Palo Alto Weekly November 28, 2014

Palo Alto

Vol. XXXVI, Number 8

Q

November 28, 2014

SPECIAL REPORT: RT:

Goodbye, free parking Page 20

w w w. P a l o A l t o O n l i n e.c o m

Concerts and gatherings make spirits bright PAGE 36

Donate to the HOLIDAY FUND page 4

Transitions 17 Arts 27 Eating Out 29 Shop Talk 31 Movies 32 Q Title Pages Richard Ford resurrects his key character

Page 35

Q Home Decor ideas galore on holiday home tour

Page 40

Q Sports Stanford football leaps back into bowl picture

Page 51

“It’s better to find something earlier than later.

You have hope.”

—Santwona Behera, Stanford Patient

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month Lung cancer isn’t just a smoker’s disease. Each year, more than 224,000 people are diagnosed with lung cancer in the U.S., many of whom are non-smokers. But there is hope. Early detection and the most advanced care can save lives. Stanford’s team of lung cancer experts has been at the forefront of lung cancer screening and detection, performing minimally invasive and lung-sparing surgeries, developing novel radiation therapy techniques, and leading clinical trials resulting in new treatments. Learn how Stanford’s team can help you.

Learn more at: stanfordhealthcare.org/now Page 2 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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+ 1 -/1 ,,0,.-*(1 (+ 2 -&.)+/*12 %1*$1 -'+2 '.+ 2 2 www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 3

Support our Kids with a gift to the Holiday Fund.

Last Year’s Grant Recipients 10 Books A Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Ada’s Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,000 Adolescent Counseling Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000

E

ach year the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund raises money to support programs serving families and children in the Palo Alto area. Since the Weekly

Bayshore Christian Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation cover all the

Breast Cancer Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

administrative costs, every dollar raised goes directly to

Building Futures Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 CASSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000

support community programs through grants to non-profit

Children’s Center of the Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,200

organizations ranging up to $25,000.

Collective Roots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500

And with the generous suppor t of matching grants

Computers for Youth Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

from local foundations, including the Packard, Hewlett,

Deborah’s Palm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Downtown Streets Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 DreamCatchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000 East Palo Alto Kids Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 East Palo Alto Youth Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Environmental Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 EPA Tennis & Tutoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Family Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Foothill-De Anza Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Foundation for a College Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Friends of Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Hidden Villa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

Arrillaga & Peery foundations, your tax-deductible gift will be doubled in size. A donation of $100 turns into

Give to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund and your donation is doubled.

You give to non-profit groups that work right here in our community. It’s a great way to ensure that your charitable donations are working at home.

$200 with the foundation matching gifts.

Whether as an individual, a business or in honor of someone else, help us reach our goal of $350,000 by making a generous contribution to the Holiday Fund.

With your generosity, we can give a major boost to the programs in our community helping kids and families.

CLICK AND GIVE

Donate online at siliconvalleycf.org/ si paw-holiday-fund

InnVision Shelter Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 JLS Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500 Jordan Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500 Kara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000

Enclosed is a donation of $_______________

Mayview Community Health Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Music in the Schools Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000

Name _________________________________________________________

New Creation Home Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 New Voices for Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,500 Nuestra Casa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Palo Alto Art Center Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Palo Alto Community Child Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000

Business Name _________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________ City/State/Zip __________________________________________________

Palo Alto Historical Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Palo Alto Housing Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Palo Alto Humane Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,500 Parents Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Peninsula HealthCare Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500

E-Mail __________________________________________________

Credit Card (MC, VISA, or AMEX)

All donors and their gift amounts will be published in the Palo Alto Weekly unless the boxes below are checked.

_________________________________________Expires _______/_______

T I wish to contribute anonymously.

Phone _________________________________________________________

Project WeHOPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000 Quest Learning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Racing Hearts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,500

T Please withhold the amount of my

Rebuilding Together Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000 Silicon Valley FACES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 St. Elizabeth Seton School. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 St. Francis of Assisi Youth Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

contribution.

Signature ______________________________________________________ I wish to designate my contribution as follows: (select one)

St. Vincent de Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,000 Teen Talk Sexuality Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000 Terman Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,500

T In my name as shown above T In the name of business above

TheatreWorks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500 Youth Community Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,000 Youth Speaks Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

OR:

T In honor of:

T In memory of:

T As a gift for:

_____________________________________________________________ (Name of person)

Non-profits: Grant application and guidelines at www.PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund Application deadline: January 9, 2015 Page 4 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Please make checks payable to: Silicon Valley Community Foundation Send coupon and check, if applicable, to: Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund c/o Silicon Valley Community Foundation 2440 West El Camino Real, Suite 300 Mountain View, CA 94040 The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund is a donor advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. A contribution to this fund allows your donation to be tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

Tree lighting to kick off holiday season Mom-and-pop stores are hoping quality, service and customer loyalty will prevail over deep discounts

by Sue Dremann owntown Palo Alto will launch the tion people not to expect the big discounts holiday shopping season on Satur- and holiday frenzy of the big-box stores. day, Nov. 29, with the annual holi- There’s no way the mom-and-pop retailers day tree lighting at Lytton Plaza, music, can compete with Black Friday and Cyber carolers, frolicking elves, make-and-take Monday, they say.

Instead, merchants plan to attract holiornaments, face painting and food and day customers by offering what they say drinks.

But while the event is intended to encour- they provide year-round: quality, interestage visitors to “shop local,” merchants cau- ing products that make great gifts and top-

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notch service.

Retail businesses traditionally do the majority of their annual sales during the holiday season.

Last year the Palo Alto Downtown Business and Professional Association focused its efforts on promoting Small Business Saturday, an event started by American Express in 2010 to encourage shoppers to patronize small stores by offering cardholders a credit when they spend at participating retailers. The association provided businesses with door mats, stickers, shopping bags

and other promotional materials. But Russ Cohen, the group’s executive director, said the work of delivering hundreds of magnets, pens, mats and bags was overwhelming, and the revenues didn’t markedly increase.

Mom-and-pop store owners interviewed this week agreed. The mediocre results were partially due to shoppers’ mindsets, they told the Weekly: Customers flock to the mall or online for the big discounts; they don’t look to smaller retailers for (continued on page 9)

DEVELOPMENT

Three-story building proposed for Olive Garden site Existing restaurant would be demolished, replaced with mixed-use development

by Gennady Sheyner n the latest sign of the construction boom happening around California Avenue, Palo Alto planners are considering a proposal to demolish the Olive Garden building on El Camino Real and replace it with a three-story development that would be four times as dense as the existing structure.

The proposal by prolific architect Ken Hayes calls for merging two parcels at 2515-2585 El Camino Real and building a 40-foot-tall development with 13 residential units, office space and retail on the ground floor. It would be just down the street from

I

another development proposed by Hayes: a four-story office building that would go up on a currently vacant parking lot on the corner of Page Mill and El Camino Real.

While Hayes’ proposal for 2755 El Camino Real initially sought zoning exceptions through the controversial — and now suspended — planned-community zoning process, the Olive Garden project would conform with existing zoning regulations.

Much like nearby developments — such as the block-long mixed-use project at 3159 (continued on page 14)

HOLIDAY FUND

10 Books A Home invests in young learners East Palo Alto-based nonprofit allows low-income preschool-aged children to develop school readiness skills, love of learning

by My Nguyen hat can a bookcase and 10 books help with homework.

The nonprofit is funded through private do for a child?

For Paul Thiebaut III, the CEO donations and grants, including a $7,500 and founder of 10 Books A Home (10BH), grant from the Palo Alto Weekly’s Holiday Fund. an East Palo Alto-based nonprofit During the lessons, volunteers that provides free in-home tutor(called “role models” by the noning, the investment in early eduprofit) help the children, ages 3 cation will place children, espeto 5 years old, learn numbers, cially those from disadvantaged letters, shapes, colors and model communities, on a path to be sucactive reading for parents. Each cessful students and well-rounded child is also given a bookcase human beings. and 10 books at the beginning The nonprofit provides 100 low-income families in East Palo Alto and of the program and then two more books east Menlo Park with one hour of free tu- every month to keep.

“We like to shower the kids with gifts toring a week for two years in exchange for parent involvement — parents are required right off the bat, so that they know they to read with their children five days a week, (continued on page 12) keep a reading log, sit in on all lessons and

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Veronica Weber

Protesting for Ferguson Students from Stanford University lie in the middle of University Avenue at High Street on Tuesday, symbolizing the numbers of young people killed by law enforcement, during a protest of a Grand Jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal August shooting of 18-yearold Michael Brown in Freguson Missouri. Watch a video of the protest on the Palo Alto Weekly’s YouTube page, youtu.be/p_TiDDWqvAk. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 5

Upfront

TREAT YOURSELF, TREAT A FRIEND

450 Cambridge Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER William S. Johnson (223-6505)

Fall Wellness Promotion!

Refer a friend or family member to an Avenidas Wellness Service and receive 50% off the same service for yourself! Referred appointments must be booked for November or December. Discounted services available after your referral’s appointment. Participating providers are: • Foot and Hand Nail Care • Massage & Reflexology • Podiatry • Reiki

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

SAVE

50%

Call (650) 289-5400

for details and appointments!

450 Bryant St Palo Alto, CA 94301 www.avenidas.org • (650) 289-5400

Candlelight Service An Annual Community Gathering of Remembrance Each year Kara invites the community to join together to remember loved ones DQG VLJQLÀFDQW RWKHUV ZKR KDYH GLHG This is a non-denominational, interfaith VHUYLFH RSHQ WR DOO $ WLPH RI IHOORZVKLS DQG UHIUHVKPHQWV ZLOO IROORZ

With candles of love, hope, memory and courage we remember.

Thursday, December 4, 2014 at 7pm First Presbyterian Church 1140 Cowper Street, Palo Alto (directly behind the Kara office on Kingsley Avenue)

For more information on Kara or our Candlelight Service, call 650-321-5272 or visit www.Kara-Grief.org

EDITORIAL Editor Jocelyn Dong (223-6514) Associate Editor Carol Blitzer (223-6511) Sports Editor Keith Peters (223-6516 Arts & Entertainment Editor Elizabeth Schwyzer (223-6517) Express & Digital Editor My Nguyen (223-6524) Assistant Sports Editor Rick Eymer (223-6521) Spectrum Editor Renee Batti (223-6528) Staff Writers Sue Dremann (223-6518), Elena Kadvany (223-6519), Gennady Sheyner (223-6513) Editorial Assistant/Intern Coordinator Sam Sciolla (223-6515) Staff Photographer Veronica Weber (223-6520) Contributors Andrew Preimesberger, Dale F. Bentson, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Tyler Hanley, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Karla Kane, Ari Kaye, Chris Kenrick, Kevin Kirby, Terri Lobdell, Jack McKinnon, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti Interns Jennah Feeley ADVERTISING Vice President Sales & Marketing Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Multimedia Advertising Sales Adam Carter (223-6573), Elaine Clark (223-6572), Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571), Janice Hoogner (223-6576), Meredith Mitchell (223-6569) Digital Media Sales Heather Choi (223-6587) Real Estate Advertising Sales Neal Fine (223-6583), Carolyn Oliver (223-6581), Rosemary Lewkowitz (223-6585) Inside Advertising Sales 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) DESIGN Design & Production Manager Lili Cao (223-6560) Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Paul Llewellyn Designers Colleen Hench, Rosanna Leung EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Online Operations Coordinator Ashley Finden (223-6508) BUSINESS Payroll & Benefits Susie Ochoa (223-6544) Business Associates Elena Dineva (223-6542), Mary McDonald (223-6543), 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 & Marketing Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Frank A. Bravo (223-6551) Marketing & Creative Director Shannon Corey (223-6560) Major Accounts Sales Manager Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571) Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Zach Allen (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. ©2014 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 Our email addresses are: editor@paweekly.com, letters@paweekly.com, digitalads@paweekly.com, ads@paweekly.com Missed delivery or start/stop your paper?

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You really can retrain your brain to sit in the now.

— Amy Heneghan, Palo Alto Medical Foundation pediatrician, on why yoga can help teens decrease their stress. See story on page 8.

Around Town

THE COMMISSION OMISSION ... Commission appointments are typically a humdrum topic in Palo Alto, but last week the City Council received some blow-back for its Nov. 10 decision to not reappoint Arthur Keller to the Planning and Transportation Commission. Prior to Nov. 10, several members of the public had submitted letters to the council urging Keller’s reappointment, though their hopes were dashed when only three council members (Karen Holman, Pat Burt and Greg Schmid) voted for the commission veteran with a flair for number crunching and in-depth analysis. On Nov. 17, the council heard from a few people unhappy with this decision, including resident Terry Holzimer, who characterized the council’s vote as disregard for the electorate. “It’s a shame that the current council majority has failed to see the result of the last election as a clear message that Palo Altans want a new direction — that they want to see less development, not more,” said Holzimer, alluding to the Election Day success of three candidates endorsed by the slow-growth group, Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning. Bob Moss called the council decision not to reappoint Keller a “real blunder” and called him “by far the best informed commissioner on the PTC for years.” Toward the end of the meeting, Councilman Larry Klein took issue with the notion that the three council members who are leaving at the end of this year (he, Mayor Nancy Shepherd and Councilwoman Gail Price) did anything wrong by voting to appoint Kate Downing and Adrian Fine to the commission for slots previously held by Keller and outgoing Commissioner Carl King.

“We all had a mandate,” Klein said.

“The mandate was to do the best you can over that term of the office and vote with your conscience.

We’re not supposed to be just weather-vanes that say, ‘One way or another, I think the public would want me to appoint X rather than Y.’ I’ve got to be frank. The public doesn’t know much about that.

That’s why they elect people to make those decisions.” Klein said he will continue to “vote by my conscience and do what I think is best for the City of Palo Alto until I leave office on Dec. 31.”

Address: ________________________________ City/Zip: ________________________________ Mail to: Palo Alto Weekly, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto CA 94306

Page 6 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

DOG-LEASH ENFORCEMENT ...

In the wake of concerns about unruly dogs at Lake Lagunita, the

Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) has begun issuing citations to dog owners who ignore leash laws. Bill Larson, a public information deputy for SUDPS, said there has been an increase in complaints of aggressive dogs running loose around Lake Lagunita and on the dirt path that surrounds the lake. Under Santa Clara County Ordinance B31-31, dog owners are required to leash their dogs in all areas on campus, and fines can range between $100 to $400. The stepped-up enforcement is intended to aid critters such as the California tiger salamander, which is protected by the Endangered Species Act. Waterfowl and a number of reptile and amphibian species are also affected by the presence of canines, and dogs can also cause damage by stepping on and disturbing the habitat.

HOLIDAY HELPERS ...The Palo Alto Medical Foundation, in partnership with the Sutter Health network, has donated $50,000 to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties this year. One in six people in California go hungry, including many in the Bay Area, according to a press release. “We are honored to make this donation on behalf of our employees, doctors and volunteers, whose hard work allows us to be a compassionate neighbor to families in need,” said PAMF CEO Richard Slavin, M.D., in a statement. On average, every dollar donated to food banks translates to more than four meals served, according to the release.

ALL ABOARD! ... The Caltrain Holiday Train, decorated with more than 70,000 glittering lights, will kick off the holiday season with visits to nine Caltrain stations Dec. 6 and 7. And youth with the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra will be a part of the festivities. The Holiday Train’s first stop on Saturday, Dec. 6, will be at the Burlingame station before it heads to Redwood City and then Mountain View, where members of the Barbershop Harmony Society will perform. The last stop will be in Santa Clara. On Sunday, Dec. 7, the Holiday Train will start at the Millbrae station and make its way to San Mateo.

At the historic Menlo Park station, the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra will perform holiday songs. Santa Claus will make his appearance at the Holiday Train’s last stop in Sunnyvale. Q

Upfront LAW ENFORCEMENT

Report: Cop texted photo of ‘scantily clad’ arrestee New audit upholds department’s decision, faults it for delays unbecoming for an officer and disrespectful to the arrestee and that it reflected unfavorably upon the department and its members.”

“PAPD found that the detective had violated department policy and held him accountable for the transgression,” the audit stated.

According to the report, the detective in question was interviewing the arrestee as part of an investigation into a commercial burglary.

The detective was reportedly reviewing her cell phone in hopes of finding her “fence” (a middle-man between burglars and customers who ultimately buy the goods) or other photographic evidence that could assist the investigation.

The report notes that the detective found a photograph of the ar-

Palo Alto police officer faced disciplinary actions from the department earlier this year for texting to another officer a photo of a scantily clad arrestee who had just been nabbed in a commercial burglary case, according to the city’s independent police auditor.

The case is summarized in a new report from independent police auditors Michael Gennaco and Stephen Connolly, who largely agreed with the police department’s response to the officer’s action. The report doesn’t include the officer’s name or specify the disciplinary action taken. It notes, however, that after reviewing the text, the department concluded that the officer’s conduct “was

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by Gennady Sheyner restee in which “she was scantily clad” and sent the photo by text to an acting supervisory detective who was also working on the case.

According to the audit, more than two weeks had passed before the supervisory detective shared the incident with a sergeant. The sergeant then chided the detective for not giving a more prompt report and launched an internal investigation.

The audit agreed with the department’s action and its finding that the detective who had sent the photo violated department policy.

Yet it raises concerns about the delay in reporting the incident to the sergeant, calling the time gap “problematic and worth managerial attention.”

The audit also faults the department for ordering that the photo be deleted, reportedly to prevent additional circulation. While Genna-

‘PAPD found that the detective had violated department policy and held him accountable for the transgression.’

—independent police audit When the woman got her phone back, she discovered that the photo was sent and complained to a different detective who was not involved in the case.

co and Connolly praise the intentions of this action, they note that it would have been preferable to obtain a screen shot or some other way to preserve the evidence, in case the texting action would be contested.

The audit also noted that the officers returned the phone to the arrestee and asked her to help them find information about the fence.

During this time, the audit states, she could have deleted information from the phone. They showed a “laxity of vigilance by the onduty detectives,” the audit stated.

The auditors discussed this matter with department management, who reportedly agreed that there should have been closer supervision. Q

LAND USE

Buildings of up to eight stories proposed for East Palo Alto Economic development, mixed-use buildings dominate 20-year plan

by Sue Dremann ith an eye on affordable housing and the city’s bottom line, East Palo Alto officials last week unveiled ideas for how the city could change over the next 20 years.

The community meeting, which focused on land-use and economic development, was part of the city’s general-plan update, known as “Vista 2035.” The general plan presents key strategies for housing, businesses, neighborhood development, parks and open space, public health and safety, jobs development, water infrastructure and traffic.

The plan divides the city into six sections for targeted development: the Westside, bordered

by West Bayshore Road and San Francisquito Creek to the Menlo Park and Palo Alto borders; east of U.S. Highway 101 areas that include University Avenue, bordered by Donohoe Street, Bay Road, Euclid and Capitol avenues; Gateway, which is occupied by the Ravenswood 101 shopping center; East Bayshore, a commercial district of strip malls, which runs along East Bayshore Road from Euclid roughly to Bay; Willow and Newbridge, a commercial corner bordered by Willow Road; and Four Corners, a large tract of land bordered by Fordham and Weeks streets and the San Francisco baylands.

Left nearly untouched in the plan: the mostly single-family and multi-story residential areas that are at the city’s core.

City staff presented ideas to community members at the meet-

Courtesy City of East Palo Alto

W

ing, asking for their feedback and preferences among various options.

University Avenue could see big changes if some ideas are adopted under the plan. In one scenario, buildings four to eight stories would be allowed in an area from Euclid to East Bayshore. They would be mixed use — residential or office space over ground-floor retail. The area currently includes a Chevron gas station, the former Drew Medical Center and the Ravenswood City School District offices. In addition, both sides of University to Bay would allow for three- to five-story residential buildings over retail shops.

Options proposed for the East Bayshore strip, where there are currently one- and two-story re-

tail buildings, include three- and four-story mixed-use residential or office buildings over retail. A small number of single-family homes could be removed under the new zoning. In the Willows/ Newbridge area, the city could maintain mostly one- and twostory retail and neighborhood stores.

The Gateway area, where IKEA and Home Depot are located, could also take on a different look.

The two magnet stores would remain as the retail anchors according to one scenario, but the other sections could be zoned for up to eight-story-tall buildings of retail, or office space, or mixed-use residential or office space over retail. (continued on page 15)

Courtesy City of East Palo Alto

East Palo Alto staff are gathering feedback for the city’s Westside area, where an eight-story hotel, retail, offices and apartments could be allowed, if there is community support.

East Palo Alto’s land-use and economic-development plan proposes transforming the University Avenue corridor with up to eight stories of residences, offices and retail. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 7

Upfront YOUTH

Teens get uplift from downward dog Palo Alto Medical Foundation offers free, drop-in yoga class for youth

by Elena Kadvany high schoolers.

“The way I describe it to (teenagers) is they are hijacked by cortisol, the fight-or-flight hormone.

When you suddenly are living in this — ‘I’m fearful, I don’t know what to fear, I’m thinking about the future’ — you miss the now.

You really can retrain your brain to sit in the now,” Heneghan said.

“Mindfulness and yoga for teenagers, especially when their brain is very elastic, learning these important adaptation skills and skills of self control, skills of coping — I couldn’t think of a better group to learn this,” she said.

So for the past several Tuesday afternoons, Palo Alto parent and certified yoga instructor Clia Tierney has lead an hour-long drop-in yoga class specifically crafted for teenagers. Part of Tierney’s training was done with RISE Yoga, a Bay Area nonprofit that partners with schools to bring them yoga, wellness classes and

he physical and mental benefits of practicing yoga are numerous and wellsupported by research: decreased stress, enhanced concentration, improved flexibility, better posture, reduced insomnia — to name a few.

But yoga remains an activity largely pursued by and catered to adults, rather than stressed-out teenagers running on overdrive who might need some of these benefits the most.

“It’s sort of like a medicine that really has been shown to work and nobody takes advantage of it,” said Palo Alto Medical Foundation pediatrician Amy Heneghan.

Heneghan noticed the gap in her own organization’s offerings — plenty of mindfulness classes for adults, fewer for teens — and set out to change it. With the help of others, she has brought a free after-school teen yoga class that teaches breathing, mindfulness and the basics of yoga to Palo Alto

T

Veronica Weber

Yoga instructor Clia Tierney demonstrates a twist at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation’s new studio, where she regularly leads free classes for teens.

PARKS AND RECREATION

life-skills workshops that focus on topics like self-esteem, nutrition, relationships and nonviolence. (In addition to the most well-known benefits of yoga, the RISE website cites case studies showing how yoga can help reduce youth anxiety and depression as well as help with ADHD and eating disorders.)

Tierney’s daughter Zoe, a Palo Alto High School senior, has been a frequent attendee of the new class, which is held in a small warehouse on Encina Avenue.

The space — a large carpeted room with soft blue and white walls, exposed wooden beams on the ceiling and skylights that let in natural light — was recently acquired by Palo Alto Medical Foundation and is well-suited to yoga.

“You come out of it feeling very relaxed,” Zoe said. “Especially as a senior or high schooler, school (continued on page 15)

Addition to Foothills Park cos Tran Los Rd

Palo Alto mulls options for new Foothills ‘parkland’

7.7 acre site

City to solicit community feedback about restoration, recreation opportunities

I

File photo/Carien Veldpape-Heithoff

Deer can often be spotted in Foothills Park.

Page 8 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

In a memo to the city, the commission outlined some of the site’s challenges. It is surrounded by private property on three sides and its lack of fencing makes security tricky. It also includes Buckeye Creek, and development is restricted within 50 feet of the creek. Furthermore, only the flat 2.1-acre portion of the 7.7-acre site was deemed as “viable usable space” by the commission.

“While it is exciting to add this new acreage to our parkland inventory, any future plans for the site must take into account current conditions and the potentially significant costs of restoration,” the commission’s memo stated.

A few dozen residents saw the land last month as part of rangerled tours, Knopper said. Three themes emerged from the meetings: People would like to see the land restored; they would like to see Acterra retain its nursery; and they would like to see new amenities at the site.

Exactly what these amenities should be will be the subject of a community meeting next year involving the council and the Parks and Recreation Commission. The commission’s memo listed a campsite, a picnic area, a structure for special events and an off-leash dog area as potential options.

Map by Shannon Corey

t’s not often that a city discovers that it owns 7.7 acres of undeveloped land, but now, what to do with a former quarry is on the minds of Palo Alto’s City Council members.

The parcel in the city’s foothills emerged from obscurity two years ago, when billionaire developer John Arrillaga, who owns the property next to the site, asked to buy it. The council rejected Arrillaga’s offer and then officially dedicated the land as part of the adjacent Foothills Park, leading to the current question of how to make best use of it.

The topic came up earlier this month in a joint session between the council and the Parks and Recreation Commission, whose

FOOTHILLS PA R K

by Gennady Sheyner members have toured the rocky and undeveloped site that currently includes little aside from a nursery run by the environmental nonprofit Acterra. The conversation is expected to resurface in the coming months, as the city proceeds with a parks master plan and hosts meetings and tours to solicit community feedback.

At the Nov. 10 meeting, parks commissioners who have been exploring the site said numerous factors constrain improvements.

Commissioner Abbie Knopper noted that the property served as a landfill for many generations.

It was a quarry and a dumping ground for the Lee family, which ultimately donated the land to the city in 1981.

Foothills Park Interpretive Center

What to do with the rocky, undeveloped 7.7-acre parcel adjacent to — and now dedicated as part of — Foothills Park will be discussed in coming months as the Palo Alto considers a parks master plan.

At the Nov. 10 meeting, council derful natural meadowland,” Burt members offered some prelimi- said.

Burt also argued against opennary ideas of their own. Councilman Greg Schmid noted the site’s ing the area to the general public history as a quarry and suggested before coming up with a plan for that the city explore whether it it. Currently, he said, the site is a can sell or use the sand, rock and “dirt area” on which not much can grow. gravel.

Those at the meeting acknowlCouncilman Greg Scharff asked staff how much it would edged that for the location to be cost to build a fence around the truly usable, much work will need area so that it would be secure to be done. Councilman Larry enough to allow access to the pub- Klein said that when the public lic in the near term. He was told it hears that 7.7 acres of land in the foothills is now parkland, they would cost about $10,000.

“It would be nice to have it will think “it’s like the rest of open to the public as soon as pos- Foothills Park.” The public ought sible,” Scharff said, adding that to know what it really looks like he would hate to wait two years and how difficult it will be to before letting the public access it. make it usable.

“I’m hoping that pretty soon “Ten thousand dollars seems like a small amount of money to open you’ll be able to come up with some estimates on what this could it to the public.”

Councilman Pat Burt advocated possibly cost to put into shape so against planting trees or grass at the public can really use it,” Klein the site. Instead, he said the site said to city staff. Q could be used as riparian corridor Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner and a “natural habitat.” can be emailed at gsheyner@ “I can see it being a really won- paweekly.com.

Upfront BEAUTY+EXPECTATION+TIMELESS+ELEGANCE

Businesses cheap goods.

Workers at some small chain stores, of which there are many in downtown Palo Alto, said they have planned limited sales this weekend. Chico’s clothing store will offer special, tiered discounts and a gift with a purchase, and they plan to stay open one hour earlier and one hour later, said Alaina Munoz, assistant manager. Footwear Etc. has an ongoing boot sale through Sunday and plans to offer a discount for American Express card users, said assistant manager Rick Meza. The store usually has refreshments and offers a gift with purchases.

David’s Tea will begin offering incentives on Black Friday and continue through the weekend, giving away a tea mug and canvas totes with purchases over a certain dollar amount, said assistant manager Alexis Lucio. Most of the discounts are determined by corporate headquarters, managers said.

Eschewing the discount strategy, mom-and-pop store owners said they are focusing their efforts on cultivating loyal followers. “It’s more than selling stuff. In a way, we’re in the lifestyle business. These are things that are for the heart. The right gift at the right time can mean so much to people,�

Letter Perfect owner Gwen Gasquet said. Building customer loyalty means “consistently trying to delight your customers with exceptional service and products.�

Faith Bell of family-owned Bell’s Books on Emerson Street, said having something special is highly valued by her customers.

Bell’s has many rare books, first editions and signed copies this year, for example, she said. Buying books from her store has become a tradition for many customers. “People come in and say, ‘It wouldn’t be Christmas without books from Bell’s under the tree,’ and I’m eternally grateful,� she said.

At Hemingway Tobacconist and Cigars, co-owner Billy Kader said customers come for the high-end products: cigars, humidors, pipes and knives. He doesn’t have to offer discounts; his clientele know what they are getting, and they come for the high quality, he said.

Gasquet of Letter Perfect said it’s nice to create the mindset of Small Business Saturday, but “we just have to be exceptional all of the time. What has kept us here above all else is a really strong and loyal customer base who believe in what we do and in our value to the community. They make

Veronica Weber

(continued from page 5)

Kristen Frazier and her sons Nathan, left, Alex, front center, and Tim look through books

by Roald Dahl and other authors while shopping at Bell’s Books in Palo Alto before Thanksgiving. a conscious effort to support the business,� she said.

Alice Deutscher of Shady Lane, an artisan gift store, said the 40-year-old business uses social media such as Facebook to contact patrons and grow its customer base.

The store will offer a few specials and give out free hearts on Saturday, but it won’t run big sales. “We don’t want to compete with that kind of craziness,� she said.

What the little guys need most of all is recognition year-round.

Shopping local is “a mind set, not just a day,� Deutscher said.

Shady Lane also faces a move when the building it occupies is torn down. Deutscher is looking at options, but she isn’t ready to discuss what might come next.

Other mom-and-pop-store owners say they are also concerned for their futures.

The boom in construction and exorbitant rents have caused their fellow store owners to fold, one by one, over at least the past decade. The march to oblivion is only escalating as downtown and California Avenue undergo conversions to office space, they said.

More than anything, they said they need the city to recognize what’s happening to them, and they are hopeful that a new City Council in January might begin to institute some relief. Some say

What: Fourth Annual Holiday Tree Lighting. Live bands, bell ringers and carols; Mayor Nancy Shepherd and Stanford Federal Credit Union lighting the tree.

When: Nov. 29, between 4 and 7 p.m. Event will be held rain or shine.

