Palo Alto Weekly 05.25.2012 - Section 1

Palo Alto

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Dining Out

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DINING OUT

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

FROM CASUAL TO FINE DINING ON THE MIDPENINSULA

Dining Out 2012

A PUBLICATION OF THE PALO ALTO WEEKLY, THE ALMANAC & MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE

w w w.PaloA ltoOnline.com

Beyond Tinsley From Paly High to East Palo Alto mayor

Transitions 11

Spectrum 12

Eating Out 20

Movies 22

Home 29

page 14

Puzzles 50

N News School district defends confidential memos

Page 3

N Arts Reflecting on a life of discovery, hope and loss

Page 17

N Sports Palo Alto boys run for CCS track title

Page 24

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Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

School district defends confidential memos Study session next week on state’s open-meeting law follows allegations of possible violation

by Chris Kenrick aying that “at no time has there been any attempt to keep information from the public,” Palo Alto schools Superintendent Kevin Skelly said Tuesday he does not believe weekly confidential memos he has been sending the Board of Education have led to

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any violation of the law.

His statement comes in response to a May 14 letter to the board from Palo Alto Weekly Publisher Bill Johnson that alleged it was “clear that the very purpose of (the confidential memos) has been to exclude the public” and that an April 20 memo, which in-

cluded Skelly’s comments about the high school counseling system at Gunn High School, “conveys the thinking and potential actions of district administrators on a subject (counseling) on which you are in the midst of formulating policy.”

Johnson stated that the memos may have led to a violation of the Brown Act, which prohibits the majority of members of an elected body from using “a series of communications of any kind, directly or

through intermediaries, to discuss, deliberate, or take action on any item of business that is within the subject jurisdiction of the legislative body.”

In the April 20 memo, Skelly invited board members to discuss this “sensitive” counseling issue with him further if they desired.

Johnson’s letter cited the California state Attorney General’s Brown Act handbook, which strongly cautions against confidential communications.

Skelly said Tuesday the school district’s legal counsel corroborated his view that the confidential updates — which he said he has provided virtually every week in his five years as superintendent — are not a Brown Act violation.

“At no time has there been any attempt to keep information from the public or prevent those who inquired about information from receiving (continued on page 10)

RECREATION

Sudden slowdown for bridge plan Facing Stanford protest, county supervisors agree to vet other ideas

by Gennady Sheyner

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(continued on page 9)

(continued on page 10)

Veronica Weber

stock frame.

When the white paint dried, they carefully placed the stencils on top. Yerem held the paper in place, while Jeremy sprayed black paint across the numbers.

The students would paint at 18 houses before they were done — with the homeowners’ permission — Tham said. Four teams each painted at approximately 25 locations.

The painting project is a partnership between the students, the nonprofit Youth Community Service and the Midtown Residents Association, she said.

Tham is one of a group of concerned residents who learned in March that Palo Alto youth often

anta Clara County supervisors put on the brakes Tuesday morning, May 22, on a proposal by Supervisor Liz Kniss to spend $5 million on a bike bridge over U.S. Highway 101 in Palo Alto, opting instead to delay the decision on the project until August.

The proposal, which Kniss unveiled last week, calls for using funds contributed by Stanford University more than a decade ago to build a new bridge at Adobe Creek.

It also calls for spending $3 million on the Dumbarton link to the Bay Trail, connecting Redwood City and Alviso.

The plan was heartily embraced

by Palo Alto officials, who see the new bridge as a key component of the city’s bicycle master plan, and by various environmentalist and bicyclist organizations. But it drew criticism from Stanford residents, some of whom argued that Kniss’ proposed projects don’t link strongly enough to the campus community, a requirement for use of the funds.

Stanford had contributed millions — originally $8 million but now totaling $10.4 million due to interest — as a way to ease the loss of recreational opportunities resulting from its planned campus expansion. In 2001, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a General Use Permit (GUP) that allowed Stanford to build up to 5 million square feet in new construction. Though the money was recently targeted towards a new hiking trail in San Mateo County, that project died in December when that county’s board of supervisors

Palo Alto High School ninth-graders Ben Rothblatt, left, Jeremy Revlock and Yerem Istanboulian work with stencils to paint house numbers on curbs in the Midtown neighborhood, making it easier for emergency personnel to locate houses quickly. The project was part of Paly’s Community Service Day.

YOUTH

Palo Alto residences get new curb appeal Palo Alto High School students repaint house numbers for safety, community involvement

by Sue Dremann

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hree teens on a Palo Alto street with spray paint during school hours might seem like a recipe for delinquency, but ninth-graders Jeremy Revlock, Ben Rothblatt and Yerem Istanboulian were tagging for the community Tuesday morning, May 22.

The Palo Alto High School students took time off from school to repaint faded Midtown neighborhood house numbers on city curbs so emergency personnel can more easily identify homes during a fire, medical response or disaster.

“Or also, if you’re ordering pizza at night,” Jeremy said.

The project was part of Paly’s Community Service Day, a schoolwide effort during which students, teachers and parents work together to help others. Students volunteered with more than 25 organizations, playing music for the elderly, digging out invasive plants and more.

Jeremy, Ben and Yerem joined Midtown block-preparedness coordinator Cynthia Tham for the curb-painting project. They gathered on South Court with paint tray, roller, stencils and spray can at the ready.

Ben laid down a roughly 6-by-8inch stencil and deftly rolled white reflective paint across the rectangular opening. Jeremy and Yerem soon followed, taping house-number stencils together into a card-

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Upfront

PUBLISHER William S. Johnson

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PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26

***************************************** THIS IS A SUMMARY OF COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS. THE AGENDA WITH COMPLETE TITLES INCLUDING LEGAL DOCUMENTATION CAN BE VIEWED AT THE BELOW WEBPAGE:

http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/knowzone/agendas/council.asp

STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Finance Committee meeting will be held on May 29, 2012 at 6:00 PM. regarding; 1) Municipal Fees, 2) Community Services Budget (continued from 5/6/12), 3) General Fund-Non-Departmental, 4) Special Revenue Funds, 5) General Fund Revenues, 6) Budget Wrap-up, 7) Fiscal Year 2012 Retiree Medical Contribution, and 8) Parking District.

KEEP YOUR VTA YOUTH DISCOUNT Apply for a Youth Clipper card at an upcoming Walgreens event.

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Starting July 1, 2012, VTA youth monthly passes will be available only on Clipper. To apply for the Youth Clipper card, bring your proof of age to an upcoming application event (a parent/guardian signature is also required).

Saturday, May 26 112 Rengstorf Ave Mountain View, 9am – 12pm Saturday, May 26 5 S. 1st St San Jose, 2pm – 5pm Wednesday, May 30 200 N. Winchester Blvd Santa Clara, 5pm – 8pm Saturday, June 2 2105 Morrill Ave San Jose, 9am – 12pm Saturday, June 2 440 Blossom Hill San Jose, 2 pm – 5pm Wednesday, June 6 780 E. Santa Clara St San Jose, 5pm - 8pm

EDITORIAL Jocelyn Dong, 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 Tom Gibboney, Spectrum Editor Sue Dremann, Chris Kenrick, Gennady Sheyner, Staff Writers Eric Van Susteren, Editorial Assistant, Internship Coordinator Veronica Weber, Staff Photographer Dale F. Bentson, Colin Becht, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Karla Kane, Kevin Kirby, Jack McKinnon, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Contributors Junesung Lee, Bryce Druzin, Editorial Interns DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Lili Cao, Designer PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Samantha Mejia, Blanca Yoc, Sales & Production Coordinators ADVERTISING Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales & Advertising Judie Block, Adam Carter, Elaine Clark, Janice Hoogner, Brent Triantos, Display Advertising Sales Neal Fine, Carolyn Oliver, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Real Estate Advertising Sales David Cirner, Irene Schwartz, Inside Advertising Sales Cathy Norfleet, Display Advertising Sales Asst.

Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Asst.

Alicia Santillan, Classified Administrative Asst.

Wendy Suzuki, Advertising Sales Intern EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Rachel Palmer, Online Operations Coordinator Rachel Hatch, Multimedia Product Manager BUSINESS Susie Ochoa, Payroll & Benefits Elena Dineva, Mary McDonald, Claire McGibeny, Cathy Stringari, Business Associates ADMINISTRATION Janice Covolo, Doris Taylor, Receptionists Ruben Espinoza, Courier EMBARCADERO MEDIA William S. Johnson, President Michael I. Naar, Vice President & CFO Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales & Advertising Frank A. Bravo, Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Connie Jo Cotton, Major Accounts Sales Manager Bob Lampkin, Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Alicia Santillan, Circulation Assistant Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo, Computer System Associates The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 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 ©2012 by Embarcadero Media.

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City/Zip: _______________________________ Mail to: Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610. Palo Alto CA 94302

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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

You gotta start manning up and taking more responsibility.

— Jeremy Revlock, a ninth-grade volunteer, on the difference between middle school and high school. See story on page 3.

Around Town DISSED BY THE PREZ? ...

President Barack Obama was expected to attend a $35,800-a-head re-election fundraiser in Palo Alto Thursday, but in the end, he was a no-show. Actually, the whole event was a no-show, since his campaign moved the event to San Jose’s Fairmont hotel. Originally, Obama was to hold a roundtable discussion with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community at Palo Alto’s Garden Court Hotel. Palo Alto was to be the last of Obama’s three fundraising events in the Bay Area. He arrived in the Bay Area Wednesday evening on a re-election tour, with events in Atherton and Redwood City. Palo Alto police Sgt. Brian Philip said Wednesday morning that the department received no explanation for the change of location, just a notice from Obama’s security group. Campaign officials said the event was moved to San Jose for “logistical purposes,” according to the Mercury News. But fans of Palo Alto shouldn’t feel dissed. Unlike San Jose, which reportedly hasn’t received a visit from the president since his re-election, Obama has favored Palo Alto, stopping by in 2010 for a Facebook Live appearance at the social-media giant’s thenheadquarters on California Avenue.

On Wednesday, Obama attended a fundraising dinner at the Atherton home of philanthropists Lisa and Doug Goldman. He then attended a large rally at Redwood City’s Fox Theatre.

THE ELEVENTH COMMANDMENT ... The City of Palo Alto already enjoys a sterling reputation for its environmental consciousness, including the nationally top-ranked PaloAltoGreen program that allows utilities customers to pay a little extra for renewable energy. This week, the City Council decided to up the ante and pursue the Holy Grail of green energy — an electricity portfolio that would be entirely carbon neutral by 2020. Under the plan, which the council approved by an 8-0 vote (with Pat Burt absent), Utilities Department staff will come back at the end of this year to come up with a plan to reach the carbon-neutral plateau. The city has already made significant strides. Under the current contracts, about a third of the city’s annual electricity needs would come from renewable energy by 2020, and about half would come from

hydroelectric sources, which are not considered renewable but which are also carbon-free. Thus, more than 80 percent of the city’s electricity would already come from carbonneutral sources by 2020. That, however, isn’t good enough, the council decided. In the coming months, the Utilities Department will refine its definition of “carbon neutrality” and survey customers’ willingness to pay a little extra to help the city meet its lofty goal. Early analysis shows that the effort could cost the average resident an extra 40 cents to $5.30 per month. City Manager James Keene called the council’s approval of the carbon-neutral-portfolio plan a “very exciting moment for the city” “It’s great to be in a position where we’re way out of the theoretical and talking about the possible,” Keene said. Councilman Larry Klein called climate change the “great moral issue of our time” and lamented the fact that only a handful of speakers showed up for the discussion of carbon neutrality. He cited a book review he recently read of “2312” by Kim Stanley Robinson, who considered what the earth might look like 300 years from now. The book refers to the first half of the 20th century as “The Dithering,” a title Klein found appealing. “That’s what our society has been doing,” Klein said. “We’ve been dithering on this issue.” Immediately after the vote, Keene offered his own suggestion.

“Can I just assume that embedded in the action by the council was the addition of the Eleventh Commandment, ‘Thou Shalt Not Dither?’” No one objected.

MISSING MEMORIES ... About 15 years ago a photo album highlighting the World War II experiences of Sam Webster went missing. He may have left it at one of the local schools where he spoke as a veteran — or somebody may simply have borrowed it and never returned it. The album contains photographs that his wife Kim Webster sent Sam during the war and photographs of a concentration camp that he liberated at the end of the war, along with a letter Sam wrote to Kim saying: “This is what we were fighting for.” Sarah Webster Goodwin, Palo Alto High School ‘71, would love to include the album in her parents’ 71st anniversary celebration in June. If you know of the album’s whereabouts, please email editor@paweekly.com. N

Upfront New driveway, plaza add to ‘campus’ feel

LAND USE

Palo Alto to link Main Library, Art Center

Community garden Cobblestone driveway

City Council approves new plaza, driveway despite impact on garden space

by Gennady Sheyner

‘We wanted to provide a focal point for people to meet and greet.’

—Phil Bobel, assistant director of Public Works, Palo Alto and pedestrians rather than for cars. Councilman Greg Schmid and Holman both said they supported this approach, but after the rest of the council rejected the bike path, Schmid joined the majority in approving the road for cars. Council members noted that with both buildings undergoing major renovations, more people will likely use the facilities.

“I really think this site and the increased capacity that we’re going to need as the facilities are renovated call for vehicular connection

TRAFFIC

Dumbarton Bridge to close May 25-29 Bridge to be closed during Memorial Day weekend seismic-retrofit work

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he entire Dumbarton Bridge will be closed during Memorial Day weekend for seismic-retrofit work, bridge officials announced.

Effie Milionis, a spokeswoman for the Dumbarton Bridge Seismic Safety Project, said that during the three-day closure Caltrans will replace a major expansion joint on the western side of the bridge across six lanes of traffic.

The bridge will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday, May 25, to as late as 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 29, she said.

During the closure, motorists are encouraged to take public transit or use alternate driving routes.

Motorists should allow extra time for travel and use other bridges, including state highways 237 and 92 via the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, she said.

The closure over Memorial Day weekend will be the first time the Dumbarton Bridge will be closed for a full weekend for seismic-safety work, Milionis said.

Seismic-retrofit work began in the fall of 2010 and is scheduled to be completed early next year, she said.

Until now, crews have been working underneath the bridge’s deck and their work hasn’t affected traffic.

The Dumbarton Bridge is 1.6 miles long and connects the cities of Menlo Park in the west and Fremont in the east. About 60,000 vehicles cross the bridge every day.

The existing structure opened in 1982, replacing the bridge that was completed in 1927.

Visit dumbartonbridgeinfo.org for more information. N — Bay City News Service

Parking Parking New lawn

Courtesy of City of Palo Alto

sis of paradise, and we need to keep it that way.”

But others said the tradeoff is worthwhile. Carol Kenyon, a community gardener for several years who described her sweet peas at the garden as “gigantic at the moment,” advocated for the driveway.

“It connects the whole campus,” Kenyon said. “It makes the focus where it should be — on the two buildings and on the idea of people getting together and participating in both buildings.”

Public Works staff presented several other alternatives, including building a path for bicyclists

Art Center

P

alo Alto will forge ahead with a plan for a new driveway between the Main Library and the Palo Alto Art Center, despite concerns of some local gardeners that the road will mess up their turf.

The plan, which the City Council approved by a 7-1 vote Monday night with Karen Holman dissenting and Pat Burt absent, calls for construction of a $1 million plaza and driveway between the two prominent facilities. The goal is to improve safety and create a “campus feel” for the adjacent buildings along Newell Road, Public Works staff told the council.

“We wanted to provide a focal point for people to meet and greet in the area between the two buildings and a better configuration for the outdoor spaces,” said Phil Bobel, assistant director of Public Works.

The most controversial part of the plan involves changes to the community garden, which occupies a portion of the site. The new driveway would require the relocation of up to 12 garden plots. And while some gardeners told the council Monday that the impact is reasonable and would improve the campus, others urged city officials to pursue less dramatic changes.

Rita Morgin was among the latter.

Morgin approached the speaker’s podium with the sign, “Please don’t pave paradise. No road through our community garden.”

“We really don’t need paving,” Morgin said. “We’ve got a little oa-

Maple grove

Redwood grove

Parking

Main Library The Palo Alto City Council approved a plan to create a $1 million plaza and driveway that will unify the Main Library and Palo Alto Art Center campus on Newell Road. A key piece is a cobblestone driveway connecting existing parking lots. between these two parking lots,” Councilman Sid Espinosa said.

The plan approved by the council aims to link two projects that so far have been proceeding on separate tracks. The $7.9 million renovation of the Art Center kicked off last summer and includes new classrooms and an improved exhibition area. The Main Library’s expansion is part of the $76 million bond

voters approved in 2008. The library would expand by about 4,000 square feet and will feature a new program room capable of seating 100 people.

According to a report from the city’s Senior Engineer Karen Bengard, officials began to look at linking the two buildings in late 2010, as the Main Library project was being vetted by the Architectural Review

Board and at community meetings.

“Because these renovations were being planned separately, under different design firms and project managers, little attention was paid to the overall integration of the campus,” Bengard wrote in a report.

The project is expected to cost about $1 million, with the budget split between the bond funds and the city’s general fund. N

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Upfront

News Digest

EDUCATION

School board under pressure on Gunn counseling

HP to cut 27,000 jobs Palo Alto tech giant HP announced Thursday, May 24, that it would cut 27,000 jobs — 8 percent of its global workforce — by the end of the fiscal year of 2014.

An HP spokesperson told the Weekly that the company has not announced any specific plans for Palo Alto’s HP workforce, but stated that it does “expect the workforce reduction to impact just about every business and region.”

The company also announced that its second-quarter revenue was $30.7 billion, down 3 percent from last year’s $31.6 billion. Its profits are down 31 percent, dropping from $2.1 billion to $1.6 billion.

The cuts, along with changes in its business operations, are part of a restructuring program that the company expects will save between $3 and $3.5 billion. HP stated that some of the reductions will come from employees who participate in an early retirement program but did not specify how many.

