, when the California Public Utilities Commission voted to permit it to borrow up to $6.1 billion in loans and credit. On Jan. 22, it was reported that the company had already lined up $5.5 billion in financing.
According to CALmatters, the company faces up to $30 billion in liability for 2017 and 2018 fires in Northern California. “At least a dozen major fires have been traced to PG&E equipment, and one of its towers is a prime suspect in the 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 86 people,� the publication states. Controversially, as part of its bankruptcy filing, PG&E, while facing $51.7 billion in total debts, said it wants to pay employees $130 million in performance bonuses for last year, or between $5,000 and $90,000 per person, not including senior officers and directors, according to Bloomberg. Hill called the request “shameful,� given that about two weeks ago, the utility denied a $1.2 million claim from victims who lost homes in the wine country fires of 2017. Impacts on local power agencies?
For CCAs like Peninsula Clean Energy, PG&E is both a competitor and a partner. CCAs rely on PG&E to transmit and distribute energy through its grid. They are able to purchase cleaner power and provide it to users at lower rates than PG&E can because they operate on a nonprofit basis and it’s now cheaper to contract for renewable energy than it used to be. This is due, in part, to PG&E’s large-scale contracts for green power negotiated years ago when that technology was costlier than it is now, for which PG&E continues to pay high rates, Aalfs explained. Those contracts require PG&E to pay up to four or five times for solar what current costs are, he said. Aalfs said he sees a number of ways that the bankruptcy proceedings could play out in the future – some of which could be positive for CCAs and lower costs for ratepayers in the long-term. “To be very clear,â€? he emphasized, “we have no idea what’s going to happen. It’s very speculative.â€? He pointed to a December memo from the California Public Utilities Commission, which states, “This Commission is tasked with regulating PG&EĂs safe operation of its natural gas pipeline and electricity infrastructure. Given PG&EĂs record and the dangers inherent in PG&EĂs service territory, the Commission must evaluate whether there is a better way to serve Northern California with safe and reliable electric and gas service at just and reasonable rates.â€? It lays out a number of questions it plans to explore to regulate the utility. The state Legislature, Hill said, has been tasked with establishing what the California PUC would have to consider as part of
the bankruptcy process. There’s an interest in making sure CCAs are not harmed, he added. One possibility, Hill said, is that there may be an opportunity for PG&E to back out of its older, high-cost energy contracts. “It’s possible this could be devastating to CCAs,� he said. If PG&E gets rid of its expensive contracts, the utility “could, in a sense, reduce (its) rates to a point that they would be below the CCAs — and that could be a problem.� Such plans would likely be strongly opposed by the contract holders, Aalfs predicted. “Canceling some of those contracts would be good for ratepayers, but bad for producers,� he said. A separate possibility if PG&E were to sell off its energy generation contracts and facilities, Aalfs suggested, is that the “exit fees� that PG&E charges CCA participants might be restructured and replaced with some other fee spread more evenly across all ratepayers, Aalfs said. These exit fees are at the heart of a long-running battle between PG&E and CCAs. Currently, PG&E charges users who opt out of buying its energy a fee that appears on each monthly bill. In October 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission agreed to permit that fee to rise dramatically. At the time, there was speculation that the move could impact the viability of newer CCAs. On the other hand, the bankruptcy judge could very well agree to further increase those exit fees, Hill said. The judge’s goal is to maximize assets and revenue, he explained. Another alternative raised by the CPUC is for PG&E to become a wires-only company, in which case, Aalfs suggested, PG&E might be held to a higher standard of transmission infrastructure maintenance. “I think they’re doing quite a bit to make sure these never happen again in the future,� he said. But those risks can only be minimized, not eliminated, he added. “We made this deal a long time ago. We like having electricity. That means having a transmission grid,� he said. One way to build better safety into transmission infrastructure is to decentralize the grid through local power production and storage, Aalfs said. As more power is produced locally and power storage capabilities expand, that decentralization becomes more robust. Some day, he speculated, during a high-wind period, PG&E might be able to shut off the grid, and his jurisdiction, Portola Valley, might be able to keep the lights on using local batteries for a few hours. A
REAL ESTATE Q&A by Monica Corman
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PORTOLA VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTICE of REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) The Portola Valley School District is requesting proposals for Network Infrastructure Electronics and Installation (RFP#190014961 E-RATE Y22-001). Visit the District website (http://pvsd.net/rfp) or the USAC EPC Portal website (https://portal.usac.org/suite/) for the complete Request for Proposal (“RFP�) document as well as all addendum(s) and any questions and answers. Sealed proposals must be delivered to the PORTOLA VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT (PVSD), 4575 Alpine Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 by February 19, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. PST. Proposals shall be opened at the abovestated time and place.
TOWN OF WOODSIDE 2955 WOODSIDE ROAD WOODSIDE, CA 94062 NOTICE OF PUBLICATION Annual Reporting for the Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2018 Development of the Town of Woodside Climate Action Plan (CAP) was required as mitigation in conjunction with adoption of the Town of Woodsideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s General Plan Mitigated Negative Declaration in 2012. The CAP outlines a program to achieve targeted greenhouse gas emission reductions. The Annual Report for the CAP documents the Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress LQ LPSOHPHQWLQJ WKH PHDVXUHV LGHQWLĂ&#x20AC;HG LQ WKH &$3 DQG KLJKOLJKWV PHDVXUHV still requiring attention. This notice advises members of the public that the Townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s third Annual Report was accepted by the Town Council on January 29, 2019 DQG is available for a 30-day Public Review Period between February 6, 2019 and March 8, 2019. The Annual Report is available for public UHYLHZ DW WKH :RRGVLGH 3ODQQLQJ DQG %XLOGLQJ &RXQWHU :RRGVLGH 7RZQ +DOO ZHHNGD\V IURP ² $0 DQG ² 30 RU E\ DSSRLQWPHQW 7KH $QQXDO 5HSRUW LV DOVR DYDLODEOH RQ WKH 7RZQ ZHEVLWH DW https://www.woodsidetown.org/planning/climate-action-plan. For more LQIRUPDWLRQ FRQWDFW -DFNLH <RXQJ 3ODQQLQJ 'LUHFWRU DW Written comments may be submitted during the Public Review Period at WKH DGGUHVV LQGLFDWHG EHORZ Town of Woodside 3 2 %R[ :RRGVLGH 5RDG :RRGVLGH &$ 2U WR -DFNLH <RXQJ DW jyoung@woodsidetown.org February 6, 2019 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 7
N E W S
Ravenswood holding public meetings on charter school expansion request By Elena Kadvany
The Ravenswood City School District is hosting a series of community meetings through Feb. 9 to inform the public about a request from KIPP Valiant Community Prep for a longterm location, which would likely displace a district school. KIPP, one of two charter schools authorized by the district, is currently housed in 18 classrooms at the adjacent Brentwood and Los Robles/ McNair sites. The charter school opened in 2017 and plans to expand to include eighth grade by 2021, with a maximum enrollment of 610 students. Starting this fall, the school plans to enroll 558 students, according to the school district. Under Proposition 39, public school districts are required to make facilities available to charter schools to ensure all students have access. KIPP submitted a facilities request to the district in November. The charter school did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article. The district initially hoped
to offer KIPP space at the former Runnymede School site, where Aspire East Palo Alto Charter School operates, but a district architect and attorney said it would not be physically feasible, Superintendent Gloria Hernandez-Goff said at the Dec. 13 school board meeting. The district also reviewed enrollment capacity at every available site and determined that co-locating the charter school with Ravenswood programs was not feasible, attorney Elizabeth Mori of firm Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost told the board in December. Belle Haven Elementary School in Menlo Park appears to be the “likely site scenario,” Mori said. The school board will decide whether Belle Haven, Brentwood, Costaño or Willow Oaks will house KIPP starting this fall. Students and teachers from the affected neighborhood school will be moved to other sites, and the district will likely have to reduce staff, specifically administrators, according to a frequently-asked-questions page on the issue posted on the district’s website Friday.
8 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q February 6, 2019
Ravenswood is now under a tight deadline to make a difficult decision. The district is required to make a final facilities offer to KIPP on or before April 1. KIPP’s growth comes at a cost to the district, which is losing an increasing number of students each year to other schools and the funding attached to them. Lingering dissatisfaction with district leadership and the state of the district, compounded by KIPP’s expansion request, have prompted more than 200 community members to sign a petition calling for HernandezGoff’s removal. Upcoming meetings are Wednesday from 5:45 to 7:15 p.m. in the Willow Oaks Elementary multipurpose room at 620 Willow Road in Menlo Park; Thursday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Brentwood Academy multipurpose room, 2086 Clarke St., East Palo Alto; and Saturday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the district boardroom at 2120 Euclid Ave. in East Palo Alto. Elena Kadvany is a staff writer with the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac’s sister paper.