Where: Lytton Plaza on the corner of University Avenue and Emerson Street, Palo Alto Who: Sponsored by the Palo Alto Downtown Business and Professional Association, Palo Alto Weekly, Whole Foods, the City of Palo Alto, Stanford Federal Credit Union, Cafe Venetia and other local small businesses.

Cost: Free

One-of-a-Kind Art Deco Diamond, Emerald and Sapphire Ring

The Jeweler Since 1931 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto 650-325-3533 gleimjewelers.com

a “right to return� after a building is renovated would help.

Norzin Lama, owner of Norzin Collections boutique on University Avenue, on Monday looked toward the corner of Cowper Avenue where a string of small businesses, including Plan Toys and the House of Bagels, are being evicted to make way for a new, multi-story office building with ground-floor retail. Lama fears what construction on the corner will do to her business of 20 years. “Parking is already not the best.

Customers say, ‘Norzin, I love to come to you, but I got two tickets already,’ so I’m really worried,� she said. Q Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.

Palo Alto’s 4th Annual

Saturday, November 29 4–7 PM Lytton Plaza (Corner of Emerson and University Avenue)

Featuring: Mayor’s Tree Lighting at 6 PM Holiday Music & Singing (bell ringers, carolers, school groups, bands) Frolicking Elves

0!,/ !,4/ SINCE 1956

Ornaments to Make & Take Home Face-painting Hot Drinks & Goodies

"!.15%4 s $)- 35- s (!009 (/52 s 7) &)

Serving Fine Chinese Cuisine in Palo Alto since 1956

Event sponsored by the following partners:

Holiday 2014 Booking Welcome

Happy Hour • Catering • *LIW &HUWLÀFDWHV Private Dining • Meeting • %DQTXHW 5RRPV

Corrections

The Nov. 21 article, “Up for debate,� incorrectly stated the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League’s affiliation. It is a new arm of the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues. The Weekly regrets the error. To request a correction, contact Editor Jocelyn Dong at 650-223-6514, jdong@paweekly.com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302.

IF YOU’RE GOING

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 9

Upfront

Community Health Education Programs

News Digest Palo Alto set to OK digital City Hall lobby art For a complete list of classes and class fees, lectures and health education resources, visit pamf.org/education.

December 2014 Sleep and Wellness: Tips for Improving Sleep Dec. 2, 7 – 8:30 p.m.

Michelle Primeau, M.D., PAMF Sleep Medicine The holidays are a busy time of year, and for many people, that means skimping on sleep. Dr. Primeau will explain the importance of sleep, the impact of common sleep disorders, and give tips on what you can do to improve your sleep and enjoy the busy holiday season.

Sunnyvale Public Library 665 W. Olive Avenue, Sunnyvale • No registration required

LASIK Vision Correction Procedures Dec. 9, 7 – 8:30 p.m.

Yichieh Shiuey, M.D., PAMF Ophthalmology Join PAMF LASIK specialist, Dr. Yichieh Shiuey to learn about the advancements in all-laser LASIK procedures.

Mountain View Center 701 E. El Camino Real, 3rd Fl. Conference Center, Mountain View • (650) 934-7380

January 2015 Dementia Caregiver Education Series Financial Planning Tips Jan. 15, 1 – 2:30 p.m.

Tom Bromm, Financial Consultant Sunnyvale Center 301 Old San Francisco Road, 2nd Fl. Conference Center, Sunnyvale • (408) 730-2810

Dr. Marvin Small Memorial Parent Workshop Series Bye-Bye Diapers: Toilet Training Jan. 20, 7 – 8:30 p.m.

Heidi Emberling, Parents Place Sunnyvale Center 301 Old San Francisco Road, 2nd Fl. Conference Center, Sunnyvale • (408) 730-2810

Page 10 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

The latest element in Palo Alto’s roughly $4.5 million effort to enhance the ground floor at City Hall will be nearly impossible for visitors to 250 Hamilton Ave. to miss or ignore.

Under a proposal that the City Council is set to approve Monday night, the city will install a digital mural of slowly changing imagery in the building’s lobby. Entitled “Conversation,” the prominent art project will feature images of Palo Alto residents, public announcements, news clips and interactive opportunities for visitors.

The council is preparing to approve a $174,477 contract with artist Susan Narduli to design, develop and install the new-media artwork.

The piece is expected to cost about $250,000.

The expenditure is in addition to the $4.3 million that the council has already allocated for the renovation of City Hall’s lobby, a project that despite its high cost and visibility was approved on the council’s consent calendar last summer without any discussion or dissent.

After facing public backlash during the election season about the cost of the project, the council held a discussion last week in which City Manager James Keene and council members made a case for why the renovation is necessary.

The “Conversation” piece, much like the refurbished conference rooms, aims to make City Hall more welcoming and interactive. At the same time, the latest addition to the renovation belies the notion that project is merely one of maintenance. According to a new staff report, the digital piece is “anticipated to be a destination artwork for visitors and residents alike.”

It will allow the city to broadcast meetings, display way-finding information and agendas, show footage of neighborhoods and residents, and offer residents a chance to interact with the city, according to the report.

Keene told the council on Nov. 17 that the idea behind the artwork is to make City Hall a “place of coming together.”

Like the other components of the City Hall project, the approval of the new digital display is listed on the council’s consent calendar, which means it will be automatically approved unless the council decides to pull it from the calendar. Q — Gennady Sheyner

VA leases Menlo Park land to developer The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has made a long-term agreement with Willow Housing, L.P. to lease just under 2 acres of VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Menlo Park Division land for the construction and operation of housing for veterans in need, the organization has announced.

According to an Oct. 29 agreement, Willow Housing will begin construction of the 60-unit, 40,000-square-foot facility on Dec. 1, with cooperation from the City of Menlo Park. The development will provide “permanent supportive housing for homeless and at-risk veterans,” according to a press release.

The building will be constructed in California-Spanish style and use landscaping that complements the natural surroundings. Willow Housing plans to have the project completed by December 2015.

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System consists of three inpatient facilities located at Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Livermore. Q — Palo Alto Weekly staff

Local students named Rhodes scholars Four college students with ties to Palo Alto — two from the city and two studying at Stanford — were named winners of Rhodes scholarships, which each year grant a small group of college students two to three years of free study at the University of Oxford in England.

Gunn High School graduate Elliot Akama-Garren, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology senior studying biology, and Castilleja School graduate Rachel Skokowski, a Princeton University senior majoring in French, are in the select group of 32 American men and women who will enter Oxford next October.

Stanford University seniors Maya Krishnan, a philosophy major, and Emily Witt, a human biology major, also won the prestigious scholarship.

Akama-Garren, who graduated from Gunn in 2011, has conducted research at MIT, Harvard University, Stanford and elsewhere that focuses on novel ways to manipulate the immune system to treat human diseases, especially cancer, according to a Rhodes press release. He is also editor-in-chief of the MIT Undergraduate Research Journal, has designed and taught several courses for middle and high school students, and volunteers in the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.

Skokowski “has a deep commitment to making the arts more relevant and accessible in the modern world,” the Rhodes press release reads. She works to expose underprivileged children to the world of art and has curated or interned at the Morgan Library and Museum, the Princeton Art Museum and for the Santa Fe Arts Commission.

Witt and Krishnan bring the number of Stanford Rhodes scholars to 114. Q — Elena Kadvany

Upfront

PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL

IMMIGRATION

Locals applaud President Obama’s immigration order Many say it is a necessary first step while high-tech sector views changes as insufficient he controversial announcement by President Barack Obama on Nov. 20 to use his executive powers to grant nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants a three-year reprieve from deportation may have brought disapproval from his critics, but many people on Palo Alto and East Palo Alto streets praised the bold move.

Obama’s flexing of executive action, which bypassed House of Representatives gridlock on immigration-reform legislation, is long overdue, said many who were queried by the Weekly late last week.

Patrons at Starbucks, San Mateo Credit Union and Mi Pueblo Market in East Palo Alto and workers and residents in downtown Palo Alto said Obama’s action is an act of leadership that they have been expecting since his election.

But some in Silicon Valley and those who represent high tech said Obama’s changes are still too weak. “We think the President missed an opportunity,� said Russ Harrison, government relations director for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, USA. “It was all wind up and very little pitch. In the end, he did some small things. It was disappointing.�

Obama’s executive action will allow undocumented parents of American children or legal residents who have lived in the United States for more than five years to register and undergo a criminal background check. If they pay taxes and pass the background checks, they can apply to stay in the country temporarily without possibility of deportation. Undocumented residents will be able to apply for jobs, but they cannot vote or obtain insurance under the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

The action would beef up border security and deportation of those who commit crimes. “Felons, not families. Criminals, not children. Gang members, not a mom who’s working hard to provide for her kids,� Obama said in his speech.

The action will also streamline legal immigration by providing easier work authorization for high-skilled workers awaiting lawful permanent resident status or green cards. The Department of Homeland Security would make regulatory changes to allow these workers to move or change jobs more easily. The action will allow certain H1B spouses employment as long as the spouse has an approved green card application.

The action will streamline immigration for foreign entrepreneurs who meet certain criteria

T

by Sue Dremann for creating jobs, attracting investment and generating revenue in the U.S., and it will include income thresholds so that the immigrants are not eligible for welfare or tax credits under the Affordable Care Act. The changes would streamline and expand programs for foreign students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics at U.S. universities and reduce family separations for persons awaiting green cards.

Some local residents and workers spoke at length about Obama’s action and said they are tired of the congressional stonewalling. “It’s a real act of leadership where somebody has finally gotten off their butt and done something, and I’m not an Obama supporter.

But this is a problem we have to solve,� said a Stanford alum who did not want to give his name. He voted for Mitt Romney in the last presidential election, he said.

‘At least he made a decision, and everyone criticizes him for not making decisions.’ —Sharika Batra, shopper, University Avenue “I hope the Republicans contribute to solving the problem instead of just obfuscating or blocking. It’s just time to get on with it,� he added.

Obama’s plan is a good start, he said. “He ... proposed something that people have to respond to and I hope that’s a constructive response. ... I don’t have high hopes,� he said of congressional actions.

Ruben Olagues, who also voted for Romney, said, “I like the fact that he will be deporting people who are committing crimes and that are not helping the community — that aren’t contributing to our society.�

Olagues, who works at San Mateo Credit Union and has many immigrant customers, also said the action will have a positive impact. “I think it’s a great thing to keep families together, especially in East Palo Alto,� he said.

His parents came to the U.S. as immigrants legally and went through the system, he said. “I wish the system was set up to get status easier,� he said.

Lexi Rubio, another credit union employee, agreed. “I think he did a smart move to push out people who are a ‘risk’ to the U.S. Now give an opportu-

nity for people who are good for the economy — especially in our community,� she said.

Starbucks customer Michael Mashack said he watched Obama’s speech and “knew it was going to be controversial, but it’s the right thing to do.� “It’s overdue. I don’t think he overstepped his bounds. It’s good for our country. One of his last statements rings true: ‘Pass a bill.’ We need to get Congress to quit being selfish,� Mashack said.

Mashack said Obama’s action is about taking care of family, which Mashack likes.

Several shoppers along University Avenue in Palo Alto also supported Obama’s action. “I think we needed immigration reform. I feel Obama is probably right. At least he made a decision, and everyone criticizes him for not making decisions,� Sharika Batra said.

Harrison of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers said Obama’s move does not help immigrant entrepreneurs in hightech and biomedical fields enough. “Entrepreneurs have an extraordinarily hard time raising capital until they have permanent legal status. You could have to leave the country. The president is not offering a green card,� he said.

FWD.us, an advocacy group started by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs for immigration reform, with members including Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, issued a statement on Nov. 21, calling Obama’s action “a crucial step forward.� “We applaud the President for taking critical steps today to fix aspects of our broken immigration system. ... We are encouraged by the President’s pledge to continue working to make it easier for entrepreneurs to create American jobs, and help keep the best and the brightest who come from around the world to study at our universities,� wrote Todd Schulte, the acting president of FWD.us. “These actions are no substitute for legislation, which remains the only way forward on the permanent solution to our broken immigration system our country so desperately needs,� Schulte wrote.

The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) also said the announcement has shortcomings, but Obama’s actions will help prevent unscrupulous employers from using unprotected workers to drive down wages and conditions for all American employees. “The Administration is operat-

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–REGULAR MEETING – COUNCIL CHAMBERS DECEMBER 1, 2014 - 6:00 PM STUDY SESSION 1. Council’s Technology and the Connected City initiative (Fiber-tothe-Premise Master Plan and Wireless Network Plan), in addition to an update about the ongoing discussions with Google Fiber SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 2. Proclamation for Marion Mandel of Neighbors Abroad CONSENT CALENDAR ( WWYV]HS VM HU (TLUKLK 9LZVS\[PVU MVY [OL *VUĂ…PJ[ VM 0U[LYLZ[ Code 4. Policy and Services Committee Recommendation to Accept [OL (\KP[VYÂťZ 6Ń?JL 8\HY[LYS` 9LWVY[ HZ VM :LW[LTILY

5. Appeal of Individual Review Approval of a New Two-Story OVTL H[ 4L[YV *PYJSL 7HSV (S[V :O\[[SL HUK 9PKLZOHYL 7YVNYHT MVY [OL -\[\YL 7YVWVZLK MVY *VU[PU\HUJL [V -LIY\HY` 7. Approval of Two Professional Services Contracts with (1) CTC Technology & Energy for Consulting Services for Fiber-to-thePremise Master Plan and Complementary Wireless Network Plan; and (2) Approval of Budget Amendment Ordinance in [OL -PILY 6W[PJZ -\UK PU [OL (TV\U[ VM 8. Approval of a Resolution Temporarily Suspending Prevailing Wage Policy to Comply with State Law (WWYV]HS VM H *VU[YHJ[ ^P[O 5HYK\SP :[\KPV PU [OL (TV\U[ of $174,477 for the Development, Design, Fabrication and Installation of an Interactive New Media Artwork to be Installed in the Lobby of City Hall :,*65+ 9,(+05.! (KVW[PVU VM HU 6YKPUHUJL 9LNHYKPUN =LOPJSL /HIP[H[PVU -PYZ[ 9LHKPUN 5V] 11. Approval of a Junior Museum and Zoo Environmental Review Services Funding Agreement between the City of Palo Alto and the Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo; Approval of a Contract with David J. Powers & Associates, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $1xx,xx for the Junior Museum and Zoo and Rinconada Park Long Range Plan Environmental Assessment; and Adoption of a Budget (TLUKTLU[ 6YKPUHUJL MVY -PZJHS @LHY [V 7YV]PKL HU (KKP[PVUHS (WWYVWYPH[PVU PU [OL (TV\U[ VM MVY [OL 9PUJVUHKH 7HYR 3VUN 9HUNL 7SHU 7YVQLJ[ *07 7.

ACTION ITEMS 12. Approval of the Proposed Grocery Store Tenant (College ;LYYHJL 4HYRL[ >P[OPU 7* *VSSLNL ;LYYHJL *LU[YL Based on the Finding that the Proposed Grocery Tenant Would 3PRLS` IL *VTWHYHISL PU 8\HSP[` VM 7YVK\J[Z HUK :LY]PJLZ HZ 11 - HZ P[ ,_PZ[LK HUK 6WLYH[LK VU +LJLTILY H[ ,S *HTPUV 9LHS *VU[PU\LK MYVT 5V]LTILY 13. PUBLIC HEARING: Framework for Establishment of 5LPNOIVYOVVK :WLJPĂ&#x201E;J 9LZPKLU[PHS 7YLMLYLU[PHS 7HYRPUN 14. PUBLIC HEARING: Adoption of a Resolution Establishing a Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) Program in the Downtown Neighborhoods STATE/FEDERAL LEGISLATION UPDATE/ACTION 15. Review and Approval of Legislative Program Policy Guidance CLOSED SESSION * 65-,9,5*, >0;/ 3,.(3 *6<5:,3 4P[JOLSS 7HYR 3PIYHY` and Community Center * 65-,9,5*, >0;/ 3()69 5,.6;0(;69: 4HUHNLTLU[ Professional 17. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS- CAO Members STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS ;OL -PUHUJL *VTTP[[LL 4LL[PUN ^PSS IL OLSK VU +LJLTILY H[ ! W T YLNHYKPUN +PZJ\ZZPVU VM *VSSLHN\LZ 4LTV MYVT 1\UL 9LNHYKPUN 3VJHS (UPTHS :LY]PJLZ 9LJVTTLUKH[PVU to Adopt an Ordinance Authorizing the Closing of the Fiscal @LHY )\KNL[ 0UJS\KPUN 9LHWWYVWYPH[PVU 9LX\LZ[Z *SVZPUN Completed Capital Projects and Authorizing Transfers to Reserves, HUK (WWYV]HS VM [OL -PZJHS @LHY *VTWYLOLUZP]L (UU\HS -PUHUJPHS 9LWVY[ *(-9 -@ @LHY ,UK *07 4H[YPJLZ HUK Macias Gini & O'Connell's Audit of the City of Palo Alto's Financial :[H[LTLU[Z HZ VM 1\UL HUK 4HUHNLTLU[ 3L[[LY

(continued on page 12)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ November 28, 2014 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 11

Upfront

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Immigration

Books

(continued from page 11)

(continued from page 5)

ing within its authority to advance the moral and economic interests of our country, and while we stand ready to defend this program, we must also be clear that it is only a first step,” the union said in a statement. “Unfortunately, more than half of those who currently lack legal protections will remain vulnerable to wage theft, retaliation, and other forms of exploitation.

“In addition, we are concerned by the President’s concession to corporate demands for even greater access to temporary visas that will allow the continued suppression of wages in the tech sector. We will actively engage in the rule-making process to ensure that new workers will be hired based on real labor market need and afforded full rights and protections.”

Some undocumented immigrants said they are cautiously happy about Obama’s action.

“It’s good news for my family.

We need a permit to stay here,” said a man who was taking his daughter to school. “But my question is, is this another trick, like years ago when he promised immigration reform?”

The action leaves many still in limbo, an elderly woman said.

“It helps people with babies, but I don’t have any children, so it doesn’t help me,” she said. Q

are the most important thing that that (volunteer) is there for,” Thiebaut said.

“It’s pretty amazing the transformation that goes on,” he said, adding that parents have reported their children start to replace toys and TV time with books and learning toys after three or four months.

On a recent Saturday morning in an east Menlo Park home, 3-year-old Brian Hernandez, an exuberant child with a love for Spider-Man and Play-Doh, flips through a book about trains and points at the illustrations with his Role Model Maria Gonzalez.

Brian has been a part of 10BH for only three months, but Gonzalez has already seen the positive impact.

“At the beginning he would be with me a little and then run and do other things, but now he sits through the entire lesson,” she said. “It’s amazing the changes I’ve seen especially in language because he’s bilingual, but now I see him answering in English, so that’s been huge.”

Lessons are different each week but incorporate playing, Gonzalez said, adding that the underlying theme is learning. For example, the two will play with a ball but they will also count numbers or recite the alphabet while they toss

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to consider the new grocer for the College Terrace Centre; hold a public hearing on a citywide Residential Parking Permit Program ordinance and the proposed permit program for downtown; and discuss the city’s Technology and the Connected City Initiative. The council also plans to meet in a closed session to discuss litigation involving the Mitchell Park Library and Community Center project and the status of the city’s labor negotiations with the management-andprofessional group and with council-appointed officers. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. Closed sessions will follow.

COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to hear an update on the expansion of the local animal shelter; discuss the Fiscal Year 2014 Capital Improvement Program matrices; and approve the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year 2014. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. HISTORIC RESOURCES BOARD ... The board plans to discuss 251 Lincoln Ave., a request by Margaret Wimmer on behalf of Donna and Harry Schmidt for alterations and additions to a 1903 house in Professorville.

The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to consider modifications to the city’s build-to-line requirement; review options for the Maybell Bicycle Boulevard and Churchill Avenue Enhanced Bikeway projects; and hold a public hearing on 3672 Middlefield Road, a proposal by Verizon to install wireless communication equipment at the Palo Alto Little League Ball Field. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ... The board plans to discuss 567 Maybell Ave., a proposal by Golden Gate Homes LLC for 30 residential units; review 3421 Hillview Ave., the fourth phase of VMWare’s project that includes demolition and reconstruction of 85,733 square feet of office space; and discuss 4175 Manuela Ave., a request by Kevin Davies on behalf of Congregation Kol Emeth for a new one-story synagogue to replace an existing synagogue. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.

Page 12 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

it around.

“He doesn’t know it but he’s learning,” she said. “We’re playing but we’re doing some type of skill that I want him to get down.”

Brian’s mom, Veronica Torres, said she feels blessed to be a part of 10BH. “There aren’t a lot of programs like this that is free, and I wouldn’t know what I’d do without the program because he’s learned a lot,” Torres said. “Maria always brings books, so I always read to him and he’s learning. I’ve learned that he loves certain things that I thought he wouldn’t like.”

Brian enjoys putting puzzles together, which allows him to solve problems and develop patience.

He also likes “color cutting,” in which he uses scissors to cut out pictures from a magazine and group them by color.

Gonzalez, who is from Venezuela and has children who are bilingual, said she understands the difficulties families with bilingual children face and the importance of giving kids a chance to learn skills like reading and writing.

“My goal is for him to be ready for kindergarten and excel and be able to communicate, because not being able to communicate creates frustration,” she said. “He’s doing amazing, and I’m so proud him.”

The sentiment rings true for volunteer Victoria Shoemaker who got involved with 10BH because she was looking for an op-

Courtesy Paul Thiebaut III

Upfront

A volunteer with 10 Books A Home works with a child and his family member in their home. The nonprofit provides one-on-one tutoring and home libraries. portunity to work with children.

“Bridging the gap for those who are not native English speakers and being able to help them get the most out of kindergarten sounded like a great idea,” she said.

Shoemaker was paired with 3-year-old Mateo Moreno of East Palo Alto, who at first didn’t recognize letters and couldn’t write or count.

The two quickly built a connection, and Shoemaker discovered what Mateo enjoyed learning the most and prepared learning activities centered on those things.

“I had a lesson on Friday with him, and you forget how much progress he’s made,” she said.

“We were reading books about Thanksgiving and what other kids are thankful for and what he was thankful for, and we decided to make name cards for his family.”

Shoemaker thought they were just going to make a few name cards, but the two ended up making 20.

“He was really excited to be an integral part of Thanksgiving and contributing with the name cards,” she said. “He was just so focused. It was great to see him working so hard to try to replicate the shapes of the letters.”

Shoemaker said she has gotten more out of the program than she puts into it, adding that she enjoys

the engagement and feels honored to be invited into Mateo’s home.

“I’m watching him grow. I had no specific goal, but he’s just a little sponge, he picks up everything and he always surprises me with the things he’s learned,” she said, describing how amazed she was during a lesson using flashcards to learn English, where Mateo only missed two out of the more than 100 flashcards she showed him.

“I’m really excited for him. ... I can’t imagine that he won’t be a great addition to the kindergarten class,” Shoemaker said.

These are the many inspiring stories that come out of 10BH, Thiebaut said.

“This is just a sample of our kids,” he said gesturing to a wall behind him with dozens of photos of smiling program participants and their families. “They all go through some sort of a profound transformation, and I think it’s because of the love that the role models bring into the homes and that bond they build with the children, and the bond that they model for the parent that the parent can build with the child, and all around really simple learning activities that are beneficial to the children’s school readiness.”

Thiebaut said 10BH’s mission is to give the children in East Palo Alto, which has a high school drop-out rate of 60 percent, “a fair shot at success.”

“I think (success) starts in the

home and involves education.

And as a high school drop-out myself and someone who grew up in the Bay Area with friends in East Palo Alto ... and also someone who went back to school and got his college education, I know both sides of the coin. I know how important education is and it’s never too late, but the earlier you start, the better,” he said.

10BH was created to give children educational opportunities that in many instances would only be afforded to them if their parents could pay for it, Thiebaut said.

“The opportunities are boundless here, and unfortunately for the last 20 years, children growing up in East Palo Alto have not been able to take advantage of them and that irked me and resulted in me deciding to found 10 Books A Home.”

One hundred percent of former program participants completed kindergarten in 2014 at or above grade level and 6 percent of current Ravenswood City School District kindergartens have been served by 10BH, he said.

“I see 10 Books A Home as a potential contributor to raising children’s chances of doing well in school and ultimately having a fair shot at doing something with their lives that they enjoy,” Thiebaut said. Q Digital Editor My Nguyen can be emailed at mnguyen@ paweekly.com.

ON NOVEMBER 29 You’re Invited

TO SPEND THE DAY WITH FRIENDS, FAMILY AND The Small Businesses of America.

EVERY DAY, SMALL BUSINESSES ARE THERE FOR US. WILL YOU BE THERE FOR THEM? GET UP, GET OUT, AND SHOP SMALL.Ŀ

& #ShopSmall www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 13

Upfront

Olive Garden

CityView

of Palo Alto government action this week

City Council

The council did not meet this week.

Online This Week

These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAlto Online.com/news.

City considers changing labor policy When it comes to contract negotiations, Palo Alto’s managers and professionals have always stood apart from other labor groups.

(Posted Nov. 25, 9:46 a.m.)

Psychologist discusses ‘Marshmallow Test’ Fifty years ago, Walter Mischel embarked on a now famous study called “The Marshmallow Test” in which young children are presented with a simple choice: eat one marshmallow immediately, or wait for several minutes and be awarded with an additional treat. (Posted Nov. 22, 10:54 a.m.)

b l o o d c e n t e r. s t a n f o r d . e d u

El Camino Real, around Equinox Gym; the recently approved office development at 385 Sherman Ave.; and the three-story building replacing the old Club Illusions at 260 California Ave. — the proposal for 2515-2585 El Camino Real illustrates the untapped potential of existing zoning.

While zone-busting plannedcommunity projects have borne the brunt of community ire (as evidenced in last year’s referendum over a housing development on Maybell Avenue), the Olive Garden property shows that the building boom around California Avenue needs no zoning exceptions to proceed. Because it complies with existing zoning, the project in many ways epitomizes the constraints the city faces in its efforts to limit office development and address the parking problems in its two busiest commercial districts: downtown and California Avenue.

The project would be located on the east side of El Camino Real, between Sherman and Grant avenues, just down and across the street from a planned development of 70 units of affordable housing and commercial space owned by Stanford University.

The Hayes project would merge two parcels, currently zoned for “neighborhood commercial” and “community commercial” use,

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H Page 14 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Veronica Weber

A round-up

(continued from page 5)

A pedestrian walks along the El Camino Real sidewalk past the Olive Garden restaurant in April. In the latest sign of the construction boom, Palo Alto planners are considering a proposal to demolish the Olive Garden building and replace it with a three-story development that would be four times as dense as the existing structure. which allows developments like than the one proposed for the shopping centers, supermarkets Olive Garden site.

Catherine Ballantyne focused and mixed-use projects.

The ground-floor restaurant on the building context and sugwould share the space with of- gested that Hayes consider reorfices, while the 13 apartments ganizing his site plan. She also would occupy the second and questioned whether the proposed third floors. There would also be building really fits in with its suroffices on the second floor, ac- roundings.

She noted that the six-story cording to project plans.

The building front would paral- building directly across El Camilel El Camino Real, and a plaza no Real is a “massive concrete would face Sherman Avenue, the structure” and asked whether the city has a responsibility to someapplication states.

Though the building density how “balance” that structure with at the site is almost certain to in- whatever is built at the Olive Garcrease, the project’s design is still den site.

“I wonder if this building, as it’s evolving.

On Nov. 20, the city’s Architec- proposed, is the right building for tural Review Board held a prelim- El Camino right there, considerinary review for the project, which ing its mass and the way it’s conby definition includes no vote, and textually integrated,” Ballantyne said. offered a mixed response.

At the same time, the board genChair Randy Popp called the building too “horizontal” and erally had good things to say about “monolithic,” though he acknowl- Hayes’ site plan and his proposal edged that the city’s height limit to include the plaza. Though board severely restricts an architect’s member Kyu Kim suggested that ability to pursue a more vertical the office area at the corner of organization. Though he focused Grant and El Camino Real be the bulk of his comments on the made more “open to the public,” project, he reserved some criti- he ultimately called the proposed cism for the city’s 50-foot height development “aesthetically pleaslimit, which drops to 35 and 40 ing” and “a good project.”

Popp also praised the organizafeet in certain zones that abut resition of the plan, including entry dential neighborhoods.

“The height limit is a disaster points, plaza and parking layout, for architecture because you just though he stressed that many arcan’t articulate the building in chitectural details need to be rethe right way with the buildings fined.

“Aesthetically this feels massive that we have,” Popp said. “It’s terand undefined in some ways,” he rible.”

Other board members also ex- added.

The project will need to underpressed some concerns with the look and feel of the proposed de- go a formal review by the archivelopment, which board member tecture board and a site and deAlexander Lew said has some sign review by the Planning and similarity to the controversial Transportation Commission before it gets the green light. Hayes Alma Village development.

Lew said he is concerned that is expected to return to the archithe building will be “too orient- tectural board some time in the ed toward the back and the park- next few months with a revised ing.” He also said he likes other proposal. Q recent developments, including Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner the Equinox Gym project and can be emailed at gshyener@ College Terrace Centre, better paweekly.com.

Upfront

East Palo Alto

Yoga

(continued from page 7)

(continued from page 8)

The Four Corners area plan would remain as it was previously conceived through a redevelopment effort: two- to three-story research-and-development and light industrial space on its eastern parcels; four- to eight-story offices overlooking the Bay; and three- to five-story mixed-use buildings with residences over retail or offices along Weeks Street.

The Westside, which borders Palo Alto’s Crescent Park neighborhood and is accessible by the Newell Bridge, has already been the subject of numerous public meetings, as officials seek to create a vision for that specific area.

Containing about half of the city’s low-income and affordable rental housing, the area is being considered in five parcels, three of which would see no change.

One parcel, west of the University Circle office complex, could be zoned for four- to six-story multifamily homes. From Newell Road to University and West Bayshore, there could be multi-story residences, ground-floor retail, offices and a hotel. Near University, structures could be up to eight stories tall.

Other options for the Westside are higher-density apartments of three to eight stories with limited ground-floor retail or simply three- to six-story-tall multi-family residential buildings.

The plan could guarantee some permanent, deed-restricted affordable housing and prevent the eviction of existing residents, officials said at last week’s meeting.

