Palo Alto Weekly 03.08.2013 - Section 1 by Palo Alto Weekly

Vol. XXXIV, Number 23 N March 8, 2013

School board seeks more info on bullying case Page 3 w w w.PaloA ltoOnline.com

Bridging the gap

As head of county education board, Palo Altan Grace Mah backs charter school growth PAGE 20

Transitions 10

Spectrum 12

Class Guide 14

Eating Out 27

Shop Talk 28

Movies 29

Puzzles 66

N Arts A glimpse into the world of textiles

Page 25

N Sports Gunn girls lead NorCal winners

Page 31

N Home Landscaping in the spotlight

Page 37

G U I D E TO 2013 S U M M E R C A M P S F O R K I D S

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

Academics Early Learning Camp Connection listing

Palo Alto

Write Now! Summer Writing Camps Emerson School of Palo Alto and Hacienda School of Pleasanton open their doors and offer their innovative programs: ExpositoryWriting, Creative Writing, Presentation Techniques, and (new!) Test-Taking Skills. Call or visit our website for details. www.headsup.org

Emerson (650) 424-1267 Hacienda (925) 485-5750

Foothill College

Los Altos Hills

Two Six-Week Summer Sessions Beginning June 10. These sessions are perfect for university students returning from summer break who need to pick up a class; and high school juniors, seniors and recent graduates who want to get an early start. 12345 El Monte Rd. 650.949.7362

www.foothill.edu

Harker Summer Programs

San Jose

K-12 offerings taught by exceptional, experienced faculty and staff. K-6 morning academics - focusing on math, language arts and science - and full spectrum of afternoon recreation. Grades 6-12 for-credit courses and non-credit enrichment opportunities. Sports programs also offered. www.summer.harker.org

408-553-0537

iD Tech Camps - Summer Tech Fun

Held at Stanford

Take interests further! Ages 7-17 create iPhone apps, video games, C++/ Java programs, movies, and more at weeklong, day and overnight programs held at Stanford and 60+ universities in 26 states. Also 2-week, teen-only programs: iD Gaming Academy, iD Programming Academy, and iD Visual Arts Academy (filmmaking & photography). www.internalDrive.com

1-888-709-TECH (8324)

iD Teen Academies Gaming, Programming & Visual Arts

Stanford

Gain a competitive edge! Learn different aspects of video game creation, app development, filmmaking, photography, and more. 2-week programs where ages 13-18 interact with industry professionals to gain competitive edge. iD Gaming Academy, iD Programming Academy, and iD Visual Arts Academy are held at Stanford, and other universities. www.iDTeenAcademies.com

1-888-709-TECH (8324)

Stratford School - Camp Socrates 17 Bay Area Campuses Academic enrichment infused with traditional summer camp fun--that’s what your child will experience at Camp Socrates. Sessions begin June 24 and end August 9, with the option for campers to attend all seven weeks, or the first four (June 24-July 19). Full or half-day morning or afternoon programs are available. www.StratfordSchools.com/Summer

Summer at Saint Francis

(650) 493-1151

Mountain View

Summer at Saint Francis provides a broad range of academic and athletic programs for elementary through high school students. It is the goal of every program to make summer vacation enriching and enjoyable! www.sfhs.com/summer

TechKnowHow Computer & Lego Camps

City of Mountain View Swim Lessons Rengstorff and Eagle Parks

Arts, Culture, Other Camps

650.968.1213 x446

Palo Alto Menlo Park/Sunnyvale

Fun and enriching technology classes for students, ages 5-14 Courses include LEGO and K’NEX Projects with Motors, Electronics, NXT Robotics, 3D Modeling, and Game Design. Many locations, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Sunnyvale. Half and all day options. Early-bird and multi-session discounts available. Www.techknowhowkids.com

650-638-0500

YMCA of Silicon Valley

Peninsula

Busy Bees & Astro Kids Summer Adventure Camps

Mountain View

Join us for these half-day camps designed for 3-8 year olds as we have fun, participate in games and crafts, and go on fun field trips! Mountain View Community Center, 201 S. Rengstorff Avenue

Mountain View

We offer swim lessons for ages 6 months to 14 years. Following the American Red Cross swim lesson program, students are divided into one of the 11 different levels taught by a certified instructor. Rengstorff Park Pool, 201 S Rengstorff Ave and Eagle Park Pool,650 Franklin St. http://mountainview.gov/

http://mountainview.gov

Club Rec Juniors & Seniors Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA)

Mountain View

50+ creative camps for Gr. K-8! Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture, Musical Theater, School of Rock, Digital Arts, more! One- and two-week sessions; full and half-day enrollment. Extended care available. Financial aid offered. www.arts4all.org

650-917-6800 ext. 0

DHF Wilderness Camps

Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve

Children ages 6-14 can meet the livestock, help with farm chores, explore a wilderness preserve and have fun with crafts, songs and games. Older campers conclude the week with a sleepover at the Farm. Near the intersection of Hwy 85 and Hwy 280

Mountain View

Club Rec Juniors and Seniors is open for youth 6-11 years old. These traditional day camps are filled with fun theme weeks, weekly trips, swimming, games, crafts and more! Monta Loma Elementary School, 490 Thompson Ave. http://mountainview.gov

Foothills Day Camp

Palo Alto

What will you discover? Foothills Day and Fun Camps, for youth ages 8-10 and 5-7 respectively, includes canoeing, hiking, animal identification games, crafts, and more- all for less than $5 an hour. Registration begins February 15th for residents. (February 22nd for non-residents.) Hurry, spaces are limited! cityofpaloalto.org/enjoy

650-463-4900.

mountainview.gov

J-Camp

Palo Alto Community Child Care (PACCC)

Exciting programs for kindergarteners through teens include swimming, field trips, sports and more. Enroll your child in traditional or special focus camps like Surfing, Archery, Animal Adventure, Circus Camp and over 50 others! Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way

Palo Alto

PACCC summer camps offer campers, grades kindergarten to 6th, a wide variety of fun opportunities! K-1 Fun for the youngest campers, Neighborhood Adventure Fun and Ultimate Adventure Fun for the more active and on-the-go campers! New this year: Sports Adventure Camp for those young athletes and Operation Chef for out of this world cooking fun! Swimming twice per week, periodic field trips, special visitors and many engaging camp activities, songs and skits round out the fun offerings of PACCC Summer Camps! Registration is online. Open to campers from all communities! Come join the fun in Palo Alto! www.paccc.org

650-493-2361

Theatreworks Summer Camps

Palo Alto

In these skill-building workshops for grades K-5, students engage in language-based activities, movement, music, and improvisation theatre games. Students present their own original pieces at the end of each two-week camp. www.theatreworks.org/educationcommunity

Western Ballet Children’s Summer Camp

650-493-7146

Mountain View

Students attend ballet class and rehearsal in preparation for the recital of either Peter Pan or The Little Mermaid at the end of the two week session. Separate Saturday classes are also offered. Ages 4-9. 914 N. Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View http://westernballet.org/documents/summerchildrens.html

Western Ballet Intermediate Summer Intensive

Mountain View

Students obtain high quality training in ballet, pointe, character, jazz, and modern dance, while learning choreography from the classical ballet Paquita. The students dance in featured roles in a final performance. Ages 9-12. Audition required 914 N. Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View http://westernballet.org/documents/summerpre-intermediate.html

Western Ballet Advanced Summer Intensive

Mountain View

http://westernballet.org/documents/summer_int_adv.html

Summer at Peninsula School

www.paloaltojcc.org/jcamp

Kim Grant Tennis Academy & Summer Camps

(650) 223-8622

Palo Alto Menlo Park/Redwood City

Fun and Specialized junior camps for Mini (3-5), Beginner, In-termidate 1&2, Advanced and Elite Players. Weekly programs designed by Kim Grant to improve players technique, fitness, agility, mental toughness and all around tennis game. Camps in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City. Come make new friends and have tons of FUN!! www.KimGrantTennis.com

Nike Tennis Camps

650-752-8061

Stanford University

Dick Gould’s 43rd Annual Stanford Tennis School offers day camps for bothjuniors & adults. Weekly junior overnight & extended day camps run by John Whitlinger & Lele Forood. Junior Day Camp run by Brandon Coupe & Frankie Brennan. www.USSportsCamps.com/tennis

1-800-NIKE-CAMP (645-3226)

Spartans Sports Camp Spartans Sports Camp offers multi-sport, week-long sessions for boys and girls in grades 3-6 as well as sport-specific sessions for grades 6-9. There are also strength and conditioning camps for grades 6-12. Camps begin June 10th and run weekly through August 2nd at Mountain View High School. The camp is run by MVHS coaches and student-athletes and all proceeds benefit the MVHS Athletic Department. Lunch and extended care are available for your convenience. Register today! www. SpartansSportsCamp.com

Spring Down Camp Equestrian Center

650-479-5906

Portola Valley

Spring Down Camp teaches basic to advanced horsemanship skills. Ages 6-99 welcome! Daily informative lecture, riding lesson, supervised hands-on ski-ll practice, safety around horses, tacking/untacking of own camp horse, and arts/crafts. www.springdown.com

Students obtain high quality training in ballet, pointe, character, jazz, and modern dance, while learning choreography from the classical ballet Paquita. The students dance in featured roles in a final performance. Ages 13-23. Audition required. 914 N. Rengstorff Ave, Mountain View

Palo Alto

Stanford Water Polo Camps

650.851.1114

Stanford

Ages 7 and up. New to sport or have experience, we have a camp for you. Half day or Full day option for boys and girls. All the camps offer fundamental skill work, position work, scrimmages and games. StanfordWaterPoloCamps.com

650-725-9016

Summer at Saint Francis

Mountain View

Menlo Park

This is a child’s delight with trees to climb, rope swings, and unpaved open spaces. Our engaging and creative program includes time to play and make friends. Peninsula School, 920 Peninsula Way. Visit website for class listings.

Sports & Activity Camp (ages 6-12): This all-sports camp provides group instruction in a variety of field, water and court games. Saint Francis faculty and students staff the camp, and the focus is always on fun. The program is dedicated to teaching teamwork, sportsmanship and positive self-esteem. After camp care and swim lessons available.

What makes Y camps different? We believe every child deserves the opportunity to discover who they are and what they can achieve. Y campers experience the outdoors, make new friends and have healthy fun in a safe, nurturing environment. They become more confident and grow as individuals, and they learn value in helping others. We offer day, overnight, teen leadership and family camps. Financial assistance is available. Get your summer camp guide at ymcasv.org/summer camp. Youth camps (ages 5 - 17) run June 17 - Aug. 16 . Half-day and full-day options. Fees vary. 1922 The Alameda 3rd Floor, San Jose

www.peninsulaschool.org/pensummerschool.htm (650) 325-1584, ext. 39

Discover fun with us this summer through the many programs available with the City of Mountain View Recreation Division. From sports to traditional day camps, to cooking camps, dance camps and art camps... we have it all! Mountain View Community Center, 201 S. Rengstorff Avenue

Advanced Sports Camps (5th-9th grades): We offer a wide selection of advanced sports camps desikgned to provide playhers with the opportunity to improve both their skills and knowledge of a specific sport. Each camp is run by a Head Varsity Coach at Saint Francis, and is staffed by members of the coaching staff.

www.ymcasv.org

http://mountainview.gov

www.sfhs.com/summer

(408) 351-6400

Athletics City of Mountain View Recreation Division

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Mountain View

www.sfhs.com/summer

650.968.1213 x650

Summer at Saint Francis

Mountain View

650.968.1213 x650

Upfront

Daylight saving time begins Set your clocks ahead one hour at 2 a.m. this Sunday.

,OCAL NEWS INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS

Board members want more info on handling of case 3CHOOL BOARD MEMBERS SAY THEY RE RECONSTRUCTING EVENTS BUT EXPRESS CONFIDENCE IN STAFF TO @LEARN AND MOVE FORWARD by Chris Kenrick ALO !LTO SCHOOL BOARD MEM BERS THIS WEEK SAID THEY WANT MORE INFORMATION ON WHAT WENT WRONG IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL BULLYING CASE THAT LED TO FED ERAL CIVIL RIGHTS FINDINGS AGAINST THE SCHOOL DISTRICT %VEN AS THE DISTRICT MOVES TO

CLARIFY ITS ANTI BULLYING POLICY TO COMPLY WITH A RESOLUTION AGREEMENT REACHED IN $ECEMBER WITH THE 5 3 $EPARTMENT OF %DUCATION S /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS BOARD MEMBERS IN SEPARATE INTERVIEWS 7EDNESDAY SAID THEY PERSONALLY ARE WORKING TO RE CONSTRUCT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CASE

OR HAVE ASKED SCHOOL DISTRICT STAFF TO DO SO h) VE PORED THROUGH HUNDREDS OF PAGES AND ) THINK EACH BOARD MEM BER IS DOING THE SAME SO WE CAN SUR FACE THE RELEVANT QUESTIONS AND LEARN FROM THINGS WE WOULDN T NORMALLY BE INVOLVED WITH AT THE BOARD LEVEL v BOARD 6ICE 0RESIDENT "ARB -ITCHELL SAID !LL FIVE MEMBERS STRESSED THEY WERE CONSTRAINED IN FULLY DISCUSSING THE /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS FINDINGS

BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO PROTECT THE STUDENT S CONFIDENTIALITY h-Y HOPE WOULD BE THERE S A REC OGNITION THAT THE WHOLE STORY ISN T PUBLIC v -ITCHELL SAID h) D ASK PEO PLE TO RESERVE JUDGMENT v &OLLOWING AN INVESTIGATION THAT INCLUDED INTERVIEWS WITH MORE THAN STUDENTS AND STAFF AT A 0ALO !LTO CAMPUS THE /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS FOUND THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT VIOLAT ED A STUDENT S CIVIL RIGHTS BY FAILING TO PROPERLY INVESTIGATE AND RESPOND

TO THE STUDENT S AND FAMILY S ONGO ING COMPLAINTS OF BULLYING 4HE BULLYING WAS RELATED TO THE STUDENT S DISABILITY WHICH HAD TO DO WITH THE STUDENT S INABILITY TO INTER PRET SOCIAL CUES THE /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS SAID 3EVERAL BOARD MEMBERS 7EDNES DAY SAID THEY WOULD WELCOME CLARI FICATION FROM THE /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS /#2 ON ITS INVESTIGATION (continued on page 6)

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Gunn counseling committee offers ‘compass’ ,ONG AWAITED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COUNSELING IMPROVEMENTS ARE PRESENTED by Chris Kenrick RIGHTENING UP THE 'UNN (IGH 3CHOOL CAMPUS WITH PAINT AND USING THE ONLINE TOOL 3CHOOL OGY WERE AMONG THE LONG AWAITED SUGGESTIONS ISSUED -ONDAY -ARCH BY AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON COUNSELING -EMBERS OF THE 'UNN 'UIDANCE !DVISORY #OMMITTEE REPRE SENTING OPPOSING SIDES OF A BITTER TWO YEAR DISPUTE OVER THE PROPER STRUCTURE FOR 'UNN S GUIDANCE COUNSELING PROGRAM PRESENTED MORE THAN RECOMMENDATIONS WHICH THEY SAID SHOULD BE IMPLE MENTED BY THE 'UNN STAFF "UT RATHER THAN OFFERING SPE CIFICS OR DIRECTLY ADDRESSING THE HOT BUTTON ISSUE OF WHETHER 'UNN SHOULD ADOPT A 0ALO !LTO (IGH 3CHOOL STYLE hTEACHER ADVISORYv SYSTEM THE COMMITTEE PROPOSED THEMES THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN ANY NUMBER OF WAYS 4HE FIRST RECOMMENDATION FOR EXAMPLE IS h0ROVIDE SUPPORT STRUC TURES SO THAT STUDENTS DEVELOP RE SILIENCY STUDENTS KNOW HOW TO AC CESS HELP FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FRIENDS STUDENTS WHO DON T ASK FOR HELP HAVE A PREDICTABLE DEFINED RELIABLE SAFETY NET AND STUDENTS DE VELOP STRONG COPING AND STRESS MAN AGEMENT SKILLS TO MANAGE THE HIGH PRESSURE AND COMPETITION v #OMMITTEE MEMBERS SOME OF WHOM STRONGLY OPPOSED EACH OTHER LAST YEAR IN SCHOOL BOARD DEBATES OVER COUNSELING STOOD SIDE BY SIDE -ONDAY IN A PRESENTATION BEFORE THE 'UNN 3ITE #OUNCIL 4HE RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN A PAGE REPORT EARNED THE BUY IN OF EVERY PARENT TEACHER AND STU DENT ON THE MEMBER COMMITTEE THEY SAID 'UNN 0RINCIPAL +ATYA 6ILLALOBOS SAID SHE WOULD TAKE THE RECOM MENDATIONS TO THE FACULTY AND OTHER

B Veronica Weber

Getting their moves on $EE %LLSWORTH LEFT 3UE +EMP (SIU ,EE AND 0ETER (ANSON DO A BELLY DANCE INSPIRED MOVE IN THE :UMBA 'OLD CLASS TAUGHT AT THE NONPROFIT !VENIDAS IN DOWNTOWN 0ALO !LTO ON -ARCH 4HE DESIGNED FOR SENIORS :UMBA CLASS IS HELD EVERY 7EDNESDAY AT THE SENIOR CENTER

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Palo Alto copes with spiking benefit costs 2ECENT REFORMS HELP CITY WITHSTAND RISING COSTS OF PENSION HEALTH CARE by Gennady Sheyner S PENSION AND HEALTH CARE COSTS CONTINUE THEIR DRAMATIC RISE 0ALO !LTO S BUDGET OFFI CIALS CAN AT LEAST TAKE SOLACE IN ONE FACT THE CITY S EMPLOYEE EXPENSES ARE HOLDING STEADY DESPITE THE TWO TROUBLING TRENDS !CCORDING TO SALARY STATISTICS THAT THE CITY RELEASED LAST WEEK THE CITY S PAYROLL FELL BY PERCENT IN LARGELY AS A RESULT OF A LEANER WORKFORCE AND A WAVE OF RETIRE MENTS FROM SOME OF THE MOST SENIOR EMPLOYEES 4HE CITY NOW HAS FEWER WORKERS AND MORE FLEXIBILITY WHEN IT COMES TO STAFFING WHICH RESULTED IN A MAJOR DROP IN OVERTIME SPEND ING &URTHERMORE IN A SIGNIFICANT

BREAK FROM PAST PRACTICES WORKERS NOW PITCH IN TOWARD THEIR BENEFIT COSTS 4HE NEW NUMBERS ALONG WITH FINANCIAL FORECASTS THAT THE #ITY #OUNCIL &INANCE #OMMITTEE OF FICIALS DISCUSSED 4UESDAY NIGHT UNDERSCORE THE SUCCESS OF THE LABOR REFORMS THAT 0ALO !LTO HAS BEEN AGGRESSIVELY PURSUING SINCE THE ECONOMY TANKED IN /VER THE PAST THREE YEARS THE CITY HAS NEGO TIATED NEW CONTRACTS WITH ALL OF ITS LABOR UNIONS THAT FORCE EMPLOYEES TO SHARE THE COSTS OF THEIR MEDICAL CARE WHICH HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN PAID FOR ENTIRELY BY THE CITY 7ORKERS ALSO NOW PAY THE ENTIRE

hEMPLOYEE SHAREv OF THEIR PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE #ALIFORNIA 0UBLIC %MPLOYEES 2ETIREMENT 3YSTEM #AL0%23 A CONTRIBUTION THAT HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN FOOTED EN TIRELY BY THE CITY 4HE CITY S LARG EST UNION THE 3ERVICE %MPLOYEES )NTERNATIONAL 5NION AND ITS NON UNIONIZED GROUP OF MANAGERS AND PROFESSIONALS HAVE BEGUN PAYING THE FULL hEMPLOYEE SHAREv LAST 3EP TEMBER 4HE CITY EXPECTS THIS MOVE TO SAVE ABOUT MILLION OVER THE NEXT DECADE !CCORDING TO $AVID 2AMBERG ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF THE !DMINIS (continued on page 8)

STAKEHOLDERS TO WORK OUT A THREE YEAR IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 5PON QUESTIONING 6ILLALOBOS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE RECOMMEN DATIONS NEITHER RULE OUT NOR RULE IN A 0ALY STYLE TEACHER ADVISORY PRO GRAM -EMBERS STRESSED THAT ANY PRO GRAM MUST ADDRESS THE hTHREE DO MAINSv OF GUIDANCE COUNSELING ACADEMIC ADVISING COLLEGE AND CAREER COUNSELING AND SOCIAL EMO TIONAL HEALTH $ELIVERY SHOULD BE hEFFICIENT v THEY SAID AND SHOULD NOT BE CON FINED TO THE COUNSELING DEPARTMENT BUT SHOULD INVOLVE STUDENTS AND ADULTS ACROSS THE SCHOOL h7E RECOGNIZED THAT THERE S A LOT GOING ON HERE AT 'UNN THAT S VERY POSITIVE BUT WE NEED TO LEVERAGE IT v SAID PARENT !MY "ALSOM WHO HAS BEEN SHARPLY CRITICAL OF THE TRA DITIONAL COUNSELING MODEL CURRENTLY USED AT 'UNN "ALSOM CITED THE PEER COUNSELING PROGRAM 2/#+ 2EACH /UT #ARE +NOW WHICH WAS INITIATED BY 'UNN STUDENTS FOLLOWING A DEVASTATING STRING OF SUICIDES IN AND h2/#+ IS A GREAT PROGRAM BUT NOT NECESSARILY EVERYBODY TAKES AD VANTAGE OF IT OR IS TRAINED v "ALSOM SAID h3O WE CAN TAKE EXISTING PRO GRAMS TO COVER MORE STUDENTS AND DELIVER MORE SERVICES v #OMMITTEE MEMBER -YESHA #OMPTON A 'UNN COUNSELOR SAID THE PROGRAM SHOULD hMAKE TIME FOR ON GOING REGULAR INTERACTIONS BETWEEN STUDENTS AND IDENTIFIED ADULTS v #OMPTON SAID THE SCHOOL NEEDS TO DEFINE A CONSISTENT COUNSELING CUR RICULUM SOME OF WHICH CAN BE DE LIVERED IN GROUP SETTINGS AND SOME OF WHICH WILL REQUIRE INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS (continued on page 9)

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a guide to the spiritual community

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC ÂŁÂ&#x2122;nxĂ&#x160; Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2C6;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x160;,Â&#x153;>`]Ă&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;ÂĂ&#x2C6;xĂ¤ÂŽĂ&#x160;nxĂ&#x2C6;Â&#x2021;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°vVVÂŤ>Â°Â&#x153;Ă&#x20AC;}Ă&#x160; Sunday Worship and Church School at 10 a.m.

