Palo Alto Weekly 10.26.2012 - Section 1

Palo Alto

Vol. XXXIV, Number 4 N October 26, 2012

High-rise plan sparks debate Page 3

w w w.PaloA ltoOnline.com

Will e-learning overtake – or improve – traditional higher education?

Page 20

Transitions 15

Pulse 15

Spectrum 16

Eating Out 27

Movies 29

Puzzles 58

N Arts Halloween haunts and spook fests

Page 26

N Sports Golf titles for Gunn, Castilleja

Page 31

N Home Slim pickings in multiplex market

Page 37

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Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

Bold downtown plan sparks sharp debate Palo Alto land-use board launches discussion of 27 University Ave.

by Gennady Sheyner colossal proposal by billionaire developer John Arrillaga to build a theater and four office towers in downtown Palo Alto as part of a new “arts and innovation” district is still miles away from official approval, but it is already spurring significant disagreements

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about the city’s future growth.

The proposal for 27 University Ave. aims to transform the area next to the downtown Caltrain station into a dense, vibrant and pedestrian-friendly district anchored by a new theater and office complex, which would feature four towers

all taller than 100 feet. One, at 160 feet, would become the city’s tallest building and would exceed by more than two-fold the city’s 50-foot height limit for new buildings.

To some city officials, that’s not a bad thing. As members of the city’s Planning and Transportation Commission and Architectural Review Board delved into Arrillaga’s proposal Wednesday evening, Oct. 24, some argued that more height is exactly what the city needs, par-

ticularly downtown and next to the Caltrain station. Others expressed concern about potential parking problems the project could create and called for the developer to scale down the ambitious proposal.

The discussion, which concluded without any votes, is in many ways a preview of what is expected to be a broader community debate over the future of local development.

The City Council plans to give the voters a say on Arrillaga’s proposal,

which would require the city to create a zoning designation just for the project, relocate a historic building that has occupied the site for nearly a century, and use a portion of dedicated parkland.

In addition to the four office towers, which would total about 260,000 square feet, the project includes a theater that would be occupied by the nonprofit TheatreWorks and a (continued on page 6)

EMERGENCY RESPONSE

New ‘must have’ for Palo Alto’s firefighters: medical skills City’s Fire Department saves money while expanding ambulance service

by Gennady Sheyner

T

Veronica Weber

Yummmmm, tasty!

Chef Yean-Yves Charon of Galaxy Desserts shows Gunn High School student Merrill Peterson how to pipe chocolate mousse. The demonstration on French pastries and desserts took place on Tuesday, Oct. 23, during Tasting Week, a week-long celebration of food at Palo Alto schools.

BUSINESS

Apple Store 2.0 opens in Palo Alto Saturday New location on University Avenue to be unveiled this weekend

by Sue Dremann

S

hrouded in black and still largely hidden from view by barricades, the sleek new Apple Store in downtown Palo Alto will open Saturday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m., company officials have announced.

The relatively late announcement leaves little time for hype prior to its opening, save for an email sent to Apple users and a brief mention on the company’s website.

But the new 16,600-square-foot, two-story building at 340 University Ave. is designed to be inviting, with

a clear-glass facade framed by stonepaneled vertical columns so passing shoppers can see what is happening inside. It will have new product displays, more training and workshop sections and an enlarged Genius Bar to help customers, according to a company announcement.

The new Apple isn’t falling far from the tree. It is situated two blocks west and across the street from its predecessor at the seismically unsafe 451 University Ave. Excitement is growing among Apple aficionados and its ever-

expanding base of regular folks.

Over at the Apple Store at Stanford Shopping Center Wednesday, Oct. 24, 20-something Jason Lee surfed the Internet from his iPhone.

“Any Apple Store that opens, people will be trying to get there. The stores are always crowded. It’s real exciting,” he said.

It was controlled chaos at the Stanford Apple, which some call the “Apple store Mini,” where a dozen employees in royal-blue polo shirts (continued on page 13)

heir job title may evoke burning buildings and flaming forests, but Palo Alto’s newest firefighters are expected to be just as comfortable operating an ambulance as they would a fire engine.

The Palo Alto Fire Department — in the midst of a dramatic, multi-year overhaul — is transforming into an operation that prizes medical skills as much as it does fire fighting, according to a new report from the department. The shift was prompted by a radical increase in medical calls, which now make up about 60 percent of total service calls, and by a recent report from two consulting firms, which issued 48 recommendations for improving department operations overall.

Recently, the city has hired six new paramedics and added a second full-time ambulance to its medical service. Previously, the department had one full-time ambulance and another one that served for 12 hours a day and was staffed by firefighters working overtime.

In addition, the city filled 17 firefighter vacancies in the department, and 14 of the new hires are also paramedics.

“Ideally, what we’d like to have is a paramedic on every engine, every day. We think that will provide the best service to the community,” Public Safety Director Dennis Burns told the City Council’s Policy and Services Committee Tuesday night, Oct. 23, at a discussion of the recent changes in the department.

While the addition of a fulltime ambulance required the department to add six paramedics, some of these costs are offset by the drastic decrease in overtime and the increasing revenues from

the ambulance operation. In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, Emergency Medical Services brought in about $866,000 in revenues, compared to $719,000 in 2011-12, $565,000 in 2010-11 and $431,000 in 2009-10. Overtime expenditures in the first quarter of 2012-13 were $525,077, compared to $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2011-12.

The department’s new focus on firefighters with medical skills is part of a broader movement toward efficiency and flexibility. The city succeeded last year in eliminating the long-standing “minimum staffing” provision in the contract of its largest firefighter union. The clause required the city to have at least 29 firefighters on duty at all times and restricted the city’s ability to reduce the department’s historically high overtime costs.

The Fire Department is also sharing more resources with the Police Department. According to the report, six administrative and management employees are now “shared across both operations providing administrative, budget/finance and technical support.”

The recent changes in the department are projected to save $1.3 million in the current fiscal year, compared to last year. A huge part of this sum (about $1 million) is attributed to the recent closure of Station 7, which had serviced the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Menlo Park.

The numbers generally pleased committee members, though Councilman Larry Klein said he expected to see savings of about $2 million.

The Fire Department is also ramping up its reliance on gather(continued on page 8)

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450 CAMBRIDGE AVE, PALO ALTO, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER William S. Johnson 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 Colin Becht, Dale F. Bentson, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Karla Kane, Kevin Kirby, Jack McKinnon, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti, Contributors Pierre BienaimÊ, Lisa Kellman, Haiy Le, Editorial Interns DESIGN Shannon Corey, Design Director Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn, Senior Designers Lili Cao, Rosanna Leung, Designers PRODUCTION Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager Dorothy Hassett, Blanca Yoc, Sales & Production Coordinators ADVERTISING Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales & Advertising Samantha Mejia, Shop Product Manager Adam Carter, Elaine Clark, Janice Hoogner, Wendy Suzuki, Display Advertising Sales Neal Fine, Carolyn Oliver, Rosemary Lewkowitz, Real Estate Advertising Sales David Cirner, Irene Schwartz, Inside Advertising Sales Diane Martin, Real Estate Advertising Asst.

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PINEWOOD

Upfront QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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Palo Alto is not New York. — Arthur Keller, Palo Alto planning commissioner, on why he opposes a proposed 161-foot-tall office tower. See story on page 3.

Around Town

TO DRINK AND DRINK NOT ...

Changing the U.S. Constitution is a tricky business, laden with high hurdles and, in some cases, unintended consequences. With that in mind, the Palo Alto City Council stopped short this week of endorsing a citizens drive to add a constitutional amendment specifying that corporations are not people and that money is not speech. In explaining their position, Councilmen Larry Klein and Pat Burt both alluded to the short-lived 18th Amendment, which prohibited alcohol sales (it was later overturned by the 21st Amendment). Burt noted that the federal amendment that launched Prohibition had a significant impact on Palo Alto because it forced the “wet� town of Mayfield to lose business. “Which resulted in it being annexed to Palo Alto ... and we have California Avenue today,�

Burt said. “So, let the buyer beware and be careful when we adopt amendments and make sure they’re well thought through.�

WHICH ARRILLAGA? ... It’s a question sometimes asked by people trying to find their way around Stanford, since there are at least a half-dozen campus venues named for the local real-estate mogul and generous Stanford donor. Would it be the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation, the Arrillaga Family Dining Commons, the Arrillaga Alumni Center — or perhaps Arrillaga Plaza? Stanford students have picked up on the Arrillaga theme, jokingly adding to the Arrillaga lore.

Students at the German-themed Haus Mitt residence have renamed their building the Arrillaga Center for German Living and Culture, their kitchen the Arrillaga Center for Culinary Arts and a bar the Arrillaga Center for Beer Education and Appreciation. “I think he (John Arrillaga) would take it for what it is, a joke,� Haus Mitt resident Matthew Rios told the Stanford Daily. “He would have a good laugh along with us.�

TOKEN OF GRATITUDE ... Evergreen Park neighborhood residents Pamela and David Hornik are being honored with the first-ever Toque of the Town Award from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

The Horniks, whose son Noah was diagnosed with colitis five years ago, have made it their mission to

change the future of the disease by raising awareness of it and through fundraising, the foundation stated.

More than 75,000 people in northern California have Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, which are chronic digestive diseases with no known cure. David, a venture capitalist, and Pamela, a volunteer with the Cantor Art Center at Stanford, will receive the recognition at a soldout event on Nov. 3 in Menlo Park.

BIRTHDAY SUIT ... When software developer Nikil Viswanathan turned 25 on Oct. 6, there was one birthday gift he didn’t want to receive: a lawsuit from Southwest Airlines.

He had just created a website that could automatically check people in to their Southwest flights (see story on page 5), and on Oct. 5 it was highlighted on a popular tech news site. His friends teased him that the media attention would lead to a lawsuit from Southwest. “I said, ‘I don’t want to be sued on my birthday,’� he recalled this week, laughing.

Fortunately, he wasn’t, although he has since taken down the site after receiving a warning from the airline.

FLOWING ALONG ... An ambitious and long-awaited proposal to protect residents from the flood-prone San Francisquito Creek picked up another key endorsement Wednesday night when Palo Alto’s Planning and Transportation Commission unanimously and enthusiastically voted to support it. The project would rebuild levees along the creek, widen a channel to facilitate more water flow, add a floodwall and extend the Friendship Bridge between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. The project is spearheaded by the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority. In addition to protecting residents, the project aims to fortify the area near the Baylands against expected sea-level rise. This kind of foresight is something the cities in the agency can be proud of, said Len Materman, executive director of the creek authority. A report from Palo Alto’s Planning and Community Environment Department notes that the project will accommodate a “100-year tide� and will consider the National Research Center’s “highest estimate of potential sea level rise over the next 50 years.� N

Upfront TECHNOLOGY

Stanford grad’s website nets Southwest ‘cease and desist’ Automatic check-in website for Southwest Airlines flights draws thousands of visitors hen Nikil Viswanathan created a website to automatically check himself in to his flights on Southwest Airlines in January, he did it so that his mother wouldn’t have to remind him anymore. But the Stanford University graduate’s 45-minute project quickly garnered a cease-and-desist demand from the airline’s attorneys.

The side project was originally intended for his own use, said Viswanathan, 25, who graduated with a master’s degree in computer science from Stanford two months ago. But thousands of people found it anyway, suddenly spawning nearly 10,000 visits in two weeks, stories about it on online travel blogs and even a job offer from online travel site Expedia.com, he said.

On Wednesday, Oct. 24, Viswanathan took the site down so that he wouldn’t face a lawsuit from Southwest, he said. He is not the first person to be threatened by Southwest for offering automatic check-in services that get travelers A-list boarding passes. The airline has filed multiple complaints in U.S. District Court to shut down other sites, which were businesses charging a fee for their automated service, according to federal court documents.

(Viswanathan’s does not.)

Southwest Airlines has “open seating” rather than pre-assigned seats. Travelers receive a boarding

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pass upon check in that places them in “A,” “B” or “C” groups, with numbers from 1 to 60 in each letter category. Customers line up at the gate and are boarded by their group letter and number, at which point they choose their own seats. The process leaves the Johnny-comelately types with the least desirable seats. Everyone hopes for the A-list designations, which afford the earliest boarding and best seating.

Some A-list seats are already reserved for people in categories such as BusinessSelect class or if they paid $10 for 36-hour-advance EarlyBird Check-In. Then online check-in is opened up to the balance of travelers 24 hours in advance.

With Viswanathan’s website, CheckInToMyFlight.com, if someone has booked a flight for Friday at 5 p.m., for example, the site will check him or her in automatically on Thursday at 5 p.m., he said.

“You immediately get a really, really good ‘A’ boarding pass when most of the time people would get a ‘B’ or ‘C’ boarding pass,” he said.

The only problem? Southwest doesn’t allow computer programs to access or use their website as part of its terms of agreement. Automatic check-in sites compete directly with the airline’s EarlyBird program, according to the federal lawsuits. In addition, check-in websites bypass Southwest.com, depriving the airline

of opportunities to target advertising and sell other products to website visitors, the company claimed.

A Southwest spokesman could not be reached for comment.

In its cease-and-desist letter, Southwest claimed that Viswanathan is running a commercial enterprise, which he denies. His website expressly states: “Free! (If you want you can buy me a Jamba Juice!)”

The whole website started as a practical solution to his newfound need to check in to his flights, he said.

“My mom has checked me in throughout my whole life. She told me, ‘You’re about to graduate. It’s time for you to do things on your own in the real world,’” he said.

In January, when he booked a flight to visit his sister in Pennsylvania, Viswanathan said his mother called repeatedly to remind him to check in early online, but he kept forgetting. Looking for a way to not have to remember, he decided to see if he could set up an automated system, he said.

While he and his sister waited to go to a party, he took 45 minutes to set up the program. A few weeks ago he returned to refine the software and turn it into a website. After posting his project on his Facebook page, 100 of his friends “liked” it. He was initially surprised by the response.

“I thought no one would care about it,” he said. But he was in-

U.S. CONSTITUTION

Palo Alto treads cautiously against ‘Citizens United’ City Council declines to endorse a grassroots movement for a Constitutional Amendment

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he recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to loosen up campaign-finance restrictions for corporations won’t win any popularity contests in Palo Alto, but city officials aren’t rushing to join a grassroots movement aiming to amend the U.S. Constitution to specify that “corporations aren’t people” and that “money isn’t speech.”

Instead, the City Council on Monday voted 7-1, with Sid Espinosa dissenting and Greg Schmid absent, to submit a letter to elected leaders in Washington, D.C., urging them to author and adopt an amendment that would, in effect, overturn the controversial Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission ruling. The Supreme Court had concluded by a 5-4 vote that a corporation’s right to spend on independent campaigns is protected by the First Amendment.

While the council agreed that the Supreme Court decision was

by Gennady Sheyner misguided, members opposed a recommendation from the city’s Human Relations Commission and dozens of residents in attendance to join the effort by the national group “Move to Amend” to add a 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

Other California cities, including Mountain View, Los Altos Hills, Campbell and San Francisco, had passed resolutions in support of the proposed amendment.

The 2010 court decision has prompted widespread concern in Palo Alto and elsewhere about the undue and sometimes nefarious influence of money in politics. More than 200 city residents had signed a petition asking the council to pass a resolution in support of the amendment. About two dozen attended the Monday meeting, some voicing their opinion directly to the council.

“This change will not happen at the national level unless we have strong local support,” said Debbie Mytels, a Palo Alto resident.

The proposed amendment reads: “Only human beings, not corporations, are endowed with rights that are protected by the Constitution.”

“Money is not speech, and therefore the expenditure of money to influence the electoral process is not a form of constitutionally protected speech and may be regulated.”

Claude Ezran, who chairs the Human Relations Commission, spoke passionately about the need to oppose Citizens United and argued that the decision will negatively impact both the nation and, specifically, Palo Alto. He cited the ongoing nationwide debates about climate change and the Affordable Care Act and argued that the Citizens United decision gives powerful special interests outsized influence, which could lead to devastating consequences.

Palo Alto, for example, is very much concerned about climate change, he said. But its efforts could

Veronica Weber

by Sue Dremann

Nikil Viswanathan took down his website CheckInToMyFlight.com after he was ordered to “cease and desist” by Southwest Airlines. spired to officially launch the website on Oct. 2.

Then came the surprise. The website Hacker News listed his site at the top of its news page, where it remained for a time. In one day, be drowned out by corporations with unlimited spending powers, he argued.

“Nationwide, we’re faced by powerful oil and coal interests who employ a huge megaphone that blasts messages stating that climate change is a hoax and that therefore inaction is the best course of action.”

With Citizens United, Ezran said, “We are further eroding democracy, and we’re putting our nation on a path of gradual decline.”

The council did not disagree.

But members decided that there are better ways to signal their displeasure with Citizens United than supporting an amendment that some felt is too vague and could have unintended consequences.

Councilman Larry Klein, an attorney, argued that a Constitutional amendment is an extremely rare occurrence and should be weighed with much more care. Like all of his colleagues, he agreed that Citizens United is a misguided decision. But like the rest of the council, he stopped short of pushing for the recommended resolution.

The resolution would have included a list of clauses specifying, among other things, that “corporations are artificial entities separate from human beings” and that corporations “have unduly influenced and unfairly interfered with democratic processes by pressur-

5,000 people came to CheckInToMyFlight.com, he said.

“Lots of people I didn’t know were ‘Liking’ it on Facebook and (continued on page 8)

ing our legislators and dominating election campaigns with virtually unlimited contributions.” Klein said that given his attitude about the Constitution, he couldn’t support the language proposed.

“I think the process is very flawed,” Klein said. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to get into a debate about what any of these clauses mean. But I think there should be such a debate.”

Klein proposed submitting a letter to legislators instead. His colleagues agreed.

Espinosa also criticized the recent court decision and stressed the need to have a “broader national conversation” about the issue. But he also said he opposes having the council officially endorse the “Move to Amend” drive.

“I’m ready to do what I can on a personal level ... but I will not be supporting the council moving forward on this (resolution),” Espinosa said.

Mayor Yiaway Yeh lauded Klein’s proposal to appeal to the federal legislators, who he said “have a key role in moving forward with any Constitutional amendment.”

“It’s not how other cities approach it,” Yeh said. “Palo Alto often doesn’t approach issues and solutions the way other cities do.

But I think it’s reflective of the sentiment that does exist.” N

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Upfront EDUCATION

Community to advise on new school

by Chris Kenrick yet-to-be-appointed community advisory committee will examine two possible venues for a 13th elementary school in Palo Alto, Board of Education members said Thursday, Oct. 25.

The board expects to make its final decision on the location and timing of a new elementary school by next April or May. Possibilities include a phased-in school starting as early as fall 2014, with just a few elementary grades, to the opening of a full-fledged campus in fall 2017, according to the board’s discussion in the study session on enrollment and facilities.

The community advisory committee will be appointed following a Nov. 13 meeting at which the board plans to finalize its process for gathering community comment on the new school.

The committee will be asked to examine the tradeoffs between re-opening the Garland campus at 870 N. California Ave. versus the Greendell campus at 4120 Middlefield Road in conjunction with adjoining district property fronting on 525 San Antonio Road.

The committee would not choose a specific site but would present the relative trade-offs to inform a recommendation by Superintendent Kevin Skelly.

Board members also asked Skelly to present by November a timeline for the launching of a fourth middle school. They’ve already given Skelly the go-ahead to scout for possible new middle-school venues.

“I hear your interest in a middle school, but frankly I believe we can work on that one with a little bit less urgency than this (elementary school decision),” Skelly told board members Thursday, adding he would present information about a middle school timeline in November.

Ann Dunkin, the district’s chief technology officer, said moderate projections accurately matched actual enrollment growth.