City leaders have previously said commercial development, including a hotel, on the Westside could subsidize rent increases and preserve low-income housing. Fiftyseven percent of the city’s residents are renters.

Many of the 50 people who attended last week’s meeting said they preferred buildings of medium heights as opposed to eight stories in certain areas of the city.

East Palo Alto is hosting additional public meetings on other aspects of the general plan: transportation and parking on Dec. 9 and public health and quality of life on Jan. 8. Both meetings will take place from 6:30-9 p.m. at the East Palo Alto Senior Center, 560 Bell St. The meetings are intended for the city to gather feedback from community members.

Based on that input, the first draft of Vista 2035 is expected to be completed by next summer, at which time it will be open for public review. Only after the draft plan, and an accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Report, have been circulated for comment and reviewed by the city’s boards and commissions will the City Council consider the final general plan. City officials said adoption of the general plan is expected by January 2016.

Information is available at www.vista2035epa.org. Q

can be crazy. It’s a nice, welcoming, calm environment. It’s really just a good break for your body.”

Paly junior Matt Celigson, a lacrosse player who had never done yoga before attending this class, said it helped him significantly.

“I had a workout earlier that morning and I felt much, much looser that evening,” he said. “It really felt quite good. I recommended it to all my friends since then.”

Clia Tierney said she usually starts the classes by teaching the students breathing exercises. The class might also incorporate partner poses, so it’s more interactive and social than a typical adult yoga class.

“Yoga is a time for mental relief,” Zoe said. “It’s mental and physical relief. A lot of yoga is focusing on breathing, which is very relaxing. The whole thing just makes you feel more relaxed

in general.”

This is Heneghan’s goal.

“Yoga and especially mindfulness — just taking a minute to sit in the now — helps so much as a coping strategy,” she said.

“Mindfulness improves concentration, improves focus, decreases stress, decreases blood pressure. It

‘It’s a nice, welcoming, calm environment.

It’s really just a good break for your body.’

—Zoe Tierney, senior, Palo Alto High School changes your brain. The more we learn about the brain, the more I approach (mindfulness) as a medicinal addition.”

The class is also a way for pediatricians and physicians to establish themselves as sources for mental as well as physical health support.

“This was born out of the fact

that we all feel a little helpless. We all want to offer more,” Heneghan said.

“Mental health is not separate from physical well-being,” echoed Palo Alto Medical Foundation Health Educator Becky Beacom, who helped make the yoga class a reality. “It’s about pulling it all together for overall health and well-being. Yoga does that.”

Patients, Heneghan said, might also be more open to trying an hour-long yoga class than being directed to a therapist or being prescribed medication.

“Everybody is receptive to stress management. Everybody is receptive to improving your physical well-being. Having a program like this that’s on site, it gives us credibility that we take the whole person seriously,” she said.

Palo Alto Medical does provide two other courses geared toward teen mindfulness, a teen yoga workshop and C.A.L.M (Cultivating Awareness to Live Mindfully) for Teens, but both are three-week commitments and are not free.

The medical center is not the only group looking to expand yoga options for youth. Clia Tierney said she’s heard a strong interest from parents in bringing age-appropriate yoga to Palo Alto middle schools. Avalon Yoga on California Avenue in Palo Alto also offers a free yoga class for teens (ages 13 to 17). Castilleja School students can opt to take yoga as a physical education unit; a Gunn High School teacher also teaches an after-school class.

Zoe, who started practicing yoga with her mother in eighth grade, has brought several friends to their first-ever yoga class over the last few weeks.

“They loved it,” she said. “They kept on saying, ‘We’re coming back.’”

The yoga class is Tuesdays from 4 to 5 p.m. at 67 Encina Ave., Palo Alto. No registration required. For more information, go to http://bit. ly/11uQSbi. Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com.

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 15

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Nov. 19-25

Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vehicle related Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 3 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Parking violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . 10 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Alcohol or drug related Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Sale of drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Miscellaneous Discarding flammable material . . . . . . . 1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Resisting arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Sex crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Menlo Park Nov. 19-25

Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Credit card fraud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle related Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Bicycle recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 5 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Vehicle accident/injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 2 vehicle accident/no injury . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Alcohol or drug related Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Miscellaneous Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Disturbing/annoying phone calls . . . . . 2 Domestic dispute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 False info to police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Info case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Juvenile problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Possession of stolen property . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Registrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Violation of court order . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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Transitions Births, marriages and deaths

Louis Kavanau

Dan Ha, a Stanford University community member and graduate, went missing on Oct. 31. A body that the family believes to be his was found on Nov. 11 in the San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco Office of the Medical Examiner has yet to confirm the identity.

He was born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, the second of four children of first-generation immigrants from Vietnam. In 2006, he graduated at the top of his class from South High Community School in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he captained varsity cross country, track and tennis teams.

He went on to study at Stanford, where he was co-president of his senior class, a member of the a cappella group Talisman, a member of the business fraternity Alpha Kappa Psi and one of the founding members of StartX, a startup accelerator and resource for Stanford-affiliated entrepreneurs. He graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He most recently worked as a mobile software developer at Metromile in San Francisco.

Beyond engineering, he enjoyed singing, meditation, hiking, playing piano and tennis.

He is survived by his parents, Ken and Ruth Ha, and his three siblings, Liz Ha, Joe Ha and Mark Ha. Memorial services were held on Nov. 14 at St. Mathew’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco and on Nov. 22 at the Vietnamese Baptist Church of Olympia, in Olympia, Washington.

Memorial donations can be made to the family to cover funeral expenses (finddanha.com).

Louis B. Kavanau, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, died on Nov. 14 at Stanford Hospital. He was 83.

He was born in New York City on Feb. 18, 1931. He attended public schools in the city and went on to graduate from the City College of New York in 1955 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He later received an MBA from Fairleigh Dickenson University in New Jersey.

He lived in Palo Alto for more than 40 years. An early member of the tech community in Silicon Valley, he worked in marketing and sales at a handful of companies, including Singer Systems, Diablo Systems, Xerox and Seiko.

L.A. Cicero

Dan Ha

In addition to playing tennis, he loved volunteering. In his retirement, he worked on disaster projects for the Red Cross, served with the Palo Alto Mediation Taskforce and answered calls on a suicide hotline. He was also a big Stanford fan and worked as Red Coat at athletic events, allowing him to attend games for free.

He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Anne Broderick of Palo Alto; his daughters, Marci Eversole of Seattle, Tracy Pelley of Mountain View and Corrie Anderson of Spokane, Washington; his stepchildren, Peter Broderick of Davis, California, Lisa Broderick of Jacksonville, Florida, and Laura Walther of La Selva Beach, California; and five grandsons.

A memorial service will be held in February of next year. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Brain Support Network, P.O. Box 7264, Menlo Park, CA 94026, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

WEDDINGS

Jenna Reid and Joshua Randell Jenna Ruth Reid and Joshua Dyer Randell were married on Oct. 11 in Palm Springs, California.

The bride is an assets liability manager for Wells Fargo Bank.

She graduated from Palo Alto High School and San Diego State University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in finance.

She is the daughter of Joni Reid of Palo Alto.

The groom is the vice president of international development for JM Eagle. He is the son of Jim and Suzanne Randell of Mercer Island, Washington, and Palm Springs, California. He also has two children, Samantha and Aiden.

The couple currently resides in Claremont, California.

RISTORANTE 417 S. California Ave., Palo Alto

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Leland Taylor Stewart November 24, 1928-October 26, 2014 Longtime Palo Alto Resident Leland (Lee) Stewart passed away peacefully on October 26 from Parkinson’s Disease and stroke.

Born in San Francisco, and raised in Petaluma California, Lee moved to this area in 1946 to attend Stanford University. At Stanford he studied electrical engineering and statistics, and earned a B.S. degree in 1951, M.S. in 1957 and Ph.D. in 1965.

In 1956 Lee married the love of his life, Mary Anderson, and then settled in Palo Alto to raise a family. After completing his Ph.D., Lee pursued a long and satisfying career at Lockheed specializing in Bayesian statistics. He retired in 1998 after 33 years.

Lee was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. In addition to spending time with family he enjoyed traveling with Mary, golfing and following Stanford football.

He was predeceased by his wife Mary, and his daughter, Carol Hyde. He is survived by his daughter, Louise Stewart; his grandchildren Alison Mally, Jason Mally and Melanie Hyde; and son-in-laws Craig Mally and Larry Hyde. At the decedent’s request, no services are planned.

PAID

OBITUARY

GraphicDesigner Embarcadero Media, producers of the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac, Mountain View Voice, Pleasanton Weekly, PaloAltoOnline. com and several other community websites, is looking for a graphic designer to join its award-winning design team.

Design opportunities include online and print ad design and editorial page layout. Applicant must be fluent in InDesign,

Visit

Lasting Memories An online directory of obituaries and remembrances.

Search obituaries, submit a memorial, share a photo.

Go to:

PaloAltoOnline.com/ obituaries

Support our Kids with a gift to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund Drive.

Photoshop and Illustrator. Flash knowledge is a plus. Newspaper or previous publication experience is preferred, but we will consider qualified — including entry level — candidates. Most importantly, designer must be a team player and demonstrate speed, accuracy and thrive under deadline pressure. The position will be approximately 32 - 40 hours per week.

To apply, please send a resume along with samples of your work as a PDF (or URL) to Lili Cao, Design & Production Manager, at lcao@paweekly.com

Donate online at siliconvalleycf.org/paw-holiday-fund 4 5 0 C A M B R I D G E AV E N U E | PA L O A LT O

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 17

Editorial Helping kids this season on’t let the booming Silicon Valley technology-driven economy lull you into thinking that there isn’t a continuing divide, even in the affluent Palo Alto area, between those riding high and the many families living on the edge and needing a bit of help.

Children are too often the innocent victims of economic hard times, and we are lucky to have so many well-run nonprofit organizations that are serving their needs.

The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, now in its 21st year, provides everyone in our community the opportunity to make a donation and know that it will be combined with hundreds of others and dispersed to approximately 50 carefully vetted local agencies, mostly in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto.

There are two important reasons why giving to the Holiday Fund uniquely leverages your donation: First, every dollar raised is given away (in the form of grants to nonprofits that apply), and the Weekly and Silicon Valley Community Foundation underwrite all the expenses. So none of your money goes to any administrative costs.

And second, thanks to the support of the Packard, Hewlett, Arrillaga and Peery foundations and a Palo Alto family that wishes to remain anonymous, any donation you make is doubled in size.

So if you give $100, the Holiday Fund is able to grant $200 to a worthwhile program serving children and families in our area.

Over the next six weeks, we’ll be asking for your donations of any amount and publishing the names of those who contribute to help inspire others to give and be publicly thanked.

The organizations the Holiday Fund supported this last year are listed on page 4; they include groups in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto that are providing counseling, tutoring, mentoring, reading programs, environmental education, health services, child care, food, shelter, music, art and science curriculum, and much more.

Whether you give $25 or $25,000, it is a powerful statement when hundreds of local people unite around a common philanthropic objective and combine their giving to raise $350,000 or more to give back to the community.

Giving is easy, and it’s fully tax-deductible. Either go online to PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund or use the coupon below.

Along with the thousands of kids and families that ultimately benefit from your gift, we are grateful for your help.

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Support our Kids with a gift to the Holiday Fund.

Enclosed is a donation of $_______________ Name _______________________________________________________ Business Name _______________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________ City/State/Zip ________________________________________________ E-Mail _______________________________________________________ Phone _______________________________________________________ Credit Card (MC, VISA, or AMEX) _______________________________________ Expires _______/_______ Signature ____________________________________________________ I wish to designate my contribution as follows: (select one)

T In my name as shown above T In the name of business above OR:

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_____________________________________________________________ (Name of person) All donors and their gift amounts will be published in the Palo Alto Weekly unless the boxes below are checked.

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Please make checks payable to:Silicon Valley Community Foundation Send coupon and check, if applicable, to: Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund c/o Silicon Valley Community Foundation 2440 West El Camino Real, Suite 300 Mountain View, CA 94040 The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund is a donor advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. A contribution to this fund allows your donation to be tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Page 18 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Telling votes Editor, One of the first votes by the Palo Alto City Council after the election was for members of the Planning and Transportation Commission and the Architectural Review Board. The voting for these positions was clearly along ideological lines.

It is curious that Greg Scharff, who ran as a stated residentialist did not vote with the other acknowledged residentialists on the council.

Paul Machado Stanford Avenue, Palo Alto

Accepting difference Editor, Of course, I read the article that outlined the ramifications of a Gunn High School student taking his own life. I won’t pretend to understand that student’s suffering. Nevertheless it raises some important issues that need to be brought to our awareness. Attending any high school is a stressful experience for us all.

We all want to be liked and fit in, and sometimes the spirit of competition seems too difficult and out of reach. However, one must remember that these are just “standards” and nothing more.

We have to open our eyes to different drummers and accept their take on reality. Perhaps then we might see the pressure to have a better physical appearance, become popular or even to achieve high academic standards exists.

But we needn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. We need to ask ourselves, “What’s NOT wrong instead of what’s wrong.”

High academic standards do become useful later in society.

However, not everybody will see it that way, so let’s be open to different perspectives and enrich our views and goals. Sometimes our physical appearance isn’t what will be accepted. And sometimes they’re simply impossible “standards.” There are many ways of acceptance. One is a high achievement of some new type of creativity that doesn’t fit with what is generally accepted. I really hope it doesn’t take the dramatic incident of a young person’s suicide to acknowledge what’s really going on. We’re all really in this together so the pain of one affects us all.

Lorin Krogh Encina Avenue, Palo Alto

More notice!

Editor, Come New Year’s Eve, a Wednesday, the clerk’s office will release city council meeting packets a full week earlier. Agendas and staff reports with attachments will be available 12 days prior to the council meeting, a span cover-

ing two weekends.

The deadline for individual council members to submit email questions to staff will be pushed back from the current crunch day of the meeting to the Wednesday prior. If the city turns these responses around by the end of the work week and then posts them as required, all of us can have the second weekend to review them.

Together with well-written staff reports, council members’ early read and questions, and an additional week for the public to review and comment, key ingredients for greater and more informed participation, as well as effective council meetings, will all be firmly on the table.

The final action was unanimous approval without discussion via the council’s consent calendar earlier this month. But the impetus traces back for some time.

Late submittals of planning materials, some even bypassing staff, catalyzed residents here, while the work of San Jose’s Sunshine Reform Task Force created models.

Early in this waning five-year term, the council imposed a deadline for project application filings or revisions of five business

days prior to scheduled release of the staff report. It also instituted protocols to deal with applicants’ bypassing staff and sending those plans directly to council members.

In addition, the city manager moved the packet release date back by one day to the current five, the Wednesday prior to Monday’s council meeting.

That stopgap will now sunset in favor of something we can truly celebrate, but more importantly, make excellent use of. Happy new year.

Fred Balin Columbia Street, Palo Alto

‘Art Tickling’ Editor, Here is an elegy for Greg Brown: paint on a ladder as high as the sky on a wall made of clouds and sun — his love applied with a brush where quirky rainbows run — subvert the ordinary — camouflage the mundane. gone through a mythical window — our fishing line undone.

Margaret Fruth El Camino Way, Palo Alto

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

What do you think of the downtown parking plan?

Submit letters to the editor of up to 300 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 Sam Sciolla 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!

Off Deadline Flood-protection delay continues threat of a ‘mini-New Orleans’ calamity

by Jay Thorwaldson eemingly endless delays in approval of a $37.5 million flood-control project for the San Francisquito Creek may at last be ending, but the timing will cause at least a full year’s delay in completing the potentially lifesaving project.

That means that a significant threat to several hundred homes in East Palo Alto continues another winter season. That threat is real and potentially deadly if there were to be a sudden failure in the so-called levees that line the creek channel. (So-called because they are simply piled-up mud and already leak.)

If there were a collapse, 8 to 10 feet of water would whoosh instantly into the Gardens neighborhood of mostly single-story residences, catching hundreds in their homes and vehicles. Estimates are that the water would flood 300 to 400 homes in deep water.

In February 2006 the Weekly condemned the drying up of federal funding to continue a detailed Army Corps of Engineers study of the creek’s flood potential and what could be done; the Bush administration diverted the $7 million to the Homeland Security anti-terrorism effort.

The Weekly cited the potential risk, with the headline, “A mini-New Orleans local flood threat?” That editorial reportedly helped break loose funding for the study, due largely to the vivid images of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans the

S

year before.

Very little has changed in terms of local flood threat in the past eight years. That is not due to lack of trying on the part of local cities, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority, commonly known as the “Creek JPA.” The JPA is a joint effort of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and the two counties.

Under Executive Director Len Materman, the JPA has developed an extensive plan to improve the creek flow so it could handle the proverbial “100-year flood” — meaning a flood that has a 1 percent chance of occurring in any year.

The plan was submitted to the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Board about 21 months ago, but only earlier this month did the board certify the application as complete. The certification came only after local officials and citizens pummeled the board for the delays and adding items peripheral to water quality, its primary responsibility.

A special meeting of several water board members on Oct. 31 resulted in what was reported as a “breakthrough” by the water board. It was followed up by a letter confirming the certification of the application as complete.

That certification means the Army Corps of Engineers can resume its delayed review, along with the state Fish & Wildlife agency and others. The federal government was writing a permit last February, but halted work after the water board refused to move forward.

That work can now resume, in theory.

In a letter responding to a water board denial, the JPA provided a succinct summary of the project: It will “provide thousands of residents and business owners, as well as

public facilities, with 100-year creek flood protection during an extreme tide occurring with over two feet of projected Sea Level Rise in an area subject to both Creek and Bay tidal flooding.

“It will improve the quality of water reaching the Bay because stormwater will flow over a new in-channel marsh rather than over streets and through homes and businesses.

“It enables PG&E to construct a safer gas-transmission line farther from East Palo Alto homes.

“And this self-mitigating restoration Project creates more acres of wetlands than it impacts, and the new wetlands will be of higher quality and are more consistent with historic conditions than the wetlands being impacted.”

Materman noted that an independent consultant corroborated the JPA’s analysis, and there were months of technical analysis and meetings required by the water board staff.

But his frustration surfaced in plain language. In a cover letter to the water board Executive Officer Bruce Wolfe, Materman wrote: “You said Certification could happen in late August 2014.

“In good faith, on July 31, 2014, we sent you the Revised Application that you had requested, which was 926 pages in length and included all of the materials needed for you to take action to approve the project.

“Two weeks later, you scheduled a public workshop with your Board on our Project that lasted 4½ hours. Dozens of local residents and elected community leaders traveled to Oakland to express their desire for the Project to move forward. After hearing from the public, your Board members

asked you to handle the permit administratively rather than bring it back to the Board in order to save time.

“Your response came two weeks later in the Letter of Incomplete.”

Materman said he is encouraged by the certification this month, but remains concerned about potential conditions that the water-board staff might attach.

And even if all permits proceed smoothly from now on, the potential damage may have been done. Some work has already begun, such as dirt being stored at the Palo Alto Golf Course and PG&E relocating some poles out of the way.

Materman is far from alone in his frustration. City and county officials and a variety of residents in flood-prone areas of Palo Alto, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto have expressed degrees of outrage at the delay and perceived adding on of conditions and a lack of transparency on the part of the water-board staff.

There is some talk, even by environmentalists who have had frustrating dealings with the water board, of reforming the overall approval process to better coordinate review processes for future waterand wildlife-related projects. That could be something like a little-known item called the Joint Aquatic Resource Permit Application Process, or JARPA, but with real teeth.

Some of those looking at some type of reform attended a Halloween Day meeting of the board, but they only watched, waiting. Q Former Weekly Editor Jay Thorwaldson can be emailed at jaythor@well.com.

He also writes periodic blogs at PaloAltoOnline.com.

Streetwise

Are you in favor of requiring non-residents to buy permits to park in Palo Alto neighborhoods?

Asked on Homer Avenue. Interviews and photos by Jennah Feeley.

Joyce Jordan

Ashley Dunnell

Jeff Juelsgaard

Beverly Nadine

David Gearhart

Belmont Avenue, Redwood City Teacher aide

Saratoga Avenue, Palo Alto Health care agent

Forest Avenue, Palo Alto Teacher

Homer Avenue, Palo Alto Small business owner

Elnora Court, Los Altos Tree trimmer

“It depends. If you are a guest you shouldn’t, but if you are an employee around there maybe you should.”

“No, I think parking is for everyone.

If you have a person giving parking permits to anyone not from here, that doesn’t seem fair.”

“I’ve got my own spot so I don’t worry. ... But there are plenty of parking garages, so I can see why residents would be upset.”

“I have a garage so I don’t think I have a seat at the table. I really do have sympathy for those it does effect though.”

“No, because I like being able to park anywhere.”

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 19

Goodbye, free parking

Palo Alto brings new strategy to downtown’s parking problem

I

f things go as planned, 2015 will be the year in which Palo Alto residents and workers say farewell to free parking.

Daytime commuters long accustomed to parking their cars for the day in downtown’s Professorville or Downtown North neighborhoods will find themselves confronted in the spring with 2-hour-limit signs in the newly established permit zone.

Caltrain riders, whom the city suspects of leaving their cars on downtown streets and then hopping on the train, will need to find a new arrangement. So will Stanford University students, staff and faculty who choose free parking on residential streets (followed by a pleasant stroll to campus) over purchasing Stanford’s prohibitively expensive parking permits.

Downtown residents, for the first time in the city’s history, will have to obtain permits from the city to park in front of their own homes. A few months later, other neighborhoods will be given the option of following suit.

The switch will mark a sea change in the city’s long voyage to bring downtown residents relief from commuters parking on their streets — a priority that over the past two years has consumed more energy from city planners and City Council members than any other issue. The shift is both the culmination of years of protests from downtown residents

Story by Gennady Sheyner. Photos by Veronica Weber.

and a harbinger of things to come in Palo Alto.

The new Residential Parking Permit Program (RPPP), which the council will consider on Dec. 1 and 15, will be the first in a series of initiatives that aim to ease parking congestion and require residents, shoppers and employees to pay for an amenity that has long been free. Through the permit program, residents and downtown workers will have to buy annual permits to park on downtown’s residential blocks.

But although the city stands on the cusp of paid parking, the neighborhood permit program is not a sure thing. The last time the council tried to introduce such a program — in 2012, for a small section of Professorville — dozens of residents showed up at a council meeting to argue against it. Speakers tore into the proposal, with some characterizing it as a privatization of a public good and others complaining that it would merely shift parking to the sections of downtown not in the program.

The council ultimately rejected the proposal and requested a more “comprehensive” approach.

“We’re really confronting the fact that this isn’t just a neighbor to the city issue,” City Manager James Keene told the council at the July 2012 meeting. “It’s a neighbor to neighbor issue. It’s a neighbor to the business community issue.”

Page 20 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

For proponents, things look sunnier this time around. This past January, when the council unanimously approved conceptual “framework” for the new parking program, most members echoed Professorville resident Richard Brand, who took part in crafting both the 2012 proposal and the current one.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time,” Brand said. “It’s time to act.”

The momentum for a residential permit program has been gradually building since then. The Planning and Transportation Commission approved the program earlier this month with only minor grumbles and no dissenting votes. Current council members have been talking about the program as effectively a done deal.

Yet plenty of hurdles remain.

Businesses are justifiably wondering where their employees

will park since construction of new garages is still years away.

The Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Business and Professional Association have both lobbied the council to increase downtown’s parking supply and institute public-transit ridership programs before launching the permit program. Even members of the RPPP stakeholder group, while generally united, remain at odds over which employees

Top, cars drive down Bryant Street in Palo Alto, a road that is lined with parked cars each weekday.

Above, a car passes a block on Addison Avenue in Palo Alto that is parked up on Nov. 24.

Cover Story should get priority for permits and whether anyone should pay for them in the first, six-month phase.

Most significantly, many downtown residents remain unconvinced. A survey by the city showed a near tie, with 738 downtown residents saying they support a permit program and 728 saying they don’t, according to results collected as of Nov. 3.

In the section of downtown least affected by commuters’ parking, the split was particularly striking.

In the area south of Lincoln Avenue and east of Bryant Street, 65 respondents favored the program and 138 were against it.

The opposition is easy to understand when you look at where people are parking. On streets in downtown’s core, south of Everett Avenue and north of Addison Avenue, more than 85 percent of spaces were filled midday recently, according to resident Neilson Buchanan, who has been regularly surveying downtown streets. But south of Addison, streets were only 14 percent to 39 percent parked.

While everyone in the stakeholders group agreed that the survey was a blunt instrument and that it was never intended to be a formal “vote” on the program, the results convinced staff to exclude the southeastern section of downtown from the permit area.

Still, as developer Chop Keenan observed during the final meeting of the stakeholders group, “Even with gerrymandering, you have a jump-ball here.”

The reasons for opposing the program are many, said Gabrielle Layton, a downtown resident who served on the stakeholders group and who by now has heard them all.

“Some people voted ‘no’ because they believe residents shouldn’t be charged,” Layton said. “They feel ‘The city and the developers got us into this mess and we didn’t create it, so why should we pay to alleviate it?’ Others voted ‘no’ because they didn’t agree with the limited amount of information they have.”

Many people remain confused about what exactly the program entails and how exactly it will impact them. On Nov. 19, more than 70 residents attended a meeting at Channing House to hear about the program from city Parking Manager Jessica Sullivan and members of the stakeholders group.

While most people came to ask about particular details, some had broader concerns. Melissa Rohde, who shares an apartment on Cowper Street with three roommates, noted that by distributing residential permits by household (one free and an option to buy three additional ones for $50 each), the city is creating a new hardship for renters like her, who already have to shell out big bucks to live in downtown Palo Alto. She also noted that she generally leaves her car at her house and bikes to work.

“I’m going to have to pay to leave the car at my house, when I’m trying to be a better commuter,” Rohde said.

Frank Slattery, who lives on Palo Alto Avenue, wasn’t convinced that his part of downtown (in Crescent Park, right next to the Menlo Park border) really needs the program at this time.

“At the moment, I have the same mindset as the south-of-Lincolneast-of-Bryant people,” Slattery said, while nonetheless praising the program.

Given the split in opinion and the defeat of the 2012 program, planners and citizen stakeholders aren’t taking anything for granted in the run-up to the council’s vote.

This past month, proponents have been holding community meetings to describe the program and clear up any misconceptions. At the final gathering of the stakeholders group on Oct. 23, Planning Director Hillary Gitelman said that between then and December would be the “critical time for us to hang together and keep working together and make sure that when it gets to the council, there’s no misinformation out there or confusion on what’s being proposed.”

“I think this is the period at which the consensus or idea fell apart last time and there wasn’t sufficient support at the end,” Gitelman said. “We really want to get this over the finish line.”

Freedom from ‘free’

T

he finish line in this case is also, in many ways, the starting line.

By introducing the Residential Parking Permit Program, the city is publicly acknowledging what downtown residents, urban planners and employers have long maintained: Parking has never

Elaine Uang, a Downtown North resident, listens at Channing House Nov. 18 during an informational session about Palo Alto’s proposed parking permit program. really been free; it just seems that way to those who park. After decades of taking “free” downtown parking for granted, the city is now exploring things like metered parking and garage tolls and has created a new nonprofit, to be mostly funded by large employers, to manage a suite of new traffic-fighting initiatives. The trend is toward more regulation, more transit options and more contributions from drivers who up to now have been using the streets as their personal parking lots.

“When the system is not regulated, such as when you have free parking, it’s not effective and that is what we have now,” Sullivan told the Weekly in a recent interview. “We have garages that are

underutilized, residential areas that are overparked and no regulations that say you have to behave a certain way.”

That, she said, is slowly changing.

“There’s a new planning paradigm,” Sullivan said. “Free parking has a lot of seriously negative effects.”

Sullivan isn’t just talking about the permit program. Other cities, she notes, charge for parking in a variety of ways, including parking meters and garage tolls. In Palo Alto, the residential-permit program is just the first step.

“This is the first time we’re really talking about the problem in this way, as having these programs that work together synergistically,” Sullivan said. “For us,

RPPP is the first thing that came out of the shoot. After that, we can talk about paid parking and things like that.”

For guidance on parking policies, planners often point to Donald Shoup, an urban-policy professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and the closest thing urban planners have had to a rock star since the days of Jane Jacobs. His book, “The High Cost of Free Parking,” is a passionate, 700-page indictment of the types of parking policies that have long been held sacrosanct in Palo Alto.

Free curb parking, for example, is a terrible idea from economic, environmental and urban-plan(continued on next page)

From right, Jessica Sullivan, parking manager for the City of Palo Alto, Neilson Buchanan and Michael Hodos, both Downtown North residents and members of the stakeholders group for the proposed Residential Parking Permit Program, listen to a question during an informational session about the program at Channing House. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 21

Cover Story

Parking (continued from previous page)

Ave Alto Palo

Poe St

Ruthven Ave

Middlefield Rd

Tasso St

Hawthorne Ave Bryant Ct Everett Ave

Byron St

Webster St

Kipling St

Lytton Ave

Waverley St

Bryant St

Ramona St

Emerson St

High St

Alma St

Tasso St

Cowper St

University Ave Byron St

Hamilton Ave

Middlefield Rd

Gilman St

Forest Ave

Homer St Kipling St

Waverley St

Channing Ave

Webster St

Addison Ave

Kipling St

Bryant St

Ramona St

Emerson St

High St

ning standpoints, Shoup argues.

It encourages people to cruise around the block, wasting time, polluting the environment and irritating residents whose streets are inundated with cars. Most drivers, Shoup writes, “consider free curb parking an entitlement, and almost everyone takes offstreet parking requirements for granted, as though they were absolutely essential.”

He rejects this line of thinking and supports charging fair-market prices for parking. Shoup disputes the commonly held notion that curb parking is a “public good,” noting that it lacks the two economic characteristics commonly associated with the term. Public goods, he said, are “nonrival in consumption,” which means that one person’s usage doesn’t prevent others from using it (think of radio or public art). They are also “nonexclusive” in the sense that no one should be left out from receiving its benefits. Curb parking, by contrast, breeds competition and is easy to charge for, thus excluding some, which makes them in an economic sense “much closer to private goods than to public goods,” Shoup writes.

