Palo Alto Weekly January 22, 2016 by Palo Alto Weekly

Vol. XXXVII, Number 16

January 22, 2016

Palo Alto preps for Super Bowl crowds Page 5 w w w. P a l o A l t o O n l i n e.c o m

Four women. One alleged assailant. And the institutional processes they say are broken. Page 18

Pulse 14 Transitions 15 Spectrum 16 Eating Out 25 Movies 27 Puzzles 38 Q Arts South Asian troupe goes beyond â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;culture in a siloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

Page 24

Q Home Professional tips for winter gardening

Page 28

Q Sports Stanford tennis teams to begin title quests

Page 41

COMMUNIT Y TALK

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Page 2 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

Survey shows growing angst about retirement Concerns about housing costs, transportation options mar citizens’ image of their city

2015 marked the first time in the survey’s 13-year history that the number has dipped under 90 percent (it was 94 percent in 2012 and 91 percent in both 2013 and 2014). The percentage of people rating Palo Alto as a “good” or “excellent” place to retire has slipped markedly, going from 68 percent in 2006 to just 60 percent in 2014 and 52 percent in 2015. Meanwhile, the percentage that gave the city good grades for “variety of housing options” went down from 27 percent

by Gennady Sheyner

ith traffic congestion and skyrocketing housing prices high on people’s minds, the percentage of Palo Alto residents rating their city a great place to retire has reached a new low, according to an annual survey commissioned by the City Auditor’s office.

The National Citizen Survey, a statistically valid study conducted by the National Research Center, found that Palo Altans by and large like living in their home town, with 88 percent ranking the overall quality of life as good or excellent. This good news, however, comes with a buzzkill caveat:

in 2014 to 20 percent in 2015. The outlook looks bleakest to residents in the south Palo Alto neighborhoods of Barron Park, Charleston Meadows, Esther Clark Park, Greater Miranda, Green Acres, Monroe Park, Palo Alto Orchards and Ventura, which are grouped together as Area 4. Only 45 percent of the surveyed residents in this area gave the city the top two ratings as a place to retire. Things didn’t look much better from the perspective of Area

5, which is also in the south and includes Adobe Meadow, Fairmeadow, Greenmeadow, Palo Verde and Walnut Grove. Only 46 percent of the respondents in these neighborhoods gave Palo Alto the top two ratings as a place to retire. By contrast, about 60 percent of the residents in the downtown neighborhoods north of Embarcadero gave the city a “good” or “excellent” rating when (continued on page 9)

PUBLIC SAFETY

Palo Alto prepares for Super Bowl 50 Emergency services, hospitals, police and fire gear up for thousands of visitors by Sue Dremann

W Weekly file photo

Iron workers from California Erectors assemble the frame of a three-story office and residential building at 385 Sherman Ave., near Palo Alto’s California Avenue, on Jan. 20.

EDUCATION

Superintendent: District not informed about sex-abuse investigation Ohlone Elementary teacher arrested on charges involving an 11-year-old girl by Elena Kadvany that I didn’t find out anything about this until we got that note last Thursday,” McGee told the Weekly We d n e s d a y. “There are some pro cedures that need to be put in place, that need to be improved.” Michael Airo Smith did not respond to several requests for comment. According to McGee, there is no official procedure in place for

Courtesy Palo Alto Police Department

uperintendent Max McGee said he first learned of serious child-abuse allegations made against an Ohlone Elementary School teacher last week, when the district received a “court-ordered booking” via fax from the California Department of Justice. McGee said that neither he, nor anyone else at the Palo Alto school district office, as far as he knows, was informed a full year earlier when a Palo Alto police officer interviewed Ohlone Principal Nicki Smith regarding the allegations. “I’m disturbed, to say the least,

when a principal becomes aware of allegations about a teacher or staff member, but “when police are involved in any investigation in a school — no matter how serious — I would expect the district office to be notified,” he said. Smith and McGee informed the school community last week that Mike Airo, a fourth- and fifthgrade teacher at Ohlone, had been placed on unpaid compulsory leave after the district discovered he is facing charges of sexual abuse of a former female Palo Alto Unified student from more (continued on page 12)

ith an estimated 2 million visitors expected to arrive in Bay Area cities during the week leading up to Super Bowl 50, Palo Alto and Santa Clara County agencies are in the last push of their preparations for the influx. At the top of their list: traffic and public safety, in all of their myriad manifestations. Palo Alto and surrounding cities are sure to feel the impact, even though the Feb. 7 event will be held at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Stanford University will also host practice sessions by the American Football Conference (AFC) championship team from Feb. 2-6. Stanford’s Department of Public Safety Special Events Unit said in a statement to the Weekly that it is collaborating with local and federal agencies on security for the week. “We anticipate an increase in pedestrian and vehicle traffic and are coordinating with local agencies to assist with this potential increase,” the department said, without further elaboration. Palo Alto’s Office of Emergency Services will figure big in those operations monitoring activities and in coordinating responses to disasters, accidents and medical emergencies. The OES’s renovated command center at Palo Alto’s police headquarters will be the nerve center, and the department will also deploy its Mobile Emergency Operations Center, OES Director Ken Dueker said. Of the possible 2 million visitors, only 70,000 will be attending the Super Bowl. That leaves a considerable number of people who will be otherwise amusing themselves, Dueker said. And al-

though traffic and medical emergencies top the list of concerns, Dueker said that Mother Nature could be a complicating factor. “Our planning is as much about El Nino as anything else. We are looking at Murphy’s Law. We could have major storms,” he said, which typically occur in early February in El Nino years, he said. In addition to flooding from storms, increased accidents and power outages, Dueker said that communications might also be compromised. “Your cell phone might not work as well,” he said, noting that the area has insufficient cellular network coverage. Even during regular 49ers games at the stadium, people sometimes can’t get through, he added. Federal authorities are also concerned about terrorist acts that could shut down communications. A memo between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security was recently leaked to NBC News4 I-Team in Washington, D.C., expressing concern about potential sabotage to fiber-optic cables in the Bay Area during the Super Bowl, NBC reported. Michele Ernst, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s San Francisco field office, told NBC that there have been 15 attacks against fiber-optic lines in the Bay Area since 2014. Dueker said his office is working with the FBI and other agencies through the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center to monitor potential terrorist threats. But there is no specific threat right now in the (continued on page 8)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 5

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PUBLISHER William S. Johnson (223-6505) EDITORIAL Editor Jocelyn Dong (223-6514) Associate Editor Brenna Malmberg (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/Videographer Veronica Weber (223-6520) Editorial Intern Avi Salem Contributors 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, Andrew Preimesberger, Daryl Savage, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti 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), Wendy Suzuki (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) Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan (223-6578) ADVERTISING SERVICES Advertising Services Lead Blanca Yoc (223-6596) Sales & Production Coordinators Diane Martin (223-6584), Kevin Legarda (223-6597) DESIGN Design & Production Manager Kristin Brown (223-6562) Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Paul Llewellyn Designers Diane Haas, Rosanna Leung, Nick Schweich, Doug Young EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Online Operations Coordinator Thao Nguyen (223-6508) BUSINESS Payroll & Benefits Susie Ochoa (223-6544) Business Associates Audrey Chang (223-6543), Elena Dineva (223-6542), Cathy Stringari (223-6541) ADMINISTRATION Receptionist Doris Taylor Courier Ruben Espinoza

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Page 6 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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

I’m a bit nervous about pop-up parties. —Eric Nickel, Palo Alto fire chief, on possible Super Bowl crowds that’ll form around celebrities who tweet their location. See story on page 5.

Around Town

TOUCHDOWN 101 ... A new class at Stanford University is giving students a peek behind the scenes at the 2016 Super Bowl, which will take place Feb. 7 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. “The Business of Super Bowl 50 and Silicon Valley” will examine the National Football League’s global sporting event and provide a glimpse into how marketing, merchandising, logistics, corporate support, broadcasting and technology work together. The six-week course, which was put together by Andy Dolich, a sports management consultant, will feature guest speakers, including Pat Gallagher, executive vice president for the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee; Tod Leiweke, chief operating officer of the NFL; Ted Robinson, sportscaster and “Voice of the San Francisco 49ers”; Damon Bruce, host of The Damon Bruce Show; and Al Saracevic, sports editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. The class started Tuesday, Jan. 19, and will continue after the Super Bowl, at which time students will assess the outcomes and draw lessons for future marketing events of all types. PRIORITIES ... Setting official priorities was once an exercise of democratic intrigue in Palo Alto — a lengthy ordeal featuring debates, dissents and colorful stickers. In the old days, council members would propose priorities and, once all the suggestions had been submitted, place stickers on the board next to those they supported. Those with the most stickers would then be adopted. These days, the thrill of suspense is largely gone. When the council meets on Jan. 30 for the annual exercise, members are expected to simply continue with the four priorities they set in 2015: the built environment (which pertains to transportation, parking and “livability”), infrastructure, “healthy city/healthy community” and the completion of the Comprehensive Plan update. Every council member surveyed has recommended adopting, either in whole or in part, last year’s priority list (Greg Schmid, a retired economist, suggested adding “long-term fiscal analysis” while Marc Berman suggested adding the word “housing” to the built-environment priority). But even if the council’s priorities remain fixed, residents are lobbying to add some fresh issues into the mix. Hovering over just about every other local issue is airplane noise,

a topic of growing discontent over the past year. In a survey, airplane noise ranked second (right behind “built environment”) in the number of comments submitted by residents who were asked about priorities. Noisy airplanes, in fact, received more comments (46) than housing (20), sustainability (11) and infrastructure (7) put together.

ELECTION TIME ... It’s 10 months away, but the 2016 schoolboard election is already taking shape. Longtime trustee Camille Townsend, who has served on the board for more than a decade, announced in the midst of a rousing endorsement of the Enrollment Management Advisory Committee’s recommendations at last week’s board meeting that she will not be running for re-election. “There’s an election in November,” she said, urging “young” parents who spoke in support of the committee’s recommendations to harness their energy and run for three soon-to-be-open board seats. “I don’t plan to run again, but I’m going to work my butt off for you this year.” Townsend would not comment further to the Weekly on her decision. A district parent and attorney first elected in 2003, Townsend is in the midst of serving her third term on the board. (There are no term limits for school board members.) She won re-election in 2007 and again in 2012. When Townsend was reelected in 2012, she became the first Palo Alto board member in more than 40 years to serve more than two terms. Townsend is not the only board member whose term is coming to an end in November: outgoing president Melissa Baten Caswell and new President Heidi Emberling’s seats will also be opening up. Both Baten Caswell, who has sat on the dais since 2007, and Emberling, who edged out Ken Dauber for a seat in the 2012 election, said they have yet to decide if they will run. Gina Dalma, a district parent and senior education program officer at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation who ran in the 2014 election, said she will be deciding by the end of this month whether or not she will throw her hat into the 2016 ring. Another 2014 candidate and parent Catherine Crystal Foster (now the executive director of the Westly Foundation, a nonprofit that funds education, health and other programs that support children), said she does not plan to run again in November. Q

Upfront ENVIRONMENT

Council backs away from broader landscaping restrictions City to do more community outreach, consider impacts to plants before returning with revised water-saving proposal by Gennady Sheyner

acing criticisms about inadequate outreach to the community, Palo Alto officials on Tuesday retreated from a proposal to tighten local landscaping rules and agreed to refine the proposal in the coming months. The council voted unanimously not to pursue at this time an ordinance proposed by the Development Services Department staff that would have required residents with landscaping projects, undertaken in conjuction with a building project, to comply with new restrictions on turf and other plants that use large amounts of water. Those who choose not to limit their landscapes predominantly to native plants would have been allowed to submit detailed worksheet prepared by a landscape architect showing how much water the landscape would use. The new ordinance would also create a new permitting process for landscapes, allowing customers

to obtain their building permits before proceeding with a separate process for landscapes. The ordinance was prompted by a state mandate that all California cities either adopt a local landscaping ordinance or be automatically subject to a state ordinance crafted by the state Department of Water Resources last year. With the deadline to adopt new restrictions fast approaching (the due date is Feb. 1), staff was under a time crunch to get the local ordinance in place, Director of Development Services Peter Pirnejad said. Palo Alto officials also worked on a regional ordinance with the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), a coalition of agencies that draw water from the Hetch Hetchy system. Ultimately, however, they recommended a proposal that would be more restrictive than the one proposed by the state or the one recommended by

BAWSCA. While all ordinances seek to limit non-native plants, the state and BAWSCA ordinances limit the restrictions to new landscapes that are at least 500 square feet. For rehabilitated landscapes, the threshold is 2,500 square feet under the state ordinance and 1,000 square feet under the BAWSCA ordinance. The city’s ordinance has no thresholds and would apply to any project that requires a building permit (if someone simply wants to replace plants in his or her front yard, it would not apply). “The only thing we did that was different from BAWSCA was lower (the threshold) so all projects would be required (to comply),” Pirnejad said Tuesday. The City Council lauded staff’s effort in meeting the tight state deadline but ultimately agreed that the ordinance tries to do too much too fast. Council members also echoed the concerns from lo-

cal environmental groups that the new rules don’t adequately consider impacts on the urban forest and local ecosystems. Catherine Martineau, executive director of the nonprofit group Canopy, urged the council to do more community outreach and consult the city’s arborists and landscape experts to improve the ordinance. “I don’t really understand it, and I think we need to understand it in order to get buy-in from stakeholders and the community,” Martineau said. Shani Kleinhaus, environmental advocate for the Santa Clara Audubon Society, urged the council to launch a broader conversation about building a resilient community in Palo Alto by integrating ecosystems into urban settings. And Hamilton Hitchings, a member of the citizens group working on updating the city’s Comprehensive Plan, said he found some portions of the proposed local ordinance confusing and wondered about its impact on local trees. “We have a lovely urban forest,” Hitchings said. “I hope whatever we do, (the ordinance) will continue to support the trees.” The council agreed and directed staff to spend the next few months reaching out to Canopy, Acterra, the Audubon Society and other environmental nonprofits. Councilwoman Karen Holman also specified that the

ordinance should specifically reference and integrate concepts from the city’s new Urban Forest Master Plan and the soon-to-beapproved parks master plan. It’s important, she said, to consider the landscaping ordinance in the context of those documents to avoid “unintended consequences.” Her colleagues generally agreed that more outreach needs to occur before a local ordinance is approved. Councilman Eric Filseth said he believes banning lawns in new projects altogether would be too restrictive. Councilman Tom DuBois wondered how limiting landscapes entirely to native plants would affect local nurseries and asked whether it would push the city toward plant monocultures. “Part of the Palo Alto way here is really looking at saving water, for sure, but having a healthy ecosystem at the same time and exploring some of those options,” DuBois said. “We’re in alignment with our green ideas, but let’s also be in alignment with our Urban Forest Master Plan.” The council voted to have staff come back later in the year with a revised proposal. In the meantime, the city will be one of many across California subject to the state ordinance. Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 7

Upfront

Super Bowl

ENVIRONMENT

(continued from page 5)

Eager to adopt new green goals, City hosts summit City residents asked to weigh in on new carbonreduction programs, objectives by Gennady Sheyner

rom new bike paths and electric-car chargers to an aggressive “green building” code and a “carbon neutral” electric supply, Palo Alto has no shortage of green laurels on which it can rest. But with climate change taking on a greater urgency around the globe and the issues of water conservation and traffic congestion dominating conversations closer to home, the city’s green agenda is expected to only grow in the coming years as officials prepare to adopt additional carbon-cutting goals and launch new programs aimed at getting people out of their cars and boosting the use of renewable energy. What exactly will this look like and how far should the city go? These are the questions that the city hopes to explore in the coming days, as it hosts a community summit devoted to sustainability and a public hearing on the city’s new Sustainability and Climate Action Plan. Both the summit, which will take place at 12:30 p.m. Sunday at Jordan Middle School, and the new sustainability plan, which the City Council will discuss on Monday, are the brainchildren of Gil

Friend, the city’s first chief sustainability officer. Since joining the city two years ago, Friend has been gathering ideas from experts, other cities and community stakeholders for the broad document, which remains a work in progress. During Sunday’s Climate and Sustainability Summit, residents will have a chance to weigh in and offer their own ideas about what types of goals and green initiatives the city should pursue (or avoid). For example, should Palo Alto aggressively encourage homes to convert their heating systems from natural gas to electricity? Should it start charging people for parking in downtown Palo Alto and then use the money for green initiatives? Should the city aim to reduce its carbon footprint by 80 percent (when compared with the 1990 level) or pursue an even more ambitious “moonshot” goal of complete carbon neutrality? These questions, and many others, will be explored during the summit and Monday’s City Council meeting, which will also give residents and council members a chance to influence the plan. The goal (continued on page 10)

Bay Area and none to Palo Alto. “But the caveat is there were no specific threats in San Bernardino or Paris,” he said. Agencies throughout the Bay Area are working together to ensure coordinated communication through the Joint Information Center (JIC) for Super Bowl 50, which is being operated by the City of Santa Clara Police Department, Sunnyvale police Captain Jeffrey Hunter, JIC Operations Manager, said in a statement. Residents and visitors can receive safety, weather, traffic and emergency alerts through a new text-notification system from Nixle. com by texting the word SB50 to the number 888777. Current subscribers will still receive their regular local alerts from Nixle but can opt-in to SB50 for Super Bowl-specific information, he said. Palo Alto Police Department is also strategizing its local and regional presence. The department is moving all field personnel to 12hour shifts for the week prior to and including the Super Bowl, as opposed to their normal 11-hour shifts, spokesman Lt. Zach Perron said. “They’ll be supplemented by our SWAT team personnel and downtown officers. Other personnel will be on standby if needed, but at this point, we don’t anticipate any problems. We’ll have plenty of officers on hand to safely respond to handle whatever may come up. We also have mutual aid procedures in place should we need additional personnel from surrounding agencies to supplement our staffing,” he said. At this point, there are no expected traffic or road closures. Additional traffic could cause problems for the fire department in trying to get to the emergency, Palo

Alto Fire Chief Eric Nickel said. The fire department is preparing for a 20 percent increase in calls for service, ranging from accidents to medical problems, based on past Super Bowl data, he added. “We are planning for an additional five to eight calls per shift,” he said. During Super Bowl week, the department will add two additional ambulances during the day. One will be assigned to the football team practicing at Stanford for four hours per day; then it will be available for 10 hours for other calls. “Our goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible and not rely on the county ambulance,” he said. Each day there will be many parties and events, so Nickel expects University Avenue to be busy. “I’m a bit nervous about pop-up parties. For example, if Kim Kardashian tweets that she’s coming to Stanford Shopping Center and a couple thousand people show up,” he said. The fire department has been collaborating regionally with other fire agencies and emergency medical teams. Palo Alto fire Operations Chief Geo Blackshire heads up the multiple-agency hazardous materials team, which is preparing for every scenario from the release of an unknown white powder to a catastrophe, Nickel said. Santa Clara County Public Health Department will also be on the lookout for another kind of threat: communicable diseases, department spokeswoman Allison Thrash said. Super Bowl season is the peak time for influenza and norovirus, and the department will work to identify and contain sources of outbreaks, she said. Norovirus, which causes gastrointestinal infections that can be quite severe, especially for the elderly. “There has been quite a bit in the state in the last month. We’ve been sending out preventative messages

to remind people to wash their hands and get medical care if they are sick or report to the communicable diseases line,” she said. The department does expect to see a rise in illness accompanying the greater numbers of people in the area. A new software program will help track the kinds of illnesses being seen in emergency rooms, she said. At medical facilities such as Stanford Hospital, Dueker said, staff have been gearing up for additional patients, including preparing to treat people in tents if necessary. Erin Weinstein, Stanford Health Care’s director of media relations, said that both Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital are ready for additional patients. “Our trauma center, emergency department and hospitals at both Stanford Health Care and Stanford Childrenís Health will be fully staffed and prepared for any additional adult or pediatric cases that may result due to the Super Bowl and its various activities in the coming weeks,” she said in an email. “In addition, we will be activating some aspects of our Emergency Operations Plan, including increasing staffing and on-call staffing, in order to ensure total preparedness should a major emergency occur.” Thrash said the county’s Department of Environmental Health, which licenses and inspects food establishments, and the Department of Behavioral Health, which handles mental health issues, are also part of the collaboration. Environmental Health has stepped up its inspections of food establishments and is encouraging people with special events to get their licenses early, she said. Thrash said the area is in good hands. “It’s amazing and reassuring, the thought that’s being put into it,” she said. Q

Join Your Neighbors at Palo Alto Zero Waste Events! A fun, convenient and free way to save resources. Compost Workshops: Turn your food scraps into soil. www.cityofpaloalto.org/workshops Upcoming events: April 23, June 4, July 23, August 6, September 3, September 15, October 5 Document Shredding Events: Securely recycle your old paperwork. www.cityofpaloalto.org/shred Upcoming events: April 30, August 27, November 5

“Please join me in taking simple steps to be better stewards of our resources. These events are an easy way to practice zero waste. — Vickie Martin, Palo Alto

For more information on Zero Waste, visit www.zerowastepaloalto.org zerowaste@cityofpaloalto.org (650) 496-5910

Page 8 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Repair Café Palo Alto: Repair and reuse goods instead of throwing them away. www.repaircafe-paloalto.org Upcoming events: February 20, May 15, August 28, October 30 Transition Palo Alto Share Faires: Build community, learn skills and share goods. www.transitionpaloalto.org/sharingexpos Upcoming events: February 14, April 10, June 12, August 14, October 9, and December 13

Upfront

National Citizen Survey highlights Palo Altans surveyed who gave a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ rating Local library services

91%

Place to raise children

87%

Quality of life

88%

Place to retire

52%

Quality of new development

49%

Ease of parking

36%

Traffic flow on major streets

31%

Variety of housing options

20%

Affordable housing

Cost of living

City to sell development rights to pay for EcoCenter

Source: City of Palo Alto

Survey (continued from page 5)

asked about retirement. Overall, while 59 percent of north Palo Alto (generally, north of Oregon Expressway) gave the city the top two grades in this category, only 47 percent of south Palo Altans did the same. To be sure, the survey findings weren’t all bleak. The vast majority of the respondents in the 2015 survey continued to give Palo Alto the top two grades as a place to raise children (87 percent, down from 93 percent in 2014), and 90 percent ranked their neighborhood as a good or excellent place to live (down from 2014’s level of 92 percent). And when it comes to the library system, Palo Altans can hardly be happier. Last year, 91 percent of the respondents gave the “good” or “excellent” rating to local library services, a happy jump from the 81 percent who did so in 2014. But when it comes to traffic, housing and development in general, frustrations continue to grow. Only 49 percent of the respondents citywide (and only 44 percent in the southern half) gave the city high ratings when asked about “overall quality of new development” — a 13 percent decline from the 2006 level. And when asked about traffic flow on major streets, only 31 percent gave Palo Alto a positive grade (this is down from the 2006 level of 39 percent). Other questions relating to mobility proved to be equally sobering. Only 36 percent of the respondents gave the city top grades in “ease of parking” and only 26 percent said “excellent” or “good” when asked about ease of travel by public transportation, down from 36 percent in 2014. But it was Palo Alto’s housing supply, rather than transportation system, that once again emerged as the city’s most glaring weakness. The percentage of people giving the city good grades for “variety of housing options” dropped from 27 percent in 2014 to 20 percent last year. And when asked about availability of affordable housing, only 5 percent of the respondents from the northern half of the city,

and 10 percent from the southern, gave Palo Alto top grades (overall, 8 percent of the respondents gave Palo Alto good grades on affordable housing, down from 11 percent in 2014). And when asked about the cost of living in Palo Alto, 8 percent gave the city the top two grades while 64 percent rated it as “poor.” The problem of insufficient affordable housing is far from new in Palo Alto, though the survey suggests that it is now becoming an increasingly pressing priority for local residents. Last October, in a discussion about the city’s Comprehensive Plan, dozens of residents attended a council meeting to lobby for more housing options. They included recent college graduates who grew up in Palo Alto and can no longer stay here; senior “empty nesters” who don’t have the options of downsizing to smaller units; and even local attorneys and tech workers. The topic also loomed over this week’s discussion of the Comprehensive Plan between the council and the Citizen Advisory Group that is helping the council update the broad vision document. Again, many members of the citizens group called for the council to consider policies that would promote more housing options and enable a greater diversity among the local population. Elaine Uang, a downtown resident who serves on the citizens panel, cited the lack of diversity in her comments to the council. There are seniors, she said, who are being “ushered out of the community even though they lived here for a long time because they can’t afford it and they don’t have options.” Uang said that other members of the group referred to instances in the past when they’d walk down the street and see their kindergarten teachers. With current housing costs, such a scenario is all but impossible today, she said. Lisa Peschke-Koedt, who also serves on the panel and who works at Cisco, said Palo Alto was much more diverse when she was growing up. Her parents, she said, were “lower middle class” and didn’t have much money.

