Palo Alto Weekly November 17, 2017 by Palo Alto Weekly

Palo Alto

Vol. XXXIX, Number 7

November 17, 2017

RV evictions spur protest in East Palo Alto Page 5

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

Nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top rusher on the prowl against Bears Page 31

IN SIDE TH I S I S S UE

Donate to the HOLIDAY FUND page 4

Spectrum 16 Eating Out 22 Movies 23 Puzzles 29 Q News Facing redevelopment, homeowner stands ďŹ rm Q Arts Dorktales puts silly twist on storytelling Q Home Architects, builders confront home-energy goals

Page 7 Page 20 Page 25

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 3

Support our Kids with a gift to the Holiday Fund Last Year’s Grant Recipients 10 Books A Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Abilities United. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 Ada’s Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Adolescent Counseling Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 All Students Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Bayshore Christian Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Building Futures Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 CASSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Community Legal Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 Community Working Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Downtown Streets Team. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 DreamCatchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 East Palo Alto Kids Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Family Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Foundation for a College Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Friends of Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Grace Lutheran Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Health Connected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500 Hidden Villa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Jasper Ridge Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 JLS Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Jordan Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Kara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 The Learning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Marine Science Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Midpeninsula Community Media Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Mural Music & Arts Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Music in the Schools Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 New Creation Home Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 New Voices for Youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 One East Palo Alto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Palo Alto Art Center Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Palo Alto Community Child Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 Palo Alto Friends Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Palo Alto School District Music Department. . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Palo Alto Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Parents Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3,000 Peninsula Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Peninsula HealthCare Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Project WeHOPE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,000 Pursuit of Excellence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 Quest Learning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Ravenswood Education Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Silicon Valley Urban Debate League . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000 St. Francis of Assisi Youth Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 St. Vincent de Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,000 TheatreWorks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,000 YMCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,500 Youth Community Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000 Youth Speaks Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $20,000

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Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

RV evictions spur protest in East Palo Alto Tow notices on Weeks Street issued after sewage from vehicles fills storm drain by Sue Dremann

tug of war over people living in RVs in East Palo Alto heated up Wednesday morning as city staff ordered a tow truck to haul away RVs on Weeks Street, where a storm drain became clogged with sewage from the vehicles, creating a public health haz-

ard, according to city staff. About 50 protesters, who stood shoulder to shoulder to block the tow truck at 8 a.m. Wednesday, said city police and Assistant City Manager Sean Charpentier handed out tow notices on Tuesday at about 3 p.m., giving people less

than 24 hours to move their RVs. “Many of these vehicles cannot be moved on such short notice. So the city is impounding people’s homes,” protest organizer Patricia Finau Lopez, who lives on Weeks, said in a press release. The RVs and cars in the 1100 block of Weeks have been housing working parents, children and the elderly, among others, protesters said. The region’s severe housing crisis has led to impoverished

people living in cars, they said. From the city’s standpoint, however, the make-shift housing situation is causing public-safety problems. Many RV residents on Weeks illegally empty their chemical toilets onto the street, and the waste has entered the storm drain, city officials said in a press release. City signs posted on Weeks stated the evictions were for emergency and health and safety reasons.

The area is prone to flooding, and the 1 to 2 inches of rain forecast for Wednesday and Thursday could spread the sewage, according to the city. (As of Thursday, a photo of Weeks showed that the street had flooded.) A similar sewage clog-up led to recent Hepatitis A outbreaks in southern California, city staff said. Prior to Wednesday’s evictions, (continued on page 9)

LAW ENFOREMENT

City taps Robert Jonsen as new police chief Law-enforcement veteran currently serves as head of Menlo Park police by Gennady Sheyner

Veronica Weber

Christine Smith, an educator with the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, teaches second-graders at Los Robles Magnet Academy School in East Palo Alto about the fundamentals of balance and mass as part of the museum’s science outreach program. During their lesson, they try to balance paper and popsicle sticks on their fingers.

HOLIDAY FUND

Junior Museum and Zoo brings hands-on science to the classroom Outreach program from Palo Alto institution targets low-income communities by Gennady Sheyner

‘I

did it!” said Brian, a second-grader at the Los Robles Magnet Academy in East Palo Alto, as he balanced on his finger an upside-down paper cutout of a man. He was the first student in Monica Banuelas’ class of 17 to crack the code during Thursday’s lesson on balance — a concept taught by Christine Smith, a science teacher with the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo. The secret? Taping one of the two pennies he was provided on each of the paper-man’s arms. Over the course of the 50-minute class, the students learned

the basics of balance by backing up against the wall and trying to touch their toes; balancing paper figures on their fingers; and performing a similar exercise with a flattened stick and bearings. They then concluded the session by recapping the lessons learned and striking various poses. For Smith, who led off the discussion with a demonstration using plastic weighing scales, this was the latest in a four-class series on motion. Students recalled the prior lesson, in which they constructed roller-coasters

to accommodate rolling marbles and learned about gravity. Smith was at the school as part of the Junior Museum and Zoo’s Science Outreach Program. Though the Palo Alto institution is best known for its popular museum at Rinconada Park and its famous cast of characters, which includes Sequoia, Tule and Claude (respectively, a bald eagle, a bobcat and a hedgehog), its instructors also spread the museum’s scientific offerings (continued on page 10)

enlo Park Police Chief Robert Jonsen will cross the southern city line in January to take charge of the Palo Alto Police Department, Palo Alto officials announced this week. Jonsen has spent most of this 30year career in southern California before getting tapped as Menlo Park’s top cop in 2013. Now, he will serve in the same role in Palo Alto, where he will take over from Interim Police Chief Ron Watson, who has been leading the department since former Chief Dennis Burns retired in January. Pending the City Council’s approval next month, Jonsen will receive a salary of $260,000, along with a housing rental stipend of $3,000 per month for 18 months. According to the city, the stipend was included in the compensation package to allow Jonsen, who lives in northern San Mateo County, to “maximize the time on the job and to fully immerse himself in the Palo Alto community as he builds relationships that are key as he assumes this new position.” The hiring of Jonsen came after the city conducted a nationwide search that, at the end of the day, led to the city immediately to the north. Palo Alto Chief Communication Officer Claudia Keith said six finalists vied for the position. Jonsen was picked after a process involving numerous interviewing panels made up of community members, former police chiefs, attorneys and executive staff at City Hall. Keith cited Jonsen’s knowledge about Palo Alto as a bonus in the final selection. “He’s been in Menlo Park for

four years, and we’re adjacent and have lots of shared issues,” Keith said. “The communities are of different sizes, but he’s quite familiar with Palo Alto.” Before coming to Menlo Park, Jonsen worked in several lawenforcement agencies in southern California, including a stint as a lieutenant at the Palmdale Sheriff’s station between 2005 and 2008. He also spent two years as the assistant director for the Regional Community Police Institute, an initiative focused on community policing. According to the city’s announcement, Jonsen developed training programs on ethics and responding to domestic violence. Between 2008 and 2011, he coordinated the Antelope Valley Crime Fighting Initiative, which aimed to reduce violent crimes. After that, he served as captain and police chief for the Lancaster Sheriff’s station, where he was responsible for a 600-mile geographical area and a force of 300 sworn personnel. According to Palo Alto’s news release, the homicide rate dropped by 23 percent during his tenure in the position. In Menlo Park, Jonsen has been leading a department with 70 sworn and civilian staff and a budget of about $16 million. Starting Jan. 9, he will be taking over a department with more than twice as many positions and a $42.3 million budget. In Menlo Park, Jonsen helped implement the city’s adoption of body-worn cameras, establish a partnership with Facebook and (continued on page 10)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 5

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Most times my biggest complaint is stepping on human feces on the Bay Trail. —Mark Dinan, East Palo Alto resident, on the unregulated presence of portable dwellings. See story page 5.

Around Town RACING TO THE RESCUE ... What could have ended in tragedy was just a stumble in the race. On Oct. 10, Moonlight Run participant Carlo Rodis, 30, suffered cardiac arrest as he crossed the finish line in the 10K run. Rodis said that he felt no symptoms while running the race. In fact, he was taking his time, even if it didn’t show in his brisk net time of 46 minutes and 16 seconds. Luckily, citizen rescuer Kate Peters and Palo Alto Park Ranger Robbie Parry were able to act fast. “Someone just ran up to us and said that someone had collapsed,” Peters said. “He had agonal respirations, which is called the death rattle — it’s basically the last attempt of your brain stem to keep breathing. And that’s pretty indicative of cardiac arrest.” Peters and Parry aided Rodis while paramedics were on the way. With the help of an automated external defibrillator, Rodis regained his heartbeat and was breathing on his own by the time paramedics arrived. Parry praised the efforts of citizens who stepped up to assist Rodis, as well as the efforts and responsiveness of the Palo Alto police and fire departments. “We had some good citizen support. It was a very successful situation which we’re very grateful for,” Parry said. Fire Capt. William Dale recognized Parry and Peters with the department’s Citizen Hero award at Monday’s City Council meeting. “If it were not for Ranger Parry and Kate’s quick and selfless response, this story would certainly have had a different ending,” Dale said. CAT CALLS ... On Sunday, Palo Alto resident Stephanie Muscat was strolling back from errands when she heard a call from above. It came from a distressed cat, trapped on a branch 30 feet high, meowing for help at the corner of Kingsley Avenue and Waverley Street. Muscat, who initially didn’t want to bother anyone, spent 45

minutes trying to coax the feline down before she called police and Animal Services but couldn’t get anyone to help her. “I just couldn’t leave,” she said. “It wasn’t until I took to social media that they responded really quickly.” Animal Control Officer Ken Cunningham said most cats are able to get themselves down from trees (which is why they don’t normally take cat calls), but this cat wasn’t as lucky. A bare area on the tree made it so that the cat was marooned in his perch, unable to retreat back down to safety on his own. “This guy was a big, old, chubby black cat just sitting there, meowing to the world,” Cunningham said. He was able to maneuver his truck up the tree, climb into it and reach the unhappy cat. After some soothing pats for reassurance, the cat appeared mollified, but suddenly became frightened as Cunningham attempted to bring the feline to lower ground.”He turned Tasmanian devil on us — I had this buzzsaw at the end of my arm,” Cunningham said. The thrashing cat successfully landed on a lower branch, where it safely jumped back to the ground. From there, the cat darted off into a garden, safe and sound, according to Muscat. “He was such a wonderful human being! I was so impressed,” Muscat said of Cunningham. A CHANGE OF SCENERY ... Stanford University employees are getting relief from the evercongested Bay Area roadways through a pilot program that puts the time they would typically spend stuck in traffic back into the job. The university is testing out a satellite work site in downtown San Jose, where it has a short-term lease at WeWork, a coworking office space. The pilot that kicked off in October and runs through November 2018 was proposed by the Administrative Planning Executive Committee last spring. Provost Persis Drell and Chief Financial Officer Randy Livingston then agreed to cosponsor and fund the worksite. “We want to test the idea of enabling employees to work closer to their homes,” Livingston said in a press release. Business Affairs and University Human Resources employees will be the first who’ll work remotely, then get rotated out with other schools and units. Q

Upfront NEIGHBORHOODS

As redevelopment looms, one homeowner stands firm Resident has deep roots in neighborhood where black families bought homes during era of discrimination

