Palo Alto Weekly December 29, 2017

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 3

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Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

2017: Palo Alto’s pivotal year Big accomplishments, looming challenges mark the year at City Hall by Gennady Sheyner

R

oss Road residents know all too well that change, however well-intentioned, can be a jarring experience. In the fall, as the city kicked off its long-planned redesign of Ross and other busy streets in the Midtown area, residents woke up in a strange new world of roundabouts, traffic islands and speed humps. Some welcomed the changes, which are part of an $8.6 million bike-and-pedestrian project that the City Council approved in the summer. Many others found them confusing, hazardous and, above all, shocking. Like many of her neighbors, Alison Cormack said she was unaware that the “traffic calming” project involved narrowing the road and putting bicyclists in the same lanes as cars, shoulder to shoulder with oncoming traffic. “I have since learned it’s a great idea, but when a bulb-out shows up unannounced in front of your house, it doesn’t seem that way,” she said. The dramatic changes on Ross Road and the divergent reactions to them epitomized in many ways 2017 in Palo Alto, a year in which the council made giant strides on some of its most pressing priorities and began to pivot from plans to action — drawing mixed reactions for its efforts. The new network of bikefriendly routes in Midtown, which comprises about half of

the projects in the city’s 2012 bike master plan, is just one example of this pivot from the abstract to the tangible. The Palo Alto Transportation Management Authority, which the council formed in 2015 to help discourage driving solo, began to see promising results and increased investment from the city. New parking-permit programs sprung up in the Evergreen Park and Southgate neighborhoods to offer long-sought relief to residents from perpetually parked-up blocks. The city’s years long push to save Buena Vista Mobile Home Park from redevelopment concluded on a victorious note in May, when the El Camino Real mobile-home park was officially purchased by the Housing Authority of Santa Clara County. And after a prolonged period of stagnation on housing production, the council approved a development with 50 apartments at the former site of Mike’s Bikes, also on El Camino. Yet even in this year of action, the council’s most significant achievement in 2017 came on the planning front. In November, the council finally adopted an updated Comprehensive Plan, a landuse vision document that was more than a decade in the making and that sets the stage for future zoning revisions and development decisions. But getting there wasn’t a smooth ride. Just weeks after the

swearing in of two new council members — former planning commissioners Adrian Fine and Greg Tanaka — and one incumbent, Liz Kniss, the newly established pro-development majority stripped all policies out of the Comprehensive Plan that would have spelled out how the city would implement the vision. The decision was ultimately reversed after a community backlash, but it was only one of a series of tense 5-4 votes over issues ranging from a downtown cap for commercial construction to “community indicators” that would track impacts of new projects. But in the end, a year that began with vitriolic accusations flying between the council’s two factions concluded with hard-fought consensus and a Champagne toast in the Council Chambers in November, when the council finally approved the plan. For some Palo Altans, the changes are too big and coming too soon and too fast. In January, the council discussed a citizen survey indicating growing angst about traffic congestion, housing costs and the city’s overall “quality of life.” These themes would emerge throughout the year during public hearings on everything from “grade separation” on the rail tracks (an expensive project that aims to, among other things, address increased traffic at grade crossings) to Stanford University’s application to build more than 2

million square feet of academic space and 3,000 housing units by 2035. Palo Alto’s traffic problems, critics say, will not be solved by new developments and city-designed “road diets.” Many remain unconvinced by the council’s new reliance on “transportation demand management” strategies — which incentivize commuters to switch from cars to other modes — to really curb traffic. For them, projects that offer less parking that is normally required — such as the “car-light” 60-apartment development proposed for the busy corner of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road — will not actually result in fewer drivers; they will just lead more people to park their cars in other areas. Similarly, some decried the city’s September decision to loosen its cap on office development — which now no longer includes a “beauty contest” and which now allows developers to carry over “unused” square footage to future years — and opposed the city’s moves to encourage more accessory-dwelling (or “granny”) units and to promote market-rate residential development (belowmarket-rate housing, by contrast, remains relatively popular). But it was the housing advocates who had the most to celebrate in (continued on page 11)

Veronica Weber

A bicyclist rides down Loma Verde Avenue past the newly constructed concrete islands at the intersection of Ross Road, where the city narrowed the street as part of an effort to calm traffic.

The year in words As we took a look back at 2017, several words jumped out in our coverage that sum up the year in Palo Alto. We’ve scattered them — along with their particular “Palo Alto” definitions — throughout this week’s publication. BEAUTY CONTEST | byüWď ?NκQ WHVW _ n. 1. Palo Alto's short-lived idea WR WUHDW SURSRVHG RIÀFH developments like "Star Search" contestants. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN \ NlP SUL ·KHQ W VLY SODQ? _ n. 3DOR $OWR·V RIÀFLDO land-use bible. 2. A book that everyone cites but no one reads. CAR LIGHT NlU OĦW _ adj. 1. Housing built with expectation that residents won't own cars. Ever. 2. Strategy to bypass the need to include parking and a rebuttle to allegations that development will increase WUDIÀF PENSION _ ?SHQ6+κQ? _ Q ,QVDQH ÀQDQFLDO OLDELOLW\ that keeps Palo Alto leaders up at night —estimated this year to be upwards of $1 billion owed to current and former city retirees that the city has no way to pay right now.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 5

Upfront 450 Cambridge Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210

YEAR IN REVIEW: VIOLATIONS

PUBLISHER William S. Johnson (223-6505)

Code enforcement crackdowns, other showdowns

EDITORIAL Editor Jocelyn Dong (223-6514)

by Gennady Sheyner

Associate Editor Linda Taaffe (223-6511) Sports Editor Rick Eymer (223-6516)

S

ome rules are made to be broken — at least according to those who break them. For those who enforce them — whether they be Palo Alto’s code-enforcement officers or investigators from the California

2. CHURCH VS. STATE — Not all code-enforcement crackdowns proved equally popular. In August, a group of residents that included legendary San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young, criticized

in Palo Alto, where developers clashed with watchdogs over fine print and where three council members struggled to comply with campaign laws. Here are five violations that made the headlines in 2017.

the city’s decision to go after businesses and nonprofit groups that rented space at First Baptist Church in the Old Palo Alto neighborhood in violation of the property's residential zoning. The first victim of the city’s enforcement was the New Mozart School of Music, which was given an eviction notice, prompting its owners to find a new location. Later, as the city prepared to go after other tenants — including clinicians and mental health service providers — officials decided to tap the brakes and look for ways to accommodate the tenants while addressing the concerns of the church’s neighbors about traffic and noise. 3. DARK MONEY — Palo Alto lawmakers rarely find themselves under investigation for breaking the law, but this year was an exception, with three council members facing probes from the Fair Political Practices Commission. The complaints against Adrian Fine (who failed to include an ID number on a mailer) and Greg Tanaka (who did not disclose the occupations of several developers who contributed to his campaign) were resolved fairly quickly, with Fine getting a warning and Tanaka paying a $733 fine. The probe against Vice Mayor Liz Kniss, who allegedly failed to report most of

Arts & Entertainment Editor Karla Kane (223-6517) Home & Real Estate Editor Elizabeth Lorenz (223-6534) Assistant Sports Editor Glenn Reeves (223-6521) Spectrum Editor Renee Batti (223-6528) Express & Digital Editor Jamey Padojino (223-6524) Staff Writers Sue Dremann (223-6518), Elena Kadvany (223-6519), Gennady Sheyner (223-6513) Staff Photographer/Videographer Veronica Weber (223-6520) Editorial Intern Fiona Kelliher Contributors Chrissi Angeles, Dale F. Bentson, Mike Berry, Carol Blitzer, Peter Canavese, Yoshi Kato, Chris Kenrick, Jack McKinnon, Alissa Merksamer, Sheryl Nonnenberg, Kaila Prins, Ruth Schechter, Jeanie K. Smith, Jay Thorwaldson ADVERTISING Vice President Sales & Marketing Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Multimedia Advertising Sales Adam Carter (223-6573), Elaine Clark (223-6572), Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571), V.K. Moudgalya (223-6586), Caitlin Wolf (223-6508) Veronica Weber

1. RV CRACKDOWN — The law is simple: You are not allowed to park in the same spot for more than 72 consecutive hours. For people who lived in vans and RVs along El Camino Real, north of Stanford Avenue, Palo Alto's decision to start enforcing the law this year created a complex dilemma. Some RV residents had been priced out of the region’s housing market; others chose it as a lifestyle. But after receiving complaints from nearby neighbors, police began issuing parking warnings and citations. Some RV residents moved to other towns, including East Palo Alto, where officials said they want a solution to help their own residents who live in RVs, and they don’t want to absorb RVs from other communities. Others, who didn’t heed the warnings, learned in the fall that the city meant business when police began to tow the vehicles — an action that for many epitomized the growing challenge of living in Palo Alto for anyone with limited means.

Fair Political Practices Commission — rules are necessary to promote political transparency, prevent traffic calamities, protect neighborhoods and protect retail. In 2017, code enforcers found plenty to do

Lead Code Enforcement Officer James Stephens takes a photo of illegal dumping outside a multi-unit housing complex during a city crackdown on code violations. her contributions from developers until well after the November 2016 election, appears to be a more complicated affair. It began in March and remains ongoing as the year comes to a close. 4. ON EDGEWOOD — The legal tussle between the city of Palo Alto and developer Sand Hill property company went back and forth this year, with an administrative judge siding with the city in April and a Superior Court judge favoring the developer in December. The big

question that they sparred over was whether the city can legally continue to fine Sand Hill for its failure to continuously operate a grocery store at the recently redeveloped Edgewood Plaza. That was just one of a series of Palo Alto conflicts that revolved around zoning-code definitions. Earlier in the year, residents were upset to see retailzoned sites being converted to

(continued on page 16)

Real Estate Advertising Sales Neal Fine (223-6583), Rosemary Lewkowitz (223-6585) Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan (223-6578) ADVERTISING SERVICES Advertising Services Lead Blanca Yoc (223-6596) Sales & Production Coordinators Diane Martin (223-6584), Toni Villa (223-6582) DESIGN Design & Production Manager Kristin Brown (223-6562) Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Paul Llewellyn Designers Rosanna Kuruppu, Talia Nakhjiri, Doug Young EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Online Operations Coordinator Kevin Legarda (223-6597) BUSINESS Payroll & Benefits Zach Allen (223-6544) Business Associates Cherie Chen (223-6543), Suzanne Ogawa (223-6541) ADMINISTRATION Courier Ruben Espinoza EMBARCADERO MEDIA

YEAR IN REVIEW: CRIME

Odds and ends A look back at the year’s weirdest crime (and abandoned reptile) stories

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rom a brawl over an eaten doughnut to the woman who decided to join her dog in biting a would-be robber, Palo Alto had its fair share of odd, head-shaking stories that made the headlines in 2017. With the year coming to an end, here’s a look back at some of them:

DOUGHNUT SCUFFLE — Two men got into an argument with 7-Eleven clerks on Feb. 15 after they refused to pay for a doughnut they removed and ate from the pastry case. After the clerks tried to prevent the men from leaving the store, one of them smashed the glass entrance door, and the other punched a clerk in the face. The men were arrested for strong-arm robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime. CRIME-FIGHTING WOMAN, DOG —A man got more than he bargained for on Feb. 19 after he grabbed a woman around the neck and threw her to the ground in an attempt to steal a cellphone out of her pocket while she walked her small dog in Pardee Park. The woman and her dog fought back: She bit down on the man’s hand,

and the dog began biting his legs. ADOPT A SNAKE — A Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus in Palo Alto had to make an emergency stop and clear passengers near Town & Country Village after a 1- to 2-foot-long young ball python was found curled up on one of the seats on Sep. 27. The slithery creature was removed from the bus by a Palo Alto Animal Services animal control officer and put up for adoption a month later. MUSIC VIDEO FELONY — A 27-year-old East Palo Alto man found himself facing a third-strike felony conviction in October after police spotted him singing, dancing and pointing firearms at the camera during a rap music video posted on YouTube. When he asked why he

Page 6 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

was facing a three-strike case “for singing on a video,” the prosecutor said, “(His) singing isn’t that bad ... (it’s) what he had in his hand.” —a firearm, which is a parole violation. STOP FOR GAS, LOSE YOUR CAR — In a brazen carjacking, a man stole a pickup truck at a Palo Alto gas station near Edgewood Plaza Shopping Center on July 9 as the owner was pumping gas. Police discovered a gas nozzle and hose about a mile down the road that ripped out of the pump as he drove away. CARBURETOR ATTACK — A Palo Alto man upset that he had been given the wrong car part was arrested on Feb. 12 after a dustup at an O’Reilly Auto Parts in Mountain View, where he allegedly attacked another customer with a carburetor cover and attempted to punch an employee before leaving the store and striking a car on the way out. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, hit and run, and resisting arrest. RENT-CONTROL VANDALISM — The landlord of an East Palo Alto apartment building pleaded no contest to felony vandalism on Feb. 8 for damaging his tenants’ cars in

President William S. Johnson (223-6505) Vice President Michael I. Naar (223-6540)

an attempt to force them to move from their rent-controlled units so he could collect higher rent from new tenants. CAUGHT IN THE ACT — A man who exposed himself to a woman in Palo Alto’s Evergreen Park neighborhood on Feb. 27 didn’t flee quickly enough to prevent her from taking a photo of him fondling himself with his pants down to his thighs. COFFEE FOR A COP — A Menlo Park man allegedly threw a cup of hot coffee on a Palo Alto traffic enforcement officer after being issued a citation on the 600 block of Alma Street on Sept. 25. The officer, who was not injured, then cited the man for battery on a peace officer. A BRAZEN ESCAPE — In an elaborate scheme, two handcuffed and shackled inmates evaded a deputy in the halls of the Palo Alto courthouse and escaped in an awaiting getaway car that drove them to a U-Haul near Oregon Expressway that they used to flee the area on Nov. 6. Both were captured separately three weeks later.