William Wade Awbrey dies at 87 By Angela Swartz Almanac Staff Writer
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illiam Wade Awbrey, who lived in Atherton for 42 years, died Jan. 20 at the age of 87. Awbrey was born in San Francisco to Frances Sisson and Roy Awbrey. He grew up in Dixon, California, and Carson City, Nevada. He took a break from college at University of the Pacific to attend flight school in Pensacola, Florida, and became a naval aviator, according to information provided by his family. In 1956, he married Mary Stuart in Washington, D.C. He then served six more months in the Navy with squadron VP18 in Jacksonville, Florida, according to his family. After his stint in Jacksonville, he enrolled at University of California at Berkeley, serving as a lieutenant in the Navy while attending school. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. After college, Awbrey worked for the Continental Can Company. He spent 20 years with the company and later held management roles at Scholle Corporation, Pacific Coast Producers and
Confab Corporation. Awbrey actively participated in community affairs in Atherton. He served as president of the Holbrook-Palmer Park Foundation from 1982 to 1984 and was a member of the Park & Recreation Committee from 2007 to 2011. In retirement, he volunteered as a tutor and at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, his family said. Music was one of Awbrey’s greatest passions. He was happiest when he played trumpet, harmonica or the ukulele for his three granddaughters, his family said. Awbrey also enjoyed tennis, golf and skiing. Awbrey is preceded in death by his daughter Blair. He is survived by his wife Mary Stuart, their two children Craig Awbrey (Carrie) and Lisa Awbrey (Jason), and three granddaughters. The family is asking that donations in his memory be made to any veterans organization. A private family service for Awbrey is planned for February. A
Correction A story in the Jan. 30 Almanac listed the wrong application deadline to enroll a child in the Early Learning Center. The deadline is Feb. 15.
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February 6, 2019 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 9
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Menlo Park council hashes out 2019 goals By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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ollowing roughly six hours of discussion on Saturday, Feb. 2, the Menlo Park City Council agreed to hold off until later in the month to pick its top priorities for 2019. While parts of the discussion seemed fitting for the day the meeting took place — Groundhog Day — a number of new ideas were brought before the council for consideration. Members of the public suggested several projects to add to the city’s annual work plan, including: Q Supporting affordable housing for teachers by working with Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. Q Developing policies to support tenants and improve housing affordability. Q Broadening plans for a bike and pedestrian crossing at Middle Avenue to connect it with a bike lane route between Hillview Middle School and Burgess Park. Q Looking into establishing a subregional transportation management association, an organization made up of employers, developers and property managers working to provide alternatives to driving solo within a given geographic area. Progress
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• Learn how easy and fun it is to recycle your fruit 2:30 – 4:30 pm San Carlos Public Library, and vegetable scraps, leaves and plant cuttings into 610 Elm Street compost with a backyard or worm compost bin. Saturday, April 27, 2019, • You don’t need a backyard to compost! Discounts 10:00 am – 12:00 pm South City Scavengers, and rebates for compost bins available for County 500 E Jamie Ct, SF residents. Questions? Visit: www.smcsustainability.org • Call: 1-888-442-2666 • Email: sustainability@smcgov.org 10 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q February 6, 2019
Two of last year’s top priority projects have been accomplished: transitioning the city to district elections and approving land-use plans to rebuild the Guild Theatre from an old movie theater into a live music and performing arts venue. The city made some progress on top priority items in 2018. It is working on developing a Safe Routes to School program that would begin by the end of June. The city’s transportation master plan is still in the works and likely won’t be completed until
the second half of 2019. Two other top priorities, to plan a downtown parking structure and to adopt an update to the city’s El Camino Real/downtown specific plan, do not have concrete deadlines set. Council members were split 2-2 on the downtown parking structure, with Councilman Drew Combs and Councilwoman Betsy Nash against moving forward with planning for a parking structure and Vice Mayor Cecilia Taylor and Councilwoman Catherine Carlton favoring the structure. Mayor Ray Mueller recused himself because the company he works for has an office in downtown Menlo Park. Items completed on the work plan in 2018 include developing a plan for electric-vehicle-charger infrastructure, approving a water system master plan, and efforts by the administrative services department to evaluate user fees, employee engagement and organization development. Work plan projects that are slated for completion this fiscal year include efforts to develop a citywide communications program, adopt a green infrastructure plan, build restrooms at Jack Lyle Park, update the parks and recreation facilities master plan and complete a preliminary study on the Ravenswood Avenue and Caltrain grade separation project. Projects expected to run into the new fiscal year include installing sidewalks and streetscape infrastructure on Chilco Street, studying a bike and pedestrian crossing at Middle Avenue and the Caltrain rail line, planning a new Belle Haven Library, and updating the city’s heritage tree ordinance. The City Council is expected to select its top five or six priorities at its meeting scheduled Tuesday, Feb. 26. A
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Hefty raises approved for Menlo Park police officers, corporals By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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embers of the Menlo Park Police Officers’ Association will earn 12 percent in raises over the next three years under a contract the Menlo Park City Council approved Tuesday, Jan. 29. Between now and Aug. 31, 2021, the 42 members of the Menlo Park Police Officers’ Association — which represents the city’s rank-and-file officers, corporals and recruits — will get an estimated cumulative increase of about $1.6 million in city funds for pay and benefits. They will get an immediate 6 percent raise, representing 3 percent raises for both the 201718 and 2018-19 fiscal years, followed by another 3 percent raise starting this July 1 and another 3.5 percent raise starting July 1, 2020. Those changes alone add up to more than $1.4 million. “While this package may be viewed as a cumulative total of 12 percent over three years, such a summary does not consider the impact of late implementation,” Administrative Services Director Lenka Diaz explained in a staff report. The changes will affect about five months’ of the current fiscal year’s budget and none of the previous fiscal year’s, she added. The increases do fit within assumptions made by CalPERS, the state’s pension agency, and its analyses of the city’s pension liabilities, she added.
The salary ranges for police officers and corporals will rise based on the number of hours they work. For those who work 2,184 hours a year, the salary range for officers will be $102,807 to $124,962, up from a previous maximum of $117,889, and the new range for corporals will be $110,645 to $134,490, up from a previous maximum of $126,086. Officers who work 2,080 hours a year will have a new range of $97,911 to $119,012, and corporals who work that much will have a new range of $105,377 to $128,086. Officers and corporals are assigned specific work hours and can work more for overtime pay. By comparison, the salary range for a police officer in Palo Alto is approximately $125,422 to $142,417, with more clearly defined hourly pay rates, according to the salary schedule on the city’s website. One consideration behind the increases is that recruiting officers to Menlo Park has been a challenge. According to Diaz, the city’s efforts to recruit police personnel at another public agency in the same position to work for Menlo Park resulted in only one qualified candidate through all of 2017 and 2018. “The city has had to rely on recruiting inexperienced candidates, and sponsoring qualified candidates in a police academy,” she said. More than half of the candidates are unsuccessful and
fail the testing, background, medical or training requirements necessary, she added. Another reason for the increases is due to escalating costs of living, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. According to those consumer price measurements in the San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose region, the index rose about 3.4 percent between February 2016 and February 2017, and 3.6 percent between February 2017 to February 2018. At the most recent count, a year-over-year measurement between October 2017 and October 2018, that figure was 4.4 percent. Other benefits
The city will also increase its contribution to association members’ “cafeteria” health plan by 2 percent in 2019 and 3 percent in 2020, estimated at a cost of $75,600. Association members will also receive 58 hours of leave that must be used or cashed out by March 23, an estimated value of $153,500. Finally, a minor increase in pay for on-call detectives will cost about $3,700 for the duration of the contract. According to Diaz, these terms were a long time coming. Negotiations began in March 2017. In August 2017, the negotiating parties agreed to involve a mediator. Progress moved forward, but in the interim, a number of undisclosed problems arose. Then it was the holiday season, during which, in keeping with policy, the City Council will not discuss tentative labor contracts, so the matter was delayed until notice could be given in advance of the council’s Jan. 29 meeting. A
