Palo
Alto
Vol. XXXVI, Number 46 Q August 21, 2015
City Council
looks to raise
minimum wage
Page 5
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Pulse 18 Transitions 19 Spectrum 20 Eating Out 32 Tidbits 33 Movies 35 Puzzles 58
QArts A cappella group Pentatonix performs at Shoreline
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QHome Local artists featured in Palo Alto Festival of the Arts Page 37
QSports It’s a healthy start for Stanford women’s soccer
Page 60
Living Well
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Page 4 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Upfront
Local news, information and analysis
Palo Alto prepares to raise minimum wage
City Council to consider plan to set local rate at $11
per hour, with a view toward $15 in 2018
by Gennady Sheyner
P
alo Alto is a relative latecomer when it comes to
establishing a minimum
wage, but a new proposal that
the City Council is set to discuss
Monday looks to place the city
ahead of the regional pack.
The council will consider a pro-
posal that would set a local minimum wage at $11 an hour starting
in 2016 and put the city on a path
to see the figure rise to $15 by
2018. The plan, which was crafted
and unanimously endorsed by the
council’s Policy and Services Committee in April, would align the
city with a broader push across the
state to raise the minimum wage.
The California minimum wage is
set to rise from $9 to $10 per hour in
January, though cities across the state
are moving ahead with their own local laws that go beyond this standard.
San Jose voters led the way by
adopting a minimum-wage ordinance in 2013, with the hourly
rate currently set at $10.30 and
tied to consumer price index
(CPI) increases. San Francisco
followed suit last November
with an even more aggressive
proposal, one that increased the
wage to $12.25 on May 1 and that
gradually raises it to $15 by July
1, 2018.
Berkeley, Emeryville, Los Angeles, Oakland, Richmond and
San Diego have adopted minimum-wage ordinances in recent
years, with varying amounts
and adjustment mechanisms. In
Santa Clara County, the cities of
Campbell, Morgan Hill and Santa
Clara are now considering such
ordinances.
Palo Alto’s new law is modeled in many ways after those of
its neighbors, namely Mountain
View and Sunnyvale. Councils
in both cities adopted ordinances
last October that set the minimum
wage at $10.30, effective July 1
of this year. The ordinances also
(continued on page 14)
TRANSPORTATION
Cities challenge VTA
on transportation funding
Mayors from Palo Alto, North County and West Valley
call for ‘transformative long-range vision’
by Gennady Sheyner
W
Veronica Weber
First-grade teacher Angelina Rodriguez reads to her students in Spanish in their Spanish
Immersion classroom at Escondido Elementary School on Aug. 19. Ninety percent of class time is
spent speaking Spanish and 10 percent is in English in first grade.
EDUCATION
Spanish immersion program marks
20 years in Palo Alto
Two decades later, first students reflect on how
the elementary school program changed their lives
by Elena Kadvany
O
ne works on climate
change in the White
House. Another started
a new job this week as an elementary school dual-immersion
teacher. Another is a journalist;
another is heading to Chile this
fall for a physical therapy internship; and one now serves
as program director for DreamCatchers, a local nonprofit that
provides after-school tutoring
and mentoring to low-income
Palo Alto students.
The common thread in these
seemingly disparate career
choices is Palo Alto Unified
School District’s Spanish immersion program, from which
all of these people graduated
from many years ago.
The program, which has been
housed at Escondido Elementary School since the late 1990s,
is celebrating its 20th anniversary this weekend. Students
and families from the earliest
cohorts of the program are returning from elsewhere in the
state and country to attend the
celebration, a testament to the
deep impact and close ties the
immersion program produced.
The program’s earliest stu-
dents, now in their mid-20s, all
describe the program as having
a lasting impact on their lives
that went far beyond simply
being able to speak a second
language. It developed in all
of them an appreciation of language, education and cultural
differences that has played out
in each of their lives in compelling ways.
Twenty years later, one can
see the impact of the Spanish immersion program most
directly through two students.
(continued on page 12)
ith the regional push
for a transportation tax
measure cruising toward November 2016, Palo Alto,
Mountain View and other cities in the northern part of Santa
Clara County are joining forces
to ensure their needs don’t get
overshadowed by San Jose’s.
The unusual alliance of 11 cities
was prompted by years of complaints
about the lack of balance in how the
tax funds have been allocated.
According to an analysis by the
office of Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, whose district includes the northern part of
the county, nearly 80 percent of
the funds from the past two ballot
measures have been spent on the
extension of BART from the East
Bay to San Jose. This includes the
entire $320 million raised so far
from the 2008 measure and $3.3
billion of the $4.3 billion raised
from the 2000 tax.
Simitian’s analysis also showed
that District 5, which also includes
a portion of West Valley, received
just 5.3 percent of the proceeds
from the 2000 measure. District
1, which includes the remainder
of the West Valley cities, received
just 4.5 percent from that measure.
Now, the cities see the 2016
transportation measure as the perfect opportunity to change that imbalance. To that end, elected officials and city managers from these
cities have co-written a letter urging the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to
consider more comprehensive and
integrated transportation solutions
that would serve the needs of the
entire county. It calls for the VTA,
the agency pursuing the 2016 mea-
sure, to initiate a comprehensive
study to develop a “system-wide
plan that integrates future masstransit investments in Santa Clara
County with connections to other
counties, via such systems as Caltrain, as well as community-level
systems and ‘first/last mile’ strategies,” the letter reads.
Though the letter doesn’t specifically mention the proposed
tax measure, its strategic significance is clear. With highway traffic around Palo Alto, Mountain
View, Los Altos Hills and Cupertino severely congested during the morning and afternoon
rush hours, officials are trying to
ensure that a good chunk of the
funds raised through the potential
tax will help remedy the situation.
During a lengthy discussion
Monday that dominated its first
meeting after the summer break,
the Palo Alto City Council expressed its own frustrations about
tax allocations and unanimously
approved the letter to the VTA,
which calls for the county to focus
its attention on commuting patterns
along busy Peninsula arteries such
as U.S. Highway 101, Interstate 280,
Highway 85 and State Route 237.
Signaling the renewed spirit of
cooperation, Mountain View Mayor John McAlister and Councilman
Lenny Siegel both attended the
Palo Alto meeting. Siegel told the
Palo Alto council that the root of
the problem in Santa Clara County
is that “we don’t have a transit system in the county that serves our
existing commuting patterns.”
“A study of our transportation
needs throughout the county and
(continued on page 16)
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 5
Upfront
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It’s execution time.
Marc Berman, Palo Alto City Council member, on
the launch of downtown’s long-awaited Residential
Preferential Program for parking. See story on
page 11.
Around Town
A BRAYER FOR RESOLUTION ...
You no longer need to go to an
Iowa fair or watch a presidential
debate to see elephants and
donkeys take part in the political
process. Palo Alto City Hall will
do. Despite an unusually long
and productive meeting, the City
Council took the time on Monday
to honor the city’s newest official
ambassador: Palo Alto Perry. The
plush, stuffed donkey — who happens to be a facsimile of Pericles,
one of the two real donkeys who
live in Barron Park — has been
making the rounds of the city in
recent months, visiting classrooms
and city departments, riding with
emergency responders, flying in a
plane, learning Irish dancing and
cooking with Calafia chef Charlie
Ayers, of Google fame. Perry’s
campaign officially concluded on
July 4 at the city’s Chili Cook-Off
in Mitchell Park. This week, he
received a special proclamation
and plaque from the City Council.
Councilman Eric Filseth read the
proclamation, which recognized
the “huggable stuffed animal” who
was “received with open hearts
by every ambassador who took
him to their favorite spots around
town” and who “succeeded in his
mission to bring community together.” Then it was time for Perry
to answer some questions from
City Manager James Keene and
Mayor Karen Holman about his
recent activities, including a visit
to AT&T Park to sing the national
anthem with Addison Elementary
School’s Noon chorus and a visit
to the Tesla headquarters (which
Perry called “electrifying”). After
Keene asked Perry how he managed to stay fit, Perry mentioned
that during his visit to Avenidas,
he was treated to an evening of
yoga and Zumba. “I can’t wait to
show Niner (the other Barron Park
donkey) yoga and the downwardfacing donkey,” Perry said.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM ...
From Caltrain trenches and a wider
Page Mill Road to new bike routes
and local shuttles, Palo Alto and
surrounding cities have no shortage of transportation projects to
applaud and criticize. Then there
is the Bus Rapid Transit project,
which would designate the two
central lanes of El Camino Real
for a new bus service run by the
county’s chief transit agency, the
Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority (VTA). The project has
polarized communities along the
Peninsula and in Palo Alto, with
some residents urging the City
Council during Monday’s discussion to support the bus plan and
others warning that taking lanes
from El Camino would push cars
on to neighboring streets and
make an already difficult situation
even worse. For opponents, the
bus project is nothing less than the
“elephant in the room” in discussions about ongoing transportation
initiatives. That point was made
not-so-subtly by an actual elephant
in the room — or rather, a member
of the public wearing a dress and
an elephant mask. The mysterious
visitor didn’t speak, for obvious
reasons (“Elephants Can’t Talk,”
a sign in the visitor’s hands read).
But the meaning — don’t forget
about VTA’s bus plan — was clear
for all spectators. As Mayor Karen
Holman observed during her comments on the VTA’s proposed
transportation measure, “You can’t
overlook the elephant in the room.”
PIZZA GALORE ... There are many
reasons to visit the California
Avenue area. A slice of pizza is becoming one of them, as Palo Alto’s
second downtown doesn’t have
just one pizza joint anymore but six
within several square blocks. How
to figure out which piece of pie
to try? For something traditional,
there’s Terun Pizzeria on the main
drag. People who want something customizable can stop in at
create-your-own pizza chains Pizza
Studio (also on California Avenue)
or Pieology (on El Camino Real).
Got dietary preferences? Palo Alto
Pizza Co. on Park Boulevard is a
sports bar and pizza place that offers gluten-free and vegan options.
And then there’s the newly opened
Fire Oak & Barley on Cal. Ave.,
which specializes in wood-fired
pies. But all is not chi-chi: For those
to whom “pizza” means a quick
pick-me-up, Domino’s Pizza operates on Cambridge Avenue. Whatever the hankering, the district, aka
Pizza Central, probably has it. Now
where to park the car ...? Q
Upfront
EDUCATION
Palo Alto goes back to
school
K-8 schools reopen with renewed focus,
anticipation for the upcoming year
A
tangible sense of excitement was in the air Tuesday morning at Palo Alto’s
elementary and middle schools as
about 9,000 kindergarten through
eighth-grade students started their
first day of the new school year.
In south Palo Alto, the blocks
of East Meadow Drive near
Fairmeadow Elementary School
and JLS Middle School were full
of kids and parents heading to the
first day of school — some on
bikes, others walking hand-in-hand
with parents or friends and some
even stopping to pose in front of the
schools’ signs for photos.
The picture-taking — and
hold-handing — continued at
Fairmeadow, where parents, children and staff expressed further
excitement about starting anew,
with anticipation about what the
upcoming year.
“The first day of school never
loses its magic,” said Fairmeadow
Principal Grant Althouse. “We
really try to capitalize on the energy of this day.”
Palo Alto Unified’s 13 elementary
schools and three middle schools
started the 2015-16 year the day after Gunn and Palo Alto high schools.
Althouse said much of the upcoming school year at Fairmeadow will be focused on literacy
instruction, with the implementation of a new reading curriculum from the Columbia University Teachers College Reading &
Writing Project.
The project curriculum is fully
aligned with the Common Core
State Standards and emphasizes
differentiation and use of performance assessments, learning progressions and rubrics to both amp
up students’ writing achievement
and increase teaching consistency.
Many K-8 Palo Alto teachers attended multiday institutes
at the Teachers College in New
York the past few years as their
schools worked to roll out the
new literacy curriculum.
Althouse explained the Reading & Writing Project’s approach
as cultivating “independent” versus “compliant” readers.
“A compliant reader and writer
just does assignments; an independent reader and writer explores
their thinking through reading and
writing,” Althouse said.
Fairmeadow is also continuing
its work around social-emotional learning and school climate.
The school is in its fifth year of
two social-emotional programs
called Second Step and Steps to
Respect, which other Palo Alto
Unified elementary schools also
Veronica Weber
by Elena Kadvany
From right, Julia Kirner, Bani Gupta and Summer Evans pose as Summer’s mom takes a photo of the
second-graders at Fairmeadow Elementary on their first day of school on Aug. 18.
use. Developed by national social-emotional learning and antibullying nonprofit Committee for
Children, both programs seek to
teach young children skills like
listening, self-regulation, empathy, identifying feelings and selfadvocacy. “We show kids that this
is a safe place and that we’re here
to support each other and to explicitly teach some of those skills
like empathy,” Althouse said.
Fairmeadow parent Mathilde
TRANSPORTATION
Survey sheds light on downtown
Palo Alto drivers
Data show most commuters come from
South Bay and Peninsula; San Franciscans prefer Caltrain
by Gennady Sheyner
T
hey drive alone and show
up in droves — that much
is clear.
But who are these non-carpooling commuters? Where do
they come from? And, most importantly, what can the city do to
get them to switch from cars to
other forms of transportation?
These questions have for years
mystified the Palo Alto City
Council, which has spent more
time discussing parking and traffic than just about any other topic
over the past two years. And now,
at last, the city has some answers.
The Palo Alto Transportation Management Association (TMA), the city’s recently
formed traffic-fighting nonprofit,
commissioned a detailed survey
of downtown commuters. In May,
the consulting firm EMC surveyed 1,173 people in the down-
town area, including employees
of small, medium and large companies. Each person was asked
questions about city of origin,
personal commute patterns, and
attitudes about biking, transit and
other transportation options.
The survey revealed that about
55 percent of people drive by
themselves into downtown Palo
Alto. The largest portion of commuters, 33 percent, come here
from the South Bay. They were
followed by drivers from the
Peninsula (20 percent) and from
other parts of Palo Alto (also 20
percent). A minority came from
San Francisco (10 percent) and
the East Bay (7 percent).
One of the survey’s most striking findings is that South Bay
and East Bay commuters are far
more likely to drive alone to Palo
Alto than their counterparts from
San Francisco. Only 18 percent
of commuters from San Francisco drive alone, the survey states.
This is compared to 76 percent
of commuters from the East Bay,
65 percent of commuters from
the South Bay and 63 percent of
commuters from the Peninsula.
Of those who live in Palo Alto, 41
percent drive alone to work while
48 percent either walk or bike.
The survey also showed that
part-time workers are far more
likely to drive alone than fulltimers. Of the workers with one
full-time job, 53 percent drive
alone, while those with one parttime job commute solo at a rate
of 75 percent. Employees of large
businesses, meanwhile, are less
likely to drive alone than employees of medium and small firms.
The survey also indicated that
coders are much less likely to
Lenoir was dropping off her kindergarten and second-grade children
on Tuesday. She said this year’s
first day of school felt better than
last year’s, when her family had just
moved to Palo Alto from Italy for
her husband’s tech job. Last year,
she was worried about her children
not only starting a new school and
not knowing anyone but also learning English at the same time.
“It’s totally different from last
year — maybe that’s the biggest
thing about today,” she said. “It’s
thinking about last year and how
lost we were knowing nobody,
and this year we have friends to
welcome us with open arms and
people to greet and be greeted by.
That just feels awesome.” Q
For more coverage of the first
day of school, go to PaloAltoOnline.com. Read about “Jaguar Journey,” Jordan Middle
School’s orientation program for
sixth-graders.
drive than chefs, hotel workers,
shopkeepers or just about any
other type of downtown employee. And the gap is wide: Only
33 percent of tech workers indicated that they drive alone, while
31 percent take Caltrain and 26
percent walk or bike. The solo
driving rate for those in retail
is 78 percent; in hospitality it’s
73 percent; and in the restaurant
sector it’s 72 percent.
The survey’s conclusion about
tech workers eschewing their
cars is largely consistent with the
data collected earlier this year by
downtown tech companies Palantir, RealIQ and SurveyMonkey.
The three companies surveyed
their employees and determined
that only 38 percent drive alone.
“Individual car share is very
high in places with poor Caltrain
access,” the survey from the
three firms concluded. “Proximity to work (which allows for
walking and biking) and access
to Caltrain are two major factors
in determining mode share.”
When it comes to taking Caltrain, San Francisco’s commuters are far ahead of the pack.
The survey showed 70 percent
of them rely on the rail service
to get to work, compared to just
20 percent of South Bay residents
and 16 percent of those who
come from Peninsula cities.
In general, those with the most
distance to cover were shown
to be more likely to depend on
public transit. Of the commuters
with trips longer than 50 miles,
38 percent reported driving alone
while 40 percent rely on Caltrain.
Those with shorter trips, between
10 and 50 miles, generally favor
cars over trains and buses. The
survey showed that 69 percent of
them drive alone, while 19 percent take Caltrain.
The survey results are already
influencing Palo Alto’s debate
about traffic and parking. On
Monday night, the council had a
long discussion about transportation projects that they’d like to
see funded in the coming years.
The study’s findings about
the high number of people who
commute from the South Bay to
Palo Alto were cited by council
members who argued that the
city should demand more money
for transit services from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority (VTA), which is now
moving ahead with a plan to put
a transportation measure on the
November 2016 ballot.
The new survey results are also
expected to affect the wave of
(continued on page 11)
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 7
Upfront
News Digest
EDUCATION
Dauber seeks conflict-of-interest
ruling from FPPC
Nonprofit offers to buy mobile home park
The effort to preserve Buena Vista Mobile Home Park took a significant step forward earlier this month when a nonprofit corporation
sent a bid to property owner Joe Jisser to buy the park. While Jisser
ponders the offer, residents held a thank-you picnic for supporters
and city and county officials at Mitchell Park on Saturday, Aug. 15.
The nonprofit Caritas Corporation, which has preserved 20 California mobile home parks, made the offer of an undisclosed amount
about 1 1/2 weeks ago, said Winter Dellenbach, founder of the group
Friends of Buena Vista, which is working with Caritas. But she
stressed it is a very preliminary bid.
Jisser could have delivered six-month eviction notices in May after
the City Council approved both the closure of the El Camino Real
mobile home park and a compensation plan for the homeowners, but
he has not, according to residents. They also said Jisser comes to the
park and walks around but doesn’t talk, and they have been paying
their monthly rent.
The potential closure of the park sparked the Santa Clara County
Board of Supervisors and the City of Palo Alto to commit $14.5 million each toward purchase of the 4.5-acre property. A total of $39
million has been raised, Dellenbach said. The Caritas Corporation
has said it would raise $10 million in bonds.
The Jissers had planned to raze the aging mobile home park and
partner with a developer to build high-end apartments. But that deal,
with developer Prometheus, fell through during the protracted efforts
by residents and supporters to keep the park open.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who has met with the
Jissers and spearheaded the county and city commitments, on Saturday thanked supporters, who included past and present members
of the council, the Palo Alto Unified School District school board
and the PTA.
He said he would continue to work to preserve the park “until the
day comes when we can go to a ribbon-cutting for 117 units of affordable housing” there. Q
— Sue Dremann
Palo Alto to add members to Comp Plan panel
Responding to criticism about insufficient representation from
the southern half of the city, the Palo Alto City Council agreed on
Tuesday morning to add five new members to the nascent Citizen
Advisory Committee, which was appointed in July to help the city
update its Comprehensive Plan. Applications for the group will be
taken until Aug. 25 and the council is scheduled to make the appointments in two weeks.
Currently with 20 members — 17 of whom are allowed to vote
— the committee includes former planning commissioners, housing
advocates, neighborhood activists and other concerned residents.
But with 12 of the 17 voting members making their homes north of
Oregon Expressway, critics maintained that the current group lacks
the geographical balance needed to give the process credibility.
Critics have also maintained that the committee is loaded with too
many proponents of new developments, pointing to the large role
of the group Palo Alto Forward on the panel. The citizens group,
which advocates for more housing and transportation options, includes three voting members who belong to the Palo Alto Forward
steering committee.
Councilman Tom DuBois said that when the council decided in
May to form the new group, it explicitly tried to create criteria for
members that would achieve balance. He acknowledges that this is
not what happened and pointed to the high number of people from
the northern half of the city serving on the panel.
The council agreed with DuBois that the new appointments should
be made by the council, unlike the earlier appointments, which were
made by City Manager James Keene.
The council rejected, however, calls to oust two of the committee’s
members: Chair Daniel Garber, an architect and former member of
the Planning and Transportation Commission, and Steve Levy, a
regional economist who consults for the Association of Bay Area
Governments.
The council also debated and agreed on several proposals aimed at
making the committee more efficient and transparent. This includes
supporting the idea of group “subcommittees,” focusing on particular
Comprehensive Plan topics and a new policy of having the meetings
be recorded. The council also supported a process that would allow
four committee members to write minority opinions if they disagree
with the majority.
The citizens group is charged with reviewing every chapter (or
“element”) of the Comprehensive Plan and working with the council
to complete the update, which was launched in 2006 and which the
city hopes to conclude by the end of 2016. Often referred to as the
city’s “land-use bible,” the document sets the foundation for the city’s
zoning code and other citywide policies. Q
— Gennady Sheyner
Page 8 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
School board member hopes to quell concerns about his
involvement with Office for Civil Rights
by Elena Kadvany
S
eeking to put to rest years anonymous posters on Palo
of questions about his re- Alto Online’s Town Square folationship with the U.S. rum have accused Dauber of
Department of Education’s Of- assisting district parents in prefice for Civil Rights (OCR) paring complaints to the Office
and the agency’s involvement for Civil Rights and of using his
in the Palo Alto school district, relationships with top agency
officials to urge investischool board member
gations into the district,
Ken Dauber wrote last
allegations that Dauber
week to the California
has strongly denied.
Fair Political Practices
Q uest ions
ab out
Commission (FPPC)
Dauber’s involvement
for formal written adwith the agency also
vice on whether he has
rose to the surface dura conflict of interest on
ing his 2014 run for
school board matters
school board. When
related to the federal
agency.
Ken Dauber asked during an endorsement interview
He included with the
with the Weekly if he
letter several email exchanges he had in 2013 with had recommended any action
OCR officials in Washington by the OCR relating to the Palo
and San Francisco, written after Alto families’ complaints, he
Palo Alto Unified entered into said he hadn’t.
“I have not encouraged those
a resolution agreement with the
federal agency following the dis- complaints, sought them out (or)
trict’s violation of the civil rights anything like that,” he said. He
of a disabled middle school stu- also said during the campaign
dent through its mishandling of that he had no knowledge of the
initial OCR investigation in Palo
bullying complaints.
Dauber said in an interview Alto before the general public
Wednesday that he is seeking did, let alone from any source at
a ruling from the FPPC in or- or outside of the agency.
Following the endorsement inder to quell any concerns about
his past consulting work for and terview, Dauber sent the Weekly
communications with the Office an email describing the commufor Civil Rights as he anticipates nications he had with the Office
OCR-related issues will come for Civil Rights in 2013.
According to Dauber’s letter
before the school board this fall.
From 2009 to 2011, before to the FPPC, from 2002 to 2010,
Dauber was elected, he served he worked as a paid consultant
as a paid data consultant for the for nonprofit Ed Trust West with
Department of Education, earn- then-director Russlynn Ali, a
ing a total of $26,426, according law school classmate of Dauber’s wife, Stanford University
to Dauber.
Two civil-rights cases remain law professor Michele Dauber.
In 2011, President Barack
open in Palo Alto — both involving Title IX sexual-harass- Obama appointed Ali to serve
ment issues at the district’s two as the Department of Educahigh schools — and Superinten- tion’s assistant secretary for
dent Max McGee expressed this civil rights.
From 2009 to 2011, Dauber
spring a desire for board guidance on whether and how the said, he worked as an “occasiondistrict should reach a resolution al paid consultant” to the OCR,
helping with the agency’s Civil
in these two cases.
Dauber said he believes he Rights Data Collection, a nahas no conflict of interest, as tional survey of school districts.
his paid consulting work ended In those years he received a total
in 2011 and his district-related of $26,426, including $5,872 in
communications with the fed- 2011, which he reported as W-2
eral office ceased before he was income, he wrote to the FPPC.
He has received no compenelected last fall. A Board of Education bylaw defines conflict sation from the Department of
of interest as when a “decision Education since 2011, he said.
In 2012, he made his first run
will have a ‘reasonably foreseeable material financial effect’” for the school board but failed to
on a board member’s economic win a seat.
In 2013, Dauber did “a small
interest.
“Looking forward, I want to amount of uncompensated conbe able to point to a clear advice sulting (less than 20 hours)” for
from the FPPC that I expect will nonprofit Public Counsel, he
affirm that I don’t have a con- wrote in his letter to the FPPC.
flict. But in any case, I’ll have The director of Public Counsel at the time was Catherine
clarity,” he said on Wednesday.
Over the past several years, Lhamon, who in 2013 succeed-
ed Ali as assistant secretary for
civil rights. Michele Dauber also
served on a nonprofit board with
Lhamon from 2005 to 2013.
On Wednesday night, Dauber
posted on his website (kendauber.com/fppc_advice) his Aug.
13 letter to the FPPC and emails
written between February and
July 2013, which he said are all
the communications he had with
the Office for Civil Rights on
matters related to the Palo Alto
school district.
In February 2013, after learning from press reports that
the OCR had issued a finding
against the school district the
prior December, Dauber wrote
to Sandra Battle, the agency’s
deputy assistant secretary for
enforcement, at the suggestion
of Ali. He asked for data on how
many other school districts had
experienced OCR disabilityharassment investigations that
led to formal findings. Dauber
wrote that he and his wife had
been helping the family who
filed the complaint against the
school district “with getting
services.” Knowing how frequent this kind of outcome is
elsewhere would be helpful, he
wrote. He also said that he knew
of as many as a dozen families with “similar experiences”
who were also considering filing complaints and asked if the
OCR had any “thought towards
coordinated enforcement.”
Battle replied that out of 1,513
disability-harassment complaints the OCR received from
2009 to 2012, 647 resulted in
investigations or involvement,
118 resulted in resolution agreements and 16 led to formal findings against secondary schools.
She wrote that she “would
welcome other thoughts about
effective coordinated enforcement” in Palo Alto.
In March 2013, Michele Dauber sent an 11-page legal analysis
to Shilpa Ram, a staff attorney
in the OCR’s San Francisco office, pointing out inadequacies
of draft policies developed by
the Palo Alto school district on
how to handle complaints of
disability discrimination. Ken
Dauber simultaneously forwarded his wife’s letter to Battle.
Dauber noted in his Aug. 13
letter to the FPPC that his wife,
an expert on Title IX and schoolbased sexual harassment and assault, also referred one of the
Palo Alto OCR complainants in
2013 to pro bono representation
with another Stanford faculty
member.
“She has received money from
no source, nor any promise of
Upfront
any future payment or gift with
respect to any issue involving
PAUSD at any time,” Dauber
wrote to the FPPC.
On May 29, 2013, Dauber
wrote again to Battle and to two
other high-level agency officials
members to suggest the agency
provide technical assistance to
Palo Alto after Palo Alto High
School’s Verde Magazine reported on the school’s “rape culture,”
including details about the sexual assault of two female students.
“One area where PAUSD has
continued to struggle is compliance with Title IX, which protects girls and young women
from discrimination in sports,
sexual harassment, and sexual
assault,” Dauber wrote in his
post this week. “It was evident
that senior district staff were
not well-versed on the requirements for prompt investigation
and remediation of complaints
of sexual harassment (it was later disclosed that Paly principal
Phil Winston was at the same
time being removed following a
district investigation for sexual
harassment).
“As a result, the district itself
requested and received technical assistance in relation to the
Paly case, according to former
Superintendent Kevin Skelly. I
also asked OCR whether technical assistance could be offered to
the district on Title IX.”
Battle responded on May 30,
2013, that OCR’s San Francisco
office would contact the district
and offer assistance.
The last email Dauber released
is from July 16, 2013, when he
sent Battle PDF files of two
Daily Post articles that claimed
the OCR interviewed students
without parental consent in Palo
Alto. He suggested the agency
Public Agenda
A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week
PASSPORT
CITY COUNCIL... The council plans to hold a closed session to discuss
the status of its labor negotiations with the police and fire unions; consider
a recommendation to implement a minimum-wage requirement of $11
per hour by Jan. 1, 2016; approve responses to two Grand Jury reports,
“A Slow Rising Emergency — Sea Level Rise” and “Protecting Our Most
Vulnerable Residents”; and consider reforms to the “planned community”
zoning process. The closed session will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug.
24, at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. The regular meeting will begin at 7 p.m.
or as soon as possible after the closed session in the Council Chambers.
Palo Alto Festival of the Arts
BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The school board will discuss the results of a
Hanover Research study on course alignment; board goals for the 201516 year; the appointment of a new associate superintendent; an amendment to the superintendent’s contract; board policy updates; and the
appropriation of $3 million from State Bond Funding to Palo Alto High
School. It will take action to on a $23 million grant from the Peery Family
Fund for the Paly athletic center project. The meeting will begin at 6:30
p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at district headquarters, 25 Churchill Ave.
COUNCIL POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE ... The committee
plans to continue its discussion of a colleagues memo about strengthening engagement with neighborhoods; and consider changes to
council procedures regarding appeals, post-government employment
regulations and other items from the council’s retreat. The meeting will
begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, in the Community Meeting Room
at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
2015 PALO ALTO
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
PRESENTED BY
THE PALO ALTO
MEDICAL FOUNDATION
CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to interview candidates for an
opening on the Utilities Advisory Commission. The meeting will begin at
7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26, in the Community Meeting Room at City
Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission
will consider a proposal to build a one-story home at 5061 Skyline Blvd.; a
proposed annual office cap; an ordinance that would establish regulations
for formula retail; and an ordinance prohibiting conversion of ground-floor
retail to other uses. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday,
Aug. 26, in Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
Purchase your Festival of the Arts Passport
for FREE items and retail discounts.
ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ... The board plans to discuss 1700
Embarcadero Road, a proposal by Gensler to demolish an existing building and construct a 62,527-square-foot automobile dealership and ancillary vehicle wash; and consider a request by America’s Tire Co., for review of a proposed renovation of existing facades and site improvements
for automotive service use. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.
LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMISSION ... The commission plans to see a
presentation about eBooks and other collections; discuss the length of
terms of LAC subcommittees; and consider holding LAC meetings in
libraries. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 27, in the
Community Meeting Room at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. Q
Only $5 for over a $1000 value
Available August 22 & 23 at the
Festival Chamber of Commerce booth
(Bryant & University Ave)
Stop in or call the Palo Alto Chamber
of Commerce (650) 324-3121
355 Alma, Palo Alto, Ca 94301
(continued on page 14)
Food Scraps Composting
Collection Is Here!
Where you put your food scraps
makes a world of difference.
You can now put all of your food scraps and food soiled paper
directly into your green cart along with your yard trimmings.
By doing this, you help Palo Alto turn your food scraps into rich
soil and renewable energy, and help protect the climate.
For service call (650) 493-4894
www.cityofpaloalto.org/foodscraps
zerowaste@cityofpaloalto.org
(650) 496-5910
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 9
Upfront
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270 Escuela Avenue, Mountain View
PLANNING
Council set to revive — and revise —
contentious zoning tool
Palo Alto officials prepare to vote on reforms to the ‘planned community’ process
by Gennady Sheyner
A
fter more than a year of
hibernation, Palo Alto’s
most controversial zoning
process is preparing to roar back
to life.
The City Council will consider
on Monday proposed reforms to
the city’s controversial “planned
community” (PC) zoning process, which allows developers
to barter with the city over zoning regulations. Specifically, the
designation allows developers
to propose projects that exceed
local zoning rules in exchange
for “public benefits” — a vague
catch-all term that has encompassed everything from sculptures and plazas to supermarkets
and a new police headquarters.
In February 2014, the council voted to take a “time out” on
planned community projects, with
Marc Berman acknowledging that
the process is “broken and needs
to be fixed” and Greg Scharff citing the need to “rebuild faith in the
community.” Since then, planning
staff and the planning commission
have been pondering how to make
the process more transparent and
predictable.
So what’s new in the proposal?
For one thing, the process would
now involve more steps, including
a pre-screening hearing in front
of the council before a formal application is submitted, followed by
formal hearings on the application
by the Planning and Transportation Commission and the council.
Planning A Party?
Applications would have to include an “enforcement and monitoring plan,” along with funding
for enforcement; and an economic
analysis that would weigh the value of both zoning exceptions and
the offered benefits.
One thing that the proposal
does not include is a menu of
specific benefits that the city desires, an idea that was initially
considered but then discarded by
planning staff. This means developers will maintain their right to
propose any type of benefit in
exchange for zoning exemptions.
The ordinance would now include, for the first time, a definition
— albeit broad — of public benefits:
“Specific improvements or amenities for Palo Alto by the developer in
exchange for uses, densities, and/or a
development configuration specific
to the PC district that would be unattainable in general zoning districts
or combining districts.”
The proposal that will go in
front of the council incorporates
some, but not all, of the suggestions from the planning commission. It supports one of the
commission’s most controversial
recommendations: to continue
the practice of allowing developers to include cash as a public
benefit. At its March 11 meeting,
Commissioner Michael Alcheck
argued that developers should
have the flexibility to offer anything they want, given that the
city can always turn them down.
“We want to welcome an opportunity for people to think
outside the box,” Alcheck said.
“We know what we want and
we’ve zoned for it, but we’re
also smart enough to know that
we don’t know everything we
want. There’s a world out there
of things we haven’t yet realized
we might want and we should let
somebody make a case for it.”
This should include, Alcheck argued, the opportunity to contribute
money to the city for things like infrastructure improvement.
The majority of the commission
agreed that planned-community
projects shouldn’t have to be inherently beneficial (by including
community services like affordable housing or senior housing, for
example), as long as they provide
“extrinsic” benefits. Most members also agreed that these extrinsic benefits could include cash.
Commissioner Eric Rosenblum, the lone dissenter, said he
was uncomfortable with the notion of cash constituting a public benefit, which he called “the
(continued on page 14)
TALK ABOUT IT
PaloAltoOnline.com
What do you think? Are the proposed
PC reforms likely to produce buildings
that benefit the community? Share
your opinion on Town Square, the
community discussion forum, at PaloAltoOnline.com/square
Whatever type of gathering you are planning - BBQ,
birthday celebration, pool party, etc. - use a Zero Waste
Party Pack.
Zero Waste Party Packs are FREE and available for you to borrow.
Party packs come with complete table settings for 24 people - that’s
plates, bowls, tumblers, utensils and cloth napkins.
You can borrow a party pack from a Zero Waste Block Leader near
you. Most block leaders have party packs available for you to borrow.
If they don't, they'll get you in touch with a block leader who does.
Connect with your block leader at www.cityofpaloalto.org/zwbl
Make It A
Waste Free Event
Page 10 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Help our community reach its Zero Waste goal. Use a Zero Waste
Party Pack for your next gathering.
For more information, visit
www.zerowastepaloalto.org
zerowaste@cityofpaloalto.org
(650) 496-5910
Upfront
Commute
(continued from page 7)
parking and transportation initiatives that the city is preparing to
launch. These include the parkingpermit program in downtown’s
residential neighborhoods, valet
programs in downtown garages,
Caltrain passes for City Hall employees, and the expansion of the
city’s small shuttle system.
Jessica Sullivan, the city’s
transportation planning manager,
called the survey “pretty significant” in giving the city insight
into the travel habits of downtown employees. Results will
be used by the city to consider
the best strategies for supporting
workers headed into downtown.