“Moreover, the social costs of not charging for curb parking — traffic congestion, air pollution, accidents, wasted time, and water fuel — are enormous,” he writes.

Shoup also has little patience for free parking with time limits — the norm in downtown Palo Alto’s commercial core. Time limits are “not only inefficient but also difficult to enforce,” he notes before citing surveys that show that more than half of all cars parked in zones with timelimited free parking either violate the time limit or are in an illegal space. One Seattle study that focused on 35 areas with time limits found that the average parking duration in a one-hour time limit zone was 2.1 hours. Then there’s Fresno, where downtown workers reportedly leave in pairs during lunch time to trade “prime spots.”

Or Alexandria, Virginia, where a study found school custodians regularly moving teachers’ cars every three hours to evade parking time limits. He didn’t mention Palo Alto, where workers shift cars from one color zone to another every two or three hours to avoid a parking ticket, but he easily could have.

This obvious inefficiency was one main incentive for business owners to collaborate with downtown residents in designing the permit program. It will allow employers to buy permits for workers (currently, the city only sells to individuals) to park all day.

“It’s enlightened self-interest now,” Michael Hodos said in describing businesses’ participation in the stakeholders group, “because they have employees running around now and moving cars, which is costing them in lost productivity all over the place.”

City of Palo Alto downtown parking study Noon to 2 p.m., Sept. 25

Lincoln Ave

Kingsley Ave Whitman Ct

0% – 49% parking occupancy 50% – 84% parking occupancy 85% – 100%+ parking occupancy

Melville Ave

Kellogg Ave Em ba rca de ro Rd

Churchill Ave

The City of Palo Alto surveyed downtown blocks in September to determine how many cars are parked along the streets. Source: City of Palo Alto

Creating winners and losers

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houp directs most of his wrath toward cities with stringent parking requirements for new developments. This issue has particular resonance in Palo Alto, where the council has been enthusiastically closing loopholes that had previously allowed developers to provide fewer parking spaces for their projects (some of these rules were relics of an era during which

Page 22 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

the city needed to attract developers to build downtown).

No single parking policy has been attracting more scrutiny in recent years from land-use critics, who believe parking requirements are both necessary and routinely skirted by “clever” developers and architects. In contrast to Shoup, they believe the city needs more parking requirements, not fewer, because new companies tend to cram more workers into their offices than traditional firms, resulting in more cars parked on

the streets. The topic came up during the citizen appeal of the redevelopment of 240 Hamilton Ave., when residents argued that staff incorrectly calculated the requirement, and during the election season, when the citizens group Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning slammed council members for approving developments that, in the group’s reading of local laws, failed to provide adequate parking.

Shoup believes this condemnation is misguided. Cars, he writes,

“have replaced people as zoning’s real concern, and free parking has become the arbiter of urban form, with serious consequences that extend far beyond parking itself.” For buildings too small to support garages, he writes, parking requirements result in surface lots that often sit empty and padlocked, creating a “depressing aura.” These requirements “affect what can be built, what it costs, and how it looks.”

Thus parking requirements in his view are not only imprecise but counterproductive. They produce the free parking everyone wants, but this free parking “explains why our cities sprawl on a scale fit more for cars than for people.”

“Parking requirements create winners and losers: drivers win and everyone else loses,” Shoup writes. “More accurately, people win in their role as drivers, and they lose in all their other roles.”

What about new garages, a strategy that Palo Alto is pursuing both in downtown and around California Avenue? Again, Shoup urges caution. Building parking structures may help solve the parking problem, but not always in the way cities expect. If historic buildings are torn down to make way for surface lots and garages, downtowns lose their charm and attract fewer visitors, thus obviating the need for the lots.

“You don’t go somewhere to park your car; you go there because you want to be there, and large parking lots in an area reduce the desire to be there,” Shoup writes.

At the heart of his argument is the assertion that both developers and residents in downtown’s congested areas can agree on: Parking has never really been free.

“The cost of parking is hidden in higher prices for everything else,” Shoup writes. “In addition to the monetary cost, which is enormous, free parking imposes many other hidden costs on cities, the economy and the environment.”

Shoup’s disparagement of free parking holds sway in downtown’s residential neighborhoods, where residents have long maintained that they are effectively providing subsidies for developers who refuse to provide sufficient parking.

“There is transfer of value and wealth from neighbors to developers that’s been happening for years,” said Layton, a resident of University South.

Developers and downtown’s business owners counter that they already pay more than their fair share to solve the parking problem. This includes the cost of constructing underground lots; “in-lieu fees” to the city to compensate for any mandated parking spots that aren’t provided in a new development; and payments toward an assessment district that financed downtown garages.

At the last meeting of the Chamber’s Business Advocacy and Public Policy Forum, a discussion of the new parking-permit program touched on the broader

Cover Story question: What is the cost of doing business in Palo Alto? New Chamber CEO Judy Kleinberg said that many businesses feel like the city just keeps on coming back to them with new requirements.

“Yes, we want to be good citizens. We want everything to be wonderful. We want to collaborate. But it feels to some businesses like you just keep going back to the same well,” she said.

Each side is right in its own way. The residents’ woes are real, as has been proven time and again by photos, videos, car counts and maps showing most sections of downtown parked at 85 percent capacity during the weekdays. In some sections, it’s more than 100 percent. At a meeting in January, Eric Filseth, a Downtown North resident who was recently elected to the council and has been one of the most passionate advocates

for alleviating the parking crisis, presented the council with a book titled, “A Day in the Neighborhoods.” It showed cars parked in front of fire hydrants, red curbs and driveways. Like other residents, Filseth argued that the cost of parking for employers should be treated as the “cost of business” and should not be paid for by residents.

“It’s time to disentangle the residents from this process and protect the neighborhoods from commercial zones,” Filseth said.

At the same time, Palo Alto’s in-lieu parking fees are already at the highest end of the scale. In his book, Shoup surveyed dozens of cities and compared the impact fees they charge for office developments. While in 1996, Palo Alto’s in-lieu fees were a relatively (continued on next page)

Courtesy City of Palo Alto

The Bryant Street Parking Garage was constructed in 2004 to increase downtown Palo Alto’s parking supply. It is one of six downtown garages with spaces reserved for drivers with paid permits.

Ark Studio West proposed building a 283-space parking structure on the corner of Hamilton Avenue and Waverley Street. The city rejected the proposal in October but is still considering the site for a new garage.

The Palo Alto City Council is considering adding various technologies in downtown garages that can count available parking spaces and, should the city introduce universal paid parking, accept payment. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 23

Cover Story

The journey to the starting line Permit programs bridges gap between downtown stakeholders

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he Downtown Residential Parking Permit Program Stakeholder Group has been meeting since March and at its final meeting on Oct. 23 the mood was a mixture of relief, fatigue and the type of familiar tension one associates with teenage siblings who’ve been forced to share a room for far too long.

At one point, as two stakeholders snapped at each other while debating which types of workers (if any) should get priority for permits, a regular spectator whispered to a reporter, “It’s been pretty much like this for nine months.”

The group included six downtown residents — Neilson Buchanan, Elaine Uang, John Guislin, Michael Hodos, Gabrielle Layton and Richard Brand — and five representatives of the business community. Downtown developer Chop Keenan belonged to the group, as did Simon Cintz of Cintz Commercial Properties, LP; Susan Nightingale of Watercourse Way; Rob George of Philz Coffee; and Gloria Arteaga of Palantir (her spot was later filled by another Palantir employee, Brett Somers).

The range of opinions on the group belied its relatively small size. Cintz, for instance, was skeptical from day one about the new program. In a January meeting, he argued that the residential parking permit program, since it doesn’t create new parking spaces, “just moves the problem from one area to another.”

He also pitched late last year a different idea — painting curbs in residential neighborhoods to more clearly outline each parking spot and designating certain spots only for residents.

Residents, meanwhile, primarily focused until recently on

by Gennady Sheyner

ways to get commuters’ cars off their streets, rather than on ways to accommodate the service employees who make their meals, bag their groceries and have a hard time paying permit fees for downtown garages. That has changed.

Between March and October, the group was immersed in the weeds of the new program, tackling such questions as: What should be the district’s boundaries? How many permits should be sold? How much should they cost? Who should get first dibs?

And what should neighborhoods do if they want to opt into (or out of) the program.

Now, the stakeholders have reached something close to a consensus on nearly every issue.

The new downtown district would stretch from Palo Alto Avenue in the north to Embarcadero Road in the south; and from Alma Street in the west to Guinda Street in the east. About 20 percent of the neighborhood spots, dispersed throughout downtown, are to be available to employees. The city would need to create more parking downtown for employees in early 2015, when the program kicks in.

Should other blocks’ residents want to join the program, the threshold for support would be 50 percent of the residents plus one. Annual rates are recommended at $466 for professional employees, $100 for low-wage employees and between $30 and $50 for residents.

The program would roll out in two phases. The first phase would be six months long, during which permits would be available to any resident or downtown employee who wants to buy one. For those without a permit, parking would be restricted to two hours between 8

a.m. and 5 p.m.

The goal of this phase is primarily to gather data. By requiring permits for all-day parking and only giving permits to downtown residents and employees, city planners hope to see what the demand is like once Caltrain and Stanford parkers are taken out of the equation. The data would also be used to set a cap on the number of permits issued in the second phase. That’s when employees would buy permits that are restricted to a specific section of downtown (a block or two). Residents would get one free permit and an option to buy additional ones for $50 each.

Some ideas fell by the wayside as the group met and obtained feedback. The stakeholders group put together a survey of downtown residents to gauge their interest and support for various ideas. The proposal to paint curbs was decisively scrapped from consideration after the survey showed 59 percent of respondents rejected it.

“A lot of people are concerned about this idea of having an employee spot in front of their house and not being able to park in front of the house during the day,” City Parking Manager Jessica Sullivan said at the group’s Oct. 23 meeting.

Some issues remained contentious. The biggest dispute at the Oct. 23 meeting came over whether employees should be forced to pay for parking permits in the first phase. All the business representatives argued that they should not because that would skew the data by introducing an extra variable. Cintz and Keenan were the leading voices of opposition.

“If you charge for this, none of this data will be relevant,” Keenan said.

From left, Jessica Sullivan, parking manager for the City of Palo Alto, and Downtown North residents Neilson Buchanan and Michael Hodos discuss the proposed Residential Parking Permit Program at Channing House on Nov. 18.

Page 24 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

They were outvoted by resident stakeholders, who argued that employees who park on downtown’s residential streets should be asked to pay for permits as soon as the program unveils.

“You have to do something to change behavior. I don’t think we should waste six months. I think we have to move the dial on changing the behavior,” Layton said.

Cintz also spoke out against the idea of giving low-wage workers preference over other employees in obtaining parking permits. He fully agreed with the idea of having lower costs for service workers, but argued against giving them a priority in access. Professional workers are “the economic engine of downtown,” he said.

Buchanan, a resident of Downtown North, countered that his neighbors are willing to devote some parking spaces for employees but have a “heavy bias toward preferential treatment for pricing and otherwise for lowpaying people.

“I have not heard one empathetic comment for higher paid people,” Buchanan said.

“We’re not asking for empathy, we’re asking for being treated fairly,” Cintz replied.

Despite these reservations, Cintz said that he supports going forward with the program.

“It’s a six-page resolution, and there are only two sentences that I have an issue with,” Cintz said.

“I like what we’re doing.”

In the end, the two sides took a few votes and agreed to disagree on a few remaining details. The consensus was that, however imperfect, the program is well worth pursuing. Keenan advised the group to just do something — anything — and fix the program as needed.

“This is the problem you had last time in Professorville. They didn’t know when to say ‘yes,’” Keenan said. “Get pregnant, kids, so you can get real data, so the signs go up. You think you’ll just wave a wand and it’ll happen? It’s evolutionary.”

Sullivan acknowledged toward the end of the meeting that not everyone is 100 percent happy with the current proposal but noted that many of the details that had polarized the group earlier in the year have been mostly resolved. The group largely agreed and punctuated its consensus by giving Sullivan a unanimous ovation for steering them toward a resolution.

“We have a solid shot at getting something passed,” Sullivan told the group near the conclusion of the meeting. “I love you all, but I don’t want to be doing this for another 12 months in 2015.” Q

Parking (continued from previous page)

moderate $17,848 (higher than most cities, but well below Beverly Hills and Carmel), in 2002 the fee went up to $50,994 per space, more than any other city on the list (the average fee was $16,146). Between 1996 and 2002, he explains, the city had built new downtown garages, and the cost of these garages was the basis for its new parking-space fees charged to developers.

Many of Shoup’s solutions seek to harness the free market, whether through parking meters or garage tolls with varying fees. His preferred solution to the problems created by “free” curb parking is the creation of “parking benefit districts” in residential neighborhoods. While residents would park for free, nonresidents would be charged a fair-market price.

The money generated from the nonresident permits would then be used to finance improvements for the neighborhood beyond what the city would provide, whether it’s sidewalk repairs, tree plantings or placement of utility wires underground. For residents, he argues, it’s a great deal.

“Seen from the resident’s side of the bargain, charging nonresidents for curb parking resembles Monty Python’s plan to solve Britain’s economic problems by taxing foreigners living abroad,” Shoup writes.

Paid parking and the shopper

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alo Alto remains a long way from Shoup’s utopia. In October, the City Council considered and rejected a proposal for a public-private partnership in which a developer offered to build a downtown garage but stipulated that the city would have to institute paid parking throughout downtown.

Councilman Greg Scharff spoke for the majority when he called the proposal a “non-starter,” though he did not discount the possibility of switching to paid garage parking in the future. That decision warrants a robust policy discussion, he said, and should not be made on the basis of a single developer’s proposal.

“You start with ‘Do you want paid parking?’ Maybe just on University Avenue,” Scharff said. “I don’t think it starts with building a parking garage.”

Councilman Larry Klein echoed his concerns and said that while “we might have some paid parking in preferred places,” it would be “unwise for us to back into a dramatic change in policy just to have a deal.”

Yet there are plenty of signs that the discussion about paid parking isn’t too far away. The downtown Residential Parking Permit Program is in the vanguard of the citywide trend toward priced parking. Other neighborhoods, most notably Evergreen Park and Ventura, have indicated that they

Cover Story

Is Crescent Park’s parking ‘creep’ a sign of things to come?

Small program grows as problem shifts from one block to another

by Gennady Sheyner

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Jessica Sullivan, parking manager for the City of Palo Alto, gives a presentation about the proposed downtown Residential Parking Permit Program, which would roll out in two phases next year. plan to set up their own programs as well to protect themselves from the sizzling construction climate in and around the California Avenue Business District.

Other parking programs with revenue components are expected to follow in short order. Sometime in the middle of next year, the city will receive proposals for new garage technology that will both enhance the city’s ability to manage its parking supply and empower it to start charging for garage parking. In August, the council directed staff by an 8-0 vote to issue requests for technological solutions that include parking-guidance systems that can count cars as they enter and leave garages and inform drivers how many spaces are available.

The city is concurrently soliciting bids for a system that can register when vehicles arrive and allows drivers to pay to park beyond a specified time limit.

The council has yet to make a decision about charging downtown visitors to park, though everyone agrees that the new technology is needed to improve the city’s management of its parking inventory. Vice Mayor Liz Kniss called the garage technology “an investment we really need to make in our community.”

The idea of charging visitors for garage parking has its detractors, including land-use watchdogs and merchants who believe the policy will deter shoppers from coming downtown. Barron Park resident Bob Moss is among them.

“Don’t allow paid parking downtown. We had it and it really destroyed the economic vitality of our businesses,” Moss said, referring to the 1980s and 1990s. “One benefit is that it will reduce the need for parking because nobody would come downtown to shop or eat in the restaurants.”

Others counter that it was downtown’s less-than-sparkling condition in the 1980s that kept people away. Sullivan, for her part, disputed the idea that meters will discourage shoppers. Plenty of downtowns, including San Mateo and Burlingame, have metered parking, and they are doing just fine.

“The truth is, most cities here charge for parking downtown.

I can’t think of any that don’t of any significant size,” she told the Weekly.

There is often an initial shock, she said, but people tend to quickly adapt to the situation. Some cities, like Redwood City, make the transition easier by charging only 25 cents per hour through its downtown meters. This allows people to get acclimated to the new technology. It also allows the city to later raise prices in a way that “doesn’t seem intrusive.”

“People got used to using the machines. It’s what you do when you go downtown — you pay a quarter when you park. Now, they’re in the process of raising prices for parking in certain parts of downtown, but it’s an easier pill to swallow because everyone already uses the machines,” Sullivan said.

ast year, Crescent Park residents learned all about the power — and the repercussions — of the city’s parking programs.

Residents around Edgewood Drive and Newell Road had been up in arms about drivers from East Palo Alto crossing the Newell Bridge and using their streets for overnight parking. Some residents talked with suspicion about an uptick in burglaries; others pointed to the increase in beer bottles left on their streets, to blocked driveways and the general hazard of having too many parked cars crammed onto their blocks.

The city responded in August 2013 by creating a “no overnight parking” zone in which only cars with a permit — which only residents can buy for $100 a year — can park.

The pilot program was unveiled despite protests from residents on the zone’s periphery, who were concerned that the new restriction would simply move the problem over to their blocks.

Both sides were right. The solution worked, and the problem shifted outward from the program’s initial area. By November, residents of Southwood Court, certain blocks of Crescent Drive and previously excluded sections of Dana Avenue and Newell Road had joined the She also challenged the notion that paid parking will harm downtown merchants. Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce forum earlier this month, she noted that with paid parking, “People get in faster and more people come in.

“Shopkeepers are scared, but it makes revenue for businesses,” Sullivan said. “I hope next year, once we start getting RPPP implemented, we’ll talk about these things. We’ll have a very comprehensive discussion about paid parking policy in general. I

restriction zone; more neighbors on Crescent Drive followed suit in December. The domino effect continued this year, with Island Drive, Center Drive and Kings Lane all joining the program and at least six other requests from other streets’ residents currently pending city approval.

On Oct. 6, the City Council unanimously approved the expanded boundaries and agreed to extend the trial of the program until September 2015.

In some cases, the expansion has stoked tension. At the council’s Nov. 10 meeting, Harlan Pinto, who lives in Crescent Park and supported having wider boundaries a year ago, expressed disappointment about the city only including the south side of University Avenue in the expanded boundary. Because overnight parking is permitted on the other side of the street, cars will simply move there, “and we’ll have to move through this all over again,” he said.

A similar situation could soon play out downtown, where a Residential Parking Permit Program (RPPP) is set to launch in the spring and where certain neighborhoods remain skeptical.

In approving the proposed program earlier this month, members of the Planning and Transportation Commission predicted that areas currently opposed to believe that it will be the key to keeping downtown vibrant. I don’t see it as another drain on business. I see it as helping to solve a problem.”

The cost of doing business

W

hile downtown residents, employees, taxpayers and shoppers will all be paying more for parking in the coming years, Palo Alto’s employers will play what is

the program would come around once the program is implemented near the downtown core and the problem shifts.

To that end, Commissioner Michael Alcheck argued that the city should increase the RPPP boundary by a factor of “no less than a third of a mile or a quarter of a mile.” He pointed to one of the few sections of downtown that remains green on the maps indicating levels of parking (green is an occupancy level of 35 percent or lower) and argued that it won’t stay green for long once the program kicks in.

“When the community on one side of Lincoln Avenue decides to implement a program, it will directly impact the other side of Lincoln,” Alcheck said. “It should not surprise anyone that this patch of green will not be green once we do it.”

To help address this problem, the city is including as part of its proposal a process by which adjacent blocks can opt into the program once it’s up and running. Residents would have to submit a petition to the city, showing a majority support. After that, the planning commission would hold a hearing on the application; staff would perform outreach and conduct parking studies and then bring a proposed resolution to the planning commission and, ultimately, the council. Q perhaps the leading role in solving downtown’s perplexing parking puzzle.

At an August meeting, without a word of discussion or a vote of dissent, the council signed off on a plan that members hope will reduce the number of trips by solo drivers by 30 percent or more. In approving a three-year consulting contract with the firm MIG, the city kicked off the creation of its new Transportation Management (continued on next page)

A brief history of downtown Palo Alto parking Palo Alto installs parking meters along University, Hamilton and Lytton avenues to raise revenue for the quickly expanding city. After more than 300 residents protest, the program goes to the voters, who reaffirm it by a 2-1 margin.

1947

Civic Center is built with three levels of underground parking.

With downtown facing increasing competition from Stanford Shopping Center, city decides to remove parking meters.

1970

Two new garages make their downtown debut: the Cowper/ Webster garage and High Street garage north of University Avenue.

1971

Palo Alto institutes time limits downtown in the form of color zones, a pilot program. Cars get free parking for two hours but cannot re-park in the same color zone (purple, lime, coral and blue) for the rest of the day. In garages, the parking limit is three hours.

1984

1994

Palo Alto agrees to make the colorzone program permanent, with some modified boundaries.

City unveils two more new garages: one on High Street, between University and Hamilton, and another at Bryant and Lytton streets.

1996

2004

City Council rejects a proposal for a new Residential Parking Permit Program in a section of Professorville, directs staff to consider a more “comprehensive” solution.

2012

Council approves a “framework” for a downtown Residential Parking Permit Program; directs staff to upgrade garage technologies and explore metered parking; create a Transportation Management Association; and research a possible downtown garage at Hamilton Avenue and Waverley Street.

2014

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 25

Cover Story

Inspirations a guide id tto th the spiritual i it l community

Melissa Rohde, a downtown Palo Alto resident and renter, listens to a panel speak about the proposed permit program, which would require her to pay to park in front of her home.

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

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As a Multimedia Account Executive, you will contact and work with local businesses to expand their brand identity and support their future success using marketing and advertising opportunities available through our 4 marketing platforms: print campaigns, website and mobile advertising, and email marketing.

Parking (continued from previous page)

Association (TMA), a nonprofit that will be tasked with developing, marketing and managing programs that encourage drivers to switch to other modes of transportation.

Sullivan told the Weekly that so far, many people don’t take the idea seriously, viewing it as “icing on the cake.” She believes it’s a potential game changer for how the city manages its traffic and parking problems. Yet many questions remain. Unlike parking meters and residential permits, the Transportation Management Association is a program without many precedents. Stanford University has a hugely successful program of discouraging cars, one that has led to a 30 percent reduction in vehicle trips since 2002.

Contra Costa County also has an association that gets funding from employers and offers various transit incentives, including BART passes and ride-shares. But neither Stanford nor Contra Costa (where the program serves what is effectively a business park) has to

grapple with as many competing interests as downtown Palo Alto, where residents, workers and employers all vie for influence.

“I think the stakes are high with TMA,” Sullivan told the Weekly.

“There’s a huge opportunity here to make some big inroads, and it would really help with both parking and traffic.”

In their first few months of work, consultants have been reaching out to businesses to participate in the program and the signs, so far, have been encouraging. Wendy Sylvani, who is working on Palo Alto’s new association and helped set up TMA programs in Emeryville and San Francisco’s Mission Bay area, said the consulting team has been “warmly received by everyone we’ve met with.

“Everyone is concerned about traffic congestion, parking and other transportation issues as to how they relate to the viability of their businesses — whether it’s recruiting and retaining employees, making it easy for customers to patronize them, or just the cost of doing business,” Sylvani told the city’s Planning and Transportation Commission on Oct. 29, dur-

ing the first update about the new transportation group. “Everyone is very much concerned about being a good neighbor and a good community citizen. That’s been the positive message so far.”

Whether this spirit of camaraderie persists as the programs roll out remains a big question. Sullivan said she plans to organize a community meeting in January to discuss the new Transportation Management Association. This will kick off what promises to be a year of bold actions on the parking front. The first phase of the downtown RPPP is scheduled to be in place by April, and, by the middle of the year, the city will get back its proposals for garage technologies. At the same time, the council is still looking to build at least one new parking structure, most likely at the existing parking lot on Hamilton Avenue and Waverley Street.

When asked whether the construction of new garages sends a mixed message to commuters, Sullivan stressed that the city is trying just about everything to diversify its parking and traffic strategies. While UCLA professor Shoup, for one, argues against new garages and blames them for only perpetuating the car culture, Sullivan countered that limiting garages would be appropriate only if Palo Alto had a “static economy.” But with so many developments in the pipeline, Palo Alto is doing everything it can to bring solutions.

“We can’t go too far in one direction without making sure we have a balance,” Sullivan said.

“We want to attack (the parking problem) in all ways. It’s really a holistic approach. What we’re saying is that we’re not so radical that we won’t be providing any more parking. At the same time, we need to effectively manage what we already have.” Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

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Page 26 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

At Channing House, attendees of a session about the proposed Residential Parking Permit Program listen as representatives from the city and the stakeholders group explain how the system would work.

Arts & Entertainment A weekly guide to music, theater, art, culture, books and more, edited by Elizabeth Schwyzer

James Kasyan

Maureen O’Neill, left, as the doctor, Judith Ann Miller as Juliana and Mark Drumm as Ian in Dragon Theatre’s “The Other Place.”

S James Kasyan

In Dragon Theatre’s “The Other Place,” Judith Ann Miller plays Juliana, who consults a specialist (Maureen O’Neill) after suffering a mysterious “episode.”

Reality, blurred ‘The Other Place’ is deeply affecting

by Jeanie K. Smith

or understanding, and harr White’s “The THEATER REVIEW a sub-plot surrounding Other Place,” in its Laurel’s disappearance current mounting at Dragon Productions, will linger in your raises questions as to the onset and cause thoughts long after show’s end, with topi- of Juliana’s decline — but the script packs cal relevance both moving and disturb- a powerful emotional wallop. As if to ease ing. Even though it has much humor, the the pain of following Juliana’s difficult play is basically an homage: a love letter path, White liberally sprinkles the play to someone lost, resonant with memory with wit and snappy dialogue.

The action sometimes feels rushed, and melancholy.

Juliana (Judith Ann Miller), a smartly failing to reveal fully the relationship becapable and confident biophysicist turned tween Juliana and her husband, or movpharmaceutical pitch-woman, is giv- ing too quickly past her own dawning ing a presentation about the latest drug awareness. However, Miller is superb as her company is launching when she has Juliana, brilliantly portraying both her an “episode.” It’s not until later in the character’s competence and disintegra90-minute performance that we find out tion. Her ability to make lightning-quick exactly what that episode entailed, but we changes of expression is key to letting begin early on to gather that it has some- the audience in to Juliana’s inner world. thing to do with her brain. She calls it Drumm mostly keeps a cool reserve as brain cancer, but her oncologist husband, the doctor husband, but has some good Ian (Mark Drumm), sends her to see a moments when his frustration and despair specialist who gives a different diagnosis. seep through.

O’Neill does well in three different As the doctor (Maureen O’Neill) interviews a prickly and resistant Juliana, roles, although as the doctor she’s surpriswe begin to unravel the mystery of the ingly thrown off by Juliana’s orneriness. episode, learning more about Juliana’s She seems too easily shocked for somelife, her marriage, her career and her only one who has presumably dealt with many daughter, Laurel, whom she hasn’t seen such patients before. Paul Stout is fine in in a decade. The information unfolds in two minuscule roles.

As the baby boomer generation ages, short episodic scenes — flashbacks, perhaps, although we also learn not to trust our society has even more opportunity to what we see or hear as reality. Juliana deal with one of the most pernicious illseems to be a credible witness for her nesses of aging — most of us will encounstory — but her husband appears cred- ter it one way or another, if we haven’t alible, too, and his account of facts begins ready. With unerring precision and depth to poke large holes in Juliana’s version of feeling, “The Other Place” paints a vivid portrait of a woman in crisis. Q of events.

The play sharply defines a blur, a nebulous “other place” where perception can’t be trusted and the world recedes into What: “The Other Place,” by Sharr White anonymity, like a photograph gradually Where: Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway fading over time. If anyone you love has St., Redwood City contended with dementia, you may be When: Through Dec. 14, Thursday particularly moved by White’s ability to through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday capture the disorientation, frustration and at 2 p.m. anguish that go with it.

Cost: $10-$30.

There are flaws — a long scene in a forInfo: Go to dragonproductions.net or call mer home with a totally extraneous char650-493-2006, ext. 2 acter does little to advance our sympathy www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 27

Arts & Entertainment

Ron Carter and his trio From B.B. King and Miles Davis to Luther Vandross and A Tribe Called Quest, jazz musi-

Courtesy Ron Carter

Ron Carter & His Trio will perform at the JCC Dec. 4. cian Ron Carter has collaborated with some of the nation’s best musicians across generations and genres. Next Thursday, Dec. 4, the prolific American bassist comes to Palo Alto with his trio.

Of the course of his career, Carter has recorded more than 2,000 albums, starting in the 1960s with his stint as a mem-

Film ‘Paulie’

What do popcorn and parrots have in common? Not a lot, but they come together next Thursday, Dec. 4, when the Palo Alto Humane Society celebrates its

Bay Area Funk Extravaganza will play Redwood City’s Club Fox Nov. 29.

Dreamworks

Music

ber of the Miles Davis Quintet.

Through years of work with jazz greats including Eric Dolphy and Herbie Hancock and into his virtuoso solo career, Carter has been known for his fluid style and superb musicianship. Though jazz is his first musical home, his artistic collaborations have crossed over into hip hop, R&B, Latin and even classical music, while his work as a Julliard School instructor has influenced the careers of countless younger musicians.

The Ron Carter Trio will perform at the Schultz Cultural Arts Hall of the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center (3921 Fabian Way) on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $40-$70. Go to paloaltojcc.org/ carter or call 650-223-8664.

Bill Evans

Worth a Look On Dec. 4, the Palo Alto Humane Society screens “Paulie,” the 1998 film about a talking blue-crowned parakeet.

106th anniversary with a screening of “Paulie.” The feature film from 1998 stars a talking bluecrowned parakeet who tells his life story to the janitor at the animal research lab where he’s caged. Given its lessons on animal welfare and the importance of cross-species respect, “Paulie” makes the perfect choice for this night of fundraising and education. The evening also includes a screening of the short films, “It’s

a Dog’s Day,” and “Taking Care of Your Pet,” as well as a presentation by Bay Area nonprofit group Mickaboo, which specializes in the rescue of injured, abused and abandoned companion birds.

With movie ticket prices climbing annually, this night’s a steal: $10 buys you entry, free soda and all the popcorn you can eat.

