Palo Alto Weekly 02.05.2010 - Section 1 by Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto

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Special section

Love Is in the Air Page 35

w w w.PaloA ltoOnline.com

The

antitrust advocate Veteran Palo Alto attorney Gary Reback takes aim at Google [PAGE 16]

Pulse 12

Spectrum 14

Eating Out 25

Movies 27

Puzzles 52

N Arts Who says Yiddish is a dead language?

Page 20

N Sports Stanford signs top recruiting class

Page 30

N Home Barron Park: A rural throwback to the past Page 41

Community Health Education Programs Palo Alto Center 795 El Camino Real

Mountain View Center 701 E. El Camino Real

Lecture and Workshops Targeted Therapy: What is it and Why Do We Need it? Presented by David Leibowitz, M.D., PAMF Hematology and Oncology Tuesday, Feb. 9, 7 – 8:30 p.m., 650-853-4873

Living Well Classes 650-853-2960 Functional Spine Training First Monday of each month, 5 – 6:30 p.m., 650-853-4873

Managing Your High Blood Pressure Monday, Feb. 8, 3 – 5 p.m.

What You Need to Know About Warfarin (Coumadin) Call for dates and time.

Adult Weight Management Group Thursdays, 5:30 – 7 p.m.

Living Well with Diabetes Tuesdays, 4:30 – 7 p.m., or Fridays, 9:30 – noon

Bariatric Pre-Op Class First Tuesday of each month, 9:30 a.m. – noon

Heart Smart Class Third and fourth Tuesday of every other month, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Prediabetes First Monday of the month, 9 – 11:30 a.m., and every other month of the third Wednesday, 4:30 – 7 p.m.

Preparing for Birth Wednesdays, Feb. 3 – Mar. 10, 7 – 9:15 p.m., Saturday/Sunday, Feb. 20 & 21, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

HMR Weight Management Program 650-404-8260 Free orientation session. Tuesdays, noon – 1 p.m., and Thursdays, 5 – 6:30 p.m.

Heart Smart Class Second Tuesday of each month, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Gestational Diabetes Wednesdays, 2 – 4 p.m., 650-853-2961

Diabetes Class (two-part class) Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. – noon and Wednesdays, 2 – 4:30 p.m. Prediabetes Third Thursday of each month, 2 – 4 p.m. Fourth Tuesday of each month, 3 – 5 p.m. Sweet Success Gestational Diabetes Class Wednesdays, 9 a.m. – noon

Healthy Eating Type 2 Diabetes Every other month on the third Wednesday, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Pregnancy, Breastfeeding and Child Care Classes Introduction to Solids Monday, Feb. 22, 10:30 a.m. – noon

Infant/Child CPR Monday, Feb. 22, 6 – 8 p.m.

Feeding Your Toddler Thursdays every other month. Also in Los Altos, 650-853-2961

Baby Care Saturday, Feb. 27, 10:30 a.m. – noon

Preparing for Baby Tuesday, Feb. 9, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Feeding Your Preschooler Thursdays every other month. Also in Los Altos, 650-853-2961

Breastfeeding Your Newborn Monday, Feb. 8, 6:30 – 9 p.m.

Pregnancy, Breastfeeding & Child Care Classes 650-853-2960 Moving Through Pregnancy Mondays, Feb. 1, 8 & 22, 7 – 9 p.m.

Effective Communication Strategies with Children Marvin Small Memorial Parent Workshop Series Presented by Susan Stone-Belton, ParentsPlace Tuesday, Mar. 9, 7 – 8:30 p.m.

Nutrition and Diabetes Classes 650-934-7177

Nutrition and Diabetes Classes 650-853-2961

Bariatric Nutrition SMA First Tuesday of each month, 10:30 a.m. – noon

Lecture and Workshops 650-934-7373

Preparing for Birth - A Refresher Sunday, Feb. 7, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Infant Emergencies and CPR Wednesday, Feb. 3 & 17, 6 – 8:30 p.m.

Breastfeeding: Secrets for Success Thursday, Feb. 25, 7 – 9 p.m.

What to Expect with Your Newborn Tuesday, Feb. 16, 7 – 8 p.m.

Introduction to Solids Offered in Palo Alto. Please call for dates, 650-853-2961.

Childbirth Preparation Fridays or Saturdays, Feb. 5 or 6, 6 to 9 p.m. For all, register online or call 650-934-7373.

Support Groups Cancer 650-342-3749 CPAP 650-853-4729 Diabetes 650-224-7872

Drug and Alcohol 650-853-2904 Healing Imagery for Cancer Patients 650-799-5512

Kidney 650-323-2225 Multiple Sclerosis 650-328-0179

Free Appointments 650-934-7373 HICAP Counseling, Advance Health Care Directive Counseling, General Social Services (visits with our social worker)

Support Groups AWAKE Support Group 650-934-7373

For a complete list of classes and class fees, lectures and health education resources, visit: pamf.org. Page 2ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

Palo Alto group seeks to bridge gap between police, community New Community Advisory Group offers the Police Department ‘candid’ advice behind closed doors by Gennady Sheyner alo Alto’s newest citizen commission includes an East Palo Alto pastor, a Palo Alto High School student, a retired bank executive, a former Palo Alto mayor and a local resident who had publicly accused Palo Alto police officers of racially profiling her. Its members’ ages range from 16 to 84 and their backgrounds and

occupations are similarly varied. Since late October, members have been meeting once a month with a small group of Palo Alto police officers to swap police stories and bone up on police laws and procedures. The goal, according to the group’s vision statement, is to “address the concerns of the community and enhance the relationship between the

police and citizens in order to assure fair and impartial policing.” But in recent weeks, several members of the City Council publicly questioned the less-than-transparent nature of the new Community Advisory Group, which the city created last year to improve communications between the police department and the community. At last week’s joint meeting of the City Council and the Human Relations Commission, Councilman Yiaway Yeh asked for a list of “pros and cons” for keeping the meetings closed to the public.

Councilwoman Gail Price said she hopes the group revisits the issue. “I see it as a process decision, hopefully, that gets revisited because we feel very strongly about giving people opportunities to participate,” Price said. “I understand the issue of creating an environment where people feel safe to make comments,” she added. “As this goes on, there are a lot of people with good ideas who may help you with your work.” Police watchdog Aram James characterized the private meetings

as an affront to democracy and argued that the community has a right to know what goes on at the meetings. James, who regularly criticizes the police department at meetings of the City Council and the Human Relations Commission, decried the fact that he can’t participate in the Community Advisory Group meetings as well. “It’s a basic concept of democracy,” James said. “I might see what (continued on page 8)

STATE

Newcomer takes fundraising lead in Assembly race Venture capitalist Becker overtakes Gordon, Kishimoto in cash raised by Gennady Sheyner

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Vivian Wong

Many new teachers credit mentoring from the New Teacher Center, a national organization dedicated to “accelerating the effectiveness of teachers,” for giving them the support and sense of professionalism they need to stick with, and thrive in, the challenging job. “The New Teacher Center has had a tremendous impact on my abilities as a teacher,” said first-year teacher Kathleen Florita. “From orientation at the beginning of the year, to NTC mentors at my school site to my own NTC mentor, they have all transformed my classroom into an

Menlo Park venture capitalist has surged past two political veterans in the race for campaign cash, all but ensuring a tight three-way contest for Ira Ruskin’s seat in the State Assembly. Joshua Becker, whose campaign is a little more than three months old, has received $219,643 in campaign contributions, according to financial statements filed Monday. His two opponents in the Democratic primary, San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon and former Palo Alto Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto, have raised $195,360 and $161,464 as of Dec. 31, respectively. Becker took the lead in fundraising despite being the only political newcomer in the race. Calling himself an “innovation Democrat,” Becker is banking on Silicon Valley support to win Ruskin’s seat in the 21st District, which includes 13 cities from San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Ruskin will be termed out at the end of this year. Gordon has received much of his support from San Mateo County attorneys, Realtors and labor leaders. Kishimoto has relied on checks from local environmentalists, politicians and neighborhood leaders. Becker has been boosted by the district’s high-tech sector. His more than 300 contributors include many technologists and CEOs, including professionals from such firms as Google, HP, Microsoft, Apple and Cisco. Becker, who sits on the Univer-

What a re-leaf! Paly High student Jayshawn Gates-Mouton shovels structural soil into the hole around a tree, at the Canopy-sponsored tree-planting along California Avenue last Saturday. More than 150 volunteers participated in replanting the street with 44 new trees, in a community celebration of trees. Another 21 larger trees will be planted by the city.

EDUCATION

Mentoring boosts teacher retention in East Palo Alto schools Veteran teachers offer support, ‘sense of professionalism’ in challenging job by Chris Kenrick

new teacher enters the classroom brimming with energy and enthusiasm before running up against the hard realities of

the job. Those difficulties — daunting bureaucracy, tough working conditions, to name a few — used to

mean that 75 percent of new teachers in East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood City School District failed to return for a second year. But that figure has reversed itself dramatically in the past few years — about 74 percent of first-year teachers now stay on for at least three or four years. That’s welcome news for Superintendent Maria De La Vega, who has said a more stable teaching staff is key in boosting student performance in a district where nearly 70 percent of students are English-language learners and 85 percent qualify for federal lunch subsidies.

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Upfront

PUBLISHER William S. Johnson EDITORIAL Jay Thorwaldson, Editor Jocelyn Dong, Managing Editor Carol Blitzer, Associate Editor Keith Peters, Sports Editor Tyler Hanley, Express™ and Online Editor Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Chris Kenrick, Gennady Sheyner, Staff Writers Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections Editor Karla Kane, Editorial Assistant Veronica Weber, Staff Photographer Jeanne Aufmuth, Dale Bentson, Colin Becht, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Kevin Kirby, Jack McKinnon, Renata Polt, Jeanie Forte Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, Contributors John Squire, Mike Lata, Editorial Interns DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Raul Perez, Assistant Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Laura Don, Gary Vennarucci, Designers PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Blanca Yoc, Sales & Production Coordinators ADVERTISING Walter Kupiec, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Judie Block, Esmeralda Flores, Janice Hoogner, Gary Whitman, Display Advertising Sales Neil Fine, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Real Estate Advertising Sales David Cirner, Irene Schwartz, Inside Advertising Sales Cathy Norfleet, Display Advertising Sales Asst. Joan Merritt, Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Assistants Alicia Santillan, Classified Administrative Asst. EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Rachel Palmer, Online Operations Coordinator Molly Stenhouse, Online Sales Consultant BUSINESS Mona Salas, Manager of Payroll & Benefits Elena Dineva, Mary McDonald, Sana Sarfaraz, Cathy Stringari, Doris Taylor, Business Associates ADMINISTRATION Amy Renalds, Assistant to the Publisher & Promotions Director Alana VanZanten, Promotions Intern Janice Covolo, Receptionist Ruben Espinoza, Jorge Vera, Couriers EMBARCADERO PUBLISHING CO. William S. Johnson, President Michael I. Naar, Vice President & CFO Walter Kupiec, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Frank A. Bravo, Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Connie Jo Cotton, Major Accounts Sales Manager Bob Lampkin, Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Alicia Santillan, Susie Ochoa, Circulation Assistants Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo, Computer System Associates Lisa Trigueiro, Assistant to the Webmaster The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Publishing Co., 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 326-8210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered free to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 326-8210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. Copyright ©2010 by Embarcadero Publishing Co. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed by SFOP, Redwood City. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com Our e-mail addresses are: editor@paweekly.com, letters@paweekly.com, ads@paweekly.com. Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 326-8210, or e-mail circulation@paweekly. com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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

It takes much more time to resolve an issue when you have 100 voices participating. — Paul Bains, pastor of St. Samuel Church in East Palo Alto, on Palo Alto’s new police Community Advisory Group. See story on page 3.

Around Town

TOO FAST FOR CONDITIONS ... When is driving 15 mph considered driving “too fast for conditions”? When the car in front of you is driving 0 mph. That’s what a Palo Alto police officer learned on Dec. 8, when he allegedly rear-ended a car on Lytton Avenue, forcing that car to, in turn, rear-end another car. According to a police report, Officer Jesus Paneda was driving eastbound on Lytton Avenue at about 3 p.m. when he observed a car heading north on the southbound-only High Street. Paneda told the investigating officer that he was distracted by the wrongway driver when he hit another car that was standing at the stop sign. No one was injured, but the city stands to lose about $832.82 in damages, according to an insurance claim. THE MEANING OF RESPECT ... Palo Alto’s Human Relations Commission typically deals with issues of police oversight, support of nonprofits and civic involvement. But in November, the commission decided to issue an official statement on the tense labor negotiations between Palo Alto’s administrators and its largest labor union. The statement touched on the themes of stereotypes, respect, work and community and urged both sides in the negotiations to get along. “Palo Alto’s history is one of the whole exceeding the sum of the parts. We hope the continuation of that history will be an essential part of the next round of negotiations,” the letter stated. But not everyone appreciated the conciliatory gesture. Councilman Larry Klein said at Monday’s joint meeting of the City Council and the Human Relations Commission that he didn’t understand the point of the letter. “It seemed to me you may have been overstepping the boundaries of the HRC,” Klein said. But his council colleague Gail Price disagreed. “I very much appreciate the statement that was created and the language and thought that were brought together in the letter,” Price said. “I personally believe that it is an important extension of the work of the commission.” Commissioner Ray Bacchetti, one of the letter’s authors, told

Klein that the commission wanted to respond to the bitterness surrounding last year’s negotiations. “Some people were demonizing each other,” Bacchetti said. “We wanted to make a statement.” MORE NAME GAMES ... A crusade by a group of downtown businesspeople to rename Lytton Plaza to Thoits Plaza ran into an unexpected snag last week when the Parks and Recreation Commission voted 2-4 against the idea. As at previous discussions, the public split on whether the plaza should get a new name. Developers and members of the group Friends of Lytton Plaza argued that the Thoits family deserves to be honored for its three generations of civic involvement and investments in downtown Palo Alto. Others observed the city’s renaming policy requires a “compelling reason” before a facility switches its name. In this case, a compelling reason does not exist, argued Winter Dellenbach. Former city Mayor Jim Burch offered a compromise — name the property University Plaza and put up a bronze plaque informing visitors about Palo Alto’s history. The plaque would also mention Bart Lytton, who built the plaza, and note that the plaza was renovated in 2009 by a group of business owners who wanted to honor the Thoits family, Burch said. Ultimately, only commissioners Sunny Dykwel and Pat Markevitch supported the Thoits Plaza proposal. The issue will next go to the City Council, which would have a chance to accept or overrule the commission’s recommendation. SEEING DOTS ... The day-long Palo Alto City Council retreat on Saturday was progressing so smoothly with collegial discussions that it elicited audience comments — until it became a connect-the-dots exercise near the end of the day. Council members were pasting colored dots next to priorities they considered most important. After repeated rounds of dot-pasting, Mayor Pat Burt said it was easy at that hour to get “a bit giddy” — more like a bit dotty, one council-watcher observed. N

Upfront COMMUNITY

CITY COUNCIL

New Palo Alto priority: Youth well-being

Lavish love by John Squire es, it’s a recession, but really, how much is love worth? When the price of love is no object local businesses are ready and willing to supply plenty of “bling.” Here are some of their suggestions for the most extravagant Valentine’s Day gifts in town: Tesla Motors is going public — and right here in Palo Alto. For those who want to help get the new American auto industry off the ground, the sleek, all-electric Tesla Roadster goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds for $109,000. “It isn’t something people consider to be extravagant. This is something a little different, a way of moving sustainable transportation forward,” salesman Dan Myggen said. The automaker’s vehicles could be the gifts of choice for more people in 2012, when Tesla plans to roll out its Model S, a $50,000 sedan. For the champagne and caviar set, Salon’s 1997 Blanc de Blancs is “the cream of the crop,” at $245, said Robert Williams, a wine consultant at Beltramo’s Wine and Spirits in Menlo Park. Although obscure, the champagne is definitely the connoisseur’s choice, he said. Gift givers can throw in Caspian Osetra caviar, a natural complement, at $175 for two ounces, he added. For big reds, Williams recommends a 1986 Mouton at $1,200. “It’s got 23 years and it’s perfect to drink right now,” Williams said. The most expensive bottle in the store is a 1955 Macallan 46-year single-malt scotch at $8,500. It’s both a fine spirit and a collector’s item, he said. Traditionally, nothing says “I love you” better than a big, shiny rock. Right now, the most expensive diamond ring at Tiffany & Co. in Stanford Shopping Center is a $440,000, G-graded rock weighing five-karats, according to Bebe Kokab, the store’s director. Shoppers on a budget will find a classic Tiffany setting costs around $85,000, depending on the diamond, Kokab said. Cartier features Le Cirque Animalier collection, a limited edition of women’s watches. The collection depicts diamond-encrusted circus animals holding onto the timepiece. For $156,000, there’s a choice between a panda, an elephant and a tiger. Aida Smailagic, manager at Cartier Palo Alto, recommended an extra-large Ballon Bleu for men. With a white-gold band and diamond inlays, it runs $60,000. A beau on the more intellectual side might appreciate Bell’s Books finely printed books and rare first editions. A 1770 edition of Plu-

City Council expands list of priorities for 2010 Carlton Davis

Extravagant gifts for Valentine’s Day can be found locally

Tiffany & Co. in Stanford Shopping Center is offering major bling for Valentine’s Day, with its $440,000, G-graded, 5K diamond — without the setting. tarch’s “Lives” would be a good option, said Faith Bell, manager of the Emerson Street store in Palo Alto. Bound in calfskin and Moroccan leather, the illustrated set is $1,500. The intricate multi-colored woodcuts of local artist Tom Killian are the headliner in his oversized book, “Walls: A Journey Across Three Continents.” Bell said he made a woodcut for each color of each picture in the $950 handmade book. Perfume and cologne from the Tom Ford Private Blend Collection is the top of the line at $400 a bottle at Neiman Marcus. The Jo Malone collection also stands out, according to Donald Mulderick, Neiman Marcus sales associate. The fragrances are unapologetically European, with much more floral scents than American colognes, he said. The Jo Malone colognes are perhaps the most accessible price-wise, at $100 for two ounces and $55 for one-ounce bottles. And finally, there’s the gift that keeps on giving. If one’s Valentine is a charitable person, then what better statement of love than a donation in his or her name, said Mari Ellen Reynolds Loijens, chief of staff for Silicon Valley Community Foundation. “It really shows you understand them and know who they are,” she said. Loijens said she has the perfect and most timely gift in mind: a contribution toward the foundation’s Haiti Emergency Relief Fund, which is now offering $229,000 in matching grants. Gifts can be made at siliconvalleycf.org. N

by Jay Thorwaldson n a day-long retreat last Saturday marked by thought-out comments and respectful listening, the Palo Alto City Council named five issues as its top priorities for 2010. Council members retained economic/financial health and environmental sustainability from their 2009 list, while adding collaboration for youth well-being and landuse/transportation planning and resurrecting a past priority of emergency preparedness. The nine-member council, which added five new members in January, quietly dropped civic engagement for the common good, a 2009 goal that had been criticized as being too vague and confusing. City staff said civic engagement would be incorporated into city activities generally. Current hot-button issues facing the city, such as completing the Stanford Medical Center expansion process and addressing high-speed rail and housing, were subsumed under the land-use/transportation priority. Council members agreed that

because those issues were not initiated by the city they should not stand alone as priorities, as the library-bond priority did two years ago. Another hot item, continuing talks with employee unions over salaries and benefits, would fall under city finances because of the critical long-term implications of the negotiations. Saturday’s decisions were unofficial “straw votes” and will need to be ratified at a regular council meeting, City Manager James Keene said. He said the priorities would be vetted through the council’s Policy and Services Committee at its Feb. 9 meeting, then sent on to the full council either at its Feb. 22 or March 1 meetings. The retreat, held in the Palo Alto Unified School District headquarters, was attended by about 30 persons in the morning, swelling to nearly 50 in the afternoon — of whom about 15 were city administrators or staff members. About 20

people addressed the council regarding its priorities. Staff background reports on financial trends and staffing limitations, presented in the morning, warned of serious budget shortfalls this fiscal year (ending June 30) that will become more acute next year and the year after, according to staff projections. Keene cautioned the council that setting too many priorities could overextend his staff. He said an internal survey done last year showed there are only 65 manager-level staff members who would be involved in implementing city priorities. They already spend time maintaining city operations, which he likened to the below-thesurface portion of an iceberg. During its discussion, the council agreed by consensus to keep economic issues as a leading priority, which each member had listed as a top consideration in the morning discussion. They informally added (continued on page 7)

LAND USE

Developer, 88, says Palo Alto stalling till he dies Harold Hohbach claims city is illegally stalling on Page Mill Road project by Gennady Sheyner

developer who wants to build 84 apartments and a researchand-development facility on Page Mill Road has filed a federal lawsuit against Palo Alto, claiming that city officials are illegally stifling the controversial project. Harold Hohbach has been seeking the city’s permission for the mixed-use project at 195 Page Mill Road, near Park Boulevard, since 2005. But his quest to get the city’s approval has encountered a series of snags, including a lawsuit from a group of citizens and a prolonged dispute with Palo Alto over the city’s density-bonus statute. In a lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court, the 88-year-old developer claims the city is trying to

kill the project by essentially waiting for him to die. Hohbach is calling for the city to quickly process his original application, to pay him $1.94 million in compensation and to promptly schedule a final hearing on the application before the city’s Architectural Review Board. Hohbach’s lawsuit argues that Palo Alto lengthened the approval process for the project by needlessly re-circulating the environmentalreview document and forced him to agree to more mitigation measures than are normally required. Palo Alto officials, the claim states, engaged in such conduct for the purpose of “unreasonably delaying final approval of the project” and “eventually destroying Hohbach’s

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ability to complete the project in light of his advanced age.” The lawsuit also argues that the city is forcing Hohbach to build too many units of affordable housing and to comply with zoning requirements that did not exist when he initially applied for the project. Hohbach is suing Palo Alto despite the fact that the city had narrowly approved the dense project more than three years ago. The City Council voted 5-4 in favor of the project in November 2006, despite protests from city residents about the size and density of the 157,387-square-foot project. The development would include about

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Upfront COURTS

COMMUNITY

Judge to consider new evidence in Walgreenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arson case

2010 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Tall Treeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; award honorees named

Guilty verdict could be overturned if Donald Williams found mentally incompetent by Sue Dremann

ew evidence about the possible mental incompetence of convicted Walgreenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arsonist Donald Ray Williams leaves open the possibility of overturning his conviction, U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel said Thursday morning in San Jose. During a scrappy and often contentious hearing with Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; defense attorney Susan Steiger Dondershine, Fogel agreed to a hearing about possibly overturning Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; conviction based on Constitutional grounds. But the hearing will not take place prior to his sentencing on May 13 for the 2007 fire that destroyed the building on University Avenue in Palo Alto. Dondershine had asked the judge to throw out the Jan. 29, 2009, jury verdict for which Williams faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Dondershine maintained that Williams was incompetent during the 2008-2009 trial and never received a psychiatric evaluation despite a 20-year history of severe mental illness. In court papers filed in December, Dondershine also attacked the competency of Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; former federal public defender, Manuel Araujo. She supplied papers she said indicate Araujo knew his client to be mentally unable to understand or assist in his own defense but which Araujo did not present to the court. Williams previously had been found incompetent in several state cases and was committed to mental hospitals, Araujo wrote. But Araujo said he did not pursue a mental evaluation of Williams because he feared Williams might say something that could harm his case, he said. Araujo filed but later withdrew a request for a mental competency hearing, saying he believed his client to be competent after treatment. Dondershine argued that Fogel should

have ordered a psychiatric evaluation based on Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; outbursts in the courtroom during trial. Dondershine argued Thursday that because of Araujoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own memos and a psychiatristâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s report stating Williams was probably incompetent during the arson trial, Fogel now had a duty to overturn the verdict prior to sentencing. Throughout his trial, Williams was continually observed by Santa Clara County jail staff and medical and psychiatric professionals, who described him as having auditory hallucinations, in addition to rambling, being agitated, not making sense, being delusional and having disorganized thoughts, among other displays, she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a shocking disconnect between what was going on in court and what was going on in Mr. Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; head,â&#x20AC;? Dondershine wrote. Fogel admitted that Williams had outbursts during court and that he was obviously mentally ill. But â&#x20AC;&#x153;lots of people have mental illness but are not incompetent,â&#x20AC;? he said. During trial, the court relied in part on years of working with Araujo, during which the judge found him trustworthy in his dealings, Fogel said. The judge also based his belief that Williams was competent during the trial based on the defendantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own actions, he said. He did find a report by a defense psychiatric expert, Dr. Arturo Silva, compelling enough to open an inquiry into Williamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mental incompetence during the trial, but maintained that procedurally the time for such inquiry would come after sentencing and not before. Fogel said Thursday he wants to hear prosecution arguments and Araujoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s explanation for why he omitted information to the court and made the decisions he made. Williams has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. N

Youth well-being

youth should be addressed, referring to the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s struggle with teen suicides in the past year. New Councilwoman Nancy Shepherd then said she wanted to switch her vote to limit the priorities to three because she thought there would be more discussion about the third alternative. Keene added that he felt the three priorities left some gaps, based on the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earlier discussion, and given the choice he would support five priorities. He cited an expanded role of the councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Policy and Services Committee, discussed earlier in the day, as being helpful to the staff in dealing with the larger list of priorities. The council then wrapped up the day by agreeing on the five priorities. N Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be e-mailed at jthorwaldson@ paweekly.com.