Town hall on teacher housing set for Feb. 13 By Angela Swartz Almanac Staff Writer
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s local school districts grapple with how to help teachers struggling to afford to live in the communities in which they teach, housing advocates, educators and others will sit down for a discussion on solving the issue. Menlo Park Mayor Ray Mueller and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian will moderate the panel “Mid-Peninsula Teacher Town Hall: Can We Solve the Teacher Housing Crisis?” on Feb. 13 at Sequoia High School in Redwood City. Sarah Chaffin, a parent and founder of SupportTeacherHousing.org, a group working to encourage local school districts to build teacher housing, organized the event. This will be the fifth town hall meeting Chaffin has hosted. “It’s really important (to have these town halls) because we’ve got to have the teachers share their personal stories about how difficult it is to find housing in the Bay Area,” Chaffin said. Local government agencies are considering measures to help teachers secure affordable housing. Simitian is spearheading a partnership with local school districts and cities to build a 60to 120-unit affordable housing complex for local teachers and staff. The teacher housing would be built on a county-owned, 1.5acre site at 231 Grant Ave. in Palo Alto. The Sequoia Union High School District has not ruled out the possibility of building
M-A to show documentary on effects of screen addiction ‘Child, Disrupted’ screening is Feb. 7 By Angela Swartz Almanac Staff Writer
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t’s not uncommon to see a child’s eyes glued to an iPad or cellphone. Montessori teacher Krista Riihimaki noticed her students — at increasingly younger ages — spending large amounts of time tied to digital devices. She couldn’t help but wonder whether overusing technology impacts children’s cognitive and physical de ve lopment . Krista With that quesRiihimaki tion in mind, she decided to make a film on the topic. Riihimaki will come to Menlo-Atherton High School
on Thursday, Feb. 7, to screen her documentary, “Child, Disrupted,” and hold a panel discussion on screen addiction. In “Child, Disrupted,” Riihimaki interviews experts in neuroscience, psychology, occupational therapy, sociology and addiction to find out if her worries about screen time and child development are valid. The film explains how technology impacts a child’s behavior and offers potential solutions for parents. “We have to really be detectives for our children,” she said. “People always ask, ‘How many hours is it OK for kids this age to use tech?’” Parents have to observe their children because technology can affect people in different ways, Riihimaki said. One child might be OK with 30 minutes a day of
screen time, while another child might not be able to handle 15 minutes, she said. Some children may have trouble sleeping after watching TV or spending time on their phones before bed. Screens can affect mood or overstimulate some children, she said. Along with Riihimaki, participants in the panel following the screening are: Q David Klein, head baseball coach at M-A and founder of America Offline, a wellness company launching in February that is aimed at getting athletes to develop healthier relationships with electronics. Q Lesley Martin, managing director of SafeSpace, a Menlo Park youth mental health program. Q Bryan Bowen, addiction counselor and chief operating officer at Muir Wood Adolescent and
Family Services, a residential treatment program designed specifically for boys ages 12 to 17 who are suffering from substance abuse and other issues. Q Stephanie Brown, psychologist and founder of the Addictions Institute, an outpatient clinic offering treatment for addiction problems. The film won an outstanding achievement award at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival and best documentary short at the California Independent Film Festival 2018. The free event will be held from 7 to 8:15 p.m. at the M-A Performing Arts Center at 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton. RSVP at tinyurl. com/M-A-screen-time. For more information, contact David Klein at dklein@seq.org. For more on the film, go to childdisrupted.com. A
teacher housing. Chaffin first became involved in the issue when she heard her daughter’s preschool teacher was commuting from Hollister to Los Gatos, a 50-mile trek. The school’s principal told Chaffin it is difficult to recruit staff because it’s so expensive to live in the Bay Area. The conversation with the principal brought the issue to the forefront of her mind, Chaffin said. Panelists at the Feb. 13 town hall include Chaffin; Edith Salvatore, president of the Sequoia District Teachers Association; Armando Sanchez, executive director of HEART (Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County), a local housing assistance program; and Maya Perkins, a regional housing and transportation expert. Speakers will explore the following topics: Q What does teaching with limited housing options look like? Q How do limited housing options impact our districts, teaching staff and community? Q What, if anything, can we do to improve the situation? Event organizers encourage teachers, administrators, parents, students and concerned community members to attend and share their stories of how the housing crisis has impacted them. The event is from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Sequoia High School, 1201 Brewster Ave. in Redwood City. It is free, but RSVP is required at tinyurl.com/ teacherhousingmeeting. A
Mountain Mike’s may replace Applewood Pizza In the aftermath of Applewood Pizza’s closure at the end of December, rumors are swirling that a new pizza parlor is planning to occupy the downtown Menlo Park building at the corner of Ravenswood Avenue and Menlo Avenue. According to Community Development Director Mark Muenzer, the city of Menlo Park has been told that the new pizza vendor will be Mountain Mike’s Pizza, but it is still in the process of confirming the details. If the site remains a restaurant with minimal modifications to the exterior and interior, he said, the new tenant likely won’t have to acquire too many additional permits. — By Kate Bradshaw
February 6, 2019 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 11
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Avenidas Lifetime of Achievement honorees unveiled May garden party will honor notable seniors, fund support programs By Palo Alto Weekly staff
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rom launching a theater company with national reach, to advocating for legislation and programs for those facing end-of-life choices, to preserving tens of thousands of acres of Peninsula hills, baylands and coastside as open space, the people honored with this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Avenidas Lifetimes of Achievement Award have engaged in meaningful and creative efforts to create change in their local communities and beyond. The recipients of the annual award are Robert Kelley of Menlo Park, Ward and Mary Paine of Portola Valley, Mike and Ellen Turbow of Palo Alto, Ginny Lear of Los Altos, and Gloria Hom of Palo Alto. The honorees were announced at an evening reception on Thursday, Jan. 31, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Palo Alto. They will be formally celebrated at an afternoon garden party on May 19, the main annual fundraiser for Avenidas, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit organization that offers tools for positive aging to seniors and their families on the Midpeninsula. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Avenidas believes it is critical to tell the stories of those who have gone before us and paved the way,â&#x20AC;? Avenidas President and CEO Amy Andonian stated in a press release. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our area is so rich with intelligent and innovative people who go out of their
way to give back, and it is truly heartwarming.â&#x20AC;? Kelley forever changed local theater after founding TheatreWorks in 1970. The theater companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first show, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Popcorn,â&#x20AC;? was an overnight sensation that convinced the city of Palo Alto to provide ongoing support and established the values that define the company today: innovation, diversity, education and a celebration of the human spirit, according to the Avenidas press release. Over the past 49 years, TheatreWorks has grown into one of the 50 largest regional theater groups in the country. The company has produced 430 shows, more than 100 new play readings and 70 world premieres, including â&#x20AC;&#x153;Memphis,â&#x20AC;? which won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical. Kelley, whose life remains tightly interwoven with the company, has been a guest director around the country, lectured at local colleges and won many directing awards from Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Theatre Bay Area and Backstage West. Ward and Mary Paine have been key players in preserving large swaths of Peninsula hills, baylands and coastside as permanent open space for public health and enjoyment. Ward, one of the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earliest venture capitalists, helped launch the Peninsula Conservation Center and then formed the nonprofit Peninsula Open
Photo by Veronica Weber.
The 2019 Avenidas Lifetimes of Achievement honorees, from left moving clockwise, Mary Paine, Mike Turbow, Ellen Turbow, Ginny Lear, Robert Kelly, Ward Paine and Gloria Hom.