EDUCATION

Board: Stanford growth could require new school Trustees respond to proposed General Use Permit by Elena Kadvany

tanford University’s request for the county’s permission to build hundreds of new housing units for graduate students, faculty and staff over the next 17 years represents a level of growth that a majority of Palo Alto school board members said will likely require a new elementary school in the future. Stanford is in the midst of a public review process for its updated General Use Permit, which proposes to build 2.275 million net new square feet of academic buildings, 3,150 housing units and 40,000 net new square feet of child care and community centers between 2018 and 2035. Of

the planned housing, 1,700 are for undergraduates students, 900 are for graduates (mostly singles or couples) and 550 for faculty and staff, according to the university. Santa Clara County recently released a draft environmentalimpact report on the project and is seeking input from stakeholders and the public through Dec. 4. On Tuesday, the Board of Education agreed on nine draft comments it will send to the county in a letter. The letter states, “The opening of another school on the Stanford campus is the only solution that preserves reasonable school enrollment size and avoids the very poor alternatives” of

Lakiba Pittman sits on the porch of her home on Olive Avenue, where she grew up. Her parents bought the house in the 1960s when the neighborhood had working-class residents and about seven AfricanAmerican families. Most of the 18 homes on the block have since been purchased by two families, one of which is in real estate development.

enlarged enrollment at Escondido and Nixon elementary schools or creating an “unacceptable travel burden” for students and parents. At the board’s Nov. 7 meeting, member Todd Collins called Stanford West an “emerging neighborhood” that reflects a historical pattern. In the 1950s and 1960s when Stanford built new faculty housing, Escondido and Nixon were opened in those areas of campus. “Stanford builds neighborhoods for faculty and staff,” Collins said. “We build schools for the kids who live there.” Collins estimated that the Stanford project could generate about 403 elementary students for the school district — the combination of current students who live on the west side of campus plus estimated ones from the development — which is just under the current average size of a district elementary school. To rely on the district’s existing schools to accommodate these students, schools that are located farther away from the west side

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owned homes, in addition to five to seven on Olive Avenue alone. This contrasted with the widely documented practice of redlining and anti-black property clauses that shunted black families into the area that would later be incorporated as East Palo Alto. Harrison recalled that when his grandfather bought a home on Fife Avenue in the Crescent Park neighborhood in the 1920s, a friend had to transfer the property into his name for a dollar because it was illegal to sell to African-Americans. “It became an entirely blackowned street, for the most part, anyway,” Harrison said. “I think there’s only two black families on the street now — but the whole street was black.” Lockhart and Smiths’ plans for Olive Avenue, which is mostly populated by one-story homes, are not clear. In a 2010 letter to the city, Lockhart described his hopes for multifamily housing on the street to enhance the “viability” of the California Avenue shopping and create a “cohesive neighborhood,”

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people have moved away. According to Santa Clara County records, Boyd C. Smith owns nine of the 18 homes on the street; residents confirmed he is Boyd Smith Sr. of the Ash Street real estate firm WSJ Properties. Another six homes are listed under the name Peter Lockhart, who runs Peter Lockhart Landscape out of 405 Olive Ave. Smith declined to confirm ownership of the homes or comment for this article, and Lockhart did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Mike Harrison, whose parents first moved to their Olive Avenue house in the 1940s, said that members of Smith’s family first broached the topic of buying his family’s home in the 1990s. Harrison ultimately went through with the deal this year. “Between then and now, they hadn’t approached me about it at all,” Harrison said. It wasn’t until 2015 that Harrison felt ready to consider the offer, so his son followed up with the Smiths. “(In 2015) I backed out at the last minute,” Harrison said. “I got cold feet and decided not to sell until this year.” The street’s unique history has kept Pittman from following in Harrison’s footsteps. Olive Avenue, she said, provided a community for black residents during the ‘60s, when the rest of the city did not. Between Grant Avenue and Lambert Avenue — known today as the heart of the Ventura neighborhood — at least seven or eight black families

Kristin Brown and Rosanna Kuruppu

n Olive Avenue, Lakiba Pittman is here to stay. As a string of houses to the left and right of hers in Palo Alto’s Ventura neighborhood have been bought out by two owners, the decision not to sell has rendered her one of three remaining independent homeowners on the block — as well as the last African-American resident on a street rooted in black history. “I’m very committed to being able to keep my house and maintain the flavor of the neighborhood,” said Pittman, an educator and former member of Palo Alto’s Human Relations Commission. “It’s based on a connection to the house, and not just the house — but the land and the memories.” Pittman’s cozy 800-foot cottage, which is decorated with hanging plants and painted pale yellow, cradles her family’s history as one of several AfricanAmerican families who were able to buy homes in Palo Alto in the face of 1950s housing discrimination. Stretching from Park Boulevard to El Camino Real, part of Olive Avenue overlooks a lengthy parking lot; the building housing Fry’s Electronics lies to its rear. Now, as the city prepares for longterm revitalization of the Ventura area, Pittman and other Olive Avenue residents find themselves in the center of what could be a sweeping redevelopment of the neighborhood. Longtime residents said that two families have been buying homes on the narrow road for years as

Veronica Weber

by Fiona Kelliher

The area from El Camino Real to Park Boulevard and Page Mill Road almost to Lambert Avenue, known as north Ventura, will be the subject of a city planning effort with an eye toward eventual redevelopment.

adding that Ash Street could be opened up to Page Mill Road. “I strongly suggest that Olive Avenue is designated as Multi Family or PC (Planned Community) allowing up to 30 units per acre that is economically viable,” the letter reads. “Both the Fry’s property and Olive Avenue property would have the potential for much better development footprints.” Whether Lockhart’s vision has changed since then remains to be

seen. Over the next 18 months, the city will work with various neighborhood stakeholders to draw up a plan for the area stretching from Page Mill to Lambert; Pittman plans to apply to become a member of the working group. The demographics of residents on the street have completely transformed in the nearly 70 seventy years since Pittman’s

of campus, would not only affect enrollment (and as a result, class sizes and program offerings) but inevitably create more traffic, board members said. Trustee Jennifer DiBrienza also described it as a safety issue. “The more we build housing where there is no school, the more small kids have to commute, and that increases the likelihood they have to cross a larger road or they just have to go farther,” she said on Nov. 7. Students who currently live in Stanford West attend Escondido, and many are bused to the campus, according to the district. The school is currently operating at capacity. Having a neighborhood school close by for Stanford faculty and staff would be also a boon for the university, board member Melissa Baten Caswell said. “One of the things you provide to your employees and students is the benefits of having good schools in your neighborhood,” she told Jean McCown, associate vice president for Stanford’s

Office of Government and Community Relations. “I think it’s something we should talk about.” The district estimates that it would cost $1 million annually to operate a new elementary school. The board’s draft letter also adjusts an “unrealistically low” student-generation rate Stanford had used in its projections. The original rate, 0.5 children per household, came from an enrollment forecast that has historically been unreliable for the district. The letter instead suggests using a 0.65 rate, the average of the student yield from two recent Stanford housing projects (Olmsted Terrace, a single-family home development on Stanford Avenue, and Mayfield Place, a multifamily housing development on El Camino Real). The letter also asks the county to acknowledge that the impact of new developments doesn’t happen incrementally but rather in “narrow bursts” that create enrollment surges in the district.

(continued on page 9)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 7

Upfront

News Digest

CIVIL RIGHTS

After failing to get traction in its prior attempts, Palo Alto’s plan to bring bike-share programs to the city’s masses is about to move into a new direction. By a unanimous vote, the City Council’s Policy and Services Committee agreed Tuesday night to launch a new pilot program that would allow various bike-share companies to bring their services to local streets with little city involvement. The new approach is a sharp departure from City Hall’s prior attempts to introduce bikeshare — ill-fated ventures that focused on creating a partnership with one major bike-share company and investing significant city funding in infrastructure. Now, having failed to tap into the local market for bike-share services, the council is preparing to let the market come to Palo Alto. The new one-year pilot program would create a regulatory framework for bike-share companies, allowing vendors to receive permits and potentially compete for riders in the same geographical areas. In explaining the change, transportation officials are citing successful experiences that other cities had with different approaches. Chris Corrao, a transportation planner with the city of Palo Alto, said Seattle and South San Francisco had recently experimented with a six-month program of this sort, with promising results. These days, vendors typically use “smart bikes” with GPS systems, which make it easy for users to find bikes with phone apps and allow for more flexibility in dropping them off. The city’s prior effort, by contrast, had traditional bikes that had to be returned to a bike station. Corrao told the Policy and Services Committee that he has been in contact with various companies that can potentially apply for permits in Palo Alto and said there is “definitely an interest in being here in large numbers.” Under Palo Alto’s new regulatory program, each vendor would be required to provide at least 100 bikes, with the total number of bikes (not including e-bikes) capped at 700 to reduce chance of unused bikes cluttering sidewalks. Planning Director Hillary Gitelman said staff has decided to roll this out on a pilot basis and then re-evaluate it in a year. Q — Gennady Sheyner

Palo Alto adopts new Comp Plan Palo Alto concluded one of the most complex and contentious planning efforts in its history late Monday night, when the City Council voted to adopt the new Comprehensive Plan, a document that will guide the city’s land use and infrastructure decisions until at least 2030. By a 7-2 vote, with Karen Holman and Lydia Kou dissenting, the council crossed the finish line of a marathon planning process that began in 2006 and that took several long and unexpected swerves along the way. The most contentious item of the night was Councilman Adrian Fine’s 11th-hour proposal to revisit the debate over how Palo Alto measures transportation impacts. The traditional measure that is used in environmental analyses — known as “level of service” (LOS) — focuses on congestion. The new standard — “vehicle miles traveled” (VMT) — focuses on the total number of car trips taken, with the goal of reducing them and encouraging transit use, bike use and other alternative modes of transportation. His proposal fell by a single vote, with his political ally Mayor Greg Scharff joining Holman, Kou and CouncilmenTom DuBois and Eric Filseth in thwarting it. In a nod to recent complaints from residents, the council voted to reinsert into the plan’s introduction chapter language about neighborhood protection that was previously struck. The council also agreed to include in the plan a list of “community indicators” — periodic measurements that would track the city’s progress on greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle miles traveled per capita, the jobs-to-housing balance, below-market-rate units constructed, progress toward achieving the goals of the Housing Element, traffic volumes at 10 representative local intersections, availability of parks and school enrollments. The newly approved Comprehensive Plan includes policies to spur creation of affordable housing, preserve retail, limit office space to 1.7 million square feet (in addition to the 1.3 million that has already been approved as part of the construction of the new Stanford University Medical Center); promote smaller housing units; and create a new community with housing and commercial uses at Stanford Research Park. It also places a premium on traffic reduction, with a requirement that new developments above a certain size threshold to prepare and implement transportation-demand management plans. The Environmental Impact Report for the plan includes a preferred scenario with between 3,500 and 4,400 new housing units between now and 2030, well below the 10,000 that the city’s housing advocates have been calling for, yet somewhat above what Palo Alto would receive under present policies.Q — Gennady Sheyner Page 8 • November 17, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Veronica Weber

Bike-share plan takes a turn

Fatima Ladha, a member of the Muslim Student Union, and fellow students at Stanford University rally against speaker Robert Spencer, creator of the “Jihad Watch” blog. He was invited by the Stanford College Republicans to speak on Nov. 14.