—Palo Alto Weekly staff reports

Vice President & CFO Peter Beller (223-6545) Vice President Sales & Marketing Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Frank A. Bravo (223-6551) Marketing & Creative Director Shannon Corey (223-6560) Major Accounts Sales Manager Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571) Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Tatjana Pitts (223-6557) Circulation Assistant Alicia Santillan Computer System Associates Ryan Dowd, Chris Planessi The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 326-8210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered free to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 326-8210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. ©2016 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com Our email addresses are: editor@paweekly.com, letters@paweekly.com, digitalads@paweekly.com, ads@paweekly.com Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 223-6557, or email circulation@paweekly.com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr.

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Upfront <($5 ,1 5(9,(: ('8&$7,21

A turbulent year School district looks to restore morale, move needle on critical issues in 2018 by Elena Kadvany

served as Title IX coordinator), special-education director (Chiara Perry), equity coordinator (Martha Castellon) and student services officer (Brenda Carrillo) all left in 2017. At the schools, Gunn High Principal Denise Herrmann left for a job in another district, Ohlone Elementary Principal Nicki Smith retired, Jordan Middle principal Katie Kinnaman resigned, and Terman Middle Principal Pier Angeli La Place requested reassignment within the district. New hires are filling some of the district’s most critical and scrutinized positions: Karen Hendricks, who was brought on as the new human-resources head in July, was quickly named interim superintendent; Lana Conaway, the district’s new assistant superintendent of strategic initiatives and operations, also oversees special education, an area in which parents have pushed to reform for years; and Keith Wheeler, the district’s new equity coordinator, is expected to help the district make long-overdue progress on closing its achievement gap.

High turnover

Title IX scrutiny

McGee’s position wasn’t the only one to become vacant this year; in fact, it followed a wave of turnover, with mid-year departures and end-of-year retirements by key staff. At the district level, the assistant superintendent for human resources (Scott Bowers), associate superintendent (Markus Autrey), chief student services officer (Holly Wade, who also

A key, new position also was filled this year: full-time Title IX coordinator, whose sole responsibility is to oversee civil-rights compliance across the district. In October, the district hired Megan Farrell, a consultant with experience in law, higher education and federal anti-discrimination law Title IX. Her hiring reflects the district’s

T

Veronica Weber

his year was a tumultuous one for the Palo Alto Unified School District. In June, then-superintendent Max McGee announced he would retire in one year, but within months resigned under mounting pressure from the Board of Education and community members, leaving the school board to appoint a district newcomer as interim superintendent. An alleged on-campus sexual assault roiled the community in May, leading to personnel changes and a stinging report on the district’s continued failure to adhere to federal and state laws as well as its own policies. And an avoidable budget error came with not only a big financial cost — $6 million in unbudgeted pay raises — but also a relational cost with the district’s employee unions. As the district enters 2018, it’s still in transition, working to move the needle on critical issues and restore morale while the school board focuses on what trustees say is their single most important job: hiring a new superintendent.

VDZ ILUVW WKH UHWLUHPHQW WKHQ UHVLJQDWLRQ RI 6XSHULQWHQGHQW 0D[ 0F*HH SLFWXUHG DERYH ZLWK WKH VFKRRO ERDUG DQG VWXGHQW UHSUHVHQWDWLYHV efforts to right years of compliance lapses, particularly with federal law Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment and violence, at schools. Title IX arguably became a household term in the school community this year. News reports in May that a male Palo Alto High School junior accused of an on-campus sexual assault — and previously convicted in juvenile court for a separate, off-campus sexual assault — had remained on campus for months, sparked intense indignation and concern among students and parents. They poured into school board meetings to question district staff and demand the resignations of McGee and Paly administrators who had been involved in the case. The case was compounded by the fact that the district had been under federal investigation for its handling of sexual violence

Board members weigh in on school issues that saw the most, least progress in 2017 The Weekly asked each member of the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education which issues the district made the most progress on in 2017 and which they were disappointed to see there wasn’t more progress made. Responses were edited for length. Read their full answers at PaloAltoOnline.com. Issues that made the most significant progress

Issues that had the most disappointing progress

Melissa Baten Caswell

New curricular programs, recognition about the importance of educational equity

Support of under-served populations; attention to detail in operational implementations, particularly in the areas of student safety and welfare

Todd Collins

Changing the culture and practices on dealing with sexual harassment and assault

Becoming better managers, including using data to drive goals and processes

Transparency and accountability, including investigation and discussion of sexual misconduct

Reducing excessive homework loads and test and project stacking to avoid work pileups for secondary students

Ken Dauber

Jennifer DiBrienza

District compliance with state and fed- Investment in broader student health and success; eral law, including for discrimination building safeguards against mindless march tocomplaints, special education and pub- ward “doing school� lic records requests

Terry Godfrey

Confronting shortcomings in respond- Supporting students who receive special educaing to sexual misconduct and resolving tion services to change culture and practices

for several years. The month before the Paly case was reported publicly, the school board signed a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, agreeing to a series of corrective actions for the district’s past Title IX violations — violations that reappeared in the Paly case. The community’s uproar has resulted in a heightened focus on accountability, much like what is happening at the national level in response to high-profile cases of sexual misconduct. A new online system is tracking an unprecedented number of reports of potential discrimination, and a superintendent’s task force, formed this fall, is working to effect change through education, compliance and prevention programs. “We acknowledge we are in a new era,� Trustee Terry Godfrey said during a Dec. 14 board Policy Review Committee discussion of the district’s complaint procedures.

Contract ‘misunderstanding’ Another issue that will carry over into 2018 is the contractual error made by district staff last spring that resulted in unbudgeted pay raises. As the Weekly first reported in September, senior leadership failed to formally notify teachers and employee unions that the district planned to exercise its option to reopen negotiations, as required by the contracts, with the intent of canceling a 3 percent raise this year. While McGee and the unions sought to downplay the issue by describing it as a “misunderstanding� due to “confusion� over the terms of the union contracts, board members saw it as a serious, “self-inflicted� management failure. The mistake cost the district — which was already in conservation mode after staff underestimated property-tax projections last summer — $4.4 million. The

unions have since agreed to reopen negotiations over a pending 1 percent bonus that could cost the district an additional $1.5 million if not canceled. (Under the contract, if the actual property tax received for the 2017-18 school year is greater than budgeted for by 1.5 percent or more, a 1 percent automatic bonus will be increased to 2 percent.) The district is projecting a $3.5 million budget deficit this year.

Progress made While the district faced its share of struggles, it also resolved several hot-button issues. After months of community input, the district agreed to rename Jordan and Terman middle schools due to their namesakes’ promotion of (continued on page 16)

MISUNDERSTANDING \ PLVĎ‘QGĎ‘U VWDQGL1* ? Q 1. A failure to understand something correctly. 2. The term Palo Alto school district leadership used to describe their failure to adhere to a contractual deadline to reopen salary negotiations with employee unions, an error that cost the district $4.4 million in unbudgeted raises, plus another potential $1.5 million for bonuses. TITLE IX ? WÄŚ WĎ” O HNV ? Q 1. Federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment and assault, in schools and colleges. 2. Government jargon that became a household term in Palo Alto following reports of sexual violence at Palo Alto High School this spring.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 7

Upfront

Public Agenda

YEAR IN REVIEW: COMMUNITY

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

CityView A round-up

of Palo Alto government action this week

City Council

The council did not meet this week.

Online This Week

Michelle Le

Tony Montooth, owner of Antonio’s Nut House, pours his personal margarita mix at the bar. The future of the longtime California Avenue dive bar has been in limbo since Montooth’s death in May.

What happened to...? Updates on a megahouse, a murder case, Palo Alto’s last dive bar and more by Sue Dremann

N

ews cycles come and go, briefly bringing issues and disputes to the public’s attention. Some situations are later resolved out of the limelight, while others remain or evolve. Before 2017 concludes, we wanted to give our readers closure on at least some of the news that grabbed our attention this year. Harassed by bounty hunters As fears and rumors spread like wildfire in March about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents looking for undocumented immigrants in East Palo Alto, a family of U.S. citizens who are Latino were awakened by bangs on their door. Laura Saldana and Juan Pinto, their children and parents were confronted by bounty hunters searching for a distant relative of Pinto’s who had skipped bail at an immigration hearing in the early morning hours. The family believed the men were working with ICE agents, and Pinto captured the first encounter on video. The family did not know the relative’s whereabouts and said so, but the men harassed them repeatedly, demanding to see their documents and questioning them about their immigration status. By the third time the men came to the house, East Palo Alto police got involved and told the bounty hunters they would be arrested if they bothered the family again. Pinto said all has been quiet since the police intervened. Big house, big complaints Plans for an 11-bedroom, 14bath home that would replace a one-story home at 1710 Newell Road faced stiff opposition from neighbors earlier this year. Neighbors feared the home

would become an Airbnb hotel, a “hacker hostel,” a conference center or an assisted-living facility, bringing traffic, parking and noise to the quiet neighborhood of single-family homes off of Embarcadero Road. Property owner Fr. Bishoy William, a former surgeon and priest at Archangel Michael & Saint Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church in Redwood City, asserted that only his family and visiting relatives would use the large home. But neighbors were unpersuaded. When he submitted modified plans in February reducing the number of bedrooms to six and bathrooms to eight full- and four half-baths, about 50 residents sent a petition to city planners objecting to the megahome. According to the Palo Alto planning department, the application for the megahome was withdrawn on April 26. No other plans for the residence have since been submitted. Evictions from a church Responding to neighborhood complaints regarding traffic and parking at First Baptist Church of Palo Alto, the city of Palo Alto earlier this year planned to evict multiple nonprofits and businesses that were leasing space as inappropriate uses for the property, in violation of city zoning. In mid-November, the city received an application from First Baptist for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) that would, if approved, allow some of the tenants to continue their leases as part of a “community center,” city Chief Communications Officer Claudia Keith stated in an email. The city is in the process of getting input from the church,

Page 8 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

neighbors and church tenants about the application, which will be used when the city makes a tentative decision on the application. The petition is subject to public review. “We are also granting extensions to some of the tenants, allowing them to stay while the CUP process is completed. All extensions are subject to conditions designed to minimize impacts on surrounding residents, and we appreciate the patience of all involved as we work to address this issue. We are also working on putting together a web page to provide updated information as it becomes available,” Keith said. A pet clinic closure? The doors of the city’s popular 44-year-old spay and neuter clinic remain shuttered. The city abruptly announced a temporary closure in late October, saying at the time the closure was due to a staffing shortage as the shelter goes through an operations transition to Redwood City-based Pets in Need. Meanwhile, the city is referring pet-owners needing the surgical services to other organizations. The city has said it plans to return to full operations after the transition is completed. “Negotiations with Pets in Need to operate the Animal Shelter is proceeding; city staff hope to have a contract before the City Council in the first quarter of the 2018,” city spokeswoman Claudia Keith said in an email. The future of the Nut House The May death of Tony Montooth, the owner of Palo Alto’s last dive bar, left many patrons wondering what might happen to beloved watering hole Antonio's Nut House.

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

Moving truck causes gas leak A truck broke a utility box and damaged a gas line at Everett Avenue and Kipling Street, affecting service for eight residences and causing police to block off traffic in the area. (Posted Dec. 28, 1:27 p.m.)

City looks at drones for blood deliveries Blood-carrying drones may soon make their debut in Palo Alto skies under a program that city and Stanford University officials are hoping to launch in 2018. (Posted Dec. 28, 8:26 a.m.)

Cambridge development meets opposition Local businesses owners and residents worried about changing the nature of the California Avenue Business District spoke out against a new three-story retail-office development proposed for 380-410 Cambridge Ave. during the Dec. 21 meeting of the Architectural Review Board. (Posted Dec. 27, 2:06 p.m.)

Alleged gang member arraigned for shooting An East Palo Alto man faces felony charges that could put him behind bars for decades after he allegedly shot into an occupied car, but missed striking the driver, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said. (Posted Dec. 28, 9:47 a.m.)

Man pleads ‘no contest’ to robbery spree A 25-year-old Oakland man charged in nine robberies committed in a single day, including one each in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, pleaded no contest on Friday. (Posted Dec. 27, 9:53 a.m.)

City settles discrimination complaint Without admitting any wrongdoing, the city has agreed to a $47,495 settlement with Sarah Syed, a former transportation planner who alleged that she was the victim of sex discrimination and retaliation for whistleblowing. (Posted Dec. 26, 11:14 a.m.)