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emergency preparedness and land use/transportation planning as the next two issues of importance. The council then voted 5-4 to stay with three priorities rather than expand to five. But Councilman Larry Klein, in the only sharp disagreement of the day, said he would vote against all priorities unless environmental concerns were included, by any term. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In good conscience I cannot support what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just done,â&#x20AC;? Klein declared. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absolutely insane for a city thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a leader in environmental protection to suddenly drop that as a priority,â&#x20AC;? he said. And it would give a terrible message within the city and beyond, he added. He also said that the importance of the well-being of children and

Victor and Mary Ojakian, Roxy Rapp, Downtown Streets Team and Stern Mortgage Company named outstanding community contributors by Karla Kane

alo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2010 Tall Tree awards will recognize suicide-prevention and mental health advocates Victor and Mary Ojakian; local developer and Junior Museum and Zoo board member Roxy Rapp; transitionalemployment program Downtown Streets Team; and longtime Palo Alto business Stern Mortgage Company. The awards, co-sponsored by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and the Palo Alto Weekly, honor community service and exceptional civic contributions in four categories: citizen/volunteer, business person, nonprofit and business. As outstanding volunteer/citizens, Victor and Mary Ojakian have addressed mental health issues and suicide prevention. Their work is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the essence of public service,â&#x20AC;? according to Palo Alto City Council member Gail Price. Following the suicide of their son Adam in 2004, the Ojakians have been involved with numerous health, education and community committees working to raise awareness of mental health issues in schools and throughout communities, and to reform mental health services. Those groups include the Palo Alto Unified School District, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and many others. Most recently, Vic â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a former Palo Alto mayor â&#x20AC;&#x201D; has teamed up with County Supervisor Liz Kniss to chair a countywide Suicide Prevention Advisory Committee. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have no doubt that hundreds

of thousands of people have benefited from their activist mental health work,â&#x20AC;? Price wrote in her letter of nomination. Roxy Rapp, this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s businessprofessional honoree, has demonstrated â&#x20AC;&#x153;infinite love of Palo Alto,â&#x20AC;? according to nominator Barbara Gross, general manager of the Garden Court Hotel in downtown Palo Alto. Rapp began his career as a fashion retailer. Then, as a real-estate developer, he became â&#x20AC;&#x153;responsible for many of the outstanding buildings and businessesâ&#x20AC;? of downtown Palo Alto, Gross wrote. His community involvement, however, has been his most significant contribution, according to his supporters. Rapp has served on the board of the Junior Museum and Zoo, Menlo College, the Chamber of Commerce, Canopy and the Museum of American Heritage. He was also a leader in the recent renovation of Lytton Plaza. Rapp â&#x20AC;&#x153;has the unusual capacity to be personally generous with his time as well as with his means,â&#x20AC;? Gross wrote. Outstanding nonprofit Downtown Streets Team, which employs homeless people to keep downtown streets clean, is â&#x20AC;&#x153;truly extraordinary,â&#x20AC;? Councilman Sid Espinosa wrote. The organization is â&#x20AC;&#x153;addressing a critical Palo Alto need in a smart and effective manner,â&#x20AC;? he said. Nominators said the programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s participants, each of whom is assigned a certain area of downtown to help maintain, are empowered by their duties as well as taught

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valuable work habits. Meanwhile, the downtown community benefits from increased neighborhood cleanliness. Harvard University even named the organization one of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Top 50 Government Innovationsâ&#x20AC;? in 2009. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a very effective and innovative program that makes an enormous contribution to the community,â&#x20AC;? Chamber of Commerce President Paula Sandas said. Business honoree Stern Mortgage has been headquartered in Palo Alto for 30 years. Founder Rick Stern â&#x20AC;&#x153;exemplifies the community-minded business ethic that serves to enhance the richness of Palo Alto,â&#x20AC;? Deputy City Manager Steve Emslie wrote in his nominating letter. Stern, along with partners Todd Flesner and Julie Fukuhara, has contributed many hours of local volunteer work, including with the Kiwanis, Rotary Club, YMCA, Rebuilding Together, the Junior League and the Chamber of Commerce, and the company has been named as one of the best of its kind by industry experts. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The model of truly serving the needs of their clients while giving back to the community has made it possible for Stern Mortgage Company to positively impact the lives of thousands of people in our town,â&#x20AC;? nominator and former employee Tom Fehrenbach wrote. The 2010 Tall Tree awards ceremony will be held April 29 at 6 p.m. at the Crowne Cabana Hotel. N Editorial Assistant Karla Kane can be e-mailed at kkane@ paweekly.com.

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Upfront (continued from page 3)

environment conducive to learning and myself into a strategic and purposeful teacher.” The mentors are a cadre of veteran teachers from around the Bay Area and the Ravenswood district itself, who work side by side with every first- and second-year teacher to assist in their growth and help to foster a supportive working environment. “When teachers have a collegial atmosphere, a good school climate and feel the power to make a difference for the kids, they want to stay here even though they could make $5,000 or $10,000 more by traveling over the bridge,” mentor Barbara Allen said. Allen, a Palo Alto resident, spent decades as a special-education and second-grade teacher in San Jose’s Berryessa Union School District. Sometimes it’s as simple as bringing the new teacher a cup of coffee or meeting her on a Saturday or after school to help set up a classroom library or a folder system. “In education, it’s easy to develop a culture of blame — kids can blame teachers, teachers can blame parents, parents can blame the school — but we try to encourage a different way of thinking about the situation, to help empower the teacher,” Jen Bloom said. Bloom taught English-language learners in San Francisco and later was a founding staff member of an Oakland charter school before join-

Advisory group (continued from page 3)

you observe as benign as quite the opposite. “I resent not being able to give my input on the subject.” Daryl Savage, chair of the Human Relations Commission, called the private nature of the group’s meetings a “controversial issue” but defended the current policy. She said the meetings entail “lively exchanges of candid ideas” and said group members would be less forthright if they knew their comments would be scrutinized by the public or repeated by the media. Police Chief Dennis Burns, who spearheaded the group’s creation, said the group has yet to hold a full discussion on whether to make the meetings public. Burns said he understands the critics’ concerns, but he also stressed the importance of allowing group members to talk freely. “I have witnessed the value in this group of having some really candid conversations and having an exchange that’s really honest and not staged in a way that makes people feel constrained. “I’m not saying we won’t make it open, but we have to first check with the people in the group and see what their positions are.” Former Palo Alto Mayor Jim Burch, who sits on the Community Advisory Group, said he very much opposes the idea of opening up the meetings. Burch said opening the meetings up would “reduce the effectiveness of the group drastically.” Burch said the group features a great

ing the New Teacher Center. She mentors teachers at Flood, Willow Oaks and Green Oaks schools. “It’s an intimidating situation for a new teacher to walk into on the first day — a class will have some students at grade level, some two grade-levels below, some with no English and some ‘inclusion’ (special-education) students. It’s so complex, all the different challenges,” Bloom said. “Our role is not to evaluate, just to support. Really listening in a nonjudgmental way is one of the ways we can build trust. Listening and reflecting back what we’ve heard can help teachers see things in a different way.” Mentors also sit through classes and record data on how a new teacher is performing. “A teacher might say, ‘The kids won’t listen.’ Then you look at the data with her and see she was talking to a group of 5-year-olds for 14 minutes straight. She can see, ‘Oh, wow: No wonder they get a little antsy on the rug,” said Jenny Morgan, who co-directs the project at Ravenswood. Mentors gain credibility in Ravenswood by showing up regularly in the classroom. “I had a conversation the other day with a teacher who was glowing about (mentor April Stout),” said Ravenswood math teacher-turnedmentor Ryan Stewart. “This teacher had multiple mentors from different universities, but she said how much of an asset it is that April can be there, know the kids, the curriculum, the challenges, and offer support tarvariety of points of view. But he emphasized the fact that despite their differences, the group members listen to one another respectfully and focus on making things better. Opening the meetings up to the greater public would attract critics who are only interested in berating city officials, rather than in working for improvement, Burch told the Weekly. “If it’s anything like the council meetings, we’ll have people coming who aren’t willing to work with the police so much as argue about the past,” Burch said. “Some of them don’t seem to be interested in reconciliation and moving forward.” Roger Smith, who is also a member of the group, also said the meeting should remain closed. Smith, a former CEO of the Silicon Valley Bank, said he’s been impressed with the “free flow of information” coming from group members and said making the meetings public would “stifle the conversation.” “The conversation is very different when it’s recorded,” Smith said. The group also includes the Rev. Paul Bains from East Palo Alto’s St. Samuel Church and Palo Alto High student Lucas Brooks. Tommy Fehrenbach, who formerly chaired the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, is a member, as is local resident Karen Purvis, who in 2008 publicly complained about being a victim of racial profiling. The group’s other members are Harold Boyd, Ann Hardy, Carolyn Brown Digovich, Charles King, Cynthia Campbell, Arash Dabestani, Karen McAdams, Anne Ream and

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geted to those particular kids. “She knows what the teacher is going through on a daily basis.” Mentors also help new teachers learn how to manage the bureaucracy — especially important in a district such as Ravenswood, which is mired in state mandates and a federal court order on special education.

“Some of the teachers come in here with a strong social-justice background, wanting to make a difference. They know it’s going to be tough, but they say it’s tougher than they thought it would be, but not for the reason they anticipated,” said mentor Marie Crawford, a veteran of the Redwood City School District and the education program at San

Jose’s Tech Museum. “They were thinking the kids would be tough, but they notice that that’s the easiest part. They fall in love with the kids almost immediately. It’s the compliance measures, the pacing schedules they have to stay on, the benchmarks they have to share and the test scores that become so important. “These things take hours and hours of paperwork.” Morgan said: “We help them navigate all the different requirements and initiatives, and maintain some perspective so they can understand the bigger goal and purpose. That way they can take them on in a meaningful way and feel good about it rather than get bogged down by it.” Mentors also have helped organize “professional learning teams” at each school, enabling teachers to meet together regularly to develop a sense of collaboration and shared purpose. The New Teacher Center’s work in Ravenswood is supported by a $2.46 million grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, which expires this year. “This is our last comprehensive year,” program manager Kitty Dixon said. “Next year we will support at a minimal level,” adding that “there are no additional grants in Ravenswood at this time.” De La Vega said she “had not had that conversation (about grant renewal) with anyone yet.” N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.

Nancy Tadlock. Agent Scott Savage and officers DuJuan Green and Mariana Villaescusa from the Palo Alto Police Department also participate in the group meetings, Burns said. Bains said he isn’t opposed to making the group meetings public, but cautioned against doing that too soon. The group needs more time to gain traction, Bains said, before the public is invited to the meetings. “You need to get a process and a system in place that’s working,” Bains told the Weekly. “It takes much more time to resolve an issue when you have 100 voices participating than when you have 10 voices.” Harold Boyd, a retired Stanford University administrator who had helped raise money for the university’s Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute, also said he’d be open to making the meetings public. His comments at the meeting would remain the same whether or not the public were watching, Boyd said. “I think the more transparency we have in public affairs the better the citizenry will understand the purpose for the group and what we’re engaged in doing,” Boyd told the Weekly. The advisory group sprung into existence last year as part of an “action plan” the Police Department launched to counter widespread accusations of racial profiling. Critics were particularly enraged by comments made by former Police Chief Lynne Johnson made at an Oct. 30, 2008, community meeting. Johnson suggested that officers were instructed to stop and question

African-Americans on city streets as part of the department’s response to a string of street robberies. In the following weeks, Johnson offered numerous apologies and maintained that the department does not practice racial profiling. Nevertheless, she resigned at the end of 2008 under a storm of criticism. Burns said one of the purposes of the new group is to “engage the community and get their perception on what we can improve.” He also said he hopes the group will help the department provide information to the greater community about its various programs and procedures. “We want to reach out to the different groups who may not have a real voice and a real connection with the police department,” Burns said. “The purpose is for them to educate us and, hopefully, for us to educate them.” The group has held four meetings so far. The first meeting focused on introductions, Burns said. The second one was an “overview” meeting in which the group discussed its mission and vision. The third meeting included a detailed discussion of the department’s policies and procedures. The fourth one featured a question-and-answer session that touched on mental health issues, student well-being, the department’s Explorer program and ways for the police department to get involved and have a “positive presence” in the community. Burns said the group was also asked to read and to be prepared to discuss the latest report from Independent Police Auditor Michael Gennaco. Group members had also

toured the Police Department facility and swapped stories about their police experiences. Participants haven’t always seen eye to eye, Burns said, but there haven’t been any shouting matches, Burns said. Every group member has shown a willingness to listen to divergent points of view, he said. “Some of the members are people who have questioned the police in the past and have legitimate concerns,” Burns said. Ray Bacchetti, the vice chairman of the Human Relations Commission who helped pick the group members, agreed that public meetings would curtail the level of discourse. The group is not intended to function as a “police review board,” Bacchetti said, but rather as a board that gives honest advice and helps to improve communication between the department and the community. Bacchetti also noted that the city already gives police critics a variety of channels for expressing their views. “People who have concerns about the police have all sorts of actions they can take,” Bacchetti said. “They can contact the police auditor or go to the City Council or the Human Relations Commission — which they do. “Just to provide another venue would completely undermine the purpose and the function that was on the police chief’s mind when he started the group.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com. Editor’s note: Daryl Savage writes the ShopTalk column for the Weekly.

Jennifer Bloom

Mentoring

Fourth-year teacher Martha Garcia teaches third grade at Green Oaks Academy in East Palo Alto using GLAD strategies (Guided Language Acquisition Design) to teach academic vocabulary and science concepts.

Upfront

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$1.85 million Greer Park renovation begins Renovation work began in Greer Park in Palo Alto Tuesday after a delay of nearly two months, following the holiday season, recent severe weather and a dispute over the landscaping contract. Fences were erected around the 22-acre park’s borders this week. They will remain until the work ends in September, according to fliers posted by the City on Amarillo and Colorado avenues, which border the park. The $1.85 million renovation includes replacing the park’s current irrigation system and water pump station. In addition, the existing children’s play area will be refurbished with nautically themed structures, and picnic areas and general landscaping will be improved, according to a December City Manager’s report. The work was supposed to begin in November, but a construction company lodged a protest with the Palo Alto City Council after not being awarded the renovation contract, said Chris Rafferty, a landscape architect from the City’s Public Works division. The delays will not increase the project’s costs, Rafferty said. Plans to phase the construction — to open certain portions of the park while others are renovated — would cost more and would offer “no substantial benefit with regard to athletic field accessibility,” the flier states. The park-renovation plan can be viewed at www.cityofpaloalto.org. N — Martin Sanchez

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Tesla Motors, Inc., of Palo Alto to go public Tesla Motors, Inc., of Palo Alto is going public. The electric-vehicle maker filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday in which it details its intent to raise as much as $100 million through the initial public offering of stock. Tesla stated it plans to sell shares of the company “as soon as practicable.” The company is well-known for its slick but pricey Roadster. Introduced in 2008, the $109,000 electric car can travel 236 miles on a single charge of its battery. Tesla sold 937 Roadsters by the end of last year, according to the SEC filing. Tesla is banking, however, on consumer interest in a lower-priced sedan, the Model S, which would retail at $49,900 and is currently under development, the company stated. The Model S would have a range of between 160 miles to 300 miles on a single charge, and production would begin in 2012, with an annual production of up to 20,000 cars per year. Since Tesla’s incorporation in 2003 through the third quarter of last year, the company generated $108.2 million in revenue. It had an accumulated deficit of $236.4 million over that same period. Last week, the company announced that it is receiving a $465 million low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to build its planned power-train production facility in Palo Alto’s Stanford Research Park. The loan will also be used to build an assembly plant in Southern California for the Model S. The manufacturing facilities are expected to generate an estimated 1,600 jobs. The Palo Alto site will assemble electric-vehicle battery packs, electric motors and related electric-vehicle control equipment both for Tesla’s own electric vehicles and for sale to other automobile manufacturers. The filing lists Goldman, Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities as underwriters. Tesla, headed by CEO Elon Musk, operates 10 stores in North America and Europe and has 514 employees. N — Palo Alto Weekly staff

Palo Alto votes to fight PG&E ‘power grab’ Palo Alto will battle a PG&E-backed statewide ballot initiative that would make it more difficult for public electricity providers to expand service areas and buy new infrastructure. The City Council voted unanimously Monday night to oppose the PG&E initiative, calling it a “power grab” by the giant utility. It could threaten the well-being of the city-owned electric utility, council members warned, echoing earlier concerns of the city’s Utilities Advisory Commission. The city-owned utilities for more than a century has provided power to Palo Alto residents and businesses. The initiative, which on Monday officially became known as Proposition 16, would require public electricity providers to obtain two-thirds voter approval before expanding their service areas or purchasing new facilities. If the initiative passes, Palo Alto would need two-thirds voter approval from both existing and new customers before it could expand its electricity service into new territory. Other California cities, including Redding, Roseville and Lodi, have recently passed similar resolutions opposing the initiative, which this week qualified for the June ballot. John Melton, chairman of the Utilities Advisory Commission, said the proposed initiative could hinder the city’s ability to acquire new sources of power and could make it more difficult for the city to expand economically. N — Gennady Sheyner

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Developer

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50,000 square feet of research-anddevelopment space on the ground floor and 84 apartments on the two floors above it. These would include 17 below-market-rate units. Council members had previously decided to back the project despite the fact that it is far denser than the city’s zoning regulations allow. They supported the application after Hohbach agreed to build more affordable-housing units than are typically required. But City Council watchdogs Bob Moss and Tom Jordan filed a lawsuit in January 2007, claiming that Palo Alto violated California’s environmental laws in approving the project. The state Superior Court upheld most of Palo Alto’s actions but faulted the city for not re-circulating the project’s environmentalreview document to incorporate a comment from the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Board. The court’s decision effectively struck down Palo Alto’s approval of Hohbach’s project and forced him to start over. Don Larkin, Palo Alto’s assistant city attorney, said Hohbach had plenty of options to expedite the approval process, including submitting the project under a different zoning designation — one that would require fewer variances and exceptions. He said Hohbach’s age has nothing to do with any of the city’s decisions.

Larkin called Hohbach’s lawsuit against the city strange given that it was the Superior Court and not Palo Alto that prevented the project from gaining the city’s approval. The new suit is basically saying that the city should have fought harder against the court ruling, Larkin said. “It’s somewhat absurd to challenge the city over something the court did, but that’s basically what his current lawsuit is doing,” Larkin said. Larkin also disputed Hohbach’s argument that the city is demanding too many units of affordable housing. Hohbach had previously agreed to build the additional affordablehousing units in order to get the city’s approval for his initial application, Larkin said. He also noted that the city’s zoning regulations had changed since the time of Hohbach’s initial application. As a result, Hohbach can no longer obtain the design exceptions he had previously been banking on. Hohbach had resubmitted the application in September 2008 and had asked the city for several concessions and variances, one of which would allow the project to ignore setback requirements. Since then, the city and its environmental consultant published another environmental-review document and re-circulated it several times to incorporate concerns from the Regional Water Quality Control Board. According to the suit, a Board employee submitted comments suggesting that the land, once occupied by technology firm

HP, could have underground contaminants. The city’s Architectural Review Board reviewed the proposal Dec. 3 but continued the hearing on the project because the environmental review has not yet been completed. At the board meeting, Moss argued that the city’s latest environmental review of the project isn’t stringent enough. He argued that Palo Alto should require a full “environmental-impact report (EIR)” before it considers approving the project. The city’s planning staff has instead chosen to require a less rigorous “mitigated negative declaration.” Moss argued that requiring a less-than-comprehensive review for a project of this size would “completely violate” the most recent guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency. He called the proposed limited review “unacceptable in terms of public health and safety.” Moss also said at the Dec. 3 hearing that if the city doesn’t reverse course and demand an environmental-impact report, it would have another court battle on its hands. “A full EIR shall be prepared or I will sue and take this to court and have the court require a full EIR,” Moss told the board. “No ifs, ands or buts. We’ll see you in court again.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

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Online This Week

These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com/news or click on “News” in the left, green column.

Stanford doctors in Haiti: ‘Apocalyptic scene’ Two Stanford physicians who just returned from performing roundthe-clock relief efforts in Haiti described it as “the most intense and rewarding experience of our lives.” (Posted Feb. 4 at 9:53 a.m.)

Family displaced by kitchen fire in Palo Alto A family of four was temporarily displaced from their home on Iris Way by a kitchen fire Monday night, fire officials said. There were no injuries reported. (Posted Feb. 3 at 9:35 a.m.)

Obama’s budget boosts NASA Ames The announcement of President Obama’s new direction for space exploration has caused rancor in other parts of the country, where NASA’s flagship moon program will be lost. But in Mountain View, NASA Ames’ programs will be getting a boost, officials say. (Posted Feb. 3 at 8:14 a.m.)

‘Hot Zone’ author cancels local talk Richard Preston, author of “The Hot Zone” and “The Wild Trees,” will no longer be speaking at the Wallace Stegner Lecture Series in Mountain View. Preston was set to start this year’s series with a talk on Feb. 8, but has canceled after breaking a hip while skiing. (Posted Feb. 2 at 4:34 p.m.)