News Digest

“I miss some of that and I don’t want to lose that — the idea of having seniors, kids and people with less money, and housing for teachers and police,” PeschkeKoedt said. “I think that’s a good objective to have.” The council largely agreed Tuesday that the updated Comprehensive Plan should include policies for encouraging more housing, though what exactly those policies will look like remains to be seen. In recent months, council members have talked about encouraging more accessory-dwelling units (also known as “granny” or “in-law” units) and creating incentives for the creation of small apartments in transit-rich sections of the city. Next month, the city will release the draft Environmental Impact Report for the updated Comprehensive Plan, which is expected to evaluate at least two different scenarios that include more housing. One, known as “Housing Reconsidered,” would increase housing densities in downtown, near California Avenue and in other areas close to transit and services. Another scenario, proposed Tuesday by Councilman Tom DuBois, would focus on reducing the city’s gaping jobs-housing imbalance by promoting more housing and slowing down job growth. Housing, traffic and the burdensome cost of living aren’t the only areas in which Palo Alto scored lower on the National Citizen Survey than most other surveyed jurisdictions. Local residents were also less likely than their counterparts elsewhere to watch a local public meeting or participate in religious activities. The city scored far higher than most jurisdictions in a host of categories, including education opportunities, employment opportunities, ease of walking and biking, shopping opportunities, K-12 education, economic development, city parks and the city’s overall appearance. When asked about Palo Alto as a place to work, 87 percent ranked the city as “excellent” or “good.” Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

The Palo Alto City Council unanimously agreed Tuesday to pay $300,000 to the nonprofit Environmental Volunteers for restoration of the Baylands-based EcoCenter, which now serves as the educational group’s headquarters. But council members initially split on the source of funding the nonprofit. Under an agreement that the city reached with the Environmental Volunteers in 2007, the group raised $3.8 million and restored the city-owned EcoCenter, which was damaged and sinking at the time. The facility, which is used to stage exhibits about science and nature, re-opened in 2012. By an 8-0 vote Tuesday, with Liz Kniss absent, the council agreed to pay Environmental Volunteers for the service rendered, as decided in 2007. However, not all council members were enthused about paying for it through the sale of “transferable development rights,” a financing mechanism that allows other developers that buy these rights to add density to new projects in the city. Most council members agreed Tuesday that it’s time to re-evaluate the TDR program to see if it should be scrapped or reformed, but Councilmen DuBois, Eric Filseth and Greg Schmid took it a step further and argued that the city should avoid this mechanism altogether and just pay the Environmental Volunteers out of the city’s General Fund. The council ultimately voted 5-3, with DuBois, Filseth and Schmid dissenting, to reject a proposal from Filseth to use the General Fund for the payment. After that vote, all eight members voted to pay back the nonprofit from proceeds raised through the sale of 2,500 square feet of development rights, honoring the commitment made by their predecessors in 2007. Q — Gennady Sheyner

Family, friends call for search to resume A search has been called off for two college students from the Bay Area, including a Gunn High School graduate, who were swept into the ocean Monday at Bonny Doon Beach in Santa Cruz County, but their families and friends hope the operation will resume. Shireen Agha Ahsan, 19, of Palo Alto, and Solaiman Nourzaie, 25, of San Jose, are sophomores at University of California, Santa Cruz and were at the beach with a group of classmates Monday afternoon, Cal Fire and university officials said. The search was canceled Tuesday evening and can resume if the Coast Guard receives credible information on the students’ whereabouts. While family and friends are disappointed, they plan to walk along the shore during low tide to look for any signs of the pair, Shireen Ahsan’s cousin Kazim Ahsan said. He was appreciative of the Coast Guard’s thorough search but doesn’t believe it’s time to stop looking. Shireen Ahsan is the youngest of four siblings and graduated in 2014 from Gunn, according to her cousin Jafer Baig. Shireen Ahsan and Nourzaie are both part of the college’s Muslim Students’ Association and stopped at the beach on their way back to campus after a group conference, according to Kazim. Ahsan and Nourzaie had climbed to a rock outcropping, where a large wave knocked them into the water, Cal Fire officials said. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted a 22-hour search that spanned 46 square miles, Coast Guard officials said. Q — Bay City News

Health educator tapped to lead Project Safety Net Mary Gloner, a local health educator, has been selected to lead Project Safety Net, a community coalition formed in the wake of a youth suicide cluster from 2009 to 2011, the City of Palo Alto announced Wednesday. Project Safety Net — a collaborative that includes officials from the city, school district and local nonprofits, as well as mental-health professionals — has been without an executive director since 2014. The group struggled to attract and retain a skilled person for the hourly position (which carries no benefits) charged with leading a group of more than 40 organizations. Gloner was chosen after two community-panel interviews, as well as interviews with City Manager Jim Keene, Palo Alto school district Superintendent Max McGee, and a group of alumni and current Palo Alto high school students. Her professional experience includes nonprofit work as health education manager at Asian Americans for Community Involvement, director of administration for Sacred Heart Community Service and, most recently, chief operating officer for RotaCare Bay Area. She also attended Palo Alto schools, graduating from Palo Alto High School. Gloner will start work on Jan. 25, according to the city’s announcement. Q — My Nguyen www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 9

Upfront

CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Palo Alto City Council will hold a public hearing at the regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, February 1, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. or as near thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, to consider Adoption of an Emergency Ordinance of the Council of the City of Palo Alto Adding Chapter 9.16 (Medical Marijuana Cultivation and Delivery) to Title 9 (Public Peace, Morals and Safety) of the Palo Alto Municipal Code to Prohibit Medical Marijuana Cultivation and Delivery in Palo Alto Pursuant to California Assembly Bills 243 and 266 and Senate Bill 643. BETH MINOR City Clerk

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.

Police: Burglars steal beer, fire stun gun Two men allegedly stole two cases of beer from a Palo Alto 7-Eleven and then used a Taser-like weapon to ward off employees while fleeing the scene. (Posted Jan. 21, 9:49 a.m.)

Shuttle survey nearly passed by many seniors An online survey to revamp the Palo Alto Shuttle program left many of the most vulnerable seniors, who need the service the most, at the curb until some members of the Human Relations Commission and city staff jumped in. (Posted Jan. 20, 7:36 a.m.)

USCG suspends search for students After 22 hours, the United States Coast Guard has suspended the search for two college students who were swept out to sea Monday at Bonny Doon Beach near Davenport in Santa Cruz County. (Posted Jan. 19, 4:16 p.m.)

Men in downtown homicide to stand trial ÂŽ

Two men implicated in the death of a Palo Alto tennis instructor during a drunken brawl in December 2014 must stand trial, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled on Friday, Jan. 15. (Posted Jan. 18, 3:38 p.m.)

Police seek two women in bank fraud Police are searching for two women who allegedly used fraudulent checks to scam people into withdrawing money from their bank accounts. (Posted Jan. 16, 7:37 a.m.)

Former Stanford student sentenced in poisoning case

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Xiangyu Ouyang, a former Stanford University graduate student who poisoned her lab matesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; water in 2014, will be allowed to perform community service instead of serving jail time, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Vincent Chiariello ruled on Friday. (Posted Jan. 16, 7:33 a.m.)

VIDEO: On â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Behind the Headlinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; On the half-hour webcast, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Behind the Headlines,â&#x20AC;? Weekly Editor in Chief Jocelyn Dong leads a discussion with reporters Sue Dremann and Gennady Sheyner about the impact of new development at Stanford Research Park and the training of police to handle crises involving mentally ill people. (Posted Jan. 15, 8:27 p.m.)

Water district CEO resigns

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTICE TO BIDDERS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that proposals will be YLJLP]LK I` [OL 7HSV (S[V <UPĂ&#x201E;LK :JOVVS +PZ[YPJ[ MVY! Bid # 16-P-02-MT: Transportation Services 7YVWVZHSZ T\Z[ IL YLJLP]LK H[ [OL +PZ[YPJ[ 6É&#x2030;JL *O\YJOPSS (]LU\L 7HSV (S[V *( I` 74 ZOHYW VU February 22, 2016. All questions concerning the proposals should be KPYLJ[LK [V 2H[O` +\YRPU I` THPS VY LTHPSLK [V! RK\YRPU'WH\ZK VYN ( UVU THUKH[VY` IPKKLYÂťZ JVUMLYLUJL ^PSS IL OLSK -LIY\HY` ([ WT ZOHYW H[ [OL ;YHUZWVY[H[PVU 6É&#x2030;JL *O\YJOPSS (]L 7HSV (S[V *( BY ORDER VM [OL )\ZPULZZ +LWHY[TLU[ VM [OL 7HSV (S[V <UPĂ&#x201E;LK :JOVVS +PZ[YPJ[ 7HSV (S[V *HSPMVYUPH +H[LK! 1HU\HY` 1HU\HY`

Page 10 â&#x20AC;˘ January 22, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ www.PaloAltoOnline.com

The Santa Clara Valley Water District announced Thursday night that CEO Beau Goldie would be stepping down the next day, Jan. 15, following a number of controversies that put Goldie and other top water district staff on the defensive last year. (Posted Jan. 15, 1:24 p.m.)

Stanford seeks county permission for housing Stanford University is moving ahead with a plan to construct a four-building residential complex for its graduate students, despite the fact that the new housing development would exceed the construction limits of the universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s agreement with Santa Clara County. (Posted Jan. 15, 9:56 a.m.) Want to get news briefs emailed to you every weekday? Sign up for Express, our daily e-edition. Go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com to sign up.

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Summit (continued from page 8)

of the summit, Friend said, is to â&#x20AC;&#x153;open up a broad community conversation about our draft plan and opportunities.â&#x20AC;? The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent history offers plenty of promise. In 2007, the City Council adopted the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first Climate Protection Plan, which called for a 15 percent reduction in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greenhousegas emissions by 2020. The city has easily cleared this goal, reducing its emissions by an estimated 32 percent from 2005 levels and by 37 percent from the 1990 levels. Now, officials are looking ahead to new goals, with more aggressive targets, inspired by municipalities around the world. California has an aspirational goal of reducing its emissions by 80 percent from the 1990 levels by 2050. Copenhagen has adopted a plan to be carbon neutral by 2025 and to have 75 percent of the residents use bikes to get to work and school, according to a report that Friend presented to the council last year. Helsinki hopes to be car-free by 2025. Burlington, Vermont, has a 100 percent renewable energy supply, and Fort Collins, Colorado, has a goal of reducing its greenhousegas emissions by 80 percent (from the 2005 levels) by 2030. Last spring, Friend presented to the council several potential goals for the new sustainability plan, which will aim to â&#x20AC;&#x153;create a prosperous, resilient city for all residents,â&#x20AC;? according to his report. Now, staff is favoring an 80 percent reduction by 2030 (whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known as 80x30), a goal that may seem ambitious but that Friend believes is very attainable in a city like Palo Alto. Friend noted that the city has already reduced its emissions by nearly 40 percent since the 1990 level and that most of these green initiatives actually kicked off around 2005. This means that the community has effectively achieved the 40 percent reduction in just nine years. Not that anyone expects it to be easy. While the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Utility Department reached a rare milestone in 2013 when it achieved a carbon-neutral electric portfolio, transportation and natural gas continue to pose formidable challenges. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To get to the California goal of 80 percent reduction in 2050 or anything more dramatic, we clearly have to transform transportation and our relationship to natural gas,â&#x20AC;? Friend said. Palo Alto has several key advantages in addressing these challenges, he said. These include an incredibly educated community and a carbon-neutral electricity portfolio, which could help the city address the transportation quandary. The city, he said, can help accelerate the electrification of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vehicle fleet by providing more charging stations. It can also take a fresh

Upfront look at parking pricing, a subject that will be explored in a study that the City Council commissioned last week. “We incentivize the automobile by having free parking,” Friend said. “Other communities don’t do that. Should we continue to do that or not?” The Sustainability Summit will include a keynote address from U.S. Marine Col. (ret.) Mark Mykleby, founding director of the Strategic Innovation Lab at Case Western University and former strategic assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the role of climate change in America’s “grand strategy.” Residents will then have a chance to discuss topics such as transportation, electrification, water conservation and climate adaptation in small groups. Whether residents choose to enthusiastically accept or vehemently reject these proposals, staff is hoping to see some contributions of good ideas and content at the community event, Friend said. “If we can find shared aspirations — that we want do something significant on climate that benefits us and serves as an example for other communities — that’s a good start,” he said. Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

CityView A round-up

Adult Day Care and Support

of Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Jan. 19)

Landscape: The council rejected an emergency ordinance to add new water-conservation requirements to the city’s landscaping regulations. Yes: Unanimous Comprehensive Plan: The council held a joint session with the Citizens Advisory Committee to discuss the update of the Comprehensive Plan. The council directed staff to evaluate five different scenarios for future growth. Yes: Berman, Burt, DuBois, Filseth, Holman, Scharff, Schmid, Wolbach Absent: Kniss

• Alzheimer’s • Dementia • Parkinson’s • Stroke

Board of Education (Jan. 21)

Retreat: The board discussed its annual goals and governance issues at an allday retreat. Action: None

Architectural Review Board (Jan. 21)

4175 Manuela Ave.: The board discussed a proposal by Congregation Kol Emeth to demolish an existing synagogue consisting of four one-story buildings totaling 11,691 square feet and construct a new one consisting of two buildings totaling 23,555 square feet. The board continued the meeting to April 7. Yes: Unanimous

LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com

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Upfront

Ohlone (continued from page 5)

than a decade ago. The district also initiated dismissal proceedings for Airo. Airo, 34, of San Mateo, was charged in late December with three felony counts relating to the alleged conduct, which occurred between 2002 and 2005, when the former student was between the ages of 11 and 13 years old, according to police. The former student, who will be identified as Jane Doe to protect her privacy, is now in her early 20s, according

to a police report obtained by the Weekly. She disclosed the alleged sexual abuse to her psychologist in 2014, according to the report. The Palo Alto Police Department began an investigation after receiving a report from the San Mateo County Department of Children and Family Services in May 2014. Doe told police in June 2014 that years before, when Airo lived in her Palo Alto home as her motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s boyfriend, he would inappropriately kiss her breasts, stomach and buttocks while she was taking showers, according to court documents obtained by

the Weekly. It never progressed beyond that conduct, the young woman told police. An attorney for Airo told Palo Alto police in September 2014 that Airo asserted he was innocent, but he did not provide a statement at the time, according to the police report. Airo did not return request for comment for this article. Doe first met Airo when she was 8 years old. He worked as an aide at an after-school daycare program at El Carmelo Elementary School that she attended, according to police. At the time, she was a student at El Carmelo,

PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26 ***************************************** THIS IS A SUMMARY OF COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS. THE AGENDA WITH COMPLETE TITLES INCLUDING LEGAL DOCUMENTATION CAN BE VIEWED AT THE BELOW WEBPAGE: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/agendas/default.asp AGENDAâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;SPECIAL MEETINGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;COUNCIL CHAMBERS JANUARY 25, 2016, 5:00 PM Special Orders of the Day 1. Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Measure A Update Consent Calendar 3. Approval and Authorization for the City Manager to Extend the Term of the Construction Inspection Services Contract With Canus Corporation (C13145442) to July 31, 2016 With no Change to the Total Amount 4. Review and Acceptance of Annual Status Report on Development Impact Fees for Fiscal Year 2015 7VSPJ` HUK :LY]PJLZ *VTTP[[LL 9LJVTTLUKH[PVU [V (JJLW[ [OL (\KP[VYÂťZ 6Ń?JL 8\HY[LYS` 9LWVY[ HZ VM :LW[LTILY 30, 2015 6. Finance Committee Recommendation to Accept Macias Gini & Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Audit of the City of Palo Altoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Financial Statements as of June 30, 2015, and Management Letter 7. Approval of a Contract With Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Grady Paving Inc. in the Amount of $1,988,344 for the FY 2016 Alma Street and 4PKKSLĂ&#x201E;LSK 9VHK 7H]PUN 7YVQLJ[ ( WWYV]HS VM (TLUKTLU[ 5\TILY ;^V [V *VU[YHJ[ 5\TILY * >P[O +`L[[ )OH[PH <YIHU HUK 9LNPVUHS Planners in the Amount of $42,000 to Complete/Provide Downtown Cap Study Policy Recommendations and (UHSàL :JVWL VM +VÛ[VÛ )HZLTLU[ *VU]LYZPVUZ [V 6Ń?JL :WHJL (WWYV]HS VM (TLUKTLU[ 5\TILY ;OYLL [V [OL 7HSV (S[V :[HUMVYK -PYL 7YV[LJ[PVU (NYLLTLU[ >P[O [OL )VHYK VM Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University Extending the Term for One Year for a Total Fee of $6.5 Million, HUK (TLUKTLU[ VM [OL -@ )\KNL[ [V 9LK\JL [OL .LULYHS -\UK )\KNL[ :[HIPSPaH[PVU 9LZLY]L I` [V 6Ń&#x153;ZL[ H 9LK\J[PVU PU -@ -PYL +LWHY[TLU[ 9L]LU\LZ *65;05<,+ -964 +,*,4),9 HUK ( WWYV]L HUK (\[OVYPaL [OL *P[` 4HUHNLY VY /PZ +LZPNULL [V ,_LJ\[L H `LHY 3LHZL (NYLLTLU[ >P[O (UU\HS 3LHZL 7H`TLU[Z VM )L[^LLU [OL *P[` HUK 2VT\UH 7HSV (S[V 33* *V]LYPUN -V\Y *P[` 6ÛLK 7HYRPUN :[Y\J[\YLZ MVY! *VUZ[Y\J[PVU HUK 6WLYH[PVU VM :VSHY 7OV[V]VS[HPJ :`Z[LTZ >P[O [OL 7V[LU[PHS [V IL H 7HSV (S[V *SLHU 3VJHS ,ULYN` (JJLZZPISL 5V^ *3,(5 7YVNYHT 7HY[PJPWHU[" HUK 0UZ[HSSH[PVU VM *P[` 6ÛLK ,SLJ[YPJ Vehicle Chargers and Infrastructure 11. Policy and Services Committee Recommendation Regarding 2016 City Council Priority Setting and Annual Retreat : ,*65+ 9,(+05.! (KVW[PVU VM HU 6YKPUHUJL (TLUKPUN *OHW[LY :TVRPUN HUK ;VIHJJV 9LN\SH[PVUZ VM [OL 7HSV (S[V 4\UPJPWHS *VKL [V 0UJS\KL , *PNHYL[[LZ *OHUNL :PNUHNL 3HUN\HNL HUK 0UJS\KL (KKP[PVUHS ,UMVYJLTLU[ 6W[PVUZ -09:; 9,(+05.! 1HU\HY` 7(::,+! 13. SECOND READING: Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Title 5 (Health and Sanitation) and Title 18 (Zoning) of [OL 7HSV (S[V 4\UPJPWHS *VKL [V 9LX\PYL HSS )\ZPULZZLZ [V :\IZJYPIL [V 9LJ`JSPUN HUK *VTWVZ[ :LY]PJLZ HUK *VTWS` >P[O 9LM\ZL :VY[PUN 9LX\PYLTLU[Z -09:; 9,(+05.! 1HU\HY` 7(::,+! (WWYV]HS VM (NYLLTLU[ >P[O ,TWV^LYTLU[ 0UZ[P[\[L VU *VVS )SVJR :THSS 7PSV[ 7YVNYHT 15. Review and Approval of a Draft Process Letter From the City of Palo Alto to the California High Speed Rail Authority and Caltrain Study Session :[\K` :LZZPVU >P[O :[LMHU /LJR 9LNHYKPUN 0UUV]H[PVU ,ULYN` HUK ;YHUZWVY[H[PVU 0ZZ\LZ :[\K` :LZZPVU 9LNHYKPUN 6UNVPUN 7YLWHYH[PVU VM H :\Z[HPUHIPSP[` *SPTH[L (J[PVU 7SHU : *(7 [V <WKH[L HUK Replace the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2007 Climate Protection Plan : [\K` :LZZPVU VU [OL 7HYRZ ;YHPSZ 5H[\YHS 6WLU :WHJL HUK 9LJYLH[PVU 4HZ[LY 7SHU 19. FY 2015 Performance Report, the National Citizen Surveyâ&#x201E;˘, and Citizen Centric Report

COUNCIL AND STANDING COMMITTEE ;OL :WLJPHS *P[` *V\UJPS 9HPS *VTTP[[LL TLL[PUN ^PSS IL OLSK VU >LKULZKH` 1HU\HY` H[ ! (4 [V KPZJ\ZZ! 9HPSYVHK .YHKL :LWHYH[PVU! )HJRNYV\UK 7YVNYHT 4HUHNLY HUK *VTT\UP[` ,UNHNLTLU[" HUK ,U]PZPVU :PSPJVU Valley County Sales Tax Measure: North County and West Valley Cities Position Advocacy.

AGENDAâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;SPECIAL MEETING-MITCHELL PARK COMMUNITY CENTEREL PALO ALTO ROOM-COUNCIL RETREATJanuary 30, 2016 9:00 AM

Annual Retreat

Page 12 â&#x20AC;˘ January 22, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ www.PaloAltoOnline.com

police said. When Doe began third or fourth grade, Airo and her mother started dating. In 2002, he moved in with the family â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Doe, her mother and older half-sister â&#x20AC;&#x201D; into a new home in Palo Alto. He was in his young 20s at the time, much younger than Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother and only two years older than her half-sister, Doe told police. He and Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother had started dating shortly before he left the daycare program following a complaint filed by another parent, Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s half-sister told police. (Police later interviewed this parent, who said she filed it because he was â&#x20AC;&#x153;overly involvedâ&#x20AC;? with her daughter and with Doe and was â&#x20AC;&#x153;ignoring other children.â&#x20AC;?) The daycare manager told police that they made a â&#x20AC;&#x153;mutual decisionâ&#x20AC;? for Airo to leave â&#x20AC;&#x153;because he was not able to do all the work that we needed him to do,â&#x20AC;? according to

the police report. Doe said throughout middle school and her freshman year of high school, whenever she arrived home after school and took a shower, Airo would enter the bathroom to perform a â&#x20AC;&#x153;ritualâ&#x20AC;? of saying he was going to brush his teeth or use the toilet, asking for a kiss and then kissing each of her breasts, stomach and butt cheeks in the same way, she told police. Doeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s half-sister told police that she witnessed Airo walking out of the bathroom while Doe was taking a shower three or four times. He was overly affectionate with Doe, her mother and sister told police. If she, her mother and Airo were walking in public, Airo would â&#x20AC;&#x153;usually be found walking ahead of her holding hands with (Doe),â&#x20AC;? the report states. He would frequently go into her room at night to read her â&#x20AC;&#x153;bedtime stories,â&#x20AC;? close the door and

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT ... The city will host a Climate and Sustainability Summit, which will include presentations from the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan team and a keynote address from Mark Mykleby, founding director of the Strategic Innovation Lab at Case Western Reserve University. The summit will begin at noon on Sunday, Jan. 24, at Jordan Middle School, 750 N. California Ave. CITY COUNCIL ... The council will hear an update about the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Measure A; hold a study session with Stefan Heck about innovation, energy and transportation issues; discuss the ongoing preparation of the Sustainability/Climate Action Plan; hear an update on the new Parks, Trails, Natural Open Space and Recreation Master Plan; and discuss the data from the 2015 Performance report, the National Citizen Survey and Citizen Centric Report. The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 25, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ... The commission will elect a new chair and vice chair, consider off-lease dog parks, review the Capital Improvement Projects budget and hear an update on the Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Facilities Master Plan. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The board will discuss a mathematics curriculum pilot program, recommendations from the Enrollment Management Advisory Committee, a 2014-15 audit report and the submission of plans for Gunn High Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Central Building Project. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at district headquarters, 25 Churchill Ave., Palo Alto. The board will also convene earlier in the day to discuss the two high schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; annual Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) reports. The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to noon in the board room at district headquarters. COUNCIL RAIL COMMITTEE ... The committee will discuss railroad grade separation and the Envision Silicon Valley county sales-tax measure. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m on Wednesday, Jan. 27, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission will consider potential changes to city regulations on second-dwelling units; discuss a proposal from the Public Works Department for a twostory, 50-foot building designed to handle sludge de-watering and truck load-outs; and review proposed ordinances relating to the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rules about hazardous materials use and to amortization of Communications & Power Industries. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 27, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. HISTORIC RESOURCES BOARD ... The board will discuss 300 Homer Ave., a request by the Palo Alto History Museum for a historic rehabilitation of the 19,182-square-foot building known as the Roth Building. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. Q

Upfront claim they “needed their privacy,” the report states. On a family trip to Los Angeles, Airo returned from checking in at the front desk to say that there were not enough beds for everyone and that he and Doe would have to sleep in the same bed. Doe’s mother told police that “she did not feel as if her relationship with Airo was a loving relationship; she said it felt more like ‘this relationship is convenient and I really like your kid.’” As Doe became older, she began to resist Airo’s advances, but he was often “persistent” so she would eventually “give in to his

requests,” the police report states. He did walk into the bathroom less as she got older, she said. Airo and Doe’s mother eventually ended their relationship in October 2007. Doe told police she did not tell anyone about the alleged abuse until years later. Airo self-surrendered at the Santa Clara County Main Jail on Jan. 13, according to police. He immediately posted $500,000 bail after being booked by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, police said. About six months into the Palo Alto Police Department’s inves-

tigation into the allegations, on Jan. 8, 2015, officer Joel Hornung interviewed Smith. The meeting was “scheduled to find out if there have been any complaints or suspicious instances” involving Airo, Hornung wrote in his notes. Smith, who was named principal of Ohlone in May 2014, told Hornung that she had not received or heard of any complaints filed against Airo. She “described him as a teacher that gives his students a lot of attention and care” and said he had become a “favorite teacher amongst parents,” Hornung’s notes read. “She said she would never

Classes to help you and your baby

Prenatal Yoga This graceful program incorporates stretching, toning, posture and body mechanics most applicable in pregnancy and in the birthing process. Ongoing monthly classes can be started at any point in your pregnancy. Sundays, 4:30 pm – 5:30 pm Infant Massage Workshop Learn the techniques of infant massage along with tips to relieve gas, aid digestion and soothe the soreness of vaccination sites on your baby. Recommended for infants from one month of age to crawling. Friday, February 19: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm Becoming a Family: The Gottman Bringing Baby Home Workshop A two-part class for expectant couples and new parents based on the research of Drs. John Gottman and Julie Schwartz Gottman. Learn about managing expectations, strengthening your couple relationship and co-parenting with your partner. Two Sundays, February 21 & 28: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

Bulimia and Binge Eating in Teens: What We Know and What to Do In honor of National Eating Disorders Week, the Divisions of Adolescent Medicine and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, together with the Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program at Stanford is hosting their annual community lecture for families, physicians, teachers and other practitioners caring for those with eating disorders. Our lecture is free of charge however we ask that you please RSVP to save a space at classes.stanfordchildrens.org. Thursday, February 25: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm To register visit: classes.stanfordchildrens.org or call (650) 724-4601.

imagine suspect Airo touching or harming the children in anyway and does not know of any suspicious circumstances involving him,” Hornung wrote. Detectives investigated Airo’s work history with the school district and determined there was no indication that there were any additional victims, police said last week. McGee said he is unsure in what detail Smith was told about the allegations. He said he spoke last week with Police Chief Dennis Burns about the investigation, and they plan to talk again this week. “We’re still trying to uncover who knew what when,” McGee

said. “The fact that neither I or (Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources) Scott Bowers knew about this until we got that note from the Department of Justice — I don’t think that was in the best interest of our students or our community.” Anyone who suspects a current or former student may have been victimized by Airo is encouraged to contact the school district office and/or call the police department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com.

Dorothy Hill Deming Dorothy Hill Deming (Dottie) passed away on December 24, 2015 at her home surrounded by her family at the age of 96. She is survived by her daughters Susan E. Deming, Deborah D. Gunst, and her son David R. Deming (Penny). Her son in law John H. Gunst, III, and her two sisters Jacqueline Whitmann and Virginia Skogstad predecease her. Dottie lived her 96 years to the fullest and will always be remembered for her boundless energy, gracious smile and kind generosity. She was born in Wakefield, New Hampshire to Dorothy Tibbetts Hill and John Hill. During her high school years, she was a star basketball player — all 5 feet of her, and after graduating from Westbrook College, she moved to Boston, sharing an apartment with her two sisters. In 1946, Dottie visited friends in San Francisco, and ultimately relocated to the Bay Area. She was married in 1950 and shortly thereafter moved to the Peninsula, and except for a move to Washington DC from 1956 to 1962, she devoted her life to raising her three children, as well as volunteering her service to many local charitable organizations. In 1967, she joined the Atherton Garden Guild at its inception, and as of December 2015, she was the longest serving member. Dottie had a lifelong love of flowers and gardening, and entered many beautiful flower arrangements for the garden club in various competitions, wining many awards. Her beautiful gardens at her home in Atherton provided many of the roses in her arrangements. In memory of her many contributions, the Atherton Garden Guild is planting the rose bush “FAME” in the Holbrook Palmer Rose Garden. Dottie was also an active member of the Allied Arts Guild, the Peninsula Family Service, Atherlons, and Filoli. The “energizer bunny” that she was, also volunteered at the Cantor Art Museum at Stanford University, well into her early 90’s. Dottie’s zest for life also included her innate ability for gracious entertaining, supporting her various charitable organizations, as well as entertaining her family and friends in style. Her signature floral arrangements were always the centerpiece, along with her creative culinary skills. No one left hungry from her glorious dinner parties! She loved to end the evening dancing up a storm. Dottie was a keen bridge player, and developed many lifelong friendships from their weekly gatherings. Her family will miss her smile, those lively blue eyes and great sense of style. She brightened the lives of so many for so long, she asked for little, and gave so much. Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity in her memory. PAID

OBITUARY

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 13

Pulse

A weekly compendium of vital statistics

POLICE CALLS Palo Alto Jan. 13-19

Violence related Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Suicide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Counterfeiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Vehicle related Abandoned bicycle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 8 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Parking violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 5 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 8 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Israel Zehavi On January 12, 2016, Israel Zehavi passed away due to complications from Progressive Supra Nuclear Palsy. He was 66 years old. During his last week and as he passed, at his bedside he was comforted by his wife of 23 years, Kathryn Zehavi as well as his daughter, step-daughters, sons-in-law, sisters-in-law, brotherin-law, niece and his wonderful caretaker, Longo. Israel was born in Tel Aviv on January 6, 1950 where he was raised by his parents along with his two brothers, Shimon and Moki. His family owned a beach kiosk where he worked and enjoyed spending time in the sun and in the ocean, paddle boarding. Israel attended the Technical Academy of the Israeli Army and later the Technia Business School in Haifa. He joined the Army in 1967 and was wounded in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Following his military service, he operated a small business in Israel. Israel moved to the United States in 1983. He moved to California in 1987 and founded Diamonds of Palo Alto, a well-respected jewelry shop located in downtown. His loyal clients appreciated his beautiful gem collections and personal service. He was also active in the Rotary Club, the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, and the Palo Alto Downtown Merchants Association. Israel was an enthusiastic supporter of the Downtown Streets Team and all things that promoted the vitality of Palo Alto. He regularly donated blood to benefit babies in need. Israel continued to work through the early stages of his disease, arriving at his office in his wheelchair. However, as the disease progressed, he decided to close the business and retire in 2008. After retiring, he continued to live his life to its fullest and enjoy many of its simple pleasures. He loved his family and their frequent gatherings. He also enjoyed his rose garden, the ocean, movies, books on tape, Mozart, a good meal, and playing with his grandchildren. He adored his wife Kathryn, who steadfastly stood by his side through every part of his decline, and was his rock. She too, adored him. Israel spent his last four years in a nursing home, but stayed with Kathryn for long weekends. He also faithfully attended services and studies at Congregations Beth Am and Kol Emeth. It was a testament to the type of person and friend Israel was that he had a packed schedule of regular visitors each week that read to him, brought him a favorite meal or just came to enjoy his company. Israel is survived by his brother Moki in Jerusalem, his devoted wife Kathryn in Palo Alto, his children, son Doobi in Tel Aviv and daughter Mirit Callioni (Gianpalo) of Redwood City. He is also survived by his step-daughters Jennifer Robertson (John) of Los Gatos and Emily Pollard (Jeff) of Palo Alto. Israel was the proud grandfather of nine: David and Lynn in Israel, and Maggie, Jack, Logan, Drew, Daniele, Alessandro, and Brady here in the Bay Area. There will be a memorial service on Sunday, January 24 at 2:00pm in the Sanctuary at the Congregation Beth Am in Los Altos Hills, followed by a reception. All are welcome to attend. PAID

OBITUARY

Page 14 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Alcohol or drug related Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Possession of paraphernalia . . . . . . . . 2 Sale of drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Under influence of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Miscellaneous False info to police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Unlawful solicitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Menlo Park Jan. 13-19

Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle related Abandoned auto. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 8 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found bicycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Suspicious vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Alcohol or drug related Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Drug registrant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Minor in possession of alcohol . . . . . . . 1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sale of drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Under influence of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Miscellaneous CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Gang info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Info case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Juvenile case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Juvenile truancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Missing juvenile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Psychiatric evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Warrant undefined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto

James Road, 1/13, 12:09 a.m.; domestic violence/battery. Bruce Drive, 1/13, 2:53 p.m.; suicide adult/misc.

Menlo Park

400 block Ivy Drive, 1/19, 9:26 a.m.; battery.

Sam Smidt May 1, 1931 – January 12, 2016 Graphic designer and artist Sam Smidt refined his unique style of nuance, wit and sophistication in a career spanning more than 50 years. Sam passed away on Tuesday, January 12, at the age of 84, joining his lifelong partner and wife, Marlene, in heaven. He was a loving father to Nathan and Becca, and proud grandfather to Sarah Kirby-Smidt. Sam Smidt was born in Peabody, Massachusetts, in 1931, and when he was 10 his family moved to California. He met his sweetheart and future wife, Marlene Joy Roth, when they were students at San Francisco’s Presidio Junior High. Sam and Marlene kept in touch after he joined the Navy, for which he served as an acoreman in the Korean War. After his stint in the Navy, Sam returned to San Francisco where he and Marlene were married. In 1954, Sam enrolled in his first art class at Steven’s School in San Francisco (now the Academy of Art University). With instructor G. Dean Smith’s encouragement, in 1957 Sam attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. At Art Center, Louis Danziger taught him that successful design solutions require a seamless marriage of form and content. This philosophy shaped Sam’s creative vision — influencing his design work, as well as his work in photography and video. After graduation, Sam’s first job was at S.R.I. (Stanford Research Institute) in Menlo Park. He also began to work with well-known Bay Area developer Mike Podell (Redwood Shores, etc.). This started his career in advertising and design. During this period he became father to Nathan and Becca, with Marlene by his side through all aspects of their lives. He opened Sam Smidt Associates in Palo Alto Square in the 1970s. Among his former employees are well-known typographers Paul Sinn and Bob Sleeper. By the 1980s Sam Smidt Associates was recognized as one of the Bay Area’s top advertising agencies, and it was also during this time that Sam’s friend, Harry Powers,

encouraged him to apply to San José State to teach design. Hired immediately based on his reputation, Sam taught at San José State from 1960 to 1997, and on retirement was named Professor Emeritus. In the early ‘80s he sold the advertising agency to Humpal, Leftwich and Sinn, and opened his studio, Sam Smidt, Inc. on High Street in Palo Alto, where he specialized in branding and environmental signage. Among Sam’s many signature project,s he helped create the brand for the cutting-edge furniture store The Minimal Space, was art director for the music and audio magazine, Fi, and from 1994 to 2009 he designed the beautiful publications of Healing Environments, a nonprofit that comforted thousands struggling with lifethreatening illness and their families. Sam’s work is in the permanent collections of SFMOMA and LACMA, as well The Smithsonian Institution. In 2013, at the age of 82, Sam was honored by the AIGA Fellows Award recognizing designers who have made a significant contribution to raising the standards of excellence in design. Sam was also a highly talented photographer and videographer, and brought his elegantly whimsical touch to the drawing pad, where his playful cast of graphite creations loved to float and cavort. In addition to his love for his family and friends, Sam’s passions encompassed travel, good food and wine, music and, of course, a good horse race. He will be greatly missed by his large circle of family and friends. A service is being held on Jan. 15, 2016, at Emanu-El and Garden of Peace Mausoleum in Colma, where Sam will join his wife Marlene. A celebration of life will be announced in the near future. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the nonprofit Healing Environments. Donations help reprint the publications that continue to help the suffering. Link: healingenvironments.com Address: Healing Environments, 24900 Paseo del Rancho, Calabasas, CA 91302 PAID

OBITUARY

Transitions

James Van

Dr. James Edward Van, a longtime Palo Alto school administrator and resident, died on Jan. 13 at Stanford hospital. He was 83. He was born on Ma rch 18, 1932, in Longview, Texas. He spent his teenage years in San Francisco and graduated from George Wa s h i n g t o n High School. After studying chemistry at San Francisco State University, he worked at Tenneco Corporation before pursuing an interest in education. Through the University of California, Berkeleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s school of education, he was placed at Oakland High School as a student teacher. He taught chemistry for a few years before being appointed vice principal. While there he met history teacher Joan Mehrten, and they married in 1966. His family relocated to Palo Alto in 1974 so he could become principal at Ravenswood High School in East Palo Alto. In 1976, he was selected to serve as principal at Palo Alto High School and remained there for about six years. In 1982, he completed his doctorate in education at UC Berkeley and became the Palo Alto school districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant superintendent for instruction. Following a stroke, he decided to return to academia to train administrators as a professor at California State University, Hayward, from where he retired in 1995. His passions included golf, travel, mentoring and family. He was predeceased by his son, Ronald Van. He is survived by his wife, Joan Van of Palo Alto; his children, Kay Van, Steven Van, David Van, Laura Van and James Van Jr.; and eight grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held on Friday, Jan. 22, at 10 a.m. at the Mitchell Park Community Center, 3700 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Memorial donations can be made in his name to the Youth and Teen Programs at the East Palo Alto Family YMCA (www.epaymca.org).

Robert Hall Robert â&#x20AC;&#x153;Bobâ&#x20AC;? Crane Hall, a longtime Los Altos Hills resident, died on July 9, 2015. He was 91. He was born on Oct. 24, 1923, in London and spent his childhood in New York City and teenage years in Simi Valley, California. He served as assistant manager on a ranch owned by his father, and while in the hospital after a well explosion, he met Virginia, a registered nurse whom he later married. Bob received a bachelorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in animal husbandry from the University of California, Da-

vis in 1953. From 1957 to 1960, he worked as one of the original hires at Fairchild Semiconductor. He then joined Lockheed Corporation and retired from its Palo Alto office as a senior engineer in 1986. He and Virginia settled in Los Altos Hills in 1966. Bob served as president of the Professional Photographers Association of Santa Clara Valley and volunteered with the Los Altos Hills Emergency Communication Committee. He

PALO ALTO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTICE TO BIDDERS

was also an avid marksman and horseback rider. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Virginia Hall of Portola Valley; daughters, Cynthia Ewel of Potomac, Maryland; Colleen Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill of Ben Lomond, California, and Carolyn Hall of Greenbrae, California; five grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. He was buried at the Hall family plot of the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.

Virginia Townsend October 22, 1919 - December 30, 2015 Longtime Los Altos and Palo Alto resident Virginia Anderson â&#x20AC;&#x153;Andyâ&#x20AC;? Townsend passed away at the age of 96 in San Rafael, California on December 30, 2015 after a long, active and healthy life. She was born on October 22, 1919 in Wheeling, West Virginia to Alfred Oscar Anderson and Gena Berger Anderson. Virginia was proud of her 100% Norwegian heritage, which she was able to trace back through seven generations to 1792. Lutefisk and lefse at Christmas were traditions she passed down to her children and grandchildren over the years. Virginia met the love of her life, John Robert Townsend, Jr. while they were students at The University of Kansas (KU). They were married after graduation in 1941 as World War II was breaking out. They had four children, and were married for 36 years until Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passing in 1977. Golf, river rafting, camping, scouting, lawn bowling, international travel and cooking were passions they shared. Virginia continued to explore the world independently and with great enthusiasm on her own for many years after Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demise. Virginia was a proud member and alumna supporter of the Pi Beta Phi sorority at KU and an active KU alumna. Golf was her lifelong sport and she excelled at it, becoming club champion at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park, CA. Virginia was the President of the Menlo-Atherton Newcomers Club in the early 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, as well as being an active member of The Stanford Committee for Art, helping scout and organize museum and private collection viewings for the committee trips. She and Jack were devoted members of Christ Episcopal Church in Los Altos, CA, and in later years Virginia was a parishioner at All Saints Episcopal Church in Palo Alto, CA. Virginia is preceded in death by her husband, Jack Townsend, and their son, John Robert Townsend III. She is survived by her three daughters: Pamela Fowler (Frank) of Rough And Ready, CA, Kristy Zive (Phil) of Sparks, NV, and Susan Schow (Roger) of Mill Valley, CA. She is also survived by her seven grandchildren: John Fowler and Brendan Fowler, Hannah Zive Serrano and Kyle Zive, Sam Schow, Jack Schow and Amanda Schow, as well as nine great-grandchildren: Will, Nate and Lila Fowler, Wyatt, Tessa and Zoey Fowler, and Landon, Elizabeth and Sophia Serrano. Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family was the center of her life, and she will be warmly remembered but greatly missed. The family wishes to express our gratitude to the compassionate and kind Memory Care Professionals of Tender Rose Home Care Agency, who were of inestimable help to our family in the last months of Momâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life. We would also like to express our gratitude to Hospice By The Bay, who helped us all through to the end of Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s days. There will be a private interment at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto at 2:30p.m. on Saturday, February 20, 2016. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be sent in Virginiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s name to Hospice By The Bay, 17 E. Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Larkspur, CA 94939 PAID

OBITUARY

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that proposals will be YLJLP]LK I` [OL 7HSV (S[V <UPĂ&#x201E;LK :JOVVS +PZ[YPJ[ MVY! Bid # 16-P-01-MT: Renewable Energy Projects Proposals must IL YLJLP]LK H[ [OL +PZ[YPJ[ 6É&#x2030;JL *O\YJOPSS (]LU\L 7HSV (S[V *( I` 74 ZOHYW VU February 16, 2016. All questions concerning the proposals should IL KPYLJ[LK [V 9VU ,SSPZ I` THPS VY LTHPSLK [V! rellis@pausd.org. BY ORDER VM [OL )\ZPULZZ +LWHY[TLU[ VM [OL 7HSV (S[V <UPĂ&#x201E;LK :JOVVS +PZ[YPJ[ 7HSV (S[V *HSPMVYUPH +H[LK! 1HU\HY` 1HU\HY`

Keith Vollmer Slack May 20, 1924 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; January 3, 2016 Keith Vollmer Slack passed away peacefully on January 3, 2016 at age 91, holding hands with Helen, his best friend and wife of 52 years. Keith was born on May 20, 1924 in Louisville, Kentucky to James Warrren Slack and Emily Louise (Knecht) Slack. He had a life-long interest in science and nature, and love of the outdoors and animals. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II as a weather observer during the Aleutian Islands Campaign, Keith attended college beginning in 1946 at the University of Kentucky where he received Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees Phi Beta Kappa in zoology, with honors and distinction. A talented and dedicated student, he continued his studies at Indiana University where he earned a Ph.D. in 1953 with a major in zoology (limnology) and minors in geology and botany. After graduation, Keith began a storied career as a United States government scientist, working for the U.S. Navy as an oceanographer assigned an eclectic array of responsibilities ranging from the rather mundane preparation of marine biology reports, to assisting in classified military minesweeper defense efforts locating and disarming hazardous ordinance. Before long Keith decided that he would be happier and safer on land, and in 1960 began working for the Water Resources Branch of the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington, D.C. He continued to work for the U.S. Geological Survey until his retirement in 1990, capping a career studded with awards for his meritorious and distinguished service. It was in Washington, D.C. in 1960 that Keith met the girl who would become his wife, life-partner and constant companion; Helen Louise Emerson. Helen and Keith moved to Palo Alto, California in 1964 where they resided, in the same family home, for over 50 years. Keith was a beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend. Family and friends knew him as a sweet, quiet, humble man who was loved by all who had the good fortune to meet him. Keith is survived by his wife Helen Louise (Emerson) Slack, his four children, Sallie Tonascia (Gerald) of Nipomo, CA, Thom Slack (Katie) of Phoenix, AZ, Dan Slack (Jenny) of Folsom, CA and Katie Slack of San Jose, CA, his six grandchildren Melanie Tonascia, Andrew Tonascia, Lauren Slack, Milo Slack, Sara Slack and Willow Slack, his brother Warren Slack, Jr., (Dorothy) of Lakeland, FL and a host of beloved nieces, nephews, granddogs and friends. PAID

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ January 22, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 15

Editorial Stop profiting from density City should not be making money from selling development rights

Palo Alto commercial property owner will soon buy from the City of Palo Alto the right to build a new building that is 2,500 square feet larger than the zoning allows. The price tag for this privilege, to be determined in a bidding process, could be as high as $300 per square foot, or $750,000. Why is the city auctioning off these bonus development credits, making money from property owners anxious to build beyond the legal limits? In a convoluted and irrational scheme, the city is using the sale to fund its promised $300,000 contribution toward the $4 million renovation of the city-owned “EcoCenter” in the Palo Alto Baylands, completed three years ago by the nonprofit Environmental Volunteers, which occupies the building under a long-term lease. The city is taking advantage of a program that gives incentives to property owners who seismically retrofit their building or renovate an historic building. In this case, since the city is the property owner, it is using the 2,500 square feet in transferable development credits (TDRs) that a private owner would have received. A similar process was recently used by the city to raise money for the renovation of the dilapidated city-owned former Palo Alto Medical Foundation “Roth” building at 300 Homer Ave. Three city council members, Tom DuBois, Eric Filseth and Greg Schmid, attempted to de-rail the EcoCenter TDR sale by proposing the city simply pay the $300,000 it owed to Environmental Volunteers out of the city’s general fund rather than enable a new commercial building to exceed the zoning limits. Their proposal was defeated on a 5-3 vote, with Mayor Pat Burt, Marc Berman, Karen Holman, Greg Scharff and Cory Wolbach opposed and Liz Kniss absent. Burt and Holman argued that the original 2007 agreement with Environmental Volunteers called for the TDR sale and that the current City Council should not change a prior council’s action. We find that reasoning completely without merit. City councils alter the policies and actions of past councils all the time as circumstances and political attitudes change. This should have been an easy vote to end a practice that was never envisioned when the transfer of development rights program was established. The city has no business making money from selling bonus square footage to property owners. As DuBois, Filseth and Schmid have urged, this practice should be ended.