Protesters stage walkout on controversial lecturer Robert Spencer talk raises questions about ‘hate speech’ versus ‘free speech’ by Sue Dremann

ore than 140 Stanford University students and other activists spoke with their feet Tuesday night, filling a 250-seat auditorium where Robert Spencer, a controversial critic of Islam, was lecturing. About 25 minutes into his talk, the protesters quietly rose and filed out of the auditorium. The demonstration caused at least 50 people to be turned away from the lecture. After the walkout, an estimated 20 audience members remained, the protesters said. Outside of the auditorium, hundreds gathered at an event dubbed “Stanford Against Spencer: A Rally Against Islamophobia.” They chanted against what they said is Spencer’s “hate speech” and expressed upset that the university had given him a platform using thousands of dollars of student funds. The protesters and those who came to hear Spencer speak about “Jihad and the Dangers of Radical Islam” agreed that freedom of speech is important, but they had somewhat differing views on the dividing line between hate speech and free speech. Perhaps the harshest words came from Spencer and the Stanford College Republicans, the student group that sponsored the event. Stanford College Republicans financial officer John Rice-Cameron referred to the protesters as “fascists” as he explained to those who were not admitted that the seats might open again after the protesters left. Spencer also called the protesters “fascists.” On Twitter, he wrote: “They refused to consider opposing views. They deliberately filled the seats so that those who

wanted to attend could not. That’s forcible suppression of dissent, or in a word, fascism.” Chase Davis, a protest organizer with the Black Student Union Political Action Committee, said he and others did not see taking up the seats as an obstruction of Spencer’s right to free speech. Spencer was free to speak and say anything he wanted to say; the protesters were making their voices heard by taking up space and then silently walking out. “We wanted to suck the air out of the room,” he said. For black students, speech that attacks one group is personal and opens the door to hate toward black students as well, he added. “If we allow one group to be attacked on campus it opens the door to all to be attacked. What separates hate speech from expressing an opinion is if you say something that attacks a group or person and has a negative impact. Separate political beliefs contribute to free speech, but when we attack people of a certain group, that’s not OK,” he said. Some in attendance said they came out of curiosity; others said they were there to support free speech. “I’ve never heard him encourage hatred or violence. He is exposing a lot of information, and it’s disturbing a lot of people,” said Colin Montelongo, a Santa Rosa resident and student at Sonoma State University who was one of the few non-Stanford students to get a ticket to hear Spencer. “Robert Spencer is trying to facilitate a discussion about a really controversial topic. The whole controversy around it is shocking. They are discrediting a man and his works

and the conversation he is trying to project to thoughtful people. “People are blanketing it as hate speech and making attributions to him that are unfounded.” Asked about the dividing line between hate speech and free speech, Montelongo was more circumspect. “In one sense, speech that does incite violence is probably inappropriate,” he said. “Free speech is important, and it’s a slippery slope.” Stanford student Mary Manion said she had not planned to attend Spencer’s lecture, but hearing that there would be protests changed her mind. She came out to support free speech. “I think certain issues become far too one-sided on this campus,” she added, referring to the last election season and noting that far too many people made assumptions about political views that not all students held. Kory Gaines, a Stanford freshman who was protesting Spencer’s presence, said that he did not think Spencer had credibility as a speaker. “It would be different if his background was as an expert,” but Gaines said he was concerned that Spencer talks as if he is an expert in Islam but that he is not. “I feel that hate speech is something that’s directly harmful to someone. If you are harming someone else through your speech, I don’t think it’s free. If you take away somebody’s identity and humanity, then it’s not free speech. Hateful speech does not deserve legitimacy,” he said. Q Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.

Upfront

(continued from page 5)

city staff told the RV dwellers of places where they could dispose their waste in Redwood City, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Nearby resident Mark Dinan said he sympathizes with the RV dwellers, but the unregulated presence of so many portable dwellings has had serious health consequences for him and his neighbors. “Most times my biggest complaint is stepping on human feces on the Bay Trail,” he said. “This has become a lawless zone,” he added, noting that people who are not living in the RVs have come to the area to party. “A lot of people living here are not East Palo Alto residents. We’re talking about people who have been pushed out of Palo Alto and other cities,” he said. “Everybody has empathy for this situation, but we can’t let East Palo Alto become a hazard zone for residents. ... This is a health and safety issue, not a social issue.” The Weeks site is adjacent to a property owned by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife Dr. Priscilla Chan, founders of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The couple plans to turn the land into the long-term home of The Primary School, which serves children in pre-K through eighth grade. Trash, beer bottles and other debris littered the site of the future school on Wednesday morning. Someone left an abandoned barbecue grill near the fence. Dinan’s concern is when human waste and other materials infect the community and the wetlands.

“There’s got to be better conditions for people to live in,” he said. Adrian Bonilla lives in one of the RVs with his wife and two grandsons. He said they used to sublet a room in a house on nearby Poplar Avenue, but they were not allowed access to the kitchen, nor could they could find parking nearby. “We could only use the bathroom,” he said. The family has lived in their RV for the past three months. Last night they moved their vehicle one block over after police came and told them it would be towed in the morning. It would cost them $1,000 to retrieve the vehicle, he said police told him. “We don’t have that money,” he said. Bonilla works as a mechanic; his wife works for the Ravenswood City School District, driving a van for children with special needs. Husband and wife work second jobs as Uber drivers, he said. They live in their RV because it is so difficult to find an affordable place to rent, he said. “The cheapest house is $4,000 a month, and it is only two rooms, and sometimes there is no parking,” he said. Protest organizer Marlayna Tuiasosopo said people worked late into the night Tuesday to push nonworking RVs around the corner so they would not be towed. The problem is only going to shift without real solutions, though, she and others said. On Wednesday morning, one of the last RVs left on the street was getting a jump-start from a car. Guillermo Pasqual, who lives in the vehicle with two brothers and an uncle, said they all work in construction in surrounding cities.

Veronica Weber

RVs

Protesters in East Palo Alto, including “Mama Dee” Uhila, center, demonstrate on Weeks Street at Pulgas Avenue against the city’s notice to tow RVs parked on Weeks Street, which they say have been occupied by 50-75 people over the course of the past months.

Courtesy City of East Palo Alto

Weeks Street in East Palo Alto flooded from this week’s rain. Until Wednesday morning, RVs congregated on the street, and city staff said people living in the portable homes had been dumping waste on the street and in the sewers.

School (continued from page 7)

“New projects attract younger families and this leads to bubbles that start in the early grades,” the letter states, citing Stanford West, where 70 percent of the students who live there are in elementary school compared to 42 percent in the district overall. The board also requests that Stanford consider the impact of its use permit on school commutes, involve the district if the

university considers adding more housing than originally planned and consider the reduced property-tax revenue the district receives from Stanford housing, among other points. The board will vote to approve the letter at its Dec. 5 meeting (the board plans to ask the county to extend its deadline). Vice President Ken Dauber has recused himself from this issue given that his wife works at Stanford. Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com.

“They don’t permit us to stay here, but they don’t tell us where we can go. The city is not helping us,” he said. But city leaders said that they have brought in staff from LifeMoves, a Menlo Park-based housing support nonprofit, and other social service providers to assist residents. Separately, Ravenswood City School District Superintendent Gloria Hernandez-Goff said that she and East Palo Alto Pastor Paul Bains have been working with LifeMoves on a safe-parking initiative so that families can have a safe place to stay. They’re attempting to identify parking lots around the city that could also host sanitary facilities and provide security. “If the city can’t afford porta-potties and dumpsters, we can find funders,” said HernandezGoff, who noted that 58 percent of school district students are homeless or in unstable housing. The district has responded by installing washers and dryers at schools so that homeless families can do their laundry. It is also providing 1,200 to 1,500 dinners and serves breakfasts and snacks to children who come to school with empty stomachs. Michael Mashack, who is on the city’s Second Unit Task Force (a group dedicated to addressing issues surrounding accessorydwelling units), was walking his

dog on Weeks Wednesday when he saw the RVs were gone. “I was a little surprised and disappointed,” he said of the signs the city had put up and the short notice given to the vehicle dwellers. He said many longtime residents feel pressure from newer residents who want to change the city. “I would love to see some modernization, but make it work for us” rather than making people have to fight against outside pressures, he said. Some protesters pointed to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as an example of the kind of influx of big money that’s seeking to improve the community but also changing it in ways that are making it too expensive for longtime residents. But Hernandez-Goff said that initiative representatives have been meeting with the school district and community leaders. “They have been helpful in trying to find solutions, but we need land, and we need to do something right now. Planning for home building is wonderful, but that takes two to three years,” she said. City leaders have been grappling with how to regulate RVs and other oversized vehicles on city streets. On Wednesday night, the Public Works and Transportation Commission considered an ordinance crafted by staff that would impose a minimum 60-day emergency ban

of RVs on the eastern end of Weeks Street from Pulgas Avenue to the Baylands. The ordinance would also prohibit parking of oversized vehicles of any kind on city streets that are taller and wider than seven feet and longer than 20 feet. Staff would work with nonprofit and faith-based groups to find a solution and perhaps sites where the RVs could stay, at least temporarily. Commissioners voted to table the ordinance in order to consider alternatives at their next meeting and to uncouple the RV and oversizedvehicle issues. They instructed staff to immediately begin working with the faith-based and nonprofit groups on temporary solutions for the RV dwellers. The remedies could include parking lots for overnight stays, portable toilets, trash receptacles and places to shower. Assistant City Manager Sean Charpentier said the City Council will consider the proposed ordinance on Dec. 19, without formal recommendation from the commission. For now, on Weeks Street, the West Bay Sanitary District was called to pump the storm drain, which will need to be disinfected, city staff said. East Palo Alto also planned to bring in a specialized firm to clean the road. Q Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.

Olive

her rent go up by 33 percent She added that learning about the street’s historic roots from her neighbors was “so impactful.” According to Pittman, the African-American families who lived in the neighborhood formed longstanding friendships. As recently as last year, a “South Palo Alto” reunion brought together residents from that era who are still in touch, though most have since moved to Stockton, Tracy and other areas that are more affordable. Pittman’s grandmother worked as a live-in maid downtown, and

her father was a postman for 30 years. Olive Avenue allowed them to build their lives for the next three generations — all the way to Pittman’s own grandchildren. “It was a great accomplishment for my parents to save money for years before they were actually able to buy the house,” Pittman said. “From my personal feeling, they worked really hard to get this little house ... so I am here to pass it on.” Q Editorial Intern Fiona Kelliher can be emailed at fkelliher@paweekly.com.

(continued from page 7)

and Harrison’s families bought their homes. Erin O’Donohue, a single mother who rented from the Harrisons from 2014 to 2016, said that the homes are in high demand as renters come and go. Although she described the Smiths’ ownership of the block as a “monopoly,” she said she felt welcomed on Olive for the relative affordability of the property. In San Mateo, she had watched

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 9

Upfront

Senior-housing facility opens An affordable housing complex for seniors in East Palo Alto that started as an idea four years ago opened its doors on Thursday, according to city officials. (Posted Nov. 16, 9:33.m.)

Four firms to present for supe search The school board is aiming to select a firm to lead its search for a new superintendent on Nov. 28, when four companies will make public presentations. (Posted Nov. 15, 8:44 a.m.)

City adopts new Comprehensive Plan Palo Alto concluded one of the most complex and contentious planning efforts in its history late Monday night, when the City Council voted to adopt the new Comprehensive Plan, a document that will guide the city’s land use and infrastructure decisions until at least 2030. (Posted Nov. 14, 1:29 a.m.)