The data will come in particularly handy in the next few months,
as the TMA begins unveiling
pilot programs aimed at getting
drivers out of cars (incidentally,
49 percent of those who drive
alone appear be open to this idea,
according to the survey).
Sullivan said the city is also
launching an effort to develop a
five-year plan for the shuttle system. The study will take a look
at who is using the shuttles and
what the gaps in coverage are.
“Our idea is to make the shuttle
a really important part of the mobile services here in Palo Alto,”
Sullivan said.
The new data won plaudits
from the council, with Tom DuBois saying it “gives us a good
blueprint” for action. He noted
that the survey shows, among
other things, that tech workers
aren’t the problem when it comes
to commuting behavior.
Councilman Marc Berman also
said he was fascinated that only a
third of downtown’s tech workers
drive alone. Their mode share (31
percent took Caltrain and 21 percent walked or biked) exceeded
his expectations, Berman said.
The council’s discussion came
just weeks before the launch of
downtown’s long-awaited Residential Preferential Program,
which will institute a time limit
for parking in residential neighborhoods for cars without a permit. The city began selling permits over the weekend and as of
Monday afternoon had sold about
400 on its website. Enforcement
of the program will begin on
Sept. 15 and planning officials
will spend six months monitoring the program and gathering
data before revising the program
based on the data collected.
Though it remains to be seen
whether the program will succeed
in relieving downtown’s parking
problem, council members were
ecstatic on Monday about just getting to the starting line. Berman
noted during the discussion that
the council’s work to date has consisted of approving policies and
going through planning phases.
“Now is the most exciting
time,” Berman said. “It’s execution time.” Q
Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner
can be reached at gsheyner@
paweekly.com.
Online This Week
These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online
throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAlto
Online.com/news.
Palo Alto man arrested after alleged
stabbing attempt
Police arrested a Palo Alto man Tuesday morning who they
said tried to stab another man at Buena Vista Mobile Home Park
two weeks earlier. (Posted Aug. 19, 8:01 p.m.)
Bicyclist with gun robs couple near
Friendship Bridge in Palo Alto
A man riding a bicycle and brandishing a handgun robbed a
couple near the Friendship Bridge before riding away Tuesday
evening, Palo Alto police said Wednesday in a press release.
(Posted Aug. 19, 4:30 p.m.)
Police: Alert neighbor halts prowler home
A Palo Alto man was arrested Wednesday after a quick-thinking neighbor notified police when she saw him climbing into the
backyard of a University South neighborhood home, police said.
(Posted Aug. 19, 8:52 p.m.)
Woman groped in downtown Palo Alto
Palo Alto police are looking for a man who they said grabbed
the buttocks of a woman walking in downtown and then fled on
a bicycle Monday evening. (Posted Aug. 19, 7:26 p.m.)
Stanford’s Angel of Grief statue vandalized
A century-old statue was vandalized at Stanford University
earlier this month. The school’s Department of Public Safety
was notified on Aug. 11 that the Angel of Grief statue was found
with the left forearm broken off, university officials said.(Posted
Aug. 19, 4:22 p.m.)
Owner defends donkeys with BB rifle
The owner of the donkey pasture where Palo Alto’s two beloved donkeys reside defended the animals on Monday night by
shooing off a harassing dog while carrying a BB rifle, according
to Palo Alto police. (Posted Aug. 18, 7:20 p.m.)
Palo Alto changes fee rules to support
Buena Vista purchase
After making a pledge in June to contribute $14.5 million
toward the preservation of Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, the
City Council on Monday changed its guidelines for affordablehousing fees to make the funds available for the park’s purchase.
(Posted Aug. 18, 2:55 p.m.)
Cat maulings by coyotes prompt warning
A series of cat maulings in Palo Alto this summer has raised
concerns among some residents and has prompted a warning to
keep small pets indoors at night. (Posted Aug. 18, 3:52 p.m.)
Palo Alto police arrest rooftop prowler
Palo Alto police arrested Eric Thomas Schmidt, a 30-yearold San Jose resident, on Friday, Aug. 14, after he allegedly
attempted to steal bicycles wheels from inside the carport of a
College Terrace neighborhood home and fled to a nearby rooftop. (Posted Aug. 17, 5:39 p.m.)
SurveyMonkey prepares to leave Palo AltoFollowing in the
tradition of Google and Facebook, SurveyMonkey is preparing
to leave downtown Palo Alto to open a bigger headquarters
elsewhere on the Peninsula. (Posted Aug. 17, 5:16 p.m.)
Want to get news briefs emailed to you every weekday?
Sign up for Express, our daily e-edition.
Go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com to sign up.
Correction
The Aug. 14 article, “Data reveals where school district has more, and
less, space for students,” incorrectly stated that none of Palo Alto
Unified’s elementary schools have more than 600 students. Ohlone
Elementary School has enrolled slightly more than 600 students for the
2015-16 school year. The Weekly regrets the error. To request a correction, contact Editor Jocelyn Dong at 650-223-6514, jdong@paweekly.
com or P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302.
PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL
CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE
BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1
CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT
ACCESS CHANNEL 26
*****************************************
THIS IS A SUMMARY OF COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS.
THE AGENDA WITH COMPLETE TITLES
INCLUDING LEGAL DOCUMENTATION
CAN BE VIEWED AT THE BELOW WEBPAGE:
http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/agendas/default.asp
AGENDA–SPECIAL MEETING–COUNCIL CHAMBERS
AUGUST 24, 2015 6:00 PM
CLOSED SESSION
1. CONFERENCE WITH CITY LABOR NEGOTIATORS- IAFF,
PAPOA, PAPMA, FCA
CONSENT CALENDAR
2. Adoption of an Ordinance Changing the End of Term Date for
Commissioners Serving on the Human Relations Commission,
Library Advisory Commission, Public Art Commission and
Utilities Advisory Commission from April 30 to May 31 of
Various Years and Making Minor Non-substantive Language
Changes
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Services Command, Control, Communications, Computers,
and Information (C4I) Critical Emergency Response Contract
Number C13149763 to Add an Additional $25,000 in Funding
to the Contract for a Total Not to Exceed Amount of $275,000
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that the City Council Authorize a Request for Proposals for;
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a Council Member to Act as a Liaison to Engage in Regional
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the Federal Aviation Administration to Address Increased
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Additional Outreach, Coordination and Advocacy Activities
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Changes Following First Reading) of an Ordinance
Deleting Section 18.42.110 of Chapter 18.42 of Title 18 of
the Palo Alto Municipal Code and Adding a New Section
18.42.110 Pertaining to the Siting and Permitting of
Wireless Communications Facilities; Exempt from California
Environmental Quality Act under CEQA Guidelines Section
15061(b) and 15301, 15302 and 15305. (FIRST READING:
June 29, 2015, Passed: 8-0, DuBois absent)
6. Approval of Memorandum of Understanding Between the
City of Palo Alto and Caltrain Regarding Vegetation
Removal and Fencing Enhancements and an Intrusion
Detection Camera System Beta Test in the Caltrain Corridor in
Palo Alto and the Adoption of a Related Budget Amendment
Ordinance
Action Items
7. Recommendation to Adopt an Ordinance Implementing a
Local Minimum Wage Requirement of $11.00 by January 1,
2016 and Discussion of Collaborating With Other Cities to
Implement a Regional Minimum Wage of $15.00 Per Hour by
2018
8. Approval of Response to Grand Jury Report “A Slow Rising
Emergency– Sea Level Rise”
9. Approval of Response to Grand Jury Report on Protecting
Our Most Vulnerable Residents
10. PUBLIC HEARING: Ordinance to Amend Chapters 18.38,
PC Planned Community District Regulations, and 18.79,
Development Project Preliminary Review Procedures;
Exempt from CEQA under CEQA Guidelines 15061
COUNCIL AND STANDING COMMITTEE
The Special Policy and Services Committee meeting will be held
on Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 7:00 PM to discuss: 1) Discussion
and Recommendations to City Council Regarding the Colleagues
Memo on Strengthening City Engagement with Neighborhoods;
and 2)Continued Discussion Regarding City Council Procedural
Matters, Including Updates to Municipal Code Sections for
Appeals, Post Government Employment Regulations, Date/Time
of Policy and Services Committee and Other Referral Items from
City Council Retreat (Continued from June 9, 2015)
A Special City Council meeting will be held on Wednesday, August
26, 2015 at 7:00 PM to conduct interviews of candidates for the
Utilities Advisory Committee
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 11
Spanish
(continued from page 5)
Kristin Hallsted, now 25 years old,
reflected on her time in the program as she set up her own thirdgrade dual-immersion classroom
in southern California last week.
“I think I got to be a more accepting person of other cultures
and other types of people,” she
said. The Palo Alto program
regularly takes students to both
Mexico and Spain, and she said
traveling as a child was eye-opening for her.
Hallsted was among the first 28
kindergarteners in the inaugural
group in 1995 at Fairmeadow Elementary School. Her parents said
they enrolled her on a whim when
the immersion option was offered
at kindergarten registration; neither speaks Spanish fluently, but
they have some familiarity with
the language. Her mother’s family
members, all from Europe, speak
multiple languages, and she wanted the same for her daughter.
After going through the district
and continuing to take Spanish,
Hallsted went to Whittier College
in southern California, where she
double-majored in child development and Spanish. She also studied abroad in Sevilla, Spain, during college. After graduation, she
worked as a teacher’s assistant in
a mostly Latino community (the
fact that she spoke Spanish got her
the job, she said) and got a master’s degree in elementary bilingual education. Her younger sister
Kimberley also went through the
immersion program. (She’s the
one leaving the country in a few
months for a physical therapy internship in Chile, a country she
chose for the language spoken
there.)
One of Kristin Hallsted’s early
immersion teachers was Magdalena Fittoria. Fittoria was born in
Mexico, went on to attend Stanford University as a first-generation college student and later
joined Palo Alto Unified School
District as a Spanish immersion
teacher in the program’s second
year. Fittoria went on to serve as
the principal of Barron Park Elementary School for several years
and this school year started in a
new post as a special projects administrator for the district, tasked
with helping to implement recommendations from the superintendent’s Minority Achievement and
Talent Development Advisory
committee and with an expansion
of the district’s Response to Intervention (RTI) program, a process
meant to provide early identification and support for struggling
students.
Fittoria also enrolled her son in
the Spanish immersion program
as a first-grader. Fittoria — who
moved to the United States when
she was in kindergarten, knowing no English — said she saw
this decision as a continuation of
her own parents’ commitment to
maintaining her bilingualism and
biculturalism.
Her parents, who had an elementary-level education, had a “vision”:
“You have to stay bilingual; you
have to keep your language and
learn English because two languages
are better than one and you’ll always
have more opportunities,” she said.
“That was a very strong message.”
Fittoria’s son Miguel later attended the University of Rochester, where he double majored in political science and psychology and
also completed a master’s degree
in human development. He’s now
serving as DreamCatchers’ program director, working with many
English-language-learner students
and Spanish-speaking families to
navigate the school system.
Looking back, the Spanish immersion program engendered in Miguel
both empathy and an appreciation of
differences that play directly into his
work at DreamCatchers, he said.
“The immersion program is a
special kind of program that just
changed everybody’s values,” he
said. “It was a much more inclusive
classroom and setting than what I
saw other classrooms were like.
Everybody’s values were, ‘Let’s all
bring in our cultures’ a lot more than
any other classroom was.” (Miguels’
mother even brought home a menorah one year at his request after the
class talked about different religious
traditions one winter.)
Veronica Weber
Upfront
Sophie Profit, a third-grader at Escondido Elementary School,
reads Spanish in her class on Aug. 19.
This has also informed his own
understanding and value of multicultural teaching in settings beyond immersion programs.
“I think coming out of a classroom that was oriented toward
... that culture of bringing everybody’s own culture into the classroom and making it even and equal
— that helped my conversations
whenever I had talks about what it
means to be an English-language
learner not in an immersion program,” he said. “What does it mean
for a Spanish speaker to come into
a classroom needing to learn English and maybe sometimes being
held as not as important or maybe
not as brilliant or not as capable?”
For two decades, creating positive cross-cultural attitudes, along
with bilingualism and biliteracy
and high academic achievement,
have remained the Spanish immersion program’s three core goals.
Students learn to read, write, add,
subtract and the like first mostly in
Spanish, with English instruction
gradually increasing as they rise
through higher grades. As a dualimmersion model, the classes are
supposed to be a mix of native and
non-native speakers to make sure
students model for one another as
much as the teacher does.
In kindergarten through second
grade, 80 percent of classroom
instruction is in Spanish, 20 percent in English. English instruction increases to 30 percent in
third grade, 40 percent in fourth
grade and about 50 percent in fifth
5 minute showers?
She’ll get used to it.
During this drought, those long, luxurious showers
have got to go. So please, keep it clean and quick.
Limit your showers to 5 minutes or less.
And keep a bucket in the shower to save the water that’s
warming up. Then, use that water to flush the toilet,
clean the bathroom, wash the dog or water the plants.
For more information, go to watersavings.org.
watersavings.org
Page 12 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Upfront
grade. Administrators and teachers
stress that immersion students get
the same curriculum — and same
academic rigor — that students in
English-only classrooms receive.
“We have the same rigor, the
same standards, the same expectations as every other student enrolled in Palo Alto,” Fittoria said.
“We don’t let that go by.”
Some early wariness about
the program stemmed from concerns about young students learning core content and subjects in
a new language. (This was soon
disproved in Palo Alto and elsewhere, with both native and nonnative speakers outperforming
their English-only counterparts
on standardized academic tests.)
Parents of the early cohorts remember having to become proactive champions for the program,
coordinating parent and community education as well as constantly fundraising so that their
children would have the necessary
materials and the program could
remain revenue neutral, they said.
Families who want to enroll
their children in the program are
also asked to commit to staying for
six years. Last year’s program brochure notes that current bilingual
education research states that it
can take up to seven to nine years
to acquire a second language.
“That was the reason to have
this massive parent and community education process because, let’s
be honest, we’re a monolingual
society and it’s really hard for us
to imagine bilingualism,” said
Chuck Merritt, one of the first
parents in the program and now
principal of Escondido. “In other
parts of the world, it’s not so hard
to imagine because it takes place
all the time. But here, it’s really a
community education process that
had to take place.”
Merritt, a longtime Spanish
teacher, joined the district as a
teacher at Palo Alto High School
in 1993, the year before a district
task force recommended Spanish immersion as the district’s
best option for bringing foreign
language instruction to its elementary schools. He enrolled
his daughter Emily in the Spanish immersion program during its
second year. She went on to spend
her junior year of high school in
Spain, study linguistics in college,
teach Spanish classes and learn
Arabic and Mandarin.
“You’re going to see this story
repeated over and over again,”
Merritt said of his daughter’s
experience. “There are so many
kids that came out of the program
that are just in love with learning
languages.
“As a monolingual society, we
kind of have some invisible barriers around us — this container
model of the brain that is not supported by modern neuroscience,
that you can only really have so
many languages in your head. The
experience that these kids have
just sort of explodes that because
they’re not walking around with
that container model about bilingualism in their head. They’re
fearless.”
Merritt, too, has stayed closely
tied to the Spanish immersion
program and its values. He started this week as Escondido’s new
principal and the district’s world
language administrator, a new
position covering pre-K through
high school. He said in his new
role, he hopes to “build a real
K-12 world language vision in the
school district.”
He said he hopes to foster stronger connections and a shared
vision between the district’s elementary immersion programs,
including both Spanish at Escondido and Mandarin at Ohlone,
with their immersion and worldlanguage counterparts in middle
school and beyond. (The district
has long run a “bridge” Spanish
immersion program — that is,
courses to serve as a bridge between elementary and high school
language education — at Jordan
Middle School and this year is beginning a new Mandarin bridge
class, also at Jordan.)
Merritt’s hope aligns with parent, teacher and staff sentiment,
reported in a recent research report the district commissioned
last year, that the district’s worldlanguage programs are strong yet
disjointed.
Merritt also sees immersion
education as key in supporting
the district’s official vision to
“support all PAUSD students as
they prepare themselves to thrive
as global citizens in a rapidly
changing world.”
This is certainly true in the case
of Molly Kawahata, one of the
first kindergarten students who
said speaking Spanish helped
her get internships and later jobs.
During high school, she spoke
Spanish with clients at a local
law firm she was interning at and
translated for doctors at a medical
clinic where she volunteered. In
college, she interned in the White
House Department of Communications, translating Spanish documents and articles into English.
She reflected on the Spanish
immersion program this week
from her office in Washington,
D.C., where she works as a policy
assistant for energy and climate
change for the White House Domestic Policy Council.
“It was an amazing way to teach
students how to both pick up a
new language in a way that would
make them near-native speakers
but also cultivating in them this
internationally minded approach
to dealing with issues and leading
on them,” said Kawahata, who is
flying in from D.C. to attend the
anniversary event this weekend.
In 2007, when the district’s yetto-be-approved (and very controversial) Mandarin immersion
program came before the school
board, Kawahata lobbied on its
behalf as Gunn High School’s
school board representative. Almost a decade later, she found a
statement she made in support of
the Mandarin program from her
seat at the dais:
“When I look at the first class
of the Spanish Immersion, the
people I’ve known since kindergarten, I see future leaders, future
ambassadors — I see the bridge
between languages, cultures, and
societies.”
“Twenty years later,” Kawahata wrote in an email this week,
“I’ve seen my fellow classmates
become journalists, educators,
bioengineers, multilingual tech
innovators — leaders of today.
And I have no doubt that the next
generation of leaders are in their
immersion classrooms in Palo
Alto — right now — learning
their second language. Our community continues to prepare the
next generation of leaders to go
out in the world and change it.
And that they are.” Q
The Spanish immersion
program anniversary celebration will take place on
Saturday, Aug. 22, 3-7 p.m.,
at Escondido Elementary
School, 890 Escondido Road,
Stanford. Organizers are collecting photos, memories
and more from throughout
the years. For more information, go to goo.gl/6cjI76.
Memory care like you’ve never experienced
before is coming soon to Redwood City
Introducing two unique levels of care
ensington Place is a new memory
care community opening this
September. We will offer
personalized assistance, services
and programs that are clinically
comprehensive, highly supportive and
tender—like no other area provider. We will
K
care dearly for our residents—and for you. Our
two neighborhoods will accommodate
varying degrees of loss. Connections
will serve residents in the early to
middle stages of dementia, and
Haven will serve those in the middle
to late stages. Call soon to schedule your visit.
Limited availability—
suites are going fast!
Call or visit to
reserve yours today.
RCFE
License
415600964
650-363-9200
Information Center: 536 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94063
Community under development at 2800 El Camino Real
www.KensingtonPlaceRedwoodCity.com
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 13
Upfront
School board
(continued from page 9)
might want to correct the record.
School board President Melissa Baten Caswell said Wednesday that she wasn’t aware of
Dauber’s request to the FPPC
and doesn’t have enough information to know whether he has
a conflict of interest that would
prevent his participation in future board discussions or action
on OCR matters.
At the last board meeting of
the 2014-15 school year in June,
Dauber requested that a status
update on the district’s pending OCR cases be placed on the
board’s agenda in the new school
year. Baten Caswell, Vice President Heidi Emberling and Terry
Godfrey supported this request,
while member Camille Townsend
did not.
McGee said he would appreciate the board’s input on how to
proceed in his communications
with the Office for Civil Rights.
“If you would like me to pursue
some kind of conversation to bring
this to early resolution, I will do
so,” McGee said. “If you want to
wait to hear from OCR, I will do
so. I’m looking for clarity here. I
can see the pros and cons of both.”
In his post this week, Dauber
expressed support for reaching
out “proactively” and working
with the agency “cooperatively
to address any issues for the benefit of the students involved, as
well as all of our other students.”
“Unfortunately, I am hampered in making this case on the
school board by suggestions that
I have a conflict of interest,” he
wrote. “That is why I have put
this question to the FPPC. When
I receive an answer I will share
it publicly with the community,
and I will of course follow the
FPPC’s advice.” Q
NOTICE OF A SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING
of the Palo Alto
Planning and Transportation Commission
Please be advised the Planning and Transportation Commission (P&TC) shall conduct
a Special public meeting at 7:30 PM, Wednesday, August 26, 2015 in the Council
Chambers, Ground Floor, Civic Center, Palo Alto, California. Any interested persons
may appear and be heard on these items.
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Public Hearing
1. 5061 Skyline Blvd [14PLN-00017]::P[LHUK+LZPNU9L]PL^VMH6UL:[VY`
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Questions. For any questions regarding the above items, please contact the Planning DeWHY[TLU[H[ ;OLÄSLZYLSH[PUN[V[OLZLP[LTZHYLH]HPSHISLMVYPUZWLJ[PVU
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Page 14 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Zoning
Wage
(continued from page 10)
(continued from page 5)
definition of zoning for sale.”
“This isn’t out of the box,”
Rosenblum said. “This is a cash
payment in exchange for zoning
exception. It’s an old practice and
we know what this is.”
Though the reforms are unlikely
to appease the critics of the plannedcommunity process, a new report
from the Department of Planning
and Community Environment argues that the proposed changes,
including the new pre-screening
requirement, introduce “greater
transparency and predictability to
the review and decision making.”
“Together, changes to these
chapters are intended to ameliorate uncertainty in the community about the future use of the PC
and pre-screening regulations,”
the report states. Q
Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner
can be emailed at gsheyner@
paweekly.com.
call for annual adjustments in
the minimum wage, based on the
consumer price index.
Mountain View, like San Francisco, has also embarked on the
“$15 by ’18” path, which Palo
Alto also plans to follow.
Though Palo Alto has only recently started exploring a local
minimum-wage ordinance, it is
moving fast. The topic came up
during a debate before last November’s council election, with
just about every candidate enthusiastically endorsing a higher
minimum wage. In February,
four council members formally
sparked the move in a colleagues
memo that proposed a local minimum wage.
Councilmen Marc Berman, Pat
Burt, Tom DuBois and Cory Wolbach cited the high cost of living
in Palo Alto and noted that if the
minimum wages were adjusted
based on local cost of living, they
NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING
of the City of Palo Alto
Architectural Review Board (ARB)
8:30 A.M., Thursday, September 3, 2015, Palo Alto
Council Chambers, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Plans may be reviewed at the Development
Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue or online at: http://www.
cityofpaloalto.org/planningprojects; contact Diana Tamale for additional information during business hours
at 650.329.2144.
The retreat will be held in the Community Room at
*P[` /HSS VU [OL ÄYZ[ ÅVVY HM[LY [OL JVUJS\ZPVU VM
regular business in the Chambers.
Regular Business:
7VY[LY +YP]L 4H`ÄLSK [15PLN- 00109]: Request by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford
Junior University for Architectural Review of the demolition of an existing 67,580 square foot structure and
JVUZ[Y\J[PVUVM ZX\HYLMVV[VɉJLI\PSKPUN;OL
ZP[LPZH4H`ÄLSKKLZPNUH[LKWYVWLY[`PU[OL97aVUPUN
district and includes the creation of a new commercial
lease line. Environmental Review: City of Palo Alto/
Stanford Development Agreement and Lease Project
Environmental Impact Report (State Clearinghouse No.
2003082103) and Exemption 15302 (Replacement and
Reconstruction).
ARB Findings: ARB members will discuss a proposed
YLK\J[PVUPU[OLU\TILYVM(9)ÄUKPUNZMVYHWWYV]HS
Retreat Topics:
1. ARB 2015 Design Awards: ARB members will discuss projects eligible for the 2015 ARB Awards.
Amy French
&KLHI3ODQQLQJ2I¿FLDO
The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request an accommodation
for this meeting or an alternative format for any related
printed materials, please contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at 650.329.2550 (voice) or by e-mailing ada@
cityofpaloalto.org.
Upfront
“would be considerably higher in
Palo Alto and the Peninsula than
most elsewhere in the state.” The
memo called the proposed minimum-wage ordinance “a modest
but constructive step toward providing adequate income for all
workers.”
“Our lowest wage workers
perform valued services in Palo
Alto and often have to work multiple jobs with long commutes
to barely make ends meet,” the
memo states. “A local minimum
wage would be a modest step in
supporting these workers who are
vital to maintaining the services
we value and that are essential to
our local economy. In addition,
the strength of our community
and society relies on maintaining
a level of economic fairness and
opportunity for all.”
While most cities are focusing
on their own particular minimumwage ordinances, others are building coalitions and calling for more
coordination. In June, the mayors
of Mountain View and Sunnyvale
co-wrote a letter to their counterparts in Palo Alto and Campbell
(which is also pursuing a minimum-wage ordinance) urging a
“joint approach” to reaching the
$15 per hour standard.
“Raising the minimum wage
to $15 by 2018 will ... help lift
working families out of poverty,” Mountain View Mayor John
McAlister and Sunnyvale Mayor
Jim Griffith wrote in the letter.
“With more income, minimumwage workers would have more
spending power and inject more
money into the local economy,
which would benefit businesses
through increased sales and local
governments through increased
sales-tax revenue.”
McAlister also serves on the
Cities Association of Santa Clara
County subcommittee that focused on the minimum wage and
that in June released a report calling for better regional coordination of these efforts.
“A lack of consistency in minimum wage rates creates serious problems for jurisdictions,
locations, and employers,” the
subcommittee wrote, noting that
differences in minimum wage
requirements can affect the city’s
economic competitiveness. “Additionally, jurisdictions have already
received reports from employers
in Santa Clara County stating that
cities without an increased minimum wage are losing quality employees to opportunities in cities
with higher minimum wages.”
If the Palo Alto City Council
embraces the specific recommendations from its committee, the
city’s minimum wage would hit
the $11 mark in January. It would
be adjusted every year based on
cost of living, and it would cover
employers who are either subject
to the city’s business-registry requirements, conduct business in
Palo Alto or maintain a business
facility in the city, according to
a new report from the Office of
the City Attorney. The city also
plans to enter into an agreement
with the City of San Jose Office
of Equality Assurance to enforce
the local ordinance, a similar arrangement to the one that the office enjoys with Mountain View
and Sunnyvale.
Palo Alto’s proposed ordinance
also expressly prohibits retaliation
against employees who complain
about an employer who doesn’t
comply with the law. Violators
could face a daily fine, an administrative compliance order or, in
the most extreme cases, a civil
action launched by the city for injunctive relief.
In the lead-up to the final decision, the city is surveying local residents and businesses to
get their thoughts on raising the
minimum wage. The city also
asked residents on its online forum, Open City Hall, what they
thought about the proposal and
received 52 responses, with about
two-thirds saying they are in favor
of the proposal.
Those supporting the change
cited the high cost of living in
Palo Alto and the need to support
people who work here. Barron
Park resident Joel Davidson wrote
on the forum that at least a $15
wage is “necessary in this area
of opulence and high rents and
prices.” Alexandra Acker-Lyons
of Palo Verde concurred and said
living in Palo Alto or anywhere
near the city is “prohibitively expensive.”
Opponents characterized the
plan as well-meaning but ultimately misguided. Darryl Fenwith of Downtown North wrote
on the city’s forum that while it
would be nice to find a way to
help low-skilled workers live in
high-priced areas like Palo Alto,
raising the minimum wage could
actually hurt workers by “denying
them employment opportunities,
reducing work hours, or being
dismissed from employment.”
While raising the minimum wage
may help some, it would hurt others, Fenwith wrote.
“And really, these conclusions
make sense — employers react to
price signals,” Fenwith wrote. “In
essence, they see a raise in minimum wage as equivalent to a tax
on low-skilled workers.” Q
CityView
A round-up
of Palo Alto government action this week
City Council (Aug. 17)
Transportation: The council reviewed the city’s on going parking and trafficmanagement initiatives. It also discussed Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority’s planned tax measure and agreed to submit a list of projects to the
VTA as part of the planning effort. Yes: Berman, Burt, DuBois, Filseth, Holman,
Kniss, Schmid, Wolbach Absent: Scharff
Comprehensive Plan: The council agreed to add five members to the Comprehensive Plan Update Community Advisory Committee, with a focus on
residents from south Palo Alto. Yes: Berman, Burt, DuBois, Filseth, Holman,
Schmid, Wolbach Absent: Kniss, Scharff
Council Finance Committee (Aug. 18)
Electricity: The committee approved the first phase of the design guidelines for
the 2015 Electric Cost of Service Analysis. Yes: Filseth, Kniss, Schmid Absent:
Scharff
Human Relations Commission (Aug. 20)
Hate Crimes: The commission heard a presentation from the Police Department about hate crimes in Palo Alto and held its annual retreat to discuss the
roles of subcommittees and potential topics for a speaker series. Action: None
LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk
about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com
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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 15
Upfront
Tax
(continued from page 5)
beyond is something that has to
come out of the current process,”
Siegel said.
So far, the VTA’s approach to the
measure has consisted primarily
of conducting surveys and soliciting projects from each city in the
county. The process, known as Envision Silicon Valley, aims to collect all the data and then use it to
figure out which projects to fund.
With San Jose boasting the largest population in the county and
the most representatives on both
the VTA and the Board of Supervisors, the BART extension is expected to do well once again. Bike
projects, bus programs and pothole
repairs throughout the county are
also expected to win allocations.
Palo Alto’s top priority, however,
is Caltrain. On Monday night, the
city reaffirmed its commitment
to boosting Caltrain’s capacity
and moving the train tracks into a
trench so that they would no longer intersect with local streets. The
project, which would cost more
than $500 million in the southern
half of Palo Alto alone, is one of
dozens the city is preparing to sub-
mit to the VTA — a list that also
includes bike boulevards, an expanded shuttle system and the potential widening of Page Mill Road.
In this crowded field of projects, the trenching of Caltrain
stands out for its scale, cost and
overwhelming popularity. Palo
Alto’s four-mile rail corridor is
expected to get busier in the coming years, thanks to Caltrain’s
electrification (which will enable
an increased number of trains)
and the potential arrival of highspeed rail. Greater use of the
train corridor would further hamper east-to-west travel in south
Palo Alto. Two recent clusters of
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teenage deaths by suicide on the
tracks have added urgency to the
project, with officials now focusing on the restriction of access to
the train tracks as part of the citywide suicide-prevention effort.
Lest the VTA miss the point,
Palo Alto supplemented its laundry list of projects with a shorter
priority list, which includes Caltrain in the top spot, followed by
bicycle improvements; first- and
last-mile transit from Caltrain
stations to employment centers
in north Santa Clara County;
and support for “transportationdemand-management” policies,
which aim to convince drivers to
use other modes of transportation.
Councilman Tom DuBois was
one of several members to call the
trenching of the train tracks his
“one priority.”
“I think it has an opportunity
to improve Palo Alto in a way
that no other option really offers,” DuBois said. The project
would “improve quality of life”
in Peninsula cities and eliminate
concerns about noise and safety
around the tracks, he said.
“I think this is a time to start
really asking for a large amount
of money from the sales tax to be
for the trench,” DuBois said.
His colleagues agreed, though
the vote on the narrower priority list split 5-3, with Councilman Eric Filseth, Councilwoman
Liz Kniss and Vice Mayor Greg
Schmid voting “no” (Councilman Greg Scharff was absent).
Though no one disputed prioritizing Caltrain, the dissenting
council members wanted to defer
the full discussion about prioritization until next month, when the
council is set to discuss the city’s
long-term vision for transportation. The full list, which includes
about 50 projects, was approved
by all eight council members.
Council members also unanimously agreed that Palo Alto
should strengthen its collaboration with neighboring cities and
lobby for a regional transportation plan. Filseth pointed to San
Mateo County, which created an
integrated plan as part of its 2004
transportation measure. Santa
Clara County, he said, should follow that model.
“The Envision Silicon Valley
measure doesn’t feel like that,”
Filseth said. “It feels like a singlepoint project wrapped together
with a scaffold designed by a political poll to make it more likely
to pass a public vote.”
Councilman Pat Burt, a longtime advocate for a Caltrain
trench, thanked the Mountain
View officials who attended the
meeting Monday and said he is
“very encouraged by the current
Mountain View council’s interest in working together with Palo
Alto.”
“We look forward to cooperating,” Burt said.
Mayor Karen Holman, who
took part in putting the letter together, said she anticipates more
cooperation with neighboring
cities in the coming months. She
agreed with Filseth and Councilman Marc Berman that the process used by the VTA is “flawed.”
“It focuses a lot on pothole
repairs, which all the cities acknowledge is not going to solve
any kind of major transportation
issue,” Holman said. “It’s going to
get someone to punch the card (on
the ballot), but it’s not going to
solve the transportation issues.”
Filseth observed that all council members have a “discomfort”
with the process being used by
the VTA.
“If we submit a list of projects
to the VTA by the end of the
month, are we inherently buying into a flawed process that’s
loaded against us? I think we’re
all sort of grappling with that,”
Filseth said.
But even with the greater cooperation between cities, success
in securing funding is far from
certain. Palo Alto has no representatives on the VTA’s 18-member board. And four of the five
districts in Santa Clara County
include sections of San Jose,
making Simitian the lone voice
representing the northern section of the county. Kniss, a former county supervisor, warned
her colleagues that the VTA is
“dominated by San Jose.”
“I sat there for the first two
years desperately trying to get
money into north county and
away from BART — it’s extraordinarily difficult,” Kniss said. Q
Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner
can be reached at gsheyner@
paweekly.com.
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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 17
Inspirations
a guide
id to
t the
th spiritual
i it l community
Pulse
POLICE CALLS
Palo Alto
Aug. 12-18
Violence related
Armed robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Assault with a deadly weapon . . . . . . . 1
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Elder abuse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Theft related
Check fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Counterfeit currency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Credit card fraud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Embezzlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Prowler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Scam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Shoplifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Vehicle related
Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Auto burglary attempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 6
Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 6
Vehicle accident/property damage. . . 19
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Vehicle code violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Vehicle stored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Alcohol or drug related
Drinking in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Open container. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sale of drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Selling alcohol to minor. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Smoking in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Under influence of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Miscellaneous
Casualty/fall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Disposal request. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
False info to police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Illegal lodging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Psychiatric subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Public urination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 2
Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Violation of court order . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Menlo Park
Aug. 12-18
Violence related. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Theft related
Attempted burglary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Credit card fraud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Embezzlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Mail fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Petty theft attempt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
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Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Vehicle related
Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 7
Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Stolen plate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Vehicle accident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Vehicle accident/injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 1
Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . 3
Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Alcohol or drug related
Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Miscellaneous
Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
CPS referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Fire damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Gang validations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Grass fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Info case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Medical call. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Probation violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Psychiatric evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Returned missing person . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Threats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
VIOLENT CRIMES
Palo Alto
El Camino Real, 8/13, 12:26 p.m.;
domestic violence/battery.
Webster Street, 8/14, 10:14 a.m.; elder
abuse/physical.
Everett Avenue, 8/14, 1:13 p.m.;
domestic violence/battery.
Verdosa Drive, 8/17, 8:52 a.m.; elder
abuse/physical.
3980 El Camino Real, 8/17, 2:54 p.m.;
assault with deadly weapon.
High Street, 8/17, 9:07 p.m.; battery/
sexual.
Welch Road, 8/17, 9:47 p.m.; domestic
violence/battery.
1879 Embarcadero Road, 8/18, 10 p.m.;
robbery/armed.
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Transitions
Keiko Mizuhara
March 25, 1939 – Aug. 4, 2015
Births, marriages and deaths
Jake Price
Jake “Jay” Edward Price, a
former Palo Alto resident, died
on July 15 in Watsonville. He
was 69.
He was born
on Dec. 24,
1946, in San
Francisco,
and his family
moved to Palo
Alto in 1959.
He attended
Jordan Junior
High School
— where he was student body
president — and graduated from
Palo Alto High School in 1964.