Space Trust in 1977 to protect and care for land in and around Silicon Valley. The trust has been responsible for preserving more than 76,000 acres of open space in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. Mary started her environmental endeavors while on the board of the nonprofit Peninsula Conservation Center. She later cofounded the spin-off organization Environmental Volunteers, a nonprofit aimed at introducing
natural history and environmental science to children. She played a key role in securing funding for the restoration of the former Sea Scouts building in the Palo Alto Baylands that became the educational EcoCenter and the headquarters for Environmental Volunteers. Hom has worn many hats throughout her life â&#x20AC;&#x201D; including those of an economist, professor, businesswoman and civic leader â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promoted quality of life in her community. As an educator, the Palo Alto native taught generations of students over a 35-year span. She was named â&#x20AC;&#x153;Outstanding Educator of Americaâ&#x20AC;? and trustee emeritus for the California State University system and received the Seal of California in recognition of her years as a member of the California state Board of
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www.restorationstudio.com 12 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q February 6, 2019
Education. Outside the classroom, she attended every Republican National Convention from 1980 through 2008. President Ronald Reagan appointed her to serve on the Advisory Council of the White House Conference on Library and Information Services, and President George H.W. Bush appointed her to the Sallie Mae Board of Directors. Lear has spent most of her life volunteering for organizations, including the Rotary Clubs of Los Altos and Palo Alto, the Foothill College Foundation Commission and the El Camino Hospital Auxiliary. She co-founded the Los Altos Community Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;LEADâ&#x20AC;? program to encourage residents to become better involved in their town. While on the Foothill College Foundation Commission, she helped raise more than $100,000 in one night to support innovation projects. And as fundraising co-chair for the new Los Altos History Museum, she helped raise nearly half of the initial the $3.5 million needed to get the project off the ground. Lear said that from an early age, her parents instilled the values of hard work, simple values and modesty â&#x20AC;&#x201D; always with a sense of humor included. Palo Alto couple Ellen and Mike Turbow have worked to improve conditions for those making end-of-life decisions and those with disabilities. Mike, an early pioneer in the hospice movement during the 1970s, helped establish MidPeninsula Hospice â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which has since expanded and is now known as Pathways Hospice â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and volunteered there as a medical director for nearly 20 years. He also testified multiple times before the California Legislature, playing an important role in the passage of the End of Life Option Act, which allows medical aid in dying for terminally ill patients. Ellen turned her attention toward children with special needs after the coupleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son died in 2012. She joined the Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Council board of directors for two terms and later the board of directors of Abilities United, where she also participated on the capital campaign committee. As a member of the Jewish Family and Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; public issues committee, Ellen advocated for better coordination of services for families with disabled children, and in coordination with Abilities United, helped convene a two-county conference on the issue. Tickets for the May 19 party are $75 and available online at avenidas.org or by calling 650289-5445. A
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Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announces 2019 local grantees By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
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he Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has announced the recipients of its local grant program for 2019. Nearly 40 local organizations that help meet the basic needs of people in Belle Haven, East Palo Alto, North Fair Oaks and Redwood City will receive grants of $25,000 to $100,000, according to a press statement released Jan. 29. “The tireless work of these
organizations improves the daily lives of countless local residents and shapes our community for the better,” said Priscilla Chan, co-founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The initiative’s 2019 community grant cycle gave priority to local nonprofits that address food security, safety, mental health and health care, as well as housing and homelessness, education, immigration, transportation and workforce development. Organizations had to have a
budget of at least $100,000 and be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, a fiscally sponsored project, a local municipality, or a government agency. The grantees are: Able Works, Adolescent Counseling Services, Belle Haven Community Development Fund, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, Businesses United in Investing, Lending and Development, CASA of San Mateo County, Chicana Latina Foundation, Children’s Health Council, Community Gatepath, CORA
(Communities Overcoming Relationship Abuse), the East Palo Alto Academy Foundation, Eastside College Preparatory School, Ecumenical Hunger Program, Faith in Action Bay Area, Free at Last: Recovery and Rehabilitation Services, Fresh Lifelines for Youth, Inc., Girls to Women, Good Karma Bikes, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, HIP Housing, International Institute of the Bay Area, JobTrain, Inc., Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County, the Multicultural Institute,
Menlo Together, Multicultural Counseling and Educational Services of the Bay Area, My New Red Shoes, Nuestra Casa de East Palo Alto, Peninsula Volunteers, Inc., Project WeHOPE, Ravenswood Family Health Center, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center Mid-Peninsula, Services & Immigrant Rights & Education Network, St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room, Street Life Ministries, StreetCode Academy, and The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of San Mateo County. A
Scott J. Coonan Raleigh, North Carolina
Photo courtesy of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
From left, former director of the Ecumenical Hunger Program Nevida Butler, with Jackie Garcia, Family Services Associate at the Ecumenical Hunger Program; and Priscilla Chan, co-founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, who met Jan. 18 at the Ecumenical Hunger Program’s food distribution center in East Palo Alto.
William Wade Awbrey William Wade Awbrey, age 87, died on January 20, 2019. A fourth generation Californian, Bill was born in San Francisco to Frances Sisson and Roy Awbrey; he grew up in Dixon, California and Carson City, Nevada. He was a proud Eagle Scout in Troup 33 of the Nevada Area Council. A natural athlete, Bill excelled on high school and college sports teams (football and skiing). As an adult, he paused his studies at University of the Pacific to attend flight school in Pensacola, Florida and became a Naval aviator flying P2V Neptunes. In 1956, he married Mary Stuart in Washington D.C., serving 6 more months with squadron VP18 based in Jacksonville, Florida. He soon enrolled at UC Berkeley and became a “weekend warrior” (Lt. Sr. Grade) for the Navy. Upon graduating from UC Berkeley with a BS in Marketing, he was hired by Continental Can Company, where his 20 year career took the family from the West Coast to the East Coast and back again to California. He later held management positions with Scholle Corporation, Pacific Coast Producers and finally Confab Corporation. He was actively engaged in community affairs in Atherton, where he lived for 42 years. In retirement, he volunteered as a tutor and at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. All through life, music was his enduring passion; Bill was never happier than when he was playing his trumpet, his grandpa’s harmonica or his ukulele for his three beloved grand daughters. Throughout his life, Bill enjoyed tennis, golf and skiing. He is predeceased by his parents and a daughter Blair, and is survived by his wife Mary Stuart, and their two children Craig Awbrey (Carrie) and Lisa Awbrey (Jason) and three grand daughters. A private family service is planned for February. PAID
OBITUARY
Scott J. Coonan, 55, passed away peacefully in his sleep from heart failure on January 18, 2019. A former resident of Atherton, California, and most recently of Raleigh, North Carolina, Scott was a beloved husband, father, son, brother, friend, and colleague. Born in Binghamton, New York, Scott excelled in academics and was a number-one ranked tennis player in high school. He attended Duke University on a ROTC scholarship, graduating in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, and joined the U.S. Air Force. After receiving an Honorable Discharge, Scott attended William & Mary Law School, graduating in 1992, and had an illustrious career in patent law working at Litton Industries, Hewlett-Packard, Thales North America, and since 2004 at Juniper Networks in Sunnyvale, California, handling IP strategy and litigation. Over the years, Scott enjoyed traveling to new and old places, watching sports, cooking and running. Scott and his wife, Lynne, traveled as much as possible together and were fortunate to explore much of France while Scott was working for French-based Thales. Having met in Washington, D.C., Scott and Lynne moved to the Silicon Valley in 2004 when their older daughter, Emma, was three months old. There, they explored much that California has to offer. Returning to the East Coast in 2012 to live in Raleigh (not too far from Duke), Scott and his family, now including their younger daughter, Audrey, packed up their Prius and drove crosscountry, with many great stops along the way. An avid sports fan, Scott’s favorite teams were the Miami Dolphins and Duke’s Blue Devils, and watching their games and playing Fantasy Football were a passion. A long-time runner, Scott ran multiple marathons, including the Marine Corps Marathon. Scott had an infectious laugh, a genuine interest in others, and a way of putting people at ease. He was proud of his daughters and never tired of hearing about their latest endeavors at school, with friends, on the tennis or basketball courts, or sailing on Cape Cod.
He was often seen holding his daughters’ hands and walking them to school in Atherton—tall Daddy holding his little girls’ hands through the parking lot—sweet and tender. He also loved to cook gourmet meals for friends and family, as well as delighted in making creative meals for his children. As an IP attorney at Juniper, Scott was personally invested in the company’s success and could be fierce in his representation of his client. He was actively involved in many of Juniper’s cases: testifying under oath several times, and always present for trials and key hearings. He designed and implemented strategies that aggressively defended Juniper’s interests against those who sued the company. In 2014, he was humbled to receive Juniper’s CEO Staff Excellence Award, an honor generally reserved for top Juniper engineers. Scott is survived by his wife, Lynne, and their daughters, Emma and Audrey; his parents, Sherry and James Coonan, and his sister, Lori; his in-law family: Jeanine Simoneau; Paul and Joanne Simoneau; John Simoneau; Janice Simoneau and Chip Scully; and niece Allison Simoneau, and nephews Matthew Simoneau and Lucas Scully. There are many others who will miss Scott’s keen intellect, generous nature, and overall presence here on earth. A celebration of Scott’s life will be held on Friday, February 8, at 2:00 PM at the Menlo Church, 950 Santa Cruz Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025, followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 400 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 340, Palo Alto, CA, 94301; Ronald McDonald House, 506 Alexander Avenue, Durham, NC 27705; Mary Jane Simoneau Fund for Glioblastoma Research, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, P.O. Box 27106, New York, NY 100877106; or the Brain Injury Association of America, 1608 Spring Hill Road, Suite 110, Vienna, VA 22182. Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home & Crematory, 300 Saint Mary’s St., Raleigh, NC. PA I D
O B I T U A RY
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C O V E R
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Fungus among us Woodside mushroom hunter travels near and far for the love of fungi BY KATE DALY
Special to the Almanac
PHOTOS BY MAGALI GAUTHIER
W
Top: George Caughey looks at the gills of a Pluteus exilis, more commonly known as a “deer mushroom,” using an inspection mirror in Huddart Park in Woodside. Right: George Caughey looks at the gills of a Caulorhiza umbonata, or “redwood rotter.” About the cover: A Volvopluteus gloiocephalus, or “big sheath mushroom,” in a field in Woodside. Dr. George Caughey is a mushroom expert and professor emeritus at University of California at San Francisco.