This Sunday: A Terrible Excuse for a Party Rev. David Howell preaching Oratorio Concert at 3:00pm in our Sanctuary An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ

ST. ANN ANGLICAN CHAPEL A TRADITIONAL E PISCOPAL CHURCH 541 Melville Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-838-0508 The Most Reverend Robert S. Morse, Vicar Reverend Matthew Weber, Assistant Child Care Provided

PUBLISHER William S. Johnson (223-6505) EDITORIAL Editor Jocelyn Dong (223-6514) Associate Editor Carol Blitzer (223-6511) Sports Editor Keith Peters (223-6516) Express & Online Editor Tyler Hanley (223-6519) Arts & Entertainment Editor Rebecca Wallace (223-6517) Assistant Sports Editor Rick Eymer (223-6521) Spectrum Editor Tom Gibboney (223-6507) Staff Writers Sue Dremann (223-6518), Chris Kenrick (223-6512), Gennady Sheyner (223-6513) Editorial Assistant, Internship Coordinator Eric Van Susteren (223-6515) Staff Photographer Veronica Weber (223-6520) Contributors 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 Editorial Interns Rebecca Duran, Ranjini Raghunath ADVERTISING Vice President Sales & Advertising Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Multimedia Advertising Sales Adam Carter (223-6573), Elaine Clark (223-6572), Janice Hoogner (223-6576), Wendy Suzuki 2236569), Brent Triantos (223-6577), Real Estate Advertising Sales Neal Fine (223-6583), Carolyn Oliver (223-6581), Rosemary Lewkowitz (223-6585) Inside Advertising Sales David Cirner (223-6579), Irene Schwartz (223-6580) Real Estate Advertising Assistant Diane Martin (223-6584) Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan (223-6578) ADVERTISING SERVICES Advertising Services Manager Jennifer Lindberg (223-6595) Sales & Production Coordinators Dorothy Hassett (223-6597), Blanca Yoc (223-6596)

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

DESIGN Design Director Shannon Corey (223-6560) Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Diane Haas, Scott Peterson, Paul Llewellyn Designers Lili Cao, Rosanna Leung EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Online Operations Coordinator Rachel Palmer (223-6588)

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BUSINESS Payroll & Benefits Susie Ochoa (223-6544) Business Associates Elena Dineva (223-6542), Mary McDonald (223-6543), Claire McGibeny (223-6546), Cathy Stringari (223-6541) ADMINISTRATION Receptionist Doris Taylor Courier Ruben Espinoza EMBARCADERO MEDIA President William S. Johnson (223-6505) Vice President & CFO Michael I. Naar (223-6540) Vice President Sales & Advertising Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Frank A. Bravo (223-6551) Major Accounts Sales Manager Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571) Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Bob Lampkin (223-6557) Circulation Assistant Alicia Santillan Computer System Associates Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo

The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 326-8210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered free to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 3268210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. ÂŠ2013 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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Inspirations

Upfront

)T S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO CHASE DOWN THE FACTS Dana Tom, PRESIDENT OF THE 0ALO !LTO SCHOOL BOARD ON HIS DESIRE TO FIND OUT HOW THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAN DLED A CASE OF BULLYING 3EE STORY ON PAGE

Around Town FLOATING AWAY ... It began at local supermarkets. Now, Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s war against the plastic bag is set to spread to every other food and retail business in the city. At its Monday meeting, the City Council is scheduled to take its most dramatic step against the floating creek-polluter when it certifies an environmental analysis and passes a new ordinance banning the bag from delis, restaurants, catering trucks and all other food-serving establishments. In doing so, Palo Alto will be following the lead of dozens of other California communities, including San Francisco and Santa Cruz County. According to a new city report, 65 cities and counties in the state have adopted some sort of plastic-bag ban since 2009, the year Palo Alto passed its ordinance prohibiting plastic bags in supermarkets. Another 24 cities along the Peninsula are considering such bans this year. Under Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new proposal, stores will be prohibited from providing single-use plastic checkout bags (as opposed to those plastic â&#x20AC;&#x153;produce bagsâ&#x20AC;? that are used for fruit and vegetables, which would still be kosher). They would also be required to charge at least 10 cents for a recyclable paper bag or a reusable checkout bag. The fee would move up to 25 cents a year after the ban takes effect. Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s latest efforts to ban the bag will likely invite further opposition from the industry, which filed a lawsuit against the city after the 2009 supermarket ban. As part of the settlement, the city agreed to conduct a full environmentalimpact report before it makes further bans. The council is scheduled to review and approve this report Monday evening. The city has been having a hard time getting its famously green residents to switch to reusable bags (the percentage of people using such bags went up from 9 percent to 25 percent shortly after it was instituted but has remained largely flat since). Still, there are some hopeful signs. According to the new report, a 2012 survey showed that about one third of Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food establishments already use paper exclusively, with many more using a combination of paper and plastic. A BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER ... Palo Alto has no shortage of grand plans when it comes to bridges, from a proposal to construct a $10 million bike-and-pedestrian bridge over U.S. Highway 101 at Adobe Creek

to a controversial plan to expand the narrow Newell Road bridge along the border with East Palo Alto. All the bridge hoopla doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sit well with some Crescent Park residents, whose neighborhood suffered heavy damage in the flood of 1998 when water spilled over the narrow PopeChaucer Bridge in their neighborhood. Norman Beamer, president of the Crescent Park Neighborhood Association, expressed the neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frustration in a recent email to the city, writing that he â&#x20AC;&#x153;canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help feeling frustrated that the city has not come up with $10 million for fixing the Chaucer Ave. bridge, which in its current state actually floods peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s houses, and threatens human life, as opposed to inconveniencing cyclists.â&#x20AC;? The good news for Crescent Park is that help is on the way. City Manager James Keene replied to Beamer that the Pope-Chaucer Bridge has secured funding and â&#x20AC;&#x153;is currently in design, with a completion of construction by 2015/2016â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a year after the Newell Road Bridge is reconstructed, Keene wrote. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a cause of celebration.â&#x20AC;? Keene also warned against lumping all the bridge projects into one argument. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The City has always placed the utmost priority on addressing the flooding problems, including these crucial bridge projects which will now happen,â&#x20AC;? he wrote. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is mistaken anyway to confuse these with the bike pedestrian bridge, which has a separate funding source â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not needed for Pope-Chaucer anyway but also not fungible.â&#x20AC;? KEEP ON TRUCKINâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ... Fans of gourmet, food-truck eats may have a new â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or in some ways, old â&#x20AC;&#x201D; place to nosh on Monday nights in Palo Alto. Edgewood Eats, the ever-changing congregation of food trucks thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s served up Vietnamese sandwiches, blackened chicken chimichangas, tacos and more, used to operate out of the defunct Edgewood Plaza shopping center near U.S. Highway 101. The monthly gathering ended when renovation of the plaza began, but now organizers are reviving it several blocks away, at the First Congregational Church of Palo Alto on Embarcadero Road. The new Edgewood Eats, which is still pending approval by the city, is expected to launch on Monday, March 18, and continue weekly. Dining hours will be 5 to 8 p.m., and each month, a charity will receive at least 5 percent of the proceeds. N

Upfront ,!.$ 53%

Edgewood Plaza work to proceed despite violation #ITY #OUNCIL TO FINE DEVELOPER ALLOW RENOVATION OF RUNDOWN COMMERCIAL CENTER TO CONTINUE LONG STALLED EFFORT TO SPRUCE UP 0ALO !LTO S DILAPIDATED %DGEWOOD 0LAZA SHALL GO ON THE #ITY #OUNCIL DECIDED -ARCH DESPITE THE DEVELOPER S ILLEGAL DE MOLITION OF A HISTORICAL BUILDING AT THE PLAZA LAST FALL 4HE PLAZA LOCATED IN 0ALO !LTO S $UVENECK 3T &RANCIS NEIGHBOR HOOD HAS BEEN LARGELY DESERTED FOR THE PAST SEVEN YEARS SINCE THE !LBERTSONS GROCERY STORE CLOSED )T TOOK YEARS FOR THE DEVELOPER 3AND (ILL 0ROPERTY #OMPANY TO REACH AN AGREEMENT WITH NEIGHBORHOOD RESI DENTS ON A PLAN TO RENOVATE THE PLAZA ON #HANNING !VENUE 4HE PLAN THAT THE CITY APPROVED LAST FALL ALLOWS 3AND (ILL TO BUILD HOMES AT THE PLAZA IN ADDITION TO A NEW GROCERY STORE 3AND (ILL WAS ALSO REQUIRED TO REHABILITATE TWO HISTORICAL BUILD INGS BUILT BY DEVELOPER *OSEPH %ICHLER ONE OF WHICH WAS TO BE REFURBISHED AT ITS PRESENT SITE WHILE THE OTHER WOULD BE DISASSEMBLED REFURBISHED AND REASSEMBLED AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION IN THE PLAZA 4HAT PLAN HOWEVER FELL APART IN 3EPTEMBER WHEN THE DEVELOPER S CONTRACTOR COMPLETELY DEMOLISHED THE BUILDING THAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO DISASSEMBLE 4HE DEMOLITION PER FORMED WITHOUT A CITY PERMIT THREW THE PROJECT INTO TURMOIL AND LEFT THE COUNCIL WITH A QUANDARY HOW TO PE NALIZE THE DEVELOPER WITHOUT FORCING THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO SUFFER THROUGH

YEARS OF CONSTRUCTION DELAYS !FTER MUCH DEBATE COUNCIL MEM BERS AGREED ON -ONDAY THAT WHILE THE DEVELOPER SHOULD PAY FOR ITS ER ROR THE PROJECT SHOULD MOVE ALONG FOR THE SAKE OF THE COMMUNITY 4HE COUNCIL VOTED WITH +AREN (OL MAN 'AIL 0RICE AND 'REG 3CHMID DISSENTING TO ALLOW 3AND (ILL TO PROCEED h/UR CITIZENS WHO LIVE IN THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ARE SUFFERING RIGHT NOW v #OUNCILMAN ,ARRY +LEIN SAID h)T S NOT FUN TO HAVE A BIG PROJECT IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD v $EVELOPER *OHN 4ZE OF 3AND (ILL 0ROPERTY #OMPANY APOLOGIZED TO THE COUNCIL FOR THE UNAUTHORIZED DEMOLITION WHICH HE SAID WAS PER FORMED WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION AND FOR BREAKING HIS PROMISE TO THE COM MUNITY 4HE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY HIRED TO WORK ON THE REHABILITATION DEMOLISHED THE BUILDING ON ITS OWN INITIATIVE AFTER DISCOVERING THE BUILD ING WAS hNOT REPAIRABLE v ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY S HISTORICAL CONSUL TANT * 'ORDON 4URNBULL h4HE DEMOLITION WASN T AUTHO RIZED BY ME OR BY THE CITY BUT OC CURRED BECAUSE OF THE FAILURE OF MY ORGANIZATION v 4ZE SAID h) M SORRY IT HAPPENED AND ) TAKE FULL RESPON SIBILITY v -OST COUNCIL MEMBERS AGREED THAT WHILE THERE SHOULD BE A PEN ALTY THE PROJECT SHOULDN T BE HELD UP ANY LONGER THAN NECESSARY -EMBERS ASKED STAFF TO RETURN AT A LATER DATE

Veronica Weber

by Gennady Sheyner

#ONSTRUCTION IS WELL UNDERWAY ON THE NEW MARKET THAT WILL REPLACE THE OLD !LBERTSONS STORE AT %DGEWOOD 0LAZA IN 0ALO !LTO &RESH -ARKET IS SLATED TO OPEN ITS FIRST 7EST #OAST OUTLET THERE IN -AY WITH A PROPOSED FINE AN AMOUNT THAT WOULD CONSIDER THE ECONOMIC BEN EFITS OF BUILDING THE NEW HOUSES AT %DGEWOOD 0LAZA )N THE MEANTIME 3AND (ILL WILL BE ALLOWED TO PROCEED WITH THE CONSTRUCTION "EFORE THE COUNCIL S VOTE SOME RESIDENTS URGED THAT THE PROJECT BE ALLOWED TO MOVE ALONG WHILE OTH ERS CALLED FOR THE COUNCIL TO HOLD THE DEVELOPER ACCOUNTABLE !REA RESI DENT 2OBERT 3MITH SAID HE DOESN T CONSIDER THE DESTROYED BUILDING hHISTORICAL v h) THINK IT S AN EXAMPLE OF @ S COMMERCIAL ARCHITECTURE STRIP MALLS AND SO ON v 3MITH SAID h)T WAS A FAILURE v *EFF ,EVINSKY WHO ALSO LIVES NEAR

%DGEWOOD 0LAZA CALLED THE DEMOLI TION A hBREAKDOWN OF THE 0# PRO CESS IN 0ALO !LTO v REFERRING TO THE CONTROVERSIAL hPLANNED COMMUNITYv ZONING THAT ALLOWS DEVELOPERS TO EX CEED CITY REGULATIONS IN EXCHANGE FOR NEGOTIATED hPUBLIC BENEFITS v )N THE CASE OF %DGEWOOD 0LAZA THE MAIN PUBLIC BENEFITS ARE A NEW GROCERY STORE AND REHABILITATION OF HISTORICAL BUILDINGS h4HIS WOULD BE THE MOST EGRE GIOUS EXAMPLE YET FOR A 0# BEING VIOLATED v ,EVINSKY SAID "Y LAW THE CITY CAN ISSUE A FINE OF ABOUT FOR THE ILLEGAL DE MOLITION THOUGH THE FINE CAN BE RAISED SIGNIFICANTLY FOR A DEMOLITION OF A HISTORIC STRUCTURE 4HE COUNCIL

AGREED THAT FALLS FAR SHORT OF WHAT THE CITY SHOULD ASK FOR 3AND (ILL WILL ALSO BE REQUIRED NOW TO PERFORM A SUPPLEMENTAL %NVIRON MENTAL )MPACT 2EPORT TO ACCOUNT FOR THE CHANGING NATURE OF THE PROJECT 0RICE OPPOSED THE MOTION FAVOR ING MORE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES FOR 3AND (ILL 4HE COUNCIL S DECISION MEANS THAT CONSTRUCTION OF THE %DGEWOOD 0LA ZA GROCERY STORE REMAINS ON TRACK &RESH -ARKET A .ORTH #AROLINA BASED CHAIN PLANS TO OPEN ITS FIRST 7EST #OAST STORE AT %DGEWOOD 0LAZA IN -AY N 3TAFF 7RITER 'ENNADY 3HEYNER CAN BE EMAILED AT GSHEYNER PAWEEKLY COM

"53).%33

City tries to hold on to retail on Emerson 0LANNING COMMISSION ENDORSES REQUIRING RETAIL AT STREET LEVEL ON BLOCK OF %MERSON by Gennady Sheyner OR A GLIMPSE OF DOWNTOWN 0ALO !LTO S CHANGING FOR TUNES ONE NEED LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE BLOCK OF %M ERSON 3TREET WHERE ZONING LAWS HAVE BEEN SWAYING WITH THE ECO NOMIC WINDS IN RECENT YEARS 7HEN THE ECONOMY WAS SAGGING IN AND SPACES ON THE PERIPH ERAL DOWNTOWN BLOCK WENT VACANT THE #ITY #OUNCIL REMOVED A LONG STANDING REQUIREMENT THAT RETAILERS OCCUPY THE GROUND FLOOR GIVING PROPERTY OWNERS THE OPTION OF LEAS ING TO OFFICE TENANTS 4HESE DAYS WITH EMPTY SPOTS NONEXISTENT AND OFFICES DISPLACING SEVERAL SHOPS ON THIS BLOCK THE ZONING PENDULUM IS SWINGING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION 3EVERAL DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES "LUE #HALK #AF£ &RAICHE 9OGURT AND *UNGLE #OPY HAVE BEEN RE PLACED BY OFFICES IN RECENT YEARS /N 7EDNESDAY NIGHT IN A RE

SPONSE TO #ITY #OUNCIL CONCERNS THE CITY S 0LANNING AND 4RANS PORTATION #OMMISSION VOTED WITH 6ICE #HAIR -ARK -ICHAEL AND #OMMISSIONER -ICHAEL !L CHECK DISSENTING TO RESTORE THE GROUND FLOOR REQUIREMENT TO THE BLOCK BETWEEN (AMILTON AND &OR EST !VENUES 5NDER THE ZONE CHANGE THE COMMISSION APPROVED EXISTING OFFICES ON THE BLOCK WILL BE AL LOWED TO CARRY ON AS THEY ARE "UT IF A BUILDING REMAINS VACANT FOR MONTHS THE GROUND FLOOR RETAIL REQUIREMENT KICKS IN h) THINK THE ISSUE IS THAT IF WE DON T DO THIS THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT CHANCE THAT OTHER PROPERTIES WILL DESIRE TO TAKE THE HIGHER RENT AND THAT WE LL LOSE THE CONNECTIVITY TO RETAIL THAT IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT v #OMMIS SIONER !RTHUR +ELLER SAID SPEAKING IN FAVOR OF THE ZONE CHANGE

/NLY TWO PROPERTY OWNERS VOICED CONCERNS ABOUT THE ACTION *OYCE 9AMIGAWA PRESIDENT OF (AMIL TON -ANAGEMENT A SUBSIDIARY OF +EENAN ,AND #OMPANY SPOKE AGAINST THE PROPOSAL CALLING IT THE hMICROMANAGEMENT OF REAL ESTATE v (ER COMPANY OWNS THE BUILDINGS FROM TO %MERSON 3T h7HEN YOU START REQUIRING CER TAIN USES THAT MAY BE CONTRARY TO WHAT THE MARKET IS TELLING YOU THAT CAN CAUSE THOSE VACANCIES v 9AMIGAWA SAID $AVID +LEIMAN OWNER OF &OREST !VE ON THE CORNER OF &OR EST AND %MERSON SAID HE DOESN T OPPOSE THE CONCEPT IN GENERAL BUT SAID IT SHOULD NOT APPLY TO HIS BUILDING BECAUSE IT HAS NO WIN DOWS AND WOULD NOT BE VIABLE AS A RETAIL SITE 4HE BUILDING HE SAID IS MORE THAN YEARS OLD AND HAS BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN THE PAST

WHEN IT HAD RETAIL USE h)F YOU CAN THINK OF A RETAIL TENANT WHO WOULD TAKE IT CERTAIN LY LET ME KNOW v +LEIMAN SAID h) DON T THINK ONE EXISTS v "UT THE COMMISSION DECIDED TO GO THROUGH WITH THE CHANGE NOT ING THAT IT WOULD NOT IMPACT THE PROPERTY UNLESS IT WERE VACANT FOR A YEAR !LCHECK WAS THE ONLY COMMISSIONER WHO SPOKE AGAINST THE REZONING SAYING HE OPPOSES HAVING THE CITY MEDDLE IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET !LCHECK SAID THE CHANGE MAY FORCE PROPERTY OWN ERS TO SCRAMBLE IN THE h TH HOURv TO FIND TENANTS JUST TO AVOID LOS ING THE OFFICE OPTION 4HE CHANGE HE SAID WILL RESTRICT THE PROPERTY OWNERS FLEXIBILITY h)T S NOT SO MUCH THAT THEY WON T BE ABLE TO RENT TO AN OFFICE IN MONTHS IT S THAT THEY LL BE FORCED TO RENT FOR LESS v !LCHECK SAID

-ICHAEL THE ONLY OTHER DISSENT ER HAD NO PROBLEM WITH CONSIDER ING THE POLICY CHANGE BUT ARGUED THAT THE ZONE CHANGE IS PREMATURE 4HE CITY IS ABOUT TO EMBARK ON A MAJOR DOWNTOWN STUDY THAT WOULD ASSESS THE AREA S POTENTIAL FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT AND RECOMMEND ZON ING ADJUSTMENTS "UT #HAIR %DUARDO -ARTINEZ ECHOED THE COUNCIL S SENTIMENT THAT IF THE CITY DOESN T MOVE WITH THE CHANGES MORE RETAIL ESTABLISH MENTS WOULD BE DISPLACED WITH OF FICES WHICH FETCH HIGHER RENTS #OMMISSIONER #ARL +ING MAK ING HIS DEBUT ON THE BOARD SAID THAT IF THE NEW POLICY WERE TO LEAD TO VACANCIES THE CITY WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM THEN N 3TAFF 7RITER 'ENNADY 3HEYNER CAN BE EMAILED AT GSHEYNER PAWEEKLY COM

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊU Page 5

Upfront #/--5.)49

‘Self-compassion’ is theme of moms’ symposium 6OLUNTEER COMMITTEE HOSTS HALF DAY EVENT TO EXPLORE MOTHERHOOD THEMES ALLING ALL MOTHERS SINGLE MOTHERS ADOPTIVE MOTHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS INCLUDED &OR THE TH TIME A VOLUNTEER GROUP OF 0ALO !LTO MOTHERS HAS INVITED FELLOW MOMS TO A HALF DAY SYMPOSIUM TO EXPLORE THE COMMON EXPERIENCE OF MOTHERHOOD 4HE THEME OF THIS YEAR S GATHERING IS hSELF COMPASSION v FEATURING 5NI

by Chris Kenrick VERSITY OF 4EXAS PSYCHOLOGIST +RIS TIN .EFF AUTHOR OF THE BOOK h3ELF #OMPASSION v .EFF S FAMILY S JOURNEY INTO AUTISM WITH HER SON 2OWAN IS CHRONICLED IN THE MOVIE h4HE (ORSE "OY v 4HE -OTHERS 3YMPOSIUM TAKES PLACE 3ATURDAY -ARCH BEGINNING AT A M AT #UBBERLEY !UDITO RIUM AT 3TANFORD 5NIVERSITY

h/UR PREMISE IS WE WANT TO BE IN SPIRING v SAID *ANE 'EE AMONG THE ORIGINAL ORGANIZERS OF THE SYMPO SIUMS WHICH BEGAN IN h4HE POWER OF THE CAMARADERIE WHEN YOU GET OR MOTHERS TOGETHER IS ONE THING BY ITSELF (continued on page 7)

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.

Superintendent writes to parents about bullying 3UPERINTENDENT +EVIN 3KELLY EMAILED DISTRICT PARENTS 7EDNESDAY AFTERNOON TO EXPLAIN HOW THE DISTRICT INTENDS TO IMPROVE ITS HANDLING OF REPORTS OF BULLYING (Posted March 7 at 9:52 a.m.)

Temporary patent office will open in Menlo Park -ENLO 0ARK WILL BE THE SITE OF A NEW PATENT OFFICE ALBEIT A TEMPORARY ONE ACCORDING TO A 5NITED 3TATES 0ATENT AND 4RADEMARK /FFICE OFFICIAL (Posted March 7 at 9:52 a.m.)

Kniss says she was victim of identity theft

District

(continued from page 3)

h)T D BE GREAT TO HEAR FROM THE /#2 v BOARD 0RESIDENT $ANA 4OM SAID h7E D LOVE TO HAVE THE /#2 AT SOME LEVEL PROVIDE SOME INFORMA TION AND CONTEXT v -ITCHELL SAID THAT SHE PERSONALLY WOULD PUT IN A CALL TO THE /#2 ASK ING FOR ASSISTANCE 3HE DISPUTED HOWEVER WHETHER THE INVESTIGATION OF THE DISTRICT S HANDLING OF THE CASE COULD BE CHAR ACTERIZED AS hRARE v AS SOME PARENTS IN THE DISTRICT HAVE ALLEGED "OARD MEMBER -ELISSA "ATEN #ASWELL SAID SHE CONSIDERS THE /F FICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS REPORT TO BE THE BASIS FOR DETERMINING WHAT INFORMA TION IS NEEDED FROM THE DISTRICT h4HE BOARD NEEDS TO DIRECT STAFF

ON FACT GATHERING TO SEE HOW THESE THINGS IN THE /#2 REPORT CAME TO BE WHAT PROCESSES DIDN T HAPPEN AND WHY AND HOW WE CAN CHANGE THEM SO THAT THEY WILL v #ASWELL SAID "OARD MEMBERS REITERATED THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT THAT 3UPERINTENDENT +EVIN 3KELLY HAD NOT FULLY INFORMED THEM EARLIER ABOUT DETAILS OF THE FED ERAL INVESTIGATION AND THE RESOLUTION AGREEMENT h7E DIDN T KNOW THAT THE REPORT HAD COME IN OR THAT THE SUPERINTEN DENT HAD SIGNED THE AGREEMENT WITH THE /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS AND THAT WASN T GOOD v #ASWELL SAID h)T S IM PORTANT FOR THE COMMUNITY TO KNOW THE PROCESS WAS GOING ON h3HOULD WE HAVE ASKED MORE QUESTIONS 9ES v "OARD MEMBER #AMILLE 4OWNSEND STRESSED THE NEED FOR A POLICY REQUIR ING THAT ONLY ELECTED BOARD MEM

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Page 6ÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

BERS NOT DISTRICT STAFF BE AUTHORIZED TO SIGN AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER GOV ERNMENT AGENCIES !T A &EB SCHOOL BOARD MEET ING A SCHOOL DISTRICT LAWYER AND DISTRICT PARENTS PRESENTED CLASHING PERSPECTIVES ON THE HANDLING OF THE CASE !TTORNEY ,AURIE 2EYNOLDS CALLED THE INVESTIGATION A hVERY PRODUCTIVE COLLABORATIVE FRUITFUL PROCESSv END ING WITH THE DISTRICT S AGREEMENT TO REVISE ITS ANTI BULLYING PROTOCOLS "UT MEMBERS OF THE PARENT GROUP 7E #AN $O "ETTER 0ALO !LTO CHARGED 2EYNOLDS WITH MISCHARACTERIZING THE FACTS AND SAID hLETTERS OF FINDINGv BY THE /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS AGAINST A SCHOOL DISTRICT ARE EXTREMELY RARE "OARD MEMBERS INDICATED 7EDNESDAY THEY REMAIN CONFIDENT IN 2EYNOLDS ADVICE AND IN THE DIS TRICT STAFF S ABILITY TO hLEARN FROM THE /FFICE FOR #IVIL 2IGHTS CASE AND MOVE FORWARD v h) WORK FROM A STRENGTHS BASED PERSPECTIVE AND FOR ME THIS IS AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD v SAID BOARD MEMBER (EIDI %MBERLING WHO WAS ELECTED IN .OVEMBER 2ATHER THAN HAVING DIFFERENT ANTI BULLYING CURRICULA AT THE EL EMENTARY SCHOOLS %MBERLING SAID SHE THOUGHT THE PROGRAMS SHOULD hCOME TO ALIGNMENT SO KIDS HAVE SHARED LANGUAGE AND THEY CAN MOVE TO MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL !ND AT THOSE LEVELS THOSE PROGRAMS SHOULD BE MORE STANDARDIZED v .ONETHELESS %MBERLING SAID THAT SHE IS STILL EXPECTING INFORMA TION FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT ABOUT ITS HANDLING OF THE CASE SO THAT THE BOARD CAN REFLECT ON WHAT TRANS PIRED h) D LIKE TO SEE ANOTHER REPORT NOW THAT THE DISTRICT STAFF IS LOOKING INTO IT 4HEY NEED TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED h) THINK REPORTING BACK TO THE BOARD IS UNDERSTOOD v SHE SAID .OTING "ROWN !CT RESTRICTIONS ON BOARD MEMBERS TALKING WITH ONE ANOTHER OUTSIDE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS 4OM SAID MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE CASE HAS OUTPACED THE BOARD S ABILITY TO PROVIDE TIMELY RESPONSES SINCE IT MEETS JUST TWICE A MONTH h7HEN ) LOOK AT OUR DISTRICT ) SEE A LOT OF STAFF MEMBERS WORKING VERY HARD TRYING TO DO THEIR HONEST BEST v 4OM SAID h)T S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO CHASE DOWN THE FACTS AND FIGURE OUT WHERE ) THINK THINGS LAND BUT WHAT S MOST IMPORTANT TO ME IS THAT THEY LEARN FROM WHAT HAPPENED AND WE IM PROVE OUR DISTRICT N

&ORMER 3ANTA #LARA #OUNTY 3UPERVISOR ,IZ +NISS SAID SHE WAS THE VICTIM OF IDENTITY THEFT LAST FALL WHEN SOMEONE USED HER COUNTY ISSUED CREDIT CARD TO CHARGE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO AN ONLINE BUSINESS (Posted March 7 at 8:46 a.m.)