During the early ’60s, he was
the lead singer of the Legends, a
popular rhythm and blues band
that played at Stanford University
events, the YMCA, Moffett Field
and other local gigs.
He attended Bishop College
in Dallas, Texas, studying the
liberal arts, and he served for
a time in the U.S. Army. For
many years, he worked as a
salesman of automated warehousing equipment.
A passionate sports fan, he enjoyed following the San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco
Giants. He was known for often
expressing love for his family,
which will remember him for
his great energy and sense of
humor.
He is survived by his sister, Marlowe Price of Canoga
Park, California; his sons, Tony
Price of Santa Cruz and Brandon Price of Long Beach, California; his grandson, Brandon
Adrian Price; and many nieces
and nephews.
A private memorial service
will be held on Labor Day weekend. Memorial donations can be
made to the American Lung Association (lung.org/donate/).
Marilyn Molner
Marilyn “Maya” Molner, a
former Palo Alto and Atherton
resident, died on June 29 in Forestville, California. She was 86.
She was born
on May 1, 1929,
in Chicago, to
Beatrice Klein
Freed
and
Samuel Molner, and grew
up primarily in
Chicago. She
married Irwin
H. Mittelman in 1950 and after
moved to the Bay Area. The couple
lived in Palo Alto during the ’50s,
before moving into a home they
built in Atherton. She and Irwin
later divorced in the early ’70s.
On the Peninsula Marilyn
studied at Stanford University,
graduating with a bachelor’s
degree in art history in 1967.
She also became involved in
political causes opposing hous-
ing discrimination, the Vietnam
War and war in general.
She was a skilled artist,
whose paintings in oil, acrylic
and watercolor were influenced
by abstract expressionism. She
also did work in etching and
papermaking. Her pieces were
exhibited at a handful of venues
in Palo Alto, including the Richard Summer Gallery, the Frame
Shop Gallery and through the
Gallery House cooperative —
for which she served on the
board. She also studied and
practiced art therapy.
In the ’60s, she also began to
develop her interests in spirituality, Buddhism, Jewish mystical thinking, and the emerging
awareness and consciousness
movement. She continued exploring these ideas throughout
her life, and she later helped to
establish the Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Marin County.
In 1995, she married Phillip
“Carver” Moser, a sculptor, and
they lived together for the last 20
years in Sebastopol, California.
She is survived by her husband, Phillip Moser of Santa
Rosa; her son, Jonathan S.
Mittelman, M.D., M.P.H., of
Windsor, Maine; her daughter,
Rabbi Malka Mittelman of La
Crescenta, California; and four
grandsons, David and Daniel
Mittelman and Daniel and Noah
Stubblefield.
A memorial service was held
on Aug. 1 at the family home
in Sebastopol. Memorial donations can be made to Spirit Rock
Meditation Center or The Nature
Conservancy.
Keiko Mizuhara passed away peacefully at home the morning of Aug. 4,
2015, after a two-year battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband of
52 years, Yosuke; sister, Michiko Matsumoto; son, Kevin; daughter, Linda
(Derek) Sanada; and grandsons, Cole
and Jake Sanada. She is preceded in
death by her father, Shigeru Yamamoto; mother, Miye (nee Yokomizo)
Matsumoto; and brothers Shoji and
Mark Matsumoto.
Born in Alameda, California, Kei was raised in Los Altos, California. She graduated from Mountain View High
School and attended San Francisco State University.
Her happy spirit, big smile and positive attitude will be
greatly missed by all who knew her.
A memorial service for Kei will be held at the Mountain
View Buddhist Temple on Aug. 22 at 11:30 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made
to the American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org
PAID
OBITUARY
James Bowman Gunn
August 16, 1964 – August 4, 2015
James Bowman Gunn died August
4, 2015. He lived a life devoted to
theater, comedy, and film, but most
importantly he devoted himself to
the students he taught and directed,
the comics he mentored, and the
family and friends he loved.
Jim taught drama and film and
directed productions for ten years
at Kehillah Jewish High School and
for six years before that at Gideon
Hausner Jewish Day School, where
he touched the lives of countless
students, parents, and staff. Jim trained students in all aspects of
theatrical production including directing, lighting, sound, set/
stage building, acting, choreography and playwriting, instilling in
generations a sense of shared responsibility and pride in the arts.
Jim was born August 16, 1964 and grew up in Palo Alto. He
found his passion on the stage where he started acting as a child
at the Palo Alto Children’s Theater. Jim later directed productions
for PACT, including its Outreach Program. Over the years, he
directed and acted in hundreds of community productions in all
kinds of venues.
In addition to his teaching, acting, and directing, Jim made his
place in the Bay Area Comedy scene, where he was often referred
to as “the legendary” Jimmy Gunn. He coached and mentored
many young comics over the 20 years he performed comedy,
despite his many “retirements.” Comedians will remember him
as a kind and respectful person who gave of his time willingly to
help and support others. As a lover of film, Jim took great joy in
being part of the screening committee for the San Francisco Film
Festival throughout the last several decades.
Jim is survived by his wife, Myra Lessner of Palo Alto, his
parents, Jack and Sue Gunn, his sisters, Mari Kauffmann and
Connie Douglas, and his godchildren, Alex and Daniel Klein.
The funeral service was held on August 7 at Alta Mesa
Memorial Park and the memorial service was held on August
9 at Kol Emeth Synagogue. A special all-pro comedy show,
celebration, and fundraiser will be held in his honor on August
26 at Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale. http://roostertfeathers.
laughstub.com/event.cfm?showTimingID=409484
Donations in his honor may be made to Kehillah Jewish High
School directed to the James Gunn Memorial Fund to support
the performing arts. Please use this link for more information:
http://www.kehillah.org/gunn-fund/index.aspx
May Jim’s memory be a blessing to all who knew him.
PAID
OBITUARY
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 19
Editorial
Unworthy PC ‘reforms’
Proposed changes to special ‘planned community’
zoning should be firmly rejected
A
year and a half after putting a temporary halt to any further
negotiated development projects that exceed the existing
zoning, proposed revisions to be considered Monday by
the Palo Alto City Council do virtually nothing to prevent the
abuses and controversies that led to the moratorium in the first
place.
The proposed changes, developed by the city planning staff with
input from the Planning & Transportation Commission, are so
disconnected from the angst expressed by the community about
the use of PC zones that it is hard to believe they were developed
by people in touch with mainstream political thinking in Palo Alto.
It’s as if the city staff figured the issue had faded enough to
resurrect a deeply flawed system with only marginal improvements. Developers should be delighted by the proposal and by the
prospect of being able to resume negotiations with city staff over
new PC projects. We are not.
For years, citizens have complained about Palo Alto’s practice
of allowing developers to exceed zoning limits by offering “public
benefits” that often don’t live up to promises and about the lack of
transparency and enforcement.
Last February, with a council election approaching and under
intense political pressure, the City Council voted not to accept
or approve any new planned-community proposals until it could
figure out how to reform the system or dump it entirely.
This “time out” for any new PC projects was particularly welltimed for the re-election bid of Councilman Greg Scharff, who
used the campaign to speak out for reforms and even suggested
the elimination of PCs or a requirement that all proposed PCs to
go to the voters for approval.
With an election that shifted the council majority toward more
constrained growth, Monday’s meeting should be the most significant test yet of where this new council stands on the development
policies and practices that have most irked the community.
The staff’s proposed changes to the PC process nibble at the
problem by making changes to the process of how planned-community proposals are reviewed by the city, requiring more formal
public benefit agreements, establishing monitoring and enforcement policies and requiring an independent economic analysis.
But the proposal does nothing to address the biggest problems
with the PC process, including the private negotiations that take
place between a developer and the city staff, leading to an agreement on the outlines of a plan for public benefits and zoning exceptions before either the public or the council is involved, and
the lack of clear guidelines and limits on what constitutes a public
benefit.
Nothing in the proposal fixes the underlying problem of every
project being subject to individual negotiations — and with every
conceivable public benefit, including outright cash payments, being on the table for horse-trading.
The newly proposed requirement that an independent economic
analysis be done was already implemented by City Manager Jim
Keene and was a miserable failure in its first major use for the
now-withdrawn Jay Paul Company project on Park Boulevard. It
will take more than ordinance language to fix that.
The original concept behind the creation of the planned-community zone was to provide the opportunity for a developer to
propose a project that was so beneficial to the community that it
was deemed worthy of exceeding the zoning limits. By creating
flexibility for these occasional special developments, we might enable some exceptional projects that would otherwise never happen.
While a few good examples of this exist, such as the Opportunity Center, the vast majority of PC projects have not provided the
hoped-for benefits or the benefits weren’t at all commensurate with
what the developer received. It has been a failed program.
The staff proposal tilts toward fewer restrictions at every opportunity. It would allow monetary payments as public benefits.
It would not restrict the public benefits to those intrinsic to the
development itself. It sets no limits on how much additional development a PC project might get.
In short, adoption of this new PC ordinance would put us right
back to where we were prior to the temporary halt early last year.
We hope the council rejects the “new” PC policy and directs
the staff to take a fresh approach. We’d like to see, for example,
consideration of a process that invites property owners interested
in redeveloping property to approach the city without a plan and,
through a public process, explore what development the community wants in exchange for granting exceptions to the zoning. But
the days of developers guessing what “benefits” might get them
extra square footage should be permanently put behind us. Q
Page 20 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Spectrum
Editorials, letters and opinions
Transportation waste
Editor,
I strongly oppose another sales
tax increase. The proponents are
hoping to sucker those of modest means into raising their taxes
once again, despite the fact that
voters have already done so multiple times. Over the last several
elections, voters in Santa Clara
County have passed multiple tax
and fee increases, and we’re on
the hook to pay back numerous
state bond issues.
All of this nickel and diming
has contributed to making the
Bay Area a horribly expensive
place to live, especially for people
of modest means, who must pay
the greatest percentage of their income in these regressive taxes and
fees. Each increase by itself does
not amount to much, say a halfcent, but the cumulative effect is
to add to the unaffordability of the
region.
Before increasing taxes yet
again, waste needs to be removed
from transportation projects. For
example, VTA needs to eliminate waste and “gold plating” of
the BART extension’s cost by
reducing the scope to eliminate
duplicate facilities. Specifically,
a revised “build alternative”
needs to be added to the study
that eliminates the wasteful section between the San Jose and
Santa Clara Caltrain stations.
The BART segment from the San
Jose to Santa Clara Caltrain stations would duplicate both the
existing Caltrain line and VTA’s
22 and 522 buses to a station that
has only about 1,000 riders each
weekday. This is extremely wasteful and sends the wrong message
to voters who will be asked to approve more sales tax increases in
2016. This is extremely insulting
considering recent voter approval
of all the taxes/fees listed above.
Why don’t the wealthy highrollers in Carl Guardino’s “Leadership Group” suggest taxing
their rich companies that create
the congestion, and leave the little
guy alone for a change?
Steve Ly
Mount Hamilton Avenue,
Los Altos
Welcome unity
Editor,
Last Saturday, the residents of
Buena Vista Mobile Home Park
invited the BV Friends to a picnic
at Palo Alto’s Mitchell Park. The
weather was pleasant, the speeches were short, the food was good
and plentiful. The attendees were
from a broad political spectrum
and included present and past City
officials, school board members,
the PTA, the school superintendent, County Supervisor Joe Si-
mitian and many others.
All expressed and supported the
hope that the children of Buena
Vista will remain here and graduate from the Palo Alto Schools.
Bob Roth
Middlefield Road, Palo Alto
Little things add up
Editor,
It is wonderful to see in the
Aug. 14 article that Palo Alto
has reached the semifinals of the
Georgetown University Energy
Prize. It is also gratifying to see
California so well-represented in
the competition.
Two thoughts come to mind: a) If
only there was a way for each of the
50 semifinalists to “partner” with
cities in states that have no representation to share “lessons learned”
and help them save energy as well.
b) Saving energy is doable.
For example, at St. Thomas
Aquinas Parish, which consists
of three churches and associated
buildings, we have reduced our
carbon footprint due to natural
gas use by 34 percent from 2009
through 2014. It also saves on the
utility cost.
We did it by taking what seemed
like small steps such as keeping
doors closed when the heaters
are running, reducing thermostat
heating temperature, programming the thermostats with timers,
putting covers on the thermostats,
replacing a commercial kitchen
range to one with electric ignition
rather than pilot lights, adding insulation, closing gaps under and
around doors.
Pretty much all the things suggested in the utility bill inserts —
they add up and do work!
Katia Reeves
Los Robles Avenue, Palo Alto
Elephant on El Camino
Editor,
As you reported on Aug. 14, the
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is soliciting
project wish lists from city councils for new sales tax measure(s)
to be placed on the June or November county-wide ballot next
year. For Palo Alto and other cities along El Camino Real, the “elephant in the room” is the plan of
VTA staff to seize the left lane in
each direction on El Camino for
VTA (express) buses only.
Under the plan, left turns not
at controlled intersections would
be eliminated, traffic in the two
remaining lanes would come to
a near standstill much of the day,
and even crossing El Camino
would be greatly delayed. No city
council should support any VTA
tax measure unless it includes
iron-clad provisions which outlaw
bad projects — such as the plan
for bus-only lanes on El Camino.
Gary Wesley
Continental Circle,
Mountain View
One greater than two
Editor,
Mothers and fathers wanting
the best education for their kids at
Gunn and Paly should move immediately to dissuade the schools’
leadership from their new push,
reported in the Weekly on Aug.
14th, toward “team-teaching” —
yoking special-education experts
to regular, subject-matter classroom professionals.
Said a staffer hired to help implement this change: “A true coteaching model is where you’re in
there together and you work with
each other and it’s difficult to tell
who the regular teacher and the
special education teacher is.”
This is well-intended but wishful. Any capable person will always be able to distinguish between a specialist in individual
learning challenges and someone
devoting a career to the mastery
of literature or math or science.
With this new policy we’ll only be
manufacturing seat-of-the-pants
amateurs of two new kinds.
Making teachers teach in twos
is no different from requiring
novelists to write novels in pairs
or captains to work two to a ship.
No one enjoys being a four-legged
creature in pursuits that thrive on
intuition and the knack for leading followers on a journey. What
we’ve always had on the trip is
fine: special-education teachers, in regular classrooms, riding
shotgun.
It’s unbelievable what the policy-makers at our most hard-hit
high school, in particular, are doing to so hobble our classroom
professionals that not only will
their workaday duties be almost
impossible to perform but — more
grievously — they’ll have neither
the time nor the wherewithal
to provide the necessary loving
support to our wrung-out teens.
Teamed up or not, Gunn’s faculty
right now are revamping all their
work to fit a new schedule, readying for Common Core and still
carrying last year’s griefs.
Stay quiet if you want your kids
to suffer the inevitable fallout;
speak up if you feel otherwise!
Marc Vincenti
Los Robles Avenue, Palo Alto
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Guest Opinion
A groundling’s lament — and call to action
by Rachel Kellerman
T
his summer
I became
a reluctant
advocate for quiet
skies. I say reluctant because I am
a teacher-librarian,
not a rabble-rouser. I’ve been busy
raising a family
in Palo Alto for
the past 23 years,
and I’ve never considered addressing the
City Council. I appreciate our local aviation heritage, and I fly to visit family and
friends.
So why am I campaigning for responsible
aviation? The short answer is that Palo Alto
is now plagued by a disproportionate level
of aircraft noise severely diminishing our
quality of life. The long answer is months
of research that ultimately led to my decision to contact Sky Posse Palo Alto, a group
of neighbors who are working toward decreasing low, loud and concentrated aviation noise.
My investigation began by contacting
Bert Ganoung, the aircraft-noise-abatement
manager at San Francisco International
Airport (SFO). When Ganoung discovered
where I lived he emitted a sympathetic
sigh. Palo Alto is 20 miles distant from the
airport, yet over the years air traffic has
gradually shifted over our town, including
three main approaches into SFO.
His office emailed a graphic to me showing Palo Alto cowering under what looks
like a Los Angeles freeway interchange. I
grew up in Los Angeles and thought I’d left
the 405 far behind.
Adding to our misery, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) new NextGen
protocols direct arriving flights along rigid
corridors at altitudes of lower than 5,000
feet. Arrival routes that were once dispersed high above many Peninsula communities now converge into high-decibel,
low-altitude “superhighways” directly over
our heads.
A Sky Posse Palo Alto (SPPA) analysis
of data secured by a Freedom of Information Act request confirms these gradual
shifts in flight patterns. SPPA obtained 10
years of flight track data from the FAA and
compared total flight growth into SFO to
flight growth over Palo Alto. Among other
comparisons, they took a snapshot of two
months of data from July 2006 and July
2014. Overall, total arrival traffic at SFO
increased by 28 percent, while lower altitude arrival traffic over Palo Alto increased
a whopping 76 percent.
I’ve heard our mounting noise problem
compared to boiling frogs. Frogs will jump
into a cool pan of water and stay there even
as the heat gradually rises. They don’t realize they are in trouble until it’s too late.
This is not the first time Palo Alto has
sought regional solutions to aircraft noise
and been stonewalled. The SFO Roundtable is “a voluntary committee to address
community noise impacts from aircraft
operations at San Francisco International
Airport (SFO).” The FAA looks to the SFO
Roundtable as a way for communities to address noise abatement, and the SFO Roundtable is structured to influence routing and
procedures decisions with the FAA. City
Council minutes show that Palo Alto was
denied membership to this important body
three times, twice in the 1990s and most recently last October, because the Roundtable
wants to limit its voting membership to San
Mateo County.
After sorting through these thorny regional issues, I called the FAA and described jets flying low overhead, sometimes 100 a day, resulting in missed sleep,
disruptions at work and interrupted family
time. My FAA contact denied there was a
noise problem, offering as proof the FAA’s
computer modeling study done prior to
the implementation of NextGen. In other
words, FAA’s flawed computer models
know more about our reality than we do!
The FAA can’t comment further because
it is getting sued. Private citizens in Portola
Valley and Woodside are suing on the basis that no full environmental-impact study
was performed before starting NextGen in
our area.
The hard truth is that the FAA has never
bothered to measure our actual noise. Even
if it did, we would not benefit because its
noise harm test is a poor diagnostic for Palo
Alto’s pain. Briefly, the FAA calibrates
harm by averaging noise over a 24-hour
period, giving more weight to nighttime
noise. Noise mitigation occurs when an
area reaches the California Community
Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) of 65 decibels. The 24-hour average noise impact of
all our Surf Air planes and 747s may not average 65 dBs, but each 70-80 decibel blast
assaults our senses. By the time the bruise
begins to fade we are hit again.
The strict way the FAA measures noise
is an issue for the Congressional Quiet
Skies Caucus. Luckily Rep. Anna Eshoo
is a leading member. On July 24 at Palo
Alto City Hall, Eshoo’s office invited key
FAA officials to a closed meeting with regional stakeholders. I understand that the
FAA was presented with some solutions,
such as raising flights to higher altitudes,
applying curfews to protect sleep and using
our wide Bay as a low approach instead of
directing grinding aircraft down over our
communities.
Unfortunately there is no immediate
relief, so citizens should complain repeatedly to offending airports and to the FAA.
Support Eshoo and county Supervisor Joe
Simitian as they deal with an intractable
FAA. Advocate for change by writing our
local, state and national politicians, and
sign the petition on the Sky Posse Palo Alto
website. Palo Alto is planning to conduct a
comprehensive study, and this information
will be vital for our town’s future.
For those of you who do not consider aircraft noise and pollution to be a problem,
consider that your neighbors have a right to
a good night’s sleep and our school children
require quiet classrooms and fresh air. We
all pay dearly to live in this town, and our
homes are an important investment.
There is more at stake here than any one
individual voice. Groundlings, I’m calling on you to leave your reluctance behind
and assert your rights! How else will our
community learn to balance progress with
peace? Q
Rachel Kellerman is a local educator
who has lived in Palo Alto for 23 years.
Streetwise
What is something that you admire about Palo Alto?
Asked on Emerson Street in front of Whole Foods Market. Interviews and photos by Jamauri Bowles.
Manfred Neustifter
Sara Kadoch
Vanda McCauley
John Ryan
Tiffany Santos
Forest Avenue, Palo Alto
Entrepreneur
Live Oak Avenue, Menlo Park
Speech therapist
Santa Teresa Street, San Jose
Resources administrator
Addison Avenue, Palo Alto
Nurse
Hawthorne Avenue, Palo Alto
Engineer
“It’s just lovely. It’s just a nice place to
walk around.”
“I admire the intelligent people here
and innovative thinkers.”
“I admire the trees and the shade ...
and the view of the neighborhoods.”
“The Stanford Theatre. It’s an old,
beautiful theater (that is) newly
renovated.”
“All the trees and the shade. (They
make me feel) comfortable ...
relaxed.”
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 21
Cover Story
Veronica Weber
A gas-powered leaf blower, lawnmower and other tools used by a
gardening crew sit in the back of a pickup truck in Palo Alto.
Gas-powered leaf blowers are banned from Palo Alto
neighborhoods — so why are they being used everywhere?
by Gennady Sheyner and Jocelyn Dong
S
everal days a week, Stan
and Kiyomi Hutchings
relax on their brick-lined
backyard patio in Old Palo
Alto. They enjoy reading under
the wisteria canopy and eating
lunch on blue-and-white cotton
tablecloths next to their burbling,
cherub-adorned fountain.
What they don’t enjoy, though,
is the burst of noise that periodically erupts on the other side of
the fence — and the cloud of dust
that wafts over, bringing more
than just hot air into their yard
and their lungs and onto their
food.
“We know what’s in it,” said
Stan Hutchings, who happens to
be a retired analytical chemist.
“It’s terrible.”
The periodic disturbance is
courtesy of a gas-powered leaf
blower. Technically, the equipment is illegal to use in Palo
Alto’s residential neighborhoods,
but you wouldn’t know it when
driving or walking down the city’s
leafy streets.
Midtown resident Bill Rosenberg figures that if he were deputized by the police to hand out
citations to people using the leaf
blowers (the fine for a violation is
$100), he could issue a half-dozen every day as he bikes around
town. In fact, he’s taken to handing out a leaf-blower FAQ, drawn
from information on the police
department’s website, to offending gardeners and homeowners.
A few recipients have been
“mildly abusive” toward him verbally, Rosenberg said of the reactions he’s gotten. They’ve asked,
“‘Are you the police? ... If you’re
not the police, then get out of the
way,’” he recalled recently.
Most people, however, simply
turn off the combustion-fueled
machine until he leaves.
Neither Rosenberg nor the
Hutchingses believes the leafblower issue is the most critical
problem in town, despite the irritating noise and air pollution.
They acknowledge that the police
department has priorities that take
precedence over catching people
in the act of blowing leaves. Burglars need to be caught; traffic
accidents should be attended to.
But it frustrates them that the
city ordinance is, essentially, being flagrantly ignored.
“It’s not a silly law,” Rosenberg
Page 22 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
said. Citing the hazardous pollution created by the gas-powered
leaf blowers, he added, “We
should get rid of them.” (See sidebar: “More than hot air”)
R
osenberg’s is only the
most recent rallying cry in
a long history of residents’
rage against the machines.
Palo Alto’s leaf-blowing ordinance was adopted in its present
form in 2005, but the rules governing the blowers first sprang up
three decades earlier — and shifted with political winds over time.
The blowers were initially treated like most other noisy equipment — legal until they hit a certain loudness threshold — when
the city adopted noise standards
back in 1972. Then, with citizens’
complaints about gas-powered
leaf blowers on the rise, the City
Council agreed in 1988 to restrict
use of those with noise levels of
82 decibels or higher. The threshold was dropped to 75 decibels
the following year and the hours
of operation were restricted to 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
Sundays and holidays.
But the whiny roars of gaspowered leaf blowers continued
to harass local eardrums through
the 1990s. In 2000, the council
revised its ordinance yet again,
requiring that all commercial operators be trained and certified on
the proper use of leaf blowers, according to a 2005 report from the
Police Department.
Another new clause, whose
adoption was deferred to July
2005, prohibited gas-powered
leaf blowers in residential areas.
It also prohibited all leaf blowers
that do not bear a manufacturer’s
label guaranteeing a noise level of
65 decibels or lower when measured from a distance of 50 feet.
Scofflaws would face a $100 fine,
though the amount would go up
for subsequent violations under a
revision that the council approved
in 2010. That law remains in effect to this day.
Through all of the debates over
whether and how to regulate leaf
blowers, professional gardeners and those representing them
have pushed back, stating that the
powerful equipment is essential
to their livelihoods. When concerns have been raised about the
detrimental effects to gardeners’
health caused by the dust, they’ve
responded that the California
Air Resources Board already
has stringent standards that sufficiently address air pollution
from blowers. Not only that, but
gardeners are capable of taking
precautions to protect themselves.
To the issue of noise, they’ve
pointed to new models that now
make gas leaf blowers quieter than
other lawn-care equipment. Then
they’ve raised their own concerns
about potential electrocution
when using electric-powered leaf
blowers and the loss of customers
because of increased rates.
Palo Alto’s ongoing desire to
govern leaf blowers is far from
unique. In the past year or two, the
noise from concerned residents up
and down the Peninsula has been
getting louder. Burlingame, Los
Gatos, San Mateo and Sunnyvale
have wrestled with the problem
during the past year, with each
city council trying to find the
perfect balance between education and enforcement.
In Sunnyvale, council members voted in March to ban all
leaf blowers in residential zones,
Cover Story
though they also agreed to defer
enforcement on the ban for a year
and a half so that city officials
will have time to educate the community about the new restriction.
The Los Gatos ban, which took
effect in January, applies to all
gas-powered leaf blowers as well
as to electric leaf blowers with
noise levels of more than 65 decibels, measured from 50 feet away.
Other cities in California with
bans or restrictions on gas-powered leaf blowers include Santa
Monica, Los Angeles, Berkeley
and Laguna Beach.
The town of Los Altos was at
the forefront on this issue, having
adopted an outright ban on gaspowered leaf blowers in 1991.
Menlo Park followed suit in 1998,
though its ordinance was promptly overturned by referendum.
I
Veronica Weber
A gardener on Ross Court uses a combustion-fueled leaf blower to clear debris on July 13.
Then came the recession and,
with it, years of budget cuts and
difficult decisions. In 2010, the
Police Department eliminated
the community-service officer
position. The dedicated line was
scrapped, and citizen complaints
were directed to central dispatch,
where they were joined by every
other non-emergency complaint.
City Manager James Keene and
Administrative Services Director
Lalo Perez told a council committee in a report that June that cutting the leaf-blowing enforcement
position would “not eliminate the
(police) department’s response to
leaf-blower municipal code violations.”
“Enforcement going forward
will be handled on a complaint
basis by patrol officers, and as
such, will be prioritized with
other calls-for-service, possibly
resulting in longer response times
than would a centralized leafblower enforcement officer,” their
report stated.
The council committee agreed
to make the cut, though Councilman Greg Scharff observed that
it “seems silly to have a municipal statute that we don’t enforce,
frankly.”
The results of the layoff proved
more dramatic than anyone could
have imagined. After issuing 322
reports about leaf-blowing viola-
tions in 2008 and 359 in 2009,
the department issued only 63 in
2010, the Police Department data
show.
In 2011, the department issued
zero formal warnings or citations.
In 2012, it issued one. In 2013,
zero. In 2014, one. As of June 30
of this year, the number was zero.
T
he lax enforcement has not
gone unnoticed. In 2012,
Old Palo Alto resident Sue
Kemp wrote to the city complaining that more than half the
gardeners she was encountering
were back to using gas-powered
leaf blowers after initially switching to electric ones.
Veronica Weber
n the 10 years since Palo Alto
adopted its ban, the debate has
shifted from strengthening
the ordinance to merely respecting it. The law, critics say, simply
isn’t being enforced.
They have a point. While in the
early years of the ordinance, officers issued warnings and citations, today gardeners are about
as likely to get in trouble for operating loud leaf blowers as for
removing tags off mattresses or
recording a baseball game without the express written consent of
Major League Baseball.
The economic recession of 2008
had a lot to do with the recent
downturn in enforcement. But it
was also a result of the police department prioritizing its response
to leaf-blower complaints toward
the bottom of the heap. Then, as
now, Palo Alto officers made no
secret of the fact that they often
have more important things to
do than admonish gardeners for
making too much noise.
When the ban launched on July
1, 2005, the number of complaints
about too-loud gardening shot up.
In the first year, the city received
559 calls about gas-powered leaf
blowers. In response, the city issued 559 “first letters” to the address where the violation had occurred, 107 “final letters” and 34
citations, according to city data.
The city had a designated phone
line for leaf-blowing violations
and a community-service officer
assigned to track and respond to
complaints.
Over the next few years, the
calls kept coming. In 2008, the
Police Department received 585
calls for service, resulting in 322
issued reports (which includes
both warnings and citations), according to data obtained by the
Weekly. In 2009, the department
received 487 calls for service
about leaf blowers and responded
with 359 reports, the Police Department data show. (In some
cases, people relied on the phone
line a bit too much. In responding to one complaint, for instance,
the community-service officer
determined that the alleged violator “did not have a gardener, did
not own a leaf blower, and that
there were some other unresolved
neighbor issues.”)
Bill Rosenberg stands in his front yard under a carob tree as he talks about the fliers he hands out to
gardeners and homeowners informing them of the city’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. The carob
tree drops leaves year round, and Rosenberg’s gardener uses an electric blower to remove them.
“It is evident that there is absolutely no enforcement, so the
gardeners don’t worry about it,”
Kemp wrote. “I’ll bet no one has
gotten a ticket this whole past
year.” (Incidentally, she was correct.)
The response she received from
police Capt. Ron Watson didn’t
entirely satisfy her. He noted that
the department had recently lost
not only the officer who was focused on leaf blowers but also
several other community-service
officers who were in the field
daily, “handling lower-level calls
for service and incident reports.”
He informed her that complaints
about gas-powered leaf blowers
were being handled by uniformed
police officers.
Watson encouraged Kemp to
keep reporting violations, though
he also acknowledged that proactive efforts to enforce the ban
probably wouldn’t be made any
time soon.
“With the limited resources we
have, I have directed our staff to
spend all of their free time concentrating their efforts on school
safety and traffic enforcement as
well as the continuing residential
burglary problem,” Watson wrote
on Nov. 5, 2012. “With homes getting broken into almost daily, we
simply can’t devote resources to
some of the things we used to be
able to do.”
Since those days, the city’s
economy has rebounded in a big
way and the era of staff cuts has
long passed. No one talks anymore about eliminating traffic
enforcement or scrapping school
crossing guards. City Hall is now
hiring, with 11 new positions bud(continued on page 26)
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 23
Cover Story
More than hot air
Research shows health risks in air pollution caused by leaf blowers,
but industry disputes implications
by Sue Dremann
B
said Lynn Smith, interim executive director of Breathe California
of the Bay Area, also noting the
huge discrepancy between leaf
blower and car emissions.
Various arguments have been
made by some environmental
groups that blowers should be
entirely banned in favor of a return to old-fashioned brooms and
rakes.
A 1999 study by the University
of California Riverside and San
Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District, the first
of its kind, attempted to quantify the differences. Leaf blowers
produced about 30 milligrams per
square meter of 2.5-micron-sized
particulates and 80 mg per square
meter of 10-micron particles.
The results were similar for
push brooms used on a concrete
surface, probably because of the
smoother surface, the researchers
found. But using a push broom on
asphalt produced no 2.5-micron
particles and only 20 mg in the
10-micron range.
And raking on either surface
produced no particulates in either
range, the study found.
The California Landscape Contractors Association, however,
disputes the allegations of the air
pollution caused by leaf blowers,
calling concerns over air emissions “spurious,” according to a
1999 letter from its board of directors that was confirmed as current on July 20.
“Properly used leaf blowers
do not raise inordinate amounts
of dust. Rule 403 of the South
Coast Air Quality Management
District states that ‘a person shall
not cause or allow the emissions
of fugitive dust from any active
operation, open storage pile, or
disturbed surface area such that
the presence of such dust remains
visible in the atmosphere beyond
the property line of the emission
source.’ Blower users can and
should follow this rule,” the letter states.
In addition to arguing that
emissions standards from the
An electric-powered leaf blower sits outside a front yard as a
gardening crew works on an adjacent side yard. Electric blowers
do not emit the hydrcarbons and other toxins that gasoline-fueled
blowers do.
Page 24 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Veronica Weber
or weeks; 10-micron particles
can travel up to 30 miles and stay
aloft for hours, according the U.S.
E.P.A.
Besides what they kick up off
the ground, gas-powered leaf
blowers themselves emit specific
pollutants the State of California has identified as of concern:
hydrocarbons from both burned
and unburned fuel, which combine with other gases to form
ozone; carbon monoxide; and
toxic contaminants such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene, acetaldehyde
and formaldehyde, according to
a widely quoted 2000 California
Environmental Protection Agency
Air Resources Board report.
The Air Quality District in 2010
estimated there were approximately 258,000 two-stroke leaf
blowers in the Bay Area, which
generate significantly more air
pollution than four-stroke engines.
Testing in 2011 by the vehicle
reviewer Edmunds.com showed
just how dirty leaf blowers remain, even 11 years after new
emission standards for blowers
went into effect.
Pitting leaf blowers against a
Ford F-150 SVT Raptor crew cab,
the leaf blowers were the big dogs
when it came to spewing nonmethane hydrocarbons, oxides of
nitrogen and carbon monoxide —
the three pollutants that the EPA
and the California Air Resources
Board find most concerning.
The two-stroke blower generated 23 times the carbon monoxide and nearly 300 times more
non-methane hydrocarbons as the
truck.
“To equate the hydrocarbon
emissions of about a half-hour of
yard work with this two-stroke
leaf blower, you’d have to drive
a Raptor for 3,887 miles, or the
distance from northern Texas to
Anchorage, Alaska,” the article
noted.
Officials from local lung-health
organizations said the contribution of leaf blowers to pollution
can’t be ignored.
“It should be of great concern,”
Veronica Weber
lasting air at up to 185
mph, leaf blowers can
whip up hazardous particles and contaminants from the
ground at speeds greater than a
Category 5 hurricane, sending
them long distances.
Epidemiological studies have
long recognized the harm these
particles — including hydrocarbons from gasoline, animal droppings, spores, fungi, pollens, pesticides and herbicides, fertilizers,
brake-lining dust and tire residue
and heavy metals — cause to
people’s respiratory systems, according to Bay Area Air Quality
Management District reports.
Exposure to particulate matter
is rarely, if ever, cited as the cause
of death in a coroner’s report
when someone dies of a heart attack or stroke or lung disease, a
2012 district study noted. “However, epidemiological studies indicate that exposure to particulate
matter is an important contributing factor in hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of deaths in the Bay
Area each year.”
The district has called particulate matter “the air pollutant that
poses by far the greatest health
risk to Bay Area residents.”
The average adult inhales 450
cubic centimeters (roughly one
pint) of air per breath, which includes 1 million to 10 million tiny
particles with each breath.
“But that figure can spike to
much higher levels in close proximity to high-volume roadways
or other major outdoor emission
sources,” the district’s “Bay Area
2010 Clean Air Plan” noted.
The contribution of leaf blowers to air pollution isn’t to be underestimated. About 5 pounds of
particulate matter per leaf blower
per hour are swept into the air and
take hours to settle, according to
a widely cited leaf-blower pollution report by the Orange County,
California grand jury in 1999.
An Air District program aimed
at replacing up to 50,000 leaf
blowers and 10,000 lawn mowers
by 2020 would reduce the most
dangerous small-particle emissions (sized 2.5 and 10 microns)
by 0.12 tons (240 pounds) per day,
according to the 2010 Clean Air
Plan.