16 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q February 6, 2019
hat’s the definition of a fun guy? A man with a thousand photos of fungi on his smartphone. The joke aptly describes Dr. George Caughey, the mushroom expert who led The Almanac on a recent two-hour foray from his Woodside home into Huddart County Park. That day he identified 33 separate species of mushrooms, ranging from edible to hallucinogenic to poisonous, but he says there are believed to be three to four million different species in the kingdom Fungi, and only 10 percent of them have been named. When he spotted a mushroom that stumped him in the park, he whipped out his phone and took a photo to compare with reference books and online sources later on. It’s all part of the thrill of discovery. And now that it’s raining, it’s mushroom season on the Peninsula, when the spore-bearing fruiting bodies of fungi pop out of the ground or from decaying trees, sometimes appearing overnight or enduring for decades. Stopping on a public roadside, Caughey pulled out a specialty mushroom knife, which has a curved blade, to harvest a specimen to inspect under his microscope at home. He could send any mystery mushrooms to a lab for DNA testing, but at the cost of hundreds of dollars, that can add up quickly. He was delighted by his first sighting this season of Lactarius rufulus, or Southern Candy Cap, which he describes as tasting like maple syrup when dried (he has a dehydrator). The specimen may end up as a tasty treat at his monthly meeting of the Mycological Society of San Francisco, where members snack on mushroom-related foods during show-and-tell and lectures. Caughey mans the toxicology table at the society’s annual Fungus Fair. He calls himself a “physician scientist, a molecular biologist, chemist,” and “amateur mycologist.” He retired last year and is now a professor emeritus at University of California at San Francisco, where his focus was on pulmonary, critical care, allergy and sleep medicine. His interest in fungi mushroomed some 30 years ago in New Hampshire when “we were living off the grid one summer and I was just surrounded by mushrooms,” he says. Curiosity led him to reading about them, attending meetings, and going on forays. Last fall he and his wife went on a
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but I just stay away from any category of mushroom-collecting trip to Sicily. The mushroom considered lethal; I’m very object was to see what grows around conservative,” he says. Mount Etna, and the group the couple After eating about 40 different species traveled with found 250 species. over the years, he has gotten a stomachache Throughout the late January walk in only a couple of times, he says. Woodside he spots a type of mushroom His theory is that it’s OK to take a tiny found on rotting wood all over the world taste and then spit it out. “No mushroom in horizontal bands of ring-patterned fans, will poison you unless you really eat it, and Trametes versicolor, or Turkey Tail. then it takes several days,” he says. In China and the Far East, he says, they “Six hours later you get diarrhea. The are used medicinally for immune-boosting dangerous thing is the honeymoon period purposes in teas and tinctures. when you feel good again, and then everyHe identifies two large, fleshy orangething shuts down in three days, and you’re colored mushrooms that are sometimes gone.” mistaken for chanterelles: Omphalotus He recalls the December 2017 news olivascens, or Western Jack O’ Lantern, headlines of an incident when doctors and Phyllotopsis nidulans, or Orange had to treat 14 people who Mock Oyster. The first glows became severely ill after eatin the dark and is poisonous, ‘There are ing wild mushrooms forwhereas the second smells like rotten eggs and is “mildly people who take aged in Northern California mountains. Three ended up toxic.” chances, but I with liver transplants, includNear the Greer Road park ing a toddler who also sufentrance he spies a Galerina just stay away fered permanent neurological marginata, or Deadly Galerina, sprouting out of a dead from any category damage. The most likely culprit was coast live oak. of mushroom the Amanita phalloides, or “People have poisoned themselves on these look- considered lethal.’ Death Cap, which Caughey says was introduced here in ing for hallucinogenics,” DR. GEORGE CAUGHEY the 1930s on nursery stock Caughey cautions. imported from Europe, and can be found When he gets to the fallen tree in the East where coast live oaks and cork trees grow. Meadow that is hosting several clumps of He hasn’t seen any yet so far, but usually mushrooms textured like coral, Hericium runs into “hundreds” of Death Caps in his corraloides, or Comb Tooth, he is clearly yard, near the Pulgas Water Temple, and excited, using his walking stick to point in the watershed near Filoli, where he used out the features of what he calls a “charisto lead mushroom hiking tours and helped matic mushroom.” train the current batch of nature docents. He pulls out the extended mirror he For all amateur mycologists he recomcarries to check out the undersides of varimends reading: “Mushrooms of the Redous fungi for pores or gills, and exclaims, wood Coast” by Noah Siegel and Christian “It is delicious ... to me this is a beautiful Schwarz; “California Mushrooms” by mushroom!” adding that his daughter’s Dennis Desjardin, Michael Wood and boyfriend likes to use the white delicacy Frederick Stevens; and “Mushrooms as a pizza topping. Demystified” by David Arora. A “There are people who take chances,
Clockwise from top left: George Caughey says his interest in fungi mushroomed some 30 years ago in New Hampshire; The poisonous Omphalotus olivascens, or Western Jack-O’-Lantern,” is sometimes mistaken for the edible chanterelle; The gills of some Trametes betulina, more commonly known as “gilled polypore,” are seen in a mirror in Huddart Park; Caughey examines the veils of a mushroom to identify its species.
February 6, 2019 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 17
Artscene
P E O P L E A N D P E R F O R M A N C E S I N A R T S A N D E N T E R TA I N M E N T
Kevin Berne
Allen McCullough as Richard Nixon reacts to his interviews with David Frost in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frost/Nixon,â&#x20AC;? presented by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Frost/Nixonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is a must-see History comes alive in TheatreWorks production about disgraced ex-president By John Orr
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;F
rost/Nixon,â&#x20AC;? as staged by TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, is a brilliant, astounding, not-to-be-missed 110 minutes of theater. Everything about this production, directed by Leslie Martinson, is a triumph, from the
THEATER REVIEW excellent set and onstage media designed by David Lee Cuthbert to Allen McCulloughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s powerfully evocative performance as Richard M. Nixon. Playwright Peter Morgan doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let history get in the
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way of a good story, anymore than did Shakespeare. Most of this play is as history recorded it but where Morgan wanders away from the facts, it is, perhaps, to illustrate some deeper truth. Or, maybe, just to make it work better in the theater. Morgan draws Nixon â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who was reviled by liberals, abused the power of the presidency in attempts to punish people on his â&#x20AC;&#x153;enemies listâ&#x20AC;? and wore a suit and tie to walk on the beach â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as a sympathetic character. McCulloughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nixon often
LEHUA GREENMAN "When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
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tries to crack a joke, stumbles humanly over some bit of courtesy or another, and gets teary and choked up while recalling his father. And some, but not all, of Nixonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accomplishments are mentioned, especially his success in opening dialogue with China. Even those of us who are old enough to have watched the Watergate hearings on television or have read the Woodward/Bernstein books can appreciate Morganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s alchemy in making Nixon rather sympathetic, at least for the duration of this play. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frost/Nixonâ&#x20AC;? is the story of TV host David Frost getting Nixon to sit down for a series of interviews, a couple of years after Nixon had resigned the presidency in disgrace. Both men needed the exposure. Frost, a Brit whose TV career had been reduced to interviewing minor celebrities in Australia, wanted a ticket back to New York. Nixon, who had barely survived serious phlebitis and depression after leaving the White House for his California estate, was in bad shape financially and wanted a path back to the East Coast and some kind of political meaningfulness. The first part of this play limns how Frost and his team, which included fiery journalist James Reston Jr., and Nixon and his team, including Col. Jack Brennan and Hollywood dealmaker Swifty Lazar, danced around each other to make a deal. What subjects would be broached â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a quarter of the interview time would be about Watergate â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and how much Nixon would be paid ($600,000 up front, and 20 percent of any profits). Jeremy Webb is excellent as Frost, seemingly insouciant but fully aware of what he needs to succeed with this huge project, which would take four weeks of interviews, at considerable cost. Frost was considered a lightweight, and the major TV networks werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t interested in the project, which they disdained as â&#x20AC;&#x153;checkbook journalism.â&#x20AC;? Frost had to hustle for financing and eventually got a syndication deal. McCullough brings flesh to Nixonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intelligence, as the former trial lawyer and president easily controls the direction of the interviews early on, as Webbâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Frost becomes more
Q I N F OR M ATI ON
What: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frost/Nixonâ&#x20AC;? Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. When: Through Feb. 10. Cost: $40-$100 Info: Go to theatreworks.org.
frustrated in his attempts to get Nixon to apologize for Watergate. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a battle, and makes for great theater. Kenny Toll is solid and impassioned as Reston, who keeps digging for evidence to use against Nixon, whom he hates. He is disgusted with himself when he shakes Nixonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hand. Toll is one of the onstage narrators, the other being Craig Marker as Brennan. Marker brings solid sincerity to his respect for the former president. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an almost all-male cast, with Nixonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wife and daughters mentioned but not seen. Alicia Piemme Nelson has a short bit as tennis player Evonne Goolagong, to illustrate how far Frost had fallen; and Elena Wright is on hand as Caroline Cushing, apparently to illustrate that Frost liked beautiful women. The set is very impressive, switching from the White House to British and American hotel rooms to a seaside home where the interviews took place. Overhead, there is the sort of lighting structure expected to be seen in a TV studio (take a bow, lighting designer Steven B. Mannshardt). Upstage are 35 large TV monitors that are brilliantly used to display backgrounds, to become TV studio direction monitors, and at the key denouement, to focus in on McCulloughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face as Nixon makes his deepest statement, as seen through the live TV cameras on stage. That is the moment Frost knew he needed, and director Martinson makes it a triumphant note. The entire cast is very good. But McCullough is transcendently brilliant. He brings a complete life to Nixon in this play: a performance not to be missed. A Freelance writer John Orr can be emailed at johnorr@ regardingarts.com.
