Palo Alto
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Critics besiege High-Speed Rail Authority Page 3
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Federal funding to Silicon Valley is threatened page 28
1ST PLACE
GENERAL EXCELLENCE
Spectrum 12
Eating Out 22
ShopTalk 23
Movies 25
Puzzles 55
California Newspaper Publishers Association
N Arts Early 20th-century writer rediscovered
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Palo Altans head for the Hills
Perinatal Diagnostic Center
Packard Children’s Hospital
Obstetric Anesthesia
Center for Fetal Health
Stanford School of Medicine
TOGETHER WHAT DREW US HERE AS DOCTORS, DRAWS US BACK AS PATIENTS.
www.lpch.org
Obstetricians Karen Shin and Mary Parman spend their days caring for pregnant patients and delivering babies. Now that each doctor is pregnant with her ďŹ rst child, the choice of where to deliver is clear: right here where they deliver their patients’ babies, at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. “At Packard, every specialist you could ever need is available within minutes, around the clock. When you’ve seen how successfully the physicians, staff and nurses work, especially in unpredictable situations, you instinctively want that level of care for you and your baby.â€? To learn more about the services we provide to expectant mothers and babies, visit lpch.org
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Upfront
1ST PLACE
BEST LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE California Newspaper Publishers Association
Local news, information and analysis
Rail Authority besieged by critical reports State legislators give agency until February to resolve ridership, oversight issues by Gennady Sheyner
T
he California High-Speed Rail Authority has until February to resolve a litany of recently uncovered problems with the planned rail system or risk losing state funding for the project, state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, told
the Weekly this week. Simitian, who sits on both the Senate’s Budget Committee and Transportation Policy Committee, is one of many local and state officials who have become increasingly frustrated with the voter-approved project in re-
cent months as three independent reviews found a slew of problems in the proposed rail line, which would stretch from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The latest of these reviews, issued last Friday by the Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) at University of California, Berkeley, picked apart the model that the rail authority’s consultant used to estimate how many people would use the new line. The ITS report concluded that these models have “large error bounds� and
are “unreliable for policy analysis.� Simitian, a former Palo Alto mayor and Santa Clara County supervisor, said the ITS study is particularly troubling because it was issued on the heels of other critical reports about the rail project. Last year, the Legislative Analyst’s Office called the rail authority’s business plan incomplete and consideration of funding risks inadequate. And the State Auditor’s report, issued in late April, summarized its findings in its
title, “High-Speed Rail Authority: It Risks Delays or an Incomplete System Because of Inadequate Planning, Weak Oversight, and Lax Contract Management.� Simitian called the slate of problems identified in the recent reports “an unfortunate trend that needs to be turned around.� “This is just the latest in a series of observations from qualified, reputable (continued on page 8)
SCHOOLS
Big changes afoot at Gunn, Paly Workers move dozens of portables to clear sites for major construction by Chris Kenrick eenagers heading back to school this fall will find dramatically altered landscapes at Gunn and Palo Alto high schools. At Gunn, the 26 portable classrooms that comprised the “Titan Village� section of campus have been moved to the parking lot to make way for construction of a new, two-story building for the math and English departments. At Paly, the campus is abuzz with “belly dump� trailers, bulldozers, backhoes and motor graders. The Churchill Avenue field containing baseball and softball diamonds has been dug up — resembling a moonscape studded with mounds of dirt and gravel — and will not re-open until February. And the entire central campus is fenced off as workers assemble 16 portable classrooms in the Paly quad. The work — funded by a $378 million facilities bond that was approved by 77.5 percent of school district voters in June 2008 — eventually will touch all 17 campuses of the Palo Alto Unified School District. The bond program is intended to modernize outdated classrooms and expand school capacity to accommodate anticipated enrollment growth. Now at 11,680 students, district-wide enrollment has crept up steadily from a low of 7,452 in 19891990. The previous high point was at the crest of the Baby Boom years in 1967-68, when enrollment was 15,575 and Palo Alto had three comprehensive high schools.
T
Kimihiro Hoshino
Computers are part of daily life, even while enjoying family time at the Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood City, for Mandeep Dhillon, CEO of Togetherville, a new social networking site for kids. With him are his children Zoraver Singh, 8, left, Nivaaz Kaur, 3, and Hazuri Kaur, 6.
COMMUNITY
Parenting the Internet generation Website offers social networking for kids — with adult supervision by Katia Savchuk
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tay-at-home-mom Teri Spanner was shocked to see 8-yearold son Blake killing American soldiers in an online World War II game last year. A National Guard veteran herself, Spanner told him that the website was off-limits.
When she and her 12-year-old, Evan, came across pornographic videos while searching for a Capella renditions of “Danny Boy,� YouTube joined the blacklist. A Facebook profile is a no-no
for both boys, despite their pleas, at least until they turn 13. Like many parents, Spanner has struggled with allowing her kids to use the Internet while guarding against inappropriate content and safety risks. Banning them from the Internet altogether is not an option; Blake, now 9, has had to cite Web sources in schoolwork since the third grade. As parents and experts come to terms with plugged-in kids, they are trying to figure out how to rear the Internet generation — and a pair of Palo Alto entrepreneurs say they can help. Last May, one-time consultants Mandeep Dhillon and Rajveer Tut launched Togetherville, a social networking website designed for children younger than 10.
Togetherville allows children to build a “neighborhood� of parentapproved friends and grown-ups with whom to share videos, play games and trade messages for free. Parents can monitor all activities and interact with their kids online. Children are identified by their real names. “There’s a reason 500 million people use Facebook,� said Dhillon, Togetherville’s CEO and a spirited father of three. “Let’s give kids the Web for adults that’s appropriate for them and make it safe.� Many parents seem to be on board. Togetherville’s 10-person team has been working around the clock to accommodate rapidly (continued on page 7)
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Upfront
www.mominabox.net
PUBLISHER William S. Johnson
The “I Care� package you’ll want to send off with your new or returning college student
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DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Raul Perez, Assistant Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Gary Vennarucci, Designer PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Samantha Mejia, 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. Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Assistants Alicia Santillan, Classified Administrative Asst.
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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 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 Katia Savchuk, Carolyn Copeland, Robin Migdol, Piyawan Rungsuk, Ryan Deto, Editorial Interns
EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Rachel Palmer, Online Operations Coordinator BUSINESS Penelope Ng, Payroll & Benefits Manager Elena Dineva, Mary McDonald, Cathy Stringari, Susie Ochoa, Doris Taylor, Business Associates ADMINISTRATION Amy Renalds, Assistant to the Publisher & Promotions Director Janice Covolo, Receptionist Ruben Espinoza, Courier
PALO ALTO FESTIVAL
july 10 & 11, 2010 10am to 5pm palo alto art center embarcadero and newell 180 prestigious clay & glass artists members gallery demonstrations free admission valet parking 650-329-2366 acga.net
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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, Circulation Assistants Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo, Computer System Associates 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 Š2010 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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Companies have options; they don’t just come to you. —Jean Snider, managing director of Stanford Research Park, on encouraging teleconferencing juggernaut Skype to relocate to the Park. See story on page 3.
Around Town HANDCUFFS VS. HOSES ... Palo Alto’s police officers and firefighters will collide this Saturday at Palo Alto High School in the first annual “Clash of the Heroes� charity football game. The city’s emergency responders will join their counterparts from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park on the gridiron to raise money for the youth group “Project WeH.O.P.E.,� which promotes leadership skills and alternatives to drugs and violence. The departments will also have equipment on display for spectators. The game will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. at Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road. Admission is $10 and free for children younger than 12. PARTING WORDS ... In a message to the Gunn High School community, outgoing Principal Noreen Likins thanked students and families for making her daily work at the school “a pleasure, not a chore.� Likins, who spent 12 years at Gunn, six of them as principal, marked her last day June 30. She announced in February that she would retire, citing family reasons. “Always waiting until tomorrow to do things you want to do is not wise,� she said at the time, noting that her husband, retired for 13 years, “is patiently waiting for us to do some of the traveling we keep talking about but don’t have time to do.� In her June 30 e-mail to Gunn families, Likins referred indirectly to student suicides at the Caltrain tracks between May and October 2009. “We have been through a lot together and emerged from the tragedies and challenges of the last two years in particular a stronger, more cohesive community,� Likins said. Longtime Palo Alto teacher and administrator Katya Villalobos is the new principal at Gunn. COSTLY MEASURE ... It’s official: Palo Alto firefighters’ proposal to freeze the current staffing levels in the Fire Department will go to the voters, mostly likely in November. But whether the proposal fails or succeeds, the city will take a financial hit, according to the City Clerk’s Office. A new report by City Clerk Donna
Grider estimates the cost of the election to be about $212,780, about $20,000 more than initially projected. That’s because the Santa Clara Registrar of Voters has just sent the city a $22,780 invoice for verification of petition signatures (final tally: 7,261 signatures delivered and 6,009 were verified, more than the 5,446 that were needed). The $212,780 breaks down to $163,780 for the Registrar, $35,000 for legal fees, $11,000 for publication requirements and $3,000 for staff time. BUCKING THE TREND ... Once more Palo Alto is out of sync with the rest of the world — or at least the county. While the assessed property values of every other city in Santa Clara County declined to below their 2009 values, Palo Alto’s secured rolls increased this year — by a slender 1 percent. The bottom line for Palo Altans is that higher assessed property values mean more taxes paid to local schools and the city. Overall, assessed values in Santa Clara County dropped by $7.4 billion, whereas two years ago they grew by nearly $20 billion. CUTTING THE TAPE ... State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, wants to “just say ‘no’� to frivolous lawsuits, especially when it comes to major development projects. Simitian, who chairs the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, introduced Senate Bill 1456 this week in an effort to streamline the state’s stringent environmental-review process and strengthen the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which mandates the detailed reviews. His proposed legislation would discourage CEQA-related delays by empowering judges to issue $10,000 fines for frivolous lawsuits; authorize the Office of Attorney General to interfere in these lawsuits to speed up the resolution; and allow anyone who challenges an environmental review to request a mediator within the agency overseeing the review. His proposed legislation has already sailed through Assembly Natural Resources Committee, which unanimously supported it. N
Upfront LAND USE
Research Park attracting younger, hipper firms Skype is latest big-name tech tenant to lease space in city’s district of innovation lows users to talk, share files and teleconference over the Internet, plans to move into a 90,000-squarefoot building at 3210 Porter Drive, a short stroll from HP’s headquarters. In his blog entry, Skype CEO Josh Silverman called the company’s move to Palo Alto “an exciting step for us.� He said he expects to move about 80 employees from San Jose and Brisbane to the new Palo Alto office in October. “And, we hope to attract some of the best and brightest talent in the Valley, especially engineers who are skilled at building ultra-scalable infrastructure,� Silverman said. Skype is, in many ways, emblematic of the Park’s recent wave of young, hip and high-tech tenants. The social-media company Facebook and the electric-car manufacturer Tesla both moved their headquarters to the Research Park last year. Facebook left its downtown Palo Alto offices to come to the Research Park, while Tesla (like Varian) moved from San Carlos. Better Place, a company founded in 2007 to build networks of charging stations and battery-swapping stations for electric vehicles, is headquartered on Arastradero Road. Park officials have been proac-
Tesla, manufacturer of high-performance electric cars, recently moved to Stanford Research Park from San Carlos. Below, Transportation from the Stanford Research Park to Stanford University and Caltrain stations is provided by Stanford’s free Marguerite Shuttle. tively luring companies that “reflect and represent the changing trends,� said Jean Snider, managing director of Stanford Research Park. It was the Research Park that reached out to Tesla, not the other way around, she said. Stanford University officials were looking for companies that would further boost the Research Park’s reputation for green technology and felt the electric-car company perfectly fit that mold. In announcing the company’s move to Deer Creek Road in Palo Alto last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk touted Stanford Research (continued on page 6)
UTILITIES
Palo Alto’s garbage rates may spike With revenues falling due to economy and ‘green’ success, city considers raising rates, cutting services by Gennady Sheyner
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alo Alto’s waste-collection service is, in some ways, a victim of its own success. The city’s effort to discourage old-fashioned trash and encourage recycling and composting seems to be going well, almost too well, with more commercial customers trimming their loads of landfill-bound garbage. But less trash also means less revenue for the city’s Refuse Fund, which in turn means that city residents and businesses may soon have to pay higher rates to get their trash picked up. City staff has proposed a 6 percent hike for residential customers and a 9 percent increase for commercial ones. The City Council Finance Committee members struggled with the irony Tuesday night as they brainstormed ways to close a $6.7 million deficit in the Refuse Fund, a budget hole the committee learned about in May. The options, which Councilman Larry Klein called “an interesting collection of bad alternatives,� did
not sit well with committee members, however. In addition to rate increases, staff proposed budget fixes including charging more for landfill use; closing the city’s compost and recycling facilities earlier than planned (a move that would send the city’s trimmings and recyclables to the SMaRT Station in Sunnyvale); and shifting street sweeping from weekly to biweekly. Committee members, reluctant to raise rates, asked the Public Works Department for more information about the alternatives and a larger menu of possible cuts. Councilman Greg Scharff said the department should consider eliminating jobs. The budget gap can partially be attributed to the success of the city’s Zero Waste program, which promotes recycling and composting and gives residents incentives to throw away less trash. The program, which the council instituted in 2004, has helped Palo Alto increase the percentage of local waste diverted
from landfills by about 15 percent, to about 78 percent. But the existing rate structure is also hurting the city’s bottom line. As green-minded residents trade their 32-gallon trash carts for 20gallon “mini-cans� and in the process slash their monthly rates from $31 to $15, the city’s revenues have plummeted. Recycling, meanwhile, is free. Scharff called the city’s rate structure “completely unsustainable — it’s crashing and burning.� “Zero Waste is equaling zero dollars and that’s the problem,� Scharff said. Scharff said he would rather keep the city’s landfill-diversion rate at 78 percent than strive to attain 90 percent if the higher goal means higher costs and a lower quality of life for city residents. Meanwhile, the city is trying to prevent future budget surprises in the Refuse Fund. Solid Waste Manager Rene Eyerly said Tuesday the model staff used to project refuse revenues was “outdated� and “sim-
Veronica Weber
W
hen Russell and Segurd Varian signed the first lease in what was then Stanford Industrial Park in 1951, they hedged their bets by making their new headquarters look like a schoolhouse. According to the Park’s official history, the brothers — developers of the world’s first klysteron tube, which generates microwave radiation — wanted to make sure that if their business failed, the building could be used as a school. Today, Varian Medical Systems is a leading manufacturer of radiation and radar equipment. It is also one of roughly 150 companies occupying the 700-acre sprawl of high-tech campuses stretching from El Camino Real to Deer Creek Road, mostly clustered along Page Mill Road and Foothill Expressway. Unlike half a century ago, the Park is now nearly built out. The name has been altered — substituting “Research� for “Industrial.� And just as the times have changed, so have the types of companies moving in. Last week, Skype became the latest big-name firm to announce its intention to open an office in the Stanford Research Park. The Luxembourg-based company, which al-
Veronica Weber
by Gennady Sheyner
plistic.� Staff has been working with a consultant since last fall to devise a more sophisticated and accurate forecasting model, which is now being finalized, she said. The revenue drop is not simply a problem that could affect city services. The gap needs to be remedied because of a state contract related to the landfill.
‘Zero Waste is equaling zero dollars and that’s the problem.’
— Greg Scharff, Palo Alto City Councilman
The landfill, which is more than 98 percent full, is scheduled to close between 2012 and 2014, based on volume in the landfill and when the dump is deemed full. Palo Alto is required by its state landfill-operations permit to keep more than $6 million in reserves to close the landfill. The revenue shortfall is threatening to bring the reserve down to almost zero, which would put the city in direct violation of its contract, Public Works Director Glenn Roberts said. “We absolutely have to take some initiative now to deal with this either through rate increase or expense reductions, knowing full well that
we’ll be going through a study and coming back a year from now with some major changes in this regard,� he said. In her report, Eyerly attributed the shortfall in the Refuse Fund to two factors in addition to the Zero Waste program: a reduction in customer sales caused by the ongoing recession; and city policies that include more capital spending and a ban on commercial waste at the city’s landfill near the Baylands. The committee took no action Tuesday, but Klein said he was bothered by the idea of changing the rate structure for two years in a row — this year and next, after the staff completes its study of rate levels. The city also raised refuse rates by 17 percent in June 2009. Klein suggested deferring rate changes for a few more months, when more data and a better forecasting model are available. Scharff said he opposes reducing the level of street sweeping, a service reduction that could increase water pollution in the baylands and in local creeks. “I’m troubled by the fact that we’re substituting one environmental good for another,� Scharff said. “What we’re saying is Zero Waste takes precedence to protecting the Bay.� The committee is scheduled to resume the discussion July 20. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.
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Enrollment had dropped to about 11,000 by 1979, when Cubberley High School was closed. “We don’t know what will happen with enrollment — we certainly wish we did,� School Superintendent Kevin Skelly said in a meeting last month. “But if you look at the last 20 years it seems that our enrollment is impervious to some factors. Whether the economy is good or bad, enrollment continues to increase.� Skelly said the bond measure projects “take us to capacity� at the district’s three middle schools and two high schools. “If it were to go well above that, we’d certainly have to consider another middle school or another high school,� he said, speaking at a June 16 joint meeting of the Palo Alto City Council and the boards of the Palo Alto Unified School District and the Foothill-De Anza Community College District regarding the future of Cubberley. The summer changes at the high schools are aimed at clearing space for construction of new facilities.
Veronica Weber
650-691-9477
School upgrades (continued from page 3)
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Upfront
Bulldozers and other heavy machinery abound at Palo Alto High School during reconstruction of a parking lot and multi-use field. At Paly, portables were cleared from a spot near Embarcadero Road as well as from a quad near the school’s corporation yard to create construction space for a Media Arts building and a two-story classroom building that will house the math and social studies departments. Workers are under tight deadlines to have the quad portables hooked
Enroll Now! Classes Begin mid-Sept. (650) 251-8519 www.istp.org/languageclasses Palo Alto, CA Veronica Weber
Sixteen portable classrooms are being moved into Paly’s quad to make room for new classrooms.
up and ready to go by Aug. 13 so that teachers can move in on Aug. 16. The first day of school for students is Tuesday, Aug. 24. Groundbreaking on the new structures themselves could be as late as next spring or summer, depending on the speed of state approvals. Plans for the new buildings on both high school campuses will be submitted within the next four weeks to the Division of State Architect, charged with oversight of all school construction, according to Thomas Hodges, a senior vicepresident of O’Connor Construction Management Inc. and program director for the school-district projects. The Board of Education, at the recommendation of site committees at both high schools, decided to move the portables this summer rather than wait a year so that construction could begin quickly once the projects clear the Division of State Architect, expected to take up to nine months. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekly.com.
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Where age is just a number Page 6ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â?Þʙ]ÊÓä£äÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž
Research Park (continued from page 5)
Park as “synonymous with innovation and entrepreneurship,� a sentiment shared by many incoming tenants, Snider said. Companies leasing space in the Research Park are particularly attracted to the Park’s proximity to Stanford and its location between San Francisco and San Jose — factors that help them attract top talent from the entire Bay Area. In Skype’s case, Snider said it was the company that first contacted Stanford. But because the Palo Alto location was one of several sites Skype was considering, Stanford officials still had some convincing to do. “We competed directly and hard for them,� Snider said. “Companies have options; they don’t just come to you.� The Research Park lost one major tenant two years ago when the pharmaceutical giant Roche, which occupied about 10 percent of the
Park, merged with Genentech and began its departure from Palo Alto. But the area has otherwise proven resilient during the ongoing economic downturn. When Roche is taken out of the equation, the vacancy rate in the district is now at about 5 percent, Snider said. Some of the Research Park’s best-known companies, including HP; spacecraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space; and information-technology company VMware remain entrenched in the Park. VMware, in fact, recently built a new gymnasium and expanded its campus on Hillview Avenue by 460,000 square feet, a notable occurrence for an area that is already largely built out. The area has rebounded from the dotcom bust of the early 2000s, when the vacancy rate hovered around the high teens, Snider said. “We are very fortunate that we have a lot of very strong companies in the Research Park that aren’t experiencing problems or difficulties to the point where they’re putting
space on the market,� Snider said. The success of the Research Park is also great news for Palo Alto, where city officials are coping with dropping revenues and struggling retailers. City officials were excited to welcome Tesla last year and were pleased to learn about Skype’s move last month. Deputy City Manager Steve Emslie, who heads the city’s new Office of Economic Development, said the creation of the office is part of the city’s effort to improve its coordination with Stanford and to welcome more companies to Palo Alto. The Research Park may have evolved since its industrial roots, but it remains an attractive destination for some of the nation’s top companies, he said. “It’s what’s driven companies for ages — access to talent, a committed university, energy, innovation and the fact that they’re around other high-tech companies,� Emslie said. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.
