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Palo Alto Vol. XXXV, Number 17 N January 31, 2014 City proposes 'time out' for disputed zoning Page 5 w w w.PaloA ltoOnline.com the healing For autism, dementia or end of life, music resonates and soothes PAGE 32 power of music Pulse 16 Transitions 17 Spectrum 18 Eating Out 38 Movies 40 Puzzles 58 Page 36 Page 43 N Arts What end-of-life care should mean N Home Walkable, but congested neighborhood N Sports Stanford's upset bid falls short against Arizona Page 60 Facial Plastic Surgeon Trust Your Face to a Specialist 650.799.9009 www.hesslerplasticsurgery.com Palo Alto Page 2ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Palo Alto Historical Property Values - 2013 yr end Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 # Sold 40 40 33 25 15 30 33 # Sold 21 25 22 24 18 16 25 # Sold 18 34 22 21 18 19 29 # Sold 25 29 33 25 28 20 34 # Sold 17 18 22 19 14 20 31 # Sold 9 12 15 18 6 4 12 Median $ 2,195,000 1,823,500 1,482,000 1,400,000 1,500,000 1,607,000 1,695,000 BARRON PARK Min $ 1,070,000 1,050,000 830,000 682,500 1,055,000 675,000 950,000 COMMUNITY CENTER Median $ 2,875,000 2,409,000 2,151,000 1,790,000 1,827,000 2,000,000 1,850,000 Min $ 859,000 800,000 800,000 985,000 1,170,000 750,000 729,000 Median $ 1,950,000 1,450,000 1,275,000 1,735,000 1,105,000 1,441,000 1,365,000 COLLEGE Min $ 1,050,000 850,000 630,000 675,000 746,000 892,000 723,000 Max $ 3,650,000 4,300,000 2,275,000 2,969,250 2,700,000 2,500,000 3,495,000 Max $ 3,000,000 2,850,000 3,695,000 2,700,000 2,310,000 2,778,000 2,150,000 Avg $ / SF 1,101 842 805 781 737 917 889 Avg $ / SF 1,225 960 853 801 860 1,063 959 Avg $ / SF 1,137 1,135 948 881 1,000 975 1,068 Avg $ / SF 1,200 1,043 940 879 842 1,022 995 Avg $ / SF 1,164 1,032 967 815 812 954 934 Avg $ / SF 995 845 833 809 751 829 891 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 # Sold 33 63 55 61 50 39 44 # Sold 51 68 63 59 54 55 57 # Sold 53 40 47 30 21 35 41 # Sold 9 14 13 15 14 6 8 # Sold 98 99 100 120 121 94 117 Median $ 2,160,000 1,750,000 1,500,000 1,470,000 1,413,000 1,550,000 1,567,000 GREEN GABLES Min $ 975,000 1,100,000 813,000 850,000 845,000 950,000 980,000 Median $ 1,950,000 1,669,500 1,380,000 1,365,000 1,337,000 1,515,000 1,475,000 MIDTOWN Min $ 1,207,000 931,000 770,000 835,000 745,000 720,000 860,000 Max $ 7,650,000 6,000,000 2,470,000 3,150,000 4,050,000 4,150,000 3,595,000 Max $ 4,500,000 3,300,000 2,950,000 2,615,000 2,499,000 2,722,000 3,100,000 Avg $ / SF 1,146 1,024 812 866 796 914 915 Avg $ / SF 1,182 985 844 800 754 865 957 Avg $ / SF 1,339 1,204 1,016 994 925 1,031 1,030 Avg $ / SF 1,143 1,054 834 933 742 1,080 873 Avg $ / SF 1,089 880 794 719 704 839 840 Avg $ / SF 1,028 836 651 735 776 906 848 Median $ 3,010,000 2,400,000 2,535,000 2,425,000 1,910,000 2,075,000 2,375,257 CRESCENT PARK Min $ 1,725,000 840,000 701,000 710,000 800,000 1,269,000 710,000 Max $ 4,900,000 5,550,000 4,908,000 3,650,000 4,830,000 3,900,000 15,000,000 Max $ 6,500,000 4,800,000 6,025,000 4,450,000 4,995,000 6,900,000 9,750,000 Max $ 4,350,000 3,225,000 3,775,000 2,200,000 2,995,000 3,800,000 4,850,000 Median $ 2,866,000 2,576,500 2,575,000 2,044,000 2,000,000 2,085,000 2,500,000 OLD PALO ALTO Min $ 595,000 710,000 740,000 755,000 815,000 960,000 810,000 Median $ 2,165,000 1,801,000 1,610,000 1,367,000 1,544,000 1,658,500 1,700,000 Median $ 1,916,000 1,777,500 1,610,000 1,360,500 1,412,000 1,565,000 1,814,000 DOWNTOWN Min $ 1,550,000 880,000 610,000 645,000 1,000,000 899,000 975,000 Min $ 1,650,000 1,550,000 1,250,000 840,000 1,151,000 915,000 950,000 Median $ 3,800,000 2,225,000 2,350,000 1,990,000 1,400,000 1,767,500 2,300,000 PROFESSORVILLE Min $ 1,250,000 1,350,000 1,100,000 775,000 810,000 1,300,000 1,625,000 Max $ 10,000,000 9,000,000 5,800,000 7,300,000 3,500,000 7,800,000 8,250,000 Max $ 5,500,000 3,800,000 4,900,000 7,995,000 3,270,000 9,850,000 4,600,000 Max $ 3,500,000 2,750,000 2,388,000 2,350,000 2,300,000 2,690,000 2,400,000 GREEN ACRES Median $ 1,795,000 1,455,000 1,229,000 1,246,500 1,188,000 1,350,000 1,350,000 SOUTH PALO ALTO Min $ 1,141,000 850,000 760,000 802,500 775,000 845,000 935,000 Min $ 975,000 760,000 672,000 690,000 703,000 825,000 815,000 Call Jackie and Richard to Sell Your Home Sold Over $212,000,000 of Homes Max $ 3,033,000 2,200,000 3,350,000 2,450,000 1,900,000 1,860,000 2,750,000 # Sold Median $ 15 1,199,000 15 1,205,000 9 900,000 13 815,000 9 903,000 6 900,000 8 1,244,000 VENTURA Max $ 2,430,000 2,300,000 1,590,000 918,000 1,195,000 1,285,000 1,617,000 Jackie firstname.lastname@example.com Richard 650-566-8033 BRE # 01413607 ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 3 www.schoelerman.com 650-855-9700 BRE # 01092400 email@example.com MLS data based on single family home values OPEN SAT & SUN 1:30–4:30P FABULOUS HOUSE WITH GREAT SCHOOLS Belmont Country Club 1700 Valley View Avenue, Belmont | 1700valleyview.com Offered at $1,650,000 Bedrooms 3 | Bathrooms 2.5 Home Âą2,420 sf | Lot Âą11,300 sf Downtown Palo Alto 728 Emerson Street, Palo Alto 650.644.3474 Lucy Berman, Sales Associate 650.208.8824 | firstname.lastname@example.com lucyberman.com License No. 01413627 dreyfussir.com )EGL3J½GIMW-RHITIRHIRXP]3[RIH ERH 3TIVEXIH Page 4ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Upfront City Council to consider freezing, overhauling 'planned community' zone process Local news, information and analysis City proposes 'time out' for disputed zoning B by Gennady Sheyner owing to intense commu- tions for public benefits. nity pressure and years of Planned community (PC) zoncriticism from land-use ing — originally devised to allow watchdogs, Palo Alto officials for unconventional developments have announced a plan to sus- that would contribute to the pubpend and reform the city's con- lic good — was at the forefront troversial "planned communityâ€? of last November's election battle zoning process, which allows de- between the City Council, which velopers to barter zoning exemp- approved a PC-zoned housing project on Maybell Avenue in June, and the residents who mounted a referendum against it. The referendum, which led to an overwhelming Election Day victory, alleged the proposed housing development was incompatible with the rest of the neighborhood's zoning and character. Even before the Maybell project was shot down, residents, watchdogs and even Planning and Transportation Commission members warned that the zoning process was fraught with problems. Many cited "public benefitsâ€? that were promised but that never materialized, with the most glaring examples being the public plazas at Caffe Riace in the California Avenue area and next to St. Michael's Alley restaurant downtown. Each plaza was offered as a benefit for a PC project and was subsequently swallowed up by the adjacent restaurant. The problem has become more pervasive in the years following the 2009 economic downturn, with more applicants proposing beefy PC projects whose massiveness would be offset by the public benefits. The renovated Edgewood Plaza along Embarcadero Road and downtown's Lytton Gateway, a four-story commercial project at ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠÂŁ{ÂŽ FLOOD CONTROL Residents raise issues with bridge Two design alternatives unpopular with Palo Alto, Menlo Park residents by Elena Kadvany espite organizational difficulties and a gym with poor acoustics, Palo Alto and Menlo Park residents clearly voiced their opinion at a community meeting Wednesday night about the potential fate of floodprone Pope-Chaucer Street Bridge: They're not happy with the options that have been presented, and they want more information. Staff from the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority and Santa Clara Valley Water District fielded questions from an impassioned crowd that filled the East Palo Alto Academy gym, just blocks from the bridge. The meeting was pegged as an opportunity to gather early community input on four possible options for rebuilding the Pope-Chaucer Street Bridge but took place before an Environmental Impact Report has been completed, leaving many questions still unanswered. "How can we make a decision if we don't understand what the facts are?â€? one woman asked staff, to loud applause from others in the packed gym. The four options presented for the Pope-Chaucer Street Bridge — which of all the bridges crossing the San Francisquito Creek between Palo Alto and Menlo Park allows the least amount of water to flow underneath — are to leave the existing bridge as is, to take it out but not replace ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iÊǎ D 6iĂ€ÂœÂ˜ÂˆV>ĂŠ7iLiĂ€ Playing for rain ... and it worked Banjo player Jimi Five plays for rain and tips on California Avenue on Jan. 23. EDUCATION Teachers propose new classes for Palo Alto schools Board of Education members cool to idea of dismantling 'laning' of freshman English by Chris Kenrick T eachers — some dressed in football jerseys — thronged a Palo Alto Board of Education meeting Tuesday to present their ideas for new or reformed class offerings for next year. Board members were cool to a Palo Alto High English Department proposal that would dismantle the current two-lane structure in freshman English to offer an accelerated class to all ninth graders. But they embraced, with some reservations, other Paly proposals that would try to capture students' passion for sports and social justice by creating new three-year academic "pathwaysâ€? through the school — one focused on sports careers and the other on social justice and community service. Paly English teachers said they had been working for 18 months on a proposal to de-lane freshman English, which they believe would boost graduation rates. Currently, many students whose standardized test scores qualify them for accelerated English nonetheless opt for the regular lane, the teachers said. "I've had conversations with freshman students who self-identify as being in the dummy class — ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠnÂŽ ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 5 Upfront 450 Cambridge Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER William S. Johnson (223-6505) EDITORIAL Editor Jocelyn Dong (223-6514) Associate Editor Carol Blitzer (223-6511) Sports Editor Keith Peters (223-6516) Express & Online Editor Elena Kadvany (223-6519) Arts & Entertainment Editor Rebecca Wallace (223-6517) Assistant Sports Editor Rick Eymer (223-6521) Spectrum Editor Tom Gibboney (223-6507) Staff Writers Sue Dremann (223-6518), Chris Kenrick (223-6512), Gennady Sheyner (223-6513) Staff Photographer Veronica Weber (223-6520) Contributors Andrew Preimesberger, Dale F. Bentson, Peter Canavese, Kit Davey, Tyler Hanley, Iris Harrell, Sheila Himmel, Chad Jones, Karla Kane, Kevin Kirby, Terri Lobdell, Jack McKinnon, Jeanie K. Smith, Susan Tavernetti ADVERTISING Vice President Sales & Advertising Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Multimedia Advertising Sales Christine Afsahi (223-8582), Adam Carter (2236573), Elaine Clark (223-6572), Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571), Janice Hoogner (223-6576), Wendy Suzuki 223-6569), Brent Triantos (223-6577), Real Estate Advertising Sales Neal Fine (223-6583), Carolyn Oliver (223-6581), Rosemary Lewkowitz (223-6585) Inside Advertising Sales Irene Schwartz (223-6580) Real Estate Advertising Assistant Diane Martin (223-6584) Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan (223-6578) ADVERTISING SERVICES Advertising Services Manager Jennifer Lindberg (223-6595) Sales & Production Coordinators Dorothy Hassett (223-6597), Blanca Yoc (223-6596) DESIGN Design Director Shannon Corey (223-6560) Assistant Design Director Lili Cao (223-6562) Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Paul Llewellyn Designers Rosanna Leung, Kameron Sawyer EXPRESS, ONLINE AND VIDEO SERVICES Online Operations Coordinator Ashley Finden (223-6508) BUSINESS Payroll & Benefits Susie Ochoa (223-6544) Business Associates Elena Dineva (223-6542), Mary McDonald (223-6543), Cathy Stringari (223-6541) ADMINISTRATION Assistant to the Publisher Miranda Chatfield (223-6559) Receptionist Doris Taylor Courier Ruben Espinoza EMBARCADERO MEDIA President William S. Johnson (223-6505) Vice President & CFO Michael I. Naar (223-6540) Vice President Sales & Advertising Tom Zahiralis (223-6570) Director, Information Technology & Webmaster Frank A. Bravo (223-6551) Major Accounts Sales Manager Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571) Director, Circulation & Mailing Services Zach Allen (223-6557) Circulation Assistant Alicia Santillan Computer System Associates Chris Planessi, Chip Poedjosoedarmo The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 326-8210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered free to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. If you are not currently receiving the paper, you may request free delivery by calling 3268210. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, P.O. Box 1610, Palo Alto, CA 94302. Š2014 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com Our email addresses are: firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.com Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Call 650 223-6557, or email email@example.com. You may also subscribe online at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $60/yr. QUOTE OF THE WEEK I believed we were going to protect all students — not just protected classes. — Christina Schmidt, a Palo Alto parent, addressing the school board on its proposed new bullying policy. See story on page XX. 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/knowzone/agendas/council.asp (TENTATIVE) AGENDA – SPECIAL MEETING – VENTURA COMM. CENTER SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2014 - 8:30 AM The City Council will hold their annual Retreat at the Ventura Community Center, 3990 Ventura Court at 8:30 AM. POWER PODIUM ... Stanford University announced this week that power couple Bill and Melinda Gates will take the podium as this year's commencement speakers. Founders, co-chairs and of course, namesakes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the couple's work focuses on several core issues: hunger, poverty, education and global health. "Sharing a mutual commitment to a better world, Bill and Melinda Gates have taken on some of the planet's toughest challenges. This boldness is an ethos that we also embody at Stanford, and one we seek to instill in our graduates,â€? Stanford President John Hennessy said in a press release. Stanford's 123rd graduation weekend is scheduled for June 13-15, with the Gateses speaking on the last day. Commencement will also feature a final lecture by Associate Professor of Communication Fred Turner and a Baccalaureate address by Zen Buddhist priest and poet Norman Fischer. Around Town Governments). Dan Bloomberg from Barron Park struck the same note with a little more flair. "Tell ABAG to stuff it,â€? he wrote. "Tell developers that no highdensity variances to zoning will be permitted. Require all development to provide sufficient parking.â€? (TENTATIVE) AGENDA – SPECIAL MEETING – COUNCIL CHAMBERS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014 - 6:00 PM SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY 1. Introduction of Nuria Fernandez, General Manager, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) 2. IT Departments Digital City Proclamation CONSENT CALENDAR 3. Finance Committee Recommendation that Council Adopt a Resolution Approving Increasing the Palo Alto Clean Local Accessible Now (CLEAN) Program Cap of 3 Megawatts of Generating Capacity 4. Finance Committee Recommendation that the City Council Adopt a Resolution to 1) Terminate the City's Natural Gas Direct Access Program by Repealing Gas Rate Schedule G-4; 2) Eliminate Fixed and Custom Gas Commodity Rates for Large Commercial Customers by Repealing Gas Rate Schedules G-11 and G-12; and 3) Effect the Changes by Amending Gas Rate Schedules G-3 and G-8 and Utility Rules and Regulations 2, 3, 5 and 13 5. Finance Committee Recommends Approval to Issue the Request for Proposals and Undertake a Procurement Process for Street Sweeping Contractor Services 6. Appeal of Director's Approval of a Sign Exception for a Wall sign at the Tesla Motors Dealership at 4180 El Camino Real 7. Approval of Information Security Risk Assessment Contingency Fund and Project Scope Change with CoalFire Systems Inc., Contract Number S14150215 ACTION ITEMS 8. Our Palo Alto: A Community Conversation About Our City's Future. Staff Requests Council Input and Endorsement of a Three-Part Strategy To Engage Residents in a Community Conversation About the Future Of Our City. 9. Planned Community Zoning Time-Out & Reform. Staff Recommends Adoption of a Motion; (a)Expressing the Council's Intent to Deny or Defer Requests for Rezoning to the Planned Community (PC) Zoning District Until the Process and Requirements Regulating the PC Zone in Chapter 18.38 of the Municipal Code are Revised, and (b) Directing Staff to Return to the Council with an Analysis of Potential Revisions and Alternatives for Public Input and Discussion 10. PUBLIC HEARING: Approval of the Record of Land Use Action for a Site and Design Review Application and Adoption of a Park Improvement Ordinance for the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course ReconďŹ guration Project, Adoption of a Resolution Certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report and Adopting a Statement of Overriding Considerations for the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course ReconďŹ guration and Baylands Athletic Center Expansion Project, and Review of the Status of the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course ReconďŹ guration Project, Capital Improvement Program Project PG-13003 SUBSCRIBE! Support your local newspaper by becoming a paid subscriber. $60 per year. $100 for two years. Name: _________________________________ Address: ________________________________ City/Zip: ________________________________ Mail to: Palo Alto Weekly, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto CA 94306 IN RETREAT ... Every winter, Palo Alto's elected leaders, top staff and a handful of gadflies and neighborhood leaders gather on a Saturday morning at a designated location outside City Hall to eat bagels, look at complex charts and discuss which issues should take up the most time in the next 12 months. This time-honored tradition will continue Saturday, when the council meets in Ventura Community Center for its annual retreat. The 8:30 a.m. meeting should have a ring of familiarity. At its retreat last year, the council agreed to keep all three of its 2013 priorities — the future of downtown and California Avenue; infrastructure strategy and funding; and technology and the connected city — in place in 2014. That is not to say, however, that this year's retreat will be devoid of big-picture thinking. The council will also consider on Saturday the city's "core valuesâ€? — qualities that represent the community and that hold steady even as the action plan changes. So far, the subject has netted 109 statements from residents and others via Open City Hall, the city-sponsored online forum. One anonymous responder from University South is asking the council to "stop adding housingâ€? and to "ignore obsolete ABAG philosophyâ€? (a reference to housing mandates set by the Association of Bay Area ANOTHER SIGN OF THE TIMES ... When the City Council reluctantly agreed on Dec. 17 to allow the Grocery Outlet supermarket to put up a sign at Alma Village that far exceeds local regulations, resident Tom DuBois predicted that the decision will kick off an "arms race.â€? "If I owned a store and saw a large sign, I'd definitely want one too,â€? DuBois told the council shortly before the vote. Since the council voted to reject an appeal of the Grocery Outlet sign, two more requests for sign exemptions have come forward, one from the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and another from a local car company that needs very little help in the name-recognition department — Tesla Motors. Now, the latter proposal is going through its own appeal and DuBois is again part of the effort, as are other members of the nascent citizens group Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning, which formed last year to oppose the Maybell Avenue housing development. The council is slated to consider on Feb. 3 an argument for rejecting Tesla's request (which the Architectural Review Board approved last month) for two signs for the Tesla dealership at 4180 El Camino Real. The city has already approved two wall signs for the dealership. The new plan includes two more signs, one freestanding and another on a wall. When the new wall sign's square footage is combined with the square area of the previously approved signs, they total 141 square feet, exceeding the 100-square-foot limit on signs that the code allows. The architecture board argued that the red background of the new wall sign should not be counted in the calculation and that the only area that should be counted is the actual logo, which is 32 square feet. Under that logic, the exemption isn't needed. The group appealing the sign exemption — which also includes "No on Measure Dâ€? leaders Cheryl Lilienstein and Joe Hirsch — strongly disagrees with this logic. N Page 6ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Upfront TRANSPORTATION Residents to get parking-permit program Downtown employers fume as Palo Alto moves forward with framework for citywide program fter years of dire warnings, angry complaints and impassioned pleas from downtown residents about their once-quiet streets transforming into parking lots for area employees, Palo Alto officials on Monday introduced a powerful, controversial and long-awaited tool aimed at providing relief. By a unanimous vote, the City Council directed staff to draft an ordinance that establishes a framework for a citywide "residential parking permit program,â€? which would allow participating neighborhoods to create parking restrictions on their residential blocks. The program will allow residents to purchase permits and establish time limits for all parked cars that don't display permits. A Now with the first step out of the way, the city faces the uphill task of hashing out all the details and convincing the clamoring parties that this tool will serve as a palliative to the pesky problem of parking congestion and not a Trojan horse that will make a bad situation even worse. The council's decision on Monday means that the days of free, unrestricted parking for employees on residential blocks may soon be coming to an end. Though the details of the parking program — including the number of issued permits and their costs — will be hashed out, the staff proposal that the council endorsed on Monday sets most of the major parameters. The program does not limit itself to downtown but would by Gennady Sheyner become available to any residential neighborhood that meets the threshold of congestion. The plan evoked plenty of feedback, with dozens of representatives from business and residential communities offering a wide array of strong opinions. The most passionate criticism came from the downtown businesses, with some property owners and employers blasting the proposal as grossly unfair to workers and others saying they are open to the permit program, but only after the city puts forward other initiatives that boost parking supply or offer other transportation alternatives. David Sass, a general manager at Lyfe Kitchen, said he was "almost offendedâ€? by his employees being characterized by residents as "intrudersâ€? into neighborhoods. They are using public spaces, he noted, and they constitute a valuable part of the community. But residents countered that they've waited long enough and that the dire state of their streets begs for urgent action. Eric Filseth, representing a group of residents, said that the conversation about parking should not be about how to divide a neighborhood between workers and residents. Rather, it should be about reducing the number of cars on the streets and restoring the quality of life that has been degraded by parking problems. "It's time to disentangle the residents from this process and protect the neighborhoods from commercial zones,â€? Filseth said. The cost of parking for employers, he said, should be treated as the "cost of businessâ€? and should not be paid for by residents. Both residents and employers will have a chance to provide further input on the ordinance as part of a new stakeholders group that the council formed on Monday as part of its discussion. City staff and the stakeholders will work out the specifics of the program in the coming months. N A longer version of this article was posted on Jan. 27 on PaloAltoOnline.com. Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at firstname.lastname@example.com. Flood tial 100-year-flood-protection project, which when built would mean the bridge would be able to withstand a massive flood that it, to build a raised bridge that has a 1 percent chance of hapallows for greater water flow pening in any given year. The or construct an at-grade bridge designs includes three possible with minimal changes to road- placements for underground byway elevations. pass culverts, which allow water Wednesday's meeting focused to flow under roads. One alignon the designs and impacts of the ment would run from Middlefield latter two options, which also in- Road out to the San Francisco clude differing plans for longer Bay, another from the creek unterm flood-protection projects. der Hamilton Avenue and a third The raised-bridge alternative, along the creek under Woodland referred to as the Avenue. baseline project, For the 100would raise the 'I guess I'm just year project, the roadway at the raised bridge debridge and along asking for a lot sign would also portions of Palo more information add 3- to 6-footAlto Avenue and tall floodwalls, than you're giving Woodland Avextending up enue. The design to us. If the EIR to 600 feet upcalls for 4-foot- isn't until summer, stream and 100 tall reta ining feet downstream. walls at the four then maybe we (The height varcorner proper- should postpone ies due to road ties surrounding alignment.) the bridge. The these discussions Menlo Pa rk br idge railing until then.' resident Brielle would be a stan—local resident Johnck took the dard height of 3 microphone at feet. There would the meeting to be no floodwalls immediately ask water district staff about built — an element of contention the first community meeting, with residents — and this design held Jan. 15, at which she said would protect the area from a Menlo Park City Councilwoman large, once-in-50-years flood. Kirsten Keith said, "Floodwalls The raised bridge would al- are a nonstarter.