High-speed rail hits speedbump in partnership 7HAT WAS BILLED AS A HISTORIC OCCASION FOR THE #ALIFORNIA (IGH 3PEED 2AIL !UTHORITY AND ITS "AY !REA PARTNERS ENDED ON AN AWKWARD NOTE 7EDNESDAY MORNING WHEN THE RAIL AUTHORITY FAILED TO GET VOTES IT NEEDS TO RENEW ITS VOWS WITH #ALTRAIN AND OTHER AGENCIES INVOLVED IN BUILDING THE CONTROVERSIAL BILLION RAIL LINE (Posted March 6 at 11:35 a.m.)

Menlo police arrest three for burglary -ENLO 0ARK POLICE ARRESTED TWO MEN AND A YOUTH AFTER DISCOVERING STOLEN ITEMS DURING A TRAFFIC STOP AT P M ON -ARCH (Posted March 6 at 9:21 a.m.)

Elarms gets four years for weapons possession !CCUSED KILLER 'REGORY %LARMS HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS IN JAIL FOR CONCEALING WEAPONS WHILE IN CUSTODY FOR ALLEGEDLY SHOOTING AN %AST 0ALO !LTO ACTIVIST IN (Posted March 6 at 8:57 a.m.)

Bay Area has most “mega commuters” in nation "AY !REA RESIDENTS ARE MORE THAN FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY TO BE hMEGA COMMUTERS v ACCORDING TO A NEW REPORT BY THE 5 3 #ENSUS "UREAU (Posted March 6 at 8:51 a.m.)

Salon workers win class-action lawsuit &OUR FORMER EMPLOYEES OF .ATALIE 3ALON JOINED BY MORE THAN OTHERS SETTLED THEIR CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR AGAINST THE NAIL AND BEAUTY CENTER ON &EB (Posted March 4 at 5:01 p.m.)

Nonprofits serve up Dine Out fundraisers 'IVING PEOPLE THE CHANCE TO CONTRIBUTE TO CHARITY WHILE EATING OUT IS A GROWING FUNDRAISING TREND FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE 5 3 WITH THE FIRST .ATIONAL $INE /UT FOR #HARITY FUNDRAISER HELD LAST -AY (Posted March 4 at 4:55 p.m.)

Stanford scheduling proposal draws student ire 4O ADDRESS AN ABUNDANCE OF STUDENT SCHEDULING CONFLICTS 3TANFORD 5NIVERSITY IS CONSIDERING A PLAN TO SPREAD OUT ITS CLASS TIMES WHICH MAY INCLUDE STARTING MORE CLASSES EARLIER IN THE DAY A CONTENTIOUS ISSUE TO STUDENTS (Posted March 4 at 9:34 a.m.)

Camera catches burglary suspect in the act 0OLICE ARRESTED A MAINTENANCE WORKER 4HURSDAY &EB AFTER HE WAS PHOTOGRAPHED BY A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA BURGLARIZING AN APARTMENT THE DAY BEFORE ACCORDING TO 0ALO !LTO POLICE (Posted March 2 at 2:14 p.m.)

One dead, one injured in East Palo Alto shooting 0OLICE ARE INVESTIGATING A SHOOTING IN %AST 0ALO !LTO THAT LEFT A YEAR OLD MAN DEAD AND A BOY INJURED ON &RIDAY EVENING -ARCH (Posted March 2 at 1:52 p.m.)

State of emergency declared for levees #ALIFORNIA 'OV *ERRY "ROWN DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN 3AN -ATEO #OUNTY DUE TO DAMAGE CAUSED BY HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODING IN $ECEMBER HIS OFFICE ANNOUNCED -ARCH (Posted March 1 at 6:10 p.m.)

Santa Clara County Supervisor Shirakawa resigns 3ANTA #LARA #OUNTY 3UPERVISOR 'EORGE 3HIRAKAWA &RIDAY -ARCH ANNOUNCED HIS RESIGNATION AFTER HE WAS CHARGED WITH A DOZEN FELONY AND MISDEMEANOR COUNTS INCLUDING PERJURY AND MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS (Posted March 1 at 12:35 p.m.)

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Upfront

REAL ESTATE TRENDS

News Digest

Mothers

Palo Alto to light up California Avenue

AND TO HEAR THE SPEAKERS IS VERY COMFORTING v 'EE HAD JUST HAD HER SECOND CHILD AND WAS WRESTLING WITH THE QUESTION OF WHETHER TO RETURN TO HER REAL ES TATE CAREER 3HE GATHERED FRIENDS AND ACQUAIN TANCES AROUND HER 'REENWOOD !V ENUE DINING ROOM TABLE TO ORGANIZE THE FIRST -OTHERS 3YMPOSIUM ON THE THEME OF hA DELICATE BALANCE v HELP ING WOMEN WITH DECISIONS ON HOW BALANCE CAREER AND MOTHERHOOD h!T THE BEGINNING WE HAD A LOT OF BRAND NEW MOMS THERE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THIS NEW JOURNEY v 'EE SAID /VER THE YEARS GUEST SPEAKERS AT THE ANNUAL Â&#x2C6; AND LATER BIENNIAL Â&#x2C6; SYMPOSIA HAVE INCLUDED .EBRASKA PSYCHOLOGIST AND AUTHOR -ARY 0IPHER AND :EN "UDDHIST WRITER +AREN -AEZEN -ILLER AUTHOR OF h7ALKING THE #ROOKED 0ATH OF -OTHERHOOD v h7E HAD A LOT OF FUN DOING IT v 'EE SAID h"UT WE RE GETTING OLDER AS MOTH ERS AND A COUPLE YEARS AGO WE RE ALIZED WE HAD TO GET SOME YOUNGER MOMS AT THE TABLE BECAUSE A LOT HAS CHANGED IN THE YEARS WE VE BEEN TOGETHER 3TANFORD GENETICS COUNSELOR .ICKI #HUN WAS AMONG THE YOUNGER WOM EN TO JOIN THE ORGANIZING GROUP 4AKING A 3TANFORD #ONTINUING 3TUDIES COURSE ON THE hSCIENCE OF COMPASSION v #HUN WONDERED WHETHER THE ACHIEVEMENT ORIENTED LOCAL CULTURE hUNDERMINES OUR COM PASSION INSTINCT v 4HE CLASS STUDIED .EFF S WORK ON SELF COMPASSION AND #HUN BEGAN hTAKING SMALL STEPS TO SLOW DOWN REFLECT AND SIMPLIFY v h!S MY CHILDREN APPROACH THEIR HIGH SCHOOL YEARS THE EDUCATIONAL MACHINERY IS SHIFTING INTO OVER DRIVE v SHE SAID h(OW WILL WE NAVIGATE OUR CUL TURE S FIXATION WITH '0!S STACKED !0 CLASSES AND MULTIPLE EXTRACUR RICULAR ACTIVITIES h7E DON T NEED TO GET OUR KIDS TO A PREDESTINED SCHOOL OR PROFES SION 7E NEED TO GIVE THEM SPACE TO BREATHE AND REASSURANCE ALONG THE ROAD SO THEY CAN FIND THEIR OWN EQUILIBRIUM v 0ALO !LTO PARENT EDUCATOR 3TEPHA NIE !GNEW AMONG THE ORIGINAL SYM POSIUM ORGANIZERS HELPED TO RECRUIT .EFF AS THIS YEAR S KEYNOTE SPEAKER h3HE S DONE RESEARCH ON THE BEN EFITS OF SELF COMPASSION ABOUT HOW PEOPLE ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE HAPPIER AND HAVE MUCH BETTER LIVES IF THEY HONOR THEMSELVES IN THE SAME WAY THEY TRY TO HONOR THE PEOPLE THEY WORK WITH OR CARE FOR IN ALL AREAS OF LIFE h) TALKED TO +RISTIN ON THE PHONE AND THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD MES SAGE h4HE -OTHERS 3YMPOSIUM IS DE SIGNED TO BE A REJUVENATING INSPI RATIONAL MORNING FOR MOTHERS 7E WANT THEM TO COME AND FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES ABOUT BE ING TOGETHER AS A GROUP 3O TOPICS ALWAYS CENTER AROUND SELF HELP TYPE THINGS AND JUST FEELING GOOD BEING UPLIFTED v !GNEW SAID -ORE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE AT WWW MOTHERSSYMPOSIUM ORG N

#ALIFORNIA !VENUE MERCHANTS AND 0ALO !LTO OFFICIALS REACHED ACCORD THIS WEEK ON ONE PORTION OF THE CONTROVERSIAL PLANNED STREETSCAPE PROJ ECT Â&#x2C6; THE NEED TO INSTALL NEW STREETLIGHTS ALL OVER THE CITY S hSECOND DOWNTOWN v $ESPITE SOME CONCERN ABOUT ESCALATING COSTS OF THE MUCH DEBATED PROJECT THE #ITY #OUNCIL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY -ARCH TO ADD UP TO MILLION TO THE PROJECT S BUDGET FOR INSTALLATION OF AT LEAST STREETLIGHTS ALONG #ALIFORNIA BETWEEN %L #AMINO 2EAL AND THE #ALTRAIN STATION 4HESE WOULD INCLUDE BOTH ROADWAY LIGHTS AND LOWER PEDESTRIAN SCALE LIGHTS WITH THE TYPES SHARING EXISTING POLES 4HE NUMBER OF NEW STREETLIGHTS COULD BE RAISED TO IF STAFF WERE TO DECIDE TO DECREASE SPACING BETWEEN THE POLES AN OPTION THAT WOULD ADD TO THE MILLION PROJECT 4HE COUNCIL S APPROVAL IS THE LATEST ADDITION TO A PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN STEADILY EVOLVING SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN /RIGINALLY ENVISIONED AS A MILLION PROJECT LARGELY FUNDED BY GRANTS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF LANES FROM FOUR TO TWO THE EFFORT HAS MORPHED INTO A DRAMATIC TRANSFOR MATION OF THE COMMERCIAL STRIP WHICH WILL NOW INCLUDE WIDER SIDEWALKS TWO PUBLIC PLAZAS NEW TREES AND STREET FURNITURE AND A BUDGET OF MORE THAN MILLION 3TAFF ATTRIBUTED THE ESCALATING BUDGET TO A VARIETY OF FACTORS INCLUDING RISING CONSTRUCTION COSTS A REDUCTION IN GRANT FUNDS THAT RESULTED FROM A RECENT LAWSUIT BY #ALIFORNIA !VENUE MERCHANTS AND THE COUNCIL S DECI SION TO BROADEN THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT BY REQUIRING WIDENED SIDEWALKS AND OTHER AMENITIES THAT THEY HOPE WILL TURN THE COMMERCIAL STRIP INTO A POPULAR THOROUGHFARE LIKE #ASTRO 3TREET IN -OUNTAIN 6IEW #OUNCILMAN 'REG 3CHMID SAID THAT WHILE THE PROCESS HAS BEEN A LONG ONE IT DOES HELP THE CITY ACHIEVE ITS VISION FOR #ALIFORNIA !VENUE OF MAKING IT hAN ACCESSIBLE VIBRANT PLACE THAT DRAWS PEDESTRIANS IN v 4HE PROJECT HE SAID WILL HELP BRING IN MORE PEOPLE AND THE BRIGHTER LIGHTS WILL HELP N Â&#x2C6; 'ENNADY 3HEYNER

Palo Alto goes â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;carbon neutralâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; with electricity 0ALO !LTO S GREEN COMMUNITY BUZZED WITH EXCITEMENT -ONDAY NIGHT -ARCH AS THE CITY JOINED AN ELITE CLUB OF MUNICIPALITIES THAT DRAW ALL THEIR ELECTRICITY FROM CARBON FREE SOURCES 7ITH LITTLE DISCUSSION AND NO DISSENT FROM ANY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR FROM THE PUBLIC THE #ITY #OUNCIL VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE A STAFF PLAN FOR ACHIEVING A PERCENT CARBON FREE ELECTRIC PORTFOLIO THIS YEAR 4HE PLAN WHICH HAD ALSO BEEN APPROVED BY THE 5TILITIES !DVISORY #OMMISSION SPECIFIES THAT THE CARBON NEUTRAL PORTFOLIO WOULD NOT HAVE A COST IMPACT GREATER THAN CENTS PER KILOWATT HOUR 3TAFF ESTIMATES THAT THE NEW POLICY WOULD COST AN AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER ABOUT PER YEAR 4O GET TO PERCENT CARBON NEUTRALITY THE CITY IS RELYING ON ITS EXISTING RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES INCLUDING WIND FARMS SOLAR ENERGY RENEWABLE GAS CAPTURED FROM LANDFILLS AND HYDRO ELECTRIC GENERATION WHICH PROVIDES ABOUT HALF OF THE CITY S ENTIRE ELECTRICITY LOAD 7HILE THESE SOURCES MAKE UP THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE PORTFOLIO THE CITY WOULD FILL IN THE REMAINING GAP WITH NEW CONTRACTS AND IF NEEDED BY PURCHASING hRENEWABLE ENERGY CERTIFICATESv IN THE SHORT TERM 4HESE CERTIFICATES SUPPORT RENEWABLE EN ERGY FROM OTHER REGIONS OF THE STATE AND COUNTRY AND ALLOW THE CITY TO CLAIM CREDIT FOR THE CARBON FREE ENERGY N Â&#x2C6; 'ENNADY 3HEYNER

Three robberies, one armed, hit Palo Alto ! MAN WITH A SEMI AUTOMATIC HANDGUN WALKED INTO 0UBLIC 3TORAGE ON %AST "AYSHORE 2OAD IN 0ALO !LTO ON 3ATURDAY -ARCH AND MADE OFF WITH CASH AND VARIOUS ITEMS IN WHAT 0ALO !LTO POLICE SAID WAS ONE OF THREE ROBBERIES THAT OCCURRED IN THE CITY THROUGHOUT THE DAY 4HE VICTIM DESCRIBED THE ROBBER AS A BLACK MAN IN HIS S ABOUT FEET TALL WITH A THIN BUILD AND WEARING A BLACK SWEATSHIRT WITH THE HOOD PULLED OVER HIS HEAD BLUE JEANS AND DARK COLORED GLOVES (E ALSO HAD AN INCH LONG BEARD OR GOATEE 0OLICE SAID THEY ARE INVESTIGATING THIS ROB BERY S POSSIBLE CONNECTION TO ANY OTHERS THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE CITY SINCE EARLY $ECEMBER 4HE 0UBLIC 3TORAGE ROBBERY WAS ONE OF THREE ROBBERIES THAT POLICE SAID OCCURRED IN 0ALO !LTO OVER THE SPAN OF ABOUT EIGHT HOURS 4HE OTHER TWO STRONG ARM ROBBERIES BOTH OCCURRED IN DOWNTOWN 0ALO !LTO AND IN ONE CASE AN ARREST WAS MADE 4HE TWO DOWNTOWN ROBBERIES WERE ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED BY DIFFERENT SUSPECTS 0OLICE DO NOT BELIEVE THESE ROBBERIES WERE CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER OR TO THE ONE AT 0UBLIC 3TORAGE 0OLICE SAID THAT OF THE THREE VICTIMS IN THE ROBBERIES TWO WERE UNHARMED WHILE A THIRD WAS TREATED FOR AN INJURY AND RELEASED AT THE SCENE 0OLICE ANNOUNCED 3UNDAY THAT THEY ARE INCREASING PATROLS IN THE DOWN TOWN AREA IN RESPONSE TO THESE ROBBERIES WHILE THEY RE CONDUCTING FOLLOW UP INVESTIGATIONS !NYONE WITH INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC STORAGE ROBBERY CAN CONTACT THE 0OLICE $EPARTMENT S HOUR DISPATCH CENTER AT !NONYMOUS TIPS CAN BE E MAILED TO PALOALTO TIPNOW ORG OR SENT VIA TEXT MESSAGE OR VOICE MAIL TO N Â&#x2C6; 'ENNADY 3HEYNER

(continued from page 6)

by Samia Cullen

A Listing Agentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Obligation to Disclose About Other Offers In a hot market itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not unusual for several prospective buyers to compete for the same property. What does the listing broker have to disclose about other offers to interested buyers in a multiple offer situation? The realtor Code of Ethics Standard of Practice 1-15 provides that â&#x20AC;&#x153;realtors in response to inquiries from buyers or cooperating brokers shall, with the sellersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; approval, disclose the existence of offers on the property. Where disclosure is authorized, realtors shall also disclose (when asked) whether offers were obtained by the listing licensee, another licensee in the listing ďŹ rm, or by a cooperating broker.â&#x20AC;? The listing brokerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s failure to make this disclosure when asked violates Article 1 of the Code as interpreted by Standard of Practice 1-15. The listing broker has a ďŹ duciary duty to adopt and follow a policy on multiple offers thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reviewed with the seller before any offers are received.

The policy should state that the seller will decide how multiple offers on their property are to be handled, because itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the seller who may not get as high a price if some buyers arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t told about other buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; offers. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also the seller who risks losing all offers if potential buyers back out after being told of other offers. The seller should understand the risks and instruct the broker how theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like the situation to be handled. If the seller gives the listing broker permission to tell buyers about other offers, the brokers in our area usually reveal only the existence of those other offers and not the amount or terms. However, it is advisable for buyers to sign a conďŹ dentiality agreement with their broker and include that agreement in the contract to ensure that the terms of their offer are kept conďŹ dential. The realtor Code of Ethics helps ensure that all involved in a transaction are treated openly, fairly and on a level playing ďŹ eld to prevent unpleasant consequences.

I offer complimentary staging when I list your home. Contact me at (650) 384-5392, Alain Pinel Realtors. To learn more, log-on to samiacullen.com

Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°*>Â?Â&#x153; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;"Â&#x2DC;Â?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;iÂ°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x160; >Ă&#x20AC;VÂ&#x2026;Ă&#x160;n]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ&#x17D;Ă&#x160;U Page 7

Upfront

Benefits

(continued from page 3)

TRATIVE 3ERVICES $EPARTMENT THE SLIGHT DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AND THE NEW CONTRIBU TION REQUIREMENTS WERE THE MA JOR REASONS FOR THE CITY S OVERALL COMPENSATION REMAINING LARGELY UNCHANGED AT ABOUT MILLION 4HE CITY S CONTRIBUTION TOWARD THE EMPLOYEE SHARE OF WORKER PENSIONS HAS DROPPED FROM MILLION IN TO MILLION IN SLIGHTLY SOFTENING THE BLOW FROM THE OVERALL INCREASE IN PENSION PAYMENTS 4HE EMPLOYER SHARE FOR WORKERS PEN SIONS HAS RISEN FROM MILLION

IN TO MILLION IN THE NEW DATA SHOWS 4HE CITY ALSO EXPECTS MEDI CAL COSTS TO CONTINUE THEIR RECENT CLIMB 4HE LONG RANGE FINANCIAL FORECAST ASSUMES A PERCENT ANNUAL INCREASE IN MEDICAL COSTS AND A PERCENT ANNUAL INCREASE IN DENTAL AND VISION COSTS !CCORDING TO THE FORECAST THE CITY S AVERAGE MEDICAL MONTHLY COST PER EMPLOY EE HAS BEEN RISING EVERY YEAR OVER THE PAST EIGHT YEARS GOING FROM IN TO IN 4HE NEW FORECAST ALSO INCLUDES A GLIMMER OF HOPE )N ACCORD ING TO THE CITY S DATA THE MEDICAL COST WAS PER EMPLOYEE 4HE MOST GLARING DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN AND IS AMONG THE CITY S TOP EARNERS 4HE NUM BER OF WORKERS EARNING MORE THAN DROPPED FROM TO WHILE THE NUMBER OF THOSE GETTING MORE THAN DECREASED FROM TO !ND THE LIST OF THE HIGHEST EARNERS ONCE DOMI NATED BY FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS IS NO LONGER SO 7HILE IN OUT OF TOP EARNERS WERE FROM THE POLICE OR FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN ONLY SIX PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICIALS MADE THE TOP /NE MAJOR REASON IS OVERTIME SPENDING ,AST YEAR THE CITY REACHED AN AGREEMENT WITH ITS LARGEST FIREFIGHTERS UNION THE )NTERNATIONAL !SSOCIATION OF &IRE &IGHTERS ,OCAL TO ABOLISH THE LONG STANDING hMINIMUM STAFF INGv PROVISION IN THE FIREFIGHTERS CONTRACT 4HE PROVISION WHICH RE QUIRED AT LEAST FIREFIGHTERS ON DUTY AT ALL TIMES HAS CONSISTENTLY BUMPED UP OVERTIME SPENDING IN THE DEPARTMENT .OW THAT THE DE PARTMENT HAS MORE STAFFING FLEX IBILITY THAT NUMBER IS DROPPING #HRISTINE 0ARAS PRINCIPAL FI NANCIAL ANALYST IN THE !DMINIS TRATIVE 3ERVICES $EPARTMENT TOLD THE COUNCIL S &INANCE #OMMITTEE 4UESDAY THAT CITY S OVERALL SPEND ING ON OVERTIME IS SLATED TO DROP BY PERCENT THIS YEAR h! LOT OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE ELIMINATION OF MINIMUM STAFFING AND THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES THAT WERE DONE IN THE &IRE $EPART MENT v 0ARAS SAID 4HOUGH THE CITY S LIST OF TOP

City of Palo Alto employees who earned the most in 2012 Name

Title

Salary

John Parks

fire inspector

$288,729 (includes $150,125 in overtime)

James Keene

city manager

$259,529

Ryan Stoddard

fire captain

$224,883

Dennis Burns

police chief

$223,004

Molly Stump

city attorney

$221,492

Pamela Antil

assistant city manager

$220,639

Robert Beacom

police captain

$217,081

Everardo Perez

chief financial officer

$217,022

Adrienne Moore

police agent

$214,377

Joseph Ottolini

fire inspector/EMT

$214,342

Valerie Fong

director of utilities

$214,299

Jonathan Reichental

chief information officer

$211,944

Stephen Emslie

deputy city manager

$209,208

Gregory Betts

director of community services

$203,347

Mark Shah

fire captain/EMT

$202,719

EARNER STILL INCLUDES MEMBERS OF THE TWO PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS &IRE )NSPECTOR *OHN 0ARKS WAS THE CITY S HIGHEST EARNER WITH IN TOTAL WAGES WHICH INCLUDES IN OVERTIME PAY MOST OF THE PEOPLE AT THE TOP OF THE LIST ARE DEPARTMENT HEADS AND OTHER HIGH LEVEL MANAGERS #ITY -ANAGER *AMES +EENE WAS SECOND ON THE LIST WITH IN TOTAL COMPENSATION MOST OF

IT IS SALARY &IRE #APTAIN 2YAN 3TODDARD AND 0OLICE #HIEF $ENNIS "URNS WERE THIRD AND FOURTH WITH TOTAL COMPENSATION OF AND RESPECTIVELY #ITY !TTORNEY -OLLY 3TUMP AND !S SISTANT #ITY -ANAGER 0AMELA !N TIL FOLLOWED WITH AND RESPECTIVELY N 3TAFF 7RITER 'ENNADY 3HEYNER CAN BE EMAILED AT GSHEYNER PAWEEKLY COM

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*YOUR ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE (APR) MAY BE HIGHER BASED ON CREDIT QUALIFICATIONS. THE RATES SHOWN INCLUDE A 0.25% DISCOUNT WITH AUTOMATIC TRANSFER, AND A 0.50% DISCOUNT WITH DIRECT DEPOSIT. ADDITIONAL 0.20% RATE DISCOUNT FOR AUTO LOAN AMOUNTS $30,000 OR OVER THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2013 (DOES NOT APPLY TO EXISTING STAR ONE AUTO LOANS). THE RANGE OF APRS IS 1.95% TO 8.45% WITH DISCOUNTS FOR LOANS $30,000 AND UNDER; AND 1.75% TO 8.25% WITH DISCOUNTS FOR LOANS OVER $30,000. A SAMPLE PAYMENT ON AN 84-MONTH LOAN AT 1.95% APR IS $12.75 PER $1,000. A SAMPLE PAYMENT ON AN 84-MONTH LOAN AT 1.75% APR IS $12.66 PER $1,000. RATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. †A $75 FEE WILL BE ASSESSED TO REFINANCE OR MODIFY A STAR ONE AUTO LOAN.