“These initiatives build upon our recent organizational realignment, and will further streamline our operations, improve our processes, and remove complexity from our business,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “While some of these actions are difficult because they involve the loss of jobs, they are necessary to improve execution and to fund the long-term health of the company. We are setting HP on a path to extend our global leadership and deliver the greatest value to customers and shareholders.” N — Eric Van Susteren

Weekly wins 10 Bay Area journalism awards The Palo Alto Weekly received 10 journalism awards for its work, including third place for overall excellence, at the annual San Francisco Peninsula Press Club awards dinner in Foster City Saturday night, May 19.

News organizations from throughout the greater Bay Area vied for honors, including online, print, television and radio outlets. The journalism contest covered work done in 2011. The Weekly competed against other non-daily newspapers.

The Weekly’s series on the lack of purpose among youth by writer Terri Lobdell took home first place in the category of series. Reporter Sue Dremann’s cover story about companies focusing on biofuel bested other weekly publications’ work in the category of business/technology.

Her reporting on the precarious future of Caltrain was chosen as best analysis.

City hall reporter Gennady Sheyner’s articles on the tense relationship between the City of Palo Alto and its labor unions won for continuing coverage.

The staff’s coverage of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ death in October took second place in the breaking-news category. Dremann and photographer Veronica Weber won second place in the news-story category for their article on people living in their cars.

Sheyner took third place in the categories of analysis and feature story of a serious nature for his reporting on last November’s Measure E (the undedication of 10 acres in the Baylands) and murder victim Jennifer Schipsi’s final hours, respectively.

Film critic Susan Tavernetti won third place in the entertainment category for her review of director Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris.”

The contest entries were judged by press clubs in Bakersfield, Cleveland, Florida, Milwaukee, New Orleans and San Diego.

In the Press Club’s contest for high schools, Gunn High School’s Oracle took first place for general excellence.

High school journalist Brian Benton of Palo Alto High was awarded a Herb Caen scholarship of $1,500. N — Palo Alto Weekly staff

Elarms back in court following stay at mental facility The man accused of murdering East Palo Alto community activist David Lewis in 2010 will be back in court on June 8, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s office.

Gregory Elarms, 59, was back in court May 15 following a 10-month stay in a state mental facility. He is accused of shooting Lewis in the parking lot of San Mateo’s Hillsdale Mall on June 9, 2010.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Mark Forcum on July 7, 2011, ordered Elarms hospitalized until he is competent to stand trial. On July 14 the court authorized the hospital to involuntarily medicate Elarms for his psychiatric condition if needed.

Elarms is suspected of following Lewis from the San Mateo Medical Center to Hillsdale Mall and shooting him once in the stomach with a .44-caliber handgun.

Elarms was charged with murder, discharging a gun in the course of murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and the special circumstance of lying in wait, which could make him eligible for the death penalty. Deputy District Attorney Al Giannini said last August that the district attorney’s office would seek life in prison over the death penalty.

Atascadero State Hospital doctors have found Elarms is now competent to stand trial, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. N — Palo Alto Weekly staff Page 6ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Members advocate structural reform but say it must be shaped by Gunn community

by Chris Kenrick nder scrutiny over guidance counseling at Gunn High School, Palo Alto school board members this week said decision-makers at Gunn should have all the data at their fingertips but reiterated earlier statements that reforms must be shaped by the school’s own community.

While a majority seemed to agree in substance with critics of Gunn’s current counseling system, they ignored a direct challenge by the critics to “restate (their) commitment” for Gunn to move toward a counseling model similar to the “teacher advisory” model used at Palo Alto High.

“I think we did say (at an earlier meeting) that Gunn should consider an advisory-type program — that’s just reiterating,” board member Barbara Klausner, also a Gunn parent, said.

“But it has to have the ownership and buy-in of key people in the system, and parents,” Klausner said.

Board member Melissa Baten Caswell said: “I believe what we asked the staff to do was take a look at both (counseling) models and return with ideas on how to get closer in comparability and provide more touch points for students.”

Board members generally have defended a district policy of site-based decision-making as long as students receive “comparable” services.

Critics of Gunn’s program, mostly from the group We Can Do Better Palo Alto, have lobbied the board for more than a year to have Gunn adopt a system akin to Paly’s, which augments a small counseling staff with 40 “teacher-advisers” who meet at least monthly with groups of 25 students through their high school years.

Gunn, by contrast, employs six guidance counselors who are charged with the gamut of academic advising, college and career counseling and student social-emotional health.

We Can Do Better sharply criticized a recent consultant’s review of the two high school programs, which enumerated the strengths and weaknesses of each but steered clear of a direct comparison.

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The group reformatted student survey data published in connection with the consultant’s report to yield a more direct comparison. Those findings suggested significantly higher levels of student satisfaction with counseling at Paly than at Gunn.

Through a request under the California Public Records Act, We Can Do Better leaders Ken and Michele Dauber also obtained previously unpublished open-ended student comments made in connection with the counseling survey, administered to students in March.

Their analysis of those comments also suggests greater satisfaction at Paly than at Gunn.

Board members Tuesday said Gunn decision-makers should look at the data tabulated by We Can Do Better as well as by district staff and suggested that the outside group’s reports be posted on the district’s website.

“In this particular case, we’ve had examples of data that’s been put together by We Can Do Better Palo Alto that’s fairly extensive work, and work we don’t normally see, and to the extent it’s out in the public arena already I’d like to know our (school) sites are getting that same set of data to be used however they feel because the process is now up to them,” Klausner said.

Several board members also implicitly criticized a district staff decision not to include the text of the nearly 1,700 open-ended student comments in the counseling report.

“I felt the open-ended responses had a context to them that I didn’t get from the numerical data and want to make sure the people doing the analysis at the two sites (Gunn and Paly) will actually be reading the responses,” Caswell said.

The board heard from We Can Do Better parents as well as several others, most advocating some form of teacher-advisory program for Gunn.

Gunn parent Steven Tadelis, an economist at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, said it was his first time coming to a school board meeting.

“We have here an extremely clean experiment,” he said of the Dauber’s analysis of the student survey data.

“The town is quite homogenous, and one of the main differences is the counseling and advising system.

It was quite amazing that the overall average positive rate at Paly was 88 percent and at Gunn it was 59 percent — that’s a 50 percent difference.

“Many studies in business or engineering will show that moving from 50 percent to 80 percent is much easier than moving from 80 percent to 100 percent, so let’s not allow perfect to be the enemy of good,” Tadelis said, advocating a teacher-advisory system for Gunn.

Two Gunn parents pleaded for the school to be allowed time to come to its own conclusions about counseling.

“For our family, the counseling process (at Gunn) was carried out with efficiency, warmth, intelligence and integrity,” said Linda Lingg, the mother of a Gunn junior and a recent graduate of the school.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that we already have a working group at Gunn, which next year will include parents and students.

“I trust the Gunn leadership will conduct an effective, objective, unemotional process designed to minimize chaos and deeply understand what is needed.”

Board members said they advocate “interim steps” to improve Gunn’s guidance program in the short term but nothing that would preclude a long-term restructuring.

“I believe there are steps we could take while we’re going toward the perfect plan that could improve things dramatically, and I’d like to see some steps taken for next year,” Caswell said.

“If we don’t take some steps in the interim, all those kids in school during that time are not going to be served properly.”

The high school counseling issue is set to return to the board at its next meeting on June 12, with staff recommendations on how to proceed. N

UTILITIES

Electrical outages planned for Palo Alto Utilities Department announces planned outages through June

W

ork to upgrade the City of Palo Alto’s electrical system will cause intermittent power outages in south Palo Alto through June, the Utilities Department has announced.

The project will convert aging 4-kilovolt electrical systems into new 12-kilovolt systems. The area bounded by Alma Street, West Charleston Road, El Camino Real and Del Medio Avenue will be affected.

Work will go on Monday through Friday, from approximately 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents in the area will notice PAR Electric construction crews with their line trucks, equipment and materials working on the overhead electric-distribution system.

Streets could be partially blocked from time to time, but in general, traffic will be minimally impacted, officials said in a statement Thursday. No major roads or lanes will be involved

or blocked on a permanent basis.

Some customers will experience one or two (some customers, possibly three) planned outages during the conversion project. Residents will receive individual notices before the outages occur, the department said.

Other outage information is available through Electric Operations at 650-496-6933 or 650-496-6914. N —Sue Dremann

Upfront

COMMUNITY MEETING

CRIME

Review the proposed concept designs for the Rinconada Park Long Range Plan.

SAP Palo Alto vice president arrested for LEGO scam

Tuesday June 5, 2012, 6:30 PM – 8 PM Lucie Stern Center Community Room 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Man allegedly switched barcodes on products at local Target stores

T

he vice president of Palo Alto software firm SAP Labs has been arrested on four felony burglary charges for allegedly pasting fraudulent barcodes on LEGO toys at local Target stores.

Thomas Langenbach, 47, allegedly purchased the items at greatly lowered prices scanned from the barcodes, according to a criminal complaint by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office.

Loss-prevention officers initially detained Langenbach at Target, Inc., 555 Showers Drive, Mountain View, after he purchased a LEGO set that he allegedly labeled with a fraudulent barcode.

Mountain View police arrested him May 8 at the store at about 3:45 p.m. Langenbach had been “ticket switching” LEGO boxes since April 20 at the Mountain View and Cupertino Target stores and another Target near his San Carlos home, said Liz Wylie, Mountain View police spokeswoman.

Police found hundreds of unopened LEGO sets — many special-edition items — as well as six of the seven stolen items at his gated, multimillion-dollar home, according to court papers.

Investigators also found eight Ziploc bags containing labels with fraudulent barcodes in his 2011 Toyota Sienna van and shipping boxes in the home. Police say he had an eBay account, through which he has sold 2,100 items since April 17, 2011.

Under the business name Tom’s Brickyard, Langenbach has sold about $30,000 in merchandise on the eBay account, Wylie said. At the time of his arrest, 193 items were for sale. Most were LEGO sets, according to court papers.

Langenbach attracted the attention of Target’s security after the first case in Cupertino, Wylie said. The popular, expensive toys are targeted for thefts, and the stores keep a close watch on the products, conducting daily inventories, she said. Target obtained surveillance footage of Langenbach, according to documents.

On April 20, Langenbach allegedly entered the Cupertino store at 20745 Stevens Creek Blvd. and purchased two LEGO kits. He added a barcode sticker for $24.99 to a kit valued at $69.99 and a second sticker for $49.99 to a kit valued at $119, Wylie said.

That same day he allegedly switched barcodes on two LEGO products at the Mountain View store: one for $49.99 valued at $139.99 and another for $19.99 on a $59.99 product.

He allegedly switched labels on two LEGO products at the store near his home, valued at $89.99 and $279.98, on April 26. On May 1, he again went to the Mountain View store, purchasing a set valued at $59.99 for $19.99, Wylie said.

By this time, Target’s loss-prevention department began circulating a photograph of Langenbach at all of its stores, taken from surveillance

by Sue Dremann footage. On May 8, a loss-prevention officer immediately recognized him and observed Langenbach putting barcodes on three items, Wylie said.

Langenbach allegedly went to the customer price scanner and checked the items, then returned two to the shelves. He then purchased one LEGO toy containing the fraudulent barcode, a Razor scooter and dish liquid. Security detained him outside the store, according to court papers.

He was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose and was later released on $10,000 bail.

Wylie said Langenbach had many assembled LEGO sets in his home and has “drawers and drawers of LEGO bricks separated out by color.”

Langenbach denied that he intended to steal the items, according to court papers. He told police that he had seen a video on Yo u T u b e about how to make fake barcodes to get cheaper toys. He said he switched the barcodes out of curi- Thomas Langenbach osity, to see if it really worked. He also wanted to see if the customer price scanner and cash-register scanner priced the items the same or cheaper, he said.

But he told police he was not paying attention when he checked out the item on May 8 and that he hadn’t checked his receipt to see if the price was cheaper before leaving the store, according to the police report. He denied having switched the barcodes in the other incidents.

Police have also linked a credit card he used for his eBay account to one used in one of the April 20 incidents, according to the report.

Supervising Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson said the investigation is ongoing. Although the thefts for which he is charged only amount to about $1,000, the sophisticated nature of the crimes and presence of hundreds of boxes of the toys in his home — with a number of them assembled and staged for photographing — led the DA’s office to file the felony charges, she said.

“It suggests that this may be part of a much larger scheme,” she said.

If convicted on all current counts, he could receive a maximum 5-year sentence.

Meghan Mike, spokesperson for Target, said the company could not comment specifically on the case.

“Target takes incidents of this nature very seriously, and we partner closely with local law enforcement to help aid in these investigations,” she said.

Langenbach’s LinkedIn profile lists him as vice president at the SAP Integration and Certification Center. He has 20 years of experi-

The City of Palo Alto seeks the community’s input on the proposed concept plans.

ence in the enterprise software industry and was educated in Mannheim, Germany. He could not be reached for comment.

He appeared in Santa Clara Superior Court in Palo Alto on Tuesday, May 22, for appointment of an attorney and will return to court June 20 to enter a plea. N

Email pwecips@cityofpaloalto.org for more information.

Meeting hosted by City of Palo Alto Public Works, (650) 617-3183

L U C I L E PA C K A R D

C H I L D R E N ’ S H O S P I TA L

PROVIDED BY LUCILE PACKARD CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL

Your Child’s Health University Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital offers classes and seminars designed to foster good health and enhance the lives of parents and children.

INFANT & CHILD CPR This 2-1/4 hour course provides an opportunity for new parents, grandparents and other childcare providers to learn the techniques of infant and child CPR and choking prevention.

Infant and child manikins provide hands-on training.

- Tuesday, June 5: 4:30 – 6:45 pm

GRANDPARENTS SEMINAR Designed for new and expectant grandparents, this class examines changes in labor and delivery practices, the latest recommendations for infant care and the unique role of grandparents in the life of their grandchild.

- Monday, June 11: 6:00 – 8:30 pm

MULTIPLES SEMINARS Are you expecting twins, triplets or more? With the potential for early delivery, expectant parents of multiples are encouraged to learn everything there is to know about carrying and delivering multiple infants.

- Preparing for Multiples: Sunday, June 17: 12:00 – 4:30 pm - Multiples Breastfeeding Seminar: Wednesday, June 20: 7:00 – 9:00 pm

BRINGING BABY HOME A two-part workshop for expectant couples and new parents in their first postpartum trimester, this program designed by Drs. John and Julie Schwartz Gottman will assist in preserving the couple relationship and developing the relationship between parents and baby.

- Two Saturdays, June 30 & July 7: 10:00 am – 3:30 pm

Call (650) 724-4601 or visit calendar.lpch.org to register or obtain more information on the times, locations and fees for these and other courses.

VI S IT LP CH.ORG TO S IG N U P FOR CLAS S E S ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 7

REAL ESTATE TRENDS

Upfront

Multiple Offers: Price vs. Strategy

EDUCATION

by Samia Cullen

In today’s seller’s market, it’s fairly common to have more than one offer on a property. Inventory is down, demand is high and buyers are scrambling to make offers on the few listings we do have.

Although the winner is usually the most qualified home buyer with the best price there are some other factors contributing to a winning bid.

Besides price, the probability of closing the deal is likely the most important factor. Start doing the necessary due diligence as soon as possible in order to be comfortable writing a strong offer to buy the house in “as is” condition” and without any contingencies. Necessary steps include: 1) reading the disclosure package and making any additional inspections before the offer presentation date; 2) scheduling the appraisal in order to shorten the time to close escrow; 3) obtaining a pre-approval letter from a trusted lender; 4) asking your REALTOR® to prepare a

comparative market analysis (CMA) of the property including private sales.

Make sure your agent mentions to the seller all the due diligence that you have done.

Sellers also gain confidence that a deal will close if an offer includes strong financial terms, including a significant deposit and large loan down payment.

Other terms that will strengthen an offer include non-price concessions, flexibility on the closing date, and volunteering to pay on the seller’s behalf some fees normally charged to the seller.

Remember to appeal to the home seller’s emotional side, especially if they have lived in the house for a long time.

Although price normally wins, sellers prefer a firm offer that assures them that the transaction will close and that nothing will come back to haunt them later on. A local agent with an intimate knowledge of the local market and good track record can help in writing the winning offer and closing the deal.

If you have a real estate question or would like a free market analysis for your home, please call me at 650-384-5392, Alain Pinel Realtors, or email me at scullen@apr.com.

For the latest news, follow my blog at www.samiacullen.com.

District aims to put limits on homework Rules on amounts of time kids should be studying set for Palo Alto school board vote new homework policy for Palo Alto students — with rules outlining specific amounts of time kids should be spending studying — is likely to be adopted by the Board of Education next month.

The school board discussed a draft of the policy and accompanying regulations at length Tuesday.

Under the suggested rules, high school students should devote about seven to 10 hours per week to homework, long-term projects and test review. Students in AP classes should expect higher workloads.

Middle school students should spend 60 to 80 minutes per night, and elementary students should spend up to 10 minutes in first grade and up to 50 minutes in fifth grade, the proposed regulations say.

Weekend homework for high school students should not exceed a

A

by Chris Kenrick regular day’s worth, and both winter and spring breaks should be homework-free, the rules state.

The policy is the product of a 28-member advisory committee composed largely of teachers and parents, along with school administrators and two high school students. The committee held 39 focus-group sessions with parents and staff at every school site and with students at all middle and high schools.

The focus groups yielded consensus on what constitutes “effective homework practices” and, con-

‘We can let the (school) sites work on it, give them an opportunity to see what they look and feel like — put it out there and test it.’

— Charles Young, associate superintendent, Palo Alto Unified School District versely, characteristics of ineffective homework practices.

For example, a high priority among those polled was for homework to be “relevant” and “meaningful,” at the right degree of difficulty.

Board members said the proposed policy, crafted by committee members with a wide range of views, exceeded their expectations.

The proposal will come back to the board June 12 for a final vote.

School officials said several issues remain to be ironed out with principals, including a no-homework policy over spring break, group projects that require students to meet outside of class and the suggested time spent on homework.