C O M M U N I T Y
Submissions sought for Women’s Art Show By Kate Bradshaw Almanac Staff Writer
I
n recognition of Women’s History Month in March, San Mateo County ‘s Arts Commission and Commission on the Status of Women are teaming up to organize the 15th annual Women’s Art Show. The commissions are asking for art exhibition entries from female county residents
Steven Minning
Menlo School student Ethan Bernheim leads the ensemble cast of “The Old Man and The Old Moon.”
Menlo School brings a nontraditional play to life with music and puppets By Kate Daly Special to the Almanac
M
enlo School is staging the West Coast premiere of “The Old Man and The Old Moon,” a creatively staged play featuring shadow puppets and magical moments filled with song, this weekend. The ensemble cast is led by junior Ethan Bernheim, the Old Man who abandons his post filling the moon with liquid light to travel to the end of the earth in search of his missing wife. PigPen Theatre Company took a folktale and shaped it into a good story, Bernheim says, and “as a recent show written by a group of college students, it
combines a wide and appealing range of differing elements.” Shows are on Friday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 9, at 2 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 10, at 5 p.m. in Florence Moore Auditorium at 50 Valparaiso Ave. in Atherton. There will be open seating. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for students. To purchase tickets in advance go to menloschool.org, or buy them at the door. The production will benefit Music & Memory, a nonprofit that helps the elderly reconnect with their memories through personalized playlists of their favorite music. A
Several locals to be inducted into Peninsula Hall of Fame By Palo Alto Weekly sports staff
F
ormer Menlo School and Stanford basketball standout Eric Reveno, former Menlo-Atherton swimming great Tod Spieker and former Woodside track-and-field athlete Nicole Carroll will be among the six individuals who will be inducted into the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame on April 25 at the San Mateo County History Museum. Carroll went from Woodside to College of San Mateo and Fresno State, evolving into a world-class javelin thrower. She was a twotime American champion and a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team.
Reveno, a basketball state champion at Menlo School, later played at Stanford University and became the head coach at Portland University, earning WCC Coach of the Year honors. He’s currently an assistant coach at Georgia Tech University. Spieker is a familiar name at Menlo-Atherton, where he helped the Bears reach national prominence in swimming. He later attended University of California at Los Angeles and was involved in masters’ age-group competition. For more information on the April 25 affair, please contact the San Mateo County Historical Association at 650-299-0104. A
or women who are directly employed by the county. One hundred spots are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis via entry form requests. “No nudes, politics, religious or violent themes accepted,” according to curator Boris Koodrin. People who want
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Public Notices
995 Fictitious Name Statement
STANFORD MENLO PARK RENTALS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280000 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Stanford Menlo Park Rentals, located at 115 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, CA 94025, San Mateo County; Mailing address: 8 Sandpiper Street, Irvine, CA 92604. Registered owner(s): RANJEET KUMAR PANCHOLY 8 Sandpiper Street Irvine, CA 92604 VIJAY JAYA PANCHOLY 8 Sandpiper Street Irvine, CA 92604 This business is conducted by: Married Couple. 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 January 8, 2019. (ALM Jan. 16, 23, 30; Feb. 6, 2019) IPSY FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280005 The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Ipsy, located at 201 Baldwin Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): PERSONALIZED BEAUTY DISCOVERY, INC. 201 Baldwin Avenue San Mateo, CA 94401 Delaware This business is conducted by: A Corporation. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 08/03/2011. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on January 9, 2019. (ALM Jan. 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13, 2019) POINTS PASSPORT FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280014 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Points Passport, located at 655 Oak Grove Avenue #782, Menlo Park, CA 94025, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): MOON BOUND VENTURES LLC 655 Oak Grove Avenue #782 Menlo Park, CA 94025 California This business is conducted by: A Limited Liability Company. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 1/9/2019. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on January 9, 2019. (ALM Jan. 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13, 2019) STELLAR SWIMMING FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280050 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Stellar Swimming, located at 3125 Jefferson
entry forms and instructions should email him at boriskoodrin@gmail.com. The exhibit will run from March 4 to April 30 at the Redwood City Hall of Justice on the main floor Caldwell Gallery and the lower floor Community Gallery. A
Ave., Redwood City, CA 94062, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): BARBARA LYNN LeBLANC 4618 Bianca Dr. Fremont, Calif. 94538 This business is conducted by: An Individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on December 23, 2009. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on January 14, 2019. (ALM Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, 2019) A & A HOME IMPROVEMENT FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280069 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: A & A Home Improvement, located at 1327 Henderson Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): ALEJANDRO ARGUELLO 1327 Henderson 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 N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on January 15, 2019. (ALM Jan. 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13, 2019) ROBERT J. HOFFMAN AND CO. CPAS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 279997 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Robert J. Hoffman and Co. CPAS, located at 295 89th St., #200, Daly City, CA 94015, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): JUSTIN HETSLER 2261 Market St. #625 San Francisco, CA 94114 This business is conducted by: An Individual. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 1/2/19. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on January 8, 2019. (ALM Jan. 23, 30; Feb. 6, 13, 2019) METRO CLEANERS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280111 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Metro Cleaners, located at 923 E. Hillsdale Blvd., Foster City, CA 94404, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): ARYAHI TRINITY INC. 923 E. Hillsdale Blvd. Suite A-1 Foster City, CA 94404 CA This business is conducted by: A Corporation. The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 5/12/18. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of San Mateo County on January 18, 2019. (ALM Jan. 30; Feb. 6, 13, 20, 2019)
ORAL FILM TECHNOLOGIES, INC. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280037 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Oral Film Technologies, Inc., located at 360 1st. Ave., #123, San Mateo, CA 94401, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): RICHER WORLDWIDE ENTERPRISES, INC. 360 1st. Ave., #123 San Mateo, CA 94401 California This business is conducted by: A Corporation. 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 January 11, 2019. (ALM Jan. 30; Feb. 6, 13, 20, 2019) CC8 MANAGEMENT GROUP FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 280153 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: CC8 Management Group, located at 258 C Street, Redwood City, CA 94063, San Mateo County. Registered owner(s): CHRISTOPHER CHUNG 258 C Street Redwood City, CA 94063 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 January 24, 2019. (ALM Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27, 2019)
997 All Other Legals ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO Case No.: 18CIV06836 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: JAMIE RICARDO AYON-FACUNDO filed a petition with this court for a decree changing names as follows: JAMIE RICARDO AYON-FACUNDO to SANTIAGO RICARDO AYON FACUNDO. THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. NOTICE OF HEARING: February 13, 2019, 9:00 a.m., Dept.: PJ of the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, located at 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063. A copy of this ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE shall be published at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county: THE ALMANAC Date: December 28, 2018 /s/ Susan Irene Etezadi JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT (ALM Jan. 16, 23, 30; Feb. 6, 2019)
Call Alicia Santillan at 650-223-6578 or email asantillan@paweekly.com for legal advertising. February 6, 2019 Q AlmanacNews.com Q The Almanac Q 19
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Employment Love to work with childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature? Find joy in getting the right book in the hands of a reader? Do you have a background in bookselling, library science, and/or childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books? Linden Tree is looking for experienced, Booksellers and a Receiver (all part-time) A background in bookselling, library science or equivalent is required. A strong knowledge of childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature and equally strong customer service skills is essential. Booksellers must have the flexibility to work weekend hours. Educators, librarians, and booksellers are all encouraged to inquire for non-seasonal positions. Linden Tree is a destination location for book lovers, located in the heart of downtown Los Altos. Please contact dianne@lindentreebooks.com for more information about these positions.