The Palo Alto Humane Society screens “Paulie” at the Aquarius Theatre, 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.

To learn more, go to paloaltohumane.org or call 650-424-1901.

Event

World Wide Dance Party East Palo Alto nonprofit Live in Peace exists to support a culture of nonviolence and harmony for young people. Among its programs is a music academy through which youth come together and use their artistic gifts to transform their lives.

This Saturday, Nov. 29, Live in Peace’s music academy gets a big boost when World Wide Dance Party hosts a one-time fundraiser they’re calling Bay Area Funk Extravaganza. The benefit concert features musicians from legendary San Francisco band — and Rock and Roll Hall of Famers — Sly & The Family

Stone, as well as Oakland’s funk soul band Tower of Power. The event honors the spirit of the Bay Area counter-culture and Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. “Before Sly, very few soul and R&B groups delved into political and social commentary; after him, it became a tradition in soul, funk, and hip-hop,” explained World Wide Dance Party organizer Will Magid, a DJ and trumpeter who’s also part of the line-up.

As part of the event, music historian and U.C. Berkeley professor Rickey Vincent will play classic recordings from the era and discuss connections between music and political movements. And with 100 percent of the show’s proceeds going to Live in Peace, you can feel great about partying the night away.

Bay Area Funk Extravaganza comes to Redwood City’s Club Fox (2223 Broadway St.) on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.). Tickets are $15 presale, $20 at the door. The show is for ages 21 and up. For tickets, go to tinyurl.com/bayfunk. To learn more, go to worldwidedanceparty.com or liveinpeace.org. Q — Elizabeth Schwyzer

SEE MORE ONLINE

PaloAltoOnline.com

Watch YouTube videos of Ron Carter and “Paulie” in the online version of this story at PaloAltoOnline.com/arts.

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Eating Out Beet Cafe, a bastion of fresh Eastern European food in Palo Alto

by Elena Kadvany

Veronica Weber

Beet Cafe’s borscht is light, savory and comforting.

Unbeetable here can you find authentic pirozhki, borscht, shuba and pelmeni in Palo Alto?

In the lobby of a tech company’s office complex, of course.

I’m talking about Beet Cafe, an adorable Eastern European eatery tucked inside the lobby of the AOL building on Page Mill Road. It’s run by a Ukranian couple and is open to the public — not just AOL workers — Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

W

As the hours indicate, Beet Cafe is geared toward the workday crowd. It’s perfect for picking up a quick breakfast, lunch or coffee; even better enjoyed over a leisurely work meeting.

And as the name indicates, beets play a leading role here. They’re in salads, wraps, sandwiches, smoothies. There’s even a beet quesadilla (beets, arugula, pesto and mozzarella). Those who are beet-averse, not to worry: There are plenty of other options.

For those who do want to try a dish with the brilliant-hued root vegetable, go traditional with a bowl of borscht — a simple Ukranian soup made from beets, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion.

“It’s not a table with food if there is not borscht,” said owner Irina Khart.

Khart came to the Bay Area with her husband five years ago. As a stay-at-home mother (continued on next page)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 29

Eating Out (continued from previous page)

Veronica Weber

Jouvanca JeanǦBaptiste Thomas Shoebothamǡ Music Director Lee Actorǡ Assistant Conductor

L P l d

Li t Les Preludes Liszt Schumann Manfred Overture Sierra Beyond the Silence of Sorrow Berlioz Introduction Love Sceneǡ

“Romeo et Juliette”

*

8pm Saturday, December 6, 2014 Cubberley Theatre

* ͛ǣ͔͗ Ǧ

4000 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto, CA

www.paphil.org

Tickets:

$22/$18/$10

(general / senior / student)

at the door or online

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#ImagineatStanford artsinstitute.stanford.edu/UNIVERSE Page 30 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Veronica Weber

The special menu at Beet Cafe features traditional Eastern European dishes including “golubsty”: cabbage rolls stuffed with ground turkey, rice and vegetables, and steamed in tomato sauce.

in Ukraine, she often cooked, and longed to pursue her “big dream” of opening a restaurant.

They snagged the AOL spot after Ground Up, a coffee shop, shuttered last year.

Beet Cafe’s borscht has a rich pink color and comes with chunks of potato and shredded beet. It’s savory and comforting, but very light and not at all overwhelming. (Khart said they make it with vegetable instead of the traditional pork broth for more veggie-leaning Americans.)

A small bowl goes for $3.99 and a large for $4.99.

The shawarma wrap ($7.99), which can come with chicken or without, is enormous, fresh and delicious. Choose a spinach, tomato or whole-wheat wrap, which will then be stuffed to the gills with cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, red onions and a tangy yogurt sauce. You can opt to add quinoa, garbanzos or beet, and I recommend all of the above.

All the ingredients are perfectly proportioned (who doesn’t hate when wraps or burritos have too much rice, or not enough of one ingredient?), and each bite is a balanced delight of flavors.

On a first visit, I went vegetarian with the wrap; on a second visit, I tried to again, but the woman taking my order must have mis-

Beet Cafe is located on the ground level of AOL on Page Mill Road, but is open to the general public. heard me, and chicken was added.

It was a delicious mistake. The chicken is juicy, moist, warm and adds some extra protein.

By the way — this wrap is huge. It’s well suited to splitting with a friend, or taking half home to eat later.

Other sandwiches (most of which can also be ordered in wrap form) range from basic turkey, chicken salad or salami to homemade meatballs, smoked salmon or tuna apple salad (tuna, apple, celery, red onions, mayo). All

hover around $7 or $8. Don’t miss the beet sandwich: beets, arugula, goat cheese, cranberries and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

The baby kale and beet salad ($7.65) was generously topped with beets, Brussels sprouts, red and green cabbage, avocado, pomegranate, walnuts and a hardboiled egg. Feta cheese was served on the side. The menu advertises a lemon and olive oil dressing, though we received none. The salad came in a plastic to-go box, though we enjoyed it on an outside

Eating Out Beet Cafe 395 Page Mill Road Palo Alto 415-694-2347 beetcafe.net Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

by Daryl Savage

TIME WARP AT HOUSE OF FOAM ... In the land of startups and cutting-edge high tech firms, there is one business that hasn’t changed in decades. House of Foam, 150 Hamilton Ave., is a throwback to a simpler time. “I know this is unusual to say, but nothing has really changed here since the 1950s. It’s just foam.

That’s all I have,” said House of Foam owner Bob Tallman, who has no employees, “except for my sister.

She comes in once a week.” The store in downtown Palo Alto is decidedly untrendy. No frills, no flourishes, just practicality. The unassuming and affable Tallman, dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt works out of an aging wooden desk in the back of his shop. “I bought this desk in 1980,” he said. On the desk is a small fan and a large, out-

dated calculator. “That calculator has got to be at least 30 years old,” he said. “I don’t get rid of it because it’s still hanging in there.” Further back in the 1,800-square-foot space is Tallman’s work area. On the walls are racks of dozens of old baby food jars filled with nails and screws.

“These are from the 1950s, from the original owner,” he explained.

Tallman does not advertise. “I think the last time I placed an ad, it was in the Yellow Pages. That was eight years ago,” he said. “My customers hear about me from word-of-mouth.

They are just regular people off the street who want to recover their dining room chairs or get their sofa cushions restuffed. People also bring in their guitars, rifles, cameras, anything that needs to be packed. I do custom cases for them,” he said.

INHABITURE TO CLOSE ... The ecofriendly furniture store with an eye toward local vendors, Inhabiture, 248 Hamilton Ave., is scheduled to close this month after opening just over

two years ago. Observers may have been able to predict the closing. In September, the store announced its anniversary sale, with merchandise at 25 percent off. Then in October came the moving sale at 40 percent off, and this month was the final sale at 50 percent off. While the employees say the store is moving, no one was able to say exactly where or when the move would take place; only that the store was closing at the end of November. But an industry source who preferred not to be identified said that Inhabiture was simply another occupant of the corner space at Hamilton Avenue and Ramona Street that has come and gone over the years.

“Inhabiture is just the latest,” said the source. “This space should be a desirable location for retailers — a busy corner in the middle of downtown — but for some reason, nothing seems to last there.”

Heard a rumor about your favorite store or business moving out, or in, down the block or across town? Daryl Savage will check it out. Email shoptalk@ paweekly.com.

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Dancer: Erica Felsch

patio. If you’re not taking a rushed lunch to go, you might want to indicate that when placing your order. (But if you are, take advantage of their online ordering.)

A “special menu” has more traditional Eastern European items: golubsty (cabbage rolls stuffed with turkey, rice and vegetables and then steamed in tomato sauce), shuba (herring salad, usually layered with chopped pickled herring, eggs, beets, carrots, potatoes and dressing), pelmeni (Russian stuffed dumplings) and vareniki (Russian potato dumplings).

There are also pirozhki: small savory pocket pies filled with some variation of meat, cheese, egg, rice, vegetables ($2.75 each).

These menu items attract many Russian and Ukranian customers who live in this area, Khart said. Part of her “big dream” is to open a large, Ikea-like grab-andgo restaurant with more Ukranian food.

Beet Cafe brews up Vertigo Coffee, making all the usual options, plus the more unusual Turkish coffee, which is made by boiling finely ground, roasted coffee beans in a pot with sugar.

It’s served in a small cup that allows the grounds to settle at the bottom.

The smoothies are also excellent. Go healthy with the kalebanana (made with your choice of milk and flax seeds; I also added peanut butter) or sweet with the strawberry oatmeal breakfast smoothie (soy milk, rolled oats, bananas, strawberries and sugar).

All are $4.60, but additions or ingredient swaps will cost you extra.

The perk of being off the beaten path inside an office building, at least for the customers: There’s hardly ever a wait. You’ll find Beet Cafe on the first floor of AOL, in between AOL’s reception and First Floor Labs, a company that provides free office space to fledgling startups and entrepreneurs.

There are a few small tables inside, as well as a large, wooden communal table (on which you’ll always find complimentary chips with homemade salsa) and some tables outside. It’s quiet and low-key.

Everything at Beet Cafe is clearly made with care, and can’t be found anywhere else in the area. That’s the definition of a hidden gem. Q

ShopTalk

Almost as an afterthought, Tallman added, “Oh yeah, there’s also NASA. They call whenever they need foam.

They used our foam on the space shuttles. I remember looking up in the sky when the shuttle did its last fly-by and I knew it was my foam on board. That made me proud.”

Tallman took over House of Foam in the 1970s. “A friend of my dad’s owned the place. He was selling so I decided to buy it,” Tallman recalled.

Regarding any competition: “There used to be other places around here that sold foam, but they all quit after Katrina hit. Since foam materials are petroleum-based, prices escalated as much as 200 percent after that.

Fortunately, I have a fantastic landlord who keeps this place affordable for me.” Tallman, who is 64 years old and a Redwood City resident, says he has no plans to retire. “I’ll go out of here feet first, toes up, and with a smile on my face,” he said.

– San Francisco Chronicle

“High-energy, wonderful, highly-entertaining!”

– Daily News

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 31

Scott Garfield/Fair Hill

In “Foxcatcher,” Channing Tatum, left, and Mark Ruffalo, right, play brothers and Olympic gold medal-winning wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz.

OPENINGS

Crazy like a fox Steve Carell plays real-life madman in ‘Foxcatcher’ 0001/2 (Aquarius) by money to run rampant.

Adapted by screenwriters E. Max Frye (“Something Wild”) and Dan Futterman for direc-

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Page 32 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

and druggy demeanor to disappear into his role, one that establishes he’s capable of surprising new dimensions. Tatum, too, impresses, leading with his jaw and subtly tracing the emotional journey of sullen hulk Schultz, while Ruffalo matches him with typically keen, truthfully understated work. Along with “Whiplash” (also released by Sony Pictures Classics), “Foxcatcher” tops the year’s films for detailed inhabitation of dysfunctional psychological dynamics.

Miller’s austere aesthetic, natural-lighting scheme and long takes together build a realistic

tension that allows the story to creep up on the audience. And the development of the film’s themes — the corrupting possibilities of money, the value of championship (and the cost of achieving it) and the gulf that can form between “winning” and happiness — proves both understated and canny. These themes may not be uniquely American, but played out in the shadow of Valley Forge, they certainly seem that way.

Rated R for some drug use and a scene of violence. Two hours, 14 minutes.

— Peter Canavese

DreamWorks Animation

From the stranger-than-fiction department comes the true-crime story “Foxcatcher,” a disturbing meditation on madness enabled

tor Bennett Miller (the latter two respectively an Oscar winner and nominee for “Capote”), “Foxcatcher” quietly but firmly interprets the disturbing story of millionaire John du Pont through bifocal lenses of American dreaming and the sexual fantasies made accessible by wealth.

The film’s early scenes, set in 1987, establish Olympic gold medalist Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) as a lonely, lost soul with an inferiority complex, feeling always in the shadow of his brother and fellow gold medalist Dave (Mark Ruffalo). When eccentric chemical corporation heir du Pont comes calling on Mark, massaging his ego (“You’re more than Dave Schultz’s little brother ... it’s your time now”) and offering monetary and moral support for upcoming World Championship and Olympic bids, Mark gets past his uneasiness. Though failing to convince his brother to do the same, Mark resettles on du Pont’s Foxcatcher Farm in Delaware, to train and anchor “Team Foxcatcher.”

What then unfolds seems simultaneously inevitable and unpredictable, as du Pont’s erratic behavior gradually reveals that he is not so much odd as dangerously unhinged. Du Pont wraps himself in the flag, but his goals are purely self-serving: to win the respect of his decaying, disapproving mother (Vanessa Redgrave) and his “stable” of brawny boy toys.

The influence of “Mother” and du Pont’s ornithological hobby unmistakeably evoke “Psycho” and its similarly sexually ambiguous madman.

Miller is careful to keep the homoeroticism a palpable but implicit threat. While stopping shy of spelling out unambiguous advances or assaults, the director and his actors accumulate details that paint du Pont as a sexual predator who arranges opportunity and takes every advantage he can, and Schultz, eventually, as an emotionally shut-down victim of abuse. (Miller also questionably elides du Pont’s ultimate diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.)

As du Pont, Steve Carell employs a fake nose, unsettlingly flat affect, weirdly cadaverous face

“Penguins of Madagascar” employs some witty wordplay, but suffers from a lack of plot and purpose.

Black and white and ... all over Waddlers test their cuteness in ‘Penguins of Madagascar’ 00 (Century 16, Century 20) “Comic relief” isn’t quite the phrase for the quartet of penguins in the “Madagascar” franchise, though the words capture the characters’ absolute buffoonery.

Now thrust into the spotlight in “Penguins of Madagascar,” the aquatic birds prove that they’re better in small doses.

Three-time “Madagascar” director Tom McGrath returns for a fourth go-around, this time with co-director Simon J. Smith (“Bee Movie”). Certainly one cannot fault the results with a lack of energy or action. “Penguins of Madagascar” has these qualities in abundance and beyond, in what feels like a desperate attempt to mask its thin, familiar storyline and lack of thematic or emotional depth. Compensation comes in the form of willful, merry senselessness and sometimes charming verbal and visual wit.

The plot, such as it is, concerns the penguin adventurers getting themselves into jam after jam, most of which have to do with a campaign to thwart evil octopus

mastermind Dr. Octavius Brine, a.k.a. Dave (John Malkovich).

Brash, reckless leader Skipper (Tom McGrath, working a mocksuave voice), “brains of the operation” Kowalski (Chris Miller), “demolition expert” Rico (Conrad Vernon) and “cute and cuddly” rookie Private (Christopher Knights) make a good if haphazard team, but Private longs to be viewed as “a meaningful and valued member” rather than a probie.

Dave’s plot to take over the world is motivated by his jealousy of penguin popularity, but none of this coalesces enough to make “Penguins of Madagascar” truly about anything, despite feints at making a statement about appearances not mattering. What the DreamWorks Animation picture is really about is attempting a stealth remake of “The Incredibles” with a dash of “Monsters vs.

Aliens.”

Though disappointingly rote in many ways, “Penguins of Mada(continued on page 34)

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 33

Movies

Openings (continued from page 32)

gascar” will probably divert kids with ease, given its manic exertion and pace. As for their adult minders, the picture is more likely to narcotize them into holiday naps with its exhaustingly flashy CGI detail. Perhaps this is the natural order of things for tired parents seeking a break. But as Skipper says, “You know what? I reject nature! Who’s with me?”

Rated PG for mild action and some rude humor. One hour, 32 minutes.

— Peter Canavese The following is a sampling of movies recently reviewed in the Weekly: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1 001/2 Breakout star Jennifer Lawrence aside, it seems we love “The Hunger Games” because it caters to the suspicion that the have-it-alls have fixed the odds to be ever in their favor. And so mallgoers flock to slum it in Panem, the dystopian postapocalyptic nation marked by its minimal bread and annual fight-to-the-death reality TV competitions called “the Hunger Games.” Having survived two bouts in the arena, Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) finds herself ensconced within the rebel faction poised to wage war on the Capitol, a city of excesses lorded over by Donald Sutherland’s serpentine President Snow. “She’s the face of the revolution!” enthuses former Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee (the late, great

Philip Seymour Hoffman) to rebel leader Alma Coin (Julianne Moore). But convincing Katniss to play along with his propaganda campaign will require addressing her chief concern: the recovery of beloved Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) from the Capitol’s clutches. There’s another man in Katniss’ life: hunky bestie Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), who spends this sequel mooning — and occasionally shooting — by Katniss’ side.

Also in Katniss’ rebel-base orbit: fellow Games escapee Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin), now-sober alcoholic mentor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), displaced Capitol fashion plate Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), tech whiz Beetee Latier (Jeffrey Wright) and Katniss’ sister (and soul) Primrose (Willow Shields). Director Francis Lawrence (also of “Catching Fire”) plays out these chapters on a grand scale, but most of the picture is dire talk seen through dim light, dull color and just-so hazes. Little of consequence happens, as most of the key incident is back-loaded into next year’s “Part 2.”

“Mockingjay” noodles on the franchise’s key themes of the burdens of leadership and celebrity, and the manipulation of a population through distraction and propaganda. But even on these points, the film isn’t much more than skin deep. No doubt the gamesmanship will step up ... after a long year’s wait. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material. Two hours, 3 minutes.

— P.C. (Reviewed Nov. 21, 2014) Rosewater 000 Might Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” become the next George Clooney, director of liberal-minded political films?

By the evidence of “Rosewater,” the answer is yes. “Rosewater” derives from a true story close to home for Stewart. When Iranian-Canadian journalist

Maziar Bahari flew to Iran to cover the 2009 election (and subsequent violent protests sparked by suspicion of fraud), he also gave some interviews, including a satirical sit-down with “Daily Show” correspondent Jason Jones. Soon thereafter, Bahari was hauled into prison and locked away in solitary confinement, broken up only by interrogations and psychological and physical punishments. Using the book “Then They Came for Me” by Bahari and Aimee Molloy as a model, Stewart makes comprehensible the contemporary political situation in Iran, its historical context and the personal history that

weighs on Bahari (his father and sister were persecuted during the reign of the Shah and the Ayatollah Khomeini, respectively). Stewart can be knocked for compromises, including casting Mexican actor Gael GarcÌa Bernal as Bahari and having characters speak accented English, but these choices actually work in the film’s favor. Bernal gives a typically charismatic turn, and the dearth of subtitling makes the film more accessible.

The Kafkaesque opening sequence depicting Bahari’s arrest gives way to local-color political journalism and eventually to the 118-day confinement in Evin Prison, including blindfolded sessions

All showtimes are for Friday – Sunday only unless otherwise noted. For reviews and trailers, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies.

Movie times are subject to change. Call theaters for the latest.

Big Hero 6 (PG) Century 16: 9, 10:15 & 11:40 a.m., 2:25, 5:05, 6:30, 7:50, 9:10 & 10:30 p.m. Fri & Sat 1 & 3:45 p.m.

Century 20: 10:40 a.m., 1:25, 4:15, 7:10 & 9:50 p.m. In 3-D at 11:55 a.m., 2:45, 5:25, 8:05 & 10:45 p.m.

Horrible Bosses 2 (R) Century 16: 9:05, 10:20 & 11:45 a.m., 1:05, 2:30, 3:50, 5:15, 6:40, 8, 9:30 & 10:45 p.m. Fri & Sat 11:30 p.m. & 12:10 a.m. Century 20: 10:35 & 11:50 a.m., 1:15, 2:30, 3:55, 5:10, 6:40, 7:55, 9:25 & 10:40 p.m.

Birdman (R) +++ Century 16: 10:40 a.m., 1:40, 4:55, 7:45 & 10:40 p.m. Century 20: 10:50 a.m., 4:55 & 10:15 p.m.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 16: 9:15, 10:05, 10:55 & 11:35 a.m., 12:20, 1:10, 2, 2:50, 3:30, 4:20, 5:10, 5:55, 6:35, 7:25, 8:15, 9:05, 9:45 7 10:35 p.m. Fri & Sat 11:15 & 12:01 a.m. Century 20: 10, 11 & 11:30 a.m., noon, 12:30, 12:55, 2, 2:25, 3, 3:30, 4, 5, 5:35, 6, 6:25, 6:55, 8, 8:30, 9, 9:30 & 10 p.m. In X-D at 10:30 a.m., 1:30, 4:30, 7:30 & 10:30 p.m.

Christmas in July (1940) (Not Rated) Stanford Theatre: 6:10 & 9:25 p.m.

Citizenfour (R) +++1/2 Guild Theatre: 1:30, 4:15, 7:05 & 9:45 p.m.

Dr. Cabbie (Not Rated) Century 16: 9:05 & 11:35 a.m., 2:10, 4:45, 7:20 & 9:55 p.m. Fri & Sat 11:50 p.m.

Century 20: 11:40 a.m., 2:20, 4:50, 7:20 & 9:45 p.m.

Dumb and Dumber To (PG-13) Century 16: 9 & 11:40 a.m., 2:20, 5, 7:40 & 10:20 p.m.

Century 20: 11:45 a.m., 2:35, 5:15, 7:55 & 10:40 p.m.

Foxcatcher (R) Aquarius Theatre: 12:45, 3:45, 4:30, 7:05, 9:50 & 10:20 p.m.

Fury (R) +++

Century 20: 10:20 a.m., 4:10 & 10 p.m.

Century 20: 12:20, 3:45, 7:05 & 10:20 p.m.

Holiday Inn (1942) (Not Rated) Stanford Theatre: 7:30 p.m., Sat & Sun 4:15 p.m.

The Homesman (R)

(HIGHEST RATING)

“A MESMERIZING MASTERWORK.

ONE OF THE YEAR’S VERY BEST FILMS. STEVE CARELL, CHANNING TATUM AND MARK RUFFALO GIVE THE PERFORMANCES OF THEIR LIVES. BENNETT MILLER HITS A NEW PEAK. A UNIQUE AND UNFORGETTABLE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER THAT KNOCKS THE GROUND OUT FROM UNDER YOU.”

MOVIE REVIEWERS P.C. – Peter Canavese, T.H. – Tyler Hanley, S.T. – Susan Tavernetti

MOVIE TIMES

Gone Girl (R) ++1/2

++++

with a rosewater-scented interrogator (Kim Bodnia). Stewart can be a bit overstated, but he also wittily tunes in to the absurdity of Bahari’s situation and makes potent use of intense close-ups.

Above all, media icon Stewart shows his deep belief in the almost holy power of media to bolster political change. Rated R for language including some crude references, and violent content. One hour, 43 minutes. — P.C. (Reviewed Nov. 14, 2014)

Aquarius Theatre: 1:30 & 7:20 p.m.

Interstellar (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 16: 9:55 & 11:55 a.m., 1:50, 4, 5:40, 7:50 & 9:50 p.m. Century 20: 10:45 a.m., 2:50, 6:30 & 10:05 p.m.

The Penguins of Madagascar (PG) Century 16: 10 & 10:50 a.m., 12:30, 3, 3:50, 5:30, 6:20, 8 & 10:25 p.m. In 3-D at 9:10 & 11:40 a.m., 1:20, 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 8:50 & 9:40 p.m. Century 20: 9:40 & 10:25 a.m., 12:05, 1, 2:40, 3:35, 5:15, 6:10, 7, 8:45 & 10:25 p.m. In 3-D at 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:25, 7:50 & 9:35 p.m.

The Polar Express (2004) (G) Century 16: Sun 2 p.m. Century 20: Sun 2 p.m.

Rosewater (R) +++

Century 20: 1:25 & 7:25 p.m.

St. Vincent (PG-13)

Century 20: 1:40 & 7:45 p.m.

The Theory of Everything (PG-13) ++ Century 20: 10:55 a.m., 1:50, 4:45, 7:40 & 10:35 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1, 2:30, 4, 5:30, 7 & 8:30 p.m., Fri & Sat 10 p.m.

+ Skip it ++ Some redeeming qualities +++ A good bet ++++ Outstanding

Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260)

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

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

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

Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264) CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-0128)

Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies ON THE WEB: Up-to-date movie listings at PaloAltoOnline.com

-Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER

BEST DIRECTOR CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF

“M O N E Y B A L L” A N D “C A P O T E” STEVE

CARELL

CHANNING

TATUM

MARK

RUFFALO

FOXCATCHER W RITTE N BY E. MAX FRYE AND DAN FUTTERMAN DIRE CTE D BY BENNETT MILLER WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM

NOW PLAYING

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.FOXCATCHERMOVIE.COM

Page 34 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Robert Frank, Detroit, 1955. Gelatin silver print. Gift of Raymond B. Gary. © Robert Frank. Courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery

WINNER

B E S T D I R E C TO R

ROBERT FRANK IN AMERICA September 10–January 5 This groundbreaking exhibition of photographs by Robert Frank sheds new light on his legendary work in 1950s America.

CANTOR ARTS CENTER AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY 328 LOMITA DRIVE STANFORD, CA 94305 0 8 6 ( 8 0 6 7 $ 1 ) 2 5 ' ( ' 8 ;I KVEXIJYPP] EGORS[PIHKI WYTTSVX SJ XLI I\LMFMXMSR ERH MXW EGGSQTER]MRK GEXEPSKYI JVSQßXLI 'PYQIGO *YRH XLIß)PM^EFIXL 7[MRHIPPW ,YPWI] 7TIGMEP )\LMFMXMSRW *YRH XLI ,SLFEGL *EQMP] *YRH ERHßXLIß1EVO ERH &IXW] +EXIW *YRH JSV 4LSXSKVETL]

WRESTLER’S TRAGEDY ... Billed as “the story that inspired a motion picture,” “Foxcatcher” (Dutton, Penguin Group) tells the story of wrestler Dave Schultz’s quest for Olympic gold — and his eventual murder. Written by Palo Alto High School grad Mark Schultz (with David Thomas), the story hits the big screens this weekend. The Schultz brothers, both Olympic gold-medal winners in wrestling, were at the peak of their athletic careers when Mark was shot by John du Pont in 1996.

Title Pages A monthly section on local books and authors

Greta Rybus/Courtesy Harper Collins

Book Talk

BOOK LAUNCH ... Donald McPhail, Paly class of ’58 and a Mountain View resident, has written “The Millionaires Cruise,” a work of historical fiction based on the 1929 cruise of the SS Malolo.

The luxury ship carried 325 millionaires, just 30 days before the stock-market crash. Proceeds from book sales will go to the Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma.

The indie publication is available at Kepler’s and Books Inc. EMBRACE HUMILITY ... Peninsula Arts & Letters will present An Evening with Tim Shriver: Discovering What Matters Most on Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park.

The son of Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, founders of the Special Olympics, Shriver is chairman of the Special Olympics and will be contributing proceeds from the book, “Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most,” to the Special Olympics. Tickets are $10-$30, available at brownpapertickets. com/event/876197.

IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS ...

Palo Alto author Caryn Yacowitz has written a Hanukkah book with a twist. “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dreidel,” illustrated

by David Slonim and published

by Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic, is a parody of a folk song, designated for ages 3 to 8. The author will be doing multimedia presentations at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, at 11 a.m. on Dec. 6; at The Reading Bug, 785 Laurel St., San Carlos, at 11 a.m. on Dec. 7; and at Linden Tree Books, 265 State St., Los Altos, at 2 p.m. on Dec. 7.

Info: carynyacowitz.com BOOK SIGNING ... Los Gatos author Tiffany Papageorge will be signing the Mom’s Choice “Gold” winner, “My Yellow Balloon” (Minoan Moon Publishing; illustrated by Erwin Madrid), on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. at Linden Tree Books, 265 State St., Los Altos. The children’s book deals with the loss resulting from a move, divorce or death. Info: myyellowballoon.com Q

Items for Book Talk may be sent to Associate Editor Carol Blitzer, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 93202 or emailed to cblitzer@ paweekly.com.

Richard Ford

W

ith “The Lay of the Land” in 2006, Richard Ford led his readers to believe that they’d seen the last of Frank Bascombe, the failed novelist and reasonably successful real estate agent from New Jersey, whose tribulations had begun in “The Sportswriter” and continued in the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Independence Day.” But in the wake of his 2012 stand-alone novel “Canada,” Ford has resurrected his signature creation for at least one more go-around. Rather than a novel in its own right, “Let Me Be Frank With You” is a collection of four linked novellas, all set in New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, that put Frank on collision courses with people he didn’t really expect to see again.

On Friday, Dec. 5, Ford will appear at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park.

Over the phone at the start of a two-month, 15-stop book tour, the author was forthright about why he chose to structure this book as he did.

“I didn’t have the licks, the chops, the heft in my novelistic musculature to mount a big novel,” he said. “I mean, I could make up some bull---- reason to tell you, but the truth is that I was affected strongly by Hurricane Sandy. I was riding back from the Jersey Shore with my wife and I started generating these lines in my brain, which is sort of how things come to me. I was just finished writing ‘Canada’ and I thought, ‘Oh my God. I just don’t have it in me to write another long novel.’”

He did, however, think he could cover the same ground in a more convenient way by writing novellas. “To make the stories separate, rather than trying to invent some architecture to encapsulate them all, was very appealing to me,”

Richard Ford resurrects his signature character in the wake of Hurricane Sandy

by Michael Berry

Ford said.

It also made sense to bring back his best-known character as the new volume’s protagonist. During signings, Ford had met an unusual number of readers who said to him, “Won’t you please write one more book about Frank Bascombe?”