Since then, the California Avenue bar has continued to serve its customers in its usual style. But there are some changes, longtime bartender Kelley Gorman said. Citing a conditional-use permit issued to Montooth in 2004, the city began making Antonio’s keep alcoholic beverages inside the building only. Antonio’s house s a taqueria that has tables outside, but Gorman said the city is enforcing the alcohol rule even when people are eating outside. Montooth’s son Jess was planning on taking over the operations, but he has now left. The bar is currently being operated by Montooth’s widow, Aloha, and managed by Gorman. Gorman said they hope to freshen up the bar with new flooring and perhaps some paint, but otherwise the bar will remain true to its dive-bar roots.

As for its long-term future, that’s still in the hands of lawyers working on Montooth’s estate, she said. A murder in Greenmeadow The sister-in-law charged in a Palo Alto woman’s grisly homicide is still in Santa Clara County jail with her case grinding through the judicial process. Jingyan Jin, 42, pleaded not guilty in May to a murder charge in the death of Jenny Shi, whose stabbed body was found in her Greenmeadow neighborhood home on July 7, 2016. Jin has been scheduled multiple times for a preliminary examination, which would present evidence to determine if she should stand trial. But the hearing has been postponed in part because her (continued on page 10)

Juliana Lee Education Foundation OUR MISSION

The Juliana Lee Education Foundation was created to support local schools and believes education has the power to expand opportunities and transform lives. We hope to inspire others to get involved and support our communities.

Since 2013, the Foundation has provided grants to the following programs / projects • • • • • • • • •

Barron Elementary School EPAK (East Palo Alto Kids Foundation) Gunn Foundation Gunn High School Hoover Elementary School Hoover Elementry School PTA JLS Middle School New Hope Chinese Cancer Care Foundation Ohlone Elementry School PTA

• • • • • • • • •

Palo Alto Art Center Foundation Palo Alto Chinese School Palo Alto High School PTA Palo Alto Partners in Education (PIE) Palo Verde Elementary School PALY Rotary Club Terman Middle School PTA Tzu Chi Foundation

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP AND MAKE A DONATION Please make checks payable to: Juliana Lee Foundation Send to: Juliana Lee Foundation - 505 Hamilton Ave, Ste 100, Palo Alto, CA 94301 For more information please email: JulianaLeeFoundation@gmail.com

TOGETHER, WE PROSPER.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 9

Upfront YEAR IN REVIEW: CITY master plan acknowledged pickleball as the next big thing and pledged to find new pickleball courts. In November the council passed a special City Council resolution in honor of pickleball. More importantly for fans of the sport, the city is now preparing to convert tennis courts at Mitchell Park for pickleball use, thus cementing the sport’s new dominance in the local field of recreation.

Wild cards of the year

W

hile Palo Alto’s housing and traffic challenges dominated City Hall chatter in 2017, Palo Alto’s elected leaders still found time to deal with a range of cool-button issues. Inspired by community activists and emerging trends, here are five of the most surprising efforts that the city undertook this year:

Happening (continued from page 8)

case is complex. Some of the witnesses are in China, her defense attorney said. Jin is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 20 in Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose.

3. HIGH TIMES — In theory, Palo Alto’s elected leaders support legalized marijuana and hate the failed “war on drugs.” But bring up the idea of local pot shops, and things get fuzzy real fast. This year, the City Council wrestled yet again with the question of whether to ban pot dispensaries, which would otherwise become legal in January. While voters overwhelmingly supported

2. EXTRA PICKLES — A new craze swept through Palo Alto’s parks and playgrounds this year: pickleball. Championed by a growing contingent of local seniors, the paddle-and-ball sport saw its City Hall clout grow exponentially this year. Palo Alto’s new parks

Leadership Academy, a collaboration between San Diego public charter school High Tech High, renowned for its innovative practices, and the California Department of Education. The academy brings together educators to create project-based learning programs with the support of a High Tech High teacher-mentor. This year, the program is focused on including diverse students, including through special education, career technical education and traditionally “academic” education, the academy website states. The Learning Design Team will meet in mid-January to discuss progress and next steps, Hendricks said. New school names In the final weeks of 2017, the district announced next steps in its plan to rename David Starr Jordan and Terman middle schools due to their namesakes’ leadership in the Eugenics movement in the early 20th century. A new advisory committee convened this year has taken up the work of recommending new names to the school board and is seeking ideas from the public. This group follows the initial renaming committee, whose work

Veronica Weber.

Designing new ways to learn Following a 2016 kerfuffle over a stealthily proposed, innovative new secondary school in Palo Alto that was to be explored using private grant money, former superintendent Max McGee convened a group of teachers to find other ways to nurture innovation, particularly in the high schools. Dubbed the “Learning Design Team, the teachers were asked to develop “authentically engaging, inquiry-driven educational experiences, programs and classes.” (Earlier this year, the teachers presented to the school board an early proposal for a “schoolwithin-a-school” pilot program at Palo Alto High School.) Interim Superintendent Karen Hendricks wrote in an email that the team was recently accepted into the Project-Based Learning

(with various exceptions for traffic signals, medical conditions, etc.). In December, staff acknowledged that the new law is unlikely to get enforced, although a council committee recommended passing it anyway. The recommendation will go to the full council in early 2018.

On July 8, members of the Palo Alto Police Department were called out to investigate a homicide at a residence on the 300 block of Creekside Drive, where 42-year-old Jingyan Jin was suspected of murdering her sister-in-law. Jin is still awaiting a preliminary hearing.

Page 10 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

4. iDELIVER — Don’t be surprised if you now find yourself sharing sidewalk space with a robot or two. Palo Alto has received several inquiries this year from autonomous-robot operators who want to bring their technology to local streets. In October, the City Council approved a pilot program with a set of rules that these vendors will need to agree to. These include a speed limit of 3.5 feet per second (or 2.4 mph) and

a requirement that these robots be monitored at all times by their human overlords. The pilot program will expire at the end of 2018. 5. THE TESLA OF TRASH — Nothing screams “This is so Palo Alto!” like an all-electric garbage truck. The colossal vehicle made its debut this fall and, if things go well, may soon become a staple of the city’s trash-truck fleet. In late November, the city unveiled the new truck, manufactured by the company BYD, and began running its first routes on local streets. Though it’s considerably more expensive than the dieselfueled truck ($400,000 versus about $300,000), officials expect the vehicle to save the city about 6,000 gallons of diesel per year and cut emissions by 72 metric tons annually. Q

— Gennady Sheyner

Veronica Weber

1. IDLING — If idle hands are the devil’s playground, idle cars are the polluter’s. So decreed the Palo Alto City Council, which this year began a crackdown on idling vehicles to its workload. The issue was proposed by Sierra Club activists, whose anti-idling comments spurred an anti-idling memo from Vice Mayor Liz Kniss and council members Tom DuBois, Eric Filseth and Karen Holman. In August, the council agreed to clamp down on idling, prompting staff to draft an ordinance banning people from running their cars in place for more than three minutes

Proposition 64 in November 2016, paving the way for legal pot, council members agreed that they don’t want legalized pot on their streets. To that end, they adopted a permanent ban on pot shops (replacing the temporary one that preceded it) and agreed that Palo Alto would be better off letting cities like Mountain View and Santa Clara take the initiative on this “green” issue.

Laura Saldana and Juan Pinto stand outside their home in East Palo Alto, which they share with their four children and Juan’s parents. They said bounty hunters harassed them in March, making two late-night visits and demanding to know their immigration status. — a monthslong, controversial process — resulted in the school board’s decision to rename the two schools. The new committee is made up of staff, parents and community members, including former Palo Alto Mayor Leland Levy and retired judge LaDoris Cordell. The group has met four times since October and has at least three meetings scheduled for January. The public can submit name ideas at tinyurl.com/y8ybd2w4. Hard-copy forms are available at Palo Alto public libraries and at all Palo Alto schools. The deadline is Jan. 22, 2018. The committee is set to submit a list of recommended names at the board’s first meeting in March. Spying on students? Privacy and security issues came to the fore in early 2017 after a new filtering and monitoring software program, Securly, was installed on take-home laptop computers at Gunn and Palo Alto high schools and Jordan Middle School.

Securly offers web filtering for K-12 school districts. An optional “parent portal” allows parents to customize what their children can view and to monitor their children’s web use. Parents can also opt to receive weekly email reports on their children’s activity. While those features pleased some parents, high schoolers voiced concern about the software’s implications for their privacy. Members of Gunn’s student government formed a task force to learn more about Securly. Advait Arun, Gunn’s student school board representative, met with district Chief Technology Officer Derek Moore to discuss their concerns and how the software and the district’s Chromebook policy work. While “we got a lot of answers,” Arun said students are “still not completely satisfied.” He said he has heard from some students that some websites, including question-and-answer site Quora, are blocked on their Securly-enabled devices. “Students definitely still feel

ambivalent about Securly and its use,” Arun said. At long last, Cubberley Plans for a new vision for Cubberley Community Center inched along in 2017, as they have in prior years. The City Council voted 7-1 in September for city staff to issue a request for proposals for consultants to help the city and the Palo Alto Unified School District develop a master plan for the aging former high school. The school board discussed the request for proposals at a meeting in September, but deferred action until a future meeting. The school district owns the lion’s share of the property — 27 acres — while the city owns eight acres. In 2014, the city and the district agreed to modify and extend the lease for five more years, with the understanding that the two sides would use this time to come up with a new plan for the jointly owned facility. Q Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.

Upfront

Pivot

AFFORDABLE HOUSING ?κ IʩU Gκ EκO KDXų ]Lΰ? _ n. 1. below-market-rate housing. 2. An oxymoron.

2017, a year that repeatedly reminded us that local elections have serious consequences. With Fine, Tanaka and Kniss winning seats (along with residentialist Lydia Kou), the council’s prodevelopment camp won a 5-4 majority. In early March, the council decided to relax regulations for construction of accessory-dwelling units, a move that Fine said will leave “the choice of growth up to each resident in Palo Alto.” As the year wound down, the council’s focus on housing sharpened, reflecting both its political makeup and the severe nature of the regional housing crisis. In November, just after the council signed off on the new Comprehensive Plan, it set its differences aside to unanimously support an ambitious memo from Fine, Wolbach and Kniss that calls on the city to consider a host of zoning revisions to encourage housing — changes that could impact everything from parking rules to building heights. “We’ve heard loud and clear from the community that housing is a top priority,” Fine told his colleagues at the Nov. 6 meeting, in explaining his memo. “These proposals are focused on creating more BMR and market rate housing in the least impactful area.” While traffic and housing

Rendering courtesy Steinberg Architects.

(continued from page 5)

7KLV UHQGHULQJ VKRZV WKH WZR EXLOGLQJ GHYHORSPHQW IHDWXULQJ DSDUWPHQWV DQG UHWDLO VSDFH WKDW UHFHLYHG WKH JR DKHDG WR UHSODFH WKH 0LNH·V %LNHV VKRS RQ (O &DPLQR 5HDO ³ WKH ODWHVW VLJQ RI FKDQJH LQ WKH 9HQWXUD QHLJKERUKRRG remained hot-button issues throughout the year, council members marched largely in lockstep on other critical decisions that will change Palo Alto for decades to come. They advanced plans for new garages in downtown and near California Avenue; a new publicsafety building on Sherman Avenue and a bike bridge over U.S. Highway 101 — projects that have been mulled about for years and that are now creeping closer to construction. They embraced in August a proposed partnership with Pets In Need to build a state-of-the-art animal-services facility. They united in September behind a new master plan for the local park system, which proposes (among many other projects or facilities) new dog parks, more park restrooms and pickleball courts. And in December,

they unanimously approved a longawaited reconstruction and expansion of the beloved Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo, which is set to be completed in 2019 and re-opened to the public the following year. “There are few moments in life where you can sit back and say, ‘This is great, the community is moving forward and we should be proud of our community,’” Mayor Greg Scharff said during the Dec. 4 meeting, just before the vote on the zoo expansion. “This is one of them.” Yet for all the jubilation, the year had its share of foibles, slipups and challenges, some of which will extend to 2018 and beyond. Three council members — Kniss, Fine and Tanaka — faced investigations this year from the Fair Political Practices Commission.