“I had an opportunity to float it out at the school sites, and I don’t

feel like we got a lot of pushback on it, but I would have liked a little more time to talk about it,” Associate Superintendent Charles Young said of the amounts of time.

Young said the policy and regulations, once approved, “will guide the work at school sites” but added that “this could look different at each school site.”

The recommended timeframes should be seen as “guidelines or averages,” he said.

“We can let the (school) sites work on it, give them an opportunity to see what they look and feel like — put it out there and test it.”

It will be up to principals to implement the policy.

Board members quizzed Young on how success of the new policy would be measured and student feedback gathered.

“How are we going to take this policy and turn it into a practice that’s going to make a difference — not just be a one-time deal but be systemic?” board member Barbara Klausner asked.

Several members asked for a clear policy for partial credit on late homework, noting that an automatic “zero” on late work provides no incentives for students to make it up.

A “no-credit” policy tends to hurt the very students who need the most help, they noted.

Board members also focused on problems surrounding group projects that must be done outside school hours and the ability of a student to get a homework assignment outside of school, in case he or she missed it in class.

“Let us work on this, and we’ll come back with suggestions,” Superintendent Kevin Skelly said.

The proposed new policy and regulations replace a shorter existing policy and list of rules that leave homework policy decisions up to the principal and staff of each school. N

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss the city’s municipal fees for fiscal year 2013 and to hold a wrap-up session on the 2013 budget. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s proposed Bus Rapid Transit service and consider the Rail Corridor Task Force study. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 30, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The board will hold a study session on California’s open meeting law, the Brown Act, with legal advisers on hand to answer questions. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, in Conference Room A of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.).

HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss the Human Services Needs Assessment. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 31, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

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Upfront

Curb

(continued from page 3)

feel unwelcome in their own neighborhoods. According to the city’s 2010 “developmental assets” survey, only 35 percent of Palo Alto high school students felt valued by their neighbors, and only 22 percent felt valued by their community, Palo Alto Board of Education member Melissa Baten Caswell told Midtown residents in March.

She urged residents to develop projects with neighborhood youth.

Annette Glanckopf, Midtown Residents Association vice-chair, conceived of curb painting in the neighborhood, Tham said.

The strategy seemed to be working Tuesday. As the boys prepared to paint house number, they reflected on how public service has helped improve their sense of self.

For many young people making the transition from middle school to high school, a sense of accomplishment and responsibility are important, Jeremy said. In middle school, kids still feel as though people expect them to be dependent, but high school poses new challenges.

“You gotta start manning up and taking more responsibility,” he said.

Community service has made him feel he is respected by his community, he said.

Yerem said that service has improved his value of the community.

“It makes me notice the unity of Palo Alto; it improves my perception of it,” he said.

Ben has recently become involved in volunteerism. Last fall he was cochair of the Duveneck Elementary School Harvest Carnival.

“It feels amazing,” he said.

Tham said the neighborhood association is considering other projects to bring together youth and adults — a mentor directory would pair people in the same neighborhood based on their careers or career aspirations. Through potlucks, kids and families who have similar interests could connect.

A neighborhood jobs program could link residents with youth providing babysitting and other services for which many residents often hire professionals, she said.

Block-sponsored projects also help young people trust their neighbors in times of trouble, the boys said.

As Yerem and Jeremy smoothed the edges of their handiwork, Tham said all of these activities are great for building a sense of purpose in youth.

At the end of the project, someone will check the house numbers to make sure each one is correct.

“It’s kind of a quality control,” Tham said.

But Jeremy didn’t need anyone’s validation.

The white rectangle with its black numbers jumped out boldly from the curb. Nearby, a faded, flaking marking done by the city years ago looked pale by comparison.

“This is quality,” Jeremy said, pointing to the trio’s finished product. “This is quality work.” N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

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.

President Obama dines with supporters in Atherton President Obama thanked his supporters Wednesday night, May 23, at a $35,800-a-head dinner at the Atherton home of Doug and Lisa Goldman. (Posted May 24 at 8:44 a.m.)

Driver crashes minutes before motorcade passes Minutes before President Barack Obama’s motorcade headed down El Camino Real on Wednesday night, May 23, an apparent drunken driver being chased by local police sped south on El Camino and crashed near the Pacific Inn, nearly striking a police cadet who was assigned as part of the presidential motorcade security detail. (Posted

CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Article XIIID, section 6 of the California Constitution, that the City Council of the City of Palo Alto will hold a Public Hearing at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, June 18, 2012 at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. The Public Hearing will be held to consider changes to Water, Wastewater and Refuse Utilities Rate Schedules to be effective July 1, 2012.

Copies of the proposed water, wastewater and refuse rate schedules are available on the City’s website at www.cityofpaloalto.org and in the Utilities Department, 3rd Floor, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California.

There is a $3.00 per copy charge for this publication.

DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk

May 24 at 8:41 a.m.)

Firefighters battle morning blaze at Paly An early-morning fire that erupted at Palo Alto High School Thursday, May 24, will likely delay construction of new classrooms, a Palo Alto fire official said. The fire, which was near the bicycle path, ignited insulated construction pipes, causing $100,000 in damages. (Posted May 24 at 8:35 a.m.)

Ravenswood Health receives $7.3 million Ravenswood Health receives $7.3 million award Ravenswood Health Center in East Palo Alto has received a $7.3 million Health Care Innovation Award, officials announced at a Tuesday, May 22, press conference. (Posted May 22 at 5:34 p.m.)

SC County third highest for exonerated convicts A new national study has found that Santa Clara County ranks third statewide in the number of people exonerated for committing major crimes. (Posted May 22 at 4:58 p.m.)

Palo Alto eyes 2014 for infrastructure repairs Palo Alto’s quest toward a 2014 ballot measure officially kicked off Monday night, May 21, when the City Council approved a process for determining which infrastructure projects the measure should pay for.

(Posted May 22 at 12:10 p.m.)

Team places first in LEGO robotics competition A team of eighth-grade Palo Alto girls placed first among 65 teams Sunday, May 20, in the First LEGO League robotics competition at Legoland in Carlsbad. The girls are students at JLS and Jordan middle schools as well as Girls Middle School. (Posted May

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board (ARB) 8:30 A.M., Thursday, June 7, 2012 Palo Alto Council Chambers, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Go to the Development Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue to review filed documents; contact Diana Tamale for information regarding business hours at 650.329.2144.

1845 El Camino Real 12PLN-00124: Request by The Hayes Group, on behalf of Yeh Jen Fu, for Preliminary Architectural Review of a new three-story mixed use condominium building (2,663 sf commercial and one residential unit). Zone District: Neighborhood Commercial (CN). Environmental Assessment: As a Preliminary Review, where no recommendation is requested, the application is not a project and is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

180 Hamilton Avenue [12PLN-00147]: Request by Steinberg Architects, on behalf of Casa Olga and Joie de Vivre Hospitality, for Architectural Review of an existing eight story building and conversion to an 86 room hotel use and ground floor restaurant with a Design Enhancement Exception (DEE) for a roof extension and new entrance canopy and Sign Exceptions for one canopy sign and a projecting sign. Zone: CD-C (P). Environmental Assessment: A Negative Declaration has been prepared for the project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

21 at 2:31 p.m.)

Palo Alto fundraisers support DISCLOSE Act Dozens of Palo Altans turned out to a fundraiser Saturday, May 19, to support a bill that would increase funding disclosure requirements for political ads in California. (Posted May 21 at 9:54 a.m.)

Zuckerberg weds longtime girlfriend Trading his hoodie for a dark suit and tie, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg married his longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Chan, at their Palo Alto home on Saturday, May 19. (Posted May 20 at 9:23 a.m.)

Behind the scenes of Facebook’s IPO When Tom Wirth graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in 1975, not many people outside California had heard of Menlo Park.

That all changed Friday, May 18, in part thanks to the man who organized the Facebook event that helped put Menlo Park on the map around the world. (Posted May 19 at 12:03 p.m.)

Man suffers head wound in East Palo Alto stabbing A 39-year-old man who was stabbed in the head early Saturday morning, May 19, in East Palo Alto is expected to survive, according to East Palo Alto police. (Posted May 19 at 11:58 a.m.)

Facebook goes public Instead of chatting on Facebook, a lot of people were talking about Facebook Friday, May 18. The social-networking giant debuted its public stock offering on Friday, with initial shares trading at $38 on NASDAQ. (Posted May 18 at 9:09 a.m.)

Want to get news briefs emailed to you every weekday?

Sign up for Express, our new daily e-edition.

Go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com to sign up.

435 Portage Avenue 12PLN-00148: Request by Fergus Garber Young Architects on behalf of Silva Properties for Minor Board Level Architectural Review to raise the existing single story building up to provide new at grade parking underneath the existing building and the addition of new site landscaping. Zone District: Service Commercial (CS). Environmental Assessment: Exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.

180 El Camino Real [12PLN-00121]: Request by Burnham Nationwide Inc. for L’Occitane En Provence on behalf of the Board of Trustees to the Leland Stanford Junior University for Architectural Review of new façade improvements and two new reverse channel illuminated wall signs, two blade signs, two window vinyl signs and an exception for two internally illuminated cabinet signs to exceed the maximum signage of 70 square feet by approximately 40 square feet at the Stanford Shopping Center. Zone District CC. Environmental Assessment: Exempt from the provisions of CEQA, 15301 (Existing Facilities).

180 El Camino Real [12PLN-00132]: Request by Kathy Shields of Simon Property Group on behalf of The Board of Trustees to the Leland Stanford Junior University for Architectural Review of renovations on a portion of Stanford Shopping Center, including demolition of 246,118 square feet, construction of a new freestanding one-story 7,063 square foot restaurant, and site plan locations for 239,055 square feet in five (5) retail buildings, along with associated site improvements. Environmental Assessment: Exempt per Section 15302(b). Zone District: CC (Community Commercial).

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Upfront CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

Bike bridge (continued from page 3)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN That The Palo Alto City Council Will Hold A Public Hearing At The Regularly Scheduled Meeting On Monday, June 11, 2012 At 7:00 P.M. Or As Near Thereafter As Possible, In The Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, To Consider Approval Of A Tentative Map And Record Of Land Use Action To Create Six Residential Condominium Units At 382 And 384 Curtner Avenue.

DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk COMMUNITY MEETING Review the proposed design for the Magical Bridge Playground at Mitchell Park.

Wednesday June 6, 2012, 6:30 PM– 8 PM

voted 3-2 to abandon it.

The contract between Stanford and the county states the funds can only be used to ease “the adverse effect on recreational opportunities for existing or new campus residents and facilities users that will be caused by the housing and academic development approved by the GUP.” Santa Clara County board President George Shirakawa had initially proposed delaying a decision on Kniss’ proposal to an unspecified future date to give staff time to fully vet the idea and consider others. His colleagues agreed Tuesday, but they also accepted Kniss’ suggestion to create a clear timeline for a decision. The board unanimously agreed to resume its discussion of Stanford funds in June and make a decision in August.

Board members also agreed other recreation projects should

be considered. These will likely include an alternate proposal by campus residents to improve trails along Stanford Avenue and near the Stanford Dish.

James Sweeney, board president of Stanford Campus Residential Leaseholders, told the board that campus residents fully support delaying the decision on how to spend the Stanford funds. The projects, he said, should benefit the Stanford community along with the general public. He had told the Weekly that his board doesn’t believe many people at Stanford would use the amenities included in Kniss’ plan.

“We believe we’re a major portion of the people who this mitigation was intended to benefit,” Sweeney told the supervisors Tuesday morning.

Others disagreed and urged the board to make a decision. Alice Kaufman, legislative advocate for Committee for Green Foothills, told the supervisors that the projects in Kniss’ proposal are an appropriate use of Stanford’s recreation funds.

Former Menlo Park Mayor Steve Schmidt also urged the board to fund the new bridge and the trail improvements.

“This has been a process that’s been going on for 12 years,” Schmidt said. “I think it’s time to move forward.”

Kniss said Tuesday she supports using the funds on more than one project and that it should benefit various residents and commuters in and around the Stanford campus. She characterized the board’s position as a “difficult one” but also a “fortunate one,” noting that the county rarely gets an opportunity to spend money allocated for recreation in a specific geographical area.

“I think the money needs to be parceled out in such a way that it’s fair and is given in some part to the different communities that are in this narrow geographical area,” Kniss said. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

ity of these weekly communications are public records and, as such, are fully open to public scrutiny should they be requested,” he said.

To further address the issue with the school board, the district has scheduled a study session Thursday, May 31, on the open-meeting law.

A legal adviser will be on hand to answer questions.

Skelly’s view of the memos was

disputed by several parent speakers at Tuesday’s board meeting, who said an April 6 memo and the subsequent April 20 memo “made it clear the superintendent was going in a different direction” on the counseling issue than had been instructed by the board in a March 27 public meeting.

Parent Ken Dauber called on board members to “restate your commitment” for Gunn to move toward a counseling model similar to the “teacher advisory” model used at Palo Alto High — a commitment Dauber said had been reflected in board comments at the March 27 meeting.

Dauber is cofounder of a parent group We Can Do Better Palo Alto, which has lobbied the board for more than a year to implement at Gunn a teacher-advisory system.

“We have a broken process in which the private process has diverged from the public process,” Dauber told the board Tuesday.

Skelly said his staff is working to fulfill nine Public Records Act requests received since April 23 on issues related to confidential memos and high school guidance counseling.

Seven of the requests have come from Dauber or Dauber’s wife, Michele Dauber. One came from Johnson and another from Jen Nowell of the Palo Alto Daily Post.

“These documents and the requests are of interest to the larger community,” Skelly said, adding that the district has posted them on its website.

The May 31 meeting on the Brown Act, which will be recorded, begins at 1 p.m. in Conference Room A of school district headquarters, 25 Churchill Ave. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.

Cubberly Community Center, Room H-1 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303 The City of Palo Alto Seeks community input on this new universally-accessible playground.

Email pwecips@cityofpaloalto.org for more information.

Meeting hosted by City of Palo Alto Public Works, (650) 617-3183

City of Palo Alto ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Draft Negative Declaration has been prepared by the Palo Alto Department of Planning and Community Environment for the project listed below. In accordance with A.B. 886, this document will be available for review and comment during a minimum 20-day inspection period beginning May 25th, 2012 through June 13th, 2012 during the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the Development Center, 285 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California.

Fabian Way Enhanced Bike Lane Improvements project: This project consists of providing enhanced bike lanes on Fabian Way between East Meadow Drive and Charleston Road through restriping of the street. The restriping will include a lane reduction from 4-lanes to 3-lanes resulting in one travel lane per direction of Fabian Way, a dedicated two-way left turn lane for access to parcels along the corridor, widened bike lanes/parking lanes, and enhanced crosswalk treatments.

Green bike lane treatments will be provided at key intersection conflict points. There are five midblock crosswalks that are used extensively by many employees of Loral space systems located on both sides of the street; each of the crosswalks will be improved as part of the project. The proposed project would include enhancements to make this popular corridor more attractive and safe for cyclists and pedestrians. City is requesting grant funds from Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Transportation Development Act (TDA) funds for construction of this project.

Curtis Williams, Director of Planning and Community Environment In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, listening assistive devices are available in the Council Chambers and Council Conference Room. Sign language interpreters will be provided upon request with 72 hours advance notice.

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Brown

(continued from page 3)

it,” Skelly said in a statement read aloud at the board meeting.

“While I believe that there are solid, appropriate reasons for this type of communication, the board, district staff members and I have always known that the great major-

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (May 21)

Gardens: The council approved building a new plaza and a driveway between the Main Library and the Palo Alto Art Center. Yes: Espinosa, Klein, Price, Scharff, Schmid, Shepherd, Yeh No: Holman Absent: Burt Infrastructure: The council directed staff to begin planning for a 2014 ballot measure that would help fund infrastructure repairs. Yes: Espinosa, Holman, Klein, Price, Scharff, Schmid, Shepherd, Yeh Absent: Burt Electricity: The council directed staff to come up with a plan for a carbon-neutral electric portfolio. Yes: Espinosa, Holman, Klein, Price, Scharff, Schmid, Shepherd, Yeh Absent: Burt

Board of Education (May 22)

Graduation requirements: The board voted to stiffen high school graduation requirements to align with entrance criteria for California’s public, four-year universities starting with the Class of 2016, with a provision for customized “alternative graduation requirements” for students who cannot or prefer not to complete the four-year college-prep curriculum. Yes: Unanimous Property lease: The board approved a plan to lease district property at 525 San Antonio Road for two years to Athena Academy, a startup school for dyslexic learners, which plans to sublease part of the space to Champion Kinder International School.

Yes: Caswell, Klausner, Mitchell, Tom Absent: Townsend

Council Finance Committee (May 22)

Public Works: The council approved the proposed budget for the Public Works Department. Yes: Price, Scharff, Shepherd Absent: Burt

Parks and Recreation Commission (May 22)

Budget: The commission discussed the proposed budget for the Community Services Department and recommended fewer cuts and more modest fee increases for community gardens, artists at Cubberley Community Center and lawn bowling. Yes: Ashlund, Crommie, Hetterly, Lauing, Markevitch, Walsh Absent: Losch

Council Rail Committee (May 24)

High-speed rail: The committee heard an update on Caltrain electrification and on the proposed state budget, as it relates to high-speed rail. Action: None

Architectural Review Board (May 24)

711 El Camino Real: The board discussed a proposal by Clement Chen for a new four-story 23-room hotel with one level of partially below-grade parking at 711 El Camino Real. Action: None

READ MORE ONLINE

www.PaloAltoOnline.com Share your opinion about Kevin Skelly’s weekly confidential memos to the Board of Education. Go to Town Square, the community discussion forum on Palo Alto Online.

Transitions Jeanne Pomeroy

Robert John Stewart

Jeanne (Dorman) Pomeroy died in her home in Palo Alto on May 12, 2012. The lifelong Palo Alto resident was 79 years old. She was born at Stanford Hospital on Dec. 6, 1932.