â€? low more water to flow freely "We all just sat there and said, and is more convenient for 'Well, this is the best piece of maintenance, said Kevin Sibley, news we've gotten,'â€? Johnck associate civil engineer for the said, expressing opposition to the Santa Clara Valley Water Dis- construction of unsightly floodtrict. This construction would walls. "So my question tonight be mainly funded by the water is, is Kirsten on solid ground district, with most of the money there? Can we honestly say there coming from Measure B, a bond will be no floodwalls on either voters passed in 2012. of these alternatives? Because The raised bridge design also I keep hearing the word 'floodlays the groundwork for a poten- walls' over and over again.â€? ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ"ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠxÂŽ ÂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒiĂƒĂžĂŠÂœvĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠ->Â˜ĂŠĂ€>˜VÂˆĂƒÂľĂ•ÂˆĂŒÂœĂŠ Ă€iiÂŽĂŠÂœÂˆÂ˜ĂŒĂŠ*ÂœĂœiĂ€ĂƒĂŠĂ•ĂŒÂ…ÂœĂ€ÂˆĂŒĂž One alternative for rebuilding flood-prone Pope-Chaucer Street Bridge is a raised bridge. "Floodwalls are one alternative,â€? said Kevin Murray, project manager at the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority. "At this point in time, your input and Kirsten Keith's input obviously carries a lot of weight, so a future decision will be made.â€? The second design, for an at-grade bridge, requires no retaining walls at the four corner properties, no floodwalls and minimal changes to road elevations. It would also build a standard 3-foot-tall bridge railing. The at-grade bridge "maintains the aesthetic of the current bridge without impacting the four corner properties,â€? Sibley said. It, in the future, would also accommodate a potential 100-yearflood-protection project but with higher floodwalls — up to 7 feet — that extend much further upstream — 1,800 feet — and 100 feet downstream. "There's some serious negative with that floodwall issue, and I can appreciate that,â€? Sibley conceded but said that the floodwall would not actually be 7 feet tall the whole way but rather taper off as it moves farther away from the bridge. Sibley said maintenance is much more difficult with the at-grade bridge than the raised one. Residents have also taken issue with the potential removal of trees along the bridge, starting a website called "Save the Oaks.â€? The raised-bridge alternative would remove 25 to 35 riparian trees, or trees that grow between land and a creek or river, and up to 31 landscape trees (due to removal of landscape strips at the four corner properties). The atgrade option would remove the same amount of creek-side trees, but no landscape trees. Many audience members also continually asked staff why no Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been completed yet. Staff said they're currently working on it, and one is due out this summer. "I guess I'm just asking for a lot more information than you're giving to us. If the EIR isn't until summer, then maybe we should postpone these discussions until then,â€? one audience member said, to a round of applause. N Online Editor Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com. ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 7 Upfront MEDICINE Stanford geneticist to lead major stem-cell grant State agency approves $40 million to bridge stem-cell, genomics research S tanford University geneticist Michael Snyder will lead a state-funded stemcell research project that Wednesday won $40 million to create a "Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics.â€? The award, given to Stanford, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego and five other California research institutions, will focus on bridging stem-cell research with the field of genomics — studying the complete genetic make-up of a cell or organism. Salk Institute geneticist Joseph Ecker will co-direct the five-year project. The funds come from state tax- payers who, in 2004, created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine with passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. Though only about 10 labs across the state are actively involved in the project, Snyder said the work will benefit "hundreds of labsâ€? across California. "We want to get genomics research out to other researchers, particularly stem-cell researchers, in California,â€? Snyder said. "Genomics requires sophisticated equipment and expertise, and most people don't have access to that. An important part of this by Chris Kenrick is collaborating on projects where we'll help groups bring genomics to more people. "We'll take on cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurological diseases that are all approachable with stem-cell therapies and do projects related to those issues,â€? he said. The stem-cell agency's president, Alan Trounson, said: "Bringing together this team, to do this kind of work, means we will be better able to understand how stem cells change as they grow and become different kinds of cells. "That deeper knowledge, that you can only get through a ge- nomic analysis of the cells, will help us develop better ways of using these cells to come up with new treatments for deadly diseases,â€? Trounson said. The five other institutions participating in the $40 million project are the University of California at San Diego, the Scripps Research Institute, the J. Craig Venter Institute and Illumina, Inc., all of San Diego, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. Other competitors to lead the research grant, including the University of California at San Francisco and Scripps Research Institute, protested the awards procedure, saying the state agency had failed to disclose key criteria to all applicants, the Sacramento Bee reported. In addition to the $40 million award, the stem-cell agency's governing board Wednesday approved more than $27 million in funding to 27 different biology research labs in California, including $1.1 million to Stanford neurologist Gary Steinberg for study of how human neural or brain-nerve stem cells can help people recovering from stroke. The 2004 ballot measure creating the stem-cell agency provided $3 billion in funding for stem-cell research at California universities and research institutions. N EDUCATION Board favors proposed rules protecting disabled, minorities But parents unhappy that a bullying policy for all students is not up for a vote t a Palo Alto Board of Education meeting that stretched well past midnight Tuesday, board members expressed support — in advance of a final vote Feb. 11 — for new district policies governing the bullying of disabled and other "protectedâ€? students. Superintendent Kevin Skelly said the policies should satisfy A a federal agency that in 2012 found the district in violation of civil rights laws. But five parents who waited until the bullying item came up after 1 a.m. expressed frustration that, after a year of work to revise bullying policies, the new policies apply only to legally "protectedâ€? classes of students, based on such characteachers' plan offered enough "specific scaffoldingâ€? and intensive extra help for regular-lane students to make them "feel successfulâ€? in an advanced class. "If we're going to ask our struggling kids, who are already struggling, to go up to 9A (accelerated English) that does have a faster curriculum with more vocabulary and more time on task, then we've got to provide something different,â€? Vice President Melissa Baten Caswell said. Board member Dana Tom said his "fundamental discomfort (with the proposed change) is trying to understand how you can effectively challenge and support the students in the class when you have a larger range than what you have today.â€? Board President Barb Mitchell worried that the proposal is "catching parents and students by surprise,â€? with ninth-grade signups due next week. "What I've learned about our community is that parents and students love choices, and the difficulties about this discussion is it's perceived as a subtraction as opposed to more choices,â€? Mitchell said, suggesting that parents be given more time to digest the proposal. Board member Camille teristics as race, disability and sexual preference. "I believed we were going to protect all students — not just protected classes — and now I stand before you and ask, 'What happened?'â€? parent Christina Schmidt said. "You had a well-crafted policy. It took a long time to get to it and a lot of people worked Townsend said the many lane choices offered to students has been cited as a strength of the Palo Alto school district, adding she has heard from many parents concerned about the proposal. Only Emberling supported the English proposal as presented. "I think it's nice to start with a level playing field and differentiating within the classroom,â€? she said. "We trust the professionals in our district, and this is a pilot program.â€? The board, however, expressed enthusiasm for the two "pathwayâ€? ideas. The Social Justice Pathway would be designed as a schoolwithin-a school for about 60 students in grades 10 through 12, similar to Paly's existing TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) program for freshmen. Students would move together through English, history and — for most of them — Spanish classes, with an emphasis on project-based learning and primary documents. The Sports Career Pathway would not be a school-within-aschool but would offer sportsthemed classes such as kinesiology, sports literature and photojournalism — classes that on it and — after sending these documents around and having them approved by everyone — they're now off the table.â€? Skelly said he would return to the board by March with a general bullying policy. "I understand the frustration of the speakers but, frankly, we're just not there yet,â€? he said. "I can't bring something already exist at Paly — and include internships and a new introductory class called "Getting Into the Game.â€? Teachers said they came up with the proposals after being asked two years ago to brainstorm for "out- of-the-box ideasâ€? that would ignite students' passions. "At the heart of this is recognizing a true interest base among our students,â€? English teacher Lucy Filppu said, stressing that the Sports Career Pathway is not meant particularly for athletes but to capitalize on many students' natural interest in sports. Board members objected to an element in the sports pathway creating an optional "strandâ€? for students not wishing to complete a four-year-college-prep curriculum. The objections echoed similar concerns expressed by parents Woodham and Dauber. "The premise of this pathway is flexible, whereas we want our kids to be college-ready,â€? Woodham said. Beginning with the graduating class of 2016, the four-year-college-prep curriculum will become a condition of high school graduation unless a student and his or her family specifically have negotiated with the district for "alternative to the board that runs the risk of turning every issue that can be a learning experience between two kids in a classroom into something that has to be reported to the district level and run the risk of not having these things resolved where they could be real learning experiences for folks.â€? N — Chris Kenrick graduation requirements.â€? Teachers said they'd be willing to withdraw the non-college-track strand and offer the sports pathway as a college-track-only option. In addition to the pathways proposals, board members were particularly enthusiastic about a proposed new Paly class in Early Childhood Development, a new nanotechnology class that will be offered in cooperation with Foothill College to both Paly and Gunn students, and a new marine biology class at Gunn. They also embraced JLS Middle School proposals for classes in "Money Mattersâ€? and a project-oriented class focusing on environmental issues. Before a final vote on the new classes likely for Feb. 11, board members asked for tweaks in a JLS Middle School proposal for a new Exploratory Language class aimed at building readiness in middle school students to pursue a foreign language in high school. The class, said JLS French teacher Jacqueline Kandell, would "get them used to sounds and pronunciations through a fun way of learning that focuses on the culture, arts, crafts and geography. It would allow them to get comfortable and build readiness to learn a language.