With new construction, the district will have “plenty” of elementary space until 2018-19.

“In 2020 we cross the line, with more students than space we will have with currently built and planned elementary classroom space,” Dunkin said.

Current plans call for the community advisory committee to have about 10 members and to be cochaired by Dunkin and Kathleen Meagher, the district’s director of elementary education and former principal of Duveneck Elementary School.

Board members asked that Dunkin hold an open application process for committee membership. N

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(continued from page 3)

public plaza next to the theater. It also seeks to redesign the road network around the Caltrain station to foster a more pedestrian-friendly environment and expand the transit hub’s capacity for buses.

The Wednesday discussion was the first public hearing that the city’s two main land-use and design-review boards held on the project. Most commissioners stressed that when it comes to new developments, they are not afraid of heights, particularly if these buildings are downtown and next to the city’s main transit hubs. Michael Alcheck, a member of the planning commission, was among them.

“There is no location that is closer to transit, closer to El Camino Real, that is more apt for the tallest building we’ve ever considered,” Alcheck said. “If we’re going to do it, we ought to shoot for the stars here.”

Others agreed that taller buildings could be acceptable — or even preferable — under certain circumstances but urged the applicant’s design team to make sure the towers don’t interfere with views of the hills or create the effect of a giant wall at one of the city’s most prominent locations.

Randy Popp, an architect who serves on the Architectural Review Board, said he would not oppose adding height to downtown but suggested that the applicants consider other design options, including reconfiguring the shapes of the buildings. He also urged the applicants to think of ways to better integrate the new district into

Theater Rendering courtesy of the City of Palo Alto

Board sets spring decision date for opening between 2014 and 2017

Arrillaga

The complex at 27 University Ave. proposed by philanthropist John Arrillaga would include four highrise office towers (with the tallest at 161 feet) and a theater. the existing downtown.

Lee Lippert, a former planning commissioner who now serves as vice chair of the Architectural Review Board, called the proposal “a really incredible opportunity” but stressed that the additional height should provide tangible benefits to the city.

At the other side of the spectrum was planning Commissioner Arthur Keller, who offered a blunt assessment of the Arrillaga proposal.

“The office buildings proposed are way too high,” Keller said. “I grew up in New York, and if I wanted to live there, I would. I want to live in Palo Alto. Palo Alto is not New York. People in Palo Alto made a deliberate step not to have Palo Alto be Manhattanized.”

Planning Commission Chair

Eduardo Martinez voiced concern about the MacArthur Park Restaurant, which under Arrillaga’s plan would be relocated to another part of the city. The building, designed by iconic architect Julia Morgan, occupied the site since 1918.

“It has to be taken more seriously,” Martinez said of the historic building.

He also lauded Arrillaga’s proposal for giving the city a chance to have a broad and critically important discussion about future growth. The city’s 50-foot height limit has been in effect since the early 1970s and is viewed by many in the community as a “sacred cow” that is critical for protecting the city’s character from encroachment by massive developments. While the city boasts

several buildings higher than 50 feet, including the 15-story office building at 525 University Ave. and the 11-story Channing House, the proposed 27 University towers would rise above both.

“It’s a divisive issue in the city,” Martinez said, predicting many residents would oppose it. “We need to look at not just (whether) this is a good site or a great opportunity, but why should we be going in this direction?” N

TALK ABOUT IT

www.PaloAltoOnline.com Do you favor the proposed complex at 27 University Ave.? Share your thoughts on development on Town Square, the community discussion forum on Palo Alto Online.

LAND USE

John Arrillaga plans Menlo Park development Medical and other office space, retail and rental housing planned for El Camino lots

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n 8-acre span of car lots on El Camino Real will turn into a mixed-use complex of medical and other office space, retail businesses and housing if developer John Arrillaga goes forward with his plan for Stanford University properties in Menlo Park.

The lots stretch from 300 to 500 El Camino Real. Stanford confirmed that existing tenants — including Tesla — would move out as their leases expire on March 31, 2013.

“We are incorporating retail space in our redevelopment project, and Tesla would be a tenant that we would be interested in locating in the new project,” said Steve Elliott, managing director for development, land, buildings and real estate at Stanford.

Tesla’s possible departure from the city may not make officials happy; Menlo Park Finance Director Carol Augustine said Tesla ranked as one of the city’s top 25 sales and user-tax contributors for fiscal year 2011-12.

According to informal architectural plans, the centerpiece of the

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by Sandy project consists of two four-story buildings aligned with El Camino in the front and curved like the bottom half of an “S” in back.

They would sit between College and Cambridge avenues, with Partridge Avenue separating the two structures. Parking for the entire project would be mainly underground, with some surface-level spaces planned at the rear of the development for an estimated total of 1,190 spaces.

Plans show 76,500 square feet of office space and 153,000 square feet of medical offices, but the final ratio of office to medical office space remains to be seen. Also unknown is whether the medical offices are meant for private practitioners or would be incorporated into the Stanford University Medical Center.

“We do not know and have not determined who the potential tenants, including any medical office tenants, in the new project might be,” Elliott said. “While the specific plan allows for up to 153,000 square feet of medical office on

Brundage this site, we anticipate that the project may include significantly less than this amount.”

A third building next to Cambridge Avenue would have 17,800 square feet of office space spread over two floors.

Next to Middle Avenue, 36 units of rental apartments, with 8,000 square feet set aside for retail, would be built. Next door, bordering College Avenue, the preliminary plan calls for 112 units of rental housing and 4,000 square feet of retail.

Elliott said the residential portion of the project would include belowmarket-rate (BMR) housing.

There won’t be much for Menlo Park to negotiate apart from the number of BMR homes. According to Thomas Rogers, associate planner for the city, the plans appear to meet baseline requirements for development within the downtown/El Camino Real specific plan, meaning that the project would not trigger any negotiations for public benefits. It also won’t require approval beyond the Plan-

ning Commission’s signing off on the architectural details.

“We anticipate starting construction of the new project in the summer or fall of next year. Demolition of the existing buildings would need to occur before this, and this cannot begin until all of the leases have expired,” Elliott said.

Stanford and Arrillaga are working together closely, but whether the developer plans to donate the buildings to the university has not yet been decided, according to Elliott.

“Mr. Arrillaga is a very generous philanthropist who has provided great benefits to the university, as well as to the city of Menlo Park and other local community projects,” he said.

Those benefits include Menlo Park’s new multi-million-dollar gymnasium, gymnastics center and recreation center. Rogers said the city expected formal submission of the plans within the next two weeks. N Almanac Staff Writer Sandy Brundage can be emailed at sbrundage@almanacnews.com.

Upfront

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ENVIRONMENT

Palo Alto rises to the ‘Cool Cities Challenge’

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City signals its intent to combat carbon footprint one block at a time alo Alto’s next green program won’t rely on tough energy standards or strict building codes but on hundreds of volunteer teams preaching the gospel of conservation to their friends and neighbors.

The City Council on Monday, Oct. 22, voted 7-2 (Vice Mayor Greg Scharff and Councilwoman Karen Holman dissenting) to join a small pool of cities vying to take part in the Cool Cities Challenge — a three-year program that sets ambitious goals for carbon reduction and relies on widespread grassroots support to meet these goals.

The brainchild of the Empowerment Institute, the challenge would launch at three California cities and at three neighborhoods of SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil. It aims to draw participation from between 25 percent and 75 percent of residents of each participating community. The goal for the participants would be to reduce the community’s carbon footprint by 25 percent. The effort also aims to get at least 40 percent of the residents to retrofit their homes and to “stimulate green economic development around heightened demand for lowcarbon goods and services.â€?

In July, the council heard a presentation about the Cool Cities

P

TALK ABOUT IT

www.PaloAltoOnline.com Should the city participate in the Cool Cities Challenge? Share your opinion on Town Square, the community discussion forum, on Palo Alto Online.

by Gennady Sheyner Challenge from David Gershon, CEO of the Empowerment Institute and author of the book “Low Carbon Diet,� which offers tips for green living. These include turning off the car engine during stops longer than a minute; washing laundry loads with cold water; and handwashing dishes if there isn’t a full load for the dishwasher.

Other partners in the Cool Cities Challenge are the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, World Wildlife Fund, Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, and University of California at Davis.

Gershold told the council that the effort would entail engaging around 16 partner groups, including businesses and faith-based organizations, whose members and customers would be encouraged to organize the program on a block-byblock basis. Gershon called this the “whole system approach.� “It has to engage the whole set of civic groups, local businesses and local governments,� Gershon said.

The point of the Challenge is to fully develop a program that could then be scaled up and spread to other parts of the country and the world.

With its vote Monday, the council authorized City Manager James Keene to sign a “letter of intent� signaling the city’s interest in participating in the Challenge. The council majority agreed that the goal of the Cool Cities Challenge is consistent with the city’s own commitment to carbon reduction and its history of sweeping green programs. These

include the recent adoption of a carbon-neutral electric portfolio and PaloAltoGreen, a successful program that allows utilities customers to pay extra to support renewable energy sources.

But while those programs, like most of the city’s other green efforts, are top-down initiatives orchestrated by City Hall, the Cool Cities Challenge would lean heavily on residents. Participating cities would aim to achieve the carbon-reduction goals within three years. “Part of the intention is to have a large-scale, community-wide, multiyear project aimed at changing behaviors and practices at a very direct personal household level that by its nature calls for a very sustained effort,� Keene said.

Councilman Larry Klein was among those who spoke in favor of signing up for the Challenge. Klein said the city’s existing green programs tend to target “low-hanging fruit� but do little to encourage changes in individuals’ behavior. He acknowledged that getting an individual to change his or her behavior is a tall task but said that the world will not meet its critical carbon-reduction goals without these sorts of changes. “It may not succeed, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try it,� Klein said. “If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it without any problems.�

Councilwoman Gail Price concurred and called the opportunity to participate “very exciting.�

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(continued on page 9)

EDUCATION

Diverse views sought for calendar committee Student-parent group to survey community, advise on future school calendars

by Chris Kenrick

H

oping for a calmer discussion when it’s time to adopt future Palo Alto school calendars, the Board of Education Tuesday called for diverse viewpoints to be represented on a calendar advisory committee to be convened this fall.

The committee will survey students, parents and teachers about their satisfaction with controversial calendar reforms enacted this year and offer suggestions on whether those reforms should be retained in future calendars, beginning with 2014-15.

This year’s reforms, adopted in an emotional 3-2 board vote in 2011, moved the school start date to midAugust so as to squeeze in the first semester before the December holidays. That format will be in effect through 2013-14.

Supporters advocated the calendar change as a way to give students — particularly high school students — a work-free winter break, as most other public and private high schools in the area already have done.

Opponents argued that the new

calendar intrudes on traditional family time in August and creates the added stress of finals for high school students in the pre-holiday period already crowded with college admissions work and extracurricular activities.

School officials are preparing to gather data on satisfaction with the new calendar as they lay the groundwork for a board vote on future calendars, projected for November 2013.

Assistant Superintendent Scott Bowers will take applications from interested community members to compose a committee that includes four high school students, two high school parents, two middle school parents, four elementary school parents and two school administrators.

The committee will help design surveys of students, parents and staff — planned for both January and August of next year — regarding the new calendar.

In addition to diverse representation, board members asked Bowers that the committee create a list of agreed-upon values to guide the cal-

endar discussion. “Last time our process for the calendar didn’t really work. It divided the community,� board member Melissa Baten Caswell said. “We’ve got to get ahead of it this time.� N

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Upfront

Southwest

(continued from page 5)

Tweeting about it,” he recalled.

The director for worldwide engineering at Expedia.com emailed him with a job offer. Then the blogs Travel By Points and millionmilesecrets.com wrote about CheckInToMyFlight on Oct. 16 and 17.

“It blew my mind,” he said.

By this time, however, his website had caught the attention of Southwest. On Oct. 18, the airline emailed him the cease-and-desist letter.

It wasn’t a complete shock, but it

‘(My mom) told me, “You’re about to graduate. It’s time for you to do things on your own in the real world.”’

—Nikil Viswanathan still made him sad, he said. Over the life of the program, it had checked about 600 people in to their flights, with another 750 or so check-ins still in the queue.

“This has been my pet project,” Viswanathan said, noting that he wasn’t even able to use it himself, given that he hasn’t flown recently.

Nonetheless, he takes the website’s demise philosophically. He understands that he can’t violate the airline’s

user agreement. But he isn’t quite sure what to do about the people who signed onto the website and scheduled check-ins for future flights. Some of those people have set up check-ins through April 2013, he said.

“Will Southwest be OK with me honoring the existing check-ins, or do I email everyone and tell them I’m not allowed to check them in anymore?” he said.

He also wants to talk to Southwest about the legality of checking in travelers who don’t have the time and would pay to have someone do it for them, he said. If a person hired a third party to manually check him in at 24 hours — rather than using a website — would that be a violation of Southwest’s terms, he asked rhetorically.

But mostly, Viswanathan said, he just wants to “build stuff.”

He has already helped build a successful events calendar while at Stanford that is used by many students and has spread to other schools. This past summer he worked as a product manager for Facebook, and he’s previously interned in product management at Microsoft and Google.

But he turned down full-time positions at Facebook and Expedia.

Instead, he wants to create his own company and is currently focusing on building a site that helps people reach their full potential, in part by tracking their progress towards life goals, he said. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

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Firefighters

Palo Alto fire department revenues, overtime

(continued from page 3)

$1.2M

ing data in order to inform decisions. It now uses a dashboard tool so staff can monitor every component of response time by shift, station and apparatus.

“Department management evaluates this information to determine the best way to deploy staffing resources and will use this to monitor any impact that flexible staffing and other operational changes may have on response times,” the new report states.

The department’s recent emphasis on data analysis and medical response is well-embodied by its new leader. Eric Nickel, whom City Manager James Keene recently tapped to be Palo Alto’s fire chief, worked as a paramedic for 10 years and had overseen the paramedic operation for the Novato Fire Protection District, where he served as deputy chief. He will officially take the helm of the Fire Department next month.

Nickel made it clear to the committee Tuesday night that he is comfortable with data. He said he comes from a business background and was planning to become a banker before choosing to become a firefighter instead. His business skills, he said, served him well in managing operations in Novato.

“I’m all about using data to drive decisions and really going

Comparison of first quarters of fiscal years $1,060,000

Overtime costs

$1M

$866,000

$800K

$739,000

$600K

$719,000

$668,000

$565,000 $431,000

Emergency Medical Services revenue

$525,000

$400K 2009-10

2010-11

2011-12

2012-13

‘Ideally, what we’d like to have is a paramedic on every engine, every day. We think that will provide the best service to the community’ —Dennis Burns, public safety director, City of Palo Alto to the next level of using data to predict risk and predict the need for services,” Nickel said.

Committee members praised the department’s recent initiatives, with Greg Schmid offering a “big word of encouragement” for the direction in which things are

going. Committee Chair Karen Holman agreed.

“I appreciate the savings. Keep it coming,” Holman said. “As well as the efficiencies.” N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

Upfront

Cool Cities

(continued from page 7)

“This kind of a program really identifies and articulates a lot of the beliefs and values that we espouse,” Price said. “It’s a really critical opportunity.”

Vice Mayor Greg Scharff disagreed and characterized the goals of the Challenge as unrealistic. Scharff said the Challenge will likely “distract from things that can actually get done.” Getting more than 25 percent of the community to participate is an impossible task, he said, and even getting 15 percent to sign on would be a great accomplishment.

“I don’t think the community will step up with those kinds of rates. It’s not going to make sense at the end of the day,” Scharff said. “I think this is too ambitious and too unlikely to occur, so I can’t support this.”

The letter of intent from Keene touts the city’s “track record as an early adopter city,” its “desire to take on big challenges,” and its “can-do community culture.”

The letter does not, however, guarantee that the city will participate in the Cool Cities Challenge. Fundraising for the Challenge is still in progress, and cities will not formally apply until the funds are secured.

Three cities would then be selected from the pool of applicants. N

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Upfront

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by Sue Dremann ore than 2.5 years after a small plane slammed into an East Palo Alto neighborhood and cut power to Palo Alto, three lawsuits stemming from the fatal, Feb. 17, 2010, crash have been settled, according to court papers filed in San Mateo County Superior Court.

Tesla Motors employees Brian Finn, 42, Andrew Ingram, 31, and pilot Douglas Bourn, 56, were killed in the fiery crash after Bourn’s Cessna 310R clipped high-voltage power lines and a utility tower in dense fog at 7:55 a.m., then slammed into homes on Beech Street, destroying one and damaging several others.

Notices that three lawsuits were settled — with Ingram’s parents and aunt, Finn’s wife and daughter, and East Palo Alto residents Ervin and Pinkie Hudleton — were filed Sept.

4-10.

Settlement details have not been released.

Two other suits — by East Palo Alto residents Lisa Jones and Jose Cortez-Herrera — have not been settled, according to court records.

Jones’ lawsuit was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

Bourn was a senior engineer from Santa Clara; Finn a senior manager from East Palo Alto; and Ingram an engineer who lived in Palo Alto. The trio had just taken off from the Palo Alto Airport en route to Hawthorne, Calif., for a business meeting at one of Tesla’s facilities.

Air-traffic-control tapes indicated Bourn took off in heavy fog. An airtraffic controller had warned Bourn that he could not be cleared for takeoff due to the limited visibility and that flying would be at his own risk.

Bourn said he understood.

Within minutes after takeoff, the plane hit the Pacific Gas & Electric tower and power lines a half-mile northwest of the airport runway.

Parts of the aircraft then crashed into Jones’ day care center and home, the Hudletons’ carport and car, and the garage of an adjacent home. The fuselage ricocheted off a retaining wall in front of the Cortez-Herrera house and exploded in flames, singeing the home and causing smoke damage, family members said after the crash.

Investigators ruled out mechanical failure as the cause of the crash.

Pilot error was the probable cause, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined in November 2011.

On Aug. 17, 2010, the Ingrams sued Bourn’s estate and his Santa

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(continued on page 14)

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Upfront

9TH ANNUAL

EDUCATION THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8, 2012

Top high school test scores called ‘blessing and curse’ Students in Palo Alto’s 25th percentile are 75th percentile of state, nation

by Chris Kenrick op test scores were cited as a blessing and a curse Tuesday, Oct. 23, as the Palo Alto Board of Education reviewed results from the 2012 Advanced Placement, SAT and California Academic Performance Index (API) measures.

Officials said they were heartened by data suggesting some narrowing of the achievement gap between white and Asian students and those considered “underrepresented minorities,� including lowincome, Hispanic and AfricanAmerican students.

Some of the biggest API gains came among the underrepresented groups, helping to drive Palo Alto to sixth best among California’s K-12 districts. “There’s still a gap and I want to acknowledge that, but we did see growth across all these subgroups,�

T

‘Our students need to understand they live in this community where things are just really skewed in one direction.’ —Barbara Klausner, member, Board of Education school district statistician Diana Wilmot said.

But board members worried aloud that Palo Alto’s overall stellar test averages are unduly discouraging to the many strong students who do not meet them.

A student in Palo Alto’s 25th percentile on the SAT would be in the 75th percentile if measured against California or nationwide averages, according to data presented by Wilmot.

Nearly a quarter of 2012 graduates achieved recognition as National Merit semi-finalists or commended scholars — standing reserved for the top 2 percent of scorers in the nation on the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test. “How ridiculously we live in Lake Wobegon, and I really don’t think our high school students get it,� board member Barbara Klausner said. “I wish we could share this with them in some way. Our students need to understand they live in this community where things are just really skewed in one direction.�

Klausner suggested the skewed nature of the scores could be a topic for the required high school class in Living Skills, where students have discussions about “their general sense of self.�

Board President Camille Townsend said, “We live in a community where the norm isn’t the norm it is in most places. Hopefully

our students will have strengths in many ways.�

On the SAT, both performance and participation levels of Palo Alto students increased in the past five years, Wilmot said.