Armed robbery reported downtown Palo Alto police are looking for a man who, armed with a gun, allegedly stole a woman’s cellphone downtown late Friday night. (Posted Nov. 12, 9:29 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.

create a Citizen Advisory Commission to oversee the department (in Palo Alto, the Human Relations Commission serves a similar role), according to the city’s announcement. He also introduced “mindfulness training” to the department, which culminated in a three-day trip to Bend, Oregon for 25 members of the department last April for 16- to 20-hour sessions. That was the first of three planned excursions on “resilience and mindfulness” (the third and final one is set for February), which will ultimately cover the entire Menlo Park police staff at a cost of $177,000. Palo Alto’s news release calls Jonsen a “leader in the field of mindfulness training for law enforcement” and in developing “compassion cultivation training for public safety and the community.” Last year, he was honored with the Golden Acorn Award for “Outstanding Public Service” from the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce. In announcing the new hire, City Manager James Keene called Jonsen “well-regarded for his

Zoo (continued from page 5)

CityView A round-up

of Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Nov. 13)

Comprehensive Plan: The council voted to approve the updated Comprehensive Plan. Yes: DuBois, Filseth, Fine, Kniss, Scharff, Tanaka, Wolbach No: Holman, Kou Comprehensive Plan EIR: The council voted to approve the Environmental Impact Report for the updated Comprehensive Plan. Yes: Fine, Kniss, Scharff, Tanaka, Wolbach No: DuBois, Filseth, Holman, Kou

Board of Education (Nov. 14)

LCAP: The board discussed the process for updating this year’s district’s Local Control Accountability Plan. Action: None Solar contract: The board authorized staff to enter into a contract with REC Solar to build solar panels at six schools. Yes: Unanimous County candidates: The board waived its two-meeting rule and approved candidates of choice for the Santa Clara County Committee on School District Organization: Ellen Wheeler for District 5, Denise Ramon-Herrera for District 1 and James Van Pernis for District 3. Yes: Baten Caswell, Collins, DiBrienza, Godfrey. No: Dauber Stanford GUP: The board discussed a draft comment letter responding to Stanford University’s proposed general use permit (GUP). Action: None Supe search: The board discussed four firms who submitted proposals to conduct the district’s search for a permanent superintendent. Action: None Minutes: The board approved minutes from its Sept. 12 meeting. Yes: Unanimous

Council Policy and Services Committee (Nov. 14)

Bike share: The committee recommended approving a pilot program to create regulations for bike-share companies. Yes: Unanimous Lobbying: The committee heard an update from the city’s legislative advocates in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento, and recommended approving the council’s legislative priorities for 2018. Yes: Unanimous

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

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

Page 10 • November 17, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

ability to connect with the community as well as for his innovative approaches to community policing, leadership and mentoring of police and professional staff. “His deep experience in a nearby city and increasingly senior and complex assignments in all aspects of law enforcement bring extraordinary value to the position of police chief,” Keene said. Jonsen also received rave reviews from his current boss, Menlo said Alex Hamilton, the Junior Museum and Zoo’s education director. In 1999, the Junior Museum and Zoo launched its Science Outreach Program, which focused on schools that can’t afford science labs and field trips for their students. Since then, it has slowly spread to other communities, including Sunnyvale’s Vargas Elementary School. Last year, the program brought its science programs to more than 1,600 students in the Ravenswood City School District. According to the Friends group, participating schools are considered to be “at risk” based on numerous indicators. Of those they serve, 87 percent are eligible for free lunch (well above the California average of 58.5 percent), 67 percent are English Language Learners (higher than state average is 21 percent), and they score an average of 712 on the Academic Performance Index (below the statewide goal of 800). Unlike the more affluent Palo Alto schools, which get supplemental support from parents — including about $150,000 per year for the Junior Museum and Zoo’s science offerings in elementary schools — Ravenswood schools often are unable to fund these “extras.” To address the disparity, the museum provides its 50-minute classes to Willow Oaks and other Ravenswood schools at no cost to the school district. One of the things that sets the Junior Museum and Zoo program apart from other science classes at local schools is the tools it has at its disposal, Hamilton said. In addition to live animals such as ferrets and tarantulas and its expansive rock collection, the organization offers access to scientific tools like microscopes, lightning-bolt

generators and the like. To date, the feedback for the program has been overwhelmingly positive from both the teachers and the students, Hamilton told the Weekly. “The kids — they love science, especially in East Palo Alto, because they don’t get some of those wild experiences that some of the kids in Palo Alto get,” Hamilton said. She recalled a recent class in which the children made phones out of tin cans. “Once they see that these phones work, it blows their mind,” Hamilton said. In addition to providing the lessons, the Junior Museum and Zoo also regularly hires outside assessors to observe the science programs and report on the results. Last April, a Pleasant Hill-based consulting firm evaluated the science program in Vargas Elementary School in Sunnyvale, where every single teacher who participated indicated that he or she would recommend the program to others (91 percent indicating they would “strongly recommend” it). Students are also enthusiastic about the program. On Thursday, about a dozen hands shot up every time Smith asked a question, including at the end, when she asked them what they had learned. Some talked about weights; others about balance. One girl focused on the practical, rather than the theoretical. “I never knew you can balance paper on a finger,” she said. Q More information about the Holiday Fund can be found on page 4 and at PaloAltoOnline. com/holiday_ fund. Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

(continued from page 5)

beyond the Palo Alto borders, to communities with more challenges and fewer resources. For this endeavor, the nonprofit received last year a $5,000 grant from the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund — money that helped provide 32 lessons to 180 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto. This included courses about the solar system, kinetic energy and life sciences. “I think there’s something to be said for hands-on experience,” said Cynthia Chin, principal of Willow Oaks Elementary School, an east Menlo Park school that also gets regular lessons through the science program. “Our kids may not have some of the exposure to the different science experiences. Rather than just learning it from a book or watching some video, they get to actually touch and feel. “For some of the kids, it’s the favorite time of the school year.” For some lessons, a classroom at Willow Oaks would transform into a miniature planetarium — with a starlit night simulated in a domed enclosure known as a STARLAB — and students turn into amateur astronomers, identifying stars and using telescopes for daytime observations. On other days, students build volcanoes, construct tiny homes that can withstand manufactured earthquakes or create a habitat for a roly-poly. The science-outreach services began locally, at Addison and Walter Hays elementary schools, and grew over the years before spreading to other local schools and to neighboring communities,

Michelle Le

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.

Park City Manager Alex McIntire. “I think Palo Alto is going to come out ahead with a tremendous new police chief I think the whole community is going to be really proud of,” McIntire said. “Bob is someone who can lead a bigger, more challenging department if that’s what he wanted to do.” The Palo Alto City Council is scheduled to confirm Jonsen’s hiring on Dec. 11. Pending the council’s approval and the finalization of background check requirements, Jonsen would start his new job on Jan. 9. In a statement, Jonsen said he was “grateful and excited” about being selected as Palo Alto’s next chief and “privileged” to become part of the team in Palo Alto. “I look forward to working with the entire Palo Alto community for many years to come and will do my best to earn their trust and to provide leadership to a department full of amazing people who truly care about and want to serve this city with professionalism, integrity and respect.” Q Almanac Staff Writer Kate Bradshaw contributed to this report. Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@paweekly.com.

Chief

Menlo Park Police Chief Robert Jonsen accepts the Golden Acorn awards, presented by the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce, on Sept. 20, 2016.

The Girls’ Middle School 3400 West Bayshore Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.girlsms.org

Holiday

Waste Service Schedule

GreenWaste of Palo Alto will be closed on Thanksgiving (November 23). If your regular collection day falls on Thanksgiving, your collection day will be moved to Friday (November 24), and customers with a collection day on Friday will be serviced on Saturday (November 25).

NOVEMBER SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Questions? Contact GreenWaste of Palo Alto at (650) 493-4894 4894 • pacustomerservice@greenwaste.com t i

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, Dec. 2nd, 1 - 4 pm Please RSVP 650.968.8338 x133 admissions@girlsms.org

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Palo Alto 3045 Cowper Street, Palo Alto 94306 | 650.493.7870 | www.cspaloalto.org

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 11

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POLICE CALLS Palo Alto

Nov. 8-14 Violence related Armed robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

FOOTHILL-DE ANZA Community College District Board of Trustees seeks applicants for its Audit and Finance Committee

Applicants must reside in the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service area, which includes the cities of Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and portions of San Jose, Santa Clara and Saratoga. Applicants may not be an employee, contractor, consultant or vendor of the district. The Audit and Finance Committee Board Policy 6401 (BP 6401) are available for review at http://www.boarddocs.com/ca/fhda/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=9TTW3E835A8B or by calling (650) 949-6100. Currently, one committee member is needed for four-year terms in the following category: à ® ([ SHYNL YLWYLZLU[H[P]L

Check forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

In this capacity the Audit and Finance Committee will:

Abandoned bicycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . 5 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . 1 Vehicle accident/prop. damage . . . . 8 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Alcohol or drug related Drinking in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Driving under the influence . . . . . . . . 2 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Under the influence of drugs. . . . . . . 2

Miscellaneous Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Misc. penal code violation . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . 2 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Minor in possession of alcohol . . . . . 1 Counterfeit currency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Dependent adult financial abuse . . . 1 Unattended death. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Public urination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lewd and lascivious . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 F&W/disposal request . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Menlo Park

Nov. 8-14 Violence related Assault . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Theft related Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Vehicle related Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Driving w/suspended license . . . . . . 4 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . 2 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . 2 Vehicle accident/no injury . . . . . . . . . 5 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Alcohol or drug related Possession of paraphernalia. . . . . . . 4

Miscellaneous Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Info case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Carrying concealed dagger . . . . . . . 1 CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Gang validations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Carrying switchblade . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

à ® 9L]PL^ HUK TVUP[VY I\KNL[ HUK MPUHUJPHS TH[LYPHS HUK YLWVY[Z YLSH[LK [V MPUHUJPHS TH[[LYZ PUJS\KPUN IVUKZ JLY[PMPJH[LZ VM WHY[PJPWH[PVU HUK V[OLY M\UKPUN PUZ[Y\TLU[Z [V JVTL ILMVYL [OL Board of Trustees. à ® 4VUP[VY [OL L_[LYUHS H\KP[ ZLSLJ[PVU HUK LUNHNLTLU[ WYVJLZZ à ® 9L]PL^ PUKLWLUKLU[ H\KP[ YLWVY[Z HUK TVUP[VY MVSSV^ \W HJ[P]P[PLZ à ® (ZZ\YL H]HPSHIPSP[` VM [OL (\KP[ HUK -PUHUJL *VTTP[[LL TLTILYZ [V TLL[ ^P[O [OL )VHYK VM ;Y\Z[LLZ LHJO `LHY H[ [OL [PTL VM WYLZLU[H[PVU VM [OL L_[LYUHS H\KP[ [V [OL )VHYK à ® *VUZ\S[ ^P[O PUKLWLUKLU[ H\KP[VYZ YLNHYKPUN HJJV\U[PUN MPZJHS and related management issues. à ® 4VUP[VY VWLYH[PVUHS YL]PL^Z MPUKPUNZ HUK YLJVTTLUKH[PVUZ HUK MVSSV^ \W HJ[P]P[PLZ Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter detailing their qualifications, and noting which of the above categories they would represent, to any of the following: E-mail: chancellor@fhda.edu 4HPS! Office of the Chancellor Foothill-De Anza Community College District 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 -H_! (650) 941-1638 *VTWSL[LK HWWSPJH[PVUZ T\Z[ IL YLJLP]LK I` W T -YPKH` 5V] For more information, please call (650) 949-6100 or email chancellor@fhda.edu