Resident calls for probe of Atherton police An Atherton resident who said he was wrongfully arrested in 2008 on domestic violence charges was exonerated Jan. 14 by a San Mateo County Superior Court judge. Now, he’s publicly calling for an investigation into the Atherton Police Department’s practices. (Posted Feb. 2 at 3:06 p.m.)

Giving teens a greater voice in Palo Alto Will students help choose a new principal for Palo Alto High School? Can they have a greater voice in Palo Alto’s schools and community in general? These questions will be on the table in a series of three forums planned by teen leaders and community agencies — starting this Saturday, when organizers hope for a big turnout of young persons. (Posted Feb. 2 at 12:05 a.m.)

Arrests made in 7-Eleven armed-robbery spree Mountain View police have three suspects in custody following a spree of armed robberies of 7-Elevens in the city over the past month, including the latest one Saturday night on Rengstorff Avenue. (Posted Feb. 1 at 2:16 p.m.)

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An attorney for accused murderer Bulos “Paul” Zumot argued on Friday in Santa Clara Superior Court that a county statute on setting bail is unconstitutional. (Posted Jan. 30 at 6:54 p.m.) The trees are back on California Avenue — and not without considerable fanfare. What started as a black eye for the City of Palo Alto last September ended as a community celebration of trees Saturday morning, as more than 150 volunteers turned out to re-plant the street. (Posted Jan. 30 at 2:04 p.m.)

Residents oppose Walgreens’ alcohol bid A promise Walgreens made 15 years ago to not sell alcohol when it built a store at Maybell Avenue and El Camino Real in Palo Alto is being broken, according to nearby residents. (Posted Jan. 29 at 1:10 p.m.)

Suicide confirmed in death of Palo Alto woman A Palo Alto woman who died Jan. 26 after jumping from a building at 101 Alma St. — one of Palo Alto’s tallest buildings — has been identified as Palo Alto resident Lorna van Linge, 77, the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office confirmed. The coroner’s office ruled the death a suicide. (Posted Jan. 29 at 11:12 a.m.)

Students, parents rally against ‘hate group’ More than 250 people gathered at the southeast corner of the Gunn High School campus in Palo Alto Friday morning in opposition to five demonstrators from the Westboro Baptist Church — widely considered a “hate group.” (Posted Jan. 29 at 9:58 a.m.)

Upfront

Assembly

(continued from page 3)

sity of California Board of Trustees, said he has received most of his support from people who have worked with him in the fields of clean technology and education. His contributors include executives from companies such as TerraPass, Saber es Poder and Renewable Funding — companies in which Becker’s venture firm, New Cycle Capital, had invested. They also include an assortment of University of California executives and Bay Area venture capitalists. Unlike his opponents, Becker hasn’t held an elective office in the 21st District. But he isn’t completely new to politics. In May 2008 Becker co-founded the group Cleantech and Green Business Leaders for Obama, which brought environmental leaders together to support Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Like Obama, Becker is hoping to attract supporters with the promise of change. “What people are hungering for are new ideas and new approaches in California,” Becker told the Weekly Monday. “People are kind of fed up and disappointed.” Gordon also presents himself as a “change” candidate, even as he emphasizes his decades of public service in San Mateo County. Gordon, who officially announced his candidacy last March, is currently in his 12th year on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and has previously served on the county Board of Education. On his campaign website, Gordon calls for government reform, including the abolition of a law that requires two-thirds approval in the Legislature for passing the state budget. He also calls for increased education spending and universal health coverage for California’s children. Gordon’s list of endorsements includes U.S. Congresswomen Anna Eshoo and Jackie Speier, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, and a long list of local officials. Most of his endorsers and contributors are from cities such as Redwood City, San Mateo and Menlo Park. They include Palo Alto City Council members Yiaway Yeh and Gail Price. But Gordon’s campaign also received $7,800 in contributions from the Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 467 and six $3,900 checks from attorneys in the Burlington-based law firm Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy. Kishimoto, who served on the Palo Alto City Council for eight years before reaching her term limit last year, has her base of support in Santa Clara County. She referred to herself as a “grassroots candidate” and said she is not daunted by the fact that she is now trailing Becker and Gordon in campaign fundraising. Kishimoto’s campaign chest has been bolstered by a $65,000 loan she had made to her campaign. She has received fewer four-figure checks than her two Democratic opponents but has earned the support from council members, neighborhood groups and local officials from all over the Peninsula. Kishimoto, who had organized the Peninsula Cities Coalition fo-

cusing on high-speed rail, said she’s confident her background in business, clean technology, transportation and land use will ultimately lift her past her two opponents. Her list of supporters includes most current Palo Alto City Council members and mayors of Menlo Park, Los Altos, Belmont and Sunnyvale. She also said she is in the process of putting together a

signature drive in hopes of widening her base of support. “I think the numbers are close enough that they will make me a little more hungry for more fundraising,” Kishimoto said. “I think the race is very, very competitive.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Feb. 1)

Ballot initiative: The council voted to oppose Proposition 16, a ballot initiative backed by PG&E that would create a 2/3 voting requirement for public electricity providers that wish to expand service area or purchase infrastructure. Yes: Unanimous Private streets: The council voted to amend the definition of “private street” in the city’s Municipal Code to conform to a new ordinance setting a width limit for private streets at new developments. Yes: Unanimous

Historic Resources Board (Feb. 3)

The Bowman program builds confidence, creativity and academic excellence. Lower School - Grades K - 5 Middle School - Grades 6 - 8 Individualized, self-directed program Rich international & cultural studies Proven, Montessori approach State-of-the-art facility Low student-teacher ratio

www.bowmanschool.org 4000 Terman Drive l Palo Alto, CA l Tel: 650-813-9131

358 Addison Ave.: The board recommended approving a proposed restoration, alteration and two-story addition to the Queen Anne residence at 358 Addison Ave., which was constructed in 1894. Yes: Unanimous

Utilities Advisory Commission (Feb. 3)

Efficiency goals: The commission discussed a preliminary analysis of the city’s 10year electric-efficiency goals for the period 2011 to 2020. Action: None Long-term projections: The commission heard presentations on long-term financial projections and revenue requirements for the city’s water, gas and electric funds. Action: None

Architectural Review Board (Feb. 4)

1700 Embarcadero Road: The board recommended approval of a proposal by Stoecker and Northway Architects on behalf of Wu-chung Hsiang and Vicky Ching to build a four-story hotel and restaurant at the Ming’s Restaurant site. The board recommended more accent colors near the entry to the development and landscaping changes at the site’s east elevation. Yes: Unanimous

LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Public Agenda PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hold a closeddoor session to discuss labor negotiations. The council will also review metrics for Destination Palo Alto, review the preliminary design for the intersection of El Camino Real and Stanford Avenue and hold a hearing on the water-supply assessment for the Stanford University Medical Center hospital expansion project. The closed session will begin at 6 p.m. on Mon., Feb. 8. Regular meeting will follow at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). PALO BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The board will hold a study session on the budget from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. The board will consider renovations of Palo Alto High School’s multi-use field at its regular meeting. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the board room of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.). PALO ALTO POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss its work plan for the coming year. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). PALO ALTO PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to consider a draft preferred alternative concept for the East Meadow Circle area, one of the areas in the city that is undergoing a “concept plan” as part of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). PALO ALTO HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss co-sponsoring the 2010 Palo Alto Youth Forum, the Universal Playground at Mitchell Park and a screening of the film “Where the Water Meets the Sky.” The commission will also hear an update on the Civic Engagement Award and discuss its Feb. 1 study session with the City Council. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 11

Join the community discussion on the California Avenue Streetscape Improvements Project, Phase II Wednesday, February 17, 2010, 6:30 PM Escondido Elementary School 890 Escondido Road Stanford, CA 94305 The City of Palo Alto invites public input on planned streetscape improvements designed to further enhance the California Avenue area, from El Camino Real to the CalTrain Depot. Meeting hosted by City of Palo Alto Public Works (650) 329-2151 PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26 (TENTATIVE) AGENDA-SPECIAL MEETING-COUNCIL CHAMBERS FEBRUARY 08, 2010 - 6:00 PM 1. Labor Negotiations 7:30 PM or as soon as possible thereafter COUNCIL CHAMBERS 2. Proclamation for the Pacific Skyline Council Boy Scouts of America 100th Anniversary 3. Selection of Candidates to be interviewed for the Human Relations Commission 4. Approval of Amendment No. Four to Contract No. C3144644 with Huntsman Architectural Group in the Amount of $92,270 for a Total Contract Amount of $1,355,222 for Construction Administration for Architectural and Structural Work for the Civic Center Infrastructure Improvements Project – Capital Improvement Program Project PF-01002 5. Approval of Amendment No. One to Contract No. C09128453 with WSP Flack & Kurtz, Inc. in the Amount Of $330,000 for a Total Contract Amount of $550,000 for Construction Administration and Commissioning Services for the Civic Center Infrastructure Improvements Project - Capital Improvement Program Project PF - 10102 6. Approval of Amendment No. One to Contract No. C08124310 with Cambridge CM, Inc. in the Amount of $629,930 for a Total Contract Amount of $1,199,210 for Construction Management Services for the Civic Center Infrastructure Improvements – Capital Improvement Program Project PF-01002 7. Approval of Emergency Standby Council for 2010 8. Approval of Amendment No. Three to Agreement with the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County to Provide a Contribution in the Amount of $100,000 from the Residential Housing Fund for Fiscal Year 2009/10 to be Expended Through Fiscal Year 2013/14 9. Approval of a Public/Private Partnership Joint Venture Agreement Between the City of Palo Alto and the Cardiac Therapy Foundation Concerning the Use of Gymnasium Facilities and Associated Fees for Facility Use at Cubberley Community Center for Jointly Supported Cardiac Therapy Programs 10. Adoption of Resolution Setting the Council Vacation 11. Adoption of a Resolution Amending Utility Rules and Regulations 1-11, 13, 15-18, 20-27; and Repealing Rule and Regulation 12 and 14 12. Adoption of a Resolution Summarily Vacating a 12-Foot Wide Strip of a Public Utilities Easement at 780 Loma Verde Avenue 13. Adoption of a Resolution to Provide a Supplemental Military Leave Benefit to Pay for the Differential Between Regular and Military Pay and to Extend Employee Benefits (As Applicable) to Employees Called to Active Duty (HR) 14. Destination Palo Alto 15. Stanford Ave./El Camino Real Intersection Improvements and Streetscape Project 16. Public Hearing: Consider the Approval of Water Supply Assessment to Stanford Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project (Item Continued from 2/1/10) STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Policy and Services Committee Meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 09, 2010 The High Speed Rail Committee Meeting will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 09, 2010 Page 12ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Pulse

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

Palo Alto Jan. 27-Feb. 2 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Child abuse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Theft related Commercial burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Embezzlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Residential burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle related Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Bicycle recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 12 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Possession of paraphernalia. . . . . . . . . .2 Miscellaneous Casualty fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Muni code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Noise ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Outside investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Possession of stolen property . . . . . . . .1 Psych. subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Sex crime misc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .2 Terrorist threats. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Unattended death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Menlo Park Jan. 27-Feb. 1 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Spousal abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Residential burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Abandoned vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Driving w/ suspended license. . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle accident/prop damage. . . . . . . .4 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Alcohol and drug related Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 H&S violation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Substance possession . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Annoying phone calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Follow up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Gang validations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Info. case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Mental evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Atherton Jan. 27-31 Theft related Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Residential burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Bicycle stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/prop damage. . . . . . . .3 Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle traffic hazard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Annoying phone calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Citizen assist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Follow up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Tree down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Other/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 911 hang-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

12-Hr. Sale , February 7 8am - 8pm Sunday

Look inside today’s insertt for savings.

12-Pack Pepsi or 7-UP

12-oz. cans. Selected varieties.

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto

300 Block California Avenue 1/27/10, 9:17 p.m.; battery. El Camino Way, 1/28/10, 4 p.m.; child abuse. Middlefield Road, 1/29/10, 7:35 p.m.; child abuse. 100 Block El Camino Real, 1/31/10, 1:31 p.m.; battery.

Menlo Park

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 52

5 7 8 9 3 2 6 1 4

6 3 9 4 1 8 2 5 7

2 4 1 5 7 6 9 8 3

7 2 5 1 8 9 3 4 6

4 1 3 6 2 5 8 7 9

9 8 6 7 4 3 5 2 1

1 5 2 3 6 7 4 9 8

8 6 4 2 9 1 7 3 5

3 9 7 8 5 4 1 6 2

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700 Block Ivy Drive, 1/28/10, 9:46 p.m.; spousal abuse. 1300 block El Camino Real, 1/29/10, 11:26 p.m.; battery.

Today’s news, sports & hot picks

Transitions

Mary Jo Campbell, 71, a former resident of Palo Alto, died in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 6 with her daughter, Page Campbell, by her side. She was born in Virginia and grew up mostly in Orlando. She spent many years dividing her time between Palo Alto and Orlando. She worked for John Robert Powers in San Jose and in Palo Alto, and spent 25 years working for SLAC, now known as SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park. She is survived by good friends, Diedre Webb of San Jose and Laureen Diephof of Marina.

Jack Euphrat Jack Sterling Euphrat, 87, a resident of Atherton, died Jan. 14. He was born and raised in San Francisco. He attended Galileo High School and graduated with a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of science degree in engineering from Stanford University in 1943. During WWII, he served as a lieutenant on the minesweeper U.S.S. Speed. In 1946 he married Marion Green. He began his business career as an executive for the San Franciscobased Pacific Can Company, a tincan manufacturer started by his father. He subsequently obtained a Realtorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s license and specialized in commercial real estate. In 1968 he entered the securities business. A loyal 49erâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fan and a seasoned world traveler, he was an avid golfer until well into his 80s. He was a loyal supporter of the San Francisco Symphony, the California Academy of Sciences, the San Francisco Zoo, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health. A loving husband and father, Jack is survived by his wife Marion Euphrat of Atheron; children, Judy Castaillac of Atherton, Janice Hepper of Woodside, and William Euphrat of San Francisco; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. at the Menlo Circus Club in Atherton. Donations may be made to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health.

Robert Jenkins Robert P. Jenkins, 84, a longtime resident of the Palo Alto area, died at the Sequoias in Portola Valley Dec. 16. He was born to a U.S. Navy family, so his early years were spent in a number of different places in the country. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology and then attended Stanford Business School where received an masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree. Carrying on a family tradition he entered the U.S. Naval Reserve and participated in the Bikini A-bomb tests. When Lockhheed opened its research laboratory in Palo Alto he was among the early employees. He was known to all his friends as

a gentleman and the one who would take on the whatever jobs needing doing. He was an enthusiastic and accomplished golfer, skier, and bridge player. He was active as a vestryman at St. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal Church. In Sons in Retirement (SIR) he served capably in so many capacities that he was selected by Branch 51 as an honorary life member. He is survived by his wife Patricia, a resident of the Sequoias; and his daughters, Sally Jenkins and her partner, Dan Sterkin, and Sue McVicker and her partner, Bob McVicker. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. at St. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto. Donations may be made to St. Markâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Outreach Fund or to Pathways Hospice, 585 North Mary Ave., Sunnyvale CA 94085.

Warren DeLano Warren DeLano, 37, a resident of Palo Alto, died at home Nov. 3. He is best known for his computer program PyMOL, an opensource program used to visualize molecules. He grew up in Palo Alto. He learned to program computers while attending Palo Verde Elementary

School. During his senior year at Gunn High School, he managed all stage productions and played in a band. After Gunn, he attended Yale University. He completed his degree in molecular biophysics, biochemistry and computer science. He returned to California to enroll in the biophysics Program at UCSF. He collaborated with Jim Wells and a few years later he was awarded the Annual Julius Krevans Award for the best PhD Thesis at UCSF. He worked for Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, then founded DeLano Scientific in downtown Palo Alto. In his spare time he kept up with his music and obtained a pilotâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s license. He is survived by his wife, Beth Pehrson of Palo Alto; mother, Margaret DeLano of Loma Mar, Calif.; father, James DeLano, Jr. of Sausalito, Calif.; sister, Jennifer DeLano of Oakley, Calif.; and brother Brendan DeLano of Greenbrae, Calif.; as well as three aunts and eight cousins. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 7, at the Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Donations may be made to the Warren L. DeLano Memorial Fund to fund a prize for work in computer science: www.wldmemorialfund. org.

'%2425$% -!29 $/7$%. Gertrude Mary Dowden passed away at Channing House, Palo Alto on January 16, 2010. Born in 1914 in Harwich, England, Mary moved with her family to her beloved Isle of Wight where she married Percy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bunnyâ&#x20AC;? Dowden in 1940. Evacuated with their employer to North Wales, the young couple served the war effort in aircraft production. Making a new start, they left England in 1952 for Montreal, Canada, prior to making their way to Menlo Park and Hiller Air Industries in 1956. Accepting employment with Stanford University later that year, Mary retired from the Geophysics Department in 1979. Avid golfers, both Mary, as a member of the Roth Auxiliary for Children, and Bunny were long-term supporters of the Lucile Packard Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital. Predeceased by Bunny in 1993, Mary is survived by loving nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and fond friends. All will miss her wise counsel and zest for life. No services at Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request. Contributions may be made to the Lucile Packard Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital at Stanford. SNEIDER & SULLIVAN & Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;CONNELLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FUNERAL HOME (650) 343-1804 www.ssofunerals.com PA I D

O B I T UA RY

MEMORIAL SERVICES Harry Lewenstein, 83, a retired Palo Alto electronics industry marketing executive, died Feb. 3. A memorial gathering will be held on Friday, Feb. 5, at 4 p.m. at the Hyatt Classic Residences in Palo Alto, where Lewenstein and his wife of 54 years, Marion, have lived since 2005. Tom Youngs, 51, a former resident of Palo Alto, died Nov. 13. A â&#x20AC;&#x153;celebration of lifeâ&#x20AC;? memorial will take place Sunday, Feb. 7, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Stern Ballroom at the Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto.

2010 Wallace Stegner Lecture Series

VENTURES

INTO THE NATURAL WORLD SERIES SPONSORS

!,,%. !-3"!5'( Allen Amsbaugh died at home in Menlo Park on January 26, 2010, of mantle cell lymphoma, at the age of 77. His lifelong interest in aviation led to a commission in the U.S. Marine Corps as a pilot during the Korean War. After graduating from Stanford University, he spent his professional career as a captain with American Airlines. Much of his recreational ďŹ&#x201A;ying was done in his hot-air balloon, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mach Zero.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Capâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;n Alâ&#x20AC;? loved to be with people and he was a member of many groups reďŹ&#x201A;ecting his interests: Wings of History, PaciďŹ c Coast Aeronauts, Grey Eagles, Moffett Field Historical Society, SIRS, The Westerners, and E Clampus Vitus. He volunteered for many years at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University and at the Hiller Aviation Museum. Allen is survived by his wife, Judith; their daughter, Marian Amsbaugh and her sons Genaro and Joaquim Lozano, of Santa Maria; and their son Gordon and daughter-in-law Teresa Amsbaugh and their son, Samuel, of Helena, MT. Alâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s friends and family are invited to a â&#x20AC;&#x153;going-away partyâ&#x20AC;? in his memory to be held on Saturday, February 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Road, San Carlos. In lieu of ďŹ&#x201A;owers the family suggests a donation to the Hiller Aviation Museum or to the charity of your choice. PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Ambassador Bill and Mrs. Jean Lane

Deaths Mary Jo Campbell

David Mas Masumoto Organic farmer and award-winning author of Epitaph for A Peach*

Monday, February 8 8:00 p.m. Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

LECTURE SPONSORS

500 Castro Street, Mountain View

Noble and Lorraine Hancock Jobst Brandt

Series subscriptions

MEDIA SPONSOR

(650) 854-7696 x316 Single tickets

(650) 903-6000 *Replaces Richard Preston

Peninsula Open Space Trust POST

222 High Street, Palo Alto, California 94301 (650) 854-7696 www.openspacetrust.org *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;U Page 13

Editorial

PG&E ‘power grab’ threatens Palo Alto City-owned electric utility could be restricted in ability to expand services, even to new power lines, if Proposition 16 passes in June

alo Alto for more than a century has reaped rewards from its cityowned utilities, chiefly its electric utility. But those rewards are directly threatened by a heavily funded state measure, Proposition 16, on the June 8 ballot. The deceptively worded measure, originally called the “Taxpayers Right to Vote Act” until the state Attorney General changed it to a neutral term, would require two-thirds voter approval for any expansion of municipal utilities systems. For Palo Alto and more than 50 other municipal systems the law could mean severe restrictions on their ability to keep up with the latest technology and sources of power, including newly emerging “green power” energy. This could mean less savings for their customers and less revenue for other city services. There is a growing furor over the volume of financial support being poured into this proposition. PG&E so far has invested an estimated $3.4 million in getting the measure to the ballot. The proposed constitutional amendment would require two-thirds voter approval in existing and new jurisdictions for any expansion of a municipal utility, rather than the existing simple-majority. Two-thirds approval would be needed by any city or county seeking to form a new publicly owned electric utility. Attorneys for the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA), which represents municipally owned utilities, are concerned that the measure could even apply to expansion of service to new subdivisions or developments. Palo Alto Utilities Director Valerie Fong said ambiguities in wording could restrict Palo Alto’s ability to join with other utilities in leasing or building transmission facilities for either additional power or green power. One interpretation is that two-thirds approval would be needed in every city and county through which the power lines pass. Palo Alto this week joined a growing list of communities opposing the measure. The Sacramento Bee, in a rare pre-campaign editorial opposition, cited PG&E rates that are the highest in the nation, and warned that PG&E has 10 applications for rate increases before the state Public Utilities Commission. Fong said Proposition 16 if approved could threaten Palo Alto’s ability to sustain lower electric rates and its historic large transfers to the general fund. For instance, PG&E rates are currently 33 percent higher than Palo Alto’s system-wide average, reflecting a PG&E rate increase Jan. 1, according to Utilities Department calculations. Rates vary by category of user. Yet Palo Alto’s general fund will receive $11.12 million from the electric utility this fiscal year. The impact on Palo Alto services, infrastructure and fiscal outlook would be devastating if its electric utility is hamstrung by this “power-grab” by a huge investor-owned powerhouse of a firm. This is a terrible proposal, and we hope voters can see through the millions more PG&E will be pouring into its campaign propaganda in coming months.

New faces add friendly, positive tone to council

he dominant impression of the new Palo Alto City Council at its annual retreat Saturday was one of mutual respect of members and an exchange of ideas in a manner that was beyond civil it was downright friendly.