The number of test takers rose from 735 to 799, with the mean score in critical reading up from 625 to 635; the mean score in math up from 661 to 668; and the mean score in writing up from 630 to 642.

Parental education level was tied to student performance on the SAT, with a 2010 average for students whose parents have graduate degrees and a 1705 for students whose parents did not go beyond a high school diploma or an associate’s degree.

On the Advanced Placement tests, Wilmot reported that the number of exams taken by Palo Alto students has risen by 23 percent in the past five years, with a consistent 94 percent of students scoring 3 or higher.

More than half — 53.1 percent — of the 3,154 exams taken in 2012 earned the top score of 5.

Wilmot added that nearly threequarters of Palo Alto’s seniors have taken and passed at least one AP exam before they graduate.

She said detailed information would be posted at http://pausd. org/community/researchevaluation/ index.shtml. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@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.

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Attempted robbery on Stevens Creek Trail A pedestrian was dragged to the ground last week when a man attempted to steal his backpack while on a Mountain View portion of the Stevens Creek Trail, police said. (Posted Oct. 24 at 9:02 a.m.)

Crash on Oregon in Palo Alto holds up traffic A single-car crash that left the vehicle flipped on its roof occurred on Oregon Expressway near the Park Boulevard underpass at 3 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 23. (Posted Oct. 23 at 4:12 p.m.)

Facebook launches local community fund Here comes the best news local nonprofits might hear during a time of gutted budgets: Facebook wants to give them money. (Posted Oct. 23 at 11:12 a.m.)

Search for Walgreens robber continues It’s not Halloween yet, but that didn’t stop a man from donning a fake moustache before robbing a Walgreens in Menlo Park on Friday night, Oct. 19. (Posted Oct. 22 at 10:19 a.m.)

Workers break gas line at Foothill Expressway Workers broke a natural gas pipeline at Foothill Expressway and Hillview Avenue early Friday morning, Oct. 19, causing Palo Alto Utilities to shut the line down and police and firefighters to evacuate a nearby children’s camp. (Posted Oct. 20 at 10:57 p.m.)

Man with gunshot wounds crashes car in EPA A man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds was found at the scene of a vehicle collision in East Palo Alto late Friday night, Oct. 19, according to police. (Posted Oct. 20 at 1:02 p.m.)

Unemployment rates drop in California, Bay Area Unemployment rates fell sharply across California in September, including in the Bay Area where one county’s rate fell below 6 percent, according to a report released Friday, Oct. 19, by state employment officials. (Posted Oct. 19 at 11:36 a.m.)

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Upfront

News Digest Chi-Chang Kao named new director of SLAC An associate laboratory director at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has been named as the lab’s fifth director, Stanford University President John Hennessy announced Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Chi-Chang Kao will succeed Persis S. Drell, who announced her intention to step down from the position late last year. Kao will formally take charge on Nov. 1.

Hennessy said Kao is respected in X-ray science, is known globally for his accomplishments and is a proven leader. He came to SLAC in 2010 from Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, where he served as chairperson of the National Synchrotron Light Source. His research focuses on X-ray physics, superconductivity, magnetic materials and the properties of materials under high pressure.

A committee under the direction of Stanford Provost John Etchemendy chose Kao after a 10-month search. SLAC is operated by Stanford for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Kao’s appointment was made with agreement from Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “Chi-Chang is an excellent choice to lead SLAC at this exciting time in its history,� Chu said. “He is an outstanding scientist, and he has earned the respect of all those he has worked with at the DOE. ...

With his experience and expertise in X-ray science, Chi-Chang is the right person to set a vision for how this extraordinary machine, as well as SLAC’s other excellent facilities and its world-class scientists, can revolutionize science in the years to come.� N — Sue Dremann

Scouts files allege molestation in Palo Alto camp

The

Jean and Bill Lane

Lecture Series 2012–2013

A former maintenance director at a Boy Scouts camp based in Palo Alto is among the thousands of people accused of sexually molesting scouts over the past four decades, according to a trove of documents that Boy Scouts of America released under court orders last week.

According to the documents, Ron Wentworth was working as a camp maintenance director with Troop 31 in the summer of 1971 when several scouts reported that he was making “homosexual advances� against them. The troop was based in Camp Oljato, which was administered from Palo Alto’s Lucie Stern Community Center at 1305 Middlefield Road.

The incidents described in the report allegedly occurred between July 29 and Aug. 1 of that year and were reported by several boys from Troop 31. One of them reported that on July 29 Wentworth twice placed his hand on a scout’s genitals and, in another incident, asked a scout to sit on his lap. Two days later, as the scouts were sailing with Wentworth, he reportedly held one of the scout’s genitals and “attempted to put his hand inside his bathing suit, getting it part way in.�

The scout pushed him away.

Word of Wentworth’s advances spread among members of the troop, according to the report. By the time the leaders of Troop 31 were aware of the sexual-molestation allegations, “almost all of the Scouts in the troop were aware of what had happened and were discussing it among themselves,� the incident report states. Most scouts, it notes, “liked Ron, were sorry for him, and were afraid of him.�

Wentworth, who now lives in Kentucky, did not respond to requests for comments.

The released documents also allude to two other cases of possible sexual molestation in Palo Alto but don’t name the suspects in those cases. N — Gennady Sheyner

Man steals leaf blower in Palo Alto armed robbery Presents

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Palo Alto police are looking for a man who threatened a gardener with a knife and stole her leaf blower Monday, Oct. 22.

The gardener was working in the front yard of a house in the 900 block of Channing Avenue at about 1:40 p.m. when she noticed a man rifling through equipment in the back of her pickup truck, which was parked on the street, a police spokesman said. The gardener told the man to get out of the truck but he refused, police said. The man then took a leaf blower from the truck, at which point the woman approached him and grabbed him by the collar, according to police.

The man brandished a silver, folding knife, and the woman picked up a piece of wood from the truck, prompting the man to say, “You don’t want to do that,� police reported. The man allegedly took the leaf blower and fled in his vehicle, which was described as a dark-colored, older model Acura with front-end damage.

The man is described as Hispanic, approximately 30 to 35 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. He was wearing black jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt, had collar-length hair, a goatee and “rotten teeth,� police said. The gardener was not injured during the robbery. N — Tyler Hanley LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com

October

Upfront

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David Ramadanoff presents

A rendering shows the glassy walls of the new Apple Store at 430 University Ave., which is set to open Saturday, Oct. 27.

(continued from page 3)

helped customers who had trouble not bumping into each other.

Henriette Langdon, a San Jose State University professor, waited outside for her appointment to learn more about her new MacBook Air laptop. She said the new downtown Palo Alto store would be a welcome improvement if it offers more space and a larger Genius Bar with faster customer service. “Having a larger store will certainly improve on the backlog, especially with the holidays coming up,� she said. “I need a human being to interact with. ... Those of us who are a little older need the personal touch.�

Back at the current downtown store, Christine Bullock said she hopes for a bigger Genius Bar. “It’s always super busy,� she said.

Renovation of the new Apple building has been entertaining to watch, she said, with its sleek front all done up in black to obscure what awaits inside.

An Apple spokeswoman offered no glimpse of what customers will find when the new store opens, other than to invite the public and reporters to come to the unveiling.

There will be a commemorative Tshirt giveaway to the first 1,000 attendees, the company announced. “It’s Applesque to hide it to the last second,� said Fred Balin, a Palo Alto resident and former employee and member of the Apple Consultants Network certified by the company. He still has the commemorative T-shirt Apple gave out when the first Palo Alto store opened in 2001, he said. “The concept of the retail stores was genius. A bricks-and-mortar store in the Internet age?� he said.

The retail chain has grown to about 380 locations in 13 countries, according to Apple.

Given Apple’s growth since the first downtown store opened and its transformation from a computer company to a consumer-products megalith, Balin said he expects the new store will be “a reboot of the operating system� for its retail chain. He noted the company’s been using the word “prototype� to describe the store. “That seems to indicate it will be different,� he said. He predicts there could be a presentation area to dem-

onstrate the products.

But, he added, “I’ll miss the store (downtown) that is there now. I have some very good memories.�

The new store was designed when the late co-founder Steve Jobs was still alive, Balin said. “You can never really outguess what he was thinking. It’s hard to think of them changing things around� since Jobs died in October 2011, he said.

Balin ran into Jobs at the precursor to the Apple Store, ComputerWare, which was a chain that sold only Apple products. Before Jobs returned to Apple in the late 1990s, Balin recalled seeing him purchase

an educational program at the store. “He must’ve thought to himself, ‘I can do this so much better.’ And of course, he did.�

In addition to the downtown location, a 12,100-square-foot Apple Store is planned for Stanford Shopping Center, located near Neiman Marcus. It will be nearly 23 feet tall in a single story and features a tall glass cube with an overhang, as reported in the Palo Alto Weekly’s Shop Talk column in May. Construction is currently in the steelgirders phase. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

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Plane

(continued from page 10)

Clara company, Air Unique. The court combined their suit with the Hudletons’ and that of Finn’s wife, Sherina Yuk Chan. The three lawsuits alleged negligence on Bourn’s part for willingly taking off in the unsafe conditions and because he did not follow his flight plan. At the time of the crash, visibility was less than 1/8 mile, according to the NTSB investigation.

Bourn was supposed to make “a right turn to a heading of 060 degrees within 1 mile of the airport.”

Instead, radar data showed the plane turned 45 degrees to the left after takeoff.

In July, Bourn’s estate filed a summary-judgment motion to dismiss the lawsuit, asserting that — because Finn, Ingram and Bourn were on a business trip — their deaths were covered by Tesla’s workers’ compensation.

The estate lawyers argued that a claim of negligence is barred because the California Worker’s Compensation Act provides workers’ compensation as the exclusive remedy for injuries or death to coworkers. Zurich North America, which was handling workers’ compensation for Tesla, had already determined that compensation would be made, but as of March 3 it had been “delaying death benefits pending the result of its dependency investigation,” according

to court documents.

The summary-judgment motion was to be heard on Sept. 27. A 10day trial was scheduled for Nov. 19.

Instead, notice of settlement and a request for case dismissals were filed for the Ingrams, Chan and the Hudletons. A final hearing to show

cause for the dismissal is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2013.

The plaintiffs, their attorneys and defense attorneys for Bourn’s estate did not return calls for comment. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@paweekly.com.

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Oct. 22)

Cool Cities Challenge: The council authorized City Manager James Keene to submit a letter of intent expressing the city’s interest in participating in the Cool Cities Challenge, a three-year effort aimed at dramatically reducing carbon emissions. Yes: Burt, Espinosa, Klein, Price, Shepherd, Yeh No: Holman, Scharff Absent: Schmid Citizens United: The council directed staff to submit a letter to federal legislators expressing the city’s opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United vs. the Federal Elections Commission and asking them to support a constitutional amendment that would effectively overturn the court decision. Yes: Burt, Holman, Klein, Price, Scharff, Shepherd, Yeh No: Espinosa Absent: Schmid

Board of Education (Oct. 23)

Academic calendar: The board discussed the school district’s plans to convene a community advisory committee on the calendar taking effect in 2014-15, saying they want representation from a diversity of opinion. Action: None Medical marijuana initiative: The board adopted a resolution opposing Palo Alto Measure C, an initiative requiring Palo Alto to issue three medical marijuana dispensary permits. Yes: Unanimous

Council Policies and Services Committee (Oct. 23)

Economic policy: The committee discussed the guiding policies of the city’s Office of Economic Development and directed staff to make revisions to the proposed policy statement. Yes: Unanimous Fire Department: The committee discussed the recent and ongoing changes in the Fire Department, including a new full-time ambulance and six fewer firefighter positions. Action: None

Parks and Recreation Commission (Oct. 23) Master Plan: The commission discussed the city’s forthcoming Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the scope of the city’s request for proposals for a consultant to perform the necessary analysis for the plan. Action: None

Planning and Transportation Commission (Oct. 24)

27 University Ave.: The commission held a joint meeting with the Architectural Review Board to discuss the tentative design of the proposed “arts and innovation district” planned for 27 University Ave. The commission then held its own discussion about the project, with members expressing concern about the project’s potential traffic and parking impacts. Action: None

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council has no meetings scheduled this week.

ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ... The board plans to discuss 180 El Camino Real, a proposal by Stanford Shopping Center to make façade improvements, including a new awning and light fixtures; consider the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority flood-protection project between Highway 101 and the San Francisco Bay; and hold a study session on 27 University Ave., a proposal to build an office complex and a theater as part of a new “arts and innovation district.” The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

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Pulse

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

POLICE CALLS Palo Alto Oct. 17-23 Violence related Armed robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Arson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Child abuse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Elder abuse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Strong-arm robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Theft related Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Vehicle related Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . . . .2 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .6 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 10 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Miscellaneous Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Psychiatric subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .7 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Menlo Park Oct. 17-23 Violence related Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Vehicle related Abandoned auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .4 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Alcohol or drug related Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Miscellaneous Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Medical call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Atherton Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle related Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Births, marriages and deaths

Edward L. Mairani, 93, died Oct. 16 in Redwood City.

He was husband to Olga for 51 years, father of Michel and grandfather of Lauren, Brian and Ben. He was the uncle of Rich (Vivian) Capurro, brother-in-law of Anna D’Olivo, Milo Radulovich, the late George Radulovich, and his extended family — Lynn (John) Camacho and Lori (Phil) Thwaits.

He was preceded in death by his

Births Saileshwar and Raghavan Krishnamur of Palo Alto, a son, Oct. 12.

David and McKiernan Zwerin of Menlo Park, a son, Oct. 12.

Robert and Megan Ryskamp of Mountain View, a son, Oct. 15.

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto 600 block Arastradero Road, 10/16, 7:43 a.m.; arson.

Unlisted block Waverley Street, 10/16, 12:58 p.m.; elder abuse/neglect.

Unlisted block Welch Road, 10/17, 2 p.m.; child abuse/physical.

Unlisted block Clark Way, 10/17, 3:19 p.m.; child abuse/emotional.

3000 block El Camino Real, 10/17, 11:09 a.m.; strong-arm robbery.

3000 block El Camino Real, 10/19, 9:02 a.m.; domestic violence.

Unlisted block Thain Way, 10/19, 6:48 p.m.; domestic violence/battery.

200 block University Avenue, 10/21, 1:34 p.m.; strong-arm robbery.

300 block University Avenue, 10/21, 7:57 p.m.; strong-arm robbery.

900 block Channing Avenue, 10/22, 1:40 p.m.; armed robbery.

Unlisted block Channing Avenue, 10/22, 4:45 p.m.; child abuse/emotional.

Menlo Park

Oct. 17-23

Transitions Edward L. Mairani

Alcohol or drug related Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Miscellaneous Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Juvenile problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .6 Suspicious person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Town ordinance violation . . . . . . . . . . . .8

parents, Antonio and Emma Mairani; and siblings, Harry and Lolita (Sil).

In retirement he enjoyed gardening, cooking, washing his car, socializing with his coffee buddies and neighbors, rooting his San Francisco sports teams on, and watching his grandchildren grow into adulthood. He was a U.S. Navy Veteran of World War II and a resident of Atherton.

Lasting Memories An online directory of obituaries and remembrances.

PaloAltoOnline.com/ obituaries

Sumiko Washino Sumida Sumida, Sumiko Washino was born to Shimeta and Shino Washino on April 1, 1925 in Sacramento, California, and quietly passed away on September 8, 2012, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

She worked for U.S. Geological Survey and Varians, and was a longtime resident of Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

She is survived by her son, Jon Tetsuro Sumida(Jan), daughter, Julie Sumida, and six grandchildren: Madeline and Lauren Sumida, Monte Jr., Ori, Taj, and Marcus Kawahara (Cherie). Also, survived

by Taz(Washino)/Moto Takahashi, Sadayo (Washino)/Riki Kumagai, Kaz/Connie Washino, Marshall/Misa Sumida and Yohko (Sumida)/Dan Matsumoto and many nieces and nephews.

Please send all donations to : KIMOCHI HOME, 1531 Sutter Street, San Francisco CA., or Northern Japan Earthquake Relief Fund, c/o JCCCNC (Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California), 1840 Sutter Street, San Francisco, Ca. 94115.

PA I D

O B I T UA RY

600 block Santa Cruz Avenue, 10/19, 7:40 p.m.; robbery.

1100 block Del Norte Avenue, 10/20, 10:27 a.m.; battery.

1100 block Willow Road, 10/20, 4:02 p.m.; robbery.

Unlisted block Chico Street, 10/23, 7:56 a.m.; assault.

Charles N. Fifer Stanford Emeritus Professor Charles N. Fifer was born in 1922 in Evanston, Illinois. Charles was educated at New Trier High School, Northwestern University, and Yale University, where he wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the correspondence of James Boswell.

During World War II he served with the 34th Infantry Division in Italy and France. In 1955 he married Norma Crow, a fellow English teacher who later taught for many years at Crystal Springs Uplands School in Hillsborough, CA. Charles taught at Iowa State, Lawrence University, the University of Illinois, and at Stanford from 1956 until his retirement in 1991. In addition to teaching courses in 18th century literature, which he once described as “one of the less inhabited periods,” he was for many years the Director of Freshman English, a program that served the whole university by ensuring that every undergraduate had competent writing skills.

Among his many publications are James Boswell’s Correspondence with Members of the Club and an edition of the George Farquhar’s The Beaux Stratagem.

He is survived by his niece, Meg Rottman and nephew, Jim Rottman.

PA I D

OBITUARY

Joshua Z. Bartel Joshua Zvi Bartel, 29, a resident of Atherton, California, died suddenly on October 12, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Josh was a graduate of St. Joseph’s School and Menlo School in Atherton. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 2005.

Josh’s many interests and passions included chess, literature, Philosophy, music. A brilliant and witty writer, he co-founded the student journal Diskord at the University of Chicago and was a contributing editor to the college humor site, Points in Case. He was involved in creative writing through UC’s extension classes. Born in Stanford on November 23 1982, our

beloved Josh is survived by his parents Janice Ross and Keith Bartel and younger sister Maya Bartel and grandmother Helena Brandt.

In addition to his loving family, Josh will be greatly missed by his many relatives and friends. Sensitive to the beauty of language and its power in capturing emotion, Josh wrote recently about human contradictions and limitations by quoting his favorite line of poetry, Rainer Marie Rilke’s opening of Duino Elegies: “And who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angelic orders?”

A private funeral service was held October 16 at Hills of Eternity Cemetery, Colma.

PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Eve Marion Agiewich April 4, 1944 – Oct. 13, 2012 Eve Agiewich, 68, died at her Palo Alto home on Saturday, October 13, 2012. She was born in New York City and moved to Palo Alto in 1978.

An attorney and lifelong advocate for others, Eve once described her background: “I was raised in a household that believed, implicitly, in the worth of every human being, in equality, and in the right of every person to be treated with dignity and fairness…

Social action was in the water I drank.”

After closing her Silicon Valley law practice in 2000, Eve worked with Clara Mateo Alliance – a shelter for homeless families and adults. She also served on the board of the Community Working Group, helping to create Palo Alto’s Opportunity Center. In 2009 she was named a Peninsula Interfaith

Action Local Hero. Her most recent position was Director of the Fatherhood Collaborative of San Mateo County.

When not working, Eve passionately pursued travel, photography, reading and hiking.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 34 years, Arnold R. Agiewich. Eve leaves behind her daughter Erica Agiewich, son-in-law Miles Davis, grandchildren Owen and Adele Davis, all of Palo Alto; her daughter Rebecca Agiewich, son-in-law David Taylor of Seattle; and her brother Norman Tischler of Cleveland, Ohio.