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Upfront

CityView A round-up of

Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (March 4)

California Avenue: The council voted to approve the latest changes to the California Avenue streetscape project and authorized staff to install new streetlights on California Avenue. Yes: Unanimous Edgewood Plaza: The council voted to allow developer Sand Hill Property Company to proceed with redevelopment of Edgewood Plaza and asked staff to consider an appropriate fine for Sand Hillâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unauthorized demolition of a historical building on the site. Yes: Berman, Burt, Klein, Kniss, Scharff, Shepherd No: Holman, Price, Schmid

Council Finance Committee (March 5)

Nonprofit funding: The committee discussed recommendations from the Human Relations Commission about proposed changes to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s process for distributing subsidies to local nonprofit organizations. Action: None Budget: The committee approved a staff request for midyear budget adjustments and requested that staff come back with further budget recommendations. The committee also directed staff to make some changes to its long-term financial forecast, including new assumptions about pension expenses in the forecastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s base scenario. Yes: Unanimous

Planning and Transportation Commission (March 5)

Emerson Street: The commission voted to make a zone change at the 600 block of Emerson Street to require retail use on the ground floor of the buildings on the block. Yes: Keller, King, Martinez, Panelli, Tanaka No: Alcheck, Michael Density bonus: The commission approved staff-recommended changes to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s density-bonus laws, which give developers incentives to provide affordable-housing units. Yes: Unanimous

Utilities Advisory Commission (March 6)

Forecasts: The commission reviewed and approved staffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five-year projections for electric, gas, wastewater and water funds, including a recommendation to make no changes to electric, gas and wastewater rates and to raise water rates by 7 percent on July 1. Yes: Cook, Eglash, Foster, Hall, Melton, Waldfogel Absent: Chang

Architectural Review Board (March 7)

490 San Antonio Ave.: The board heard a presentation on a proposal by Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School for demolition of two existing office buildings at 490 San Antonio Road and to build a new gymnasium and classroom building, a playing field, a parking lot and landscaping. Action: None

Public Agenda

Gunn

(continued from page 3)

A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to see a presentation on the Palo Alto Art Center Foundation and pass a proclamation for Tsuchiura. The council also plans to consider adopting a ban on plastic bags at retail and food establishments. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 11, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The board will discuss a proposed district-wide policy on bullying. The board also will see â&#x20AC;&#x153;conceptual designsâ&#x20AC;? for a proposed new athletic center and a science-building addition at Palo Alto High School as well as a construction contract for new building at Duveneck School. Following a 5:30 p.m. session to discuss legal matters, the board will convene in public session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, in the boardroom of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.). PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss topics for its annual retreat, hear an update on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort to update its Comprehensive Plan and see an overview presentation on ongoing transportation projects. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). COUNCIL REGIONAL HOUSING MANDATE COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to see a presentation by Stephen Levy on Bay Area regional economic and housing forecasts and hear a staff update on the Regional Housing Needs Allocation appeal. The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION ... The commission plans to see a presentation on the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arts and science programs; discuss the Human Services Needs Assessment and elect its next chair and vice chair. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). COUNCIL/SCHOOL BOARD JOINT STUDY SESSION ... The City Council and the school board are scheduled to hear a presentation from the Cubberley Community Advisory Committee, including recommendations on the Cubberley Community Center property, related management, finance, contract and property matters and strategies for next steps. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, in the Cubberley Theatre at Cubberley Community Center (4000 Middlefield Road).

!LL MEMBERS STRESSED THE CUR RICULUM MUST REACH hSTUDENTS IN THE MIDDLE v NOT JUST TOP STUDENTS OR THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING h4HERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS TO BUILD A BRIDGE v PARENT MEMBER !LEXIS (AMILTON SAID h(OW DO YOU TAKE THESE COMPONENTS AND PUT THEM IN A FORMAT THAT PROVIDES MEANINGFUL CHANGE AND HOW DO YOU EMPOWER PEOPLE THAT NEED TO BE INVOLVED h4HAT S ABOUT AS FAR AS WE WERE ABLE TO GET BEFORE WE FELT WE NEED ED TO TURN IT OVER TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO CREATE THE BRIDGE v #ONSULTANT +EN 9ALE A FOR MER HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL AND SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER WHO HAS GUIDED THE GROUP THROUGH DOZ ENS OF MEETINGS AND FIELD TRIPS SINCE THE COMMITTEE CONVENED IN /CTOBER CALLED THE RECOM MENDATIONS hA COMPASS NOT A MAP h)T S POINTING A DIRECTION BUT IT S NOT ACTUALLY GIVING YOU THE STEP BY STEP RECIPE v HE SAID h)T S MUCH MORE THAN VALUES BUT IT S NOT RESTRICTIVE IN SAYING @9OU HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY v 4HE COMMITTEE IS SCHEDULED TO PRESENT ITS FINDINGS TO THE "OARD OF %DUCATION -ARCH N 3TAF 7RITER #HRIS +ENRICK CAN BE EMAILED AT CKENRICK PAWEEKLY COM

Transitions

Suzan Stewart, longtime Paly teacher, dies at 72

Suzan Stewart, who taught history and social studies to generations of Palo Alto students, died March 3 night after battling cancer. She was 72.

The energetic Stewart was passionate about making history and government come alive for students, who recalled spirited discussions in her classroom. She also coached Palo Alto High School’s Mock Trial program, shepherding students to a number of championships. She was active in Democratic politics and in Palo Alto community

affairs, serving on the boards of the Palo Alto Children’s Theatre and Adolescent Counseling Services. Despite her illness, she was deeply involved in a get-out-the-vote drive in last year’s election, her children said. She retired in 2006 after 42 years of teaching in Palo Alto schools. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Suzan Behrman graduated from

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in letters to the editor published in the Palo Alto Weekly in 2010 and 2011. “For every parent who decries the emphasis on AP classes, there are others who demand more AP and honors classes,” she wrote. The insecurity of parents regarding the college-admission process makes it highly unlikely that district priorities will change unless prestigious colleges and universities stop emphasizing weighted GPAs, or PAUSD parents stop caring ... “The AP ‘rat race ... is not the only way to ensure a successful professional future. If parents and students gain this perspective the culture might be more balanced,” she wrote. Stewart is survived by her son David, of Norwich, Vt.; her daughter, Amy, and son-in-law, Joshua DiBianca, of Studio City, Calif.; and her grandchildren, Tessa and Lia Stewart and Julian DiBianca. A memorial service will be held Sunday, March 17, at 3:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Am, 26790 Arastradero Road, Los Altos Hills. Memorial contributions may be made to Adolescent Counseling Services, 1717 Embarcadero Road, Suite 4000, Palo Alto, 94303.

David Michael Popell

AN ALMANAC, MOUNTAIN VIEW VOICE AND PALO ALTO WEEKLY PUBLICATIO N

PUBLICATIO N ALTO WEEKLY VOICE AND PALO MOUNTAIN VIEW AN ALMANAC,

El Paso High School and came to California at the age of 17 to attend Stanford University. There, she met her future husband, studied abroad at Stanford’s then-campus in Beutelsbach, West Germany, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in history. She earned a degree from the Stanford School of Education the following year. She married James W. Stewart in 1962 and the pair spent nearly all the rest of their lives as Palo Alto residents, where their two children attended Walter Hays Elementary School, Jordan Middle School and Paly. They took a break from their careers in 1977 to spend a year in Mexico. Jim Stewart, who died in 2004, served as a judge in Santa Clara County Municipal and Superior Courts. Suzan Stewart taught at the old Terman Junior High School before moving to Gunn High School and finally to Paly. In addition to history and social studies, Stewart occasionally was called upon to teach other subjects, including English and English as a Second Language. Stewart commented on the competitive culture of Palo Alto schools

AN EYE FOR DETA IL IN PALO THE ULTIM ALTO | ATE MOU PAGE 4 NTAIN VIEW HONORIN DO-IT-YO G AN OLD URSELF ER HOM PROJECT E IN PALO | PAGE ALTO | 16 PAGE 22

To reserve your advertising space today, contact your advertising rep or call Tom Zahiralis, Vice President, Sales & Marketing at 650.223.6570 or e-mail: tzahiralis@embarcaderopublishing.com

April 13, 1977 – February 17, 2013 Dave passed away peacefully after a brief illness at the age of 35. Despite signiﬁcant disabilities, he lived a full and happy life. He particularly enjoyed a wide variety of music, as well as the ocean and swimming pool. Humor, hard work and unconditional love were hallmarks all his life. Dave is survived by his parents, Catherine and Steven Popell, his sister and brother-in-law, Lauren and Michael Velasco, and his nephew, Kyle Velasco. PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Enjoy the ride.

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Pulse

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

POLICE CALLS Palo Alto Feb. 28-Mar. 6 Violence related Armed Robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Strong arm robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Sex crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Family violence/battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Credit card forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Vehicle related Abandoned auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Abandoned bicycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . . . .3 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . .5 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . .7 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Miscellaneous Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . .3 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Menlo Park Feb. 28-Mar. 6 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Strong arm robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Theft related Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Residential burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Attempted residential burglary . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle related Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Driving w/ suspended license . . . . . . . . .4 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Gretl Meier Gretl Meier, a Stanford resident of fifty years, wife of the late Gerald M. Meier, a longtime professor of development economics at Stanford University, died, at age 83, on December 13, at home. Author of a pioneering study of job sharing in America, and founder of Quest Rare Books, Gretl was the mother of four sons and a grandmother of six. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Oscar and Sallie Slote, Gretl graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College (B.A., Political Science) in 1950, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1951, she studied at L’Institute d’Etudes Politiques of the University of Paris, and in 1954 earned an M.A. in American History at Radcliffe College of Harvard University. That fall, she married Meier. The couple lived first in Middletown, Connecticut, where her husband taught at Wesleyan University. In 1962, with three children, they moved to California, when Gerald Meier was invited to join the faculty of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford. After college, Gretl served on the staff of the first Mayor’s Commission on Puerto Rican Affairs in New York City. In the 1970s, she returned to work. She became co-director of New Ways to Work, a Palo Alto nonprofit employment resource agency founded in 1972 to develop alternative work schedules for women and single parents reentering the workforce. In 1976, Meier testified before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Employment, Poverty, and Migratory Labor on the need for alternative work patterns. Meier’s research led to a widely cited study, Job Sharing: A New Pattern for Quality of Work and Life, published by the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in 1978. That year, under a grant from the German Marshall Fund, she represented New Ways to Work at meetings with European colleagues to explore these issues. In 1983, she followed the book with a policy paper, also published by the Upjohn Institute, “Worker Learning and Worktime Flexibility.” In addition, Meier was the lead author of a study of a pilot job sharing program: Job Sharing in the Schools: A Study of Nine Bay

Area Districts (New Ways to Work, 1976), and a contributor to New Work Schedules in Practice: Managing Time in a Changing Society (Stanley D. Nollen, 1983). Accompanying her husband on frequent overseas teaching posts, Gretl would canvas local labor practices, touring factories and plants from Japan to Jamaica. In addition, she worked as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a consultant to the New Haven Unified School District in Union City, California. In 1987, with the last of her sons graduated from college, Gretl opened a new career. She founded Quest Rare Books, a dealership specializing in rare and out-of-print books on gardens and gardening. For years, as she built her collection, and hunted treasures for clients, Gretl scoured bookshops from Wales to London to Moscow. Within a decade, she had assembled a collection of antiquarian books almost without rival on the West Coast. In 1998, Garden Design featured Quest Rare Books, calling it “one of the country’s top dealers in this small but burgeoning field.” Gretl Meier was passionate about politics, languages, fine art, modern dance, classical piano, and literary thrillers. But her garden, especially in her last decades, remained her sanctuary. A longtime supporter of Filoli and the Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, she was an untiring gardener. Yet Meier was keenly aware of the limits of even the most generous garden. “Children and books,” she once told an interviewer, “don’t wilt in quite the same way as plants.” Gretl Meier, author, rare book dealer, and mother of four, was born February 13, 1929, in New York City. She died on December 13, 2012, in Stanford, California. She is survived by her sons, David, Daniel, Jeremy, and Andrew, daughters-in-law, Shelagh Meier, Hazelle Fortich, Jacqueline Mia Foster, six grandchildren, and a brother, Alfred Slote. A memorial service is planned for the spring. Donations in Gretl’s memory are requested to go the “Friends of the Palo Alto Library,” P. O. Box 41, Palo Alto, CA, 94302. PA I D

O B I T UA RY

Lost/stolen plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Reckless vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 4 Vehicle accident/ non-injury . . . . . . . . . .3 Vehicle tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Alcohol or drug related Drunken driving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Under influence of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Drug registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Miscellaneous Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Gang information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Grafitti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Info. Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Meet citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Mental evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Lester Alaric Roberts July 31, 1925 – February 28, 2013 Lester Alaric Roberts, beloved husband and father, scientist, musician, friend and generous contributor to his community, died at home of multiple myeloma on February 28, 2013. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Barbara Roberts, his six children, Susan Roberts-Manganelli (Sauro Manganelli), Anne Roberts, Stephen Roberts, Paul Roberts (Josie), Cynthia Roberts McCabe (Dan), and Jan Roberts Silk (Kevin), and 12 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his grandson Gianmaria Manganelli. Until Thanksgiving 2012 when he suffered a stroke, he worked as an R&D engineer at the Stanford Genome Technology Center. Les Roberts’ contribution to science and engineering spanned several decades. A more detailed obituary can be found online at www.PaloAltoOnline/obituaries. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 9, at 2 pm at Grace Lutheran Church, 3149 Waverly Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306. Donations may be made online to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, or to Grace Lutheran Church’s kitchen remodel for homeless dinners, where Les showed up weekly for years to serve the homeless community. PA I D

OBITUARY

C. Gerald Diamond C. Gerald (Jerry) Diamond, beloved husband of Linda, died on 2/26 of complications from probable Lewy Body Disease. Jerry was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, where he spent his childhood years. He earned his college degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Management. After serving in the armed forces, including time at SHAPE’s European headquarters in Paris, he completed college and moved to California to begin his career. Jerry worked at several technology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area in management, venture capital, and consulting. A 35-year resident of Palo Alto, Jerry served on its Mediation Board and was a member of Congregation Beth Am. He was a Project Read volunteer, worked with Russian émigré families, and helped new immigrants prepare to enter the job market by conducting mock interviews through the Jewish Vocational Agency. He was an avid reader, loved to travel and enjoyed sports. He is survived by his wife, Linda; his son, Jordan Diamond, of Salt Lake City, Utah; his daughter Lisa Diamond, of Orlando, Florida; two daughters in law, Lee Ann Diamond and Laura Bell, and his granddaughter, Mya Diamond Bell along with his sisters, Judy Phillips, Connie Dodes and their families, and brother-in-law, Michael Churgin. Funeral services and burial were held at the Hills of Eternity Memorial Park, Colma. Those who would like to commutate his life may make contributions to a charity of their choice. Services under the direction of Sinai Memorial Chapel, Redwood City. PA I D

OBITUARY

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Editorial The path forward for Palo Alto school board Trustees must act decisively and with clarity to restore public confidence

aced with its biggest governance crisis since former school superintendent Mary Frances Callan was fired in 2006, Palo Alto’s five elected school board members are on the edge of a precipice. For better or worse, their nature has been to function more as an advisory body to Superintendent Kevin Skelly than as a firm, decisive board that debates policy matters and then arrives at clearly articulated decisions. They much prefer offering individual comments and advice at their meetings than arriving at a clear majority viewpoint, comfortable that Skelly will interpret their remarks appropriately. In turn, Skelly prefers to operate as a facilitator rather than leader, reflecting his belief that each school site should run as autonomously as possible, allowing principals wide latitude in how they operate their schools. Under this philosophy, district-level administrators are seen as resources that can be drawn upon when desired or needed, not as leaders, guardians of institutional culture and values or as overseers that hold district employees accountable for following policies and standards. The perils of this approach have never been more obvious than today, as the board attempts to find its way forward after a scathing report from the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights on how a Palo Alto middle school handled the case of a repeatedly bullied special education student. Superintendent Skelly’s actions are under scrutiny because he not only signed a resolution agreement with the government without informing or consulting the board, but did not provide the board or public with a copy of the agreement and investigative findings. (He also similarly signed and withheld from the board a second agreement in an unrelated case.) The only reason any of this came to light was because the family of the bullied child decided to release the documents to the Weekly out of its continued frustration with the district. In separate interviews Wednesday totaling more than four hours, the Weekly met with all five board members to hear their views on this crisis. We also invited them to provide written statements to the community for publication, and President Dana Tom and Vice President Barbara Mitchell took us up on the offer and submitted the column on the facing page. Several trustees asked the public for patience and to withhold judgment on their handling of the matter so they had time to adequately and carefully untangle a very complex problem. All but Camille Townsend expressed their expectation and desire for more fact-finding to determine what happened and why. The Mitchell-Tom statement in today’s Weekly is disappointing on many levels, but especially because it fails to include their commitment, made when we talked with them, to getting to the bottom of why the problems happened and why district policies and laws were not followed. Among the many challenges the board faces are the dual constraints of the Brown Act, which prevents a board majority from acting outside of a public meeting, and the confidentiality required when discussing any particular student case, forcing those discussions to take place in closed session. We urge the board to do what any responsible board of directors, public or private, would do when faced with a major internal problem: Form a special board committee of two members and direct those members to retain the services of outside independent consultants (auditor, attorney or investigator) as necessary to gain a full understanding of what happened, why it happened, and who failed to perform their responsibilities. The consultant should report only to the board and should be given full access to employees and documents. The committee should be tasked with returning to the full board with a report in 45 days or less, and should address: s 7HAT LED TO DISTRICT POLICIES NOT BEING FOLLOWED IN THIS CASE AND whether district policies have routinely not been followed in cases of bullying at other schools; s (OW DISTRICT ADMINISTRATORS RANGING FROM SITE COUNSELORS ALL THE way to Superintendent Skelly, performed in this case and other known bullying cases; s (OW ADMINISTRATORS AT BOTH THE SCHOOL SITES AND DISTRICT OFFICE COMmunicate with parents and guide them through complaint procedures; s 7HAT DISTRICT REVIEW AND OVERSIGHT EXISTS OF HOW SCHOOL SITES HANDLE parent complaints; s 7HETHER PARENTS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION CHILDREN IN PARTICULAR HAVE difficulties dealing with district employees when they have complaints or concerns. This controversy will become a festering wound if not handled aggressively by the board. The board should be given time to do its job, as several have asked, but that job begins with agreeing on a plan of action that is clearly adopted and communicated with the public. In our conversations with board members, we believe there is a common commitment to doing this. Now it’s up to at least one board member to put forth a proposal and to have it adopted, hopefully at next week’s meeting. Doing so is the only way we know of to begin the essential process of regaining the public’s confidence. Page 12ÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Pay the artist already Editor, This “Millenium Era” project (The Color of Palo Alto) had a questionable stated purpose from the beginning: How could any city be a color? A vibrant city is dynamic, new tastes and designs, old structures replaced as needed. The project had a green component with the artist using equipment powered with solar energy by day and wind at night. The photography alone took two years and I went from skeptical indifference to intrigue when spotting Sam Yates propped against his red scooter snapping pictures of houses through all daytime temperatures. Intrigue turned to respect as this lone young man stuck with a longterm project. In 2008 I was impressed with the collage of all the snapshots mounted on City Hall and the interesting solar-powered “garage” and project description. We all craned our necks to catch a glimpse of our house somewhere up there, too high to see. The news spread and shoppers made a point of visiting the site at the otherwise boring City Hall Plaza. Tables and chairs were added and residents felt they had a legitimate rest stop in the center of town. I have yet to discover this elusive color of Palo Alto in spite of my perusal of Sam Yates’ website or the Palo Alto City website, but it really isn’t important and never was. I feel we’ve all had our fun. Skeptical criticism, amusement, intrigue, respect, a sense of curiosity and some education on the application of solar/wind power. I sincerely hope Elise DeMarco and city staff will agree and pay the young man his final installment. I feel we’ve had our money’s worth and I can assure you that HP is not bothered about their $40,000 donation. Five years of work translates to $6.80 per hour (including the cost of equipment and film) and so the remaining $7,000 would bump that up to a whopping $7.50 per hour! Who knew we still starved the artist? I’m amazed there is a database that hasn’t become obsolete or fallen out of a backpack somewhere between Los Angeles and Canada where Sam purportedly now resides. If Elise truly believes this database would be useful to safety officials and city planners, we have other issues. Google Earth and Google Maps is on their second photo of our home and the second one is a lot prettier! Pay the man and let’s all move on to our next adventure. S. L. Micek East Meadow Drive Palo Alto

Skelly really cares Editor, As a parent of a boy soon to enter middle school, I was saddened to hear of the child who experienced persistent bullying. My son was bullied too, but once I told the principal it was

stopped literally overnight. It is difficult for me to imagine Dr. Skelly not caring enough about this topic. I met with him a few months ago because my son is shy and I was concerned about middle school. Dr. Skelly explained that his message is Palo Alto schools are inclusive and how he wants all children to feel comfortable. He called the principal at our middle school, Mr. Barnes, who met with me, echoed those inclusiveness sentiments, and took our son on a personal tour of the school. Dr. Skelly also goes far beyond his official duties. A couple of examples: taking underprivileged children to San Francisco because they had never been and personally assisting underprivileged teens apply for college. I have found him to be a fine, caring and effective school administrator who deserves our full support. Ann Protter North California Avenue Palo Alto

Questionable focus Editor, Ordinarily sports stories don’t interest me, but “Wrestle Like a Girl” (Feb. 22) with a large mug shot of a

young lady on your cover last week was unusual enough to catch my attention. When I turned to the cover story, I was shocked — shocked. Virtually all of the (many) girls in the article are of Asian descent! So why was a young lady of the “European Persuasion” featured on your cover, given the ethnicity of most of the girls? But perhaps “disappointed” is closer to how I really felt, rather than shocked. A charge of “racism” might also be off the mark somewhat, but “Ethnocentrism” or “Eurocentrism” certainly seem to fit. Sad. In my own adopted “Hometown.” How much longer will we have to wait? Ruben Contreras Waverley Street Palo Alto Editor’s note: We appreciate the concern; however, the photo of the wrestler was chosen based on its visual impact. The Weekly has featured Asian Americans on its cover, most recently on Feb. 1, 2013, and notably for our “Best of Palo Alto” edition on Aug. 17, 2012.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.