Council members wound up replacing last year’s three priorities of economics, environmental and “civic engagement” with five priorities: Economic health, environmental protection, emergency preparedness, land-use and transportation (read Stanford hospitals expansion and high-speed rail), and collaboration for youth well-being. The council quietly dropped the confusing “civic engagement for the common good.” In the next month the priorities will be reviewed by the council’s Policy and Services Committee in an expanded role, a good idea in a time when services are endangered by gaping revenue holes in the city budget, and policy guidance to financial decisions will have increased importance. The full council will make the new priorities official Feb. 22 or March 1. The positive exchange of ideas and apparent absence of hidden personal agendas are good harbingers for a hard, challenging year — when strong, clear leadership is needed. Page 14ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Don’t slow the trains I think we all feel compassion for the people (and their families as well) who commit suicide on our railroad tracks. And I don’t pretend to have magic answer for overcoming this problem, but if you think we should slow down the trains, then by extending that logic, eliminating trains passing through our city is the answer you would have to conclude. Were we to eliminate this method of suicide, another way would be found. Furthermore, if you make one crossing such a focal point of prevention, another one will become the chosen site. Look to the individuals and the issues that surround them for answers and prevention, not no trains, slow trains, lights or guardians. Carol Gilbert Byron Street Palo Alto

Climate discussion Editor, The COP15 conference in Copenhagen was the most anticipated, the biggest, and the most controversial climate summit in years. In the wake of COP15, what can we achieve locally to help prevent catastrophic climate change? We invite you to participate in a conversation about COP15 and its local significance on Saturday, Feb. 13, from 2 to 4 p.m. at our home, 1111 Greenwood Ave., Palo Alto. We look forward to exploring many questions about the conference and what we can do locally. We particularly want to address the issues that you regard as being most important. Some possibilities include: What is the present status of the “Copenhagen Accord”? What implications will COP15 have for pending U.S., state, and local legislation? What can individuals, businesses, nonprofits and other institutions do at the local level? How can our local actions inspire and support people in other communities? How can policies that we adopt serve as models for other cities and regions? Special guests Stephen H. Schneider and Terry L. Root, leaders of Stanford’s delegation to COP15, are uniquely qualified to help inform our discussion. Both have conducted extensive research concerning climate change for decades, and they with other International Panel on Climate Changes authors received a collective Nobel Peace Prize for their joint efforts in 2007. Dr. Schneider recently published, “Science as a Contact Sport: Inside the Battle to Save Earth’s Climate,” and Dr. Root is currently co-teaching “Coping with Climate Change: Life After Copenhagen.” We anticipate a highly interactive

discussion in which everyone can raise issues and offer insights. We look forward to seeing you on Feb. 13. (We would appreciate it if you would RSVP via e-mail to jkelley@399innovation.com by Tuesday, Feb. 2. Thank you.) Lisa Van Dusen John Kelley Palo Alto

VTA incompetence Editor, Valley Transit has said they need more riders to avoid financial ruin. They’ve raised fares to balance their budget, ridership dropped (fares too high?). Maybe service changes trimmed usage, with people unable to get where/when they need to be. Perhaps it’s VTA’s own website steering riders to the train. I visited VTA’s site for new schedule times, so to get from Palo Alto (near Alma and Loma Verde) to Race and Parkmoor in San Jose. On a whim, I plugged my address and destination into their trip planner. It pops to Google Maps (good site) and the public-transit options

— yes, all three transit options— recommended using CalTrain. From home, it instructs me to walk to the California Avenue station (usually 20 minutes) and ride to Diridon Station, a short bus hop and a block walk to my goal. VTA’s site suggests a one-way trip cost of $6.25 — of which VTA bags only $2. Roundtrip, VTA snatches up 4 bucks while steering $8.50 to CalTrain. My preference: shave 10 minutes from the walk, hit Middlefield Road, take the 35 bus to Mountain View, and grab the light-rail train, which stops across the street from my destination. VTA gets all $6 of the day pass, a two-buck gain for them in spite of themselves. Oh, and I only spend $6, all theirs, instead of their fiscal counsel to blow $12.50. They advised I spend twice what’s necessary for a less convenient trip, and pay most of the fare to another agency? Norman A. Carroll Emerson Street Palo Alto

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

What do you think? How should Palo Alto implement its new priority of “Collaborate for Youth Well-Being”? Submit letters to the editor of up to 250 words to letters@paweekly.com. Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted. You can also participate in our popular interactive online forum, Town Square, at our community website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Read blogs, discuss issues, ask questions or express opinions with you neighbors any time, day or night. Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Publishing Co. to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jay Thorwaldson or Online Editor Tyler Hanley at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.

Check out Town Square! Hundreds of local topics are being discussed by local residents on 4OWN 3QUARE A READER FORUM SPONSORED BY THE 7EEKLY ON OUR COMmunity website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Post your own comments, ask questions, read the Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s blog or just stay up on what people are talking about around town!

Guest Opinion It can happen. It will happen. Right here. by Annette Glanckopf tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Monday night, 8:42 p.m. at a wellattended City Council meeting. All of a sudden the building starts shaking. Council members dive under the dais, which falls 10 feet into what was the emergency operations center, next to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main dispatch center for 911 calls. Lights and power go out. There are a series of loud crashes; ceiling tiles are falling,â&#x20AC; and you hear groans around you in the audience. Our mayor looks at his hand-held unit and sees a text message: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The big oneâ&#x20AC;? has hit the Hayward Fault. Then the unit blinks out, as cell sites fail. In a shaky but calm voice, he informs everyone what has happened. As you struggle out to find a safer location, helping the injured, there is another severe aftershock, and another. Outside you smell gas and see fires that are starting to spread. The sad realization is that: s #ITY FIRE AND POLICE STAFF WHO LIVE OUT OF THE area will not be able to reach us, with the freeways in chaosâ&#x20AC; and public transportation links broken. Police cars parked under the old police headquarters are crushed or trapped inside closed power-operated gates. s /UR 0UBLIC 7ORKS AND 5TILITY WORKERS WON T be able to reach us either to re-establish gas and power. s 7E HAVE LIMITED WATER TO FIGHT FIRES SINCE the earthquake has breached the Hetch Hetchy water supply and there is a minimal emergency supply.

9OU ASK YOURSELVES h7HAT DO WE WISH WE had done?â&#x20AC;? 7ITH THAT IMAGE IN MIND ASK YOURSELVES h7HY AREN T WE DOING IT NOW v This was the message I conveyed Saturday to the City Council during its â&#x20AC;&#x153;priority settingâ&#x20AC;? retreat. It also is a message to the broader community. In terms of being prepared for a major emergency, what makes this year different for Palo !LTO 7HY DID THE #ITY #OUNCIL NAME PREPAREDness as a top priority for 2010? Here is why this is a year of opportunity: s 4HE HORRIFIC EVENTS IN (AITI HAVE FOCUSED attention on earthquake devastation. s #ITY -ANAGER *IM +EENE HAS MENTIONED HIS intent to re-organize to combine all emergencyplanning and Homeland Security functions into a cohesive unit. s 4HERE IS A RECONSTITUTED REVITALIZED #ITIZEN Corps Council with serious projects. The Palo Alto/Stanford Citizen Corps Council (CCC) was re-established last August to coordinate all activities related to emergency planning and Homeland Security and as an official advisory body to the city manager, under a federally mandated program. Areas of responsibility include natural disasters, human-caused disasters (including acts of terrorism), crime, public-health emergenciesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; disasters of all kinds. The new CCC will bring a diverse mix of stakeholders, public and private, together to share information about best practices and work on a variety of action-oriented projects. There is already a critical mass, a core set of engaged volunteers, including a whole bowlfull of alphabet-soup names. I am pleased to see emergency preparedness re-emerge as a city priority. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something about

which we should all be thinking. Even though our city is faced with serious budget constraints in 2010, with relatively small funding our city will can get a large return on INVESTMENT 7ITH BROAD CITIZEN INVOLVEMENT there is much we can do without much cost, if any, to the city. Here are my suggestions to the city for measurable, attainable goals to assure that Palo Alto is a resilient community in a disaster: s /RGANIZE FOR EFFICIENCY !LL (OMELAND Security and emergency-planning functions should be aligned under the city managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, with connections to fire and police s $EVELOP A CENTRALIZED COORDINATED RECRUITment-and-intake process for volunteers. Combine interest in all public-safety volunteer opportunities. There are several complementary efforts underway: coordinators for blocks or neighborhoods; citizens who are trained in disaster response, ham-radio operators and Red Cross volunteers. There are gaps that need filling and overlaps THAT NEED DEFINING 7E NEED MORE HELP FROM more people to build a cohesive, integrated community-response system. 7E NEED TO DEVELOP SERIOUS AND ROBUST VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES 7E HAVE BARELY SCRATCHED THE surface, and meaningful work inspires people to volunteer and recruit friends. For residents and their families, we should teach personal-preparedness course quarterly, and use the Internet to help convey vital information by way of existing city, neighborhood and news websites: www.paneighborhoods. org/ep, www.PaloAltoOnline.com and www. CityofPaloAlto.org. 7E CAN HOST A -IDPENINSULA hEMERGENCY preparedness faireâ&#x20AC;? in the fall. In spite of current budget constraints, we need

to develop a cost-effective plan to build a new seismically sound public-safety building to ensure continued police and fire operations during and after an emergency. It has been said that the first help in a disaster will come from neighbors, not the government. 7E SAW THIS IN MANY AREAS IN (AITI SADLY NOT all. The difference I believe was local leadership. As the poverty-plagued Haitians showed us, all citizens can take simple steps to be resources in a disaster â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not victims. Here are some ideas for first steps in your own personal preparedness. s -AKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE WATER AND FOOD FOR you and your family for seven days. s $ISCUSS A DISASTER PLAN WITH YOUR FAMILY Â&#x2C6; a place to meet and an out-of-area contact. s "UILD A KIT 3EE THE 0ALO !LTO .EIGHBORHOOD website www.paneighborhoods.org/ep. s 'ET INFORMED 4HERE ARE MANY CHOICES (ERE are two: (1) Recruit a leader in preparedness for YOUR BLOCK OR BE ONE YOURSELF $ROP BY #UBberley Community Center this Saturday (Feb. 6) at 10 a.m., Room IA, to learn about the blockcoordinator program. Information is at www. MIMI COM MRA PAN EP "0# PDF Classes to become a City of Palo Alto disasterRESPONSE VOLUNTEER 0!.$! START &EB 4O ENROLL CALL There is a role for everyone in emergency preparedness. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an old saying: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chance favors those who are prepared; those most likely to gain advantage in chaos are those most prepared for it.â&#x20AC;? N Annette Glanckopf is a longtime leader in the Midtown neighborhood of Palo Alto and a founder of the citywide Palo Alto Neighborhoods organization, and chairs its Emergency Preparedness Committee. She can be e-mailed at annette_g@att.net.

Streetwise

Which historical figure would you like to meet? Asked on California Avenue in Palo Alto. Interviews by Martin Sanchez. Photographs by Vivian Wong

Neil Christianson

Elliot Hawkes

Bonnie Goodman

Carrie Henderson

Danielle Jennings

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jim Bowie, my great uncle, who came here and died in the Alamo.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Albert Einstein. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an engineer, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m kind of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;scienc-ey.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; I also took a philosophy class where we read some of his stuff, and it would be interesting to talk to him about that. He seems like he was kind of a crazy guy.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lucretia Mott. She was involved in the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia and the Underground Railroad went under the house my dad bought.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Winston Churchill, because he played a pivotal role in a pivotal war. He was a man of principle who I think Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d enjoy spending time with.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;President Obama. I admire how he brings different types of people together. It seems like after his State of the Union speech, people were nicer to each other, at least for a few days.â&#x20AC;?

Ramona Street, Palo Alto

McFarland Road, Stanford

Tolman Drive, Stanford

College Avenue, Palo Alto

Oakley Avenue, Menlo Park

*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;U Page 15

Cover Story

The

antitrust advocate

Veteran Palo Alto attorney Gary Reback takes aim at Google’s ambitious plan for a digital library

Veronica Weber

Page 16ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Cover Story

by Susan Kostal

ary Reback has the subtle restlessness of a man facing a deadline. It is a feeling he knows well. A longtime intellectual property and antitrust lawyer in the Valley, Reback is a battle-scarred scribe. In his career, he’s penned thousands and thousands of pages on behalf of clients large and small, including Apple, Sun and Oracle. The task doesn’t necessarily get easier for all of his experience. In fact, Reback says he feels the pressure even more keenly, the fates of his clients depending on his skill at translating logic and passion into compelling and persuasive argument. His latest deadline: a legal brief targeting none other than Internet-search giant Google Inc. over its plans to establish and license a vast digital library. The brief seeks permission to take part in oral arguments in the Google case, which faces a fairness hearing this month in federal court in Manhattan. At 60, Reback is a Valley legal celebrity, having had a hand in nearly every big antitrust case here since he moved from the East Coast to practice law in 1981. He may be recognized by insiders (he’s been on the covers of “Wired” and the “Industry Standard” and even cartooned in “The New Yorker”), but he’s not stopon-the-street famous. Still, he is to antitrust in the Valley what Ralph Nader is to consumer protection — a strident voice for consumers. The Palo Alto attorney tends to be the hired gun smaller companies seek out when challenging bigger competitors in quickly evolving industries. A huge believer in the power and necessity of the free market — last year he penned a book on the topic, “Free the Market! Why Only the Government Can Keep the Marketplace Competitive,” — he argues that consumers benefit from healthy industry competition, which encourages product choice and innovation. Reback is perhaps best known as the man who instigated the U.S. government’s prosecution of Microsoft over the company’s efforts to embed its browser in PC operating systems, which, in the 1990s, made him a hero in the Valley tech community. Now grayer and no longer rail-thin, though still careful in his appearance, he’s wrangled himself a role in the escalating fight over Google’s control of what is, at more than 10 million works, the world’s largest digital library. Ironically, he’s done it by reaching out to his old nemesis, Microsoft. On Feb. 18, a federal judge in Manhattan will be asked to give his final approval to a settlement that, in Reback’s view, will not only change the course of what and how people read, but how they search the Web, and which company controls access to it. With Peter Brantley of the Internet Archive, Reback co-founded the Open Book Alliance last August to fight what is known as the Google Book Settlement, or GBS 2.0, as it has been tagged. The alliance includes some unlikely partners, including Microsoft, Yahoo, Amazon, the Internet Archive, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the Special Library Association, among others. The Google Book Settlement, announced in October 2008, is an agreement between Google and those who hold a U.S. copyright to one or more books. It covers a host of issues, including rights, revenue and uses. The settlement was developed in response to a class-action litigation filed in 2005 by the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers over copyright issues raised by Google’s massive online library. GBS 2.0 has yet to receive final court approval. As it stands, the settlement gives Google sole con-

trol over a digital library containing much of the written works of the 20th century. Google alone controls access to it and can sell or license it to university libraries and others as it sees fit. “This is not like any library you have ever seen before. This is not a public library; this is a private library. And it is not run for the public benefit; it is run for private profit,” Reback said during a recent interview in a spacious, old-fashioned, book-lined library from his offices at Carr & Farrell in Palo Alto. Google has argued its database constitutes what is known as “fair use” under copyright laws because it publishes only “snippets” of books by authors who object to their work being included or whose authors cannot be found. It contains works whose authors have opted in to the settlement (or rather, as Reback and others often complain, have failed to opt out) and works no longer covered by copyright, such as those by Chaucer, Shakespeare and Austen. The U.S. Justice Department has said the settlement may violate U.S. antitrust laws, meaning it may give Google an unfair edge over its competitors in the market. Google and the authors agreed to revise the deal, and it is those revisions that are being reviewed this month by the court. Critics, including Reback, say the revisions are minor and do little to remedy what they claim are its legal failings and lurking dangers.

eback — an armchair historian and an avid reader — came to his passion for antitrust early in his career. He was immersed in economics when he worked his way through undergrad at Yale University as a programmer for the economics department. At Stanford Law School, he was a cerebral student with an interest in public policy and took every antitrust course taught by the late Professor William Baxter, who later served as assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division under President Ronald Reagan and broke up AT&T into the seven regional “Baby Bells.” After graduating from law school in 1974 and a prestigious clerkship at the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta and New Orleans, Reback practiced law in Washington, D.C. He came to Palo Alto in 1981, a mere 10 years after the moniker “Silicon Valley” was minted, to practice law at Fenwick & West. The firm has represented many famous Valley start-ups. Reback had a front-row seat, and threw some of the punches, at the prizefights that hatched a world-class technology market. “Gary Reback is a person of great energy and enthusiasm. When he throws himself into something, he does it wholeheartedly,” said law professor Pam Samuelson of UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall Law School, where she heads the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. He’s good enough, in fact, to have argued before the U.S. Supreme Court early in his career, on behalf of Borland, which was locked in a copyright dispute with Lotus over the menu templates of two competing spreadsheet programs. He was an attorney with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati at the time. Borland won the case in 1996, which became an important precedent in copyright law. Reback was 46. The white quill traditionally given to all who argue at the high court is framed in his office. As in that case and others, Reback can be a fierce combatant. Dr. Ron Rosenfeld, a longtime friend and fellow member of a book group, said: “I do feel comfortable saying I’m glad he’s a friend and not an enemy. ... He’s obviously superb at what he does.” (continued on next page)

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Cover Story

SUMMER CAMP & TRIP FAIR Programs for Ages 8-18

Advocate

Get a head start planning your summer adventures! When: Where:

Sunday February 7, 2010 10 A.M. to 1 P.M. Menlo School 50 Valparaiso Avenue, Atherton, California 94027

(continued from previous page)

! MISSION FREE AD KING! R A FREE P

One of Rebackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s professional strengths is his long ties to key Valley players. He has taken time out from his law practice to work with several startups. He worked, for example, with a brilliant but littleknown programmer named Nathan Myhrvold. Reback helped Myhrvold sell his company, Dynamical Systems Research, which had produced a clone of an IBM multitasking environment. Reback offered Myhrvold and the young company to Apple, which showed little interest. He then helped Myhrvold sell the company

KIDS WELCOME!

Meet Representatives from: Overnight Camps: Traditional, Specialty Trips: Wilderness, Worldwide Touring, Cultural Programs: Community Service, Language, Arts, Sailing, Ranch Education: College Campuses, U.S. and Abroad Contact Judy Wiesen at Camp & Teen Travel Consultants for more information! ( +* & " # #! , www.campandteenconsultants.com Please be aware that Menlo School does not organize, endorse, evaluate or recommend the activities which will be described and discussed at the Fair, nor does the School conduct due diligence with respect to any of the sponsors of these activities.

Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Celebration A Free Event for Seniors and Caregivers Join in the festivities as we host a Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Celebration. At this exciting event you can mingle with neighbors, residents and guests. You can also enjoy festive Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fare and delight in a variety of themed entertainment for all ages, including a concert by pianist Frederick Moyer. While youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here, meet our team, tour our community and find out what we do to make our community a place seniors are proud to call home. At Webster House we are comitted to providing seniors, families and caregivers with innovative senior living and care options.

E V E N T D E T A I LS Friday, February 12, 2010 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. RSVP to 650-327-4333 by Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tour our newly renovated apartments, including our Assited Living neighborhood. RSVP for you and a friend today!

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401 Webster St Palo Alto, CA

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GUIDE TO 2010 SUMMER C AMPS FOR KIDS

n n o e C c p tion m a C

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There is still time to be included in Camp Connection -- Embarcadero Mediaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new Summer advertising package for camps and schools. Camp Connection is a three part advertising program combining a full color magazine, online advertising and a newspaper directory.

Deadline is Wednesday, February 10 Call 650.223.6580 or 650.223.6579 for information. Page 18Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

to Microsoft. The product morphed into Windows, and Myhrvold became Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chief technology officer. Ironically, Apple and Microsoft, along with HP, would tangle in court over the similarity of Microsoftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Windows user interface to Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In the early days I worked for Apple, Sun, Oracle, just about every big company in the Valley,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In fact, over the years, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve represented almost everyone in the technology sector, except for Google.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;I really, frankly, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think one of these big companies is much different than the other. Some companies have smarter people, are more talented, or more creative, but in terms of corporate business goals, is Google really more on the side of the consumer than Microsoft? All these companies are out to make money. What protects us is the free market system,â&#x20AC;? he said. It is the maintenance of that system, which he believes provides a level playing field, that has served as the central axis for his career. In his book, he offers a tale of competition law in America, of mergers, monopolists and magnates, and what happens to markets and industries when they are allowed to run amok, unfettered by government regulation or guidance. Corporations, it turns out, are a little like teenagers; they need some ground rules. So itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not that Reback is simply partial to underdogs. True, he has a tendency to represent challengers and smaller companies â&#x20AC;&#x201D; anyone challenging the dominant paradigm. But his interest lies in ensuring the level playing field â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the ground rules â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are maintained in an everchanging environment. Which made his involvement in the Google case more or less inevitable.

riginally, Google set out to compile a digital index and called it the Google Books Library Project. It began by scanning works from major university libraries, including Stanford and Harvard. Then, it announced last summer it would begin selling digital versions of books online. Suddenly the library became a bookstore, Reback said. These scanned works show up in Google search results and include Rebackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own book on antitrust, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Free the Market.â&#x20AC;? In fact, one can search for references to Google within Rebackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Technically, my book is not included in the settlementâ&#x20AC;? because it was published after the settlement was reached, he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what is so nefarious with this thing,â&#x20AC;? referring to Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s copying of works without explicit author permission. It was difficult, initially, for those challenging the settlement to stir up public interest. After all, to most, having access to books online seems like a good idea. Complicating matters, the lengthy settlement itself induces insomnia, Reback said, and its machinations, in his view, are barely decipherable. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The settlement document is 300 pages long,â&#x20AC;? Reback said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a lawyer, and I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t figure it out. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never been able to read it through

Reback at a glance Personal: Married to wife Kathy. Has a daughter and a son. Residence: Portola Valley Recent book club reads: Jonathan Lethemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Chronic Cityâ&#x20AC;? and Aravind Adigaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;White Tigerâ&#x20AC;? Last getaway: El Paso, Texas, to watch Stanford University football team lose to Oklahoma in the Sun Bowl Sunday afternoons: Walking Portola Valley trails with his wife Office accoutrement: A tiny Monopoly board in Lucite, to commemorate successful opposition to hostile takeover of Mattel. N

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Susan Kostal without falling asleep. How can we expect authors to understand what rights they are giving away with this settlement?â&#x20AC;? The settlement has wide implications for the Internet search industry, which is why Yahoo and Microsoft are interested. Reback believes that any search engine that can also tap into a vast digital library, as Google now can, will become a categorykiller in the search market, with serious chances of quickly wiping out any other competitors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Google controls 70 percent of the organic search market and 90 percent of syndicated search,â&#x20AC;? Reback said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If someone controls 90 percent of the steak-sauce market, do I really care about that? But search is not like other markets. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not even like other tech markets. Anyone who does business on the Web is dependent upon Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s search engine. ... If you control search, you control those markets.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not at all certain that Rebackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s efforts will bear fruit. He is not representing any parties to the litigation directly but rather a consortium objecting to the settlement as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;friend of the court.â&#x20AC;? His is just one of numerous amicus briefs (400 objectors, by Rebackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s count) that have been filed complaining about the reach and terms of the settlement. In his brief, Reback argues that Googleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power over the Web will be equal to John D. Rockefellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s power in the oil industry in the late 1800s, which was aided by collusion from the railroads, who agreed to fix prices if Rockefeller transported his oil on their lines. Rockefellerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sweet deal with the railroads allowed him to quickly buy up nearly all his local competitors. Google, Reback argues in the Open Book Alliance brief, will be able to â&#x20AC;&#x153;fix prices, restrain competition and retard technological advancementâ&#x20AC;? in the digital-book industry if the settlement goes through. Samuelsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own objections, which she has summarized in a letter to the court and elaborated upon in numerous blog postings, are based more on copyright grounds. She fears the judge in the case, Denny Chin, will not look at the broader antitrust issues raised by Reback but will confine himself to ruling whether the settlement was reached properly under the laws governing class actions.