Fine particles measuring 2.5
microns and coarser material
measuring 10 microns are more
readily absorbed into the lungs.
The smaller 2.5-micron particles
are associated with hazardous
organic compounds and heavy
metals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(E.P.A.). Particles measuring 10
microns are typically composed
of smoke, dirt, dust, mold, spores
and pollen.
Particulates in the 2.5-micron
range can migrate many hundreds
of miles and stay the air for days
The debris kicked up by a gasoline-powered leaf blower includes
not only leaves but spores, animal droppings, pesticides, heavy
metals and more, researchers have found. The tiniest particles, once
airborne, can stay aloft for hours.
California Air Resources Board
implemented in 2000 would significantly reduce emissions from
handheld equipment, the association pointed to the intermittent
use of blowers.
“Portable lawn and garden
equipment contributes only 0.8
percent of all U.S. VOC (volatile
organic compound) emissions,
0.6 percent of carbon monoxide
emissions, and no nitrogen oxide
emissions.”
Debates over air pollution aside,
there’s also noise — perhaps the
most evident pollution caused by
leaf blowers. The City of Palo
Alto requires leaf blowers to emit
no more than 65 decibels, when
measured from 50 feet away.
The Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA)
has determined that decibel levels
above 85 cause permanent hearing loss. The World Health Organization recommends a general
outdoor noise level of 55 decibels
or less and 45 or less for sleeping
restfully.
Excessive noise has been implicated in higher heart-attack rates,
gastrointestinal disturbances,
sleep problems, social discord
and psychological problems, according to the U.S. E.P.A.
Ironically, metal rakes aren’t
much quieter, though the sound
is less constant: The City of Palo
Alto noted in a 2005 report that
metal rakes used on concrete can
generate 58-60 decibels at 50 feet.
When it comes to encouraging
gardeners to forego their gaspowered machines, one air quality
district in southern California has
had significant success with its
leaf blower exchange. The South
Coast Air Quality Management
District, which covers Orange
County, urban Los Angeles, San
Bernardino and Riverside, has
held a leaf blower buy-back program since 2006 for professional
gardeners. In that time, the dis-
trict has put more than 12,000 reduced-noise and lower-emissions
leaf blowers in the hands of professional gardeners.
The agency distributes about
1,500 new leaf blowers annually,
said spokesman Sam Atwood.
“According to the E.P.A., a
commercial blower emits 93
pounds per year of air pollutants.
Multiplied out times 12,000, the
units we have distributed have reduced 500 tons of pollutants since
2006,” he said.
So far, the district has distributed cleaner blowers manufactured by the company Stihl. The
company has supplied trainings at
the exchanges. Operators learn to
use the blower like a broom, rolling the debris from one area to
another where it can be collected,
rather than blasting it in a cloud of
dust, he said.
The district helped support the
development of backpack electric
leaf blowers, which are just now
becoming commercially available, he said. Atwood said the district hopes that it will get at least
one proposal this year for a truly
zero-emission, battery-powered
leaf blower as part of its request
for proposals.
“In demos, they seem to work
very well, equal at least to a gaspowered blower. But it’s a little
premature to say how they will
compare in the field to their gasoline counterparts,” he said.
For its part, the Bay Area Air
Quality Management District is
running a program to fund the
purchase of new, battery-powered,
zero-emission electric lawn and
garden equipment in exchange
for gasoline-powered lawn and
garden equipment. The program
is currently only operating in Alameda and Contra Costa counties,
however. Q
Staff Writer Sue Dremann
can be emailed at sdremann@
paweekly.com.
Cover Story
Veronica Weber
The front yard of a home on Clara Drive practices a “green” approach to landscape maintenance in which leaves are left on the
ground or moved with a rake instead of a leaf blower, which can dry out and damage plants. The fallen leaves act as natural compost,
landscapers say.
What to know about ‘mow and blow’
Efficient, yes, but green landscapers urge a return to the rake
by Brenna Malmberg
W
hen it comes to the
value of using a leaf
blower, opinions blow
in all directions. Gardeners,
landscapers and maintenance
professional see benefits and
damages from using the mechanical tool on residential
lawns and gardens.
While leaf-blower bans and
ordinances stem from concerns
about dust, sound and carbon
emissions, the California Landscape Contractors Association
(CLCA) does not support acrossthe-board removal. Leaf blowers
have their place when it comes to
clearing areas covered by rock,
gravel, bark or mulch, according
to a 1999 letter from its board of
directors that was confirmed as
current on July 20.
Since their development in the
1970s, leaf blowers have sped up
the work of lawn-care professionals. According to the CLCA,
the industry estimates it takes
five times longer to use manual
clearing methods, such as rakes
or brooms, compared to leaf
blowers. The CLCA also notes
that the uptick in man-hours to
complete one job without a leaf
blower can increase maintenance costs for the homeowner.
Humberto Vasquez, owner of
Humberto Vasquez Landscape
and Maintenance, works from
Foster City to Sunnyvale. He
keeps a gas leaf blower, electric
leaf blower and leaf rake at the
ready, bringing the gas machine
out only when ordinances allow.
This means he stays tethered to
an electrical outlet in Palo Alto
if his leaf blower is needed and
only brings it out when hours
permit.
In his 10-plus years of landscape maintenance, he’s never
had any issue getting the job
done inside local restrictions, he
said. Vasquez does admit that as
he steps down from gas blower
to electric blower to rake, work
efficiency decreases.
When his method changes,
so does the price. Vasquez
charges about $30 per visit for
a very small lawn if he can use
a gas leaf blower. If he comes
two times a month, that’s $60
a month. But here in Palo Alto,
gas leaf blowers are forbidden,
so he ups the fee to around $45
per visit, he said. If the homeowner wants to go machineless,
he charges an additional $15 for
his time. The cost to the homeowner, while small each visit,
compounds during a year. In the
above scenario, homeowners’
rates range from $720 to $1,080
to $1,440 per year.
“When I need to, I use a leaf
rake, but a leaf blower just takes
less time,” he said. “I can have
my leaf blower at a lower speed,
though, so I can go really slow so
I don’t blow mulch.”
Bonnie Brock, owner of Bonnie Brock Landscape Design
in Palo Alto, would rather that
maintenance crews not use leaf
blowers. But if the equipment is
going to be used, since it is the
more efficient option, Brock said
homeowners need to learn about
the right mulch for their yard
and maintenance routine, lest the
mulch be blown away.
In general, gardens and plants
need 2-3 inches of mulch, Brock
said. If homeowners opt for organic compost and mulch, they
will spend $3,000 to cover 6,000
square feet. This averages to
about $80 per cubic yard. Cheaper options are also available,
such as regular mulch at $70 per
cubic yard or arbor mulch at $30
per cubic yard. When buying
mulch, people can also check to
see if they qualify for $2 off per
square foot through the Santa
Clara Valley Water District
Landscape Conservation Rebate
Program.
“Once the mulch is in, you
don’t want a mow-and-blow service to come in and blow away
thousands of dollars in mulch,”
Brock said. “Plus, it can wreck
your plants.”
For mulch to survive blowing, she recommends 3/4- or
1-inch bark mulch. Because of
its weight, it won’t disperse and
will last three to four years. Otherwise, small mulch can soon
disappear in as few as six to 12
months, costing the homeowner
money, she said. In addition,
mulch keeps plant roots cool so
that they require less water and
retain the water they receive.
Brock also advises her clients
that leaf drop — fallen leaves
from trees and plants — should
be left in place rather than blown
away. Leaf drop serves as natural compost, eventually breaking
down into the soil and nurturing
the plant.
If too much plant matter builds
up, Brock encourages homeowners to collect it with a rake and
save it for future use in a compost pile.
Brock has been frustrated with
the lack of levels of service between fine garden care and quick
“mow and blows.” Outside maintenance services that don’t know
how to manage a low-water or
native yard can disrupt a carefully planned, organic landscape.
“I’d prefer that they didn’t
blow at all,” she said.
One program in the county
is trying to address Brock’s
concern. The Santa Clara Valley Green Gardeners Program
certifies landscape service professionals on subjects related
to green gardening, such as responsible water usage and soil
protection. As of March 26, 63
area services had been certified
as Green Gardeners, including
Brock. During the air pollution
segment of training, teachers
touch on leaf blowers, talking about different models and
maintenance options.
“We help them make informed
decisions,” said Vishakha Atre,
senior scientist with Watershed
Water, the larger organization
that runs the Green Gardeners
Program. “The first option is to
not go to a mechanical option.”
Master Gardener Anne
Firthmurray seconds the manual options because they can be
more beneficial to plants and
gardens. While blowing on a
plant might not be inherently
bad, she said, stripping away
the mulch and moisture — what
little there is these days — might
be hard on the plant. Instead, she
recommends raking and mowing
mulch to where it provides the
most benefit.
Landscape companies along
the Peninsula have started to
respond to homeowners looking
for manual, high-end lawn services, such as Maniglia Landscape Services out of San Jose.
One of its employees, Havier
Sanchez, said they do most of
their zero-machine landscape
business in Palo Alto. He tends
to yards and gardens without
any type of leaf blower, mower
or hedge trimmer; everything
is done by hand. This broomand-rake action takes more than
double the time, Sanchez said.
“You can notice the difference,” he said. “It’s better for the
environment. It’s better for the
plants. It’s just better for everybody.” Q
Associate Editor Brenna
Malmberg can be emailed at
bmalmberg@paweekly.com.
For more information about
qualification for the Santa Clara
Valley Water District Landscape
Conservation Rebate Program,
visit valleywater.org/programs/
landscapereplacementrebates.
aspx or call 408-630-2554.
Green Gardener classes
Fall 2015 Santa Clara Valley Green Gardener classes
are scheduled for the following dates:
Wednesdays, Sept. 9 through Nov. 11, in English
Thursdays, Sept. 10 through Nov. 12, in Spanish
The classes will be held at the Sunnyvale-Cupertino
Adult Community Education center in Sunnyvale.
Registration information can be found at
https://ace.fuhsd.org/.
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 25
Cover Story
Blown away
(continued from page 23)
geted for fiscal year 2016.
Yet enforcement of the leafblowing ordinance remains where
it was during the bleakest years
of the recession. At the council’s meeting on June 8, resident
Rosenberg told the council about a
conversation he had with a police
officer who effectively confirmed
that the ordinance is not being enforced because of other priorities.
On the one hand, Rosenberg said,
he is sympathetic to the department’s position.
“On the other hand, we do have
an ordinance that should be enforced,” Rosenberg said.
Lt. Zach Perron, Palo Alto police spokesman, observed that,
much of the time, an officer’s delay in responding to a complaint
(because of its lower priority)
means that the alleged scofflaw
has already left the property.
Only when an officer is not
busy responding to calls about inprogress crimes, alarms, suspicious behavior, burglaries, thefts,
traffic collisions and the like,
Perron said in an email, will he or
she be dispatched to leaf-blower
complaints.
When the officer does respond,
several things might happen: The
operator of the leaf blower could
be gone by the time the officer
arrives or the operator may have
just concluded the leaf blowing
and is no longer committing the
violation, in which case he or she
is informed about the ordinance
and asked to comply in the future.
The latter outcome is fairly
common, Perron said. Blowing
leaves off of a property does not
take very long.
Of course, if someone is actually caught in violation of the ordinance, the officer could issue an
citation.
Yet the numbers suggest that
low prioritization has rendered the
ordinance useless. Between 2011
and June 2015, the department has
received 665 calls for service relating to leaf blowing (about 166
per year, on average), suggesting
that the problem hasn’t gone away.
During those four years, the city
took formal action only twice.
2008-2014
700
C
ouncil members proved
sympathetic in June to
Rosenberg’s complaint,
which took place during a meeting about the new fiscal-year budget. Though enforcement of the
leaf-blowing ordinance has always fallen to the Police Department, council members cited leaf
blowing as a major reason for approving a new code-enforcement
position in the Department of
Planning and Community Environment.
The new person will be tasked
with leading the planning department’s three-member team of
code-enforcement officers. The
hope is to make enforcement proactive, rather than purely complaint-driven, and to turn down
the noise on lawns and in gardens
throughout the city.
In supporting the position,
Councilman Pat Burt argued that
the notion of enforcing an ordinance only on a complaint basis is
“inconsistent with other elements
of our code.”
The city, after all, enforces all
types of laws, including those
dealing with speeding, illegal
parking and fire-code violations,
to name a few. Unlike leaf blowing, none of these enforcement
strategies are based on complaints, he said.
“We don’t go after speeders
only if someone dials 9-1-1, or
have parking-enforcement folks
who only operate on complaint,”
Burt said.
Recent surveys of Palo Alto
residents also suggest a general
awareness that the city’s codeenforcement operation has plenty
of room for improvement. Only
62 percent of the respondents to
the 2014 National Citizens Survey
gave code enforcement a “good”
or “excellent rating” (this is an improvement from 2013, when only
57 percent gave code enforcement
the two highest marks). In south
Palo Alto, the percentage of resi-
What the ordinance says
Palo Alto’s law regulating the use of leaf blowers went
into effect 10 years ago this summer, on July 1, 2005.
Here’s what it entails:
• Combustion-powered leaf
blowers are banned from
residential zones
• Leaf blowers without
a manufacturer’s label
designating the noise level
as 65 dBA or lower when
measured from 50 feet away
are not allowed
• All mufflers and full
extension tubes must be
attached while blower is in use
• Electric leaf blowers can
only be used in residential
zones from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Mondays through Fridays,
and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
Saturdays
Enforcement of Palo Alto’s leaf-blower ordinance
• Leaf blowers can only be used
in non-residential zones from
8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Mondays
through Fridays, and 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Saturdays
• Commercial leaf-blower
operators must display
certification of training
according to standards
adopted by the Chief of Police
• Leaf blowers can be used
from 4-8 a.m. on public
streets, sidewalks and parking
lots in business districts;
at city parks; and at the
Municipal Golf Course
• The first-time fine for
violating the ordinance: $100
Page 26 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 **
Complaints
* Warning or citation issued ** As of June 30, 2015
Police reports *
Source: Palo Alto Police Department
dents giving the top two ratings (than I),” said Rosenberg, who
to code enforcement in 2014 was nevertheless has managed to convince some of his neighbors and
even lower: 58 percent.
“It’s an area where we think the their gardeners to give up gas leaf
planning and transportation de- blowers.
Rosenberg mostly believes that
partment can be better,” Planning
Director Hilary Gitelman said at the problem lies with homeownthe June 8 meeting, shortly before ers, who are largely unaware of
the council agreed to add the third the ordinance.
“Most homeowners don’t know
code-enforcement position.
there’s a law.
With the new
That’s who
position, the
I’d ideally like
planning department will ‘Our code-enforcement to get to,” he
said, explainfor the first time group will ... inform
ing that he also
take part in enleaves an FAQ
forcing the ban the police if they
flier on the
on gas-powered
home’s doorleaf blowers. become aware of
step when he
Gitelman told persistent violators,
hands one to
the Weekly that
the gardener.
once the new so the police can
“I’d hate to
person is hired, take immediate
have police
“We will begin
come down on
talking about enforcement action.’
the gardeners,”
how our code– Hillary Gitelman, director, who are often
en forcement
Planning and Community lower-income,
group can supEnvironment i nd ep end ent
port the Police
contractors, he
Department
said.
with the goal of
For his part, Hutchings doesn’t
achieving better compliance.”
The exact role of the new code think homeowners are unaware,
enforcer in leaf blowing will not just reluctant to comply. He recbe nailed down until the city hires ommends the city put a flier in
people’s utilities bills stating that
that person, she said in an email.
“I assume our code-enforce- it’s illegal to use gas-powered
ment group will help with educa- leaf blowers, that they could be
tion and outreach, and inform the fined and that there are pollupolice if they become aware of tion dangers associated with the
persistent violators, so the police blowers’ use.
Violators should also face escacan take immediate enforcement
lating fines — as much as double
action,” she wrote.
each prior offense, he said. That
oth Rosenberg and Stan would motivate homeowners to
Hutchings have their own speak with their gardeners.
“They don’t want to confront
ideas for improving leafblower compliance. Rosenberg the gardener,” he said. “They igenvisions a community-service nore it because they don’t know
police officer riding on a bicycle, how to talk to their gardener.
stopping to chat with gardeners They’d rather the gardener does
and homeowners and generally what he wants.”
The Hutchingses have asked
being a presence in the neighbortheir gardener to use an electric
hoods.
“He’d have a lot more clout blower and to do so only occa-
B
sionally on the hard surfaces. In
the garden, he uses a rake for the
little leaves and hand-picks the
big ones, if they even need to be
picked up, Hutchings said. (See
sidebar: “What to know about
‘mow and blow’”)
Their gardener is charging them
the same amount he did when he
was using a gas-powered leaf
blower, Hutchings said. But even
if the rates go up because using
electric blowers and raking take
longer, Palo Altans can afford the
increase, Hutchings believes.
“I don’t think they’d be willing,
but they’d be able,” he said. “An
extra $10-$15 — that’s a couple
of lattes.”
Sitting in his patio recently as a
hummingbird darted to a feeder,
Hutchings recalled that the city
also recommended another solution when he complained recently: Call 3-1-1 (or use the city’s
new PaloAlto311 app) to report
the offending gardener’s truck license plate number and the company name.
“I was told,” Hutchings said
hopefully, “they would respond.” Q
Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner
and Editor Jocelyn Dong can be
emailed at gsheyner@paweekly.
com and jdong@paweekly.com.
On the cover: A gardener
uses a gas-powered leaf
blower to clear leaves off
a sidewalk in a residential
neighborhood in Palo
Alto on July 23. Photo by
Veronica Weber.
TALK ABOUT IT
What, if anything, do you think
the city should do to enforce its
leaf blower ordinance? Share
your opinion on Town Square, the
community discussion forum, at
PaloAltoOnline.com/square.
Arts & Entertainment
A weekly guide to music, theater, art, culture, books and more, edited by Elizabeth Schwyzer
Jiro Schneider
A cappella band Pentatonix will perform at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre on Sunday, Aug. 23.
I
n 2002, 10-year-old Kirstin Maldonado watched a fellow Texan
named Kelly Clarkson make
reality-television history as the
first winner of the singing competition, “American Idol.”
“I grew up 15 minutes away
from her,” Maldonado said of the
woman who would become a pop superstar and one of Maldonado’s childhood role
models. Nearly a decade later, as part of
the a cappella group Pentatonix, Maldonado herself was crowned the winner of “The
Sing-Off,” another TV vocal contest. This
summer, Clarkson and Pentatonix, along
with singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson,
have teamed up on a national tour that includes a stop at Mountain View’s Shoreline
Amphitheatre on Sunday, Aug. 23.
Though the group gained fame from TV
exposure, Pentatonix is no manufactured
act. Maldonado grew up with bandmates
Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi; they all
sang together at Martin High School in
Arlington, Texas. They went their separate
ways in college, with Maldonado earning
a full scholarship to study musical theater
at the University of Oklahoma. But Hoying called upon Maldonado and Grassi to
reform the group in 2011, along with two
new members to round out the low-end
sound: bass vocalist Avi Kaplan and beat
Pentatonix, Kelly Clarkson come to Shoreline
by Karla Kane
boxer/cellist Kevin Olusola. They named
their quintet after the pentatonic scale —
a five-note scale common in western music — and quickly developed a worldwide
following, thanks not only to their “SingOff” win but also to their YouTube covers
of popular songs by artists including Beyoncé, Katy Perry and many others.
Social media and fan interaction have
been crucial to their success, as well as
personally important, Maldonado said.
“Once you come off a reality show it’s
easy to fade out, so it’s important to stay
connected with our fan base,” she said.
“It’s really fun, too. We’re really close to
our fans.”
Now signed, like Clarkson, to RCA Records, Pentatonix has gained millions of
YouTube video subscribers, released several
records (including a best-selling Christmas
album) and a tour documentary, and even
won a Grammy for its a cappella tribute to
French electronic music duo, Daft Punk.
Developing their intricate vocal arrangements is a collaborative effort, Maldonado
said.
“We sit in a circle and it’s just a really organic process,” she said, adding that their
compositional process is similar to that of
an instrumental band in that the rhythm
parts — in their case the beat boxing and
bass lines — usually come first. She described it as a trial-and-error method of
perfecting the complex vocal harmonies
and counterpoints, often with the help of
longtime producer Ben Bram, who’s been
with them since the “Sing-Off” days.
Though most famous for its cover versions of popular songs, the group is currently working on an album of original
music. Maldonado said all five members of
Pentatonix contribute to the songwriting.
“It’s totally been a learning process of
what we wanted our sound to be like,” she
said. “We’re all very active in the process.”
The songs and styles on the new album,
which is due out later this year, will reflect
the diversity in taste of the band members.
“I think it’s pretty eclectic,” Maldonado
said. “We have our signature sound, but
there’s definitely a song in there for everyone.”
That variety is what makes Pentatonix
work so well, both musically and socially,
Maldonado said, explaining that each member brings something special to the group.
(continued on page 29)
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 27
Benefiting local nonprofits serving families and children
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SEPT 25
7PM
at Palo Alto Baylands Athletic Center
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Page 28 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Arts & Entertainment
Happy
places
Mountain View Center
for the Performing Arts
8:00 p.m.
Artist develops
happiness map
of Palo Alto
in memory of Bill Lane
SERIES SPONSOR
Jean Lane
MEDIA SPONSORS
The Almanac
Palo Alto Weekly
Mountain View Voice
by Elizabeth Schwyzer
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
(650) 854-7696 x315
openspacetrust.org/lectures
“G
A cappella idols
(continued from page 27)
“Kevin is the ‘smart’ one, the
most organized, the ‘dad,’” she
said of Yale-educated Olusola.
“He was pre-med, and he can
speak Chinese fluently. He’s
incredible, and he works the
hardest.” Deep-voiced Kaplan
is “the most passionate. He’s so
dedicated and goes full out for
everything to make sure it can be
the best it can be.” Her band cofounders and childhood friends,
Grassi and Hoying, are two peas
in a pod, serving as court jesters, motivators and spirit lifters.
“They’re so funny,” she said.
“Anytime anyone has a bad day
they make us laugh.” Maldonado
said she sees her bandmates as
beloved — and only occasionally
exasperating — brothers. “We’re
all very different and relate in different ways. It’s a big family,” she
said.
When not performing and recording as Pentatonix, the mem-
SINGLE TICKETS
On Sale February 1
Stian Rasmussen
o to your happy place.”
It’s a phrase that’s often
uttered with a tone of
syrupy cynicism, as if the pursuit
of happiness necessarily connotes a
childish escape from reality.
But that’s not at all how Kate
Pocrass sees it. The Oakland-based
artist has long been fascinated by
people’s relationship with place, the
way they interact with their environment and their ability to enhance
the pleasure they draw from an apparently mundane daily commute
simply by looking closely at their
surroundings.
Pocrass is the artist behind the
Palo Alto “happiness map,” a project funded by the City of Palo Alto.
Last month, she sent out a public
survey asking residents to describe a
particular spot in the city that made
them happy. One month later, having collected nearly 400 responses,
Pocrass closed the survey and began
looking at the data she’d gathered,
considering how best to share it with
the community at large.
On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Palo
Alto Art Center will open “Front
Artist Kate Pocrass is creating a happiness map of Palo Alto that
will be available for free to the public.
Yard/Backstreet,” a group exhibition focused on people and their
relationships to their communities.
Included in the exhibition will be
Pocrass’ happiness map, copies of
which will be available free to the
public. The 20- by 30-inch artistic
poster will incorporate all of the
survey’s results, though it will feature some spots more prominently
than others. It will also include statistics regarding the spots Palo Altans named among their top happy
places.
While some responses Pocrass received were unique to one individual, other happy spots were shared by
a group of respondents. Parks, open
spaces, cafes and theaters ranked
among the most popular choices,
but supermarkets, blood banks and
even City Hall’s council chambers
got a few shout-outs.
“There were some that were very
personal, like people’s back yards,
or a specific buckeye tree near a certain neighborhood bridge over the
creek where a woman used to catch
polliwogs when she was a kid,”
explained Pocrass during a recent
phone interview. “People’s answers
have been so much more detailed
than I thought they would be.”
At first, Pocrass had intended to
canvass in person but soon realized that an online survey actually
bers branch out into other projects. Maldonado said she’d like
to get back into musical theater
eventually.
“I would absolutely love it.
My dream was always to be on
Broadway someday,” she said,
naming the titular part in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Evita” as a
“dream role.” Describing herself
as bookish and introverted growing up, Maldonado said she still
loves to read and write and has
recently started a blog on her personal website, kirstinmaldonado.
com, where she shares some of
her anxieties, hopes and dreams
with her fans.
A month into the two-and-a
half-month tour, Maldonado said
she’s looking forward to her first
trip to Silicon Valley. Fans in the
audience at Shoreline can expect
many familiar tunes as well as a
handful of songs from the new
work in progress.
“We’re throwing in new songs
as we release them and gauging
the audience’s reaction,” she said.
She and her crew are hoping their
live success translates to their
upcoming original record. “It’s
something we’re really proud of,”
she said.
As for what it’s like to tour
alongside her childhood idol,
Maldonado said Clarkson remains a role model.
“She’s so inspiring,” Maldonado said, adding, “She’s just normal and genuine. She proves you
can be yourself and stand up for
yourself” — and be a success in
the music industry. Q
MVCPA Box Office
(650) 903-6000
mvcpa.com
MONDAY //
August 31
Ruth Reichl
FOOD CRITIC, AUTHOR & RESTAURATEUR
In conversation with Michael
Krasny, host of Forum on KQED
Ms. Reichl is the author of books
including Delicious!, Comfort me
with Apples, and Tender at the Bone,
as well as numerous other novels
and nonfiction works. She was Editor
in Chief of Gourmet magazine
from 1999 to 2009. Prior to that,
she was the restaurant critic for
both The New York Times (19931999) and the Los Angeles Times
(1984-1993).
Peninsula Open Space Trust
(continued on page 30)
Freelance writer Karla Kane
can be emailed at karlajkane@
gmail.com.
What: Kelly Clarkson, Pentatonix
and Eric Hutchinson
Where: Shoreline Amphitheatre,
1 Amphitheatre Parkway,
Mountain View
When: Sunday, Aug. 23, 7 p.m.
Cost: Tickets start at $24
Info: Go to
theshorelineamphitheatre.com.
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 29
Happy places
(continued from page 29)
allowed for more unguarded responses.
This is not the first time Pocrass
has embarked on a project to illuminate the ways community members
interact with the landscape around
them, nor is it the first time she has
extended a public invitation to participate in the art-making process.
“Mundane Journeys,” part of a 2001
curated group show at San Francisco’s Southern Exposure gallery,
consisted of a business card with
a phone number on it. Participants
who called the number would be
given a set of instructions guiding
them to a specific spot in the city
and giving them a task to follow.
“I would give very pointed little
thing to do when you got there:
‘Notice a skyscraper made entirely out of mosaic tiles,’ ‘Order
No. 32 on the menu’ or ‘Check
out the upholstered tree stump,’”
Pocrass recalled of the project, an
archive of which remains online
at mundanejourneys.com.
Based on that work, Pocrass received a series of grants to publish
books based on “Mundane Journeys”; an editor with Chronicle
Books eventually published a version of the project that allows travelers to use it wherever they go.
With the Palo Alto happiness
map, the idea is similar: Anyone
who picks up a free copy will have
both an original work of art and a
guide for discovering the world
around them.
Karen Kienzle, director of the
Palo Alto Art Center, has been following Pocrass’ career since Mundane Journeys. “I love how democratic her work is,” Kienzle said.
“This a piece of art that everyone
in community can have. I also love
that her work is about getting us to
see things in a new light. My hope
is that her project might turn us on
to aspects of Palo Alto we’re not familiar with.”
Furthermore, Kienzle noted,
Pocrass’ work approaches themes
of connection and exploration in a
very different way from the social
networking and GPS mapping solutions of this high-tech era.
“We’re more connected than
we’re ever been, but many cultural
critics have identified the fact that
we’re disconnected from our neighborhoods and our communities,”
she noted, calling Pocrass’ work
“an antidote to that. It’s low-tech.
You can hold it and take it away
with you.”
Getting out and exploring one’s
immediate surroundings is both
Pocrass’ invitation and her working
method.
“My process changes depending on what I am working on, but
it always starts with a lot of walking,” she wrote in a blog. “There is
no better way to see the world than
wandering slowly with eyes wide
open.” Her process for the Palo Alto
happiness map has included visiting
the happy places mentioned in the
survey. In the name of research,
she has eaten eclairs at The Prolific
Oven, visited the historic Stanford
Theatre and discovered the redwood
tree grove at Peers Park where a
plaque commemorates the seedling
Kate Pocrass
Arts & Entertainment
Among the happy spots Palo Altans named in their survey responses
was The Prolific Oven; as part of her research, Pocrass went there
to eat an eclair.
that traveled into outer space on the
Challenger.
The Palo Alto happiness map
project has met resistance from
some critics, who have called the
project “childish,” challenged the
allocation of public funds for the
project (the city is paying $5,000
to print 10,000 copies of the map,
while the nonprofit Palo Alto
Art Center Foundation is paying
Pocrass a $2,000 fee for her work)
and suggested that given the many
challenges the city currently faces,
such focus on happiness is naive and
poorly timed.
Kienzle responded to these allegations with openness and curiosity.
“We know that art can generate a wide range of interpretations
and opinions, and it’s great when it
evokes a constructive dialogue,” she
said. “One of the criticisms I thought
was interesting was this is not the
right time for a happiness map because Palo Alto faces so many issues right now. To my mind, Pocrass
isn’t being a Pollyanna at all. Her
work suggests that despite the issues
we face as a community, we can still
find and celebrate the places in our
city that make us happy.”
Claudia Keith, chief communications officer for the City of Palo
(continued on next page)
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• Improve your community
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FOR INFORMATION OR TO APPLY:
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or David.Carnahan@CityofPaloAlto.org
+LHKSPULPZ(\N\Z[H[!WT
www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/clk/testimonials/default.asp
Page 30 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Arts & Entertainment
WorthaLook
Art
A
Wire mesh
W
Courtesy Linda Tapscott
S
Silicon
Valley-based artist
LLinda Tapscott creates
organic forms inspired
o
by nature. Her medium
b
is not paint and canvas,
nor is it clay, stone or
n
bronze. Instead, Tapscott
b
uses aluminum wire
u
mesh to produce porous,
m
ssemi-transparent shapes
tthat evoke leaves and
sshells, nests and seeds.
Now through the end of
N
August, her work will be
A
displayed at Konditorei
d
Cafe in Ladera Shopping
C
Center, 3130 Alpine Road,
C
Portola Valley. For those
P
interested in learning
in
more about how to sculpt
m
using this lightweight
u
material, Tapscott will be
m
offering workshops in wire
o
mesh art at the Pacific
m
Art League on Sept. 13
A
and Oct. 25. For more
a
about the artist, go to
a
ltapscott.com or call 650lt
529-3408. To register
5
for workshops, go to
fo
pacificartleague.org or call
p
650-321-3891.
6
Linda Tapscott’s wire mesh art, including works like “Involution,” will be on display at Konditorei
Cafe in Ladera through the end of August.
Theater
‘Voice of the Prairie’
An itinerant story teller and his young companion are the unlikely
heroes of “The Voice of the Prairie,” John Olive’s play about the early
days of radio. The play opens at Redwood City’s Dragon Theatre, 2120
Broadway, on Friday, Aug. 21, and runs through Sept. 13. Tickets are
$27-$35. Go to dragonproductions.net or call 650-493-2006.
Music
Hookslide
As summer slides to a close, there’s one last chance to catch a free
live concert at the San Antonio Shopping Center, 2550 W. El Camino
Real, Mountain View. This Sunday, Aug. 23, Bay Area-based a cappella
group Hookslide will perform from 4-6 p.m. on the village green. Go to
hook-slide.com.
Books
‘That Thing You Do With Your Mouth’
Leave the kids at home for this stimulating evening with bestselling
author David Shields, who will discuss his latest work: the
reminiscences of his cousin, who worked for a time making English
voice-overs for Italian pornography. Shields appears tonight, Friday,
Aug. 21, at Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Tickets
are $10-$20. Go to keplers.com or call 650-324-4321.
Art
‘Dichotomy’
Science versus nature, the man-made and the organic: It’s a duality
we live with every day in Silicon Valley. On view Aug. 25 to Sept. 19 at
Palo Alto’s Gallery House, 320 California Ave., “Dichotomy: Abstracted
Science and Lyrical Landscapes” includes mixed media works by Nance
Wheeler and Patricia Nojima that explore both sides of the divide. A
public reception will be held on Friday, Aug. 28, 6-8 p.m. Admission is
free. Go to galleryhouse2.com or call 650-326-1668.
Concert
‘More Joy’
Who couldn’t use a little more joy in their lives? This Saturday, Aug. 22,
at the Ladera Community Church, 3300 Alpine Road, Portola Valley,
join local musicians for an uplifting evening of folk and bluegrass music
and storytelling. The suggested donation is $10. Go to ladera.org or call
650-854-5481. Q
— Elizabeth Schwyzer
SEE MORE ONLINE
PaloAltoOnline.com
CANTOR ARTS CENTER AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY
(continued from previous page)
Alto, described the happiness map
as fitting perfectly with the city’s ongoing top initiative “to create community connections and foster civic
engagement.”
“We thought having people identify those places and having a visual
poster would be a great realization
this goal,” she said, adding that she
saw the project as dovetailing with
the City Council’s 2015 “healthy
city/healthy community” priority in
that it helps foster a healthy culture.
Pocrass, for her part, noted that
“scrutiny is inevitable in any publicly funded project.”
“I understand people’s request
for wanting to know how much of
their tax dollars are being spent on
public art,” she wrote. “Whether or
not they like the projects that the
city decides to fund is another matter. It is an impossible task to please
an entire city. Instead I can only
hope that my project is creating
a healthy dialogue between those
who are interested in the project
and those who are not fond of it.”
Those who are interested in the
project eagerly await the show’s
opening, when they can get their
hands on their own copy of the happiness map and enjoy an artist’s rendering of Palo Altans’ favorite spots.
The most intrepid explorers might
even discover new happy places of
their own. Q
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Elizabeth Schwyzer can be
emailed at eschwyzer@
paweekly.com.
What: Palo Alto happiness map,
part of “Front yard/Backstreet”
Where: Palo Alto Art Center,
1313 Newell Road
When: Sept. 19 to Dec. 13.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.;
Sunday, 1-5 p.m.; Thursday,
10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Cost: Free
Info: Go to cityofpaloalto.org/
artcenter or call 650-329-2366.
Giovanni Battista Piranesi (Italy, 1720–1778), Paestum, Italy: Temple of Neptune, View of the Interior from
the West (detail), 1777. Black chalk, pencil, brown and grey washes, pen and ink. Sir John Soane’s Museum
Watch videos of Hookslide and “That Thing You Do With Your Mouth” in the online
version of this story at PaloAltoOnline.com.
PIRANESI’S
PAESTUM
MASTER DRAWINGS
UNCOVERED
Only West-Coast viewing
of the f inal works
by inf luential
18th-century artist
Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
THROUGH JANUARY 4
23(16,;'$<6$:((.‡$/:$<6)5((‡
/20,7$'5,9(‡67$1)25'‡086(8067$1)25'('8
This exhibition was organized by Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. We gratefully acknowledge support for the exhibition’s presentation at the Cantor from
John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn, Frances and Theodore Geballe’s Pre-19th-Century European Art Fund, and Mary Anne Nyburg Baker and G. Leonard Baker, Jr.