While Fine and Tanaka got off with a warning and a small penalty, respectively, the Kniss probe has been ongoing since March. As of late December, state investigators were still looking at alleged improprieties in her reporting of developers’ contributions to her 2016 campaign. This means she will likely remain under the cloud of the FPPC investigation in early 2018, when the council is set to choose its next mayor (as vice mayor, she is the odds-on favorite). More significantly for the average resident, the city continues to face fiscal challenges, with pension obligations ballooning to nearly $1 billion, according to one councilman’s estimates, and the costs of infrastructure projects spiraling out of control. For all of its progress in 2017 in building

QUALITY OF LIFE ? NZl Oκ Wď?κY? OĦI ? _ Q 1. a collection of characteristics and amenities (including, but not limited to, good schools, safe streets, leafy parks, quiet skies and Philz coffee) that collectively form an idealized version of a Palo Alto OLIHVW\OH $Q LOO GHÀQHG but treasured entity that that every City Council candidate promises to defend and that, according to proponents of slow-growth polices, is under perpetual assault from developers and commuters. new bike boulevards, nudging its infrastructure plan forward and upping its recreational dreams, it will be the city’s management of the uncertain budget picture that will help shape the year to come and determine whether the council can maintain its late-year momentum as it advances into 2018. Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

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HOW THE NEW TAX LEGISLATION COULD IMPACT CALIFORNIA REAL ESTATE BY MICHAEL REPKA, ESQ. (LL.M. (TAXATION) NYU SCHOOL OF LAW ’01)

Well, it is now the law of the land. On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law, giving VJG 4GRWDNKECPU VJGKT Ć‚TUV OCLQT NGIKUNCVKXG YKP UKPEG 2TGUKFGPV 6TWOR VQQM QHĆ‚EG 6JG UYGGRKPI TGHQTO YKNN JCXG C UKIPKĆ‚ECPV impact on California. As Silicon Valley’s top listing agent, a high-income taxpayer and a tax attorney, I have been watching the various proposals for tax reform with a keen eye. I was not alone—twice a year DeLeon Realty presents a seminar on the taxation of real estate, which usually attracts an audience of around 60 to 80 local homeowners. When I held the seminar in November 2017, shortly after the House of Representatives outlined its version of the Bill, we had over 200 people in attendance. People were paying attention. Recently, we announced that we will hold a seminar on the recently enacted tax law, and already, we have had over 400 people RSVP. We also have seen a dramatic uptick in listing appointments. Silicon Valley residents are nervous and worried. Taken as a whole, and in general terms, the new tax legislation should be very good for corporations, shareholders, the very wealthy, and the middle class in the heartland of the country. On the other hand, there may be negative consequences for the “working wealthy,â€? with combined incomes between $400,000 and $1.5 million in high tax states, such as New York and California. 7PHQTVWPCVGN[ VJG pYQTMKPI YGCNVJ[q ITQWR OCMGU WR C UKIPKĆ‚ECPV portion of the buyer pool of expensive Silicon Valley real estate. There is substantial amount of confusion about the new rules. Part QH VJG EQPHWUKQP UVGOU HTQO EQPĆƒKEVKPI TWNGU VJCV YGTG EQPVCKPGF in the original Bill announced by the House of Representatives on November 2, 2017, and the Senate version passed on December 6JKU EQPHWUKQP KU GZCEGTDCVGF D[ VJG EQPĆƒKEVKPI CPF occasionally misleading, analysis coming from various partisan groups in the government and the media. This article will summarize many of the key provisions that should have a profound impact on California real estate.

TAX RATES In general, the tax rates have come down. While retaining seven tax brackets, the new legislation reduces the rates applied to most tax brackets. The new brackets are as follows:

The highest tax bracket now starts at $600,000 as opposed to the $1 million starting point proposed under both the House and the Senate version of the Bills. This last minute change to the bracket UVCTVKPI RQKPV EQOGU YKVJ VJG DGPGƂV QH NQYGTKPI VJG JKIJGUV bracket rates from the 39.6% and 38.5% (as proposed in the House and Senate Bills, respectively) to 37%. Taken as a whole, these two Page 12 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

changes net out to be a very positive change for the extremely wealthy, but will be costly for couples with a combined taxable income between $600,000 and $1.2 million. It should be noted that only the highest bracket brings back what was colloquially referred to as the “marriage penalty.� Again, this change may be particularly hard on Silicon Valley families, where it is not WPEQOOQP VQ JCXG DQVJ URQWUGU GORNQ[GF CV JKIJ RC[KPI LQDU

THE GOOD NEWS The Step-Up in Basis upon Death of one Spouse

The new legislation retains the taxpayer-favorable step-up in basis rule. Under this rule, homeowners with highly appreciated real estate receive a functional forgiveness of the capital gains taxes that would have been due upon sale, if these assets are still held by the taxpayer on the date of his/her death. As a result of this long standing rule, many Silicon Valley homeowners are wisely advised not to sell their highly appreciated real estate prior to their death. Thus, any change to this rule could have resulted in a rapid increase to the number of homes coming onto the market and a corresponding decrease in home values. . Section 1031 “Like-Kindâ€? Exchange Rules Unaffected Under the new rules, “like-kind exchangesâ€? under IRC Sec 1031 remain materially unaltered with regard to real property. Taxpayers are still permitted to defer the capital gains tax on appreciated real property by purchasing qualifying replacement real property. The seller still has 45 days to identify the replacement property and 180 days to close. Under the new rules, however, this provision is only CRRNKECDNG VQ TGCN RTQRGTV[tRGTUQPCN RTQRGTV[ PQ NQPIGT SWCNKĆ‚GU for the deferral Section 121 Survived a House Scare Although the House and Senate Bills called for substantial limitations on taxpayers’ ability to exclude up to $500,000 in ICKP KP VJG UCNG QH VJGKT RTKOCT[ TGUKFGPEG VJG Ć‚PCN NGIKUNCVKQP leaves this rule untouched. Thus, taxpayers can still exclude up VQ OCTTKGF Ć‚NKPI LQKPVN[ KP ICKP KH VJG[ JCXG QYPGF VJG property for more than two years and have lived in the property HQT CV NGCUV VYQ QH VJG RCUV Ć‚XG [GCTU 6JGTG KU PQ RJCUG QWV QH VJKU deduction. It should be noted that this taxpayer-favorable rule appears to be on Congress’s radar screen, and could be repealed at some point in the future. Corporation Can Bring Money Back to the U.S. at Lower Cost For many years, U.S. corporations have substantial resources UVWEM QHHUJQTG DGECWUG DTKPIKPI VJGUG RTQĆ‚VU DCEM KPVQ VJG 7PKVGF States, (a.k.a. Repatriation) would have resulted in a substantial tax. Under the new law, these corporations can bring this money back to the United States at a much lower cost. The hope is that these resources will be put to use in the United States, where they will ETGCVG LQDU CPF QVJGTYKUG UKOWNCVG VJG GEQPQO[ *QYGXGT KV KU NGHV to be seen whether these repatriated funds will gravitate towards states with lower taxes.

Child Care Credit Increased to $2,000

Although the popular Child Care credit program was increased to $2,000 per child, this provision is phased out for taxpayers with EQODKPGF CFLWUVGF ITQUU KPEQOGU QXGT

THE BAD NEWS Reduction of the SALT Deduction 9KVJQWV SWGUVKQP VJG OQUV UKIPKĆ‚ECPV EJCPIG HCEKPI %CNKHQTPKC homeowners is the dramatic limitation on the deductibility of state and local taxes (“SALTâ€?), including both state income taxes and county real property taxes. Although, under the newly enacted rules, taxpayers are permitted to deduct up to $10,000 in state and local taxes, most people that can afford to purchase real estate in Silicon Valley already pay over $10,000 in state income taxes so this change effectively eliminates the deductibility of all property taxes. This change will reduce the incentive for the purchase of real estate. .QPIGT VGTO VJKU EJCPIG OC[ OCMG KV OQTG FKHĆ‚EWNV VQ CVVTCEV top talent to the state. As a result, we are likely to see businesses locate high paid operations out of state to the extent practicable. Naturally, these concerns will be counterbalanced, to some degree, by the overall desirability of the state and the robust business environment. Although we expect this provision to have an immediate and UKIPKĆ‚ECPV KORCEV QP VJG DW[GTUo FGUKTG VQ RWTEJCUG JQOGU VJKU impact should diminish over time as some taxpayers realize that state and local taxes were a “preference itemâ€? under the AMT rules, and, as such, were already added back. In other words, not CNN VCZRC[GTU YGTG IGVVKPI C DGPGĆ‚V HTQO VJG 5#.6 FGFWEVKQP UQ VJG NQUU QH KV YKNN PQV JWTV VJGO CU OWEJ CU VJG[ OC[ HGCT CV Ć‚TUV

Reduction in mortgage interest deduction

Under the new law, mortgage interest on loans used to purchase RTQRGTV[ YKNN QPN[ DG FGFWEVKDNG VQ VJG GZVGPV QH VJG Ć‚TUV of principal amount. This is down from $1.1 million, which was the combined limit of the $1 million mortgage mount and the $100,000 equity line, which could be aggregated to form a combined limit of $1.1 million. Although existing loans, and the TGĆ‚PCPEG QH GZKUVKPI NQCPU YKNN TGVCKP VJG OKNNKQP RTKPEKRCN amount limitation, the additional $100,000 has been eliminated. 9G FQ PQV GZRGEV VJKU EJCPIG VQ JCXG UKIPKĆ‚ECPV KORCEV QP VJG psyche of potential buyers because interest rates are so low and buyers of expensive real estate have proven undaunted by the nondeductibility of a portion of their mortgage interest.

Overall Reduction in Incentives to Buy Homes

The near doubling of the standard deduction, and the reduction of the deductibility of state taxes and mortgage interest, will have the unintended consequence of reducing the incentive for people to buy rather than rent. We expect this impact to be most pronounced on lower priced homes, but the entire market UJQWNF HGGN UQOG UQTV QH GHHGEV 9JKNG VJGTG CTG DQVJ DGPGĆ‚VU CPF detriments associated with entry level homes becoming more affordable, current homeowners may want to be prepared for a turbulent ride. No Elimination of the Personal AMT (But increased to $1,000,000 for couples) Although the House Bill called for the repeal of the Alternative /KPKOWO 6CZ p#/6q HQT KPFKXKFWCNU VJG Ć‚PCN NGIKUNCVKQP TGVCKPGF the Individual AMT, but eliminated the corporate AMT. However, the legislation raises the point at which the AMT exemption is RJCUGF QWV HTQO HQT LQKPV Ć‚NGTU VQ HQT LQKPV Ć‚NNGTU 6JKU KPETGCUGF NKOKV EQWRNGF YKVJ VJG TGFWEVKQP QH CXCKNCDNG deductions, should result in a much lower percentage of the population paying AMT.

Changes for Individuals sunset in 2025

Much has been made about the fact that the changes to Much has been made about the fact that the changes to personal income taxes will sunset after 2025, whereas the corporate changes are permanent. However, I believe this is more of an administrative requirement rather than the long-term intent of the legislation. Under the “Byrd Rule,â€? any plan for tax reform cannot add to VJG FGĆ‚EKV DG[QPF C [GCT DWFIGV YKPFQY +H KV FQGU C UWRGT OCLQTKV[ QH XQVGU YQWNF DG TGSWKTGF VQ RCUU VJG 5GPCVG which would require bi-partisan support. By including the sunset RTQXKUKQP QPN[ C UKORNG OCLQTKV[ YCU TGSWKTGF 2TGUWOCDN[ %QPITGUU EQWNF GZVGPF VJGUG EJCPIGU D[ UKORNG OCLQTKV[ CU VJG 2025 date approaches. Thus, we believe that the sunset provision was one of legislative convenience, rather than a telegraphing of a long-term intent to eliminate the tax changes for individuals.

No change to capital Gains tax rates (Inc. 3.8%)

Many had hoped that there would be a decrease to the capital gains tax rates, which start at 15% for federal purposes and increase to 23.8%, inclusive of the 3.8% tax on Net Investment Income to fund the Affordable Healthcare Act (i.e., “Obamacare�). Unfortunately, the new legislation leaves these rates in place, including the 3.8% surtax.

Personal exemption ($4,150) suspended (but this was phased out for couples making over $320,000)

While the Standard Deduction was increased from $12,700 to $24,000, the personal exemption of $4,150 per dependent was suspended. Thus, the net effect of these two provision will vary from family to family. It should be noted that the old personal exemption was phased out for couples making over $320,000 whereas the phase-out of deductions has been eliminated under the new legislation.

CONCLUSION Overall and nationwide, most taxpayers will see a net decrease in their federal taxes as a result of the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. However, there will be a net increase to taxes for many highly paid people in Silicon Valley. This could result in some businesses deciding to form, or move operations, to states with low or no state taxes if otherwise economically feasible. The extremely high cost of living in the Bay Area, most notably with regard to housing, and the non-deductibility of state taxes, may make it more challenging for employers to recruit to this area. However, the reduction in corporate income taxes and the incentives to move money back to the United States, should have a positive effect on businesses. Silicon Valley’s Tech economy is extremely strong, and the area is very attractive. Ultimately, only time will tell whether the strength of the local economy, and the FGUKTCDKNKV[ QH VJG CTGC CTG UWHƂEKGPV VQ YGCVJGT VJGUG VCZ EJCPIGU that hit us particularly hard.

Want to hear more about tax impac ts? Attend our tax seminar on January 6th, 2018 This is a high - level summar y of t he recent ly rele ased t a x rules. Re ader s are advised to discuss t he new rules wit h t heir t a x advisor s to determine how t he changes will impac t t heir per sonal circumst ances. This ar ticle may not be relied upon as t a x or leg al advice .

650.543.8500 | w w w . D E L E O N R E A L T Y. c o m | CalBRE #01903224 www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 13

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

Non-profits: Grant application & guidelines at www.PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund

E

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

Community Foundation cover all the administrative costs, every dollar raised goes directly to support community programs through grants to non-profit organizations. And with the generous support of matching grants from local foundations, including the Packard, Hewlett, Peery and Arrillaga foundations, your tax-deductible gift will be doubled in size. A donation of $100 turns into $200 with the foundation

Give to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund and your donation is doubled. You give to non-profit groups that work right here in our community. It’s a great way to ensure that your charitable donations are working at home.

matching gifts. Whether as an individual, a business or in honor of someone else, help us reach our goal of $350,000 by making a generous contribution to the Holiday Fund. With your generosity, we can give a major boost to the programs in our community helping kids and families.