Cover Story â&#x20AC;&#x153;Until the U.S. Justice Department says this is a clear antitrust problem, I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think the judge will find there are antitrust problems,â&#x20AC;? Samuelson said. (The Department of Justice was scheduled to weigh in on the settlement Thursday, Feb. 4, after the Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s press deadline.)

hile Reback is clearly impassioned about the settlement, its implications, and antitrust in general, there is more to him than just the law. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a swimmer, a Civil War buff and a member of two books clubs. He reads books the old-fashioned way and does not own a Kindle or e-reader. Dr. Michael Greenfield, a friend for 20 years, said he appreciates Rebackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wide range of interests. In their book group, for example, Reback is comfortable discussing mathematics, history, philosophy and, of course, literature, Greenfield said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s taken math classes at Stanford and knows an incredible amount about business. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hackneyed phrase, but heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost a Renaissancetype person,â&#x20AC;? Greenfield said. One might expect a lawyer to dominate such a group, but Reback â&#x20AC;&#x153;never overwhelms people with his opinions. He is smart and eloquent, and will debate them strongly, but heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a generous person and will listen to others,â&#x20AC;? his friend Ron Rosenfeld said. Rosenfeld said he particularly enjoyed listening to Rebackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tales of writing his book. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As enormously proud of it as he undoubtedly is, he is remarkably modest about it and self-deprecating. He was willing to share mistakes he made, mistakes in judgment he has made along the way. I really appreciate when someone at the top of his field, as Gary is, comes across like that.â&#x20AC;? With all his experience in antitrust, one might think Reback would be interested in working for the Justice Department or the Securities and Exchange Commission. But he said that kind of public service requires a different mindset, and perhaps a patience, that he doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have in sufficient quantity. When asked about his vices, he claimed to squander what could be more leisure time, thanks to his penchant, he said, for disorganization. When writing his book, or a brief, he barricades himself in a conference room to seal himself off from distractions. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I tend to spend a lot of time thinking, and I sometimes canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t turn that off when I get home. It spills over,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am testy, inwardlooking and frustrated when I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t figure it out.â&#x20AC;? For now, Reback will have to try to burn off the nervous energy generated by the Google case via another one of his habits, exercise. He said he does some of this best thinking in the pool or on an elliptical machine. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If my optimism quotient was a little higher than my pessimism quotient, it would be better for everybody,â&#x20AC;? he said. N Susan Kostal is a San Franciscobased freelance writer. She can be e-mailed at skostal@mac.com.

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Cover photograph by Veronica Weber *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;U Page 19

Arts & Entertainment

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

Palo Alto congregation hosts Yiddish Culture Festiva

ONCERTS,CLA AND CULTU by Be’eri Moalem

Berlin clarinetist Christian Dawid is one scheduled performer and teacher.

From left, other performer-teachers include: Eleanor Reissa, Steve Weintraub, and the Veretski Pass trio.

iddish may be commonly thought of as declining, but Judith Kunofsky doesn’t agree. Locally, Kunofsky sees both Yiddish language and culture as alive and thriving, along with klezmer music. “The Bay Area has 22 klezmer bands and 16 Yiddish clubs,” says Kunofsky, who is executive director and treasurer of the Berkeley nonprofit group KlezCalifornia. On the weekend of Feb. 12, she’s bringing many luminaries of Yiddish culture to Palo Alto as part of the Yiddish Culture Festival at Congregation Etz Chayim. A highlight of the weekend is a Saturdaynight concert and dance party focusing on the often emotional, often danceable klezmer music. Featured performers will include trumpeter Frank London of the Klezmatics; New Yorkbased singer and actor Eleanor Reissa, who has toured with her one-woman show, “Hip, Heymish and Hot”; and Berlin clarinetist Christian Dawid, who has been active in a klezmer revival in Europe. Audience members will also get to join in after the 8 p.m. concert, when Steve Weintraub leads Yiddish dancing starting at 10 p.m. It all seems true to Kunofsky’s intention, which is not merely to keep Yiddish culture alive. “We show people that Yiddish culture is fun and interesting and that’s why they should participate.” True to Jewish traditional values, the festival

Page 20ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

places a huge emphasis on education. Along with concerts, the festival focuses on community involvement, with various teachers offering classes in music, history and language. Reissa will lead master classes and workshops for aspiring singers and actors. Offerings also include a course called “Yiddish Expressions for the 21st Century,” taught by Jon Levitow, who teaches Yiddish at Stanford University. Bay Area Yiddish teacher Harvey Varga will also lead a course called “110 Yiddish Words the Average Puerto Rican New Yorker Knows and You Should Be Ashamed If You Don’t.” Weintraub will teach a class on how to lead Yiddish dance, and for instrumentalists, music workshops on klezmer technique and theory will be held. Teachers include London, Dawid and accordionist Joshua Horowitz, who also plays the tsimbl (a hammered dulcimer). On Sunday night, Horowitz will take part in another concert, joining Cookie Segelstein on violin and viola, and Stu Brotman on cello and tilinca (a Romanian wooden flute). Their klezmer trio, Veretski Pass, will perform an original work, “The Klezmer Shul,” which combines modern classical, jazz and avantgarde sensibilities with a Yiddish flavor. The performance will be followed by an interactive discussion and Yiddish dancing. According to Stanford University’s website for its Yiddish program, the language has been spoken by Jews in many countries for centu-

ries and remains the main language of certain ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic communities. Levitow says that 85 percent of the world’s Yiddish speakers were murdered in the Holocaust but estimates that there are close to a million people around the world who can speak the language today. “The numbers are not looking good, but then again prognosticators for the future of Yiddish have been pessimistic for a couple of hundred years, preceding the renaissance of Yiddish literature, so take anyone’s predictions with a grain of salt,” Varga says. Levitow says he teaches Yiddish simply because he loves it. “It’s a beautiful and expressive language, with a modern literature that flourished for about a hundred years but that can be compared in depth and sensitivity to the great literatures of the world,” he said. “Yiddish is made of German, Polish, Russian, old French and Hebrew; it was shaped by traditional Jewish religious culture and by modern European history — it’s seven classes in one.” Since its inception in 2003, the Yiddish Culture Festival has migrated from San Francisco to the East Bay, and now to the Peninsula. The organizers expect at least 300 participants from many parts of the West Coast. “We are building a warm, open, vibrant community to enjoy Yiddish culture,” Kunofsky said. “It touches the soul and brings generations together.” N

What: The Yiddish Culture Festival, featuring classes and concerts on Yiddish culture, klezmer music and Yiddish dancing Where: Congregation Etz Chayim, 4161 Alma St., Palo Alto When: Friday, Feb. 12, through Monday, Feb. 15 Cost: Prices for different activities vary, including $15-$25 for single workshops and $10-$20 for concert admission. Info: For a full schedule of events, go to www.klezcalifornia.org or call 415-789-7679.

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The Bowen H. McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society is pleased to announce our

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JEFFREY SACHS “Designing a Path to Sustainable Development" Jeffrey Sachs is Director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, as well as the Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and a Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, Sachs was Special Advisor to United Nations on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by 2015. This event is free and open to the public; however, tickets are required. Tickets available at the Stanford Ticket Office.

Upcoming talks include: • Feb 11 Steve Schneider (Biology, Stanford) • April 8 Elinor Ostrom (2009 Nobel Prize, Economics/Political Science, Indiana Univ) Trumpeter Frank London.

co-sponsors: The Woods Institute for the Environment and the Department of Economics. Additional information and directions can be found on our website. ethicsinsociety.stanford.edu *> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 21

Arts & Entertainment

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From left, author David Mas Masumoto, entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, and the cover of Masumotoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest book.

Cultivating crops and words

will Love triumph?

Farmer-author David Mas Masumoto starts off annual Stegner lecture series by Rebecca Wallace

Lucie Stern Theatre 1305 MiddleďŹ eld Road Palo Alto

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n between growing organic peaches, nectarines and other fruit on his 80-acre family farm near Fresno, David Mas Masumoto pens award-winning books. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perhaps best known for his book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Peach,â&#x20AC;? which is both a story of one farmer and a look at the state of American agriculture, won the 1995 Julia Child Cookbook Award in the Literary Food Writing category.

Masumoto will be sharing more stories locally on Feb. 8, when he gives a talk that kicks off the annual Wallace Stegner Lecture Series at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Richard Preston, author of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Hot Zone,â&#x20AC;? was originally supposed to speak then, but he recently had to cancel after breaking his hip skiing. Masumoto is also a Fresno Bee newspaper columnist and a Slow Food activist who has appeared on

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National Public Radio and PBS television. His most recent book, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land,â&#x20AC;? came out last summer. Other speakers in the Stegner series this year are novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux on March 1, and venture capitalist/entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, on April 26. The series began in 1993. It focuses on â&#x20AC;&#x153;the themes of land, nature and conservation from literary and artistic perspectives,â&#x20AC;? according to the website for the Peninsula Open Space Trust, which hosts the lectures. The program is named after the late writer, conservationist and Stanford University professor Wallace Stegner. Past speakers have included Jane Goodall and Robert Redford. The other two Stegner lectures also begin at 8 p.m. Paul Theroux explores the expatriate experience in his books and essays, traveling through a myriad of countries. His books include â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Mosquito Coastâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Great Railway Bazaar.â&#x20AC;? Vinod Khosla will speak in conversation with KQED radioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Michael Krasny. Co-founder of Sun Microsystems and Daisy Systems, Khosla started Khosla Ventures in 2004 and has a particular interest in emerging clean technologies. The series is sponsored by Bill and Jean Lane, with other support from Embarcadero Media, the parent company of the Palo Alto Weekly. N What: Authors David Mas Masumoto and Paul Theroux, and entrepreneur Vinod Khosla, speak at the annual Wallace Stegner Lecture Series. Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: All lectures are at 8 p.m. Masumoto is scheduled to speak on Feb. 8, with Theroux on March 1 and Khosla on April 26. Cost: Single tickets for the lectures are $22, while series subscriptions range from $75 to $325. Info: Go to www.openspace trust.org/lectures or call 650854-7696, ext. 316. Tickets can be ordered at the Mountain View center box office by going to www.mvcpa.com or calling 650-903-6000.

Arts & Entertainment bubble up organically from within. But this is a largely academic complaint: With such imaginative writing and such charismatic actors, the tantrums turn out to be pretty funny anyway. If you grew up reading Shel Sil-

verstein, or if you read his poems and stories to your own kids, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll enjoy Dragon Productionsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; highspirited romp through some of the less familiar corners of his mind. Just donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bring the children.N

GOT WRINKLES? The Aesthetics Research Center is participating in a research study for crowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s feet and forehead lines. Looking for women, age 30-70, with slight to deep wrinkles.

The Aesthetics Research Center " + ) $ *#. 1 /(( #,0 Caitlin Dissinger and Norman Luce in the one-act â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lifeboat.â&#x20AC;?

After the sidewalk ends Beyond the kidsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; books of Shel Silverstein are his very funny â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and very adult â&#x20AC;&#x201D; one-act plays by Kevin Kirby

s there an American citizen between the ages of 5 and 75 whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not familiar with Shel Silverstein? The childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s author and illustrator whose startling bald and bearded visage has grinned at us for decades from the back covers of such classics as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where the Sidewalk Ends,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Giving Treeâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;A Light in the Atticâ&#x20AC;? died in 1999, but his books â&#x20AC;&#x201D; still alive with Silversteinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scribbly line drawings and skewed, iconoclastic humor â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are likely to be beloved Kid Lit standards for decades to come. Some readers may know that Silverstein was also a songwriter; his songs have been recorded by the likes of Johnny Cash, Belinda Carlisle, Judy Collins, the Irish Rovers, Kris Kristofferson, and Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. Others may recall that he was an occasional contributor to Playboy, having worked as a cartoonist and travel writer for the magazine in its early years. What fewer people know is that Silverstein was also a playwright, with more than 100 one-act plays to his credit. Fans of Uncle Shelbyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work may want to hurry down to Dragon Theatre, where several of these short plays are currently being staged under the umbrella title â&#x20AC;&#x153;An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein.â&#x20AC;? Do, however, note the word â&#x20AC;&#x153;Adultâ&#x20AC;? in the title. Those who know the playwright only from his three volumes of childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s verse may be in for a bit of a surprise, for this is where â&#x20AC;&#x153;Where the Sidewalk Endsâ&#x20AC;? ends. The quirky worldview that has made Silverstein such a hit with kids â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a sort of macabre joie de vivre â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is very much in evidence here, but the subject matter in several of the plays is decidedly un-kidfriendly. The most obvious example is â&#x20AC;&#x153;Buy One, Get One Free,â&#x20AC;? in which a pair of cut-rate hookers haggle (in verse, yet) with a potential cus-

THEATER REVIEW tomer. The evening also features a game of Russian roulette, a woman who forces her husband to throw his own mother out of a sinking (albeit hypothetical) lifeboat, and a discussion of the crusty residue â&#x20AC;&#x201D; â&#x20AC;&#x153;It could be rubber cementâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; on a womanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unwashed sheets. The folks at Dragon do their best to prepare the audience for this saltier side of Silverstein, piping in Dr. Hookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recording of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Freaking at the Freakerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ballâ&#x20AC;? as pre-show music. (If lyrics like â&#x20AC;&#x153;Come on babies, grease your lips / Grab your hats and swing your hips / Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to bring your whipsâ&#x20AC;? donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get the point across, nothing will.) Ron Gasparinettiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s black-andwhite set, on the other hand, does all it can to recall the Silverstein of our collective childhood. Images from Silversteinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books are painted and projected on the walls, and a chunk of rickety wooden scaffolding â&#x20AC;&#x201D; like part of a crumbling roller coaster â&#x20AC;&#x201D; invokes the cantilevered end of that famous sidewalk. Other simple set elements come and go: a mattress, a counter, a stool ... a dead pony wrapped in a tarp. Also coming and going are six very young, very energetic actors (three men and three women), all of whom seem to be having the time of their lives. Each actor appears in multiple roles, and each has moments of comic brilliance. Norman Luce is memorable as the tortured husband in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lifeboat Is Sinkingâ&#x20AC;? but does his best work in the quieter â&#x20AC;&#x153;One Tennis Shoe,â&#x20AC;? in which he must save his rubbishscavenging wife from turning into an actual bag lady. Claire Slattery has a nice character arc in the latter piece: You can see the inner struggle as her packrat instincts fight back against the dawning realization that

Please Contact Stephanie for more information: collecting â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfectly goodâ&#x20AC;? picture frames and hubcaps from dumpsters may not be a suitable lifestyle for a middle-class housewife. William J. Brown III is wonderful in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Best Daddyâ&#x20AC;? (playing a father who gives his little girl a dead pony for her birthday) and in other roles, though perhaps a bit lackadaisical as the potential suicide in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Click.â&#x20AC;? His 9-year-old daughter in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Best Daddyâ&#x20AC;? is played with subtle genius by Caitlin Dissinger, who also puts Luce through the ringer in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lifeboat.â&#x20AC;? In â&#x20AC;&#x153;Smile,â&#x20AC;? Drew Jones plays a slogan writer taken captive by hostile culture-war commandos whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve identified him as the creative mind behind the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Have a nice dayâ&#x20AC;? and the ubiquitous yellow smiley face. In â&#x20AC;&#x153;No Skronking,â&#x20AC;? he faces off against Joey Sandin as a waitress intent on enforcing a policy that she refuses to explain. Director Kathleen Normington has shaped the scenes nicely, helping the actors to discover the natural ebb and flow of the action as their characters grapple with frequently absurd circumstances. If there is a systemic flaw in the eveningâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entertainment, it is that most of the actors, at one time or another, fall into the trap of playing the Big Comic Moment for its own sake, rather than rooting themselves in the twisted reality of their charactersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; dilemmas. They rely on the audience to understand that the time has come to â&#x20AC;&#x153;put onâ&#x20AC;? a tantrum, instead of letting the tantrum

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What: â&#x20AC;&#x153;An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein,â&#x20AC;? a collection of plays presented by Dragon Productions Where: Dragon Theatre, 535 Alma St., Palo Alto When: Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., through Feb. 14 Cost: $20 general admission, $16 for students and seniors Info: For information, or for ticketing online, go to www. dragonproductions.net/tickets. htm. For 24/7 box office help, call 800-838-3006. *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;U Page 23

MEXICAN The Oaxacan Kitchen 321-8003 Authentic Mexican Restaurant 2323 Birch Street, Palo Alto 1 ÊUÊ

,ÊUÊ/ Ê"1/ÊUÊ / ,

also visit us at 6 Bay Area Farmer’s Markets www.theoaxacankitchen.com

PIZZA

of the week

The Oaxacan Kitchen

Pizza Chicago 424-9400 4115 El Camino Real, Palo Alto This IS the best pizza in town

AMERICAN

CHINESE

Armadillo Willy’s 941-2922

Peking Duck 856-3338

1031 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos

2310 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

Range: $5.00-13.00

We also deliver.

Hobee’s 856-6124

Su Hong – Menlo Park

4224 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

Dining Phone: 323–6852

Also at Town & Country Village,

To Go: 322–4631

Palo Alto 327-4111

Winner, Palo Alto Weekly “Best Of”

Spot A Pizza 324-3131 115 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto

Burmese

www.spotpizza.com

POLYNESIAN Trader Vic’s 849-9800 4269 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Dinner Mon-Thurs 5-10pm; Fri-Sat 5-11pm; Sun 4:30 - 9:30pm

8 years in a row!

Available for private luncheons

INDIAN

Lounge open nightly

Green Elephant Gourmet (650) 494-7391

Darbar Indian Cuisine 321-6688

Burmese & Chinese Cuisine

129 Lytton, Downtown Palo Alto

3950 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto

Lunch Buffet M-F; Open 7 days

(Charleston Shopping Center)

Voted Best Pizza in Palo Alto

Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-6 pm

SEAFOOD Cook’s Seafood 325-0604 751 El Camino Real, Menlo Park

Janta Indian Restaurant 462-5903

Seafood Dinners from

Dine-In, Take-Out, Local Delivery-Catering

369 Lytton Ave., Downtown Palo Alto

$6.95 to $10.95

CHINESE

Lunch Buffet M-F; Organic Veggies

Scott’s Seafood 323-1555

Chef Chu’s (650) 948-2696

ITALIAN

1067 N. San Antonio Road

Spalti Ristorante 327-9390

lunch and dinner

on the corner of El Camino, Los Altos

417 California Ave, Palo Alto

Happy Hour 7 days a week 4-7 pm

2008 Best Chinese

ÝµÕ Ã ÌiÊ `ÊUÊ"ÕÌ` ÀÊ }

Full Bar, Banquets, Outdoor Seating

MV Voice & PA Weekly

www.spalti.com

www.scottsseafoodpa.com

Jing Jing 328-6885

Pizzeria Venti 650-254-1120

THAI

443 Emerson St., Palo Alto

1390 Pear Ave, Mountain View

Thaiphoon Restaurant 323-7700

Authentic Szechwan, Hunan

www.MvPizzeriaVenti.com

543 Emerson St., Palo Alto

Food To Go, Delivery

Fresh, Chef Inspired Italian Food

Full Bar, Outdoor Seating

www.jingjinggourmet.com

JAPANESE & SUSHI

www.thaiphoonrestaurant.com

Open 7 days a week serving breakfast,

Ming’s 856-7700 1700 Embarcadero East, Palo Alto www.mings.com New Tung Kee Noodle House 520 Showers Dr., MV in San Antonio Ctr.

#1 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto

Fuki Sushi 494-9383 4119 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

STEAKHOUSE Sundance the Steakhouse 321-6798 1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Lunch: Mon-Fri 11:30 am-2:00pm

Voted MV Voice Best ‘01, ‘02, ‘03 & ‘04

Palo Alto Sol 328-8840

Dinner: Mon-Thu 5:00-10:00pm

Prices start at $4.75

408 California Ave, Palo Alto

Fri-Sat 5:00-10:30pm, Sun 5:00-9:00pm

947-8888

Õ}iÊ i ÕÊUÊ iÃÌÞ iÊ,iV «iÃ

www.sundancethesteakhouse.com

Page 24ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

Cooking Classes Catering 650.321.8003 2323 Birch St, Palo Alto Lunch: Tues.-Fri. 11:30am-2:30pm Dinner: Tues.-Sat. 5:00-9:00pm www.theoaxacankitchen.com

Best Thai Restaurant in Palo Alto 3 Years in a Row, 2006-2007-2008

Open 7 days a Week

MEXICAN

AUTHENTIC MEXICAN RESTAURANT

Search a complete listing of local restaurant reviews by location or type of food on PaloAltoOnline.com

Eating Out RESTAURANT REVIEW

Familiar food, liberal libations Gordon Biersch still pulsates despite uneven kitchen and waitstaff by Dale F. Bentson

Vivian Wong

The southwest egg rolls contain pulled chicken, black beans, corn, roasted red peppers and pepper jack cheese.

DINNER BY THE MOVIES AT SHORELINE’S

Pizzeria Venti

an Gordon and Dean Biersch founded their eponymous brew pub-restaurant chain right here in Palo Alto, in 1988, on the site of what was once the Rialto Theater. The space has a sky-high ceiling, lots of glass in the front, and sturdy wood tables and chairs. The bar area, replete with jumbo TV screens, dominates the rear of the building. Gordon Biersch is now a chain of 38 eateries scattered across the U.S., situated wherever throngs of young people hang out. Messrs. Gordon and Biersch are long gone;

the restaurants are now operated by Big Rivers Brewery of Chattanooga, Tenn. The brewery operation is owned by a billionaire from Las Vegas. So much for the local connection. Ownership doesn’t stand in the way of having a good time, though, and that’s what Gordon Biersch is all about, from Happy Hour to Monday night live broadcasts of “Inside Stanford Sports.” It’s a vibrant restaurant early in the evening, segueing to pulsing bar scene as the night unfolds. What unsettled me on one of (continued on next page)

HISTORY OF POLENTA

Polenta is the third most important food in Italy, behind pasta and pizza. In Roman times, polenta (or as they knew it, pulmentum) was the staple of the mighty Roman Legions and they would eat it in either a porridge or in a hard cake like form, much like today. Even though bread was widely available in Ancient Rome, the legions and the poor alike preferred the simplicity and taste of their early polenta. Buckwheat which was introduced to Italy by the Saracens, was used for a period of time but eventually fell out of favor when a crop from the New World arrived in Italy sometime in the 15th or 16th centuries known as maize. The new crop was a perfect match for the farms of Northern Italy, where landowners could grow vast fields of corn for profit, while forcing the peasantry to subsist on cornmeal. Amazingly, this simple act of greed on the part of landowners helped shape a major component of Italian cooking. From then on most of Italy’s polenta consumption was made from corn, which ranges in color from golden yellow to the Veneto’s white polenta. This recipe, which shows Northern Italy’s French influence, features fresh herbs and the gold of Italy- Polenta.

…From our kitchen to your, Buon appetito. Chef Marco Salvi/Pizzeria

day s e n i t ble valen a l i a v ons a i t a v r rese

POLENTA ALLA GRIGLIA CON RAGU DI FUNGHI GRILLED POLENTA MEDALLIONS WITH MUSHROOM RAGÙ C :()3,97665 ;59(3:,+ );::,8 C 76;5+ )()? 768:6),336 4;9/86649 chopped C 76;5+ */(5:,8,33, 68 9/00:(2, mushrooms, chopped C .(830* *36<,9 */677,+ C 9/(336: 405*,+ C -8,9/ :/?4, 9780.9 3,(<,9 653? 405*,+ C :()3,97665 -8,9/ 405*,+ :(30(5 7(893,?

