Climate RWC – November 2021

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P u b l i c a t i o n Profile: Holiday Events Spotlight: A New Ice Rink Micro Climate: City Trees

ISSUE SEVENTY FIVE • NOVEMBER • 2021

When Redwood City and the Niners

Split

Thanks to our sponsors: California Arts Council, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Lane Partners, Redwood City Arts Commission, San Mateo County Srheriffs, Lowe, Peninsula 360press, 2 · CLIMATE JuneRedwood 2021 City Parks, San Mateo Credit Union Willow Market, Greystar, NBC Bay· Area,

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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR•

It’s football season and stories about NFL teams and their relations with host cities have been in the news lately, including about the San Francisco Forty Niners and their hometown of Santa Clara. We didn’t have to think hard to recover memories of a Redwood City local angle, because for more than three decades the team had training facilities at Red Morton Park. During those years, residents enjoyed that big-league distinction, to say nothing of the possibility of rubbing shoulders with a player at the store or in a restaurant. Eventually, though, the team and the city parted ways—perhaps they outgrew each other—and in this month’s feature, writer Scott Dailey revisits that unwinding. For Scott, researching and writing the story prompted a personal trip down Memory Lane because, as a young advertising executive, his father had helped set up the Forty Niners’ radio network in the early 1950s and composed the jingle for Burgermeister beer, a principal sponsor. One of Scott’s relatives, Bill McPherson, was also a longtime defensive coach and executive with the Forty Niners. Perhaps our story, which begins on page eight, will trigger “local angle” memories of your own.

The holiday season will soon be upon us, and this month’s Profile checks in with the organizers and volunteers of much-loved—and much-missed—events like the Caltrain Holiday Train and Bethlehem A.D. as they try to return post-pandemic. They’re a dedicated bunch who are putting in lots of work for events that still could be cancelled, and let’s applaud their community spirit. And turn out for these events in big numbers when and if they happen. This month’s issue also sheds light on the effort of some local ice-skating enthusiasts to try to get another rink built on the midPeninsula, possibly on the site of the former Malibu Grand Prix Raceway. The story is on page 24.

Just for fun, writer Heidi Van Zant gives us a round-up of some of the unusual sites around San Mateo County that people may see on a drive and wonder about. These “roadside attractions” and their back stories appear on pages 16 and 17. Finally, Climate this month welcomes another new writer, Aimee Lewis Strain, who introduces us to a local group called CityTrees which has taken the Johnny Appleseed example to heart and is responsible for planting thousands of trees in Redwood City. That story appears in Micro Climate on page 22.

Time always seems to accelerate as the end of the year approaches, but I hope you’ll take a good long timeout to enjoy the November issue!

Janet McGovern, Editor

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S •

FEATU RE Another Divorce for the 49ers?

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PROFILE Holiday Events

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SPOTLIG HT A New Ice Rink

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MICRO CLIMATE City Trees

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AROUND TOWN ���������14 CHANGING CLIMATE ����16 HISTORY......................30

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Cover cake provided by Fillmore Bake Shop, San Francisco

ONE LIFE’S 2021 Donate Now •

C L I M AT E •

We provide easy access to counseling, education, and opportunities to connect through service.

We are so thankful for every donation we receive.

One Life Counseling is here for our community. The past year was difficult due to the pandemic, many of our families are still in need now more than ever. We are grateful for your contributions of food and essential items, but we project mental health services will continue to skyrocket through 2021.

The pandemic has and will continue to take a toll on the mental health of children, teens, adults and senior citizens. Mental health does not discriminate.

Currently, we are providing mental health services through tele-health and in-person sessions with great success. We are available to serve anyone and everyone in San Mateo County.

By participating in our Donate Now 2021 campaign, you can spread the word about mental health awareness and give back to charities like One Life Counseling Center.

Your generous donation will continue to help us help others to be more direct from donor to impact. Examples of how your donations will make a difference: • $75 - Per senior citizen music and memory program • $150 – Feeds family of 4 for one week • $250 – Community Support Talk • $250 - Per educational workshop for therapists in training • $500 - 10 sessions low fee counseling • $1,000 - 10 sessions for Teen Support Group • $1,000 - 10 sessions for Grief Group

Donate Now at www.OneLifeCounselingCenter.com

http://weblink.donorperfect.com/DonateNow2021 This ad was provided as a courtesy of

November 2021 · CLIMATE ·5 Neighbors helping neighbors - since 1938

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CLIMATE M A G A Z I N E Publisher

S.F. Bay Media Group Editor

Janet McGovern janet@climaterwc.com Creative Director

Jim Kirkland jim@climaterwc.com Contributing Writers

Scott Dailey Janet McGovern Heidi Van Zant Aimee Lewis Strain Jim Clifford Photography

Jim Kirkland Editorial Board

Janet McGovern Jim Kirkland Adam Alberti Advisory Board

Dee Eva Jason Galisatus Connie Guerrero Matt Larsen Dennis Logie Clem Molony Barb Valley CLIMATE magazine is a monthly publication

by S.F. Bay Media Group, a California Corporation.

Entire contents ©2021 by S.F. Bay Media Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. CLIMATE is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork.

CLIMATE offices are located at 570 El Camino Real, Ste. 150 #331 Redwood City, CA 94063. Printed in the U.S.A.

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Divorce NFL Style

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The 49ers’ romance with Santa Clara is getting rocky. For Redwood City, it’s déjà-vu.

By Scott Dailey

Back in 1967, Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds starred in a film called “Divorce American Style.” Renowned critic Roger Ebert called it “a member of that rare species, the Hollywood comedy with teeth in it.” In the movie, an affluent suburban couple loses the spark and splits up. Pathos and humor ensue as each partner tries to start over. True to Tinseltown, on the night the divorce is to become final, Van Dyke and Reynolds realize they’re still in love and decide to take another whirl.

Fast-forward to 1986. For three decades of mostly mediocre seasons, Redwood City had supported the San Francisco Forty Niners with humble but serviceable offices and a practice field at Red Morton Park. Suddenly, the Niners were flashing two Super Bowl rings and itching to trade up.

This time, there would be no Hollywood ending.

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• Redwood City suggested options, including 12 acres in Redwood Shores. But the team demanded more than city officials thought affordable. The council said no.

Two years later, the franchise moved its headquarters to Santa Clara. The new digs in the South Bay eventually included ultramodern Levi’s Stadium, opened in 2014.

But new homes bring new problems.

Just months after construction began in 2012, lawyers for the city and the team were already tangling over $30 million in stadium-tax funds. In the decade since, the Forty Niners and Santa Clara have bickered over rent, property taxes, bowl-game sponsorship money and stadium-event receipts, among other issues.