CLICK AND GIVE

Donate online at PaloAltoOnline.com/ Pa holiday_fund

Enclosed is a donation of $_______________ Name__________________________________________________________ Business Name __________________________________________________ Address ________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip ___________________________________________________ E-Mail __________________________________________________

Credit Card (MC, VISA, or AMEX)

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

__________________________________________Expires _______/_______

T I wish to contribute anonymously.

Phone _________________________________________________________

T Please withhold the amount of my contribution. Signature ______________________________________________________ I wish to designate my contribution as follows: (select one)

Send coupon and check, if applicable, to:

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)

Application deadline: January 5, 2018

Page 14 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Please make checks payable to: Silicon Valley Community Foundation

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.

Thank you donors As of Dec. 26, 2017, 331 donors have donated $267,571

Donate online at PaloAltoOnline.com/ holiday_fund

Ruth Hammett ............................. *

Jacques & Wanda .................... 250

Lijun & Jia-Ning Xiang .............. 100

Elliot W. Eisner ............................. *

Phil Hanawalt & Graciela Spivak ................... 1,000

Eric Demant ............................... 50

Nancy & Joe Huber .................. 100 Ann & Don Rothblatt ............... 500 Felecia Levy .............................. 100 Elizabeth Kok ............................... * Carol Bacchetti ............................ * Virginia & Don Fitton ................. 25

24 Anonymous ..................... 8,860

New Donors

Marilyn, Dale, Rick & Mei Simbeck.. *

Nancy & Jim Baer ......................... *

Ted & Ginny Chu.......................... *

David & Nancy Kalkbrenner...... 100

Ann Burrell & Allen Smith ........ 250

Judy Ousterhout .......................... *

Jacqueline Rush ....................... 100

Roger Warnke.......................... 300

Ruth Rosenbaum ..................... 100

Bjorn & Michele Liencres ....... 1,000

Jennifer DiBrienza & Jesse Dorogusker................... 250

Glenn Affleck............................. 25

Carroll Harrington .................... 100

Dorothy Saxe ............................... *

Diane Sikic ................................... *

Lawrence Naiman .................... 100

Cynthia Costell ........................ 100

Steven Feinberg .................... 5,000

Daniel Cox ............................... 200

Freddy & Jan Gabus ................. 250

John & Pat Davis .......................... *

Susan & Doug Woodman ........ 150

Betty Gerard ............................ 100

Brigid Barton......................... 1,000

Jim Lewis ..................................... *

Margot Goodman .................... 100

Carolyn Williams & Mike Keeler ... *

Fran Codispoti ......................... 500

Barbara Allen ........................... 200

Richard Johnsson .................. 7,000

Ralph Wheeler ......................... 300

Mike & Loren Gordon .............. 250

Catherine Dolton ..................... 200

Dave & Lynn Mitchell ............... 300

Monica Engel Williams ............. 200

Bruce & Jane Gee..................... 250

Patricia Levin ................................ * W.J. McCroskey ....................... 100

In Memory Of Russell C. Evarts ........................... *

Miriam Jacob ........................... 200

Bill Land ....................................... *

Marc & Margaret Cohen .......... 250

Jim & Dottie Mellberg .................. *

Gail Woolley ............................ 500

Anna Zemei Wang ..................... 41

Xiaofan Lin ................................ 50

Lee Domenik.............................. 50

Ellen Vanderwilt ........................... *

Leonard Ely .............................. 250

Colleen Anderson .................... 250

Ted Linden ............................... 200

Patrick Radtke ....................... 2,000

Mary Floyd ................................. 35

Mitchell Rosen ......................... 100

Ken Sletten .................................. *

Diana Diamond ........................ 250 Norm & Nancy Rossen.............. 250

In Honor Of Ms. Georgia Lee......................... 25

Jeremy Platt ............................. 500

Georgia Lee ............................... 35

Doris & Arnold Petersen ........... 100

Zorro ....................................... 100

Klaus & Ellen Porzig ................. 200

Peter Ullman ................................ *

Susan Elgee ............................. 500 James Taylor............................. 200

Organizations Harrell Remodeling ...................... *

Romola Georgia ........................... *

deLemos Properties .................. 500

David Fischer............................ 100 Sandy & Rajiv Jain .................... 100

Previously Published

Judy Kramer................................. *

George & Betsy Young ................. *

Peter Stern ................................... *

Merrill & Lee Newman ............. 250

Sally & Craig Nordlund ............. 500

Mike & Cathie Foster ............... 500

Joe & Marlene Prendergast .......... *

Diane Doolittle ............................. *

Carol & Roy Blitzer ....................... *

Roger Smith ............................. 300

Sally O’Neil & Ken Bencala ....... 100

Lani Freeman & Stephen Monismith ............... 100

Chris & Beth Martin ..................... *

Katharine Rogers King ................. * Ernest J. Moore ........................ 200 Boyd Paulson, Jr. ......................... * August Lee King ........................ 30 Steve Fasani ................................. * Emmett Lorey .............................. * Becky Schaefer............................. * Kathy Morris ................................ * Yoko Nonaka ........................... 100 Our loving parents Albert & Beverly Pellizzari ........................ * Don & Marie Snow .................. 100 Carol Berkowitz ....................... 200 Bertha Kalson .............................. * Marsha Alper ........................... 250 Ronald Popp ................................ * Yen-Chen & Er-Ying ................. 250 Dr. Nanci Yuan ...................... 1,000 Jim Byrnes ............................... 100 Ruth & Chet Johnson ................... * Robert Lobdell ............................. * Pam Grady ............................... 250 Helen Rubin ............................. 500 Tracy & Alan Herrick ..................... *

Judith Appleby ......................... 300

Ken Sletten .................................. *

Margaret Fisher.......................... 50

Nate Rosenberg ....................... 150

Phil Fernandez & Daniel Sternbergh ..................... *

Bob Donald.............................. 100

Ellen Place Lillington................. 200 David & Virginia Pollard............ 150

Betsy & George Bechtel............ 100

Thomas W. & Louise L. Phinney .... *

Hugh McDevitt ........................ 250

Marcia Katz ............................. 200

Leo & Sylvia Breidenbach ............. *

Mandy Lowell .............................. *

Beth Marer-Garcia ...................... 25

Bobbie & Jerry Wagger................. *

Florence Kan Ho .......................... *

Richard Mazze ......................... 100

Al & JoAnne Russell ................. 300

Dr. David Zlotnick ..................... 250

Greg & Penny Gallo ................. 500

Robert & Barbara Simpson ........... *

Janet H. Hermsen..................... 200

Braff Family.............................. 500

Robyn Crumly .......................... 100

Jack Sutorius ............................ 300

Chris Kenrick ........................ 1,000

Vic Befera ................................ 100

Art Stauffer.............................. 500

John & Mary Schaefer .................. *

As a Gift For Ned & Judy Lund.......................... *

Kenyon Family ......................... 500

Suzanne & Bert Bell...................... *

Ada’s Café ................................. 50

William DeBord ..................... 1,000

Carolyn Brennan .......................... *

Linda & Steve Boxer ..................... *

Drew McCalley & Marilyn Green ... 100

Eugene & Mabel Dong ............. 200

Lee & Judy Shulman ................. 100

Barbara Riper ............................... * Harry & Susan Hartzell ............. 100

Page & Ferrell Sanders.............. 100 Laurie Jarrett ................................ *

Duncan Matteson .................... 500

Peter Rudd ................................. 50

Bill Reller ...................................... *

Annette Isaacson ..................... 100

Helene Pier .................................. *

John & Meg Monroe ................ 500

Edward Kanazawa ................... 100

David Backer ............................ 500

Don & Bonnie Miller................. 100

Leonie Walker .......................... 100

Boyce & Peggy Nute..................... *

Dena Goldberg ........................ 500

Ralph Britton............................ 200

Nancy Peterson ........................ 100

Wendy Sinton .............................. *

Lawrence Yang & Jennifer Kuan ..................... 1,000

Kathleen Kelly .......................... 200

Mike & Lennie Roberts ............. 150

Veronica Tincher .......................... *

Carol Kersten ........................... 200

Patti Yanklowitz & Mark Krasnow.. *

Michael Couch......................... 250

Elizabeth Salzer & Richard Baumgartner................. *

Nigel Jones ................................ 50

Janice Bohman......................... 250

John & Florine Galen .................... *

Luca & Mary Cafiero ................ 500

Anna Messner.......................... 250

Erika Jurney ............................. 100

Julie & Jon Jerome ....................... *

Tom & Pat Sanders ....................... *

Marian Adams ......................... 100

Steve & Diane Ciesinski ............ 500

Sally & Abdo Kadifa .............. 1,000

Teresa Roberts....................... 2,000

Patricia Bubenik ....................... 200

Ron Wolf ................................. 200

Judith & Warren Goodnow ...... 300

Joanne Koltnow ....................... 300

Ken & Michele Dauber ............. 500

Richard Zuanich ....................... 150

Don & Dee Price......................... 45

Hal & Iris Korol ......................... 250

JoAnne Zschokke ..................... 100

Thomas Rindfleisch ...................... *

Jan Thomas & Roy Levin ............... *

Kaaren & John Antoun.......... 1,500

Vermeil Family.............................. *

Wendy Max ............................... 50

Bruce Campbell ....................... 200

Ellen & Tom Ehrlich .................. 400

Susan Osofksy.......................... 200

Eileen Brennan ......................... 500

Diane & Bob Simoni ................. 200

Richard & Tish Fagin................. 200

Dawes Family ........................... 250

Arthur Keller ................................ *

Dennis Clark ............................ 150

Chuck & Jean Thompson ......... 100

Hoda Epstein ............................... *

Diane Finkelstein ...................... 150

Leif & Sharon Erickson ............. 250

Godfrey Family......................... 100

Tom & Nancy Fiene ...................... *

Sandra & Scott Pearson ............ 500

Arden King ................................ 25

Dorsey & Katherine Bass .......... 300

Nina & Norman Kulgein .......... 250

Margo Sensenbrenner.................. *

Richard Alexander ................. 1,000

Judith & Hans Steiner ............... 100

Facebook ............................. 5,000

Barbara Rieder ......................... 100

David & Mindy Sitzer................ 100

Scott & Jan Kilner..................... 500

Sue Kemp ................................ 250

Lakin Spears......................... 2,000

Karen & Steve Ross ...................... *

Debby Roth.............................. 200

Stephen & Nancy Levy.............. 500

Cathy & Howard Kroymann ..... 250

Bank of the West ................. 1,000

Irvin & Marilyn Yalom ............... 100

Carol & Mahlon Hubenthal ......... *

Elaine & Eric Hahn........................ *

Gordon Chamberlain ............... 300

Peery Foundation ................ 10,000

Guy DiJulio .................................. *

Herbert Fischgrund .................. 200

Bill Johnson & Terri Lobdell .... 1,000

Denise Savoie & Darrell Duffie ...... *

Arrillaga Foundation ........... 10,000

Robert Raymakers & Bonnie Packer.......................... 100

Hal & Carol Louchheim ............ 400

Keith Clarke ............................. 200

Micki & Bob Caredelli................... *

Packard Foundation ........... 25,000

Shari & Donald Orstein............. 300

Havern Family ....................... 5,000

Joan Norton ................................. *

Hewlett Foundation ............ 25,000

Dennis & Cindy Dillon .................. *

Jerry & Linda Elkind ...................... *

Dorothy Kennedy ..................... 200

Rosalie Shepherd ..................... 100

Charles & Barbara Stevens ........... *

Arna & Hersh Shefrin ................... *

Gwen Luce and Family ................. *

Diane Moore................................ *

Good Bear & Co. Charitable Fund ................. 5,000

Tony & Priscilla Marzoni................ *

Barbara Klein & Stan Schrier......... *

Janis Ulevich ............................ 100

Don & Adele Langendorf ......... 200

Alta Mesa Cemetery & Funeral Home ................. 1,800

Bob & Joan Jack ....................... 250

Anna Olsen .............................. 150

Hamilton Hitchings .................. 250

Jody Maxmin ............................... *

Attorney Susan Dondershine .... 200

Constance Crawford .................... *

Pat & Nancy McGaraghan ........ 250

Andrea Smith........................... 100

Gerald & Joyce Barker .................. *

Bleibler Properties .................... 500

Susie Richardson & Hal Luft.......... *

Shirley Ely ................................ 500

Bonnie Berg ................................. *

Nancy Moss ................................. *

Sallie & Jay Whaley ...................... *

Ellen & Mike Turbow ................ 200

In Memory Of Ando & Barbara MacDonell...... 100

Communications & Power Industries .............................. 500

Jim & Alma Phillips ................... 500

In Honor Of Lucy Berman’s clients ............ 2,500 Kathryn Avery .............................. * Elaine Hahn ................................. * Carolyn Reese .......................... 300 Marilyn Sutorius ....................... 300 Organizations Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run & Walk ...................... 53,745 Sponsors of Moonlight Run: Palo Alto Medical Foundation ........................ 5,000 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation ........... 5,000 Stanford Federal Credit Union................................. 5,000 Palantir ................................ 5,000 DeLeon Realty ...................... 5,000 Wealth Architects................. 5,000

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 15

Upfront

Words of the year ACCESSORY | ?LN VH VÎş UÄ? | adj. A type of dwelling located behind a main house to boost Palo Alto’s affordable housing inventory; usually comes with parking restrictions.