C *;7 +8? =/0:, =05, C :,(97665 9(3: C :,(97665 -8,9/3? .86;5+ )3(*2 7,77,8 C *;7 /,(<? *8,(4 C *;7 -8,9/3? .8(:,+ !(840.0(56 Reggiano or Pecorino cheese C 5, 76;5+ *662,+ 763,5:( 36. *;: 05:6 ½ inch-thick disks C :()3,97665 ,>:8( <08.05 630<, 603

Preparation instructions: Melt the butter in a skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes or until wilted. Add the garlic, shallot, thyme, and parsley, and sauté another few minutes. Deglaze with the wine; when it evaporates, after about 5 minutes, add the salt, pepper, and cream, and cook until the cream reduces to half of its original volume, about 5 minutes. Add the grated cheese, stir until smooth, and remove from the heat. Taste for salt and adjust if needed. Brush the polenta disks on both sides with the olive oil and grill in a single layer until lightly browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, turning once.

1390 Pear Ave., Mountain View (650) 254-1120 www.mvpizzeriaventi.com

Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Arrange the grilled polenta on 2 parchment paper-lined 11-inch x 17-inch baking sheets and top with the mushroom ragù. Bake in the preheated oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or until polenta is golden and crisp around the edges, and serve hot. Serves 4 You can buy a log of cooked polenta (available in the refrigerated section of most supermarkets) rather than cook and cool your own. If you cannot ﬁnd polenta logs, cook 1 cup of instant polenta according to package instructions, spread it out on an oiled cookie sheet to a thickness of 1/4 inch, and cool, and then cut into 2 and 1/2-inch medallions with a round cookie cutter.

*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 25

Eating Out (continued from previous page)

those early evenings was the state of the restrooms. Both womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (so I was told) and menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rooms were littered with soiled paper towels and puddles of water on the floors and sinks. I can understand untidiness when the place is jammed, but not at 6 p.m. with few other diners in the restaurant. It made me wonder: If the public areas were that slovenly, what must the kitchen look like? Perhaps the kitchen was pristine, but the red alert was already echoing in my head. I found the menu huge, with more than 100 items counting sides and

daily specials. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big assignment for any kitchen to turn out perfect orders with regularity, even given the relative simplicity of the dishes. The unevenness of the food was palpable, not only from visit to visit, but course to course. Crispy artichoke hearts ($9.50) were a great way to start any meal. The crispy â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;chokes were topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and tasted as good as any Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had in Castroville. Alas, the lemon aĂŻoli dipping sauce was lifeless and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;chokes were better without. The Kobe sliders ($11.95) were terrific. Three tender Kobe beef mini burgers were sandwiched be-

Celebrate Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Day The Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;s Way YGlass of Champagne or Sparkling Cider YThree Course DinnerYRose for the Ladies $110 Per Couple Call Now To Make Your Reservation

(650) 323-1555 Full menu also available #1 Town & Country Village, Palo Alto WWW SCOTSSEAFOODPA COM s "REAKFAST ,UNCH $INNER 7 days a week THE PALO ALTO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE PALO ALTO WEEKLY are pleased to announce the

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tween tender house-made rolls with a slice of kosher dill pickle and mustard sauce. Served with fried onion strings, the sliders were a meal by themselves. Southwest egg rolls ($9.25) were bursting with flavor. Pulled chicken, black beans, corn, roasted red peppers and pepper jack cheese were stuffed inside crisp wrappers. The roasted jalapeĂąo ranch dipping sauce was piquant enough to energize the egg rolls without scorching the tongue. Chicken wings ($8.95) glazed with sweet chili and ginger made for the perfect appetizer, enough tang to awaken the taste buds but not too big a portion to subdue the appetite. The signature Gordon Biersch garlic fries ($5.95) were as tasty as ever, with the garlic much in evidence but not overpowering the crisp fries. After starters, Gordon Biersch offers eight pizzas with an option to create your own from a myriad of ingredients. The roasted garlic and chicken pizza ($12.25) had a white cream sauce base, topped with roasted garlic and pulled chicken breast. The large pizza (plenty big to share) was short on chicken and long on garlic. I picked off more than half the garlic â&#x20AC;&#x201D; it was just too much, and I had a hard time identifying or tasting much chicken. There was a wonderful doughy crust, though: not too thick, packed with flavor. The Cajun fish tacos ($12.95) were tender chunks of sautĂŠed mahimahi with pepper jack cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo (finely chopped vegetables) and Cajun remoulade sauce in a crisp blue-corn tortilla, overwrapped with a soft flour tortilla. The two tacos were fresh, colorful and good eating. Inexplicably, the accompanying black beans and rice were cold. The cedar-plank-seared, pecancrusted salmon ($20.95) was a disaster. Cedar is supposed to infuse the fish with a delicate smoky fla-

TIDBITS NEW SPOT FOR SPAM ... Philâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Treasure Pot, a restaurant serving Hawaiian barbecue and Chinese dishes, has opened at 625 Oak Grove Ave. in Menlo Park. The site formerly housed Mr. Chauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, then the Spice Hut. Phil Lam, previously of J&J Barbecue, serves up myriad options including Spam-and-egg sandwiches, gravy fries, sweet and sour pork, Hawaiian noodle soup, Portuguese sausage and prawns in lobster sauce. The restaurant is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; its phone number is 650-561-4296. As of this writing, Philâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s has 150 fans on Facebook (www.facebook.com/philstreasurepot).

vor. There was flavor to the dish, all right, although smoky is not an adjective I would use. The honey pecan crust was at odds with whatever the wood flavor was. The result was a most unappealing entrĂŠe. Further, the salmon was absolutely raw just under the pecan crust. Unhappily, I found that my waitress was nowhere around. Despite my frequent protestations about waitstaff in other restaurants constantly questioning patrons about the quality of each dish, this was one instance when I wished the server had been more attentive. When she finally showed and offered to have the dish remade, we were finished eating. She did take it off the bill, though. Which brings me to overall service, which was generally too fast or too slow. Sometimes it took an inordinate amount of time for the dessert to come, or the check, or fresh utensils. None of the waitstaff I observed ever looked around the room that he or she was serving. A waiter would just zero in on one task, at one table, despite other diners trying to get his or her attention. Desserts were as mixed a bag as the rest. The best was the warm apple bread pudding ($6.50), a gigantic serving with pecans, vanilla ice cream and whiskey sauce. It was plenty for two, maybe four diners

after a filling meal. Flavors were good, not overly sweet, but the ice cream was overkill. For drinks, there were a halfdozen mellow Gordon Biersch beers on tap, plus other labels. The wine list was good and fairly priced with dozens of wines available by the glass. Martinis, margaritas and alcohol-free cocktails rounded out the lengthy libations menu. Gordon Biersch the brew pub has a lot to offer. Gordon Biersch the restaurant perhaps offers more than the kitchen and waitstaff can handle with consistency. N Gordon Biersch 640 Emerson St, Palo Alto 650-323-7723 Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. www.gordonbiersch.com

Reservations Credit cards Street Parking Full Bar Takeout Highchairs

Wheelchair access

Banquet Catering Outdoor seating Noise level: Loud Bathroom Cleanliness: Fair

Helmut & Dieter are back!

5:30-7:00 p.m. Silent Auction

Honoring OUTSTANDING CITIZENS

After 35 years in downtown Palo Alto, we are continuing the tradition of providing expert quality service and repair of all cars, with a specialty in German automobiles.

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7:00-9:00 p.m. Dinner and Program

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Online registration: www: PaloAltoChamber.com FOR RESERVATIONS AND INFORMATION Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce

(650) 324-3121

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Now at Ramies Automotive & Portola Valley Fuel Page 26Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

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Movies

OPENINGS nor do they add up to a convincing sum. Hoffmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s take on Tolstoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last days winds up feeling strangely perfunctory. This is material that should fascinate, rather than deliver an occasional droll observation. And though Plummerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s doddering is charming enough, Mirrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disproportionate braying is the antithesis of the restraint that last won her a gold statue. Were Hoffman to ask, by pictureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end, â&#x20AC;&#x153;What have we learned, class?â&#x20AC;? he might not like the answer: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We should have done our reading instead of just watching the movie.â&#x20AC;? Rated R for a scene of sexuality/nudity. One hour, 52 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese

From Paris with Love --

SCREEN GEMS PRESENTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH RELATIVITY MEDIA A TEMPLE HILL AND RELATIVITY MEDIA PRODUCTION A FILM BY LASSE HALLSTRĂ&#x2013;M CHANNING TATUM AMANDA SEYFRIED â&#x20AC;&#x153;DEAR JOHNâ&#x20AC;? HENRY THOMAS SCOTT PORTER AND RICHARD JENKINS ASSOCIATE COEXECUTIVE PRODUCER MICHAEL DISCO PRODUCERS KENNETH HALSBAND JAMI E LINDEN PRODUCERS JEREMIAH SAMUELS TOBY EMMERICH MICHELE WEISS TUCKER TOOLEY PRODUCED BASED ON THE SCREENPLAY DIRECTED BY MARTY BOWEN WYCK GODFREY RYAN KAVANAUGH NOVEL BY NICHOLAS SPARKS BY JAMI E LINDEN BY LASSE HALLSTRĂ&#x2013;M

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Christopher Plummer in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Station.â&#x20AC;?

The Last Station --1/2

(Guild) Newly anointed with two major Oscar nominations, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Stationâ&#x20AC;? arrives with a builtin audience. Writer-director Michael Hoffmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adaptation of Jay Pariniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s novel about Leo Tolstoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s disorderly final months provided a friendly platform to lift the neverbefore-nominated Christopher Plummer (as Tolstoy) and Oscar darling Helen Mirren (as Tolstoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dramatic wife, Countess Sofya) into contention as Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress. Though their performances are, by definition, prominent (shall we say, â&#x20AC;&#x153;conspicuousâ&#x20AC;??), audiences will be split on whether or not the hammy displays are worthy of blue ribbons. The film opens in 1910, with Tolstoy more or less happily ensconced at his family estate Yasnaya Polyana. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s irritably aware of the contradiction represented by this piece of private property, a notion he has publicly renounced. With his career as a novelist already history, Tolstoy has become the spiritual leader of a social movement that captures the imagination of many a youth (calling themselves â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tolstoyansâ&#x20AC;?) and in equal proportion threatens those invested in the social order. Countess Sofya falls in the latter camp. Since her husband seems likely, in death, to relinquish his estate â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and the rights to his works â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to a common good, jealous socialite Sofya maintains a thick, rich lather around her husband and his trusted associate Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti). The first part of the film, then, is a comedy of bad manners, pitting Tolstoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acolytes (living at a nearby commune) against the Chekhovian archetypes squatting round Tolstoy at his well-appointed digs. Into this teeming mass of idealism and hypocrisy steps Valentin Bulgakov, the enthusiastic acolyte selected as the masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new secretary. Painted by Hoffman and actor James McAvoy as a nervous Nellie and naif, Valentin is easily batted around by Sofya and Chertkov, the latter warning of the former, â&#x20AC;&#x153;She is very, very dangerous.â&#x20AC;? These natural enemies vying for Tolstoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ear command the young Valentin to keep a diary detailing the competitionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s maneuvers and Tolstoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s moods. Smitten with an earthy, ripe Tolstoyan (Kerry Condon) who threatens his commitment to chastity, Valentin instantly cuts a farcical figure. For Tolstoyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s part, he seems to want little more than peace and quiet, after 48 years of marriage to one of the all-time drama queens. But Hoffmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s telltale front-loading of the epigraph â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything that I know ... I know because I loveâ&#x20AC;? signals that â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Stationâ&#x20AC;? will drift from comedy into gloomier and gloomier melodrama. Neither part of the narrative is terribly convincing on its own,

(Century 16, Century 20) A Royale with Cheese figures prominently in the new French actioner â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Paris With Love.â&#x20AC;? Given the presence of John Travolta, the fast-food item serves as a winking allusion to a famous bit of dialogue from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pulp Fiction.â&#x20AC;? Would it be giving the filmmakers too much credit to infer that the Royale with Cheese is just as much a metaphor for the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Franco-American intersection at the lowest common denominator? Probably, yeah. A year on from Liam Neesonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s surprise hit â&#x20AC;&#x153;Takenâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; likewise directed by Pierre Morel from a Luc Besson story â&#x20AC;&#x201D; comes an even dumber Paris-set thriller in English. Jonathan Rhys Myers (â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Tudorsâ&#x20AC;?) plays James Reece, an aide to the U.S. ambassador and an aspiring CIA operative. At last given his chance to tackle a full-fledged mission, Reece is partnered with brusque agency superstar Charlie Wax (Travolta). A seemingly screw-loose cannon with a maniacal grin, Wax repeatedly proves heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crazy like a fox as the odd couple descends ever deeper into a terrorist conspiracy. After a vain attempt to drum up a rooting interest in Reece â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who must temporarily leave behind his hot fiancee, Caroline (Kasia Smutniak) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Morel and screenwriter Adi Hasak (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shadow Conspiracyâ&#x20AC;?) open the floodgates to a rush of action and â&#x20AC;&#x153;buddy copâ&#x20AC;? banter. Perhaps itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enough to satisfy action fans in these dog days of the movie year, but even the target audience (hint: those without a Y chromosome need not apply) is likely to guffaw at, and not with, â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Paris with Love.â&#x20AC;? Most of the trouble rests in the characterization of Reece, whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purportedly brainy (only evidence: checkmating his boss in a chess match) but decidedly street-dumb and, despite his avowed desire to become a field operative, squeamish when it comes to discharging a firearm. Ho hum. A predictable midfilm plot twist provides fodder for a downright stupid climax, the purported â&#x20AC;&#x153;payoffâ&#x20AC;? for Reeceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;character developmentâ&#x20AC;? as he proves heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learned his â&#x20AC;&#x153;training dayâ&#x20AC;? lesson from Wax. Though the action isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite novel enough to make Morelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest worthwhile, a few audacious moments establishing Waxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skills show why Morel is in demand. Assisted again by director of photography Michel Abramowicz and editor Frederic Thoraval, Morel very nearly convinces us that Travolta can shoot his way out of a Chinese restaurant crawling with thugs and, more impressive yet, take down six street gangsters in hand-to-hand combat. By laughing at brutality and setting up one â&#x20AC;&#x153;kill or be killedâ&#x20AC;? situation after another, Morel cannily plays into the vicarious bloodlust of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grand Theft Autoâ&#x20AC;? generation. One character summarizes the situation when he reflects on the changing times, â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is just as evil, for certain. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot less polite.â&#x20AC;? A foreign film for guys who hate foreign films (no pesky subtitles), â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Paris with Loveâ&#x20AC;? gets most of its mileage from Travoltaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wild-child CIA agent. His â&#x20AC;&#x153;oo-eeee!â&#x20AC;? antics here arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t anything new, but (continued on next page)

Movies (continued from previous page)

MOVIE TIMES Movie times for Tuesday, Feb. 9, at the Century 16 theater were not available at press time. A Prairie Home Companion Century 16: Tue. at 8 p.m. Century 20: Tue. at 8 p.m. with Garrison Keillor (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) A Single Man (R) ((((

Aquarius: 5:30 & 8:30 p.m. Fri.-Sun. also at 2:30 p.m. Century 20: 1, 3:50, 7:05 & 9:30 p.m. Sat. & Sun. also at 10:30 a.m.

The Metropolitan Opera: Century 20: Sat. at 10 a.m. Palo Alto Square: Sat. at Simon Boccanegra 10 a.m. (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Percy Jackson & the Century 20: Thu. at midnight. Olympians: Lightning Thief (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Century 16: 12:05, 2:20 & 4:35 p.m. The Squeakquel (G) (Not Reviewed)

The Princess and the Frog (G) (((

Century 20: 11:40 a.m. & 1:55 p.m.

An Education (PG-13) (((

Century 16: 12:35 & 6:30 p.m.

Guild: Sat. at midnight.

Avatar (PG-13) (((

Century 16: In 3D at 11:55 a.m.; 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7, 9 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m.; 12:35, 1:40, 2:50, 4:10, 5:30, 6:30, 8:05, 9:05 & 10 p.m. Sat. & Sun. also at 10:10 a.m.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (R) (Not Reviewed) Sherlock Holmes (PG-13) (((1/2

Century 16: 12:45, 3:45, 7:05 & 10 p.m. Century 20: 4:15, 7:10 & 10:15 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Thu. also at 1:15 p.m. Sun. also at 10:25 a.m.

The Blind Side (PG-13) ((

Century 16: 6:50 & 9:45 p.m. Century 20: 12:40, 3:55, 7:20 & 10:25 p.m.

The Spy Next Door (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Century 16: 12:30, 2:50 & 5:10 p.m. Century 20: 11:30 a.m.; 1:45, 4 & 6:10 p.m.

The Book of Eli (R) (((

Century 16: 1:15, 4:15, 7:15 & 10:10 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 2, 4:45, 7:35 & 10:20 p.m.

Tooth Fairy (PG) (Not Reviewed)

Crazy Heart (R) (((

Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 2, 4:35, 7:15 & 9:55 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 2, 4:40 & 7:15 p.m. Fri.-Sat. also at 9:55 p.m.

Century 16: 11:50 a.m.; 2:15, 4:50, 7:30 & 9:55 p.m. Century 20: 1:50, 4:30, 6:55 & 9:25 p.m. Fri.-Sat. & Mon.-Thu. also at 11:25 a.m.

Up in the Air (R) (((1/2

Century 16: Noon, 2:35, 5:05, 7:40 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:50 a.m.; 2:25, 5:10, 7:50 & 10:35 p.m.

Valentine’s Day (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: Thu. at midnight.

Dear John (PG-13) ((

Edge of Darkness (R) (((

From Paris with Love (R) ((

Century 16: 12:10, 2:45, 5:20, 8 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m.; 12:30, 1:50, 3, 4:25, 5:35, 7, 8:10, 9:35 & 10:45 p.m. Sat. & Sun. also at 10 a.m. Century 16: 11:45 a.m.; 1:10, 2:25, 3:55, 5:15, 6:40, 7:55, 9:30 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:35 a.m.; 2:15, 3:40, 4:55, 7:45, 9:20 & 10:30 p.m. Sat. & Sun. also at 10:05 a.m. Century 16: 12:25, 3, 5:25, 7:45 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: 11:55 a.m.; 2:20, 4:40, 7:15, 8:25, 9:40 & 10:45 p.m.

Invictus (PG-13) (((1/2

Century 16: 3:05 p.m. Fri., Sun. & Mon.-Thu. also at 8:55 p.m. Century 20: 12:50 p.m. Fri.-Sun. & Wed.-Thu. also at 6:35 p.m.

It’s Complicated (R) (((

Century 16: 1, 4:10, 7:10 & 10:15 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 1:55, 4:40, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m.

The Last Station (R)

Guild: 3:15, 6 & 8:45 p.m. Fri.-Sun. also at 12:30 p.m.

((1/2

Century 16: 12:15, 2:55, 5:20, 7:50 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 12:25, 2:55, 5:20, 7:55 & 10:40 p.m.

The Lovely Bones (PG-13) ((1/2

Century 16: 7:25 & 10:25 p.m.

The Metropolitan Opera: Carmen (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: Mon. at 6:30 p.m Palo Alto Square: Mon. at 6:30 p.m.

The White Ribbon (R) (((( Aquarius: 4:30 & 8 p.m. Fri.-Sun. also at 1 p.m. The Wolfman (R) (Not Reviewed)

Century 20: Thu. at midnight.

The Young Victoria (PG) (((1/2

Palo Alto Square: Fri. at 2:20, 4:50, 7:20 & 9:50 p.m. Sat. at 4:50, 7:20 & 9:50 p.m. Sun. & Tue.-Thu. at 2:20, 4:50 & 7:20 p.m. Mon. at 2:20 p.m.

( Skip it (( Some redeeming qualities ((( A good bet (((( Outstanding Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260) Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (800-326-3264) Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264) CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-3456) Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260) Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to Palo Alto Online at http://www.PaloAltoOnline.com/

l Photo Co a u n n

t ntes

19 thA

Legion (R) (Not Reviewed)

When in Rome (PG-13) 1/2 Century 16: 12:20, 2:40, 5, 7:20 & 9:40 p.m. Century 20: 12:45, 3:05, 4:20, 5:25, 6:50, 7:50, 9:10 & 10:10 p.m. Sat.-Sun. also at 10:20 a.m.

Call for Entries 19th Annual Palo Alto Weekly Photo Contest

Categories and Prizes U PENINSULA PEOPLE

UÊ Ê*

-1 Ê -

ADULT

1st Place – $250 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to University Art, and a One-year Membership to Palo Alto Art Center 2nd Place – $200 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to Jungle Digital 3rd Place – $100 Cash, $100 Gift Certificate to Bear Images

ADULT

1st Place - $100 Cash 2nd Place - $50 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place - $25 Gift Certificate to University Art

YOUTH

*Los Altos north to San Francisco

YOUTH

*Los Altos north to San Francisco

1st Place - $100 Cash 2nd Place - $50 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place - $25 Gift Certificate to University Art

U VIEWS BEYOND THE PENINSULA ADULT

YOUTH

*Any image of people or places shot outside the Peninsula

1st Place - $100 Cash 2nd Place - $50 Gift Certificate to University Art 3rd Place - $25 Gift Certificate to University Art

ENTRY DEADLINE: April 2, 2010, 5:30pm Entry Form and Rules available at:

www.PaloAltoOnline.com

For more information call 650.223.6508 or e-mail photocontest@paweekly.com

they’re still snappy. If only Morel and Besson would have committed to satirizing, instead of merely exploiting, this superficially cool, destructively cold archetype of American firepower, they could’ve had more than multiplex filler. Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality. One hour, 32 minutes. — Peter Canavese

Dear John --

(Century 16, Century 20) John (Channing Tatum) is one hunky dude: broad chest, good head of dark hair. And Savannah (Amanda Seyfried), with her little round gerbil face and enormous turquoise eyes, is certainly a cutie. During a two-week spring break — hers from college, his from the army — they meet and fall in love on the beach near Charleston. But what they have in common besides their good looks (she’s a horse-country rich girl, he’s the bad-boy son of a reclusive coin collector) is a mystery. They don’t talk. They don’t do anything but go to the beach and neck. They don’t even do, er, it until later, when he flies home from Afghanistan, or Iraq, or wherever, on a weekend leave. “Dear John,” directed by Lasse Hallstrom (“Chocolat,” “The Cider House Rules”) is a sweet enough romance-cum-war story, though its cloying score and the numbing nobility of all its characters are

Judges VERONICA WEBER

Veronica Weber, a Los Angeles native, first began working at the Palo Alto Weekly in 2006 as a photography intern. Following the internship, she was a photographer for The Almanac in Menlo Park. She is currently the Weekly staff photographer responsible for covering daily assignments and producing video and multimedia projects for PaloAltoOnline.com. She has a BA in Journalism from San Francisco State University and currently resides in San Francisco.

ANGELA BUENNING FILO

Angela Buenning Filo photographs landscapes in transition, most recently focusing on Silicon Valley and Bangalore, India. Her photographs have been exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the San Jose Museum of Art. She teaches at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto.