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 31
1. Cafe Brioche’s housemade profiteroles are filled
with vanilla bean ice cream
and drizzled with chocolate
fudge sauce.
2. The coq au vin at Cafe
Brioche is served with
mushrooms, carrots, cipollini
onions and whipped potatoes.
3. Beignet frits are filled with
chopped artichoke hearts,
shallots and goat cheese and
served with a side of lemonaioli dipping sauce.
1.
WHEN
IN
FRANCE...
A MAINSTAY FOR
DECADES, CAFE BRIOCHE
CONTINUES TO DELIVER
b y D a l e F. B e n t s o n
p h o to s by Ver o n ica Web er
2.
3.
Page 32 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
C
alifornia Avenue in Palo Alto
is not quite the Rue de Buci in
Paris, but it is inching in that
direction.
Not every restaurant has yet taken advantage
of the city’s newly completed sidewalk widening
and beautification project. It’s a unique opportunity for restaurateurs to supplement their interior
space with al fresco dining, and with minimal
investment. It’s getting there: Joanie’s Cafe, Pastis, Cafe Brioche and others have installed new
outdoor tables, umbrellas and awnings. Some
have added new signage to accent the fresh vibe
on the street.
According to Marco Kurt, Cafe Brioche’s general manager, the upgrade is bringing in new
customers from further distances. California Avenue’s eateries are segueing from neighborhood
dining spots to destination restaurants.
What has also helped Cafe Brioche, Kurt said,
is adding a full bar to complement their wine
list and joining OpenTable’s online reservation
system.
The bistro has been an anchor on California
Avenue since 1995, despite the decline of French
eateries in the Bay Area over the past
two decades. Happily, there is a spate
of new French restaurants and bistros
springing up around the region.
Cafe Brioche has remained because the food is uncomplicated and
well-prepared by chef Ricardo Molina, prices are rational, the service
competent and the dining room cozy.
It has been a winning formula.
While I enjoyed dining with a partner, I equally enjoyed eating alone at
lunch. Being free of conversation allowed my mind to wander and let me
people-watch — which is half the
charm of any French bistro, whether
in Paris or Palo Alto.
The first course of fried Brussels sprouts ($9.95) arrived tossed
with cashews, chopped parsley and
dabbed with an apple glaze. Paired
with a sip of icy rosé, what could be
more idyllic for a midday repast?
The lunch menu was sandwich-centric but did offer a few main courses
as well. Nonetheless, I couldn’t resist
the huîtres (oyster) sandwich ($12.75).
It came not with Arcachon oysters,
nor even Tomales Bay bivalves; yet
the single, fat, Washington State
cornmeal-crusted sautéed oyster was
scrumptious, topped with pancetta,
red onions, baby spinach and creamy
Dijon mustard and served on toasted
sour bâtard bread. The oyster was
fried golden and stayed crisp to the
last bite.
Fried calamari is my litmus test to
gauge the competence of a kitchen.
Fail that, and the rest of the meal
usually falls short as well. At dinner,
the deep-fried calamari ($11.95) with
lemon aioli was perfect: crisp and
fresh-tasting — not greasy — with
a shaving of Parmesan cheese atop.
The doughy beignet frit ($9.95) —
three fried brioche balls filled with
chopped artichoke hearts, shallots
Eating Out
and goat cheese — came with a
refreshing lemon-aioli dipping
sauce.
Hazelnut-crusted salmon
($21.95) with a merlot-blackberry puree was served over a bed
of sautéed spinach and roasted
leeks. The flavors were wellbalanced and the salmon was
fresh, pink and luscious.
Coq au vin ($19.50) was better than I expected. I’m not a
huge fan, but Cafe Brioche’s
was worthwhile. The marinated
chicken was plump and juicy;
the mushrooms, carrots, cipollini onions and whipped potatoes added a rustic savoriness;
and the sauce was thick and
fragrant.
Duck ragout ($24.95), mixed
with pasta shells and gremolata (a citrus-and-herb condiment), was earthy and fragrant.
The duck had been browned
and roasted with wine, stock
and vegetables, then deboned
and simmered like a stew until
thick. The results were mouthwatering.
For dessert, the house-made
profiteroles ($7.50) were hard
to beat. The pastry was puffy
and feather-light, overfilled
with vanilla bean ice cream and
drizzled with chocolate fudge.
Cafe Brioche’s version of
tarte Tartin (7.50) was up to the
task. The warm upside-down
caramelized apple cinnamon
tart was crowned with vanilla
bean ice cream. The best part?
It wasn’t overly sweet.
The crème brûlée ($7.50)
was satisfactory. Served in a
small ceramic dish, the custard
was a tad grainy yet flavorful.
The thin, burnt sugar cap had
been torched to order, so it was
served slightly warm.
The wine list, divided into Old
World and New World selections, was more than adequate
and paired well with the cuisine.
Cafe Brioche is a bistro both
Francophiles and non-Francophiles can enjoy. Food, service
and ambiance are first-rate, and
now there’s the added attraction
of people-watching. Q
Cafe Brioche, 445 S. California
Ave., Palo Alto; 650-326-8640
cafebrioche-paloalto.com
Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.
to 3 p.m.; Dinner: Monday-Saturday, 5-9:30 p.m.; Sunday: 5-9
p.m.; Breakfast: Friday only,
9-11 a.m.; Brunch: Saturday
and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Reservations
City lot
parking
Full bar
Credit cards
Happy hour
Corkage: $15
Children
Takeout
Outdoor
dining
Private
parties
Noise level:
Moderate
Bathroom
Cleanliness:
Very good
Tidbits
by Elena Kadvany
CRAWFISH COMING TO PALO
ALTO ... Downtown Palo Alto Turkish
restaurant Cafe Taxim has closed,
and will be replaced by a Bay Area
Cajun-inspired restaurant called
Crawfish Fusion. Cafe Taxim
opened at 423 University Ave. in
2011. Kristine Huang, the owner of
Crawfish Fusion in downtown San
Mateo and San Francisco, has laid
claim to the space. Crawfish Fusion
serves Southern favorites like Louisiana crawfish, deep-fried oysters,
blackened catfish, gumbo, shrimp
and grits and beignets. There’s also
lobster, Dungeness crab, Cajun
hot wings, stir-fries, noodle dishes,
barbecue short ribs and grilled fish
and meats. Huang did not return
requests for comment.
DINNER AND A SHOW ... Downtown Palo Alto French restaurant
Zola is launching a Monday night
pop-up series focusing on “rare and
unique” wines alongside “exclusive,
music-driven dinners,” including
one featuring a San Francisco
Chamber Orchestra string quartet. The pop-up series will kick off
Monday, Aug. 24, with a dinner
featuring wines from the boutique
Sonoma coast winery, Marcassin.
On Monday, Sept. 21, the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra’s “Haydn
Project” will perform at Zola for an
“East of Paris” themed dinner. In
October, the restaurant will turn its
focus to Napa’s Mayacamas Vineyards. “We hope to bring a unique,
interesting and though provoking
experience through these dinners
and look forward to continuing our
support of community enrichment,”
a press release on the series reads.
To purchase tickets, go to
goo.gl/Agu31M.
CETRELLA OPENS IN LOS ALTOS
... Cetrella, a longtime Mediterranean restaurant in Half Moon Bay,
opened a second location in Los
Altos last week. The new outpost at
400 Main St. is large, with a 90-seat
dining room and outdoor patio. Cetrella No. 2 will be serving up similar
food under the leadership of Executive Chef Michael Ellis, whose
resume includes Michelin-starred
Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg,
Penthouse Steakhouse in San
Francisco and Hult’s Restaurant
in Los Gatos. A sample dinner
menu includes grilled Half Moon
Bay artichokes, fritto misto, grilled
Spanish octopus, seared Hudson
Valley foie gras, wood-fired pizzas
and homemade pastas. There’s
also a full bar, so expect cocktails
along with wine. Local musicians
will perform live jazz in the bar and
lounge on Fridays and Saturdays
from 6:30-9:30 p.m.
MIXX SHUTTERS IN MOUNTAIN
VIEW ... Mixx, the casual fusion
eatery that replaced longtime
Castro Street restaurant Scott’s
Seafood last year, has closed, coowner Billy Berkowitz confirmed
Monday. Berkowitz, who owns
Max’s Opera Cafe in Palo Alto and
San Francisco, among other establishments, partnered with Scott’s
Seafood owner Steve Mayer last
year to open Mixx. The menu was
wide-reaching, including American,
Italian, Thai, soul food, Mediterranean, Chinese, Japanese and more.
Mixx also served craft cocktails,
with some spirits steeped in “infusion jars,” then aged for 21 days in
oak barrels. “We put a lot of effort
into it,” Berkowitz wrote in an email
Monday. “The bar and happy hour
was busy from the get go (but) we
could not build the sales to make
it worth staying there. We’re very
disappointed as we thought that
location had lots of potential.”
Check out more food news online
at Elena Kadvany’s blog, Peninsula
Foodist, at paloaltoonline.com/
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 33
++++
“It’s impossible not to fall in love
with ‘Mistress America’.”
Joe Neumaier,
“Funny, blithely witty, emotionally intricate
and terrifically touching.”
Joe Morgenstern,
“Vibrates with smarts and sexiness.
Greta Gerwig is the mistress
of all things comedy.”
Peter Travers,
“ Gerwig is the best screwball heroine
since Holly Golightly.”
Anne Thompson,
greta gerwig lola kirke
directed by noah
baumbach
written by noah baumbach & greta gerwig
EXCLUSIVE ENGAGEMENTS START FRIDAY, AUGUST 21
Page 34 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
SAN JOSE
PALO ALTO
Landmark’s Aquarius Theatre CinéArts Santana Row
(408) 554-7010
(650) 327-3241
OPENINGS
There she is ...
‘Mistress America’ offers a tale of friendship and betrayal
00 1/2 (Aquarius)
parasitic ambition form the dark
“You want a piece of me?”
Them’s fighting words, but also
ones that reflect a psycho-sociological truism about human interaction. Jealousy and a kind of
side of many a seemingly collegial friendship. And so it goes in
Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s new film “Mistress America,” in which two women forge
(continued on next page)
OPENINGS
Lionsgate
RT Features
“Mistress America” explores the ecstasies and agonies of a female
friendship.
and test a friendship based largely
on mutual self-interest.
Director/co-writer Baumbach
and star/co-writer Gerwig (currently a couple) have in “Mistress
America” a comedy of friendship
found, lost and found again. Lola
Kirke (“Gone Girl”) plays Tracy
Fishko, a newly installed freshman at New York City’s Barnard
College. Immediately established
as being on a lonely search for self
(an ice-breaking activity gifts her
the defining symbol of a tracking
device), Tracy decides to introduce herself to her one New York
contact, her soon-to-be-stepsister,
Brooke Cardinas (Gerwig). A
fateful phone call later, Tracy has
boarded the express train that is
Brooke, destination unknown.
Gerwig applies her considerable comic aplomb to the whirligig
Brooke, a Soul Cycle instructor
who, in her personal life, combines that job’s aggressive can-do
energy with monumental self-absorption. As they swap stories over
dorm-room screwdrivers, Brooke
at one point responds to Tracy,
“That’s cool about the yogurt machine. Everyone I love dies.” A
hustler who has yet to make good,
Brooke makes for a dangerous role
model to — and brilliant source
material for — attentive aspiring
fiction writer Tracy.
The oddly paced story culminates in an extended climax
whereby Brooke leads Tracy and
a couple of tenuous friends to the
Greenwich, Connecticut, home
of her rich ex-boyfriend, Dylan
Jesse Eisenberg, right, plays a pothead sleeper agent to John
Leguizamo’s drug dealer in “American Ultra.”
Getting the punchies
‘American Ultra’ offers a pothead sleeper agent
00 1/2 (Century 16, Century 20)
Conspiracies are for nut jobs.
Or that’s what they want you to
think. Anyone with an informed
sense of history knows, of course,
that many conspiracies are real
and present, but which ones? To
the frivolous end of action comedy, “American Ultra” riffs on our
government’s Project MKUltra,
aka the CIA’s mind-control program. And the movie has all the
impact of one of those Illuminati
memes. “Yeah,” you’ll say, “I’ve
heard that one before.”
For “American Ultra” is “The
Bourne Identity” with a pot-
head spin and Jesse Eisenberg
in place of Matt Damon, a bit
like “Get Smart” was to James
Bond. There’s some tired, glib
satire about the CIA’s nefarious
techniques, from MKUltra to
surveillance and drone warfare.
And there’s plenty of lightningfast, built-to-shock violence.
Oddly, though, the most impactful element here turns out to be
romance: beautifully set up, confounded and paid off in a climax
that shouldn’t surprise us but
(continued on next page)
DINNER BY THE MOVIES AT SHORELINE’S
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Cucina Venti’s Wine Club
Invites You to a
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Breakfas Saturdays)
(except
Featuring a variety of wines
created by Robert Mondavi
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Please RSVP at
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Cucina Venti
1390 Pear Ave., Mountain View
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reservation on
For information on future events, follow us on
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(650) 386-6471
www.TheVoyaRestaurant.com
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 35
Movies
Mistress America
(continued from previous page)
Century Theatres at Palo Alto Square
Tickets and Showtimes available at cinemark.com
(Michael Chernus of “Orange Is
the New Black”). Brooke intends
to ply him for money she feels
owed, if only she can do an endrun around his wife, Mimi Clare
(Heather Lind). The sequence hits
the ground running at a deliberately Hawksian screwball pace,
but even considering Brooke’s
motormouth, this second act
marks an awkward tonal shift,
JAMIE
BLACKLEY
PARKER
POSEY
Fri and Sat 8/21 – 8/22
The End of the Tour – 1:30, 4:15, 7:00, 9:45
Irrational Man – 1:55, 4:30, 7:15
Amy – 9:40 PM
Sun through Thurs 8/23 – 8/27
The End of the Tour – 1:30, 4:15, 7:00
Irrational Man – 1:55, 4:30, 7:15
JOAQUIN
PHOENIX
MOVIE TIMES
All showtimes are for Friday to Sunday only unless otherwise noted.
For other times, reviews and trailers, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies.
Movie times are subject to change. Call theaters for the latest.
Amy (R)
Palo Alto Square: Fri & Sat 9:40 p.m.
Ant-Man (PG-13) +++ Century 16: 10:30 a.m., 1:30, 4:30, 7:40 & 10:30 p.m.
Century 20: 11:05 a.m. & 7:55 p.m. In 3-D at 1:50, 4:55 & 10:45 p.m.
Best of Enemies (R) +++1/2
-David Rooney, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
IRRATIONAL
MAN
WOODY ALLEN
Aquarius Theatre: 2 & 7:10 p.m.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (R)
Century 16: 9:05 & 11:40 a.m., 2:15, 4:50, 7:20 & 10 p.m.
The End of the Tour (R) +++1/2 Century 20: 11:30 a.m., 2:15, 4:50, 7:25 &
10:05 p.m. Palo Alto Square: 1:30, 4:15 & 7 p.m., Fri & Sat 9:45 p.m.
Written and Directed by
ESL One Cologne Counter-Strike: GO Finals Live (Not Rated)
Century 20: Sun 10 a.m.
WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM
PALO ALTO
CINÉARTS@PALO ALTO SQUARE
3000 El Camino Real (800) CINEMARK
tations. Baumbach and Gerwig
also nose around in interesting
ideas about creative appropriation,
an increasingly superficial culture
and sensitivity to age — all prime
subjects of Baumach’s previous
film, “While We’re Young.”
An ’80s nostalgia score by
Dean Wareham and Britta Phil-
American Ultra (R) ++1/2 Century 16: 10 a.m., 12:30, 3, 5:30, 8 & 10:35 p.m.
Century 20: 11:35 a.m., 2:10, 4:45, 7:20 & 10 p.m.
EMMA
STONE
“INTOXICATING.”
NOW PLAYING
promptly abandoned again for a
more circumspect coda.
The film’s oddly ramshackle
construction hurts, but the zesty
dialogue and the character work
and chemistry of Kirke and Gerwig compensate mightily, as does
the film’s refreshing focus on female friendship, its joys and limi-
CALL THEATRE
FOR SHOWTIMES
Fantastic Four (PG-13) Century 16: 9:15 a.m., noon, 2:45, 5:25, 8:15 & 10:55 p.m.
Century 20: 11:15 a.m., 1:50, 4:25, 7:05 & 9:45 p.m.
Forbidden Planet (1956) (Not Rated)
Stanford Theatre: Sat & Sun 3:45 & 7:30 p.m.
VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.IRRATIONALMANMOVIE.COM
The Gift (R) Century 16: 9 & 11:50 a.m., 2:35, 5:15, 7:55 & 10:40 p.m.
Century 20: 11:40 a.m., 2:20, 5, 7:40 & 10:25 p.m.
Bel
Alexander
Powley SkarsgArd
Christopher ANDKristen
Meloni
Wiig
“THIS GUTSY EXHILARATING MOVIE...
WHAT MAKES MINNIE–ON THE PAGE AND NOW ON
THE SCREEN–GREATER THAN ANY ONE GIRL IS HOW
SHE TELLS HER OWN STORY IN HER OWN
SOARINGLY ALIVE VOICE.”
-Manohla Dargis, THE NEW YORK TIMES
++++
The Hidden Fortress (1958) (Not Rated)
Stanford Theatre: Fri 7:30 p.m.
Hitman: Agent 47 (R) Century 16: 9:45 a.m., 12:20, 2:50, 5:20, 7:55 & 10:25 p.m.
Century 20: 11:45 a.m., 2:30, 5:05, 7:50 & 10:20 p.m.
Inside Out (PG) +++1/2 Century 16: 9:10 & 11:45 a.m., 2:25 & 5 p.m.
Century 20: 11:25 a.m., 1:55, 4:30, 7:10 & 9:40 p.m.
Irrational Man (R) ++
Kick 2 (Not Rated)
Palo Alto Square: 1:55, 4:30 & 7:15 p.m.
Century 16: Fri 9 p.m., Sat 6 p.m.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E (PG-13) ++1/2 Century 16: 9:55 a.m., 1, 4:10, 7:20
& 10:25 p.m. Century 20: 11:10 a.m., 2, 4:50, 7:40 & 10:30 p.m.
Minions (PG) ++ Century 16: 9:10 & 11:35 a.m., 2:10, 4:45, 7:25 & 9:55 p.m.
Century 20: 11:20 a.m., 1:35, 4:05, 6:50 & 9:15 p.m.
(HIGHEST RATING)
“TERRIFIC! WONDERFUL! CHARGED WITH SERIOUS,
UNPREDICTABLE, VIBRANTLY OBSERVANT ENERGY.”
-Michael Phillips, CHICAGO TRIBUNE
“EXTRAORDINARY! UNIQUE AND UNFORGETTABLE.
BEL POWLEY IS SENSATIONAL.”
-Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (PG-13) ++1/2
Century 16: 9, 9:50 & 10:35 a.m., 12:15, 1:50, 3:30, 5:05, 7, 8:40 & 10:15 p.m.
Century 20: 11:20 a.m., 12:15, 2:25, 3:30, 5:30, 6:30, 7:30, 8:35 & 9:35 p.m., Fri
& Sat 1:20. In D-BOX at 11:20 a.m., 2:25, 5:30 & 8:35 p.m.
Mistress America (R) ++1/2
Mr. Holmes (PG) +++1/2
Pixels (PG-13) +1/2
Aquarius Theatre: 1, 3, 5:15, 7:30 & 9:45 p.m.
Guild Theatre: 2, 4:30, 7:10 & 9:40 p.m.
Century 20: 10:55 a.m., 1:25, 4, 6:55 & 9:30 p.m.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) (R)
Century 16: Sun 2 p.m. Century 20: Sun 2 p.m.
Ricki and the Flash (PG-13) ++
Century 20: 11:10 a.m., 1:40, 4:10, 7 & 9:50 p.m.
Shaun the Sheep Movie (PG)
Century 16: 9:20 & 11:55 a.m., 2:20, 4:55 & 7:15 p.m.
Century 20: 5:35 & 8 p.m., Fri & Sat 10:50 a.m., 1 & 3:15 p.m., Sun 3:20 p.m.
Sinister 2 (R) Century 16: 9:30 a.m., noon, 2:40, 5:10, 7:45 & 10:20 p.m.
Century 20: 11:55 a.m., 2:40, 5:20, 8:10 & 10:45 p.m.
Southpaw (R)
Century 20: 4:40 & 10:35 p.m.
Century 16: 9:30 p.m.
The Stanford Prison Experiment (R) +++
Aquarius Theatre: 4:15 & 9:30 p.m.
Srimanthudu (Not Rated)
Straight Outta Compton (R) Century 16: 9 & 10:45 a.m., 12:30, 2:15, 4, 5:45,
7:30, 9:15 & 11 p.m., Fri 5 p.m., Fri & Sat 1:15 & 11:45 p.m., Sat 10:10 p.m., Sun
4:40 & 8 p.m. Century 20: 11 a.m., 12:05, 2:20, 3:25, 5:40, 6:45, 9:05 & 10:10
p.m. In X-D at 1:10, 4:30 & 8 p.m.
The Time Machine (1960) (Not Rated)
Stanford Theatre: Sat & Sun 5:35 & 9:20 p.m.
Trainwreck (R) Century 16: 7:35 & 10:30 p.m.
Century 20: 11 a.m., 1:55, 4:50, 7:45 & 10:40 p.m.
Vacation (R)
Century 20: 10:15 p.m.
+ Skip it ++ Some redeeming qualities +++ A good bet ++++ Outstanding
NEW DIRECTORS/NEW FILMS
SUNDANCE
MOMA / FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER
F I L M F E S T I VA L
The
Opening Night
LOS ANGELES
F I L M F E S T I VA L
Diary of MARIELLE
a Teenage Girl
HELLER
A Film By
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS CAVIAR AND COLD IRON PICTURES PRESENT A CAVIAR COLD IRON PICTURES ARCHER GRAY PRODUCTION OF A FILM BY MARIELLE HELLER “THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL”
BEL POWLEY ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD CHRISTOPHER MELONI AND KRISTEN WIIG NINA HENNINGER, C.S.A.
HOWARD PAAR NATE HELLER
SARA GUNNARSDÓTTIR CARMEN GRANDE
EDITORS MARIE-HÉLÈNE DOZO KOEN TIMMERMAN
JONAH MARKOWITZ
BRANDON TROST - DEBBIE BRUBAKER
MICHAEL SAGOL AMANDA MARSHALL JORMA TACCONE AMY NAUIOKAS
ANNE CAREY BERT HAMELINCK MADELINE SAMIT MIRANDA BAILEY
PHOEBE GLOECKNER
CASTING
BY
PRODUCTION
DESIGNER
MUSIC
SUPERVISOR
DIRECTOR OF
PHOTOGRAPHY
CO
PRODUCER
PRODUCED
BY
WRITTEN FOR THE SCREEN
AND DIRECTED BY
MARIELLE HELLER
SOUNDTRACK
ALBUM ON
starts friday,
august 21
ORIGINAL
SCORE BY
ANIMATION AND
ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY
COSTUME
DESIGNER
EXECUTIVE
PRODUCERS
BASED ON
THE BOOK BY
WWW.SONYCLASSICS.COM
READ THE BOOK FROM
MOUNTAIN VIEW
CENTURY CINEMA 16
1500 N Shoreline Blvd (800) CINEMARK
VIEW THE TRAILER AT WWW.THEDIARYOFATEENAGEGIRLMOVIE.COM
Page 36 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260)
Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View
(800-326-3264)
Century 20 Downtown: 825 Middlefield Road, Redwood City
(800-326-3264)
CinéArts at Palo Alto Square:
3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-0128)
Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260)
Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700)
Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more
information about films playing, go to PaloAltoOnline.com/movies
ON THE WEB: Additional movie reviews at PaloAltoOnline.com
lips signals the influence of pictures like “Something Wild” and
“After Hours,” the zanily farcical
heights of which the relatively
contained “Mistress America”
never approaches. Like Brooke,
the film flies a strange and arresting course: if not quite a screwball, then certainly a change-up
pitch.
Rated R for language, including some sexual references. One
hour, 24 minutes.
— Peter Canavese
American Ultra
(continued from previous page)
cleverly manages to do so. It’s too
bad more of “American Ultra”
couldn’t do the same.
Eisenberg plays Mike Howell,
a sleeper agent who’s not only undercover but unconscious. In the
fictional ghost town of Liman,
West Virginia, Mike serves as
the cashier at the Cash & Carry,
surrounded by the junk food he’s
no doubt craving from his chronic
intake of the chronic. At home,
Mike shares a messy apartment
with longtime girlfriend Phoebe
Larson (Kristen Stewart) — “the
only good thing that’s ever happened to me.” Their relationship
is getting serious, despite Mike’s
collection of neuroses, including
crippling panic attacks that keep
him from ever following through
on vacation plans with Phoebe.
Turns out the attacks are part of
Mike’s self-protective programming, a fact revealed when sympathetic CIA agent Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton) reactivates
Mike’s spy training to save him
from unsympathetic CIA agent
Adrian Yates (Topher Grace). In
order to clean up after the brainwashing program, Yates sends a
kill squad of brainwashed agents
to eliminate Mike. But it turns out
Mike is still the best of the best,
even though he’s pot-addled and
deeply confused about how he got
into this mess.
Director Nima Nourizadeh
(“Project X”) assembles a fine
cast to realize the blandly banal
script of Max Landis (“Chronicle”). Eisenberg and Stewart are
an interesting couple, made more
so by the increasingly complex
dynamic that evolves between
them as secrets surface. Britton
does maternal caring like no one
else, Grace gives great weasel, and
the great character actors John
Leguizamo (as a drug dealer) and
Tony Hale (as a weak-willed CIA
officer) put all their creativity into
enlivening predictable scenarios.
“American Ultra” at times
pokes fun at the genre’s clichés
in amusingly productive ways (as
when a baffled Mike posits a twist
the movie doesn’t have in store,
asking Victoria, “Are you my
mother?”). More often than not,
though, this conspiracy isn’t the
real deal, but rather an elaborate
distraction.
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug
use and some sexual content. One
hour, 35 minutes.
— Peter Canavese
Home&Real Estate
OPEN HOME GUIDE 52
Also online at PaloAltoOnline.com
Home Front
TEA TIME ... Sip tea from china
teacups as the scent of blooming
begonia floats through the air on
Wednesday, Aug. 26, at Filoli, 86
Cañada Road, Woodside. Starting
at 1 p.m., small groups of friends
can gather to enjoy afternoon tea
in the the late summer ambiance
offered by the historical home and
garden. This Filoli tradition includes
sandwiches, seasonal salads,
scones and pastries. Reservations
must be made in advance. Tickets
cost $50 for members and $60 for
nonmembers. Price includes general admission to the house and
garden. Info: 650-364-8300, ext.
508 or filoli.org/afternoon-tea
IN THE KITCHEN ... Master new
cooking skills and savor the last
days of summer with classes
offered by Sur La Table, 855 El
Camino Real, Suite 57, Palo Alto.
Programs scheduled for August
include “Healthy & Delicious Summer Cooking” (Leah Joo, Aug.
22, 4 p.m., $69); “Handmade
Summer Pastas” (Nicole Henri,
Aug. 24, 6:30 p.m., $69); “Great
Grilling: 4 Essential Recipes” (Joe
Sivils, Aug. 25, 11 a.m., $69); and
“Spectacular Summer Salads”
(Joe Sivils, Aug. 27, 11 a.m., $69).
Sign up before seats are gone.
Info: 650-289-0438 or
cooking073@surlatable.com
BACKYARD COMPOSTING ...
Learn how to manage organic
waste, from food scraps to yard
trimmings, on Saturday, Aug. 29,
at 1 p.m. at Hidden Villa, 26870
Moody Road, Los Altos Hills. By
composting, residents can cut
their contribution to the landfill,
conserve water and create healthier soil. The workshop teaches
participants how to build, maintain
and use a home compost pile.
The event runs for two hours and
costs $5 per person. Registration
is required. Info: hiddenvilla.org/
programs/calendar-of-events
DROUGHT MAINTENANCE ...
Discover drought maintenance
methods during a workshop presented by the City of Palo Alto on
Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. at
the Lucie Stern Community Center,
Ball Room, 1305 Middlefield Road,
Palo Alto. Residents can help
their landscape and garden thrive
during a drought by implementing a few simple changes to their
landscape maintenance routine.
Instruction will cover irrigation systems, water schedules and more.
The workshop is free, but space is
limited. Pre-registration is required
and can be done by phone or
online. Info: 650-329-2241 or
cityofpaloalto.org/workshops
Send notices of news and events
related to real estate, interior design,
home improvement and gardening to
Home Front, Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box
1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302, or email
bmalmberg@paweekly.com. Deadline is
one week before publication.
“Fortune” by artist Melissa Mahoney.
T
A necklace created by jewelry maker Davide Bigazzi.
Local painter, Florentine jewelry artist
exhibit talents at annual festival
aking place between High and Webster
streets every year on the fourth weekend of August, the Palo Alto Festival of
the Arts will once again turn University
Avenue into an open air gallery, showcasing
masterpieces from 300 fine-art and fine-craft
artists. The 34th annual festival will be held
this weekend, Aug. 22 and 23, from 10 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Like previous years, 150,000 people
are expected to visit the festival, said publicity
manager Claudette Mannina.
Hosted by the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce and presented by the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the festival will feature many
artistic highlights, including an Italian Street
Painting Expo that benefits the Youth Community Service and the Kiwanis Club, and a
Sculpture Plaza that includes the garden of
fountains by ceramic artist Damien Jones. In
addition, the festival offers gourmet food and
wine stands, and music performances, such
as an ukulele jam session and street corner
concerts.
“You’re always going to see something fresh
and unique at the festival,” Mannina said. “We
always try to add something new and unique
each year.”
Two of the 300 artists who will be presenting their work at this year’s festival are painter
Melissa Mahoney and jewelry artist Davide
Bigazzi.
Artist Melissa Mahoney works on her latest
series inspired by the colors of the Bay Area
on Aug. 7. She often paints outside in the
backyard of her Mountain View home.
Mahoney adds colors to the circular “ensoinspired” pattern on her canvas, which is
part of her series of paintings influenced by
the Bay Area and the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Palo Alto
Festival of the Arts
hosts 300 artists
during its 34th year
by Sevde Kaldiroglu
photos by Veronica Weber
Mahoney transfers energy from
canvas to viewers
Coming from a family of painters, Melissa
Mahoney learned how to draw sketches from
her mother starting from her toddler years.
Always inspired by the artwork of her mother
and her grandparents, Mahoney became a passionate painter whose paintings have been featured in international and local art galleries.
After earning a degree in fine arts and going through classical training, she studied and
worked in various countries including Italy
and Singapore. She found her passion to be
abstract painting and developed her own style,
which she deems quite different from that of
her family members. Fascinated by her travels throughout Asia, Mahoney saw something
special in the Japanese cultural symbol enso.
Based on this inspiration, she started her current series called “Vortices.”
(continued on page 39)
Mahoney adds silver leaf to a canvas for her
series of paintings inspired by the Pacific
Ocean. She adds silver and gold leaf to her
work to give it luster and shine.
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 37
Page 38 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Home & Real Estate
Positively Green
A cultural awakening
by Ciro Giammona
his past summer I had the incredible opportunity to
visit Italy — Tuscany and Sicily. My wife and I had
been planning to go for years, and it was the trip
of a lifetime. We were in two distinctly different parts of
Italy, but we noticed several things they have in common,
especially from the perspective of “verdi,” which means
green in Italian.
Like the United States, Italy, and indeed, most of the
European countries have room for improvement when it
comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; conserving
energy and resources; and improving indoor air quality
in their newly constructed and remodeled buildings. Even
so, it was fun to consider the green aspects of some of the
“old-world” technology we came across.
One of the basic tenets of green building is structures
that are made to last, and that can certainly be said of
many of the buildings there. In Sicily, we saw an amphitheater built on a mountaintop by the Greeks in 300 B.C.
that was subsequently remodeled by the Romans a few
centuries later. Yes, they are considered ruins, but with
some modern adaptation, the amphitheater is still being
used for performances of opera, live theater and music.
In Tuscany, we toured another structure that withstood
the test of time: a 12th-century castle with four floors
T
and numerous bedrooms for the
families of the military officers
that once lived there. We were surprised to see that building technology was fairly advanced for that
time, as many of the rooms had
built-in toilets and wash basins
— a bit primitive by our current
standards, but they were obviously
thinking ahead.
Florence and Siena are known
for their art, culture and architecture, but many of the surrounding small towns and villages we visited also have structures that were hundreds of
years old, but still quite usable thanks to some necessary
remodeling that has occurred during the years.
So how and why did they last so long? First of all, they
were built of stone and brick with clay tile roofs. With
water intrusion being one of the most damaging threats to
our wood-framed buildings, stacked stones that are 16 to
20 inches thick with plaster troweled over them are fairly
impervious. Even if some water gets in, it dries out quickly
and the damage is minimal.
Another green benefit to these thick walls and roofs
is “thermal mass.” They take longer to heat up and cool
down, so they tend to moderate the temperatures inside.
Even without air conditioning, if it’s 80 degrees inside, it’s
much more comfortable than 105 degrees outside. And at
night when it’s cold, occupants stay warmer as the structure slowly sheds its heat.
However, retrofitting a block or brick structure with
modern plumbing and electricity takes some ingenuity.
We saw lots of exposed pipe and conduit running along
walls, inside and out.
“Agri-tourism” is a growing trend in Italy. The patchwork farmlands were one of the most beautiful aspects
of the countryside we toured. Talk about green! We spent
much of our time at an inn on an organic pig farm (much
nicer than it sounds) and also at an organic lemon orchard.
Water conservation is a definite priority for the property
owners. Their newer buildings were designed with small,
on-demand water heaters, low flow fixtures and dual-flush
toilets. Even so, knowing that we were Americans, the
proprietors encouraged us to take short showers. This reminded us that if we can do it there, we can do it here, too.
Washing our laundry was an interesting throwback to
our childhood years. We scrubbed our clothes in the sink
using a couple of gallons of water and then hung them
on the clothesline like the Italians do. The sun dried our
clothes, as it did for centuries for the Greeks and Romans.
Granted, some places we visited had washing machines,
but no one had a dryer.
Even as we look to the future for new green technologies, we can still learn green practices from the past. One
of the first things we did upon our return was to reinstall
our own clothesline, and the laundry is drying in the sun
as I write; time to go see if it’s done.
Ciro Giammona is CEO of Harrell Remodeling
Inc., Mountain View. He can be emailed at
cgiammona@harrell-remodeling.com.
A cuff created by Davide Bigazzi.
Festival artists
(continued from page 37)
“(Vortices) are not just circles; they’re
spatial. They have some depth to them
even though they’re two-dimensional,”
Mahoney said. “I’ve been on this series for
10 years and I’m not tired of it yet. I keep
reinventing it.”
After studying calligraphy and handlettering in Italy, Mahoney started using
a Chinese calligraphy brush for some of
her paintings, in addition to flat brushes
and her own hands. As opposed to certain
Japanese calligraphers who aim to make a
perfect circle in one stroke, she draws her
circular figures in multiple strokes, working on them until “they feel balanced and
complete.”
“I (draw) the feeling of energy behind
the moment,” Mahoney said. “I like the
idea of transporting people or transferring
the energy from me to the canvas to the
viewer.”
Because she manages her graphic design
company from home, Mahoney can spend
a portion of her time painting in her backyard. Her long-term goal is to study abroad
and take art classes in a different country
for a month every year.