Starting in 2019, city leaders began moving to cancel a 25-year stadium-management contract with a Forty Niner-connected firm. The resulting litigation remains before the courts. Meanwhile, a year ago, a team-friendly majority took office after a political action committee sponsored by Niners CEO Jed York poured approximately $3 million into Santa Clara’s City Council race, according to Politico.

Three of York’s four favored candidates won. The new bloc, which includes two incumbents, has come to be called the “Forty Niner Five.”

Rocky Relations During the campaign, the mayor and a Forty Niner executive exchanged insults in a feud that stretches on today. Then, two months ago, by a 5-2 vote in closed session, the council fired Santa Clara City Attorney Brian Doyle, who had been representing the municipality in its numerous lawsuits with the team. That led Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who voted to keep Doyle, to tell the San Francisco Chronicle that she was concerned the “council majority” would rather cut a deal than continue litigating.

Santa Clara’s ugly scene mirrors contentious talks between local governments and pro sports teams from Oakland to

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F E AT U R E • was asking more than the city could prudently – or even legally – propose.

Eventually, Claire says, negotiations came down to the 12 city-owned acres in Redwood Shores. (Tim Harrison, owner of the Canyon Inn in Redwood City and a close friend of many Forty Niner players and staff who frequented his restaurant, believes the Red Morton site could never have been adequately reconfigured.)

Former Mayor Georgi LaBerge

Asked if she had felt emotionally invested in keeping the team, LaBerge replies, “Not terribly. I was more concerned about them doing the right thing with the City of Redwood City.”

Chicago to Jacksonville. And for Redwood City leaders who were around more than 30 years ago, it just seems like old times.

As with other council members from the era, former mayor Georgi LaBerge has bittersweet memories – but few, if any, regrets – about letting the Niners go.

“They just wanted too much,” says LaBerge, now 85, who joined other council members in voting to say goodbye.

Asked if she had felt emotionally invested in keeping the team, LaBerge replies, “Not terribly. I was more concerned about them doing the right thing with the City of Redwood City.”

Dick Claire, who still teaches accounting at local community colleges, was Redwood City’s mayor. He agrees the team

Irreconcilable Differences At the Shores, two sticking points emerged. First, Claire says, the longest lease the city could legally offer would have run only an ironically numbered 49 years. The Niners wanted a longer term.

Beyond that, Claire continues, the team preferred to own, rather than rent.

The city was amenable. Still, Claire, as an accounting professor, knew the value of a buck. He and others insisted on market value. Claire says the Forty Niners balked, and ultimately the council voted to part ways. Santa Clara and the Niners reportedly agreed to a 55-year lease of 12 acres near Great America, at $1,000 an acre and a 4% annual increase.

At the time, Claire says, the team was paying Redwood City around $3,000 a month for the Red Morton facility, and was two years behind on the rent. (According to news reports, the Forty Niners and the city eventually settled accounts.)

“We didn’t wish to give the store away,” former council member Bob Bury told Climate magazine columnist Mark Simon in a retrospective that Simon wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1997.

Bury, who served for 24 years and died in 2013, added, “We offered what we could.”

Even Harrison, whose nickname around town was “Mr. Forty Niner” and whose restaurant in Emerald Hills benefited greatly from its association with the team, offers a business perspective.

“As it turned out, that’s how it had to be,” Harrison says, adding that “maybe it’s

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for the best” because the city will soon be redeveloping the team’s old section of Red Morton Park. He also believes the Niners are now “right where they need to be, although Santa Clara’s kind of far away from San Francisco.”

But if Harrison is a realist, he was (and is) a fan, and a gifted promoter. Before the 1981 season, after the Niners had won just 10 games in three years, he pledged free meals to the players and staff for the whole week after every victory.

The Turnaround Team “I thought it was a pretty safe deal,” Harrison chuckles. It was – for the Niners.

In 1981, the team astonished the entire football world. Quarterback Joe Montana blossomed as a passer, young players became overnight stars, and Head Coach Bill Walsh constantly befuddled opponents.

For many fans, the breathtaking comeback against Cincinnati in the Super Bowl felt oddly anti-climactic; the Faithful were still recovering from “The Catch” by the late Dwight Clark over the Dallas Cowboys’ Everson Walls two weeks before. Walsh was crowned “The Genius,” and by the end of the 1980s, the three-time champions were the “team of the decade.”

Through it all, until the franchise moved to Santa Clara, Harrison says he made good on his promise – even intervening when a Canyon Inn employee doubted Bill Ring, a smallish running back, was a Forty Niner.

For those who believe in “doing well by doing good,” Harrison’s bet paid off in the long run. He turned the Canyon Inn into a Forty Niner shrine, attracting both publicity and customers. He started catering team events, including Walsh’s press conferences in Redwood City and gameday barbecues at Candlestick Park.

That led to more trade with local businesses, along with useful media contacts.

Even now, 23 years after the team left, Harrison says he can phone a reporter or

Canyon Inn owner Tim Harrison

Before the 1981 season, after the Niners had won just 10 games in three years, [Harrison] pledged free meals to the players and staff for the whole week after every victory.

business person in just about any industry, thanks to his network that started with the Forty Niners. Cooks at the restaurant still flip the “Hacksaw Burger” – two patties with American cheese – named after retired Forty Niner linebacker Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds. Harrison says it remains one of his best-sellers.

For Claire, especially, the debate over whether to keep or not to keep created intense cross-pressures. He had rooted ardently for the Forty Niners since 1946, their inaugural season in the short-lived All-America Football Conference. (The team joined the National Football League in 1949, when the associations merged.)

Before coming to Redwood City, the Niners practiced at the University of San Francisco, where Claire was a frequent onlooker. His father had played briefly in the pros, and Claire had coached football at Sequoia High School. According to former Mayor Brent Britschgi, the Forty Niners gave the council complimentary tickets.

The freebies may have generated more fun than influence. But of all the council members, Claire may have been the least immune to Forty Niner fever.

Photo by Reg McGovern courtesy of Janet McGovern Aided by some sharp blocking, Forty Niner quarterback Y.A. Tittle charged past a pair of Philadelphia defenders in this 1953 contest at San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium.

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A Tough Call Nonetheless, he stood firm. Like all political positions, this one exacted a cost. He says certain people – especially those who lost business – “demonized” him in the newspapers. Marine World/Africa USA, a theme park in what eventually became Redwood Shores, had left Redwood City in 1986. Around town, he says, many feared things were slipping.

“It was a tough time for me,” Claire admits. “People came up and asked, ‘How could you lose the Forty Niners?’”

Beyond the bragging rights after the team started winning, it was just a kick to have the players around. Townspeople enthusiastically recounted sightings in restaurants and grocery stores. Retired two-way player Alyn Beals, an original Forty Niner, lived near Britschgi. LaBerge resided a few doors from Charlie Krueger, an all-pro defensive lineman who spent his entire 15-year career with San Francisco. LaBerge says that in the 1970s, her son, Jeff, often played catch with Krueger, who died this year at 84.