Veronica Weber

1HZ *XQQ +LJK 6FKRRO 3ULQFLSDO .DWKLH /DXUHQFH ZDV RQH RI VHYHUDO DSSRLQWPHQWV PDGH WKLV \HDU WR ILOO NH\ YDFDQW SRVLWLRQV LQ WKH VFKRRO GLVWULFW

Education (continued from page 7)

eugenics; decided to continue its controversial sex-education curriculum; and made a final decision to report both unweighted and weighted cumulative GPAs for all sophomores, juniors and seniors who earn a C or better in honors and Advanced Placement (AP) courses, starting with the class of 2021. Momentum stalled, however, on two key issues: special education and the achievement gap. School board members have committed to paying closer attention to both in the new year. Also, in January, consultants

Code enforcement (continued from page 6) offices and warehouses. In some cases, the city has responded. This summer, code enforcement required Coupa CafĂŠ, which has been using an El Camino Real retail site for warehousing, to expand the retail

board’s consideration. And an advisory committee convened by the board will meet with the final candidates confidentially and give feedback to the board toward the end of the process. When McGee tendered his letter of resignation in late September — read out loud at a school board meeting by then-president Godfrey, sitting next to McGee — he recognized the current state of the school district. The community is in need of not only a new leader “who will sustain all that is good,� he wrote, but also “heal what is hurt.� Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com.

SEL ? V? Ä? ?HO ? _ Q 1. Educational buzzword and acronym for social-emotional learning. 2. The next phase in the Palo Alto school district’s ongoing efforts to improve student well-being, sparked in part by youth suicide clusters. hired to oversee the superintendent search are scheduled to hold public meetings, interviews and focus groups over several days. Based on this input, consultants will compile a leadership profile and bring candidates forward for the component of its business there. Officials also required a Middlefield Road building leased by restaurant Asian Box, supposedly for a glutenfree bake shop, to provide more customer seating in response to complaints that the space is being primarily used as the company’s corporate office.

Ben Hacker

$ EDWWHUHG &KHYUROHW YDQ VLWV SDUNHG LQ D OLQH RI 59V DQG FDPSHU YDQV DORQJ (O &DPLQR 5HDO 7KH FLW\ FUDFNHG GRZQ RQ 59 GZHOOHUV WKLV VXPPHU Page 16 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

5. MIDDLEFIELD ROAD RAGE — Too many Middlefield Road commuters treat the “no left turn� restrictions north of University Avenue as little more than friendly suggestions — much to the chagrin of nearby residents. Enraged by traffic problems that span from total gridlock to careless speedsters, and fed up with the high number of accidents and near misses on the stretch of Middlefield, Crescent Park and Downtown North residents succeeded this year in petitioning the city to redesign the northernmost stretch of the busy roadway to modify lanes and add barriers to prevent turns on Everett Avenue. The oneyear pilot program is now about halfway through and, to date, has netted mixed results. The accident rate remains steady, according to a recently published review of the program, though the number of nearcrashes has gone down — bringing a small measure of relief to residents accustomed to seeing cars hurtling onto front yards with shocking regularity. Q

— Gennady Sheyner

CARMAGEDDON _ ?NlU PÎş JH GÎşQ? _ Q 7UDIĂ€F MDPV on Palo Alto’s streets during the afternoon rush hours that occur mainly in the Crescent Park neighborhood and cause frustrated drivers to be stuck for hours and engage in risky driving behavior, such as driving in the oncoming lanes. FIBER TO THE PREMISES _ ? IÄŚ EÎşU WÎş WKÄ? SUH PÎşV? _ Q 1. An underground network of Ă€EHU RSWLF FDEOHV WKDW EULQJV ultra-high-speed broadband access to every premise in the city. 2. A dream deferred, again and again. GATEWAY _ JăW Ză _ adj. 1. A designation that developers apply to ordinary building proposals for which they’re seeking extraordinary zoning exceptions. ICONIC ? ÄŚ Nl QLN ? DGM 1. Doomed to fail because of unrealistically high ambitious and unexpectedly high costs. LEVEL OF SERVICE (LOS) ? OH YÎşO ÎşY VÎşU YÎşV ? Q 1. A PHDVXUH RI WUDIĂ€F LPSDFWV favored by those who think that the real problem is congestion. LOW INVENTORY 'OÄż

LQ YÎşQ WĘŠU Ä? ? Q - 1. A phenomenon in Palo Alto that forces homebuyers to compete against one another in bidding wars, which can push a home’s price as much as 63 percent higher than the original asking price. MEGAHOUSE _ PHJD ? KDXĹłV? _ Q 1. An opulent, usually two-story residential structure that dwarfs other smaller homes in a neighborhood or nearly consumes the entire lot. 2. Sometimes called a dinosaur. MOBILITY _ ?PÄż EL OÎş WÄ?? _ Q 1. The ability to move people or oneself around

with ease in a community. 2. A pipe dream in the Bay $UHD IRU WKH Ă XLG HDVH RI movement on streets and across town. OMNICHANNEL | ? lP QL ? FKD QÎşO? _ Q 1. Stream-ofconsciousness approach to retail business in Palo Alto deemed crucial to brick-andmortar business survival that includes all kinds of sales and marketing: e-commerce, brick-and-mortar, email, etc. PALO ALTO TMA (Transportation Management Association) _ SD

OÄż ?DO

WÄż ? WÄ?? HP? ă _ Q $ VPDOO QRQSURĂ€W FKDUJHG with solving downtown Palo $OWR¡V WUDIĂ€F SUREOHPV THE PERFECT _ WKÄ? SÎşU Ă€NW | n. 1. The sworn archenemy of “the goodâ€? and, as such, a thing to be avoided at all costs. RECALL _ UL NĘŠO_ _ Y 1. Remember or recollect something. 2. Remove a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge. RETAILTAINMENT _ UÄ?

WăO ?WăQ PÎşQW _ Q 1. A marketing strategy deemed by Palo Alto business leaders as necessary for survival against e-commerce. It adds incentives and hooks to get customers into the downtown stores. SERFR _ ? VÎşUI ?lU _ Q --1. A Ă LJKW SDWK DERYH 3DOR $OWR that causes consternation due to noise and frequency of Ă LJKWV TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT _ WUDQ W V SÎşU Wă VKÎşQ? GL

PDQG ?PD QLM PÎşQW _ Q 1. a collection of carrots and sticks aimed at weaning drivers off their four-wheel habit. VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED (VMT) | ? YÄ? Îş NÎşO PÄŚ Îş WUD YÎşO HG? _ Q $ PHDVXUH RI WUDIĂ€F impacts favored by those who think that the real problem is that there are too many drivers.

Transitions

In Memoriam Notable Palo Alto area people who died this year

A

s 2017 comes to a close, we look back at people who left a lasting impression on many in the Palo Alto community and beyond through their accomplishments, the lessons they imparted and the barriers they broke. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. If you would like to make note of other people who died this year, go to PaloAltoOnline. com and leave your comments under this article online. To look at additional obituaries, go to the Lasting Memories website, posted at PaloAltoOnline.com/obituaries.

Pat Briggs Died June 8, 2017, at 80 Pat Briggs, the director of the Palo Alto Children’s Theatre from 1961 to 2008, is credited with building the group’s national reputation for excellence. She was born in Chicago to parents who were performing artists, and by her senior year in high school she was studying voice, diction and lessons at Goodman School of Drama in Chicago. She eventually found her way west. During her 47 years at the Palo Alto Children’s Theatre, she directed more than 500 productions and wrote more than 20 scripts, receiving numerous awards. In August 2010, the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America gave her a “Medallion” award for her nearly half-century of promoting “significant artistry and/or achievement impacting the imagination of children and youth.” Briggs also was active with the St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Palo Alto, serving on three committees. In 2009, during a proclamation ceremony for Briggs, City Councilman Jack Morton commented, “There are some people in this world that walk into your life and leave you with a permanent memory of the good we can do when we put our hearts to it.” — Jay Thorwaldson

John Freidenrich Died on Oct. 11, 2017, at 80 Palo Alto native John Freidenrich, who lived in Atherton since 1969, made his mark on the world as an attorney, civic leader, early investor in many Silicon Valley companies and major supporter of his alma mater, Stanford University. With Leo Ware, he co-founded in 1968 the Ware and Freidenrich

law firm, which ultimately employed several hundred lawyers. After representing numerous small startup companies, he formed the venture capital firm Bay Partners in 1976, which he led until his retirement in 2004. He served on the Stanford University Board of Trustees for 10 years and was also a member of the board of the Stanford Hospital and Clinics and chaired the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital board. He also served on the boards of American Century Funds and the Taube-Koret Campus for Jewish Life, among many others. In 2006 he and his wife, Jill, committed $25 million for the Jill and John Freidenrich Center for Translational Research, aimed at translating medical research into improved patient care. “He put his heart into improving the community, and he especially put his heart into improving Stanford,” Ware said. — Barbara Wood

Daniel Arthur Logan Died March 3, 2017, at 72 Palo Alto resident Daniel Logan led the Palo Alto Family YMCA as executive director from 1991 until his retirement in 2006. In that time, he raised more than $10 million and focused on making the Palo Alto Y a more inclusive place for people of low income, in poor health or with disabilities. He received his bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University in 1966 and a master’s degree in social work at George Williams College in Illinois. Social justice was the theme of his career, from civil-rights work to preventing young adults with drug problems from entering the penal system. In 1992, he received the Fundraiser of the Year Award from the North American YMCA Development Organization, and in 2005 the YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula awarded him its Lifetime Achievement Award. He maintained an active life despite overcoming physical challenges, including adapting to a wheelchair for the last 14 years of his life, following an accident.

Duncan Matteson Died May 12, 2017, at 82 Palo Alto resident Duncan Matteson was a leader in business, philanthropy and community service. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, he joined the Air Force after graduation from college. In Palo Alto, Matteson worked in the securities business and then in commercial real estate.

He co-founded the Stanford Financial Co. with longtime friends Dennis LeVett and Bill Reller. In 1978, he founded Matteson Investment Corp., which focused on multi-family housing. In 1987, he co-founded Mid-Peninsula Bank in Palo Alto. He was active in the Republican Party on a local, state and national level. His philanthropic contributions included co-founding the Housing Industry Foundation, which gives emergency grants to people at risk of homelessness. He also helped raise $45 million in private contributions in 1999 for a new Palo Alto Medical Foundation facility and chaired fundraisers for the March of Dimes and the American Cancer Society. He and his wife, Shirley, also supported Stanford University entities, from the Hoover Institution to the Stanford University Medical Center to Stanford Athletics. He was an elder at Menlo Church, where he served as a trustee for the Church of the Pioneers Foundation, which owns and manages the church’s real estate. —Kate Bradshaw

Clem Wiser Died Feb. 3, 2017, at 92 Palo Alto resident Clem Wiser, longtime Palo Alto High School basketball coach and athletic director, was a role model to generations of young men and women. Born in Kentucky, he joined the U.S. Marines as a teenager, when America became involved in World War II. Winding up in Palo Alto, he coached basketball for 28 years at Paly, where he also served as athletic director for another decade and worked as a school guidance counselor. “Coach Wiser is simply the gold standard for teaching basketball players on and off the

court,” said Oregon’s U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, who played for Wiser in the 60s, in an interview with Paly’s The Campanile newspaper in 2014. Those who knew him called him a man of great will, integrity and character who looked people in the eye, spoke simply but effectively and could make anyone feel like the most important person in the room. Wiser’s teams won 401 games, a record that exceeded that of any other Palo Alto basketball coach. He won nine league championships and was named California Coaches Association basketball Coach of Year in 1983. — Rick Eymer

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Kenneth G. Sletten Died Nov. 8, 2017, at 88 Palo Alto resident Kenneth G. Sletten was known for his leadership in the construction industry as well as for his community service. Born in Helena, Montana, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he was hit by shrapnel from a mortar shell during a mission to retrieve fallen comrades in Korea. Upon his discharge from the Marines, he attended Stanford Business School. In 1962, he and Onslow “Rudy” Rudolph co-founded the firm Rudolph and Sletten, where he established ethical business practices that years later garnered him the Legacy Award from Engineering News Record for his contributions to the industry: innovations such as fast-track scheduling, guaranteed-maximum-price contracts, negotiated contracts and the zero punch list. Among the many projects that Rudolph and Sletten worked on were more than a dozen at Stanford, including the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital; numerous corporate buildings, including for Hewlett Packard and the Apple Campus at 1 Infinite Loop; and his favorite, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. As a community leader, he served on the boards of a range of nonprofits, including the Children’s Health Council, Peninsula Family YMCA, Avenidas and Menlo School. He received Lifetime of Achievement awards from Avenidas and from Habitat for Humanity.