DAVID HIBBARD

David Hibbard, a Menlo Park resident, has photographed natural landscapes and wild places most of his life. He is represented by Modernbook Gallery in Palo Alto. He is the author of, "Natural Gestures," published by Edition One Studios last year.

BRIGITTE CARNOCHAN

In November-December, Moderbook Gallery in Palo Alto will be exhibiting Brigitte's new photographic series "Floating World". Her series "Imagining Then: A Family Story 194147" was recently featured in Color Magazine. She teaches regularly through the Stanford Continuing Studies Program.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Page 28ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

The Hottest Restaurant In Town Has A New Home!!

Movies off-putting. Savannah works on a Habitat for Humanity-type project and hopes to run a camp for autistic children. John re-ups for another tour of duty after 9/11, even though heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s promised Savannah heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d come home. Other selfless actions are taken, but telling you about them would ruin the suspense. Of course letters fly â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have WiFi or e-mail in Qatar, or wherever â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and, given the title, you can guess what happens. Though thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not the end of the story. Despite everything, I actually enjoyed â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dear John,â&#x20AC;? written by Jamie Linden from a novel by Nicholas Sparks (â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Notebookâ&#x20AC;?). The actors are easy on the eyes, as is the scenery (well, not the scenery in Afghanistan, or Qatar, or wherever). In addition, the acting is quite convincing. Richard Jenkins (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Burn after Readingâ&#x20AC;?) plays Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, and the character teaches us a bit about coins and coin collecting. Henry Thomas â&#x20AC;&#x201D; yes, that Henry Thomas, â&#x20AC;&#x153;E.T.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?s Elliott â&#x20AC;&#x201D; plays the selfless father of the autistic child. The plot had enough complications to hold my interest. But then, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been a sucker for â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;50s-style weepers. Rated PG-13 for some sensuality and violence. One hour, 48 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Renata Polt To view the trailers for â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Station,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Paris with Loveâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dear Johnâ&#x20AC;? go to Palo Alto Online at www.PaloAltoOnline.

WINNER

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM ÂŽ

ÂŠHFPA

â&#x20AC;&#x153;ONE OF THE BEST PICTURES OF THE YEAR.â&#x20AC;? THE NEW YORK TIMES

TIME MAGAZINE

NEW YORK FILM CRITICS ONLINE

THE WHITE RIBBON

NOW PLAYING!

CHECK THEATRE DIRECTORIES OR CALL FOR SHOWTIMES

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.THEWHITERIBBONFILM.COM

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Friday,January February22nd 5th at 6pm Doors open at 7pm Bring your dancing shoes for 1 hourMovie of Tango7:30pm before the movie Movie at 7:30pm

â&#x20AC;&#x153;DELICATESSENâ&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Trop Belle Pour Toiâ&#x20AC;? 1991 Film by â&#x20AC;&#x153;TooJean-Pierre BeautifulJeunet For You!â&#x20AC;? (Director of Amelie)

1989 ďŹ lmPascal by Bertrand Blier with Benezech withDominique Gerard Depardieu Pinon Josiane Karin Balasko Viard Jean-Claude Dreyfus Carole Bouquet Reserve your seat,meditation get a discounton online â&#x20AC;&#x153;A marvelous theat: www.frenchfilmclubofpaloalto.org paradoxes of loveâ&#x20AC;? Newsweek Established in 1977, the French Film Club is an independent non-profit Organization, open to the public. For full program and archives, go to:

frenchfilmclubofpaloalto.org

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

your

The P alo A lto S tor y P r oject

story?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Stories about Palo Alto, as told by local residents as part of the Palo Alto Story Project, are now posted on the Internet. Watch them at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Voted Best Chinese Restaurant NOW OPEN! Please Join Us!

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FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;HELEN MIRREN IS SIMPLY ASTOUNDING. CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER IS HER MATCH.â&#x20AC;?

A Guide to the Spiritual Community First United Methodist Church of Palo Alto

-Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

Sunday Services â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 8:30 & 10:25 Sunday School â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 9:00 Rev. Love & Rev. McHugh OfďŹ ce Hours: 8-4 M-F

625 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto

based on the novel by jay parini

(650) 323-6167 s WWW &IRST0ALO!LTO COM

WRITTEN FOR THE SCREEN AND DIRECTED BY MICHAEL HOFFMAN

STARTS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH!

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC

ÂŁÂ&#x2122;nxĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;,Â&#x153;>`]Ă&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;ÂĂ&#x2C6;xĂ¤ÂŽĂ&#x160;nxĂ&#x2C6;Â&#x2021;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°vVVÂŤ>Â°Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;}Ă&#x160; -Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2DC;`>Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;7Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2026;Â&#x2C6;ÂŤĂ&#x160;>Â&#x2DC;`Ă&#x160;-Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2DC;`>Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;-VÂ&#x2026;Â&#x153;Â&#x153;Â?Ă&#x160;>Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;ÂŁĂ¤\Ă¤Ă¤Ă&#x160;>Â°Â&#x201C;Â°

This Sunday: Fishing in Deeper Waters Rev. David Howell Preaching

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.THELASTSTATIONFILM.COM

Discover the

FRENCH FILM CLUB OF PALO ALTO at Winter Program â&#x20AC;&#x153;Les CENTER Classiquesâ&#x20AC;? PALO ALTO ART

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

An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ

Stanford Memorial Church University Public Worship Sunday, February 7th, 10:00 am

Please be advised that Thursday, February 18, 2010, the ARB shall conduct a public hearing at 8:30 AM in the Council Chambers, 1st Floor, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Any interested persons may appear and be heard. 222 University Avenue [10PLN-00003]: Request by Steve McLeod on behalf of Toya Family Trust for Architectural Review of exterior building improvements sign exception to allow a projecting sign. Environmental Assessment: Exempt from the provisions of CEQA, 15301 (Existing Facilities). Zone District: CD-C(GF)(P). 3700 MiddleďŹ eld Road [10PLN-00034]: Request by the City of Palo Alto (Public Works Engineering) for Architectural Review of revisions to a new 40,115 square foot library, 16,052 square foot community center and other site improvements conditionally approved in 2009, and of Design Enhancement Exceptions for building encroachments beyond the daylight plane and height limits. The project would replace the existing facilities at Mitchell Park. Zone: PF. Environmental Assessment: A Mitigated Negative Declaration was adopted June 6, 2008 in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn more about the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), please contact the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ADA Coordinator at 650.329.2550 (voice) or by emailing ada@cityofpaloalto.org.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Darwin and God" Dean Scotty McLennan

All are welcome. Information: 650-723-1762

Music featuring the Memorial Church Choir and University Organist, Dr. Robert Huw Morgan http://religiouslife.stanford.edu

We Invite You to Learn and Worship with Us.

FPCMV welcomes our new Pastor Timothy R. Boyer. Biblically based Sermons and Worship Service 10:30 AM. www.fpcmv.org 1667 Miramonte (Cuesta at Miramonte) 650.968.4473

INSPIRATIONS

A resource for special events and ongoing religious services. To inquire about or make space reservations for Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 326-8210 x6596 or email byoc@paweekly.com

Amy French Manager of Current Planning

Sports Shorts

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

It comes to pass once again

GRID HONORS . . . Menlo School seniors Clay Robbins and Danny Diekroeger played huge roles in the Knights’ highly successful football season in 2009. Among their many accomplishments, they helped Menlo reach its first-ever championship game in the Central Coast Section playoffs. This week, ESPN’s CalHiSports.com honored both players with positions on its All-State teams after the duo set regional records and led the Knights to 9-4 season. Robbins earned a first-team spot in the Small Schools Division after posting 1,706 receiving yards (second in the state), and Diekroeger earned a second-team spot in the same division after accumulating a school-record 4,185 passing yards (also second in the state). Robbins and Diekroeger became the eighth and ninth players in Menlo School history to be honored on ESPN’s CalHiSports. com All-State football teams.

ON THE AIR Friday Men’s volleyball: UC Santa Cruz at Stanford, 7 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

Saturday Men’s basketball: Stanford at USC, 4:30 p.m.; Comcast Sports Net Bay Area; XTRA Sports (860 AM); KZSU (90.1 FM)

Sunday

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

Priory’s Alyson Perna (left) challenges Sacred Heart Prep’s KK Lane for control during a 4-0 victory by Priory over the first-place Gators on Tuesday. Perna scored her team’s third goal in the WBAL match.

GIRLS’ PREP SOCCER

The season still can be special Priory’s 4-0 win over first-place SHP keeps Panthers’ playoff hopes alive by Keith Peters his was supposed to be a very special season for the Priory girls’ soccer team, which hasn’t fared that badly in the past three seasons while losing in the quarterfinals, finals and semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division III playoffs. This season, however, had the potential to be even better. Among the returning players were senior Adriana Cortes, the team’s leading scorer, and senior Massiel Castellanos, who led the team in scoring her freshman and sophomore seasons before missing much of last year with a stress fracture. The X Factor this year was to be freshman Mariana Galvan, a member of the U.S. National 15-under Team. Priory, however, lost her to a season-ending injury before the year even started. Other returning players suffered injuries, as well, as the campaign got off to a slow start. Before the Panthers opened play in the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division), they were sitting on a 2-4-4 record. To make matters worse, the school’s grass field was deemed unplayable due to heavy rains. That forced the team to travel each day to practice, most at Marlin Park in Redwood Shores when the Mayfield Soccer Complex in Palo Alto wasn’t available. “Sometimes we even used our basketball gym for practice,” said Priory coach Armando del Rio. “It’s been a season of improvisation.” And, perhaps, it’s a season that’s gathering steam for the Panthers following their somewhat surprising 4-0 victory over first-place Sacred Heart Prep on Tuesday. The triumph kept Priory (4-1-2, 6-5-6) tied for second

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(continued on page 34)

Keith Peters

Women’s basketball: USC at Stanford, 1 p.m.; Comcast Sports Net Bay Area; KZSU (90.1 FM)

by Rick Eymer wo of the top-15 rated quarterbacks, and a total of three, signed national letters of intent to Stanford Wednesday and some wondered if Jim Harbaugh was turning the school back into Quarterback U. “Yeah, you can say that,” said Harbaugh, who already has one of the top young quarterbacks in Andrew Luck, who led the Cardinal to the Sun Bowl as a redshirt fresh- Brett Nottingham man. Luck, of course, missed the bowl game with a broken bone in his right (throwing) hand. Highly-touted Brett Nottingham, from nearby Alamo, heads the list of quarterbacks. The high school All-American, who played at Monte Vista High in Danville, completed over 69 percent of his passes, throwing for career totals of 7,467 yards and 91 touchdowns. “He’s a guy we had in our camp, like Luck, who won a lot of accolades,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a class act and I love his accuracy.” Darren Daniel, out of Alabama, and Dallas Lloyd, out of Utah, also signed. Lloyd, though, is not expected to enroll at Stanford until the fall of 2012, after completing his church mission. Nottingham was rated the fourth best pro-style quarterback in the country, while Lloyd was rated 15th overall. Harbaugh already has Daniel in the lineup as a freshman. “I envision a lot of ways to use him, even in his first year,” Harbaugh said of Daniel. “Lloyd can improvise. He can throw over the top, sideways, even under hand.” Luck gives the Cardinal an established returning starter at a key position. The depth chart was a little thin after that. Tavita Pritchard, who played in the Sun Bowl, graduates this year and Josh Nunes was the only other backup as Alex Loukas missed the season with a severe injury. If there was an overall theme for this class, it was about establishing depth across the board and replenishing the defense, especially at linebacker. Stanford signed four linebackers, three defensive linemen and three defensive backs. There was another linebacker who got away. The linebackers — Joe Hemschoot, Blake Lueders, Cleophus Robinson and A.J. Tarpley — likely will have the best chance to

Keith Peters

POLO HONORS . . . The girls’ 18-under team from the NorCal Water Polo Club just returned from Vancouver, B.C., site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, with a gold medal. The squad, however, wasn’t participating in the newest entry of the wintery games. Instead, the NorCal girls were on hand in frigid British Columbia for the annual BC Open tournament. And, as has been the case recently, the squad performed very well while winning the gold medal in its division for the second straight year. Also on hand was the Stanford Water Polo Club’s 18-under and 16-under teams. The 16U team finished third while the 18U squad did not medal. The NorCal 18U team went 5-0 over the three-day tournament. In the semifinals on Saturday night — in the tournament’s most-exciting match — NorCal beat Calgary II by 11-9 in a thrilling overtime match that ended just before midnight. Then on Sunday, NorCal beat a tough Marin team in the finale, 11-4, to secure the championship. Rebecca Dorst (Menlo-Atherton) and Kelsey Nolan (Leland) were named to the all-tournament team. Dorst led all scorers with 15 goals for the tournament, followed by Audrey Pratt with 13.

Stanford is looking like Quarterback U with top recruiting class

Priory’s Massiel Castellanos (left) scored two goals and got a hug from Eugenia Jernick after one of them.

(continued on page 32)

PREP BASKETBALL

They’re right on schedule Early injury problems aside, Pinewood girls are ready for a championship run by Keith Peters ith two of its four injured players back, the Pinewood girls’ basketball team is just beginning to hit its stride at the right time of the season. That, of course, is not good news to the rest of the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) or the other Division V teams in the Central Coast Section. The defending CCS and NorCal champion Panthers continued to show why they’re sharing first place in the WBAL (Foothill Division) race following yet another dominating performance in a 63-37 romp over visiting Castilleja on Tuesday night. The Panthers (6-1, 15-5) won their sixth straight and ninth in the past 10 games and remained tied for the top spot with Eastside Prep. The Gators (3-4, 14-6), meanwhile, fell into a three-way tie for second while losing their fourth league game for only the first time since the 2004-05 season. Junior Kelsey Morehead led Pinewood with a season-high 24 points while juniors Miranda Seto and Hailie Eackles added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Castilleja scoring leaders Natasha von Kaeppler and Eve Zelinger both were held way below their season averages, scoring nine and eight points, respectively. Zelinger fouled out with four minutes left in the fourth period. Sophomore Riya Modi led Castilleja with 12 points. The two teams exchanged leads in the first quarter, but it was Zelinger picking up her third personal foul in the opening frame that proved to be the deciding factor. In the second quarter, after Castilleja tied the game at 10, Pinewood put the game out of reach with an 18-0 run — posting the first 20-point quarter by a Castilleja opponent this season to take a 19-point halftime lead. There was no slowing the Panthers down in the second half as they followed up a 20-point second quarter with a 21-point third quarter, marking the first time since March 2005 that Castilleja had allowed 20-points in back-to-back quarters. Morehead scored 18 points over the second and third quarters. Castilleja’s offense picked up somewhat in the second half as the Gators were able to score 26 in the final two frames to match their 37-point output when the teams met at Castilleja earlier in the season. In San Francisco, Eastside Prep kept pace with Pinewood by handing host Mercy-San Francisco a 5548 defeat on Tuesday night. Senior Felicia Anderson led the Panthers (6-1, 17-3) with 19 points while junior Ahjalee Harvey added 13 and freshman Hashima Carothers contributed 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Keith Peters

Sacred Heart Prep freshman Joseph Bolous scored two goals in a 3-0 win over Eastside Prep to clinch the WBAL title.

BOYS’ PREP SOCCER

Sacred Heart Prep boys achieve a goal with title Gators now can turn their attention to completing an undefeated WBAL season, winning a CCS crown by Keith Peters att Dodge and his Sacred Heart Prep boys’ soccer team has a list of specific goals for the season, one of which was achieved Wednesday. The Gators handed visiting Eastside Prep a 3-0 loss in West Bay Athletic League action, a victory that clinched the league championship. Sacred Heart Prep is 11-0 in league (13-3 overall) for 33 points and just three matches remaining. “We want to go undefeated (in league) and win CCS,” Dodge said after the victory. “That is our main goal. I think we have the team to do it.” It’s doubtful any team in the WBAL would argue this season. The Gators are riding an 11-game winning streak, all in league play, and haven’t really be threatened. “This was just another day for these guys,” Dodge said of his team’s latest victory. “They came out and were relaxed and loose. But, once the whistle blew, they were all GO! A few of the players knew (about the title) after the game, but we did not make a big deal of it.” That’s because bigger goals are ahead. The Gators wrapped up the league title and distanced themselves from second-place Priory and Menlo, both of whom have 19 points. Priory has four matches left, but can finish with only 31 should the Panthers

sweep. The Gators got their first, and eventual winning goal, from freshman Joseph Bolous off an assist from Brendan Spillane at the 10minute mark of the first half. In the second half, Bolous made it 2-0 on an unassisted goal while Kyle Schebra converted a penalty kick at the 60-minute mark to close the scoring. Also in Atherton, Menlo remained tied for second place in the WBAL following a 3-2 victory over lastplace Crystal Springs on Wednesday in Atherton. The Knights (6-4-1, 8-7-1) got rolling with freshman Max Parker scoring in the 20th minute off an assist from his brother, junior Sam Parker. Max continued to make his presence felt by assisting on Vikram Padval’s diving header in the 29th minute. After Crysal Springs battled back to to draw even at 2 on an own goal, Menlo got the winning goal in the 65th minute when Lucas Keyt assisted on Lowry Yankwich’s decider. Other key contributors to Menlo’s win were defensive midfielder Jackson Badger, striker Spike Lufkin and center back Henry Bard. In Sunnyvale, Priory lost an opportunity to keep its possible league title hopes alive following a 0-0 draw with host King’s Academy. Had the Panthers (6-3-1, 6-5-1) been able to (continued on page 33)

Keith Peters

Pinewood’s Hailie Eackles (23) and Miranda Seto (back) combined for 24 points in Tuesday’s 63-37 romp over Castilleja. The Panthers fell behind by 24-9 after the opening quarter, but stepped it up defensively by allowing the Skippers only single-digit scoring over the final three quarters. Eastside Prep will host Castilleja on Friday at 5 p.m., perhaps the last hurdle for the Panthers to what appears to be a co-championship with Pinewood. In Atherton, Menlo School snapped a four-game losing streak with a 55-30 romp over visiting Sacred Heart Prep in a WBAL (Foothill Division) game on Tuesday night. The Knights (3-4, 12-8) received strong play from Drew Edelman (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Lauren Lete (12) with junior Emma Paye adding 10 points and nine boards. In the SCVAL De Anza Division, visiting Gunn pulled into a fourthplace tie following a 51-39 victory at last-place Saratoga on Tuesday night. The Titans (4-4, 7-10) continued their quest for a postseason playoff berth as freshman Claire Klausner scored 14 points and Julia Maggioncalda added 10. Gunn clamped down defensively in the first half

while taking a 28-17 lead. The Titans will host Palo Alto (3-4, 10-7) on Friday (6:15 p.m.) in another must-win game for both teams. In the PAL Bay Division, visiting Menlo-Atherton dropped a 58-41 decision to Aragon, which went on a 19-2 tear in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Aragon (6-1, 15-4) remains the division co-leader along with Terra Nova (6-1, 13-8) while Menlo-Atherton fell to 3-4 in league (8-13 overall). The Bears built an early lead behind the play of sophomore forward Tennyson Jellins, who scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds. Jessica Tuliau led the Bears with 16 points while teammate Victoria Fakalata added 12 points and eight rebounds. Boys’ basketball Sacred Heart Prep remained atop the West Bay Athletic League standings with a dominating 55-31 victory over rival Menlo on Tuesday night in the Knights’ gym. The Gators improved to 8-1 in league (14-5 overall) and maintained their one-game lead over Pinewood and (continued on page 33)

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Sports

Name Henry Anderson Dillon Bonnell Barry Browning Devon Carrington Darren Daniel Davis Dudchock Cameron Fleming Joe Hemschoot Blake Lueders Dallas Lloyd Keanu Nelson Brett Nottingham Eddie Plantaric Ed Reynolds Cleophus Robinson Ricky Seale A.J. Tarpley Alex Turner Cole Underwood Jordan Williamson Anthony Wilkerson David Yankey

Pos. DL OL DB safety QB TE OL OLB DL QB CB QB DL safety OLB RB OLB DL OL PK RB OL

Ht. 6-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 6-3 6-4 6-5 6-1 6-5 6-3 5-11 6-4 6-5 6-2 6-1 5-9 6-2 6-1 6-3 5-11 6-0 6-5

Wt. 240 275 170 183 185 225 280 210 250 205 165 210 267 204 220 185 210 235 255 150 218 278

School Woodward Academy, College Park, GA Thunder Ridge HS, Highlands Ranch, CO Everman (Texas) HS Hamilton HS, Chandler, Ariz. Central HS, Phenix City, Ala. Oak Mountain HS, Birmingham, Ala. Cypress Creek HS, Houston Lakewood (Colo.) HS Zionsville Community (Ind.) HS Pleasant Grove (Utah) HS Sabino HS, Tucson, Ariz. Monte Vista HS, Danville, Calif. Del Campo HS, Fair Oaks, Calif. Woodberry Forest (Vir.) School Paul VI HS, Haddonfield, N.J. Escondido (Calif.) HS Wayzata HS, Plymouth, Minn. Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas, Nev. Guyer HS, Denton, Texas Westwood HS, Austin, Texas Tustin (Calif.) HS Centennial HS, Roswell, Ga.