“That’s not a real reason to write a book: because somebody asks you to,” he said. “But it was not immaterial to my feeling that there would be a readership for the book.”

The previous Bascombe books were each set around a holiday (Easter, July Fourth and Thanksgiving), and “Let Me Be Frank With You” continues the tradition. The first novella, “I’m Here,” opens a few days before Christmas 2012. Although Frank’s home in the fictional suburb of Haddam, New Jersey remains unscathed by Sandy, many of his neighbors have been left with nothing more than empty lots on which they must still pay property taxes.

Each of the following novellas brings Frank closer to the reluctant contemplation of his own mortality. “Everything Could Be Worse” finds him visited by one of his home’s former residents,

who reveals to him the property’s unsuspected history of violence.

In “The New Normal,” Frank runs an errand for Ann, the exwife with whom he has established a kind of bristly detente and who is now being treated for Parkinson’s disease. The final novella, “Deaths of Others,” puts Frank face-to-face with a dying acquaintance who now wants to impart one bit of unwelcome news before it’s too late.

In synopsis, the novellas in this collection might sound dour and depressing, but they play out as anything but. Ford is able to construct extended scenes that address the big issues — family, marriage, money, race, death — in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking. A Mississippian now residing in coastal Maine, Ford still has a magpie’s eye for the shiny, telling details about New Jersey.

“New Jersey is a place I have a real affinity for,” he said. “Even though I don’t live there, I still sort of spend a lot of my (mental) time every day there. There’s certain ways I take an assay of the human condition that really require me to be writing about New Jersey.”

Although “Let Me Be Frank

with You” contains call-backs to the previous volumes in the sequence, readers new to Ford’s fiction will have no trouble slipping into its assured rhythms. The first-person, present-tense narration — rife with acerbic asides, literary name-dropping and bittersweet observations about time and its passing — instantly grabs hold of the attention and imagination.

Ford said that he had assumed this new collection would be Frank’s swan song, but a conversation with a reader in Washington, D.C. opened another possibility.

Ford recounted, “[The reader] said to me, ‘What you need to do, Ford, is to get Frank close to death.’ I said, ‘It’s a first-person narration. How do I do that? I can’t have him die and have it be Sunset Boulevard.’ He said, ‘You need to write the last Frank Bascombe story and set it at Valentine’s Day.’ And I thought, ‘Well, goddamn, that’s not a half-bad idea.’”

Whether or not that idea comes to fruition, in the meantime, “Let Me Be Frank with You” delivers what it promises: a quartet of fresh, though brief, glimpses of a beloved character. There are no outsized revelations, only small, smart realizations of the pain, absurdity and tenderness of contemporary life in the U.S., after the tide has come crashing in. Q Freelance writer Michael Berry can be emailed at mikeberry@mindspring.com.

What: Author Richard Ford in conversation with Rachel Smith Where: Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park When: Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free Info: Go to tinyurl.com/p9wrwuv or call 650-324-4321.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 35

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Holiday

cheer Concerts and gatherings to make spirits bright

by Elizabeth Schwyzer s temperatures drop, the days grow shorter and the nights longer, it’s harder to rely on sunshine for warmth and light. Instead, it’s the time of year for drawing together to generate our own brilliance.

There’s no better way to celebrate the season than by gathering to enjoy live music, dance and theater: our most radiant expressions of what it means to be human.

This holiday season, Midpeninsula communities offer up a bounty of performing-arts events to warm hearts and make spirits bright.

Read on for some of the best and most beloved shows on the calendar, and get ready for some joyous celebrations.

A

Pacific Ballet Academy’s ‘Nutcracker’ Now in its 24th year, the Pacific Ballet Academy’s “Nutcracker” is an annual holiday favorite. Students of all ages and levels rehearse for months to prepare for the performance. The huge cast this year features special guests Tom Means and John Inks — both former mayors of Mountain View — as well as professional soloists.

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: Friday, Nov. 28-Saturday, Nov. 29, at 1 and 6 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 30, at 12:30 and 4 p.m.

Cost: $26-$30 Info: Go to mvcpa.com or call 650-903-6000.

Smuin Ballet dancers Susan Roemer and Aaron Thayer in Robert Sund’s “Winter Weather.”

TheatreWorks’ ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’ Billed as a “whimsical, swashbuckling prequel to Peter Pan,” this musical production is based on the best-selling novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. On the high seas, the young heroes and heroines encounter pirates, shipwrecks, mermaids and magic. You might even find out how Peter Pan learned to fly.

Where: Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

On the cover: Smuin Ballet’s Rachel Furst leaps in celebration in “Uncorked: The Christmas Ballet.” Photo by David Allen.

David Allen

Page 36 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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based on the beloved children’s book by Lemony Snicket. The show stars Pacific Youth Theatre’s teen actors, who will stay after the performance for an audience talk-back.

When: Wednesday, Dec. 3-Saturday, Jan. 3; Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays, at 8 p.m., Saturdays, at 2 and 8 p.m. and Sundays, at 2 and 7 p.m., with a special holiday schedule Dec. 22-28.

Cost: $19-$74 Info: Go to theatreworks.org or call 650-463-1960.

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: Friday, Dec. 12, at 9:30 and 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 13, at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Cost: $10-$12 Info: Go to mvcpa.com or call 650-903-6000.

Western Ballet’s ‘Nutcracker’ Under the artistic direction of former San Francisco Ballet soloist Alexi Zubiria, Western Ballet offers up a classical rendition of this Christmas favorite. Rumor has it the youngest audience members will spend intermission doing their best Sugar Plum Fairy impressions in the lobby. Each performance is followed by a sweet tea reception.

Founded in 1966, this 50-voice female choir has toured internationally and brought challenging choral music to area audiences for nearly half a century. Their “Portal to the Season” features the hauntingly beautiful “Nigra Sum” by Catalan composer Pablo Casals and the tightly woven harmonies of Joshua Himes’ “There is no Rose.” A sing-along follows the Dec. 13 performance.

Where: Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto, and Valley Presbyterian Church, 945 Portola Road, Portola Valley When: Saturdays, Dec. 6 and 13, at 2:30 p.m. in Palo Alto; Sunday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. in Portola Valley Cost: $10-$30 Info: Go to pwchorus.org.

‘Sing and Play the Bing’ For those who can’t get enough of the Women’s Chorus, there’s another chance to catch them at this free event on the Stanford campus. Now in its third year, “Sing and Play the Bing” celebrates the cultural diversity of the Silicon Valley. The 2014 lineup showcases the choir alongside San Jose’s Chinese Performing Arts of America and members of Tezkatlipoka Aztec Dance and Drum.

Where: Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford When: Saturday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m.

Cost: Free; tickets available at the door Info: Go to live.stanford.edu or call 650-724-2464.

Palo Alto Art Center’s Holiday Family Day Children age 5 and up, along with their families, are invited to this afternoon of holiday-themed art-making and creative activities. Participants young and not

Kevin Berne

so young will also have a chance to interact with Art Center artists-in-residence as they prepare for their January exhibition.

Where: Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road When: Sunday, Dec. 7, 2-4 p.m.

Cost: Free Info: Go to tinyurl.com/lh7vo4x or call 650-329-2366.

Ragazzi Boys Chorus’ ‘Wintersong’ From Edward Elgar’s “The Snow” to Disney’s “Frozen,” the Ragazzi Boys Chorus brings songs old and new to this vocal celebration of winter. The family-friendly concert features more than 100 boys and young men age 7 to 18. “Wintersong” opens with a meditative rendition of “Alleluia” and closes with a rousing sing-along of traditional Christmas carols including “Silent Night” and “Away in a Manger.”

Where: Messiah Lutheran Church, 1835 Valota Road, Redwood City When: Sunday, Dec. 7, at 5 p.m.

Cost: $10-$30 Info: Go to ragazzi.org or call 650-342-8785.

Schola Cantorum’s ‘Joyeux Nöel’ and Messiah Sing-Along Francophiles will flock to this classical choir’s French twist on the holidays. Schola Cantorum’s “Joyeux Nöel” features MarcAntoine Charpentier’s “Midnight Mass for Christmas,” as well as popular carols with a French flavor. The choir of 90 voices will be accompanied by a live orchestra: the Sinfonia Schola Cantorum.

One week later, the group will present its annual Messiah SingAlong.

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: Joyeux Nöel: Sunday, Dec. 7, at 3 p.m.; Messiah Sing-Along: Monday, Dec. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $18-$30 Info: Go to mvcpa.com or call 650-903-6000.

begins with traditional toe shoes and tutus, then lets down its hair with a post-intermission collection of fresh, playful works that capture the holiday spirit.

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: Wednesday, Dec. 10-Sunday, Dec. 14; Wednesday-Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.

Cost: $23-$71 Info: Go to mvcpa.com or call 650-903-6000.

Pacific Youth Theatre’s ‘The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming’ What is a latke, and why is it screaming? These questions and many more will be answered in this world premiere production,

Dance Connection Palo Alto, along with the studio’s youth ensemble, presents its 16th annual “Nutcracker.” Ballet dancers age 7 and up audition to take part in the holiday production, which will have four performances danced by two separate casts.

This year, Kennedy Herron and Kim Li share the role of Clara, with Julian Moran and Josh Wilson as the Nutcracker Prince.

Where: Spangenberg Theatre, Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto When: Friday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 13, at 2 and 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3 p.m.

Cost: $15-$27 Info: Go to tickets.shovation.com.

Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra’s ‘Holiday Extravaganza’ The Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra, along with Pacific Ballet Theatre, presents a concert of favorite holiday music, including excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” and Handel’s “Messiah,” featuring soprano soloist Shawnette (continued on page 39)

Smuin Ballet’s ‘Uncorked: The Christmas Ballet’ Whether you like your ballet classical or contemporary, Smuin’s “Uncorked” promises to please every palette. The show

Polymer Clay Pin by Dotty Calabrese

Peninsula Women’s Chorus’ ‘Portal to the Season’

Adrienne Walters as Molly and Tim Homsley as Peter in TheatreWorks’ production of “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Courtesy Palo Alto Art Center

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: Friday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 6, at 1 and 7 p.m.

Cost: $25-$30 Info: Go to mvcpa.com or call 650-903-6000.

Dance Connection’s ‘Nutcracker’

Palo Alto Art Center’s Holiday Family Day

Fine Crafts X HOLIDAY FAIR X Local Artists December 5, 6, 7, 2014 Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10-5 Hoover House (aka “The Girl Scout House”) 1120 Hopkins, Palo Alto for information 650-625-1736 or TheArtifactory@aol.com www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 37

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With a little help ...

Holiday helpers take the stress out of entertaining

H A P P Y

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Cannot be combined with other offers. One coupon per customer. Expires 12/20/2014.

Page 38 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

by Karla Kane hestnuts roasting, sleigh bells ringing, halls decked, etc. Boasting delicious foods, festive music, reunions of families and friends, and general merriment, holiday parties are full of fun. But they can also be a source of stress, especially for hosts trying to balance event planning, cooking and cleaning with having a good time.

Luckily, much like Santa’s elves, some locals offer their services as holiday-party helpers, stepping in to manage much of the planning and execution of parties so their hosts can actually enjoy their events and guests.

Tonja Parsons, a Mountain View resident, has been working in “personal-party service,” as she calls it, for around 12 years.

She and others in her field do everything from arranging venues to tending bar, to preparing and serving food, and cleaning up at events all over the Peninsula. Parsons charges $30 per hour for her services (four hours minimum per event), but costs may vary.

Parsons now has a full-time job at an estate in Atherton but will still help out longtime freelance clients around the holidays. She said it’s typical that helpers will have a day job (or are in school) and work a

C

catering job around that schedule.

“It’s good, hard work and most of the time fun and fulfilling,” she said.

Parsons got into the business by working with Just Us Catering in Menlo Park. The flexible nature of the work suited her lifestyle and family needs.

“I was ready to go back to work when my youngest son turned 16 and the job allowed me to work and still be involved with his school and athletic events,” she said.

Since then, she has worked on a freelance basis, connecting with clients by word of mouth. If you don’t have a friend or neighbor to ask for recommendations, you can search the Web, such as under “event services” on craigslist.com, or on sites such as collegelabor.org, partyserving. com and taskrabbit.com.

Parsons advised that hosts seeking event helpers reach out as far in advance as possible, with some longtime clients booking her a year in advance.

“When it comes to November, December and New Year’s Eve, book as soon as you can,” she said. But, she’s had other clients seek help at the last minute and that has worked out, too. It never hurts to ask.

“Clients should be specific about what they require. Guest count is key. Without enough service people the party won’t come off well. Your budget should include the cost of enough service people. A gratuity is always nice, if you are happy with the outcome of your event,” she said.

And for those interested in lending their services as party helpers, Parsons said it’s not formal training but rather physical fitness, good organization, attention to detail and great customer-service skills that really count.

“For me, communication and problem solving are key skills in working with clients. Many events start out with a plan that may often need to be altered for one reason or another. Being able to adapt quickly is a strength,” she said.

Experience in the kitchen helps, too.

“I am not a formally trained chef but have been baking and cooking since I was very young,” she said.

Over the years, Parsons has met many interesting people through her work.

“I have worked for politicians, tech people on Stanford events, at Castilleja School, for the Rotary Club, Avenidas. I did meet Isabelle Allende at an event, and she kindly sent me two personally autographed books,” she said.

Susie Richardson, a Palo Alto resident who has worked with Parsons many times over the years, says she enjoys working in tandem with Parsons much more than she would hiring a full-service catering company because she’s able to relax and enjoy her guests while still feeling like the party is her own.

She agreed that word of mouth is best, and said that she and her friends use their neighborhood group websites as a way to share recommendations on temporary staffing needs.

She and Parsons have developed a partnership — and friendship — through their work together. A catering company, she said, comes in and throws a party at your house for you, while working with a helper is a team effort and less formal.

“A catered party is too much like a restaurant for me. It’s important that people feel comfortable and at home,” she said. “And the thing that’s so wonderful is that at the end of the party my house is clean.” A

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H A PPY HOLIDAYS

Holiday cheer (continued from page 37)

Sulker. The show also includes guitarist Yuri Liberzon playing Beatles tunes and members of PACO’s youth ensemble, the SuperStrings Orchestra.

Where: Cubberley Theatre, Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto When: Sunday, Dec. 14, at 3 p.m.

Cost: Free, tickets available at the door Info: Go to pacomusic.org.

Kitka, the critically acclaimed women’s vocal ensemble based in Oakland, comes to the Peninsula following an East Coast tour of “Wintersong,” a program of seasonal music from Eastern Europe. The group brings folkloric music of various ethnic and spiritual traditions, and presents songs in both ancient polyphonic styles and innovative new arrangements.

David Allen

Kitka’s ‘Wintersongs’

Where: St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park When: Sunday, Dec. 14, at 4 p.m.

Cost: $10-$35 Info: Go to kitka.org or call 510-444-0323.

Jane Rehm and Ryan Camou in Smuin Ballet’s “Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir’s ‘South Bay Gospel Concert’

The San Francisco Early Music Society presents Magnificat Baroque Ensemble in a performance of Francesco Cavalli’s grand and celebratory “Missa concertata,” along with Gregorian chant, sacred motets and instrumental works. The performance of 17thcentury music incorporates dramatic gestures and passages of “secco recitative”: a style of delivery from early Italian opera.

If you like to raise your voice in joyous song, you’ll want to join the exuberant crowd at this holiday gospel music concert.

Under the direction of Terrance Kelly, the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir is a multiracial, multicultural group of singers whose joy in their art form won’t be contained.

Audience participation is encouraged.

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: Friday, Dec. 19, at 7:30 p.m.

Cost: $28-$36 Info: Go to mvcpa.com or call 650-903-6000.

New Century Chamber Orchestra with the San Francisco Girls Chorus In their first-ever collaboration, San Francisco’s New Century Chamber Orchestra and the city’s Girls Chorus present a concert of classical music and traditional carols. Among the works on their program are “Winter” from Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” John Rutter’s “Nativity Carol” and Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerto Grosso in G minor, known as the “Christmas Concerto.”

Where: First United Methodist Church, 625 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto When: Friday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m.

Cost: $15-$61 Info: Go to ncco.org or call 415-392-4400.

Magnificat’s ‘Cavalli: Venetian Christmas Mass’

Where: Saint Mark’s Episcopal

Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto When: Friday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m.

Cost: $30-$35 Info: Go to sfems.org or call 510-528-1725.

Bayer Ballet’s ‘The Snow Queen’ Mountain View’s Bayer Ballet Academy takes a leap away from Nutcracker tradition to tell a different wintertime story: Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen.” When the queen casts a spell on a young boy, his friend sets out to save him, encountering robbers, crows and dancing icicles along the way. Bayer Ballet stu-

dents age 3 to pre-professional are trained in the Vaganova method of Russian ballet.

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St. When: Saturday, Dec. 20, at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 21, at 2:30 p.m.

Cost: $30-$40 Info: Go to mvcpa.com or call 650-903-6000.

California Pops Orchestra’s ‘Pops Holiday Celebration’ Looking for a chance to wear your best holiday duds (or show off that ugly Christmas sweater)?

The California Pops Orchestra welcomes festive attire at its fun-filled holiday concert. The family-friendly performance will feature jazzy holiday suites, sing-along carols and music from the Bing Crosby classic, “White Christmas.”

Where: Smithwick Theatre, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills When: Sunday, Dec. 21, at 3 p.m.

Cost: $15-$47 Info: Go to calpops.org or call 650-856-8432.

Arts & Entertainment Editor Elizabeth Schwyzer can be emailed at eschwyzer@paweekly. com.

Our 42nd Year!

Menlo Park Kiwanis Club Christmas Tree

Beautiful Noble Fir Trees delivered Weekly – FRESH from Oregon Located: On the Stanford Campus next to the Football Stadium on El Camino Real near Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto Opens: Friday, Nov. 28 2014 Hours: Weekdays - 1 PM-8 PM Weekends - 9 AM-8 PM Delivery Available Proceeds from your tree purchase goes to support many local organizations: ) Scholarships for Menlo Atherton Graduates ) Saint Anthony’s Dining Room ) Local Adopt-a-Teacher

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 39

Home&Real Estate

OPEN HOME GUIDE xäÊ

Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com

Home Front FILOLI FÊTE ... Shopping opportunities at Filoli’s “La saison d’ élègance” holiday boutiques are filling quickly, with a few slots open through Saturday, Dec. 6.

The annual event, at 86 Cañada Road, Woodside, includes a decorated historic mansion, buffet luncheons, evening bistros and children’s parties, as well as the shopping boutiques. Cost for daytime boutiques is $30 to $35 for nonmembers, $25 to $30 for members; for evening boutiques: $30 for nonmembers, $25 for members. Info: 650-364-8300 or filoli.org POTTERY SALE ... Foothill College’s ceramics department will hold a Holiday Pottery Sale from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday, Dec. 2 to 4, at Foothill College, Cesar Chavez Plaza, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills. The sale includes functional ware — bowls and vases — and sculptures, all made in Foothill classes. Entry is free; parking is $3. Info: 650949-7584 or tinyurl.com/FoothillPottery HOLIDAY FAIR ... The Artifactory Cooperative will hold its annual Holiday Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday, Dec. 5 to 7, at Lou Henry Hoover House (aka Girl Scout House), 1120 Hopkins Ave., Palo Alto. The group will offer handmade hemp soaps, ceramics, gourd art, handmade paper, weaving, hand-painted silk and velvet jackets, calligraphy, handwoven rugs and pillows, jewelry, Ukrainian eggs, wearable art, glass, wooden boxes and more.

Info: 650-625-1736 or theartifactory@aol.com WINTER GLASS SALE ... Glass, cookies and hot apple cider will be featured at the Palo Alto Fiery Arts Winter Glass Sale. There will be glass reindeer, ornaments, acorns, fish, fruit and pumpkins — handcrafted by professional artists — as well as glass demonstrations. The sale will be held from 3 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, in the Administration Building at Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. The sale benefits Palo Alto’s sculpture classes. Info: sites.google.com/ site/palyglass KUDOS TO SILVAR ... The Silicon Valley Association of Real-

(continued on page 42) Send notices of news and events related to real estate, interior design, home improvement and gardening to Home Front, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302, or email cblitzer@ paweekly.com. Deadline is one week before publication.

A bronze Santa, potted poinsettias, garlands wrapped around columns and a wreath with a bow welcome visitors to the Christmas at Our House holiday home tour.

Seeking inspiration — for a good cause Christmas at Our House fundraiser opens decorated homes for the holidays story by Carol Blitzer | photos by Veronica Weber

N

ew England villages inhabit the window sills. Santas — in all sizes and materials — appear in most every room. Wreaths made of greenery or pearlized buttons deck the walls.

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas at the Los Altos home of Jean and Art Carmichael. And they’ll be sharing their decor from Dec. 4 to 6 during the 26th annual Christmas at Our House holiday home tour, a fundraiser for St. Francis High School in Mountain View.

Page 40 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

The tour begins with a surrey ride from Saint William’s Catholic Church, less than a thousand yards away. A bronze Santa has been taken out of storage to greet visitors at the front entry.

Luckily there’s plenty of storage space in the 8,350-square-foot, three-story home, which was built six years ago.

The main decorated areas of the home will be the ground floor, where visitors can (continued on page 42)

Top: Christmas trees made of pine cones and a deer with candles in his antlers are arranged before the bedroom fireplace; middle: The festive dining table holds the family Christmas china, along with heirloom nut dishes filled with colorful candy; bottom: An antique high chair converts into a rocking chair.

Bay Area Collection pacificunion.com | A Member of Real Living

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Four bedrooms, including spacious master suite and convenient first floor bedroom / bath. 3 full baths. Big living room with distinctive round window over the fireplace. “Martha Stewart” dining room. Open kitchen “great room” with easy garden access. Attached two car garage. Acclaimed Menlo Park schools. Convenient proximity to downtown Menlo Park / downtown Palo Alto / Burgess Community Center / commute corridor access.

Elyse Barca 650.743.0734

Elyse Barca 650.743.0734 www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 41

Home & Real Estate

The 1947 fire truck, formerly of the Los Altos Fire Department, is decorated for the holiday as well.

What: Christmas at Our House holiday home tour When: Twilight Tour & Gala Preview Party, Thursday, Dec. 4, 4-10 p.m.; Home Tour & Christmas Boutique, Friday-Saturday, Dec. 5-6, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Festive Winter Luncheon Buffet, Friday-Saturday, Dec. 5-6, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Where: Three homes in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills; preview party and luncheon buffets at Saint William’s Catholic Church Event Center, 611 S. El Monte Ave., Los Altos Cost: Preview party $135; home tour $50; luncheon $30 Info: Call 650-968-1213 ext. 701 or go to sfhs.com

A bronze Santa, with a sign saying “WANTED: Jolly Men Bearing Presents” graces the front porch.

Christmas house tour (continued from page 40)

view two Christmas trees, plus the formal dining room that is primed for the holiday. The tree in the living room will be wrapped with a garland made of pearlized buttons, complementing a wreath and a small cone-shaped tree made of the same materials. A larger tree, decorated with the family’s historical ornaments, will be the focal point of the family room.

Many of the ornaments are handmade, Jean Carmichael said, and “the children look for ornaments — all of our fun things that go way back,” including the “mouse ran up the clock.”

Jean won’t be putting the finishing touches — adding greens from the San

HOME SALES

Home sales are provided by California REsource, a real estate information company that obtains the information from the County Recorder’s Office. Information is recorded from deeds after the close of escrow and published within four to eight weeks.

East Palo Alto

2222 Addison Ave. O. Banuelos to G. & R. Rios for $436,000 on 10/15/14; previous sale 5/06, $600,000 1 Blue Jay Court BJC Development to L. Paycheck for $800,000 on 10/15/14; previous sale 9/03, $1,200,000 2839 Fordham St. N. Hekmat to M. Veloz for $460,000 on 10/14/14; previous sale 1/09, $240,000

Los Altos

1694 Ben Roe Drive Joslin Trust to Harrison Trust for $1,850,000 on 11/5/14 939 Clinton Road S. & L. Poonen to S. & A. Krishnamachari for $2,850,000 on 11/7/14; previous sale 6/13, $1,900,000 582 Glen Alto Drive J. & E. Todd to Glen Alto Limited for $1,950,000 on 11/3/14 1796 Juarez Ave. R. Scripps to Yang Trust for $2,000,000 on 11/7/14

Francisco Flower Mart and the Kiwanis Christmas tree lot on Grant Road — until after Thanksgiving. But a preview tour demonstrated why it takes her more than a week to get her decorations out of storage and arrange them throughout the house.

The dining room, with its English barley-twist chairs, is a perfect setting for Jean’s grandmother’s silver nut bowls, set above the Spode Christmas china setting.

Peppermint striped candles continue the color theme. A jardinière from France will likely be moved to the Steinway piano in the living room closer to the tour date.

“It’s fun having the historical things,” Jean said, pointing to a high chair that folds into a rocking chair, where a teddy bear is seated.

Even the rug is an heirloom.

“It was in my house when I was growing up outside Boston,” Jean said, adding that the weaver incorporated local blossoms in the design.

Throughout the home the artwork is reminiscent of her New England roots, including a painting of a frigate in Art’s den and a watercolor of Marblehead Harbor in a hallway.

“Light is important to me, all around the room,” Jean said, pointing to the three”candle” lights sitting on each window sill in the family room. As one enters the house, these candelabras are in each front window.

The house tour goes well beyond the public rooms on the first floor, continuing up to the four bedrooms and four bathrooms above. Jean pointed to the skylights in the hallway, which break up the “bowling alley” feel. In various niches, one can spot carolers under a lit lamplight or wooden trees that can be moved around by the grandchildren to create a forest for the birds and other critters to scamper through.

Each room has its own holiday decor: In the downstairs master bedroom three pine-cone trees surround a deer with birchcandle antlers; an upstairs bedroom will be filled with teddy bears; another has a nautical theme.

SALES AT A GLANCE East Palo Alto

Mountain View

Total sales reported: 3 Lowest sales price: $436,000 Highest sales price: $800,000

Total sales reported: 7 Lowest sales price: $471,000 Highest sales price: $2,210,000

Los Altos

Palo Alto

Total sales reported: 5 Lowest sales price: $1,850,000 Highest sales price: $2,850,000

Total sales reported: 3 Lowest sales price: $1,000,000 Highest sales price: $3,800,000

Los Altos Hills

Redwood City

Total sales reported: 3 Lowest sales price: $3,750,000 Highest sales price: $3,988,000

Total sales reported: 5 Lowest sales price: $800,000 Highest sales price: $1,350,000

Menlo Park

Woodside

Total sales reported: 6 Lowest sales price: $639,000 Highest sales price: $4,500,000

Total sales reported: 1 Lowest sales price: $1,900,000 Highest sales price: $1,900,000 Source: California REsource

2228 Las Campanas Court Ryser Trust to C. & R. Haydon for $1,900,000 on 11/6/14

Los Altos Hills

13350 Burke Road Petrick Trust to Frankie Bud Limited for $3,750,000 on 11/3/14 26912 Elena Road J. & A. Oconnell to Magnolia Trust for

$3,988,000 on 11/7/14; previous sale 9/04, $3,130,000 14127 Miranda Road Curley Trust to B. & D. Farley for $3,850,000 on 11/4/14; previous sale 12/93, $1,010,000

Menlo Park

1960 #5 Menalto Ave. E. Masiee to H. Partovi for $1,970,000

Support our Kids Page 42 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

on 10/14/14; previous sale 2/07, $1,240,000 759 12th Ave. Anderson & Niswander Trust to A. Aalaei for $1,050,000 on 10/15/14; previous sale 2/89, $249,500 1998 Camino a los Cerros R. Dariani to N. & R. Kumaraswami for $4,500,000 on 10/15/14; pre-

The tour finishes in the basement, with a bedroom suite and University of Oregon-themed game room that contains both ping-pong and pool tables. That room will host the Santa’s Workshop auction.

Two other homes will be on the tour, including: Q a Colonial, 5,300-square-foot home in Los Altos Hills on nearly 2 acres. Don’t miss the Mark Roberts Christmas Fairies in the entry, as well as the family collection of ivory, gold and silver ornaments — and the bird accents throughout the home; Q a “Classic with a Twist” New England Colonial, single-level home with a guest house on more than an acre in Los Altos Hills. Notable is the artwork — including Tor Archer’s “Out of Nature” bronze — heightened ceilings and natural light.

Besides the home tour, preview party and luncheons, the annual fundraiser hosted by the Saint Francis High School Women’s Club will offer two drawings — Joe Escobar Diamonds Showcase (tickets are $25 each or five for $100) and Santa’s Workshop (five tickets for $20). Tickets are on sale through Dec. 3. Q Associate Editor Carol Blitzer can be emailed at cblitzer@paweekly.com.