Averting a resident revolt Plan to regulate home landscaping wisely pruned back

water conservation plan that appeared designed by bureaucrats for bureaucrats was wisely scaled back Tuesday night by a unanimous Palo Alto City Council. Residents of Palo Alto have done more than has been asked of them to save water. Lawns have been allowed to die and replaced with drought tolerant plants, use of grey water for plant watering has become a common practice and some are even paying to purchase recycled water for irrigation. Yet the Palo Alto city staff, acting to implement an executive order issued last April by Gov. Jerry Brown, proposed a new permitting and regulatory system for any landscaping project that would require detailed water use calculations, city review and inspections. New staff would be hired to handle the permit applications and conduct inspections of completed landscaping work, just like building inspectors do currently. Instead of sticking with the tough default plan required by the state or the tougher alternative plan developed by a Bay Area regional water agency, the city staff recommended the most onerous and burdensome plan imaginable. Prepared by the city’s Development Services Department, it would have subjected every landscaping project associated with new construction, no matter how small, to city permitting and inspections. The state requirements wisely exempt landscaping projects of less than 2,500 square feet, reduced in the regional plan to 1,000 feet and to zero exemptions in the Palo Alto plan. The council did the right thing by rejecting the staff recommendation and adopting the state’s model ordinance for now. A far more robust community discussion on the merits of more expansive regulation is needed, especially given the changes in landscaping strategies — such as the use of native, drought-friendly plants — that have already been implemented by a substantial number of residents. Q

Page 16 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

A simpler solution Editor, The proposed solutions to the problem of slow bus travel along El Camino Real have missed an obvious one. We are in an electronic age — GPS, apps, etc. Solving slow bus travel by physical means (dedicated lanes, painted curbs, no left turns, signs, etc.) is antiquated. This is Silicon Valley. We can solve this electronically. No bus can go faster than the signals on El Camino allow. The solution is to have a radio transmitter on each bus, alerting the next signal (with a smart receiver) that it is coming, and by the time it gets to the signal, the signal will have received the transmission and cycled through yellow and red on the cross street, and green for the direction of travel of the bus. The bus (and auto traffic) will proceed across the intersection without delay. Problem solved. Similar to but much less complicated than Sweden’s PRIBUSS system and Australia’s SCATS system. The programming and capital equipment cost would not approach the boondoggle $233 million for destroying medians, dedicating lanes and redesigning buses for left-side passenger access. Horrendous traffic snarling on El Camino would be avoided. Let’s do what this valley is known for — innovative costeffective solutions, not obsolete bulky workarounds. Bob Jacobsen Stanley Avenue, Los Altos

Renaming misguided Editor, Since when has anyone who society holds in high esteem been without blemish? First, not only did Columbus not discover “The New World” — he merely stumbled onto it. Then, he savagely mistreated the people he encountered. It didn’t matter; after all, these people were mere “savages,” unworthy of any kind of human consideration. George Washington Carver, another national hero, was recently reported to have considered his black brothers to be suited only for manual labor — any attempt to educate them for higher aspirations would simply be wasted effort. There’s no good reason for pointing out the negatives of other of our national and international heroes. They’re honored anyway — as they should be. Other of our heroes are honored in spite of their holding beliefs that were subsequently discred-

ited — David Starr Jordan comes to mind. If carried to its logical extremes, no one’s name would be emblazoned on any of our monuments or institutions. The best answer to that question would be to use the New York City naming example. A city that large couldn’t possibly conjure up so many heroes’ names. So they designate their schools PS 43, PS 345, PS 188, etc. (My offspring attended Jordan Middle School.) Ruben Contreras Waverley Street, Palo Alto

Ban dewatered basements Editor, I have signed the change.org petition (www.change.org/p/ palo-alto-california-city-council-change-palo-alto-s-zoningpolicies-to-require-groundwaterprotection-immediately) New construction that requires a basement that needs to be dewatered during construction is adversely affecting our water table that Palo Alto’s trees and private trees need to sustain themselves. Dewatering also causes subsid-

ence that can cause doors and windows to stick and jam. I support the proposal to ban basements that require dewatering. This may depend on location, but an engineering report should either allow a basement if the water table is lower than construction requires, or disallow a basement if the water table is higher than the bottom of the excavation. In addition, the current code that does not include basement square footage in the building’s lot coverage footprint should be removed. Basement square footage should be included in the calculation for property coverage and property tax liability. At the same time, height restrictions and allowable lot coverage should be modified to allow better use of a lot. Thus, a third story, if it does not violate shading rules of neighboring properties, should be allowed, as should second story modification to completely use the first story’s footprint, no matter what the resulting square footage is. Of course, the property tax calculation must be updated to account for any added livable space. Stan Hutchings Rinconada Avenue, Palo Alto

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

What is better, and what is worse, about Palo Alto now compared to when you moved here? 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.

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Guest Opinion

Do your part to combat climate change: Get an EV by Walt Hays

ost Palo Altans d o n’t need to be convinced that climate change is real, human-caused and a major threat. The planet is already experiencing such symptoms as extreme weather events, and without major changes, sea-level rise will flood areas around the Bay and California will suffer permanent drought. We all know that, but the challenge is so big that it’s easy to feel helpless. The commitments made at the recent Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris are a major step forward. However, scientists agree that the voluntary commitments made there are no more than half of what will be needed to achieve the goal of limiting the average global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) this century, the threshold at which many of the worst effects of climate change may be avoided. The test will come in living up to the Paris commitments and increasing them at every opportunity. Governor Jerry Brown, who attended the conference, said it well: This is a historic turning point in the quest to combat one of the biggest threats facing humanity. Activists, business leaders and subnational leaders now need to redouble their efforts and push for increasingly aggressive action.

Congress is paralyzed, but states and local governments (subnational leaders) are taking action. Palo Alto is a leader, having among other things achieved carbonneutral electricity. However, while that is a good first step, we still need to deal with natural gas and transportation, with the latter constituting nearly 60 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Perhaps the biggest and most important step you can take today to reduce your emissions from transportation is to drive an electric vehicle. It is true that electric vehicles are only as environmentally friendly as the electricity that recharges them; China, for example is still heavily reliant on electricity generated by coal. But that’s the beauty of our situation in Palo Alto, where our electricity is already carbon-neutral. The importance of this step was highlighted in a Nov. 24 article by Matt Richtel in the New York Times, which quoted Mary Nichols, chair of the State Air Resources Board, as follows: “California has 150,000 electric cars, but that figure needs to grow tenfold in the next decade. ... Without the cars, simply put, we can’t make it.” The cost of doing so is greatly reduced by the combined state rebate of $2,500 and federal tax credit of $7,500. With them, an exhaustive analysis by city utilities concluded, buying an EV is a “cost-effective alternative to buying an equivalently sized gasoline vehicle.” (See tinyurl.com/ driveclean0116.) People hesitate out of concern for the limited range of EVs. However, charging stations are steadily becoming more numerous, and battery capacities are grow-

ing — increasing the range. Acquisition of an EV already includes a portable charger that can be plugged into any home socket. That provides only a “trickle” charge, but that’s often enough to support local driving and recharging overnight. In the case of multi-family apartments, however, outlets are often not available, and absentee owners may not be inclined to provide them, so the city may need to offer incentives. It will also be important to encourage companies to install chargers and outlets, so that people can recharge at work. In the meantime, if a family owns both an EV and one gasoline-powered vehicle, they can preserve the latter for long-distance trips and use the EV for local errands, at one-quarter of the cost of fueling a gas-powered car. Maintenance costs are ridiculously low. (Another article in the Times noted that EVs require so little maintenance that some dealers, concerned about losing profits on service, don’t like to sell them.) So to repeat, here’s an answer for those of us who wonder what we as individuals can do about an issue as big as climate change: Buy or lease an EV! They have a lot of advantages: Q You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that the electricity you use is carbon-neutral. Q By doing so, you’ll be taking an important personal initiative to deal with climate change. Q You’ll no longer be fattening the wallets of the Exxon/Shells of the world. Q The HOV sticker is invaluable in today’s traffic.

Q Avoiding trips to the gas station saves precious time. Q Last but in no way least, EVs are smooth and fun to drive. You can learn even more about the benefits of EVs at plugincars.com. The city could also do a lot more to promote EVs. It’s not practical for the city to subsidize them. However, it can do more to use its various public communications to correct misconceptions about them and educate the public about their advantages. For example, it has hosted one “ride and drive” event, where interested people could learn about and test drive various makes of EV, but it could certainly do more. Palo Alto is a relatively small city, so it would be easy to feel that changes here would be too minor to have any significant impact. However, we really are a model that others emulate, so changes here have an impact far beyond our borders. Taking all that into account, the climate activist group Carbon-Free Palo Alto is advocating a goal of having an EV in every Palo Alto household within the next eight years. That literal goal may be unrealistic, but as with our goal of “zero waste or damn close,” it’s worth shooting for. We already have more Priuses and Teslas than most if not all other cities. Let’s show the rest of the world that Palo Alto means business when it comes to climate change — get a cool, clean EV! Q Walt Hays is a member of Carbon-Free Palo Alto, chaired the Green Ribbon Task Force that led to the city’s first Climate Action Plan, and can be emailed at wkhays@igc.org.

Streetwise

What issues — social, political, environmental, etc. — inspire you to take action? Asked on the Stanford University campus. Interviews and photos by Avi Salem.

Laura Austin

Rohit Relan

Anna Zeng

Callisto MacIsaac

Hilton Obenzinger

Sand Hill Road, Palo Alto Undergraduate student

Oxford Avenue, Palo Alto Researcher

Santa Teresa Street, Stanford Undergraduate student

Barnes Court, Stanford Graduate student

Park Boulevard, Palo Alto Professor

“Sexual assault, rape culture and misogyny, and how that relates to race and trans issues.”

“The Syrian crisis. What people need to be more aware of ... is that we have some responsibility for this crisis, and we need to find a solution.”

“I come from a tech background, and I think gender equality (is important) not just in stereotypes, but in who’s able to succeed in tech.”

“Health care. I’m from Canada, and I find it worrisome that health care isn’t a fundamental human right (in the U.S.).”

“It’s not much different than when (Martin Luther King Jr.) was murdered. Racism, war, destruction of the earth.”

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 17

Cover Story

Veronica Weber

Hoover Tower at Stanford University is seen through the geometric forms of “Mozart I,” a sculpture by Kenneth Snelson. by Elena Kadvany Editor’s note: All of the students’ names in this story have been changed at their requests to protect their privacy. t was one of those impossibly warm, sunny fall days at Stanford University last October when four female students met, some for the first time, in a campus courtyard. They had found each other by chance, brought together by a shared experience: Each said they had been physically or sexually assaulted by the same male student over the course of his four years at Stanford, and each felt failed by the institution obligated to address such acts of violence perpetrated on and by its students. It was Stanford’s failure to adequately investigate each subsequent report of sexual and/or physical violence at the hands of the young man, “Robert Smith,” that “allowed him to continue to act with impunity,” said “Sara Ortiz,” the first of the women to report allegations to Stanford, in 2012. “Celena Dako” came next, reporting in April 2014 that Smith had allegedly tried to sexually assault her on campus the month before; then “Ashley Patel,” who in June 2014 alleged that he had physically assaulted her off campus the summer prior. A fourth woman, “Annie Richardson,” said Smith sexually assaulted her in 2010, their freshman year, but she never told anyone who worked for the university. The women told the Weekly

their first impressions of him were nothing noteworthy — he seemed average, reserved, quiet. “A regular freshman,” Ortiz said. Stanford’s Title IX office, which is dedicated to upholding federal gender-equity law Title IX by overseeing the reporting and adjudication of complaints of sexual violence, eventually found in all three reported cases that Smith had violated university policy that prohibits relationship violence, sexual misconduct and sexual assault. Under federal law, universities are obligated to investigate reports of sexual violence and provide necessary remedies to students, regardless of whether an incident is also the subject of a law-enforcement investigation or whether it took place on campus. In an interview with the Weekly, Smith said he denied all allegations at the time. He continues to vehemently deny them today. Consequences still in place for Smith, however, include a 15-year ban from campus, during which time he must seek professional counseling for sexual harassment and sexual violence; a permanent no-contact order between him and three of the women; and a prohibition from university-sponsored alumni events, on or off campus, according to a letter issued in January 2015 by then-Title IX coordinator Catherine Criswell. These were administrative remedies — rather than disciplinary — that both parties agreed upon in order to avoid going through

Page 18 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Stanford’s disciplinary process for sexual violence, known as the Alternate Review Process (ARP). ARP is currently overseen by the Title IX office together with the university’s Office of Community Standards, which investigates student misconduct. (A new pilot Title IX process is set to roll out later this month, replacing ARP.) The women and Smith said they chose not to pursue the Alternate Review Process in part because of its poor reputation, particularly within the student body, as both fruitless and arduous. Though the three women, and Smith, have all moved forward with their lives and graduated from Stanford, the impact of what happened is far from over. Two of the women have filed complaints against Stanford with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, cases which are currently under investigation. And all of the women speak to the emotional damage from which they are still trying to heal. Viewed separately, each woman’s experience could have been an anomaly, chalked up to oneoff, unintentional errors on the part of administrators, but taken together, the women see systemic flaws in Stanford’s handling of sexual violence and discrimination issues. Each woman said she experienced a series of missteps by the administration that caused her greater pain than she had already gone through. Communication at the Title IX office was poor, both

externally and internally, they said. This has only been compounded by changes in leadership and staffing at the Title IX office, which was formed as a dedicated office in May 2014, in the midst of one of the women’s cases, and is operating today without a permanent Title IX coordinator. The women also felt that the alleged assaults and the administration’s poor response caused collateral damage, which they had to bear without adequate support: failed classes, leaves of absence, damaged mental health, altered life plans and a grim lack of faith in the university. Smith, for his part, said he felt like the odds were stacked against him — particularly during a time on campus when student awareness and activism around sexual assault was gathering momentum. Well-attended campus protests in support of survivors of sexual assault and broad media coverage of the topic at Stanford were sparked by an email then-student Leah Francis sent in June 2014 campuswide and to media outlets with the subject line: “Stanford University Lets Rapists Graduate — Only Suspends Them.” Stanford, like all higher-education institutions operating under Title IX, uses a lower burden of proof than courts do to determine responsibility. Smith sees this “preponderance of evidence” standard — that it is more likely than not that an incident happened — as something “leveraged by Stanford, essentially, as a threat

against the accused.” Smith, less than three months from graduation at the time, said Title IX office staff members told him that one likely outcome of being found responsible through ARP would be not being allowed to graduate. Despite maintaining his innocence, Smith said he wasn’t confident in his chances of moving forward with the Alternate Review Process. Through ARP, Smith’s fate would have been placed in the hands of a trained hearing panel — three students and two faculty or staff members, four of whom must agree on a finding in order for a student to be found responsible for a violation and sanctioned. He opted instead, like the female students, to pursue informal resolution — agreeing to the campus ban and other consequences to, in essence, make the case go away so he could graduate on time in 2014. Stanford spokeswoman Lisa Lapin said that the university cannot speak to specifics of these cases. Unless a student waives his or her privacy rights under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, the university is legally unable to comment. In a Parents’ Weekend address last February, Provost John Etchemendy described the dilemma this presents for universities. “Universities, who I guarantee are trying to do the right thing, must remain silent in the face of media questioning about specific cases,” he said. “And that means

Cover Story many inaccuracies stand unchallenged in the press. It is no wonder that in most press accounts, the university comes across as uncaring or inept. They appear to be stonewalling, while in fact they are just obeying the law.”

Sara Ortiz

Veronica Weber

rtiz’s college experience was irreversibly shaped, from start to finish, by what she describes as Stanford’s inadequate, discouraging response to her report of sexual assault. Ortiz did not immediately report the increasing violence she said was occurring in her relationship with Smith, a fellow freshman she met in her dorm in 2010. A week after they met, he allegedly sexually penetrated her while she was intoxicated, “despite, as he later acknowledged, her repeated requests for him to stop,” according to the Office for Civil Rights complaint she filed against Stanford in July. The aggression continued to escalate, according to her complaint. On the morning of Feb. 4, 2011, Ortiz texted Smith to end their relationship. That afternoon, he entered her unlocked room and they got into a verbal altercation, according to her complaint. He then allegedly pushed Ortiz onto the bed and choked her until she could not “scream, breathe, make any noise, move (her) limbs, and (she) almost blacked out,” her OCR complaint reads. He allegedly whispered several times words to the effect of, “No one is going to notice when you die; no one will remember you,” and then initiated non-consensual sexual

intercourse, according to a Jan. 8, 2015, letter from then-Title IX coordinator Criswell notifying Ortiz that Smith had violated university policy. Ortiz, who said she had been a “serious and driven student all of her life,” stopped going to class after the alleged assault, her OCR complaint states. Her friends and resident assistants became concerned and convinced her to contact Stanford’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) for help. She said she had to wait three weeks to get an appointment, a common complaint of many students about the counseling service. After several sessions with a male counselor, she finally felt comfortable telling him what allegedly happened. In response, he pointed out that the sweater she was wearing at the time was falling off one of her shoulders, she said. He “asked her to consider whether she placed herself in potentially risky situations because she wanted to appear sexually available,” her OCR complaint states. After that session, Ortiz canceled her future CAPS appointments and did not return, she said. Left with feelings of self-blame, she “felt she had she had nowhere to turn on campus for help even as she faced a serious mental health crisis as a direct result of the sexual assault,” her OCR complaint reads. During her sophomore year, close to a year after the alleged assault, Ortiz became increasingly concerned about the possibility of Smith inflicting harm on other students. She decided to make an official report to university administrators. In January 2012, she met with her residence dean, Valentina del Olmo, who she said discouraged her from reporting the alleged assault or seeking any disciplinary action through the Alternate Review Process. Del Olmo told Ortiz that “an official report would provide (her) with only negligible benefits or protections beyond what could be provided through a no-contact

Hoover Tower looms above the Barnum Center, right, and Clock Tower, left, at Stanford University. order,” an interim safety measure the Title IX office can provide without a formal investigation, her OCR complaint reads. Del Olmo also told Ortiz that “making a formal complaint through Stanford’s ARP would be a difficult and unrewarding experience,” according to the OCR document. She suggested that Ortiz instead “should focus on just surviving the rest of the year or just taking time off entirely,” Ortiz said. “The overall impression that I got from my meetings with administrators was that I needed to focus on my own well-being, that I was at risk and that going through anything else would just make that worse. ... I remember feeling very discouraged about any kind of reporting process,” she said. She remembered administrators giving her various options for seeking justice, presenting them as “equivalents” but suggesting “that some of them would be a lot more taxing than others,” she

said. Trusting in her university’s authority figures, Ortiz took del Olmo’s advice and agreed not to move forward with the ARP. Her Office for Civil Rights complaint alleges administrators “misrepresented” the consequences of this decision and as a result, she could not make an informed decision. But because Ortiz’s “primary goal was to deter (Smith) from hurting another woman,” she said she told del Olmo that if Stanford discovered there were other victims, she wanted to be notified and would at that point proceed with the Alternate Review Process, according to her Office for Civil Rights complaint. In a Jan. 23, 2012, follow-up email provided to the Weekly, Ortiz asked del Olmo, “Would it be possible for me to predicate the possibility of me pressing judicial charges on whether or not (Smith) assaults anyone again?” Del Olmo responded that her question about seeking more serious charges in the future was

Veronica Weber

Students from law Professor Michele Dauber’s class “One in Five: The Law, Policy and Politics of Campus Sexual Assault” hold up banners to raise awareness about sexual assault as students pass by White Plaza on Sept. 17, 2015.

“probably best answered by judicial affairs office staff.” Ortiz also asked if another residence dean, set to meet with Smith, could warn him “about what would happen if (he) were to assault anyone else in the future.” Del Olmo stated that Smith’s dean would be explaining to him the “potential consequences (legal/ University/Judicial affairs) that he could be subject to.” Smith told the Weekly that he denied all allegations made against him at the time, but Ortiz’s complaint claims Smith “did not contest her account of the rape” to Del Olmo. At her request, Del Olmo provided Ortiz with a no-contact directive, but after running into Smith several times on campus anyway, she became fearful and “generally confined herself to her apartment,” her complaint reads. During Ortiz’s junior year, she continued to struggle with mental-health issues and missed many classes, falling behind academically. But toward the end of that year, she felt hopeful her senior year would be different. She had saved up her housing priority for the past three years to ensure she would be placed at her top housing choice, which she was. She was perusing a Facebook event for a housewarming event at the residence when she saw Smith’s name listed as an attendee. “Despite the no-contact order that was supposed to ensure (Ortiz’s) safety on campus and in her residence, Stanford assigned her to live in the same house as her rapist,” her OCR complaint reads. After learning of the conflicting housing assignment, Ortiz notified administrators, who apologized for the mistake and offered her several options, including reassigning either one of them. Rosa Gonzalez, director of diversity and access within the Title IX office, wrote in a June 6, 2013, email copying Ortiz that the university would be “putting measures in place to prevent conflicts with ‘No Contact Directives.’” University spokeswoman Lapin said Stanford provides no-contact orders by “issuing a university directive” that is then monitored by the Title IX office. Stanford Law professor and Title IX expert Michele Dauber, who was instrumental in the creation of ARP in 2010, said nocontact directives are “routinely ignored.” Lapin noted that, as proposed, Stanford’s new, pilot Title IX process includes an expedited review process to determine if a no-contact order has been violated. Faced with the decision about housing, Ortiz said she requested that she be moved rather than Smith. But that July, again feeling unsafe on campus, she canceled her housing and decided to take a leave of absence. Just before school started, she changed her mind — it didn’t feel right that Smith was on a path to graduate on time and she wouldn’t (continued on next page)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 19

Cover Story

Failed justice? (continued from previous page)

be, she said — and returned to Stanford. But the loss of desirable housing limited her participation in academic and extra-curricular activities, her OCR complaint states. Ortiz said Stanford’s violation of its own no-contact order “completely changed the rest of the course of my last year at Stanford, when I thought that maybe I could at least redeem this one.” Later that year, on March 5, 2014, Ortiz attended a meeting with Sallie Kim, a lecturer at the Law School who at the time doubled as Stanford’s interim Title IX coordinator, to discuss activities related to a campus group she was involved in. The conversation touched on an unrelated sexual misconduct, and at some point, Ortiz mentioned her experience with Smith, according to her complaint. After their meeting, Kim emailed Ortiz to inform her she had a legal obligation to notify her of her legal rights and options for filing a Title IX complaint. But Ortiz said the subject line (“Letter from Sallie Kim”) was vague, so without opening an attachment she thought it was a routine message in reference to the unrelated sexual misconduct about which they had spoken. This was characteristic of other communication she and the other students involved, including Smith, said they had with administrators throughout the Title IX process — vague, sometimes confusing emails that could be few and far between. “They did a very bad job of indicating what was actually going on,” Ortiz said. On May 14, Cathy Glaze, associate dean for student affairs at the Law School (and today Stanford’s acting Title IX coordinator), emailed Ortiz as one of the Title IX investigators assigned to the case, according to emails pro-

vided to the Weekly. Glaze asked vestigation and unable to particiOrtiz to meet with her and a co- pate in it, influence its outcome investigator, Mark Zunich, “about or request specific remedies,” her what happened your freshman OCR complaint alleges. In fact, the outcome of the inyear.” Ortiz replied the same day that vestigation Kim referenced in there had been a misunderstand- her April 24 letter is unclear, and ing “because Sallie Kim con- Ortiz said administrators never firmed with me that she would indicated whether it proceeded, was rolled in not pursue any with subsequent i nvest igat ion complaints about without my per‘I felt sick just Smith or did not mission.” Ortiz being on campus, move forward. had somehow As a result missed an April just going to class. of this string of 24 email Kim I just wanted miscommunicasent notifying tions, Ortiz said her that Stannothing to do with one of the most ford would be the institution.’ critical reforms moving forward she hopes Stanwith an investi– Sara Ortiz, who has ford will put in gation regardless a filed a civil rights place is a better of her desire not complaint against reporting system to proceed. UnStanford University and more “interder Stanford’s nal accountabilTitle IX policy, ity within the the university can do so subject to a set of cri- school” to keep track of studentteria established by the Office for perpetrators, particularly those Civil Rights, including those ref- who have been reported by mulerenced in this case — the “fac- tiple people. A final misstep that Ortiz said tor of seriousness of the alleged harassment” and whether there wiped out her faith in Stanford have been other harassment com- administrators took place after plaints about the same individual, she returned to Stanford for a master’s program. In September Kim wrote. “I completely understand,” 2014, Smith called and texted her, Glaze responded, within minutes. according to her OCR complaint. “We will respect your decision Believing — falsely, but because no one had told her otherwise and not contact you further.” What Glaze did not mention — that the no-contact order had was that another woman — Dako lapsed because Smith had gradu— had filed a complaint against ated, she panicked. Unable to foSmith, a circumstance about cus or to sleep alone in her apartwhich Ortiz had previously asked ment, her grades took a “huge to be notified so that she could nose dive,” she said. Eventually, proceed with the Alternate Re- Ortiz stopped going to classes entirely. view Process. “I felt sick just being on cam“At no time after sending the April 2014 letter did anyone at pus, just going to class,” she said. Stanford ever inform (Ortiz) about “I just wanted nothing to do with the existence of other complaints the institution.” However, it was during this about (Smith), despite her specific request and (del Olmo’s) promise time that Ortiz found out some that Stanford would do so,” her shocking news: Ashley Patel, a student in a class Ortiz was complaint states. “Stanford’s failure to effec- TA’ing for, told her not only that tively communicate with (Ortiz) another investigation of Smith had kept her in the dark about the in- been opened, but that it had ended

Veronica Weber

U.S. Congresswoman Jackie Speier addresses students at Stanford University about on-campus sexual assault and her proposed bill, called the “Hold Accountable and Lend Transparency” (HALT) campus sexual violence act during a student congressional summit on sexual assault at Stanford on Nov. 9, 2015. Page 20 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

with a decade-long campus ban and permanent no-contact order for all “impacted parties,” which included Ortiz. Ortiz said this news “disturbed” her, particularly because it came from another student who Smith had allegedly assaulted rather than the administrators with whom she had been in touch. Ortiz and the other women also said it felt like Stanford had deliberately isolated them by not keeping them informed about the other investigations. Ortiz requested that Stanford start a new Title IX investigation into her original complaint, which it did, notifying both Ortiz and Smith on Nov. 10, 2014, according to a final investigation outcome letter. Smith declined via email on Dec. 4, 2014, to comment on the allegations or participate in the investigation, the letter states. He maintained to the Weekly that he denied all allegations at the time. Given that Smith was no longer a student and more than two years had passed since the alleged assault, Smith could not be disciplined through ARP, but a series of “administrative remedies” were instead implemented. On Dec. 15, 2014, Criswell handed down a permanent no-contact order to apply to Ortiz, Patel and Dako; the 15-year ban; an indefinite ban so long as any of the three women are on campus; the ban on alumni events; and up to a $5,000 reimbursement of Ortiz for counseling services related to the alleged assault. Criswell found by a preponderance of the evidence that Smith violated university policy prohibiting relationship violence, sexual misconduct and sexual assault by “choking (Ortiz) until (she) almost passed out, and then initiating non-consensual sexual intercourse” in February 2011. Criswell wrote that two witnesses and text messages corroborated Ortiz’s allegations. She also cited detailed notes from residenceeducation staff, taken in January 2012, that state Smith “had no recollection of this incident, possibly because of intoxication, but did not question the account because he believed (Ortiz is) an honest person.” Smith told the Weekly that he made no such comments to a residential staff member. He said he is relying on his memory from the time and does not have access to his Stanford email or documents from these cases. Criswell also found that Smith did violate not only one, but two directives from the university not to contact Ortiz: the official nocontact order she requested and received and that of a residence education dean who “specifically instructed” Smith not to contact Ortiz in early 2012, according to the outcome letter. “I understand that you hope another student in your situation would not have to go through the same experience that you did,” Criswell wrote in the final determination letter to Ortiz. “As a result of your bringing up this

issue, the University has examined its processes and made efforts to improve how no contact directives are implemented and communicated.” Stanford would also reimburse Ortiz for a $200 administrative charge she paid after having to transfer her housing assignment her senior year, Criswell wrote. By March 2015, Ortiz was still feeling consumed emotionally and decided to take a leave of absence from her master’s program at Stanford. She said she is unlikely to return.