Upfront
Parenting
(continued from page 3)
growing membership (the company is not disclosing exact numbers) since the site went live. One young staff member said he spent a night in the start-up’s basement office on University Avenue, napping on the carpet. “It seems that we’ve hit a specific need in the market,� observed Dhillon, who expects the website to catch on around the globe. Some are hailing the site as an answer to parental concerns about privacy, safety and propriety in social networking and a tool for teaching responsible online communication. Anne Collier, a member of President Barack Obama’s working group on online safety and co-director of ConnectSafely.org, is enthusiastic. “I just think it’s great — it’s very cutting edge,� said Collier, a member of Togetherville’s advisory board. “I am not aware of another company that has really addressed safe social networking for little kids.� Togetherville screens content and mostly limits kids to pre-written “quips,� such as “I love Taylor Swift’s hair,� “If you were a booger, I’d pick you first� and “I love Togetherville.� Users can also post their own oneliners, pending approval. Safety was the main reason Spanner signed her sons up for the website during a test phase that began two years ago. Since Togetherville filters suggestive and excessively violent material, she no longer worries about inappropriate content. “I know if it’s on Togetherville, it’s been pre-approved,� she said. “It won’t have the tanks or the guns.� Spanner has encouraged friends and family across the country to join Togetherville. “I don’t really understand why other people are so nervous,� she said. “Maybe they’re unsure because they don’t understand it themselves.� Blake, a talkative boy with whiteblond hair, has 74 online friends (including Dhillon’s son, Zoraver, a former classmate) and mostly uses the site to play games. Spanner logs on weekly to track his activity and post comments. She recently sent Blake a koi fish as a virtual gift. When he scored 6,340 in Bouncing Balls, she posted: “If only you were this good at cleaning your room.� This kind of communication can help families keep in touch, said Dhillon, who posts notes for his kids from the office. “It gives them the notion of connectedness.� It also makes surfing the Web less solitary. Unlike anonymous “virtual worlds� such as the popular Club Penguin and Farmville, kids keep in touch with real-life friends. “It’s a normal, human social experience,� Dhillon said. Online communication may be useful in a spread-out society, but it’s no substitute for face time, according to Dr. Sam Sweet of the Children’s Health Council in Palo Alto. He recently taught a class on Internet use for parents. “It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stop sitting down for family dinner and that you shouldn’t all unplug at some point and connect,� he said.
He’s found that children with social anxiety gravitate to virtual communication, which can help build social skills but is not a substitute for real-world interaction. “I would just be watchful as a parent: Is your child on the computer all the time because they’re avoiding whatever might be difficult in their lives?� The Internet, fast-paced and interactive, also attracts children who have trouble focusing, although there is no proof that it reduces kids’ ability to concentrate, Sweet said. As far as whether logging on early can cause addiction, Sweet “wouldn’t rule it out.� He noted that South Korea, which he called “the most wired society in the world,� has rehabilitation centers for young Internet addicts. Catherine Crystal Foster, a nonprofit consultant in Palo Alto, is one mother who wants to prevent her two boys from developing an online habit. She does not allow her 9- and 12-year-olds on social-networking sites. “You don’t want to do things that
set up the ‘always on, always connected’ mentality,� she said. “It’s important to interact more face-toface with people and to do other things with your life. Not everything should be tied to a device.� She admitted, however, that she and her husband spend too much time on the computer. The example that parents set should not be discounted, however, Sweet said. “I think we need to look at what we’re modeling,� Sweet said. “Kids are going to emulate that. It’s hard to tell your kid not to want to get on the computer if you’re always on your iPhone.� Spanner, who has more than 450 Facebook friends and uses the site “way more than I should,� limits Blake’s screen time to one hour per day on weekends and 30 minutes on summer weekdays, and only in public rooms (if he could, Blake said, he would spend 70 percent of the day on the computer). Evan has unrestricted access, but the whole family logs off every few months during “no-technology weekends.� “I hate those weekends,� Evan
grumbled. Restricting Internet use can be a tool but parents should also set expectations for online behavior by talking with their children and monitoring their activity, according to Collier. This remains true for sites like Togetherville, which she said may give a false sense of security. “We can’t abdicate our responsibility to stay engaged. ... It’s really extending your parenting into cyberspace,� she said. And despite safety measures on a site like Togetherville, “there’s no guarantee of 100-percent safety anywhere,� Collier said. “That’s too much to ask of any school, of any public park, of any virtual world.� Dhillon’s own children inspired him to help make the Web safe for kids. Formerly a lawyer and management consultant, Dhillon conceived Togetherville four years ago after watching his son entertain himself on the computer. Four-yearold Zoraver figured out how to use a webcam to take pictures of himself while watching DVDs. “He was more interested in that
than a stack of coloring books and crayons.� Dhillon became determined to harness the potential of the Internet for kids. Dhillon’s own fascination with the Web also had an early start. His father, a doctor with an interest in technology, got him a computer when he was 8. Growing up surrounded by tobacco fields in rural North Carolina, Dhillon found it a good companion. His zeal has not diminished. “The Internet-connected computer is the greatest learning device that’s ever been created,� he said. “Why are we keeping our kids out of it?� With more than half of American teenagers using social networking websites, according to the Pew Internet Project, denial may no longer be a realistic option. “It’s here to stay,� Collier said. “It’s a reality of our lives now, so let’s learn safe constructive use of social networking as early as possible.� N Editorial Intern Katia Savchuk can be e-mailed at ksavchuk@ paweekly.com.
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Upfront
Rail Authority (continued from page 3)
third-party commentators who really don’t have an ax to grind,� Simitian said, referring to the ITS study. Simitian said he believes the rail authority still has a chance to remedy the problems identified in the recent reports. The agency hired a new CEO, Roelof van Ark, in May, and legislators have decided to give the agency until Feb. 1 to present a list of reforms for dealing with the identified issues. If the agency fails to meet this target, state legislators could withhold some of the funding for the project, which has an estimated price tag of $43 billion.
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“There’s still time to get it right, but that time is slipping away quickly,� Simitian said. But even as critics pummel the rail authority’s ridership model, the agency has indicated that it will stand behind its calculations. Both the authority and its transportation consultant, Cambridge Systematics, responded to the ITS report by highlighting the report’s observation that Cambridge “followed generally accepted professional standards� in analyzing the ridership models. But they challenged the report’s conclusion that the models are unreliable. Lance Neumann, president of Cambridge Systematics, wrote a memo claiming that the ITS report is “deficient in significant, substan-
tive ways.� “The ITS Draft Report focuses on academic viewpoints and ignores what it takes to create a model for real-world application,� Neumann wrote. Van Ark also wrote a letter to the ITS saying the authority believes Cambridge has “provided a direct and credible response to each technical point raised� in the report. Van Ark also took issue with the report’s conclusion that the error bounds in the model “may be large enough to include the possibility that the California HSR may incur significant revenue shortfalls.� He called this “an extraordinary statement for which we find no foundation in the Draft Report.� Meanwhile, local officials along the Peninsula are continuing to call
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for the rail authority to slow down and to focus less on meeting federal-grant deadlines and more on designing the best system for the state. Earlier this week, the Peninsula Cities Consortium, which includes Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Burlingame and Belmont, issued a statement asking the rail authority to “take a step back and resolve troublesome issues� before proceeding with the project. The Consortium’s chair, Menlo Park Mayor Richard Cline, said in the statement that “common sense is absent from the high-speed rail discussion� and criticized the “extremely rushed project schedule that is dictated solely
by the desire for federal funds.� “The project is suffering from an enormous credibility problem, due to its widely criticized business plan, faulty ridership numbers and the absence of funding to carry out the project statewide — let alone offer realistic alternatives for the section planned on the Peninsula,� Cline said. “There also is no stated plan for paying to operate highspeed rail once it is built, and we fear local taxpayers may be left holding the bag.� 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 The City Council did not meet this week.
Finance Committee (July 7)
Refuse rate: The committee discussed the $6.7 million budget deficit in the city’s refuse fund and considered ways to close the budget gap. The committee will resume the discussion on July 20. Action: None
Historic Resources Board (July 8)
Stanford Hospital: The board discussed various components of the Stanford University Medical Center expansion project, including plans to renovate Hoover Pavilion and the Cultural Resources chapter of the Draft Environmental Review for the expansion project. Action: None
Planning & Transportation Commission (July 8) Stanford Hospital: The commission discussed the Alternatives chapter and the proposed mitigation measures in the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Stanford University Medical Center expansion project. Action: None
Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hold a closed session to discuss labor negotiations. The council also plans to discuss the Transportation, Climate Change and Air Quality chapters of the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the proposed expansion of the Stanford University Medical Center; and the scope of the city’s rail corridor study. The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., or as soon as possible after the closed session, on Monday, July 12, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
7 Remodeling Workshops
POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss survey options for the 2010 Service Efforts and Accomplishments Report and the council’s priorities work plan. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 13, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
Our Designers will provide you with insight into the remodeling process and give you design ideas, product and design solutions for your home. With these interactive workshops, you will learn what you need to know, to ensure your project will be a success!
PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss goals, policies and programs relating to sustainability that could be integrated in the city’s Comprehensive Plan. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
n Topics will include: Design guidelines, storage, trends and
smart home technology to incorporate now n Learn the Designers’ tricks of the trade and explore how color can change your home from ordinary to extraordinary n Discover new options in appliances, cabinets, counters, lighting and ventilation
HIGH-SPEED RAIL COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss the status of the Caltrain electrification project and pending legislation relating to high-speed rail. The meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 15, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
Kitchen & Bath Remodels Thursday, July 22, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Registration and light dinner at 6:15 pm Harrell Design Center, Mtn. View We never forget it’s your home.Ž
Low Maintenance Homes by Design Saturday, July 24, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm Registration and light breakfast at 9:15 am Harrell Design Center, Mtn. View Call us or go on line to register today. Page 8ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â?Þʙ]ÊÓä£äÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ... The board plans to review the draft design guidelines for the Stanford University Medical Center expansion project and discuss the landscape elements in the proposed design for the expansion of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. The meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 15, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. PUBLIC ART COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss maintenance of city collections, the commission’s priorities for the year and potential for temporary art. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 15, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
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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.
Suspect in attempted rape pleads not guilty The man accused of attempting to rape a Mountain View woman as she jogged along the Stevens Creek Trail last year pleaded not guilty at a July 7 plea hearing at the Palo Alto Courthouse. (Posted July 7 at 2:49 p.m.)
You know 9-1-1, but have you heard of 2-1-1? A little-known phone number to help people find resources when they need them should be expanded to all Americans, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, and three United Way officials said Wednesday at press conference in Sunnyvale. (Posted July 7 at 1:33 p.m.)
Stanford radiologist named White House Fellow Stanford University radiologist Pat Basu is one of six physicians among 13 White House Fellows named by the Obama administration for 2010-2011. (Posted July 7 at 9:47 a.m.)
East Palo Alto to host gun buyback Saturday The East Palo Alto Police Department, along with Mayor David Woods, will host its second annual gun buyback on Saturday. (Posted July 7 at 8:50 a.m.)
San Mateo County supervisor to step down San Mateo County District 1 Supervisor Mark Church announced Tuesday he will step down from the Board of Supervisors in January. (Posted July 7 at 8:44 a.m.)
An Independence Day with flavor Hundreds of eager chili eaters were on hand for the 29th annual Summer Festival and Chili Cook-off Sunday at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto. (Posted July 6 at 4:12 p.m.)
Cities’ rail challenge: ‘Build right or not at all’ Palo Alto and its four allies in the Peninsula Cities Consortium have issued a new call for the California High-Speed Rail Authority to “step back and resolve troublesome issues� with the rail project days after an independent review uncovered flaws in the ridership projections for the proposed line. (Posted July 6 at 9:35 a.m.)
Middle-aged man robs Menlo Park bank A man estimated to be about 40 to 50 years old with gray hair robbed the Bank of the West branch at 900 Santa Cruz Ave. in downtown Menlo Park late Friday afternoon, police reported. (Posted July 6 at 8:37
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Foothills home engulfed by blaze on Fourth of July A fire engulfed a home in the foothills across from Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve Sunday (July 4), narrowly missing an outbreak into the surrounding wildlands. (Posted July 4 at 3:44 p.m.)
Skype to open an office in Palo Alto Skype Limited, the Luxembourg-based company that operates the popular communication application Skype, is preparing to move into Stanford Research Park in Palo Alto. (Posted July 2 at 4:32 p.m.)
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Upfront
News Digest Burglars raid Palo Alto home — family sleeps Burglars stole a 50-inch television, other electronic equipment and a mini-van while a family of four slept in the home in the 1500 block of Hamilton Avenue last weekend, Palo Alto police reported Wednesday. Detective Brian Philip said the burglars entered the residence through an open side window on a warm evening, apparently loaded the electronics into a Toyota Sienna mini-van and drove away. The tan 1998 mini-van is still missing, he said. Besides the television, stolen items included a camera, watch, cell phone and laptop computer, Philip said. The home had an alarm system, but it was not activated at the time of the burglary, which occurred Saturday (July 3) between 3 and 6 a.m. “This is an unusual burglary in that the suspects entered an occupied home and removed several items without waking the residents,� Philip said. He said warm summer evenings require normal precautions, from locking doors and windows to using deterrents, such as alarm systems and lights. Philip said anyone with information may contact him by calling 650-329-2408. Anonymous tips may be sent by e-mail to paloalto@tipnow.org. N — Palo Alto Weekly staff
$50,000 reward offered in Lewis homicide Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office announced Wednesday it will issue a $50,000 reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder of 54-year-old David Lewis, who was fatally shot at the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo on June 9. Lewis was a community leader in East Palo Alto and cofounded the nonprofit Free at Last, which provides substance abuse treatment and transitional housing. San Mateo police spokesman Lt. Mike Brunicardi said investigators are still working “tirelessly� on the case. With the approval of David Lewis’ family, San Mateo police chief Susan Manheimer asked that a state reward be offered to encour-
age individuals with information about the crime to contact law enforcement officers. “We greatly appreciate the prompt actions of Gov. Schwarzenegger, who (Wednesday) issued a $50,000 reward upon our request,� Manheimer said in a statement. “We believe that this reward will help generate critical leads.� The governor’s office has offered 265 rewards since the program began in 1967, and 20 of those have been paid, Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Rachel Arrezola said. In order for a person to claim a reward, a law enforcement chief must put in a written request and have approval from the victim’s family. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the San Mateo Police Department by calling the investigations team at 650-522-7650 or dispatch at 650-522-7700, leaving an anonymous tip at 650-522-7676, texting an anonymous message to 650-262-3473 or e-mailing an anonymous message to sanmateo@tipnow.org. N — Bay City News Service
Safety work planned at Caltrain crossings Eight Caltrain crossings in Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale will get safety upgrades within the next year, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) announced Wednesday. The work, which started Wednesday in Sunnyvale and will occur between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. Wednesdays through Mondays, is designed to make the crossings safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Among the safety features are modified railroad-crossing gates and new guardrails, fences, pedestrian and emergency swing gates, sidewalks, crossing panels, and warning tactile panels to assist visually impaired persons. The crossings are at Alma Street, Churchill Avenue, East Meadow Drive and Charleston Road in Palo Alto; Rengstorff Avenue and Castro Street in Mountain View; and Mary Avenue and Sunnyvale Avenue in Sunnyvale. Each crossing is expected to take about three months to upgrade, and the improvement project is scheduled to wrap up in late June 2011. Palo Alto’s will be the last. One lane in each direction will be closed during construction and the sidewalk will be closed on one side of the street.
For questions about construction activity call VTA community outreach at 408-321-7575 or visit www.vta.org. N — Bay City News Services and Palo Alto Online staff
Three named to California Hall of Fame Three local residents are among 14 Californians chosen as this year’s inductees into the California Hall of Fame. Woodside venture capitalist John Doerr, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Hoover Institution Fellow and former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz will receive medals from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California first lady Maria Shriver in a December ceremony. Shriver launched the California Hall of Fame project in conjunction with the California Museum in Sacramento in 2006 “to honor legendary people who embody California’s innovative spirit and have made their mark on history.� Other inductees this year are entertainers Barbra Streisand, Merle Haggard and Betty White; filmmaker James Cameron; painter Wayne Thiebaud; writer Anne Lamott; historian Kevin Starr and tennis player Serena Williams. Posthumous inductees are blue-jeans inventor Levi Strauss, former Gov. Edmund “Pat� Brown and Bank of America founder A.P. Giannini. Honorees are selected by a committee representing the California Museum, the California Arts Council and the Governor’s and first lady’s Offices. The 65 honorees named since 2006 include former Intel CEO Andy Grove, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Stanford University graduate and astronaut Sally Ride and former Stanford student Tiger Woods. Posthumous honors have gone to David and Lucile Packard, Leland Stanford and the late Nobel Prize winner and local researcher Linus Pauling. The California Hall of Fame Exhibit at the California Museum includes large scale portraits of the inductees and artifacts of each inductee’s contribution. The current exhibit, from 2009 inductees, includes an interactive display on the creation of an Intel microprocessor; props from the films of George Lucas; a time capsule from the late gay-rights activist and San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk; and kettle bell weights from fitness and body-building pioneer Joe Weider. N — Chris Kenrick
"*, & #& #*& ( *"&% ( ) %*) - *! %%+ #
(" , '* $ ( TIME & PLACE PlEASE NOTE NEW WALK TIME: 5K walk 7:00pm, 10K run 8:15pm, 5K run 8:45pm. Race-night registration 6:15 to 8:00pm at City of Palo Alto Baylands Athletic Center, Embarcadero & Geng Roads (just east of the Embarcadero Exit off Highway 101). Parking — go to PaloAltoOnline.com to check for specific parking locations. COURSE 5K and 10K loop courses over Palo Alto Baylands levee, through the marshlands by the light of the Harvest Moon! Course is flat, USAT&F certified (10k run only) on levee and paved roads. Water at all stops. Course map available at www.PaloAltoOnline.com.
REGISTRATIONS & ENTRY FEE Pre-registration fee is $25 per entrant (postmarked by September 17, 2010) and includes a long-sleeve t-shirt. Late/race-night registration is $30 and includes a shirt only while supplies last. A scantron card must be filled out at race-night registration. FAMILY PACKAGE: Children 12 and under run free with a registered parent. A completed entry form for each child must be submitted with adult registration. Please indicate on form and include $15 for an adult small t-shirt. No confirmation of mail-in registration available. Registration also available online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Refunds will not be issued for no-show registrations and t-shirts will not be held. SPORTS TEAM/CLUBS: Pre-registration opportunity for organizations of 10 or more runners; contact Amy at (650) 223-6508 or arenalds@paweekly.com.
MINORS: If not pre-registered Minors under 18 MUST bring signed parental/waiver form (below) on race night to participate. In addition scantron card must be completely filled out at race-night registration.
DIVISIONS Age divisions: 9 & under; 10-12; 13-19; 20-29; 30-39; 40-49; 50-59; 60-69, and 70 & over with separate divisions for male and female runners in each age group. Race timing provided for 5K and 10K runs only; not 5K walk. COMPUTERIZED RESULTS by A Change of Pace Race results will be posted on the Internet at www.PaloAltoOnline. com 10am on 9/27. Registration forms must be filled out completely and correctly for results to be accurate. Race organizers are not responsible for incorrect results caused by incomplete or incorrect registration forms.
AWARDS/PRIZES/ENTERTAINMENT Top three finishers in each division. Prize giveaways and refreshments. DJ Alan Waltz. Prerace warmups by Noxcuses Fitness, Palo Alto
PALO ALTO GRAND PRIX Road Race Series — Moonlight Run, 9/24; Marsh Madness, 10/23; Home Run 11/14, for more information go to www.paloaltogp.org. BENEFICIARY Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund. A holiday-giving fund to benefit Palo Alto area non-profits and charitable organizations. In April 2010, 43 organizations received a total of $240,000 (from the 2009-2010 Holiday Fund.)
Stanford
MORE INFORMATION Call (650) 463-4920, (650) 326-8210, email MoonlightRun@paweekly.com or go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com. FLASHLIGHTS/HEAD LIGHTS RECOMMENDED For safety reasons, no dogs allowed on course for the 5K and 10K runs. They are welcome on the 5K walk only. No retractable leashes! Please bring your own clean-up bag. Jogging strollers welcome in the 5K walk or at the back of either run. First aid service and chiropractic evaluations provided by K. Skinner, R.N., D.C. Sports and Spinal Injury Specialist
Register online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com GOT OLD SHOES? Give them to Meb! We’ll be collecting gently worn athletic shoes to go to those in need in war-zones and postconict areas. Bring your shoes to the Project Active booth on the baseball diamond and support your sport by giving back. Go to www.GiveMebYourShoes.com for more information about the cause.