Home Front (continued from page 40) tors (SILVAR) was recognized by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) with its Platinum Award for global achievement, according to a press release. NAR noted SILVAR’s Certified International Property Specialist program growth, its collaboration with ethnic real estate associations and its ongoing educational programs. SILVAR members have access to a global networking platform that allows them to share listings around the world. Q

READ MORE ONLINE

PaloAltoOnline.com

For more Home and Real Estate news, visit www.paloaltoonline.com/real_estate.

vious sale 6/12, $1,440,000 1119 Del Norte Ave. K. Salah to M. Cobb for $639,000 on 10/15/14; previous sale 9/90, $245,000 555 Encina Ave. R. Filipowicz to Tinsman Trust for $1,950,000 on 10/14/14; previous sale 3/05, $1,375,000 370 Hamilton Ave. Z. Liu to J. Huang for $780,000 on 10/15/14; previous sale 1/11, $430,000

Palo Alto 1044 Colorado Place Anderson Trust to B. Kim for $1,000,000 on 11/7/14; previous sale 12/06, $765,000 1496 Dana Ave. R. & M. Kraus to J. Ma for $3,800,000 on 11/4/14 433 Guinda St. S. Sinha to B. Nguyen for $2,920,000 on 11/7/14; previous sale 4/08, $1,269,000

Mountain View

1033 Crestview Drive #216 S. Cates to L. Zhang for $638,000 on 11/5/14; previous sale 7/08, $390,000 741 Emily Drive G. Davis to T. Grahek for $825,000 on 11/6/14; previous sale 2/13, $685,000 2111 Latham St. #317 M. Anderson to N. Lewycky for $700,000 on 11/4/14; previous sale 8/99, $240,000 1846 Limetree Lane A. & D. Knickerbocker to J. Li for $2,210,000 on 11/4/14 500 W. Middlefield Road #111 G. Fahey to Shastri-Bratberg Trust for $471,000 on 11/7/14; previous sale 8/06, $370,000 1639 Spring St. A. Rimas to J. Cheng for $650,000 on 11/7/14 264 N. Whisman Road #18 Oglesby Trust to B. & N. Nguyen for $506,000 on 11/6/14; previous sale 6/02, $285,000

Redwood City 879 Alameda de las Pulgas H. King to D. & L. Bilir for $875,000 on 10/14/14 303 Encina Ave. W. Murray to D. Moss for $990,000 on 10/15/14; previous sale 4/11, $510,000 161 Positano Circle W. Foo to R. Meisels for $800,000 on 10/14/14; previous sale 1/10, $603,000 1261 Truman St. A. & N. Basseri to R. & L. Hollowell for $1,350,000 on 10/15/14; previous sale 7/09, $1,000,000 3054 Whisperwave Circle D. Robertson to M. Shum for $1,260,000 on 10/15/14

Woodside 18400 Skyline Blvd. Dave Trust to P. & E. Lee for $1,900,000 on 10/14/14; previous sale 11/00, $1,725,000

with a gift to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund Donate online at siliconvalleycf.org/paw-holiday-fund

THE DELEON DIFFERENCE:

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 43

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we enter this season of abundance, we wish you a time filled with friends and loved ones as you reflect upon this year’s prosperity.

DeLeon Realty

650.543.8500 | www.deleonrealty.com | CalBRE #01903224

Page 44 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 45

BEFORE LISTING YOUR HOME, CONTACT MICHAEL REPKA

OF DELEON REALTY With Michael heading the listing division, the DeLeon team has sold more real estate than any other Realtor® or team in the Bay area this year.

Simply put, DeLeon Realty’s experience, expertise, and marketing program are the best in the business. Also, unlike the vast majority of real estate offices, we do not let independent contractors use the DeLeon Realty name; from agents to interior designers to graphic artists, everyone with a DeLeon Realty business card is actually an employee of the company.

Before selecting a Realtor® to list your home, call Michael to hear about DeLeon Realty’s unique approach to selling homes. You will also appreciate his background in tax and real estate law, which enables him to answer your tax and legal questions related to the sale.

650.488.7325 | www.deleonrealty.com | Michael Repka CalBRE #01854880 DeLeon Realty CalBRE #01903224

Page 46 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Wishing a warm, happy and delicious Thanksgiving to you, Grandma and your entire family, from all of us at Zane MacGregor.

ZANEMAC.COM www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 47

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155 Pets

Bulletin Board

Fire Proof Safe - $45.00 Oak Firewood for Sale Cut, split and seasoned - $250/cord Call (650)533-7997 for purchase information (cash and pick-up only) Screen Door - $60

115 Announcements

Twin Bed Furniture

Pregnant?

Considering adoption? Call us first.

Living expenses, housing, medical, and continued support afterwards. Choose adoptive family of your choice. Call 24/7.

1-877-879-4709 (CalSCAN)

245 Miscellaneous

Pregnant?

Thinking of adoption? Talk with caring agency specializing in matching Birthmothers with Families Nationwide.

LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s One True Gift Adoptions.

866-413-6293. Void in Illinois/New Mexico/Indiana (AAN CAN) Craft Fair

LOST DOG AT TOWN AND COUNTRY 11/3, 1215pm, my dog fled from my car and was said to run towards the Stanford stadium. I have not heard ANYTHING about where he is and am afraid someone has picked him up without turning him in. He is a ridge back mix and is 65 lbs, (see picture) He’s non aggressive and can be timid.

Microchipped (4B7D5C4276)/ no collar. $500.00 reward. PLEASE help get my dog back

Dance Expressions (2yrs - Teen) Dance Expressions HolidaySpecial Glass and Decorative Arts Club new Holiday music

For Sale

original ringtones Stanford music tutoring substitute pianist available

201 Autos/Trucks/ Parts

USED BOOKSHOP AT MITCHELL PARK

120 Auctions

Hummer 2004 H1 - $15000

Did You Know Newspaper-generated content is so valuable it’s taken and repeated, condensed, broadcast, tweeted, discussed, posted, copied, edited, and emailed countless times throughout the day by others? Discover the Power of Newspaper Advertising. For a free brochure call 916-288-6011 or email cecelia@cnpa.com (Cal-SCAN)

Jeep 2007 Grand Cherokee - $3700 Mazda 1993 RX7 - $2000 Pontiac 1969 Firebird - $3500

DirecTV! Act Now- $19.99/mo. Free 3-Months of HBO, Starz, SHOWTIME & CINEMAX FREE GENIE HD/DVR Upgrade! 2014 NFL Sunday Ticket included with Select Packages. New Customers Only.

IV Support Holdings LLC- An authorized DirecTV Dealer. Call 1-800-259-5140.

(Cal-SCAN) DISH TV Retailer Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.) & High Speed Internet starting at $14.95/month (where available.) SAVE! Ask About SAME DAY Installation!

CALL Now! 1-800-357-0810. (Cal-SCAN) Dog Training Books in Paperback, Digital and Audio. Over 100 Breeds, Cats, Horses Too! In English and Spanish! Google or Search Vince Stead or www.Fun2ReadBooks.com (Cal-SCAN) Christmas Sweaters Ugly and tacky. Also beautiful party clothes. Vintage. See all at 831 Villa, MV. Hours 1-6pm.

Kid’s Stuff 330 Child Care Offered

130 Classes & Instruction

Did You Know 144 million U.S. Adults read a Newspaper print copy each week?

Discover the Power of Newspaper Advertising.

For a free brochure call 916-288-6011 or email cecelia@cnpa.com (Cal-SCAN) Mixed-Level Belly Dance Classes

425 Health Services Aloe Vera of America ATTENTION: ALOE VERA OF AMERICA Customers! If you Have Used FOREVER LIVING Dietary Supplement Products Please Call Environmental Research Center Now for Information. www.

ERC501C3.org CALL 619-500-3090 NOW! (Cal-SCAN)

340 Child Care Wanted Subaru 2002 L.L. Bean 3.0 Outback Great condition 199,000 miles runs great...650-387-8806

German Language Classes Instruction for Hebrew Bar and Bat Mitzvah.

For Affiliated and Unaffiliated. George Rubin, M.A. in Hebrew/Jewish Education 650/424-1940

133 Music Lessons Christina Conti Private Piano Instruction (650) 493-6950 Hope Street Music Studios In downtown Mtn.View.

Most Instruments voice. All ages & levels 650-961-2192 www.HopeStreetMusicStudios.com

202 Vehicles Wanted Cash for Cars Any Car/Truck. Running or Not! Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You! Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808 www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN) Donate Your Car, Truck, Boat to HERITAGE FOR THE BLIND. FREE 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care of.

800-731-5042 (Cal-SCAN)

210 Garage/Estate Sales

Piano lessons in Menlo Park

Mountain View, 1005 High School Way, Saturday Nov 15 8-3

135 Group Activities

Mountain View, 1005 High School Way, Sun Nov 23 9 am - 2 pm

Thanks St Jude

215 Collectibles & Antiques

140 Lost & Found Lost bracelet Lost downtown in palo alto Diamond/ crystal gold and black bracelet- family gift- 650/867/4488

Nanny/Babysitter Am looking for a good Nanny/ Babysitter, its important you include resuming when responding. kindly state the days you will be available to babysit. Applicant who do not send a resume will not be considered for the position. $20/hr email: PatrickMark10@hotmail.com

355 Items for Sale Did You Know 7 IN 10 Americans or 158 million U.S. Adults read content from newspaper media each week? Discover the Power of Newspaper Advertising.

For a free brochure call 916-288-6011 or email cecelia@cnpa.com (Cal-SCAN)

Mind & Body

Sq.Green Glass Dish Set - $100.

Did You Know that not only does newspaper media reach a HUGE Audience, they also reach an ENGAGED AUDIENCE. Discover the Power of Newspaper Advertising.

For a free brochure call 916-288-6011 or email cecelia@cnpa.com (Cal-SCAN)

DONATE BOOKS/HELP PA LIBRARIES WISH LIST FRIENDS PA LIBRARY

150 Volunteers

240 Furnishings/ Household items

Become a Nature Volunteer!

Fosterers Needed for Moffet Cats

403 Acupuncture

FRIENDS OF THE PALO ALTO LIBRARY

Classified Deadlines:

JOIN OUR ONLINE STOREFRONT TEAM M

NOON, WEDNESDAY

Treatments for Alzheimers Acupuncturist Jay Wang PhD, specialized in chronical illness for seniors. Call 650-485-3293 for a free consultation.

747 Altos Oaks Dr., Los Altos

Informatica Corporation has the following full-time positions in Redwood City, CA: Director, Development (RCRAGU): Oversee large scale feature or component and designing solutions on a large feature across components and technologies.

Senior Technical Engineer (RCSHVE): Provide technical support for company’s products.

Mail resumes to: Attn: Global Mobility, Informatica Corporation, 2100 Seaport Blvd., Redwood City, CA 94063. Must reference job title and code.

550 Business Opportunities

HealthForce Dietary Supplement ATTENTION: HEALTHFORCE NUTRITIONAL Customers! If you Have Used HEALTHFORCE Dietary Supplement Products Please Call Environmental Research Center Now for Information. www.ERC501C3.org CALL 619-500-3090 NOW! (Cal-SCAN)

560 Employment Information

Safe Step Walk-in Tub Alert for Seniors. Bathroom falls can be fatal. Approved by Arthritis Foundation.

Therapeutic Jets. Less Than 4 Inch StepIn. Wide Door. Anti-Slip Floors. American Made. Installation Included. Call 800-799-4811 for $750 Off. (Cal-SCAN) Struggling with Drugs or alcohol? Addicted to pills? Talk to someone who cares. Call The Addiction Hope & Help Line for a free assessment.

800-978-6674 (AAN CAN)

Jobs 500 Help Wanted ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE/PAYROLL/ BOOKKEEPER ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE/PAYROLL/ BOOKKEEPER NO Experience necessary.Salary Commensurate, and takes little of your time.

Requirements: -Should be a computer literate,must be efficient and dedicated. Please send resume to: brian.michael38@yahoo.com BUSINESS Hewlett-Packard Company is accepting resumes for the position of Business Strategy Manager in Palo Alto, CA (Ref. #PALISA1). Define high-impact, long-term business strategies at the corporate, business, and/or regional level. Mail resume to Hewlett-Packard Company, 3000 Hanover Street, MS 1117, Palo Alto, CA 94304. Resume must include Ref. #, full name, email address and mailing address. No phone calls please.

Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship. EOE.

237 Barter

145 Non-Profits Needs

Engineering Director, Development and Senior Technical Engineer

ARDYSS Dietary Supplement ATTENTION: ARDYSS INTERNATIONAL Customers! If you Have Used ARDYSS Dietary Supplement Products Please Call Environmental Research Center Now for Information. www.ERC501C3.org CALL 619-500-3090 NOW! (Cal-SCAN)

Bright Start Child Care!!!

Airbrush Makeup Artist course for Ads . TV . Film . Fashion.

35% OFF TUITION - SPECIAL $1990 - Train & Build Portfolio . One Week Course Details at: AwardMakeupSchool.com 818-980-2119 (AAN CAN)

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415 Classes

No phone number in the ad?

GO TO

fogster.com for contact information

AVON AVON - Earn extra income with a new career! Sell from home, work, online. $15 startup. For information, call: 877-830-2916. (CalSCAN)

$1,000 Weekly!!

Mailing brochures from home.

Helping home workers since 2001.

Genuine Opportunity. No Experience required. Start Immediately www.mailingmembers.com (AAN CAN) Africa, Brazil Work/Study!

Change the lives of others and create a sustainable future.

1, 6, 9, 18 month programs available.

Apply now! www.OneWorldCenter.org 269.591.0518 info@OneWorldCenter.org (AAN CAN) Drivers: $$$ Up to 50 CPM + Bonuses $$$ Be Home for the Holidays! BCBS + 401k + Pet & Rider.

Free Clinics + Family Friendly.

Spanish/English Orientation Available.

CDL-A Req - (877) 258-8782 meltontruck.com/drivers (Cal-SCAN) Drivers: No Experience?

Some or LOTS of experience?

Let’s Talk! No matter what stage in your career, it’s time, call Central Refrigerated Home. 888-891-2195 www.

CentralTruckDrivingjobs.com (CalSCAN) Drivers: Truck Drivers Obtain Class A CDL in 2½ weeks.

Company Sponsored Training. Also Hiring Recent Truck School Graduates, Experienced Drivers. Must be 21 or Older. Call: (866) 275-2349. (Cal-SCAN) BevMo! is hiring

Business Services 624 Financial Identity Protected?

Is Your Identity Protected? It is our promise to provide the most comprehensive identity theft prevention and response products available! Call Today for 30-Day FREE TRIAL 1-800-908-5194. (Cal-SCAN) Reduce Your Past Tax Bill by as much as 75 Percent. Stop Levies, Liens and Wage Garnishments. Call The Tax DR Now to see if you Qualify 1-800-498-1067. (Cal-SCAN) Social Secuity Disability Benefits. Unable to work?

Denied benefits? We Can Help! WIN or Pay Nothing! Contact Bill Gordon and Associates at 1-800-966-1904 to start your application today! (Cal-SCAN)

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Trouble with IRS? Are you in BIG trouble with the IRS? Stop wage & bank levies, liens & audits, unfiled tax returns, payroll issues, & resolve tax debt FAST. Seen on CNN. A BBB. Call 1-800-761-5395. (Cal-SCAN)

636 Insurance Auto Insurance starting at $25/month.

Call 855-977-9537 (AAN CAN) Health and Dental Insurance Lowest Prices on Health and Dental Insurance. We have the best rates from top companies! Call Now! 888-989-4807.

(CalSCAN)

Answers on page 50

©2014 Jonesin’ Crosswords

Across 1 Doing OK on the golf course 6 Stinging creatures 11 Basic shelter 14 Get moving 15 Calm, as fears 16 “Achtung Baby” co-producer Brian 17 Acted like a human 18 Tae kwon do move 20 It drives Persians crazy 22 “Enough already!”

23 Where Gilligan ended up 24 Small buzzer 26 Like Russian matryoshka dolls 28 Breakfast noisemakers 33 Epps of “Resurrection” 34 Inspiron maker 35 Jane of “Glee” 39 “Iron Man” Ripken 40 Tile arrangements 42 It may be golden 43 Clue weapon 45 Jimmy Carter’s alma mater, for short 46 “Strange ___” 47 Bus driver of classic TV 50 Gangster called Scarface 53 Inflatable pilot in “Airplane!”

54 Dry 55 Shop-___ 58 Part of USSR 62 Indie band formed by actress Jenny Lewis 65 ___ Wafers 66 He was Jim in “The Doors” 67 Chopin exercise 68 Former “The Voice” judge Green 69 Chicago trains 70 Big Apple NL player, for short 71 “Melrose Place” actor Rob

Down 1 One of Stephen Baldwin’s brothers 2 Prefix with byte or flop 3 Role 4 Iron Man or Thor 5 Corrections are made in it 6 Card game for two 7 “Thanks ___!”

8 Dickensian setting 9 Sandwich made with a press 10 Barrett once of Pink Floyd 11 Bank caper 12 Family man?

13 Took a legal puff, in some states 19 Like smoochy faces 21 Late “SNL” announcer Don 25 Snarls, like traffic 27 “Electric” creatures 28 “I got a ___” (Charlie Brown’s Halloween line) 29 Bowie’s single-named wife 30 “Going Back to ___” (LL Cool J single) 31 Axl’s bandmate 32 “The Price Is Right” game 36 Revenge getter of film 37 Canadian Plains tribe 38 Kate Hudson’s mom Goldie 40 Intend 41 Food ___ : Portland, Oregon :: Food trucks : other cities 44 Role for Elijah 46 Low-budget flicks 48 Giddiness 49 Instantly 50 Do a Thanksgiving job 51 Popular font 52 Pharmacy inventory 56 Grad 57 Formally hand over 59 Westlife’s “If ___ You Go” 60 Cosmopolitan competitor 61 Art colony of the Southwest 63 Barbie’s significant other 64 “Still...”

Home Services 748 Gardening/ Landscaping J. Garcia Garden Maintenance Service Free est. 21 years exp. 650/366-4301 or 650/346-6781 LANDA’S GARDENING & LANDSCAPING *Yard Maint. *New Lawns. *Rototil *Clean Ups *Tree Trim *Power Wash *Irrigation timer programming.

18 yrs exp. Ramon, 650/576-6242 landaramon@yahoo.com R.G. Landscape Yard Clean-ups, debris removal, maintenance, installations. Free est.

650/468-8859 Tired of Mow, Blow and Go? Owner operated, 40 years exp. All phases of gardening/landscaping. Ref. Call Eric, 408/356-1350

751 General Contracting A NOTICE TO READERS: It is illegal for an unlicensed person to perform contracting work on any project valued at $500.00 or more in labor and materials. State law also requires that contractors include their license numbers on all advertising. Check your contractor’s status at www.cslb.ca.gov or 800-321-CSLB (2752). Unlicensed persons taking jobs that total less than $500.00 must state in their advertisements that they are not licensed by the Contractors State License Board.

759 Hauling J & G HAULING SERVICE Misc. junk, office, gar., furn., mattresses, green waste, more. Lic./ins.

Free est. 650/743-8852 (see my Yelp reviews)

767 Movers Sunny Express Moving Co. Afforable, Reliable, References. Lic. CalT #191198. 650/722-6586 or 408/904-9688

This week’s SUDOKU

7

4 4 9

8

5 1

2

6 6 3

9 8

7 5 9 8 4 5 3 2 6 3 7 2 8 2 3 4

Answers on page 50

4

www.sudoku.name

771 Painting/ Wallpaper DAVID AND MARTIN PAINTING Quality work Good references Low price Lic. #52643

(650) 575-2022

Glen Hodges Painting Call me first! Senior discount. 45 yrs. #351738. 650/322-8325 H.D.A. Painting and Drywall Interior/exterior painting, drywall installed. Mud, tape all textures. Free est.

650/207-7703 STYLE PAINTING Full service painting. Insured.

Lic. 903303. 650/388-8577

775 Asphalt/ Concrete Roe General Engineering Asphalt, concrete, pavers, tiles, sealing, artificial turf. 36 yrs exp. No job too small. Lic #663703. 650/814-5572

779 Organizing Services End the Clutter & Get Organized Residential Organizing

by Debra Robinson (650)390-0125

789 Plaster/Stucco Stucco Patch and crack repair, texture match, windows, doors. 30 years exp. Refs. avail.

Small jobs only. 650/248-4205

Real Estate 805 Homes for Rent Menlo Park, 4 BR/2 BA - $6150 Mountain View - $3200 Mt. View, 3 BR/2.5 BA - 3600 Mt. View, 3 BR/2.5 BA - 3800 Palo Alto Home, 4 BR/2 BA - $4600.mont San Jose, 3 BR/2.5 BA Blossom Hill,minutes to Hwy101 $2375 (408)262-5555

809 Shared Housing/ Rooms All Areas: Roommates.com Lonely? Bored? Broke? Find the perfect roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roommates.com!

(AAN CAN) Redwood City, 1 BR/2 BA - $850/mo

825 Homes/Condos for Sale Ath: Prime Central Atherton Lot for Sale with Custom Home Plans.

Contact: Cell: 650-740-1110 or Email: timmckeegan@sbcglobal.net Offered at $6,995,000 Menlo Park, 3 BR/2 BA - $899000 Palo Alto, 3 BR/2 BA - $1099000 Sunnyvale, 3 BR/2 BA - $899000

845 Out of Area Income In The Redwoods Rstrnt/Store/Gas sta/3 homes Ministor pot. Hiwy 1 frontage Leggett

Public Notices 995 Fictitious Name Statement MIGHTY STUDIOS MIGHTY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 597866 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1.) Mighty Studios, 2.) Mighty Product Development, located at 2509 Emerson Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: An Individual.

The name and residence address of the owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are): TARK ABED 2509 Emerson Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 Registrant/Owner began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on October 28, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28, 2014) LOS GATOS PICTURE FRAMING CO. DECORATIVE MIRRORS OF LOS GATOS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 597855 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1.) Los Gatos Picture Framing Co., 2.)

Decorative Mirrors of Los Gatos, located at 15732 Los Gatos Blvd. #418, Los Gatos, CA 95032, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: A Limited Liability Company.

The name and residence address of the

THE PENINSULA’S FREE CLASSIFIEDS WEBSITE TO RESPOND TO ADS WITHOUT PHONE NUMBERS GO TO WWW.FOGSTER.COM

owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are): MODA POLICE, LLC 15732 Los Gatos Blvd. #418 Los Gatos, CA 95032 Registrant/Owner began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on October 27, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 14, 21, 28, Dec. 5, 2014) PALO ALTO PICTURE FRAMING CO. BAY AREA MOBILE FRAMING PALO ALTO FRAMING CO. DECORATIVE MIRRORS OF PALO ALTO FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 597856 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1.) Palo Alto Picture Framing Co., 2.)

Bay Area Mobile Framing, 3.) Palo Alto Framing Co., 4.) Decorative Mirrors of Palo Alto, located at 1150 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: A Limited Liability Company.

The name and residence address of the owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are): RBZ GALLERIES, LLC 15732 Los Gatos Blvd. #418 Los Gatos, CA 95032 Registrant/Owner began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on October 27, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 14, 21, 28, Dec. 5, 2014) WHITE PEACH STUDIO FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 598202 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: White Peach Studio, located at 1374 Deroche Court, Sunnyvale, CA 94087, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: An Individual.

The name and residence address of the owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are): LUNANI YEN 1374 Deroche Ct. Sunnyvale, CA 94087 Registrant/Owner began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on November 7, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 14, 21, 28, Dec. 5, 2014) URBAN WILDLIFE RESEARCH PROJECT FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 598230 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Urban Wildlife Research Project, located at 530 Kendall Ave. #1, Palo Alto, California, 94306, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: A General Partnership.

The name and residence address of the owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are): WILLIAM C. LEIKAM 530 Kendall Ave. #1 Palo Alto, California 94306 GREG KEREKEZ 18400 Montevina Road Los Gatos, CA 95033 Registrant/Owner began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on November 10, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 14, 21, 28, Dec. 5, 2014) MathGymUSA FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 598297 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: MathGymUSA, located at 328 Higdon Ave. #5, Mountain View, CA 94041, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: An Individual.

The name and residence address of the owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are): FRANCO H. REYES 328 Higdon Ave., #5 Mountain View, CA 94041 Registrant/Owner began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on November 12, 2014.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on November 12, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 21, 28, Dec. 5, 12, 2014) PALO ALTO LIMOUSINE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 598591 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Palo Alto Limousine, located at 305 Cowper St., Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: Married Couple.

The name and residence address of the owner(s) is(are): DWIGHT MATHIASEN

305 Cowper St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 KATHRYN SHUGART 305 Cowper St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 Registrant/Owner has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on November 19, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 12, 19, 2014) PALO ALTO RIDES FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 598664 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Palo Alto Rides, located at 305 Cowper St., Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara County.

This business is owned by: Married Couple.

The name and residence address of the owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are): DWIGHT MATHIASEN 305 Cowper St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 KATHRYN SHUGART 305 Cowper St. Palo Alto, CA 9301 Registrant/Owner has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on November 21, 2014.

(PAW Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 12, 19, 2014)

997 All Other Legals NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF CALLUM LOGAN Case No. 114PR173855 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of CALLUM LOGAN A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by Jessie Harper and Donald Sinclair Logan in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA. THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that Jessie Harper and Donald Sinclair Logan be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held on Dec. 24, 2014 at 9:30 AM in Dept. No. 12 located at 191 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95113.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code.

Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor.

You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for petitioner: STEPHEN M MAGRO ESQ SBN 132196 LAW OFFICES OF STEPHEN M MAGRO 14101 YORBA ST STE 101 TUSTIN CA 92780

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 49

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NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: Helen Schrader, also known as Helen W. Schrader and Helen Wheatley Schrader Case No.: 1-14-PR-175522 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of Helen Schrader, also known as Helen W. Schrader, and Helen Wheatley Schrader.

A Petition for Probate has been filed by: SUSAN HUFFSTUTLER in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA. The Petition for Probate requests that: SUSAN HUFFSTUTLER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

The petition requests the decedentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held on January 22, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. in Dept.: 12 of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, located at 191 N. First St., San Jose, CA, 95113. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within four months from the date of first issuance of letters as provided in Probate Code section as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code 9100. The time for filing claims will not expire before 4 months from the hearing date noticed above.

Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor.

You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Petitioner: /s/ Susan Huffstutler 6030 China Hill Road El Dorado, CA 95623 (530)642-2584 (PAW Nov. 28, Dec. 5, Dec. 12, 2014)

Residential real estate expertise for the mid-peninsula.

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RECORD SWIMS . . . There’s no doubt that head coach Greg Meehan can’t wait until world recordholder Katie Ledecky joins his Stanford women’s swim team next fall. In the meantime, he’ll have to make due with freshman Simone Manuel. While Manuel doesn’t have the global recognition that Ledecky does — winning Olympic gold medals will do that — the talented sprinter from Texas provides a domination in the sprints and relays like perhaps no Stanford swimmer before her.

Manuel was simply outstanding during the three-day Art Adamson Invitational, which concluded on Saturday at Texas A&M in College Station.

She broke three school records and, in doing so, lowered her own American record in the 100-yard freestyle.

The 100 came on the final day, with Manuel splashing to a 46.62. That lowered her previous U.S. standard of 46.75 from earlier this year and eclipsed Lia Neal’s 47.17 school mark from the 2014 NCAA meet.

Manuel’s time also moved her to No. 2 in the world all-time, trailing only Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace’s 46.61 that stands as the U.S. Open record.

Manuel, meanwhile, also set a U.S. 17-18 National Age Group Record with her 100 time. Manuel also won the 50-yard free in 21.59, a school record that moved her to No. 7 alltime on the U.S. list. Completing a sweep of school records, Manuel also won the 200 free in 1:42.03.

That ties her with Ledecky for No. 7 on the all-time U.S. list. Manuel’s 200 time was named the Speedo Performance of the Week by USA Swimming. Equally important as her sprint wins, which established her as the early favorite for next spring’s NCAA Championships, were Manuel’s legs on the relay teams. Stanford closed the meet with its fifth relay victory as Maddy Schaefer, Manuel, Neal and freshman Janet Hu won the 400 free relay in 3:10.77, tying the school record. Manuel also anchored the winning 400 medley relay on the first day, clocking 45.81 to help the Cardinal win in 3:29.48.

Freshman Ally Howe from Sacred Heart Prep led off the relay. Host Texas A&M scored 1,204.5 points to win the meet while Stanford had 1,137.5 for second. Meanwhile, the Cardinal men closed out a dominating performance by winning team honors with 1,523 points.

Kevin Hogan leaped into the end zone to help beat Cal in the Big Game last weekend and put the Cardinal into the postseason bowl picture.

Stanford leaps into bowl picture again Cardinal heads to the Rose Bowl to face UCLA, but without an injured Ty Montgomery

By Rick Eymer tanford gets its trip to the Rose Bowl this season and the Cardinal could very well be playing the conference champion. But, the showdown won’t be for the Pac-12 title and the Cardinal will be missing one of its key players.

Stanford (6-5, 4-4 in the Pac12) claimed bowl eligibility for

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the sixth year in a row as senior running back Remound Wright ran for four touchdowns in a 3817 victory over host California last Saturday in the 117th edition of the Big Game at Memorial Stadium to take the Axe for the fifth consecutive season.

Six straight years of reaching a bowl game matched Stanford’s longest streak of six-win seasons

since the Great Depression.

Which bowl game the Cardinal will play in remains to be seen and depends upon the results of this weekend, when the Cardinal meets host UCLA at 12:30 p.m.

Friday, and the Pac-12 championship game on Dec. 5.

Stanford will be playing the Bruins without wide receiver Ty Montgomery, who suffered a

shoulder injury against the Golden Bears. The Cardinal hopes to get him back for the bowl game.

“We take the mindset that the next man up is the best man up,” Stanford safety Jordan Richards said. “You have to replace him and we have a talented group of receivers who can do so. We have (continued on page 54)

NCAA SOCCER

CROSS COUNTRY

Stanford women set for rematch

Menlo’s Lacy takes a run at state title

By Rick Eymer

by Keith Peters

tanford opened its women’s soccer season with five of its first six matches against ranked opponents. The third-ranked Cardinal hosts No. 10 Florida on Friday night at 7 p.m. in a rematch of one of those games.

Stanford (20-1-2) beat the Gators in the second week of September, 1-0, in overtime. Florida may be looking for revenge, but more importantly, the winner of Friday’s match advances into the Women’s College Cup final four on Dec. 5-7 in Boca Raton, Fla. Stanford is the top seed in this portion of the bracket. The Gators, who beat Texas Tech, 2-1, on Sunday, are

he top runners in California, many of whom also rank among the best in the country, will converge on Fresno this weekend for the annual CIF State Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park.

For a select few, only one thing is on their mind Saturday: winning a state title.

Include Menlo School senior Lizzie Lacy in that special group. She was sixth in the Division IV state finals last year with a 18:31 over the 3.1-mile course. This season, she has run 17:58 for 5K at the Stanford Invitational.

While that ranks her No. 21 overall

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(continued on page 54)

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Stanford senior Lo’eau LaBonta has scored on two penalty kicks in the past two NCAA playoff matches.

(continued on page 55)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 51

Sports CCS GIRLS WATER POLO

SHP stretches streak of titles to eight Gators keep remarkable string of championships intact; Gunn can’t overcome St. Francis in final

by Keith Peters

F

Sacred Heart Prep coach Jon Burke heads for a watery landing after his team captured an eighth straight Central Coast Section Division II title with a 15-4 dunking of Soquel on Saturday. you play great defense,” Burke said.