Celena Dako

ako, one grade below the other three women, was the quickest to report her alleged assault. After hearing about another woman Smith had allegedly assaulted (who turned out to be Patel) and becoming concerned after seeing him having dinner with a female freshman student, Dako detailed her concerns about what she saw as a dangerous pattern of conduct in an email to Michelle Voigt, a residence dean and “sexual harassment adviser” listed on the website of Stanford’s Sexual Harassment Policy Office. “I don’t mean to jump to conclusions, I just know now after having spoken to several different friends that at least two other girls have been subjected to (Smith’s) abuses ever since his freshman year,” Dako wrote in an April 11, 2014, email to Voigt. “I don’t want to appear histrionic,” she continued. “I don’t fear for my personal safety but for that of other women on this campus.” Dako, who is now pursuing a master’s degree at Stanford, said she had a casual relationship with Smith toward the end of 2013. She ended it in January 2014, and they remained cordial, her OCR complaint states. Then one night in February 2014, they ran into each other on campus and went back to his house, where they listened to music and had a few alcoholic drinks, according to Dako’s OCR complaint. They started making out, and she refused his demand to give him oral sex, her complaint states. He then “used duress, including verbal aggression (e.g. calling her a ‘slut’,’ repeatedly telling her she ‘should go kill herself’) and physical aggression (twisting and pinning her arm) in an attempt to make her engage in oral sex,” a July 11, 2014, final outcome letter from Criswell reads. Smith told the Weekly that this “absolutely” did not take place. He

Cover Story

wanted to leave, Dako was “verbally insistent about her desire to have him stay and have sex with her.” Smith described “physical aggression” including Dako pushing him onto a bed, grabbing his hair and rolling on top of him. The final outcome letter also references a scratch to his face, which Smith told the Title IX investigator he thought was accidental, Criswell wrote. On April 24, 2014, Dako received a terse email from Sallie Kim with an attachment informing her that she was now, too, officially under investigation for a Title IX complaint. She said this email left her devastated. Dako saw Smith’s complaint as clear retaliation, but Smith told the Weekly that administrators had merely contacted him regarding a vague “incident” of “potential misconduct” concerning Dako and that he had not yet been told of the specific allegations Dako had made against him. To Dako, Smith’s complaint against her was an indication that

Stanford students carry mattresses to support survivors of sexual, domestic and relationship violence, during the national day of action rally called “Carry That Weight,” on Oct. 29, 2014.

the Title IX office staff had not received adequate training. Under Title IX, when a school “knows or reasonably should know of possible retaliation by other students or third parties, including threats, intimidation, coercion or discrimination (including harassment), it must take immediate and appropriate steps to investigate or otherwise determine what occurred,” according to an Office for Civil Rights guidance document. “Stanford facilitated retaliation against (Dako) when it agreed to investigate (Smith’s) cross-complaint against her even though, by Stanford’s own admission, the behavior alleged — asking (Smith) to have sex — would not constitute sexual misconduct even if true,” her Office for Civil Rights complaint reads. Criswell later determined there was insufficient evidence to support Smith’s allegations. But Smith said he “willingly” decided to withdraw his allegations and not move forward with a Title IX investigation into Dako. He said

after communicating this to the university, he didn’t hear back for two weeks. “It was completely nerve-racking what was going to happen going forward. It was eventually communicated to me that the (investigation) was winding down, I would be able to walk during graduation and receive my diploma and that I should expect a final outcome letter,” he said. Smith maintains that he made his complaint against Dako before he was even aware of what she had accused him of. In this and the other cases, Smith said, administrators who contacted him kept the allegations so vague as that he didn’t know what they were until far later in the process. (In Dako’s case, this was not until after he had graduated from Stanford, he said.) Without informing him in full about the allegations, investigators asked him about the nature of his relationships with the women and to provide details, from memory, about specific dates, sometimes

several years prior, he said. He told the Weekly the experience reminded him of Franz Kafka’s “The Trial,” a 1925 novel in which a man is arrested and put on trial by an unidentified agency, without any knowledge of the crime of which he’s been accused. “He maintains he is not guilty, and he is told, ‘How do you know you’re not guilty if you do not know what you are on trial for?’” Smith said of the novel’s protagonist. Smith said even if he had decided to move forward with a Title IX investigation, and Stanford had taken his complaint seriously, “It would have come down to the preponderance of the evidence and then I would have lost, which was the calculus I made. “I don’t think Stanford would have not taken it seriously. I think they would have given (me) the due process that was in place at the time. I think the due process in place at the time would not (continued on next page)

Veronica Weber

also denied the conduct to the Title IX office, but his “denials were not found to be credible,” Criswell wrote in the final outcome letter. Dako provided text messages she sent to a friend immediately after the alleged assault that conveyed her version of events, Criswell wrote. Criswell found that Smith had engaged in attempted sexual assault with duress in violation of university policy. Two days after Dako wrote to Voigt, Voigt offered to meet with her along with another residence dean, Danielle Masuda. The pair informed Dako of her options moving forward, and Dako expressed a desire to begin the formal disciplinary process — ARP, according to her Office for Civil Rights complaint. The week after, she also provided to Masuda, Sallie Kim and another administrator four names of other women she had heard or suspected had been assaulted or harassed by Smith, according to emails provided to the Weekly. Ortiz’s and Patel’s names were on that list. Dako said she was later told none of the women she named wanted to pursue further action. When they met, the residence deans also told Dako that they would be meeting with Smith and offered her the option of keeping the allegations vague so as to protect her identity, or telling him she had filed a report against him, she said. Feeling unsure, she asked for some time to decide. However, they met with him and disclosed her name before she could make this decision, according to emails provided to the Weekly. The real bombshell came two days later, when a residence dean informed her that Glaze had reported Smith “did not contest or deny any of her allegations” but that he had made his own allegations she tried to “sexually coerce” him on Feb. 6, her OCR complaint reads. Smith would not comment on the record to the Weekly about the details of the sexual coercion, but Criswell wrote in the final outcome letter that the two were making out, and when Smith

Michelle Le

Veronica Weber

Stanford University students march to Vice Provost Greg Boardman’s office to demand better protection for victims of sexual assault and harsher punishments for their assailants on June 5, 2014.

Leah Francis, center, and fellow students of Stanford University walk past the Vice Provost Greg Boardman’s office after rallying for better protections against sexual assault on June 5, 2014. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 21

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Failed justice? (continued from previous page)

have sided with me,” he said. Two events in summer 2014 cemented Dako’s waning lack of confidence in Stanford’s commitment and ability to support students who participate in processes related to sexual assault. While she was out of the country and under the assumption that the ARP process would begin when she returned, she received an email from Criswell explaining that because of the Title IX investigation, Smith’s degree was pending and “he was going to lose his summer job if he did not have his degree,” Dako’s OCR complaint reads. Throughout late June and July, emails flew back and forth between Criswell and Dako. Despite Dako’s desire to proceed with ARP, on June 29, Criswell explained that certain remedies were available under Title IX without ARP. If determined to be appropriate, the Title IX office can suggest what’s called a nonhearing resolution, a proposed set of remedies that both parties must agree to in order to proceed. Under the negotiated administrative remedies between Dako and Smith, Smith’s degree hold would be released. By agreeing to the remedies, the students would also waive their right to appeal or move forward to the Alternative Review Process. Dako agreed to the administrative remedies but said the communication was exhausting, and it felt like the university sped up her case while she was abroad in the name of lifting Smith’s degree hold. “I was staying with a host, not able to sleep at all, not able to do any of my work whatsoever, just sitting in bed like stabbing away at my computer, trying to figure this out,” Dako recalled. “That was the first moment I realized that I wouldn’t be done (with school) when I thought I would be. I had spent the entire quarter having to skip class because I would have

to accommodate meeting times of the administrators who weren’t flexible or weren’t forthcoming or would not get back to me for weeks at a time. After struggling academically at the end of the quarter, Dako was placed on academic probation. In a final blow, the university sent a letter home telling her parents she had not met the university’s minimum academic requirements. “The process for academic probation is motivated by Stanford’s commitment to offer students support for and guidance through difficulties they face, particularly when there is a risk that these could jeopardize their academic success,” Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Harry Elam wrote in the July 2014 letter. “This process is designed to be helpful for you and to promote a successful career at Stanford.” Dako had not yet told her parents about the Title IX investigation or alleged assault. “I really wish I had been able to, on my own time, let them know when I felt ready, emotionally prepared,” she told the Weekly. “That was gruesome.”

Ashley Patel

hat same summer, another complaint about Smith surfaced, just under a week before he was set to graduate. “Over the past few days, I’ve received a couple of emails (sent to chat lists) from women on campus who have been sexually assaulted and have gone through ARP,” Ashley Patel wrote in a long June 6, 2014, email to residence deans Masuda and Voigt.

“While hearing about the sexual attacks concerns me, I’m writing to report that I had also experienced sexual aggression towards me over the past summer ... that, too, by a man who has a history of sexual violence on campus. Due to it being close to the end of the academic quarter, I decided to disclose the details in this initial email so as to alert you to the severity of his behavior and very much encourage you to require him to seek help before he leaves campus or receives his degree.” Patel went on to describe in detail an alleged physical assault that took place off campus in August 2013. After she refused to engage in sexual intercourse with Smith, he hit her in the face while holding a shampoo bottle and split her lip, according to Criswell’s final outcome letter. Patel’s version of events was supported by third-party witnesses, including one who confirmed seeing her physical injury the next day, and Facebook messages between her and Smith, Criswell wrote. In text messages, provided to the Weekly, Smith apologized for the incident the next day. Taking Patel’s and Dako’s complaints together, Criswell also found “credible evidence of a pattern of behavior from (Smith) that when he was refused sexual acts, he reacted with physical violence against them (the women).” Patel explained to Masuda and Voigt that she had several reasons for not reporting the alleged assault until almost a year later — including two that many college students who are victims of sexual assault likely share: She and Smith knew each other, and there had been alcohol involved. She worried she would be blamed for it in some way and held responsible. “I also continued to tell myself that because he didn’t succeed in raping me or battering me heavily, the incidence and violence did not really count as sexual assault,” she wrote. “Additionally, I thought that because I was also drinking that day and have known him on campus, administration might

Veronica Weber

Students lock their bikes in front of the Tresidder Memorial Union on Jan. 18, 2016. Page 22 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

(wrongly) conclude that this was just a misunderstanding between two students having a ‘good time.’” Another reason was the “widely believed status quo” that Stanford’s disciplinary process yields nothing more than a “slap on the wrist” for perpetrators of sexual violence, Patel wrote. (Typical sanctions for students found responsible for sexual assault are several-quarter suspensions, community service or education around sexual violence. In its history, Stanford has only expelled one student for sexual assault, in a case that involved multiple victims.) In her email, Patel called this “an embarrassing injustice” to not only victims of sexual assault but a community led by an administration who “in words says it will not stand for violence or misogyny ... but seemingly cannot back it up with action when a student reports such an incident.” “Like many other women on campus, at the time, I truly believed that going through ARP would do very little to help me or alert (Smith) of the deep ramifications of his actions,” she wrote. Similarly, the fourth woman, Annie Richardson (pictured at right), who did not inform the university about her alleged assault, said that now, years later, she doesn’t know if doing so would have made a difference. “When I found out that he had gone on to assault other women, I felt really guilty and depressed and ... like it was my fault, like if I had reported him, he would have gotten kicked out and these other women wouldn’t have been assaulted,” Richardson said in an interview with the Weekly. “But after getting in touch with (Dako) and hearing about everyone’s experiences with Stanford, I can’t say that reporting would have prevented these other incidences considering how they responded to things that were even more violent than what I experienced. “If they couldn’t properly respond after that level of violence, then me reporting my assault freshman year wouldn’t have made a difference,” she said. Patel, for her part, had the most positive experience dealing with administrators out of the three women. While critical of the university for how it handled other women’s cases, she was satisfied with their response to her own complaint. One of the better elements was an offer of mentalhealth support through one of the Title IX office’s confidential counselors. She said she felt safer speaking with that person rather than a counselor from CAPS, which, like ARP, carries a poor reputation with the student body. (Dako went once as a sort of test of the support offered by the university. She said the experience was “useless” and “patronizing.”) But once Patel found out there were other allegations made against Smith prior to the incident she reported — and more severe than what she had experienced —

she was appalled, she said. Like the other women, it broke her trust in an institution she esteemed. “I valued Stanford a lot,” Patel said. “The last five years, it’s sort of been my home.” Patel, who is now pursuing a master’s degree at Stanford, said she felt compelled to speak publicly about her experience to dispel the stigma associated with sexual assault and add her voice to an ever-rising tide of awareness about the issue on college campuses. “There’s a lot of shame and stigma associated with speaking out about sexual assault ... and I think just the fact that survivors of sexual assault have to deal with the aftershocks of it — emotionally, (the) personal connections that you’ve lost, (the) academic issues that are inevitably going to happen after going through something like that — the fact that you have to deal with it on your own in the dark while the perpetrator gets to go through the rest of their lives. ... I just didn’t want to be silent about that,” Patel said.

Changes proposed, implemented

qual Rights Advocates, a national civil-rights organization based in San Francisco that supports and advocates for women’s rights, filed two separate Office for Civil Rights complaints on behalf of Ortiz and Dako in July, bringing the total number of current Title IX investigations at Stanford to four, according to a list provided by the federal agency. One of the other four complaints was filed in December 2014 by Leah Francis, who has alleged Stanford failed to promptly and equitably provide a response to and resolution for a sexual-assault report she filed in January 2014. Equal Rights Advocates is also representing Francis. The Office for Civil Rights, in headlines in recent years for being underfunded and struggling to keep up with the skyrocketing number of campus sexual-assault complaints, can take several years to conduct and conclude an investigation. The students who file them, more often than not, are seeking long-term, systemic reform for future students rather than personal restitution, said law professor Dauber. Francis, for example, told the Weekly that she decided to file her federal complaint instead of accepting a financial settlement Stanford offered her.

Cover Story â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is not for the faint of force about their experiences, as heart,â&#x20AC;? Dauber said she tells stu- other student survivors did to betdents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You need to have the long ter inform the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work.) Top on the list of the task forceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s view. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking at institutional change, so youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going final recommendations was that to be long graduated from this expulsion be the â&#x20AC;&#x153;expectedâ&#x20AC;? consequence for students found school.â&#x20AC;? Dakoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Ortizâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s complaints unanimously responsible for sexboth call for significant policy ual assault. (The universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s defichanges that they hope the Office nition of sexual assault has since for Civil Rights will order Stan- changed to what some Stanford ford to pursue. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re pushing professors say is the most narrow for increased sanctions against definition among all of its peer students who commit acts of schools, perhaps to make expulsexual violence against other stu- sion a more palatable â&#x20AC;&#x153;expectedâ&#x20AC;? sanction.) dents and better The task force enforcement of also recomthose sanctions; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot more mended the unimore training schools could do versity replace for both staff the Alternate and students and to inform students Review Proeducation about ... of the whole cess with a new the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s polthree-year pilot icies and proceprocess and how program that dures related to it works and what creates a single sexual violence; rather than bifurbetter resources they are entitled cated process for for survivors; to ask for.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; the investigation guidelines to and adjudication ensure oversight â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Jennifer Reisch, legal of violations of and involvement director, Equal Rights university policy. of tenured-facCurrently, two ulty advocates Advocates entities particiand survivor adpate in this provocates throughout the investigation process; and cess: the Title IX office and the more resources for Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Of- Office of Community Standards. fice of Sexual Assault and Rela- After seeking feedback from stutionship Abuse Education & Re- dents, faculty and staff on a draft process this fall, the university is sponse (SARA). â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think that schools have to now finalizing the new process give students real tools to be able and plans to roll it out later this to report sexual violence,â&#x20AC;? said month, according to Lapin. Significant changes in the Equal Rights Advocates Legal Director Jennifer Reisch. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They new process include the Title IX canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just have a policy that looks office-led investigation and adjudication process; hearing pangood on paper.â&#x20AC;? Universities should take con- els made up of three (rather than crete steps to make what are com- ARPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s five) reviewers who are plex Title IX processes â&#x20AC;&#x201D; how to extensively trained, regularly sit report, what an investigation en- on cases and are not undergradutails, what a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s options are ate students; the creation of a new, moving forward â&#x20AC;&#x201D; more acces- full-time hearing coordinator and new â&#x20AC;&#x153;evidentiary specialistsâ&#x20AC;? to sible to students, she added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People need to know, for ex- help review documents during ample, what we know as lawyers: the hearing process; the provision what academic accommodation of up to six hours of free legal asmeans, that itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a remedy,â&#x20AC;? Reisch sistance for the students involved; said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But what does that actually and expulsion as the expected mean to a student whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going sanction for students found unanthrough a crisis right before final imously responsible for sexual exams? Does she know that she assault, as defined by university can seek assistance in the form of policy. Some faculty and students still support, in the form of delay in those exams? Does she know that find aspects of the new process she might be entitled to some kind problematic; the university said it of extra time or extra money, if is considering their feedback. Stanford has also expanded its itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary, to make up for the loss that sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suffered as a result Title IX office in recent years. In of this discrimination? Very few May 2014, the university hired its first-ever dedicated Title IX copeople know that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot more ordinator, Criswell. Now, the ofschools could do to inform stu- fice has not one but four positions, dents, not just about their techni- with the addition of two new incal legal rights but to foster great- vestigators and an office maner awareness of the whole process ager, according to the university. and how it works and what they Criswell, however, left the post in September, after a little more than are entitled to ask for.â&#x20AC;? Stanford, for its part, has put a year on the job. Glaze is currentseveral reforms into place in rely leading the Title IX office on cent years. In 2014, Provost John an interim basis. The search for Etchemendy convened a task a permanent coordinator is â&#x20AC;&#x153;in its force of students, faculty and staff final stages,â&#x20AC;? Lapin said. Stanford also hired two new charged with reviewing and issuing recommendations on sexual- confidential counselors to serve assault policies and procedures. as 24/7 resources for sexual as(A subset of the four women in sault victims, meeting at least in this case actually spoke to the task part a demand expressed by Fran-

cis and other student activists in 2014 for more confidential counseling resources on campus. New education on topics like consent and how to be an upstander was also incorporated into new student orientation in 2014 and 2015. All new undergraduates and graduates are now required to complete online training related to sexual violence before arriving on campus. This summer, the university also funded a new, three-week immersive summer course Dauber created and taught called â&#x20AC;&#x153;One in Five: The Law, Policy and Politics of Campus Sexual Assault.â&#x20AC;? Many on campus were also roused to action this fall in the wake of a controversial climate survey that found what studentactivists and faculty said was an impossibly low overall rate of sexual assault of 1.9 percent. They said the way the survey was designed, combined with the way in which the results were presented by the university, created a warped picture of the prevalence of sexual assault at Stanford. The Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU), Stanfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student government body, unanimously approved this week a resolution calling on the administration to issue a new survey no later than next spring. The administration defended itself and the survey, which Etchemendy said â&#x20AC;&#x153;paints a sobering picture, not a rosy one.â&#x20AC;? Stanford is certainly not alone â&#x20AC;&#x201D; as of Jan. 6, it is one of 161 colleges and universities in the country currently under federal investigation for Title IX violations, according to the Office for Civil Rights. Yet Keasara Williams, a former Equal Rights Advocates attorney who initially represented Ortiz and Dako, said that the nonprofit receives more calls from young women from Stanford than any other university seeking advice or support on sexual-assault issues. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not the anomaly, unfortunately,â&#x20AC;? she said of the women Equal Rights Advocates represents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are a lot more students out there.â&#x20AC;? The four women said they chose to speak publicly to hold Stanford accountable and to change the experience for future Stanford students who are victims of sexual violence. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It feels empowering to know that at least, hopefully, Stanford will face some kind of public accountability for what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done, and this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t something theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to be able to push under the rug, which it is so successful at doing and at changing the headlines and containing the story,â&#x20AC;? Ortiz said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an incredibly powerful institution.â&#x20AC;? Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com.

About the cover: An arched hallway at Stanford University. Photograph by Veronica Weber.