Contributions in Eve’s memory can be made to: The Opportunity Center in Palo Alto http://communityworkinggroup. org/ocdonate.html, Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills http://www.betham.org/ give or a charity of the donor’s choice.

PA I D

OBITUARY

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Editorial Yes on Measure A

S

anta Clara County has been whipsawed by the economic downturn and the state’s perennial budget crises. When funding runs short for state-supported safety-net programs that serve low-income residents, legislators pass the problem down to county governments, who at the same time are overburdened by more residents who need services just to survive. It is a vicious cycle and while the county has shed almost 1,800 employees and slashed its budget by more than $2 billion, visits to the Valley Medical Center in San Jose rose more than 200,000 in the last 10 years, and people looking for housing assistance tripled.

The county is doing all it can to meet demand, but it has run out of options. We agree with supporters of Measure A who say that the answer is for voters to approve a one-eighth-cent sales-tax increase that would last for 10 years and provide $50 million a year to help the county come closer to breaking even. The increase would bring the county’s sales-tax levy to 8.5 percent, of which 7.25 percent goes to the state.

If passed, the tax would give the county a way to replace some of the dollars lost to cuts by the state and federal governments for health and public-safety programs. One in four county residents use services offered by the Valley Medical Center, including care in the burn and trauma centers. And thousands of low-income children in the Healthy Kids Program will continue to be covered by health insurance if the measure passes.

All county residents need to pitch in and help keep these essential services afloat. We urge a Yes vote on Measure A.

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Berman will bring value Editor, The next Palo Alto City Council needs to make significant progress in erasing our city’s infrastructure deficit. The Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission Report tackled that $300 million problem, laid out the issues and options in its January report, the City Council and Staff embraced that report, and now the heavy lifting begins. One candidate in the coming election, Marc Berman, was a member of that commission. He knows the challenge from the inside out, appreciates its complexity, and knows what it will take to manage it with persistence, judgment and determination.

We believe that, even without his deep knowledge of Palo Alto’s infrastructure challenge, Marc would be an outstanding candidate. With it, he’ll be a major asset on the council and for our community.

Ray Bacchetti, Le Levy Co-chairs, Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission

Yes on Measure B

I

n most years voters wouldn’t blink at approving a request to simply continue a parcel tax that costs homeowners now just over $50 a year. But getting the required two-thirds voter support for Measure B that will benefit the Santa Clara Valley Water District could be a challenge, in part due to the district board’s record of overpaying directors and senior staff. With a new CEO, reforms are underway and a board majority is pushing for more changes.

The proposed uses for Measure B funds show good judgment, and when the designated projects are completed will help make sure our water supply and the health of our creeks are in good shape. And various flood-control projects, including improvements along San Francisquito Creek around the Chaucer Street bridge in Palo Alto, would be in line for funding as well.

By assuring a steady source of parcel-tax income beyond 2016, the district will continue eligibility for federal dollars that could be lost if a vote was delayed until 2014. The original measure was passed in 2000. One of the major projects on the urgent to-do list is seismic work on the Anderson Dam, part of the county’s largest reservoir. It is paramount that this work be completed soon, as it is vulnerable to damage from an earthquake in the region.

Continuation of this parcel tax would raise more than $500 million over 15 years, although it will not increase the amount of annual taxes paid by residents. We believe the district has made a good case for continuing this tax and urge voters to approve Measure B.

Dauber: positive change Editor, Ken Dauber, a software engineer and former sociology professor, brings expertise to the PAUSD race.

With very strong research, data analysis, critical thinking and communication skills, he understands educational research and innovative practices. He has already contributed to an improved homework policy, a modified calendar and a stronger, more comprehensive examination of counseling models that really work for students — all related to reducing student stress.

He is reflective and sensitive to detail and nuance and recognizes

Other recommendations: Palo Alto School Board (See editorial published Oct. 12)

Melissa Baten Caswell (i) Ken Dauber Heidi Emberling

Palo Alto City Council (See editorial published Oct. 5)

Marc Berman Pat Burt (i) Liz Kniss Greg Schmid (i) (i) = incumbent

Foothill-DeAnza College Board

State Senate Jerry Hill (D)

Joan Barram (i) Betsy Bechtel (i) Laura Casas Frier (i)

U. S. Congress Anna Eshoo (D)

County Board of Education

Palo Alto Measure C (marijuana dispensaries)

Grace Mah (i)

No (See editorial published Sept. 14)

State Assembly Rich Gordon (D) (i)

State Propositions (See editorial published Oct. 19)

31 32 33 34 35

(Sales & income tax increase) (Political reform package) (Bans political payroll deductions) (Ends death penalty) (Penalties for human trafficking)

Yes Yes No Yes Yes

36 37 38 39 40

(Revises Three Strikes law) (Food labeling) (School tax measure) (Fix tax loophole) (Redistricting)

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Yes No Yes Yes Yes

that current practices need to address the academic and social needs of all students, including the achievement of students of color.

Ken recognizes that current decisions shape education for the future.

He advocates positive change and speaks directly to the issues.

He raises concerns and proposes solutions; he has a high level of integrity and engagement. This will enrich the quality of discussions and outcomes.

Vote for Ken Dauber for School Board.

Gail A. Price Former School Board member Palo Alto City Council member

Dauber is ‘collegial’ Editor, It’s too bad Walt Hays, who I otherwise respect, has chosen to sink to negative characterizations of other candidates to promote his candidate, Ms. Townsend (Letter to the Editor, Oct. 19, 2012). Does Ms. Townsend have so few personal accomplishments in her nine years on the board other than “collegiality” that Mr. Hays and her other supporters must resort to tearing down another candidate to promote their own?

If Mr. Hays had taken the time to meet Mr. Dauber personally (he has not) he would understand what those of us who have worked with Mr. Dauber know. On top of being smart, articulate and full of constructive ideas, Ken Dauber is thoughtful, cordial and polite.

Challenging the status quo and pointing to areas where the board or superintendent has fallen down on the job does not mean someone cannot work congenially with colleagues. To state otherwise is a red herring intended to distract people from judging their candidate on her own merit.

Voters should believe what they have seen and heard in public, not the caricatures presented by opposing candidates’ followers. The Weekly got it right in endorsing Ken Dauber, and he will be an outstanding School Board Trustee.

Wynn Hausser El Centro Street Palo Alto

‘Bye quiet neighborhoods Editor, The Palo Alto Planning Department has recently reinterpreted the Palo Alto Noise Code, to allow noise levels on residential streets and sidewalks that normally would only be allowed in public areas, such as, parks. This was done to permit AT&T to install its noisy Distributed Antenna System (DAS) equipment on telephone poles in residentially zoned neighborhoods.

The residential noise code limits

noise to no more than 6 decibels above ambient at the residential property line. Four months ago, in an email to me, the Planning Department agreed that this 6-decibel noise standard also applied to noise generated on sidewalks and streets in a residential area. Now, because of pressure from AT&T, that decision has been reversed.

The Planning Department now says someone can come to the sidewalk in front of a residential property, and they are limited by only the public area noise standard, which is 15 decibels above ambient at 25 feet, even when that 25 feet is completely on the residential property. This new noise code interpretation would allow someone on the sidewalk in front of a residence to make as much noise as a noisy vacuum cleaner.

They could do this 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

I find this new interpretation of the Palo Alto noise code unbelievable and completely contrary to the intent of the noise code.

If this new interpretation of the noise code is allowed to stand, we can all say goodbye to our quiet residential neighborhoods.

Tony Kramer Ferne Avenue Palo Alto

Biking on sidewalks Editor, A recent letter complained about a bicyclist riding on the sidewalk on Homer from Alma Street to Whole Foods and suggested that it is illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk in Palo Alto. It isn’t illegal except on short stretches of a few streets (e.g., University Avenue in the downtown area). It is, however, illegal to ride a bicycle on Homer when going from Alma to Whole Foods as that street is one way in the opposite direction.

The bicyclist in question might have gone through the Caltrain undercrossing at Homer and either didn’t want to go a block out of his way or didn’t feel comfortable riding on Alma Street.

Regardless, he shouldn’t have made a pedestrian feel uncomfortable while walking on a sidewalk, but he might have been more willing to use the road if drivers behaved better. This morning, for example, I saw a driver first tailgate another vehicle on Charleston and then use the bike lane as a passing lane, apparently because of a pressing need to reach the red light a few hundred yards ahead in as little time as possible. Let’s just say that such behavior does not inspire confidence.

Bill Zaumen Clara Drive Palo Alto

Check out Town Square!

Hundreds of local topics are being discussed by local residents on Town Square, a reader forum sponsored by the Weekly on our community website at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Post your own comments, ask questions, read the Editor’s blog or just stay up on what people are talking about around town!

Guest Opinion

Is Palo Alto prepared to deal with the Big One?

by Divya Saini ANG! The entire house went dark. I stumbled around my room, disoriented, not knowing what had happened. I looked out the window and stared at the pitch-black block in front of me. The power had gone out.

I found myself asking why the power had disappeared so abruptly. Don’t we live in Palo Alto? This sort of thing never happens here. Appalled, I blindly rummaged through the cupboards, as boxes fell on me, until I finally found a flashlight. The batteries, however, were nowhere to be found.

In the midst of the darkness my father opened his laptop to use the screen as a flashlight when a warning sign popped up on his laptop reminding him of the 10 percent battery remaining. Our phones were dead without electricity, and my brother had just tumbled down half the stairs while questioning frantically about whether he needed to “stop, drop and roll” or “drop, cover and hold.” I picked him up as the rest of the family went on a quest in search of a Band-Aid, which we were never able to find.

Then, there was a loud knock on our door.

My mother and father went silent; I felt a cringe of fear creeping into my stomach.

All three of us huddled together, my father in front, as we approached the door.

The knocking continued. It grew more frantic. We stood by our door, not knowing

B

what to do as we heard a woman wailing on the other side. My mom slowly creaked opened the door as we realized that the lady was our neighbor from across the street.

In between the mix of her anxiety attack of nervous shaking and later her inconsolable sobbing, the discombobulated lady expressed her fear that we were in the midst of a terrorist attack.

The power came back on four or five hours later, and eventually, we all laughed about it, but it was during the moments of the incident that a new reality dawned on me.

This time it had been a simple power outage, but what if it had been an earthquake?

What if buildings had collapsed and people had been hurt? We surely wouldn’t have been able to call 911, and thanks to our ignorance of these dangers, we wouldn’t have had a simple first-aid kit. What would we have eaten for the next couple days? These questions continued as my mind went wild with these “what ifs.”

Because of this experience, I got interested, and soon, deeply immersed in learning more about preparedness. I gathered legions of information and learned ways to proactively prepare for an emergency. I started by preparing my household and moved on to preparing my neighborhood.

When I started working with the community, my efforts were quickly recognized. At the beginning of this year, I was nominated and selected to serve on FEMA’s first federal National Youth Preparedness Council. I am one of 13 teens across the nation serving on this board and am representing Region 9 of the United States, which includes California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, Guam and

the American Samoa.

During my first Youth Preparedness Council Meeting in Washington, D.C., earlier this year, I found myself surrounded by like-minded teen advocates. There was, however, a key difference between the rest of the board members and myself. During our various discussions, they would recount stories about times when their communities had gotten through hurricanes and tornadoes, wildfires and floods. They recounted events of their families pulling out their emergency supplies, setting up shelters, providing first aid, eating and drinking from their emergency supplies, and the list went on. I found myself unable to say anything remotely similar about Palo Altans. Although natural disasters can strike anywhere at anytime, I realized that, as Palo Altans, we are blessed to be able to live without the constant worry of when the next hurricane or blizzard would strike.

I forced myself to believe that this was the reason that Palo Altans weren’t investing in preparedness efforts. Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this excuse wasn’t adequate because we practically live on the San Andreas fault, in one of the most earthquake-prone areas in the entire world.

Living in an area with an immensely high earthquake probability, which practically ensures a high-impact earthquake, I came to the conclusion that the only thing hindering Palo Altans from taking a step in preparedness was their immensely fast-paced, regimented lives. People simply don’t have the time to take a moment and to think about preparedness. It is from 8 a.m.- 6 p.m. work days that I noticed my parents coming home

to then go on to drop us to piano lessons, art classes and play dates. My brother’s 6 p.m. soccer game, my father’s 6:30 presentation, 7 dinner, and the 8-11 p.m. after-work that left my family, and almost every other, with absolutely no time to think about disaster preparedness. It was almost impossible for us to see the bigger picture, to see that we were putting and living our lives in danger.

It was an accomplishment to get everything done during the day, and beyond that, we simply didn’t see anything else.

There is no doubt in my mind that Palo Altans are supportive and caring people because I am witness to the countless numbers of them donating and helping with the relief efforts whenever disasters strike around the world. Yet I want people to understand that they need to help themselves, as well. I want people to know that the disaster doesn’t always strike somewhere else.

I want to motivate the community to invest in personal preparedness, and to make time to prepare before any disaster strikes. After all, wouldn’t it be better to be prepared, and for the disaster to never strike, than for the disaster to strike and to not be prepared?

In my next column I will discuss the simple four-step process that anybody can follow to become prepared. The process has been made as simple as possible, and only needs willing participants to subscribe and to invest time in becoming prepared proactively.

Let’s work together. Let’s make a change.

Let’s have a plan. Let’s become prepared. N Divya Saini is a junior at Gunn High School and a member of FEMA’s first federal National Youth Preparedness Council.

Streetwise

What are your plans for Halloween?

Asked on Cambridge Avenue. Interviews and photographs by Haiy Le.

Joy Scott

Retired librarian Lathrop Place “I am a volunteer for the United Nations and have been handing out UNICEF trick-or-treat boxes to children.”

Deborah Goldeen

Riding instructor Birch Street “I will be baking cookies and handing them out to kids.”

Vic Befera

High Street Retired public-relations executive “I was invited to a neighborhood party.”

Karen Ratzlaff

Chimalus Drive Writer “Passing out lots of candy.”

James Witt

Developer Roble Ridge Road “My Stanford teacher is having class and I’ll be showing her a trick. ... “

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Cover Story

by Chris Kenrick

Stanford University President John Hennessey likened the latest wave of online education to a tsunami that could dramatically change the world of education.

A

s surely as it crashed over the publishing and music industries, the Internet is inexorably remaking the world of education.

Stanford University President John Hennessy has likened the latest wave of online education — from simple video lectures to entire degrees earned online — to a tsunami.

“What I told my colleagues is there’s a tsunami coming,” he said recently. “I can’t tell you exactly how it’s going to break, but my goal is to try to surf it, not to just stand there.”

Though Stanford and others have dabbled in distance learning for decades, recent advances have dramatically improved the student experience, making it more interactive and unleashing a torrent of renewed interest in online courses.

The global press took note when more than 100,000 people around the world signed up last fall in each of three free, online Stanford courses in computer science and artificial intelligence.

Those Stanford classes were the most powerful demonstrations yet of the latest buzzword in higher education: “MOOC,” which stands for “massive, open, online courses.”

Despite the many unknowns, major universities began flocking to join MOOC startups like Palo Alto-based Coursera and Cambridge, Mass.-launched edX, which allow them to offer courses to tens or hundreds of thousands of students. Another Palo Alto startup, Udacity, aims to enroll

mass numbers in courses such as Introduction to Computer Science, Introduction to Physics, Introduction to Statistics and Algorithms.

Stanford, not surprisingly, is in the thick of it, with two of the major, for-profit players — Coursera and Udacity — founded by Stanford professors.

And within Stanford itself, more than 40 faculty members recently applied — and half received funding — for grants to advance efforts in online teaching.

“The level of interest from the faculty has been building steadily,” said Computer Science Professor John Mitchell, recently tapped by Hennessy to become vice-provost for online learning.

“There is nothing top-down about this. ... There is something of a start-up mood all across campus. And many faculty members really want to get the message out to potential students around the world.”

Stanford’s schools of business, engineering and medicine all have recently appointed associate deans to expand e-learning.

“MOOCs are not necessarily the best or only model for Stanford,” Mitchell told the faculty in June.

“There are many possible models, so we all need to become techliterate and figure out what’s best for us.”

Another major player in global online education is also local — the Mountain View-based nonprofit Khan Academy, which offers education at the K-12 as well as the university level.

Khan already has reached more than 6 million individual students

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around the world and has ridden a wave of acclaim — including strong backing from Bill Gates and Google — in the past two years.

MIT and Harvard also have weighed in to cosponsor another startup, the nonprofit edX, which the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas recently joined.

‘My goal is to try to surf it, not to just stand there.’

– John Hennessy, president, Stanford University The allure of online higher education comes down in no small part to economics — the dream of delivering quality education at a much lower price per head.

That lower cost comes in the form of reaching large numbers of people, said Daniel Schwartz, a professor at Stanford’s School of Education.

Coursera reports that it has 1.7 million enrolled students, while around 100,000 people logged into their Udacity accounts each week this summer, according to Udacity co-founder David Stavens.

“I think one of the great appeals is that (online education) can bring a lot to scale,” Schwartz said.

Stavens points to the rising cost of education and levels of student debt in creating the need for a lower-cost alternative.

From 2002 to 2012, in-state tu-

ition for the University of California rose from $3,800 to $12,200, while non-resident tuition increased from $14,900 to $36,000.

California State University tuition rose from $2,070 to $6,518 over the same period of time.

And according to the federal government’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, outstanding student-loan debt surpassed $1 trillion in 2011.

“I think (online education) makes sense given where technology is, and I think it has to happen due to where (student) debt is in the United States today,” Stavens said.

Besides lowering costs, online education could also change the quality and nature of higher education itself. A student who’s now little more than a passive number in a 300-plus lecture course in a state university could — in theory, at least — get a much more personalized experience taking the same class online, given the rise of interactive tools.

“Flipping the classroom” — having students absorb information online at home and then using classroom time, if there is any, for more creative and engaging pursuits that build on the material — also could fundamentally alter the experience of higher education.

Online learning also holds the appeal of democratizing education by providing poor people in any village the opportunity to “rub minds” with the most brilliant professors on the planet.

“There’s unique talent in places like Mongolia and Ghana,” said Daphne Koller, a professor of engi-

neering at Stanford and cofounder of Coursera.

Noting that students in some of those places are getting top scores in online classes, she added: “This is helping us identify some of the world’s best talent to come here (to Stanford).”

In spite of the promises of online education, many urge caution about premature adoption. Former Princeton University President William Bowen — once a skeptic who gradually has become a convert to the quality of online educational outcomes — delivered two lectures at a recent series at Stanford aimed at taking a critical look at the newest move toward online courses.

He stressed that more evidence is needed on academic outcomes and cost effectiveness despite thousands of studies of online learning — most of which he said had flaws.

However, Bowen recently completed a small study at Carnegie Mellon University that persuaded him online classes can produce learning outcomes equivalent to those in traditional classrooms.

Overall, universities shouldn’t be defensive and should be open to experimentation with the new, he said, though there’s a danger people will rush to embrace online learning before it’s fully tested.

Andrew Delbanco, director of American Studies at Columbia University and author, most recently, of “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be,” likewise urged caution. (continued on page 22)

Photo illustration: Paul Llewellyn

Will e-learning overtake – or improve – traditional higher education?

Cover Story

Veronica Weber

David Stavens, co-founder of Udacity, stands in the company’s Palo Alto office. Stavens said the goal of the company, which he co-founded 2011, is to “disrupt higher education.”

The disrupters — or the amplifiers?

Palo Alto Internet startups’ new style of education could turn traditional universities upside down

by Bryce Druzin

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becoming a stand-alone university.