Stanford football

The Cardinal did lose out on top linebacker prospect Jordan (continued from page 30) Zumwalt, who informed Stanford coaches late Tuesday night he had contribute immediately. Harbaugh changed his commitment to UCLA. said there could be several candi- Zumwalt, a resident of Huntington dates among the class Beach, committed to that could play right Stanford early and away. then saw his stock “Probably more rise after a strong sethan last year,” he nior season. said. “These guys Running back will be given an opRicky Seale is the portunity, and the lison of former NFL cense, to compete for corner and current a job.” NFL scout Sam Lueders had been Seale. Running back leaning toward Notre Anthony Wilkerson’s Dame but wavered uncles include former following the coachmajor league outing change there. He fielder Mike Davis decided on Stanford and former Stanford two days ago. Randy Jim Harbaugh baseball star Mark Hart and Brian PoDavis. lian, who coached at Notre Dame “These guys are going to be last year and were Lueders’ key con- great teammates,” Harbaugh said. tacts at the school, are now coaching “There’s not one ‘me’ guy. They are at Stanford. team guys.” N

STANFORD ROUNDUP

Another big test for women in water polo Cardinal hosts nation’s top teams at Stanford Invitational this weekend by Rick Eymer he Stanford women’s water polo team faces its biggest test of the young season and the Cardinal players would not have it any other way. After all, it’s the Stanford Invitational, with eight of the top nine teams in the nation entered, and Cardinal coach John Tanner didn’t even try to manipulate things to his advantage. Top-ranked Stanford (3-0) hosts sixth-ranked Michigan in Saturday’s first game at 8:30 a.m., and then faces second-ranked USC later in the day at 4 p.m. “We’ll be good,” Tanner said. “Practices have been great and I feel we’ll be able to go at people in a lot of different ways.” The Cardinal plays seventh-ranked San Jose State on Sunday morning at 8 a.m. and then could face defending national champions and No. 3 UCLA in the placement game later on Sunday. Michigan (3-1) is no slouch. The Wolverines have NCAA tournament experience and owns a win over seventh-ranked San Diego State. Their lone loss was a 10-7 decision to the Bruins. The Spartans are off to their best start in history, opening the season with seven wins. The Women of Troy won 26 of 28 matches last year, and lost to UCLA in the national title contest. The Cardinal owns an all-time record of 30-6 in their invitational,

Kyle Terada/Stanford Athletics

2010 STANFORD FOOTBALL RECUITS The 22 players signed by Stanford University on Wednesday, in alphabetical order

Sophomore Melissa Seidemann once again leads Stanford in scoring, with seven goals after a pair of hat tricks over the weekend. with all six setbacks to UCLA or USC, dating to 2001. Sophomore Melissa Seidemann once again leads Stanford in scoring, with seven goals and a pair of hat tricks over the weekend. Returning all-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation goalkeeper Amber Oland and fellow goalies Kim Hall and Kate Baldoni all saw action in last week’s tournament at Berkeley. The tournament is an early barometer for national presence among the top teams from the MPSF and across the nation. It also brings local high school grads together from other schools, including Sacred Heart Prep grad Adriana Vogt at San Jose State and a host of locals who play for UCLA: Menlo School grad Megan Burmeister, Sacred Heart Prep grad KK Clark, Menlo School grad Camy Sullivan, and Sacred Heart Prep grad MJ Mordell. “We’re confident we can play strong or in a fast-paced game,” Tanner said. “We have some speedsters.” Stanford has finished third in its

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Where age is just a number Page 32ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

own tournament in each of the past six years. The Cardinal last won the title in 2003. Men’s volleyball Stanford rebounded from two close home losses with a convincing 30-22, 28-30, 30-20, 30-26 victory over visiting Pacific on Wednesday night. The fifth-ranked Cardinal (4-3, 4-3) hopes to carry that momentum into Friday night’s 7 p.m. nonconference game against visiting UC Santa Cruz. Stanford hosts two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contests next weekend against UCLA and defending national champion UC Irvine that will go a long way in determining the conference champion. “I think we hit our rough spot,” Stanford middle blocker Charley Henrikson said. “We’re going to get better.” Stanford dropped matches to UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge last week to fall off the pace in the MPSF. Cardinal outside hitter Spencer McLachlin, out with a shoulder injury, missed those matches, and remains unavailable. Men’s tennis Stanford sophomore Bradley Klahn just keeps getting better following his sensational freshman season as the ITA Newcomer of the Year. Klahn was named Pac-10 Men’s Tennis Player of the Week it was learned Wednesday. The honor is the first of the season for Klahn and fourth overall for his career. Klahn won both of his singles and doubles matches at the No.1 position over the weekend, helping Stanford earn a berth to the National Team Indoor Championships. Stanford is back in action on Saturday with a home match against Hawaii at 1 p.m. Women’s tennis Junior Hilary Barte led a sweep of the singles in straight sets as Stanford downed visiting UC Davis, 7-0, in a nonconference match Tuesday. Barte and Veronica Li, at No. 6 singles, each lost one game. No one else lost more than six games as Stanford won its 153rd consecutive home match, and 205 of 206 over the past 14 years. N

Sports

Boys’ soccer

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

win, they would have prevented firstplace Sacred Heart Prep from clinching the league title on Wednesday. Now, despite having four matches remaining, the best Priory can do is finish in second place. In the SCVAL De Anza Division on Tuesday, another round of action left nothing decided. But, the league got a lot tighter with the top four teams only separated by just two points. Palo Alto and Gunn were among that group — heading into their showdown on Thursday afternoon. The fourth-place Titans (4-3-1, 5-8-2) needed a victory over the second-place Vikings (4-1-2, 7-3-5) to continue the drama in the division. More important, the league title and an automatic berth (and high seed) into the CCS playoffs continue to be on the line. Then there’s the usual bragging rights between the local rivals, which always makes for a heated battle. Both teams already have been in first place at one time this season, but neither lasted very long. Gunn, in fact, resided there twice in the past two weeks, but always followed up an important victory with a frustrating loss or tie. In fact, the Titans have won back-to-back matches only once this season, to open the division schedule. Palo Alto also has found difficulty in putting together two solid efforts back to back. The Vikings also have only once won consecutive matches in league play and have a high of three straight wins after opening the year 0-1-3. Palo Alto, however, took some momentum into Thursday’s match after moving back into a secondplace tie in the SCVAL De Anza Division with a 2-0 victory at lastplace Monta Vista on Tuesday. The Vikings took 14 points into Thursday’s showdown, just one point be-

Jim Shorin

(continued from page 31)

Palo Alto keeper Austin Shiau blocked a penalty shot during the Vikings’ 2-0 victory over host Monta Vista on Tuesday. hind first-place Mountain View. Paly had to deal with the elements and Monta Vista on Tuesday. It started raining just before the start of the match and the grass field remained fairly playable for the first 20 minutes before quickly getting slick. For Paly, all the scoring took place in the first 10 minutes: Senior Ethan Plank scored the first goal (unassisted) off a direct kick from 10 yards outside the top of the box. The Vikings made it 2-0 when sophomore Kris Hoglund took a pass from senior John Anderton and placed it past the diving keeper. As the field conditions continued to deteriorate, Paly had several more opportunities, including two shots off the post. Monta Vista (1-5-1, 6-7-2) had two close chances but Paly keeper Austin Shiau made two nice saves, including the stopping of a penalty kick with 10 minutes

remaining. Paly had a good solid effort backed up by Shiau, John Richardson and Jenner Fox. At Gunn, Milpitas seemed comfortable on the road with an early strike off a throw-in the first minute of play. The Titans answered in the 30th minute with a passing combination of Scott Baer to Paul Morimoto, who found sophomore Sammy Hayward inside the box for a left-footed shot under the keeper for a 1-1 final result. Defensively, Gunn seniors Michael Starr and Konrad Guzinski kept Milpitas from countering while the offense utilized a possession style. Milpitas moved to 2-4-2 (6-8-2). Gunn took 13 points into Thursday’s match.N (For results of the Gunn-Palo Alto boys’ match, go to www.PASportsOnline.com)

Hailie Eackles

Max Lippe

Pinewood School

The junior scored 59 points, grabbed 24 rebounds and had nine assists in three basketball victories, including a triumph over previously unbeaten Eastside Prep to forge a tie for first place in the WBAL.

The senior scored 50 points, grabbed 40 rebounds and had 11 assists in three basketball victories, including one over defending champ Menlo that moved the Panthers into a tie for second place in the WBAL.

Honorable mention Jenna McLoughlin

Joseph Bolous

Pinewood basketball

Sacred Heart Prep soccer

Kelsey Morehead

Reed McConnell

Pinewood basketball

Sacred Heart Prep basketball

Jessica Tuliau

Will McConnell

Menlo-Atherton basketball

Natasha von Kaeppler Castilleja basketball

Gunn basketball

Lizzy Weisman*

Max Schmarzo

Sacred Heart Prep soccer

Eve Zelinger* Castilleja basketball

Sacred Heart Prep basketball

Bharat Reddy

Palo Alto basketball

Solomone Wolfgramm Pinewood basketball * previous winner

To see video interviews of the Athletes of the Week, go to www.PASportsOnline.com

Prep basketball (continued from page 31)

Harker in the tight league race. Junior Reed McConnell continued his consistent offensive production, leading the Gators with 15 points. His twin brother, Will, chipped in with 12 points. In Los Altos Hills, all 11 players who suited up scored for Pinewood en route to a 74-48 romp over visiting King’s Academy in another WBAL game. The co-second place Panthers (7-2, 14-4) shot 10-for-21 from 3-point range including that included two 3-pointers from five different players — including recently returned junior Arun Sundaresan, who has missed the past six weeks with a partially torn ACL. Pinewood is still playing without junior starter Kyle Riches, who broke his hand in Pinewood’s loss at Sacred Heart on January 22. With Riches out, everyone has stepped up and played well to help the Panthers move up in the standings. On Tuesday, senior Max Lippe had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists despite battling an illness. Sophomores Dante Fraioli and Solomone Wolfgramm combined for 25 points. N

19th Annual Photo Contest CALL FOR ENTRIES ENTRY DEADLINE: April 2, 2010, 5:30pm

ENTRY FORM & RULES AVAILABLE at www.PaloAltoOnline.com For more information call 650.223.6508 or e-mail arenalds@paweekly.com

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(continued from page 30)

Palo Alto’s (L-R) Kaitlyn Patterson, Kelly Jenks, Maeve Stewart, Marina Foley and Erika Hoglund celebrate Stewart’s match-tying goal in a 1-1 deadlock with visiting Monta Vista on Tuesday. Jenks (24) provided the assist. first home game. We’re not more accustomed to playing on it then they thought we were. Honestly, I think they (SHP) were more focused on the field than we were.” Priory clearly appeared more comfortable in the sloppy conditions and did a good job of controlling the action, despite missing sophomore Darrah Shields, the team’s No. 2 scorer. She sat with a sprained ankle. Priory’ defenders like Melissa Perna, Molly Simpson and Alex Schnabel, among others, kept SHP scoring leader Lizzy Weisman in check. The victory was Priory’s first over Sacred Heart Prep after four straight loses. “Today, we got over the mental aspect of Sacred Heart beating us

four times in row,” del Rio said. “To get over that today was important.” In other WBAL (Foothill Division) action Tuesday: In San Bruno, Menlo School remained in a tie for second place with a 4-1 victory over host Mercy-Burlingame at Skyline College in San Bruno. Senior Katie Baum scored twice while senior Mila Sheeline and freshman Maya Norman found the net once each. In Palo Alto, Castilleja (3-1-1, 7-4-1) kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a 4-1 win over Notre Dame-San Jose at Mayfield Soccer Complex. Sophomore Emily Mosbacher scored three goals for the Gators while Martha Harding added one. In the SCVAL De Anza Division that was a rematch of last sea-

Al Chang

place with Menlo (4-1-2, 10-2-3), both with 14 points. It also prevented the Gators (6-1, 11-4-2) from moving a win away from clinching their second straight division title. Sacred Heart Prep needed to beat Menlo on Thursday to set up a possible title-clinching win over visiting Mercy-Burlingame next Tuesday. Priory and Menlo are mathematically still alive for the WBAL crown. If the Panthers sweep their final three, they finish with 23 points. If the Knights were able to beat SHP and win out, they finish with 23 points. Should the Gators fall to Menlo, they’ll have to win their final two to successfully defend with 24 points. Should Sacred Heart, however, finish 1-1-1, Priory and Menlo will share the title. “The league title is important to us,” del Rio said, “but the automatic (CCS) berth is more important. We don’t want to play that playoff game.” The third-place finisher in the WBAL Foothill Division will play the winner of the Skyline Division, with the victor advancing to CCS as the third team from the WBAL. Sacred Heart can help Priory in that regard by beating Menlo. All three Foothill Division teams should advance to the postseason, as they did last season. Priory ended up losing to No. 1 seed Santa Cruz and Menlo fell to Sacred Heart Prep, both in the quarterfinals. The Gators ended up winning the CCS Division III title, the program’s first ever as then-sophomore Abby Dahlkemper scored two goals in a 2-1 victory. Dahlkemper has been in Sunrise, Fla., this week training with the U.S. National U-17 team. She missed Sacred Heart’s loss to Priory on Tuesday, but is expected to return on Saturday. Should she be invited back to the U-17 team in two weeks

and makes the squad, it’s possible she could miss the CCS championship match due to her competing with the national squad at the CONCACAF U-17 Womenís Championship in Costa Rica from March 9-20 -- the qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in September. That’s a lot of ifs, ands and buts at this point. Bottom line, anything can happen in the postseason and that leaves the door open like a muddy field did on Tuesday. The sloppy field condition, in fact, nearly prevented the match from behind held. Sacred Heart Prep coach Jake Moffat, however, went ahead despite less-than-desirable conditions that Moffat said was a huge difference in the outcome. “The field was 100 percent a factor,” Moffat said. “On this field today, they were the better team — on this field today. Hopefully, we’ll get another chance to play them again on a neutral field.” When Priory took a 1-0 lead with about 14:50 left in the opening half on a goal by Castellanos, the pressure was on SHP. Castellanos made the Gatorsí task more difficult when she scored again with 11:47 left in the first half after maneuvering around the defense and pounding a shot into the upper right corner of the net for a 2-0 halftime lead. With 24 minutes left in the match, Priory put the match out of reach when Castellanos made a run down the left side and crossed it to sophomore Alyson Perna, who beat her defender to the ball and somehow found the back of the net for a 3-0 lead. With the match in injury time, Cortes lofted a free kick from about 30 yards out and into the upper right corner of the net past a leaping SHP keeper Chris Sours, who tumbled into the cage with the ball as the Panthers grabbed an insurmountable 4-0 lead on the cloudy, rainy day. “At times it was slower,” del Rio said of the field. “But, this was our

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Palo Alto keeper Alex Kershner leaped high to make this save in a 1-1 tie with Monta Vista.

son’s CCS Division I championship match, host Palo Alto and defending section champ Monta Vista battled to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday. The Matadors (5-1-2, 11-2-2) remained atop the division while the Vikings (3-3-1, 6-5-2) stayed in fourth place. Senior Maeve Stewart provided the tying goal for Paly late in the second half. Also in the SCVAL De Anza Division, last-place Gunn (0-5-2, 2-8-3) tied host Homestead in a sloppy match on a sloppy, wet field. In the PAL Bay Division, visiting Menlo-Atherton (4-4-1, 8-5-2) fell back in the race following a 5-1 loss to second-place Aragon on Tuesday. M-A’s Vanessa Renkel scored on a long assist from Mallory Stevens, but the Bears’ defense had no answer for Aragon’s prolific offense. N

Keith Peters

Girls’ soccer

Al Chang

Sports

Sacred Heart Prep’s Caroline Moe (7) did her best to keep the ball from Priory’s Massiel Castellanos.

LOV E I S I N T H E A I R

SCRIof PT LOVE

REWRITING

the

by Karla Kane

STANFORD’S DONNOVAN YISRAEL HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE BUILD A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR LOVE, SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS

ad boys and bad girls, Prince Charmings and Cinderellas — cultural and media representations of love, romance and living “happily ever after” can ruin a relationship, according to Donnovan Yisrael, Stanford University’s Relationship and Sexual Health Programs manager. And people have only become more consistently saturated by unhealthy media portrayals of sex and relationships since he began his work in the 1990s, according to Yisrael. “The line between fantasy and reality gets blurred,” he said. No matter a person’s age or stage in life, “How you think about relationships determines how it goes,” Yisrael, who is happily married, added. Yisrael has helped Stanford students grapple with relationship issues as part of the university’s health-promotion services for more than a decade. The lessons they learn during his twice-weekly talks could make the difference between a happy long-term relationship

or a lifetime of disasters. Yisrael calls his field the “intersection of health and culture.” He’s interested in helping people understand how social and cultural pressures can lead to unrealistic relationship expectations and risky behaviors, he said. A Stanford alumnus, Yisrael has degrees in psychology and sociology. A former AIDSprevention worker for high school students in San Mateo County, he hopes that by talking with students about issues and patterns early, fewer will engage in risky or damaging behavior during their college careers and beyond, he said. Yisrael gains students’ rapt attention in his casual evening talks with titles such as “Studs, sluts, virgins and wimps,” “Why I want what I can’t have,” and, most recently, “Top 10 frustrating ‘games’ in romantic relationships.” Yisrael addresses issues such as the “bad boy/bad girl” in his “Top 10 frustrating games” talk. Those roles are exemplified by celebrities such as Charlie Sheen or Lindsay Lohan, who glamorize risky behavior, including drugs, drunk driving, infidelity and trouble with the law, he said. “‘Bad boys’ or ‘wild girls’ are seen as these intriguing, attractive, dark figures” whom admirers falsely think they can “tame.” That impossible task generally leads to heartbreak, he said. Yisrael also tackles the idea of being “cool” — playing hard to get, acting uncaring or uninterested, and not worrying about health risks. “Why want to date someone who doesn’t care?” he asks his audience. Part of why people have unrealistic expectations of their partners has to do with the concept of love, he said. “In America we only have one word for love. It’s problematic. There should be and is a difference between being in love and real love,” he said, pointing out that studies have shown brains under the influence of being “in love” or infatuated look similar to those under the influence of cocaine. But it can be challenging to grasp what real love is when media portrayals of relationships, be they from the “Twilight” series or classic “princess” fairytales, perpetuate stereotypes and reinforcing

limited views of how masculinity and femininity should be expressed, he said. “Gender roles are at the heart of many relationship issues. The more you buy into traditional gender roles the less likely you will be sexually safe and healthy,” Yisrael said. It’s not just “Sex and the City” and old fairytales, either, he added. “Cultural scripts are linked to unhealthy behavior,” even in subtle ways, he said. For real relationship success, he said, couples must have a strong partnership in day-today life, even after the initial feelings of butterflies in the stomach, overwhelming attraction and “sparks” have faded. “Real love is a behavior, not a feeling,” he said. Basing a successful longterm relationship on the swoony feelings of new romance would be like “starting a business with someone because they have nice teeth,” he said. In addition to his talks, Yisrael meets with individual students but emphasizes that he is not a therapist. “Sometimes students just really need someone to talk to, to ask what is normal or express concerns, and I can be that person. I also serve as a bridge to therapy referral,” he said. He also works with student groups to raise awareness of relationship issues. For the month of January (called “Manuary”), Yisrael and members of the student group Men Against Abuse Now grew moustaches to raise awareness about relationship violence. Yisrael’s message may not kick in until after graduation. He hopes the talks will plant a seed of awareness to challenge relationship stereotypes and make healthy choices, he said. “I want to help them with critical thinking about nuance and body image, and with getting them to understand how culture is inside us, on an intellectual, psychological and emotional level,” he said. N Editorial Assistant Karla Kane can be e-mailed at kkane@paweekly.com.

Remember your first kiss? Was it sweet, impulsive, surprising or overdue? Check out the Weekly’s video of eight people talking about their first romantic moment: http://tinyurl.com/theirfirst kiss

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8[bQ U_ UZ `TQ MU^ M A K I N G S P E C I A L M O M E N T S F O R S O M E O N E YO U L O V E Wedding ceremonies and receptions may be conducted from 10am-9pm with a maximum guest count of 140 people. 3½ acres of lush 3 1/2 acres of lush gardens, patios, fountains, and gardens, patios, fountains beautiful historic andSpanish beautifulcolonial historic Spanish colonial buildings nestled in menlo park.area buildings, in a quiet

Celebrate Your Love at Allied Arts Guild

. of Menlo Park

Please contact our Event Director at 650.322.2405, for more speciﬁc information

75 Arbor Rd., Menlo Park 75 Arbor650.322.2405 Rd., Menlo Park 650.322.2405 www.alliedartsguild.org

www.alliedartsguild.org

Photos by Elley Photoagraphy

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Mountain View (650) 964-7212 141 El Camino Real Page 36ÊUÊ iLÀÕ>ÀÞÊx]ÊÓä£äÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ

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8[bQ U_ UZ `TQ MU^ M A K I N G S P E C I A L M O M E N T S F O R S O M E O N E YO U L O V E

The Art of Being A Woman

OUT&ABOUT

Local Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s events for singles, couples and families Ridge Top Valentine Three-and-a-half-mile hike with docents Peggy Jacobs and Kandis Scott along the Ridge Trail from Alpine Pond to Horseshoe Lake and back. Sunday, Feb. 14, at 2 p.m. Free. Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve, 22200 Skyline Blvd., Palo Alto 650-691-1200 www.openspace.org/preserves/pr_ skyline_ridge.asp

Wedding cakes for Those with discriminating palates Voted #1 for our cakes for over 18 years consecutively.

550 Waverley Street, Palo Alto (650) 326-8485 (650) 326-8668 Fremont Pacific Commons Store, 43337 Boscell Rd., Fremont (510) 252-1098

Singles Valentine dance Dancing to popular hits. Adults of all ages. Dressy attire recommended. Friday, Feb. 12, from 8 p.m.-midnight, $20 at the door. Hotel Sofitel, 223 Twin Dolphin Dr., Redwood City, 650-598-9000 www.sofitel.com/gb/home/index.shtml

Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day story time Sunday, Feb. 14, 11:30 a.m., free. Keplerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park 650-324-4321 www.keplers.com

Quito Village, 18832 Cox Ave., Saratoga (408) 378-9880 3938 Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara (408) 986-8388

www.prolificoven.com

For more events, please visit www.TheAlmanacOnline.com

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2645 Fair Oaks Avenue | Redwood City | 650-366-4104 | info@lahondawinery.com *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;U Page 37

8[bQ U_ UZ `TQ MU^ M A K I N G S P E C I A L M O M E N T S F O R S O M E O N E YO U L O V E

THE M A R R IOTT COURT YA R D Marriott Courtyard will completely accommodate your wedding guests, leaving you free to relax and focus on the details of your wedding. Ask about our group room rates for Weddings, Reunions, and Special Occasions. Banquet space for intimate receptions or rehearsal dinners, Restaurant for Breakfast, Lounge, Heated Pool, Fitness Center, and Complimentary underground parking.

Courtyard by Marriott Palo Alto - Los Altos 4320 El Camino Real Los Altos, CA 94022 www.marriott.com/paocy Call the Sales OfďŹ ce for more information at 650-941-9900

â&#x20AC;˘ Elegant facilities for weddings, celebrations & meetings â&#x20AC;˘ Seating up to 80 people â&#x20AC;˘ Restaurant & cocktail lounge

â&#x20AC;˘ Beautiful mediterranean setting with 184 guestroooms and suites â&#x20AC;˘ Adjacent to Stanford University and one block to downtown Palo Alto

675 El Camino Real â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto,CA 94301 â&#x20AC;˘ (650) 321-4422

RISTORANTE

VALENTINEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S DAY SPECIAL Four-Course Dinner Only $39.50 per person

1148 Crane Street, Menlo Park Reservations Recommended 417 California Ave, Palo Alto s WWW SPALTI COM Page 38Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;

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let the wedding ritual begin...

Bridal parties can relax in one of our private hot tub rooms, then go to massages or facials, scrubs or wraps. Groups of 4 or more booking packages with a hot tub will receive complimentary drink service and a gift for each guest! Or share some romantic time with your partner. Private steam, side by side signature massage. One and one half hours Couples Package $280 for two.

ELIZABETH F. GAMBLE GARDEN â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the most perfect garden ceremony/ reception sitesâ&#x20AC;ŚWe recommend it highly.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Here Comes the Guideâ&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best Place for a Wedding Receptionâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 years in a row â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best ofâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? Readersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Poll

For up to 50 guests, with an on-site wedding coordinator 1431 Waverley Street, Palo Alto, California 94301-3640 650-329-1356 x 202 www.gamblegarden.org

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll capture the Joy While You Cherish the Moments in Palo Alto! One stop shopping for all your Valentine & Wedding needs.

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267 Hamilton Avenue 650-328-3500 www.universityart.com Invitations for your Wedding or Special Occasion DISCOUNTED Save the Date Cards ... Bridal Showers ... Announcements, Envelope Calligraphy, and addressing. www.paperpizzazz.invitations.com (650) 858-0771 Email: paperpizzazz@pacbell.net Cards created using your handwriting and photos

Paper Pizzazz!

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Theodore H. Mock Photography 415 University Avenue Downtown Palo Alto

(650) 321-5574 or by appointment

Please visit our website: www.mockphotography.com email:tedmock@pacbell.net

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&M $BNJOP 3FBM t 1BMP "MUP $" t (650) 328-2800 *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; iLĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x2022;>Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;x]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ¤Ă&#x160;U Page 39

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