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250 HAMILTON AVENUE, COUNCIL CHAMBERS NOVEMBER 29, 2017 AT 6:00PM Action Items: 1. Recommendation to the City Council Regarding the Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) Chapters 2.20 (Planning and Transportation Commission), 9.10 (Noise), 10.51 (Crescent Park No Overnight Parking Program), 10.64 (Bicycles, Roller Skates and Coasters), +LÃ&#x201E;UP[PVUZ 3V^ +LUZP[` 9LZPKLU[PHS 9, 9 HUK 94+ 9 :PUNSL -HTPS` 9LZPKLU[PHS +PZ[YPJ[ 18.15 Residential Density Bonus), 18.16 (Neighborhood, Community, and Service Commercial (CN, CC and CS) +PZ[YPJ[Z :WLJPHS 7\YWVZL 7- 6: HUK (* +PZ[YPJ[Z 18.30(G) (Combining Districts), 18.40 (General Standards and ,_JLW[PVUZ :[HUKHYKZ MVY :WLJPHS <ZLZ 7HYRPUN HUK 3VHKPUN 9LX\PYLTLU[Z 7HYRPUN -HJPSP[` +LZPNU Standards), 18.76 (Permits and Approvals), 18.77 (Processing of Permits and Approvals), 18.80 (Amendments to Zoning Map And Zoning Regulations), 21.12 (Tentative Maps and 7YLSPTPUHY` 7HYJLS 4HWZ HUK *VUKP[PVUHS ,_JLW[PVUZ ;OL 7YVWVZLK 6YKPUHUJL PZ ,_LTW[ MYVT [OL *HSPMVYUPH ,U]PYVUTLU[HS 8\HSP[` (J[ *,8( PU (JJVYKHUJL >P[O *,8( .\PKLSPULZ :LJ[PVU I -VY 4VYL 0UMVYTH[PVU 7SLHZL Contact Clare Campbell at clare.campbell@cityofpaloalto.org.

The Planning and Transportation Commission is live streamed online at O[[W! TPKWLUTLKPH VYN JH[LNVY` NV]LYUTLU[ JP[` VM WHSV alto and available on via cablecast on government access channel ;OL JVTWSL[L HNLUKH ^P[O HJJVTWHU`PUN YLWVY[Z PZ H]HPSHISL online at O[[W! ^^^ JP[`VMWHSVHS[V VYN NV] IVHYKZ W[J KLMH\S[ HZW. -VY (KKP[PVUHS 0UMVYTH[PVU *VU[HJ[ @VSHUKH *LY]HU[LZ H[ @VSHUKH Cervantes@cityofpaloalto.org or at 650.329.2404.

FOOTHILL-DE ANZA Community College District Board of Trustees seeks applicants for its Measure C Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bond Oversight Committee Candidates appointed to the independent, volunteer Measure C Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bond Oversight Committee review and report to the public on the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Measure C bond expenditures. Applicants must reside in the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s service area, which includes the cities of Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and portions of San Jose, Santa Clara and Saratoga. Applicants may not be an employee, contractor, consultant or vendor of the district. The Citizensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Bond Oversight Committee bylaws are available at www.measurec.fhda.edu or by calling (650) 949-6100. Currently, one committee member is needed for two-year terms in the following category: à ® ;H_WH`LYZ HZZVJPH[PVU YLWYLZLU[H[P]L This committee is responsible for reviewing expenditures related to the districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $490,800,000 general obligation bond, Measure C, approved by the voters on June 6, 2006. Interested applicants should submit a resume and cover letter detailing their qualifications, and noting the above category they would represent, to any of the following: E-mail: chancellor@fhda.edu Mail: Office of the Chancellor Foothill-De Anza Community College District 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto

Cowper Street, 11/10, 10:58 p.m.; armed robbery.

-H_! (650) 941-1638

Menlo Park

Willow Road, 11/9, 2:07 p.m.; physical altercation between juveniles at an elementary school.

PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING

Candidates appointed to the volunteer Audit and Finance Committee shall act in an advisory role to the Board in carrying out its oversight and legislative responsibilities as they relate to the Districtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial management.

Theft related

Vehicle related

CITY OF PALO ALTO

450 Cambridge Avenue | Palo Alto, CA 94306 | 650.326.8210 PaloAltoOnline.com | TheAlmanacOnline.com | MountainViewOnline.com

*VTWSL[LK HWWSPJH[PVUZ T\Z[ IL YLJLP]LK I` W T >LKULZKH` 5V] For more information, please call (650) 949-6100 or email chancellor@fhda.edu www.PaloAltoOnline.com â&#x20AC;¢ Palo Alto Weekly â&#x20AC;¢ November 17, 2017 â&#x20AC;¢ Page 13

John Witt July 2, 1947 – November 4, 2017 John Witt, single father, Cherokee, E-6 Staff Sergeant, Vietnam Vet, helped himself by helping others On November 4, 2017, Staff Sergeant John Witt, a lifelong smoker, died swiftly from lung cancer despite emergency surgery and extraordinary care from the team at the Palo Alto VA Hospital. He was 70 years old and except for the year he served in Vietnam defending freedom, he lived life on his own terms and never thought of death. Even in his final hours he refused to say goodbye, just a simple reassurance to his little brother James, “I’ll be alright.” Born July 2, 1947 in Oakland, California, John Witt was the happy-go-lucky first son of high school sweethearts Jack and Sophie Geraldine Witt. His affable nature paved the way for a kid brother, James, who was born six years later. “Jerry” as their mother was known, rarely spoke about their Cherokee heritage but this bloodline would ultimately fuel John’s life calling--helping Native American vets receive the health benefits they deserved. A graduate of Cubberly High School in Palo Alto, John was a proud Eagle Scout with a thirst for adventure and the great outdoors. He began studies at Lassen College but when his best friend Marc Eldridge was drafted in the army to serve in Vietnam, John suggested they enlist under the Buddy System so that they could serve together. When the recruiter told them they couldn’t since Marc had been drafted, John enlisted anyway leaving home on Christmas Day, 1967. Despite being stationed in completely different parts of the country, John would eventually reunite with Marc. “Although we never wrote each other, we did to our parents,” recounts Marc. “I wrote to mine that I was going on R&R on a certain date, my mom told John’s parents and John’s parents told him what the dates were. John was stationed in Cam Rahn Bay and knew where all the guys going on R&R stayed while waiting for their flights, so he would go and check everyday to see if I was there. I had gotten back and was sleeping in a bunk and was woken to John standing over me. What a surprise. He took me back to his hooch and we spent a couple of days visiting before I had to go back. He would later tell me that after seeing me there he knew he was going to make it out, my response being, I wish you would have told me. I wasn’t as sure about my outcome.” By the grace of God, both boys did make it home safely. However, when he returned in 1968, John, a gifted storyteller, had remarkably little to say about his time at war. Instead he did his best to re-enter civilian life without missing a beat. In 1969 he met his first love, Susan Holloway, and they married in 1971. Together they moved to Susanville, California where he felt at home in the mountains. He completed his forestry degree at Lassen College then worked various jobs in the US Forest Service and on fire crews then at Chevrolet as a mechanic then salesperson. In 1981, the couple divorced and John returned to Palo Alto with their four-year-old daughter Kelly-the ultimate love of his life.

In Palo Alto, John joined his brother James’ contracting business while their parents helped care for Kelly. With their support he made sure to share with her his love of the outdoors, enrolling Kelly in the Girl Scouts and taking her on vacations and weekend trips to the baylands, camping, fishing and to the beach. However, it was a dark time in his life. The burden he was carrying from his time in combat took a toll on John who pushed away those around him. Decades later he would admit to suffering from PTSD, but at the time he was in denial and doing his best to provide a good life for his daughter. John’s life changed in 1987, when he met Chaplain Edward Bastille, the Director of the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in Menlo Park. Chaplain Bastille encouraged John to connect with his Cherokee heritage and start the Native American Special Emphasis Program (NASEP) to educate American Indian vets about the health services they were entitled to at the VA Hospital. As John got closer to his native roots his spirits soared. He traced his Cherokee ancestry on the Dawes Rolls and became a registered Tribal citizen. He began speaking at conferences and took his first airplane flight since Vietnam, something he never expected he could do. He did outreach at Pow Wows to enroll Native American vets to receive health benefits and he walked in a place of honor at the Stanford Pow Wow for his work. To meet the spiritual healing needs of vets, John helped build a Native American sweat lodge at the VA Hospital in Menlo Park. It was the first ever sweat lodge on US soil and at one point, John proudly recounted that it had served over five thousand vets. NASEP received a VA Best Practice Award and has been emulated by other VA health care facilities. Sweat lodges have since been recognized for their benefits in cleansing negativity and treating PTSD. For John, caring for his brothers in arms is where he found his own healing. In 2004, John retired and pursued the things he loved most...cars, boats, and fishing in the Willows. His daily routine would begin with coffee and socializing at the Palo Alto Baking Company on California Avenue. He met many new friends there and reconnected with old ones, telling stories and sharing his world views with anyone who’d listen. He’d then head over to the Epi Deli on University for an ice tea and people watching--one of his favorite activities. He always kept an eye out for vets and when he found one he’d be sure they knew where they could get health care and help. John is survived by his brother James Witt, his nephew Chris Witt, his beloved daughter Kelly Rhiana Witt, and lifelong friend and brother in arms, Marc Eldridge. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 18 at 1pm at the Chapel of the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, Menlo Park Division located at 795 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025. A reception will follow at 2:30pm at James Witt’s home in Palo Alto. PAID

CITY OF PALO ALTO NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Palo Alto City Council will hold a Study Session at the special meeting on Monday, November 27, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. or as near thereafter as possible, in the Council Chambers, 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, to consider 285 Hamilton [17PLN-00309]: Applicant requests a Prescreening discussion for a possible Zoning Code text amendment that would allow Development Exceptions for rooftop decks within the Downtown Area, including the subject property. Environmental Assessment: The subject request is not a project in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Continued from October 30, 2017).

BETH D. MINOR City Clerk

Ruby M. Schanzenbacher Ruby M. Schanzenbacher, 100, a longtime resident of Palo Alto passed away on November 6th, 2017 with her family by her side. Ruby is survived by her son, George Mjaseth (Merrill), daughter, Sonja Licari (Edward), 10 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and 16 great great grandchildren. She will be laid to rest with her late husband, John H. Schanzenbacher. A private service for Ruby will be held at a later date.