Along with Harrison, other business people leaped into the parade. Merchants adorned their shops with Forty Niner de-

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Former Mayor Dick Claire

“It was a tough time for me,” Claire admits. “People came up and asked, ‘How could you lose the Forty Niners?’” cor. A Woodside Road pizza joint called The 5th Quarter was painted in the Forty Niners’ scarlet-and-gold. An appliance store in San Mateo adopted the popular slogan, “three-peat,” a hopeful reference

Photo by Reg McGovern courtesy of Janet McGovern Ford Motors sponsored a national Punt, Pass and Kick competition, and Forty Niners Charlie Krueger (70), Howard Mudd (68) and Gary Lewis (22) are shown in this 1967 photo giving some tips to local youths.

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to the team’s ultimately thwarted quest for a third straight Super Bowl victory in 1991.

Harrison himself donated a sign to the city that celebrated the Niners’ first two championships.

But boosterism doesn’t get deals done. According to newspaper reports, the Forty Niners in 1987 were snubbing the city’s last-minute efforts to keep them. Not even a special commission that included Britschgi and former local congressman Bill Royer could bring the team to the table. A Redwood City priest, Monsignor Peter Armstrong, frequently held services for the Niners. He offered to help. Still, nothing. Britschgi quipped at the time, “When you have God on your side and can’t succeed, you know you have problems.”

Still, in the words of the old country song, “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Released in 1990, just two years after the Forty Niners left town, the hit by Garth Brooks describes gratitude for a happy marriage after the pain of an unrequited high-school crush. The parallels with Redwood City and the Forty Niners are inescapable. And in the end – just as in the song – things worked out.

On the property in the Shores, kids attend Sandpiper School and play on Sandpiper Field. As for the Red Morton site, on Nevada Street near Roosevelt Avenue, Claire is delighted that Redwood City retained it for the public. He notes that real-estate prices, climbing even in the 1980s, now preclude the city from buying land in established neighborhoods. Recently, the old Forty Niner headquarters and two other buildings were torn down, to be replaced by a $51.1-million complex that will include a new veterans memorial building, a senior center, a swank YMCA clubhouse and a museum stuffed with Niner memorabilia.

• Rushed Contracts The council’s resolve in the 1980s contrasts with the fervor of many city leaders around the country who seem near delirious to give away public land and potential revenues in their pursuit of major-league franchises. Numerous studies challenge claims that pro sports teams and sparkling new stadiums create lasting, widespread economic benefits. Moreover, in their rush to reel in a team, cities’ negotiators sometimes write sloppy contracts or indulge in questionable judgment.

In a famous example, a vague agreement about who owned the suites at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was blamed for a damaging dispute between public officials and the then-Los Angeles Raiders. Even in Redwood City, according to a news report, an oral agreement in 1984 to raise the Forty Niners’ rent never made it onto paper. That, too, led to acrimony.

A deal in Santa Clara almost a decade ago appears to have contributed to today’s mutual disgruntlement. In a call that attracted more than a few Monday-morning quarterbacks, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority in 2012 agreed to allow a Forty Niner-related company to operate $1.31-billion Levi’s Stadium, which is owned by the public.

Much of the current tension between the city and the team can be traced to that decision. In the past few years, the city has alleged mismanagement and conflict of interest.

The Forty Niners have countered that Santa Clara’s officials have misunderstood the contract and have engaged in a “petty political vendetta.” Team officials were unable to comment further in time for this article. A spokesman for the City of Santa Clara declined comment, citing the continuing litigation..

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Former Mayor Brent Britschgi

“When you have God on your side and can’t succeed, you know you have problems.”

Starstruck City Leaders What makes all this happen? Journalist and academic Charles Euchner, author of the book, “Playing the Field: Why Sports Teams Move and Cities Fight to Keep Them,” poses an intoxicating mix of infatuation, self-importance and money.

“They’re starstruck,” Euchner says of community leaders who chase major-league teams. “They’re full of ego, and they love to be associated with something that they consider glamorous, and something that they can brag about, and something where they can be recognized.”

Euchner adds that the huge sums involved potentially allow local politicians to point rich contracts toward present and future friends who, in return, might support aspirations for higher office.

LaBerge agrees about people’s desire to share the spotlight with perceived bigshots.

“The idea that you would have sports celebrities in your community really does appeal to certain city officials,” she says.

“I’m not enamored, I suppose, by celebrities in general. I like to focus on the everyday people who are making changes in the world and our community.”

On the notion of hitting the big time, LaBerge thought then – and thinks now – that Redwood City is pretty significant already.

“I think that there are lots of other values that Redwood City has that make Redwood City a very desirable city,” she says.

“And we didn’t need to have the Forty Niners, who were trying to take advantage of us.”

LaBerge’s sharp assessment aside, most residents’ attitudes seemed to soften quickly. The Niners won three more rings, and appeared in two other Super Bowls.

Local fans cheered them all the way, and City Hall’s blueprints for the new football museum suggest a long-ago reconciliation.

Often, even when couples don’t kiss and make up, they nonetheless recall everything that brought them together. More than two decades ago, the Forty Niners and Redwood City moved on. Still, today, for the team’s many supporters in town, the warm memories remain. C

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AROUND TOWN•

Magical Bridge Unveils New Mural The Magical Bridge playground unveiled a new mosaic mural on Oct. 2. Close to 1,000 volunteers participated, with more than 20 workshops held for volunteers to learn how to break the tiles and piece together various scenes outlined.

The 2-year project was assembled indoors, putting together a 100,000 piece jigsaw puzzle, before being brought on site to be cemented into place by a crack team of artists.

Muralist Elizabeth Gomez, tapped to design the frieze, is typically a painter.

"I have painted many murals, but this is the first time I have attempted a mosaic."

But Gomez proudly adds, "Each little piece belongs to somebody. This is a mural where people can come and say 'That's my flower, that's my bird, that's my fish'."

Left: Designer Elizabeth Gomez Top: Gomez with her lead application team

Port Welcomes Visitors for A Day on the Bay Although its usual Portfest has been postponed until 2022, the Port of Redwood City held "A Day on the Bay" Oct. 2 where folks could enjoy the sun and water while grooving to live music. There were fish tacos and other savories, free ice cream, vendor booths and activities for kids— something of a scaled-down Portfest. No matter the event’s name, people seemed to be having a good time.

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Local Coptic Church Celebrates St. Mercurius Orthodox Church on Hudson Street in Redwood City held its annual celebration on Oct.9, with dance, music, food, games and other activities. Though not widely known, the earliest organized Christian church was Arabic: The Coptic Orthodox Church was established by Saint Mark in Egypt during the middle of first century.