“We believe the best teaching lies at existing universities,” they said, adding that schools could benefit from using a “flipped classroom model” in which students watch lectures on their own time and use class time to ask questions and solve problems.

The companies’ relationships with universities further amplify their different visions.

While Udacity hires professors who teach their courses at schools such as Stanford and the University of Virginia, it has no official relationships with any colleges.

Coursera, on the other hand, currently has formal agreements to offer classes from 33 schools, including Stanford, Duke University, University of Michigan and Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Both companies’ founders were involved in and inspired by the popularity of three online computerscience classes Stanford offered for free in the autumn of 2011.

Udacity co-founder Thrun, known for his work developing self-driving cars at Google and Stanford, taught the artificial intelligence class.

Stavens, who helped Thrun put the class online, said they expected to get a few hundred students.

“About 160,000 enrolled in over 195 countries,” Stavens said, “and then we really saw the opportunity to offer massive, open, online classes.”

At the same time, Ng was teaching the machine-learning course, which he said had 100,000 students.

Given the background of the founders, it isn’t surprising that computer science features heavily in both companies’ course offerings. Sixty-seven of Coursera’s 200 courses and 15 of Udacity’s 18 classes are in the subject.

‘I can really appreciate that I can pause and rewind the professor.’

– Emanuele Santoro, student, Coursera and Udacity Corbin Tarrant, an independent technology consultant from Michigan, said he has completed courses at both Coursera and Udacity.

Both sites have been an improvement over his experience taking online courses at DeVry University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems in 2006, he said.

“There’s better technology; browsers have improved,” Tarrant said.

“There weren’t even lecture videos on the DeVry online courses. ... It’s a more varied experience.”

He has considered going back to school to earn a second bachelor’s or master’s degree. But for now he’s chosen Udacity, Coursera and other online education like P2PU.org because he “saw the potential to learn all this stuff without spending tons on tuition.”

And for now the lack of credentialing isn’t a huge concern for him.

“The particular classes I’ve been taking have been to improve my

The enthusiasts For digital natives, online experience more natural, interactive than large lecture hall

E

ighteen-year-olds these days will tell you they actually prefer to text each other than talk on the phone or meet for coffee, said Daphne Koller, Stanford University professor of engineering.

For such digital natives, serious learning online can be more natural and effective than older folks, steeped in traditional notions, may fully grasp.

Koller, along with Associate Professor of Computer Science Andrew Ng, this year launched Coursera, which aims to offer the best courses from the best universities for free to anyone in the world who wants it.

So far — even without any clear revenue model — 33 U.S. and overseas universities have signed up, with some 200 course offerings.

“That notion of ‘rubbing minds’ should not be something that we presume, because of the way we were brought up, can only happen in face-to-face situations,” Koller said.

The latest push in online learning differs from earlier ones, she said, because advances in social media and interactivity mean it’s a completely new paradigm — not just an effort to replicate classroom instruction on the web.

Students in a class can connect with each other physically, by forming geographically based study groups, or virtually by posing questions to the group online.

Even if a question is posed at 3 a.m., massive enrollments mean that someone somewhere is likely to be awake and working on the same question.

Median response time to questions posed to class groups was recently measured at 22 minutes — “not the level of service I’ve ever offered to my Stanford students,” Koller said in a June talk.

For faculty, online teaching enables a better understanding

of exactly where students are struggling — and the ability to provide targeted assistance — through the use of computer analysis of student keystrokes, she said.

As for grading, machines are sophisticated enough to measure mastery of things like mathematical expressions and derivations, financial models and programming assignments.

For the critical thinking work needed in the humanities and social sciences, peer grading has shown promise — and is being used in Coursera.

Finally, students completing a class can get a certificate, which they can present to educational institutions for possible credit, or to employers for a better job.

Koller admits online learning may never replace the intimacy of a 10-person, face-to-face seminar with a top professor.

But it could be a vastly superior experience for the millions of students currently sitting passively in large lecture halls, she argued.

“They’d get a lot more interaction with both the material and with their fellow students by being in this online system, where they’re interacting with each other on a constant basis” she said.

Online education also holds promise for places like community colleges, where hundreds of thousands of students get put on waiting lists for core classes.

It also could be an efficient remedy for the resources currently allocated to remedial education for college students in core subjects like math and English.

If students could enter college with these courses already under their belts through online learning, “it would be a huge win in increasing completion rates.”

The “new paradigm” of online (continued on next page)

Courtesy of Coursera

nline-education companies Udacity and Coursera have their similarities: Both are for-profit, private Palo Alto businesses that offer free, online college-level courses. And both companies’ founders have ties to Stanford University and backgrounds in computer science.

But the two businesses have different long-term visions for how they fit into the larger educational universe.

“We’re really trying to disrupt higher education,” said David Stavens, who co-founded Udacity in June 2011 with Sebastian Thrun and Mike Sokolsky.

Stavens, who has a doctorate in computer science from Stanford, said top-tier universities offer a valuable experience for those who can afford it but that “there are many institutions, particularly down-market institutions, that charge fantastic fees for education but then deliver a substandard education.”

While Udacity is focusing on skill-building courses such as computer science in the short term, the company has greater ambitions, Stavens said.

“Down the road ... we aspire to be a complete university, offer courses in every discipline and then degrees,” he said.

Coursera co-founders Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng, both current Stanford computer science professors, struck a more accommodating tone than Stavens.

“Our goal is to broaden access to higher education for anyone with a computer and an Internet connection, not to displace existing universities,” Koller and Ng wrote in a joint email.

And unlike Udacity, Coursera does not have the long-term goal of

Stavens said constant innovations in technology made the courses relevant even for people who already have gone to college.

“I have three degrees in computer science, and in all honesty my skills are already out of date because the last time I took a class the iPhone didn’t exist,” Stavens said.

Despite being competitors, Stavens said Udacity benefits from the established institutions’ involvement with Coursera and from Harvard’s and MIT’s joint edX nonprofit because they raise the credibility of online learning.

But he expressed skepticism that brick-and-mortar institutions built on “high fees and exclusivity” would ever offer credentials or degrees for online work, which would cost a fraction of the tuition paid by on-campus students. Doing so would undermine their own business models.

“If you want to fundamentally change education, you have to be prepared to certify your students. ...

Industries very rarely disrupt themselves from the inside,” he said.

Currently, both Coursera and Udacity offer electronic certificates to students who complete courses, but neither can verify the identity of the person taking the online final exam. Udacity recently signed an agreement with testing center company Pearson VUE to allow students to take tests in physical testing centers. Stavens said the ability to verify the identity of the test taker will make it hard to dispute the validity of a student’s exam results.

Udacity’s business model is based on generating revenue from referrals of students to potential employers.

Koller and Ng said that while Coursera is not currently enacting revenue-generating strategies, it is also considering implementing an employer-referral system.

Coursera co-founders Daphne Killer and Andrew Ng speak at a company barbecue this summer.

(continued on next page)

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Cover Story

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SHAPING THE LEADERS OF TOMORROW

Tsunami (continued from page 20)

He spoke in response to Bowen and said that the key questions to ask about the rush to online courses are “What will be destroyed, and what will be innovated?�

Tsunamis, he noted, are not known for their selectivity.

A large percentage of America’s college students attend overcrowded, underfunded community colleges or state institutions, he said.

If the online tsunami can wash away obstacles to educational attainment — and barriers to learning once students get to college — it could be a great plus, he acknowledged.

But other possible consequences to learning are more ominous, Delbanco said.

Massive online courses could accelerate a rush to a star system, in which the top professors attract a global following of hundreds of thousands of students.

For other faculty members — those teaching languages in particular — “the prospect is for near or total obsolescence.

“Your French teacher may be a version of Siri on your smartphone,� he said.

Delbanco also worries that the pressure for revenue in the plethora of online education startups could result in shortcuts that reduce quality, making it “hard to retain the high-mindedness� that characterizes the elite pioneers of online education at places like Stanford.

‘There’s unique talent in places like Mongolia and Ghana.’ – Daphne Koller, cofounder, Coursera. “So far, universities have done little to define conflicts of interest in this brave new world that’s already upon us,� he said.

Delbanco also is skeptical about the quality of humanities education that a student can experience while sitting alone with a laptop — the same venue in which he simultaneously could be shopping, chatting with friends and even surfing for

porn.

He worries about the future of teacher-student interaction — the kind that happens when a professor gets to know a student face to face in a class over time. “Maybe it will be possible to preserve that experience ... but I’m not convinced,� he said. “I’m not convinced there’s anything sequential about humanistic knowledge or learning.�

In an 1838 address to graduates of the Harvard Divinity School, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Truly speaking, it is not instruction, but provocation, that I can receive from another soul.� “I don’t think we can emphasize too much this distinction between instruction and provocation, facts versus knowledge, discipline versus inspiration, information versus insight,� Delbanco said. “A true education values and entails both.� N Freelance writer Bryce Druzin contributed to this article. Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.

Private Preschool through 8th Grade 30 years of academic excellence in a family friendly environment

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Saturday, November 3rd - 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

www.LACS.com RSVP: LaSha.Heard@lacs.com ĂˆĂ“xĂŠ >}`>Â?i˜>ĂŠ Ă›iÂ˜Ă•i]ĂŠ ÂœĂƒĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂƒĂŠUĂŠĂˆx䰙{n°ÎÇÎn

Veronica Weber

Clark Downer, center, a video editor for Udacity, edits a lecture on parallel programming.

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skills as a programmer and get more programming jobs. ... I don’t really need a degree for that if I can show people what I’m doing,� he said.

Emanuele Santoro, a 20-year-old software developer in Italy, has also taken courses from both companies.

Enthusiasts

(continued from previous page)

!

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education is still in its infancy and will get more technically sophisticated with time, she said.

Koller is little troubled by the high attrition rates in massive online courses. “The ones who intend to audit the class — they’re just there to watch

“I can really appreciate that I can pause and rewind the professor,� he wrote in an email.

He said Coursera has an advantage over Udacity in terms of number of courses taught but that he found Udacity courses more engaging. “I see professors taking part (in the online) forum very often,� he wrote.

Besides offering more classes, Coursera has received more money

Freelance writer Bryce Druzin can be emailed at bdruzin.writer@ gmail.com.

the videos — I think that’s just fine,� she said.

For people who indicate they do intend to take the class by virtue of submitting the first assignment, retention is 20 to 40 percent — better than retention rates in many forprofit institutions where students have paid to attend, she said. “I think the dropout rate is not a bad thing because it allows people risk-free exploration,� she said.

“People say, ‘That sounds cool’ and they enroll and it doesn’t cost anything. They try it for a week and then they say, ‘This is harder than I thought,’ or ‘This is easier than I thought,’ or ‘This actually involves math.’ “That’s for the best because they’ve been able to identify both their interest and their level of readiness.� N — Chris Kenrick

from investors than Udacity. New Enterprise Associates and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers have provided $18.5 million in Series A funding, Koller and Ng said.

Udacity has received $5 million from Charles River Ventures, according to Stavens. N

Cover Story CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Palo Alto City Council will hold a public hearing at the special Council meeting on Tuesday, November 13, 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 Site and Design Application and Record of Land Use Action for the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority's (JPA) Initial Flood Protection Project (Highway 101 to San Francisco Bay), Adoption of a Park Improvement Ordinance for Modifications to the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course and the John Fletcher Byxbee Recreation Area, and consideration of Final EIR certified by San Francisquito Creek JPA. DONNA J. GRIDER, MMC City Clerk

COMMUNITY MEETING James Tensuan

Foothill College students work in the Los Altos Hills campus’s media center. The college offers 13 degrees whose courses are only offered online.

Online education’s local incubator Through Internet learning, Foothill College can extend education — but it’s not for everyone

F

or Foothill College President Judy Miner, online learning represents an opportunity to broaden the reach of her life’s work — extending educational options for people who wouldn’t otherwise have them.

While state budget cuts have reduced the number of students she can serve, Miner views partnerships with online education entities as a chance to buck that trend.

She has huddled with Sal Khan of the Khan Academy and Udacity cofounder Sebastian Thrun on ways the new technologies can enable Foothill to expand its offerings.

She’s angling for Foothill to become a demonstration site for the “massive, open, online courses” offered by startups like Palo Alto’s

James Tensuan

Foothill College President Judy Miner is championing e-learning.

Udacity, with an eye toward making that curriculum transferrable to the California State University system.

Khan already plans to use Foothill’s Los Altos Hills campus for a Khan Academy summer program in 2013.

Online learning is nothing new to Foothill. The community college already offers 13 degrees — including music technology and various computer science degrees — entirely in an online format.

Miner estimates that 10 to 15 percent of the college’s course enrollment is online and that number jumps to 20 percent if “hybrid” courses — part online, part face-toface — are included.

But online learning isn’t for everyone, she warns — a reality that must be factored in when considering the rush to Internet-based learning. The college’s “global access” website offers a self-assessment for students to determine how well-suited they are to the online style.

It asks questions such as, “Can you meet deadlines without frequent prodding?” “Will you be able to set aside some time to participate in weekly online discussions?” “Are you a self-motivated, independent learner?” “How will you handle the situation if your internet connection is interrupted for a period of time?”

Some people have the misguided notion that online courses are easier because you don’t have to come to class, Miner said.

“But if you’re not as self-motivated as you need to be it can be a bit of a trap.”

She worries that the dropout rate of online courses is higher than in classroom courses, particularly because the state now places limits on how many times it will fund a student to take the same class.

Miner herself prefers the face-toface model.

“Even now when I give talks I read the room, whether people are smiling, frowning or not responding. I think as an instructor I’d have a hard time delivering and engaging students online because I’m so personally depending on that face to face.

“Having said that, I’m very excited about the new technologies.

Students are equipped for getting access to what’s out there in the cloud or on the web.”

She predicts a fading of the traditional model, now governed by funding laws that grew out of K-12 face-to-face instruction with a credentialed teacher.

“I think we’re blowing up that model,” she said.

In its place may be a system where students get their instruction for free — say from a set of Khan Academy videos that meets Foothill course requirements.

Rather than paying tuition to sit in front of an instructor, students could get as much online instruction as they need or want and would pay only when they want to demonstrate their knowledge and earn credit.

With mixed reviews from current instructors, online learning at Foothill will “only go so far down the road where we have the support and engagement of the faculty,” Miner said.

“There will never be one size that fits all, but we very much want to engage the faculty champions around this.

“We don’t know exactly where it’s going, but we know it’s going to be important, and we want to be in the mix and manage these tools in the interest of student learning,” she said. N — Chris Kenrick About the cover: Photo illustration by Paul Llewellyn

Safe Routes to School for Terman & Briones Review and comment on Draft Walk and Roll Maps and Route Improvements

Thursday, November 8, 7:00-8:30 PM Terman Middle School, 655 Arastradero Road Thursday, November 15, 7:00-8:30 PM Juana Briones Elementary, 638 Maybell Avenue The Palo Alto Safe Routes to School program is documenting suggested routes to school and identifying opportunities for engineering improvements and enforcement which, when combined with safety education and promotion activities, will encourage more families to choose alternatives to driving to school solo.

More info: Contact Sylvia Star-Lack at saferoutes@cityofpaloalto.org or (650) 329-2156

Palo Alto Unified School District Notice is hereby: Given that Palo Alto Unified School District is inviting bidders to submit a request to be included in the District’s Bidders Book for 2013.

Trade categories include but may not be limited to: Demolition, Asbestos Abatement, Concrete, Roofing, Fire Protection, Doors, Windows, Frames, Window Coverings, Audio-Visual, Classroom Furniture, Modular Buildings, Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical, Phone/Data, Fences, Paving, Landscape, Moving, PV, General Contractor Testing, Inspection & IOR Services, Request Submission no later than December 1, 2012 Send all information to: Palo Alto Unified School District 25 Churchill Avenue, Building D Palo Alto, CA 94306-1099 Attn: Ron Smith Phone: (650) 329-3927 Fax: (650) 327-3588 ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊ"VÌ LiÀÊÓÈ]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 23

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

“Acoustic Locator” by Terry Berlier

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“Homespun” by Terry Berlier

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Fueled with piano parts and sunlight, Terry Berlier’s work brings acoustic acrobatics to the art gallery

T

he word “sculpture” may bring to mind images of solid marble figures by old masters, static and silent in hushed galleries. But visitors to “Sounding Board,” Terry Berlier’s new exhibition at the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery on campus, will discover a multimedia collection of moving parts, interactivity, recycled materials and music.

The show consists of one brand-new piece and four other recently created sculptures. Some share themes: environmental concern, experimental sound, salvaged parts, the idea of “home.” All reflect Berlier’s unique vision for kinetic art.

“I like discovering new materials,” said the artist, an assistant professor at Stanford. “I like jumping from medium to medium. My work crosses a lot of “Where the Beginning Meets the End” by Terry Berlier

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Arts & Entertainment

“Where the Beginning Meets the End” (front) and “This Side Up, Handle with Care” by Terry Berlier are on display at the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery boundaries. I like what technology and resources can offer, but I’m also into analog.”

Like a wind chime, creating music through natural energy, her piece “When Comes the Sun” is a circular, solar-powered acoustic guitar, with a rotating plectrum that strums, appropriately enough, “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles at varying tempos depending on the strength of the sunlight reaching it. Weaker sun allows it to strum at a gentle, lullaby pace, while at full strength it can zoom through the tune frantically.

The tempo variation pleases Berlier, who calls the piece a throwback to pre-digital music, “like a cassette tape dying or a vinyl record.” Berlier created it while working in Norway, land of nearly 24-hour sunlight, in the summertime. She said all her work in Scandinavia orbited — no pun intended — around themes of sun and time, since the seasonal tie to sunlight is so prevalent there. Incorporating solar power into her art was a natural step. Not only does she strive for eco-friendly materials, but, she said: “I like that tie to nature. It’s a nice way to bring in that element, to bring life into the piece.”

Calling herself a lover of all music, she said the Beatles song was a natural fit, thanks to both its title and lyrics and the universal-recognition factor. Plus, “I think it’s hilarious that a solar instrument is playing a song about itself,” she said with a grin.

“Where the Beginning Meets

the End” is another circular sound sculpture, this one featuring a stretched-out piano keyboard and including salvaged computer parts. “Homespun” creates a spiral-staircase-like shape out of old banisters and discarded domestic parts. “Acoustic Locator,” a large wooden horn, was inspired by early military aircraft detectors.

All three were created while Berlier was in residency at Recology, a San Francisco waste-reduction company. The materials used were all plucked from the landfill to be repurposed as art.

“This Side Up, Handle With Care” is the new piece created for this exhibition. It’s a half-scale, twisted version of Berlier’s own Craftsman-style home, made of salvaged Douglas fir wood, plywood and piano strings. She said the classic shape and scaled-down size of the house makes it resemble a fairytale house, or a child’s idea of a home.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had a house,” she said of her Oakland residence, “but the idea of home is universal. Just because it’s my house doesn’t mean you can’t have an experience with it.” The model house’s contorted frame and tenuous walls can be seen as representing the recent housing crash, but the piano strings, though seemingly fragile, also provide stability.

The musical walls invite viewers to “play” the sculpture by plucking, or with a violin bow. Though not a musician herself, Berlier said she is fascinated by the world of sound,

and encourages both experienced musicians and novices to experience her audio-enriched sculptures hands on. She hopes her pieces can challenge and inspire notions of what makes something an instrument.

“I’m not interested in putting myself on stage but in inviting musicians I’m fond of and creating a stage for them,” she said.

For Berlier, collaboration with others is one of the most rewarding aspects of her work, creating not only opportunities for technical and artistic growth but friendship as well. “I really enjoy collaborations with musicians and composers as well as other artists,” she said. “It was really fun to have conversations with architects and designers, tapping into their expertise.”