That allowed SHP to open its insurmountable lead and Burke to have all his seniors, perhaps fittingly, see action in the final moments.

Division I girls Gunn’s second straight appearance in the section finals resulted in a second straight loss to St. Francis, 9-7 on Saturday at Independence High. The top-seeded Lancers finished 21-8 while the No. 2 Titans ended their season 22-7.

Gunn senior goalie Sam Acker finished with 12 saves, six coming in the first quarter. The Titans stayed close throughout, with seniors Bianca Batista and Nia Gardner scoring on back-to-back possession to make it a 7-4 game in the third period.

Gunn trimmed its deficit to just

Keith Peters

pionship their freshman year,” said Burke.

Most of the seniors don’t play water polo year round, unlike previous classes. Yet, players like Meg Avery, Aubrey Gavello and Megan Anderson all helped make an impact this season.

A crucial juncture in the seniors’ development came in late September when some key underclassmen were injured during the California Capital Challenge. The Gators went 1-3 in the tournament — their first losses of the season.

Prior to the starters returning, the seniors filled in and gained valuable experience that carried over into the rest of the season.

On Saturday, Anderson scored three goals and Avery added one to help cap another championship season.

Layla Waters scored four goals and fellow sophomore Maddy Johnston added three, with sophomore Maddie Pendolino and junior Malaika Koshy contributing two each as the Gators completed the season without losing to a CCS opponent.

For those wondering about the streak, SHP will return its top three scorers — Koshy, Johnston and Waters.

“Offensively, we’re pretty complete next season,” Burke said.

“The biggest gap is on defense.”

Defense wasn’t a problem Saturday. After Soquel tied the match at 4 on Taylor Thorson’s second goal with 2:54 left in the second quarter, SHP didn’t allow another goal while going on an 11-0 run to close out the game.

“I didn’t even know that,” remarked Burke. “That’s the biggest run we’ve gone on — at least in the finals.”

SHP’s defensive stops, meanwhile, turned into numerous fastbreak goals.

“You’re going to get goals when

Keith Peters

or eight straight years, the Sacred Heart Prep girls have won their final water polo match of the season. That has translated into a remarkable streak of eight consecutive Central Coast Section Division II championships.

Winning that final match isn’t talked about that much among team members, but SHP coach Jon Burke acknowledged: “I think it’s on their minds. No one wants to be the class who lost that last game of the season.”

Thus, the Gators forge ahead year after year while trying to keep things in perspective.

“We’re aware of it being a historic run,” Burke said.

The run continued Saturday as top-seeded Sacred Heart Prep (23-6) handed No. 2 Soquel (244) a 15-4 dunking in the CCS Division II finals at Independence High in San Jose.

“We’ve had had the talent each year to do it,” Burke said of the streak, “and, we’ve done it. That’s what is most remarkable; that’s what’s most special about the streak — getting it done.”

Year after year, the Gators are expected to win and they do just that. It’s not as easy as most would think. Graduation can play a big role in that.

“This was a really remarkable year,” said Burke, who may have had one of his least-experienced senior classes since the streak began.

Senior goalie Emily Riley, for example, was on the JV team last season. Yet, she stepped up in her first and only year as a starter. On Saturday, she had 10 saves while sparking a superior defensive effort.

“This is probably the first class in five years where none of the seniors were a part of a CCS cham-

The SHP senior class got to celebrate with another CCS trophy as the Gators added to their historic run. one at 8-7 in the fourth on a goal by freshman Zoe Banks with just over four minutes left to play. The Lancers, however, held on defense and freshman Isabella Mandema

added a final goal with 10 seconds.

The Titans will lose nine seniors to graduation off their 15-player roster, including at least five starters. Q

CCS singles title puts SHP freshman in historic position

by Keith Peters t’s one down and perhaps three to go for Sacred Heart Prep freshman Sara Choy when it comes to her place in Central Coast Section girls’ tennis history.

The top-seeded Choy wrapped up her first section singles title on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over No. 3 Mariko Iinuma of Hillsdale at Bay Club Courtside in Los Gatos.

That triumph came on the heels of a hard-fought 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Menlo-Atherton freshman Lanie Van Linge in the semifinals earlier in the day.

The section title puts Choy in

I

position to accomplish something that no other player has done — win four straight CCS titles.

There have been eight multiple winners in section history since Barrie Bulmore of Gunn won back-to-back titles in 1977-78.

Leslie O’Keefe of San Mateo won in 1987, missed in ‘88 but came back to win a second in ‘89.

No one has ever won more than two. Menlo School’s Elizabeth Yao knows how tough it is to defend. She won last year, but was knocked out in the second round this week.

Choy likely has made some history already in just her first season of high school tennis. The

Page 52 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

wins on Tuesday wrapped up a 31-0 season and made her the third SHP player to earn a section title — following Jean Hepner in 1975 and Sam Rosekrans in 2005.

“It was great to see a freshman go undefeated through the year,” said SHP coach Losaline Mafileo.

Choy swept through four CCS matches while losing only five games in the opening two rounds.

She wound up losing more games to Van Linge to her three other opponents combined.

While she was tested by Van Linge, Choy was surprisingly dominant against Iinuma, who defeated Van Linge for the Peninsula Athletic League singles title

a few weeks ago.

Girls volleyball Menlo-Atherton will face a familiar foe in the semifinals of the Northern California Division I playoffs after dispatching No. 7 Lowell of San Francisco, 25-17, 17-25, 25-26, 25-14 in a first-round match on Tuesday in Atherton.

The No. 2-seeded Bears (29-3) will host No. 6 Homestead (25-14) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The same teams met last Saturday in the CCS title match with M-A winning in four sets.

Against Lowell, the Bears had plenty of offense and defense with

a .370 hitting percentage and no digging errors. With the fourth set tied at 13, M-A went on a 9-0 run to close out the victory.

Senior outside hitter Devin Joos, the Most Valuable Player in the PAL Bay Division this season, led the way once again with 14 kills and 20 digs. She had only two hitting errors in 26 attempts while hitting .460. Junior Leanna Collins was equally impressive with 22 kills and .510 hitting.

Senior libero Katlin Tavarez contributed 22 digs, sophomore setter Kirby Knapp finished with 53 assists and 10 digs, senior Ally Ostrow added 15 kills and Eliza Grover came up with five blocks. Q

Sports CCS WATER POLO

STANFORD ROUNDUP

SHP boys make it historic

Cardinal men head to NCAAs

Gators win fourth title in a row; Gunn falls in its bid for crown

Water polo team wins MPSF tourney to qualify for national tournament

by Keith Peters he Sacred Heart Prep senior class had history on its mind heading into the Central Coast Section Division II boys water polo championship match on Saturday at Independence High in San Jose.

The Gators had a chance to become the first Division II team to win four straight section titles.

The seniors also had a shot at becoming the first class in program history to win four straight. And, SHP wanted to make sure history didn’t repeat itself.

Four years ago, Sacred Heart Prep also had a streak of three straight CCS titles, but was denied a fourth when Menlo pulled out an 11-5 victory at Independence High.

“That was our goal today, to not let that happen again,” said SHP senior Michael Swart.

The Gators didn’t as Swart scored four goals and sophomore goalie JC Marco had 10 saves in a 10-6 victory over rival Menlo School. Top-seeded SHP finished 25-4 while the No. 2 Knights ended their season a 23-7.

Had the Gators not lost to Menlo in 2010, they would be riding a streak of eight straight CCS titles, matching the SHP girls. That streak aside, Saturday’s victory gave the SHP boys their eighth section title overall during 11 appearances in the finals since winning their first crown in 2003.

SHP head coach Brian Kreutzkamp said his team’s goal was to make history on this day. The Gators did that, and more.

“They haven’t lost to any CCS opponents in four seasons,” Kreutzkamp said.

“Our goal every year is to go out with a win,” said Swart. “But, to do that four straight years is crazy.”

Especially considering all the talent the Gators have lost in recent years. SHP had only six seniors this season plus five freshmen and an untested goalie.

“You never know how a sophomore goalie will play,” Kreutzkamp said of Marco, who was following in the footsteps of his older brother, Philippe, who had 13 saves in last year’s title match.

“That was the big question mark today, and he answered that early.”

Marco came up with some solid saves early while Swart scored once and sophomore Jackson Enright twice to give SHP a 3-0 lead in the first quarter before Menlo senior Weston Avery made it 3-1.

Avery scored quickly to open the second quarter and teammate James Thygesen added one to

J Churnside scored two of his three goals in the final four minutes to help the Stanford men’s water polo team down host Long Beach State, 9-8, in the championship final of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament Sunday.

Senior Alex Bowen also scored three times and was named MPSF/Kap7 Tournament MVP as the second-ranked Cardinal (253) clinched an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament, which begins Dec. 6 in La Jolla. Stanford earned the No. 2 overall seed.

UCLA, the regular-season champion, came back to beat USC, 10-5, in the third-place contest, also received a bid into the Final Four and was awarded the No. 1 overall seed.

The Bruins will meet the winner of a play-in match between UC San Diego and Brown (27-6).

USC, which received the second at-large bid and was seeded third, plays No. 6 Whittier (2312) in a play-in game Saturday.

Gunn grad Gavin Kerr plays for the Poets.

The Cardinal meets the winner of that match on Dec. 6 at about 3:15 p.m. at Canyonview Pool in La Jolla.

Long Beach State (22-7), which was left out of the national tournament, dropped two games to Stanford by a combined total of three goals this season and split two matches with the Bruins.

The 49ers beat UC San Diego (15-9) three times during the regular season and also beat Whittier in their only meeting.

The Trojans (22-6) are the sixtime defending national champions and have reached the NCAA title game the past nine years.

Stanford won its first MPSF tournament title in 10 years and fifth overall. The Cardinal is looking for its first NCAA title in 12 years.

Stanford and Long Beach State played in a contest that featured four lead changes and six ties. The 49ers took an 8-7 lead with 4:15 left to play.

Churnside scored the tying goal 30 seconds later and then got the chance to score the go-ahead goal when Stanford earned an exclusion with 32 seconds remaining.

The junior driver scored with three seconds remaining in the power play.

Nick Hoversten, Bret Bonanni and Adam Addulhamid also

by Rick Eymer

T

B Keith Peters

Sacred Heart Prep coach Brian Kreutzkamp knows this drill well after his boys captured a fourth straight Central Coast Section Division II water polo title on Saturday with a 10-6 win over rival Menlo.

Keith Peters

offset goals by SHP junior Finn Banks and Swart as the Gators held a 5-3 halftime lead.

Menlo senior Andreas Katsis got his team to within one goal at 5-4 to open the third, but the Gators scored three unanswered goals (senior Nelson PerlaWard, Swart and freshman Alex Tsotadze) for an 8-4 advantage.

When Swart scored on a counterattack that left him one on one with Menlo goalie Spencer Witte, it was 9-5 in the fourth. Katsis got his second goal and Menlo senior Nick Bisconti finally got on the board, but it was too little too late.

The key, as it is in most championship games, was defense.

Kreutzkamp had three different players attempt to blanket Bisconti, who was the only prep player in the nation to train with the U.S. Senior National Team over the summer. Swart, Perla-Ward and senior Grant Harvey all did a commendable job as Bisconti was held scoreless until the outcome was no longer in doubt.

The Gators had plenty of practice this season as it played yet another difficult schedule that included the nation’s top teams.

That prepared SHP well for defending its CCS title.

“It never gets easier,” Kreutzkamp said. “Every year teams put a target on our backs and try to find ways of stopping us. We have to be ready every single game.

But, they (his Gators) keep rising to the occasion.”

Menlo was led by senior goalie Spencer Witte, who came up with 15 saves — many from pointblank range.

“If the rest of us stepped up even half as much as Spencer did,” said Bisconti, a fellow co-captain, “the game would have had a different result.”

“Spencer showed, once again, that he’s one of the top goalkeepers in Northern California,” said

The Sacred Heart Prep seniors hoisted a CCS Division II championship trophy for a fourth straight year.

Menlo coach Jack Bowen. “No doubt, I’m proud of him. But, I’m immensely proud of this whole group. The character of this team, and the heart that they’ve exhibited throughout the season and in today’s game is unmatched.

I’ve loved every minute of this season. Today, Sacred Heart also put together a great game and the game itself was tremendously well-played. That’s what you want from a contest like this.”

Division I Gunn’s first appearance in the section title match since 2004 came up short of success in a 11-7 loss to No. 2-seeded St. Francis on Saturday at Independence High.

The No. 4-seeded Titans (18-11) were within 5-2 at the half before the Lancers (18-10) pulled away to win their first section title since 2010. Gunn was hoping to win its first CCS crown since 1995.

The Titans fell behind 3-0 after one period and trailed by 9-5 after

three periods. Senior Ari Wayne closed his career with four goals with Quinn Hamilton adding two and Christian Znidarsic one.

The loss, however, didn’t ruin the return to the CCS finals for Gunn coach Matt Johnson, who played goalie for the Titans in the ‘04 title match.

“My return to CCS finals was a lot of fun,” Johnson said. “I’m so proud of this group to be able to accomplish that goal. We definitely talked about how special and unique this opportunity is and I told the guys to live in the moment and enjoy it.

“I thought we battled and left it all in the pool. It obviously wasn’t the start we wanted, but these guys never quit. It was a great experience for us and our program and we will continue to grow and get better. We lost some very good players, but we have guys ready to fill those spots and we return a very strong trio in Hilde-Jones, Hamilton, and Znidarsic.” Q

(continued on next page)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 28, 2014 • Page 53

Sports

Stanford roundup (continued from previous page)

Bob Drebin/stanfordphoto.com

Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan (bottom left corner) and his teammates celebrated a fifth-straight win over Cal in the annual Big Game last Saturday in Berkeley.

Football (continued from page 51)

to pick him up.”

The conference has contracts to fill seven bowl spots and there are currently eight teams who are bowl-eligible, with Oregon State and California needing a win to make it 10.

The Rose Bowl game serves as one of the semifinal rounds of the BCS playoff system this year.

Oregon (10-1, 7-1) likely will be there unless the Ducks fall out of the top four.

Should Oregon get beat in the next two weeks, no Pac-12 team will appear in the Rose Bowl game and the conference champion will be sent to another of the top bowls.

Soccer (continued from page 51)

seeded second.

The last meeting between the two teams produced a moment of conflict that seemingly sparked the Cardinal.

Sophomore goalie Jane Campbell was getting bumped and pushed around in the contest, eventually leading to a shoving match with her U.S. Under-20 World Cup teammate Savannah Jordan. They had been teammates just weeks before.

“There might be a little bit of pushing, shoving and scratching,” Cardinal senior Lo’eau LaBonta said. “Jane got tired of them shoving some of our guys around and shoved back a little. This time we’re both fighting to go to Boca.”

LaBonta’s penalty kick ended the game against the Gators. She’s also scored off of penalty kicks in Stanford’s past two NCAA contests.

“We don’t want to rely on the penalty kicks,” LaBonta said.

Stanford, unless it upsets the No. 9 Bruins (9-2, 6-2), will be relegated to a minor bowl game unless the Foster Farms Bowl committee thinks the Cardinal will help fill up Levi’s Stadium on Dec. 30.

Stanford has beaten the Bruins six straight times, including the Pac-12 Conference title game in 2012.

The Cardinal has the eighthbest record in the conference, which means it could be slim pickings. At best, Stanford is looking at the Las Vegas Bowl or Cactus Bowl.

A win over UCLA would brighten the outlook. The Bruins would miss the Pac-12 championship game if they lose and probably would end up in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. The

winner of the Arizona-Arizona State game would advance to the conference title game should UCLA falter.

“We still look at each other as rivals to a certain degree,” Stanford coach David Shaw said of the Bruins. “We look at both L.A. schools that way. It’s not as close in proximity as Cal, but it is a rivalry in and of itself. This rivalry is special and it has its own unique slant.”

Stanford enters the game ranked seventh nationally in scoring defense (16.5), sixth in total defense (289.7) and 10th in passing defense (176.9).

The Cardinal has allowed 30 or fewer points in 33 of its past 34 games and its 93-game streak of scoring at least 10 points is intact.

“This game is huge for us,

regardless of what it means to them,” Richards said. “It’s a good team, a team that has been successful throughout the year. It comes down to being in the right place at the right time and making plays when they do come.”

Blake Martinez, who had two interceptions and forced a fumble, led a stout Cardinal defense, which held Cal to 17 points. Martinez became the first player to record two picks in the Big Game since 2001.

Kevin Hogan finished 15-of-20 passing for 214 yards and rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.

Wright is the first Stanford player to score four rushing touchdowns in a game since Stepfan Taylor ran for four scores against Arizona in 2010. Q

“We’ve had a lot of chances. It’s focusing, locking the foot and getting the ball into the back of the net.”

Florida (17-4-1) was shut out once all season and that was against the Cardinal. The Gators also beat California, 3-1, in the NCAA tournament.

“I’m excited because it should be a great matchup,” Stanford defender Kendall Romine said.

“They will come in hard and they have a great offense. If we play our game, stay focused and keyed in, we can win that game.”

Stanford looks to reach the Women’s College Cup for the sixth time in seven years and eighth overall. Eventual champion UCLA knocked out the Cardinal last year.

“We have to keep our composure,” Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe said. “The stakes are higher.

We don’t need any silly yellow cards.”

LaBonta missed her penalty shot but kicked it hard enough to get the rebound and convert the unassisted goal in the Cardinal’s 1-0 victory over visiting Washing-

ton in a third-round match of the NCAA tournament Sunday.

The Stanford defense, with Campbell coming up big, made sure the one goal was enough. It was Stanford’s 17th shutout of the season and second in a row.

“The back line takes a lot of pride in taking the shutout,” Romine said. “We want to do everything we can to preserve the win. We have a lot of confidence going. “

chances and just couldn’t finish, allowing UC Irvine to advance into the Sweet 16 and a game next Sunday against Providence.

“It was a great passage of play,” Callahan said. “They won the ball at midfield and got behind our defense. We had it covered well but it was a great finish.”

Stanford seemingly was on the rise after winning its first Pac-12 title in 10 years and controlled play for much of the game.

“We had the better chances throughout the game,” Cardinal coach Jeremy Gunn said. “We did a good job of putting ourselves in position to win. We didn’t finish our chances. They did.”

Stanford saw its nine-game unbeaten streak end after losing to the Anteaters for the first time in nine meetings dating to 1993.

“The seniors have been absolutely magnificent,” Gunn said.

“When those guys put everything they have into a game like this, it’s tough. We’ve got an incredibly bright future and we’re definitely a powerful soccer program and will stay that way.” Q

Page 54 • November 28, 2014 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Men’s soccer Stanford senior defender Jimmy Callinan, still devastated by the Cardinal’s 1-0 loss to UC Irvine on Sunday, had mixed emotions regarding the sudden loss.

There was one thing he did know.

“I’m proud of the team the way we went after the Pac-12 title,” Callinan said. “We overcame a lot since the beginning of the season. We worked hard every single day. Getting that title for us and for Stanford was great.”

The Cardinal, 7-0-7 in its previous 14 overtime contests, had its

scored for the Cardinal. Drew Holland recorded 16 saves in the goal.

Meanwhile, six Stanford players were named All-MPSF when the conference announced its postseason awards this week. The Cardinal’s six honorees are its most since 2007.

Bowen and Bonanni earned All-MPSF First Team status, Churnside and Holland were selected to the second team while Conner Cleary and Hoversten received honorable mention..

Bowen earned his fourth consecutive nod on the conference’s first team while Bonanni returned to the All-MPSF First Team in this his junior year after placing on the second team in 2013. His 255 lifetime scores are second in Stanford history and fifth in MPSF history.

Cross country Five Stanford men finished among the top 39, all earning AllAmerica honors, to give the Cardinal a stunning runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

Stanford scored 98 points, trailing only Colorado’s 65, to earn its highest finish since winning the 2003 title. The Cardinal was ranked No. 9 entering the race.

Maksim Korolev, a graduate transfer in his fifth year of eligibility, paced Stanford with a fourth-place individual finish, cover- Maksim Korolev ing the 10-kilometer race in 30:29.5 on the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. His teammates excelled behind him, with Sean McGorty in 20th, Michael Atchoo in 29th, Joe Rosa in 33rd, and Sam Wharton in 39th. They all earned AllAmerica honors for the first time in cross country.

In the women’s race, Elise Cranny finished as the top freshman in the country, placing 12th over the 6-kilometer course in 20:17.0. She was Stanford’s highest women’s freshman finisher since 1999, when Lauren Fleshman was fifth. Stanford, with five freshmen in eligibility, finished 14th with 415 points.

The Stanford women got a strong race from redshirt freshman Emma Fisher, who placed 75th as the Cardinal’s No. 2, with Sophie Chase next in 136th, Vanessa Fraser in 149th, Molly McNamara in 170th, Claire Howlett in 184th, and Abbie McNulty in 199th.

All of Stanford’s top seven women return and they will be joined by Aisling Cuffe, the 2013 Pac-12 champion and NCAA fourth-place finisher, who is redshirting. Q

Sports CCS FOOTBALL

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Quite an Open(er) for SHP Gators take 11-0 mark into the semifinals against Los Gatos

by Andrew Preimesberger f there was any question whether tiny Sacred Heart Prep could match up with the big boys of the Central Coast Section Open Division football playoffs, it was answered in last week’s 37-13 victory over Oak Elizabeth Yao Michael Swart Grove in the opening round.

MENLO SCHOOL SACRED HEART PREP Senior two-way standout Ben Burr-Kirven led a sturdy defense The senior tennis player won The senior scored five goals and ran for 196 yards to as the No. the deciding match to upset in a 10-6 semifinal water 1-seeded Gators improved to 11-0 No. 1 Saratoga, 4-3, in the polo win over SI and four while dropping the No. 8 Eagles semifinals before winning more in a 10-6 win over to 7-4 and into the consolation the clinching match at No. 1 Menlo in the CCS Division bracket. singles in the finals as the II finals as the No. 1 Gators Sacred Heart now advances to Knights won their first CCS captured their fourth straight the semifinals and will take on team title since 2005. section championship. fifth-seeded Los Gatos (9-2) on Saturday night at Independence Honorable mention High in San Jose at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are coming off a 28-0 Leanna Collins Ben Burr-Kirven* winner over No. 4 and defending Menlo-Atherton volleyball Sacred Heart Prep football Open Divison champ Serra.

Maddy Johnston Jackson Enright In the other semifinal, No. 6 Pinewood cross country Sacred Heart Prep water polo Valley Christian (9-2) will take on Devin Joos JC Marco No. 6 Bellarmine (9-2) on Friday Menlo-Atherton volleyball Sacred Heart Prep water polo at Independence High at 7 p.m.

Kirby Knapp* Nelson Perla-Ward “We’re going to have to really Menlo-Atherton volleyball Sacred Heart Prep water polo prepare well they are an excelLayla Waters Mason Randall* lent football team,” SHP coach Sacred Heart Prep water polo Sacred Heart Prep football Pete Lavorato said of Los Gatos.

Alice Yao Spencer Witte* “We’ve seen them a couple times Menlo tennis Menlo water polo so we’re going to have to do ev* previous winner erything we can to be prepared Watch video interviews of the Athletes of the Week, go to PASportsOnline.com 100 percent.”

The showdown matches last up the lead in the second quarter year’s CCS Division II champ against Gatos.”

On the Gators’ first play in when Randall hooked up with ju(Los Gatos) against the Division the second quarter, Burr-Kirven nior Nick O’Donnell for a 32-yard IV champ (SHP).

Lavorato is now 107-32-1 in his plowed his way through the line touchdown and gave the Gators 12th year at SHP, including a 74- then ran down the sideline for a the 28-7 led going into halftime.

14-1 mark since joining the CCS 60-yard touchdown, setting the The Gators’ offense totaled 296 tone for the offense and giving the yards, while the defense gave up in 2008. just 76 yards in the half.

Gators a 21-0 lead.

The Gators are also Senior kicker Derek Chou “We’d been running closing in on possibly that play all game and nailed a 40-yard field goal to give their first-ever undegetting stuffed a little Sacred Heart a 31-7 advantage in feated season while bit,” said Burr-Kirven. the third quarter. It was Chou’s reaching at least 11 wins “I just cut it back a little first field goal of the season. for the sixth time in proIn the fourth quarter senior runearlier than I would and gram history. the backside tackle got ning back Matt Odell clawed his “Eleven and 0 is the safety and then it way in for a 2-yard touchdown nice but, more imporwas just off to the races.” giving the Gators a dominate tantly, we won our first In the first quarter, 37-7 lead to start off the quarter.

Open CCS game,” said Lavorato. “Oak Grove Ben Burr-Kirven junior quarterback Ma- Sacred Heart rushed for 321 total son Randall found an yards including three touchdowns. is a power house and a “Thomas Rogers and Wyatt very respected program. I didn’t open Riley Tinsley for a five-yard think this was going to happen. I touchdown and the Gators took a Welch were holding it down and thought it was going to be a battle 14-0 early lead. Randall went 10 I feel confident running behind right down to the end, but our de- for 14 with 131 passing yards and them and I know the hole is going to be there,” said Tinsley. “The Ofense dug in and our offense was two touchdowns.

The Eagles got on the board in line was lights out today.” moving the ball.”

The Gators’ defense was also “It’s definitely exciting,” said the second quarter when quarBurr-Kirven, who was in on 14 terback Darrell Fontenette con- lights out all game long. It gave tackles. “We’ve never won an nected with Jose Mejia Jr. for a up only 105 total yards on 33 carOpen game so it’s great to come 29-yard touchdown. The wide ries for an average of just 3.18 out and not only win, but domi- receiver caught the ball while his yards per carry and no rushing nate. We’ve got a lot of work to back was on the ground and Oak touchdowns. SHP had a total of six tackles for loss and a sack for do, we can’t soak it in too much, Grove trimmed the lead to 21-7.

Sacred Heart started to open a minus-30 yards. Q you have to look into next week

I

finished second as a team at CCS to qualify everyone for the state (continued from page 51) meet.

Also sending entire teams will in the state, Lacy’s 17:21.91 from be the Palo Alto and Sacred Heart winning the Central Coast Sec- Prep boys.

With senior Lucas Matison tion Division IV title two weeks ago over a three-mile layout at winning the Division I individual Toro Park in Salinas ranks her No. title, the Vikings finished second 2 in the state in Division IV be- in the team race.

“Today truly was amazing,” hind Malibu’s Caroline Pietrzyk, whose 16:58 from winning her Paly coach Kelsey Feeley said att division at the Southern Section he CCS meet. “I can’t describe finals converts to 17:16 for Fresno. how proud I am of the boys. We “But, it’s OK,” said Menlo set the goal to make it to the state coach Jorge Chen. “It’ll come meet at the beginning of the seadown to either of them at the son and the boys rose to the occasion. The boys all had a game (state) finish.” plan for the race and exChen is high on Lacy ecuted it perfectly.” after her time at CCS The Vikings were led ranked her No. 2 allby Matison in 15:39.9 time on the course and clocking. He was Paly’s left her No. 1 in all divifirst individual chamsions for CCS. pion since Philip Mac“Lizzie was off the Quitty won Division II charts,” Chen said after in 2007. the CCS race. “I credit “Lucas finishing first this all to Lizzie’s own in the race was obvihard work during the ously the biggest factor offseason and building Lizzie Lacy in us taking second, but from there during the season. Also, Lizzie is extremely all seven of the boys are responcoachable as she constantly gives sible for this feat,” said Feeley. me feedback on how she’s do- “Again, I am so very proud of the ing and thus making it easier for work the boys put into this season me to proceed. Lizzie continues and am so happy they are being to write her name in the record rewarded for it by moving on to books and it’ll be fun to see how the state meet.”

Matison continued his excellent she does in the state meet.”

Lacy is one of six runners, who season — he also won the SCVAL finished in the top 10 in her divi- El Camino Division title — by sion last year, who return for the posting a seven-second victory. state finals. Lacy has that mindset Paly sophomore Kent Slaney really came through with a ninthto win heading to Fresno.

“The whole season, that has place finish of 16:06 after being kind of been my goal,” Lacy said seeded only 21st. Slaney had been of possibly winning a state title. running for only 3 1/2 weeks after “It was out there before Crystal.” breaking a toe at the start of the Lacy began shouldering big season.

The Sacred Heart Prep boys, expectations after she ran 17:00.8 over Crystal Spring’s 2.95 miles to meanwhile, qualified for the state win the West Bay Athletic League meet for the first time by finishing title. At CCS, on the slightly lon- third. SHP senior Daniel Hill led ger course, her 17:21.9 converted his team in seventh (16:07) with Garrett Mack taking 13th (16:26) to the time she ran at Crystal.

“I’m just as motivated now as I and August Howell 15th (16:30).

Hill was 30th in the state meet was then,” Lacy said. last year in 16:32.

So, a state title is possible?

“The team was very excited,” “If I have a good race, it’s definitely doable,” she said. “I have to said SHP coach Ken Wilner. go in thinking that I can (win). Be- “They established the goal of ing a senior . . . that makes it that qualifying for the state meet much sweeter. This is it for me; this spring during track season. this is my high school experience.” We were seeded third going into Saturday’s race. I did Gunn junior Gillian not think we could get Meeks, meanwhile, also King City and knew we has to be considered in would have to have all the running for state five scorers peaking to honors, in Division I. challenge Scotts Valley.

She was 46th last season The battle for the third in 18:37, but ran 17:42 slot was among Seaside, for 5,000 meters (same Half Moon Bay and distance as Woodward us. We were confident Park) and ranks No. 9 that if we ran as a team overall in the state this like we had all season, season.

Gillian Meeks we would be going to Meeks won the CCS Division I title in 17:59. She and Woodward Park Thanksgiving Lacy were two of three local girls weekend. Our goal is to crack the win CCS individual titles two top 10 at the state meet.”

Also headed to the state meet to weeks ago. The other was Pinewood senior Nicole Colonna in run as individuals will be Menlo Division V. She finished eighth at School freshman Robert Miranda, the state finals last season in 19:17 Gunn senior Emily Aiken, Pineand looks to move up on Saturday wood’s Helena Merk plus Priory’s after running 18:58 in the section Ross Corey and Robert Screven.

Aiken, Corey and Screven all ran finals.

The Priory girls, meanwhile, in the state meet last year. Q

Cross country

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