Her parents, Richard (Dick) and Vivian Dorman, raised two daughters, Jeanne and Marilyn. Jeanne attended Walter Hays Elementary, Jordan Middle School and graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1950. Following high school, she attended San Jose State University.

She married William Dutton Pomeroy on May 6, 1966, in Palo Alto. They spent 46 years together.

Together they pursued their hobbies of traveling, bridge, gardening, opera and ballet. They raised their children, Lacey, Lon, Elizabeth, Max and Susan.

She enjoyed reading, gourmet cooking, horticulture, interior design and had an eclectic taste in music. Sewing and knitting were also her hobbies, making many of her grandchildren sweaters, argyle socks and outfits, with her personalized nametag “Knitley McDuff.�

She is survived by her husband, Bill; sister, Marilyn; grandchildren, Hunter, Leslie Jeanne, Edin, Galen, Lon Jr., Rachel and Cameron; great grandchildren, Ainsley and Killian; as well as nieces and nephews.

Robert John Stewart, 84, died May 16, 2012, of complications from metastatic prostate cancer.

Preceded in death by his wife, Verna, and eldest daughter, Nancy, he is survived by his daughter, Ellen Stewart Moore, son-in-law, Warren Moore, two granddaughters, Hathaway and Katherine Moore, and brother, Don Stewart of Merced, Calif.

He earned an MBA from Stanford Business School in 1953. As business executive, he worked at West

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Coast Life Insurance Company and Acacia V Storage in Merced. An Atherton resident for more than 47 years, he was a member of the Menlo Circus Club and the Metropolitan Club in San Francisco.

Memorial services are at Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road, Portola Valley, on Friday, July 27, at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to Filoli, 86 CaĂąada Road, Woodside, CA 94062 (www.filoli.org). Please include “In memory of Bob Stewartâ€? on donation.

Catharine Weis

January 13th, 1920-April 21st, 2012 Catharine Amy Weis, recently of Palo Alto, passed away on April 21st, 2012. She was born on January 13th, 1920, to Amy Hendricks Shafer and Luman J. Shafer in Nagasaki, Japan, and lived a long and adventurous life. She is survived by her son, George Weis and his wife, Colleen, her daughter, Barbara Weis, and her husband, Mark Stiles, and her grandchildren, Daniel Stiles, Christina Stiles, Harper Weis and Skyler Weis. A graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University where she received a BA and a Masters in Social Work, she married Warren Weis on February 11th, 1956, and lived in Palo Alto, California until 2000, when she moved to Gaithersburg, MD, to be near her daughter. Memorial contributions to the “ California Music Center� are preferred : http://californiamusiccenter.org PA I D

April 8, 1934 – May 3, 2012

the Pomona College Administration Building, and restoration of the Stanford Theater on University Avenue in Palo Alto. She also served for some years as a member and chair of the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board, and on a similar board at the Chinquapin condominium community at Lake Tahoe.

Beyond her love for her family and architecture, Mrs. Maser relished traveling with her husband, always curious to learn something new or see an interesting structure. She indulged her family and her many friends with her generosity and hospitality, and loved to share her delicious gourmet meals, some homemade jam, exquisitely wrapped gifts and good conversation.

Julie is survived by her husband Dick; her brother Michael Scott of Herndon, Virginia; and three sons – Scott of Cupertino, Ben of Palo Alto, and Mike of San Francisco. She had two daughters-in-law, Carrie and Diep, and four grandchildren – Maggie, Ian, Katie and Eric.

A family memorial service was held at Lake Tahoe on May 12. Those wishing to make contributions in Julie’s memory should send them either to the American Cancer Society or the College of Architecture, Art and Design at Cornell University.

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OBITUARY

Julia Scott Maser Julia Scott Maser, a prominent architect affiliated for many years with Hoover Associates Architects of Palo Alto, died peacefully in her sleep on May 3 after a nearly two year battle with lung cancer.

Julie was raised in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, a suburb of New York City. She attended the Hastings public schools, and in her final year was president of the student body. Following in the footsteps of both her parents, she entered the College of Architecture at Cornell University, graduating in 1956. Upon her graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to study in Paris, France. On her return, Julie was employed by Walter Gropius’ noted firm, The Architects Collaborative firm, in Boston.

In 1959, she married Dr. Morton Richard (“Dick�) Maser. The Masers then moved to Wiesbaden, Germany, where Dr. Maser was serving as a physician at the U.S. Air Force Hospital.

Julie worked for a German architectural firm in Wiesbaden. Upon the Masers’ return to New York, she worked successively for the architecture firms of Perkins & Will in White Plains, NY and Moore & Hutchins in New York City.

Julie and Dick moved to Palo Alto in 1966, when he joined the staff at the Palo Alto Medical Clinic as a plastic surgeon. Soon thereafter, Julie joined Hoover Associates Architects, and was a designer at that firm until shortly before her death. Among her many design projects are several buildings at Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, the Packard Foundation Building in Los Altos,

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City of Palo Alto ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Draft Negative Declaration has been prepared by the Palo Alto Department of Planning and Community Environment for the project listed below. This document will be available for review and comment during a minimum 30-day inspection period beginning May 25 through June 25, 2012 during the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the Development Center, 285 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California.

This item is scheduled to be considered at a public hearing by the City Council, Monday, June 25 at 7:00 PM, or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Palo Alto City Council Chambers on the ďŹ rst oor of the Civic Center, located at 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. Written comments on the Negative Declaration should be provided to Elena Lee, Department of Planning and Community Environment, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, or via email at Elena. lee@cityofpaloalto.org , by 5:00 PM on June 25, 2012.

Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study: Adoption of a Resolution Amending the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan To Incorporate Certain Findings of the Palo Alto Rail Corridor Study and Approval of a Negative Declaration. ***

Curtis Williams, Director of Planning and Community Environment In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, listening assistive devices are available in the Council Chambers and Council Conference Room. Sign language interpreters will be provided upon request with 72 hours advance notice.

OBITUARY

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Editorial

Election re-cap: our recommendations

C

alifornia voters will participate in a different kind of primary when they vote on June 5, less than two weeks from now. The new “open primary” allows voters to select any candidate, regardless of party, for state and congressional office. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election in November, regardless of party.

Interestingly, neither redistricting nor the new primary system has resulted in more competitive races in our region. Democratic legislative incumbents, led by longtime Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, face relatively weak and minimally-funded opponents. The only race that comes close to offering voters a choice between two qualified candidates is for the state Senate seat being vacated by Joe Simitian, where Assemblyman Jerry Hill faces former Assemblywoman Sally Leiber, both Democrats.

Given the mess in both Washington and Sacramento, it is ironic that Republicans have not put forth credible candidates, although our local districts are so heavily Democratic as to make Republican chances almost nil.

Previously published editorials can be found at www.PaloAltoOnline. com. Here is a summary of our recommendations:

Jerry Hill for state Senate In a race that will almost certainly be repeated in the fall, Assembly member Jerry Hill, who has been representing the northern portion of San Mateo County, is our pick to replace Joe Simitian. Hill and Leiber are both solid, smart Democrats with independent streaks. The two have similar positions on most issues and either would provide outstanding representation for our area, but we prefer Hill’s background as a business person and his track record as a collaborative legislator willing and able to reach across the aisle and try to find compromise.

Rich Gordon for state Assembly Three inexperienced contenders are challenging incumbent Rich Gordon in this race, and in our view, none is qualified to sit in the state legislature. Gordon brings long experience to his quest for a second term, after serving 13 years on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and one term in the Assembly. In his freshman term, Gordon has seen 15 of the 19 bills he sponsored signed into law, an enviable record for any legislator, regardless of experience.

Joe Simitian for Board of Supervisors After serving in virtually every public office available short of statewide office, termed-out state Senator Joe Simitian is running to regain the seat on the Board of Supervisors that he gave up years ago. In Simitian’s perfect world, he would be sliding into the Congressional seat held by Anna Eshoo, but she has given no indication that she is in any hurry to retire, blocking Simitian’s ambitions for now. In the meantime, he will put his lengthy legislative experience to work, saying he is ready to work on health care reform and helping the county as it takes on more responsibility for housing adult and juvenile offenders due to state budget cuts.

Colin, Pogue for Superior Court Paul Colin, Chris Cobey and Alex Cerul are vying for the seat held by retiring Judge Jerome E. Brock, while Cynthia A. Sevely and Steven R. Pogue are seeking to replace Neal A. Cabrinha, who is also retiring.

For Judge Brock’s seat, we find Paul Colin and Chris Cobey equally qualified but believe Colin’s solid experience and reputation as a deputy district attorney edges out Cobey’s many years at a large business firm.

Colin has prosecuted a wide range of criminal cases, including sexual assault, sexual predators, drug dealing, and many others. Law is Colin’s third career, after stints in bookkeeping and high-tech before graduating from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston in 1992.

In the race for the second judgeship, our choice is Steve Pogue, a general-practice attorney who graduated from San Jose State and Lincoln University Law School in San Jose. Many of Pogue’s clients are immigrants, and we believe Pogue would bring a unique background to the court as well as a sensitivity to the average citizen that we find refreshing. His opponent, Cynthia Sevely, is a deputy district attorney and an experienced prosecutor, but we were less impressed with her judicial temperament during our interview.

Yes on county Measure A When the Board of Supervisors decided in 2010 to give the Sheriff control over most of the county’s jails some, including Supervisor Liz Kniss, believed the move violated the county charter and needed a public vote.

So after two years of operating the jails without voter approval, a lawsuit has forced the Supervisors to put the issue to the voters May 5. If approved, as expected, Measure A will reaffirm the 2010 restructuring and give supervisors the ability to change oversight of the jails in the future.

Supervisors say with the Sheriff in charge, the county is saving $7 million a year. We don’t see a downside here and urge voters to vote yes on Measure A. Page 12ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Adopt parking permits Editor, Parking has been an escalating neighborhood issue in recent years, talked to death by committees and City Council alike. Now, there is a safety factor in addition to the inconvenience having to park blocks from one’s own home should one have the audacity to go out in the morning and return at midday.

Each morning eager Millennials arrive in our Professorville neighborhood, park their cars and head for their jobs downtown. The cars stay all day. The streets are narrow. With cars parked up and down either side of the street and visibility blocked by the cars parked too close to the corners, it is very dangerous to make a safe passage. Today I practically had a head-on collision with a truck driver speeding his way down the middle of a narrow street to a remodel site in the neighborhood.

We need parking relief, and we need it now. Our homes are more than a century old and do not have garages; if they do, they are generally one-car ports. And it’s the rare 21st-century family that has fewer than two cars.

I urge the council to adopt the residential parking permit program, or come up with a better solution. But please, I’m begging you to act now.

Our college kids are soon to be home for the summer. They have been away for nine months and are not anticipating speeding truckers barreling down the narrow streets of their childhood.

None of us wants a tragedy. We just want our safe neighborhood back.

Susan Wolfe Ramona Street Palo Alto

Teachable moments Editor, May all the saints bless our dedicated, hard-working school board, but I wish that in their Tuesday deliberations on a district homework policy, they had shown more skepticism about directing high school teachers to post homework assignments online.

If, as an English teacher at Gunn, I post my assignments online, the students will no longer pay attention in class when I announce the assignments. (My students are not dumb.)

If they don’t pay attention when I announce the assignments, I lose the benefit of their reactions: faces or body language that tell me that the assignment is too complicated, too easy, too long, or too confusing; or raised hands seeking clarifications.

And thus the Board’s larger purposes — of opening communication between teachers and students about homework, and of making sure homework is appropriate and sensible — are defeated.

Giving assignments during class is invariably a “teachable moment,” useful in reminding my kids of the

importance of paying attention, writing things down and taking responsibility for their lives.

Moreover, posting homework assignments online enables many kids’ parents to monitor their child’s school life in a suffocating way. Some parents even believe that missing a single high school homework assignment will ruin their child’s future. Parents shouldn’t be encouraged in this kind of mentally unhealthy thinking.

The school board’s efforts in the matter of homework — especially Ms. Townsend’s caveats at this week’s meeting — are praiseworthy.

Marc Vincenti Gunn High School Palo Alto

El Camino Elysées?

Editor, Heard of the “Grand Boulevard”?

Though the phrase conjures up images of Paris’ Champs Elysées, it refers to a local plan to, among other things, commandeer two lanes of El Camino for busses. Something gets lost in translation. Our serviceable, workaday thoroughfare, lined with Walmarts, gas stations, banks, Starbucks and Safeways, is a far cry from “Grand.” No Place de la Concorde

or Arc de Triomphe here. But it does serve our purposes as a transportation artery — that is, it has up to now.

However, eliminating two lanes would surely create unbearable traffic congestion and gridlock. But perhaps that is the intention. After all, the so-called sustainability agenda that is inflicting high-density, mixeduse urban squalor on our downtowns in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and surrounding cities, also calls for “transit corridors” to replace our “unsustainable” use of cars.

It is time for Peninsula residents to connect the dots. Sustainable Development, the U.S. version of an international agenda, is using the environment as an excuse to enact a “wrenching transformation” of America into a beaten-down, sovietized, state-controlled society.

If that sounds good to you, and/or if sitting in your car in gridlock inhaling bus fumes is your cup of tea, you’re in luck. Otherwise, take action to stop the Grand Boulevard from further reducing our quality of life.

Cherie Zaslawsky Oak Lane Menlo Park

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

What do you think? What do you think of the school district’s change in graduation requirements?

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 Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square.

For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Online Editor Tyler Hanley at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.

On Deadline

No more ‘dithering’ — Palo Alto pushes ‘carbon-free’ electricity

by Jay Thorwaldson alo Alto must “quit dithering” and expedite its carbon-reduction efforts significantly, starting with its electrical utility, City Council members unanimously and enthusiastically agreed this week (Monday, May 21).

“Dithering” and its take-action opposite became the virtual theme as City Council members discussed a plan to get the city’s electrical utility to be “carbon neutral” by January 2015 — years ahead of state or federal targets.

Some wanted to move even more quickly.

“Dithering” was raised early in the discussion by Councilman Larry Klein, who recounted his recent reading a review of the book “2312,” which purports to look back at 20 years of degrading conditions. It includes a section entitled simply, “The Dithering” that describes what is happening, or not happening, in the early decades of this century.

Other council members repeatedly used “dithering” as they stated their personal sense of urgency. Even City Manager James Keene picked it up following the council’s official vote, which “seems to have added an 11th Commandment: ‘Thou Shalt Not Dither!’”

He pledged to keep the council and public informed of progress on an expedited schedule that includes completing an initial staff investigation by December. The goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in the city’s electrical supply, through its city-owned electric utility, by January 2015.

Palo Alto and other cities, and the state itself, have been moving in that direction for several years. In Palo Alto, strong community interest followed completion of a Green Ribbon Task Force report several years back.

But active vocal support waned in the face of economic concerns and other community priorities.

The new energy behind the “carbon-free”

P

plan is largely the doing of Bruce Hodge, a relative newcomer to Palo Alto civic affairs but a long-time environmentalist who first tuned into climate change concerns at a Sierra Club “Cool Cities” event in 1985. He was involved in a critique of the city’s Climate Action Plan. In his day job, he is a computer scientist for Adobe Systems. His wife, Elizabeth Weal, is a former Apple employee. Their two daughters also have environmental interests: Chelsea, 24, works for a clean-tech firm in Oakland, and Caroline, 21, is a Stanford junior interested in psychological and social aspects involved in motivating people to become more environmentally involved.

“My vision for Palo Alto is to go the last 15 percent on electric power — the focus of the current campaign,” Hodge said. “If we’re successful on electricity we’ll move on to bigger fish.” Vehicles, for one. Buildings, for another. Manufacturing processes.

Hodge teamed up with local environmentalists, most specifically Walt Hays, who chaired the Green Ribbon Task Force.

“Unfortunately the enthusiastic momentum dissipated” after the task force finished its report, Hodge said. He formed the “Carbon Free Palo Alto” organization in 2011. He and Hays met with individual council members. They found a receptive Utilities Department under Director Valerie Fong and Assistant Director Jane Ratchye. They brought the concept to the city’s Utilities Advisory Commission (UAC) last November, with detailed reports attached to the new city manager’s report.

The UAC unanimously endorsed the plan in December. One council member Monday night asked why it has taken five months to get to the City Council. “It got bumped” due to heavy agendas, a staff member replied. Not likely again after Monday’s meeting.

Monday, Mayor Yiaway Yeh led off by noting the city’s “Palo Alto Green” program in which about 25 percent of residents pay extra to obtain clean green energy. A “Palo Alto Clean” effort is about to be launched to complement the “green” program.

“There’s a lot of community interest in this area,” Yeh said.

Councilwoman Gail Price said she sup-

The goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in the city’s electrical supply, through its city-owned electric utility, by January 2015.

ported the plan but cited staff concerns about “significant uncertainties” in future state and other regulations, and potential rate increases to cover added costs. She asked for examples of other communities moving toward carbonfree power.

But Klein stated his support powerfully: “There’s hardly anything we’re going to be considering that is more important than this item tonight,” he said.

He said he had just read a book review of “2312,” which describes “the first half of the 21st Century as ‘The Dithering.’

“That’s what our society has been doing. We’ve been dithering.” He said global warming “will have irremediable impacts on Earth.” Yet he worried that “talking about degrees of uncertainty. There is one certainty: If we do nothing we will pay far more in dollars than any here.”

“To me this is the great moral issue of our time,” Klein later added. He expressed disappointment that only 25 percent of residents participate in Palo Alto Green. He noted that some local neighborhood issues jam the council chambers while only four speakers showed up for the carbon-free item. He said it’s nice to be a leader community but he’d like to see Palo Alto “tied with thousands of others” pushing for carbon freedom.

Councilman Greg Schmid said he is excited

that Palo Alto is close to carbon neutrality, but cautioned about reliability of hydro power during parts of each year or even between dry and wet years.

“This is very exciting,” Councilman Greg Scharff said, adding that he’d like to see it done in two phases.

Councilwoman Nancy Shepherd said the topic is “a very serious consideration,” but cautioned about future rate increases. But “I feel this is a great privilege that we get to have this conversation tonight.”