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board (ARB) 8:30 A.M., Thursday, February 4, 2016, Palo Alto Council Chambers, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Plans may be reviewed online at: http://www.cityofpaloalto. org/planningprojects. If you need assistance reviewing the plan set, please visit our Development Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue. For general questions about the hearing contact Alicia Spotwood during business hours at 650.617.3168. 300 Homer Avenue [15PLN-00290]: Request by Palo Alto History Museum for Architectural Review of the proposed historic rehabilitation of the 19,182 sq. ft. Roth Building and a 1,458 sq. ft. addition to a Category 2 historic structure. 4PUVY L_JLW[PVUZ HYL YLX\LZ[LK [V HSSV^ VÉ&#x2C6; ZP[L WHYRPUN HUK a front yard encroachment of three feet for the proposed additions at the rear elevation. The application includes a request of a Conditional Use permit to allow a Community Facility use. Environmental Assessment: Categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act per Guidelines Section 15301 (Existing Facilities) and Section 15331 (Historic Resource Restoration and Rehabilitation). Zone District: PF (Public Facilities) in SOFA CAP I. Project Planner: Christy Fong Jodie Gerhardt Current Planning Manager The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request an accommodation for this meeting or an alternative format for any related printed materials, please contact the Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ADA *VVYKPUH[VY H[ ]VPJL VY I` L THPSPUN ada@ cityofpaloalto.org.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hiring Assistant Editor The Palo Alto Weekly/PaloAltoOnline.com is seeking a talented and experienced journalist to become our assistant editor. The position offers opportunities to manage entire publications and special sections, write about home and real estate topics, present and promote work digitally, assist with news editing and serve as a key member of an award-winning editorial team. The ideal candidate possesses the creativity, organizational aptitude, focus on quality and adroitness in interpersonal communications to guide publications from start to ďŹ nish. Two to four years of experience as a news editor is desired, as is the ability to juggle multiple projects. A strong interest in home, interior design and gardening topics, the positionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main beat, is essential. Knowledge of the Palo Alto community would be a plus. An enjoyment of teamwork and the ability to direct a variety of writers, including interns and freelancers, are key. This is a beneďŹ ted position, offering health insurance and a 401(k) savings plan, paid vacation, paid sick time and paid company holidays. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. To apply, please submit a cover letter detailing how your experience ďŹ ts the needs of the position. Also attach your resume, three articles youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve written and links to two publications or sections youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve edited. Email the materials, with â&#x20AC;&#x153;Assistant Editorâ&#x20AC;? in the subject line, to Editor Jocelyn Dong at jdong@paweekly.com. No phone calls, please.

450 Cambridge Avenue | Palo Alto, CA 94306 | 650.326.8210

www.PaloAltoOnline.com â&#x20AC;˘ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;˘ January 22, 2016 â&#x20AC;˘ Page 23

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

d n o y e B‘culture in a silo’

EnActe Arts showcases South Asian talent and stories by Karla Kane photos by Prabhakar Subrahmanyam

or Vinita Belani, theater is a labor of love. The Los Altos resident is a computer scientist by training, with an MBA and 20-year career working with tech companies. “But I’ve been acting Vinita Belani since the age of 5,” she said. “I directed my first play when I was 18.” Belani grew up in Kolkata, India, where “it was very easy to be part of the theater world; there was always something going on,” she said. Three years ago, frustrated by what she saw as a lack of local opportunities and inspired by what she knew was a wealth of talent, she quit the corporate world and founded EnActe Arts, with its motto of “South Asian theater with universal appeal.” Its latest production, “A Nice Indian Boy,” will be performed at Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto on Jan. 22 and 23. “We have a very rich tradition of theater back home, a tradition that goes back almost 4,000 years, older than Greek theater,” Belani said. “People in the West don’t know very much about it. All of our religious and Vedic texts were oral, from a time from when the written word was not in existence. When you pass stories down orally, there’s always an element of theater.” Her goal with EnActe Arts is “to do theater that is rooted in South Asian culture in some way but to make it appealing to mainstream audiences,” she said. South Asia refers to the region including India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Tibet, Pakistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka. There are South Asian theater companies in many major U.S. cities, but “their model is mostly ‘of Indians by Indians for Indians,’” Belani said, calling it “culture in a silo.” EnActe, instead, seeks to shine a light

Sukanya Sarkar (second from right) and Dilip Ratnam (right) play parents who disapprove of the romantic life of their son (played by Aditya Thakur, far left). Prathima Vadiraja (second from left) and Erik Scilley (middle) play his sister and fiance, respectively.

on the culture and be open to cross-cultural dialogue and collaborations. Besides entertaining audiences, EnActe also aims to increase opportunities for writers, directors and actors of South Asian backgrounds. “There’s some representation in theater and film in the U.S. but not a lot — definitely not enough to be reflective of the population or the kind of talent represented in the community,” Belani said. Many EnActe cast members have studied theater at local colleges. About half identify as South Asian while the rest are of various ethnic backgrounds, she said, and some have gone on to film roles and bigger theater opportunities. “A Nice Indian Boy” was penned by the young San Jose-born playwright Madhuri Shekar. “She’s writing about life as she sees it here in Silicon Valley, growing up Indian and American,” Belani said. The play, a comedy, is the story of a gay Indian-American man who wants to marry his boyfriend, whom he met at a Hindu temple. His traditional parents are dismayed enough to learn about his sexuality but are dealt another blow when they realize his fiance, while Hindu and bearing an Indian name, is actually Caucasian, having been adopted by Indian parents. (In a later twist, they end up feeling he is “more Indian” than their own son.) Meanwhile, their daughter, unsatisfied in her marriage, is annoyed that her brother is permitted to marry for love while she was expected to adhere to tradition. “This particular play is a very lighthearted take on what is a very sensitive issue in the South Asian community,” Belani said. “A lot of the Bay Area LGBTQ organizations are excited. They are helping us spread the word,” she said. The show, with its cast of five, is directed by Ranjita Chakravarty, who’s been acting for several decades and made her directorial

Page 24 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

debut with EnActe last year. Chakravarty, who originally hails from New Delhi and works as an auditor at Stanford University, said that despite her considerable acting experience, she had long shied away from directing until given the opportunity by EnActe. The first show she directed — a complicated blend of story, dance, and music — was presented in both English and Bengali. “Some people thought it would not work, but in the end the purists came on board,” Chakravarty said. “That’s something EnActe does very well: We offend purists all the time,” Belani said, laughing. For “A Nice Indian Boy,” Chakravarty said she’s striving to present the potentially controversial topic with “dignity, honesty and humor,” steering clear of slapstick caricature while bringing attention to a still-stigmatized issue. “It might make people a bit uncomfortable. I’m hoping it ruffles a few feathers,” she said. EnActe produces two professional shows annually, plus a few helmed by amateur directors from the community (as with “A Nice Indian Boy”). Funding comes from grants, corporate donations and contributions from enthusiastic individuals. EnActe’s next major show will be “The Twentieth Wife” about Noor Jahan, the only Mughal empress to ever rule India. That production will be a one-woman Kathak dance performance, with live music, storytellers and poetry. “It’s about a woman who should be much better known in history than she actually is,” Belani said. In addition, sets of standup comedy are planned for February and April, and there’s a talk coming up on an Indian theater form called folk opera. The next season will open in August with an ambitious production called “Conference of the Birds,” based on a 12th-century book by a Persian poet.

“It’s an allegory which explains the philosophy of Sufism. We want to showcase the positive influences of Islam on the world,” Belani said. Ten different dance groups will come together to present the multiethnic dance-theater piece, each representing a different cultural tradition. Belani said she’s especially excited for EnActe to implement its Women EnAct For Themselves (WEFT) program, for women to use theater as a form of communication and self-expression. That group’s next project will be a partnership with an organization called The Partition Archives, which is documenting accounts of the 1947 partition between India and Pakistan. WEFT participants will take firsthand stories from women who experienced the partition — a harrowing time when many lives were lost and families torn apart — and turn them into theater pieces. Through the India Community Center, EnActe offers its Young EnActeurs Program (YEP) for children, with classes for teens planned for 2017. Children in the program have performed in a diverse range of venues, such as in museums and at theater festivals. And, again in partnership with the India Community Center, EnActe also works with senior citizens. “We’re encouraging them to bring to life folktales from the South Asian subcontinent and to tell them to children,” Belani said. “They all have stories to tell.” Q Interim Arts & Entertainment Editor Karla Kane can be emailed at kkane@ paweekly.com. What: “A Nice Indian Boy,” presented by EnActe Arts Where: Cubberley Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto When: Jan. 22 at 8 p.m.; Jan. 23 at 2 and 6 p.m. Cost: $20-$100 Info: Go to enacte.org

Eating Out

Celebrating

EAR of

the

THE

MONKEY

PAEKING

CROBATS

The sausageand-honey pizza at Vesta features tomato sauce, spicy Italian sausage, marscarpone cheese, honey, serrano chilis and parsley.

- 30th Anniversary Special -

Veronica Weber

Hold the pepperoni VESTA’S NEAPOLITAN PIZZAS ARE RUSTIC, YET REFINED AND ENTICING by Dale F. Bentson y new favorite pizza in the whole world is the carbonara at Vesta in downtown Redwood City. What could have been a dense, gooey affair was feather light, packed with flavor and satisfying on a pizza level, an umami level and an Italian-food level. The pizza was deftly topped with mascarpone, mozzarella, crisp Applewood smoked bacon, parsley, garlic, black pepper, red onion and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, with an over-easy egg plopped in the center of the pizza. Pricking the yolk allowed me to dip pizza slices into it. The bacon, egg and cheese were marvelous with the pliant, puffy and slightly charred pizza crust. On subsequent visits, I had to force myself to order other menu items so I could complete this review. Open at 2022 Broadway St. since 2012, Vesta’s genesis actually dates back three-and-a-half decades. Roy and Rose Borrone opened their eponymous Café in 1979 in a building Roy owned at that location. The Borrones operated it for 10 years before moving to their current ever-popular location on El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Now son Peter and daughter-inlaw Courtney oversee the Broadway space with their hand-crafted pizza and small-plates restaurant. Vesta is no secret to the downtown Redwood City dining scene. While I have no comparative financials, I would venture to say Vesta is the most popular spot on a street filled with good restaurants. Well before noon, Vesta was packed while other restaurants were still putting out their street-

side umbrellas. Reservations are recommended. The main dining room, painted a mossy green, has high walls, with one sizeable abstract canvas and a large fresh-flower arrangement. One corner of the space is devoted to the pizza makers and brick oven. Out back is a covered patio with a garden feel and plenty of heaters. A passageway with seating links the main dining room and back patio. In good weather, there is also pleasant streetside seating under market umbrellas. The uniting theme is an outdoorsy feel that seems just right for the space. Everything about Vesta is big. Besides the high ceilings, which make the main dining room feel lofty, portions are large, flavors are outsize and aromas prodigious. The food was hearty — after the fox hunt at Downton Abbey kind of fare — earthy and aromatic, rustic, with huge portions meant for passing round the table while sharing stories of hounds and horses or perhaps more mundane conversations about jobs, sports and the weather. Grilled, then sautèed cauliflower ($9) was a robust plate of vegetables smothered in toasted almonds, currants, and serrano chilies, drizzled with honey, and topped with breadcrumbs a small-plate appetizer that could satisfy two to four people The baseball-sized pork meatballs ($12.50), three of them, were served under a pile of crisp arugula tossed in a jalapeño aioli with curls of fragrant Parmigiano-Reggiano atop. The pork balls were cooked through, despite their size, without being charred on the outside. The savory mushroom toast

($12) featured a medley of sautèed forest-fresh mushrooms with crëme fraiche and thyme, served over thick slices of grilled bread. Lush and aromatic, it was almost too rich a first course and very filling. One waiter told me the most popular pie is the sausage and honey pizza ($21). Topped with tomato sauce, big chunks of spicy

SATURDAY

JAN 30 at 8PM SUNDAY

JAN 31 at 3PM

(Perfect for families with kids!) ds!)

TICKETS

FLINT CENTER CUPERTINO Ticketmaster.com | 800-745-3000

$60 45 35 20

(continued on next page)

THE CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY presents

The Stein Visiting Writer

Larissa MacFarquhar Reading

M O N DAY , J A N U A RY 25, 2016 8:00 PM B E C H TE L C O N F E R E N C E C E N TE R , E N C I N A H A L L , 616 S E R R A S T R E E T “MacFarquhar’s book–daringly conceived, brilliantly executed–may change not just how you see the world, but how you live in it.” —Katherine Boo

FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Information: 650.723.0011 http://creativewriting.stanford.edu Sponsored by Stanford University Creative Writing Program www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 25

Eating Out

Vesta (continued from previous page)

INVITATION FOR CONSIGNMENTS OF CHINESE PAINTINGS January 22-27, San Francisco

Bonhams Chinese Paintings Specialists will be available January 22-27 to provide complimentary estimates with a view to selling at upcoming auctions in San Francisco, New York and Hong Kong. +1 (415) 503 3264 dick.lin@bonhams.com WU GUANZHONG (1632-1717) Album of Landscapes Sold for $4,633,654

International Auctioneers and Appraisers – bonhams.com/asian )VUOHTZ )\[[LYÄ LSKZ (\J[PVULLYZ *VYW (SS YPNO[Z YLZLY]LK )VUK 5V ):).3

Page 26 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Italian sausage, mascarpone, serrano chilies, parsley and drizzled with honey, it was just a tad too sweet for my taste but clearly enjoyed by many. The Margherita pizza ($16), on the other hand, had that classic Neapolitan quality to it — simple ingredients of tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and fleur de sel with simply amazing results. It had a bubbly soft crust and thin layer of sauce, dotted with tiny puddles of melted cheese. Even when packed, the service was attentive and I appreciated linens on the tables and not paper napkins. The dining room was loud when busy as noise ricocheted off the stark high walls. The pizza oven has limited capacity and can get backed up when busy. All the more reason to take advantage of the inviting appetizers. The restaurant itself doesn’t make deliveries, but Vesta accommodates several independent food-delivery services. A word of caution though: Vesta’s pizzas are Neapolitan style with soft crusts that could be soggy by the time delivered. They are best eaten hot from the brick oven. Vesta offered a solid selection of craft beers, both draft and by the bottle. The wine list was built around the food: high acid whites and spicy reds, with most labels

available by the glass or bottle. Peter Borrone grew up in the restaurant business. He and Courtney have translated that knowledge into a contemporary, vibrant, thriving restaurant. Now that this review is completed, I can shower my attention solely on that scrumptious pizza carbonara. Q Freelance writer Dale Bentson can be emailed at dfbentson@ gmail.com.

Vesta 2022 Broadway St., Redwood City; 650-362-5052; vestarwc.com Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Reservations

Credit cards

Parking: street and city lots

Beer and wine

Delivery: available from independent companies

Outdoor seating: enclosed patio and streetside

Happy hour

Corkage: $15

Children

Takeout

Noise level: High Bathroom Cleanliness: Excellent

Movies A C A D E M Y AWA R D N O M I N A T I O N S

MOVIE TIMES All showtimes are for Friday to 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. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (R) Century 16: 10 a.m., 1:15, 4:30, 7:45 & 11 p.m. Century 20: 3:55, 5:40, 7:15 & 10:35 p.m. Fri. & Sat. 2:25 p.m. Fri. & Sun. noon The 5th Wave (PG-13) Century 16: 10:05 a.m., 1, 4:05, 7:20 & 10:10 p.m. Century 20: 10:55 a.m., 1:40, 4:30, 7:20 & 10:15 p.m. In D-BOX at 10:55 a.m., 1:40, 4:30, 7:20 & 10:15 p.m. Airlift (Not Rated)

Century 16: 9:30 p.m.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (PG) Century 20: 11:10 a.m.

The Forest (PG-13)

Century 20: 2 & 10:45 p.m.

Gilda (1946) (Not Rated) Stanford Theatre: 5:30 & 9:25 p.m.

The Hateful Eight (R) ++1/2 Century 16: 11:15 a.m., 3:05, 7:10 & 10:50 p.m. Century 20: 6:35 & 10:10 p.m. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 20: 9:30 p.m. Joy (PG-13) ++1/2

Century 20: 9:05 p.m.

Nannaku Prematho (Not Rated) Century 16: 6:40 & 10:25 p.m.

The Big Short (R) +++1/2 Century 16: 10:20 a.m., 1:25, 4:25, 7:40 & 10:40 p.m. Century 20: 10:25 a.m., 1:25, 4:25, 7:25 & 10:30 p.m.

Norm of the North (PG) Century 16: 10:10 a.m., 12:30, 2:50, 5:10 & 7:30 p.m. Century 20: 11:30 a.m., 1:55, 4:40 & 7:05 p.m.

Bolshoi Ballet: Taming of the Shrew (PG) Century 20: Sun. 12:55 p.m.

The Revenant (R) ++1/2 Century 16: 10:45 a.m., 12:25, 2:15, 3:55, 5:45, 7:25, 9:15 & 10:55 p.m. Century 20: 10:25 a.m., 1:50, 5:20 & 8:50 p.m. In X-D at 11:55 a.m., 3:30, 7 & 10:25 p.m.

Bridge of Spies (PG-13)

Century 20: 6:55 & 10:05 p.m.

Brooklyn (PG-13) +++1/2 Century 20: 10:40 a.m. 4:45 & 10:20 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1:15, 4:15 & 7:15 p.m. Fri. & Sat. 9:55 p.m. Carol (R) Century 16: 10:15 a.m., 1:05 & 4 p.m. Century 20: Fri. & Sat. 10:20 a.m., 1:05 & 3:50 p.m. Casablanca (1942) (PG) Stanford Theatre: 7:30 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 3:40 p.m. Creed (PG-13) +++

Century 20: 9:35 p.m.

Daddy’s Home (PG-13) Century 16: 7 p.m. Fri. & Sun. 11:20 a.m. Sat. 4:20 p.m. Century 20: 11:45 a.m., 2:20, 5:05, 7:50 & 10:20 p.m. The Danish Girl (R) Aquarius Theatre: 1:30, 4:10, 7 & 9:30 p.m. Century 20: 11:05 a.m., 4:50 & 7:45 p.m. Dirty Grandpa (R) Century 16: 10:30 a.m., 1:20, 4:10, 7:15 & 10 p.m. Century 20: 11:15 a.m., 2:15, 4:55, 7:35 & 10:10 p.m.

Ride Along 2 (PG-13) 1/2 Century 16: 11:55 a.m., 2:35, 5:15, 7:55 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 10:40 a.m., 1:15, 2:40, 4, 5:25, 6:45, 8:05, 9:20 & 10:40 p.m. Fri. & Sun. 12:10 p.m. Room (R)

Century 16: 10 a.m., 12:50, 3:50 & 9:50 p.m.

Sisters (R) Century 16: 7:05 & 10:50 p.m. Century 20: 11:25 a.m., 2:15, 5, 7:55 & 10:40 p.m. Son of Saul (R)

Guild Theatre: 2:15, 4:45, 7:15 & 9:45 p.m.

Spotlight (R) +++1/2 Century 20: 1:25 & 7:10 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1, 4 & 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat. 10 p.m. Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (PG-13) +++ Century 16: 10 & 11:05 a.m., 1:10, 4:30, 7:45 & 11 p.m. Fri. 6:15 & 9:25 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 2:20, 5:35 & 8:50 p.m. In 3-D at 12:10, 3:25, 7 & 10:15 p.m. Fri. 3 p.m. Century 20: 10:45 a.m., 12:50, 4:05, 7:20, 8:30 & 10:35 p.m. In 3-D at 2, 3:05, 5:15 & 6:20 p.m. Fri. 11:50 a.m. In 3-D D-BOX at 2 & 5:15 p.m. In D-BOX at 10:45 a.m., 8:30 p.m. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) (Not Rated) Century 16: Sun. 2 p.m. Century 20: Sun. 2 p.m.

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

Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (327-3241) Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (800-326-3264) Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City (800-326-3264)

SAOIRSE RONAN

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY — NICK HORNBY

The Good Dinosaur (PG) ++1/2 Century 16: Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m. Century 20: 11 a.m., 1:30 & 4:15 p.m.

Anomalisa (R) +++1/2 Aquarius Theatre: 2:30, 4:40, 7:20 & 10 p.m.

The Boy (PG-13) Century 16: 10:10 a.m., 12:40, 3:10, 5:35, 8:05 & 10:35 p.m. Century 20: 11:35 a.m., 2:30, 5:10, 8 & 10:45 p.m.

BEST PICTURE BEST ACTRESS

CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-0128) Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260) Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700)

ON THE WEB: Additional movie reviews and trailers at PaloAltoOnline.com/movies

NOW PLAYING IN THEATRES EVERYWHERE CHECK LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THEATRES AND SHOWTIMES

ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE ®

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

WINNER GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD ®

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

©HFPA

DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA NOMINEE

FIRST-TIME FEATURE LÁSZLÓ NEMES

“THE BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR.”

Peter Debruge, VARIETY Eric Kohn, INDIEWIRE Anne Thompson, THOMPSON ON HOLLYWOOD THE GUARDIAN

SON OF SAUL A FILM BY LÁSZLÓ Á Ó NEMES

WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM

STARTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 22

VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.SONOFSAULMOVIE.COM

Now Open on California Ave. “Bonne cuisine et bon vin, c’est le paradis sur terre” (Henry IV)

Century Theatres at Palo Alto Square Friday & Saturday 1/22 – 1/23 Brooklyn – 1:15, 4:15, 7:15, 9:55 Spotlight – 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 10:00 Sun, Mon, Tue, & Thurs 1/24, 1/25, 1/26, 1/28 Brooklyn – 1:15, 4:15, 7:15 Spotlight – 1:00, 4:00, 7:00 Wednesday 1/27 Brooklyn – 1:15, 4:15, 7:15 Spotlight – 1:00, 4:00 AAIC: Florence and the Ufﬁzi Gallery – 6:30PM

Tickets and Showtimes available at cinemark.com

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Hours: Tues - Sat: 11am – 2:30pm, 5:00pm – 9:30pm Brunch: Saturday & Sunday: 9am - 2:30pm www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 27

Home&Real Estate

OPEN HOME GUIDE 36 Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com

Home Front

HOMESTEADING 101 ... Learn about fruit tree grafting on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2-4 p.m., at Common Ground Garden, 687 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. Jesse Imbach and James Lalikos will talk about sourcing and storing viable scions, tool selection, best practices and more. Imbach is a member of the California Rare Fruit Growers and its Santa Clara Valley chapter and manages the San Mateo Chapter of Village Harvest. Lalikos is a mechanical engineer and powersystems designer who has been splicing plants together since his childhood. After the discussion, participants can try grafting scions supplied by the California Rare Fruit Growers. A minimum donation of $25 helps support classes at Common Ground Garden. Info: bit.ly/ FruitTreeGrafting30 Q 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 bmalmberg@paweekly.com. Deadline is one week before publication.