What do you think about the streetlighting plan for California Avenue?

Submit letters to the editor of up to 250 words to letters@paweekly.com. Submit guest opinions of 1,000 words to editor@paweekly.com. Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted. Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Editorial Assistant Eric Van Susteren at editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.

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

Guest Opinion

Addressing bullying in our schools by Barbara Mitchell and Dana Tom very day, more than 12,000 young people spend a fourth of their day in Palo Alto’s public schools, engaging with one another academically, socially, emotionally and physically. Every principal, teacher, bus driver, administrator and parent in our community wants these million daily interactions to be safe, supportive and encouraging. Recent national tragedies involving youth bullying have heightened the sense of urgency to both understand and reduce the behavior. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, up to half of all children are bullied at some point during their school years. Policymakers at the federal, state and local level have taken a number of independent steps to strengthen school-based awareness, prevention and intervention strategies. What are PAUSD schools doing about bullying? When we were growing up, bullying was typically handled with a disciplinary response. The body of research on root causes and effective responses was slim. More recently, however, schools are focusing attention on proven

strategies that take into account the complexity of bullying behavior. For a number of years, Palo Alto schools have been building on the use of these new strategies to reduce bullying at all levels. Principals and teachers deliver age-appropriate instruction to all students in a variety of ways, including group lessons, role-playing exercises and peer-to-peer skill building. Topics include tolerance, compassion, inclusion and the power of personal choice. Some exercises address hurtful or harassing behaviors, including cyber-bullying, while other lessons build skills on how bystanders can take a stand against bullying, as “upstanders.” Judging by the numbers, the efforts of staff and parents are yielding positive results at Palo Alto schools. Progress on most of our district’s student wellness goals, including bullying reduction, is regularly measured by soliciting student feedback, such as perception of school safety (e.g., How safe do you feel when you are at school?), or school connectedness (e.g., Is there an adult on campus you would go to with a serious personal challenge?). In one recent survey, the percent of PAUSD middle school students bullied verbally once a week or more dropped from 8.5 percent to 5.5 percent between 2008 and 2012. In another survey conducted last year, 83 percent to 88 percent of PAUSD 7th, 9th and 11th graders reported feeling safe or very safe at school, compared to 62 percent to 68 percent in Santa Clara County. Certainly, our work is far from done in the area of bullying and school climate. The more we learn from experts, the more we will translate it into training for our staff and teaching for our students. But the lessons we offer today have led to specific and measurable improve-

ments for our students. Why did the federal government investigate our school district? The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for ensuring equal access to education and resolving complaints of discrimination. Anyone is entitled to file a complaint with the OCR, and such a complaint was submitted against the district on July 11, 2011, resulting in an investigation. The school board was informed of the OCR investigation by district staff and given updates on the case during 2011 and 2012. Our staff worked collaboratively with the OCR and reached an agreement on ways we can improve our district procedures. The OCR staff described a district attitude of “cooperation and courtesy,” with appreciation for “the steps taken to resolve this matter in a constructive manner.” While we were disappointed that we did not receive the final documents as soon as we should have, we are not disappointed with the resulting agreement and plan. What does discrimination have to do with bullying? Bullying is a complicated and challenging issue with substantial disagreement at the policy level. In 2010, the OCR issued a letter notifying all public schools that some student bullying may be viewed as discrimination and subject to their enforcement going forward. More specifically, that bullying behavior “need not include intent to harm, be directed at a specific target, or involve repeated incidents.” While the goal of reducing bullying is widely supported, the OCR guidance has been a concern for school districts because it differs significantly from current law, including California law, which defines bullying and school

responsibilities very differently. In response to the OCR letter, the National Schools Boards Association (NSBA) wrote: “Our fear is that absent clarification, the Department’s expansive reading of the law ... will invite misguided litigation that needlessly drains precious school resources and creates adversarial climates that distract schools from their educational mission.” They later wrote that the “OCR is creating an expectation that school officials are to respond to each and every offensive incident as if it were a civil rights violation.” What are the next steps for the district? In the coming weeks and months, the school district will update and standardize our policies and procedures related to bullying prevention and intervention; improve the way we collect and share data about bullying incidents to further reduce them; and expand student and staff training on discrimination and bullying to reflect our values and emerging legislation. We also want to ensure that parents and students have a clear pathway to report bullying concerns their children may be facing at school, and easy access to information on the follow-up they can expect from school and district staff. One of the most significant roles we share is protecting all of the children under our wings. This is a role to which PAUSD staff members are and will continue to be committed, with care, skill and compassion. N Dana Tom and Barb Mitchell are president and vice president of the board of trustees of the Palo Alto Unified School District. This perspective solely reflects the views of the two authors, and does not represent the position of the school board or district, or consultation with other board members.

Streetwise

Are gun buyback events effective in reducing gun violence? Asked on California Avenue. Photos and interviews by Ranjini Raghunath.

Sigrid Solvin

Student Escondido Village “One of the best solutions, especially since it is done anonymously; many people are probably looking for a chance just like this to get rid of their extra guns.”

Thomas McAfee

Co-founder, start-up company Los Altos Hills “Focus should be more on increased legislation, education and raising awareness about the dangers of owning guns.”

Warren Kourt

Professor High Street “They are really great; we should have more of them. Every weapon taken out of circulation is one less that can lead to a crime. “

Nassin Smith

Businesswoman Stanford “They may provide a temporary solution, but will not necessarily change much. There are deeper issues such as people’s perceptions, mental wellbeing and better relationships with neighbors.”

Gabriel Sama

Media consultant California Avenue “They are symbolic, good gestures and send out a positive signal to the community, but must be part of a larger solution.”

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Spring Class Guide The Class Guide is published quarterly by The Almanac, Palo Alto Weekly and Mountain View Voice.

ant to take advantage of the warm spring weather this year? Looking to get a jump on your studies? Try a

bird identification class or a rowing class. Maybe a language class is the best fit. All the classes listed below are local.

dents. With studios in Mountain View and Palo Alto, classes emphasize individual attention and cultivate strength, flexibility and relaxation. Ongoing yoga classes are scheduled every day and include special classes, such as prenatal, back care and pranayama. Weekend workshops explore a variety of yoga-related topics.

CMAC Swim School

Business, Work and Technology CareerGenerations 2225 E. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto 650-320-1639 info@careergenerations.com www.careergenerations.com CareerGenerations offers group sessions to meet specific career needs. CareerGenerations career coaches help assess talents in the context of the marketplace, generate career options, improve resumes and socialmedia profiles, design a search plan, and help the job seeker skillfully network, interview and negotiate salaries.

For the Dancer Beaudoin’s School of Dance 464 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto 650-326-2184 www.beaudoins-studio.com Tap, ballet, ballroom and jazz dance classes available for children and adults. Special classes for preschoolers.

Dance Connection 4000 Middlefield Road, L-5, Palo Alto Studio: 650-852-0418 Office: 650-322-7032 www.danceconnectionpaloalto.com info@danceconnectionpaloalto.com Dance Connection offers graded classes for preschoolers to adults with a variety of programs to meet dancers’ needs. Ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, boys program, lyrical, Pilates and combination classes are available for beginning to advanced levels.

DanceVisions 4000 Middlefield Road, Cubberley Community Center, L-3, Palo Alto 650-858-2005 www.dancevisions.org info@dancevisions.org DanceVisions, a nonprofit community dance center, offers classes from ages 3 to adult. Classes range from modern to hip-hop, lyrical, Pilates, jazz, ballet and contact improvisation, as well as providing a performance showcase.

Uforia Studios 819 Ramona St., Palo Alto 650-329-8794 www.uforiastudios.com Uforia Studios specializes in dance (Zumba, hip-hop, Bollywood, hula hooping), strength and sculpting (uDefine) and spinning (uCycle). All fitness levels and abilities are welcome.

Zohar School of Dance and Company 4000 Middlefield Road, L-4, Palo Alto

650-494-8221 www.zohardance.org zohardance@gmail.com Zohar offers classes to adults in jazz, ballet and modern dance under the direction of Ehud and Daynee Krauss.

The Great Outdoors Lucy Geever-Conroy, flight instructor for Advantage Aviation 1903 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto 650-493-5987 www.advantage-aviation.com info@advantage-aviation.com Advantage Aviation offers learn-to-fly seminars, private pilot ground school and flying lessons, along with free seminars for pilots.

Health & Fitness American Red Cross: Silicon Valley Chapter 400 Mitchell Lane, Palo Alto 650-688-0415 www.siliconvalley-redcross.org In a Red Cross First Aid class, students learn CPR, choking rescue, bleeding control and treatment of burns, fractures, seizures and more. Adult CPR and First Aid Certificates are available.

Be Yoga 440 Kipling St., Palo Alto 650-906-9016 www.be-yoga.com info@be-yoga.com Be Yoga is a community yoga studio. It has small class sizes and offers workshops on ayurveda, reiki and meditation.

Betty Wright Swim Center @ Abilities United 3864 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-494-1480 www.AbilitiesUnited.org/BWSCwelcome bwsc@AbilitiesUnited.org Participants can improve health and wellness through aquatic exercise and therapy in the fully accessible, public, warm-water (93 degrees) indoor pool. Classes include aqua aerobics, aqua arthritis, back basics, body conditioning, Aichi yoga and a prenatal program. Group lessons are also available.

California Yoga Center (Palo Alto) 541 Cowper St., Palo Alto 650-967-5702 www.californiayoga.com info@californiayoga.com The California Yoga Center offers classes for beginning to advanced stu-

Page 14ÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

CMAC Aquatic Center, 3805 Magnolia Drive, Palo Alto 650-493-5355 www.c-mac.us c-mac@mindspring.com CMAC Swim School offers lessons for babies, youth and adults. Classes are a 30 minutes long, and each class contains three to four participants.

Kim Grant Tennis Academy 3005 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-752-8061 www.kimgranttennis.com kim@kimgranttennis.com The Kim Grant Tennis Academy offers tennis classes to minis (ages 3-5), beginner (ages 5-7), intermediate I and II, advanced and elite players.

Palomo Archery 4022 Transport, Palo Alto 650-391-9968 www.palomoarchery.com palomoarchery@yahoo.com Palomo Archery offers classes for groups, parties, Boy Scout/school classes and private instruction.

Studio Kicks 796A San Antonio Road, Palo Alto 650-855-9868 www.studiokickspaloalto.com info@studiokickspaloalto.com Studio Kicks is a family fitness center offering high-energy cardio kickboxing classes and martial-arts training for kids 3 and up. Taught by owner/ instructor Richard Branden, six-time world champion and original stunt cast member for the “Power Rangers.”

Taijiquan Tutelage of Palo Alto 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-327-9350 www.ttopa.com mjchan@ttopa.com Taijiquan Tutelage of Palo Alto teaches the classical Yang Chengfu style of Taijiquan (T’ai chi ch’uan). Beginning classes start monthly.

Taoist Tai Chi Society of the USA 3391 Middlefield Road, YES Hall, Palo Alto www.california.usa.taoist.org 650-396-9244 paloalto.ca@taoist.org The Taoist Tai Chi Society of the USA offers classes designed to improve balance, strength and flexibility while promoting relaxation and good health. Beginner classes in Taoist Tai Chi internal art of Tai Chi Chuan are offered for all ages and fitness levels in Palo

Alto. This is a nonprofit organization with nationally accredited instructors.

at her fully equipped studio in Palo Alto. Semi-private and private lessons available.

Yoga at All Saints’ Episcopal Church

Art Works Studio

555 Waverley St., Palo Alto 650-322-4528 www.asaints.org Kundalini-style yoga, combining asana (physical poses), breathing exercises and meditation. Practice is best done on an empty stomach. Students should bring a mat and blanket and wear comfortable, easy-to-move-in clothes. If floor work is difficult, exercises can be modified to be done in a chair. All ages. No registration necessary.

Manzana Music School

Just for Seniors Avenidas 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto 650-289-5400 www.avenidas.org Avenidas offers classes from balance, line dancing and back fitness to dementia caregiving and computer. Membership costs, fees and class listing included on the website.

Language Courses International School of the Peninsula (ISTP) 151 Laura Lane, Palo Alto 650-251-8500 www.istp.org istp@istp.org ISTP offers extensive after-school language classes at its two Palo Alto locations. Classes offered in French, Mandarin and Spanish to preschool students (3 to 5 years old). Additional classes taught in Arabic, Farsi, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese and Russian for elementary and middle school students.

Mind and Spirit Ananda Palo Alto 2171 El Camino Real, Palo Alto 650-323-3363 www.anandapaloalto.org inform@anandapaloalto.org Ananda Palo Alto offers classes on meditation, chanting and yoga.

Music, Arts and Crafts Art for Well Beings 2460 Park Blvd. #3, Palo Alto 650-776-8297 artforwellbeings.org me@judyg.com Art for Well Beings (AFWB) offers art classes, and it especially welcomes people with special needs. It is open to the public, and drop-in or sessions with all materials provided are available.

Art with Emily 402 El Verano Ave., Palo Alto 650-856-9571 www.artwithemily.com emilyjeanyoung@gmail.com Emily Young teaches mixed-media, multi-cultural art lessons for children

595 Lincoln Ave., Palo Alto 650-796-1614 www.artworkspaloalto.net artworkspaloalto@gmail.com Art Works Studio offers a variety of fine-art classes for kids.

Palo Alto 650-799-7807 www.manzanamusicschool.com ManzanaMusicSchool@yahoo.com Manzana Music School offers group lessons for children and adults on guitar, violin, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, vocal, arranging and music theory.

Midpeninsula Community Media Center 900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto 650-494-8686 www.communitymediacenter.net info@midpenmedia.org The media center offers classes every month in a wide range of media arts, including publishing media on the web, podcasting, digital editing, field production, TV studio production, Photoshop for photographers, citizen journalism and autobiographical digital stories. There are biweekly free orientation sessions and tours.

Music with Toby Palo Alto www.musicwithtoby.com tobybranz@gmail.com Toby Branz offers small group and semi-private music lessons in Palo Alto based on the Orff method, with songs, games, movement, rhythm and listening activities. She’s a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

New Mozart School of Music 305 N. California Ave., Palo Alto 650-324-2373 www.newmozartschool.com info@newmozartschool.com New Mozart provides early-childhood music classes for children 2-7 years of age.

Opus1 Music Studio 2800 W. Bayshore Road, Palo Alto 650-625-9955 musicopus1.com musicopus1@gmail.com Opus1 Music Studio is offering group music lessons for all kinds of instruments to ages 3 and up, with skills ranges of beginners to advanced.

Pacific Art League 227 Forest Ave., Palo Alto 650-321-3891 www.pacificartleague.org frontdesk@pacificartleague.org The Pacific Art League offers art classes and workshops for students from beginners to advanced, and even non-artists. There are classes in collage, oil painting, portraits and sketching, life drawing, acrylic or watercolor and brush painting. Registration is ongoing.

Class Guide

Mark your calendar for April 8th TheatreWorks Playmakers offers camps for kids to get involved in acting.

Palo Alto Art Center

Sur La Table Cooking School

1313 Newell Road, Palo Alto 650-329-2366 www.cityofpaloalto.org/enjoy lynn.stewart@cityofpaloalto.org Palo Alto Art Center offers classes and workshops for children and adults in ceramics, painting, drawing, jewelry, book arts, printmaking, collage and more.

855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto 650-289-0438 Cooking073@surlatable.com www.surlatable.com/ (Go to â&#x20AC;&#x153;cooking classesâ&#x20AC;? navigation bar, and search â&#x20AC;&#x153;Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;?) Classes are 2 to 2-and-a-half hours long. Recipes and tasting-sized portions will be provided in the class. Sur La Table offers hands-on classes, demonstration-only classes, and classes for kids and teens.

Silicon Valley Boychoir 600 Homer Ave., Palo Alto 650-424-1242 www.svboychoir.org julia@svboychoir.org The Silicon Valley Boychoir rehearses in downtown Palo Alto and trains boys in the art of choral singing with an emphasis on vocal coaching, music literacy and artistic standards.

TheatreWorks Playmakers Palo Alto 650-463-7146 www.theatreworks.org/learn/youth/ camps dramaschool@theatreworks.org TheatreWorks Education introduces TW Playmakers â&#x20AC;&#x201D; camps with theater

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games and activities, during spring break (K-5) at various locations, and summer (K-8) at Jordan Middle School, Palo Alto. Campers can practice creative storytelling, playwriting, and improvisation. Activities are designed to help students build verbal confidence and performance skills.

Parents only The Peninsula Parentsplace Koret Family Resource Center, 200 Channing Ave., Palo Alto 650-688-3040 www.parentsplaceonline.org/peninsula SandraSt@jfcs.org The Peninsula Parentsplace offers parenting classes on subjects ranging

Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s when classes start â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and when you can begin to change your life. Start an associate degree, a specialized certiďŹ cate program or begin taking the general education courses youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need to transfer to a university. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve opened up more sections in key subject areas like the arts, business, chemistry, English, math and physics. And many are

available at off-peak hours â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even online â&#x20AC;&#x201C; for your convenience. At Foothill, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll ďŹ nd what you need for a career in business, child development, computer programming, health careers, music technology, and so much more. All with affordable tuition, convenient class locations and ďŹ&#x201A;exible schedules.

What are you waiting for? April 8th is right around the corner!

(continued on next page)

Free Dyslexia Consultation at Athena Academy the school for children gifted with Dyslexia Grades 2-6 Rolling admissions â&#x20AC;&#x201C;mid-year students accepted 525 San Antonio Ave, Palo Alto

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U Student/teacher ratio 6:1 U The best evidence-based teaching techniques for dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities U Cutting edge research incorporated into our innovative, dynamic curriculum U Teachers trained in multiple teaching approaches: Slingerland, Orton-Gillingham, Lindamood Bell, DavisÂŠ Learning Strategies, Woodin Math, Montessori, and new focused learning techniques U Students receive the individualized instruction they need, drawn from the best resources U Extended hours available

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Visit our website at www.AthenaAcademy.org or call (650) 543-4560 to schedule a consultation.

Schedule your personal tour today!

Athena Academy shall admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, or religion to all rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, sex, or religion in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship or tuition assistance, loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs.

Class Guide (continued from previous page) from strategies for managing picky eaters to making the switch from diapers.

School Days Amigos de Palo Alto

waldorfpeninsula.org

International School of the Peninsula

Sand Hill School

Cohn Campus (grades 1-8): 151 Laura Lane, Palo Alto Cooper Campus (nursery): 3233 Cowper St., Palo Alto 650-251-8500 www.istp.org istp@istp.org International School of the Peninsula offers after-school programs for preschool, elementary- and middleschool students. Classes include French cooking, Asian cooking, chess, science, robotics, Chinese dance, art and craft, watercolor, gymnastics, soccer and multi-sports.

Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School

3864 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto 650-618-3325 www.milestonespreschool.org preschool@AbilitiesUnited.org Milestones Preschool, a developmental program, provides children aged 2-5 years a fun and educational envi-

2013 SPRING EVENTS

INFO @

ronment that promotes their development of the social skills, independent thinking, intellectual growth, and positive self-image they need to succeed in kindergarten and later in life. NAEYC accredited. State of California License 434407984.

1611 Stanford Ave., Palo Alto 650-493-4300 www.amigosdepaloalto.com Amigos de Palo Alto is a full Spanishimmersion preschool. Offering parents a safe environment where they may leave their children, both for child care and to begin learning from bilingual instructors how to speak and learn Spanish the same way their native language was learned â&#x20AC;&#x201D; naturally. Preschool sessions are offered Monday-Friday afternoons; Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings or afternoons; and Tuesday-Thursday mornings or afternoons.

450 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto 650-494-8200 www.hausner.com Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School is a kindergarten-through-eighth-

TOURS & OPEN HOUSE

grade school. The school promotes academic excellence, community responsibility and vibrant Jewish living. As a community day school, Hausner serves families from a wide range of Jewish backgrounds and religious practices.

Milestones Preschool

PARENTING WITH HEART 8-week classes for children 12-36 months and their caregivers. Mar 18 - May 21

SPRING FAIR

For Young Children Saturday, May 4 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

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Sora International Preschool 701 E. Meadow Drive, Palo Alto 650-493-7672 www.SoraPreschool.com Sora International Preschool is an English-Japanese bilingual preschool. Soraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to help families that are raising bilingual children as well as those that want their children to begin a second language at an early age.

Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;enna Preschool at the Oshman Family JCC 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto 650-223-8788 earlychildhood@paloaltojcc.org www.paloaltojcc.org/tenna Tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;enna Preschool offers a play-based approach develops skills and a love of learning. Two, three and five dayper-week options for 18 months to five years with emphasis placed on experiential learning, family involvement, values and fun in two locations.

Something for Everyone Palo Alto Adult School

-Ă&#x2022;Â&#x201C;Â&#x201C;iĂ&#x20AC;Ă&#x160; Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2DC;iĂ&#x160;Ă&#x201C;{Ă&#x160;qĂ&#x160; VÂ&#x2026;Â&#x153;Â&#x153;Â? Ă&#x2022;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;x

650 Clark Way, Palo Alto 650-688-3605 www.sandhillschool.org info@sandhillschool.org For young minds, one size doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fit all. Sand Hill School offers an opportunity to find what fits best for each child. It serves grades K-4 with a 6:1 student/teacher ratio.

Nurturing Minds and Hearts Come grow with us

50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto 650-329-3752 650-329-8515 (fax) adultschool@pausd.org www.paadultschool.org Hands-on computer, language, test preparation, writing, bird identification, investment, hiking, yoga and certificate courses available. Hundreds of online classes are offered by the Palo Alto Adult School in conjunction with Education to Go.

!CCEPTING !PPLICATIONS FOR + FOR THE 3CHOOL 9EAR

Ventana is a progressive Episcopal school taking its inspiration from the schools of 2EGGIO %MILIA which encourage ARTISTIC EXPRESSION CRITICAL THINKING and INVESTIGATIVE LEARNING.

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Elementary Open Studio 3ATURDAY -ARCH s AM PM #OME TOUR PLAY AND EXPERIENCE HOW WE USE THE ARTS TO MAKE LEARNING VISIBLE

Lessons from Reggio Emilia h#REATING CITIZENS OF TOMORROW IN OUR SCHOOLS TODAYv !N %VENING WITH !UTHOR AND %DUCATOR 3USAN (ARRIS -ACKAY

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#ALL US TO 2360 OR SCHEDULE A TOUR OR EMAIL VENTANASCHOOL CCLA US WWW VENTANASCHOOL ORG s "ORDER 2OAD ,OS !LTOS

Class Guide The Class Guide is published quarterly in the Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice and Menlo Park Almanac. Descriptions of classes offered in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford, Atherton, Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto and beyond are provided. Listings are free and subject to editing. Due to space constraints, classes held in the above cities are given priority. The Summer Class Guide will publish on May 8 and 10, 2013, with deadlines approximately two weeks prior. To inquire about placing a listing in the class guide, email Editorial Assistant Eric Van Susteren at evansusteren@ paweekly.com or call 650-223-6515. To place a paid advertisement in the Class Guide call our display advertising department at 650-326-8210.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT.