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 17

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

by

Gennady

Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Stanford exhibition shows how the Bolshevik Revolution u p e n d e d Russian ar t and politics Sheyner Dmitrii Stakhievich Moor’s poster, “Deserter — I Extend My Hand to You. You are as Much a Destroyer of the Workers-Peasant State as I, a Capitalist! Now Only You are My Hope,” is on display at the Cantor Arts Center through March 4, 2018, as part of an exhibit on the 1917 Russian Revolution.

I

n his iconic 1830 painting, “Liberty Leading the People,” Eugene Delacroix portrays the French Revolution as a call to duty bravely answered by an allegorical, flag-bearing heroine leading a crowd over the barricades.

Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica” is less sanguine about war. It depicts the destruction of a Basque village during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s through cubist fragments of human and animal carnage. But what about the October Revolution of 1917 — an event that obliterated a 300-year-old dynasty, brought the Bolsheviks to power and set the stage for Stalin’s purges and the geopolitical brinksmanship of Cold War? For a look at how contemporary Russian art reflected this seminal event, one can do worse than Dmitry Moor’s 1920 lithograph, “Give me Your Hand Deserter. You are the Destroyer of the Worker-Peasant State Just Like Me, the Capitalist! Now Only You are my Hope.” The poster, part of a collection now on display at Cantor Arts Center and the Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibition Pavilion, depicts a man wearing a loose peasant tunic and a wry smile hoisting a giant sack over his left shoulder as he leers back over his

right at the bustling industrial streetscape below. One hand supports the sack; another is being firmly grasped by his companion — a round, tuxedoed man with a top hat and a large sack that says “Millions” on it. The poster at once depicts and represents a revolution. The two traitors — the deserter and the capitalist — have all the markings of villainy. The worker looks back uncertainly as he hoards the loot; the “capitalist” puffs a cigar between his fish lips and wearing rings and chains. At a time of hunger and political upheaval, the message would’ve been impossible to miss. Yet the poster also reflects an abrupt shift is aesthetics, with the somber and realistic oil paintings of the masters giving way to the bright, abstract posters of the proletariat. Rather than classical portraits of royals or impressionistic landscapes of Red Square, here we see lithographs and pamphlets depicting workers and peasants, armed with hammers and sickles

Page 18 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

and aching for a fight. “The Crown under the Hammer: Russia, Romanovs, Revolution,” the joint exhibition by Cantor and Hoover Institute, vividly highlights this transformation while illuminating its deep-rooted causes and wide-reaching effects. The collaboration between the art museum and the research institution feels particularly apt here, given that the artwork on display isn’t just a reflection of the new world, it is a call to action and agent of the revolution. The Cantor gallery juxtaposes the oil and watercolor paintings of the Romanov era with the forceful propaganda prints of the Bolsheviks and, in doing so, brings the contrast between tradition and revolution into particularly stark relief. The Hoover display offers a generous sample of primary samples from its treasure trove of Russian archives, artifacts and Romanov ephemera — including diaries, family photos, news clippings and the tsar’s abdication letter. Together, the two exhibits aptly trace the Bolshevik’s revolution in both art and politics, while showcasing the power of the former to shape the latter. For the Bolsheviks, who seized power on Oct. 25, 1917, the goal was nothing short of overturning the world’s existing power

structures. As the Cantor exhibit notes in its introduction, Bolshevik leaders “recognized that toppling traditional governmental bodies and economic systems would require a wholesale reconstruction of the means by which revolutionary forces communicated their agenda.” This meant radically rethinking visual arts and deploying them as weapons against the capitalistic world order. The contrast between what was and what would be could hardly be more jarring. On one wall of the Cantor gallery, we see paintings of Russian Royals and aristocrats — works that would not feel out of place at the British National Museum or the Hermitage. There is the oil painting Grigory Aleksandrovich Stroganov, whose grandfather helped Peter the Great implement various land reforms in the 17th and 18th centuries and whose family lent its name to a saucy beef dish. With his powdered wig and shirt ruffles, the young Stroganov is the very image of European aristocracy. Here is the ruddy-cheeked Catherine II (best known as Catherine the Great), an 18th-century empress whose reign is widely considered the high-water mark of the Russian Empire. In in 1790

oil painting by Johann Baptist von Lampi, she is wearing a diamond-studded tiara, a fur cloak, a cobalt sash over a petticoat of blue silk and a determined gaze — the picture of cool detachment. If cool blue runs like a motif through one side of the gallery, hot red dominates the other. Here we see an army of mechanical red giants, holding flags and marching in lockstep over a fallen (continued on page 19) What: “The Crown under the Hammer: Russia, Romanovs, Revolution” Where: Cantor Arts Center & Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion, 328 Lomita Drive at Museum Way, Stanford When: Now through March 4, 2018. What: Marking the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the exhibit examines the political, social, and cultural upheavals that transformed Russia in the final decades of the Romanov dynasty and the first years of Soviet Communism. Cost: Free Info: bit.ly/ RussianRevolutionExhibit

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crown. On another print, a peasant is wearing a red tunic and marching alongside a worker with a hammer and a woman equipped with a red apron and holding a scythe. They are marching past a sea of workers who waive red flags, each representing a different nation where the revolution is taking hold. The lithograph by Nokolai Mikhailovich Kochergin is titled, “Through the Ruins of Capitalism to the Universal Brotherhood of Workers!” Unlike the classical portraits, with their subtle smiles and enigmatic gazes, the revolutionary posters leave little to the imagination. Their goal wasn’t to please the art lover but to instruct the largely illiterate Russian population. Propaganda posters were quickly identified by the Bolshevik leaders as the best vehicle for reaching all social classes. Thus, between 1918 and 1921, we are told, more than 450 different organizations and institutions created an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 unique poster designs and millions of posters. At times, the revolutionary imagery spices up a poster’s otherwise prosaic message. One print shows a man in a red worker tunic holding a canister filled with rubles with one hand while scattering the bills with the other. The falling rubles land on a board subdivided into horizontal strips, each depicting a vignette of Soviet life: three women sitting in a library, a soldier defending the homeland, a hospital, school children near a freshly paved road. The title of the piece is “How Property Tax Is Spent.” This propaganda poster, it turns out, is perhaps the world’s most imaginative budget document. If the Cantor exhibit highlights the creative forces unleashed by the Bolsheviks, the Hoover one emphasizes what was lost in the process. At the Hoover pavilion, we see black-and-white photos of the royal family and its associates — young Alexei, the tsar’s hemophiliac son, resting in bed while his mother embroiders next to him; Grigori Rasputin, the Siberian mystic who managed Alexei’s condition and, in doing so, became the palace Svengali during the final throes of the revolution; and photos of the various grand dukes who, on Jan. 18, 1919, were taken to a courtyard in Petrograd, told to strip and shot into a mass grave. But perhaps the most poignant paintings in the collection are the ones that don’t fall neatly into either the royal or the revolutionary camp. On one wall at Cantor, we see a series of gouache-and-watercolor paintings made by Ivan Alekseevich Vladimirov, a battlefield sketch artist whose desolate scenes capture the revolution’s real-world consequences: breadlines, empty shelves, vandals destroying a room in the Winter Palace, priests marching somberly

© H F PA

This lithograph by Nokolai Mikhailovich Kochergin used as propaganda during the Russian Revolution of 1917 is part of “The Crown under the Hammer: Russia, Romanovs, Revolution,” exhibit at the Cantor Arts Center and the Herbert Hoover Memorial Exhibit Pavilion that examines the political, social and cultural upheavals that transformed Russia in the final decades of the Romanov dynasty and the first years of Soviet Communism. through the snow. One 1919 painting is titled, “Hungry Ones in Petrograd Dividing a Dead Horse in the Street.” It shows men and women huddling over the carcass in the middle of the street, while a pair of dogs look on. There’s not much blue, or red, in this photo. Rather, we see gray slush, drab

coats and a desperate hunger. This series of paintings, more than any other in the exhibition, helps explain the origins of the Bolshevik Revolution, as well as its ultimate failure. Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be e-mailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com

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Home&Real Estate

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Page 20 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Skyrocketing prices are coupled with all-time low inventory by Xin Jiang

T

he 2017 Palo Alto property market took a surprising upturn from a soft 2016. The median price of all sold homes in Palo Alto as of Dec. 1 reached a new high of $2.67 million, an 11 percent increase from 2016. Limited supply Xin Jiang coupled with strong demand both domestically and internationally were the main drivers. There were 503 new listings as of Dec. 1, a 14 percent decline from the same period last year. This is likely to be the lowest number of new listings since 1998, when multiple listing data became available digitally. What are the reasons behind low supply? Tax consequences and high replacement or trade-up costs prevent existing homeowners from selling. The death of elderly parents and relocation have remained the top two reasons to sell Palo Alto homes. Because of robust demand, an average listing stayed on the market for 19 days compared with 21 days last year. There were only 47 listings where the original price was reduced so far this year, a 52 percent decline from last year. Thirty-three listings were pulled off the market this year, compared to 83 for 2016. As of early December, 431 Palo Alto homes exchanged hands — 6 percent fewer than the same period in 2016. Among the closed transactions, 120 homes settled at a price higher than $3.5 million, and the remaining 311 homes, or 72 percent, were sold at or below $3.5 million. Homes settled below $3.5 million normally attracted multiple offers and the number ranged from two offers to close to 30 on each listing. Severe competition among buyers at this price range tend to drive selling prices up significantly above listing prices. In my opinion, the difference between listing price and selling price isn’t a meaningful barometer for the market, since the listing price of a home is merely a marketing strategy and has little to do with fair market value. However, the market segment below $3.5 million is still overheated. Even in the this normally slow end-of-year season, an entry-level home in Midtown listed at approximately $2 million attracted closed to 20 offers, and got bid up all the way up to $3 million. Similarly, about a dozen other homes experienced bidding wars, which led to homes going for way more than their asking prices, including one Greenmeadow home that sold for 63

percent higher than its asking price. This volume-zone demand mainly consists of local young couples, at least one of whom works in high tech, benefiting from the solid tech economy. These young families are moving from other parts of the Bay Area to cut commute times and get their children into Palo Alto schools. At the high end, buyers become more demanding on location and lot size. There were three sales above $10 million this year in Palo Alto. I represented the buyer in one of them. All have large lots, bigger than 10,000 square feet, on ideal streets in Old Palo Alto and Crescent Park. Wealthy Chinese families have kept coming to Palo Alto despite the government’s countless measures to restrain capital outflow. Just as our locals benefited from the robust stock market, the elite Chinese have grown their wealth through capital markets (Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has appreciated more than 30 percent so far this year), as well as the policy-driven housing bubble in China. Palo Alto homes, even at $5 million, are regularly considered bargains for Chinese buyers. Lots of uncertainty remains as we head toward 2018, while supply remains the key driver for prices. The impact of the federal tax law changes on the property market is yet to be seen. While the tax deductions on home mortgages and property taxes may or may not discourage home ownership, the potential elimination of the alternative minimum tax bracket may be more than enough to offset any lost tax deductions for many Bay Area families. Moreover, given the high home prices, it’s not practical for entry-level buyers to limit borrowing to $500,000 to get into Palo Alto anyway. In fact, most young families take a home loan ranging from $1 million to $2 million. It may not be wise for buyers who are searching for their primary homes to defer purchase because of pending tax law changes, as their purchase decisions should be based on a much longer time horizon. Most market participants expect the current momentum to continue at least into the spring of 2018. However, looking back, an overheated property market in 2015 (13 percent increase in median home price from 2014) actually led to a 20 percent increase in the number of new listings in the spring of 2016 and an instant decline in home prices. Supply still remains the most significant driver for home prices in Palo Alto. Q Xin Jiang is a real estate agent for Alain Pinel Realtors in Palo Alto. She can be emailed at xjiang@apr.com.

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Legal Notices 995 Fictitious Name Statement SERENE SKIN STUDIO ROSE PETALS SKIN STUDIO FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: FBN636547 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1.) Serene Skin Studio, 2.) Rose Petals Skin Studio, located at 216 Ramona St., Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: An Individual. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): ROSEMEIRE MENDES RANCHE 216 Ramona St.