â€? N School ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ"ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠxÂŽ they see themselves right off the bat as not being as smart as their peers,â€? Paly Principal Kim Diorio said. "I think that sets them up in that mindset that they're in a fixed place in our school, and that's really troubling. "In our school we talk about equity and structural inequalities that exist in our system and how we can raise achievement for all students.â€? Diorio and the teachers said they believe their proposed change would also be easier for teachers because special-education students would be dispersed among more than 20 freshman English classes rather than concentrated in a few low-lane sections. Parents Sara Woodham and Ken Dauber backed the English teachers' proposal at the meeting but parents Louise Valente, Lauren Janov and Jonathan Foster questioned it. Board members said they've been flooded with emails from parents about the proposed change, however, and all but member Heidi Emberling indicated they were not prepared to support it. They questioned whether the Page 8ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Upfront 6iĂ€ÂœÂ˜ÂˆV>ĂŠ7iLiĂ€ After a four-year delay, groundbreaking for the new College Terrace Centre, which will include a new grocery store, as well as offices, retail and below-market-rate apartments, is slated for spring. DEVELOPMENT College Terrace Centre to begin construction Block-long development rises out of recession doldrums after 4 years by Sue Dremann T he long-awaited redevelopment of the College Terrace Centre, which had trouble securing financing until recently, is slated to begin this spring, funder Canyon Capital Realty Advisors has announced. The Palo Alto project, which encompasses the block fronting El Camino Real between College and Oxford avenues, will include 9,000 square feet of space for a new grocery store to replace the 60-year-old JJ&F Market, 45,000 square feet of office space, 7,000 square feet of other retail including an open-air market space and eight below-market-rate apartments. The plan won City Council approval in December 2009 after months of public scrutiny, with residents rallying to keep the beloved JJ&F Market market while opposing dense development. But the center languished during the recession, and funding became difficult to secure, city officials said last year. To keep the project alive, the city granted developer Twenty-One Hundred Ventures an extension on its building permits. But during that time, the grocery store, which gained new ownership in 2011, struggled to survive. The store, operated by the Khoury family, closed in September 2013, after its lease was up. Twenty-One Hundred Ventures did not offer them a lease in the new development, family members said. Canyon Capital Realty Advisors has made the loan to construct the center, which will be a two- and three-story development with underground parking on 1.4 acres, one block from the Stanford University campus. The separate residential building will have ample on-site parking, Canyon Capital executives said. "College Terrace presents a unique opportunity for Canyon Realty to invest in one of the most coveted addresses in the Bay Area,â€? Marti Page, director at Canyon Realty, said. "The development's proximity to Stanford University and the Stanford Research Park provides a dynamic environment for prospective retailers and office users.â€? Construction is slated to begin this spring and end in August 2015. Carrasco & Associates of Palo Alto are the architects. "We ... are very excited about the retail and commercial opportunities that the completion of College Terrace (Centre) will bring to the area,â€? developer Shawn-Patrick Smailey said. N Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com. #& 2!* ' & 2 # ' " # ! & " #! # ' "-"'%&) ./+(0))/(( $% -*, 1 & & +*%#,(+#+*** ! !#$!! ! ' & ' 28th Annual Palo Alto Weekly EXTENDED ENTRY DEADLINE: Friday, February 7 Details: PaloAltoOnline.com/ short_story ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 9 Upfront EDUCATION Superintendent serves dinner, links funders and programs Philanthropists, principals mingle to discuss needs of Ravenswood students by Chris Kenrick ealthy philanthropists, school principals and nonprofit leaders mingled Wednesday in an unusual session to "map resourcesâ€? for East Palo Alto's Ravenswood City School District. Superintendent Gloria Hernandez served dinner and invited the district's outside funders and service providers to brainstorm on strengths, weaknesses and gaps in programs on the district's seven campuses, which serve 3,600 K-8 children, most of whom are low-income. Hernandez, who came from a Sacramento-area school district to become Ravenswood's superintendent last summer, said she was "impressed by how many community partners we have, not just this year, but who have invested for years. "I want to deepen our collaboration and change how we deal with our partners,â€? Hernandez said, adding that she aims to reassess the district's "delivery system and models.â€? Only 61 percent of Ravenswood's eighth-grade graduates W ultimately earn a high-school diploma from the Sequoia Union High School District, compared to Sequoia's district-wide graduation rate of 80 percent and a 93 percent graduation rate for the Menlo Park City School District students who come to Sequoia. Only 11 percent of Ravenswood's graduates ultimately complete a four-year collegeprep curriculum in high school, compared to a Sequoia districtwide average of 40 percent and a rate of 76 percent for students coming from the Menlo Park City School District. "We really need to be doing much, much better for our students,â€? Hernandez said. "We hand them off to Sequoia (for high school), but it's like being a co-parent. We raise those students until the time they go there.â€? Though principals have developed individual relationships with outside supporters, Hernandez said she hoped the resourcemapping session would offer a broader perspective and help the district ensure parity and develop a baseline of core services. She divided the 90 guests into seven groups and asked them to confer with each principal about concerns on her or his campus. Principals were stationed at charts, which identified specific outside funders for supplemental academic programs on their campuses. At the K-8 Willow Oaks School, for example, Principal Cynthia Chin said the school serves 120 of its 703 students in an after-school program, run by the nonprofit Citizen Schools, with 100 children on the waiting list. At the station for the Brentwood Elementary School, one funder remarked that the school did not seem to have much technology. Principal Tami Espinosa said while Ravenswood has a district-wide technology plan, Brentwood "is not very technology-rich. "We're K-5, and the laptop give-away programs have mainly been to middle school students,â€? Espinosa said. "But we do now have a laptop cart,â€? she said, adding that with new state testing moving online, "just the basics of using a computer, and a mouse, dragging and clicking is something we're trying to prepare kids for.â€? Longtime Ravenswood supporters said they were impressed by the volume of information offered at the gathering. "The transparency and the willingness to reach out and leverage resources is really impressive,â€? said Dave Higaki, executive director of East Palo Alto Tennis & Tutoring (EPATT), which is in its 26th year of offering tennis lessons and academic tutoring to Ravenswood students. EPATT board member Marcia Pade said she appreciated the opportunity to meet the principals. "The initiative that the superintendent has taken, to be this inclusive, I think, is extraordinary,â€? Pade said. Stacey Kertsman, director of Castilleja School's Center for Awareness, Compassion and Engagement, said: "It's so incredible to be in this room with so many people thinking about this school district.â€? Terrence Riley, business manager of the San Francisco nonprofit Aim High, called the resource-mapping dinner, which was funded by the Grove Foundation, a one-of-a-kind event. "I've never seen a district go upward and beyond to bring together so many partners to hopefully seek their input and hopefully use their input,â€? Riley said. Hernandez said Wednesday's session was limited to outside partners who provide academic programs and did not cover other outside-funded district projects in areas such as mental health, counseling and parent engagement. "This is just a start,â€? Hernandez said. "We wanted you to see each other and have the programs linked up so you could have dialogues with the principals and get an idea of who else is working in the district.â€? N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@ paweekly.com. ANNOUNCING T H E 2 8 T H A N N U A L PA L O A L T O W E E K L Y CATEGORIES ADULT YOUNG ADULT (Ages 15-17) TEEN (Ages 12-14) TWEEN (Ages 9-11) Ages as of Dec. 31, 2013 JUDGES: ADULT/YOUNG ADULT Tom Parker, Award winning novelist and short story writer, UC Extension and Foothill College Instructor and former Stanford Instructor Meg Waite Clayton, is the nationally best selling author of The Four Ms. Bradwells, The Wednesday Sisters, and The Bellwether Prize finalist The Language of Light. Ellen Sussman Author of New York Times best selling novel French Lessons and San Francisco Chronicle best seller On A Night Like This PRIZES FOR ADULTS: 1st Place – $500 cash 2nd Place – $300 cash 3rd Place – $200 cash FOR YOUNG ADULT/CHILDREN/TEEN: 1st Place – $100 gift certificate 2nd Place – $75 gift certificate 3rd Place – $50 gift certificate CHILDREN/TEEN Katy Obringer, Former supervisor of Palo Alto Children's Library Caryn Huberman Yacowitz, Playwright and Children's book author Nancy Etchemendy, Children's book author ENTRY DEADLINE EXTENDED: Friday, February 7 5:30 p.m. For contest rules and more information, visit www.paloaltoonline.com/short_story or call 650-223-6559 Page 10ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ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ÜÜÜ°*>Ì"i°VÊUÊ*>ÊÌÊ7iiÞÊUÊ>Õ>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ÊU Page 11 Upfront News Digest Palo Alto police seek purse snatcher Palo Alto police are looking for a bike-riding purse snatcher who they said committed two crimes in the span of 15 minutes downtown Jan. 29. The incidents happened just before 7 p.m. In the first case, the man allegedly stole a purse from a woman who was dining at an outdoor table on the 400 block of University Avenue. Police said the victim, a woman in her 60s, was having a meal and had placed her purse under the table. Police said the man walked up to her, said, "Excuse me,â€? reached down, grabbed her purse and ran eastbound on University. He then jumped on a dark bicycle and rode away. One passerby heard the victim calling out for help and tried to give chase on foot, police said. The person saw the bike-riding purse snatcher ride eastbound on Lytton Avenue from Cowper Street. Shortly after this incident, police received a call reporting an attempted strong-arm robbery that had occurred at around 6:45 p.m. at a bus stop on Quarry Road near Palo Road, where a bike-riding thief had approached a woman at the bus stop and tried to take the purse off her shoulder as he rode by. She held on, and after a brief struggle, the man rode away westbound on Quarry. Victims described the thief as possibly white, Hispanic or Asian and in his late teens or early 20s, between 6 feet and 6 feet 3 inches in height, with a thin build. Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to email@example.com or sent to 650-383-8984. N — Gennady Sheyner Alleged serial car burglar re-arrested The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has filed charges against a man they believe is responsible for numerous windowsmash auto burglaries of rental cars at Palo Alto restaurants. Vernon Rayshaun Evans-Carmichael, 22, of San Francisco has been charged with 27 felony counts of burglary and grand theft after a string of window-smash auto burglaries, Palo Alto police said. Evan-Carmichael's alleged crime spree dates back to June 24, 2013, when police received a call about an auto burglary in progress at Stanford Shopping Center, where a thief had taken electronics such as laptops and tablet computers from five rental vehicles after smashing car windows. Officers later identified Evans-Carmichael as a suspect and obtained a felony warrant for his arrest on Oct. 3. He was arrested, charged with auto burglary and grand theft, but he posted bail and failed to appear at his arraignment. Nine window-smash auto burglaries then occurred on Jan. 14 at the Fish Market at 3150 El Camino Real. Seven of the vehicles were rental cars, and the burglar also targeted small electronics. EvansCarmichael was suspected in those cases, police said. On Jan. 16, the Oakley Police Department in Contra Costa County located and arrested Evans-Carmichael. He now remains in custody on $350,000 bail. Despite his arrest, auto burglaries have continued in Palo Alto. Eight burglaries occurred on the evening of Jan. 23 in downtown parking garages. N — Sue Dremann Council aims to build new police HQ Even if the voters defy their leaders and shoot down a proposed increase to the city's hotel-tax rate, the Palo Alto City Council will push forward with its most urgent and most complex infrastructure priority — a new public-safety building. That was the consensus of the council's Infrastructure Committee, which voted unanimously on Jan. 29 to make the public-safety building the city's top priority. The vote came after a broader discussion about the city's long list of needed infrastructure repairs, some of which would potentially be paid for with revenues from the hotel-tax hike. The committee has yet to figure out what projects to include in the possible bond package. Despite the council's sense of urgency about a new police building, the project has consistently failed to attract the public's overwhelming support. Recent polls confirmed the findings of past polls: While a bare majority might support the $57 million police headquarters, it would be difficult for the council to get the supermajority of voters needed to pass a bond. With its vote Wednesday, the committee signaled that the project should be pursued regardless of the November results, with existing funds if necessary. While a bond measure would help the council tackle some of the other major projects on the list — including new downtown garages, a host of bike improvements and replacement of two obsolete fire stations — members of the four-member committee agreed that the police building is important enough to be pursued with existing funding. N — Gennady Sheyner Page 12ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Lan Liu Bowling & John Chung We have just moved ! Please come and visit our new office if you are in the neighborhood. 5 2 5 H a m i l t o n A v e n u e , Pa l o A l t o www.LanBowling.com ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 13 Upfront CityView A round-up of Palo Alto government action this week City Council The council did not meet this week. City Council (Jan. 27) Parking: The council approved a proposed framework for a citywide Residential Parking Permit Program and directed staff to form a stakeholders group and draft an ordinance creating the program. Yes: Unanimous ÂœĂ•Ă€ĂŒiĂƒĂžĂŠ/Â…iĂŠ>ĂžiĂƒĂŠĂ€ÂœĂ•ÂŤĂŠ Board of Education (Jan. 28) New classes: The board discussed proposals from middle and high school teachers for new course offerings for 2014-15, with final votes expected Feb. 11. Action: None Paly English: The board discussed a proposal from the Paly English Department to dismantle the current two-lane structure in freshman English to offer an accelerated class to all ninth graders. Action: None High schools: The board heard annual updates from high school principals under the state-mandated Single Plan for Student Achievement program. Action: None Bullying: The board discussed revisions to policies on how to respond to the bullying of disabled and minority students, with a final vote expected Feb. 11. Action: None The developer of this proposed office building at Page Mill Road and El Camino Real in Palo Alto has requested planned-community (PC) zoning and could be affected if the City Council decides to temporarily halt PC projects. Council Infrastructure Committee (Jan. 29) Infrastructure: The committee voted to adopt a new public-safety building as the city's top infrastructure priority. Yes: Unanimous Zoning ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ"ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠxÂŽ 101 Lytton Ave., were the most recent PC projects to win the council's green light (not counting the overturned proposal on Maybell, which included 60 units of housing for low-income seniors and 12 single-family homes). The planning commission, which reviews all such proposals, recognized the challenges with PC projects more than a year ago A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week when a troika of commissioners issued a memo calling the existCITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to hold its annual retreat to discuss ing process "the greatest chalcouncil priorities, the city's core values and staff's work plan for the year. lenge to land-use planning in Palo The retreat will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, at Ventura Center, Alto today.â€? 3990 Ventura Court. To address this challenge, city staff is now recommending a CITY COUNCIL ... The council plans to discuss the "Our Palo Altoâ€? initia"time outâ€? period for PC projects tive; potential reforms to the "planned communityâ€? zone process; and — a moratorium that would stay the Environmental Impact Report for the reconfiguration of the Palo Alto in effect until the city revises the Municipal Golf Course. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, zoning rules. In a report issued Feb. 3, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). Wednesday afternoon, planning staff acknowledge that the process has been "viewed by many as too opaque and transactional.â€? "While many acknowledge the success of some past PC developments and advantages of PC zoning as a tool, the process and some of its outcomes have been critiqued as inadequate,â€? the report from the Department of Planning and Community Environment states. "Furthermore, the ad-hoc NEXT WORKSHOP nature of each separate negotiaMichael Priddy, PhD, & tion has contributed to the comThursday, Feb. 27 munity concerns about the lack of Cara Hoepner, RN 7pm-8:30pm a coherent set of values or vision for the future.â€? RSVP to (650) 289-5498 or "Connecting to People The proposed time out would firstname.lastname@example.com allow staff to consider possible with Alzheimer's through www.avenidas.org/care reforms, including ones recently Compassionate Communicationâ€? suggested by the planning comat 270 Escuela Ave. Mountain View Thursday, March 27, 7pm-8:30pm mission. These include specificalAlexandra Morris, Gerontologist ly defining the types of projects "Seniors & Medications: The that may apply for a PC district; defining the minimum size of a Good, the Bad and the Uglyâ€? property that would be eligible Thursday, April 24, 7pm-8:30pm for PC zones; establish a buffer Elizabeth Landsverk, MD zone between such projects and low-density residential zones; creating a menu of "public benefitsâ€? that a developer could offer under a PC proposal; and estabQuality Daytime Care for Older Adults lishing a "better mechanismâ€? for monitoring stipulations and conditions placed on a project. Though the reforms would not Page 14ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Business Element: The commission discussed the revised Business Element and recommended its inclusion in the Comprehensive Plan. It also made several amendments, including a recommendation to create a business registry and to study the retail mix on California Avenue and consider a policy on chain stores and diversity of retail. Yes: Alcheck, Keller, King, Michael, Tanaka Absent: Martinez Planning and Transportation Commission (Jan. 31) Public Agenda FAMILY CAREGIVING 101 FREE Interactive Workshop "Emotional Healthâ€? resolve all the issues around the zoning (the council would still have to weigh the drawbacks of high density against the benefits offered), they would add some predictability to a process that has at times resembled a late-night, high-stakes poker game between developers and elected officials. Because the zoning code doesn't specifically define "public benefits,â€? the offerings have ranged widely, from small plazas and large angel statues to affordablehousing units and cash. Perhaps the boldest public benefit ever offered was Jay Paul Co.'s recent proposal to build the city a new police headquarters in exchange for permission to build 311,000 square feet of office space at a site that is already built out to the zoning limit. In December, with the Maybell election in the rear-view mirror and public tensions rising high over dense developments, Jay Paul withdrew the offer, citing the city's "political climate.â€? The new recommendation signifies a determination by staff that the only way to save the PC zone is to kill it, at least temporarily. With the Jay Paul application withdrawn and the Maybell project defeated, the only PC project now in the city's pipeline is 2755 El Camino Real, site of a former Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) lot on the busy corner of El Camino and Page Mill Road. If approved, the 33,000-squarefoot office project would consist of four stories of office space to be occupied by a bank. Palo Alto officials have recently commissioned an independent study to consider the value of the offered public benefits, which include $275,000 toward intersection improvements at El Camino and Page Mill, $175,000 for electric-vehicle charging stations near California Avenue and a $1.4 million contribution toward the city's soon-to-commence upgrade of California Avenue. According to the planning report, consultants had concluded that a "potential development could be profitable under both a PC zoning designation and a C-S (service commercial) zoning designation.â€? If the City Council agrees on Monday to accept staff recommendation, the project at 2755 El Camino would be put on hold until the process is reformed. This would not be the first time that the city is making changes to the PC zone, which has been in existence since 1951. Intentionally vague, the ordinance establishing PCs stated that the districts are intended to accommodate projects such as "neighborhood and district shopping centers, professional and administrative areas, multiple housing developments, single-family residential developments, commercial service centers and industrial parks or any other use or combination of uses which can be made appropriately as part of a planned development.â€? In 1978, the city reformed the process and introduced a more extensive public-review process for PC projects, along with the concept of "public benefitsâ€? that a developer has to offer. The revised PC ordinance, which remains in place today, specifies that the "planned community district is particularly intended for unified, comprehensively planned developments which are of substantial public benefit, and which conform with and enhance the policies and programs of the Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan.â€? Though it was initially intended as an exception to enable particularly beneficial projects, it has become commonplace in recent decades, particularly during times of economic boom. The city currently has between 100 and 150 such developments. Recognizing the frequency of such applications and public anxieties surrounding them, planning Commissioners Mark Michael, Eduardo Martinez and Michael Alcheck wrote in their March 2013 memo: "The forces for development in Palo Alto, the scarcity of available land, the impact of higher density land uses, and the infrastructure required to support existing and new development demand that we revisit this aspect of the 'Palo Alto Process.'â€? The process of reforming the ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂ˜iĂ?ĂŒĂŠÂŤ>}iÂŽ Upfront ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ"ĂŠÂŤĂ€iĂ›ÂˆÂœĂ•ĂƒĂŠÂŤ>}iÂŽ PC zone coincides with the city's revision of the Comprehensive Plan, its land-use bible. In the Wednesday report, staff offers two options for proceeding with the time out. One would freeze the zoning mechanism until late summer, when staff presents the council with an analysis and recommendations. Another approach would link the PC conversation with the broader update of the Comprehensive Plan, an option that would extend the timeline for reforming the zoning process. Whichever approach the council chooses, members are unlikely to kill the PC zone entirely. At their Dec. 2 discussion of the topic, several council members said that while they would be open to reform, they would be reluctant to scrap it entirely, as many in the community have urged. Then-Mayor Greg Scharff said he would support, for instance, inclusion in staff reports of the "pros and consâ€? of such proposals. "What we need is community buy-in into the PC process and not this fear,â€? Scharff said. Councilman Pat Burt, meanwhile, downplayed the impact of PC projects and observed that for all the hype, they make up only a small portion of the proposals in front of the council (only two were in the pipeline during the time of the Dec. 2 meeting, which was two weeks before Jay Paul pulled out). The more pertinent issue, Burt said, is large developments in general. Those people who are focusing on the PC zone as the "primary culprit of our problems of having too much development occurring too rapidly — which I agree with — are misguided and doing a disservice to those in the community who are concerned about the rate of change and growth,â€? Burt said on Dec. 2. Councilman Larry Klein was the most outspoken opponent of a moratorium at that meeting, observing that moratoriums often have "unintended consequences.