Sidney A. Self April 16, 1928 – November 5, 2017 Sidney Self, 89, a retired Stanford engineering professor, passed away on November 5, 2017. Sidney grew up in a workingclass family in East London, where educational opportunities were limited. World War II brought major social changes to England and, at the end of the war, meritbased scholarships became available. Sidney received a scholarship to the University of Exeter, where he studied physics. After graduating, Sidney worked at a UK government research lab on microwaves, plasmas and lasers. There he met his wife, Beryl (nee Hackett). They purchased a building comprised of three abandoned farm worker cottages in a village near the lab. Being hardworking and resourceful, Sidney and Beryl toiled to transform them into a single, renovated home. There, they had their first child, Joanna. In 1962, Sidney took a visiting position at Stanford University for two years, and in 1965 the family moved permanently to California where Sidney joined the Stanford faculty. Their second child, Matthew, was born and they purchased a home in the community of Ladera, where they lived for many years. Sidney had a long career at Stanford, where he did research on plasmas, magnetohydrodynamics and electrostatic precipitation in the Mechanical Engineering department. He authored over 150 publications and received two lifetime achievement awards. Sidney thrived, advising a large number of graduate students with whom he remained in close contact over the years. In 1980, Sidney and Beryl purchased a lot in Butano canyon, near Pescadero. Continuing the home building tradition, the family built a small vacation house there -- again using their own labor and skills. When the community needed to upgrade their water system, Sidney volunteered to research, design and oversee the construction of the entire system, building the water treatment facility himself. In 1989 Sidney and Beryl moved to Menlo Park. After retiring from Stanford, they enjoyed traveling together and making friends on many Elderhostel trips (now Road Scholar). Beryl passed away in 2016 and Sidney is survived by his two children, Joanna and Matthew, Matthew’s wife Natasha Skok, and his granddaughters, Julie and Nika. A gathering to celebrate Sidney’s life will be held early next year. In lieu of gifts, please make a donation to the American Association for the Advancement of Science: https://www.aaas.org

OBITUARY

PAID

Page 14 • November 17, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

OBITUARY

Transitions Barbara Christiani

Barbara Christiani died on Oct. 5, 2017, surrounded by her children and grandchildren. She was 91 years old and had been living independently in Mountain View until the last three months of her life. Born in San Francisco and a life-long Palo Altan, Christiani was the daughter of two teachers. She attended Walter Hays Elementary School, Jordan Middle School and Palo Alto High School. She studied biology at U.C. Berkeley and graduated from San Francisco State University in theater arts. Her work as an educator and software designer reflected her lifelong interest in nature, science and the arts as well as her passion for social justice. She taught at Nairobi Day and High School in East Palo Alto with Gertrude Wilkes; at Walden, an alternative school in San Mateo and at Peninsula School in Menlo Park. While at Peninsula, Christiani became interested in the use of technology for teaching. She joined Addison-Wesley as a science editor in their electronic textbook division. Her usage of hyperlinks in her textbooks to connect related information and laser disks to provide access to video imagery were innovative uses of information technology that predated the

public availability of the internet. Christiani founded Soleil, an educational software company, with Ragni Pasturel after she left AddisonWesley in 1992. Her work included Zurk’s Learning Safari, Rainforest Lab and Alaskan Trek and WorldWalker: Destination Australia. Christiani had a life-long interest in performing arts. She volunteered with West Bay Opera and Theater Works. While teaching at Walden, she helped found the Walden Marionettes, a traveling puppet show. She also played her accordion in the Los Trancos Woods Marching Band. In her later years, Christiani volunteered at Obama headquarters during both of his elections. She also volunteered at Gamble Garden and tutored at Eastside Preparatory School in East Palo Alto. Christiani was also a naturalist with a love of the Sierras where she had camped, hiked and skied from childhood until well into her 80s. Christiani is survived by her brother, Ralph Britton, and five children from her marriage to the late Robert Duane Christiani. They are Larry Christiani, Richard Christiani, Stella Heartsong (formerly Diane Trolin), Deborah Christiani and Carol Hansen. She is also survived by seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A memorial celebration of her life will be held in the spring. Information about the memorial is available by contacting Ralph Britton at ralphbritton@comcast.net or Carol Hansen at carolchansen9@ gmail.com.

(Left) Susie Solomon, Director of College Counseling (Right) Current Student, Class of 2018

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ADMISSIONS OPEN HOUSE

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 15

Editorial Give for the kids

on’t let the Silicon Valley’s booming, technology-driven economy lull you into thinking that there isn’t a continuing divide, even in the affluent Palo Alto area, between those riding high and the many families living on the edge or in need of social services. The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, now in its 25th year, provides a grassroots opportunity for a community member to make a donation and know that it will combined with hundreds of others and disbursed to approximately 50 carefully vetted local agencies, mostly in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. There are two important reasons why giving to the Holiday Fund uniquely leverages your donation: First, every dollar raised is given away (in the form of grants to nonprofits that apply for funding) because the Weekly and Silicon Valley Community Foundation underwrite all the expenses. So none of your money is spent on overhead or other administrative costs. And second, thanks to the support of the Packard, Hewlett and Peery foundations and a Palo Alto family that wishes to remain anonymous, any donation you make is doubled in size. So if you give $100, the Holiday Fund is able to grant $200 to a worthwhile program serving children and families in our area. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be asking for your donations and publishing the names of those who contribute, to help inspire others to give and be publicly thanked. The list of organizations the Holiday Fund supported this last year can be found online at PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund and are also listed on page 4. They include groups in Palo Alto and East Palo Alto that are providing counseling, tutoring, mentoring, reading programs, environmental education, health services, child care, food, shelter, music, art and science curriculum, and much more. Whether you give $25 or $25,000, it is a powerful statement when hundreds of local people unite around a common philanthropic objective and combine their giving to raise $350,000 or more to give back to the community. Many donors make a Holiday Fund gift in memory of a loved one or to honor a friend. To donate, either go online to PaloAltoOnline. com/holiday_fund or use the coupon below. Along with the thousands of kids and families who ultimately benefit from your gift, we are grateful for your help. Q

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

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

T In honor of:

T In memory of:

T As a gift for:

_____________________________________________________________ (Name of person) All donors and their gift amounts will be published in the Palo Alto Weekly unless the boxes below are checked. T I wish to contribute anonymously. T Please withhold the amount of my contribution. Please make checks payable to:Silicon Valley Community Foundation Send coupon and check, if applicable, to: Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund c/o Silicon Valley Community Foundation 2440 West El Camino Real, Suite 300 Mountain View, CA 94040 The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund is a donor advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. A contribution to this fund allows your donation to be tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Page 16 • November 17, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Letters Change with tech Editor, I am one of those recent retirees in Jay Thorwaldson’s column about the many retirements hitting this valley (“Silicon Valley has entered a tsunami decade of retirements,” Nov. 3). I retired this week and arrived in 1977, making this my 40th year in Silicon Valley. Like many my age, we came at the tail end of two trends: long careers at one company and the golden age of one-day job searches, pensions, threemonth sabbaticals and signing bonuses, where companies were falling over themselves to find employable programmers. In the late 70’s, there were no H-1B visas (established in 1990). My personal view is that although the article says that 280,000 of us will retire, that is a small subset of the jobs today. But LinkedIn told me on Oct. 17 that there are already 162,000(!) job openings in the Bay Area. And, in my latest position, they begged me to stay on because of my business-analyst and data-analyst skills and my teamleadership experience. I have grown in all directions in the past 10 years not practicing my Fortran skills. I worked from home this past four years and had nationwide virtual team meetings 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. So, yes, these positions will be hard to fill. But companies need to embrace telecommuting, virtual nationwide team meetings and satellite facilities in Tracy, Salinas, Santa Rosa and nationwide, as well as hire some of us to teach our skills part-time to fresh young college and high school grads. Are one-day jobs searches, signing bonuses and sabbaticals coming back? Or will we change with the technology? David Moss Ferne Avenue, Palo Alto

Minimize congestion Editor, Regarding the Comprehensive Plan, it was dismaying to read that “traffic will get worse no matter which scenario the City Council chooses.” Is it too late to study the city planning models of countless other small cities in the country that have been given high ratings for livability? No two cities are alike, but perhaps there are lessons to be learned for Palo Alto’s future. We need all the

visionaries we can get. When most of us long-term residents moved to Palo Alto we did so in part because of its “small city vibe.” As time went on, we adapted to the need to strategize our movements on U.S. Highway 101 and other freeways according to time of day and traffic patterns. Living in Palo Alto was worth the trouble. It became alarming when we found ourselves increasingly having to strategize our movements within Palo Alto itself. Our small city is rapidly morphing into a mini-metropolis

with no geographic capacity to do so without serious repercussions. Traffic flow, income diversity, housing affordability, parking availability, etc. have all become degraded. These issues add up to a significant loss of quality of life. I fervently hope we have the talent and good judgment to minimize the “unmitigable impacts” of living in a congested region, as cited by the Planning and Community Environment Department. Sophia Abramson Pitman Avenue, Palo Alto

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

What law-enforcement priorities should Palo Alto’s new police chief address? 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 editor@paweekly.com or 650-326-8210.

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Guest Opinion

Are we really up to this? by Aldis Petriceks Are you really up to this?” asked Liliko Ngata, 41, on a Saturday afternoon in East Palo Alto. The setting was Project WeHOPE, a local homeless shelter, where Liliko and I had been doing laundry for residents. Ngata — a resident herself — was guiding me through the process, but I was incompetent; I could only assume she was questioning my intellectual bedsheet-folding ability. In reality, her inquiry was far more profound. By the time we spoke, piles of dirty underwear had already washed away my starry-eyed idealism surrounding volunteer work. I had grown up well-off in Palo Alto and felt obligated to give back, but I didn’t know if I was “up to this” after all. So, I spoke with Liliko — or Savage, as she’s called — one week later to find out: What exactly is “this”? As it turns out, “this” is a story: a fable of family, service and hope. Savage, that story’s protagonist, is somewhat of an enigma. A Tongan by heritage and New Zealander by birth, she walks with a powerful stature but an unassuming aura. When asked to describe herself, she simply mumbled, “I prefer to think of myself as a mystery.” The story itself began when Savage was 8, as her family moved from New Zealand to South San Francisco, seeking medical treatment for a family member.

“

The family was industrious — both parents worked while Savage and her seven siblings attended school — but paying for medical bills, food, housing and eight children (all in a foreign country) wasn’t as easy as it sounds. “Yeah, it really sucked,” Savage chuckled. “You live paycheck to paycheck. And it’s not enough. There’s times when there was nothing.” Nevertheless, Savage graduated from high school in 1994 and began taking classes at Skyline College. Things seemed to be moving upwards. How did she end up homeless? “It’s a long story,” was her only answer. “Something happened, and I needed a break.” I understood her hesitance. In fact, I would have understood if she ended the conversation right there. Here Savage was: a complex woman, homeless after years of uncertainty. And I had the nerve to say, in essence, “Why are you poor?” But instead of leaving, Savage showed grace: “I’m glad I came here to Project WeHOPE. Because, you know, people here needed some happiness in their lives. ... I’ll take care of them.” Savage had been living at Project WeHOPE for only two months, yet everyone there looked to her for conversation and comfort. Whatever forces influenced her situation, she considered them more divine than damning. “I was sent here by God,” she stated. “I care about myself and I care about people. ... I just want to be known as a person who likes to help.” In her humble tone, Savage pivoted to the shared humanity of her friends: “Homeless people are looking for a way

to continue life ... a better way to better themselves. I can be myself around them; they’re just like me.” At this point, I felt like a genuine fool; I had thought myself a moral exemplar by folding underwear. In truth, Savage was the exemplary one. She was the one building relationships and impacting lives. What could I — some naive kid from Palo Alto — possibly give her? Hoping to find out, I asked Savage if Palo Altans should do something about local poverty or if people like me should just accept their ignorance. She responded unambiguously: “No. They need to step up.” She admonished those who have the resources yet neglect their moral obligations: “Poor people who save up money — they’re more likely to help out. But the rich people, I don’t see them do anything. They just sit in their little corner, run their business and see how much profit they can make.” I was caught off guard — certainly, I myself came to Project WeHOPE only after realizing how privileged and selfabsorbed I had been. But take just one local counterexample: Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have pledged 99 percent of their Facebook shares to philanthropy — and Chan is empowering East Palo Alto families with her educational initiative, The Primary School. How could Savage claim that the rich aren’t helping? Here’s how: If Savage has taught me anything, it is that service is not just about money. Charity is not all pragmatism. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus echoes that point, as he sees a widow donating to the temple: “’Truly I tell you, this poor widow

has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything.’” (Mark 12:43-44, NIV). This was, indeed, Savage’s message: It is not only what we give, but how and why we give. Which raises an important truth: Homeless people are humans, not tip jars. We cannot forget that fact. Money is important, but service requires relationships and empathy — in addition to resources. When asked what community members could do to serve, Savage reiterated her sentiment. “Come. Go around, see all the places in East Palo Alto. Not just the homeless shelters but also (those) who can’t live in shelters. People have to do their homework.” She implored others to do something about local inequality but in an honest, personal way. Those who love food might cook dinner at a local shelter. Small business owners might find someone a job. But each would have to do their homework. Each would have to serve not only in love but also in truth. At the end of my talk with Savage, I was left as all her friends are — better off for it. Weeks later, I arrived at WeHOPE to learn that she had found housing and a job and had left the shelter. One last mystery, I suppose. But as I remembered our conversation, wondering how Savage’s story would end, her voice rang in my ears, amplified to an entire community: “Are you really up to this?” Are we? Q Aldis Petriceks writes a blog, “Stories of Hope,” which can be found at PaloAltoOnline.com/blogs. Email him at petriceksa@gmail.com.