To place an ad or get a quote, call 650.223.6582 or email digitalads@paweekly.com. 20 Q The Almanac Q AlmanacNews.com Q February 6, 2019
Calendar
M E E T I N G S , M U S I C , T H E AT E R A N D F A M I LY A C T I V I T I E S Visit AlmanacNews.com/calendar to see more calendar listings
Theater Âś$PHULFDQ 1LJKW 7KH %DOODG RI -XDQ -RVH¡ Los Altos Stage Company rings in the new year with â&#x20AC;&#x153;American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose,â&#x20AC;? a mix of past and present, stereotype and truth. Through Feb. 17, times vary. $20$38. Bus Barn Theatre, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. losaltosstage.org 3XSSHW $UW 7KHDWUH¡V Âś7KH %R\ :KR &ULHG :ROI¡ Menlo Park Main Library presents â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Boy Who Cried Wolf,â&#x20AC;? Puppet Art Theatrestyle. Feb. 7, 7-7:45 p.m. Free. Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St., Menlo Park. Search menlopark.org for more info. Âś7KH 5HYROXWLRQLVWV¡ â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Revolutionistsâ&#x20AC;? is a comedic play about four women who lived boldly in France during the French Revolutionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Reign of Terror. Through Feb. 10, times vary. $18-$37. The Dragon Theater, 2120 Broadway, Redwood City. Âś6SHQGLQJ WKH (QG RI WKH :RUOG RQ 2N&XSLG¡ In this play, a modern-day prophet predicts the disappearance of half the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population and warns those remaining that they are the next to go. With 12 hours to live, some spend time with loved ones, others spend it on OkCupid, a dating website. Through Feb. 17, times vary. $15-$35. The Pear Theater, 1110 La Avenida, Mountain View. thepear.org 7KHDWUH:RUNV 6LOLFRQ 9DOOH\ 3UHVHQWV Âś)URVW 1L[RQ¡ In Tony and Olivier Award-nominated drama â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Frost/Nixon,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; America is caught in the riptides of Watergate and Vietnam, and Nixon and a British talk-show host clash in a series of TV interviews that will determine the presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legacy. Through Feb. 10, times vary. $40-$100. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. Search theatreworks.org for more info.
Concerts 0XVLF#0HQOR $QQXDO %HQHILW &RQFHUW DQG 5HFHSWLRQ Music@Menlo presents a chamber music concert spanning baroque to romantic works, featuring alumni of the Chamber Music Institute with Music@Menlo festival artists. Benefit concert includes dessert and wine reception with the artists. Feb. 9, 7-9:30 p.m. $50-$70. Stent Family Hall, Menlo School, 50 Valparaiso Ave., Atherton. Search musicatmenlo.org for more info. 5HGZRRG 6\PSKRQ\ &RQFHUW The Redwood Symphony presents a concert of works by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Johannes Brahms and Igor Stravinsky. Violinist Miranda Liu and cellist Jonah Kim are featured. Feb. 9, 8-10 p.m. $10-$30. Canada College, 4200 Farm Hill Blvd., Redwood City. Search facebook.com/events for more info.
Music
$UW RI )LOROL 6SHFLDOW\ 7RXUV The Art of Filoli tour covers the Filoli Houseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fine art collection, which includes a wide range of artists and styles dating back to the early 17th century. Highlights include drawings and paintings by John Singer Sargent, Sir Peter Lely, Jan Weenix, Sir William Orpen, Ernest Peixotto, Mary Curtis Richardson, Nelson Shanks and more. Feb. 10 and 17; 1-3:30 p.m. $15, plus admission to Filoli. Filoli Gardens, 86 Old Canada Road, Woodside. Search filoli.org/ event for more info. 7KH $UWV DW 6W %HGH¡V SUHVHQWV 9DMUD 9RLFHV The five-member singing group Vajra Voices presents â&#x20AC;&#x153;Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Voices Uplifted: Women composers from medieval to modern.â&#x20AC;? The concert features works written by female composers, including antiphons by Hildegard, motets from the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Las Huelgas de Burgosâ&#x20AC;? manuscript, and the newly composed â&#x20AC;&#x153;To Burst To Bloomâ&#x20AC;? by Theresa Wong. Feb. 10, 4-6 p.m. $20; $15 for seniors, students. St. Bedeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal Church, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park. Search stbedesmenlopark. org for more info. )LUVW 6WUHHW 2SHUD The singers of First Street Opera offer a selection of musical pieces that were popular during the era of the original families of Filoli. Feb. 10, 3-5 p.m. $22, members; $30 non-members. Filoli Gardens, 86 Old Canada Road, Woodside. Search filoli.org/ event for more info. *% *HQWV &' 5HOHDVH 3DUW\ GB Gents, a neo-acoustic pop groove duo, perform original music from their just-released album,
â&#x20AC;&#x153;American Stories,â&#x20AC;? as well as pop covers. Feb. 9, 6-9 p.m. Free. Cafe Zoe, 1929 Menalto Ave., Menlo Park. cafezoehub.com 7UDQVFHQGLQJ WKH 2UGLQDU\ 0R]DUW¡V /DWH *UHDW 6WULQJ 7ULR 'LYHUWLPHQWR Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lesser-known masterpieces include the six-movement â&#x20AC;&#x153;Divertimento Trio.â&#x20AC;? Kay Stern on violin, Ben Simon on viola, and Hannah Addario-Berry on cello give a guided tour of the work, followed by a complete performance. Feb. 9, 7:30 p.m. Free. Dinkelspiel Auditorium, 471 Lagunita Drive, Stanford. Search events.stanford.edu/events for more info.
Talks & Lectures $OH[DQGUD %UDFNHQ DQG 7DPDUD ,UHODQG 6WRQH Alexandra Bracken, best-selling author of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Darkest Mindâ&#x20AC;? series, and Tamara Ireland Stone, bestselling author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Every Last Word,â&#x20AC;? showcase their middle-grade sequels â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Life of Prince Alastorâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Swapâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;dâ&#x20AC;? at Keplerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books. RSVP requested. Feb 8, 7-9 p.m. Free. Keplerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Search eventbrite.com for more info. %DUU\ (LVOHU New York Times best-selling author of the John Rain and Livia Lone series, Barry Eisler, shares his latest thriller, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Killer Collective.â&#x20AC;? RSVP requested. Feb 7, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Free. Keplerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Search eventbrite.com for more info. *OHQQ 5LINLQ LQ &RQYHUVDWLRQ :LWK 3DWULFN 0F*RYHUQ ,,, Glenn Rifkin launches his book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Future Forward,â&#x20AC;? an homage to the late Patrick J. McGovern, in conversation with his subjectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s son Patrick J. McGovern III. Limited seats. Feb. 6, 7:30-9:30 p.m. $23-$45, premier admission includes book. Keplerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Search eventbrite.com for more info. Âś6OLSSHU\ 7DOHV $GYHQWXUHV DQG 0LVDGYHQWXUHV WR )LQG 6OLSSHU 2UFKLGV LQ WKH :LOG¡ Mary Garretson, co-author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Bay Area Guide to Orchids and Their Culture,â&#x20AC;? gives a talk, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Slippery Tales: Adventures and misadventures to find slipper orchids in the wild.â&#x20AC;? Lecture is for Filoli members. Feb. 9, 1-2 p.m. Free. Filoli Gardens, 86 Old Canada Road, Woodside. Search filoli.org/event for more info. 6WHJQHU )HOORZ 5HDGLQJ :LWK 1HKD &KDXGKDU\ .DPGDU DQG -D\ 'HVKSDQGH First-year Stegner Fellows in fiction and poetry, Neha Chaudhary-Kamdar and Jay Deshpande Neha Chaudhary-Kamdar, read and discuss their work. Feb. 6, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Free. Levinthal Hall, Stanford Humanities Center, 424 Santa Teresa St., Stanford. Search arts.stanford.edu/event for more info. 6XVDQ 'HQQDUG Author Susan Dennard speaks on her latest epic fantasy novel, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bloodwitch.â&#x20AC;? RSVP requested. Feb. 13, 7-8:30 p.m. Free. Keplerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Search eventbrite. com for more info. :DOODFH 6WHJQHU /HFWXUH 'U 9DQGDQD 6KLYD Dr. Vandana Shiva, an advocate of a more equitable and sustainable food system, talks about natural and organic methods of farming as a solution for both food insecurity and climate change. This lecture is part of the annual Wallace Stegner Lecture Series organized by Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST). Feb. 12, 8-10 p.m. $40; $20 students. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. Search openspacetrust.org for more info.