In addition to Berlier’s many recent residencies, she’s also been a teacher in Stanford’s Department of Art & Art History, where she runs the sculpture department, for the past six years, teaching undergraduates and MFA students.

For a number of years before her arrival, Stanford’s sculpture department was largely nonexistent, she said, and enrollment remains low compared to other art classes, perhaps due to the perception that it’s an especially daunting discipline.

“Sculpture programs are always fighting for survival. Anything that’s not painting tends to get lumped into ‘sculpture’ — light installations, sound — which is really exciting but makes it impossible to teach something of that scope in a 10-week class in a cohesive way.

“It’s a level of commitment that, for a student who’s not an art major, can be intimidating,” she said.

But it’s rewarding, too, she said, as students learn to work with their hands, use equipment and build and install pieces. One recent student was thrilled to find she could operate power tools, which she’d never imagined she could do, Berlier said. “It blew her world away.

People that stick with a sculpture class come out empowered.”

She said she tries to get her students to think about the environmental and political impact of art, particularly how an artist’s choice of material itself can make a statement.

“There’s meaning derived from materials. Making specific choices — to work with plastic, Gummi Bears, whatever — that’s adding a layer of content,” she said.

“Sounding Board” is Berlier’s first “big solo show” on campus and she looks forward to her students having the opportunity to witness all that goes into putting on an exhibition. “It’ll be interesting to see their reactions,” she said. N What: “Sounding Board,” an exhibit of sculptures by Stanford artist Terry Berlier Where: Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery, 419 Lasuen Mall, Stanford University When: Through Nov. 18. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.

Cost: Free Info: Go to art.stanford.edu or call 650-723-2842.

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Arts & Entertainment Tickets are $3 general, with family tickets priced at four for $10. Go to landels.mvwsd.org.

Beyond haunting Halloween concerts, carnivals and parties provide many not-so-scary options

by Rebecca Wallace

I

f horror movies and gory haunted houses aren’t your thing, take heart. The Midpeninsula has plenty of Halloween events planned that probably won’t spark nightmares — unless you see some kid dressed as Honey Boo Boo. Here are some of the local events planned, including pumpkin-decorating, orchestra concerts and carnival games.

Members of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo can start the festivities early with Halloween Zoo Night on Oct. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Visitors will come in costume to the zoo at 1451 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto and learn about “Halloween science” while seeing the animals and sharing refreshments.

(The cost to become a member is

$100.) Go to friendsjmz.org or call 650-326-6338.

A Halloween singles’ party happens from 8 p.m. to midnight Oct. 26 at the Sheraton Hotel at 625 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, organized by the Singles’ Supper Club and the Society of Single Professionals. Tickets to the costume party are $20. Go to singlessupperclub. com.

A kid-friendly haunted house is planned at Landels Elementary School at 115 W. Dana St. in Mountain View on Oct. 26 from 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m., and on Oct. 27 from 7 to 10 p.m. Event organizers promise an event suitable for the youngest members of the family, with treats and “minimal spooks.”

Mountain View’s Shoreline Lake is sprouting a pumpkin patch by the water this year, along with family activities held at the Aquatic Center and Lakeside Cafe on the weekend of Oct. 27-28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A bake sale, a pumpkindecorating contest and a Halloween jump house will be among the offerings. The cafe is at 3160 N. Shoreline Blvd. Go to shorelinelake.com or call 650-965-3779.

The city of Menlo Park hosts its free “Halloween Hoopla” on Oct. 27, starting with a costume parade beginning at 11:45 a.m. in the Maloney Street parking lot off Santa Cruz Avenue. Trick-or-treating happens after the parade with participating downtown merchants, and then entertainment and crafts at Fremont Park. Go to menlopark.org.

A free outdoor showing of the 2006 animated horror/comedy movie “Monster House” starts

at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 as part of a free family Halloween party at the Mountain View Community Center and Rengstorff House at 201 S. Rengstorff Ave. The party goes from 5 to 8 p.m. and also includes music, games and refreshments. Go to mountainview.gov or call 650903-6331.

The Bay Area Country Dance Society brings the October spirit to contra dancing and waltzes on Oct. 27 with its annual Halloween Costume Ball at the Palo Alto Masonic Temple, 461 Florence St., downtown. The party goes from 8 p.m. to midnight, with music by The Rosin Doctors. Tickets are $13 general, $11 for society members and $6 for students. A potluck dinner is planned; costumes are optional. Go to bacds.org.

“Spooky Times at Deer Hollow Farm” means haunted barns, farm animals, kids’ activities and crafts from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27, at the farm in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve near Mountain View. Admission is $7 general

($5 for those in costume). Go to fodhf.org.

Carnival games, fall crafts, refreshments, a costume parade and a “Monster Maze” are planned for a “Halloween Spooktacular” from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Red Morton Community Center, 1120 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City. Admission is $5 per child. Go to redwoodcity.org or call 650-780-7311.

Palo Alto marks Day of the Dead from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 28, at the Palo Alto Art Center at 1313 Newell Road, the Junior Museum and Zoo at 1451 Middlefield Road, and the Children’s Library at 1276 Harriet St. Events will include art activities, storytelling, a display of community altars, live music and dance performances, and refreshments. Go to cityofpaloalto.org/ artcenter.

Also in Palo Alto, Gamble Garden goes all out for its annual Haunted House and Puppet Show from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Oct. 28. The event, which features games, costumed goblins and witches, and trick-or-treating, is meant for kids ages 4 to 10 with an adult. Nick Barone Puppets perform at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 general and $10 for members. Go to gamblegarden.org or call 650-329-1356.

Trick-or-treating and a carnival brighten up Palo Alto’s California Avenue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Oct. 28. Participating avenue merchants put up signs, and a carnival is planned between Ash and Birch streets, along with costume contests, a costume parade, a silent auction, music and dance performances, and activities including “build-a-mummy.” Go to blossombirth.org.

“Bachtober” means pipe organist James Welch’s 20th annual Palo Alto Halloween concert, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave. The musician’s sons Nicholas and Jameson will play works by Grieg and Clementi, and their father brings on the Bach with Toccata in D Minor and other classics. Admission is $10 for the concert, scheduled from 8 to 9 p.m. Oct. 29. Go to welchorganist.com or call 650-856-9700.

Palo Alto Is The

BEST PLACE To Retire.

Webster House is now a member of Episcopal Senior Communities, the not-for-profit organization that owns and operates Canterbury Woods, Los Gatos Meadows, Lytton Gardens, San Francisco Towers, Spring Lake Village, and St. Paul’s Towers. Ideally located near the wonderful mix of shops, restaurants, and art galleries, our newly renovated apartments, gracious amenities, enriched services, and new programs make living here a style of life that offers you real peace-of-mind in a welcoming community with the advantages of continuing care. To learn more, or for your personal visit, please call 650.327.4333.

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EPWH645-01BA 03 071312

The Lytton Gardens senior community at 656 Lytton Ave. in Palo Alto connects with the younger generation at its annual “Safe Halloween” family event with indoor trick-or-treating, a pumpkin walk, Halloween bingo, face-painting and other festivities. The free event is planned from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 31. Go to lyttongardens.org or call 650-328-3300.

Stanford’s Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble play their annual Halloween concert at 8 p.m.

Oct. 31 in Dinkelspiel Auditorium on campus. Music by Beethoven, Ravel, Leonard Bernstein, Giancarlo Aquilanti, John Williams and other composers is planned. Tickets are $10 general, $9 for seniors, $5 for non-Stanford students and free for Stanford students. Go to music.stanford.edu or call 650-725ARTS.

Eating Out RESTAURANT REVIEW

Big flavor in small bites Unassuming Akane excels at seafood, Japanese classics

By Ruth Schechter owntown Los Altos is rife bit of everything, from soba noowith cafes and eateries of all dles to sukiyaki, seafood is the real kinds, but walk a bit off the reason to dine at Akane. Fish is main drag and down a mid-block immaculate and glisteningly fresh. walkway, and you will find Akane, a Most sushi selections are pretty quiet and unassuming Japanese res- traditional: sashimi plates of yeltaurant that really does things right. lowtail, salmon or tuna ($16-$18); The restaurant is certainly no nigiri ($4-$8 for two) of yellowsecret — it’s been in business for tail, squid, roe, scallop, salmon and 23 years, and tables fill up quickly mackerel. A handwritten whiteboth at lunch and dinner. Decor is board lists the daily specials. low-key and tasteful, with a cinWe chose to sample some small nabar-colored beamed ceiling and plates for a recent midweek dinner. framed scenic photographs here With more than 50 selections on and there. Blond wooden tables are the appetizer menu alone, you can well-spaced and unadorned. A lac- play it safe or be adventurous, with quered openwork divider separates options including potstickers, beef the sushi bar from the main dining tongue, potato croquettes, grilled area; an adjacent side room can ac- sand dabs, skewered beef and green commodate small parties. (continued on page 28) Though the menu offers a little

Veronica Weber

D

A bento box at Akane restaurant in Los Altos features California roll, salmon teriyaki, shrimp and vegetable tempura, pickled lotus, salad, miso soup and rice.

Experience the taste of Italia from the 7 hills of Rome

TO THE SEA BREEZES OF THE !MALl COAST AND WINDING BACK THROUGH THE ANCIENT TOWNS OF 4USCANY

#UCINA DI 6ENTI HAS CAPTURED THE SOUL OF )TALIAN COOKING 7E TAKE PRIDE IN BRINGING YOU THE VERY BEST 4HE INGREDIENTS ARE SIMPLEˆ )MPORTED )TALIAN WATER FOR the dough; fresh herbs to bring out the true taste of the regions and extra VIRGIN OLIVE OIL ENHANCE CLASSIC DISHES FROM THE WORLD S l NEST CUISINE

Featuring our Executive Chef

Antonio Zamora

/UR LOVE OF )TALIAN FOOD KNOWS NO BOUNDS

!NTONIO HAS SPECIALIZED TRAINING IN )TALIAN AND -EDITERRANEAN CUISINE "ELIEVING TO ONLY USE THE FRESHEST

SEASONAL INGREDIENTS FOUND LOCALLY !NTONIO S YEARS OF EXPERIENCE CAN be tasted in his dishes.

From our Kitchen to yours.

Bon Appetit!

Cucina Venti

AN AMERICAN TRATTORIA IN THE ITALIAN TRADITION™ 0EAR !VE -OUNTAIN 6IEW s s WWW CUCINAVENTI COM (OURS 3UNDAY THROUGH 4HURSDAY ˆ A M TO P M s &RIDAY THROUGH 3ATURDAY ˆ A M TO P M ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ"VĂŒÂœLiĂ€ĂŠĂ“Ăˆ]ÊÓä£ÓÊU Page 27

Eating Out

What school is meant to be.

Open Houses: Upper School Oct. 28, Dec. 2 Middle School Oct. 7, Nov. 4

www.menloschool.org/admissions Veronica Weber

PENINSULA

A sushi sampler platter from Akane features ebi, ikura, unagi, tekka maki, tombo, maguro, hamachi, salmon and hirami. (continued from previous page)

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

The Old Pro

Ming’s

326-1446 541 Ramona Street, Palo Alto www.oldpropa.com

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

STEAKHOUSE

New Tung Kee Noodle House

Sundance the Steakhouse

947-8888 520 Showers Drive, Mountain View www.shopmountainview.com/luunoodlemv

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

INDIAN

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

462-5903 369 Lytton Ave. www.jantaindianrestaurant.com

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

powered by

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onion, and sauteed mushrooms.

Taking our server’s suggestion, we started with the seafood tartar appetizer ($12.50), a disc of cubed salmon, tuna and avocado that is dashed with a tangy sauce when it is brought to the table. Served with a side dish of rippled potato chips, it combines sweet and salty, smooth and crunchy, spicy and savory in each bite. With a glass of sauvignon blanc ($8.50) and a few pieces from the sushi bar, this appetizer is satisfying enough to easily make a meal.

The eggplant in ginger sauce ($6) is a sharp broth loaded with thick slices of grilled vegetable and studded with lots of green onion.

The 30 varieties of makimono rolls ($4-$12) feature some more unusual combinations as well as several vegetarian options, such as cucumber and plum paste, pickled radish and avocado. The eel with avocado was loaded with deep flavor, and the spider roll (breaded softshell crab) was generous to the point of being difficult to eat. Akane also does its sushi rice properly. The texture is chewy without being gummy — an all-too-common downfall at many sushi restaurants.

Weekday lunches feature a number of very economical specials, including a bento box ($10.95) that comes with a choice of two entrees accompanied by salad, miso soup, rice, lotus root and seaweed. Cooked dishes generally don’t fare as well as the seafood.

The shrimp and vegetable tempura, while generous in portion, tasted flat and doughy. Salmon shioyaki was cooked properly with sauce that was a bit too sweet for my taste. Specials all come with a tasty miso sprinkled with a few cubes of innocuous tofu.

A lunch splurge was also a highlight. The deluxe sushi plate ($20 and up) was the chef’s choice of eight kinds of the day’s freshest sushi, which included salmon roe, hamachi (yellowtail), shrimp and unagi (eel), along with a tuna roll.

While a bit skimpy size-wise, the dish had a lovely presentation, and flavors were rich and diverse.

Desserts are not a strong point.

Mochi ice cream ($2 per piece) was cut into quarters for a pretty presentation, but tasted unnervingly like the kind I buy at Trader Joe’s.

Service was friendly and efficient, and our dinner server in particular was extremely patient as an old friend and I caught up before looking at the menu. Her suggestions were spot-on and her timing unrushed despite a room full of tables.

Akane does its sushi right and is a low-key spot to experiment with small plates that you do not usually see in most Japanese restaurants. It’s a good place to enjoy tried-and-true tastes while sampling some new presentations and flavors. N Akane, 250 Third St., Los Altos; 650-941-8150 Hours: Lunch: Tue.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: Tue.-Sun. 5-9 p.m.

Reservations

Credit cards (over $25) Lot Parking Alcohol Highchairs

Wheelchair access

Takeout

Outdoor seating Delivery: Limited selection through waiter.com Noise level: Low Bathroom Cleanliness: Excellent

Movies

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MOVIE TIMES

All showtimes are for Friday through Sunday only unless otherwise noted. For other times, as well as reviews and trailers, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies.

Peninsula School

Alex Cross (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:30 a.m.; 2, 4:30, 7:30 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m.; 12:25, 1:50, 2:55, 4:20, 5:25, 6:50, 7:55, 9:20 & 10:30 p.m.

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Argo (R) (((1/2 Century 16: 11 a.m.; noon, 1:40, 2:45, 4:20, 5:30, 7:40, 8:50 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 2:10, 3:45, 5, 6:45, 7:50, 9:35 & 10:40 p.m.; Fri. & Sun. also at 12:55 p.m.

We believe education can be engaging and joyous.

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Fri.-Sun. at 7:30 p.m.; Sat. & Sun. also at 4:45 p.m.

Chasing Mavericks (PG) ((1/2 Century 16: 12:20, 3:50, 7 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: 11:30 a.m.; 2:10, 4:50, 7:35 & 10:20 p.m.

Cloud Atlas (R) ( Century 20: Noon, 1:55, 4, 6, 8 & 9:50 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1:15, 5 & 8:45 p.m.

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Frankenstein (1931) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Fri.-Sun. at 6:10 & 8:55 p.m.

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Frankenweenie (PG) ((( Century 20: 1:40 & 6:10 p.m.; In 3D at 11:30 a.m.; 3:55 & 8:25 p.m.

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Fun Size (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11 a.m.; 1:10, 3:25, 5:40, 8:15 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 2:45, 5:10, 7:25 & 9:45 p.m.; Fri. also at 12:30 p.m.; Sat. & Sun. also at 12:20 p.m.

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Halloween (1978) (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: Tue. at 7 p.m.

Here Comes the Boom (PG) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:40 a.m.; 2:10, 4:40, 7:25 & 10 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 1:45, 4:15, 6:50 & 9:25 p.m.

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Hotel Transylvania (PG) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 1:20 & 6:30 p.m.; In 3D at 11 a.m.; 3:40 & 9:10 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m. & 4:05 p.m.; In 3D at 1:40, 6:30 & 8:55 p.m.

Jesus Christ Superstar UK Spectacular (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Mon. at 7:30 p.m. Century 20: Mon. at 7:30 p.m. Palo Alto Square: Mon. at 7:30 p.m.

+.Ĺ? *Ĺ? ,,+%*0)!*0ÄŒĹ?,(! /!Ĺ? ((Ĺ?ĨćĆĀĊĹ?ÄƒÄ‚Ä†ÄĄÄ Ä†Ä‰Ä…ÄŒĹ?!40Ä‹Ĺ?Ć Photo: Marc Silber

Looper (R) (((1/2 Century 16: 11 a.m.; 1:35, 4:20, 7:20 & 10:15 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m.; 2, 4:45, 7:30 & 10:15 p.m.

The Master (R) (((1/2 Guild Theatre: 1:45, 5 & 8:15 p.m.

The Metropolitan Opera: Otello (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: Sat. at 9:55 a.m. Palo Alto Square: Sat. at 9:55 a.m.

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920 peninsula way, menlo park, ca | 650.325.1584 www.peninsulaschool.org

Nobody Walks (R) (Not Reviewed) Aquarius Theatre: 2:30, 4:30, 7 & 9:15 p.m.

Paranormal Activity 4 (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:10 a.m.; 12:10, 1:30, 2:30, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9:30 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: 12:15, 1, 2:25, 3:10, 4:40, 5:25, 6:55, 7:40, 9:10, 10 & 10:40 p.m.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (PG-13) ((( Century 16: 11:15 a.m.; 1:45, 4:15, 6:50 & 9:30 p.m. Century 20: 11:50 a.m.; 2:20, 4:50, 7:20 & 10:05 p.m.

Pitch Perfect (PG-13) ((( Century 16: 12:30, 3:30, 7:10 & 9:55 p.m. Century 20: 11:45 a.m.; 2:25, 5:05, 7:45 & 10:25 p.m.

Searching for Sugar Man (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Palo Alto Square: 7:15 p.m.; Fri. & Sun. also at 2 & 4:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat. also at 9:30 p.m.; Sat. also at 4:45 p.m.

Inspirations a guide to the spiritual community

Secret of the Blue Room (1933) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Wed. & Thu. at 6:10 & 8:55 p.m.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC

Seven Psychopaths (R) ((( Century 16: 11 a.m.; 1:25, 3:55, 6:40 & 9:40 p.m. Century 20: 11:25 a.m.; 2, 4:35, 7:10 & 9:50 p.m.

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Silent Hill: Revelation (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:20 a.m.; In 3D at 1:55, 4:25, 7:15 & 10:10 p.m. Century 20: 12:30 p.m.; In 3D at 3, 5:30, 8 & 10:35 p.m.

Simon and the Oaks (Not Rated) ((1/2 Aquarius Theatre: 2:15, 5:15 & 8:15 p.m.

Sinister (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: 12:05, 2:40, 5:20, 8:05 & 10:45 p.m.

Sunday Worship at 10:00 a.m and 5:00 p.m. Church School at 10 a.m.

This Sunday: Les MisĂŠrables A Sermon in Song Featuring our Choirs and Soloists An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ

Smashed (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:25 a.m.; 1:35, 3:45, 6:30 & 9:20 p.m.

Taken 2 (PG-13) (1/2 Century 16: 11:50 a.m.; 2:20, 4:50, 7:50 & 10:25 p.m. Century 20: 1:05, 3:25, 5:45, 8:10 & 10:30 p.m.

The Werewolf of London (1935) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Wed. & Thu. at 7:30 p.m.