â€? Councilwoman Karen Holman, meanwhile, took the opposite stance and said the city should "have a moratorium on PCs, including those in the pipeline.â€? "I'd like to be a community where commercial entities that want to enter Palo Alto are welcomed, not referended, not appealed,â€? Holman said. N Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com. These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAlto Online.com/news. Online This Week Michael Repka Before you select a real estate agent, meet with Michael Repka to discuss how his real estate law and tax back-ground beneďŹ ts Ken DeLeon's clients. Palo Alto to host crime-prevention meeting Responding to a recent string of robberies, Palo Alto police are inviting residents to a community meeting on Feb. 4 to discuss these incidents, go over the city's response and offer crime-prevention tips. (Posted Jan. 30, 1:17 p.m.) Palo Alto hopes to fill garage vacancies Residential streets in downtown Palo Alto may be filled to capacity with parked cars, but the picture inside several garages couldn't be any more different. (Posted Jan. 29, 9:49 a.m.) EPA reaches $3 million cleanup settlement Nearly 30 years after circuit board manufacturer CTS Printex left Mountain View for Fremont, the company has agreed to pay $3 million for a toxic cleanup on Sierra Vista Avenue. (Posted Jan. 29, 9:35 a.m.) Managing Broker DeLeon Realty JD - Rutgers School of Law L.L.M (Taxation) NYU School of Law (650) 488.7325 DRE# 01854880 | CA BAR# 255996 Man pleads not guilty to smashing windows A San Jose man who allegedly smashed windows at three East Palo Alto churches because he wanted to use the bathroom has pleaded not guilty in San Mateo County Superior Court. (Posted Jan. 29, 9:34 a.m.) firstname.lastname@example.com www.deleonrealty.com Gunn takes on 'Vagina Monologues' Students at Gunn High School are mounting a production of "The Vagina Monologuesâ€? — a Valentine's Day staple on college and university campuses, but rare at the high-school level. (Posted Jan. 28. 2:38 p.m.) SamTrans cuts peak bus service A series of sweeping, system-wide changes for SamTrans means that Palo Alto residents now must hop-scotch through bus transfers and BART to get to and from San Francisco as of Sunday, Jan. 26. (Posted Jan. 27, 12:59 p.m.) Mountain View man dies surfing A boogie boarder who died after being pulled from the ocean in Santa Cruz on Jan. 24 was identified as James Zenk, 47, of Mountain View, according to the county coroner's office. (Posted Jan. 27, 9:06 a.m.) No charge in crash that hurt 6-year-olds Edward Nelson, the 90-year-old driver whose SUV jumped a curb and pinned 6-year-old twin boys against a wall in downtown Menlo Park, will not be charged with an infraction for driving on the sidewalk. (Posted Jan. 27, 9:05 a.m.) ! e l a S g n i s o l C Store ing Must Go! Everyth More local flu deaths A total of eight people have died as a result of the H1N1 flu virus in Santa Clara County this flu season, according to a new report from the county's health department. (Posted Jan. 24, 2:24 p.m.) Palo Alto man scares off home burglar A burglar rummaging through a Palo Alto house at about 11:30 a.m. Jan. 20 fled after he walked into a bedroom and discovered he had awakened a sleeping resident, police are reporting. (Posted Jan. 23, 8:09 p.m.) Palo Alto couple robbed in home invasion Three men forced their way into the home of a Palo Alto couple in their 80s and robbed them at gunpoint on Thursday morning, Jan. 23, police said. (Posted Jan. 23, 12:52 p.m.) 500 University Ave. 650.327.0668 Palo Alto The online guide to Palo Alto businesses Visit ShopPaloAlto.com today www.paloaltoruggaller y.com ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 15 Inspirations a guide to the spiritual community FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, UCC £™nxĂŠÂœĂ•ÂˆĂƒĂŠ,Âœ>`]ĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠUĂŠÂĂˆxäŽÊnxĂˆÂ‡ĂˆĂˆĂˆĂ"ĂŠUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°vVVÂŤ>Â°ÂœĂ€}ĂŠ Sunday Worship and Church School at 10 a.m. Pulse POLICE CALLS Palo Alto Jan. 18-27 Violence related Armed robbery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Assault w/ deadly weapon . . . . . . . . . . 1 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Counterfeiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Credit card forgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Shoplifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Vehicle related Attempt stealing vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Auto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Driving w/ suspended license . . . . . . 12 Driving w/o license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Lost/stolen plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Misc. traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A weekly compendium of vital statistics Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 7 Vehicle accident/property damage . . . 8 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Alcohol or drug related Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Drunken driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Miscellaneous Found property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Other/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 3 Unattended death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Vehicle accident/mnr. injury . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle accident/prop. damage . . . . . . 8 Vehicle accident/no injuries . . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Alcohol or drug related Drug activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Drunken driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Possession of paraphernalia . . . . . . . . 3 Miscellaneous Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Gang violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Info. case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Located missing person . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Other/misc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Probation violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Warrant arrest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 This Sunday: Saying Yes to Our Inner Voice Rev. Dr. G. Clyde Dodder An Open and Affirming Congregation of the United Church of Christ We celebrate Marriage Equality Menlo Park Jan. 21-27 Violence related Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Vehicle related Driving w/ suspended license . . . . . . . 5 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto Arastradero Road, 1/18, 7:22 p.m.; domestic violence La Selva Drive, 1/20, 0:02 a.m.; domestic violence/battery Vista Avenue, 1/20, 1:51 p.m.; assault w/ a deadly weapon Palo Alto Avenue, 1/23, 10:43 a.m.; armed robbery El Camino Real, 1/25, 5:04 p.m.; domestic violence/battery El Camino Real, 1/25, 7:57 p.m.; battery University Avenue, 1/27, 3:20 a.m.; battery 28th Annual Palo Alto Weekly Inspirations is a resource for ongoing religious services and special events. To inquire about or to reserve space in Inspirations, please contact Blanca Yoc at 223-6596 or email firstname.lastname@example.com EXTENDED ENTRY DEADLINE: February 7 For details visit: PaloAltoOnline.com/short_story Menlo Park 1300 block Chilco St., 1/23, 8:44 a.m.; battery ! " # $ !" # %# # &'( % ) $ %& ' # * # &+ , & % ( # + - # &. / 0 & ) ) # 1 0 & *+, 2 2 2 + & -, ! " # " $ % Page 16ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Transitions Births, marriages and deaths John S. Traynor John S. Traynor, 88, a former Palo Alto resident, died on Jan. 11 while on a business trip to Visalia, Calif. He was born on Aug. 26, 1925, in Santa Cruz, Calif., the son of Lee J. and Edith D. Traynor. He was raised in Palo Alto and attended Sherman and Mayfield grammar schools, Jordan Jr. High School and Palo Alto High School. He graduated from Paly in 1943, starting his college education that spring at Stanford University. His education was interrupted when he joined the Army Air Corps, where he was commissioned a second lieutenant. After the war, he returned to continue his education at Stanford and received a bachelor's of science degree in mechanical engineering in 1950 and the next year, a master's of science in mechanical engineering with an aeronautical engineering option. Subsequently, he was employed at Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, Calif., but after several years he decided to attend Los Angeles Art Center School to study industrial design. He was issued several patents and had a life-long interest in diverse scientific fields. He formed ADCO (Advanced Design Company) and established and was president of Cellnor Corporation. He returned to Palo Alto to take care of real estate interests owned by his family until the properties were sold in the late 1980s. He and his sister jointly owned or participated in several real estate investments subsequently and at the time of his death. He is survived by his sister, Joyce Traynor. A memorial service will be held at Alta Mesa Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 695 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto on Monday, Feb. 3, at 1 p.m. The burial will follow the funeral service. Elizabeth "Jingâ€? Lyman A memorial service for Elizabeth "Jingâ€? Lyman, widow of the late Stanford President Richard W. Lyman and a key player in the creation of the university's institute for gender research, will be held at 2 p.m. on Feb. 10 in Stanford Memorial Church. A reception will follow at the Stanford Faculty Club. There will limited ďŹ rst-come, ďŹ rstserved reserved parking available for the service, with signage reading 'Jing Lyman Memorial Service' at the Tresidder Visitor Lot. Do not purchase a parking permit at these designated spaces. Jing Lyman died Nov. 21 at Channing House in Palo Alto. She was 88. Jing Lyman played an instrumental role in creating what is now the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford. The institute, established in 1974, is now considered one of the nation's most distinguished research centers devoted to gender research. In lieu of owers, Jing Lyman requested that donations be made in her name to the enterprise Community Partners, an affordable housing advocacy organization, or to the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford For Stanford's full obituary on Jing Lyman, visit http://news. stanford.edu/news/2013/november/jing-lyman-obituary-112113. html PA I D OBITUARY 7 - Sarah Sasaki and Gregory Tsien Sarah Sasaki and Gregory Tsien, who met at Gunn High School, were married on July 6 in Maui, Hawaii at the Sugarman's Estate in Makena. Family friend Lea Feinstein of Palo Alto performed the ceremony. The two have been close friends ever since high school, even while she attended the University of California, Berkeley and he was at Stanford University. The bride is a senior manager at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, where she oversees PG&E's community investment and philanthropy program as well as its corporate foundation. She is a graduate of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, a former Americorps member and previously the Northern California Cherry Blossom Queen. She is the daughter of Go Sasaki, Sr. and Kay K. Sasaki of Los Altos Hills, Calif. The bride's father is a retired Bay Area real estate investor and the bride's mother is a former Spanish and Japanese teacher. The groom is a math teacher and grade team lead at the Uncommon Charter High School, a public school in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is a graduate of Stanford University. He worked as an engineer at Johnson & Johnson until joining the Obama 2008 presidential campaign in Indiana, which inspired his entrance into the field of education. He is the son of Richard W. Tsien and Julia Shiang of New York City. The groom's father is the director of the Neuroscience Institute at the Langone Medical Center at New York University. His mother is an associate professor of applied psychology, also at New York University. The couple currently resides in New York City. Visit Lasting Memories An online directory of obituaries and remembrances. Search obituaries, submit a memorial, share a photo. Go to: www.PaloAltoOnline.com/obituaries Pearl Dorothy Ross April 24, 1918 – January 14, 2014 Pearl Dorothy Ross was born in Detroit Michigan on March 24, 1918 to Otto and Ida Burkowski. Pearl passed away peacefully on January 14, 2014 in Auburn. CA. She was the youngest of 4 children, Walter, Mildred and Lillian.