Bigazzi works in his Allied Arts studio in April 2009.
A necklace created by Bigazzi.
Mahoney is excited to be featured in
the festival for the first time this year and
share her pieces with arts enthusiasts.
“(Painting) makes me feel grounded. It
also gives me almost an adrenaline rush
like running,” she said. “When I’m painting, I just forget what I’m doing. I’m absorbed in it.”
comes from there.”
Bigazzi has been presenting his work at
the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts for many
years. He thinks the festival is “a great
show” that is unique because of its location since it “puts you in contact with an
audience that is also a little bit different
than the traditional crowd that are going to
these shows.”
“My life is not only making jewelry but
it’s also getting in contact with (people)
and kind of have an exchange of experience,” he said. Q
Editorial Intern Sevde Kaldiroglu
can be emailed at
skaldiroglu@paweekly.com.
Bigazzi adds flavor of Italy
to ornate jewelry
A master of jewelry from Florence, Italy,
Davide Bigazzi has practiced the ancient
technique of chasing and repoussé along
with shaping and embellishing silver and
gold with handcrafted, bas-relief designs
for decades. He started learning the art
of shaping metal at 14 years old when he
started an apprenticeship with a master
in Florence. After working with different
mediums from large-sized sculpture to
jewelry for many years, Bigazzi opened a
studio in his hometown and started teaching his art.
In 2003, Bigazzi came to the United
States, opening his studio in Menlo Park
in 2006. He currently makes and sells a
big portion of his artwork in that location,
working with his visitors on customized
orders and holding weekly classes for lo-
cals. He also offers monthly workshops to
people from all over the U.S.
“When I make jewelry, I’m trying to
transform the words into material,” Bigazzi said.
Through each piece of work he creates,
he endeavors to convey a message.
“For example, when I do custom work
... I always tend to speak for half an hour
with the person and try to understand what
she wants to say with this piece,” he said.
From each metal tool used to make jewelry to bas-relief sculptures in the studio,
he makes everything with his hands, Bigazzi noted. Applying the chasing and repoussé technique, he starts from the back
side of a flat piece of metal, and using the
little handmade tools, slowly pushes out
the metal to create the relief on the other
side. When the back side is done, he refines
all of the details on the reverse side and
completes the bas-relief.
“In jewelry everything has a construction behind it, ... you have to go step by
step,” he said. “For many people who come
here, it’s like going to therapy because everything is a little bit slower, everything
needs a little bit more time ... and (they)
can breathe the history a little bit and a
flavor of Italy too because all of this stuff
What: 34th annual Palo Alto Festival of the Arts
When: Aug. 22-23 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: University Avenue, Palo Alto
Cost: Free admission and parking.
Information: mlaproductions.com/PaloAlto
READ MORE ONLINE
PaloAltoOnline.com
For more Home and Real Estate news, visit
PaloAltoOnline.com/real_estate.
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 39
Home & Real Estate
HOME SALES
Home sales are provided by California REsource, a real estate information company that obtains
the information from the County
Recorder’s Office. Information
is recorded from deeds after the
close of escrow and published
within four to eight weeks.
Atherton
150 Encinal Ave. Schneider
Trust to O’Connor Trust for
$4,400,000 on 07/06/15
84 Maple Ave. Rice Trust to
D. & L. Walker for $1,825,000
on 07/02/15; previous sale
04/04/2013, $1,550,000
58 Tuscaloosa Ave. Elssner
Trust to PNC Development for
$6,750,000 on 07/09/15; previous sale 09/18/1968, $48,000
73 Victoria Drive Smyth Trust
to Rice Trust for $2,550,000 on
07/09/15
East Palo Alto
2141 Euclid Ave. H. & Y. Mesfine to J. Prado for $640,000
on 07/06/15; previous sale
05/15/2009, $240,000
229 Holland St. Y. Li to G.
Chang for $615,000 on 07/10/15;
previous sale 04/15/2010,
$360,000
2397 Oakwood Drive Federal
National Mortgage to C. Mendoza for $540,000 on 07/10/15;
previous sale 09/05/1991,
$138,000
2251 Terra Villa St. C. Tyler to
D. Lok for $619,500 on 07/09/15;
previous sale 12/19/1978,
$60,000
Los Altos
241 Chateau Drive Singer
Trust to Deepavenky Trust for
$3,100,000 on 07/17/15
1395 Fairway Drive Tan Trust to
M. & K. Esquivel for $3,625,000
on 07/17/15
2011 Fallen Leaf Lane D. Nolan to J. Loh for $2,000,000 on
07/20/15
551 University Ave. Teer Trust
to Bristow Trust for $2,988,000
on 07/17/15
Los Altos Hills
12355 Hilltop Drive Bristow
Trust to Hilltop Drive Limited for
$3,200,000 on 07/17/15; previous sale 11/01/1976, $154,500
Menlo Park
472 9th Ave. Watanabe Trust
to A. Couse for $1,500,000 on
07/08/15
779 15th Ave. First Partners
Real Estate to H. Kim for
SALES AT A GLANCE
Atherton
Los Altos Hills
Total sales reported: 4
Lowest sales price: $1,825,000
Highest sales price: $6,750,000
Palo Alto
Total sales reported: 1
Lowest sales price: $3,200,000
Highest sales price: $3,200,000
East Palo Alto
Total sales reported: 7
Lowest sales price: $780,000
Highest sales price: $2,700,000
Menlo Park
Total sales reported: 4
Lowest sales price: $540,000
Highest sales price: $640,000
Portola Valley
Total sales reported: 19
Lowest sales price: $600,000
Highest sales price: $5,875,000
Los Altos
Total sales reported: 2
Lowest sales price: $2,700,000
Highest sales price: $3,850,000
Mountain View
Total sales reported: 4
Lowest sales price: $2,000,000
Highest sales price: $3,625,000
Woodside
Total sales reported: 10
Lowest sales price: $640,000
Highest sales price: $1,855,000
Total sales reported: 2
Lowest sales price: $1,575,000
Highest sales price: $3,650,000
Source: California REsource
$1,125,000 on 07/02/15; previous
sale 05/15/2013, $600,000
2180 Ashton Ave. Potter Trust
to B. & S. Shakib for $1,800,000
on 07/02/15
629 Bay Road Y. Hasan
to S. Sinha for $1,480,000
on 07/06/15; previous sale
12/01/2006, $921,000
7 Chateau Drive Hilligoss
Trust to L. & J. Nienkerk for
$2,900,000 on 07/10/15; previous sale 10/07/2004, $1,076,000
1314 Cloud Ave. Spinner Trust
to Mediratta Trust for $3,150,000
on 07/10/15
505 Gilbert Ave. R. Hall
to J. Smith for $1,990,000
on 07/02/15; previous sale
07/21/2000, $935,000
147 Hillside Ave. Bellair Way
Limited to V. Lathi for $4,350,000
on 07/09/15
1041 Menlo Oaks Drive Fields
Trust to J. Owen for $1,520,000
on 07/06/15; previous sale
08/28/1987, $215,000
1740 Oak Ave. Oak Ave. Limited to M. Carli for $5,875,000
on 07/10/15; previous sale
04/07/2011, $1,705,000
3 Oliver Court Selleck Trust
to B. Amerige for $1,800,000
on 07/10/15; previous sale
04/08/1992, $720,000
1969 Palo Alto Way R. Schilling to C. Raffaelli for $2,100,000
on 07/10/15; previous sale
10/02/1986, $265,000
425 Pope St. C. Gallagher to
A. & N. Edyvane for $1,450,000
on 07/08/15; previous sale
06/14/2002, $595,000
168 Sand Hill Circle Caplan Trust to A. Wheeler for
$1,475,000 on 07/06/15; previous
sale 09/19/1983, $318,000
2140 Santa Cruz Ave. #A208
Corman Trust to Mueller Trust for
$600,000 on 07/09/15; previous
sale 03/31/2000, $327,000
1980 Santa Cruz Ave. Utechin
EXTRAORDINARY
SERVICE
OUTSTANDING
RESULTS
Trust to Goldsilverland Properties
for $1,400,000 on 07/09/15; previous sale 12/23/1981, $76,500
7 Shasta Lane D. Denevi to
B. Hants for $2,540,000 on
07/06/15; previous sale
08/27/1998, $830,000
21 Willow Road #13 D. Lynch to
D. Kim for $728,000 on 07/10/15;
previous sale 01/16/2007,
$395,000
1027 Windermere Ave. K. &
K. Kinkor to WCAl3 Limited for
$1,320,000 on 07/02/15; previous sale 04/29/2011, $775,000
Mountain View
1721 California St. #2 Fawzy
Trust to Y. Zhao for $640,000
on 07/17/15; previous sale
04/04/1990, $169,000
445 Chagall St. L. Vernazza
to M. Agarwal for $1,340,000
on 07/21/15; previous sale
11/06/2012, $826,500
88 Flynn Ave. #A Clayton Trust
to V. Rajagopal for $715,000
on 07/17/15; previous sale
04/28/2005, $425,000
116 Flynn Ave. #D H. & L. Rome
to C. Rabano for $675,000
on 07/17/15; previous sale
08/10/2006, $426,000
2149 Junction Ave. #12 J.
McFadden to Hass Trust for
$1,400,000 on 07/17/15; previous
sale 12/22/1989, $280,000
754 Leona Lane Crist Trust
to J. Soden for $1,855,000
on 07/21/15; previous sale
01/02/2002, $659,000
2531 Mardell Way C. Hoffman
to W. & C. Chan for $1,650,000
on 07/17/15; previous sale
09/30/1993, $264,000
1683 Nilda Ave. Curtis Trust
to J. & K. Berk for $1,400,000
on 07/20/15; previous sale
04/04/1986, $199,000
550 Ortega Ave. #A311 C. Kochanowicz to Bukowski Trust for
$975,000 on 07/17/15; previous
sale 12/04/2002, $382,500
49 Showers Drive #N263 J.
Hanley to F. Ruan for $841,000
on 07/17/15; previous sale
06/21/2006, $535,000
Palo Alto
101 Alma St. #407 Aaron Trust
to M. Mulhern for $1,375,000
on 07/21/15; previous sale
04/20/2005, $630,000
2458 W. Bayshore Road #4
R. Monteiro to C. Nguyen for
$780,000 on 07/17/15; previous
sale 12/19/2012, $510,000
800 E. Charleston Road #22
Trustway Investors to S. & S. Dhingra for $1,650,000 on 07/17/15;
previous sale 11/05/1990,
$736,000
636 Keats Court Rlg Trust to E
Trust for $2,700,000 on 07/17/15;
previous sale 02/1971, $480,000
3194 Ramona St. Currall Trust
to A. & K. Raza for $2,400,000
on 07/21/15
918 Van Auken Circle Marquardt Trust to W. Ma for
$2,290,000 on 07/17/15
1510 Walnut Drive Walnut Drive
Charitable Trust to Paul Trust for
$1,700,000 on 07/17/15
Portola Valley
34 Grove Drive R. & L. Livingston
to Bastian Trust for $3,850,000
on 07/02/15; previous sale
03/28/2013, $2,600,000
411 La Mesa Drive B. & K.
Jones to Big Sur Limited for
$2,700,000 on 07/07/15; previous
sale 03/08/2006, $1,615,000
Woodside
17300 Skyline Blvd. H. & R.
Lemmens to E. Farkhondeh for
$1,575,000 on 07/10/15; previous
sale 08/31/1995, $500,000
3470 Tripp Road John Trust to
Stenson Trust for $3,650,000
on 07/02/15; previous sale
12/20/1968, $94,000
BUILDING PERMITS
Palo Alto
2050 Dartmouth St. PCE
residential addition to unconditioned accessory structure (pool
cabana) with two new plumbing
fixtures, includes new sewer line,
no work in the public right of
way, $30,000
475 Melville Ave. roof-mounted
PV system, $n/a
975 Loma Verde Ave. roofmounted PV system, $n/a
311 Everett Ave., Unit #C resi-
$VKHDUGRQ
ƒÄùÊç^›½½ùÊçÙ«ÊÛ͙
JENNY
TENG
650.245.4490
jteng@apr.com
jennytenghomes.com
Ph.D.
F REE C ONSULTATION : C ALL N OW !
D r. C huck Fue ry
T ol l F ree: 1-888-NO-TAXES
www.stanfordpf.com
“Using his strategy, I saved over $800,000
in taxes” - Bob B., Palo Alto
^ƚĂŶĨŽƌĚWƌŽƉĞƌƚLJΘ&ŝŶĂŶĐĞŝƐĂůŽĐĂůƌĞĂůĞƐƚĂƚĞĐŽŵƉĂŶLJƐĞƌǀŝŶŐĐůŝĞŶƚƐĨŽƌŽǀĞƌϮϱLJĞĂƌƐĂŶĚŝƐ
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Page 40 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
dential multifamily kitchen and
bath remodel, $24,741
759 Maplewood Place roofmounted PV system, $n/a
114 Monroe Drive roof-mounted
PV system, $n/a
2333 Webster St. change architectural sheets to reflect new
architect and layout, $n/a
1486 Dana Ave. temporary
power pole, $n/a
967 Dennis Drive re-roof,
$20,000
74 Morton St. re-roof, $3,500
74 Morton St. re-roof, $13,500
859 Colorado Ave. residential
furnace replacement, $n/a
241 Colorado Ave. red-tagged
gas leak repair, $n/a
197 Walter Hays Drive bathroom remodel, $20,000
3439 South Court re-roof,
$10,688
827 E. Meadow Drive re-roof,
$22,500
3198 Fallen Leaf St. residential
install NEMA receptacle in garage, $n/a
3615 Evergreen Drive house
and garage re-roof, $16,000
537 Hamilton Ave. commercial
install Level 3 car charger in
underground parking structure,
$n/a
405 Curtner Ave. temporary
power, $n/a
241 Curtner Ave. re-roof,
$44,900
530 Webster St. relocate “Bubbler Box” and pipe from rear or
house to front of house, $n/a
911 Hansen Way scope revised
to have existing air handler to remain until future date, $n/a
41 Somerset Place re-roof,
$17,300
1450 Arcadia Place residential
install wall mounted NEMA outlet
in the garage, $n/a
2651 Alma St. residential gas
line repair, $n/a
3500 Deer Creek Road install
electric equipment, $7,000
921 Charleston Road emergency panel replacement, 10-day
notice given, $n/a
2649 Alma St. residential gas
line repair, $n/a
3500 Deer Creek Road accessible walk and parking restripe,
$48,000
770 Bryant St. residential remodel and kitchen/bath remodel,
includes removing multiple walls,
no exterior changes, $125,000
4077 Ben Lomond Drive roofmounted PV system, new level 2
wall mounted EVSE, $n/a
4060 Amaranta Ave. residential
gas line repair, $n/a
2645 Alma St. residential gas
line repair, $n/a
624 Keats Court replace all windows, $12,680
605 Cowper St. remove existing and install CertainTeed
presidential life-time composition
with a layer of diamond deck as
under-laymen and solid sheathing, $17,250
1467 College Ave. residential
kitchen remodel, including
decreasing the size of window,
$55,000
3373 Saint Michael Drive revisions to the grading and drainage plan, $n/a
777 E. Meadow Drive re-roof,
$7,000
3136 Waverley St. replace existing furnace in attic and add new
AC unit in rear yard, $n/a
3341 Saint Michael Court twobathroom remodel, $24,000
341 California Ave. Landlord
Work, includes interior demolition of the entire building, this is
a two-story building, includes
removal of second floor and roof
structure (only exterior walls to
remain), removal of second-floor
shade awnings, downspouts and
conduits, $46,350
3321 Saint Michael Drive twobathroom remodel, $32,000
251 Scripps Court re-roof,
$14,250
651 Kendall Ave. bathroom remodel, $30,000
845 Moreno Ave. new circuit for
portable spa, $n/a
1095 Channing Ave. gymnasium
re-roof, $32,118
3481 Kenneth Drive re-roof,
$16,000
1635 Madrono Ave. residential
install NEMA outlet and new subpanel, $n/a
1050 N. California Ave. structural change, increase opening
from dining room into living
room, $n/a
3492 Janice Way replacing
existing boiler in same location,
$n/a
275 Ventura Ave. re-roof,
$22,000
3666 El Camino Real Family
Fashion Cuts: tenant improvement and use and occupancy for
a 600-square-foot tenant space,
includes two hair washing sinks
and new outlets, $3,500
626 Loma Verde Ave. re-roof,
$12,000
3709 Ortega Court residential
remodel, includes kitchen and
three baths, $75,000
870 Los Robles Ave. re-roof,
$19,475
3151 Ramona St. electric service upgrade to 125 amps in the
same location, $n/a
275 Ventura Ave. Building 2: reroof, $17,000
4123 Dake Ave. residential furnace replacement in the same location in mechanical closet, $n/a
160 Melville Ave. convert existing duplex into single-family residence, includes 9-square-foot
addition and 800-square-foot
remodel, $75,000
2290 South Court red tag gas
leak repair, $n/a
328 Oxford Ave. residential roofmounted PV system, $n/a
250 Lowell Ave. new pool and
spa with associated equipment,
$300,000
112 Churchill Ave. residential
kitchen remodel, includes removing two interior walls, $22,000
2151 Park Blvd. replace lighting
in open office and replace ceiling
tiles within existing grid, $4,500
385 Sherman Ave. temporary
power, $n/a
2332 South Court red tag gas
leak repair, $n/a
850 Webster St. 15000-01353:
in the board room revised the
ceiling tile and lighting, $n/a
1146 Waverley St. red tag gas
leak repair at earthquake shutoff
valve, $n/a
891 La Para Ave. residential
roof-mounted PV system, $n/a
3324 Middlefield Road residential roof-mounted PV system, $n/a
14 Morton St. red tag gas leak
repair behind dryer and behind
stove, $n/a
2200 South Court residential
spot repair to gas line, $n/a
2303 Oberlin St. replace forcedair furnace and nine ducts, $n/a
576 Everett Ave. residential
main water line work to be done
in the public row, $n/a
180 El Camino Real, 1400003026/3027/3027: structural field
clarification to a slab, $n/a
180 El Camino Real, Suite
#159 Unit 159: repair water
damage, replace drywall and insulation, and add paint and new
flooring, $15,000
OPEN: SAT & SUN 1:00 - 4:30
5 Bedroom | 4.5 Bathroom
3,396 sq.ft. living (per assessor)
8,712 sq.ft. lot (per assessor)
T
his luxurious newer home in Palo Alto on
a sunny, large lot with beautiful gardens
and lawns has designer touches throughout.
Recently upgraded gourmet kitchen with custom
cabinets and designer concrete countertops, stone
gas-burning fireplace with antique, reclaimed
wood mantles in living and family rooms, stunning
new top-grade hardwood floors, Hubbardton
Forge lighting throughout, expansive, light-filled
master suite, radiant heated master bath floor,
and convenient upstairs laundry. Five bedrooms,
four and one-half baths. Downstairs ensuite
bedroom makes an excellent home office or nanny
suite. Finished garage, with coated floor and new
cabinetry and workbench. Briones Elementary (API
941), Terman Middle (API 968) and Gunn High (API
917) – buyer to verify.
4264 WILKIE WAY, PALO ALTO
Offered at $3,895,000
JUST LISTED!
Gil Oraha, BROKER ASSOCIATE
CalBre#01355157
(650) 889-0889
gil.oraha@cbnorcal.com
www.giloraha.com
O P E N H O U S E S AT U R DAY & S U N DAY 1 : 3 0 - 4 : 3 0 P M
833 La Para Avenue, Palo Alto
A tranquil country-style property, close to world-class amenities this
may be the special setting you’ve been looking for. Enjoyed by one owner for decades, this
property consists of two parcels which host a charming two-story home, a large art studio,
a two-car garage and two storage buildings. A circular motor-court entrance links the
parcels. Mature trees include stately Eucalyptus, Aleppo Pine, and Valley Oak. Winding
paths, raised garden beds, brick patios and a custom-built home with decks and balconies
provide spaces and places for everyone. (combined parcels approximately 13,790 sq. ft.)
List Price $2,895,000.
www.833LaPara.com
Nancy Goldcamp
www.nancygoldcamp.com
Direct: (650) 400-5800
nancy@nancygoldcamp.com
Site Plan - Artist’s Rendering - Buyer to verify
CAL BRE# 00787851
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 41
A Luxury Collection By Intero Real Estate Services Sand Hill Estates, Woodside
5 Betty Lane, Atherton
11627 Dawson Drive, Los Altos Hills
$35,000,000
$24,800,000
$23,995,000
Listing Provided by: Dana Cappiello & Cutty Smith Lic.#01343305 & 01444081
Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Greg Goumas Lic.#01242399, 00709019, 01878208
Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Lic.#01242399, 00709019
Ano Nuevo Scenic Ranch, Davenport
10440 Albertsworth Lane, Los Altos Hills
$19,800,000
$11,488,000
$9,000,000
Listing Provided by: Dana Cappiello, Lic.#01343305
Listing Provided by: Greg Goumas & John Reece, Lic.#01878208 & 00838479
Listing Provided by: Greg Goumas, Lic.#0187820
25 Oakhill Drive, Woodside
245 Mountain Wood Lane, Woodside
669 Hayne Road, Hillsborough
333 Raymundo Drive, Woodside
$8,250,000
$8,250,000
$7,950,000
Listing Provided by: Dana Cappiello, Lic.#01343305
Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Lic.#01242399
Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Lic.#01242399, 00709019,
40 Firethorn Way, Portola Valley
138 Bolivar Lane, Portola Valley
1100 Mountain Home Rd.,Woodside
$6,888,000
$6,488,000
$5,850,000
Listing Provided by: Greg Goumas, Lic.#01878208
Listing Provided by: Irene Reed & Greg Goumas, Lic.# 01879122 & 01878208
Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Lic.#01242399, 00709019
38 Hacienda Drive, Woodside
484 Panchita Way, Los Altos
1250 Miramontes Street, Half Moon Bay
$5,450,000
$3,898,000
$3,200,000
Listing Provided by: David Kelsey, Tom Dallas, Lic.#01242399, 00709019
Listing Provided by: Gerardo Cortes, Lic.#01115711
Listing Provided by: Dana Cappiello, Lic.#01343305
See the complete collection
w w w.InteroPrestigio.com
2015 Intero Real Estate Services Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc. All rights reserved.
Page 42 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This is not intended as a solicitation if you are listed with another broker.
®
®
The Solution to Selling Your Luxury Home.
10440 Albertsworth Lane, Los Altos Hills | $11,488,000 | Listing Provided by: Greg Goumas & John Reece, Lic.#01878208 & 00838479
Customized to the unique style of each luxury property, Prestigio will expose your home through the most
influential mediums reaching the greatest number of qualified buyers wherever they may be in the world.
For more information about listing your home with the Intero Prestigio International program,
call your local Intero Real Estate Services office.
Woodside
1590 Cañada Lane
Woodside, CA 94062
650.206.6200
Menlo Park
807 Santa Cruz Avenue
Menlo Park, CA 94025
650.543.7740
Los Altos
496 First Street, Ste. 200
Los Altos, CA 94022
650.947.4700
$22,000,000
®
®
2015 Intero Real Estate Services Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, Inc. All rights reserved.
www.PaloAltoOnline.com
• Palo Alto
All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This is not intended as a solicitation if you
are listed with another broker.
Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 43
Page 44 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
328 Felton Drive, Menlo Park
Offered at $4,188,000
New Home, Timeless Luxury
Exceptional details and a peaceful setting alongside Holbrook-Palmer Park
define this brand-new 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom residence of 3,860 sq. ft.
(per plans) on a lot of 0.28 acres (per plans). White oak floors, dimmable
lighting, and ceilings of nearly 10 feet accent the interior, which presents
a dining room with wainscoting, a living room with coffered ceilings,
and a main-level guest bedroom. Offering fine appliances and granite
countertops, a regal island kitchen adjoins both a breakfast nook and a
handsome family room with vaulted beamed ceilings. A magnificent
staircase leads to four more bedrooms, including a majestic master
suite with a marble-clad bathroom. Outdoors, enjoy large lawns,
slate terraces, a motor court, and a detached two-car garage. Other
highlights include a central vacuum system, an outdoor barbecue,
and two fireplaces. Close to downtown Menlo Park, the home is
also near Caltrain and prestigious Sacred Heart and Menlo Schools.
More terrific schools nearby include Encinal Elementary (API
930), Hillview Middle (API 950), and Menlo-Atherton High
(buyer to verify eligibility).
For video tour & more photos, please visit:
www.328Felton.com
OPEN HOUSE
Ken DeLeon
CalBRE #01342140
Michael Repka
CalBRE #01854880
Saturday & Sunday, 1-5 pm
Complimentary
Lunch & Lattes
6 5 0 . 4 8 8 . 7 3 2 5 | i n f o @ d e l e o n r e a l t y . c o m | w w w . dwww.PaloAltoOnline.com
e l e o n r e a l t y . c o m • Palo
| CAlto
a l BWeekly
R E #• August
0 1 9 021,
3 22015
2 4 • Page 45
Alain Pinel Realtors
FIND YOUR PLACE
PALO ALTO $5,495,000
PALO ALTO $4,998,000
MENLO PARK $3,295,000
1400 Cowper Street I 4bd/3.5ba
C. Carnevale/N. Aron I 650.462.1111
OPEN SUNDAY 1:30-4:30
1094 Forest Avenue | 4bd/4ba
Sherry Bucolo | 650.323.1111
OPEN SUNDAY 1:30-4:30
1045 Atkinson Lane I 4bd/4ba
M. Corman/M. Montoya I 650.462.1111
OPEN SUNDAY 1:30-4:30
LOS ALTOS $3,000,000
LOS ALTOS HILLS $2,995,000
MENLO PARK $2,375,000
217 Santa Rita Court | 5bd/4.5ba
Denise Welsh | 650.941.1111
OPEN SUNDAY 1:30-4:30
24269 Dawnridge Drive I 3bd/3ba
S. Walz/C. Botts I 650.941.1111
BY APPOINTMENT
230 Arden Road | 2bd/2ba
Rick Howard Smith | 650.323.1111
OPEN SAT & SUN 1:30-4:30
LOS ALTOS $2,098,000
WOODSIDE $1,595,000
LA HONDA $898,000
675 Belden Drive | 5bd/3ba
Kathleen Wilson | 650.323.1111
OPEN SAT & SUN 1:30-4:30
11169 La Honda Road | 3bd/2ba
P. Robison/U. Cremona | 650.941.1111
BY APPOINTMENT
9111 Alpine Road | 3bd/1ba
K. Bird/S. Hayes | 650.529.1111
BY APPOINTMENT
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See it all at
APR.COM
/alainpinelrealtors
@alainpinel
Page 46 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
0LGGOHÀHOG5RDG3DOR$OWR
Offered at $2,298,000
Gracious Home Promotes Outdoor Living
Basking on a lot of 5,625 sq. ft. (per city), an extensive, private terrace
adjoins the sun-filled interior of this 4 bedroom, 3.5 bath home, which
includes 2,520 sq. ft. (per county) plus a lower level of 999 sq. ft. (per
plans). Featuring drought-tolerant landscaping and tall trees for added
privacy, this upgraded outdoor space is overlooked by a large outdoor
patio. Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, an extra-insulated structure,
dual-pane windows, and a central vacuum system enhance the fine
interior. The formal living room boasts a fireplace and links to the
formal dining room, while the upgraded kitchen provides highend appliances and opens to the spacious family room designed
with custom sculptural lighting. The home office features a cherry
bookcase, while the versatile lower level includes a media center
and a wine room. Boasting a fantastic walk-in closet, the upstairs
master suite enjoys patio access. Moments from Stanford and
University Avenue, this home is also an easy stroll to Rinconada
Park. Top schools nearby include Walter Hays Elementary (API
934), Jordan Middle (API 934), and Palo Alto High (API 905)
(buyer to verify eligibility).
For more information, please visit:
www.1540Middlefield.com
®
OPEN HOUSE
Saturday & Sunday, 1-5 pm
K D
Ken
DeLeon
L
CalBRE #01342140
Michael
Repka
Mi h l R
k
CalBRE #01854880
Complimentary
Lunch & Lattes
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 47
6 5 0 . 4 8 8 . 7 3 2 5 | i n f o @ d e l e o n r e a l t y. c o m | w w w. d e l e o n r e a l t y. c o m | C a l B R E # 0 1 9 0 3 2 2 4
European Villa Elegance in Woodside
475 Moore Road | Woodside | Offered at $6,275,000
JUST LISTED — PLEASE CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT
B
uilt in 2009 and recently extensively updated, this stylish home
is a decorator’s dream with a highly appealing one-story layout.
The nearly 5,000 sq ft home is situated on a private 3.0-acre
property with panoramic views of the Western Hills across its rear
gardens, lawn and impressive infinity pool. The home was extensively
upgraded by the current owners to create a showcase of design features which include an extensively upgraded kitchen, an elegant dual
bathroom master suite and new private office. Its close proximity to
Woodside Town Center, I-280, nearby schools and the Sand Hill Road
nexus of business activity makes this property a must-see!
www.475MooreRoad.com
# 1 Agents 2014
in Woodside/PV office
HELEN & BRAD MILLER
(650) 400-3426 (650) 400-1317
helenhuntermiller@gmail.com
brad.miller@cbnorcal.com
www.HelenAndBradHomes.com
CalBRE #01142061, #00917768
Page 48 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
List your home with
DeLeon Realty
DeLeon Realty will cover all of the following
at no additional charge:
• Staging*
• Property Inspection
• Pest Inspection
*Includes: Design, Installation, 1 Month of Furniture Rental and Removal
Our clients love the personal attention they receive from Michael
Repka, from beginning to end. Additionally you will receive a
suite of free services from the DeLeon Team, including interior
design, construction consulting, handyman work, and dedicated
marketing to local and foreign buyers.
®
650.488.7325 | www.deleonrealty.com | DeLeon Realty CalBRE #01903224
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 49
WHERE GOOD FOOD AND
COMMUNITY MEET
Ada’s Cafe is a 501(c)(3), social enterprise dedicated to hiring, training and employing
adults with developmental disabilities in its food service businesses. Through its cafe
at the Mitchell Park Community Center and a catering business that operates out
of a commercial kitchen in Mountain View, Ada’s goal is to empower its Associates
and employ them in a manner that accommodates their disability yet challenges
them every day to expand their skill set. Ada’s also integrates high school interns
and at-risk young adults into its daily cafe and catering operations.
Ada’s organizes its activities around three C’s: Compassionate Employment,
Community Engagement and Commercial Success. Ada’s founders believe that satisfying each of these is
critical if Ada’s is to achieve its goal of fulfilling its mission as a self-sustaining social enterprise.
Sereno Group is proud to support the commitment and services Ada’s Cafe provides to our community.
For more information about their work or how you can get involved, please visit www.adascafe.org
DURING THE MONTHS OF JULY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 2015,
SERENO GROUP REAL ESTATE AND ITS PALO ALTO AGENTS WILL BE
CONTRIBUTING 1% OF THEIR GROSS COMMISSIONS TO ADA’S CAFE.
P A L O A L TO
HERE FOR GOOD
Page 50 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
SERENOGROUP.COM/ONEPERCENT
3 3 1 5 S T O C K T O N P L A C E , P A L O A LT O
Beautifully Maintained Eichler
Inviting Four Bedroom Home on Large Lot
• Four bedrooms
–master suite overlooking serene gardens and
with large walk-in closet
• Two bathrooms
• Light-filled, formal entry way
• Large living room with vaulted ceilings and “walls
of windows” overlooking private backyard
• Spacious and versatile family room/dining room
combination leading to outdoor dining area
surrounded by bamboo
LISTED BY
Timothy Foy DRE# 00849721
• Wonderfully landscaped, drought tolerant yards
• Attached oversized two car garage
• Excellent Palo Alto Schools including Gunn
High School
• 1,775 sq. feet living space approx.
• 7,359 sq. foot lot approx.
Cell: 650.387.5078
OFFERED AT
$2,295,000
Tim@midtownpaloalto.com
Midtown Realty, Inc. • 2775 Middlefield Road • Phone: 650.321.1596 • WWW.MIDTOWNPALOALTO.COM
O P E N S AT U R D AY & S U N D AY F R O M 1 : 3 0 - 4 : 3 0 P M
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 51
PALO ALTO WEEKLY OPEN HOMES
EXPLORE OUR MAPS, HOMES FOR SALE, OPEN HOMES, VIRTUAL TOURS, PHOTOS, PRIOR SALE INFO, NEIGHBORHOOD GUIDES ON www.PaloAltoOnline.com/real_estate
UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL TIMES ARE 1:30-4:30 PM
4 Bedrooms
ATHERTON
2 Bedrooms
57 N Gate
$1,749,000
Sun
Pacific Union International
314-7200
4 Bedrooms
91 James
$6,985,000
Sun
Dreyfus Sotheby’s Realty
847-1141
75 Reservoir Rd
$11,800,000
Sun
Dreyfus Sotheby’s Realty 644-3474
4 Bedrooms
103 Fey Dr
$1,985,000
Sat/Sun 12-4 Pacific Union International 314-7200
5 Bedrooms
$3,680,000
325-6161
3 Bedrooms
775 Anderson Dr
Sat 1-4
Coldwell Banker
$2,498,000
851-2666
LOS ALTOS HILLS
7 Bedrooms
$1,777,860
325-6161
4 Bedrooms
$4,988,000
543-8500
5 Bedrooms
$3,988,000
464-1314
4 Bedrooms
815 Spruance Ln.
Sat/Sun
Coldwell Banker
$1,150,000
325-6161
642 Greenwich
Sat/Sun
Coldwell Banker
$1,998,000
325-6161
HALF MOON BAY
545 6th Ave
Sat/Sun
Coldwell Banker
$925,000
324-4456
668 & 672 Partridge Ave.
$3,190,000
Sat/Sun 1-4 Ferrari Investment Co. 464-4984
1015 Atkinson Ln
Sun
Coldwell Banker
$5,695,000
323-7751
1795 Holly Ave
Sun
Kerwin & Associates
$4,750,000
473-1500
1015 Atkinson Ln
Sun
Coldwell Banker
$5,695,000
324-4456
650 Berkeley Ave
$6,495,000
Sun
Pacific Union International 314-7200
PALO ALTO
3 Bedrooms
MENLO PARK
1235 Alma St
Sat/Sun
Coldwell Banker
2 Bedrooms - Townhouse
134 Sand Hill Cir
$1,500,000
Sun
Pacific Union International 314-7200
FOSTER CITY
$5,400/mo.
314-7200
5 Bedrooms
14700 Manuella Rd.
$4,750,000
Sun
Dreyfus Sotheby’s Realty
644-3474
26181 Moody Rd
Sun
Deleon Realty
5 Bedrooms
140 Sand Hill Cr
Sun
Pacific Union
4 Bedrooms
LOS ALTOS
27633 Via Cerro Gordo
Sat/Sun 1-4 Plummer Realty
EAST PALO ALTO
2206 Lincoln St
Sat/Sun 1-4 Coldwell Banker
$1,698,000
325-6161
3 Bedrooms
BURLINGAME
1153 Cabrillo Ave.
Sat/Sun 1-4 Coldwell Banker
3 Bedrooms - Townhouse
200 Fairway Dr
Sun 1-4:30
Coldwell Banker
$1,899,900
325-6161
4 Bedrooms
3 Bedrooms
2088 Channing Ave
$2,995,000
Sun 2-4 Pacific Union International 314-7200
1975 Avy
$2,350,000
Sat/Sun Dreyfus Sotheby’s Realty
847-1141
1400 Cowper St
Sun
Alain Pinel Realtors
$5,495,000
462-1111
1131 Menlo Oaks Dr
Sat/Sun
Coldwell Banker
3246 Waverley St
Sun
Alain Pinel Realtors
$3,549,900
323-1111
$869,000
324-4456
3 Bedrooms
4 Manor Place
Sat/Sun
Alain Pinel Realtors
$1,890,000
323-1111
380 Colorado Ave
$3,498,000
Sat/Sun Keller Williams Palo Alto 454-8500
1250 Miramontes St
$3,200,000
Sun 11-2 Intero Real Estate Services 206-6200
804 Woodland Ave
Sat/Sun
Coldwell Banker
$1,995,000
324-4456
1094 Forest Ave
$4,998,000
Sat/Sun 2-5 Alain Pinel Realtors
323-1111
Are you staying current
with the changing real estate
market conditions?