Streetwise

How has daylight saving time affected your routine? Asked at Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto. Question, interviews and photographs by Fiona Kelliher.

Henry Lew

Tove Aune

Samara Meir-Levi

Ahmat Oumar

William Shu

Charleston Road, Palo Alto Retired

Wilson Street, Palo Alto Former consulting manager

Templeton Road, Los Altos Postpartum doula

Middlefield Road, Palo Alto Hardware technician

Harvard Street, Palo Alto Engineer

“I find it very confusing and annoying. I would just live all year round without daylight savings.”

“I’m from Norway, and back there we really can save daylight. ... I don’t really notice it here.”

“I work nights, so it doesn’t affect anything in my life at all. ... Compared to everyone else, I’m not really fazed by it.”

“That just changed everything for the rest of the week, I’m still not fully ... adjusted.”

“It’s just the inconvenience of adjusting the clock. I think it’s out of date, daylight saving time.”

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 17

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

Dorktales puts a silly twist on traditional storytelling by Karla Kane

ou’ve probably heard the one about the three little pigs. You know, big bad wolf, huffing and puffing, house made of straw, etc.? But how about the three little hedgehogs, co-narrated by an indignant puppet with a posh British accent, given a slapstick spin and delivered at a brisk pace? Welcome to the wacky world of Dorktales Story Time, led by local voice-over artist and actor Jonathan Murphy (and his sidekick, Mr. Redge, the aforementioned hedgehog puppet). “People say it’s very hard to be entertaining for children but I’ve never thought so,” Murphy said. “As long as you’re engaging, you bring them with you.” The concept is simple: lively, humorous storytelling. Murphy and his collaborators, using scripts written by Peninsula Youth Theatre’s Executive Director Karen Simpson Gardiner, put a new, proudly “dorky” twist on classic tales such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Jack and the Beanstalk.” The Dorktales crew members rely on pure storytelling ability (including a variety of silly voices) to enthrall young audiences, with minimal props and no costumes or scenery. Dorktales is also part of a larger mission. The program is a spinoff of Geek Club Books, a nonprofit organization created by Jonathan Murphy’s mother, Jodi Murphy, which aims to empower the autistic community as well as to support public awareness and acceptance about autism. Jonathan, who’s on the autism spectrum, said the goal is “to spread information about autism through storytelling, through popular culture and in fun ways that are engaging to audiences.” Geek Club Books started life as an app, with an animated story based on Jonathan’s experiences, and now offers interactive comics, school assemblies and more. Dorktales, which boasts Jonathan’s trademark goofy spin on traditional tales, was started as a way to help fund and promote the Geek Club Books organization. “ G e e k Club’s mission of inclu-

siveness is important to me. Kids are kids are kids. We’re all different. We all have different skills and strengths. Different isn’t better or worse it’s just different, and kindness and inclusiveness should always be rewarded,” Simpson Gardiner said. For Murphy, storytelling onstage is a natural extension of a lifelong passion. As a child, “I was always into playing other characters,” the Redwood City resident said. “I would imitate what I saw on my favorite cartoons” (the name Dorktales was inspired by the Disney Channel animated series “DuckTales”). As Jonathan grew up, he began to further develop his interest in acting and storytelling. “When I was about 14, I took my first voice-over class. A few years later, I started doing theater. I never got a lead role but I got substantial character roles, and people responded to that very well,” he said, recalling his time performing in the musical “Les Miserables,” at PYT, where he landed a standout role as Thénardier, the villainous innkeeper. Actor Jonathan Murphy performs with his sidekick, British hedgehog Mr. Redge. SpotlightMomentsPhotography.com

Page 20 • November 17, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

E xplo r i ng different characters and becoming part of the theater community actually helped him to feel more comfortable in his own skin, he said, and embracing everyone’s unique personalities and talents is what Geek Club Books is all about. Now a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, he works as a professional voice-over artist, as well as with elementary students in an after-school program. His mother, who’s served on PYT’s board, said that Simpson Gardiner “knows (Jonathan’s) style of comedy, this fun, geeky way of storytelling.” “When I’m writing the script I have to keep in mind that at least initially there is one person performing all the parts. The shows are written specifically for Jonathan and speak to his strengths. He’s a brilliant voice actor. He is great at physical comedy,” Simpson Gardiner said. Part of Dorktales’ trademark humor is the comically antagonistic chemistry between Jonathan as the “narrator” and the other characters he voices, including Mr. Redge, who is prickly in more ways than one, and who frequently interrupts Jonathan with snide comments and suggestions. “It’s like an Abbott-and-Costello kind of relationship,” Jonathan said. “I try to aim for everybody. Obviously (the act) caters toward young

children but with the humor, there’s kind of a sarcastic edge that’s very me.” Drawing on his love of accents, Mr. Redge’s high-society voice was partially inspired by a role Jonathan played in “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Mr. Redge also serves another important role: “asking the questions kids in the audience may have so they don’t feel dumb for not knowing something or not understanding a reference,” Simpson Gardiner said. “My guiding principle when writing these shows is to try to make them fun for all ages.” Jonathan, Dragon Theatre Associate Production Manager Max Koknar and Dragon Company Manager Alika Spencer-Koknar got acquainted via Theater of All Possibilities, a touring company that brings interactive theater to schools. The Dragon, which has a tradition of opening its space up to emerging artists in the community, seemed the perfect place to stage a series of Dorktale Storytimes, where Murphy, Koknar and Spencer-Koknar take turns as Dorktales narrators. Next up is “Little Red” (as in “riding hood”) on Nov. 18 (watch for a sassy, ninja-like Granny wielding a tranquilizer dart). For the December shows, Dorktales is presenting two performances of “A Very Merry Dorktale”: a comedic take on the Dickens classic ‘A Christmas Carol,” which, for the first time in Dorktales history, will incorporate not one but two actors on stage. After the Dec. 17 performance, there will also be a special “Fezziwig Fest,” featuring some bonus activities for kids (all proceeds benefit Geek Club Books and the Dragon Theatre). “Storytelling is important. Some of these stories have common themes and ideas that you will see referenced over and over again in your life: the idea that someone is a ‘Scrooge,’ for example,” Simpson Gardiner said. “The more ways that kids have an opportunity to learn these stories the better. I also think kids learn better when the story can be funny and accessible. Learning can be fun!” Q Arts & Entertainment Editor Karla Kane can be emailed at kkane@paweekly.com.

What: Dorktales Story Time. Where: Dragon Theatre, 2120 Broadway St., Redwood City. When: Saturday, Nov. 18, at 2 p.m. (“Little Red”); Friday, Dec. 15, at 4:30 p.m. (“A Very Merry Dorktale”) and Sunday, Dec. 17, at 5:30 p.m. (“Fezziwig Festival Fundraiser”). Cost: $10-$20. Info: Go to dragonproductions.net/ and geekclubbooks.com.

Arts & Entertainment

Joie de ‘Play!’ Palo Alto Art Center celebrates the art of playfulness and the playfulness of art

“P

lay!,” a vibrant and interactive art exhibition focused on the concept of playfulness, is on display at the Palo Alto Art Center through Dec. 29. The exhibition, which strikes a balance between real and surreal, imaginativeness and inventiveness and light and dark, is full of nontraditional interactions with everyday objects. “Play!” seeks to celebrate the mundane becoming the transformative, said Palo Alto Art Center Director Karen Kienzle during a walk-through. It also highlights the overall importance of play for health and well-being. “(Play!) is interested in the restorative power of play as an intellectual tool for the development of children ... it is critical for children’s stress relief,” she said. Starting at the entrance, the entirety of the Palo Alto Art Center is decked out in whimsy, encouraging visitors not just to see and enjoy the art, but in many cases, to interact with it and ultimately create their own. At “Play!,” play can take the form of banging on Terry Berlier’s musical pots and pans and

frolicking in packing peanuts, or sitting in a quiet teepee for some time away from the inevitable ruckus. A game of Twister is painted on the floor tiles of the waiting area, and interactive art pieces, such as Hero Design’s “Everbright Mini” (a touch-sensitive illuminated surface reminiscent of the classic Lite-Brite toy), prompts viewers to “Please play!” Children are encouraged to touch and explore, and adults are encouraged to reflect on the times of simplicity when they, without restraint, would have done the same. The entryway of the gallery, designed by Sofie Ramos, sets the stage for both the playfulness and the ambiguity of the exhibition as a whole. Ramos’ brightly colored installation (made from contact paper, wood and found objects) called “round and round and round and,” snakes up and around the walls of the entrance and spills over the entirety of the room without beginning or end. Ramos’ work, like play, Kienzle said, “is a game, open-ended, and not just goal-oriented.” Nils Vˆlker’s “Bits and Pieces,” a series of Hoberman spheres,

hangs at left in the main gallery on a timer, with each piece opening and closing as they breathe in the air around them. Matthew Goldberg’s “Whiffer Sniffer,” a conglomerate sculpture of ceramic shaped into a giant nose, wiffle ball equipment, a joystick and machine claw, takes found objects into a new type of creative space, making a perplexingly playful scene. Tim Hawkinson’s “Bosun’s Bass,” an amazing motion-censored machine built from bicycle parts and found objects, plays with sound, bellowing three octaves lower than the traditional a sailor’s call. Then there is Robert Xavier Burden’s “Battle for the Arctic,” a stained glass-like painting immortalizing an array of characters from cartoons, movies, games, and life. While the painting itself showcases the whimsical nature of imagination and fantasy worlds intertwining in an amazing arctic tundra, Kienzle also highlighted the more insightful side of the piece, linking its blue stained glass borders to the level of significance which we put upon characters and figures from contemporary imaginations. While in

Natalia Nazarova

by Alexandria Cavallaro

Mark Molchanov, 6, came from Mountain View with his mom to see “Play!” at the Palo Alto Art Center. the past, stained glass was used to tell religious stories, “Our religion is now pop culture,” Kienzle said. Towering tall and proud (at least in the early days of the exhibition) at the center of the gallery was Hans Hemmert’s “Luftschloss,” a castle made of balloons. Kienzle pointed out that using balloons in the place of bricks to build something that was traditionally a permanent fortress is doubly playful, especially as the castle has slowly deflated. “And that’s the humor,” she said, “How ephemeral it is.” Q

Editorial Intern Alexandria Cavallaro can be emailed at acavallaro@paweekly.com.