"This is our ninth year to celebrate our heritage here in Redwood City," said event organizer Mary William. "All the foods, dance and music are traditional. Each year we invite the entire community."

Parks & Arts Foundation Says Thank You Redwood City’s Parks and Arts Foundation paid thanks to its many donors and volunteers at an Oct. 9 event at Zoppe’s Family Circus, next to the main library on Jefferson Avenue. Dinner and a show were the gift to volunteers who gave of their time at activities and events like Picnic en Blanc, Family Campout, Chalk Full of Fun and Magical Bridge.

"The Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation relies upon both the generous financial support and the volunteer time and talents of many community members. The board is very grateful for the tremendous support which is necessary in order to host the many annual events that so many enjoy,” said Foundation President Pamela Estes.

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Detouring Off the Beaten Path

Peninsula abounds with “roadside attractions”

By Heidi Van Zant Driving on the Peninsula, where familiar vistas are continually being transformed by sophisticated high-tech offices and ultra-contemporary residences, it may seem like there’s “nothing to see here” when it comes to the unusual or even a little offbeat; nothing re-maining that’s startling enough to hit the brakes for a second look.

Call them “roadside attractions,” but they’re still here all right: A castle. A cemetery with a clown. A bowling alley sign relocated to a car wash. All have back stories—some qualify as bona fide “histories.” Some of the local landmarks have been controversial. Each rewards the curious in various ways, perhaps with a smile, perhaps a pleasant memory.

Climate chose these eight for a closer look: • Circus Folks of America Memorial, Olivet Memorial Park, 1601 Hillside Blvd., Colma (located in the back left side of the cemetery in Section J). This huge granite headstone with the cheerful gold clown on the front is more touching than funny.

Erected in 1945 when the Showfolks of America held its annual convention in San Francisco, this homage to the carnies and clowns of the world reads, “That they may rest in peace among their own.” Creepy clown sentiments notwithstanding, the memorial is actually a rather lovely, respectful place of repose under the towering trees, aptly known as “Showman’s Rest.” The last carnival worker was buried there in the mid-1990s.

• Sam’s Castle, 900 Mirador Terrace, Pacifica. This landmark sitting high over Highway 1 has been dropping jaws since 1908 when the grandparents of former Rep. Pete McCloskey built the 24-room man-

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sion to look like a castle. Over the years its uses included a speakeasy and World War II military lookout, generating ghost stories galore before being abandoned. It was love at first sight for San Francisco interior designer and contractor Sam Mazza who bought the castle in 1959, then spent the rest of his life filling Sam’s Castle, as it came to be known, with art finds and good times. After his death in 2002 the Sam Mazza Foundation was created to host community events, tours and fund-raisers to benefit local community groups.

Now temporarily closed and covered in scaffolding for renovations, it’s best to see Sam’s Castle on foot from a safe distance from the road. “At first, it creeps you out – all the stories you hear,” construction worker Andrew Sandoval said one recent morning. “I feel the ‘vibe’ and I’m glad I’m not working on the inside.”

• Flintstone House, 45 Berryessa Way, Hillsborough. Perhaps this tony town’s most famous – and for some, infamous – mansion is best seen whizzing by at 65 mph from the I-280 north freeway below.

Exposed for all the world and miles of motorists to see each day, this home of funny concrete domes and round rooms caused grief from Day One for the shocked Town of Hillsborough. First sprouting in 1976 from its prominent hillside perch, bad feelings ensued immediately amid claims by neighbors that it was an eyesore that violated local design sensibilities. Owners came and went, the house color got changed from white to orange, and neighbors dubbed it the “Flintstone House.”

When the newest owner, businesswoman Florence Fang, bought the place for $2.8 million in 2017, she added purple to the exterior color scheme and a mindboggling array of Flintstone characters, cartoonish prehistoric animals and colorful mushrooms. Hillsborough sued on the grounds her garden needed a city permit because of its size, and Fang sued back that the town was trying to intimidate her out of her love for Barney and Fred. Both sides just settled last summer, with Fang receiving $125,000 and the right to keep her Bedrock.

• • Father Junipero Serra statue. Hillsborough rest stop on I-280, north of the Highway 92 intersection.

Because of vandalism, the 26-foot-tall statue now sits behind lock and key, still ignobly overlooking the restrooms.

Ana Yala, the attendant on duty during the day, estimates that on weekends she might have five or six requests but usually none during the week. The pudgy statue with big toes was erected in 1976 in a prime location with sweeping views of the Crystal Springs Watershed. From the start it was the target of pranksters and was recently splashed with red paint. San Carlos artist Louis DuBois donated the $2,000 cost of the statue, designed it and built the metal framework. But the application of the plaster coating was left to others reportedly including a mystery man named Mario who may have taken artistic license with the face to resemble his. The rest stop became a magnet for crime, made headlines when a homeless man took up residence to become its caretaker before a falling out with the state, and was closed for several years before being remodeled and reopened in 2011. The once-revered Roman Catholic priest credited with establishing Franciscan missions in early California is seen by many today in a much harsher light and appropriately deserving of a funky statue.

• Mel’s Bowl neon sign, Redwood City Car Wash, 215 El Camino Real, Redwood City.

No, there’s no bowling while getting the car washed but there is some pretty good Redwood City nostalgia. The 41-foot-tall sign was moved to the car wash in 2012 after the closure of Mel’s Bowl, further south at 2580 El Camino Real where the sign stood since 1960. Steve Stern, 80, a lifelong San Mateo County resident, stopped to get his car detailed recently and admired the sign. “This

C H A N G I N G C L I M AT E • is nice to see. Everything’s so homogenized these days,” he said. One side of the sign has been left as-is but the other has been adapted to advertise the car wash. But both sides still display the sign’s original, jaunty promise of “Family Fun.” • Woody the Carved Fish.

In the corner of the parking lot in front of Buck’s Restaurant, 3062 Woodside Road, Woodside. Granted, as roadside attractions go, Woody the Carved Fish is, ahem, a modest offering in the world of wacky stuff. His origins are in a bit of a dispute: Was he carved into a silver salmon from one redwood log in the early 1900s

by Enoch Kadashan as legend and the plaque proclaim? Or was he whittled in 1974 for his first home at a fish hatchery in Orick and moved? Woody’s mum on the subject while the locals continue to treat him as a celebrity of sorts no matter what his birthright may be. “He gets decorated for all the holidays. I love it,” Woodside resident Nan Baly said with affection on her morning stroll as she gave Woody, now festooned in his latest Oktoberfest finery, the once-over.