(all passed) In 1938 she met Sidney Harold Ross of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and they were married in Detroit June 17, 1941. In 1944 Pearl and Sid moved from Michigan to Los Angeles, Ca. Diane, their only daughter was born on May 28, l944. IN October 1949 Pearl and Sid moved to Menlo Park, were she resided for 63 years before moving to Auburn Ca assisted living. Sidney passed away in November 1990. Pearl loved her home, her garden, sewing, was a wonderful cook and talented artist. She loved to paint owers on birdhouses and cards. Pearl was employed by Menlo Atherton food service and retired 30 years ago from Foothill college food service. For more than 50 years she was an active member of Bethany Lutheran Church in Menlo Park. Pearl is survived by daughter Diane McLoughlin, grandsons Tyler and Dugan of Tahoe City, CA and great grandson Aiden of Germany. A memorial service will be held at Alta Mesa Cementary at a later date. We love you Mom and Grandma. PA I D OBITUARY Give blood for life! Schedule an appointment: call 888-723-7831 or visit bloodcenter.stanford.edu ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 17 Editorial The school board's nadir Adjourning at 2:15 a.m., our school board and superintendent abandon any semblance of transparent and effective governance T here are so many ways the public, students and teachers were disrespected by the school board and Superintendent Kevin Skelly in Tuesday night's ridiculous eight-hour meeting that we hardly know where to start. It was a stunning display of manipulative agenda planning by board president Barbara Mitchell and Skelly, made worse by the failure of the other four board members to take action when it became obvious that the meeting was completely unraveling. It also provided yet another window into how dysfunctional this group has become in carrying out its basic responsibilities for communicating honestly and clearly with parents and its own teaching staff. The tone for the meeting was set by the appalling treatment of a nervous middle school student who wanted to tell the board about her bullying experience, a topic on the agenda for late in the meeting. Board president Mitchell refused to let her speak early in the evening, a consideration that has routinely been made for other students so they don't have to wait around on a school night for an item to be discussed later. The girl's short speech was cut off and an adult accompanying her was threatened by Mitchell with removal from the meeting. From there, the meeting all but disintegrated as one agenda item after another went far beyond its 10-15 minute allotted time until the meeting was more than three hours behind schedule at midnight. Among the items were several that, if properly communicated and understood by the public, would have generated significant and diverse public input. Instead, the controversial items were obscured from the public and bundled together on a crowded agenda with unrealistic time allocations that made constructive discussion and decision-making impossible. For example, 10 minutes was scheduled for a presentation and discussion on two proposed major new curriculum initiatives at Palo Alto High School, including one to create a new "Sports Career Pathwayâ€? that would allow a student the option of graduating without meeting the so-called A-G course requirements for admission to the UC system, a policy adopted in 2012. That fact was buried in the meeting materials and caught both board members and the public by surprise. Then another bold teacher initiative, to implement a pilot program at Paly of eliminating lanes for freshman English, was slotted for a 10-minute presentation and discussion, in spite of the fact that this proposal was the result of 18 months of staff work and was a major and controversial program shift. That discussion ended in a train wreck at 1:15 a.m. with Skelly halfheartedly suggesting the board give the English teachers "a shotâ€? at making it work and the board steadfast in opposing the idea, citing parent objections and their own theories of laning that were at odds with the professional teachers. And, in a phenomenon that should concern anyone who cares about open government and transparency, almost all "publicâ€? input on the topic came not from people who attended the meeting and spoke publicly to the board but through emails or phone calls directly to board members. Since the district does not release communications to board members on agenda items, as is the normal practice at other government bodies, the public has no idea who or what influenced the thinking of board members. How in the world did Mitchell and Skelly think that such a topic needed just 10 minutes of time on a school board agenda? The only plausible explanation is that they didn't want public awareness or discussion. For a district that holds up site-based decision-making as its governance model and repeatedly follows the recommendations of its principals, what explains Skelly and the board's shoddy treatment of new Paly principal Kim Diorio and her team of English teachers who had worked so hard on a new concept for delivering freshman English? Regardless of the merits of the proposal, Skelly and the board's disrespect of its staff was made even worse by their having kept these teachers at the board meeting until after 1 a.m. when they were due back in their classrooms just a few hours later. Finally, at 1:15 a.m., after their dismissive comments to the Paly English teachers, an incoherent one-hour "discussionâ€? began on the most complicated item on the entire agenda: proposed bullying policies that had been under development for more than a year and which have been so mangled that not even the board members or their attorney could accurately describe them or the history of their development. The school board and Skelly not only owe the community their apologies, but a "re-doâ€? on these important agenda items. All of us, including the teachers, parents and one middle school student who all left the meeting near tears for the way they were treated, deserve better from those who claim to be working on their behalf. Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions St. Michael's Alley? Editor, Interesting article about P.A. restaurants ("Palo Alto's dining renaissanceâ€?). I'm surprised you didn't mention St. Michael's Alley. It has been here since 1959 — and is a single proprietor business. It has been a favorite of your staff members for decades. Let's patronize our home-grown people! P.S. Carol Blitzer did a nice piece when Vernon Gates died in 2011. He started St. Michael's Alley. Lynn Robinson Cowper Street, Palo Alto expensive, offers molecular gastronomy in a complimentary contemporary setting with fine service and fabulous food. This is a place for celebration. Palo Alto Sol, also on California Avenue, has the best homemade moles and sauces — good Mexican food. Fuki-Sushi on El Camino near El Camino Way is an attractive, family-owned restaurant with the best, freshest sushi around. Bon appetit. Winter Dellenbach La Para, Palo Alto Affordable for whom? Editor, I would love to see genuinely affordable housing in our communities for people with modest incomes. However, while it may sound good at first, the "affordable housingâ€? we're being coerced into adopting misses the mark. As many have pointed out, teachers, police and firemen earn far too much to qualify for it, and very low-income workers earn far too little to afford it. It's essentially a bizarre quota system created to provide a certain number of illdefined subsidized housing units for who-knows-whom to live in brand new, ultra-expensive units at a bargain rent-controlled price. Hmmmmm... Here are some BMR "affordableâ€? unit rents in Overnight parking Editor, A case can be made for the requirement of permits to park overnight on city streets in residential areas. While a fee charged to non-residents is justifiable, it is definitely not justifiable to charge tax-paying homeowners a fee for parking on the street directly in front of their own home. Homeowners parking their own cars in front of their own homes is not a problem and never has been. Don't penalize homeowners for a problem caused by others who do not live in the neighborhood where they park. John Paul Hanna Crescent Drive, Palo Alto Dublin: studios — $1,595; one bedrooms — $1,735; two bedrooms — $2,300. That should help the sales clerks at Walgreens. Consider: The maximum income cutoffs for BMR (Below Market Rate) housing purchases in San Mateo County are 110 percent of the median income. That's 10 percent higher than the median! For one person, the cut-off is $79,310; for two people it's $82,400; for three it's $101,970 ($111,240 if first-time homebuyers) — hardly the incomes of the working poor. And why are housing costs skyrocketing? Because recent changes in land-use policy restrict new development to narrow downtown areas near public transit, thus skewing the real-estate market and driving prices up mercilessly. Another downside: "affordable housing unitsâ€? bring less revenue to the city than market-rate counterparts, due to the artificially lowered price of the property and its taxes. "Affordable housingâ€? projects also often have an unintended effect on other people's property, i.e., lowering surrounding property values. Thus, like most utopian socialist schemes, they are a lose-lose proposition in the end. Cherie Zaslawsky Oak Lane, Menlo Park Palo Alto food scene Editor, Given the Weekly's office is adjacent to California Avenue, one would have expected mention of nearby dining opportunities in its article, "A Dining Renaissance.â€? Perhaps a follow-up article is planned to include venues south of Embarcadero? By focusing on the changing and expanding food scene in Palo Alto, the article misses what I think is part of the genesis of this restaurant boom — the influx of younger workers looking for a nearby, tasty, relatively fast and affordable lunch. This results in more cuisines offered (good) but less variety in the types of dining experiences (bad). The proliferation of venues stressing takeout, while offering small plates, fancy-pants burgers, hot dogs and chi-chi ice-cream now makes it harder to find a restaurant where one wants to bother making a reservation, to meet up with friends and linger over good food while sitting in a comfortable chair. I love having new food options, but also appreciate dining that includes factors other than fast, cheap, and convenient. Here are three places worth experiencing in town, south of Embarcadero. Baume, the only place in town with two Michelin stars and hence WHAT DO YOU THINK? The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest. Should projects get density bonus for including affordable housing? Submit letters to the editor of up to 300 words to email@example.com. Submit guest opinions of 1,000 words to email@example.com. Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted. Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Editorial Assistant Elena Kadvany at firstname.lastname@example.com or 650-326-8210. Page 18ĂŠUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°Vœ" Guest Opinion Everything not roses at Stanford, Paly Daily has difficulty getting comment on negative news by Billy Gallagher Editor's Note: The following column (www.stanforddaily.com / 2013/ 02/ 01/ editors-farewell-this-is-your-school/) is reprinted with permission from Stanford. Gallagher was co-editor of the Daily when he wrote it last year. n the fall of 2012, President Hennessy quoted Steve Jobs' famous 2005 commencement address in his convocation to the Class of 2016. "Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.â€? Hennessy went on to tell the new class that their undergraduate education would serve as a foundation for their lives and that Stanford expected them each to become "an enthusiastic member of this academic community.â€? But how often are we encouraged to decide what we want the Stanford community to become? And if our inner voice is critical of the current community, will Stanford still listen? Students are encouraged by their professors to critically examine the world and work to maximize their potential and positively impact their community. But outside of the classroom, the situation changes drastically. Now, little Stanford student, you aren't supposed to say a single negative word about your Stanford experience. other as community members. The culture of silence at Stanford has gotten out of hand, and no one has noticed. Stanford has become so obsessed with a perfectly manicured image that it sweeps very real issues under the rug. I guess "have open, honest discussions about depression across campusâ€? doesn't look as good as a palm tree on an admissions brochure. Of course we need to respect privacy. But that's why the University can provide statistics that protect people's identity and that's why journalists hold anonymity so sacred. At the Daily, we worked to overcome this silence by banning email interviews this fall, which the University has abused to replace quotes with press release sound bites. The pushback from many, all purportedly tasked with serving the students and the community, was frankly unbelievable. Some administrators have been great. The student body is very lucky to have a Vice Provost of Student Affairs, Greg Boardman, who strongly supports the autonomy of the student press. Others have been offensively useless. Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE) exists to serve students and the Stanford community — unless that involves talking to the most-read student publication, of course. We've had interview request after request declined, only to be told that we'll receive an emailed statement that is often barely relevant and praises R&DE no matter what the situation. I can't even count how many meetings I've had with Stanford administrators to discuss why they're too busy to meet with our reporters. I'm sick of administrators lying to my face. I'm sick of being told we can't have any numbers or information on suicide attempts, but being given a press release, complete with quotes from President Hennessy, telling us how "transformativeâ€? it is that the School of Education has added the word "Graduateâ€? to its title. I'm sick of being told that the administration has students' best interest in mind when no apparent attempts are made to engage with students in meaningful dialogue before decisions are made. I love this school, and yes, we do live in a physical paradise. But by admitting that it isn't perfect, by openly admitting that we have serious, serious issues to deal with, we can start to work towards solutions. Luckily, I have another year and a half here to help — help with the next generation of Daily staff so they will fight for what's right and fight to get information out there. But we need to help ourselves. The responsibility lies with all of us in the community to be actively engaged, care about the issues and challenge both media coverage and the university. We at the Daily have long served as a watchdog for the university, with our readÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂ˜iĂ?ĂŒĂŠÂŤ>}iÂŽ At Paly, workload turns learning experience into drudgery by Hillel Zand s students in the Palo Alto Unified School District, not a day goes by that we are not reminded of our great fortune to be in such a prestigious district. Our students rank among the top in the nation, perform above average on nationwide testing and often obtain coveted internships in many academic fields. While all this may be true — and then some — nobody ever seems to ask: "At what cost?â€? Although Palo Alto High School students are bright and ambitious, we have been thrown into a system that force-feeds information, thus restricting our capacity for application of knowledge and lessening enthusiasm for learning. In the end, the purpose of a holistic education has been defeated. While we as students certainly experience the trials and tribulations of a stressful academic and extracurricular workload, the rigor is not put into perspective until graduates have the opportunity to reflect on their high school years. The school district recently conducted a survey of its high school graduates from Paly and Henry M. Gunn High School from the Class of 2012 and found that most prepared for college in respect to the ability to complete multiple-choice tests and homework. "High school needs to stop teaching students to make them excel at college and should start teaching them so they can excel at just being people,â€? one Paly graduate wrote. "The college focus (which is literally palpable at Paly) leads many, many people ... to look at a class as a means to a grade, and not as a means to knowledge.â€? This constant, "palpableâ€? and unspoken expectation of achieving academic perfection has destroyed the infatuation of learning that many students possessed yesteryear in the naĂŻve days of elementary school and middle school. For many Paly students, success in learning has lost its true meaning and is now associated with the moment of receiving an A on an assignment, which means an A in a course, which means a higher gradepoint average, which signifies reaching the Mecca of Palo Alto: college admission. I challenge you to find more than a dozen students on campus who wake up each morning excited for the material they will learn that day in all their classes. Rather, they are more likely dreading the impending note-taking and piling-up of work that will greet them. This regression from learning for the sake of learning to learning for the sake of a grade has also led to a rise in the great elephant in the room: cheating. Few teachers are aware of the reality where many students hastily copy a peer's assignment five minutes before it is due. Why? Because they spent the whole night completing a project and only got five hours of sleep. So as a sacrifice they chose not to do their homework for another class, robotically copied the information they were supposed to learn and as a result failed to understand the actual material. And this cycle will continue for days, weeks and years. "There's some questions as to how well we're preparing (students) socially, emotionally or for some of the life skills you need to have when you go off to college,â€? A I Principal Kim Diorio said. "I've always thought that there's just way too much work and pressure on students.â€? Less than 50 percent of the class of 2012 felt adequately prepared in "making ethical, constructive choicesâ€? and "resisting peer pressure.â€? Has the ability to act as a moral member of society become secondary to the ability to bubble in A, B, C, D or E? While students may be prepared to recite Shakespearean monologues and construct parabolic graphs, the emphasis on more applicable real-life skills is lacking. "Money management was never mentioned (at Paly) and I felt unprepared to suddenly work three on-campus jobs without any previous money-making experience,â€? a Paly graduate wrote. "I was also unprepared for actually wanting to learn, as Paly was more of a machine to get good grades than a place to teach me a love of academics.â€? I can't even count how many meetings I've had with Stanford administrators to discuss why they're too busy to meet with our reporters. This regression from learning for the sake of learning to learning for the sake of a grade has also led to a rise in the great elephant in the room: cheating. Putting academic instruction aside, the real shame lies in the mental toll that students incur from this "educationpocalypse.â€? "I hate when I hear people say they spent eight hours doing homework last night or spent all day on a Saturday or Sunday doing homework,â€? Diorio said. "I think teachers need to do a better job empathizing with what it's like to be a high school student and I think they need to hear (student) voices. I'm very confident our kids are going to go off and be good students, but we need to make sure it's not coming at the expense of something else.â€? Even worse is the fact that students are not recognized for the pressure they place on themselves. Rare is the case when a teacher pulls a student aside after class and congratulates him or her for improving his or her grade on a recent test — which may be a result of studying for five hours, unbeknownst to the teacher. Students feel underappreciated and may not even realize it because methodically doing work has become so innate. Learning to be a successful student — and hopefully a model citizen — should not come at the expense of mental, physical and emotional well-being, which can be found most tangible in sleep deprivation. Only 8 percent of high school students get enough sleep on a school night, a 2007 finding by the Journal of ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂ˜iĂ?ĂŒĂŠÂŤ>}iÂŽ This is Stanford. We are all geniuses who bathe in the sun, rip shots while coding, smoke while analyzing Chaucer, roll out of bed late and crush the McKinsey interview and get a nice night's sleep before doing it again. And we're all happy. There aren't problems with mental health stigmas on campus, brought sharply into focus by student suicides last spring. Students shouldn't be concerned about the autonomy and direction of student housing, particularly in row houses and suites. Students shouldn't be concerned about the current state of sexual assault on campus, nor the few protections the Alternative Review Process affords the accused. Critically analyze your reading, not the quality of your Stanford experience. Indeed, there are, have been and always will be problems. Students are attempting suicide. Students are sexually assaulting other students. Do you know how many? Do you know if the numbers are going up or down? Do you know what's being done to address either issue? No. We've failed you as journalists. Your university has failed you. We've failed each ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?ÂœÂ?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ"ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ>Â˜Ă•>ÀÞÊΣ]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 19 Spectrum Streetwise With a "statewide water emergency,â€? what are you doing to preserve water? ĂƒÂŽi`ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠ "L>Ă€V>`iĂ€ÂœĂŠ,Âœ>`]ĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ˜ĂŒĂŠÂœvĂŠ/Ă€>`iĂ€ĂŠÂœiÂ˝ĂƒÂ°ĂŠ+Ă•iĂƒĂŒÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠ>˜`ĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŒiĂ€Ă›ÂˆiĂœĂƒĂŠLÞÊ>Ă€ÂˆÂœÂ˜ĂŠÂœÂ…Â?viÂ?`° Bill Cane Amanda Carlsson ˆ}Â…ĂŠĂƒV…œœÂ?ĂŠĂƒĂŒĂ•`iÂ˜ĂŒ ÀÞ>Â˜ĂŒĂŠ-ĂŒĂ€iiĂŒ]ĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœ ºÊ>Â"ĂŠĂŒ>Žˆ˜}ĂŠĂƒÂ…ÂœĂ€ĂŒiĂ€ĂŠĂƒÂ…ÂœĂœiĂ€ĂƒÂ°Âť ,iĂŒÂˆĂ€i` ÂˆÂŤÂ?ˆ˜}ĂŠ-ĂŒĂ€iiĂŒ]ĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœ ºÊVĂ•ĂŒĂŠL>VÂŽĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠvÂ?Ă•ĂƒÂ…ÂˆÂ˜}ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠĂŒÂœÂˆÂ?iĂŒÂ°ĂŠ ÕÀÀiÂ˜ĂŒÂ?Ăž]ĂŠĂŠ>Â"ĂŠĂœÂœĂ€ÂŽÂˆÂ˜}ĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠ>ĂŠÂ…ÂœÂœÂŽĂ•ÂŤĂŠ ĂŒÂœĂŠĂ€iÂ‡Ă•ĂƒiĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠĂœ>ĂŒiÀÊvĂ€ÂœÂ"ĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠÂ?>Ă•Â˜`ÀÞÊ ĂŒÂœĂŠĂƒÂŤĂ€>ĂžĂŠĂŒÂ…iĂŠÂ?>ĂœÂ˜ĂŠĂœÂˆĂŒÂ…Â°ÂťĂŠ Charlotte Villemoes /Â…iĂ€>ÂŤÂˆĂƒĂŒ Ă•Ă€`ÂœVÂ…ĂŠ Ă€ÂˆĂ›i]ĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœ Âş7iĂŠ>Ă€iĂŠĂ›iÀÞÊÂ"ˆ˜`vĂ•Â?ĂŠÂœvĂŠ}>Ă€`i˜ˆ˜}°ÊÊ >"Ê>Â?ĂƒÂœĂŠÂ˜ÂœĂŒĂŠvÂ?Ă•ĂƒÂ…ÂˆÂ˜}ĂŠ>ĂƒĂŠÂœvĂŒiÂ˜Â°Âť Nicholas Kim ˆ}Â…ĂŠĂƒV…œœÂ?ĂŠĂƒĂŒĂ•`iÂ˜ĂŒ œ">ĂŠ6iĂ€`iĂŠĂ›iÂ˜Ă•i]ĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠÂ?ĂŒÂœ Âş7iĂŠÂ?Ă•ĂƒĂŒĂŠÂ…>`ĂŠĂŒĂ•Ă€vĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂƒĂŒ>Â?Â?i`ĂŠÂˆÂ˜ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ˜ĂŒĂŠÂœvĂŠ ÂœĂ•Ă€ĂŠÂ…ÂœĂ•Ăƒi]ĂŠÂ˜ÂœĂŠÂ˜ii`ĂŠĂŒÂœĂŠĂœ>ĂŒiĂ€ĂŠÂˆĂŒÂ°Âť Betty Hancock ÂœÂ?Â?i}iĂŠ-ĂŒĂ•`iÂ˜ĂŒ ÂœĂœ`ÂœÂˆÂ˜ĂŠ>˜i]ĂŠ-ĂŒ>˜vÂœĂ€` ºÊ>"ÊVĂ•ĂŒĂŒÂˆÂ˜}ĂŠL>VÂŽĂŠÂœÂ˜ĂŠĂƒÂ…ÂœĂœiĂ€ÂˆÂ˜}° Stanford Daily ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ"ĂŠÂŤ>}iÊ£™Ž ers serving as our watchdogs. Now more than ever, with the Stanford PR machine working overtime to make sure every single possible story is bubbly and positive, we need to stay focused and be heard. Follow your heart and intu- ition. Keep fighting. And most of all, don't let the administration drown out your voice. This is your school. N Billy Gallagher is one of two ASSU (student body) presidents at Stanford. He wrote this piece while he was president and editor in chief of the Stanford Daily last year. Paly workload ÂVÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ"ĂŠÂŤ>}iÊ£™Ž Adolescent Health showed. According to The Oregonian, hypomania, a measure of anxiety and an irritable mood state, was six times more prevalent in students in 2007 than it was among students in 1938. The prevalence of depression among students has also increased sixfold during the same time frame. Those who say the school district should continue to strive to be the best in academics are right. However, how we define "bestâ€? and how we educate our students must be amended. Palo Alto should not apologize for its suc- cess, but our district must revisit its measure of success and how it achieves implementation of its first-rate education so it can be proud of answering the question of "at what cost?â€? N Hillel Zand is a student at Palo Alto High School and wrote this piece for the Campanile, the school's student newspaper. ATTENTION PENINSULA PARENTS n e n c o t i C o n p m a C The Almanac's, Mountain View Voice's, ec tion n n o C 014 2 Palo Alto Weekly's popular, annual r e mp Summ a 2014 C Camp Connection magazine will be E TO GUID ER SUMM S P inserted in the newspaper CAM S ID FOR K the week of February 17. o Palo Alt by the ice duced n pro n View Vo tai blicatio cial pu c and Moun A spe ana The Alm y, Weekl " # ! $ % & ' ' () *+,- . /0+ ,0+ . ! " # ! $ $! 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