Palo Alto, CA 94301 Registrant began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on N/A. (PAW Dec. 15, 22, 29, 2017; Jan. 5, 2018) VILLAGE FLOWER SHOPPE FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: FBN637024 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Village Flower Shoppe, located 2237 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: An Individual. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): SUSAN HONG 2237 El Camino Real Palo Alto, CA 94306 Registrant began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 12/19/2017. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on December 21, 2017. (PAW Dec. 29, 2017; Jan. 5, 12, 19, 2018)

997 All Other Legals NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: GERHARD HOLZ Case No.: 17PR182277 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of GERHARD HOLZ. A Petition for Probate has been filed by: KLAUS REINIGER in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA. The Petition for Probate requests that: KLAUS REINIGER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A HEARING on the petition will be held on February 7, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in Dept.: 12 of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, located at 191 N. First St., San Jose, CA, 95113. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner: Bridget McInerney Harris Two Embarcadero Center, 5th Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 (415) 398-8080 (PAW Dec. 29, 2017; Jan. 5, 12, 2018) NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: JOAN DEATON, aka JOAN J. DEATON, JOAN JANIS DEATON, JOAN WALSH Case No.: 17PR182480 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of JOAN DEATON, aka JOAN DEATON WALSH, aka JOAN WALSH aka JOAN J. DEATON aka JOAN JANIS DEATON. A Petition for Probate has been filed by:

GREG DEATON in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA. The Petition for Probate requests that: GREG DEATON be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A HEARING on the petition will be held on March 2, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. in Dept.: 12 of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, located at 191 N. First St., San Jose, CA, 95113. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner: Richard L. Ehrman Thoits Law, 400 Main Street, Suite 250 Los Altos, CA 94022 (650) 327-4200 (PAW Dec. 22, 29, 2017; Jan. 5, 2018) NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE OF GOODS TO SATISFY LIEN AUCTION LOCATION: 1040 TERRA BELLA AVE., MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA 94043 In accordance with the provisions of the California Commercial Code, Sections 7201-7210, notice is hereby given that on Wednesday, December 297, 2018 at 10:00 am of said date, at 1040 Terra Bella Ave., City of Mountain View, County of Santa Clara, State of CA, the undersigned will sell at public auction for cash, in lawful money of the United States, the articles hereinafter described, belonging to, or deposited with, the undersigned by the persons hereinafter named at: KHWW, Inc.. Said goods are being held on the accounts of: Nancy Kahn. All other goods are described as household goods, furniture, antiques, appliances, tools, misc goods, office furniture, and articles of art, equipment, rugs, sealed cartons and the unknown. The auction will be made for the purpose of satisfying the lien of the undersigned on said personal property to the extent of the sum owed, together with the cost of the sale. Terms: Cash only with a 15% buyer’s premium. Payment and removal of items purchased, day of sale. Auction conducted by American Auctioneers, Dan Dotson & Associates (800) 838-SOLD, (909) 790-0433 or www.americanauctioneers.com Bond #FS863-20-14. /S/ KHWW Inc 12/29/17, 1/5/18 CNS-3084192# PALO ALTO WEEKLY

Puzzles will return next week.

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 21

Sports Shorts

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Stanford ready to rock

WATCH LIST . . . Stanford’s Jordan Ewert is one of 27 men’s volleyball players named to the Karch Kiraly Award watch list. Off the Block announced the preseason list for the national award presented to the best outside attacker attacker in NCAA Division I-II menís volleyball during the regular season.

Cardinal looks to build on tough preseason

has yet to play. Top recruit Kezie Okpala just saw his first action, scoring six points and blocking a shot in 28 minutes against Kansas. Pickens is a solid player in every aspect and an important piece of the puzzle. He’s capable of producing double-digit scoring efforts. He led the team in minutes played and was second in scoring last year. Sheffield scored a career-high 35 points in a game against Arizona State, a glimpse of his extraordinary talent. He’s averaged 6.4 points in 59 career games, nine starts. Keeping Pickens and Sheffield on the court is important for the Cardinal, which relies heavily on freshmen Daejon Davis, Isaac White and Oscar da Silva. While it’s a team game, Stanford will go nowhere without Reid Travis, perhaps the most valuable player in the conference in terms of what he means to a team. Travis averages 21.4 points a game thus far and has reached double figures in all 13 contests. he also averages 7.1 rebounds despite grabbing just 14 over his last three games combined. His season-high is 14. He’s still working on his 3-point shot (7-27, 26 percent) but has a powerful move to the basket that gets him to the free throw line. The more aggressive

by Rick Eymer rittany McPhee returned to the lineup in Stanford’s home loss to Tennessee last week and it was immediately apparent how much the Cardinal women’s basketball team missed its star senior guard. Having her in the lineup breathes new life into Stanford’s conference hopes as it prepares to open Pac-12 play Friday against visiting No. 11 UCLA at 5:30 p.m. The Bruins are the projected conference champs according to a preseason coaches poll. Stanford was tabbed for a second-place tie with Oregon. “It was great having Brit back,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “She made a statement. She set the tone.” Fresh ma n Maya Dodson made her collegiate starting debut and showed she belongs. Sta nford fell out of the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 2001 Maya Dodson this week and that may be a blessing in disguise. The Cardinal’s preseason schedule included five losses to teams ranked ninth in the nation or higher and a sixth to a team with a 10-2 record. Stanford (6-6) enters conference play with its worst start after 12 games since opening the 199899 season 4-8, when it finished 18-12 and got beat in the first round of the NCAA tournament. “I want us to take this tough schedule and make it pay off,” Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We have to embrace the challenge. We need more consistent play.” McPhee returned to the Stanford lineup for the first time in over a month. She was limited to about 25 minutes and still managed to score 26 points, one off her career best in scoring. The Pac-12 is loaded with nationally-ranked, quality teams with postseason dreams of their own. With McPhee back and Dijonai Carrington not far behind, the Cardinal can begin working to regain its groove. Junior Alanna Smith may be the main beneficiary of McPhee’s return. The team leader in rebounds (8.4) will not have to carry a heavier load and will be freed up to play a style more conducive to her talents, which means more

(continued on next page)

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B

SPORTS AWARD . . . Stanford sophomore swimmer Katie Ledecky was voted Female Athlete of the Year as announced by the Associated Press. Ledecky narrowly edged former Bank of the West Classic tennis champion Serena Williams for the award. Track and field star Allyson Felix finished third in the balloting. Ledecky became the first swimmer to earn the honor since Amy Van Dyken in 1996 and the first active collegiate athlete to win since Rebecca Lobo in 1995. Ledecky established herself as a top collegiate swimmer once she hit the water for her first competition, leading the Cardinal to its first NCAA championship title in 19 years. Not surprising given she has set 13 world records thus far. As a freshman Ledecky set five individual American records and seven individual NCAA records in three different events, and broke Stanford team records in five individual events en route to five All-America honors. At the world championships in Budapest over the summer, Ledecky won six medals to overtake Missy Franklin as the most decorated female swimmer in world championship history.

ON THE AIR Friday College women’s basketball: UCLA at Stanford, 5:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

Saturday College men’s basketball: California at Stanford, 7 p.m., Fox Sports 1

Saturday College women’s basketball: USC at Stanford, 1 p.m., Pac-12 Networks

READ MORE ONLINE

www.PASportsOnline.com For expanded daily coverage of college and prep sports, visit www.PASportsOnline.com

Bob Drebin/isiphotos.com

PENINSULA CLASSIC . . . The Menlo College women’s basketball team hosts Midland College on Friday at 6 p.m. as part of the Peninsula Classic, its first game since knocking off NAIA No. 3-ranked Campbellsville at the Hoop N Surf Christmas Classic in Honolulu. The Oaks (10-2), who also host College of St. Mary at 6 p.m. Saturday, won their first nine games before dropping two in a row. Ashlyn Monk scored 18 points, one of four Oaks who reached double figures, in the big victory over the Tigers (12-2). Woodside grad Madison Michelis had 17 points to go with 13 rebounds. She had 30 rebounds in her past two games, replacing Destinee Bowie, Menlo’s leading scorer at 18.2 per game. Bowie did not play in Hawaii.

Reid Travis leads Stanford with a 21.4 scoring average. He also averages over seven rebounds a game.

STANFORD MEN’S BASKETBALL

Opening conference play Stanford looks to use tough preseason for solid Pac-12 effort by Rick Eymer tanford enters Pac-12 men’s basketball action as one of two teams in the conference with an overall losing record. Saturday’s opponent, California, is the other one. Perhaps it’s way too early to call it a must-win situation for both teams. Better to say the winner will be in a lot better shape than the loser moving forward. The Cardinal (6-7), projected to finish fifth in a preseason poll of the Pac-12 coaches, hosts the Golden Bears (6-7), at 7 p.m. (Fox Sports 1). Cal was predicted to finish 11th. Of course preseason polls are only worth the effort it takes to punch a few keys into an online ballot. After all, Arizona State was picked to finish sixth and Washington 10th. And, as the frayed-at-the-edges cliche reminds us, everybody starts at 0-0. So what condition is Stanford’s condition in? Is it really a sub .500 team as the record would like you to believe or is it a ploy to detract from the real talent that lurks within? Let’s take the grueling preseason schedule, throw it into the blender, and see what comes out. Three of the first seven losses have come to teams ranked among the top 15 in the AP Top 25 poll. The Cardinal survived,

S

Page 22 • December 29, 2017 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

losing by an average margin of 22 points to teams which currently have a combined 29-8 record. Two other losses were by fewer than 10 points to Ohio State and Portland State, both on a neutral court. Those teams are a combined 20-7. What to make of the losses to Eastern Washington at home and at Long Beach State, teams with a combined 10-18 mark? Is it possible to dismiss them as ‘that’s the way the basketball bounces’? The 49ers went 2-2 against the Pac-12, also beating Oregon State and losing to the Beavers and Arizona. Stanford’s six victories to date, three versus schools with a winning record, are against teams with a combined 36-40 mark. The schedule would indicate the Cardinal stands a darn good chance of being a .500 team. Stanford is capable of stealing a win or two and also capable of letting one or two slip away. If the Cardinal should finish at least as high as fifth, it would be considered successful, a job well done. Stanford has its collective heart set on making the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years. A fifth-place finish puts them in strong contention for just such an accomplishment. Health is another consideration. Senior Dorian Pickens has been limited to two games due to a foot injury. Junior Marcus Sheffield

Women’s basketball (continued from previous page)

perimeter movement. Get her going and she’ll be a consistent contributor. Smith has four double-doubles in her last seven games and is at her best when she’s attacking. Smith leads Stanford with her .504 shooting percentage and gets to the foul line more than any other Cardinal. If she improves her free throw percentage (.583), Smith, who also has 25 blocked shots, can be dominating. Senior Kaylee Johnson ranks second on the team with 7.8 rebounds a game and is a steadying influence. Carrington was playing like a superstar when she was injured. The sophomore has displayed a multilayer game so far, averaging 11.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Marta Sniezek averages a teambest 4.8 assists per game and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.8-1. Her 12 steals are also a team high. Kiana Williams reached double figures in scoring in four straight until being held scoreless by the Lady Vols. She still has 61 points over her past four games after scoring 22 in her first seven. Alexa Romano, Dodson, Anna Wilson, Nadia Fingall and Shannon Coffee have all produced double-digit scoring games for the Cardinal and with more Shannon Coffee experience can only get better. Stanford will have a much better conference season than preseason and by the time the conference tournament rolls around, will be back in the conversation. Q

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

RISTORANTE 417 S. California Ave., Palo Alto

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The senior center scored a combined 54 points and had 43 rebounds in three games at the Steve Geramoni Tournament in Belmont last week. Lane recorded double-doubles in all three games and was named all-tournament.

The senior scored 23 points in Palo Alto’s victory over Carlmont over the weekend and then scored 23 points in a first-round victory over Saint Louis-Honolulu at the Lahainaluna Invitational Tournament

Full Bar

Lunch

Honorable mention Greer Hoyem* Menlo-Atherton basketball

Carly Leong Palo Alto basketball

Carly McLanahan Menlo-Atherton basketball

Tatiana Reese* Priory basketball

Dominque Robson Priory basketball

Annika Shah Palo Alto basketball

Dinner

Cocktail

Banquet

®

Will Beasley Menlo-Atherton basketball

Gabe DeVitis Woodside basketball

Jhavante Hill Menlo-Atherton basketball

Spencer Rojahn* Palo Alto basketball

Nate Smith Mid-Peninsula basketball

Ben Winer Kehillah Jewish basketball *Previous winner

Watch video interviews of the Athletes of the Week, go to PASportsOnline.com

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Men’s basketball (continued from previous page)

(but not reckless) he is, the better for Stanford. “He’s best around the rim and making tough plays and getting fouled,” Stanford coach Jarod Haase said. “We want to make sure that’s still the end goal for the most part. But when he can balance that with some jump shots, some dribble penetration, he’ll become even better. I don’t think anybody ever thought that was going to be a part of his game, and now it may be the best part.” Michael Humphrey, one of two seniors on the team, will also have to play a big role both rebounding and scoring. He can draw attention away from Travis and is capable of a double-double. Josh Sharma and Blake Pagon are two important role players, capable of energizing their teammates when in the game. When everything is working, Stanford can play with the best. The Cardinal has to bring its ‘A’ game every time out or it will once again he on the outside looking in at tournament time. Q

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JANUARY 10, 2018 AT 6:00PM Action Items: 1. PUBLIC HEARING: Recommendation to the City Council Regarding the Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Palo Alto Municipal Code (PAMC) Chapters 18.12 (R-1 Single-Family Residential District), 18.42 (Standards for Special Uses), and 18.77 (Processing of Permits and Approvals), The Proposed Ordinance is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in Accordance With CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). For More Information, Please Contact Clare Campbell at clare.campbell@cityofpaloalto.org The Planning and Transportation Commission is live streamed online at http://midpenmedia.org/category/ government/city-of-palo-alto and available on via cablecast on government access channel 26. The complete agenda with accompanying reports is available online at http://www. cityofpaloalto.org/gov/boards/ptc/default.asp. For Additional Information Contact Yolanda Cervantes at Yolanda.Cervantes@ cityofpaloalto.org or at 650.329.2404. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • December 29, 2017 • Page 23

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