Page 10ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â?Þʙ]ÊÓä£äÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž
Pulse A weekly compendium of vital statistics
POLICE CALLS Palo Alto June 29-July 4 Violence related Child abuse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Suicide attempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Credit card forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Prowler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .7 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .6 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Sale of drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Miscellaneous Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . .2 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Psych. subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .6 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Warrants/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Unattended death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Misc. municipal code violation . . . . . . . .1 Casualty/fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Animal attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
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FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC £™nxĂŠ ÂœĂ•ÂˆĂƒĂŠ,Âœ>`]ĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠUĂŠÂĂˆxäŽÊnxĂˆÂ‡ĂˆĂˆĂˆĂ“ĂŠUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°vVVÂŤ>Â°ÂœĂ€}ĂŠ -Ă•Â˜`>ÞÊ7ÂœĂ€ĂƒÂ…ÂˆÂŤĂŠ>˜`ĂŠ-Ă•Â˜`>ÞÊ-V…œœÂ?ĂŠ>ĂŒĂŠÂŁĂ¤\ääÊ>°“°
This Sunday: Forgiving Resentments and Resenting Forgiveness Rev. Grant F. Sontag, guest preaching An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ
Menlo Park June 30-July 6 Violence related Attempted burglary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle related Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Suspended license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Hit and run/injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hit and run/property damage . . . . . . . . .4 Recovered stolen vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Stolen vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Traffic stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Miscellaneous Civil problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbing/annoying phone calls. . . . . . .2 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Gang validations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Info. case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Located missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Mental evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Probation arrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Warrants/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
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Editorial
Reassessing downtown business district As group’s president departs, downtown Palo Alto’s Business Improvement District needs a fresh look
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lready facing the challenge of some businesses refusing to pay their required assessments, downtown Palo Alto’s 6-year-old business-improvement organization should pause to consider its options — especially in the aftermath of the recent sudden departure of its president, Sherry Bijan.
Both businesses and city officials need to take a hard look at what can be learned from the first six years of the BID. Alternatives include (1) continuing but with a goal of building renewed support by the May 2011 reauthorization; (2) disbanding by majority protest of businesses in the district; or (3) becoming part of the Chamber of Commerce, as is being discussed. The downtown organization is a quasi-official arm of the city government. It was created by the City Council in 2004 and it has the power to levy assessments against retail and professional businesses in specified areas of the downtown. It was just reauthorized by the council in May. The city’s role is limited to being a fiduciary agent, collecting the assessments, while an essentially independent board of directors oversees policy, staff and programs. Annual assessments of between $50 and $500 are levied against between 750 and 800 businesses (the number varies each year). The funds are used to hire staff to promote the interests of the downtown as a whole and of the businesses that exist there. The BID has racked up some successes, notably creating the now-independent Downtown Streets Team of homeless and formerly homeless individuals who clean downtown sidewalks and pick up trash. Recently the BID launched a weekday farmer’s market at Lytton Plaza, and it earlier supported renovating the plaza itself. But it also has had its critics, internal and external. Some critics from downtown businesses say the organization is not doing enough visibly to promote the downtown commercial area, certainly not enough to justify the approximately $100,000 it collected in assessments last fiscal year, most of which went to the president’s salary. The group’s office space is donated. Some criticism may be sour grapes from business owners who didn’t think they’d benefit from an association and who simply declined to participate. Deputy City Manager Steve Emslie said non-payment of assessments is not a huge problem: Non-payers get sent to collections and most eventually pay, he said. There also is a process whereby a simple majority of businesses in the district could file to disband the organization, although no effort to do that has surfaced. But clearly there has been confusion about the BID’s role and priorities, even its basic mission. This has been a decades-old problem for downtown, in which “marketingâ€? leadership has fallen on a handful of individuals. In addition, the BID leadership has not acted much like an organization subject to the state’s Brown Act open-meeting law, and some board members complain about poor attendance of other members. Downtown’s roller-coaster economic history over the past half century has created strains that still linger. The opening of the Stanford Shopping Center in 1958 plunged it into a retail recession that lasted a quarter century. But the area’s hypersuccess in the 1980s and 1990s became a curse for many small businesses: Years of rising rents drove out many retailers as the downtown became a magnet for financial-services firms. Departure of some large companies and the national economic crisis created a glut of office space and some softening of rents, but too late for many businesses. The emergence of the Internet as a competitor has also added pressure, along with the renovation of Town & Country Village shopping center nearby. Today the downtown is known for its restaurants, and for its business survivors — who need community support if they are to remain part of the Palo Alto scene. Exploratory talks are underway about the BID becoming part of the Chamber of Commerce. The city apparently could contract with the chamber to be the governance entity for the assessment district, while the city remains as fiduciary agent. This could be a sensible approach, but until downtown businesses see a tangible plan they view as worthy of an assessment the controversy will continue. While creating a consensus among the wide variety of tenants and businesses downtown is like herding cats, it’s essential if the BID has any future. Page 12ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â?Þʙ]ÊÓä£äÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž
Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions
Union vote questions Editor, Some of the following information comes from SEIU Union members who work for the City of Palo Alto and shall remain anonymous. I’m writing this in response to the recent Palo Alto Online article. Individuals I have spoken with have told me of hundreds of dollars a month in pay cuts since the city imposed a contract on the union. With the contract imposed on the SEIU union members last year and now with the new one-year contract, individual SEIU employees continue to lose about $5,000 a year direct cut to pay and $1,000 a year in tuition refund for additional training. The article failed to mention that employees who are already paid below median continue to have a huge direct pay cut for part of their pension and additional benefit loss: 5.75 percent to pension (average employee took about $425 a month pay cut), and the loss of tuition refund ($1,000). That pay cut has put any employee who earns $65,000 or less below the sustainability earnings for this area for a family of three (one adult, a preschooler, and a grade-school child). Employees are struggling to make ends meet. The article said that 94 percent of union members ratified the new contract. I want to know what percentage of the membership voted. Natalie Fisher Ellsworth Place Palo Alto
Banking bill inadequate Editor, During the Great Depression in 1933, the act that was passed — the Glass-Steagall Act and the bank act that was a part of that — transformed the landscape. It disallowed banks to take risks and hold our customer deposits. And it gave an incentive to banks who held deposits that they would be supported by the government, that the FDIC was created to back our money. But then they would also not be allowed to speculate and trade and create esoteric, complex instruments that are difficult to understand and don’t have a market and can collapse an entire economy. That was a big bill. 1956 there was a Bank Holding Act. That said banks can’t merge across state lines, they can’t buy insurance companies, they can’t by investment banks. They want to do plain banking, they do plain banking. That was as a solidification of the Glass-Steagall Act. That was strengthening the act. This latest banking bill does none of that. This allows all of that complexity; it allows banks to hold insurance companies and investment back and trade and speculate and
have government backing for deposits. Two major things were not addressed in the new bill, the most important things. First of all, it does nothing to put the firewall back up between regular banking commercial activity and those investment firms on Wall Street. That distinction was critical to protect all of us from this kind of collapse. This bill does not fix it. The second thing is that it does not do anything serious about these
institutions, these investment companies and others that are too big to fail. And too big to be safe for America. It does not handle that. So the two biggest issues are not resolved. Pretending this is somehow the kind of reform we needed to avoid the financial collapse is really not being honest with the American people. Ted Rudow III Encina Avenue Palo Alto
This week on Town Square Posted July 7 at 1:35 a.m. by GM, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood: I’m glad to live in a city where recycling has actually been simplified and I hope there is more recycling as a result. However, I’m appalled at the thoughtless abuse of the “blue� cans in public parks, such as Cubberley.
I’m thinking it might be better to not even put them there since garbage gets put in right along with the recyclables. I too am tired of the self-congratulatory and selfrighteous glossy mailings about how sustainable we are. There are better things to do with the funds, like not put the paper into the stream to begin with.
YOUR TURN The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.
What do you think? Have your summer travel plans changed this year due to gas prices, the economy or environmental concerns? 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 Town Square, a reader forum sponsored by the Weekly on our community website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Post your own comments, ask questions, read the Editor’s blog or just stay up on what people are talking about around town!
Board of Contributors: Smiling (ruefully) at responses to bi-racial families by Elizabeth Lee y daughter, Rowan, is half Chinese, and she doesn’t look very much like me. My older son, Dale, who has a different father, has my red hair and ruddy face, and people knew we were mother and son from opposite ends of the playground. But when I took Rowan out anywhere, the reactions I got were different: confused looks on people’s faces, and comments. When Rowan was a baby one woman stared at us with suspicion and fear, as if she thought I’d kidnapped my daughter. When I met her panicked eyes, I swear she looked ready to bolt for the nearest phone and call the police. “Who’s she with?� she asked. “Me,� I replied, as the woman turned redfaced and trotted off in embarrassment. I was later told about someone who really did call the police, suspecting a kidnapping, when he saw a non-Chinese woman with an adopted Chinese daughter. “She looks Chinese. Where did you get her?� another woman in a public restroom asked. “I thought she was adopted until you started breastfeeding her,� another at a park told me. A grandmother at my son’s school who spoke little English pointed at my daughter and then pushed her eyes upward in a slant with her fingers. When Rowan was a little girl, people worried she had wondered off alone. Once a woman in our doctors’ office asked if Rowan was with me even when Rowan was standing
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right next to me. Another woman tried to steer Rowan over to an Asian family walking away from us in the opposite direction. “Is she with you?� is usually what people asked. “Yes, she’s with me,� was my usual reply. Saying that she’s my daughter whom I actually, really did give birth to seemed like too much effort, given the frequency of the questions. Sometimes when my husband, Elgin, our kids, and I eat out, the door hostess talks with Elgin about seating us, as the rest of us gather at his side. Then the hostess looks at me and asks, “May I help you?� “We’re together,� one of us always replies, as the hostess says ‘Oh’ and quickly looks down with embarrassment. When this happens in a Chinese restaurant I always imagine they wonder what my husband sees in a non-Chinese woman like me. One restaurant hostess actually had us follow her to a table, and then turned and stared at us in confusion. “You mean,� she asked as she looked from one of us to the other and then back again, “you’re all together?� We had to go back and wait until a larger table was available. It’s our mantra: “We’re together.� We say it at airports, concerts, and checkout lines in stores. We’ve said it at open houses, museums and most everywhere else. I’ve met many other bi-racial families, including parents with an adopted child of a different ethnic background, with similar experiences. “They think I’m the nanny,� many mothers say — if they’re not Caucasian, that is. As racist as it sounds, people seem to expect the nanny to be non-Caucasian and their charges to be Caucasian. When it’s the other way around, they’re confused.
I met another red-haired mother at a park whose son, even though he was also Caucasian, looked more like his dark-haired Italian father. She had the same experiences as mine with strangers’ reactions. Another woman with a half-Chinese baby girl said people assumed she went to China and got her. Even in an area as ethnically diverse as the Bay Area, people seem to expect families, especially biologically related families, to look like each other.
I met another red-haired mother at a park whose son, even though he was also Caucasian, looked more like his dark-haired Italian father. She had the same experiences as mine with strangers’ reactions. Another woman with a half-Chinese baby girl said people assumed she went to China and got her. Even in an area as ethnically diverse as the Bay Area, people seem to expect families, especially biologically related fami-
lies, to look like each other. That’s not always the case, and in our Heinz 57 Variety culture the lines of racial identity become blurred and our usual assumptions and stereotypes don’t always apply. The way we dress, the food we eat, the way we talk, things we do, our spiritual lives, and yes, the way we look, no longer fit into the nice, neat little boxes that they used to. Instead what we’re left with is our common humanity, with our individual personalities, shining through our physical appearances, defining who we are. It’s really no big deal; it’s far more amusing than frustrating. One time at a store, Elgin and I put our items, an electronic gizmo for him and a pink Barbie doll clock for Rowan, down on the checkout counter, and the cashier rang them up. Or so we thought. As we each picked up our items and walked toward the door, the cashier said, “Excuse me, Ma’am, did you want to buy that?� “Yes,� I said. “Why? Didn’t you just ring it up?� “No.� We had to wait while he ran Elgin’s credit card a second time. “Why didn’t that man ring our things up together?� I complained with frustration after we left the store. “I don’t get it. He saw us with each other the entire time, right up until we put our things down to pay for them at the same time. Didn’t he realize that we’re togeth.... Oh.� Our eyes met, and we laughed. “Of course not.� N Elizabeth Lee is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, writer, and is a member of the Weekly’s Board of Contributors. She lives in Palo Alto with her husband, two children and dog and can be e-mailed at liz@funghi.com.
Streetwise
What is the best way to spend federal money? Asked at Town and Country Village and California Avenue. Interviews and photographs by Georgia Wells.
Sammy Shreibati
Engineering Director and Senior Software Engineer Mercedes Avenue, Los Altos “Federal money should be spent on small-business grants and individual low-interest loans to people who are struggling.�
Letitia Lew
Tzong-Hah Lee
Lori Fitzmaurice
Hy Plutchok
“The best way to spend federal funds is to support boys and girls clubs for low-income kids and to provide enrichment programs.�
“Public transportation needs more money.�
“Money should be spent on schools and vocational training to retrain the workforce.�
“Federal money should be spent on infrastructure projects. It will put people to work and will help fix the highway disrepair.�
Engineering Intern Mayfield Avenue, Stanford
Software Engineer Stanford Avenue, Palo Alto
Fundraiser Broadway Street, Santa Cruz
Retired Marshall Drive, Palo Alto
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On Deadline: For city attorney, seeking Dudley Do-Right, Eagle Scout with a sixth sense by Jay Thorwaldson ast week t h e Weekly asked readers what qualities they might desire for the next Palo Alto city attorney, after Gary Baum retires this fall. I first wondered how the average citizen could be expected to come up with anything more than a simplistic answer. Then I wondered how I would answer that, being a longtime observer of City Hall and its denizens, dating back to reporter days on the Palo Alto Times when I was assigned the dread “Palo Alto beat.� And I thought back on the collection of city attorneys I have known, and what made them successful, or not. I don’t think there’s a magic formula, beyond wanting someone who is a Dudley Do-Right Eagle Scout with a sixth sense and a Stanford, maybe Harvard, law degree, at least. The Eagle Scout factor is important because of the Scout motto, “Be Prepared.� Then comes the honest, loyal, and other nuances of the Scout oath. Next I applied those thoughts to the various attorneys I have known, many as a journalist, some as an ob-
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server and some as friends after they and I changed jobs. When Palo Alto adopted the council/manager form of government in the early 1950s it included hiring a full-time city attorney. The first was a fellow named Robert “Bob� Michalski, who served during the 1950s then returned after an absence in the 1960s. Michalski was highly respected among other city attorneys, and had a reputation for getting city business handled quickly and efficiently. He exuded an “I’m sure of myself� confidence that was contagious to many. But not to all. He became identified in the early 1960s with the socalled Establishment faction in city politics, which generally envisioned a growing city. When a group began to coalesce in the early 1960s that opposed rampant growth and traffic it became the Residentialists, its members regarded Michalski with deep suspicion as “one of them.� Michalski eventually read the handwriting on the wall and departed. A later inheritor of the office was James “Jim� Hildebrand, a soft-spoken, easy-going man who tried hard to walk a middle line, or tightrope, between the growth vs. no-growth or slow-growth factions. His tenure was marked by some legal challenges and a personal touch: He and the city clerk fell in love and were married.
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He had an interesting legal theory, which we discussed one early summer evening sitting on his deck watching owls fly from their nest in the top-floor Channing House outside fire stairs to catch rodents in the baylands. Hildebrand’s legal theory was that if the right to vote is sacred to America’s democracy, then an elected official’s vote — representing thousands of individual votes — was even more sacred. That meant that a city attorney should only rule that a person was in a conflict-of-interest situation in the most extreme of situations, so they could vote on issues in which they might have some degree of personal financial stake. Following that logic further, he ruled that one councilman who worked for Stanford University in an un-tenured position could vote on a development proposal for Coyote Hill, south of Page Mill Road, and a second councilman could vote on that even though his construction firm had just bid on a project along Page Mill Road. The votes were challenged in a lawsuit by the Committee for Green Foothills, and Stanford ultimately settled the suit. Along the way, Peter Stone was promoted from assistant city attorney, in the early 1970s. He was a savvy counselor to the City Council and staff in the sense of providing counsel, both legal and occasionally political or strategic.
His tenure was marked by something that made it clear to the Supreme Court: Palo Alto police, after a demonstration at Stanford turned violent and injured officers, raided the offices of the student newspaper, the Stanford Daily, seeking photos of the incident. Neither liberal police Chief James Zurcher nor personally liberal Stone were notified in advance of the raid, yet Stone had to defend it. There’s irony there. A major constitutional erosion of press protections was averted when Congress passed some corrective legislation. Stone had an interesting technique of advising the council: In addition to legal research, Stone would call a friend, a Superior Court judge, and ask something like, “Speaking hypothetically, what questions would you ask if a case like this came before you?� He then would report to the council something like: “A judge would likely ask. ...� He also couched his advice in odds of either winning or losing a potential case, avoiding fixed recommendations. After he was named a judge, his assistant, Bob Booth, was named city attorney. Booth was an outstanding legal researcher, but ran into problems because he would take fixed positions and make specific recommendations — essentially putting his head on the block each time. He ran into specific problems when a series of landowner lawsuits against a foothills downzoning ordinance,
the OS (for open space) zone, went sour for the city in the early 1970s. That’s how the city came to buy the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve. City Attorney Roy Abrahms came and went as a short-termer. The next city attorney, Ariel Calonne, became one of the most powerful due to his general style and savvy, in some ways similar to Stone’s, and his lengthy tenure. His role spilled into city management in some areas when there was a perceived leadership vacuum in the city manager’s office. Calonne left in the early 2000s for a job in Boulder, Colo., when the council was badly divided. The council hired Baum, who also has run into difficulties in advising the council. Some members have said that too often Baum was not prepared to answer basic legal questions on items coming before the council. He is personally liked and has been commended for some budget cutting in his office. He will retire in late October and the council has started a search for a headhunter firm to identify qualified applicants. The goal is to hire a new city attorney by the end of the year. Candidates may be expected to recite the Scout motto. N Weekly Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be e-mailed at jthorwaldson@ paweekly.com.
Transitions
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Births, marriages and deaths DEATHS
Raymond Mensing Raymond H. Mensing, 80, a resident of Palo Alto, died June 22. He was born in Elmhurst, Ill., to Otto and Alma Mensing. He worked for Western Electric (a division of AT&T) and retired from AT&T after 35 years working in telephone engineering. He became a radio operator while in the U.S. Army, and later became a radio amateur, also known as a ham. After retirement he worked as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity for about 20 years, first in San Mateo County, later with Silicon Valley Habitat. He did all kinds of construction work with them but especially liked finish carpentry, such as doors, windows, cabinets and trim. He also was a rare-type blood donor with the Red Cross, and gave more than 16 gallons of blood over the years. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping with his family and back-packing. He and his wife Virginia were square dancers in the valley since 1963. He also enjoyed gardening and was especially proud of his tomatoes, which he started from seed every year. He and Virginia enjoyed traveling the world and visited many countries in Europe, Asia, Central and South America, as well as Egypt and New Zealand. He drove from Palo Alto to El Salvador in 1992, just after the civil war ended there. He was part of a caravan delivering 15 trucks and a school bus, which were left in small villages where Salvadorans were returning from refugee camps in Honduras. He was active in St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Palo Alto, serving on the maintenance committee and doing many hands-on projects in their three churches. He also was a lector and usher for 30 years. He will be sorely missed by family and friends, whom he loved and of whom he was very proud. He is survived by his sisters, Elaine Fischer and Lois Voska; his wife of 57 years, Virginia Mensing of Palo Alto; children Ken Mensing (Cheryl) of San Jose, Janet Barnard (Jim) of Shingle Springs and Paul Mensing (Marcela) of Benicia; and 10 grandchildren. A memorial mass was held at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Palo Alto. Memorial donations may be made to Silicon Valley Habitat for Humanity.
(TENTATIVE) AGENDA-SPECIAL MEETING COUNCIL CHAMBERS July 12, 2010 - 6:00 PM
ANNIVERSARIES
Chris and Marilyn Sanchez Long time Palo Alto residents Chris and Marilyn Sanchez celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on June 6. They were married in Houston, Texas, in 1950 and honeymooned
in Mexico. They established their home in Palo Alto in 1956 and raised four children. They have eight grandchildren, three of whom live in town and attend Palo Alto schools.