By spending time in the garden, people can reap health benefits, says garden coach Jack McKinnon.

e spend enormous amounts of money on kitchen remodels. A car these days costs more than ever, and home prices are through the ceiling. When I think about it, I usually spend an hour — max — in the kitchen, if I am cooking for a group or mak- Jack McKinnon ing a big deal out of a meal. Time spent in the car is often just what it takes to get to work or school or to run some errands. And for many of us, if we have more than a day and a half in the house, we get cabin fever and have to go out shopping or to the club to be with people. This is where the garden is different. At about a tenth of the cost of a home and significantly less than a modern kitchen, we can spend hours, and even days, in the garden reaping the rewards of health, beauty, food, flowers and the true joy of all who see it. The garden at this time of year seems daunting, and yet, all is well and waiting for us to join in the changes that will make the show all the better come spring. Yes, it means work. Good old down-and-dirty digging, pruning, planting and cultivating make for plenty to do between the showers we’re seeing. I like the feel of old, well-made clothes and boots. With tools that were made to last, I take pride in keeping them sharp, clean and oiled. This month I am going to recommend spending a few hours more than usual in your garden. Yes, it is damp and muddy, and possibly moldy, but you can do it. Grab a rake, trowel, some clippers and gloves, and let’s get to work. 1. Trim everything away from the house. If it is growing too close, dig it up and replant it — or divide it and then replant it. If attached to the house, take it down. If it is overhanging, call the arborist and get some estimates on the other trees on the property while you’re at it. 2. Throughout the rest of the property, do a rigorous assessment of the health and beauty of all your plants. If I could be there, I would encourage you to be bold. My arboriculture

Page 28 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Digging, pruning, planting and cultivating will reap rewards both now and in the spring

File photo/Whitney Dafoe

GARDEN EVOLUTION ... Hear about how water, immigration and population increases have influenced California’s gardens over the past two centuries on Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 1:30 p.m. at Los Altos Lutheran Church, 460 S. El Monte Ave., Los Altos. During this Garden Club of Los Altos program, Patricia Knight will give a talk called “The Revolving Wheel: California’s Changing View of Gardening,” subtitled “The Rise and Fall of the California Lawn.” Admission is free for members, and guests are welcome for a $5 fee. Info: gardencluboflosaltos.org

great time for gardening

File photo/Michelle Le

BIRD WALK ... On a 2-mile nature walk from the Baylands to Cooley Landing on Saturday, Jan. 23, docents from the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society will talk about the migratory bird season, various birds seen and wetlands restoration. The walk starts at 9 a.m. at the Lucy Evans Baylands Nature Interpretive Center, 2775 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, and will run until 1 p.m. Also during the event, the group will visit the Linda Gass land-art installation that documents Cooley Landing, enjoy lunch with John Bourgeois — executive project manager of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project — and hear from legislative advocate Alice Kaufman. Lunch will be provided by the Committee for Green Foothills. Space is limited, so participants are encouraged to RSVP. Info: greenfoothills.org/ calendar

Now is a good time to get your garden ready for the spring, according to garden coach Jack McKinnon.

by Jack McKinnon

teacher from College of San Mateo must have said it 25 times during the course of the class: “BE BOLD!” If a plant that should look shrubby is woody, take it out. Replacement, unless it is a rare species, is usually only a few dollars for a one-gallon plant, and that will give you five to eight more years of good, new, shrubby foliage. 3. Rake up all the debris in your beds, and pull out all of the annuals. Dig up the beds with a shovel or rototiller down to at least 10 inches. Then add compost on top to a depth of at least 4 inches and go over the whole bed again to homogenize it. This is an important process for the soil. It adds nutrients to refresh the organic elements of the soil. Microorganisms live off of the compost and give off waste that is beneficial to the plants. I know this is a vague description of what happens, and if you are a professor of soil science, I’m sorry. Just know that it’s good for the plants, and if you want to study the biology and botany of compost to find out how it works, then great. I’ve seen it in action for years and have studied it in college, but I am getting too old to remember all that science. 4. Know that this is the perfect time to replant. This is when the plants are growing the slowest and will go into shock the least. Go to your favorite nurseries (you do have several, don’t you?) and stock up on annuals, perennials and even trees. There will probably not be any price breaks, but know the prices won’t be any higher either. 5. When buying plants, if at all possible check the roots for spiraling and root-bound clumps. If the pot is smaller than five gallons, you should be able to tip the plant and lift off the pot to see if roots fill up the soil space. If they do, there may be a problem for the plant to send out new roots out of that clump. Look for roots that just reach the edge of the pot. Ideally, when planted these roots will start to grow into the newly amended soil, and by spring the top of the plant will grow more vigorously. 6. I cannot emphasize enough that when planting it is important to embed each plant a little higher than you might think. The reason for this is that the fluffed up soil is going to compact, and the plant will sink. If it sinks below the normal surface of the soil, the soil around it will

migrate to the trunk and seriously inhibit growth from there up. I have seen this so many times, including in very expensive plantings, that I feel everybody who gardens need to learn this. Plant high! 7. If you have bulbs, plant them now. Put them in at their recommended depth. Do a search on bulb-planting depth. The basic instruction is to plant bulbs two to three times as deep as the bulb is tall. Over-plant the bulbs with your annuals like pansy, primrose, snap dragon, cineraria and ornamental kale. When the bulbs come up, you will have a double show. 8. Prune for effect and for fruit and flower. Pruning is a living sculpture technique in ornamentals and a food or flower production technique for deciduous trees. As for Japanese maples, the finished tree can be as stunning as a marble statue in your yard. Thinning is the key. Whacking is for the ignorant and does not deserve attention. Pruning can be learned, and for me, the best way was to pick up the cuttings left behind by a master. When I could not see how he made the plant look so good without it looking pruned, I searched out his cuts and noted his tried and true techniques. 9. The best thing about gardening for me is that the work is never really finished. Each day brings new tasks to take on. Pacing is important so that you don’t hurt yourself and get discouraged. Know that everything you do for your garden is noticed. And even if no one says so, you will be credited with the admiration you truly deserve. Good gardening. Q Garden coach Jack McKinnon worked for Sunset magazine for 12 years and now walks homeowners through their gardens. He can be reached at jack@jackthegardencoach.com or 650-455-0687 or by visiting his website, jackthegardencoach.com.

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28 Arastradero Road, Portola Valley Elite Country Estate and Vineyards Bursting with European grandeur, this richly updated 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath home of approx. 5,800 sq. ft. (per county) boasts a gated 1?@-@1 ;2 -<<>;D Y \ -/>1? I<1> /;A:@EJ 1-@A>1? 8571 @4>11 ŋ >1<8-/1? 3;80 <8-@10 ŋ D@A>1? ;:ED /;A:@1>@;<? -:0 Ō ;;>? ;2 8591?@;:1 -:0 A@/4 C45@1 ;-7 19.1885?4 @41 9A8@5 81B18 5:@1>5;> C4581 @41 <>;<1>@E 5:/8A01? @4>11 B5:1E->0? - @4>11 /-> 3->-31 - ?@-.81 - C5:1 9-75:3 /188-> -:0 - /A?@;9 <;;8 C5@4 - ?<- &41 1?@-@1p? 185@1 ?1@@5:3 5? 95:A@1? 2>;9 <>1?@535;A? );;0?501 ">5;>E -:0 1D/1<@5;:-8 "-8; 8@; ?/4;;8? I.AE1> @; B1>52E 18535.585@EJ For video tour & more photos, please visit:

www.28Arastradero.com Offered at $6,488,000

OPEN HOUSE

Saturday & Sunday

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6 5 0 . 4 8 8 . 7 3 2 5 | m i c h a e l r @ d e l e o n r e a l t y. c o m | w w w. d e l e o n r e a l t y. c o m | C a l B R E # 0 1 9 0 3 2 2 4

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 29

Home & Real Estate BUILDING PERMITS Palo Alto

895 Northampton Drive replace water heater, $n/a 3401 Hillview Ave. relocate previously approved rooftop HVAC unit, unit to be located behind existing roof screening, $n/a 868 Southampton Drive increase area of addition by 35 square feet, $n/a 3489 El Camino Real Thai Buddhist Herbal Medicinal Meditation Center: use and occupancy, $n/a 2290 Emerson St. add a condensing unit to existing system, $n/a 4055 Park Blvd. second-story addition to existing single-story home and remodel, $150,000 180 El Camino Real revised firerated wall near transformer, $n/a 1796 Hamilton Ave. revised plans include adding four skylights and additional three bath remodel, $n/a

612 Maybell Ave. replace all windows and interior doors, and replace all siding all sheathing to remain, $n/a 1210 Newell Road revised door/ window sizes, revised structural framing design and revised title 24, $n/a 2720 Waverley St. emergency gas leak repair, $n/a 3120 Hansen Way tenant improvement for existing tenant Varian Medical Systems, remodel office lobby including new lights and electrical outlets, $98,000 1024 Ramona St. roof-mounted PV system, $n/a 2175 Bryant St. roof-mounted PV system, $n/a 710 Palo Alto Ave. replace wall furnace, $n/a 180 El Camino Real, Space #1090 Tommy Bahama: tenant improvement and use and occupancy for a tenant space, includes a new storefront tracking

#gh831-404-1669, $250,000 2508 Waverley St. replace water heater, $n/a 3264 Kipling St. re-roof, $8,800 378 Everett replace front and rear gates for a six-unit condo building, $10,000 733 Loma Verde Ave., Unit B kitchen and bath remodel, $40,000 204 Washington Ave. remodel three bathrooms, $30,320 2411 Middlefield Road field clarification of trench gas run from meter to boiler, $n/a 262 Kingsley Ave. garage demolition, $n/a 130 Fulton St. new furnace in the basement and eight duct outlets, $n/a 3961 Bibbits Drive sewer line replacement, all work on private property, $n/a 262 Kingsley Ave. addition and remodel with covered porch, includes a new basement, re-

roof and tankless water heater, $587,785 3500 W. Bayshore Road interior nonstructural demolition, $n/a 425 Margarita Ave. replace 100amp panel, $n/a 1730 Embarcadero Road revised plans includes a new data closet, associated electrical and mechanical, $n/a 240 Hamilton Ave. revised location of roof maintenance access ladder, $n/a 250 Lowell Ave. revision to expand vault to include HVAC equipment in addition to pool equipment, $n/a 1351 Byron St. replace fan in attic with new cooling coil, reconnect to existing lines, $n/a 451 Channing Ave. Category 4 Historic: re-roof, $18,000 755 Page Mill Road, B structural deferred submittal for sliding glass doors, $n/a 3400 Hillview Ave., B5 Nest: equipment install test chambers for corrosion, $30,000

180 El Camino Real, Space #1130 clarification insulation in walls, $n/a 2491 Bryant St. new one-story factory built home, includes a tankless water heater, $139,700 249 Matadero Ave. relocate furnace to attic, $n/a 522 Colorado Ave. replace water heater, $n/a 765 San Antonio Ave., Unit #21 red-tagged gas leak repair, $n/a 410 Alger Drive replace window and door, $12,000 2491 Bryant St. demolition of house and attached garage, $n/a 4115 El Camino Way Pizz’a Chicago: voluntary accessibility for existing tenant, includes upgrades to path of travel, parking and restrooms, $86,000 445 Sherman Ave. use and occupancy and office tenant improvement for BitGo to occupy on second floor, $92,000 1211 College Ave. sewer line replacement, no work in the public right of way, $n/a

855 El Camino Real, Suite #405 use and occupancy only for new tenant Cape Analytics to occupy Suite #405 on second floor, $n/a 935 Ramona St. new detached carport, $8,000 180 El Camino Real, Suite# 359 install two illuminated exterior signs, $n/a 1444 Edgewood Drive roofmounted PV system, includes new 125-amp subpanel, $n/a 1520 Page Mill Road use and occupancy and tenant improvement for Stanford School of Medicine, $3,100,000 935 Ramona St. demolish accessory structure at rear of property, structure demolished without permit prior to current owner, only slab remains to be removed, $n/a 3075 Louis Road revision to downsize the main breaker from 200 amps to 150 amps because of center fed panel, $n/a 432 Ruthven Ave. revised plans, includes new dry well, $n/a

MBA: The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

BA: Waseda University, Japan Speaks Japanese & Chinese Fluently

The DeLeon Difference®

Xin Jiang 650.283.8379 xjiang@apr.com XinPaloAltoProperty.com

650.543.8500 www.deleonrealty.com 650.543.8500 | www.deleonrealty.com | DeLeon Realty CalBRE #01903224

OPEN SATURDAY & SUNDAY- 1:30 - 4:30

2 CHATEAU DRIVE, MENLO PARK

njoy Downtown Menlo Park living at its best. This well-maintained and spacious 2,020 square foot, 3 bedroom and 3 bath townhome has a large living room with fireplace, adjacent dining area, soaring ceilings, hardwood floors, and a beautifully remodeled eat-in kitchen with a private patio. There is a ground floor den which could be a bedroom and full bath; and upstairs is a large master bedroom suite with a walk-in closet, remodeled master bath and large bonus room. There is an additional bedroom and bathroom, an attached two-car garage, and a community pool and spa. Close to Downtown Menlo Park shops, restaurants and transportation. Menlo Park Schools. • 3 Bedrooms, 3 baths • 2-car garage

• 2,020 square foot home • Menlo Park Schools

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Offered at $1,995,000 www.2Chateau.com

Monica Corman, Broker

License #01111473 mcorman@apr.com www.MonicaCorman.com 650.543.1164

Mandy Montoya

License #01911643 mmontoya@apr.com 650.823.8212 www.MandyMontoya.com

Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. Sq. ft. and/or acreage information contained herein has been received from seller, existing reports, appraisals, public records and/or other sources deemed reliable. Neither seller nor listing agent has verified this information. If this information is important to buyer in determining whether to buy or the purchase price, buyer should conduct buyer’s own investigation.

Page 30 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Visit us online!

www.DeLeonRealty.com

Visit DeLeon Realty’s website for exclusive listings before they hit the MLS, alongside the most custom content in the industry. ®

(650) 488-7325| DeLeon Realty | CalBRE #01903224 www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 31

A Luxury Collection By Intero Real Estate Services

Sand Hill Estates, Woodside

5 Betty Lane, Atherton

11627 Dawson Drive, Los Altos Hills

$35,000,000

$24,800,000

$23,995,000

Listing Provided by: Dana Cappiello & Cutty Smith Lic.#01343305 & 01444081

Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Greg Goumas Lic.#01242399, 00709019, 01878208

Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Lic.#01242399, 00709019

Ano Nuevo Scenic Ranch, Davenport

91 Selby Lane, Atherton

291 Atherton Avenue, Atherton

$19,800,000

$16,900,000

$14,688,000

Listing Provided by: Dana Cappiello, Lic.#01343305

Listing Provided by: Catherine Qian, Lic.#01276431

Listing Provided by: Nancy Gehrels, Lic.#01952964

26880 Elena Road, Los Altos Hills

10440 Albertsworth Lane, Los Altos Hills

245 Mountain Wood Lane, Woodside

$12,888,888

$11,488,000

$7,750,000

Listing Provided by: Dan Kroner, Lic.#01790340

Listing Provided by: Greg Goumas & John Reece, Lic.#01878208 & 00838479

Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Lic.#01242399

2991 Alexis Drive, Palo Alto

1175 Barroilhet Drive, Hillsborough

40 Firethorn Way, Portola Valley

$5,999,988

$6,888,000

Listing Provided by: Tom Rollett, Lic.#01383194

Listing Provided by: Sophie Tsang, Lic.#01354442.

Listing Provided by: Greg Goumas, Lic.#01878208

1100 Mountain Home Rd.,Woodside

15345 Bohlman Road, Saratoga

1990 Valparaiso, Menlo Park, CA

$5,850,000

$3,999,888

$2,825,000

Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Lic.#01242399, 00709019

Listing Provided by: Rusty Paap, Joe Velasco, Lic.# 01418326/01309200

Listing Provided by: Denise Villeneuve Lic.# 01794615

See the complete collection

w w w.InteroPrestigio.com ©2016 Intero Real Estate Services Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc. All rights reserved. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This is not intended as a solicitation if you are listed with another broker.

The Solution to Selling Your Luxury Home.

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Customized to the unique style of each luxury property, Prestigio will expose your home through the most influential mediums reaching the greatest number of qualified buyers wherever they may be in the world. For more information about listing your home with the Intero Prestigio International program, call your local Intero Real Estate Services office. Woodside 1590 Cañada Lane Woodside, CA 94062 650.206.6200

Menlo Park 807 Santa Cruz Avenue Menlo Park, CA 94025 650.543.7740

Los Altos 496 First Street, Ste. 200 Los Altos, CA 94022 650.947.4700

$22,000,000

2015 Intero Real Estate Services Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc. All rights reserved. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This is not intended as a solicitation if you are listed with another broker.

Bay Area Collection Menlo Park. Palo Alto. Burlingame 650.314.7200 | paciﬁcunion.com

APPOINTMENT ONLY

1 Faxon Road, Atherton $20,700,000 5+ BD / 5+ BA Custom gated estate in premier Menlo Circus Club location on 1.7+ acres with solar-heated pool, golf practice hole. 1faxon.com Tom LeMieux, 650.465.7459 tom@tomlemieux.com

APPOINTMENT ONLY

AMAZING VIEW

85 Greenoaks, Atherton

101 Alma Street #1103, Palo Alto

$12,950,000

$2,100,000

6 BD / 5+ BA

3 BD / 3 BA

Superb new construction by Laurel Homes and Adcon Builders. Premier location in

Bright and light Living Room with open space, updated kitchen. 24hr Security and

Lindenwood. Pool spa, 1BD/1BA guest house.

doorman, on-site management, gym, pool.

Tom LeMieux, 650.465.7459

Amy Sung, 650.468.4834

tom@tomlemieux.com

amy@amysung.com

Page 34 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Alain Pinel Realtors

HOME STARTS HERE

ATHERTON $16,800,000

PALO ALTO $14,288,000

LOS ALTOS HILLS $7,680,000

95 Atherton Avenue | 5bd/6ba Mary & Brent Gullixson | 650.462.1111 BY APPOINTMENT

890 Robb Road | 6bd/7.5ba S. Gavande/J. Law | 650.3231111 BY APPOINTMENT

13430 Country Way | 7bd/8ba Jenny Teng | 650.323.1111 BY APPOINTMENT

LOS ALTOS $4,350,000

WOODSIDE $2,250,000

LOS ALTOS $2,198,000

208 Lyell Street | 4bd/4ba Tim Anderson | 650.941.1111 OPEN SAT & SUN 1:30-4:30

1391 La Honda Road | 4bd/3.5ba Scott Dancer | 650.529.1111 BY APPOINTMENT

1249 Heritage Court | 3bd/2ba J. Stricker/S. TenBroeck | 650.941.1111 OPEN SAT & SUN 1:30-4:30

LOS ALTOS $2,195,000

PALO ALTO $1,998,000

MENLO PARK $1,995,000

174 Lyell Street | 3bd/2ba Kathy Bridgman | 650.941.1111 OPEN SAT & SUN 1:30-4:30

3264 Clifton Court | 4bd/2ba Nadr Essabhoy | 650.323.1111 BY APPOINTMENT

2 Chateau Drive | 3bd/3ba M. Corman/M. Montoya | 650.462.1111 OPEN SAT & SUN 1:30-4:30

See it all at

APR.COM

/alainpinelrealtors @alainpinel

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 35

PALO ALTO WEEKLY OPEN HOMES EXPLORE OUR MAPS, HOMES FOR SALE, OPEN HOMES, VIRTUAL TOURS, PHOTOS, PRIOR SALE INFO, NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDES ON www.PaloAltoOnline.com/real_estate UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL TIMES ARE 1:30-4:30 PM

ATHERTON 7 Bedrooms 120 Selby Ln $10,495,000 Sun Dreyfus Sotheby’s Realty 847-1141

FEATURED

2151 Valparaiso Ave Sat/Sun 1-5 Alain Pinel Realtors

$1,565,000 323-1111

HOME OF THE WEEK

2141 Valparaiso Ave Sat/Sun 1-5 Alain Pinel Realtors

$1,645,000 323-1111

4 Bedrooms

BELMONT 2 Bedrooms - Condominium 400 Davey Glen Rd 4726 Sat/Sun Coldwell Banker

$648,888 324-4456

3 Bedrooms $2,198,000 941-1111

MENLO PARK 2 Bedrooms - Condominium 26 Mansion Ct 717 Sun 2-4 Coldwell Banker

$3,688,000 462-1111

8 Reyna Pl Sun Alain Pinel Realtors

$6,295,000 462-1111

5 Bedrooms

LOS ALTOS 1249 Heritage Ct Sat/Sun Alain Pinel Realtors

1994 Valparaiso Ave Sun 1-4 Alain Pinel Realtors

$1,995,000 324-4456

3 Bedrooms 2 Chateau Dr Sat/Sun Alain Pinel Realtors

$1,995,000 462-1111

2060 Sterling Ave Sat/Sun Alain Pinel Realtors

$2,150,000 462-1111

1350 Johnson St Sun 1-4 Alain Pinel Realtors

$2,598,000 462-1111

Are you staying current with the changing real estate market conditions?

1945 MT. VERNON CT., #7 MOUNTAIN VIEW OPEN SAT/SUN 1:30-4:30 Great location & value Spacious 2nd floor corner unit 2bd/2ba w/extra storage Secured bldg & pking Los Altos High School Offered at $740,000

650-323-1111

Our comprehensive online guide to the Midpeninsula real estate market has all the resources a home buyer, agent or local resident could ever want and it’s all in one easy-to-use, local site!

Page 36 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

283 Leland Ave Sat/Sun Alain Pinel Realtors

$2,699,000 462-1111

5 Bedrooms 2350 Tasso St $5,180,000 Sat/Sun Keller Williams Palo Alto 454-8500

PORTOLA VALLEY 4 Bedrooms 28 Arastradero Rd Sat/Sun 1-5 Deleon Realty

$6,488,000 543-8500

REDWOOD CITY 3407 Jefferson Ave Sun 1-4 Coldwell Banker

2 Bedrooms - Condominium $740,000 323-1111

PALO ALTO Lot 464 Colorado Ave Sat/Sun 1-5 Deleon Realty

3198 Maddux Dr $1,998,000 Sat/Sun Pacific Union International 314-7200

2 Bedrooms

MOUNTAIN VIEW 1945 Mount Vernon Ct 7 Sat/Sun Alain Pinel Realtors

3 Bedrooms

$1,988,000 543-8500

$779,000 324-4456

3 Bedrooms 527 Cringle Dr Sun Coldwell Banker

$1,575,000 324-4456

1004 Whitehall Ln $1,598,000 Sat/Sun 1-4 Pacific Union International 314-7200

WOODSIDE

2 Bedrooms - Condominium

2 Bedrooms

360 Everett Ave 2B $1,995,000 Sat/Sun Keller Williams Palo Alto 454-8500

610 Woodside Way Sun 1-4 Coldwell Banker

$1,349,000 851-2666

Explore area real estate through your favorite local website: TheAlmanacOnline.com MountainViewOnline.com PaloAltoOnline.com And click on “real estate” in the navigation bar.

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130 Classes & Instruction New Year, New Airline Careers Get training as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid for qualified students. Career placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 800-725-1563 (AAN CAN) NEW YEAR, NEW AVIATION Career. Get FAA approved Aviation Technician training. Financial aid for qualified. Career placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Maintenance 866-231-7177. (Cal-SCAN)

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215 Collectibles & Antiques Cute! Teddy Bear Cookie Jar - $18.00 Cute! Winnie The Pooh Backpack $25.00 N-Scale Model Train 3 Buildings $22.00 each N-Scale Model Train Cars - $12.00 Each

BOARD

100-155 Q FOR SALE 200-270 Q KIDS STUFF 330-390 Q MIND & BODY 400-499 Q J OBS 500-560 Q B USINESS SERVICES 600-699 Q H OME SERVICES 700-799 Q FOR RENT/ FOR SALE REAL ESTATE 801-899 Q P UBLIC/LEGAL NOTICES 995-997 The publisher waives any and all claims or consequential damages due to errors Embarcadero Media cannot assume responsibility for the claims or performance of its advertisers. Embarcadero Media right to refuse, edit or reclassify any ad solely at its discretion without prior notice.

THE PENINSULA’S FREE CLASSIFIEDS WEB SITE Combining the reach of the Web with print ads reaching over 150,000 readers!

fogster.com is a unique web site offering FREE postings from communities throughout the Bay Area and an opportunity for your ad to appear in the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac and the Mountain View Voice.

INDEX Q BULLETIN

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N-Scale Model Trains Set & More! $150.00 Pilates Cardiocamp Are you ready for better posture, firm muscles, more energy and flexibility? Take a FREE WEEK on us! Visit: www. PilatesCardiocamp.com NEW Woodside:7amT,Th,F 9am M,W Los Altos: 6am M-Fri, 9am M,T,Th,Fr

Nice! N-Scale Trains 3 Buildings - $20.00

230 Freebies Viewsonic E771 monitor - FREE

235 Wanted to Buy Cash Paid for Comic Books $WANTED$ CASH PAID for Pre-1980 COMIC BOOKS and Star Wars Action Figures. Original Comic Art- Sports Cards & Autographed Memorabilia- 1990’s MagictheGathering. Call WILL: 800-242-6130 buying@getcashforcomics.com (Cal-SCAN)

133 Music Lessons Christina Conti Private Piano Instruction Lessons in your home. Bachelor of Music. 650/493-6950 Hope Street Music Studios Now on Old Middefield Way, MV. Most instruments, voice. All ages and levels 650-961-2192 www.HopeStreetMusicStudios.com

245 Miscellaneous AT&T U-Verse Internet starting at $15/month or TV and Internet starting at $49/month for 12 months with 1-year agreement. Call 1- 800-453-0516 to learn more. (Cal-SCAN) DirecTV Switch to DIRECTV and get a FREE Whole-Home Genie HD/DVR grade. Starting at $19.99 mo. FREE 3 months of HBO, SHOWTIME and STARZ. New Customers Only. Don’t settle for cable. Call Now 1-800-385-9017. (Cal-SCAN)

Piano Lessons Quality Piano Lessons in Menlo Park. Call (650)838-9772 Alita Lake

135 Group Activities Does dementia stress your family

140 Lost & Found Found: Metal Vice Large, heavy, metal vice found on Shoreline Blvd. end of Dec. To claim, call (650) 969-1551.