Councilwoman Karen Holman called the action “a prime component” of the city’s “sustainability goal.”

The subject “is the most important issue facing our planet, Councilman Sid Espinosa said. When he was mayor last year, a member of the council of “a city to the south” contacted him and asked how he could generate support for climate-change actions, as neither the mayor or any other council members believed in global warming.

One speaker was Hays, who called the plan “an aggressive stance. You couldn’t take a better step than adopting this plan.” He complimented the city staff, and supported moving even faster than January 2015.

Michael Clossen, executive director of the environmental group Acterra, called the plan “an idea whose time has come.

“We have an urgent, unprecedented threat in global climate change,” he said. Yet there still is dithering, much of it at the federal level — meaning that effective action must “come up from the bottom” in a way that a local action could become a catalyst for other communities and levels of government.

“We have to step up and find ways to reduce our personal footprints as well,” he added.

No time for dithering along the path, either. N Former Weekly Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be emailed at jthorwaldson@paweekly. com with a copy to jaythor@well.com. See his blogs at www.PaloAltoOnline.com (below Town Square).

Streetwise

What are your Memorial Day weekend plans?

Asked on Middlefield Road and Cambridge Avenue, Palo Alto. Interviews and photographs by Junesung Lee.

Irene Galindo

School district employee California Avenue area “We’re going to San Francisco for the Memorial Day carnival. We’ll also have a birthday party and barbecue with friends and family.”

Tatyana Ventura

Stay-at-home mom California Avenue area “Picnic in the foothills and a barbecue at home.”

Jonathan Fabio

Wine division manager Newell Road “Go to San Francisco for the Bay event. From Pier 79 to the bridge, there will be speeches and music to celebrate the 75th birthday of the (Golden Gate) bridge.”

Hilton Obenzinger

Teacher Ventura Avenue “I’m probably going to stay at home and relax. Don’t have to deal with all the traffic.”

Marie Williams

Retired East Palo Alto “Definitely going to barbecue with friends and family.”

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Cover Story

by Chris Kenrick | photographs by Veronica Weber

R

aised in East Palo Alto, Laura Martinez spent her childhood crossing the freeway each weekday to go to school.

As a student in the Palo Alto Unified School District through the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program (VTP), she understands better than most how to navigate the divergent worlds on either side of U.S. Highway 101.

The 2002 graduate of Palo Alto High School — now Mayor of East Palo Alto — talked about the Tinsley program in a recent interview in East Palo Alto City Hall.

“I felt welcomed and wellserved,” Martinez said, noting that she is speaking only for herself. “I was one of the students who had a support system.”

But she knows other Tinsley students aren’t always as successful.

“I don’t remember seeing a lot of the VTP kids going to college, or at least four-year college,” Martinez said.

Crafted by lawyers as part of the 1986 settlement of a desegregation lawsuit, the Tinsley Voluntary Transfer Program permits up to 1,000 students of color from East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood school district to enroll in seven nearby districts: Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Las Lomitas, Woodside, San Carlos and Belmont-Redwood Shores.

Palo Alto — the only K-12 district of the seven — educates the lion’s share of Tinsley students, with 560 currently enrolled in the district.

Under program rules, students may not enter after the second grade — and if they leave the program are not permitted to return.

Martinez got in under the wire, entering Duveneck Elementary School in 1991 as a second-grader after completing kindergarten and first grade at St. Elizabeth Seton School, a private school in Palo Alto.

Martinez credits her parents,

and an array of other support systems, for her success as a Tinsley student.

“I went through the Palo Alto school system. I was a pretty good student. I had family support — two parents who made education and college a priority.

“I knew I was going to graduate from high school and go on to college, and that’s exactly what I did.”

As the first in her family to go to college, Martinez sought guidance from Paly’s counseling department, particularly now-retired college counselor Nancy Elliott.

“Mrs. Elliott told me about Whittier College and she hooked me up with another Paly graduate (who) was going to school down there,” said Martinez, who majored in sociology and minored in Spanish at the fouryear, liberal-arts college in Los Angeles County.

All of Martinez’s jobs since her Whittier graduation in 2006 have involved speaking Spanish, which she learned from her maternal grandparents who lived down the street from her while she was growing up. Her mother was born in California and raised in East Palo Alto.

Her Mexican-born father immigrated to California at a young age and grew up in Redwood City.

After college, Martinez worked at the East Palo Alto Family YMCA, and currently is after-school program coordinator for the East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, a charter high school operated by Aspire Public Schools.

Martinez says she supports as much educational choice as possible, particularly for lowincome students.

“Any way we can provide more opportunities, with the Tinsley program or charter schools, I’m in support of providing families with those options,” she said.

As for East Palo Alto’s own public schools, Martinez said,

‘I’ve grown over the years, and I love East Palo Alto now. I’ve always loved it, but I was not always proud of it.’

—RACHEL KNOWLES, OFFICE COORDINATOR, STANFORD UNIVERSITY HUMANITIES CENTER

Rachel Knowles, a graduate of Palo Alto High School, grew up in East Palo Alto but attended school in Palo Alto as a part of the Tinsley Volunteer Transfer Program.

She now works as office coordinator of the Stanford Humanities Center.

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BE YOND

“I don’t know what the Ravenswood district experience is like because I didn’t go through the Ravenswood schools.”

“But my mother grew up here in East Palo Alto and she went through the Ravenswood district. I think she just thought, ‘Let’s try out the VTP program — that sounds like a good opportunity for you.’”

Martinez’s mother now works for the Ravenswood district as a parent coordinator. Her father continues his longtime job with a Newark engineering company.

Martinez’s brother and sister followed her most of the way through the Tinsley program, completing Duveneck and Jordan Middle School. But when their parents felt they needed a smaller environment, they left Paly and transferred to East Palo Alto Academy, a charter high school operated by the Stanford University School of

Education, from which they graduated.

“We’re all grown now — in our 20s — and my mother is able to work full-time and not have to worry about us,” Martinez said.

Unlike most Tinsley kids, who ride a school bus across the freeway each morning, Martinez typically was driven to and from school by her parents.

Her mother didn’t work during after-school hours, allowing Martinez and her siblings to play AYSO soccer and participate in activities such as Girl Scouts and, for Laura Martinez, Paly badminton. She also worked as a volunteer at the East Palo Alto library.

She got extra support from nonprofit organizations that aim to boost opportunities for low-income kids: the East Palo

a guide to the spiritual community FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC £ nxÊ Õ ÃÊ, >`]Ê*> Ê Ì ÊUÊ­Èxä®ÊnxÈ ÈÈÈÓÊUÊÜÜÜ°vVV«>° À}Ê -Õ `>ÞÊ7 Àà «Ê>ÌÊ£ä\ääÊ>° °Ê> `Êx\ääÊ«° °Ê ÕÀV Ê-V Ê>ÌÊ£ä\ääÊ>° °

10:00 a.m. This Sunday Best Meeting Ever Pentecost Rev. David Howell preaching

An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ

(continued on page 16)

‘Any way we can provide more opportunities, with the Tinsley program or charter schools, I’m in support of providing families with those options.’

Inspirations is a resource for ongoing religious services and special events. To inquire about or to reserve space in Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 223-6596 or email byoc@paweekly.com

T BA

A

Tinsley

Former students Laura Martinez and Rachel Knowles look back on transfer program

WE S

—LAURA MARTINEZ, MAYOR, EAST PALO ALTO

Y

D

Inspirations

OPER

Top: East Palo Alto Mayor Laura Martinez, middle, listens to public comments during a City Council meeting along with council members Ruben Abrica, left, and Carlos Romero, right. Martinez, an East Palo Alto native, is also a Palo Alto High School graduate through the Tinsley program.

Left: Martinez checks in with students and teachers during a brainstorming exercise at the afterschool program of the East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy.

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Cover Story

Beyond Tinsley (continued from page 15)

Alto-based Foundation for a College Education, which took her on a college tour through southern California and EPATT (East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring), which taught her to play tennis.

EPATT — which now runs after-school tennis and tutoring at Stanford University’s Taube Tennis Center — taught tennis at East Palo Alto’s Cesar Chavez Academy at the time Martinez participated.

“It was just down the street from my house, and I played tennis every summer,” she recalls.

After college, Martinez returned home, met former mayors Ruben Abrica and Pat Foster, and got involved in politics.

She worked to bring a grocery store to the city, has advocated for an improved parole re-entry program and a skate park for youth.

She’s currently on a committee seeking to establish a “friends” group for the East Palo Alto library.

In 2008, she was the secondhighest vote-getter in a field of nine candidates vying for three seats on the City Council.

A decade after her Paly graduation, Martinez says she’s stayed in touch with some friends from both inside and outside the Tinsley VTP program.

One is Rachel Knowles, a VTP student who started kindergarten at Walter Hays in 1989.

“I was fortunate enough to go to a very good school district, but at the time I didn’t always see it that way,” said Knowles, a Menlo College graduate now working as office coordinator at Stanford University’s Humanities Center.

Acutely feeling the geographic and social divide, there were times she wanted to leave the Tinsley program but didn’t even ask because she knew her mother wouldn’t have it.

“A lot of my friends (from elementary school) weren’t even allowed to come to East Palo Alto,” she recalled.

“I’d want to go to their house and I’d want them to come to my house

as well, but their families wouldn’t allow them to, even if it was my mom driving to pick us up. So a lot of times I just stayed at their house.”

More than anything, Knowles, the only child of a white mother and a black father, didn’t want to get labeled.

That became more difficult in high school, where VTP students tended to congregate in a certain area for lunch.

“Freshman year, it was an issue — where should I hang out? I didn’t want to hang out with just friends from East Palo Alto or get the stereotype of just hanging out with Palo Alto kids,” said Knowles, who had a mix of friends from both groups.

“Me being biracial, I was used to dealing with that anyway.”

Aside from a season of Paly badminton with Martinez, dance and cheerleading were Knowles’ major extracurricular activity throughout her K-12 years.

The freeway divide eased somewhat when Knowles got to high school and friends could drive.

“I’d be able to go to a friend’s house or even have them drive me home, and that was better,” she said.

But she recalls many times feeling unfairly pigeonholed because of her identity as a VTP student.

“I remember several incidents — even in meetings with my mom — where the teachers would bring up that I was from East Palo Alto,” she said.

“I might have been misbehaving just because I was having a bad day, but the teachers would assume it was because I was from East Palo Alto.

“A lot of my friends that were VTP students were in special ed classes and, at the time I remember thinking, ‘Oh really? They seem fine to me.’”

During one elementary school writing assignment about home life, she recalls a teacher commenting, “‘This isn’t a really good area you’re growing up in.’”

Over time, Knowles’ conflicted feelings about her hometown have eased, and now she feels pride about it.

“I guess I understand the world better, and myself better, and realize it’s a privilege to come from where I come from and to be where I’m at,” she said.

“I’ve grown over the years, and I love East Palo Alto now. I’ve always loved it, but I was not always proud of it.”

As for her participation in the Tinsley program, she said: “My mother used to tell me, ‘Someday you’ll thank me for this.’

“I didn’t understand it at the time, but now I definitely do.” N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.

About the cover: Former Tinsley student and East Palo Alto Mayor Laura Martinez helps tenth-grader Stephanie Gonzalez with homework at the East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, where Martinez runs an afterschool program. Photograph by Veronica Weber.

Memorial Day Sale!

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FREE SKIN CANCER SCREENING

Look for us at Sunset’s Celebration Weekend June 2-3 near the Garden & Outdoor Living Stage.

Dermatologists from Stanford Hospital & Clinics will be on hand to check for unusual moles or irregular blemishes that could signify the onset of skin cancer. If you have had the following, this free screening is for you: Fair skin and excessive exposure to the sun t Many moles or atypical moles t A parent or sibling who has had skin cancer t

Saturday, June 2, 2012 8:00am – Noon Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center 450 Broadway, Pavilion B, 4th Floor Redwood City, CA 94063 For questions, directions, or additional information, call 650.723.6316. There is no registration for this event; it is a first-come, first-served screening.

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Expires June 2, 2012

stanfordhospital.org/freescreen

PA

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

>[XXUZS

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through

Paul Bendix reflects on a life of discovery, loss and hope in a new collection of personal essays

by Renee Batti | photos by Michelle Le

E

ach of us must find the right dance to move us through life with as much grace and satisfaction as we can hope to attain. Will we waltz or swing?

Pirouette or prance? Will we tango with a torrid gaze or cut a rug with a rumba?

Paul Bendix of Menlo Park doesn’t have a pat and pithy response when asked in a recent interview to elaborate on the title of his newly published book of personal essays, “Dance Without Steps.” One might assume that, for him, the word “dance” is merely a metaphor for life, given that he’s been paralyzed since 1968 after being shot and left for dead during a street robbery when he was on the cusp of graduation from U.C. Berkeley.

And yes, he says after pondering the question for a few moments, dance is a metaphor, but as far as its precise meaning in his life, “I’m kind of working that one out.”

Then: “I’ve been through an awful lot of changes,” he offers, citing the long-ago shooting, the partial recovery of some movement that allowed him to live independently in London for a few years, the decline in neurological function in his 40s and the subsequent developments that have made mobility increasingly difficult.

And of course, there’s the pain of loss that has marked his life.

“It all adds up to a kind of dance,” he concludes, and to amplify he recalls old cowboy movies where the gunslinger shoots at the ground near his nemesis’ feet, barking, “Dance!”

With the difficulties of life as a partial quadriplegic mostly confined to a wheelchair, Bendix says, “I often felt that way: ‘Dance!’”

And yet, the book’s title “also glances in part on the essay about dancing with Marlou on the Queen Mary,” he adds, referring to his late wife, Marlou Imes. In the poignant 2007 essay, “Queenly,” Bendix describes the evening on the ship when he realized that to dance — to dance

Paul Bendix at a Menlo Park Peet’s Coffee & Tea, one of his regular hangouts. with his wife just then, in a ballroom on the Queen Mary 2, with a live band — was something that mattered to their lives.

“Just that we were here, alive and together,” he wrote. “And it had taken sixty years for me to get here, and something similar could be said of everyone else.

“Marlou didn’t need a gentleman escort right now, for I could stand up from my wheelchair, hold her in my arms and dance the dance of the paralyzed.”

Although the publisher chose to

Bendix at his Menlo Park home.

call “Dance Without Steps” a memoir, Bendix says it might be better labeled “scenes from a disabled life.”

Written between early 2005 and December 2010 and dedicated to Marlou, who died in 2009, the book includes: sketches of his life growing up in Southern California desert country; living in Berkeley during his college days; “on a roll” in recent years as he navigated life in Menlo Park, the wider Bay Area, and traveling the world; and pursuing his passion for “keeping things alive” by toiling in the garden.

The most dramatic essay, titled “A June Night,” tells of the horrific event that changed his life in a way unimaginable to anyone, let alone a young student on the threshold of adult life. He was walking home from campus that night after studying for finals when he was approached by three young men asking for money. The response to his negative reply was a clip to his chin, then a bullet to his spinal cord.

“With the bang, which was not terribly loud, my step ceased,” he wrote. “My puppet body slipped downward, strings cut. The head bounced, then settled in a field of black rocks, the view of an eye resting on pavement.”

Bendix moved to Menlo Park in 1981. Now 65, he is a familiar presence downtown, traversing the sidewalks on Santa Cruz Avenue and nearby streets, stopping by Peet’s for coffee, and rolling through the Sunday Farmers’ Market.

He has worked as a writer for decades, including stints as a science writer at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a copywriter for a Silicon Valley firm.

Bendix has also done outreach work for Menlo-Atherton High School, and, a frequent train rider, he currently chairs the Caltrain Advisory Committee.

He met Marlou in 1997, and together they were a lively presence in the Menlo Park Community Chorus. He continues to sing in the chorus and has done publicity for

concerts. “Mostly I enjoy singing ... though I cannot read a note of music,” he says in an email.

“In earlier generations, singing was much more commonplace and taken for granted. For me, this is an essential community activity. ... Singing is an absolutely joyous group activity, one that links me to the community in all the best ways.”

The chorus director, April McNeely, performed a solo from Fauré’s Requiem at Marlou’s funeral, which was attended by many chorus members.

“For more than a year after her death, the chorus dedicated performances to her memory,” Bendix says.

In addition to his new book, Bendix writes a blog, “Range of Motion,” at paulbendix.com. He says that the blog was “a great liberation for me,” when he began it years ago. Even though he had always thought about writing a book, he says, “I wanted it to be perfect” — a well-known recipe for not doing anything at all.

“But with a blog, it didn’t have to be perfect,” he continues. “It was more like daily journalism ... and it got me moving” in the direction of a writing life.

When Marlou became ill, writing kept him sane, he says. In the face of death, one can feel alone and cut off from the rest of the world. “In writing, I was able to tune into my reflections, insights and discoveries — all of which came to me quite naturally at the time,” he explains. (continued on page 19)

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Arts & Entertainment

Rhythms and ragas Famed sarod player educates about the life of an Indian classical musician

by Rebecca Wallace

C

oral tradition, sharing stories from his life in an established creative family.

His sons are the seventh generation of musicians, and Khan’s own guru was his father, Haafiz Ali Khan. His main instrument is the sarod, a fretless stringed instrument well suited to the sliding and gliding characteristic of Indian classical music.

But Khan is not at Stanford to teach sarod lessons. “Sarod I will only teach to those who will give their lives to it,” he says after class. Rather, his students are clapping rhythms and singing ragas, lilting series of notes. They’re learning to appreciate the music’s emotions as well as its structures.

At the close of the class, the students will sing what they’ve learned in a public performance on June 4.

Khan also has a concert planned at Stanford, on June 1. The next day, the Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra will perform a portion of his sarod concerto, “Samaagam,” which was premiered in 2008 by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Khan takes great pleasure in cross-cultural collaborations. Samaagam, he says, is Hindi for “confluence of two cultures.”