PALO ALTO ADULT SCHOOL

CAREER HAPPINESS. Land the job you want! CareerGenerations, founded by Palo Alto career coaches Ellen Shulman, MA and Lisa Stotlar, MA, is offering special Career Launch Programs for recent grads. Gift CertiďŹ cates available! Contact us at 650.320.1639 or info@careergenerations.com.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

I started Fundamentals of Writing I. I hope to improve my writing to ďŹ nd a good job and go to a short-time college to refresh my professional skills and give a better life for my family.â&#x20AC;? Jairo De la Cruz, Adult School Student

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Advertiser Directory Amigos de Palo Alto Cantor Arts Center Career Generations Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Council For The Love of Dance German American School German International School Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School Girls Middle School International School of the Peninsula Menlo School Mid-Peninsula High School Music With Toby Palo Alto Friends Palo Alto Preparatory Silicon Valley Boy Choir Sora International School Waldorf School

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In my Photoshop Elements class, I learned new shortcuts and techniques. Ruth provided great hand outs for each class lesson. With my new skills, I have worked on various photos that I use in my volunteer publication projects.â&#x20AC;? Ellie MansďŹ eld Retiredâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Sempervirens Fund

Writing Academy Ăź Art Cooking Ăź English Ăź Music Photography Ăź World Languages Woodworking Ăź and More

THE BEST OF TWO WORLDS LEARNING IN GERMAN AND ENGLLISH 13928%-2 :-); t &)6/)0)= t 7%2 *6%2'-7'3

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PAAdultSchool.org (650) 329-3752

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NOW ENROLLING. CALL FOR SCHOOL TOURS! See website for information on summer camps at our three Bay Area locations!

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Phone: 650 254 0748 | Web: www.gissv.org | Email: office@gissv.org

Palo Alto Prep OPEN THE DOOR TO CONFIDENCE AND SUCCESS

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Palo Alto Prep is a unique private high school designed to help students succeed in every aspect of life. We believe that school should be enjoyable and every student experience the pride of personal and academic accomplishment. Year round enrollment

Grades 8-12

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Offer challenging academic opportunities

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TEACHING. LEARNING. CARING

Celebrating Our 26th Year!

90% college enrollment Fully Accredited College prep curriculum

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Page 18 • March 8, 2013 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

HA M PTO N S LIVI N G I N TH E H EART O F WO O D SI D E

2891 Woodside Road, Woodside Approximately three beautiful acres overlooking the western hills 4 bedroom, 5.5 bath, two-story Traditional main house

Over 9,450 square feet of living space Two-story, three-stall barn with attached paddocks

2 bedroom, 1 bath guest house with kitchen

Expansive bluestone patio with pool, spa and outdoor fireplace

Pool house with kitchen and full bath

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Hugh Cornish 650.566.5353 hcornish@cbnorcal.com DRE# 00912143

Offered at $12,500,000

Natalie Comartin 650.380.3122 natalie.comartin@cbnorcal.com DRE# 01484129

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • March 8, 2013 • Page 19

Bridging

Cover Story

gap

the

Veronica Weber

Grace Mah watches kids in Mouse Squad Student Tech Leadership club in Mountain View re-assemble a Mac computer. She tutors the club every Wednesday.

As head of county education board, Palo Altan backs charter school growth

S Courtesy of Grace Mah

Mah helped organize Ohlone Elementary School’s dragon parade on Feb. 14. Student Alan Kagiri leads the dragon during the parade. About the cover: Grace Mah stands outside of the children’s playground at Mitchell Park. She says creating access to universal preschool is one of the Santa Clara County Board of Education’s current projects. Photo by Veronica Weber

ix years after rocking the Palo Alto education scene with a threat to petition for a charter school here, Grace Mah finds herself in the vanguard of a major charter-school drive as president of the Santa Clara County Board of Education. The county board, which Mah joined in 2007, has OK’d two dozen charter schools in the past two years, aimed almost entirely at boosting options for low-income children in San Jose — not for Mandarin Immersion, which Mah had sought in Palo Alto in 2007. Mah’s journey from engineering manager at Agilent Technologies to elected official overseeing a $275 million countywide agency with more than 1,700 employees would seem an unlikely one. Today, she bridges the gap between oversight of the county’s nearly 300 traditional public schools, which are heavily regulated under the California Education Code, and a reform movement that is experimenting with new learning models in 52 public charter schools. The charter schools, whose numbers are growing, operate with public funds but less bureaucracy in exchange for meeting agreed-upon educational targets. Mah was drawn into education activ-

Page 20ÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

by Chris Kenrick ism a decade ago when, in search of a preschool for her first son, she responded to a Palo Alto Weekly ad for a MandarinEnglish program. She enrolled him in that home-based preschool. When he made good progress in the language she began wondering why the Palo Alto school district couldn’t replicate its wildly popular Spanish Immersion program with a parallel K-5 offering in Mandarin. Amassing a 250-member Yahoo group through various contacts, including the Palo Alto-Menlo Park Parents Club, Mah generated a petition signed by 1,000 community members in support of Mandarin Immersion for Palo Alto. What followed in 2006 and 2007 was a bruising political battle that resulted in the 2008 launch of Mandarin Immersion at Ohlone Elementary School — and some hard feelings that, for a few, linger even today. After initially losing her bid for Mandarin Immersion on a 3-2 school board vote in January 2007, Mah decided to pursue a charter-school petition. The prospect of a costly and polarizing charter battle persuaded school board member Dana Tom and then-member Mandy Lowell to reverse their votes.

Five months after rejecting it, the school board voted 4-1 in May 2007 in favor of launching Mandarin Immersion in the fall of 2008. Joining Lowell and Tom in the majority were Barb Mitchell and Camille Townsend. Dissenting was then-board member Gail Price, who is now on the City Council. Mah was in the midst of the 2007 Palo Alto charter effort when she was appointed to the county board, filling a vacancy created by Hoover Institution research fellow Bill Evers, who resigned to become an assistant secretary of education in the George W. Bush administration. The following year she was elected to a full four-year term with 71 percent of the vote. She was re-elected in 2012 with 66.76 percent. Mah’s opponent last November, Los Altos computer engineer Dave Cortright, focused almost exclusively on her procharter voting record, which aligns with that of the county board majority. Despite a lack of experience in public service or education, Cortright secured the endorsement of the South Bay Labor Council representing 90 unions and more than 100,000 union members in Santa Clara and San Benito counties. He got 33 percent of the vote.

Veronica Weber

Courtesy of Mike Bromberg/Santa Clara Office of Education

Cover Story

Aracelia Benavides, left, Aniya Tanner, Emily Hernandez and Kassandra Santillan play during an enrichment lab at a Rocketship Education campus. As a board member, Grace Mah has championed charter schools like Rocketship.

Grace Mah is inducted into the Santa Clara County Board of Education in December 2008. She was appointed to fill a vacancy during 2007 and ran for the position in 2008.

ah indeed has been a solid part of the county boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pro-charter majority. That includes a sweeping grant of 20 charters in December 2011 to the ambitious Rocketship Education, a charter-management company cofounded by Palo Alto resident John Danner. Among the supporters of the Rocketship charters were San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, as well as

many parents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Charter schools give families of underserved kids another choice besides the traditional school, which typically has been failing those kids,â&#x20AC;? Mah said in an interview with the Weekly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s considered an equal-opportunity, civil rights mandate to be able to support kids to have equal access to a really great education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I believe in choice in general, in

parents having that ability if they want to have that different kind of education.â&#x20AC;? Although there are none in Palo Alto, there are 52 charter schools among the 352 schools across Santa Clara County, 33 of them in San Jose. Thirty-six of the 52 are run by individual school districts. The remaining sixteen â&#x20AC;&#x201D; with many more in the pipeline â&#x20AC;&#x201D; are

chartered by the county Office of Education. Charter schools are publicly funded entities that operate on five-year â&#x20AC;&#x153;chartersâ&#x20AC;? from sponsoring agencies, usually a school district. They are exempt from many strictures of the California Education Code but are required to meet educational benchmarks as measured by standardized tests taken by all California students. They must petition for renewal every five years. Prominent supporters of charter schools as a means to closing the achievement gap include U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, philanthropist Bill Gates and, locally, Netflix CEO and education activist

Reed Hastings. Hastings sits on Rocketshipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national strategy board. Santa Clara Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s charter grants to Rocketship, which already operates six charter schools in San Jose, are part of â&#x20AC;&#x153;San Jose 2020,â&#x20AC;? an initiative to eliminate the achievement gaps among San Joseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 150,000 public school students by 2020. Currently, nearly half are not proficient in grade-level skills, and 2,300 middle and high school students drop out each year. The Rocketship charters, projected to be educating 14,000 San Jose students by 2020, are â&#x20AC;&#x153;like opening (continued on next page)

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Cover Story (continued from previous page)

Rocketship Los Suenos school students work on exercises in the learning lab, where they spend 35 minutes doing math and 35 minutes reading every day.

Veronica Weber

a whole new school district,” Mah said. “So far Rocketship has been doing well, scoring really high on (standardized) tests as one of their metrics and with a lot of happy campers.” But Mah acknowledged a Rocketship pledge to slow its school openings if existing schools are not meeting certain test-score metrics. “The plan is to open five schools per year for four years, but if they don’t feel they’ve got the bandwidth or quality level they won’t open,” she said. Rocketship also has secured charters to open eight campuses in Milwaukee, Wis., and up to eight campuses in Washington, D.C., in the next few years. It is pursuing initiatives to open campuses in Oakland, New Orleans and Chicago as well. Mah rejects criticism that the county board has never seen a charter it didn’t like or is circumventing the control of local school districts. Some of the seven school districts located within the City of San Jose are un-

schools as a whole can be just as good or bad as traditional public schools, so that’s why it’s important for us to make sure all our schools maintain their quality,” she said.

happy about the county grants. “To be a countywide charter you have to not only have a sound program, sound financials and a sound organization, but you have to be able to prove that what you’re doing and teaching is something that a local district cannot do,” she said.

She opposed the 2011 renewal petition of Bullis Charter School in Los Altos on grounds that the school proposed boundaries that excluded lowincome neighborhoods. She was in the minority on that 5-2 vote. Mah says she also will vote against charters when, in her view, they

lacked a sound educational plan. “We’ve closed down two charter schools for financial reasons, and there was another one that came to us where we felt the organizers didn’t have enough preparation and resources. “Studies have shown that charter

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hough charter-school controversies have made recent headlines, the county Office of Education has a far broader purview to oversee and support the county’s 31 separate school districts, which collectively educate nearly 270,000 children. Of its $275 million budget from state, federal and local sources, most goes toward special education, with about half the office’s 1,730 employees allocated to that area. The county office operates classes on public-school campuses to serve children with special needs and also coordinates preschool and post-high school programs for special-needs students. It runs 32 federally funded Head Start programs and several additional state-funded preschool programs and administers federal grants targeted to education for migrant children. It is the pass-through agency for a variety of restricted state and federal funds and also provides personnel services for many school districts, including fingerprinting and printing paychecks. The board acts as an appeals agency for expulsions, interdistrict transfer requests and charter-school petitions. Of the office’s 1,730 staff members, about 425 work in the Office of Education headquarters in San Jose which features a three-story atrium with a wall of glass and an indoor pond. The board has dipped a toe into the controversy over the high number of school districts in Santa Clara County — 31. The Santa Clara County Grand Jury has found that millions could be saved through consolidation. Silicon Valley Community Foundation Executive Director Emmett Carson has argued strongly that having 56 separate school districts in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties constitutes a “fundamentally flawed system,” obscuring accountability for large numbers of low-performing students. At its Feb. 20 meeting county board members unanimously backed a $29,000 contract for a limited study “to evaluate various reorganizations of school districts within Santa Clara County.” “There certainly are a number of very small districts that would stand to improve efficiencies and lower costs by unifying with neighboring districts,” Mah said. “But the problems with the whole idea is typically it has to be voted on by local communities, and a lot of local communities don’t want to change their school districts. People are emotionally tied to their schools as community centers. “Hopefully our study will highlight some possible improvements.”

ith the county board entrenched in the state and local bureaucracy of public education, Mah continues to forge ties to the reform movement.

Cover Story She and fellow board member requested funds to attend the invitation-only summit held annually by the New Schools Venture Fund, a venture-philanthropy firm that has invested heavily in charter schools, the Khan Academy video courses and other entrepreneurial efforts to transform public education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are the billionaires that want to change public education in America, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re putting a lot of money into venture funds that support startups on software for schools ... or charter organizations they feel are doing an exceptional job,â&#x20AC;? said board member Joseph Di Salvo, a former teacher, teachersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; union president and principal. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are frighteningly few traditional public-school people at these conferences,â&#x20AC;? said Di Salvo, who has attended in the past. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think we should all know what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re saying about traditional public schools, and how theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re able to do it differently.â&#x20AC;? Mah and Di Salvo will attend the New Schools Summit at the San Francisco Airport Marriott Water-

front Hotel next month. Di Salvo, who represents parts of San Jose on the board, spent 33 years in public education, four of them as principal of Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s JLS Middle School. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s come to see charter schools as necessary to fixing a â&#x20AC;&#x153;very brokenâ&#x20AC;? public education system. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I know the system is broken and we need outside forces, provocateurs, if you will, to influence and move things,â&#x20AC;? he said. Di Salvo said Mah is â&#x20AC;&#x153;wellequipped emotionally, intellectually and politically to guide our work in a balanced and thoughtful way.â&#x20AC;?

ith her older son now taking Mandarin at Gunn High School and the younger a fourth-grader in Ohloneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Mandarin Immersion Program, Mah continues her interest in bilingual education, serving as a community liaison for the Ohlone program. Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s organizing a trip to China this summer for Ohlone fourth- and fifth-graders, not through the school

district but through the independent youth organization Me to We. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;fightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is behind me â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Mandarin Immersion at Ohlone is successful, this being its fifth year with a full strand of 125 students K-5,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Having another language immersion program as a choice for parents has been a great opportunity.â&#x20AC;? Both of her sonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Mandarin level has surpassed her own, which she spoke as a toddler growing up in southern California but abruptly stopped at the age of 4. Though her parents met in the United States, they spoke Mandarin with her, their oldest, until a preschool teacher told them their daughter wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t talking. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Grace might be mentally retarded â&#x20AC;&#x201D; she canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t speak.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; After that my parents said â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;No more Chinese; letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s speak English.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x153;People werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t very enlightened about bilingualism back then.â&#x20AC;? N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.

MANY THANKS TO OUR EARLY BIRD 2013 NATIONAL REBUILDING DAY SPONSORS ABD Insurance and Financial Services Ameriprise Financial Services Bohannon Foundation Commercial Casework Cooley LLP DLA Piper DPR Construction ECC Electronic Arts Equinix IFMA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Silicon Valley Chapter Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto Nibbi Brothers General Contractors OpenTV Oracle USA, Inc. Pentair Responsys Roche Molecular Diagnostics Sares-Regis Group of Northern California Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. Sereno Real Estate Group of Palo Alto Stanford Hospitals and Clinics SummerHill Housing Group T.E Connectivity Thermo Fisher Scientific United Healthcare Credit Union Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati W.L. Butler Construction Inc. Woodside Priory School

LYTTON GARDENS SENIOR COMMUNITIES Community Housing, Inc. 656 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 617-7318 SENIOR INDEPENDENT SUBSIDIZED HOUSING WAITING LIST TO OPEN MARCH 18TH/2013 TO MARCH 22ND/2013 Lytton Gardens Senior Communities is pleased to announce the opening of our subsidized waiting list for Lytton Gardens IV (Courtyard) located at 330 Everett Street, Palo Alto CA 94301. Lytton Gardens offers subsidized housing for extremely low and low-income seniors. TO BE ELIGIBLE: Single applicant must be 62 years old or older. Maximum annual income for single applicant must be less than $35,500.00. Couple applicants; one must be 62 years old or older. Maximum annual income for couple applicants must be less than $40,550.00. Rent will be 30% of your monthly income. Assets (real estate, stocks and bonds, etc.) will be converted to income at 2% or actual % of earnings. You or a close family member * must live or work in the designated area of Palo Alto, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford, Portola Valley, Woodside, Atherton, Mountain View, Los Altos or Los Altos Hills.

www.RebuildingTogetherPeninsula.org (650) 366-6597

11th Mothers Symposium Kristin Neff, Ph.D., Kelly McGonigal,Ph.D., and Leah Weiss, Ph.D.

Exploring Self-Compassion: A Morning for Mothers Register online at www.motherssymposium.org

TO APPLY: Applications will be distributed at Lytton Gardens I (Arbor), 656 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto CA 94301 on March 18th, 20th and March 22nd, 2013 from 11:00 AM. to 3:00 PM. and on March 19th & March 21st, 2013 from 12:00 PM. to 4:00 PM. Applications must be returned by mail to Lytton Gardens Senior Communities, P. O. Box 51907, Palo Alto, CA_94303.

Selection will be made by lottery to determine applicantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; order on the waiting list, pending veriďŹ cation of eligibility. Names will be chosen between May 1st/13 and May 15th/13

* Family member includes: Grandparent, parent, children & sibling. Grandparent-in-law, parent-in-law, children-in-law, and siblings-in-law Lytton Gardens Community Housing does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, handicap, ancestry, medical condition, veteran status, sexual orientation, AIDS, AIDS related condition (ARC), in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its federally assisted programs and activities. Sylvia M. Karl, Sr. Director, Affordable Housing, 2185 North California Blvd., Suite 575, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (925) 956-7372 has been designated to coordinate compliance with nondiscrimination requirements contained in the Department of Housing and Urban Developmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regulations implementing Section 504 (24 CFR Part 8 dated June 2, 1988). TDD/TYY 1-800-735-2922

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Time:

8:30am Registration & Breakfast 9:30am - 12:30pm Program

Location: Stanford University School of Education, Cubberley Auditorium Near the main quad and the Oval

Applications postmarked after April 15th, 2013 cannot be considered and they will be returned to sender.

Copy(ies) of your social security card(s) should be attached to your application. Applicantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Authorization and Consent for Release of Information, and HUD Forms 9887 &9887A, must be ďŹ lled-out, signed and attached to your application, or we will not be able to accept your application.

Date:

Media Sponsors

Sponsors: Blossom Birth, Lucile Packard Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Palo Alto Weekly, Parents Place of the Peninsula, Preschool Family, Stanford Health Library Co-Sponsors: Abilities United, Bing Nursery School, Castilleja School, Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Health Council, Child and Family Institute, First Congregational Nursery School, Girls Middle School, Hand in Hand Parenting, Keys School, Maternal Outreach at El Camino Hospital, Nursing Mothers Counsel, Palo Alto Community Child Care, Palo Alto Council of the PTAs, Peninsula School, Phillips Brooks School, 3URMHFW &RUQHUVWRQH 6WDQIRUG :RUN /LIH 2IÂżFH

Learn the Guitar this Spring

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FIELD OF ELDER CARE Wednesday, February 20, 7-9 p.m.

Free workshop, but please RSVP.

NEWCOMER’S COFFEE Thursday, February 21, 3 – 4 p.m.

New to the bay area? Please call for more information or to RSVP.

MONEY MATTERS Saturday, March 16, 10 – 2:30 p.m. Free Educational Seminar

Today’s news, sports & hot picks

— French Conversation & Culture — Jewelry Making Class For further details, visit our website: deborahspalm.org 555 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto 650 /473-0664

debor ah’s palm

*“Starting to Play” meets for one hour each Monday night for nine weeks beginning March 25. Students are encouraged to bring their own guitar, but both nylon-string and steel-string loaner guitars are available. Other classes at more advanced levels are also offered. A full brochure is available at Gryphon.

Stringed Instruments

february highlights FOR THIS MONTH: — Women’s Support Group — Linked-In Review — Assertive Woman Workshops — Global Awareness Special Event

Carol McComb’s “Starting to Play” workshop includes the FREE use of a Loaner Guitar for the duration of the classes.* Regular cost is just $160 for nine weeks of group lessons, and all music is included.

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

LYTTON GARDENS SENIOR COMMUNITIES Community Housing, Inc. 656 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301 (650) 617-7318 LA LISTA DE ESPERA PARA OBTENER VIVIENDA SUBSIDIADA PARA PERSONAS MAYORES ESTARA ABIERTA A PARTIR DEL 18 DE MARZO HASTA EL 22 DE MARZO DE 2013 Lytton Gardens Senior Communities se complace en anunciar que abrirá el periodo para la lista de espera de apartamentos subsidiados de vivienda independiente en nuestra propiedad Lytton Gardens IV (Courtyard) que se encuentra localizada en la siguiente dirección: 330 Everett Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301 Lytton Gardens ofrece vivienda subsidiada para personas mayores de bajo ingreso y de extremado bajo ingreso. PERSONAS ELEGIBLES: Una persona aplicante debe tener 62 años o más El ingreso máximo anual para una persona debe ser $35,500.00 o menos. Dos personas aplicantes, un miembro tiene que tener 62 anos de edad o más. El ingreso máximo anual para una pareja debe ser $40,550.00 o menos. La renta a pagar por mes será el 30% del ingreso mensual. Bienes ( como por ejemplo propiedades, cuenta de fondos mutuos, acciones, bonos, etc.) serán calculados al 2% y se añadirá a los ingresos mensuales. El aplicante (s) o familiar debe de vivir o trabajar en el area designada de Palo Alto, Redwood City, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Stanford, Portola Valley. Woodside, Atherton, Mountain View, Los Altos o Los Altos Hills.

way By the Ba d a o y Presents Br CATS

OLIVER

APRIL 6 - 21

JULY 12 - 21

CABARET

GUYS AND DOLLS

SEPTEMBER 13 - 29

NOVEMBER 8 - 17

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: A RADIO PLAY DECEMBER 26 - 29 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City

650.FOX.7770 Tickets are On Sale Today

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Avenidas presents the 6th Annual

Housing Conference

PARA APLICAR: Las aplicaciones serán distribuidas en Lytton Gardens (Arbor), 656 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301 los dias 18, 20 y 22 de Marzo de 2013 de las 11:00 a.m. a las 3:00 p.m., y los dias 19 y 21 de Marzo de 2013 de las 12:00 m. a las 4:00 p.m. Las aplicaciones deben ser devueltas por correo a Lytton Gardens Senior Communities, P.O.Box 51907, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Las aplicaciones con stampilla de correo fechadas después del 15 de Abril de 2013 no serán consideradas y serán devueltas a su destinatario. Las aplicaciones serán seleccionadas por medio de un sorteo de loteria para determinar el número del applicante en la lista de espera, dependiendo de su elegibilidad. Los nombres serán escogidos entre Mayo 1 a Mayo 15 de 2013. Copia de la tarjeta del seguro social debe ser adjuntada a su application. La Autorización y Consentimiento de la información del Aplicante tienen que ser completada, ﬁrmada y adjuntada a la aplicación , incluyendo la forma HUD 9887 & 9887-A. Caso contrario, no aceptaremos su applicación. * Miembros de la familia incluyen: Abuelos, padres, hijos y hermanos. Suegros, suegras, hijastros y hermanastros. Lytton Gardens Community Housing does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, handicap, ancestry, medical condition, veteran status, sexual orientation, AIDS, AIDS related condition (ARC), in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its federally assisted programs and activities. Sylvia M. Karl, Sr. Director, Affordable Housing, 2185 North California Blvd., Suite 575, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 (925)956-7372 has been designated to coordinate compliance with nondiscrimination requirements contained in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s regulations implementing Section 504 (24 CFR Part 8 dated June 2, 1988). TDD/TYY 1-800-735-2922

Saturday, March 23 8:30 am - 2:30 pm Choose from three focus areas: y Do you want to sell your home and move? y Have you decided to stay in your own home? y Are you still exploring your options? Register at avenidas.org or call (650) 289-5435.