Young Frankenstein (1974) (PG) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: Wed. at 2 & 7 p.m. Century 20: Wed. at 2 & 7 p.m.

( Skip it (( Some redeeming qualities ((( A good bet (((( Outstanding Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers, theater addresses and more information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies

OPENINGS Chasing Mavericks --1/2

(Century 16, Century 20) There’s a nobility in a well-made teen movie, not least because of the rarity of the breed. These days, the typical teen movie panders with sunny fantasy or naughty raunch, but as a sports movie concerned with the physical, emotional and moral development of a young man, “Chas-

ing Mavericks� fruitfully aspires to the likes of “Breaking Away.�

As the title suggests, the truthbased “Chasing Mavericks� takes place in Northern California, where in 1994 surf spot Mavericks was still considered a myth. Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) knows better, though he and his three surfing buddies aren’t advertising their well-kept secret; all the same, 15-year-old Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston) finds out and wants in.

Since he was 8 (as played by

Cooper Timberline), Jay has been surfing the waves in Santa Cruz; repressing his hurt feelings over an absent father and an alcoholic, debt-ridden mom (Elizabeth Shue); and looking up to neighbor Frosty.

Though conflicted, Frosty recognizes in Jay the obsessive personality and mad love of the big-wave surfer. Thus the older man agrees to train Jay in the survival skills he’ll need to face the 30-to-80-foot

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

(continued on next page)

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Movies (continued from previous page)

A CADEMICS – C OMMUNITY – C HARACTER

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waves of Mavericks, on the presumption that the kid will otherwise get himself killed.

What follows hews closely to “The Karate Kid,� with Butler as Mr. Miyagi to Weston’s Jay-san (plus a jerkwad nemesis). On paper, the movie sounds fairly interminable, and certainly, it’s not for everyone. But as directed by the repeatedly proven Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted (who stepped in for Hanson following emergency heartsurgery complications), “Chasing Mavericks� turns out to be better than you’d think. And once you get past his ever-unconvincing American accent, Butler functions better than he has since, well, maybe ever.

I have no idea if the real Moriarity was as Opie-ish as Weston and Timberline play him (“How big you reckon that wave was, sir?�), or the real Frosty as crustily reluc-

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Mark graduated with a Bachelor in Communication Studies from Sonoma State University and his Masters in Education at University of San Francisco.

As Director of Athletics and Physical Education, Mark believes every student deserves the opportunity to participate in sports. He believes that “what’s most important are the values of integrity and dedication� that student athletes learn from playing sports.

Mark encourages students from all skill levels to try out new sports, to challenge and stretch their expectations and most importantly, to have fun.

When Mark isn’t coaching, he loves to go camping and spend time with his family.

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tant (at one point, he barks, “Go on, get!� like some sort of latterday old prospector). Even if they were, the knock against “Chasing Mavericks� is its constant proximity to corniness, in keeping with the co-production by Fox 2000 and family-friendly Walden Media and the attendant “PG� rating.

But it’s partly just that high-asan-elephant’s-eye corn level that allows the movie to blindside you with unexpected insight and emotion. The picture is instructive about surfing without being overly didactic, thoughtful without being overly preachy, sincere without being overly mawkish. (The exception: a moralistic subplot vaguely doling out summary judgment to Jay’s drug-dealing buddy.)

And thus, as mentor does for mentee, “Chasing Mavericks� will give adolescents their medicine (Frosty insists on Jay developing his perception and articulation through a series of essays, for example) along with spoonfuls of sugar (primo waves, pizza joints and hot blond Leven Rambin as Jay’s love interest). Tragedy is never far from these characters, but above all, the picture endorses a love of life and a will to live it on one’s own terms. “If you look hard enough,� says Frosty, “There’s always a way through it.�

Rated PG for thematic elements and some perilous action. One hour, 56 minutes. — Peter Canavese

Cloud Atlas -

(Century 20, Palo Alto Square) Pacific Ocean, 1849. London, 2012.

Cambridge, 1936. Neo Seoul, 2144.

San Francisco, 1973. Big Isle, 106 Winters After the Fall. Wait, when am I? Where am I? Hang on, let me look that up in my “Cloud Atlas.�

I kid “Cloud Atlas,� the movie so nice they directed it thrice — “they� being Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. “Cloud Atlas� actually refers to the cloudy overlap of humanity, the transmigration of souls. Everything is connected, don’cha know (haven’t you seen “Crash�? or “Babel�? or “360�?).

To illustrate the universality of human nature, the Wachowskis (“The Matrix�) and Tykwer (“Run Lola Run�) triple- and quadruple- and quintuple- and sextuple-cast their film like a stage adaptation of a sprawling novel.

Indeed, “Cloud Atlas� is based on a sprawling novel, David Mitchell’s crazy-ambitious 2004 tome. But tell filmmakers a book is “unfilmable,� and them’s fightin’ words. So now we have Tom Hanks as a tattooed goatherd mumbling pidgin English in post-apocalyptic Hawaii (among

five other roles); Halle Berry getting her Pam Grier on as a street-smart, well-coiffed, wide-eyed, ready-foraction reporter (among five other roles); Jim Sturgess as a 22nd-century Korean Keanu Reeves (don’t ask — among six other roles), and so on: Halle Berry in whiteface!

Hugo Weaving in drag! Oh, the humanity, if you (wink) know what I (wink wink) mean.

Admittedly, there’s a certain conceptual cleverness in the casting stunt, which translates theme and saves money on actors, while flattering them no end. But in practice, the wigs and makeup and accents and tics become a comical distraction to a movie that very badly wants to be taken seriously. Very badly. But “Cloud Atlas� winds up just being very bad, albeit in ways that are eminently quotable (I swear Berry says, “You have to do whatever they can’t not do�).

Yes, your mileage may vary as you globe-trot with Jim Broadbent, Ben Wishaw, James D’Arcy, Hugh Grant, Doona Bae, Susan Sarandon and more. Bae and Sarandon, both great actors, seem tragically submerged in the nonsense here, but the Englishmen salve the picture with what resonant emotion (mostly in Wishaw and D’Arcy’s homosexual, though not-so-gay romance) and comic energy (Broadbent and Grant’s fraternal farce) can be mustered around the ham-handed direction, trust-me-you-need-a-politically-correct-racial-adjustment storytelling (despite the slantyeyed yellowface), and yes-we-can sermonizing (“What is an ocean but a collection of drops?�).

Some will find all this deeply moving, hugely impressive, dazzling and/or mind-shattering. But I’ll wager that most audiences will find it like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade of Pretension, with a giant slab of ham but no commercial breaks. The Wachowskis and Tykwer are determined to make you understand eternity, and in that and only that, they succeed: By the time you get to the film’s endless series of endings, you’ll feel as if you’ve lived lifetimes.

Rated R for violence, language, sexuality/nudity and some drug use. Two hours, 52 minutes. — Peter Canavese

READ MORE ONLINE

www.PaloAltoOnline.com To read a review of “Simon and the Oaks,� the new Swedish drama by director Lisa Ohlin, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/ movies. Weekly critic Peter Canavese gives the movie two-and-a-half stars, calling it “foreign-film comfort food.�

Woodside Prior y School Admissions Office 302 Portola Road, Portola Valley, CA 94028 650/851-8223 â– www.PrioryCa.org

OPEN HOUSE

EVERYBODY LOVES “SUGAR MAN!�

ASTONISHING!�“� “A SENSATION

for Prospective Students and Families

Saturday, November 10th, 2012 at 10 a.m.

Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 7 p.m.

Saturday, December 8th, 2012 at 10 a.m.

For information and to R.S.V.P. contact Admissions at 650.851.8223

Fri 10/26 Sat 10/27

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CENTURY CINEMAS 16 1500 North Shoreline Boulevard, Mountain View (800) FANDANGO

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Century Theatres at Palo Alto Square Sun 10/28 Mon 10/29 Tues-Thurs 10/30-11/1

Cloud Atlas- 1:15, 5:00, 8:45 Searching for Sugar Man- 2:00, 4:30, 7:15, 9:30 Cloud Atlas-1:15, 5:00, 8:45 Searching for Sugar Man- 2:00, 4:45 7:15, 9:30 Cloud Atlas- 1:15, 5:00, 8:45 Searching for Sugar Man- 2:00, 4:45, 7:15 Clouds Atlas- 1:15, 5:00, 8:45 Searching for Sugar Man- 2:00, 4:45 Cloud Atlas- 1:15, 5:00, 8:45 Searching for Sugar Man- 2:00, 4:45, 7:15

Tickets and Showtimes available at cinemark.com

Sports Shorts

STANFORD FOOTBALL

Moving on from Big Game

PERFECTION ENDS A perfect season finally came to an end for the Palo Alto Knights’ Jr. Midgets team following a 22-8 loss to Oak Grove on Sunday at Palo Alto High. The Knights will take an 8-1 record into the postseason.

The Jr. Midgets will have a first-round bye this weekend, and then will play the San Francisco Seahawks on Nov. 4 at Paly. Palo Alto already has beaten the Seahawks, 40-6. Against Oak Grove, Palo Alto dug itself a hole early with three turnovers and fell behind by 14-0 in the first quarter. The Knights finally scored on a 28-yard pass from Jake Rittman to Ty Wilcox.

That made up for an earlier TD pass from Rittman to Wilcox that was nullified by a penalty. The Knights had several other scoring opportunities, but could not execute against a solid Oak Grove defense and an offensive performance of spectacular catches and runs by the Razorbacks. With the Knights driving to score a potential game-tying TD in the fourth quarter — reaching the Oak Grove 21 — Rittman was sacked and knocked hit hard to the turf. He left the field and did not return. Oak Grove turned back Palo Alto’s scoring attempt and wound up scoring a final TD with 1:45 in the game to seal the victory. In other games Sunday, the Palo Alto Jr. Pee Wee’s defeated the S.F Bombers, 14-6, to earn a playoff spot in Division II and the Knights’ Cadets lost to Oak Grove. Both Palo Alto teams play this Saturday at Oak Grove to open the first round of the NorCal playoffs.

HELP WANTED . . . Sacred Heart Prep is seeking a head coach to direct the Gators’ girls’ varsity lacrosse team and to oversee the program. Interested applicants should contact Athletic Director Frank Rodriguez at (650) 473.4031 or frodriguez@shschools. org . . . Menlo-Atherton is looking for a girl’s frosh-soph basketball coach.

Please contact varsity coach Morgan Clyburn at mclyburn@seq.org or (281) 382-0523, if interested.

ON THE AIR Saturday College football: Washington St. at Stanford, 3:15 p.m.; Pac-12 Networks; KNBR (1050 AM); KZSU (90.1 FM)

Sunday Thursday Men’s soccer: Stanford at UCLA, 7 p.m.; Pac-12 Networks

READ MORE ONLINE

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

Stanford’s Shayne Skov (left) and Stepfan Taylor (right) finished off the 115th annual Big Game by retaining control of the Axe for another year following a 21-3 victory by the Cardinal in Berkeley last Saturday.

(continued on next pag)

PREP ROUNDUP

PREP FOOTBALL

Gunn, Castilleja golf teams qualify for CCS tourney

Paly has rooting interest in its title hopes

by Keith Peters he Gunn and Castilleja girls’ golf teams went undefeated during their respective league seasons, dominating their opponents with easy victories. Thus, it wasn’t that surprising on Wednesday as both teams won their league tournaments with relative ease.

Gunn shot 412 and won by 20 strokes in the Blossom Valley Athletic League tourney at the par-71 Santa Teresa Golf Course in San Jose. Castilleja had an even easier time as it shot 430 and won by 34 strokes at the par-71 Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo.

Both teams will advance to the CCS finals on Tuesday at Rancho Cañada (East Course) in Carmel Valley. Six atlarge teams and 24 individuals also will qualify to CCS. With the CCS cutting back on the number of qualifying teams and individuals, Gunn pretty much needed to win the BVAL title. With three players shooting in the 70s, that became a moot point.

“All our players played really good

T

(continued on page 34)

by Keith Peters t’s not often you’ll catch Palo Alto football coach Earl Hansen rooting for rival Los Gatos, but this weekend may be the exception. Hansen would love to see the Wildcats knock off Milpitas on Friday night.

A Los Gatos victory, coupled with a Palo Alto win over Saratoga in a homecoming game, will create a two-way tie in the SCVAL De Anza Division while effectively removing Milpitas from the title picture.

All three teams head into Friday’s games with 3-1 division marks. Milpitas has beaten Paly, the Vikings have beaten the Wildcats, and the Trojans have lost to Wilcox.

Should Los Gatos and Palo Alto win, the Vikings will hold a tiebreaker over the Wildcats — thanks to last week’s 25-7 victory. All the Vikings would have to do is knock off winless Mountain View and Santa Clara (2-2) in the final two weeks of the regular season to get the division’s No. 1 seed into the Central Coast Sec-

I

Grant Shorin/THE VIKING

Women’s soccer: Stanford at UCLA, 6 p.m.; Pac-12 Networks

by Rick Eymer tanford sophomore wide receiver Ty Montgomery might be closer to returning to action and could make an appearance as early as Saturday when the 19thranked Cardinal hosts Washington State in a Pac-12 Conference North Division football game. Kickoff is 3:15 p.m.

Even should Montgomery return to the lineup, Stanford coach David Shaw figures to keep Jamal-Rashad Patterson in the loop after impressive performances in Montgomery’s place the past two weeks.

“He was our best blocker last game,” Shaw said of Patterson.

“That’s first and foremost the most important thing. He also made a nice catch.”

Patterson has caught seven passes for 119 yards, including one for a touchdown. Montgomery is third on the team with 18 receptions and 168 yards but has yet to catch a touchdown pass this season.

Patterson is a senior, while Montgomery still has an upside.

“You see the talent,” Shaw said.

“He’s running by everybody that we’ve played. He’s dropped a couple of balls, but he’s made a lot of plays.

He’s on that cusp of being a really

S

Jim Shorin/stanfordphoto.com

MENLO HONORS . . . Menlo College sophomore Courtney Calicdan was recognized as the California Pacific Conference Player of the Week for the fourth consecutive week in women’s volleyball . . . For the fifth time this season, senior keeper Alex Palomarez was selected as the Cal Pac Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week . . . Menlo’s Natalie Ingram took home the Cal Pac Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor in women’s soccer.

Cardinal hosts WSU while keeping Pac-12 title game in sight

Paly’s Matt Tolbert rushed for 119 yards in a big 25-7 win over Los Gatos to force a three-way tie for first place.

(continued on page 33)

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Schola Cantorum and Stanford Talisman A musical journey to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Southern Latitudesâ&#x20AC;?

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Bright new interpretations of authentic songs and shanties give voice to stories from Australia, Samoa, New Zealand and Africa!

Tickets $25 at www.scholacantorum.org or call 650.254.1700 Students to age 25 FREE

Sports

Stanford womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volleyball remains atop Pac-12 standings with a sweep of Arizona

by Rick Eymer

hen it comes to womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s volleyball and the Pac12 Conference, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no such thing as a sure thing. Secondranked Stanford, undefeated in conference play, has been put to the test the past two weekends and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s another one this week.

The Cardinal, however, began the new week just like the previous ones with a 25-19, 25-18, 25-20 sweep of Arizona on Wednesday night.

Cardinal freshman Inky Ajanaku recorded 11 kills and Stanford spread the wealth around in beating the Wildcats.

Junior Carly Wopat, who was the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for wins over Washington and Washington State last week, joined with freshman Jordan Burgess for nine kills while junior Rachel Williams added eight kills and five blocks as the second-ranked Cardinal (11-0, 19-2) opened the second half of Pac-12 play with its 17th consecutive victory.

Ajanaku also had four blocks and a hitting percentage of .526 as Stanford outhit the Wildcats, .292 to .130. Burgess added 12 digs and Williams recorded a season-best .412 hitting percentage.

Setters Karissa Cook and Madi Bugg combined for 40 assists and 16 digs for the Cardinal, which

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good football player.â&#x20AC;?

Montgomery announced himself to the world when he caught five passes for 87 yards in last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wild overtime victory over USC. He took over for an injured Chris Owusu and made several key plays, including one in which he had never practiced.

Montgomery scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 96-yard kickoff return that ended Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 44-14 victory over Washington State last year. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With Patterson and Montgomery, the combination is solid,â&#x20AC;? Shaw said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The whole group is developing nicely and we will keep pushing it. Drew Terrell has also been playing well.â&#x20AC;?

The majority of the passing of-

hosts Arizona State on Friday night at 7 p.m. before going on the road to meet Oregon State and current second-place Oregon.

Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s soccer Stanford returned to No. 1 in the NSCAA Top 25 released Tuesday.

Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s weekend home sweep over Washington and Washington State, combined with previously undefeated Florida Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 3-2 loss at Boston College on Thursday, enabled the Cardinal to move from No. 2 past the Seminoles in the rankings.

The latest rankings add to the intrigue for a Pac-12 showdown on Sunday between No. 1 Stanford (141-1, 8-0) and No. 2 UCLA (14-0-2, 7-0-1), which also leapfrogged past Florida State.

Stanford plays at UCLAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Drake Stadium on Sunday at 6 p.m. in a match televised nationally on the Pac-12 Networks.

Stanford first plays at unranked USC on Friday (7 p.m.), Stanford was the NSCAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preseason No. 1 and held the ranking for an additional two weeks before being upset by then-unranked West Virginia on Aug. 26, 1-0, in University Park, Pa. Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tennis Stanford freshman Krista Hardebeck may still be getting used to fense continues to go through tight ends Zach Ertz and Levine Toilolo, who have combined for six of the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 10 touchdown passes. Ertz leads Stanford (3-1, 5-2) with 31 catches and 505 yards.

Stepfan Taylor, who needs 123 yards for his third consecutive season of at least 1,000 rushing yards, has 21 catches, second on the team.

Even as Taylor continues to climb Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all-time rushing lists, he remains unknown to many people. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The people that talk about him the most are the NFL scouts,â&#x20AC;?

Shaw said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He just gets yards, in a Maurice Jones-Drew type of a way where you say, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not as fast as this guy, or not as big as this guy, and you look at the production, all the ways he gets production, thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not a whole lot of spread runs.â&#x20AC;?

Taylor is coming off a career best 189 yards in last weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 21-3 victory

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the college scene but she hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forgotten how to win tennis tournaments. In her second collegiate tournament, Hardebeck captured the singles crown at the ITA Northwest Regional Championships on Tuesday at Stanford.

The fifth-seeded Hardebeck outlasted fourth-seeded Annett Schutting of California, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), to claim the title, completing an impressive tournament run in which she dropped only two sets over a five-day stretch at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.

In the doubles final, Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top-seeded duo of Stacey Tan and Ellen Tsay defeated Californiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team of Tayler Davis and Annie Goransson, 8-4.

The singles finalists and doubles champion from each regional earn berths to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, slated for Nov. 8-11 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tennis Stanford freshman Nolan Paigeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s impressive tournament run came to an end Tuesday afternoon at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northwest Regional Championships in Moraga.

Paige dropped a 7-5, 6-3 decision to Santa Claraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s John Lamble in the semifinals. N over California in the 115th annual Big Game. When he gave Stanford the early lead, even Shaw was a little impressed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On his touchdown run, we didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even block the backside defensive lineman,â&#x20AC;? Shaw said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He made him miss, and made the linebacker miss and ran for a touchdown.â&#x20AC;?

Taylor has 3,616 career rushing yards, second most in school history. He needs 417 yards and seven carries to match Darrin Nelson for the top spot in each category. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What I really love about him, is thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no one thing that he does well; he does everything well: draw, zone, gap schemes, powers, counters, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter,â&#x20AC;? Shaw said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pass blocking. I think heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the best pass blocking running back in our conference. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also the unassuming way he goes about his work that adds to how special he is.â&#x20AC;?