Khan encourages even people who are unfamiliar with Indian music to attend. At a live concert, listeners have a fuller appreciation for the music’s

Veronica Weber

lass ended half an hour ago, but students still gather in hopeful clusters in Stanford’s Braun Music Center. When they get their moments with the teacher, the famed Indian classical musician Amjad Ali Khan, they all look thrilled, respectful, maybe even a bit star-struck.

Khan makes time for all of them.

“Please practice that,” he advises two students in response to a musical question. “This is a lifetime experience of rhythm.” The young men nod and nod, backing away and beaming.

Khan smiles his gentle smile at the approach of another student. “He’s from Lebanon. He plays the oud.”

“I love Indian music,” the student says earnestly.

The 20-some people in the class bring diverse backgrounds with them.

Besides the Lebanese student with his pear-shaped stringed instrument, there’s also an opera singer, a cellist and many other types of musicians.

Some are music majors, some not; some are Indian, some not. All have signed on for an unusual spring-quarter class that is less about memorizing points of music theory and more about having a musical soul.

In “Indian Classical Music: A Way of Life,” Khan teaches through the

Indian classical musician Amjad Ali Khan, left, teaches a class at Stanford University. Student Vikas Yendluri joins him on the tabla drums. wealth of improvisation, its complicated rhythms, and the “slide and glide” that can produce nuanced emotion and find the notes between the notes. Khan plays the sarod sitting cross-legged, using his nails instead of fingertips, his face a study in concentration.

Though he doesn’t describe himself as a singer, Khan often vocalizes as he plays. In conversation, he slips easily into song. His many recordings include traditional ragas, love ballads, Christmas carols and hymns, and a tribute to Gandhi.

Khan is an enduringly popular performer, as much at home at San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts (which he played last year) as he is in concert

halls in New Delhi and New York, the two places he lives in. Classrooms are another home. He makes time every year to teach in a university, from York University in England to the University of New Mexico.

Khan’s father always encouraged him to pass on his music to the younger generation, and Khan believes it is important to also spread a message of peace.

“I’m Muslim, and my wife is Hindu.

In our family, we feel connected with every soul, every religion and every song of the world,” he says.

Khan certainly grew up immersed in Indian music — he is said to have given his first sarod recital at age

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6, although he confesses he doesn’t remember it. But he also listened to Bach, Beethoven and Mozart from an early age, and says he admires Western music.

He’s clearly passed that global approach on to his sarod-playing sons.

Amaan and Ayaan Ali Khan have released albums pairing the sarod with electronic music, and all three teamed up with American folk singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer to record an album, “Everything is Everywhere.”

“I’ve been learning ever since I was born,” Ayaan says after class at Stanford. “My father’s like a moving music room. He can teach anywhere.”

Father and son clearly feel a strong connection to Stanford and the Bay Area, and plan to return.

“This area is so musically charged, and there’s so much warmth for music,” Ayaan says.

Stanford would love to have the Khans back, Anna Schultz says. An assistant professor of ethnomusicality at Stanford, she met Amjad Ali Khan last year when he was performing at the Palace of Fine Arts. At the last minute, Khan was desperately seeking someone to play the tamboura (lute) with him. He called the consulate; the consulate called Stanford; and Schultz found a thrilled student musician at U.C. Berkeley.

Stanford’s music department ended up offering Khan a class.

Schultz had long been a fan of Khan’s music, but she didn’t know if he could teach. She’s been more than pleased.

Nancy Mueller Barbara Oshman Mike & Cathy Podell Barbara & Richard Rosenberg Nancy & Norm Rossen The Rossi Family Foundation

Duncan & Shirley Matteson Morgan Family Foundation Marcia & Fred Rehmus Bill Reller Cathy & Tod Spieker Carolyn Rudolph Sherri Sager Roger Smith Isaac & Madeline Stein Jeanne & Leonard Ware Sanford & Kim Webster

For photos of this event, visit us at www.avenidas.org or on Facebook.com/Avenidas.

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Arts & Entertainment (continued from previous page)

“He’s incredibly patient. His students are of all levels, and he makes sure that they all understand. He creates this kind of calm atmosphere,” she says. N Info: Amjad Ali Khan will give a solo sarod concert at 8 p.m. June 1 in Stanford’s Dinkelspiel Auditorium.

Tickets are $38-$42 general and $15 for Stanford students.

On June 2 at 8 p.m., the Stanford Philharmonia Orchestra will perform at Dinkelspiel, with the program including part of Khan’s sarod concerto “Samaagam.” Khan will solo with the orchestra. Tickets are $10 general, $9 for seniors and $5 for students.

Khan’s students will also give a postclass recital at 7:30 p.m. June 4 on the CCRMA Stage at The Knoll at Stanford. Go to music.stanford.edu.

Paul Bendix

NOTICE OF HEARING ON PARKING ASSESSMENT ROLL FISCAL YEAR 2012-13

CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 2.28.070, that the City Council of the City of Palo Alto will hold a Public Hearing at its Special Meeting on Monday, June 11 and at a Special Meeting on June 18, 2012, at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California, on the proposed Fiscal Year 2013 Budget, with adoption on June 18, 2012. Copies of the budget are available on the City’s website and in the Administrative Services Department, 4th Floor, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. There is a $20.00 per book charge (plus $4.20 for mailing if applicable) or $10.00 per cd-rom charge for this publication.

NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Palo Alto will hold a Special Meeting on June 18. 2012, at 7:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California, to consider adoption of a resolution determining the calculation of the appropriations limit for Fiscal Year 2013. The calculation of the limit and the supporting documentation are available for review in the Administrative Services Department, 4th floor, 250 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto. There is a charge of $.12 per page for copying documentation.

CALIFORNIA AVENUE PARKING ASSESSMENT DISTRICT NO. 92-13 (Resolution of Intention No. 7230, Adopted August 9, 1993) NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Engineer has caused to be prepared and filed with the City Clerk a report which provides for the levying of special assessments on the properties within the California Avenue Parking Assessment District No. 92-13 and pursuant to the Resolution of Intention cited above. The report sets forth the amounts proposed to be levied for the fiscal year 2012-13 upon the several parcels of real property in the California Avenue Parking Assessment District No. 92-13 created to pay the principal and interest of the bonds issued for the assessment district, which report is open to public inspection.

The report will be heard by the Council at its meeting to be held on the 11th day of June 2012, at the hour of 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California, at which time said Council will examine said report and hear all persons interested therein.

Any person interested in objecting to the amount of the assessment on any parcel of real property owned by him or her, may file with the City Clerk, at or before the hour fixed for hearing, a protest in writing signed by him or her, describing the parcel so that it may be identified, and stating the ground or grounds of protest, and may appear at the hearing and be heard in regard thereto.

(continued from page 17)

“When death is all around, something in us tries to make sense of things. This seems to be a naturally healing human capacity. Writing is just a way to get the stuff down.”

The book’s epigraph is a quote from his essay about dancing with Marlou on the Queen Mary 2. The passage refers to a fellow traveler on the ship — a man who had been stabbed in the eye while on duty with a fire brigade, then contracted ALS, a fatal neurological condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“He was, in many ways, the best reminder of all. That this is life, that it is a voyage, that the essential conditions are rough, and that it all ends.”

Bendix says that passage “reflects much of my inner life. I am very aware of loss, cannot help but observe the tragedy of human existence — yet I find buoyancy in humor, love, connections — and ultimately see hope in my days.” N Renee Batti is news editor of the Almanac, one of the Weekly’s sister papers.

Info: Paul Bendix will talk about his book “Dance Without Steps” at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 10, in Kehillah Jewish High School’s multi-purpose room at 3900 Fabian Way in Palo Alto. A $5 donation is requested for the program, part of Keddem Congregation’s “Bagels, Lox & Learning” series. More information is at keddem.org.

In addition, Bendix will give a free talk on his book on Saturday, June 16, in the Menlo Park City Council Chambers.

The program begins at 11 a.m., and is sponsored by the Menlo Park Library and the Friends of the Menlo Park Library. Go to menloparklibrary.org. Free van service for Menlo Park seniors and people with disabilities can be scheduled by calling 650-330-2512.

DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk

DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk

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Corrections An article in the May 18 Worth A Look section gave the incorrect closing date for an exhibition at the Cantor Arts Center. “Central Nigeria Unmasked” runs through Oct. 14.

To request a correction, contact Editor Jocelyn Dong at 650-2236514, jdong@paweekly.com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302.

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6/24 Lionel Loue ke Trio “A startlingly original voice … one of the most striking jazz artists to emerge is some time.”

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Frog veloute is poured over buttermilk-fried Florida frog legs and veal sweetbreads with black pepper, celery-root panna cotta, roasted shaved fennel, compressed celery, milk tuile and chanterelle duxelle.

Where star chefs shine The dining experience glimmers at Chez TJ

by Dale F. Bentson

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elestial stars are born in nebulae. Cooking stars are spawned at Chez TJ in Mountain View.

The restaurant’s recent chef alumni include Christopher Kostow, who just earned three Michelin stars at Meadowood in Napa Valley; Joshua Skenes, with two stars at Saison in San Francisco; and Bruno Chemel, with two stars at Baumé in Palo Alto.

Joey Elenterio, TJ’s current mastermind in the kitchen, has not only earned his first Michelin star, but was also named one of the five Rising Stars for 2012 by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The man with the eye for all this talent is owner George Aviet, who, along with his late partner Thomas J. McCombie (the TJ), founded the restaurant 30 years ago in a house built in 1894 just off Castro Street in downtown Mountain View. The prix-fixe menu concept has remained the same over the years: a set price for multiple tasting courses. While prices have escalated over the decades, so has the complexity of the cuisine.

On a recent visit, I found the Menu Gastronomique priced at $85 for a four-course dinner with two options for each course, and the $120 Chef’s Tasting Menu,

eight courses with no options.

(The kitchen, however, is very accommodating.)

The Menu Gastronomique is $140 paired with four wines, with the tasting menu priced at $195 when paired with wines.

We chose the Menu Gastronomique, which came with two additional amuse-bouches, a palate cleanser halfway through, and a post-dessert dessert — as if we needed a few hundred extra calories. Wines could be paired or chosen from the excellent wine list.

Spring and summer are notable at Chez TJ because much of the produce, and all the herbs, come from the restaurant’s own adjacent garden.

There was no disappointment with any dish. Even the amuse-bouches were artistically wrought, complex and suggestive of what intrigues and rewards were yet to come.

Course one was a purée of spring onion and garlic, stinging nettle, mango, radish and tamarind. A hot, slightly foamy, pea-green purée was poured over chunks of fruit and pods tableside releasing an earthy aroma that was rain-forest fresh. I read somewhere that 90 percent of taste is (continued on next page)

Eating Out

Michelle Le

Tahitian vanilla ice cream parfait is served with strawberry lovage sorbet, raspberry coules, applewood-smoked almonds, celery-root ganache and raspberries. (continued from page 20)

smell. If so, I could have devoured this soup with my nose.

The other course-one dish was Hawaiian kampachi. The fish, which had been marinated in lemon and rose, was accompanied by at least nine other ingredients on the plate as if all the components were awaiting assembly. There was

avocado purÊe, salsify, rose and a teaspoon of menthol. The plate resembled a spring bouquet with edible flowers sprinkled for good measure. So beautiful I wanted to photograph it — actually, I did.

The second course was a perfect rectangle of Hawaiian butter fish with mache and frisĂŠe, half a soft-boiled egg, Bosc pear and bacon, with drops of vanilla and su-

mac sauces. Poetry and art came to mind, but I gobbled the dish sans any artistic consideration.

The other second course offering was a gently crusted chunk of wild Alaskan halibut that was partially enveloped in foam with hints of corn and fava bean. Kelp-looking microgreens protruded from the foam, and toasted pistachios were crumbled over the plate. The combination was frothy and dreamy, like something fresh just reeled in. I appreciated the fish knife and sauce spoon that were set for the course.

Then, a wondrous little palate cleanser of creamy mango sorbet, just enough to reinvigorate the taste buds.

Next up was fork-tender Sonoma squab, a breast and confit of leg sauced with a squiggle of date ketchup mustard, whole dates, and a carrot-and-Brussels sprouts vegetable composition. It was a complex tapestry of flavors and aromas, with kisses of both saltiness and sweetness to the bird.

The other option was South Texas wild boar, three cuts: osso bucco, bel-

ly and sausage. Two sauces accompanied, a reduction from the braising and an asparagus puree. There were muscat grapes, kumquats, asparagus tips, freshly shucked English peas, pea tendrils, and tiny pools of pureed peas also on the plate. It was a mosaic of flavors both on the plate and on the tongue.

There was no letdown with pastry chef Denise Iida’s desserts. The chocolate bread pudding had been reimagined with slices of sautÊed banana, kinako (soybean flour), ancho chili, and sesame seeds suspended in a transparent brittle. It was dessert to linger over, savor and remember.

The butterscotch pot de crème was so good, I nearly became teary-eyed.

It was a lush creamy pudding with roasted pineapple slices, mandarin and navel orange segments, cocoa nib brioche croutons, and roastedpineapple sherbet. A spectacular dessert well worth getting fat over.

Chez TJ is an elegant dining experience. Being awarded a Michelin star extends beyond kitchen capability. The anonymous inspectors rate service, ambiance, wine list, upkeep,

cleanliness: the attention to detail that separates the special from the good, the memorable from the predictable.

Joey Elenterio’s star is in ascent.

He has coupled technique and imagination with an intuition for aromas, textures and sublime tastes. His plates are artistic, tantalizing and eloquent. This is no accident — it came from long hours, hard work and diligence. Don’t miss out. N Chez TJ, 938 Villa St., Mountain View; 650-964-7466, www.cheztj.com Dinner: Tue.-Thu. 5:30-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Reservations Credit cards Children Catering

Noise level: Low Bathroom Cleanliness: Excellent

Takeout

Parking: street

Outdoor dining

Alcohol: wine and beer

Private parties

Corkage: $35

PENINSULA

Discover the best places to eat this week!

AMERICAN

CHINESE

Armadillo Willy’s

Chef Chu’s

941-2922 1031 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos www.armadillowillys.com

948-2696 1067 N. San Antonio Road www.chefchu.com

Cheese Steak Shop

Ming’s

326-1628 2305-B el Camino Real, Palo Alto

856-7700 1700 Embarcadero East, Palo Alto www.mings.com

Lutticken’s 854-0291 3535 Alameda, Menlo Park www.luttickens.com

The Old Pro 326-1446 541 Ramona Street, Palo Alto www.oldpropa.com STEAKHOUSE

Sundance the Steakhouse

Reef Flats!

Actually Comfortable

321-6798 1921 El Camino Real, Palo Alto www.sundancethesteakhouse.com

New Tung Kee Noodle House 947-8888 520 Showers Drive, Mountain View www.shopmountainview.com/luvnoodlemv INDIAN

Janta Indian Restaurant 462-5903 369 Lytton Ave. www.jantaindianrestaurant.com

Thaiphoon 323-7700 543 Emerson Ave, Palo Alto www.ThaiphoonRestaurant.com

Read and post reviews, explore restaurant menus, get hours and directions and more at ShopPaloAlto, ShopMenloPark and ShopMountainView

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Even though “Hysteria” is billed as a comedy, Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal don’t seem to be having much fun. Neither did our reviewer.

Shadows.”

Men in Black 3 A sentimental ending borders on sappy but helps --(Century 16, Century 20) An eclectic cast and stel- bring the “Men in Black” franchise full circle. And lar visual effects coalesce to make “Men in Black while the picture’s cartoonish quality dilutes what 3” a quintessential kernel of summer popcorn cin- tension arises, it also ratchets up a sense of unabashed ema. Although the uninspired and often formulaic amusement. Enjoy the popcorn. screenplay dampers what could have been a top-notch Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence and brief sci-fi comedy, the film’s excellent production team and pantheon of talented actors create an entertain- suggestive content. One hour, 44 minutes. ing escapade.

— Tyler Hanley Fans of the first two “Men in Black” films will find this a fitting addition to the quirky, comic-book-based franchise. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones reunite Hysteria -(Aquarius) London, 1880. The telephone is cuttingas Agent J and Agent K, members of a clandestine government organization charged with keeping tabs edge technology. Bleeding by leeches remains a comon Earth’s cornucopia of extraterrestrial visitors (and mon medical treatment. And nearly a quarter of the ensuring the general public remains oblivious to the female population has, at one time or another, been diagnosed with “hysteria” — which 132 years later existence of said out-of-towners).

Willing suspension of disbelief is an important provides the title of a romantic comedy.

Hysteria was thought to explain a wide variety of ingredient in enjoying this head-spinning tale. Vile alien baddie Boris The Animal (Jemaine Clement of unpleasantries amongst the fairer sex, from depresHBO’s “Flight of the Conchords”) busts out of a lu- sion to disobedience to volume of sex drive, whether nar-based prison and leaps back in time to 1969 with too high or too low. The film “Hysteria,” written by the goal of killing his captor, Agent K, and sparking Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer and directed by a full-blown invasion of Earth. Boris’ scheme forces Tanya Wexler, opens with the legend “This story is Agent J to venture back to ‘69 and work alongside based on true events,” adding, “Really.” Except that Agent K’s younger self (Josh Brolin) in hopes of it isn’t. Not really.

Yes, there was a Mortimer Granville, credited with launching a protective energy “net” around Earth and inventing the battery-powered vibrator and played in quashing Boris’ machinations.

Got all that? No? Don’t sweat it — “Men in Black the film by Hugh Dancy. And there was a London and 3” is fun despite a plot that would dizzy even Isaac an 1880. But basically everything else in the film — all of the other characters and events — are made up Asimov.

Smith is as charismatic and likable as ever, though out of whole cloth to suit the needs of a cutesy romanhe seems to be working especially hard this go-round, tic comedy. Now, if the fictionalization of history (and a testament to the inspired performances delivered by the accompanying lie that it’s all real, honest) doesn’t his co-stars. Brolin is fantastic as the young Agent bother you in the least, fair enough. “Hysteria” isn’t a K, nailing Jones’ mannerisms without his portrayal history book, after all; it’s an entertainment.