• Facebook Thumbs-up billboard, 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park. The newest of the landmarks on Climate’s roadside attractions round-up, this giant thumb— yep that one—is the ubiquitous Facebook thumbs-up “Like” symbol. It’s the one with the white hand and big thumb seen billions of times across the social media world. Positioned at the busy intersection of the Bayfront Expressway and Willow Road, the billboard stands sentry to Facebook’s bayfront headquarters at 1 Hacker Way. The foundation for the sign is the original Sun Microsystems monument, which was turned around a decade ago and covered with the ”Like” symbol when

Facebook took over the campus. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg reportedly wanted to send a message to employees that they’d best stay on their toes and keep Facebook relevant to avoid a fate like Sun’s.

“Like” fans can have a photo op from the car window or park behind the sign on the Facebook campus and use the crosswalk.

• Trompe-l’oeil murals, downtown Palo Alto.

The outlandish murals of aliens crash-landing their spaceship into the side of a building or a man trying to cut the cables above an elevator are still getting smiles and doubletakes long after artist Greg Brown picked up his paintbrush to poke fun at the seriousness of life in his hometown in 1975. Using the style of art that creates an optical illusion, Brown was the city’s first Artist in Residence. “The Greg Brown murals are indeed treasured by the community and still delight visitors and residents,” said Elise DeMarzo, director of the Public Art Program for the City of Palo Alto. At Comerica Bank, the “Poor Parking Skills” alien mural adorns a wall over the parking lot while on another wall across the lot is a mural of aliens on a staircase being greeted by a bellhop. “People ask about them all the time,” branch manager Mehran Farahani said. For information about where to find the murals, check the cityofpaloalto. org website and search for “special projects and events” under the public art program.

C

November 2021 ·

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PROFILE •

Holiday Events G

18 · CLIMATE · November 2021

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PROFILE •

etting Back on Track

December traditions are returning after a pandemic pause

By Janet McGovern

Months before the creatures are stirring at the North Pole, Ross Peterson is already working on a vehicle that—with all due respect—leaves Santa’s sleigh in the dust, pizazz-wise. Extravagantly festooned with decorations, when the Caltrain Holiday Train inches into a station mobbed with kids, it’s as if a brilliantly lighted barge is coming down the tracks, with the royal family Claus—and a brass band! and carolers! – aboard.

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• Peterson has volunteered on every holiday train since the first one 20 years ago, when he was tasked with figuring out how to keep enormous toy soldiers and candy canes attached to moving railroad cars—and 50,000-plus lights glowing for the train’s full run. The San Mateo resident and railroad buff applied skills he uses in his commercial bakery sales, installation and repair business to cook up what for thousands of families has become a holiday tradition.

“The best thing about it is seeing the faces,” Peterson says. “That’s it in a nutshell. I enjoy the challenge. There’s a lot of technology here. There’s a lot of education that I have to have that I draw on to do this. But the reason I do it is, on that first trip on that first stop when the doors open and you look out at the crowd.

That’s it. And all the kids, all the faces.

And remember ‘kids’ is defined as anybody between zero and 95. Over 95, oh they might still be there.”

Last year the Covid pandemic pulled the rug out from under the Caltrain Holiday Train and other popular events. Redwood City’s Hometown Holidays parade became a parade of decorated cars; gift bags were handed to the kids inside. Both Bethlehem A.D. and Casa Circulo Cultural’s 10th annual Day of the Dead Festival happened—but “virtually.” This year, with pandemic restrictions hopefully easing, organizers and volunteers are working to bring these events back out of hibernation, although it’s a gamble that the coast will entirely clear if Covid controls tighten unexpectedly.

Hoping for the Best “Fingers crossed,” Caltrain spokesman Dan Lieberman says, amid uncoiling strings of stars for the caboose. “What we don’t want to do is find out the weekend before that you can’t have an event with more than 10 people.” The holiday train is scheduled the nights of Dec. 4 and 5,

20 · CLIMATE · November 2021

PROFILE • when it arrives at a station and calls out “Evening everybody!” to signal the start of the show.

Ross Peterson

"I enjoy the challenge. There’s a lot of technology here. There’s a lot of education that I have to have that I draw on to do this." and if it’s grounded by Covid-related restrictions, he says, “I’ll be upset. But I’m just trying to think positively and hope for the best—and tell everyone I know to wash their hands and hopefully we have an event.”

Come what may, since October holiday train volunteers have been spending their Saturdays at Caltrain’s San Francisco rail yard decorating the train. Similarly, Bethlehem A.D. organizers forged ahead with an Oct. 2 recruitment rally for the hundreds of people required to turn a vacant lot on Middlefield Road into the village where Christ was born 2,000-plus years ago and populate it with Roman soldiers, rabbis and other reenactors to bring it to life for three nights before Christmas—Dec. 21, 22 and 23.

Derry Kabcenell, a retired Oracle executive with a degree in electrical engineering from MIT, got involved in the holiday train years ago because he knew Peterson through other volunteer activity.

Kabcenell, who ended up coming back year after year, rides the train costumed as an elf. He’s the first one off the train

Many Rewards “I find it a lot of fun,” the Portola Valley resident says, pausing before working on the snow machine. “It’s a combination of a public service thing, a chance to tinker, which I enjoy doing, and a great diverse bunch of volunteers who are out here.

And something to do on Saturdays in the fall. Last year was kind of a tough year because every Saturday I felt like I should be someplace else. “ Once hooked, volunteers like Pat Pfeiffer of Redwood City (aka “head decorator”) have found it hard to stay away. She missed one year because of foot surgery.

Another year when she showed up noticeably ill, fellow volunteers ordered her home. Though it will be “upsetting” if this year’s event doesn’t happen, Pfeiffer says the thrill of seeing delighted holiday train audiences keeps her coming back.

She enlisted fellow Redwood City resident Kathy Ailand, who says her job is to “follow Pat around and do what’s needed. I really don’t know anything about electricity.” If the event ends up being cancelled and the train has to be un-decorated before it even runs, Ailand is philosophical: “It’ll be disappointing,” she says. “But it will run again.”

When the train rolls into stations, Santa Claus and other holiday mainstays get off and go into the crowd to meet kids, pose for photos and hand out candy canes.

Meanwhile, a Salvation Army brass band and a chorus perform sing-along carols.

The holiday train also benefits the Marines Toys for Tots program, and the audience is asked to drop a new, unwrapped toy into barrels or hand it to a Marine. People who want to go this year should check out caltrain.com for details about donating toys, as well as the train schedule—and if it is indeed running.

• Donations and Help Needed Paula Dresden, Bethlehem A.D.’s creative director, says this will be the outdoor nativity’s 29th year, and “the people who are involved in it were a little sad” when it happened last year only virtually. It’s a challenge to ramp back up again, and more volunteers are still needed to fill some 350 roles of various kinds, from re-enactors to construction crews.

Donations to cover security and other costs for the free event are also lagging, though Dresden adds, “I feel that we’re going to be okay.” Anyone who would like to volunteer or to contribute can go to bethlehemad.com for information.