What: “Play!” Where: Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road. When: Through Dec. 29, Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 1-5 p.m. Cost: Free. Info: Go to cityofpaloalto.org/gov/ depts/csd/artcenter.

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Eating Out Generous portions, aromatic cuisine at Aroy Thai Bistro Above: Fried egg rolls with sweet chili sauce at Aroy Thai Bistro in Palo Alto. Below: An array of dishes, including barbecued chicken and pad ped eggplant. by Dale F. Bentson photos by Veronica Weber

ike so many ethnic cuisines, the first Thai restaurants in America served dumbed-down versions of the cuisine — bland, sweet and largely without spice. That’s changed with America’s golden age of food, doubtlessly helped along by the over 200,000 Thais living in California, according to the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles. Thai cuisine is complex, a balance of sweet, sour, salt and spice, the spice coming from

the generous use of fiery chilies. Tom and Chutima Vongampai have operated Thai restaurants all over the South Bay and Midpeninsula for over 25 years. Opened in 2016, Aroy Thai Bistro on University Avenue in Palo Alto is their ninth, and according to Tom Vongampai, their signature restaurant. The Vongampais also own the nearby Thaiphoon. Aroy has high ceilings with exposed wood beams, wood tables and padded banquettes and a few seats around the backlit bar. The décor is contemporary with just enough Siamese wall decorations

Page 22 • November 17, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

to carry the theme. Aroy means “delicious” and the food certainly is. In the kitchen are two Laotian chefs who cooked in Thailand for a decade. They split duties between making curry dishes and wok frying. Food is cooked to order and diners wanting added heat need just ask. The heat meter is generally mild. An appetizing beginning were the fried pork egg rolls ($9, there’s also a veggie option). Eight searing, hot-from-the-fryer rolls were filled with tender pork and served with a sweet chili sauce that wasn’t too sugary.

Sweet and spicy wings ($11) were served with a homemade sweet-chili dipping sauce, tangy but not hot. The wings, dare I say it, were finger-licking good. The sauce was so tasty, I spooned it over the Sai Oua lemongrass sausages ($10), which were flecked with herbs, spices and lemongrass. The Thai basil roasted duck ($15) came sautéed with chilies, garlic, tender bamboo shoots, Thai basil and lots of brown rice. The dish was a little shy on duck but otherwise satisfying. Most entrees could be ordered with either sole, catfish, prawns, beef, chicken, pork, vegetables or tofu. I loved the brimming bowl of pad ped eggplant ($15) with mushrooms, bell pepper, coconut milk, red curry, sautéed eggplant, kaffir lime leaves and Thai basil. It was like a stew — comforting and aromatic, with deep flavors. The yellow curry with prawns ($16) was soupy but just as delicious, with great depth of flavor. The curry had been simmered in coconut milk with potatoes, tomato, carrot and onion. The clean-flavored mango and cashews ($12) featured tender chunks of sautéed chicken with fresh mango, cashews, bell peppers, onions, roasted peppers and crunchy water chestnuts. Pad Thai noodles with lamb ($14) came with a heaping plate of pan-fried rice noodles, chili powder, egg, green onions, bean sprouts and peanuts separated on the plate so I could add as much crunch as I wanted. Tricky to cook, the lamb was on the chewy

side. In fact, I liked the dish better without the lamb. The barbecued chicken ($13) had been marinated in a seasoned chili sauce with lemongrass and a hint of garlic. The chicken was cut into uneven pieces, which was visually interesting on the plate and even better in the mouth. Aroy serves five desserts. Vongampai said the sweet sticky rice with fresh mango ($7) is the most popular, but I opted for the fried banana with homemade coconut ice cream ($7). A worthwhile conclusion, it was a huge portion and not too sweet. For beverages, Aroy offers beer, wine and wine cocktails, soft drinks, teas and lemonade. Aroy offers enticing Thai fare, a step above what many of us are used to eating. This is no secret; the place is usually packed. Q Email Dale Bentson at dfbentson@gmail.com.

Aroy Thai Bistro, 320 University Ave., Palo Alto; 650-485-2636; aroypaloalto.com Hours: Lunch, Mon. - Fri.: 11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Sat. - Sun.: noon 3:30 p.m. Dinner, Sun. - Thurs.: 5-9:30 p.m.; Fri. -Sat.: 5 - 10 p.m.

Reservations Credit cards Takeout Children Outdoor seating

Happy Hour

Alcohol: Beer and wine Corkage: $15 Parking: Lot Noise level: Moderate Bathroom Cleanliness: Good

DC superhero team-up flies high but falls short 001/2 (Century 16 & 20) The thing about Momoa), Cyborg (Ray OPENINGS comic book cinematic Fisher) and eventually universes is that they train audi- the presumed-dead Superman ences to see the forest for the (Henry Cavill) — Warner Bros. the trees: “Trust us,” say the big- and DC Entertainment have enwigs, “It’s all a part of a bigger trusted Whedon to breathe life picture, so if this picture doesn’t into spare parts with his rewrites quite come into focus, just hang earning him a co-screenwriting in there.” But the best advice I can credit with original scribe Chris offer the legions of superhero fans Terrio (Oscar-winning screenheading into the hotly anticipated writer of Affleck’s “Argo”). DC superhero team-up movie Before delving any further, I “Justice League” is this: Enjoy give you the suspiciously familthe trees. iar plot: a power struggle over For the forest is a tad gnarly. three mightily powerful cubes Yes, “Justice League” does pay off some of the weirder threads from Zack Snyder’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” and it lays some groundwork for future DC movies (first and foremost, “Aquaman”). And yet, problems abound in this patchwork film, in which directorial credit goes to Snyder but was largely directed — in extensive “bless this mess” reshoots — by Joss Whedon (switching sides after directing two “Avengers” movies for Marvel). The schizophrenic results are about 60 percent Snyder, 40 percent Whedon, and their sensibilities aren’t a good fit. In getting the DC all-stars together — Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), the Flash (Ezra Miller), Aquaman (Jason

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

Justice lag

Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot in “Justice League.” (the “Mother Boxes”), protected finds him confirming for a couple by our heroes and coveted by god- of kids that the S-shaped emblem like alien Steppenwolf (voiced by on his chest means “hope.” Like Ciarán Hinds). This very, very hope, the “S” “winds like a river; fake-looking computer-generated it comes and goes.” And so comes longhorn commands an army of and goes “Justice League,” taking flying monkeys — sorry, Parade- our hope on a wild ride with it. mons — and makes the least- Danny Elfman’s throwback score compelling villain this new wave charges in to accompany a couple of DC films has yet offered up. of fine sequences that reintroduce (Stick around to the film’s very Batman and Wonder Woman. The end to get a glimpse of a couple latter feels especially well-timed, as the heroine we need now, our of more interesting threats.) In the film’s pre-credit sequence, feminist crusader, first fights “archival footage” of Superman injustice by deflecting a mass

shooting in the making. But once the film gets down to its relevant plotting, “Justice League” slows its breathless roll and starts trending toward the airless. With so many characters to serve (also including Jeremy Irons as Batman’s trusty valet Alfred, Amy Adams as reporter Lois Lane and Diane Lane as her almost mother-in-law Martha Kent), there’s never a dull moment in the film’s studio-mandated two-hour running time. Warner Bros.’ shift to Whedon also signals a studio mandate to chase Marvel’s success by lightening up. Whedon obligingly whips up some yuks — mostly from the Spidey-style wisecracking Flash, but golly if that ol’ Boy Scout Superman doesn’t make a funny or two. In all honesty, “Justice League” is a pretty darn dumb movie, but it’s nice to see a little optimism spill again onto what always used to be the sunnier side of the comic book street. Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action. Two hours, 1 minute. — Peter Canavese

Inspire the Future!

Help build the Palo Alto History Museum Become a Museum Friend today! PaloAltoHistoryMuseum.org www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • November 17, 2017 • Page 23

“There’s no place like home.”

MOVIES NOW SHOWING A Bad Mom’s Christmas (R) Century 16: Fri. - Sun. Century 20: Fri. - Sun. Blade Runner 2049 (R) +++1/2 Century 16: Fri. - Sun. Century 20: Sat. & Sun. Bolshoi Ballet: The Taming of the Shrew Encore (Not Rated) Century 20: Sunday

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Daddy’s Home 2 (PG-13) +1/2 Century 16: Fri. - Sun. Century 20: Fri. - Sun. The Florida Project (R)

Aquarius Theatre: Fri. - Sun.

Goodbye Christopher Robin (PG)

Palo Alto Square: Fri. & Sun.

Justice League (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 16: Fri. - Sun. Century 20: Fri. - Sun. Lady Bird (R)

Century 20: Fri. - Sun.

Last Flag Flying (R)

The Lego Ninjago Movie (PG) Loving Vincent (PG-13) Marshall (PG-13)

Guild Theatre: Fri. - Sun.

Palo Alto Square: Fri. - Sun. Century 20: Fri. - Sun.

Aquarius Theatre: Fri. - Sun.

Century 20: Fri. - Sun.

Murder on the Orient Express (PG-13) Century 16: Fri. - Sun. Century 20: Fri. - Sun. Rudy (1999) (PG) The Star (PG)

Century 20: Sunday

Century 16: Fri. - Sun.

Century 20: Fri. - Sun.

Thor: Ragnarok (PG-13) +++ Century 16: Fri. - Sun. Century 20: Fri. - Sun. Victoria and Abdul (PG-13) Wonder (PG)

Palo Alto Square: Fri. & Sun.

Century 16: Fri. - Sun.

Century 20: Fri. - Sun.

Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (For recorded listings: 327-3241) tinyurl.com/Aquariuspa Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View tinyurl.com/Century16 Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City tinyurl.com/Century20 CineArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (For information: 493-0128) tinyurl.com/Pasquare Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (For recorded listings: 566-8367) tinyurl.com/Guildmp Stanford Theatre: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (For recorded listings: 324-3700) Stanfordtheatre.org Find trailers, star ratings and reviews on the web at PaloAltoOnline.com/movies + Skip it ++ Some redeeming qualities +++ A good bet ++++ Outstanding

Home&Real Estate

OPEN HOME GUIDE 28 Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com

A weekly guide to home, garden and real estate news, edited by Elizabeth Lorenz

Home Front

THANKFUL TREES ... Hidden Villa Farm in Los Altos Hills is hosting a “thankful trees” event on Saturday, Nov. 25. From 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., residents can drop by and make a tree using natural materials to express what they are thankful for. This program is covered by the entrance fee or season pass and will take place at the picnic tables near the Education Garden. Thankful trees can be taken home. Hidden Villa Farm is located at 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills. For more information, go to hiddenvilla.org. GET THE WORM ... Lyngso Garden Materials is hosting a vermicomposting clinic led by Alane Weber, the “Worm Lady of San Mateo,” on Saturday, Dec. 2, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Participants will learn how to use worm castings and about the benefits of vermicomposting for their home and garden. Cost is $25. Lyngso is located at 345 Shoreway Road, San Carlos. 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 elorenz@paweekly. com. Deadline is one week before publication.