Resources and programs for positive aging

Special thanks to Presenting Sponsors Nancy Goldcamp, Coldwell Banker and Oshman Family Jewish Community Center Page 24ÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

Arts & Entertainment ! WEEKLY GUIDE TO MUSIC THEATER ART MOVIES AND MORE EDITED BY 2EBECCA 7ALLACE

AUhYf]U` kcf`X K=H< :@9979 EI=@HG 5B8 GD=BB=B; K<99@G 9L<=6=H HF579G H<9 <=GHCFM C: H9LH=@9 DFC8I7H=CB =B 5A9F=75 by Rebecca Wallace photographs by Veronica Weber

ENNY (ASSETT WAS BORN TO WORK ON THIS EXHIBIT !FTER ALL HER NAME IS 0ENELOPE JUST LIKE THE GREAT WEAVER IN (OMER S LEGEND WHO WOVE AND WOVE WHILE WAITING FOR /DYSSEUS TO COME HOME .OW THIS MODERN DAY 0ENELOPE STANDS AMID LOOMS AND SPINNING WHEELS AT THE -USEUM OF !MERICAN (ERITAGE PULLING A LINE OF LINEN 4HE FIBERS TWIST INTO FINE STRING IN HER PRACTICED HANDS 3HE S A SPIN NER A WEAVER A DYER A QUILTER 3HE KNOWS

HOW TO CREATE INTRICATE CROSS STITCHING CARD FIBERS SPIN THREAD WITH A DROP SPINDLE h) M A FOLLOWER OF THREADS v SHE SAYS -ANY OF THE ITEMS IN THE NEW 0ALO !LTO EXHIBIT h&ROM &IBER TO &ABRIC ! (ISTORY OF !MERICAN 4EXTILE 0RODUCTIONv COME FROM (ASSETT S ,A (ONDA HOME 3HE LOANED A SMALL TABLE LOOM AND A LARGE FLOOR LOOM AN ENORMOUS SPINNING WHEEL 3HE STARTED A RAG RUG GOING ON HER BIG LOOM SO THAT VISI

4OP LEFT 4HE -USEUM OF !MERICAN (ERITAGE S ,INDSEY -UNZEL AND 0ENNY (ASSETT LOOK AT THE FIBER AND SPINNING WHEELS IN THE CURRENT EXHIBIT "ELOW LEFT ! h3PHINXv 3INGER SEWING MACHINE FROM !BOVE ! TABLETOP LOOM AND LARGE LOOM ILLUSTRATE WEAVING PROCESSES AT THE MUSEUM

(continued on page 26)

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊU Page 25

Arts & Entertainment

Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra Concert#3: Mediterranean Journey

Saturday, March 9, 2013, 8PM Benjamin Simon, Conductor; Kaila Flexer, violin Cubberley Theatre 4000 MiddleďŹ eld Road, Palo Alto

FREE ! QUILT TITLED h-ONKEY 7RENCH AND (OLE IN THE "ARN $OORv WAS MADE FROM SALVAGED FABRIC IN THE LATE TH CENTURY

Mendelssohn: Sinfonia No. 2 in D Major Flexer: Song for Carla (world premiere) DohnĂĄnyi: Serenade for String Orchestra, Op. 10 One of the Bay Areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most interesting and innovative musicians, violinist Kaila Flexer brings a suite of her Balkan-ďŹ&#x201A;avored compositions to our PACO stage, plus her own great back-up band of oud, saz, and darbuka. Sandwiching our exotic voyage will be pair of classical works for string orchestra: a brilliant symphony by the 11year old Felix Mendelssohn and a virtuoso arrangement of Ernst von DohnĂĄnyiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s folk-inspired Trio Serenade.

650-856-3848 www.pacomusic.org info@pacomusic.org

PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26 ********************************** THIS IS A SUMMARY OF COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS. THE AGENDA WITH COMPLETE TITLES INCLUDING LEGAL DOCUMENTATION CAN BE VIEWED AT THE BELOW WEBPAGE: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/knowzone/agendas/council.asp (TENTATIVE) AGENDA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PALO ALTO PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION BOARD COUNCIL CHAMBERS March 11, 2013 - 7:00 PM 1. Approval of 2011-12 Public Improvement Corporation Financial Statement

(TENTATIVE) AGENDA â&#x20AC;&#x201C; REGULAR MEETING â&#x20AC;&#x201C; COUNCIL CHAMBERS March 11, 2013 - 7:00 PM SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 1. Final Payment from Art Center Foundation for Art Center Construction 2. Proclamation for Tsuchiura and Introduction of Marathon Runner Representing the City in Tsuchiura ACTION 3. Adoption of an Amendment to the Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 5.35 for the Proposed Disposable Checkout Bag Ordinance Retail and Food Service Establishment Checkout Bag Requirements; and Approval of the Final Draft Environmental Impact Report

JOINT STUDY SESSION â&#x20AC;&#x201C; PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL/ PAUSD SCHOOL BOARD- CUBBERLEY COMMUNITY CENTER THEATRE March 14, 2013 - 7:00 PM The Palo Alto City Council and the Palo Alto UniďŹ ed School District Board will be meeting in a joint study session on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 7:00 PM to discuss the ďŹ ndings of the Cubberley Community Advisory Committee. STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Regional Housing Mandate Committee will meet on Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 4:00 P.M. to discuss: 1) Presentation by Stephen Levy of Bay Area Regional Economic and Housing Forecasts, and 2) Staff Update of: 1) Housing Element Process, and 2) Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) Appeal.

Support Palo Alto Weeklyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s print and online coverage of our community. Join today: SupportLocalJournalism.org/PaloAlto Page 26Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x160; >Ă&#x20AC;VÂ&#x2026;Ă&#x160;n]Ă&#x160;Ă&#x201C;Ă¤ÂŁĂ&#x17D;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;*>Â?Â&#x153;Ă&#x160; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;Â?Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Ă&#x153;Â°*>Â?Â&#x153; Â?Ă&#x152;Â&#x153;"Â&#x2DC;Â?Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;iÂ°VÂ&#x153;Â&#x201C;

Material world (continued from page 25)

TORS CAN TRACE THE WARP AND WOOF ! LONGTIME LOCAL WHOSE SONS OWN 0ALO !LTO (ARDWARE (ASSETT IS ONE OF MANY MUSEUM VOLUNTEERS WHO WORKED ON THE EXHIBIT "ERYL 3ELF OF -ENLO 0ARK CURATED THE SHOW SPENDING HOURS GOING THROUGH THE MUSEUM S COLLECTION TO FIND THE RIGHT SEWING MACHINE OR HISTORIC APRON !N AVID QUILTER WITH EXPERIENCE WORKING AT THE 3AN *OSE -USEUM OF 1UILTS 4EXTILES SHE MADE SEVERAL OF THE QUILTS IN THE EXHIBIT 4HE SHOW IS FULL OF ART THE QUILTS MODERN AND VINTAGE COLORFUL WEAV INGS AND TAPESTRIES RED ON WHITE EMBROIDERY "UT THE EXHIBIT PAYS ITS MAIN TRIBUTE TO THE EVERYDAY FUNCTION AS WELL AS FORM )T HONORS THE !MERI CANS OF THE PAST Â&#x2C6; MOSTLY WOMEN BUT MANY CHILDREN Â&#x2C6; WHO SPENT THEIR DAYS WITH TEXTILES SPINNING WEAV ING SEWING AND LABORING IN FACTORIES TO MAKE THE PRODUCTS THAT NOW ZIP FORTH FROM MACHINES h0EOPLE DON T THINK ABOUT WHERE IT ALL CAME FROM AND HOW IT GOT PUT TOGETHER v 3ELF SAYS 3HE AND HER TEAM DECIDED THAT THE HEART OF THE EXHIBIT SHOULD BE THE THREE PRIMARY FIBERS OF !MERICAN SETTLERS WOOL COTTON AND LINEN )N THE MUSEUM S FRONT ROOM THE WOOL AREA CONTAINS PHOTOS OF SHEEP AND WOOL AND INFORMATION ON THE TH CENTURY WOOL INDUSTRY 3ELF CON TRIBUTED A SHEEPSKIN RUG THAT PEOPLE CAN SMOOTH DOWN TO SEE THE CRIMP A FACTOR THAT HELPS DETERMINE QUALITY WHEN BUYING FLEECE .EARBY THERE S A BASKET OF RAW COTTON STILL PACKED WITH SEEDS AN INDIGO DYED APRON FROM THE S AND AN IMAGE OF SLAVES PICKING COT TON 6ISITORS CAN HANDLE THE COTTON TO GET AN IDEA OF THE HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK REQUIRED TO CLEAN IT BEFORE THE COTTON GIN WAS INVENTED !N EXHIBIT CARD STATES THAT A POUND LOAD OF COTTON PRODUCED POUNDS OF SEED AND ONLY OF COTTON LINT )N THE LINEN AREA THE EXHIBIT EX PLAINS HOW LINEN FIBERS ARE DRAWN FROM FLAX PLANT STALKS THEN BUNDLED DRIED AND USED /NE ILLUSTRATION PRO VIDES A CROSS SECTION OF A FLAX STEM /N A MANNEQUIN A CRISP LOOKING MAN S LINEN SHIRT FROM THE TH CEN TURY STANDS WATCH /NCE VIEWERS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED

TO THE BASICS OF THIS FIBER TROIKA A DISPLAY OF PHOTOS AND DRAWINGS BY MUSEUM VOLUNTEER $ICK #LARK PULLS IT ALL TOGETHER BY DIAGRAMMING HOW FIBER IS MADE INTO FABRIC (E WALKS VIEWERS THROUGH THE PICKING CARDING SPINNING WARPING AND WEAVING !ND THEN ALL AROUND THE MUSEUM ARE THE VARIOUS INVENTIONS THAT HAVE MADE THESE MATERIAL MIRACLES HAP PEN FOR CENTURIES 4HERE ARE DROP SPINDLES WHICH PEOPLE USED TO SPIN THREAD BY HAND .OT VERY EFFICIENT BUT PORTABLE 4HEY WERE SUCCEEDED BY SPINNING WHEELS THREE OF WHICH STAND ELEGANTLY IN THE MAIN EXHIBIT AREA .EARBY ARE (ASSETT S LOOMS 3HE LOOKS AT THEM FONDLY WORKING THE BIT OF LINEN IN HER HANDS h) THINK THE VERY FIRST BOOK ) READ WAS A CHILDREN S VERSION OF @4HE /D YSSEY v SHE SAYS THINKING BACK TO THE ANCIENT WEAVER 0ENELOPE h7HEN ) GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL ) WENT TO STAY AT A FRIEND S HOUSE AND SHE HAD A LOOM ) WALKED IN AND PUT MY ARMS AROUND IT AND SAID @) WANT TO DO THIS v !S LOOMS GOT MORE ADVANCED IN THE TH CENTURY THE MECHANICAL JACQUARD LOOM EMERGED )T KEPT TRACK OF COMPLICATED PATTERNS WITH A SYS TEM OF CARDS !S SUCH IT S PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE PERSONAL COMPUTER )N FACT THE JACQUARD LOOM ON DISPLAY AT -/!( IS ON LOAN FROM THE #OMPUTER (ISTORY -USEUM IN -OUNTAIN 6IEW /THER INVENTIONS ON DISPLAY INCLUDE SEWING MACHINES FROM -/!( S COL LECTION SOME PAINTED WITH SPHINXES OR OTHER DESIGNS h0ART OF THE SELLING THING WAS HOW ELEGANT IT WOULD LOOK IN YOUR LIVING ROOM v 3ELF SAYS 3EVERAL SHELVES ARE FULL OF VINTAGE IRONS /NE BURNED KEROSENE WITH THE SCORCH MARKS TO PROVE IT WHILE AN OTHER NEEDED TO BE LOADED WITH COALS /NE WEIGHS POUNDS 7HILE THE HARD WORKING WOMEN OF THE PAST NEEDED TO BE STRONG IT ALSO HELPED TO HAVE AN EYE FOR COLOR /NE SECTION ON DYEING IS BRIGHT WITH FIBERS DYED BY ONION SKINS TURMERIC MUS TARD AND THE MADDER PLANT 0EOPLE USED URINE TOO HENCE THE CHAMBER POT ON DISPLAY h4HE SMELL OF THESE THINGS WAS AW FUL AND INDIGO WAS THE WORST OF ALL v 3ELF SAYS !ND COSTLY ! PRICE CARD FROM LISTS MADDER AT CENTS A POUND AND INDIGO AT A POUND 4HE IMAGES OF SLAVES WORKING ARE A SAD SIDE TO THE EXHIBIT AS IS THE SEC TION ON CHILD LABOR )T INCLUDES BLACK

AND WHITE PHOTOS OF LITTLE WORKERS IN THE .ORTHERN FACTORIES OF THE TH AND EARLY TH CENTURIES 4HEY LABORED IN FRIGHTENING PROXIMITY TO THE HUGE MACHINES MOVING PARTS OFTEN HAV ING TO CRAWL UNDER THEM TO TIE THREADS BACK TOGETHER 3ELF SAYS h/NE THING THAT YOU DON T GET FROM THE PICTURES IS THE INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF DUST EVERYWHERE v 3ELF SAYS h!ND THE NOISE v ADDS ,INDSEY -U NZEL VISITOR SERVICES SPECIALIST AT THE MUSEUM -ORE CHEERFUL ARE THE EXHIBIT S QUILTS 4HEY INCLUDE h#ROWN OF 4HORNS v A TH CENTURY QUILT HAND PIECED FROM TINY PINK COTTON PAT TERNS WHICH WERE POPULAR WHEN OTHER DYES WERE HARDER TO COME BY h*ACOB S ,ADDER v FROM ABOUT INCLUDES A PRINT OF PENNY FARTHING BICYCLES -UNZEL HAS ADDED A hCOMMUNITY QUILTv SECTION TO THE EXHIBIT WHERE KIDS AND ADULTS CAN PIECE TOGETHER FABRIC SHAPES AND GLUE THEM TO PAPER SQUARES !LL SQUARES ARE BEING DIS PLAYED ON THE WALL 3ELF HARKS BACK TO THE $EPRESSION WITH A RECONSTRUCTION QUILT SHE MADE WITH PIECES OF OLD FEED SACKS 4HE SACKS WERE hA FREE SOURCE OF FABRIC OFTEN USED FOR CHILDREN S CLOTHES APRONS AND PILLOWCASES v AN EXHIBIT CARD READS ! PHOTO FROM SHOWS AN !MERICAN FAMILY DRESSED IN GARB MADE FROM BRIGHTLY PRINTED SACKS )N THOSE DAYS THE MANUFACTUR ERS WOULD SELL SACKS WITH DIFFER ENT PATTERNS AND WIVES WOULD GO WITH THEIR HUSBANDS TO PICK OUT THEIR FAVORITES WHEN IT WAS TIME TO BUY FEED 3ELF SAYS 4HE PHOTO IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE EXHIBIT PAY ING TRIBUTE TO THE EVERYDAY FABRIC WORKER 4HE FAMILY DOESN T LOOK PARTICULARLY WELL FED AND THE HOUSE IS HUMBLE AT BEST BUT SOMEONE HAS CLEARLY TAKEN GREAT CARE IN SEWING THESE FEED SACK DRESSES WITH EV ERY COLLAR AND HEM AND BUTTONHOLE CRAFTED LOVINGLY BY HAND N What: â&#x20AC;&#x153;From Fiber to Fabric: A History of American Textile Production,â&#x20AC;? an exhibit at the Museum of American Heritage Where: 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto When: Through Aug. 18. The museum is open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: Free Info: Go to moah.org or call 650-3211004.

Eating Out FOOD FEATURE

A sweet tribute RMED WITH CREAM CHEESE RASP BERRIES AND A SECRET RECIPE #HERITH 3PICER IS SPEARHEAD ING A VENTURE THAT S PART BUSINESS AND PART TRIBUTE !T HER .AMESAKE #HEESECAKE KITCHEN IN -ENLO 0ARK SHE BAKES AND SELLS CUSTOM CAKES FROM THE TREASURED RECIPE BEQUEATHED TO HER BY FAMILY FRIEND #HERITH ,ORRAINE 2ICKEY ,OCALS MAY REMEMBER h-RS 2ICKEY S &AMOUS #HEESECAKEv FROM THE 0ALO !LTO RESTAURANTS THAT THE LATE 2ICKEY CO OWNED WITH HER HUSBAND *OHN INCLUDING $INAH S 3HACK AND 2ICK S 3WISS #HALET .OW IT S BACK h)T KEEPS THEIR SPIRIT GOING v 3PICER SAID 'ROWING UP IN 0ALO !LTO 3PICER WAS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WITH 2ICKEY AFTER WHOM SHE WAS NAMED 3HE WAS ALSO A BIG FAN OF THE FAMOUS CHEESE CAKE /NE DAY LATE IN HER LIFE 2ICKEY SURPRISED HER YOUNG FRIEND BY GIVING HER THE RECIPE 2ICKEY HAD IT MEMO

by Rebecca Wallace RIZED AND ASKED HER TO WRITE IT DOWN h)T WAS LIKE ) GOT THE GOLDEN TICKET FROM 7ILLY 7ONKA v 3PICER SAID .OW THE RECIPE FUELS 3PICER S BUSINESS WITH THE 2ICKEY FAMILY S BLESSING ,AST YEAR SHE OPENED .AMESAKE #HEESECAKE ON %L #AMI NO 2EAL IN DOWNTOWN -ENLO 0ARK IN A SPACE FORMERLY OCCUPIED BY A CATERING COMPANY "EHIND GAUZY RED CURTAINS WITH A PEACOCK PATTERN THE FRONT SHOW ROOM SPACE IS LIVELY AND COLORFUL WITH 4IFFANY COLORED WALLS AND A BIG PRINT OF !UDREY (EPBURN 4HE BACK OF A HUGE WALK IN REFRIGERATOR MIGHT HAVE BEEN AN INTRUDER INTO THE SPACE EXCEPT THAT A FRIEND OF 3PICER S WHO GOES BY THE MONIKER "LACK 3TAMP 3TUDIOS HAS PAINTED IT IN BOLD GRAFFITI STYLE 4HE FRIDGE IS DECORATED WITH A CURLY LETTERED LOGO AND IMAGES OF THE (OOVER 4OWER AND THE 'OLDEN 'ATE "RIDGE .EARBY TABLES AND CHAIRS SIT READY

FOR CAKE TASTINGS )N BACK IS A SIZABLE KITCHEN WHERE 3PICER BAKES AND RENTS SPACE TO OTHER COMMERCIAL KITCHENS INCLUDING A RAW JUICE BUSINESS 4HE SOMETHING 3PICER LIVED IN ,OS !NGELES FOR YEARS ACTING AND MODELING UNTIL HER FATHER S ILL NESS CAUSED HER TO MOVE BACK TO 0ALO !LTO !FTER HE RECOVERED HE ASKED HER WHAT SHE WAS GOING TO DO NEXT 3PICER A LONGTIME BAKER AND WOMAN OF MANY JOBS DECIDED TO START HER OWN CHEESE CAKE BUSINESS )T S NOW HER FULL TIME JOB AND SHE HAS TWO TO THREE PEOPLE WORKING FOR HER AT ANY GIVEN TIME %VERYTHING IS BASED ON 2ICKEY S OWN RECIPE THE ORIGIN OF WHICH RE MAINS MYSTERIOUS EVEN TO 3PICER 4HOUGH SHE WON T GIVE A LOT OF DE TAILS SHE DOES SAY ON HER WEBSITE THAT THE CAKE CONSISTS OF hA LAYER OF GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST A CREAM CHEESE LAYER TOPPED WITH A LAYER OF SOUR CREAM AND SUGAR v #REATING EACH CAKE IS hA BAKE CHILL PROCESSv

André Zandona

0ALO !LTO BAKER TURNS HER LATE FRIEND S RECIPE INTO A CHEESECAKE BUSINESS

! CHEESECAKE MADE BY #HERITH 3PICER USING THE RECIPE HANDED DOWN TO HER BY FAMILY FRIEND #HERITH ,ORRAINE 2ICKEY THAT TAKES TWO DAYS h)T S RICH BUT IT S NOT HEAVY )T HAS A NICE BALANCE OF SWEET WITH TART ) PUT FRESH LEMON JUICE IN IT v SHE SAID h)T S A CLASSIC TRADITIONAL CHEESECAKE v 2ICKEY S BIG TOPPING FLAVOR WAS RASPBERRY 3PICER DIDN T WANT TO MESS WITH THE SYSTEM TOO MUCH BUT SHE HAS ADDED A FEW TOPPING

OPTIONS OF HER OWN INCLUDING HOLI DAY CANDY AND SALTED CARAMEL 3HE ALSO BAKES A GLUTEN FREE VERSION 0RICES ON HER WEBSITE RANGE FROM FOR A PLAIN INCH CAKE TO FOR A INCH GLUTEN FREE CAKE WITH A HOMEMADE TOPPING "ITE SIZED OPTIONS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE (continued on next page)

Cucina Venti Recipe

DINNER BY THE MOVIES AT SHORELINE’S

Cucina Venti

ons ervati s e r g in accept

able l i a v a ng cateri Now

Linguine alle Vongole con Broccoli 4HE !MALFI #OAST SEDUCES ITS VISITORS NOT ONLY FOR THE WONDERFUL PANORAMAS AND THE INTENSE BLUE SEA BUT ALSO FOR THE FL AVORS AND TASTES OF THE LOCAL TRADITIONAL GASTRONOMY %ACH TOWN AND VILLAGE FEATURES TYPICAL SPECIALTIES FROM THE LOCAL PRODUCTS 0ASTA ALLE 6ONGOLE CON BROCCOLI IS ONE OF THE GRANDEST OF ALL !MALFI #OAST SEAFOOD DISHES ALLOWING FOR THE ROMANCE OF 0OSITANO BY TEASING THE PALATE WITH THE FRESHNESS OF SPRING BROCCOLI AND WARMTH OF SUMMER STILL TO COME IN THE SPICY RED PEPPER 4HE SEA PROVIDES ITS FRUITS AND THE LAND ITS BOUNTY 4HE PEOPLE THEY PROVIDE THE LOVE 3ORRENTO .APLES 4HE )SLE OF #APRI 3ORRENTO WHERE ON ALL OF THE EARTH HAS AND AREA BEEN SO BLESSED ) WEEP NOW AS YOU ENJOY THIS DISH From our kitchen to yours.Buon appetito! #HEF -ARCO 3ALVI %XECUTIVE #HEF

ingredients: s ¢ CUP WATER s ,ITTLENECK OR -ANILA CLAMS IN SHELLS SCRUBBED ABOUT POUNDS s QUARTS WATER s CUPS BROCCOLI FL ORETS s TABLESPOONS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL DIVIDED

preparation:

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

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

"RING CUP WATER TO A BOIL IN A LARGE STOCKPOT !DD CLAMS COVER AND COOK MINUTES OR UNTIL SHELLS OPEN 2EMOVE CLAMS FROM PAN RESERVE CUP COOKING LIQUID $ISCARD ANY UNOPENED SHELLS "RING QUARTS WATER AND TEASPOONS SALT TO A BOIL IN LARGE POT !DD BROCCOLI AND COOK MINUTES OR UNTIL THE BROCCOLI IS BRIGHT GREEN 2EMOVE BROCCOLI WITH A SLOTTED SPOON DO NOT DRAIN WATER FROM STOCKPOT 0LACE BROCCOLI IN A COLANDER AND RINSE WITH COLD WATER $RAIN BROCCOLI COARSELY CHOP 2ETURN WATER TO A BOIL 3TIR IN PASTA AND RETURN TO A BOIL STIRRING FREQUENTLY #OOK MINUTES OR UNTIL THE PASTA IS AL DENTE STIRRING OCCASIONALLY

s GARLIC CLOVES SLICED s TEASPOON CRUSHED RED PEPPER s CUP )TALIAN PARSLEY CHOPPED s POUND UNCOOKED LINGUINE s 3ALT s 3HAVED !SIAGO CHEESE 7HILE PASTA COOKS HEAT TABLESPOONS OIL IN A LARGE NONSTICK SKILLET OVER MEDIUM HEAT !DD GARLIC COOK SECONDS OR UNTIL FRAGRANT AND TRANSLUCENT STIRRING CONSTANTLY !DD BROCCOLI AND RED PEPPER COOK MINUTES OR UNTIL BROCCOLI SIZZLES 3TIR IN CLAMS AND RESERVED CUP COOKING LIQUID BRING TO A BOIL 2EDUCE HEAT AND SIMMER MINUTES OR UNTIL BROCCOLI IS TENDER !DD PASTA TO SKILLET STIRRING WELL TO COAT "RING MIXTURE TO A BOIL 3TIR IN TEASPOON SALT AND CHOPPED PARSLEY COOK MINUTE STIRRING CONSTANTLY 3ERVE IMMEDIATELY AND DRIZZLE EACH SERVING WITH TEASPOON OF EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL AND SHAVINGS OF !SIAGO

ÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊU Page 27

Eating Out (continued from previous page)

3PICER BAKES PER ORDER AND SAYS EACH CAKE IS SPECIAL 0EOPLE ORDER THEM FOR HOLIDAYS BIRTHDAYS WED DINGS AND OTHER EVENTS #HEESECAKE HAS BEEN TAKING OFF AT WEDDINGS IN PART BECAUSE BRIDES HAVE BEEN FRE QUENTLY LOOKING BEYOND THE TRADI TIONAL WEDDING CAKE IN RECENT YEARS SHE SAID .AMESAKE #HEESECAKES ARE ALSO ON THE MENU AT !LICE S 2ESTAURANT IN 7OODSIDE AND SERVED AS PART OF THE LUNCH SPECIALS AT )NDOCHINE IN 0ALO !LTO )NTERESTINGLY THE 4HAI 6IET NAMESE RESTAURANT IS ONE OF 3PICER S BIGGEST CLIENTS (ER CAKES HAVE ALSO BEEN SERVED AT THE 3TANFORD 0ARK (OTEL THE /LD 0RO THE -ENLO #IR CUS #LUB AND OTHER LOCAL VENUES 7ORD OF MOUTH HAS BEEN AN EF FECTIVE MARKETING TOOL FOR 3PICER AS HAVE HER VISITS TO RESTAURANTS BEARING SAMPLES 3O FAR 3PICER HAS SOLD HER CAKES ONLY LOCALLY BUT SHE S LOOKING INTO STARTING A SHIPPING SIDE OF THE BUSI NESS h) THINK WE LL REALLY EXPAND WITH SHIPPING v

ShopTalk by Daryl Savage

#HERITH 3PICER AND #HERITH ,ORRAINE 2ICKEY -EANWHILE LOCAL CUSTOMERS CON TINUE TO COME IN OFTEN BRINGING WARM MEMORIES OF THE 2ICKEYS /NE TIME A NEIGHBOR OF 3PICER S WAS THRILLED TO BRING HER A VINTAGE POSTCARD HE D FOUND FROM THE 2ICK S 3WISS #HALET RESTAURANT 3PICER SAID h) LL HAVE PEOPLE STOP IN ALL THE TIME WHO REMEMBER THEM v Info: Namesake Cheesecake is at 425 El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Go to namesakecheesecake.com or call 650-833-9529.