:HRσHUWKHRQHRQOLQH
destination that lets you
fully explore:
2281 Byron St
Sat 1:30-5
Coldwell Banker
$8,398,000
325-6161
4264 Wilkie Wy
Sat/Sun
Coldwell Banker
$3,895,000
325-6161
PORTOLA VALLEY
4 Bedrooms
5 Oak Forest Ct
Sun
Alain Pinel Realtors
$3,995,000
462-1111
180 Escobar Rd
Sun
Deleon Realty
$2,988,000
543-8500
1 Portola Green Cir
Sun
Deleon Realty
$3,988,000
543-8500
REDWOOD CITY
2 Bedroomsm - Condominium
540 Shorebird Cir 21105
Sun
Coldwell Banker
$749,000
324-4456
1240 Woodside Rd 21
Sun
Coldwell Banker
$599,000
325-6161
SAN MATEO
3 Bedrooms
15 N. Quebec St
Sat/Sun 1-4 Coldwell Banker
WOODSIDE
4 Bedrooms
579 Old La Honda Rd
Sun 1-4
Coldwell Banker
$3,195,000
851-2666
785 W California Wy
Sun
Coldwell Banker
$3,695,000
851-1961
6 Bedrooms
38 Hacienda Dr
$5,450,000
Sun
Intero Real Estate Services 206-6200
MBA: The Wharton
School, University
of Pennsylvania
BA: Waseda
University, Japan
Xin Jiang
Speaks Japanese
& Chinese Fluently
650.283.8379
xjiang@apr.com
XinPaloAltoProperty.com
• Interactive maps
• Homes for sale
• Open house dates and times
• Virtual tours and photos
• Prior sales info
• Neighborhood guides
• Area real estate links
• and so much more.
Our comprehensive online
guide to the Midpeninsula
real estate market has all
the resources a home buyer,
agent or local resident could
ever want and it’s all in one
easy-to-use, local site!
$749,000
325-6161
®
Agents:
You’ll want to explore our unique online advertising opportunities.
&RQWDFW\RXUVDOHVUHSUHVHQWDWLYHRUFDOOWRGD\WRðQGRXWPRUH
Explore area real estate through your favorite local website:
TheAlmanacOnline.com
MountainViewOnline.com
PaloAltoOnline.com
And click on “real estate” in the navigation bar.
TheAlmanacOnline.com
MountainViewOnline.com
PaloAltoOnline.com
Page 52 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
The DeLeon Difference®
650.543.8500
www.deleonrealty.com
650.543.8500 | www.deleonrealty.com | DeLeon Realty CalBRE #01903224
Sign up today at
www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Bay Area Collection
Menlo Park. Burlingame 650.314.7200 | pacificunion.com
EXTRAORDINARY ELEGANCE IN ATHERTON
APPOINTMENT ONLY
52 Atherton Avenue, Atherton
$23,995,000
6 BD / 6+ BA
1 Faxon Road, Atherton
$20,700,000
5+ BD / 5+ BA
A residence on 2.87 A plus guest house, executive office,
entertainment pavilion, gazebo, pool & tennis court.
Custom gated estate in premier Menlo Circus Club location on 1.7+
acres with solar-heated pool, golf practice hole.
1faxon.com
Carol MacCorkle, 650.868.5478
cmaccorkle@pacunion.com
APPOINTMENT ONLY
Tom LeMieux, 650.465.7459
tom@tomlemieux.com
APPOINTMENT ONLY
10 Mount Vernon Lane, Atherton
$8,450,000
6 BD / 5+ BA
650 Berkeley Ave, Menlo Park
$6,495,000
5 BD / 5.5 BA
Significantly renovated 3-level contemporary masterpiece with open
concept design, theatre, fitness, library & state-of-the-art home
automation midway between San Francisco and Silicon Valley.
10MOUNTVERNON.com
Stunning newly constructed modern farmhouse with thoughtfully
designed, 2-level floor plan including 5 ensuite bedrooms and an
elegant mix of modern and rustic details throughout.
Tom LeMieux, 650.465.7459
tom@tomlemieux.com
COMING SOON
David Weil, 650.823.3855
david@davidweilhomes.com
GREAT OPPORTUNITY IN ATHERTON
101 Alma Street, Palo Alto
Price Upon Request
2 BD / 2 BA
57 N. Gate, Atherton
$1,749,000
2 BD / 1 BA
Amazing upper floor with views to Palo Alto city lights and
western hills view. Extensively renovated by Aaron Green, protégé
of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Charming cottage in Central Atherton, updated interiors, inviting
venue for outdoor living.
Amy Sung, 650.468.4834
amy@amysung.com
Tom LeMieux, 650.465.7459
tom@tomlemieux.com
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 53
Coldwell Banker
#1 IN CALIFORNIA
Woodside
$6,275,000
475 Moore Rd Nearly new apprx. 4,964 sf 1-level European Villa
on 3-ac w/infinity pool & panoramic vws. 3 BR/3 full BA + 2 half
Helen & Brad Miller
650.851.2666
CalBRE #01142061/00917768
Menlo Park
Open Sun 1:30-4:30
$5,695,000
1015 Atkinson Ln Just completed, this stunning home presents 3
levels of luxury. Quiet west MP cul-de-sac. 5 BR/5.5 BA
Tim Kerns/Jennifer Gonzalez-La’O
CalBRE #01800770/01418866
650.323.7751
Menlo Park
$4,695,000
Remodeled home, gourmet kitchen family room, pool & spa on a
14k sq ft lot. 4 BR/2.5 BA
Sue Crawford
CalBRE #00587710
650.324.4456
Woodside
$4,549,000
12424 Skyline Blvd. Estate home on 5 acs w/ gorgeous ocean views.
Chef ’s kitchen, spacious decks & tennis ct! 4 BR/3 full BA + 2 half
Valerie Trenter
CalBRE #01367578
650.323.7751
Palo Alto
Sat/Sun 1:30 - 4:30
$3,895,000
4264 Wilkie Way Newer home on lg lot. Upgraded gourmet kit,
hardwood flrs & convenient upstairs laundry 5 BR/4.5 BA
Gil Oraha
CalBRE #01355157
650.325.6161
Woodside
Sun 1:30 - 4:30
$3,695,000
785 W California Wy Gorgeous views of the western hills, remod.
interiors, a fully equipped home theatre. 4 BR/2.5 BA
Erika Demma
CalBRE #01230766
650.851.2666
Burlingame
Sat/Sun 1 - 4
$3,680,000
1153 Cabrillo Ave Amenities incl: hardwood flrs; high ceilings;
crown molding; ample storage; Near downtown. 5 BR/4.5 BA
Mark Kaprielian
CalBRE #00599359
650.325.6161
Menlo Park
Open Sat/Sun 1:30-4:30
$1,995,000
804 Woodland Ave Beautiful and quiet creek side setting on a light
filled, over sized lot. 3 BR/2 BA
Paul Skrabo
CalBRE #00665727
650.323.7751
Palo Alto
Sat/Sun 1:30 - 4:30
$1,788,000
1235 Alma St 2240sf TH, courtyard w/stone patio. FP, recessed
lighting, eat-in-kitchen, laundry inside 3 BR/2.5 BA
Emily Chiang
CalBRE #01744416
650.325.6161
Half Moon Bay
Sun 1 - 4:30
$1,598,000
200 Fairway Drive www.200FairwayDrive.com. This lovely updated
traditional style home offers Resort Living. 4 BR/2.5 BA
Jan Strohecker
CalBRE #00620365
650.325.6161
Foster City
Sat/Sun 1:30 - 4:30
$1,150,000
815 Spruance Ln Stylish & airy home in coveted complex offers
privacy & community. Stunning kit w/pantry. 4 BR/2.5 BA
Susan Selkirk
CalBRE #01071564
650.325.6161
Menlo Park
$925,000
545 6th Ave. Cute & well maintained 3BR/2BA w/ many upgrades.
Close to Facebook, The Box & Stanford. 3 BR/2 BA
Cristina Bliss
CalBRE #01189105
650.324.4456
Redwood City
Sun 1:30 - 4:30
$749,000
Shorebird Circ #21105 Water views, eat-in kitchen, lux master, great
rm w/fireplace & new hardwood floors. 2 BR/2.5 BA
Elaine White
CalBRE #01182467
650.324.4456
San Mateo
Sat/Sun 1 - 4
$749,000
15 N Quebec St Fabulously Remodeled Hm w/Bonus Rm,
Completed w/Amazing Finishes & Bright-Open Floorplan. 3 BR/1 BA
Greg Stange
CalBRE #01418179
650.325.6161
East Palo Alto
$495,000
1982 W Bayshore Rd #214. Creekside 1 bed, 1 bath condo located
on the West side of 101 just minutes to downtown PA. 1 BR/1 BA
Steve Bulifant
CalBRE #01940157
650.324.4456
©2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Office is Owned by a Subsidiary of NRT LLC.
Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage or NRT LLC. CalBRE License #01908304.
Page 54 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 55
®
We work, play & succeed
together for you!
6 2015
5 0 . •4Palo
8 8Alto
. 7 3Weekly
2 5 | • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
i n f o @ d e l e o n r e a l t y. c o m
Page 56 • August 21,
| w w w. d e l e o n r e a l t y. c o m | C a l B R E # 0 1 9 0 3 2 2 4
Marketplace
PLACE
AN AD
ONLINE
fogster.com
E-MAIL
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Women 40-65 with frequent hot flashes,
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115 Announcements
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Pregnant?
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Birthmothers with Families Nationwide.
LIVING EXPENSES PAID. Call 24/7 Abby’s
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Now you can log on to
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and get your ad started
immediately online.
Most listings are free and
include a one-line free
print ad in our Peninsula
newspapers with the
option of photos and
additional lines. Exempt
are employment ads,
which include a web
listing charge. Home
Services and Mind & Body
Services require contact
with a Customer Sales
Representative.
So, the next time you
have an item to sell,
barter, give away or
buy, get the perfect
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QBULLETIN
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Considering adoption? Call us first.
Living expenses, housing, medical,
and continued support afterwards.
Choose adoptive family of your choice.
Call 24/7. 1-877-879-4709 (CalSCAN)
100-155
QFOR SALE
200-270
QKIDS STUFF
330-390
QMIND & BODY
400-499
QJ
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500-560
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600-699
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995-997
The publisher waives any and all claims or consequential damages due to errors Embarcadero
Publishing Co. cannot assume responsibility
for the claims or performance of its advertisers.
Embarcadero Publishing Co. right to refuse,
edit or reclassify any ad solely at its discretion
without prior notice.
For Sale
202 Vehicles Wanted
Cash for Cars
Any Car/Truck. Running or Not!
Top Dollar Paid. We Come To You!
Call For Instant Offer: 1-888-420-3808
www.cash4car.com (AAN CAN)
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to Heritage for the Blind. FREE 3 Day
Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing,
All Paperwork Taken Care of.
Call 800-731-5042 (Cal-SCAN)
“Bibliocraft” artist demo 8/22
Advanced iPad Classes!
Alzheimer’s book author speaks
ASST SECTION MGRS FOR FOPAL
I buy old Porsche’s
911, 356. 1948-1973 only.
Any condition. Top $$ paid. Finders Fee.
Call 707-965-9546 or email
porscheclassics@yahoo.com (Cal-SCAN
Chair Yoga Classes at Little Hou
Does dementia stress your family
HUGE USED BOOK SALE/FREE BOOKS
Men in Black/Lady in Red Dance
Older Car, Boat, RV?
Do the humane thing. Donate it to the
Humane Society. Call 1- 800-743-1482
(Cal-SCAN)
MOCKINGBIRD REVISITED discussion
Push and Pull of Digital Health
Your Infinite World Series!
210 Garage/Estate
Sales
130 Classes &
Instruction
Airline Careers
begin here - Get started by training
as FAA certified Aviation Technician.
Financial aid for qualified students.
Job placement assistance. Call Aviation
Institute of Maintenance 800-725-1563
(AAN CAN)
Airline Careers
Start Here - Get trained as FAA certified Aviation Technician. Financial aid
for qualified students. Job placement
assistance. Call Aviation Institute of
Maintenance 866-231-7177. (Cal-SCAN)
133 Music Lessons
BOARD
THE PENINSULA’S
FREE CLASSIFIEDS WEB SITE
Combining the reach of the Web with
print ads reaching over 150,000 readers!
fogster.com is a unique web site offering FREE postings from communities throughout the Bay Area and
an opportunity for your ad to appear in the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac and the Mountain View Voice.
ads@fogster.com
650.326.8216
fogster.com
TM
Menlo Park, 11 Wood Lane,
Saturday August 22, 8-12
Household goods and clothing.
MP: 1351 North Lemon, 8/22, 9-2
Multiple family. PA: 3030 Price Ct., 8/23, 11-4
BIG garage/organic bake sale!! RWC: 1228 Douglas Ave. Fri. 8/21,
11am-2pm; Sat. 8/22, 9am-1pm
BIG RUMMAGE SALE benefits Lucile
Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford.
(Just south of Woodside Rd., bet.
Broadway and Bayshore Fwy.) CASH
ONLY. (650)497-8332 or during sale
(650)568-9840
Christina Conti Private Piano
Instruction
Lessons in your home.
Bachelor of Music. 650/493-6950
235 Wanted to Buy
Hope Street Music Studios
Now on Old Middefield Way, MV.
Most instruments, voice.
All ages and levels 650-961-2192
www.HopeStreetMusicStudios.com 240 Furnishings/
Household items
2002 Zuma sailboat & trailer - $1800
Desktop TV 15” - $30
USED BOOK SALE
Kid’s
Stuff
Customer Service/Brain Games &
Educational Toys
Gray Matters educational toy store in
Palo Alto. Part time position. Ideal for
retiree, grandparent, parent, or adults
interested in learning how to expand
the mind in children & adults. email:
drrichardabbey@gmail.com
330 Child Care
Offered
Afternoon child care on Thursday
Mind
& Body
417 Groups
DID YOU KNOW
7 IN 10 Americans or 158 million U.S.
Adults read content from newspaper
media each week? Discover the Power
of Newspaper Advertising. For a free
brochure call 916-288-6011 or email
cecelia@cnpa.com (Cal-SCAN)
425 Health Services
Got Knee Pain? Back Pain?
Shoulder Pain? Get a pain- relieving
brace -little or NO cost to you.
Medicare Patients Call Health Hotline
Now! 1-800-796-5091 (Cal-SCAN)
Safe Step Walk-In Tub!
Alert for Seniors. Bathroom falls can be
fatal. Approved by Arthritis Foundation.
Therapeutic Jets. Less Than 4 Inch Step-In.
Wide Door. Anti-Slip Floors. American
Made. Installation Included.
Call 800-799-4811 for $750 Off. (Cal-SCAN)
Struggling with Drugs
or alcohol? Addicted to PILLS? Talk to
someone who cares. Call The Addiction
Hope & Help Line for a free assessment.
800-978-6674
495 Yoga
DID YOU KNOW
144 million U.S. Adults read a Newspaper
print copy each week? Discover the Power
of Newspaper Advertising. For a free
brochure call 916-288-6011 or email
cecelia@cnpa.com (Cal-SCAN)
CASH FOR GUNS 650-969-GUNS
Hacienca-style set end tables - $250.00
Whirlpool 10.7 cubic - $400.00/BO
Jobs
245 Miscellaneous
500 Help Wanted
New Toto Toilet - $150
Cable TV, Internet, Phone
with FREE HD Equipment and install for
under $3 a day! Call Now! 855-602-6424 Piano Lessons
Quality Piano Lessons in Menlo Park.
Call (650)838-9772 Alita Lake
DirecTV
Starting at $19.99/mo. FREE Installation.
FREE 3 months of HBO SHOWTIME
CINEMAX, STARZ. FREE HD/DVR Upgrade!
2015 NFL Sunday Ticket Included (Select
Packages) New Customers Only. CALL
1-800-385-9017 (CalSCAN)
145 Non-Profits
Needs
DONATE BOOKS TO SUPPORT LIBRARY
Scottish Dancers Wanted!
Stanford Museums Volunteer
WISH LIST FRIENDS OF PA LIBRARY
150 Volunteers
ASSIST IN FRIENDS STORE MP LIB
CASHIER BOOKSTORE MITCHELL PARK DISH TV
Starting at $19.99/month (for 12 mos.)
SAVE! Regular Price $34.99 Ask About
FREE SAME DAY Installation! CALL Now!
844-597-4481 (AAN CAN)
Kill Bed Bugs!
Buy Harris Bed Bug Killers/ KIT. Available:
Hardware Stores, Buy Online/Store:
homedepot.com (AAN CAN)
Does dementia stress your family
Friends of the Mtn View Library
FRIENDS OF THE PALO ALTO LIBRARY
JOIN OUR ONLINE STOREFRONT TEAM
fogster.com
Dish Network
Get MORE for LESS! Starting $19.99/
month (for 12 months.) PLUS Bundle and
SAVE (Fast Internet for $15 more/month.)
CALL Now 1-800-357-0810 (Cal-SCAN)
TM
Kill Roaches!
Guaranteed! Buy Harris Roach Tablets.
No Mess, Odorless, Long Lasting.
Available: ACE Hardware, The Home
Depot (AAN CANN)
Cashier and Cook
For Oaxacan Kitchen Markets. P/T,
weekends only @ PA Farmers’ Markets.
Will train for cook position. Apply
650/799-7292 or
oaxacankitchenmarkets@gmail.com
Active Safety Embedded Software
Engineer
Mountain View, California. Design,
develop, and test Collision Avoidance
and Detection Systems (CADS)
and Adaptive Cruise Control apps.
Design Radar and Vision based Crash
Sensing systems, and implement
CADS support, Collision Mitigation
by Braking, Driver Alert, Lane
Departure Warning and Lane Keep
Assist features. Requires Master’s
in Embedded System Design and
two years of experience in analysis,
design, development and testing
of CADS, Mobileye EyeQ, Adaptive
Cruise Control applications, Rear
Side Detection System, Electronically
Scanned Radar, VMP EyeC language,
and Automotive SPICE and CMMI
development process requirements.
Apply to: Delphi Corporation,
Attn: Matt Vanbuhler, HR Business
Partner and Staffing Specialist,
3000 University Drive, Auburn Hills,
Michigan, 48326. Ref. Job No. 5586. Director of Analytics
YouGov America, Inc. is hiring a
Director of Analytics for its Redwood
City, CA office. Resp. incl: complex
survey weighting, sample and
research design, and conducting
advanced analytics. Qualifications
incl: Master’s degree and 2yrs exp,
incl. exp w/weighting & data
processing, and exp w/R, SQL,
& Python. E-mail resumes:
ginger.jacobs@yougov.com.
Engineering
Pure Storage, Inc. has following
job opps. in Mountain View, CA:
Software Engineer [Req. #ESZ88].
Perform full cycle app. devel.
for systems level storage SW.
Software Engineer [Req. #PGU47].
Perform full cycle app. devel.
for systems level storage SW.
Mail resumes referencing Req. # to:
H. Thibeault, 401 Castro St, 3rd Flr,
Mountain View, CA 94041.
Technology
Medallia, Inc. has the following
positions open in Palo Alto, CA:
Manager, Text Analytics: Identify
and analyze customer behavior
trends in extensive qualitative data.
Director, Product Management:
Lead a team of 6 product managers and a cross functional team of
designers and engineers to build
software products.
To apply, please mail resumes to A.
Zwerling, Medallia, Inc. 395 Page Mill
Road, Suite 100, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Technology
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company
is accepting resumes for the position
of Technology Consultant in Palo
Alto, CA (Ref.
#HPECPALDUKR1). Provide technology consulting expertise in the areas
of Project and Portfolio Management
and Executive Scorecard.
Telecommuting permitted. Extensive
travel required to various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S. Mail
resume to Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Company, 5400 Legacy Drive, MS
H1-2F-25, Plano, TX 75024. Resume
must include Ref. #, full name, email
address and mailing
address. No phone calls. Must be
legally authorized to work in U.S.
without sponsorship. EOE.
Earn $500 A Day
as Airbrush Makeup Artist
For: Ads . TV . Film . Fashion. HD .
Digital. 35% OFF TUITION - One Week
Course Taught by top makeup artist
and photographer.
Train and Build Portfolio.
Models Provided. Accredited. A+ Rated.
AwardMakeupSchool.com
(818) 980-2119 (AAN CAN)
MAKE $1000 Weekly!!
Mailing Brochures From Home.
Helping home workers since 2001.
Genuine Opportunity. No Experience
Required. Start Immediately.
www.theworkingcorner.com (AAN CAN)
Business
Services
619 Consultants
Every Business
has a story to tell! Get your message out
with California’s PRMedia Release - the
only Press Release Service
operated by the press to get press!
For more info contact Cecelia @
916-288-6011 or http://prmediarelease.
com/california (Cal-SCAN)
624 Financial
Reduce Your Past Tax Bill
by as much as 75 Percent. Stop Levies,
Liens and Wage Garnishments. Call The
Tax DR Now to see if you Qualify
1-800-498-1067. (Cal-SCAN)
Sell Your Structured
settlement or annuity payments for
CASH NOW. You don’t have to wait for
your future payments any longer!
Call 1-800-673-5926 (Cal-SCAN)
Social Security Disability
benefits. Unable to work? Denied benefits? We Can Help! WIN or Pay Nothing!
Contact Bill Gordon & Associates at
1-800-966-1904 to start your application
today! (Cal-SCAN)
636 Insurance
Auto Insurance
starting at $25/month!
Call 855-977-9537 Lowest Prices
on Health & Dental Insurance. We have
the best rates from top companies!
Call Now! 888-989-4807. (CalSCAN)
640 Legal Services
DID YOU KNOW
Information is power and content is
King? Do you need timely access to
public notices and remain relevant in
today’s hostile business climate? Gain
the edge with California Newspaper
Publishers Association new innovative
website capublicnotice.com and check
out the FREE One-Month Trial Smart
Search Feature. For more information
call Cecelia @ (916) 288-6011 or www.
capublicnotice.com (Cal-SCAN)
Home
Services
715 Cleaning
Services
560 Employment
Information
Drivers: $2K Loyalty Bonus
on Health and Dental Insurance. We
have the best rates from top companies!
Call Now! 888-989-4807. (CalSCAN)
Drivers: $2K Sign On Bonus
Recent Pay Increase! We Put Drivers
First. Family Company w/ 401k. Beautiful
Trucks. CDL-A Req - (877) 258-8782
www.drive4melton.com (Cal-SCAN)
Attic Clean-Up & Rodent Removal
Are there rodents living in your attic.
Call today to learn more about our
$89 Attic Cleanup Special Call Us
Today (866) 391-3308 (paste into your
browser) AtticStar.com
go to fogster.com to respond to ads without phone numbers
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 57
“Free Kee”--another freestyle rife with words.
Matt Jones
MARKETPLACE the printed version of
fogster.com
TM
Orkopina Housecleaning
Celebrating 30 years in business cleaning homes in your area. 650/962-1536
748 Gardening/
Landscaping
A. Barrios Garden Maintenance
*Weekly or every other week
*Irrigation systems
*Clean up and hauling
*Tree removal
*Refs. 650/771-0213; 392-9760
J. Garcia Garden Maintenance
Service
Free est. 21 years exp. 650/366-4301
or 650/346-6781
Real
Estate
801 Apartments/
Condos/Studios
Menlo Park, 3 BR/2.5 BA - $4750
805 Homes for Rent
Los Altos Hills - $4950
Menlo Park, 3 BR/2 BA - $6,000/mon
Menlo Park, 5+ BR/3 BA - $7900
Mountain View, 3 BR/1 BA - $7,000.00 Answers on page 59
Across
1 Birthday command
10 Letter between rho and tau
15 Time for a late lunch
16 Violinist Zimbalist or actor
Zimbalist, Jr.
17 Comedian who once stated “I’m
the luckiest unlucky person”
18 “___ hound dog lies a-sleepin’ ...”
(folk song line)
19 Blue book composition
20 Grow in status, perhaps
22 Pre-calculator calculator
23 Game full of zapping
28 Grass wetter
29 Tethered
30 High poker cards
34 By all odds
38 Incan sun god
39 Disc jockeys, slangily
40 Cpl.’s underling
43 Metric measures of area
44 Finish up
47 Jodie Foster thriller with locked
doors
48 Beyond gung-ho
53 Sharp as ___
54 Whet
56 Peony part
57 Cartoonish cry while standing
on a chair
58 She released the albums “19”
and “21”
59 In the costume of
Down
1 Bit of dust
2 Flavoring for a French cordial
3 Gastropub supplies, maybe
4 Europe’s tallest active volcano
5 Sailor’s greeting
6 Oscar Wilde’s forte
7 “This American Life” radio host
8 Honest sort
9 Lingual bone that’s not attached
to any other bone
10 Always, in music
11 Tentative offer
12 Junkyard dog’s warning
13 Chaotic mess
14 NAFTA part
21 Simpsons character that all members of metal band Okilly Dokilly
look like
22 Take top billing
23 City SSE of Sacramento
24 “Author unknown” byline
25 It may be in a pinch
26 Machine at the gym
27 “V for Vendetta” actor Stephen
31 Line feeder
32 Peut-___ (maybe, in Marseilles)
33 Sound of an air leak
35 Venue for testing out new jokes,
perhaps
36 Gamers’ D20s, e.g.
37 Blue Jays’ prov.
41 Capricious
42 Headquarters, for short
44 Like some communities
45 Maternally related
46 Sprayed via inhaler, perhaps
47 Letter after Oscar
48 Assortment behind the bartender
49 Succulent houseplant
50 Modem’s measurement unit
51 “___ possibility”
52 “Disco Duck” man Rick
55 End of the holidays?
LANDA’S GARDENING &
LANDSCAPING
*Yard Maint. *New Lawns. *Rototil
*Clean Ups *Tree Trim *Power Wash
*Irrigation timer programming.
19 yrs exp. Ramon, 650/576-6242
landaramon@yahoo.com
R.G. Landscape
Drought tolerant native landscapes and
succulent gardens. Demos, installations,
maint. Free est. 650/468-8859
751 General
Contracting
A NOTICE TO READERS:
It is illegal for an unlicensed person
to perform contracting work on any
project valued at $500.00 or more in
labor and materials. State law also
requires that contractors include
their license numbers on all advertising. Check your contractor’s status
at www.cslb.ca.gov or 800-321-CSLB
(2752). Unlicensed persons taking
jobs that total less than $500.00
must state in their advertisements
that they are not licensed by the
Contractors State License Board.
757 Handyman/
Repairs
AAA HANDYMAN & MORE
Since 1985
Repairs • Maintenance • Painting
Carpentry • Plumbing • Electrical
All Work Guaranteed
(650) 453-3002
Handyman Services
Lic. 249558. Plumb, elect., masonry, carpentry, landscape. 40+ years exp. Pete
Rumore, 650/823-0736; 650/851-3078
759 Hauling
809 Shared Housing/
Rooms
ALL AREAS ROOMMATES.COM
Lonely? Bored? Broke? Find the perfect
roommate to complement your personality and lifestyle at Roommates.com!
(AAN CAN)
825 Homes/Condos
for Sale
Mountain View, 3 BR/2.5 BA - $1,589,000
830 Commercial/
Income Property
Village Auto For Sale or Lease
First Time on the Market in 20+ Years
Fantastic Downtown Location
3,200 SF Building
4,200 SF Lot
Owners are Open to Converting the
Building to Office or Retail for Long
Term Lease
855 Real Estate
Services
DID YOU KNOW
Information is power and content is
King? Do you need timely access to
public notices and remain relevant in
today’s highly competitive market? Gain
an edge with California Newspaper
Publishers Association new innovative website capublicnotice.com and
check out the Smart Search Feature. For
more information call Cecelia @ (916)
288-6011 or www.capublicnotice.com
(Cal-SCAN)
J & G HAULING SERVICE
Misc. junk, office, gar., furn.,
mattresses, green waste, more.
Lic./ins. Free est. 650/743-8852
(see my Yelp reviews)
771 Painting/
Wallpaper
Glen Hodges Painting
Call me first! Senior discount.
45 yrs. #351738. 650/322-8325
This week’s SUDOKU
STYLE PAINTING
Full service painting.
Insured. Lic. 903303. 650/388-8577
775 Asphalt/
Concrete
Mtn. View Asphalt Sealing
Driveway, parking lot seal coating.
Asphalt repair, striping, 30+ years.
Family owned. Free est. Lic. 507814.
650/967-1129
Roe General Engineering
Asphalt, concrete, pavers, tiles, sealing,
artificial turf. 36 yrs exp. No job too
small. Lic #663703. 650/814-5572
A bold new
approach
to classifieds for the
Midpeninsula
779 Organizing
Services
End the Clutter & Get Organized
Residential Organizing
by Debra Robinson
(650)390-0125
Classified Deadlines:
Answers on page 59
www.sudoku.name
NOON,
WEDNESDAY
Page 58 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
fogster.comTM
Instantly online. Free.
THE PENINSULA’S FREE
CLASSIFIEDS WEBSITE
TO RESPOND TO ADS
WITHOUT PHONE NUMBERS
GO TO WWW.FOGSTER.COM
Public Notices
995 Fictitious Name
Statement
SHIRAZ ENTERPRISE
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No.: 607133
The following person (persons) is (are)
doing business as:
Shiraz Enterprise, located at 95 Polaris
Ct., Milpitas, CA 95035, Santa Clara
County.
This business is owned by: An
Individual.
The name and residence address of the
owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are):
ALIREZA BEHBOOD
95 Polaris Ct.
Milpitas, CA 95035
Registrant/Owner began transacting
business under the fictitious business
name(s) listed above on 7/21/2015.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara
County on July 21, 2015.
(PAW July 31, Aug. 7, 14, 21, 2015)
CARDINAL HOTEL
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No.: 606628
The following person (persons) is (are)
doing business as:
Cardinal Hotel, located at 235 Hamilton
Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301, Santa Clara
County.
This business is owned by: A Trust.
The name and residence address of the
owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are):
STEPHAN B. DAHL
235 Hamilton Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Registrant/Owner began transacting
business under the fictitious business
name(s) listed above on 5/18/2010.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara
County on July 2, 2015.
(PAW July 31, Aug. 7, 14, 21, 2015)
BO CRANE BOOKS
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No.: 606745
The following person (persons) is (are)
doing business as:
Bo Crane Books, located at 4283 Wilkie
Way, Palo Alto, CA 94306, Santa Clara
County.
This business is owned by: An
Individual.
The name and residence address of the
owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are):
ROBERT L. CRANE JR.
4283 Wilkie Way
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Registrant/Owner began transacting
business under the fictitious business
name(s) listed above on N/A.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara
County on July 7, 2015.
(PAW July 31, Aug. 7, 14, 21, 2015)
STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF
USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
File No. 607376
The following person(s)/entity(ies) has/
have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name(s). The information given below is as it appeared on
the fictitious business statement that
was filed at the County Clerk-Recorder’s
Office.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME(S):
M2M ANGEL
3351 Alma St. Apt. 324
Palo Alto, CA 94306
FILED IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY ON:
12/19/2013 UNDER FILE NO. 586139
REGISTRANT’S NAME(S)/ENTITY(IES):
HAIHONG GAO
3351 Alma St. Apt. 324
Palo Alto, CA 94306
THIS BUSINESS WAS CONDUCTED BY:
an Individual.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk Recorder of Santa Clara
County on July 27, 2015.
(PAW Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28, 2015)
LUMO LLC
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No.: 607698
The following person (persons) is (are)
doing business as:
Lumo LLC, located at HanaMaus, 456
University Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301,
Santa Clara County.
This business is owned by: A Limited
Liability Company.
The name and residence address of the
owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are):
LUMO LLC
HanaMaus,
456 University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Registrant/Owner began transacting
business under the fictitious business
name(s) listed above on July 1st., 2015.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara
County on August 3, 2015.
(PAW Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28, 2015)
SCG FOODSPACE
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No.: 606821
The following person (persons) is (are)
doing business as:
SCG FoodSpace, located at 6328
Sponson Ct., San Jose, CA 95123, Santa
Clara County.
This business is owned by: An
Individual.
The name and residence address of the
owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are):
JOSEPH SCHUMAKER
6328 Sponson Ct.
San Jose, CA 95123
Registrant/Owner began transacting
business under the fictitious business
name(s) listed above on N/A.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara
County on July 8, 2015.
(PAW Aug. 7, 14, 21, 28, 2015)
CARDINAL WRESTLING CLUB
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No.: 607845
The following person (persons) is (are)
doing business as:
Cardinal Wrestling Club, located at
641 E. Campus Dr., Stanford CA 94305,
Santa Clara County.
This business is owned by: A
Corporation.
The name and residence address of the
owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are):
ADVANCED TRAINING WRESTLING
CLUB, INC.
641 E. Campus Dr.
Stanford, CA 94305
Registrant/Owner began transacting
business under the fictitious business
name(s) listed above on 10/16/2007.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara
County on August 7, 2015.
(PAW Aug. 14, 21, 28, Sept. 4, 2015)
CONNECT PEOPLE
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No.: 607253
The following person (persons) is (are)
doing business as:
Connect People, located at 780
Maplewood Avenue, Palo Alto, CA
94303, Santa Clara County.
This business is owned by: An
Individual.
The name and residence address of the
owner(s)/registrant(s) is(are):
CHRISTOPHER PERALTA
780 Maplewood Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94303
Registrant/Owner began transacting
business under the fictitious business
name(s) listed above on 7/21/2015.
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara
County on July 22, 2015.
(PAW Aug. 14, 21, 28, Sept. 4, 2015)
997 All Other Legals
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE
OF NAME SUPERIOR COURT OF THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE
COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA
Case No.: 115CV283440
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:
Petitioner: ELLE MIZUKI TOYAMA filed
a petition with this court for a decree
changing names as follows:
ELLE MIZUKI TOYAMA to ELLE MIZUKI
FUKUI.
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons
interested in this matter appear before
this court at the hearing indicated
below to show cause, if any, why the
petition for change of name should
not be granted. Any person objecting
to the name changes described above
must file a written objection that
includes the reasons for the objection
at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must
appear at the hearing to show cause
why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely
filed, the court may grant the petition
without a hearing.
NOTICE OF HEARING: October 20,
2015, 8:45 a.m., Room: Probate of the
Superior Court of California, County
of Santa Clara, 191 N. First Street, San
Jose, CA 95113.