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-)2)!- -)-) !2&). Miriam (Mimi) Arfin, a five year survivor of lung cancer, passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Saturday, July 3, 2010 in Palo Alto, California. Mimi was deeply committed to her family, social justice and Jewish causes. The daughter of Joanne and Bernard Arfin, Mimi was born in Glen Cove, NY on January 22, 1957. At the age of two she moved with her family to San Carlos, California where she grew up. She was a graduate of Ravenswood High School, and earned her BA degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Magna cum Laude. While at Cal, she spent her Junior Year at the Hebrew University in Israel. She then earned both a Masters Degree in Public Policy and a Juris Doctorate Law degree from the University of Michigan. Following her graduation from law school, she served as a clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and practiced law in Cleveland and San Francisco. She later served as Director of the innovative Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) program for the 9th District Federal Court. For her work as Director, she was honored with the Robert F. Peckham Award for Excellence in ADR. She also worked to promote ADR in Israel and was invited by the Supreme Court of Israel to speak about ADR and to train Israeli lawyers and court administrators in the subject. She married Robert Rebitzer in 1993 and gave birth to two daughters, Elana (12) and Maya (10). After living in San Francisco, they moved to Palo Alto in 2002. Mimi was an active community leader serving on the boards of the Redwood City Congregation Beth Jacob, the New Israel Fund, Camp Arazim and the Jewish Federation. In 2009 she, and her husband, were honored by Congregation Beth Jacob as a Chesed for Community Service. Mimi had survived Hodgkins Disease for over 30 years and was committed to helping others with cancer. Each year since her lung cancer diagnosis, Mimi led a team of riders and runners in the Livestrong Challenge Series of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Last year the foundation awarded her the Livestrong Challenge Award in recognition of her efforts. Mimi is survived by her husband, Robert, her two daughters, Elana and Maya, her brothers, David (Madeline Chaleff), Palo Alto, and Joseph Arfin, Houston, TX. Her parents, Joanne and Bernard Arfin of Palo Alto and her mother-in-law, Magda Rebitzer of Chicago, also survive her. She is pre-deceased by her father-in-law, Fred Rebitzer. Mimi also had many loving cousins and numerous friends who will miss her warm personality, keen sense of humor and compassion. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mimi’s memory to Congregation Beth Jacob; The New Israel Fund, 703 Market Street, Suite 1503, San Francisco, CA; and the National Lung Cancer Alliance, 222 N. Midvale Blvd., Suite 6, Madison WI 53705. SINAI MEMORIAL CHAPEL 650-369-3636 PA I D
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Closed Session: Labor 7:30 p.m. or as soon as possible thereafter Selection of Candidates to be Interviewed for the Public Art Commission Selection of Candidates to be Interviewed for the Planning & Transportation Commission Public Hearing: Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project-Meeting to Accept Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) for the Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project, Including an Overview of the Transportation, Climate Change, and Air Quality Chapters of the Draft EIR Recommendation of the High Speed Rail Committee for Council Review of and Direction Regarding Draft Scope of Work for Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study Adoption of a Resolution Calling a Special Election for November 2, 2010, for Submitting to the Electorate for Special Election an Initiative Measure to Amend the Charter of the City of Palo Alto to Specify Minimum StafďŹ ng and Service Levels for Fire Department Personnel and of Fire Stations and Fire Station Locations and Require a Referendum Vote for any Proposal to Reduce Such Levels Approval of Three Year Software Consulting Services Contract with Sierra Infosys Inc. in the Amount of $750,000 for the Support and Maintenance of SAP Industry-SpeciďŹ c Solution for Utilities, SAP Financials, Customer Relationship Management System, Business Intelligence System and Utilities Customer Electronic Services Approval of three Contracts with: 1) Navigant Consulting Inc. for Electric Regulatory and Technical Consulting Services for a Total Amount Not to Exceed $245,000 for Fiscal Years 2011, 2012, and 2013; 2) Flynn Resources Consulting Services for a Total Amount Not to Exceed $230,000 for Fiscal Years 2011, 2012, and 2013; 3) Navigant Consulting Inc. for Gas Regulatory and Technical Consulting Services for a Total Amount Not to Exceed $325,000 for Fiscal Years 2011, 2012, and 2013 Approval of a Memorandum of Understanding With the Santa Clara Valley Water District to Provide up to $271,785 Per Fiscal Year for a Total of $815,355 Over Three Fiscal Years for the Continued Administration of and Funding for Water Conservation Programs and Rebates for City of Palo Alto Utilities’ Customers Approval of a Contract with J.J.R. Construction, Inc., in the Amount of $525,232 for the 2010 Street Maintenance Program College Terrace Area Concrete Capital Improvement Program Project PE-86070 Approval of a Contract with TruGreen LandCare for a Period of Three Years for Tree Maintenance Services with Funding for the First Year Approved in the Not to Exceed Amount of $280,000 and a Total Amount of $840,000 for all Three Years Adoption of a Resolution Expressing Appreciation to Marc Marchiel for Outstanding Public Service as a Member of the Library Advisory Commission Approval of Amendment No. Three to Contract No. C07116703 with C-Way Custodian Services to Increase the Annual Compensation Amount by $141,144 for a Total Annual Compensation Amount of $718,951 to Provide Custodial Cleaning Services at Selected City Facilities
(TENTATIVE) AGENDA-SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS Special City Council Meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 14, at 6:00 p.m. regarding: Interviews of Candidates for the Utilities Advisory Commission for two, three-year terms ending June 30, 2013 STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Policy and Services Committee Meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 13, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. regarding: 1) Discussion of Survey Options for the FY 2010 Service Efforts and Accomplishments Report, 2) Council Priorities Workplan The High Speed Rail Committee Meeting will be held on Thursday, July 15, 2010, at 8:30 a.m.
O B I T UA RY
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Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, movies and more, edited by Rebecca Wallace
Stanford exhibit peers into the works and life of Mary Webb story by Rebecca Wallace photos by Kimihiro Hoshino
he early-20th-century English novelist and poet Mary Webb may have been respected, but her works haven’t been easy to collect. In 1933, the author and bibliophile A. Edward Newton wrote: “From a book-collector’s point of view, Mary Webb in first editions is difficult, almost impossible. “Her books were published at a bad time (during war-related materials shortages); everything was bad — printing, paper, cloth, binding, everything. The editions were small and the books fell to pieces in the reading.� Nowadays, gathering first editions of Mary Webb might seem even more daunting. The author’s writings, filled with lush descriptions of her native Shropshire and the ways and passions of its inhabitants, gained popularity in the years after her 1927 death. But today
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her six novels and poetry are not widely known, especially outside Britain. A visitor can go from one American library to another and come up empty. Her fans have a Facebook page called “Has No One Ever Heard of Mary Webb?� Mary Crawford, though, is not a woman easily put off. The Stanford University alumna and book collector is the driving force behind “Mary Webb: Neglected Genius,� the current exhibition at Stanford’s Green Library. Filling 20 glass cases in the library’s Peterson Gallery and Munger Rotunda, the show is an assortment of Webb’s books, manuscripts, hand-written letters and poems, and other items. The “Webbiana,� nearly all from Crawford’s private collection, include: a first edition of Webb’s novel “Precious Bane,� (continued on page 20)
Above: Mary Crawford visits the Mary Webb exhibit; most of the items are from her personal collection. Right: A manuscript of Webb’s novel “Armour Wherein He Trusted,� damaged after its despondent author threw it into the fire. Below: The earliest known manuscript (circa 1894-97) by Webb, the story “Clematisa & Percival.�
A writer rediscovered Page 16ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â?Þʙ]ÊÓä£äÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž
Arts & Entertainment
Family folk Tom Chapin’s songs make the ‘green’ food movement and other big topics accessible to kids
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t took fatherhood for Grammy award-winning folk artist Tom Chapin to realize how little music was available for children too old for Sesame Street but too young for pop artists. Now, 11 children’s albums and nine adult albums later, Chapin is well-known among elementary school-age kids, their families and teachers for his friendly songs that engage kids in topics from birthdays and homework to recycling and Earth Day. Chapin will open Palo Alto’s Twilight Concert Series on Saturday, July 17, with a concert at Mitchell Park at 6:30 p.m. It will feature both family music geared towards children ages 4 to 11 and more adultoriented songs for older members of the family. Chapin will perform some of his hits, such as “Family Tree� and “This Pretty Planet,� as well as selections from his latest adult album, “Let the Bad Times Roll,� and brand-new children’s songs. In one new song, “Locally Grown,� Chapin makes the “green� food movement accessible to kids. He sings: “It seems paradoxic and carbon dioxic to force all our food to commute / Wasting gallons of fuel, which we know isn’t cool, for people or planets or fruit.� Chapin began his musical career in the late 1950s as a member of The Chapin Brothers with brothers Harry and Steve, playing mainstream folk music. “My first five albums were a young man writing grown-up songs, writing for women, writing about stuff that was intriguing to me,� Chapin said in a phone interview. “As you get older you write about different things, not just love songs. You write about the world as you see it. You’re always looking for resonance.� In 1988, Chapin was disappointed to find that his daughters, Abigail and Lily, then ages 8 and 6, felt largely left out of most music offerings. “There was a sort of hole in what was available for kids and families,� he said. “There was not a lot (of music) for articulate, verbal kids who are still interested in stories and still listening to their parents, about age 4 to 10. I realized that was the last time when parents were really making the choices about their kids’ music.� Chapin’s first children’s album, released that year, was “Family Tree,� featuring such kid-friendly tunes as “The Parade Came Marching� and “Uh Oh, Accident.� Over the next 22 years, his family albums garnered five Grammy nominations for Best Musical Album for Children. Parents Magazine calls Chapin “the Pied Piper of children’s music,� and Billboard has described him as “the best family artist around.� Chapin said the key to writing songs for kids is to write clear lyr-
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In one new song, “Locally Grown,� the folk artist Tom Chapin sings: “It seems paradoxic and carbon dioxic to force all our food to commute.� ics about a topic that kids can easily relate to. “Kids will not sit through an extended metaphor that bores them,� he said. “You try to find something they’re interested in, or ought to be interested in, and then find a way to keep piquing their interest by a story, a word game or jokes. It’s a very particular kind of writing.� In addition to his recording career, Chapin frequently makes time for giving back. His concerts often benefit causes including hunger, the environment and humane societies. In January, Chapin joined fellow musicians Pete Seeger and Michael Mark in a Hope for Haiti relief concert in Ossining, N.Y. The event raised more than $19,000 for Haiti earthquake victims, Chapin said. “People like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie and the folk world — their music has always tried to do something more than just the music. It tries to do some good. It’s part of what I do,� he said. But songwriting and creativity are Chapin’s specialties. He said he enjoys creating music as a way of bringing people together, and stresses the importance of parents listening to his music alongside their children. “The idea that you get together for an hour in the same room in the same place and everyone’s listening to the same thing, and in my case they’ll be singing along — it has this incredible power of community,� he said. “I very clearly talk about this as a family event, as opposed to you bring your kid and sit in the back and talk. You sit with your kid. Adult songs are the conversation between me and you. But my kids’ stuff is a family thing.
It’s a conversation between you and your 6-year-old.� Although there are many challenges inherent in writing music for the youngest members of the community, Chapin said the rewards are worth it. “The bottom line is I love what I do,� he said. “You’re dealing with a short attention span and yet an incredible openness that kids bring, and if you can engage it, you can fly.� Judge Lucky, the City of Palo Alto’s arts manager and the Palo Alto Children’s Theater’s director, said the Twilight Concert Series organizers were looking for a big-name artist to kick off the series. “Tom Chapin appeals to a lot of people in the Bay Area,� Lucky said. “He has appeal as a songwriter in the traditional folk style, and he uses acoustic instruments.� This year, the series, which runs through Aug. 21, will also present Afro-Cuban, jazz, rock and roll and Greek music, as well as a Battle of the Bands. “We wanted to appeal to the diverse population of Palo Alto,� Lucky said. “It’s a great community gathering event in the park, to be out in nature having a fun time in the summer.� N
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What: Tom Chapin in concert, presented by the annual Palo Alto Twilight Concert Series Where: Mitchell Park, 600 East Meadow Drive, Palo Alto When: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 17. Twilight Series concerts will be held every Saturday at 6:30 p.m. from July 17 to Aug. 21, in various city locations. Cost: Free Info: Go to cityofpaloalto.org/recreation or call 650-463-4930.
2010
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Arts & Entertainment and the window, with the tea brewing for one that will be home afore sundown, and the clouds standing upon the mountains, and when I laugh, I laugh easy, like the woodpecker in spring.� Crawford’s love of this book and of Webb’s other writing is evident on a recent afternoon as she strides through the Green Library exhibit, enthusiastically directing visitors from case to case. A financial planner who works in Palo Alto, Crawford has clearly found great joy in her avocation. “We love gathering,� she says modestly of herself and her husband. The gathering in this instance included working with San Francisco bookseller Tom Goldwasser, who helped the Crawfords obtain many pieces of Webbiana from the libraries of early collectors. Many of the items also had belonged to Henry Webb, the writer’s husband. In the catalogue’s foreword, Webb biographer Gladys Mary Coles writes, “The assembling in this exhibition of so many rare sources, disparate in their provenance, is a triumph of literary collecting.� One particularly prized item in the show is a manuscript of “Armour Wherein He Trusted,� Webb’s last novel, which she did not live to complete. The manuscript is written in black and brown ink and pencil, on various types of paper. The manuscript is interesting enough just for displaying the author’s handwriting and a glimpse into her creative process; it is also
strikingly poignant for the fire damage on some of the pages. A despondent Webb, unhappy with her writing and convinced she would never finish the book, had thrown the manuscript on the fire, Crawford said. It was rescued by her husband. “It’s hard to handle because it’s so fragile,� Crawford says of the manuscript. “I own this thing and I wasn’t willing to do it.� Crawford then walks on, past Polish and French translations of “Precious Bane,� and a program for a theatrical adaptation of the book that was staged in London. Dust jackets for “The Golden Arrow,� Webb’s first novel, sit with Henry Webb’s own copy of his wife’s book. “To a Blackbird / Singing in London,� one of the many handwritten Webb poems on display, captures the author’s longing for Shropshire during a period of time when she lived in London. She wrote: “O sing me far away, that I may hear / The voice of grass, and, weeping, may be blind / To slights and lies and friends that prove unkind. / Sing till my soul dissolves into a tear, / Glimmering within a chaliced daffodil.� A handwritten version of the story “Clematisa & Percival� shows Webb’s youth at the time — the author’s geometry homework is scribbled on the back of the page. Also on the walk with Crawford is Becky Fischbach, exhibits preparer and designer for Stanford’s special collections, who also worked on this exhibit. She makes a confession: Even though she is
surrounded by books every day in the university’s libraries, she had not known Webb’s writing before now. “Mary (Crawford) lent me ‘Precious Bane.’ I felt very immersed in the Shropshire of that time,� she says. Crawford beams. That’s the kind of experience Crawford is hoping for with this exhibit. Even introducing one person to this author she admires so much seems to be a success. In the exhibit catalogue, Crawford wrote that “a writer who has fallen out of current academic or public consciousness is not doomed to obscurity. Literature is, in large part, the study of the human heart. “A novel establishes a personal, one-on-one dialogue between the writer and reader. So long as a communication of interests, ideas and heartfelt emotion exists, there is relevance — a universal connection.� N What: “Mary Webb: Neglected Genius,� an exhibit of books, manuscripts and other items Where: Bing Wing, Green Library, Stanford University When: Through Aug. 29. The gallery is accessible whenever the library is open; call 650-723-0931 or go to library.stanford.edu for hours. Firsttime visitors need to register at the south entrance portal to Green Library’s East Wing. Cost: Free Info: Go to marywebb.org/exhibition/.
Mary Crawford with an enlarged illustration made by Peninsula artist William Bishop for the exhibition.
Mary Webb
(continued from page 16)
inscribed to the author Thomas Hardy; a 1927 letter from British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin praising “Precious Bane�; and a script from “Gone to Earth,� the British version of the Jennifer Jones film made from Webb’s novel of the same name. Photographs of Shropshire, taken by Crawford on research trips, provide a bucolic background. Illustrations by Peninsula artist William Bishop combine dreamlike faces, birds, gossamer insect wings. Bishop’s images are also in the exhibit catalogue, much of which was written by Mary Crawford and her husband, Bruce; and in Webb’s children’s story “Clematisa & Percival.� Webb wrote the tale as a teenager, and the Crawfords had it printed for the first time last year. Both story and catalogue were published through New York’s Grolier Club, where the exhibit was shown earlier this year before coming to Stanford in May. New York Times writer Eve M. Kahn covered the East Coast show, noting that Webb’s fans included the author Rebecca West, who “predicted that Webb would become one of the era’s great writers.� Webb, though, died at 46 after a long struggle with a thyroid disorder and intermittent poverty that led her to burn her manuscripts for fuel. She put out only six novels, and her books did not sell well, even when
they earned praise. For instance, her novel “Gone to Earth,� about an innocent country girl’s tragedy, was described by West as “Novel of the Year� for 1917. However, Mary Crawford wrote in the exhibit catalogue: “Even though the novel was well received by critics, few people during wartime had the leisure or inclination to read fiction, and the booming guns of the Western Front drowned the voice of the poet.� Crawford herself discovered Webb about 25 years ago, when she was looking for a novel to read and her late father-in-law suggested “Precious Bane.� Crawford had married into an avid book-collecting family, and began collecting Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien and other authors. Mary Webb brought her down a different path. “I felt, upon first reading ‘Precious Bane,’ that I had rediscovered an ancient tale, filled with collective human truths,� Crawford wrote in the catalogue. “Old countrywoman Prudence Sarn’s first-person narrative about her life on the Welsh borderlands after Waterloo is told in Shropshire dialect. The cadences of her narrative echo the rhythms of the Bible. Webb’s descriptive passages evoke a keen, ethereal beauty and also presage tragedy.� In one such passage, old Prudence sits and looks back over her life. Webb wrote: “Ah! Those be the ways grouse laugh, and that was how I laughed in those days. But now I sit here between the hearth
Page 20ĂŠUĂŠ Ă•Â?Þʙ]ÊÓä£äÊUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?Ăž
Webb on the Web New digital collection makes author’s manuscripts and other items widely available
Glen Worthey, digital humanities librarian at Stanford, talks about the Webb archive.
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he Mary Webb exhibit has been on both coasts, but that doesn’t mean it’s accessible to everyone. So book collectors Mary and Bruce Crawford, and Stanford University, are taking their efforts a step farther. Besides displaying Webbiana at the university’s Green Library, the Crawfords have also allowed Stanford staff to scan many of the materials and create a permanent digital collection, available for free
viewing online. Visitors can click and read Webb’s letters, or peer at manuscripts, photos and dust jackets of first editions. Descriptive paragraphs put the items in context. “We like to think of this as a digital reproduction of the archival experience,� said Glen Worthey, digital humanities librarian at Stanford. In the 1930s, many people wrote master’s theses on Webb, but then the author dimmed in popularity,
Crawford said. She hopes the digital collection will help increase interest in Webb, and also make it easier for scholars — and just plain enthusiasts — to see these rare items. “This is the perfect private collector-public institution collaboration,� Crawford said. “When Stanford says, ‘We’re putting up an exhibit,’ people want to see it.� To view the digital collection, go to marywebb.stanford.edu. N — Rebecca Wallace
Arts & Entertainment
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last year at Stanford. For more information, call 484-880-5384.
Music Tuck & Patti
The Stanford Jazz Festival may import talent from all over the place for its summertime concerts, but organizers didn’t have to look far for the Menlo Park duo Tuck & Patti. With Tuck Andress playing guitar and Patti Cathcart singing, the resulting sound is a mix of jazz, pop, folk and soul. Stanford Jazz organizers say the couple’s last performance there is still talked about as a highlight of the 2006 season. This weekend, the married twosome play at Stanford’s Dinkelspiel Auditorium at 8 p.m. on L. Peter Callender plays Odysseus and Courtney Walsh is Calypso in “The Saturday, July 10. They’ve got a Wanderings of Odysseus.� dozen albums’ worth of tunes to choose from. Tickets are $36 general and $22 for students. For more information, go to stanfordjazz.org or call 650736-0324.