Dresden says the walk-through event will be put on in conformance with county health department rules, which may require that visitors enter the gates of Bethlehem in separated groups. If things change and it becomes necessary, she says, a drive-through will be a fallback option.

Sue Ann and Kwame Eason of East Palo Alto have participated in putting on Bethlehem A.D. for eight years. She works with the 100-plus children who rotate through different areas of the Biblical town as members of the 12 tribes of Israel. They may get a lesson on the Hebrew language, move to another location with manger animals, and on to another to make their own bread.

“They’re very much part of presenting the story,” Sue Ann Eason explains. “It’s designed for them to have fun at the same time as they are learning.”

Her husband, meanwhile, throws himself into his role as the innkeeper, who calls out to arriving visitors that Bethlehem is so full that “a lovely couple from Nazareth—this woman is with child—and my wife would not let me turn them away.”

Kwame Eason says he missed not being able to play the role last year. “It seemed like March went on forever,” he says. “… Nothing felt right last year.” He

PROFILE •

enjoys interacting with the crowd and says, “I try to bring you into the scene.”

As she does every year, Robin Nielsen will bring farm animals from her ranch in Woodside. She appreciates that the nativity story is told without “uncomfortable and difficult” proselytizing. “We don’t encounter that here and my kids can learn about Bethlehem and the Bible and Jesus without being pressured, which I think is more valuable in terms of making decisions on your fundamental beliefs.” She and two other families stay for three full days to ensure Bethlehem A.D.’s barnyard authenticity.

A Hometown Comeback Hometown Holidays—a staple going back at least a decade—is returning to downtown Redwood City Dec. 4, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. “This is a Christmas present from the Downtown Business Group and the city to the people who live in our community and their families,” says DBG Executive Director Regina Van Brunt. “We’re very excited and hope that people come out for this Covid-modified event.

Photos with Santa (from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) will be outdoors under the Fox Theatre marquee, rather than inside the history museum across the street. “We’re

LET IT SNOW!

taking many steps to be Covid-safe,” Van Brunt adds, including a reduced number of vendors. There will still be food, entertainment on Courthouse Square, and a shorter-than-usual children’s parade, starting at 4:30 p.m. The event culminates in a tree-lighting at 5:45 p.m.

The Day of the Dead Festival is also modified because of the pandemic. The main event takes place Nov. 7 on Courthouse Square, with dancers, singers, face-painting, vendors, and speeches, starting at 4 p.m. So many visitors crowd into the San Mateo County History Museum to see the traditional Día de los Muertos ceremonial altars that they will be on view starting Nov. 1 to spread out the crowds, according to Veronica Escamez, founding director of Casa Circulo Cultural, which organizes the festival.

“We go to the downtown at 6 o’clock in the morning [Nov. 7] and transform it into a little town in Mexico,” she says. The Day of the Dead has “nothing to do with morbid stuff. It’s more like a celebration of life. … It’s a happy moment when you remember how they were. It’s a celebration of life.”

And post-Covid, perhaps even a more “normal” life. C

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November 2021 ·

CLIMATE · 21

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M I C R O C L I M AT E •

Going Greener: Redwood City trees multiply thanks to CityTrees volunteers

By Aimee Lewis Strain A Chinese proverb states that “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” This proverb was taken to heart by two longtime Redwood City residents who, 21 years ago, were focused on the success and growth of trees citywide and set out on a mission to create a volunteer program dedicated to improving the urban tree canopy. What started with the planting of one tree 21 years ago has grown into a program that has successfully planted 3,800 trees and pruned more than 4,000 throughout the city.

CityTrees was founded in 2000 by Mount Carmel neighbors Jane Taylor and Jack Stephens. The organization was Taylor’s brainchild and occurred to her when she was volunteering for the Public Works Department in 1998. While maintaining the city’s tree database, she observed that certain public spaces were deficient in trees.

Stephens got involved by organizing a group of volunteers to help the city plant and maintain trees.

“We were fortunate to have then-Mayor Ira Ruskin, who was very interested in the health of the environment, who gave us helpful pointers on what to do to get started,” Taylor said. “We began a simple steering committee and began to search for funding. We went to farmers' markets to educate people and laid out a simple tree-planting agenda,” she said.

Within about nine months, the group received a grant for operating expenses from Safe Trees and a second grant to purchase trees from California ReLeaf. CityTrees soon received a $50,000 grant from Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which also helped get the process started, according to Taylor.

22 · CLIMATE · November 2021

Volunteer Power But the operation has only been able to see success due to its dedicated volunteers and the city’s support, Taylor said. Since CityTrees’ inception, Redwood City—and the Public Works Department in particular— have assisted the volunteers in the organization of the planting and pruning trees on city-owned property. Public Works also provides professional arborists to train volunteers, Taylor said.

Trees are delivered to the corporation yard, and city staff scouts locations to determine where they are needed. Public Works also delivers the CityTrees tool trailer to the volunteers at planting sites, Stephens said.

“The success of this program relies on the commitment from the City of Redwood City and the many volunteers who see the significance of tree planting and what trees do for an urban environment and open space,” Taylor said. “Trees are so important for climate change and this project goes way beyond simply the aesthetic and beautification because there are so many benefits in having trees. It helps local wildlife live and thrive, it shades property, reduces

wind, reduces heat on sidewalks and roadways, and much more.”

CityTrees has touched virtually every neighborhood in Redwood City, with major projects including 49 Bay trees on Main Street from Maple Street to Woodside Road, and the trees that are planted on virtually every school yard in the Redwood City School District. A row of leafy Evergreen trees is growing on the former Redwood Roller Rink site, as is a line of large autumn, purple Ash trees at Taft School, Taylor said.

Diversity of Involvement Stephens admits that the planting and pruning of trees is a huge factor in his involvement in CityTrees, but he values most the community involvement aspect. “This is such a collaborative effort. There is such a breadth of people who come out to plan, from kids in YMCA programs, Rotarians, Stanford students, to 6-year-old Girl Scouts who are about the height of shovel,” Stephens said.

“I am so impressed with the fact that so many people are willing to come out and work together and give up their Saturday

•

to make the world a better place. That really lights me up,” said Stephens, who is also a member of the Peninsula Starlight Rotary.

Regular planting events run from October through April, as these months give a tree the best opportunity to thrive. Fall planting is optimal so a tree can establish its root system to support the growth above, according to Nancy Radcliffe, CityTrees board member and the organization’s first volunteer.

Plantings typically take place the third Saturday of every month. Typically 20 volunteers show up, working from 9 a.m. to noon, assigned to small groups with a planting captain. The day gets started with a planting demonstration to teach the volunteers what to do, Radcliffe said.

The captain leads crews, and each team is responsible for clean-up and returning the equipment to the CityTrees trailer.