Family 0LG 3HQLQVXOD 7HDFKHU 7RZQ +DOO &DQ :H 6ROYH WKH 7HDFKHU +RXVLQJ &ULVLV" Supervisor Joe Simitian and Menlo Park Mayor Ray Mueller moderate a panel discussion about the housing crisis for teachers with Edith Salvatore, president of Sequoia District Teachers Association; Sarah Chaffin, founder of SupportTeacherHousing.org; Armando Sanchez, executive director of HEART (Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County); and Maya Perkins, expert on regional housing and transportation. Feb. 13, 4-6 p.m. Free, but RSVP required. Sequoia High School, 1201 Brewster Ave., Redwood City. Search eventbrite.com for more info. 6HFRQG 6XQGD\ )DPLO\ 'D\ Family Day at Stanford Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cantor Arts Center features hands-on art activities, gallery talks, storytime and more. For all ages. Jan. 13, 11 a.m.
Free. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford. Search events.stanford.edu for more info.
Museums & Exhibits $OSKDEHWH 7KH :RUOG 7KURXJK WKH (\HV RI )UHGHULF %UXO\ %RXDEUHThe exhibit displays an original pictographic alphabet as well as brightly colored postcard-size illustrations from contemporary African artist and poet Frederic Bruly Bouabre. Through March 2, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., closed Tuesdays. Free. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford. Search museum.stanford.edu/exhibitions for more info. 3XEOLF 7RXU 3DLQWLQJ 1DWXUH LQ WKH $PHULFDQ *LOGHG $JH Tours will be given of an exhibit that focuses on how nature was depicted by American artists from the 1880s to 1910, during a time of industrialization and urban development. Reservation not required. Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays through Aug. 24, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Free. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford. Search events.stanford.edu for more info. 9LQWDJH 7R\V ,W¡V &KLOG¡V 3OD\ This exhibition of a variety of antique toys covers the origins of playtime, toy factories, toy trains, builder toys and more. Fridays to Sundays through Feb. 17, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Free. Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto. moah.org.
Galleries 3RUWROD $UW *DOOHU\ 3UHVHQWV :DWHUFRORU 3DLQWLQJV E\ <YRQQH 1HZKRXVH â&#x20AC;&#x153;Variations on a Themeâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; an exhibition of watercolor paintings by Yvonne Newhouse of San Mateo â&#x20AC;&#x201D; highlights Newhouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ongoing exploration of painting a single subject using multiple approaches. Opening reception on Feb. 9, 1-4 p.m. Through Feb. 28, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Closed on Sundays. Free. Portola Art Gallery, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park. portolaartgallery. com
Film )LOP 6FUHHQLQJ Âś7KH $QLPDWHG &HQWXU\¡ This first-ever comprehensive history of animation worldwide presents clips from 160 films from 26 countries, discussing the most significant animated films of the past 100 years. Feb. 12, 6:30-8 p.m. Free. Menlo Park Library, 800 Alma St., Menlo Park. menlopark.org 'RFXPHQWDU\ 6FUHHQLQJ Âś&KLOG 'LVUXSWHG¡ A screening of the documentary â&#x20AC;&#x153;Child, Disruptedâ&#x20AC;? followed by a discussion is hosted by America Offline, Safe Space, The Addictions Institute, and Muir Wood. Feb. 7, 7-8:15 p.m. Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton. Search eventbrite.com for more info. 81$)) 'RFXPHQWDU\ )LOP Âś/HVVRQV LQ )HDU¡ The United Nations Association Film Festival presents â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lessons in Fear,â&#x20AC;? a film about educating Israeli and Palestinian students to defuse fear and conflict. Feb. 6, 1:303 p.m. Free. Little House Activity Center, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park.
Food & Drink
3RUWROD 9DOOH\ )DUPHUV 0DUNHW Portola Valley Farmers Market offers locally grown organic produce, prepared foods and artisan crafts at the town center, with parking available. Thursdays, 2-5 p.m. Free. Portola Town Center, 765 Portola Road, Portola Valley. Search goodrootsevents.com for more info.
Outdoor Recreation %HJLQQHU 5HIUHVKHU %LUG :DON %HGZHOO %D\IURQW 3DUN Friends of Bedwell Bayfront Park and Sequoia Audubon Society host a one- to two-hour beginner bird walk. Attendees may see wintering ducks, shorebirds, egrets and hawks and are encouraged to bring binoculars. The walk begins at the restrooms in the parking lot and is canceled if thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heavy rain. Feb. 9, 10 a.m.-noon. Free. 1600 Marsh Road, Menlo Park. 0XVKURRP 6SHFLDOW\ 7RXUV On Filoliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 90-minute mushroom hikes, visitors learn about the important ecosystems of fungi and how to spot mushrooms on the forest floor. The trail is 2-3 miles of uneven terrain and moderate hills. Through Feb. 16, Tuesdays and Saturdays, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. $15, plus admission to Filoli. Filoli Gardens, 86 Old Canada Road, Woodside. Search filoli.org/ event for more info.
Viewpoint IDEAS, THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS
ABOUT LOCAL ISSUES
Consider Option B for Menlo Park’s grade separation project By Marcy Abramowitz
fully elevated track would be inappropriate for Menlo efore the train leaves the station on the Menlo Park. At a height of 50 feet, and running from south Park rail grade separation decision, the City of Ravenswood to Encinal, this citywide divider of Council will open up its options beyond the pre- track and catenary wires would be the tallest strucviously chosen Option A, a road underpass at Raven- ture west of 101. Trains would be visible and audible from great distances, even withswood Avenue, and Option C, out horns. Businesses and resithree hybrid over/under crossMarcy Abramowitz is dents near the tracks would be ings at Ravenswood, Oak Grove, a longtime resident moved literally into its shadows. and Glenwood avenues. The of Menlo Park who It’s no coincidence that so many council’s upcoming vote on Feb. follows train-related cities across the U.S. are tearing 12, presumably for C, is in part issues. down their elevated structures. a technicality to receive grant Fortunately, there is another reimbursement for studies done viable choice that deserves serito date. Let’s get that done. GUEST OPINION ous consideration: the Menlo That vote is not the final say, Park City Council’s own Option however. This council, like the last, has expressed interest in exploring other options, B. Like Option C, Option B calls for hybrid over/ including a tunnel or trench, as well as a fully elevated under crossings at Ravenswood and Oak Grove, but it excludes Glenwood. In April 2017, the council structure cutting north-south across the city. While just about everyone can agree that putting voted to use limited funds to study Options A and C, the train below ground would be the ideal solution in reasoning that C would yield insights for B. Based on terms of safety, aesthetics, and cross-town connectiv- what we now know, B offers two big advantages over ity, the cost may be prohibitive. Like others, I hope C: that by working with neighboring communities we Q Significantly less cost and disruption. The city’s can find an innovative funding solution. vehicle crossing data shows that 75 percent of daily If the tracks must be elevated, there’s far less con- crossings take place at Ravenswood and Oak Grove, sensus about how far up they should go. Despite some with just 13 percent at Glenwood. On a proportional enthusiastic supporters, many, myself included, feel a basis, Option C’s estimated $390 million, five-year
B
construction plan across three crossings would cost 50 percent more and create 50 percent more headaches and disruption than Option B’s two crossings, while providing limited additional benefit. Q Lower visible barrier. Option B’s peak track height of 17 feet would be located (relatively) unobtrusively south of Ravenswood, roughly between the Arrillaga Recreation Center and the Big 5 retail store, and would come down to 6 feet by Oak Grove. By contrast, Option C’s 10-foot berm would extend from Arrillaga/Big 5 all the way to Oak Grove before coming down to 5 feet at Glenwood, creating a significantly larger visual barrier on both sides. Importantly, two grade-separated crossings are more than ample for Menlo Park’s needs. Menlo Park’s four crossings span only 0.6 miles in total, the highest density of rail crossings in any primarily residential area on the Peninsula. By comparison, Palo Alto averages a half-mile between crossings. The choice of grade separation is likely to be the most consequential decision this council will make, since generations to come will live with the consequences. Hopefully, our council will choose an option that addresses necessary safety concerns, while also preserving as much of the character and sense of community that makes Menlo Park such a wonderful place to live. Option B deserves due consideration.
THE 33RD ANNUAL PALO ALTO WEEKLY
Short Story Contest Prizes for First, Second and Third place winners in each category: Adult, Young Adult (15-17) and Teen (12-14)
FOR OFFICIAL RULES & ENTRY FORM, VISIT:
www.paloaltoonline.com/short_story ALL stories must be 2,500 words or less
ENTRY DEADLINE: March 29, 2019 at 5pm
Sponsored by:
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COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM 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 veriямБcation. Real estate agents afямБliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ┬й2019 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 414911SFSV_02/19 CalRE #01908304.
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COLDWELLBANKERHOMES.COM 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 veriямБcation. Real estate agents afямБliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ┬й2019 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Owned by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker Logo are registered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 414911SFSV_02/19 CalRE #01908304.
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