NOTES: Senior outside linebacker Trent Murphy was was named a semifinalist for the 2012 Collegiate Butkus Award, which annually honors the top linebackers in the nation at the professional, collegiate and high school levels . . . Stanford is 4-0 at home this season and is riding a six-game win streak in Stanford Stadium. The Cardinal has won at home in 17 of its past 18 games . . .

Stanford has won four straight over WSU (0-4, 2-5) by an average margin of 31 points . . . Stanford comes into the game with the Pac-12â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s topranked rushing defense (No. 4 in the NCAA) with an average of just 77 rushing yards allowed each game.

The Cougars, meanwhile, have the conferenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worst running game, averaging just 40.6 yards an outing.

WSU throws the ball more than 71 percent of the time. N

Sports

Prep football (continued from page 31)

tion playoffs and a berth in the Open Division.

Paly’s defensive backs could be busy against Saratoga, with Falcons’ quarterback Jonathan Walters already throwing for 2,212 yards and 29 touchdowns this season. Paly will counter with its own junior QB, Keller Chryst. He’s thrown for 1,619 yards and 20 TDs thus far.

Palo Alto isn’t the only local team harboring title thoughts.

Gunn (3-0, 5-2) can win the SCVAL El Camino Division by winning its final three games — starting Friday against visiting Cupertino (2-1, 7-1) at 7:30 p.m. After that, the Titans face Monta Vista (3-0, 5-2) and Fremont (2-1, 5-2) on the road.

Menlo-Atherton (3-0, 5-2) can control its own destiny in the PAL Bay Division, but the Bears still have a tough road ahead. M-A first must beat host Sacred Heart Prep (2-1, 6-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m., then knock off co-leader Terra Nova (2-0, 4-3) next Friday in Atherton.

Menlo School (2-1, 6-1) still has a glimmer of hope in the PAL Ocean Division, but will need someone to upset first-place South San Francisco. The Knights continue their title search on Friday by hosting Sequoia (2-1, 6-1) at 3 p.m.

In eight-man action, Priory (3-0, 5-0) can all but capture the Mission Trail Athletic League title by beating Stuart Hall (3-0, 4-1) on Saturday at Treasure Island at 3 p.m.

The showdown will match Priory’s James McDaniel (91 carries for 895 yards) against Stuart Hall’s Trayvon Hicks (101 carries for 923 yards).

In games last week: Palo Alto 25, Los Gatos 7 Matt Crist and the Palo Alto defense wanted to make a statement in the SCVAL De Anza Division and getting after Los Gatos early and often was part of the plan. Consider the statement made.

The Vikings’ offense followed along as Keller Chryst passed for 214 yards and three touchdowns to help Palo Alto achieve maximum efficiency in the victory.

“We came ready to play,” Crist said. “We were really prepared for this game and knew we had to get after them. We want to make sure no one can beat us on our home turf.”

Crist, Erik Anderson, Andrew Frick and Drew Rider made things miserable for Wildcats’ quarterback Nick Bawden, who managed one completion in his first five at- Keller Chryst tempts and that went for negative yardage.

That’s just the way things went for the Vikings all night and particularly in the early going. Los Gatos was limited to 42 yards of total offense in the first 24 minutes.

“That was our best defensive effort against a good team,” Hansen said. “We stepped it up on both sides of the ball.”

In addition to Chryst, Matt Tolbert and Jayshawn Gates-Mouton each proved to be powerful weapons.

Tolbert’s 70-yard run on Palo Alto’s second play from scrimmage was a thing a beauty. He hit the hole created by center Spencer Drazovich and guard Nick Beeson and was never touched again as he completed his race to the end zone along the near sideline. Tolbert finished with 119 yards on 13 carries.

Gates-Mouton, meanwhile, caught a pair of touchdown passes from Chryst of 62 and 39 yards, the first he caught in stride and the second in the corner of the end zone while he was being tightly guarded.

Malcolm Davis never had to break stride in his 48-yard touchdown reception from Chryst either.

Palo Alto produced 378 yards of total offense to Los Gatos’ 220.

Crist and company sacked Bawden six times, hurried him a number of other times and Larry Allen blocked a pass at the line of scrimmage.

SHP 25, Aragon 18 Senior quarterback Kevin Donahoe threw for 210 yards and ran for a touchdown to lead the Gators, who have outscored their opponents by a combined 218-47.

“We had a really good week at practice,” said senior running back Ryan Gaertner. “Our O-line today put forth so much effort — we didn’t get stopped on any fourth downs today; it was pretty incredible.”

Donahoe set the table early for the Gators with a 40-yard strike to senior tight end Derek Hunter to put Sacred Heart ahead 6-0 in the first quarter. SHP junior Andrew Segre later caught a 41-yard pass from Donahoe down to the Dons’ one yard-line. Gaertner then dived in for the one-yard touchdown putting the Gators up 12-6 at the end of the first half.

The Gators’ running game was clutch when senior Jack Del Santo ran for a four-yard touchdown with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter putting the Gators up 25-12.

After Aragon scored with 58.3 seconds left in the game, the Dons tried an onside kick but it failed when SHP senior defensive back Daniel Thaure came up with the loose ball.

Gunn 42, Los Altos 0 The Titans made the most of their homecoming with a big win against visiting Los Altos in front of a packed home crowd.

Led by Sean Lydster’s three touchdown runs and Andre Guzman’s two touchdown passes to Tyrus Whitehead, the Titans scored early and often.

The Titans got on the board quickly as Lydster scored on a two- yard run just two minutes into the game.

Early in the second quarter Lydster broke free on a 91-yard score to make it 21-0. He finished with eight carries for 178 yards.

Menlo 57, King’s Academy 23 Menlo junior Jack Heneghan completed 12 of 15 passes for 230 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another. Senior Matt Bradley had 5-of-6 completions for 70 yards and neither quarterback had an interception. A stalwart line, including center/guard Adam Yecies, who played

the entire game, Chris Atkeson, Monty Newman, Sean Leahy and Sam Eckert.

“The offensive line did a good job on pass protection and getting a man up on blocks,” Menlo coach Mark Newton said.

Heneghan and Bradley spread out the passes among five receivers, including seniors Max Parker, who had six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, Travis Chambers (3-82 TD), Connor Stastny (3-62 TD), Connor Paterson (3-36 TD) and junior Will King (2-24).

Heru Peacock rolled up 84 yards on Jack Heneghan nine carries and had a touchdown.

The special teams corps had its moments as well — Parker had his fifth kickoff return for a TD of the season. Already, Parker has tied Michael Justin of Hollywood (five in 1988) who is fourth among state leaders for most kickoff return touchdowns in a season, according to Harold Abend of MaxPreps.

Menlo-Atherton 31, HM Bay 14 Tasi Teu ran for touchdowns of three and 51 yards as the Bears won their fourth game and remained tied for first in the PAL Bay Division with a solid win at Half Moon Bay. Teu carried 17 times for 139 yards.

Alan Sakalia scored on a 45-yard run and Royce Branning connected with Zack Moore on a four-yard touchdown pass.

The M-A defense came up with three sacks, three interceptions (Brian Jaggers, Spiro Papadakis and Teu) and one fumble recovery (Enzo Santos). Jaggers had 10 tackles and Isiah Nash added eight.

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Pinewood 68, Alma Heights 6 Owen Lewis carried 10 times for 150 yards and Greg Naumann added 147 yards rushing on nine carries to carry the Panthers (2-1, 3-1) to their lopsided win in the MTAL. Grayson Burdon had nine tackles and Oscar Fick eight for Pinewood while Naumann picked off two passes.N

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Prep roundup (continued from page 31)

golf,â&#x20AC;? said Gunn coach Chris Redfield. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Anna Zhou got off to a slow start and was 3-over early in her round, but played a steady back nine â&#x20AC;&#x201D; finishing with birdies on 16-1718 to post a 1-over-par 74.â&#x20AC;?

Gunnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tiffany Yang shot a 5-over 41 on the front nine, before turning it around on the tougher back nine with a 2-under 35 to finish at 76. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tiffany was the only member of our teams who had never played the back nine there, but this didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t slow here down a bit,â&#x20AC;? said Redfield.

Gunn junior Jayshree Sarathy finished with a 78, playing a steady front nine. She was 2-over after 11 but picked up a double-bogey on the 12th â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a downhill, dogleg right par-4.

Gunn also got a solid 83 from Lianna McFarlane-Connolly, a season best. Sandra Herchen, a former member of the Gunn basketball team and a newcomer to golf, rounded out the Titansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; scoring with a 101.

In San Mateo, Castilleja had what amounted to a practice round as the Gators already had clinched a CCS berth by virtue of winning the regular-season round-robin title.

Harker was second with 464 strokes while Sacred Heart Prep (490) and Menlo School (502) rounded out the team scoring. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unlikely that SHP or Menlo will advance as a team with the tougher qualifying standards this season.

Castilleja had all five players shoot 93 or better with sophomore Chloe Sales leading the way with a 9-over 80. She bounced back from a double-bogey six on the second hole and a 42 on the front nine to shoot 38 on the back. She tied with Menlo freshman Jessie Rong, who may advance as an individual.

Castilleja senior Taylor Wilkerson was a stroke back at 81, thanks to a double-bogey six on both the 13th and 18th holes, with Danielle Mitchell tying for eighth with an 84.

Freshman Paris Wilkerson (92) and Nicole Mitchell (93) rounded out the Gatorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; scoring.

Allison Beers of Pinewood shot 77 and should advance to CCS. She was only 2-over on the back nine.

Caroline Broderick of Menlo (86) and Maddy Ellison of SHP (87) are on the bubble.

At the PAL Championships on Tuesday, Menlo-Atherton senior Xin Fang shot 79 at Poplar Creek to qualify for the CCS tournament.

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Cross country The Menlo-Atherton girls finished only fifth at last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Peninsula Athletic League Championships. The Bears should fare much better on Saturday when the league meet returns to Crystal Springs in Belmont.

Despite returning only two runners from that 2011 team â&#x20AC;&#x201D; only one of which finished among the top 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the Bears are likely favorites to run off with the team crown this weekend.

One reason for that are the CCS rankings, which list M-A at No. 8.

The Bearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; nearest rival is No. 11 Half Moon Bay. Another reason why M-A may run off with the title is its talented

freshman class. Of the seven runners going to the starting line at 3 p.m., five will be freshmen â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Maddie Worden, Annalisa Crowe, Katie Beebe, Madeleine Baier and Cat DePuy. Juniors Taylor Fortnam, 10th last season, and Annika Roise, round up the top seven. â&#x20AC;&#x153;If the girls win, this will be their first league title since 1994,â&#x20AC;? said M-A coach Eric Wilmurt. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The trick will be getting these girls to the state meet.â&#x20AC;?

In the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; varsity race at 2:30 p.m., the Bears wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be favored.

Carlmont is favored to defend its title. The Scots are ranked No. 2 in the CCS while the Bears are No. 9 (but the No. 2-ranked team from the PAL). â&#x20AC;&#x153;I thought we had a shot at the boys (title) the last couple of years,â&#x20AC;?

Wilmurt said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but Carlmont has whooped all over us.â&#x20AC;?

The Bears lost their top two finishers from last season, but return seniors George Baier, John Lovegren and junior Zach Plante â&#x20AC;&#x201D; all of whom finished among the top 22.

Senior Alexander Aguiar also returns.

The Palo Alto and Gunn boys and girls, meanwhile, made their final tuneup before next Tuesdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SCVAL Championships at Crystal Springs, with the Vikings running off with team titles at the Palo Alto City Championships.

In the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; race over the 2.18-mile layout at Gunnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bol Park course, Paly sophomore Katie Foug led the Vikings to a solid victory. Foug toured the course in 12:45 as the Vikings put seven runners among the top 10 and scored 23 points to the Titansâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 36. Freshman Gillian Meeks led Gunn with a second-place finish of 12:51.8.

In the boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; race, Gunn sophomore David Lee-Heidenreich ran off with individual honors with a 11:16.8 clocking, but Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s depth won out for a team title. Paly sophomore Nate Cook led a 2-34-7-8 finish by the Vikings for a seven-point victory.

The Paly girls will take a No. 12 CCS ranking into the league finals, where they figure to battle defending champ Mountain View for team honors in the El Camino Division race. The Vikings were third last season, trailing Gunn. The Titans, however, lost defending individual champ Sarah Robinson to injury.

Foug was fifth last year and could challenge for individual honors.

The Gunn and Palo Alto boys figure to trail Los Altos (No. 3 CCS) and Milpitas (No. 8) in the team race.

Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tennis Menlo-Atherton wrapped up the PAL Bay Division regular-season title with a routine 6-1 victory over host Woodside on Tuesday. The Bears improved to 13-1 in league (15-5 overall) and earned an automatic berth into the CCS playoffs.

Menlo-Atherton had forced a tie for first place last Tuesday by upending host Carlmont. One day later, the Scots were upset by Burlingame in the resumption of a match that had been suspended.

Thus, all the Bears had to do was win their final two matches â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which they did â&#x20AC;&#x201D; to become champs.

The Bears set the tone of the

match by sweepinmg the singles while losing only four points. Erin LaPorte had the toughest match at No. 1 singles, winning by 6-2, 6-1.

Samantha Andrew lost one point at No. 2 while Lindy LaPlante and Valerie Giordano both posted 6-0, 6-0 wins.

While Menlo-Atherton was breezing to one title, Menlo School made things look too close for comfort while securing another.

The Knights won their 19th straight league title and the 17th under head coach Bill Shine by edging visiting Harker, 4-3, on Tuesday in WBAL Foothill Division action.

The Eagles threatened to end the Knightsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; historic winning streak before finally falling. Menlo (9-0, 14-7) left the courts with a league record of 197-0 since 1994.

Sophomore Liz Yao led the way for Menlo with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 1 singles, which clinched the victory.

Menlo held a 4-0 lead and played without No. 2 singles player Kristy Jorgensen, who has left the team in order to concentrate on her academics.

Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; volleyball Sacred Heart Prep, Palo Alto and Menlo-Atherton all moved a step closer to securing their respective league titles with solid victories on Tuesday night.

Sacred Heart Prep remained atop the WBAL Foothill Division standings by one game with a 25-21, 9-25, 25-17, 25-21 victory over host Castilleja.

Senior Ellie Shannon continued her standout season with 16 kills for the visiting Gators (8-0, 25-4) while fellow seniors Payton Smith (13 kills, three blocks) and Cammie Merten (32 assists, 12 digs) also contributed in a big way.

Castilleja (2-6, 14-14) was led by senior Lucy Tashman, who produced 20 kills, 17 digs and three blocks.

Madeline Johnson added seven kills and Hannah Hsieh dished out 38 assists and had 17 digs.

Remaining just a game back of SHP in the division was Menlo School, which rolled to a 25-11, 25-23, 25-13 victory over visiting Priory. The Knights moved to 6-1 in league (19-10 overall) with three matches remaining â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the final one against visiting SHP on Nov. 1.

Junior outside hitter Maddie Huber led Menlo with 12 kills and 10 digs. Sarah Bruml and Emma Thygesen each added nine kills with middle blocker Morgan Dressel finishing with six kills while hitting .500. Elisa Merten had 37 assists as the Knights hit .318 as a team.

Briana Willhite led Priory (3-5, 16-8) with 11 kills.

In the SCVAL De Anza Division, Palo Alto moved closer to securing the crown with a 25-10, 25-15, 2520 victory over visiting Lynbrook.

The Vikings improved to 10-1 in the division (21-4 overall) and continues to maintain a one-game lead over second-place Homestead.

Becca Raffel had 12 kills and Shelby Knowles finished with 11 in the win over Lynbrook. Raffel had only one hitting error in 21 swings.

She also served three aces and had four digs. Sophia Bono (18 assists) and Sarah Limb (13 assists) led the ball-handling department while

Sports Keri Gee and Knowles each added 10 digs.

In the PAL Bay Division, MenloAtherton had to battle for a 25-17, 21-25, 25-23, 25-21 victory over host Burlingame to open a twogame lead over the Panthers and Carlmont. The Bears (11-0, 21-7) were led by senior Katelyn Dohertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 15 digs, 15 kills and 18 assists.

Junior Pauli King added 21 digs and 15 kills, Eliza Guiterrez-Dewar served five aces, Kaitlin Tavarez finished with 22 assists plus 13 digs and Ally Ostrow added five kills and 17 digs for the Bears.

Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; water polo Sacred Heart Prep wrapped up the regular-season title in the West Catholic Athletic League and the No. 1 seed for next weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s league tournament following a 15-9 dunking of visiting St. Francis on Wednesday night.

The Gators (6-0, 20-4), who finished in a three-way for first place last year, could have fallen into a similar finish had the Lancers (4-2, 9-11) prevailed. SHP made sure that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen by scoring six goals in the opening period â&#x20AC;&#x201D; three by sophomore Will Conner. The transfer from Paly finished with a season-high six goals.

In the PAL Bay Division, MenloAtherton remained atop the standings with an easy 24-3 romp over host Aragon. Harrison HollandMcCowan scored four goals for the Bears (4-0, 11-11), who can wrap up the division crown on Tuesday by beating host Woodside.

That should be no problem. Menlo School did just that Wednesday, 20-4, as Micah Rosales tallied five goals and freshman Chris Xi added four.

Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; water polo Menlo-Atherton remained atop the PAL Bay Division standings with a 14-3 victory over host Aragon. The Bears (4-0, 12-7) can wrap up its sixth straight division title by beating host Castilleja next Wednesday (5 p.m.).

Fiona Jackson led the Bears with four goals while Jenna Swartz added three. Sami Henze had five steals and Sierra Sheeper made seven saves. Nicole Zanolli had a fine allaround game with two goals, three steals and four assists.

Castilleja, meanwhile, remained in second place following a 13-7 victory over host Sequoia. Sydney Molano led the Gators (3-1, 10-9) with four goals with Stephanie Flamen adding two. Maddie Tarr had 12 goalie saves.

In the WCAL, Sacred Heart Prepâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shot at defending its regular-season title missed the mark in a 6-3 loss to visiting St. Francis on Wednesday. The Gators (5-1, 15-5) were outscored in the second half, 5-1, as the Lancers (6-0, 17-3) claimed the title.

On Tuesday, Gunn clinched the SCVAL De Anza Division title with a 14-5 victory over host Lynbrook.

The Titans (10-1, 14-5) also earned the No. 1 seed for the upcoming league tournament and a first-round bye. Senior Lauren Lesyna paced the Titans with five goals with junior Caroline Anderson adding four and Rachel Wong three. N

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Anna Zhou

Harrison Enright

Gunn High

Sacred Heart Prep

The sophomore recorded a rare double-eagle when she aced the 279-yard, par-4 7th hole at Santa Clara G&TC to finish with a 2-under 34, then shot 36 in a second win as the Titans won their BVAL division title.

The junior water polo standout had four goals in a win over Serra to keep the Gators unbeaten in league play, and added 10 goals to help his team go 3-1 and finish fifth at the prestigious North-South Challenge.

Honorable mention Samantha Andrew Menlo-Atherton tennis

Aashli Budhiraja Palo Alto tennis

Kaelen Dunn Menlo water polo

Zoe Enright Menlo cross country

Chloe Sales Castilleja golf

Ellie Shannon Sacred Heart Prep volleyball

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Keller Chryst Palo Alto football

Jack Heneghan*

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Menlo football

Sean Lydster Gunn football

Tasi Teu Menlo-Atherton football

Matt Tolbert*

Twenty Years Transforming Lives

Palo Alto football

Will Runkel* Sacred Heart Prep water polo * previous winner

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

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TRANSFORMING LIVES THROUGH CHRIST-CENTERED EDUCATION

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