M I C R O C L I M AT E •

CityTrees also has a vibrant tree pruning program, open to anyone who has attended a pruning seminar to learn how to selectively remove growth. CityTrees recently launched “Prune and Pub” events, mixing late-afternoon pruning followed by social time at a local pub. “We hold these events mid-week after work and prune trees for three or four blocks and then we hit a local establishment to make sure we don’t dehydrate,” Stephens joked.

Radcliffe added, “These events are so much fun. A big part of what we wanted to accomplish with CityTrees was the community development aspect, so it’s great to get out together socially after we prune, and we’re supporting local businesses too.”

Now entering its third decade, the organization is going strong. With a 14-member board, City Trees hopes to expand on its success. Revisiting the city’s tree ordinance is a goal, as it was written 50 years

ago at a time when climate change was not a factor, according to Taylor.

“I am so proud of this accomplishment, 20 years later we are still going strong and it is so powerful to see how a group of volunteers can make such a positive impact,” Taylor said.

CityTrees’ focus remains on future environmental health, so that old Chinese proverb holds hope, as the best time to act is now. To get involved with CityTrees, visit citytrees.org. C

Beyond Planting

November 2021 ·

CLIMATE · 23

•

SPOTLIGHT•

Safe Harbor

24 · CLIMATE · November 2021

•

SPOTLIGHT•

for an Ice Rink?

Skating enthusiasts hitch their hopes to a bayside development

By Janet McGovern

Tim Hennessey skated on frozen ponds in the Boston area growing up. “The rinks were everywhere,” he recalls. “You go back there now, the rinks are all over the place.” On the Peninsula, by contrast, the number is down to just one—in San Mateo—following a nail-biter battle several years ago by local skaters lobbying for the site to remain a rink.

November 2021 ·

CLIMATE · 25

• Hennessey wants to get that number up to at least two. A commercial real estate investment executive who plays in an adult ice hockey league, he’s on the board of a nonprofit foundation which would like to build and operate an ice rink east of the Bayshore Freeway, where the Malibu Grand Prix entertainment complex used to be.

Hennessey says he and the two other members of the Mid-Peninsula Ice Rink Foundation “just saw these rinks disappearing and we decided to try to take action and form a nonprofit and go figure out a way to try to get land to develop an ice rink to replace the ice rinks that have been lost.”

That effort led them to the Jay Paul Company of San Francisco, the developer of the proposed Harbor View high-tech office campus, which is expected to come before the Redwood City Council early next year. The Malibu Ice Center would occupy two acres of land on the 27-acre site on Blomquist Street under a nominal lease and be set aside for recreation for 99 years, according to Hennessey.

On Donated Land “The reality is the biggest challenge here is to get the land for effectively free,” he says. “I think our view is once the land is secured under this long-term ground lease, that we would have no problem bringing people to the table who could either build it and/or operate it. … So we’re trying to duplicate the idea of the Boston rinks but without asking the taxpayers of the city to raise money.”

The Harbor View project would require a General Plan and Zoning Map amendment to allow for a modern office or life sciences tenant, as the site is now zoned for light industrial and port-related uses. The project has met stiff opposition during public meetings, and in response, Jay Paul reduced the number of proposed

26 · CLIMATE · November 2021

SPOTLIGHT• Redwood City rink because the San Mateo rink at the time wasn’t open.

The owner of the Bridgepointe Shopping Center property had effectively shut it down in 2013 and applied to the city to rezone the site for retail. After a prolonged fight which brought out ice skating forces to “Save Our Rink,” the owner had a change of heart in 2017 and the rink reopened. It’s now called the Nazareth Ice Oasis San Mateo. In 2020, the Redwood City rink closed.

Tim Hennessey

"So we’re trying to duplicate the idea of the Boston rinks but without asking the taxpayers of the city to raise money.” office buildings from four to three and the square footage by about a third. A community center which was in the original plan but had environmental issues was replaced in March with the ice rink, after skating advocates presented their cause to the developer.

Adam Alberti, Climate’s publisher, is managing director of Singer Associates, a communications company which represents Jay Paul.

A decade ago, three ice rinks were open in San Mateo County: the San Mateo rink, at the Bridgepointe Shopping Center; Belmont Iceland; and Nazareth Ice Oasis in Redwood City; all older facilities sitting on very valuable land for commercial development. Hennessey was a member of a hockey league which played at the Belmont rink for many years, and after it closed in 2016, his only back-up was the

Teaming Up Amid the uncertainty over the future of ice rinks, Hennessey joined with Silicon Valley technology executive Michael Strambi of Burlingame and San Mateo resident Ray Miolla, a lifelong hockey player who is the chief development officer of Planet Fitness and led its global expansion.

They formed the Mid-Peninsula Ice Rink Foundation with an initial goal of pursuing an ice rink on city land in Burlingame where a driving range was located.

They were outbid by Topgolf, but decided to continue to seek a couple of acres for a rink elsewhere. After Nazareth’s Redwood City rink closed, Hennessey was invited to participate last December in an online town hall meeting with city leaders to brainstorm ways to create a rink.

The forum was hosted by the Silicon Valley Ice Skating Association, which coalesced in response to the threatened loss of ice rinks in Belmont and San Mateo. Hennessey participated in the Zoom town hall, which included City Council members Ian Bain and Giselle Hale. One of the ideas that came out of the meeting was seeking corporate sponsorships, but “a light bulb went off for me,” says Hennessey, when someone suggested that skating enthusiasts seek developers with large projects who might donate money or land.

•

SPOTLIGHT•

“I understand developers are always trying to make their project more appealing with shiny objects and things the community wants,” Bain says. “I don’t think that’s how the council makes a decision. They’re not going to approve the project because they want an ice-skating rink."

Hennessey knew about some of the larger projects in Redwood City, including Harbor View, and approached Jay Paul about putting an ice rink where a community center was to go.

“I think they learned that there’s a very large skating contingent on the mid-Peninsula that has lost a lot of recreational opportunities through the loss of these rinks,” Hennessey observes.” So the Harbor View project was reconfigured to include a skating rink.

Two Ways to Proceed If the project—with a rink— goes ahead, Hennessey’s team could find a contractor/operator; or they could develop the project themselves and lease it to an operator, such as the San Jose Sharks or the Nazareth organizations. Hennessey says the foundation board is committed to creating a rink that will be open for everyone, from

figure skating and ice dancing to girls’ hockey and public skating.

“I’m not just about hockey. I’m really about recreation more than anything else, especially for youth and getting kids off electronics and on the ice.”

Joyce Burden of San Carlos is the longtime treasurer of the Peninsula Figure Skating Club, which before the pandemic had 440 members, ranging in age from 4 to 89. The Bay Area, she notes, has produced quality skaters, among them Brian Boitano, Karen Chen, Polina Edmunds, and Kristi Yamaguchi, but finding affordable ice time nowadays is difficult. Many figure skaters have to travel to San Jose or San Francisco.