CREAM ARRIVES ... The latest scoop: a new ice cream shop moving into the former Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gelato at 440 University Ave. in Palo Alto. Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s closed earlier this year after a nearly eight-year-run. Taking its place is Cream, a high-energy, family-run business that specializes in ice-cream sandwiches. After a successful start in Berkeley in 2010, Cream is ready to expand into Palo Alto. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great fit,â&#x20AC;? said Cream spokesman Gus Shamieh, who owns the shop with his father, Jimmy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We offer premium products at affordable prices,â&#x20AC;? he said. The small 1,300-square-foot shop has been home to ice-cream shops for more than a decade, beginning as Swensonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ice Cream. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need a lot of space. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a well-oiled machine,â&#x20AC;? Shamieh said. Creamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s signature and most popular item, according to Shamieh, is a mintchocolate-chip ice-cream sandwich surrounded by double chocolate-chip cookies. And it comes in at a mere 700 calories. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 700 calories of happiness,â&#x20AC;? Shamieh said. Look for a late spring/early summer opening. ADAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CAFE READY AND WAITING... Adaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cafe is poised to

move into the new Mitchell Park Library and Community Center â&#x20AC;&#x153;the minute we can,â&#x20AC;? said Kathleen Foley-Hughes, the cafeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s executive director. Located at 3900 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto, the library, which is more than a year behind construction schedule, looks like it will finally be completed by late summer, according to Foley-Hughes. Her nonprofit cafe will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and will offer a variety of moderately priced breakfast, lunch and dinner items. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We feel so honored that we were chosen as the vendor for the library over all the other groups that applied,â&#x20AC;? FoleyHughes said. Adaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cafe is unusual in its mission. In addition to offering fresh food, it provides jobs and training for individuals with developmental disabilities. Foley-Hughes plans to employ 15 to 25 developmentally disabled people for her cafe. She is also planning an internship program for high school and college-age students who will work side-by-side with the employees. PALO ALTO, THAT TUTORING TOWN ... This cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s newest tutoring center is scheduled to open this

month in Charleston Shopping Center. Huntington Learning Center, a chain of educational-service centers founded in 1977, is preparing to move in to the newly renovated space that once housed Neighborhood Liquor and Video, between Mountain Mikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Pizza and Pet Food Express. Franchise owner Harpreet Soni, a former high-tech worker who moved here from India 14 years ago, is passionate about education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for me to give back. What this country is lacking is a good education. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what motivated me to open a Huntington here,â&#x20AC;? he said. Soni also sees a lot of competition in this city. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In Palo Alto, the parents are competitive and that makes the kids competitive, more so here than in other communities,â&#x20AC;? he said. Huntington joins a bevy of other tutoring centers in Palo Alto, including Admissions Academy, Score, Ivy and the soon-to-open Think Tank Learning at 4131 El Camino Real, next to Starbucks. Huntington will offer academic skills and exam preparation for kindergarteners through high schoolers. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I already have my first students â&#x20AC;&#x201D; my two daughters,â&#x20AC;? Soni said. N

(EARD A RUMOR ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE STORE OR BUSINESS MOV ING OUT OR IN DOWN THE BLOCK OR ACROSS TOWN $ARYL 3AVAGE WILL CHECK IT OUT %MAIL SHOPTALK PAWEEKLY COM

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re Moving Corner Around the

Grant Plaza Old location inside Rite Aid

Sweet Tomatoes Watch Gallery Suite 315

Come visit us at our new location March 15! 1040 Grant Road, Suite 315 (next to Sweet Tomatoes)

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still in Grant Plaza, but we moved to a new location to better serve our customers.

GRAND OPENING

25% OFF

SALE

STARTS

MARCH 15

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Please join us at 5-7pm, March 15, to celebrate our Grand Opening with friends and refreshments. 1040 Grant Rd, Suite 315, Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x152;>Â&#x2C6;Â&#x2DC;Ă&#x160;6Â&#x2C6;iĂ&#x153;Ă&#x160;UĂ&#x160;Ă&#x2C6;xĂ¤Â&#x2021;Â&#x2122;Ă&#x2C6;Â&#x2122;Â&#x2021;xĂ&#x2C6;Ă¤ÂŁ Â&#x153;Ă&#x2022;Ă&#x20AC;Ă&#x192;\Ă&#x160;ÂŁĂ¤Â&#x2021;Ă&#x2021;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;`>Ă&#x17E;Ă&#x192;Ă&#x2030;ÂŁĂ¤Â&#x2021;Ă&#x2C6;Ă&#x160;7iiÂ&#x17D;iÂ&#x2DC;`Ă&#x192;

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Movies

but their characters are both overly familiar and thinly, unconvincingly motivated. A special-effects reel does not a movie make. OK, it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t in 1939, but it sorta does now, sadly. At least Raimiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s PG pastiche is highly skilled. His picture is a feast for the eyes of tasteful pictorial imagination, making spectacular use of state-of-the-art visual and aural effects. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a bit difficult to stick with the story, especially in the draggy final leg, but when Raimi keeps the tone light, this â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ozâ&#x20AC;? can make fun. Rated PG for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language. Two hours, 10 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese

OPENINGS

No ---1/2 (Aquarius) â&#x20AC;&#x153;Disappearedâ&#x20AC;? detainees. Political executions. Torture. Rigged elections. Put these up for a vote by the people, and one wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expect a nailbiter of an election. Yet thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the story of â&#x20AC;&#x153;No,â&#x20AC;? Pablo Larrainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s drama about 1988â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up-ordown vote on Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and the advertising war waged to sway the populace. The third film in Larrainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loose trilogy set in the Pinochet era, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noâ&#x20AC;? casts Mexican star Gael Garcia Bernal as ad man Rene Saavedra (a composite character representing Jose Manuel Salcedo and Enrique Garcia), who â&#x20AC;&#x201D; despite the risks to career, self and family â&#x20AC;&#x201D; joins the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noâ&#x20AC;? campaign as the key creative force behind 27 nights of videos to run adjacent to videos by the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yesâ&#x20AC;? campaign. A plebiscite will then determine whether Pinochet gets another eight-year term, unopposed, or whether a new day for democracy will dawn. The referendum on Pinochet allows for a symposium on the power of the visual image, especially as conveyed on television and advertising. Saavedra argues for â&#x20AC;&#x153;familiar, attractive, optimisticâ&#x20AC;? ad imagery, though many of his colleagues understandably want to hammer at the sins of Pinochet; besides, the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yesâ&#x20AC;? side isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t above going negative, both in its snarky video rejoinders and its harassment of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noâ&#x20AC;? team. Saavedraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wide-eyed moppet at home (an unavoidable symbol of Chileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future) and the threats handed down from the ruling power make for familiar tropes. Unexpectedly, this melodrama isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t what grabs attention here, but rather the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sincere interest in the philosophies of political advertising, the strategies to win not the minds of the people through substance but rather the hearts of the people â&#x20AC;&#x201D; ironically, through intelligently crafted superficiality. In a way, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noâ&#x20AC;? does the same, in its savvy casting of Bernal as the unlikely architect of a new Chile, and Larrainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bold, perfect style choice to shoot the film in three-quarterinch Sony U-matic magnetic tape. In other words, he swims upstream against high-definition with a defiantly lo-fi approach thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also ingeniously evocative of the historical period. In a potent assist to this sense of authenticity, Larrain rounds up historical figures and weaves them with archival footage and recreations to merge his narrative with reality, as in a recreation of a broadcast that cuts from vintage video to new video of the same broadcaster, demonstrably the same man despite his whiter hair. Though not hiding the seams, Larrain creates a magical moment of art holding the mirror up to life.

Century Theatres at Palo Alto Square Fri & Sat 3/8-3/9 The Gatekeepers - 2:00, 4:30, 7:25, 10:05 Argo - 1:30, 4:15, 7:15, 10:00 Sun thru Thurs 3/10-3/14 The Gatekeepers - 2:00, 4:30, 7:25 Argo - 1:30, 4:15, 7:15

Tickets and Showtimes available at cinemark.com

Greedy Lying Bastards --1/2

Pascal Montero and Gael Garcia Bernal in â&#x20AC;&#x153;No.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Noâ&#x20AC;? ably captures the cultural moment, clarifying how fear and a protectiveness of economic growth bolster the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yesâ&#x20AC;? side, and how perhaps only the successful campaigner for â&#x20AC;&#x153;Free Colaâ&#x20AC;? could harness music, rebelliousness and romance to make the sale for â&#x20AC;&#x153;No.â&#x20AC;? Rated R for language. One hour, 58 minutes. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Peter Canavese

Oz the Great and Powerful --1/2 (Century 16, Century 20) The â&#x20AC;&#x153;sound-alikeâ&#x20AC;? has long been a practice of those looking to borrow the cachet of a piece of music by producing a knock-off rather than paying royalties for the real deal. Well, Disney has a shiny new â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ozâ&#x20AC;? movie thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a â&#x20AC;&#x153;look-alikeâ&#x20AC;? of Warner property â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Wizard of Oz,â&#x20AC;? but shhh, Disney doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to get sued. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oz the Great and Powerfulâ&#x20AC;? comes billed as based on the works of L. Frank Baum, therefore omitting ruby slippers and tweaking justso the designs created for the 1939 classic â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Wizard of Oz.â&#x20AC;? But the effect is a lot like the movie as well-made Halloween costume: As it plays dress-up, you immediately recognize what it â&#x20AC;&#x153;is.â&#x20AC;? The effect is underlined by director Sam Raimi staging and shooting the opening scenes, set in 1905 Kansas, in the visual style of the 1939 movie: black-and-white â&#x20AC;&#x153;Academyâ&#x20AC;? ratio that expands to vintage Technicolor-hued color widescreen once the movie arrives in Oz. This prequel concerns the story of how the Wizard installed himself as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the man behind the curtainâ&#x20AC;? in the Emerald City. James Franco plays roguish carnival magician Oscar Diggs (aka â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ozâ&#x20AC;?), whose hot-air balloon gets whipped by a tornado into the magical land of Oz. There

he meets a fetching witch named Theodora (Mila Kunis), who informs him that he must be the wizard foretold in prophecy to inherit the Emerald City throne. Theodora takes Oz to meet her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz), who regards him with suspicion but sends him on a mission to kill witch Glinda (Michelle Williams) and earn his position of power and fortune. In story terms, this sort of connect-the-dots prequel is basically a dead end, warned not to stray from its yellow-brick road and doomed to a foregone conclusion. The script by Mitchell Kapner and Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rabbit Holeâ&#x20AC;?) gets to sort out the witch politics, but mostly settles for revisiting every trope of the original story rather than trying to break narrative or thematic ground. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no idea here that wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expressed more efficiently in the 1939 film. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Oz the Great and Powerfulâ&#x20AC;? gets saved from the junk heap by Franco and especially by director Sam Raimi, who happily treats the enterprise as a sandbox. Like Ang Lee and Martin Scorsese before him, Raimi finds his first foray into 3D creatively envigorating, at least in visual terms. His comical in-yourface style is entirely suited to 3D, and the premium at the box office is worth it to see what this cinematic craftsman does with it. Meanwhile, Francoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smiley mischief keeps the picture buoyant (is that an extra glint in the local boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye when he name-checks Thomas Alva Edison as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the wizard of Menlo Parkâ&#x20AC;??), as do two appealingly precocious CGI characters with whom he convincingly acts: China Girl (voiced by Joey King and based on Baumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s China Princess) and flying monkey Finley (Zach Braff). The leading ladies do their best,

(Century 16) The term â&#x20AC;&#x153;confirmation biasâ&#x20AC;? has been around since 1960, but its use seems to have picked up in our heavily partisan recent history. To look at our media is to see political belief thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entirely polar in America. To take one obvious example, the plain leanings of Fox News on one side and MSNBC on the other (to show my own bias, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear one of those networks presents facts in a coherent context while the other labors to spin them). And so we come to â&#x20AC;&#x153;Greedy Lying (continued on next page)

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ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE ÂŽ

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

â&#x20AC;&#x153;AMAZING.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x201C;A.O. Scott, THE NEW YORK TIMES

THE GATEKEEPERS A FILM BY DROR MOREH

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ALTO SQUARE NOW CINĂ&#x2030;ARTS@PALO 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (800) FANDANGO PLAYING

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ACADEMY AWARDÂŽ NOMINEE BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM â&#x20AC;&#x153;WEIRDLY FUNNY AND ROUSING, BOTH INTELLECTUALLY AND EMOTIONALLY.â&#x20AC;? -Manohla Dargis, THE NEW YORK TIMES

HHHHH HIGHEST RATING

â&#x20AC;&#x153;ELECTRIC AND FUNNY!â&#x20AC;?

-Joshua Rothkopf, TIME OUT NEW YORK TELLURIDE

FILM FESTIVAL

2012

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL

2012

TORONTO

FILM FESTIVAL

2012

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2013

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Movies (continued from previous page)

Bastards,” a movie obviously content to preach to its choir. The audience for director Craig Rosebraugh’s documentary — an eager liberal crowd — is right in sync with Rosebraugh in embracing the brazen prejudice of that title: the pre-judgment of the film’s subjects before the present presentation of any facts. We’ve already made up our minds whether that title is accurate or not as it concerns the film’s literal poster boys (including Bush and Cheney), so why bother to watch the movie? “Bastards” makes a case that is demonstrably true, if better made elsewhere: that lobbyists for special interests, and the elite of billionaire people and corporate “people,” are hijacking our political system and media to stonewall efforts to arrest global climate change. While one could also take potshots at political spending by liberal billionaires, at least they don’t say “nah nah, I’m not listening!” when it comes to the science of climate change. The film reserves special ire for the Koch brothers and ExxonMobil, whose CEO Rex Tillerson the director pursues Michael Moore-style (achieving minimal “climactic” results), but also perp-walks sciencedenying pundits. The director proves most effective when plainly stating the laughably misleading names and actual sponsors of corporate-funded “astroturfing” organizations, those seemingly grassroots groups de-

signed to obfuscate and arrest political progress. But Rosebraugh spends much too much time whipping up emotional appeals (the self-evident harm of families left homeless by climatechange disasters), and is willing to obfuscate for his own purposes, as when fancy graphics suggest smoking guns where there aren’t any (a riff on Citizens United and Clarence Thomas that’s circumstantial old news treated as conclusive new math). Yes, where there’s smoke, there’s almost certainly fire, but if Rosebraugh has nothing new to bring to the table, what’s the point? Even if Rosebraugh could attract a far-right audience to his movie (and, let’s face it, that ain’t happening), its tone and spirit are in no way inviting to those who hold opposing viewpoints. And the film isn’t a worldbeater as either rigorous reportage or dazzling showmanship (two qualities Moore has winningly combined). So perhaps “Greedy Lying Bastards” will be of most use as a time-capsule documentary of sorts, a snapshot of ire against money in American politics at a global turning point. Rated PG-13 for brief strong language. One hour, 30 minutes. — Peter Canavese

Emperor -1/2 (Aquarius, Century 20) Though I suppose they’re better than noth-

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Page 30ÊUÊÊ >ÀV Ên]ÊÓä£ÎÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii ÞÊUÊÜÜÜ°*> Ì " i°V

ing, movies have never been a good place to learn history. There are exceptions to the rule: exceptionally well-researched films, honest ones that convey the essence of truth even in conflation and remove. “Emperor” is not one of those. “Emperor” purports to tell the story of what happened in Japan in the fall of 1945, as occupying Americans conducted an investigation into Emperor Hirohito’s culpability in war crimes. Would he stand trial, face execution? Or would he remain in place as the cornerstone of a rebuilt Japan? On the face of it, this post-war transitional twilight zone could be a fascinating place to be for two hours, in the company of men like Hirohito and General Douglas MacArthur, the latter played by Tommy Lee Jones. But this “inspired by a true story” story gets told entirely from the point of view of “Brigadier General Bonner Fellers” (Matthew Fox), whose name I put in quotation marks because the character resembles his historical counterpart pretty much in name only. Yes, Fellers was a right-hand man to MacArthur at the time and investigated war crimes and the role of Hirohito. But “Emperor” (based on Shiro Okamoto’s book “His Majesty’s Salvation,” unavailable in English) ignores prevailing opinion about how the investigation went down and, worse, invents an obsessive romance with a Japanese woman named Aya (Eriko Hatsune), “inspired by” Fellers’ friendship with one Yuri Watanabe. “Emperor” does so on the presumption that no one would sit still for some history without a “girl in the picture” for some romance that turns out soggy rather than swoony. Seen in persistent (and persistently dull) flashbacks, Aya never breathes as a character, instead becoming a Ghost of Love Past and a symbol of Fellers’ solidarity with the Japanese people. The screen Fellers utters some noble proclamations, like “Revenge is not the same thing as justice,” but he’s also saddled with clunky narration like “We are the occupying power, but we must be seen as liberators, not conquerors.” Mostly he pounds the partly pulverized pavement to interview a succession of officials, in a plot structured not unlike a detective show or courtroom drama, while MacArthur spends his days posing for photo ops and trying to intimidate without coming off as too threatening. With his limited screen time, Jones contents himself to bend MacArthur to the actor’s familiar crusty, drywitted charm. The true story of post-war backroom meetings, or at least a truer one, might have worked for “Emperor,” but the mealy half-truth director Peter Webber (“Girl with a Pearl Earring”) and screenwriters Vera Blasi and David Klass settle for just winds up a waste of everyone’s time. Rated PG-13 for violent content, brief strong language and smoking. One hour, 38 minutes. — Peter Canavese

MOVIE TIMES Note: Screenings are for Friday through Sunday 21 and Over (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:20 a.m. & 2, 4:50, 7:40 & 10:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:45 a.m. & 12:50, 2:10, 4:30, 5:30, 6:55, 9:20 & 10:45 p.m. A Good Day to Die Hard (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: 3:05 & 8:05 p.m. Argo (R) (((1/2 Century 20: 11:10 a.m. & 1:55, 4:45, 7:35 & 10:20 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1:30, 4:15, 7:15 & 10 p.m. Dead Man Down (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11 a.m. & 1:45, 4:30, 7:35 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:30 a.m. & 2:15, 5, 7:50 & 10:40 p.m. Emperor (PG-13) (1/2 Aquarius Theatre: 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 & 10 p.m. Century 20: 11:25 a.m. & 2, 4:35, 7:10 & 9:45 p.m. Escape from Planet Earth (PG) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 2:30 p.m. In 3D 12:15 & 5 p.m. Century 20: 11:35 a.m. & 4:40 p.m. In 3D 2:15 & 7:05 p.m. The Gatekeepers (PG-13) (((1/2 Palo Alto Square: 2, 4:30, 7:25 & 10:05 p.m. Greedy Lying Bastards (PG-13) ((1/2 Century 16: 11:30 a.m. & 1:50, 4:10, 6:40 & 9:20 p.m. Identity Thief (R) ((1/2 Century 20: 11:40 a.m. & 2:30, 5:05, 7:55 & 10:40 p.m. Jack the Giant Slayer (PG-13) ((( Century 16: noon & 2:50, 5:50 & 8:50 p.m. In 3D 10:40 a.m. & 1:40, 4:20, 7:25 & 10:05 p.m. Century 20: 12:45, 3:30, 6:15 & 9 p.m. In 3D 11:30 a.m. & 2:10, 5, 7:45 & 10:30 p.m. The Last Exorcism, Part II (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 10:15 a.m. & 4 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 1:15, 3:35, 5:50, 8:15 & 10:35 p.m. Les Miserables (2012) (PG-13) ((( Century 16: Fri noon & 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Sat noon & 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Sun noon & 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Mon noon & 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Tue noon & 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Wed noon & 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Thu noon & 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Life of Pi (PG) (((1/2 Century 16: 3:10 & 9:40 p.m. In 3D 11:50 a.m. & 6:30 p.m. Century 20: 1:25 & 7:15 p.m. Lincoln (PG-13) (((1/2 Century 20: 12:05 & 6:50 p.m. No (R) (((1/2 Aquarius Theatre: 1, 4, 7 & 9:45 p.m. Oz the Great and Powerful (PG) ((1/2 Century 16: 10 & 10:50 a.m. & 2:10, 4:30, 5:30 & 9 p.m. In 3D 11:40 a.m. & 12:20, 1:10, 3, 3:40, 6:20, 7:10, 8, 9:50 & 10:30 p.m. Century 20: Fri 11:15 a.m. & 12:40, 2:20, 3:45, 5:25, 6:50, 8:30 & 9:55 p.m. In XD 1:20, 4:25, 7:30 & 10:35 p.m. In 3D noon, 3:05, 6:10 & 9:15 p.m. Sat-Sun 11:15 a.m. & 12:40, 2:20, 3:45, 5:25, 6:50 & 8:30 p.m. In 3D noon & 3:05, 6:10 & 9:15 p.m. In XD 10:20 a.m. & 1:20, 4:25, 7:30 & 10:35 p.m. Quartet (PG-13) ((( Century 20: 11:55 a.m. & 2:35, 4:55, 7:25 & 9:50 p.m. Guild Theatre: 1, 3:30, 6 & 8:30 p.m. Rear Window (1954) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: Fri 7:30 p.m. Sat-Sun 3:30 & 7:30 p.m. Safe Haven (PG-13) 1/2 Century 20: 11:10 a.m. & 1:50, 4:35, 7:20 & 10 p.m. Silver Linings Playbook (R) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 10 a.m. & 12:45, 3:40, 7 & 9:55 p.m. Century 20: 11:20 a.m. & 2, 4:50, 7:35 & 10:25 p.m. Snitch (PG-13) ((1/2 Century 16: 10:10 a.m. & 12:50, 3:50, 7:15 & 10:15 p.m. Century 20: 12:10, 2:45, 5:15, 7:50 & 10:25 p.m. To Catch a Thief (1955) (Not Rated) (Not Reviewed) Stanford Theatre: 5:35 & 9:35 p.m. Warm Bodies (PG-13) (Not Reviewed) Century 20: 9:30 p.m. Zero Dark Thirty (R) ((1/2 Century 16: 7:50 p.m. Century 20: 3:20 & 10:05 p.m.

( Skip it (( Some redeeming qualities ((( A good bet (((( Outstanding Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260) Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (800-326-3264) Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264) CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-0128) Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260) Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700) Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies Show times for Century 16 and Century 12 were still unconfirmed at press time. For up-to-date movie times go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com

ON THE WEB: The most up-to-date movie listings at PaloAltoOnline.com

Sports Shorts

ON THE AIR Friday College baseball: UNLV at Stanford, 5:30 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Women’s basketball: Stanford at Pac-12 Tournament, 6 p.m.; Pac-12 Networks

Saturday College baseball: UNLV at Stanford, 1 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM) Women’s basketball: Stanford at Pac-12 Tournament, 8:30 p.m.; Pac-12 Networks