MARKETPLACE the printed version of
THE PENINSULA’S FREE CLASSIFIEDS WEBSITE
TO RESPOND TO ADS WITHOUT PHONE NUMBERS
GO TO WWW.FOGSTER.COM
A copy of this ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
shall be published at least once each
week for four successive weeks prior to
the date set for hearing on the petition
in the following newspaper of general
circulation, printed in this county:
PALO ALTO WEEKLY
Date: July 22, 2015
/s/ Thomas E. Kuhnle
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
(PAW July 31, Aug. 7, 14, 21, 2015)
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE
OF NAME SUPERIOR COURT OF THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY
OF SANTA CLARA
Case No.: 115CV283601
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:
Petitioner: ALEKSANDAR TOTIC, INGRID
TOTIC filed a petition with this court for
a decree changing names as follows:
A.) OLIVER KONSTANTIN TOTICH to
OLIVER KONSTANTIN TOTIC
B.) ANDERS NAIM TOTICH to ANDERS
NAIM TOTIC
C.) NINA VIVIAN TOTICH to NINA MISITA
TOTIC.
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons
interested in this matter appear before
this court at the hearing indicated
below to show cause, if any, why the
petition for change of name should not
be granted. Any person objecting to the
name changes described above must
file a written objection that includes the
reasons for the objection at least two
court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the
hearing to show cause why the petition
should not be granted. If no written
objection is timely filed, the court may
grant the petition without a hearing.
NOTICE OF HEARING: October 27, 2015,
8:45 a.m., Room: Probate of the Superior
Court of California, County of Santa
Clara, 191 N. First Street, San Jose, CA
95113.
A copy of this ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
shall be published at least once each
week for four successive weeks prior to
the date set for hearing on the petition
in the following newspaper of general
circulation, printed in this county:
PALO ALTO WEEKLY
Date: July 28, 2015
/s/ Thomas E. Kuhnle
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
(PAW July 31, Aug. 7, 14, 21, 2015)
NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER
ESTATE OF:
JOHN EDWIN NORTHRUP also known as
JOHN E. NORTHRUP
Case No.: 1-15-PR-176921
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors,
contingent creditors, and persons
who may otherwise be interested in
the will or estate, or both, of JOHN
EDWIN NORHRUP, also known as JOHN
E. NORTHRUP, also known as JOHN
NORTHRUP.
A Petition for Probate has been filed by:
SCOTT NORTHRUP in the Superior Court
of California, County of SANTA CLARA.
The Petition for Probate requests that:
SCOTT NORTHRUP 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 September 3 at 9:00 a.m. in Dept.:
10 of the Superior Court of California,
County of Santa Clara, located at 191 N.
First St., San Jose, CA, 95113.
If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing
and state your objections or file written
objections with the court before the
hearing. Your appearance may be in
person or by your attorney.
If you are a creditor or a contingent
creditor of the decedent, you must file
your claim with the court and mail a
copy to the personal representative
appointed by the court within the later
of either (1) four months from the date
of first issuance of letters to a general
personal representative, as defined in
section 58 (b) of the California Probate
Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of
mailing or personal delivery to you
of a notice under section 9052 of the
California Probate Code. Other California
statutes and legal authority may affect
your rights as a creditor. You may want
to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
You may examine the file kept by the
court. If you are a person interested in
the estate, you may file with the court
a Request for Special Notice (form
DE-154) of the filing of an inventory
and appraisal of estate assets or of
any petition or account as provided in
Probate Code section 1250. A Request
for Special Notice form is available from
the court clerk.
Attorney for Petitioner:
Elijah M. Keyes,
Gilfix & La Poll Associates, LLP
2300 Geng Road, Suite 200
Palo Alto, CA 94303
(650)493-8070
(PAW Aug. 7, 14, 21, 2015)
CITATION FOR PUBLICATION UNDER
WELFARE AND
INSTITUTIONS CODE SECTION 294
CASE NUMBER: 83847
CASE NAME: Jules Daniel Cole
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA,
COUNTY
OF San Mateo
1. To: Jack and anyone claiming to be a
parent of: Jules Daniel Cole
born on: July 7th, 2014 at: a sidewalk in
Palo Alto, CA
2. A hearing will be held on: September
21st, 2015 at: 9:00am in Dept.: 5 located
at 222 Paul Scannell Drive, San Mateo,
CA 94402
3. At the hearing the court will consider
the recommendations of the social
worker or probation officer.
4. The social worker or probation officer
will recommend that your child be freed
from your legal custody so that the child
may be adopted. If the court follows
the recommendation, all your parental
rights to the child will be terminated.
5. You have the right to be present at
the hearing, to present evidence, and
you have the right to be represented by
fogster.com
TM
an attorney. If you do not have an attorney and cannot afford to hire one, the
court will appoint an attorney for you.
6. If the court terminates your parental
rights, the order may be final.
7. The court will proceed with this hearing whether or not you are present.
Date: 7-31-15
Clerk, by Dolores Bonal, Deputy
Request for Accommodations
Assistive listening systems, computerassisted real-time captioning, or sign
language interpreter services are available if you ask at least five days before
the proceeding. Contact the clerk’s
office or go to www.courtinfo.ca.gov/
forms for Request for Accommodations
by Persons With Disabilities and
Response (form MC-410). (Civil Code,
§ 54.8.)
8/7, 8/14, 8/21, 8/28/15
CNS-2780863#
PALO ALTO WEEKLY
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE
OF NAME SUPERIOR COURT OF THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY
OF SANTA CLARA
Case No.: 115CV283794
TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:
Petitioner: CARLY ROSE HAGEN
NEUGASS filed a petition with this court
for a decree changing names as follows:
CARLY ROSE HAGEN NEUGASS to CARLY
ROSE HAGEN.
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons
interested in this matter appear before
this court at the hearing indicated
below to show cause, if any, why the
petition for change of name should not
be granted. Any person objecting to the
name changes described above must
file a written objection that includes the
reasons for the objection at least two
court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the
hearing to show cause why the petition
should not be granted. If no written
objection is timely filed, the court may
grant the petition without a hearing.
NOTICE OF HEARING: October 27, 2015,
8:45 a.m., Room: 107 of the Superior
Court of California, County of Santa
Clara, 191 N. First Street, San Jose, CA
95113.
A copy of this ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
shall be published at least once each
week for four successive weeks prior to
the date set for hearing on the petition
in the following newspaper of general
circulation, printed in this county:
PALO ALTO WEEKLY
Date: July 31, 2015
Thomas E. Kuhnle
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
(PAW Aug. 14, 21, 28, Sept. 4, 2015)
NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER
ESTATE OF
WILLIAM DEAN COLDIRON
CASE NO. 115PR177100
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors,
contingent creditors, and persons
who may otherwise be interested in
the will or estate, or both, of: William
Dean Coldiron also known as William
D. Coldiron
A Petition for Probate has been filed by
William D. Coldiron, Jr. in the Superior
Court of California, County of Santa
Clara.
The Petition for Probate requests that
William D. Coldiron, Jr. 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 in
this court on 10/05/15 at 9 am in Dept.
10 located at 270 Grant Avenue, Palo
Alto, CA 94306
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: James M. Allen,
199 Fremont Street, 21st Floor, San
Francisco, CA 94105-6640,
Telephone: (415) 957-1800
8/21, 8/28, 9/4/15
CNS-2783880#
PALO ALTO WEEKLY
Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 58.
Did you
know?
The Palo Alto Weekly publishes every Friday.
Deadline: Noon Tuesday
Call Alicia Santillan (650) 223-6578
to assist you with your legal advertising needs.
E-mail asantillan@paweekly.com
Free. Fun. Only about Palo Alto.
C R O S S W O R D S
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 59
Sports
Shorts
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Healthy
outlook
to start
COACHING CHANGES . . . Menlo
School will have two new coaches,
both familiar faces around campus,
taking over varsity teams for the
2015-2016 season. Ross Ireland
will direct girls soccer and Tom
Hitchcock will lead boys golf. Ireland
takes over for Donoson FitzGerald,
who stepped down after 26 seasons
during a long and storied career.
FitzGerald will be assisting with the
boys varsity soccer team as well as
coaching soccer, track and football in
the middle school. Hitchcock takes
over for Dave Buchanan, who moved
on after a successful four-year campaign with Menlo. Ireland brings
years of international playing and
coaching experience to Menlo. He
served the last couple of seasons as
the frosh-soph girls coach, and before coming to Menlo, led Castilleja’s
team for eight seasons. Hitchcock is
a familiar face not only on the links,
but also on campus as he serves as
Menlo’s Director of Security. For the
past four years, he was an assistant
coach for both the boys and girls
teams. Gunn, meanwhile, has a new
athletic director in Curtis Johansen,
who previously was athletic director
at Licking Heights High in Pataskala,
Ohio. He replaces Jill Naylor.
Stanford takes No. 3
national ranking into
its season opener
S
ON THE AIR
Friday
Men’s golf: U.S. Amateur quarterfinals, noon; FOX Sports I
Saturday
Sunday
Men’s golf: U.S. Amateur finals,
noon; FOX (2)
READ MORE ONLINE
www.PASportsOnline.com
For expanded daily coverage of
college and prep sports, visit
www.PASportsOnline.com
Returning junior defender Stephanie Amack (right) provides versatility and experience for the Stanford
women’s soccer team as she also can play in the midfield for the No. 3-ranked Cardinal.
(continued on next page)
STANFORD FOOTBALL
Paly grad Anderson
tackles some tough goals
Rebounding from last year’s 8-5 record
a priority as season opener nears
by Rick Eymer
evin Anderson has made
84 tackles as a member
of the Stanford football
team, 20 of those were for a loss,
including nine sacks. He’s also
credited with nine quarterback
hurries, a fumble recovery and a
forced fumble. There’s also that
interception he returned 40 yards
for a touchdown in the 2013 Rose
Bowl.
Statistics, though, can’t even begin to describe Anderson’s contributions to the Cardinal program,
which has won more than 75 percent of its games (42-12) through
his first four years.
The fifth-year senior outside
K
Page 60 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
linebacker, who entered the program as one of the top defensive
end prospects in the nation, has
been fully engaged in the football team to the extent that he’s
become one of its most respected
members.
“I feel like I just moved in the
other day,” Anderson said of
making the journey across the
El Camino Real and transitioning from Palo Alto High all-state
player to preseason All-America
college status. “Here I am, entering my fifth camp.”
Anderson will play a large part
in how Stanford “rebounds” from
(continued on page 63)
Craig Mitchelldyer/isiphotos.com
Men’s golf: U.S. Amateur semifinals, noon; FOX Sports I
Bob Drebin/stanfordphoto.com
A CONTENDER . . . The Stanford
women’s field hockey team was
picked to win the West Division of
the America East Conference in the
annual preseason coaches poll,
as announced by the organization
Wednesday. The Cardinal received
three of four first-place votes in the
West Division, leading the way with
nine points (coaches could not vote
for their own team). Pacific, California, and UC Davis all received five
points to round out the newly formed
division.
A MEDALIST . . . Stanford redshirt
sophomore Nathan Butler was
one of three Americans to capture
a bronze medal Sunday on the final
day of the UWW Junior World Championships in Salvador, Brazil. Steven
Mimic and Aaron Pico also won their
bronze medal matches for the U.S.
Butler won a tactical match, 2-1, over
Poland’s Kamil Kosciulek at heavyweight. Kosciulek was the defending bronze medalist. Both wrestlers
scored a point when their opponents
were put on a shot clock. The difference was a pushout by Butler early in
the second period.
by Rick Eymer
tanford fifth-year senior
Haley Rosen experienced
the best and worst of
women’s soccer through her first
four years in the program, from
watching her teammates win a
national championship to seeing
her season end prematurely because of an injury.
Cardinal coach Paul Ratcliffe
(214-45-24, entering 13th year)
hopes Rosen can stay healthy this
year. The team needs her, and not
just she’s the elder stateswoman
of the squad. Stanford will be
looking for scoring from various sources and Rosen has shown
a propensity for doing just that
when she is healthy.
Stanford, which has participated in the past 17 consecutive
NCAA playoffs and reached six of
the past seven Women’s College
Cups (Final Four), including a national title in 2011, opens its season with a pair of matches in Hawaii this weekend. The Cardinal
(20-2-3 last year) opens against
the host Rainbow Wahine on Friday night and then play BYU on
Monday.
Rosen is also the only player on
the roster who knows what it feels
like to win a national title.
“Being part of that team, I saw
how the seniors set an amazing
example of working hard, making
it a cohesive group and being all
in 100 percent,” Rosen said. “That
Palo Alto High grad Kevin Anderson will add to his 84 career
tackles when Stanford opens its season Sept. 5.
Stanford’s McNealy hopes to be playing for U.S. Amateur title
by Keith Peters
tanford junior Maverick
McNealy was regarded as
the best male golfer in college this past season after being
honored with both the Jack Nicklaus Award and Haskins Award
as the NCAA Player of the Year.
The Portola Valley resident led
the nation with a 68.70 scoring
average, won an NCAA regional
and made the cut in two PGA
Tour events.
At the 115th U.S. Amateur
Championship, however, McNealy
was just one eight first-team All-
S
Americans and one of 64 talented
players who battled their way
into match play on Wednesday at
Olympia Fields Country Club in
Olympia Fields, Ill.
Despite being seeded No. 39 for
his first-round match against Canada’s Austin Connelly, the No. 26
seed, McNealy reached the Round
of 32 by posting a 1-up victory.
That triumph earned McNealy
a date with No. 7 seed Maverick
Antcliff on Thursday morning.
Once again, McNealy responded
by posting a 5-and-4 victory.
McNealy won the 611-yard first
hole with a par-5, lost the second
to Antcliff’s birdie, but retook a
1-up lead when Ancliff bogeyed
the 390-yard, par-4 third. McNealy never looked back after that
as he won the fifth to go 2 up, took
the sixth for a 3-up lead and won
the ninth to make the turn with
a 4-up advantage when Antcliff
bogeyed the 475-yard, par-4 hole.
McNealy went 5 up with a par
on the 13th and clinched the victory by halving the 14th as both
players birdied.
McNealy returned to the course
later on Thursday to face No. 23
seed Bryson DeChambeau, the
reigning NCAA Division I champion from SMU. Both players are
members of the U.S. Walker Cup
Team.
McNealy grabbed a 1-up lead
after the opening hole, but found
himself trailing by a hole through
the first nine after he bogeyed
the 214-yard, par-3 seventh hole.
McNealy, however, squared the
match with a par-4 on the 430yard 10th hole.
DeChambeau retook the lead
when he birdied the 475-yard,
par-4 11th hole. (For results of the
match and continuing coverage,
go to www.pasportsonline.com)
McNealy was hoping to find
himself busy the remainder of
the week with quarterfinals set
for Friday, semifinals Saturday
(noon, FOX Sports 1) and finals
on Sunday (noon, FOX).
The second-ranked amateur in
the world, McNealy qualified for
match play on Wednesday morning after two rounds of stroke
play. Q
(Stanford Athletics and USGA.
com contributed)
Soccer
(continued from previous page)
Bob Drebin/stanfordphoto.com
Stanford midfielder Andi Sullivan (right) was the National
Freshman of the Year in 2014.
All-Pac-12 team and was an honorable mention last year.
Bauer, also an all-freshman
pick, has been named a second
team All-Pac-12 in each of her
first two years.
Los Altos Hills resident Siobhan Cox, forward Megan Turner
and midfielder Ryan WalkerHartshorn complete a talented
junior class that brings plenty of
experience to the field. The juniors have combined to appear in
241 matches, including 152 starts.
Sophomore midfielder Andi
Sullivan said she picked Stanford
because it’s a “consistently Final
Four level team, even though the
year before I came they didn’t
make it.”
Sullivan, named National
Freshman of the Year by Top
Drawer Soccer, was an important
reason why the Cardinal returned
to the national stage last year.
In addition to her playing skills,
Sullivan is a natural leader. Despite being one of the youngest
players on club, high school and
junior national teams, she’s usually named a team captain. She
doesn’t have an explanation for it.
“Honestly, it’s just me being myself,” Sullivan said. “My
teammates push me and accept
me. I think it’s part of the team
chemistry. I’m just playing. My
parents taught me a lot about being a leader and turn to them for
guidance.”
Of course, she doesn’t have
that luxury while playing. As the
youngest player on her Bethesda
club team, she served as captain,
but turned to Carina Deandries,
a junior currently playing for
Northeastern, as a role model.
“She’s always positive and always the hardest worker at practice or anywhere,” Sullivan said.
“She helped me get through any
situation and that got to me.”
Sullivan plays hard and stays
even-keeled. She wants to keep
the team together and composed.
“The goal is to make it back to
the Final Four and win it,” she
said. “It’s purposeful to have a
unified goal. As soon as you start
to play, you start to believe it. It’s
positive energy.”
Menlo-Atherton grad Zoe
Pacalin, who appeared in four
games last year, is also part of the
sophomore class along with Mariah Lee, who played in 25 matches
a year ago.
Menlo School grad Jaye Boissiere also returns. She played 57
minutes in the season-opener and
missed the rest of the year with
an injury. Kyra Carusa and Alison
Jahansouz also used their redshirt
year.
The six-member freshmen
class includes two Gatorade
Players of the Year and another
state Player of the Year, four twotime youth All-Americans and a
member of the Australian U20
national team.
“We are extra confident in the
freshmen class,” Sullivan said.
“They came in sharp and are already excellent.”
Averie Collins, all-state in
both soccer and basketball, was
the Montana Gatorade Player of
Bob Drebin/stanfordphoto.com
stuck with me. It was contagious.
There was a 100 percent commitment from everybody.”
The Cardinal was ranked third
nationally in a preseason poll and
was picked to win the conference
title in a vote of Pac-12 coaches.
Ratcliffe could do without either
designation.
“It’s predicated on what you did
the year before,” Ratcliffe said.
“Regardless of what you have accomplished, you have to prove you
are capable of winning the Pac-12.
A lot if may be that this recruiting
class was rated No. 1, but those
kids have to prove it. It’s a new
group every year. We graduated
some good kids and we brought
in good kids. They will be tested
throughout the year.”
Rosen, one of five seniors who
help set the tone for the year, was
a redshirt in her first season due
to injury. She also missed half of
her sophomore year with injuries
before appearing in 24 matches in
last year’s run to the Final Four.
“My personal journey is one I
would never had expected,” she
said. “It does make me all the
more appreciative of the opportunities I’ve had. I feel so fortunate
to be part of Stanford soccer. Paul
creates an amazing environment.”
Senior defender Laura Liedle
is, perhaps, the steadiest and most
reliable player on the field, having started 69 (of a possible 70)
matches, including the past 55
in succession. She was named a
freshman All-American and was
an All-Pac-12 honorable mention
pick last year.
“She’s going to be a good leader,” Ratcliffe said. “You hope (seniors) can help coach on the field.”
Other seniors include goalie
Sarah Cox and midfielders Kate
Bettinger and Katie Donague.
Liedle leads a defense that not
only proved stingy in allowing
goals but also in allowing shots
on goal, helping junior goalie
Jane Campbell record a historic
season. Campbell had 14 shutouts,
second-most in a single season
at Stanford. She had a scoreless
streak of over 800 minutes at one
point and has 20 shutouts, sixth on
Stanford’s all-time list.
Two other important defenders also return in juniors Stephanie Amack and Maddie Bauer.
Amack, who also plays in the
midfield at times, has been a Defender of the Week, voted onto the
Fifth-year season Haley Rosen hopes 2015 will be a healthy year for
herself and her teammates.
STANFORD WOMEN’S SOCCER 2015
Date
Friday
Aug. 24
Aug. 28
Sept. 4
Sept. 11
Sept. 13
Sept. 17
Sept. 20
Sept. 25
Oct. 2
Oct. 4
Oct. 8
Oct. 11
Oct. 16
Opponent
at Hawaii
at BYU#
vs. Boston College
at Cal Poly-SLO
vs. Penn St.
vs. Oklahoma
vs. UC Davis
at Santa Clara
at Utah*
at Arizona St.*
at Arizona*
vs. Oregon St.*
vs. Oregon*
vs. Colorado*
Time
10 p.m.
10 p.m.
7 p.m.
7 p.m.
8 p.m.
1 p.m.
7 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
3 p.m.
7 p.m.
11 a.m.
7 p.m.
8 p.m.
8 p.m.
the Year. Her father, Shane Collins, played in the NFL for three
years. Michelle Xiao was named
Nebraska’s Gatorade Player of
the Year, was a two-time youth
All-American and a state Junior
Olympic hurdles champ.
Alana Cook earned New Jersey
prep Player of the Year honors and
was a two-time youth All-American, as was Jordan DiBiasi and
Date
Opponent
Time
Oct. 22 at WSU*
7 p.m.
Oct. 25 at Washington*
5 p.m.
Oct. 29 vs. USC*
7 p.m.
Nov. 1 vs. UCLA*
3:30 p.m.
Nov. 6 vs. Cal*
6 p.m.
Nov. 13 NCAA first round
Nov. 20 NCAA second round
Nov. 22 NCAA third round
Nov. 27 NCAA quarterfinals
Dec. 4 College Cup semifinals@
Dec. 6 College Cup finals@
# in Honolulu, Hawaii
* Pac-12 Conference
@ Cary, N.C.
Teagan McGrady, who was also
a California state qualifier in the
200 and 400 relay in track and
field. Penelope Edmonds joined
the Australian U20 team as a
16-year-old.
Rosen’s advice to the freshmen?
“I know this sounds cheesy but
it’s to have fun because it goes
by so quickly,” she said. “And remember the journey.” Q
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 61
Sports
She’s setting her sights on qualifying for Olympics
Stanford grad Foluke Akinradewo will attempt to help USA women qualify at FIVB World Cup starting this weekend in Japan
T
The U.S. has never won gold
he U.S. Women’s Volleyball National Team, ranked at the FIVB World Cup, but the
No. 1 in the world by the overall top priority in Japan will
FIVB, has had a lot of gold placed be to earn a ticket to Rio by finisharound its neck over the past 10 ing either first or second. Winning
is always a priority
months.
for the squad, but
While those have
the objective here is
been enjoyable, histo make it into the
torical moments in
Olympics — a hard
the program’s histask in its own right
tory, they are in the
with only 12 teams
past and the squad is
competing on the
continuing to build
grandest stage every
for the future with
four years. And the
eyes on making
team has not lost the
more history.
fact winning gold at
Team USA has
the Olympics — the
won gold at the 2014
top objective every
FIVB World Chamfour years — has alpionship — the firstluded them despite
ever World Champiwinning three silver
onship in program
medals and a bronze
history, the 2015
in the last eight
FIVB World Grand
Olympic Games.
Prix for the sixth
For the World
time, the 2015 Pan Foluke Akinradewo
Cup, U.S. head
American Games
gold for the first time since 1967 coach Karch Kiraly and his staff
and the 2015 Pan American Cup have trimmed their 20-player
preliminary roster down to maxifor the third time in four years.
However, no tournament is any mum 14-player travel roster with
more important than the next as some incredibly tough decisions
the Americans seek qualification along the way. Among the final
into the 2016 Rio Olympic Games 14 is Stanford grad Foluke Akinthrough the 2015 FIVB World radewo (Plantation, Fla.), who
Cup that commences Saturday in earned a spot at middle blocker.
Outside hitters selected to the
Japan.
final roster are Megan Easy, Kim
Hill, Jordan Larson-Burbach and
Kelsey Robinson. At opposite are
Nicole Fawcett and Karsta Lowe.
Other middle blockers are Christa
Dietzen Tori Dixon and Lauren
Gibbemeyer while the setters are
Alisha Glass and Molly Kreklow
with the liberos being Kayla Banwarth and Natalie Hagglund.
Stanford grads Cassidy Lichtman and Kristin Hildebrand,
who helped Team USA win the
gold medal at the Pan American
Games, were left off the squad.
Youth boys
Incoming Stanford freshman
Jordan Ewert of Antioch had five
kills on eight attempts in just two
sets to help the U.S. Boys’ Youth
National Team (5-0) move on
to the quarterfinals of the 2015
FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship after taking down Mexico (2-3) 25-18, 25-16, 25-22 on
Wednesday in Argentina.
The victory guarantees the U.S.
a place in the quarterfinals and a
top-8 finish. The BYNT never
has placed in the top half of the
World Championship, making
2015 a historic year for the U.S.
The team will go up against Russia on Friday.
On Tuesday, Ewert had 10 kills
and one block as the U.S. fin-
as the Americans defeated teams
from Germany and Brazil.
Walsh Jennings is returning
to action for the first-time in
six weeks after dislocating her
right shoulder in a
SWATCH Major Series event in Gstaad,
Switzerland.
Ross and Walsh
Jennings opened
play with a 2-0 (2115, 21-18) win in 42
minutes over Victoria Bieneck and
Julia Grossner of
Germany.
The ASICS World
Series of Beach Volleyball is the second
of two events in
the United States
Beach
this season that are
The first of two
part of the qualifydays for the woming process for the
en competing in
Rio 2016 Olympic
the third annual Kerri Walsh Jennings
Games. The first
$800,000 ASICS
World Series of Beach Volleyball 2015 American Olympic qualiin Long Beach featured 11 unde- fier was held in mid-June at St.
feated teams for eight countries Petersburg, Fla.
Walsh Jennings, 37, is a threeafter two rounds of pool play at
time Olympic gold medalist. She
Alamitos Beach.
Among the tandems with a and Ross must compete in 12
2-0 record was defending ASICS events by June 12, 2016 in order to
World Series of Beach Volleyball have a shot at making the Olymchampions April Ross and Stan- pic team. The tandem currently is
ford grad Kerri Walsh Jennings ranked 30th in the world. Q
ished pool play undefeated with
a sweep of Argentina, 25-20, 2624, 25-23. The 4-0 start was a
historic mark for the USA squad
as no U.S. BYNT has ever made
it through pool play
undefeated.
On Monday, Ewert produced nine
kills to help the USA
take down France,
26-24, 25-21, 23-25,
25-16. A day earlier,
Ewert produced 22
points with 19 kills,
one block and two
aces as the USA
defeated Belgium,
25-20, 17-25, 25-18,
21-25, 19-17.
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Page 62 • August 21, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com
Sports
Anderson
(continued from page 60)
David Bernal/isiphotos.com
a five-loss season (three by a total
of nine points) in its quest for a
chance at the conference title.
The Cardinal (8-5 last year, including a victory over Maryland
in the Foster Farms Bowl) begins
its season with a road contest at
Northwestern on Saturday, Sept.
5 at 9 a.m. (PT), to be televised
by ESPN.
“I’m just trying to be a good
athlete in general,” said the
6-foot-4, 245-pound Anderson,
who also threw the shot put and
discus for the Vikings’ track and
field team. “I’ve had some great
guys to look up to, like Trent
Murphy and Chase Thomas.
They set the ground work, mentally, to work hard. They showed
me the framework on how to succeed and get the best out of your
body.”
Anderson never needed motivation for working hard physically.
The civil engineering major is
currently working on a master’s
degree in sustainable design and
construction. He’s always had
high expectations of himself. He
was named honorable mention on
the All-Pac-12 team last season.
What separates Anderson is his
drive to become a better player,
a better person, every day. He’s
been willing to make sacrifices
along the way. While his friends
are at a late-night party, Anderson
makes sure to get the right amount
of sleep and to eat properly. He
credits Murphy, who grew on a
ranch in Arizona wrestling cattle,
for showing him the way.
“I will say no to the extra cookie and no to going out,” Anderson
said. “There’s homework to be
completed.”
A wrist injury kept Anderson
out of spring camp, which only
convinced him to work even
harder.
“I realized just how much I love
football,” he said. “I wanted to put
in extra effort to the nth degree.”
Even during his redshirt season,
Anderson was one of the hardest
workers on the team. He was rewarded with the Greg Piers Team
Award for outstanding scout team
contributions; not that he needed
any honors. It’s nice to be recognized but Anderson’s desire runs
Palo Alto High grad Kevin Anderson (48) hopes hard work will
erase memories of last year’s five-loss season.
much deeper than that.
“I want to win as many games
as I can, as part of the overall team
effort,” he said. “I want to make
sure I don’t fail this team and
work to so that we can realize our
full potential. I want to tell people
I have 100 best friends, who I can
ask anything of and who will be
there no matter what.”
Anderson already has played
in two Rose Bowls and has been
a part of four bowl games altogether, which includes Stanford’s
overtime loss to Oklahoma State
in the 2011 Fiesta Bowl. It wasn’t
that long ago, when Anderson was
an eighth-grader, that the Cardinal finished 1-11 as part of a seven-year losing streak, the longest
in school history.
Stanford’s current streak of
winning seasons began in Anderson’s sophomore year at Paly.
“I remember going to games
in that 1-11 season,” Anderson
said. “It’s pretty special the culture these guys set. We don’t base
success on last year. We continue
to work. We’re not satisfied. We
work to get better.”
This year is no different. Stanford’s goal never changes.
“Every season, it’s to win the
Pac-12 title first,” Anderson said.
“We’re confident that if we win
the Pac-12, we’ll get one of the
four (national playoff) spots.”
While Stanford has a younger
team than in years past, Anderson
insists it’s every bit as talented. He
points to fellow fifth-year senior
cornerback Ronnie Harris and
sophomore defensive lineman
Solomon Thomas as players on
the verge of greatness.
“Solomon might be the strongest guy on the team,” Anderson
said. “He works harder than anyone. All Ronnie wants to do is get
better. He lives, eats and sleeps
football.”
The Cardinal linebackers,
meanwhile, will provide strength
and experience with Blake Martinez, Kevin Palma and Peter Kalambayi.
“Everyone has played a lot,”
Anderson said. “We have a lot of
people returning on defense. It’s
the most talent we’ve had since
I’ve been here.”
All Anderson wants is to steer
everybody toward their full potential, just the way Chase Thomas
and Trent Murphy did for him.
* * *
Stanford will host its annual
Open House on Saturday. Activities begin with an open practice
at the Elliott Practice Fields from
10 a.m. until approximately noon.
Immediately following the practice, which features live scrimmaging, Shaw will address fans
in attendance.
The Open House event then
continues on the Elliott Practice
Fields with football drill stations,
games and contests until 1 p.m.,
after which the football team will
be available for autographs on the
concourse inside Maples Pavilion
until 2 p.m. Q
by Rick Eymer
tanford had two returning wide receivers with
significant receptions
last season — Devon Cajuste
and Michael Rector. That number is now down to one.
Rector, a likely starter at wide
receiver, has been suspended
indefinitely. It was reported following last Saturday’s practice
that Cardinal head coach David
Shaw suspended Rector for disciplinary reasons.
Rector, a 6-foot-1, 189-pound
redshirt junior, was fourth on
the team with 24 catches for
324 yards and two touchdowns
in 2014. He also registered 14
receptions for 431 yards and
three scores as a redshirt freshman in 2013.
With Rector sidelined indefinitely, Stanford will have
to turn to Cajuste (34 catches,
557 yards, six touchdowns) and
tight end Austin Hooper (40
catches, 499 yards, two TDs)
for veteran experience. Also
in the mix is Francis Owusu,
a 6-foot-3, 212-pound junior,
a likely candidate to move in
to Rector’s spot in the starting
lineup. He caught 11 passes for
138 yards in 2014.
Rector reportedly was the
fastest player on the team, running a 4.38-second 40-yard
dash last spring.
The Cardinal, however, also
has some potential speedy receivers in Isaiah Brandt-Sims,
a Washington state sprint
champ in track and field plus
freshman Trent Irwin, ranked
as high as No. 10 in the nation
out of Hart High in Southern
California after catching 106
balls for 1,974 yards and 22
TDs in 2014.
* * *
Stanford finished its first
week of preseason practice on
Saturday with a lively contact
session in 95-degree heat over-
S
seen by a full officiating crew
from the Pac-12 Conference.
Fifth-year senior quarterback
Kevin Hogan looked sharp,
although he was off-limits
to tacklers. Tight ends Greg
Taboada and Dalton Schultz
were his favorite targets and
figure to have big roles in the
offense this season.
“I really like the size, versatility and athleticism of the
whole group,” Shaw said of his
four tight ends.
Running back Christian McCaffrey produced the best run
of the session, breaking loose
for a 60-yard touchdown. However, the play was nullified by a
holding penalty.
McCaffrey had a great week
of practice and looks considerably bigger and stronger than
last season, when he played as
a true freshman. Likewise for
fifth-year senior running back
Remound Wright, who rushed
for a team-high 11 touchdowns
last season. Freshman running back Bryce Love has also
looked good.
Other bright spots have been
the play of the young secondary and retooled defensive line,
both of whom have been holding their own. Brennan Scarlett, who played and earned an
undergraduate degree at Cal,
transferred to Stanford in the
spring and is taking graduate
courses. He has been brought
along slowly, but is now making
contributions on the field and
is expected to provide muchneeded experience and depth
on the line.
Offensive tackle Nick Davidson was on the practice field
Saturday and will participate in
workouts next week, along with
David Bright. Both are competing for playing time on the right
side of the line. Q
(Mark Soltau of Stanford
Athletics contributed)
Stanford duo helps USA women advance in Junior World polo
S
tanford’s Jamie Neushul
scored the winning goal
with 15 seconds left to play
to carry the USA Women’s Junior
National Team to a thrilling 17-16
victory over Spain at the FINA
Junior World Championships on
Wednesday in Volos, Greece.
The triumph marked the third
straight victory for Team USA,
which took first place in its group
and earned a bye into Friday’s
quarterfinals against Brazil, which
topped Japan on Thursday, 12-9.
Aria Fischer scored four goals
and Neushul added three, including the game-winner. Stanford’s
Jordan Raney scored once and
Amanda Longan went the distance
in net while recording nine saves.
A combined 41 exclusions were
called in the match, resulting in
four USA players fouling out
and leaving goalkeeper Emalia
Eichleberger to play the field in
the final moments of the match.
Team USA got off to a quick
start in this match with goals from
Mary Brooks and Fischer to go
ahead 2-0 in the opening 90 seconds. Spain rallied to tie the match
at 2 while setting the tone for what
would be a back-and-forth match
throughout. Judith Forca scored
four goals in the period for Spain
to help her team take a 6-5 lead
after the first period.
Andrea Gonzalez scored early
in the second quarter to give
Spain its largest lead at 8-5 before
Team USA began to battle back.
Emily Loughlin and Neushul
scored to make it 8-7 with 4:43 to
play in the first half. Spain went
ahead 9-7, but the rest of the quarter belonged to the USA. Alexis
Liebowitz and Fischer connected
to tie the match at 9 and then
Makenzie Barr found the net with
just four seconds left to give the
Americans a 10-9 halftime lead.
The United States kept up the
offensive attack in the third quarter, building its lead to 13-9 with
3:53 to go in the period. Fischer,
Neushul, and Tara Prentice all
scored to push the advantage to
four. Spain scored two of the next
three goals to close out the third
period trailing 14-11.
Both teams continued to score
into the fourth quarter but, after
Brooks scored her second of the
day, Team USA went ahead 1613 with 5:11 to play. Spain rallied
with two straight goals to close
within one at 16-15 with 2:19 to
go in the match.
Neushul’s goal with just 15
seconds left sealed the deal for
Team USA as it went up 17-15. A
goal with three seconds left from
Spain’s Beatriz Ortiz wrapped up
the wild match. Team USA went
11 for 20 on power plays and converted its lone penalty shot while
Spain was 10 for 19 on power plays
and also made a penalty shot.
On Tuesday, the USA posted a
23-0 win over Ukraine as Emily
Loughlin scored seven goals to
lead the way. Raney finished with
two goals and Neushul had one.
The USA opened play Monday
with a 28-0 romp over Mexico.
Fischer scored six goals, Neushul
tallied four goals and Raney added one.Q
-- Palo Alto Weekly staff
and USA Water Polo
www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • August 21, 2015 • Page 63
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