And for a while, this entertainment is fairly brisk ever seeming like mimicry. Clement is a very pleasant surprise as Boris, a vicious alien who looks like a and light. Granville, tired of being told untruths like mutated offspring of Predator and one of the “Sons of “Germ theory is poppycock!” quits his job and apAnarchy” bikers. Another treat in the acting depart- plies for a position under one Dr. Robert Dalrymple ment is Michael Stuhlbarg (“A Serious Man,” HBO’s (Jonathan Pryce), a thriving private practitioner who “Boardwalk Empire”) as an innocent, clairvoyant treats London’s upper-crust women for hysteria. His treatment involves, um, lower-body massage that alien named Griffin who helps J and K. Director Barry Sonnenfeld — a bit out of practice, makes the women very happy at least once a week, not having helmed a feature since 2006’s jalopy “RV” alleviating their supposed uterine disorder.

Granville learns the tricks of the manual-stimula— teams with two of the industry’s best in Danny Elfman (original music) and Bill Pope (cinematogra- tion trade and catches the eye of Dalrymple’s younger phy), lifting the production values to high levels. But daughter Emily (Felicity Jones of “Like Crazy”). Imthe script by “Tropic Thunder” scribe Etan Cohen mediately, he’s being groomed to marry Emily and (among others) is lackluster. Humor focused on the one day take over the practice (a package deal). But late-’60s time period has an “Austin Powers” famil- after developing carpal-tunnel syndrome, what’s a iarity, not unlike the recent Tim Burton release “Dark young doctor to do? Inspired by his tech-happy buddy

Movies MOVIE TIMES Battleship (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11 a.m.; noon, 1, 3, 4, 5:10, 6:20, 7:30, 9:30 & 10:30 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. also at 10 a.m. Century 20: 11 a.m.; noon, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 p.m.

Bernie (PG-13) ((( Guild Theatre: 4:15, 7 & 9:45 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. also at 1:45 p.m.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (PG-13) ((1/2 Century 20: 10:30 a.m.; 1:20, 4:15, 7:10 & 10:05 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 5:30 & 7:15 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 8:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 10:15 p.m.

The Big Sleep (1946) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Fri.-Sun. at 7:30 p.m.; Sun. also at 3:35 p.m.

Chernobyl Diaries (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Fri.-Mon. at 10 a.m.; 12:20, 2:40, 5, 7:50 & 10:25 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. at 11:10 a.m.; 1:50, 4:05, 7 & 9:50 p.m. Century 20: 10:45 a.m.; 1, 3:15, 5:30, 7:50 & 10:10 p.m.

ing on trial makes for a supremely trumped-up contrivance. And Wexler at times tips the tone into Mel Brooks-land, with orgasms that have women singing opera or hooting, “Tally ho!� When it stays at ground level, this happily revisionist history is pleasant enough, but it’s all rather silly, don’t you know.

Rated R for sexual content. One hour, 35 minutes. — Peter Canavese

Chimpanzee (G) ((1/2 Century 20: 11:40 a.m.

Fri-Sun 5/25-5/27 Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 5:30, 7:15, 8:30, 10:15 Mon 5/28 Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 5:30, 7:15, 8:30 Tues-Thurs 5/29-5/31 Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 1:15, 2:30, 4:15, 5:30, 7:15 BWQYSba O\R AV]ebW[Sa OdOWZOPZS Ob QW\S[O`Y Q][

Palo Alto Historical Association

Corvette K-225 (1943) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Wed. & Thu. at 5:40 & 9:40 p.m.

Annual Dinner

The Criminal Code (1931) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Fri.-Sun. at 5:40 & 9:35 p.m.

Dark Shadows (PG-13) (( Century 16: 3:40, 7:20 & 10:20 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. also at 10 a.m. & 12:40 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. also at 12:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 2, 4:45, 7:30 & 10:15 p.m.

The Dictator (R) ((1/2 Century 16: 11 a.m.; 1:10, 2:20, 3:20, 4:30, 5:30, 7, 8 & 9:40 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. also at 10 a.m. & 12:10 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 10:40 p.m.; Mon.-Thu. also at 10:30 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. also at 11:50 a.m. Century 20: 11:10 a.m.; 12:15, 1:20, 2:25, 3:30, 4:35, 5:40, 7, 8, 9:15 & 10:25 p.m.

(ISTORY .EWSPAPERS Can One Live Without The Other?

Speaker:

First Position (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Aquarius Theatre: 4:15 p.m.; Fri.-Wed. also at 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. also at 1:45 p.m.

"ILL *OHNSON

PUBLISHER OF THE 0ALO !LTO 7EEKLY AND #%/

%MBARCADERO 0UBLISHING

Girl in Progress (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: 10:35 a.m.; 3:25 & 8:35 p.m.

Headhunters (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Fri.-Mon. at 10 a.m.; 4:10 & 10:15 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. at 11 a.m.; 4:35 & 10:15 p.m.

The Hunger Games (PG-13) ((( Century 16: Fri.-Mon. at 12:40 & 6:50 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. at 1:25 & 7 p.m. Century 20: 7:45 p.m.

Hysteria (R) (( Aquarius Theatre: 4:45, 7:30 & 9:55 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. also at 2:15 p.m.

7EDNESDAY *UNE s PM 3OCIAL (OUR PM $INNER

Marvel’s The Avengers (PG-13) (((( Century 16: 1:20, 3:10, 7:10, 8:30 & 10:30 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. (standard 2D) also at 11:40 a.m.; Tue.-Thu. (standard 2D) also at 11:50 a.m.; In 3D at 11 a.m.; 2:30, 4:50 & 6:10 p.m.; In 3D Fri.-Mon. also at 10 a.m. & 9:40 p.m.; In 3D Tue.-Thu. also at 9:30 p.m. Century 20: 11 a.m.; 1, 2:15, 4:15, 5:35, 7:40 & 8:55 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. (standard 2D) also at 10:50 p.m.; In 3D at 10:30 a.m.; 1:40, 2:55, 4:55, 6:15, 8:20 & 9:35 p.m.

Men in Black 3 (PG-13) ((( Century 16: Fri.-Mon. at 10 a.m.; 12:50, 3:50, 7 & 10:10 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. at 12:40, 3:50, 7 & 9:50 p.m.; In 3D at 1:30, 2:10, 4:30, 5:10, 7:30 & 8:10 p.m.; In 3D Fri.-Mon. also at 10:30 & 11:10 a.m.; In 3D Fri.-Sun. also at 10:40 & 11:10 p.m.; In 3D Mon.-Thu. also at 10:30 p.m.; In 3D Tue.-Thu. also at 11 & 11:30 a.m. Century 20: 10:35 a.m.; 12:15, 1:20, 2:55, 3:55, 5:30, 6:35, 8:10, 9:10 & 10:50 p.m.; In 3D at 11:05 & 11:40 a.m.; 12:45, 1:55, 2:20, 3:20, 4:30, 5, 6, 7:10, 7:45, 8:40, 9:45 & 10:30 p.m.

The Outlaw (1943) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Wed. & Thu. at 7:30 p.m.

Mings Restaurant, 1700 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto PER PERSON s 2ESERVATIONS REQUIRED BY -AY

P.O.Box 193, Palo Alto, CA 94302

“DELIGHTFUL! A HAPPY, SEXUALLY ROBUST HISTORY LESSON OF THE HILARIOUS VARIETY!�

-Lisa Schwarzbaum, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

The Pirates! Band of Misfits (PG) ((( Century 20: 10:30 a.m. & 3 p.m.; In 3D at 12:45 & 5:15 p.m.

Snow White and the Huntsman (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Thu. at 12:01 a.m. Century 20: Thu. at 12:01 a.m.

What to Expect When You’re Expecting (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11 a.m.; 1:40, 2:30, 4:20, 7:40 & 8:40 p.m.; Fri.-Mon. also at 10:30 p.m.; Tue.-Thu. also at 10:15 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 12:50, 1:55, 4:35, 6, 7:15 & 10:15 p.m.

( Skip it (( Some redeeming qualities ((( A good bet (((( Outstanding Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260)

Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260)

Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (800-326-3264)

Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700)

Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264)

Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies

CinĂŠArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-3456)

Edmund St. John Smythe (Rupert Everett), Granville develops a vibrator prototype, and we’re off to the races.

But what’s all this about another daughter? A la “The Taming of the Shrew,� the mild Emily has an older sister who’s considered socially out of step, brazenly supportive of women’s rights and determined to pursue her own career as a social reformer running a settlement house for poor women and children. This is Charlotte (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and of course this very modern woman bickers with Granville, a sure sign the two are meant for each other.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers don’t seem to have any idea how to sustain the story once the vibrator comes on the scene, and a thirdact turn involving Charlotte go-

“IT’S JANE AUSTEN WITH A VIBRATOR! A TOTAL JOY FROM START TO FINISH!�

-Rex Reed, NEW YORK OBSERVER

“PURE PLEASURE “HILARIOUS FOR ALL!�

AND ROMANTIC!�

-Juliann Garey, MARIE CLAIRE

-Lou Lumenick, NEW YORK POST

“A HYSTERICALLY FUNNY COMEDY ABOUT A GREAT MOMENT IN HISTORY.�

Spring Sale

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ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 23

Sports Shorts

Making a pitch for first Double-threat Piscotty could help Cardinal with its title hopes

by Rick Eymer

S

(continued on page 26)

(continued on next page)

Palo Alto junior E.J. Floreal (4) takes a handoff from senior Morris Gates-Mouton on the final leg of the 400 relay that the Vikings won in a season best of 42.13 at the CCS semifinals last Saturday. Paly is favored to win the section title on Friday.

CCS TRACK & FIELD

Palo Alto boys hope for run of good fortune

J

ON THE AIR Friday College baseball: California at Stanford, 5:30 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

Saturday College baseball: California at Stanford, 1 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Margaret Gallagher

Sunday College baseball: California at Stanford, 1 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)

READ MORE ONLINE

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

by Keith Peters ason Fung probably doesn’t have a wish list written down heading into the 2012 Central Coast Section Track and Field Championships on Friday at Gilroy High. If the Palo Alto High coach did, it would be a long one.

For starters, Fung could be wishing for: N The school’s first-ever section team title.

N School records in the 400 and 1,600 relays.

N Individual victories by junior E.J. Floreal in the 100 and 200 and perhaps in the 800 by senior Nikolai Solgaard.

N Qualifying both relay teams and as many athletes as possible to next week’s CIF State Meet at Buchanan High in Clovis.

If everything falls into place, that elusive CCS title could go to the Vikings, whose previous best finish was second place in 1980.

“I’ve got to win everything I can,” said Fung, who graduated from Paly in 1992 and was a member of the track team.

In addition to qualifying both relays out of last Saturday’s CCS semifinals at Gilroy High, the Vikings will have six other spots in the finals that begin with field events at 4 p.m. Running starts at 6 p.m.

“Those six have to do some magic,” Fung said.

tephen Piscotty and Brian Ragira have been Stanford’s most consistent offensive players this season. Piscotty may well be adding pitching to that list of consistencies.

The 11th-ranked Cardinal (3714, 17-10 in the Pac-12) brings an eight-game winning streak into this weekend’s final regular-season series with visiting California and Piscotty owns two of those victories.

He’ll likely make his third start in Sunday’s season finale as Mark Appel (9-1) will start Friday night’s game (5:30 p.m.) and Brett Mooneyham (7-4) will probably go Saturday.

“We just want to come out prepared,” Piscotty said. “It’s all about the win. We’re going to do what we do and hope for a good result.”

Piscotty, who has played multiple positions while at Stanford, has made a big impression on the good folks who handle such matters as the John Olerud Award, presented to college baseball’s top two-way player. Piscotty is a finalist for the honor.

The team leader in batting average (.335) and RBI (53), Piscotty is also 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 pitching appearances. He also has a save, for good measure. Only Ragira (73) has more hits than Piscotty (70) and only Appel and Mooneyham have more wins.

Piscotty’s pitching prowess may surprise some, though others saw something even as late as the Alaska Summer League in 2010, when he was used in relief a handful of times. He was 7-3 with a 1.77 ERA as senior at Amador Valley High in Pleasanton, though the Cardinal was more interested in the .433 batting average and 28 RBI. He was recruited as an infielder.

Piscotty learned he would be making his first start against Washington State less than 16 hours before first pitch.

“There were rumors during the week,” he said. “I was excited to do it. It was awesome. I wasn’t worried about striking anybody out. I did not want to let them get any free bases.”

Sunday’s game against the Bears could be for a shot at first place in the Pac-12 Conference. Stanford enters play two games back of conference leader Oregon, which plays Oregon State in its final regular-season series. UCLA holds second, a game back of the Ducks, while the Cardinal shares third with Arizona and Arizona State. There may not be an out-of-town scoreboard to watch, but there is internet access and there

Margaret Gallagher

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Menlo-Atherton senior Richard Cornew and Menlo School junior Wiley Osborne have been named 2012 Boys Lacrosse Northern California All-Americans by US Lacrosse. Cornew has been a four-year starter for the Bears, moving to defenseman this season while helping M-A win the SCVAL playoff title. Throughout his career, Cornew covered the opposing team’s best player and limited their production.

He earned first-team All-SCVAL De Anza Division honors this season.

In the classroom, he compiled a 4.2 GPA for his career while taking five AP classes this yeare and earning all A’s in the first semester. Osborne has been Menlo’s leading attackman the past three seasons and was a captain this year while earning first-team All-SCVAL De Anza Division honors.

He had 60 goals and 47 assists this season and already has committed to Dartmouth . . . Menlo-Atherton High has named Ron Whitmill as its new girls’ varsity volleyball coach. He has more than 12 years of coaching experience at both the club and college levels. For seven years, Whitmill was the head coach of local club 17/18 teams that qualified for Junior Nationals each of the seven years.

He also has coached the San Jose State men’s team, been an assistant at West Valley and Foothill community colleges and for the past six years has been a head coach for the Vision Volleyball Club. . . . Four local girls have received recognition on the Cal-Hi Sports all-state teams for the 2011-12 season. Eastside Prep junior center Hashima Carothers earned the highest honor as she was named to the Division V first team. Her teammate, sophomore Anisah Smith, was named to the division’s third team.

Menlo School junior center Drew Edelman was named to the fourth team in Division IV and Gunn senior Cat Perez received fifth-team honors in Division I. In other hoop news, Stanford graduate Katy Steding, who has spent the past two season at the University of San Francisco on Jennifer Azzi’s staff, is set to the coaching staff at California. Steding teamed with Azzi to lead Stanford to its first national championship in 1990 . . . Palo Alto High grad Rachel Ersted from the University of California was joined by Stanford’s Daphne Martschenko on the 2012 Division I West All-Region rowing team. Both were first-team selections.

Stanford’s Kristy Wentzel made the second team. The selections were announced on Tuesday by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association.

STANFORD BASEBALL

Palo Alto senior Nikolai Solgaard ran a personal best of 1:55.72 as the No. 2 qualifier for Friday’s CCS championships at Gilroy High.

Page 24ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

&

STANFORD ROUNDUP

She’s leaping at chance to return to Olympics

2 .%,/

Cardinal senior King still needs qualifying standard in women’s long jump, but has time to accomplish her goals

by Rick Eymer edshirt senior Arantxa King understands the opportunity in front of her as her collegiate track and field career comes to a close. The two-time All-American could finish as both an NCAA champion and a two-time Olympian.

King experienced the 2008 Olympics as part of the track and field team from Bermuda, and two years later was the NCAA runner-up in the long jump. After a year off due to injury, she returned to the track ready to complete a solid career.

There’s one small problem. Entering Thursday night’s long jump competition at the NCAA West Regional in Austin, Texas, King has yet to achieve the Olympic ‘B’ standard of 6.65 meters, or roughly 21-8 1/4.

Her personal best, established two years ago, is 6.57, or 21-6 3/4.

King will also compete in Saturday’s triple jump, though she doesn’t train for the event any longer. Long jump has been, and always will be, King’s best event. “The first jump usually sets the tone for the competition,� King said. “Three jumps can go quickly and there’s a lot of self-assessment and thinking through the process for accuracy and technique.�

A reason why King is more optimistic about achieving the required mark either in Austin or in Des Moines, Iowa, the site of the NCAA championships, is that she set her personal best on a partially torn patellar tendon.

The tendon connects to the kneecap and can chip away bone. There’s no easing the pressure of the violence caused from transferring sprint into a launch.

The injury limited her workouts for two years before finally undergoing micro fracture surgery to correct the problem. Following a year of rehabilitation, she’s been able to work out more often and is making strides. “I have not been able to work on technique until this year,� she said. “I’m finally practicing three times a week and I am hoping to see results.�

King went 21-0 3/4 on her first try to finish second in the long jump at the recently concluded Pac-12 Championships in Eugene, Ore. There’s still plenty of time to extend herself the addition half-foot necessary, and technique remains the key.

Taking part in the Opening Day festivities in Beijing in 2008 was an emotional experience King cannot easily put into words. She’d love to experience it again in London. “It was like walking in a dream,� she said. “It was amazing to be next to the best athletes in the world and surrounded by 100,000 people. I loved being around people from all over the world. Even though we compete against each other, there was a sense we came together.�

King was born in Bermuda and came, with her family, to the Boston area at an early age. She maintains a deep connection with her birthplace, however. “At my core, I relate to Bermuda,�

King said. “I have been competing internationally for Bermuda since I was 14 and from those opportunities I’ve been able to come this far.�

It helps to come from a family emersed in sports, particularly track and field. Branwen Smith-King, her mother, was a talented athlete and held the Bermuda long jump record until Arantxa surpassed it.

King began her international career at the Carifta Games, which involves all Caribbean nations. SmithKing competed in the first year of the Games. “The islands have a great tradition in track and field,� King said. “The Caribbean community is tight-knit and there’s a sense of unity. They take their track and field serious.�

King met Jamaica’s world-renowned sprinter Usain Bolt during such competition and has been able to hang out with him away from the track. “He’s actually very funny,� King said. “He sometimes comes off as arrogant, but he loves the sport.�

Rowing Stanford rowing alums David Banks (‘05) and Jake Cornelius

Tennis Stanford senior tennis standout Ryan Thacher has been named winner of the 2012 Men’s ITA/Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for Leadership and Sportsmanship.