Theater
‘The Wanderings of Odysseus’
It’s required reading in many college classes, but even classics majors may have a difficult time trying to imagine Homer’s “Odyssey� — with its many locales and mythical beings — as a dramatic stage work. But now, thanks to Stanford Summer Theater, the Odyssey will come to life onstage in a dramatic interpretation entitled “The Wanderings of Odysseus.� Oliver Taplin, who originally translated Homer’s work into “The Wanderings of Odysseus� for a Mark Taper Forum production at the Getty Villa in Malibu, has re-teamed with the production’s original director, SST artistic director Rush Rehm. SST’s production will feature entirely new staging, including live percussion. The story recounts Greek hero Odysseus’ 20-year quest to get home after the Trojan War — a journey that tests his wit and strength against fantastic creatures such as the Sirens, Calypso, and Cyclops. The play opens on Thursday, July 22, at 7 p.m. and will be performed Thursdays through Sundays through Aug. 15 at Stanford’s 80-seat Nitery Theater, 514 Lasuen Mall. Times vary. Tickets are $20 general and $10 for students. The annual Stanford Summer Theatre festival also includes a free Monday-night film series, showing versions of Homerian epic at 7 p.m. in Stanford’s Annenberg Auditorium. The series begins with the 2004 film “Troy� on July 12 and runs through Aug. 9. Also planned are free staged readings of other Homer adaptations, and a July 31 symposium on “Homer and Performance� with lectures, performances, readings and a panel discussion. For details, go to summertheater.stanford.edu or call 650-725-5838.
Interactive theater Do you ever watch a scene in a play and want to yell, “Cut!� (Or, “Brava!�) This month, Palo Alto playwright Ellen Cassidy is giving audiences a chance to chime in on her new play, “Single Gay Man.� Cassidy has scheduled several free readings of her play at Know Knew Books at 415 S. California Ave. in Palo Alto. On July 10 at 8 p.m. and July 17 at 4 p.m., the Open Source Theatre Company will perform several versions of a single scene, showing how it was developed from draft to final form. Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions and give feedback. On July 24 at 4 p.m., the play will be performed in its entirety. Cassidy, a Stanford University graduate who has interned at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, describes “Single Gay Man� as “a drama about sexuality, identity and betrayal.� It was performed
Art
Alan McGee’s photos The images are nearly impossible to decipher at first glance — bizarre, black-and-white patterns of circles and jagged edges — but Alan McGee’s photographs are anything but imaginary. In the exhibit “Tafoni — Accentuating the Negative,â€? now on display at Portola Art Gallery at the Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park, McGee captures a rare geological formation and examines it through the negative photographic print, making someth ing already wond rous completely out of this world. Ta fon i a re t he honeycomb formations and caverns formed into sandstone rocks by the long weathThe digital pigment print “Tafoni ering proStudy: Castle Rock State Parkâ€? is one cess. They of many photos by Alan McGee now exist in only on exhibit in Menlo Park. a few places in the world, including Castle Rock State Park in the Santa Cruz Mountains where McGee took his camera. McGee says tafoni are incredibly difficult to photograph due to their dark surroundings and steep slopes, so he decided to make the negatives of his black-andwhite photographs into the art itself. White becomes black and black becomes white, and “only middle gray remains unchanged,â€? McGee said. The resulting images depict almost alien geologic conditions, strange and yet completely real. The exhibition will be on display Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through July 31 at the Portola Art Gallery, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park. A reception will be held Saturday, July 10, from 1 to 4 p.m. Go to portolaartgallery.com or call 650-321-0220. *>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ Ă•Â?Þʙ]ÊÓä£äÊU Page 21
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High French doors open the front of Crepevine to the sidewalk.
FRI. 7/9: FRED HERSCH: JOBIM & MORE
SUN. 7/11: ELLA FITZGERALD AMERICA’S FIRST LADY OF SONG
07/09 Fred Hersch: Jobim and More
07/26 Dena DeRose Trio
07/10 Early Bird Latin Jazz for Kids: John Santos Sextet
07/27 Junior Mance Trio
07/10 Tuck & Patti 07/11 Ella Fitzgerald: America’s First Lady of Song 07/17 Claudia Villela Band 07/18 John Santos Sextet 07/19 Khalil Shaheed & the Mo’Rockin Project
07/28 100 Years of Django with Julian Lage, Victor Lin & Jorge Roeder 07/29 Visions: The Stevie Wonder Songbook 07/31 Rebecca Martin featuring Larry Grenadier, Steve Cardenas & Larry Goldings
07/20 Gerald Clayton Trio
08/01 Dave Douglas Quintet Plus
07/21 Kristen Strom Quintet
08/02 George Cables Trio
07/22 The Music of Dave Brubeck presented by Victor Lin
08/03 Nicholas Payton with the Taylor Eigsti Trio
07/24 Giants of Jazz: Charles McPherson, Junior Mance, and Tootie Heath
08/04 Joshua Redman Trio
07/25 Ruth Davies’ Blues Night with Special Guest Keb’ Mo’
08/06 SJW All-Star Jam Session 08/07 Taylor Eigsti Group featuring Becca Stevens
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Comfortable Crepevine
TUE. 7/20: GERALD CLAYTON TRIO
Good value, but little inspiration in comfort food by Sheila Himmel
I
t’s always brunch time at Crepevine. The all-day conveyor belt of comfort food opened two months ago in downtown Palo Alto, reclaiming the space left by the unlamented Italian restaurant Madison and Fifth. On a recent weekday, Crepevine had a line while next door the Cheesecake Factory was more than half empty. Lingering recession, anyone? With large portions, good prices and a children’s menu, Crepevine’s formula meets a need. Food quality is so-so, but the place is bright, clean and fun. High French doors open the whole front to the sidewalk. The Palo Alto location is the Bay Area’s tenth Crepevine, which has plans to keep growing. The signature dish comes in 11 varieties, and if none of them appeal, you can construct your own crepe. Start with the basic cheddar and glazed onion crepe ($6.95) and add $1 per item except for salmon, chicken, ham or sausage,
which cost more. Vegetarian? No problem. Six of the savory crepe combinations are meat-free — as are many items in other brunch-lunch categories, including omelettes, scrambles, pancakes and French toast. Or go to pasta, sandwiches and salads. Crepes are large, and they come with green salad and a large serving of cottage-fried potatoes. In the Philly crepe ($9.95), grilled beef and white cheddar cheese ooze together with onions, mushrooms and, if you like, hot peppers. That’s as it should be for the Philly. The problem is that too many other dishes at Crepevine have the same gummy consistency. The Milano crepe ($9.50) was undone by bitter eggplant, even though doused in marinara, spinach, tomatoes, cheddar, mozzarella and cottage cheese. The Big Sur sandwich ($9.95) is very much like the Philly cheese steak crepe — a compact of grilled beef, mushrooms and onions with cheese enfolded in starch. But one
is bread and one is crepe. One has provolone and the other cheddar. They shouldn’t taste so alike. “Benedictions� are plays on eggs Benedict. The Cote d’Azur ($9.95) came with two poached eggs perched on English muffins, and pieces of smoked salmon, sauteed spinach and onions. A dollop of hollandaise sauce topped both eggs. A large serving of cottagefried potatoes accompanied. The English muffins soon turned into bread pudding, which may be how everyone else likes it, but I prefer a little crunch. Sweet crepes ($6.95) had the same issues with definition. In the Santorini, walnuts, pistachios, brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon and mascarpone become one with the crepe. In the tri-berry, Nutella oozed between recognizable but not very flavorful strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. The Stanford, a nod to the neighborhood, combines strawberries, bananas and Nutella. The best dish we tried at Crepevine was a salad. The Nicoise ($9.95) offered a bed of spring greens, black olives, red potatoes and ample slices of warm ahi, semi-seared on the outside. The French beans were limp, a small infraction for such a large portion at this price. Mild citrus vinaigrette brought it all together, but not too forcefully. They don’t overdress the salad at Crepevine. Beverages reflect the all-day format, from coffee to cocktails. Crepevine has a reasonable wine list, and cocktails for $6. There are fresh-squeezed juices. Safari juice ($2), a blend of carrot, orange and lemonade, tasted like a melted Popsicle. Servers are pumped full of cheer: “Water refill?� “Yes, please.� “Not a problem!� “No, thank you.� “Not a problem!� Bottom line on Crepevine: fun, fast, assembly-line value. N Crepevine 367 University Ave., Palo Alto 650-323-3900 www.crepevine.com Hours: Sun.-Thu. 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 8 a.m.-11 p.m.
Reservations Credit cards Street parking Alcohol Takeout Highchairs Wheelchair access
Banquet Catering
Outdoor seating
Noise level: high
Bathroom cleanliness: excellent
Eating Out
ShopTalk
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by Daryl Savage
TOTAL ECLIPSE: BELLA LUNA ... The authentic Italian restaurant in the charming red brick building is gone. Bella Luna Ristorante at 233 University Ave. in Palo Alto, which had been in business since March 1999, suddenly closed its doors at the end of June. The tables are still set, the menus are neatly stacked on a podium at the entrance and the window boxes have been carefully moved from the outside to the inside directly behind the front door. Although it appears as if this was a quick and unexpected departure, leasing agent Sam Arsan of Arsan Realty says no. “There were no major issues. It just wasn’t working the way it was. So part of the negotiation between landlord and tenant was to leave everything in place. It was a mutual agreement,� Arsan said. The whole building, which wraps around the corner at Ramona Street and also houses Mills the Florist, Da Coffee Spot and Da Hookah Spot, is currently for lease if the right high-end tenant comes along, Arsan said. Susie Mills, who co-owns the building with her sister, Leslie, said, “There are lots of different options, and, yes, we would lease out the entire building if the right person comes along — but that’s not what we’re looking for.� Yet Mills the Florist would not cease to exist, she added: “If that happens we would relocate.� Her grandfather bought the building in the early 1960s. CULTURE AT CULTURE ... When Alexis Beckman and Mary Randolph Hundt chose a name for their frozen-yogurt shop, they had no way of knowing how important a role that name would play. Culture at 340 S. California Ave. in Palo Alto was the setting of a “cultural exchange� of sorts when several men wearing dark clothing and earphones made an unannounced visit to the store to purchase a large amount of frozen yogurt. The bodyguards and aides were part of the entourage of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Silicon Valley on June 23. The shop had the advantage of being located near Yandex Labs, Russia’s largest Internet company. “We had no official sighting of the president. We’re not even sure if we would have recognized him or not, but we suddenly got very busy,� Beckman said. No confirmation yet from the Russian government on the visit — nor is anyone saying what flavor yogurt was ordered. PHILZ GETS COOL ... The coolest place for coffee just got a little cooler, but keeping
cool comes at a price. About $10,000, according to Jacob Jabor, president of Philz Coffee. That was the cost of air conditioning his tiny, tony Midtown cafe. Jabor, son of Phil, thought it was way too hot at Philz, which is at 3191 Middlefield Road. “We were schvitzing,� said one employee. Another, Ksenia Zhilyaeva, said she thinks the new air-conditioning is terrific: “I dream about. I love it. I’ve never felt cooler.�
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GREEN AND KEEN ... When David Greene says his new downtown Palo Alto store is green, he means it. Livegreen opened last month at 158 University Ave. in the former Bead Shop, which closed in August 2008. Not only are the items he is selling â&#x20AC;&#x153;sustainable,â&#x20AC;? the storeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s furnishings are also recycled. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cabinets left from the previous tenant were re-used,â&#x20AC;? Greene said. Even the shelves are made from something called â&#x20AC;&#x153;zboard,â&#x20AC;? created from recycled paper. Some of the more unusual merchandise includes wallets made from repurposed bicycle parts, solarcharged flashlights made from mobile phones and cameras, and home decor items using reclaimed wine and beer bottles. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Making a purchasing decision involving green products doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to be burdened with guilt of fear, or involve political messages. It should be fun,â&#x20AC;? Greene said.
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``` QN[\]X[b LXV Family and friends are welcome to attend. Light refreshments will be served. Š2010 Genentech USA, Inc., So. San Francisco, CA All rights reserved.
9577701
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TRANSPLANTED BOUTIQUE ... Cassis, the popular womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clothing and accessory store, has relocated. It left its downtown Palo Alto location at 532 Ramona St. last month to hang its trendy shingle at 206 Homer Ave. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a rent issue that forced us out,â&#x20AC;? said Gordon Cruikshank, who owns the boutique with his wife, Carol. Cassis had been at its downtown location for nine years. Cruikshank also owns Leaf & Petal, a similar boutique that has been at its California Avenue location for 30 years. MONEY ON THE MOVE ... Wells Fargo Bank moved out of its Los Altos branch at 4540 El Camino Real a few months ago for a jump across the street. Although this was a simple move just a few yards away, it now has a new address, 2600 El Camino Real, and a new city, Mountain View. It is located in the former Wachovia Bank building on the northeast corner of El Camino and San Antonio Road.
Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out or in? Daryl Savage will check it out. She can be e-mailed at shoptalk@paweekly.com.
ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TIME TO VOTEâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; LAST WEEK TO VOTE JULY 11
BEST OF PALO ALTO Vote online at PaloAltoOnline.com
2010
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MEXICAN The Oaxacan Kitchen 321-8003 Authentic Mexican Restaurant 2323 Birch Street, Palo Alto 1 Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;
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of the week
also visit us at 6 Bay Area Farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Markets www.theoaxacankitchen.com
PIZZA Pizza Chicago 424-9400 4115 El Camino Real, Palo Alto This IS the best pizza in town
AMERICAN
CHINESE
Armadillo Willyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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.
Hobeeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 856-6124
Su Hong â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Menlo Park
4224 El Camino Real, Palo Alto
Dining Phone: 323â&#x20AC;&#x201C;6852
Also at Town & Country Village,
To Go: 322â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4631
Palo Alto 327-4111
Winner, Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;&#x153;Best Ofâ&#x20AC;?
Spot A Pizza 324-3131 115 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto
Burmese
www.spotpizza.com
POLYNESIAN Trader Vicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 849-9800 4269 El Camino Real, Palo Alto Dinner Mon-Thurs 5-10pm; Fri-Sat 5-11pm; Available for private luncheons
INDIAN
Lounge open nightly
(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
Happy Hour Mon-Fri 4-6 pm
SEAFOOD
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
Scottâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seafood 323-1555
Chef Chuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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
Ă?ÂľĂ&#x2022;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x152;iĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;Â&#x153;`Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;"Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x152;`Â&#x153;Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x160; Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;}
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
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 Open 7 days a week serving breakfast,
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 â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;01, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;02, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;03 & â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;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
Ă&#x2022;}iĂ&#x160;Â&#x201C;iÂ&#x2DC;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;Â&#x201C;iĂ&#x192;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x17E;Â?iĂ&#x160;,iVÂ&#x2C6;ÂŤiĂ&#x192;
www.sundancethesteakhouse.com
Page 24Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2122;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;
133 Main St, Los Altos 650.947.7768 Open 7 days 11:00-9:00 Delivery from door to door
NEW SPOT! great for teen parties
Best Thai Restaurant in Palo Alto 3 Years in a Row, 2006-2007-2008
Open 7 days a Week
MEXICAN
115 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto 650.324.3131
Cookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Seafood 325-0604 751 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
Mingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 856-7700
Dine-in, Pick-up & Delivery
Sun 4:30 - 9:30pm
8 years in a row!
Green Elephant Gourmet
(Charleston Shopping Center)
Voted Best Pizza in Palo Alto
Search a complete listing of local restaurant reviews by location or type of food on PaloAltoOnline.com
Movies
The Girl Who Played with Fire --
Movie reviews by Jeanne Aufmuth, Peter Canavese, Tyler Hanley and Susan Tavernetti OPENINGS Despicable Me --1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) If your kids have fully recovered from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Toy Story 3,â&#x20AC;? you can safely proceed to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Despicable Me,â&#x20AC;? a CGI-animated comedy that weds a Charles Addams drollness to Looney Tunes oneupmanship (in 3D!). Steve Carell voices Gru, an Eastern European supervillain plotting to reverse a slump by stealing a shrink ray and, subsequently, the moon. For years, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been subsidized in his half-baked heists by loans from the Bank of Evil (which gets a timely economic-meltdown zinger), but having tired of Gruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shtick, the bank decides to back another horse: young mad-scientist du jour Vector (Jason Segel). Thus a spy-vs.-spy style war breaks out between Gru and Vector, who seems always to have the upper hand. Enter three orphans: maternal Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), backtalking Edith (Dana Gaier) and unicorn-loving Agnes (Elsie Fisher). The curmudgeonly Gru hates kids (well, to be fair, he hates the human race), but he sees an opportunity to exploit them for his own ends. And so he adopts them â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or, in his mind, rents them â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to put one over on Vector. Anyone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ever read â&#x20AC;&#x153;How the Grinch Stole Christmasâ&#x20AC;? can guess where this is headed. Some will find it a bit of a letdown that the antisocial comedy turns into a reassuring fable about how adults need kids to transform their lives, but guess who wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t? Parents and kids. Score one for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Despicable Me.â&#x20AC;? The movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jokes are at times gleefully absurd (the variety of weaponry includes a squid-shooter) but more often mostly derivative. Still, directors Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud put them over with articulate body language and ample energy; they also make advantageous use of the 3D (a roller coaster sequence may be the best of its kind ever put on film). In place of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Toy Storyâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rubber aliens, we get Gruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s test-tube-baby â&#x20AC;&#x153;minions,â&#x20AC;? chattering Twinkies in overalls destined to be crowd favorites. Carellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vocal gymnastics are welcome, and heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s well supported by Russell Brand, in fine form as
Gruâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s elderly partner-in-crime Dr. Nefario; and Julie Andrews playing hilariously against type as the nasty mother who proves Gru wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t so much born bad as he was kicked to the curb by mommy. And movie nerds will enjoy visual references like the tip of the hat to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Star Trek IIâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Genesis Effectâ&#x20AC;? (a breakthrough use of CGI landscape). â&#x20AC;&#x153;Despicable Meâ&#x20AC;? may not be the sort of film adults will want to revisit, but theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find it pleasant enough to while away a matinee. And kids are bound to find it a laugh-a-minute romp. Basically, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not to like â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or rather, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to despise? Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some sensuality. One hour, 35 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese
Predators --1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) Pop quiz, hotshot. What is â&#x20AC;&#x153;the most dangerous gameâ&#x20AC;?? a) lions b) tigers c) Parcheesi d) man. Anyone whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s read Richard Connellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1924 short story â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Most Dangerous Gameâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or seen one of Hollywoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s umpteen knock-offs of it â&#x20AC;&#x201D; knows the answer is â&#x20AC;&#x153;d.â&#x20AC;? Now, in an attempt to resurrect a moribund franchise, 20th Century Fox welcomes us back to the jungle for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Predators,â&#x20AC;? in which tall, dark and ugly aliens again hunt humans. Perhaps itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best that â&#x20AC;&#x153;Predatorsâ&#x20AC;? keeps its ambitions humble, but a dearth of inspiration makes this fifth â&#x20AC;&#x153;Predatorâ&#x20AC;? film dangerously close to a rehash of the first film. Producer Robert Rodriguez would rather you think of it as â&#x20AC;&#x153;back to basics,â&#x20AC;? thank you very much, but, yâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;know, â&#x20AC;&#x153;tomay-to, tom-ah-to.â&#x20AC;? The broad-strokes plot repeats John McTiernanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 1987 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Predatorâ&#x20AC;?: A platoon of humans tries to stay alive while hunted through booby-trapped jungle terrain by hulking laser-armed alien(s); the humans are dispatched one by one until a mano-a-alieno climax. OK, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Predatorsâ&#x20AC;? sounds off a few new bells and whistles. Rodriguezâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dusted-off 1994 script (rewritten by credited scribes Michael Finch and Alex Litvak) nods to James Cameronâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Aliensâ&#x20AC;? by adding an â&#x20AC;&#x153;sâ&#x20AC;? and, at least in theory, multiplying the threat. In addition to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Classic Predatorâ&#x20AC;? (Derek Mears), we get
the Falconer Predator (assisted by an alien bird), the Tracker Predator (who let the alien dogs out? he did), and the Berserker Predator, who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need a gimmick because heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just a badass mofo (and a specialist in spine-ectomies). Using new-and-improved alien technology, the Predators have zapped eight formidable humans to a game-preserve planet, where they find themselves bafflingly in freefall. Once theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve thudded to the jungle floor, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Predatorsâ&#x20AC;?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; opening leg plays as a sort of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eight Characters in Search of a Captor,â&#x20AC;? or perhaps â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lostâ&#x20AC;? in 10 minutes. The characters amusingly cycle through theories, including that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dead and in hell, while the audience patiently waits for them to catch up. The double meaning of the title is that the humans realize theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re â&#x20AC;&#x153;the monsters in our own worldâ&#x20AC;?: highly trained special-ops types (like Adrien Brodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Royce and Alice Bragaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Isabelle), brute killers (like Walton Gogginsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Death Row inmate and Mahershalalhashbaz Aliâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death-squad soldier from Sierra Leone), a drug-cartel enforcer (Rodriguez staple Danny Trejo), and a Yakuza assassin (Louis Ozawa Changchien). The odd man out (Topher Grace, at his most weaselly) claims to be an everyday doctor, though Royce has his suspicions. Director NimrĂłd Antal (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Vacancyâ&#x20AC;?) again proves his competence with genre material, and the script adds a couple of decent twists to the slasher-action formula. There are the aforementioned alien dogs; a stylish Bushido bout pitting Predator versus katana-wielding Yakuza; a Predator vs. Predator smackdown; and Laurence Fishburne as a mad survivor (a witty callback to his early role in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Apocalypse Nowâ&#x20AC;?). Antal crucially limits CGI in favor of top-notch makeup and creature effects by the legendary Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger. Best in show goes to Goggins (â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Shieldâ&#x20AC;?), the underrated master at playing morally challenged, scaryfunny killers. If only they had given him the picture instead of forcing him to steal it. Rated R for strong creature violence and gore, and pervasive language. One hour, 46 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese
Fri & Sat ONLY
7/9-7/10
Sun - Tues ONLY 7/11-7/13 Weds ONLY 7/14 Thurs ONLY 7/15
I Am Love 1:45, 4:30, 7:15, 10:00 Restrepo 2:15, 4:45, 7:20, 9:40 I Am Love 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 Restrepo 2:15, 4:45, 7:20 I Am Lover 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 Restrepo 2:15 I Am Love 1:45, 4:30, 7:15 Restrepo 4:45, 7:20
(Guild) All the hype around publishing sensation Stieg Larsson, late author of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Millenniumâ&#x20AC;? trilogy, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do the film version of â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Girl Who Played with Fireâ&#x20AC;? any favors. Lacking the psychological intimacy afforded by the page, Daniel Alfredsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s film wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t inspire better than a shrug from audiences. The first of two sequels to the allaround more compelling â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,â&#x20AC;? this film picks up with Swedish punk lesbian super-hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) abroad but still keeping tabs on her arch-nemesis Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson), the degenerate lawyer whom the law sees as her upstanding legal guardian. Meanwhile, Millennium magazine, under the auspices of crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist (dishwater-dull Michael Nyqvist) prepares a bombshell story exposing a sex trafficking ring and its clientele. In short order, three people have been murdered, and all three deaths are pinned on Lisbeth, whose fingerprints are found on the murder
weapon. We know sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s innocent, and so does Blomkvist, who bonded with her in the previous film. The key to solving the crime appears to lie with shadowy gangster Zala, a former Russian military intelligence agent who doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be found, in part because of a shocking connection to Lisbethâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past. Yes, this time, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s personal. (Then again, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m pretty sure it was before and will be again.) Shot back-to-back with third installment â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Girl Who Kicked the Hornetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nest,â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Girl Who Played with Fireâ&#x20AC;? was intended for Swedish television. The trimming of budget â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and, more importantly, time â&#x20AC;&#x201D; shows in this feature version. Taking the reins from â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tattooâ&#x20AC;? director Niels Arden Oplev, Anderson proves unable to tap the storyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s emotional undercurrents, and the lackluster acting follows suit. Rapace continues to bring a quiet intensity to the fearsome, tough-as-nails, nononsense Salander. (Her signature move? A taser to the groin.) But the materialâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just not here to demon(continued on page 26)
â&#x20AC;&#x153; THE PERFECT SUMMER MOVIE ! â&#x20AC;? Bill Zwecker, FOX-TV
WRITTEN BY
ADAM SANDLER & FRED WOLF DIRECTEDBY DENNIS DUGAN
CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATERS AND SHOWTIMES
CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Palo Alto City Council will hold a public hearing at the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. or as near thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, to Consider Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project- Meeting to accept comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Stanford University Medical Center Facilities Renewal and Replacement Project, including an overview of the Alternative Chapter and Mitigation Measures of the DEIR DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2122;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;U Page 25
Movies
!"#
The A-Team (PG-13) (1/2
Century 20: 7:55 & 10:45 p.m.
Charlotteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Web (G) ((1/2
Century 16: Wed. at 10 a.m.
City Streets (1931) (Not Rated) Stanford Theatre: Wed.-Thu. 5:55 & 9:20 p.m. (Not Reviewed) Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky (R) ((1/2
Aquarius Theatre: 4:15 & 9:15 p.m. Aquarius Theatre: 2:45, 5, 7:30 & 9:45 p.m.
Desire (1936) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)
Stanford Theatre: Wed.-Thu. 7:30 p.m.
Despicable Me (PG) (Not Reviewed)
Century 16: 12:45, 3:15, 5:45, 8:15 & 10:45 p.m.; In 3D at 11:30 a.m.; 2, 4:30, 7 & 9:30 p.m. Century 20: 12:05, 12:55, 2:35, 3:25, 5:05, 5:55, 7:50, 8:35 & 10:20 p.m.; In 3D at 11:15 a.m.; 1:45, 4:15, 7:10 & 9:40 p.m.
Destry Rides Again (1939) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)
Stanford Theatre: Sat.-Tue. at 5:45 & 9:50 p.m.
The Girl Who Played with Fire (R) (Not Reviewed)
Guild Theatre: 1, 4, 7 & 9:55 p.m.
Grown Ups (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)
Century 16: 10:50 a.m.; 1:35, 4:15, 7:50 & 10:25 p.m. Century 20: 11:45 a.m.; 2:20, 4:50, 7:20 & 9:50 p.m.
The House of Rothschild (1934) Stanford Theatre: Fri. at 7:30 p.m. (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)
Note: Movie times for the Century 16 go only through Monday, except where noted. Times for the Century 20 are only through Tuesday, except where noted.
Cyrus (R) (((
MOVIE TIMES
ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TIME TO VOTEâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;
BEST OF PALO ALTO Vote online at PaloAltoOnline.com
I Am Love (R) (Not Reviewed)
CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: 1:45, 4:30 & 7:15 p.m. Fri.-Sat. also at 10 p.m.
Inception (PG-13) (Not Reviewed)
Century 20: Thu. at 12:01 a.m.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (R) ((1/2
Aquarius Theatre: 2 & 7 p.m.
The Karate Kid (2010) (PG) ((( Century 16: 10:30 a.m.; 1:35, 4:45, 7:55 & 10:55 p.m. Century 20: 1:05, 4:10, 7:25 & 10:30 p.m.
2010
Knight and Day (Not Rated) ((1/2
Century 16: 11:05 a.m.; 1:45, 4:40, 7:40 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:05 a.m.; 1:35, 4:05, 6:55 & 9:40 p.m.
The Last Airbender (Not Rated) ((1/2
Century 16: 10:45 a.m.; 12:05, 1:20, 2:40, 4, 5:20, 7:20, 8, 10 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:55 a.m.; 12:50, 2:25, 3:35, 5:05, 6:10, 7:40, 8:45 & 10:15 p.m.; In 3D at 11:20 a.m.; 1:50, 4:20, 7 & 9:35 p.m.
The Metropolitan Opera: La Bohème (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)
Century 16: Wed. at 6:30 p.m. Thu. at 10 a.m. Century 20: Wed. at 6:30 p.m. Thu. at 10 a.m. CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: Wed. at 6:30 p.m. Thu. at 1:30 p.m.
Predators (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)
Century 16: 11 a.m.; 12:20, 1:40, 3, 4:20, 5:40, 7:10, 8:20, 9:50 & 11 p.m. Century 20: 11:50 a.m.; 1:10, 2:40, 3:55, 5:20, 6:45, 8:05, 9:25 & 10:40 p.m.
Restrepo (R) (Not Reviewed)
CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: Fri.-Wed. at 2:15 p.m. Fri.-Tue. also at 4:45 & 7:20 p.m. Fri. & Sat. also at 9:40 p.m. Thu. at 4:45 & 7:20 p.m.
Toy Story 3 (G) ((((
Century 16: 11:55 a.m.; 2:45, 5:30 & 8:35 p.m.; In 3D at 10:40 a.m.; 1:25, 4:10, 7:15 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: 11:40 a.m.; 12:20, 2:15, 2:55, 4:55, 5:35, 8:10 & 10:45 p.m.; In 3D at 11 a.m.; 1:40, 4:25, 7:05 & 9:45 p.m.
The Twlight Saga: Eclipse (PG-13) ((1/2
Century 16: 10:30 & 11:15 a.m.; noon, 12:40, 1:30, 2:15, 3, 3:45, 4:25, 5:15, 6, 6:45, 7:30, 8:30, 9, 9:45 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 11 & 11:30 a.m.; noon, 12:30, 1, 1:30, 2, 2:30, 3, 3:30, 4, 4:30, 5, 5:30, 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30, 8, 8:30, 9, 9:30, 10 & 10:25 p.m.
Vertigo (1958) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)
Stanford Theatre: Sat.-Tue. at 7:30 p.m. Sat.Sun. also at 3:25 p.m.
Winterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bone (R) (Not Reviewed)
Century 16: 10:35 a.m.; 1, 3:30, 7:25 & 10:10 p.m.
The Working Man (1933) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed)
Stanford Theatre: Fri. at 6 & 9:10 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) CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-3456) Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260) Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700) Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to Palo Alto Online at http://www.PaloAltoOnline.com/ ON THE WEB: The most up-to-date movie listings at www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Page 26Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2122;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;
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strate much character outside of her determined actions (many of which, anti-dramatically, are keyboard taps on her laptop). Visually, the film has the drab look of a 20-year-old BBC crime miniseries (exception: the rare occasion when something goes up in flames). As it is, the mystery plot is only borderline coherent and less convincing, but when the story steps outside of this comfort zone of understatement, matters just get strange. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a hulking thug (Mikael Spreitz) with a rare genetic disorder that deadens him to pain â&#x20AC;&#x201D; he plays like a refugee from a Bond movie. And then thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the scene in which Lisbeth, taking a page from Batman, shows her theatrical sense for instilling fear by donning Kabuki-white face makeup with a red â&#x20AC;&#x153;scarâ&#x20AC;? painted to bisect her face. This sort of thing works better in emotional context, which is where â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Girl Who Played with Fireâ&#x20AC;? is at its worst. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a requirement of the story that its heroes remain separate for nearly the entire running time (though Blomkvist cornily pledges, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to be there for her all the wayâ&#x20AC;?). The spark between the two is missed. Rated R for brutal violence including a rape, some strong sexual content, nudity and language. Two hours, nine minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese
NOW PLAYING The A-Team - 1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) Cue the theme song: Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another TV remake for the big screen. The title â&#x20AC;&#x153;The A-Teamâ&#x20AC;? refers to an â&#x20AC;&#x153;alpha unitâ&#x20AC;? of elite Army Rangers, but the only thing top-of-the-line about Joe Carnahanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stupefying action movie is the budget. The movie retains the basic premise of the TV show, with the team framed for theft and murder, dishonorably discharged, and incarcerated. Planloving Hannibal affects an escape, and the team operates off the grid, righting wrongs and seeking to clear its good names. Rated PG-13 for intense action and violence, language and smoking. One hour, 59 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed June 11, 2010) Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky -1/2 (Guild) Why, it seems like only yesterday I was reviewing a film about Coco Chanelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s love life. Actually, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been eight whole months since â&#x20AC;&#x153;Coco Before Chanel,â&#x20AC;? but here comes â&#x20AC;&#x153;Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky,â&#x20AC;? which could be viewed as an unofficial sequel. Chanel, played this time by Anna Mouglalis, shares the stage here with Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Casino Royaleâ&#x20AC;?), whose 1913 ballet score for â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Rite of Springâ&#x20AC;? rocked the music and dance scenes. It will be seven years until the two in fact connect, when Chanel invites Stravinsky, a hotel-dwelling refugee from the Russian Revolution, and his family to move into her villa outside Paris. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soon apparent that Chanel has designs on Stravinsky, and the two begin a passionate affair. Rated R for some strong sexuality and nudity. Two hours. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed June 25, 2010) Cyrus --(Aquarius) John (John C. Reilly) is â&#x20AC;&#x153;borderline desperate,â&#x20AC;? he says. A more accurate description would be â&#x20AC;&#x153;totally desperate.â&#x20AC;? Divorced for seven years, the central character of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Cyrusâ&#x20AC;? canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to find a woman to replace his ex and still close friend Jamie (Catherine Keener), who is about to marry someone else. Then John reluctantly accompanies Jamie and her fiance to a party, where, drunk and rowdy, he amazingly hooks up with Molly (Marisa Tomei) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; beautiful, loving and complete with baggage.The
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work --1/2 (Aquarius) Watching the new documentary â&#x20AC;&#x153;Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,â&#x20AC;? one has to concede that comedian Joan Rivers has been an important figure on the stand-up scene, and especially important to women in a male-dominated field. But we also learn that Rivers is ruthless in her self-preservation, and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean just the surgery. The documentary by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg emphasizes the dog-eat-dog nature of show biz that contributes to Riversâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hunger. Stern and Sundberg mostly try to avoid authorial overtones, letting the material they captured speak for itself, but one suspects they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect or intend to make their subject seem so worrying, if not pathetic. Rated R for language and sexual humor. One hour, 24 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; P.C. (Reviewed June 25, 2010) Karate Kid --(Century 16, Century 20) The reboot of the 1984 classic that pit underdog Daniel Larusso against merciless bullies offers the same charm but with a contemporary twist. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Karate Kidâ&#x20AC;? reflects both globalization and bone-crunching stylistics, packaging dislocation and violence as picture-postcard entertainment stamped in China.This protagonist (Jaden Smith) and his widowed mother (Taraji P. Henson) move from Detroit to China. Following the original movieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s narrative formula, boy meets girl (Wenwen Han). Boy repeatedly gets beaten up by bullies (led by Wang Zhenwei). Enter the apartment maintenance man and latent grand master of martial arts (Jackie Chan) to mentor Dre for an approaching tournament, where the underdog can face his opponents on a level kung-fu mat. Rated PG for bullying, martial-arts action violence and mild language. In English and Mandarin with English subtitles. Two hours, 20 minutes. S.T. (Reviewed June 11, 2010) Knight and Day --1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) The high-octane flick gets off to a fast start as timid auto enthusiast June Havens (Cameoron Diaz) literally bumps into handsome stranger Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) at the airport, both headed to Boston. Only a handful of passengers join them on the plane, though June seems too enamored with Royâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pleasantries to notice. While June makes a visit to the restroom, Roy gets in an all-out knock â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em, sock â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em fight with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;passengersâ&#x20AC;? (aka bad guys). When June exits the restroom to find herself surrounded by bloody bodies while a surprisingly calm Roy tries to land the crashing plane (the pilots were also dispatched in the struggle), her mundane life suddenly gets thrust into turbo. It turns out Roy is an American spy tasked with protecting a new energy source and its genius inventor (Paul Dano) â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and June is along for the ride. Together the unlikely partners traverse foreign lands while
being hunted by a dubious FBI agent (Peter Sarsgaard) and horde of gun-toting miscreants. Rated PG-13 for strong language and sequences of action violence. 2 hours, 10 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; T.H. (Reviewed June 25, 2010) The Last Airbender --1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) The epic fantasy opens with siblings Katara (Nicola Peltz) and Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) searching for food and stumbling upon something trapped beneath the icy surface of their sub-zero world. M. Night Shyamalan has been criticized for whitewashing the main characters, who are brown-skinned in the television series, but he should be
chastised for directing such terrible performances. Awkward and wooden, Peltz and Rathbone deliver stilted dialogue and their few attempts at humor fall flat. Noah Ringer, in an engaging debut, fares better as Aang, the lone avatar capable of restoring balance to the war-torn planet. Frozen for a century and freed by Kataraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waterbending, the young boy must lead the struggle to fend off the Fire Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s militaristic attempt to conquer the Air, Water and Earth nations. Only he has the capability to â&#x20AC;&#x153;bendâ&#x20AC;? or manipulate all four elements and restore harmony. Rated: PG for violence and not recommended for young children. 1 hour, 43 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; S.T. (Reviewed July 2, 2010)
Saturday, July 17th s AM Preview: &RIDAY *ULY TH AM PM AND 3ATURDAY /PENS AM
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Sports Camps Glenoaks Stablesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Horse Camp Portola Valley Giddy up your summer at Glenoaks Stablesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; horse camp. A full day of equestrian fun includes supervised riding, horsemanship, vaulting, pony games and arts & crafts. 5 one-week sessions. All skill levels welcome, ages 6+. www.glenoaksequestriancenter.com/summercamps.htm 650 854 4955
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baggage is her obese 21-year-old son Cyrus (Jonah Hill), who still lives with her. Sure, Cyrus is delighted to meet John and happy to â&#x20AC;&#x153;have a new dad.â&#x20AC;? So he says. But his relationship with Molly is unusual, at the least, and Cyrus starts subtly to sabotage Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s relationship with her. A charming movie, with performances that are flawlessly true-to-life. Rated R for some sexual material and language. One hour, 32 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; R.P. (Reviewed July 2, 2010)
Sundance Film Festival SXSW Film Festival BAMcinemaFEST Los Angeles Film Festival
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SLSQ performs works by Schumann, Elgar, and Haydn, joined by pianist Stephen Prutsman.
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Discover the
FRENCH FILM CLUB OF PALO ALTO at
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Legendary Japanese Butoh company performs its latest work, the enigmatic Tobari.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;An effortlessly charismatic bassist,â&#x20AC;? (NY Times), McBride returns with an acoustic quintet.
Violin virtuosa Midori in an intimate evening of Bach, Mozart, and more.
PALO ALTO ART CENTER 1313 Newell Road
SAVE THE DATE The Club is closed for Summer Break, July and August.
Our doors will reopen on Friday September 3rd at 6 pm for a Labor Day weekend full of ďŹ&#x201A;avors from Provence.
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Our fall and winter schedule will be published online at our website on AUGUST 1ST. Stay tuned! Reserve more and reserve your seat at: www.frenchfilmclubofpaloalto.org Established in 1977, the French Film Club is an independent non-proďŹ t Organization, open to the public. and co-sponsored by the Palo Alto Art Center. For full program and discounted tickets go to our website. Call 650-400-3496 for details.
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Solo recital: The legendary pianist performs late works of Schubert.
The Israeli rock legend unites East and West, classical and contemporary, sacred and secular.
;7<5CA 075 0/<2 E32 ! />@ The iconic jazz composer Charles Mingus lives on in his incendiary namesake ensemble.
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Cover Story
Federal funding that has historically sustained Silicon Valley economic growth is threatened
INNOVATION AT RISK by Chris Kenrick
S
tanford University President John Hennessy sounded the alarm in a speech to professors last month: The university faces a â&#x20AC;&#x153;collision
point,â&#x20AC;? as federal-government support for higher education shrinks under pressure to fund growing entitlement programs, Hennessy said. The threat, oft heard but repeated recently with mounting concern, is that the federal largesse that launched and sustained Silicon Valley is ebbing, with potential dire consequences for education, the local economy and, ultimately, U.S. competitiveness across the globe. â&#x20AC;&#x153;While there remains very strong support (for research), both in the White House and on the Hill, we are coming to a collision point,â&#x20AC;? Hennessy told Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Faculty Senate June 10. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think there will be more pressure on higher education than ever, as the amount of discretionary funding in the budget gets shrunk continuously, to protect that piece of it (for research).â&#x20AC;?
In other words, the massive and ongoing federal support that has created and fueled the Bay Area brain trust â&#x20AC;&#x201D; big engineering and medicine at Stanford and the University of California, the NASA Ames Research Center, Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore labs, Fairchild Semiconductor, Lockheed Missiles & Space and all that has flowed from those institutions â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is under siege. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For years, money just ran downhill from Washington, D.C., to California and nobody had to do anything to get it,â&#x20AC;? said physicist Scott Hubbard, former NASA Ames research director and now a consulting professor of Aeronau(continued on page 30)
Michelle Le
Courtesy of Alan Russo
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At left, Bloom Energy servers are used at eBay. Development of the so-called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bloom Boxes,â&#x20AC;&#x2122; which are high-efficiency fuel cells, started in the NASA Mars program. Above, and on the cover, Robert Baertsch, vice president of software engineering for Unimodal, shows off a SkyTran pod prototype at NASA Ames Research Center in March. Photo by Michelle Le.
Cover Story
Courtesy of Alan Russo
C U S T O M S O L U T I O N S F O R E V E R Y S T Y L E A N D E V E R Y B U D G E T
Bloom Energyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s testing facility is located at NASA Research Park in Mountain View.