“My whole theory is you’ve got to keep the kids busy,” says Burden, a former pairs and dance competitor. She supports an ice rink—if it’s “done right” and is well managed. “And Redwood City has got to look

at the kids. … That’s the future of the city and they’ve got to have things available and especially for kids that don’t have the finances, the families can’t afford (it), they have to have programs. And the ice rink is perfect. They love it, they have fun, they have team work. That’s my soapbox.”

Sarah Feldman, a former competitive figure skater who is CEO and co-founder of the Silicon Valley Ice Skating Association, used to train in Belmont. Her group, which has 500 Facebook followers and a mailing list of about 20,000, has lobbied to keep rinks open and will lobby on behalf of the one proposed in Redwood City.

“All of these different ice sports are able to benefit from having the rink and those are all sorts of different folks from toddlers to teenagers, to young adults, adults, retired folks,” she says. “That capacity is possible at any rink, with good management of course, and by having one

November 2021 ·

CLIMATE · 27

•

SPOTLIGHT• Left: Sarah Feldman (second from right, in dark blue shirt) with Olympian Polina Edmunds and members of the Silicon Valley Ice Skating Association steering committee for a Robots on Ice event in 2020.

“You don’t even have to be an ice skater to enjoy it. … I have no shortage of ideas on how to make this engaging and welcoming for everyone.”

in Redwood City, it opens up more recreation for everyone.” Jay Paul is providing $150,000 toward the goal of encouraging access for users from all circumstances.

Engaging the Community Olenka Villarreal, CEO and cofounder of the Magical Bridge Foundation, which sponsors accessible playgrounds including the one at Red Morton Park, will serve on a community engagement committee if the rink becomes a reality.

She’s taken her daughter to the ice rink in Palo Alto, where the teachers put her in a chair and glide Ava over the ice. “She loves the feeling of cool air on her face,” Villarreal says. “You don’t even have to be an ice skater to enjoy it. … I have no shortage of ideas on how to make this engaging and welcoming for everyone.”

Bain, who is no longer on the council, is also on the committee. He’s long been vocal about the loss of family-friendly entertainment, including Malibu Grand Prix, the Redwood Roller Rink and the Ice Oasis, and would like Redwood City to have an ice rink. That said, he’s sure that the City Council will consider the entire Harbor View project on its merits.

“I understand developers are always trying to make their project more appealing with shiny objects and things the community wants,” Bain says. “I don’t think that’s how the council makes a decision. They’re not going to approve the project because they want an ice-skating rink. It may be a factor in some people’s decision-making but I think they’re going to be looking at things like zoning and

how it’s going to benefit the community in other ways. Community benefits are just one aspect.”

No matter what, Hennessey says his board won’t give up. “We’re not going to fold up shop if this doesn’t work,” he says, “but this is as close as we have gotten to try to secure the land necessary to build an ice rink.” C

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H I S T O•R YC LbI M y A J iTmE • Clifford•

Sandra Day O’Connor’s Career Started in Redwood City I eagerly awaited a recent television documentary about Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman named to the Supreme Court of the United States. I fully expected to hear the narrator mention that Redwood City played a role in O’Connor breaking the so-called “glass ceiling.” Not a peep. Instead the PBS documentary focused on jobs she didn’t get in her early career. Needless to say I was disappointed, but I will say it anyway. I was disappointed. O’Connor started her legal career in 1952 when she was hired by San Mateo County. It must be conceded, however, that when she broke gender barriers, “glass ceiling” literally meant a skylight.

Sandra Day graduated from Stanford in 1952 in a class that included William Rehnquist who would go on to become Chief Justice. The class also included John O’Connor whom she married six months after graduation. At the time, the only jobs in law offices open to women were apparently for office secretaries. In a 1999 interview, O’Connor said she was told at one firm “We’ve never hired a woman, and frankly, I don’t think we ever will.” In her 2004 commencement speech at Stanford, O’Connor had more to say about the gender barrier that stood in her way in private practice. She said discrimination was “more easily hurdled in the public sector” where she found “encouragement from good mentors who were more genuine.”

Mentoring a Future Judge Those mentors included San Mateo County District Attorney Louis Dematteis, whose prestigious career garnered head-

30 · CLIMATE · November 2021

lines for his crime-busting efforts against entrenched illegal activities, including gambling. He was also known for fairness in hiring, having already added a female attorney to his staff. In a television interview in 2002, O’Connor, who served on the Supreme Court from 1981 to 2006, called Dematteis “a wonderful man” who “once had a woman on his staff, a lawyer, and I thought, ‘well, if he could have one, he could have another.’”

Dematteis’ son Lou said his Italian-American father knew what being discriminated against was like. A Dematteis family treasure is a framed portrait of O’Connor that was presented to Lillian Dematteis. It is signed “For Lillian Dematteis, whose husband gave me my first job as a lawyer.”

Another of O’Connor’s mentors was Keith Sorenson, her immediate supervisor.

Then deputy district attorney, Sorenson moved up to DA when Dematteis became a superior court judge. O’Connor resigned from her job in the county courthouse in Redwood City in 1954 and moved to Germany with her husband, who was then a lawyer with the U.S. Army. Once in Germany, she became a civilian attorney for the Army.

Learning to Work Hard O’Connor’s autobiography was published in 2002, but rather than a snappy legal phrase or pun, the book is entitled “Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest.” She grew up branding cattle on the family ranch in Arizona, an experience that developed her faith in hard work, eventually leading to securing a judgeship and election to the Arizona Senate.

Her friends from ranching days included the late Karma O’Dell, a member of a writing group at the Redwood City Veteran’s Center who passed away in 2008. O’Connor’s name popped up during a discussion at one session, according to a member of the group who quoted O’Dell as saying “Oh, I know Sandra Day. She’s just the nicest girl. Not stuck up at all! We went to school together and still write occasionally.”

A letter O’Connor wrote when she learned of Odell’s death is a cherished item in the writing group’s scrapbook: “We were good friends as children in El Paso.

Although we did not often meet as adults, she was a cherished friend. She brightened many lives.”

In 2018 O’Connor wrote a letter addressed to her “friends and fellow Americans” in which she disclosed she was “diagnosed with the beginning of dementia, probably Alzheimer’s.” O’Connor, who was inducted into San Mateo County’s Women’s Hall of Fame in 2015, was born in 1930 on the 26th of March—Women’s History Month. She and her husband, who died in 1981, had three children. C

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Shop where designers, architects & contractors shop Always honest competitive pricing, industry wide selection and extraordinary assistance to guide you to your perfect kitchen, laundry or outdoor living space.

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daviesappliance.com • (650) 366-5728 • 1580 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063 Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 8:30am - 6pm • Friday & Saturday 8:30am - 5pm • Closed Sunday/Monday