A two-year captain for the Cardinal, Thacher has helped lead the team through several ups and downs in his four years. He has had tremendous success on the court, reaching the NCAA doubles semifinals in 2010 and the NCAA finals in 2011.

Thacher also has been named an ITA All-American twice in his career, along with earning All- Pac-12 first-team honors on three occasions. Thacher has recorded at least 20 singles victories in each of his four seasons with the Cardinal.

Thacher has an impressive 3.917 GPA with a major in history, demonstrating a tremendous focus to balance athletics and academics. He has also worked with the East Palo Alto Tennis & Tutorial Program, a program that brings local kids in to be tutored by Stanford students. N

Baseball

Monday.

Piscotty and Ragira have been important to Stanford’s success all year, yet contributions from parttime players have also played a key role. From Christian Griffiths helping the Cardinal sweep Vanderbilt in the first series of the year, through Justin Ringo’s walk-off home run against Rice, all the way to the emergence of Alex Blandino, Danny Diekroeger and Dominic Jose, it’s hardly been a one- or twoman wrecking crew.

The latest to emerge is Jake Stewart, a mainstay in the lineup his first two years. He went nine games without starting in April and had seemingly lost his starting job.

He’s regained his form over the past nine games, hitting at a .414 clip

(12 for 29) to raise his average to its current .299. Stewart has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, culminated by a 4-for-4 effort, including two home runs, in Stanford’s 10-5 nonconference win over host Santa Clara on Tuesday. “I was just trying to get on base every single time up,� Stewart said. “That’s what a leadoff hitter’s job is.�

Stewart credited his resurgence to working with assistant coach Brock Ungricht. “I’ve been working with him on my swing and just relaxing,� Stewart said. “It helps getting back into the lineup and getting into that rhythm.�

Stanford hopes to keep the rhythm going this weekend. N

R

will be plenty of interest in other conference games all weekend.

Also important is Stanford trying to position itself to host a regional the first week of June. The Cardinal carries an RPI rating of 12 heading into the weekend. Stanford would like to hold that spot or improve it if possible to secure a bid.

The latest ratings have Florida, Florida State, UCLA, Baylor and Oregon as the top five. Rice ranks No. 11. What happens with the Owls, Bruins and Ducks will affect the Cardinal. The NCAA regional sites will be announced Sunday, with the NCAA field coming out

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Stanford senior Arantxa King is still shy of Olympic standards. (‘05) were part of the men’s U.S. Eight that captured a four-second victory over New Zealand Tuesday at the Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland, claiming a spot in the 2012 Olympic Games.

Learn the Guitar this Summer

Carol McComb’s “Starting to Play� workshop includes the FREE use of a Loaner Guitar for the duration of the classes.* Regular cost is just $160 for nine weeks of group lessons, and all music is included. *“Starting to Play� meets for one hour each Monday night for nine weeks beginning June 18. Students are encouraged to bring their own guitar, but both nylon-string and steel-string loaner guitars are available.

Other classes at more advanced levels are also offered.

A full brochure is available at Gryphon.

Stringed Instruments Since 1969

650 U493 U2131 ,AMBERT !VENUE s 0ALO !LTO www.gryphonstrings.com

INTERESTED

IN LEARNING

After school program starts on September 8 for non-Mandarin speaking students.

At Jordan School (Saturdays 9am-11am), Fairmeadow School (Thursdays), Laurel School (Tuesdays and Fridays), Oak Knoll (Mondays) and Encinal School (Wednesdays) Contact: Phyllis (650) 917-7907 for details

Hwa Shin Chinese School 750 N. California Ave., Palo Alto

www.hwashinschool.org

CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to Government Code Sections 66016 and 66018, that the City Council of the City of Palo Alto will conduct a Public Hearing at a Special Meetings on June 11, 2012 and June 18, 2012, at 6:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California, to consider changes to the Fiscal Year 2013 Municipal Fee Schedule, including new fees, and increases to existing fees. Copies of the fee schedule setting forth any proposed new fees, and increases to existing fees are available on the City’s website and in the Administrative Services Department, 4th Floor, City Hall, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, California. There is a $3.00 per copy charge for this publication.

DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 25

Sports

CCS track

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

(continued from page 24)

CCS TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE Friday at Gilroy High

Jake Batchelder

Richard Pham

Menlo School

Menlo School

The senior pitched a fiveinning no-hitter and drove in two runs in a 10-0 win to open the CCS Division III baseball playoffs before smacking three doubles and driving in two runs in an 8-1 quarterfinal win.

The junior moved into the No. 1 singles position after three teammates had to remain home to take the SAT, responding with three victories to lead the Knights to a fourth straight NorCal tennis crown and 28-0 record.

Honorable mention David Ball Menlo tennis

Lindsay Black* Palo Alto track & field

Andrew Buchanan Menlo golf

Victor Du Palo Alto track & field

Anna Dukovic Palo Alto track & field

E.J. Floreal* Palo Alto track & field

Michael Hester* Menlo-Atherton track & field

Christian Lonsky Palo Alto baseball

Austin Marcus Menlo baseball

Maddy Price Menlo track & field

Nikolai Solgaard Palo Alto track & field

Di’jonn Williams Menlo-Atherton track & field * previous winner

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

For it to be a magical evening for the Vikings, the 400 relay team must get it started. Paly had the fastest qualifying time in 42.13, a season best, while Bellarmine was second in 42.38.

“We can beat Bellarmine,” Fung said. “We’ve been very consistent with our handoffs, and our fastest time was last week. It’s only going to get better.”

The big goal is not just settling for a trip to the state meet, but making the finals. Paly failed to do that last year.

Winning on Friday will go a long way in making that happen.

Plus, it’s absolutely necessary if the Vikings want that team crown.

Something under the school record of 42.07 from 2011 would be nice, as well, from the team of Tremaine Kirkman, Jayshawn Gates-Mouton, Morris Gates-Mouton and Floreal.

The same goes for the 1,600 relay, where the Vikings qualified second in a season best of 3:22.95, just missing the 1980 school mark of 3:22.6 (which converts to 3:22.74).

Fung didn’t even have Floreal, his fastest runner, on that squad. Instead, the squad was Morris GatesMouton, Solgaard (both seniors), junior Jonathan Alee and sophomore Nick Sullivan.

If the team title is hanging on the final relay come late Friday night, the mercurial Floreal will be running promised Fung.

Floreal will start his day anchoring the 400 relay, which is tied for 17th in the state. He’ll then turn his attention to the 100, where his school record of 10.52 ranks No. 4 in the state and No. 18 in the nation.

Floreal needs a good start, fast finish and needs to beat Bellarmine’s Joey Sanfilippo, the No. 1 qualifier in 10.81.

After that, it’ll be the 200. There, Floreal ranks No. 4 and No. 22, re-

Field Events 4 p.m. – Girls’ pole vault 4:10 p.m. – Girls’ discus 4:15 p.m. – Boys’ triple jump 4:20 p.m. – Girls’ long jump 4:25 p.m. – Girls’ high jump 4:30 p.m. – Boys’ shot put 6:20 p.m. – Boys’ pole vault 6:25 p.m. – Girls’ shot put 6:40 p.m. – Boys’ high jump 6:45 p.m. – Boys’ discus 6:55 p.m. – Boys’ long jump 7 p.m. – Girls’ triple jump

Running Events (Girls, then boys) 6 p.m. – 400 relay 6:20 p.m. – 1600 meters 6:40 p.m. – Girls’ 100 hurdles 6:50 p.m. – Boys’ 110 HH 7:05 p.m. – 400 meters 7:20 p.m. – 100 meters 7:40 p.m. – 800 meters 8 p.m. – 300 hurdles 8:15 p.m. – 200 meters 8:35 p.m. – 3,200 meters 9:15 p.m. – 1,600 relay

Directions to Gilroy High: Take 101 south (pass the Gilroy Outlets) to E. 10th Street exit (to the right). Head west to the school (road becomes W. 10th Street after crossing Monterey St.). School is on the left.

spectively, but has the potential to surpass his school mark of 21.16.

Floreal was the No. 3 qualifier in the 100 (10.85) and was No. 1 in the 200 (21.66) in the semifinals, but didn’t run hard in either race. He shut it down in the 200 with more than 10 meters remaining while cruising across the finish line, looking over both shoulders.

Palo Alto also will have Kirkman in the 100 finals after he finished seventh in 11.03 last week. Alee would have been in the 200 finals, but false-started.

Solgaard, meanwhile, continued to impress in the 800 as he ran a personal best of 1:55.72 to finish second and advance to Friday’s finals.

While the Paly runners are busy, junior Victor Du will be trying to add points in both the high jump and long jump after posting qualifying marks of 6-3 and 21-0 1/2, respectively.

“Victor has to move up,” said Fung, “and other teams have to help me beat Bellarmine. We have enough firepower for top three (finish).”

Bellarmine has both relays in the finals plus 11 scoring spots. The scoring has been expanded this

season to include the top eight finishers. Thus, every point for Paly is critical.

The Palo Alto girls, meanwhile, qualified their 400 relay in 49.84, freshman Anna Dukovic earned a trip to the finals in the high jump (5-1) and senior Lindsay Black did likewise in the shot put by setting a school record of 39-0 1/2.

Elsewhere, Menlo School sophomore Maddy Price was the Knights’ lone qualifier as she finished fourth in the girls’ 400 in a personal record of 57.38, shaving nearly a half-second off her previous best.

Menlo-Atherton got three boys in the CCS finals as Michael Hester finished sixth in the 800 in 1:56.82, Jack Beckwith advanced in the 3,200 (9:40.62) and Di’jonn Williams finished fifth in the long jump at 21-3 1/2. The Bears also qualified their boys’ 1600 relay team (fifth at 3:23.88) and their girls’ 1600 squad (4:01.78).

Sacred Heart Prep had one qualifier for the finals, Cameron Van in the high jump (6-3).

Stanford-bound Chris Waschura of Woodside was the No. 1 qualifier in the boys’ 1,600 in a season best of 4:15.91.

The top three finishers, plus any athletes who achieve automatic marks, will advance to the state meet. N

You Race. Kids Win. Saturday, June 23, 2012 Stanford Join the Packard Summer Scamper and support patients and families at Packard Children’s Hospital. Sign up for the 5k run/walk, 10k run, or kids’ fun run!

Register today at SummerScamper.org.

Margaret Gallagher

M-A senior Michael Hester made the finals in the 800.

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Sports CCS BASEBALL

Menlo makes pitch for a three-peat Palo Alto’s season ends in 4-2 semifinal loss

by Andrew Preimesberger

M

Graham Stratford singled with one out in the fifth inning and Avis lined a triple over the center fielder’s head for an RBI that sparked a four-run inning.

Batchelder added a two-run, basesloaded single to put Menlo up 6-2.

The Mustangs couldn’t stop the Knights’ offense, which produced eight runs on 10 hits. Senior outfielder Chris Zeisler went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and made a spectacular diving catch in the fifth inning. He also singled home Stratford and Avis in the sixth to cap the scoring.

Pacific Grove bounced No. 5 Carmel, 3-2, in the other semifinal to reach the section finals for the first time since 2002, when Pacific Grove lost to Carmel.

While Menlo will be playing for its sixth CCS title, there will be no history-making back-to-back titles for top-seeded Palo Alto (27-7), which saw its season end in a 4-2 loss to Valley Christian in eight innings in the Division I semifinals on Wednesday night.

Sophomore righthander Theron Kay made sure of that as he threw a complete game, struck out eight batters, and allowed only three hits to lead Valley Christian at San Jose Municipal Stadium.

Palo Alto needed a victory to have an attempt at winning consecutive CCS titles for the first time in program history.

“It stings and it will always sting,” said Paly senior pitcher Ben Sneider.

“To lose to an opponent that flat out beat us -- that’s the way you want to go out.”

The Vikings’ offense looked promising in the first inning when senior center fielder B.J. Boyd ripped a triple off the top of the right field fence on the second pitch of the game. Boyd came in to score on a ground ball to shortstop from senior Jack Witte putting the Vikings up 1-0 after the first inning.

Palo Alto’s bats were quiet following the Boyd triple, connecting for

Angie Ball

enlo School baseball coach Craig Schoof can only hope that the sore right arm of senior ace Freddy Avis won’t prevent him from taking the mound in Saturday’s Central Coast Section Division III championship game.

Schoof most likely knows what happened the past two times Avis started section title games .

In 2010, Avis was the winning pitcher in an 8-2 victory over Hillsdale. Last season, Avis pitched the first 5 2/3 innings before reaching his limit of innings per week but still earned the win in a 4-0 triumph over Santa Cruz.

Avis started Tuesday’s 8-2 victory over No. 3 seed Monte Vista Christian, but left after two innings due to soreness in his right arm. That gives him eight innings on Saturday, if he’s ready to go or Schoof needs him that long.

Second-seeded Menlo (22-7) will be seeking its third straight CCS Division III title against No. 9 seed Pacific Grove (19-10) when the teams meet at San Jose Municipal Stadium at 4 p.m.

“We’re the returning champs,” said Avis. “People are going to be out to get us — we have to be ready to play Saturday.”

Senior lefthander Jake Batchhelder was ready to play on Tuesday as he threw five relief innings, struck out three, and allowed just two hits to lead Menlo to its semifinal victory. He retired 14 of 16 batters.

“That says a lot about our team,” said Avis. “We have a lot of guys that can step up in the situation and Batch got it done today -- he was absolutely stellar.”

Menlo’s offense struggled in the first two innings, then came alive in the third when sophomore Mikey Diekroeger led off the inning with a double to the right-field corner. Senior infielder Carson Badger roped a base hit to center field driving in Diekroeger and tying the game at 2.

Champs again While not all the team members were available for the team photo due to prom and tournament commitments, coach Bill Shine (far right) and his Menlo School boys’ tennis squad nonetheless celebrated their fourth straight CIF/USTA NorCal championship following a 5-2 victory over Bellarmine last Saturday in Sacramento. The victory capped a 28-0 season, a 110-3 four-year record and marked the first time the Knights had won four straight NorCal and CCS titles. The unbeaten season was the third in program history. Menlo accomplished this despite missing three players, including two starters, who missed NorCals due to having to take the SAT. just three hits total. Boyd scored the first two runs of the game, the second one coming on a steal of home in the third inning. The Warriors, however, tied the game at 2 in the fifth and won it in the eighth on a two-run double by Kay. The Vikings’ outfield defense was stellar, saving runs on diving catch-

es and assists from seniors Boyd, John Dickerson, and Justin Grey.

The infield wasn’t as solid as the outfielders, committing two errors - one accounting for the tying run.

“It’s tough to lose,” said Raich. “It’s one of those games that could go either way, whomever gets the big knock is going to get

the win and they got that one.”

Preventing Palo Alto from reaching a third straight CCS championship game. During the past three seasons, the Vikings have compiled an 84-20 record under Raich.

“They’re a great group of kids,” Raich said of his seniors. “I’m sad to see them go.” N

n n o e C c p t ion m a C Summer 2012

For more information about these camps, see our online directory of camps at http://paloaltoonline.com/biz/summercamps/. To advertise in a weekly directory, contact 650-326-8210

Athletics California Riding Academy’s Camp Jumps For Joy!

Menlo Park

Join us this summer for fantastic and fun filled week with our beautiful horses and ponies! Each day Campers have riding instruction, develop horsemanship skills, create fun crafts and enjoy with our kids’ jump course. In addition, campers learn beginning vaulting, visit our Full Surgical Vet Clinic, and much more! Voted the best horse camp by discerning young campers. Choose English, Western or Cowboy/Cowgirl. Ages 5-15 welcome.

Convenient close-in Menlo Park location and online Registration and Payment with either PayPal or Google Checkout. www.CalifiorniaRidingAcademy.com or JumpsForJoy@CaliforniaRidingAcademy.com for more information 650-740-2261

Champion Tennis Camp

Atherton

CTC programs provide an enjoyable way for your child to begin learning the game of tennis or to continue developing existing skills. Our approach is to create lots of fun with positive feedback and reinforcement in a nurturing tennis environment. Building self-esteem and confidence through enjoyment on the tennis court is a wonderful gift a child can keep forever! Super Juniors Camps, ages 4 – 6. Juniors Camps, ages 6 - 14. www.alanmargot-tennis.com 650-400-0464

Glenoaks Stables’ Horse Camp Portola Valley Giddy up your summer at Glenoaks Stables’ horse camp.

Each full day of equestrian fun includes supervised

riding, horsemanship, vaulting, pony games and arts & crafts. 6 one-week sessions. All skill levels welcome, ages 6+. www.glenoaksequestriancenter.com/summercamps.htm 650-854-4955

Academics Champion Youth Enrichment School

Palo Alto/ Mountain View

Join CYES’s culture summer camp, mixing academic subjects and hands-on exploration. Daily enrichment Fo activities and weekly field trips. Learn 300 frequently used Chinese characters through creative, interactive Sunrise immersion program. www.championkis.com 650-858-1880, 650-353-0881

Arts, Culture and Other Camps Wizbots Creative Robotics Palo Alto/ Summer Camps Menlo Park/San Carlos FUN. ROBOTS. CREATIVITY. That’s what Wizbots Creative Robotics camps are all about! Each weekly camp includes the use of computers, LEGO® Mindstorms NXT robotics equipment, LEGO, motors, sensors, arts & craft supplies and other unique building materials. With lots of fun projects and exciting themes, boys and girls alike, learn all kinds of new skills and exercise their imaginations.

The all new themes for summer 2012 include: Robots in Space, Robolympics, Crazy Contraptions, and Dynamic Designs. Quality staff lead half-day and full-day camps for rising 2nd-7th graders. www.wizbots.com info@wizbots.com

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 27

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Page 28ÊUÊ >ÞÊÓx]ÊÓä£ÓÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V