Dish Network Get MORE for LESS! Starting $19.99/ month (for 12 months.) PLUS Bundle & SAVE (Fast Internet for $15 more/ month.) CALL Now1-800-357-0810 (Cal-SCAN) HOME BREAK-INS take less than 60 SECONDS. Don’t wait! Protect your family, your home, your assets NOW for as little as 70¢ a day! Call855-404-7601 (Cal-SCAN)

SAWMILLS from only $4397. MAKE and SAVE MONEY with your own bandmill- Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. FREE Info/DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com 1-800-578-1363 Ext.300N (Cal-SCAN) Cute! White Stuff Bear! - $12.00 N-Scale Model Train 3 Buildings $22.00 each N-Scale Model Train Cars - $12.00 Each N-Scale Model Trains Set & More! $150.00 Nice! N-Scale Trains 3 Buildings - $20.00 Each

Kid’s Stuff

Engineering Medallia, Inc. is seeking the following positions for their Palo Alto office:

Jobs

Customer Solutions Manager: Analyze problems, user requirements and procedures to improve existing software.

500 Help Wanted

Senior Product Manager: Create Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products that address business needs. Requires 25% domestic travel.

Associate Digital Editor Embarcadero Media is looking for a talented writer/editor to help our digital media team develop and implement new initiatives to reach the growing number of young people living, working and playing in the region. Our ideal candidate is a social media wizard and a witty and sassy writer capable of entertaining readers with an irreverent and snappy style. You love food and drink, outdoor recreation and care about the arts and social issues. You also believe that serious journalism can be fun for readers.

330 Child Care Offered child care offered

345 Tutoring/ Lessons Every Business has a story to tell! Get your message out with California’s PRMedia Release - the only Press Release Service operated by the press to get press! For more info contact Cecelia @ 916-288-6011 or http://prmediarelease.com/california (Cal-SCAN)

390 Kids for Summer Jobs Hiring High School students - $20/hr

Mind & Body 425 Health Services CPAP/BIPAP Supplies at little or no cost from Allied Medical Supply Network! Fresh supplies delivered right to your door. Insurance may cover all costs. 800-421-4309. (Cal-SCAN) Eliminate Cellulite and Inches in weeks! All natural. Odor free. Works for men or women. Free month supply on select packages. Order now! 844-244-7149 (M-F 9am-8pm central) (AAN CAN) Got Knee Pain? Back Pain? Shoulder Pain? Get a pain- relieving brace -little or NO cost to you. Medicare Patients Call Health Hotline Now! 1-800-796-5091 (Cal-SCAN) Life Alert. 24/7 One press of a button sends help FAST! Medical, Fire, Burglar. Even if you can’t reach a phone! FREE Brochure. CALL 800-714-1609. (Cal-SCAN) 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)

435 Integrative Medicine 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)

Classified Deadlines:

NOON, WEDNESDAY

You will be joining an innovative media company that put the first complete U.S. newspaper online more than 20 years ago and regularly wins awards for its news and opinion, and continues to grow and invest in local journalism. We are a teamoriented group that values feedback and collaboration and holds ourselves to high standards. The job is full-time with benefits in our Palo Alto office, located just two blocks from the California Ave. train station. You should have a degree in marketing, journalism, communication, digital media or related field and work experience involving social media and/or reporting. Strong preference for applicants very familiar with the Palo Alto area. Apply by sending an email that catches our attention to pbeller@ embarcaderomediagroup.com along with a resume and two short samples of your writing. Engineering Pure Storage, Inc. has following job opps. in Mountain View, CA: Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer) [Req. #FON99]. Prfrm full cycle SW dvlpmt for fault tolerant storage srvr. Systems Engineer [Req. #TYL83]. Prfrm full cycle app dvlpmt for sys lvl storage SW. Member of Technical Staff (Software Engineer) [Req. #ADE42]. Dsgn & dvlp SW for all-flash enterprise storage sys. Mail resumes refrnc’g Req. # to: H. Thibeault, 401 Castro St, 3rd Flr, Mountain View, CA 94041.

THINK GLOBALLY POST LOCALLY THE PENINSULA’S FREE CLASSIFIEDS WEBSITE To respond to ads without phone numbers Go to www.Fogster.Com

Information Security Engineer: Identify security risks to global infrastructure, design scalable solutions. Manager, Text Analytics and Social Media: Identify and analyze customer behavior trends in extensive and qualitative data. Corporate Counsel (Technology Transactions): Negotiate enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) transactions. Senior Software Engineer: Architect, design, and develop SaaS Enterprise Feedback Management platform. To apply, mail resumes and ref. job title to A. Zwerling, Medallia, Inc. 395 Page Mill Road, Suite 100, Palo Alto, CA 94306. Multiple positions available. Background checks required.

Engineering Adaptive Planning, Inc. (now known as Adaptive Insights, Inc.) in Palo Alto, CA seeks the following positions: Senior Software Engineer. Responsible for working on all aspects of Adaptive Planning SaaS web based application. Job Code: PA-SSE-003. Senior Software Quality Assurance Engineer. Responsible for developing and executing test plans for Adaptive Insights™ software applications. Job Code: PA-SSQA-001. TO APPLY: submit resume to jobs@ adaptiveinsights.com. MUST reference Job Code when applying to ensure consideration for the proper position. EOE.

Research HP Inc., is accepting resumes for the position of Research Engineer in Palo Alto, CA (Ref. # HPPALERGD1). Initiate investigations, design, develop, execute and implement of scientific research projects. Mail resume to HP Inc., c/o Andrew Bergoine, 11445 Compaq Center Drive W., Houston, TX 77070. Resume must include Ref. #, full name, email address and mailing address. No phone calls. Must be legally authorized to work in U.S. without sponsorship. EOE.

Technical Informatica LLC is accepting resumes for the following position in Redwood City, CA: Senior Consultant (RCSAS): Work either independently or with a team of Informatica and/or Business Partner consultants. Position may include travel to various, unanticipated locations. Telecommuting permitted. Please mail resumes with job title and reference Job Code # to Informatica LLC, ATTN: Global Mobility, 2100 Seaport Blvd., Redwood City, CA 94063. No phone calls please. Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship. EOE.

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go to fogster.com to respond to ads without phone numbers www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 37

“It’s E->Z”--but not the other way around.

Matt Jones

MARKETPLACE the printed version of

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Technology Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company is accepting resumes for the position of Presales Technical Consultant, Systems in Palo Alto, CA (Ref. #HPECPALEBAM1). Define, develop and support sales process for technology and solutions with account teams. Engage in account transactions based on technical expertise required in specific deals/ programs leveraging specialized knowledge base across multiple accounts. Extensive travel required. Mail resume to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, 5400 Legacy Drive, MS H1-2F-25, Plano, TX 75024. Resume must include Ref. #, full name, email address and mailing address. No phone calls. Must be legally authorized to work in U.S. without sponsorship. EOE. Answers on page39

Across 1 Optimistic 5 Riding around the city, maybe 11 “La ___” (Debussy opus) 14 Outside introduction 15 City on the Merrimack River 16 “___ seen worse” 17 Possible autobiography title for comedian Horatio? 19 Canceled (with “out”) 20 Chocolate stand-in 21 Hardly Mercedes quality? 23 French numeral 24 Part of IPA 27 Told 28 Some grads of RPI or MIT 29 ___-foot oil 32 Spring harbinger 33 Medium-hot chili pepper variety 35 Uno or Twenty-One, e.g. 36 Cracker you must hand over to get through? 39 Mexican restaurant staple 40 Demographic nickname coined in the 1980s 41 Have ___ with (chat up) 43 Condom material 44 Clerical vestment 47 Submitted 49 “Either you do it ___ will” 50 Falsehood 51 Fuzzy green stuff growing on a former Comedy Central “Dr.”? 54 “Buona ___” (Italian sign-off) 56 Air gun pellets 57 Hip bath in the great outdoors? 60 Pie-mode connection 61 Getting a move on, quaintly 62 Singer of “The Man With the Golden Gun” theme song 63 Daisy Ridley’s “Star Wars” character 64 Conducive to peace 65 Suffixes denoting sugars

Down 1 Coast Guard mission 2 Rating at the pump 3 Long looks 4 You may walk the dog with it 5 Guest quarters 6 Constantly criticize 7 Trade org. 8 Bush Labor Secretary Elaine 9 Relatives of nieces 10 Flea market 11 Hodgepodge 12 10 seconds for 100 yards, in running lingo 13 Old Spice deodorant variety 18 Big name in electric guitars 22 Renewable fuel derived from organic matter 25 Colorful sports artist Neiman 26 Load of gossip 30 Thin, fibrous bark (or one-third of a dance instruction for Lisa Simpson) 31 Become sharply attentive 33 Eric of “Pulp Fiction” 34 Basketmaker’s willow 36 Like people on some dating apps 37 “It’s hard to tell” 38 Process of determining gender, as zoologists do 39 Row of buttons on a screen 42 Seoul food 44 Latin for “higher,” as in the Olympic motto 45 Wee 46 Ramona’s sister, in Beverly Cleary books 48 2008 Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown duet 52 “Hook” sidekick 53 Twirl around 55 City that the band a-ha hails from 58 “Here Comes the Hotstepper” singer Kamoze 59 Coin collection appraisal co. (found in COLLECTING COINS)

This week’s SUDOKU

Technology Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company is accepting resumes for the position of Technology Consultant in Palo Alto, CA (Ref. #HPECPALJIVS1). Provide technology consulting to external customers and internal project teams. Deploy IT Infrastructure monitoring solutions. Telecommuting permitted. Mail resume to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, 5400 Legacy Drive, MS H1-2F-25, Plano, TX 75024. Resume must include Ref. #, full name, email address and mailing address. No phone calls. Must be legally authorized to work in U.S. without sponsorship. EOE.

Health and Dental Insurance Lowest Prices. We have the best rates from top companies! Call Now! 888-989-4807. (CalSCAN)

640 Legal Services Did You Know Information is power and content is King? Do you need timely access to public notices and remain relevant in today’s hostile business climate? Gain the edge with California Newspaper Publishers Association new innovative website capublicnotice.com and check out the FREE One-Month Trial Smart Search Feature. For more information call Cecelia @ (916) 288-6011 or www. capublicnotice.com (Cal-SCAN) Xarelto Users have you had complications due to internal bleeding (after January 2012)? If so, you MAY be due financial compensation. If you don’t have an attorney, CALL Injuryfone today! 1-800-425-4701. (Cal-SCAN)

Home Services 715 Cleaning Services Magic Team Cleaning Services House, condo, apt., office. Move in/out. Good refs. “Serving Entire Bay Area.” 650/380-4114

540 Domestic Help Wanted

Orkopina Housecleaning Celebrating 30 years cleaning homes in your area. 650/962-1536

Cook House Keeper Cook housekeeper need for elderly man in Palo Alto, mornings Monday to Friday. 650-862-0753

748 Gardening/ Landscaping

550 Business Opportunities 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)

560 Employment Information Drivers - $2K Sign-On Bonus! $$ RECENT PAY INCREASE $$ Make $55,000 your first year! Newer KW t660 and t680’s CDL-A Req - (877) 258-8782. drive4melton.com (Cal-SCAN) PAID IN ADVANCE! Make $1000 A Week Mailing Brochures From Home! No Experience Required. Helping home workers since 2001! Genuine Opportunity. Start Immediately! www.TheIncomeHub.com (AAN CAN)

Business Services 604 Adult Care Offered A PLACE FOR MOM The nation’s largest senior living referral service. Contact our trusted, local experts today! Our service is FREE/ no obligation. CALL 1-800-550-4822. (Cal-SCAN)

624 Financial Owe $10K+ to IRS? Do you owe over $10,000 to the IRS or State in back taxes? Our firm works to reduce the tax bill or zero it out completely FAST. Call now 855-993-5796 (Cal-SCAN) SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY Benefits. Unable to work? Denied benefits? We Can Help! WIN or Pay Nothing! Contact Bill Gordon & Associates at 1-800-966-1904 to start your application today! (Cal-SCAN) Structured Settlement? Sell your structured settlement or annuity payments for CASH NOW. You don’t have to wait for your future payments any longer! Call 1-800-673-5926 (Cal-SCAN)

Answers on page 39

636 Insurance

www.sudoku.name

Page 38 • January 22, 2016 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

THE PENINSULA’S FREE CLASSIFIEDS WEBSITE TO RESPOND TO ADS WITHOUT PHONE NUMBERS GO TO WWW.FOGSTER.COM

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

781 Pest Control

Attic Clean-Up & Rodent Removal Are you in the Bay Area? Do you have squeaky little terrors living in your attic or crawlspace? What you are looking for is right here! Call Attic Star now to learn about our rodent removal services and cleaning options. You can also get us to take out your old, defunct insulation and install newer, better products. Call (866) 391-3308 now and get your work done in no time!

Real Estate 801 Apartments/ Condos/Studios Sunnyvale, 1 BR/1 BA - $2295

805 Homes for Rent Menlo Park - $5,000.00 Palo Alto - $5,500 Palo Alto, 3 BR/2 BA - $4350/mo

LANDA’S GARDENING & LANDSCAPING *Yard Maint. *New Lawns. *Rototil *Clean Ups *Tree Trim *Power Wash *Irrigation timer programming. 19 yrs exp. Ramon, 650/576-6242 landaramon@yahoo.com R.G. Landscape Drought tolerant native landscapes and succulent gardens. Demos, installations, maint. Free est. 650/468-8859

751 General Contracting

Portola Valley - $5,200.00 Redwood City - $4,500.00 Redwood City - $5,200 Redwood City, 2 BR/2 BA - $5,500 Redwood City, 3 BR/2 BA - $4,700.00

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) Los Altos Hills, 1 BR/1 BA - $1025

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.

845 Out of Area N. Idaho: Age 55+ Community North Idaho’s Premier 55+ Active Community. Imagine a New Home with a Built in network of Caring friends and neighbors! www.goldenspikeestates.com (Cal-SCaN)

754 Gutter Cleaning Roofs, Gutters, Downspouts cleaning. Work guar. 30 years exp. Insured. Veteran Owned. Jim Thomas Maintenance, 408/595-2759.

757 Handyman/ Repairs AAA HANDYMAN & MORE Since 1985 Repairs • Maintenance • Painting Carpentry • Plumbing • Electrical All Work Guaranteed

Lic. #468963

(650) 453-3002

850 Acreage/Lots/ Storage Great Investment Opportunity ! $330,000

855 Real Estate Services

771 Painting/ Wallpaper Glen Hodges Painting Call me first! Senior discount. 45 yrs. #351738. 650/322-8325 STYLE PAINTING Full service interior/ext. Insured. Lic. 903303. 650/388-8577

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4 homes on 30 acres Vacation where you live in Nevada City!! Looks like Disneyland with rock walls, manicured gardens, private lake, HUGE outdoor entertaining area and even its own mining museum!! 15 car garages for all your toys!! Priced to sell only $2M!! Seller financing. Call Edie 530-913-0150 cell

DID YOU KNOW Information is power and content is King? Do you need timely access to public notices and remain relevant in today’s highly competitive market? Gain an edge with California Newspaper Publishers Association new innovative website capublicnotice.com and check out the Smart Search Feature. For more information call Cecelia @ (916) 288-6011 or www.capublicnotice.com (Cal-SCAN)

Looking for the perfect place to call home? Consult the Palo Alto Weekly for all your real estate needs!

650.223.6581

THE PENINSULA’S FREE CLASSIFIEDS WEBSITE TO RESPOND TO ADS WITHOUT PHONE NUMBERS GO TO WWW.FOGSTER.COM

Public Notices 995 Fictitious Name Statement CAMRAN NEZHAT INSTITUTE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 612226 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Camran Nezhat Institute, located at 900 Welch Rd., Ste. 403, Palo Alto, CA 94303, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: A Corporation. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): ENDOSCOPY AND FERTILITY CENTER, A MEDICAL CORPORATION 900 Welch Rd., Ste. 403 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Registrant 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 December 17, 2015. (PAW Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29, 2016) Amity CrossFit FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 612439 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Amity CrossFit, located at 3516 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: A Limited Liability Company. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): HEIGHT PERFORMANCE, LLC 686 Emily Drive Mountain View, CA 94043 Registrant began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on December 1, 2015. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on December 29, 2015. (PAW Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29, 2016) ZEST LIMOUSINE SERVICE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 612356 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Zest Limousine Service, located at 2464 El Camino Real #250, Santa Clara, CA 95051, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: An Individual. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): FODHIL ZERROUKI 1360 Jefferson St., Apt. #A Santa Clara, CA 95050 Registrant began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 12/23/2015. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on December 23, 2015. (PAW Jan. 8, 15, 22, 29, 2016) SHARETEA PALO ALTO FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: 612788 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Sharetea Palo Alto, located at 540 Bryant Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: A Limited Liability Company. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): KJY Brothers, LLC 507 15th Ave. San Francisco, CA 94118 Registrant 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 January 8, 2016. (PAW Jan. 15, 22, 29, Feb. 5, 2016)

of payment authorized by California Civil Code 2924h(b), (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States). DATE OF SALE: 01/28/2016 TIME OF SALE: 10:00 AM PLACE OF SALE: AT THE GATED NORTH MARKET STREET ENTRANCE TO THE SUPERIOR COURTHOUSE AT 190 N. MARKET STREET, SAN JOSE, CA.. STREET ADDRESS and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 2040 W MIDDLEFIELD RD # 32, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA 94043 APN#: 153-07-032 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said note(s), advances, under the terms of said Deed of Trust, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale is $775,501.07. The beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the county where the real property is located. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call 916-939-0772 for information regarding the trustee’s sale or visit this Internet Web site www. nationwideposting.com for information regarding the sale of this property, using the file number assigned to this case 20130015000746. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. FOR TRUSTEE SALE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL: NATIONWIDE POSTING & PUBLICATION A DIVISION OF FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY 1180 IRON POINT ROAD, SUITE 100 FOLSOM, CA 95630 916-939-0772 www.nationwideposting.com NDEx West, L.L.C. MAY BE ACTING AS A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. NDEx West, L.L.C. as Trustee Dated: 12/22/2015 NPP0268020 To: PALO ALTO WEEKLY 01/08/2016, 01/15/2016, 01/22/2016

997 All Other Legals Trustee Sale No. : 20130015000746 Title Order No.: 130057825 FHA/VA/PMI No.: NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATED 01/06/2006. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. NDEx West, L.L.C., as duly appointed Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 01/12/2006 as Instrument No. 18766170 of official records in the office of the County Recorder of SANTA CLARA County, State of CALIFORNIA. EXECUTED BY: EDWARD J MORTON, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK/CASH EQUIVALENT or other form

T. S. No: B547168 CA Unit Code: B Loan No: 0535446269/STASKUS/RICHARD J. Min No: 100242400000162345 AP #1: 175-24-001 13721 ROBLEDA ROAD, LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA 94022 NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE T.D. SERVICE COMPANY, as duly appointed Trustee under the following described Deed of Trust WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH (in the forms which are lawful tender in the United States) and/or the cashier’s, certified or other checks specified in Civil Code Section 2924h (payable in full at the time of sale to T.D. Service Company) all right, title and interest conveyed to and now held by it under said Deed of Trust in the property hereinafter described: Trustor: Richard J. Staskus, An Unmarried Man Recorded March 14, 2007 as Instr. No.

19341828 in Book —- Page —- of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Santa Clara County; California , pursuant to the Notice of Default and Election to Sell thereunder recorded March 4, 2015 as Instr. No. 22873190 in Book —- Page —- of Official Records in the office of the Recorder of Santa Clara County California. You ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED MARCH 1, 2007. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. 13721 ROBLEDA ROAD, LOS ALTOS HILLS, CA 94022 “(If a street address or common designation of property is shown above, no warranty is given as to its completeness or correctness).” Said Sale of property will be made in “as is” condition without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest as in said note provided, advances, if any, under the terms of said Deed of Trust, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. Said sale will be held on: JANUARY 28, 2016, AT 10:00 A.M. *AT THE NORTH MARKET STREET ENTRANCE OF THE SUPERIOR COURTHOUSE, 190 N. MARKET STREET, SAN JOSE, CA 95113 At the time of the initial publication of this notice, the total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the above described Deed of Trust and estimated costs, expenses, and advances is $534,559.41. It is possible that at the time of sale the opening bid may be less than the total indebtedness due. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call (888) 988-6736 or visit this Internet Web site: salestrack. tdsf.com, using the file number assigned to this case B547168 B. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder’s sole and exclusive remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the monies paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee or the Mortgagee’s attorney. Date: December 29, 2015 T.D. SERVICE COMPANY as said Trustee Cheryl L. Grech, Assistant Secretary T.D. Service Company 4000 W. Metropolitan Drive, Suite 400 Orange, CA 92868-0000 The Beneficiary may be attempting to collect a debt and any information obtained may be used for that purpose. If available, the expected opening bid and/or postponement information may be obtained by calling the following telephone number(s) on the day before the sale: (888) 988-6736 or you may access sales information at salestrack. tdsf.com, TAC# 985962 PUB: 01/08/16, 01/15/16, 01/22/16 NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: RICHARD BEYER WITSCHONKE Case No.: 115 PR 177735 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of RICHARD BEYER WITSCHONKE.

MARKETPLACE the printed version of

fogster.com

A Petition for Probate has been filed by: HEIDI L. BECKER in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA. The Petition for Probate requests that: HEIDI L. BECKER 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 February 1, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. in Dept.: 10 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 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: Robert J. Lanzone 1001 Laurel Street, Suite A San Carlos, CA 94070 (650)453-3117 (PAW Jan. 15, 22, 29, 2016)

is purported to be: 1654 MIRAMONTE AVENUE, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA 94040 APN#: 189-05-021 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said note(s), advances, under the terms of said Deed of Trust, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale is $357,032.47. The beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the county where the real property is located. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or

a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call 916-939-0772 for information regarding the trustee’s sale or visit this Internet Web site www.nationwideposting.com for information regarding the sale of this property, using the file number assigned to this case 00000005411640. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. FOR TRUSTEE SALE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL: NATIONWIDE POSTING & PUBLICATION A DIVISION OF FIRST AMERICAN TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY 1180 IRON POINT ROAD, SUITE 100 FOLSOM, CA 95630 916-939-0772 www.nationwideposting. com BARRETT DAFFIN FRAPPIER TREDER & WEISS, LLP IS ACTING AS A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. BARRETT DAFFIN FRAPPIER TREDER & WEISS, LLP as Trustee Dated: 01/13/2016 NPP0269802 To: PALO ALTO WEEKLY 01/22/2016, 01/29/2016, 02/05/2016

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 38.

NOTICE OF DEATH OF HORACE CULMER BANKS, II To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of HORACE CULMER BANKS, II, who was a resident of Santa Clara County, State of California, and died on November 26, 2015, in the City of Palo Alto, County of Santa Clara, State of California. IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the deceased, you must file your claim within four months from the date of first publication with the DERMER LAW FIRM, 15720 Winchester Boulevard, Suite 200, Los Gatos, California 95030 (408) 395-5111. Joseph D. Dermer, Esq. DERMER LAW FIRM 15720 Winchester Boulevard, Suite 200 Los Gatos, CA 95030 Tel (408) 395-5111 Fax (408) 354-2797 (PAW Jan. 15, 22, 29, 2016) Trustee Sale No. : 00000005411640 Title Order No.: 8571114 FHA/VA/PMI No.: NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATED 01/04/2006. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. BARRETT DAFFIN FRAPPIER TREDER & WEISS, LLP, as duly appointed Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 01/09/2006 as Instrument No. 18761066 of official records in the office of the County Recorder of SANTA CLARA County, State of CALIFORNIA. EXECUTED BY: NANCY E. HILL, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK/CASH EQUIVALENT or other form of payment authorized by California Civil Code 2924h(b), (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States). DATE OF SALE: 02/19/2016 TIME OF SALE: 10:00 AM PLACE OF SALE: AT THE GATED NORTH MARKET STREET ENTRANCE TO THE SUPERIOR COURTHOUSE AT 190 N. MARKET STREET, SAN JOSE, CA.. STREET ADDRESS and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 22, 2016 • Page 39

One year of rain won’t end four years of drought.

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Turn off your sprinklers and let Mother Nature do the watering.

Keep using your shower bucket.

Limit shower time to ﬁve minutes or less.

Run only full loads of dishes and laundry.

Keep ﬁghting the drought inside and out. Go to watersavings.org.

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