A hub of experimentation NASA Research Park blends government, venture capital, education and startups by Chris Kenrick
B
y something of a federal real-estate accident, a host of cutting-edge cleantech development is taking place on the grounds of the old Moffett Field Naval Air Station â&#x20AC;&#x201D; repurposed in the last decade as the NASA Research Park after the U.S. Navy closed its operation and handed the property over to the space agency. Unknown to most local residents, the 2,000 acres surrounding the iconic Hangar One host 50 companies, 14 universities, a future Google campus, the California Air National Guard and 2 million square feet of planned rental housing. It is a curious blend of government resources, venture capital, educational institutions and private startups. The vision â&#x20AC;&#x201D; so far only partly realized â&#x20AC;&#x201D; is â&#x20AC;&#x153;a world-class research park with graduate students, faculty and young Google workers who rent the housing and walk to work,â&#x20AC;? said NASA Research Park Director Michael Marlaire. To date, the 42-acre future Google site is under long-term lease but not yet built. But the personal aircraft of Brin and Page and Google CEO Eric Schmidt â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as well as a Googleaffiliated research aircraft â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are based at the airfield, Marlaire said. Also based there is Airship Enter-
prises, home to the familiar white Zeppelin often seen floating over the Bay Area. By paying anywhere from $199 to $950 per person, members of the public can float above it all as well, on tours ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Another airship company is due to move in soon with the intention of manufacturing airships in one of the hangars. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in it for the long term,â&#x20AC;? Marlaire said of NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to developing the research park. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our goal is to select partners in R&D and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education pursuits,â&#x20AC;? he said, adding that tenants pay market rents and that the planned housing development is on hold because of the economy. Graduate students from many institutions flow in and out of the research park. Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Mellon University already has awarded 400 mastersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; degrees at its West Coast site, he said. Many corporate startup tenants enjoy a mix of venture backing and government incentives. Tesla tests its vehicles on the tarmac, Marlaire said. Another tenant company, Unimodal, is trying to develop â&#x20AC;&#x153;personal rapid transitâ&#x20AC;? that would run
on magnetic levitation tracks. Users would sit in small â&#x20AC;&#x153;podsâ&#x20AC;? resembling something out of The Jetsons, and enter their destination into a computer. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There would be hundreds of pods going all over the place. It would be like the Internet, for people,â&#x20AC;? he said. Another tenant, Magenn Power, is developing high-altitude wind power, in which a tethered wind turbine sends power back to the ground. An early tenant, K.R. Sridhar of Bloom Energy, began developing his high-efficiency fuel-cell â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bloom Boxesâ&#x20AC;? while working as a scientist in NASAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mars Program. When the program was cancelled, Sridhar obtained venture funding (the high-profile firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers describes Bloom as â&#x20AC;&#x153;KPCBâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first greentech investmentâ&#x20AC;?) and landed at NASA Research Park. He has since expanded to Sunnyvale, where he employs several hundred people producing Bloom Boxes. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have the ability to use these old facilities and hangars as the best cutting-edge location for people who are going to change the world,â&#x20AC;? Marlaire said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People in the business of startups and new companies fully understand whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s over here.â&#x20AC;? N
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*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2122;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;U Page 29
Cover Story
Innovation at risk
W
ith the stunning success of some low-cost Internet and software startups, a local mythology has developed around the go-it-alone entrepreneur making it big from his garage.
File photo
tics and Astronautics at Stanford. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Now, the competition is so much more intense.â&#x20AC;? Hubbard is something of a historian of the so-called â&#x20AC;&#x153;virtuous circleâ&#x20AC;? of government-university and industry partnership. Those linkages were established locally as early as the 1930s when Washington â&#x20AC;&#x201D; worried about a possible invasion of the East Coast â&#x20AC;&#x201D; created the Ames Aeronautical Laboratory as â&#x20AC;&#x153;nearcloneâ&#x20AC;? of Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Langley Aeronautics Research Center. As Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research establishment grew, the government money followed. But competition for funds has intensified with the explosion of entitlement programs and other political claims on the federal budget, not to mention growth of high-quality research in places like Austin, Texas; Huntsville, Ala.; Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and elsewhere. Hubbard motioned toward a photo of Bay Area Congressional representatives Anna Eshoo, Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda that hung on the wall of his Stanford engineering office. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve urged our local legislators â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Anna, Zoe and Mike â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to work with the federally funded labs around here to be sure that the money doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get siphoned off and go elsewhere.â&#x20AC;?
n an annual â&#x20AC;&#x153;Silicon Valley Index,â&#x20AC;? Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network for the past 11 years has analyzed a myriad of data to assess the health and wealth of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. This year, Joint Venture, in partnership with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, found cause for concern on many fronts, including the Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s standing in the race for federal funds. Silicon Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;economic engine has cooledâ&#x20AC;? by measures such as patents, venture-capital investment and office vacancies, CEO Russell Hancock concluded in the February report. The region â&#x20AC;&#x153;may be lagging behind other regions in federal investments in R&D and procurement, especially at a time when the federal government has re-emerged as a major force in the economy at a level not seen since World War II.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;If anything, we may have lost ground to other regions since the early 1990s,â&#x20AC;? the Silicon Valley Index report stated. The average annual growth rate for federal procurement is more than 3.5 percent; regions like Washington, D.C., (7.2 percent) and Huntsville (4.5 percent) have attracted increasing levels of funding, while Silicon Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s levels have declined. Eshoo bristles at any implied criticism contained in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Silicon Valley Index. She points to the more than $190 million in economic stimulus funds directed to Stanford, including $90.2 million to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Another $90 million was divided among Stanford schools of Earth Sciences, Education, Engineering, Humanities and Sciences and Medicine. The U.S. Department of Energy alone, headed by former Stanford professor and Nobel laureate Steven Chu, has spent $130 million on 400 projects in her district alone, Eshoo said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m favored; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in the district,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The 14th Congressional District is an exceptional place.â&#x20AC;? For his part, Hancock insists he intended no criticism of Eshoo or her effectiveness.
I
(continued from page 28)
Stanford University President John Hennessy and Stanford School of Medicineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Andrew Fire speak about Fireâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nobel Prize-winning genetics research at a 2006 press conference. Throughout his career, Fire has been supported by federal funding. But that popular narrative ignores the multi-billion-dollar research investments that created historic Valley companies in defense, telecommunications, Internet technology and biotechnology â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not to mention the daunting startup costs of newer ventures in clean technology. Even Google had its beginnings in a federally backed research project by Stanford doctoral students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who hypothesized that a search engine analyzing relationships between websites would produce a ranking superior to then-existing techniques.
Supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Page and Brin developed the search engine â&#x20AC;&#x153;BackRub,â&#x20AC;? so named because it checked the back-links to estimate the importance of a site. Similar government backing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from the Department of Defense â&#x20AC;&#x201D; supported the research at Stanford and Berkeley that generated Cisco Systems and Sun Microsystems. Hennessy, who sits on the boards of Google Inc. and Cisco Systems, Inc., personifies the local tradition of cross-pollination between local research institutions and local in-
Federal boost to local firms $700 million in Recovery Act funds flow to area, including for energy projects
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Veronica Weber
early $9 million in federal funds has gone to local companies under the U.S. Department of Energyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E). Recipient firms include the publicly traded Codexis, Inc., of Redwood City ($4.65 million for carbon-capture technology) and Menlo Park-based Recapping Inc. ($1 million for an energy-storage device based on a 3D nanocomposite structure offering a possibly more cost-effective alternative to batteries). Another $3.2 million went to Boston-based Pellion Technologies Inc. for a magnesium-ion battery project that is based in Menlo Park. Santa Clara-based Applied Materials, Inc., also received ARPA-E funds for its effort to develop ultra-high-energy, low-cost lithium-ion batteries enabled by a novel manufacturing process. Stanford University received nearly $6 million in ARPA-E funds, mostly for projects involving building efficiency and also for an all-electron battery project. Those funds are among the nearly $700 million flowing to more than 550 projects in the 14th Congressional District under the federal Recovery Act, according to the office of U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto. Eshoo said the district was in the top 10 of all Congressional districts in winning federal contracts, and was No. 1 in California in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, the 14th District received $3.05 billion, or 22 percent, of California federal R&D contracts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; more than twice than that received from 2003 to 2006 combined, Eshooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office said. â&#x2013; â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Chris Kenrick
dustry. As a 32-year-old Stanford professor of electrical engineering in 1984, he co-founded MIPS Computer Systems, now MIPS Technologies, to commercialize his research in computer architecture. A quarter century later, government funding continues to play a key role in jump-starting local innovation, which now includes cleantechnology ventures. Tesla Motors of Palo Alto, which marked its initial public offering last week, took a $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy last year. Photovoltaic systems-maker Solyndra Inc. of Fremont took a $535 million federal loan guarantee last year to augment its venture backing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the federal government were, God forbid, to withdraw critical federal dollars for basic research, Silicon Valley would be grievously wounded,â&#x20AC;? Eshoo said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In less than a decade it would not be the place it claims to be today.â&#x20AC;?
U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, meets constituents following a town-hall meeting at Avenidas in Palo Alto Wednesday. Eshoo is proud of the billions of federal dollars flowing into the 14th Congressional District.
Cover Story â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fabulous; sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done a great job,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done it without our support. We need to support her and make this a big parade.â&#x20AC;?
vestment, Hancock noted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With the waves of innovation in software, you could put your IP (intellectual property) on a disk, put it in a bright cardboard box, shrink-wrap it and count tanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hennessy, your money. There are no as well as Hancock, federal approvals required, have expressed conand no particular econocern that, with mounting mies of scale you have to pressure on the federal mount. budget, funding decisions â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why we have increasingly will be made 14-year-old kids with acne for reasons other than starting Internet compasheer merit, which could nies. threaten research in new But cleantech â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which enterprises, such as clean transforms the way comtechnologies. panies provide energy and â&#x20AC;&#x153;I ... worry that under the consumers use it â&#x20AC;&#x201D; operincreasing pressure, there ates on a far larger scale. will be more and more tenâ&#x20AC;&#x153;They have to be built dency to opt for earmarks on massive scale and take (government funds identiplace in enormous labs that fied for specific projects) as usually need some kind of opposed to the traditional federal funding.â&#x20AC;? method of peer review and Beyond the R&D, such meritocracy,â&#x20AC;? Hennessy products also will have to said in his June 10 remarks run a gauntlet of regulatory to the faculty. hurdles, requiring resources â&#x20AC;&#x153;Should that happen, Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon and capital upfront. not only would it damage Valley Network, is concerned that the valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is going to be much the research leadership â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;economic engineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has cooled. harder, and we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even we have had in U.S. unibegin to contemplate this versities, but also in the without the federal governlong term it will damage economic nologies), weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re spreading it thinly ment,â&#x20AC;? Hancock said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got growth in this country and put us over every state. to be our partner.â&#x20AC;? into a spiral that will be quite unâ&#x20AC;&#x153;It has followed a political dyEshoo needs no reminding about fortunate.â&#x20AC;? namic instead of awarding the her key role in the mix. Federal investment was far more money based on the merits. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I hear about it from my constitustrategic during the 1960s and 1970s â&#x20AC;&#x153;I say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bring it to Boston, Austin, ents all the time â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they understand â&#x20AC;&#x153;when we were in a common race, Research Triangle Park and Silicon how critical the federal funding, esfighting a Cold War, and needing to Valley. pecially in R&D, is. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look come up with solutions quickly as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got to be like assembling a for it to supplant what their respeca matter of national urgency,â&#x20AC;? Han- team for the World Cup. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tive industrial sectors do, but they cock said. say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;How can we do it in a way know the role itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s played. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fascinating about that thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most fair?â&#x20AC;&#x2122; We say, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Who are â&#x20AC;&#x153;And once you invest in it, it really time is that Silicon Valley wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the best players and how do we get needs to be sustained,â&#x20AC;? she said. clamoring for those funds â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they them on this team?â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is really all about the monjust came here on the merits because Unlike Internet businesses that ey.â&#x20AC;? N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can this is where the best work was hap- can be launched and operated from pening. home, new ventures in clean tech- be e-mailed at ckenrick@paweekâ&#x20AC;&#x153;When you look at the way fund- nologies require massive upfront in- ly.com. ing is being disbursed now, it becomes very clear that every state has two senators. CITY OF PALO ALTO â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not a Silicon Valley booster. NOTICE OF HEARING ON REPORT Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m a booster of the U.S. of A. But AND ASSESSMENT FOR right now what weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing is takWEED ABATEMENT ing all these monies â&#x20AC;&#x201D; massive amounts â&#x20AC;&#x201D; that were identified NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on January 11, 2010 for strategic purposes, and instead of injecting them very carefully to the Fire Chief of the City of Palo Alto ďŹ led with the City move the needle in this important Clerk of the City of Palo Alto a report and assessment on fight (for leadership in clean tech-
S
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SMART TEAMS . . . Four local athletic teams were recognized by the California Interscholastic Federation as having the best combined grade point average in the state. The CIF Academic Team champions in 2009-10 included the Menlo School girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lacrosse team, the Menlo softball squad, the Sacred Heart Prep girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; swim team and the Castilleja water polo team. This season marked the sixth year that all CIFapproved sports were eligible for consideration. A total of 28 teams in 17 sports were eligible to be the best academic teams in the state. The Sacred Heart Prep girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; swim team had a combined 3.86 GPA while the Menlo softball squad was next at 3.383. The Menlo girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lacrosse team compiled a 3.82 while the Castilleja water polo team checked in with a 3.79.
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Recent Palo Alto High graduate Joc Pederson was named to the All-State first team by Cal-Hi Sports following a season that saw Pederson hit .515 while helping the Vikings go 29-4 and reach the CCS D-II finals.
ALL-STATE HONORS
Local players receive honors for great seasons
ANOTHER HONOR . . . Stanford third baseman Kenny Diekroeger was named a first-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America on Thursday. Diekroeger continues to excel for the Newport Gulls in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second in the league, batting .375 and is tied for fourth in the league with seven doubles.
Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pederson, Castillejaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Albanese both first-team all-state by Keith Peters
I
COACH OPENINGS . . . Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo-Atherton are looking for some coaches for the upcoming school year. Sacred Heart needs a girls JV head tennis coach and boys JV head tennis coach. Interested applicants please contact AD Frank Rodriguez at (650) 473-4031 or via email at frodriguez@shschools. org. Keith Peters
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www.PASportsOnline.com For expanded daily coverage of college and prep sports, please see our new site at www.PASportsOnline.com
t was a very special season for the Palo Alto baseball and Castilleja softball teams in 2010. Paly won a league title, Castilleja shared one and both reached the Central Coast Section playoffs. Palo Alto compiled the best record in school history while going 29-4, falling in the CCS Division II finals to Burlingame. Castilleja won 18 games, including its first ever in the postseason before losing to eventual CCS champ Valley Christian, 2-1, in 11 innings in the quarterfinals. Both teams were duly recognized for their outstanding seasons by having players named to the Cal-Hi Sports all-state teams. Palo Alto placed senior Joc Pederson on the 30-man first team while fellow senior Scott Witte made the third team. Castilleja was recognized with senior pitcher Sammy Albanese making the 30-player first team as a multi-purpose player. She also was first-team all-state as a pitcher for Small Schools in addition to being named Player of the Year for that division.
by Ken Wattana he tuneups continue for local water polo clubs that have qualified several teams for the 2010 National Junior Olympics tournament that begins on July 31 in the Los Angeles area. The clubs hope to improve on their strong finishes from last year when Stanford Water Polo Club played host. Boys begin their competition on July 31, while girls start play on August 8. Before that happens, a number of teams will be in Southern California this weekend for the annual U.S. Club Championships. Leading the charge is the NorCal 18-under girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; squad that recently placed first at Pacific Zone qualification tournament at Miramonte High, going an impressive 3-0 with victories over Stanford White, Marin, and Diablo. NorCal, coached by Chris Dorst, boasts a talented roster highlighted by Central Coast Section Division I Player of the Year Rebecca Dorst (Menlo Atherton) and Division II Player of the Year Heather Smith (Sacred Heart Prep). The team also includes All-CCS players Emily Dorst (Menlo Atherton), Jennifer Talbott (St. Francis), Kelsey Nolan (Leland), Hathaway Moore (St. Francis), Vanessa Lane (Menlo Atherton), Audrey Pratt (Burlingame), Caitlin Sandlin (Los Altos), Natalie Weil (Aragon) and Rachel Henry (Soquel), Katherine Elward (St. Francis), Daisy Anderson (Menlo), Allegra Tringali (Los Altos), and Barbara Peterson (Castilleja). â&#x20AC;&#x153;The 18s are a surprising team,â&#x20AC;? Chris Dorst said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They qualified first in a zone usually won by Diablo or Stanford. All of our kids started out playing with larger clubs and came together a couple of months ago. There is a lot real balance in what we do and we should be very competitive.â&#x20AC;? The 18s, who placed 15th at JOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last year, have been bolstered by the addition of Nolan, Moore, Pratt and Talbott â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all of whom had previously played for other clubs. Dorst characterized the team as balanced and versatile. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have five or six kids who can (hole) set,â&#x20AC;? Dorst said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can get in transition and we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need one kid to play well for us for us to do well. If one player has a bad shooting night, others can step up. We have a real deep bench and we can do a lot of things due to the ability of the kids.â&#x20AC;? NorCalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 16U team qualified fourth. Coached by Zizi Clark and Eric Rise, the team includes MenloAthertonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Emma Canny, Brittany Krappe and Marie Popp plus Nikole
Allie Shorin
ON TRACK . . . The Palo Alto Lightning Track and Field Club will be well represented at this weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Junior Olympics, which begin Friday at Modesto Junior College. The top three finishers in each age group will advance to the National Junior Olympics, which will be held at Sacramento City College later this summer. Competing this weekend for the Lightning will be Gregor Dairaghi, Elijah Gwin-Kerr, Skyler Haataja, Dennis Mandudzo, Bobby Missirian, Rashid Severain, Andre Shaw, Aqellezra Gabriel, Alexandria Cell, Olivia Cell, Kastania Dahlen, Sion Walls plus the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Midget â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 4x800 relay team and the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Youth â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 4x800 relay squad. The Cell sisters of Palo Alto will compete against each other in the Youth division in the 400, 800, 1500 meters and on the 4x800 relay.
Club Championships up next as a tuneup for Junior Olympics
Castilleja grad Sammy Albanese is a first-team All-State performer and the Small Schools Player of the Year.
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WATER POLO
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A dreamy new job for Minnis Castilleja, Stanford club coach takes over menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s programs at Harvard by Keith Peters
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Former Castilleja coach Ted Minnis cheered on his Stanford Water Polo Club team last summer at the Junior Olympics. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He was her 24/7,â&#x20AC;? McIntosh said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Filling his shoes will be tough . . . While his loss will be felt most acutely by our polo players, everybody at Castilleja will miss his generous spirit, his humor and his kindness. But we also feel proud that one of our own has secured such an amazing opportunity.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great institution with such a great tradition,â&#x20AC;? Minnis said of Harvard. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really happy. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m excited to live in Boston, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to miss Castilleja. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to be leaving a family behind, but Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have another family waiting for me.â&#x20AC;? Making the move easier for Minnis will be the presence of former Castilleja athletes like Taylor Docter and Jane Alexander, starters on the Harvard volleyball and softball teams, respectively. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be coaching Palo Alto grad Lizzie Abbott on the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; team and Menlo-Atherton grad Alexander Popp on the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Minnis was offered the job on July 1 and given the night to think it over. He accepted the position Friday morning and then called many of his Castilleja water polo players to inform them of his new job. Minnis also will leave behind his Stanford Water Polo Club players and coaches, who have become a big part of his life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been the luckiest part of my career, working with John Tanner, Susan Ortwein and Kyle Utsumi (at Stanford),â&#x20AC;? Minnis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To have a mentor like John Tanner has been great. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say enough of what he has taught me. To work with those three for 12 years in water polo, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve grown so much as a coach. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m 200 percent better than I was when I got here.â&#x20AC;? Minnis just completed his 11th
year at Castilleja. He took over a floundering water polo program in 1999 and endured plenty of tough seasons (5-20 in 2003) before starting a middle school program and building the varsity team into the respected entity that it is today. His squad reached the CCS finals in 2008 while fashioning a 19-10 record, losing to top-seeded Sacred Heart Prep in the title match. It was Castillejaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first appearance in the CCS finals since 1997. Minnis vowed to be back. While the Gators were eliminated in the semifinals this past season and finished 18-10, the program was on very solid ground. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always said that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve run my high school program like a college program,â&#x20AC;? said Minnis. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I got the (Harvard) job because of the way I coached here and at Stanford.â&#x20AC;? Minnis will head back to Harvard in a few weeks, ending a very successful era at Castilleja. He, of course, will miss McIntosh. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the sad part about this,â&#x20AC;? Minnis said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;leaving Jez. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been together for 11 years. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just always been there for me. He gave me all the jobs here and was always supportive. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the sad thing, leaving Castilleja. But, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m starting a new chapter in my career and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m ready for the challenge.â&#x20AC;? Minnis will make his debut on the Harvard pool deck on Sept. 4 when the Crimson plays at MIT. The hiring of Minnis was announced by Harvard Director of Athletics Bob Scalise. Minnis will serve as the 10th coach in both programsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; history. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are please that Ted will be (continued on page 34)
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Keith Peters
Keith Peters
ed Minnis is doing something this weekend for the first time ever in his coaching career. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to be a spectator. A year ago, Minnis was in Southern California, coaching a Stanford Water Polo Club girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; water polo team at the U.S. Club Championships. Instead of coaching this weekend, Minnis will be spectating and recruiting. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just going to watch a lot of water polo,â&#x20AC;? Minnis said this week. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about Xâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, just be a fan.â&#x20AC;? Minnis will be watching the best boys and girls compete because heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be coaching the menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water polo teams at Harvard University this coming school year. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be wearing the Crimsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s colors for the first time as he embarks upon the next stage in his life. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was just too good of an opportunity to pass up,â&#x20AC;? said Minnis, 40, who coached water polo at Castilleja for 11 years and boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; polo at Menlo-Atherton eight years prior to that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am very excited for the opportunity of leading the Harvard water polo program. Being able to work at a great institution, with such a high caliber of scholar athletes, and a great athletic department is a logical extension of my work at Castilleja. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a dream come true. I cannot wait to step on campus and begin this great journey.â&#x20AC;? Minnis is believed to be one of the few (maybe only) local coaches to ever make the move from high school to Division I head coach. While Minnis never got his elusive Central Coast Section title, his Castilleja team earned something perhaps even more important when the Gators were named one of 28 state academic team champions for the 2009-10 school year. The Castilleja water polo team had a combined grade point average of 3.79, the highest of any girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; team in the state. â&#x20AC;&#x153;My girls are the state academic champs,â&#x20AC;? Minnis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the last championship I won at Castilleja and, perhaps ironic, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a scholastic championship.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great lead in to where heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going,â&#x20AC;? said Jez McIntosh, Castillejaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Athletic Director. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s further proof why Harvard would look at our coaching staff. It just speaks volumes of our program.â&#x20AC;? McIntosh will dearly miss Minnis, one of the more popular and likeable coaches anywhere. In addition to coaching water polo, he was Castillejaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s middle school athletic director, assisted McIntosh with the basketball team and coached middle school water polo in the spring. This school year, Minnis also took over as interim AD while McIntosh was on sabbatical at Stanford, in the womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball office.
Ferrari (St. Francis), Brooke Robinson (St. Francis), Tegan Stanbach (St. Francis) in addition to a host of players from out of the area. The team placed 14th at JOs last year Both the 16U and 18U NorCal teams will be headed to Chino this weekend for the U.S. Club Championships, an invitation-only tournament that brings together some of the premier teams in California and serves as the final tuneup before JOs. This is the first time in club history that NorCal has sent teams to this event. ĂŹClub Champs should be an interesting gauge of how well we play at JOs.ĂŽ Dorst said. Stanford Water Polo Club qualified several boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; teams for JOs, as well, and the club hopes to continue its recent success at the national tournament after hosting last year. The Stanford Red 18U boys qualified second in the Pacific Zone at Soda Aquatic Center in Moraga with a young team that is very different than the 2009 bronze medal squad that lost key players to college. Nevertheless, the team is in no way short of talent. Coached by Jon Barnea, they went 2-1 in qualifying with a wins over Golden State and Stanford White (in the semifinals) before falling to Lamorinda A in the finals. The team features CCS Division I Player of the Year Colin Mulcahy, who is also on the USA Junior National training team, along with CCS Division II co-players of the year â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Princeton-bound Ben Dearborn and UCLA-bound David Culpan, both from Sacred Heart Prep. The team also includes Thomas Agramonte (St. Francis), who made the Junior National training squad, and All-CCS players Alex Bailey (Los Altos), Philip Bamberg (Sacred Heart Prep), Christian Broom (St. Francis), Robert Dunlevie (Sacred Heart), Mark Garner (St. Francis), John Holland-McCowan (Menlo), Brian Morton (Salinas), Peter Olson (St. Francis), Peter Simon (St. Francis), Jed Springer of Menlo Atherton, who will play at UCLA, and Connor Still (Sacred Heart Prep), who is headed to Princeton. Many of the players who helped the 16-under squad place second in 2009 and first in 2008, now have
aged up to the 18U and hope to continue their winning legacy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a new look, a new feel, as guys age out and age up,â&#x20AC;? Barnea said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are trying to figure out how our rotations will work, how new guys coming in will step up and fill new roles. The guys have been playing together for years and years and it is a smooth transition from one year to the next and when guys graduate. Everyone is familiar with the expectations, what our philosophy is and how we want to play.â&#x20AC;? The Stanford 18U White team, coached by Tim Kates, qualified fourth. They went 2-2, recording wins over West Valley and Lamorinda Blue before losing to Stanford Red in the semifinals and Diablo in the third-place game. Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 16U Red qualified first, going 4-0 on the weekend and scoring wins over East Bay rivals Lamorinda and Diablo. The team hopes to continue the clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tremendous success at this level after top-two finishes the past two years. The team will head to JOs with the second overall seed. The team features Max Schell (Soquel) and Casey Fleming (Valley Christian), who are on the Junior National training team, Patrick Goodenough (St. Francis) and Alex Gow (Menlo-Atherton), teammates on the Youth National Team; Connor Dillon (Menlo), Maxwell Draga (Soquel), David Freudenstein (St. Francis), Nick Hale (Menlo), Benjamin Hendricks (Gunn), Matthieu Leyrat (St. Francis), Cory McGee (St. Francis), Benjamin Pickard, Cullen Raisch, Caleb Terzich, and Adam Warmoth (Los Altos). The squad is coached by Jasper Billings. The 14U Red team qualified third. â&#x20AC; Coached by Clarke Weatherspoone the team includes Matthew Abbott, Stephen Cho, Will Conner, Harrison Enright, Alex Freeman, Rishabh Hegde, John Knowx, Evan McClelland, Nelson Perla-Ward, Trevor Raisch, Ari Wayne, Coby Wayne, Shawn Welch, and Johnny Wilson. The 14U Red placed 13th last year. Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 14U White, coached by Sasha Potulnytsky, and the Stanford 12U Red and White teams qualified for JOs, as well. The Stanford girls were just as successful in qualifying for JOs in Moraga and will send two teams to Los Angeles for all age groups, ex-
Recent Menlo-Atherton High grad Becca Dorst will take aim at another solid summer finish for her NorCal 18U team. *>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2122;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;U Page 33
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Ted Minnis
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Keith Peters
cept the 12-under. The 18U Red qualified third with a 2-1 record compiling wins over 680 and Marin and a lone loss to Diablo. The team is coached by Cory Olcott and includes Julia Peters (Presentation), Caroline Hanson (St. Francis), Lizzie Peiros, Kaitlyn Lo, Hailey Smith (Menlo) Sayeh Bozorghadad (Castileja), Evan Cranston (Castilleja), Haley Conner (Palo Alto), Jelena Cyr, Jenny Anderson (Gunn), who will play at Santa Clara, and Stephanie Weed (Mitty). Peters and Hanson are teammates on the Youth National squad while Pieros and Lo will play at Stanford next season. Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s18U White, coached by Travis Wycoff, finished fifth at qualifiers. The 16U Red squad qualified second, going 2-1 with wins over Ohlone and NorCal before falling in the finals to 680. Coached by Kyle Utsumi, the team includes Youth National team members Skylar Dorosin (Palo Alto), Pippa Temple (SHP), Carla Tocchini (St. Ignatius), in addition to local players like Olivia Santiago (Los Altos), Nicole Larsen (Los Altos), Elizabeth Anderson (Gunn), Lauren Lesyna (Gunn), and Martine Leclerc (Paly). The 16U Red placed 11th at JOs last year. The 16U White team also was coached by Utsumi and went 2-2 for the weekend, qualifying ninth. The 14U Red squad qualified sec-
ond, going 1-1 and beating SHAQ before losing to 680. The team includes Hailey Adamski, Caroline Anderson, Kristen Denney, Anna Edgington, Lauren Goff, Tara Lawrence, Emma Malysz, Julia Ponce, Sami Strutner, Averi Westerman, Natalie Williams, Rachel Wong, Camille Zelinger and is coached by recent Stanford player and graduate Kelsey Holshouser. The 14s placed 13th at JOs last year. The 14U White team, coached by Kandis Canonica who plays at Bucknell University, qualified fifth, losing to SHAQ and then beating Lazers and Diablo. Coached by Stanford player Cassie Churnside, Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 12U team qualified with wins over SHAQ and Diablo and a loss to 680. The girls have been practicing hard as JOs approaches. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Each week we try to improve on a phase of the game,â&#x20AC;? Utsumi said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We use the weekend competition to see how we are doing and see were we are making progress.â&#x20AC;? The Stanford boys and girls also will be headed to the Club Championships this weekend. Last year, the 16-under boys won the tournament, with Garner receiving MVP accolades. Santa Clara Valley Water Polo Club, a new entry into the club water polo game, qualified three teams for JOs, one each in the 16U, 14U, and 12U age groups. Johnny Bega, who coaches at Los Altos and previously at Menlo-Atherton and SOLO Aquatics, runs the club. Santa Claraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 16s qualified in sev-
Sacred Heart Prepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Philip Bamberg helped the Stanford 16U team earn the silver medal at last summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Junior Olympics. enth place, defeating SHAQ, DeAnza B, Golden State, and Stanford. Their lone loss was to DeAnza A. The 14U team placed sixth to qualify while the 12U squad placed seventh. Santa Claraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 18U team
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missed qualifying for JOs by a single team. N (Ken Wattana plays water polo and will be a senior at Palo Alto High this fall.)
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joining our staff to coach our menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water polo teams,â&#x20AC;? Scalise said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We look forward to working with Ted to move our water polo programs forward in their quest to be one of the top teams in the Collegiate Water Polo Association. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After reviewing dozens of qualified candidates I feel confident we hired the best person for the position,â&#x20AC;? Scalise added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;His philosophy matches the Department of Athletics Mission Statement as he will serve as a positive role model for our student-athletes in and out of the pool. Ted is a passionate, dedicated leader who will thrive at the collegiate level.â&#x20AC;? Minnis is a veteran coach at the Stanford Water Polo Club. During his 12 years of service, he has won two Junior Olympic bronze medals, a U.S. Club Championship and finished among the top 10 at various national tournaments numerous times. For the last three years, Minnis has served as the head coach for the Olympic Development Program Pacific Zone and in 2009 worked with the National Youth Team staff. Most recently, his teams picked up a pair of silver medals at the 16 and Under Olympic Development Regional Championship and Zone Championship. In 2007, Minnis was named the USA Water Polo Development Coach of the Year and in 2005 and 2007 was a Positive Coaching Alliance finalist for coach of the year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very proud of what I accomplished,â&#x20AC;? Minnis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have no regrets.â&#x20AC;? Just a lot of memories, like his CCS Honor Coach award in 2005; sitting next to McIntosh when Castilleja beat Menlo School for the first time in basketball; winning the state academic award this year and, of course, playing for the CCS title in 2008. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll never forget,â&#x20AC;? he said. But, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s off to Harvard now. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I just want to share my knowledge and passion for water polo with the scholar-athletes at Harvard,â&#x20AC;? Minnis said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m ready to go.â&#x20AC;? N
Cubberley Community Center, Room H-1 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto This class provides an overview of the Bay-Friendly philosophy, approach and integrated practices that make for a sustainable garden. It is a mix of lecture and hands-on activities, including:
â&#x20AC;˘ Breakouts on: soil, managing pests and plant selection â&#x20AC;&#x201C; where
Workshop is FREE. Attendees receive a Bay-Friendly Gardening Book. To register go to: www.BayFriendlyCoalition.org
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Bay-Friendly Landscaping and Gardening programs and resources are offered by the Bay-Friendly Landscaping and Gardening Coalition. Bay-Friendly is a trademark and servicemark owned by StopWaste.Org Page 34Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Â&#x2122;]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;ä£äĂ&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;
Bay Area Health Spa Ă&#x201C;äxxĂ&#x160; Ă&#x20AC;>Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;Ă&#x160;,`Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;-Ă&#x152;iĂ&#x160;£ää Los Altos 650.390.9727
bayareahealthspa.com
Keith Peters
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youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be introduced to the primary Bay-Friendly maintenance practices. Small group design activity to instill fundamentals and help with getting started on your own garden.
Ted Minnis
Sports
Little League teams hoping to prolong their seasons just a few more games by Rick Chandler n most cases, it takes five victories to win a championship in a District 52 Little League All-Star Tournament. Lose one game and the double-elimination events become that much longer. Lose twice and your season is over. Heading into games on Thursday night, only four local teams remained in the three district majors tournaments. Only one team, Palo Alto National in 9-10s, was playing in the winnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bracket. Thus, it has been pretty much do or die for the past two weeks as local teams have battled for survival. Those who had succeeded by Wednesday included Menlo-Atherton (11-12), Palo Alto National (1011), Alpine/West Menlo (9-10) and Palo Alto National (9-10). In the latest battles to keep title hopes alive: It took six pitchers and a big rally in the seventh inning, but MenloAtherton lived to fight another day in the 11-12 tournament on Wednesday. Back-to-back two-run doubles by Andrew Daschbach and Jack Gray broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning, as M-A topped Pacifica American, 6-2, in a losersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;-bracket game at Ortega School in Pacifica. M-A played San Carlos on Thursday. Three pitchers combined to strike out nine over the first five innings as M-A built a 2-0 lead. Daschbach singled home a run in the first, and Jackson Salabert doubled home Harrison Toig in the fourth for M-Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s runs. But Pacifica scored two in the bottom of the sixth to tie it and send it to extra innings. In the top of the seventh for M-A, Salabert and Mason Randall both walked and Arnaud Laprais singled to load the bases, before Daschbach delivered a drive that hit the top of the fence in right field. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It felt good, because I had been struggling a little bit with my hitting,â&#x20AC;? said Daschbach, who hit 14 home runs during the regular season, but has not yet hit one in the postseason. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pacifica kept battling and battling, but so did we.â&#x20AC;? Gray followed Daschbach with a drive to the gap in right-center that cleared the bases and gave M-A its final margin of victory. In an effort to preserve their pitching (M-A needs to win four games in four days to take the tournament title), M-A used a multitude of hurlers on Wednesday; the standout being Salabert, who struck out five of the six batters he faced over the third, fourth and fifth innings. Reid Fratt was the final pitcher, getting the last two outs of the game on a strikeout and a popup to first.
I
10-11 All-Stars Ethan Stern got things off to a good start with a leadoff home run to set the tone for Palo Alto National in its 7-1 victory over host San Mateo National in the 10-11 All-Star Tournament on Wednesday. The big story for the PA National squad was the performance of pitcher Ryan Chang, who went 5
1/3 innings while giving up just one hit, one walk and no runs. Throughout the game, Chang kept the San Mateo all-stars off balance with a steady diet of low fast balls and changeups. Changâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pitching exploits were supported by another strong defensive effort. In the past two games, the Palo Alto squad has committed only two errors and allowed two walks. The defensive effort was highlighted by two double plays with Stern turning the plays at second. Brian Tracy was steady behind the plate, blocking balls and calling a great game. In the third, Palo Alto picked up one more run with back to back hits from Riley Schoeben and Alec Olmstead. The game was still in doubt until the bottom of the fifth when Palo Alto added three runs off of a single by Tommy Smale and a clutch double by Peter Snodgrass. In the top of the sixth, the scrappy San Mateo National team tried to mount a comeback off a Palo Alto error and an RBI double, but Smale got the final two outs to end the game with a clutch relief job. The win sends Palo Alto National into the championship series with Belmont-Redwood Shores, the only unbeaten team in the tournament. In its run through the losersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bracket, Palo Alto National team has won five games in a row, scoring 42 runs while allowing just three. Palo Alto will need to keep the momentum going for two more games to knock out the Belmont Redwood-Shores team and take the District 52 title. The first championship game was Thursday and the final game, if necessary, will be on Friday at 5:30 p.m. 9-10 All-Stars Alpine/West Menlo remained alive while ending Palo Alto Americanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s season with a 15-11 victory in extra innings on Wednesday in the District 52 Tournament in Belmont. Palo Alto took the lead in 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning when Bradley Smith homered. It was the first of his two homers in the game. It was a close game until the fifth inning when Alpine jumped ahead 10-5.
Palo Alto still trailed by five runs heading into the bottom of the sixth inning before tallying five times to tie the game. Cole Mantovani led off with a single before the No. 8 and 9 batters struck out. With two outs and down by five, Palo Alto rallied and had the winning run on third when a groundout to third base ended the rally. Spencer Rojahnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s double gave Palo Alto a 10-10 deadlock. In the seventh, Alpine scored five runs on a combination of bloop hits, three Palo Alto errors, two singles and a home run by Alpineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Griffin McGarry. He had a single, two doubles and home run in his 4-for-5 night. Alpine/West Menlo faced Hillsborough on Thursday. That winner still needs to win on Friday and Saturday to reach Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s noon championship game. Palo Alto National is in the winnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bracket, and next plays Friday at 5 p.m. N
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Palo Alto Ruth 14s have hopes for title Jen Cosgriff
T
he fireworks were back for the Palo Alto 14-year-old all-stars on Wednesday. Facing elimination, Palo Alto lit the fuse, stood back and enjoyed the show. The offensive was once again explosive, scoring 10 runs in the first inning en route to a 14-3 victory over Mountain View in five innings at the District 6 Tournament in Belmont. Kyle Stewartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s grand slam highlighted the outburst, and it was the second hit of the inning for him as he drove in a teamhigh five runs. Palo Alto had seven hits on the evening, and also capitalized on the six walks and six errors made by Mountain View. Palo Alto carried that momentum into the championship game against unbeaten Bel-Mateo on Thursday night. Palo Alto needed to win in order to force a challenge game on Friday at the same time. N
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Sports
All-state
(continued from page 32)
The all-state softball honors were announced Wednesday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This award is more than anything I ever expected for myself,â&#x20AC;? Albanese said of the player of the year award. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a huge honor and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great way to finish off my high school career. What Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to accomplish hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really sunk in, to be honest, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not quite sure it ever will. Probably because I really donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t try to focus on the stats and records but, instead, focus on bonding with my team and helping my team and coaches out to get bet-
ter every day.â&#x20AC;? Cal-Hi Sports said it would be hard not to honor the Northwestern-bound Albanese, especially after she received national attention when she tied the national record for consecutive no-hitters with 10. She also tied a state record with 22 strikeouts in a seven-inning game and left her name among the state record book in various other categories. On the season, Albanese was 184-1 with a 0.05 ERA and just one earned run allowed all season. She also struck out 395 batters in 162.1 innings. Providing herself with plenty of run support, Albanese hit .606 with nine home runs and had
58 RBI. Albanese is the first from the Bay Area to be Small Schools State Player of the Year. Albanese currently is playing with her traveling team and has been keeping busy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Things with my travel team are great,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been given the opportunity to hit in addition to pitching, which is really nice because I LOVE to hit almost as much as I love being in the circle. We have just a few more tournaments and then we have nationals in Southern California in the second week in August. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be great because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be playing against the best teams in the nation. Then itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s off to
Evanston!â&#x20AC;? Pederson also is keeping busy this summer while playing in Hawaii. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expected to return next week and, perhaps, make a decision to whether heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll play for USC this coming season or sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who drafted him in the 11th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. Pederson was sensational for Palo Alto this season while helping the Vikings win 24 consecutive games, another school record. He batted .515 while driving in 22 runs and stealing 22 bases and scoring 53 runs. Witte, who was SCVAL De Anza Division co-Player of the Year along
with Pederson, made his mark as a pitcher while compiling a 13-3 record with a 2.21 ERA. He was recognized on the all-state third team as an infielder. Two other local baseball players also were recognized on the allstate team. Menlo-Atherton senior Jeff Keller was named to the second team as did Menlo School senior Danny Diekroeger. Keller hit .523 this past season with 14 doubles, three home runs and 35 RBI. Diekroeger batted .462 with 41 RBI. He added 11 doubles and five home runs while helping the Knights win the CCS Division III championship and finishing 25-6. N
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